In the News: King Kia, Brexit, Viper exit, VW pays up, LeMans, and more.
In the News: Auto Hall of Fame, Le Mans, BMW turns 100, VW goes EV plus more.
In the News: Best midsize cars, VLF Destino, LAPD goes EV, much on motorsports, and more.


text:
Itsukushima  é uma ilha situada no Mar Interior, no município de Hatsukaichi, na província de Hiroshima, no Japão. Também é conhecida pelo nome de Miyajima (宮島, Miyajima - ilha santuário) e existe uma pequena cidade com o mesmo nome.

Seu nome original Itsuko-shima significa "onde deus reside".

O seu local mais famoso é famosa pelo Santuário de Itsukushima, que é considerado Património Mundial pela UNESCO e pelo Monte Misen, que é o ponto mais elevado da região com 535 metros.

A ilha apresenta uma paisagem de grande harmonia entre as belezas naturais e a arquitectura religiosa e é considerada um dos sítios mais belos do Japão. A ilha está integrada no parque natural do Mar Interior.

Além do Santuário de Itsukushima com o seu famoso Torii flutuante, existe um templo budista construído na encosta do Monte Misen, chamado Daisho-in, que tem uma colecção famosa de ícones budistas.

Itsukushima também é famosa pelos seus cervos que circulam em liberdade pela ilha e que são considerados como mensageiros dos deuses pela religião Xinto.

Ver também
Lista de ilhas do Japão

Ligações externas
 Guia de viagens - Wikivoyage (Inglês)
Itsukushima no Google Maps
Associação de Turismo de Myajima

Ilhas do Japão

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Friday, April 12, 2013, 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
The UB Safe Space program helps to make the UB campus a safer and more free environment for all members of our community, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Our members, also known as Allies, are students, faculty and staff who support and respect members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) community. UB Allies are trained to understand sexual orientation and gender identity issues, including the implications of coming out and how to address discrimination and harassment on campus.
Allies can be identified by their UB Safe Space placard in their office and/or working areas. The sign serves as an indicator of people with whom LGBTQ people can speak openly and seek the support they need to succeed at the University of Baltimore.
Become an ally by joining us for this information Ally training. Please RSVP, as space is limited. For more information, please email at diversity@ubalt.edu.
This event fulfills the Global Perspectives requirement for Leadership UB certification. To find out more about Leadership UB, visit www.ubalt.edu/leadership.


The MCGUIRE Red Athlete Brief, is a performance sport brief that offers lasting comfort from the office to the gym. Designed and built especially for athletes, it's made from a Lux microfiber blended fabric. This contoured brief gives you a more impressive profile and body-defining fit.
New innovative technology is perfect for everyday wear and working out.


Long Lets St Julians Penthouse Malta. The penthouse comprises of open plan, kitchen, living, dining, main bedroom with ensuite and another spare bedroom.
In the vicinity of St Julians and the apartment one can enjoy easy access to all amenities such as grocery shops, supermarkets and pharmacies. This location is also close to the seafront and promenade in less than 5 minutes walk. Furthermore one can find many business centres and offices in St julians. This makes this apartment a highly sought after property for expats relocating to St Julians due to work reasons.


text:
European Politics
Rip Van Winkel With A Hammer and Sickle
Thread starter vyo476
vyo476
Here's a guy with a pretty unique perspective on the transition of Eastern Europe from communism to democracy...
Pole wakes from 19-year coma in democratic country
Sat Jun 2, 10:50 AM ET
WARSAW (Reuters) - A 65-year-old railwayman who fell into a coma following an accident in communist Poland regained consciousness 19 years later to find democracy and a market economy, Polish media reported on Saturday.
Wheelchair-bound Jan Grzebski, whom doctors had given only two or three years to live following his 1988 accident, credited his caring wife Gertruda with his revival.
"It was Gertruda that saved me, and I'll never forget it," Grzebski told news channel TVN24.
"For 19 years Mrs Grzebska did the job of an experienced intensive care team, changing her comatose husband's position every hour to prevent bed-sore infections," Super Express reported Dr Boguslaw Poniatowski as saying.
"When I went into a coma there was only tea and vinegar in the shops, meat was rationed and huge petrol queues were everywhere," Grzebski told TVN24, describing his recollections of the communist system's economic collapse.
"Now I see people on the streets with cell phones and there are so many goods in the shops it makes my head spin."
Grzebski awoke to find his four children had all married and produced 11 grandchildren during his years in hospital.
He said he vaguely recalled the family gatherings he was taken to while in a coma and his wife and children trying to communicate with him.
Death of North Korea's political pawn and hostage
lazy bumb with no insurance pays the price for being worthless...( republican view?)
Man beaten with hammer in FLA
Dumbing down worked!
bododie
RIP Clarence Clemons

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Jun28 by bobreagan13
It was quite a week at the Supreme Court and elsewhere.
One of the first concepts one learns in law school about the way cases are decided in our courts is contained the word "narrowly." Thus, the Supreme Court's decisions this week were not much of a surprise to lawyers or laypersons familiar with the judicial process. The Court made a number of narrow decisions. That does not mean they cannot be far-reaching and game-changing. They can be, and when they get as far as the court of last resort, they usually are, at least for those in the areas that are affected. The cases full of great pith and moment, which are usually reserved for the last week of the Court's term (some cynics might say that's for the justices to be able to get the hell out of Dodge) are usually those that affect all of us.
Fisher vs. Perry — This lawsuit is what is common termed a "reverse discrimination" case. The plaintiff asked the court to denounce and forbid any race-based preferences in the admissions policy at the University of Texas. The Court declined to go that far, but opined that the strict scrutiny standard required when federal or state governments consider race for any state action was not applied strictly enough here. It sent the case back to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for reconsideration. Perhaps as many as 20 years ago, retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor opined that such scrutiny may be strict in theory, but fatal in application. That has been generally true. In Fisher, we'll see.
Shelby County vs. Holder — Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ("VRA") requires pre-approval by the U.S. Justice Department of even the slightest change in voting procedures in certain covered jurisdictions. Those jurisdictions include some entire states and well as certain counties and smaller one in other states defined by Section 4 of the VRA. The determination of covered jurisdictions was made by their historical use of racially discriminatory laws and procedures. Although voting qualifications and procedures are Constitutionally the purview of each state, the VRA was originally upheld as the "appropriate legislation" power Congress was given by and to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment. A good argument can be made that the VRA came 100 years too late, but sections 4 and 5, which were designed to be temporary, lasted at least 25 years too long. One flaw in the process was that inordinate power was given to career DOJ staffers, quite often ideologues who saw racial discrimination where there was none.
The evil that underscores both of those cases is the persistence of official classification of individuals by race or ethnicity, in the U.S. Census and otherwise. In the wake of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, the remedial measures of the VRA and affirmative action were necessary where there had been pervasive government–sponsored or supported — racial segregation and discrimination. Keeping such measures in place for so long had become counter-productive. Sections 4 & 5 of the VRA came to treat race, and later "ethnicity" as determinative of community of interest. The effect was to herd minority groups into electoral districts to obtain sufficient numbers to ensure election of an official "who looked like" them. Whether he/she also thought like many I suppose was irrelevant. Affirmative action programs, particularly in higher education and industry, tended to make the abilities and qualifications of black persons, at least, suspect. Whether justified or not, people tend to rely on stereotypes to make everyday decisions. Because of this, affirmative action, except where it specifically and in a narrowly tailored manner was applied a remedy to individuals who had been unfairly treated because of their race or color, has been counterproductive, and tending to perpetuate racial stereotypes.
The Gay Marriage Cases — The result in both cases, like the Shelby County case, showed a certain respect for federalism. One might disagree with many of the federal laws that discriminate against single persons and provide certain benefits to married persons. If Congress bestows that largesse on person on the basis of the marriage relationship, and some states provide for same sex marriages, then federal law should respect a state's definition of marriage. If one changes their domicile that really doesn't matter so long as the state of celebration recognizes same sex marriage. The state of domicile, however, would not have to. Different treatment? Yes, but that is what federalism means. Different strokes for different folks in different states, so long a fundamental rights recognized by the Constitution are protected. There may be a fundamental right to privacy and freedom of association, but there is no fundamental right that a state must recognize marriage, at least under current Constitutional jurisprudence.
As far as the California Proposition 8 is concerned, the Court dismissed on the basis of standing, and the merits were not reached. Given that at least three of the left-leaning justices, who typically are not concerned with standing as an issue, were on board, one can speculate justifiably that they would not have liked the result of a merits decision.
My solution is to get the government out of the marriage business. Enact civil union statutes for any couple who wants to commit to each other that define the rights and responsibilities in the absence of an agreement, including those of children born or adopted to that union. Religious or social organizations can sanction those unions if desired and call them marriages. In the eyes of the law, all would be civil unions. The extremes of both sides of this issue might not like this compromise, but of us would.
Adoptive Couple vs. Baby Girl — Not nearly as celebrated as the other cases, but nonetheless significant was the case where the state courts in South Carolina, applying what they believed were the requirements of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act ("ICWA"), allowed a biological father to wrest away a child from adoptive parents. The unmarried mother of the child, with the consent of the aforesaid sperm donor, placed the child for adoption. The child was adopted by a married couple who resided in South Carolina. That family lived together for over a year. The sperm donor, for some reason, had a change of heart and, upon discovering that he had a Cherokee Amerindian ancestor, which under the twisted concept ensconced in that law, made the child 3/256th Cherokee, sued for custody. Applying the ICWA, the South Carolina court awarded it to him, and was affirmed by the South Carolina Supreme Court. The adoptive parents sought review.
The U. S. Supreme Court reversed. In its ruling the Court stated "under the [South Carolina] Supreme Court's reading, the Act would put certain vulnerable children at a great disadvantage solely because an ancestor—even a remote one—was an Indian. As the State Supreme Court read §§1912(d) and (f ), a biological Indian father could abandon his child in utero and refuse any support for the birth mother—perhaps contributing to the mother's decision to put the child up for adoption—and then could play his ICWA trump card at the eleventh hour to override the mother's decision and the child's best interests. If this were possible, many prospective adoptive parents would surely pause before adopting any child who might possibly qualify as an Indian under the ICWA."
The Court was surely correct, but it did not reach what many consider the ultimate question. How on earth can a 3/256th (3 great great great great great grandparents) qualify someone to be a Cherokee Amerindian? This carries the concept of hypodescent (or the "one-drop" rule) to absurd lengths. Our obsession with biological heritage as being determinative of "who one is" is nothing new. It is, of course, racism at the most basic level. In this case, it is a good bet the child has been traumatized by being used as an emotional football for the sperm donor's self-aggrandizement, aided and abetted by an ill-considered law or the application thereof. The South Carolina courts should be relieved, as this was yet another of the Supreme Court opinions that have show at least a modicum of respect for state sovereignty.
Out of Court
Leaker Edward Snowden remains on the lam; perhaps in Russia. President Obama says he will not indulge in international negotiations to secure the extradition of a "29 year old hacker." Good for the Pres. If Snowden comes back to the U.S., the government should arrest and try him for espionage. Otherwise, let him go to Ecuador, Cuba, or some other socialist cesspool and find out for himself what paradise really is not. Ignore him and his celebrity will soon wane and few will care.\
← The Supers' Week
The Dogs of War Still Slipped →


