Sunday, September 30, 2007


The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a non-profit corporation founded in October 1985 by Richard Stallman to support the free software movement ("free" as in "freedom"), and in particular the GNU Project. The FSF is incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
From its founding until the mid-1990s, FSF's funds were mostly used to employ software developers to write free software. Since the mid-1990s there are more and more companies and individuals writing free software, so FSF's employees and volunteers mostly work on legal and structural issues for the free software movement and the free software community.
Being consistent with its goals, only free software is used on all of the FSF's computers.

Free Software Foundation Current work of FSF

Structure
On November 25, 2002 the FSF launched the FSF Associate Membership program for individuals.

Membership

Board of Directors

Hal Abelson, Professor of Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (served from inception until March 5, 1998, and rejoined circa 2005)
Geoffery Knauth, Senior Software Engineer at SFA, Inc. (served since October 23, 1997)
Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law at Stanford University (served since March 28, 2004)
Henri Poole, Founder of CivicActions, a grassroots campaign technology consulting firm. (served since December 12, 2002)
Richard Stallman, Founder of FSF and the GNU Project, Founding President, former maintainer of various GNU software, and principal author of the GNU GPL, Versions 1 and 2 (served since inception)
Gerald Sussman, Professor of Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (served since inception)
Benjamin Mako Hill, graduate student at the MIT Media Lab. (served since July 25, 2007) Free Software Foundation Other former members of the Board of Directors
FSF is governed by a voting membership that sets the number of directors and elects them to office. Traditionally, the FSF voting membership is a superset of the Board of Directors. The current voting members are (in alphabetical order):

Hal Abelson
Robert J. Chassell
Benjamin Mako Hill
Geoffery Knauth
Lawrence Lessig
Eben Moglen
Henri Poole
Richard M. Stallman
Gerald Sussman Voting Members
Some of the Free Software Foundation staff, both current and past, are unpaid volunteers. At any given time, there are usually around a dozen employees. Most, but not all, work at the FSF headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts.

Staff and Employees
Eben Moglen and Dan Ravicher previously served individually as pro bono legal counsel to the FSF. Since the forming of the Software Freedom Law Center, legal services to the FSF are provided by that organization.

Legal Representation
In:

2001 - Free Software Foundation Europe was founded in Germany.
2003 - Free Software Foundation India was founded in Kerala.
2005 - Free Software Foundation Latin America was founded in Argentina. Recognition

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Staines
Coordinates: 51°25′60″N 0°29′51″W / 51.433315, -0.497382
Staines is a Thames-side town in the Spelthorne borough of Surrey and part of the London Commuter Belt of South East England. It is a suburban development within the western bounds of the M25 motorway and located 17 miles (27 km) west south-west of Charing Cross in London.

History
The name Staines is thought to derive from Old English for 'stones', due to a long-lost site of monoliths in nearby Stanwell. Others believe the name to derive from 'St Anne's in the Thames'.
There has been a bridge since Roman times (hence the Roman name of the town Pontes). Claudius led the Romans into Britain in 43 AD and they settled in Staines the same year. Soon after this invasion the first Staines Bridge was constructed to provide an important Thames crossing point on main road from Londinium (London) to Calleva Atrebatum, near the present-day village of Silchester.
Staines appears on the Middlesex domesday map in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Stanes. It was held by Westminster Abbey. Its domesday assets were: 19 hides. It had 6 mills worth £3 4s 0d, 2 weirs worth 6s 8d, 24 ploughs, meadow for 24 ploughs, and some cattle. It rendered £35.
During the period 1642–48 there were skirmishes on Staines Moor and numerous troop movements over Staines Bridge during the Civil War.

Early history
Staines was the major producer of linoleum, a type of floor covering, after the formation of the Linoleum Manufacturing Company in 1864 by its inventor, Frederick Walton. Linoleum became the main industry of the town and was a major employer in the area up until the 1960s. In 1876 about 220 and in 1911 about 350 people worked in the plant. By 1957 it employed some 300 people and in 1956 the factory produced about 3,200 sq yd. of linoleum each week. The term 'Staines Lino' became a world-wide name but the factory was closed around 1970 and is now the site of the Two Rivers shopping centre. A bronze statue of two lino workers in Staines High Street commemorates the Staines Lino Factory. The Spelthorne Museum in Staines has a display dedicated to the Linoleum Manufacturing Company.
Staines, or more accurately Egham Hythe on the opposite bank of the Thames, was also the home of the Lagonda motor car. The Lagonda site is now a Sainsbury's supermarket.
Staines was the site of the Staines air disaster in 1972, at the time the worst air crash to have occurred on British soil, until the Lockerbie disaster of 1988. The crash was commemorated in June of 2004, with the opening of a dedicated garden, created at the request of relatives, near to the crash site, and the unveiling of a stained glass window at St. Marys Church, where a memorial service was held.

Modern history
In 1894, the Local Government Act 1894 created the Staines Urban District of Middlesex. In 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, most of the rest of Middlesex became part of Greater London while Staines Urban District was transferred to Surrey. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the Staines Urban District was abolished and its area combined with that of the former Sunbury-on-Thames Urban District to form the present-day borough of Spelthorne.

Staines Urban District
The proximity to London and Heathrow have attracted a number of companies: BUPA (medical insurance) and LogicaCMG (telecommunications and IT consultants) have major offices, NDS (conditional access and DRM provider) and Siemens Building Automation Division have their national headquarters here. Samsung Electronics Research Institute, Samsung's U.K. R&D Division is based in Staines.

