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Based on kernel version Page generated on 2011-06-03 13:47 EST.

3	    "Good for you, you've decided to clean the elevator!"
4	    - The Elevator, from Dark Star
6	Smack is the the Simplified Mandatory Access Control Kernel.
7	Smack is a kernel based implementation of mandatory access
8	control that includes simplicity in its primary design goals.
10	Smack is not the only Mandatory Access Control scheme
11	available for Linux. Those new to Mandatory Access Control
12	are encouraged to compare Smack with the other mechanisms
13	available to determine which is best suited to the problem
14	at hand.
16	Smack consists of three major components:
17	    - The kernel
18	    - A start-up script and a few modified applications
19	    - Configuration data
21	The kernel component of Smack is implemented as a Linux
22	Security Modules (LSM) module. It requires netlabel and
23	works best with file systems that support extended attributes,
24	although xattr support is not strictly required.
25	It is safe to run a Smack kernel under a "vanilla" distribution.
26	Smack kernels use the CIPSO IP option. Some network
27	configurations are intolerant of IP options and can impede
28	access to systems that use them as Smack does.
30	The startup script etc-init.d-smack should be installed
31	in /etc/init.d/smack and should be invoked early in the
32	start-up process. On Fedora rc5.d/S02smack is recommended.
33	This script ensures that certain devices have the correct
34	Smack attributes and loads the Smack configuration if
35	any is defined. This script invokes two programs that
36	ensure configuration data is properly formatted. These
37	programs are /usr/sbin/smackload and /usr/sin/smackcipso.
38	The system will run just fine without these programs,
39	but it will be difficult to set access rules properly.
41	A version of "ls" that provides a "-M" option to display
42	Smack labels on long listing is available.
44	A hacked version of sshd that allows network logins by users
45	with specific Smack labels is available. This version does
46	not work for scp. You must set the /etc/ssh/sshd_config
47	line:
48	   UsePrivilegeSeparation no
50	The format of /etc/smack/usr is:
52	   username smack
54	In keeping with the intent of Smack, configuration data is
55	minimal and not strictly required. The most important
56	configuration step is mounting the smackfs pseudo filesystem.
58	Add this line to /etc/fstab:
60	    smackfs /smack smackfs smackfsdef=* 0 0
62	and create the /smack directory for mounting.
64	Smack uses extended attributes (xattrs) to store file labels.
65	The command to set a Smack label on a file is:
67	    # attr -S -s SMACK64 -V "value" path
69	NOTE: Smack labels are limited to 23 characters. The attr command
70	      does not enforce this restriction and can be used to set
71	      invalid Smack labels on files.
73	If you don't do anything special all users will get the floor ("_")
74	label when they log in. If you do want to log in via the hacked ssh
75	at other labels use the attr command to set the smack value on the
76	home directory and its contents.
78	You can add access rules in /etc/smack/accesses. They take the form:
80	    subjectlabel objectlabel access
82	access is a combination of the letters rwxa which specify the
83	kind of access permitted a subject with subjectlabel on an
84	object with objectlabel. If there is no rule no access is allowed.
86	A process can see the smack label it is running with by
87	reading /proc/self/attr/current. A privileged process can
88	set the process smack by writing there.
90	Look for additional programs on http://schaufler-ca.com
92	From the Smack Whitepaper:
94	The Simplified Mandatory Access Control Kernel
96	Casey Schaufler
97	casey@schaufler-ca.com
99	Mandatory Access Control
101	Computer systems employ a variety of schemes to constrain how information is
102	shared among the people and services using the machine. Some of these schemes
103	allow the program or user to decide what other programs or users are allowed
104	access to pieces of data. These schemes are called discretionary access
105	control mechanisms because the access control is specified at the discretion
106	of the user. Other schemes do not leave the decision regarding what a user or
107	program can access up to users or programs. These schemes are called mandatory
108	access control mechanisms because you don't have a choice regarding the users
109	or programs that have access to pieces of data.
111	Bell & LaPadula
113	From the middle of the 1980's until the turn of the century Mandatory Access
114	Control (MAC) was very closely associated with the Bell & LaPadula security
115	model, a mathematical description of the United States Department of Defense
116	policy for marking paper documents. MAC in this form enjoyed a following
117	within the Capital Beltway and Scandinavian supercomputer centers but was
118	often sited as failing to address general needs.
120	Domain Type Enforcement
122	Around the turn of the century Domain Type Enforcement (DTE) became popular.
123	This scheme organizes users, programs, and data into domains that are
124	protected from each other. This scheme has been widely deployed as a component
125	of popular Linux distributions. The administrative overhead required to
126	maintain this scheme and the detailed understanding of the whole system
127	necessary to provide a secure domain mapping leads to the scheme being
128	disabled or used in limited ways in the majority of cases.
130	Smack
132	Smack is a Mandatory Access Control mechanism designed to provide useful MAC
133	while avoiding the pitfalls of its predecessors. The limitations of Bell &
134	LaPadula are addressed by providing a scheme whereby access can be controlled
135	according to the requirements of the system and its purpose rather than those
136	imposed by an arcane government policy. The complexity of Domain Type
137	Enforcement and avoided by defining access controls in terms of the access
138	modes already in use.
140	Smack Terminology
142	The jargon used to talk about Smack will be familiar to those who have dealt
143	with other MAC systems and shouldn't be too difficult for the uninitiated to
144	pick up. There are four terms that are used in a specific way and that are
145	especially important:
147		Subject: A subject is an active entity on the computer system.
148		On Smack a subject is a task, which is in turn the basic unit
149		of execution.
151		Object: An object is a passive entity on the computer system.
152		On Smack files of all types, IPC, and tasks can be objects.
154		Access: Any attempt by a subject to put information into or get
155		information from an object is an access.
157		Label: Data that identifies the Mandatory Access Control
158		characteristics of a subject or an object.
160	These definitions are consistent with the traditional use in the security
161	community. There are also some terms from Linux that are likely to crop up:
163		Capability: A task that possesses a capability has permission to
164		violate an aspect of the system security policy, as identified by
165		the specific capability. A task that possesses one or more
166		capabilities is a privileged task, whereas a task with no
167		capabilities is an unprivileged task.
169		Privilege: A task that is allowed to violate the system security
170		policy is said to have privilege. As of this writing a task can
171		have privilege either by possessing capabilities or by having an
172		effective user of root.
174	Smack Basics
176	Smack is an extension to a Linux system. It enforces additional restrictions
177	on what subjects can access which objects, based on the labels attached to
178	each of the subject and the object.
180	Labels
182	Smack labels are ASCII character strings, one to twenty-three characters in
183	length. Single character labels using special characters, that being anything
184	other than a letter or digit, are reserved for use by the Smack development
185	team. Smack labels are unstructured, case sensitive, and the only operation
186	ever performed on them is comparison for equality. Smack labels cannot
187	contain unprintable characters, the "/" (slash), the "\" (backslash), the "'"
188	(quote) and '"' (double-quote) characters.
189	Smack labels cannot begin with a '-', which is reserved for special options.
191	There are some predefined labels:
193		_ 	Pronounced "floor", a single underscore character.
194		^ 	Pronounced "hat", a single circumflex character.
195		* 	Pronounced "star", a single asterisk character.
196		? 	Pronounced "huh", a single question mark character.
197		@ 	Pronounced "Internet", a single at sign character.
199	Every task on a Smack system is assigned a label. System tasks, such as
200	init(8) and systems daemons, are run with the floor ("_") label. User tasks
201	are assigned labels according to the specification found in the
202	/etc/smack/user configuration file.
204	Access Rules
206	Smack uses the traditional access modes of Linux. These modes are read,
207	execute, write, and occasionally append. There are a few cases where the
208	access mode may not be obvious. These include:
210		Signals: A signal is a write operation from the subject task to
211		the object task.
212		Internet Domain IPC: Transmission of a packet is considered a
213		write operation from the source task to the destination task.
215	Smack restricts access based on the label attached to a subject and the label
216	attached to the object it is trying to access. The rules enforced are, in
217	order:
219		1. Any access requested by a task labeled "*" is denied.
220		2. A read or execute access requested by a task labeled "^"
221		   is permitted.
222		3. A read or execute access requested on an object labeled "_"
223		   is permitted.
224		4. Any access requested on an object labeled "*" is permitted.
225		5. Any access requested by a task on an object with the same
226		   label is permitted.
227		6. Any access requested that is explicitly defined in the loaded
228		   rule set is permitted.
229		7. Any other access is denied.
231	Smack Access Rules
233	With the isolation provided by Smack access separation is simple. There are
234	many interesting cases where limited access by subjects to objects with
235	different labels is desired. One example is the familiar spy model of
236	sensitivity, where a scientist working on a highly classified project would be
237	able to read documents of lower classifications and anything she writes will
238	be "born" highly classified. To accommodate such schemes Smack includes a
239	mechanism for specifying rules allowing access between labels.
241	Access Rule Format
243	The format of an access rule is:
245		subject-label object-label access
247	Where subject-label is the Smack label of the task, object-label is the Smack
248	label of the thing being accessed, and access is a string specifying the sort
249	of access allowed. The Smack labels are limited to 23 characters. The access
250	specification is searched for letters that describe access modes:
252		a: indicates that append access should be granted.
253		r: indicates that read access should be granted.
254		w: indicates that write access should be granted.
255		x: indicates that execute access should be granted.
257	Uppercase values for the specification letters are allowed as well.
258	Access mode specifications can be in any order. Examples of acceptable rules
259	are:
261		TopSecret Secret  rx
262		Secret    Unclass R
263		Manager   Game    x
264		User      HR      w
265		New       Old     rRrRr
266		Closed    Off     -
268	Examples of unacceptable rules are:
270		Top Secret Secret     rx
271		Ace        Ace        r
272		Odd        spells     waxbeans
274	Spaces are not allowed in labels. Since a subject always has access to files
275	with the same label specifying a rule for that case is pointless. Only
276	valid letters (rwxaRWXA) and the dash ('-') character are allowed in
277	access specifications. The dash is a placeholder, so "a-r" is the same
