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really cool stuff
A Deeper Look at Special Teams
In a recent forum post I put out a request for diary ideas and Brian requested a deeper look at special teams. So here goes.
As any good Michigan fan knows, punting from the opponents 35 yard line is excruciating to watch. But how painful is it?
As you can see above, net punting holds pretty steady in the 37-38 yard range all the way till around the 40 yard line. At that point it drops a couple yards into 35 yards per punt range. It's when you get to midfield that the averages really start to tank. Over the next 15-20 yards of the field, the average drops from 35 yards per punt all the way down to 20. This is somewhat obvious as the field shrinks the longer punts turn into touchbacks where they would have been 50 yarders on the other side of the field.
But lets look at it another way. On average, where can you expect to start your defensive drive based on where you are punting from.
It's a pretty linear relationship all the way to midfield and then it stops. On your side of the field, one more yard on offense takes one away from the opposition if you have to punt. You get to the other side of the field and that relationship disappears. At the 50, the other team will, on average, start their next drive at the 16. If you drive all way inside the opponent's 35 and decide your punter is still the best call, the 16 becomes the 12. The 15-20 yards of offense only translate into about 4 yards of worse field position for the other team. A punt from the 37 should realistically only be expected to cover a net of 25.
All of this is accounted for in my special teams rankings. Punters evaluations on each punt are measured on gross distance, net distance and then compared to punts from that spot on the field. A punt from your own 20 yards that nets 35 is below average but a punt from the opponents 40 that has a net of 30 is above average.
Last year, Georgia led the nation in my measurements in gross punting, it was worth 8.2 points above average on the season. Zoltan came in 7th (1st in the Big 10) at 4.3 points above average.
Punt returners and coverage teams are evaluated in the same manner. A 50 yard punt that isn't a touchback or out of bounds (but including fair catches and downed punts) will average 6 yards per return but a 30 yard punt should only expect a 2 yard return. Again, teams are only evaluated against the situation they are given, a 4 yard return on a 50 yard punt is a positive play for the coverage team and a negative one for the return team. A 4 yard return on a 30 yard punt is a negative for the coverage team and a positive for the return team. I don't currently have a way to split the value between the punter and the coverage, so the coverage is a joint metric.
LSU led the nation last year, gaining 9.7 points more than average on their punt coverage. Michigan came in 28th, 3.7 point above average.
What ultimately matters is the total punting rating, the combination of the punt and the cover. Michigan's combined value of 8.0 points above average was 3rd nationally behind only Oklahoma and Missouri.
Michigan was somewhat unique in that even when adjusting the coverage rating for distance of punt, there is a negative correlation between punt coverage and gross punting. Possibly meaning that the punters getting the most distance on their punts are doing so by kicking more returnable punts than their peers who aren't kicking as far as consistently.
Michigan did not fare so well on the returning end of the punt game. Michigan averaged a mere 2.35 yards of return per punt (excluding touchbacks and out of bounds) and was 3.9 points below average on the season. LSU again led the nation with 19.3 points above average for their return team.
Kick - Offs
I approached the kick off in the same manner as the punt, with the obvious exception that almost all kick offs are from a fixed spot on the field.
Unlike punting, kick offs have a correlation between good kick offs and good coverage, even when adjusting coverage for kick length. Good kick off specialists provide a more coverable kick than when weaker kickers get a kick of the same distance.
Michigan had another strong showing out of their kick off teams. Ranking 16th nationally at 6.3 points above average. The coverage wasn't as good, 1.6 paa and 49th nationally. The 7.9 paa was 25th overall in a category that was dominated by Nebraska. Nebraska's kickoff team was worth 27.9 paa on the season. 50 of their 74 kickoffs either went for touchbacks or were stopped inside of the 20 yardline.
The Wolverine kick return team was a respectable 36th overall, 2.6 paa. Cincinnati dominated the country at 19.7 paa.
Field Goals
Field goal kickers have never really had a good stat with which to measure them by. So much depends on where you are kicking from. Leigh Tiffin from Alabama garnered All-American honors despite missing 4 extra points and making 24 of his 30 field goals from inside 40 yards. Meanwhile in the same conference, Blair Walsh from Georgia makes a nation leading 12 field goals of 40 yards or longer versus only one miss from the same distance and is perfect on extra points and doesn't even sniff All-American. Walsh's performance gave Georgia 21.6 paa where Tiffin providing a respectable but not that close 7.4 paa. So how do you evaluate kickers. The easiest way would be to put up a chart.
A nice straight line, right? Look closely at the attempts and something changes around the 30 yard line. With the 30 as a general benchmark, coaches become more and more reluctant to trot the kicker out from that distance or beyond. With this selection bias, the true field goal percentage of field goals from 47 yards and longer is almost certainly overstated. By only getting attempts from the better kickers, the percentage is artificially high.
So now it's time for a new chart, right?
Using the assumed misses from coaches foregoing the field goal, the true field goal percent drops. The straight line out to the 25-30 yard line goes south fast as the distance is stretched.
Last year Michigan's kicking game came in at 44th with 1.6 paa on the season.
In attempting to determine how much coaches were passing up field goals in "no man's land" I did also produce one more interesting but not necessarily special teams chart. The 4th down decision chart.
Between the 3 and 25 yard lines its a consistent trend, 80-85% field goal attempt 15-20 % go for the touchdown. It rises to 60/40 at the 2 and flips to 20/80 at the 1. The going for it actually peaks between 30 and 35 as more coaches don't really know what to do so they just go for it.
Final Thoughts and Notes
There are a couple of things not included in this analysis. Exception plays such as blocked punts and kicks and their returns, fumbled returns (not that those ever happen) and the like are all excluded. These play obviously have huge impacts on the game in which they occur but they are so rare and have little or no impact on other plays of that type that they are excluded . The very best teams in the country may block 4-5 kicks in a season and for all but a few teams, these plays have virtually no net effect.
In general, for any one special team unit, the difference between average and the best and worst is about 2 touchdowns in either direction over the course of the season. Being the best at special teams is worth about a half game a season versus the average team and a full game a season versus the worst team. If there is one unit to excel at, the opportunity is on the kickoff team where last year there was a 53 point differential between the best (Nebraska) and the worst (West Viriginia).
Could you explain what was done to come up with this adjustment. It makes sense to do something there, it's just not clear what was done.
Nice work.
Using the data from the 4th down decision chart, I assumed that the incremental times the team went for it on 4th above the 15-20% that would do it anyway would be missed FGs. This kept the number of FG makes the same but increased the number of attempts, lowering the FG%.
kinda shows how useless it is to punt inside your opp 40
That's not at all what this shows.
As you get closer, the average net starting position doesn't get any better after around the 40 yard line, but you are still putting them on the ~15 yard line. Rather have them there than on the 40.
Really another chart is needed showing the value of the resulting punt as compared to expectancy of points generated by the FG attempt.
In the same way Mathlete can estimate that a sack of -5 yards is worth -1.4 points (or whatever), he can estimate that a 20 yard punt that puts the opponent on the 15 is worth +1.6 points (or whatever). So the question then becomes, if punting is worth 1.6 points but you only have a 50% chance at making the field goal, or 1.5 points (3 x 0.5), then you should punt because that is the better value.
I'd expect that these two lines (value of an average punt vs. field position; expected value of a field goal by field position) would cross at about the 30-35 yard line. In general, coaches aren't stupid; even the conservative ones.
The expected points is The Mathlete's bread and butter and what sets him apart in my mind. I would love to see the expected points factored in, I love that stuff.
I could be wrong, but wouldn't that basically replicate the David Romer paper? He found that most NFL coaches are indeed too conservative.
I think a more accurate way of saying it would be "Most coaches will play it conservatively, even if it seems stupid." To them, if you have 4th and X at the 37, who cares if you only get 17 yards out of the punt? You got something and that is what matters. (This is primarily for job security; most coaches seem to think, and rightly so, that even if they make decisions designed to pay off better, if the decisions do not pay off and are not "book" decisions, they will be blamed for the failure rather than credited for the decision.)
I definitely agree that the idea of having a QB punt inside the 40 is an excellent one, if for no other reason than to keep the defense on their toes. (A fake punt that involves passing is much more effective when thrown by a QB.)
what it's really saying is almost anyone could be the punter at this point, since the yield in yards from the punt is so small.
In other words, once you pass the opponents 40 and you have to punt, you don't need Zoltan, you can use Tate, and thus increase the chances of a punt out of bounds inside the 10 from the surprise factor of the QB punting.
And even farther into crazy suprise land, turn this into a QB option, so that after it's been called about 5 times, and the defense starts expecting the punt, how easy would it be to pick up the 4th down on a run or short pass?
I wonder if Denard was practicing his pooch punt?
what it's really saying is almost anyone could be the punter at this point, since the yield in yards from the punt is so small.
replacement level is such a sweet concept.
Depends on the distance to go in order to convert on 4th down. Sure, you'd rather have the other team get the ball at the 15 than the 40, but you'd also rather keep the ball in the opponent's territory than give it to the other team at the 15. That distance gained on the punt is minor compared to the possibility of keeping the ball if the 4th down yardage is short enough you'll convert frequently.
not only potential success of making the 4th down (certainly greater chance the shorter the yardage), but also the opponents chance of driving for a score from the position you give them with a 4th down failure.
basically back to the comment with my adds of "(if you're goign to give up the ball) it's better to give it at the 15 than at the 40".
so it's the better chance of scoring from the 40 versus the 15 that you have to compare to the odds that you can make 4th down with 2 yards, or even 5 yards to go. And of course you have to take into account the quality of your defense.
I forget which post of Brian's spoke about the Patriots decision to "go for it" on 4th down against the colts, but a huge factor in the probability chart was based on how successful the Colts were at driving for a score in the 4th quarter against anyone's defense.
Which of course also brings in the time clock as a factor. Meaning, in the Patriots case, there weren't going to have anymore chances to score to counter the almost 100% score of the Colts when they got the ball (I know I exaggerate I forget the percentages quantitatively, but in rough qualitative terms it's on target).
In general I love all of this statistical analysis done by Mathlete. But what it doesn't accomplish is the second step in the analytical string, which is to put in the decision matrix for the situation. And that's because trying to factor in all the appropriate situational factors would crush even someone who did this as their only job.
I'll repeat my previous comment. A clear conclusion you can draw just from this analysis is that teams should be attempting pooch punts much more frequently when punting from the opponents 40. Basically anyone should be able to kick the ball25 yards toward one of the sidelines, and the advantage gained by not putting your punt team on, is that the opponent doesn't have their punt return team on the field. Add in that the offensive team can still go for it from their best offensive team alignment.
Considering that Zoltan had the ability to decide to go for it if he thought he had a chance, I think it's highly probable that you could expect your QB to make this kind of heady decision.
I think what it shows is that it's not worth going for it on 4th down from around the 45 until you get into field goal range. If you miss, they have excellent field position. If you make it, they only have about 4-5 yards worse field position than if you had just punted from where you were on 4th down within the 45. This wouldn't be true if the extra ten yards that could be attempted after getting a first down would make a field goal likely, but in that range of the field (30-45 yard line), punting position should not be a factor when deciding whether to go for 4th down.
you are a diary wizard. Great work, man.
I wonder, do you have any insight into the Arkansas H.S. coach that always goes for it on 4th down? I read a few articles about him and he justified this with averages and percentages that I don't exactly recall but that I thought were very interesting.
Great job, again.
How come nobody does this anymore? I used to see punters try and angle a punt out of bounds to avoid a returner growing up, but you never see it these days. Is it because a shanked kick that's aimed out is really, really bad? I would venture a guess that even a badly kicked punt that goes out of bounds can be on average better than a high kick that gets a decent return. When it comes down to it, if the coffin corner was such a good idea people all over the nation would do it - and they don't. Any coaches out there with a good explanation of this?
It's thoughtful and well written articles like this that stop me from even trying to do one of my own.
Keep up the good work.
Any chance of posting a "Best of" so I can catch up? (naive perhaps, but I still ask...)
I'm never going to attempt to make a Diary. For one thing, I refuse to take the time to put together cohesive thoughts. I also guarantee that mine wouldn't reach the level of quality that people like Mathlete put up consistently. I figure anything I think of can be either put in a forum topic, or will be covered by somebody else at some point.
Very good evaluation of the data, a true metrician. It is funny how often after the analysis you look at what it means and it reveals a truism.
"The going for it actually peaks between 30 and 35 as more coaches don't really know what to do so they just go for it."
I think this is a coaches 'gut' feeling on a given situation. Good stuff man.
The NCAA play by play data classifies everything at the goalline or in the end zone the same way so I have no way of directly pulling it out. With that said, the relationship is pretty linear for the first 5-10 yards so you could pretty safely assume that it would hold into the endzone as well. This would but the break even point of kneel or return at 3-4 yards deep in the endzone.
unlike the NFL, no official yardage is marked in the end zone (thus the record books show 100-yard kickoff, punt, interception returns). I don't know if this is because of the lack of television coverage back in the day (and for some other conferences, lol, even today) thus giving them no good way to review the exact spot where a play started, the crazy end-zone patterns some schools have (that would make it difficult even on TV), or what ...
I'll really be excited for the returning part of our special teams if Dorsey makes it. I can see it now, Darryl Stonum and Demar Dorsey causing absolute havoc on teams with their speed.
the mathlete,
you are awesome
"Hold on to the damn ball" is a pretty important aspect of any return game. Our punting/kicking and coverage teams did well, but our returns were difficult to watch. Its nice that we did well when we dont consider dropping the ball, but I just think thats more important than actually gaining yards on the return because last year our defense sucked, so it risked giving up one of the few stops we were likely to get (which was of disproportionate value to Michigan as opposed to other teams with, you know, competent defenses).
I defer to your analysis since you've actually done the proverbial math, but it still seems like when your defense is bad, turnovers (of any kind) are even more damaging than they are on teams with otherwise competent units.
Mathlete -
Thank you for the fantastic analysis. Very interesting.
Where do you get the play by play data to conduct this type of research? I hunted around the NCAA site but couldn't find it - I certainly may have missed it.
Thank you,
Plus a lot of work to get all the play by play data organized.
Boom! +1 for empirical research!
I want to know who the hell punts from the 29 yard line.
Freaking our beaks since 2008.
In the last 3 years there have been 13 punts from inside the 30 yard line, Virginia Tech and Temple have both done it twice. Last year Southern Miss was the worst offender, punting from the 29 on 4th and 6. The punt was of course a touchback.
And I'm not being sarcastic, I am too dumb to see the value here that everyone else sees. When I read most of his well researched, well written and well reasoned posts I usually see a lot of data that normally confirms what we know or what we think we know already. I'm sure someone will point out to me where I'm wrong, and I will be happy to hear it as well as take the negs.
Mathlete, do you still have eligibility? I favor using a scholarship to put you on the sidelines during the game.
It's a fair question. My take on what he's doing is showing WHY it is common opinion. The math is to show how that common opinion came to be. For example, everyone knows not to punt inside the 35 yard line. A cursory glance would say "Because you can at most punt 35 yards, and some of the time it will be 15 after a touchback." The analysis of the data confirms it. Football has been around long enough that, yes, what he's doing isn't new science, but a description of why the game is played the way it is.
It takes a lot of time and effort to sift through all the data, prepare an assertion, and prove that assertion. Being able to present the conclusion in a logical, organized format takes skill.
I think that Mispogon's work was a flash of light to many that follow M football--although we believed that depth and talent had fallen off, I don't think many people knew just how badly. The fact that we had only 59% of all the players recruited during '06-'09 was a stat that was like a bolt of lightning (to me anyway) that really crystalized the problem. But anyway, I hasten to add that I admire the work that the Mathlete does, I was only questioning why so many seemed to find it illuminating. But your point is well taken.
because it's the beginnings of a follow-up to David Romer's paper. all he'd need to do is incorporate all the expected values to spit out a yes/no answer to punt given down, distance, expected remaining possessions, etc. after you get that, you can compare to what coaches in fact do. and hopefully it enlightens people to the beauty of generating expected value tables.
Every time I read his posts I raise my index finger and say that very loud. But not out loud.
Any change you will post the team-by-team rankings? I'd love to see where specific teams I follow ended up.
The "go for it/punt/fg" decision must be impacted by distance to achieve a new set of downs (or score a touchdown). Obviously, anytime coaches go for it on the 2, they only have 2 yards to get. While on the 32, they could need significantly more yardage for a first down. So part of the reason to go for it more often from the 2 or 1 might be that it is, on average, easier to achieve success because the average yardage needed is less. It would be interesting to see how distance to go impacts the decision. For example, between the 20 and 30, how often do coaches go for it with only 1 or 2 yards to go vs. same distance, but goal to go or vs. same part of the field, but longer "to go" distance.
Also, the incidence of going for it (15-20%) was higher than I would have thought. I wonder how much of this is driven by "crunch time" decisions -- ie down 4 points at the opponents 25 with 45 seconds to go, a coach would obviously go for it. Another way to look at the stats for only quarters 1-3, when the "crunch time" factor shouldn't be present.
According to the results, 80% go for it from the 1. Just curious what the percentage is of touchdowns versus attempts, though I imagine it's similar. I couldn't help but think of the 2009 Illinois game. Minor(RAGE) unable to punch in 4 straight times. Painful memory.