text:
Category: historical
Review: First Earl I See Tonight
August 9, 2021 July 20, 2021 SissyBear @ Girl of 1000 WondersLeave a comment
Title: First Earl I See Tonight
Author: Anna Bennett
Series?: Debutante Diaries #1
An heiress with a daring proposal. An earl who's determined to resist her. And a love that just might be written in the stars…
Recently jilted by his fiancée, David Gray, Earl of Ravenport is not in the market for a wife. Even if Gray didn't have his hands full renovating his crumbling country house, it would take more than a bold marriage proposal from a headstrong young beauty to thaw his frozen heart. Gray is confident that spending a week at his ramshackle estate will change her mind about marriage, but every passionate moment he spends with her tempts him to change his…
A talented artist, Miss Fiona Hartley desperately needs her dowry money to pay off a blackmailer set on ruining her sister. The handsome earl seems a sensible choice for a husband…if only she can convince him that romance will play no part. But marrying in name only may prove difficult for Fiona. Gray can't help but be dazzled by her genuine warmth. Yet as their feelings deepen, Fiona's deadline looms. Will her secrets destroy them, or is true love their final destiny?
Fiona Hartley is a kind-hearted young lady who seems prone to mishaps and accidents. It seems to deter men's interest in her. She is an incredible artist and can often see past the façade many put on for appearances.
She loves her father and sister so much that she's willing to risk so much to save them. Someone is blackmailing her. If she doesn't pay up, a family secret will be revealed that will ruin Fiona's younger sister, who is just coming into her own and quite eligible on the marriage mart.
How can she pay a blackmailer with no money? So she decides to marry in order to acquire the funds she needs. Upon her marriage, Fiona's dowry will be paid out and she can pay the blackmailer! Fiona sets her sights on David Gray, Earl of Ravenport. Fiona has considered and eliminated a number of men of the ton and has finally settled on the Earl of Ravenport, carefully selected after he was kind to her after one of her mishaps at a ball.
Gray is in need of funds himself in order to renovate his crumbling home, called the Fortress. After receiving a written proposal from Fiona, which Gray has no intention of entertaining, he invites Fiona, her sister, and stepmother to stay at the Fortress for a week in hopes that it will scare Fiona away. But Fiona isn't like the rest of the ladies of the ton and rises to the challenges set forth.
Gray inherited his earldom when he was barely double digits. He has endured a lot of trauma from childhood and then his parents' deaths. Now he's essentially penniless. He is a fairly cold person and has vowed to never love. Not again. Gray's primary goal is to renovate the Fortress for his grandmother, who is losing her sight. He wants her to see it restored before she can no longer.
It's a marriage of convenience for both Fiona and Gray, but Fiona is determined to turn it into a love match after a while. Gray is adamant that they won't suit, but slowly warms to Fiona.
The one glaring issue I had with the entire plot is that the blackmailer selected Fiona as the target. She was an unmarried woman who didn't have access to any actual funds. Why not select her father, the head of the house, business, and coiffers? The explanation that he was ill won't deter a blackmailer who is bent on ruination.
Review: This Earl of Mine
Title: This Earl of Mine
Author: Kate Bateman
Series?: Bow Street Bachelors #1
In a desperate bid to keep her fortune out of her cousin's hands, shipping heiress Georgiana Caversteed marries a condemned criminal in Newgate prison. The scoundrel's first kiss is shockingly heated, but Georgie never expects to see her husband again. Until she spots him across a crowded ballroom. Notorious rogue Benedict Wylde never expected a wife. He was in Newgate undercover, working for Bow Street. To keep their marriage of convenience a secret, Wylde courts Georgie in public, but the more time they spend together, the more their attraction sparks. Could an heiress with the world at her feet find happiness with a penniless rake? Kate Bateman's This Earl of Mine is a delightful start to the Bow Street Bachelors series, with witty banter, dynamic characters, and swoon-worthy romance.
Georgiana Caversteed is the eldest, born into a wealth built on shipping. She is an attractive marriage prospect, but every man balks after reading the marriage contract. It weeds out those only interested in lining their own pockets.
To "help" Georgiana in her misfortunate single-tude, her lecherous cousin Josiah tries to force himself on her. Georgiana won't be played like a fiddle and forced to marry her narcissistic and slimy cousin so that he can gain her father's holdings and gamble and drink them away like he did his own finances. Instead, she decides to marry a condemned prisoner…and then become a widow the following morning.
There's just one problem in her plan. The man from Newgate that she marries works undercover for Bow Street and the crown. Benedict Wylde is trying to help restore the family coiffures after his late father left them with many gambling debts. MANY. Clearly a conflict already, in more ways than one, because Ben certainly plans on staying alive!
Ben is well known as a rake and on the fringes of polite society, brother to the Earl of Morcott and recently returned from the Napoleonic War.
Georgiana is a headstrong and knowledgeable young woman. She is smart in finances, business, and the shipyard. When it comes to relationships, men, and love she is at a loss. While she may be a lost cause, Georgiana's mother has high hopes of becoming high society and settles on using Georgie's younger sister to do so.
But now Georgie is in a sticky situation. And Ben a bit too. Their marriage is valid and binding. It provides the solution that Georgie needed, but Ben has no need to be married, nor does he want a wife. It is fairly well-known the dire financial straits the Wyldes are in. In some ways, Georgie can't outrun the curse her father has left her with.
I loved the interesting path that led Georgie and Ben to one another and the friendship they build. Of course there is attraction and chemistry and heat, and along the way they both come to terms with loving the other.
Review: How to Love a Duke in Ten Days
Title: How to Love a Duke in Ten Days
Author: Kerrigan Byrne
Series?: Devil You Know #1
These men are dark, bold, and brave. And there is only one woman who can bring them to their knees…
Famed and brilliant, Lady Alexandra Lane has always known how to look out for to herself. But nobody would ever expect that she has darkness in her past—one that she pays a blackmailer to keep buried. Now, with her family nearing bankruptcy, Alexandra strikes upon a solution: Get married to one of the empire's most wealthy eligible bachelors. Even if he does have the reputation of a devil.
LOVE TAKES NO PRISONERS
Piers Gedrick Atherton, the Duke of Redmayne, is seeking revenge and the first step is securing a bride. Winning a lady's hand is not so easy, however, for a man known as the Terror of Torcliff. Then, Alexandra enters his life like a bolt of lightning. When she proposes marriage, Piers knows that, like him, trouble haunts her footsteps. But her gentleness, sharp wit, independent nature, and incredible beauty awakens every fierce desire within him. He will do whatever it takes to keep her safe in his arms.
***Trigger Warning: The opening scene of this book is a graphic rape scene.***
Lady Alexandra Lane is a young woman who experienced unspeakable trauma. It makes her uneasy around men and causes her to refuse the idea of intimacy or marriage. Her secret is one that many victims keep, and in the time period especially remains unspoken. Now, however, her secret could be revealed – and worse done – by a blackmailer.
She has the best of friends in Cecilia and Francesca. Together the three form The Red Rogues. Without them, Alexandra might not have survived her past. The trio are such great ladies and fantastic supports for one another. They would do anything for one another.
Piers Atherton, Duke of Redmayne, is a scarred man physically and emotionally. He presents this persona to the ton, but he is so much more. He is a sexy protector. He is hell-bent on revenge after his fiancé dumped and duped him. He is drawn to Alexandra. She is a strong and independent woman despite her past. With the threats of her blackmailer hanging over her head, Alexandra seizes a solution to her current and future problems.
The two marry and embark on the archaeological dig of a lifetime. For Alexandra, it is a dream come true and she is in her element. Unfortunately, the intimate parts of their marriage must wait on the expedition after some things go a little wayward between them – and while a killer is out to get them!
Review: The Earl Next Door
Title: The Earl Next Door
Author: Amelia Grey
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Series?: The Cavensham Heirresses #5
Adeline, Dowager Countess of Wake, is all on her own after her husband's sudden death. The good news? Losing him allowed her to find herself. Finally, Adeline is free to do, go, and be as she pleases. She cherishes her newfound independence and is not looking for another man to wed. But seeking out a new lover? Well, that is a whole 'nother story. . .
Lord Lyon, son of the two-timing Earl of Marksworth, wishes to have a respectable, loving wife someday. When he meets the beautiful and self-reliant Adeline, Lyon is instantly smitten. But Adeline would rather have the handsome suitor in her bed than to take his hand in marriage. It's a scandalous proposal—and one that's hard for Lyon to refuse. Unless the fire of his passion can melt Adeline's resolve. . .and he can find a way to be the Wickedly Wonderful Widow's lover for all time?
This is the first book in the series and the characters are connected. The ladies featured in each book in the series and series set-up are introduced. They are a compelling group of women.
Adeline is the Dowager Countess of Wake. She is a young widow who lost her husband at sea. She isn't in any way a traditional female of the time. Even though she is a widow, she isn't searching for a husband as many would in her situation. She is a feisty spitfire of a thing and speaks her mind.
As the countess, she was expected to produce an heir. She was in an almost cruel and loveless marriage and forced to stay at the country estate. She has returned to London and everything has a bit of that new glimmer to it.
Adeline meets two other young widows whose husbands died alongside her own. Together, the three have decided to open a school for young girls whose fathers died in the shipwreck. There is little future for these girls and their families without a male supporting them. The three women are now quite wealthy and can fund such a venture. It is Adeline's dream and she has all of the right things in place to fulfill it.
