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U.S. Women's Update: See Who is Excited
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 21, 2014) – The current U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team Weekly update released on Jan. 21 includes briefs on U.S. players.
- Follow USAV on Twitter
- Contact: Bill Kauffman
MORRISON BACK WITH TEAM USA: Jamie Morrison has agreed to return to the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team as an assistant coach, according to Team USA Head Coach Karch Kiraly. Morrison has served as an assistant coach with the UC Irvine women's volleyball coach for the past two seasons, in addition to serving as director of training at Newport Beach, Calif.-based Prime Volleyball Club. Prior to UC Irvine, Morrison was part of the U.S. Men's staff as technical coordinator from 2005-2008 and as assistant coach/technical coordinator for the U.S. Women from 2009-2012. He helped the U.S. Men earn the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games and the U.S. Women to the silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games. For the full article, click here.
LARSON-BURBACH WITH DINAMO KAZAN IN RUSSIA: Jordan Larson-Burbach (Hooper, Neb.), an outside hitter with the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team, is competing once again for Dinamo Kazan in the Russia Super League. In CEV Champions League, Kazan topped Russian rival Dinamo Moscow 25-21, 25-21, 18-25, 25-16 on Jan. 15 to open the home-and-home Playoff 12 Round. Larson picked up 15 points in the victory with 13 kills on 39 attacks and two blocks. She added a 78 positive reception percent in the match. The two teams conclude the series on Jan. 22 with the winner advancing to the Playoff 6 Round. In the Russia Super League, Kazan blanked Dinamo Krasnodar 25-23, 25-16, 25-19 on Jan. 19 to improve to 10-0. Larson-Burbach charted 14 points in the victory with 12 kills on 29 attacks, one block and one ace. For a photo gallery of the match, click here. Kazan is now two matches ahead of second-place Omichka (9-2) and three points in the standings.
THOMPSON WITH VOLERO ZURICH IN SWITZERLAND: Courtney Thompson (Kent, Wash.), a silver medal-winning setter on the 2012 U.S. Olympic Women's Volleyball Team, arrived in mid-November to play for Volero Zurich in the Swiss League. In the CEV Champions League, Volero stopped Italy's Rebecchi Nordmeccanica Piacenza 25-18, 24-26, 26-24, 25-19 in the opening Playoff 12 Round home-and-home series match on Jan. 16 in Zurich. Thompson set her team to a 36 kill percent for the match. "We were really excited with the opportunity to play Piacenza in the Playoffs 12," Thompson said. "We have been working hard since the start of the season to get this chance and experience such a moment. It was really fun to play today. The crowd was absolutely amazing and the fans pushed us to this victory." In the return match held Jan. 21 in Italy, Volero completed the series sweep with a 22-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-19 victory. Thompson led her team to a 38 kill percent to advance on the Playoff 6 Round. Volero swept FC Luzern I 25-12, 25-23, 25-10 on Jan. 18 to improve to 14-0 overall with just two sets lost. Volero resumes Swiss League action on Jan. 25 against seventh-place Sm'Aesch Pfeffingen.
LLOYD WITH CONEGLIANO IN ITALY: Setter Carli Lloyd (Bonsall, Calif.) is competing for Imoco Volley Conegliano in the Italian Serie A league for this winter season. In CEV Champions League action, Conegliano swept Russia's Omichka Omsk 25-23, 25-18, 25-23 on Jan. 15 to open the Playoff 12 Round in Italy. Lloyd set her squad to a 35 kill percent while chipping in an individual kill and block for two points. The Playoff 12 Round home-and-home series with Omichka concludes on Jan. 23 in Russia with the winner advancing to the Playoff 6 Round. Conegliano ended the Italian Serie A1 regular season first half with a 26-24, 25-11, 25-22 victory over fifth-place Unendo Yamamay Busto Arsizio (5-5, 15 points) on Jan. 19. Lloyd set Conegliano to a 39 kill percent against her former team, Busto Arsizio. She added two kills on two attacks and three blocks for five points. Conegliano, now 7-3 and in fourth place in the Italian Serie A1, starts the second half on Feb. 2 against 10th-place Ihf Volley Frosinone (2-8, 6 points).
HAGGLUND, MIYASHIRO WITH VILSBIBURG IN GERMANY: Libero Tamari Miyashiro (Kaneohe, Hawaii), a libero on the 2012 U.S. Olympic silver-medal team, and setter Jenna Hagglund (West Chester, Ohio) are playing for Rote Raben Vilsbiburg in the German league this winter. In addition, Americans Dominique Lamb and Michelle Bartsch are competing on the squad. Vilsbiburg handled Schweriner 22-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-19 after a slow start on Jan. 18. Hagglund set her team to a 45 kill percent for the match while adding two kills on four errorless attacks and an ace for three individual points. Bartsch claimed 17 kills on 42 swings and a block for 18 points. Vilsbiburg is in third place with a 26-17 set ratio and 24 points. Vilsbiburg returns to action on Jan. 25 against fourth-place Aachen.
PAOLINI WITH HITACHI IN JAPAN: Lauren Paolini (Ann Arbor, Mich.), a middle blocker with the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team, is playing for Hitachi Rivale in the Japanese V-League top division. Hitachi recovered from consecutive losses to defeat Pioneer 25-18, 20-25, 25-13, 28-26 on Jan. 18. Paolini contributed 20 kills on 34 attacks without an error in the victory. Hitachi extended its win streak to two matches on Jan. 19 by defeating Hisamitsu Springs 25-13, 25-16, 25-22. Paolini tallied seven points with four kills, two blocks and an ace.
HILDEBRAND WITH AMIL IN BRAZIL: Kristin Hildebrand (Orem, Utah), an outside hitter with the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team, is playing this winter with Volei Amil in the Brazil Super League. Last week Amil participated in the Brazil Cup and reached the semifinals before bowing out. Amil topped Pinheiros 18-21, 21-11, 21-16, 21-19 in the quarterfinal round on Jan. 16. However, Amil fell to Molico/Nestle 21-19, 16-21, 21-16, 21-17 on Jan. 17. Hildebrand scored 15 points in the semifinal match with 14 kills on 28 attacks and an ace. She added a 60 positive reception percent. In its return to the Brazilian Superliga, Amil overwhelmed Sao Cristovao 21-16, 21-15, 21-8 on Jan. 21. Hildebrand notched eight points in the victory, including a team-leading three aces and 10 digs. In the Brazilian Superliga, Amil is in second place with a 13-2 record, trailing league-leader Molico/Nestle (15-0) by five points (43-38) in the standings.
KIM GLASS WITH BANANA BOAT/PRAIA CLUBE IN BRAZIL: Kim Glass (Lancaster, Pa.), a 2008 U.S. Olympic silver medalist, is playing in the Brazilian Super League this winter with Banana Boat/Praia Clube. Banana Boat lost its Brazil Cup quarterfinal match to Sesi Sao Paulo 24-22, 11-21, 21-19, 21-15 on Jan. 16. According to reports, Glass left the game with an injury. In its return to Superliga action, Banana Boat rallied past Minas Tenis Clube 19-21, 21-18, 19-21, 21-16, 15-11 on Jan. 20. Glass did not make an appearance in the match. Banana Boat is in fourth place with an 11-4 record. To follow her blog, click here.
BERGSMA WITH MINAS IN BRAZIL: Alaina Bergsma (Chandler, Ariz.), who trained with the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team in the summer of 2013 after winning the 2012 AVCA Division I National Player of the Year, is playing for Minas Tenis Clube in Brazil this season. Minas lost a heart-breaking 19-21, 21-18, 19-21, 21-16, 15-11 match to Banana Boat on Jan. 20. Bergsma netted a team-high 17 points with 15 kills on 45 attacks.
SCOTT WITH BRASILIA IN BRAZIL: Danielle Scott (Baton Rouge, La.), a five-time U.S. Olympian playing middle blocker and two-time Olympic silver medalist, is competing in Brazil this club season with Brasilia Volei. Brasilia turned back Uniara 21-14, 21-18, 17-21, 21-17 on Jan. 21 to improve to 7-8 on the season. Scott pocketed a team-high 13 points with 11 kills on 16 attacks.
ALISHA GLASS WITH FENERBAHCE IN TURKEY: Setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) is competing this winter with Fenerbahce in Turkey. In CEV Cup action, Fenerbahce dominated LP Salo 25-22, 25-13, 25-9 on Jan. 16 to open the 4th Final Round home-and-home series. Glass set Fenebahce to a 57 kill percent for the match with 47 kills on 83 attacks. She added a block and ace for two individual points. The teams square off again on Jan. 22 in the concluding match. In the Turkish League, Fenerbahce blanked Bakirkoy Bld. Yesilyurt 25-19, 25-15, 26-24 on Jan. 19 to improve to 12-1 on the season.
HOOD WITH ILBANK IN TURKEY: Outside hitter Regan Hood (Dallas) is playing for Ilbank of the Turkish League this winter. Ilbank handled Canakkale Bld 25-15, 25-15, 25-16 on Jan. 18 to improve to 8-5 overall on the season.
HARMOTTO WITH ECZACIBASI IN TURKEY: Middle blocker Christa Harmotto (Hopewell Township, Pa.), a 2012 Olympic Games silver medalist, is competing for Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul in the Turkish professional league. In CEV Champions League action, Eczacibasi opened the Playoff 12 Round with a 25-21, 25-20, 25-22 victory over host Atom Trefl Sopot in Poland on Jan. 15. In second match of the home-and-home series, Eczacibasi rallied to win 16-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-20 on Jan. 21. Harmotto did not suit in either match. Eczacibasi has now advanced to the Playoff 6 Round with dates and opponent to be determined for the home-and-home series.
HILL WITH ATOM TREFL SOPOT IN POLAND: Kim Hill (Portland, Ore.), an outside hitter with the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team, is competing this winter with Atom Trefl Sopot in the Polish Oren Liga. In CEV Champions League, Atom Trefl lost to Turkey's Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul 25-21, 25-20, 25-22 on Jan. 15 in the first match of the home-and-home Playoff Round 12 series. Hill tallied five points in her starting role while producing a 55 positive reception percent on 20 attempts. In the concluding match of the series, Sopot lost the rematch 16-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-20 on Jan. 21 and was eliminated from the Champions League. Hill sparked Sopot with a team-high 18 points via 14 kills on 28 attacks, three aces and a block. She chipped in a 62 positive reception percent on a team-best 29 chances. In the Polish Orlen League, Sopot downed PGNiG Nafta Pila 25-10, 26-24, 25-20 on Jan. 18. Hill totaled seven points in the victory, all coming on kills via 20 attacks. She added an 81 positive reception percent on 16 attempts. Sopot is now 11-3 overall with 33 points for second place.
ADAMS WITH TAURON BANIMEX DABROWA IN POLAND: Rachael Adams (Cincinnati, Ohio), a middle blocker on the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team, is playing in Poland this winter with Tauron Banimex Dabrowa Gornicza. In the Polish Orlen League, Tauron dropped a hard-fought 25-13, 23-25, 26-24, 25-15 match to Impel Wroclaw on Jan. 19. Adams paced Tauron with a team-high 15 points with 10 kills on 19 attacks and five blocks. Tauron is now 7-7 overall and in sixth place with 21 points. Adams is maintaining a blog during her travels, and is open to the public at rachadams.com.
HODGE, FAUCETTE WITH EVERGRANDE IN CHINA: Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.), a 2012 Olympic silver medalist, and Juliann Faucette (San Diego) are playing in China this winter with Guangdong Evergrande, which is under the direction of 2008 U.S. Olympic head coach "Jenny" Lang Ping. Evergrande lost in five sets for the second consecutive match with latest setback to Bayi 22-25, 25-23, 25-15, 18-25, 15-12 on Jan. 19. Fauctte scored a match-high 26 points with 22 kills on 51 attacks, three aces and a block. Evergrande is now 5-4 in the first group and in third place.
BOWN, SPICER WITH SHANGHAI IN CHINA: Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.), a three-time U.S. Olympic Volleyball Team selection and silver medalist in 2008, and former U.S. National Team member Nellie Spicer are competing for Shanghai in the Chinese League this winter. Shanghai dropped a 25-20, 25-18, 25-17 match to Zhejiang on Jan. 19 to fall to 3-6 in the top group and in a tie for fifth place. Bown scored nine kills on 18 attacks to lead Shanghai, while Spicer started the first set.
GIBBEMEYER, CRIMES WITH LOKOMOTIV BAKU: Middle blocker Lauren Gibbemeyer (St. Paul, Minn.) is playing for Lokomotiv Baku in the Azerbaijan Super League. In addition, former National Team middle blocker Alexis Crimes (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) is playing for Lokomotiv. In CEV Cup action, Lokomotiv must defeat Polski Cukier Fakro Muzyna on Jan. 23 to the home-and-home 4th Final Round series to advance to the final phase of the Cup. To follow her blog throughout the year, visit laurengibby.blogspot.com.
OPEN TRYOUTS: The U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team will hold its annual open tryout Feb. 21-23, 2014, at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo. The tryout process will be used primarily to identify prospective athletes for the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team. Athletes not invited to participate with the National Team may be invited to attend a second tryout as part of the U.S. Collegiate National Teams program (formerly U.S. Women's Senior A2 Teams). To be eligible for the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team through this tryout, athletes must have concluded their collegiate eligibility. This program could begin as early as the spring of 2014, or when the athlete's academic year or professional club season has concluded. Athletes with remaining collegiate eligibility will be eligible for the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team, as well as the U.S. Collegiate National Teams program, which consists of two different options if selected. For the complete press release, click here.


