Minutes after the Jets cemented the most surprising upset of this N.F.L. season, before travel plans for the American Football Conference championship had been booked, linebacker Bart Scott stood defiant at his locker, mouth running, faster than ever.

On the Jets’ joy ride to the game before the Super Bowl, their loquacious linebacker and the rest of his teammates have clung to their underdog status. Even after they topped the Chargers, 17-14, in front of the 69,498 they silenced at Qualcomm Stadium, the Jets sounded the same theme.

“Everybody can say we don’t deserve to be here,” Scott said. “That we snuck in. That we’re a fluke.” Then Scott added, “We haven’t even cracked the seal on how good we can be.”

Already the Jets were looking toward next Sunday, to their rematch against Indianapolis, the same team that jump-started their run by pulling their starters in the third quarter of the second-to-last game this season. The Jets won that game and the three that followed.

When it ended, the Jets gathered in the most jubilant of locker rooms. They talked about training camp, back in Cortland, N.Y., how everything started there. They stole glances at the Super Bowl rings worn by offensive linemen Damien Woody and Alan Faneca, a reminder of the work and the possibility that lie ahead.

Linebacker Calvin Pace said he had never heard the Lord’s Prayer sung at such volume.

“I don’t think you could write the script any better,” Pace said.

Pace then hit the season highlights, as if writing this crazy script himself. The 3-0 start, the six losses in seven games, the last-second failing against Atlanta after which Coach Rex Ryan declared the season dead. The death of Casey Johnson, the daughter of the team owner Woody Johnson, before last week’s playoff game at Cincinnati.

Even Saturday night, at the team hotel, Pace said seeds were being sown. There was Ryan, the master of motivation, showing his team a montage of the boxer Mike Tyson, dozens of body blows followed by a series of knockout punches.

The game, Pace said, unfolded along those lines.

On a playoff weekend when every top seed advanced in the three games before this one — including Brett Favre, the quarterback the Jets rented last season, and Minnesota — the Jets pulled the only upset, one sure to place the spotlight on Norv Turner, the Chargers coach with the underwhelming playoff record.

The game turned near the end of the third quarter. Jets safety Jim Leonhard intercepted a forced pass from quarterback Philip Rivers, Chargers linebacker Shaun Phillips was assessed a personal foul for a head butt, and the Jets started the fourth quarter 7 yards from taking their first lead.

Three plays later, Mark Sanchez made the defining play of this season. That it came from a rookie quarterback did not surprise his teammates. They watched Sanchez’s growth over the past month, the way he turned the ball over only once, an interception here, in the past four games.

They saw him roll right on third-and-goal, buying time, waiting, searching, then throwing to the smallest window, to tight end Dustin Keller for a 2-yard touchdown and a 10-7 lead. Forget the 20 interceptions Sanchez threw this season.

With that play, he validated the Jets’ decision to trade up for him last April, to award him the richest contract in team history, to gamble that he could take a veteran team deep into the playoffs.

“He’s just grown up,” the backup quarterback Kellen Clemens said. “In the last month, he’s made huge, huge strides. There’s been a ton of growth. He’s a huge factor on our hot streak.”

So has another rookie the Jets traded up to select last April. His name is Shonn Greene, and he broke through the Chargers’ defense, ran over a linebacker and went 53 yards into the end zone for the longest run in franchise postseason history. That play gave the Jets a 17-7 lead, a cushion large enough to withstand a late score from the Chargers.

Again, the Jets’ youth movement contributed to the victory. Cornerback Darrelle Revis (interception), Sanchez (100 passing yards, touchdown pass), Keller (touchdown catch) and Greene (128 rushing yards) all have three years of experience or fewer. None are familiar with the franchise’s history of disappointment, only this season, this team, this run.

That 17 points could vanquish a prolific Chargers offense that had scored at least 20 in every game this season spoke volumes about the Jets’ defensive effort. The Jets grabbed two interceptions and broke up six passes. They sacked Rivers twice and hit him on another five occasions.

The Jets’ run game took care of the rest. With the clock winding down on the Chargers’ season, the Jets faced a fourth-and-1 at the Chargers’ 29-yard line.

Rather than try for the field goal, the Jets ran Thomas Jones up the middle. Everyone knew what was coming, but Jones gained 2 yards and the Jets advanced.

“It’s amazing how 1 yard can feel that good,” he said.

Now, the Jets set their sights on a return to Indianapolis, on another round of doubts. Fullback Tony Richardson said the Jets welcome facing the Colts’ full complement of stars for an entire game, which will strike some as be careful what you wish for.

Offensive tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson said this run felt like divine intervention, as if fate was smiling on the Jets after 40 years of breaks that went the other way.

