text: Nick Baxter: Walking The Razor's Edge Mini Blog Series (Part I) By Nick Baxter Introduction: The Terrain Imagine walking a tightrope stretched high above the ground, a wire so taught and thin that to slip to either side would result in certain injury, like traversing the edge of a razor. Behind you lies the wreckage of your former limitations—no turning back! On the horizon awaits the realization of all your life's goals and dreams. To either side, nihilism and oblivion. Slowly, surely, forward is the way… the only way... Just the thought of this perilous situation could spell fear for a great many people. But for others, the shaky uncertainty of this balancing act is a desirable mindstate, one that exposes new opportunity and potential. How do those folks get to that level of comfort and resolve in spite of such seeming danger? What I've come to term "walking the razor's edge" is, quite simply, a life strategy for harnessing your natural, inherent growth potential—a practice that can profoundly transform your attitude, perception, and way of life. It can be used in the most momentous of occasions and traumatic upheavals, or deployed in small daily doses, as part of an ongoing strategy for effective living. It can be found spontaneously in life's trying moments and put to unexpected use, but I feel it has the most potential when used in continuous, intentional efforts. Though I have by no means completed this journey nor perfected its practice, thankfully I've experienced enough of these moments and efforts firsthand to be able to share some concepts and suggestions. In the spirit of what is possible when we uncover all that lies within us, I offer this writing as an invitation to the horizon. What It Looks Like Before a person can walk the razor's edge, they need to find where their personal edge is in the first place. This takes a clear mind and a dedication to knowing yourself, to maintaining awareness and a vibrant curiosity about what lies beyond your normal everyday, baseline state of existence. We all know what comfort and pleasure feels like, and we all know what discomfort, nervousness, and fear are like. But the question behind this whole practice is: how close can you get to those uncomfortable or fearful places, and how long can you maintain your focus and poise while you're there? This is the life of the explorer—always seeking, searching for what else might be out there, dancing with uncertainty while simultaneously allowing for contentment and enjoyment of the present moment. It's about balancing the comfortable or pleasurable moments of life with the difficult or uncertain ones—and most importantly, gaining something from each. Finding that balance can be easier said than done, of course, but as long as you don't get carried away by either extreme, your efforts for overall growth will be more fruitful. These efforts toward finding your edges or limits can take many forms, and have the potential to be practiced anytime, anywhere. For example, some days I find the edge of my physical stamina or strength during an intense workout; other days this could be accomplished on a mental or spiritual level during a meditation session. It could also happen in the emotional realm during a difficult conversation with a loved one, helping a friend through a stressful life challenge, negotiating a resolution to a conflict with someone, confronting my self-righteousness in order to offer an apology, or by stepping outside my normal routine to donate my time, money or energy to a charitable cause. Other days I find my edge by reading a particularly dense philosophical text, or listening to a podcast about a challenging topic while simultaneously working on a challenging painting. In fact, working to solve any artistic problem to bring a piece of artwork to a place I can call "finished" is a constant endeavor, since that's my chosen occupation. But in other moments, instead of being bored on a long flight I may attempt a crossword puzzle, or try to organize my thoughts (as I'm currently doing) into a coherent, insightful essay, challenging myself to help others through my words and the lessons life's taught me. These seemingly insignificant tasks, often cynically dismissed as "nerdy" and considered trite in today's culture, become the fuel for personal achievement and transcendence. The unifying thread woven through all of the above examples is the intentional, mindful habit of challenging oneself in all areas of existence. This is built on an understanding of cognitive and behavioral research, which has shown that when habits are formed, it actually feels uncomfortable and unsatisfying to not complete the habitual action or behavior (William Glasser, Positive Addiction, Harper, 1985). Runners and other athletes become used to the endorphin high felt during their daily training session and may feel sluggish and irritable without it. Dedicated meditators and other spiritual practitioners might feel a lack of fulfillment and completion without their accustomed daily rituals. Research has also shown that habits may take anywhere from one month to almost one year of daily repetition to become automatic and instinctual, depending on the complexity and difficulty of the action (European Journal of Social Psychology Volume 40, Issue 6, pages 998–1009, October 2010). Simple, pleasurable tasks may ingrain themselves in your psyche relatively quickly, but the most difficult challenges could take a while, which is why incorporating this self-challenge practice into your routine, in some small way each day, is so important. [Editors Note: This is Part I of six part series that will be published each day for the next six days. Stay tuned for more...] (Nick can be found here: www.nickbaxter.com) Read more TAM Blog Articles From Nick Baxter: Nick Baxter: Walking The Razor's Edge Mini Blog Series (Part VI) Nick Baxter: Walking The Razor's Edge Mini Blog Series (Part V) Nick Baxter: Walking The Razor's Edge Mini Blog Series (Part IV) Nick Baxter: Walking The Razor's Edge Mini Blog Series (Part III) Nick Baxter: Walking The Razor's Edge Mini Blog Series (Part II) Nick Baxter: Walking The Razor's Edge Mini Blog Series (Part I) Nick Baxter: Shapeshifting Nick Baxter: Photo/Digital Manipulation Nick Baxter: Realism Techniques II Nick Baxter: Realism Techniques Part I Nick Baxter: Live Without Dead Time! Nick Baxter: Then, And Now


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Does anyone know if you can get generic versions? I've had a look around without any luck.
The other option is getting a remote kit upgrade to the latest technology, or replacing the whole unit. I'd be interested in peoples experience with Merlin and other brand garage door openers. I have a single large tilt door to my double garage.
Given I have one in already would I need to get someone in to install an upgraded system, or is it a DIY type thing? I'm reasonably handy, but I'm not a builder or anything.

subset: commoncrawl


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Alachua County is working out the details of its upcoming transportation summit, which it plans to host as a community forum that addresses potential ways to pay for its countywide $550 million backlog in road repairs.
The Alachua County Commission is working out the details of its upcoming transportation summit, which it plans to host in April as a community forum that addresses potential ways to pay for its countywide $550 million backlog in road repairs.
The county tentatively plans to hold the summit at the city of Gainesville/Alachua County Senior Recreation Center on the evening of April 10. The county welcomes local residents, community organizations and area municipalities to attend.
At its Tuesday policy discussion, the commissioners hashed out ways the county could run the event. Acting County Manager Richard Drummond suggested a facilitator manage the summit by organizing its structure and controlling the flow of discussion, which commissioners agreed would be beneficial.
"This is the beginning of a discussion that's going to take another year or so," he said, emphasizing that the summit's purpose is not just to identify problems but to put possible solutions on the table.
Commissioner Susan Baird mentioned the importance of carefully structuring the summit to ensure it runs efficiently and successfully. "These meetings can either be stupendous or stupid," she said.
She suggested establishing a time frame for community presentations and handing out comment cards with which people who don't wish to speak publicly can submit their comments.
Commissioner Mike Byerly said the time limit will depend on the number of people who sign up to give presentations. The county will likely set a cut-off date before the summit for people to request time to talk so staff can prepare for the event in advance.
Byerly also supported sending summit invitations to municipalities and various groups to raise attendance and bring diverse voices to the table. He said a new transportation initiative needs to be broader than the "Fix Our Roads" sales tax referendum, which was rejected by voters last November.
Commissioner Robert "Hutch" Hutchinson suggested the commission not make any decisions at the summit, but do so at a later meeting. Other commissioners agreed.
The event likely will be noticed as a County Commission meeting so the commissioners can participate, as well as being noticed as a meeting for county advisory boards and other local governments whose members wish to attend.
Hutchinson said the commission's first decision is whether it wants to spearhead the development of a transportation sales tax initiative or hand the reigns to local residents who could develop a citizens' initiative.
Drummond plans to bring a more formal summit proposal before the commission at its Feb. 26 meeting for approval.
■ ■ ■
Earlier at Tuesday's meeting, the commission approved a letter of commitment for the county's participation in Phase Two of Broward County's Go SOLAR Broward Rooftop Solar Challenge, a Department of Energy-funded grant program, although its commitment is contingent on the approval of the grant funding.
Alachua County would make an in-kind contribution of staff time, amounting to an estimated $310,000 budgetary value, by taking part in the 2�-year program, according to the meeting agenda.
The program would help the county streamline the permitting process for rooftop photovoltaic solar systems. This would include establishing a standardized online permitting application.
Alachua County would participate in the $2 million grant program with Miami-Dade, Monroe, Orange and Sarasota counties.
A solar installation includes soft costs related to permitting and various fees, which can total $2,500 per project, according to the agenda. Standardizing and streamlining the permitting process can lower the design costs and sign-off times for such projects.
The county is interested in getting its area municipalities, like Gainesville, involved in the grant program, Drummond said. That would allow them to establish a relatively uniform permitting process.
Contact Morgan Watkins at 338-3104 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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International Only - ENGLAND - (Normal)
new format - My story format is different to all those that we love to read, but after a while sort of turn off. This new format is designed to not only show how the season(s) are going, but it also gives an idea into the performance's on players in the game by match votes being given.
This format will be set out as follows:
1st Test - Home v Away - Ground - Season
3. Player Name - Performance
2. Player Name - Performance
1. Player Name - Performance
Scores will be up soon


