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2008 Week 14 NFL Power Ratings
An Archive of the Bankroll Sports Handicapping Columnists' Week Fourteen NFL Power Ratings After The Week 13 play in the 2008 Season.
2008 Week 14 NFL Power Rankings
(Dated: December 2 - 7, 2008)
Click Here For The Latest Bankroll Sports NFL Power Ratings From Bankroll Sports & Other Power Rankings From The Nations Top Writers
1. New York Giants (11-1) – The New York Giants picked up their 11th win of the season on Sunday, a decisive 23-7 win over the Washington Redskins. The win moved the Giants to three games up on the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East with just four games to place. New York remains at # 1 in the NFL power rankings for the second straight week. The defending Super Bowl Champions received 305 passing yards from quarterback Eli Manning. Despite all the off the field Plexico Burress drama (shooting himself accidentally), the Giants led 13-7 at halftime, and continued to roll in the second half. Brandon Jacobs led the ground attack with 71 rushing yards and a touchdown. New York can clinch at least a share of the NFC title with a win Sunday at home against the Philadelphia Eagles. The following week the Giants will travel to Texas Stadium to face the Cowboys, before hosting Carolina and traveling to Minnesota to complete the season.
2. Tennessee Titans (11-1) – The Tennessee Titans won their 11th game of the season on Thanksgiving Day; a 47-10 blowout win over the winless Detroit Lions. The win for Tennessee keeps them at # 2 in the NFL Power Rankings. Tennessee scored 35 first half points, and cruised to victory. The Titans were led offensively by running backs Chris Johnson and LenDale White. Johnson carried the ball 16 times for 125 yards and two touchdowns, while White carried it 23 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns. The Titans on the year have outscored opponents 304-175. The Titans can wrap up at least a share of the AFC South title with a win on Sunday over the Cleveland Browns. After the Browns game, the Titans will take on Houston, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis in the remaining games.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-3) – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers picked off Drew Brees twice on Sunday and came away with a 23-20 win over the Saints. The win for Tampa Bay was their ninth of the season and keeps them in a two-way tie atop the NFC South. The Buccaneers are now 6-0 at home and 3-3 on the road. Tampa Bay has scored 280 points in 12 games, and allowed 200. Quarterback Jeff Garcia has led the Buccaneers completing 182 of 271 yards for 1908 yards and 8 touchdowns. The win for Tampa Bay moved the Buccaneers up from # 4 to # 3. The Buccaneers will play two straight road games, both against NFC South teams, as they play Carolina on Monday Night Football, and then six days later will travel to Atlanta. Tampa Bay will host San Diego and Oakland in the final two games of the season.
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3) – The Pittsburgh Steelers caused New England to turn the ball over five times in the second half en route to a 33-10 win. After a 10-10 halftime score the Steelers blitzed New England for 23-second half points to win. The win for Pittsburgh moved them up one spot from # 5 to # 4. Fast Willie Parker ran for 87 yards and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 179 in the win. The Steelers sit one game ahead of Baltimore in the AFC North. Pittsburgh will host Dallas on Sunday before two straight road games at Baltimore and Tennessee, before finishing the season at home with the Bengals.
5. Carolina Panthers (9-3) – The Carolina Panthers kept pace with Tampa Bay on Sunday coming up with a huge 35-31 road win in Green Bay. The Panthers trailed with under two minutes to go, before Steve Smith caught his third ball inside the two yard line to set up a touchdown run by DeAngelo Williams. That run was Williams fourth of the game. On the year, Williams has run for 11 touchdowns on 955 rushing yards. Jake Delhomme, the Carolina quarterback has completed 190 of 329 passes for 2427 yards and 12 touchdowns. On the year Carolina has outscored opponents 285 – 231. The win moved the Panthers up one spot from # 6 to # 5 in the power rankings. The Panthers will play a Monday Night game against the co-leaders in the division Tampa Bay. Carolina will then play their final home game against Denver before heading to New York Giants and Denver in the final two games of the season.
6. Indianapolis Colts (8-4) – The Indianapolis Colts picked up a win on Sunday without an offensive touchdown. With the game tied at 6-6 in the fourth quarter defensive end Robert Mathis picked up a Derek Anderson fumble, and ran it back for a touchdown to give the Colts a 13-6 lead, a score that would hold true in the end. Peyton Manning was held to just 125 yards and no touchdowns on two interceptions. Joseph Addai carried the ball 15 times for 57 yards in the game. The win moved the Colts up one spot from # 7 to # 6. The win for Indianapolis was their 8th of the year, and puts them in good position for an AFC wildcard berth. The Colts still sit three full games behind AFC South leader Tennessee. The Colts will play three of their final four games at home, as Sunday they will host Cincinnati, the following week Detroit, before heading to Jacksonville and hosting Tennessee on December 28th.
7. New York Jets (8-4) – After Thomas Jones scampered for two quick touchdowns, the Jets offense was silenced, as the Broncos knocked off the Jets 34-17. Jones ran for 138 yards and two touchdowns in the game. Brett Favre, Jets quarterback threw for 247 yards in the game, but did not throw a touchdown pass. The Jets dropped from # 3 to # 7 in the power rankings. The Jets were fortunate on Sunday as the Patriots and Bills both lost their game, therefore keeping New York one full game ahead of the Patriots and Dolphins, with the Bills being two games back in the AFC East. The Jets will travel to San Francisco on Sunday, then host Buffalo, travel back across the country to Seattle, before hosting Miami on December 28th.
8. Atlanta Falcons (8-4) – The Atlanta Falcons got 207 passing yards from quarterback Matt Ryan, along with 120 rushing yards from Michael Turner and 112 yards receiving from Roddy White, as the Falcons picked up another win; 22-16 over San Diego. The win for Atlanta was their 8th of the season, keeping them just one game back of both Tampa Bay and Carolina atop the NFC South. The win kept the Falcons # 8 in the power rankings, a spot they assumed last week. Atlanta will travel to divisional opponent New Orleans on Sunday, and then host Tampa Bay, travel to Minnesota and host St. Louis to finish the 2008 season.
9. Dallas Cowboys (8-4) – The Dallas Cowboys are coming in winners of three straight games, including a Thanksgiving Day blasting of the Seattle Seahawks. The win keeps Dallas at the # 9 spot. The Cowboys will face a tough test this Sunday as they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the AFC North leading Pittsburgh Steelers. The Cowboys are currently tied with Atlanta for the final wildcard spot in the NFC, but a win in Pittsburgh would definitely put Dallas in a great position heading into the final three games of the year. The Cowboys trail the Giants by three games in the NFC East. Quarterback Tony Romo, who threw for 331 yards in the win over Seattle, has led Dallas. The Cowboys after their trip to Pittsburgh will host the Giants and Ravens in back to back weeks before heading the Philadelphia to face the Eagles.
10. Baltimore Ravens (8-4) – The Baltimore Ravens won their second straight game, and did it in convincing fashion; 34-3 over Cincinnati. The win for the Ravens moved them up from # 13 into the top 10, at # 10. The Ravens held the Bengals offense to just 155 total yards in the win. The Ravens trail Pittsburgh by a game in the AFC North, but currently are tied for the final playoff spot in the AFC playoff chase. The Ravens will play host to the 7-5 Washington Redskins on Sunday. After the Redskins leave town, Baltimore will face Pittsburgh, then travel to Dallas before hosting Jacksonville on the final Sunday of the season.
11. Arizona Cardinals (7-5) – The Arizona Cardinals lost their second straight game on Thursday Night; a 48-20 blowout defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles. The loss for Arizona dropped them out of the top to, from # 10 to # 11. The Cardinals still lead the NFC West by three full games and need just one win to clinch the title. Arizona will look to pick up that win in one of the next two weeks at home with St. Louis and then Minnesota. On December 21 the Cardinals will travel to New England to take on the Patriots, and then conclude the year with Seattle on December 28th.
12. New England Patriots (7-5) – The New England Patriots turned the ball over five times in the second half on Sunday. In the National Football League, turning the ball over five times, especially in one half, and most definitely against Pittsburgh is a recipe for disaster. The Patriots fell one spot from # 11 to # 12. New England now sits behind the eight ball for a playoff spot, as they sit a game behind Baltimore and Indianapolis for the final spot. The Patriots remaining schedule seems to soften some, but they will have to be road warriors to get in. On Sunday the Patriots will play in Seattle, with the following week in Oakland. The Patriots will then come home and host Arizona before traveling to Buffalo in the final week of the season.
13. Minnesota Vikings (7-5) – The Minnesota Vikings picked a huge Sunday Night win, 34-14 over Chicago to claim the lead in the NFC North. The win for Minnesota also moved them up three positions from # 16 to # 13. The Vikings in the win got a 99 yard touchdown catch from Bernard Berrian, and 131 rushing yards from Adrian Peterson. The win for Minnesota was their second in a row and fourth in last five games. The Vikings started the season 0-2, and then 1-3. The win for Minnesota also erased a 48-41 defeat at the hands of the Bears back in mid October. The Vikings now will travel to Detroit and Arizona in back to back weeks, before coming home to host Atlanta and the Giants.
14. Washington Redskins (7-5) – The Washington Redskins fell to 7-5 on Sunday. In the 23-7 loss to NFC East leading, and defending NFL Champion New York, the Washington offense only picked up 92 rushing yards. Without top rusher Clinton Portis, who left the game with an injury, the 'Skins had an even tougher time getting on the board. The Redskins move down from # 12 to # 14. Washington trails in the run for the final playoff spot by one full game. Washington will play three of their final four on the road, starting Sunday at Baltimore. A trip to Cincinnati, then home to face Philadelphia, with a road trip to San Francisco to finish the season will conclude the 'Skins season.
15. New Orleans Saints (6-6) – The New Orleans Saints cannot seem to find any consistency during the 2008 season. After a 51-29 thrashing of Green Bay, the Saints took one on the chin to divisional leader Tampa Bay 23-20 Sunday. The loss for New Orleans sent them to 6-6 on the year, two games back of a playoff spot. New Orleans dropped a spot in the power rankings with the loss as well. In the final four games for the Saints they will host Atlanta, travel to Chicago and Detroit, and then host the Panthers.
16. Miami Dolphins (7-5) – The Dolphins kept their playoff hopes alive with a win over St. Louis on Sunday. Miami's win, combined with a Jets, Patriots and Bills loss moved them to within a game of the lead in the division. The Dolphins and Patriots trail the Jets by a game, and lead the Bills by a game in the AFC East. In the 16-12 win over the Rams, the Dolphins defense kept St. Louis out of the end zone, and the offense got in one time, which was enough for the win. The win moved Miami up from # 17 to # 16. Despite the winning record, Miami is getting outscored 257 – 253 on the year. Miami will travel to division opponent Buffalo on Sunday before playing their home finale with San Francisco. The last two games of the year for the Dolphins will be at Kansas City and the Jets.
17. Denver Broncos (7-5) – The Denver Broncos picked up a win on the road Sunday, to go three games up in the AFC West with four games left. A week after getting embarrassed by Oakland, the Broncos scored 27 first half points to knock off the AFC East leading Jets. The win for Denver led them to move up four spots from # 21 to # 17. The Broncos can clinch at least a share of the division title on Sunday when they host the Kansas City Chiefs. After the Chiefs leave town, Denver will head to Carolina, then host Buffalo, before finishing the year at San Diego on December 28th.
18. Philadelphia Eagles (6-5-1) – The Philadelphia Eagles picked up a much needed win on Thanksgiving Night over the Arizona Cardinals. In the 48-20 win, Donovan McNabb threw for 260 yards, and running back Brian Westbrook scored four touchdowns. The win for Philadelphia moved them up from # 20 to # 18. Philadelphia now sits at 6-5-1 on the year. The Eagles are outscoring opponents 319-249 on the season, and are 4-2 at home, while 2-3 in road games. The Eagles feel they can still make a late run and slide into the NFC playoffs. The run will have to continue Sunday at defending champion New York Giants. After the Giants game, the Eagles will host Cleveland, travel to Washington, and then host Dallas.
19. Chicago Bears (6-6) – The Bears lost a chance to take over complete control of the NFC North on Sunday Night. Getting on the board early, behind Devin Hester, Chicago allowed the Vikings to score the final 17 points of the half, including a 99 yard pass to Bernard Berrian. The Vikings went on to beat the Bears 34-17 and take a one game lead in the division. The Bears are now 6-6 overall, 3-4 on the road, 3-2 at home. The loss for Chicago dropped them down four spots from # 15 to # 19. Chicago will play in three straight home games, starting Sunday with Jacksonville, followed by New Orleans and Green Bay. The final game of the season will be December 28th at Houston.
20. Buffalo Bills (6-6) – The Buffalo Bills are another team that had a great opportunity to make up some ground. With the Jets and Patriots both losing, the Bills could have moved to a game back and a three way tie for second place in the AFC East. Instead, the Bills could only put three points on the board, and walked away from home; a 10-3 loser to the 4-8 49ers. The loss sent the Bills to 6-6 overall, and remain two games back of the divisional leader Jets. The Bills also fell two spots in the power rankings from # 18 to # 20. Buffalo will host Miami on Sunday before taking the road to the Jets and Broncos, before finishing the season at home with New England.
21. Green Bay Packers (5-7) – The Green Bay Packers fell two spots from # 19 to # 21, and more importantly fell two games back in the NFC North. Leading late in the game, Green Bay allowed a late touchdown, and fell 35-31 to the Carolina Panthers at home. The loss for Green Bay was their third loss at home this season. The Packers trail Chicago by a full game and Minnesota by two full games. Green Bay will look to get back on track this week when they host the Houston Texans, also 5-7. The Packers final three games will be at Jacksonville, Chicago and at home against Detroit.
22. Houston Texans (5-7) – The Houston Texans are slowly approaching the .500 mark on the season. The Texans were victorious in their first ever Monday Night Football appearance. The Texans knocked off divisional foe Jacksonville for the second time on the year 30-17. The Texans are now 5-7 but three games back of a playoff spot in the AFC. The win for Houston led them to move up one spot in the rankings from # 23 to # 22. The Texans will play at Green Bay on Sunday, before hosting Tennessee on December 14th, playing at Oakland on the 21 and then hosting the Chicago Bears on December 28th.
23. San Diego Chargers (4-8) – The San Diego Chargers were 22-16 losers at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. The loss dropped the Chargers from # 22 to # 23. San Diego on the season is now 4-8 and in danger of missing the playoffs. The Chargers are three full games behind Denver in the AFC West. The Chargers, despite their record have outscored opponents 290-274 led by quarterback Phillip Rivers and running back LaDainian Tomlinson. The Chargers will host Oakland on Thursday night, and then head on the road to Kansas City and Tampa Bay in back to back weeks before hosting Denver on the final Sunday of the season. The Chargers hope to win out and see Denver lose their final four games to claim an AFC East title.
24. San Francisco 49ers (4-8) – The 49ers became the first west coast team to head to the east coast and pick up a win. San Francisco in the meantime may have essentially knocked Buffalo out of any possible playoff opportunity. The 49ers came away with a 10-3 win, not allowing the Bills in the end zone. The lone touchdown was an Issac Bruce 27 yard touchdown catch, in the first quarter. The win for San Francisco was their fourth on the year, putting them three games behind Arizona atop the NFC West, but placing them two games ahead of both St. Louis and Seattle. The win for San Francisco moves them up three spots from # 27 to # 24. The 49ers will host the New York Jets on Sunday, before traveling to Miami and St. Louis in back to back weeks, before finishing the regular season on December 28th at home against Washington.
25. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-8) – The Jacksonville Jaguars cannot wait for this nightmare of a season to come to an end. Losing their eighth game of the season on Monday Night, the Jaguars were the first ever victim of the Texans on Monday Night Football. The loss also sends Jacksonville down from # 24 to # 25. Jacksonville in the loss, turned the ball over three times, and only could pick up one touchdown, a four yard run by Fred Taylor. The Jaguars are now 4-8, four games back of second place Indianapolis. Jacksonville will finish the season at Chicago (Sunday), with Green Bay, Indianapolis, and then on the road at Baltimore.
26. Cleveland Browns (4-8) – The Cleveland Browns offensive struggles continued on Sunday, as they fell in a 13-6 decision to Indianapolis. With the game tied at 6-6 in the fourth quarter, quarterback Derek Anderson fumbled, and Robert Mathis recovered it for a touchdown to give the Colts the only touchdown of the game. Cleveland, in the loss fell one position to # 26. The Browns are now 4-8, and five games behind divisional leader Pittsburgh and four behind Baltimore, who sits in second place. The Browns have scored just 213 points on the year, while allowing 247. Cleveland plays three of their final four games on the road, starting with a game Sunday at Tennessee, and then travel to Philadelphia for a Monday Night Football game. Cleveland will then host Cincinnati, and finish the season at Pittsburgh on December 28th.
27. Kansas City Chiefs (2-10) – The Kansas City Chiefs picked up a win over divisional rival Oakland on Sunday, 20-13. The win moved Kansas City up three spots, ahead of Oakland, Cincinnati and Seattle. In the win, running back Larry Johnson ran for 92 yards and a touchdown, while the defense picked up a 67 yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. Kansas City is now 2-10, trailing Oakland by a full game in the AFC West. The Chiefs will play at Denver on Sunday, then host San Diego and Miami before finishing the season at Cincinnati on December 28th.
28. Oakland Raiders (3-9) – A week after upsetting Denver, and looking good in doing it, the Oakland Raiders laid an egg against divisional rival Kansas City on Sunday. The Raiders were knocked off 20-13 in an ugly offensive game. The loss for the Raiders dropped them two spots from # 26 to # 28. Oakland on the year is now 3-9 and sit just a game ahead of Kansas City for last place, while trailing San Diego by a game for second place. The entire AFC West is the second worst in all of football, ahead of the NFC West. The division has an overall record of 16-32. Oakland will travel to San Diego for a Thursday night game, and then host New England and Houston in back to back weeks before the season finale at Tampa Bay.
29. Cincinnati Bengals (1-10-1) – The Cincinnati Bengals offense could not get started on Sunday against the vaunted Baltimore defense. Cincinnati was only able to manage 3 points in the 38-3 loss. The loss was the tenth of the season for the Bengals, along with a win and a tie. Cincinnati moved down one spot, as Kansas City jumped them, causing them to fall from # 28 to # 29. The Bengals have been outscored on the season 310 – 151. The Bengals are in last place in the AFC North, trailing third place Cleveland by three games. The Bengals will play their final four games at Indianapolis (Sunday), with Washington, at Cleveland, and at home with Kansas City.
30. Seattle Seahawks (2-10) – The Seattle Seahawks did not put on an impressive show on Thanksgiving Day. In a 34-9 rout by the Dallas Cowboys, the Seahawks were only able to manage a field goal a piece in each of the first three quarters. In the loss quarterback Matt Hasslebeck threw for 287 yards and was picked once. Seattle only got 37 yards from their top running back Julius Jones. The loss for Seattle was their tenth of the season, and caused them to fall one position from # 29 to # 30. Seattle will play their final four games against New England (Sunday), St. Louis, New York Jets and Arizona.
31. St. Louis Rams (2-10) – The St. Louis Rams played excellent defense on Sunday, allowing just 16 total points to Miami. The offense was still to be found, scoring just 12. The loss for the Rams was their sixth straight, and tenth on the season. Stephen Jackson, in his return ran for 94 yards, but was unable to get into the end zone. Marc Bulger, in an attempt to give the Rams the lead late in the game was picked off for the third time. On the year St. Louis has been outscored 360 – 159. The loss keeps the Rams at # 31. The Rams will take on Arizona on the road on Sunday, and then host Seattle and San Francisco before ending the year at Atlanta.
32. Detroit Lions (0-12) – Coming into the Thanksgiving Day game against the Tennessee Titans, Lions players and their fans were asking "Can it get any worse?" They got their answer on Thursday as the Titans 47-10 blew out the Lions. Detroit, of course, remains at the # 32 spot in the power rankings. In the loss, the Lions allowed 456 total yards of offense, including 292 via the air. The Lions offense was no better picking up just 23 rushing yards. Detroit is now 0-12, and with four games to play, do not look to be improving. Detroit now is getting outscored 393 – 203 on the season. The Lions will face Minnesota, Indianapolis, New Orleans and Green Bay in their final four games; all teams at or near .500.


