Luxurious mid-rise leggings made with high technology modern Brazilian blend. Beautiful camo print with black waistband and sheer mesh panels on the front. Cottony soft touch and balanced compression. Comfort in every step of your workout.


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Give a Modell's gift card. Looking for a gift idea? Any time of year the sports fan or athlete in your life will appreciate a gift card from Modell's. They offer two kinds of cards for your convenience. You can buy and send an e-gift card, or purchase a plastic gift card that they'll ship to your recipient with a personal message.
Modell's Sporting Goods sells apparel, fitness equipment, footwear and team-branded products as well as gear for the most popular sports. When you visit Modells.com, you'll find hundreds of sports-related items at moderate prices. You also can save by using your Valpak.com Modells coupon code.
Sporting goods - Modell's is your online sporting goods store, providing brand-name gear and quality equipment. From court sports like basketball, to outdoor sports such as baseball, golf and football - they've got durable gear and apparel for all your favorite sports.
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Accessibility is the measure of how many differently skilled/abled types of people (including individuals with disabilities) in varying locations (e.g. mobile web) can make use of a given product. There exist many, very thorough, guidelines for determining the degree to which a product adheres to accepted accessibility standards. However, many can be very complex and time-consuming, also requiring the study of a good deal of the underlying code — much of which goes against the goals of the 'quick' part of Quick-UX. Quick-UX provides for the rapid, simple and quantifiable assessment of a product's User Experience (UX). In answering the question of Usability, "Should I use it?" the sub-category of Accessibility represents one of the more complex components.
Greater Accessibility provides greater benefits to people both with and without disabilities, from equal opportunity to facilitating perception and navigation.
There are many factors that go into achieving Comprehensive Flexibility.
I use a robust (and free) proxy for quickly assessing a product's Accessibility through the use of the Functional Accessibility Evaluator (FAE) link. The FAE's resultant scores are averages which, in turn, are normalized to a range from zero to one to represent the value for Quick-UX's Accessibility variable.
For a long time I used a simple normalizing of a product's Passes, as determined by FAE, to a 0 – 1.0 scale. Over time websites have been improving due to the increased usage of templated languages, development libraries, and the improving skillsets of web developers. As a result, I found the need to shift my scale to more readily capture the increased quality and more clearly highlight the differences between the calculated Accessibility values.
Take the average of all 5 categories of FAE determined Passes. The result is X, the normalized Pass score, and falls between 0.0 and 1.0.
Shift and expand the scale. The result is Y.
See the Quick-UX Worksheet for easy, automatic calculating of the QUA (and other Quick-UX variables).
For this discussion of Quick-UX Accessibility, I evaluated over 50 products and will be exploring a select subset in greater detail in the coming articles. The distribution of the evaluated products for this series can be seen in the following chart.
Has anyone else reported issues?
Thank you. I am unable to replicate the Worksheet link issue you are referring to. None of the links that I have inserted use go2.wordpress.com and am not detecting WordPress inserted redirects. Anyone else having this issue?
Next Entry Flavors of Product Management, Tasting 4Food & More Hotness in August!


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Look How Tightly You Can Squish Mosquitoes Without Killing Them
Ed Cara
Filed to: Never Sleep AgainFiled to: Never Sleep Again
GIF: Julia Vulcan, New Mexico State University (Journal of Insect Science)
Far more lethal than sharks, wolves, bears, or any other fanged beast is the tiny mosquito, which holds the title of world's deadliest animal. The World Health Organization estimates that "millions" of people die every year from mosquito-borne diseases. Thankfully, scientists have come up with a strategy to greatly reduce the mosquito population, but it requires sending tens or even hundreds of thousands of mosquitoes to different areas of the world, often through the mail.
You might assume that you'd need a rather large package to ship these thousands of mosquitoes. But a new study has found you can actually compress these pests into a ridiculously tiny space, and they'll stay alive. They'll even survive the trip better than mosquitoes packed loosely.
How tiny? Well, according to the researchers behind the new study, published Wednesday in the Journal of Insect Science, the magic number is somewhere around 240 mosquitoes per every cubic centimeter. That amounts to around 1,200 mosquitos in a single teaspoon, and up to 2,500 in a 10-milliliter syringe. Another way to picture it: That's 7,200 living mosquitoes packed into a 1-ounce shot glass.
The team, led by researchers from New Mexico State University, came to this calculation after conducting a series of lab and real-world experiments, including sending the insects through overnight mail. They were hoping to figure out the best way to use these pesky bloodsuckers to save lives.
In the 1950s, scientists devised a clever way to eradicate dangerous insects without using pesticides, called the sterile insect technique. You basically breed a giant population of male insects in the lab, and sterilize them without harming them otherwise. Then, you release them into the wild, hoping that they'll breed with the females. Over time, as the intact males are crowded out of the mating game and the females lay eggs that never reach maturity, the whole population dwindles.
The first insect this was tried with, to great success, was the screwworm fly. Since then, the technique has been used to eradicate populations of various fruit flies and moths. And nowadays, researchers, including the scientists behind this latest study, are eagerly beginning to test out whether it can work for the deadliest animal around, the mosquito.
But according to senior researcher Immo Hansen, using the technique on mosquitos poses more of a logistical hurdle than it did for the screwworm fly.
A lazy-as-hell male Aedes aegypti mosquito.
Photo: Geoffrey M. Attardo, University of California, Davis (Journal of Insect Science)
"Male mosquitoes are really lazy. They don't like to fly much," Hansen told Gizmodo. "Over a lifetime, they'll fly up to 100 meters, 200 meters, but not more."
Because of that laziness, eradication campaigns will need to get the sterile mosquitoes as close to the action as possible. Using aerial drones might help, but we'll still need to make sure that they're stored, packaged, and released safely, without accidentally killing or maiming them.
So Hansen and his team conducted experiments in the lab, hoping to find the ideal shipping conditions for the mosquitoes. They tested a variety of temperatures to keep the insects sluggish. They also tested how tightly they could pack mosquitoes into various syringe sizes. Then they took things one step further and mailed thousands of bugs from New Mexico to their colleagues over at the University of California, Davis.
The mosquitoes were generally fine with being kept chilled at a wide range of temperatures, though 57.2 degrees Fahrenheit (14 degrees Celsius) appeared to be ideal. And in the lab, it initially didn't seem like there was any major difference in the survival rate when it came to how tightly packed they were. But things changed in the live test.
"It turns out that the highly compacted mosquitoes survived the trip better than the loosely packed ones did," said Hansen. "We think this is because the vibrations of the plane damaged the loosely packed mosquitoes."
The team next plans to test out their theory that vibrations cause more deaths in the loosely packed groups. They also hope to conduct live trials of shipped mosquitoes to ensure that the cramped arrangements aren't cramping the mosquitoes' mating prowess.
"We're going to work with our physical science lab here at New Mexico State, since they have vibration tables they use to make electronics vibration-proof," Hansen said.
And if you're wondering, yes, it's quite legal to send mosquitoes (and other bugs) through the U.S. Postal Service, so long as you follow their rules.
[Journal of Insect Science]
Which Animal Kills the Most Humans?
Would Mutant Species Solve Our Environmental Woes—Or Set Off a Global Catastrophe?
These Glowing, Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes Could Fight Malaria Instead of Spreading It
Swatting Mosquitoes Teaches Them to Stay Away, Study Suggests
Ticks and Insects Are Making More People Sick, and the Problem Is Only Getting Worse
Oh Joy, We Just Found Another Virus Spread By Mosquitoes That Might Make Us Sick
Science writer at Gizmodo and pug aficionado elsewhere
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Kwara United newly signed striker, Fortune Omoniwari has disclosed that he joined the Harmony Boys majorly to rediscover himself.
Omoniwari is not a greenhorn on the domestic scene having played for several top clubs in the country; including the defunct Port Harcourt-based outfit, Sharks.
The veteran goal poacher has also enjoyed stints with Heartland, Akwa United and Plateau United where he distinguished himself until the beginning of last season.
The striker, however, left Plateau United during the midseason transfer last season for a return to Heartland but the reunion with the Naze Millionaires was severed at the start of the 2019 season before Kwara United came calling.
With a fresh chance now before him until the end of the season, Omoniwari says he is ready to prove his worth at his new club.
"I have joined Kwara United and I will be with them until the end of the season, " the striker told Goal.
"It is my resolve to help Kwara United finish the season strongly. I did a lot of negotiation before agreeing to join Kwara United. There were several clubs that showed interest in me, but I decided to give Kwara United a chance because of the way Coach Abubakar Bala spoke to me.
Coach Bala's side are currently in the fifth spot in the elite division Group A with 12 points from nine games and would hope for improvement following the addition of Omoniwari to their roster.


