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Top 10 Author Event Podcast Downloads November 2014
By Peter SM Fri, December 19, 2014
How time flies! We recently closed out another year of great conversations in our Author Events series here at the Free Library and can't wait for the new year to start right up again! Our 2015 schedule is now live and you'll definitely want to make room on your calendar for the continuation of our Monday Poets series on the first Monday of every month, the One Book, One Philadelphia kickoff event for this year's selection Orphan Train by Christina Baker, genre mashup maestro Seth Grahame-Smith, punk rock drumming legend Mary Ramone, the business-minded Leading Voices lecture series, theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku, local celebrity chef Mark Vetri, award-winning actress Candice Bergen, and one of the world's most revered writers, Toni Morrison!
View and listen to the Top 10 Author Event Podcasts Downloaded in November 2014.
Donna Tartt | The Goldfinch
Recorded 10/30/2013
Listen to MP3 audio
Donna Tarrt burst onto the literary scene with her "gorgeously written, relentlessly erudite, and persistently (and quite anachronistically) high-minded" (Vanity Fair) debut novel, The Secret History. The book, packed with literary references from both classical Greek and contemporary literature, follows a group of classics students at a small Vermont liberal arts college who slay a stranger and then one of their own. Her second novel The Little Friend, set in 1970s Mississippi, begins with the shocking Mother's Day discovery of the hanging body of a 9-year-old boy. The book received the W.H. Smith Literary Award and was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction. The Goldfinch is her long-awaited third novel.
Sherman Alexie | War Dances
Praised for his unsentimental portrayals of contemporary life among Native Americans, Sherman Alexie writes stories and novels that are by turns hilarious and heartbreaking. His work has earned numerous awards, including the PEN/Hemingway Award for his short story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven and the National Book Award for his young adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. War Dances is a collection of stories of ordinary men on the brink of extraordinary change.
This recording contains explicit content.
"The Best Day of My Life So Far..."
What happens when Philadelphia seniors open up by sharing stories from their lives? On Seniors' Storytelling Day, be ready to smile, laugh and even cry as our city's seniors take the stage to read stories that they have written, and answer questions from the audience.
Inspired by her friendship with her grandma, Benita Cooper launched The Best Day of My Life (So Far), a multimedia storytelling project to connect seniors with younger generations. Find out more about the project @ www.thebestdayofmylifesofar.blogspot.com and view a short video of a class in action: www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3ZAb8o0FAg
Nicholas D. Kristof | A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity
Recorded 9/30/2014
The first married couple to win the Pulitzer Prize, Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn are acclaimed for their reporting about international social injustices, women's issues, and Asia's economic ascendance. In 2009 they received the Dayton Literary Peace Prize's Lifetime Achievement Award. Kristof has written for the New York Times since 2001, during which time he received an additional Pulitzer for his columns about the genocide in Darfur. Also an accomplished and lauded print journalist, WuDunn now works as an executive at several of America's top investment banking firms. The co-authors of two previous bestsellers, Kristof and WuDunn's new book, A Path Appears, is an ambitiously profound look at people who are making the world a better place and the ways in which we can support their efforts.
Jared Diamond | The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?
A globally renowned scholar and recipient of a National Science Medal, Jared Diamond is the author of the bestselling book Guns, Germs and Steel, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize. An ecologist and evolutionary biologist, Diamond is a professor of geography and physiology at UCLA and a founding member of the board of the Society of Conservation Biology. His other works include Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Why is Sex Fun?, and The Third Chimpanzee. Informed by his decades of fieldwork around the globe, as well as evidence from Inuit, Amazonian Indians, and Kalahari San people, The World Until Yesterday offers a comprehensive depiction of traditional human societies and the practices we can learn from them.
Alan Cumming | Not My Father's Son
Beloved star of stage and screen and "one of the most fun people in show business" (Time), Alan Cumming is renowned for his fearless portrayal of diverse characters. In the past few years, he has sung at venues around the globe; appeared in a handful of films; voiced a Smurf, a goat, and Hitler; entered upside down and suspended by his ankles in a Greek tragedy; recorded an album; made three documentaries; released a fragrance; and hosted Masterpiece Mystery. He is currently reprising his Tony Award-winning role of the Emcee in Cabaret on Broadway. With bawdy humor and insight, Cumming shares in his memoir the emotional story of his complicated relationship with his father and the deeply buried family secrets that shaped his life and career.
In conversation with Wesley Stace, author, Wonder Kid.
Anjelica Huston | Watch Me
Following her "extraordinary" (Vanity Fair), "evocative" (New York Times), and "magically beautiful" (The Boston Globe) coming-of-age memoir, Academy Award-winning actress Anjelica Huston writes in her newest memoir about her turbulent, high-profile seventeen-year relationship with Jack Nicholson; her rise to stardom; her collaborations with the greatest directors in Hollywood; the death of her father, the legendary director John Huston; and her marriage to sculptor Robert Graham. Scion of a multi-generational Hollywood dynasty, Huston has experienced a career that in many ways outshines her famous family. Her many honors include an Independent Spirit Awards and a Golden Globe Award, as well as multiple Oscar, BAFTA, and Emmy awards and nominations.
Carole Phillips Memorial Lecture
In conversation with Steven Rea, Film Critic, Philadelphia Inquirer
Eric Metaxas | Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life
Recorded 11/4/2014
Eric Metaxas is best known for his biographies, told with "passion and theological sophistication," (The Wall Street Journal) of William Wilberforce and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, profoundly moral men who took unpopular stances and have since been vindicated by history. He is also the author of dozens of other works of nonfiction, children's books, television scripts, and newspaper and periodical columns. Metaxas is a frequent contributor to news programs on CNN, Fox News Channel, and NPR, and also hosts a nationally syndicated Sunday morning program, 100 Huntley Street. His new book asks why miracles happen and what we can do to understand and use them in our lives.
E. O. Wilson | The Meaning of Human Existence
Esteemed biologist E. O. Wilson's ideas have had an immeasurable influence on our understanding of life, nature, and society. The author of more than 25 books, including two Pulitzer Prize-winning works of nonfiction, Wilson has won a raft of scientific and conservation prizes, including the prestigious National Medal of Science. He remains an outspoken advocate for conservation and biodiversity, fighting to preserve the wondrous variety of the natural world. His writing explores the world of ants and other tiny creatures, illuminating how all creatures great and small are interdependent. In his new book, he bridges science and philosophy to create a 21st-century treatise on human existence.
In conversation with Dr. Ian G. Sheffer
Archer Mayor with Lynne Abraham | Proof Positive
Archer Mayor, the New York Times bestselling author of 25 Vermont-based mysteries featuring detective Joe Gunther, will team up with former Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham to compare notes on real and fictional crime, rural vs. urban crime, and how they have handled their many encounters with unusual situations.... with care, professionalism, humor, creativity, and no small amount of moxie. Archer is a death investigator and police detective. His 25th Joe Gunther police procedural, Proof Positive, is now available. Lynne Abraham served as Philadelphia District Attorney for 18 years and was the first woman to hold the position.
If you like what you hear above, you can browse, download, and listen to more than 1,000 Author Event podcasts from our extensive archive!
You can always keep up to date on future Free Library Author Events by signing up for our email list, following us on Facebook and Twitter, and by subscrbing to Author Event Podcasts via iTunes or RSS Feed.
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Online Poker News
Day 2 Draws to an End in Budapest
As we predicted, on the opening day of the Budapest EPT Championship stop, this third leg of the season 5 series has attracted more than it's capped 500. A total of 532 people took part in the 2 day 1s; a figure that creates a playing circle that represents 38 different nations! Whilst we're on the subject of impressive figures; with such a large field, all paying-up the €4,350 buy in, a prize pool of €2,128,000 was created for this championship tourney.
The field wasn't all big out-of-towners, and in fact there were more than 70 local players who entered this tournament to play along side the likes of Alex Kravchenko, Marty Smyth, Noah Boeken, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Fabrice Soulier, Johnny Lodden, Michael Keiner, Thomas Fougeron, Anthony Lellouche, Max Pescatori, Per Hildebrand, Dario Minieri, George Danzer, Max Pescatori,, Casey Kastle, Anthony Lellouche, Praz Banzi, and Vicky Coren, all of whom were amongst the stars to be spotted in the first 2 days.
At the end of the two opening days, that original 532 player field had been reduced to only 182, and some of the biggest names to not be seen returning were Dario Minieri, George Danzer, Vicky Coren, Pascal Perrault, Julian Thew, Davidi Kitai, Marcel Luske, Katja Thater, Dave Colclough, Markus Golser, Mats Iremark, and Keith "The Camel" Hawkins. Happily however, at the near top of the leaders table at the beginning of the day was last year's surprise London winner Annette Obrestad, who thus far hasn't been doing so well in the European rounds this fall.
Before the end of today, the field will be further reduced to just 32, which at the time of writing, seems to be a figure attainable within the hour. Today has been a great day, and with the money bubble bursting at 56 it was the unfortunate Thomas Vestergard of Denmark who was to be the last to walk away from the tournament empty-handed, whilst Aditya Agarwal of India took his second cash finish of this month by taking position 56 and the €5,320 that comes with it. Stay tuned for the day 2 chip leaders!
Good News for Londoners
The London Hippodrome has long been a multi-faceted venue for Londoners, and now it's about to get a whole new lease of life. The Leicester Square building has been granted permission to run a card room inside a casino – something that it has never done before.
The building which is the home of the London Hippodrome is a grade II listed building and whilst it has been a nightclub in its most recent incarnation, it has since it's building in 1900 been used for circuses, variety shows, as a musical hall and as a theatre. At the beginning of this year, an application was submitted to transform this historic location on the corner of Charring Cross Road, into an entertainment venue that will include a cabaret performance area, restaurant and bar, and a casino including a card room.
This isn't the first time that such an attempt has been made but until now the applications were rejected. In this case however, United Leisure Gaming with the help of Berwin Leighton Paisner were able to secure the license, with a BLP partner commenting:
This has been a momentous win and a landmark
case for licensing... It is the first time that a multi-use
facility has been granted a gaming license in
London and it gives the green light for what will be a
great new attraction here.
Whilst the UK is considered to be very liberal in terms of its approach to online gambling, the latest in legislations have actually tightened the ability to open new land based casinos, thus it is feared that the new Hippodrome Casino may be the last new one to be seen for quite a while. It joins the Casino at the Empire in Leister Square, and is likely to become a much sought after venue for not just private gaming but for international tournaments.
Caesars Palace Classic Culmination
The Caesars Palace Classic series has been running now since October 16th, and with the last non championship event done with, we can prep up today for the big one – the 3 day $1,000,000 guaranteed first prize Championship No'Limit Holdem Event.
This has been a series of excitement and challenges, of hard slogs and surprises; and yesterdays heads up play in the penultimate event of this series was no exception. The $1,000 no-limit hold'em six handed event drew in 141 participants on it's first day on Sunday, and took just 11 levels to get down 2 tables loosing the likes of Allen Kessler, Will Failla, Vivek Rajkumar, Scott Clements, Marc Karam, J.J. Liu, Ted Lawson, Chris Grigorian, Tony Ma, and Men "The Master" Nguyen along the way. Whilst the first day for the most part flew by, play got stuck in the mud around the money bubble, and ground to a virtual holt – not so on day 2 however when the returning 12 in their 2 tables managed to get down to a final six in just one hour of play! Following which, it took just one more hour to get down to Blake Cahail and Jared Pacifici in heads up play. Ironically, after much back and forth, heads up play equaled the amount of time played on the entire of the rest of day 2, and in a phenomenal yet tough heads up play both players proved their skill, but ultimately it was Cahail who took the first place prize of $37,324, whilst Pacifici lefts with $21,168.
In general it's been a fantastic series, and with the level of poker we've been seeing here over the last 2 weeks, there's no reason to think that this will not be a incredible Championship Event; play will get underway in day 1 of 3, today at 12 noon.
Hungry for Hungarian EPT Championship
Pack your bags – Hungary here we come. For the first time in the European Poker Tour, Budapest is on the stop-over list; and it looks like it's going to be a great turn out for the third leg of this year's fantastic EPT.
The Sofitel hotel, is one of the most luxurious in the city, and the 500+ players who are expected to turn out, must get their skates on as poker players are already turning out in the droves. Whilst the event has had a limit of 500 placed on it, there is speculation that organizers will either have to increase this number, or turn people away.
Already known to be in attendance is Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier who just days ago won the Festa al Lago, Alex Kravchenko, Vicky Coren, Luca Pagano, Dario Minieri, Katja Thater, Marcin Horecki, Noah Boeken, William Thorson, and Hungary's very own Denes Kalo.
The event has a €4,350, and will run from today through to November 1st. All days of play will begin at 1 p.m. local time, and to help you keep abreast of the going-ons; here's the event schedule:
Tuesday, Oct. 28th: Day 1A - Play eight levels
Wednesday, Oct. 29th: Day 1B - Play eight levels
Thursday, Oct. 30th: Day 2 - Play down to 32 players
Friday, Oct. 31st: Day 3 - Play down to eight players
Saturday, Nov. 1st: Day 4 - Final Table
This is the third leg of 10 making up Season 5 of the EPT which will culminate in the Grand Final in Monte Carlo at the end of April 2009. The first event, in Barcelona was won by Sebastian Ruthenberg for €1,361,000 whilst the second leg in London was won by Michael Martin for £1,000,000.
Breathing Space for WPTE
Several months ago we reported that WPT Enterprises Inc., parent company of the World Poker Tour had run into trouble because of non-conformity to minimum listing prices of shares on the Nasdaq. In the current financial crisis that is facing the worlds stock markets and largest economies in the world Nasdaq has temporarily waived those requirements, giving WPTE some breathing space.
According to Nasdaq rules, companies whose shares fall below the value of 1 US dollar each for 30 days straight are given 180 days to rectify the situation. In order to operate within the rules, that company must within that given time, take steps to bring the share value to more than 1 US dollar and stay at that value for at least 10 straight business days.
WPT Enterprises Inc., received notification in August that their shares were not complying, but last week a change came as Nasdaq announced that they will not be carrying out minimum stock price enforcement until the middle of January of next year. The decision was not made by Nasdaq alone, and doesn't apply to just WPT Enterprises Inc. The Securities and Exchange Commission gave their approval of the suspension as a mode of damage control, as with the markets in their current state too many companies are in a state of non-compliance.
The suspension is only temporary, and following January 20th any companies who fail to comply with the rules may face delisting. The current value of WPTE shares is around $0.41, but it has been considerably lower at points in the last year.
Festa al Lago, Final Fiasco
Today is the final day of the WPT Festa al Lago, but after four hard hitting days, the final table is still not set for the final show down. 368 participants started play in this $15,000 buy in event, and at the end of play yesterday 12 remained as Ryan Fair went out in 13th place.
The pace of play on both Thursday and Friday was fast and furious to say the least, but as the remaining 34 got whittled down quickly the final two tables that, had they worked fast would have allowed players a break before the televised final, simply couldn't seem to get anywhere fast.
Jack McClelland, Tournament Director had announced that play would continue until the final 9 were established or until five levels were played through. At just shy of 9 pm a card was drawn to determine how many more hands; the result was 2, and with no further eliminations, the 12 return today.
This has been a tournament of the downfall of chip leaders, with Antonio Esfandiari who got off to a phenomenal start not making it through to day 3, and Daniel Negreanu who lead the stacks at the end of day 2 also falling by the wayside. Ryan Fair who went out in 13 place had also earlier shown great chip promise, and so, it's with a double edged sword that Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier may be celebrating his chip lead going into the final day.
The first place prize in this tournament is $1,411,015, making it one of the biggest circuit prizes in existence. The survivors, chip counts and their table positions as play gets started today are:
Seat 1: Adam "Roothlus" Levy, 568,000
Seat 2: Nenad Medic, 1,435,000
Seat 3: Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier, 2,039,000
Seat 4: Will Mietz, 1,840,000
Seat 5: Jimmy Tran, 739,000
Seat 6: Nam Le, 1,149,000
Seat 1: Joe Sebok, 1,470,000
Seat 2: Michael DeMichele, 1,717,000
Seat 3: Mike Wattel, 886,000
Seat 4: Andrew "good2cu" Robl, 1,087,000
Seat 5: Osmin "Oddie" Dardon, 1,959,000
Seat 6: Olav Von Sachsen, 1,631,000
Caesars Palace Mega Stack Poker Series Schedule Released
The Caesars Poker Classic isn't going to be over until October 30th, but heaven forbid this poker haven should go too long without playing host to a major tournament, and there will be all of a 2 day breather for a turnaround, as the Mega Stack poker series will get under way in that world famous poker room on November 2nd. The 17 event, 18 day, series will include a huge number of No-Limit Holden tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $200 up to the Mega Championship with a $1,000 buy in.
The full schedule for the series is as follows:
November 1st: Satellites Begin.
November 2nd, 12 p.m.: $500+40 NO-LIMIT HOLD'EM
November 3rd, 12 p.m.: $200+25 NO-LIMIT HOLD'EM
November 4th, 12 p.m.: $200+25 NO-LIMIT HOLD'EM
November 5th, 3 p.m.: $180+20 Pot Limit Omaha
November 10th, 12 p.m.: $200+25 NO-LIMIT HOLD'EM
November 11th, 12 p.m.: Noon $200+25 NO-LIMIT HOLD'EM
November 11th, 3 p.m.: $180+20 Omaha 8/B
November 18th, 12 p.m.: $1,000+60 Mega Championship, NO-LIMIT HOLD'EM
November 19th, 2 p.m.: Mega Championship, Day 2
November 20th, 2 p.m.: Mega Championship, Final Day.
Just Another Reason to Want to be Aussie
The truth is that there are a few nationalities around the world that it can only be good to be – Australian is one of the them. An outdoor life, lots of space, and lots of snags on lots of "barbies", but now there's yet another reason to want to be from the country that gave the world vegemite.
In a new initiative by the Australian Hotels Association the chief executive Bill Healy has proposed that students be taught in school about gambling. The idea comes from a desire to better educate about probability and risk assessment within the wider sphere of financial management, and gaming including poker is considered to be a great means of doing this. Healy was careful to mention that the aim of the classroom lessons would not be to educate the youngsters on the how of gambling, but rather to use it as an excellent example of live probabilities. In fact, Healy seemed to be arguing that knowledge of the math behind gambling would in the long run be beneficial in preventing problem gambling:
People have to understand the pros and cons of gambling and manage their behavior accordingly…We don't see that gambling is going to go away and it's essential that we prevent problems occurring.
The Australian Hotels Association represents not only hotels in Australia but also entertainment venues which would include gaming sites. The proposal was part of a submission that will go before the Senate and in part aims to deal with a number of bills that are under consideration by the Senate relating to gambling. Healy has claimed that gambling already appears in the classroom as a means of teaching probability and hence this would be no great step.
Bellagio's Festa al Lago Gets Going
