text: With her trusty bow and arrow, reality-show sharpshooter Katniss Everdeen drives The Hunger Games with a fierce tomboy energy rarely seen on the big screen. The teen hunter can nail a squirrel or split an apple from 100 yards away and she's quick to slam a guy against the wall when he announces his affections on national TV. But Katniss also comes to the gladiator bloodbath that is the Hunger Games fully loaded with compassion. Powered by Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss portrayal, The Hunger Games is expected to generate Twilight-level box-office numbers — something that could bring a potential sea change in the way movie studios perceive the bankability of female action stars. Dressed to kill, not to seduce, Katniss joins a long line of heroines who've made a mark in the guy-centric universe of action, sci-fi and horror. To celebrate these ass-kicking role models, past and present, Wired decided to revisit and its brief history of the toughest women in movies, TV, comic books and videogames. Check out our picks in the gallery above and let us know your favorite female heroines in the comments below. Above: Katniss Everdeen Jennifer Lawrence became the obvious choice to play reluctant warrior Katniss Everdeen after picking up an Oscar nomination for Winter's Bone. In that 2010 indie flick, she showed smarts and determination as a teenager who fights for the survival of her impoverished Ozark Mountain family. By channeling a more athletic brand of understated heroism into Hunger Games' futuristic fantasy, Lawrence stays true to the literary source material. Katniss is not a people pleaser by nature. "I don't know how to make people like me," Katniss states early on in the film, which of course only makes her that much more likable. Her tough determination wins over couch potato nation with a combination of predatory cunning and righteous compassion, both on real-world theater screens and in her home country of Panem.Lisbeth Salander (American film adaptation) Following in the ferociously anti-social footsteps of Noomi Rapace, who portrayed the surly investigative hacker in the original Swedish film adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Rooney Mara sustained plenty of tension under the direction of David Fincher. In place of credibility-defying superhero shenanigans, Rooney's Lisbeth used wile to avenge her tormenter in one of the year's most unsettling sequences.Evelyn Salt Angelina Jolie extended her reputation as one of the few women who can single-handedly carry an action movie when she starred in 2010's CIA-themed Salt. Jolie's lithe Agent Salt races through the movie in hyper-athletic chase scenes and smack-downs that leave a trail of bloodied male antagonists in her wake.Starbuck Katee Sackhoff gender-switched the Battlestar Galactica character played by Dirk Benedict for the original TV series. When BSG rebooted in 2003, Sackhoff quickly overcame skeptics with her tomboy take on Kara "Starbuck" Thrace. The actress took flight as a tough, smart, complicated pilot able to kick ass and soul search with equal conviction. See Also: Strong Women Steer Battlestar Galactica's Final Voyage Red Sonja Introduced in Marvel Comics' Conan the Barbarian, swords-and-sorcery hellion Red Sonja got incarnated on screen in 1985 by great Dane Brigitte Nielsen. More recently, filmmaker Robert Rodriguez produced concept art picturing his girlfriend Rose McGowan as the chain-mailed warrior in a movie slated for 2011. See Also: First Peek at Rose McGowan as She-Warrior Red Sonja Jack, aka 'Subject Zero' The Mass Effect 2 role-playing game numbers among its myriad mutants the biotic "Subject Zero" Jack, who also shows up in Dark Horse Comics' Mass Effect Redemption spin-off.Witchblade Megan Fox grew up idolizing Top Cow's tough chick Witchblade, portrayed on TV by Yancy Butler. Especially popular in Japan in manga and anime form, Witchblade comics have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide since 1995. Top Cow Productions has spent years developing a motion picture about the woman gifted with a supernaturally high-powered glove. See Also: Witchblade Publisher Cuts Movie Deal Xena Statuesque New Zealand actress Lucy Lawless filled out Xena's tight skirts and leather vests with brawn and brains. The character first appeared in the 1995 to 1999 television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys before getting her own TV show. Making no apologies for Xena's rib-cracking approach to problem-solving, Lawless remains a force to be reckoned with in Starz's blood-and-sex-drenched Spartacus series.Tank Girl Birthed by Deadline magazine, this antisocial teenager harbored a fondness for machine guns and mutant kangaroos on the printed page before Lori Petty brought the character to life in 1995's Tank Girl film.Lara Croft Videogame heroine Lara Craft became a pop-culture sensation when Angelina Jolie took on the character for one good Tomb Raider movie and a so-so sequel.Cassie Hack The star of Devil's Due Publishing's Hack/Slash graphic novel series, avenging feminist Cassie Hack takes sex 'n' violence for a wild ride aimed at ruining the lives of abusive creeps. Hollywood studios are currently circling a script that would propel Cassie to the big screen.Ripley Sigourney Weaver smoked, snarled and ripped the guts out of alien interlopers in the first three Alien movies. A feminist sci-fi icon, Ripley effectively upended the eye-candy apple cart for years to come.Alice Milla Jovovich cranked up her survivalist adrenaline for a swarm of gun-toting film adventures based on the Resident Evil videogames.Mystique Marvel Comics' X-Men series features a bevy of strong female mutants, but in 2004's X-2 movie, Rebecca Romijn's portrayal of blue baddie Mystique gave form to what is arguably the greatest supervillain costume ever devised.Catwoman When it comes to campy superheroines, Michelle Pfeiffer set the bar high when she cracked whips as Catwoman in 1992's Batman Returns.Black Widow She's a prim legal secretary. No, wait, she's a martial arts expert! In Iron Man 2 and upcoming The Avengers, Scarlett Johansson plays both sides of her Marvel Comics character, posing as buttoned-down Natalie Rushman.Sarah Connor Linda Hamilton forever altered the muscle-to-fat ratio for machine-gun-wielding sex symbols when she played Sarah Connor in 1992's Terminator 2: Judgment Day. More than two decades later, petite Lena Headey gave the character her own twist on TV's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.Neytiri It could have gone so terribly, cheesily wrong, but Zoe Saldana's performance as the alien Na'vi princess stole the show in James Cameron's sci-fi blockbuster Avatar. Sensuous and fierce, the nature-loving Neytiri provided 3-D cinema with its first three-dimensional character.Buffy Introduced in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy Summers took off as a pop-culture phenomenon when Sarah Michelle Gellar reinvented the high-school adventuress for Joss Whedon's 1997 to 2003 Buffy TV series. Long before True Blood and Twilight came calling, Buffy tapped an appetite for wit, sex and action.Hit Girl In the Kick-Ass movie, 11-year-old Chloe Grace Moretz ripped into her performance as a potty-mouthed superhero with enthusiasm rarely found in grown-up actors. For those who weren't offended by the pre-adolescent blood-letting, Hit Girl proved that you're never too young or too girly to dismember bad guys.Lisbeth Salander (Swedish film adaptation) This surly bisexual hacker, equally adept at combating corporate conspiracies and tattooing "I am a pig" on the bellies of abusive men, earned worldwide renown through the trilogy of novels by Stieg Larsson and a Swedish film franchise starring Noomi Rapace.Elektra Jennifer Garner, one of Hollywood's most athletic actresses, played Marvel Comics' Elektra Natchios in a 2005 movie. Although the film failed to catch fire with audiences, Garner at least accomplished the rare feat of snagging top billing in a superhero movie.River Tam In Joss Whedon's space Western TV series Firefly and its big-screen sequel Serenity, Summer Glau attracted a cult following for the character that lives on in comic-book incarnations.Sydney Bristow In J.J. Abrams' TV show Alias, Jennifer Garner pulled off high-octane action stunts on a weekly basis as she portrayed superspy Sydney Bristow.Kate Austen On Lost, Evangeline Lilly brought a wary edge to her cagy Kate character. Sure, she blew up her dad's house back in the States and usually packed heat, but Kate had a tender side that drove the island's alpha males wild.Aeon Flux MTV's 1991 Aeon Flux cartoon morphed into a big-budget action vehicle for Charlize Theron, who took on the wiry heroine after winning her Best Actress Oscar. Plagued by on-set accidents, Aeon Flux fizzled commercially, but at least the filmmakers took a stab at casting an A-list actress smack in the middle of the action.Wonder Woman DC Comics' crime-fighting Amazon, aka Diana Prince, has swatted swarms of supernatural nemeses for 70 years. In 1974's Wonder Woman TV series, Lynda Carter famously wore the character's all-American hot pants.Anna The best sci-fi villain during the 2009-10 TV season, alien leader Anna, portrayed by Morena Baccarin on ABC's V series, proved to be as ruthless as a reptile beneath her creamy-smooth exterior.Seven of Nine As Star Trek: Voyager character Seven of Nine, Jeri Ryan deserves a special mention for becoming the biggest fanboy superstar of her generation. She set the stage for sci-fi sex symbols like Tricia Helfer's Number Six in Battlestar Galactica and Alessandra Torresani in Caprica. Blowback: Is Katniss the best female action hero in history? Does The Hunger Games set a new standard for female-empowered ass-kickers? If not, who does it better? Weigh in below.


text:
Throttle Thursday Round 6 at Dillon Brothers: www.Dillon-Brothers.com/ThrottleThursday
Dates:May 24, Jun 7, Jun 28, Jul 12, Jul 26, Aug 16, Aug 30, Sep 13
During the summer months Dillon Brothers Harley-Davidson, Motorsports, and Indian Motorcycles on 174th and Maple host Omaha's biggest Bike Night and Auto Show & Shine. Free to the public. All rounds start at 6PM.
There's always tons of custom bikes and classic cars plus live music, a $10 Dyno Power Runs, plenty of cold drinks and lots of good food.
There's 8 rounds this year and they're all free to the public so gearheads, riders, and horsepower enthusiasts of all kinds, shine up your toys and come out to party.
#throttlethursday #bikenight #dillonbrothers #omaha #

