I'VE discovered that the date, an ancient ritual involving two well-dressed people going out together for romantic purposes, is the Holy Grail for married couples with children. For those of you who have not yet experienced marriage and parenthood, let me explain. Marriage is about love and togetherness and all the other stuff they obsess about on the Disney Channel. But in real life, marriage is about compromise. Sometimes you get to do what you really enjoy.
And sometimes you get to do, um, other stuff. Right now some single person is saying, "Oh my God, his wife is going to kill him for writing that!" Married people? They're simply smiling, nodding and saying "Amen." How do I know? Because single people, bless their hearts, are still getting their way. The special person in their life isn't requiring compromise. Once the wedding happens, though, the mask will come off. Not necessarily because that new spouse is evil - well, sometimes it's because they're evil. But mostly, it's because genuine relationships require give and turquoise beads.
Maybe you liked to sleep on the right side of the bed, but now that you're married, you've discovered that your spouse likes that side, too. No biggie. You switch sides because you love them. About a month in, you discover another major difference: Your spouse is a morning person, while you are a night owl. Again, no problem. You're both willing to quiet down during your most productive hours because, well, your spouse is your Snookums, and you love them just that much.
Inside that first year, you discover that one of you is a little more, um, frisky than the other. One of you compromises, and that, boys and girls, is how children are born. Fast-forward five years. The two of you have been tired since the day your first child arrived. Now you've got several of the little buggers. Your sleep pattern is wrecked, you're grouchy more often than not, and for half a decade you've been compromising not only for your spouse, but also for the children. This, boys and girls, is how divorces are born. How do you avoid that fate? You go on dates. Lots of them. Because dates help you remember why you were willing to compromise in the first place. They remind you of what made you love Snookums enough to sign papers.
They help you to hold on to your sanity. So why do married couples neglect their duty to date? I can answer that in one word: kids. A few years ago, when Eve was old enough to realize what LaVeta and I were about to do when we dressed up in the evening, she began trying to sabotage our dates. It's not that she didn't want us to go anywhere. She didn't want us to go anywhere without her. The first time Eve faked a sniffle LaVeta fell for it hook, line and sinker, because LaVeta's a mom, and moms cancel dates for sick kids. The second time, we went out anyway, because I was able to convince LaVeta that Eve would be OK. By the third time, even Little Solomon was starting to become part of the scheme. We saw the pattern, and that's when we knew.
We could no longer give our kids advance warning about our dates. In a fit of desperation, I began to date my wife like I was Austin Powers - a poor man's parody of Bond . . . James Bond. I'd send her secret text messages: "Do I make you randy baby? Yeah, baby, yeah!" I'd swear restaurant personnel to secrecy: "No one must know we have reservations here tonight. Our children might find out! The big one's Dr. Evil, and the little one? He's Mini-Me." I was so convinced that secret-agent dating was the way to go that I'd pick up LaVeta wearing a bob haircut, a Nehru jacket and China beads, praying all the while that the kids wouldn't recognize me and start that infernal sniffling. OK, maybe I didn't wear the bob haircut - primarily because I don't have hair.
But make no mistake: I would've done it if it meant going out on a date with my Snookums. Unfortunately, I became less careful over the years. I fooled myself into believing that our children had accepted our need to date. This Saturday, while preparing to go to a high-school class reunion barbecue, I learned that that wasn't the case. "Haven't you gone on enough dates?" Little Solomon asked when we told him of our plans. He was alluding to the four days I recently spent with LaVeta while he and Eve stayed with relatives.
It was kind of uplifting and it supported what a friend was telling me about her own children’s expensive Catholic education, and their sense of being let down by leaders who have loudly professed their Christianity but make no effort to hold up its principles.
So expensive Catholic education is not just about social connections, a good university degree and a fancy car by the time you are 30. Principles manage to seep through. Hooray. Maybe the young will save the world after all.
Why is it left to a few high school students to shine a torch at wholly unchristian behaviour by adults who wear their religion like some kind of exclusive fashion garment that screams look at me look at me, god is my best mate.
I pick on Christianity because it is what I am familiar with. Having been educated by nuns at a time when only Catholics went to heaven, I still kind of expect that Jesus would demand a lot from the believers. At least you’d expect him to insist on some understanding of his teachings before he opened those exclusive gates to the likes of Abbott etc....
But it seems Christians of the Catholic sort are too busy doing other things to give much time to the moral compass. And other Christians are not much better. Everyone is just so busy these days.
It’s not that I have an enormous amount of love for disadvantaged humankind - I haven’t practised formal religion for 40 years so I don’t have to love anybody - I just want keepers of the moral high ground to do their job.
If you want to prostitute yourself for money and power that’s okay, but at least take off the religious habit and the rosary beads otherwise you look as wrong as a nun doing a bit of prostitution at the back of the pub in full religious clobber.
I hate god botherers who have no idea how hypocritical they are...the person that spews hate at all sorts of people, especially the usual targets - gays, Muslims, boat people etc - then puts on a beatific face to attend a church service or to tell you about the wonders of Jesus.
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2013年8月28日星期三
Jaguar’s F-type offers a sensational ride
It’s not such a bad thing that Jaguar’s newest offering comes with a sturdy grab handle, conveniently located on the passenger side of the centre console.
That it’s jovially referred to as a suicide handle is not something my passenger found quite so amusing, despite my best effort at a calming discussion about how the F-type sports car’s technology is so good it’s virtually impossible to unseat the beast, even while proceeding very, very quickly round some rather tight tree-lined bends.It’s not that I aim to terrorise passengers, although my mother would argue the contrary.
But decisions have to be weighed, and choices made. And when you’ve been given carriage of the iconic brand’s first sports car since the E-type, when the sun is shining, the wattle is in bloom and the roads are that stellar blend of isolated and curly, sometimes you have to sacrifice the passenger. Not literally, obviously – mine made it out alive, albeit extracting herself from the rather low-slung but surprisingly comfortable seat declaring: “I think I can actually see beads of sweat on my palms.”
The F-type has taken Jaguar four years to develop and is unlike anything you’d expect. Wide and short, the profile is sleek and agate beads, without any echo of other sports cars you see on the road. It takes a while to get used to the styling, but as much as I cringe at the suggestion, it’s a car a woman could drive without looking like a terrifying alpha-female.
The V8 model sits in roughly the same bucket as the Porsche 911 Carrera, the Audi R8 or the Aston Martin Vantage, and will set you back a little over $200,000. Its base (Jag say “foundation”) V6 model starts around the $138,000 mark, but the middle sibling, the V6S, is what I used to freak out my passenger on that sunny autumn day.The lighter V6 engine means weight is better distributed and gives a more even handling experience. All have whip-quick steering, and I didn’t mind the extra weight of the F-Types compared with others in the market.
Yes it’s a 3.0 litre engine against the V8’s 5.0 litre, and yes it’s “only” got 280 nags, while the big brother has 364 kilowatts, but when it gets down to it, the V6S gives a great ride in the city and importantly sounds almost as good.Hit the gas, push the tacho towards red and bask momentarily in the supercharged squeal of the engine. It makes you smile in the same way reaching the highest point on the rollercoaster does: adrenaline, satisfaction and expectation of even better things to come.
Ease your foot off the throttle and the engine noise detonates.Without being dramatic, do this somewhere like Sydney’s Lane Cove tunnel and there is no better feeling. I’m pretty sure I squealed. As did the driver in the Aston Martin sitting on my tail. And yes, it gave me a bout of “I’m actually surprised to be saying it but I like my car better than your car” smugness.
Jaguar uses a system which cuts fuel to three of the six cylinders in its S series engines as revs drop, then drip-feeding in petrol to generate hundreds of mini-explosions as the fuel and Beads factory.It’s probably the thing I like best about the F-type, but there are other features which kept me equally amused. Let’s not forget the air-conditioning vents that remain hidden in the dash to ensure more of the “cockpit” feel, rising like submarines only when you need air.