Economy
Staines is the home of the fictional character Ali G and rock band HARD-Fi.
The administrative offices of Spelthorne Borough Council are located at Knowle Green. The town has recently unveiled a revitalised Thames-side with landscaping and sculptures. The Town Hall (now a bar) is a pleasant Victorian blend of Italian and Flemish influences set in a small square. Some well preserved Georgian town houses line Clarence Street (named after the Duke of Clarence). Church Street and The Lammas house some lovely Georgian and Victorian properties clustered around the parish church of St Mary. Most housing in the town is middle class in nature with plenty of green spaces (Staines Moor, Shortwood Common, Knowle Green, Leacroft, The Lammas and Laleham Abbey to the immediate south). Staines Bridge spans the Thames with a graceful three arch structure. Until the 14th century Staines was the tidal limit, now downstream at Teddington.
Thorpe Park, an amusement park with several distinctly themed areas, is near to the town.

Culture
Staines has a fairly compact town centre mainly focused on a wide pedestrianised High Street, housing most familiar names such as Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, TK Maxx and Monsoon. Smaller independent units can be found in Church Street, Clarence Street and the eastern end of the High Street. A market in the pedestrianised High Street is held every Wednesday and Saturday. It is one of the largest and busiest street markets in Surrey. A moderately-sized shopping centre (Elmsleigh) is directly behind the High Street. A retail park was opened in 2002 called Two Rivers which is bisected by the confluence of the rivers Wraysbury and Colne. Retailers include Waitrose as well as a Vue cinema, gym and cafes.

Shopping
Staines has two football clubs; Staines Town F.C. and Staines Lammas F.C.. Staines Town play at the newly rebuilt Wheatsheaf Park ground and are currently in the Ryman Premier League. Staines Town enjoy a strong rivalry with Hampton & Richmond Borough.
Staines is also home to Staines Boat Club. Located on just the opposite bank from the main town, Staines is home to rowers from Junior level all the way up to elite rowers. Also Staines holds a regatta on the river for rowers each year at the end of July. A very well supported event.

Staines Sport
The nearest station is Staines mainline station serving Waterloo, Weybridge, Windsor and Eton Riverside and Reading. Taxis are available from the station. The bus station is a five-minute walk from the railway station. Staines is also a short ride south of Heathrow Airport. There are plans to build a new railway, called AirTrack, from Staines to Heathrow Airport.

Transport
Staines neighbouring towns and villages are Egham, Ashford, Stanwell and Laleham. About 4 miles north east of Staines is the large Heathrow airport.
The area between Egham and Staines town centres is known as Egham Hythe.

Friday, September 28, 2007

The USA
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states, one federal district, and fourteen territories. The country is situated almost entirely in the western hemisphere: its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie in central North America between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south; the state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent with Canada to its east, and the state of Hawaii is in the mid-Pacific. U.S. territories, or insular areas, are scattered around the Caribbean and Pacific.
At 3.7 million square miles (9.6 million km²) and with over 300 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and third largest by land area and population. Several American athletes have become world famous, in particular baseball player Babe Ruth, boxer Muhammad Ali, and basketball player Michael Jordan.


Main article: List of United States-related topics

Thursday, September 27, 2007


Background Christianity St. Augustine The Reformation Five Solas Synod of Dort Distinctives Five Points (TULIP) Covenant Theology Regulative principle Documents Calvin's InstitutesReformed Confessions of faith Geneva Bible Influences Theodore Beza John Knox Jonathan Edwards Princeton theologians Churches Reformed Presbyterian Congregationalist Reformed Baptist Peoples Afrikaner Calvinists Huguenots Pilgrims Puritans Scots The Reformed churches are a group of Christian Protestant denominations historically related by a similar Calvinist system of doctrine, which first arose especially in the Swiss Reformation led by Huldrych Zwingli, but soon afterward appeared in nations throughout Western Europe. Each nation in which the Reformed movement was originally established had its own church government. Several of these local churches have expanded to worldwide denominations and most have experienced splits into multiple denominations. Commitment to teaching the original Calvinism usually continues to be reflected in their official definitions of doctrine, but in some cases is no longer necessarily typical of these churches. A 1999 survey found 746 Reformed denominations worldwide.

History
Reformed doctrine is expressed in various creeds. A few creeds are shared by many denominations. Different denominations use different creeds, usually based on historical reasons. Some of the creeds still commonly in use are (with year of writing):
The Three forms of unity are common among Reformed churches with origins in the European continent (especially those in the Netherlands). The Westminster Standards have a similarly common use, among Reformed churches (known commonly as the Presbyterian churches) with origins in the British Isles. More recent confessions and creeds are shared by fewer denominations.

French Confession (1559),
Scots Confession (1560),
Three forms of Unity

  • Heidelberg Catechism (1563),
    Belgic Confession (1566),
    Canons of Dordrecht (1619),
    Second Helvetic Confession (1566)
    Westminster Standards

    • Westminster Confession of Faith (1646)
      Westminster Shorter Catechism (1649)
      Westminster Larger Catechism (1649)
      Baptist

      • London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689) Reformed Churches worldwide
        Category:Reformed church theological colleges and seminaries

Wednesday, September 26, 2007


Chris Spradlin (born December 24, 1979) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Chris Hero. He is a mainstay of many independent wrestling promotions, including IWA Mid-South, Combat Zone Wrestling, Juggalo Championshit Wrestling, CHIKARA, Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, and Jersey All Pro Wrestling as well as Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan.