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Item #3041
30-45 days. Arugula's flavor has been
described as peppery, mustardy,
hot with a hint of nut flavor, tart,
and spicy. It adds such an exciting,
interesting flavor and texture to
salads. Most often eaten raw in
salads but also steamed or added
raw to many other dishes such
as pizza! Also a good container
This packet sows five 10-foot rows or ten successive sowings of 5-foot rows.
Seedling Image
Days to Emerge:
Seed Depth:
Seed Spacing:
Row Spacing:
When to sow outside: RECOMMENDED.
2 to 4 weeks before average last frost, and successive sowings thereafter every 3 weeks until 2 weeks before the average first fall frost. USDA zone 8 or warmer: Also in fall for winter harvest.
When to start inside: 4 to 6 weeks
before average last frost.
Harvesting: Pick leaves when no longer than 6", but at least 2" long; pick them individually, or cut off the plant at ground level. Harvest before plant begins to flower. You may allow the plant to flower if you plan to eat the flowers but leaves will become bitter.
Artist: Donna Clement
Item #3041
1.00 grams
Have you ever wanted to create a garden journal?
It's amazing how helpful it is to keep a record of your garden's life so that next year you can…More…


text:
Unlike those of us who merely sip wine and try to appreciate it, Paul Lukacs has channeled his passion for the drink into a second career, one in which he's increasingly recognized as one of this country's most authoritative voices on the topic.
Lukacs' most recent book, "Inventing Wine," was just nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award. If he wins, it would be his second time earning the prize sometimes referred to as the food world's Oscar.
When he's not writing books, reviewing wine or traveling the country as a wine judge, Lukacs can be found at Loyola University Maryland, where the 57-year-old is an English professor and director of the school's Center for the Humanities.
Lukacs spent time recently with The Baltimore Sun, fielding questions about his new book, his favorite Baltimore places to tip a glass and, of course, about his favorite topic — wine.
Congratulations on your latest James Beard nomination. What's it like to get such prestigious recognition for your work?
I think that the James Beard award is only growing in prestige. I've been hearing from friends and colleagues for days, and I got very little of that in 2000. Awareness of food and beverages and such are becoming bigger deals in our culture.
What most surprised you as you delved into the history of wine?
The original idea of the book was to write a book celebrating wine's continuity over thousands of years. When I started doing the research, I quickly learned that wine today is radically different than wine in the past. The book is really a revisionist or rather a contrarian history. ... Most books celebrate Plato and Aristotle, saying, "Isn't it cool that we drink what they did?" What we drink is nothing like what they drank.
People who write about the book are drawn to your point that early wine was really vile stuff.
Wine is 8,000 years old. For the vast majority of its history, its physical property to our palates would be virtually undrinkable. It was vinegary. It was sour. It turned. People didn't have effective ways to seal, store and contain it. And we all know what happens with a glass of wine you leave out on kitchen counter. It's fine the next day. And maybe OK the day after that. But two weeks later, it's pretty unpleasant.
What sparked your interest in wine?
Pretty early in my career at Loyola, I was doing an independent study with some grad students, and we evolved into a reading group. Then it was a reading and wine-tasting group. Eventually we dropped books, and it was a wine-tasting group.
You write that through history, wine has brought people pleasure in a wide range of ways. What for you is the pleasure in wine?
The pleasure is this combination of the hedonistic and the intellectual, the sensory and the contemplative — two very different pleasures. For me, wine brings both. It's something that brings me great sensual enjoyment. It feels good in my mouth. It tastes good.
You're also an English professor who teaches courses in great American literature. Do books and wine intersect?
As someone who teaches literature-slash-art, I am teaching something that has no inherent value. The value of literature is something that comes from the people that read it. The value of the "Mona Lisa" doesn't come from the paint; it's from the people who view and esteem it. So too with wine. Wine is fermented grape juice. It has very little value itself. The value of wine comes from what we as its consumers, readers, appreciators bring to it. That's why bottle A at the Wine Source costs $10 but bottle B costs $500. They're both fermented grapes.
Tell us about your wine collection.
I'm not a really big collector. When you write for newspapers and magazines and such, though I do less of that now, you get samples of wine and people give you wine. I don't spend a lot of money on wine, not because I'm parsimonious but because I don't really need to.
Do you have a favorite type of wine?
I really don't. I'm not a white wine-versus-a-red or a New World-versus-Old. But if I had to be stuck on a desert island with only one kind of wine, I would want to drink very, very good champagne.
You're married to Marguerite Thomas, who's also a wine writer. This sounds like either the perfect marriage or serious trouble choosing a bottle at restaurants.
We met on a press trip to Chile. Both of our lives changed in the Santiago airport. ...
It is the perfect match of couples with "perfect" italicized. But, no, we do not always agree. We're people who really care about wine. ... It's more than lucky. It's wonderful.
In the book, you write that one of the most exciting things about wine today is its ability to come in styles that can transcend both region and grape variety. What's your take on Maryland's growing roster of local winemakers?
There is no reason why Maryland cannot produce first-class — and by that, I mean world-class — wine. The proof is that people are doing it in Virginia, where there's a very similar climatic and geological and geographic situation. There are some people in Maryland that are really trying, but we lag far behind both Virginia and New York in terms of our success so far. That is due not to any kind of cultural problem. It instead has to do with politics and government. ...
In Virginia, for close to a quarter of a century there has been active support for a wine industry from the state government. There's wine tourism being promoted. There's tax advantages given to people who want to convert from other crops to wine grapes. Very early on, there was a state oenologist at Virginia Tech who could help people figure out what to do. Maryland is woefully slow in doing those kinds of things to encourage an industry. The people in Maryland are largely on their own.
Where are your favorite places in Maryland to sip?
The Wine Source is probably the best shop in the city. For buying wine. There's been a big improvement in wine lists and wine knowledge in local restaurants from when I started following this stuff in early- to mid-'90s. Then there were only a handful of restaurants that paid wine any attention, and now there are a lot of them. There are the obvious places like Charleston and Fleet Street Kitchen and Wit and Wisdom, and then lots of small bistro types of places that do a nice, interesting job with wine, like Salt and Bluegrass in Federal Hill where I live.
Is Baltimore a wine or a beer town?
Probably used to be only a beer town. Now it's both.
Ravens game: beer or wine?
If you're going to a Ravens game, it's a beer event. When they won the Super Bowl, it was a champagne event.
White zinfandel: Yes? No? Ever?
White zinfandel is dying.
I used to do some restaurant wine list consulting. People would say, "Should you put a white zinfandel on your list?" It was the '90s, and I always said yes because you have people who come in who like to drink it. Why not? Today I'm less apt to put a white zinfandel on a list rather than a Moscato or Torrontes from Argentina. They'll all appeal to same consumer, slightly sweet, not super-alcoholic, not tannic, not overly acidic, easy to drink, easy to enjoy. I just think there are better choices out there than white zinfandel. That's part of the changing and evolving world of wine in which we live.
Paul Lukacs' books
"American Vintage: The Rise of American Wine," a James Beard Foundation Award winner in 2001, the Clicquot Wine Book of the Year and the International Association of Culinary Professionals' best cookbook award in the wine and spirits category.
"The Great Wines of America," 2006.
"Inventing Wine: A New History of One of the World's Most Ancient Pleasures," a James Beard Award nominee for 2013.


text:
Want to write about it?
There have been thousands of readers through here in the last couple of weeks interested in twinking.
Twinking, as you can tell if you have read any of the rest of my blog, is not my main game, but maybe it's yours.
So if you think you can write an original post (or more) about twinking Locks (or any class for that matter) at level 19 (or any of the other brackets) then drop me a line via the ContactGnome link above.
I get a pile of Google hits from people looking for twinking guides. Not just level 19 lock guides, but all levels and classes. So far all I have been able to deliver is the partially complete 19 Lock guide.
So if you have a passion for twinking, and would like to turn your hand at writing without the fuss and bother of creating and maintaining your own blog, then drop me a line.
You will receive the same reward for your writing as me, nothing but pleasure at seeing your posts appreciated. You will of course get full credit for your work.
Your posts would need to be well thought out and preferably take the potential twink by the hand, guiding them step by step through the leveling process, identifying the dangers, quests, routes and rewards. Gear, skill, talent and strategy guides for the prospective twink would be a bonus.
Have a think about it, research it if need be, then drop me a line.
Gnomer and Out!
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.


