text:
This is scary movie nightmare stuff come true!!!
Grass that kills!!!
Ever seen Reefer Madness (1936)?
yes. I have this on my server, if anyone wants I can set it on a tracker - it's public domain so no problem.
Ever seen Reefer Madness (1936)?
Yes, but I was pretty well baked at the time...
This is amazing. I mean this is like something from The Onion. Except its real.
Fortunately, onions have sulfur not cyanide.
Why, cyanide production is common in lots of plants. Cattle sometimes die from eating too many cherry tree leaves. I don't understand the whole problem. Put plants under stress and they will produce more secondary metabolites for a multitude of reasons, including herbivore protection.
cherry stones, apple pips, orange pips... most fruit seeds have prussic acid in them.
Damn. I was just pulling my pitchfork and torch out of the shed. Thought it was interesting; should have done more research.
Stay negative; just with the old hybridization-method they managed to create something that in field conditions produced enough cyanide to kill a cow. Now consider GM crops, including possible hybrids, and if they're more or less likely to have unintended consequences. Yes, they're the most tested seeds and plants ever, but we test medicines too and there are occasional failures... also boxes of pills are easier to recall than plants from the wild.
just with the old hybridization-method they managed to create something that in field conditions produced enough cyanide to kill a cow.
Cyanide poisoning is apparently a potential problem with any variety of grass, not just the hybrids.
I'd say GM is less likely to cause such things. Why?
Well, when you hybridize you're "patching in" shitloads of other genes in an attempt to get the trait you want. GM is much more targeted, therefore much less chances of something you didn't want coming over.
Of course, in both cases you'll still have the problems that might come up because of a lack of understanding in the trait you are after. If a gene that makes wheat grow faster makes it build up toxins, it doesn't really matter how you got the trait in there, because it's the trait itself that is at fault!
That's a nice theory, but in reality they gene engineer entire strands of DNA in most cases, not just a few targetted genes. So our current level of GM technology is no better than old fashioned hybridization in terms of targetting specific traits.
Worse, we really don't have a detailed understanding of genetics and their interactions. We know that specific genes affect traits, but we don't know how all the genes that affect those traits interact. We are jumping the gun with our current efforts, and it is not only possible but very likely that we're going to create some truly monstrous mutations in the near future.
Worse, we have no idea what the long term interactions of the GM genetics will be. GMs are not sterile. They are mixing with native crops and infesting the gene pool; Monsanto and others rely on that infestation to sue farmers they claim are "stealing" their technology when their pollen infests neighbouring crops, and blocking farmers from using their own crops as seed stock.
Personally I have far greater faith in the productivity of "land race" genetics produced by self-seeding crop land with last year's seed for 15-20 years sequentially. You end up with a plant that is tailor grown for the specific environment, whereas a GM crop is a shotgun approach that is tailored for a specific trait rather than the general growing conditions of the environment.
As far as I'm concerned, GM crops to date have one purpose and one purpose only: to sell more pesticides and herbicides.
Damn. I was just pulling my pitchfork and torch out of the shed.
That right there sums up the problem with the GMO debate (well, one of them). Caring about the process, not the product. You can bet your ass that none of the anti-GMO groups out there are going to see this and other problems [nap.edu] that have arisen from breeding (like the Lenape potato and high psoralens celery) are going to take this story and call for more stringent research of conventionally bred crops where heaven only known how many genetic changes may be happening. No one is going to say that breeding is unpredictable with dangerous results,or that is should be labeled, or that it should be banned until the precautionary principle proves a negative, or anything else people say about GMOs, but if this really were the product of biotechnology, you know damned well that is exactly what they, and many others, would be saying.
There are actually some people who oppose hybrids already. I've encountered some real extreme heirloom crop zealots who believe that hybrids are generally bad things. Funny enough, people once said of hybrids, unknowingly foreshadowing what would later be said of GMOs, that they 'did violence to the plant' and they would 'befoul the soil'. Of course, we know know that hybridization ranks right up there with vaccination in terms of life saving technologies, and I have no idea how anyone could oppose something that the world could not get by without. Well, without being ignorant anyway, which no doubt they are.
Fun fact: once there were people who opposed grafting, which is now used for pretty much every fruit tree. Johnny Appleseed was actually one of the, who believed that grafting was against the will of God, or some nonsense like that. He was something of a religious nut. Ironically because the trees he spread were seed grown and not grafted, they were only good for making applejack (well, I guess you could make other things out of them too, but take a wild guess as to what most people did with them back then). I guess grafting was ungodly but getting hammered on that stuff wasn't.
Whoops, minor error. Very clearly no editorial bias here, right?
Selective breeding is nothing more than GM on a low-tech scale. Please.
Selective breeding does not make plants RoundUp-resistant. Monsanto modifies the genes of the plants in specific ways that do not occur randomly in plant genomes.
Actually, it can and has produced roundup resistant plants, both through deliberate breeding programs and through basic natural selection in the fields.
GM can do things that wouldn't happen in nature and it can be a problem. That just isn't an example of it.
The Roundup resistant gene was found in nature, and Monsanto just copied it into soya beans. There are also plenty of weeds that have naturally generated a resistance to Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup.
How dare your heard of cattle defame the good name of our company by having the nerve to DIE after eating our product. You sir, will be hearing from our attorneys.
The Monsanto Group
I didn't realise FunnyJunk was in the GM business.
You'd be amazed by all the completely natural plants that cattle will eat and that will kill them.
A) Tifton85 isnt a Monsanto product
B) Tifton85 isnt a GM product-- its a hybrid
C) Some plants actually do produce cyanide, and they dont have to be GM to do so.
Tifton 85 is actually a hybrid of African Bermuda grass and Tifton 68, a different hybrid produced in Tifton, Texas.
It's not a GM grass.
These two grasses likely would have never been close enough in nature to influence each other. While genetically modified doesn't technically include selective breeding, I would argue that we are still screwing with nature and creating something that wouldn't have otherwise occurred naturally. That's how we should be defining 'Genetically Modified.'
Then virtually every single crop cultivated would then be defined as "Genetically Modified" if we went along with that logic. It astonishes me that people actually think this way and it scares the shit out of me that they could ever be in a position to make policy.
by literal definition, all our cultivated crops *are* genetically modified. From high-yield wheat and rice crops, to triticale* and rape, to grapes and oranges, apples and potatoes. All selected for yield, biomass, taste, texture, use in processed food and in their raw forms, we as a species have been fucking with genetics in levels from cross-pollination to interbreeding animals and injecting chromosomes into cells in the lab, for thousands of years.
*an entirely manmade hybrid of durum wheat and rye, devel
It has never actually been proven that Green Revolution agriculture saved one single life, but it has been proven that Green Revolution agriculture has numerous significant drawbacks and has done massive damage to our long-term ability to produce food [wikipedia.org]. The end result of Green Revolution agriculture will be that all crops will have to be produced hydroponically, and in greenhouses.
Well, I hope you don't like domesticated dogs.
Or cattle.
I hope you've never eaten corn in your life, then. Or wheat. Or tomato. Or basically any commercially grown crop. Because that would make you a filthy hypocrite.
I would argue that we are still screwing with nature and creating something that wouldn't have otherwise occurred naturally
We've been screwing with plants in this way for millennia. Almost every plant and animal you eat has been screwed with this way. Without it, humanity wouldn't have survived.
Hey your facts are getting in the way of the usual anti GM circle jerk around here!
Tifton 85 is a hybrid bermudagrass that was jointly developed and officially released in 1992 by the USDAARS and the University of Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station in Tifton, Georgia. It is a cross between a selection from South Africa (PI 290884) and Tifton 68.
I guess those cows failed the Turing test...
You've got to be kidding: this report needs to be retracted as it is completely wrong. Tifton 85 is a conventionally bred grass.
It's incredibly irresponsible to print something this inflammatory and wrong. You've now aerated people all over the world with this misunderstanding, and it will continue to be flogged forever with this incorrect information.
Further, people who hear about this won't know what the real issue is and it could cause more cow deaths.
Fix or retract this article immediately.
Pull the story. Get your facts straight. This farmer needs education from a local co-op extention. Any native or hybrid (NOT GM) grass can create this condition! Those that care for truth and real data go here and learn: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/forage/pubs/sorghum.htm
So? That's really not all important at the time being. Whether it's conventional or not, the grass needs to be firebombed before it's allowed to spread any further.
No, I'm not kidding.
It's reputedly a cold intolerant grass which has high yields. That means it spreads quickly and will only become more prevalent as the world warms. Supposedly, this is an actual mutation and not just a short-term response to the severe climatic stressors.
If it spreads, it will not only kill off one of the most effective and i
So? That's really not all important at the time being.
No it's very important. A major piece of misinformation like that is enough to cast doubt on all aspects of the story.
Maybe I'm being alarmist, but to me, it's better safe than sorry - sorry being a desert planet.
The "think of the children" approach?
Maybe I'm being alarmist, but to me, it's better safe than sorry - sorry being a desert planet.
You are being alarmist and it is not better to take drastic action unnecessarily than to know what you are doing. You are not going to get a desert planet from this. They are testing to see if it's a mutation because the weather events were not the ones they would have expected to produce cyanide. Production of cyanide by grasses is known and understood, this just happened unexpectedly and in combination with poor animal husbandry.
It's not the only pasture crop that can kill cows if you put them in hungry to fresh grass, either. Even lucerne and other legumes can kill cows by releasing gas and foam in the stomach. I hope you don't think we should kill all legumes just in case.
Newsflash: Several plants-- even some grasses-- produce cyanide in response to stress.
http://www.gainesvilleregister.com/local/x1255111318/Cattle-deaths-blamed-on-natural-poisoning [gainesvilleregister.com]
What is really being displayed in these posts are the dangers of being both opinionated and ignorant.
Lets hope Monsanto can quickly genetically engineer this dangerous hybrid grass to something safer before it destroys the world!!
Realistically though, their business model would be more likely to come up with cyanide resistant cows as a more marketable solution...
Pull the story. Get your facts straight. This farmer needs education from a local co-op extention.
Cyanide poisoning in veterinary medicine:
Cyanides are found in plants, fumigants, soil sterilizers, fertilizers, and rodenticides (eg, calcium cyanomide). Toxicity can result from improper or malicious use, but in the case of livestock, the most frequent cause is ingestion of plants that contain cyanogenic glycosides. These include Triglochin maritima (arrow grass), Hoecus lunatus (velvet grass), Sorghum spp (Johnson grass, Sudan grass, common sorghum), Prunus spp (apricot, peach, chokecherry, pincherry, wild black cherry), Sambucus canadensis (elderberry), Pyrus malus (apple), Zea mays (corn), and Linum spp (flax). The seeds (pits) of several plants such as the peach have been the source of cyanogenic glycosides in many cases. Eucalyptus spp , kept as ornamental houseplants, have been implicated in deaths of small animals.
The cyanogenic glycosides in plants yield free hydrocyanic acid (HCN), otherwise known as prussic acid, when hydrolyzed by Î-glycosidase or when other plant cell structure is disrupted or damaged, eg, by freezing, chopping, or chewing. Microbial action in the rumen can further release free cyanide.
Apple and other fruit trees contain prussic acid glycosides in leaves and seeds but little or none in the fleshy part of the fruits. In Sorghum spp forage grasses, leaves usually produce 2-25 times more HCN than do stems; seeds contain none. New shoots from young, rapidly growing plants often contain high concentrations of prussic acid glycosides.
The cyanogenic glycoside potential is slow to decrease in drought-stricken plants containing mostly leaves. Grazing stunted plants during drought is the most common cause of poisoning of livestock by plants that produce prussic acid.
Frozen plants may release high concentrations of prussic acid for several days. After wilting, release of prussic acid from plant tissues declines. Dead plants have less free prussic acid. When plant tops have been frosted, new shoots may regrow at the base; these can be dangerous because of glycoside content and because livestock selectively graze them.
Ruminants are more susceptible than monogastric animals, and cattle slightly more so than sheep. Hereford cattle have been reported to be less susceptible than other breeds.
Cyanide Poisoning: Introduction [merckvetmanual.com]
A history of cyanide poisoning generally, and a good read: Cyanide Poisoning [army.mil]
Some common cyanogenic edible plants reported to cause cyanide poisoning include cassava, sorghum, sweet potatoes, yams, maize, millet, bamboo, sugarcane, peas, lima beans, soybeans, almond kernels, lemons, limes, apples, pears, peach, chokecherries, apricots, prunes, and plums. Cassava (manioc) and sorghum are staple foods for hundreds of millions of people in many tropical countries and are blamed in part for the high incidence of central and peripheral neuropathies in those areas.
Since the time of ancient Egypt, plants containing cyanide derivatives, such as bitter almonds, cherry laurel leaves, peach pits, and cassava, have been used as lethal poisons. Peach pits used in judicial executions by the ancient Egyptians are on display in the Louvre Museum, Paris, and an Egyptian papyrus refers to the "penalty of the peach."
This was something I was wondering.
Even though I don't doubt this happened, the whole summary and concept sounds too much like a cheap scare tactic. The mechanisms for cyanide production had to come from somewhere. The cyanide production had to either be natural to the plant strain originally or involved with whatever was added. What you say is similarly true for yeast. Fermentation of alcohol has to occur in anaerobic environments as otherwise yeast produce other compounds. Still more research needs t
Something deadly like this could never naturally evolve in plants! This must be the work of unnatural, man-driven processes! Stop all science now! Anthropocentrism at its finest.
It's as if producing cyanide has some sort of adaptive advantage to the grass. Why would Gaia do this? It's those evil scientists.
Here's some propaganda from HowStuffWorks, pretending that clover does the same thing:
"Some species of clover developed a mutation that caused the poison cyanide to form in the plant's cells. This gave the clover a bitter taste, making it less likely to be eaten. However, when the temperature drops below freezing, some cells ruptur, releasing the cyanide into the plant's tissues
It's as if producing cyanide has some sort of adaptive advantage to the grass.
Correct. A good many plants create their own natural pesticides. Yeah, I know, citation needed, but google your own damned results, I'm not your high school biology teacher, dammit!
"Moo!" (thud)
This is a cross of Bluegrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Featherbed Bent, and Northern California Sensemilia. The amazing stuff about this is, that you can play 36 holes on it in the afternoon, take it home and just get stoned to the bejeezus-belt that night on this stuff.
Selective pressure hybridization is just a really low-tech form of genetic modification.
Saying this is not a GM crop is misleading.
Ahhh, so we've been doing GM for thousands of years then?
Well good. Because now there's nothing new for the "Greenies" (who are more about control and stopping science than helping the environment) to complain about.
Tifton 85 was bred using PI290884, from South Africa, and Tifton 68, which is a cross between PI255450, from Kiboko, Kenya, and PI293606, from Nairobi, Kenya.
See Fact Sheet - Cynodon Dactylon [tropicalforages.info]
Some varieties have the potential to produce high levels of prussic or hydrocyanic acid (HCN), especially when high levels of nitrogen are applied. However, instances of prussic acid poisoning in cattle grazing C. dactylon are rare. Although levels of total oxalate of >1% of the DM have been recorded, there is no experience of detrimental effects on grazing cattle. Frosted C. dactylon can cause photosensitization."
What happened at ELGIN, Texas, is just an example of a RARE event. That the field in question has been in production for 15 years, and no other sites using Tifton 85 have reported animal deaths from cyanide, proves how rare the event is.
Tifton 85 has nothing to do with the laboratory manipulation of DNA (Genes).
Most forage grasses (such as Tifton 85) produce prussic acid (HCN) in the young plants and new shoots.
The level of prussic acid reduces as the plants mature, but the reducion of prussic acid levels is much less during drought conditions.
When establishing a forage plot, it is comon practice to apply the selective broadleaf killing herbicide 2,4-D. A side effect of 2,4-D application is an increase in prussic acid levels 3 hours and 6 hours after application.
The combination of drought conditions and 2,4-D application, as well as early grazing on this plot are likely to be the culprit here.
In terms that the slashdot crowd can understand: Operator Error and Not Reading the Documentation are likely to be the cause.
And yes, I am an Agricultural Worker.
(Also, I know how to google for facts before I post.)
This process can check if this value is zero, and if it is, it does something child-like. -- Forbes Burkowski, CS 454, University of Washington