278	as "ar". A lone dash is used to specify that no access should be allowed.
280	Applying Access Rules
282	The developers of Linux rarely define new sorts of things, usually importing
283	schemes and concepts from other systems. Most often, the other systems are
284	variants of Unix. Unix has many endearing properties, but consistency of
285	access control models is not one of them. Smack strives to treat accesses as
286	uniformly as is sensible while keeping with the spirit of the underlying
287	mechanism.
289	File system objects including files, directories, named pipes, symbolic links,
290	and devices require access permissions that closely match those used by mode
291	bit access. To open a file for reading read access is required on the file. To
292	search a directory requires execute access. Creating a file with write access
293	requires both read and write access on the containing directory. Deleting a
294	file requires read and write access to the file and to the containing
295	directory. It is possible that a user may be able to see that a file exists
296	but not any of its attributes by the circumstance of having read access to the
297	containing directory but not to the differently labeled file. This is an
298	artifact of the file name being data in the directory, not a part of the file.
300	IPC objects, message queues, semaphore sets, and memory segments exist in flat
301	namespaces and access requests are only required to match the object in
302	question.
304	Process objects reflect tasks on the system and the Smack label used to access
305	them is the same Smack label that the task would use for its own access
306	attempts. Sending a signal via the kill() system call is a write operation
307	from the signaler to the recipient. Debugging a process requires both reading
308	and writing. Creating a new task is an internal operation that results in two
309	tasks with identical Smack labels and requires no access checks.
311	Sockets are data structures attached to processes and sending a packet from
312	one process to another requires that the sender have write access to the
313	receiver. The receiver is not required to have read access to the sender.
315	Setting Access Rules
317	The configuration file /etc/smack/accesses contains the rules to be set at
318	system startup. The contents are written to the special file /smack/load.
319	Rules can be written to /smack/load at any time and take effect immediately.
320	For any pair of subject and object labels there can be only one rule, with the
321	most recently specified overriding any earlier specification.
323	The program smackload is provided to ensure data is formatted
324	properly when written to /smack/load. This program reads lines
325	of the form
327	    subjectlabel objectlabel mode.
329	Task Attribute
331	The Smack label of a process can be read from /proc/<pid>/attr/current. A
332	process can read its own Smack label from /proc/self/attr/current. A
333	privileged process can change its own Smack label by writing to
334	/proc/self/attr/current but not the label of another process.
336	File Attribute
338	The Smack label of a filesystem object is stored as an extended attribute
339	named SMACK64 on the file. This attribute is in the security namespace. It can
340	only be changed by a process with privilege.
342	Privilege
344	A process with CAP_MAC_OVERRIDE is privileged.
346	Smack Networking
348	As mentioned before, Smack enforces access control on network protocol
349	transmissions. Every packet sent by a Smack process is tagged with its Smack
350	label. This is done by adding a CIPSO tag to the header of the IP packet. Each
351	packet received is expected to have a CIPSO tag that identifies the label and
352	if it lacks such a tag the network ambient label is assumed. Before the packet
353	is delivered a check is made to determine that a subject with the label on the
354	packet has write access to the receiving process and if that is not the case
355	the packet is dropped.
357	CIPSO Configuration
359	It is normally unnecessary to specify the CIPSO configuration. The default
360	values used by the system handle all internal cases. Smack will compose CIPSO
361	label values to match the Smack labels being used without administrative
362	intervention. Unlabeled packets that come into the system will be given the
363	ambient label.
365	Smack requires configuration in the case where packets from a system that is
366	not smack that speaks CIPSO may be encountered. Usually this will be a Trusted
367	Solaris system, but there are other, less widely deployed systems out there.
368	CIPSO provides 3 important values, a Domain Of Interpretation (DOI), a level,
369	and a category set with each packet. The DOI is intended to identify a group
370	of systems that use compatible labeling schemes, and the DOI specified on the
371	smack system must match that of the remote system or packets will be
372	discarded. The DOI is 3 by default. The value can be read from /smack/doi and
373	can be changed by writing to /smack/doi.
375	The label and category set are mapped to a Smack label as defined in
376	/etc/smack/cipso.
378	A Smack/CIPSO mapping has the form:
380		smack level [category [category]*]
382	Smack does not expect the level or category sets to be related in any
383	particular way and does not assume or assign accesses based on them. Some
384	examples of mappings:
386		TopSecret 7
387		TS:A,B    7 1 2
388		SecBDE    5 2 4 6
389		RAFTERS   7 12 26
391	The ":" and "," characters are permitted in a Smack label but have no special
392	meaning.
394	The mapping of Smack labels to CIPSO values is defined by writing to
395	/smack/cipso. Again, the format of data written to this special file
396	is highly restrictive, so the program smackcipso is provided to
397	ensure the writes are done properly. This program takes mappings
398	on the standard input and sends them to /smack/cipso properly.
400	In addition to explicit mappings Smack supports direct CIPSO mappings. One
401	CIPSO level is used to indicate that the category set passed in the packet is
402	in fact an encoding of the Smack label. The level used is 250 by default. The
403	value can be read from /smack/direct and changed by writing to /smack/direct.
405	Socket Attributes
407	There are two attributes that are associated with sockets. These attributes
408	can only be set by privileged tasks, but any task can read them for their own
409	sockets.
411		SMACK64IPIN: The Smack label of the task object. A privileged
412		program that will enforce policy may set this to the star label.
414		SMACK64IPOUT: The Smack label transmitted with outgoing packets.
415		A privileged program may set this to match the label of another
416		task with which it hopes to communicate.
418	Smack Netlabel Exceptions
420	You will often find that your labeled application has to talk to the outside,
421	unlabeled world. To do this there's a special file /smack/netlabel where you can
422	add some exceptions in the form of :
423	@IP1	   LABEL1 or
426	It means that your application will have unlabeled access to @IP1 if it has
427	write access on LABEL1, and access to the subnet @IP2/MASK if it has write
428	access on LABEL2.
430	Entries in the /smack/netlabel file are matched by longest mask first, like in
431	classless IPv4 routing.
433	A special label '@' and an option '-CIPSO' can be used there :
434	@      means Internet, any application with any label has access to it
435	-CIPSO means standard CIPSO networking
437	If you don't know what CIPSO is and don't plan to use it, you can just do :
438	echo -CIPSO > /smack/netlabel
439	echo @      > /smack/netlabel
441	If you use CIPSO on your local network and need also unlabeled
442	Internet access, you can have :
443	echo      -CIPSO > /smack/netlabel
444	echo -CIPSO > /smack/netlabel
445	echo      @      > /smack/netlabel
448	Writing Applications for Smack
450	There are three sorts of applications that will run on a Smack system. How an
451	application interacts with Smack will determine what it will have to do to
452	work properly under Smack.
454	Smack Ignorant Applications
456	By far the majority of applications have no reason whatever to care about the
457	unique properties of Smack. Since invoking a program has no impact on the
458	Smack label associated with the process the only concern likely to arise is
459	whether the process has execute access to the program.
461	Smack Relevant Applications
463	Some programs can be improved by teaching them about Smack, but do not make
464	any security decisions themselves. The utility ls(1) is one example of such a
465	program.
467	Smack Enforcing Applications
469	These are special programs that not only know about Smack, but participate in
470	the enforcement of system policy. In most cases these are the programs that
471	set up user sessions. There are also network services that provide information
472	to processes running with various labels.
474	File System Interfaces
476	Smack maintains labels on file system objects using extended attributes. The
477	Smack label of a file, directory, or other file system object can be obtained
478	using getxattr(2).
480		len = getxattr("/", "security.SMACK64", value, sizeof (value));
482	will put the Smack label of the root directory into value. A privileged
483	process can set the Smack label of a file system object with setxattr(2).
485		len = strlen("Rubble");
486		rc = setxattr("/foo", "security.SMACK64", "Rubble", len, 0);
488	will set the Smack label of /foo to "Rubble" if the program has appropriate
489	privilege.
491	Socket Interfaces
493	The socket attributes can be read using fgetxattr(2).
495	A privileged process can set the Smack label of outgoing packets with
496	fsetxattr(2).
498		len = strlen("Rubble");
499		rc = fsetxattr(fd, "security.SMACK64IPOUT", "Rubble", len, 0);
501	will set the Smack label "Rubble" on packets going out from the socket if the
502	program has appropriate privilege.
504		rc = fsetxattr(fd, "security.SMACK64IPIN, "*", strlen("*"), 0);
506	will set the Smack label "*" as the object label against which incoming
507	packets will be checked if the program has appropriate privilege.
509	Administration
511	Smack supports some mount options:
513		smackfsdef=label: specifies the label to give files that lack
514		the Smack label extended attribute.
516		smackfsroot=label: specifies the label to assign the root of the
517		file system if it lacks the Smack extended attribute.
519		smackfshat=label: specifies a label that must have read access to
520		all labels set on the filesystem. Not yet enforced.
522		smackfsfloor=label: specifies a label to which all labels set on the
523		filesystem must have read access. Not yet enforced.
525	These mount options apply to all file system types.
527	Smack auditing
529	If you want Smack auditing of security events, you need to set CONFIG_AUDIT
530	in your kernel configuration.
531	By default, all denied events will be audited. You can change this behavior by
532	writing a single character to the /smack/logging file :
533	0 : no logging
534	1 : log denied (default)
535	2 : log accepted
536	3 : log denied & accepted
538	Events are logged as 'key=value' pairs, for each event you at least will get
539	the subjet, the object, the rights requested, the action, the kernel function
540	that triggered the event, plus other pairs depending on the type of event
541	audited.
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Townsquare Media extends contract with Free Beer and Hot Wings radio show

Todd Chance | By Todd Chance | The Grand Rapids Press
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on July 09, 2013 at 10:55 AM, updated July 09, 2013 at 10:56 AM
Free Beer and Hot Wings.jpgFrom left, Gregg Daniels, aka Free Beer, Chris Michels, aka Hot Wings, and Eric Zane, hosts of the WGRD syndicated morning show, in 2005.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Townsquare Media Grand Rapids has announced a multi-year contract extension between 97.9 WGRD and the Free Beer & Hot Wings Morning Show.