Career
Chris's initial training in Middletown, Ohio was under the supervision of a small time promoter named Gary Goffinet. Gary ran a promotion called OCWA from 1997 to 1998. Chris trained for a little while alongside his friend, Adam Ghazee AKA The Sasquatch, under a wrestler by the name of Bo Dacious. Bo had trained previously under Charlie Fulton at the Monster Factory. The OCWA school closed down in November of 1998.
At the suggestion of Matt Stryker, Hero underwent further training at Les Thatcher's Cincinnati, Ohio-based HWA Main Event Wrestling Camp between May 1999 and November 1999.
In December 1999, he traveled to Ocala, Florida to train under Dory Funk, Jr. at the Funkin' Conservatory professional wrestling school.
In 2000, Hero began working for the Indiana-based Independent Wrestling Association Mid South, where he received supplementary training from Ian Rotten. In the following years, Chris spent a great deal of time working with Tracy Smothers on IWA Mid South shows and he credits Smothers with being a mentor of his.
In October 2002, Hero attended the Blue Bloods Wrestling Camp, operated by English wrestlers David Taylor, William Regal and Northern Irish wrestler Dave Finlay.
In July of 2003, CHIKARA brought in Jorge "Skayde" Rivera from Ultimo Dragon's Toryumon Gym in Mexico City to teach some special lucha libre clinics. Hero took part in the training sessions and was able to add an entirely new style to his repertoire. Chris has attended "Skayde" sessions in Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Mexico City from 2003 until 2006.

Training
Hero debuted for IWA Mid-South on July 1st, 2000, in a losing attempt versus Harry Palmer. In his first year in the promotion, he won the annual Sweet Science 16 tournament (now known as the Ted Petty Invitational or TPI), defeating four other wrestlers in the process (Colt Cabana, American Kickboxer, Ace Steel and Harry Palmer), and unsuccessfully challenged Sabu for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Bloodfeast 2000. Hero engaged in feuds with the Suicide Kid, American Kickboxer, Mark Wolf and the Rugby Thug.
Throughout 2001 and 2003 Hero engaged in a bitter rivalry with CM Punk.
On October 21, 2001 in Charlestown, Indiana, Hero won the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship from the Rugby Thug. He held the title until December 5 of that year, when he lost to CM Punk. He regained the title on July 12, 2002, in Clarksville, Indiana, defeating Colt Cabana, and lost it to M-Dogg 20 three months later on October 5 in Clarksville. He won the title for a third time on February 7, 2003, in Clarksville, pinning CM Punk in a match that lasted over ninety minutes. His third reign lasted until June 7, when he lost to Mark Wolf. Hero regained the title in a match with Danny Daniels on July 12, 2003, after Mark Wolf had vacated the title. Hero lost it for a fourth and final time to Danny Daniels less than a month later on August 2.
During the fall of 2005, Hero and Arik Cannon continued their feud that had started years before in IWA-MS. At the end of it, Hero turned heel after being eliminated by Cannon in the 2nd round of the 2005 TPI. He later turned his back on Rotten, his trainees Trik Davis, Mickie Knuckles, Bryce Remsburg and everyone else that had befriended him. Hero has since destroyed the IWA Mid South Heavyweight title belt.
He is the only wrestler to have competed in all six TPI/Sweet Science 16 events. At the end of 2005, he won the 3rd annual Revolution Strong Style Tournament, defeating Necro Butcher in the finals.

CHIKARA
In May 2002, Hero debuted in Combat Zone Wrestling, wrestling Ruckus in a match that went badly. He wrestled a second match later that year that "also ended in a debacle". Hero returned to CZW for a third time in the autumn of 2003, and this time he secured a regular place on the roster. Declaring himself the "Savior" of CZW, Hero defeated Jimmy Rave on May 1, 2004, to become the promotion's Ironman Champion. He became the longest reigning Ironman Champion before losing the title to B-Boy at the CZW year-end event, Cage of Death, on December 11, 2004. Hero recruited Claudio Castagnoli and Blackjack Marciano to be his "Few Good Men", but shortly thereafter, Marciano disappeared from wrestling altogether, leaving Hero and Claudio as a tag team, calling themselves the Kings of Wrestling. On September 10, 2005, the duo defeated the Tough Crazy Bastards (Necro Butcher and Toby Klein) to become the CZW Tag Team Champions. Hero and Castagnoli held the titles and defended them in an ongoing feud with Eddie Kingston and the rest of the BLK OUT faction. While Hero and Claudio dropped the titles to Eddie Kingston and Joker in February 2006, the feud with BLK OUT continued.
On May 13, 2006, Chris Hero was scheduled to take part in the Best of the Best tournament. However, Hero gave his spot to the CZW World Heavyweight Champion, Ruckus, who promised him a title shot in return. When Ruckus won the Best of the Best tournament, Hero came out and immediately used his title shot to win the CZW World Heavyweight Championship. Hero successfully defended it against Claudio Castagnoli and Necro Butcher. At Down with the Sickness 4-Ever, Eddie Kingston accepted an open challenge from Hero and pinned him to become the new CZW World Heavyweight Champion.
On October 14th of 2006, the Kings of Wrestling defeated 3 other teams in a one night tournament at the CZW show "Last Team Standing" to become 2 time CZW Tag Team Champs. They defeated Team Masturbation (Beef Wellington & Excalibur) in the first round, the BLKOUT (Ruckus & Human Tornado) in the second round, and the makeshift team of Justice Pain & the Human Tornado (subbing for Pain's partner in the H8 Club, Nick Gage, who left the building before the match).
On Saturday April 7th, 2007, at Combat Zone Wrestling's 'Out with the Old, in With the New' show, Hero would face long time, heated rival Eddie Kingston in a match where the loser would be forced to leave Combat Zone Wrestling. Hero was defeated following a Lariat from Kingston and post match made a leaving speech to the CZW crowd. Following this CZW owner John Zandig came out and thanked Hero for all he had done for CZW, including the war with Ring of Honor. Kingston then came out and refused a handshake from Hero. Then quickly exited. The plan was for Zandig to have given Kingston a Lariat however Kingston felt that Zandig was just trying to steal the spotlight. Kingston was fired on spot.