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Sold Certified InventoryBack To Inventory
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2015 Acura TLX V6 w/Elite *Warranty* $163 Bi-Weekly OACBack to Top
Features: Automatic, Cruise control, Leather seats, Heated seats, Power windows, Power locks, Sunroof, Bluetooth, Satellite radio, Touch screen, AUX port, USB port, Reverse camera, Alloy rims, Power seats.
Included in the price of every car is a FREE Comprehensive Warranty that covers Engine, Transmission, Differential, Transfer Case, Turbo/Supercharger, Supplementary Mechanical parts, Electrical, Front Suspension, Brakes, Fuel Injection, Steering, Seals & Gaskets and Air Conditioning (Not applicable on In-House financing, other warranty applies. If another aftermarket warranty has been purchased this warranty offer is no applicable)
We have all types of auto financing, for great credit to bad credit car loans including our IN-HOUSE FINANCING where everybody is approved and 0$ DOWN options as well. Call us or apply online today and checkout all our ONLINE REVIEWS!
Remember that every car we sell is Super Certified to meet our rigorous safety and quality standards and comes a CARPOOF, brand new 2 year safety inspection, 2 keys, is undercoated, professionally detailed and a FULL tank of gas. Thank you for shopping at Super Dave's Auto Sales!
(Please note that we make all attempt to verify equipment, trim levels, options, accessories, kilometres and price listed in our ads however we make no guarantees. Please verify all listed information with our dealership in person before purchase. The sale price does not include any ongoing subscription based services such as On Star or Sirius Radio or any other services. Any software or hardware updates needed to run any of these systems would also be the responsibility of the client. All listed payments are OAC which means On Approved Credit and are estimated without taxes and fees as these may vary from deal to deal, taxes and fees are extra. As these payments are based off our lenders best offering they may be subject to change without notice)


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Rejoice, soccer fans! We're back in a World Cup year. 2014 should be one of the most exciting years in a while for soccer fans in North America and beyond. Here are some dates to circle on your calendar.
January 1: Fulham-West Ham, London, England | On-loan Clint Dempsey's first opportunity to represent the Cottagers again.
January 2-5: MLS Caribbean Combine, Antigua
MLS holds its first-ever combine for players from the smaller islands in search of the next Atiba Harris.
January 3: Liga MX Clausura 2014 opens | The Mexican top flight gets going, and USMNT fans hope Herculez Gomez finds his goalscoring form.
January 10-14: MLS Combine, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | The best college players strut their stuff for the coaches (and agents).
January 13: FIFA Ballon d'Or awarded
Barcelona's Lionel Messi, Bayern's Franck Ribery, and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo vie to be named the world's best men's player, while German Nadine Angerer, Brazil's Marta, and USWNT's Abby Wambach are the women's finalists.
January 16: MLS SuperDraft, pres. by adidas, Philadelphia, Pa. | Last time the SuperDraft was held in Philly, in 2010, Danny Mwanga was the first pick. Chris Schuler was the 39th pick.
Mid-January: New issue of Howler Magazine | Everyone's favorite North American soccer journal returns with a profile of Ray Hudson by Robert Andrew Powell.
January 26 - February 14: MLS preseason at IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla. | Six MLS clubs descend on the Florida training center to get ready for the season.
January 29: Mexico vs. South Korea, San Antonio, Texas | The circus that is El Tri takes the next step in its attempt to get things in order before Brazil.
February 1: USA vs. South Korea, Carson, Calif. | A friendly preview of a Round of 16 match in Brazil?
February 2 - July 20: Fútbol: The Beautiful Game art exhibit, Los Angeles, Calif. | Los Angeles County Museum of Art highlights the artistry of the game, including works from Miguel Calderon, Robin Rhode, Kehinde Wiley, and Andy Warhol.
February 8: Seattle-Portland preseason game, Tucson, Ariz. | Here's hoping the two cities' brilliant tifo-makers make the trip, too.
February 17–23: Rose City Invitational, Portland, Ore. | Jamaican club Portmore United joins the party this time around.
February 19 - March 1: Desert Diamond Cup, Tucson, Ariz. | Chicago, Chivas USA, Colorado, New England, and Real Salt Lake take turns pounding on their lower-division hosts FC Tucson.
February 19 - March 1: Disney Pro Soccer Classic, Orlando, Fla. | MLS returns to Central Florida, giving everyone another taste of what's to come when Orlando City SC join the league in 2015.
February 22 - March 1: Carolina Challenge Cup, Charleston, S.C. | Houston Dynamo, D.C. United, and Seattle Sounders join hosts Charleston Battery for the annual preseason tournament.
March 5: International Date | Who would you like to see the USMNT play on this day?
March 8-9: MLS Opening Weekend | Let's do this.
March 11-20: CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals | MLS vs. Liga MX. Rinse. Repeat.
- LA Galaxy vs. Tijuana
- Sporting KC vs. Cruz Azul
- San Jose Earthquakes vs. Toluca
- Alajuelense vs. Aribe Unido
March 13: New edition of Alex Bellos's Futebol released | The best book on Brazilian soccer (in English, at least) gets an update ahead of the World Cup.
March 23: Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, Madrid, Spain | Ronaldo & Messi try to do for real what gamers around the world make them do on FIFA14.
March 27-April 1: 11 mm Internationales Fussballfilmfestival, Berlin, Germany | The world's first soccer film festival puts on its 11th edition.
April 8-11: Kicking + Screening Soccer Film Festival, New York, N.Y. | The world's second soccer film festival puts on its 6th edition. (Full disclosure: I am one of the cofounders of K+S.)
April 12: NWSL season kicks off | With the newly formed Houston Dash, the women's league gets back in action for its second season.
April 12: NASL Spring season kicks off | The second division gets under way with two new clubs.
April 23 & 30: CONCACAF Champions League Final, legs 1 & 2 | No MLS team has won the continental title since the Galaxy did it in 2000.
May 11: Premier League final day | Every match kicks off at the exact same time (10 am ET) at the always-dramatic close of the EPL season.
May 11: AS Roma vs. Juventus, Rome, Italy | USMNT midfielder Michael Bradley lines up for the Giallorossi with, potentially, the Serie A title on the line. He would be the first American to ever win the Italian Scudetto.
May 13: FIFA World Cup 2014 30-man provisional roster deadline | The USMNT and the other 31 nations headed to Brazil must submit their "release list" of players to FIFA (UEFA tournament finalists excepted).
May 14: Europa League final, Turin, Italy | The best of the second best.
May 22-June 3: CINEfoot International Football Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro & Sao Paulo, Brazil | The cultural events in Brazil get underway a few weeks before the real games begin with this fun, two-city event.
May 24: UEFA Champions League final, Lisbon, Portugal | The two best clubs in Europe face off at the wonderfully named Estadio da Luz. We wouldn't bet against a Bayern repeat.
June 2: FIFA World Cup 2014 final roster deadline | The "final list" of 23 players heading off to Brazil carrying the hopes of a nation.
June 12: FIFA World Cup 2014 kicks off, Sao Paulo, Brazil | Brazil and Croatia kick the Brazuca in anger in the opener.
June 16: Ghana vs. USA, Natal, Brazil | OK, Klinsi, time to earn your money.
June 22: Portugal vs. USA, Manaus, Brazil | One word for all you AOs heading to the rumble in the jungle: hydrate.
June 26: USA vs. Germany, Recife, Brazil | What will Jurgen Klinsmann and Joachim Low say to each other after the final whistle?
July 13: FIFA World Cup 2014 final, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | For all the marbles at Estadio do Maracana. (Sidebar: The Maracana is officially named Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, which makes it the only stadium we know of named for a journalist.)
August 5-24: FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Canada | A dry run for the host nation before the real deal in 2015.
Mid-August: Copa Libertadores final | The South American champions will be crowned a little later than usual this year due to the World Cup.
August 6: AT&T MLS All-Star Game, Portland, Ore. | What kind of reception will Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery receive from Timbers Army after he said what he said about potentially playing in MLS?
August 30: NWSL championship match | The crowning moment for the women's league.
September 1-9: International Date | And the cycle begins all over again.
September 15-19: MLSsoccer.com's 5th annual "24 Under 24" | Counting down the best young talent in MLS.
October 6-14: International Date | A good time to see what kind of progress first-year head coach Benito Floro has made with the CanMNT.
Late October: MLS Playoffs begin | Win or go play golf.
November: AFC Champions League final | Asia's best of the best is decided. (Check out #3 in the video below. You'll thank us.)
November: CAF Champions League final | Can Egyptian club Al-Ahly defend their title and further cement their claim to the best club in African history?
November 10-18: International Date | It's never too early to start thinking about the 2015 Gold Cup.
Early December: The 19th MLS Cup final | Can Sporting KC repeat? Or is there a new champion to be crowned?
December 10-20: FIFA Club World Cup, Morocco | Fingers crossed, an MLS club will be there.


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Press Releases
Chili Cheese Thickburger Returns to the Menu For a Limited Time, Along With Chili Cheese Fries
Nov 14, 2006
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – November 13, 2006 – Burger lovers across America have spoken – via numerous e-mails and phone calls – and Hardee's has responded by bringing back a popular menu item just in time for winter – the Chili Cheese Thickburger ™ along with Chili Cheese Fries. Both items were part of Hardee's original Thickburger menu and, starting today, both will return, but only for a limited time.
"Ever since we took the Chili Cheese Thickburger off of our menu, people have been calling our guest response hotline and sending us e-mails via our Hardees.com Web site asking us to bring it back," said Brad Haley, Hardee's executive vice president of marketing. "There just seems to be something so decadent and satisfying about a great burger oozing with hot chili that calls to people, and this product delivers both in a big way. The Chili Cheese Thickburger combines our 1/3-lb., charbroiled Angus beef patty with a hearty, spicy Chili that is sure to keep you warm this winter. Just make sure you grab extra napkins."
The Chili Cheese Thickburger features a charbroiled 1/3-pound, 100 percent Angus beef patty topped with chili, diced yellow onions, mustard, American cheese, and pickles on a seeded bun. The new Thickburger will be sold at participating Hardee's restaurants for $3.49 by itself, or $5.78 for a medium combo meal, although prices may vary. Chili Cheese Fries feature Hardee's classic French fries topped with chili and shredded cheddar cheese and are served with a fork. Chili Cheese Fries can be ordered separately for $2.19 or can be ordered along with any combo meal for an additional charge.
Hardee's Food Systems, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: CKR) of Carpinteria, Calif. As of the first fiscal quarter ended May 22, 2006, CKE Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,141 franchised or company-owned restaurants in 43 states and in 13 countries, including 1,062 Carl's Jr.® restaurants, 1,963 Hardee's restaurants and 100 La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill® restaurants. For more information, or to find a Hardee's near you, go to www.ckr.com or www.hardees.com.