While it could be considered mere folly, the door handles are designed to sit flush so as not to ruin the car’s profile. Coincidentally, the system doubles as a deterrent for anyone thinking about carjacking.To that end, the boot has an illuminated internal toggle which releases the boot latch on the off-chance you, or one of the kids, gets stuck inside.I openly doubted how much use it would be, given a grown adult would probably have to be dismembered to fit in the “compact” luggage hold.
You read somewhere on your reading-machine that years ago Brian De Palma made a movie, Passion. Every muckety-muck at some film festival jeered it, and the movie vanished, and now, a lifetime later, it's been rediscovered, released at last, reappraised and roundly toasted and available for you to enjoy on your laptop or flatscreen or your reading machine, which nobody uses to read anymore.
Here's an early expression of concern that what we mostly see in our lives are screens, often screens showing screens, except for those moments when we're staring into cameras—you know, during sex. Here's paranoid sex-video stealing. Here's once outré bedroom gear—Eyes Wide Shut masks, a red-licorice strap-on, a string of anal beads as chromed and wide as trailer hitches—in a film that's less sexually explicit than most cable TV shows.
Here's a familiar, bravura split-screen sequence recalling Dressed to Kill in its pairing of high art (this time ballet) and kinky stalking, but this time the effect seems less a new way of seeing than an acknowledgement of how we see already: With your web browser open, and the movie itself only taking up half of your device's display, your screen is already split. De Palma trisects it.
Here's '90s Cinemax After Dark's idea of lesbianism, and some sexy saxophone pillow music (from Pino Donaggio) that sounds like the tears of a Nagel print. Here are sumptuously lit corridors and staircases of the sort that are forever turning up in thrillers that aspire to the psychological (and Mel Brooks's High Anxiety), the kind where the architecture is meant to suggest a disoriented mind. And here at last—a little later than would be ideal—is a '70s De Palma murder, and then the wee brunette with the dry-crackle voice sinks into a drugged-out, wrongly accused plot recalling that Steven Soderbergh thing you saw on TCM last week, Side Effects, the one that ground that other girl with the dragon tattoo through something like the same pharmaceutical Hitchcockisms.
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That it’s jovially referred to as a suicide handle is not something my passenger found quite so amusing, despite my best effort at a calming discussion about how the F-type sports car’s technology is so good it’s virtually impossible to unseat the beast, even while proceeding very, very quickly round some rather tight tree-lined bends.It’s not that I aim to terrorise passengers, although my mother would argue the contrary.
But decisions have to be weighed, and choices made. And when you’ve been given carriage of the iconic brand’s first sports car since the E-type, when the sun is shining, the wattle is in bloom and the roads are that stellar blend of isolated and curly, sometimes you have to sacrifice the passenger. Not literally, obviously – mine made it out alive, albeit extracting herself from the rather low-slung but surprisingly comfortable seat declaring: “I think I can actually see beads of sweat on my palms.”
The F-type has taken Jaguar four years to develop and is unlike anything you’d expect. Wide and short, the profile is sleek and agate beads, without any echo of other sports cars you see on the road. It takes a while to get used to the styling, but as much as I cringe at the suggestion, it’s a car a woman could drive without looking like a terrifying alpha-female.
The V8 model sits in roughly the same bucket as the Porsche 911 Carrera, the Audi R8 or the Aston Martin Vantage, and will set you back a little over $200,000. Its base (Jag say “foundation”) V6 model starts around the $138,000 mark, but the middle sibling, the V6S, is what I used to freak out my passenger on that sunny autumn day.The lighter V6 engine means weight is better distributed and gives a more even handling experience. All have whip-quick steering, and I didn’t mind the extra weight of the F-Types compared with others in the market.
Yes it’s a 3.0 litre engine against the V8’s 5.0 litre, and yes it’s “only” got 280 nags, while the big brother has 364 kilowatts, but when it gets down to it, the V6S gives a great ride in the city and importantly sounds almost as good.Hit the gas, push the tacho towards red and bask momentarily in the supercharged squeal of the engine. It makes you smile in the same way reaching the highest point on the rollercoaster does: adrenaline, satisfaction and expectation of even better things to come.
Ease your foot off the throttle and the engine noise detonates.Without being dramatic, do this somewhere like Sydney’s Lane Cove tunnel and there is no better feeling. I’m pretty sure I squealed. As did the driver in the Aston Martin sitting on my tail. And yes, it gave me a bout of “I’m actually surprised to be saying it but I like my car better than your car” smugness.
Jaguar uses a system which cuts fuel to three of the six cylinders in its S series engines as revs drop, then drip-feeding in petrol to generate hundreds of mini-explosions as the fuel and Beads factory.It’s probably the thing I like best about the F-type, but there are other features which kept me equally amused. Let’s not forget the air-conditioning vents that remain hidden in the dash to ensure more of the “cockpit” feel, rising like submarines only when you need air.
While it could be considered mere folly, the door handles are designed to sit flush so as not to ruin the car’s profile. Coincidentally, the system doubles as a deterrent for anyone thinking about carjacking.To that end, the boot has an illuminated internal toggle which releases the boot latch on the off-chance you, or one of the kids, gets stuck inside.I openly doubted how much use it would be, given a grown adult would probably have to be dismembered to fit in the “compact” luggage hold.
You read somewhere on your reading-machine that years ago Brian De Palma made a movie, Passion. Every muckety-muck at some film festival jeered it, and the movie vanished, and now, a lifetime later, it's been rediscovered, released at last, reappraised and roundly toasted and available for you to enjoy on your laptop or flatscreen or your reading machine, which nobody uses to read anymore.
Here's an early expression of concern that what we mostly see in our lives are screens, often screens showing screens, except for those moments when we're staring into cameras—you know, during sex. Here's paranoid sex-video stealing. Here's once outré bedroom gear—Eyes Wide Shut masks, a red-licorice strap-on, a string of anal beads as chromed and wide as trailer hitches—in a film that's less sexually explicit than most cable TV shows.
Here's a familiar, bravura split-screen sequence recalling Dressed to Kill in its pairing of high art (this time ballet) and kinky stalking, but this time the effect seems less a new way of seeing than an acknowledgement of how we see already: With your web browser open, and the movie itself only taking up half of your device's display, your screen is already split. De Palma trisects it.
Here's '90s Cinemax After Dark's idea of lesbianism, and some sexy saxophone pillow music (from Pino Donaggio) that sounds like the tears of a Nagel print. Here are sumptuously lit corridors and staircases of the sort that are forever turning up in thrillers that aspire to the psychological (and Mel Brooks's High Anxiety), the kind where the architecture is meant to suggest a disoriented mind. And here at last—a little later than would be ideal—is a '70s De Palma murder, and then the wee brunette with the dry-crackle voice sinks into a drugged-out, wrongly accused plot recalling that Steven Soderbergh thing you saw on TCM last week, Side Effects, the one that ground that other girl with the dragon tattoo through something like the same pharmaceutical Hitchcockisms.
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2013年7月30日星期二
Hardy Back At FINA World Championships
At the 2012 London Olympics Jessica Hardy brought home a pair of
Olympic medals, winning gold in the 4x100 medley relay and a bronze in
the 4x100 freestyle relay. She also competed in the 50 meter and 100
meter freestyle, reaching the finals in both events but finishing shy of
the medal stand.with Wholesale Cheap Custom Keychain and promotional key tags. Whats noticeably absent from that dance card is her signature event, the breaststroke.
Hardy is the world record holder in both the 50-meter and 100-meter breaststroke, setting those marks on the same day in August 2009. This weekend shell begin competition at the FINA World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, attempting to reassert her dominance over the two races.