Combat Zone Wrestling
During a large portion of 2006, Hero feuded with the entire Ring of Honor promotion. It started when he issued a challenge to ROH at CZW's Cage of Death 7 in December 2005. Hero then challenged and lost a match for the ROH World Championship on January 14 at "Hell Freezes Over" in Philadelphia, to then champion, Bryan Danielson. He, along with Necro Butcher, had been attending various Ring of Honor events, which would usually involve he and Necro getting kicked out after excessive heckling or harassing of a Ring of Honor wrestler, in the middle of a match. One interesting point of the feud is that most of the promos were put on the internet, either through Chris Hero's livejournal, or the ROH Newswire. With this feud, it seemed that Hero had turned heel. According to him "2006 will be all about destruction.", and while this was presented as a heel turn in Ring of Honor, he remained a face with CZW. The feud came to a head at the former ECW Arena on March 11th in Philadelphia, where both promotions' locker rooms were in a double header (ROH's "Arena Warfare" and CZW's "When 2 Worlds Collide"). The event was named "Arena Warfare" as both locker rooms were expected to cause chaos throughout the event. This was inspired after Hero, Necro Butcher, and the CZW locker room invaded ROH's 4th Anniversary show on February 25.
Although Chris Hero was not in attendance at "Arena Warfare" (according to Danielson, he was in Mexico with Claudio Castagnoli), CZW proved to come out on top in the end. After the ROH main event did not go as planned, the CZW locker room took on Samoa Joe and BJ Whitmer. This resulted in an all out brawl between the Ring of Honor locker room and the Combat Zone locker room, and Whitmer being tortured by the Combat Zone roster after the Ring of Honor roster was chased away. The Combat Zone roster proceeded to destroy the ring ROH had set up, and chase Ring of Honor out of "their house".
Hero and Necro Butcher came to ROH's "Best in the World" event in New York on March 25 to answer a challenge made by Adam Pearce. They proceeded to beat him down, but in a surprising turn of events Chris Hero's long time tag partner, friend, and pupil Claudio turned on both Necro and Hero by saving Pearce. Claudio beat them down, and then chased them out while screaming "Fuck CZW!".
The next weekend, March 30 through April 1, in Detroit and Chicago, Hero and Necro again caused a disruption during the ROH shows. They ran in each night, beating down and injuring ROH Commissioner Jim Cornette as well as Whitmer and Pearce. They also finally got the attention of Joe, who personally declared war on CZW in Detroit. On April 22, ROH's 100th show in Philadelphia featured a battle between Team ROH (Joe, Whitmer & Pearce) against Team CZW (Hero, Necro & Super Dragon). In his LiveJournal, Hero proclaimed that Team CZW would make ROH look like fools on their biggest stage and regret not ending this war before.
Chris Hero walked into ROH's 100th show in their home at the National Guard Armory, and proclaimed that he wasn't a stranger to being up against overwhelming odds, and he wasn't a stranger to being "the everyman". He stood in the CZW bleachers in the crowd and declared that these people were "his army". The team of Hero, Necro Butcher, and Super Dragon went on to win the ROH vs. CZW main event in an extremely chaotic match. Adam Pearce of team ROH was pinned after Claudio turned on ROH and helped Hero deliver the Hero's Welcome on Pearce for the pin. Claudio hugged Hero and went on to celebrate with Zandig, Team CZW, and the CZW section of the crowd who were chanting "match of the year!".
Hero led Team CZW into the Cage of Death at Ring of Honor's Death Before Dishonor IV. This was the first time Cage of Death was featured in a show outside of CZW. Hero had teased that he had made a deal with a mystery fifth man, which he stated would be a "deal with the devil". This lead to rampant speculation as to whether or not the fifth man was someone from ROH jumping ship. Homicide had been a likely candidate, due to a recent storyline involving his frustration with the company. However, their fifth man turned out to be Hero's hated rival Eddie Kingston. Although ROH's surprise fifth man Bryan Danielson turned on Samoa Joe in an effort to incapacitate Joe before their title match, Team ROH finally put CZW away when Homicide arrived in the Cage and pinned Nate Webb for the win. Two days later on their Newswire, ROH stated that the war with CZW was over, thanks to Homicide.
In August of 2006, the Ring of Honor tag title belts were stolen and later returned from champions Austin Aries and Roderick Strong. Hero revealed on his LiveJournal that he and Castagnoli were the culprits and would be challenging for the titles September 16. They defeated Aries and Strong in New York's Manhattan Center to become the Ring of Honor tag team champions. ROH then announced that by winning the belts, Chris Hero had been made a full time ROH Wrestler.
However, the KoW lost the belts to Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal on November 25.
KOW had what looks like their last match on December 23 in Manhattan when they, with super agent Larry Sweeney in their corner, were defeated by the Briscoe Brothers. After the match, Claudio announced that he was no longer going to WWE, and would remain in ROH as one half of the Kings of Wrestling. Sweeney then said he and Chris Hero had big plans for 2007, but Claudio was not included in them. Then, when Hero was forced to choose between staying with Claudio or going with Sweeney, he shook Claudio's hand but left with Sweeney.