It was sorely missed in last years World Poker Tour, but thank the poker gods it has now returned for season 7. The Bellagio's Festa al Lago was last seen in 2006 when the $10,000 buy in event attracted over 400 participants.
Yesterday, as day 1a got under way the buy-in was $15,000, but that didn't stop the lovers of this event as well as the down-right hopefuls from turning up in their droves. The most dramatic entrance of the day was that of Phil Hellmuth – not because of his usual antics but rather because of the company he was keeping; multi-gold medal winner Michael Phelps, fresh from his 5th place Caesars Palace Classic win.
The No-Limit Hold'em Championship is event number 16 of 17 that make up this favorite in the poker calendar that has been running since the beginning of the month. 153 players turned up yesterday, and at the beginning of play today, day 1b there were already a further 127, but with registration not closing until play is a few hours in the final count is still undetermined.
Surprising exits from day 1a of this WPT championship event include Phil Hellmuth, Andy Bloch, and Scott Montgomery, whilst flying high were Antonio Esfandiari, Jennifer Tilly, Jason Mercier, and Johnny Chan. Other big names still in the game, and waiting for day 2 on Thursday are Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu and Joe Sebok.
Philanthropist Phillips
It's never been done before, but then again there are several elements of the 2008 WSOP Main Event that have never been done before, so what difference does one more make. The particular element that's been referred to is the auctioning off of a sponsorship spot on Dennis Phillips' playing shirt. This has never been seen before in professional poker, but seems like such a wonderful idea, it will be a shame if it's never seen again.
The auction began on October 16th and will end on October 26th at 05:01:32 PDT. The precise spot being auctioned is on the upper right hand arm of the WSOP Main Event finalist, and the winning bidder will be able to place in this spot his logo, subject to approval of WSOP organizers, sponsors and Phillips himself.
At the time of writing the bidding was up to $13,000, but with 3 days to go it is believed that the price will go much higher. The Main Event will be televised, and hence this is considered quite cheap advertising.
One may be wondering, what the necessity is, after all Phillips stands to win between $900,670 and $9,119,517 in the event itself. This is where the beauty lies – the auction is to benefit charity, and in this particular case Multiple Sclerosis Society who will receive all the money from this auction.
Phelps' Five Gran Finish
When Michael Phelps, now a household name, returned home from Beijing, we reported how he had expressed desires to add a WSOP bracelet to his many Olympic gold medals. Well, it's not the WSOP and it's not a bracelet, but over the weekend Phelps showed that he certainly has poker ability.
Event number 2 of the Caesars Palace Classic was a $1,500 buy in No Limit Hold'em Tournament. In excess of 150 players entered the two day event that kicked off at 12 noon on Saturday, and by the end of the first day Phelps found himself amongst the 16 survivors ready to return on Sunday.
The final sixteen started on Sunday, and Phelps stood a good chance; he was in the middle of the chip leader board, with a fairly average stack and seemed to be holding his own quite well. Unfortunately his run didn't last for ever and his first place prize dreams disappeared as his stack slowly diminished. None-the-less it was a very respectable performance, and his ninth place position earned him a cash win of over $5,000.
Whilst there was no bracelet for him, Caesars Palace Poker Room Manager, Jim Pedulla did present the swimmer with a Caesars Palace medallion at the same time that he presented him his winnings – fittingly, this was the ninth gold medal he won in the course of this year; for his ninth place position.
Kentucky Judge Supports Seizure
It's been an ongoing saga, with the Governor of Kentucky on one side and gambling associations, websites and enthusiasts on the other. Yesterday Judge Thomas Wingate announced that the state's seizure of 141 internet gaming domains would be upheld, despite strong objections from Kahnawake, and the PPA to name just a few.
A 44-page opinion paper was produced by the judge to support his decision on September 18th to allow the seizure in the first place, in which he shows that the internet for all it's wonders is not "above the law".
The PPA responded to the decision on a number of levels, most strongly objecting to the Judge's classification of poker not as a skill game, despite their amicus brief which clearly showed that poker is indeed a game of skill. Furthermore, the PPA worries that in upholding Governor Beshear's seizure, a precedent is being set that could lead to the type of censorship which not only infringes on personal freedom but also personal rights.
PPA Kentucky State Director commented on the Judge's decision:
In essence, Governor Beshear and Judge Wingate are denying law-abiding citizens this form of recreation simply because it is enjoyed on the Internet. This is Internet censorship by judicial fiat, plain and simple…Governor Beshear has shown great leadership in protecting and promoting the rights of Kentuckians to gamble on horse racing and in casinos…He should do the same for those Kentuckians who seek the freedom to engage in online poker.
A 30-day period has been allowed for the seized sites to put blocks on users from Kentucky, failure to do so will result in the state taking control of the domain name. In the mean time the PPA is confident of an overturning of this decision in the Kentucky Appellate Court.
A Witmer Win
The Fallsview Casino Resort is one of the most attractive places in the world for any activity, let alone winning a million dollars, but that's exactly what Glen Witmer did yesterday. Following six days of play the final 6 reconvened yesterday with Witmer way ahead of the pack; nearly a million clear of his closest rival Gavin Smith. As things got under way a little after 4.15 p.m. blinds were low and play was slow.
The first action was that of James Trenholm's exit on the 37th hand with pocket sevens that just couldn't stand up to Smith's pocket kings. There was more than a couple of side bets on Mark Karam taking the championship – but this was not to be. Having won 3 consecutive cash finishes in this event, there was a sense that this year might be his year; sadly for him not though, out he went in 5th place after going all in with Witmer. This season has already seen a good number of online players make it big, for example Vivek "Psyduck" Rajkumar, and Mike "SirWatts" Watson; Ryan Fisler was out to join those ranks. Unfortunately for him, Witmer made mince meat of him also, and off he went in fourth.
With three left, there was much whispering and speculation; Witmer an unknown, Kathy Liebert and Smith both highly accomplished players – surely the chips would move away from Witmer! As three-way play progressed, it became obvious that this was not to be the case. It was Liebert who was not to see heads-up play yesterday; having being short-stacked by Smith, Witmer took her down as the audience stood to applaud her game.
Heads-up started with Witmer on 9,830,000 and Smith on 3,815,000; despite the huge advantage, many still favored the more experienced Smith for the title. Smith showed uncharacteristic concentration as the play progressed, and on the 49th hand it was all over. Witmer was the big blind and raised 500,000, to which Smith went all in. Witmer showed an As, Ks, Smith, 5d, 5h. The board came out Qd, Jd, 2h, Js, As; The crowd were on their feet, and after 7 hours of play Witmer took his first title and US $1,090,589.
Poker Pros Honor Heroes
We provide care to past, present and future warriors and to all those entrusted to our care.
This is the mission statement of the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre, and earlier this week the USO of Metropolitan Washington along with the PPA did their bit to help, if not with physical care and recuperation of the soldiers, but with their morale and psychological well being.
Amongst the visiting poker pros and well-knowns were Howard Lederer, Andy Bloch, Victor Ramdin, Phil Gordon, Gavin Griffin, Dennis Phillips and Rhett Butler, who spent the day meeting and talking with the soldiers as well as taking part in a specially organized tournament. Over 100 people were in attendance of the event organized to provide the soldiers with a fun day of interest. USO-Metro President, Elaine Robers commented:
We're thrilled that these top poker pros would come out and spend a day with our soldiers and their families…Poker is a very popular activity among the soldiers spending time at Walter Reed recovering from their injuries, and this was a great opportunity for them to mingle with and learn from the best poker players in the country.
The overwhelming feeling from the players as well as PPA executive director John Pappas, was a sense of honor and appreciation of the opportunity to spent the day with the troops and their families. Gavin Griffin probably said it the best when he said in relation to the soldier's gratitude towards the players for coming:
…in reality we were the ones who were truly grateful for the time we got to spend with them.
Falls for Canadian Landslide
The North American Poker Championship has been running since October 10th, and today, after 3 days ones, and 2 further days of eliminations, the final 6 will come together, for the final time, to see how this phenomenal tournament will end.
Hosted at the Fallsview Casino Resort, Niagara Falls, the $10,000 buy in contest attracted 454 participants, only 10% of which made it to the money. The money bubble burst at 45 with a payout of $15,216, but all six returnees today are guaranteed a minimum of $133,137. Part of the WPT on tour, this event it really the main event for Canadian players, and as per form, the final table has far more Canadians than Americans; 5 to 1.
As play began yesterday, Vivek Rajkumar was being dubbed the favorite, having freshly won the Borgata Poker Open. However, despite having led the way in terms of chip counts and play for the preceding two days, he did not in fact make it through to this tournament's final table when his pocket aces failed to stand up to Marc Karam's flopped flush.
Another surprising exit was Erik Seidel who was also a casualty of three-time cash winner, and previously 6th place finisher, Karam who had an exceptional day taking him to 3rd place going into the final 6. It was Seidel's elimination that allowed the combining of the two remaining tables and with the final table in place play continued steadily and with little drama until Dominic Staniscia and Sam Greenwood both exited the game with less than 10 hands between them; Greenwood's exit caused his eliminator, Glen Witmer to jump in chips to a huge advantage. Play will begin today at 4pm Eastern Time; the chip counts and seats look like this:
Seat 1:Kathy Liebert, 1,620,000
Seat 2: Gavin Smith, 2,815,000
Seat 3: Marc Karam, 1,850,000
Seat 4: Glen Witmer, 3,710,000
Seat 5: James Trenholm, 1,365,000
Seat 6: Ryan Fisler, 2,285,000
PPA's Poll Position Politician
The Poker Players Alliance is and always has been about practical measures that can be taken to aid the sport of poker in the USA; and now a new initiative makes it around as practical and as relevant as could be.
Taking into account such issues as voting records, statements of support, meetings with PPA people, and action regarding bills, the PPA has now produced a means of quick referencing politicians in order to find out how "poker friendly" they are.
Since the PPA's creation in 2006 most members of Senate and Congress have at some point met with PPA representatives who have made it their mission to educate the powers that be on the subject of poker; however not all come out with a clear stance on the subject, and thus 114 members were not given grades including the two Presidential candidates. Those that were given grades however, were allocated a grade from A+ as the most poker friendly to F- as the least poker friendly. The grade given may change as a Member's stance and action changes. The PPA endeavors to create a scenario in which every Member get's an A grade rating, and will continue to campaign and hold meetings in pursuit of that aim. PPA Chairman, Senator Alfonse D'Amato stated in a letter to Poker Players:
The PPA Congressional Rating Guide is searchable by state and by zip code. As an additional benefit, you can automatically send an email to your Member of Congress directly from the guide to let them know how you feel about their grade and voice your support of the great game of poker….Knowing how your elected officials stand on the issues important to you is half the battle -- letting them know that you're a voter who supports poker takes care of the rest.
Oberlin Uber-win
The WSOP Circuit event hosted at the Horseshoe Southern Indiana has been a phenomenal gathering, and with it all over, nobody could be more satisfied than 22 year old student, Samuel Oberlin. Having come 177th in his last WSOP event, which won him a little over $3,000, and 5th in the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza III, his total earnings up until Indiana were under $20,000; a career pot that got multiplied by nearly 9 fold yesterday.
When final table play started yesterday, Ray Lynn had the shortest stack of all, and despite early hope through a triple up, he went out in 9th place. Next to go was Dean Schultz, despite starting with the second shortest stack, he was the most experienced player at the table with 58 money finishes – sadly not enough on this occasion. The trend seemed to be endless with no-one jumping positions as Derek Whelan who started with the third shortest stack went out in seventh place, that was until Jamin Stokes did just that - but in the wrong direction! Having started the day in second position, he took a bad bet on pocket tens, and went out in 6th place.
Joey Couden made a gallant attempt to recover from a pocket 5s bet, and it appeared that he might succeed, but it was to no avail as he went out in 5th; a position higher than he started the day. Next to go was Len Ashby of Kentucky, after an unwise bluff that Jerry Martin saw him on, followed by David Kopacz despite an early claim of the chip leader position, leaving Jerry Martin and Samuel Oberlin in heads up play.
Martin started off with a good lead at over 4 times Oberlin's chip count, but an all in pocket queens bet gave Oberlin a double up and it wasn't long before the chip lead position was his. It was in fact pocket queens that were to be Oberlin's winning ticket, and this was the hand that he took Martin down on. This is Oberlin's 3rd cash finish, first 1st place, and largest win to date; $143,064 and of course a seat at the 2009 Main Event next summer.
Poker Tour of the Americas Schedule Release
As we all know, there's no such thing as too much poker, and just to prove it, the schedule for a new poker tour was released earlier this week. Vega Promotions Systems Inc., have decided that the time has come for a whole new, whole America poker tour, and so they have created the Poker Tour of the Americas. Despite original plans for the event to be only in South America, the tour is rightly called the "Americas" because, whilst the USA does not feature in this five stop spectacle, the Northern of the Americas is represented by a weeks stop in Vancouver, British Columbia. The remaining four of the stops will be in South America.
The four South American stops span the continent, and whilst this inaugural season is limited to these five locations, the PTA as it will be known, will have another stop added for it's second season. The tour will run from February through to October, and these are the dates and locations of the stops:
February 21th -27st : Guayaquil, Ecuador
April 10th -17th : San Jose, Costa Rica
June 5th -12th : Vancouver, British Columbia
August 15th -21st : Cartagena, Colombia
October 24th -30th : Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The host casinos and hotels, and timetables for each of the events have not yet been released, and it's believed that a Tournament of Champions will also appear as a part of this inaugural season, although again details of that have not yet been released. The tournaments will mostly be invitational, but as always there will be opportunities for non-invitees to find their way to the table. Information regarding satellite tournaments will also be forthcoming in the coming weeks along with the remainder of the absent details.
New Zealand Victory for New Zealand APPT
It was a native New Zealander that took down the title in the largest tournament ever to be played on those shores. The APPT Main Event, hosted in SKYCITY Auckland, attracted an mammoth field of 305 players representing a total of 21 different nationalities, and between them creating a first prize of a little of quarter of a million New Zealand Dollars; the equivalent for around USD $155,800.
Daniel Craker, took not only the first place prize but also a seat in the Grand Final of the tour which will be held in Sydney at the beginning of December. Craker, had a phenomenal day 2 which left him in the second chip leader position; starting the day with 447,000, in comparison to his closest rival, Wang Jung of New Zealand who started off with 373,000. The plasterer by trade, found himself in heads up play against Australian Matthew Konnecke who had himself had a great run of it, starting the final day with a chip count of just 80,000, whilst chip leader going into the final day, Luke Stanford, who had started with an enormous 860,000 finished in 5th place. The final positions and payouts in New Zealand Dollars are:
1. Daniel Craker - $257,040
2. Matthew Konnecke - $162,791
3. Wang Jung - $85,680
4. Dan Sing - $59,976
5. Luke Stanford - $46,267
6. Nathanael Seet - $34,272
7. Jani Karke - $25,704
8. Michael Mariakis - $19,706
9. Wai Yuen - $14,565
Southern Indiana WSOPC Main Event Underway
The Horseshoe Southern Indiana will be better known to most as Caesar's Indiana, which underwent huge remodeling to come the other side with its new name. The décor has changed, the name has changed, but its place in the hearts of American poker lovers has not. Host to the only WSOP Circuit event in Southern Indiana on this year's circuit, the 30 table room has been living up to its expectations.
Events got under way with a whopping $40,000 free roll tournament at the end of September, and continued through the first third of October with both buy-in and freeroll tourneys. However, it was really the Main Event that people were holding their breath for. The $5,150 buy in event attracted 84 players, on Sunday, a significantly smaller number than last years 144 which was won by Carlos Uz. The three day event hopefuls included last year's champion as well as other circuit well-knowns such as Matt "mattster24" Sterling, Bryan "squirelly1" Sapp, and Bernard Lee. Other notables were David and Stacey Kopacz; a married couple who spent a fair amount of the day pitted against each other, and finished the day in first and third chip leader positions. Uz was not amongst the 27 players who will be returning today for the second day of play.
Irish McSweeney Sweeps up Ireland
On an autumns afternoon there's no where better to be than Ireland, and this was never more true than for native Jimmy McSweeney. The Irish Poker Festival which ran from the 2nd to the 5th of October and carried a 500 + 50 Euro buy-in attracted the biggest crowd ever to be seen at an Irish poker event. Far exceeding expectations, the planned 625 capacity was soon shattered and a staggering 832 competitors finally registered for the event making it one of the biggest in Europe and creating a 416,000 Euro prize-pool which by far exceeded the guaranteed prize-pool of the sponsors.
The play was intense throughout, and by the time the final 8 had been reached there was certainly a sense of every player having earned it. In seat 1, McSweeney led the field with a chip count of 2,900,000 whilst Andrew Roberts was his closest competition in seat 8, with 2,600,000. The shortest stack going into the final table was that of Hugh Whelan with just 700,000.
Everyone finished in the money, with the aptly named Barry Hand going out in 8th for 10,000 Euros; his exit giving McSweeney the push he needed to distance himself from competition by going up to 4,000,000 chips. Next out was Steve Johnson with 12,000 Euros and then Ian Smith with 15,000. And so it went, until Nick Heather, Hugh Whelan, and Bo Erichshen had all been sent to the rail, leaving McSweeney and Andrew Roberts to fight it out for the 100,000 Euro first place spot.
McSweeney had a large chip advantage going into heads-up play and it was a call of a Roberts All-In that was the final straw. McSweeney showed a pair of 6s to Roberts' A-9; the K-Q-Q-2-J board gave McSweeney the win. The positions and payouts in Euros were as follows:
1. Jimmy McSweeney, 100,000
2. Andrew Roberts, 65,000
3. Bo Ericshen, 35,000
4. Hugh Whelan, 25,000
5. Nick Heather, 20,000
6. Ian Smith, 15,000
7. Steve Johnson, 12,000
8. Barry Hand, 10,000
New Zealand – New Horizons
Following the poker action at the moment is a little like getting a whistle stop tour of the globe – with London over, Ireland and the rest of Europe on a break, it is the spring of New Zealand that is a-calling.
The Asia Pacific Poker Tour hit the SKYCITY Hotel and Casino in Auckland, New Zealand yesterday bringing with it the biggest number to partake in a poker tournament in that country. Amongst the 164 players that registered for the first of 2 day 1s were Greg "FossilMan" Raymer, Tony Hachem, Emad Tahtouh, Eric Assadourian, and Edward Sabat. The sense for most of the day was that testing the water was a high priority, and it was only quite late in the day that the action started to heat up a little. Emad Tahtouh was sent to the rail by Greg Raymer and David Saab who won the Manila leg of the APT was also sent to the rail, the later by Nathanael Ren Hao Seet. Ironically it was these two notable eliminators that also became to the 2 biggest notables to depart towards the end of the day; both at the hand of Jeff Dunbar. Greg Raymer was the first of the two to exit, followed just a few hands later by Sabat.
The late eliminations weren't quite enough to give Dunbar the chip leader position, but did put him just 4,900 chips behind Nathanael Seet who leads at the end of day 1a with 75,500. In total 59 players survived day 1a, and with day 1b waiting to kick of in just a couple of hours, the event promises to be full of surprises and excitement.
Kentucky Crunch-time Pushed Off