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The myth of authenticity
Does authentic mean true? Speaking to Sarah Montague on the Today Programme Captain Leo Docherty said videos of fighting in Afghanistan, recorded by soldiers on their mobile phones, are more authentic "because they are not manipulated by the media". He went on to say that the fact they were "very brutal" also distinguished them from (implicitly) censored mainstream media coverage.
There is a dangerous myth developing that big media is inherently corrupting. That edited content is manipulated content and therefore less authentic than amateur content produced by 'real people'. It is a myth inflamed by the current scandals engulfing television broadcasters, and further fuelled by self-righteous – and outrageously hypocritical – anger in the newspapers.
It is a dangerous myth because it equates unedited, raw, amateurish content with authenticity – for which read 'true' – and because it corrodes one of the fundamental values of journalism – objectivity.
When a soldier records an event, objectivity is unlikely to be foremost in his mind. He's not thinking about getting multiple perspectives, or getting background or context, he's thinking about recording his story, capturing an upcoming firefight, video-ing a daytime patrol, or just giving people an idea as to what his life is like. It's intensely subjective – that's the point. Plus, if he doesn't like what he records, likelihood is he'll delete it. Or, if there are bits that he's embarrassed about, or don't show him in a good light, delete them too.
Journalism is different. Journalism is not 'objective', but aspires to objectivity. As Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel write in their book, The Elements of Journalism, objectivity is a process, not an end in itself. Absolute objectivity is impossible, but telling a story as objectively as possible is not. This means recording many different sources, presenting the stories fairly and in context, separating oneself (metaphorically rather than physically) from the action.
Horses mouth footage is inevitably subjective and partial. There's nothing wrong with this, but it shouldn't be seen as more truthful simply because it has been recorded by a so-called real person and because it has the immediacy and emotion missing from journalism.
Indeed it can, just like with big media, be stage managed. As Sarah Montague pointed out when talking to Captain Docherty and Major Parks, the soldiers filmed waited and timed their assault to coincide with the video.
But if, as Matthew Parris suggested in The Times last week, we are going through an 'authenticity crisis', you can be certain we'll see lots more un-mediated, 'authentic' footage (broadcast on mainstream media), along with more emotion and more partiality.

subset: commoncrawl


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WHEN THE most memorable moment of the capital's State of the Union evening involves rising Republican star Marco Rubio lunging for a water bottle, it's a sure sign this tradition is badly in need of rethinking.
Florida's freshman senator was not even the featured attraction. Rubio was delivering the Republican rebuttal to the main event, President Barack Obama's second nationally televised ceremonial address in less than a month, the first being his inaugural address.
Rubio's theme: Big government is bad, even though his parents benefited from Medicare. He was not alone in rebutting the president. Kentucky GOP freshman Sen. Rand Paul rebutted on behalf of the Tea Party movement, saying, in effect, a curse on both parties for spending too much, protecting sacred cows and making backroom deals.
By that time, citizens of the Eastern time zone were headed off to bed. In the West, they were undoubtedly watching the aftermath of the successful manhunt in California that led to the presumed death of alleged cop-killer Christopher Dorner in a burning cabin.
The State of the Union has developed the annoying ritual of the president's party standing and wildly cheering at each applause point while the other party sits grim-faced and arms folded. The Republicans cheer anything that sounds like a tax cut. Everybody cheers for the troops, whom the president committed to bring home from Afghanistan in substantial numbers.
The president called for broad, and largely unspecified, attacks on the deficit and income inequality and programs to boost the middle class. He again called for: immigration reform, which he may get; action on climate change, which he likely won't; and restrictions on gun violence, which tend to be driven by periodic shooting outrages like the massacre of schoolchildren in Newtown, Conn.
State of the Union addresses don't change the other party's collective mind. Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, who welcomed Obama to Washington by saying the Republicans' top priority was to make him a one-term president, dismissed the speech as "liberal boilerplate" filled with "gimmicks and tax hikes."
The Constitution says the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress Information on the State of the Union" and shall recommend such measures as he deems "necessary and expedient." How and when this is done is up to the president. From Thomas Jefferson up to the age of TV and radio, this was most often done by written report.
As formulaic and ineffective as the State of the Union speech has become, it now serves a new and useful role: In an increasingly polarized Congress, it is one of the few time all the members gather together to be reminded of their common purpose.