It has been a nice change of pace to change up training breaststroke and freestyle, said Hardy. I have loved trying to grow my sprint free into being as competitive as possible, but breaststroke is a much more natural stroke for me and I excel at it a bit easier. I am really excited to be competing it again internationally, and feel really confident because of my past successes.
Last month in Indianapolis, Hardy qualified rather comfortably at the World Championship Trials. She was the top qualifier in the 50, setting a new national long course record with a 30.24 in the final. In the 100, Breeja Larson took the top qualifying spot in 1:06.16 with Hardy finishing .33 behind her in second place.
The London Olympics notwithstanding, Hardy has had success in the breaststroke beyond just her world records.Soft Winbo Key Cover decorates your key in fashionable ways. She has won seven different World Championship medals in the breaststroke alone, winning gold four times along the way, including most recently at the 2011 Worlds in Shanghai. For this competition in Barcelona, she will only be competing in the breaststroke, which has made training for the competition a bit different.
It is weird to not be training two strokes during this time between our trials and Worlds, but it is really nice to spend the time focusing in on technique, Hardy said.
Now 26, Hardy will be one of the more experienced swimmers in the competition. She says she enjoys the role of being a veteran, and it will allow her to feel more comfortable in her surroundings. Barcelona will be her eighth World Championships since her first appearance in 2005 and she has won at least two medals in each of her first seven trips.
As for the outlook for this competition, the focus remains intently on winning, along with an additional desire to post times that are close to her existing world record marks.
I have some time goals in mind, but definitely it is all about the race, said Hardy. I want to place as highly as possible in all of my events, and if I can approach the times that I have in mind it would be a cherry on top!
Though the two-week competition started late last week, the swimming portion wont get underway until this weekend. Hardys first action was yesterday as she qualified in the 100m and will be in the finals set for Tuesday. Then shell have a few days off before the 50m, which runs August 3-4. The she will be among the favorites in both races and clearly has the pedigree to win both, but shell get to save her best race for last.
I think the 50 has traditionally been my strongest distance, Hardy said. I am naturally very fast twitch and do very well at the shortest/fastest races.Online shopping for Business Work Card holder from a great selection of Office Products. However, I have spent a lot of time working on pacing and finishing my 100s as well, so my hopes are high in that race as well.
And why wouldnt hopes be high? Shes on a familiar stage with the confidence that comes from years of experience, and shes competing in the races where shes most comfortable and is most successful. When Jessica Hardy is at her best there is nobody faster.
King's comments are the latest futile attempt by a group of dead enders to reverse the demographic and cultural changes that are sweeping the United States. Because of rapid Latino population growth, the US Census Bureau estimates that whites will be a minority group nationally within forty years. Texas is already has a white minority and California is on the verge.
The state of Texas is doing everything it can to make sure that Anglos continue to hold political power in the face of this Latino demographic tsunami. Texas won't have any more success stopping back Latino power than King Canute had holding back the tide.
Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder asked a federal court to require Texas to get judicial permission before making changes in voting procedures in that state. The GOP Attorney General of Texas, Greg Abbott - who is also running for governor to replace Rick Perry - announced last month that he would implement a new law requiring Texans to show a state issued identification card before they vote.
This Texas plan - like other stricter voter requirements in other states - are laws in search of a crime. There have been few proven cases of voter fraud in Texas or anywhere else for that matter. In response to a request from the state of Texas, a federal court last year vetoed the voter ID plan because it "imposes strict, unforgiving burdens on the poor and racial majorities in Texas."
The US Supreme Court's decision last month to invalidate Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act ended the pre-clearance procedure that required Texas and many other states to clear changes in voting law with the Department of Justice. But Section 3 of the law stands and it allows the Justice Department to ask federal courts to pre-clear any state attempts to change voting requirements.
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Hardy is the world record holder in both the 50-meter and 100-meter breaststroke, setting those marks on the same day in August 2009. This weekend shell begin competition at the FINA World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, attempting to reassert her dominance over the two races.
It has been a nice change of pace to change up training breaststroke and freestyle, said Hardy. I have loved trying to grow my sprint free into being as competitive as possible, but breaststroke is a much more natural stroke for me and I excel at it a bit easier. I am really excited to be competing it again internationally, and feel really confident because of my past successes.
Last month in Indianapolis, Hardy qualified rather comfortably at the World Championship Trials. She was the top qualifier in the 50, setting a new national long course record with a 30.24 in the final. In the 100, Breeja Larson took the top qualifying spot in 1:06.16 with Hardy finishing .33 behind her in second place.
The London Olympics notwithstanding, Hardy has had success in the breaststroke beyond just her world records.Soft Winbo Key Cover decorates your key in fashionable ways. She has won seven different World Championship medals in the breaststroke alone, winning gold four times along the way, including most recently at the 2011 Worlds in Shanghai. For this competition in Barcelona, she will only be competing in the breaststroke, which has made training for the competition a bit different.
It is weird to not be training two strokes during this time between our trials and Worlds, but it is really nice to spend the time focusing in on technique, Hardy said.
Now 26, Hardy will be one of the more experienced swimmers in the competition. She says she enjoys the role of being a veteran, and it will allow her to feel more comfortable in her surroundings. Barcelona will be her eighth World Championships since her first appearance in 2005 and she has won at least two medals in each of her first seven trips.
As for the outlook for this competition, the focus remains intently on winning, along with an additional desire to post times that are close to her existing world record marks.
I have some time goals in mind, but definitely it is all about the race, said Hardy. I want to place as highly as possible in all of my events, and if I can approach the times that I have in mind it would be a cherry on top!
Though the two-week competition started late last week, the swimming portion wont get underway until this weekend. Hardys first action was yesterday as she qualified in the 100m and will be in the finals set for Tuesday. Then shell have a few days off before the 50m, which runs August 3-4. The she will be among the favorites in both races and clearly has the pedigree to win both, but shell get to save her best race for last.
I think the 50 has traditionally been my strongest distance, Hardy said. I am naturally very fast twitch and do very well at the shortest/fastest races.Online shopping for Business Work Card holder from a great selection of Office Products. However, I have spent a lot of time working on pacing and finishing my 100s as well, so my hopes are high in that race as well.
And why wouldnt hopes be high? Shes on a familiar stage with the confidence that comes from years of experience, and shes competing in the races where shes most comfortable and is most successful. When Jessica Hardy is at her best there is nobody faster.
King's comments are the latest futile attempt by a group of dead enders to reverse the demographic and cultural changes that are sweeping the United States. Because of rapid Latino population growth, the US Census Bureau estimates that whites will be a minority group nationally within forty years. Texas is already has a white minority and California is on the verge.
The state of Texas is doing everything it can to make sure that Anglos continue to hold political power in the face of this Latino demographic tsunami. Texas won't have any more success stopping back Latino power than King Canute had holding back the tide.
Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder asked a federal court to require Texas to get judicial permission before making changes in voting procedures in that state. The GOP Attorney General of Texas, Greg Abbott - who is also running for governor to replace Rick Perry - announced last month that he would implement a new law requiring Texans to show a state issued identification card before they vote.
This Texas plan - like other stricter voter requirements in other states - are laws in search of a crime. There have been few proven cases of voter fraud in Texas or anywhere else for that matter. In response to a request from the state of Texas, a federal court last year vetoed the voter ID plan because it "imposes strict, unforgiving burdens on the poor and racial majorities in Texas."
The US Supreme Court's decision last month to invalidate Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act ended the pre-clearance procedure that required Texas and many other states to clear changes in voting law with the Department of Justice. But Section 3 of the law stands and it allows the Justice Department to ask federal courts to pre-clear any state attempts to change voting requirements.
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New York Jets
John Idzik officially became cautious to a fault on Saturday, when
his insistence on portraying the Jets as a unified organization in which
all decisions are made collectively and collaboratively instead
undermined his own head coach.
