text:
The happier times.
#Repost @rurushibara with @get_repost
・・・
La famiglia felice di Dracula…prima della tragedia… #dracula #vampiro #vampire #vampiri #vampires #alucard #famiglia #family #draculafamily #feel #feels #castlevania #castlevanianetflix #castlevaniasymphonyofthenight #castlevaniasotn #castlevaniaseries #anime #games #game #videogames #videogame #konami #horror #horrorgame #horrorstories #horrorstory
They Called Him The Doomslayer
I didn't even realize that Bethesda had posted the full soundtrack for DOOM(2016) to YouTube until today. I did, of course, purchase both the game and soundtrack back in 2016 and cannot wait until Doom Eternal arrives. Yeah. It's going to be be a long wait.
Overwatch League, Week 1
The Overwatch League is in its first season! I caught the first Saturday's matches, although I was a bit late for the first game. My team, the LA Gladiators, had its match last, so no worries there.
Overwatch League wristband
Other side of the wristband.
First up:
London Spitfire versus Philadelphia Fusion
Largest progress indicator I've ever seen 🙂
Yes, that's a pro Junkrat
Highlights between halves of the match:
New York Excelsior versus Houston Outlaws
One of the desk commentators, Soe
4 of the desk commentators
Casters for the match
a large (!) view of Junkertown, the first map of the match
Junkertown
Junkertown interior shot
Spectator panels – these are animated and show player status live
Zenyatta is pretty strong. 🙂
a fan-favorite, Jake.
the main event:
Seoul Dynasty versus Los Angeles Gladiators
The Gladiators made a proper entrance:
Gladiators initial roster
A very purple version of the Gladiators logo
Gladiators logo – #ShieldsUP
the matchup
Showing how tough they are. First game against Seoul began with a tie.
Progress on a later game
I'm not posting the results here, but all the matches were fun to watch, with the last one being super fierce. Seoul has one of the best, and most experienced Overwatch teams in the league and the Gladiators didn't slack off. The videos of the entire matches should be up at https://overwatchleague.com. Looking forward to next Saturday. 🙂
Remember The Glow of The TV
When I was a kid, watching TV programs meant watching what was on at a particular time and you had to know when your favorite shows were on and be ready to watch at that time, or have it recorded to tape (those antique things), or you'd miss out on that day or week. I remember some channels had bad reception in our area too.
I lived through the fall of the corner video stores (RIP Blockbuster and Hollywood Video), so the slow(!) change to the on-demand delivery of content was not unforeseeable. These days, I rarely turn on a TV to watch a broadcast channel. Usually, I'm just using the display to watch something on Netflix or Crunchyroll, or even streamed off my phone.
I can totally see a day when the cable that brings broadcast shows into the home will only be used instead for internet access and to watch live event streams as needed.
News programs still seem to dominate broadcast channels, or that's at least what is on during prime times when I see my parents watching. It's either that or shows about hoarders or house hunters I see most often, with the occasional movie.
As for the news, there's just so many more options online and it's super easy to focus on specific topics from multiple sources. TV just doesn't offer such flexibility, and that's why it's super worrisome that there's still a large number of people that only get news information primarily from TV, and from the big networks. Sure, some of them are doing a good job, but, there's often these days stories that break online, with all the big networks scrambling to catch up or even just copy-pasting social media posts.
It's a different world these days and it's getting more online-centered. I wonder if anybody reading this is out of range for some of this, like in a rural area or something. I wonder what people in those areas think of all this. Do they even notice?
Photo credit: Sven Scheuermeier
I like stories. In all the various forms they come in. I've been this way most of my life. I think it started with books, but I appreciate a good story, even when it's wrapped in a lot of fancy technology.
It began with a live for books. That came once I got basic reading down. It only expanded once I got into a grade in school where "story time" was a thing. I secretly longed for this part of the day a bit more than recess.
I listened to The Hobbit, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, and Watership Down. I was hooked. School libraries were somewhat small, so I quickly moved up to the local public library and my library card was an essential, everyday carry item.
It wasn't just books though. I loved TV shows and movies, as well as video games. Still do.
Now, storytelling is usually a key aspect of many games (sometimes in sports video games as well.) Some games are even just basically interactive stories, with the player only making minor branching choices, or even being in nearly complete control as the main protagonist, or sharing that with other players, in small to massively multiplayer online role-playing games, like World of Warcraft.
In all cases, it's whatever story is being told (or guided towards) that draws me in. The awesome thing about loving stories is there are so many to experience. Running out is simply not an option, and it's as easy as listening to another nearby human being.
Photo credit: comingsoon.net
Here are a few of my thoughts on the movie, Logan. It's super difficult to avoid spoilers since this is a movie seeing the end of two iconic characters from the Marvel universe (or, one of the multiverses, to be more specific.)
Logan, The Wolverine, goes on a journey, both physical, and emotional, to help out a girl, who has similar abilities to his own. At the same time, however, he's suffering from a side-effect of his own. His body is poisoned and slowly deteriorating due to the adamantium in it, which is a material known to be lethal to him.
He's battling not only those after the girl but his inner demons. He's on a quest, however reluctantly, for redemption. He's not alone, however. Charles Xavier, Professor X himself, is also along for the ride. His body is also, coincidentally, slowly deteriorating, with dangerous effects. His mind, his super weapon, is breaking down, and that's a huge risk to all who are near him but in a much larger area. Logan's got a tough set of tasks on his plate: protect his mentor, the child, and the larger world around him.
That's the setting for this action-packed adventure. This Wolverine is not the spandex-clad one from some of the comics (and one of my favorite cartoons as a teen.) Jackman's Logan is a much darker, grittier almost anti-hero. Logan's far from perfect, and, as an artificially-created mutant, so aware of what can be wrong about weaponizing super-humans.
He's also, in a way presented with a way to not make up for his misdeeds, but to help another with the potential to become like him to understand that it's the choices made that matter most, and not how one's "created," or what purpose their creators might have intended.
I thoroughly enjoyed the action. It's a movie with a long trail of sometimes grisly fatalities. Logan's not the most graceful fighter, but he's hard to take down. The only one who Logan needs to fear is himself. He's got an antagonist here that's human, but "enhanced" in a manner more like what's sure to come in the near future.
Logan is certainly an action adventure, but it's also a story of redemption. It's easily a contender for the best comic-based movie, ever. It's also an excellent story. I have not seen all of the Hugh Jackman Logan/Wolverine films yet, but it made sense. I feel like I'm OK at this point.
If you like action movies, see this movie.
If you like westerns, see this movie (if you like Shane, especially.)
If you like Hugh Jackman and/or Patrick Stewart, see this movie.
If you like stories of dark heroes seeking redemption, see this movie.
If you have little ones, get a sitter and see this movie.
You should probably see this movie.
Weekly Wrap Up #7-9
Photo Credit: Glenn Carstens-Peters
It's been a few weeks since the last wrap-up post. Things have happened. Quite a few things. I've seen a few more movies and even reviewed one that was excellent.
This week, however, saw a few things I hadn't expected or that I forgot were about to come up. The first was that I saw the launch of a YouTube channel. This one's special because it's dedicated to gaming, but even more important, the person starting it (Peter Saddington) intends to pursue the great dream of many gamers (myself included): to play games as a full-time occupation. Take a look:
As you can see, Peter's got quite the passion for gaming and for doing what's super scary at its core – committing publicly to being serious about making a living pursuing his passion. He even is sharing that with nearly complete strangers like myself. He feels like he can make an assessment of a game in the first 15 minutes of play. I think there will be a few exceptions, but that might just be due to how some games are designed.
I had the chance actually to chat with Peter on the phone briefly this evening. You can feel the seriousness and energy he has, even on a short call. I can't help but want to see him succeed, and I'll try to help as best I can. I didn't mention this blog, but I might bring it up at a later time. I'll probably share more of his videos on social media, however. He's currently reviewing gaming PC configurations that fit his budget, which is a good idea, since a very high-performance rig is a necessity, especially for somebody that hasn't been deep in the gaming scene for multiple years.
The next thing I hadn't reminded myself strongly about was the US premiere of the Sword Art Online movie. I purchased my ticket quite a few months ago and set a calendar item. I got a couple of reminders from the ticket company, via email. That helped me to get a bit hyped for it. I'll probably see it again once it's in wider release this coming week.