text:
Coulee Cops
Reports compiled from police files
Grand Coulee Police
2/27 - Safeway asked that a man be banned from the store for a year.
- An Electric City man told police that he wanted to add to a list of things missing from a residence there. He said missing were VCR tapes, some antique bottles, two vases, a glass globe with a dancing girl, three pictures from Germany, a bamboo picture, a vibrating recliner rocker, and a Play Station with several games. He said more items were piled up by the door.
- Police caught a woman in a small, black sports car from Pateros inside the fence at the 230 KV switchyard. When asked how she got inside the fence she said she didn't know, she was "trying to preach about Jesus" and would look at her Bible. She was told if caught inside the fence again she would be arrested.
- A man from Seattle who was known to police here was arrested at a house on Burdin Boulevard on a warrant. The man was irritated and charged that the department never "arrests white people." He was taken to the police station where he was placed in a belly chain and then taken to Dry Falls State Park, transfered to a county sheriff's deputy's custody and taken to Grant County Jail.
2/28 - A Coulee Dam resident stopped an officer to tell him that his vehicle had been sideswiped sometime earlier. He didn't know where the accident happened.
- An officer was called to assist with a combative prisoner being processed for driving while under the influence.
- An Electric City woman was confronted for making a 911 call and then hanging up. She told an officer that she and another person had been having an argument. Police asked to see the woman but she refused to let them see her.
2/29 - Police told a man living on Electric Boulevard in Electric City to turn down his music because it was disturbing the neighbors. He asked if there was a time when he could turn the music up as loud as he wanted and the officer told him, "no." The man was advised that the fine for disturbing the peace was progressive, raising $50 each offense and that he was up to $350.
3/1 - A woman reported that someone had hacked into her son's Facebook account and posted inappropriate comments to his friend's account. She said they had tried to cancel the password but were unable to do so.
- A woman told police that a dog was running loose on Dill Avenue and she thought it had been killing rabbits.
- A woman was stopped near the top of the dam because her center brake light wasn't working. The woman didn't have any of her documents with her, and police found she had a suspended license and two warrants out for her arrest. Police cited her for no proof of insurance, driving while license was suspended, and expired license tabs.
- A driver from Wilbur was stopped because his brake light was not working and admitted he didn't have a driver's license. He was wanted on warrants from Spokane and Grant counties for driving with his license suspended. He was arrested and taken to Grant County Jail, and his vehicle was towed.
3/2 - A woman staying at a local motel told police that while she was in the shower someone had come in and taken some pills, a vehicle key, a bank card, a pair of gloves and pair of shoes. Later she called police again, saying that she was being followed and had items taken from the room and that the persons responsible were in the rooms adjacent. Police found that the rooms adjacent to hers were vacant and that she needed to take her anti-psychotic medication.
- A man from Rathdrum, Idaho, ignored a no-trespass sign at the Bureau of Reclamation. When stopped he said he had been listening to his GPS and looking for Yucca Street.
3/3 - A woman told police that someone had made fraudulent charges on her Mastercard account. She had been alerted by her credit card company and needed a police report before they would move forward on the incident.
- An Electrc City woman seen walking along the highway was stopped because the officer knew she was wanted on a warrant. The officer found two pills of a legend drug in her possession. She was taken to Grant County Jail.
3/4 - Police reponded to Coulee Medical Center where a woman had a cut hand. The woman told police that her hand was cut when she grabbed at a knife held by her boyfriend, who told her he planned to use it to gain entry into an apartment next door, but she didn't think he would have done so.
- A woman on Hill Avenue told police that someone had tried to get into her residence. She stated that someone had kicked in her front door, but nothing was taken.
Coulee Dam Police
2/28 - An officer noticed a car parked near the fire station with its lights on and a driver hunched over the steering wheel. The officer tapped on the window and got no response so opened the door and tapped on the driver's arm. After about 30 seconds, she raised her head and told the officer that she wasn't driving the car. The officer could smell a strong odor of alcohol, but the woman contended that she hadn't been drinking. She was arrested on an existing warrant taken to Okanogan County Jail.
- Police saw a man on foot near Green Field with insufficient clothes for the cold weather. Talking with the man, the officer determined he was intoxicated. He said his girlfriend had kicked him out and that he wanted a ride to Omak. Tribal police gave the man a ride to Omak.
- An officer chased a car that sped through residential streets until it was finally boxed in by two Tribal Police units. He was identified by Tribal Police as a felon and an officer safety risk. A field test determined him intoxicated. While being transferred he tried to kick his way out of the patrol car. He ended up at Okanogan County Jail.
2/29 - A man was stopped for speeding after the officer got a reading of 39 mph in a 30 mph zone. The driver kept yelling at the officer just write me a ticket. He got twice his wish as the officer wrote him a ticket for speeding and not having insurance.
3/1 - A woman in Elmer City had advised police that her son was banging on her door and that she had the day before gotten a court order to keep him off the premises. He wasn't there when officers arrived and they found out that the court order hadn't yet been served. Later the son returned and officers served the court order and saw that he left the premises.
3/2 - A man on Spruce Street advised a security guard at the dam that he heard someone banging on the door but when he went out, there wasn't anyone there. The security guard contacted police who responded. The man said that the next time it happened he was going to go to the door with his gun. He was advised to call 911 if the banging occurred again.

