text:
Even though I live in NZ and we already have an R18 rating, distributors are lazy and just send us the edited version they send to Australia.
They did with GTA4 and Witcher 2 (that I know of).
I have to admit, I'm a little bit excited to see our country move forward with this. However, I will maintain a healthy level of trepidation until it actually passes.
I agree, I am not holding my breath on this until the classification passes.
I found it rather stupid that video game classifications did not have the similar Video classifications, those being, G for "General Exhibition", PG "Parental Guidance", M, for "Mature Audiences"; and R18+ "Restricted to 18 and above". The highest Game classification is MA15+ which IMHO is stupid. For more details see here [wikipedia.org]. The X18+ classification for film is interesting especially since kids can view pornography on-line.
The X18+ classification for film is interesting especially since kids can view pornography on-line.
Have you so quickly forgotten the Great Filter of Australia this very same government was planning, not that long ago? Don't tempt them.
Basically all these classifications still don't absolve parents from policing what their child can and cannot watch although reasonable ratings do help parents make informed decisions but unfortunately many parents appear to distance themselves from parenting preferring to let Government and so called moral groups dictate that.
Indeed, and it would be interesting to see what impact this has on the retailers. You won't find the big retailers stocking R18+ movies, so will they take the R18+ games off their shelves? How about downloadable games, which would be legally accessible but practically unenforceable?
I'm not saying an R rating for games shouldn't happen, but you can imagine just what kind of
Basically all these classifications still don't absolve parents from policing what their child can and cannot watch although reasonable ratings do help parents make informed decisions but unfortunately many parents appear to distance themselves from parenting preferring to let Government and so called moral groups dictate that.
I'm not a parent, but I was a kid, and there's only so much you can do to prevent your kid from seeing things you don't want them to see.
I say this not to endorse censorship (I'm completely against it), but to say I understand they parents concerns. However, tough luck. I value freedom more than some naive notion that you can shield your child from the realities of the world. Best just to teach them how to deal with it.
They'll charge half the price of a retail box here? Like they already do?
About Time....
it has been ridiculous not having one...
But this will turn out to be another example of unintended consequences.
16 year old who has been playing Call of Battle 1 & 2, rated 15+ will now have to beg parents to buy Call of Battle 3 which is rated R18+ even though the content is the same.
Parents will realise 18+ rating is to be ignored, and when Gory Psycho Killer comes out 18+ will also buy it for him, even though the warning of "strong adult themes" should be heeded in this case.
So I would argue that, not having a MA15+ category will actually
Parents will realise 18+ rating is to be ignored, and when Gory Psycho Killer comes out 18+ will also buy it for him, even
However the draft poposal states
Computer games will be refused classification if they include or contain any of the following:
Detailed instruction or promotion in matters of crime or violence.
The promotion or provision of instruction in paedophile activity.
Descriptions or depictions of child sexual abuse or any other exploitative or offensive
descriptions or depictions involving a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 years.
Gratuitous, exploitative or offensive depictions of:
(i) violence with a very high degree of impact or which are excessively frequent,
prolonged or detailed;
(ii) cruelty or real violence which are very detailed or which have a high impact;
(iii) sexual violence.
Sexual violence related to incentives and rewards.
Depictions of practices such as bestiality.
Gratuitous, exploitative or offensive depictions of:
(i) activity accompanied by fetishes or practices which are offensive or abhorrent;
(ii) incest fantasies or other fantasies which are offensive or abhorrent.
Detailed instruction in the use of proscribed drugs.
Material promoting or encouraging proscribed drug use.
As a general rule, computer games will also be Refused Classification if they contain:
(i) drug use related to incentives or rewards;
(ii) interactive drug use which is detailed and realistic.
Mafia games, drugg runner games, and rape games might not get a RC status, which will be be the ultimate "must have" label for those people searching the limits,
If i read this, SAW 3D, the movie might be allowed, but SAW 3d the game might be RC (and RC means normal stores will not carry this. ). (disclaimer, i did not see saw, but i suppose it scores very high on the violence with high impact )
Does this reflect austrlian morality as in normal socialty? (c
This guideline offends my morality, decency and propriety.
With vauge crap like that why even have a rule...
This guideline offends my morality, decency and propriety.
With vauge crap like that why even have a rule...
Basically it's worded like this to bring it in line with the laws applying to other media. Bear in mind that government censorship of non-political speech is constitutionally legal in Australia, and applied to all commercially distributed media and some personal imports.
Wording the law like this is actually a good idea (if we have to have censorship at all), because it allows for the fluctuating standards of society. For example, the film Last Tango in Paris was originally "banned" (refused classification) in Australia because depicting two strangers having a sexual relationship without knowing each other's names or having any other social connection was considered morally reprehensible (this despite the fact that the film doesn't condone or glorify this in any way). In the 90s, the film was finally classified and distributed for public screening because the original arguments no longer represented the majority view of morality in Australian society.
"Vauge [sic] crap" like that is how almost every country words their determination. Laws don't go through and explicitely list every act that is prohibited, in detail, so as to make an ultimate, initial determination. They instead list broad categories that are excluded (eg, bestiality) and always leave a clause for morally objectionable material - a determination of which can be made on a case by case basis.
Huh? Yay? Nay?
Bout freakin' time too. Why should consenting intelligent adults have descisions about what games are banned from release in Australia and what they can and can't play made for them by a nanny government. Obviously the rest of the world can make that descision for themselves. Not having the rating and banning the games instead is like hiding your head in the sand. Even kids can still download or buy the banned games from overseas. at least parents can now be made aware of the titles that are rated unsuitab
Ah, it all becomes clear. The Duke Nukem Forever release has just been waiting until Australia gets an R18+ rating!
In all seriousness yes, we need some more violent games here. Letting off steam by playing some Mortal Kombat would be great.
Unfortunately we can't do that here in Australia as that game, along with many others has been banned by censors who have played the game and determined that anyone who plays it will become insane (I guess they might have a point in a way).
John Rau, however, is not.
The real solution to this is to simply abolish the classification board on it's current form. Instead replace it with a voluntary games classification system run by industry, with regular audits by a government body to ensure industry is complying by it's own rules.
Oh and keep it at the federal level, I'm sick of some dickhead ex-lawyer hicks at the state level blocking everything that doesn't agree with their mates in the Christian lobby.
So... murder is accepted by the general populace to be moral and decent now? Really, how much worse can you get than murder and destruction? I don't understand the point of that little exception (especially since they're just games anyway).
Obviously there's a big gap between reality and fantasy. And even in fantasy there's a good gap between the "I'm seeing a drama about a person being killed" as opposed to "I'm playing an FPS and just shot two guys".To murder is not the same as watching a murder which is not the same as pretending to murder someone.
What I don't understand is why murder is generally fine for American/Australian/Canadian audiences, but rape is somehow not.
Even consensual sex is considered much, much worse than murder. Suggesting polygamy or drugs? That's even worse! I find that very disturbing.
The party adjourned to a hot tub, yes. Fully clothed, I might add. -- IBM employee, testifying in California State Supreme Court