Except for her rude and judgmental neighbor, Lord Lyon, the Marquess of Marksworth. The opening scene of the book is like a comedy of errors. These comedic scenes cracked me up – although the characters didn't think they were funny in the least. In fact, they were quite vexed. Lyon "introduces" himself by barging into Adeline's home. She had just received a box by mistake. Piqued by curiosity, she tries on the sexy red stays over her gown and twirls around. Enter Earl stage left, angry and lathered, accusing Adeline of running a brothel. Talk about getting off on the wrong foot! But this sets the tone for their future encounters.
Lyon is a man who likes quiet and order to his world. He is the only son of the marquess. His father has been pestering him to marry and produce an heir for almost a decade. Lyon refuses to marry unless he falls in love. It has yet to happen. There are no women that pique his interest in a spend-a-lifetime-with kind of way. Until Adeline, who has vowed to never remarry after her terrible and abusive marriage. When Adeline opens her school, there are young girls laughing and making noise almost constantly right in his backyard.
Lyon quickly realizes he wants Adeline in his life, but she does not want to marry. He won't accept that, so Adeline boldly proposes they become lovers. There is attraction and heat between the two and Lyon is determined to make Adeline see his side of things.
Review: Once Upon a Bad Boy
July 27, 2021 July 20, 2021 SissyBear @ Girl of 1000 Wonders1 Comment
Title: Once Upon a Bad Boy
Author: Melonie Johnson
Publisher: St. Martin's Pres
Series?: Sometimes in Love #3
Sadie Gold is ready to take her career to the next level with the role of a lifetime. Finally, she can shake her reputation as a pretty face with more wealth and connections than talent. But Sadie is not prepared for the wild turn her own life is about to take. The man in charge of training Sadie for her most demanding role yet is none other than her first real boyfriend—the one who took her heart and ran away.
WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE
Bo Ibarra is as good-looking and irresistible as ever. Maybe even more so, now that everything once worked against them—Sadie's pampered and privileged upbringing and Bo's childhood in a family struggling to make ends meet—is in the past. But the future is still unwritten…and getting there, together, means coming clean about painful secrets and slashing through nasty tabloid rumors while trying to control the attraction that crackles between them. Maybe it's finally time for them to walk off into the sunset and into a true and lasting love?
Sadie Gold has a tumultuous past with Bo Ibarra. She was head over heels in love with him as a teen. His break-up on prom night – with no explanation – stung. And now for the role of her life she must work with him under his direction as stunt coordinator.
Over the course of filming, Sadie and Bo spend a lot of time together. It is the opportunity to dig into what happened all those years ago while seeing one another in a new light. It is the perfect situation for a second chance romance and features the classic rich-poor relationship.
Bo has the appearance of a rough-and-tough bad boy, but he never really was. He is a man with heart who loves his family. He grew up with so little but has become an established presence in the film industry, largely in part to his hard work. Throughout the book, Bo worked through some of his own issues just like Sadie does.
There is a topic that comes up from Sadie's post-break up life. It is sensitive and characters react in ways I found to be a big turn-off. This plot point should have been flushed out a little bit more, but it made my heart break for Sadie and Bo, then and now.
The secondary characters add flair and fun to Sadie and Bo's story. Bo's nephew is the cutest thing ever! And then there are the female friendships! The girls are sweet and supportive – a great group of ladies.
Review: Christmas Angels
Title: Christmas Angels
Author: Nancy Naigle
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Series?: no
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Holiday, Christmas
Growing up, Liz Westmoreland dreamed of taking over her grandparents inn located in the small mountain town of Angels Creek only for it to be sold before she ever got the chance. While browsing the internet, she stumbles upon a listing for what looks to be the picturesque inn and it's set to go to auction. Liz places a bid, and by a miracle, wins the auction. But when she gets there she finds the property in significant disrepair.
When Matt Hardy narrowly lost the inn and property that butted his land, he just hoped it wasn't another city slicker coming to make matters worse after the previous owners gutted the place for an art gallery. But the minute he recognized the sweet, freckle-faced girl from his childhood and heard her plans to reopen the inn, he jumps at the chance to help his childhood crush restore a place where he made so many fond memories.
While working on repairs, Liz and Matt discover her grandmother's collection of angels in one of the cabins. When the angels start mysteriously showing up all over the inn, she begins to look at them as reassurance—that restoring the inn is what she's meant to do. But when an accident leaves Liz feeling like she made a mistake, will Matt—and the residents of Angels Creek—be able to show Liz that she's found a home? And possibly true love as well?
This book sounds like the script for a Hallmark Christmas movie!
Liz Westmoreland spent time growing up at her grandparent's inn in quaint Angel Creek. It's her dream to open one of her own just like it. One night she stumbles across what she thinks was their inn on a listing site and puts in a bid – sight unseen. She has the winning bid. What could go wrong? It's her dream!
When Liz does arrive at the inn, she realized she should have come to Angel Creek for a visit before blindly placing her bid. Luck is in her favor, though, when she hires Matt Hardy as her contractor to renovate the inn. Except Matt has a secret about the inn: he also put in a bid! Matt's best childhood memories were at the inn with the Westmoreland family. Matt is dedicated to helping Liz restore the inn to glory and will bend over backwards for Liz.
While the very dilapidated inn is undergoing some drastic changes, Liz tries not to stick out like a sore thumb in the small town. With Matt's help here too, Liz begins integrating within the community and building relationships that will last – for herself and for the inn.
Even though Matt and Liz have a business relationship, Matt also has some feels for Liz. And he has some romantic competition in town!
This is a heartwarming story all around with Christmas cheer added in. And the ending gives a glimmer of who might be matched up next in this small town.
Review: Rogue Most Wanted
November 23, 2019 October 22, 2019 SissyBear @ Girl of 1000 Wonders3 Comments
Title: Rogue Most Wanted
Author: Janna MacGregor
There's one creed all Cavensham men subscribe to: they fall in love completely and decidedly. But what happens when the woman you fall in love with swears she'll only marry you as a last resort?
SHE NEEDS TO MARRY SOMEONE
Lady Theodora Worth needs to marry fast in order to keep her estate. It's been her heart and home for years, and she'll not lose it to anyone. There's just one problem—as a woman who was raised in isolation by her grandfather, she's completely incapable of pouring a cup of tea, never mind wooing a man. She'll need a little matchmaking help from her sprightly next-door neighbor in order to find a convenient husband…
IT'S JUST NOT GOING TO BE HIM
Lord William Cavensham's heart was broken years ago, and since that day he vowed to never love again. But his spirited Great Aunt Stella is determined he'll marry or not inherit a single penny from her. And she's got just the woman in mind—her beautiful and completely hapless next-door neighbor, Thea…
Thea and Will agree there's no sense in marrying each other. Will wholeheartedly believes he's incapable of love, and Thea refuses to marry the first man she's practically met. But Will may be the rogue Thea wants the most after all.
Thea Worth is an endearing, kind, heartfelt character. I loved her as a person. It pained me to see her making a faux pas and realizing it. How hard it was on her due to the embarrassment. She has not had the proper upbringing her peers did.
She has struggled through hard times, hard situations, and hard choices. Things no young lady should have had to endure and shoulder alone. She has run the vast estate for years as her grandfather's mental health continued to decline to such a state he could not attend functions or leave the property. She has had no social opportunities whatsoever – not even friends. She is intelligent and independent, and lacks the social graces, but is a prize in some eyes with the Scottish estate and her inheritance.
If she can find a man to marry her before everything is swiped away from her by her vile, manipulative cousin. He is convinced – out of his own selfish motivations – in his accusation that Thea killed their grandfather and he intends to challenge the title. The fact that she's just lost the one person most important in her life has no bearing on him. He will toss Thea out without hesitation or a backward glance. She knows the tenants and cares about them. He is only interested in the value of the land and doesn't care one iota about the people who reside there. Thea has to protect her people and her home.
By grace, the neighboring property is owned by Stella Cavensham, a well-connected woman. She acts as Thea's godmother and offers her assistance to the cause. The obvious order of business is obtaining a husband. The first thing on the list is her magnificent nephew, who is needing to settle down. Unfortunately, Lord William Cavensham has no intention of marrying. Ever. But if his aunt Stella asks…his arm just might be crooked correctly for a crusade down the aisle for his cherished aunt.
William carries the title of a rogue, but he is anything but. I'm not sure why that's even part of the title. At a young age, he had his heartbroken completely. He's carried this pain with him. He stays away from women and invests all his time running the family estates. He is integral to the family workings as the younger son, but he is Stella's favorite, and so she plans to disinherit him if he doesn't marry Stella.
Upon meeting, William realizes Theodora Worth is more than just a fluff of tulle on the marriage mart. She's engaging and different. The more time he spends in Thea's presence, his opposition to love is minutely chiseled away. Perhaps it's worth the risk?
While intelligent, Thea's lack of social training and the ways of the ton make her feel like she isn't a solid marriage prospect. It doesn't help matters that rumors are spreading about her. In the vein of support and her own selfish desires, Stella teaches Thea how to become a desirable bride.
One of my struggles reading this book was the continued angst of pitting Thea and William against one another about actually marrying. Both strangle the idea that "I can't marry you". Nothing stands in their way except themselves, and too much time and plot was dedicated to rehashing the same broken record with no forward momentum.
I was surprised by Thea's choices to disregard her virtue. She seemed unconcerned with the fact of being a virgin on her wedding night. At first, it shocked me, but she didn't have really any upbringing in societal norms. She wouldn't have placed the same value – and fear – in being unvirtuous as another peer with proper education would.