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Home/Latest News/Everything You Need to Know About Pfizer Coronavirus Vaccine
Everything You Need to Know About Pfizer Coronavirus Vaccine
Bisma Nasar November 9, 2020
Recently, the findings from the clinical trials of the Pfizer Coronavirus vaccine released which shows that the vaccine has high efficacy and the scientists nearly found no issues with this vaccine during the trials. The vaccine is developed by BioNTech and Pfizer which they tested in a huge trial containing 43,500 participants. They tested this vaccine in 6 different countries and fortunately, this vaccine does not show any side effects so far.
The Pfizer coronavirus vaccine will probably get emergency approval as the coronavirus cases rise in some parts of the world. This the first vaccine to prove its efficacy in a short period of a few months. However, this is not where the struggle ends for this vaccine.
Also read- Don't Lose Your Mental Health During the Presidential Election
Health experts suggest that the coronavirus risk will reduce after the approval of this new vaccine. Also, experts are hopeful that life will soon get back to normal once people start receiving this vaccine. This is currently the only hope to get us out of this adverse situation.
The coronavirus pandemic imposed several restrictions on people around the world. Scientists worked hard to develop an effective vaccine against the coronavirus but most of them failed during trials. According to the data, this vaccine shows 90% efficacy against the novel coronavirus.
The vaccine requires two doses with a gap of three weeks to show maximum efficacy and protection. Initial data provided by Germany, South Africa, the US, Brazil, Turkey, and Argentina shows that the vaccine protects against the virus after a week of the second dose.
The Pfizer chairman, Dr. Albert Bourla said that these results bring us close to the end of the coronavirus pandemic. However, this is the initial data and the results might change as more data follows. The Pfizer coronavirus vaccine might be available by the end of this year. Meanwhile, not everyone will have access to this vaccine. The priority individuals will get the vaccine first followed by the rest of the public. This vaccine does not have regulatory approval yet so the companies can not start distributing this vaccine yet.
Every individual requires two doses of this vaccine to develop immunity against the virus. According to the companies, they will provide 50 million vaccine doses within this year with 1.3 million vaccine doses within the next year. The coronavirus vaccine will not be accessible to all the world at once. Countries with higher coronavirus cases will get the vaccine during the first phase. Also, high-risk individuals such as hospital staff will be the first to receive this vaccine.
Also read- Scientists Produced Snake Venom in Laboratory Using Stem Cell
The vaccine seems safe and effective until now but further results will reveal its efficacy in a huge population. Meanwhile, scientists are not aware of how long this vaccine protects against the virus. It can range from months to years but there is no definite proof yet.
Health experts are optimistic regarding this advancement and regard this as a milestone of this year. The coronavirus pandemic paralyzed this year with multiple restrictions and lockdown. Meanwhile, the success of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine is the biggest health news over the past months.
Bisma Nasar
Bisma is a website content writer and loves to read about advancements in biotechnology and Molecular biology. Her area of expertise include Microbiology, Genetics and Health related niches.
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In sub-Saharan Africa, road is the dominant mode of transportation. As such, government and developmental agencies in the region usually invest in road projects significantly. However, the delivery of road projects that are supposed to act as the catalyst for socioeconomic development is fast becoming an uphill task in Malawi. A number of problems have been reported in the media. This development led to a preliminary diagnostic study that was aimed at examining the barriers that are hindering the successful execution of road projects in Malawi in 2012. The investigation that was conducted among engineers who are employed by the agency responsible for road projects in Malawi and civil engineering contractors used a self-administered questionnaire for data collection. Salient findings suggest that delayed payment by clients severely marginalises contractor performance and delivered projects are seldom defect free. Considering Malawi's heavy dependence on roads as a means of transportation, it is crucial that these barriers be addressed without delay.


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O Líbano participará dos Jogos Olímpicos de Inverno da Juventude de 2012, a serem realizados em Innsbruck, na Áustria. Até o momento, o país classificou um atleta do esqui alpino masculino.

Países nos Jogos Olímpicos de Inverno da Juventude de 2012
2012
Desporto no Líbano em 2012

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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#ifndef TEMPLATES_H
#define TEMPLATES_H

/* This is not actually a source file. Its an input file
 * for the parsers' unit test
 *
 * This is a very simple test without other includes.
 */

template<class T>
struct Foo {
	T t;
	int count;
};

struct Bar {
public:
	// a member always forces a specialization
	Foo<double> d;
};

// Argument passing only introduces a specialization if the instantiateTemplates switch is used
void function1(Foo<char>* f);
void function2(Foo<int> f);
void function3(Foo<long>& f);

// Returning passing only introduces a specialization if the instantiateTemplates switch is used

Foo<char*> function4();
Foo<int*> function5();
Foo<long*> function6();

// we can also force an instantiation

template class Foo<double*>;

template<class T>
void tfuntion(const T& t) { }

template void tfuntion<float>(const float& t);