text:
Tagged: Andy Sonnanstine
A TTP (Theoretical Trade Proposal)
TB trades Andy Sonnanstine to NYM; NYM trades SS Reese Havens and CF
Ezequiel Carrera to SF; SF trades Randy Winn, RHP Keiichi Yabu, and LHP Geno
Espineli to TB
Got that?
So this is a three-team deal.
And yes, the Rays trade away one of their starters in the playoffs Andy
Sonnanstine. Still, this trade
makes sense for every team involved.
The Rays predictably will use their starting pitcher depth to acquire a
bona-fide starter in right field. In
this case it would be Randy Winn.
It's true, the Rays have a lot of players
who play right field. Eric Hinske, Gabe Gross, Ben Zobrist, Fernando Perez,
and Justin
Ruggiano all are capable. But
Hinske and Gross are not exactly the type of guys you want starting every day
on a team that is expected to compete for the championship again next
year. Zobrist and Perez are bright,
young players but at least at this point are most valuable being on the bench
because of Perez's ability to play every OF position, and his blazing
speed. Zobrist also is very versatile
and is a valuable guy off the bench. He
might even have a reasonable chance to overtake Iwamura
as the Rays starting second baseman. Ruggiano
has done everything you could ask from him in AAA. Yet he just can't seem to bring the same game to the majors. He had a .911 OPS in 66 AAA games versus
.576 with the Rays. So, with Winn
coming up, in it can put all of the right field questions to rest while adding
a veteran presence that can fill the #2 spot in the Rays order. That way Iwamura can move down in the order
where he should be. If Crawford
continues to struggle, Iwamura could easily come back to the top instead of a
guy like Upton having to be taken out of the heart of the order.
Although Winn will obviously make a huge mark on
the Rays, I think Andy Sonnanstine is the biggest impact player involved in
this deal. Simply put, to have a
Sonnanstine in the Mets rotation would be fantastic for them. Even if, at his best, Sonnanstine is only as
good as a #3 starter, his ability to eat up innings without eating payroll is a
quality invaluable to the Mets at this point.
This way the Mets can afford not resigning Oliver Perez. In my opinion, Jon Niese is
ready to be the Mets' 5th starter next year. However, if the Mets do re-sign Perez their
rotation would be dynamite. Whether or
not Perez comes back, the Mets would have, for the first time in a while, a
young rotation that can last a long time.
To have a rotation where every pitcher in under control until 2012 is a
huge advantage over the other NL East clubs.
Of course since Sonnanstine is that
valuable, New York will have to give up a lot.
The big sacrifice that the Mets will have to make is their second pick
of the 2008 draft, slugging infielder Reese Havens.
Havens (left) was drafted 22nd overall
as a shortstop but is expected to wind up as third or second baseman by the
time he gets to the majors. Ezequiel
Carrera, a High-A outfielder, didn't put up great numbers this year but if
you start thinking about his age (21) and the fact that he completely skipped
A-ball, his .344 OBP, 28 steals, and seven dingers are pretty impressive. The Giants have a fair amount of outfielders
like Fred Lewis,
Aaron Rowand,
and Nate
Schierholtz and some nice prospects like Antoan
Richardson, Ben Copeland,
and Eddy
Martinez-Esteve. And yet, with the
decent chance that Rowand and Lewis could get traded in the near future,
Copeland's and Richardson's non-overwhelmingness, and Martinez-Esteve's and
Schierholtz's sudden lack of power, there is a reason to why the Giants might
want to add another outfield prospect.
Now when you think about it, Tampa Bay would be
trading Sonnanstine straight up for Winn, and that obviously wouldn't favor
them. But if you add Yabu and Espineli to
the deal, it evens out. Those two will
add depth to the bullpen. And although
Espineli (right) probably will find himself spending some time in Durham, he provides a
lefty arm and the credentials of 2.66 in Triple-A last year in the hitter-friendly
Pacific Coast League. Yabu (below) is pretty old but if he can be effective when he's 40 (3.57 ERA), how much much worse can he be at 41?
SO, when it's all said and done, here's how it
would work out for each team:
Receive Give Up
Randy Winn Andy Sonnanstine
Keiichi Yabu
Geno Espineli
Receive Give Up
Reese Havens Randy Winn
Ezequiel Carrera Keiichi
Geno Espineli
Receive Give Up
Andy Sonnanstine Reese
Ezequiel Carrera
So, what do you think? Fair all around?
I guess since Monday marks the beginning of
baseball's hardware week, I will give you my picks for each major award (with the
runner-up in parentheses):
Again, these are my picks for who deserves each
award, not my predictions for who will win:
Rookie of the Year
AL – Evan Longoria — (Jose Arredondo)
NL – Geovany Soto — (Joey Votto)
Cy Young
AL – Cliff Lee — (Roy Halladay)
NL – Johan Santana — (CC Sabathia)
AL – Kevin Youkilis — (Mark Teixeira)
NL – Wily Mo Pe, I
mean, Albert Pujols — (Manny
Manager of the Year
AL – Joe Maddon — (Ron Gardenhire)
NL – Cecil Cooper — (Charlie Manuel)


text:
This board includes an LM7805 5V/1A voltage regulator and an MC33269DT3.3 3.3V/800mA, Low Dropout Voltage Regulator, providing fixed supply voltages. It features two voltage input options: a screw terminal connector, and an AC/DC adapter connector. It can operate on 8-16V AC/DC power supply and has separate screw terminals for 3.3V and 5V outputs. The board also has mounting holes for easy integration into your product.
This board's diode bridge of four 1N4007 diodes acts as a rectifier when using an AC input, and as polarity protection when using a DC input.


text:
Press Release
From: University of Texas-Austin
Posted: Wednesday, May 23, 2007
AUSTIN, Texas -- University of Texas at Austin astronomers William Cochran and Michael Endl, working with graduate students Robert Wittenmyer and Jacob Bean, have used the 9.2-meter Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) at McDonald Observatory to discover a system of two Jupiter-like planets orbiting a star whose composition might seem to rule out planet formation. This NASA-funded study has implications for theories of planet formation.
Cochran and Endl have been monitoring the star, HD 155358, since 2001 using the High Resolution Spectrograph on HET. Their measurements of its "radial velocity," or motion toward and away from Earth, show that the star has a wobble in its motion, which is caused by unseen companions tugging on the star.
HD 155358 is slightly hotter than the Sun, but a bit less massive. Most important, it only contains 20 percent as much of the chemical elements called "metals" - elements heavier than hydrogen or helium - as the Sun. Along with one other star (called HD 47536), it contains the fewest metals of any star found to harbor planets.
Bean specializes in studying the metal contents of stars. His in-depth studies of the star's spectrum revealed its metal-poor nature, and allowed him to deduce the star's age of roughly 10 billion years.
One planet has an orbital period of 195 days and, at a minimum, is 90 percent as massive as Jupiter. It orbits HD 155358 at a distance of 0.6 AU. (An astronomical unit, or AU, is the Earth-Sun distance of 150 million km, or 93 million miles.) The other planet orbits HD 155358 in 530 days, with a minimum mass half that of Jupiter, at a distance of 1.2 AU.
Wittenmyer used the University of Texas at Austin supercomputer "Lonestar" to calculate the two massive planets' orbits 100 million years into the future. The planets' orbits are not circular, and they orbit close to each other and thus interact gravitationally -- they push each other around.
"It's like a dance," Endl said. He explained that "Rob's calculations show us how the orbits change over time: first more eccentric, then more circular, and back again." The system is stable, Endl said, and the pattern repeats about every 3,000 years.
According to Wittenmyer, "The planets are trading eccentricity with each other. When one orbit is more circular, the other is more eccentric."
The combination of massive planets orbiting a metal-poor star has consequences for theories of planet formation. "There are two competing planet-formation models," Endl said. Those models are known as the "core accretion model" and the "disk instability model."
Both models start with a rotating cloud with a star forming at its center. As it rotates, the cloud flattens into a disk. Over time, dust in the disk begins to clump together to form the seeds that will eventually become planets. Where the two models differ is in terms of timescale.
In the core accretion model, a Jupiter-like planet forms in a two-step process. Over about a million years, a proto-planetary "core" several times the mass of Earth forms through gravitational accumulation of solid materials. When it reaches this mass, it has enough gravity to then pull huge amounts of gas onto itself. Over several million more years, it grows into a gas giant planet.
This model relies on large amounts of heavy elements to be present in the disk - and, of course, in the star- to form the cores, Endl said.
"Most of the planets found using the radial velocity technique are found around metal-rich stars," he said. "That argues for the 'core accretion' model. Many astronomers in this field agree that the higher fraction of planets around metal-rich stars is supporting evidence for the core-accretion model."
"Having this process happen to form not just one, but two, planets around a star that had so little solid material available for planet-building is quite remarkable." Cochran said.
The competing model of planet formation is called the disk instability model. It argues that the rotating disk of gas and dust around the forming star becomes unstable very soon after the disk forms, causes the disk to break into giant clumps. Gravity within each clump can cause the gas to collapse under its own gravity, forming giant planets in only several hundred years.
"Gas giant planets formed this way might not have any solid core at all," Endl said.
Cochran and his colleagues argue that HD 155358 could have formed the two planets through either method of planet formation.
"The major result of our discovery is that these planets required a very massive disk to form, several times more massive than we think our solar system disk was," Endl said. "This demonstrates that disk masses can vary significantly and might even be the most crucial factor in planet formation."
Cochran and colleagues first began using radial velocity techniques to search for planets from McDonald Observatory in the late 1980s, using the 2.7-meter Harlan J. Smith Telescope. The program continues today on both the Smith Telescope and HET, and Cochran's team has found planets orbiting several stars.
The Hobby-Eberly Telescope is a joint project of The University of Texas at Austin, The Pennsylvania State University, Stanford University,
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat M�nchen and Georg-August-Unversitat Gottingen.
NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, please see: http://austral.as.utexas.edu/planets/hd155358/hd155358.html
// end //
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text:
Rosamund Pike has been flying the flag for British-based designers in Japan this week for the latest leg of the Jack Reacher promo tour, looking stunning in looks from Alexander McQueen and Erdem.
First look was this adorable ivory crepe wool pop mini-dress by Alexander McQueen from the autumn/winter 2012 collection, teamed with black leopard print heels to the Jack Reacher press conference.
Not only does the dress look incredible on her, white is hard to pull off even for a celebrity, but I love the playfulness of the bubble skirt. In the lookbook this dress is presented with a gorgeous belt and I wish she had worn it to show off the amazing silhouette of the dress, but that is just me being picky – I also love her heels.
Then at the Japan premiere she continued her love for London-based designers with this very summery one-sleeve look from Erdem's spring/summer 2013 collection. There is always something so feminine about Erdem's designs that I love and it really shows in this one-sleeved lemon dress with a gorgeous embellished illusion panel across the shoulder.
Not only is the dress divine but once again Rosamund has gone for a striking pair of shoes, this time by Elie Saab – those pinky heels work perfectly with the lemon and really does complete a gorgeous premiere look.
What do you think of Rosamund's unofficial ambassador role for British-based designers?


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At the recent Irish Studies Symposium held at the Library and Archives Canada (LAC), Dr. Willeen Keough——who is the Assistant Professor of History at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC——gave a talk entitled, "Good Looks Don't Boil the Pot: Irish-Newfoundland Women as Fish (-producing) Wives on the Southern Avalon".
She is in the middle of collecting the stories of the wives of fishermen who gave their lives to the industry by salting fish on the land and in giving their husbands' support. She is studying the interaction between the wives with each other, and with their husbands.
Along with this is a website which explores the fishing industry of Newfoundland called, "The Newfoundland Salt Fisheries: a Digital Exhibit" at <www.therooms.ca/ic_sites/fisheries/index.html>.
There are "Salt-Fish Essays: Life & Work in the Newfondland Salt Fisheries", which is comprised of six essays on the salt fishery in Newfoundland, and two more new ones - "Fishing the Labrador Coast" and "Growing Up in a Cove: Slide Shows", which have pictures of women's work in fishery, and in daily life. Other sections include "Photo Galleries" (over 120 new photos have been added); "Audio and Video Library: Memories and Moving Pictures of the Salt Fisheries" (listen to the people talk about their lives in the fishery; "Salt-Fish Education"; and "Maps and Manuscipts".