Review: The Vintage Summer Wedding
November 21, 2019 October 22, 2019 SissyBear @ Girl of 1000 WondersLeave a comment
Title: The Vintage Summer Wedding
Author: Jenny Oliver
Publisher: Carina
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Women's Fiction
A Vera Wang dress, the reception at a sophisticated London venue, and a guest list that reads like a society gossip column are all the ingredients of Anna Whitehall's perfect wedding that never was…
Spending the summer uncovering hidden treasures in a vintage shop, Anna can still vividly remember both her childhood dreams; the first was that she'd become a Prima Ballerina, and dance on stage resplendent in a jewel-encrusted tutu. The second was that at her wedding she would walk down the aisle wearing a collective-gasp-from-the-congregation dress.
Years ago Anna pirouetted out of her cosy hometown village in a whirl of ambition…but when both of those fairy-tale dreams came crashing down around her ballet shoes, she and fiancée Seb find themselves back in Nettleton, their wedding and careers postponed indefinitely…
Don't they say that you can never go home again? Sometimes they don't get it right… This one summer is showing Anna that your dreams have to grow up with you. And sometimes what you think you wanted is just the opposite of what makes you happy…
This book was hard for me to get into for quite a while. The suspenseful crumbs, in the beginning, did not work for me because they simply confounded everything for me. I finally ascertained that Anna and Seb, engaged and flat broke, return to their hometown after they've spent everything on the wedding of the millennium. That's obviously not happening now!
All of her plans, carefully crafted since a teen, where to get out of her hometown and be a big star. She was never coming back. She wasn't very kind when she left, either, making returning even harder for her. No one is giving her a pass for being a mean, nasty teen – not her dad, her classmates, or others in town.
She was so high on her own pedestal, the fall was hard. Bone-jarring. She lost her job after her clients were stolen from her by her newly hired administrator. From the beginning, Anna had nothing going for her to make her a likable character. She was spoiled and condescending, with a huge ego. Seb, on the other hand, was enthusiastic about this change and their new life and lifestyle and coming back to where they as a couple started.
Being back at home, Anna encounters other characters, situations, challenges – and even a couple enemies – that bring out life from what seemed to be a cold, black heart. Slowly, she tried making the right choices and her history brings some clarity to some of the stone-cold block she was in the beginning. It is easy to understand how she became that individual. Anna's constant strive to prove herself was one of those side-effects of her childhood. It took so much from her.
I thoroughly enjoyed the cast of characters that rounded out the book. With their new connections, Anna began to evolve. From her work in the antique shop she spent time in as a child to her hard work with the town's rag-tag ensemble of kid dancers, she begins to come into her own element and shine.
Anna took her hand of cards – crappy as they were – and started making things work for her. Excelling where she had strengths. Despite talking about going back to London and pursuing a different life equivalent to her old one, step by step she begins to earn respect from others that then blossoms into some great friendships.
Review: Ain't He Precious?
Title: Ain't He Precious?
Author: Juliette Poe
Publisher: Big Dog Books
Series?: Sex and Sweet Tea #1
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Novella
Welcome to Whynot, North Carolina, population 3,872. It has one stoplight, one bar, and the one-and-only Trixie Mancinkus.
Eleven years ago, Trixie graduated Harvard Law, turned down a job offer from one of the most prestigious law firms in Boston, and headed home to Whynot to open her own firm. Not only did she leave behind the big city, but she also left her boyfriend of three years. And just so we're clear… that would be me.
So what am I doing in Whynot at this very moment? It seems Trixie needs help with a legal case and for some insane reason, she called on me for assistance. I've been in town for five minutes, and I'm every bit as out of place as I feel. Trixie is all sweet, southern curves to my tailored suits and high-priced haircuts. It's a culture clash of north versus south and about the only thing we have in common is our physical attraction to each other.
But I have a new motto since coming to Whynot: When life hands you lemons, all you need is a little sex and sweet tea to make things better.
Written under a pen name, Sawyer Bennett's first novella is sweet and endearing. A much appreciated southern romance!
Trixie Mancinkus left Boston 11 years ago, giving up *the* dream job of her career – one of Boston's most prestigious and respected law firms. And with that also went Ry Powers, the love of her life, after only three short years growing together professionally and romantically. She traverses back home to her roots in Whynot, North Carolina – a reality Ry cannot fathom. With the birth of their young careers and their differences, there is no reconciliation or compromise. Trixie returns home to be a small-town lawyer while Ry follows his pursuits in Boston.
Now Trixie reaches out for Ry's assistance with a high-profile lawsuit. But it's never a good thing to tempt fate – or is it? Ry jumps at this chance. No one has compared to Trixie over the years. That spark from a decade ago is still there, but how do they move forward wanting two different futures?
I enjoyed Trixie and Ry's interactions – the good and the bad – and their time spent with the other characters in Trixie's life: Trixie's meddlesome grandfather, her precious mother, and disconnected father, and a mix of siblings with just the right rambunctiousness and embarrassing questions. I would love to be a part of this family! There was a strong mesh weaving these characters into the plot without it feeling forced or out of place. It just worked wonderfully in continuing to build Trixie and Ry's story.
Review: Girl Meets Class
Title: Girl Meets Class
Author: Karin Gillespie
Publisher: Henery Press
Series?: Girl Meets Class #1
Genre: Women's Fiction, Humor
The unspooling of Toni Lee Wells' Tiffany and Wild Turkey lifestyle begins with a trip to the Luckett County Jail drunk tank. An earlier wrist injury sidelined her pro tennis career, and now she's trading her tennis whites for wild nights roaming the streets of Rose Hill, Georgia.
Her wealthy family finally gets fed up with her shenanigans. They cut off her monthly allowance but also make her a sweetheart deal: Get a job, keep it for a year, and you'll receive an early inheritance. Act the fool or get fired, and you'll lose it for good.
Toni Lee signs up for a fast-track Teacher Corps program. She hopes for an easy teaching gig, but what she gets is an assignment to Harriet Hall, a high school that churns out more thugs than scholars.
What's a spoiled Southern belle to do when confronted with a bunch of street smart students who are determined to make her life as difficult as possible? Luckily, Carl, a handsome colleague, is willing to help her negotiate the rough teaching waters and keep her bed warm at night. But when Toni Lee gets involved with some dark dealings in the school system, she fears she might lose her new beau as well as her inheritance.
This book intrigued me because I am an educator in a public school. While it was interesting how often so many of Toni Lee's struggles are real in schools across America, one thing was solidly not: a person without a bachelor's degree and a teaching certificate and a special ed certificate would not be hired at any campus to work with SPED students. This element of the storyline REALLY bugged me.
This book is humorous, heartwarming, and heartbreaking. The author eloquently establishes the playing field for Toni Lee and her coworkers. Clearly, from the beginning readers are supposed to root for and support her and Harriet Hall.
Toni Lee is a washed-up tennis player. After a wrist injury that changes the trajectory of her life, Toni takes full advantage of her trust fund spoiled brat status. When she is arrested, her Aunt Cordelia (who runs the family food company, which is the source of their wealth), has had enough. She stamps out this churlish, embarrassing behavior. There's an ultimatum: keep a job that is actually challenging for a year, walk away with five million.
To Toni, that's the easiest thing ever. Until she realizes she gets cut off while doing so. No more lush condo. No allowance. When the Harriet Hall SPED position pops up, Toni jumps at it and quickly finds herself in an unknown part of her own city she never knew existed. As much as she doesn't want to be there, she finds her kids don't want to be there even more. Through building relationships with these kids and the addition of a new student to the mix changes everything for Toni.
She struggles to hide her newfound reality from her friends, and her true self with her new coworkers. In the end, Toni finds a new woman beneath the layers she's piled on and what I liked most about this new Toni was that she moved forward in life with integrity.
The book also has a focus on the naive perspective an individual can have walking into public education – and the realities Toni faced are not just at inner-city schools. I face these challenges at my school, which is too property wealthy (yet portables at every campus) that we fall under the "Robin Hood" legislation and must pay out several hundred thousand dollars to poorer districts. There are not desks from this century, and any minute you one of the crappily welded legs can go flying and drop a person (this happened to me this year) or it can bend and become a shank to any unsuspecting passerby. No air conditioning except in the office until students arrive. And that's not even in a portable! Broken faucets. How are we supposed to promote good hygiene? Behavior students who seem to magically be placed in the exact same classes and prohibit learning from happening. Admin turning the other cheeck or pretending they don't hear the most vital complaints and needs of teachers to make our primary job role (TEACHING!) possible. Referrals for repeat offenders deleted. Admin admitting they should have sent students to the alternative campus due to behavior, and yet continuing to do the same things and not addressing misbehavior and disruptions as serious classroom issues. Admin that are fearful of parents, so they must have a 1000% customer service role. This is education today, and Toni wasn't making up anything in her teaching experience.
Toni encounters corruption and political agendas individuals have in public education. She finds that there are some straight jackass people who teach students. This is true. I have encountered this too, and I'm like "Why? Why are you here?"
I enjoyed seeing Toni become strong. A strong woman, a strong employee, a strong individual within her family unit. She got some class. Overall, a great ultimate feel-good read that takes some turns and requires some strong backbone.