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Illinois sophomore guard Crandall Head has left the team and will transfer, coach Bruce Weber announced Tuesday.
CHAMPAIGN -- Illinois sophomore guard Crandall Head has left the team and will transfer, coach Bruce Weber announced Tuesday.
The younger brother of former Illini guard Luther Head, Crandall Head saw action in nine games this season. Remarkably athletic, Head still needed to develop his basketball skills to create himself a bigger role on the team.
"We are disappointed with Crandall's decision not to continue his career at Illinois, but ultimately we want what is best for him," Weber said in a statement released by the athletic department. "We have developed and maintained a close relationship with Crandall and his family through the years and will always support them. We wish Crandall all the best and hope he is successful in the next chapter of his career."
Head averaged 1 point and 9.2 minutes this season, and ESPN reported that he will transfer to UNLV.
"I still have love for my teammates and coaches and wish them the best, but I've come to the decision that I need to make a fresh start," Head said in a statement. "I want to thank the program and fans for the all the support they gave me during my time in Champaign."
Illinois plays Minnesota on Tuesday night in the Big Ten Conference opener.
John Supinie can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnSupinie.


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Prader-Willi syndrome is a congenital (present from birth) disease. It affects many parts of the body. People with this condition are obese, have reduced muscle tone and mental ability, and have sex glands that produce little or no hormones.
Prader-Willi syndrome is caused by a gene missing on part of chromosome 15. Normally, your parents each pass down a copy of this chromosome. Most persons with Prader-Willi syndrome are missing the genetic material on part of the father's chromosome. The rest of persons with this condition often have two copies of the mother's chromosome 15.
The genetic changes occur randomly. Persons who have this syndrome usually do not have a family history of the condition.
Signs of Prader-Willi syndrome may be seen at birth.
Other symptoms may include:
Children have an intense craving for food and will do almost anything to get it. This can result in uncontrollable weight gain and morbid obesity. Morbid obesity may lead to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and joint and lung problems.
Genetic testing is available to test children for Prader-Willi syndrome.
As the child grows older, laboratory tests may show signs of morbid obesity, such as:
There may also be signs of right-sided heart failure and knee and hip problems.
Obesity is the greatest threat to health. Limiting calories will control the obesity, but the family, neighbors, and school must work together closely because the child will try to get food wherever possible. Exercise can increase lean body mass in children with Prader-Willi syndrome.
Growth hormone is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Prader-Willi syndrome. It can help:
There have been some concerns that taking growth hormone therapy may lead to sleep apnea. A child who takes hormone therapy needs to have annual sleep studies to monitor for sleep apnea.
Low levels of sex hormones may be corrected at puberty with hormone replacement.
For additional resources and support, see:
The child will need the right education for his or her IQ level. The child will also need speech, physical, and occupational therapy as early as possible. Controlling weight will allow for a much more comfortable and healthy life.
Call your health care provider if your child has symptoms of this condition. The disorder is frequently suspected at birth.
Cooke DW, Divall SA, Radovick S. Normal and aberrant growth. In: Melmed S, ed. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 12th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 24.
This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM


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Citizen Jane Film Festival Kicks Off
COLUMBIA - The Citizen Jane Film Festival opened Thursday with a new feature this year.
The first ever CJ Film Summit entitled "Where Are the Women?" will discuss issues of why there aren't enough women directors in the world. Students, film industry experts, directors, and educators spoke at the event.
According to the event's Director of Programming, Kerri Yost, women directors make up 25% of independent films and 9% of box office hits.
"Women make up about 51% of movie goers, so there's big disparity between women behind the camera and what we see in front of the camera," said Yost.
This year's festival theme is evolution. It's a nod at the history of women in film-making and paying homage to their past and futures in the industry.
"We wanted to look backward because just like many other histories, women are excluded from the history of film, but there actually were some remarkable women," said Yost.
The types of film submissions in 2013 are slightly different from the past.
"We have a little more family friendly programming this year, more films to take your kids to. We have a little more dramas and comedies, which will be fun," said Yost.
Stephens College students help build the festival throughout the year through multiple classes, where they create the merchandise and advertising for the event, as well as help choose the featured films.
The Citizen Jane Film Festival screenings begin Friday, October 4 and run until Sunday, October 6.


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Recently, I decided there was something of a hole in my programming toolbox – a good tool to develop websites. Now I want to change that so I have a number of options. I'll group them into three main categories.
- Choose a framework that works for one of the languages I know already, e.g. Catalyst
- Choose a framework for another language, e.g. Rails or Django
- Choose a tool that is specifically designed for the web, e.g. Seaside, GWT or HaXe
For various reasons, I like option 3, and as I'm not interested in Java, it comes down to a choice between Squeak/Seaside or HaXe. This puts me in the unenviable position of making a choice between two technologies I know almost nothing about. Let me try and enumerate the pros and cons that I'm aware of at my superficial level of understanding.
Seaside positives
- HTML/CSS generation using Smalltalk only
- Better debugging
- Image development – install pain is a thing of the past
Seaside negatives
- Squeak is difficult to integrate with C.
- Documentation is not as good as HaXe
HaXe positives
- Language looks more familiar
- Relatively bigger community
- There is going to be a book available soon
- Seems to be improving rapidly (in comparison with Seaside)
- Integrates with C
HaXe negatives
- You still need to write HTML/CSS (I think)
- Not quite so easy to install
The big points here are obviously the integrates with C – e.g. if I want to use a Sqlite (ignoring the single-threaded blocking FFI version) or Sybase library then I have a lot of work to do. On the other hand:
- I'm not sure I'll ever need that functionality
- even if I do, there are ways around it.
- I love the idea of not writing HTML/CSS directly.
I think I'm going to go with Seaside and keep HaXe as backup.
Update: Looks like you do still need to know/write some amount of CSS which weakens my primary reason for choosing Seaside over HaXe.