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+Radiate (2)
Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn for each artifact you control.
Choose target instant or sorcery spell that targets only a single permanent or player. Copy that spell for each other permanent or player the spell could target. Each copy targets a different one of those permanents and players.


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Solarland SLP020-12 Class I Division II Solar Panel Review
The rugged SLP020-12 poly-crystalline solar panel is CSA Certified to UL1703 and cUL1703 and Certified for C1D2 - Class 1, Division 2 Hazardous Environments. All the models feature a 2" rugged aluminum mounting frame with a conduit-ready sealed junction box and easy to identify wiring terminals.
Class 1 Division 2 for use in hazardous locations
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Low wholesale price on Solarland Class 1 Division 2 solar panels or systems.


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Ruth Reichl, who was a restaurant critic for The New York Times before becoming editor of Gourmet magazine, recently wrote a column for The Times in which she lamented the closing of one of New York's most famous and long-standing French restaurants, Lutèce. The demise of this much-loved institution has been the subject of a flurry of gushy eulogies in print and on the Web. Many of the writers tried to explain the unfortunate outcome but none did it as eloquently as Reichl. This is obvious even to someone, like me, who never had the opportunity (or money) to eat there.
For most of the restaurant's 43-year life span, the chef at Lutèce was André Soltner, not one of the young, tanned faces you see on a Food Network show, but definitely one of this country's first so-called celebrity chefs. His cooking revolutionized French food in America without the benefit of TV shows or infomercials hawking bottled spice blends. But he didn't let this fame ruin his restaurant.
Soltner and his wife lived (still lives) in an apartment above the restaurant. The chef was known for circulating among tables in the dining rooms, mingling and making nice-nice with customers both famous and not. He smiled, he suggested, he charmed and brought out tastes of the specials. He was absent from Lutèce for only five nights in 30 years—until the business was sold to Ark Restaurants in 1994.
The real tooth of Reichl's essay comes when she explains why she doesn't agree with those who argue that the closing of Lutèce is part of a larger trend, that it reflects the passing of fabulous French restaurants. By most accounts the soul of the restaurant was lost when Soltner left, not so much because the food wasn't as good (although many say it wasn't) but because his familiar face was no longer there to make patrons feel that they were all special guests of this brilliant, supremely hospitable friend.
"There are many thriving La Thises and La Thats," Reichl argues. "... Notice what they have in common: an owner standing at the door. Sirio Maccioni's smile awaits at Le Cirque 2000. The Jammets warmly welcome you to La Caravelle. ... They are a major part of the package."
Look at Albuquerque's restaurant culture with this in mind. How much of the success of Le Café Miche is due to the almost super-human efforts of Chef/Owner Claus Hjortkjaer? He is ever-present, teaching cooking classes in his wine bar, leaning across the counter to share a wine recommendation, swooping down on a familiar table for handshakes and inquiries into the flavor of the pâté. Miche's devoted clientele undoubtedly come as much for Claus as they do for his clafouti. The same can be said of many Albuquerque's favorite restaurants. They may take more than one day off every six years and they may serve enchiladas instead of escargots, but these chefs and restaurateurs remain the familiar faces that keep us coming back week after week.
Reichl was on to something when she wrote that no matter how well-known—even famous, chefs get, "... When most of us go out to eat we want to feel like the star of the show—and Soltner never forgot that." How special do you feel when you wait in line for an hour with a plastic pager in your pocket—just for the privilege of a table?


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Enjoy CT Live is keeping track of all of Connecticut's Summer 2014 Concerts so you don't have to! Pack a lunch, bring your sunscreen, and get ready to enjoy the music live. Our list of Summer 2014 Outdoor Concerts covers live music and performances all around Connecticut; we will add performances as times and showdates […]
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Summer 2014 Concerts
May 20, 2014 by Enjoy CT Live
Filed Under: Artist Profiles, Featured Articles, In the Spotlight, Jazz Venues, Live Performances Tagged With: 2014 concerts, bassist nat reeves, connecticut live music, connecticut summer 2014, connecticut summer 2014 concert, connecticut venue, ct live music, ct summer 2014, ct summer 2014 concert, ct venue, enjoy connecticut live, enjoy ct live, enjoy ct live artists, enjoy ct live concerts, hamden connecticut, hamden connecticut concerts, hamden ct, hamden ct concert, live music connecticut, live music ct, live music hamden connecticut, live music hamden ct, live performances connecticut, live performances ct, marion meadows, marion meadows connecticut, marion meadows ct, nat reeves, nat reeves quartet, nat reeves quartet connecticut, nat reeves quartet ct, new haven jazz festival 2014, rocky hill connecticut, rocky hill connecticut live music, rocky hill ct, rocky hill ct live music, rocky hill live music, the fifth dimension with florence la rue connecticut, the fifth dimension with florence la rue ct, the fifth dimension with florence larue, the greater hartford festival of jazz, the greater hartford festival of jazz 2014, the new haven jazz festival


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Hey Folks,
I know I was a little negative yesterday about the Bonfire reset, but in reality that has worked out very nicely for me… it means that I have been able to clear up the Midsummer Festival in just over one day without relying on dailies…
I know I should be doing another blogday post… but that will have to wait, as I am at home looking after the young Gnome…
Anyway, when I started this midsummer jaunt, I was relying upon the great strategies of other bloggers… then at one point when I was struggling to find a bon fire, I hit WoWHead and discovered TomTom settings… Most of them were all over the place, so I started compiling them, only to find one post with most of them…
Anyway, reproduced here for your lack of searching pleasure, the Tom Tom coordinate commands for the Mid Summer Bonfires. Note, for a nice path to Alliance success, check out this blog post at Pookies Is Not A Bear.
Just paste each line into your chat window, or create a Macro and throw each block in.
TomTom Bonfire Coordinates
Eastern Kingdoms
/way Arathi 74 41 Horde
/way Arathi 50 44 Alliance
/way Badland 4 49 Horde
/way Blasted 58 17 Alliance
/way Burning 80 62 Alliance
/way Burning 62 29 Horde
/way Dun Mor 46 46 Alliance
/way Dusk 74 51 Alliance
/way Elwyn 43 65 Alliance
/way Eversong 46 50 Horde
/way Ghostland 46 26 Horde
/way Hillsbrad 50 46 Alliance
/way Hillsbrad 58 25 Horde
/way Loch Moda 32 40 Alliance
/way Redrid 24 59 Alliance
/way Silverpi 49 38 Horde
/way Strangle 34 73 Alliance
/way Strangle 33 75 Horde
/way Swamp 47 47 Horde
/way The Hint 14 50 Alliance
/way The Hint 76 74 Horde
/way Tirisfal 57 52 Horde
/way Western Pla 43 82 Alliance
/way Westfall 56 54 Alliance
/way Wetlands 13 47 Alliance
/way Ash 37 54 Alliance
/way Ash 70 69 Horde
/way Azuremyst 44 53 Alliance
/way Bloodmyst 55 69 Alliance
/way Darkshore 37 46 Alliance
/way Desolace 65 17 Alliance
/way Desolace 26 76 Alliance
/way Durotar 52 47 Horde
/way Dustwallow 62 40 Alliance
/way Dustwallow 33 30 Horde
/way Feralas 28 43 Alliance
/way Feralas 72 47 Horde
/way Mulgore 51 60 Horde
/way Silithus 57 34 Alliance
/way Silithus 46 44 Horde
/way Stonetalon 50 60 Horde
/way Tanaris 52 29 Alliance
/way Tanaris 49 27 Horde
/way Teldrassil 55 60 Alliance
/way The Barrens 52 28 Horde
/way Thousand 42 53 Horde
/way Winterspring 62 35 Alliance
/way Winterspring 59 35 Horde
/way Blade 42 66 Alliance
/way Blade 50 59 Horde
/way Hellfire 62 58 Alliance
/way Hellfire 55 40 Horde
/way Nagrand 50 70 Alliance
/way Nagrand 51 34 Horde
/way Netherstorm 31 63 Alliance
/way Netherstorm 32 68 Horde
/way Shadowmoon 40 55 Alliance
/way Shadowmoon 33 30 Horde
/way Terokkar 55 55 Alliance
/way Terokkar 52 43 Horde
/way Zangar 69 52 Alliance
/way Zangar 36 52 Horde
/way Borean 51 12
/way Dragonblight 75 44
/way Dragonblight 39 48
/way Crystalsong Forest 78 75
/way Crystalsong Forest 80 53
/way Grizzly Hills 34 61
/way Grizzly Hills 19 61
/way Howling Fjord 58 16
/way Howling Fjord 48 13
Fire Warden Gnomeaggedon
Unlike Kriz, I love fire… I can't imagine anything better (apart from being of Gnomeregan) than being a true representative Fire Mage and being known as a Fire Warden. So Yes I pushed this, and hand some fun and surprises along the way.
I am a Bad Gnome!
Home lands Protected
Home Lands Cleared
You think Murloc Mondays are bad.. Try Crabby Thursdays!
Looking after my Peoples!
I'm not the only one infiltrating the Horde bases
The best escape route from Thunder Bluff… don't try this at home kids!
Man I am bad! I am the only one allowed to play with fire!
Friends lost… luckily they dropped back in to spread the news.
I is a red hot dancing Gnome!
Have Pole, will dance!
Outland is sooo easy…
Even under enemy fire!
Ohh and what do you know, I have seen some new sights…
Umm I wont normally do this… but this was one happy /random
Umm I don't think so!
But I definitely aint Gnome Angel!
Killing time waiting for Mr Tree! and a few of his spare branches to burn and juggle
So easy when you are not under a stair case
My destiny fulfilled!
Gnomer and Out!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.


