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Getting Real About Meth
It's easy to score. Kids think it's cool. But trying this drug "just one time" can lead to a devastating addiction. Could you spot the telltale signs if your teen were hooked?
The Facts About Meth
The frightening headlines and news stories — "America's most dangerous drug," "a weapon of mass destruction," "an unprecedented epidemic and crisis" — have faded. And recent trends are encouraging: Fewer middle and high school students are abusing meth; drug seizures and lab busts are on the decline. And dire predictions of a surge of "smurfs," "strawberry quick," and other candy-flavored types of meth designed to tempt younger kids haven't come true.
Those facts, however, offer little comfort to families that have been devastated by a teen's addiction — and no reason for parents to let down their guard. Meth is no longer the new drug on the block but has seeped into the mainstream culture, making it an even more insidious threat. Production of homemade meth is down, but "ice" is pouring in from Mexico and Canada. Once largely confined to rural areas and the West Coast, it has now spread across the country. And whether it's AMC TV's Breaking Bad, about a struggling high school chemistry teacher who becomes a meth dealer to support his wife and son, or celebs who dis the drug even as they rave about the incredible rush, meth still has a grim allure for teens. What girl wouldn't be tempted when she hears the singer Fergie describe meth as "such a fun drug at first [because] you lose weight and look great for a while" — and as "the hardest boyfriend I ever had to break up with"?
Then there's the seductive potency of the drug itself. Snorted, smoked, or injected, meth — which is made by cooking the pseudoephedrine from cold pills with iodine, anhydrous ammonia (fertilizer), and other common chemicals — releases a burst of dopamine, causing an intense euphoria that can last 6 to 24 hours. But the high comes from damaging the brain's pleasure centers, making users unable to feel good from anything except more meth. New research from Brookhaven National Laboratory suggests that the drug enters the brain as quickly as cocaine but affects more regions and lingers longer. Chronic abuse can lead to paranoia, hallucinations, and violent behavior. And the harm is long lasting; more than a year after going clean, users still show severe impairment of memory, judgment, and motor coordination similar to those suffering from Parkinson's disease.
As the following stories show, it's not only meth addicts who suffer: The collateral damage to families is immense. The good news is that by talking to your kids and making them aware of the risks, you can help them say no. The Meth Project (methproject.org), a nationwide prevention group that targets 12- to 17-year-olds, says it's helped reduce the number of first-time teen users with its TV, radio, print, billboard, and Internet ads that graphically depict the horrors of addiction. "We undertook a campaign in 2005 to 'unsell' meth, reaching 70 percent of teens three times a week with our theme, 'Not Even Once,'" says Peg Shea, executive director of the project's Montana branch. After two years, the state saw a 45 percent decrease in meth use among teens and a 62 percent drop in meth-related crimes. The group has also had an impact in Arizona, where 86 percent of parents report having discussed the drug with their teen during the past year, most of them prompted by one of the group's ads. "Parents need to be tuned in to the dangers their kids are facing," says Shea. "And they need to let their kids know they're willing to discuss the problem." Read on to learn the signs of meth abuse, how to keep communication open, and other preventive measures so you can be your teen's first line of defense.
One Family's Nightmare
Wendy Macker was worried about her 15-year-old son Graham. An A student and star athlete, he'd always been an outgoing, happy kid, even after the death of his father from a heart attack 10 years earlier. But Graham had been avoiding Wendy and his two older siblings and had taken to hanging out with a rough, older crowd in Kalispell, Montana. When she did see him, he was pale and agitated, euphoric one minute and in despair the next. One day, Wendy, the owner of a small carpet company, was at work when someone broke into her home and stole all her jewelry. She suspected Graham, who denied everything. Then she confronted one of his so-called friends. He admitted to the theft and gave her the loot — along with the shock of her life. "You should check on your own kid," he said. "Graham's been shooting meth."
Graham denied the accusation, but the guilty look on his face told Wendy he was lying. "Everything spiraled downhill after that," says Wendy, 45, recalling that terrible night in 2004. "He disappeared for days at a time, and I'd drive around town hunting him down. I'd bring him home and try to feed him — he looked like death warmed over — but he wouldn't eat." Graham's weight dropped from 160 to 115 pounds, and he was nearly killed in a drug deal gone bad. "They call meth 'the devil,'" says Graham, "and it brought out the devil in me. I stole from family and friends. I robbed houses. All I cared about was my next fix."
Graham and his pals preferred to shoot up in their arms, necks, and legs. A dealer once said Graham was the type who would never be able to turn back and that he expected him to die from the drug. Wendy feared the same, but didn't know how to save her son. "Once, after he'd vanished for more than a month, I found him at a friend's house with a bunch of other users," she says. "I got down on my hands and knees, begging him to come home. He did, but the next morning he was gone. I don't know what made me do it, but I drove 20 miles to the nearest train station. Graham was headed for Seattle, his pockets full of drugs. If I hadn't gotten there in time, I never would have seen him alive again."
The turning point came in 2007, after Graham was arrested yet again for possession. Wendy got a call from the Montana Meth Project, which works with local law enforcement to keep track of juvenile meth-related crimes so it can help families in trouble. Following a counselor's advice, Wendy hired two escorts to come to her home in the middle of the night, handcuff Graham and take him to a treatment program in Thompson Falls, Montana. "I was high when they came and really pissed at my mom," he says. "But if she hadn't done that, meth would've killed me." After six months of treatment, Graham, now 19, came back to Kalispell, where he's grown close to Wendy and siblings Julius, 24, and Kaitlin, 21, once again. "I still have cravings every day and attend support meetings every night," he says. "But life's worth living again. My mom thinks that's a miracle. I guess she's right."
This Is Your Teen on Meth
Signs and SymptomsIn the early stages of use, red flags include incessant talking, decreased appetite, jitteriness and anxiety, dilated pupils, and sweating. Later on, abusers develop strong body odor, tooth decay, and acne-type sores; they also become moody, alternating between angry outbursts and withdrawal. Full-blown addicts suffer extreme weight and hair loss, intense paranoia, and hallucinations.
Talking the TalkThere are many code names for meth that kids may use in your presence or with friends, such as speed, zip, uppers, go-fast, crank (and, by extension, the "Jenny Crank Diet"), crypto, chalk, bling bling, crystal, ice, quartz, glass, shabu, stove top, cinnamon, lemon drop, black beauties, spackle, trash, tina, and tweak.
Hidden ParaphernaliaRazor blades and playing cards are often used to crush meth crystals into powder. Lots of plastic straws or hollowed-out pens in the trash could mean your teen is snorting the drug; partially crushed soda cans (with small holes punched in one side), light bulbs with the bottoms and filaments removed, charred soda bottle caps or a stash of butane cigarette lighters may be evidence he's smoking or injecting it.
One in four teens surveyed say the drug is easy to acquire, and one in three see little to no danger in trying meth once or twice. (Source: The Meth Project)
Take the Offensive
You're too busy, it's awkward, your kid knows better — parents have all sorts of excuses for not discussing meth abuse with their kids. More than half of all teens, in fact, say the subject has never been broached in their family. Since teens typically interpret silence as implicit approval, experts say you should do the following:
- Send a clear message: Tell your children repeatedly that you expect them not to use meth or other drugs. Explain the dangers of abuse — including addiction, organ damage, and brain damage — and the effects, from falling grades and impaired judgment to injuries and death.
- Use teachable moments: When you're watching TV shows or movies, reading the news headlines, or talking about events in your friends' lives, take every opportunity to discuss substance abuse so it's part of daily conversation, not a lecture. Prep your kids for real life by offering advice on how they should deal with peer pressure and social situations involving meth or other drugs.
- Insist on truth — and consequences: Set a reasonable curfew for your teens. Tell them in advance that you'll be following up — talking to their teachers and coaches, calling their friends' parents, even showing up unexpectedly on occasion — to make sure they're where they say they are. Discipline for breaking the rules should be firm and consistent. Stay up until they come home so you can talk to them and discreetly check for signs of abuse.
Dangers of Denial
If you suspect your child is using meth, get help immediately. "It's natural for parents to want to believe their kids are innocent," says Carol Falkowski, director of chemical health at the Minnesota Department of Human Services and author of Dangerous Drugs: An Easy-to-Use Reference for Parents and Professionals (Hazelden). "But if adults don't intervene, it will only cause the problem to escalate."
David Sheff, 52, author of Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction (Houghton Mifflin), learned that lesson the hard way. When his son, Nic, became hooked in high school, David refused to acknowledge the truth about the smart, precocious young man he thought he knew so well — even after Nic began stealing money and was repeatedly hauled away in handcuffs for possession. "I had this deep-rooted image of meth being a motorcycle-gang, trailer-park drug," says David, a writer who had raised Nic in the upscale town of Inverness, not far from San Francisco. His denial made his son's recovery all the more harrowing. Nic went through a seven-year ordeal of overdosing, recovery, and relapse before finally achieving a hard-won sobriety that began, as David says ruefully, "in December of 2005 — three years and two months ago. But who's counting, right?"
Now 25 and pursuing a master's degree in writing at Bennington College in Vermont, Nic has penned his own best-selling memoir, Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines (Ginee Seo). Staying clean remains a daily struggle. His father's greatest regret? That he and his ex didn't force their son into rehab when they were legally able, if only to keep him substance-free during the critical, vulnerable stage of adolescence. "Don't worry about depriving your kid of his privacy or the right to make his own decisions," says David. "If your child is endangering himself or others, you have to act fast."
Resources and Treatment Programs
To locate a treatment program near you:
- Contact the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (800-662-HELP) or visit findtreatment.samhsa.gov.
- Go to Methresources.gov, which lists organizations in states participating in the Anti-Meth Campaign (Alaska, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Oregon, and Washington).
- Call the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (800-729-6686), where you can speak directly to a specialist.
Originally published in the February 2009 issue of Family Circle magazine.