That's all for now. There are some fun and festivities this weekend, but that'll be for another post. I hope everyone else's weeks have been good. It's March! Things are warming up in the northern hemisphere. Let's enjoy the changing season.
Ordinal Scale
Fan art. Source
At the urging of someone close to me, here's my review of Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale, based on my having attended the US premiere in Hollywood.
It's a fascinating look at a "what if" situation. Specifically, it continues the situation introduced by the series itself, so I'll go over that briefly before digging into the movie.
In the TV show, Sword Art Online (SAO) is the newest of a near future's virtual reality (VR) massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG). In this fictional future, VR terminals, called NerveGear, completely immerse players, temporarily shutting down their real-world body's motor and sensory functions. That means that usually, users must log in someplace comfortable, like their beds at home, or a secured location. One player does so from a place that's not their home, but it's a spoiler, so that's all I'll say about that.
Screenshot from SAO TV series
At any rate, there's a significant event in the SAO game world, attracting all players to the same location. It's thousands of individuals. The event is one unique to the game world, created by its lead developer. What happens is a terrifying thing: an ominous entity appears and tells them the game's real objective. The only way to leave the game is to "win" it, by conquering the final boss in the highest dungeon. All players are affected by this condition. They cannot log out!
Unspoken is also a terrifying secondary condition. Dying in-game results in real-life death. The first season of the series is then the adventures of the main protagonist, Kirito, and the friends he gathers in-game. Kirito has gaming experience, and specifically with an early release (beta) version of SAO, which leads to his having fine-tuned skills and knowledge of the game's behavior. He's quickly labeled a "beater" (beta cheater) due to that when he's found out. That pushes Kirito to go solo, refusing to team up formally with any other players. It drives him to quickly level up to be the first to conquer and progress through the massive 100-level dungeon. He later has trouble and finds out that the higher levels require huge teams, so he must have allies, and it progresses from there.
Gun Gale Online, from SAO season 2. Sinon and Kirito.
The second season takes place in a post-apocalyptic, shooting-based world, Gun Gale Online (GGO), that, while safer than SAO, had it's own real-world connection to a problem player. It deals with a slightly different set of real-world issues as well. It's worth a watch.
I was late to the screening (80-minute drive directly from work), so I arrived at the tail-end of the movie summarizing this 2-season plot. The film is watchable, on its own, due to that. It's been more than couple years since the SAO game ended, and many "survivors" of SAO were admitted to a unique set of schools to complete their real-world education and (not mentioned) rehabilitation, after having spent years logged into another world. Some, like Kirito, had also joined other VR worlds after SAO or joined its newer, fantasy-based successor.
There exists in the post-SAO future an augmented reality (AR) game, called Ordinal Scale. This game exists as a separate visible (to players) overlay on top of what they see in the real world, via a less bulky head-mounted display, much like Google Glass. Unlike VR games, players must be physically conscious and, importantly, real-world locations matter. If you're thinking of Pokemon Go, it's a logical evolution of that type of AR game. In Ordinal Scale, there are boss battle events put on nightly, which rewards the players participating, if they manage to virtually survive and if the boss is defeated. Players receive short notice as to the location, which is usually either an existing public space, or a cordoned off space, so there's a controlled safety factor the game's developers are aware of.
🔥The banners are going up at the Egyptian Theatre! Getting ready for the premiere! 🔥 #SAOMovieUS pic.twitter.com/dphHpJghWL
— Aniplex USA (@aniplexUSA) March 1, 2017
The movie begins, however, with Kirito, and the others, noticing strong things happening to players, and specifically to SAO survivors, after some of the battles.
The movie's worth a viewing so that I won't go too deep into its plot. It's related to the events in the original SAO game, but for a character not seen in the show, but with a connection to many SAO players. Ordinal Scale does touch upon a few of the current worries around AR, but the fictional world also offers some interesting solutions to some, such as having specifically planned-out places for players to safely gather. It also encourages exercise, which a VR player like Kirito quickly finds is hindering him a bit until he comes up with a creative solution to help him progress. He and others notice that the bosses are bosses they've seen in SAO before, giving them a useful leg up on dealing with them and also ensuring they do the most damage, which affects their ranking.
The number 2 ranked Ordinal Scale player also is a key figure and appears to be an SAO survivor as well, which quickly gains the attention of Kirito and his girlfriend, Asuna, who recognizes him first as a former guildmate from SAO. They're concerned that this player is connected to strange happenings stemming from Ordinal Scale, and Kirito gains a rival since one can't make it to #1 without going through #2.
There's also a virtual idol appearing in many of the boss battles, Yuna, who also happens to be a pop singer with many fans in their real world, and who has an upcoming concert in a major arena. She serenades players as they battle, granting both a bonus buff at the beginning and granting an experience point boost to the top player for each victorious battle. There something strange about her, and many don't know if she's a real life person, or a virtual idol, like Hatsune Miko. This ambiguity does matter, but any more description of her is too much.
9 days left until the U.S. nationwide release of SAO The Movie! Tickets for this special one-night event: https://t.co/aRgJYT6B3d #SAOMOVIE pic.twitter.com/QiLD2DQpRM
— Aniplex USA (@aniplexUSA) February 28, 2017
If fantasy-based action appeals to you, this is a must-see. If you have an interest in AR or VR, I'd say give it a look as well. It's a great adventure, nonetheless. I do want to see it again, not just to see it from a further back row, but because it is entertaining. I'm giving Ordinal Scale a top recommendation, and I do hope that more anime series get a movie if this one does well in a wider release. US release is March 9, so mark your calendars!
Games: One of My Hobbies
Photo by Rohit Choudhari
My hobby is playing video and computer games. It's not a secret. What I like about them is a bit tougher to describe, but I'll try.
Games are usually a fun pastime, and that is what I believe their primary reason for existing is. I do play games mainly because I find them fun. That's not the only reason, though.
I also play them to visit, if only for a short time, different worlds than the current, real one. Sometimes it's vastly different worlds, at times, there's only a slight difference. It'll be a "what if this one thing happened" scenario, and what kinds of adventures would result.
Often, I do like taking on the role of a hero, saving the day. I think I enjoy that because, unlike a book, or a movie, I get to control the flow of whatever "story" unfolds. Sometimes it's a branching story, and other times, it can be a very linear story, and the variations can have their ways of entertaining, at different times and depending on what I'm in the mood for.
Games are also a way to provide exercise for the mind, without dire consequences. Solving puzzles in virtual worlds is also fun, and those virtual achievements can be something to remember fondly if only because some seemingly impossible task was pulled off by what might have been a burst of creative thinking.
Some games hide surprises and delightful moments, and I dig those as well.
This is not an exhaustive set of reasons, but I think it's good for now. I might expand this someday, but I'm sure I far from alone in most of these reasons.
Prompt found (#56) at: http://www.dailyteachingtools.com/journal-writing-prompts.html
Anniversary Battle
Apologies, but I need to get something silly out of my system. It's not that silly, but just on loop in my head.
OK, now that that's out of my system (3 months isn't long at all), it's on the to the rest of the blank page. It's putting up quite a fight today. I won't let it win. There will be words that form thoughts. Soon.
Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking. -Albert Einstein
This writing thing is tough on days like today. That's because I can think of not a single original thought to put forth here and it's annoying. I'm also fighting off a buzz of distractions that are in my head. Those thoughts, that have no substance, are the hardest to get away from because they keep playing, like an old radio station, in a tight loop.
Like right now, suddenly, I'm thinking of a different song than the one above and it's stuck playing its hook over and over again. Maybe I can purge it if I listen.
Well, that was fun, but I don't think it worked so well. The page is looking less blank, so I'll consider this battle a draw and return for more combat tomorrow.
Photo Credit: Annie Spratt


General Information: Active little Tetra characterised by the bright orange colour along the spine and above the eyes that shines or glows when the tank lights are on (hence the common name).
Tank Requirements: Planted, with some open swimming space. Whilst these fish can do well in slightly alkaline water, they display at their best in pH 7 or below.
Diet Requirements: Omnivorous. Will eagerly take anything offered. Include a vegetable component. Regular live foods will improve colour.
Compatibility: Peaceful. Fine in community. Keep with other peaceful species.
Recommendations: As with all Tetra, these should be kept in a group of 6 or more. 10 individuals would make a stunning display.
Similar Species: Other Tetra and Characins.
Sexing: Males are generally smaller and slimmer than the females.