Tuesday saw Judge Thomas Wingate hear both sides of the argument relating to the seizure by the Governor of Kentucky of over a hundred and forty internet gaming domains, but no decision was made.
It has now been nearly a month since Governor Steve Beshear instructed the seizure of the sites on the basis that they were causing illegal activity in his State. Since the seizure, representatives of the sites as well as pro-poker activists have argued that the State has no jurisdiction as these domains exist in cyberspace and are licensed and legal in the places they operate out of. Furthermore, they claim that "gambling device" is an objectionable term for gambling sites and thus their seizure under such terms is unlawful.
On the part of the prosecutors, there seems to be some precedent for seizure of domain names in both the states of California and Washington. That being said, President of the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, Edward Leyden, appears to regard the seizure as unlawful due to it being outside any State's jurisdiction especially because the domains are located in foreign lands. Furthermore he raised the question of online horse gambling which seems to be acceptable in the Commonwealth of Kentucky – an issue which many believe was behind the seizure to begin with.
Having heard both the defense and the prosecution, Judge Thomas Wingate delayed the return of a verdict until October 15th at which point he will make his final decision in this case.
Mercier Shows no Mercy
Being the San Remo champion was obviously not enough for Jason Mercier as he stomped his way to victory in the first ever European Poker Tour London £1 Million Showdown. The tournament had 85 entrants, all after a part of the guaranteed £1 million prize pool. As well as Jason Mercier were other well known players such as John Juanda, Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, and Daniel Negreanu. The two day event saw only 14 of the original 85 return for the second day, and at the beginning of second day play it was David Benyamine who was leading the pack, followed by Alexander Rourmeliotis, and with just over half of the leaders stack, Jason Mercier was there in 3rd place. Pulling up the back end was Jani Sointula with a mere 6,500 in 14th place and it was he who was the first to be eliminated – on the first hand no less.
His eliminator Andrew Feldman was the next to go, followed by Ghassan Bitar, and Alexander Roumeliotis in a twist of fortune was sent to the rail in the 11th position by John Juanda who recently won the WSOPE Main Event bracelet. It was only the top 9 that were to finish in the money, and it was Dennis Phillips who took the unfortunate 10th position. Isabelle Mercier left with the first payout of £51,000, sent to the rail by Michael Watson who was also responsible for the downfall of former chip leader David Benyamine who went home in 8th position. The last non-North American player, Masaaki Kagawa went out in 7th place, followed by Issac Haxton in 6th.
In a year where unknowns seem to be doing as well pros, this was shaping up to be an unusually well-known cast. It was Scotty Nguyen who went out in 5th thanks again to Juanda, and Peter Jetten was next to fall, leaving Mercier, Watson and Juanda. The three battled it out for a while, but ultimately Watson was sent to the rail, and heads-up play started with a 600,000+ chip advantage to Juanda. With an early double up however, Mercier soon flipped things around, and it was Mercier who took the title and the £516,000 first place prize.
WSOPE Breaks Records
There are no words to describe the phenomenal feat that was the WSOPE Final; but words are all we have and so we must try. The beginning of the day saw a good mix of well known professional players and hitherto unknowns, and no-body really knew what to expect. The pack was being lead by John Juanda, a member of the Full Tilt Poker team, who started off in seat 5 with 1,349,000 and the shortest stack of the table was that of Chris Elliott in Seat 3, a mere 281,000.
It was in fact Elliott who was first to go home, with £81,450, but following his departure the game took on a very serious, calculated edge. The eliminations did come, but slowly; Toni Hiltunen in 8th place, and over an hour later Robin Keston in 7th. Following Keston there was an increase in pace with Scott Fischman going in 6th, and to many people's surprise Daniel Negreanu in 5th. Bengt Sonnert went out in 4th leaving only Ivan Demidov, John Juanda, and Stanislv Alekhin.
Juanda, by far the most experienced player of the three, surely couldn't have expected the opposition that these two novice Russians put up. With three-handed play lasting for in excess of 3 hours, records were broken, concentration was required, and never a more exciting play had been seen. In the end it was Demidov, of the November Nine who went out in third place leaving chip counts going into heads up play at John Juanda, 4,420,000 and Stanislav Alekhin, 2,850,000.
One might think that with the experience advantage and the huge chip advantage victory would be Juanda's in no time. If so, you couldn't be more wrong! 242 hands went into heads up play: the best part of 8 hours went into heads up play – this was like no other heads-up play seen before. The lead position went back and forth more times to recount, but finally on the 484th, 242 of which were in heads up play, Alekhin made a pre-flop all in bet which Juanda called; the former showing Ac, 9s, the later Ks, 6s. The table came out 6d, 6d, 2d, Qc, 6h. Juanda and his quads took the first place prize of £533,950, his first bracelet since 2003.
Online Poker Act Outlines Licensing of Poker Sites
With Kentucky taking measures to seize online gaming domains, and the US at large considering its financial position; trying to keep things on message is a difficult feat, however, thankfully for poker players of the United States, the advocates of poker have not gone quiet.
Democratic Senator of New Jersey Robert Menendez has introduced S. 3616, better known as the Internet Skill Game Licensing and Control Act. The act if passed will provide a framework with which the US can overview and control the internet play of skill games such as poker. Included in the proposed law would be means of the US government providing licenses for the play of skill games by US residents as has been seen successfully orchestrated in other countries. The Poker Players Alliance played a large part in the creation of the bill, and it's chairman, former senator Alfonse D'Amato commented:
On behalf of the members of the PPA and online poker players nation-wide, I would like to thank Senator Menendez on his leadership on this important issue. We look forward to working with him and his Senate colleagues to enact this sound public policy.
Included in the bill will be the call for a thorough and absolute process of deeming licensees safe and trustworthy; the obligatory use of systems to prevent underage gambling as well as technology with which problem gamblers may be identified; the highest of fraud protection measures as well as measures against money laundering and tax evasion. All in all, the bill aims to take practical measure through which the playing of online skill games can be safe, protected, and beneficial for both the player and the government. Other recent acts have been aimed at the clarification of terms in order to determine the scope of existing laws; this is the first bill to take practical steps considering poker not to be included in the classification of illegal.
Old Hand or New Face – Who Will Triumph Today?
Ivan Demidov, of Moscow was more or less unknown until this summer's WSOP where he took 11th position at one of the NLH events. No-body could have guessed that his next great achievement after that would be making it to the WSOP Main Event Final Table to be played in November, and certainly nobody would have expected this virtual unknown to get two WSOP Main Event Final Table places under his belt in his come-out season – but that he has.
Today, when play resumes in the Empire in Leicester Square London, Demidov along with the other final 8 will return to fight it out to the last in what has already been a phenomenal event. Unlike the November Nine, the October Nine includes a number of well known players. Going into the day John Juanda is chip leader having upheld a constant level of decimation in yesterday's play – despite having not won a bracelet since 2003, the Californian is clearly ready to add a fourth to his collection. On the other side of the coin, somewhat similar to his countryman, Russian Stanislav Alekhin who begins with the third biggest chip lead also seems to be inexperienced in tournament play, as does Toni Hiltunen who has the 7th biggest stack. Experience doesn't necessarily seem to be the name of the game, and neither player seemed to show any fear against the better known giants of poker against whom they've been pitted this week; let's hope that continues today as they face the likes of Daniel Negreanu. The stacks going into play today, look like this:
1. John Juanda - 1,349,000
2. Stanislav Alekhin - 1,278,000
3. Ivan Demidov - 1,006,000
4. Daniel Negreanu - 1,002,000
5. Robin Keston - 849,000
6. Scott Fischman - 732,000
7. Toni Hiltunen - 386,000
8. Bengt Sonnert - 385,000
9. Chris Elliott - 281,000
London Centre of the World
London may be dubbed the Poker Capital of this Fall, and with good reason. As the WSOPE comes to an end, the European Poker Tour is getting started. Hosted at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino, yesterday saw day 1a attract a huge crowd of a little under 300 players, making organisers review their original tournament cap of 500 entrants. Amongst those to show up yesterday was last years WSOPE winner Annette Obrestad, as well as huge names like Gus Hansen and John Phan.
The eliminations came fast and furious with John Phan, Shane Schleger, Joe Beevers, Ross Boatman, Chris Ferguson and Shaun Deeb, not seeing the end of play. It was in fact Gavin Griffin in a genius hand that sent Freddy Deeb and Jeff Lisandro packing at the same time. Others that didn't make it to the end of play included Annette Obrestad, Erica Schoenberg, and Jani Sointula. Max Pescatori had a phenomenal day of ups and downs which eventually left him top of the chip leader board. Only 77 remain of the original near 300 entrants, and we will just have to wait and see who will join them tomorrow from today's day 1b due to get underway at 13.30 London time. Amongst those to go through are previous winner Vicky Coren, Vanessa Rousso, Victor Ramdin, and Alex Kravchenko. Expected to show up today for day 1b are Joe Hachem, Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer and Barry Greenstein, amongst others.
This, the second leg of the European Poker Tour has a guaranteed jackpot of one million pounds, is set to be the biggest event in the UK yet, far exceeding last year's EPT of 400 entrants, and will be followed by the first ever EPT London High- Rollers event; all in all in deed making London the Poker Capital this Fall.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort.
The quaint Lombok air terminal.
After a few days in Nusa Dua, Bali, my traveling companion Ben and I were off to Bali's sister island, Lombok.
Our Lombok adventure began with the cab driving cousin of our Bali driver, Budi, who dropped us off at the Bali domestic airport for the short flight to Lombok. The international terminal was modern and clean but the domestic terminal was a different experience. There was no ID check matched to boarding passes. Security was such a breeze.
Lombok travel options from Bali are the cheap four hour ferry or a 20 minute plane ride, which we took. It was November, the monsoon season, and it was raining as we loaded ourselves into a Pan Am-era plane after waiving bon voyage to the people on the tarmac.
When I sat down, the armrest fell off and I noticed that an emergency exit sign was wired shut with some type of copper wiring. We were two of the "western" looking couples onboard, and the Spanish couple also had whispering concerns about the flight. An announcement in Javanese came over the intercom and we were off. As the plane gained speed a luggage compartment latch snapped as the nose began to lift, It was my shortest flight; we ascended and descended in a matter of 15 minutes for more tropical paradise.
Natural lushness at the tropical Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort.
Lombok is predominately inhabited with an animistic Islamic culture called Sasak. They have a specific dress and a style of housing. Lombok is named after a chili pepper. Lombok is what Bali once was before it became the popular vacation spot.
The Muslim culture on Lombok is far removed from what is seen on TV; one form of Islam is only found on Lombok. The scenery on Lombok is stunning. Often during our short three days on the island I felt deserted as a castaway – lush, green. and natural.
We passed small villages on the route to the Sheraton Senggigi (pronounced Sen Gee-Gee) Beach Hotel. I was all ready grooving into the slow island pace We arrived at the Senggigi Beach Hotel and met up with Lilis, whom is with the hotel; she had arranged numerous activities for us.
We were tired and wet from the tropical rain, but of course wanted to explore the resort and the beach. I grabbed an umbrella. Ben decided he didn't need one and we walked down to the ocean. The salt and pepper sand was moist under our feet and the water was warm as we dipped our toes into it. Wooden fishing boats lined the beach in an orderly fashion. Senggigi Beach is a stretch of half moon shaped coastline on the western side of Lombok, one of the few places on the island open to outsiders.
The grounds at Lombok's only 5- Star resort, the Sheraton Senggigi Beach Hotel, were beautiful; tall palms swaying and frangipani and heliconia lining the property. The grand lobby had a rustic tropical infusion feeling, like an outdoor island lodge.
The hotel features 161 rooms, 14 suites, and two private villas (about as big as my entire house), and all were recently remodeled and updated with new decor.
Our deluxe ocean terrace room.
Our ground floor room had sliding glass doors that opened up to the Indian Ocean breezes. I eyed the modern furniture and famous Sheraton "Sweet Sleeper" bed.
This resort is the top resort on Lombok. It has splendid luxuries, yet rustic. We viewed two opulent and posh villas fit for celebrities. They each come with a private pool, private entrance, and direct beach access.
The executive suites have either one or two bedrooms, separate living area, dining/ conference table, and a spacious veranda that overlooks the ocean.
My favorite area of our deluxe ocean terrace room was in fact the terrace. Dark wood slat flooring was gentle on the feet; loggia shaded us from the tropical rain; an oversized chaise lounge was the perfect place for late afternoon and evening lounging and listening to the waves.
In fact, the first night we spent on Lombok, the gentle rains had left lingering clouds in the dusk sky which presented a sunset unlike any either of us had ever witnessed — purples, oranges, and fiery reds backing the beginnings of a cobalt moonlit night.
That evening we had a prix fixe dinner at the hotel's main restaurant, Kebun Anggrek. The dishes were perfectly plated and everything we tasted was wonderfully infused with the influences of Indonesia, India, and Thailand.
We had a starter of Tandoori lamb and chicken and squid. Our main dish of Lombok Prawns with Vindaloo dip accompanied by the Mexican staple of flour tortillas was hands down the best prawns we ate while in Indonesia. For dessert it was a twist on the classic Indian Samosa, a decadent chocolate, banana samosa tinged with mint.
We were up around 6:30 the next morning for a walk on the beach. The rain had succumbed and activity was spreading. A quaint market had been set up as fishermen departed for the daily catch; men, women wore head wraps; children frolicked in the warm ocean. We stirred up much interest on the beach, perhaps due to our western looks and tattoos which were not common on Lombok. One gentleman asked us to take his boy back to America with us.
Exterior of Kebun Angorek restaurant.
Kebun Angorek is near the beach.
Later we linked up with Lilis for breakfast on one of the traditional wooden boats plying Mipah Bay — our first of several voyages on one of the skinny, outrigger like crafts. We navigated north up the coast for spectacular mountain views. Valley after valley of lush dense green jungle provided photo opportunities. The crystal clear water was a deep aqua forest green. After rounding a bend we were in the calm and gentle Mipah Bay.
Ben jumped into the water and told me he could feel tropical sea lice stinging his skin; from the guide book we knew they were uncomfortable but non threatening. So I took the intrepid plunge as well.
The spa uses natural Lombok products.
Later that afternoon the resort's Laguna Spa therapists provided a quaint but fine spa service for us. The wave crashing ocean side massage ended with a cup of refreshing ginger tea. The Laguna Beach Spa provides a comfortable atmosphere in which to relax and reenergize. The highly-trained therapists deliver a wide range of facial and body treatments, massages, and beauty treatments. At Laguna Beach Spa, an exclusive range of treatments use the Thalgo range of marine beauty products, together with essential body care treatments from Bali and Java, using locally-derived natural products.
Hatchlings get a free ride.
Hotel guests can sponsor green or leatherback turtle hatchlings. These little babies are taken care of under the kind and gentle wings of landscape supervisor, Marzuki, who gave us a friendly wave; he explained guest funds purchase turtle eggs from the traditional local market, thus saving them from becoming a "delicacy". The resort's conservation efforts incubate and hatch the eggs, allowing the turtles to develop naturally, crack their own shells and peak their beaks into their new life and birthplace at the Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort. Once old enough they are released into the ocean.
Marzuki gave Ben and I each our own little hatchling and explained that we needed to bring them to the shore, place them onto the sand and not help them into the water. Within minutes we had named our turtles after our friends Budi and Sugeng from Nusa Dua, Bali.
Sugeng was quickly off, flapping his flippers towards the sea, leaving his prints in the sand. Budi stayed back and then realized it was survival of the fittest. Documented cases reveal the turtles often return 25 years later and I hope that Mr. Budi and Mr. Sugeng come back for another visit to the Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort.
Spend an afternoon at the pool.
We spent our afternoons playing Jenga at the outdoor lounge, sweating profusely on the tennis courts, and drinking Ankars (a lesser known Javanese beer) by the pool featuring a slide through the mouth of a smoking tiki god. Ben decided to rent a kayak and check the surf around the point, but he was waylaid by two boys who said they had walked 45 minutes from their village to practice their English. Ben could not say no. I went through two tropical storms sitting under the oversized umbrella on my pool chair until Ben returned from English 101.
The resort's Bawang Putih Grill.
The hotel offers a special romantic Paradise Dinner; guests enjoy a four course meal in an intimate outdoor cabana on the seashore. Mr. Wedia, our private waiter, provided us with phenomenal on point service and he enhanced our meal with his conversation and genuine care for our happiness. Upon our arrival there were plates on the table that said, "Welcome Mr./Mrs. Davis to Paradise Dinner". I guess our matrimony had become complete.
Faun over the fresh prawns.
We dined on jumbo prawns with a pineapple salsa, a palate cleansing lemon liquor sorbet, and then continued to our main course of grilled Lombok lobster and Australian tenderloin served with local market fresh vegetables. I would certainly recommend this dinner to any couple staying at the Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort.
We stayed at six resorts during our trip to Bali and Lombok and the Sheraton Senggigi Resort wins my #1 vote for best ways to spend your day — activities were limitless. In addition to the above and below mentioned activities, the resort also offers cooking classes, scuba arrangements, and fishing expeditions. The hotel concierges can accommodate any Lombok wish!
Cruising to the Gili Islands.
Our last morning on Lombok, we jumped back on one of the wooden boats and cruised out to a tiny island called Gili Trawangan. After a quick 45 minute boat ride we landed on the shore that many backpackers and travelers enjoy visiting. There are no cars or motor bikes on the Gili Islands(there are actually 3 Gili Islands) and the main method of traveling is either by a horse drawn cart, bicycle, or your own two feet.
Our guide took us snorkeling right from shore. Although the current was strong, our guide knew exactly where to go. The water was the clearest I have ever experienced and the best part was the sheer drop off into the oceanic abyss 50 feet off the coast. I felt like a big fish in an even bigger aquarium.
We quickly dried off due to the equatorial heat; tropical clouds were rolling on shore. We had a bite to eat and were joined by seven local short tail cats that swept by our feet hoping for a scrap or two.
After three days of bliss on our way back to the Mataram airport we stopped at the monkey forest and fed peanuts to the little gray monkeys.
Last call for Ankars at Sunset Bar.
At the airport we hung around the Sheraton lounge waiting for one of only two gates to be designated for our plane. Since it was still raining we were delayed for a few hours. We decided to have an Ankar and started up a conversation with a couple of guys at the bar. They were in a band called Peter Pan which turned out to be the biggest rock/pop band in all of Indonesia. Who knew? Their flight was also delayed so it was fun trading stories of musical and travel interest.
At last, we heard, "Flight #1 to Denpasar, Bali now boarding at gate #1." We flew out just as we arrived — in the rain. On the 15 minute flight returning to Bali, I thought fondly of our turtles. I hoped to return to Lombok and find myself lounging in the sun at the Sheraton Senggigi Resort, well before our turtles Budi and Sugeng find their way back to Senggigi's pristine shore.
— Feature by Michelle Schoser, Jetsetters Magazine San Diego Correspondent; photos by Michelle and courtesy of Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort.