Idzik, appearing at a press conference for the first time since the draft, turned a routine question about his role in determining the Jets' starting quarterback situation into his first brushfire as general manager by saying coach Rex Ryan would not have the final choice in the matter.
"It's a collaborative effort, guys," said Idzik, who used the word "collective" three times and "collaborative" twice in answering four questions about the decision-making process at quarterback. "It's not how it seems, that you wake up one morning and everyone"s waiting out with baited breath on someone with the scroll."
And so instead of simply saying what 31 other general managers would have said -- that Ryan decides who does and doesn't play -- Idzik left everyone to parse his statements, which qualifies as an amusing irony given that everything Idzik says seems to have been put through a colander in order to remove any semblance of anything interesting.
Was Idzik, a first-time general manager inheriting a roster and a franchise in disarray, merely being overly careful and trying to portray himself as a detail-oriented unifier who appreciates the input of every member of the organization?
"It's going to be a collective opinion - we're going to hash it out," Idzik said. "And it's not limited to quarterbacks. I know that's front stage and center, but it's every position, everything that we do. And it could be discussing schemes, different approaches to training camp. I think you have noticed that we changed our schedule around a little bit. We'll discuss everything.O
Or was Idzik beginning the seemingly inevitable process of nudging Ryan aside? Ryan is coming off consecutive non-winning seasons and entering the penultimate year of his contract under a new general manager. In other words: He's got an uphill climb if he hopes to keep his job beyond this season.
"There is so much that goes into it and it is not going to be a surprise to anyone in the room," Idzik said. "There is a lot if input -- there is input from our offensive staff, there is input from our scouts, there will be input from, of course, me, and Rex."
Idzik wasn't the only person who had his words carefully scrutinized over the weekend. Ryan, in full self-preservation mode, insisted the Jets have always exercised collaboration when determining the lineup.
My parents may disagree but I think for the most part we did as we were told and didn't expect much in return. I don't recall having to be bribed into doing anything.Well my friends, times have changed. While raising my own children I have come to understand that at times we need to use a little encouragement.
My eldest son was and still is quite unorganized. He would lose everything! In the middle of winter, he would come home, unpack his bag and would be missing shoes and his coat. Okay, so don't you think you may have noticed as you walked out of school in February that you were missing something? I tried everything to make it worth while for him to keep track of his stuff. There were the dimes in the jar if he remembered, points in order to earn something he wanted, and of course punishment if he forgot. Nothing worked. I resorted to natural consequences. Forgot your homework at home? Sorry, this bus doesn't stop at school. Forgot that you needed your swim cap and goggles for the State Swim meet? Guess you'll borrow someone else's or blind yourself with eyes full of chlorine. I know, kind of harsh, but I was out of ideas and patience.
Thankfully, dogs seem to be a bit more eager to please and not nearly as forgetful. It's all about making an association. Victoria Stilwell, of "It's Me or The Dog'' is one of my favorite dog trainers. She always uses a positive approach. The phrase that rings in my head that she always uses, in her British accent, is "you want your dog to understand that when he does something you want him to, good things happen to him.''. Those good things maybe food, a toy, some petting, or simply verbal praise. Whatever motivates your dog.
She also talks about catching your dog in the act of doing something you like or want him to do, even if you have not asked him to do it. Soon,with Wholesale Cheap Custom Keychain and promotional key tags. you can put a verbal cue with it and bingo, they think, if I do this, I get what I want. It really is not so far off from how we teach our children.Soft Winbo Key Cover decorates your key in fashionable ways.
So then comes those people that rebutt with, ''I don't want to always carry around a treat or toy to get them to do what I want.''. Neither do I. I'm not excited about constantly smelling like the Oscar Meyer weiner, but if that's what it takes to make that good behavior a habit, I'll sacrifice myself. That is truly how you change any behavior, even with people. Exercise and eating right doesn't happen overnight. We start practicing, and little by little it becomes a habit and we can't fathom how we ever ate all of that junk before.
So, do what you have to do to get the results you want. When you feel your dog has a solid understanding of what is expected, start treating less frequently. They may give you the, ''Hello..Online shopping for Business Work Card holder from a great selection of Office Products..I did what you wanted, know where's my reward'' look at first, and that's okay. Give them a scratch behind the ear or a ''good boy'' and keep going. Surprise them every once in awhile with a reward. Keep them guessing which time you'll treat. That way they are always on their best behavior.
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Idzik, appearing at a press conference for the first time since the draft, turned a routine question about his role in determining the Jets' starting quarterback situation into his first brushfire as general manager by saying coach Rex Ryan would not have the final choice in the matter.
"It's a collaborative effort, guys," said Idzik, who used the word "collective" three times and "collaborative" twice in answering four questions about the decision-making process at quarterback. "It's not how it seems, that you wake up one morning and everyone"s waiting out with baited breath on someone with the scroll."
And so instead of simply saying what 31 other general managers would have said -- that Ryan decides who does and doesn't play -- Idzik left everyone to parse his statements, which qualifies as an amusing irony given that everything Idzik says seems to have been put through a colander in order to remove any semblance of anything interesting.
Was Idzik, a first-time general manager inheriting a roster and a franchise in disarray, merely being overly careful and trying to portray himself as a detail-oriented unifier who appreciates the input of every member of the organization?
"It's going to be a collective opinion - we're going to hash it out," Idzik said. "And it's not limited to quarterbacks. I know that's front stage and center, but it's every position, everything that we do. And it could be discussing schemes, different approaches to training camp. I think you have noticed that we changed our schedule around a little bit. We'll discuss everything.O
Or was Idzik beginning the seemingly inevitable process of nudging Ryan aside? Ryan is coming off consecutive non-winning seasons and entering the penultimate year of his contract under a new general manager. In other words: He's got an uphill climb if he hopes to keep his job beyond this season.
"There is so much that goes into it and it is not going to be a surprise to anyone in the room," Idzik said. "There is a lot if input -- there is input from our offensive staff, there is input from our scouts, there will be input from, of course, me, and Rex."
Idzik wasn't the only person who had his words carefully scrutinized over the weekend. Ryan, in full self-preservation mode, insisted the Jets have always exercised collaboration when determining the lineup.
My parents may disagree but I think for the most part we did as we were told and didn't expect much in return. I don't recall having to be bribed into doing anything.Well my friends, times have changed. While raising my own children I have come to understand that at times we need to use a little encouragement.
My eldest son was and still is quite unorganized. He would lose everything! In the middle of winter, he would come home, unpack his bag and would be missing shoes and his coat. Okay, so don't you think you may have noticed as you walked out of school in February that you were missing something? I tried everything to make it worth while for him to keep track of his stuff. There were the dimes in the jar if he remembered, points in order to earn something he wanted, and of course punishment if he forgot. Nothing worked. I resorted to natural consequences. Forgot your homework at home? Sorry, this bus doesn't stop at school. Forgot that you needed your swim cap and goggles for the State Swim meet? Guess you'll borrow someone else's or blind yourself with eyes full of chlorine. I know, kind of harsh, but I was out of ideas and patience.
Thankfully, dogs seem to be a bit more eager to please and not nearly as forgetful. It's all about making an association. Victoria Stilwell, of "It's Me or The Dog'' is one of my favorite dog trainers. She always uses a positive approach. The phrase that rings in my head that she always uses, in her British accent, is "you want your dog to understand that when he does something you want him to, good things happen to him.''. Those good things maybe food, a toy, some petting, or simply verbal praise. Whatever motivates your dog.
She also talks about catching your dog in the act of doing something you like or want him to do, even if you have not asked him to do it. Soon,with Wholesale Cheap Custom Keychain and promotional key tags. you can put a verbal cue with it and bingo, they think, if I do this, I get what I want. It really is not so far off from how we teach our children.Soft Winbo Key Cover decorates your key in fashionable ways.