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Predictions for WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view -- expect Randy Orton and CM Punk to be the big winners Sunday.
WWE presents the Royal Rumble on Sunday night from Phoenix, Ariz.
Headlining the show is the annual Royal Rumble match.
Did you know that the Royal Rumble has had 724 entrants, that HBK has the most eliminations with 39, that Kane has 35 eliminations and the most in one Rumble with 1 in 2001, that Rey Mysterio lasted 62 minutes and 12 seconds in one Rumble, that Stone Cold Steve Austin has three wins, that the No. 27 entrant has won four times and that 58 percent of Rumble match winners go on to win a world title?
But this year, the Royal Rumble match topped by a much-bigger match, when CM Punk defends his WWE Championship against The Rock.
Let's review the card, listed in my predicted order of matches:
Antonio Cesaro vs. The Miz for U.S. title during the pre-game show. ANALYSIS: The Miz doesn't need the U.S. title. Cesaro is a great heel champion. PICK: Cesaro.
WWE Tag Team Champions Kane & Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow. ANALYSIS: It makes sense to lead with this match and let these guys rest up for the Royal Rumble match. Kane and Daniel Bryan have really given the tag-team division a much-needed lift. But I see Bryan going back to singles action, so a loss here is necessary. Plus, Rhodes and Sandow are just as entertaining. PICK: Rhodes/Sandow.
WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Big Show in a last man standing match. ANALYSIS: I don't think WWE put the belt on Del Rio to take it away from him so soon. Del Rio, now a face, is the current version of Rey Mysterio. WWE will stick with him. Plus, Big Show is rumored to be facing Ryback at WrestleMania 29. That doesn't need to be for the title. PICK: Del Rio.
The Royal Rumble match: Check out my last JAWBreaker blog post with the full list of 18 confirmed and 30 "official" names. My off-the-wall prediction is AJ Lee taking Dolph Ziggler's spot in the No. 1 or No. 2 spot. Or maybe AJ (or Big E. Langston) will be No. 1 and Ziggler No. 2. I expect the final eight to be John Cena, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Ryback, Dolph Ziggler, Wade Barrett, The Miz and Daniel Bryan. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins) could sneak someone into the final four. However, I think Cena, Orton, Sheamus and Ryback will be the final four. PICK: Orton.
Divas Champion Kaitlyn vs. Tamina Snuka. ANALYSIS: It makes sense to have a throwaway match, something that can be quick, between the two biggest matches. Snuka is a very credible contender, but Kaitlyn needs the win here for credibility. Maybe a DQ or countout of some kind to keep this feud going. PICK: Kaitlyn.
C.M. Punk vs. The Rock for the WWE title. ANALYSIS: The Rock doesn't need the strap yet. Let Punk win here, and let The Rock win at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. PICK: Punk.
WWE Main Event
Ryback's promo. REACT: Announcer Matt Striker did a great job here. Ryback's "Swiss miss/Swiss cheese" line, followed by "that was a joke" was funny.
Ryback beats Antonio Cesaro by countout. REACT: Cesaro cut a solid "feed me more" entitled promo. He really is a polished eight-month veteran. Solid match, and a push for The Miz-Cesaro with The Miz tossing Cesaro back into the ring.
Big Show promo. REACT: More solid stuff from Striker.
The Rhodes Scholars beat The Usos. REACT: I loved the "unwashed tag teams with limited potential" line from Damien Sandow. Match dragged but picked up at the end with a solid finish.
ANALYSIS: I will be shocked if this show ever gets below a C grade. GRADE: B-.
TNA Wrestling Impact
Teflon Tazz. REACT: I like Tazz's "untouchable" angle. He is a great choice to be a much-needed mouthpiece for Aces & Eights.
Christopher Daniels clips. REACT: Solid.
Tara beats Velvet Sky. REACT: Nothing special. Velvet helped quicken the pace. Decent finish with Jesse's involvement.
Kenny King and Zema Ion chat. REACT: Egos.
Joseph Park cuts Open Fight Night promo. REACT: Yawn.
Kenny King/Zema Ion beat Rob Van Dam/Christian York. REACT: Match picked up when all four were in the ring. OK finish with the pin argument.
Kurt Angle has buddy talk with Garett Bischoff and Wes Brisco. REACT: I saw where this was going weeks ago.
Tazz bails before Bully Ray and Brooke Hogan talk. REACT: Bully Ray cut a strong promo. I liked Sting taking his side for reinstatement.
Austin Aries and Robert Roode chat. REACT: Comical verbal exchange over "fluke."
Jeff Hardy promo. REACT: Surprisingly strong.
Robert Roode beats Hernandez. REACT: Decent. Hernandez's power game helped.
Kurt Angle and Mr. Anderson push steel-cage match. REACT: Yes!
Jeff Hardy beats Christopher Daniels. REACT: Smart 2-on-1 early disadvantage for Hardy, who provided some needed offense. I liked the front-drop suplex off the top rope by Hardy. Strong finishing sequence picked up the match. One hammer shot seemed too weak to take out Hardy.
ANALYSIS: I didnt care much for this show. Nothing great. GRADE: D+.
WWE Smackdown
Kane said he will toss out 29. REACT: That means he has to be the No. 2 entrant. He better hope Dolph Ziggler doesn't want to be the No. 2 entrant.
Big Show promo. REACT: Solid.
Damien Sandow, Cody Rhodes and Alberto Del Rio join the ring. REACT: Solid main-event setup.
Sheamus beats Wade Barrett. REACT: Huge statement win and loss for these guys of similar styles. Strong match finish.
Natalya beats Rosa Mendes. REACT: Horrible, although Hornswoggle's dance distraction was decent.
CM Punk chats and The Rock joins in. REACT: I liked Punk saying he is scared of his own potential. Calling out The Shield didn't seem timely, but maybe it's necessary to reinforce that Punk doesn't want their help. The Rock had a good match push. I didn't like how Punk seemed scared after The Rock said, "It's over."
Randy Orton beats Drew McIntyre by DQ. REACT: I didn't care for the run-in, but this helped make Orton more of a force by overcoming the odds.
The Miz beats Darren Young. REACT: Better figure four this time.
Alberto Del Rio/Kane/Daniel Bryan beat Big Show/Cody Rhodes/Damien Sandow. REACT: I liked the match format, with Kane eliminating Sandow, Kane and Bryan being counted out, Big Show being counted out and Del Rio beating Rhodes. Nice match pace. I'm surprised WWE did the announcers' table spot again. I really liked the two 10 counts, with one in English and one in Spanish.
ANALYSIS: Pretty strong go-home show heading into the Royal Rumble. GRADE: B+.
Antonio Cesaro is "Mr. Main Event." REACT: Doesn't fit his anti-U.S. character.
Terry Funk to induct Mick Foley into the Hall of Fame? REACT: For some reason,that surprises me.
Goldberg teases return of the spear. REACT: Meaning?
Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler at WrestleMania 29. REACT: Possible.
Brock Lesnar rumored to feud with CM Punk and Randy Orton. REACT: For some reason, I don't see a Punk-Lesnar feud.
Zack Ryder said he overcame cancer in high school. REACT: Inspirational.
TNA Wrestling
Kid Kash gone. Christian York gone? REACT: Kash hasn't been used much recently. York should stay.
Three more years for Kurt Angle. REACT: Angle is one of the best ever.
Bully Ray said Devon and him were initiated by JBL and Ron Simmons. REACT: Not surprising.


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First, interior designer Christopher Grubb shows us mid-century modern design and how to update this iconic style (Watch video below). Next, homeowner Dave Barta takes us through his beautiful 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath single family home in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago (Watch video below. Then, renowned interior designer Geoffrey Bradfield takes us through Oscar winner Oliver Stone's pied-a-terre (Watch video above). Later, designer and builder Angie Thornbury takes us through her latest creation, a beautiful modern home perfect for a bachelor on the "Bird Streets" of Hollywood (Watch video below). Finally, we join Libby Langdon to make over her guest room in just one day (Watch video here).
This episode of Open House was hosted from 28 E 10th St., New York, NY. For more information about this property, please contact Robert McCain and Kristina Wallison of Stribling at 212-475-2810. View the listing.