Breeding: Relatively easy in a separate breeding tank furnished with moss/spawning mops and reduced alkalinity/hardness (pH 6 and gH below 5). Remove adults after spawning and darken tank until free swimming.
Are these the ones that are injected.. or are they the GM ones?
No, don't worry, these are a naturally occurring species You might also see glowlight danios (Danio choprae) which are similarly natural. We wouldn't be providing caresheets on dyed fish or GM fish - the former is a vile and cruel practice, and import of GM fish into UK remains illegal.


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Delaware lawmakers are taking another shot at legalizing marijuana in the state, filing a pair of complementary bills on Friday that would end prohibition and set up a basic regulatory framework for the market. And committee hearings on the proposals are already set for next week.
Rep. Ed Osienski (D) is sponsoring the legislation, HB 1 and HB 2. He took a similar, bifurcated approach last session and saw the legislature pass the simple legalization proposal while narrowly defeating the regulatory measure. Gov. John Carney (D) vetoed the former legislation, and the House didn't have to votes for an override.
Advocates are hopeful that they'll see a different result this year—and the sponsor says he's going to push to achieve that.
Things are already moving according to plan, with the House Health & Human Development Committee scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss the basic legalization bill and the House Revenue & Finance Committee taking up the regulatory measure on Wednesday.
Both bills were introduced with about 30 combined House and Senate co-sponsors.
"Delaware has been missing an opportunity to participate in the adult recreational marijuana market," Osienski said in a press release. We've missed out on hurting the illegal market, creating a new industry with good-paying jobs, and bringing tax revenue into our state that is currently going to nearby states like New Jersey."
"We have spent the past several years educating members about the merits of this program and dispelling the misconceptions that have persisted," he said. "I'm optimistic that we have the support to make this effort a reality."
Here's what the HB 1 legalization bill would accomplish:
State statute would be revised to legalize the possession, use, sharing and purchasing of up to one ounce of cannabis for adults 21 and older.
To avoid abuses of the "gifting" provision, the bill stipulates that "adult sharing" would not include giving away cannabis "contemporaneously with another reciprocal transaction between the same parties" such as an exchange of a non-marijuana item.
Public consumption and growing cannabis would remain prohibited.
People under 21 who engage in such activity would be subject to a civil penalty of up to $100 for a first offense. Police could use discretion and issue a citation in lieu of that fine, however.
Here's an overview of the key provisions of the HB 2 regulatory bill:
The legislation would provide a basic framework to create a regulated system of cannabis commerce for adults in the state.
The Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement (DATE) would be responsible for regulating the market through a new Office of Marijuana Control Commissioner.
For the first 16 months of implementation, regulators could approve up to 30 cannabis retail licenses.
Applicants who show that they'd provide a living wage, health insurance coverage, sick and paid leave and focus on diversity in hiring would be prioritized in the licensing scoring process.
Seven percent of marijuana business fee revenue would go to a "Justice Reinvestment Fund" that supports restorative justice, workforce development, technical assistance for economically disadvantaged people and more.
That fund would also go toward "creating or developing technology to assist with the restoration of civil rights and expungement of criminal records." However, the legislation itself doesn't provide for automatic expungements.
In additional to conventional retail, cultivator, manufacturer and laboratory licenses, the bill would additional provide for social equity and microbusiness licenses (reserved for applicants with majority ownership by Delaware residents).
Localities would be able to prohibit marijuana businesses from operating in their area through ordinance.
Adult-use marijuana sales would be subject to a 15 percent sales tax. Medical cannabis products would not be taxed.
Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don't miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
"Every year we don't pass these bills, Delaware misses out on millions in revenue. From both an economic and a criminal justice perspective, legalizing and regulating the sale of marijuana is the right thing to do," Sen. Trey Paradee (D), the lead Senate sponsor of the bills, said. "I will continue to serve as the lead Senate sponsor on these bills for as long as it takes to for them to become law."
The "whereas" section of the legislation states that "the creation of a legal, regulated marijuana industry would effectively eliminate the illegal market for marijuana in Delaware by diverting demand away from illicit cartels and enterprises, and provide law enforcement officials the legal means necessary to ensure the safe legal use of marijuana in Delaware."
It would further "address criminal justice concerns related to criminalization and prohibitions on the production, possession, and transportation of the substance," including historic racial disparities in marijuana enforcement.
Beyond regional legalization developments putting pressure on Delaware to enact the reform, advocates are also increasingly optimistic about the legislation's prospects given that last year's election added more progressive lawmakers to the legislature.
"With new members in the General Assembly this legislative session, we're excited for a renewed push for legalization," Olivia Naugle, a senior policy analyst with the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), told Marijuana Moment. "Delawareans have long supported ending cannabis prohibition, and it's up to the legislature to act. Governor Carney has a second chance to stand for justice and the will of the people by supporting these bills if and when they reach his desk. We hope that he'll change his stance."
Because the regulatory bill includes tax components, it requires a three-fifths majority of lawmakers to approve it. The basic legalization measure only needs a simple majority.
Osienski made the calculated decision to break up the measures in the previous session after an earlier proposal that included both components was rejected in the House because it failed to reach the three-fifths vote requirement.
But while there are high hopes that the new legislation will make it through both chambers, it remains to be seen how the governor would approach it given his ongoing opposition to comprehensive legalization, or whether the votes are ultimately there to override a potential veto.
In October, Carney vetoed a more narrowly tailored bill that would have clarified that medical marijuana patients are not prohibited from buying, possessing or transferring firearms under state law
A strong majority of Delaware voters support legalizing marijuana—including nearly three in four Democrats who back the reform that the state's Democratic governor vetoed last year, according to a poll released that month.
Lawmakers In Three More States File Psychedelics Reform Bills For 2023
The post Delaware Lawmakers File Marijuana Legalization Bills, With Hearings Already Set For Next Week appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Uratex Philippines reported savings on energy bill reached 5% with the use of 500 kWp grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) system after the first three months of its operation. The leading foam manufacturer in the country was aided by PV2 Energie, a Germany-based renewable company, in installing almost 2,000 solar panels on its plant located at Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
"Many people ask us why do we need to switch into solar power? It was an opportunity so enticing, you help save the planet for the future generation and save some money for your company," said Mr. William Lee, Executive Vice President of the RGC Group of Companies/Uratex Philippines.
Reports and initial assessment for the first three months confirmed 18% of the company's energy requirement was sourced through its newly installed solar PV facility. Hence, Uratex Alabang is expected to obtain 25% of its total energy requirements from the solar PV facility on its full capacity.
"We will certainly consider similar opportunities for the rest of our 15 locations in the Philippines," Mr. Lee added.
The use of 500 kWp grid-tied PV system is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emission up to 389, 053 kg/year.
Uratex takes actions to respect humanity, protect the environment, promote wellness and invest for the future generation.


text:
New Life Quality Measure Will Help Youth Assess CMT Burden
by Aisha I Abdullah PhD | December 18, 2020
A new health-related quality of life (QOL) outcome measure has been developed and validated for children and adolescents with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) in a longitudinal study.
The patient-reported measure was deemed sensitive and may be used to assess disease burden in clinical settings and remotely, as well as to evaluate clinical trial outcomes.
"Our goal was not to merely show that QOL is impaired in CMT, but rather to systematically determine and quantify the factors that contribute to reduced QOL in children with CMT," the researchers wrote.
The study, "Development and Validation of the Pediatric CMT Quality of Life Outcome Measure," was published in the Annals of Neurology.
CMT is a genetic disorder characterized by muscle weakness and loss of muscle tone. Because symptoms of the disease often emerge in childhood, tools that enable clinicians and researchers to better assess CMT progression and patient-reported outcomes (PRO) in children and adolescents are of particular value.
While generic health-related QOL evaluations are often accurate measures of patient outcomes, they are not specific to CMT, making them unsuitable as clinical assessments.
Thus, a team of researchers in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia sought to develop and validate a health-related QOL patient outcome measure to assess the disease burden in CMT youth.
To identify the areas relevant to pediatric CMT, the team conducted a systematic literature review and analysis of existing pediatric and adult generic QOL measures.
A total of six areas, called domains, were identified in the literature as impacting quality of life in children with CMT; these were combined into physical and social composites. The physical composite domain included physical complaints — fatigue, weakness, pain, or tremor, among others — loss of function and ability to perform activities of daily living, and physical activities with other children and adults.