#endif

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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About the Outlaw
Active Country
Town Shop
Memoriam / Misc / Movies / Personal
In Memoriam of Harold Ramis (1944 – 2014): Egon, but not Forgotten
by Geek Outlaw —	February 26, 2014
"Print is dead… I collect spores, molds, and fungus." – Egon Spengler, Ghostbusters, 1984
Who would have guessed that a fictional character in a 1984 comedy about four scientists turned ghost catchers, could have predicted the fate of printed media just 30 years later. (Although not technically dead, it's definitely on life support.) More importantly, who could have predicted a scrawny bifocal wearing young actor, writer & director could have made such a huge impact on pop culture as we know it.
If you've ever watched a movie Harold Ramis had a hand in, then no guessing or predictions were required; you just knew.
As most of Geek Outlaw's four loyal followers know, I aim to keep the blog relatively light on drama and heavy on humor. With the passing of a comic legend, this is undeniably a sad time. Nonetheless, I will do my best to keep things as light as possible considering the circumstances. Mr. Ramis would have wanted it that way.
Yeah, I think he would have definitely wanted it this way (I hope).
For those not familiar with the man outside of his onscreen role as the brainy Dr. Spengler in Ghostbusters, Ramis was born and raised in the windy city of Chicago, Illinois back in 1944. His career started off with SCTV (aka Second City Television), which was quite literally the Canadian version of Saturday Night Live, albeit colder and with an over use of the word "Eh". It was the well-known comedy club where Ramis met John Belushi and Bill Murray. It was also the comedy talent pool where stars like John Candy and Rick Moranis emerged from.
A proper "Stripes" like send off for the man who will always be remembered as the paranormal exterminator.
Unbeknownst to those who don't use Google, Ramis' first noteworthy co-writing gig happened to be a current college cult classic, National Lampoon's Animal House (starring Belushi) Coincidence, I think not. From there, he went on to co-write Meatballs, which was the first of many collaborations with friend and actor Bill Murray. Ramis wrote and produced another little title co-starring Murray that a few of you might have heard of called Caddyshack. In addition, he not only helped write, but also co-starred in their next project together, Stripes. A few other hardly known fun facts include Ramis' voice work as Marty the Moose in National Lampoon's Vacation, which he directed as well.
"We've got your back too Harold… we've got your back."
Ghostbusters followed suit right after those films, but Ramis also went on to write, direct, produce and act in several memorable films which include, but are not limited to; Back to School starring Rodney Dangerfield, and Analyze This (and That) featuring Billy Crystal and Robert De Niro. As a whole, many argue the crown jewel of his career is another Murrary classic, Groundhog Day, for which Ramis was a writer, producer, director and even worked himself in the small onscreen role of Punxsutawney's only Neurologist. It's the kind of hard work that makes the 40-hour week seem like a cruise to the Bahamas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkEUpymTanA
Ramis on the Metaphor of Ground Hog Day
Nevertheless, even when taking into account the entirety of his career accomplishments, Ramis will always be remembered for Ghostbusters, and even more specifically, Egon Spengler. We often hear stories of actors and actresses whose panties get flustered at the thought of being remembered for one specific role they played. I never met the man in my life, but based on his continued work on trying to hammer out a script for a third Ghostbusters movie with co-writer Dan Aykroyd and his public interviews expressing hope a second film sequel was made, Ramis didn't come across like one of those actors. Keeping on the slight tangent of another Ghostbusters film, all I will say is there is no Ghostbusters without Ramis, just as there is no Ghostbusters without Murray, Aykroyd, Ivan Reitman and yes, even Ernie Hudson. Ghostbusters is still a true classic today because it is the sum of all its working parts.
Touching fan art Ghostbusters fans wished never had to be.
From the acting, to the writing, to the directing and the chemistry between good friends, the film will stand the test of time because all of those things came together in a way that can never be recaptured in another Ghostbusters film (as proved in part two). It was the equivalent to capturing a genie in a bottle. Without Ramis' writing or portrayal of Egon, it wouldn't have been the same. With his passing, maybe for once, Hollywood will leave this franchise's genie alone. Hell, if anything, Ghostbusters 3 was already made in the form of the video game released back in 2009 for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Not only did Ramis and Aykroyd write the script, but they provided their likenesses and voices for the returning roles of their characters, as did Murray, Hudson, William Atherton and Annie Potts. Those like myself that played the game all the way through, should realize it was the third movie. It was for both the actors and the fans not satisfied with the sequel. In the end, it should and (for the love of everything, it better) serve as the Ghostbusters' final chapter, and an excellent one at that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNf7gh9Tt2c
SPOILER ALERT: For those that don't care to play video games, you can watch the entirety of Ghostbusters (3) The Video Game and Ramis' final portrayal of Egon at the following links:
Ghostbusters 3 – The Video Game HD (Part 1)
"We eat gods for breakfast" = Classic Egon.
On an even more personal level, the passing of Ramis was tougher on me than I had expected. Yes, there have been other actors whom have passed whose work I have enjoyed immensely, and yes I can honestly say Ramis wasn't my favorite actor or director of all-time. What he was however, was a comedic genius and from all accounts, a great person. He will be sorely missed.
So sad, even the white squishy demi-god destructor is paying his respects.
To appreciate why this hit me harder than almost all other entertainment deaths before it, one must first understand where I'm coming from, and unfortunately there are probably few people outside of a psychiatric ward that would (and even they don't get paid enough). You see, at the youthful age of 6-years-old, seeing Ghostbusters on the big-screen was one of the first things I remembered from my early childhood. It stuck with me like my love of Twinkies, growing exponentially with each passing year. If you measured that love of Ghostbusters by today's standards, "it would be a Twinkie… thirty-five feet long, weighing approximately six hundred pounds."
Ramis may have singlehandedly kept Hostess alive long past it's expiration date.
Thus, when Ramis passed away at the relatively young age of 69, it was in essence like losing the very first piece of my childhood. If you grew up as a youngin during the 1980's, you might be experiencing the type of grief this Outlaw is as well. In a weird geek pop-culture way, the loss of Mr. Ramis really hits home because when the people responsible for the entertainment you grew up with start to move on from this world, you start to think about your own mortality and the mortality of the ones you love around you. It's also a solemn reminder that actors are people too. They aren't invincible like the films and shows we love that freeze them in time indefinitely.
Despite my receding hairline, the increase in wrinkles, and the decrease of memory (mostly a male issue), it took the passing of a Ghostbuster for me to realize that I'm indeed getting older, and everything within the world around me is getting older as well. Instead of 36 going on 15, I now feel like 36 going on 21. With that in mind, even though I'm a self-proclaimed super geek for all things Ghostbusters, while I'm indeed extremely saddened by the loss of an actor that depicted one of my favorite fictional characters, this in no way compares to the devastating experience of losing my own family members, close friends or pets for that matter. On that note, my thoughts and prayers go out to Ramis' family and friends.
This fan art by Ninjaink on Facebook actually brought a few slime-based tears to this Outlaw's eyes.
For generations upon generations to come, Harold Ramis will be remembered for making people laugh and doing it well, be it in front of or behind the cameras. More importantly, in the hearts of many, Mr. Ramis will always be a Ghostbuster, he will always be Egon Spengler, and he will always be a reminder to never cross the streams… well, almost never.
"See you on the other side Dr. Spengler."
When you get to where you're going Mr. Ramis, don't forget to tell them about the Twinkie.
One of many tributes left for the late great Harold Ramis at the Hook and Ladder 8 Firehouse in New York which was used as Ghostbusters HQ in both films.
Tags: Analyze This / Animal House / bill murray / Caddyshack / Dany Aykroyd / Earnie Hudson / Egon Spengler / ghostbusters / ghostbusters 2 / Groundhog Day / Harold Ramis / Ivan Reitman / Jim Belushi / Meatballs / Multiplicity / National Lampoon's Vacation / Rick Moranis / SCTV / Stripes
Author: Geek Outlaw
Hot Nerd Girl says:
A very touching and well done tribute, NBFF. I'm sure Mr. Ramis is smiling down on all the love he's been receiving these past few days. I hope that he knew in life just how many lives he has touched with his work. Being a Groundhog baby, he elevated my birthday into a cult holiday and I will always, always love that movie. Big hugs to you and my thoughts are most certainly with his family and loved ones.
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Bone marrow drives central nervous system regeneration after radiation injury
Jorg Dietrich, … , Amar Sahay, David T. Scadden
Published January 2, 2018; First published December 4, 2017
Research Article Hematology Neuroscience
Nervous system injury is a frequent result of cancer therapy involving cranial irradiation, leaving patients with marked memory and other neurobehavioral disabilities. Here, we report an unanticipated link between bone marrow and brain in the setting of radiation injury. Specifically, we demonstrate that bone marrow–derived monocytes and macrophages are essential for structural and functional repair mechanisms, including regeneration of cerebral white matter and improvement in neurocognitive function. Using a granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) receptor knockout mouse model in combination with bone marrow cell transplantation, MRI, and neurocognitive functional assessments, we demonstrate that bone marrow–derived G-CSF–responsive cells home to the injured brain and are critical for altering neural progenitor cells and brain repair. Additionally, compared with untreated animals, animals that received G-CSF following radiation injury exhibited enhanced functional brain repair. Together, these results demonstrate that, in addition to its known role in defense and debris removal, the hematopoietic system provides critical regenerative drive to the brain that can be modulated by clinically available agents.
Jorg Dietrich, Ninib Baryawno, Naema Nayyar, Yannis K. Valtis, Betty Yang, Ina Ly, Antoine Besnard, Nicolas Severe, Karin U. Gustafsson, Ovidiu C. Andronesi, Tracy T. Batchelor, Amar Sahay, David T. Scadden
Bone marrow–derived G-CSFR+ cells are critical for brain regeneration after radiation injury.
(A) Schematic diagram of the experimental layout. Mice were treated with whole-body irradiation (9.5 Gy) and transplanted the next day with either WT or G-CSFR–/– bone marrow cells. After reconstitution of the blood (Supplemental Figure 4), mice underwent focal brain irradiation (4.5 Gy) followed by G-CSF treatment on days 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, and 21 after irradiation. BrdU was injected on days 21, 28, and 47 after irradiation. Mice were sacrificed on day 47, 4 hours after the last BrdU injection. (B) Quantification of BrdU+ progenitors in the cerebral white matter and germinal zones of the brain. Asterisks indicate a significant change relative to control. *P < 0.05; ****P < 0.0001, 1-way ANOVA. n = 6 independent biological replicates. Data are presented as mean ± SEM of biological replicates.


text:
CONCACAF Champions
EFL CARABAO CUP FINAL
Liverpool have "one of the best squads I've seen" says club great Robbie Fowler
Robbie Fowler feels Liverpool have one of the best squads in the club's history and has backed them to edge Chelsea in Sunday's EFL Carabao Cup final.
Update: February 26th, 2022 11:34 EST
Robbie Fowler believes Liverpool possess one of the best squads he has ever seen at the club, and says they hold a marginal edge over Chelsea ahead of this weekend's EFL Carabao Cup final.
Jürgen Klopp's side head to Wembley looking to win their first domestic cup under the German, as they face off with Thomas Tüchel's Blues in north London. The Merseysiders have been tipped as slight favourites by their opposing manager in the buildup, and club great Fowler - who scored 183 goals in 369 appearances for the Reds and is a two-time League Cup winner - feels they have the players to triumph.
"Whatever team shows up, either side has shown they can compete," Fowler told Stats Perform ahead of Sunday's match. "Chelsea have played in five major finals in the last 12 months, so you know what they're capable of. But you look at Liverpool's form of late, the squad they've got, they can compete with anyone. It has got the makings of a great game. I'm obviously sat on the Liverpool side of it. Whoever starts in the front three, if they turn up, Liverpool win the game because they're just exceptional players. We've seen that in the past. I think Liverpool have the slight edge. Chelsea will have confidence themselves but this is one of the best Liverpool squads I've ever seen."
𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝'𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛𝐬 🏴
Ahead of the League Cup final this weekend, @oilysailor sifts through the data to consider which football club should be considered the most successful in England.
So who is it?... #MUFC #LFC #MCFC #THFC #AFC #CFC
— The Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) February 25, 2022
Liverpool pile pressure on City
Fowler also weighed in on the Reds' renewed Premier League title charge after they closed the gap on leaders Manchester City to just three points following a 6-0 win against Leeds United on Wednesday, adding that the form of both teams has set up a scintillating run-in.
"Four [or] five weeks ago everyone was writing Liverpool off," he said. "The Africa Cup of Nations – [Mohamed] Salah and [Sadio] Mané going away for it – people were thinking Liverpool were maybe going to fall away. If anything, they improved a little bit. Then the players came back and it's like they've never been away. Potentially, Liverpool are a hair width away from being able to win it, but they've got to play Man City, they've got a great manager, but it's in each clubs' hands now because they have to play each other. Whatever Liverpool do, you can see City going on a great run, get the amount of points that they probably need. But it's the makings of a real humdinger for the remainder of the season."
Tüchel: Liverpool slight favourites to lift EFL Carabao Cup
Russia invasion of Ukraine | Tuchel says Abramovich situation is 'distracting' for Chelsea
Copa Liga inglesa
Robbie Fowler
Estadio Wembley
Football leagues
EUROPEAN SUPER LEAGUEWhat are the 10 principles of the European Super League?


