We just released the build 107 of ECMerge 2.2.

This build is a bug fix release, it fixes 12 significant bugs about command line, translations, Xtract, SCC plug-ins and more.

Regards
Armel

Okay, I know this is Martha Stewart-ish. But, I can’t be the only one wondering how to use up those little slivers. Well, there’s a vid about it, so obviously not. Yay, YouTube!

One tip I’ll mention in addition to this vid is something I read online: to grate the soap beforehand. I believe it ensures a smoother end product.

Find the original YouTube vid here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m69EiNy77s

PARENTS of children at a government school offering the controversial Steiner method are outraged over a plan to merge the classes…. From The Australian. Full story

This site may contain information about: education. For a different topic see types of bras. The blog is also related to: degree.

An important part of any customer database or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is being able to handle the inevitable duplicate records. Here’s how to do it in WeCanDoCRM Social CRM.

First off, it’s entirely normal to get duplicate records as you bring contacts in from various distinct sources.  If you’ve emailed someone then you’ll hold a record for them in your email software, but that could differ from the details you hold for them in a older customer database or the details tthey share on Twitter.  Most CRM systems will update an existing contact record with new data you bring in, but only if it can be sure they are the same.  If you have two different email addresses for the same person, it will mostly likely consider them separate people, even if you know they are the same.

WeCanDoCRM enables you to fetch contactlist from all over, such as Microsoft Outlook and other email systems, existing customer databases and social networks.  It is inevitable that different contact details will be held for the same person, so we’d provided an easy way to bring all your duplicate contacts together as one, merging the most relevant details into a ingle contact record whilst deleting the duplicates.

Step 1:

Go into WeCanDoCRM, hover over the Contacts menu item and then click on the Merge link.

Step 2:

In the filter box above the Full Name column, type in the name of the contact whose records you wish to consolidate.  All matches will come up in the results below.

Step 3:

Of the total results which match the name you entered — and we’ll show you ALL instances where that name occurs, not just duplicate records — tick the TWO records you want to merge together and click Next.

Step 4:

Select from the  left hand and the right columns which versions of the specific contact information you want to retain in the final merged contact.  Make it whichever information you think is most accurate.  Any information you don’t merge into the central column will be deleted when the duplicate records are merged!

You’re done!  You now have just one merged record for that contact.

You can repeat this as many times as you wish if you have many instances of different contact details for the same person; each time the merge will bring together the most relevant details into a single contact view.

You can give it a go yourself by clicking here, which will take you striaght to Step 2.

Your feedback welcomed, so let us have it below!

I’ve just experimented with subversion and made sure I can propagate modifications to other distributions. This is basically using the merge function in subversion. My first test is very pleasing.

The developmment procedure is as follows.

1. The release distribution is used for generating the downloadable distributions on source forge and google code

2. Any testing or support calls are investigated using the maintenannce distribution.

3. Development modifications once accepted should be merged with the release and maintenance distributions

Any changes should be merged to the

Release distribution at

https://iome.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/iome/trunk/

Release distribution on google code at

https://iome.googlecode.com/svn/trunk

Development distribution at

https://iome.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/iome/branches/dev

NPR
Carrie Brownstein (formerly of Sleater-Kinney) moderates a panel of Indie Labels who discuss how the music industry has changed over the last decade and what they see their role being in the future. Portia Sabin, of local label Kill Rock Stars, identified labels biggest problem stating, “I think labels are caught in a cultural bind: No one really wants to know what a label does; it’s like the sausage factory. Even long-established bands have a hard time talking about what labels do.”

My gorgeous and amazing friend Betsy (of which I will be telling you more about soon – she’s our next featured: artist) is making a new website. She’s a fantastic jewelry designer based in Portland, OR and she’s got a plan. On her new site the write-up for each piece of jewelry is going to be luscious bites of mini fiction that tantalize and entice. It’s a terrific idea, and a simple ode to multidisciplinary magic. Merge the visual of wearable art with the strong words of fiction to create a story for each potential buyer.

I also discovered throughout the time I started writing and by the time all the inspiration had drained out of me that I’d completed about 25 short dramas in a matter of an hour. And, just like that, I’d gotten over my writer’s block. It was as if I had a healthy force-shock to my creative system… and just by overwhelming my receptors and not taking no for an answer my imagination opened its doors to me.

I’ve battle the block before. Usually, I need a balanced amount of stress/busy-ness to productively hum along.  Doing too little? … well, my mind’s a blank. Doing too much? … outta luck there too. It’s like my creative insides are the pickier version of goldilocks. For me, I don’t have a standard solution to the block. Usually, writer’s block is situational, deeply psychological, and based on fear. And, if I had the answer to fear based stagnation I’d be a very lucky woman. Being as it is though, all I can say is this: writers’ block is hard, it’s frustrating and it’s lonely. Luckily, I made it through the woods this time.  It’s a good day.

Here are a couple mini lanterns that saw me through the night.

: It wasn’t meant to be a typical day. In fact, nothing about her was typical at all.

: It was, in the end, life that gave her the biggest kick in the pants.

: walking on the bits of ground that were once covered in snow, sneaking sandwiches together under the shelter of a boulder. we held hands until the climb got too steep, but even then we were still in it together.

: the glitter wasn’t the only thing left on her pillowcase in the morning. it would be a long time before she could listen to him sing again.

: she was pleased that she remained able to surprise herself.

How have you dealt with writers’ block? Leave me a story about how you’ve jolted yourself back to productivity.

The theme of gender-changing, whether by one’s own hand or choice or by another’s, occurs frequently in Hellenic mythologies. It is accompanied, often, by gender-reversal; by gods and daimones acting as the opposite gender, rather than actually becoming the opposite gender. Part of this is undoubtedly due to the gender fluidity of the gods (and certain gods in particular), and part to the necessity of their act for their own gain, or for the gain of the entire kosmos. In this essay, I will be discussing, in-depth, the three most notable occurrences of gender-changing – Hermaphroditos’, Agdistis-Rhea-Kybele’s, and Attis’.