The new contract keeps the morning show on its flagship station in Grand Rapids through 2018.

The show, hosted by Gregg "Free Beer" Daniels, Chris "Hot Wings" Michels, and Eric Zane, began full syndication in 2004 and now is heard on radio stations in 25 states.

The show has won the Michigan Association of Broadcasters award for Best Morning Broadcast Personality/Radio Team several times and also has guest hosted the nationally syndicated Dan Patrick Show.

In a statement, Townsquare Grand Rapids Vice President/General Manager, Russ Hines said, "Gregg, Chris and Eric continue to entertain and grow their audience every day and amuse their listeners with quality humorous content. Their decision to stay in West Michigan and continue to raise their families here is another indication of what makes Grand Rapids special.”

The members of the show said they were “thrilled” to extend their relationship with Townsquare and called Grand Rapids the “bedrock for our syndication.”

Connect with Todd Chance on Email | Facebook | Twitter | Google Plus

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Dig In: Youz Guys Sausage Co.'s The Greek, made with chicken, feta and spinach, has a big following

John Liberty | By John Liberty | The Kalamazoo Gazette
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on December 02, 2013 at 11:15 AM, updated December 02, 2013 at 11:16 AM

KALAMAZOO, MI -- Since emerging as a favorite at the Kalamazoo Farmers' Market this summer, the Youz Boys Sausage Co. has a surprising top-seller: The Greek.

Co-owners Monte Jansen and Chris Capalbo make a series of unique sausages using pork, beef and chicken. They make 15 sausages and carry between 10 to 12 at any one time, everything from Hot Italian Beef to Breakfast Sausage to Two Hearted Thriller, pork sausage made with Bell's Brewery Inc.'s Two Hearted Ale.

Combining business at the market with what they've done since opening their store at 8847 Portage Road in November, the top-seller, making up about 60 percent of total sales, is The Greek.

"It's kind of a mystery. I think it just has a really unique flavor. It's nothing like I've tasted before," Jansen said. "It's got a good mouth-feel to it."

Capalbo takes whole chicken parts grinds them, seasons the blend, mixes it, re-grinds and then adds spinach and feta. It's then enclosed in all natural casing. It's a smooth, light sausage. The feta and spinach plays well with the chicken, without any ingredient overwhelming the others.

"People say, 'How come this tastes so good?' Because it's made with real food," Capalbo said.

"It's not the ingredients alone, it's the process -- and that's top secret -- when you apply the ingredients and how you let them meld," Jansen said.

The Greek sells for $8 a bag, which contains four sausages. Cooking instructions are simple. On a grill, Jansen said to cook the sausage over medium heat for about five to seven minutes, turn it over and cook for another five minutes. For pan cooking, Jansen said add a little water and cook over medium heat for the same amount of time.

"If you have a thermometer, that's your best friend. As soon as it hits 162 (degrees), pull it out and let it rest for a minute and just enjoy it," he said.

"Just before you cut 'em, let 'em rest for a minute so all the juice doesn't run out," Capalbo said.

The Portage business will continue to evolve by adding new flavors and options, the owners said. They recently added stuffed chicken breast and plan to sell marinated steak in a vacuum-sealed package. Jansen also said they hope to develop an East Coast-style deli with offerings not usually found in the area.

The small store space also has a large window allowing customers to observe Capalbo creating sausages.

Youz Guys will adjust its hours for December. It's open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. It's closed on Sunday and Monday.

"They are as healthy as we can make them and 10 times more flavorful than anything you can buy in a store," Jansen said of the sausage.

For more information, call 269-352-9159 or go to You can also find Youz Guys on Facebook.

John Liberty covers entertainment for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Call him at 269-370-7372, email him at or follow him on Twitter.

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Charley Honey: Finding your inner ox can be a tough journey

Charley Honey | The Grand Rapids Press By Charley Honey | The Grand Rapids Press The Grand Rapids Press
on October 29, 2013 at 10:22 PM, updated October 29, 2013 at 10:25 PM

Somewhere there’s a picture of me in complete and utter relaxation. It shows me asleep in bed, at maybe 8 years old or so. My arms are outstretched and my kitten, Tigerina, nestles up against me.

At least I think this picture exists. I’ve been looking for it for several years now among the thousands in our family albums. I’m beginning to wonder if I didn’t make it up as an image of a feeling I would so love to get back.

Because whether or not the photo is real, I know the feeling is, or was. I can remember waking up as a boy without a care in the world. My body felt totally relaxed and my mind was as calm as a midsummer sky. I was unworried, unhurried and ready for anything.
Now don’t tell me I’m making that feeling up, too. I know I felt it! You probably have too. Haven’t you?

In adult terms, we could call this feeling the state of being at home with oneself – or, for the more religiously minded, spiritually awake.

If you can think of being spiritually awake as being at one with your inner ox, read on.
The ox as a symbol of one’s true nature is the theme of a dandy little book recently published by William B. Eerdmans of Grand Rapids. It’s called “The Ox-Herder and the The Good Shepherd: Finding Christ on the Buddha’s Path.” It’s written by Addison Hodges Hart, a retired pastor and university chaplain, who finds Christian parallels in the drawings and writing of a 12th-century Chinese Zen master.

The Ten Ox-Herding Pictures by Kakuan Shien are a classic of Buddhist tradition. (His originals have been lost but many versions have been made.) They show a boy searching for his ox (or, variously, a bull) in the wilderness, tracing his tracks, finding and taming him, and riding him home -- whereupon the ox disappears.

Without giving away too much of the plot, I’ll just say the ox is a symbol of the boy’s true inner self. In Buddhist terms, it is his Buddha-nature, the source of enlightenment. Hart sees a Christian parallel in one’s “true mind in Christ,” a place of spiritual peace leading to a life of compassionate love.

“If we don’t look for that true nature in our selves, we’ll never know it, and we’ll remain lost, alienated and disconnected,” Hart writes. “(W)e will just wander through life … preoccupied with greed and fear and useless amusements.”

In Kakuan’s sweet, simple drawings and accompanying verses, it becomes clear that it’s the boy who’s lost, not the ox. The ox is right where he’s always been, waiting for the boy to find him. But the boy is off course, distracted and confused by life’s choices. Only through meditation can he find his way back to his true self -- or, in Christian terms, “harmony with God and nature,” Hart writes.

Oh, that I could make my way back to my inner ox. It’s not like I haven’t tried.

I have meditated on and off for most of my adult life, with varying degrees of success. The first time I did it I felt like a complete flop. I’d spent the whole time fretting about how I wasn’t doing it right.

I still am not that good at it, but usually find it somewhat relaxing and enjoyable. Still, it’s not uncommon to be halfway through my routine and find I’ve spent the last 10 minutes trying to estimate my taxes.

As for identifying with the lost boy, that’s a cinch.

How is a person supposed to find his inner ox when his mind is constantly chasing after plans and worries? As I wrote in a recent blog post, my mind at 3 a.m. is often “a miserable litany of fussing, a muddy stream of consciousness that just keeps burbling and splitting into a million aimless rivulets.”

My family used to have a cabin on the Muskegon River in Missaukee County, where we would swim in the swift current. Frequently these nasty deer flies would come around and begin biting. To lose them I would dive under the water, swim downstream maybe 25 feet and resurface – and there would be the darn deer fly, buzzing around my head.
That’s what those worries are like. If my Buddha-nature is in my subconscious, I have a really hard time staying down there.

The sweetest of the 10 pictures in the book shows the boy riding the ox home. The ox is tamed and smiling, the boy contentedly playing the flute. Writes the Zen master: “Singing a song, beating time, my heart is filled with indescribable joy.”

The boy has found his true spiritual home, writes Hart – a place of “interior naturalness and ease. … It is like being reborn, becoming childlike, and one can be simple and straightforward.”

Yep, that’s how it felt all right, waking up in the morning at 8 years old. Sure wish I could find that picture.

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text:
Floyd Mayweather's uncle, Jeff Mayweather, sees his own career as boxing trainer grow

David Mayo | By David Mayo | The Grand Rapids Press
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on May 01, 2012 at 5:30 PM, updated May 02, 2012 at 3:15 AM
jeff-mayweather-14.jpgJeff Mayweather, shown here last fall at Mayweather Boxing Club, has increased his scope as a trainer to include his first world champion and even MMA fighters.