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Flex raiding is fascinating because it evokes such different reactions from different groups of players. For example, my first reaction was pure enthusiasm. "This is great," I thought, "I'll be able to do more raiding on my favorite alts without having to commit to another scheduled raid night." The fact that it's cross-realm means I can join up with friends on other servers and help out, and automatic scaling means that I don't have to feel bad if I can't make a night.
I was also optimistic that the introduction of a new difficulty level that was parked squarely between LFR and Normal would help revitalize a guild that several of my real-life friends play in. They hit a brick wall in normal-mode Throne of Thunder, struggling to score a single Jin'rokh kill, and their raid team decided to stop bothering. Many of them stopped logging in and let their accounts lapse. It's a story that is all too common nowadays – a casual friends-and-family guild that broke upon the rocks of tier 15. Flex seems well-poised to fill the void that these guilds fell into. Accessible content that's still aimed at organized groups rather than consumption with random strangers. Not having to force anyone to sit out on the one night a week that they can make is just the icing on the cake.
My biggest reservation is actually the loot system. Personal loot certainly makes sense, both in LFR and in Flex. I don't object to it from an intellectual or game-design perspective. But the personal loot system feels like an awkward fit in this case – a glove that's a size too small, as it were. You can wear it, but it just doesn't feel quite right. There's something special and exciting about killing a boss and seeing the loot it dropped on its crumpled corpse, even if none of that loot is for your class or spec. The personal loot system has never evoked that same feeling for me, for some reason.
And I think that it will work less well in Flex than it does in LFR. At least in LFR, it's an unorganized group of strangers that you wouldn't want to share your loot with. Even when you don't get something, the large number of players and limited communication shields you from the feeling that the effort was worthless. In Flex, it should be fairly common to down a boss and have none of the ten players present get loot. And that will feel far worse because it's an organized group of friends rather than faceless strangers.
In fact, if there were one thing I'd change about the Flex concept, that would be it: the loot system. Rather than using personal loot, I would use a progressive probabilistic system. The boss would drop an average of 0.2 items per player in the group. Items would be guaranteed at certain thresholds – i.e. it would drop one item for every five players in the raid (so 2 items for a 10-man, 5 items for a 25-man). For partial groups, each player would contribute to the probability of an additional item.
To illustrate: a ten-player group would always see exactly 2 items. An eleven-player group would get 2 items and a 20% chance at a third item. A twelve-player group would get 2 items and a 40% chance at a third item. And so on, such that the fifteen-player group would get exactly 3 items. I realize that it's far too late for this sort of system to be implemented for 5.4, and would probably require some subtle technical changes in how boss loot is handled server-side. But I hope that it's considered for 6.0, especially since I think it's a safe bet that Blizzard will get a lot of (negative) feedback about personal loot in Flex once players get the chance to experience it.
But overall, I was still completely optimistic about Flex raiding. So it was a surprise to me that the first few pieces of feedback I received when discussing it with other hardcore raiders was entirely negative. Though in retrospect, perhaps it shouldn't have been, as the complaint was familiar enough. "Great, now I'll have to run Siege of Orgrimmar three times a week on my main."
So while Flex raiding introduces some great opportunities for the player base as a whole, it presents a fairly complicated problem for a small subset of that player base at the extreme upper end of raiding. Heroic raiders in particular are faced with yet another potential time sink and an increased likelihood of burnout.
This concern spawned a long and involved thread on maintankadin discussing what, if anything, Blizzard should do about it.
It's easy to write this off as an irrelevant problem, or to characterize it as a fabrication; a self-imposed problem created by deranged players that simply can't exercise self-control. But I think that's a mistake. Despite the lower ilvl of LFR and Flex-raid gear, tier bonuses and trinkets have traditionally been powerful enough to more than overcome the ilvl disparity. So there's a clear incentive for players to run this content even if their skill level far exceeds that content.
And where there's an incentive, one must consider human psychology. The vast majority of these players are not incapable of self-control. They are sharp minds making calculated decisions about how to spend their time in-game. Raiding at any organized level is being part of a team, which means there are complicated social interactions involved. Some players will do whatever they can to help the team, either out of altruistic motivations or to ensure that nobody can accuse them of giving less than 110%. Others will do the bare minimum that is required. Either of those cases can involve a weekly LFR and/or Flex raid for extra chances at overpowered gear.
Perhaps more concerning is those players raiding on limited schedules. They may be skilled enough to raid at a high level, but the demands of the regular raid schedule already stretch them near the limit. Additional LFR or Flex raids outside of the usual schedule may very easily be the tipping point that pushes them out of raiding entirely. And those players are rarely content to scale back to a shorter raid week with weaker progression. They're more likely to get frustrated with the game, quit, and move on to other games that have a similar skill cap but don't require the same time expenditure.
But it isn't just heroic raiders that are faced with this problem. That's a convenient way to try and marginalize the effect, but the truth is that even normal-mode raiders are presented with this dilemma. In some ways, they even have it worse: those Flex-raid items are a bigger upgrade for a normal-mode raider's previous-tier gear than for a player with double-upgraded heroic loot. And there are probably more potential upgrades in Flex mode for those normal raiders as well.
We tend to focus on heroic raiders as the ones most inconvenienced by these additional time sinks, but in reality I think normal raiders are more heavily impacted, as they'll have incentives to run LFR and Flex throughout the tier, long after they've become irrelevant for heroic raiders. And normal-mode raiders are no less susceptible to burnout than their heroic brethren.
I don't think there's any question that the problem exists. It's hard to argue that the incentive isn't there, because it's fairly evident. And burnout is a major concern, not just of the player base, but of Blizzard. The developers have made it quite clear that the shared lockout between 10-man and 25-man that was instituted in Cataclysm was explicitly to stem burnout caused by running both formats each week. So the question is not whether there's a problem, merely whether or not Blizzard should do anything about it.
Much of the linked thread is focused on exactly that question. What can Blizzard do to mitigate the incentive to run and re-run the same instance multiple times per week? Should they do anything at all?
Even though there's a problem, sometimes there's just no good solution. One argument is that this problem need not be addressed because it's temporary. Flex raids are provided in wings, and those wings will be gated much like LFR will be. By the time all of Flex mode is available, heroic raiders will already have several full instance clears under their belts, and the number of upgrades to be had in LFR or Flex will likely be small. There will always be a few players that get unlucky with drops and feel compelled to keep going back for that one item they're missing. But with a winged implementation, even that isn't so onerous, as you'll only be running 3-4 bosses one extra time each week.
Of course, that again focuses on the heroic raider's experience. Normal-mode raiders may well find themselves running multiple wings of Flex throughout the tier for gear upgrades. For those players, the problem will feel a lot less temporary.
But perhaps the best argument for leaving the "Flex Problem" well enough alone is that most of the proposed solutions are worse than doing nothing at all.
The Nerf Bat
Predictably, the first few solutions trotted out involve nerfing LFR and Flex loot ilvls so that they're not attractive to heroic raiders. If the problem is that the gear is an upgrade for heroic raiders, perhaps the solution is to nerf it until it isn't. I think the reason that this solution is the first to be suggested is tied to the fact that the argument has worked before.
In cataclysm, it was only 13 ilvls behind. And at the time, I wrote a blog post opining that the separation should probably be a little larger to further disincentivize LFR farming by organized raiders. In the first two tiers of MoP, the gap between LFR and normal-mode gear was increased to 20 ilvls (if you're keeping score, I suggested 19 in that post). In T16, that gap is increasing even more (up to 28 ilvls) to accommodate Flex-mode gear, which will be 17 ilvls below normal-mode gear. So it's clear that Blizzard has been sympathetic to the "increase the ilvl gap" argument.
However, I'm also not convinced that solution actually works all that well in practice. It's fine when you're just comparing raw stats, but the problem areas are traditionally unique effects from tier bonuses and trinkets. Neither of those are beholden the traditional rules of "higher ilvl = more stats = better." In both T15 and T16, we see trinkets with unique and interesting effects that can be exploited for large DPS gains compared to higher-ilvl trinkets. And especially when it comes to tanks, set bonuses can be game-changing and hard to compare to a fixed stat increase.
Further, there's a social problem with increasing the ilvl gap even further. Nobody likes to feel like a second-class citizen. But as the ilvl gap between LFR and Normal increases, that's exactly what LFR players feel increasingly like. There's no question that the rewards for heroic-mode need to be greater than normal, which needs to be greater than flex, and so on down the line. But remember that each ilvl is approximately 1% character power. An LFR player is already about 20% less effective than a normal-mode raider, and 33% less effective than a heroic-mode raider. Tuning open-world content gets much harder when that sort of performance gap exists. Content that's challenging for the heroic raider is impossible for the LFR player, while content that challenges the LFR player becomes trivial and boring for the heroic raider. It adds another constraint on the problem of making compelling open-world content, which is something Blizzard has been struggling with all through Mists of Pandaria.
Nerfing LFR and Flex-mode gear also sends a very clear message to LFR and Flex raiders, whether that message is intended or not. It says "we value the opinion of these heroic raiders more than yours," because the majority of players calling for LFR gear to be nerfed are outspoken heroic raiders. I'm sure Blizzard would never agree that this is the message they're sending, and honestly don't believe they think that way in the first place. But perception is what matters, and there's no question that this is how such a change would be perceived. In essence, "GG, Blizzard caving again to the elitist heroic raiders that don't want casuals to have nice things."
So I really don't think that nerfing the ilvl of LFR and Flex loot is a viable solution, nor do I think it's any more likely than removing LFR entirely. I think the drop in ilvl to accommodate Flex raiding was probably a contentious compromise even within the halls of Blizzard HQ, seen not as ideal but as necessary to preserve the impression that there's a significant skill divide between normal/heroic and LFR/Flex. I'd be very surprised to see LFR loot drop any farther behind.
Loot Lockouts
Another idea put forth is to share loot lockouts between difficulties. In other words, if you run Flex, you're locked out of loot in LFR for that week. Depending on who's making the suggestion, it could even extend to being locked out of normal and heroic as well. And I can see the reason this option looks good on paper. It's simple to understand and keep track of: one boss, one chance at loot, once a week. Period.
That said, it's also a fundamentally flawed proposition. LFR and Flex raiding weren't just instituted to provide an additional difficulty level for standard raiding. They're explicitly designed to mitigate or eliminate some of the organizational and logistical "strings attached" that come with normal raiding practices. The need to agree on a particular time and date, to maintain a specific roster size, to choose which ten players to bring for each boss and which to sit on the bench, to have consumables prepared beforehand, even the need to review strategies before raid time. All of these are issues that LFR and Flex attempt to eliminate in the name of accessibility. These formats are doing everything they can to promote social raiding – to encourage friends to get together and have fun without the sorts of burdens that raiders have traditionally been unable to escape.
I'm certain that Blizzard wants a player who rarely has time for more than LFR to be excited when they get a chance to join a Flex raid pick-up-group. If it feels like an exciting opportunity, the player is happy and the format is doing its job. But it will just feel like a disappointment to the player if they're unable to receive Flex loot because they've already run that wing of LFR this week. Suddenly, a layer of planning and optimization has been forced on a format that felt free and unburdened otherwise.
And that's really the reason that loot lockouts won't solve this problem. To ignore the social aspect of LFR and Flex is to completely overlook the intent of those modes. They are meant to be flexible and accommodating, so that you can jump in with some friends and help out without worrying about exterior consequences. Any sort of loot lockout subverts the freedom that makes LFR and Flex raiding attractive to the majority of its audience. While it might fix the incentive problem that heroic and normal raiders have, it causes so much collateral damage to the social raiding formats that it's untenable.
Bonus Rolls
So far, the suggestions have focused on adding or tightening restrictions on LFR and Flex, which inevitably makes the format worse for its intended audience. And I think that any solution trying to walk that path is doomed to failure. The problem is very limited in scope. It only affects normal and heroic raiders. The solution should be similarly limited in scope, in that it should try to fix the problem in a way that has the smallest (ideally no) impact on LFR and Flex raiders.
In that thread, I suggested a method that tied your LFR loot roll to your bonus rolls. In short, if you hadn't used your LFR loot roll on a given boss that week, you would get an increase (maybe +10%) to your bonus roll chance if you used a coin on that boss in normal or heroic mode. Using a bonus roll would then make you ineligible for loot from that boss on LFR.The idea is very straightforward. If a normal or heroic raider is after a specific item, then increasing the bonus roll chance from 15% to 25% on their highest difficulty level is more attractive than another 15% chance to get a weaker version of the trinket through LFR. There would no longer be an incentive to run LFR for a powerful item because that LFR roll was now an additional resource that could be leveraged to better effect on heroic mode with a bonus roll.
However, having given it more thought, I'm not sure it's a great idea either. For one, it actively discourages raiders from going into LFR. While most heroic raiders would be happy for a reason to actively avoid LFR, it does add another layer of restriction. What about players who like to run LFR for valor, or to help out a friend in a less progressed guild? They're suddenly restricted from doing that because it impacts their bonus rolls in progression content, at least until after main raid is completed for that week.
You could work around that limitation by making it an option, but now you're talking about introducing a new UI and building an entire system around the idea of "LFR loot rolls as a resource." And while I like the resource idea, I think this amount of complication clearly sets it aside as something too large and complicated for a mid-expansion patch.
There is an alternative implementation of the bonus roll idea that would probably make LFR and Flex raiders happy. Or at least, amused by the irony. A bonus roll on normal or heroic could automatically lock you out of LFR loot from that boss, and vice versa. This is interesting in that it primarily punishes the normal and heroic raiders. An LFR or Flex raider would be unburdened by the restriction, while the heroic raider would suddenly find their three most attractive bosses worthless on LFR.
But ultimately, even that idea has its share of awkward consequences, including punishing the LFR raider that can occasionally make it into a normal-mode group. While I think the "rolls as a resource" idea is interesting and worth investigating, it would require a lot of careful tweaking to get it into a form ready for implementation.
Free Loot
The idea I've liked the most so far is one proposed by Thels. For lack of a better term, I'd call it the "Cumulative Loot System." In short, when you kill a normal or heroic boss, you also automatically get your personal loot rolls for LFR and/or Flex. You could imagine various permutations of how this would work; maybe a normal kill gives you your LFR roll, while a heroic kill gives you both LFR and Flex rolls. But the simplest case is just that you get both rolls on any normal or heroic kill.
What I like about this solution is that it directly addresses the problem at the source. The problem is that players clearing normal and heroic feel compelled to run LFR and Flex for additional chances at marginal upgrades. The complaint isn't that the LFR and Flex loot is "too good," or "more than LFR deserves," strictly speaking, though I'm sure we could find a small subset of players who would argue those points. The problem is that the extra LFR and Flex clears require more time on top of an already demanding heroic raiding schedule, and that a player with the skill to do heroic modes doesn't find these watered-down difficulty levels fun.
Rather than trying to take anything away from LFR or Flex raiders, this solution instead just gives "extra" or "free" loot to heroic raiders to remove the additional time sink. And I think that's a much wiser move at this point in the game's life than trying to impose more restrictions on the LFR and Flex raid population, which even now accounts for the vast majority of raiders.
The main objection that's arisen to this suggestion is that normal/heroic raiders don't "deserve" that extra loot, because they haven't "earned" it. But I think there are a number of reasons that this objection is nonsensical. First, there's the obvious: the argument rests on the abstract and arbitrary nature of what anybody does or doesn't "earn" or "deserve" in a fictional online universe where rewards depend on the whims of a team of developers. If you ask 100 players what a raider deserves for killing a heroic boss, you'll get 100 different answers. What anyone "deserves" is arbitrary, and determined entirely by what the boss actually drops.
More importantly, there's already a precedent in-place that heroic raiders do "deserve" more for killing a boss than normal or LFR raiders get for killing a boss. And that's above and beyond the increased ilvl loot that heroic bosses drop. Whether it's a guaranteed vanity mount drop from an end boss, a raid-wide achievement like the Glory achievements, or access to a special heroic-only boss like Ra-Den, Sinestra, or Algalon, heroic raiders have always received extra perks for clearing harder content. You could argue that they don't deserve those perks, but Blizzard keeps implementing them, so they clearly disagree. Trying to draw a distinction between vanity mounts and extra LFR loot and argue that heroic raiders "deserve" one but not the other seems specious to me. Both are just a small extra reward for putting in additional time and effort and demonstrating a higher level of skill.
It's also worth keeping in mind that time is the real reward here. In most cases, the "free" extra loot is nothing more than extra satchels containing 28 gold. Certainly some lucky players will get that trinket they would have run LFR for, but for the vast majority of heroic raiders this reward structure would just mean freedom from the additional time sink of LFR and/or Flex. And the excess gold could even be compensated for by reducing the gold that heroic bosses drop. I doubt many raiders would hesitate to pass up the extra gold they'd get by running LFR for the freedom from ever having to run LFR again on their main.
There's also a subtlety here that I think most people have overlooked. If normal and heroic automatically grant LFR or Flex rolls, then it's no longer a problem if those items are attractive to normal and heroic raiders. And if there's no longer any problem with them being attractive to heroic raiders, it means that LFR and Flex loot wouldn't have to be kept at an artificially low ilvl. There's no point in having a 30-ilvl gap between normal and LFR just for the sake of keeping normal and heroic raiders from feeling obligated to run LFR. The gap can be adjusted more freely by the developers, which could make LFR and Flex feel even better for their intended audiences. I wonder if the players arguing against giving heroic raiders more "free" loot would stand firm on that position if the alternative was getting better loot in LFR.
The other potential downside is that fewer heroic raiders will run LFR, lowering the average skill level of a randomly-selected LFR group. I'm not sure that's going to have a significant impact on the average LFR raid, though. In many cases, guilds will queue together to "get the pain over with quickly," so nobody suffers if we remove those groups from the LFR queue. And many of the players who run LFR on a geared main may continue to do so for valor, to help out a friend, or just to epeen meters. Or they may go on an alt that can benefit from the loot instead. So they won't be completely absent.
But more importantly, LFR was never tuned with those players in mind. The encounters are easily clear-able by a group that contains no highly-geared champion to carry them. I've been in groups on my mage where I topped DPS meters despite only having an ilvl of 500, and we had little trouble killing bosses. While some players might bemoan getting carried by a handful of heroic-geared players, that was never how LFR was supposed to work in the first place.
In fact, I wonder if it wouldn't have a positive effect on LFR overall. It's fairly common to find players that join up and AFK bosses, relying on that handful of players to carry them to free loot. And that cycle perpetuates because it works. If you remove the "carriers," such that every player's contribution was more important, I think the remaining players might take enforcement more seriously too, and vote-kick players that clearly aren't contributing. If carrying an AFK player had a significant downside, such as a noticeable increase in the likelihood of a wipe, players may be less willing to shrug their shoulders and say "whatever, we're going to kill the boss anyway."
Closing Thoughts
In my mind, it's pretty clear that any solution has to have as little an impact on LFR and Flex as possible. Because to be frank, while the problem exists, I don't think it's as severe as most heroic raiders make it out to be. Sure, it's an inconvenience, and it's definitely going to cause some players to burn out. But I think it's probably a very small percent. At least, a very small percent of heroic raiders, who will out-gear Flex mode to the point of irrelevance very rapidly.
So I think that any solution that hurts the LFR or Flex experience probably isn't worth it. Sure, it might be a quality-of-life improvement for us, but that shouldn't come at a significant quality-of-life decrease for a much larger population of raiders.
If we really want to eliminate the incentive to spend time in LFR, we should be focusing our effort on solutions that don't actively punish LFR and Flex raiders. A solution like the Cumulative Loot System idea, which nullifies the incentive without taking anything away from social raiders, is exactly the sort of idea that can gain widespread support from more than just a small subset of elite heroic raiders. And the possibility of decreasing the LFR loot gap could even win it the support of LFR players. An idea that works for everybody is far more likely to be considered by a developer than one that's divisive, and our best chance at avoiding a return to Wrath-of-the-Lich-King era burnout conditions.