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I wanted to use the PostGIS functionality raster2pgsql, but I had to discover that the Python function was not installed with my PostGIS installation.
Do you know if
raster2pgsql is generally part of the PostGIS installation or do I have to install a special package?
I installed PostGreSQL and PostGIS on my mac via
> brew upgrade postgis tells my that the latest version is installed, which is obviously not the case (1.5.3 installed, but 1.5.5 available).
The complete installation is
select PostGIS_full_version();
POSTGIS="1.5.3" GEOS="3.3.2-CAPI-1.7.2" PROJ="Rel. 4.7.1, 23 September 2009" LIBXML="2.7.3" USE_STATS

subset: commoncrawl


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In Judaism, challah bread is an important part of the Shabbat meal. A loaf of the bread is made by weaving together plaits of dough. As one story goes, each seperate braid signifies a virtue, but together the folds represent something more: survival, unity and history.
Like challah, Kevin Haworth's new book of essays, "Famous Drownings in Literary History," weaves together multiple stories — living in southeastern Ohio, living in Israel, becoming a parent (he has a son and daughter), being a literary nerd — to tell the larger narrative of how he feels about being a Jew in the 21st century.
Haworth, speaking from his office at Ohio University in Athens, said he is inspired by the emphasis placed on storytelling in the Jewish religion.
"I think Jewishness is well known for its focus on the importance of knowing your own history and knowing that stories repeat themselves," said Haworth, an assistant professor of English. "Judaism really emphasizes seeing your life in the context of other Jewish stories."
The pieces in Haworth's book are varied. One story discusses his son's circumcision; another talks about his son's fascination with wearing dresses. Several short pieces touch on aspects of the year Haworth spent on a kibbutz in Israel. Another piece focuses on the changing landscape of his childhood hometown in the Catskill Mountains.
Although Haworth's faith is not overt in these stories, it is a driving force behind the book. He discusses Judaism with passion and reverence but doesn't come off as judgmental or holier-than-thou.
Haworth's descriptions of balancing his life as a liberal professor with the teachings of a traditional faith appealed to Jason Pettus, owner and executive director of the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography, which published the book. "Famous Drownings" is the only unsolicited manuscript the press has published.
Pettus feels the book presents a perspective significantly different from some of the more extreme religious views one sees in today's world.
"The search for meaning and inner peace is a struggle that crosses lines of class, race, political and sexual orientation, and I think our world would be a lot better if we acknowledged this," Pettus said.
Haworth previously had a novel published: "The Discontinuity of Small Things," which follows several people as they try to navigate life in Nazi-occupied Denmark. Haworth started writing the sort of essays that appear in this collection about four years ago.
"When I write fiction, I think about creating characters and creating plots," he said. "I think that my fiction is very creative, but it's also very recognizable as traditional writing ... I tend to use nonfiction when I want to experiment in how a narrative can be put together."
This experimentation is clear in Haworth's essays. He never tells a story in chronological order, preferring to bounce from idea to idea before ending up back where he began.
One strength in Haworth's writing is the way he seamlessly weaves together memoir and historical research. It's not easy; for an essay of five or six pages, he reads 500 or 600 pages of related material, he said.
The titular essay, "Famous Drownings in Literary History," blends stories of Haworth and his daughter almost drowning with his memories of a girl he worked with as a teenage lifeguard and scholarly examples of drownings from famous pieces of literature.
Water also is a major theme in other essays throughout the book. "I've always felt like the water is really beautiful, but I also felt this anxiety around it," Haworth said.
In the collection's reference section, Haworth notes a poster by Jewish poet Abba Kovner that hung in his childhood synagogue. "It depicts Jewish knowledge as an ever-deepening series of water sources … with great cities of Jewish learning shown as ports along this marvelous ocean, trading ideas, pouring more and more knowledge into this vast and powerful sea which cannot and will not ever be full," he writes.
For Haworth, writing is like that portrait of Jewish knowledge: "It's an endless journey. It can never be full," he said. "Like the seas, you just keep adding to it."
Courtney Crowder covers the Chicago literary scene for Printers Row Journal.
"Famous Drownings in Literary History"
By Kevin Haworth, CCLaP, various formats, free-$30, cclapcenter.com


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Mockup - Double Take Gallery Block
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text:
Happy Chinese New Year!
Free Conference Call Next Monday
The Basics of Fertility Enhancement
Q&A with Dr. Randine Lewis
Monday January 30th at 7 p.m. EST
I strongly believe that even just finding out about The Fertile Soul has a powerful, ripple, helpful effect, especially for those who cannot travel, but who nevertheless read -- and listen-- ask questions, wonder, benefit, and grow, grow, grow. L.H.
I am looking forward to a rich retreat in January, where we will focus on aging, overwhelm, and turning into the wellspring of deep inner guidance. In this inner sanctuary there is no aging or overwhelm. When we can reside in this place, a more fertile response to life is possible, which of course, is reflected in our reproductive response. Our New York session filled up quickly, but we do have openings in February in my hometown of Asheville, NC, February 17-20th, where our focus will expand to include welcoming in the year of the Dragon, a powerful and dynamic expression of the Chinese New Year. We will use this power to deeply connect with the life-giving source within. I love witnessing the power of retreat participants as they learn to live the miracle!
We will also offer a free conference call on Monday, January 30th at 7 p.m. EST. I will go over some fertility basics and open the call up to your questions and answers. I hope you will be able to join us - whether you are new to the Fertile Soul or have already embraced this process. I look forward to connecting with you.
To Join in dial 605-475-4000 then access code 794774#. Those calling from Canada should call 805-360-1075 and then you will be prompted to enter the original number and access code.


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Portugal has raised one billion euros ($A1.
49 billion) in an auction of short-term debt amid signs the country's deep recession has bottomed out, though investors remain wary of the political and economic risks of planned new austerity measures.
The government debt agency said it sold 700 million euros in 12-month Treasury bills at a cost of 1.619 per cent, which was down from 1.72 per cent at an equivalent auction last month.
It also raised 300 million in 3-month bills at 0.766 per cent, but that was slightly higher than 0.743 per cent paid in April.
Portugal received a 78 billion-euro bailout in 2011 after the global financial crisis and a decade of low growth pushed it toward bankruptcy. The rescue deepened the debt crisis affecting the 17 countries that share the euro currency, though recent indicators suggest the outlook is improving.
The Portuguese economy grew 1.1 per cent in the second quarter from the previous three months. Before that, it had dropped for 10 consecutive quarters as spending cuts and tax increases enacted in return for the bailout took a toll on economic activity. At the same time, the jobless rate dropped to 16.4 per cent from a record 17.7 per cent in the first quarter.
Rui Barbara, an asset manager at Lisbon-based financial group Banco Carregosa, said the auction result was in line with secondary market rates and investor expectations as "everything is pointing to a stabilization" in the economy.
Risks remain for Portugal's recovery, however, and the government expects gross domestic product to contract by 2.3 per cent this year before growing 0.6 per cent in 2014.
The country is still far from generating the kind of wealth needed to pay off its debts. The debt agency says it has already covered part of the 14 billion euros it has to repay in 2014, but in the following two years around 32 billion euros of repayments fall due.
The centre-right coalition government almost collapsed last month as the two parties fell out over the scale of new austerity measures. Further political and social unrest is expected in coming months as the government prepares to cut another 4.7 billion euros in expenditure.