Conversely, the social domain included emotional and psychological symptoms, such as feelings of stigma, fear, depression, and stress, cognitive problems, and self-esteem and bonding with others.
The team developed 10 items per domain, for a total of 60 items. These were reviewed by a team of 21 researchers and two patient representatives, from nine countries.
The draft version of the pCMT-QOL measure — the pediatric CMT quality of life measure — was then administered in a pilot test to 31 children with the disease. Participants included 15 boys and 16 girls, ages 4-17, who were recruited from Wayne State University, in Michigan.
The content was validated by the pilot test and well-accepted by the participants. But the surveys were difficult for children under the age of 8 to complete, resulting in an adjustment of the target age for the measure to 8-18 years.
Based on patient input, response options were simplified to a uniform five-point scale, which included answer options of never, almost never, sometimes, almost always, and always. Additional clarified language also was incorporated into a working version of the measure.
To test its validity, consistency, and disease specificity, the pCMT-QOL working version was administered to 398 CMT children, ages 8-18, who were participating in an ongoing natural history study (NCT01193075). Of them, 54.8% were male and 76% had a confirmed genetic diagnosis.
Finally, the reliability of the pCMT-QOL working version was measured in a group of 13 participants from the University of Iowa. For that, the measure was administered twice over seven weeks, once in the clinic and once at home. Items with low test-retest reliability were removed from the final version of the measure.
The final pCMT-QOL PRO measure consists of six individual domain scores, corresponding well to the initial six domains, a Physical Composite Domain Score, a Mental Composite Domain Score, and a Total pCMT-QOL Score. The scores are on a 0-100 scale, with 0 indicating the best quality of life.
The researchers then compared scores on the measure across distinct genders, disease severity, and CMT subtypes. Patients with higher disease severity and girls showed worse total and physical QOL, but no differences in mental QOL was observed between the groups.
Moreover, no association was observed between QOL and disease subtypes or age, suggesting that QOL in pediatric CMT may depend on disease severity rather than disease subtype or age alone.
One-year changes in QOL were assessed over a five-year period. Of the original 358 patients, 57 were assessed in year one, with the number decreasing each year to five children in year five. The average Patient's Global Impression of Change score each year was between "no change" and "a little better" and the Total pCMT-QOL Score was similarly consistent year-to-year.
"The disease-specific pCMT-QOL PRO measure thus has important distinctions and advantages from generic QOL outcome measures; it includes items pertinent to pediatric CMT patients, which were modified and refined by prospective pilot testing prior to undergoing longitudinal validation," the researchers wrote.
Among the limitations of this study was the relatively young age of the participants, which may affect the QOL, and the reduced number of participants in the longitudinal analysis.
Aisha I Abdullah PhD Aisha Abdullah received a B.S. in biology from the University of Houston and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Weill Cornell Medical College, where she studied the role of microRNA in embryonic and early postnatal brain development. Since finishing graduate school, she has worked as a science communicator making science accessible to broad audiences.
outcome measures, Patient-Centered Outcome Measures, pCMT-QOL PRO, pediatric CMT, quality of life


The interface is limited for security reasons, as if the browser could inspect the file system without any check, it would be trivial for a malicious script to download private files and send them to an arbitrary destination.
This restriction would be particularly onerous when running image processing pipelines that require saving and loading dozens of images at each step: the user would need to accept the request for each file manually and drag it into the application. The BioImage Suite file server is designed to circumvent this limitation by uploading and downloading data from the server through a trusted link.
The server itself is a Node.js process that you must connect and authenticate with before the server will accept data. We will cover how to run the server and configure BioImage Suite to use it as its source in the sections below.
This section assumes that you have the ability to download and install software and run commands from a command line. On a Mac use the Terminal app. On Windows use the Command Prompt program.
Open the Select file source dialog from any application under the Help menu as shown above. Then click on the from this link link at the bottom of the selector. This will let you download the latest version of the file server as a zip file.
Unzip this zip file somewhere on your computer – we will call this location DIRECTORY.
Type node -v to ensure that you have a working version of node.js. You should get something like v8.12.0. If this gives an error stop and make sure node.js is correctly installed.
Navigate (cd) to the DIRECTORY containing the file bisfileserver.js.
npm update may take a little time as this needs to download some packages. On Windows you will something similar to the figure below.
|- -p, –port | Which port the server will listen on. This will be the number that follows the colon in the hostname when connecting to the server. --readonly | If this flag is specified, the server will not accept requests to write files. --insecure | If this flag is set, the server will not ask for a One-Time Password when you connect. As the name suggests, setting this flag may undermine the security of the files on your system, __use with care__. --verbose | Prints more detailed information from the server while it's running. --tmpdir | Which temporary directory to use, i.e. where the server will default to saving. --config | Whether the script that starts the BioImage Suite file server should read from a config file that may specify many options on the command line. This is helpful if you have a complex ipaddr, tmpdir, etc. --createconfig | Takes the options currently written on the command line, saves them in a file, then exits. For example, you might create a config file that will run in insecure mode by writing `node bisfileserver.js --insecure --createconfig`. -h, --help | Prints the help file for the file server.
Once you have started the File Server with a satisfactory configuration, you are ready to connect from the web.
Figure 1: An example of what the File Server may look like once it's running. Note the displayed hostname, port number, and password.
Open BioImage Suite to the viewer of your choice.
The first step is to select the File Server from the file source menu. You may change this setting by going to Help -> Set File Source and selecting BioImage Suite File Server Helper.
Figure 2: The file source menu with the File Server item highlighted.
Once this is done, open the File menu and select any load or save option. You will then be prompted with a connect screen containing a hostname and password field. Enter the hostname and port number (hostname then a colon then the port number) and the password printed to the console to connect.
Figure 3: The Bisweb Server connect screen.
Figure 4: The dialog that will appear when loading or saving files to the file server.
A. The file path. [Root] indicates that you are looking at the base folder of the file system; this path will expand as you continue to navigate in the file browser (see Figure 5).
B. The bookmarks window. Folders that are used for I/O commonly can be saved here and navigated to quickly.
C. The file browser. Click on folders to open them and files to select them.
D. The current filename. Selected files will have their name displayed in this box. While saving a file, you type your desired file name here.
E. The file filter selector. Only files of the selected type, i.e. that end in a given file extension, will be displayed.
F. The close and load buttons. These will close the modal or load the selected image to the viewer. If this was a save and not a load modal, the load button would be replaced by a save button.
Figure 5: The dialog after clicking a few directories. Note the expanded filepath and bookmarks.
After clicking around a little the File Server dialog should look more like this. You can go back to the root directory by clicking [Root] on the top-left, or any other directory in the path of your currently expanded directory by clicking its name.
Once you are done with file operations it's good to terminate the server. Leaving connections open carries serious security risks, and we can't promise that the server is completely secure.
Click in the terminal window where yo started the process.


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Syfy Gives Helix Season Two Order!
March 28, 2014 Sheldon Wiebe
Syfy's outbreak-turned-immortals series Helix has been renewed. The 13-episode second season will go into production later this year and is targeted for a Winter 2015 premiere.
The first season finale of the series airs tonight (10/9C).
SYFY RENEWS HELIX FOR SEASON TWO
NEW YORK – March 28, 2014 – Helix, Syfy's chilling scripted drama, has been renewed for a second season, it was announced today by Bill McGoldrick, EVP, Original Content, Syfy. The 13-episode second season will commence production later this year, with an eye towards a winter 2015 premiere.
Said McGoldrick, "Helix has built one of our most loyal and consistent audiences in its first season on Syfy. The incredibly talented writing and producing team have crafted a thriller that consistently delivered suspense, twists and high quality drama. We look forward to growing this passionate audience in what promises to be an even more memorable second season."
Helix premiered on January 10, 2014, as the top cable scripted entertainment program in the time period, and helping Syfy rank as the #2 cable entertainment network among both Adults 25-54 (1.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.3 million). Since its premiere, Helix has averaged 2.1 million total viewers, 1.1 million Adults 25-54 and 1 million Adults 18-49.
Helix is executive produced by Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica, Outlander), Steven Maeda (Lost, The X-Files) who is also showrunner, and Lynda Obst (Contact, Sleepless in Seattle). The series is produced by Tall Ship Productions, Kaji Productions and Lynda Obst Productions in association with Sony Pictures Television.