I am a huge believer in the voice of the customer. When I was at Sling Media, Blake (CEO/cofounder) made it abundantly clear how important each and every Slingbox owner was, and we built both the marketing and customer service departments around that vision. When a user had a complaint, we listened and responded, and when they had a suggestion we took it and considered how to include it. This behavior is generally Not the way a public company reacts. Typically when a big company gets on the soapbox and preach from on high, we as customers have to take it. Our usual means of feedback or commentary was through our checkbooks.
When Netflix announced they were removing the profiles feature, many users (myself included) spoke, and spoke loudly. We didn't have to unsubscribe right away, because we had a platform for being heard. Netflix' blog allows for comments, and everyday people could blog, twitter, post upset messages to their Facebook walls. The question I wondered was: were they listening, or was the decision a foregone conclusion.
I read today that the profiles feature will not disappear the way of Kozmo this Sept 1. I applaud the company for having the confidence to overturn a "final" decision. Some will clearly yell on high about how "social media" made a change, which is neat. The real instrument of change is something as simple as creating a culture that is open to listening. The voices were always there anyway.
Disclaimer: If you think I'm advocating bad driving or increased accidents, then please finish reading the entire post before making your judgment call.
Issue #1: Calling requires headsets, but texting, email, and other keyboard use is still acceptable. Numerous studies have shown the distraction factor is about the content of the call, not the fact that someone is holding a phone (in fact, NHTSA studies have shown that a CD player causes more distraction than using a cell phone, and we've had CD players in cars for many many years – no new laws there for some reason). So just remember, if you get pulled over, insist you were texting or maybe listening to a podcast on your phone, as neither are fineable offenses.
Issue #2: No supporting statistics from existing "trials". A headset-only law went into effect in NYC back in 2001, giving the state 7 years' worth of data. Checking through their news and stats pages, the NY State DMV has not issued a single report showing a decrease in accidents or fatalities. I'll talk more about lacking statistics in just a moment, but considering how quickly NY dropped stats while discussing drowsy drivers (100,000+ crashes a year), one would think there's something they could share on the "success" of the cell phone law.
Issue #3: A $20 fine?!?! Really? Are they being serious here? The entire purpose of our criminal justice system is to create disincentives to committing a crime. For example, I would rather not be in prison, hence the lack of grand larceny I'm involved in. Pretty logical stuff. The fine for not using a headset is $20. It's almost like they are saying "yeah, we know this is a silly law, so our method of abdicating ourselves is keeping the fine ridiculously low." Want to make this one effective? Make it $200 per offense, and start giving out points after the first offense.
Issue #4: No other relevant statistics of any kind. I went scouring the NHTSA web site for some statistics on cell phone usage, driving, and accidents. I found lots of stats on cell phone usage while driving (PDF). I found lots of stats on accidents (PDF). I found NO stats that link the two together. Not one single piece of data which said anything like "with the ever-increasing number of cell phones being used while driving, here is the resulting increase in accidents". In fact, I couldn't even find a casual implication where anyone from NHTSA actually stated it just maybe might kinda sorta possibly cause accidents. Amazingly, if I found anything, its that both accident rates and injury/fatality rates are on the decline, year after year.
The findings indicate that mobile phone ownership is associated with higher traffic fatality rates in bad weather, on wet roads, and in rush-hour traffic. California's new law should lead to some 300 fewer traffic fatalities a year.
I think that is awesome. Except, again, there's no data to back it up, so it sounds more like "good spin" than anything else. But I could be wrong, and if on July 1, 2009, the state can in any way prove that they saved us lives, I'll eat my (virtual) words. Of course, since accidents and fatalities are on the decline anyway, I am not exactly sure how they'll do so, but I promise to keep an open mind.
Now for some hyperbole. It surely seems like every time I almost get sideswiped, or someone rolls through a stop sign while I'm pushing the stroller, the driver has a phone at his/her head. From all appearances, its definitely those idiots on their phones that are causing all the problems. And I, like everyone else, want fewer accidents and safer roads for all. But maybe it's just the impression of idiocy? On the freeway yesterday I almost merged with a Ford Pickup that was in my blindspot, but I wasn't on the phone at the time.
The bottom line, in my eyes, is bad drivers are bad drivers, and give a bad driver a distraction, and he/she will find a way to become a worse driver with the distraction. I hate the catch-all blame of technology for society's woes. We should be requiring car manufacturers to enable voice-controlled stereos, temperature controls, and GPS systems, as all have been causally linked to accidents. The real question here is why isn't the State (or Country) protecting its citizens by putting the power in the manufacturers' hands? Hint: the answer is, similar to the copyright laws, its easier to push individual citizens around than it is to get big companies with big lobbyists to make change.
The NHTSA states "the task of driving requires full attention and focus. Cell phone use can distract drivers from this task, risking harm to themselves and others. Therefore, the safest course of action is to refrain from using a cell phone while driving." This seems to apply to many products beyond a cell phone, but have been in cars for much longer. It's a shame that this law takes effect tomorrow, as it will, in my best guess, cause more work for police, not help the growing nationwide traffic problems, and fundamentally not save us from the bad drivers who just don't pay attention regardless of the phone, donut, coffee, Blackberry, iPod, rattle, stapler, or other attention-getter they are holding in their hands. The State of New York (remember, the ones with LOTS of data) has advice, which is labeled with "use common sense". Shouldn't that apply to the lawmakers as well?
If you haven't yet read the Innovator's Dilemma, and you are involved in startups or high tech in general, I urge you to find a copy and get familiar with the concepts (here's a summary at Wikipedia). In a nutshell, the theory states that there are moments in business when following all the "correct" or apparent data will lead a healthy company or industry down the wrong path (check the above link for some good examples). I believe the disruptive moment has come for personal computing.
The era began in the 80s, sparked with the combination of hobbyist (TI/94, Apple ][, etc) and work PCs (IBM, Compaq, etc). Throughout the 80s using computers was really an adventure, as there was limited software, clunky hardware, practically no connectivity (thats right, not even Twitter!), and lots and lots of proprietary technology. Apple's Macintosh was marketed as the anti-Big Brother IBM PCs, despite the fact that Mac's were closed systems and it was DOS that enabled openness, customization and flexibility. At the time, the Mac seemed poised to grab a big chunk of the personal computing market share while PCs seemed destined for the office. Consumers didn't want the hassles of configuring home PCs, especially since the majority of the time they were just playing Oregon Trail and Carmen Sandiego anyway.
That is until Windows 3.1, then 95 showed up, both radically transforming the usability of PCs, while at the same time Apple "lost its way" with a series of ill-timed flubbed products. PC manufacturers standardized around Windows, and consumers had a fairly reliable and easy-to-use computer in the PC, with the ability to pick and choose the hardware configurations they wanted. The 90s also birthed the laptop, and as they reached mass consumption they too had massive flexibility, with some models offering literally tens of thousands of combinations. Computers were fun, productive, (mostly) reliable, and enabled access to dialup, then high-speed, Internet services.
Fast forward to 2006. PC makers began prepping their Vista launches, and marketed new models as Vista-ready. The Microsoft marketing machine was at the early stage of a rumored Billion dollar push. Consumers, for the most part, did not really know or care much about Vista, as XP (with Service Pack 2) was quite reliable and, most importantly, provided good Internet access. Vista launched, and Microsoft made a critical error by not mandating higher quality standards within the Vista-Capable program. Basically, a massive launch of new PCs with terrible flaws hit the market, and this was noticed both by personal and professional computer users. Virtually overnight the ability to easily purchase a reliable computer disappeared.
Meanwhile in Cupertino, Steve Jobs moved the Mac to the Intel chipset, and shipped OS X 10.4 ("Tiger"), but more importantly ushered in Boot Camp and third-party Parallels Windows virtualization technologies. In a fairly rapid manner, not only did the Mac become the most reliable computer around, it also ran Windows (and ran it quite well). This opened up the ability for even the most Anti-Mac people (such as myself) to gain the confidence that a MacBook was no longer a risky, fringe purchase, but had all the old software PC people were used to using, just in case.
To add a third twist, ASUS introduced the eeePC last year, a "mini-notebook" that has now spawned a fairly large group of competitors. I question the real size of this market, but it's a key factor in our discussion of the disruption curve. These computers run a variety of operating systems, and have virtually no customizable components. Whether I'm right or not about the true market opportunity, PC manufacturers are jumping on the bandwagon of ultra-small and/or non-configurable computers.
Now onto the disruption curve: I believe the era of customizing computers has reached an end. I posted a few weeks back on why I think the MacBook will take on a huge market share, and I believe it's not really because of Apple doing anything so "special" per se. I surmize that a transformative shift has already occurred, and whether by luck or by skill, they are poised properly for the next era of computer buying.
Consumers are speaking with their checkbooks. They are buying computers that are (1) easy to use, (2) reliable, (3) recommended by friends, (4) let them do the one thing they really want to do the most often: get online. The near-irony of the shift we are experiencing is we are closer than ever to the computing era of the 1970s, with terminal-server interaction as key. It's no longer about massive differentials in software availability, since the browser is the most important desktop application we use today.
I believe the PC manufacturers have ample opportunity to take advantage of this shift as well, but I also believe that most will not do so until it is far too late. As with any moment of disruption, it must be incredibly hard for a PC OEM to stop making laptop ordering systems with 4 pages of configurable options and reduce it to a few controllable selections. The current system works, even if growth has evaporated, and there is not a groundswell of consumers or focus groups pointing the way to introducing less choice (one of the biggest problems of focus grouping anything, btw – less is never more).
It'll be interesting to watch how PC manufacturers react to their changing world. I've been quite bullish on the Mac platform recently, but I don't think it's a done deal by a long shot. I truly don't think it has anything to do with Vista or OS X specifically, and has everything to do with understanding customers' needs. The irony here in my eyes is the fact that the "speeds and feeds" of PCs are more hidden than ever (as I learned from Ed Bott), as they've tried to downplay things like gigahertz and CPU caching. In other words, they're already marketing their wares based on the new reality, they just aren't shipping the right wares.
Netflix Chose… Poorly. UPDATED: not anymore!
As per a smart colleague of mine, I try not to second-guess motives when I blog (anymore). It's not really fair to the "target" as it doesn't really invite a discussion, it just puts someone/a company on the defense. So if I were to question this issue, I might wonder if they have an ulterior motive, some nefarious business reason to terminate the feature (as others have speculated), but realistically I doubt it. If the feature is costing them money, they could simply charge for it, rather than yank it away (apparently permanently). So I trust that they truly believe this is the right decision for their users.
A large number of users were complaining about the problem.
I spent the past little while searching Google, their community, their support site, and GetSatisfaction, all looking for documentation regarding multiple account profiles. I found no articles. Not one.
This problem is such a user interface challenge that fixing it wasn't an option.
Again, per the Netflix blog, the complaint is "members found the feature difficult to understand and cumbersome, having to consistently log in and out of the website." If this is truly a daunting task to overcome, how about enlisting some external user interface experts to help out? I for one would volunteer my services free of charge for the hour-or-two it might actually take to create a "multiple profile login system", a problem even Microsoft has done a good job with.
A series of intentional decisions were made to get to this moment.
Product managers and engineers chose not to fix it, but to eliminate it. This was presented to marketing and business decision makers who supported this decision. This was then signed off by someone at a senior enough level who also felt it was the right decision. The marketing and customer service departments were involved in the messaging plan to communicate the issue to the outside world. And it ended up on the company blog today, with an online assertion that this decision is permanent.
Many angry bloggers. Many. Many. Many.
I feel bad for the product manager who had to write that blog post on Netflix' behalf. It's never a pleasant position to be the bearer of such incomprehensibly dumb bad spin news. I, as many I've linked to above, can't help but question this move at many levels. It doesn't sound right and it doesn't feel right. I have historically liked the company (despite the fact they still use pop-under advertising. what is this, 1998?), but can't help but feel cheated. I urge team Netflix to really read the feedback your customers are giving you, and reconsider this move. I have a hunch it'll be a lot more "cumbersome" to lose customers than it will to reinstate the feature.
UPDATED: this decision was overturned by team Netflix. Huzzah.
There are so many reasons the battles over copyright law are flawed, most of which, in my opinion, center around the fact that copyright holders spend millions of dollars lobbying and supporting political campaigns (now about to hit Canada too). The "voice of the people" is barely represented, so much so that the few who have tried, such as Lawrence Lessig, have found little success in their efforts. I'm personally not much of a "downloader" and over the past 12 months have found my position on the topic swing from "it's stealing" to "I have no problem with it." Also, to be sure I am clear on this point: I do unequivocally believe content producers and owners have the right to profit for their work.
A big problem we have right now is the use of the word "stealing" to describe "downloading pirated content", as the two are very different actions. When I steal, I take something from someone in such a way that they are deprived from having it themselves. When I download, I am avoiding paying a royalty fee to a rights holder. Both are problems, but they are different problems. That's an important distinction, and one which should be examined a bit closer.
The laws (such as the terrible PRO/IP act) are designed today to protect rights holders from having their content distributed without a royalty. Sounds fair, right? Here's the problem: the acts of buying and selling used CDs are legal (as is buying/selling promo CDs, according to a recent ruling). So if I buy a used CD (which is what I personally exclusively do – haven't bought a new CD in years), I am transferring no royalties back to the rights holder. Let me make that point absurdly clear: if I buy a used Madonna CD, neither Madonna nor her label make any money off that transaction, and… (wait for it…) it's perfectly legal.
Theft, stealing, piracy, and other illegal acts are all bad for individuals and society at large. But worse than the individual acts themselves is our system. It is based on a cascading series of antiquated laws combined with the self-propagation of "big money" controlling the key decision-makers. I am not trying to sanction or condone the concept of depriving individuals from profiting, but I can no longer tolerate our hypocritical policies which call 61% of teenagers criminals. Nancy? Still listening?