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I'm taking an online class on cryptography at corsera.org / Stanford, and the professor is explaining that it's OK to truncate an AES MAC to $w$ bits as long as $1/2^w$ is still negligible (say $w > 63$)
Where did the value $1/2$ come from?
How is 64 and above negligible?
What is non-negligible today (5/17/2013) and in the future (5/17/2020)?


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So can you beat this, sitting on a balcony with a view of a Turkish sunset, with my laptop watching the BBC News, a bottle of lager and then an episode of Dr Who.
Let me tell you it certainly beats most Turkish TV, although to be fair I can get one or two English speaking channels now. Doesn't quite compare to the choice here on the BBC Iplayer
So How Can I Watch UK TV Abroad?It's not difficult, but won't happen without you taking some action. If you're outside the UK you may have tried to watch BBC IPlayer and just got blocked.
Anyway there are solutions, in fact there are actually lots of options depending on your circumstances, I'll explain briefly some of the most straight forward.
This first option is actually suitable for UK people who might still have bases in the UK, anyone else better skip a few lines.
UK TV via a SlingboxThe slingbox is a clever little device which you connect to a SKY box in the UK. Say for example you were on holiday for a few weeks, you connect your slingbox to an internet connection and plug the other end in to your Sky Box.
It's not that hard to set up but you obviously need a sky box, and internet connection in UK to connect up the slingbox to. There is a little sensor which you have to attach to the sky receiver and you're ready to go.
Sling Box in Action
Once this is set up you can load up the slingbox software on your computer and you'll see something similar to the illustration here.
You use a digital copy of the Sky remote and you can actually change channels, record and watch your Sky box in a little window on your computer, wherever you are, apparently you can even watch it on your phone.
It works a treat, the main things to consider are below -
- You need a fast Internet connection in the UK - this is important
- The Sky box can only display one channel a so when you change channels if someone is in UK they'll have to watch the same thing
- A decent internet connection to your laptop
It might be the best option for you, the internet connection in the UK is the most important one as the upload speed is essential to watch UK TV. There are companies who will even host a Sky box and a slingbox but it can be quite expensive.
Using Free Proxy ServersThe main problem you'll find accessing any sort of media from outside the country of origin is that is restricted by geolocating. In simple language each web site does a little check to see what country you are in before you start watching. SO if you try to access a UK TV via BBC Iplayer or to watch the BBC News for example you may see this message.
This has looked up my IP address, seen that I am not from the UK and blocked my access.
Sometimes these lookups don't work correctly, lots of French IP addresses don't get blocked for example so it's always worth checking - but for the majority you'll have to find another way.
I should warn people that the free method below does work but it's very time consuming, every time you want to watch the BBC or any other UK TV channel, you'll probably have to find new servers.
Currently you can watch UK TV via the BBC Iplayer and a UK proxy server. Search on the internet for free proxies based in the UK and then go and find where you enter this in your browser. For Internet Explorer you'll find it under tools, internet options,connections, LAN settings - here's the screen.
Just change the settings, restart your browser and then try and connect to BBC Iplayer again, it should work.
As long as you've picked a UK proxy then you should get a picture, in practice it's often quite painful experience as the free proxies can be very slow and you have to find a different one each time you want to watch.
Anyway if you use this method, THIS IS IMPORTANT, remove the proxy settings from your browser before you do anything else, many of these servers steal user names and passwords - so don't log onto your internet banking or any other account until you've removed the proxy.
This option will not work for all UK TV such as ITV and channel 4 or in fact other media sites such as Hulu or most USA media sites. It will work for things like the iPlayer and watching the BBC World News streaming for example. For ITV and all other UK TV sites you'll need what's called a VPN (Virtual Private Network).
Use Identity Cloaker to Watch UK TV
The final option I am going to discuss today is to use a private proxy or VPN services. There are lots of these about with different services and payment options but the one I've chosen I reckon offers the best deal is called Identity Cloaker.
Now there are loads of web sites offering this sort of service but many of them have just rented a server to use as a proxy, all you get is an IP address or some open source software. I chose this program for the following reasons.
- It's not marketed as a UK TV Proxy, these companies routinely get threats from the BBC and other agencies -so run a big risk of being shut down.
- This is a professional program written and supported by a licensed company
- The software sits in your toolbar and is extremely easy to use. You just point and click when you want to connect
- They don't automatically rebill, or charge your credit card when subscription expires.
- The software does much more than most of the UK TV abroad/proxy programs and allows access to servers in countries all over the world (not just UK TV)
- Support and administration is first rate
- Much cheaper than all the other options I looked at
- It has two modes - proxy and a VPN connection.
Basically it's similar to option 2 except you have a program to connect when you like so don't need to change settings and the proxy servers are fast and secure. Don't be worried about them not advertising the UK TV functionality it's well supported but best to be discrete in this area !
The real beauty is that you can also use it to connect via a VPN which lets you connect to ITV and lots of other TV channels, also your subscription pays for lots more proxies all across the globe - you can watch lots of US sites like HULU, NBC and ABC for example - it's best to try the 10 day trial first to make sure it works ok for you, - Watch UK TV Abroad trial
Well whatever option you decide to download TV broadcasts from the UK - good luck. Believe me - you can watch UK TV abroad and feel free to post any experiences or opinions below.
Update - If you want to watch TV on your Ipad - I've put a post on how to use Identity Cloaker here - watching Iplayer on the Ipad abroad
For a Different Perspective on Watching UK TV online
My Journey on watching the BBC abroad started here - http://www.iplayerabroad.com/