Helix, which was created by co-executive producer Cameron Porsandeh and features Billy Campbell (Killing Lincoln, The Killing), Hiroyuki Sanada (The Wolverine, 47 Ronin), Kyra Zagorsky (Supernatural), and Mark Ghanimé (Emily Owens, M.D.), as well as guest stars Jordan Hayes (House at the End of the Street), Meegwun Fairbrother, and Neil Napier (Riddick), will air its season one finale on Friday, March 28 @ 10pm.
Sony Pictures Television (http://www.sonypicturestelevision.com), a Sony Pictures Entertainment company, is one of the television industry's leading content providers. It produces and distributes programming in every genre, around the world and for a multitude of platforms. In addition to one of the industry's largest libraries of award-winning feature films, television shows and formats, Sony Pictures Television (SPT) boasts a current program slate that includes top-rated daytime dramas and game shows, landmark off-network series, original animated series and critically acclaimed primetime dramas, comedies and telefilms. In addition to its US production business, SPT has 18 wholly-owned or joint venture production companies in 13 countries and also maintains offices in 32 countries. SPT's worldwide television networks portfolio includes 124 channel feeds available in 159 countries, reaching more than 840 million households worldwide. SPT also creates original content for and manages SPE's premium video website, Crackle. Additionally, SPT owns US production company Embassy Row and is a part owner of cable channel Game Show Network (GSN), 3D channel 3net, premier horror/thriller website and VOD service FEARnet and national U.S media sales company ITN Networks, Inc. SPT advertiser sales is one of the premier national advertising sales companies and handles the commercial inventory in SPT's syndicated series as well as in U.S. digital businesses including FEARnet, DrOz.com and PlayStation.
Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in more than 98 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.(Syfy. Imagine greater.)
HelixSyfyTelevision
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text:
Mosley stays hot, Bears tame Salukis
by: Dan Lindblad
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — There might not be a better player in the Missouri Valley Conference right now than Isiaih Mosley.
Mosley scored 33 points and led Missouri State to an 81-76 win over Southern Illinois on Wednesday night at JQH Arena.
It's the third straight game that Mosley has scored in double-figures for the Bears (12-6, 3-2). He's also scored more than 20 points for the 10th time this season.
"Oh he gave me a look because he didn't like that I was in a zone," Bears head coach Dana Ford said. "Again, if he can show me he can score 25 in a half. If that's what does it great. He kind of got in a zone. He's a tough guard."
Missouri State built a lead up to nine late in the second half, before a flurry of Saluki (9-6, 2-1) three-pointers brought it to a three point game.
The Bears were tough from the free throw line, though. Missouri State went 19-22 from the stripe, including making the final 18.
Donovan Clay and Gaige Prim were the other two Bears in double-figure scoring.
The Bears are on the road for a conference game at Valpo on Saturday.
Send2News/ Sports Player
Missouri State Athletics
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A key aspect for understanding and explaining online communication is the micro level of communication practitioners' social media usage and their general attitudes towards digital platforms. This paper investigates how public relations practitioner's personal and professional use of social media is related to their perceptions of social media. A quantitative methodology was applied to perform this research. A population of 2710 professionals from 43 European countries working on different hierarchical levels both in communication departments and agencies across Europe were surveyed as part of a larger transnational online survey. Results show that practitioners with a high level of usage of social media give more importance to social media channels, influence of social media on internal and external stakeholders and relevance of key gatekeepers and stakeholders along with a better self-estimation of competences. Issues about diverse levels of overestimation of social media use, application and importance in the professional arena are also debated.


There are several textures, shapes, and styles of sink we have these days. Various varieties of bathroom sinks are actually noticed like the one that is fixed to the wall or perhaps the one which is actually fixed on a pillar or a pedestal. Not a great choice in case you have kids who'll be using the bathroom sink. Vanity Sinks – these're sinks which are embedded on a counter top with additional closed storage underneath, ideal for storing your cleaning paraphernalia. The function of the bathroom vanity is actually to give you storage for the bathroom of yours and keep the storage from plain sight. They do not, however, provide storage space as vanity sinks do.


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Attributing quotes to fictional characters
Let's say, for example, that I want to post my favourite quote from Babylon 5 somewhere:
"I'm not saying what I'm saying. I'm not saying what I'm thinking. As a matter of fact, I'm not thinking what I'm thinking." - John Sheridan, Babylon 5
How can I make it clear in the attribution that this is a line spoken by a character rather than an excerpt from a book called Babylon 5 written by a guy named John Sheridan?
Adam Lear♦Adam Lear
Also see Attribution: Quoting a Fictitious Character, – James Waldby - jwpat7 Sep 13 '13 at 17:01
The easy part: According to MLA Handbook, you cite a movie as: title underlined (we often use italics instead of underlining), director, distributor, and year released. You may mention writers, actors, and/or producer. Example:
It's a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed. RKO, 1946.
For a TV series, they say title of the episode in quotes, title of the program underlined (or italics), title of the series (by which they seem to mean a group of related episodes within a program) neither underlined nor in quotes, name of the network, call letters and city of the local station if applicable, and broadcast date. Example:
"Chrysalis", Babylon 5, PTEN. Oct 26, 1994.
The harder part is how to attribute words of a fictional character. If you just name the character, it gives the impression that that's a real person. But if you just give the author, that loses context for people who are familiar with the character, and it could be very misleading, implying that the author really believes those words, when it could be that he put them in the mouth of a fool or a villain. Also, when you're quoting characters from a TV show or movie, it's not always easy to find out exactly who wrote the line you're quoting: many such programs have multiple screen writers and the actors may ad lib.
It's common when quoting TV and movie characters to put the character's name followed by the actor in parentheses. Like:
"Things are not always what they seem." G'Kar (Andreas Katsulas)
That's probably what I'd do for a TV show. For a novel, I'd want to mention the character and the author, but I don't know a consistent, recognized format for this and couldn't find one with a little web searching. I'd think something like:
Sherlock Holmes, in Doyle, Arthur Conan. "A Study in Scarlet", The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes etc.
A minimalistic approach is to place the character's name in quotes:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur... – "John Sheridan", Babylon 5
A more-proper method is to mention the character-name in quotes, the work (or series and episode), and the author. Here is an example from a literary quotation ethics webpage:
"We are all brothers under the skin—and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it." — "Ellsworth Toohey" in the novel The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.
Wikiquote's page about quoting from fictional characters unfortunately is not helpful on this issue; the bulk of the page lists places where Wikiquote does not allow such quotes. The page does not address how to format such quotes.
James Waldby - jwpat7James Waldby - jwpat7
I'd write it as:
"With all these new personalities floating around, it's a shame we can't find one for you." — Holodoc to Tuvok, "Infinite Regress," Star Trek: Voyager
I'd find it weird to have the character name in quotes. They look like scare quotes or "this is fake" quotes. You italicize the name of the show, and the put the episode name in quotes (using magazine-vs.-article logic; big things get italics, little things get quotes).
Why would you give any attribution to the actor? Is there a source that advocates this? They've merely delivered a line and had nothing to do with originating it or even saying it-- technically their character said it. I would recommend finding out who wrote the episode and embedding the character while citing the author as you normally would in-text.
For example, The Eleventh Doctor once said, "We are all stories in the end" (Moffat, 2010). This is APA, but it could work with any citation style/format.
For more formal work, you might include the season and episode numbers or episode title as well. In "The Big Bang," season 5, episode 13, the Eleventh Doctor said, "We are all stories in the end" (Moffat, 2010).
LauraLaura
John Sheridan is the character, played by Bruce Boxleitner. – Lauren Ipsum Sep 16 '16 at 21:22
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged quotes or ask your own question.
Attributing Quote to Fictional Characters (Who are based on real people)
Who pays for lyrics or quotes?
Quoting characters' writing
Attributing a real quote to a fictional character
Is it appropriate to use real-life quotes in fantasy/sci-fi novels set in alternate worlds?
Spacing for quotes within quotes
Do I need to cite quotes when conversing casually with friends?
How to generate thesis or a question out of a quote/quotes?
Term for when you split a quote to say 'said so and so' in Journalism and Reporting?
Approach to pop culture quotes in fiction writing


MCNABB, Illinois -- The Putnam County Sheriff has declared residents are safe after a stand-off caused responders to block off several roads in McNabb.