So then comes those people that rebutt with, ''I don't want to always carry around a treat or toy to get them to do what I want.''. Neither do I. I'm not excited about constantly smelling like the Oscar Meyer weiner, but if that's what it takes to make that good behavior a habit, I'll sacrifice myself. That is truly how you change any behavior, even with people. Exercise and eating right doesn't happen overnight. We start practicing, and little by little it becomes a habit and we can't fathom how we ever ate all of that junk before.
So, do what you have to do to get the results you want. When you feel your dog has a solid understanding of what is expected, start treating less frequently. They may give you the, ''Hello..Online shopping for Business Work Card holder from a great selection of Office Products..I did what you wanted, know where's my reward'' look at first, and that's okay. Give them a scratch behind the ear or a ''good boy'' and keep going. Surprise them every once in awhile with a reward. Keep them guessing which time you'll treat. That way they are always on their best behavior.
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2013年7月28日星期日
Banknado!
The Bible says that God spoke to Job from a whirlwind, asking him
rhetorically if he could catch the giant sea creature Leviathan with
only a fishing hook. "Can you make a pet of him like a bird," Job was
asked, "or put him on a leash for your children?"The United States faces
a task of roughly the same magnitude, that of taming this country's
mega-banks. They're the sea monsters of the economy, waiting to lure
entire nations into the depths, and regulators don't have much more to
work with than a fishing hook.
Dodd/Frank's moderate prescriptions are being eviscerated by hack Republicans who've been bought off lock, stock, and barrel by the bankers. Other urgently-needed reforms are dismissed by leaders in both parties as "politically impossible": A restoration of Glass/Steagall. A financial transaction tax. Breaking up the too-big-to-fail banks.Politically impossible? They're popular with voters across the political spectrum. Why aren't they already the law of the land?
Here's why: Republicans are in Wall Street's hip pocket. As for the White House, this is from Ezra Klein's coverage of Lawrence Summers' candidacy for Federal Reserve chair: "the White House ... (is) getting feedback from fans of Summers, who are ... very present in the ranks of economic and Wall Street heavyweights who've worked or fundraised at high levels in Democratic administrations."The "banknado" metaphor may seem too flippant, too informal, given the gravity of the problem. But banker fraud's been described in dispassionate detail again and again. There have been countless expressions of fully-justified outrage at the amorality and immorality of Wall Street CEOs and their Washington enablers.
Nothing's changed. The evidence is overwhelming, the case is clear, but business goes on as usual.How many times can Wall Street's fraud be clinically described, its effects on the economy laid out on the table like an autopsy? How many times can practical solutions be proposed, only to be dismissed by bought-off politicians? How many times can bankers like Jamie Dimon be called out for crimes committed under their leadership, only to see them lionized once again in Washington and the mainstream media?
What is there to say that hasn't been said? Outrage marginalizes the outraged, giving policymakers one more excuse to dismiss their warnings and prescriptions.Online shopping for Business Work Card holder from a great selection of Office Products. It can also trigger a level of reader rage toward bankers that is sometimes disturbing.The goal is to change a broken system, not to trigger vengeful emotions toward individuals. Miscreant bank executives are simply responding to the incentives society has given them. Yes, they're behaving venally -- but as the fable of the scorpion and the frog says: It's their nature. Perhaps they would be better citizens and better human beings if we didn't reward them so handsomely for being so much less than that.with Wholesale Cheap Custom Keychain and promotional key tags.
And so Wall Street moves on, a whirlwind of razor teeth and predatory instinct. Bankers commit fraud, settle for billions paid with other people's money, then commit the very same crimes again. Why not? Their financial incentives encourage it.And who's stopping them? The writers and activists who catalog their crimes are marginalized as radicals, scolds, and bores. The ones who strike a "moderate" tone help perpetuate a climate in which their behavior continues unchecked.
If Wall Street's not reined in, it's only a matter of time before there's another crisis. What the government describes as a "recovery" is fragile at best, and includes ongoing depression for millions of people. There could be another banker-driven financial crisis at any moment.Our leaders stand motionless, one hand covering their eyes and the other outstretched for cash. Too many financial journalists are hypnotized by the charismatic glow of great wealth and power. Meanwhile the sky's growing darker -- and the forecast calls for sharks.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Americas largest and most powerful Muslim advocacy group, called Saturday for the Obama administration to condemn military attacks against the Freedom and Justice Party, the controversial religious party removed from power in a recent coup that the Obama administration is insisting was not a coup.
The administration reportedly fears that declaring a coup detat in Egypt would force the U.S. to suspend all of its assistance programs in the country,Soft Winbo Key Cover decorates your key in fashionable ways. which also help block weapons smuggling to Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Despite the Obama administrations inaction, Egyptian military forces have instituted a shoot-to-kill policy to suppress protesters urging the return of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi to power. Morsi, who fled Cairo during the military non-coup earlier this month, has been defiant in exile and Egypt hangs in the balance. 65 or 66 pro-Morsi protesters were killed Saturday by military forces near a sit-in at a Cairo mosque.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nations largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, today called on the Obama administration to forcefully condemn the killing of dozens of pro-democracy demonstrators by Egyptian security forces, according to a statement released by the group Saturday.
We join with those in Egypt and in the international community who are condemning the violence, including Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayyeb, who said he deplores and condemns the deaths of a number of martyrs who were victims of todays events, CAIR stated.
Condemnations came from across the political spectrum, including from Mohamed ElBaradei, who strongly condemned the excessive use of force. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said: I call on the Egyptian authorities to respect the right of peaceful protest, to cease the use of violence against protesters, including live fire, and to hold to account those responsible, CAIR stated.
Without a clear condemnation of the killings, we send the message that even more repressive measures may be taken against the demonstrators. The clearest indicator of our nations revulsion at the killings would be to suspend all American military aid until the violence stops and democratic freedoms are restored, CAIR stated.
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Dodd/Frank's moderate prescriptions are being eviscerated by hack Republicans who've been bought off lock, stock, and barrel by the bankers. Other urgently-needed reforms are dismissed by leaders in both parties as "politically impossible": A restoration of Glass/Steagall. A financial transaction tax. Breaking up the too-big-to-fail banks.Politically impossible? They're popular with voters across the political spectrum. Why aren't they already the law of the land?
Here's why: Republicans are in Wall Street's hip pocket. As for the White House, this is from Ezra Klein's coverage of Lawrence Summers' candidacy for Federal Reserve chair: "the White House ... (is) getting feedback from fans of Summers, who are ... very present in the ranks of economic and Wall Street heavyweights who've worked or fundraised at high levels in Democratic administrations."The "banknado" metaphor may seem too flippant, too informal, given the gravity of the problem. But banker fraud's been described in dispassionate detail again and again. There have been countless expressions of fully-justified outrage at the amorality and immorality of Wall Street CEOs and their Washington enablers.
Nothing's changed. The evidence is overwhelming, the case is clear, but business goes on as usual.How many times can Wall Street's fraud be clinically described, its effects on the economy laid out on the table like an autopsy? How many times can practical solutions be proposed, only to be dismissed by bought-off politicians? How many times can bankers like Jamie Dimon be called out for crimes committed under their leadership, only to see them lionized once again in Washington and the mainstream media?
What is there to say that hasn't been said? Outrage marginalizes the outraged, giving policymakers one more excuse to dismiss their warnings and prescriptions.Online shopping for Business Work Card holder from a great selection of Office Products. It can also trigger a level of reader rage toward bankers that is sometimes disturbing.The goal is to change a broken system, not to trigger vengeful emotions toward individuals. Miscreant bank executives are simply responding to the incentives society has given them. Yes, they're behaving venally -- but as the fable of the scorpion and the frog says: It's their nature. Perhaps they would be better citizens and better human beings if we didn't reward them so handsomely for being so much less than that.with Wholesale Cheap Custom Keychain and promotional key tags.