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The Washington wine industry has grown rapidly in the last twelve years from several hundred wineries at the turn of the century to over 740 today. Are Washingtonians keeping up and drinking enough local wine?
Data on in-state purchases of Washington wine can be difficult to come by. However, at last week's Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers annual conference, Danny Braeger, Vice President Group Client Director on the Beverage Alcohol Team at Nielsen, provided some insight.
According to Braeger, looking at Nielsen's measured grocery channel - which I should note only accounts for a percentage of sales – 36% of Washington wine sales are within state. In comparison, neighboring Oregon purchases 55% of its wine. Some smaller producing states, such as Michigan, purchase a whopping 86% of their own wine. By comparison, Washington's in-state consumption doesn't seem particularly encouraging.
However, if it seems odd to think that so much Washington wine is actually being sold out of state, it's because it is. As a wine producing region, Washington is notable for its numerous small producers, the vast majority of which make less than 5,000 cases annually. Indeed a frequent complaint from Washington wine lovers and interested parties is that specific wines are often very difficult to come by.
As one might expect, the state's largest player – Ste. Michelle Wine Estates (SMWE), which owns Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest, and a number of other brands – skews the data considerably. SMWE makes more wine than most of the rest of the wineries in the state combined. They also, of course, have heavy grocery store placement.
So what does Washington's in-state consumption look like if we remove SMWE from the picture? Here things look considerably better, growing to 54% sold within the state. This is comparable to Oregon at 55%. California, which of course dominates production in the U.S., stands at 23%.
One question arises from these data - is it better to have more local sales or more sales throughout the country? Similarly, where should Washington as a region focus its marketing efforts? Should the focus be on trying to increase sales within the state or should it be to increase sales outside of the state?
I believe the answer has to be both. Much can be done to increase local wine consumption – particularly in the large Seattle market. However, it is critically important that the state raise its profile in other areas of the country and indeed around the world to continue to grow the industry.
While Washington has established itself as a significant wine region, many of the producers and wines are still not well known outside of the region. Continuing to grow the Washington brand further beyond the state's borders to the rest of the country and indeed around the world is the next step in the state's evolution as a wine region. But we still need to make sure we take care of our own backyard.
Should Washingtonians Be Drinking More Washington Wine?
The Washington wine industry has grown rapidly in the last twelve years from several hundred wineries at the turn of the century to over 740 today. Are Washingtonians keeping up and drinking enough local wine?
10 comments
Anonymous Says:
I try to include WA wine in my meals. A lower alcohol percentage (10.5%-12.5%) instead of the seemingly unavoidable 13.5-14.5% would help.
Javier Alfonso Says:
Hey Sean,
I'm not sure this statistic is all that relevant. Is a higher number better or worse? As you point out Michigan's consumption of its own wines is really high essentially meaning that no one else outside of the state is willing to give Michigan's wine a try. On the other hand California is low because they are such a mayor producer that they inevitably supply wine to the rest of the country and much of the world. I'm surprised though that they are still drinking 23% of their own wine. That's a lot!! They must not be drinking anyone else's. A more relevant statistic that would shine a light on domestic consumption would be the percentage of WA wine consumed in our State. I think last time I heard of a number it was in the low 20s. Meaning only 20% of wine consumed in Washington is from Washington. It would be even more interesting to gather regional data as I'm guessing the percentage is lower in urban centers (with more choices) and higher in rural areas (specially in wine country). I bet you CA numbers are much higher. I can also guarantee you that in Europe those percentages are closer to 90% (i.e 90% of wine consumed in France is from France). No data just speculating.
Anonymous Says:
To make you feel better Sean, according to CellarTracker, 94% of the wine in my cellar is Washington wine. If you remove the Chateau Ste Michelle wines from the equation, it's still 92% Washington.
I also believe the answer has to be both within the state and outside the state sales. We should obviously push for more in-state sales, but at the same time, we should also work to become more recognized in the international wine community for the exceptional wines we produce. On a trip to NYC last year, I visited a wine shop and found that they had absolutely zero Washington wine. There must have been 300 different California wines and just as many French wines, but WA was completely ignored. I didn't bother saying anything to the wine shop owner, but I did leave empty handed that day. It may be a distribution thing, since many small wineries in Washington don't have access to the distribution networks around the country, and self distribution can be a very costly and daunting task.
Ben Simons Says:
This is totally based on my own observations, and not on any data. I don't really feel like Washington wine drinkers are not drinking enough Washington wine. My experience has been that a large percentage of Washington wine drinkers consume little else than Washington wine. I also think that it is to the state's benefit to have more exposure among consumers in other places. From a marketing perspective is is only going to increase the cache of Washington wine to have more options available outside of this area.
As far as how it should be marketed, I think that a mixture of tactics is appropriate. Given the number of wineries that are not set up for distribution outside of the state I believe that there definitely needs to be a sizable amount of marketing conducted within Washington, but efforts to increase the national exposure of our wine are important as well.
Ben Simons Says:
I should qualify my comment by saying that Washington residents can always do more to support the local wine industry, just saying that I haven't noticed a lack of Washington focus among the wine drinkers that I know.
Trey Busch Says:
As Sean says, "While Washington has established itself as a significant wine region, many of the producers and wines are still not well known outside of the region. Continuing to grow the Washington brand further beyond the state's borders to the rest of the country and indeed around the world is the next step in the state's evolution as a wine region." I could not agree more. That is one of the reasons the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance goes on the road to places like New York (where 21 Walla Walla wineries showed their wines to the trade and public), and coming up in less than 2 weeks in Portland OR as well as Seattle WA (where 60 wineries will be pouring at each event). Funny thing, ticket sales for the Portland event are great, while ticket sales for Taste Walla Walla in Seattle have been slow, right in our own back yard. Go figure,.
Hdchappy Says:
I am a self admitted homer in this regard as 90% of the wine I drink is from WA and I beleive if you live here you should drink WA wine. I have friends that have lived here their whole lives and go to Napa on a regular basis and do not even try most WA wines or consider going to Wallace Wallace, this drives me crazy. So there is plenty of work to be done from a marketing standpoint in our own state. Another area that I feel could be improved is the availability of glass pours of WA wine on most local restaurant wine lists. If you are a restaurant you should have a decent selection of WA glass pours, even if you are not based out of WA.
Sean P. Sullivan Says:
Javier, excellent point. I'll see if Nielsen has data available on total wine consumption versus percent local wine.
I agree that it's difficult to say what the 'right' number is. From a certain perspective, selling more wine in state is considerably less costly and therefore beneficial. At the same time, there's only so far that will take the industry, especially as the number of wineries continues to grow. It needs to be a balance.
Chris Says:
We're trying to do our share Sean, but if you say so, we can increase from our current 2 bottles of WA wine per day to 4 or 5. Anything to help the cause.
Seriously, I think the answer is all of the above and let the market locally, regionally, nationally, hell internationally, decide. I have wino friends in Europe who might might love WA juice, but they'll likely never know since distribution of better stuff never makes it there, and if it does it is vastly overpriced compared to European wines available.
Likewise I want choice of WA/OR/CA/Old World when I visit a wine shop/aisle.
Trey, maybe Taste Walla Walla Portland is more supported than Taste Walla Walla Seattle because Seattle already knows many of the W2 producers and wines, those who have tasting rooms in Woodyville, and the same type of wines are avialable in Woodyville anyway, not to mention that statewide events that always include strong W2 representation. Portland is craving something besides Pinot maybe.
Dave Malone Says:
You hit the nail on the head. Washington wines can be very difficult to find because of their low production levels. If it were not for the efforts of the buyer at the company I work for, my tasting experience with these wines would barely go beyond those from SMWE. Even though we do get our hands on smaller producers (Fall Line, Soos Creek, and OS Winery to name a few) we don't get much of them and can not sustain a year-round availability, so its difficult to really spread the word and build momentum.
I'm afraid that as long as there are so many Washington wineries with such little production, that getting a more global awarness and increased consumption may be difficult. So maybe the answer is to focus efforts locally and try to make small splashes in key markets abroad.


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Fox Theatre
1111 Geronimo Drive,
El Paso,
No one has favorited this theater yet
Located in the Bassett Center, National General Corporation opened the Fox Theatre on December 23, 1965. The debut attraction was a 70mm presentation of 20th Century-Fox's "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines."
According to local newspaper promotion at the time of the theater's opening, this was the first Fox theater to open in Texas and the 221st in the United States. The theater boasted 70mm projection capability, stereophonic sound, a 32' x 65' screen, refrigerated air conditioning, and comfortable bodi-form seats.
Initially operated by National General Corporation (NGC), Mann Theatres acquired the NCG properties in 1973. The theater was twinned in 1976.
Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
Long-run hits to play this theater included "Earthquake" (12 weeks; in Sensurround) and "2001: A Space Odyssey" (11 weeks).
The Fox Bassett Center may have been the first 70mm-equipped theater in El Paso.
The Jan. 3, 1966 issue of Boxoffice cited the seat-count as 850.
Anyone have photos of this one.
The building became a Photon after the theatre closed.
Even in its last days this was a beautiful theatre – saw "The Right Stuff" here, first run. Memorable.
This opened as the first major suburban theatre in the area on December 23rd, 1965. Grand opening ad below and also the photo section
Fox theatre opening Thu, Dec 23, 1965 – 32 · El Paso Times (El Paso, Texas) · Newspapers.com
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater


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Mike Flanagan is the co-writer and director of Oculus, which was developed with co-screenwriter Jeff Howard from Flanagan's own 2006 short film. By design, it's a psychological thriller masquerading as a haunted house movie, and Flanagan wisely avoids cheap jump scares in favor of letting the dread develop naturally.
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Historical Context
Table ofContents
This map is based on a map included in an article published in Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly in April 1891. The article included a key as a caption for the map:
Questions for Map 2
1. Study the map carefully before looking at the key. What clues can you find that might help you figure out how the buildings in the Lafayette Square neighborhood were used in 1891?
2. Now look at the key to the map. It lists some of the people who lived in these buildings during the 19th century. What kinds of jobs did these people have? Why do you think they might have chosen to live on Lafayette Square?
Click for a larger version of Map 2.