Ring of Honor
Chris Hero also wrestles for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, based in southern California. His first appearance was at the Tango & Cash Invitational tournament to determine the first ever PWG Tag Team Champions. He and his partner CM Punk defeated The Messiah and Christopher Daniels in the first round, and the Thomaselli Brothers in the second round, but lost to B-Boy and Homicide in the third round. He made his next appearance nine months later in a hard hitting match against Super Dragon. At the 2005 All Star Weekend - Night One, Hero defeated Chris Sabin. Later in the night, Hero came out and challenged Christopher Daniels for his TNA X Division Championship. Daniels accepted and defeated Hero the next night. However, a few months later at Zombies Shouldn't Run, Daniels refused to put the title on the line against Hero and defeated him in a non title match. At After School Special, Hero became one of Joey Ryan's targets to prove he is the best technical wrestler. Hero seemed to be out-wrestling Ryan in the match, so Scott Lost came out to help Ryan win. Hero would defeat Lost at the next show. At Card Subject to Change 2, Hero teamed up with Claudio Castagnoli to challenge Super Dragon and Davey Richards for the tag team championship. They wrestled for 55 minutes, but Dragon and Richards were able to win after Richards hit the Shooting Star Press on Claudio. Hero also competed in the Battle of Los Angeles 2006, but lost to Genki Horiguchi in the first round. Most recently Hero appeared with regular tag team partner Claudio Castagnoli in PWG's DDT 4 Tag Team Title Tournament. They lost in the first round to the Briscoes.

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
Chris has become a regular for several European wrestling promotions, most notably being the wXw federation located in Essen, Germany. He has wrestled in thirteen different countries across the world: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Scotland and Switzerland.
In April 2007, Chris Hero competed in the first King of Europe Cup, as the representitive of CZW. He defeated Claudio Castagnoli in the first round before being defeated by Doug Williams. Hero recently won the German-based promotion Westside Xtreme Wrestling's prestigious international competition event, the "16 Carat Gold Tournament", defeating Ares in the finals.

Outside the States
Hero wrestled off and on for TNA in 2003 and 2004. He traveled alongside Nate Webb and Dave Prazak to Nashville, Tennessee on a weekly basis at the urging of Bill Behrens. Hero wrestled on several Xplosion tapings. Although he never appeared on pay per view he is featured on card # 22 of the Pacific released TNA trading card set.
Chris HeroChris Hero
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling


  • Hero's Welcome (Rolling cutter or Hammerlock rolling cutter)

  • Super Hero's Welcome (Lifting rolling cutter)

  • Hero's Welcome Championship Edition (Over the shoulder lift spun into a Michinoku driver II)

  • Hangman's Clutch (Inverted cravate STF)

  • Hangman's Clutch II / Arm Capture Hangman's Clutch (Inverted cravate crossface)

  • Hangman's Clutch III / Standing Hangman's Clutch (Inverted cravate with a standing leg grapevine)

  • Hangman's Clutch Facebuster (Spinning cravate hold into sitout facebuster)

  • Rivera Cloverleaf (Modified Texas cloverleaf)

  • Rubik's Cube (Cravate iconoclasm from an electric chair position)

  • Hero Stomp (Diving double foot stomp)





  • Cravate

  • Cravate Buster (Second rope cravate into somersault cutter)

  • Cravate Cutter (Front flip neckbreaker)

  • Cravate-O-Clasm (Second rope sitout snapmare)

  • Cravate-Plex (Three-quarter facelock side suplex)

  • Hero DDT (Snap DDT)

  • Hero Sandwich (Scoop into spinning uranage backbreaker)

  • Hero Sandwich II (Arm trapped scoop into spinning uranage backbreaker)

  • Hero Sidekick (Yakuza kick to cornered opponent)

  • Russ Abbot (Leapfrog, crawl between opponent's legs, roll over opponent, and schoolboy combination)

  • Tope con Hero (Tope con Hilo)

  • Tracy Smothers (Rapid double palm strikes to the chest of an opponent in the corner)

  • Inverted suplex into stunner

  • Gutbuster

  • Backward roll into corkscrew senton

  • Johnny Saint special

  • Inverted crucifix powerbomb

  • Standing double foot stomp, sometimes followed by a senton

  • Double leg slam

  • Double knee backbreaker

  • Stretch plum

  • Springboard back elbow smash




Finishing moves
Hero's Welcome (Rolling cutter or Hammerlock rolling cutter)
Super Hero's Welcome (Lifting rolling cutter)
Hero's Welcome Championship Edition (Over the shoulder lift spun into a Michinoku driver II)
Hangman's Clutch (Inverted cravate STF)
Hangman's Clutch II / Arm Capture Hangman's Clutch (Inverted cravate crossface)
Hangman's Clutch III / Standing Hangman's Clutch (Inverted cravate with a standing leg grapevine)
Hangman's Clutch Facebuster (Spinning cravate hold into sitout facebuster)
Rivera Cloverleaf (Modified Texas cloverleaf)
Rubik's Cube (Cravate iconoclasm from an electric chair position)
Hero Stomp (Diving double foot stomp)
Signature Moves
Cravate
Cravate Buster (Second rope cravate into somersault cutter)
Cravate Cutter (Front flip neckbreaker)
Cravate-O-Clasm (Second rope sitout snapmare)
Cravate-Plex (Three-quarter facelock side suplex)
Hero DDT (Snap DDT)
Hero Sandwich (Scoop into spinning uranage backbreaker)
Hero Sandwich II (Arm trapped scoop into spinning uranage backbreaker)
Hero Sidekick (Yakuza kick to cornered opponent)
Russ Abbot (Leapfrog, crawl between opponent's legs, roll over opponent, and schoolboy combination)
Tope con Hero (Tope con Hilo)
Tracy Smothers (Rapid double palm strikes to the chest of an opponent in the corner)
Inverted suplex into stunner
Gutbuster
Backward roll into corkscrew senton
Johnny Saint special
Inverted crucifix powerbomb
Standing double foot stomp, sometimes followed by a senton
Double leg slam
Double knee backbreaker
Stretch plum
Springboard back elbow smash Wrestlers trained by Hero