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Powell River swimmers break records at regionals
Three aquatic club members qualify for provincials
Sara Donnelly / Powell River Peak
RECORDS BROKEN: Powell River Aquatic Club competed at the Vancouver Island Regionals held in Nanaimo from August 2 to 4. Team members included [back row, from left] coach Mary McGuire, Macklan Boyd, Ainsley Needham, Hannah Giesbrecht, Ayva Gunther, coach Alex Jevons and assistant Colleen McGuire. [Middle row from left] Malia Mikkelsen, Madison Giesbrecht and Avari Dodd. [Front row from left] Gabe Mussellam, Saphire Mitchell, Kai Mikkelsen, Willa Venselaar, Aiden Muzylowski and Londyn Waterton. Contributed photo
Powell River Aquatic Club athletes travelled to Nanaimo to compete in Vancouver Island Regionals from August 2 to 4, breaking meet and club records in the process.
"Some kids took off amazing amounts of time, which for some was unexpected," said assistant coach Alex Jevons.
New COVID-19 cases continue to fall in B.C.
Swimmers Madison Giesbrecht, Ayva Gunther and Ainsley Needham qualified for provincials, which will be held August 15 to 19 in Kamloops.
"Unfortunately none will actually be attending provincials due to other arrangements, but it's still nice to see swimmers qualifying," said Jevons.
Gunther was also recognized for her season's achievements.
"Ayva got what [Powell River Aquatic Club] calls a whale's tale," added the coach. "It means you have to get a best time in every race you swim that weekend, eight in total. I believe she is the only swimmer who achieved that award this season."
Division six results
Ainsley Needham placed fourth in the 50-metre fly and 100-metre backstroke and sixth in the 100-metre breaststroke with a provincial qualifying time of 1:23.50. She also placed seventh in the 50-metre freestyle.
Division five
Macklan Boyd placed sixth in the 50-metre freestyle and 100-metre breaststroke, and 10th in the 100-metre freestyle.
Division four
Ayva Gunther placed first and set a new meet record in the 50-metre fly with a time of 32:20. She also came first in the 200-metre individual medley (IM), breaking her own club record with a time of 2:40.15, and placed first in the 100-metre freestyle. She placed third in the 100-metre backstroke, breaking her club record of 1:16.46.
Avari Dodd placed 13th in the 200-metre IM, 14th in the 100-metre breaststroke, 22nd in the 100-metre backstroke and 24th in 50-metre fly. Hannah Giesbrecht was eighth in the 200-metre IM and 100-metre breaststroke and 13th in 50-metre fly and 100-metre backstroke.
Division three
Madison Giesbrecht placed third in 50-metre breaststroke and 50-metre backstroke, fifth in the 50-metre freestyle and seventh in the 100-metre IM.
Malia Mikkelsen placed fifth in 50-metre breaststroke, sixth in the 100-metre IM, seventh in the 100-metre freestyle and 10th in 50-metre freestyle. Saphire Mitchell placed sixth in 50-metre backstroke, seventh in 50-metre breaststroke and 50-metre fly, and ninth in 50-metre freestyle. Gabe Mussellam came fifth in 50-metre freestyle and sixth in 50-metre breaststroke, 50-metre backstroke and 100-metre IM.
Kai Mikkelsen placed seventh is the 50-metre breaststroke, ninth in the 100-metre freestyle and 12th in 50-metre freestyle. Aiden Muzylowski placed fourth in 50-metre fly and 10th in the 100-metre freestyle. Willa Venselaar placed ninth in 50-metre breaststroke and 10th in 50-metre backstroke. Londyn Waterton placed fifth in 50-metre backstroke, sixth in the 100-metre freestyle and ninth in 50-metre freestyle.
Powell River Kings await word on BC Hockey League season
Garand, Derungs reflect on world juniors and look ahead
Sensei in Powell River receives honour from international society
Michael Bublé and Elias Pettersson sing Christmas carols for Canuck Place
Racquet centre in Powell River receives grant from city