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The wedding cake is one of the most scrumptious facet of your wedding. It is just one of things that the visitors look at in the wedding function hence, it must be just one of things that the couple must explore. If the couple intends to acquire the most effective cake embellished with the most effective decoration for their visitors to admire, here are some beneficial ideas.
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Printed From:
The Gates of Thorbardin
by Dan Parkinson
Detailed Information:
- Publisher: TSR/Wizards of the Coast
- Catalog #: 965600000
- Type: Novel
- Print Edition: 2nd
- Status: Available
- Pub. Date: Aug 2004
- Pages: 320
- Timeline: 339 AC
- Fan Reviews: No fan reviews yet. Write a Review!
Fan Ratings
Other Books in this Series:
- Legend of Huma, The - 2nd Ed.
- Stormblade - 2nd Ed.
- Weasel's Luck - 2nd Ed.
- Kaz the Minotaur - 2nd Ed.
- Gates of Thorbardin, The - 2nd Ed.
- Galen Beknighted - 2nd Ed.
- Legend of Huma, The - 1st Ed.
- Stormblade - 1st Ed.
- Weasel's Luck - 1st Ed.
- Kaz the Minotaur - 1st Ed.
- Gates of Thorbardin, The - 1st Ed.
- Galen Beknighted - 1st Ed.
The Dragonlance Nexus does not publish any of the products listed in the Products section. While every effort has been made to ensure that the information presented is accurate, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of any listing. The Nexus is a member of the Associates program of Amazon.com and its international sites. Graphics are representational only.


text:
Three and a half years after Intel acquired McAfee, the chip giant looks set to ditch the famous brand that still bears the name of its fabled founder, John McAfee.
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich broke the news almost in passing during a presentation at CES 2014 in Las Vegas, explaining that in future the consumer products would come under a new Intel Security name.
There is some confusion about which consumer and business products will come under the Intel Security wing immediately, but the transition would take up to a year and apply to new products as they arrived, the firm later confirmed.
The distinctive if not always loved red McAfee shield will remain in place for the time being.
The decision is not entirely unexpected despite the fact that it has taken Intel longer than normal after the acquisition to resolve to drop what remains one of the two or three most famous security brands in existence. Intel is banking that attaching its own brand to the word 'security' will more than offset any loss in recognition.
McAfee cost Intel $7.68 billion (at the time around £5 billion) in August 2010, still a record price for a pure security firm so it might feel it has the right to impose its own identity.
Despite being founded as long ago 1987, those will longer memories will recall that this is not the first disappearance of the McAfee brand. During the merger-crazy 1990s, it was subsumed for a few years inside Network Associates, a move that was eventually reversed in 2004 during a de-merger.
Not everyone is convinced that the latest brand-killing exercise is a good idea. According to Graham Cluley (once of rival Sophos but now an independent commentator), "it's a complete and utter mystery why Intel would want to get rid of one of the most famous and familiar names in the world of anti-virus."
And, as Cluley hints, ridding the public consciousness of the McAfee name might be harder to achieve than Intel thinks with the world-famous antics of its original founder John McAfee plastered all over the Internet.
"I am now everlastingly grateful to Intel for freeing me from this terrible association with the worst software on the planet. These are not my words, but the words of millions of irate user My elation at Intel's decision is beyond words," McAfee told the BBC.
It could be that McAfee's notoriety since his bizarre escape from Belize in 2012 after the death of a neighbour is one of the reasons Intel decided to drop his name in the first place.
"This wasn't hard to predict after some of the John's stunts," tweeted another security notable, F-Secure chief research officer, Mikko Hypponen.
But his fame - and continued fame - could turn into a constant and niggling reminder of the brand.
McAfee's point is well made. McAfee anti-virus is world famous but not always world-loved. Nobody blames microprocessors when their PC crashes or runs slower than expected but now they will have a software product with a new name on it - Intel - to point the finger at when things go awry.
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It is a dramatic look at the tornado that hit one week ago today, unlike any we've seen before.
The video shows the tornado as it took out homes in West Liberty. It was captured on a surveillance system that never turned off, and it recorded the entire disaster as it happened.
"Well, I don't know what it's like, but I would compare it to hell," said Randy Risner.
Randy Risner's surveillance system consisting of seven cameras caught the tornadoes fury from several different angles.
"It didn't sound like a train, it sounded like thunder, and it kept getting louder and louder," Risner said.
He and his wife, Norma, took cover in their basement.
"You could actually feel the ground shaking and our the 11-foot basement walls were shaking, too," Norma said.
"I didn't know if we were going to have a house standing, when we came out or not," Randy said.
Damaged, their house stood strong. But the tornado destroyed their workshop (caught on camera) and another camera shows the roof of their neighbors home peel off like a sardine can.
"If I hadn't seen him walk out of the house, no one could have told me, he lived through that," said Randy.
His son Kyle's home, which neighbor's his, also took a hit, and can be seen from the video.
"Without looking at this video you-all (WKYT) got from us, you'd never believe it," he said.
"I'm just so thankful we are okay, and I thank the good lord," Norma said with a heavy heart.
"But I feel, we feel for all of the families who lost loved one's, we are thinking of them," she continued.
The Risner's feeling fortunate to be alive say they're hoping the video leaves a lasting impression on those who see it.
"Because we will need help here in West Liberty for a long time, not just today," Randy said. "We don't want people to forget what happened to those here in Morgan County, and the others affected by these tornadoes."
Now they, like many of their neighbor's must make the choice of whether to rebuild or not. But first, Randy says, the people of West Liberty are in need of more insurance adjusters - who've told the Risner's it could be up to three-weeks before they can get someone to Morgan County.
"It's just a frustrating process, there's so much to do, it's overwhelming," he said.


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Model Predictive Control Toolbox™ provides functions, an app, and Simulink® blocks for designing and simulating model predictive controllers (MPCs). The toolbox lets you specify plant and disturbance models, horizons, constraints, and weights. By running closed-loop simulations, you can evaluate controller performance.
You can adjust the behavior of the controller by varying its weights and constraints at run time. To control a nonlinear plant, you can implement adaptive and gain-scheduled MPCs. For applications with fast sample rates, you can generate an explicit model predictive controller from a regular controller or implement an approximate solution.
For rapid prototyping and embedded system implementation, the toolbox supports C-code and IEC 61131-3 Structured Text generation.


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Free-Market Capitalism – Yes!!!
No way. Instead, you've got a guy who could have decided to spend his life sucking on a governmental teat but, instead, was determined to take advantage of his natural-born right to "pursue happiness," as the Founders intended.
Check out Jones's Good-Ass BBQ & Foot Massage. When you get there, be sure to follow the links for more.
There's a very serious lesson here, boys and girls.