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Al Armendariz will help the group's campaign against coal.
The Environmental Protection Agency official who recently resigned for saying the government should "crucify" bad actors in the energy industry will go to work for the Sierra Club to help its campaign against coal.
The Sierra Club announced on Friday that it was hiring Al Armendariz, who resigned on April 30 as EPA regional administrator for Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico after an uproar over his comment that the "general philosophy" of EPA's enforcement policy should be to "crucify" oil and natural-gas companies.
"This is an exciting day for clean-energy and public-health supporters in Texas," said Bruce Nilles, senior campaign director for the Sierra Club's "Beyond Coal" campaign, in a statement on Friday. "Al has worked closely with the Sierra Club for many years, as an environmental scientist and professor. He understands the critical importance of developing clean energy to create jobs, protect people, and protect air and water."
The hire will likely inflame an already heated debate among congressional Republicans, the Obama administration, and influential environmental groups like the Sierra Club. House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans have recently lashed out at the Sierra Club—the country's largest environmental group—for its intensified campaign seeking to wean the country off not only coal and oil, but natural gas, too.
National Journal reported earlier this month that on the same day that Armendariz initially agreed to testify before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee regarding his comments, he was later at the Sierra Club's Washington offices.Even though he was in town and met with the environmental group that day, Armendariz abruptly canceled his plans to testify less than 24 hours before the hearing and did not provide the committee with a reason.
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee ranking member James Inhofe, R-Okla., whose staff uncovered the 2010 video where Armendariz made the "crucify" comments, speculated at that time that Armendariz's visit to the Sierra Club was for a job interview.
"Rather than testifying in the House and being accountable for carrying out the Obama EPA's 'crucify them' agenda, it appears Mr. Armendariz may have had a job interview with the Sierra Club," Inhofe said at the time. "With such an impressive job-killing resume, it would be no surprise if the Sierra Club is recruiting him for their 'Beyond Gas' campaign designed to 'prevent any new gas plants from being built' and to end natural-gas production in this country."
It appears as though Inhofe was right. Armendariz's lawyer, Danny Onorato, did not respond to requests for comment at the time about why Armendariz was at the Sierra Club.
Inhofe issued a statement on Friday congratulating Armendariz on his new job. "Dr. Armendariz follows numerous Obama administration officials who have come from or moved to radical Left and green groups—it's as if there is a revolving door between the White House and organizations such as the Sierra Club and the Center for American Progress," he said.
Armendariz will be helping the organization with its "Beyond Coal" campaign, which it launched in 2002 in reaction to trends in the power market to build more than 150 new coal-fired power plants. The campaign's goal is to retire one-third of the nation's 500-plus coal plants by 2020. National Journal reported in May that the Sierra Club was doubling down on its efforts to combat new natural-gas production with a "Beyond Gas" campaign modeled after the "Beyond Coal" campaign.

subset: commoncrawl


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What oil is good for allergies? I have allergic rhinitis. I am on allergy shots. This time of year is bad for me.
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Whats Happening This Week
There is much more to explore in our calendar. Find other important events in literary history, authors' birthdays, and a variety of holidays, each with related lessons and resources.
Looking for age-appropriate book recommendations, author interviews, and fun activity ideas? Check out our podcasts.
Home › Classroom Resources › Calendar Activities
July 17
On the Road author Jack Kerouac embarked on his first cross-country road trip in 1947.
|9 – 12
|Calendar Activity Type
|Author & Text
Jack Kerouac published his most famous novel, On the Road, in 1957, but his depiction of the iconic road trip was actually inspired by two real-life trips Kerouac took ten years before, in 1947 and 1949. This influential novel, with its spontaneous and unconventional writing style and its focus on drugs and disillusionment, helped to define the Beat Generation, a social and literary movement of the 1950s that also included William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg.
For high school students, begin a discussion by asking:
- If you could travel anywhere in the United States by car, where would you want to go and why?
- Who would be the one person that you would most want to take with you on the trip and why?
- What difficulties would you expect to have on your trip?
Afterward, read a section from On the Road that deals with the aspects of cross-country travel and that reflects Kerouac's unique writing style. An appropriate excerpt from the novel can be found at this Literary Kicks site.
Lead students in a discussion with the aim of characterizing Kerouac's style. Then ask students to attempt to emulate his stream-of-consciousness style with their own written narrative in which they blend their road trip from the opening discussion with details from vacations and trips they have taken in the past.
- NPR: Jack Kerouac
Stories, anecdotes, interviews and audio about Jack Kerouac and his writing.
- Jack Kerouac: Bio and Links
This American Museum of Beat Art site dedicated to Kerouac incoludes a biography, bibliography, and links, including one to Dharma Beat, a Kerouac newszine. This site is part of a larger archive and collection of works pertaining to the Beat Generation.
- "The Ganser Syndrome"
Time Magazine's original review of On the Road will give students a sense of how the book was received when it was first published in 1957. Time chose Kerouac's book as one of the 100 most important modern novels written in English.
- Essentials of Spontaneous Prose
When students try to model their own narratives using Kerouac's style, this University of Pennsylvania site will help identify the components of his style, form, and process.
Grades 9 – 12 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Beyond "What I Did on Vacation": Exploring the Genre of Travel Writing
After reading and analyzing short examples of travel writing and discussing conventions of the genre, students write their own travel articles.
Grades 9 – 12 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Style: Defining and Exploring an Author's Stylistic Choices
Students find examples of specific stylistic devices in sample literary passages then search for additional examples and explore the reasons for the stylistic choices that the author has made.
Grades 9 – 12 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Literary Parodies: Exploring a Writer's Style through Imitation
This lesson asks students to analyze the features of a poet's work then create their own poems based on the original model.
Grades 6 – 8 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Travel Brochures: Highlighting the Setting of a Story
Readers are often transported to the places mentioned in texts through words and descriptions. This lesson invites students to create travel brochures about the setting of texts they have read.


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Rabauke wrote a very good blog post about debugging Nepomuk and Virtuoso query performance on OpenSuse.
Also David Faure posted a Virtuoso patch on the Nepomuk mailing list which makes the Virtuoso status() command output the full queries instead of the truncated ones. I will try to get the latter into Virtuoso upstream, maybe with an additional parameter to the function.


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The Buick Verano is dropping its manual transmission for the 2015 model year. I know what you're all thinking right now: "Buick offered the Verano with a manual?!"
For 2015, Buick is offering the Verano with some new colors and an available appearance package on the base car. That comes at the expense of the manual transmission in the Verano Turbo, an option that most of us either forgot existed or never even knew about in the first place.
Instead, the Verano will now only offer a six speed automatic on the car. Not that the manual in this Buick was ever really any loss. Have you ever seen a Verano with a manual transmission in the wild?
I certainly haven't.