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Penn College 'fielding' esports team
Pennsylvania College of Technology students have a new avenue to flex their competitive muscles in support of their school. The college has formed an esports team that will challenge other colleges and universities for video game supremacy beginning later this month.
"A large portion of our student body consists of active gamers. Establishing a team allows us to formalize that interest in the name of Penn College and facilitate participation for the students in recognized competitions against other schools," said John D. Vandevere, director of athletics. "The team will be a tremendous outlet for the students, and will serve as a campus life enhancement."
"The opportunity to play for and be supported by the school is really an amazing experience," said team captain Jonathan W. Best, an electronics and computer engineering major from Downingtown. "Not only that, but the ability to build on the esports industry and show how exciting competitive gaming is, is incredible."
Esports – defined as competitive multiplayer video games often viewed by nonparticipants – is a booming business. Newzoo, a leading games and esports analytics firm, projects total esports revenues to eclipse $1 billion for the first time in 2019 and an audience of 454 million people. Viewing outlets for esports range from ESPN to Twitch, a live streaming video service.
Colleges and universities are a major source of growth for esports, thanks to students' inherent interest in gaming. The National Association of Collegiate Esports, which bills itself as the only association of varsity esports programs at U.S. colleges and universities, began in 2016 with six schools. It now boasts over 125 members. Penn College is in the process of becoming the 10th Pennsylvania school and the first Penn State affiliate to join NACE.
In its inaugural esports season, the Penn College team will consist of about 75 members, representing a variety of majors. Team members will compete with one another to secure the limited number of spots to represent the college in tournaments.
The college's first tourney is the PA Cup, hosted by Harrisburg University from March 30-31. Penn College will be one of 16 esports teams competing in the games "League of Legends," "Overwatch" and "Hearth." Seventeen Penn College students will play remotely from Penn's Inn, located in the college's Bush Campus Center. Seating will be available for spectators. The games will begin at 10 a.m. on both days.
"We are very excited to play and proudly represent Penn College by vying for the PA Cup," said head coach Joshua D. Young, a learning systems administrator at the college and an avid gamer. "The interest in our team has been tremendous, and we have a big talent pool to draw from. It's been fun getting this program off the ground."
"Having the ability to wear a jersey that tells people 'I support my school and my team' really is something special," Best said. "I can't wait to show the esports world what Penn College has to offer!"
The squad's formation culminates a yearlong planning process.
"A considerable amount of work has gone into developing the team," Vandevere said. "It's gratifying to be on the cusp of actual competition. I'm sure we are going to learn a lot this year that will enhance the team going forward."
Penn College will compete throughout the academic year in both tournaments and individual matches with other schools.
For more about Penn College Athletics, visit the Wildcats' home page.
For information about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.