  • ACW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)





  • Campeonato de Parejas (1 time) - with Claudio Castagnoli





  • CCW Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

  • CCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with John Caesar





  • CZW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

  • CZW Iron Man Championship (1 time)

  • CZW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Claudio Castagnoli





  • GPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)





  • HCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Danny Blackheart





  • ICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)





  • IWA East-Coast Heavyweight Championship (1 time)





  • IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship (4 times)

  • IWA Mid-South Sweet Science 16 winner (2000)

  • IWA Mid-South Strong Style winner (2005)





  • NWA VW/OH Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)





  • NSWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)





  • ROH World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Claudio Castagnoli





  • UCW Television Championship (1 time)





  • VCW Tag Team Championship (2 times)

  • VCW Triple Threat Championship (2 times)





  • wXw World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

  • wXw 16 Carat Gold Tournament Winner 2007




Alternative Championship Wrestling
ACW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
CHIKARA
Campeonato de Parejas (1 time) - with Claudio Castagnoli
Coliseum Championship Wrestling
CCW Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
CCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with John Caesar
Combat Zone Wrestling
CZW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
CZW Iron Man Championship (1 time)
CZW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Claudio Castagnoli
Garage Professional Wrestling
GPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Hard Core Wrestling
HCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Danny Blackheart
Impact Championship Wrestling
ICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Independent Wrestling Association East-Coast
IWA East-Coast Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South
IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
IWA Mid-South Sweet Science 16 winner (2000)
IWA Mid-South Strong Style winner (2005)
National Wrestling Alliance
NWA VW/OH Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
NSWA
NSWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Ring of Honor
ROH World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Claudio Castagnoli
Unified Championship Wrestling
UCW Television Championship (1 time)
Violent Championship Wrestling
VCW Tag Team Championship (2 times)
VCW Triple Threat Championship (2 times)
westside Xtreme wrestling
wXw World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
wXw 16 Carat Gold Tournament Winner 2007

Tuesday, September 25, 2007


Python is a high-level programming language first released by Guido van Rossum in 1991. although this only applies to the core language's syntax and semantics; the standard library provides the language with a large number of additional libraries and extensions.
Python is a multi-paradigm programming language which has a fully dynamic type system and uses automatic memory management; it is thus similar to Perl, Ruby, Scheme, Smalltalk, and Tcl.
The language has an open, community-based development model managed by the non-profit Python Software Foundation. While various parts of the language have formal specifications and standards, the language as a whole is not formally specified. The de facto standard for the language is the CPython implementation.

History

Main article: Python 3 Future development

Main article: Python software Usage

Main article: Python syntax and semantics Syntax and semantics
The mainstream Python implementation, also known as CPython, is written in C compliant to the C89 standard,
Stackless Python is a significant fork of CPython that implements microthreads. It can be expected to run on approximately the same platforms that CPython runs on.
There are two other major implementations: Jython for the Java platform, and IronPython for the .NET platform. PyPy is an experimental self-hosting implementation of Python, in Python, that can output a variety of types of bytecode, object code and intermediate languages.
Several programs exist to package Python programs into standalone executables, including py2exe, PyInstaller, cx_Freeze and py2app.
Many Python programs can run on different Python implementations, on such disparate operating systems and execution environments, without change. In the case of the implementations running on top of the Java virtual machine or the Common Language Runtime, the platform-independence of these systems is harnessed by their respective Python implementation.
Many third-party libraries for Python (and even some first-party ones) are only available on Windows, Linux, BSD, and Mac OS X.
In 2005 Nokia released a Python interpeter for Series 60 mobile phones called PyS60. This includes many of the modules from the regular implementations but also some additional modules for integration with the Symbian operating system. This project has been kept up to date to run on all variants of the S60 platform and there are several third party modules available such as Miso and uitricks

Implementations
Most Python implementations (including CPython, the dominant implementation) can function as a command-line interpreter, where the user enters statements sequentially and receives the results immediately; in short, acting as a shell. While the semantics of the other modes of execution (bytecode compilation, or compilation to native code) preserve the sequential semantics, they offer a speed boost at the cost of interactivity, so they are only used outside of a command-line interaction (for example, importing a module).
Other shells add capabilities beyond those in the basic interpreter, including IDLE and IPython. While generally following the visual style of the Python shell, they implement features like auto-completion, retention of session state, and syntax highlighting.
Some implementations are able to compile to not only bytecode, but to turn Python code into machine code. So far, this has only been done for restricted subsets of Python.
PyPy takes this approach, naming its restricted compilable version of Python RPython.

Interpretational semantics
Python has a large standard library, commonly cited as one of Python's greatest strengths, Python also includes a unit testing framework for creating exhaustive test suites.
Some parts of the standard library are covered by specifications (for example, the WSGI implementation wsgiref follows PEP 333), but the majority of modules are defined by nothing other than their code, documentation and test suite. However, because most of the standard library is cross-platform Python code, there are only a small number of modules which must be altered or completely rewritten by alternative implementations.