Billy J. Marcano, 31, of McNabb, was arrested yesterday according to a press release from the sheriff's office.
At least nine emergency departments responded, providing backup and shutting down the entrances to the village, the press release states. Businesses in the area were asked to lock down and remain inside until the situation was cleared.
Marcano exited his apartment and surrendered at 9 p.m.
He's being held on a burglary charge. More charges could follow.
Police blocked off traffic into the Putnam County village of McNabb during the day February 5.


Values that bear the ANSI FL1 mark are measured according to the ANSI/NEMA FL 1-2009 standard. Values without the ANSI mark are average values that have been calculated or measured in other ways, and which may vary depending on the lamp unit, the battery or external factors. By changing to the unifying standard-setting ANSI measurement procedures that are now adopted by well-known lamp manufacturers, different data is obtained on light performance and strength, duration and beam throw.
LiteXpress believes that only the best components should be used to make high-quality flashlights. For this reason, we use only premium brand-name LEDs from renowned manufacturers in our lamps. This applies both to the high-brightness high-power LEDs and to the 5-mm LEDs.
The terms "lumen" and "candala" are both used to measure light intensity. The lumen is a unit of the total light power emitted by a light source, independent of the direction of radiation (in other words, independent of any reflector or lens unit used in the device). By contrast, the candela is a unit for measuring the brightest point in the output beam. In this case the reflector or lens system naturally plays a role because it focuses the light. Accordingly, the lumen rating provides information on the light power of a light source but does not say anything about the focussing of the light beam. The candela specification provides information on the focussing of the light beam, but it does not say anything about the total power of the light source, so that it is not suitable for making direct comparisons with other lights.
Do more watts mean more light?
The watt is a unit of power, equal to the product of voltage and current. Although this is an electrical unit, the relative output power of a flashlight can be roughly assessed by examining its power consumption in watts. However, you should bear in mind that this is only approximately correct because it does not take the efficiency of the light source into account (how well it converts electrical energy into light).
Run time specifications of flashlights with similar configurations can vary considerably between different manufacturers. This results primarily from the use of different measuring methods and definitions and lack of attention to the various technical details. Although LEDs are known for their high efficiency, it is also known that their output intensity decreases after a certain time. This is followed by a period with lower brightness. The output power drops relatively quickly from the 100% level in the initial phase to the 50% level. The 50% phase lasts twice as long as the initial 100% phase. After this, the output power slowly declines to zero. Some manufacturers tend to define the run time of their products as extending to the point when they go out. This specification can be misleading because the flashlight stops emitting useful light long before it goes out.
In the past, LiteXpress was keen to establish a suitable reference value, and measured the end of the lamp's life as the point in time when the output intensity fell below a minimum level which they had previously defined, i.e. the point when the current flowing through the light source drops below 10 per cent of its initial value. This approach was regarded as more direct and more exact, and it provided a more reliable indication of the lamp's life.
Today the performance data for LiteXpress products – where accordingly marked – are based on the international ANSI/NEMAFL 1-2009 standard (see below), which has now been adopted by many well-known manufacturers of lights.
Depending on the intended use and the configuration of the lamp, various light levels can be selected (e.g. high, medium, low, 100%, 50%, 25%, dimming or blinking), which also affects the battery life.
Special lenses and reflectors provide optimal focussing or dispersion of the light.
The electronic switch with Direct Switch-Off capability allows the lamp to be switched off immediately if it has been in a particular operating mode for more than three seconds. This saves the user the trouble of clicking through the other modes in order to switch off the lamp.
ANSI is the colloquial abbreviation for the guideline developed in the USA as the ANSI/NEMA FL 1-2009 Standard, against which flashlights and headlamps all over the world can be tested and measured for the first time according to precisely defined methods, and performance characteristics can be published with consistent identification.
This standard was developed in collaboration between ANSI (the American National Standards Institute), NEMA (the National Electrical Manufacturers Association) and a committee of different flashlight manufacturers, and it can be adopted voluntarily by all manufacturers of mobile lights. Thanks to the clearly defined rules and consistent method of defining the measurement and identification of performance characteristics with ANSI symbols, both end users and resellers can now compare products from different manufacturers in absolute terms. This applies not only to light output and luminous intensity, but also to the duration and distance of the beam.
Sum of all emitted light, expressed in lumens (see above). In the measurement, the light is examined at every possible angle of emission to the light source.
Maximum light intensity along the centre axis of a beam of light, measured in candela (see above) and independent of the distance to the light source.
Distance at which the beam of light emitted is still 0.25 lux, measured in metres. For comparison: 0.25 lux is approximately the light of the full moon on a clear night in open countryside.
Time from switching on the lamp (output light power) up to the time at which the light power is only 10% of the output value, commencing the measurement 30 seconds after first switching on the lamp with fresh batteries.
Resistance of the lamp when dropped 6 times from a height of 1 metre on to a concrete surface measuring at least 1 metre x 1 metre.
IPX4 – Water resistant: Water sprayed onto the lamp from all directions has no harmful effect.
IPX7 – Waterproof: Harmful amounts of water cannot penetrate the lamp, when submerged at depths up to 1 metre at controlled pressure and for a limited time.
IPX8 – Submersible: No harmful amount of water can penetrate the lamp when it remains submerged under water. (Conditions more severe than for IPX7 will be determined and specified by the manufacturer).


By comparison, just pulled up an ASE on Bullion Direct. That's more like it!
Hypothetically, if short selling was banned, would that include ETF's like DOG and TZA?
My wife and I just placed an order at Provident. No problems. Just over spot price for Ben Franklins. We have always had a good experience shopping there.
Went all in. No fiat in savings now. If the price goes down, that's OK cause we are in for the long haul.
My charts show the AG price sitting just above the lower trendline--tested it on friday and bounced up. Its a line of support is has not really broken through since the rise began last September. I do not believe that any dip will last long. And we did not want to miss out if the Asians push silver up $2 tonight.
For an early look at the risk aversion gripping the market look no further than the USDCHF and the USDJPY, the first of which just took out 0.75, and the second now almost at BOJ intervention levels. Ironically, since the math Ph.D.s have still not recalibrated their models, it is very likely that the collapse in the dollar will lead to an explosion in ES courtesy of the inverse correlation, which will once and for all confirm that global capital markets and now nothing but a robotic circus.
Scottsdale Silver still selling! Good prices too!
My heart breaks to see the state of the economy not just in the US but worldwide. I wonder what my 15 yr. old son will have when he is an adult. He's in route to Salt Lake for 2 weeks to spend with his best friend and his family. I gave him some cash, a debit card and some silver dollars. He said "there's NO WAY I'm spending my silver dollars... are you crazy?" I told him to keep them a secret and use if an emergency came up. He grabbed an extra silver dollar and said "I'm giving one to my best friend to teach him about PM's, at least he'll have one too if he ever needs it." I have such a great son, he's always willing to share.
Food Storage + PM's = a little more peace of mind.
ReachWest/ewc58 - What am I missing? I see silvergoldbull.com selling ASEs for $65 (still expensive, but not as hyped as in your comments).
I've been reading this blog for a few months now (since the previous one) and I'm puzzled about the movement tonight.
I had orders at $1637 on Friday, waiting for a deeper raid, however the support was at $1642.
With the US markets going down like they did last week, is it possible that the downgrade was in fact a strategy to make the US Bonds more attractive because now they will have to pay a higher premium to the investors?
And if that's the case, won't the dollar go up and the gold down?
Or it doesn't really matter?
The other thing is the crisis in Europe. If people leave the Euro, will they go to Swiss Francs, Pounds or back to the Dollar?
I'm keeping my original $1637 order, but I'm curious if someone is buying at $1660 tonight.
since I was there 10 minutes ago. 011 ASE BU's now show at 44.78. A big improvement on the $108.66 per that I saw... The 100oz Englehard was going for 10+ Large!
But Provident and BD are both lower cost options (not factoring shipping variances, if any).
I don't trade anymore (I'm reformed), I only stack physical.
With that said, I'm buying at 1660. I'm buying 1680. I'm buying at 1700. I'm buying whenever I can buy. I don't think I'm the only one.
My philosophy is simple. What else am I going to do with my money? I have no other place to put it.
Glad to see you "got the big gold phyzz, baby :)"
OK - the pricing is back to where it should be - maybe an error in their database - I posted a couple of screenshots of the inflated prices in the Forum - thought this might be a glitch - guess it was. Now I can buy some more Maples.