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Sunday, January 18, 2009
Running Through the Great Northwoods Snowshoe Marathon
I truly run because I love to run. My daily runs are for pleasure and the races are the social outlet I sometimes need, or a goal that I need to see. Sure, once I began increasing my speed and my standings at races I certainly became excited to see what could happen at the next race, but I have never run only to race.
Now that my snowshoe marathon is over I will still snowshoe run. This morning Topaz and I hit the trails for 4 hours. There is no snowshoe marathon in the future. It was 16F outside this morning! I couldn't wait to enjoy the warmth, enjoy the snowshoe run. We did. Fully. It was fabulous. I had no aches or pains from yesterday's 'race'. All is well.
The Northwoods Snowshoe Races encompasses three distances: 10K, 1/2 Marathon and Marathon. Barb, the RD told me there were 60 in the 10K, 40 in the 1/2 and 27 in the Marathon.
For the marathon we run a short 'B' loop, then a large loop, back to the start/finish for short 'B' loop and the long loop again. You know I love a loop course!
I always misjudge the time it will take me to get to Duluth during the winter. I forget I'll be driving slower, roads are awful due to weather and I have to stop a zillion times to pee. I am always later than I'd like for this race.
I had a miserable Friday night. I am probably over estimating it when I say I slept 2 hours. Finally at 430 I came downstairs and began breakfast: 1 egg, 4 whites scrambled, 1/2 c oatmeal with splenda and cinnamon. I looked at the thermometer. Happy days! 16F. Wow. I looked up Duluth's temperature. 4F, high of 11F. Good deal.
Eventually I made my way to Duluth. At 915 I was at Lester Park. The two lots were full so I parked way down along the road and ran to the start to get my number and check in. Ran back to get my gels, iPhone and slather my feet with Foot Potion. Remember what happened last year when I didn't wear my Foot Potion? Yeah, I didn't want to have my foot doctored upon again during the race. I grabbed a snowshoe in each arm and ran back to the start line. Barb was giving her directions of the course to the runners. I put on my snowshoes and waited about 30 seconds before she said GO.
I watched everyone take off. The 1/2 and Marathon runners begin at 930; the 10K at 1000. I was dead last, as planned. I walked up the first hill, slowly, listening to others hack a lung as they forged up the first hill. Eventually I began a slow run and began to warm up. It was 4F, it felt great. One pair of pants, 1 shirt; it was nice not to feel like the Michelin Man for a change.
The first portion of the race is held in on groomed ski trails. The snow was well packed and in great condition for snowshoe running. There is one hill after another, rolling and lots of fun. I loved how the snowshoes could dig into the snow as I ran up the hill, propelling me forward, then down down down I'd run, gaining speed until the next hill. Too much fun!
Eventually I began to come upon others, passing them here and there, visiting and catching up. I really wasn't sure who was running the race as I wasn't at the start for more than 30 seconds. I have such a hard time recognizing faces and putting names to them.
Aid Station 1 is just out of the ski park, on our way to the private properties. Mike had sausage and bacon cooking, hot soup, cookies, pretzels, HEED, water and pop. I didn't bother to carry a pack with me. Before I know it I'm carrying a 24 oz ice cube. I left the pack at home. I drank 4 or 5 5 0z HEEDS and went on my way. All that I carried with me were 12 gels and my iPhone. I took a gel at each aid station.
The snow was really strange out of the park. Along an open field where the wind was really whipping up, the snow was like granulated beach sand that had been aerated. It was the weirdest snow I have run through. Up into the beautiful woods, along a steep hill and down back to a road and Aid Station 2. The volunteers are amazing. Here it is, cold and windy, they sit in their car until the runners arrive..jump out and help us out, always with a smile! I guzzled down another 4 little cups of HEED, sucked back a gel and headed out across the field into the woods. I climbed a beautiful wooded hill up up up to an open view of Lake Superior. Dazzling. Just spectacular. I was many deer during this section and a fox as well.
After climbing the trail I pop out onto another road and run down down down to Aid Station 3. A few more cups of HEED, a gel, and off through the hills and woods. It's fabulous. Great views, good outdoors, peace and quiet. I was having a fantastic time.
I don't wear my watch during this race. There are too many variables. Last year the course was a few miles longer, it was colder, this year the snow was funny and deep, two years that I ran the race there was NO snow, we ran on trail shoes, so I feel a watch is obsolete. I run this race to experience the outdoors, to revel in the beauty of the woods and to have a great time on a fun trail. That is exactly what I did.
By the time I hit the second large loop I wasn't running with anyone. The 1/2 marathoners were finished or almost so, the marathoners were wide spread. I came into Aid Station 1 again and was told I was first woman. I laughed and asked if I were the only woman. They told me no, that there were a few running the full marathon. I didn't know who or how many, and really didn't care. I was still going to run for fun. No pressure.
I continued on, enjoying all the beauty of mother nature. I was so grateful that it wasn't as cold as it had been, that I didn't have any blisters, I was in no pain and felt like I could run forever. I wasn't tired. I was feeling strong and full of bliss.
As I was coming into the finish I realized that I wasn't really ready to be finished. I had been enjoying this run so much that I really didn't want to be done. I wanted to continue running.
I saw the finish and saw the RD jump out of her truck to congratulate me on my finish. I stood there thinking I wasn't ready to be done. I wanted more. I stood at the finish for 25 minutes, waiting to cheer for another finisher but none came. I began to shiver and freeze. I told Barb I wasn't sure if I'd make it to the Award Party. I didn't know where to clean up. I wanted a hot shower. She told me she would mail me my award and sweatshirt if I didn't make it.
I ended up running 6:23, 1st woman; 9th overall. Barb thought there were still 10 runners out on the course.
I didn't have anywhere to shower and the party didn't begin for 3 more hours. I didn't know if I could hang out cold for 3 hours. I decided to try Dunn Brothers thinking I could use their sink to wash in. When I saw how small the bathroom sink was I decided against it. I was now completely frozen. I only wanted a hot shower and knew that a sink wasn't going to do the trick.
Back in the car I blew the defrost on high all the way home, trying to get warm, thinking about the hot shower awaiting me.I decided to go home. A few hours later I was cleaned up, in bed, warm and toasty!
Next year will be the 20th running of the Northwoods Snowshoe Marathon. It will be Barb's final race. I'll be there :)
Next up: Winter Carnival 1/2 Marathon. There isn't much for ultra running in MN in the winter. I don't think I have another race until McNaughton 100, in April.
Duluth Paper:http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/tag/tag/snowshoe%20marathon/
7 comments:
- A Prelude To... said...
Great report, Julie. I loved how awesome you felt and I could totally hear the enjoyment coming through your words :o)
- Kel said...
Bona fide heat wave compared to last year, huh? Or even last week for that matter ;)
I love how you say, "I wasn't ready to stop running." You are amazing, Julie.
I contacted my friend regarding BB comp; hopefully she'll get back to me or contact you directly.
- Carilyn said...
Congrats on a great race! I'm with you, the training is the best part of racing. While I was hurt, I was dying to just put in a couple of miles.
- David Ray said...
That was a fun read. Your enthusiasm is contagious. Great attitude on running.
- JojaJogger said...
Excellent race report. Plus I wanted to say on your blog that your foot potion got me through my first marathon without a single blister!
- Helen said...
Congrats Julie! What a way to make the most of the MN winter :)


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Rangetops are fueled by gas (or propane, when converted to LP) for exceptional cooking power and precision. JennAir® rangetops come ready for natural gas use; an LP conversion kit is included with each rangetop. Designed differently than cooktops, which lie flat on a countertop, rangetops extend through the front of cabinetry, with knobs located on the rangetop's front side. Many people enjoy the ease of control that this knob position offers, especially when cooking at high heat. (A code compliant gas connection must be available in your home to select a rangetop.)
A rangetop gives you the flexibility to position it against a wall or on an island. If the back of the rangetop rests close to a wall, a backsplash or backguard is typically recommended to protect the wall itself from the heat generated when cooking.
BTUs (British Thermal Units) are the measure of a burner's energy output, and refer to gas burners. Each burner has its own BTU measurement. Higher BTU output means higher heat—important for cooking techniques like searing and wok cooking. Lower BTU output means lower heat—important when melting butter or simmering delicate sauces.
JennAir® rangetops (with the exception of modular downdraft models, which offer 10,000 and 8,000 BTU burners) feature at least one special high-BTU burner offering 20,000 BTUs to achieve high heat as well as a low-BTU burner for greater control.
A griddle offers the flexibility to sear, sauté, brown and more, on a flat surface versus in a pan. Several of our rangetops offer a griddle featuring a high-performance element for even heat distribution along its surface. Its durable chrome surface, inspired by professional kitchens, allows for faster cooking at lower temperatures and is exceptionally easy to clean in order to maintain its shine. This innovative unique surface material, designed for performance, also adds distinctive style to the rangetop.
Downdraft rangetops feature a built-in ventilation system that captures smoke and odors right at the cooking surface. This means you don't need a hood, which offers flexibility in kitchen design and in the placement of the rangetop itself. The absence of a hood also adds to the sense of openness in the kitchen, which many designers and homeowners appreciate. Many people choose to install a downdraft rangetop in an island, which allows them to interact with people as they cook.
If you live in an apartment, check to see if your building has drafting requirements. You may want to consider using a downdraft option with a duct-free ventilation kit to accommodate any requirements.
Traditional rangetops feature set burners (and griddle, when selected) offering several levels of power to accommodate high-heat cooking like searing and wok-cooking as well as more delicate techniques like simmering and melting.
Modular rangetops feature interchangeable cartridges that allow you to customize your rangetop. You can select different burner types and griddles, and configure to suit your cooking preferences.
When you select a rangetop, you'll also need to choose a hood for ventilation, unless you opt for a downdraft model. The type of hood you choose will depend largely on the location of the rangetop in your kitchen. Also consider how you like to cook. For instance, do you frequently sear, blacken or flash fry? This determines how much ventilation power you'll need.
Wall mount hoods are a good option when your rangetop is positioned next to a wall. They offer powerful ventilation.
Island mount hoods essentially "float" directly over where your rangetop is placed within an island, for powerful ventilation right where it's needed.
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Perimetric hoods, designed to hang on the wall like a work of art, offer powerful ventilation and will make a dramatic statement in your kitchen.
Custom hood liners are ideal to achieve a distinctive ventilation look. They feature a ventilation system mounted to the inside of a custom vent cover. This cover can be made of metal, wood, plaster or tile, and designed to complement cabinetry or make a bold statement.
Our Pro-Style® rangetops offer bold commercial-style design and cooking power inspired by professional kitchens. Style details include a stainless steel finish, heavy-duty grates and bold knobs with diamond etching.
If you prefer less of a professional-style look, we also offer the Pro-Style® modular gas downdraft rangetop, which has a sleeker profile, smaller knobs and more refined grates.
There are several fuel type, installation and esthetic considerations. Rangetops give you exceptional power, while cooktops offer many options and styles.
Both rangetops and cooktops are stand-alone "tops" that feature heating elements or burners only—they don't feature an oven beneath.
Rangetops fit above and over a countertop with controls positioned vertically. Cooktops lie flat on a countertop to become flush or nearly flush with it; controls are positioned flat upon the cooktop surface. (Because of this, cooktops offer more installation flexibility. They have fewer infrastructure requirements and can be installed in smaller spaces with or without support from cabinetry.)
Rangetops are typically gas-powered, while cooktops offer several fuel-type options. Our rangetops offer high-power cooking options like our most powerful gas burner, along with professional-style details like heavy-duty knobs and grates. Our cooktops offer a variety of fuel types and styles: gas, electric and induction.
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Independent travelling implies being able to run all vital electrical systems in any given situation. The 20 foot offers an overwhelming energy capacity and a great energy infrastructure, using the latest technology. Clean, quiet and efficient solar energy is one of Bliss Mobil's cornerstones.
Maximum efficiency, reliability and user friendliness comes next. All critical devices are double, to guarantee the continuity of operations. For example, the battery packs, water pumps, winches, valves and solar circuits are all double.
Solar power
The 20 foot unit is equipped with 6 high quality and powerful monocrystalline solar panels (2 parallel sets of 2 panels connected in series). They have a combined maximum output of 1.9 kW per hour, generating more than enough power for daily use.Read more
Truck alternator
Besides the abundant capacity of the solar system, power can also be generated by the truck's alternator. The alternator functions as a back-up power generation source.Read more
Lithium-ion batteries and BMS
The 20 foot is equipped with powerful maintenance-free lithium-ion batteries to store large amounts of power reliably and efficiently. The 16 batteries are split up into two 24V parallel battery banks of 8 batteries each. Total battery capacity: 800 Ah/more than 20 kWh.Read more
Inverter & charging
The nominal voltage is 24 V. 230 VAC is generated by a powerful inverter with a capacity of 5kW. This is enough to run the induction stove and air conditioning at the same time. The inverter can also charge the batteries with a current of 120A at 24 V using 230V grid power.Read more
Smart vehicle
The domotics system in the Bliss Mobil is a WiFi-based system using the vehicle's own WiFi network. Through a series of control units, each and every electrical device can be operated remotely using the complementary tablet or any type of smartphone.Read more
Wireless light switches
Wireless light switches based on EnOcean technology is another application of the domotics system. The (light) switches are battery-free and pulse a megahertz signal when switched, subsequently triggering a switching operation in the server.Read more
Override panel
Although everything can be switched on-off and monitored with the tablet domotics system; there is a clear and easy back up: the override panel.Read more
No volatile propane
The 20 foot unit is equipped with plenty of solar power and battery capacity. When the body is exposed to daylight a large 1.9 kW solar power array charges the batteries (20 kWh) and powers all devices.Read more
Energy efficiency
In order to minimize power consumption and prolong the lifespan of all lighting, the 20 foot is equipped with energy efficient LED lighting. The 60mm wall panels insulated with additional Aerogel throughout the steel frame, make the body suitable for extreme climates and reduce day-to-day energy use for heating and cooling.Read more