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Arguing that "football has become the site of perhaps the gravest health crisis in the history of sports," lawyers for thousands of former NFL players asked a judge to reject the league's bid to dismiss their lawsuits about concussions.
In a brief filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, the players dispute the league's framing of the cases as a labor issue that should be governed by the sport's collective bargaining agreements instead of the legal system.
Among the players' arguments: Relevant CBAs did not address long-term brain injuries, the NFL committed fraud by concealing risks of repeated head trauma, and the league has a common-law duty to protect players.
"The NFL knew that players were exposed to risks of severe neurological injuries, yet did nothing to prevent them," the brief says, adding that the league "failed to warn players about the dangers of concussive and sub-concussive impacts," did not advocate preventative rule changes and did not "implement equipment standards adapted for head trauma."
The league filed its motion to dismiss the lawsuits in August and now will have the chance to respond to the players' reply. The NFL repeatedly has stated publicly it did not intentionally mislead players and has tried to better protect their health.
More than 100 concussion lawsuits against the NFL have been brought together before U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody. Unless Brody agrees to dismiss them, or an umbrella settlement is reached, she probably would decide what evidence can be used at trial, whether a class can be certified for medical monitoring and other pretrial issues. The cases might then return to their home districts for trial.
In its motion two months ago, the NFL argued that the CBAs cover safety and health rules - while delegating to individual teams and their doctors the decisions about players' conditions and when they should return to play. The league also said the former players' suits lack specific proof that medical links between concussions and brain disease were concealed.
The players' response Wednesday says "a party cannot shirk its own duty by pointing to the duties of others" and that the "NFL deceived club doctors (as well as players) by insisting repeatedly that head trauma carried little long-term risk for football players."
Wednesday's brief argues that the NFL "orchestrated a disinformation campaign" and says: "On the NFL's watch, football has become the site of perhaps the gravest health crisis in the history of sports."
According to an Associated Press analysis, a total of more than 3,500 former players - including at least 26 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame - have sued the NFL, saying not enough was done to inform them about the dangers of concussions in the past, and not enough is being done today to take care of them. The complete number of plaintiffs in those cases tops 5,000, counting spouses and other relatives or representatives.
The lead plaintiff in one of the earliest concussion lawsuits filed against the NFL last year, former Atlanta Falcons safety Ray Easterling, committed suicide in April at age 62. An autopsy found he had the degenerative brain disease CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy. His widow remains a plaintiff.
Other players have told the AP they returned to play after hits that left them with concussions and regularly were given painkillers by team doctors before games.


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If your photos include any content that may be unsuitable for minors and fit any of the descriptions listed below, you will be required to set your content to a mature rating.
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・Images or ideology of extreme violence, mayhem, gore, guro, or imitation of such behaviors where it may cause danger or stimulate someone to do the same
See also (こちらも確認)
See also (こちらも確認)
- Dashboard? What's that?
The dashboard is a page where you can view new arrivals of photos and Instants posted by you and/or users you follow in a chronological order.
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See also (こちらも確認)
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- What is an Instant?
Cure WorldCosplay's Instants function allows you to upload clothing, photo shoot previews, cosplays you plan to wear in the future, etc--casual photos.
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- This feature lets you select your favorite shot from among past photo submissions and have a large version of it displayed on your profile page.
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- Yes, you can confirm in My Likes. Pressing the heart icon adds the photo to your likes. You can access your likes using the drop-down menu at the top of the page.
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- Creating Conversations
- Go to the user's profile and click the message icon or visit the general message page to search for a user and send a message with "Talk to…" If the user disabled messaging, you will be unable to send them a message.
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- To create a group conversation, first create a chat with one user. On the top right, click the button to bring up another window to add another user. Search for the username you wanto add and add them to the group chat.
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- If there's a user you don't want to recieve messages from, you can block that user. To block a user, go to the conversation you have with them and click the block button next to their name. However, if you're in a group with a blocked user, you can still see their messages until you leave that group.
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- About specifying your birthdate:
- You can only set your birthdate once. We will use your set birthdate to hide content unsuitable for minors if you are a minor. Please do not enter your birthdate incorrectly.