And for my next act, I had the pleasure of sitting down with a spiritual, light-hearted man name Seth Browder. He takes us on his journey through twists and turns, as he finds himself.
My youth involved growing up in Colorado Springs. At the age of nine, I experienced my first apparition—my best friend, Joel, visited me after being struck by a semi-truck, two days after his death. Several months later, Joel visited again, and prompted me to speak my truths about the abduction I experienced when I was molested by a man who lived down the street.
These are my beginnings as a medium, as a gifted being, who remembers the conversations between my mother and grandmother who spoke of spirits that visited them. These are my beginnings as a magick practitioner, who studied the occult, because of a father's curiosity with the undead, the unusual, the paranormal. My father, a self-proclaimed ghost hunter, an avid vampire/werewolf chaser, used me as his conduit, his connection to the other side, his translator to the dead, while we drove around Manitou Springs in a 1963 Mercury Comet, and a trunk filled with paranormal hunting supplies.
My whole life, I was considered a freak. I began to believe I was a freak who fell into darkness after my abduction. With personal attempts to end my life, I was placed into recovery for a year. I was situated in therapy when alcohol abuse became my father, and my sexual-identity became a sin—I was the freak people perceived me to be. Then, in my late-teens, I had the strength to leave Colorado Springs to find myself in the world, thereafter.
I found myself in Seattle, Washington, where I began to hone my gifts by studying the craft of magick. Attuned to Reiki, and eventually becoming a Reiki Master Teacher myself, I taught natural healers to awaken their own gifts within themselves and sharpen their abilities to communicate with the deceased. As a teacher, I introduced rituals to my students who healed others, but also healed me as their guide when balance restored itself.
After meeting my partner, a part of me questioned myself as a spiritual practitioner, a healer, and/or a guide; a part of me went dormant when I began to excessively drink alcohol and inhaled two packs of cigarettes on a daily basis. At thirty-years-old, I had a heart attack. My whole life was in question.
My partner and I moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. There, I was awakened slightly as I began to see more than just the ancient spirits of the land. I began to feel myself again, when the spirits of my partner's childhood woke me in the dead of sleep. While in Santa Fe, I began to experience the eccentricities of the landscape and appreciated the spirits that surrounded me and guided me as I journeyed to regain bits of me that were lost in transition.
Being a medium has never been easy, I should add, but it has been healing, especially after the loss of my pépère, who helped me accept my gifts as a medium when he came to visit me during the worst times of my life. My mother is also my guide, as she has reminded me to acknowledge my growth as a communicator. She, too, contains similar gifts.
I can say I can come from a lineage of mediums, but I am unsure; however, my whole family can attest to their own abilities to see or feel or hear what is not present. I am unsure how far my power has been within our growing family, but I know the strength of my ancestors are with us.
Self-healing has been an important process in my practice. Working with Archangel Magick, I have been able to utilize the hierarchy as guides in finding other natural-born mediums, who needed guidance during their own confrontations of self-worth. With the support of friends, teachers, and spiritual leaders, I have been granted a sight to view the unseen; I have been granted a sight to help find the lost; I have been granted a sight to guide others into their own safety.
I recently lost my father, in the midst of returning to Colorado Springs. He is now part of the guides who help me when I need assistance. The scent of cigarettes fills my home whenever he is near. I no longer smoke, I no longer drink, I no longer work as an assistant for an abusive alcoholic who dissuaded me from ever believing in my own self-importance.
With the help of an apothecary in Manitou Springs, I created an all-natural lotion that aides the healing process after any tattooing. Because of my own skin issues with eczema, my lotion has soothed the aches and pains for those who suffer eczema and psoriasis. My kitchen is now my office, my laboratory, my reason to attain self-assurance in practicing healing for others; more importantly, healing me from those who create maltreatment, but also create a magick to heal the world.
Confidence is what I found, in the experience, to attract what I needed to succeed. The light I am surrounded by gleams and feeds itself to the world for others to ingest and receive nourishment. I provide strength.
My creation will help others, my ability of sight will guide others, my presence will empower others to find themselves, and view the world through different light.
My light is theirs to share.
My partner and I have been in Colorado Springs for the past five years. I married my best friend. Our family has blossomed into three cats, six dogs, a tank full of fish. We own a house with a garden filled with anomalies where plants are arranged to resonate with beauty. It's a sanctuary I built for myself; it's a sanctuary for anyone who needs to get away. I built it for those to sit and breathe and watch the mountains. My mother is currently in remission for breast cancer. She is healing and recovering.
We are healing and recovering.
We will sit and wait inside our sanctuary as we breathe.
If you are interested in a reading or teaching under Seth Browder, you may contact him here. If you are interested in his healing lotion, you may contact him here. Follow him on Instagram: @sethbrowder76 .
To be part of Joseph A. Federico's growing list of acclaimed guest bloggers, click here!


text:
Home World Tunisia's first LGBT radio station on air despite death threats
Tunisia's first LGBT radio station on air despite death threats
eNCA.com reports:
BEIRUT, Lebanon – Bombarded with death threats, the head of Tunisia's first lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) online radio station on Wednesday refused to stop his efforts to promote "tolerance" in a country where homosexuality is illegal.
Bouhdid Belhedi, the executive director of Shams, a local LGBT rights group, started up Shams Rad radio two weeks ago with support from the Dutch embassy in Tunis to build a community to discuss human rights, equality and justice.
He described it as the first LGBT radio station in the Arab world and said it runs daily from breakfast time to midnight online. The 25-year-old said he wants to counter the negative media coverage of LGBT issues in the North African state where same-sex relationships are illegal and punishable by three years imprisonment.
"There is nothing out there that talks about the LGBTQ community honestly. This gives people a way to defend our community and we need this for Tunisia and the Middle East," said Belhedi. Same-sex relations remain illegal in 72 countries worldwide including in a majority of countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa.
Previous articleBC will now offer a daily drug that prevents HIV — for free
Next articleAndrew Scheer won't march in Pride parades, but says Tories are more tolerant than Liberals
Indonesia is planning a fresh a wave of hate against its LGBTI population


text:
THE BEST Chef in Mexico
Grand Velas Riviera Maya is pleased to announce that our colleague Chef Xavi Pérez Stone is the Grand Finale winner of the Third Edition of Mexico's Chef of the Year, considered the best gastronomy contest for professionals in our country. We are proud to have him with us. Congratulations Xavier!
Xavi Pérez Stone, Head Chef of restaurant Cocina de Autor in Grand Velas Riviera Maya, will represent the destination at the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen 2012.
Chef Xavi enjoys creating unbeatable gastronomic experiences. His passion for food is reflected in the expressions of surprise and delight on the faces of our guests at Grand Velas Riviera Maya.
Xavi Pérez Stone
Throughout his childhood Chef Pérez Stone had moments that encouraged him to become a chef. His father was a
cook by hobby and also an impassioned hunter, which taught Xavi to respect and manage the hunting of prey.
He also spent a lot of time with his grandmothers, walking in local markets to choose the ingredients for preparing everyday meals. He did his studies in the Pan American School of Hospitality Administration, where the school Director encouraged him to do his internship in his friend's restaurant: the well-known Chef Bruno Oteiza. He then worked with Chefs such as Juan Mari Arzak and Mathias Dahlgren, returning to Mexico after these experiences for the opening of the restaurant Tezka. He performed as Executive Sous Chef of the Royal Pedregal Hotel and then returned to work with Bruno Oteiza and Mikel Alonso to collaborate on the delightful cuisine of Cocina de Autor at Grand Velas Riviera Maya.


Don't panic. We're here to take care of all your last-minute gifting needs—and you get to enjoy some good beer while we're at it! Stocking Stuffer Saturday (say that, three times, fast!) is happening on Saturday, December 22nd.
From apparel to accessories to gift cards, you'll find something for everyone on your nice list with our pre-packaged gift sets, starting at $8. We're also throwing in a FREE koozie with any merch purchase!
And since we firmly believe there isn't any better present than beer, we're taking 15% off all packaged brews. That means growlers, crowlers, 6-packs, and cases, which you can also mix-and-match for the perfect selection of beers to share and sip over the holidays.
Plus, we're offering Happy Hour pricing (aka $5 select beers) for anyone who truly gets in the festive spirit and dons holiday attire—from ugly sweaters and ill-fitting onesies to light-up accessories and anything in between!
Don't forget, we'll have our weekly Christmas Beer + Cheer movie screening at 7 p.m. On the 22nd, we'll have Gremlins on the big screen. Click here for more info.


text:
Q: Atributos em react native Boa tarde, eu estou com um projeto em que tenho que armazenar um dado de um TextInput e validar se ele está vazio ou se tem algum valor.
Eu ja tentei usar setState no input e chamar uma função que valida,
porem pelo que me parece o valor do input não está sendo armazenado (como se o setState não estivesse funcionando).
Estou começando agora com react-native, espero que tenha sido possivel entender minha pergunta.
Agradeço desde já.
constructor(props){
    super(props);
    this.state = {
        name: '',
    }
}

<Nome /> ``` Aqui é onde o usuario digita o nome e seria armazenado na propriedade "name: "  ```

A: Coloque todo o código possível para nos ajudar a entender melhor o problema. Por favor!
O mais importante para pegar o valor no react é usar o state, porem para setar um valor no state. Você precisa usar o this.setState(valor)
Dá uma olhada no código abaixo e visita esse link
import React, { Component } from 'react';
import { AppRegistry, Text, TextInput, View } from 'react-native';

export default class PizzaTranslator extends Component {
  constructor(props) {
    super(props);
    this.state = {text: ''};
  }

  render() {
    return (
      <View style={{padding: 10}}>
        <TextInput
          style={{height: 40}}
          placeholder="Type here to translate!"
          onChangeText={(text) => this.setState({text})}
        />
        <Text style={{padding: 10, fontSize: 42}}>
          {this.state.text.split(' ').map((word) => word && '').join(' ')}
        </Text>
      </View>
    );
  }
}

// skip this line if using Create React Native App
AppRegistry.registerComponent('AwesomeProject', () => PizzaTranslator);

  [1]: https://facebook.github.io/react-native/docs/handling-text-input

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Bong County Electoral District #3 Representative Josiah Marvin Cole says at this present moment the County has just 7,000 US Dollars in its coffers.
Representative Cole who is the Secretary-General of the Bong County Legislative Caucus speaking to a local community Radio (KWATEKEH) Thursday morning November 8, 2018 via mobile phone from Monrovia stated that the 7,000USD currently in the County budget, but said is anticipated to be approximately topped up to 1.6 million US Dollars from national budget in the upcoming county sitting.
Authorities of Bong County in the recent times scheduled the upcoming County Council Sitting for this Saturday, November 10, 2018 but news speculated that the sitting might not be possible as the result of the absence of Salala District Representative Moima-Briggs Mensah from the country.
According to report, the Bong County district#6 lawmaker Moima-Briggs Mensah is currently in Nigeria seeking medication.
When the Jorquelleh District #3 lawmaker was quiz about Representative Mensah he said that it is true that Representative Briggs is out of the country but talks are being held among the rest of the eight lawmakers of the county to have the sitting either on Monday or Tuesday, November 12 or 13 respectively.
Representative Cole said there is no one lawmaker of the county that is bigger than the County noting, that the interest of the citizens will be prioritized in the pending County Council sitting.
According to Representative Cole, though he is to shortly leave the country for a medical break but he would ensure as a secretary of the Caucus, that his impart is felt at the first sitting of the county since his election as Lawmaker of the Jorquelleh District #3 in 2017.
He called on the citizens of Bong County to remain united as the development agenda of the county is achieved especially under president George M. Weah pro-poor agenda for development and prosperity.
In keeping with Section 9 Counts (a &b) of the amended budget law of Liberia those to convene in Gbarnga for the county council sitting include: Traditional communities, statutory districts, administrative districts, municipalities and township.