Happy to report a successful jump today! Wife, Son, and Mother-in-law all safely back on terra firma!
Betting the ES gaps up to at least 1250 here shortly. Which means the POSX tanks.
Silver hammered, who knows how low.
Then all is good and fair in the world once again.
I've been looking for bullion in London, but prices that I find here feel much higher than the price you guys have been paying there.
I took a couple of 100 oz Englehard bars to the coin store, and exchanged them for a hundred Englehard rounds and 100 Buffalo rounds. The switch cost me $500, but feel a whole lot better than keeping 100 oz bars. When SHTF, trying to sell a big bar when silver is $100+ will be a little tougher, plus avoiding potential reporting issues. I will stick to stacking 1-10oz from now on.
While I was there, I bought my very first gold pieces; A couple of $5 half eagles, 1912, 1914-s for $450 each, and a couple of slabbed 1/10 oz eagles, for $175 each. Eric O, your insights finally persuaded me. Mixed emotions; yes the gold $5 indians are special to look at and marvel at, but part of me wishes I'd just bought another 30 oz. of silver. I've heard several of you comment on the heft of a Mexican $50 peso coin, and I love the looks of the St. Gauldens $20 coin, so they are on my wish list.
The dealer was holding to Friday's prices, but he thought there would be a substantial increase Sunday night. We'll see. We were both surprised there were no other people in the store after the previous evenings downgrade. Wake up America!
Captain Teague Sparrow: I heard you're putting together a crew.
Jack Sparrow: If enough people are saying it, it must be true!
Captain Teague: I heard where you're headed. The fountain of youth.
Jack Sparrow: Have you been there?
Captain Teague: Does this face look like it's been to the fountain of youth?
Jack Sparrow: Depends on the light.
The ZH red/green arrows are gone from the comments section. Maybe they were clogging up the system?
Just when you thought Dollar or market should be donw they tended to come out with an artificial boost. They did it a lot in the past. We will see how much power they still have on monday.
George Carlin's words ring truer today.


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33 Cute Yet Frightening Facts About Zoo Animals
1Leningrad Zoo
A homeless cat sneaked into a lynx's enclosure in a Leningrad zoo and the two became best friends.
2. There is a zoo named Marine Park in Japan that has tiny holes in the otter enclosure allowing for people who visit the zoo to shake hands with the otters.
3. Zookeepers in England had to learn French in order to speak to baboons coming from a French zoo because the animals didn't respond to English commands.
4. Piss from the Maned wolf smells like marijuana and one day had police searching for pot smokers at a Dutch zoo. The officers were really just smelling wolf piss.
5. An orangutan named Fu Manchu at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska had learned to pick locks with a piece of wire that he had hidden in his mouth.
6Reptile Zoo
In 2008, a 7-year old Australian boy broke into a reptile zoo, killed 13 reptiles and then fed them all to a 440 pound 11-foot saltwater crocodile which was a resident at the same zoo.
7. In 1993, when a military jet flew over a Sweden's Froso Zoo, animals ate 23 of their own babies as a protective response.
8. Charles Darwin collected a Galápagos tortoise (Harriet) during his 1835 visit to the Galápagos Islands as part of his round-the-world survey expedition. It lived 175 years and died of heart failure at the Australia Zoo in 2006.
9. In 2015, a group of penguins escaped from an enclosure at a Denmark zoo. Unfortunately for them, they left footprints which led to their recapture.
10. A German Shepherd guard dog named Gabi in a Belgrade Zoo once fought and defeated an escaped jaguar and in doing so saved the life of a zoo employee.
11Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson offered a zoo attendant $10,000 to open the cage of a bullying gorilla so he could "smash that silverback's snotbox." His offer was declined.
12. The creator of Rocko's Modern Life came up with the idea for his show when he came across a wallaby at a zoo that "seemed too oblivious of the chaos around him."
13. A chimp named Santino in a Swedish Furuvik zoo collected round disks of concrete, stockpiled them, and saved them until he could throw them at visitors. "Nothing like it has as yet been reported from the wild, nor from any captive chimpanzees".
14. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in male Western lowland gorillas in North American Zoos. To combat this Cleveland Metropark Zoo doubled the gorilla's leafy green intake which lead to a 65 pound weight loss in the gorillas.
15. The animal handlers at the Oregon Zoo took Chendra, an Asian elephant, around to meet some other animals. The sea lions were her favorite.
16Pandas
All pandas are owned by China. They rent them out to zoos for $1 million per year each for a minimum of 10 years.
17. During 1946 nuclear weapon tests in the Pacific, animals were put on ships in the blast area. Goat #119, behind plate armor inside a gun turret, died from the radiation in 4 days. Goat #53, out on the deck, died in 2 days. Pig #311 was found swimming around and was brought back to the zoo in Washington.
18. In 2009, two zebras died of hunger in Marah Land Zoo in Palestine and were replaced with donkeys painted with black and white stripes.
19. During World War 2, trained elephants at a zoo in Tokyo were starved to death. Throughout the ordeal, they repeatedly performed their tricks in fruitless attempts to get fed.
20. Steve Irwin was buried at his beloved Australia Zoo.
21Binti Jua
In 1996, a three-year-old boy fell into the gorilla exhibit at the Brookfield Zoo. The child was rescued by a mother gorilla (Binti Jua) who cradled him until the zookeepers arrived.
22. There is an island (Lambay Island) off the coast of Dublin, Ireland that has a population of wallabies. They are the descendants of animals that Dublin Zoo could no longer care for due to overcrowding.
23. During World War 2, the very first bomb dropped on Berlin by the Allies killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
24. There is only one pig (Khanzir) in all of Afghanistan. His name is Khanzir, which is Arabic for pig, and he lives in the Kabul Zoo.
25. Snowflake is the only known albino gorilla. He was a resident of Barcelona zoo.


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THE GUILTY – A 911 CALL THRILLER
By Phi-Loan Biraud
In his new Netflix movie, The Guilty, Jake Gyllenhaal brings us behind the scenes of a 911 call centre. We follow call operator Joe Baylor (Gyllenhaal) as he attempts to save a distressed abducted woman over the course of one night.
However, the movie does not quite fulfil the promises it sets. Is it intense? Yes. But is it gripping? Do we care for the characters? Not completely. As the only on-screen main character, Gyllenhaal has to literally carry the whole movie. Unfortunately, while there is no denying he is a brilliant actor, he was lumped with a plot that lacked nuance.
Rimed with bags under his eyes, struggling with asthma, Baylor is depicted as lonely, antisocial and troubled. He quickly becomes overly emotionally attached to his caller's case, even before the audience has started to care about it. While the situation is pressing, the movie fails to build tension. Without transition, Joe switches from bored to ready to put his job on the line after just one phone call with this woman. Surely a 911 call responder would know how to keep calm and handle a delicate situation? It is hard to believe how he got this job as he keeps making impulsive – and obviously bad – decisions that make you want to scream at him more than root for his success.
The choice to bring the audience only to this particular moment in his life, merely hinting at his complicated past, could have added some depth and mystery to his character. However, his hot temper and constant rejection of others' sympathy prevents us from empathising with him. As a result, until the last ten minutes of the movie, Gyllenhaal's character arc doesn't truly evolve; he instead seems perpetually angry and frustrated at the world.
The pacing of the movie is awkward. The Guilty is not quite able to make 'watching Gyllenhaal talk on the phone' entertaining for an hour and a half. After the initial rush of getting the call, I lost interest halfway through as the story stagnated. However, the plot twist was unexpected. It completely redeemed the movie, reviving the action for the last half hour. From this point onward, I was enthralled and glued to every turn of events until the end.
Overall, the movie is still a fairly enjoyable one-time unmemorable watch. The Guilty's strength lies in its premise: from the first phone call, we are intrigued. While not as invested as Joe, we still want to know more. Nevertheless, as an American remake of the Danish film, Den skyldige, it does not add anything to the long catalogue of Hollywood's thrillers.
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ʻEwa Beach ([ˈɛʋə]) or simply ʻEwa is a census-designated place (CDP) located in ʻEwa District and the City & County of Honolulu along the leeward coast of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi. As of the 2010 Census, the CDP had a total population of 14,955.