And so Wall Street moves on, a whirlwind of razor teeth and predatory instinct. Bankers commit fraud, settle for billions paid with other people's money, then commit the very same crimes again. Why not? Their financial incentives encourage it.And who's stopping them? The writers and activists who catalog their crimes are marginalized as radicals, scolds, and bores. The ones who strike a "moderate" tone help perpetuate a climate in which their behavior continues unchecked.
If Wall Street's not reined in, it's only a matter of time before there's another crisis. What the government describes as a "recovery" is fragile at best, and includes ongoing depression for millions of people. There could be another banker-driven financial crisis at any moment.Our leaders stand motionless, one hand covering their eyes and the other outstretched for cash. Too many financial journalists are hypnotized by the charismatic glow of great wealth and power. Meanwhile the sky's growing darker -- and the forecast calls for sharks.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Americas largest and most powerful Muslim advocacy group, called Saturday for the Obama administration to condemn military attacks against the Freedom and Justice Party, the controversial religious party removed from power in a recent coup that the Obama administration is insisting was not a coup.
The administration reportedly fears that declaring a coup detat in Egypt would force the U.S. to suspend all of its assistance programs in the country,Soft Winbo Key Cover decorates your key in fashionable ways. which also help block weapons smuggling to Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Despite the Obama administrations inaction, Egyptian military forces have instituted a shoot-to-kill policy to suppress protesters urging the return of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi to power. Morsi, who fled Cairo during the military non-coup earlier this month, has been defiant in exile and Egypt hangs in the balance. 65 or 66 pro-Morsi protesters were killed Saturday by military forces near a sit-in at a Cairo mosque.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nations largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, today called on the Obama administration to forcefully condemn the killing of dozens of pro-democracy demonstrators by Egyptian security forces, according to a statement released by the group Saturday.
We join with those in Egypt and in the international community who are condemning the violence, including Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayyeb, who said he deplores and condemns the deaths of a number of martyrs who were victims of todays events, CAIR stated.
Condemnations came from across the political spectrum, including from Mohamed ElBaradei, who strongly condemned the excessive use of force. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said: I call on the Egyptian authorities to respect the right of peaceful protest, to cease the use of violence against protesters, including live fire, and to hold to account those responsible, CAIR stated.
Without a clear condemnation of the killings, we send the message that even more repressive measures may be taken against the demonstrators. The clearest indicator of our nations revulsion at the killings would be to suspend all American military aid until the violence stops and democratic freedoms are restored, CAIR stated.
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For the love of music
When Janet Standeford was 7 years old, she would press her ear to her
familys quiet radio, listen, and sing. She sang as a child, and learned
to play accordion.Years later I picked up a guitar and its been an
uphill battle since, she said with a laugh. I fell in love with the
guitar. Now I hope to learn the electric guitar.
Though she usually plays 12-string acoustic guitar, she took advantage of the auction at the Blues at the Brewery music festival, and bought a six-string Gibson for $80.Standeford, who currently lives in Baker City but is in Klamath Falls working at Experience Works, decided to come to the Klamath Blues Societys annual event for the first time Saturday.
The festival has been at Veterans Memorial Park in past years, but this year moved to a more rural setting at Mia and Pias brewery between Klamath Falls and Merrill. Organizer Phyllis Faries said the new location worked well, with summer breezes wafting through in the afternoon.Online shopping for Business Work Card holder from a great selection of Office Products. The only challenge was shade. Canopies shaded people while they sat, but if they wanted to dance they had to do so in the sun.
Faries called the Blues at the Brewerys music lineup fantastic.Local band Nephilim started off the festival, followed by Central Point band Mercy. In between that set and the next, Jasmine Zangari, the Klamath Union High School grad receiving the blues societys scholarship this year, played a mash-up of Purple Haze and Sonata in E Minor by Bernhard Romberg on her cello. Last was the headliner, Cee Cee James and her band.
Faries compared James belting voice to Janice Joplin. The band performed at the Klamath blues festival in 2009. After placing in the semifinals of the International Blues Challenge in Nashville, James toured Europe and lived in Tennessee. She now lives in Grants Pass.Those who came to the festival came for the love of music, and the love of blues.I love blues, always loved the blues, said Pamela Thompson, of Klamath Falls. The beat. The rhythm. It makes you want to get up and move.
Fantastic bands, added Loren King, of Klamath Falls.For $9 you cant beat it, chimed in Van Johnson, of Malin.Music adds a lot of happiness, said Zangari, the KU grad who received the blues society scholarship. She will be going to Western Oregon University to study nursing.with Wholesale Cheap Custom Keychain and promotional key tags. Playing on cello, or singing, itll lift your mood no matter what age you are. Why do people listen to music? It makes them feel better.
A year later, more questions than answers remain. But the police investigation is closed, and aspects of Hughes' and Jackson's deaths will probably always be unfathomable, especially to those who knew and loved the young men.This much is known: A former classmate from Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis dropped Jackson and Hughes off on an empty Summit-University street. He later said that he saw the handle of a gun in Jackson's waistband and heard a "pow" as he drove away. Police found Police believe Jackson killed Hughes. Jackson had untreated schizophrenia, "which most likely played a significant role" in what happened, said Sgt. Paul Dunnom, the lead investigator. "However, since he is dead, we will never know the answer to that question."
Jackson's family says they don't know what happened to Hughes. They were desperate to get help for Jackson, who was 22 when he died, and they think more treatment should be available to the mentally ill."He wouldn't take his medicine," Frances Jackson said. "I used to say, 'Let's break it up and put it in his orange juice,' " but they didn't because they didn't want to deceive him. Police found a 9mm handgun under Jackson's leg. A forensic scientist at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's laboratory determined that it was the one used to fire the bullets found in Jackson's and Hughes' bodies and the spent casings recovered on Fuller Avenue and Charles Street, a police report said.
DNA from several surfaces of the gun, including the trigger and muzzle, matched Jackson's. Neither Hughes' nor Ondieki's DNA was on the gun, a police report said. The gun, with an altered serial number, had not been reported stolen, a report said.One friend told police he'd "never seen Jackson with a gun and added 'nobody would give him a gun' and referred to Jackson's mental health," a police report said.
Dunnom said the gun's last legal owner was unknown; where and how Jackson got the gun wasn't the focus of Dunnom's investigation.Soft Winbo Key Cover decorates your key in fashionable ways. A check of a law enforcement database didn't match it to any other crimes, Dunnom said.Jackson's mother told police that her son's friends said the gun was given to her son and/or Hughes by a friend; she didn't know why, a report said.It wasn't the first time a gun had figured into Jackson's and Hughes' lives.
They were charged as teens in 2007 with having a gun in a Minneapolis park. Hughes said he'd bought it for $100 for protection, and Jackson asked to see it and put it in his own backpack, according to juvenile petitions.
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Though she usually plays 12-string acoustic guitar, she took advantage of the auction at the Blues at the Brewery music festival, and bought a six-string Gibson for $80.Standeford, who currently lives in Baker City but is in Klamath Falls working at Experience Works, decided to come to the Klamath Blues Societys annual event for the first time Saturday.
The festival has been at Veterans Memorial Park in past years, but this year moved to a more rural setting at Mia and Pias brewery between Klamath Falls and Merrill. Organizer Phyllis Faries said the new location worked well, with summer breezes wafting through in the afternoon.Online shopping for Business Work Card holder from a great selection of Office Products. The only challenge was shade. Canopies shaded people while they sat, but if they wanted to dance they had to do so in the sun.
Faries called the Blues at the Brewerys music lineup fantastic.Local band Nephilim started off the festival, followed by Central Point band Mercy. In between that set and the next, Jasmine Zangari, the Klamath Union High School grad receiving the blues societys scholarship this year, played a mash-up of Purple Haze and Sonata in E Minor by Bernhard Romberg on her cello. Last was the headliner, Cee Cee James and her band.