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Home >> Course Descriptions >> College of Arts and Sciences
The Political System of the United States of America
Three semester hours.
An intensive analysis of the United States of America's political system in terms of elitism and democratic behavior of elites and masses. Prerequisite: Six hours of political science.
Home - General Information - Student Services -
Academic Undergraduate Regulations -
Undergraduate Degrees - Academic Graduate Regulations -
Graduate Degrees - Course Descriptions - Faculty -
Appendix A - Appendix B - Appendix C - Appendix D


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Mehr über die Mitgliedschaft bei Scribd erfahren
Entdecken, was Scribd alles zu bieten hat, inklusive Bücher und Hörbücher von großen Verlagen.
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11 Tips To Speed Up Computers Running Ubuntu 12.10/12.04/Linux Mint 13 (Maya)
In this guide, I will try to introduce 11 tips that can be useful for those having old computers with low RAM and want to speed up their system for better performance. These tips are workable under Ubuntu 12.10/12.04 or older and any other Ubuntu-based system (Linux Mint 13, for example). If you have more tips, you can mention them in the comment form given below.
1. Preload
Preload is a daemon that runs in the background (invisible) that detects most used applications and store them in cache so that they can be called quickly, which will result in quick system load time. To install it on Ubuntu 12.10/12.04/Linux Mint 13, run this command:
sudo apt-get install preload
The default settings for Preload are enough, but if you want to use your own configuration, you can edit this file:
sudo gedit /etc/preload.conf
For Linux Mint, edit the file as follows:
sudo pluma /etc/preload.conf
To monitor preload's log file, run this command:
sudo tail -f /var/log/preload.log
2. Clean Up APT Cache
You need to clean up not needed apt sources from time to time with this command:
sudo apt-get autoclean
3. Disabling Unnecessary Startup Applications
- There are many applications that are configured to start automatically as the system starts. You can
manage these applications by opening Startup Application from the Unity dash under Ubuntu 12.10/12.04:
For Linux Mint, the window will look like this:
Check off not needed applications (Bluetooth, Desktop sharing, WiFi, etc.) from the given list with careful attention to some applications that are needed for your system to start.
- You can also use BUM (Boot Up Manager) to disable unnecessary services and applications. You can install it with this command:
sudo apt-get install bum
Adjust Swappiness
To check your current used Swappiness, run this command:
cat /proc/sys/vm/swappiness
The default value is 60, to change it, edit this file:
sudo gedit /etc/sysctl.conf
For Linux Mint:
sudo pluma /etc/sysctl.conf
Search for this line (if not present, just add it):
Save your file and exit. Changes will take effect once you reboot your system.
5. Disable Hibernation/Sleep Functions (Not Recommended)
If you don't need to hibernate (sleep mode) your system, you can disable it as follows at your own risk:
- Edit this file with this command:
sudo gedit /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d/resume
- For Linux Mint:
sudo pluma /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d/resume
- Comment (add # at the beginning) now this line:
- It should be like this:
- Save your file and reboot your system.
6. Speed Up Boot Time By Disabling The Grub Boot Menu
When starting your system, the screen will stop at the Grub2 boot menu. If you want to disable it, you can follow these instructions:
- Open the terminal and edit this file on Ubuntu 12.04:
sudo gedit /etc/default/grub
sudo pluma /etc/default/grub
- Search now for this line and set its value to zero:
- Save the file and close it. The Grub2 boot menu will not show up in the next system rebooting, but you can call it by holding down the Shift key while rebooting.
7. Get Reliable Performance with ZRAM
If you have an old computer with low RAM, you can optimize it using ZRAM, which will create on your system a compressed block device that mimics a swap disk to reduce disk thrashing (aka paging). To install it under Ubuntu 12.04/LinuxMint 13, run this sequence of commands from the terminal:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:shnatsel/zram
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install zramswap-enabler
8. Use all CPU Cores For System Startup
If your computer is equipped with a multi-core CPU, you can configure your system to use all available cores during startup by following these instructions:
- Edit this file:
sudo gedit /etc/init.d/rc
sudo pluma /etc/init.d/rc
- Search now for the first instance of this line:
- And replace it with this one if needed:
Save your file and exit.
9. Disabling Visual Effects
If your computer is a bit old, you can get rid of unwanted visual effects using Compizconfig Settings Manager. To install it under Ubuntu 12.10/12.04, run this command:
sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager
Start it now and head to the Effects section, then disable all enabled effects:
10. Use TMPFS To Reduce Disk I/O
The /tmp folder receives a lot of hard disk read/write operations. You can simply use your system RAM instead of your hard disk to speed up read/write operations for the /tmp folder. To do this, you can follow these instructions:
- Open the terminal and edit the /etc/fstab file with this command:
sudo gedit /etc/fstab
sudo pluma /etc/fstab
- At the end of the file, add these two lines:
# Move /tmp to RAM tmpfs /tmp tmpfs defaults,noexec,nosuid 0 0
Save your file and exit. Restart now your system to apply the new changes.
11. Using Fast Desktop Environments
You can speed up your system by using lightweight and fast desktop environments instead of Unity. Here are some popular ones:
sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop
- GNOME Shell
sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop
sudo apt-get install lxde
- Enlightenment (E17)
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:hannes-janetzek/enlightenment-svn
sudo apt-get install e17
- Pantheon (Under Development)
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:elementary-os/daily
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nemequ/sqlheavy
sudo apt-get install pantheon-shell
- Cinnamon
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gwendal- lebihan-dev/cinnamon-stable
sudo apt-get install cinnamon