subset: commoncrawl


text: I do thousands of IP lookups per second thru the IP2location DB in Apache thru MySQL since IP2location doesn't have support as an Apache Module. I see that Litespeed supports Maxmind DB, but how about Ip2Location's DB? I already purchased IP2location DB5 and I don't think I can afford Maxmind (too costly) $90/mo updates. I don't think Litespeed supports IP2Location DB because as soon as I loaded that 55MB BIN file, Litespeed refused to start although the CL response said: [OK] lshttpd: pid=5334. Am I wrong? Or if Litespeed supports IP2L DB, how can I memcache it? Thanks, Bill


text:
I'm proud of nothing I've done.
This question is harder to answer than it seems.
Sometimes, it's too early in a life. Some of the best bloom late.
People like Jim Morrison are a fluke. But at the same time one gets to a point where they must make it happen.


text:
Nolan Bushnell Joins NeoEdge Networks' Board of Directors
Sponsored download:
Use this security logo:
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee.
Tutorial not found. Let know us about any useful video tutorial.
free, game, sweetopia, arcade
New Release
This product can be freely distributed through the Internet. To put it onto a CD, contact email@example.com
Located here: http://www.mostfun.com/EULA.html


text:
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) -- Police say they've got the $3,200 engagement ring a New Hampshire man allegedly swallowed during an attempted jewelry store theft.
Authorities charged 52-year-old Ronald Perley with theft and falsifying physical evidence after they say X-rays showed the 14-karat white-gold ring with princess-cut diamonds inside him.
WMUR-TV reports Manchester police had recovered the ring as of Saturday.
Perley allegedly went into Bellman's Jewelers on Thursday asking about engagement rings. Workers said he grabbed a ring then swallowed it after being confronted.
Police say surveillance footage shows Perley taking the ring and putting his hand to his mouth.
Perley was being held on $50,000 bail.
LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Police say a homeless man set a 63-year-old California man on fire outside a 7-Eleven store by throwing a flammable substance inside the man's parked SUV.
Long Beach Sgt. Aaron Eaton says the man suffered severe burns in the Friday evening attack.
Bystanders helped douse the flames and 38-year-old Raymond Sean Clark was arrested a block away. Eaton says the attacker and victim apparently didn't know each other and the motive was murky.
Clark was jailed on suspicion of attempted murder and on some misdemeanor warrants.
The victim was hospitalized in critical condition.
SNOQUALMIE PASS, Wash. (AP) -- Authorities say two people are missing after a pair of avalanches in the mountains near Snoqualmie Pass.
Initial report said as many as three people were missing, but officials now say two are unaccounted for after the avalanches hit two separate groups.
At one spot, three people were snowshoeing. KING-TV is reporting (http://is.gd/ByzgY7 ) that one of them is missing, another has shoulder and hamstring injuries, and the other was not hurt.
At the other site, 13 people were in the area near where the avalanche struck. One person is missing and another is reportedly suffering from hypothermia and unable to walk. The group has been told to stay put as rescue workers attempt to reach them.
The avalanches occurred as heavy snow was falling in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- Former classmates of a man who kept hidden in the woods of Maine for 27 years and who's known as the North Pond Hermit remember him as quiet, smart and nerdy.
Christopher Knight's former classmates at Lawrence High School in Fairfield tell Waterville's Morning Sentinel newspaper (http://bit.ly/YjcIXv) the 1984 graduate kept pretty much to himself and didn't stand out.
Albion resident Sue Greeley remembers Knight as being thin and having thick hair and big glasses.
Curt Reid says he was shocked to hear Knight had been accused of committing more than 1,000 burglaries to support his life in the woods.
Knight is charged with stealing food from a camp along North Pond in Rome, a town of about 1,000 residents. He's jailed in Augusta and has refused requests for interviews.
BRYSON CITY, N.C. (AP) -- Trials are set to begin for two North Carolina social service workers accused of trying to cover up their agency's role after a toddler's death.
Thirty-year-old Candice Lassiter is charged with three counts each of obstruction of justice and forgery related to the police investigation of 15-month-old Aubrey Kina-Marie Littlejohn's 2011 death.
Twenty-eight-year-old Craig Smith is charged with three counts of obstruction of justice in the death of the girl. Lassiter and Smith worked for the Department of Social Services in Swain County.
Prosecutors say that after Aubrey's death, Lassiter ordered Smith, a subordinate, to falsify records to make it appear that the department had done a thorough job investigating allegations that the girl had been abused.
The trials are scheduled to begin Monday.
DECKER, Mont. (AP) -- From the time coal is blasted from strip mines in Montana and Wyoming to the point where it reaches customers in Asia, its price can get marked up by five times or more.
It's a lucrative emerging market for an industry facing domestic declines.
But as the federal government investigates whether companies are bilking the treasury by paying royalties based on a far lower coal price, one of the industry's main players, Cloud Peak Energy, is defending the practice.
Company executives acknowledge they sell coal for more money in Asia. But they spend much more, too, in shipping and handling costs.
Members of Congress warn the government could lose many millions of dollars annually if royalties are unfairly calculated. U.S. coal exports hit a record 125 million tons last year.


text:
OK, when you win 13-1, it is for sure the sight-challenged pig finding an acorn.
The pitching was sweet. Paul Maholm went five innings, and gave up six hits and a run while walking three and striking out four. The lefty got eleven of his fifteen outs via the K or grounder, and that's a good sign for April.
The four Pirate hurlers after him - Octavio Dotel, Jack Taschner, Evan Meek, and Javier Lopez - all went an inning with no hits and a strikeout.
The hitting, wind aided though it may have been, was cracklin', too. Aki Iwamura, Andrew McCutchen, Andy LaRoche, and Garrett Jones all homered; McCutch also tripled, while Ryan Doumit had a pair of doubles and Jeff Clement had one. The Bucs had fifteen hits and the Astros committed four errors.
The Pirates needed a game like this; they had been a deep, dark, two-week funk. Let's hope the last week of spring becomes a springboard and not an anchor.
-- In his final start of the spring, Charlie Morton will face Francisco Liriano of the Twins tomorrow. Javier Lopez and Vinnie Chulk are scheduled to follow.
-- JR said he's gonna go with the pitcher batting eighth. He gave all the stock reasons; we'll see if it lasts any longer than the other times he's used it.
-- The Bucs claimed 25 year-old righty Hayden Penn off waivers from Florida, and DFA'd Brandon Moss, who was hitting .083, to create room on the 40-man roster for him. John Raynor has one less competitor to sweat over this week.
Penn looks to GW like a Kevin Hart clone; big guy, lots of nasty stuff, needs a GPS app to find home plate. Penn pitched 13 Grapefruit League innings for the Marlins this spring, and gave up 12 earned runs.
His MLB career consists of 80 innings. His record is 4-6, with an ERA of 8.89, and he's given up 114 hits (17 left the yard) in those 80 frames. He's walked 54 and K'd 53 during that span, about 6 batters each per nine innings.
Though the Fish used him as a long guy last year, he's mainly a starter. And need we mention that he's out of options? Seems like a boot in the butt to Vinnie Chulk, but hey, we'll see what the suits have in mind.
"It's a very simple game. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes it rains." (Bull Durham)
Monday, March 29, 2010
Bucs Fool With Lineup And Roster
Posted by Ron Ieraci at 5:59 PM
Labels: spring training 2010
3 comments:
- WilliamJPellas said...
If they keep this doofus over Vinnie Chulk after the way Chulk has pitched this spring, it's time to storm the Bastille.
- March 30, 2010 at 11:41 AM
- Ron Ieraci said...
Almost showtime, Will. We'll see how the grand experiments end up.
- March 30, 2010 at 6:10 PM
- WilliamJPellas said...
I feel a POTP coming on....
- March 31, 2010 at 11:03 AM
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text:
David Frum + Guns = Chicken LittleBY Herschel Smith
5 years, 3 months ago
He says he's working on a full response to my earlier post, but he provides an "appetizer portion" here. He offers a new anecdote of a gun accident, the statistic that there are more than 600 fatal gun accidents per year in the U.S., and an assertion that guns are not regulated like other consumer products.
First of all, the anecdote is a little bizarre. According to the story released by the police department — and I called to confirm — an old man tossed his coat on top of a gun while it was on a dresser, and the gun went off. The sergeant I spoke with said he didn't think the gun fell to floor; it just went off when the coat hit it. The sergeant said the gun was "not an antique," but an older-style revolver. Older revolvers are often not designed to be dropped without firing, but they usually have pretty heavy trigger pulls. If this is the way events really unfolded, it's a one-in-a-million occurrence.
Earlier this week on Twitter, Frum said that people who say guns are safer than cars must not know what a denominator is. So let's do the math on these 600 fatal accidents. Somewhere between 35 percent and 47 percent of Americans have a gun in the home; to be generous let's go with the low number and say 100 percent have a car. Back-of-the-envelope math indicates that 600 fatal gun accidents would be the equivalent of 1,700 car fatalities if we're assessing the average risk of owning one versus the other. There have been more than 30,000 car fatalities almost every year since the mid-1930s.
This is becoming boring. So let's grant the fact that older revolvers didn't have something like the transfer bar in modern day Rugers. Fine. Still, unless the hammer was cocked, I don't believe this story. It's a tall tale. I don't care that it was "confirmed" by a phone call. Without the hammer being cocked, there is no mechanism to make this happen.
However, let's go ahead and set the framework for Frum. It is a gun. It is not safe. Got it? That's why we have rules like knowing your backstop, observing muzzle discipline, observing trigger discipline, securring it from children, and so forth.
It is not safe similar to the fact that automobiles aren't safe, operating power equipment isn't safe, and any of a host of activities in which we engage daily aren't safe. It isn't safe to cross the street in my city on foot, even when you have the right-of-way.
Any activity can be made safer by observing the rules and having proper discipline. The fact that Frum keeps trotting out anecdotal evidence of people who do not observe these rules only means that he thinks we're stupid. Rather, it is Frum who embarrasses himself because he can't understand the ameliorative effects of good behavior. Or he doesn't want to because of his long, dark experiment into progressive ideology.