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Flight of the Vampire
Transylvania's Flight of the Vampire run/walk begins at 8 a.m. Saturday in the Brevard College gym. Registration opens at 6:30 a.m. There will be a 5k, 10k and fun run for kids. Active military run free. Proceeds benefit the many projects of the Brevard Rotary Club. To download registration form go to www.brevardrotary.org, or register Saturday morning.
Head-shaving fundraiser
Area firefighters and other Western North Carolina residents will shave their heads Saturday to raise money for children's cancer research. Several firefighters will also perform a Zumba routine at the event, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Wild Wing Cafe in Asheville.
The fundraising goal is $20,000. Last year's event raised almost $12,000. For more information, visit www.stbaldricks.org and search "Asheville" or contact Angie Bell at 828-778-2221; firstname.lastname@example.com.
Constitution class
Henry Leissing, local author and historian, will conduct classes on the U.S. Constitution as part of a lunch and learn program from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday at Bay Breeze Restaurant, Asheville Highway, Hendersonville.
Leissing is a co-founder of the Sentinel Patriots, a small non-partisan organization that wants to make people aware of the content and intent of the Constitution. His teaching approach includes a history of the Founding Fathers and the reasoning behind the words of the Constitution.
The lunch and learn is a two-part program, with the first class on Wednesday at Bay Breeze restaurant. The second class will be 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 6 at Bay Breeze. Lunch is optional. Call 828-696-9799 for more information.
Flu shot clinic
Walgreens, Park Ridge Health's Wellness on Wheels van and The Free Clinics are partnering to offer a free flu shot clinic from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday at the Free Clinics on Case Street, just off Upward Road at Spartanburg Highway. Info: 828-697-8422.
Team ECCO Ocean Center and Aquarium will be open special hours from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, at 511 N. Main St., Hendersonville. Free. Info: 828-692-8386.
Flat Rock native and author Elle will sign books for "The Fall," a novel, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Dandelion eatery, 127 Fifth Ave. W., Hendersonville.
The Rotary Club of Brevard will hold a club assembly during the noon meeting Tuesday at the Brevard Conference Center. Info: brevardrotary.org.
Community Briefs: Oct. 25
Flight of the Vampire


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Burbank, CA, June 10, 2013 - Per Blankens, internationally renowned and award-winning television producer, has been named executive producer of AMERICAN IDOL for the series upcoming 13th season premiering January 2014 on FOX.
Most recently, Blankens served as the executive producer on "Idol," the immensely successful and top-rated Swedish version of the hit singing competition franchise.
"Per is a creative and experienced executive who has been the show runner on the blockbuster Swedish Idol for more than 5 seasons," said Trish Kinane, AMERICAN IDOL executive producer for FremantleMedia North America. "He is extremely passionate about Idol and I'm very excited about his ideas and vision for keeping Idol creatively vibrant. He brings the talent and energy needed to keep AMERICAN IDOL strong."
"The Idol franchise is a worldwide phenomenon and I'm honored to be a part of the most popular of the franchises, AMERICAN IDOL," said Blankens. "I can't wait to get started as auditions for the new season are just a few weeks away."
In addition to his work on Idol, Blankens was the Managing Director of Friday TV, part of The Shine Group and Head of Programmes for Meter Television, one of Scandinavia's leading production companies. There, he oversaw productions including Idol, Master Chef and The Biggest Loser. Blankens has won multiple awards for Swedish Idol and other television work including the Crystals and Aftonbladet TV Prize in Sweden.
Blankens served as the producer of Idol in Sweden from 2007-2011 with great ratings success. In its 8th season in 2011, the program had a 51% share of total viewers (3+), performing 145% higher than broadcaster TV4's prime time average. It also proved a hit with young adults (15-24), consistently ranking as the number one show in its time period with market shares of up to 60%, 196% higher than TV4's prime time average. Swedish Idol attracts young viewers, with 35% of the audience in the key 15-39 demographic.
Audition cities and dates for AMERICAN IDOL Season 13 include Salt Lake City (Energy Solutions Arena) on Wednesday, July 10; San Francisco (AT&T Park), on Tuesday, July 16; Detroit (Ford Field), on Sunday, July 21; Atlanta (Gwinnett Center), on Friday, July 26; Boston (Gillette Stadium), on Friday, Aug. 2; Austin (Frank Erwin Center) on Wednesday, Aug. 7; and Omaha (CenturyLink Center), on Sunday, Aug. 11.
Additional details are available on www.americanidol.com.
AMERICAN IDOL is produced by 19 Entertainment, a division of Core Media Group, and FremantleMedia North America.
About FremantleMedia North America:
FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) is the U.S. production division of global media giant FremantleMedia. Based in Burbank, California, FMNA produces entertaining and innovative programs for network, cable, syndicated and online platforms, including the Emmy-nominated musical/reality phenomenon "American Idol" (FOX), "The X Factor" (FOX), "America's Got Talent" (NBC), "Family Feud" (SYN), "The Price Is Right" (CBS), "Let's Make A Deal" (CBS), "Total Blackout" (Syfy), "Married to Medicine" (Bravo), "The Pet Collective" (Blip), "Perfect Score" (The CW) and "The Tomorrow People" (The CW).


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Submission + - Firefox 5 In Aurora Channel (computerworld.com)
blair1q writes: Mozilla.org has added a new intermediate development state, Aurora, to its Firefox development chain. Coming between Nightly-Build and Beta, it adds a fourth sense to the meaning of "the current version of Firefox" (the Release version fills out the trope). And now they have populated the Aurora channel with what will eventually become Firefox 5. The intent is to reduce Release-version cycle times by allowing more live testing of new features before the integrated code gets into a Beta version. The inaugural Aurora drop includes "performance, security and stability improvements." Firefox 5 is scheduled to enter Beta on May 17, and Release on June 21. Downloads of all of the active channels are available from the Firefox channels webpage.


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Feb. 24, 2006
Santa Barbara, Calif. - The No. 8 UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team (9-8 overall, 6-6 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) needed four games to defeat visiting Cal Baptist (7-7 overall) Friday night, and it appeared as though they would need five, but the Gauchos erased a seven point deficit in the decisive fourth game to win the match, 30-24, 30-21, 27-30, 38-26.
Junior opposite Evan Patak led the Gauchos with 22 kills while junior outside hitter Bryan Berman had 20. David Kennedy had an extremely efficient game, recording nine kills on 11 attempts for a .818 hitting percentage.
Ghana natives Shamsu Awudu and Seidu Ajanako kept the Lancers hopes alive throughout the match as the two combined for 53 kills, 30 by Ajanako and 23 from Awudu.
After jumping out to a 2-0 game lead, it appeared as if UCSB was going to cruise to a sweep over the top-ranked NAIA team, but with the score knotted 22-22 in the third game, Cal Baptist went on a 6-1 run to take a commanding 28-23 lead. The Gauchos inched back to bring the score to 29-27 after a kill by Patak, but the Lancers would take the game after a broken play ended on an errant over-hit by Armen Zakarien.
With momentum at their back, the Lancers jumped out to a 14-7 lead in the fourth game. Cal Baptist continued to lead until the Gauchos tied the game at 27-27. The Gauchos served for match-point at 30-29, but a kill by Ajanako evened the score at 30. UCSB would not serve for match-point again until a Bryan Berman ace gave the Gauchos a 37-36 lead, and an attack error by Awudu would give the match to Santa Barbara.
UCSB returns to action next Wednesday when they play host to Long Beach State at 7:05 at Robertson Gym.