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Every so often, I see blog posts crop up asking where all the atheist women are at, or why our presence is so lacking. Aside from the factors of who the media paints as
"the face of new atheism", there are things that prominent atheists say and do, that at least to me, make it seem like the atheist activist movement may not as progressive as it's made out to be.
On his Facebook/Twitter, rapper Greydon Square posted that he had "raped four tacos". Out of the 31 comments that ensued, only 3 people found this problematic (myself, a woman and a man-yay). Everyone in opposition to us was male. Everyone else was basically offended that we were offended, which Greydon went on to quote from an Eminem song. He also went on to say that,
You havent been truly offended until someone starts shooting at you. Then you've been offended
He basically decided to not engage at all and try to shut down dialogue by offering his own conclusion about being offensive, and not addressing anything else.
In instances like this, is it really any wonder why more women aren't crawling out of the woodwork? I'm fine publicly identifying myself as an atheist. But why would I want to stand with anyone who makes lights of rape jokes and who people will just run to their defense when I have a problem with it? Also, why wouldn't I question whether all atheists are critical thinkers when so many publicly have such knee-jerk reactions that they'll defend examples of rape culture in action, (or whatever prejudice may pop up from an atheist) just because it's an atheist being questioned?
I just wanted to get this out there and provide an example of why women like myself may/do not feel inclusion in this community/movement.
Views: 1583
What I'm not understanding is why it seems that when someone brings up a point like this, especially a woman, there is an all out attack. I don't really agree, but I understand what Cet is getting at here and I'm thankful that there do seem to be a few people here that are able to do that in both directions.
The point with which I totally agree is [partial quote by Cet] "I don't understand why airing differences amongst each other has to count as not sticking together. If anything, people should be able to dialogue through it to become a stronger movement" especially where women and minorities are concerned. It is important that we prevent generic 'black female, white female, gays, etc.' stereotypes and when we do this publicly and manage to work through it our critical thinking skills are sharpened, everyone can see multiple views and someone may even learn something.
first of all, greydon was right by saying you have an axe to grind. way to take something out of context and make a complete ass of yourself. rape doesn't just mean forced sexual intercourse. if that is really what he did to four tacos then he has serious problems. there are other definitions for the word rape and would apply to what he was talking about. he is trying to paint an image of the verocity in which he devoured the tacos, not forcibly had sex with. you are a very disturbed person if the first thing you think of is him forcing tacos to have sex with him against their will.
look at number four, reread what he said and understand it in the correct context. you owe him an apology as far as i'm concerned
do you feel that the destruction of property shouldn't be a crime? go plunder, loot, and destroy someone's stuff and watch no one call the cops...
you're an idiot
This does not seem like you are just offended, it seem more like a personal attack. First off I assume you are really an atheist and as an atheist you just saying the words "jesus is not real" offends people. Support Darwin or creation offends people, so are you going to stop being an atheist? You can't make everyone happy and you can't put people on blast if they did. Come on...you came to an atheist site, (that I had to reset my password on because I have not been on here in over a year) just to say my two cents.
I find it funny how you said you recommended your friends to him, I'm guessing to hear his music, but he does have a song called the N-Word. He used the word nigga over and over, telling the story between Niggas and blacks. Now it's very clear you were not offended because you were stilled tuned in and on his friends list on facebook and twitter. Now you being black I would think would be very offended by that song, but you were not and that song was very literal. You want to know why you were not offended, because it appealed to you and what you believe in just like atheistism, you are not offended by the jesus pictures the movies, the books that screams out there is no god, because you are a none theist, but an theist is so offended that they have killed people for not believing. I learned in the military (I'm a combat vet also) that you can't take things to serious or take the out on contexts. I also learn that you can't pick and choose what offends you and what don't, when the don't's offend other people.
I have very offended by you coming on an atheist group to try an put a well known atheist on blast for what? something that hurt your feelings?
Let's talk about offensive things. I get offended each time a soldier dies, I get offended each time someone tries to take away my first amendment right, I get offended when i come cross a up type person who is trying to play the victim when she is clearly NOT. If things like that offend you, just unplug from life and everything else, because you are going to be offended a lot in life.
I would have said sorry at all. You are lucky he gave a damn enough to do so. So what's next, he needs to say sorry to all the religious people and niggas he offended. Are you mad you can't get attention and influence people, so you try to target a group of people he listens to. Tell you what when you become a combat vet and watch a few friends die let me know, when you see people with signs that says god hates soldiers and a decease soldier funeral let me know, because than we can start talking about things that offend you.
So for now own will I see you post stuff about how comedies are offensive or a new movie. I tell you what tropic thunder sure piss a lot of people off with the retarded act...wait I can't say that...I meant special needs act. Who cares, no person should censor themselves in their own movies, in the music, in books, or on a website. if they did it would not be America.
FYI he didn't ask you to stand side by side with him. He served his country like I did because at some point he believed in freedom so, please don't tell a vet what he can can't say. Just block him or ignore him, is that simple. I'm done.
One last thing I live in Bradenton, Fl just outside of Saint Pete, so do you find Rick Scott offensive? I do.
I don't have to agree with everything an artist says on a record, so long as it still falls within my strata of listening pleasure. I also don't have to agree with everything they say in public, just because I like them, and in this digital age,a public FB page is public.
The point of putting "a well known atheist on blast" was obviously lost on you as it pertains to what I see as things that cause divides within groups of us atheists. In this case, what many inside of this sphere and out perceive as minimization of rape (read the previous posts-which you're free to disagree with). I'm offended every time a soldier dies, and thankful for my friends and family still in. At some points, I wish I could clear my health, give up my compensation, and go back as an IA, so I know my shipmates and Marines have an extra person looking out for them. I'm offended when a vet tries to play like because he's a vet, he's got all the answers over me. I have no intention on going on to try censoring Greydon's language and digital moves, but I'll call BS when I see it, from behind a laptop or if I see it in real life. I'll just try to keep you out of it. And yes, I find Rick Scott highly offensive and have joined other groups online and in protest of his actions/lack of rational action in real life. See you in a year.
Cause what divide? You are trying to create now by trying to get people to side with you for something you took way out of text. The rape offends you for what ever reason, but there are people who are offend by someone clothes, I hate seeing fat people eating at fast food joints, but trying to put them only blast will only make me look like an ass. Ok rape is a bad things, but so are a lot of things and a lot of words have lost their meaning or those words got attention, because they were used for something bad. You look at the naming of hurricanes the Name katrinia will never be used again, because it caused so much damage and people were killed. Why because naming another storm katrinia would be offensive to some. greydon said sorry on facebook and twitter and yet you blast him on here. After he said sorry you still came here to tell more people how much of an ass he is. You are an adult and I'm damn sure you knew he was not talking about raping a woman or hurting anyone, he didn't disrespect a single person, just a damn taco something you put in your mouth and eat. If you go on youtube you will see a lot of videos from months ago that talk about raping tacos. Another story this guy wrote a book called the pedophiles guide, that shit had me offended, because I have a child and that information could provoke harm to a child, but him saying or doing a song about raping a taco...come on what people are going to go out and rape taco aka eat them.
Again I truly feel this was nothing more than a personal attack. Also like you said you don't have to agree with everything he says, so if you do like oh well, move pass it. FYI don't shit get change blogging about it, you got to go out in your communities to get things done and make people aware of the issues. I'm just still in awe that you put this guy on blast after he said sorry, that is what I call an asshole move, not to mention you print screen his social sites, so you put thoughts into it.
so ANSWER me this. What do you want to be the outcome of this blog? I mean he said sorry, so what do you want him to do now? I'm just wondering.
I screenshot that stuff immediately as I saw it, and as of the time I did that and decided to make this post I hadn't seen any apology on his FB for anything. After saying sorry in this forum, he went to say how he doesn't understand, and me trying to explain is apparently an attack to other people.
I've made my responses to him and left it at that. I haven't gone on a crusade to vilify Greydon. This wasn't an issue of "Look at me. Side with me. I can write a post!" as it was I wanted to point out an actual example of the shit that divides us, when discourse surrounding diversity within the movement arise. It should have been a jumping off point for dialogue, but instead it became an attack Cet, "she's simply soft and we need to tell her what offensive really is, since she wants to put a good atheist dude out there". All I wanted was for us (Greydon included, tho I didn't expect him here since it was inconsequential on FB) to see this divide and potentially seek to understand where it comes from, which includes discussion around minimizing rape, which no one seems interested in or aware of, so I'm done with.
Anything else?
FYI you did not lose me, you just seem confused on why you took it this far. One things I have notice a lot of women have such strong egos, I'm not saying be submissive, but I am saying stop being such a bitch some times and trying to make yourself a victim. I grew up for 13 year with a man that drinks come home beats my sister, my mom , and I and to this day I do not drink and hate drunks. You can not heal from a trauma in life if you can't find humor in it. I laugh about things in Iraq now, but just three years ago I couldn't even talk about anything. Just like the word nigger, it does not hurt me because through education I have healed from that word also and as an educated woman you should know when something as simple as a word should not hurt you.
I'm sure just like me Greydon feels if a man rapes anyone his ass needs to die. End of story. That is how serious I take rape, I use to teach a rape prevention and defense course, so I know all about what victims go through. from the stories they say. There are different meaning for the word molest, it just does not pertain to a child.
I would never try to censor you or try to twist something you said around to make you look like an ass.
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Rosamund Pike and Christopher Plummer have been added to the cast of director Peter Chelsom's drama/comedy Hector and the Search for Happiness. Based on the book of the same name by François Lelord, the film stars Simon Pegg as the titular Hector, an eccentric psychiatrist who's going nowhere and whose patients aren't getting any happier. One day, he musters up the courage to set out on a quest to find out if happiness really exists. It was announced today that Pike will play Hector's long-time girlfriend, while Plummer is set as Professor Coreman, the leading guru for Happiness Studies at UCLA.
Pegg and Pike are actually set to first team up in Edgar Wright's comedy The World's End, which reunites the Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz team of Wright, Pegg, and Nick Frost. Production on Hector and the Search for Happiness will begin in January, once Pegg and Pike have wrapped World's End. Hit the jump to read the full press release.
Toronto, CANADA (September 6, 2012) – Rosamund Pike (AN EDUCATION, JOHNNY ENGLISH REBORN, CLASH OF THE TITANS) and Academy Award Winner Christopher Plummer (BEGINNERS, THE LAST STATION, THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS) have joined the cast of director Peter Chelsom's upcoming drama comedy HECTOR AND THE SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS in which Simon Pegg (MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE -GHOST PROTOCOL, PAUL) will play the lead. The announcement was made by producers Judy Tossell of Egoli Tossell Film (THE LAST STATION, CARLOS, BLACK DEATH) and Christine Haebler of Screen Siren Pictures (HARD CORE LOGO, DAYDREAM NATION, FOREVERLAND). The Solution Entertainment Group ("The Solution") is handling international rights to the film and will be selling to buyers in Toronto; United Talent Agency are representing US rights.
Adapted for the screen from the bestselling novel of the same name by François Lelord, the film is a German/Canadian co-production produced by Egoli Tossell Film and Screen Siren Pictures currently in pre-production and set to shoot in January 2013. Wild Bunch Germany are co-producing and distributing in German-speaking Europe and Entertainment One have acquired all rights for Canada.
Simon Pegg plays Hector, an eccentric yet irresistible London psychiatrist in crisis: he's going nowhere and his patients are just not getting any happier! Until one day, armed with buckets of courage and child-like curiosity, Hector breaks out of his sheltered vacuum of a life into a global quest to find out if happiness exists. More importantly, if it exists for Hector. And so begins an exotic, dangerous and hysterical journey.
Rosamund Pike has been cast as Hector's long-term girlfriend, CLARA. English-born Pike shot to fame in 2002 as Bond Girl Miranda Frost in DIE ANOTHER DAY. This was followed by a slew of roles such as PROMISED LAND (2004) and THE LIBERTINE (2004), (for which she won the Best Supporting Actress award at The British Independent Film Awards), and Jane Bennett in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. It was her exceptional performances in: AN EDUCATION (2009), MADE IN DAGENHAM (2010), and the lead opposite Paul Giamatti in BARNEY'S VERSION (2010) that cemented her reputation as one of the top British actresses of her generation. As she continued her stage work in England, Pike appeared in the spy spoof JOHNNY ENGLISH REBORN (2011) and inhabited the role of Andromeda in the sci-fi epic CLASH OF THE TITANS (2012). She has since returned to action films with the female lead opposite Tom Cruise in JACK REACHER (2012).
Christopher Plummer will appear as Professor Coreman, leading guru for Happiness Studies at UCLA. Plummer's 60-year acting career includes many hits on stage, in movies and on TV, plus an Oscar win at age 82, but he may still be best known for the role of the stormy Captain Georg von Trapp in the 1965 movie THE SOUND OF MUSIC. He has been nominated seven times for a Tony Award, winning twice. He has twice won Emmy Awards and was finally nominated for an Academy Award for his performance as Russian author Leo Tolstoy in the 2009 film THE LAST STATION; in 2012 he won the Academy Award as best supporting actor for his role in the film BEGINNERS.
Simon Pegg shot to international fame following his stand out performances in SHAUN OF THE DEAD, STAR TREK, HOT FUZZ, PAUL and most recently MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL opposite Tom Cruise reprising his role from MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III and Thompson in Steven Spielberg's THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN. Pegg is currently in post production on the next STAR TREK movie currently untitled and in pre-production on Edgar Wright's THE WORLD'S END.
British-born Chelsom began his directing career with break out British films HEAR MY SONG and FUNNY BONES. These were followed by a string of romantic, feelgood hits including SERENDIPITY starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, SHALL WE DANCE? starring Richard Gere and the award-winning THE MIGHTY starring Sharon Stone. His last two films SHALL WE DANCE? and HANNAH MONTANA: THE MOVIE enjoyed a combined worldwide box office of over US$ 325m.
This will be Chelsom's third film with Academy Award winning costume designer Lindy Hemming (TOPSY TURVY, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, CASINO ROYALE). Award winning director of photography Hagen Bogdanski is also set to join the filmmaking team. His credits include the Academy Award winning THE LIVES OF OTHERS, YOUNG VICTORIA and Madonna's W.E.
Egoli Tossell Film is the Berlin based production company helmed by Jens Meurer and Judy Tossell and backed by Film House Germany. This past year's (co)-productions include Toronto's closing gala film: Paul Andrew Williams' SONG FOR MARION, Jon Baird's adaptation of Irvine Welsh's cult novel FILTH and Ron Howard's Formula One drama RUSH. Other recent credits include the Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated THE LAST STATION, Olivier Assayas' Golden Globe winner CARLOS THE JACKAL and Chris Smith's BLACK DEATH.
Screen Siren Pictures is an established award winning Vancouver based production company that focuses on international co-productions. Helmed by Trish Dolman and Christine Haebler they have recently produced projects for Entertainment One, Alliance Films, Anchor Bay, Hasbro, BBC, A&E, ARTE, and Channel 4 their most recent productions include DAYDREAM NATION, FOREVERLAND, CLUE and ECO PIRATE.