text:
Finally, a BlackBerry—But More Delays
Research In Motion's Stock Falls 12% After Smartphone Debut Marred by Mid-March U.S. Launch
Research In Motion Ltd. executives excused more than a year of delays by saying they wanted the next BlackBerrys to be just right. But in the end, they still managed to be late.
The BlackBerry maker scrambled over the past month to get its new phones ready for launch and didn't get the final version to U.S. carriers for testing until the last couple of weeks, people familiar with the matter said. The carrier testing process typically takes anywhere from six to eight weeks....


text:
FITCHBURG -- The St. Bernard's boys' basketball team just battles and battles and battles.
The Bernardians once again showed grit, gut, heart and determination against Central Mass. Conference rival St. John's of Shrewsbury.
The Pioneers led by 13 points late in the third quarter, but watched St. Bernard's fight right back and claim a narrow one-point lead in the fourth quarter.
But St. John's was poised down the stretch, scoring seven straight points and holding off St. Bernard's for a hard-fought 61-55 victory at a packed Activity Center Friday evening.
"I'm very proud of the way the kids fought the whole game," St. Bernard's coach Mark Pierce said. "We kind of let them get ahead of us in the first quarter and we had to play catch-up all night. We could have easily folded tonight. We battled back one possession at a time.
"All I asked them was to play very hard tonight let the chips fall where they may. I think they did that. Yes, we're disappointed that we lost the game, but we're going to use this game to learn from and to make us better."
St. John's (5-3, 2-1) led 43-30 with 1:55 left in the third quarter, but senior guard John Crawley put St. Bernard's (8-2, 0-2) on his back, scoring eight points in the quarter to cut the deficit to 43-37.
Crawley added two straight buckets to open the fourth quarter to pull the Bernardians to within 43-41.
After a St. John's basket, St. Bernard's senior guard Austin Wood buried a 3-pointer as the Pioneers clung to a 45-44 advantage.
St. Bernard's took its only lead of the second half at 49-48 when Wood faked a jumper, drove strong in the lane for the hoop and hit the free throw to complete a three-point play with 4:50 left as the Dawg Pound went wild in the stands.
But St. John's sophomore guard Davon Jones -- scoreless in the first half -- briefly silenced the crowd by nailing a trey.
St. Bernard's senior center Andrew Baron canned a long 2-pointer to deadlock the score at 51-51, but the Pioneers calmly raced out on a 7-0 run, fueled by Charlie Murray's jumper and Jones' three-point play after getting fouled and hitting a fast-break layup.
"St. Bernard's has a very good basketball team and Mark does a great job with his kids," said St. John's coach Bob Foley, whose team snapped a three-game losing skid. "We knew they were going to come back and we talked about counter-punching. They made their run and went up one, and we came right down court and scored."
Freshman guard Adham Floyd, who hobbled off with a knee injury in the second quarter, delivered two big free throws to cap off the mini-spurt, which proved to be the back-breaker.
A lack of execution late cost the Bernardians, according to their head coach.
"We had our opportunities -- we had some looks that we needed to hit," Pierce said. "They probably outplayed us in the very beginning of the game and the end of the game. In between, we played very hard and played pretty well.
"We had some good looks and I think we had one turnover in that stretch, but we've got to hit some shots. They did and we didn't. That's what it came down to in the last couple of minutes."
Crawley (game-high 20 points, 16 in the second half), Wood and Baron were all monsters for the Bernardians in the second half.
"(Crawley) struggled in the first quarter and that's a tribute to (St. John's) because they play great defense," Pierce said. "As the game wore on, he didn't come out too much in the second half. ... I don't think he came out at all. He gutted that whole second half out with guys hanging all over him. He was not going to be denied."
Wood hit two treys and scored 11 of his 13 points in the final 16 minutes, while Baron simply couldn't be stopped on the offensive and defensive glass with 10 total boards and 12 points for a double-double.
"I thought Andy Baron played tremendous on the boards," Pierce said. "He was a man on the boards tonight."
In the first quarter, the Pioneers caught fire and led 19-8 after one. St. Bernard's trailed by 13 twice in the second quarter, 21-8 and 23-10, but got itself back into the game as Baron went off for six points, including an easy layup off a feed from Crawley -- who slipped and was on his way to falling to the floor -- and four straight free throws. Wood added a transition layup to cut the deficit to 31-22 at the half.
T.J. Kelley led St. John's with 16 points. Floyd had 13, while Jones and Murray scored 10 apiece.
Follow Chad Garner at twitter.com/CGARNER23


text:
Dragon is a few years away from being man rated.
Doesn't matter
If it can be used for cargo, NASA will gladly pay the money
Of course, the more it can be used to send humans the better.
so put the guy in a suit and launch..
And the G forces during flight are always acceptable to humans?
There are facilities for dealing with human wastes, and medical emergencies? There's communications equipment?
Or would the human basically be a Laika?
There is no rush to send humans before developing much more effective remote-manned and robotic systems.
Human interaction with everything outside their "bubble" in the utterly hostile off-Earth environment requires a complete infrastructure of automatons to support the tourists.
It would be perfectly reasonable to spend a hundred years focusing on immediately useful robot systems. The only thing humans can do in space is operate machines. Build the machines.
There is no rush to send humans before developing much more effective remote-manned and robotic systems.
Speak for yourself. There are a number of us working in the space industry who are eager to take part in human exploration of space because being trapped on this single rock for the rest of our lives is just plain boring.
Surely NASA is a "civilian" space agency, and the shuttle therefore a civilian craft?
Perhaps the correct term should be "non-governmental"...
...Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamics are commercial enterprises, which happen to have lots of contracts with both military and civilian agencies of the USA and other governments.
Last time I looked, NASA was one of those civilian USA government agencies...
Put it this way - when was the last time you could buy shares in NASA (paying taxes doesn't count)?
So perhaps being a governmental object doesn't make one not a civilian, but it's still not civilian in the sense that you or I (probably) are.
Ha! But based on news of hacking break-ins at various agencies, it seems that the citizens instead "pwn" the government these days.
Yes, the shuttle was such a civilian space craft that it received much of its re-design mandates directly from the US Air Force.
The shuttle was a military craft, re-designed to satisfy military objectives. The fact that it was administrated by a combination of civilian and DoD authorities, hardly qualifies it as a civilian craft.
Surely NASA is a "civilian" space agency, and the shuttle therefore a civilian craft?
No, numerous design decisions early on in the program were made strictly to appease the defense dept. Most of them revolved around the mission requirement of launching, grabbing a russian spy sat and placing it in the cargo bay, and landing on next orbit. This requires a ridiculous cross-range capability as the launching site rotates with the earth about 2000 miles east during an orbit. Also the DoD mandated some weird on orbit maneuvering capability which I don't remember (probably some classified anti-asat maneuverability, or maybe it was something to do with the RCS system being stable enough to stick a telescope in the cargo bay for military observational purposes?)
There was also a long cross range capability for military purposes... If a civilian is worried about landing short, just aim at the center of the USA and you're all good. Insane as it sounds, if you want to land at a military base in Japan or Israel, and its a no-go for weather or whatever, you need crossrange to
The point wasn't to actually steal russian sats, which would be quite the diplomatic incident. The point was to scare them into a higher orbit out of SS range. Same sat higher up means lower resolution and less consumables means its got less lifetime and/or costs more. You only have to scare them once, during design phase, and their sats are crippled until the next generation. Presumably we wouldn't steal our own sats, and they were not going to make a clone of our SS (although turns out they did anyway) so in true cold war deterrence fashion, the end result of building the SS to DoD specs means the russians inherently end up with crappier spy sats than we do.
Well, we never did a mission like that, never even flew a super long cross range landing, for most of the active flying SS program the USSR no longer existed, it got really popular to put a giant sat with giant optics and long lifetime in geosync instead of little ones in low orbit that deorbit relatively rapidly. So it was all kind of pointless.
I concur that the design was compromised by military requirements, and that they flew some military/secret missions.
This doesn't change the fact that the orbiters were owned & operated by NASA.
By your argument, you might as well claim that due to the involvement of von Braun and others, the Saturn 5 was a Nazi rocket ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law [wikipedia.org] )
Currently, getting something in orbit costs between 3000 and 10000 dollar per kilogram...
This link shows estimated costs for all current launch systems, ranging from smallest to the biggest.
http://www.futron.com/upload/wysiwyg/Resources/Whitepapers/Space_Transportation_Costs_Trends_0902.pdf [futron.com]
I wonder what SpaceX are aiming at. Is the privatization really going to be cheaper? If so, I wonder where they will be able to cut costs.
I wonder what SpaceX are aiming at. Is the privatization really going to be cheaper?
From their website, SpaceX is planning on selling Falcon9 Heavy launches for $80-125 million per. Since the Falcon9 Heavy has a payload of 53000 kg to LEO, sounds like they'll be charging less than $2400/kg
Yep, looks cheaper than $3K-$10K per kg.
If reusability is reliable, it saves costs.
I got the idea that the reusability of the Space Shuttle was a matter of taking the entire thing apart, checking every component, and assembling it again. That's not reusability... that's recycling.
Ite is the SME(Shuttle main egines) that cause the bulk of the work. They have to be pulled torn down inspection and tested for every flight.
Yes the rest of it gets inspected too. But you dont rebuild your car engine every 30k miles either.
Russian buran didnt use SME just bigger boosters.
Now if some one can just make a 1 newton ion engine for space manuvering we will be all set.
If you listen to the MIT Open courseware series where they had lots of presenters talk about the designing and building the shuttle, one of the engineers talks about the fact the Shuttle was designed without autocad, just blueprints. He also mentioned that if diagnostics wiring had been included in the main engines they could be tested without removing them from the shuttle.
I wonder where they will be able to cut costs.
To put it bluntly: everyfuckingwhere. They got one thing very, very right: distaste for subcontractors. They figure they can control quality and leadtimes better if they do things in-house, and they don't have to support other companies' profits. It's simple, but it works wonders. There are plenty of simple business strategies that work very well out there, it seems.
So yes, the reuse quota is worse - but the amount of waste is less.
But what your tortured numerology [wikipedia.org] obscures is that while the 'waste' is less - much less is accomplished. The Shuttle could deliver 34klbs to the ISS, while Dragon delivers only 13klbs. Nor can Dragon provide crew exchange while delivering cargo. Nor can Dragon deliver modules. Nor can Dragon deliver experiment racks... (Shuttle can do all of this in a single flight!)
Seriously, the doublethink here on Slashdot and elsewhere the
The ISS is run by an international partnership, under various Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs). Any bets that the Russians won't submit lots and Lots and LOTS of "safety concerns" documents, to maximize the time they are the sole means of access to the ISS?
"Call immediately. Time is running out. We both need to do something monstrous before we die." -- Message from Ralph Steadman to Hunter Thompson