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Thanks to the "Big Dog" for giving us "Light Rob" GRIII
Happy 40th Birthday to Glenn Robinson
There was a time when I sat at Crisler as an undergrad and cursed Purdue's Big Dog for taking the Big Ten Title away from J. Rose and company.
In a roundabout way, he may be giving it back.
Yup, I was at that game too...
I remember watching our home game against Purdue in '94 in which we led by 8 with two and a half minutes to go but totally collapsed down the stretch. Glenn Robinson hit the winning shot. That loss was painful.
May be off, but given the date and GRIII's age, I suppose it is possible he initiated the process of giving it back that evening with some lucky young lass...
Actually GRIII was born on January 8, 1994. So he would've already been born when that game happened.
Interesting fact that I hadn't heard before he was born three months premature and only weighed 3lbs 4ozs. He had to spend the next two months in an incubator with a mini basketball, according to wikipedia.
That game brings back some memories. I remember camping out at Crisler the night before to make sure I was in the front row, which I was...only to see us blow the game for the BIG 10 championship. Big Dog was a beast. Didn't he posterize Big Country Reeves in the tourney that year?
Big Dog was one phenomenal basketball player at Purdue. Only thing standing between post Webber Fab Five and a Big Ten Championship was the great Glen Robinson Jr., and I'll be damned if he didn't beat them.
The video is not very good but here is the last 2:26 of Purdue's remarkable comeback to steal the title from the Wolverines. Robinson's three point play to pull Purdue to within one will remind you of his son.
Happy Birthday Big Dog.
- HD > VHS, omg we're so spoiled now.
- As much as I loved the Fab Five, they're sporadic play used to drive me nuts.
- Why were we shooting the ball as if we were behind when leading 94-93 with 20 seconds to go?
- This was an example to me of how Fisher was a great recruiter but an average coach, he's improved now, but man that used to frustrate the hell out of me.
- Lastly, wow Chrisler Center > Chrisler Arena.
Happy BDay GRII, thanks for providing us with an awesome son!
Frieder used to micromanage horribly. Fisher was the opposite and it allowed Michigan to win it all during his first six games as coach. Fisher's lassiez-faire/ostrich approach would cost Michigan dearly down the road, but at least it helped produce Michigan's only NCAA Tournament Championship.
Even as a freshmen, you just knew Robbie Hummel was going to be a solid player.
he sure was a collegian for a long time
Ugh - I forgot just what an epic collapse that was. Didn't we also lose to a bad Northwestern team right after that?
Wow, that is brutal. I didn't remember the collapse being quite that bad. We had a seven-point lead with 1:30 to go!
It's hard to believe, watching that, that we had four three-year starters on the floor. We looked like a bunch of freshmen there on offense, heaving up wild threes.
Best college basketball player in my years of watching college ball. Happy birthday and please tell your son to stay and develope his game.
Little do people know, but BIgDog was quoted sometime a year into it, that, had he known the FabFive were gonna come together, namely Webber and Rose late in the game, that he'd have come here too. Supposedly he committed early to Purdue, and then Webber and Rose essentially completed it effectively. Thus, Ray Jackson wouldve not been a FabFiver, and I really think they'd have won the ncaa title with BigDog.
A Super Sixer.
Which Boilermaker has given us the most?
a) Bob Griese
b) Glenn Robinson
c) Joe Tiller
Does Danny Hope count?
Go Bucks!
I am an off and on again bandwagon Milwaukee Bucks fan
He's a MAN!
Has ther been any Big Dog sightings at UM games? I havent seen him. Whats going on with that?


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Taylor arrived in Port Charles on June 4th, after her parents asked her to stay with her brother Felix (Marc Anthony Samuel) for the summer. She actually joined Britt as Felix and Sabrina's roommates which resulted in them sleeping on the couch.
Taylor also managed to have sex with TJ on prom night. Unfortunately for her, TJ only had eyes for Molly even after they spent the night together.
Sonuga will debut this month.


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Thread: Ferret error on production.
Dec 22, 2007, 12:00 #1
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Ferret error on production.
Hi everyone,
I'm getting the following error (VERY randomly, I'd say 1/10 of the time when logging in or out, any user) when I log in or out of my app:
Code Ruby:
Processing SiteController#login (for 126.96.36.199 at 2007-12-22 17:52:31) [POST] Session ID: 073af041f2c731071cb576ec06a1663b Parameters: {"user"=>{"screen_name"=>"myusername", "password"=>"mypassword", "remember_me"=>"0"}, "commit"=>"Login!", "action"=>"login", "controller"=>"site"} Cookie set: remember_me=; path=/; expires=Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT Cookie set: authorization_token=; path=/; expires=Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT Ferret::FileNotFoundError (File Not Found Error occured at <except.c>:117 in xpop_context Error occured in fs_store.c:329 - fs_open_input tried to open "/var/www/apps/rehashclothes/current/config/../index/production/user/_b_0.del" but it doesn't exist: <No such file or directory> ):
It's very sporadic in when it happens, but that's the error I get. Sometimes I could go for 20 logins/logouts perfectly, then it'll just happen out of nowhere. Also, it's actually being completed (as in, I'm being logged in) so if I reload everything's OK.
Any idea what's going on and a fix? Thanks!
Dec 24, 2007, 11:48 #2
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I figured out the problem, I'll post the solution in case it helps anyone else.
Since I'm using 4 mongrels, each mongrel starts doing ferret things independently, so it doesn't know which file was deleted by another process. Since during development I didn't bother with mongrels, I never encountered this problem so I didn't know about DRb servers. The fix is pretty easy:
Create a config/ferret_server.yml file (if you don't alrady have it) and place the following in there:
Code Ruby:
production: host: localhost port: 9010 pid_file: log/ferret.pid
Make sure your index directory is in Capistrano's shared directory.
Then place the ":remote => true" option on your acts_as_ferret model calls. After that, run script/ferret_start -e production from your deploy user to start the server, and script/ferret_stop -e production to stop the server.


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March 10, 2008
The Schedule
Games No. 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18
Tuesday, March 11 - 6:00 p.m. (PDT)
UCSB at Cal Poly
at Baggett Stadium
Friday, March 14 - 2:00 p.m. (PDT)
Southern Utah at UCSB
at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium
Saturday, March 15 - 11:00 a.m. (PDT)
Southern Utah at UCSB
at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium
Saturday, March 15 - TBA
Southern Utah at UCSB
at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium
Sunday, March 16 - 1:00 p.m. (PDT)
Southern Utah at UCSB
at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium
The Gaucho Record
UC Santa Barbara (8-5) plays its second non-conference game of the season against Big West foe Cal Poly (5-6) on Tuesday in San Luis Obispo. The Gauchos won the first meeting, 10-8 on March 4. The Gauchos then welcome the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (5-4) for a four-game weekend set. It marks the first time the two teams have faced each other since 1995, when the Gauchos swept the Thunderbirds in a three game series.
This Week
UCSB takes on conference rival Cal Poly for the second of five meetings scheduled this season between the Mustangs. Head Coach Bob Brontsema attempts to break the .500 mark against the Mustangs as his career record against Cal Poly stands at an even 31-31. The Gauchos then come back home to play four against Southern Utah from the Summit League. The Gauchos hold a perfect 5-0 lifetime record against the Thunderbirds.
The Week That Was
The Gauchos played a game apiece against conference rivals Cal Poly and Cal State Northridge, winning both contests 10-8 and 9-3, respectively. They then dropped a three-game series against the University of Houston Cougars, winning game two of the series, 9-7, but losing the rubber match by a score of 4-2. The Gauchos walked away from the week 3-2 overall, and 2-2 on the road trip, pushing their overall 2008 record to 8-5.
The Rotation
Freshman Greg Davis (1-0) will start the second game of his career against Cal Poly on Tuesday. The Glendale, Calif., native won the first start of his career last week against Cal State Northridge, allowing two runs in six innings of work, striking out six and walking only one. The Gauchos will then turn to their regular starting rotation for the weekend series. Sophomore Mike Ford (1-1) will get the nod in the series opener against Southern Utah on Friday. Ford's last outing came against Houston where he pitched six in- nings allowing three runs, while striking out nine and walking four. Mario Hollands (1-1) mans the bump in game two against the Thunderbirds, looking to pick up his second win in a Gaucho uniform. Hollands earned a no decision on Mar. 8 against Houston, allowing only one earned run in a career-high seven innings of work. Senior Mike Martin (1-0) makes his third start of the year in game two of Saturday's doubleheader. Martin's 1.54 ERA in 11.2 innings of work is good for second on the team. Finally, Chuck Huggins (2-1) will take the mound for the Gauchos in the series finale. After winning his first two starts of the year, the senior picked up a loss against Houston on Mar. 9, allowing four runs in five innings of work.
Fantastic Ford
Mike Ford pitched lights-out baseball in the season opener against Marist, throwing a seven inning one-hitter. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native walked only one, while striking out a career-high 11 batters. Ford is 1-1 on the year in three starts, having allowed 17 hits in 19 innings of work, while striking out 26 and walking only seven.
Power Push
UCSB leads the Big West Conference in homeruns with 12, and triples with seven, while the Gauchos .459 slugging percentage is good for second in the conference. The Gauchos have outscored their opponents 83-to-56 thus far.
Super Mario
Redshirt freshman Mario Hollands is coming into his own as a Gaucho. In three starts the southpaw is 1-1 with a sterling 1.96 ERA. The El Cerrito, Calif., native has allowed only four earned runs in 18.1 innings of work, in addition to sporting an impressive 15-to-3 strikeout to walk ratio
The Bob Brontsema File
2008 marks the 27th year of head coach Bob Brontsema's involvement in the UCSB baseball program. He is now in his 15th season as head coach, after ten years as an assistant and two as a player. Brontsema's career record is 379-384-2 (.495). He has been selected Big West Coach of the Year twice, first in 1996 when he guided the Gauchos to a 32-20 record and an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, and again in 2001, when he led the team to a 40-17 mark and another NCAA Tournament berth. The .702 winning percentage in 2001 ranks third highest in school history. In 2004, Brontsema's Gauchos posted the second most overall wins in his career as head coach, going 33-21. Milestone dates in his coaching career include April 27, 1997, marking his 100th career win with a 16-4 victory over the University of Pacific and April 7, 2001, a day that saw him earn career win number 200 with a 7-2 victory over UC Riverside. The 6-1 victory over San Jose State on Feb. 13, 2005 marked yet another milestone for Brontsema, career win number 300. Victory number 344, which pushed him past Dave Gorrie and into the over Long Beach State.
Matt The Masher
Sophomore Matt Valaika turned in a ter- rific offensive week going a combined 8- for-16 in four games. In addition, Valaika hit homeruns in consecutive games on March 5th and March 7th. The Valencia, Calif., native had a career day on March 5th against Cal State Northridge, going 4- for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI.
Fox Facts
Senior Chris Fox, an All-Big West Honorable Mention selection in 2007, provided con- sistent offensive production for the Gauchos last year out of the leadoff spot and has done much of the same early in 2008. The slick-fielding center fielder's three triples, six stolen bases, and .660 slugging percentage are good for first, third, and seventh in the Big West Conference, respectively.
Orange Oliver
Orange Coast College transfer Eric Oliver is proving he belongs. The Irvine, Calif., native has started all 13 games for the Gauchos at first base, while hitting out of the three hole. Oliver is second on the team in extra-base hits with five, and RBI with 11 . Oliver has also fielded his position perfectly in 114 chances. His 1.000 fielding percentage is tied for tops in the Big West.
Streaky Shane
After making the switch from shortstop to second base to begin the year, Shane Carlson has taken full advantage both offensively and defensively. The Stevenson Ranch, Calif., native currently owns a 13-game hitting streak, having hit safely in all 13 games to begin the season. In six of those 13 games, Carlson has had multi-hit performances. The junior is hitting .396 with a team-highs in homeruns (2) and RBI (12). Defensively, Carlson has blossomed, having made only one error in 64 chances.
Gumping For Greatness
Junior Brian Gump is making the most out of starting role as the Westminster, Calif., na- tive has started in all 13 games to begin the year. The sweet-swinging lefty had a career day against Houston on March 8 going 5-for-5 with a walk, two runs scored, three RBI, and two stolen bases. His current seven-game hitting streak has pushed his average to a team leading .412. Gump is second in the Big West Conference in steals with nine, and his 21 hits are good for fourth.
Three's Company
The starting rotation of Ford, Hollands, and Huggins is 4-3 on the year in nine starts with a combined ERA of 2.83. The threesome owns an extraordinary 62-to-15 strikeout to walk ratio, and has allowed a mere three homeruns. The trio has pitched at least six innings of work in six of the nine starts to begin the year.
Senior Trio
The Gauchos return six starters to the field from a year ago, including the senior trio of Patrick Rose, Mike Zuanich, and Chris Fox. Combined, the threesome accounted for 34% of the runs scored, 33% of the team's hits, 29% of all homeruns, and 32% of all RBIs in 2007.
There are a total of 14 players that were not on the 2007 roster who will suit up for UCSB in 2008. Five of those 14 players are freshman, while the remaining nine transferred from other schools. Of those 14, three are infielders, five are right-handed pitchers, four are outfielders and two are catchers.
Chris Behind The Dish
Junior catcher Chris McMurray started 42 of the 43 games he played in last year, hitting .264 with 20 runs and 19 RBI. The Mission Viejo, Calif. native had separate four and five-game hit streaks from Mar. 14 to Mar 18, and from Apr. 27 to May 5. McMurray upped his aver- age .61 points over the weekend to .278, hitting his second home run of the year in the process.
Relief Corps.
Junior Matt Wade and Kyle Brown accounted for 54.2 innings last year and will be two of the most reliable arms out of the bullpen for UCSB in 2008. Thus far, Brown has yet to be scored upon in six appearances. The crafty southpaw has struck out nine and walked four in 9.2 innings of work. The Gauchos three saves are good for second in the Big West, with three individual relievers contributing. Brown has one, junior Zach Samuels has one, and sophomore Clayton Edwards also has one.