Faries compared James belting voice to Janice Joplin. The band performed at the Klamath blues festival in 2009. After placing in the semifinals of the International Blues Challenge in Nashville, James toured Europe and lived in Tennessee. She now lives in Grants Pass.Those who came to the festival came for the love of music, and the love of blues.I love blues, always loved the blues, said Pamela Thompson, of Klamath Falls. The beat. The rhythm. It makes you want to get up and move.
Fantastic bands, added Loren King, of Klamath Falls.For $9 you cant beat it, chimed in Van Johnson, of Malin.Music adds a lot of happiness, said Zangari, the KU grad who received the blues society scholarship. She will be going to Western Oregon University to study nursing.with Wholesale Cheap Custom Keychain and promotional key tags. Playing on cello, or singing, itll lift your mood no matter what age you are. Why do people listen to music? It makes them feel better.
A year later, more questions than answers remain. But the police investigation is closed, and aspects of Hughes' and Jackson's deaths will probably always be unfathomable, especially to those who knew and loved the young men.This much is known: A former classmate from Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis dropped Jackson and Hughes off on an empty Summit-University street. He later said that he saw the handle of a gun in Jackson's waistband and heard a "pow" as he drove away. Police found Police believe Jackson killed Hughes. Jackson had untreated schizophrenia, "which most likely played a significant role" in what happened, said Sgt. Paul Dunnom, the lead investigator. "However, since he is dead, we will never know the answer to that question."
Jackson's family says they don't know what happened to Hughes. They were desperate to get help for Jackson, who was 22 when he died, and they think more treatment should be available to the mentally ill."He wouldn't take his medicine," Frances Jackson said. "I used to say, 'Let's break it up and put it in his orange juice,' " but they didn't because they didn't want to deceive him. Police found a 9mm handgun under Jackson's leg. A forensic scientist at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's laboratory determined that it was the one used to fire the bullets found in Jackson's and Hughes' bodies and the spent casings recovered on Fuller Avenue and Charles Street, a police report said.
DNA from several surfaces of the gun, including the trigger and muzzle, matched Jackson's. Neither Hughes' nor Ondieki's DNA was on the gun, a police report said. The gun, with an altered serial number, had not been reported stolen, a report said.One friend told police he'd "never seen Jackson with a gun and added 'nobody would give him a gun' and referred to Jackson's mental health," a police report said.
Dunnom said the gun's last legal owner was unknown; where and how Jackson got the gun wasn't the focus of Dunnom's investigation.Soft Winbo Key Cover decorates your key in fashionable ways. A check of a law enforcement database didn't match it to any other crimes, Dunnom said.Jackson's mother told police that her son's friends said the gun was given to her son and/or Hughes by a friend; she didn't know why, a report said.It wasn't the first time a gun had figured into Jackson's and Hughes' lives.
They were charged as teens in 2007 with having a gun in a Minneapolis park. Hughes said he'd bought it for $100 for protection, and Jackson asked to see it and put it in his own backpack, according to juvenile petitions.
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2013年7月25日星期四
A newcomer tries its hand at Android tablets
Hisense, a company best known for its home theater equipment, isn't
exactly a name synonymous with mobile devices. But with its new,
Walmart-exclusive line of Android tablets -- the Sero 7 LT and Sero 7
Pro -- the Chinese manufacturer is dipping its toe into an increasingly
crowded pool. Both tablets occupy the budget end of the spectrum, with
the higher-end of the two, the Sero 7 Pro, going for a reasonable $150.
For the price, the specs are decent: the Sero comes with a 1,280 x 800
display, a quad-core Tegra 3 processor and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. We
dove headfirst into this bargain buy to see how it fares against
similarly priced 7-inch tablets. Want to find out if Hisense has the
chops to compete? Read on, friends.Soft Winbo Key Cover decorates your key in fashionable ways.
Shopping for budget tablets is an exercise in managing one's expectations. With the Sero 7 Pro, Hisense seems to have strategically carved out its budget, using modest materials for the hardware. With dimensions of 7.87 x 4.95 x 0.43 inches, the Sero 7 is a comfortably sized tablet that feels fairly sturdy in-hand. And at 12.7 ounces, it's not the lightest Android tablet on the block either, but the slight heft does add to that feeling of durability. Design-wise, the plastic backing is textured to to provide a decent grip, and the coppery hue looks more expensive than it is, especially in sunlight. Hisense seemed determined to prove that inexpensive materials don't necessarily correlate with an inexpensive aesthetic; the Sero 7's clean lines make for a nice-looking budget device.
Continuing our tour, the power button is located near the top of the device on the right-hand side, right above the volume rocker. Both are made from black plastic that feels a bit flimsy, especially compared to that textured backing. Along the top you'll find mini-HDMI and micro-USB and ports, a covered microSD slot (which can handle up to 32GB), a 3.5mm headphone jack and a pinhole microphone. The HDMI-out is a nice touch, and it worked adequately when we paired it with a Sony HDTV to watch a few high-quality YouTube videos (included, we're not proud to admit, the "Sad Cat Diary" more than once). Should you decide to add the Sero 7 Pro to your gadget collection, you'll be happy to know that USB on-the-go is enabled, allowing you to use it with a flash drive, keyboard or mouse.
Out of the box, you'll find a sticker near the bottom of the device's backing, marking off the area where the NFC sensor lives. Right beneath that are two small stereo speakers (more on those later). An embossed Hisense logo sits in the middle, while a 5MP rear facing camera and its accompanying light sensor sit near the uppermost edge. Also included are GPS, Bluetooth and 5GHz 802.11n. Lastly, the tablet comes with 8GB of internal storage space, so that microSD port will almost surely come in handy.
While the Sero 7's hardware might lack a certain pizzazz, the same can't be said about the 1,280 x 800 display. This is one area where Hisense decided to splurge. Colors appear vivid, with dimension and depth. Blacks, which so often turn gray on mobile devices, look deep and dark here, and the screen gets bright enough to sear your eyeballs (a useful quality in direct sunlight). Additionally, the 7-inch screen offers great viewing angles without losing much color vibrancy when looked at from the side with the device laying flat.
From the rainbow-hued landscape of Candy Crush Saga to the eye-popping bubblegum pinks of Nicki Minaj music videos (played in HD, of course), the Sero 7's display served up rich, vibrant colors. Similarly, videos played back smoothly and beautifully. Text, in Play Books and Chrome, was as crisp as you'd want it to be. For a budget tablet,Online shopping for Business Work Card holder from a great selection of Office Products. the display was nothing to shake a stick at, and we were left considerably impressed with its quality.
Unfortunately, the quality wasn't as consistent when we got to the Sero 7's sound. It's not that the audio coming from the device's dual speakers was bad. Not at all. Mobile speakers are what they are -- we weren't blown away by the Sero 7's audio capabilities, but they performed adequately, even at maximum volume. Tablet users are no strangers to the tinny effect that often accompanies their devices' audio, but it was less noticeable here than it was on a similarly priced tablet, the HP Slate 7. Dialogue and background music in movie previews played well, with the slight tinny echo more evident in songs that called for more bass than the Sero 7 could provide.
Our disappointment heightened when we tested the tablet with some headsets we had lying around. We discovered that the Sero 7 has pretty severe compatibility issues with more than its fair share of brands. When paired with Sony, Apple and Jabra earbuds, the Sero 7 didn't register that a headset had been inserted into the 3.5 mm jack, and the audio came out of the device's speakers as if our earbuds weren't even there. We had better luck with a pair of over-the-ear Panasonic headphones and Tylt Tunz earbuds. When the Sero 7 actually recognized that the headphone jack was in use, we were sufficiently pleased with the quality, which was rich and true on the songs we tested despite the lack of an EQ setting in the tablet's main menu. However, the compatibility issue might be problematic if you find yourself needed to run out to purchase brand new headphones to use with your device. No one wants to be bothered with that.