We've all been there. You've kept your feet covered up in the winter months, applied the occasional coat of polish on your toes, only to be faced with the flip flop fear. It's a sunny day, perfect flip-flop weather, but your toes just aren't up to scratch. Don't stress, follow these 10 easy steps to get you feet in to tip top condition.
Step 1. Make sure you buff your feet when dry, not wet. This will help to really shift the dead skin. Use a sturdy foot file and focus on the heels, balls of feet and edges of toes.
Step 2. Fill a bowl with warm water and add a reviving foot soak, such as Essie Spa Marine Sea Salts 56g. Soak your feet for 10 minutes as this with help to soothe and soften your skin.
Step 4. Apply a foot masque. Wrap your feet in cling film, followed by a warm towel and relax for 10 minutes, then rinse. My favourite is Essie Spa Hydro-Masque.
Step 5. Dry your feet thoroughly (even between your toes) and gently ease back your cuticles with a cuticle stick.
Step 6. Cut your nails straight across with nail clippers. Make lots of little snips, rather than all at once, or you might break your nail. Top tip: It's important not to create a round shape to your toenails as this can lead to an ingrown nail.
Step 7. Massage your feet with a rich foot lotion to lock in the moisture. I usually opt for Nailtiques Avocado Foot Cream. It smells amazing and leaves your feel feeling silky smooth.
Step 9. If you want to add some colour, wipe off the foot lotion from your nails using a damp cotton wool pad. Then add your base coat, two layers of polish and a high-shine topcoat.
Step 10. Cuticle oil is key to maintaining healthy nails. Use a roll on variety for ease and to keep any mess to a minimum. Try Nailtiques Cuticle Oil Roll-On.
So give these steps a try and say goodbye to flip flop fear for good.