Our kids just having fun!
Welcome to the Cowpokes Children's Ministry! This ministry is led by Niki Fischer and is available for children ages 3-12.
We have lots of fun activities throughout the year and the kids are always thinking up new ways of having fun! They have even created a children's bible! So come on over and join the kids and Miss Niki.


WITH educational transformation being actively effected in different spheres of our school system, perhaps it is also time for parents and the community at large to reflect on and reassess their role in education so that they can continue to be effective contributors.
As the saying goes "sow a thought, reap an act", our acts are very much determined by our thoughts. Change our thoughts or mindset and we will act or respond differently to a situation, and our role would would accordingly.
There is need for a mindset change among some parents and members of the community on certain aspects of our education system. Unless the mind is transformed, age-old prejudices, biases, favouritism and misconceptions may continue to influence and govern this group's role.
On the other hand, with better and more informed understanding, parents can guide their children to greater heights in their studies; and the community would be able to help schools realise their potential to the fullest.
FIRST, parents and the community must change their mindset on the real purpose of schooling. They must know the distinction between learning for the sake of knowledge and studying to boost examination grades. The overemphasis hitherto given to examination grades will only be curtailed when they start to genuinely place greater importance on acquiring knowledge and skills and development of character, than on scoring good grades.
When a child is guided to love learning for knowledge's sake, his or her grades will take care of themselves. If a child is recognised and encouraged for his or her potential and gifted talent, he or she will have no problem succeeding, even excelling, in school.
When parents and the community prioritise learning for knowledge's sake, they will be more ready and will find it easier to accept the "new" concept and practice of school-based assessments now being promoted in schools.
SECOND, they must accord greater importance and prominence to Bahasa Malaysia (BM). Not that they have not done so. But, somehow, BM seems to be assigned only the importance of a must-pass subject in school. It is not prominent in other spheres of their life.
This has reduced the learning of BM for the sole purposes of passing examinations and for use in their later work and dealings with the government sector.
An interesting observation is: when the English language was in its prime in our education system, many families chose to be English-speaking. The same cannot be said of BM. We do not commonly see the youth of today conversing in BM. Because they are also poor in English, they are only comfortable and choose to interact in exclusive groups and in their own mother tongue.
BM must be accorded its rightful place as a language of integration so that it can truly be the lingua franca among the different races of our citizenry.
I think it is totally unacceptable for any of our people now, 50-odd years after Independence, to still converse in less than good BM, and worse, in pasar BM.
A mindset change in this respect will ensure a new thrust, urgency, vigour and robustness to want to learn BM for reasons of patriotism.
With this understanding, parents and the community will be better able to promote the Education Ministry's MBMMBI (Upholding the Malay Language, Strengthening the Command of the English Language) programmes with greater eagerness, earnestness and sincerity.
THIRD, parents and the community must change their mindset on vocational education. Vocational studies should not be regarded as a "second rate" education, subservient or even inferior to academic studies. The thought that only those who are not "making it" in academic schools should move on to vocational schools is a myth and misleading, and hence must be discarded.
Vocational studies and training open a whole new world of opportunities for students who are gifted in locomotive dexterity, besides being reasonably able in cognitive learning.
Students learned and trained well in vocational studies become the indispensable pillars of our nation-building effort. They are valued assets.
Parents and the community must have a mindset convinced of the vast potential and versatility of vocational education. Only then will the ministry's ongoing new initiative to upgrade all vocational schools to vocational colleges stand to achieve a good measure of success.
The mindset of parents and the community must change so that they are aligned with the new thinking and approaches initiated by the Education Ministry.
If the thoughts are not in congruence with the acts, we will labour in vain.
When parents and the community move in accord with the ministry, our schools will be better able to deliver the promises of transformation programmes.
"Transforming minds, enabling changes" is the way to go.
THE Information, Communications and Culture Ministry will initiate efforts to rewrite Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) in a modern style to make it more interesting for students.
Its minister, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, said the ministry would collaborate with higher learning institutions, such as the Institute of Malay Civilisation and Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (Upsi).
"We should encourage the effort as Sejarah Melayu can be interesting reading for primary and secondary schools.
"The old texts will be modernised although we will retain the storyline in its original narration.
"In this way, there will be renewed interest in the texts.
Rais said this after launching an exhibition on the Sulalatus Salatin empire of the Malacca sultanate by artist Ismail Embong at Balai Seni Visual Negara, here, yesterday.
On when the ministry was expected to complete restyling Sejarah Melayu, Rais said: "It depends on Upsi.
"The ministry will provide the support and commensurate contributions.
On the exhibition by Ismail, Rais said it was the first time that the history of the Malacca sultanate had been narrated in art form.
He said the creation was significant as Ismail had succeeded in highlighting various aspects of the sultanate by using characters of the modern generation, including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in his drawings.
Rais also said the ministry would produce a documentary on Ismail's contributions to the art industry.
I FELT sad on reading "Be sensitive to children's feelings" (The Star, June 4). Children's lifestyle nowadays is totally different from that of our days and we as parents should not compare living our sweet old days with our children's.
The words are like licence to my teacher to punish my friends and me with their old hard method when correcting our mistakes.
Yes, that was good enough for those days because we didn't even know what child psychology was then.
Now, student psychology has became part of the curriculum in teacher's training colleges. Teachers are urged by the Education Ministry to use psychology to overcome children's problems in school rather than using disciplinary action.
As the writer said, suicide is a preventable "illness" and sometimes the cure can be a simple solution if only we can understand the child's problem and find a suitable solution to help him.
I would also say parental guidance is vital to curbing such grievous incidents from threatening society.
Parents in our time placed emphasis on religious values, taking their children to the temple, church or mosque. Children learned the importance of religious values in life.
In those days, even though parents sometimes had to use the hard way to correct our mistakes, the next moment, by their actions, they would show care and love.
Our grandparents, too, from time to time, stressed the importance of cultural values and nurtured these in the young children's hearts so that the next generation would not lose them.
Everything has now changed and more and more pressure is put by parents on their children to excel academically, to improve their career prospects.
But what is most important is to teach our kids to become more stable in their psychological make-up. Giving them a luxurious life is not a good way to build inner strength. Parents should spend more time with their children. They still need us to build their identity.
Give them every opportunity to build a good character. Talk with them and give them a way to express and share their problems in their daily life.
We as parents shouldn't let them solve their problems their own way because they are still not mature enough to properly weigh their problems or they may have difficulty in solving them.
Let's play our part to instil strong and good character traits in our children, and not leave this job to the teachers.
Academically, teachers may know our kids better but we parents know their hearts better.
Yes, we, the parents are the first teacher, the first facilitator and first counsellor to our kids. If we can play our role effectively, we can build a very strong young generation capable of facing the future bravely and confidently.
Let's move from now to guide and teach our kids to become strong and brave.
PETALING JAYA: The English teacher's bread and butter revolves around the language itself. It is the cornerstone of their profession, but what else does it do for them?
According to SMK Kota Masai 2, Johor, English teacher Vincent Tan, English does a whole lot more than give them a job.
"There is always room for self-development through the use of English," said the young teacher who has reaped the benefits of fluent English.
He said the advantages of English were universal.
"English is a bridge of sorts. It not only helps you communicate, it links you to new avenues of knowledge and builds your confidence. You can't go wrong improving your proficiency in the language," he said.
He said teachers today needed to be savvy in many ways in order to carry out their duties and English is a versatile tool to help them do so.
"You have to be able to tell parents what the latest trends in education are, you also need to brief administrators on what you are doing, plus you have to be able to introduce new concepts and ideas to students," he said.
He added that English made tasks easier by opening up new information sources.
"I am able to dig for information from a wider variety of sources, many of which are in English," said Tan.
Tan said that helped him to gain the upper hand when teaching and dealing with parents and administrators.
"Exposure to current affairs is heightened if you understand English. Your self-esteem gets a boost at the same time because you will always have informed talking points," he said.
Tan pointed out that just because English teachers teach English, it does not mean they do not need to continually improve their command of the language.
"There is always room for improvement. The trick to teaching is becoming a good learner first," he said.
He related his experience with Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Shalene Gupta who is stationed at his school.
"The first thing I noticed when conversing with her is that I have to be selective with my words – no more Manglish," he said.
He added that it was difficult at first but it was a turning point that led him to start reading again to improve his English.
"I'm glad my school has an ETA. It helps me reflect on my weaknesses through a simple conversation with a native speaker and from there I get to improve my English," said Tan.
He commented that English has been a stalwart friend in helping him become a better teacher and overcoming the challenges he faces in the line of duty.
Note: English for More Opportunities is part of The Star's ongoing efforts to highlight the importance of the language in helping people get ahead in life.
To share your views and inspiring stories or give us feedback, e-mailenglishformore@thestar.com.my.
KUALA LUMPUR: Grandma's advice to stay away from oily foods, chocolates and nuts to keep acne at bay is well-intentioned, but it does not hold much water in science.
Instead, findings show that it is in fact stress, smoking and facials which cause and worsen acne.
A clinical practice guide (CPG) which explains the causes of acne and prevention tips has been developed by Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) Department of Dermatology for public use.
"Foods with a high glycemic index (GI) such as glutinous rice, wholemeal or white bread, fried mee hoon and macaroni, watermelons and too much of teh tarik or glucose increases the development of acne," said HKL director Datuk Dr Zaininah Mohd Zain at the launch of the CPG yesterday.
Instead, she urged for the consumption of foods high in fibre such as fruits, yoghurt and oats, as well as plenty of water.
Facial therapy, turned to by many people to improve their acne condition, may not have the desired effect.
Dr Zaininah said poking, pressing, prodding and picking at acne could lead to further inflammation of the pimples and might cause permanent scarring.
"Oil-based cosmetics should also not be used as it clogs the pores and leads to further break-outs. To maintain healthy skin, the most important thing one can do is to allow it to breathe," said Dr Zaininah.
Dermatology department chief Datin Dr Asmah Johar said topical treatment could help manage the blemishes or one could seek the advice of a dermatologist.
She added that young adults should also avoid using too many skin care items because many of the products contained harsh chemicals which could damage the skin.
A study conducted by the Ministry of Health shows that 67.5% of adolescents aged 13 to 18 years old are affected by the problem.