As many people know, I was a rampant "twitter is stupid" person for well over a year. In my eyes it just seemed like a silly waste of time for the few lucky people with enough time on their hands to use it frequently, something for an extreme minority. Then I noticed many of my friends and colleagues were getting into it, people who I didn't associate with the lifecasting crowd, nor people with absurd amounts of free time. So finally, I succumbed, created a profile, and started following a bunch of people I knew (as in people I really knew, not just heard about from someone else).
Within days I had written numerous "tweets" and my list of followers and followees both grew to include the unknown. I read, joined, and started conversations (asynchronous and short-form, but conversations nonetheless). Since that time, I've apparently twittered almost 300 times, though I've attempted to avoid (as much as possible) the inevitable "I'm doing something kinda mundane, but felt the need to share". They happen, but I try to keep the tweets to the conversation, be it about marketing, gadgets, technology, or other topics which are close to home (yup, that includes some hockey).
As I scan tweets and follow conversations on FriendFeed, it's become quite clear to me that these formats are quite viable for many uses. Good way to get opinions on a topic, great way to get quick advice or problem-solving. Interesting way to engage with press and bloggers. Decent way to interact with people I don't know well on topics we have in common. But every time I read about someone getting a coffee, catching a bus, waiting in a line, or getting an oh-so-annoying "I'm at 1st & Main" update, I get the same reaction as when offers for Viagra, University Diplomas, Mortgage Rates, or Nigerian Uncles' Fortunes hit my inbox.
I believe the main reason for Twitter's growth over the past 12-18 months is specifically due to the lack of lifecasting. I was pleasantly surprised to see "the conversations" happening, and the relatively low quantity of "debating between ham&cheese or grilled veggies on rye." We are seeing an interesting phenomena right now surrounding social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, with people sharing what I would label "over the top" personal details. Personally I believe this is directly tied to a lack of understanding of consequences. We have yet to see the "Digital Natives" get burned by their actions.
Regardless of your feelings on GW Bush as president, the rumors are pretty rampant that he was a big partier back in college. I could be wrong, but I have a hunch that if he'd had a permanent digital record of all his youthful exuberances, the election process might've been a bit trickier. I've blogged about what I called "crime 2.0" in the past (which even elicited some fairly snarky comments), and I maintain the position of: mark my words, there will be bad times ahead. And frankly, that'll end up being a good thing for our civilization's digital future.
Garmin wants $70 for a… map!?
Let me open by saying I think my Nuvi 350 is one of my favorite devices. While there are a few improvements I could point out, for the most part it works very intuitively and reliably. With the exception of the one time I was trying to find a Dairy Queen (Blizzard? hells yes.) and I ended up outside of someone's house while hearing "you have arrived." And the guy didn't even have ice cream. Fail.
Garmin is pleased to announce the new Map Update 2009 for North America. For the most up-to-date maps and navigation on your portable Garmin GPS unit, this is the software you want. This $69.99 update offers full coverage for the U.S, Canada and Puerto Rico – making it easy and convenient to update the detailed maps and latest points of interest into your compatible Garmin unit.
Purchase the Map Update 2009 today!
Now I'm sure Garmin is paying someone (Navteq?) for their maps & data, and have costs to recoup. I have no problem with paying for an update, if the price is right. And maybe back 10 years ago $70 was a fair price, but today it isn't. The Internet has effectively trashed the value of data to consumers, and price points need to reflect that changed mentality.
As I write this, the Nuvi 350 is $203 on Amazon, meaning new updates are over 1/3 the price of the hardware. Whereas going to Google Maps is free, always. Granted, my Nuvi is more convenient than printing maps, and I am willing to pay something. How about $9.99? Or maybe $19.99? Those seem like a "fair" price to pay for a map update.
There's simply no way in the current market to accept $69.99 as a fair market value for a map update. Especially in context of a certain new phone that's going to cause even more issues for a slowly failing GPS market.
The HTC Mogul is a smartphone available on the Sprint network, which runs Windows Mobile 6 Professional. It is equipped will a full QWERTY slide-out keyboard, and a QVGA (240×320) touchscreen. The Mogul I'm using for review has the newest ROM upgrade which unlocked the GPS chip, and the EV-DO Rev-A data connection.
To get the new ROM update for your Mogul go here.
Like all other WM devices this phone works best with the Microsoft Exchange server. It flawlessly integrates all your information over the air, without needing to connect to any computer, ever. It can receive emails the instant they are in your inbox, add dates and times of accepted calendar invites directly into your calendar app, and sync your contact and task listings. Users who are looking to get these tasks done quickly and effectively are the ones looking into the HTC Mogul. This device is very powerful but it isn't for everyone, below are my opinions which should help you decide whether this smartphone is right for you.
The Mogul is a very tactile phone. It has 5 programmable hardware buttons, a 5-way directional pad, 2 hardware softkeys, a call and end button, a start button, 2 "OK" buttons, a navigational dial, a full QWERTY slide out keyboard, and a hardware WiFi on/off switch. The device feels like a rather good size for my hand. It couldn't hurt if it was a little bit thinner, but it doesn't feel overwhelmingly thick. The phone feels very sturdy, but it is a little on the heavy side. This might be a problem for someone with children that like to use their phone every once in a while. My other concern about the physical hardware is the super flimsily battery cover.
One of the best features of the hardware is its slide out keyboard. It has a spring loaded action, which causes it to snap open and closed, making a solid clicking sound. The keys themselves are spaced out very well and give good feedback when typing. There are also 2 indicator lights, located at the top, that illuminate when the caps or the function locks are activated. This is a cool feature that makes typing on this device, that much easier.
Windows Mobile 6 Professional is overwhelmingly decent right out of the box. It is a multi-tasking OS, meaning more than one application can run at a time. Due to only 64MB of RAM, the OS tends to lag a little between clicks and app changes. When a user is done with an application, they need to be sure they hit the "X", to close the app, or else it will stay open and drain memory resources. This is a change that was added with the newest ROM update. On some occasions the phone requires a reboot, in order to function at normal speeds again. These lag and speed issues are ones that a user must learn to live with, or else they will find themselves looking to get a different phone, fast.
The user interface for WM6 is out dated; it takes its design cues from Windows XP. While one can accomplish all of the same tasks on its default setting, WM6 doesn't start to shine until you step into the realm of customizing it and making it your own. Here are some before and after shots of my home screen.
As you can see on the left I have the default home screen with some basic information that a user needs. On the right is my customized home screen with a nice big clock along with email, text message, and missed call buttons. Below that are 3 big tabs that give me access to, this home screen, a weather screen, and a quick launch screen with shortcuts to 9 most used programs. Since the Mogul has 5 programmable hardware buttons, with this home screen plug-in, once my phone is turned on and unlocked, I am no more than 2 click away from 20 different programs. Which makes navigating much faster than the default home screen.
This home screen plug-in was actually taken from the HTC Touch and adapted to work on other HTC WM6 smartphones. A web community called XDA-Developers, made this and other HTC apps conversions possible.
The home screen is only the beginning of the modification I have made to my WM6 Mogul UI. I installed threaded text messaging, an iPhone-like contacts app, a new skin for the phone screen, a new system font, a single click app that changes my phone from ring to vibrate, and an HTC on screen keyboard. The great thing about WM6 on an HTC smartphone, is that with the xda-developers community and other sites like it, there are endless possibilities of the looks and applications you can add to your smartphone.
The absolute best application that every owner needs to add to this phone is Google Maps. Since it has a GPS chip you can use the app to find your current location, which takes about 10-15 sec. Once it has that, you can search your area for whatever business or address you are looking for. If you like, you can then get directions from your current GPS location to the location you just searched for. With this app it's truly amazing how fast you can find places and get directions from your current location.
-The full QWERTY slide out keyboard, gives users a rather quick and easy way to type on this device. The downfall is the lack of a quality onscreen keyboard for the times that a user would want to use one hand to type.
-Over the air syncing makes this phone a much needed tool for user working at a business with the Microsoft Exchange server.
-This phone begs to be customized, therefore if a user doesn't have the time or skill to do so, their user experience won't be at its optimal level.
-The ability to multi-task on this phone lets user accomplish multiple things at a time. The downfall is that its RAM is limited and causes the phone to lag when too many things are running.
-Google Maps with the updated ROM that unlocks the GPS chip, makes this phone a valuable tool for traveling business users.
Overall I think that the HTC Mogul is a great smartphone with tremendous power. This device is perfect for business users that do a decent amount of traveling. The Mogul is also a good fit for users that enjoy tweaking out their phones and spending time to customize them. Casual and beginner smartphone users, might find this phone a little too overwhelming.
Hopefully I have given you enough information for you to decide whether or not this smartphone could be the right smartphone for you. If you still need more information, I recommend, like I do with every smartphone, try it out before you commit to purchasing it. Since every service provider has a 30 day return policy, anyone can sign up for a new phone, return it within the 30 days, and only pay for the service used in that time period. This will help you know for sure you like the phone before you port your phone number and/or get locked into a 2 year agreement.
So what's a G1 iPhone worth now?
Arguably the best phone on the market, at a very competitive price to all "trendy" phones, making it affordable to non-professionals alike.
A 3G mobile Internet + email device.
An 8GB MP3 and video player.
Access to a fairly big supply music, movies/TV shows, and now games and other applications.
All in all, not too shabby. I'm still not running out to buy one (no Verizon, still want a keyboard, etc.), but I'm more tempted than ever. It's exactly the right price point to move large volumes of phones (here you can compare it to other top-priced AT&T phones. Yes, that IS a RAZR in the mix, wow!). It's the same price as a Treo (shudder). Incidentally, looking back a year I was about half-right on my G1 and G2 phone predictions. Oh well, live and learn.
After some random, informal, and ridiculously unscientific polling, my hunch is a lot of first-generation iPhone users are going to wait until about 12:03am on the 11th to buy the 3G iPhone. But what are they gonna do with the old ones?
Can't really resell em (unless they're unlocked) for any real value. Again, I don't view the 2-year contract as any kind of deterrent, and therefore it won't help spur sales at near price points ($179, $149, even $99). They're still listed above $300 on eBay, but that will definitely change in the near future. My hunch is the price settles in somewhere right around $80. This makes an all-in early adopter program run a grand total of $718 ($599 + $199 – $80), not to mention the $100 iStore coupon.
One Gadget to Rule Them All?
Am I the only one who's found the entire industry surrounding gadgetry and computers has a certain amount of ennui around it? I blame (and not in a bad way, so read this through to the end people) Apple. Seems like ever since Jobs first unveiled the iPhone back in January 2007 that nothing's even come close to being, well, interesting. I don't even have an iPhone (and until they ship one on Verizon or until AT&T offers a US+Canada plan, I won't have one), but I find it one of the most interesting and compelling products on the market.
I wonder how long it's really going to take other manufacturing companies to start playing the game the same way as Apple does. Granted, not everyone can sport a black mock-T the same way, but they can certainly (1) hire great product designers, (2) have a great vision, (3) execute on that vision, and (4) build the same buzz. But nobody is doing it. Nobody. It's as if the entire consumer electronics and PC industry look at Apple and just shrug their shoulders. This is, in a word, sad.
When Gretzky played hockey he was arguably the best player to ever lace up his skates. When he played, his teammates played better and the competition tried harder. Our industry seems to have the opposite reaction. "Competing" products come nowhere close, and for no good reason. This is the part that stymies me the most – it's not exactly like Apple is perfect or anywhere close. While I've personally given up on Windows, I can create a huge list of complaints I have about OS X. The original iPhone has terrible problems dealing with corporate email (not to mention the accidental generation of multi-thousand-dollar bills from time to time). These flaws are opportunities for competitors.
Due to my attending CES year after year, my email address has saturated to the entirety of the consumer electronics PR lists. I get virtually all press releases, sneak previews, glimpses, and other news from major CE and PC manufacturers (other than Apple, interestingly). Is it surprising to any of my readers if I "unveil" that practically none of these companies even attempt buzz or drama? There's no excitement, there's just press releases and media events. Now I do happen to believe you can't build too much interest around mediocre products, so this issue goes hand-in-hand with the "where are the great products" topic.
We're a few hours away from Steve Jobs' keynote at this year's WWDC event. I'll be watching live-ish from Engadget (not Twitter, which is neither reliable nor efficient for this type of information), using TechCrunch as my backup site should Engadget go down (or someone in my office hollers out something that they read on TC before Eng got it!). I'm sure I'll be somewhat wowed, and somewhat not, because not everything will be exciting ZOMG news. But who cares? It's Apple up at bat, and they are pointing to the bleachers while the other guys are still practicing their bunts.
ps – congrats to Sling Media for getting the iPhone version of the SlingPlayer ready!
pps – I own some AAPL stock, but I also own some Sony and other CE/PC companies as well.
Where it used to be hard to find a WiFi network, these days it's hard to find only one. If you live in an apartment building, you may spot dozens of networks. And thanks to malicious jerks around the world, most of them are closed, locked down, unavailable. This is pretty strongly advisable, yet slightly disappointing from a community angle, and often-times very frustrating from a "gotta get online to send this email" perspective.
My first piece of wishful thinking is having router manufacturers enable an "emergency mode" triggered by natural disasters or other major emergencies. I'll say up front I have no idea who is responsible for triggering this switch, but let's assume local governments could determine such a method (just don't have it over to FEMA, they apparently rarely know when or where emergencies occur). When routers receive the "emergency signal" they provide open access to the Internet.
While I may be oversimplifying the technology impact and there'd obviously be some security implications, the purpose here is to give people an easy way to share and receive vital information. The phone lines and cell signals may be overwhelmed with traffic, but assuming either phone or cable services are available, people with Internet-enabled mobile devices and laptops would all be able to rapidly reach out. We could share updates, find safe havens, etc, all with simple Internet connectivity.
I don't exactly know what it would take to make this happen. My hunch is it simply won't. But when I see 23 hotspots in my surrounding region and know full well that a stranger couldn't use a single one of them in time of need, it makes me ponder how we can better use technology to improve our community.