The most memorable case of gender-changing is that of Hermaphroditos, the god of hermaphrodites, effeminate men, masculine women, transsexuals, transgenders, etc. Hermaphroditos’ gender-change (or, more correctly, gender-merge) is also his primary mythology. He is rarely named in the literature that points to the Erotes, although he is numbered among them, both by his parentage and divine function; and even the mythology of his birth is short and barely-considered. His pre- and post-merge mythology is barely touched upon; despite his Olympic parentage, he seems to have been all but forgotten by the Classical writers, in all respects other than detailing his merge with the nympha Salmakis.
Hermaphroditos (or Atlantius, as he was once/otherwise known, according to Hyginus, Fabulae, 271), ‘whom in Mount Ida’s caves the Naiades nurtured’ (Ovid, Metamorphoses, 4.28ff), was a youth comparable in beauty only to Adonis, Ganymedes, Endymion, Hyakinthos, Narkissos, Hylas and Khrysippos. It is interesting to note, here, that several of these most beautiful youths–Adonis, Hyakinthos and Ganymedes and, to a lesser extent, Hylas–all experienced a gender reversal, which will be discussed in Gender-Reversal in Gods and Daimones.
When he was fifteen–’when thrice five years had passed’ (Met, 4.28ff)–Hermaphroditos ventured from Mount Ida, ‘eager to roam strange lands afar’ (Met, 4.28ff), and eventually came upon Salmakis’ ‘limpid shining pool’ (Met, 4.28ff). Salmakis, upon seeing the beautiful youth, declared her love for him. He, who ‘knew not what love was’ (Met, 4.28ff), rejected her as she ‘besought at least a sister’s kiss’ (Met, 4.28ff). Pretending to accept his rejection, the nympha Salmakis withdrew from sight; and Hermaphroditos, thinking himself alone, stepped into her pool and ’stripped his light garments from his slender limbs’ (Met, 4.28ff). Salmakis watched him until he dived into the pool; and that–in succumbing to the pull of her water–made him hers, seemingly, for she ‘flung aside her clothes and plunged far out into the pool and grappled him’ (Met, 4.28ff). Hermaphroditos struggled to free himself and, at last, she managed to gain such a hold on him that ‘her clinging body seemed fixed fast to his’ (Met, 4.28ff), and she beseeched the gods to never let their bodies part. The gods (though it is unknown which gods) accepted the prayer and ‘both bodies merged in one, both blended in one form and face . . . they two were two no more, nor man, nor woman–one body then that neither seemed and both.’ (Met, 4.28ff) Hermaphroditos, now merged with Salmakis, emerged from the pool, saw that ‘the waters of the pool, where he had dived a man, had rendered him half woman’ (Met, 4.28ff) and beseeched his divine parents, Hermes and Aphrodite, that ‘whoso in these waters bathes a man emerge half woman, weakened instantly’ (Met, 4.28ff). His parents agreed; and ‘drugged the bright water with that power impure’ (Met, 4.28ff).
Diodorus Siculus described Hermaphroditos, after the merging with the nympha: ‘Some say that this Hermaphroditos is a god and appears at certain times among men, and that he is born with a physical body which is a combination of that of a man and that of a woman, in that he has a body which is beautiful and delicate like that of a woman, but has the masculine quality and vigour of a man.’ (Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, 4.6.5.) Diodorus Siculus then continued to note that ‘there are some who declare that such creatures of two sexes are monstrosities, and coming rarely into the world as they do they have the quality of presaging the future, sometimes for evil and sometimes for good.’ (Library of History, 4.6.5.)

The above quote of Diodorus Siculus can be applied, in turn, to the monster-god Agdistis, born of the Phrygian Sky God and Earth Goddess–Ouranos and Gaia–who would later become Kybele, equated with Rhea as Rhea-Kybele, mother of the gods.
Agdistis was, according to Pausanias, born when Ouranos (or, rather, the Phrygian sky god – who Pausanias equates with Zeus, strangely), ‘let fall in his sleep seed upon the ground, which in course of time sent up a Daimon, with two sexual organs, male and female.’ (Pausanias, Guide to Greece, 7.17.8.) Fearing Agdistis–the bi-sexed, and therefore aggressively, and by some accounts, literally insanely, sexual god–the other gods ‘cut off the male organ’ (Guide to Greece, 7.17.8), thus effectively changing Agdistis, a bi-sexed god, to Rhea-Kybele, a solely female god. An almond tree grew from Agdistis-Kybele’s castrated organ, and a nympha daughter of the river-god Sangarios ‘took the fruit and laid it in her bosom, when it at once disappeared, but she was with child.’ (Guide to Greece, 7.17.8.)
The child born was the youth Attis; and as he grew, his beauty, which was ‘more than human’ (Guide to Greece, 7.17.8) drew Agdistis-Kybele’s eye. She fell in love with him; and he ‘conquered the towered goddess with pure love’ (Ovid, Fasti, 4.222). Attis swore to her that he would ‘desire to be a boy always’ and that if he ever cheated, the one ‘I cheat with [will] be my last’ (Fasti, 4.222). He cheated, either by having an affair with the nympha Sagaritis (Fasti, 4.222) or by an attempt at marrying a king’s daughter (Guide to Greece, 7.17.8).
Agdistis-Rhea-Kybele, in divine wrath and madness, either then killed Sagaritis–by cutting down the nympha’s tree; ‘her fate was the tree’s’ (Fasti, 4.222)–or showed up at the wedding of Attis and the king’s daughter, whilst ‘the marriage-song was being song’ (Guide to Greece, 7.17.8); either version, though, caused Attis to descend into instant madness. Attis ‘bolts to Dindymus’ heights’ (Fasti, 4.222) and ‘went mad and cut off his genitals’ (Guide to Greece, 7.17.8), until ‘no signs of manhood remained.’ (Fasti, 4.222.) According to Pausanias, she then ‘repented of what she had done to Attis, and persuaded Zeus to grant the body of Attis should neither rot at all nor decay’ (Guide to Greece, 7.17.8); effectively, then, immortalising him.
This myth–beginning with Agdistis’ conception and ending with Attis’ immortal rebirth–has several common themes. The first, of course, is gender-changing; Agdistis, the bi-sexed, became Rhea-Kybele, a mother goddess, and simultaneously impregnated Sangarios’ nympha daughter, and thus became a father goddess, too. Attis, the boy born of the nympha and Agdistis’ castrated genitals, castrated himself, in turn, and ‘became a model: soft-skinned acolytes toss their hair and cut their worthless organs’ (Fasti, 4.222), thus effectively changing his own gender - and although his gender was changed by his own hands, it was caused by Agdistis-Rhea-Kybele. The second important theme is accidental pregnancy: the Phrygian Sky God’s/Ouranos’ impregnation of Gaia, the Earth, creating the bi-sexed Agdistis; and then Agdistis’ castrated genitals’ impregnation of Sangarios’ daughter, creating the lovely Attis. The entire myth continues the theme of ‘creatures of two sexes are monstrosities’, as suggested by Diodorus Siculus; and is a reoccuring theme within Hellenic mythology. Perhaps the other gods are wary the raw, fertile, mad power of bi-sexed gods; or, perhaps it was simply the prejudices of Classical society, made into divine acceptance through the mythos.