text:
Full Episode
The latest on the Boston bombing investigation including the arrest of Dzokhar Tsarnaev's three friends. Also, President Obama renews his commitment to close Guantanamo Bay. Plus, Obama's second-term agenda is being tested by unexpected events. Joining Gwen: Pete Williams, NBC News; Michael Duffy, TIME; Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times; and Christi Parson of Tribune.
Visit the Website: http://www.pbs.org/washingtonweek


text:
MicroHoo: Cash Is King?
So why hasn't Microsoft (MSFT) raised the $31-a-share price of the bid it has made for Yahoo (YHOO) yet?
I have been pondering this question recently, as the Yahoo- Microsoft deal sits in limbo, awaiting the results of Yahoo's earnings next week and the progress of "authorized" talks between the pair.
One might call it a moment of calm before what could be a very nasty storm, if the situation moves onto a proxy fight. But if I had to bet now, while I am assuming it won't drop the price, I also don't think Microsoft needs to up the ante at this point.
First, while AOL sources tell me they thought it was a done deal last week, which the company apparently expected to be approved at Yahoo's board meeting, even if Yahoo does agree to buy the Time Warner (TWX) unit, I expect Microsoft to wage a proxy fight even–especially!–in the event of a Yahoo-AOL union.
And I don't think that even if the results of Yahoo's two-week search-ad deal with Google (GOOG) are spectacular–here's a good bet: They are sure to be–it will not necessarily open the software giant's wallet more.
With Google's dominance of the search market, I am not too sure Microsoft–as deeply and weirdly paranoid as its execs are of Google–thinks it will be too tough to mire, if not scuttle, such a partnership in a deep regulatory morass.
A better scenario? Microsoft should wait until the last possible moment and then convert the deal to all-cash, which would keep the price at $31 a share in real terms, since the current bid's value has been depressed by Microsoft's lagging stock price.
After all, didn't Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang say that's one of things he wanted in his most recent letter to Microsoft, after it threatened to go hostile.
Yang wrote: "To be clear, this includes a transaction with Microsoft if it represents a price that fully recognizes the value of Yahoo on a standalone basis and to Microsoft, is superior to our other alternatives, and provides certainty of value and certainty of closing."
And cash does provide that certainty of value and certainty of closing–probably a smaller price for cash-gushing Microsoft to pay to end this more quickly.


text:
Rants on Cycling and on Life:
Photos of people and bicycles that pass in front of my camera
I miss Bruce. Used to race alleycats with him long ago. Glad to see him kickin' around! If you know Bruce you may know John Dinn & Kevin Dillard?
Post a Comment


text: Thomas C. Larcheveque, 66, of Eldon, Missouri, passed away Wednesday, February 6, 2013, at his home. He was born August 8, 1946, in Bronx, New York, a son of Henry C. and Edith V. (Schill) Larcheveque. He was a graduate of Andrew Jackson High School in St. Albans, New York, and went on to attend John Jay College in New York City, New York. Thomas was a Police Officer for the New York City Police Department from 1965 until 1987. He also worked in the construction business from 1989 until 1992. Thomas was a member of the Moose Lodge #1742 in Riverhead, New York; and the Buffalo Club of Olean, Missouri. Thomas is survived by two sons: Thomas C. Larcheveque Jr. (wife Bonnie) of Holtsville, New York, and Kevin J. Larcheveque of Islip Terrace, New York; two daughters: Jaclyn Anne Larcheveque of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and Tracy Marie Larcheveque of Angola, Indiana; one brother: John Henry Larcheveque of Rockaway Beach, New York; and one sister: Janice Marie Claire of Mattituck, New York. Friends will be received from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Saturday, February 9, 2013, at the Houser-Millard Funeral Home. Funeral Services will be held at 1:00 p.m., Saturday, February 9, 2013, at the Houser-Millard Funeral Home with Rev. Dr. Monte Shinkle officiating. Interment will follow in Mount Pleasant Cemetery near Eldon, Missouri. Expressions of sympathy may be made to The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), P.O. Box 96929; Washington, DC 20090-6929. www.aspca.org Arrangements are under the direction of HOUSER-MILLARD Funeral Directors, 2613 West Main Street, Jefferson City, MO 65109. (573) 636-3838. Condolences may be left for the family online at www.millardfamilychapels.com


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GOG.com announces that Rise of the Triad has risen, as they now offer digital distribution of Interceptor Entertainment's remake of Apogee's over-the-top old school shooter. The game is also available from the Apogee Software Online Store where the Apogee Throwback Pack is included for free, though you have to pay a premium for extended download privileges. The Steam version won't unlock for several hours, which also provides a last-minute opportunity to get the Apogee Throwback Pack for free as their preorder bonus. Here's word on the game:
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text:
Garland County fireworks tube topples; no one hurt
By The Associated Press
This article was published July 8, 2014 at 9:04 a.m.
HOT SPRINGS — Authorities say no one was injured after an accident during the July Fourth fireworks show in the Diamondhead community in Garland County.
Diamondhead General Manager James Turner said a fireworks tube that was shooting mortars was accidentally knocked over. Turner said the round inside the tube ignited and shot into the back of a pickup, which was holding the rest of the fireworks for the display.
When the round landed in the truck, everything ignited.
Turner told The Sentinel-Record that the truck holding the fireworks had a camper shell over the bed, which contained the explosion. The shell received heat damage, and there was also damage to the pickup bed.
Turner says it's a "blessing" that the truck had a cover and that no one was hurt.
Comments on: Garland County fireworks tube topples; no one hurt
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text:
Civil liberties campaigners have described the controversial proposals by the British government included in the Communications Data Bill as the Snooper's Charter, because they believe the draft bill is a significant threat to people's privacy.
The measures mark a serious increase in the powers the UK government has to order any communications provider to collect, store and provide access to information about emails, online conversations and texts.
The draft Bill contains three parts. The first section creates a new power to order companies to collect specific datasets and deploying any technical or policy changes needed to do so. Moreover, it requires the information to be retained in a confidential manner for one year and destroyed after this period passes. This kind of power can be used by any principal secretary of state, but in practice would be the Home Secretary.
The second part of the bill devises a system for assorted public bodies to get access to the data, including filtering arrangements.
The third section changes the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), repeals all other existing powers that involve retaining and disclosing communications data, and gives the Information Commissioner, the Interception of Communications Commissioner, and the Investigatory Powers Tribunal the responsibility for scrutinizing the implementation of these powers.
However, the bill gives the UK government broad powers to order any communications provider to collect and disclose communications data by any means. It is also most likely to involve black boxes being installed on ISPs networks, which will enable relevant government bodies to have access to communications data. That represents a fundamental shift to general mass surveillance of the population outsourced to the private sector. In fact, the proposals will lead to the creation of a database of a wide range of information about people's communications.
The bill is not an update of existing powers, as the data generated through the use of services like Facebook, Google and Twitter reveals far more about people than their phone records.
In addition, it will be too easy to access the data, as it simply requires designated senior officers at those bodies to believe that it's "necessary to obtain the data" and that it is "proportionate to what is sought to be achieved". It means that there will be no external and direct oversight of access requests, increasing the risk to be ripe for abuse and exploitation. The phone hacking scandal shows that the ability to access personal information will be exploited for a variety of reasons.
The bill's clauses on "filtering" appear to be applied to identifying data related to an individual from a query across datasets or databases. However, the technical ability to search and identify people will go further. For example, the data could identify a protester who posts to a radical politics site, his location at any given time and his favored contacts. The data could in effect be used to monitor political activity to a finely grained level.
There may be some possible sources for a leak of confidential data in the public interest. Comparing the individuals that might leak data with the journalist publishing the story's contact details would reveal the likely leaker. But in the draft bill, there are no means to restrict such queries and requests. Such judgments would be made only by the police.
The British government needs to explain who it is that does not currently have access to what information, and explain who need these new powers and why. It is not enough to simply say that the police need this information to solve serious crimes. Furthermore, while the government estimates that the scheme will cost £1.8bn, there is little to substantiate the figure.
The question is what happens when a business or email system encrypts data in transit. Home Office officials claim that they will be able to break encryption, but this seems unlikely. If true, it would threaten the security of the Internet economy. If they are wrong, and their systems will not break encryption, then the system will lose value as more and more data is encrypted for people's safety and security.
Related Link: "Black Boxes" to Monitor All Internet & Phone Data in UK


text:
Lilo & the curious case of the missing jewels
Something didn't smell right, did it?
So you know that Lindsay Lohan's house was burglarised. Apparently the alarm was not tripped and a safe was stolen.
Now Radar is reporting that Lilo had $2 million worth of jewels on loan from a store called XIV Karats. She was supposed to have returned them but claims they were stolen. From the safe. The safe that was taken from her home during the break-in.
My smutty sense is doing a breakdance.
GossipCop is calling the story bullsh-t based solely on a statement from Lohan's rep who says that Radar's story is "not true at all".
Appreciate GossipCop's efforts in calling out tabloid f-ckery but in this case, can we really believe a publicist paid to work for a pathological liar?
More telling is what happened when XIV Karats was contacted. They had "no comment". You know, if they considered Lindsay Lohan a good customer, they probably would have been more inclined to defend her honour.
And even her father can't explain where the jewels went.
Michael Lohan told Radar:
"Lindsay didn't take anything from (XIV Karats). They lent her jewelry and she has to give it back to them. That's all I know. She has no intention of keeping any of it. So I guess they're sorting it out."
So Lindsay Lohan is unable to account for $2 million worth of jewellery. Then 3 fashionable pseudo hipster looking kids break into her house.
Coincidence or conspiracy???
This is Lilo, lips still swollen, last night leaving Bardot after a few hours of partying. Apparently she's been begging Britney's manager Larry Rudolph to work with her for a new reality tv show chronicling her efforts to land acting roles again.
Photos from Wenn.com