text:
A quarter of a century ago, Mark Morris made a dance out of Handel's oratorio "L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato." Now he's taken on the Handel opera "Acis and Galatea," the composer's most popular work during his lifetime. This new piece, which the Celebrity Series co-commissioned and is presenting at the Shubert Theatre, offers few fresh ideas from Morris. But it's light and pleasing, and his hop-skip-and-jump choreography is as well suited to Ovid's pastoral tale as it was to Milton's.
The Sicilian-set story is a simple one. In the first act, the chorus sings of how "Happy nymphs and happy swains! / Harmless, merry, free and gay, / dance and sport the hours away" before shepherd Acis and sea nymph Galatea pledge their love. In the second, an unwanted suitor for Galatea arrives, the monstrous Cyclops Polyphemus, personifying the volcanic Mount Etna, nature's darker side. When Acis tries to defend Galatea, Polyphemus buries him under a rock. Galatea, mourning, turns her beloved into a "gentle murm'ring stream, / shepherds' pleasure, muses' theme."
The colors of this "Acis and Galatea," which premiered last month at Cal Performances in Berkeley, are decidedly Mediterranean. Adrianne Lobel, who did the sets for "L'Allegro," has devised abstractly forestlike painted backdrops on which Michael Chybowski rings nuanced lighting changes. Isaac Mizrahi, also a longtime Morris collaborator, has outfitted the dancers in swirling chiffon dresses and skirts of mottled yellow, green, and brown that suggest the libretto's "verdant plains and woody mountains."
At the Shubert, the four vocal soloists join the dancers onstage, with the Handel and Haydn Period Orchestra and Chorus and conductor Nicholas McGegan in the pit. Morris is not using Handel's own orchestration but rather Mozart's 1788 "update." He has argued that this more colorful arrangement, with its added bassoon and pairs of flutes, clarinets, and horns, "swings in a way that Handel's doesn't," but it does not trip as easily as Handel intended, or with the same sense of gentle pastoral parody.
The libretto, by John Gay with Alexander Pope and John Hughes, was translated into German for Mozart's Viennese audience. Morris's version is, sensibly, being sung in the original English. On Thursday evening, however, the witty text was barely intelligible from the singers, despite what appeared to be conscientious efforts to enunciate, and even less legible on the supertitles overhead. The chorus was ravishing, particularly in the threnody "Mourn, all ye muses!," but McGegan's phrasing was square, the Musette (from Handel's Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, No. 6) that opened act two seemed heavy-handed, and the orchestra overall sounded oddly murky.
Pawing and groping the dancers, both male and female, as they pass by, Douglas Williams's Polyphemus is the most playful, and characterful, of the soloists. Thomas Cooley and Sherezade Panthaki are earnest, strong-voiced, and a bit stolid as Acis and Galatea; Zach Finkelstein is sweet but bland as Acis's shepherd friend Damon. Mizrahi's outfits, so enticing on the dancers, do the singers no favors; Acis and Damon seem to be wearing camouflage pajamas.
Morris's choreography, as always, tends to illustrate the music rather than illuminate it. Here he does not stretch your imagination in the way that Wayne McGregor's 2009 "Acis and Galatea" did at the Royal Opera House, with Edward Watson and Lauren Cuthbertson, in bodystockings, graphically entwining themselves about each other. He keeps to the comfortable confines of the text while remaining alert to its word-setting possibilities.
No individual dancers are assigned to double the solo vocalists; this is an ensemble piece about community and healing. The dancers — the women in those chiffon dresses, the men bare-chested and in chiffon skirts — run onstage as if they had just left a classical frieze or vase, their arms upraised in invocation and imprecation. They lilt, they loll, they gambol like spring lambs, they gather for country dances. They offer themselves to the gods, or the universe. At the words "See, how thy flocks in yonder valley stray," they make like straying sheep; later, eight marching men form a line to protect Acis from Polyphemus, but when the Cyclops glares at them, they sidestep sheepishly offstage.
Throughout, Morris teases ballet conventions, and that helps keep his motivic gestures and thematic patterns from becoming rote and repetitive over the evening's two hours (including a 20-minute intermission). In fact, I wish he had stuck with Handel's orchestration — Mozart seems too heavy for this choreography — and teased just a little more.Jeffrey Gantz can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Axel Scherer
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology
Visiting Professor of Engineering
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology
Axel Scherer is the Bernard A. Neches Professor of Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics and Physics at Caltech. He received his PhD in 1985, and after working in the Microstructures Research Group at Bellcore, he joined the Electrical Engineering option at Caltech in 1993. Professor Scherer's group now works on micro- and nanofabrication of optical, magnetic and fluidic devices. He has co-authored over 300 publications and holds over 70 patents in the fields of optoelectronics, microfluidics, and new nanofabrication techniques. Professor Scherer has co-founded three high-technology companies and built a state of the art laboratory for advanced high-resolution lithography and pattern transfer at Caltech. He has pioneered microcavity lasers such as vertical cavity surface emitting lasers, microdisk lasers and photonic crystal lasers in many materials systems. Presently, his group works on integration of microfluidic chips with electronic, photonic and magnetic sensors. His group has also developed silicon nanophotonics and surface plasmon enhanced light emitting diodes, and has perfected the fabrication and characterization of ultra-small structures by lithography and electron microscopy.
- BSc, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology 1981
- MSc, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology 1982
- PhD, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology 1985
Research Interests
Design and integration of functional nanostructures for optical, electronic, magnetic, microfluidic applications; silicon nanophotonics and opto-fluidic integration; photonic crystal optical nanocavities; miniaturization of magnetic manipulators and nuclear magnetic resonance sensors; monolithic integration of microfluidics, thermal management and detection systems for chemical and biological analysis; automation of lithographic tools for the construction and evaluation of nanofabricated devices
Selected Publications
(Most cited)
- Two-dimensional photonic band-gap defect mode laser, Painter, O; Lee, RK; Scherer, A, et al. SCIENCE, 284 Issue: 5421, pp1819-1821, JUN 11 1999 (Times Cited: 1,178)
- Monolithic microfabricated valves and pumps by multilayer soft lithography, Unger, MA; Chou, HP; Thorsen, T, Scherer A, Quake,SR, SCIENCE, 288 Issue: 5463, pp113-116 APR 7 2000 (Times Cited: 1,089 )
- Coupled-resonator optical waveguide: a proposal and analysis, A. Yariv, A; Xu, Y; Lee, RK, Scherer, A, OPTICS LETTERS, 24 Issue: 11, pp711-713, JUN 1 1999 (Times Cited: 662)
- Vacuum Rabi splitting with a single quantum dot in a photonic crystal nanocavity, Yoshie, T; Scherer, A; Hendrickson, J, et al. NATURE, 432, pp200-203, 2004 (Times Cited: 636)
- From micro- to nanofabrication with soft materials, Quake, SR; Scherer, A, SCIENCE, 290 Issue: 5496, pp1536-1540, NOV 24 2000 (Times Cited: 522)
- Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers - Design, Growth, Fabrication, Characterization, Jewell, JL; Harbison, JP; Scherer, A, IEEE Journal Of Quantum Electronics, 27 Issue: 6, pp1332-1346 , JUN 1991 (Times Cited: 340)
- National Academy of Inventors® (NAI) Charter Fellow (2014)
- The Langmuir Prize for best engineering graduate student New Mexico Tech (1985)
- The Arno Penzius Tee-shirt award (for monolithic VCSEL development 1989)
- Feynman-Hughes Award (1995)
- Distinguished Inventor of 1991 (for VCSEL Microlaser patent) Intellectual Property Owners Incorporated
- Bernard A. Neches Chair (2000)
- Alexander v. Humboldt Research Award (2003)
Engineering Professors Named 2014 National Academy of Inventors Fellows
December 17, 2014
Stick, Press, Diagnosis: Rapid Diagnosis on a Global Scale
December 1, 2014
In Dartmouth Engineer Magazine
Spring 2015


text:
May 31, 2007
If you're seeking asylum, try to seek it in San Francisco.
5 comments:
- The Drill SGT said...
I read it as a typical NYT slanted piece. A couple of examples:
1. Appearance of cherry picking stats. The study ran from 98-05. An unbiased article would seem to choose either a 98 start date for comparisions or a 2001 (Bush start) as the basis. But here, we go with 2001 in the first example, then switch to 2003 for the second, which leads me to believe that asylum grants actually went up over 98-05 and 01-05, which is why we went with 03-05The study looked at 76,000 decisions by the appeals board from 1998 through 2005... Asylum applicants who were represented by lawyers received favorable appeals decisions from the board in 43 percent of cases in 2001, the year before the changes took effect. By 2005, asylum seekers with lawyers won their appeals in 13 percent of cases....snip...
Over all, the number of people winning asylum in the United States has declined, dropping by about 12 percent from 28,684 in 2003 to 25,257 in 2005, the last year when complete figures are available.
2. Completely irrelevant linkages Ms. Goodling testified last week that she had "crossed the line" in applying political considerations to candidates for nonpartisan legal jobs. Immigration judges are appointed by the attorney general, and 49 of 226 current judges were appointed during the tenure of Mr. Gonzales. for better or worse, judges appointed by the AG or President are political. this quote was a bogus linkage trying to make it seem like Gonzales did something wrong by appointing folks that would enforce immigration laws. One bets that many of those female judges who had previously worked for organizations that defended the rights of immigrants or the poor were political decisions by Clinton
- Richard Dolan said...
The problem -- similar cases being decided very differently -- has plagued other areas of the law. The experience with efforts at reform in those areas likely provides a pretty good prediction of the results that similar efforts at reform would generate in immigration cases. The two most comparable areas where such reforms were adopted, expressly for the purpose of reducing disparities in outcomes, involved sentencing in federal criminal cases and disability determinations in Social Security cases. The solution to the disparity problem in both of those instances was the elimination of discretion in the decision-maker (US district judge for sentences, and ALJ for Social Security cases) by the adoption of fairly rigid decision-directing matrices.
Today sentences in federal criminal cases are governed by detailed calculations of the defendant's "guidelines score," determined by applying the sentencing guidelines. Among other things, the guidelines provide a 2 point "bonus" for "acceptance of responsibility" (= pleading guilty); increase of decrease the "score" depending on the amount of the "loss" and the defendant's role in directing the criminal activity, etc. (The "acceptance of responsibility" bonus has become a powerful factor in decreasing the frequency with which federal criminal cases are tried rather than resolved by a plea.) Indeed, negotiations with the prosecutor over the guidelines "score" and what position the prosecutor will take on it, are one of the most important aspects today of a lawyer's representation of a federal criminal defendant. The result of the adoption of the guidelines system has been much greater uniformity in federal sentences (the intended objective). But the proponents of more uniformity did not count on another consequence of the "reform": since the adoption of the guidelines, federal sentences are much harsher overall, and have resulted in much longer periods of incarceration and a significantly increased prison population overall.
It's easy to see how the same "solution" could be imposed to deal with the disparities in the outcomes of these immigration cases. And no other solution seems available, if the problem is defined as the disparity of results as reported in this article. What is more difficult to see are the unintended consequences of removing discretion and replacing it with a decision-directing matrix. I suspect that the net result, like the one generated by the sentencing guidelines, would be more uniformity but also more harshness in immigration cases generally.
- PatCA said...
A disparity is only bad if you think the goal of asylum hearings is to grant asylum to all who ask.
I'm sure that verdicts for any civil claim vary from one jurisdiction to another. Is that variety significant, or part of the vagary of human attempts at justice?
I would suppose a google search would tell me that these three lawyers are immigration advocates. I know...let's do away with the asylum courts and just let everybody in!
- Thorley Winston said...
I agree with Richard Dolan. The "disparities" are probably the result of judicial discretion and if federal sentencing guidelines are any indication, the price of ending the "disparities" and getting a more uniform system of results could be even fewer requests for asylum being granted.
- Revenant said...
One bets that many of those female judges who had previously worked for organizations that defended the rights of immigrants or the poor were political decisions by Clinton
It is arguable that Clinton was tougher on immigration than Bush is. Clinton just refused to enforce the immigration laws; Bush is actively working to reward those who ignore them. I'm sad to say it, but as a person concerned about illegal immigration I'm forced to wish the Bush Administration had appointed *fewer* judges. Its a damned sorry state of affairs when a Democrat looks like the lesser of two immigration evils.
Anyway, I don't see the article as being a standard NYT lefty hit piece; it draws attention to the fact that the courts -- which are about to get flooded with millions of new cases -- are already total basket cases.


text:
Adjutant General A.C. Blalock
Original Air Date: 3/21/2008
Five years after the start of the Iraq Invasion, the Adjutant General of the Alabama National Guard, A.C. Blalock joins us. Our panel of journalists will discuss the Guards role in the war and how much longer an American Military presence will be needed there. Hunter Ford from the Western Star and Sebastian Kitchen of the Press-Register join Tim Lennox.
Price: $24.99
Includes Free Shipping!