In Gender-Reversal in Gods and Daimones, I will be further exploring the gender switches in the Greek mythos; including Zeus’ gender-switch into Artemis, Adonis’ androgynous nature, Ganymedes’ and Hyakinthos’ apparent femininity and feminine values; and others.

the ramshakle fuzz-folk group that was once known as neutral milk hotel is the stuff legends are made of. with a mere two album career, jeff mangum and crew were here and gone before we had a chance to fully realize what utter genius the band had in its discography, namely the seminal classic in the aeroplane over the sea. well merge records are reissuing both albums on 180 gram and to mark the occasion have posted two never before seen videos of jeff mangum from 1998 (that’s 11 years now) performing aeroplane’s “two headed boy” and avery island’s “april 8th” unaccompanied by the rest of the band. just pure, unadulterated jeff mangum.

catch both videos after the jump.

- sunbear

Ok, so basically all C.C.C. activity will happen here now, not on their self-titled website.  If anyone would like to take control of that site and regulate C.C.C. activity there instead, then tell me, because I am doing this because I don’t want to update like 10 websites at once.

We have been engaged on a large database transition for a client of ours and it is nearing completion. I thought it would be good to tell the world a little bit about what we did!

Our client,one of the largest church organizations in the state of Indiana, is required  to report statistical data such as attendance, baptisms, and tithes.  Their business management application is available for internal use only.  They approached WDD to make their database Web Accessible to their Churches and Districts.  We achieved their vision through an ASP.net / C# website using both a custom database and the business management database located at the Conference.

Our client, which is regional to Southern Indiana has been going through some organizational change and will be merging with the Northern Indiana Region. As a result of this change, they need to have their two independent systems and databases work together. They are currently on a system called Shelby, which is a system used predominantly by churches and not-for-profit organizations. The problem they encountered is joining two different databases from the two regions and having them map correctly without manual input. WDD has provided the technology to automatically merge their two databases based on a mapping scheme provided.

WDD has been engaged on this project since 2006.

Merge PDF tiene la pequeña función de crear un solo documento PDF desde varios de manera online.

Solo seleccionas los archivos a juntar y le das en “Merge PDF!” y listo.

Solo puedes unir un maximo de 10 archivos PDF al mismo tiempo y cada uno ser menor de 5MB.

║Merge PDF

So, I commute to work every weekday using Rte 1 South through the exchange onto 76 East merging onto 676 and then taking the 15^th St/Vine St exit.  In an effort to heal myself of the dreaded “road rage” disease, I felt it important enough to my treatment to share a few observations with the world.

1. It’s ok to drive the speed limit.  Don’t you read the paper? Listen to the news? Pedestrians are getting knocked off one by one by those of you who ignore the speed limit – especially on the Boulevard.  Slow it down.

2. I think there are signs posted??? There is no parking in the right lane on Roosevelt Boulevard during those early morning commuting hours. So, it’s not ok to park there during rush hour.

3. It’s ok to yield to a merging lane. I think even in Drivers Ed., and somewhere in that book you study from to get your license – it states that we are to yield to the merging lane.   And, if not, it is still ok to change lanes to allow for the merging traffic to enter the lane.

4.  Therefore, it’s not ok to run the merging driver off the road.

5.  Since the construction is finally finished on the exchange, it’s ok to now drive like it.  The road is freshly paved, the traffic does flow the way I’m sure the civil engineer designed it, so do us all a favor and move it.

6.   Even though a fancy new digital announcement sign has been erected to inform us how long it may take to get from the Rte 1 exchange to 676 – it’s not ok to slow to a near stop to read it, especially in the passing lane.

7.   For you newcomers, the exit toward City Line Ave backs up – so if you are not going that way move into the middle lane before the rush of oncoming cars approaches you. So, it’s not ok to cut drivers off because you weren’t paying attention.

8.   It’s ok to use your blinker to ask permission to change lanes.  And even more ok to wave “thanks” to the driver behind you who let you in. Who raised you? Use your manners.

9.   It’s not ok to speed up when you see a blinker go on – so not to allow the driver in your lane.  What exactly says – “I win” after you’ve mowed down a Mini Cooper because you wanted to be ahead of him?

10.   More words for the newcomer: There is a sun glare at the bend in the road on 76E,  right about at Girard St.  So, it’s not ok to lay on your horn for the drivers ahead of you to speed up. Dude – we can’t see.

11.  It’s ok to slow down at the turn off onto 676.  The turn can be hazardous in inclement weather… That means you – trucker.

12.  It’s ok to stay in that backed up lane at the Vine street exit. The far right lane seems to back up all the way to the entering exit before it.  It makes things easier for a driver like me who knows that there are 2 turning lanes. Yeah! 2 seconds shaved off my commute!

13.   FYI: the police that are posted at 15^th and Cherry, 15^th and Arch and 15^th and JFK aren’t there to be pretty. You are going to get a ticket if you block the box.  So, it’s ok to slow down approaching the yellow light.  Special Commuters Note: Only in these instances.

14.  And, speaking of “blocking” – it’s not ok to block the entrance to a parking garage – people need to go into said garage and park.

Thank you people…for participating in my healing.   And I extend my wishes for all of you for your own healing and happy travels.

An order has been placed with the Universe.