A lot of people — mostly non-Mormons — seem to think that the recent General Conference prayer given by a woman proves it's only a matter of time before the Church starts ordaining women to the Priesthood. The most frequent comparison is to when the Church began giving the Priesthood to men who were not white; the claim is that just as that was inevitable, so is it inevitable that women will receive the Priesthood.
Thus far in all available scriptural records of which I am aware, God has not given the priesthood to a single woman.
Since we know gender is an essential characteristic of an individual's eternal identity and purpose, while a person's skin color is not, we must conclude that if God has only ever given the Priesthood to men, then the Priesthood has something to do with the male gender's eternal identity and purpose. I do not believe God does anything arbitrarily or without purpose.
I think some mention of the divine role of women is important in this kind of discussion. Women are primarily responsible for the nurturing of children. This fact cannot be argued with, as biologically only women can nurture a fetus to become a living baby, and the same woman has the ability to feed that infant through nursing. The LDS church believes that the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth is still in place, so women have a lot of responsibility and work to do. I believe that this fundamental nature of women is the reason why we are not given additional responsibilities of priesthood authority and administration. If anyone wants to talk about how it's not fair that women are not given the priesthood, I ask "Is it fair that a man cannot gestate?".


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Principles Book
INNOVATEMAP.COM
Christian Beck Executive Design Partner
Anna Eaglin Principal Product Partner
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Better Product
Better Product Weekly: On Not Reacting Too Quickly with Kirsten Moorefield
What happens when the extended free trial runs out? Do you upsell or convert to paid? Is now the right time to push for the conversion?
In this Better Product Weekly, Anna and Christian are discussing the 'peak week' concerns many product leaders have with Kirsten Moorefield, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Cloverleaf.
The key points of discussion include how product companies are adapting development roadmaps, marketing messaging, and overall company forecasts.
We're curious to know, what opportunities for your product exist now that didn't? How are you reacting?
Join the community to discuss: https://betterproduct.community/
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Episode Transcription
Anna Eaglin:
Well, Christian, it's week three of Better Product Weekly and week three of what's going on in the world.
Christian Beck:
Well, actually, have I been home for three weeks? Who knows, three weeks, three years, four years. Did you see that Cleveland, that news from Cleveland where she cuts, I think, is the weatherman. She was like, "Nobody knows what day it is. Let's go check in with what day it is." Did you see that?
No, I didn't.
Oh, it's hilarious. She's like, "I can't tell. What day is it?" It just cuts to the weatherman in front of a giant screen. It just says, "Monday. It's Monday." Anyway, that's how I feel.
Helpful.
I know this is our third episode. I don't know how long I've been home, but it feels like forever.
Yeah. Agree.
But we've been talking a lot about peaking with the coronavirus and all that stuff. It's starting to feel like we're talking to some people, they can sort of see that maybe there's an insight even though we still don't know what it is, but I don't know that it's necessarily changing anybody's strategy right now. I think everybody's still kind of figuring out what to do with all this. What's one thing that stuck out to you from the world of product this week from your conversations or from clients you've been working with?
I think one thing I saw this week, we were talking about in our kind of internal Slack on Innovatemap is that some of these free trials are starting to come [inaudible 00:01:27], and so I think people initially were getting out there, extending features. We're starting to see them stop and trying to convert people to pay or to upselling. It's wondering is that the right thing to do right now? It seems like it's probably the right thing to do for businesses. They now need to start converting some of these customers, and you need to get back and get more people paying again. But it's a interesting time to be asking people for money. I don't know. What are your thoughts about [inaudible 00:01:56].
No, I hadn't totally noticed that, but I know several people on our team have noticed those trials. I thought about it and thought, "I mean, maybe they all started, what, I guess three or four weeks ago, and so now, they're starting to come up." Hopefully, some of them are extending. It is tough. I think it's hard too. We talked to Darien, who's an early-stage founder, and he was talking about the balance of knowing that you have something to offer and you owe it to people to talk about that. I'm trying to be, oddly, like I'm trying to be more empathetic to the sales and marketing people that are out there trying to figure out when is the right time to reach out. Even though for you, you just got like the 70th email of the day and so you get kind of short. It's just more people trying to do their job.
I think my biggest thing is when people take the time to talk to me directly and authentically rather than me getting the email that feels automated, which I realize is not new feedback. That's been something you should always be aware, but right now, if you're not saying something personal, then I just don't even have time. But if you mention something personal about my business or me or show that you put any thought into it, I'll react a little bit differently to it. With the trials, I think people extending them, getting them to stay on longer is also good.
No, I think that makes sense. It's, I think, that connection of "I'm a business, you're a business, we kind of do our thing, and we can make money." I think that's fair.
The other thing that I... so I wrote this on LinkedIn, which quick plug for myself on LinkedIn and yourself just because it's an easy way to get in touch with either of us. Christian Beck, Innovatemap. Anna Eaglin, Innovatemap. That should be enough to find us on there to connect. You can also email us podcast@innovatemap.com as well if you have any thoughts, suggestions, or reactions to this.
But open to the connections on there too, and you'll see, I try to write a little bit more. I think there's one change I've made since being home and I've got more time as is trying to write, at least share a little bit more on LinkedIn. I wrote something earlier this week just reacting to, I think, one of the tougher parts of this era is people getting let go, companies having to let entire product teams go or let entire feature teams go. It's been hard to watch, hard to hear colleagues, and then talking to new grads coming out into this, so I was trying to figure out what could I say that's meaningful.
The thing that I kept thinking about was that this isn't a permanent thing, even though it sucks right now and that it's not assigned that tech isn't valued or, for my perspective, design isn't valued. It's just people all across the board unfortunately be losing jobs: sales, marketing, product, design, research. It can be tempting to think as you lose your job to think, "Oh, see research isn't... I got let go."
You want to fight against that thinking. Right now companies are just trying to figure out how to even make it through, but I don't think there's any larger, almost like indictment of product going on right now. It's just every company is just having to make do, but product is going to be just as or more important once this starts correcting itself.
I think it's a good point, and it ties to some of the things I think we're hearing people say when it's important to the anguish between micro patterns that are just happening today, they're happening because of the situation that we're in versus these more longterm sustainable changes that are going to take place. I think digital transformation and having a digital strategy and being accessible to your markets, that is a huge theme and trend, and we are going to see that continue beyond this quarantine, beyond coronavirus going forward because now once you set people's expectations in a certain way, that's not going to change. But I agree with you. I think some of these, like seeing design teams letting go, seeing researchers letting go, product teams, innovation teams at that, I think that's just more of a kind of a micro shift of a struggling economy and not necessarily a longterm change.
Yeah. Well, actually, as you were talking, I was thinking one of the examples that shows the almost counterintuitiveness of this state is Toast, the company that makes point-of-sales hardware and software for restaurants and helps you do delivery. I saw a headline for them thinking, "Oh, man, they've got to be killing it," but the headline was actually someone from my network showing that they'd laid off a lot of their other team.
That was so weird to me because I've got friends who run or work at restaurants, and they're looking to Toast to help give them a lifeline. Here you have one company that's uniquely positioned to help save some people, but that company itself is also struggling because, of course, a lot of the restaurants are going under too. Anyway, it's just it was a weird contrast for me to see toast, for my friend who owns a restaurant, is like, "This thing seems like it could be perfect. Let's get this set up," and so I'm working to help them get it set up. That same company on the other side is really hurting too, and that's really what we're seeing all over is from one perspective you may feel like sky's falling, and then from the other lens, it's like that's the thing that saving me. I think that contrast has gotten really in front of my face this week.
This week, we're talking to Kirsten Moorefield, co-founder and chief operating officer of Cloverleaf. Thanks for joining us today, Kirsten.
Kirsten Moorefield:
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
Just to start off, could you tell us really quickly what does Cloverleaf do?
We're a SaaS platform that builds high performing teams, and what that means depends on who we're talking to. To every entry level, to CEO, every employee inside an organization, we have an automated coaching platform, and we use a lot of psychometric data to know exactly how do you work your best, how do you think your best, what are conflict triggers? We send out tips on that, which then generates even more psychometric data that boils up to the enterprise to help people make better decisions when they're trying to think about some of the big tough ones: employee engagement, career succession planning, those larger workforce questions that people have.
Obviously, helping people make big decisions, keeping the workforce engaged. What's been the most challenging thing about the last three weeks? I mean, professionally, of course. Personally, I think we're all in a tailspin, but I'm really curious, professionally, what's been the big issues in dealing with that Cloverleaf?
The irony of it all is we've been dealing with the exact same team issues that everyone else is dealing with right now, which is how do you stay motivated, how do you stay really well-connected, how do you just push through this time when everyone is very distracted, and just trying to figure out how to work in a totally different way? Really, honestly, nothing new. Same as everybody else, which is ironic because our platform is built for exactly solving those problems.
Has it made you become more empathetic to the people that you're serving? Has it had any effect on that or how you view your own product?
It's actually been really encouraging for our whole team to realize that some of the things that we're feeling and struggling with are not unique to us. We're getting product feedback from people that's saying exactly the same things that we're saying about our own life, and people are telling us our product is helping them, which is actually just a good motivational booster for our people.
What was the... I'm trying to think of how to best ask this because I don't want to say what was the first thing you did differently because I don't know... Well, I'll ask that. This kind of crept up on everybody, and then it was like... I don't know, it just felt like a tidal wave, but what was the first change or something differently that you started doing, but from the product perspective of your approach to your customers once it started?
The biggest thing that we've changed is actually not so much product, but it's more around messaging, so in customer success, in product marketing, and in overall marketing. We have a unique data set. It's almost like a metric. It's like we have unique information on how do people manage change based on their individual personality. We have information on how can you stay motivated, and that's unique to a lot of different people. We've just started to focus on messaging and offering free support in terms of kind of like free consulting that we can do from customer success, things like that.
Really, honestly, product roadmap-wise, we had a lot of initial big conversations and decided not to react quickly and not to whiplash our team even though that sounds a bit ironic because literally the whole world has changed, so staying the course may sound unwise, and we really debated that a lot internally, but we decided, really, what we're doing and what we're already building doesn't need to change. Just more how we present it to people is what's helpful to change.
Part of that though is also because one of our top three criteria in terms of target market has always been remote teams, so that does definitely change the situation to where we don't have to rapidly change what our product does. We actually, if anything, have just become more valuable with all of this.
I want to ask one followup too. You said you decided not to react quickly on the product standpoint. We've had internal discussions at our own agency to figure out what are we going to change, what are we going to pivot? We had a lot of discussions. I know a lot of other product teams are doing that. What was that process like for you? I mean, that seems simple now to say that, but I'm sure there's a lot of discussion looking at different things. How did you come to that conclusion to figure out, "Let's not make a bunch of changes." Walk us through that process.
A lot of it actually to do with some larger opportunities that we already have in the pipeline that are not changed with everything happening in the world, so there's real revenue tied to some of the things that we're already doing. Also, we have a fantastic CTO who is very steady, and whereas myself and my co founder are quite entrepreneurial and sometimes see new shiny objects, he's always like the lighthouse to our crazy rocky seashore that we can go on.
Really, the conversations were at first just, "Hey, what are new things that we're seeing?" and then our CTO really pushing back on us and saying... just asking really good, hard critical questions. Then also just some feedback from existing users on what is helpful right now and how they see us being essential in this time of change and crisis and realizing what we have is... what would we are building even in the next six months is actually spot-on what the world is going to be needing in the next six months.
But all that to say, we did actually launch our Slack integration serendipitously at the perfect time. We had built a new feature specifically for remote teams, and it launched like the week that everyone started going remote, which was just perfect. The only thing we really changed around that was just wording and talking about isolation and talking about connectivity. That has actually prompted us to expedite our Microsoft Teams integration. We don't have that one fully fleshed out yet, and with, I think in one week, mid-March 12 million people became active on Microsoft Teams that had never used it before. That data definitely made us say, "Okay, we should expedite that one part of our product roadmap immediately," but other than that, our CTO has really held us steady to not be reactionary.
That's good. He's probably also not wanting to spin up building a bunch of new stuff too, so that's a good level had to have in there, I'm imagining.
It sounds like maybe you're making some small tactical changes, like you said, the Microsoft Teams integration, but overall you're staying the course path that you were on. It sounds like one of the ways that you validated that was by being in close contact with customers. During this [inaudible 00:14:11] you tried to stay in contact with customers, and how have you made sure that you're moving along with them to continue to support them during what's going on?
A lot of that comes from customer success, so our customer success managers reaching out to people and specifically offering help. We also created some free resources on how to navigate change. We've put up some webinars, things like that. Again, really just marketing, product marketing, and customer success specific messaging. Then that has opened up the door to those conversations with our customers about, "Hey, what's really happening with you right now? What is specifically the help that you need?" and then, of course, like I said, we also launched our Slack integration, so with that, we've set up some follow up interviews with some users on how's that going. Really, just typical stuff that we would do anyway, but then also just specifically targeted and tailored around what's happening right now in the world.
What have you been tweaking on the messaging side? How are you figuring out... Are you testing it? Are you figuring out what's working? Are you experimenting? What does that look like?
We have built out some product guides, basically just blogs or low-burn content that we've created, and then we're watching what are people saying about it, how many people are using those pages, things like that. Then that helps us understand what is it that people are actually needing and caring about right now. Then that helps direct us. It's always measuring or balancing that qualitative and quantitative data. Some of it has been actual conversations with people, and some of it has been creating content and seeing what people react to in the data.
Have you found it hard to stay above the noise that's out there now with so many people reaching out?
Okay, yeah, that's a really good question. I'm really glad you asked that. We, like week one of the world shutting down, made an intentional decision we will never talk about COVID-19, quarantine, any of those things because so many people who are at all related to health are now saying, "Hey, we're doing a COVID-19 webinar on something that has nothing to do with anything you've ever heard about from us."
We've been really intentional to just say maybe a half a sentence to one full maximum, one sentence about, "Hey, we understand this is happening in this time," whether it's, "Hey, maybe you're feeling isolated," or, "Maybe your team's working remote for the first time ever," that type of stuff, and then we just move on to you, to talk about you, what do you need, what's happening in your life. We've gotten a lot of really terrible messaging saying, "Hey, COVID-19, blah, blah, blah, so our values at our company that you don't care about are blah, blah, blah."
That's basically what I'm hearing in my head when I see those emails too. You bring up a good point too. We've even thought about, it's like, "What's your place in your own messaging?" I mean, sometimes you're directly related to it, but most times, you're not addressing it, moving on, but keeping the focus on you and how you're doing rather than yourself.
Marketing is never about the company. It's always about the user, the audience. The best marketing should be, at least.
Well, that is really wise words to leave off on. Thank you so much for taking time out to join us on this episode. Really appreciate your insights, Kirsten, and hope you all stay healthy and stay well.
That was Kirsten Moorefield, the CEO and co-founder of Cloverleaf, with some great insights. I know what my favorite point was that she made, Anna. What was yours?