text:
Traffic tops list of resident concerns for Lodges development
The Cranston Planning Commission has their work cut out for them after hearing nearly five hours of testimony from developers and residents alike on the Lodges at Phenix Glen proposal. The meeting ran until just before midnight last Tuesday, leaving the commission with a lot to consider before their April meeting, at which time they will render a decision on initial approval or denial of the development.
The Procaccianti Group and TPG Development, LLC, has proposed a mixed-use planned district for the area on Phenix Avenue just off the ramp to Route 37, before the Cranston Veterans Memorial Ice Rink. The development would include 7,200 square feet of office space, 192 residential rental units and a resident-only clubhouse and swimming pool.
"The Lodges will be a top quality, upscale development with rents at or above what is in the city today. We are confident that The Lodges represent the best type of development consistent with the Comprehensive Plan," said Michael Voccola, Esq., manager for the applicant and corporate vice president of The Procaccianti Group.
Residents are not so sure. While speakers both for and against the proposal stepped forward, the majority were Ward 4 homeowners who urged the Planning Commission to deny the application.
Resident Katie King, for example, is hesitant to sign on when there is no information on what businesses would be moving in and what type of traffic they would generate.
"When you have retail, that means you have KFC, you have Taco Bell and you have McDonalds. They will be coming and going; anything can come in," she said.
Fred Joslyn, a resident who has led the charge against the development, keeping his neighbors in the loop about public meetings for The Lodges, is adamantly opposed to this proposal.
"This project for the Natick Avenue and Phenix Avenue area is totally inappropriate," he said. "The density in this project is far in excess of anything that is reasonable for this area."
Former Councilman Robert Pelletier agreed, pointing out that the Comprehensive Plan mentions the potential for a village center when detailing future development on Phenix Avenue. He believes the current plan "grossly exceeds" the definition of a village center.
The area, Joslyn continued, is steeped in history, from the Oaklawn Grange to homes on the National Register. He fears that a development the size of The Lodges would negatively impact the character of the surrounding neighborhoods.
And while the developer pointed to increased tax revenue from the project, Joslyn said the costs outweigh the benefits. He used another rental development, Independence Place apartments, as an example. In 2011, Cranston Police responded to 85 emergency calls from the complex. The previous year, the numbers were comparable, with 87 calls.
"I dare say that if there were single family homes at this project site, there wouldn't be as many calls," Joslyn said.
Voccola said that the services utilized by The Lodges residents would be minimal, as snow removal, waste collection, street maintenance and lighting would all be maintained in-house. The costs associated with connecting to the sewers, either across 295 or through existing residential pipes, would also be paid for by TPG.
"There is sufficient capacity in the city sewer system … it will not tax any of the city systems at more than 10 percent at the most critical point," said Peter Alviti Jr., a sanitary sewer engineer for Hudson Place Associates, who was one of seven experts to testify on behalf of the developer.
Moreover, the property is not as likely to attract families with school-age children as single-family homes, which he surmised would result in less education dollars spent on the increased population.
"It has little or no amenities that attract families that have children," said Joseph Lombardo, a certified land use planner with JDL Enterprises.
The project summary details that the rental units are geared toward renters ages 40 to 65 and will not include affordable housing, as was previously thought by residents in the area. The amount of taxes brought in, by comparison, would be roughly $118,000 annually, not including the fees and construction costs that would be funneled into the city during construction. The state would collect an estimated $1.5 million in sales tax revenue for this project, as well as motor vehicle taxes and permanent jobs resulting from the commercial office space.
Joslyn wasn't impressed. When divided by the city's population, he noted that the net gain is just $1.47 per resident – an increase he does not believe validates the development.
Drake Patten, a Phenix Avenue resident and former Providence City Planning Commissioner, said she did not envy the commission, as the job before them is a difficult one. She understands that emotions are irrelevant to the discussion but said it was impossible for residents of the area not to feel protective of their space. When she left Providence for Cranston, and thereby invested in the city, she was confident that the rural character of her neighborhood would be protected.
"Together, I know we can do something remarkable and something so much better than what we see here tonight," she said.
Former Councilman Aram Garabedian, a co-trustee of the Deb Bonis Sand and Gravel Company that owns the land, disagrees and said Cranston could do much worse. He is confident that the land will be developed one way or the other, and previous proposals included as much as 80,000 square feet of commercial space. He believes that misinformation is permeating public perception of the project, and casting the developers in an unfairly negative light.
"It's fear that drives everyone. You've got to disprove it with facts and figures," he said. "I feel the project has merit."
Matthew Coppa was one of the residents to speak in favor of the project, and he agreed with Garabedian.
"If you as a commission take these misperceptions into account, you are doing a disservice," he said. "There's virtually nothing to dislike about the plan. I think we're fortunate to have them willing to make this investment."
By far, however, the biggest concern for residents is traffic.
"There is already a terrible traffic problem that needs to be addressed," said David Nadeau. "If this proposal is passed, traffic can and will get worse."
He said the development "will cause more traffic, congestion and chaos."
By increasing the "storage length" of the turn lanes on either side of Phenix, the traffic engineers commissioned by TPG said that traffic would be mitigated enough to minimize the overall impact. The developer would also put a light at the entrance of the development, repaint the street lines and slightly widen the lanes during repainting. The traffic signals would be retimed to optimize response.
"Our proposed improvements will provide adequate capacity and we have developed a mitigation plan … that will result in the delays not increasing from increasing conditions. Some of the movements at these intersections will improve from our efforts," said Robert Clinton, the transportation engineer with Vanasse Hanger Brustlin, Inc.
The audience scoffed at that explanation, and residents maintain that the traffic problems will only worsen if this development goes through. In speaking with constituents, House Majority Leader Rep. Nicholas Mattiello said it is clear how the majority of the area feels about the plan.
"I don't think they want nothing, but I think they believe it's too much," he said. "I don't think this is what was envisioned when they said this side of the city would be developed."
If the proposal is approved by the Planning Commission next month, it will need to undergo a detailed plan review, a site plan review and then will go before another public meeting at the Cranston City Council. Finally, it will return to the Planning Commission for final approval.
"This is just the beginning of a very long process," said Peter Lapolla, director of the city's Planning Department.
what about the impact on the school system that cries "poor mouth" every year.


text: When firefighter Jeremy (Josh Duhamel) witnesses a violent crime, he is put into the witness protection programme to hide him from white power crime boss David Hagan (Vincent D'Onofrio). While hiding out in New Orleans, Jeremy falls for Talia (Rosario Dawson) one of the police officers working his case, and when Hagan's gang threatens her, Jeremy takes the law into his own hands. Continue reading


text:
Question from a student:
Is "ascension" a real valid phenomenon?
Nowhere in the New Message or the Allies books did I find a direct mention of what the new age movement refers to as "ascension", progression from 3D physicality to 5D.
Reply from Ellen:
Just as there are no other races or groups from the cosmos who are going to rescue us, neither is "ascension"going to rescue us.
Can you feel the human longing to be rescued? That longing makes us very vulnerable to manipulation! Races that wish to "persuade us" have only to play on that longing. The Allies of humanity warn us to be very, very careful.
We must ourselves do the hard work to secure the freedom and sovereignty of our planet, to unite our people, to take care of the resources of our Earth. We have within us the greatness to do this! We have a spiritual nature that we can learn to turn to and rely on. We know and value freedom. It is our intended destiny to remain free, so that ultimately our world might join the network of rare free races in the universe. Yet this is not guaranteed.
If we give over the 'keys to our kingdom' to the Intervening races that are pacifying and persuading us, then all that humanity has gained will be lost, and we will become colonized, slaves to our captors.
We must 'rescue' ourselves, not hope that other races, or some dimensional Ascension will rescue us.


text:
Given what's at stake, and the lateness of the season, this is no time for the Indians' defense to rear its ugly head.
On Aug. 22 it reared its ugly head.
Oh yeah, and the Indians' base running wasn't so hot, either.
In a complete collapse in two half-innings at the end of the game, the Indians handed the lowly Houston Astros four unearned runs and a gift-wrapped 5-1 victory at Progressive Field.
"If we want to continue to be in this thing we have to play a lot cleaner than that," said Indians manager Terry Francona, after the deluge. "We can't play like that and expect to win."
So they lost — in the most gruesome way possible.
"That's not the way we want to play," said Francona. "Losing a game is one thing. Losing like that is another."
With the score tied 1-1 in the top of the ninth reliever Cody Allen walked Chris Carter. Dexter Fowler then hit a grounder to first baseman Carlos Santana, who was aiming for second base, but threw the ball into left field for Indians major league-leading error No.98.
That put runners at first and third with one out.
Fowler then broke for second base and the throw from Tribe catcher Roberto Perez arrived on one hop, with the ball skidding into shallow right field for Indians major league-leading error No. 99.
"One of his strengths is catching and throwing," said Francona of Perez. "But he sped up there and the throw was so short we couldn't do anything with it."
Gregorio Petit, pinch running for Carter, scored from third on the play, giving Houston a 2-1 lead.
After Jason Castro drew a walk and Marwin Gonzalez reached on a fielder's choice grounder that resulted in Fowler getting thrown out at the plate, Allen gave up a three-run home run by Jon Singleton over the left field wall to make it 5-1.
"Cody's forced to throw 25 pitches (because of the errors), and he left one up and it got hit out," said Francona.
The Indians' bottom of the eighth inning was just as ugly as their top of the ninth.
The Indians ran themselves out of a great scoring opportunity when they had runners at first and second with no outs. But Mike Aviles, the runner at second, was picked off as he wandered too far off the base on an attempted sacrifice bunt by Perez.
A couple pitches later Tyler Holt was thrown out trying to steal third base, and that officially asphyxiated the rally.
"Aviles got too aggressive and wound up in no man's land," said Francona. "Tyler has to be sure he can make that, but with youth comes youthful mistakes."
The chaotic ending overshadowed another outstanding start by Carlos Carrasco, his third in a row since being put back in the Indians' rotation. Carrasco pitched six innings, giving up one run on two hits with eight strikeouts and two walks.
"He did a really good job. Even as he starts to tire he keeps on pitching. He was the bright spot tonight," Francona said.
"I tried to mix my pitches and give our team a chance to win," said Carrasco.
In three starts since re-joining the rotation Carrasco is 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA, having allowed one earned run on seven hits in 18 innings, with 17 strikeouts and two walks. In his three starts Carrasco has held opposing batters to a .117 batting average (7-for-60).
Carrasco held the Astros scoreless on one hit, an infield single, through the first four innings. He retired 12 of the first 14 batters he faced before Gonzalez led off the top of the fifth inning by lining a home run into the seats in right field, giving the Astros a 1-0 lead.
Houston starter Brad Peacock was just as stingy as Carrasco in the early going. In his previous five starts Peacock was 0-3 with a 10.80 ERA and opposing teams hit .366 against him.
You'd never know it on this night however, as Peacock held the Indians to one run on two hits in five innings.
The only run scored by the Indians off Peacock came in in the bottom of the fifth inning on a solo home run by Zach Walters with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Walters has hit five home runs since coming to the Indians from Washington in the July 31 Asdrubal Cabrera trade. All five of those home runs have either tied the game or put the Indians in the lead.
Peacock was removed from the game after the fifth inning due to discomfort in his right forearm.
Francona had a different kind of discomfort a few innings later.