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APOPKA, Fla. – Investigators say a 3-year-old girl who was found wandering a busy road in Apopka alone was reunited with her family on Sunday.
Seminole County deputies found the girl, who said her name was Isabella, walking along a busy stretch of Bear Lake Road around 7:30 p.m. Saturday night.
"Everybody's cutting through," said Patrick Smith, who lives right off the roadway. "There's a lot of traffic on this road."
The child was placed in protective custody until early Sunday morning when investigators returned her to her family.
"How do you let a 3-year-old girl get out at 8 o'clock?" Smith asked. "Kids can disappear quickly and everybody knows you turn your back and they're gone."
Her parents told police they arrived home at 11:30 p.m. from an evening out to find their babysitter asleep and the front door wide open.
The girl was said to be in good condition.


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Developing SQL Databases
Question No: 31 DRAG DROP
Note: This question is part of a series of questions that use the same scenario. For your convenience, the scenario is repeated in each question. Each question presents a different goal and answer choices, but the text of the scenario is exactly the same in each question in this series.
You have a database named Sales that contains the following database tables: Customer, Order, and Products. The Products table and the Order table are shown in the following diagram.
The customer table includes a column that stores the data for the last order that the customer placed.
You plan to create a table named Leads. The Leads table is expected to contain approximately 20,000 records. Storage requirements for the Leads table must be minimized.
Changes to the price of any product must be less a 25 percent increase from the current price. The shipping department must be notified about order and shipping details when an order is entered into the database.
You need to implement the appropriate table objects.
Which object should you use for each table? To answer, drag the appropriate objects to the correct tables. Each object may be used once, more than once, or not at all. You may need to drag the split bar between panes or scroll to view content.
The Products table needs a primary key constraint on the ProductID field.
The Orders table needs a foreign key constraint on the productID field, with a reference to the ProductID field in the Products table.
Question No: 32 HOTSPOT
You have a database named Sales.
You need to create a table named Customer that includes the columns described in the following table:
How should you complete the Transact SQL statement? To answer, select the appropriate Transact-SQL segments in the answer area.
Box 1: MASKED WITH (FUNCTION =#39;default()#39;)
TheDefualt masking method provides full masking according to the data types of the designated fields.
Example column definition syntax: Phone# varchar(12) MASKED WITH (FUNCTION =
#39;default()#39;) NULL
Box 2: MASKED WITH (FUNCTION =#39;partial(3,quot;XXXXXXquot;,0)#39;)
The Custom String Masking method exposes the first and last letters and adds a custom padding string in the middle. prefix,[padding],suffix
PhoneNumber varchar(10) MASKED WITH (FUNCTION = #39;partial(5,quot;XXXXXXXquot;,0)#39;) Box 3: MASKED WITH (FUNCTION =#39;email()#39;)
The Email masking method which exposes the first letter of an email address and the constant suffix quot;.comquot;, in the form of an email address. .email@example.com.
Example definition syntax: Email varchar(100) MASKEDWITH (FUNCTION = #39;email()#39;) NULL
Question No: 33 DRAG DROP
You have two database tables. Table1 is a partioned table and Table 2 is a nonpartioned table.
Users report that queries take a long time to complete. You monitor queries by using Microsoft SQL Server Profiler. You observe lock escalation for Table1 and Table 2.
You need to allow escalation of Table1 locks to the partition level and prevent all lock escalation for Table2.
Which Transact-SQL statement should you run for each table? To answer, drag the appropriate Transact-SQL statements to the correct tables. Each command may be used once, more than once, or not at all. You may need to drag the split bar between panes or scroll to view content.
Since SQL Server 2008 you can also control how SQL Server performs the Lock Escalation – through the ALTER TABLE statement and the property LOCK_ESCALATION. There are 3 different optionsavailable:
Box 1: Table1, Auto
The default option is TABLE, means that SQL Server *always* performs the Lock Escalation to the table level -even when the table is partitioned. If you have your table partitioned, and you want to have aPartition Level Lock Escalation (because you have tested your data access pattern, and you don't cause deadlocks with it), then you can change the option to AUTO. AUTO means that the Lock Escalation is performed to the partition level, if the table is partitioned, and otherwise to the table level.
Box 2: Table 2, DISABLE
With the option DISABLE you can completely disable the Lock Escalation for that specific table.
For partitioned tables, use the LOCK_ESCALATION option of ALTER TABLE to escalate locks tothe HoBT level instead of the table or to disable lock escalation.
Question No: 34
Note: This question is part of a series of questions that present the same scenario. Each question in this series contains a unique solution. Determine whether the solution meets the stated goals.
You are developing a new application that uses a stored procedure. The stored procedure inserts thousands of records as a single batch into the Employees table.
Users report that the application response time has worsened since the stored procedure was updated. You examine disk-related performance counters for the Microsoft SQL Server instance and observe several high values that include a disk performance issue. You examine wait statistics and observe an unusually high WRITELOG value.
You need to improve the application response time.
Solution: You update the application to use implicit transactions when connecting to the database.
Does the solution meet the goal?
Answer: B Explanation:
References: http://sqltouch.blogspot.co.za/2013/05/writelog-waittype-implicit-vs- explicit.html
Question No: 35
Note: This question is part of a series of questions that use the same scenario. For your convenience, the scenario is repeated in each question. Each question presents a different goal and answer choices, but the text of the scenario is exactly the same in each question in this series.
You have a database named DB1 that contains the following tables: Customer, CustomerToAccountBridge, and CustomerDetails. The three tables are part of the Sales schema. The database also contains a schema named Website. You create the Customer table by running the following Transact-SQL statement:
The value of the CustomerStatus column is equal to one for active customers. The value of the Account1Status and Account2Status columns are equal to one for active accounts. The following table displays selected columns and rows from the Customer table.
You plan to create a view named Website.Customer and a view named Sales.FemaleCustomers.
Website.Customer must meet the following requirements:
Allow users access to the CustomerName and CustomerNumber columns for active customers.
Allow changes to the columns that the view references. Modified data must be visible through the view.
Prevent the view from being published as part of Microsoft SQL Server replication. Sales.Female.Customers must meet the following requirements:
Allow users access to the CustomerName, Address, City, State and PostalCode columns.
Prevent changes to the columns that the view references.
Only allow updates through the views that adhere to the view filter.
You have the following stored procedures: spDeleteCustAcctRelationship and
spUpdateCustomerSummary. The spUpdateCustomerSummary stored procedure was created by running the following Transacr-SQL statement:
You run the spUpdateCustomerSummary stored procedure to make changes to customer account summaries. Other stored procedures call the spDeleteCustAcctRelationship to delete records from the CustomerToAccountBridge table.
You must update the design of the Customer table to meet the following requirements.
You must be able to store up to 50 accounts for each customer.
Users must be able to retrieve customer information by supplying an account number.
Users must be able to retrieve an account number by supplying customer information. You need to implement the design changes while minimizing data redundancy.
What should you do?
Splitthe table into three separate tables. Include the AccountNumber and CustomerID columns in the first table. Include the CustomerName and Gender columns in the second table. Include the AccountStatus column in the third table.
Split the table into two separate tables. Include AccountNumber, CustomerID, CustomerName and Gender columns in the first table. Include the AccountNumber and AccountStatus columns in the second table.
Split the table into two separate tables, Include the CustomerID and AccountNumber columns in the first table. Include the AccountNumber, AccountStatus, CustomerName and Gender columns in the second table.
Split the table into two separate tables, Include the CustomerID, CustomerName and Gender columns in the first table. IncludeAccountNumber, AccountStatus and CustomerID columns in the second table.
Answer: D Explanation:
Two tables is enough.CustomerID must be in both tables.
Question No: 36 HOTSPOT
You have a database named HR1 that includes a table named Employee.
You have several read-only, historical reports that contain regularly changing totals. The reports use multiple queries to estimate payroll expenses. The queries run concurrently. Users report that the payroll estimate reports do not always run. You must monitor the database to identify issues that prevent the reports from running.
You plan to deploy the application to a database server that supports other applications. You must minimize the amount of storage that the database requires.
Employee Table
You use the following Transact-SQL statements to create, configure, and populate the Employee table:
You have an application that updates the Employees table. The application calls the following stored procedures simultaneously and asynchronously:
The application uses views to control access to data. Views must meet the following requirements:
Users must only be able to modify data in the Employee table by using the vwEmployee view. You must prevent users from viewing the view definition in catalog views.
You need to identify the view attribute to use when creating vwEmployee. In the table below, identify the attributes that you must use.
NOTE: Make only one selection in each column.
References: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms187956.aspx
Question No: 37
Note: This question is part of a series of questions that use the same or similar answer choices. An Answer choice may be correct for more than one question in the series. Each question independent of the other questions in this series. Information and details provided in a question apply only to that question.
You are a database developer for a company. The company has a server that has multiple physical disks. The disks are not part of a RAID array. The server hosts three Microsoft SQL Server instances. There are many SQL jobs that run during off-peak hours.
You must monitor the SQL Server instances in real time and optimize the server to maximize throughput, response time, and overall SQL performance.
You need to collect query performance data while minimizing the performance impact on the SQL Server.
What should you do?
Create a sys.dm_os_waiting_tasks query.
Create a sys.dm_exec_sessions query.
Create a Performance Monitor Data CollectorSet.
Create a sys.dm_os_memory_objects query.
Create a sp_configure 'max server memory' query.
Create a SQL Profiler trace.
Create a sys.dm_os_wait_stats query.
Create an Extended Event.
Answer: C Explanation:
SQL Server Data Collector is afeature for performance monitoring and tuning available in SQL Server Management Studio.
Integration Services packages transform and load the collected data into the Microsoft Data Warehouse database.
Collection sets are defined and deployed on a serverinstance and can be run independently of each other. Each collection set can be applied to a target that matches the target types of all the collector types that are part of a collection set. The collection set is run by a SQL Server Agent job or jobs, and data is uploaded to the management data warehouse on a predefined schedule.
Predefined data collection sets include:
The Query Statistics data collection set collects information about query statistics, activity, execution plans and text on the SQL Server instance. It does not store all executed statements, only 10 worst performing ones.
Disk Usage data collection set collects information about disk space used byboth data and log files for all databases on the SQL Server instance, growth trends, andaverage day growth.
Question No: 38
You have a view that includes an aggregate.
You must be able to change the values of columns in the view. The changes must be reflected in the tables that the view uses.
You need to ensure that you can update the view. What should you create?
table-valued function
a schema-bound view
a partitioned view
a DML trigger
Answer: B Explanation:
When you use the SchemaBinding keyword while creating a view or function you bindthe
structure of any underlying tables or views. It means that as long as that schemabound object exists as a schemabound object (ie you don't remove schemabinding) you are limited in changes that can be made to the tables or views that it refers to.
Question No: 39
Note: this question is part of a series of questions that use the same or similar answer choices. An answer choice may be correct for more than one question in the series. Each question is independent of the other questions in the series. Information and details provided in a question apply only to that question.
You are developing an application to track customer sales.
You need to create a database object that meets the following requirements:
Return a value of 0 if data inserted successfully into the Customers table.
Return a value of 1 if data is not inserted successfully into the Customers table.
Support TRY…CATCH error handling
Be written by using Transact-SQL statements. What should you create?
extended procedure
CLR procedure
user-defined procedure
DML trigger
scalar-valued function
table-valued function
Answer: D
DML triggers is a special type of stored procedure that automatically takes effect when a data manipulation language (DML) event takes place that affects the table or view defined in the trigger. DML events include INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statements. DML triggers can be used to enforce business rules and data integrity, query other tables, and include complex Transact-SQL statements.
Question No: 40
Note: This question is part of a series of questions that present the same scenario. Each question in this series contains a unique solution. Determine whether the solution meets the stated goals.
The Account table was created using the following Transact-SQL statement:
There are more than 1 billion records in the Account table. The Account Number column uniquely identifies each account. The ProductCode column has 100 different values. The values are evenly distributed in the table. Table statistics are refreshed and up to date.
You frequently run the following Transact-SQL SELECT statements:
You must avoid table scans when you run the queries. You need to create one or more indexes for the table. Solution: You run the following Transact-SQL statement:
CREATE CLUSTERED INDEX PK_Account ON Account(ProductCode); Does the solution meet the goal?
Answer: B Explanation:
We need an index on the productCode column as well. References:https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms190457.aspx
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text:
Auto Glass Repaired or Replaced In Your Driveway!
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Superior Auto Glass NW is an expert in domestic and imported windshield repair. In WA, a cracked windshield is more than a nuisance, it's a safety issue. That windshield chip may have come from a distant road trip, but you can get it fixed in Elma. Windshield Guru works with expert glass companies like Leading Glass Technicians. Get that crack fixed on your terms; don't wait for it to get worse.
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They called 30 minutes before arrival. Windshield replacement done in about 50 minutes. Very professional. They even put my parking permit back without tearing it apart and also glued back my dash cam and Good to Go transponder. Highly recommended!
Michael H• Seattle, WA • 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee
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The workman was friendly and knowledgable but I was more than surprised that he did not have suction cup devices to hold the windshield above the mounting frame. He nearly smashed his fingers as he used brute force to center the glass in place. I will cross my fingers that the seal will hold beyond 2 days when I can get the car washed again. jeff Hollers
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text:
But a little sneak peek into our winter wonderland weekend.
It was magical, especially to a Southern California girl who doesn't get to see snow fall too often.
On another note, thanks so much for all the support for my new Friday feature. I truly truly appreciate it. I'm excited to show you more.
Good night my friends. May your dreams be filled with something magical.


text:
As the ALA has emphasized since first learning of the possible ramifications of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, concern for children's safety is our first priority in providing materials to young patrons. While we believe that ordinary books – those books that are published on paper or cardboard, printed by conventional publishing methods, intended to be read, and lacking inherent play value are safe for all ages – we will immediately inform our membership if we learn of any potential threats from such books due to lead content.
Recently, two television stations tested a slew of library books and identified three books that reportedly have trace amounts of lead in them. The television stations only provided titles and did not report additional information on the specific editions tested. It is unclear what, if any, danger these books actually pose to children in their ordinary use, but felt it was necessary to inform you of the reports to continue our efforts to ensure children's safety.
If you possess the following books you will want to make an assessment of the course of action to take for your library. Options may include removing the material(s) from the cirulating children's section or move the material(s) to a non-circulating adult section of the library.
The volumes are: Japanese Children's Stories, Poems of Childhood, and Some Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.
Moving forward, we will continue to inform you of any other cases of specific concern of which we are made aware.
Please also be sure to check the Web site of ALA's Washington Office for further information and updates.
Legislative Action Alert: Ask your Representative to sign Rep. John Fortenberry's Dear Colleague on Lead in Children's Books!
Find out more at the Washington Office's Legislative Action Center at http://capwiz.com/ala/home/.
2/2/09 Update
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a stay of implementation of CPSIA for certain products!
Read the full article at AL Online
You may also visit the CPSC Web site and click the link under "What's New" to access their press release (it's a PDF). Many thanks to all who contacted the CPSC with concerns! Your voices have apparently been heard.
Background Information
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was passed in August 2008. This legislation seeks to decrease the levels of lead and phtalates in products intended for children under 12 and will be enforced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
The law clearly has unintended consequences, and the ALA Washington Office is working hard with the law's Congressional sponsors (Durbin, D-IL and Rush, D-IL, plus more than 100 others) as well as the CPSC in order to clarify issues of concern, and ensure the law as implemented matches its original intent. The situation is fluid, and concrete information has proven elusive. ALA urges members to keep this issue on their radar, educate themselves, and be ready to act when necessary (see "What ALA Is Doing; What You Can Do, below). In the meantime, we know members are facing questions from patrons, trustees, and fellow staff. We hope the information here can help.
For libraries and librarians, there seem to be two issues of concern: Which kinds of materials the law will cover, and which kinds of places that make materials available to children the law will cover.
Regarding types of materials:
- The law's Congressional sponsors never intended for books to be included in the regulations; books themselves do not explicitly appear in the actual language of the law, as they are typically considered an "unregulated product." Congress is already contacting the CPSC to explain the intent was not to include books.
- The Association of American Publishers (AAP) has made the case to the CPSC that since components of books (paper, ink, cardboard) are considered safe, an entire book should also be considered safe and therefore exempt from the testing requirements. The CPSC General Counsel responded with a letter rejecting this argument based on test results currently available; however, the letter also indicates that the CPSC does intend to issue rules exempting certain kinds of materials and CPSC will issue NPRs (notice of proposed rules) explaining protocols on seeking exemptions.
- AAP's argument does not cover toys that are packaged with books, nor books that are really toys in book format (such as plastic books intended for use in the bath). Book-related recalls that have been made in recent history have applied to items that posed a choking hazard that were packaged with books.
- Even if "ordinary" books are eventually exempted from the law, or agreed to be considered "safe" by the CPSC, librarians need to consider the impact of this law, since non-book items such as DVDs, CDs, games, puzzles, etc., including those currently on library shelves, will not be exempted.
Regarding types of places:
The Consumer Product Safety Commission, the government agency charged with implementing this law, has recently exempted thrift and secondhand stores from the testing requirements, since they are not considered "centers of commerce." However, such stores may be subject to fines if they actually do sell an item that contains a higher-than-acceptable level of lead or is unsafe for children in some other way (such as a crib with bars too far apart to prevent a child's head from getting caught). Libraries are not explicitly mentioned in this release, but it is possible, once the implications of the law have been thought through, that libraries may receive similar treatment, at least with regard to books.
What ALA Is Doing; What You Can Do
ALA's goals are:
- CPSC to exempt books from the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.
- CPSC to accept the component tests that have already been done on book components, as indicated by the AAP.
- CPSC exempt school and public libraries ( in other words, to give libraries the same consideration given to thrift shops and secondhand stores).
The ALA Washington Office does not believe Congressional action is needed at this time because members of Congress are already contacting CPSC. ALA is communicating with the CPSC and may eventually ask that members contact the agency, pending the outcome of these negotiations. ALA has also been in touch with the Obama/Biden Transition Team Leader for CPSC, who understands our concerns. ALA is preparing for all potential actions, which may include seeking an injunction, a grassroots effort to contact members of Congress and/or the CPSC, and/or a press campaign highlighting all the damage an extreme, immediate interpretation of CPSIA could cause. Members should remain aware of this situation, educate themselves, and be ready to respond if necessary. ALA's strategy may change as new information and opinions are issued, so please stay tuned. We expect to know more about what libraries will need to do by the time the law is implemented, but for now that is still being worked out.
For More Information:
- ALA's Professional Tips Wiki (use URL below, or search for "CPSIA" on the Professional Tips Wiki main page)
- CPSC's Web site
- CPSC's press release clarifying the status of thrift shops:
- Text of the law
- Timetable for implementation (which seems to indicate actual enforcement may not be able to occur for several months): http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html#publicmeetings (scroll down to find the "Timetable" link; it is a PDF)
Aimee Strittmatter, ALSC Executive Director, 312-280-2163, firstname.lastname@example.com
Kristin Murphy, ALA Government Relations Specialist, 202-403-8222, email@example.com