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NC Sailors
Delivery Day Recommendations
November 12, 2009, 12:38:23 pm »
Based on our delivery last month, here are our ideas to make your delivery glitch-free:
Wait until Phoenix tells you that your unit is complete before you travel to Elkhart to pick it up. I drove to Elkhart from the Carolinas to arrive on the Monday after the Friday when our 2350 was to be complete. However after I left on my trip early Friday, material availability delayed delivery until the following Tuesday afternoon.
Start your delivery process early in the day. I took delivery in the afternoon and did not seem to have enough time to check everything out.
Important, know how to and be prepared to check out your units vitals before you take delivery. This includes chassis fuel, engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, tire pressures, and warning indicators and the coach generator oil, tank levels, and propane. (Since the appropriate engine oil for the Sprinter diesel is not available at retailers such as WalMart, get some from a Dodge or Mercedes dealer beforehand.)
In my case after I drove away from the factory I saw that the fuel gage on the Sprinter read 0 (one indicator bar) and there were some lit indicators on the instrument panel, which I did not immediately comprehend.
First problem was to find a diesel station in Elkhart (Karin at the factory was helpful by phone). After I refueled and got back to the motel for the first night, I checked out the owners manual for the warning indicators, which were lit for the SRS (supplemental restraint system an airbags and seatbelts problem) and lamp out problem.
I returned to the factory on Wednesday to correct the indicator problems, which required a half-day trip to the Dodge dealer in Goshen, IN to reprogram the chassis computer. Note: Phoenix indicated that they would correct this particular reprogramming problem in all subsequent Sprinter chassis they have.
I eventually tested the tire pressures and found the inner tires seriously under inflated. The how and when of this hazardous situation is indeterminate but if I had checked the tires myself before delivery, I would not have driven far on under inflated tires.
I assume that the paperwork you get at delivery is what works for Indiana. In North Carolina, it did not meet the bill. If you are not from Indiana, I recommend that you go to your local DMV office and get a list of documents you need to register your unit (Be specific in telling the DMV that you are getting a motor house or whatever they call a motor home in your state). Check with Phoenix to see if they provide the same documentation. If not, bring copies of the required forms with you when you pick up the unit in Elkhart. Phoenix will send you the manufacturers certificates of origin (one for the chassis and one for the coach) about a week after you take delivery.
You may have negotiated a better price for your unit than the Phoenix MSRP. If so, ask for a bill of sale at delivery that reflects the price you actually paid otherwise, your state my try to collect sales tax on the MSRP rather than the price you paid.
I recommend that you negotiate on your insurance. In my case, I made several trips to my home/car insurance agents office and kept challenging their proposals. I also told them that I was looking at other options, which I was. In the end, I got a substantial cut from their first offer.
I brought a set of Metric and SAE hand tools with me to fix any problems on the way home. Note: I did not use or need any of them! (I would carry a quality 12V tire inflator though.)
Any issues I list above could have been avoided with better communication and planning. I found the staff at Phoenix to be friendly and helpful especially Kraig Fisher (Kermits son) and Karin in the office. When I presented my issues, everyone at Phoenix quickly and cheerfully worked to resolve them.
Ill write soon about my trip home and outfitting the coach. We are very happy with our purchase and hope to get many years service out of it.
Last Edit: November 22, 2009, 07:08:16 pm by NC Sailors
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Hivey sailor
Re: Delivery Day Recommendations
Reply #1 on:
July 13, 2010, 07:32:14 am »
Thanks for the input and I will definitely take your recommendations. Are you happy with the diesel and what type of mileage do you get. thx Hivey sailor
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Publication Date:
June 1996
Find out how executives in leading companies have capitalized on innovative environment, health and safety reward and recognition programs for their employees. Detailed case studies of programs in 11 companies will help you assess the costs and benefits of both cash and noncash reward and recognition programs. Discussions of the focus and evolution of each of the programs provide important context to aid in your strategic planning.


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Stampendous Christmas Cling Rubber Stamp 4"X6" Sheet - STAMPENDOUS-Christmas Collection: Cling Rubber Stamps. These are the same premium quality precision trimmed rubber stamps as the Stampendous wood-mounted version. A piece of cling vinyl has replaced the wood on the adhesive side of the foam allowing the image to be used with any acrylic block (sold separately). Simply remove the disposable acetate layer revealing the vinyl cling with printed image, press onto a block, align and stamp! Use any ink that can be used with traditional wood-mounted stamps and clean with wood-mounted stamp cleaner. This package contains Winter Birds: one cling rubber stamp on a 5-1/4x4 inch backing sheet. Made in USA.Still have a question? Click to ask a Question


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The Assassin's Creed series is a consistent money-maker for Ubisoft, and that has turned the series into an annualized juggernaut. That can run the risk of franchise fatigue, but Ubisoft Montreal head Yannis Mallat doesn't think that's a problem for the series.
"The players will tell us. Right now there are more and more coming into the franchise, so I don't see that day," Mallat told Eurogamer. "It's our breakthrough. When you have quality content, the frequency of coming out with the game is not an issue at all. On the contrary, people expect more and more of that content. So it's natural to be able to provide that content. The gamers are happy and it's our job to make them happy."
In other words, as long as players are buying Assassin's Creed games, the message to Ubisoft is that fans want more of the series. Mallat also noted that making the games occur yearly doesn't mean the churning development cycle that the term often implies.
"When we say we are annualising the franchise, we don't say the teams only have one year to work on a project," he said. "It's mature enough in growing the talent and the core teams so we can have several core teams working on the next one and other projects on the brand. That's why every Assassin's Creed has one dedicated core team working more than one year on their projects. We call that a roadmap. It takes into account the creative content - the settings, the where and what - the technology and the team."


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Foul Play Not Suspected in Sioux Falls Man's Death
Police say foul play is not suspected in the death of a Sioux Falls man whose body was found by a real estate agent.
Lieutenant Loren McManus says the agent was getting ready to show the apartment in the 600 block of West Bennett Street around 9:15am Monday and was there with an inspector.
He says they weren't able to get into the apartment, but when they did they found the man's body inside.
McManus says so far, investigators don't believe there was anything suspicious about the man's death, based on his medical history.
McManus says police are still investigating, but he also says there doesn't appear to be anything criminal in nature about the 51-year-old man's death.
He says the man had likely been in the apartment for a couple of days before his body was discovered.


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Workers and volunteers with Age UK are taking a bus across Calderdale and Kirklees to let older people know about services in the districts.
The organisation's roadshow will be stopping off at Morrison's in Elland from 1pm - 3pm on Monday August 4 where staff will be on hand to answer questions or guide residents to relevant services.
On Tuesday August 5 the roadshow will be in the centre of Sowerby Bridge from 10am - noon before moving to the Dodnaze Community Centre at Hebden Bridge from 1pm - 3pm.
It then goes to Batley and Dewsbury on Wednesday, Skelmanthorpe and Holmfirth on Thursday and Almondbury and Slaithwaite on Friday.
For more information about local services provided by Age UK Calderdale and Kirklees, call 01484 535994 or 01422 252040.


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Starting today, December 7th until December 17th, keep an eye out for BlackBerry teams around New York City to receive exclusive giveaways!
Spot a BlackBerry alert (http://www.blackberryos.com/bbos-ima...1/ping-fwa.jpg) around town and scan the barcode on the back to add us to your BBM list (BlackBerry Messenger). BlackBerry will be promoting exclusive offers for BlackBerry users in the New York area, giving away new BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 smartphones, BlackBerry accessories and coffee gift cards to warm you up throughout the month of December.
Good luck, and be sure to let us know if you stumble across a BlackBerry alert!