LAS VEGAS – Jeff Mayweather has a spot again on the show where his nephew Floyd Mayweather stars, and his brother Roger Mayweather trains the star. The bright lights of MGM Grand will suit him, on the undercard, reflective of how he has carved out his career as a trainer, carefully and craftily, and on the fringes of the family limelight.

This particular afternoon, he is racing from Mayweather Boxing Club, where he trains a world champion featherweight, over to a different gym to work with a popular UFC fighter, Roy "Big Country" Nelson, who has cut an identity for himself as a bumpkin with a mullet.

"He's not from the country at all, he's from Las Vegas," Mayweather said. "And he hates the mullet. But it's an image."

Jeff Mayweather's image as a family peacemaker who was a decent professional fighter, without the fanfare of his more famous relatives, is well-documented.

But he possesses the Mayweather craft, and in 12-plus years since his active involvement in his nephew's career ended, he has turned that into his own industry.

Floyd Mayweather fights for Miguel Cotto's World Boxing Association super welterweight title Saturday. Jeff Mayweather will work in a different 154-pound fight, training 23-3 Deandre Latimore against Carlos Quintana in their second bout together.

Latimore won in his first fight under Mayweather but got dropped twice late in the 10-round decision win over Milton Nunez in February. Latimore lost a split decision in his only title shot, three years ago in Cory Spinks' hometown of St. Louis, and has been on the cusp of a championship for some years without breaking through, yet still is only 26.

Jeff Mayweather: Floyd on a 'different level' than Miguel Cotto Jeff Mayweather, one of Floyd Mayweather's uncles, says this is the best his nephew has looked in a "long, long, time."
Mayweather said Latimore never used, or was taught, much boxing technique because of his raw power.

"Last fight, he actually boxed brilliantly for eight rounds, then he just happened to get caught," Mayweather said. "Because he can punch, he hits guys, and he stands there and waits to see what's going to happen. So sometimes, he's going to get caught himself. We work on 10-punch combinations. I figure that you're never going to need that many, but if you get used to that, it becomes a habit."

Mayweather's prized pupil is Panama's Celestino Caballero, who last year won the WBA featherweight championship and has defended it once. The bulk of his work is in boxing, the sport that made his family famous. His crossover work with mixed martial artists who are interested in improving boxing technique is a side gig which he called "a growing trend."

This week, the fight world's focus shifts to Cotto-Mayweather, and while Jeff Mayweather hasn't worked with his nephew since being dismissed from an advisory role in the camp purge of 1999-2000, he has moved his boxing training operations over to his nephew's gym within the last few months.

He said he sees Cotto as "no threat at all," and added that there isn't much the Puerto Rican can do about it.

"Cotto is a counterpuncher," he said. "You can't all of a sudden turn him into something he's not. And there's no way he's a better counterpuncher than Floyd, so he's already going to lose that battle. And secondly, if he tries to pressure Floyd, I think he's going to make it tough for himself, as well, because he's going to probably run into something.

"Don't get me wrong, I mean, of course, it's boxing, anything can happen. I mean, one punch can change everything. But I think if both guys bring their 'A' game, Floyd's on a whole different level than Cotto."

Floyd Mayweather doesn't dance much anymore. But Jeff Mayweather said that isn't because he can't.

"With age comes wisdom and that's what it is," Jeff Mayweather said. "Most people think that, 'Oh, he doesn't have the legs anymore.' It's not that. It's not that at all. Because in here, when he wants to move, he does. But when you're young and flashy and flamboyant, you want to show everything. You want to show everything that you've got. I think that was the case when Floyd was young. You want to showcase everything – 'Look at me, look at me, I'm dancing, I can do this, I can do that.' But now that he's older and wiser, why waste energy doing that stuff?"

Jeff Mayweather said that even after years of watching his nephew's unique gifts, he has "seen something different" in this camp.

"It's amazing to watch him," he said. "He's really, really mastered the game of boxing. When I see these guys right in front of him, and they can't land nothing, even for me it's amazing, and I've been seeing him do it his whole life."

Email David Mayo at and follow him on Twitter at


text:
Arnold Elementary students learn about nature in Stephanie Tallis Greenhouse

Larry Hook By Larry Hook The Jackson Citizen Patriot
on May 26, 2014 at 10:30 AM, updated May 27, 2014 at 10:21 AM

MICHIGAN CENTER, MI — Michigan Center's Arnold Elementary School has a surplus of green thumbs this spring as students learn in the school's two-year-old Stephanie Tallis Greenhouse.

The greenhouse, located behind the school, is used by all the students at Arnold, from Young 5's through second grade. The greenhouse features microscopes, plants, small animals such as tree frogs, and books about gardening and nature.

"We go out there year-round, but a lot more in the spring when we start planting," kindergarten teacher Heather Patrick said. "Then we have to go every couple days to keep up with our plants."

The greenhouse was named in memory of Stephanie Tallis, a former Michigan Center teacher who died suddenly five years ago. It was paid for through donations to the Tallis Memorial Fund, as well as with donations from businesses and private citizens, according to Arnold Principal Kelly McCloughan.

On a recent sunny day, Patrick's kindergartners marched out to the greenhouse to check on the progress of the tomatoes and beans they planted earlier this spring.

The students' assignments were to see if the plants needed water, to measure their plants and to evaluate why one plant might be growing faster than the other.

"I'm learning how to grow plants," kindergartner Kadyn Hammond said. "I've learned that they need sun and water."

Classmate Cali Lantis explained the process for growing plants.

"You have to put a seed in there and leave it alone for awhile, give it some water and let the sun shine on it so it will grow," Cali said.

Cali said she likes both tomatoes and beans, and plans to eat the ones she grows.

"I can make a tomato cake," she said. "My mom made a tomato cake before."

Kindergartner Matthew Mannor said he thought it would take 60 years to grow a tomato. His friend, Landon Hurd, was more optimistic, saying it shouldn't take more than 10 years.

Landon's bean plant measured 10 inches that day, the tallest among his class.

"I was happy because it was the largest," Landon said. "I'm going to make bean soup."

On the same day, the students also made "grassheads" by putting dirt and grass seed into nylon stockings, then drawing faces on them. The grassheads are expected to grow grass "hair," and will eventually require "haircuts."

Patrick said the greenhouse is an amazing learning tool for the Arnold Elementary staff.

"It gives us another type of a classroom to utilize," Patrick said. "When they're out there it's all investigation; hands-on. There are books and a lot of things to explore. It really gets them involved and they can be self-directed learners out there, for the most part."

At the end of the school year, the students will be encouraged to take their plants home and replant them, Patrick said.

— Know of a unique or interesting classroom or project in any Jackson County school? Let me know about it for this In the Classroom feature, which runs weekly during the school year. Contact Leanne Smith, education reporter, at 262-0720 or


text:
US, Russia agree to sharp new cuts in nuclear arms

The Associated Press By The Associated Press The Associated Press
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on March 26, 2010 at 1:26 PM, updated March 26, 2010 at 1:29 PM
obama-clinton-gates.jpgPresident Barack Obama, accompanied by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, brief reporters at the White House in Washington Friday after the president phoned Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to discuss the new START treaty.
WASHINGTON — Climaxing months of hard negotiations, President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed on Friday to sharp cuts in the nuclear arsenals of both nations in the most comprehensive arms control treaty in two decades. "We have turned words into action," Obama declared.

Obama said the pact, to be signed April 8 in Prague, was part of his effort to "reset" relations with Russia and a step toward "the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons."

The agreement would require both sides to reduce their arsenals of long-range nuclear weapons by about a third, from 2,200 now to 1,550 each. The pact, replacing and expanding the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 1991, which expired in December, was a significant gesture toward improved U.S.-Russian relations that have been badly frayed.

The reductions would still leave both sides with immense arsenals — and the ability to easily annihilate each other.

"In many ways, nuclear weapons represent both the darkest days of the Cold War, and the most troubling threats of our time," Obama said at the White House. "Today, we have taken another step forward in leaving behind the legacy of the 20th century while building a more secure future for our children."

In Russia, Medvedev's spokeswoman Natalya Timakova told the Interfax news agency, "This treaty reflects the balance of interests of both nations."

A Kremlin statement said, "The new treaty stipulates that strategic arms will be based exclusively on the territories of each of the nations."

Both sides would have seven years after the treaty's ratification to carry out the approximately 30 percent reduction in long-range nuclear warheads. The agreement also calls for cutting by about half the missiles and bombers that carry the weapons to their targets.

"We have turned words into action. We have made progress that is clear and concrete. And we have demonstrated the importance of American leadership — and American partnership — on behalf of our own security, and the world's," Obama said.

Though the agreement must still be ratified by the Senate and both houses of the Russian Parliament before it takes effect, Obama and Medvedev plan to sign it next month in Prague, the city where last April, Obama delivered his signature speech on arms control.

For his administration, a major value of the treaty is in setting the stage for potential further successes.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, standing with Defense Secretary Robert Gates alongside Obama, noted next month's international meeting of leaders on nuclear proliferation being hosted by the president in Washington, focused on preventing the spread of nuclear weapons to terrorists and rogue states.

"We come with more credibility, Russia comes with more credibility, having negotiated this treaty," she said.

Ratification in the Senate will require 67 votes, two thirds of the Senate, meaning Obama will need support from Republicans. Some GOP senators had previously expressed concerns about concessions being made by U.S. negotiators.

Clinton, asked whether approval could be achieved given the recent fierce partisan battles and close votes over health care, said it could.