The health and wellbeing of our people, and those we work with, remains our highest priority.
Maintaining high standards of quality and integrity of our work is what sets us apart. We work proactively with all stakeholders to identify, assess and control health & safety risks and environmental hazards. Even in the tightest of timeframes, we never compromise on safety.
The company has successfully implemented an Integrated Management System that meets the requirements of both ISO 9001:2016 (Quality) and AS4801:2001 (Occupational Health & Safety), as recognised by SAI Global Limited. This Integrated Management System is used in controlling and provides a structured approach to continuous improvement, innovation, value creation and risk management.
© Traralgon Industries, all rights reserved.


Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) voted to increase the quarterly cash dividend by eight cents, a 10 percent raise, to eighty-six cents ($0.86) per share of common stock, payable August 20, 2018, to shareholders of record at the close of business on July 20, 2018.
Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) has declared a quarterly dividend of 64 cents per common share, a 3.2% increase from the prior quarterly dividend of 62 cents. The dividend is payable Sept. 10, 2018 to shareholders of record at the close of business August 15, 2018.
H&R Block approved a 4 percent increase in its quarterly dividend, to $0.25 per share. A quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share is payable on July 2, 2018 to shareholders of record as of June 22, 2018.
The United Technologies Corp.'s (NYSE:UTX) Board of Directors declared, effective July 5, 2018, a dividend of 70 cents per share on the outstanding shares of UTC's common stock. The dividend will be payable Sept. 10, 2018, to shareowners of record at the close of business on Aug. 17, 2018.
Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) has approved a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.26 per common share payable on July 13, 2018 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 25, 2018.