En liveinspelning med Lambchop kommer ut imorgon den 17 november på Merge (den 24/11 på CD). Den här spelningen gjordes på Merge´s 20-års jubileum med en 11-mans sättning, bestående av ett antal gitarrister, keybords, piano och en blåssektion.
Konsertfilmen ingår endast om men köper CDn eller den digitala utgåvan på Merge´s hemsida.

• Limited Edition CD + high definition QuickTime download (1280×720) of the concert film – $12.98 (CD preorders before November 24 will also receive an MP3 download code via email on November 17)
• MP3 + high definition QuickTime download (1280×720) of the concert film – $12.99 (Available November 17)
• MP3 + standard definition QuickTime download (400 × 225) of the concert film – $9.99 (Available November 17)

Här är en låt från spelningen, Give it

För mer info, Merge

Girls Can Tell

Spoon

2001

Merge

Spoon is a band that I am very into, for reasons I can’t quite explain.  Perhaps it’s that Britt Daniel is insanely talented with whatever he does (including making up instruments so that he can play them on the albums), or maybe it’s the fact that nearly every single one of their songs is so damn catchy.  Either way, I really like them.  The album in question here is Girls Can Tell.  I don’t know where in the chronology of albums this falls because I only know that it came before Gimme Fiction and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Yes I had to count to make sure I had that right).

Right out of the gate we get an interesting sounding song.  It kind of reminds me of bad 80’s music, but something about it makes it so much better… oh yeah I remember, Britt Daniel is now singing.  Seriously, you know how delicious bacon is? That’s how awesome his voice is.  So back on topic, “Everything Hits at Once”, as with most Spoon songs, is damn catchy and it’s so simple, but just entrances me. It’s kind of funny, if only the 80’s had Britt Daniel, maybe there wouldn’t have been so much bad music.

Second up is “Believing is Art”.  From this song, I get the feeling that Britt Daniel is standing behind me, and he is singing each line alternating from one ear to the other.  Then he just gets all in your face with the chorus, and the guitar randomly chimes in whenever it feels like it, just kicking your ass.  Spoon puts some weird images in my head like this, but damn, they kick ass.

So we have a piano chord (undoubtedly played by Britt Daniel) and the rest of the band starts in on “Me and the Bean”.  Here we have the first taste on this album of strange effects Daniel uses on his vocals.  It sounds like it’s muffled, as if it’s on the other side of a very thin wall, in an open room encased in metal (try and figure that one out, muhahahaha). But seriously, Spoon uses this effect a lot. And guess what, this song is catchy as hell too! I think until now, I’ve overlooked the quality and underlying power of Spoon’s basslines.  They really draw you into the catchiness and don’t let you go.

Okay, this is my second favorite song on the album, and one of my favorites from them to boot. “Lines in the Suit” definitely displays Daniel’s skills with mixing in higher pitched vocals into his already higher pitch that he normally sings at.  It almost sounds like he’s harmonizing with himself at times. The man is a musical genius.

So how do you follow up that? Why, with something even better of course! This is Spoon, I would expect no less, and damn do they deliver. “The Fitted Shirt”, a song about how the world was better when we were kids and we thought our parents ran the world.  Maybe something about society declining in there too? I don’t know for sure, all I do know is that this song kicks ass, and the extremely simple riff really seems deeper than it is.  Then when we get to the sort of break before the chorus, Daniel takes front stage and tells us whippersnappers a thing or two. Or how he is gonna make the world better one day… yeah probably that second one.  Seriously, just listen to this song. It’s a quintessential Spoon song. If you don’t like it, seriously go away right now. Stop reading because I don’t want you to have the privilege of seeing my words.

Okay, you’re still here, good. I don’t want to kill off what readership (is that even a word? Oh well, it is now) we may have. “Anything You Want” starts off sounding to me like carnival music, but the drums and bass really fit with it so well.  Then the guitar and vocals make it even better.  Daniel just has short vocals with long pauses here, keeping your focus on the great music being played.  This is another awesome song that I never used to really give a chance, but I’m very glad I did. It’s so good, just unfortunately short.

“Take a Walk” is a song that really does make me want to, ironically, run.  It’s got a beat that would fit to a running pace.  “I Turn My Camera On” from Gimme Fiction is really the walking pace song.  Spoon really busts out here, in my opinion.  They speed up from their normal pace, but they do it, as I expect, brilliantly.  The solo, albeit very simple, sounds like Spoon songs off other albums, and really reminds you who it is.

We then slow down like we hit a wall for “1020 AM”.  To me, this is the low point of the album.  To be honest, it doesn’t fit for me, neither on this album, or even as a Spoon song.  I can respect what they do on this track, but it’s just not for me.  The flute they have in the background sounds kinda like Led Zeppelin.  In fact, this song, minus the vocals, sounds like a slow part of a Zep album.  If that’s what they were going for, then great, but it just isn’t what I expect from Spoon.

Okay, now we’re back to the catchy, upbeat Spoon I know and love.  “Take the Fifth” is such an instrumentally simple song, but frontman Daniel is the focus here.  He sings sort of like he’s drunk at points, slurring his words.  Then again, he tends to do that a bit.  Still, it’s an awesome song that will draw you in with catchiness and leave you wanting more.

Which is exactly what we get on “This Book is a Movie”.  Daniel puts the mic down, and the band really shines here.  This almost seems like everyone else was pissed off and put a ball gag in Daniel’s mouth while they laid down some tracks.  Don’t get me wrong, this song is very, very solid, and it definitely shows the ability of all of the members of Spoon.  But Britt Daniel probably played like 5 instruments on this song, all of them made up by him.

The final song already? Girls Can Tell is definitely a fast playing album, not that that’s a bad thing.  “Chicago at Night” brings back Daniel’s brilliant, slurring at times, lyrics.  Anytime I hear someone mention Chicago, Spoon is the first thing I think of.  Partly because of this song, partly because of a lyric in “Metal Detektor”.  Britt Daniel fades away, and the instruments slow down, and Girls Can Tell comes to a close.

So there you have it, a very solid offering from Spoon here, definitely firing on all cylinders, and living up to what we expect from them as a band.  I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite album from them, but nearly every track is well worth the time to listen.