"National security has always produced large bipartisan majorities, and I see no reason why this should be any different," she said. "I believe that a vast majority of the Senate, at the end of the day, will see that this is in America's interest. And it goes way beyond politics."

In Russia, the treaty goes first to the State Duma, the lower house, and then to the Federation Council.

Speaking in the White House briefing room, Obama said the treaty by the globe's two largest nuclear powers would "send a clear signal that we intend to lead" the rest of the world in reducing the nuclear threat.

Clinton noted that the U.S. and Russia still possess more than 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons. "We do not need such large arsenals to protect our nation," she said.

She emphasized the verification mechanism in the treaty, a key demand of the U.S. that was resisted by Russia and was one of the sticking points that delayed completion of the deal. It will "reduce the chance for misunderstandings and miscalculations," she told reporters.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that by helping to build trust "this treaty enhances our ability to do that which we have been charged to do — protect and defend the citizens of the United States."

He said U.S. commanders around the world "stand solidly behind the treaty."

Gates cautioned the treaty — and an accompanying review of nuclear posture — will require more spending to modernize America's nuclear arsenal. At the same time, the defense secretary called it an "important milestone" in consigning Cold War nightmares to the past.

Gates recalled serving as an Air Force officer supervising Minuteman missiles at Wightman Air Force Base. The new treaty, he said, "is testimony to just how much the world has changed."

The deal ended nearly a year of tense and tumultuous negotiations between the two countries.


text:
Detroit Tigers fail to work out trade with Nationals, return utilityman Jeff Kobernus to Washington

James Schmehl | By James Schmehl |
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on March 23, 2013 at 5:15 PM, updated March 23, 2013 at 5:16 PM
032213-jeff-kobernus.jpg Detroit Tigers left fielder Jeff Kobernus catches a fly ball hit by Toronto Blue Jays' Ryan Schimpf during the sixth inning on March 15 in Lakeland, Fla.
LAKELAND, Fla. -- Bottom line: Jeff Kobernus wasn't going to make Detroit's 25-man roster.

That's why the Tigers decided to return the Rule 5 pick to the Washington Nationals -- a move the club announced after its 10-6 win Saturday.

Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said he attempted to work out a trade with the Nationals the last couple days, but the suggested asking price was too steep.

"We were not able to consummate that," he said.

As a result, the Tigers decided to send him back, and will now recoup half of the $50,000 investment they originally paid to get him when they drafted him in December after trading minor-leaguer Justin Henry to the Boston Red Sox to acquire their draft rights.

"He really wasn't going to make our club," Dombrowski said. "We just think a couple guys are ahead of him at this point."

The move is effectively immediately as Kobernus is expected to report to the Nationals' minor-league camp Sunday. He declined to offer comment when greeted in the clubhouse. By rule, Detroit would have had to keep Kobernus on the 25-man active roster for the entire season if it didn’t return him to the Nationals.

"He accounted for himself very well, but I think the biggest key here is -- as we speak -- that he wasn't going to make the team," manager Jim Leyland said. "That's the reason."

Kobernus hit .220 with two triples and three RBIS in 50 at-bats for the club this spring. Recognized for his speed, Kobernus was caught stealing on both his attempts.

He was a candidate to fill the club's part-time role in right field, but both Dombrowski and Leyland admitted that the role was likely to be filled by another internal candidate.

"It was a decision decided by everybody. A lot of people were involved," Leyland said. "Obviously, when you're a Rule 5 guy, it's not like you can send him to Toledo."

The only way for the Tigers could have sent Kobernus to Triple-A Toledo was if he had passed through waivers and the Tigers had worked out a trade with the Nationals.

"There were a lot of things we saw that we liked about him," Dombrowski said. "We just have somebody that was ahead of him. That's what it comes down to."

A second baseman his entire professional career, Kobernus was asked to play outfield this spring, which he hadn't pulled off since early in his college career at Cal.

"We did ask him to change positions so that probably made it a little bit uncomfortable for the guy," Leyland said.

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text:
Whitecaps should avoid downtown ballpark

Gary Bond | The Grand Rapids Press By Gary Bond | The Grand Rapids Press
on October 21, 2008 at 8:50 AM, updated October 21, 2008 at 9:17 AM

COMSTOCK PARK -- OK, let me see if I can't make a little dollars and sense out of John Wheeler's "dream."

Wheeler, a chief executive for Rockford Construction, threw out the idea of building a ballpark in downtown Grand Rapids during his speech at the University of Michigan/Urban Land Institute Forum last week and having the West Michigan Whitecaps move from Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park and play their home games within the Grand Rapids city limits.

It's an idea that could boost the downtown economy if it became a reality. But it shouldn't have been talked about out loud.

The Whitecaps, who have played in their team-owned facility since their first season in 1994, receive 100 percent of all revenue from ticket sales, parking and concessions.

Playing in a city-owned facility means sharing the revenue. Those percentages calculate to smaller pieces of the pie. Playing at Fifth Third Ballpark means the Whitecaps' front office can have their pie and eat it, too.

And, if approved, who would pay for this downtown ballpark?

In a Press article last week, Wheeler said he had no idea how the ballpark would be financed and had no desire to own a team. In this current economy, I sure hope that burden wouldn't be placed on the tax payers.

One should never say never, but I'm going to say it. The Whitecaps will never move from Fifth Third Ballpark.

Financial proof of the Whitecaps' commitment to Fifth Third Ballpark for seasons to come can be seen in the list of renovations currently under construction for the 2009 season, which were announced today.

The cost of those renovations could reach $1.5 million.

"If someone offered me a million dollars to move, I'll move, but it's difficult to have any thoughts on Wheeler's idea or if it's even feasible since I haven't spoken to him," Whitecaps CEO and nanaging partner Lew Chamberlin said.

"We own Fifth Third Ballpark, which sets up an obstacle in moving, but I'm always willing to listen to ideas," Chamberlin added. "We have invested and re-invested into our ballpark, making it as fresh, clean and fan-friendly and we will continue to do that.

"Wheeler is interested in downtown development, something I applaud."

Roster moves
The Detroit Tigers released nine minor league players Monday: Kelvin Cedeno, Angel Castro, Dan Zell, Zach Piccola, P.J. Finigan, Hayden Parrott, Cory Middleton, Justin Justice and Derek Witt, all of which spent time with the West Michigan Whitecaps.

Three of the nine players -- Cedeno, Parrott and Middleton -- played for the Whitecaps this past season.

E-mail Gary Bond:


text:
Whitecaps place Jeff Ferrell on disabled list with elbow inflammation

jeff-ferrell-mug.jpgJeff Ferrell

The West Michigan Whitecaps placed right-handed pitcher Jeff Ferrell on the disabled list Wednesday afternoon and transferred Brennan Smith to the team from extended spring training.

Ferrell, who is 1-1 with a 3.71 ERA in three starts this season, has inflammation in his right elbow. The move is retroactive to April 24.

Ferrell, 20, spent most of last season with the Gulf Coast League Tigers, where he went 5-5 with a 3.25 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 13 games.

Smith, 21, went 1-7 with a 3.38 ERA in 15 games with Connecticut in the New York-Penn League. He also struck out 58 and walked 22.

E-mail Michael Zuidema: and follow him on Twitter at


WARC-Truncated: length

text:
UFC Canadian officials announced that Antonio Carvalho would square off with Darren Elkins in a featherweight bout, while also adding a bantamweight battle between Mitch Gagnon and Issei Tamura.

The bouts are two of the rare non-welterweight match-ups that grace the UFC 158 fight card that features UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre putting his belt on the line against Nick Diaz.

Carvalho and Elkins are locked in a skirmish that will see one of them take a big step up the featherweight ladder.

Carvalho (15-5) stumbled, losing his UFC debut by decision, but has got back on track with back-to-back victories over Daniel Pineda and Rodrigo Damm.

Elkins (15-2) started off his UFC tenure at 1-1 as a lightweight, but has reeled off four victories in a row since making the drop to 145 pounds.

He is coming off of a key victory over Steven Siler, so a win over Carvalho would propel him into the upper echelon of the featherweight division, while the same could be said for Carvalho if he defeats Siler.

This is a fight that will propel the winner into the early stages of title talk.

Gagnon (9-2) is fighting on his home turf, trying to get some momentum going.

He had a six-fight winning streak disrupted by Brian Caraway midway through 2012, but bounced back with submission win over Walel Watson last September at UFC 152 in Toronto.

He could face a tough task, however, as Tamura (7-3), could be fighting for his very survival in the Octagon.

Tamura started his professional career off strong, winning his first five fights, but has struggled over the past couple of years. He is just 2-3 over his past five bouts, including a 1-1 record in the Octagon, and coming into this bout off of a loss to Raphael Assuncao.

Stay tuned to MMAWeekly.com for all the latest UFC 158 news and fight card updates.

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Byrd Tool trims labor costs with paperboard crates

Tool maker reduced packing time by 30% by switching from wooden crates.
By Modern Materials Handling Staff
March 10, 2011

You might expect a company that specializes in industrial woodworking tools to favor wooden crates for shipping. Until recently, Byrd Tool, located in Leitchfield, Ky., constructed wood crates to ship all of its products.

Recently, however, the company discovered significant labor savings by switching to a unique paperboard crate (Laminations, http://www.laminationsonline.com/html/products/uCrate.htm) to ship its cutter heads for industrial planers, molders, joiners and shapers.

“It takes about 30% less time to pack our products in paperboard crates compared to wooden boxes,” said Tom Byrd, company president. “That’s a significant savings.”