Artists and Their Art: Sharing Visual Stories is a free, downloadable resource with ten lessons per grade level. You can go in as in depth or as light as you choose to because of the background information that is provided in each package. There are two notebooking pages that go along with each lesson. Both sets have the SAME art pieces, but one set has one more text box and the other set has a sketch box. These free art lessons promote visual literacy through artwork and will be great for the whole year if you study one artist per month for a whole school year.
Click here for Concordia University Chicago's free art lessons here or go via Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus.


President Donald Trump said in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would cut off funding to the Palestinians unless they agree to resume peace talks.
He made a similar threat on Twitter earlier this month. Trump also said the U.S. is moving its embassy to Jerusalem "ahead of schedule by years," adding that he expected to open a "small version" of the embassy sometime next year.


text:
Q: Changing content of tables dynamically in php Currently i have pages where HTML tables are filled by data taken from php. Now im trying to make this dynamic, that is changing the data in HTML tables on same page. I need to know how can i change the PHP code dynamically. Im using Jquery for changing content dynamically but i am not able to change the php code accordingly. any suggestions on how i might achieve this?

A: you probably want something like this:
<?php
echo "
";
foreach($rows as $cols)
{
    echo "
";
    foreach($cols as $col)
    {
        echo "".$col."	;
    }
    echo "
";
}
echo "
";

A: You can use the contenteditable attribute, supported in almost every browser.
HTML

  ...