text:
I'm assuming if this happened, Tanny would be demoted to cap specialist. I'd be fine with that.Quote:
Changes are likely coming to the Jets if (when) another season ends without a playoff berth. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News shed some light during Thursdays PFT Live on what could happen.
Mehta firmly believes that coach Rex Ryan will be back for a fifth season. So what about G.M. Mike Tannenbaum, who presumably is ultimately responsible for an actual or perceived lack of talent?
Mehta believes that Tannenbaum, who like Ryan is under contract for two more years, will be reassigned. Which is a kind way of saying demoted.
It wouldnt be unprecedented. When Tannenbaum became the General Manager, the teams former G.M., Terry Bradway, was reassigned. Which was a kind way of saying demoted.
If Mehtas presumably educated hunch is accurate, it means that the team would need a new G.M., possibly someone with a background in scouting.
Itll be interesting to see how it all plays out. And it was interesting to hear for the first time the possibility that both Ryan and Tannenbaum will stay, but that Tannebaums job duties will change.


text:
Q&A With Dave on Thursday
Dear Readers:
After Casey Anthony is sentenced on Thursday, "Marinade" Dave will be available for a one-on-one with you from 2-10 p.m. EDT. Just post your questions or comments below here and Dave will get to them ASAP.
In the meantime, please continue posting your comments to Dave's blogs on this site.
Thank you,
Mike Boslet,
EDITOR'S NOTE: Dave would prefer that questions/comment focus on the Casey Anthony trial. Questions about impending legal matters related to Casey are outside the scope of this blog. Please keep questions/comments as brief as possible. He cannot address several questions in one post.
In the OJ case a civil case was filed and OJ was found guilty of killing his wife and her friend. Financial compensation was the legal victory however the family's had personal satisfaction.
Could George and Cindy do the same in Caylee's name?
Since a few people have come forward saying their dead son was Caylees father, IF DNA testing proved that to be true, could that family file a civil suit against Casey?
Casey will have millions before this is over.
Does anyone care anymore about seeking justice for Caylee.
Question is, What about a civil suit against Casey?
When a jury finds a person guilty I know that a sentence can be over turned if it comes out that a jury discussed things that were not brought out the court room or evidence.
Can a verdict of not guilty be over turned in Florida for the same reason?
Do you think the jury found Casey "not guilty" because they felt the state did not prove their case or do you believe they felt she was actually innocent? I think there is a big difference between not guilty and innocent and wonder what you think the jury thought. I can wrap my brain around the idea that they thought the state did not prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt but no way do I understand how anyone with a brain cell could possibly believe this very disturbed young woman is innocent of killing her daughter.
What happened to Murder in the Second? Any of those other Lessers? (Heck, what happened to Murder One!? Do they really think the tape floated on to the face and attached itself in three strips?) Was this just jury nullification due to DP possibility? Thanks Dave, and Mike, too, for having him on board OM during this time!
Does Zenaida Gonzalez go forward with her civil case now that Casey Anthony's criminal case is over? If so, what monetary penalties is she seeking against Casey? When will the Gonzalez case begin? Does Casey's verdicts of guilty on the four counts of lying to police now make Zenaida's civil case easier to win or will that information be kept from the jury? (if there's anyone left in Florida who doesn't know about these verdicts.) Do Baez or Mason represent Casey in the civil case? Since Mr. Thompson obtained the same lawyer as Zenaida, is he expected to also file a civil case against Casey for defamation? Can he also sue the law firms that were part of the defense team? And, media sources are claiming the IRS filed a $68,000 lien against Casey Anthony last week for unpaid 2008 taxes. Since Casey was declared "indigent" in 2008 and the State of Florida paid for her "Dream Team" defense, how did she make enough income to owe the IRS that much in taxes? What does the IRS say her total income was that year and which employer(s) filed the W-2s or 1099s? Add to all this the possibility of Caylee's father's family filing a civil suit, too, it looks to me like Casey Anthony's legal woes and financial problems are a long way from ever being over. Ain't no rest for the wicked.
I wondered what would happen with our Dave now that the trial has ended. I love reading him and automatically come to this site when I boot up my computer. Glad to know he's still here.
Dave, do you think that the jury took Baez's opening statement as evidence and disregarded the judge's instructions re same?


text:
The SAAC began in the Spring of 2010. A student-athlete advisory committee is a committee made up of student-athletes assembled to provide insight on the student-athlete experience. The SAAC also offers input on the rules, regulations and polices that affect student-athletes' lives on NJCAA member institution campuses. Presently, there are separate national SAACs for NCAA Divisions I, II and III only. NCAA legislation mandates that all member institutions have SAACs on their respective campuses. Further, NCAA legislation requires that all member conferences have SAACs. The information that follows will assist you in understanding how the network of SAACs, from individual campus committees to the conference and/or national committees, interact and support one another to shape intercollegiate athletics policy and enhance the student-athlete experience.
The purpose of the student-athlete advisory committee may vary across institutions. However, the following five points reflect the primary purposes of SAAC and should serve as a guideline when developing the SAAC's strategic plan.
|Kevin Salisbury
|Associate Director of Athletics
|Health and Safety
|American Dietetic Association
|NCAA approved nutrition
An Association-wide SAAC was adopted at the 1989 NCAA Convention and was formed primarily to review and offer student-athlete input on NCAA activities and proposed legislation that affected student-athlete welfare.
The initial national committee was comprised of student-athletes from all membership divisions for the purpose of ensuring that the student-athlete voice was one that accounted for the myriad of educational and athletics experiences of both female and male student-athletes at all NCAA member institutions. In August 1997, the NCAA federated along divisional lines. The federation caused the SAAC to expand to three SAACs representing NCAA Divisions I, II and III.
Each national divisional committee is comprised of both female and male student-athletes charged with the responsibility of assisting in the review of NCAA proposed legislation and representing the voice of the student-athlete in the NCAA governance structure. This is accomplished by providing student-athlete input on issues related to student-athlete welfare that are division-specific. (Federation has increased student-athlete participation in the governance process of intercollegiate athletics by increasing the number of SAAC members from the former Association-wide committee of 28 student-athletes to a sum total of 79 members serving on the national Divisions I, II, and III committees).
The input of the respective Divisions I, II and III SAACs continues to be sought by a variety of constituencies within the Association. Student-athlete committee members have the opportunity to speak with their respective NCAA Management Councils, and the Divisions II and III SAACs continue to speak to legislative issues on the NCAA Convention floor.
Generate a student-athlete voice within the NCAA structure.
Solicit student-athlete response to proposed NCAA legislation.
Recommend potential NCAA legislation.
Review, react and comment to the governance structure on legislation, activities and subjects of interest.
Actively participate in the administrative process of athletics programs and the NCAA.
Promote a positive student-athlete image.
"The mission of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is to enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity, protecting student-athlete welfare and fostering a positive student-athlete image."
SAAC Minutes
|Date - Minutes
|04/07/10 - Report
|05/10/10 - Report
This page developed and maintained by CCRI Athletics. Send comments and suggestions to firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Approximately 500,000 Americans have vision impairments to the extent that they are considered "legally blind." There are three degrees of vision loss:
Visual Acuity of 20/200
The legally blind person can see at 20 feet what the average-sighted person can see at 200.
Low Vision
Limited or diminished vision that cannot be corrected with standard lenses.
Partial Sight
The field of vision is impaired because of an illness, a degenerative syndrome, or trauma. Only two percent of the people with vision impairments are totally blind; most blind people have some amount of usable vision.
Instructional Strategies for Faculty
The following strategies are suggested to enhance the accessibility of course instruction, materials, and activities. They are general strategies designed to support individualized reasonable accommodations.
- Have copies of the syllabus and reading assignments ready three to five weeks prior to the beginning of classes, so documents are available for taping or Braille transcription.
- Provide vision-impaired students with materials in alternate formats at the same time the materials are given to the rest of the class. The student must advise as to the format: large print, Braille, electronic, or tape.
- When using an overhead projector with transparencies, use a larger font size (at least 18 point). Provide additional time for students with visual disabilities to copy the material on the transparencies, or provide them with printed copies.
- Repeat aloud what is written on the board and in handouts, and/or presented on overheads.
- Pace the presentation of material: if referring to a textbook or handout, allow time for students to find the information.
- Flexibility goes a long ways: allowing students to tape-record lectures, or use laptops with specially designed software can make a huge difference to them.
- When lecturing, avoid making statements that cannot be understood by people with visual impairments (e.g. "This diagram sums up what I am saying about statistics").
- When appropriate, ask for a sighted volunteer to team up with a student who is visually impaired for in-class assignments.
- Keep a front row seat open for a student with vision impairment. A corner seat is especially convenient for a student with a guide dog (if applicable).
- Make arrangements early for field trips and ensure that accommodations will be in place on the given day (e.g., transportation, site accessibility).
- Be flexible with deadlines if assignments are held up by the alternate media process.
- When in doubt about how to assist the student, ask him or her in a one-on-one conversation or e-mail at an appropriate time (not in the middle of a lecture slide etc.).
- Allow the student the same anonymity as other students (i.e., avoid pointing out the student or the alternative arrangements to the rest of the class).