Protecting the Shelix head during shipment
Among professional woodworkers, Byrd Tool is a recognized leader in innovation. The Shelix head, the company’s signature product, is a planer head that uses staggered teeth, also known as tips or knives, that are set at an angle and arranged in a helix design on a rotating cylinder. The tips slice the wood in a way that makes for a smoother cut than a traditional straight blade. “Woodworkers know that a shear cut is far better than a straight cut and that a stagger cut is much better than just a single straight knife,” said Byrd. “It’s also easier on their dust collection systems.”

Using common carriers, Byrd Tool ships about 75% of its product domestically, with the remainder going to places such as Taiwan, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy and the U.K. Most of their sales come through the company’s website at http://www.byrdtool.com.

Byrd Tool still ships some of its heaviest planer heads and tools in wooden crates, which are constructed onsite. Larger shipments to places such as Taiwan are often palletized loads that are cubed and strapped, maximizing shipping space and enhancing load stability. In 2010, however, Byrd Tool began replacing wooden crates with paperboard crates to ship most of the 3,000 Shelix heads shipped each year.

Introduced as a cost-effective, sustainable choice for protecting long and narrow products during shipping and handling, the crates consist of two seamless U–shaped channels of laminated paperboard that fit snugly together. Available in a variety of calipers, leg lengths and sizes, they provide a sturdy, environmentally friendly way to ship products such as window blinds and rods, tubing, metal rods/extrusions, fragile instruments, glass products and industrial tools.

Creating the protective packaging
Byrd Tool orders the crates in 240-inch lengths and then cuts them to the desired lengths. Byrd uses two configurations with different leg lengths but the same 5-inch base.

Wooden plugs, made of 2x4s or 2x6s, are stapled on the ends. Holes drilled in the wooden plugs support the journals on either end of the heads, suspending the tool securely within the crates. “Depending how heavy the heads are, we sometimes use separate blocks to suspend them rather than relying totally on the end plugs,” Byrd said.

Suspended within the UCrates, the heads have a buffer space of at least 1 inch between the head and the container walls.

“If the UCrate is tossed around during handling, it will flex a small amount. The buffer space precludes any shipping damage,” said Byrd. “We have not experienced any damage problems.”

Given the number of units Byrd Tool ships annually, not only protection but also the cost of freight and shipping materials are considerations. But the big advantage of the laminated paperboard crates over wood is in labor.

“The actual box material—paperboard compared to wood—is pretty close to the same as far as price, but the labor costs of using paperboard crates compared to wood is less,” said Byrd.

Paperboard crates also avoid carrier surcharges for handling wooden crates.

“The difference in weight between a paperboard crate and wood is about 5 pounds,” said Byrd. “That doesn’t sound like much, but there is a premium charge to ship with exposed wood when you use UPS or FedEx. Using the paperboard crates, we not only save weight, but we are able to avoid the surcharge.”

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1. #1

    Next VP Upgrade?

    Hey guys looking for some expert advice. What should i upgrade next the choices seem to be Helm (get rid of my haste helm) Chest (i have bad 476 but ALSO am close to killing garalon so might be a waste) and lastly bracers to get rid of haste. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

  2. #2
    Field Marshal
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Would say go for the bracers, way more crit (your helm has already good crit rating) so that would be a huge upgrade and you lose some of that nasty haste.

  3. #3
    went with the bracers, thanks

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Nakties Karys of Istaria

Biped warrior adventures in vast world of Istaria.

Author: Lithuanian

Istaria:life after updates

Posted by Lithuanian Thursday April 12 2012 at 12:51AM
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Life after updates goes on and I have witnessed some of its moments, while searching for iron Motherloads.

Scorpion island mountains have been redrawn. The look much better than before: before these were just empty mountains with gems and monsters. Now there are mystic bridges, glowing icy paths, woods - a better atmosphere, especially for role-players. Negative thing: developers promised silver and iron fields on each corner of the mountains and there was no iron field.

Ogres have been renamed: now we have, for examply, Sal'kuk. If one doubts whether it is higher than Nah'kuk or equal to Bhal'kuk - he is mistaken. It's just former Ice ogre.

Although promised, there are still no teleporter to Fabric island: not checked if there is one from it.

The rest of the day was spent gathering iron and adding it to Player's D. plot. One moment he approached me and said he needed one particular structure to be finished: therefore, had to concentrate almost all attention to that structure. The only problem is that it requires Enchanter school and I did not start it yet. So - alone I would not able to finish this building.

Also spoke with Player S. She became very active in the game, received invite from developers to be a test player (she will receive 200.000 health while on test server) and ability to report bugs. I'm glad she is so active, although she is too quick to make decisions. One player mentioned he may leave Istaria- Player S> alarms: "Nakties, I need your help, that player is going to leave Istaria".

One negative moment: I did not find iron motherload near Chickonis. Searched and there was no motherload. ANother player found some kilometres from the former place...but I was afraid to go. Refused to go there, although motherload was in the exact place. I noticed I do not trust developers, I can't think they could improve the game.

But overall, the day was good. I made almost 50% of iron jointing work on Player's D. plot. I made some woodworking job too. And I am able to do some 80% of his plot alone. Once again, I am usefull to others. writes:
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General : Paper Sorcerer Now Available on Multiple Platforms

Posted Jan 29, 2014 by Suzie Ford

Ultra Runaway Games has sent word that its multi-platform single player RPG, Paper Sorcerer, is now available for PC, Mac and Linux with iOS and Android versions to come a bit later. Paper Sorcerer was developed after a successful KickStarter campaign and has recently been "Greenlit" on the Steam gaming platform.

Key Features:

  • Play as a renegade sorcerer as he struggles to escape the book prison and regain his powers.
  • Escape a magical prison filled with heroes hunting you down at every turn.
  • Leave behind mana and to-hit rolls for an exciting new battle system that emphasizes strategy and tactics over grinding.
  • Strategically manage an energy pool to unleash devastating special attacks in battle.
  • Assemble a party of fiendish creatures to join you as allies in battle.
  • Numerous different creatures and fiends to unlock, further customizing your party; including a healer Witch, a trickster Imp, assassin Troll, and a berserker Minotaur.
  • Discover fiendish puzzles and solve them with a combinations of spells, items, and your wits.
  • Hand-drawn high-resolution sprites
  • DRM-free for PC, Mac, iOS®, and Android™
  • All-inclusive game, promise to never make you pay for DLC content.

Find out more about Paper Sorcerer.

Suzie Ford / Suzie is the Associate Editor and News Manager at Follow her on Twitter @MMORPGMom
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Star Citizen : Chris Roberts on the Final Frontier

Posted Oct 16, 2012 by Suzie Ford

Last week, Chris Roberts came out swinging with his blockbuster announcement of Star Citizen. We managed to catch up with Chris at GDC Online last week to talk about the game and much more. Keep reading!

While GDC Online may have seemed quiet to some, it was not quiet for Chris Roberts. Chris is a game design legend known mostly for Wing Commander, a very popular game in the late 1990s which many view as one of the top space combat games of all time. After much success Chris moved on to films for a while and got out of the game busthewariness. However, he confessed to us that he has never stopped playing video games on a daily basis. Now years later, Roberts is re-entering the galaxy with Star Citizen, an in-depth galactic world with ships, space stations, single player options, and massive online battles.  The game offers a lot to players and the opening cinematics we saw at the show are breathtaking. We got the chance to talk to Chris at GDC Online and were extremely impressed with what we saw of the game.

Read more of Garrett Fuller's Star Citizen: Chris Roberts on the Final Frontier.

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Vertical Machining Center Reduces Cycle Time By 84 Percent

A certified subcontractor to Xerox, Space Labs, Barry Controls, ITT, Pacific Scientific, and Air Bus Industries, this shop's parts aren't required to be inspected. Parts are shipped directly from the job shop to the customer's production line.

Case Study From: 10/1/1996 Modern Machine Shop

World Class Manufacturing of Canoga Park, California, found its Haas Automation VF-4 machining center and fourth axis rotary table from Haas Automation, Chatsworth, California, to be a very profitable combination. A certified subcontractor to Xerox, Space Labs, Barry Controls, ITT, Pacific Scientific, and Air Bus Industries, World Class Manufacturing's parts aren't required to be inspected. Parts are shipped directly from the job shop to the customer's production line.

The company was founded in 1975 as National Machine. Split into two companies in 1994, the job shop operations became World Class Manufacturing. Spearheaded by aerospace veteran George M. Haskins, president and experienced machinist and job shopper Gary Carnan, vice-president, the company provides precision parts on machining centers and lathes and assembly for the medical, commercial and aerospace industries.

"We just received a Pyramid contract from Xerox and needed a machining center that would provide four-axis machining capability on a budget," said Mr. Haskins. "And we needed it fast. The Haas VF-4 with a rotary table was the only VMC we found which met our price/feature test."

The Haas VF-4's travels (50 inches, 20 inches, 25 inches) provide for an extra-large X travel, which makes World Class Manufacturing's rotary table setup possible. The VMC features a 15-hp spindle drive with a two-speed gearbox for higher torque, as well as 20-position automatic toolchanger and Haas-built control, with dual 32-bit processors. The control is Fanuc-compatible and has a program execution speed of up to 1,000 blocks per second.

Haas OneTouch is a control feature that is designed to save setup time. By way of example, OneTouch power up turns the power on, homes all axes, picks up the No. 1 tool and loads it into the spindle so the machine is ready to make chips. Tool length measurement stores offsets for 100 different tools with OneTouch. Work coordinate offsets can be loaded with a OneTouch feature too. And OneTouch power-down automatically homes all axes, picks up the No. 1 tool, loads it into the spindle and powers down.