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Bulldogs Four Points Away from Home Ice Spot in Playoffs
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – With a win and a tie in a home-and-home series vs. Brown last weekend, the Yale women's ice hockey team has extended its unbeaten streak to five games -- the team's longest unbeaten streak in seven years. The Bulldogs also gained three points in the ECAC Hockey standings and moved into a tie for sixth place. That puts them four points away from fourth place -- and one of the four home ice spots for the conference quarterfinal playoff series -- with four weekends of regular season games left. This weekend Yale visits No. 6 Cornell and Colgate.
Yale (7-10-5, 5-5-4 ECAC Hockey) has already won more games this season (seven) than it did in the two previous seasons combined. The Bulldogs are averaging 2.38 goals per game, their highest average since the 2006-07 team averaged 3.10 goals per game.
The Bulldogs have been winning with a relatively young lineup. Five of Yale's top six scorers are freshmen and sophomores, led by freshman forward Phoebe Staenz (Zürich, Switzerland) (9-14-23). Staenz was named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week on Tuesday after scoring a goal and adding two assists in the Bulldogs' weekend series vs. Brown. Staenz, a member of the Swiss Olympic Team, is eighth in the nation in assists per game and 10th in points per game; she leads the nation in points per game among rookies.
Besides Staenz, five other Bulldogs (three sophomores, another freshman and a junior) have already reached double digits in points: sophomore forward Janelle Ferrara (Winthrop, Mass.) (4-12-16), sophomore forward Jamie Haddad (Wilbraham, Mass.) (7-7-14), sophomore forward Hanna Åström (Örnsköldsvik, Sweden) (4-8-12), junior forward Stephanie Mock (Cape Coral, Fla.) (3-7-10) and freshman forward Krista Yip-Chuck (Whitby, Ont.). This is the first time since 2010-11 that Yale has had at least six players reach double digits in scoring. Haddad has four goals in the last six games.
Senior defenseman Aurora Kennedy (Mississauga, Ont.) leads Yale in +/- at +9. If she maintains that number, she will finish with the best +/- by a Yale player since Bray Ketchum finished at +9 in 2008-09. Kennedy is part of a group of four skaters for the Bulldogs -- along with Åström, Ferrara and Yip-Chuck -- who have appeared in all 21 games and incurred three or fewer penalties.
Junior goaltender Jaimie Leonoff (Montréal, Québec) stopped 52 of 55 shots last weekend, improving her season save percentage to .927. That would place her sixth in Yale's single-season list -- 14 points away from the school single-season record (.941, Jackee Snikeris '11 in 2010-11).
Cornell (14-3-4, 9-2-3 ECAC Hockey), which is winless (0-2-1) in its last three games after starting the season 14-1-3, is third in the ECAC Hockey standings -- four points behind first-place Harvard. The Big Red is second in the conference in scoring offense (3.57 goals per game, trailing only Clarkson). But on Friday Cornell will be playing without forward Jessica Campbell, the team's No. 3 scorer, as she has been suspended for one game by ECAC Hockey. The league action was taken after review of an incident that occurred at the 19:55 mark of the third period in Cornell's game vs. Clarkson last Saturday; Campbell was assessed a major penalty for hitting from behind and a game misconduct penalty.
Cornell still has plenty of firepower from forwards Jillian Saulnier (15-15-30) and Emily Fulton (12-17-29). Saulnier, who is tied for third in the conference in goals, has played for Canada's Under-22 team. Fulton has played for Canada's Under-18 team. The Big Red also features goalie Lauren Slebodnick, a third team All-ECAC Hockey selection last season who has a .914 save percentage and a 2.17 goals-against average this year.
Colgate (5-19-2, 2-12-0 ECAC Hockey), which hosts Brown Friday, has lost six games in a row and given up three or more goals in four straight. The Raiders hung close with the Bulldogs when the two teams met earlier this year in New Haven, scoring with 34 seconds to play to pull within 5-4, but Yip-Chuck capped the game with an empty-netter just before time expired for a 6-4 final in favor of Yale.
Forward Miriam Drubel (7-8-15) leads Colgate in scoring. Brittney Brooks (.907 save percentage, 2.59 goals-against average, 672 minutes), Ashlynne Rando (.884, 3.55, 490 minutes) and Susan Allen (.916, 2.40, 399 minutes) have all seen time in goal.
On Friday night the Bulldogs will be a part of the Cornell's "Do it for Daron" night, in memory of Daron Richardson -- the sister of Cornell defenseman Morgan Richardson. The Do it for Daron organization raises funds and awareness for youth mental health issues; Daron Richardson committed suicide in 2010. The two teams will wear purple stickers and laces, and fans are asked to show their support by wearing purple to the game.
- Yale Statistics
- Cornell Statistics
- Colgate Statistics
- Live Stats Friday at Cornell
- Live Stats Saturday at Colgate
- Live Video Friday at Cornell
- Live Video Saturday at Colgate
- Directions to Cornell's Lynah Rink
- Directions to Colgate's Starr Rink
- Yale Women's Ice Hockey on Twitter
- Yale Women's Ice Hockey on Facebook
Report by Sam Rubin '95 (email@example.com), Yale Sports Publicity


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SAGINAW (AP) – A shooting in a parking lot during a party where hundreds of students and their family members gathered before a Michigan high school prom left a 17-year-old girl dead and three women injured, police said.
The shooting happened about 6 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot at Florence Event Hall in Saginaw, about 85 miles northwest of Detroit. Police Sgt. Reggie Williams said there were "multiple shooters," but officials didn't say whether suspects had been identified.
Williams had earlier instructed students not to gather for a pre-prom event, which he said is an annual occurrence, MLive.com reported.
"Every year, we usually have an incident of some sort," he said. "Last year, we had shots fired. The year before, we had a fight."
Williams told reporters at the scene that the department hadn't confirmed whether the teenager who died was a student at Saginaw High School, which had its prom at another facility about eight miles away. The women — ages 18, 19 and 39 — were taken to a hospital for treatment, police said.
Names weren't immediately released.
Students had first gathered at another location in the city on Thursday for the unofficial pre-prom event, but were kicked out and moved to the hall, Williams said. The Saginaw Police Department is investigating the shooting along with Michigan State Police.
The school's prom at Crooked Creek Banquet Center in Saginaw County's Thomas Township went on Thursday night following the shooting.
© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Developing and Using Snd: Editing Sound Under Linux, Part One
Pages: 1, 2, 3, 4
Customizing Snd: The basics
Both Cool Edit and Snd can be customized, but in Cool Edit's case, the extent is limited to interface cosmetics, audio system configuration settings, and support for plug-in architectures (though this support is very powerful). Snd is vastly more extensible, and it is by means of that extensibility that we will find a gentler and perhaps more familiar way into the depths of Snd. And yes, Snd also supports a plug-in architecture (LADSPA). Let's take a closer look at how we can customize Snd to make it friendlier to Cool Edit users.
Snd's functions can be customized and extended by means of three files: the
.snd initialization file, the
Snd.ad X resource file, and Scheme code (files with the
.scm extension) loaded at runtime or dynamically loaded during program operation (via the Listener window). Some customization options are also available at the command-line when launching Snd. The resource and initialization files can both contain Scheme code, but I suggest placing lengthy code within its own file or files.
I use my
$HOME/.snd initialization file (included in the
dp_scm tarball listed in the Resources for this article) to define the cursor shape, set display colors, restrict file listings to sound file types only, and set some audio parameters. This file also stores the information generated from selecting Save Options from the Options menu.
An X/Motif program such as Snd may utilize a resource file that defines various aspects of the Motif graphic interface such as color sets and font lists. The Snd distribution contains a resource file named
Snd.ad (the extension stands for "application defaults") that should be copied simply as
Snd to your
$HOME directory. There isn't much to edit in
Snd.ad, and you can safely leave it as it's found in the source package.
The source distribution includes a large collection of
.scm files. These Scheme code files are the keys to accessing Snd's full range of capabilities, including routines for signal processing and other special effects and for adding new features to the graphic interface (such as menus and graphics control widgets). We will return to these files throughout this article, and we will investigate some of them in detail, but for now let's continue with our introduction to the basics of Snd.
Here's how I typically open Snd:
snd -geometry 900x800 -l /home/dlphilp/my_scm/misc.scm foo.snd foo.wav foo.au foo.sf2 foo.mp3 foo.W01
The format extensions to those
foo files should be familiar to most audio people (the last one is a file format for the Yamaha TX16W sampler) and Snd will dutifully load them all. The MP3 and sampler files are converted to the RAW and Snd formats respectively, but the conversions work only for importing sounds: Snd does not encode MP3 files nor can it directly write files in the TX16W format (see Table 2 for a full list of Snd's accepted file types).
Table 2: Supported file formats
Cool Edit
MPEG 3 (MP3), ACM waveform (WAV), Apple AIFF format (PCM encoded data only) (AIF), CCITT mu-Law and A-Law waveforms (WAV), Dialogic ADPCM (VOX), IMA/DVI ADPCM waveform (WAV), Microsoft ADPCM waveform (WAV), Next/Sun CCITT mu-Law, A-Law and PCM format (AU), Raw PCM Data, Sound Blaster voice file format (VOC), TrueSpeech (WAV), ASCII Text Data (.TXT), Amiga IFF-8SVX (.IFF, .SVX)
RealMedia G2 (export only)
read/write (many data formats):
NeXT/Sun/DEC/AFsp, AIFF/AIFC, RIFF (Microsoft WAV), IRCAM (old style), NIST-sphere, no header (RAW)
read-only (in selected data formats):
8SVX (IFF), EBICSF, INRS, ESPS, SPPACK, ADC (OGI), AVR, VOC, PVF, Sound Tools, Turtle Beach SMP, SoundFont 2.0, Sound Designer I and II, PSION, MAUD, Kurzweil 2000, Tandy DeskMate, Gravis Ultrasound, ASF, PAF, CSL, Comdisco SPW, Goldwave sample, omf, quicktime Sonic Foundry, SBStudio II, Delusion digital, Digiplayer ST3, Farandole Composer WaveSample, Ultratracker WaveSample, Sample Dump exchange, Yamaha SY85, SY99, and TX16, Covox v8, SPL, AVI
automatically translated to Sun 16-bit, then read/write:
IEEE text, Mus10 SAM 16-bit (modes 1 and 4), IBM CVSD, AVI, NIST shortpack, HCOM, Intel and Oki (Dialogic) ADPCM, MIDI sample dump, G721, G723_24, G723_40, IFF Fibonacci and Exponential
automatically translated (with appropriate Scheme module) to 16-bit 44.1 kHz stereo RAW, then read-only:
-l flag informs Snd that a Scheme file is to be loaded along with the rest of the program's normal functions. I utilize several Scheme files from the Snd source package to customize the program with such amenities as an effects menu, various time-domain and frequency-domain editing routines, and other significant interface extensions and enhancements.
Multiple instances of this flag may be entered at the command line, but one Scheme file can
#include other Scheme files by using the
load command. For example, my
misc.scm file begins by including some of the distribution Scheme files as well as some custom code for my own extensions:
(load "/home/dlphilp/snd-5/snd-motif.scm")
(load "/home/dlphilp/snd-5/examp.scm")
(load "/home/dlphilp/snd-5/dsp.scm")
(load "/home/dlphilp/my_scm/special-menu.scm")
(load "/home/dlphilp/my_scm/new-effects.scm")
Other lines in this file will turn on a "hidden controls" dialog, check for unsaved edits before exiting Snd, summon a panel for listing and editing marks, and add many other features available from the Scheme files loaded above. We'll look more closely into
misc.scm later, but for now it is important to note that before using my
misc.scm to customize Snd you must edit the load path to indicate where you have unpacked the Snd sources.
-geometry flag is an X Windows option to set the size of any X-aware application and is not unique to Snd.
Snd's graphic display can also be configured using the
-separate, and
-horizontal flags. The notebook flag will present your sound files as though they were on pages in a tabbed spiral-bound notebook [Figure 3], while the
-separate flag will open the files in separate windows [Figure 4]. Snd's normal graph view stacks multiple sound files in a vertical fashion, but the
-horizontal flag will place them side by side [Figure 5].
Finally, opening Snd with the
--help flag will result in this display of information:
[dlphilp@localhost dlphilp]$ snd --help
Snd is a sound editor. Peruse the 'help' menu or try the
snd-help function for help.
This is Snd version 5.2 of 30-Aug-01:
Xen: 1.0, Guile: 1.5.0
Sndlib 13.7 (29-Aug-01, int24 samples)
CLM 1.51 (6-July-01)
gsl: 0.9.1
Motif 2.1.30 X11R6
Xpm 3.4.11
with LADSPA
Compiled Aug 30 2001 09:40:29
C: egcs-2.91.66 19990314/Linux (egcs-1.1.2 release)
Libc: 2.1.3.s