For me, this is becoming a big theme. It's deciding not to shift the product, but shift the messaging specifically. I really like this, and I think we started to hear a couple of product people say this. It's not that they're going to immediately change what they're building, but they're going to talk about it differently. They're going to talk about how they relate to their customers differently. Very much a shift in the positioning and the messaging of how they're talking about the product and how they're talking to customers right now. I love that because it's a lot more agile than changing the backlog.
I think it's good too that she was even self-aware to know that she and the CEO are always wanting to do new things, and they are balanced by someone else too. I think it also speaks to the value of having a well-rounded team to make those decisions so you don't follow that and get too spun in different directions.
But yeah, no, I think you hit it well, and I think she... I really appreciate her saying it, and I hope people see that. I mean, honestly through this time, it's not as if all of humanity changed. I mean, we're all going to need roughly the same things we're going to need. It just so happens that, as she mentioned, they were already hitting on some of those values that became more valuable before, and so they just kept doing that. I think you don't look at this and just say, "Oh, we're just going to totally change everything. You just might change the way you talk about it." Yeah, I hear... I think that was really important.
I think related, the point that I had marked down for myself was just the decision not to react quickly. It's a hard thing to do because you feel like as things are moving fast, you need to react quickly, and you almost... I don't know. For me, I almost felt like over the last month, it's like if I'm not making decisions really fast, I'm not keeping up, but there's almost a slow and steadiness that's required where you need to back up and not change with every new change because it can be almost catastrophic to your product to just constantly be whipping back and forth.
Yeah. It reminds me a [inaudible 00:19:41] at Innovatemap, we have a daily inspiration channel that people have been sharing things in, and it's been really great, but something that our colleague Austin shared today that I really liked is this quote. I can't even remember the person, so I can't cite it appropriately except that Austin found it on Twitter. It was that fear is a feeling, but afraid is like an action and that you can feel fear, but to then act based on your fear is a decision that you make. I think I like this idea of you can feel the fear of wanting to react but then not doing that is a very clear decision to say, "I'm going to wait and see how this goes."
I love it, and I, while you were talking, pulled it up. Jon Acuff, A-C-U-F-F, I don't know if that's a hard A or a soft A. Jon Acuff said it on Twitter. That's the citation on that great quote. But I think it's a great way to wrap-
Well said, Jon.
Well said, Jon. Yeah, great way to wrap up this episode too because I think we kind of wrapped all this thing up about not reacting too quickly and figuring out how to filter all the stuff that's going on. That up this week's episode. I hope this conversation provided you with another fresh perspective to tackle the week ahead.
Hopefully, Kirsten shared some things that maybe you were already witnessing, but with a new lens on it. Again, if you're looking for a community to lean on during this, I highly recommend, if you haven't already, go to betterproduct.community and sign up to be a part of this growing community to product leaders.
The Better Product Community really started in Indianapolis where we're based, but we've been branching out a lot lately. Kirsten's from Cincinnati, so we're really starting to welcome more people and products that are wanting to lean on people even outside of their day-to-day to learn from and to share with. Please check out that. Also, look for me and Anna on LinkedIn. If you want to connect, we welcome that. Thanks for listening. We'll be back next week with another episode. Oh, I'm Christian Beck. Or I say-
And I'm Anna Eaglin.
... Christian. Do we say last names?
Say Christian.
We never say last names. God.
I'm Christian.
And I'm Anna, and this has been Better Product.
Weekly.
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Maybes, and memories, and the meaning of being two-thirds. AsuKakaKure, 328 spoilers.
Category: Naruto - Rating: PG - Genres: Drama - Characters: Asuma, Genma, Kakashi, Kurenai - Warnings: [!!!] - Published: 2006-10-24 - Updated: 2006-10-24 - 2921 words - Complete
Manga 328 spoilers ahead. Be warned.
Edit November 6th, 2006: I appear to have done this without realizing I was doing it at the time, so let me note that the final scene borrows significant inspiration and a paraphrased quote from "Hero", an episode from Joss Whedon's TV series /Angel/, season 1. I haven't watched said episode since its original TV airdate several years ago, so I apologize for not recognizing my borrowing sooner.
ANYWAY. Onto the original material. Sorry, not done talking to you yet, LOL...
Before I begin my long-winded author's ramble, let me note that this fic leans heavily on both backstory created by Kilerkki in her story Festivities, and some created jointly with Kilerkki and Iamzuul for the RPG Scarlet Spiral; without their inspiration and mad writing skillz I would probably never have dreamed this up in the first place, so thanks, guys. And with that said...
This is probably very pathetic of me, but for three or four days I haven't been able to sleep very well. Starting from the day I heard talk about the newest manga chapter, one that was out but we hadn't gotten the raws for yet -- I had a string of very wonderful days where I got go to out sightseeing and having fun with my friends, and then when I laid down to sleep... suddenly my heart was pounding and I was worrying about Asuma. I read the chapter itself with next to no emotion at all (save some minor glee at emotional messing-up of Shikamaru, coughcough), but when I went to bed that night, I couldn't stop thinking about it with a kind of horrified fascination, wondering how his friends and family would react, what they'd say... trying, perhaps on their behalf and perhaps not, to make sense of a Narutoverse without Asuma in it.
So in summation, I guess you can say I've been in mourning for a fictional character for the last few days.
I don't honestly feel Kishimoto made a good decision with this particular turn in the plot; it stings all the more because there was basically no purpose to it. After some time has passed, and this string of chapters is finished and the shock of it has faded, I don't personally think I will keep writing about a Narutoverse where Asuma is dead, because it doesn't make much sense to me. But the fact remains that for canon Asuma, this is the end of the road. There will be no more history; there will be no more restaurant trips for his students, or saving the day for Kakashi, or flowers for Kurenai. No matter how much we pretend or wish otherwise -- all of a sudden -- this is it. Time's up. Bye bye.
So here's to a man that raised some very fine students, and did some very fine work, and did it with style.
sym-metry 'simətri
/n.,/ 1. An exact match between parts of a whole. 2. The quality of being similar or equal.
The first day he spent at home.
The message came a little past noon, just after Naruto had gotten up from a hurried lunch to resume training. He and Yamato were perched in their respective positions, kage bunshin beginning to poof into existence again all over the clearing, when a messenger bird swooped by to drop a scroll at their feet.
"For you," Yamato noted with a distracted glance at the writing on the front, hands already forming seals.
Kakashi collected it with a frown; opened it up; glanced at it; and did an admirable job of not really swaying on his feet when his heart stopped.
The other two were both looking at him.
"....I think... we'll have to call it a day," he managed after a moment, shoving Icha Icha Tactics into his hip pouch and rolling up the scroll slowly. Yamato rose from his place with a frown.
"Kakashi-senpai, did something happen? Have you been summoned for a mission, or--"
He couldn't quite convince any further words to exit his mouth, so Kakashi simply shoved the death notice into the other ANBU's hands and turned to go, absently making seals.
"Oi, Kakashi-sensei! What about my training!?"
He barely registered the words as he teleported away.
The inside of his apartment was empty with midday silence and full with midday sun. He stood in the center of the room for a few moments and thought of nothing at all, looking blankly at Ukki-kun resting on the far windowsill, leaves turned toward the warm rays outside.
Kakashi was cold.
At last he half-sat, half-collapsed down onto the slightly dusty wooden floor, leaning back against the side of the bed and running a slightly shaking hand through his hair; and he took a deep breath and finally registered that he was crying, but couldn't quite manage to be as disturbed by that fact as he ought to have been. He tugged down his mask and his hitai-ate and wiped the back of his hand over his damp face, and blinked down at the floor, and sat there.
If he concentrated, he could keep himself from sobbing, which was good enough for now.
Something in his chest hurt.
One December when Kakashi was around seventeen, Sarutobi Asuma happened to pass his family home while Kakashi was doing New Year's cleaning. They had been taking ANBU missions together for a few months, but outside things like age and rank and what brand of beer they each liked, neither had yet learned anything very personal about the other. Kakashi had not spent a New Year's with another human being in three years -- not since Kyuubi; not since Sensei -- and there must have been something supremely pitiful about watching his partner clean the old Hatake house alone and in silence, because Asuma turned up on Kakashi's doorstep New Year's Eve with a bowl of New Year's noodles (his own home cooking) and his usual irrepressible grin. Kakashi mostly remembered it because halfway through the visit Asuma had promised he'd come again next year, and for a split second Kakashi's whole world had stopped--
--Just like that.
Asuma came back the next year, and the year after, and the next, and the next; and eventually Kurenai started coming with him, and Genma and Raidou and Anko and their friends; and they made it a tradition, the lot of them.
The second day he spent at Kurenai's.
He woke up atop the wooden floorboards that morning and observed that time had not, in fact, ceased to flow; and after a while at least gave some thought to eating and changing his clothes; and eventually got up to do the latter and neglect the former. He stood in front of his closet for a little while after he'd pulled on his shirt, looking at a swirl-patterned green yukata sleeve that stood out garishly amidst the rows of navy and black uniforms, and then realized there was somewhere he needed to be.
Strangely enough, when he knocked on the door, she was there to answer it -- all rumpled hair and dark, dried-blood eyes and smeared makeup, and a passerby-on-the-road, stranger-in-the-elevator look on her pale bedraggled face. He padded inside just enough to close the door behind him (it was cloudy outside, and the October air was starting to grow a little cool) and they stood there for a beat or three, just looking at each other.
He buried his face in her hair after she threw herself against his chest, and they stood there pressed together and silent for a very long time.
When at last they got around to untangling from each other, he looked down at her, and she looked up at him, and Kakashi realized that, as usual, he had absolutely no idea what to say.
He supposed she felt the same from the helpless way she started to laugh.
One summer when Kakashi was around seventeen, Asuma and Kurenai dragged him to a festival. A mission they'd expected to last a week had only required a couple days, and so with some time to spare and some festivities to take advantage of, they'd opted to stay the night and enjoy themselves. Kakashi hadn't expected to find much merit in having to navigate a thick herd of people, bright lights, and strong smells without getting paid for it; but in the end they'd all gorged themselves on rich festival food, played a few games, bought some alcohol, and returned to their inn to get thoroughly drunk and kind-of-accidentally have a threesome. Though he was utterly mortified (and distinctly headachey) upon awakening the next morning, once he'd had some time to calm down, even Kakashi had to admit that overall it had been a very enjoyable evening. Next time they even tried it without the booze -- though that was another story entirely.
The third day he spent at Asuma's.
He didn't quite remember the end of the day before, and he didn't quite remember getting there; he had a key to Asuma's place, and it was laying on the dresser, and he was laying on Asuma's bed, face pressed against Asuma's pillow, clutching a sweatshirt that had been hiding amid the rumpled mess of unmade sheets. It was cloudy white-sky afternoon outside Asuma's window. He wasn't sure how long he had been sleeping there--
"Oi... Kakashi?"
But he did know why he'd woken up.
He didn't bother moving, or opening his eyes again, as Genma padded into the room. He didn't have to look to know the other man was standing over him now, probably gazing down at his bare face and worrying about his mental state, or whether he'd eaten or hurt himself or some other odd thing his friends were always kind enough to worry about on his behalf, even if he didn't know why they bothered.
Asuma was always saying that. You're too freaking skinny, you don't eat enough, moron. And more recently, You're so freaking skinny, Ino'd be jealous of you, moron. Get some tips from Chouji.
Maybe he should've eaten something yesterday.
"Kakashi, I know you're awake, man."
"Wasn't pretending to be asleep," he mumbled back, eyes still closed. If he turned over enough to look Genma in the face, Genma would be on his Sharingan side anyway, and that was no good; didn't want to startle him.
A sigh. He felt the bedsprings give a little as Genma sat down. He was probably looking away now, maybe at the bookshelf on the other side of the room, or the framed pictures on the dresser. One of them was Asuma's little brother; one of them was a bunch of drunken Jounin from some Halloween party; one of them was Asuma and Kurenai. Kakashi remembered because he had taken that one for them. They'd been out at the park, celebrating Kurenai's promotion together over lunch, and she'd just bought herself a new camera...
"Kakashi... what are you doing here?" Genma wondered gently.
Kakashi took in a deep breath, and shrugged a little. It felt a terrible effort at the moment to move his lips. Troublesome, Asuma's boy would've said.
He's a little like you, y'know? Well... like you if you were a total lazyass who didn't give a shit about anything... No, really -- I'm telling you, he's got your kinda brains. If I can smack some motivation into the little bugger, he'll be Konoha's trump card one day.
Then he'd stopped to take a drag off his cigarette, and they'd moved on to complaining about Ino and Sakura.
"Smells like him here," Kakashi murmured.
He didn't know what Genma's face looked like right now, and he couldn't imagine.
They sat there for a while with those words hanging in the air and nothing to replace them, and eventually Kakashi let out a quiet little sigh, and rolled over a bit and cracked one scarred crimson eye to glance out at Genma from underneath the lashes.
"You're missing the funeral, you know," Genma said, looking back at him.
Kakashi just blinked.
"So are you."
A one-armed shrug from Genma. "Sure. But whether I'm there or not doesn't make so much difference to Kurenai."
"Kurenai?" It was sort of a humorous thought, and Kakashi gave a little sniff of a laugh, lips quirking. "If the Five Kages themselves all showed up, she wouldn't notice right now."
"Don't think she'd give a shit about the Five Kages, but she'd probably rest easier if you were there..."
Kakashi shook his head a little, gaze drifting off toward the far wall. Everything had a not-quite-real feel to it, from the look on Genma's face to the clouds outside the window -- like he could reach out and touch them right now, and underneath his fingers there'd be white cotton; and the moon was really made of cheese and when he woke up the next morning, he'd be home by himself and Asuma wouldn't be dead.
"There's only one person she'll be looking for," he said, lips curling again in a half-not-smile.
For a while the silence went unbroken, save by a flock of birds that swept briefly across the white patch of window and were gone. Kakashi felt Genma rise from his place on the bed again, and let his eye fall closed.
"I hear Naruto's been asking after you," Genma said finally. "Guess he and Tenzou are gonna try to start up training again tomorrow. Tenzou said he could get an ANBU buddy to sub for you, so."
A beat or three of silence.
"Take care of yourself... okay? I'll come see you later."
It occured to Kakashi that he didn't really appreciate his friends enough, as Genma padded away through the bedroom doorway and went to let himself out of Asuma's apartment. Kakashi opened his eyes a little when he heard the front door close, and looked down at Asuma's rumpled sweatshirt resting against his chest, and sighed.
"Stupid bastard," he mumbled. "I was supposed to go first."
Then he rose and wandered off to find a change of clothes, so he could go be there for Kurenai to not-notice him.
Fuck, Kakashi, you'd be late to your own funeral, wouldn't you?
It was true, too.
"I'm not saying I'll do a good job of it or anything," he murmured as he locked the apartment door, hands fumbling a little, "but... I'll try and keep an eye on her... okay?"
He had to stop for a moment after he'd finished and clutch the doorknob with both hands, and take a deep breath, and convince the shaking to go away as much as he could.
"I'll... keep an eye on her," he told the door, and shoved Asuma's key in his pocket and turned around and walked back down the hallway away from Asuma's room, fighting the urge to go back with every single step.
One autumn when Kakashi was around seventeen, he realized he was kind of in a relationship, which was scary as hell, especially because there were three people, but also kind of fun, especially because there were three people. He was reasonably certain that even discounting the odd number, theirs was not the way normal people went about kind-of having a relationship -- there was probably supposed to be more talking about things besides missions, and more romance, or something... at least if movies and novels could be trusted... but normal generally refused to come anywhere within fifty feet of Kakashi, so that particular aspect didn't really bother him. What was important was that Sarutobi Asuma was important, and Yuuhi Kurenai was important, and they, apparently, thought he was important, or something, and... and he trusted that if he knocked on one of their doors at three in the morning, they wouldn't even ask any questions, they'd just let him inside. Well, Asuma might throw things, but he could duck them. And that was... overall, it...
It was different, was what it was.
Things never stayed. They never, ever stayed -- you shouldn't let yourself get so attached, he'd always thought, tried to remind himself ever since Sensei and Rin and Obito and-- everyone went away in the end, he got them hurt and he got them killed and he was never good enough and they went away but -- but this time--
It would just be nice if--
Just for a little while--
They could just--
"Hold still, would you? You're in the perfect spot already--"
"I'm sitting on a rock, Kakashi, gimme a sec-- there, okay, come on. Hey, Kurenai!"
"I've been waiting on /you/, silly. Does my hair look okay?"
"Just fine, promise. This one's the zoom button, right?"
"Yeah, and the lighting thing is on the side... okay, are we ready? Asuma?"
"Let's get this over with."
"Aww, so unenthused. Er... Guess I should move my hitai-ate first... There we go. Okay..."
"Asuma. I'm warning you. No rabbit ears."
"Damn, busted!"
"Hah, all right... one, two, three..."
"Cheese!"
A pause, a bright flash of light, and three contented smiles.
".....He made rabbit ears, didn't he."
"I guess you'll find out later when you develop the pictures, won't she, Asuma~"
"I think I hate you."
"Hate me all you want, darling. In fact, hate Asuma too. Your angry look is kinda hot~"
"Ugh... you two."
A pair of grins, and an annoyed sniff; and for a moment, a pause. And then the click of a lighter.
"Ah, there's my cigs... so... Is that it?" There's laughter in his voice.
"Are we done?"