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Honouring the Anzacs of the First World War
The award winning National Anzac Centre is one of Australia's most important cultural pilgrimages. Located within Albany's heritage listed Princess Royal Fortress, the centre overlooks the actual harbour from which over 41,000 men and women departed Australia for the Great War. Immerse yourself in the Anzac Legend and follow personal stories through state of the art technology, multimedia and historic artefacts. Prepare to remember, learn and explore.


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Tree squirrels are fun to watch but can damage personal property and power utilities
The grey squirrel is a common inhabitant of most areas of North Carolina. Many people enjoy watching their antics in public places and in their own yards. On the negative side, tree squirrels damage personal property and cause millions of dollars in loss per year to public power facilities. Squirrels can also cause a lot of damage in the garden.
The eastern grey squirrel inhabits hardwood and coniferous forests as well as residential areas. Squirrels eat a wide variety of native foods and adapt quickly to unusual food sources.
During the winter, when stored food supplies run short, squirrels may eat tree bark and clipped twigs. In the spring, they prefer swelling tree buds. In summer months, normal fare includes fruits, berries, succulent plants, fungi, insects, animal matter and corn.
Squirrel populations frequently fluctuate and are affected by many diseases and parasites. Their home range depends on the season and the food available.
Squirrels� teeth grow continuously like other rodents. They gnaw on wires, short out transformers, enter buildings, build nests in attics and eat bird food. In gardens, they may eat planted seeds, mature fruit or grain, such as corn.
Besides damaging trees, squirrels often eat tulip bulbs and crocus corms. They damage lawns when they store and dig for food.
Wildlife control officials consider tree squirrels a significant nuisance animal in the United States. Controlling them is difficult because of their athletic abilities. A grey squirrel can jump sideways 8 feet, straight up 4 feet and down 15 feet, then hang on where it lands. Control may include habitat modification, repellants, exclusion, trapping and shooting.
Tree habitats are difficult to modify to exclude squirrels. Plan to trim tree limbs at least 8 feet away from buildings to prevent squirrels from jumping to roofs. Plastic tubes on wires may prevent access to buildings.
Repellents are helpful but short-term solutions. Repellents must be renewed frequently and are not always effective. Naphthalene (moth balls), Ro-pel, capsaicin and polybutenes are registered for controlling tree squirrels.
Sheet metal bands may be installed on isolated trees to prevent damage to developing fruit and nuts. External openings to buildings should be closed to stop damage to building interiors.
A Wildlife Depredation Permit will be needed if trapping, transporting or killing wildlife is needed. Be aware that removing one squirrel will likely just make room for another, creating at best only a temporary solution.
An estimated season harvest by small game hunters numbers around 482,000 squirrels in North Carolina.
Peg Godwin is horticulture agent, Lenoir County Cooperative Extension Center. Reach her at firstname.lastname@example.com or 252-527-2191.


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If you have visited our store in the last month, you may have noticed we have now added another year to our warranty. That's right, Wilhelm now has a 36,000 Mile/ 36 Month warranty on our work. We stand behind what we do.
"We put the highest emphasis on the quality of our work. We have great technicians at each of our seven locations and we are confident in standing behind our work." He continued, "With the ever changing technology in the automotive world, its vital our technicians remain up to date with all the changes. Our 36 month, 36,000 mile warranty gives our customers peace of mind when it comes to all of their automotive repair needs."
It's easy to book an appointment online. Simply pick the closest location to you and give us a note of what you are looking for and our team will get back to you.
In 1928, Wilhelm Automotive first set down roots in Peoria, Arizona. Fast forward 88 years and we are still here and going strong. We now have 7 stores all across the valley continuing to serve our customers. With stores in Peoria, Surprise, Litchfield, Cave Creek, Goodyear, Arcadia and our most recent store in Happy Valley, the business continues to focus on building relationships with customers and helping the surrounding community. One of our core values in the business has always been about giving back with our philanthropic projects. This January, we were delighted to hear we had been nominated for the Peoria business of the month for January. Here is our president, Chris Garman receiving the award from Peoria Major Cathy Carlat.
Wilhelm Automotive's longtime presence in Arizona began in the late 1880s when the original settlers arrived from Peoria, Illinois. Tuck Blackwell set up a blacksmith shop to serve the hardy souls making the desert their new home. He eventually sold his shop, and it became the Jennings Brother's Garage.
In 1928, young Joe Wilhelm who was only in his early 20s partnered up with his uncle John Ansel to buy the Jennings Brother's Garage, and they opened Wilhelm Garage. The farmers of the early West Valley depended on Wilhelm Garage to keep their machinery in running order —often accepting crates of vegetables as payment.
In 1979, Joe Wilhelm looked to sell the business. He would only sell to someone who had the same ideals and beliefs that he did because he wanted the business to keep the reputation it had earned over the years. Up stepped Charley and Mary Jane Gyder.
They were tapped as the next generation of business owners in 1996, and Wilhelm Automotive expanded to occupy five locations, with the Peoria operation remaining as the company headquarters. Today Chris Garman, grandson of Charley and Mary Jane Gyder, is the 3rd generation to run the family business.
Chris Garman joined the family business in the year 2000. As President Chris is responsible for managing the home office team, managing the business office and company wide support for all of our auto repair facilities. Marketing to our customer needs is his specialty.
"I didn't want to have anything to do with it," maintains Chris Garman, even though he 's co-owner of the Wilhelm Automotive chain of service centers in metropolitan Phoenix. "I wanted to be so far away when I was a kid it wasn't even funny."
Started in 1928 by Joe Wilhelm, Garman's grandparents took over in 1978 what was then a single shop in Peoria. They had five sons, all of whom participated in the business; by 1988 Garman's father began the process of expansion when he opened a second store.
"On the weekends I'd go up to the shop and I would do anything and everything I could do not to actually touch a car," Garman recollects. "I'd have to pull weeds, sweep and clean up."
But Garman was destined for the industry."I was off at college when my uncle Thom approached me in 2000 with an opportunity to work for the family business and go to school at the same time. I didn't really have any intentions of being a part of the management structure."
At this point Wilhelm Automotive had three stores, and it wasn't long before Garman realized he was actually enjoying the work. First he was in charge of the marketing; within a couple of years he was doing the books; by '05 he was general manager of the company. He finished his MBA, but by now Garman was fully on board, eventually becoming the company's president.
"There is no average day," laughs Garman. "My duties include all the planning and budgeting, all the financial authorization, overseeing all of our HR and marketing, as well as our operations manager. Everything else on the support side of it is fully my responsibility. Thom is the Chairman of the Board, so he makes sure I do my job."
"It's challenging," he notes. "Working with the family is not always easy. But I take some pride in being part of the third generation." His father has since retired, but under Garman's supervision Wilhelm Automotive began expanding again, more than doubling in size as four more locations were added-- and one more is currently under construction.
"We don't grow quickly, at least by our standards," explains Garman. "We try to be smart about it. It's not like we've set a mandate; we don't want two stores every year for the next 10 years. We'll look at opportunities, and when they make sense we'll be ready, by making sure we have the staff internally to operate these facilities. Those people are then responsible for running each shop like it's their own; we give them a lot of autonomy to make decisions. We also like to be involved in our communities by hiring employees from within each one to help be a part of it."
So what's the company's model for expansion? "I can't divulge that," Garman exclaims. "That's the secret sauce! But I can say that we look for areas of growth where the city is expanding. We look for opportunities where we can fit into a community that has the right demographic, and that's key. We don't want the super-wealthy, we want a good mix of middle income, middle class Americans who see value in service—that's our niche. We're not the cheapest guy on the block, we're certainly not the most expensive, but we feel that we provide an above-average level of service and value to our customers."
To oversee this growing enterprise, Garman used to meet regularly with shop managers and "talked a lot," but about a year ago he decided to create the post of Operations Manager and promote from within. "His responsibility is to work with the stores to make sure they have everything they need," he reports. "We support them centrally; we have a marketing person, a bookkeeper and a human resources person, all of who help and support each one of our locations with anything they may need."
It's roughly around this time that Wilhelm Automotive also began experimenting with various forms of marketing. "We've always done a pretty healthy dose of (promotion)," notes Garman, "but after I joined a 20 group last year, I found out that I don't spend as much money as some other guys that do as much volume as we do."
Wilhelm Automotive does a fair bit of internet, and have always done direct mail for existing customers, but now they are willing to try some new things. We make sure that we have in place the ability to measure and track how effective our campaigns are," Garman explains. "We stick with the things that work, cut and trim the things that don't, and figure out what we'll try next year. We've done some newspaper articles, some television sponsorship last year; the newspaper worked for a period of time."
Sometimes the company wants to get into a specific market, like hybrids/electrics. "It's not a huge percentage of our market; 5 percent, maybe a little more," Garman reports. "But in 2013 it was less than probably .1 percent, so it's growing and we want to be a part of that. There's no real hybrid training on the market, so we partnered with a company called the Hybrid Shop, bought into the rights to their franchisees here in Phoenix. What came of that was training support. We'll continue to market for that segment in 2015 and beyond."
And has Garman ever gotten over not wanting to deal with cars? "When I go into the shop I'm allowed to shake hands and smile; they don't let me touch anything because they fear I'll break it," he laughs. "But I love the industry; it's been a really rewarding experience for me. Now that I'm 38, looking back, at the end of the day it's a decision I certainly don't regret."
And he certainly looks forward to when the company will be 100 years old—in just 12 years.
There are certain things you just cannot handle in the Arizona summer heat. AC in your car is certainly one of them. If you are travelling to and from work every day, it is vital your car AC system is in good standing. With 100 degree + temperatures just around the corner (sorry to remind you), having your cars AC inspected and blowing cold can be the difference between a smooth, comfortable commute to work and a disastrous journey.
I know there are a lot of do it yourself automotive mechanics out there which is great. We love anyone who is interested in the industry and we are here to help expand your knowledge. However, your Air Conditioning system inspection is something we highly recommend to get performed by a trained/certified expert. The climate control system can be dangerous to service and it's not something that is always diagnosed easily. If your air is blowing warmer or "not like it used to", there are many issues than can cause this not just that your Freon is running low. It could be one of the following issues and even more:
If it is low on Freon due to a leak, one other thing to keep in mind is, this could affect your level of your air conditioning compressor oil which could lead to further damage. If you start to notice that your AC system's effectiveness is becoming worse, then get it inspected sooner rather than later as it can cause lead to more costly to repair with time. As Mike mentions in the video, if you catch something like this early, it is a relatively easy fix. If you continue to drive with your system attempting to operate in a weakened state then the problem could become more complicated and the fix may become more difficult.
Wilhelm Automotive was again recently featured in well known auto magazine, Ratchet + Wrench. The feature gives an insight of what goes on behind closed doors in the Marketing department for all 7 of our locations. It is called, "Mindful marketing" and the whole article can be found on the link here: https://www.ratchetandwrench.com/articles/4154-mindful-marketing/ ;
We here at Wilhelm Automotive are extremely proud to be featured in the nation's leading source for complete auto care coverage, and hope that the article provides some interesting insight to our business!
Wilhelm Automotive was recently featured in "Shop Views" of Ratchet + Wrench, a magazine that showcases strategies and inspiration for auto care success. The feature gives you a look inside the vintage lobby of our Peoria location's lobby.
Car Care: Take cars that misfire regularly to a repair shop, where mechanics should check for bad spark plugs or an ignition boot failure.
Wilhelm Automotive, a Valley family-owned and operated automotive repair shop, hosted it 18th annual holiday food drive this past November. This year Wilhelm combined its efforts to support not only people, but pets too. Patrons generously donated food at Wilhelm locations to benefit the Foothills Food Bank and Resource Center and Valley View Community Food Bank as well as Chuck Waggin' Pet Food Pantry. More than 300 pounds of human food and about 75 pounds of pet food were donated by Wilhelm customers this year.
The Foothills Food Bank and Resource Center provides emergency food, financial assistance and other life necessities and resources to individuals and families in the northern desert foothills communities. The mission of the Valley View Community Food Bank is to serve the Northwest Valley communities with love and respect for those who are in need of a good and wholesome nutritious food box.
The main purpose of the Chuck Waggin' pet food pantry is to provide pet and pet service referrals to keep pets and the families who love them together.
Those who donated were rewarded with a discount coupon for a future auto repair visit at Wilhelm.
"We're so grateful to our wonderful customers and community for their continued support of our efforts to reach out to those in need during the holiday season. Their kindness is a reflection of the kind of company values Wilhelm has always represented," said Wilhelm President Chris Garman.
Peoria, Ariz.—Wilhelm Automotive, the Valley's oldest family owned and operated automotive repair business, was honored with the award for Superior Customer Service by automotive service industry information technology provider Kukui, at their industry awards event this past January.
"The team at Wilhelm Automotive surpassed our highest expectations. They utilize our platform to the fullest, and provide only the best customer service to their clients. We are proud to name them the winners of Superior Customer Service for the 2015 Kukui Industry Awards," said Kukui CEO Todd Matthews Westerlund.
For 87 Years, Wilhelm has made their customer's satisfaction their number one priority. From the beginning, the company's mission has stated: The heart and soul of our company is people. Our actions at any given moment will reflect our commitment to each other, our customers, our families, our company and the communities in which we all live and work, in our on-going pursuit to be the absolute best automotive repair facilities in Arizona.
"At Wilhelm, we work hard every day to ensure we have gained our customers' respect and trust in our work, and we back up that effort with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. We treat our customers like family, and they have paid us back with their loyalty over our many years in the Valley," said Wilhelm President Chris Garman.
Wilhelm Automotive is a family- owned and operated award-winning automotive repair and maintenance business that has been serving the Valley since 1928. Wilhelm has always made community support a top priority by being involved with organizations such as St. Mary's Westside Food Bank, TheaterWorks, Peoria Center for the Arts, Girl Scouts and the American Cancer Society. Wilhelm currently has seven locations in Tatum Ranch, Litchfield Park, Peoria, Goodyear and Surprise, Arcadia/Phoenix and Happy Valley. Additional information can be found at our website at www.wilhelmautomotive.com
About San Jose, CA based Kukui: With a rich history in information technology, Kukui provides businesses with a custom website platform and software solution that integrates with each organization's Point of Sale (POS) system. This empowers each of Kukui's clients with quantitative data showing their monetary return on investment, the number of new clients based on their POS system, statistics revealing their customer retention rate, and areas to improve business through the tracking of phone calls and appointment forms.
In its annual ranking of top automotive repair facilities, Motor Age magazine has recognized Wilhelm Automotive as one of the top ten best shops in the country. Wilhelm Auto was the only shop in Arizona among the top ten.
Motor Age, a monthly trade journal supporting independent automotive service providers by providing professional information, made the announcement of their fourth annual Top Shop winners this week. According to Motor Age, Wilhelm 'demonstrated strengths in marketing, technology in the repair bays, customer relations and community service, among other attributes.
"We are thrilled to be nationally recognized for the values we uphold in our business every day. For 81 years, our customers and team members have been the heart and soul of our company, and we constantly strive to be the absolute best automotive repair shop in Arizona. We are especially proud that we have accomplished this as a family business for three generations," said Chris Garman, Wilhelm Automotive General Manager.
The Top Shop selection process included the review of a thorough application that included a company profile, visual tour and information about Wilhelm Auto's history, mission, employee philosophy, customer service and community service, among other areas. Wilhelm ranked seventh among the other repair shops from around the nation.