The Pyramid contract awarded to World Class Manufacturing is for machining a casting used in a high-speed laser-fax copier that Xerox markets worldwide. Because they are a certified Xerox subcontractor, they can machine and assemble parts and ship them directly to the customer's production line.

The rotary table with tailstock was used to maximize output. A two-sided fixture mounted to the rotary table rotates each part into position. The tailstock reduces deflection and chatter that can cause a poor surface finish. Also, the tailstock increases accuracy and reduces wear on the rotary table. A separate fixture is mounted on the rotary table's base, so three different parts can be machined without tearing down the machine.

Since the VF-4 accommodates multiple zero positions, multiple parts can be machined limited only by space on the fixture. The operator can do other operations while the Haas machines run virtually unattended.

The Xerox part is die cast aluminum, which requires milling, drilling and rigid tapping operations to tolerances of ±0.001. Before the VF-4 was purchased, cycle time was 60 minutes with six separate operations, one of them off-line which required that the casting be handled twice. Those six separate operations have been reduced to two setups, the rotary table rotates the casting into position for each of five operations and runs unattended while the second operation is performed off-line.

With the VF-4 and rotary table, two parts are set up side-by-side. Cycle time has been reduced from 60 minutes to ten minutes per casting, which is a reduction of 84 percent. "Our two-part fixturing system is the result of teamwork. Management listening to the operators. Our operators are intimately familiar with the jobs and machines and they constantly come up with ideas to reduce setups and cycle time," said Mr. Carnan. "So when we received a rush order to machine, drill and tap 25 plates from another customer, we didn't have to break into our production run and waste eight hours tearing down and rebuilding the setup. We also saved the time it takes to reprogram the tool offsets and inspection time."

Blind holes are difficult to tap to the bottom, because the geometry of a tap does not allow contact with the side wall to cut the last pitch. For example, a valve body with a blind hole many require as many as three taps to get the thread to the bottom.

"We can thread right to the bottom of the hole. Our programmer decides where the lead-in/lead out begins and ends. Our customer gets higher accuracy and cleaner threads," said Mr. Haskins.

Helical interpolation, a function of the low-cost Haas VF-4, enables the blind hole to be threadmilled with only one tool. The thread mill insert does not have a clearance problem and easily cuts the thread form all the way to the bottom. Also, threadmilling to the bottom of the blind hole reduces the possibility of crashing the tap into the bottom or crushing chips into the bottom.

"Over 12 months, we have machined 31,500 parts with zero piece rejection. Which says to us, that when we combined our quality programmers and operators with the Haas machines, we created a pretty formidable team," said Mr. Haskins.

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MNB is an Active Supporter of our Communities

Minnesota National Bank hosts a variety of community event, is involved in local community organizations, and support numerous community projects.

Our MNB donation program gives regularly to local causes. If you have a cause you would like us to consider, please submit a Donation/Sponsorship Request form.

MNB also provides free use of an enclosed trailer for our customers. To reserve the trailer simply contact our offices or submit a Reserve Trailer Request .

Long Prairie Customer Appreciation Open House Highlights

Posted by Mike Traeger on Fri, Jun 08, 2012 @ 11:47 AM

Thank you to everyone who came out to enjoy Minnesota National Bank's Open House on June 8th, helping us celebrate June Dairy Month and Turkey Month. It was great to see everyone! Visit the MNB Facebook page to see all the photos.

Long Prairie MNB open houseLong Prairie Open HouseLong Praire Open HouseLong Praire Open House Petting Zoo

Topics: MNB Community


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North Dakota Bank Empowers Employees To Pay It Forward
MN Headhunter Blog Nominated In Best Third Party Recruiting Blog Category At

A Message To Those Using A RSS Reader To Receive MN Headhunter Content

Look out!!!

You are going to be bombarded the next few days with blog posts. There has been much I have been wanting to add but because of a few late year projects that needed my full attention never had a chance.

I will be heading to Alexandria and besides some ice fishing, catching the college bowl games, and taking many needed naps what else is there to do?

Besides, you and I know you will be looking for a diversion from your In-Laws.

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes in 2008.

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20 unique ways to save money

Feb. 28, 2011, 11:25 a.m.
Navy shower

Photo: ronnieliew/Flickr

19 of 22

Take a Navy shower

You may already be cutting back on showers or limiting the time you spend singing tunes under the steamy water, but there's another, even less luxurious way to conserve: the Navy shower. Invented by the Navy to save precious water rations, this showering technique uses just 11 gallons of water instead of the 60 gallons a typical shower requires.

Here's how to shower like a seaman: Turn the water on just long enough to get wet and then turn it off. Then soap up and don't turn the water back on until you're ready to rinse.


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Welcome to part 3 of my answer to one reader’s question, “Help, I’m a gardening idiot. Can you help me?”

Yesterday, we covered what to plant and where to plant. Today I’ll answer the rest of the questions. Let’s get down to it so I don’t need a part 4.

How to get the soil ready

First of all, you’ll want to take a look at the area you’ve chosen to use. Is it flat or on an incline? If it’s on an incline, you might want to consider making a boxed-in raised bed garden instead of digging the soil.

If you are going to dig in the soil, then you’ll need to till the soil. There is some debate over whether tilling is the most beneficial way to prepare the soil; however, since you’re just beginning I would say till. It makes the dirt easy to plant in. Don’t run out and buy a tiller, though. See if you can borrow or rent one.

You can supplement the nutrients in the soil by adding compost (hint: call your local department of public works and ask if they offer compost or know a nearby town that offers it) and fertilizers – preferably organic. Remember, whatever you put in your soil will end up in the food you grow. If you use chemical fertilizers and pesticides, they’ll get sucked up by the plant roots along with the nutrients.

How to plant

Dig a hole, put a little water in it, and then put in the seed or plant. There’s nothing to be afraid of here.

If you are sewing directly from seed, the back of the seed packet will tell you how deep and how far apart to plant the seeds. If you are planting existing plants, you’ll need to find out how far apart to plant them. Distance is important because as the season goes on and the plants get bigger, you don’t want them to overcrowd each other when you’re just beginning.

One thing that you might not think about is the positioning of the plants. Take a look at where the sun will hit your garden first. Plant those things that will be low to the ground there and gradually work your way back (or over) to taller plants. That way tall plants like tomatoes won’t block the sun from lower plants like pepper plants.

How to keep from killing the plants

There will always be a plant or two that doesn’t thrive for who knows what reason. But if you are water, fertilize, prune and weed regularly, things will grow. Here’s where planting as close to your house as possible comes in handy. You don’t want your garden to be “out of site, out of mind.”

These are very basic steps and certainly aren’t the beginning and end of all you need to know. Hopefully, I’ve let you know that it doesn’t take a degree in agriculture to start a back yard garden. A little knowledge along with some early planning and then attention to the garden once its planted should yield you some fresh vegetables to put on your table this summer. You’ll learn a lot as you go and have an even better garden your second year.

If I’ve convinced you that this is something that you can do to, here two few books that might help you more:

Guide to Iowa Vegetable Gardening by James A. Fizzel

The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch

Don’t forget to check out your local library for other books, particularly ones that are written for your region.

Image: WTL photos

The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.


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Dock Extender Cable for iPhone, iPad, and iPod - White

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Product Reference: 27020

Use any iPod dock with your iPhone, iPad or iPod when it's in a case with the white dock extender cable.

  • "works a treat"
  • "Excellent"

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Pleasanton, CA
24th June 2013

Doc Extender Cable
MobileFun.com provided excellent service, quickly shipped the product and both the product and shipping costs were very reasonable. Unfortunately the iPhone connector is just slightly too large to fit through the case. I don't blame MobileFun as they couldn't possibly know the specs on every case available. I'm assuming this cable would have worked with other cases. Since I'm only out around $15 it's not a big deal. Maybe I'll find a use for it some other time.
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13th January 2013

Poorly made, fell apart after 2 days.
Utter rubbish, fell apart after 2 days and cant be bothered returning. Don't buy this product. Bought this for my daughter to link her iPod to a ipod portable speaker - the otterbox case She has means that the iPod does not fit on the docking port property so I thought this would be just the job. Didn't las the weekend. Try another product/supplier if you need one.
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14th December 2011

works a treat
I bought this item because I couldn't dock my i phone in the car with it's protective case on. This extender cable works a treat!!!!!!
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30th November 2011

Just what you need if you want to use an i pod dock and want to leave your protective case on your device.
1 of 2 found this helpful.
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Heiko Luder
16th June 2011

Do not buy-does not work as advertised
Hi, I bought this product in order to extend the length of a docking cable in a car.The Car Stereo would not recognise the Iphone with the cable extension-fully functional without-so cable not passing through all the data that car stereo needs to play songs etc.
6 of 9 found this helpful.
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6th April 2011

Charges iPhone and iPod from dock but doesn't allow control of any either from any of my idocks.
6 of 8 found this helpful.
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22nd March 2011

It works!
Does what it says on the tin, at the right price and delivered in good time.
1 of 1 found this helpful.
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1st January 1970

Doesn't work with Roth MC4...
Great concept, works as charger extension, but not with my Roth MC4 iPod dock. 3 stars as website doesn't explain this may be the case!!
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iPad Game Review: Lume HD for iPad
      #42419 - 03/28/12 03:15 PM

iPad Game Review: Lume HD for iPad

Reviewed by Tom Slayton

Lume HD is a beautiful point-and-click puzzle adventure game with unique visuals and first-rate music. As Lumi, an inquisitive young girl, you discover that power to your grandad's house has failed. What's more, he's nowhere to be seen, but appears to have left you some intriguing clues.