Awwhh fall – the season of changing leaves, apple cider, and flannel. Beautiful time of year. Unless, of course, you happen to live in the desert. Then, fall is just plain strange.
Two weekends ago, most of our neighbors spread a thin layer of poop all over their front lawns. (Poop!) They called it "fertilizing the over-seed". I called it an absurd amount of bull-crap. Also, that Saturday was – apparently – the only day of the year to do such a thing, as everyone coordinated their efforts perfectly; the entire city has smelled like western-Nebraska ever since.
Secondly, nearly every home in our neighborhood is already decorated for Halloween. Does that seem strange to anyone else? I distinctly remember that, when I was younger, my mom would bust out the Halloween decorations right about the same time I would come up with a costume… you know… on Halloween morning. When did Halloween become seasonal?
I don't know about you, but I need some tacos. Lots of tacos. Tacos stuffed with grilled corn, cilantro, and cotija. Carne asada, grilled over mesquite, to counteract the stench of "fall". Tacos, served with beers, to fend off all the crazy that's going around.
1 jalapeno, stem and seeds removed, finely chopped.
In a blender, combine all the carne asada ingredients (less the steak, of course). Blend until smooth.
Place the skirt steak in a dish (or large plastic bag) and cover with the marinade. Cover the dish (or close the bag) and let marinate, in the fridge, at least 2 hours (5-6 is best, but don't marinate overnight, as the citrus juice will make the meat mushy).
Pre-heat a grill, grill pan, or broiler to high heat.
For the corn, rub the cobs with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cook the corn, turning occasionally, for 12-15 minutes or until slightly charred. Grill the limes as well, cut-side down, until slightly charred, ~3 minutes. Cut the corn off of the cob, and toss with the shallot, jalapeno, cilantro, and the juice from the grilled lime. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Cook the steak, 4-5 minutes on each side (for medium). Remove from the heat and let rest at least 5 minutes. Slice the meat against the grain and then chop the slices into small pieces.