text: Yet another 3AA mini lantern from Coleman. I did a quick search here on CPF and didn't see any mention of it yet. This one is supposedly just hitting the market. I've owned a few Coleman LED AA lanterns over the years and the common problems were artifacts, lack of diffusing, and a funky hi-lo-flash switch that a lot of us really don't like. This new model looks like it has addressed those problems by having a frosted globe and a variable intensity adjustment ring. I like that the low mode goes down to 5 lumens. I sure hope that push button switch is only for basic on and off. Now to see if I can find one at my local Target or Walmart.


text:
I'm sure many scholars (especially those that are blms as well) have heard, and know of Apollyon NW being soloed by blms. With that in mind, and also knowing that the dark arts side of scholar is very much like blm, many of you have probably assumed scholar could do it as well. I have been testing scholar in solo limbus, setting out to prove that, and tonight I did just that. This was my first successful, fully cleared Apollyon run, as a scholar. I was very excited and it made me feel that same giddy excitement that I felt when I did it on blm for the first time.
I ended up netting 24 coins, and the final drops were sam, rng, and I believe thf (yuck). One thing that I absolutely love when doing this on Sch as opposed to blm, is the consistency, and safety nets that scholar provides. It is wonderful to have a 50% recast for bind when soloing the NQ behemoths on the 5th floor. One thing that makes the run a tad more difficult though, is that doing this as Sch chews up more of your (very needed) time. The HMP on sch vs blm, is noticeably slower, thus longer resting time; your usage of abilities like parismony, ebullience, and alacrity, add up as well, where as with blm, its just target and nuke. All these factors pull your time down on you more so in an already time pressed event.
I actually prefer farming (not clearing) Apollyon NW on scholar more so than I do blm now. The abilities that come into play with scholar, make soloing more consistent, and more reliable. In fewer words, I feel much safer as scholar than I do blm, and I feel like I get more out of each run as a scholar vice black mage.
I'll return to this post at a later time for more in depth details regarding the run, as well as screenshots/links. But for all you ambitious Scholars out there, that love the solo challenge, it is possible to do, and extremely fun doing it ^.^ Go go go!! Good luck fellow Scholars and have fun!!
Adding my later post to OP so ppl don't have to skip around to get to the details:
I'll just jump right into the strat I suppose:
Floor 1: Upon entering I had RR, Pro IV, Shell IV, fully stored Sublimation, etc. My first move was to sleep 1 > Gravity > parsimony > alacrity > Ebullience > Thunder storm > Tabula Rasa. From there just spam tier IV nukes, stay safe of course making sure to sleep if mob casts dangerous spell, bind when able to buy yourself time and get more use out of your 2 hour.
Vortex popped on mob 1 in this particular run.
I always use 2 hour on the first mob of each floor. Might as well right? if you get the vortex on the first mob, your 2 hour was wasted if you didn't use it.
Floor 2: My first fight started off the same way in terms of the 2 hour. The only difference is that you have to bind or sleep after each nuke to keep distance. Sometimes bind sticks through nukes though which is always great. After the first buffalo I still had about 400ish mp left over, so sat to rest to full. 2nd buffalo I pulled from the east side to prevent linking to the buffalo parrallel to it. Parsimony spam thunder IV and Blizz IV. It was Blizz day and I used hailstorm. After the death of that buffalo, I popped the 2 hour chest, and pulled the 3rd buffalo. Same strat as 2nd buffalo. I use bind every chance I can, over sleep. Bind will sometimes stick through out a nuke so you can nuke again, sleep will never do that. Also, when you nuke after a bind, there is a moment of hesitation before the mob runs at you, with sleep, they run as the nuke lands. Vortex on 3rd buffalo from this mob. At this point, I sandstorm > Desert boots, get all 3 timer chests, and run to vortex.
Floor 3: As most know, floors 1 and 2 are the pains in the *** as the mobs have higher HP and a bit more to deal with. You "should" be able to take down 2 bugards per mp pool, making the 3rd floor relatively fast. First mob, 2 hour strat > began 2nd bugard with 1 nuke of still being in 2 hour mode. After that I slept, then used up my sublimation stock, parsimony spammed the rest of that kill, got vortex on 2nd kill. I then put up full buffs, sandstorm , popped restore chest in full mp gear, then picked up all 3 chests and headed to zone.
Floor 4: Dragon strategy is pretty much same as bugard really. Started in 2 hour mode, killed 1st dragon, and spawned vortex. I snagged the other dragon since I was still in 2 hour mode, and snuck a ebullienced nuke in before 2 hour mode came off. Finished off with parsimony spammage, then put up fresh buffs, and sandstorm to run around for timers > zone. Since I got vortex on first kill, I chose not to waste my sublimation stock, so that was still full as I went up to Floor 5.
Floor 5: Upon reaching this floor, the first thing I did was recast RR II so that I wouldn't get screwed with a possible wipe and not realizing RR wore off in mid fight. Pulled 1st behemoth with grav, tossed a quick cryohelix, alacrity > bind, then put up ebull, pars, alacrity, then began 2 hour mode. This 2 hour mode goes a tad different though; I nuke once, run away to 24', nuke again, alacrity bind, run out to max again, nuke, run away, nuke, alacrity bind, finish off.
On the 2nd and third behemoths, I don't use pars spam method because safety is needed more. Since they don't sleep very well at all, Bind is your only safety net coupled with grav of course. I pull with grav, toss on helix, alacrity > bind, nuke 1, run away to 24', nuke 2, alactrity > bind. From here, since I have a bit less room to maneuver at this point, I use alacrity > bind after every nuke. This is (hopefully obviously) to have your bind recast time halved, so you can ensure you keep bind available when needed. With blm you have to nuke, bind, and wait till half your timer is up before nuking again... well at least that's how i do it on blm.
After Behemoth 3 is down, it's time for the Mother Bish (I call her that cause of how much she @#%^s over your pulls from changing directions at the worst times lol). Of course rest to full. While in max mp gear, I put up new protect IV and shell IV, Sandstorm, then Stoneskin. I ran up the clockwise side to find her, and luckily she was running by the nuke spot. I quickly put up hail storm, alacrity > parsimony, and tossed a blizz IV for my pulling spell.
Here's where my strategy differs from time to time.... I'm still trying to time and test which method is better/faster. There is a spot near the half way point near the vortex, where you can cast spells on her in time before getting hit with meteor. This is where I cast aspir if needed, re up stoneskin or storms, or drop a helix or bio on her. The thing I'm trying to test is whether the use of helix and bio at that half way point actually wastes more time than it saves. I've yet to come to a conclusion, but im leaning on it wasting time. On this run, I tried to refrain from stopping there as often as possible. At each nuke spot, I always nuked with parsimony > ebullience > blizz IV. Every so often you get caught up on recast times for strategems so I would only use parsimony. Eventually you'll get your double timer back so you can use both though.
At 21%, I got a bit greedy with my nukes; She was closer than comfortable for a nuke, and I'd usually run away, but instead I tried to squeeze a nuke in, and got hit with meteor. It dropped me to ~ 400ish hp (stoneskin and shell was up, and I'm taru). At the half way point, I tossed up my stoneskin again, and cure IV'd myself, then used my sublimation stock again. Oh that's the other thing, make sure you're paying attention to your sublimation stock and using it often to keep your mp up at all times. You can do this fight without ever having to miss a nuke as long as you keep up with sublimation and use parsimony per nukes. I'd have to double check my screenshots, but I think it took me roughly 15-20 mins to kill her. I had ~ 5-10 mins remaining iirc.
Upon killing her, I ran to the chest, invited some LS members that were waiting on the outside in hopes of free AF +1 items, and popped the chest. I netted 24 coins, as mentioned above, and had rng, thf, and sam items drop (which noone needed that came for free loot).
I guess that's about it. Hope that helped with strategy details. ^.^
Edited, Sep 25th 2008 12:39am by xXxNaobixXx


text:
Felipe Nasr bounced back from a disappointing Saturday to claim a dominant victory in the GP2 sprint race at Silverstone.
Nasr had only managed to finish sixth in Saturday's feature, losing valuable points to championship leader Jolyon Palmer who finished second, but made amends off the line as he passed pole-sitter Stephane Richelmi into Abbey. The move was the only one Nasr had to make for the rest of the race as he romped home to claim the win.
Palmer looked to have a tough race in store after the reversed grid left him lower down the order, but a battling performance in front of his home fans meant he limited the damage inflicted by Nasr by crossing the line fourth. That means Nasr is still 38 points behind Palmer in the championship standings, with Johnny Cecotto a further 11 points back in third.
Behind Nasr, Stefano Coletti was fortune to avoid a penalty for creeping at the start of the race, as he advance from fifth to second in the opening laps. Coletti was soon reporting a lack of power but was able to nurse the car home despite the attention of Cecotto, who spent the final portion of the race brilliantly holding off a charging Palmer behind him.
Behind fifth-placed Julian Leal, Stephane Richelmi and Saturday race winner Mitch Evans engaged in a race-long battle, which this time the Australian was unable to emerge victorious from. The final points-scoring position was occupied by Marco Sorensen, with Saturday podium-finisher Stoffel Vandoorne languishing down in ninth.


text:
"We are excited to partner with transportation leader Canadian Pacific to bring our combined expertise to those companies working in the Bakken Shale formation," said Charles Young, founder, president and board member of Smart Sand.
"Smart Sand has prime resources and processing capabilities which align well with CP's shipping presence in the energy sector. This agreement with Smart Sand demonstrates our commitment to provide our customers with end-to-end transportation service that is competitive and reliable," said Jane O'Hagan, CP's executive vice president and chief marketing officer.
Smart Sand's primary facility, which opened in late June 2012 and is located on the CP rail line in Oakdale, Wis., will supply premium Northern White frac sand in a broad range of mesh sizes to the new transload facility. Based on Smart Sand's initial processing capacity of more than one million tons per year, plus the company's reserves, the facility will be able to quickly fulfill long- and short-term orders, while providing direct rail access for unit trains.