Lume HD, like its iPhone/iPod Touch counterpart Lume, is a point-and click adventure game where you take the role of Lumi and try to solve the mystery of your grandfather's disappearance. To accomplish this, you will solve a variety of paper puzzles and manipulate what the developer describes as eco-technology. This is a cautionary tale of the importance of conservation, but, thankfully, the game never gives up being fun in order to hit you over the head with its environmental message. In addition to the puzzles, every location hides a variety of objects that can/must be interacted with in order to succeed.

Please note the intentional use of the word hides in the previous sentence, as this is one of only two complaints that I have with this unique and well-crafted game. While the environmental puzzles are clever, and even make sense according to this game world, the lack of "mouseover" information like that available in the desktop versions means that you may find yourself randomly clicking on the landscape until you find that last tiny interactive piece needed to progress. This is unfortunately compounded by the lack of a hint system. This is issue is not unique to Lume, however. Even the amazing Machinarium suffers from it, and there doesn't seem to be any workaround for touch-based interfaces... Yet. This isn't anywhere near a gamebreaker issue, and it actually serves to extend gameplay a bit, as you tend to progress a bit slower; which brings us to my other gripe.

The game is pretty short, clocking-in at about an hour. Chapter two is promised, however, and the $3 price tag means that you would be pretty hard-pressed to convince anybody that you aren't getting your money's worth. For those of you who found the game to be even shorter, please know that there was a bug that was recently squashed that made it possible to complete the game early. If you were one of those affected, it's probably time to give the game another try.

Ah, the graphics. Here is where Lume truly sets itself apart. While we iOS gamers have gotten pretty desensitized to good 2D and 3D graphics due to the high quality of the games available, Lume has gone a completely different direction. Instead of rendering the environment the traditional way, State of Play Games chose instead to build their world entirely out of cardboard and paper, and film it. The final effect has been described variously as sumptuous, exquisite, and dreamlike, and I'm here to tell you that those words aren't too very far off the mark. This graphical style will especially appeal to children, and the game's gentle story goes very nicely with it so be prepared to share your device with your youngsters. Until recently, there was a graphical bug that allowed the game to rotate to portrait mode when the device was turned. This has since been fixed, and now the game will only display in landscape.

The music and sound of Lume are also quite delightful. In fact, you might just want to break out the headphones for this one. They match the visuals perfectly, and truly enhance the gaming experience.

In-App Purchases (IAPs)

Lume HD currently offers no in-app purchases. Buy it once, and own it all.

Lume HD is a uniquely beautiful adventure game. In addition to its one-of-a-kind visuals, it also sports fantastic music and sound. The game is short, however, and the one-two punch of no mouseover information and no hint system means that it's quite possible to become terminally stuck.

Ratings (scale of 1 to 5):

Graphics: - 5 - Amazing and unique environmental graphics that live up to the hype.
Sound: - 5 - Great music and sound effects that really pull you into the game.
Controls: - 3 - The interface is plenty responsive, but the lack of mouseover info means you'll be doing a lot of random tapping.
Gameplay: - 4 - Needs some sort of hint system and runs a bit short, but it's a well-crafted and fun adventure.

Playing Hints and Tips:
Save early and save often as there is no autosave. Without mouseover information, you're going to need to do a lot of tapping to find everything that needs finding.

Lume - iOS & Mac OSX Trailer from State of Play on Vimeo.

App Facts:

Developer: State of Play
Release Date: February 22, 2012
Price: $2.99
Buy App: Lume HD

Check out our full list of iPhone/iPod touch game and app reviews:

Check out our other iPad game, app and book reviews:

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iPhone Game Review: 2010 Mahjong
      #34900 - 10/16/09 07:47 PM

iPhone Game Review: 2010 Mahjong

The first thing to notice is that 2010 Mahjong is not that common solitaire version that you have to find matches no matter where the tiles are. The main approach is to find matches that are not blocked and are linked by at most 3 (imaginary) lines. This variation is also known as Rivers or Shisen-Sho.

Load time is short (iPhone 3GS) and the interface is animated and well organized.

Help provides the basic rules so you?ll be playing the game in no time.

Along with the so called Original Mode (that is Rivers) the game also has a 7Block Mode (remove tiles in numerical order) and a Survival one (limited time and new tiles are randomly added).

As noticed the game is a Rivers solitaire where you have to match tiles that are not blocked and that are connected by, at most, 3 imaginary lines.

There are 3 difficulty levels (Easy, Normal and Hard). Each difficulty has 30 layouts that are locked. Once you win the current opened one you unlock the next and so on.

To help you solve a level the game provides limited Hints and Shuffles.

The control works very well. If you tap a tile and hold you can see a bigger tile (preview) and if you move your finger you can see the next one making it very easy to get the tile you want.

Finally, the game provides 9 different backgrounds and 9 tile sets that you have to unlock along the game.

2010 Mahjong has a good interface and graphics.

Tiles are easy to read but, unfortunately, the game only works in Landscape mode. Some layouts would play better in Portrait.

Background music is very repetitive (you can disable it though) and the game does not support iPOD music.

Sound effects are OK.

Rivers with 3 modes
A good set of layouts, backgrounds and tiles
Easy to read tiles
Controls make easy to select the tile you want

Help is illustrated but incomplete
Background music is repetitive
It does not support resume
It does not support iPOD music

2010 Mahjong is a good version of Rivers with layouts, backgrounds and tiles to unlock, feature that increases the game value making it more interesting than the plain solitaire itself.

Ratings (scale of 1 to 5):

Graphics: -4- good graphics
Sound: -2- repetitive background music and it does not support iPOD music
Controls: -4- easy to select tiles
Gameplay: -4- Rivers solitaire with things to unlock

Playing Hints and Tips:

?New Game? means game data reset so always use continue if you have already started it
Tap, hold and move your finger to browse tiles

Game Facts:
Developer: Nate Games
Release Date: Sep 22, 2009
Genre: Puzzle
Price: $2.99
Size: 7.2 MB
Buy Game: iTunes App Store

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Inspiration: TV series

Group Description

Games based-off of TV series and characters from those series. This can include television shows from any era including the 1950s, 1960s, and so on into present day.

  • This group does not include TV series based-off of movies, unless the game is an implementation of the changes and storyline that go into it being a series [exclusivity to the TV series should be obviously apparent].

  • Game shows are actually an attribute and should not be included here.

  • TV Movies or movies produced for a television network are not considered TV series for the purposes of this game group. They should go under the proper Movie-Inspired game group.

  • Cartoon series (animated series) also have their own group and do not belong here.
Related Game Groups
Viewing Page 13 of 21 (items 301-325 of 503) Previous | Next
Game Titlesorted in descending orderYearPlatformPublisherUser Score
Xena: Warrior Princess - The Talisman of Fate1999Nintendo 64Titus Software Corporation3.47
Blue's ABC Time Activities1999Macintosh, WindowsHumongous Entertainment, Inc.3.86
Sesame Street: Letters1999Windows, Windows 3.xThe Learning Company, Inc.5.00
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch: Brat Attack1999Macintosh, WindowsKnowledge Adventure, Inc.4.58
The Dukes of Hazzard: Racing for Home1999PlayStation, WindowsSouthPeak Interactive, LLC2.80
Julens Hjältar1999Macintosh, WindowsYoung Genius Software AB...
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Birth of the Federation1999WindowsAtari Interactive, Inc.3.65
Star Trek: Federation Compilation1999DOS, WindowsInterplay Productions Ltd.4.00
Play with the Teletubbies1999PlayStationKnowledge Adventure, Inc....
Gute Zeiten - Schlechte Zeiten1999WindowsKOCH Media Deutschland GmbH...
Blue's Treasure Hunt1999Macintosh, WindowsHumongous Entertainment, Inc.3.62
Elmo's Letter Adventure1999Nintendo 64, PlayStationNewKidCo, Inc.2.76
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch: Spellbound1999Macintosh, WindowsKnowledge Adventure, Inc.2.00
webRIOT1999WindowsMTV Networks...
The X-Files Game1998Macintosh, PlayStation, WindowsFox Interactive, Inc.3.83
Star Trek: Starship Creator1998Macintosh, WindowsSimon & Schuster Interactive1.35
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy - Chekov's Lost Missions1998WindowsInterplay Entertainment Corp.4.30
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Klingon Honor Guard1998Macintosh, WindowsMacSoft3.01
Star Trek Pinball1998DOSInterplay Productions, Inc.3.90
Die Maus1998Game Boy, Game Boy ColorInfogrames Multimedia SA1.80
Star Trek: Federation Compilation1998DOS, WindowsInterplay Entertainment Corp.3.56
Blue's Clues: Blue's Birthday Adventure1998Macintosh, WindowsHumongous Entertainment, Inc.4.30
Star Trek: The Game Show1998Macintosh, Windows, Windows 3.xSound Source Interactive, Inc.3.20
Sesame Street Elmo's Preschool1997Macintosh, Windows, Windows 3.xCreative Wonders LLC5.00
The Mystery at Greveholm1997Macintosh, Windows, Windows 3.xVioma Digital Media AB3.00
Goto Page: 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20

Selected Covers

Selected Screenshots

webRIOT TV game show
Screenshot from webRIOT
The game's start screen. The help button opens up a new window.
Screenshot from Sesame Street: Letters