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Does Robin Have The Power?...
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Originally Posted by
I think he's worth the risk. I'm biased because I happen to be a fan of his, but having just reviewed his numbers, he's never hit less than .290 over the course of a full season, and even if the best he can provide is production similar to his numbers in 2011, that still represents offense far superior to anything Dunn is giving the Sox at the moment. I'll take a near-.300 batting average.
The only concerns I would have about Vlad would be his contract demands (he wants to play long enough to reach five hundred home runs), as well as his ability to play the field. I would imagine his throwing arm is still above average, but I doubt if he has the range necessary to play either corner position, even on a limited basis. The Sox have too many slow-footed 1B/LF/DH types on their roster as it is, something that has been a problem dating back to when Frank Thomas and Carlos Lee were with the team.
He can't play the field. His power is zapped. He has no speed. His .317 OBP his last season is only .012 higher than Dunn's during Dunn's White Sox career. It's far better to see if Adam can turn it around. Vlad is done or someone would have picked him up last year. Dunn could be Done, but the Sox need to play him to see if he can turn things around. There is no way he's is as bad as he's been thus far.
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Original URL: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/05/23/huawei_uk_advisory/
Huawei snaps up former Mandarin for UK advisory board
Wants to know what's what in Blighty
Posted in The Channel, 23rd May 2011 11:15 GMT
The makeover of Chinese telecom-kit manufacturer Huawei continues apace, with the company appointing ex-UK Trade and Investment mandarin Sir Andrew Cahn to its latest wheeze: a UK Advisory Board.
Sir Andrew will head up the new board, which will recruit additional figures over the next few months. The plan is part of the company's makeover plans, an ongoing project to help the company compete in western markets. The UK Advisory Board will be working out how Huawei can successfully insinuate itself into the UK's telecommunications industry, a project for which Sir Andrew seems ideally skilled.
Not that the former CEO of UK T&I will have a lot of time to devote to the task: the poor chap is already vice chairman at Japanese nearly-zaibatsu The Nomura Group, and he still has to find time to work on the Franchise Board at Lloyds of London.
With five years at UK T&I under his belt, and stints at the EU and Foreign Office, Sir Andrew is ideally placed to explain how best to do business here, but Huawei also expects him to "advise Huawei on localisation and corporate social responsibility initiatives as well as drive understanding of the Huawei corporate brand amongst government and media stakeholders".
So basically he'll be advising on how to avoid being portrayed, or thought of, as a Communist-army-backed sweatshop bent on sabotaging western companies, while stealing their secrets, and planting listening devices/kill switches into key infrastructure locations.
It's a tough gig, but someone has to do it. ®


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Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is refusing to get carried away with his stunning start to the NFL season.
The veteran QB has guided his side to a 4-0 start to the campaign, with a 52-20 demolition of the Philadelphia Eagles the latest victory for a franchise destined for a run at the play-offs.
But, despite his own incredible individual numbers, Manning is keeping his mind on the task at-hand, choosing to focus on next week's meeting with the Dallas Cowboys rather than reflect on 16 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.
"The recaps don't mean a whole lot. It was a good win because it was this game and we'll learn from it and we have a tough test next week," said the former Indianapolis Colt, according to the official Broncos website.
Manning has a plethora of options at his disposal, with Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker, Julius Thomas and Wes Welker all offering the 37-year-old a reliable target.
And, the later is in no doubt about Manning's importance to the team, with Welker hailing his teammate as an 'exceptional' player.
"I mean, 11 incompletions in two games – that kind of says it. He's an exceptional player and prepares like nobody and else and he's kind of the catalyst of getting everything going," said the former New England Patriot.
Whilst the records will be of little interest to Manning, the 12-time Pro Bowl selection became the first person to throw 16 TDs in the opening month of the season after Sunday's victory.
His current passer rating, at 138.0, would be another record if he were to maintain it for the coming 12 games, although there is still a long way to go in that regard.
He's also on course for a 13th season with over 4,000 passing yards, and 14th season with at least 25 touchdowns – both would stretch the former number one draft pick's records further.
Do YOU want to write for GiveMeSport? Get started today by signing-up and submitting an article HERE: https://www.givemesport.com/writeforgms


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Brocade is just the beginning - warns SEC chief
Valley to feel 'full weight' of the Feds
The feds have put Silicon Valley on notice: there'd better be a damn good reason for putting the wrong date on share allocations and then hiding options from Wall Street, otherwise you're in big trouble - the kind of trouble that lands a man in jail for 20 years and costs him $5m.
Officials from the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission took the unusual step on Thursday of jointly announcing separate criminal and civil charges against three former senior Brocade Communications executives for securities violations covering $1bn worth of stock options awards.
These are the first charges brought in a national investigation involving 80 public companies, of which a "fair number" are based in Silicon Valley, the SEC said, with many believed to be in high-tech.
The Brocade trio face 20 years in jail and a $5m fine each. It is not clear what, if anything, will happen to hundreds of Brocade employees who received the options. The FBI is prosecuting former chief executive Gregory Reyes and ex-vice president of human resources Stephanie Jensen, while former chief financial officer Antonio Canova gets a civil action from the SEC for complicity.
Hosting a packed press conference in San Francisco, investigators - sporting sharp suits, square jaws and poker faces - warned more prosecutions will follow. They refused to say which companies or individuals are next.
That's bad news for a Valley whose corporate culture was out of control in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the period covered by the Brocade indictment. Stock options were commonly seen by many as the best way to win and retain talent in an intensively competitive, bubble-fuelled dot-com environment.
According to the SEC and FBI, backdating of shares to lure and retain employees became a way of life at Brocade. Reyes acted as a "one man" compensation committee - having been granted sole authority by the board - to award shares from the date Brocade went public in 1999. Jensen supported this by instituting a system that allowed Reyes to easily tack back and find low points in the company's share performance. The scheme allegedly went as far to be formalized in an HR e-mail memo and to include the falsification of employee hiring documents.
The FBI and SEC said they are now taking a tough, and united, stand to help restore the public's loss of confidence in the marketplace. Misallocation of shares in Brocade deceived investors and the public, and meant Brocade sought to gain unfair advantage over the competition, by back dating the company's shares to a period when the price was low and then hiding the expenses that were incurred, they argued.
The resulting re-stating of expenses has wiped at least a billion dollars off Brocade's earnings between 1999 and 2004. The SEC expects billions more to be written off as other companies implicated in the growing scandal also restate their figures.
SEC chairman Chris Cox said the SEC and FBI planned to stamp out back dating of share options. He went on: "Legislative structure prevents [our] coordinating cases... [but] we want to co-ordinate our announcements to show the full weight of the government is going into this."
Linda Thomsen, SEC director of division of enforcement, added: "This case [Brocade] will not be the last. Teams of attorneys in the SEC are actively pursuing dozens of investigations." Those under investigation span small and large capital companies plus members of the S&P 500, she said.
Kevin Ryan, US attorney for the northern district of California, went on to make it clear that the statute of limitations under the Sarbanes Oxley Act - designed to eradicate the last bout of fiscal criminality by executives in corporate America - would not stand in the way of either investigation or prosecution. SOX limits action to two years from the date of discovery and five years from the event. In certain cases, it is thought options were granted more than five years ago, as the dot-com boom kicked off in the late 1990s, making legal action impossible.
"We are on this and a statute of limitations is not going to deter us from aggressively prosecuting," Ryan warned.®
Sponsored: Minds Mastering Machines - Call for papers now open


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The Rev. Dr. Clifford A. Comfort, priest of several Episcopal churches in Southwest Florida for more than 40 years, died Tuesday after being injured in a fall on Fort Myers Beach a week earlier. He was 94 years old and at the time of death was residing on Fort Myers Beach.
Born in 1918, Father Comfort enlisted in World War II briefly before being called out of military service to serve his country as an airplane mechanic, having worked for Pan American World Airways before the war. Following the war he dedicated his life to the Episcopal Church and completed his studies at Nashota House in Wisconsin.
Raised in Miami, he was a graduate of the University of Miami and an avid fan of the Miami Hurricanes football team.
Article Photos
Rev. Dr. Clifford A. Comfort
Father Comfort became the priest of St. Raphael's Church on Fort Myers Beach in1962. After retirement he served congregations on Pine Island, in North Fort Myers and Immokalee.
Throughout his life Father Comfort stayed active outside the church as a beekeeper, commercial fisherman and gardener. He enjoyed a sense of humor and was a familiar image on Fort Myers Beach in church clericals and bright red Budweiser suspenders. He named the honey he canned and sold "Southern Comfort Honey."
One of his proudest moments came when Nashota House presented him with an honorary doctorate degree.
Father Comfort's door was always open to those in need.
He is survived by daughters, Catherine Hilliard of Clewiston and Grace Workman (Joe)of Fort Myers Beach; and six grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by two wives, Lorraine Reed Comfort and Anna Lee Polk Comfort, and one son, Clifford A Comfort Jr.
Services will be conducted by Bishop Dabney Smith at Saint. Luke's Episcopal Church, 2635 Cleveland Ave., in Fort Myers, at 11a.m., today, Aug. 7.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Raphael's Episcopal Church, 5601 Williams Drive, Fort Myers Beach.