text:
Janyce M. Popp
Janyce Michelle Popp was born April 30, 1949, the daughter of Herman J. and Dorothy Hubbuch Popp. She is survived by her brother, Jerome Popp, and sister-in-law, Marcia Popp, of Omaha, Neb.; nieces Mauree Popp Barrett, of Earlysville, Va., and Debbie James of St. Louis, Mo.; and nephews Adam Popp of New York, N.Y., and Tadd Pullin of Omaha, Neb. She is also survived by an aunt, Evelyn Powell, of New Albany, Ind. She was preceded in death by her parents.
Janyce graduated from Indiana University with a degree in physical therapy, and worked in this profession until her death. She was a physical therapist at Venice Hospital, Green Valley Care Center in New Albany and hospitals in Louisville, Ky.
A lifelong Catholic, Janyce was a member of Epiphany Cathedral in Venice, Fla. She was a loving daughter, caring for her mother during several illnesses in her later years. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends.


text:
Shaffer has had a broad range of executive experience in the railroad and distribution business, having held senior level positions in operations, marketing, finance and planning for several major railroads. As part of the management team, Shaffer will be focusing on new business development and development of long-term strategic initiatives.
Most recently, Shaffer was general manager of Norfolk Southern's Thoroughbred Bulk Transfer Terminal in Sunbury, PA.


text:
This site uses cookies, by continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies...find out more
Talk to a Specialist
Mr Lacy Runnies Hydrophobic Lace is a brand new lace type developed specifically for Runners, which are thinner and lighter than regular running laces, resulting in a product suited for athletes.
PRO Online Price
Saving £2.00
As the World's Largest Online Running store, Pro:Direct Running offers competitive rates on Worldwide delivery to bring you the latest products from the biggest brands. Please select your destination from the table on the link below to see delivery options and costs.
If you find that your purchased product is unsuitable, simply return the item(s) in their original condition within 28 days of receipt for refund or exchange ( Some personalised items are excluded ). For further information please see our FAQ's or contact one of our team.
Copyright © 2005-2018 Pro:Direct. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the Pro:Direct Privacy Policy.


text:
WASHINGTON (AP) — A coalition of religious groups is responding to an advertising campaign in the D.C. mass transit system that equates Muslim radicals with savages.
The coalition, which includes representatives from Christian, Muslim and Jewish groups, will call on Metro on Monday to donate proceeds from the ad campaign to a charity that supports human rights.
The ads were proposed by the American Freedom Defense Initiative. The group sued last month after Metro officials delayed displaying the ads.
The ads went up in several Metro stations earlier this week after a federal judge ordered Metro to display them.
The coalition will make its announcement Monday morning at the United Methodist Building.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


text:
by John Rubino:
"In this week's interview with gold dealer Tom Cloud of National Numismatic Associates, we cover one very timely topic - the sudden decline in gold inventories - and one perennial question - how can an individual put physical precious metals in an IRA.
"DollarCollapse: Good to talk to you again Tom. Let's start with your observation that the major gold wholesalers don't seem to have their usual level of inventory. Why the sudden tightness?
"Tom Cloud: Of the seven or eight major wholesalers that send me price sheets, almost every one is having supply issues. Some [coins and bars] I can get right away, but most take between a few days and two weeks.
"The wholesalers don't necessarily know why this is, but some speculate that the 58 tons that China's central bank purchased in September was responsible, and that [the Chinese] purchased at least that much more in October. When a big seller elects to sell something they don't even put it in the market any more, they just call up China's central bank, and we see the report four weeks later, if we see it at all.
"And it's not just China. Central banks in general are buying. Until 2011 central banks were selling gold ..."


text:
There are several, relatively unknown small capitalization companies in Taiwan that offer substantial investment opportunities, Credit Suisse AG said in a report released on Friday.
As they are less well publicized than large-cap companies, small-cap firms with a market capitalization of less than NT$1 billion (US$33.58 million) tend to be less discussed among equity researchers and are often overlooked by investors.
Their shares are also more likely to be mispriced.
However, a report, authored by Credit Suisse's Taipei-based equity strategist Jeremy Chen (陳建名), says that several of the nation's small-cap companies are actually "global leaders in their respective fields" in terms of key technologies and global competitiveness.
Taiwan had 1.28 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as of the end of last year, representing about 97 percent of the country's total businesses, according to Ministry of Economic Affairs statistics.
Although many SMEs relocated their manufacturing operations to Southeast Asia and China decades ago, a number of them maintain their research and development bases, as well as sales and marketing units, in Taiwan, the report says.
"They have certain common traits: a long operation history, a solid growth track record, a strong balance sheet and they all love paying consistently high dividends," the report says.
Because they are less well known by investors compared with their mid-cap and large-cap peers and because they have few shares outstanding, small-cap companies usually gain less attention from foreign institutional investors than local institutional ones, although their shares tend to outperform their bigger peers over the longer term.
So far this year, the GRETAI index for mainly small-cap stocks has increased by 15.44 percent, outperforming the benchmark TAIEX's 5.14 percent rise over the same period.
However, while investing in small-cap companies may increase the odds of uncovering their hidden value, their shares tend to be more vulnerable to market volatility.
For instance, the government instructed four state-owned funds to stop trading small-cap stocks late last year because it believed such stocks were an easy target for fraudsters due to their smaller share capital.
The government later dropped the bans after strong criticism.
Small-cap firms face other risks, too. They often find it difficult to adapt to rapid changes in customer preferences and aggressive competition from larger rivals, analysts say.
Even so, the government is pushing forward a policy to develop the so-called "hidden champions" of local SMEs.
The move comes as the information technology and electronics-based economy has become stuck and other domestic industries remain dominated by contract manufacturing clusters.
The Credit Suisse's report, titled "Taiwan Discovery Series: The hunt is on" says researchers at the brokerage have visited more than 20 fast-growing, small-cap companies across the nation over the past month.
"Many of them are global leaders in their respective fields, such as golf clubs, blood glucose meters, fishing lines, tennis rackets, treadmills, doorlock sets, auto lamps and sewing machines," the report says.
"Over the years, several of these smaller companies have thrived and leaped on to the global stage, notably bicycle-makers Giant and Merida," it says.


text:
Local product set to take the mound in Game 1 of the series on Saturday night in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Clemson pitcher Daniel Gossett has seamlessly embraced his newly-minted role as the team's ace starter and will get a chance to enhance his burgeoning reputation tonight.
The sophomore from Byrnes hopes to get the inconsistent Tigers off on the right foot against the nation's unanimous No. 1 North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C.
"We've got a chance to really make a statement this weekend and it would obviously be huge if we were able to take the series," Gossett said. "But we can't let it get to us. They're No. 1, but they also are just another team. We have the bats, defense and pitching to take care of business the way we know how to.
"I'm excited every (time I pitch), but I can't get too excited against North Carolina and just have to take it pitch by pitch and stay with my process. You can't let it get too big and don't get too wrapped up on the moment."
The Tar Heels (23-1, 7-1 ACC) are off to the best start in school history with their only loss coming 4-1 on March 15 against Miami that broke a 16-game winning streak. UNC bounced back to trounce the Hurricanes, 14-2, the next day for the first of its current seven straight victories.
In the most current NCAA statistics (covering games through Monday), the Tar Heels lead the country with 9.4 runs per game, are second in both on-base percentage (.431) and hits (301), fifth in slugging (.479) and ninth in batting .319. They just don't outslug foes as the Tar Heels' pitching staff is second nationally with a 1.70 ERA and first in hits allowed per nine innings at 5.97.
Tonight's matchup has Gossett (3-1, 1.33 ERA) facing junior lefty All-America candidate Kent Emanuel (4-1, 1.17). Both pitchers took no-hitters into the fifth inning during their last starts.
"We know going in they have a good offense, but you can't think OK now we're playing No. 1 so it's time to turn it on," Gossett said. "You want to pitch every game like it's your best one. I'll keep putting in the same work I have been and hopefully it will be a good outing."
While taking this three-game series could be just the sort of jumpstart the young Tigers (16-9, 5-4) need to get on a successful run, Gossett said they can't put too much stock into facing the nation's top-ranked team. UNC has scored in double-digits 11 times and posted at least seven runs 15 times.
"If you look at it that way you're just going to get inside your own head, that's the way I feel," Gossett said. "If I can keep my head on straight and pitch like I know how, the odds are more likely to fall in my favor. You can't get too far outside your own game and have to pitch to your strengths. You have to be aggressive and go after them. You can't think of them as being too good."


text:
Shona Whyte and Julie Alexander
Interactive whiteboard (IWB) research shows variation in classroom interactivity (Beauchamp & Kennewell, 2010) and a need for sustained teacher support (Cutrim Schmid & Whyte, 2012). iTILT (interactive Technologies in Language Teaching), a 2-year European project on the IWB for communicative language teaching, was conceived partly in response to these findings and as an opportunity for further research. The project has produced a website for language teachers featuring over 250 short video clips of IWB-supported classroom practice, supplemented by relevant teacher and learner comments, created by filming 44 teachers in 81 classes involving different languages, ages, and levels of proficiency in primary, secondary, university and vocational contexts in 7 European countries.
The present study focuses on data from 9 French EFL teachers in three educational sectors who participated in a dedicated online support space set up for the duration of the project. The data are participants' contributions to the limited stream of a Google+ circle including teachers and researchers.
Results show variation in contributions across the 9 teachers, and reveal a number of areas of general concern, but also allow the isolation of specific interactions which affected classroom practice, with implications for teacher education in languages with technology.
Beauchamp, G., & Kennewell, S. (2010). Interactivity in the classroom and its impact on learning. Computers & Education, 54(3), 759-766.
Cutrim Schmid, E., & Whyte, S. (2012). Interactive Whiteboards in State School Settings: Teacher Responses to Socio-Constructivist Hegemonies. Language Learning & Technology, 16(2), 65-86.