Buy This Album

Official Site

Last.fm Page

The whole fam is here and there is no better way to catch-up, then over shopping and discounts at that!
With an SMU student ID this Family Weekend you get…
20% off @ Epic Apparel (West Village)
20% off @ Mei Mei’s Fashionette (West Village)
20% off @ L.Bartlett (West Village)
20% off @ Orange Cup (West Village)
20% off @ Lemon Bar (West Village)
20% off @ Uptown Makeup (West Village)
20% off @ Hemline (Lovers Lane)
15% off @ Merge (Preston Royal)
15% off @ JCrew (NorthPark)

Also stop by Lilly Pulitzer in NorthPark Center and preview the Resort 2009 Collection Saturday.

Before you may get excited, yes. Above is a picture of JQT and B2ST. But that’s not the point.
And no. It’s not happening…at least I don’t think so. and I doubt those three would do so.
This is all for fun, people so please comment.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of thread posting here, obviously because we all have lives and are busy but I had thought of this idea for fun but, what if SM, JYP and YG created a group together consisting of one of the best trainees in each company for a member?

Of course, since we don’t know many of the trainees, I was wondering who people would put into a 3 member girl group and/or boy group of SM/JYP/YG artists. It’s just for fun for people to do and it doesn’t matter how many members are in there.
There’s:

SM - DBSK, Super Junior, CSJH, SNSD, SHINee, f(x)

JYP/Cube - Wonder Girls, 2PM, 2AM, 4minute, BEAST

YG - Big Bang, 2NE1, Se7en

Anybody from the companies is fine. And make as many as you want. ^_^

For my choice, it would be:
Boy group – Taemin, Jaebeom, Taeyang.
Girl group - Sulli, Gayoon, Minzy.

Strange combination, I know but what are yours?

I just have heard that BRITISH AIRWAYS and IBERIA are going to merge. As I love the way the things run in the Britain I hope the savoir faire of the British helps Iberia to become a better company that today. I will write soon more …

The headquarters will be in Madrid but the financial headquarters of the holding will be in London. The president will be Antonio Vázquez and WILLIE WALSH will be CONSEJERO DELEGADO (I must search the translation and it is CHIEF EXECUTIVE …)

This could be read in THE TIMES:

Iberia, the Spanish airline, today approved its merger with British Airways (BA).

At a board meeting, the Spanish airline agreed the new airline will have its financial headquarters in London, according to reports in El Pais, the Spanish daily.

The merged BA-Iberia carrier will be chaired by Antonio Vazquez, the current chairman of Iberia. It is also expected that Willie Walsh, BA’s chief executive, will retain his role at the merged group. It is not clear what position Martin Broughton, BA’s chairman since 2004, will hold within the merged operation if the UK airline board approves the combination.

BA’s board is also meeting to discuss the merger. Earlier today, the company said: “Further to recent market speculation, British Airways confirms that the British Airways and Iberia Boards are holding separate meetings today, 12 November, to consider a potential transaction. However, no decisions have been taken and, at this time, there can be no guarantee that a transaction will be forthcoming. A further announcement will be made in due course, if appropriate.”

In LA VANGUARDIA you can read:

El consejo de administración de Iberia ha aprobado por unanimidad la fusión con British Airways para crear la primera compañía europea y una de las primeras del mundo. La ecuación de canje acordada ha sido de 45 acciones de British por cada 55 de Iberia.

MÁS INFORMACIÓN
A FONDO
Crisis económica
——————————————————————————–
Iberia rebaja un 35% el precio del puente aéreo
El Estado venderá su participación del 5% en Iberia cuando finalice la fusión con British
Iberia rebaja un 35% el precio del puente aéreo

——————————————————————————–
Se trata de un acuerdo muy favorable para la compañía española si se tiene en cuenta que su tamaño es casi la mitad que el de la británica. La sede operativa estará en Madrid, por lo que se garantiza el papel de Barajas como aeropuerto internacional. La sede financiera del holding que agrupará ambas compañías estará en Londres.

El presidente de la nueva sociedad será Antonio Vázquez, actual presidente de Iberia, mientras que el consejero delegado será Willie Walsh, actual consejero delegado de la compañía británica. El consejo de British se reune esta tarde para dar luz verde al acuerdo.

—–

By the way, IBERIA has anounced that EL PUENTE AEREO or PONT AERI between Barcelona and Madrid is going to be cheaper just costing 129 € return just as in AVE train.

]]> http://revistame.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/carros-electricos-na-%e2%80%9cpista%e2%80%9d-do-inesc/ Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:05:03 +0000 Mercado Eléctrico http://revistame.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/carros-electricos-na-%e2%80%9cpista%e2%80%9d-do-inesc/

Este organismo português de ensino é o líder científico do projecto MERGE (Mobile Energy Resoures for Grids of Electricity) – o maior programa de investigação com financiamento da EU. O objectivo é preparar o sistema eléctrico europeu para a massificação da utilização de veículos automóveis eléctricos.

E se amanhã, em vez de encher o depósito do carro com gasolina ou gasóleo, carregasse a bateria directamente na sua garagem? Esta pergunta é feita pelo Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores (INESC), que agora se encontra empenhado no desenvolvimento de um projecto para «encontrar soluções que minimizem a necessidade de reforço de infra-estruturas das redes eléctricas e dos sistemas electroprodutores, de modo a evitar sobrecustos que teriam que ser suportados pelos utilizadores dos veículos eléctricos», esclarece fonte deste organismo.

Com um orçamento de 4,5 milhões de euros, o MERGE acredita que a massificação dos veículos eléctricos assenta no «carregamento nocturno», altura em que «a rede eléctrica tem maior disponibilidade».Deste modo, o INESC refere que a viabilidade deste «novo paradigma de mobilidade» está dependente deste factor, bem como da «disponibilidade de recursos energéticos renováveis para a produção de electricidade».

Enquanto líder científico do MERGE, o INESC Porto anunciou que vai contribuir para a «construção de um sistema inteligente que adapte os carregamentos das baterias dos veículos eléctricos à disponibilidade dos recursos energéticos e da infra-estrutura das redes eléctricas», tendo em conta as características dos sistemas eléctricos europeus.

Na lista de acções do MERGE estão também algumas estratégias para contornar o «congestionamento da rede e as dificuldades dos centros produtores em alimentarem os acréscimos de consumo de electricidade. De acordo com o INESC, estes cenários são vistos como «problemas técnicos» e «eventuais barreiras» para a massificação do carro eléctrico.