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Nothing is simple. No matter how it looks on the surface, no project goes as planned. No vacation is perfect. Some part of the meal will not be ready when the rest of the dishes are done. Guests come early or late, leave too soon or not nearly soon enough. Complications are the inevitable companion to everything.
Our fondest illusion, the one we hold most dear, is that we control our own lives, design our destiny. It's the greatest promise of youth, the one that gives us the energy to charge off into life. We need to believe if we do the right stuff, go to the right schools, work hard, plan carefully, save against a rainy day … if we do "life" right, we will get what we want.
Good work gets rewarded, kindness will be returned, generosity appreciated. Moreover, if we eat right, keep fit, exercise, avoid drugs, cigarettes and alcohol, we will be healthy forever. Even if we don't, statistics are just numbers: the bad stuff won't happen to us. And of course, when we marry, it will be the right person and ours will be the love that lasts.
From the smallest things that go wrong, to the marriages that don't last … to the jobs we lose when the company goes belly up or we are declared unnecessary or obsolete … we get stripped of our illusions. We learn that doing the right stuff doesn't always yield the results we expected or the rewards we deserve. We discover that injustice comes in an endless variety of shapes and sizes, from the tiniest indignities to incomprehensible disasters. No one is spared, no one is immune. Whether slowly but surely or suddenly and without warning, we realize we are passengers on the bus that is life.
We are not driving the bus and don't even know what road we are on.
Our plans for immortality are interrupted by unexpected illness. Friends and family are taken from us. The sickly partner lives, against all logic and reason, a long life and the apparently healthy, fit one is felled by accident or disease. We plan for a future that is never ours. There is a future, but it's inevitably a surprise. Perhaps that's the way it ought to be.
Small choices are always in our grasp … the clothing we wear, which movie we see, with whom we share our lives. Beyond that, we might as well relax and enjoy the ride. Rich or poor, it's the same for us all. Control is illusory. Man plans, God laughs. So why not laugh too?
After a lifetime of trying to drive the bus, I got it. I could try my best and do what I can, but in the end, the bus is going wherever it's going and I have nothing to say in the matter. I can enjoy myself or I can be miserable, but I'm not in charge.
I've gotten better at enjoying the ride and not making myself and everyone else crazy because I don't like the bus, don't know the driver, and apparently have no idea where I'm going. Although I still try to wrest the steering wheel from the steely grasp of the driver, I know I'm going to lose.
For every battle in which I engage and take away some small victory, there are dozens that I emerge from beaten, tired, pissed off … and in exactly in the same place I started. I keep relearning the same lessons. I recognize the futility of what I do, but sometimes I do it anyhow. I need to fight back, rail against fate. However futile it may be, sometimes I have to tilt at a few windmills.
That's why I write. Because words are my lance, the world with all it's injustice is my windmill. The internet? That's my mighty steed.


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i. Meeting called to order
ii. Roll Call
iii. Approval of minutes
iv. Joseph Miller, Commissioner, West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles Mark Holmes, Executive Assistant to the Commissioner, West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles Presentation to the committee on the following topics: 1. Consolidation of state government services and enforcement of laws pertaining to the motor carrier industry (One Stop Shop); 2. Update on various information technology programs and initiatives in the Division of Motor Vehicles
v. Miscellaneous business
vi. Adjournment


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Jill, a super creative momma emailed me to let me know that she wanted to create something special for Kate McRae for her upcoming birthday. After visiting her blog, Pocket Full of Posies and spending a VERY long time there, I am so excited to see what she comes up with for Kate!
I went back and read so many of her posts, and when I came upon these Bon Bon necklaces she had made, I begged her to create a tutorial to share with you, my readers! With so many of you creating sweet lollipop & candy parties for your daughters, I thought these would be absolutely DIY perfect party favors! Thankfully, Jill agreed and has posted the full tutorial on her blog today! Not only did she sweetly share the instructions, but she also offered to give a completed necklace away to one of you lucky ladies! Thanks, Jill!
So, hop over for more photos and the full tutorial, and then ENTER TO WIN here:
There are 5 ways to enter!
(Enter up to 5 times by doing the following):
2. Become a fan of The TomKat Studio on Facebook, and let me know you did, or let me know that you already a fan on Facebook!
3. Post about this giveaway on Facebook, comment here with the link!
4. Tweet about this giveaway, comment here with the link!
5. Post about this giveaway on your own Blog, and comment here with the link!
Winner will be chosen on Wednesday, December 9th at 11:00pm (MST).
Any entries received after this time, will not be considered. Open to US residents only.
Winner will be chosen using random.org, Prize will be shipped directly from giveaway hostess.
VISIT Pocket Full of Posies HERE....trust me, you'll be there awhile!
A few of my other favorite things that Jill has created:
So creative and original, right?! Amazing work, Jill!


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I totally expected that the next time I turned my computer on I would have to clean up my inbox. But never in my wildest dreams did I expect Geni to yank the rug out from under me and knock me on my
When I logged on to Geni and noticed all the hub bub I thought I had better check it out myself. I discovered Geni's announcement Geni Pro just got a whole lot better. (who are they kidding?)
I also discovered that I can no longer add to my pedigree, I can't merge profiles, I can't search to see if one of my ancestors is already there. The only way to request a merge now is to ask a Pro or curator. Let's just pile up more stuff for them to do, huh?
Sure I can do that stuff if I become a Pro. Wait, you want me to pay $59.40 to continue my pedigree, to be able to search and merge, while I am trying to fit about that much in my budget to order documents to back up my genealogy research?
I loved the whole idea of Geni. I like being a part of the big tree and seeing how I connect to the rest of the world. I love the project aspect of it as well. I even started one: Lord Mayors of London.
You may have read (or not) an earlier post Madness Monday - I am a Geni Addict! Well, I am starting to feel Geni withdrawal symptoms already. Don't get me wrong, I wont be leaving you Geni, but I will certainly not make you my dealer (not at this point).
Online family trees are an important TOOL. They are not 100% factual or documented, and in my opinion should always be free. Sure, Pro members should have cool benefits that free users don't. But to take away features from free users that they have used in the beginning is just plain wrong. I can see restricting new members, but not current members.
Check out the two cents of other bloggers:
- Geni just got better - or worse
- "Geni Pro Just got a Whole Lot Better." But what about Geni Free?
- Geni.com didnt ask my opinion
- Dear Geni: It's Not Me It's You
- Where Keggers and Social Genealogy Intersect