Most of Sweelinck's chorale compositions are found in a huge manuscript of organ scores, now at the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek (German National Library) in Berlin, dating most likely from the early 1630s. It is otherwise devoted to chorale variations by a dozen or so of his German pupils, some in the form of collaborative sets, with individual variations contributed by both master and disciples.
Richard Taruskin. "Chapter 2 Fat Times and Lean." The Oxford History of Western Music. Oxford University Press. New York, USA. n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2019. <http://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume2/actrade-9780195384826-div1-02004.xml>.


When heading out to your favorite destination you should put steps in place to protect your hearing aid investment. Sometimes vacations are not as worry-free as you would hope. If you want one less concern, come up with a plan to protect your hearing aid while on vacation. When heading out, are there any special precautions to put in place for the safety of your hearing aids?
You'll want a thoroughly packed cleaning kit, to begin with. When going on vacation you still should do everything you do at home to keep your hearing aids clean. A brush or pick comes with the majority of brand name cleaning kits. You should also bring a soft dry cloth to wipe the surface down and a case to store them in when not wearing them.
You will probably also need replacement batteries. Odds are you'll be putting in the hearing aids longer than normal, so it's prudent to bring a backup. If your hearing aids have rechargeable batteries, bring an additional charger, too. Your additional charger needs to be put somewhere separate just in case one gets lost.
A checklist is crucial to be sure you haven't forgotten anything you might need. You never know exactly when you might need one of your hearing aid supplies, so put them in an easy to access spot. Carry on luggage is the best spot to carry these things if you are going on a plane.
Before You Leave Make Sure You Have Your Hearing Aids Checked and Cleaned by a Professional.
One week prior to going take your hearing aids in for service. Properly working hearing aids will make traveling safer and much more enjoyable. You may need to take your hearing aids in for unexpected emergency servicing while on vacation so consult your retailer regarding any warranties you may have. Be sure that you know how to file a claim, so you don't overlook anything and possibly void the warranty.
It won't hurt to find out if there is a retailer close to where you will be staying, too. Or look up hearing aid repair or retailers on your own. If you require a new battery or maybe even some repairs, you will be able to bring it right in.
Considering all of the changing security requirements, going to the airport is always puzzling. When you are walking through the security gate, keep your hearing aids in your ear. Tell security that you have a hearing aid as you approach so that they know ahead of time. If you adhere to the security agent's direction you most likely won't have to take them out to walk through the metal detector.
It's also perfectly fine to wear your hearing aids on the plane. You will not need to turn them off before take off like you have to with a cell phone, either. Be prepared because sometimes your hearing aid won't work quite as well when you're on the plane. Try to compensate by using visual indicators to the flight crew and the others near you so they understand that you can't hear. If you can't understand what someone is saying, try cupping your ear to let them know.
Swimming and humidity go hand in hand with vacations. Even if you don't plan on going swimming in a pool or going into the ocean, it is a smart idea to have a way to dry out your hearing aids during the night to prevent water damage. A dryer is a precaution worth having all year round, but it's particularly important when you travel.
Some features work best in one kind of setting, other features work better in a different kind of environment. For example, you'll need to filter out background noise in a restaurant or at an amusement park. You will have more fun at the beach when you use outdoor settings. But you have to be familiar with how your hearing aid operates if you want to take advantage of these features.
In loud settings, this will come in handy. You simply clip the microphone to whoever you are talking with to enhance their voice so that you can talk freely.
Normally, popular vacation venues accommodate for the hearing impaired. Since you won't be using your hearing aids at night you will want to take advantage of that. Smoke alarms that shake the bed or flash bright lights should be available to you. Find out if they have special phones for the hearing impaired and televisions with closed captioning.
Going on vacation is enjoyable, but it can also be frantic, too. Get your hearing aids situated before you leave, so you can relax and enjoy your trip. Schedule an appointment for a tune-up today.