Modelos de negócio para carregar baterias
O MERGE está também atento à situação em Portugal, sendo que o INESC aqui pode actuar com mais conhecimento de causa. Para já, o sistema electroprodutor português é caracterizado pelos líderes do projecto como tendo uma «forte componente renovável», pelo que poderá «assegurar a produção de mais electricidade a partir de fontes de energia verdes».

Portugal é, assim, visto como um país-modelo para a implementação de carros eléctricos: «Este tipo de os veículo pode ser mais amigos do ambiente do que em outros países, nomeadamente na Europa Central, que está fortemente dependente de combustíveis fósseis para a produção de electricidade.

Uma das linhas orientadoras do MERGE consiste em minimizar a necessidade de investimento no reforço das infra-estruturas da rede eléctrica existente, bem como do parque produtor de energia eléctrica. «Evitam-se, desta forma, também um conjunto de sobrecustos que acabariam por ter que ser suportados pelos utilizadores dos veículos eléctricos».

Segundo o INESC, esta nova realidade implica a emergência de dois novos modelos de negócio no mercado energético: «Substituição rápida /carregamento rápido de baterias (em estações de serviço especiais que terão que ser entretanto criadas para servir os novos veículos eléctricos) e carregamento lento de baterias (em parques públicos, privados ou mesmo nas casa do cidadão comum)».

O consórcio do projecto MERGE, o maior projecto de investigação europeu do 7.º Programa-Quadro (2007-2013) destinado a avaliar o impacto no sistema eléctrico de uma utilização em larga escala de veículos eléctricos na Europa, envolve 16 empresas e instituições de IDT europeias e o MIT (EUA). Neste projecto participa também a REN – Redes Energéticas Nacionais.

]]> http://vitrolamagica.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/the-arcade-fire-funeral/ Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:52:39 +0000 vitrola mágica http://vitrolamagica.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/the-arcade-fire-funeral/

Beeem, meus maquiavélicos sonhos de postar tudo do Arcade aos poucos vem se concretizando [A quem quero enganar? Falta taaanto]. Enfim, aqui trago o debut da banda, o álbum Funeral que é extremamente profundo e trás bastante críticas ao modo frenética de vida urbano em faixas como Neighborhood #3 [Power Out] e fala também sobre um pouco da vida privada dos membros, como em Haiti. Muitos familiares dos membros morreram durante o processo de gravação do álbum, o que causou bastante apelo emocional nas faixas e no nome do álbum. Aqui para download o álbum Funeral       Download

1 – Neighborhood #1 [Tunnels]

2 – Neighborhood #2 [Laika]

3 – Une Année Sans Lumiere

4 – Neighborhood #3 [Power Out]

5 – Neighborhood #4 [7 Kettles]

6 – Crown of Love

7 – Wake Up

8 – Haiti

9 – Rebellion [Lies]

10 – In the Backseat

]]> http://carusophoto.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/looking-local-310365-11-06-09/ Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:36:33 +0000 CarusoPhoto http://carusophoto.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/looking-local-310365-11-06-09/

Looking Local (310/365 11-06-09)

Originally uploaded by CarusoPhoto

On our way in to work, I managed to grab this shot on Chicago’s Kennedy Expressway, just south of Hubbard’s Cave.

]]> http://memles.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/curse-or-blessing-predictability-in-reality-tv-a-cultural-learnings-reality-roundup/ Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:17:49 +0000 Myles http://memles.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/curse-or-blessing-predictability-in-reality-tv-a-cultural-learnings-reality-roundup/

Curse or Blessing? Predictability in Reality TV

November 6th, 2009

It’s been a while since I’ve stopped in with a Reality Roundup, which is symptomatic of the fact that my opinions about these three shows haven’t really changed. Survivor has been dominated by a single team to the point of proving downright uninteresting, Top Chef is still being dominated by the same four chefs, and Project Runway is something I didn’t even bother watching for a few weeks, choosing to read recaps instead. This hasn’t been a great season for any of the three shows on the level of really surprising me: in fact, they’ve all to different degrees become predictable (whether in which team will win, which chefs will dominate, and whether the show will be boring, respectively).

All three shows, however, feel ready to confront that sense of predictability in this week’s episodes, as Survivor rushes into a merge and Top Chef present a “volatile” Reunion special in an effort to shake things up a bit. And while Top Chef’s reunion show is predictably dramatic, Survivor’s merge episode is perhaps one of its best ever, unpredictable to the point of having no idea who is going home in the end.

And yet this leaves Project Runway, which has been predictably boring but almost entirely unpredictable in terms of the lack of consistent judging. As such, while the uncertainty of Survivor’s finale is downright exciting, the uncertainty surrounding who will be going to Bryant Park is actually problematic, and the end result dissatisfying if not necessarily wrong.

I’m going to start with Runway, which was actually one of the season’s most interesting episodes. The challenge was at least vaguely interesting (especially since I was at the Getty in April and was totally in all of those locations and remember Carol Hannah’s bed particularly…which sounds dirty), we got an enjoyable amount of Tim Gunn, and we’re finally leaving Los Angeles. However, the problem with the episode came to its ending, when five rather boring and uninteresting garments were sent down the runway and the judges were forced to make a decision. In that moment, the show got caught up in a difficult position: the three most consistent designers on that stage were Carol Hannah, Althea and Irina, but Althea’s outfit was a complete and total mess and the judges clearly liked Gordana’s dress better even with its ugly zipper. I really had no idea what decision they were going to make because of how poor all of the outfits were, none of which seemed to be separating any one designer from the others, and that sort of unpredictability on a show where I have about as much (if not more) evidence of their talent as the judges is kind of concerning.

It reflects a season long struggle with the judges, though, and it makes their final decision fallacious if not entirely wrong. I don’t disagree with the judges that Gordana lacked a clear vision, making a lot of fairly uninteresting but well-made dresses that in any other season would have had her sent home weeks ago (and while I could say the same about almost all of the designers, she and Christopher would be the first to go even in that scenario). However, the decision the judges make is that this challenge was ultimately pointless, and that Althea’s strong overall track record is more interesting to see at Bryant Park than Gordana’s boring aesthetic. However, as we’ve been pointing out all season, the judges haven’t been the least bit consistent, and when Nina suggests that she hasn’t seen anything from Gordana my immediate response is that it’s because she’s rarely ever been there. The lack of consistency in the judging, as Nina and Michael have been missing for most of the season, meant that the judges’ use of their overall impression from the entire season was in fact a fallacy: other than Heidi, who I’m now convinced has always been the panel’s loose cannon, no one could have truly constructed such an impression, so to use it as their reasoning is false.