The Jets, underdogs for certain, are not content with just making the A.F.C. championship game. To a man, they want to win it, to fulfill the goal Ryan laid out the first time he addressed his team, Super Bowl or bust.

“I don’t know if Santa Claus is going to be that good to me again,” Ryan said of the Colts’ decision to pull their starters the last time they played the Jets. “This is the matchup that probably nobody wanted, but that’s too bad. Here we come.”

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step 1 Page for notes
The left side page in my binder used dots (the period key) to make a faint line on which I could write.  My pages were half of a sheet of 8.5 x 11 inch paper, or 5.5 x 8.5 inches.  Holding down the period key causes the page to fill with dots very quickly.  Because this page was on the left side of my binder, I left the right margin a bit larger than normal to make room for binder ring holes–about 0.70 inch.  I placed two planner pages on one sheet of paper formatted for Landscape rather than Portrait.

step 2 Right side page
This is a screen shot of my right hand page.  Again, I used the Landscape format.  The appointment items are at the left side of this page because I made only a couple of entries in this column each day.  The binder rings gave me minimal problems.  I needed more space for my hand when writing in the tasks column because I often wrote things in this column.  It is at the right side of the page. 

The appointments column began with “Early” for events happening before 8:00 AM.  “Late” appeared at the bottom of the column for events scheduled after 7 PM.

One key on the computer keyboard yields a vertical character.  I used this to make two narrow columns to indicate a task was completed and to indicate the priority of the task: A, B, or C. 

See the next step for a description of the universal calendar.

step 3 The universal calendar
The top line of the page contains the month and year, in this case: February 10 or 2010.  I used Right Margin Flush to push it to the far right side of the page.

On this page the left margin is 0.70 inch to make room for binder ring holes.

For the universal calendar, set up thirteen (13) tab settings from left to right 5/16 inch (8 mm) distant from each other.

On the first row abbreviate the days of the week.  In the USA calendars begin with Sunday.  In much of the world calendars begin with Monday.  Either way will work on this calendar.  I used two letter abbreviations for the days of the week: Su, Mo, Tu, We, Th, Fr, Sa.  I was able to use a single letter abbreviation for three of the days.  The days of the week are named differently in other languages, but a two letter abbreviation for the names of the days would work in those cases, too.

On the first line of the calendar, leave the first six tabs blank.  Begin with 1 on the seventh and number consecutively through “7″ on the thirteenth tab space.  On the second line, number consecutively “2″ through “14″.  On the third line number “9″ through “21″.  On the fourth line number “16″ through “28″.  On the fifth line number “23″ through “31″.  On the sixth line number only “30″ through “31″. 

The red line represents the cursor.  Determine what the first day of the month is.  In February 2010 the first day is a Monday.  Use the Tab key or the Backspace key to move the days of the week as a block to the left or right until the correct day of the week rests over the “1″.   

step 4 Mark a few things by hand
February has 28 days this year.  At two pages per sheet you need fourteen copies of your calendar pages, which you will cut into two halves for 28 pages.  Do not forget to copy the lined pages onto the back of these pages so you can make notes for the next day after you turn today’s page.  I visually separated the numbers for a given month from the rest of the numbers in the universal calendar by drawing two vertical lines to the left of Sunday and to the right of Saturday.  Then I circled “1″ on the first page, “2″ on the second page, “3″ on the third page, and so on through the end of the month.  Since February has only 28 days in 2010, I would cross out “29,” “30,” and “31.” 

step 5 Holes to fit your binder
Many planners come with binders that have an unusual number and arrangement for the rings.  If you are making your own calendar pages, you need a special hole punch.  You can make your own with a piece of 1/2 inch plywood and a standard hole punch like you see in the photo.  Cut the plywood to the same size and shape as the planner pages.

step 6 Marking holes
Use the rings in your binder or a commercially printed piece of paper from your planner system to mark the hole spacing on your plywood.  The hand punch is 7/16 inch wide.  Drill holes 7/16 inch in diameter set in from the edge the correct amount for use in your binder.  For my binder that was about 3/8 inch.  A fence jig on a drill press gives good consistency of results.  If you are using plywood, you will get less chipping out of the top and bottom surfaces if the grain on the surfaces runs parallel to the short edge of the paper. 

step 7 Mark and cut to the edge
Use a square to mark lines that are tangential to the edges of the holes you drilled.  With a fine saw, manual or power, cut out to the edge as shown.

To use, align half-a-dozen pages with the plywood.  Hold over a wastebasket.  Push the end of the hole punch into each of the holes in the plywood and punch.  when you are finished, you will have planner pages that fit your binder, no matter how unusual its ring number or pattern is.