Dogs and cats have different nutritional needs to each other and to humans. There are some amazing natural oils for dog health and the first that comes to mind is coconut oil. It's good for cats too. But are there any benefits of evening primrose oil for our beloved pets? It seems there are.
For cats, evening primrose oil can be helpful if their coats are dull or if they have itchy and flaky skin such as in allergic reactions. Cats can't convert linoleic acid (LA) into gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) which they need in small quantities. Supplementing with evening primrose oil can supply the GLA necessary for skin and coat improvement. It can also help with hormonal imbalances.
Why evening primrose oil for dogs?
Evening Primrose Oil can provide relief to dogs who suffer from atopic dermatitis. GLA supplementation is good for their coats, skin and digestive tract. It also helps with skin infections, chronic ear infections and joint problems like swelling and arthritis because it is anti-inflammatory.
To be really effective for skin and coat disorders, evening primrose oil needs to be combined with other natural oils for dog health. Fish oil is an excellent choice because it contains omega-3 fatty acids, which are also anti-inflammatory and helpful for improving the condition of their hair and skin.
Fish oil supplementation is frequently used as a preventative measure against various diseases and conditions in both dogs and cats, including cancer, diabetes and heart disease. It has even been suggested as a treatment for calming overly aggressive dogs.
Cats also benefit from a tablespoon of fish oil daily in combination with a blend of evening primrose and borage oils.
Caution: if your dog has epilepsy or seizures, do not supplement with evening primrose oil.
Can I give Organic Evening Pimrose Oil to my dog even if the bottle I have is not specifically for dogs?
Yes, that should be ok. We suggest you try adding a few drops to his/her food or water.
Great! Thanks so much for sharing Sana.