But not, of course, wrong: I think the three who were through were the three who deserved to be there (out of this group, if not on their won merits), as Christopher has been on borrowed time and in poor taste all season and Gordana really did never show anything beyond competence throughout the competition. But I don’t feel as if any of the three finalists really earned their spot in Fashion Week with the judges so much as they were deemed the least offensive of the crop, and that’s a horrible thing to say about Project Runway. I just have no faith in the judges doing the right thing, making them unpredictable to a fault and becoming the only thing that’s had me the least bit engaged with the show all season.

Meanwhile, I’ve been engaged by the good chefs on Top Chef this season, but I’m still waiting for them to get to the Kevin/Voltaggios/Jennifer finale. I was going to write last week about how Jennifer’s fatigued state is something that she is capable of bouncing back from with the right type of challenge, but never got around to it, so let me just say that I’m not writing her off for having an off day in both the quickfire and the elimination challenge last week. But we have to wait to see how that goes down, for quite some time in fact: after November 18th’s episode, the show won’t be back until December 2nd. And it’s a delay that will feel particularly frustrating when you consider that this week we got only an All-Stars special.

As someone who just watched the first five seasons this summer, this is both engaging (since I know these chefs really well) and pointless (since the moments they’re reliving I just lived somewhat recently). Fabio stirring up tensions with Marcel and everyone else was predictably dramatic but also frustrating, since Marcel’s personality has always bugged me. The one moment in the episode that I was really intrigued to see, which was Carla choking out Casey for ruining her chances at winning Season Five, didn’t come to be as Carla seems to think that it’s entirely okay that Casey was such a pushy know-it-all. Yes, it was ultimately Carla’s decision to follow Casey’s advice, so I don’t blame her for forgiving her, but I have never particularly liked Casey and her attitude here wasn’t overly helpful to that. That being said, though, I thought little things like seeing Marcel freak out during the Judges’ commentary with the Season Five finale sous chefs (which is why we never saw it during the finale, I presume) was kind of fun, and the various groups did cook some impressive food (the most impressive being Marcel and Ilan’s salt-poached thai snapper, which seemed to taste as good as it looked crazy). So while it was predictable in the drama it stirred up, it was still definitely fun to revisit.

Meanwhile, Survivor: Samoa has finally started, albeit with a decision that actually in some ways makes the game less interesting. I really liked what we saw of Erik, as he was a master at manipulation and more importantly a master at communicating that manipulation in entertaining ways to us as an audience. I have to respect someone who ends up leaving the game because he was simply too cocky in presenting his strategy to the outnumbered Foa Foa tribe, and someone who never apologized about how hard he was playing this game. With Erik gone, things become inherently less interesting because Galu still has the numbers, and because with Erik gone Galu’s leadership is both less interesting (although John showed some intriguing shades in this one) and more likely to just chop off Foa Foa before turning on themselves, creating more predictability in the show’s future.

But this episode was simply a masterstroke of what the merge does to this game, something that in other instances just has not happened the same way. The episode had a number of montages where you saw people scheming, telling everyone about the scheme, and then the scheme basically disintegrating out from under them when it reaches certain people. The merge makes everyone paranoid, but what was interesting here is that it didn’t make everyone equally paranoid: while Russell tried to use the immunity idol promise (which we have, of course, seen used before) to bring people like Laura into the mix, at this point Galu’s numbers game is too strong for people to be that concerned with something like that. This episode was Russell losing all of his power, as the idol in his pocket proved worthless as a bargaining tool and then he threw away its one value (to save himself) by failing to trust that Natalie had effectively convinced the Galu girls about getting rid of Erik at this stage in the competition and wasting it at Tribal Council only to have no votes come his way. His experience shows how the unpredictability of the merge can screw over an individual game plan, and it’s amazing how Russell started as such a villain but seemed so gosh darn human here.

And it just shook up everything else at the same time as we saw the shifts within strategy have even Galu not sure what to do. We start with the plan to get rid of both Russell’s idol and Jaison, before it’s John who decides that this is a good time to weaken the female alliance of Galu in case they decide to do something like vote off Erik. As a result, Monica is the intended target, but then Erik’s cheerleading of that plan turns it into his, and puts his head on the chopping block with Foa Foa and then the girls. The moment where John latches himself onto Kelly and grabs her off into the woods to try to convince her that they’re not going through with this was literal panic mode, which is something we almost never get to see. That all of them but Shambo eventually got on the same page demonstrates that this game works in mysterious ways, and that John managed to both get rid of Russell’s idol (who was convinced that everything was just a plot to convince him he was safe before eliminating him) and Erik (a legitimate threat to his strategy) while never even planning any of it himself.

I’ll miss Erik’s witty banter (his suggesting that Shambo can vote for Probst for all he cares was worth a chuckle), but the sheer insanity of this episode was worth his departure – really intrigued to see where things go from here, especially once Foa Foa is gone and we see some more shakeups. It’ll never quite be this unpredictable in the future (a Survivor curse, where the show gets interesting in the middle only to peter off again), but it’s finally a bit of momentum for a season that was never bad but never quite clicked either.