The word "ʻewa" means "crooked" in Hawaiian. The name comes from the myth that the gods Kāne and Kanaloa threw a stone to determine the boundaries, but it was lost and later found at Pili o Kahe.[1]
Along much of the South Shore of Oʻahu, ʻEwa is a reference to the direction of ʻEwa Beach, roughly westwards along the shore. Related terms are mauka (towards the mountains, roughly northwards), makai (towards the ocean, roughly South), and Diamond Head or Koko Head, roughly eastwards along the shore.
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New York, New York – April 3, 2014 – ABRAMS is proud to announce the Spring 2015 publication of acclaimed actor, screenwriter, and producer John Leguizamo's Ghetto Klown under the Abrams ComicArts imprint. The book is a graphic adaption of his award-winning one-man Broadway show, which recently aired as an HBO comedy special to high ratings. It shares a hilarious and touching roller-coaster ride through the highs and lows of Leguizamo's personal and professional life and features the vivid characters who have populated his story. Not wanting to just share this story verbatim in words, Leguizamo has teamed up with the artist Christa Cassano to transform it into an engaging graphic memoir. Executive editor David Cashion signed the deal with Leguizamo's literary agent, Anthony Mattero of Foundry Media.
"Ghetto Klown is the history that I probably never should have told anyone but my therapist, but it's a real lesson that even if you suffer a certain amount (a lot) of self-doubt and anxiety, you can still accomplish great things. It's a lesson I'm really excited to impart to a whole new audience and in a whole new way with the help of artist Christa Cassano and Abrams Books. My life's work took me my whole life to figure out, but, hey, better late than never," says Leguizamo.
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Christa Cassano is a Brooklyn-based artist and member of Hang Dai Studios in Gowanus. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the United States and in Italy. Since attending the 2012 Graphic Novel residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, Cassano has been self-publishing her own stories, as well as collaborations with Dean Haspiel and Seth Kushner's comix neurotica SCHMUCK.
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I ordered my normal unisex small because I prefer a slightly more women's fit. It fits perfect and the color is gorgeous. I'm always buying the glitter ink shirts but the matte black on this pink is perfect.


PROTECTIONIST has become the first German horse to win the Melbourne Cup, but tragedy struck post-race.
YOUR one-stop shop for all your Melbourne Cup needs, including form, the field, fashion and all the breaking news from Flemington Racecourse.
JAPANESE horse, Admire Rakti, has unfortunately died after collapsing post-race.
The Tomoyuki Umeda-trained horse collapsed in the stalls after the Melbourne Cup.
Channel 7 reported the horse had passed away.
Admire Rakti was the $5.50 favourite and finished last of the 22 runners.
Araldo, which finished 7th, was also left to fight for his life after shying at a spectator's flag, jumping a fence and fracturing a cannon bone.
Araldo was being operated on post-race.
PROTECTIONIST has become the first German horse to win the Melbourne Cup.
Red Cadeaux finished second and Who Shot Thebarman third.
"Determination is everything — and he's got it, he's got it," Protectionist's owner Christoph Berglar said.
Protectionist, ridden by Ryan Moore, delivered the first Melbourne Cup win for Germany and became the fifth northern hemisphere-trained horse to win the race since Vintage Crop scored in 1993.
Starting at $8, Protectionist cleared out to win by four lengths from Red Cadeaux ($21) with Who Shot Thebarman ($21) a half-length away third.
"We've had great success all over the world but that's the biggest of all," Wohler said.
"When he came round the last bend, I tell he just needs to have the right gap and he found it and he quickened so well. Ryan is a superstar.
PUNTERS don't want a piece of the favourite, Japan's Admire Rakti, and are instead backing a couple of Aussie horses — Fawkner and Lucia Valentina — and Ireland's Mutual Regard.
According to Sportsbet, Mutual Regard has come in from $11 to $9, while Fawkner has shortened from $8.50 to $7.50 and Lucia Valentina from $7.50 to $7.
Admire Rakti has drifted from $5.50 to $6.
TOMMY Berry had two Melbourne Cup rides fall by the wayside but he was delighted to come home a winner aboard General Groove in the Lavazza Short Black.
As he crossed the finish, he blew a kiss to the heavens to honour his twin brother Nathan, who died earlier this year at the age of 23 from Norse Syndrome, an acute form of epilepsy.
Geoffrey Edelston has proposed to Gabi Grecko in the Birdcage.
IF you know nothing about racing, check out Australia's most honest Melbourne Cup form guide.
If you know what you're doing, here's the real-deal Melbourne Cup form.
Less than three hours to go now, so get cracking.
IF you're stuck at work unable to watch the Melbourne Cup today, perhaps this Instagram account set up to capture the carnival's wild antics will suffice.
Entitled "Drunk Girls of the Melbourne Cup", the social media account shows amusing photos of racegoers who appear to be enjoying the trackside shenanigans as much as the racing itself.
AUSSIE punters have this morning rallied behind the Lloyd Williams-owned Fawkner to repel the foreign invaders in today's Melbourne Cup.
The 2013 Caulfield Cup winner, an eye-catching second in this year's Cox Plate, is now on the third line of betting at $7.50, in from $9.
With the Cup only hours away, punters are beginning to look away from the favourite Admire Rakti, with all the overnight money with online bookmaker sportsbet.com.au coming for Fawkner, Mutual Regard and Who Shot Thebarman.
As a result Admire Rakti is out from $5.50 to $6.00 with Fawkner in from $8.50 into $7.50, Mutual Regard in from $11 to $10 and Who Shot Thebarman in from $19 to $17.
"All of the late money suggests punters don't rate the favourite Admire Rakti and are coming for Fawkner, Mutual Regard and Who Shot Thebarman. If it keeps up at this rate Admire Rakti may not even be the favourite at the time of the jump," said sportsbet.com.au's Shaun Anderson.
The Darren Weir-trained Signoff remains a $7 equal second favourite along with Lucia Valentina, with German raider Protectionist at $7.50.
AUSTRALIA'S most fashionable fillies are already gearing up for the Melbourne Cup with early wake up calls to tease their hair and get their race day make-up on.
See more Melbourne Cup fashion pics here.
"#MelbourneCup here I come #Giddyup" wrote Heinrich.
Tully from Big Brother was ready at 8.30am this morning.
RACING expert Kenny Callander explains why you should just back the favourite, Japanese horse Admire Rakti, in the Melbourne Cup.
"At least that way you are not the laughing stock of the office when you back the horse named after your uncle or aunt and it runs like they would if they were running at Flemington," Callander writes.
Read why he's putting his money on the Caulfied Cup winner.
Gigi Hadid with 2014 Melbourne Cup favourite Admire Rakti.
IT'S the Melbourne Cup news we didn't want to hear. Damaging winds are expected to hit Flemington Racecourse this afternoon.
The good news is, the race that stops the nation should be spared, with the brutal weather not tipped to arrive until 4pm.
Until then, a mostly dry day is expected in Melbourne, with tops of 29C.
The track rating is a dead 4.
THE Melbourne Cup field is down to 22, with Craig Williams' mount Cavalryman scratched this morning.
The $26 chance showed signs of swelling in a near foreleg late on Monday.
X-rays of the leg were examined on Monday night both by a leading Geelong vet and Godolphin's veterinary team back in Dubai, before a decision was made this morning.
On Monday, the Robert Hickmott-trained Sea Moon became the first scratching of the Cup.
Can you pick if the following are movie titles or Melbourne Cup winners?
And which type of jockey are you?
Prizemoney: $6,000,000 - 1st: $3,600,000. 2nd: 1,080,000. 3rd: $540,000. 4th: $270,000. 5th: 150,000.
Follow the blog below for live coverage of today's racing.


Sadly this is not a group per se. Its just a couple stories in a universe that occasionally intersect. Big groups tend to collapse into themselves, so I'm keeping this one small.
Finally have enough to justify one.
What characters are available mi lady?
This wasn't supposed to be a group per se. But let me run it past my writers.
Thankee sai for ye bumper.
Someday for sure. Probably. Maybe.
I prefer to think of it more likely in the future. Gotta keep those options open. And it's not like I consciously don't want to write it.
@wildvine: Can I use Victor Kraven?
Ummmm, yes. But don't kill him. He's supposed to be the next baddie in Spider-Rogue, which I'm totally writing. Totally.
I was going to have issue 3 take place a week or so later, so just don't kill him and you're gold.