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GLENDALE, Ariz. -- In last Thursday's Cactus League game against the Brewers, ace starter Chris Sale was on the mound for the White Sox, and regular third baseman Jeff Keppinger, shortstop Alexei Ramirez and second baseman Gordon Beckham were all in the starting lineup.
Yes, it was just a meaningless spring training game, but the Sox turned 3 double plays behind Sale in an 8-3 win.
That means a lot.
"I made some pitches when I needed to, and when the defense plays like they have behind me I want to use them," Sale said. "The double plays helped keep the pitch count down, and that's what you shoot for. I'm not going to be as sore the next day and will bounce back a little quicker."
So there you have it.
Good defense not only helps win games, it keeps the pitching staff fresh.
Fortunately for the Sox, the defense is solid.
Last season, the White Sox led the major leagues with a .988 fielding percentage while committing the fewest errors (70) and allowing the fewest unearned runs (30).
You can make a case that the Sox' defense is going to be even better this year considering Tyler Flowers is an upgrade over A.J. Pierzynski at catcher, and Keppinger should be better at third base than the 2012 trio of Brent Morel, Orlando Hudson and Kevin Youkilis.
"I think defense, it's obviously really important," said Beckham, who committed just 7 errors in 698 total chances last season while earning strong Gold Glove consideration. "If you're making plays not every other team makes, or you're making less errors, you're getting your pitcher off the mound quicker and that lets them rest. They don't have to throw as many pitches and can get deeper into games. Then you can get it to your bullpen late."
The White Sox' infield plays standout defense, and the outfield isn't too shabby, either.
In addition to having one of the best offensive years of his career in 2012, right fielder Alex Rios also ranked among American League leaders with 9 outfield assists.
Alejandro De Aza doesn't have a powerful throwing arm in center, but he has above average range and isn't afraid to make difficult catches.
Dayan Viciedo was surprisingly good in left field last year, and the natural third baseman ranked fifth in the AL with 13 assists.
For as good as they were on defense a year ago, starting pitcher Jake Peavy was the Sox' only Gold Glove winner.
"I certainly don't think defense gets overlooked here," Peavy said. "We stress, stress, stress the defense. Pitching and catching the baseball, you have to do that. We did that last year and we're focused on playing good defense again this year."
Under rookie manager Robin Ventura last season, the White Sox went through full-blown defensive practice sessions before the first game of every series.
Most teams just take groundballs during batting practice, but the Sox took it to another level and it paid off.
"There's a routine Robin and (third-base coach) Joe (McEwing) like to do," Beckham said. "It just gets you focused a little bit on playing defense and it's something they like and we don't mind doing it.
"There's always room for improvement. If you stop working at it, you're definitely going to get worse. From what we did last year, we'll just try to stay the same."


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It's been a busy week for Shacknews, with new trailers for anticipated fall hits landing every day including Dishonored, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Assassin's Creed III, and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Who knows what we can expect with PAX Prime 2012. Catch up on our videos page if you need something to keep you busy this weekend! Especially if you aren't stomping robots into dust with Transformers: Fall of Cybertron or re-visiting the same campfire over and over again in Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition.
(Click any editor's name to visit their Twitter page. Follow Shacknews on Twitter for regular updates.)
- Garnett Lee: Well, I continue to make my way through Lost Odyssey. I'd like to wrap it up this weekend but that might be unrealistic. I'll also be playing Madden 13 along with drafting in a couple of fantasy leagues and some Puzzle Craft on iOS.
- John Keefer: I've been extra busy, but I just scratched the surface of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron for PC. I also have been meaning to get back into Tera a bit to try the new Argon Queen update.
- Andrew Yoon: I'm still chugging through Sleeping Dogs. Expect a review on Monday. But here's a preview of my review: it has a lot of great mechanics, although the polish isn't really there.
- Alice O'Connor: I shall be scampering about the Natural History Museum, playing real-world games. Hopefully the rain will hold off for me to hit the park with a big stack of books too.
- Jeff Mattas: This weekend, it's more Sleeping Dogs, Darksiders II, Papo & Yo, and Dust: An Elysian Tale. How am I ever going to find time to check out the new Madden? I'm sure I'll find a way!
- Steve Watts: I'll be cracking open Transformers: War for Cybertron, hunting down friends in Dust: An Elysian Tail, and continuing my long-term, probably ill-fated quest to gather a million coins in New Super Mario Bros 2.
- Ozzie Mejia: I've got a handful of games to review for the Shack, so I'll be diving headfirst into Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, Rock Band Blitz, and getting a headstart on Guild Wars 2. If there's time left over, I might squeeze in a few rounds of Team Fortress 2: Mann vs. Machine.
- Tyler J. Smith: Like I've been yucking about in Late Night Computing, I'll be transforming some giant metal robots into slag this weekend with Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. Outside of the digital sea, I also plan to make my monthly venture into this thing called the 'real world.' It's like the Oregon Trail for me.


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It's a gamble, but one the Cavaliers felt they had to take.
Free agent center Andrew Bynum accepted the Cavs' two-year, $24.5 million offer on Wednesday. It's a complicated, incentive-laden deal, with $6 million guaranteed for next season. The Cavs own a team option on 2014-15.
The move was first reported by ESPN's Chris Broussard.
The 7-foot, 285-pound Bynum missed the 2012-13 season in Philadelphia with bilateral bone bruises and a weakened cartilage in both knees. He had arthroscopic knee surgery on March 19.
If Bynum doesn't pan out next season, the Cavs simply walk away.
If he plays well, the Cavs have the option of bringing him back the following season.
Bynum, 25, visited with the Cavs on Monday, Atlanta on Tuesday and Dallas on Wednesday.
Despite the money involved, when Bynum and agent David Lee inspected all three rosters, they kept coming back to the Cavs.
Bynum won't have to shoulder the load on his own. The Cavs have depth in their frontcourt, including Anderson Varejao, Tristan Thompson, Tyler Zeller, No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett and newcomer Earl Clark. The Cavs could start Bynum at center and Varejao at power forward.
Interestingly enough, when Bynum was traded to Philadelphia Aug. 10 -- a trade the Cavs were involved in at least early on -- Clark was sent from Orlando to the Lakers along with Dwight Howard.
Bynum becomes a centerpiece on a team that also features one of the top backcourts in basketball: All-Star Kyrie Irving, free-agent acquisition Jarrett Jack and Dion Waiters. The Cavs are expected to challenge for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference next season.
The Cavs' Mike Brown was Bynum's coach during the 2011-12 season with the Lakers. The 25-year-old Bynum averaged 18.7 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks and shot 55.8 percent from the field to earn a spot on the Western Conference All-Star team.
The Cavs were able to offer more than Atlanta or Dallas in the first year of the deal. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, desperate to make a big move, wanted to add the former Lakers center. Dallas had already been spurned by Howard, who chose to sign with Houston.
"At this point, we're having a medical discussion, and we'll have an opportunity to get with his agent and better understand the risks involved and make a good decision for our franchise," Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson told the Dallas Morning News. "We're in the process of gathering information. We still need help and support in the frontcourt and we're going to turn over every stone."
Dallas entered into negotiations with Samuel Dalembert after they struck out with Bynum.
The Mavericks, as they are presently constructed, don't appear to be a .500 team, especially in the West. They have an aging roster with some bloated contracts. They've added point guards Jose Calderon and Devin Harris in free agency.
Some around the league wondered how interested the Hawks were in signing Bynum. The Hawks have signed power forward Paul Millsap and sharpshooter Kyle Korver in free agency.
It's unknown when Bynum can return to the court work. He's expected to be ready for training camp. Even then, his minutes will be monitored and the Cavs will be cautious with him. The Cavs' partnership with the Cleveland Clinic could make a big difference in Bynum's rehabilitation.
The still have the salary-cap flexibility to sign a significant free agent in the summer of 2014.
They don't have any cap space available. However, they still own a mid-level exception worth $2.652 million for teams under the cap.
Quick shots
-- The Cavs have called an 11 a.m. Friday press conference at Cleveland Clinic Courts to introduce free-agent signees Jack and Clark. A spokesman said he doesn't expect Bynum to be present at the press conference.
-- Cavs assistant coach Jamahl Mosley will serve as head coach the Cavs' summer-league team in Las Vegas. Cavs assistant coaches Jim Boylan, Bret Brielmaier and Cavaliers player development coordinator Phil Handy will all serve as assistant coaches. They face the Lakers in their first game at 8 p.m. Friday (NBA TV).
-- There has been some chatter that the Cavs and Warriors would work a sign-and-trade deal with Jack coming to Cleveland and forward/center Marreese Speights going to Golden State. However, the Cavs reportedly nixed that idea. Any team that receives a player in a sign-and-trade would have to operate with a hard cap.
-- The NBA announced the salary cap for the 2013-14 season will be $58.679 million. The luxury-tax threshold has been set at $71.748 million.
-- Some have wondered how the Mavericks could sign former Cavs guard Wayne Ellington since they were hoarding their cap space trying to sign Bynum. They signed Ellington with the mid-level exception.
-- The Bucks might use the amnesty provision forward Drew Gooden's $6.7 million contract. He spent four years with the Cavs.