text:
package at.fhj.swd14.pse.repository.internal;

import at.fhj.swd14.pse.news.News;
import at.fhj.swd14.pse.news.NewsAssert;
import at.fhj.swd14.pse.news.NewsConverter;
import at.fhj.swd14.pse.person.Person;
import at.fhj.swd14.pse.person.Status;
import at.fhj.swd14.pse.user.User;
import org.junit.Assert;
import org.junit.Test;

import java.time.Instant;
import java.time.ZonedDateTime;
import java.time.temporal.ChronoUnit;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Map;

public class NewsRepositoryImplIntegrationTest extends AbstractRepositoryIDIntegrationTest<News> {

    public NewsRepositoryImplIntegrationTest() {
        super(News.class);
    }

    @Override
    protected long getDummyId(News dummy) {
        return dummy.getId();
    }

    @Override
    protected AbstractRepository<News> getRepository() {
        return new NewsRepositoryImpl();
    }

    @Override
    protected News createDummyEntity() {
        final Person author = setupAuthor();
        return buildNews(author);
    }

    private Person setupAuthor() {
        User user = new User();
        user.setMail("user@swd.com");
        user.setPassword("password");
        user.setSalt("salt");

        manager.persist(user);

        final Person author = new Person();
        author.setFirstname("first name");
        author.setLastname("last name");
        author.setStatus(new Status("online"));
        author.setUser(user);

        manager.persist(author);
        manager.flush();
        return author;
    }

    @Override
    protected void assertEquals(News expected, News actual) {
        NewsAssert.assertEquals(NewsConverter.convert(expected), NewsConverter.convert(actual));
    }

    @Override
    protected News modifyDummy(News dummy) {
        dummy.setTitle("updated title");
        dummy.setMessage("updated message");
        return dummy;
    }

    @Override
    protected void copyDummyPK(News destination, News source) {
        destination.setId(source.getId());
    }

    @Test
    public void shouldFindAllOnlineNews() {
        final Person author = setupAuthor();

        News news = buildNews(author);
        news.setTitle("expectedTitle1");
        manager.persist(news);

        news = buildNews(author);
        news.setActivation(instant(2));
        news.setTermination(instant(3));
        manager.persist(news);

        news = buildNews(author);
        news.setActivation(instant(-2));
        news.setTermination(instant(-1));
        manager.persist(news);

        news = buildNews(author);
        news.setTitle("expectedTitle2");
        news.setActivation(instant(-1));
        news.setTermination(instant(4));
        manager.persist(news);

        final Map<String, Object> parameters = new HashMap<>();
        parameters.put("onlineDate", ZonedDateTime.now().toInstant());
        final List<News> foundNews = repository.executeNamedQuery(News.FIND_ALL_ONLINE_QUERY, parameters);

        Assert.assertEquals(2, foundNews.size());
        final Iterator<News> iterator = foundNews.iterator();
        Assert.assertEquals("expectedTitle1", iterator.next().getTitle());
        Assert.assertEquals("expectedTitle2", iterator.next().getTitle());
    }

    private News buildNews(Person author) {
        final News news = new News();
        news.setTitle("news title");
        news.setMessage("news message");
        news.setActivation(instant(-1));
        news.setTermination(instant(1));
        news.setAuthor(author);
        return news;
    }

    private Instant instant(int days) {
        return ZonedDateTime.now().plusDays(days).truncatedTo(ChronoUnit.SECONDS).toInstant();
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
READY FOR A CHANGE
Lately I've been getting this feeling of anxiousness. I wouldn't even call it anxiety, more like "ants in my pants," as Alex would put it. Maybe it's the feeling that fall is creeping in (though you wouldn't be able to tell by the hundred degree weather we've had this week), but I'm just feeling eager for a change.
Alex and I are coming up on our four year anniversary of moving to LA and soon after that, our three year apartment-iversary. When we moved into the place we now live in, we vowed we'd never move unless we bought something. This semi-detached bungalow was our dream apartment when we moved in. It's where we planned our wedding, brought our adopted dog home to, returned to from our honeymoon, and where I started both my businesses. It's full of closets and 1950s charm. So much has happened here, and it would feel so strange to not live here anymore, but I'm starting to feel closed in my apartment-style living. Mostly, I'd have to say, it's the inconvenience of carrying our laundry out to the back of the building that prevents it from getting done as often as it should; and our lack of dishwasher has probably lead to more fights than any other one thing in our marriage.
I remember when my oldest sister got married, being so confused why they didn't run out and buy a house the second they returned from their honeymoon. I assumed that it was what was done. But, were almost two years deep, and a house does not seem any closer than it was when Alex proposed to me on that sweltering Philadelphia afternoon.
But I find myself longing for picket fences, vegetable boxes, a lawn for Bucket to run on. I want walls I'm allowed to paper, paint, or knock down. I'm not asking for walk-in closets or more than one bathroom. I could live in a fixer, just as long as I could call it mine.
This feeling that I'm still a drifter, not really attached to this city, makes it hard to connect to those around me. Knowing that my roots aren't put down gives me the sense that we could, at any moment, pick up and move to Nashville, Montana, or any of the other places we keep threatening we'll head off to.
But we're here. Alex's career depends on Los Angeles. While Married & Bright could work from almost anywhere, if I want to continue working as a wedding planner, I've got to stay here in LA, too. So, we're here. This is where we are.
But how do we make it feel more like home?
Alex and I have agreed that it's time to start looking for it. We've made a commitment to one another — and I'm hoping by putting it here, I will be held accountable — to get pre-approved for a loan by the end of this month, and then spend the next year looking for the right place to make a purchase.
While we love living in Sherman Oaks, we can't afford to stay if we aren't renting. So places like Eagle Rock, Highland Park, Mount Washington, Glassell Park, Pasadena, Alta Dena, Winnetka, and Woodland Hills seem like they might be the spot. Los Angeles is full of interesting neighborhoods, but living out in the Valley has left us comfortable, but restricted. We really don't know much about the place that surround us. So, it's time to explore.
EDIT: I drafted this post on Friday evening before heading into a double wedding weekend. On Sunday, while I working a wedding, Alex decided to take the day off and relax. His relaxation turned into online house-hunting. Which somehow lead him on a cross-country search for the most affordable, cute house, with acreage, room for a recording studio, and close to a musical hub. Guess where he found a match? Yup, Nashville.
Alex and I always half joke about running off to Nashville because we sometimes feel we missed our shot at southern living when we drove through on our road trip to Los Angeles. So, when he texted me during my dinner break, saying "I wanna move to Nashville!" I was like, "Okay, honey." And sort of left it at that.
But when I got home last night, we sat up in bed for almost four hours (!!) looking at homes on his iPad, talking about making big life changes, and dreaming of a little house with a lot of land and a slower pace of life.
I thought that beginning a house search in Los Angeles would remove the ants from my pants, but it looks like no, I had to be infected with this idea of living where there are seasons, cowboy boots, and lots of cornbread.
So maybe, forget the thing I said about how Alex has to stay in LA for work. And how I'd be okay with just one bathroom.
Sigh... I don't know if we'll ever figure this thing out!


text:
The Globalization of Learning: The Shift from the Margins to the Heart of the Enterprise
By Nigel Paine
/ Performance Matters Blog / The Globalization of Learning: The Shift from the Margins to the Heart of the Enterprise
The Mindset versus the Technology
Many years ago, when I was running an educational technology company, I always looked forward to my biannual trips to Silicon Valley. That was when I learned about what was coming next. In those days, Silicon Valley had at least a two-year lead-time on the rest of the world and that allowed my company to plan and strategize for what was eventually going to appear. In general, there was a huge amount of asymmetrical development in technology but particularly in learning technologies.
If we go back even further, the UK established the Open University in 1968 and in 1975 Germany established the FernUniversität. These second chance universities were spectacularly successful and both remain the largest universities in their respective countries. But any mention of either the OU or the FernU was met with incredulity when you crossed the Atlantic. There was no influence at all. The work done on open learning in the UK in the 80's was reinvented 20 years later to become the open resources movement. That partitioning of the world seems almost unimaginable now. Everything that happens in Berlin or London mirrors what is happening in San Francisco or New York. News, as well as venture capital, traverses the world in an instant.
The future of learning is here. Everything has accelerated. Talk to any big company about all the challenges facing leadership with no real answers or the ability to respond to all the potential disruptions that surround them to understand the profundity of these changes. It would seem disingenuous in this world of instant connectivity not to update how learning is delivered and the mindset that underpins that delivery.
If learning is to be at the heart of the organization, it has to profoundly interconnect with every aspect of the organization and be sensitive to the needs of staff at all levels. Learning teams urgently need to:
Interconnect with business decisions on all levels, and their human implications
Develop people faster than their external environment is changing
Help build a culture of self-directed, self-motivated, lifelong learners that learning people support and facilitate but do not control
This takes us far beyond skills mapping and competence assurance. There has to be a growth mindset, where the vast majority of staff take their own careers and destiny seriously. They need to believe in their own ability to learn and cope with change and be provided with the tools to be able to do this on a continuous basis so that their work becomes learning, and their learning becomes work. Just as technology touches most of everything they do, this process must also be drenched in technology.
The Organizational Gyroscope
Imagine a pilot trying to fly without a gyroscope to indicate the artificial horizon and the relationship of the plane to that horizon. The pilot will be flying blind, which would be undesirable and dangerous. If you don't know where the horizon is, flying upside down is as easy as flying the right way up. In just the same way, learning is the gyroscope that powers and energizes the organization as a constant reminder of where the horizons are. It is crucial for organizations to navigate the turbulence of the present and build for the uncertainty of the future with a strong culture of learning that turns insight into action and builds a common agenda to tackle the tasks and challenges ahead.
Nigel Paine
Nigel Paine joined the GP Strategies Advisory Board in 2018 and has been involved in corporate learning for over twenty-five years. In April 2002, he was appointed as head of the BBC's learning and development operation. Under his leadership, the team transformed the learning function and put it on the corporate map. He left the BBC in September 2006 to start a company focused on building great workplaces by promoting creativity, innovation, values-based leadership, and learning and exploring the link between them. Nigel teaches in the CLO Doctoral Program at the University of Pennsylvania and has written two books, "The Learning Challenge: Dealing with Technology, Innovation and Change in Learning and Development" and "Building Leadership Development Programmes That Work." He is currently working on a new book on building and developing a learning culture. Nigel also presents a monthly TV series (Learning Now TV) and hosts a weekly podcast with Martin Couzins called "From Scratch." He regularly speaks at conferences and writes articles for magazines and journals about development, technology, and leadership.
Episode #102 | Transforming Your Organizational Learning Through Storytelling – Part 2
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Years of work finally paid off!
Big news this week as the first ever image of a supermassive black hole was shown to the world thanks to a 29-year-old MIT graduate named Katie Bouman.
She has a postdoctoral from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and ended up creating the algorithm that rendered the image. She had been working on the computer program since 2013. She compared taking this photo to trying to take a picture of "an orange on the moon".
She and her team used eight telescopes (positioned in different places around the world) and merged them into one computational telescope. It took 200 scientists and her algorithm to convert the data into the image we see.
1969: Margaret Hamilton alongside the code that got us to the moon.