Cell content

JavaScript
$('[contenteditable="true"]').on(
  'blur', // this action will trigger when the user blur the editable area,
          // you can also listen to a form submit.
  function(event) {
    $.post('tableController.php', {
      content: $(event.target).text()
    })
      .done(function(response) {
        alert(response);
      });
  }
);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Kirby McInerney LLP Announces it Has Been Retained by an Investor for a Potential Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Sino-Forest Corporation Investors
NEW YORK, June 8, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A Sino-Forest Corporation investor has retained Kirby McInerney LLP to investigate and possibly bring a class action lawsuit on behalf of all persons who acquired shares of Sino-Forest Corp. ("Sino-Forest" or the "Company").
The firm has been retained to investigate potential violations of the federal securities laws related to the Company's public statements. On June 2, 2011, analyst firm Muddy Waters Research ("Muddy Waters") published a report asserting that Sino-Forest greatly exaggerated its assets. For example, the report alleged that Sino-Forest overstated its forestry purchases in China's Yunnan province by more than C$800 million. Muddy Waters also claimed that the Company's "capital raising is a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme." On this news, shares of Sino-Forest stock lost nearly two-thirds of its value.
If you acquired Sino-Forest shares and wish to discuss this matter, please contact us, toll free, at (888) 529-4787 or by email at info.newcases@kmllp.com
Kirby McInerney LLP has specialized in complex litigation, including securities class actions, for several decades. The firm has repeatedly demonstrated its expertise in this field, and has been recognized by various courts which have appointed the firm to major positions in consolidated and multi-district litigation. The firm's efforts on behalf of shareholders in securities litigation have resulted in recoveries totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, and the firm's achievements and quality of service have been chronicled in numerous published decisions. More information about the firm, class actions in general, or about the role of the lead plaintiffs in a securities class action can be obtained through Kirby McInerney LLP's website at .
CONTACT: Kirby McInerney LLP Francisco Loya Beverly Tse Mirza, Esq. 888-529-4787 floya@kmllp.com 825 Third Avenue, 16th Floor New York, NY 10022


Description: We are experts at providing the installation of new television aerials designed to receive optimum signal and reception levels for freeview digital television. Freeview currently boasts over 70 free digital TV & radio channels.
Meta Description: We are experts at providing the installation of new television aerials designed to receive optimum signal and reception levels for freeview digital television. Freeview currently boasts over 70 free digital TV & radio channels.


text:
Брылёво — поселок в Кувшиновском районе Тверской области. Входит в состав Сокольнического сельского поселения.

География
Находится в центральной части Тверской области на расстоянии приблизительно 18 километров (по прямой) на юго-запад от Кувшинова, административного центра района у железнодорожной линии Торжок-Соблаго.

История
Движение по железной дороге Торжок-Соблаго было открыто в 1917 году. Название станции было позаимствовано у ближайшей деревни. Как населенный пункт был впервые отмечен на карте 1980 года.

Население
Численность населения: 36 человек (русские 100 %) в 2002 году, 15 в 2010.

Примечания

Населённые пункты Кувшиновского района

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Our mission at Baby Buddy is to help parents and caregivers embark on a journey to a healthy smile for their children. Pediatric dentists recommend cleaning babies' gums and budding teeth regularly to prevent future decay. We at Baby Buddy want to make this process as effortless as possible, so we have provided a roadmap for good oral health via a collection of products designed to clean and care for gums and budding teeth from birth and throughout every stage of infant and childhood development. Baby Buddy is there every step of the way, helping parents and caregivers forge positive bonds with their babies and toddlers that will continue into adolescence.
Our Baby Buddy Oral Care Kit for 0-24 months, or the first 2 years of life, includes five innovative products that parents and caregivers can use with their children as they grow towards independently caring for their own gums, teeth and tongue. Starting with the gentle, soothing Tooth Tissues - an all-natural oral wipe - parents can step up to using the Finger Toothbrush and the Wipe-N-Brush with their babies and toddlers. Once babies are ready for the Baby's First Toothbrush, they can use it and manipulate it on their own with guidance. From there on, a transition can be made to the 360 Toothbrush, an intelligent advancement in toothbrush design that features state-of-the-art, circular bristle rings to effectively remove plaque and prevent build-up with regular use.The 360 Toothbrush Step 1 (Soft) leads to the pinnacle of the Baby Buddy oral care line -- the 360 Toothbrush Step 2 (ages 2-12 years) which can be used until children can completely take the responsibility for their own oral care.
Take care of baby's gums and teeth from the start. Baby Buddy is pleased to offer a one-of-a-kind, solution kit for Early Oral Care Health. Each kit includes five products, Stages 1-5, that cover the first two years of a child's life. BPA free, Lead free and Phthalate free.


Members of Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA) has submitted a memorandum to Labour Minister Parameshwar Naik seeking reforms in the existing labour laws.
The members said that key reforms were needed specially in areas of Factories Act, Provident Fund and ESI Rules, Payment of Statutory fees, Industrial Dispute Act and Rules, Contract Labour Regulation and Abolition Act among others.
A new skill development training centre will come up at the KASSIA head office in Vijayanagar on Monday, said KASSIA president Chidananda M Rajamane.


text:
We found 455 results for 'htc one m8'
Relevance time Comments
Android 6.0 Update Comes To The T-Mobile HTC One M8 And LG G Stylo
Ryan Whitwam 2016/03/07
12:41pm PST Mar 7, 2016
Verizon Wireless Announces Galaxy Note 5 And HTC One M8 Android Marshmallow Updates
Bertel King, Jr. 2016/03/04
10:53am PST Mar 4, 2016
One (M8, 2014)
Verizon Wireless has announced that Android 6.0 is on its way to the Galaxy Note 5. That makes this the first Marshmallow-packing over-the-air update to hit the Note 5 in the US. Verizon has beat AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile to the punch. This is also the first Galaxy device on Verizon's network to make the leap.
Unlocked HTC One M8 To Receive Android Marshmallow Update Within The Next 24 Hours
10:48am PST Dec 2, 2015
The nice thing about schedules is sticking to them. HTC promised Marshmallow would come to some of its devices starting by the end of 2015, and so far the company is keeping its word. Android 6.0 came to the HTC One M8 Google Play Edition early last month, and now HTC Product Manager Mo Versi says the regular unlocked M8 will get the goods within the next 24 hours.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow Now Live For The HTC One M8 Google Play Edition
10:06am PST Nov 6, 2015
Once upon a time, Google got together with OEMs to sell Google Play Edition versions of flagship phones. They were expensive, but here we are in late 2015 and the 2014 HTC One M8 GPE just got Marshmallow. The regular M8? Good luck with that.
The Pixel 5 hisses after every vibration, and we can't unhear it
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra vs S21 Ultra: A notable upgrade?
CyanogenMod Nightly Builds Now Available For The HTC One M8 Dual-SIM And Xiaomi Mi4
Michael Crider 2015/08/22
11:12am PDT Aug 22, 2015
ROMs & Modding
According to commenter TheDorkKnightRises, the cancro CyanogenMod build can also be flashed to the Xiaomi Mi3.
The CyanogenMod ROM development team continues to add to its ever-expanding range of officially-supported devices. Today we get a little-known variant from a huge manufacturer and a huge phone from a little-known manufacturer (outside of China, anyway): the dual-SIM version of HTC's 2014 flagship One M8, and Xiaomi's Mi4, respectively. Both are available as nightly builds on CyanogenMod's download repository.
The ROMs are labeled "M8dug" for the One M8 and "cancro" for the Mi4. Both have just two builds at the time of writing, and they may or may not be added to a more stable release the next time the ROM team releases one - it all depends on how stable and feature-complete the developers can get the builds.
[Deal Alert] HTC One M8 (Sprint, Verizon, And AT&T) On Sale For $299.99 At Best Buy Today Only
9:43am PDT May 13, 2015
The HTC One M9 is HTC's new flagship, but there are still plenty of M8s floating around out there. Best Buy is looking to unload some stock today with a steep discount. You can get a new M8 for AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon for $299 off-contract. This deal is valid today only, or until supplies are exhausted.
[Update: It's Back] Deal Alert: Refurbished Unlocked AT&T 32GB HTC One M8 Only $270 As eBay Daily Deal
2:25pm PDT May 4, 2015
The old listing expired, but a new one just popped up in case you're still looking to grab a discounted M8.
Now that the HTC One M9 is out, maybe you've decided that, you know what, the M8 wasn't so bad after all. Sure, the M9 has more megapixels, but it isn't all that different.
If that's the case, hold on to your hats. Today you can snag a refurbished HTC One M8 on eBay for just $269.99. That's less than half the cost of this year's flagship and lower than we've previously seen the phone priced.
This is the unlocked AT&T model, so while you can look at T-Mobile, don't get this if you're on Sprint or Verizon.
[Update: OTA Link] HTC One M8 Google Play Edition Is Being Updated To Android 5.1 Now, M7 GPE Coming Soon
9:55am PDT Apr 8, 2015
Here's the OTA link for the M8 GPE straight from Google's server if the one above doesn't work for you.
The Google Play Edition program seems to have been mostly forgotten by Google and its hardware partners, but at least those devices that were released are still getting steady updates. The latest one to be blessed with Android 5.1 is HTC's One M8 Google Play Edition from last year. Users are reporting that the over-the-air update is heading out now, so check your Settings menu if you happen to own one.
The update from Android 5.0 is 244MB, which is pretty typical.
5.0 Lollipop Coming To AT&T HTC One M8, OTA Starts Tomorrow
Jeff Beck 2015/04/06
8:59pm PDT Apr 6, 2015
Update: both HTC and AT&T have posted changelogs for the update, you can see them here (ATT) and here (HTC).
Update 1: 2015/04/08 9:52am PDT
End of Update
Ahhh. The feeling of spring. The sun is shining, birds are singing, and flowers are blooming. Everything feels fresh and new, and - if you are an AT&T customer who is the proud owner of an HTC M8 - things are about to get even fresher and newer. Mo Versi, Vice President of Product Management at HTC, announced this evening via Twitter that Android 5.0 Lollipop is coming to the AT&T One M8 starting tomorrow April 7.
[Deal Alert] Refurbished 32GB HTC One M8 AT&T Unlocked $289 On eBay
12:27pm PDT Mar 19, 2015
The HTC One M9 is official. It's coming. The big carriers will offer it. We have a date.
Sounds like the perfect time to buy a refurbished HTC One M8.
Unless the M9's 20MP camera is a must-have, the M8 can serve you fine. And instead of spending over half a grand on the device, you can pick one up for $289.99. You even get your choice of gray, silver, and gold.
There's always the risk of the device coming with some minor cosmetic damage, but everything should arrive in working order.
Shipping is free, but while the seller is willing to ship internationally, many parts of the world are excluded.
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It has been established that proteins (and thus, their peptide products) are ribosomally translated using only L-amino acids, and so it was assumed that D-amino acids did not naturally exist in animal peptides. However, physiological D-amino containing-peptides (DAACP) do exist, first identified in frogs, resulting from a post-translationa modification: peptide isomerization. However, because they have no associated mass shift, DAACPs are historically very difficult to identify, causing a gap in mass spectrometry-driven peptide characterization studies. The objective of the proposed work aims to bridge this gap by developing tools to detect DAACPs by taking advantage of their unique properties, including their resistance to degradation by peptidases. In addition, formation of a DAACP alters the shape of a peptide, which can change its ability to bind to a receptor. This is especially important for neuropeptides, cell-cell signaling molecules that are bioactive by binding to their cognate receptor. Thus, in specific aim 1, the tools to identify DAACPs will be developed using neuropeptides from a simpler model animal, where one DAACP has already been identified. This system of DAACP discovery involves chiral analysis: breaking down an endogenous neuropeptide into its component amino acids and assaying those amino acids for their chirality using analytical chemistry methods. The long-term objective of this work is to identify functional DAACPs in the mammalian nervous system. As part of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) program areas, it is interested in the function of neurotransmitters (like neuropeptides) in endogenous systems. In spite of intensive study, more than 100 human G-protein coupled receptors have no known binding partner. DAACPs may explain, in part, the discrepancy between the number of neuropeptides known through genomic and peptidomic studies and the large number of orphan receptors. For the proposed work, in specific aim 2, neuropeptides will be studied for peptide isomerization in the context of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), a hypothalamic group of neurons with a known role in circadian rhythms. The SCN is targeted because there are extensive studies on time of day release of neuropeptides and a number of peptidase-resistant peptides have already been identified in the SCN. This work is significant because NIDA has identified sleep disorders as having a link to drug abuse, so the implication of an overlooked PTM can result in many missed neuropeptide functions in our sleep/wake cycles. The discovery of DAACPs as a physiological phenomenon in mammalian neuropeptides ultimately helps reach the goal of understanding drug abuse by identifying the functional properties of neural circuits underlying drug abuse.
Neuropeptides are important signaling molecules in the nervous system that influence mood and behavior, and many drugs of abuse act on neuropeptide signaling systems. A neuropeptide's final form is critical for its action and our work seeks to characterize an unusual change in neuropeptides, known as peptide isomerization. Peptide isomerization may be involved in neuropeptides related to sleep disorders, which affect roughly 50 million Americans and are linked to higher rates of drug abuse.