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step 2 Punch holes in card
This is best done using a hole punch, but my office doesn’t have a hole punch.  It does, however, have a drill press, so I used a 5/16″ drill bit.  Use whatever you’ve got on hand – a Dremel or an exacto knife would be fine as well.

Make sure to punch (or drill) your holes about one hole diameter away from the card’s edge for maximum strength.  Sand off any rough bits left from your hole punching.

Note:  if you’ve got lots of hair, punch the holes in opposite corners of the card – the resulting diagonal will hold more hair.

step 3 Find a pen or pencil
The last piece you need is a pen, pencil, or even a disposable chopstick from yesterday’s lunch.  Simply fit it through the holes in the card, and you’re good to go!

I tested this with a pencil, but decided on a slightly thinner and pointier ball-point pen to avoid hair snags.  Your mileage may vary – just use anything readily available that won’t bleed ink on you.

step 4 Pin hair up
Form your hair into a bun.  I found it easiest to twist my hair, then loop it around to create an oblong bun (instead of the standard round one) to best accommodate this bun slide.

Use one hand to hold the bun in place, then slip the card around it.  Shove the pen (or pencil, or chopstick) through both holes, threading it underneath most of the bun as it passes under the card.  This will bow the card, and pin the hair in your bun against it. 

Nice work – you’ve done it!  This clip should be more than enough to hold your hair in place all day.

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The employer will normally call or e-mail you in advance to set up an interview time. If possible, arrange for the interview to be over a landline phone, as it tends to be more reliable than a cellphone. Make sure that children, pets and other sources of interruption will be out of the room. Keep a glass of water nearby.

Phone interviews can often last a half-hour to an hour, Ms. Doyle said; be sure to have your résumé in front of you, along with a list of your accomplishments. Long pauses or halting responses caused by a lack of preparation could keep you from making it to the next stage. Do your best to be personable, but don’t overdo it by, say, trying to tell a joke and guffawing.

One advantage of a phone interview is that you don’t need to worry about what to wear (although dressing up might make you feel more confident). But some companies have started to conduct video interviews, Ms. Doyle said, sending Webcams to be used temporarily by applicants who don’t have them at home.

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“I could really drive a lot on this last day of testing, and it worked out perfectly,” said Schumacher, who just turned 41. “I am very happy with the way testing went here. We worked well, our times and consistency was good and we could do everything we had scheduled to do. I feel fit, I felt comfortable immediately back in the car — hey, let’s go for it!”

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All versions will feature the same 3.7-litre V6 engine found in the Coupe, developing 324bhp. Nissan says the Roadster has been designed individually from the Coupe, which means performance isn’t compromised by the extra weight of the folding roof.

The Roadster line-up will include two trim variants; standard and GT Pack, which will be available with a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic transmissions.

Standard models will feature 18-inch alloy wheels, electrically-adjustable seats, an engine start/stop button, Bluetooth connectivity with steering-wheel mounted controls and Bi Xenon headlamps as standard, whilst GT pack models add black suede and leather seats, an 8-speaker BOSE audio system, 19-inch forged alloy wheels and cruise control.

Topping the Roadster range is the GT Pack with sat nav which starts from £36,150.

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Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were the first to reach out to Haiti by donating $1 million (612 million pounds) from their foundation to Doctors Without Borders, which has been tending to victims of the quake that demolished buildings in Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince on Tuesday. Tens of thousands are feared dead.

Actress Alyssa Milano, a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, on Thursday used her blog on The Huffington Post to challenge U.S. corporations to match her donation. She said the funds would go to buy medical supplies, tarpaulins, food and water kits for Haiti.

“I cried and then I did the only thing I could do … I wrote a check to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF for $50,000,” she wrote.

Haiti-born hip-hop musician Wyclef Jean launched a texting campaign, calling on fans to donate $5 to his Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund charged to their cell phone bills by texting “Yele” to 501501.

Jean has already raised more than $1 million for the disaster relief effort and is in Haiti “giving aid and assessing the situation,” according to his www.yele.org website.

Actor George Clooney will host a telethon on MTV next week to raise funds for victims of Tuesday’s earthquake, the music network said on Thursday.

The event will be broadcast on all MTV Network channels on January 22. Clooney is expected to be joined by as yet unnamed pop music and movie stars.

Grammy-winning Latina pop singer Shakira asked her fans for donations to help rebuild Haiti to be channelled through UNICEF and Wyclef Jean’s foundation.

Coldplay musician Chris Martin called for donations through Oxfam, whose global ambassador, actress Scarlett Johansson, also appealed for contributions for Haiti.

Oprah Winfrey got involved on Wednesday by asking viewers of her popular show to donate to the Red Cross.

Actor Ben Stiller, who has been raising money for a school in Ceverine in Haiti through Save the Children, also made an appeal on CNN’s “Larry King Live” for $10 donations charged to phone bills by texting “Haiti” to 90999.