text:
HOUSTON (AP) — An American Airlines flight from Brazil to Dallas was diverted to Houston on Wednesday after a 25-year-old passenger became ill and died aboard the aircraft, police said.
Airport officials summoned homicide detectives to George Bush Intercontinental Airport just before dawn after learning that American Flight 962 was coming to Houston because of a medical emergency involving a passenger. The passenger was declared dead after the plane landed, authorities said.
"There was no sign of trauma," and no foul play is suspected, Houston police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said. An autopsy will be done, she said.
The name of the passenger, a woman, wasn't immediately released, and American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said the airline couldn't provide any information about her.
According to authorities, the Boeing 777 left Sao Paolo at 1:12 a.m. with 220 passengers and a crew of 14 bound for Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. When the woman went into medical distress, the flight crew, along with a doctor who happened to be on board, began performing emergency procedures, and the plane was diverted to Houston.
The plane landed in Houston at 6:34 a.m., left the city about 2½ hours later and finally arrived in Dallas at 10:25 a.m.
Federal law requires a defibrillator on every flight with a maximum payload capacity of 7,500 pounds, a rule that covers major airliners, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown said. It also requires flight attendants to have CPR and defibrillator training at least once every two years.
Miller said every American flight has an extensive medical kit and an automated external defibrillator. Flight attendants must complete annual CPR and medical training approved by the FAA, he said.
In addition, American is one of the few airlines with trained medical professionals on staff, Miller said. Doctors are on call 24 hours a day and available to work with flight crews.
While onboard deaths are not unheard of, it's not clear how many there are. The FAA does not keep track, Brown said.
A Vanderbilt University study published in 2003 based on a review of an unidentified major airline showed 1.52 "medical diversions" for every billion passenger miles flown. Another study published the same year from George Washington University put the number of deaths at one unidentified airline for all of 1999 at 0.1 per million passengers.
(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


text:
I'm excited to share this awesome freebie with y'all.
I love photos. I love photo gifts (to keep) and (to give). I have fallen in love with Paper Coterie. They have such unique photo product ideas and I'm always sharing deals on my Facebook page for this fun company.
Just look at my fancy spiral notepad. I'm a serious list-maker and this notebook is very important to me. I'm lost without it!
I also created this amazing memory box for keepsakes from our trips to Africa!
As a part of their new affiliate program, Paper Coterie is offering ALL MY READERS a $15 credit to make something special (to keep) or (to give)! Perfect for Mother's Day!
Use code: GIFTFAVES This expires May 14, 2012
Disclosure: this is my affiliate link. If you're a blogger, you should become an affiliate too!


text:
"Dear First Grade Friends, I haven't seen any giraffes, but there was a dog with puppies and we adopted them." Such correspondence from U.S. Marine Corporal Christopher Fraser led to a friendship between his unit in Afghanistan and students at Vienna Elementary.
When Fraser, 24, returned from duty in Afghanistan in June of last year, he became a guest reader for his mother's first-grade class at the school. "It was great to see. [The students] not only physically, but emotionally, embraced him," said Sandra Fraser, a teacher at Vienna Elementary.
Seven months after returning from Afghanistan, Christopher Fraser is training in California and awaiting deployment to Iraq. However, thanks to the relationship with Vienna Elementary students, U.S. soldiers in Iraq will soon have a reason to feel at home. Each of the school's 368 students — regardless of their background, language or learning ability — made a Valentine's Day card for the soldiers, enhanced with candy and personal messages.
The motive behind the act is simple. "Because we love them and because we want to make them feel happy," said kindergartner Winston Agbara about why he made his card. Winston and the rest of Patti Green's kindergarten class made their cards on Thursday afternoon. Other students at the school made their cards earlier in the week.
Fifth grader Cassie Michalski said she enjoyed the project because she had a chance to personalize her card for a soldier far away. She said the soldiers were helping other people, and she wanted to make them feel good, because they are going through a lot. "Thank you for saving our country," she wrote on her heart-shaped card.
THERE IS MORE to the project than making cards to brighten up a soldier's day. Guidance counselor Beth Gross said she wanted to incorporate the lessons of empathy, the school's January theme, to a school-wide project. She said Valentine's Day was a perfect opportunity for the students to employ what they learned about empathy. "Think about if you were a soldier, far away from home, what would you want [to receive] for Valentine's Day," Gross said she would tell the students before they made the cards.
Sandra Fraser said the students understood very well what Gross and other teachers were teaching them. "They have taken it to heart, and they really understand the lessons of compassion and empathy," she said. According to Fraser, two Iraqi students, a fourth grader and a sixth grader, also made cards for the U.S. soldiers. She added that she was conflicted as to how she feels about her son's second deployment to a war zone in a short time. "Like all the other parents, I am just hoping they come home," she said.


text:
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's official IRNA news agency is reporting that an Iranian court has voted to dismiss nation's central bank governor in connection with overnight withdrawals from banks.
IRNA is quoting Rahmatollah Sharif, the spokesman for the Supreme Court of Audit, as saying that Mahmoud Bahmani has 20 days to appeal the ruling.
He allegedly ordered illegal withdrawals of money from the country's banking system. The money was related to the difference between the official and open market rates to change Iranian rials into U.S. dollars.
Some Iranian newspapers claimed that the money might have been withdrawn to pay cash handouts to Iranians in compensation for food and energy subsidy cuts that began in 2010.


text:
Nicki Minaj's Blog
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 at 4:31 AM
vip breakdown
ok barbz, here's the deal... the platinum is for people who DON'T have a tkt. that price includes their TICKET, AS WELL as their meet & greet with me and all of the free stuff, etc. the gold is for people who ALREADY have a tkt but wish to have the meet & greet experience with me & bald spot beezy + ALL the free stuff the silver is for people who ALREADY have a tkt but wish to...
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 at 3:34 AM
contest winners
i'm emailing everyone that won that contest months ago... please notify them to check their messages so that i can find out what city and state they'd like backstage passes to...
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 at 3:17 AM
tour VIP
barbz, i've missed u like crazy. tonite we finalized the vip stuff so hopefully we'll be able to go up with the link tomorrow. you guys are going to get soooo much life from this tour. there are amazing things going on that i really wish i could share. i feel very guarded in speaking to you guys tho. its not like it used to be ya know?... sometimes i wanna wisk (hope that's a word) you guys...
Fri, Dec 31, 2010 at 7:30 PM
My Darlings, Today marks the end of something magical. 2010 has been extraordinary. Endings can be bitter sweet but every "end" ushers in a "beginning". A new beginning. A new enchanting beginning. I want you to hold on to 2011 and never let go. Hold on to it like your life depends on it ; because it does. Take charge this year. Refuse to lose. Refuse to be defeated. Refuse to have...
Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 7:09 PM
Big Head
Sometimes when one gets too much love and attention they develop a "big head". The praise and the love goes to their "head" instead of their "heart". Bragging, cocky attitude, disrespect... no appreciation, no humility. That "big head" will be the death of you. #LOVE
Sun, Dec 12, 2010 at 4:54 AM
FYI, the CD Contest is separate. So is the lipstick contest! One doesn't have anything to do with the other. Put ya numba 2's in the air if ya...
Sun, Dec 12, 2010 at 4:17 AM
My Darlingz! Here are the 10 winners! They've managed to get the most points! Kenbarb1243 , NerdBarbie , Envy Minaj , Official Mini Harajuku , JenniYM, F_YoAlbum_ItsPinkFriday , NIQUEEN_MINAJ , dat3fkidd , TeamMinajNASSAU , lilMommaStarr ok u guys!!! You have a choice of 3 PRIZES! You can A) Get a personal phone call LIVE on USTREAM next time I stream (when I hit 2...
Mon, Dec 6, 2010 at 7:47 PM
wut r the points for!?!?!?
Everyone's asking. ok...points will be for various things. but since i'm in a really good mood, i'm gonna reward the 10 people with the highest points RIGHT NOW!!!! check back to see if its you. what's the reward u ask? hmmmmm....ya gotta wait and see!
Mon, Dec 6, 2010 at 6:42 PM
Hey Barbz! Ken Barbz! Stud Muffins & Boyz! Just wanted to say that I finally got around to approving all my friend requests! I spoke to the designer about creating a button that allows you to "accept all" requests so it doesn't get so time consuming! Any hoo, I just wanted to say that performing for the troops was one of the best experiences of my career thus far. i mean that. these...
Tue, Nov 16, 2010 at 8:09 PM
Welcome to the new MyPinkFriday.com!
WELCOME to my official website! This is a personal letter of appreciation to all my Barbz and KenBarbz! This is the moment we've all been waiting for u guys! Pink Friday is finally here! And its all because of you!!! You stood by me, supported and promoted and together we've become unstoppable! Right now I'm on the bus headed to NY. I'm right on the verge of severe motion sickness. Its like a...