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John Donne - Metaphysical Poet
John Donne was born in 1572 in London, England. His father, John Donne Sr., and mother, Elizabeth, were both raised in well-to-do families in London. The family were devout Roman Catholics, and Mrs. Donne was, in fact, related to Sir Thomas More.
John Donne (Jr.) was first sent to school at Hart Hall, University of Oxford, at the age of eleven. Following three years of study there he went on to study another three years at Cambridge. However, because of the requirement that graduating students in England take what was known as the "Oath of Supremacy," Donne was unable to be granted a degree from either university. This oath required that all graduating students, as well as all persons taking any public or church office in England, swear allegiance to the sitting monarch as the "Supreme Governor of the Church of England." As a Roman Catholic, Donne was unwilling to swear this allegiance. Unable to graduate, he went on to study law at Thavies Inn and Lincoln's Inn in 1591/1592.
In 1853,John's brother, Henry Donne, died in prison convicted of the crime of protecting a Catholic priest. It was at this time that Donne began questioning his Roman Catholic faith. His first book of poetry, "Satires", was written at this time and is now considered one of his most important works, as was his book of love poems, "Songs and Sonnets" which he wrote at about the same time.
Donne, living well on the family fortune which fell to him upon the death of his brother, took to spending most of his time in reading and travel. It was also during this period that he became close friends with Christopher Brooke, a poet.
Donne eventually made his way into a life of public service. In 1596, Donne joined Robert Devereaux, 2nd Earl of Essex, on a naval campaign against Cádiz, Spain. Upon the campaign's completion, he joined a year-long expedition to the Azores, where he wrote "The Calm".
Upon his return to England, he was given a respected position as private secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton, who was Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. Moving up the political ladder, in 1601 he became a Member of Parliament and sat in the last Parliament of Queen Elizabeth. It was during that same year that he took a path that was to lead to his financial ruin. In secret, he married the niece of Lady Egerton, Anne More, the daughter of Sir George More who was serving as Lieutenant of the Tower at the time. Enraged at the marriage, Sir George had Donne sentenced to Fleet Prison for several weeks, refused to pay Anne's dowry, and had Donne dismissed from his public post.
Donne was eventually released from prison, but he and Anne were continually living on the edge of total poverty. They had to depend on the assistance of several sympathetic relatives to keep a roof over their heads and feed themselves and the children that ultimately came along. During this time, Donne took to the practice of law and writing. His "Divine Poems" and "Biathanotos works are from this period. Finally, in 1609 Donne and Sir George More were reconciled.
In his late 30's, Donne published two works which were strongly anti-Catholic in nature - "Pseudo-Martyr" (1610) and "Ignatius his Conclave" (1611). In these works he essentially renounced the Catholic faith, which restored him to a position of favor with Elizabeth's successor, James I. It was also during this period that he was taken under the wing of Sir Robert Drury of Hawstead. While under Drury's patronage, Donne wrote "A Funerall Elegie", which commemorated the death of Drury's young daughter Elizabeth. This was followed by what are referred to as the two "Anniversaries" - "An Anatomy of the World" (1611) and "Of the Progress of the Soul" (1612).
Following these accomplishments, Donne was more or less forced into taking Anglican orders by King James, who refused him any public employment until Donne took orders. So, in 1615, Donne reluctantly entered the ministry, and King James appointed him Royal Chaplain later that same year. The following year he was appointed Reader in Divinity at Lincoln's Inn, having finally been made a Doctor of Divinity by Cambridge. He was soon established as one of the greatest preachers of the time.
Sadly, Anne Donne died in childbirth in mid-August 1617. Devastated by her loss, he continued to write poetry. In 1620, Donne returned to London and was appointed Dean of Saint Paul's the following year. He was to maintain this post until his death.
Donne's next group of works, collectively known as "Devotions upon Emergent Occasions", were published in 1624 and portions of them are some of the works we remember best today. The well-known lines "No man is an island" and "never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee" are drawn from Donne's "Meditation 17."
As Donne approached old age, he became quite obsessed with the idea of his. He wrote and began preaching his work "Death's Duel", which many came to refer to as his own funeral sermon. Even more eerily, he had a portrait painted of himself in a death shroud. Donne died in London on March 31, 1631. His memorial in St. Paul's Cathedral is the only one that survived the 1666 'Great Fire" that destroyed the old cathedral.
Satires (1593)
Songs and Sonnets (1601)
Divine Poems (1607)
Psevdo-Martyr (1610)
An Anatomy of the World (1611)
Ignatius his Conclaue (1611)
The Second Anniuersarie. Of The Progres of the Soule (1611)
An Anatomie of the World (1612)
Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions (1624)
Deaths Dvell (1632)
Ivvenilia (1633)
Poems (1633)
Sapientia Clamitans (1638)
Wisdome crying out to Sinners (1639)
Letters to Severall Persons of Honour (1651)
A Collection of Letters, Made by Sr Tobie Mathews, Kt. (1660)
A Sermon Vpon The VIII. Verse Of The I. Chapter of The Acts Of The Apostles (1622)
A Sermon Vpon The XV. Verse Of The XX. Chapter Of The Booke Of Ivdges (1622)
Encania. The Feast of Dedication. Celebrated At Lincolnes Inne, in a Sermon there upon Ascension day (1623)
Three Sermons Upon Speciall Occasions (1623)
A Sermon, Preached To The Kings Mtie. At Whitehall (1625)
The First Sermon Preached To King Charles (1625)
Fovre Sermons Upon Speciall Occasions (1625)
Five Sermons Vpon Speciall Occasions (1626)
A Sermon Of Commemoration Of The Lady Dãuers (1627)
Six Sermons Vpon Severall Occasions (1634)
LXXX Sermons (1640)
Biathanatos: A Declaration of that Paradoxe, or Thesis that Selfe-homicide is not so (1644)
Naturally Sinne, that it may never be otherwise (1647)
Essayes in Divinity (1651)
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The perfect gift for the wedding ceremony
A wedding gift should be as individual and unique as the bridal couple themselves. It should reflect the special qualities of the two lovers and bring them joy beyond the big day. For wedding guests it is therefore often difficult to find the right gift. We present great gift ideas with which you will leave a good impression on the bride and groom.


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I'm rather pleased as punch over how today turned out. I realize I've been rather busy and all throughout the day, but all of that was fairly worth it simply because of what happened...
Nothing like doing Waveback Wednesday on my own. I love the feeling of having free rein over the songs, as it simply left me in charge of playing songs I've been dying to hear, such as "Better Days" and "In My Life". Other stuff I played were really great for the most part, and I even managed to play out some requests...
While I was on air, Dominique and I were chatting, and at one point, he requested for "You Can't Hurry Love" by Phil Collins. While I love the song, not only was the song not on our playlist, but it didn't seem like the perfect song to segue after playing "Someone To Watch Over Me", as that was the only time I could put out the song he wanted to hear... heh. They really don't go together as a song sweep, I guess.
Stef, an avid WAVE listener, even called me up and gave me her greetings. At the same time, she really made my day by telling me how much she loved my tandem with Robi and all. I guess I haven't been doing so bad as of late, after all. Nonetheless, it was all good.
.:More Lovely Messages:.
Yes, these are the two people I know who look alike...
I can't believe that it's possible to make friends with someone during the last weeks of school. But by some twist of fate, it happened to us. Like there was one last chance for the two of us to become a part of each other's lives, and I'm thankful you took that chance with me. Happy birthday, Marcelle!
– Rowena
Thank you very much for that wonderful thought. I myself find it a genuine surprise that we managed to be such good friends, given how little time we had left. I guess some things were just meant to be, regardless of circumstances. Thank you very much all the same for having been such a great friend, Rowena. =)
Hi, Marcelle! :)
Happy, happy birthday! :)
I am still going to send you a belated birthday card but I would also like to greet you just in time for
your birthday. Thank God for emails indeed!
Anyway, birthdays are a best time to affirm special people like you. Since you became my student, I have
always marvelled at the keen sense of insight you have on looking at life and its many challenges and
surprises. I know that you have underwent many of these in your life. Yet, you have always managed to
deal with it and move on with life. I admire your maturity and resilience. Lastly, I also appreciate how
you try to take care of your relationships. I find it touching that you would keep in touch and update me
with your life after all these years. Thank you for being you, Marcelle.
I wish you a very fun and memorable birthday.
Take care and God bless you always.
Ma'am Sining :)
Hi, Ma'am! Thank you very much for taking the time out to greet me all the way from Switzerland. I hope you're having fun there, and the married life has been good to you so far. I sincerely appreciate still being able to keep in touch with you. You've been one of the teachers I've had who really played an important part in getting me to where I am now.
This has been such a memorable time...
After coming from Neutral Grounds, I eventually went home and managed to talk to April for a while. What started off as an invite to my birthday celebration ended up being a time where we talked about pluralism and religion. It was a really wonderful conversation to say the least, and it gave the both of us great insights into one another's respective points of view...
A Short Story by Marcelle T. Fabie
"Martin? You there?"
I woke up in the middle of the night, only to hear an all-too-familiar voice on the end of the other line. It was Geneva. The tone in her voice sounded rather different this time, though. Something was up, and I willed myself to stop being groggy.
"Yes, Geneva. Why?"
Hesitation from her end. I can tell Geneva was choosing her words carefully. Something was definitely amiss here, and I felt more and more alarmed.
"I think it'd be best if we talked about this face to face. Swing by my house in about an hour's time..."
"At this time? At your place? You realize how hard it is to commute to your house, don't you?"
"So take a taxi. Please. I'd really appreciate this. I have some roast Peking duck in the microwave to make it worth your while."
"Fine. You win. I'll be there."
I quickly freshened up and got changed. I got out of my house and took a cab all the way to her house in Cavite. Good heavens. Cavite. Here I was, sleeping soundly in my house in San Juan, and I'm headed to Cavite in the middle of the ruddy night. This had better be good, considering how underslept I've been for the past couple of weeks.
Then again, Geneva is my best friend. I don't think I could stay mad at her for long even if this turned out to be another one of those trivial "emergencies" of hers.
As expected, it took me over an hour to get to her place. I paid the cabbie, then knocked at her door. She promptly opened the door and then hugged me tightly. I sensed that she was very distraught.
"There, there, Geneva," I said, as I cautiously patted her on the head, and began to feel teardrops on my shoulder. This seemed rather serious. "What's wrong?"
"It's Paul. He... he... broke up with me."
It took me a moment or two before the news sank in. Paul is also a close friend of mine. I never even knew they were together to begin with. However, I realized now wasn't the time to confront her about her neglecting to tell me about this, so I decided to stay silent and let her do the talking. She was still hugging me, and I was still patting her head gently. I prodded her to continue.
"I'm sorry. I know I never told you. But I just thought you might be hurt, because..."
"Say no more. I understand. Just tell me what happened."
"I-I didn't want to migrate with him to Germany. I just didn't want to."
Geneva was trying to regain her composure, although she was still sniffling uncontrollably. Her attempts to stifle her tears were rather futile. Nonetheless, I then held her by her shoulders and looked at her. Her pretty face, marred by swollen eyes that have been crying for hours on end. She tried to force a smile, but she could hardly muster one at this point. A curious mixture of commiseration and hope came over me. I ignored this feeling, and focused my attention on her again.
"I don't blame you, Geneva. I understand how much your career means to you."
I've known Geneva for years. She's a devoted career woman, who refuses to let anything, and I mean anything, get in the way. I've managed to precariously be her best friend for the past couple of years simply because I understood and respected that. She knew I was the last person to push her to do otherwise. That much, we had in common. I was pretty much as headstrong as she was for the most part.
"Breakups aren't that bad, Geneva. For all we know, he'd be running back to you by tomorrow, begging to be taken back. I know Paul. He loves you so much."
"He's gone, Martin. Paul left for Germany just this morning."
I was stunned. There was a sense of finality to the whole thing. Paul put Geneva on the spot with this one, and I can't help but feel that both of them are going to get really hurt with this. It's not like I can just call up Paul and try to change his mind about this. He's pushed through with going to Germany already.
Geneva began to get teary-eyed again. I led her to the couch and let her sit down, as I moved beside her. I tried to calm her, but she was already inconsolable.
I can't stand to see her cry.
It just wrenched at me that I was powerless to do anything about it. She loves Paul. That much was rather clear. I realized that they were bound to be together the moment I was with them in the Chinese restaurant. The way they held hands with one another that night told me all I needed to know. I knew it was wrong for me to have felt the way I felt about it at the time, but I couldn't have helped it.
"I don't know if I should just swallow my pride and follow him there... You know I... never felt this way about anyone before..."
I looked at her, alarmed at the rash proposition. "Are you sure?"
"Y-yes. No. I-I don't know."
"I figured as much."
I've never seen Geneva seem this confused. It felt as though she had no idea what to do with her emotions. After all, Paul was the first person she ever got into a relationship with. Now, it's over, and the decision she had to make to get him back was anything but simple. I know Paul. It's not that he doesn't love Geneva, either. It's simply that Germany was always a dream for him. It was clearly a clash of egos, and the way I saw it, this would be a stalemate until the moment one of them buckled.
"You want me to talk to him? I can e-mail him or something."
"No. You don't have to."
It's really hard being close friends with the both of them. I can't think of two other people who were more adamant about what they wanted than they were.
She looked at me as I handed her a tissue to wipe her tears away. I realized that beneath the seemingly fragile exterior, Geneva was as tough as nails. Here she was, madly in love with Paul, and yet she still refused to let go of her career for him. I wished I knew how to make her feel better at this point, but it was really up to her how she wants to go about this...
"I'm sorry to hear all this."
"I'm just grateful you're here, Martin.."
"I just wish I could do something..."
"Your presence is all I need. Thanks, Martin. I knew I could always count on you."
Of course you could always count on me! Of course I'll always be there for you! As if there was any need to doubt that. It's clear as day that I...
... My thoughts get interrupted as she hugs me tightly again. Taken by surprise, I got knocked down on the couch, and she ended up rather close to me. Rather dangerously close to me...
She closed her eyes and I closed mine. We were coming even closer together. I felt her warm, sweet breath as our lips came closer and closer. I've been longing for this moment for years. I felt an intoxicating rush wash over me...
I pulled away at the last moment.
"I'm sorry, Geneva. I can't do this."
"No. I'm sorry," she begins. She starts speaking rapidly, in an attempt to save face. "We're not supposed to be doing this. We're just best friends, right? No more than that. I don't love you, you don't love me, and..."
"I do, Geneva. I love you. With all my heart. That's precisely why this is not right."
"I don't understand..."
"I wish I did."
Geneva is my best friend. Nothing more.
"Don't go, Martin. You can stay. The guest room is ready."
Was hoping Martin would stay. But it seemed he had other plans.
"I'm sorry, Geneva. I really don't think I should be staying right now."
Noticed his furtive glances at the picture frame by the table. Seemed odd. Made me feel rather uneasy. Maybe he knew? Few people knew me better than he did, after all.
Martin then left the door without saying another word. No farewell. No goodbye hug. I guess I felt rather guilty about what happened, but I did what I had to do.
Soon enough, I heard footsteps coming down from the stairs. He was back.
"Hello there, dearie. How did it go?"
"I don't think you have to worry about Martin one bit. He really is just my best friend. You were wrong when you said he was head over heels in love with me..."
Still felt a bit guilty while Paul looked at me smilingly. Had no idea what to do next. This whole ruse is eating at me. Can't believe I'm thinking about Martin this much. Never really happened before.
"I know you feel a bit... disturbed... by all this. Despite that, I really think this was all for the best. The last thing we need is to have Martin become like just another one of those guys who likes you. I know it seems harsh of me, but Martin's still my friend. I think this proves why he's your best friend, all the same."
I nod silently at Paul. This whole thing just felt wrong, but way he put it made me realize he really meant well. Finally managed to smile. Paul moves closer.
"Now... where was I before Martin got here? Oh, right..."
Paul moves even closer. He leans in for a kiss. Guilt evaporates in an instant.