This is a statement that my teacher Tom Brown Jr. says during class. I didn't understand it completely although I understood the concept. He would say that if someone got a success in an exercise we were doing for class, that shows that it's possible to get a success, therefore it's also possible for others to get a success.
This concept reminds me of when the first person ran a mile in under four minutes. It was thought to be impossible until it was done, then others started running a mile in less than four minutes.
During my early time in Tracker school, sometimes I would think about how much I was missing out on. I knew so many people who were having adventures up in the woods, practicing survival, etc. I was home with my children homeschooling them. I was feeling a little stuck; not able to have those other experiences.
I wondered about that a lot and felt envious.
Then one day, when I was doing a meditation where I was filled with light, my question got answered. I understood at a whole body level that if someone else accomplished something, it was as if I accomplished that thing.
My whole perspective changed and I no longer felt like I was missing out on anything. I was so happy for things other people were able to do and I felt a part of it.
It's easy now to be delighted with what other people accomplish and not feel the least bit envious because it doesn't matter who has an experience, the experience belongs to me too; to all of us. Anyone's success is everyone's success.
Well said, and worth reflecting on!
Thanks Linda! Understanding this has been a great benefit to me.
Next Next post: How much can we love each other? How much is too much?


text:
Outgoing state Rep. Mike Tryon reflects on political career
Tryon wrote 70 laws, among them closing property tax loophole
By KEVIN P
January 07, 2017 at 11:10 pm CST
Play button iconAutoplay
Chevron pointing leftMove Left
Chevron pointing rightMove Right
Sarah Nader- snader@shawmedia.com Republican state Rep. Mike Tryon poses for a portrait in his Crystal Lake home Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. Tryon is not seeking re-election next year, ending a 12-year run representing McHenry County in the General Assembly. (Sarah Nader)
There are a lot of things that state Rep. Mike Tryon will miss when his representation of McHenry County in Springfield officially ends Wednesday.
The politics that comes with running every two years and the associated fundraising, not so much.
Tryon, 61, decided not to run for re-election to the 66th Illinois House District, capping a political career that started almost 30 years ago with his 1988 election to the McHenry County Board.
"When you leave, they say it's not the circus you miss, it's the clowns, and that's 100 percent true," Tryon said.
Tryon, a supporter of term limits, decided to limit himself to 12 years and not seek a seventh term. Republican Allen Skillicorn, an East Dundee village trustee who prevailed in a contentious four-way GOP primary to succeed Tryon, won the election and will be sworn in Wednesday with the seating of the 100th General Assembly.
"I think eight years is not long enough, but I think it's disingenuous to support term limits and then go beyond them," Tryon said.
After 10 years on the County Board, members elected him board chairman, a seat he held for three two-year terms until voters in 2004 elected him to the Illinois House. He represented the 64th District, which then covered most of southeastern McHenry County, until 2012, when post-census redistricting controlled by the Democratic Party shifted him to the 66th, which covers parts of southeastern McHenry and northern Kane counties. Tryon also served six years as chairman of the McHenry County Republican Party.
The hardest piece of legislation Tryon said he ever tackled happened during his first term, when he spearheaded a rewriting of the tax-cap law to address a controversy that arose in 2005 after voters in Huntley Community School District 158 approved a 55-cent property tax increase.
A loophole in the law would have allowed the district to collect more than double the increase that voters were told.
Tryon figured that he "wouldn't be standing around very long" as a legislator if he didn't take the lead to fix the problem.
"We saved taxpayers millions and millions of dollars, and closed a loophole that can never be used again," Tryon said.
The loophole closing is one of 70 laws that Tryon wrote. Lawmakers passed his initiative to create an online transparency portal that lists all state government salaries, contracts and expenditures. Illinois was among the first states to create one.
Another piece of legislation Tryon said he is proud of is the creation of county veterans' courts. The specialized courts allow returning veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or other service-related disabilities who commit nonviolent offenses to receive treatment and have charges dismissed upon successful completion of the program.
Upon being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2009, Tryon created the House Diabetes Caucus and passed a number of laws to improve the lives of diabetics, such as a law requiring schools to give assistance to students managing the disease. In some cases, Tryon said, diabetic kids who attended schools that did not have a nurse were shipped to another district school that did.
Tryon said he leaves behind a reputation of being a professional who could work across the aisle with Democrats who held the majority throughout his career.
"I passed 70 pieces of legislation as a minority member, not because I went down to Springfield and attacked. I challenged power, but did it professionally," Tryon said.
But Tryon had a lighter side as a lawmaker – he and several other state lawmakers play guitar in Boat Drink Caucus, a Jimmy Buffett-inspired tropical music band. The band got to open for blues singer Buddy Guy and country music star Toby Keith at Gov. Bruce Rauner's inauguration. Tryon joked that the band's "by-laws" are being amended to allow former lawmakers to participate.
As for Rauner, Tryon said he would have liked to stick around to help advance his "Turnaround Agenda." Rauner and legislative Democrats have been stuck in a budget impasse since 2015.
"I'm going to miss not being there. Rauner's making it harder for me to leave, not easier. I love having a governor that can stop things and put his foot down," Tryon said.
Tryon said he would like to continue to work in Springfield on issues that are near to his heart, such as mass transit, tax policy and the environment. Tryon owns two environmental testing and consulting services, and is a principal consultant for a third that provides well and septic evaluations for real estate agents and lenders.
"I'm very fortunate to have options. One is just to kind of come back and work in my business and be invested in community activities and enjoy my life as a citizen rather than policymaker. I'm good with that, and I'm good with working on policies I believe in, and I'm hopeful to be able to do public policy or public affairs work to some extent," Tryon said.
Tryon lives in Crystal Lake with his wife, Cathy. They have a grown son and daughter, and one granddaughter.
The 66th District presently covers parts of Crystal Lake, Huntley, Lake in the Hills, Algonquin and Carpentersville.
#Mike TryonAllen Skillicorn2016 electionGeneral AssemblyIllinois House of Representatives66th Illinois House DistrictBruce RaunerBoat Drink CaucusCrystal LakeLake in the HillsAlgonquinCarpentersvilleHuntleySchool District 158diabetestax capMcHenry County Board
McHenry County Board looking for applicants to fill Zoning Board of Appeals vacancies
Applications open for McHenry County Board vacancy left by state Rep. Suzanne Ness
Less than 1% of McHenry County residents fully vaccinated so far, health department says
More public workshops set for Fox River corridor plan development
By Northwest Herald
State Sens. Craig Wilcox, Donald DeWitte collect Valentine's Day cards for nursing home residents
McHenry County Board chairman names McHenry entrepreneur Jeffrey Schwartz to replace the late Chuck Wheeler
Northern Illinois legislators respond to impeachment proceedings
Defeated Skillicorn resigns, Kane, McHenry GOP pick his replacement
McHenry County Board seeking applicants for ethics commission


I saw that too. A teasing bit of what might be coming? We'll see.
Teknectics are coming out with the new T2+ around the first of December - they will be offering packages that will include their new pin pointer also which is supposed to be the last pin pointer you will ever buy - don't know yet what all features the 2plus will have - I think it will have all the updates they were offering on the T2's ie; the DST and then some other stuff as well - we will see.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/15/2017 01:58PM by Materdigger.
I read somewhere that it has new software that has been tweaked so it will be more sensitive to gold and will ship with both the stock coil and the 15 inch coil. Since I live in an area without much (what little we have is all flour gold in some of the rivers flowing out of the White Mountains) I am not overly excited about this (if it is true).
Has anyone heard that First Texas products has let there metal detector personnel go. That they no longer will be making metal detectors?
I read this on MD-Hunter Blog.
The md-hunter post is bogus.
the usual mad speculation from md-hunter.
Fact - FT is moving into a new 100,000 sq ft headquarters in El Paso this month - some operations are impacted by the move, including servicing some units like the CZ-21 which requires pressure testing after service.
Fact - they have laid off some staff. The long delay in bringing new products to market may have something to do with it or it may just be a case of looking at the wor to be done and the staff available and deciding that there was excess staffing. Not pleasant for anyone involved, I'm sure, but it happens.
The rest of the article - FAKE NEWS - I suspect.