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KABUL, Afghanistan – Nine civilians, including women and children, were killed by an air strike, Afghan police said Sunday – but NATO said only Taliban insurgents had died.
Amid different accounts of the incident, the Taliban sought to capitalize on what it described as the deaths of "the innocent people of Afghanistan."
Abdul Habib Sayed Khail, Police Chief of Kunar Province, said 15 people were killed, nine of whom were civilian women and children.
Abdul Ghani Mosamam, spokesman for the Governor of Kunar Province, said the strike happened at around 5:30pm local time (9.30 a.m. ET) Saturday. He said the death toll was 16, made up four Taliban insurgents and 12 civilians – four men, four women and four children.
NATO spokeswoman, 1st Lt. AnnMarie Annicelli, described the incident as "a precision airstrike that killed 10 enemy forces," adding that NATO had no reports of civilian casualties.
"We are aware of reports of allegations of civilian casualties in Watahpur, Kunar," said a NATO statement. "We take all allegations of civilian casualties seriously.
"We can confirm coalition forces conducted a precision strike yesterday in Watahpur Dist, Kunar Province, resulting in 10 enemy forces killed. At this time, we have no reports of any civilian casualties in regards to this incident. We are continuing to look into the incident and will provide updates as appropriate."
In a statement, the Taliban said U.S.-led NATO forces had "once again killed the innocent people of Afghanistan", adding that "The Islamic Emirates are promising their people that they will be taking their revenge from the Americans."


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Jordan Shipers almost quit baseball. His high school in Bethany, Mo., doesn't have a baseball team, and he's always had to travel for practices, training and games.
"It gets tiring, traveling everywhere," he said Sunday. "I've been doing it since I was 12. I wanted to quit at one point. I was younger and I was sick of traveling. I'd have to do my homework at 10 o'clock at night and everything."
Shipers is glad he didn't quit. "Yeah, very glad," he said.
The lack of a high school team hasn't hurt his career, at least not that you'd notice. He's a 5-foot-11 southpaw with a 93 mph fastball, a nasty curve, a tight slider and a changeup. The talent scouts at Perfect Game USA think he's one of the top southpaws in the Class of 2010 and have him ranked 40th in the country.
He's not a big guy, but he's got big-time stuff. "I live around 160 pounds, on a good day," he said.
Shipers turned in a strong performance at the Pitcher/Catcher Indoor Showcase at Perfect Game headquarters in Cedar Rapids (Iowa) on Sunday, impressing scouts with his repertoire, poise and mechanics. He seemed happy with his outing.
"Pretty good," he said. "I'm stiff. I have a lot of stuff to work on. But overall, I think I did really well."
Shipers has committed to Missouri State University for next year, which means he could play baseball in college even though he's never played in high school. It's not his fault, though. South Harrison High School in Bethany, Mo., doesn't offer the sport to its students.
"Yeah, that's right," he confirmed. "We've never had a baseball team at my high school. The days that I don't work and have stuff to do, I go to Kansas City and throw bullpens and stuff. I do that every Monday. And when I don't do that, I go to a gym in our town and throw in a racquetball room and play wall-catch and stuff. I make up my own drills, pretty much."
Shipers said it's about a 75-minute drive from his home to the baseball facility in Kansas City where he trains. He works with a gentleman named Mark Martinez, who has been his pitching coach since he was 12. "He's kind of taught me the basic principles of pitching a baseball," Shipers said.
Martinez has taught him well.
Shipers has played for the Mo-Kan Giants in club baseball the last two years, giving him good exposure in summer ball. He looked into the possibility of open-enrolling at another high school that had a baseball team, but it required skipping school districts and wasn't allowed.
Shipers said there are about 375 students at South Harrison High School, including 75 in his graduating class. That seems like enough kids to have a team, but it's never worked out.
"We tried to get it, but it would make it unfair for the girls," he said, "because the guys would have more sports than the girls."
Shipers has left his mark at South Harrison High with a 3.5 GPA. Maybe some day the school will be famous for producing a successful baseball player, even though it didn't have a team.


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Archived Boards and Threads... > SMF Feedback and Discussion
What can we do to help grow our 3PDs?
<< < (3/23) > >>
nightbre... Your complaint seems odd to me...
the problem is: Support questions for 3rd party things, (mods, themes or other expansions) do not belong in the SMF 1.1.x or SMF 2.x suppoort area.
There IS a board (on simplemahcines.org) dedicated to supporting those 3rd party things. The mods board has a thread for each and every mod.
The themes board has a thread for eahc and every theme.
Questions about those mods or themes should be posted in those threads.
I provide support for a number of mods. Ones that I am familiar with... and ones in which I have marked the mod support thread as something to regularly check. You are also much more likely to have someone who has either encountered the same problem with the same mod, or is familiar with the mod when you post in the mod specific support thread.
So, it's not that I don't provide support for the 3rd party stuff... it's that the question should be asked in the appropriate area, not in general support, which is primarily for SMF base-code related questions/issues.
It is, as always, the author's repsonsibility to support anything that he writes. If SMF support staff or SMF members are familiar with the mod or can help debug it... then great (and many of us do so) but my point remains, support for 3rd party stuff does not belong in the general support area, since third party mods changes the baseline code, sometimes away from the simple answers (like the guy who has 103 mods installed...).
The other point is that people apparently don't like to read previous threads or use search... because 75% of the questions that are asked regarding mods have alreayd been answered in the support thread.
Kindred: i don't think its so much a complaint as it is feedback, to be fair.
both of you present some very good points. I do feel we need to be more open to third party development.
To be fair as well, some such mod authors ask that support inquiries go to their individual sites. We aren't just offloading it because we don't want to do it.
--- Quote ---nightbre... Your complaint seems odd to me...
--- End quote ---
You are the odd one sorry m8..., If you read the thread properly you would understand what its about and its just feedback to see how SMF can help 3PD's.
I cant be bothered to make much of a reply ive said all I think SMF needs to know,mods were used as an example.
Eliana Tamerin:
I think Kindred has a definite point. You do as well.
Some of the 3PD are so big (like TinyPortal, Arcade, Shop, etc) that their developers have seen fit to create an entire support board for them. Registration is generally open on those forums, so those that feel comfortable with offering support for those mods can become a member on those forums as well.
I think your point about overwhelmed mod authors is valid. So, too, is Kindred's point about every mod having a dedicated support thread here on Simplemachines.org. There are many mods where the authors are infrequently active, and so support is mainly handled by experienced users of the mod, rather than the author.
Also, I think it's important that we continue to stay positive about comments in here. Everybody has a valid point and should be considered without simple dismissal.
right... I wasn't trying to say nightbre was "wrong"... I just don't understand the insistance that support for 3rd party mods should be handled in the general support area.
3rd party stuff needs support, no question about it. The primary support should be the 3rd part author. Secondary support should be users and/or staff who have experience with coding or with that specific mod. However, I believe that 3rd Party support does not belong in the general support... nor should it be the primary task of support staff to support the thousands of mods that are available.
We don't even do that (officially) for Charter members.
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Locally Grown Musicians
There's no reason why the locally-grown fad should be limited to food. Here, a tasting of some locally-grown musicians:
Band/Artist: The Felice Brothers
Hails From: Palenville
Sounds Like: "Their distinct brand of songwriting and the lawless sound they've forged has earned them comparisons to Woodie Guthrie, a young Springsteen, to the Scorsese film Gangs of New York."
FYI: Heavily influenced by The Band, the Felice Brothers played with Levon Helm on one of his Midnight Rambles.
Most Recent Outing: Their self-titled debut came out in April.
Listen: www.myspace.com/thefelicebrothers
("Frankie's Gun" is one of the best songs I've heard all year. Definitely check that out.)
Band/Artist: Rhett Miller
Hails From: Gardiner
Sounds Like: " Rhett Miller is the front man and main songwriter of the hard-charging rock 'n' roll quartet."
FYI: In addition to heading out solo, Miller is a member of the band The Old 97s.
Most Recent Outing: Miller's website says that a follow-up to 2006's The Believer should be out some time in 2008. (Better get moving, Miller!)
Listen: www.myspace.com/rhettmiller
Band/Artist: Two Shots of Rye
Hails From: Harrison
Sounds Like: "The band plays unabashed, hooky pop-rock. Some people tell them they sound like Elvis Costello, or Third Eye Blind."
FYI: After releasing their debut album, in addition to getting some radio play on 107.1 The Peak and 90.7 WFUV, the band recently secured a spot on the Vans Warped Tour and played shows with Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and Paramore.
Most Recent Outing: Debut album Hooks on Tape is currently available through iTunes and the band's website.
Listen: www.twoshotsofrye.com
Obviously, that's just a couple. Plug your favorite local bands in the comments section.


text: For the second consecutive year, Haverhill has received a Massworks grant to improve the city's infrastructure and bring jobs to the area. This year's grant of $4 million was one of the largest in the state and eclipsed the $1 million grant that Haverhill received last year, which was spent on improvements to the Merrimack Street parking garage. This year's funding will help cover the cost of improvements on Merrimack Street, including a higher flood wall, repairs to the pump station that pumps water from the Little River to the Merrimack River, and repairs to the culvert that carries Little River into the Merrimack River. The flood wall improvements, which are mandated by the federal government, are expected to cost about $6 million, city officials said. The upgrades are being designed to allow a portion of the boardwalk to be built on top of the flood wall. According to Mayor James J. Fiorentini, the city's goal is to extend the boardwalk that now runs behind Haverhill Bank up to the Woolworth building.