text:
Everybody's in a dither over the Performance Rights Act again, but this time not just because they disagree about whether radio stations should pay royalties to performers as well as to songwriters. No, the current uproar is over a compromise Ars reported between the broadcasting and music labels over the proposed federal law.
Radio would agree to pay around $100 million annually to artists and their representatives. In return, Congress would mandate FM radio chips in all handheld mobile devices. The deal is reportedly being worked out between the National Association of Broadcasters and the music industry, and could be taken to Congress later this year.
This dubious quid-pro-quo has come in for deserved criticism. "Rather than adapt to the digital marketplace," warned Gary Shapiro of the Consumer Electronics Association, "NAB and RIAA act like buggy-whip industries that refuse to innovate and seek to impose penalties on those that do."
True enough, and it isn't the first time. Broadcasters tried for years to get the Federal Communications Commission to force HD radio on Sirius XM devices. Seems like if consumers want this stuff, they'll find it and buy it on their own.
Pony up
But critics aren't just bashing this PRA deal; they're taking transmitter-sized whacks at FM radio itself.
"The NAB tries to defend this by comparing FM radio—a dying technology—to federal mandates on digital television tuners," writes Mike Masnick over at Techdirt. "That, of course, was entirely different in so many ways. It involved attempts to move the country forward to a new technology, not mandating an obsolete one."
FM is "dying" and "obsolete," Masnick insists—even as he notes that "the record labels already know that radio play is valuable: it's why they keep running payola scams."
Techdirt's line of fire is mild compared to John Bergmayer's stance over at Public Knowledge.
"This idea is so bad that it practically debunks itself," Bergmayer writes. "It should suffice to say that it would probably be cheaper to buy every man, woman and child in these United States a portable transistor radio than to wastefully redesign every high-tech gadget so that it supports an obsolete technology nobody wants. Better yet, let's auction off the FM spectrum and use the proceeds to buy everyone a pony."
FM is an "obsolete technology" that "nobody wants"? Arbitron begs to differ. The research company says that more than 239 million people regularly listen to radio in the US—almost seven million more than last year.
"Despite the adoption of MP3 players and the growth of mobile and Internet-only stations, radio reaches 93.1 percent of persons aged 12+ each week," the company's latest survey concludes. "Even 91 percent of the youngest radio audience, teens aged 12-17, who are most accustomed to using new technologies and forms of media, continue to tune in each week."
Much of that listening went to FM. Some consumers even still listen to (gasp) AM radio.
Ok—let's vet the standard pushback. Arbitron's new Portable People Meter system has come in for lots of criticism (true). The company is biased towards broadcast radio (probably true, although it now tracks mobile and wireline Internet radio, too). And these pronouncements often note that millions "are reached" or "tune in each week" without mentioning how much they tune in each week.
Still, even if you take all the data with a boom box-sized grain of salt—huge numbers of people still listen to FM.
The reports of FM's death...
We sometimes brand things "obsolete" or "dying" based not on their actual use, but on the fact that something else has come along that we think is (or will be) better.
Sure enough, broadcast radio has lost advertising revenue. And mobile devices offer a range of functionalities that no FM station can match. But broadband radio has limits as well—one problem being bandwidth costs to reach millions of listeners, while traditional radio signals can be sent once and received by many. Another: unlike broadcast stations, streamers have to pay royalties to artists (both terrestrial and Internet radio pay the songwriters, but only Internet radio currently pays the artists).
Meanwhile, the FCC keeps issuing old school, noncommercial educational FM licenses, for which nonprofits fiercely compete. Just about every other week somebody starts a new pirate FM station. And the number of actual licensed FM signals keeps growing, too—6,494 FM commercial and 3,223 FM educational stations existed in June, as opposed to 6,316 and 2,911 respectively just two years ago.
Bottom line: lots of folks have yet to join the great iPhone/Android/tweetorama-fest. One big reason—they can't afford to. Another—they like their car FM radios and pay TV systems just fine, or at least "fine enough."
All this has happened before
Sixty years ago everybody predicted the obsolescence of not just FM, but broadcast radio as a whole. "In 1952, death seemed imminent for network radio," wrote the broadcast historian Erik Barnouw. "Radio is Doomed," Look magazine proclaimed in 1949.
Jazz singer Dinah Washington agreed. "TV is the thing this year," she declared in her hit song (circa 1952).
"TV is the thing this year,
Radio was great, but now it's out of date
and TV is the thing this year."
It sure looked like television was sucking up all the available oxygen in the room. In 1951 most cities with just one TV station saw "signs of economic earthquake and drastic changes of habit," as Barnouw puts it. They reported up to 40 percent declines in movie going. The New York Times tracked the closing of 70 movie theaters in eastern Pennsylvania, 64 in Chicago, and 134 in southern California.
Restaurants and night clubs cited huge drops in attendance. Patrons rushed home early for TV stars like Sid Caesar. Juke box receipts took a huge hit as bars brought in TV sets. Taxicab use declined. Indeed, the very lack of people on the street was noted during major television events.
For a while, radio survived all this, largely because of an FCC freeze on new TV stations. But as the freeze lifted, BusinessWeek headlines chronicled the dramatic decline in advertising revenue: "Radio Rates Start to Crack" (1951), "TV Is Hot on Radio's Heels" (1952), "Network Revenue Down, Down, Down" (1954).
A president of NBC Radio later described the behind-the-scenes chaos.
"Everybody wanted to get into television," he recalled. "They would leave and do anything—sales people, sales managers, program people. They would go to school to learn about television . . . anything . . . everything. It was like vaudeville when films began. Management left, technicians left. It was like rats deserting a sinking ship."
Yet radio survived. It did so at first by loosening up. "With attention turned to television, radio became freer," Barnoux noted. "Vice Presidents interfered less. Ad-libbing was permitted, even encouraged. Taboos fell. Venereal disease, long a forbidden subject, was suddenly discussed on scores of programs."
Radio comics like Bob and Ray made fun of radio itself. As advertisers became scarce, the duo made up their own ads for bogus products such as the Home Surgery Kit ("How many times have you said to yourself, 'Golly, I wish I could take out my own tonsils'.")
What was "doomed" was not radio, but the "golden age" radio model of the 1930s—one in which the listener dutifully sat next to the machine and audited one hour shows listed in the newspaper. Soon pioneers like Todd Storz and Gordon McLendon introduced the Top 40 format, in which radios in the kitchen and car occupied the background rather than the foreground of daily life.
By the late 1950s, broadcast radio had again become so valuable that the industry had its first payola scandal—the first of many, right up to last month. Next came the FM "hi-fi" craze, "free form" radio, and AM talk.
Does this mean that broadcast radio today will recoup as it did during those years? Not likely, in part because radio hasn't suffered a comparable body blow from any one technology. MP3 players, the Internet, hundreds of cable channels, video game consoles, the lousy economy, and over-consolidation after the Telecommunications Act of 1996—all these factors are playing a role in the industry's latest time of troubles.
What the field suffers from most right now is a failure of imagination. Exhibit number one: trying to get Congress to mandate FM in every mobile device.
But it's hard to believe that consumers and media entrepreneurs will completely turn their backs on a technology as elegant and effective as FM radio. They haven't yet. And before they do, they'll certainly want more than a pony.


text:
Vodafone UK has issued a text message warning to iPhone users on its network, blaming issues with 3G performance. In addition, The Next Web reviewed 27 pages of complaints on Apple's Support Communities forum, the first of which was logged on January 28.
Apple has not addressed the potential iOS 6.1 issue yet.
But one possible solution was offered by an iPhone user who visited an Apple Store genius (via The Next Web):
I went to see the genius' yesterday. My problem was that my usage was almost identical to my stand by times, which means that something was continuing to run in the background after closing all the apps.
I was told to turn off location services and then one by one turn each in turn to see which one was causing the drain on the battery. I was impatient so just factory reset the handset which seems to have fixed the problem.
I'll keep you all posted on how it continues.