text:
|Thread Tools
|Display Modes
|9th August 2007, 09:58 PM
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 74
Tuttle/Deep Tuttle Cock Up
Hi All
Think I have made a noobish mistake. I have a stock 52 cm Starboard fin for my Carve 144. I have been advised to buy a smaller fin and have recently bought a Starboard 28 cm fin but now realise that this is normal tuttle as opposed to deep tuttle. Doh!
Is there much I can do about this or am I snookered? I also would like to know what the pros and cons are for the smaller fin. Is it going to make the board more or less responsive for instance? Is it going to be harder to head up wind? Is there a sail range that each fin will work best with? I now have a 5m a 5.7m and a 6.5m.
many Thanks
PS Hope you are making a good early recovery Roger.
|9th August 2007, 11:07 PM
New Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 17
RE: Tuttle/Deep Tuttle Cock Up
Hi Roly,
Roger will give you more detailed answers but I can already tell you that there is no problem to use Tuttle fins in deep tuttle boxes. You only have to find longer screws. The opposite is impossible of course.
As for the fin length, 28 cm seems to me very short for this big board, but for a very small sail and high wind it could, perhaps? work . It will be difficult to head upwind in gusty winds.
|9th August 2007, 11:15 PM
New Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 17
RE: Tuttle/Deep Tuttle Cock Up
Sorry, I just saw that all Carves have normal tuttle boxes, then either you sell your fin, either you cut the head shorter and place new nuts at the right place if you really want to keep this deep tuttle fin....
|10th August 2007, 03:17 AM
Dream Team - School Guru
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,202
RE: Tuttle/Deep Tuttle Cock Up
Hi Roly, and Frigobox,
For Roly,
Frigobox was correct in his suggestions, you can put a std. Tuttle fin in a Deep Tuttle fin box, no problems, other than a minimal amount of "fitting" which you would probably have to do with almost any fin.
He's also correct in that you cannot put a deep Tuttle fin in a std. Tuttle box as the top of the root is 18.00 mm (0.709") too tall to fit.
I'm sure your 28 cm fin did not come with a deep tuttle root (that would be ridiculous as a 28 cm fin does not need the additional support.
I'm a little puzzled as to why you bought such a small fin for your Carve 144. If the stock fin is 52 cm, as "smaller" fin, for smaller sails would be something in the 46-48 cm range.
What year model is your Carve 144.....2006 or 2007?
Here's the secifications for the '06 Carve 144.
'06 Carve 144
Volume: 144 litres
Length: 256 cm.
Width: 78 cm.
1 foot off the tail width: 52.1 cm.
Weight (WOOD): 8.3 kg
Weight (DRAM) 8.6 kg
Fin Box: Tuttle
Stock Fin: Drake Freeride Flow 480
Sail Size Range: 5.8-9.5
Here's the specifications for the 2007 Carve 144:
'07 Carve 144
Volume: 144 cm
Length: 252 cm
Width: 78.0 cm
1 foot off tail width: 52.1 cm
Weight (Technora) 8.6 Kg.
Weight (WOOD) 8.15 kg.
Sail Range: 5.8-9.5
Stock Fin:Freeride Drive II 490
Fin Range: 42-54 cm
Fin Box: Tuttle
I think the 28 cm fin is definitely too small for a board that's 78 cm wide with a 1 foot off of 52.1 cm.
You will "spin out" the 28 cm fin way to easily as it's really a good size fin for about a 90-100 liter board with a5.5 m2 or smaller rig.
If you can take the 28 cm fin back, I would suggest you do, and see if you can get a fin about 42-48 cm (actually one 40-42 and one 48-50 cm would be the best.
Not sure how you got a 52 cm fin unless your Carve 144 is really a Carve 145 from 2005?
Hope this helps,
P.S. Haven't had the surgery yet..... next Friday (Aug. 17th is the scheduled date).
Thanks for your concerns, and I will be back here on the forums as soon as the docs will let me.
|10th August 2007, 01:30 PM
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 97
RE: Tuttle/Deep Tuttle Cock Up
Hallo Roly! We use 39cm Duo Freeride in 100% carbon. I think that
should be the shortest fin. Not enough deep water in Strand Horst.
I use to 9,3m² sail. Nitro 4. Board is a ON 305 . Shape fromLorch.Look:
|10th August 2007, 09:57 PM
Dream Team - School Guru
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,202
RE: Tuttle/Deep Tuttle Cock Up
Hi Roly,
The suggested Lessacher fin would also be a good choice.
I use some of Wolfgang's weed fins and they are really good.
Can you tell us why it was suggested that you get a smaller fin?
Do you have water depth issues where you sail?
Hope this helps,
|15th August 2007, 03:12 PM
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 74
Morning Roger
Nice new site. Thank yo for your thoughts on the appropriate fin for my board. Firstly my board is the Carve 145 2005 model and does have the deep tuttle fitting. Yes this 28 cm fin that I bought has the standard tuttle fitting I believe. I was advised by one of the more experienced sailors at my club to change down my fin to around 30 cm. This I think has something to do with the way our beach falls away very steeply particularly at high tide. For a shorty like me, it means that beach starts are akin to water starts, if you see what I mean. By the time I am out far enough to clear the 52cm fin I am in quite deep water. Maybe, I do not really know, but that was the advice.
I have seen a Fin Works Weed 16 which is around 41 cm I think and wonder if this is the sort of thing I should be looking for? I do not really want to sacrifice much upwind capability, if this is a possible consequence of reducing the fin size, as I have only recently been able to slog upwind as it is.
The 28cm is now for sale and I have learned my lesson. Run stuff by you on this forum BEFORE purchasing kit!
|15th August 2007, 07:24 PM
Dream Team - School Guru
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,202
Hi Roly,
The 16" Finworks (40.64 Cm) will certainly be alot better than the 29 cm.
Which FinWorks design is the fin you are looking at?
I'm not sure how tall you are or how long your legs are but beach starting a 52 cm fin can be difficult as it's hard to get your foot up that high.
I'm sure with a little more practice, you'll be beach starting the stock 52 cm fin with no problems.
I'd guess alot of the problem has more to do with learning a new technique than it does actually getting your foot up onto the board.
If you are slogging upwind (rather than planing upwind "on the fin") then the size of the fin really won't make much difference because you are using the shape in the bottom of your board (the rocker) to get upwind, not the fin.
When you are plainng all the time, hooked in to your harness all the time and in both footstraps, get back with me here and I will explain how to sail upwind on "fin lift" and you will not need to worry about "getting downwinded anymore.
Why are you only slogging?
What's your windspeed and what's your sail size?
Hope this helps,
|15th August 2007, 08:52 PM
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 74
Hi Roger
The style of fin is the weed fin although the web site did not show a 16 which this one is. I am only 5' 6'' with short legs so yes this is my problem! However, I take the point on technique and learning a new skill. I managed to get up on my third or fourth try last time I was out but have yet to get an opportunity to replicate it as the wind has been very big of late.
You helped me with the foot steering, so yes I am using the rocker not the fin to get up wind. I have read some of your earlier posts on 'fin lift' and riding the fin' so understand the principle if not the application so I will leave this for another time once I have advanced sufficiently.
I am 'only slogging' because I tend to go out in marginal conditions,say 13/15 mph and my biggest sail is the 6.5. I intend to get a 7.5 in due course. I think I lack the necessary technical skill to plane in marginal conditions, even if this is possible with my current rig in 13/15 mph. Any thoughts? Should I be able to get in the harness and straps in low winds like this? I find the board sinks quickly when I try to move back on the board - maybe a little early? I am again showing my inexperience here as to basic principles I fear.
Any tips gratefully received, as always.
|15th August 2007, 09:17 PM
Dream Team - School Guru
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,202
Hi Roly,
Yes, a 7.5 m2 or larger rig would really help in 13-15 mph, but at a steady 15 mph, your 6.5 should be enough to get you planing if you are rigging it for power.
What is your weight?
If you are 5'6" tall (hey, that's my height as well) and weigh =< 180 lbs. your 6.5 (rigged full) should be enough to drag you up onto a plane if you keep your board really flat (rail to rail) and move back on your board "progressively". You can move back at a rate that keeps your board accellerating. If you don't continue to move back you may find that the nose isn't getting up high enough to incline your boards planing surfaces correctly and your board will "hang" and not accellerate more until you move back slightly more.
Or, you could be moving back a little too quickly and the nose pops up and your planing surfaces are inclined too much for the board to plane effciently.
Try to tie the rate that you move back to the accelleration of the board.
It sounds like you aren't beach starting when you have "big" wind. Beach starting (other than getting things aligned) gets easier as the wind comes up. So does waterstarting, and with only 13 knots of wind, you really aren't up to a windspeed that would cause any problems. Practice "aligning" your board, holding onto only the boom (or front hand on the mast rear hand on the boom) and turning your board around 360 deg. in both directions. Soon you will begin to develop the "feel" for what you need to do with the rig to get your board to align perfectly right next to your back leg. Then just step on and off you go.
If the rig is twisting around and trying to pitch you over to the leeward side, you are putting too much force in it. Open the rig up so it just supports itself, then learn to steer the board by the mast foot. Slight downward backhand pressure turns your board upwind, slight pushing or raising the front hand drives the nose downwind. Pretty easy once you get the feel for the balance.
Hope this helps,
« Previous Thread | Next Thread »
|Thread Tools
|Display Modes
Linear Mode
All times are GMT +7. The time now is 05:18 PM.


text:
24th August 2006, 02:56 PM
I'm a relative new-comer to waves and pure wave boards. I have difficulties getting upwind. I'used to riding a freestyle/ -wave types of boards with fins 25-30 cms. No problem upwinding those, but on a waveboard (mine's 2005 Acid80) I have problems getting upwind. Pushing the fin with the back leg causes spin-outs easily. Do I have to dig the windward rail in to water more to get some more leverage to push against with these narrower boards? My board's smallish for my 83ish kg's. I'm using 30" lines and I try to lean as much against the lines by bending the front leg, so that the harness digs into my side as I want to go upwind. My freestyleboard does so, but the Acid80 doesn't. I also understand that a waveboard is not so eager to go upwind than a wider freestyleboard, but if the pro's can do it, so should everyone else. At the moment I also push the boom down a little bit to get some pressure on to the mastfoot and I usually move my backhand more forward when going upwind. Should I try moving the straps and fin backwards a bit? Any advice on technique?


text:
experts you can trust
Custom Tree Care has the experience, knowledge, equipment and highly trained personnel to manage your tree care or disaster reponse challenges, no matter what they may be. Our fleet of company-owned vehicles and specialized equipment provides rapid response for any size project, in any location.
Our on-staff certified arborist ensures you always receive the latest practical and proven scientific solutions to your tree care needs.


text: Thank you all so very much for the reassurance. I did not give my daughter anything and after I asked for help, sure enough she had a poo big enough to go through three diapers. ha It was a relief for me and her. She has not had one since and I don't think she will anytime soon. I think this is the way her system will be now. She was not constipated so now I'm wondering if I should switch pediatricians since you ladies know more than that office does!