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Corte Madera, California, USA - Microsoft wowed Marin County, California with an amazing opening celebration for its new Corte Madera location, its 9th in the state and 29th in the US. Featuring Kelly Clarkson in concert and an appearance by 49ers legend Jerry Rice, the weekend began with fans arriving at 10:00 p.m. on Friday evening camping out so as to be one of the first 100 people in line and receive a coveted wristband permitting entry to a meet-and-greet with Clarkson.
Microsoft is most proud of its recently-launched Windows 8 operating system and its exciting new Surface product, a tablet/laptop combo. Panos Panay, Surface team leader, was on hand to add excitement to the Saturday morning grand opening event.
"This is more energy than ever," Panay told the enthusiastic crowd, "and just shipping Windows 8 should really make for some excitement. Just wait until you get your hands on Surface!" Once the store was unveiled, visitors were treated to just that- an opportunity to see, get their hands on and demo Surface, and be treated to Microsoft hospitality.
Always a good business neighbor, Microsoft generously donated product to important local concerns, including Junior Achievement of Northern California ($1,000,000), the Children's Creativity Museum ($250,000), and Girls Inc. ($250,000). Appreciative- and vocal- members of Girls Inc. made known their thanks, shouting and cheering from the crowd as their representative received the donation, and then new store manager Bryan Scott and his employee team enthusiastically welcomed visitors by clapping, chanting, and high-fiving them as they entered the new retail shop.
Nicely situated in The Village's courtyard across from trend-setting Banana Republic and Gap, the new Microsoft Retail Store was a beacon destination opening weekend, with thousands queuing through and around the elegant shopping mall and out into the parking lot. Crowds later moved to the adjacent lot that became an impromptu concert arena. Fans were contented and orderly, shepherded by a seasoned security team that, it was apparent, all knew how to create essential flow and safety while also maintaining an element of celebration and fun.
Kelly Clarkson walked onstage later that day and launched right into the songs all wanted to hear, including "I Forgive You," "The Dark Side," and "Already Gone." She eventually took a break, apologized to her fans for being late (her plane had arrived late at SFO) and thanked them for waiting so long.
"I've been told some of you have waited 13 to 15 hours to see us," Clarkson told the jam-packed crowd. " I'm not sure I'd wait that long to see anyone- not even Jesus," she quipped. "Well, maybe Jesus, because I have some questions about (the recent storm, "Sandy," on the East Coast)." She lauded her back-up vocalist, Nicole, for being able to fly out from the East Coast for this event, adding, "Most back-up singers are even better than the front singers." The crowd appreciated the remarks.
Clarkson offered up duet "Don't You Wanna Stay" with a back-up singer standing in for Jason Aldean. Swinging into "Since You've Been Gone," she pleased with more numbers, including "Miss Independent" and then closing with "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You").
DJ Devin Lucen warmed up the waiting crowd both at the store opening and then later at the Kelly Clarkson concert- and so did Dell and other purveyors who offered raffles for some amazing prizes. Mike Hughes, a contractor who'd traveled all the way from Murietta, California for this event, was the- very thrilled- winner of a new, deluxe Microsoft computer. "I've never won anything!" he said. His niece, accompanying him, joked, offering, "It's a good thing we waited in line for you since 6 a.m.!" Sounds like somebody owes somebody a nice meal there or something…
Kelly Clarkson fans ran the gamut- from families to singles, both young and old. Locals Marjorie and Steve Shanks were on hand to experience, as Shanks claimed, their "first rock concert since (they) were married twenty-five years ago." His wife shared that Shanks is a member of the Golden Gate Computer Society, a group of about 300 and one of the foremost PC user groups in the San Francisco Bay Area. (www.ggcs.org.)
High School students Harmela Beyene, Mia Stein, Merone Eckert and her sister Woubidi Eckert were already standing in wait at 11:30 a.m. at the concert site across from the shopping mall. Braving the scorching sun, the girls couldn't say enough about Clarkson- or why they were willing to wait until 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. or "as long as they had to" in order to be sure they'd be first in to see their fave performer. They'd had practice waiting, already having spent the night to get their wristbands.
"We stood in a long line of about 500 people last night," Beyene said. "We don't get celebrities visiting Marin County, and when we heard on 99.7 radio about a free concert, we knew we had to (go). We love Kelly Clarkson because she is such a great female role model in a male-dominated music world." Merone Eckert concurred: "She's one of the first stars that hasn't done anything horrible, no bad press. I'd stand in line as long as it takes to meet her." All the girls enthusiastically agreed. Stein and Merone Eckert, by the way, attend the School of Environmental Leadership. Hear that, rock stars of America? Young future leaders are watching and listening to you, so please pay attention: They're looking for media icons to set an example.
And speaking of media icons who set great examples for our youth, on Sunday, Microsoft store visitors were treated with the opportunity to not on ly meet San Francisco 49ers Jerry Rice, but also play Kinect with him- a great ending to an amazing opening celebration weekend for Microsoft at The Village, Corte Madera.
Text and photos Ó 2012 M. D. Caprario
M. D. Caprario is a writer and editor working in NY, LA and the San Francisco Bay Area. She also covers great events, books, film, and other media and also people and corporations that do great things that make our world a better place. Reach her at: [email protected]


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McDonnell 'directly intervened' to assist scandal-plagued benefactor
Just when it seemed the ongoing scandal in Virginia couldn't get worse for Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), another shoe drops.
Jonnie R. Williams Sr., the wealthy nutritional supplement maker at the center of Gov. Robert F. McDonnell's gifts scandal, met with Virginia's health secretary to pitch his product at the recommendation of the governor, according to an e-mail his assistant wrote the day of the November 2010 meeting.
"This email is to confirm a meeting between Jonnie Williams and Secretary Bill Hazel on Thursday, November 4th at 9:00 am," Monica Block, McDonnell's scheduler, wrote to Williams's assistant in a message two days before he sat down with Hazel, the state's secretary of health and human resources.
The e-mails, obtained by The Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act, are the first indication that McDonnell (R) directly intervened on behalf of Williams, whose gifts of luxury items and five-figure payments and loans to the McDonnell family have triggered state and federal investigations.
This is, in case you were wondering, separate from the meeting McDonnell's wife arranged with state health officials in August 2011 – the one at which the governor's wife recommended Williams buy a Rolex for her husband "moments before" the meeting took place.
Now, you might be wondering why this new revelation about the governor's email matters so much. So he directly intervened to arrange a meeting between his scandal-plagued benefactor and Virginia's health secretary; is that important?
It really is. Because if there was a quid pro quo, the email helps highlight the quo that goes with the quid.
Remember, as far as McDonnell is concerned, the scandal has been exaggerated because as he put it last week, Star Scientific "received nothing" in exchange for Williams' generosity.
Sure, McDonnell and his family received $145,000 in unreported cash, an engraved Rolex watch, the designer clothes, a lake house vacation, and use of a Ferrari, among other things, but so long as the governor did nothing in exchange, we would simply be left to wonder why Jonnie Williams was so remarkably generous towards Virginia's first family while getting nothing in return.
The problem is, McDonnell's defense is quickly falling apart. As Rachel explained last week after the governor first offered this explanation:
"Nothing? Nothing except a launch party for the magic tobacco pill that's made by the CEO's company, a launch party held at the governor's mansion and hosted by the governor and the first lady. They still have the press release up on their Web site, bragging about how their product launch was being held at the Virginia's governor mansion today. So, this company didn't get nothing from the Virginia governor. They got that. And they got the first lady of Virginia touting the benefits of the magic tobacco pill at multiple events both inside Virginia and outside Virginia. Her, traveling around the country helping tout the benefits of the company's product and they got a top level meeting with Virginia state health officials for the magic tobacco pill company CEO. Where the CEO was able to pitch his idea of a Virginia state funded study of his magic pills benefits to the state. And they also got another meeting with the state secretary of health, a meeting with the cabinet secretary that was set up either by the governor's office directly or by the governor's wife. And that seemingly would never have happened without the governor or the first lady intervening to make that meeting happen, since the health secretary says himself the magic tobacco pill was not ready for prime time. But, yes, governor McDonnell, other than the one on one meeting with the cabinet secretary and the other meeting with the health official that you set up and the launch party for the magic tobacco pill. The governor's mansion which you attended and your wife attended and other that this picture of you as Virginia governor holding a bottle of the magic tobacco pills and your wife traveling around the country touting the magic tobacco pill, yes, other than that – really nothing."
And as of this morning, we now know they also got the governor to personally and directly intervene with Virginia's health secretary on Williams' behalf.
McDonnell still has about six months left before his term ends. Anyone care to guess whether he remains in office that long?