Standard library
Python is a multi-paradigm programming language. This means that, rather than forcing programmers to adopt a particular style of programming, it permits several styles: object orientation and structured programming are fully supported, and there are a number of language features which support functional programming and aspect-oriented programming. Many other paradigms are supported using extensions, such as pyDBC and Contracts for Python which allow Design by Contract. Python uses dynamic typing and reference counting for memory management. An important feature of Python is dynamic name resolution, which binds method and variable names during program execution (also known as late binding).
Another target of the language's design is ease of extensibility, rather than having everything built into the language core. New built-in modules are easily written in C or C++. Python can also be used as an extension language for existing modules and applications that need a programmable interface. This design, of a small core language with a large standard library and an easily-extensible interpreter, was intended by van Rossum from the very start, due to his frustrations with ABC, which espoused the opposite mindset.

Neologisms
Python's design and philosophy have influenced several programming languages:
Python's development practices have also been emulated by other languages. The system of requiring a document describing the rationale for and issues surrounding a change to the language (ie, a PEP) is also used in Tcl directly due to Python's influence. Python programming language See also

Monday, September 24, 2007

Neuroscience
Neuroscience is a field that is devoted to the scientific study of the nervous system. Such studies may include the structure, function, development, genetics, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, and pathology of the nervous system. Traditionally it is seen as a branch of biological sciences. However, recently there has been a convergence of interest from many allied disciplines, including neuropsychology, computer science, statistics, physics, and medicine. The scope of neuroscience has now broadened to include any systematic scientific experimental and theoretical investigation of the central and peripheral nervous system of biological organisms. The methodologies employed by neuroscientists have been enormously expanded, from biochemical and genetic analysis of dynamics of individual nerve cells and their molecular constituents to imaging representations of perceptual and motor tasks in the brain.
Neuroscience is at the frontier of investigation of the brain and mind. The study of the brain is becoming the cornerstone in understanding how we perceive and interact with the external world and, in particular, how human experience and human biology influence each other.

Overview

Main article: History of the brain History of Neuroscience
Current neuroscience research activities can be very roughly categorized into the following major branches, based on the subject and scale of the system in examination as well as distinct experimental approaches. Individual neuroscientists, however, often work on questions that span several distinct subfields.

Major Themes of Research
Neuroscience, by its very interdiciplinary nature, overlaps with and encompasses many different subjects. Below is a list of related subjects and fields.

Aphasiology
Cognitive Science
Machine Learning
Neural Networks
Evolutionary neuroscience
Neural engineering
Neuroanatomy
Neurobiology
Neurochemistry
Neuroeconomics
Neuroergonomics
Neuroendocrinology
Neuroesthetics
Neuroethics
Neuroethology
Neurogenetics
Neurogenomics
Neuroheuristic
Neuroimaging
Neurolinguistics
Neuromarketing
Neuropharmacology
Neurophenomenology
Neurophilosophy
Neurophysiology
Neuroproteomics
Neuroprosthetics
Neuropsychiatry
Neuropsychology
Neuropsychopharmacology
Neurotheology (also Biotheology)
Psychiatry
Psychoneuroimmunology
Psychopharmacology
Psychobiology (also Biopsychology, also Biological psychology)
Vision Allied and Overlapping Fields

Main article: Unsolved problems in neuroscience Future directions

List of neuroscience topics
Neuroscience journals
Important publications in neuroscience
List of neuroscientists See also

Citations

Bear, M.F.; B.W. Connors, and M.A. Paradiso (2001). Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain. Baltimore: Lippincott. ISBN 0-7817-3944-6. 
Kandel, ER; Schwartz JH, Jessell TM (2000). Principles of Neural Science, 4th ed., New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-8385-7701-6. 
Squire, L. et al. (2003). Fundamental Neuroscience, 2nd edition. Academic Press; ISBN 0-12-660303-0
Byrne and Roberts (2004). From Molecules to Networks. Academic Press; ISBN 0-12-148660-5
Sanes, Reh, Harris (2005). Development of the Nervous System, 2nd edition. Academic Press; ISBN 0-12-618621-9
Siegel et al. (2005). Basic Neurochemistry, 7th edition. Academic Press; ISBN 0-12-088397-X
Rieke, F. et al. (1999). Spikes: Exploring the Neural Code. The MIT Press; Reprint edition ISBN 0-262-68108-0 Textbooks

Neuroscience 2nd ed. Dale Purves, George J. Augustine, David Fitzpatrick, Lawrence C. Katz, Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, James O. McNamara, S. Mark Williams. Published by Sinauer Associates, Inc., 2001.
Basic Neurochemistry: Molecular, Cellular, and Medical Aspects 6th ed. by George J. Siegel, Bernard W. Agranoff, R. Wayne Albers, Stephen K. Fisher, Michael D. Uhler, editors. Published by Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 1999. Popular works

Intro to Neuroscience - Smith College Spring 2005

Sunday, September 23, 2007


Canadian national holidays (with provincial exceptions):
Each province of Canada has its own provincial holiday(s). Although not official holidays, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Hallowe'en are traditionally celebrated by Canadians.
The observance of individuals' religious holidays is widely accepted as well (see Multiculturalism). For example, some school children and employees take days off for Jewish holidays, Muslim holidays, or Eastern Orthodox observances according to the Julian calendar.