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More on March Tips & Tricks
In the Tips & Tricks column in the March 2009 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine, readers shared how to speed scrap "orphan photos," create custom Post-it holders, make money with their photos, write perfectly every time and more. Following are additional details not found in the magazine!
Post-it Covers by Jaime Ward. Supplies Cardstock: Provo Craft and Stampin' Up!; Digital supplies: Digi Keepsakes by Monica at ScrapMatters.com; Magnetic snaps: BasicGrey; Post-it Notes: 3M; Tacky tape: Provo Craft; Other: Trimmer, scoring blade and adhesive. Note: Idea inspired by Grace Tolman; instructions adapted from her blog.
How to Make the Post-it Covers
Says Jaime, "This is a tutorial by Grace Tolman that I found on her blog at http://tolmanchronicles.blogspot.com. I made a few modifications. For example, I changed a couple of the measurements to better fit the Post-It notes, and I used BasicGrey magnetic snaps instead of Velcro."
Post-It notes (regular size)
Patterned paper (traditional or digitally created)
Bone folder, embossing stylus or scoring blade
Terrifically Tacky Tape
BasicGrey magnetic snaps or Velcro dots
Paper trimmer
1. Trim cardstock to an 8" x 3 1/8" rectangle.
2. Trim the patterned paper to an 8" x 2 3/4" rectangle, or create it digitally the same size. Adhere to the center of the cardstock.
3. Using the bone folder, embossing stylus, or scoring blade, make folding marks at 2", 2-1/2", 5-5/8" and 6-1/8". Fold on the marks.
4. Use a strip of Terrifically Tacky Tape to stick the Post-It pad to the center of the inside of the cardstock.
5. Fold cover.
6. Place magnetic snaps on the center of the flap openings (if they won't stay, use little pieces of the Terrifically Tacky Tape). If you don't have magnetic snaps, Velcro dots will also work.
7. Add embellishments to the cover if desired.
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This information is produced and provided by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The information in this topic may have changed since it was written. For the most current information, contact the National Cancer Institute via the Internet web site at http://cancer.gov or call 1-800-4-CANCER.
Renal cell cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in tubules of the kidney.
Renal cell cancer (also called kidney cancer or renal adenocarcinoma) is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells are found in the lining of tubules (very small tubes) in the kidney. There are 2 kidneys, one on each side of the backbone, above the waist. The tiny tubules in the kidneys filter and clean the blood, taking out waste products and making urine. The urine passes from each kidney into the bladder through a long tube called a ureter. The bladder stores the urine until it is passed from the body.
Cancer that starts in the ureters or the renal pelvis (the part of the kidney that collects urine and drains it to the ureters) is different from renal cell cancer. (See the PDQ summary about Transitional Cell Cancer of the Renal Pelvis and Ureter Treatment for more information).
Smoking and misuse of certain pain medicines can affect the risk of renal cell cancer.
Anything that increases your risk of getting a disease is called a risk factor. Having a risk factor does not mean that you will get cancer; not having risk factors doesn't mean that you will not get cancer. Talk with your doctor if you think you may be at risk. Risk factors for renal cell cancer include the following:
Possible signs of renal cell cancer include blood in the urine and a lump in the abdomen.
These and other symptoms may be caused by renal cell cancer. Other conditions may cause the same symptoms. There may be no symptoms in the early stages. Symptoms may appear as the tumor grows. Check with your doctor if you have any of the following problems:
Tests that examine the abdomen and kidneys are used to detect (find) and diagnose renal cell cancer.
The following tests and procedures may be used:
Certain factors affect prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options.
The prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options depend on the following:
After renal cell cancer has been diagnosed, tests are done to find out if cancer cells have spread within the kidney or to other parts of the body.
The process used to find out if cancer has spread within the kidney or to other parts of the body is called staging. The information gathered from the staging process determines the stage of the disease. It is important to know the stage in order to plan treatment. The following tests and procedures may be used in the staging process:
There are three ways that cancer spreads in the body.
The three ways that cancer spreads in the body are:
When cancer cells break away from the primary (original) tumor and travel through the lymph or blood to other places in the body, another (secondary) tumor may form. This process is called metastasis. The secondary (metastatic) tumor is the same type of cancer as the primary tumor. For example, if breast cancer spreads to the bones, the cancer cells in the bones are actually breast cancer cells. The disease is metastatic breast cancer, not bone cancer.
The following stages are used for renal cell cancer:
Pea, peanut, walnut, and lime show tumor sizes.
Stage I
In stage I, the tumor is 7 centimeters or smaller and is found only in the kidney.
Stage II
In stage II, the tumor is larger than 7 centimeters and is found only in the kidney.
Stage III
In stage III:
Stage IV
In stage IV, cancer has spread:
Recurrent renal cell cancer is cancer that has recurred (come back) after it has been treated. The cancer may come back many years after initial treatment, in the kidney or in other parts of the body.
There are different types of treatment for patients with renal cell cancer.
Different types of treatments are available for patients with renal cell cancer. Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer. When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment. Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
Five types of standard treatment are used:
Surgery to remove part or all of the kidney is often used to treat renal cell cancer. The following types of surgery may be used:
A person can live with part of 1 working kidney, but if both kidneys are removed or not working, the person will need dialysis (a procedure to clean the blood using a machine outside of the body) or a kidney transplant (replacement with a healthy donated kidney). A kidney transplant may be done when the disease is in the kidney only and a donated kidney can be found. If the patient has to wait for a donated kidney, other treatment is given as needed.
When surgery to remove the cancer is not possible, a treatment called arterial embolization may be used to shrink the tumor. A small incision is made and a catheter (thin tube) is inserted into the main blood vessel that flows to the kidney. Small pieces of a special gelatin sponge are injected through the catheter into the blood vessel. The sponges block the blood flow to the kidney and prevent the cancer cells from getting oxygen and other substances they need to grow.
Even if the doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the surgery, some patients may be given chemotherapy or radiation therapy after surgery to kill any cancer cells that are left. Treatment given after the surgery, to lower the risk that the cancer will come back, is called adjuvant therapy.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. There are two types of radiation therapy. External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the cancer. Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer. The way the radiation therapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.
Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy). When chemotherapy is placed directly into the cerebrospinal fluid, an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (regional chemotherapy). The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.
See Drugs Approved for Kidney (Renal Cell) Cancer for more information.
Biologic therapy
Biologic therapy is a treatment that uses the patient's immune system to fight cancer. Substances made by the body or made in a laboratory are used to boost, direct, or restore the body's natural defenses against cancer. This type of cancer treatment is also called biotherapy or immunotherapy.
Targeted therapy
Targeted therapy uses drugs or other substances to identify and attack specific cancer cells without harming normal cells. Targeted therapy with antiangiogenic agents are used to treat advanced renal cell cancer. Antiangiogenic agents keep blood vessels from forming in a tumor, causing the tumor to starve and stop growing or to shrink. Monoclonal antibodies and kinase inhibitors are two types of antiangiogenic agents used to treat renal cell cancer.
Monoclonal antibody therapy uses antibodies made in the laboratory, from a single type of immune system cell. These antibodies can identify substances on cancer cells or normal substances that may help cancer cells grow. The antibodies attach to the substances and kill the cancer cells, block their growth, or keep them from spreading. Monoclonal antibodies are given by infusion. They may be used alone or to carry drugs, toxins, or radioactive material directly to cancer cells. Monoclonal antibodies used to treat renal cell cancer attach to and block substances that cause new blood vessels to form in tumors.
Kinase inhibitors stop cells from dividing and may prevent the growth of new blood vessels that tumors need to grow.
New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials.
Information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial.
For some patients, taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice. Clinical trials are part of the cancer research process. Clinical trials are done to find out if new cancer treatments are safe and effective or better than the standard treatment.
Many of today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. Patients who take part in a clinical trial may receive the standard treatment or be among the first to receive a new treatment.
Patients who take part in clinical trials also help improve the way cancer will be treated in the future. Even when clinical trials do not lead to effective new treatments, they often answer important questions and help move research forward.
Patients can enter clinical trials before, during, or after starting their cancer treatment.
Some clinical trials only include patients who have not yet received treatment. Other trials test treatments for patients whose cancer has not gotten better. There are also clinical trials that test new ways to stop cancer from recurring (coming back) or reduce the side effects of cancer treatment.
Clinical trials are taking place in many parts of the country. See the Treatment Options section that follows for links to current treatment clinical trials. These have been retrieved from NCI's listing of clinical trials.
Follow-up tests may be needed.
Some of the tests that were done to diagnose the cancer or to find out the stage of the cancer may be repeated. Some tests will be repeated in order to see how well the treatment is working. Decisions about whether to continue, change, or stop treatment may be based on the results of these tests. This is sometimes called re-staging.
Some of the tests will continue to be done from time to time after treatment has ended. The results of these tests can show if your condition has changed or if the cancer has recurred (come back). These tests are sometimes called follow-up tests or check-ups.
A link to a list of current clinical trials is included for each treatment section. For some types or stages of cancer, there may not be any trials listed. Check with your doctor for clinical trials that are not listed here but may be right for you.
Stage I Renal Cell Cancer
Treatment of stage I renal cell cancer may include the following:
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage I renal cell cancer. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Stage II Renal Cell Cancer
Treatment of stage II renal cell cancer may include the following:
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage II renal cell cancer. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Stage III Renal Cell Cancer
Treatment of stage III renal cell cancer may include the following:
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage III renal cell cancer. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Stage IV and Recurrent Renal Cell Cancer
Treatment of stage IV and recurrent renal cell cancer may include the following:
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage IV renal cell cancer and recurrent renal cell cancer. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
For more information from the National Cancer Institute about renal cell cancer, see the following:
For general cancer information and other resources from the National Cancer Institute, see the following:
The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above.
Editorial changes were made to this summary.
Call 1-800-4-CANCER
For more information, U.S. residents may call the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) Cancer Information Service toll-free at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237) Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time. A trained Cancer Information Specialist is available to answer your questions.
Chat online
The NCI's LiveHelp® online chat service provides Internet users with the ability to chat online with an Information Specialist. The service is available from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday. Information Specialists can help Internet users find information on NCI Web sites and answer questions about cancer.
Write to us
For more information from the NCI, please write to this address:
Search the NCI Web site
The NCI Web site provides online access to information on cancer, clinical trials, and other Web sites and organizations that offer support and resources for cancer patients and their families. For a quick search, use the search box in the upper right corner of each Web page. The results for a wide range of search terms will include a list of "Best Bets," editorially chosen Web pages that are most closely related to the search term entered.
There are also many other places to get materials and information about cancer treatment and services. Hospitals in your area may have information about local and regional agencies that have information on finances, getting to and from treatment, receiving care at home, and dealing with problems related to cancer treatment.
Find Publications
The NCI has booklets and other materials for patients, health professionals, and the public. These publications discuss types of cancer, methods of cancer treatment, coping with cancer, and clinical trials. Some publications provide information on tests for cancer, cancer causes and prevention, cancer statistics, and NCI research activities. NCI materials on these and other topics may be ordered online or printed directly from the NCI Publications Locator. These materials can also be ordered by telephone from the Cancer Information Service toll-free at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
PDQ is a comprehensive cancer database available on NCI's Web site.
PDQ is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) comprehensive cancer information database. Most of the information contained in PDQ is available online at NCI's Web site. PDQ is provided as a service of the NCI. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health, the federal government's focal point for biomedical research.
PDQ contains cancer information summaries.
The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most summaries are available in two versions. The health professional versions provide detailed information written in technical language. The patient versions are written in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Both versions provide current and accurate cancer information.
Images in the PDQ summaries are used with permission of the author(s), artist, and/or publisher for use within the PDQ summaries only. Permission to use images outside the context of PDQ information must be obtained from the owner(s) and cannot be granted by the National Cancer Institute. Information about using the illustrations in the PDQ summaries, along with many other cancer-related images, are available in Visuals Online, a collection of over 2,000 scientific images.
The PDQ cancer information summaries are developed by cancer experts and reviewed regularly.
Editorial Boards made up of experts in oncology and related specialties are responsible for writing and maintaining the cancer information summaries. The summaries are reviewed regularly and changes are made as new information becomes available. The date on each summary ("Date Last Modified") indicates the time of the most recent change.
PDQ also contains information on clinical trials.
A clinical trial is a study to answer a scientific question, such as whether one treatment is better than another. Trials are based on past studies and what has been learned in the laboratory. Each trial answers certain scientific questions in order to find new and better ways to help cancer patients. During treatment clinical trials, information is collected about the effects of a new treatment and how well it works. If a clinical trial shows that a new treatment is better than one currently being used, the new treatment may become "standard." Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
Listings of clinical trials are included in PDQ and are available online at NCI's Web site. Descriptions of the trials are available in health professional and patient versions. Many cancer doctors who take part in clinical trials are also listed in PDQ. For more information, call the Cancer Information Service 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
Last Revised: 2013-01-18
If you want to know more about cancer and how it is treated, or if you wish to know about clinical trials for your type of cancer, you can call the NCI's Cancer Information Service at 1-800-422-6237, toll free. A trained information specialist can talk with you and answer your questions.
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Best definition
Word used to express an apparent enjoyment of a moment: however, it should be recieved as a geeky attempt to
introduce LOL into a conversation without sounding completly unintresting: Worse when used out loud
Person 1: so… my mom told me i couldnt get a job, then i farted.
Person 2: LOLOTRONIC!!!
Person 2: LOLOTRONIC!!!