Witnesses 15-fold increase in recurrent spending during free period.
Ubisoft's The Crew may have fizzled out after release but it found some significant new life through the Games With Gold program on Xbox Live. It was available for free on Xbox One and Ubisoft CFO Alain Corre revealed during a recent earnings call that the online racer was downloaded three million times.
Which is funny considering how badly The Crew was received and how it went about addressing its issues since release. Even though a new expansion was released with Wild Run, offering improved visuals and lots of new content, the game wasn't relevant before coming to Games With Gold. Maybe it's a sign of things to come for the franchise? We'll find out in the future.


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New Orleans begins controversial removal of Confederate monuments
Posted 9:52 AM, April 24, 2017, by CNN Wire, Updated at 09:55AM, April 24, 2017
A federal court affirmed that New Orleans can remove Confederate monuments. including Robert E. Lee statue.
In the dark of night, workers wearing masks and tactical vests arrived Monday at New Orleans' Battle of Liberty Place monument to take it down.
Police snipers were positioned on nearby rooftops, according to The Times-Picayune newspaper, and the trucks and equipment used in the operation had company names covered by cardboard and black tape.
The controversial removal was the first of four scheduled relocations of Confederate memorials in the city, despite weeks of opposition from pro-monument groups and threats against workers. It came as some Southern states celebrated Confederate Memorial Day, although Louisiana is not among them. State government offices in those states will be closed in observance of the holiday.
The Battle of Liberty Place monument was erected in 1891 to mark a deadly fight between members of the "Crescent City White League" — a group opposed to the city's biracial police force and state militia after the Civil War — and officers from that police force.
A few hours before sunrise Monday, the obelisk — located not far from Canal Street, near the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas — was slowly taken apart as supporters and opponents of the action gathered nearby amid a strong police presence.
Yale students protest to change name of Calhoun College
The event incited cheers and applause from some people in the crowd while others engaged in heated discussions.
"This should be a celebration but instead this is done clandestinely. They got the workers who are taking it down dressed in black jackets, helmets and their faces are covered, to us that's cowardice," one person there told CNN affiliate WVUE-TV.
City officials have attempted to remove and relocate the monuments since 2015.
Workers received threats
The relocations follow debate in recent years in the South about what to do with Confederate symbols, especially after the killings of nine black parishioners in a Charleston, South Carolina, church by a self-described white supremacist in 2015.
U.S. flags removed from Confederate graves on Memorial Day weekend
Counter-efforts to honor Southern heritage and preserve symbols of the Confederacy have also sprung up.
A legal battle prevented New Orleans from removing the statues until a federal judge in Louisiana affirmed the city's right to move them in March.
Police barricades protected the workers, who removed the Battle of Liberty Place monument piece by piece. The security measures were taken after several contractors received threats.
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said the removal of the monuments should not be seen as a political move or retaliation against a specific group.
Lawsuit takes aim at Mississippi state flag
"This is about showing the whole world that we as a city and as a people are able to acknowledge, understand, reconcile — and most importantly — choose a better future," Landrieu said.
The statues will be placed in storage while the city finds a museum or another facility for them, officials said.
Three other Confederate monuments in New Orleans are set to be removed in the near future.
Robert E. Lee statue
One of them is the monument erected in 1884 to honor Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The statue, almost 17-feet tall and weighing more than 3 tons, was built after 14 years of fundraisers and negotiations, the University of New Orleans says.
The group behind its construction was founded about a month after the general's death in 1870 by prominent locals and Civil War veterans. It's located at a roundabout of St. Charles Avenue and Andrew Higgins, not far from the Confederate Memorial Hall Museum.
Last year, the monument was one of several sites vandalized by anti-Trump protesters.
Jefferson Davis statue
Another statue scheduled for removal is that of Jefferson Davis. The monument honors the president of the Confederate States of America, who died in New Orleans in 1889.
The 16-foot-tall bronze statue stands atop a 60-foot high column in a street also named after Davis.
In 2004, the words "slave owner" were painted on the base of the monument.
P.G.T. Beauregard equestrian statue
A 15-foot tall statue of Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard will be relocated as well. Beauregard was a prominent general during the Civil War and the last survivor of the top Confederate leaders. He died in New Orleans in 1893.
The statue stands in a roundabout at the entrance of City Park and the New Orleans Museum of Art.
In 2015, the words "Black Lives Matter" was spray-painted on both sides of the monument's column, CNN affiliate WDAM-TV reported.
Topics: black lives matter, confederate flag, new orleans
Iran's Supreme Leader blasts 'American clowns' as he leads Friday prayers for first time in 8 years
Shooting on the edge of the French Quarter leaves 11 injured in New Orleans
Man pretended to be disabled to trick home care workers into changing his diaper, police say
Man displays swastika sign in yard across from elementary school
Man charged with vandalizing war monument in New Britain
One person is still missing after a Hard Rock Hotel collapse in New Orleans kills 2 and injures 18
Trump says impeachment probe has been 'very hard' on his family
Christopher Columbus statues vandalized in Rhode Island and California
National Park Service celebrates retirement of K9 officer 'Boomer' after 56 dog years of service
India citizenship law protests leave 22 dead
After delay, New Orleans to demolish cranes at hotel site
A Jersey City shooter has been linked to Black Hebrew Israelites, report says
NYPD is stepping up its presence in Brooklyn after 5 possible anti-Semitic hate crimes this week
Calls for transparency, justice following officer-involved shooting investigation


still being debated today by numerous factions.
decision in favor of allowing abortion to be a legal practice.
seventh month of pregnancy. However, it can occur beforehand.
inferred rights not specifically enumerated by the Constitution.
regardless of the outcome of the decision.
views and history, for abortion was not just a legal issue, but a health issue.
regulations the commonwealth could agree upon to govern the country as a whole.
as religious entities stating their beliefs on the matter.
another viewpoint that uses Constitutional law against abortion bans.


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New Covid-19 asymptomatic testing centre starts at the University of Aberdeen
An asymptomatic testing site of lateral flow tests* has opened its doors at the University of Aberdeen, as part of the Government's UK-wide continuing drive to increase the availability of mass testing.
Stories of Scots emigrants told in their own words
The stories of more than 100 Scots who left their homeland in search of a new life abroad can now be heard in their own words.
New online resource to tackle gender based-violence prevention at Scottish campuses launched
The University of Aberdeen are one of 17 Scottish universities that have come together to create and fund access to a new training course to help prevent and eradicate gender-based violence (GBV) in colleges and universities.
University offers free courses to help Scotland's workforce upskill and reskill
People in Scotland can once again apply to study for free on a range of career-focused online short courses with the University of Aberdeen, following the huge success of the first phase of its upskilling scheme.
University joins first all-digital Festival of Social Science
The University of Aberdeen will launch a virtual festival dedicated to the role social science can play in meeting the most important challenges of our time.
Aberdeen-led initiative bringing the world together in song
A Military Wives Choir and the famous baritone Sir Willard White are joining an 82-year-old services veteran, an NHS doctor and hundreds across the world who are lending their voices to a Scottish initiative aiming to bring the word together in song.
Paul Mealor recognised for 'outstanding contribution to arts and culture in Scotland'
The University of Aberdeen's Professor Paul Mealor has been awarded The Saltire Society's Fletcher of Saltoun Award for outstanding contribution to arts and culture in Scotland.