Statutory holidays
The nine statutory holidays listed above are mandated by federal legislation for federally regulated employees, as is Easter Monday. All banks apply these holidays to their schedule.

Federal
Provinces and territories generally adopt the same holidays as the federal government with some variations:
Many employers give their employees days off that may not be statutory holidays in the particular province, particularly Boxing Day. Similarly, many federally regulated employees have negotiated additional holidays, that are common holidays in the provinces such that many also take Easter Monday and the first Monday in August.

Flag of Alberta Alberta - 9 holidays

  • Heritage Day - first Monday of August is not a statutory holiday.
    Boxing Day is not a statutory holiday.
    Remembrance Day Remembrance Day - November 11
    Family Day - third Monday in February
    Flag of British Columbia British Columbia - 9 holidays

    • Boxing Day is not a statutory holiday.
      British Columbia Day - first Monday in August
      Flag of Manitoba Manitoba - 9 holidays

      • Manitoba's newest unnamed holiday will be celebrated on the 3rd Monday of February starting February 18th 2008. This holiday is similar to Family Day in Alberta and Saskatchewan
        Remembrance Day and Boxing Day are not statutory holidays, although only the Retail Sector is open on these days within specific regulatory guidelines for hours of service.
        Remembrance Day is not termed a statutory holiday, but rather an "Official day of Observance", and must be paid overtime if required to work on this day. Most Manitobans, with the exception of the retail sector, get the day off.
        First Monday in August.
        Flag of New Brunswick New Brunswick - 7 holidays

        • Victoria Day, Thanksgiving, and Boxing Day are not statutory holidays.
          New Brunswick Day - first Monday in August
          Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador - up to 11 holidays (most observed on closest Monday) per the Shops' Closing Act

          • All federal holidays as listed above. Canada Day is additionally celebrated as Memorial Day.
            Easter Sunday (in some cases, e.g. banks, observed on Monday)
            Unlike most other provinces, there is no province-wide holiday on the first Monday in August. It may be seen as redundant due to the Royal St. John's Regatta, which is observed as a civic holiday in St. John's on the first Wednesday in August (weather permitting). Harbour Grace has a similar holiday for its regatta. All other municipalities are entitled to designate one day a year as a civic holiday, however many do not take advantage of this.
            St. Patrick's Day (March 17), St. George's Day (April 23), Discovery Day (June 24) and Orangemen's Day (July 12) have not been observed as statutory holidays since 1992. They are, however, observed by the provincial government.
            Flag of Northwest Territories Northwest Territories - 10 holidays

            • National Aboriginal Day - June 21
              Flag of Nova Scotia Nova Scotia - 6 holidays (including Remembrance Day; see below)

              • Victoria Day, Thanksgiving, and Boxing Day are not statutory holidays.
                Remembrance Day is a special case and employers have the option of giving Remembrance Day or an alternate day off.
                Natal Day - First Monday in August is not a statutory holiday but a common day off.
                Flag of Nunavut Nunavut - 9 holidays

                • Nunavut Day - July 9, originated as a paid holiday for Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated and regional Inuit associations. It became a ½ day holiday for Government employees in 1999 and a full day in 2001. Most employers give the day off with the notable exceptions being the Federal Government and the North West Company.
                  Boxing Day is not a statutory holiday.
                  First Monday in August.
                  Flag of Ontario Ontario - 8 holidays

                  • Remembrance Day is not a statutory holiday in Ontario.
                    Although not a statutory holiday, municipalities may designate the first Monday in August as a civic holiday. This is called Simcoe Day in Toronto, and Colonel By Day in Ottawa, with other areas using other names.
                    Flag of Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island - 6 holidays

                    • The August Civic holiday, Easter Monday, Thanksgiving, and Boxing Day are not statutory holidays. However, Federal Government employees (and some Provincial employees) do have arrangements in their collective agreements to receive these as paid days off. Provincial employees in some cases have bargained for the Gold Cup and Saucer Day in place of the August Civic holiday.
                      Flag of Quebec Quebec - 8 holidays

                      • Employers must give either Good Friday or Easter Monday as a statutory holiday.
                        Victoria Day coincides with National Patriotes Day.
                        Fête Nationale (St. John the Baptist's Day) - June 24
                        Construction Holiday takes place during the last two weeks of July — while it applies officially only to the construction industry, many other Quebecers arrange to take their vacations during these two weeks.
                        Many of the specific details of employment law are quite different in Quebec.
                        Flag of Saskatchewan Saskatchewan - 9 holidays

                        • Family Day - third Monday in February
                          Saskatchewan Day - first Monday in August
                          Flag of Yukon Yukon - 9 holidays

                          • Discovery Day - third Monday in August Provincial and territorial
                            In Canada, there are two definitions of the term "civic holiday":

                            Civic holidays
                            By law, a civic holiday is defined as any holiday which is legally recognized and for which employers are obliged to offer holiday pay.

                            BC DayBC Day Legal definition
                            Another common definition of the civic holiday refers to a particular annual holiday, celebrated on the first Monday of August in most Canadian provinces. However, this definition is far from uniform nationwide. Two provinces and one territory do not recognize it at all, and five other provinces do not oblige employers to offer holiday pay on this day, thus making it a civic holiday in the legal sense. No universal name is recognized for this holiday, either — the official name varies between the provinces and even between municipalities within Ontario. In British Columbia this day is known as BC Day.

                            The August holiday
                            Some cities also have statutory holidays that are celebrated only within the city limits. For instance, the morning of the Stampede Parade is a legal half-day holiday in the city of Calgary.