text:
Q: Equivalent of SQL IN in VB.NET What I am trying to do is to check if a value matches one of two numbers (and easily be able to add to the numbers to compare to). Rather than doing a longer-winded way such as:
If Number = 1 Or Number = 2 Then ...

I'm trying to do something like this:
If Number In (1,2) Then...

As the In operator isn't available in VB, I have tried the following code instead:
Protected SectionID As Integer = HttpContext.Current.Request.QueryString("sectionid")
Protected PageID As Integer = HttpContext.Current.Request.QueryString("pageid")

Protected Sub HotspotsLV_ItemDataBound(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Web.UI.WebControls.ListViewItemEventArgs) Handles HotspotsLV.ItemDataBound
    Dim SecondLineHolder As HtmlControl = e.Item.FindControl("SecondLineHolder")
    Select Case True
        Case New String("2", "3").Contains(SectionID) : SecondLineHolder.Attributes("style") = "color:#21720B"
        Case New String("8", "12").Contains(PageID) : SecondLineHolder.Attributes("style") = "color:#1B45C2"
    End Select
End Sub

I have found that this only works when SectionID is 2 or PageID is 8. If SectionID is 3 or PageID is 12 then it doesn't work. Why is this and what can I do to try to get around the problem? Thanks.

A: After a bit of playing around, I have managed to find a nice solution:
Select Case True
    Case Array.IndexOf(New Integer() {2, 3}, SectionID) > -1 : SecondLineHolder.Attributes("style") = "color:#21720B"
    Case Array.IndexOf(New Integer() {8, 12}, PageID) > -1 : SecondLineHolder.Attributes("style") = "color:#1B45C2"
End Select

A: Dim Numbers() As Integer = {1, 2}
If Numbers.Any(Function(i) i = Number) Then

A: You are creating a String instance not an array. Try changing it to:
Protected SectionID As Integer = HttpContext.Current.Request.QueryString("sectionid")
Protected PageID As Integer = HttpContext.Current.Request.QueryString("pageid")

Protected Sub HotspotsLV_ItemDataBound(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Web.UI.WebControls.ListViewItemEventArgs) Handles HotspotsLV.ItemDataBound
    Dim SecondLineHolder As HtmlControl = e.Item.FindControl("SecondLineHolder")
    Dim sections As Integer() = New Integer(){2,3}
    Dim pages As Integer() = New Integer(){8,12}
    Select Case True
        Case sections.Contains(SectionID) : SecondLineHolder.Attributes("style") = "color:#21720B"
        Case pages.Contains(PageID) : SecondLineHolder.Attributes("style") = "color:#1B45C2"
    End Select
End Sub

If you use Option Strict On then the type mismatch would be highlighted. In your initial code New String("2", "3") would create a string with a value of 222.
Edit
For .Net version prior to 3.5 the Contains method will not be available. This can be mimicked using IndexOf:
Array.IndexOf(sections, SectionID) > -1
' Equivalent to sections.Contains(SectionID)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Buying Bone Deth's 'The Dirty Sniff' is a smart decision. Hot chicks, slime, bizarre and deranged cut scenes, and of course, some of the wildest riding you'll see all damn year. No roof is safe from these dudes. You can grab a digital download, or rent the video RIGHT HERE.
"Bone Deth's new full length film featuring Colt Fake, Sean Burns, Kert Petersel, Jay Wilson, Chris Crawford, Albie Bennett, Lee Hopkins, Dirt Ron, Robby Nelson, Dean Dickinson, Juuso Kosonen, Sasha Scherbunov, Party Management, Bungay, Waffle, Josh Delarosa, Bone Babes and many more.


text:
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River, and drains the eastern side of the lower Mississippi Basin.
Originating in the Appalachian Highlands of Virginia, the Tennessee River drainage covers more than 103,600 km2 (Ono et al. 1983). Major tributaries to the Tennessee include the Clinch, Powell, Holston, French Broad, Duck, Elk, Buffalo, Bear Creek, Paint-Rock, Sequatchie, Little Tennessee, and Hiwassee rivers.
Although the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers flow quite close to each other near their confluence with the Ohio, they were not physically linked historically. Today, dam construction on both rivers has changed this situation. The construction of Barkley Dam impounded the Cumberland, forming Lake Barkley, while just a few miles away the Kentucky Dam was built to impound the Tennessee River, thereby creating Kentucky Lake. This alone was not enough to link the two reservoirs, so a channel was cut not far from the head of each lake to link them together. Other mainstem and tributary reservoirs constructed by the Tennessee Valley Authority for flood storage and power generation are also major surface water features.
The watershed of the Tennessee River, which drains to the larger Mississippi Basin, defines this ecoregion. The majority of this area is centered in Tennessee; the river also drains parts of southwestern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia, western North Carolina, two disjunct areas in northern Georgia, northern Alabama, and the extreme northeastern corner of Mississippi.
The topography of the ecoregion is varied, rising from the Coastal Plain in the west to the Blue Ridge Mountains in the east. Tributaries drain the southern portion of the Highland Rim province, an upland area between 250 – 300 m elevation that encircles the Nashville Basin. East of the Cumberland Plateau lies the Ridge and Valley province, which is characterized by northeast-southwest trending long, even ridges and valleys. The Blue Ridge Mountains run parallel to the Ridge and Valley to the east and drain the high basins (600 – 800 m) within the ecoregion, with headwaters reaching elevations up to 1700 m (Starnes & Etnier 1986).
From west to east, the Tennessee ecoregion traverses a number of physiographic provinces, creating a broad diversity of freshwater habitats. The lower Tennessee River basin drains a small portion of the coastal plain, and in this area streams are moderate to lower gradient. Swamps occur in the Big Sandy system, a major lower tributary to the Tennessee in the northwest corner of the ecoregion. Cave and spring habitats are abundant in the Highland Rim province, which covers most of the western half of the ecoregion. To the east of the Highland Rim is the Cumberland Plateau, and to the east of that is the Ridge and Valley province. Finally, the southeastern headwaters of the Tennessee drainage are found in the Blue Ridge province, where streams are typically high gradient and cold (Starnes & Etnier 1986).
Much of the ecoregion is covered in forest, particularly in the Jefferson, Pisgah, Cherokee, Nantahala, and Chattahoochee National Forests. Agriculture also accounts for a major land use, with most agricultural land used for pasture (Hampson 1995).
These endemics are made up of a large number of darters, as well as minnows, chubs, madtom catfishes, a cave-fish, pygmy sunfish and sculpins (Starnes & Etnier 1986). Of the many physiographic provinces in this ecoregion, the Highland Rim and Ridge and Valley tend to support the largest numbers of fish species. Many species with the most restricted ranges are found where provinces meet and overlap; for instance, the palezone shiner (Notropis sp.), smoky madtom (Noturus baileyi), and duskytail darter (Etheostoma sp.) all apparently require habitat created by the combination of features in two provinces (Starnes & Etnier 1986). New species of fish continue to be discovered and described in this ecoregion, despite fairly extensive historical study of the region's fauna (Starnes & Etnier 1986; Burr pers. comm).
Ecoregion boundaries are modified from Abell et al. (2000), which based its units on subregions defined by Maxwell et al. (1995). Modifications to this ecoregion were made following recommendations from the Endangered Species Committee of the American Fisheries Society. Based on faunal data from Hocutt & Wiley (1986), the Endangered Species Committee decided there was a significant number of species exclusively endemic to the Cumberland [151] and Tennessee [152] drainages to warrant separate ecoregions.
Constantz, G. (1994). "Hollows, peepers, and highlanders. An Appalachian Mountain ecology" Missoula, Montana, USA: Mountain Press Publishing Co..
Hampson, P. S. (1995) \National Water-Quality Assessment Program: the Upper Tennessee River basin study unit. FS-150-95\ Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. U.S. Geological Survey.
Olson, D. M. and Dinerstein, E. (1998). "The global 200: A representation approach to conserving the Earth's most biologically valuable ecoregions" Conservation Biology 12 (3) pp. 502-515.
Ono, R. D.,Williams, J. D.;Wagner, A. (1983). "Vanishing fishes of North America" Washington, DC, USA: Stone Wall Press, Inc..
Starnes, W. C. and Etnier, D. A. (1986). "Drainage evolution and fish biogeography of the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers drainage realm" C. H. Hocutt and E. O. Wiley (Ed.) The zoogeography of North American freshwater fishes ( pp. 325-362 ) New York, New York, USA: Wiley.
The Nature Conservancy (1996) \Preserve profile: Understanding the Clinch Valley bioreserve\ "<"http://www.tnc.org/">"
The Nature Conservancy (1996). "Troubled waters: Protecting our aquatic heritage" Arlington, Virginia, USA: Conservation Science.