text:
Iron Giant: Up close with Kuratas, the $1.4 million, 4-ton mech robot
By Jeff Blagdon and Sam Byford
Dec 3, 2012, 7:19 PM UTC |
"When I was a kid, I thought there were going to be giant robots in the future. But no matter how long I waited, people were only able to make small robots, like Asimo. Eventually, I thought 'I can't wait anymore,' and set out to make one myself." Kogoro Kurata is the designer and blacksmith behind the gargantuan 4-ton mech standing in front of me. Named after its creator, Kuratas is the product of nearly three years of forging, hammering, and coding. The robot's expressionless face towers over the crowd atop its 13-foot frame. I picture its diesel-powered hydraulic arms ripping apart the building's steel girders.
Steel is Kurata's specialty, both for his day job as a blacksmith, and for his "hobby." Inspired by the plastic models from a 1980s anime series called Votoms, he initially got noticed for building a life-sized steel model of one of the program's Armored Troopers. His next project was a natural extension. "I made Kuratas wondering 'what would it be like if this thing actually moved?'"
To that end he recruited Wataru Yoshizaki, now a second-year doctoral student, whose V-Sido software powers the robot's 30 hydraulic actuators. He's also responsible for its multiple onboard weapons systems (like the smile-activated BB gatling gun), requisite iPhone connectivity, and a robotic hand that's controlled with what looks like a Nintendo Power Glove. The two came to know one another online, and when Kurata learned how much of the student's work could be applied to his own project, he extended an invitation: "How would you like to control my robot?" Less than two years later, the pair were showing off their first working prototype.
"It's funny to see the panicked emails come in from people abroad, saying they thought it was a joke."
Suidobashi Heavy Industry is the name that Kurata operates under, believing that establishing a company would be the first step toward mass production. The group first gained attention back in July when it opened a website letting people order their own custom mechs, starting from the low price of $1.35 million. The team has received over 3,000 orders both in Japan and overseas, but so far all the customers have backed out before paying. "It's funny to see the panicked emails come in from people abroad, saying they thought it was a joke," says Kurata.
Luckily, Suidobashi isn't expecting to turn a profit anytime soon; the blacksmith has said that only people who think profits are a waste of time are fit for his team. The man in charge also has another advantage of sorts: all of the money that has gone into Kuratas is his, so no one is beholden to the whims of financial sponsors. He explains that "it takes money to make things, and it takes money to borrow more money. My thinking was that if I paid for the whole thing myself I could get it done more cheaply."
"It's built for people to ride in and have fun with."
Building the robot took a lot of trial and error. Rather than start with engineering diagrams, Kurata's starting point was a series of scale models. When it came time to start the build, the artist found that he didn't know very much about electronics or hydraulics, and was forced to pick things up as he went along. Even now, all of the mech's assembly is handled by Kurata, who slings the massive slabs of metal around his workshop single-handedly with an overhead crane he bought from Yahoo Auctions. He would like to experiment with walking mechanisms, but current space and equipment constraints make that difficult. Remedying the situation is apparently the first thing on his agenda.
Despite the military paint job and BB gatling guns, the artist insists Kuratas is a mech of peace. "The idea was a toy robot — it's built for people to ride in and have fun with, not for the army or anything," he says. And what better toy for a builder than a 4-ton chunk of childhood brought to life? Kurata doesn't seem to mind that he might never sell a robot, that Suidobashi Heavy Industry could just be an expensive playground. It's easy to understand why once you see the huge grin on the face of a 70-year-old woman as she steps out of Kuratas's bombproof chest cavity after a spin as test pilot.
On the decline of Japanese industry, Kurata says, "Japanese people are good with technology, but I hear people say that they don't know what to make... You can't really make much new without some kind of catalyst."
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text:
Venezuela closes its Brazil border. Is Colombia next?
In a televised speech Thursday, Maduro announced the Brazil border closure and warned against trying to bring humanitarian supplies into Venezuela by force. "I don't want to make such a decision, but I am considering it — an absolute closure of the border with Colombia," he said. "We have taken all the measures so that everything can be peaceful," he added.Foreign aid is currently being assembled in both Brazil and Colombia for hungry Venezuelans, at the call of opposition leader and self-declared president Juan Guaido. Despite accepting aid from the United Nations last year, Maduro opposes the new aid shipments and has described the opposition's aid campaign as "a provocation." Guaido has named Saturday as the deadline for the aid to cross the border.Venezuela has already closed its air and maritime borders with Curacao, Guaido's third declared collection point for humanitarian aid, as well as the islands of Aruba and Bonaire. Blocking the road toward ColombiaAs the aid delivery deadline approaches, the spotlight is on the Colombian border town of Cucuta, where several shipments of US aid are waiting to be delivered and Virgin CEO Richard Branson is expected to host a solidarity concert for Venezuela.Guaido is already en route to Cucuta, with plans to "welcome the humanitarian aid," his spokesman Edward Rodriguez told CNN. But for many of his supporters, even approaching the border may be a struggle; on Thursday, Venezuela's National Guard also blocked access to the La Cabrera tunnel, after a convoy of buses transporting members of the opposition-led National Assembly tried to pass through, according to video footage obtained by CNN from VPI TV.The buses were blocked for more than 30 minutes before the caravan was permitted to continue, the footage shows.CNN has reached out to Venezuela's Ministry of Communications for comment about the incident.The Venezuelan military remains loyalThe question hanging over Guaido's aid plan remains: How to move anything across the Venezuelan border ? Several protests have broken out in the streets of the country since the crisis, calling on Maduro to let the humanitarian aid shipments into the economically crippled country.But the United Nations and Red Cross have so far refused to get involved, insisting that humanitarian aid should be free from political maneuvering. "We follow humanitarian principles of where aid should be distributed independent of political, military, or any other objectives," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York this week.And Venezuela's military remains loyal to Maduro, despite calls to defect by the opposition and the Trump administration."Is Trump the commander in chief of the Venezuelan armed forces?" Maduro asked in his speech Thursday. "The answer is obvious. And the answer to imperialism is also obvious." "We just want peace and tranquility," he added.CNN's Richard Roth and Stefano Pozzebon contributed to this report.
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Today's reflection on Amelia is by Toby Smith, a senior lecturer in Astronomy at the University of Washington who has been hanging around Seattle Opera in the audience and sometimes as a volunteer since about 1999. The image is of the author in his father's Air Force flight cap, circa 1969.
"Astronomy is far more common in opera than mad scenes are; it is just that the mad scenes get flashier music and better (bloodier) costumes.
Occasionally astronomical themes step to the forefront and get a really great aria. A few of my favorites are Wolfram's aria to the planet Venus ("O du mein holder Abendstern") in Tannhäuser, Rusalka's Song to the Moon ("Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém"), and Cavaradossi's heartwrenching aria on the eve of his execution ("E lucevan le stelle," The stars were shining) from Tosca.
On rare occasions, an astronomer makes an appearance. One noteworthy example is the royal astronomer Astradamors in Ligeti's Grand Macabre, who likes to look at Venus through his telescope--although I am not really sure that he is referring to the planet. By the way, this opera is on the top of my list for the one I will underwrite for Seattle Opera when I hit the lottery."
Heaven's a gown I'd love to wear.
Bathed in your light, I'm never alone.
according to what my father says.
Stars, look after my father who flies.
His name is Dodge. Please be his safety net and guide.
When I am grown, let me fly, too.
clear as the soaring Pleiades.
"Like Amelia, I spent large chunks of my youth lying on the ground looking at the stars. Ursa Major, Gemini (Castor and Pollux), Hercules, and Draco (the dragon) are some of my oldest friends. Stars have served many others as companions and guides. The fixed frame of reference of the stars has been the basis of navigation for centuries, a "safety net and guide" to the whole history of exploration. Lest you think navigation by stars is positively pre-19th century, the Apollo lunar mission and a whole host of interplanetary probes used stellar navigation. Even Vietnam-era pilots used the stars for navigation: the earliest star charts of my youth were the ones from my father's missions from Delaware to Vietnam.
Amelia uses astronomical references throughout the opera in a navigational context. I am reminded of Peter Grimes' aria "Now the Great Bear and Pleiades..." by Benjamin Britten; Amelia also refers to Ursa Major (The Great Bear) and the Pleiades. It is interesting that the astronomical references in both these operas are to the winter sky in the northern hemisphere--not the best time for fishing or lying under the stars.
I did not recognize any constellations in the starry backdrop that opens this production, but the pattern of stars satisfied my astronomical prejudices. Too often, starry backdrops in the theater go with a uniform starry field. The real night sky is far from uniform; that is why we recognize constellations.
On a side note, I appreciated how the plane in the first act moved: great pitch, roll, and yaw, although I was strongly reminded of poor Fafner the dragon in Seattle Opera's recent Siegfried, who had very similar movements on the same part of the stage and met a similar fate to the Flier's plane!
While flight is the obvious narrative link between Icarus, the Flier, Dodge, and Amelia, the stars link them as well. All of these characters would have seen the same stars. The stars that Icarus saw are the same ones that Amelia sang to in her aria. Art may be long, and life short ("Ars longa, vita brevis") but the stars we see will outlive us--and our art."
The final image we see in Amelia is the twinkling stars, while (l to r) doctors reminiscent of Amelia's parents cuddle in a waiting room, the Flier gazes toward the horizon, the Father heads toward the door marked 'Exit', and Amelia and Paul coo over the newest member of their family.


text:
LEVEL = ../../../make

OBJC_SOURCES := main.m my-base.m
#OBJC_SOURCES := const-strings.m

include $(LEVEL)/Makefile.rules

LDFLAGS += -framework Foundation