First lady Michelle Obama made a public appeal for this texting campaign, which had raised $5.9 million dollars for the red Cross by late Thursday.

Cycling legend Lance Armstrong’s LiveStrong Foundation pledged $250,000 to help Haiti’s recovery, according to its website. The money will go to Doctors Without Borders and Partners in Health founded by Harvard professor Paul Farmer.

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The issue risks becoming another irritant in China’s relationship with the United States, already strained by arguments over the Chinese currency’s exchange rate, trade protectionism and U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

The United States has backed Google’s decision to no longer support China’s censoring of Internet searches, and has raised the issue at a diplomatic level.

“It seems to me that the principles that Google is trying to uphold are not just important in a moral or rights framework, but are also of very considerable economic importance,” senior White Senior White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers said.

When asked if the dispute with Google would mark a turning point in the U.S. economic relationship with China, Summers replied, “I think it’s too early to assess what all of the effects will be.”

Playing down the concerns raised by rival Google Inc, Microsoft Corp said it had no plan to pull out of China.

“I don’t understand how that helps anything. I don’t understand how that helps us and I don’t understand how that helps China,” said Steve Ballmer, CEO of the world’s largest software maker [ID:nN14165244].

Microsoft has high hopes for its Bing Internet search engine in China, which has only a small share of the market, but could benefit if Google, the No. 2 player behind dominating local rival Baidu Inc, pulls out.

INTERNET FREEDOM

Ballmer’s comments run counter to broad political support for Google. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Shear met a Chinese diplomat in Washington on Thursday to seek an explanation about the cyber-attacks and censorship, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.

“The incident raises questions about both Internet freedom and the security of the Internet in China,” Crowley said.

“We have serious concerns about this and its ramifications, and we’re going to continue our dialogue with China on these and other kinds of issues,” he said.

A senior U.S. official said Shear received no reply from the Chinese on the Google case.

China has defended its censorship, and Chinese media are stressing that foreigners must abide by Chinese laws.

Most of the filters on Google.cn were still in place on Friday, though controls over some searches, including the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, appear to have been loosened.

“According to local laws, rules and policies, some search results cannot be shown,” reads a message in Chinese following sensitive search topics, a line Google.cn used for years.

Google, which has said it hopes to work with China to establish an unfiltered search engine in that market, confirmed it was still censoring results on Google.cn.

FLAW IN MICROSOFT

Google said on Tuesday that in mid-December, it detected an attack on its corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of its intellectual property. It said that more than 20 other companies had been infiltrated, although cyber experts say 34 firms were attacked.

Security firm McAfee Inc said that the recent cyber-attacks on Google and other businesses exploited a previously unknown flaw in Microsoft Corp’s Internet Explorer browser.

McAfee said employees of the companies were tricked into clicking on a link to a website that secretly downloaded sophisticated malicious software onto their PCs through a campaign that the hackers apparently dubbed “Operation Aurora”.

“We have never seen attacks of this sophistication in the commercial space. We have previously only seen them in the government space,” said Dmitri Alperovitch, a vice-president of research with McAfee.

Microsoft later sent out an advisory to help users mitigate the problem. It is still working on a patch that would solve it.

But Microsoft’s CEO downplayed the hacking attacks.

“There are attacks every day. I don’t think there was anything unusual, so I don’t understand,” Ballmer said. “We’re attacked every day from all parts of the world and I think everybody else is too. We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.”

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“We are pleased to accept President Obama’s request to lead private sector fundraising efforts,” the former presidents said in a joint statement.

“In the days and weeks ahead, we will draw attention to the many ways American citizens and businesses can help meet the urgent needs of the Haitian people.”

The United States has launched a massive aid operation, including specialists, Coast Guard cutters, helicopters, transport planes and the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, along with 2,000 Marines deployed.

The USNS Comfort, a floating military hospital and a team of doctors and medical supplies, was also readying to sail from the US East Coast to Haiti.

“Americans have a long history of showing compassion and generosity in the wake of tragedy,” the two former presidents said.

“We thank the American people for rallying to help our neighbors in the Caribbean in their hour of suffering – and throughout the journey of rebuilding their nation.”

Also Thursday, Clinton and his wife, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, spearheaded a drive to raise money to help earthquake-ravaged Haiti, already drumming up three million dollars for Red Cross relief efforts.

Hillary Clinton, who canceled a trip to Asia to address the humanitarian crisis, made the rounds of six morning television news shows where she urged Americans to make USD-10 donations by cellular telephone.

Bill Clinton, writing in The Washington Post, said the aid should go to build a better future for the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation including better buildings, schools and health care.

The Clintons have a long-running involvement with Haiti, where they spent their honeymoon.

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