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Editorial: Do Your Sales Reps Stink?
By: Jeff Fleming
Cross-media marketing continues to gain traction and with it comes the opportunity for newspapers to score additional ad dollars. But if your sales reps haven't mastered your entire lineup of media offerings and are primarily promoting print, marketers are going to take a hike.
On the editorial side, most newspaper journalists have either embraced new technology with open arms or have been dragged kicking and screaming into the new millennium by their publishers. Those that have endured are moving forward, continually educating themselves on new technology and trends — and they have a hat rack full of new responsibilities to prove it. Unfortunately, many salespeople, the ones fueling the financials, have not fully made the transition of accepting and understanding new technologies and remain loyal to what they know best, ink and paper.
Newspaper sales reps are in an enviable position. They represent a trusted brand, they're well connected, have loyal advertisers, and they can offer a very powerful cross-media combination of digital, social, and traditional technologies to generate ad sales. But sales reps and sales departments need to reposition themselves, they can no longer just focus on selling print and/or digital; they need to sell their knowledge and leadership — and make service part of their sales commitment. Clients don't need an order taker, they need business development and someone to help them strategize, reach goals, and get results. With the slow economy and impact of technology, proprietors have fewer employees and less time to conduct business — they need newspaper sales reps to become their partner and help maximize their ROI.
If your sales reps are mainly selling column inches and pixels, don't expect much in the way of new revenue streams. Successful sales reps are the ones who understand the advantages of integrating paper-based marketing with digital and online tactics such as video, social media, email, apps, digital editions, newsletters, QR codes, SMS, and PURLs. And, successful sales departments are those that provide access to online analytics, statistics, and continually educate reps on how to utilize the numbers to benefit advertisers. This means complete understanding of page views, pages per visit, bounce rate, time on site, click-through rates, and registered users. It also means researching successful case studies of cross-media marketing campaigns for ideas on how to implement similar programs for their customers.
Technology forced our comfort zones to retire several years ago — they're somewhere in the tropics relaxing on a deserted beach, without us. We now live in the age of constant change and chronic disruption, and where technology goes, we'd better be close behind.


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Running for 19 years, Oasis Journals (formerly Oasis Magazine) is the longest running peer support and community site for LGBT youth on the internet.
Oasis began in 1995 as a writing community where queer and questioning youth could communicate with other people in their same situation.
As of December 1, this site is in read-only mode as we transfer a copy to the Internet Archive at archive.org. Once that transfer is complete, this site will be taken offline.
I feel compelled to write some reflections on the occasion of Oasis shutting down after 19 years, but it's hard to find the right words.
I'm 46 now, and 27 when I started this site in 1995, so it seems like there should be some profound summation or insightful conclusion, especially when you consider that this site launched the same year as Amazon, and three years before Google.
But that's probably why the right sentiment eludes me. The world has changed so much since then, and so much for the better, that Oasis no longer having a major role to play is cause for celebration. Not sadness.
Now that the site is turned off, here is what is happening:
We're waiting for archive.org to scrape the site for final updates, so that this community is preserved.
Once the archive is complete, the site you're reading now will disappear, and in its place will be a new boring two-page HTML site announcing that we are no more.
At that point, there will be pretty much nothing to come here to read. It is really more of an alert to people who didn't know we were closing.
There is a Facebook group is at https://www.facebook.com/groups/738358722901590/ for people who want to stay in touch with people from this site. It is a closed group, which means people will know you joined a group called Oasis, with no description, but nothing posted in there goes to your wall, etc., as I've been told.
Thanks for an amazing 19 years! - Jeff
My favorite show I've ever watched is about life. Six Feet Under ran from 2001-2005, five seasons, five years in the lives of the Fishers who owned Fisher and Sons Funeral Home.
The show starts minutes in with the death of the father. And (spoilers) it ends 3 episodes after the death of the older brother, perhaps the closest thing to a main character the show has.
The moral of this timing for the show is that, for most of us, most of the time, life goes on, even after it doesn't for some of us.
And goodnight to all you Oasies™, may you all prosper in the post-Oasis world.
Signing off for the very last time,
- Lone Wolf
For most of the last 5½ years this octogenarian has tried to remain in the background — not always successfully! :) / :(
Over these years I have witnessed many remarkable Oasies™ pass this way… and I want to wish them all a very bright future — you will be sorely missed!
-elph (my mom's initials)
I got dumped last night. I was totally blindsided by it, didn't see it coming at all. She said for the past few months, she hasn't felt as strongly in love with me as she once did. For the past few months, our relationship has been a fucking sham and she never bothered to talk to me about it. She said she didn't want to hurt me, but she's hurt me so much more by waiting that long to tell me. Everything is moment by moment now; one moment I feel okay, the next moment all I want to do is burst into tears. I've never felt so much pain in my entire life.
Goodbye Oasis, this is me signing off. Thanks for over 9 years of memories on this site. This place has seen me grow from an angsty teenager to a working adult. This place has allowed me to vent my thoughts away from the judgment of society. This allowed me to come to terms with various aspects of my life and identity, and I have matured and refined my thoughts and values through that journey.
It's been four years, and what a four years they've been. I want you all to know I'm glad to have befriended some of you and at least made your aquaintence if only just here in HTML. We've all shared our lives here and we've changed over time. This site has undoubtably saved many and helped just as much.


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Well, since ES is down, looks like I'll have to post this review here. I just went and saw the movie today (opening day w00t) and I have to say I was partly disappointed by the movie. I couldn't help but feel that a lot of the acting was forced and that many of the scenes were kind of thrown in there just for the sake of following the book to some extent.
A big annoyance I had was how they changed/added the whole love-line to the movie, even though they only lasted a few 30 seconds at a time, they were annoying.
I'm too tired to write a full review of everything, overall I'd give the movie a 6/10 though. Decent, but not as good as I was expecting it to be.