Cultural Observations

• Project Runway
  • I loved the small moment where Christopher said he expected that Nicolas would be there with him at the end, as it was proof that his delusions extend beyond self-delusion.
  • The preview for next week shows just how interesting this season has been: rather than there being drama about the actual outfits, it’s about Carol Hannah catching a contagious disease.
  • I’m not going to go in search of them myself, since I want the finale to be as interesting as possible (aka not very interesting), but the fashion shows for this season were a whole lot earlier in the year so there’s probably pictures of the collections (that would likely be identifiable by designer although don’t quote me on that) floating around.
• Top Chef
  • It’s not coincidence that it was Dale who was the one person who legitimately botched their dish: I was perplexed that he ever became a finalist, and was kind of like “Huh?” when he showed up.
  • Note that the two winners we were missing (Stephanie and Hosea) are the two whose wins are somewhat less interesting and in some cases controversial. Considering that Runway just completely ignored a final challenge and went based on overall impressions, Top Chef has always been resistant to doing the same and it showed with Richard/Stefan went down at the hands of lesser contenders (if not “unworthy” ones).
• Survivor
  • Loved Shambo’s “Who’s Erik?” when she heard about the plan – either she doesn’t know anyone’s names or else she was just so perplexed that she believed there must be another Erik on Foa Foa she doesn’t know. Either way, it was hilarious.
  • It’s always impressive when an episode of Survivor can have a legitimately terrible challenge (it was T-Ball!) and still manage to be entertaining. They’re usually my favourite part of the show, so it’ll be interesting to see what goes on from this point on. Are they, as Andy Denhart argues at Reality Blurred, saving the good challenges for the All-Stars season coming in the new year?

]]> http://radioloveless.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/nirvanas-bleach-and-live-at-reading/ Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:41:55 +0000 radioloveless http://radioloveless.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/nirvanas-bleach-and-live-at-reading/

I’m not going to go into the fact that just in time for the holidays Nirvana’s Bleach has been remastered and a DVD is available for their Live at Reading show. The rock magazine Kerrang placed this show as one of the “100 shows that shook the world.” There is a really good commentary in Newsweek on these two releases, both the live at Reading show from Universal Music Group (Geffen) and Bleach from Sub Pop. I’ll be featuring two tracks from Nirvana tonight from these.

Here’s a famous clip from the festival:

Listen in tonight at KRUI 89.7 fm or online here. I’ll be playing between 8 and 10 pm.

1. Nirvana, Live at Reading, Come as You Are (1992)
2. Nirvana, Bleach (20th Anniversary), School (Live At Pine Street Theater)
This album originally came out in 1989 with Subpop and is Nirvana’s debut album.

3. Low, Things We Lost in the Fire (2001), Dinosaur Act (A Request)
4. Sonic Youth, EVOL, Expressway to Yr. Skull (A.K.A. Madonna, Sean and Me)
I wanted to play this track during the Halloween show but didn’t get to it. It was released in 1986.
5. Mudhoney, Superfuzz Bigmuff, Sweet Young Thing Ain’t Sweet No More
Another Sub Pop release that came out in 1988.
6. Iggy Pop, The Idiot (1977), Funtime
7. Melvins, Nude with Boots (2008), The Savage Hippy
The Melvins formed back in 1982.

8. Scratch Acid, The Greatest Gift (1991 compilation off of Touch and Go), Owner’s Lament
9. Mark Lanegan (of the Screaming Trees), The Winding Sheet, Mockingbirds
This was released in 1989 off of Sub Pop records.
10. Babes in Toyland, Painkillers (1993), He’s My Thing
11. Siouxsie & The Banshees, Kiss in the Dreamhouse, Slowdive
This album was released in 1982 and recently rereleased and expanded this year.
12. Bikini Kill, Pussy Whipped (1993 on Kill Rock Stars), Rebel Girl
This track is #455 on Blender’s “500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born”.
13. Heavens to Betsy, Calculated (1993 on Kill Rock Stars), Decide
Corine Tucker is on Guitar for these guys, she’s also the main vocalist for Sleater-Kinney
14. Pixies, Doolittle (1989 on 4AD), Hey
This album changed my life.

15. Pavement, Wowee Zowee (1995), Kennel District
16. Superchunk, Here’s Where the Strings Come In (Merge 1995), Certain Stars
17. The Jesus & Mary Chain, Honey’s Dead (1992), Reverence
18. Gang of Four, Entertainment! (1979), Outside the Trains Don’t Run on Time
19. Magazine, Magic Murder and the Weather (1981), About the Weather
20. PJ Harvey, Is This Desire? (1998), Joy
Here’s another album that changed my life and that I might take with me to the grave. This is art.
21. Flipper, Generic (debut in 1982), Nothing
22. Cat Power & Steve Shelley, Dear Sir (1995), Headlights
23. The Replacements, Let it Be (1984), Androgynous
24. The Swell Maps, A Trip To Marineville (1979), Vertical Slum
25. Mission of Burma, The Definitive Editions Compilation, Ballad of Johnny Burma
26. The Breeders, Mountain Battles, Overglazed
Their 4th album released in 2008
27. Fugazi, Steady Diet of Nothing, Runaway Return

]]> http://zaheedk.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/want-to-compare-2-files/ Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:33:31 +0000 zaheedk http://zaheedk.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/want-to-compare-2-files/

This code come straight from another current posting, I take no credit -

To enumerate all network-visible SQL servers using SQL-DMO objects,
create a
new standard EXE project and add a reference to sqldmo.rll. This file
can be
found in \Binn\Resources\1033\sqldmo.rll under the SqlServer70
directory.
Now add this code and declaration in your form’s code:

Private Function GetAllSqlServerCollection(colSqlServers As Collection)
As
Boolean
Dim intIndex As Integer
Dim oApplication As SQLDMO.Application
Dim oNameList As SQLDMO.NameList

Set oApplication = New Application
With oApplication
Set oNameList = .ListAvailableSQLServers
With oNameList
For intIndex = 1 To .Count
colSqlServers.Add (oNameList.Item(intIndex))
Next
End With
End With
Set oApplication = Nothing
GetAllSqlServerCollection = True
End Function

This code quickly fetches a list of SQL servers and can be put inside a
combo box’s drop-down event to always get a refreshed list of SQL
servers on
your form.

]]> http://dcarey4.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/sarasota-coastal-credit-union-achieva-to-merge/ Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:11:45 +0000 dcarey4 http://dcarey4.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/sarasota-coastal-credit-union-achieva-to-merge/

Sarasota Coastal Credit Union will merge on Monday with Achieva Credit Union of Pinellas County. “We are pleased that the members of Sarasota Coastal Credit Union have voted in favor of merging, and we look forward to working with them through out the entire consolidation process,” said Gary Regoli, Achieva’s president and chief executive. The Combined strengths of the two credit unions will provide even greater benefits to all of our members.” The merger will create a credit union with more than $800 million in assets and more than 90,000 members in seven counties.

 

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