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Review of Flight
on 2012-11-12 18:25
Movie Review: "Flight"
-- Rating: R (for drug and alcohol abuse, language, sexuality/nudity, and an intense action sequence)
Length: 138 minutes
Release Date: November 2, 2012
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Genre: Drama
"Flight" is an American drama written by John Gatins and directed by Robert Zemeckis, who also produced the film. It features Zemeckis' return to live-action films after directing animated films since 2000. "Flight" has an all-star cast that includes Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Bruce Greenwood, Melissa Leo, and Kelly Reilly.
William "Whip" Whitaker (Denzel Washington) is an airline captain who spends the evening before a flight drinking and having sex with Katerina Marquez (Nadine Velazquez). He has had very little sleep and takes cocaine to wake up before piloting a plane bound for Atlanta. The plane runs into strong turbulence shortly after takeoff while co-pilot Ken Evans (Brian Geraghty) is piloting the plane. Afterwards, Whip has a drink and goes to sleep.
A noise awakens Whip just before the plane is scheduled to begin its final descent. The plane then enters a steep dive, which Whip corrects by rolling the plane upside down and turning it right side up. The plane crash lands, knocking Whip unconscious. When he regains consciousness, he finds himself safe from serious injury.
Charlie Anderson (Bruce Greenwood), a representative of the pilots union, informs Whip that his actions saved the lives of everyone onboard except for six people, and Katerina is one of the people who were killed. Whip's attorney Hugh Lang (Don Cheadle) informs him that a toxicology screen was performed on Whip while he was unconscious. It shows that he was intoxicated at the time of the crash landing, and Lang warns Whip that he could be facing charges of manslaughter and drug use.
Whip later begins a romance with Nicole Maggen (Kelly Reilly), a recovering heroin addict whom Whip met in the hospital. Whip's growing alcoholism eventually drives Nicole away, so he has to stay with Charlie to avoid the media frenzy. Whip also tries unsuccessfully to abstain from alcohol before testifying at the NTSB hearing.
The hearing determines that the crash was caused by a mechanical malfunction, rather than pilot error. Lang has the toxicology results ruled inadmissible, and it seems that Whip is off the hook. Whip admits that he was intoxicated at the time of the crash and then sets out to repair his relationships with the people around him.
"Flight" is a classic drama that examines the exhilarating thrills and disastrous consequences of addiction. The early scenes of Whip drinking beer and snorting cocaine just before piloting a commercial airplane serve to establish the severity of Whip's addiction. The look on co-pilot Ken's face when Whip climbs into the cockpit also shows how far Whip has gone in his downward spiral.
The film introduces the concept of an act of God with the plane's inexplicable descent. Many of the characters in the film maintain throughout the film that the crash was an accident. This scene will keep the audience enthralled as Whip heroically tries to save the plane despite his obvious intoxication.
"Flight" tries to show that a flawed human being can still be a hero. It will lead some members of the audience to believe that Whip's mental impairment and aggressive flying style was at least partially responsible for the plane's mechanical failure. Other viewers will think that Whip's flying skill saved the plane by overriding his substance abuse. Gatins also introduces a second drug addict in the screenplay to reinforce the film's overriding theme of drug addiction. Nicole shoots up with heroin and ends up in the same hospital as Whip when she crashes.
Washington and Reilly both deliver convincing performances as drug addicts attempting to achieve sobriety. Don Cheadle and John Goodman are amoral characters who make Whip's behavior look commendable by comparison. Flight attendant Margaret Thomason (Tamara Tunie) is one of the few characters in the film with an effective moral compass.
Fans of Washington will recognize that he has played memorable but morally corrupt characters before. These characters include Alonzo Harris in "Training Day" and Frank Lucas in "American Gangster." The primary difference is that Whip's behavior is manipulative and exasperating without being overtly criminal. However, he still fails to measure up as a classic hero.
"Flight" is an effective combination of a nail-biting thriller and a morality play. Zemeckis shows that he can still elicit human drama from live actors after experimenting with motion-capture films since the 2000 drama "Castaway." He also knows how to select the best actors for each part, including the starring and supporting roles.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars


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Happy 11/12/13! You don't get to say that everyday. Not that you get to say it's any other date every day either, but you know what I mean. We can revisit this incredibly significant topic next year on 12/13/14, unless you use European notation, in which case you have an entirely different 11/12/13 of your own next month.
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Boston University shot a season-high 50 percent from the field and Rashidat Agboola recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds as the Terriers rolled to a 68-42 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday in the Christmas City Classic in Bethlehem, Pa.
BU has won six straight games to improve to 9-3.
Kristen Sims scored 13 points, and Mo Moran and Chantell Alford added 12 and 11 for BU, which made 25 of its 50 field goal attempts, including 11 of 22 from 3-point range. The Terriers will meet Lehigh Sunday in the tournament finale.
Danielle Parkey and Kelsey Cruz each had 11 points for Fairleigh Dickinson (4-6), which did not hit a field goal until the 12:01 mark of the first half as BU opened a 20-3 lead.
Florida International 66, Northeastern 56 — Jerica Coley's 19 points led five starters in double figures as the host Panthers (7-4) beat the Huskies (6-3) at the Sun & Fun Classic in Miami. Deanna Kerkhof had 22 points for Northeastern.
Providence 71, Colorado State 53 — Sophomore Tori Rule scored a career-high 32 points to lead the Friars (4-8) to a victory over the Rams (3-8) at the Fordham Holiday Classic in New York.
Symone Roberts added 15 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals for Providence, which advanced to Sunday's championship game against Lafayette.
The Friars trailed, 13-8, with 12:55 left in the first half before taking off an 18-0 run to take control. Sam Martin led Colorado State with 14 points.
Fairfield 81, Wagner 44 — Alexys Vazquez was 7 of 9 from 3-point range en route to a game-high 23 points as the Stags (6-5) routed the Seahawks (1-10) in the consolation game of the Hawk Classic at St. Joseph's in Philadelphia.
Brittany Obi-Talbot added 18 points for Fairfield, 17 in the first half as the Stags opened a 42-21 lead. Laura Amorosa had 9 points to lead Wagner.
Colgate 72, New Hampshire 61 — Mariah Jones scored 25 points to lead the Red Raiders (5-7) over the Wildcats (5-7) in Hamilton, N.Y. Jhazmine Lynch added 11 points and Kelly Reid 10 for Colgate.
Morgan Frame had 17 points and 10 rebounds for New Hampshire, and Kaylee Kilpatrick added 13 points.
Canisius 56, Vermont 55 — Ashley Durham had 12 points and Jamie Ruttle 11 as the Golden Griffs (3-8) held off the Catamounts (3-10) in Buffalo despite going scoreless in the final 4:27.
Sam Simononis scored 13 points and Niki Taylor 12 for Vermont. Taylor's two free throws with 1:11 left capped an 8-0 run and pulled Vermont to within the final margin.
Central Conn. 76, Delaware State 54 — Jaclyn Babe scored 23 points to lead the Blue Devils (6-5) over the Hornets (2-9) in the consolation game of the UM Holiday Tournament in Coral Gables, Fla. Tierra Hawkins had 18 points for Delaware State.
Brown 57, Maryland-Eastern Shore 46 — Sheila Dixon scored 20 points and Lauren Clarke added 12 as the Bears (4-6) beat the Hawks (4-8) at the Terrapin Classic in College Park, Md. Karona Roach had 13 points to pace UMES.
Georgia Tech 74, Quinnipiac 57 — Dawnn Maye scored 24 points and Aaliyah Whiteside 17 to lead the Yellow Jackets (6-5) over the Bobcats (8-2) at the Sun & Fun Classic in Miami. Brittany McQuain led Quinnipiac with 17 points.
Baylor 106, SE Louisiana41 — Jordan Madden scored all 13 of her points in the first half and the third-ranked Lady Bears (10-1) won easily in Waco, Texas.
Brandi Simmons had 12 points to lead Southeastern Louisiana (7-4).
Notre Dame 74, Purdue 47 — Kayla McBride scored 18 points, Natalie Achonwa had 15 points and 17 rebounds, and Skylar Diggins shook off early foul trouble to finish with 16 points to help the No. 5 Fighting Irish (10-1) rout the Boilermakers in South Bend, Ind.
Purdue (11-2) was one of the nation's best 3-point shooting teams coming in, but went 0 for 11 from behind the arc.
Maryland 72, Hartford 40 — Alyssa Thomas had 22 points and 11 rebounds, helping the No. 9 Terrapins (10-2) cruise past the Hawks (9-4) in the championship game of the Terrapin Classic in College Park, Md.
Tournament MVP Tianna Hawkins scored 16 points and Alicia DeVaughn added 13 points and 13 rebounds for Maryland, which has won six straight games. The Terrapins improved to 96-5 in nonconference games at Comcast Center. Daphne Elliott had 9 points to lead Hartford.


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I noticed a bit of a descrepency between my SF catalog and their website when looking at the runtime on this little guy. The website says it has 5 hours on full power mode, yet the catalog I picked up at SHOT says more like 1.5-2.5+ hours depending on what part of the catalog I look at.
Does anyone have some actual numbers from one of these? I'd be a lot more impressed if it lived up to the 5 hours runtime than the lower times(obviously).
I'm looking at a few new lights to buy to add into my EDC rotation, and this is a very promising looking one, but I'd like to have an actual idea of what I'm gonna get runtime wise.


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Does Bungie have to be "ethical" when it comes to pre-orders of Destiny?
MP freindly uncle act works on those not as intelligent as me or other superior pc gamers. He is clearly a stooge with the publishers interests in mind, not yours. That means promoting taking as much of your money as possible.
Wake up suckers.
I used to dislike Pachter but over time he's grown on me.
When he first came on the scene it was obvious he was a hack who didn't know what he was talking about and as such everything he said was totally off the wall and obviously inaccurate.
But these days he seems to be in somewhat touch in with the actual issues. I still can't believe he gets paid to do whatever he does but all the power to him I guess.
I normally really dislike Pachter, but I oddly agree with him this time. He's even got the Bioshock 2 vinyl album and an original copy of FF7 showing like I do.
I've been on this rant in the past. I don't have a problem with pre-order, but putting money down before the game is released is silly. I get pre-orders. In fact, I pre-order almost everything I buy, but I do it through Amazon where I don't pay a single cent until the game ships. Paying $5 at GameStop isn't really a big deal, but some people pay stuff off in full beforehand. Why? You're just giving them an interest free loan.