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Caspian - Hustle Hard [Canada Hip Hop Artist]
Music video for "HUSTLE HARD" by Caspian. A PRODUCTION BY CAPITAL Q AND BLAKE McRITCHIE
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News | August 4, 2011
Juno Launch Milestones
Status Update:
-- Engineers have received communications from the Juno spacecraft, and its solar arrays have deployed.
-- NASA's Juno spacecraft has successfully separated from the Centaur upper stage of its Atlas V rocket. It is on its way to Jupiter.
-- The rocket nose cone, or fairing, carrying NASA's Juno spacecraft has been jettisoned as planned.
-- NASA's Juno spacecraft, headed to Jupiter, has lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla. aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
On Friday, Aug. 5, the launch window for NASA's Jupiter-bound Juno mission opens at 8:34 a.m. PDT (11:34 a.m. EDT) and extends through 9:43 a.m. PDT (12:43 p.m. EDT) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The satellite observatory is nestled inside the top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket, the most powerful Atlas rocket in NASA's inventory.
The solar-powered Juno spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 30 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.
On launch day, Aug. 5, NASA TV commentary coverage of the countdown will begin at 6 a.m. PDT (9 a.m. EDT). The coverage will be webcast at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv .
Live countdown coverage on NASA's launch blog also begins at 6 a.m. PDT (9 a.m. EDT) at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/launch/launch_blog.html . Coverage features real-time updates of countdown milestones, as well as streaming video clips highlighting launch preparations and liftoff. To access these features, and for more information on Juno, go to NASA's Juno website at http://www.nasa.gov/juno , and to the mission site at http://missionjuno.swri.edu .
The launch will also be online, with a live chat available, on Ustream TV, at http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2 . You can also follow the mission on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nasajuno .
Here is a timeline of expected launch milestones:
Right after launch, the rocket will be airborne, carrying Juno up and over the Atlantic Ocean.
Solid rocket motors jettisoned -- occurs at about launch plus 106 seconds
The five solid rocket motors that have been providing some extra "get-up-and-go" for Juno's Atlas will complete their burn and be "stagger jettisoned." First, solids 1 and 2 separate from the rocket, followed 1.5 seconds later by solids 3, 4 and 5.
Fairing and stages separate -- occurs at about launch plus 4 minutes, 45 seconds
The Atlas's 68-footlong (21-meter-long) nose cone, or fairing, will separate and be jettisoned as planned, providing Juno and its Centaur upper stage with their first taste of exo-atmospheric existence. The Atlas V's 106.6 foot-long (33-meter-long) first-stage will have completed its tour of duty. The Centaur upper stage, which will provide the final kick for Juno, will begin the first of two scheduled burns.
Parking at 17,500 miles per hour -- occurs at about launch plus 10 minutes, 45 seconds
The Centaur upper stage will temporarily stop firing, as planned, and the rocket and Juno will begin a planned 30-minute coast phase, also known as a "parking orbit."
Centaur burns for Jupiter -- occurs at about launch plus 41 minutes, 33 seconds
The Atlas V's Centaur upper stage will begin a second burn. This approximately nine-minute-long burn will place Juno on its desired trajectory.
Spacecraft separates from Centaur -- occurs at about launch plus 56 minutes
The Juno spacecraft will separate from the Centaur upper stage of its Atlas V rocket. At this point, Jupiter will be five years and 1,740 million miles (2,800 million kilometers) away.
News Media ContactDC Agle 818-393-9011
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.


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The following was written by the organizers of the New England Regional Genealogical Conference:
The New England Regional Genealogical Conference (NERGC) Early Bird Deadline is fast approaching on February 15th. NERGC will be held April 6-10, 2011 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Over sixty top speakers from the United States, Ireland and Poland will be speaking at the conference. Keynote speakers include John Philip Colletta and Paul Milner. Other events at the conference include the Society Fair, special workshops, Special Interest Groups, an Exhibitor Hall, the Ancestors Road Show and much, much more. Save $25 by registering for the conference before the deadline. See the NERGC website for more information http://www.nergc.org/NERGC2011