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WASHINGTON — The Congressional Research Service has withdrawn an economic report that found no correlation between top tax rates and economic growth, a central tenet of conservative economic theory, after Senate Republicans raised concerns about the paper's findings and wording.
The decision, made in late September against the advice of the agency's economic team leadership, drew almost no notice at the time. Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, cited the study a week and a half after it was withdrawn in a speech on tax policy at the National Press Club.
But it could actually draw new attention to the report, which questions the premise that lowering the top marginal tax rate stimulates economic growth and job creation.
"This has hues of a banana republic," Mr. Schumer said. "They didn't like a report, and instead of rebutting it, they had them take it down."
Republicans did not say whether they had asked the research service, a nonpartisan arm of the Library of Congress, to take the report out of circulation, but they were clear that they protested its tone and findings.
Don Stewart, a spokesman for the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said Mr. McConnell and other senators "raised concerns about the methodology and other flaws." Mr. Stewart added that people outside of Congress had also criticized the study and that officials at the research service "decided, on their own, to pull the study pending further review."
Senate Republican aides said they had protested both the tone of the report and its findings. Aides to Mr. McConnell presented a bill of particulars to the research service that included objections to the use of the term "Bush tax cuts" and the report's reference to "tax cuts for the rich," which Republicans contended was politically freighted.
They also protested on economic grounds, saying that the author, Thomas L. Hungerford, was looking for a macroeconomic response to tax cuts within the first year of the policy change without sufficiently taking into account the time lag of economic policies. Further, they complained that his analysis had not taken into account other policies affecting growth, such as the Federal Reserve's decisions on interest rates.
"There were a lot of problems with the report from a real, legitimate economic analysis perspective," said Antonia Ferrier, a spokeswoman for the Senate Finance Committee's Republicans. "We relayed them to C.R.S. It was a good discussion. We have a good, constructive relationship with them. Then it was pulled."
The pressure applied to the research service comes amid a broader Republican effort to raise questions about research and statistics that were once trusted as nonpartisan and apolitical.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday will release unemployment figures for October, a month after some conservatives denounced its last report as politically tinged to abet President Obama's re-election. When the bureau suggested its October report might be delayed by Hurricane Sandy, some conservatives immediately suggested politics were at play.
Republicans have also tried to discredit the private Tax Policy Center ever since the research organization declared that Mitt Romney's proposal to cut tax rates by 20 percent while protecting the middle class and not increasing the deficit was mathematically impossible. For years, conservatives have pressed the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to factor in robust economic growth when it is asked to calculate the cost of tax cuts to the federal budget.
Congressional aides and outside economists said they were not aware of previous efforts to discredit a study from the research service.
"When their math doesn't add up, Republicans claim that their vague version of economic growth will somehow magically make up the difference. And when that is refuted, they're left with nothing more to lean on than charges of bias against nonpartisan experts," said Representative Sander Levin of Michigan, ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee.
Jared Bernstein, a former economist for Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., conceded that "tax cuts for the rich" was "not exactly academic prose," but he said the analysis did examine policy time lags and controlled for several outside factors, including monetary policy.
"This sounds to me like a complete political hit job and another example of people who don't like the results and try to use backdoor ways to suppress them," he said. "I've never seen anything like this, and frankly, it makes me worried."
Janine D'Addario, a spokeswoman for the Congressional Research Service, would not comment on internal deliberations over the decision. She confirmed that the report was no longer in official circulation.
A person with knowledge of the deliberations, who requested anonymity, said the Sept. 28 decision to withdraw the report was made against the advice of the research service's economics division, and that Mr. Hungerford stood by its findings.
The report received wide notice from media outlets and liberal and conservative policy analysts when it was released on Sept. 14. It examined the historical fluctuations of the top income tax rates and the rates on capital gains since World War II, and concluded that those fluctuations did not appear to affect the nation's economic growth.
"The reduction in the top tax rates appears to be uncorrelated with saving, investment and productivity growth. The top tax rates appear to have little or no relation to the size of the economic pie," the report said. "However, the top tax rate reductions appear to be associated with the increasing concentration of income at the top of the income distribution."
The Congressional Research Service does such reports at the request of lawmakers, and the research is considered private. Although the reports are posted on the service's Web site, they are available only to members and staff. Their public release is subject to lawmakers' discretion.
But the Hungerford study was bound to be widely circulated. It emerged in the final months of a presidential campaign in which tax policy has been a central focus. Mr. Romney, the Republican nominee, maintains that any increase in the top tax rates on income and capital gains would slow economic growth and crush the job market's recovery.
President Obama has promised to allow cuts on the top two income tax rates to expire in January, lifting the rates from 33 and 35 percent, their level during most of George W. Bush's presidency, to 36 percent and 39.6 percent, where they were during most of the Clinton administration. Mr. Obama maintains the increases would not hurt the economy and are the fairest way to reduce the deficit.
Mr. Hungerford, a specialist in public finance who earned his economics doctorate from the University of Michigan, has contributed at least $5,000 this election cycle to a combination of Mr. Obama's campaign, the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.


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And here is the direct link address: http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy273/JoleneSloan/blogbutton-1.jpg
I have been wanting to do this for awhile... to add a "button" to my Missionary Monday posts to sort of "individualize" them from all of my other posts.
I thought I would not only create a button for this blog, but make it usable for you other missionary wives as well! So.... [drumroll, please] if you would like to use the idea of "Missionary Monday" on your own blog and use this button too, just "grab" the link below the pretty picture (or use the direct link address... I'm not sure which one you will need) and feel free to use it on your own blog. All I ask is that you let me know you are going to start Missionary Mondays as well because I'd *love* to come for a visit!


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:: Postcard Weevil 2009 (Archive)
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Postcard Weevil 2009 (Archive)
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**SOLD OUT - units were available 2009/10**
The PostcardWeevil2009 launches from the end of July and greatly updates the previous
design while maintaining the compact sonic wonders.
The Postcard remains quite a simple Weevil, but within the diminutive c. 8 x 8 cm board there exists a joyous sonic world. As with previous Postcards, the core is still a three-osc-ring-mod setup, but several areas have been upgraded to make a more playable and rugged design:
Improved Dials
- the new Postcard benefits from the same miniature dials used on the popular BoardWeevil. They have a great feel and give a much better indication of what the settings are.
Updated Line-Output
- the previous Postcard had a somewhat chaotic level of line output - it would be quite quiet when running in starvation, but would jump greatly as full-power was approached. A simple extra IC chip now provides a much more stable output level while maintaining the sonic characteristics.
Silk-Screened Blue PCB with Gold Plated Touch-Points
for improved appearance and clarity.
Battery Polarity Protection
Cardboard Presentation Box
with printed instruction sheet and foam inserts.
Referring to the block diagram shown above (right): the sonic core features three lofi squarewave oscillators, each with a Pitch dial, and these oscs are combined in two quasi-ringmods. From here the signal passes through a driver/leveler before a Level (Volume) control and mono Minijack output. If no cable is plugged then the signal passes on to the onboard MiniAmp & Speaker.
A simple setup, but the real wonder comes from the two 'circuit-bent' additions of Power Starvation and Body Contacts. The Starve dial simulates the battery supply to the Osc-core running down and sends the section into audio-acrobatics. The Body Contacts link you directly to points in the circuit and as you touch different combinations, the signal flow alters in semi-controllable ways. The Postcard constantly surprises in its range of sounds.
The PostcardWeevil comes supplied with PP3 9v battery and is covered by a 60-day parts guarantee (see
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Added on Sunday 26 July, 2009.
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February 21, 2020Kenya
The Trump administration hopes that a free trade agreement with Nairobi will be a counterweight to Beijing's growing role across Africa and a model for bilateral deals with others on the continent.
January 28, 2020Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
The long-awaited plan presented by President Donald J. Trump paves the way for broader Israeli annexation of occupied territories, has no real chance of Palestinian support, and risks provoking viole…
December 5, 2019Ukraine
The summit will feature the highest-profile talks in years on the war between Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists, but the parties will have to bridge major divides to find a permanent end to the c…
October 4, 2019Japan
The United States and Japan have agreed to a trade deal, but critics say the deal isn't as good as what it replaced.
August 15, 2019Zimbabwe
Long-standing financial troubles and drought in Zimbabwe have pushed millions to the brink of starvation.
July 18, 2019United States
If the Trump administration succeeds in securing citizenship data, the 2020 census could transform the way in which political power is distributed in the United States.