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Eminem Criticized for Anti-Gay Lyrics in New Song
With a steady stream of singles released in recent months, it's clear that Eminem is gearing up to make a comeback. The rapper shared his latest song, "Rap God," on Oct. 15 and he has been lauded for the track's throwback attitude, but some are calling out the song's anti-gay lyrics.
According to the British newspaper the Independent, officials from the gay rights charity Stonewall said the song's lyrics are "outdated and deeply offensive," claiming Eminem, 40, is "stuck in the last century."
"It is not as though the homophobic phrases in question are particularly subtle," the Independent writes, "The first verse contains lyrics about breaking 'a mother******* table over the back of a couple faggots and crack it in half,' and, 'You fags think it's all a game.'"
Other notable lyrics in "Rap God" are: "Little gay-looking boy / So gay I can barely say it with a straight face-looking boy / You witnessing massacre like you watching a church gathering taking place-looking boy / 'Oy vey, that boy's gay,' that's all they say looking-boy."
Though the track has received praise from some music critics, Stonewall's media manger, Richard Lane, is far from sold on Eminem 2.0.
"Compared to inspirational modern artists like Frank Ocean and Macklemore, who have vocally supported tackling homophobia, Eminem seems stuck in the last century with these outdated and deeply offensive lyrics," he told the Independent.
Scott Meslow of The Week also took issue with the song's content and wrote:
"The song is bad enough - but even more disheartening has been the way that so many websites have praised Eminem's rapping on 'Rap God' while ignoring the song's problematic lyrics entirely. Time called the single 'divine.' Rolling Stone analyzed the song's influences without commenting on its content. MTV News took the time to collect Eminem's array of pop-cultural references without noting his homophobia. Worst of all is Just Jared, which took the time to painstakingly transcribe the six-minute song's lyrics - and took the coward's way out by writing '[?]' over every homophobic lyric in the song, as if they suddenly couldn't hear his crystal-clear vocals whenever he said something offensive."
Conversely the New York Daily News defended the track, writing: "Say what you will about the song's homophobia, woman-bashing, and lust for violence - and it's got scads of all three - 'Em's flow couldn't be more divine."
"Rap God" is the latest single to come off of Eminem's upcoming record, "The Marshall Mathers LP 2," out on Nov. 5, which follows up his 2010 album "Recovery."
This isn't the first time the rapper has come under fire for his anti-gay lyrics. The song "Criminal," off his 2000 critically acclaimed record "The Marshall Mathers LP," was criticized because of the lyric: "My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge / That'll stab you in the head / Whether you're a fag or a lez."
He made headlines around the release of that album after performing with Elton John at the Grammys. But, as the Independent reports, Eminem has gone on record saying he is not homophobic and told the New York Times in 2010 that he supports marriage equality.
"Everyone should have the chance to be equally miserable," he said. "I think I've calmed down a bit. My overall look on things is a lot more mature than it used to be."
Also in 2010, he spoke with Anderson Cooper on "60 Minutes" about the use of anti-gay lyrics in his music.
"That word was thrown around so much, you know? Faggot was, like, it was thrown around constantly, to each other, like in battling, you know what I mean?" he asked. He then said he does not hate the LGBT community.
"I don't have any problem with nobody, you know what I mean. Like, I'm just whatever."
Later in the interview when Cooper asked Eminem how he felt being labeled as a homophobe and GLAAD's criticism on him he said, "I felt like I was being attacked. I was being singled out. And I felt like, is it because of the color of my skin? Is it because that, you're paying more attention? Is it because there's certain rappers that do and say the same things that I'm saying. And I don't hear no one saying anything about that. I didn't just invent saying offensive things."
Listen to "Rap God" below:


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September 2, 2011 > The Bookworm: Living in the Village by Ryan C. Mack
You've learned your lesson.In the past four years, you've learned that you can't spend frivolously. You can't use credit unwisely, there's no "wiggle room" on bill-paying, and the only way to face your future is to put money back into your own pocket with savings and investments.Easier said than done? Not really, according to author Ryan C. Mack. In his book "Living in the Village", he explains how money can work for you and for your community.So you've come through the Great Recession and you're rebuilding your financial life, but you've come to realize that you want to do more with what you've got. Mack says that there's no time like the present to educate yourself about managing the money you earn.To begin, track your spending and see where your money goes. Be truthful with yourself when looking at your spending habits, then learn how to make a budget you can stick with. It helps to set goals and to understand how millionaires shop. Learn the pitfalls of spending, why you shouldn't use an ATM, and why those rent-to-own places will put a serious hole in your wallet.Become knowledgeable about insurance, and make sure you have enough of the right kind. This should lead you into planning an estate for those you leave behind someday - including family members, charities, and any pay-it-forward groups you want to bequeath.Though you shouldn't be using credit cards indiscriminately, the wise use of credit is important for your financial future. Your FICO is key, and Mack explains how you can raise that number. He also explains how to get rid of high-risk debt by negotiating with creditors and knowing your rights.Boost your workplace retirement fund then set up an IRA for your retirement. Get rid of low-risk debt, and learn the smart way to purchase a car or house. Select the right advisor, someone who shares your vision for your future. Learn how to invest your money for the best return. Give yourself a good emergency fund for just-in-case situations.Tired of being broke, or close to it? "Living in the Village" can set you on a path away from poverty, but - as you've probably guessed - it won't be easy.Author and financial expert Ryan C. Mack writes with clarity and his step-by-step explanations are do-able for anyone who wants to get their house in order, money-wise. He's thorough, too, and covers all bases in this book, although that may be overwhelming for anyone who's starting from financial scratch.Still, Mack does some hand-holding and offers enough personal support to keep his readers from becoming discouraged. It's also helpful that he targets specific groups (religious leaders, parents, the formerly incarcerated, and so on) with specialized tips most useful for them.Overall, if you're ready to put your money where your future is, or if you want to set a good example for your children, "Living in the Village" may inspire you. Then get ready to be prosperous. Haven't you earned that?c.2010, St. Martin's Griffin$14.99 / $16.99 Canada302 pages, includes worksheets


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RAY BROOK - State forest rangers are expanding the primary search area for an Australian soldier who was last seen here two weeks ago.
For the past three days, the effort to locate Paul John McKay has been focused along the railroad tracks in the Scarface Mountain area, not far from where he was last seen on Dec. 31. Teams of volunteers led by forest rangers conducted an exhaustive grid-by-grid search in that area through the weekend and Monday, Jan. 13.
Beginning today, rangers plan to expand the primary search area east to Old Military Road near Lake Placid and southeast to include Seymour Mountain.
Article Photos
A search and rescue volunteer makes her way through the woods in Ray Brook Monday, looking for signs of Paul McKay, who's been missing for two weeks and was last seen near this location.
(Photo by Chris Knight)
"During the next week, DEC Forest Rangers will be searching trails, paths, drainages and locations in attempt to locate Mr. McKay or any clues, such as tracks, gear, garbage, etc. that may indicate Mr. McKay's whereabouts," state Department of Environmental Conservation spokesman David Winchell wrote in an email. "Volunteers will not be needed for the search efforts planned during this period."
A person fitting McKay's description was last seen walking east on the railroad tracks near the federal prison in Ray Brook, carrying a large backpack and wearing a winter jacket and snow pants. That was around noon on New Year's Eve, two days after McKay flew to the U.S. from Australia and then took a bus to Saranac Lake. He was reported missing by his father on Jan. 3 after his son sent him an email saying he was leaving him all his possessions. His family didn't know he had traveled to the U.S.
Police have said the 31-year-old was on leave from the Australian Army at the time of his disappearance and that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Even though McKay was last seen carrying a large backpack and wearing winter hiking gear, he may not have had the kind of cold-weather camping equipment needed to survive in the backcountry, forest ranger Lt. Gary Friedrich said Monday.
"The thing is, we can't put any winter camping gear in his pack," Friedrich said. "He did not have that available to him in Australia, and we're fairly certain in our investigation with Saranac Lake PD that he did not purchase that stuff in the United States. He has a large pack, but in the pictures that appear, the compression straps are not fully expanded so the pack is not chock-full of stuff. It's a large pack that's fairly empty."
Police have checked with local outfitters and store owners and haven't found any evidence that McKay stocked up on food or camping gear while he was in the area, Friedrich said.
Friedrich said the lack of any signs of McKay after roughly 10 days of effort has made this search very challenging.
Roughly 30 volunteers from several state-certified search-and-rescue teams have been involved since Saturday, including members of Search and Rescue of the Northern Adirondacks, Lower Adirondack Search and Rescue and the Central Adirondack Search and Rescue Team. The volunteers have been conducting a Type 3 or grid search on either side of the railroad tracks east of the federal prison.
"It's an intensive hand-in-hand search where we guide off string line in a pre-laid-out block, and we're basically walking through looking for any evidence of the subject," said forest ranger Glen Bronson, who led group of a dozen volunteers into the woods Monday.
The rough terrain doesn't make this kind of search easy. The volunteers have to push their way through a thick, hilly balsam fir forest, over ground that's covered in several inches of snow and ice.
"It's very dense," Bronson said. "It's basically 10 feet of visibility through most of it. We're shoulder to shoulder walking through there."
It's also time-consuming. Bronson said it took his group about an hour to sweep an area that's 40 to 50 yards wide for half a mile in one direction.
Still, the searchers aren't getting discouraged.
"These are all trained people," Bronson said. "They all know what they're coming for. Just because we don't find something doesn't mean it's not productive. We eliminate areas until we find them."
"This is what we do. This is our hobby," said Pat McGinn, who lives in the Lake George area and is a member of Lower Adirondack Search and Rescue. "We'd like to have closure for the family. That's who we work for."
While many of the volunteers involved in the search traveled here from across the Adirondacks or other parts of the region, some were local. Dan Groves lives in Ray Brook.
"I just wanted to help because I felt like it's the right thing to do," he said. "This guy's a veteran. He's done a lot for us. Being a father, too, I think that if my kid was in the same position, I'd want somebody else going out to look for him."
Outside of the primary search, Winchell said rangers checked the Pine Pond trail and a portion of the Northville-Placid Trail on Monday. Over the weekend, in addition to the grid search, rangers checked other trails and paths in and near the primary search area. An environmental conservation officer also checked empty buildings. Several rangers have been staffing an incident command center at the DEC Region 5 headquarters in Ray Brook.
Anyone with information about McKay's whereabouts is asked to call Saranac Lake police at 518-891-4428 or DEC dispatch at 518-897-1300.