The Sero 7 comes Android 4.2.1, which means it's lacking some of the most recent Jelly Bean features we've come to know and love. Beyond that, the tablet is running an almost stock version of Android, with minimal skinning. There are a few apps preloaded to the device, some of which you might never use, but some which might actually prove beneficial to you. Because this is a Walmart exclusive, the Sero 7 is, of course, packing Walmart's own app, along with one for Sam's Club. If you're a Walmart shopper, that might be of use to you, but we simply shrugged and went on our merry way. If they're really bother you,Winbo custom keychain you can always uninstall them. Also loaded on the device are the VUDU Movies and TV app and Kingsoft, a Microsoft Office clone that lets you create and edit .doc, .xls and .txt files.
In addition to Chrome, Gmail, YouTube and other standard issue Google apps, the Sero 7 also includes TegraZone, an app store for NVIDIA optimized games (which, like VUDU, cannot be uninstalled since they're system apps). It's not a bad addition, considering the device's NVIDIA quad-core Tegra 3 processor, but again, how useful it is is entirely up to you. For Flash support, the regular ol' Android browser is available for when Chrome doesn't suit your needs. Curiously enough, there's also a TV remote app, though without an IR sensor, it has limited usability. Your TV needs to be hooked up the same WiFi network as your tablet.
Applications aside, there have been a few tweaks to the standard Android 4.2.1 package. On the bottom navigation bar, Hisense has added a screen capture icon to the three we're used to (recent, menu and back). If you're accustomed to Android devices, you'll probably find yourself taking a ton of accidental screenshots as you instinctively aim for the recently used apps icon (as we did), but it's actually a pretty neat feature. Some may see it as an unnecessary addition, but it's much easier than pressing the power and volume buttons down simultaneously to make screen grabs.
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Shopping for budget tablets is an exercise in managing one's expectations. With the Sero 7 Pro, Hisense seems to have strategically carved out its budget, using modest materials for the hardware. With dimensions of 7.87 x 4.95 x 0.43 inches, the Sero 7 is a comfortably sized tablet that feels fairly sturdy in-hand. And at 12.7 ounces, it's not the lightest Android tablet on the block either, but the slight heft does add to that feeling of durability. Design-wise, the plastic backing is textured to to provide a decent grip, and the coppery hue looks more expensive than it is, especially in sunlight. Hisense seemed determined to prove that inexpensive materials don't necessarily correlate with an inexpensive aesthetic; the Sero 7's clean lines make for a nice-looking budget device.
Continuing our tour, the power button is located near the top of the device on the right-hand side, right above the volume rocker. Both are made from black plastic that feels a bit flimsy, especially compared to that textured backing. Along the top you'll find mini-HDMI and micro-USB and ports, a covered microSD slot (which can handle up to 32GB), a 3.5mm headphone jack and a pinhole microphone. The HDMI-out is a nice touch, and it worked adequately when we paired it with a Sony HDTV to watch a few high-quality YouTube videos (included, we're not proud to admit, the "Sad Cat Diary" more than once). Should you decide to add the Sero 7 Pro to your gadget collection, you'll be happy to know that USB on-the-go is enabled, allowing you to use it with a flash drive, keyboard or mouse.
Out of the box, you'll find a sticker near the bottom of the device's backing, marking off the area where the NFC sensor lives. Right beneath that are two small stereo speakers (more on those later). An embossed Hisense logo sits in the middle, while a 5MP rear facing camera and its accompanying light sensor sit near the uppermost edge. Also included are GPS, Bluetooth and 5GHz 802.11n. Lastly, the tablet comes with 8GB of internal storage space, so that microSD port will almost surely come in handy.
While the Sero 7's hardware might lack a certain pizzazz, the same can't be said about the 1,280 x 800 display. This is one area where Hisense decided to splurge. Colors appear vivid, with dimension and depth. Blacks, which so often turn gray on mobile devices, look deep and dark here, and the screen gets bright enough to sear your eyeballs (a useful quality in direct sunlight). Additionally, the 7-inch screen offers great viewing angles without losing much color vibrancy when looked at from the side with the device laying flat.
From the rainbow-hued landscape of Candy Crush Saga to the eye-popping bubblegum pinks of Nicki Minaj music videos (played in HD, of course), the Sero 7's display served up rich, vibrant colors. Similarly, videos played back smoothly and beautifully. Text, in Play Books and Chrome, was as crisp as you'd want it to be. For a budget tablet,Online shopping for Business Work Card holder from a great selection of Office Products. the display was nothing to shake a stick at, and we were left considerably impressed with its quality.
Unfortunately, the quality wasn't as consistent when we got to the Sero 7's sound. It's not that the audio coming from the device's dual speakers was bad. Not at all. Mobile speakers are what they are -- we weren't blown away by the Sero 7's audio capabilities, but they performed adequately, even at maximum volume. Tablet users are no strangers to the tinny effect that often accompanies their devices' audio, but it was less noticeable here than it was on a similarly priced tablet, the HP Slate 7. Dialogue and background music in movie previews played well, with the slight tinny echo more evident in songs that called for more bass than the Sero 7 could provide.
Our disappointment heightened when we tested the tablet with some headsets we had lying around. We discovered that the Sero 7 has pretty severe compatibility issues with more than its fair share of brands. When paired with Sony, Apple and Jabra earbuds, the Sero 7 didn't register that a headset had been inserted into the 3.5 mm jack, and the audio came out of the device's speakers as if our earbuds weren't even there. We had better luck with a pair of over-the-ear Panasonic headphones and Tylt Tunz earbuds. When the Sero 7 actually recognized that the headphone jack was in use, we were sufficiently pleased with the quality, which was rich and true on the songs we tested despite the lack of an EQ setting in the tablet's main menu. However, the compatibility issue might be problematic if you find yourself needed to run out to purchase brand new headphones to use with your device. No one wants to be bothered with that.
The Sero 7 comes Android 4.2.1, which means it's lacking some of the most recent Jelly Bean features we've come to know and love. Beyond that, the tablet is running an almost stock version of Android, with minimal skinning. There are a few apps preloaded to the device, some of which you might never use, but some which might actually prove beneficial to you. Because this is a Walmart exclusive, the Sero 7 is, of course, packing Walmart's own app, along with one for Sam's Club. If you're a Walmart shopper, that might be of use to you, but we simply shrugged and went on our merry way. If they're really bother you,Winbo custom keychain you can always uninstall them. Also loaded on the device are the VUDU Movies and TV app and Kingsoft, a Microsoft Office clone that lets you create and edit .doc, .xls and .txt files.
In addition to Chrome, Gmail, YouTube and other standard issue Google apps, the Sero 7 also includes TegraZone, an app store for NVIDIA optimized games (which, like VUDU, cannot be uninstalled since they're system apps). It's not a bad addition, considering the device's NVIDIA quad-core Tegra 3 processor, but again, how useful it is is entirely up to you. For Flash support, the regular ol' Android browser is available for when Chrome doesn't suit your needs. Curiously enough, there's also a TV remote app, though without an IR sensor, it has limited usability. Your TV needs to be hooked up the same WiFi network as your tablet.
Applications aside, there have been a few tweaks to the standard Android 4.2.1 package. On the bottom navigation bar, Hisense has added a screen capture icon to the three we're used to (recent, menu and back). If you're accustomed to Android devices, you'll probably find yourself taking a ton of accidental screenshots as you instinctively aim for the recently used apps icon (as we did), but it's actually a pretty neat feature. Some may see it as an unnecessary addition, but it's much easier than pressing the power and volume buttons down simultaneously to make screen grabs.
Read the full products at http://www.winbogifts.com/products/silicone-bracelet.html.
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