I have a power-seeking guile heroine from tumultuous circumstances who always gets in over her head, and a reluctant hero who keeps saving her. It's a pattern. She (more or less) stays the same, it's just her schemes that get bigger.
She's a con-artist with a broken moral compass, but she's also suppose to be intuitive when it comes to reading other people, the idea is she is a bit empathic (not supernaturally, just plot-wise) but also a bit of a sociopath who mirrors the morals and goals of those around her. She pursues powerful people, good or bad, but eventually screws them over even when that wasn't her intent. She is like Aesop's scorpion, she can't help her nature. Around the point where things start going her way, a machination from earlier comes back to bite her, and she grabs the money and runs while all hell breaks loose.
She is a chameleon who presents herself as whatever others want, including the hero's desire that she can be redeemed. Her "bad" nature is first discovered only in escalating stages of the plot, while the hero is still in denial and there is a chance they will get together. She goes from being an innocent "victim of circumstances" to a sudden pile-up of anti-social reveals that got her there in the first place.
However, I want her to remain sympathetic: a complicated heroine. In later stories she will repeat the pattern but it is no longer a surprise to the reader (or the hero) so we watch her dig herself a deeper hole, then cover-up and self-sabotage. It's clear that she gets herself into situations – she's an opportunist who drives the plot forward.
My snag with her character is that she doesn't think she is the problem, in her mind she is just tap dancing around powerful and dangerous people. She doesn't debate morals, at least not in a way that shows. Her rare moments are when she does the right thing for the right reasons because in a part of her mind she's always nurturing a smash-and-grab strategy and a quick escape.
In contrast, the hero has self-doubts and questions his own morals. The reader has a better understanding of his internal conflict because he reacts to his mistakes, and has periods of mania and depression. He goes through a lot of soul-searching, understanding his need to save her and also learning he can't change her.
How do I show this heroine is sensitive/intuitive about other people, uncovering their buried vulnerabilities and secret desires, and yet unaware that her own schemes are her downfall? She is sort of an iconic femme fatale who keeps climbing to the top. But why would she keep running to danger, rather than just finding a rich guy she could manipulate and live comfortably? I feel like I am relying on "it's just her nature" to keep them in this pattern forever, but that implies she is a psychopath or maybe a convenient moron.
How does the heroine keep getting into trouble without realizing that she is the source of the trouble?
I would have her planning one huge con that could set her up for life, but she needs experience. These earlier cons might be stepping stones, which occasionally heat up and she always manages to escape. She is looking for that whale that might even be talked about but could certainly allow her to leave the life should she choose. Until then, it is keep your eye on the big picture and move toward your future.
Maybe she thinks that the hero is just another mark who has a convenient habit of being her white knight. She resents the damsel in distress idea because she is certain her own wits are more than enough to get her out of the trouble she encountered.
She might be unaware of his efforts and believe it is just luck and she has the catlike ability of always landing on her feet.
She doesn't think that what she is doing is wrong, it is just another way to make a living in a harsh world. She believes that violence is wrong, but if people are foolish enough to give her money then so be it.
The ability to read other people is essential to her success as she must know what the other person wants and needs in order to create a false truth which the listener will believe. It must fit the circumstances she observes. She can be brilliant at it and still not see herself clearly.
She avoids introspection as a waste of time and focuses on those around her. She might begin to wonder at the amazing run of luck she's had and come to believe that the marks are just an unlucky lot, not noticing the connection.
The how? I would have her observe her marks, studying them before ever they realize she is there. She will have all of the answers to their objections before ever they think of objecting. She will be smooth.
The reader and the hero will see that she causes all of the trouble. She does not have to notice that for quite a while. Just have her focus on other things and show other aspects of her so we understand why the hero cares so much about this bad seed.
Was she kind to a neighbor of his? Kind to him? Probably for her own reasons, but even so, some acts of kindness can be genuine. She is severely damaged, but not utterly destroyed.
Can she be redeemed? Not unless she wakes up to her reality and chooses to change. Not likely. Show why the hero thought that she was worth the trouble, worth his efforts. There must be some glimmer of good that he thinks he sees though he might be mistaken.
I think the two questions you'll need to answer for this woman are where did she come from? and where is she going? What in her back story made her into the person she is? And what goal is she pursuing that makes it all seem (to her) like the ends justify the means?
Aside from that, she doesn't sound all that unrealistic to me. People can often be very self-sabotaging in real life, and it's possible to be clear-eyed about someone else, and blind about yourself. In fact, I'd venture it's more the rule than the exception.
Self-sabotage is often a result of feelings of worthlessness or guilt, a sense that one does not deserve better. Sometimes it can even be paradoxically self-preserving, a way to avoid a situation that is good in one way, but a trap in another. Conversely, it can stem from a fatalistic desire to ruin something before fate can ruin it first.
First persona, which anybody can see, is a "Blonde" (cause I am blonde/ I don't have to think/ I talk like a baby/ and never pay for drink ...) - naive, cheerfull, with "superpowers" of "Empathy", "Mirror" and "Living just Here and Now" with pure heart and empty head.
She meet a boy A and from first look she LOVES him. Like TOTALLY. From deep of her heart. She believe it, she acts on it. He is just the "more FUN boy" she ever met. She is everything A ever wanted, she knows him better that his own mom and fullfill all his wishes just to make him happy (well with some acting, she would not end in bed with him this night, but makes him trust, she would really like and that it is not too far away, anyway making herself just a 'little' hard to obtain makes her just more prized in his eyes and make any progress he made much more satisfying for him.. ) ... Does not take long, they go to pub and meet A's friends, where there is one older, more serious (with better job too), say B.
The other persona is a "MasterMind", who have "superpowers" like "create long time plans", "knows WhoIsWho", "Secretly Smart" and "Convice Blonde to trust anything she says". While Blonde is managing all about body, MasterMind thinks about carreer, fame, power ... not necessary evil, just a little selfish, narcistic and lazy - and have "broken moral compass".
MasterMind had long ago discovered, that showing how is she smart and responsible just leeds to lot of work and hard scolding and long morall lessons, when she does something "not so good" or just slack on something - while using Blonde style as frontend - known for being "irresponsible dumbhead all the time" brings a lot less of work and also easier one and doing anything bad just bring "oh no, again ..." response, which is much less trouble for her. So MasterMind worked hard on making better Blonde.
Yes, MasterMind had seen, how Blondes everytime jumps to a situation, steels someone hard work, ruin everything and went out mainly unharmed, confused what happened and with some unfair profit. And also had seen, how Bloneds later fall hard for just being stupid, too greedy or just too old for being the right Blonde.
But MasterMind think, that with some better planning and thinking (which those empty-head Blondes was not able to do) it would be simple and efficient way for everything - fame, power, money, jewels ... just name it. And that she just deserve it, becase she is exceptional and granted to have it all.
So well working Blonde with her excelent mind == profit!!!
MasterMind just looks at TV, hear the news, gossips and such and it is easy for her to realise, that Richard the Rich have friend D, who have friend C, who is boss of B who drinks with A who is in simple reach of Blonde.
Actually the heroine is probably just the MasterMind, and the "I am Blonde" trick just was played too long and too good, that it became her second nature and mainly overtake the body from her - not that she cares, as "being Blonde" is just routine as is eating, doing homework, or simple tedious work, washing, sleeping, breathing - something she do nearly uncociously and what goes on autopilot, while she is dreaming about big future and perfect con-plans. But the habit is so perfected, that it became her personality more, than she think or is able to see.
And when next week Blonde runs to A, kiss him with "Oh hi, glad to see you, you you well, I am in hurry now" and leaves him totally confused while catching C's car, get flowers from him, kiss him and drive with him away (C:" Who was that young man", Blonde: "Ah, just some old friend of mine, it is long time ago history, but tell me ...") A:"WTF has happened, she dates B's boss now? @$%@#$%!! *)"
And Blonde still believe (as she want to believe it and there is no direct evedence against it), that A is "just old friend, who loves here a little, even after such long time not seen". While A is all to eager to get revenge, rather than to get explanation now.
MisterMind still trust Blonde anyway - she would not lie to her, as they are just one flesh and body.
Blonde is finally Rick's the Rich LOVE FOR LIFE, alone with his keys in his mansion. Mastermind whispers "what would hurt just to opent the tresor and try that diamond necklage, it must be beutifull on us and Rick surely would not mind anyway" and Blonde think so and does so, but then there are some steps on stairs - must be Rick's right hand Man, who do not trust Blonde at all. "It is too late to cover everything, so make it look like roberry, just throw some papers aroud, get the jewel box and run over balcony - I see A's car there on street, hes old friend, he will help us to gety away with it and would not ask why"
MasterMind still believes Blonde and vice versa.
also it was A's devil plan, that B, D, ... Rick now hates Blonde, why is A is so evil?
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged characters morality or ask your own question.
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The number of people who are accessing ads on their smartphones and tablets has been steadily rising.
According to the a new report that was recently published by Marin Software, mobile marketing is seeing a steady improvement in the number of people who are clicking on ads displayed on their smartphone and tablet screens as they browse the web and shop online.
In fact, the number of clicks of those mobile ads has risen to make up about half of the UK market.
The report showed that fifty percent of all of the clicks that were made to online ads came through mobile marketing channels, revealing the importance of tablets and smartphones to advertising online. It also suggests that there could be a time in the near future in which the number of clicks over mobile devices will exceed that of laptops and desktops.
The conversion rates for clicked ads were also quite high, revealing an increased importance to mobile marketing.
Among all of the people who clicked on ads – regardless of the device that was used – forty three percent who went on to be converted into paying customers were using smartphones or tablets. This showed that people aren't just using their mobile devices to browse products and read reviews, but they are also making actual purchases and are completing their transactions.
While desktop and laptop computers may have a higher conversion rate than mobile devices, the issue is that the advertising over that channel costs considerably more than it does in the over mobile. That said, regardless of its growth, mobile advertising has been greatly undervalued.
The annual rise in the number of sales that are being generated over mobile devices is being interpreted by many experts in the industry as a sign that the use of laptops and PCs for the completion of secure online shopping will one day move into the mainstream, instead of being something that only the minority of people actually do. The report showed that the United Kingdom was the only location in Europe in which mobile marketing was shown to be less effective than online advertising over PCs and laptops.