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Lack of production persists as bats rise too late
TORONTO -- The Blue Jays' offense was bound to struggle at some point, and it would appear as though early June is when the bats finally decided to go cold.
Toronto's lineup was the best in baseball through the first two months of the season. The club still finds itself near the top of almost every major offensive category, but the overall production has noticeably dipped in recent days.View Full Game Coverage
TORONTO -- The Blue Jays' offense was bound to struggle at some point, and it would appear as though early June is when the bats finally decided to go cold.
Toronto's lineup was the best in baseball through the first two months of the season. The club still finds itself near the top of almost every major offensive category, but the overall production has noticeably dipped in recent days.View Full Game Coverage
The high-powered bats were missing in action again on Wednesday afternoon as Twins right-hander Phil Hughes tossed seven scoreless innings in the Blue Jays' 7-2 loss in front of 45,080 fans at Rogers Centre.
"I think we've cooled off pretty good, pretty much top to bottom in the lineup ... but that's the way it goes," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "Hughes was really good. He turned some corners since he moved to Minnesota.
"The key is you can't prolong the struggles. You've got to put an end to them. The bats will heat up again, hopefully sooner than later."
The Blue Jays entered play on Wednesday afternoon in danger of being held scoreless for the fourth time in five games. The only time that previously happened in franchise history was May 13-17, 1981, and it almost happened again until a late rally in the eighth inning.
Toronto has scored 10 runs over its past six games and is hitting .202 (34-for-166) over that same span. The struggles haven't exactly come against elite starting pitchers either as St. Louis' Jaime Garcia (5.47) and Minnesota's Ricky Nolasco (5.70) and Kevin Correia (6.11) all had ERAs above 5.00 before facing Toronto this week.
Designated hitter Adam Lind certainly wasn't concerned about the recent numbers after the afternoon loss. He quickly pointed out the previous production, which saw the Blue Jays score 36 runs in five games before the recent skid and the overall success in May, as the main reasons why.
"I think it just happens," said Lind, who is hitting .333 in 41 games this year. "It's impossible to keep a pace like we did for that two- or three-week stretch. We ran into some pitchers that were hitting their spots and not leaving things over the plate."
The only pitcher the Blue Jays have faced in recent days who has been enjoying a strong season is Hughes. Minnesota's right-hander encountered very little difficulty on Wednesday as he pitched around a pair of doubles by Erik Kratz and Lind in the first five innings.
Toronto's first best scoring chance came in the sixth, when the first two runners reached base, but Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Lind were then retired in order. That's a continuation of a recent trend which has seen the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 hitters combine for nine hits over the past five games.
Blue Jays rookie right-hander Marcus Stroman had another quality start but was still saddled with the loss. He allowed a pair of runs in the first inning on a two-run homer to Josh Willingham and was charged with three runs overall. Stroman has allowed four runs over his first 18 innings as a starter, with all three of his outings being registered as quality starts.
Willingham's home run meant the opposition has scored first in seven consecutive games vs. the Blue Jays. Over those seven games, Toronto has been outscored 13-4 in the first inning.
"Bad curveball," Stroman said of the pitch to Willingham. "It was probably the worst pitch of the outing. Just one of those that's supposed to be buried and just kind of hung up there, tried to do too much with it. I felt like I really settled in the second inning on, and then got up in the zone again a little later, around the fifth and sixth."
An RBI double by Bautista and a pinch-hit RBI single by Dioner Navarro broke the shutout bid in the eighth. But that was it, and the bats will need to turn it around quickly as the club departed after Wednesday's game to embark on a three-city road trip through Baltimore, New York and Cincinnati.
"The bats are going to come around, all the guys in the clubhouse are pretty positive about it, and I have 100 percent confidence in every single guy in that lineup, that the guys are going to start doing what they were doing at the beginning of the year," Stroman said. "It's close. Going into Baltimore and New York, just looking to win some games here in the next stretch."
Gregor Chisholm is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, North of the Border, and follow him on Twitter @gregorMLB.


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The welcomed storm comes on the heels of the fifth straight month with lower than average precipitation in area communities.
Year to date precipitation through November is just 23 percent of normal in Monticello, 56 percent of normal in Blanding and 30 percent of normal in Bluff. The water year begins each year on October 1.
The first winter snowstorm marks the beginning of the snow pack in area mountains. The critical snow pack builds throughout the winter and early spring, generally reaching an apex near the end of March.
Snow was falling heavily throughout the county as the press deadline arrived on Monday.


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NAIA Women?s Soccer Players of the Week - No. 10
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kristen Morency of John Brown (Ark.) has been named the NAIA National Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week and Mia Persson of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) has been tabbed National Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week, the national office announced Tuesday. Morency and Persson, who are the final weekly award winners for the 2012 season, were selected based on their performances from Oct. 29 - Nov. 4 and were chosen out of a pool of conference/independent/unaffiliated groupings.
Morency, a freshman goalkeeper from Wheaton, Ill., tied a career-high with 11 saves to help lead John Brown to a 1-1 road tie against Rogers State (Okla.) in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament on Nov. 2. More importantly, Morency stymied two Hillcat shootout attempts, which advanced the Golden Eagles, 4-3, into the semifinals. She faced 22 shots and nine corner kicks, holding Rogers State to one goal for only the fifth time this season.
On the year, Morency boasts a 9-5-1 overall record, 1.05 goals against average and 0.830 save percentage.
Persson, a midfielder from Sjobo, Sweden, scored four goals and registered one assist to move into second place on the Lindsey Wilson all-time career goals (65) and points (154) list. The senior opened the week with a three point (one goal and one assist) effort against then-No. 23 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) on Oct. 30, before notching her fourth hat trick of 2012 in the Blue Raiders' 5-0 victory against Rio Grande (Ohio) in the Mid-South Conference Tournament Opening Round on Nov. 3.
Persson is seventh nationally with 24 goals, while also ranking amongst the top 10 in shots on goal per game (3.39), goals per game (1.33), points (52) and points per game (2.89).
For a complete listing of all the national statistical leaders, click here.
For the complete player of the week calendar, click here.
Offensive Nominees: Amber Brown-Longoria, Oklahoma Wesleyan; Britten Fandrich, Tennessee Wesleyan; Stephanie Diaz, Our Lady of the Lake (Texas); Sara Cushing, Doane (Neb.); Molly Machometa, Viterbo (Wis.); Jordan Dolbin, Baker (Kan.); Tori Singstock, Indiana Tech; Jessica Oliver, Northwest (Wash.); Linda Addo, Science & Arts (Okla.); Esther Anyanwu, Brenau (Ga.); Juneille Watkins, Park (Mo.); Shannon Bennett, Robert Morris (Ill.); Cara Eskenazi, William Jessup (Calif.); Chrissy King, Biola (Calif.); Kirsty Montignani, Rocky Mountain (Mont.); Brooklyn Morgan, Spring Arbor (Mich.).
Defensive Nominees: Caitlin Stier, Bellevue (Neb.); Rebekah Valenta, Our Lady of the Lake (Texas); Kelsey Stark, Doane (Neb.); Mckenzie Guth, Viterbo (Wis.); Michelle Marcus, Davenport (Mich.); Jenna Peterson, Concordia (Ore.); Josephine Frigge, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.); Mackenzie Little, Culver-Stockton (Mo.); Stephanie Burton, Union (Ky.); Elizabeth Campbell, Brenau (Ga.); Ellen Ghirardi, Park (Mo.); Briana Williams, Biola (Calif.); Malin Johansson, Rocky Mountain (Mont.); Courtney Harrison, Spring Arbor (Mich.); Kayla Cisneroz, Menlo (Calif.); Bekah Gonzales, Trinity Christian (Ill.).
2012 Women's Soccer Players of the Week (Offensive; Defensive)
Week 1 (Sept. 4): Kelsey Langille, Cumberland (Tenn.); Indigo Recker, Concordia (Ore.)
Week 2 (Sept. 11): Jordan Davidson, Vanguard (Calif.); Helena Hansson, Embry-Riddle (Fla.)
Week 3 (Sept. 18): Kirsty Montignani, Rocky Mountain (Mont.); Bekah Garvin, Concordia (Calif.)
Week 4 (Sept. 25): Kelsey Langille, Cumberland (Tenn.); Mallory Conrad, Bethel (Ind.)
Week 5 (Oct. 2): Karly Linton, Spring Arbor (Mich.); Katie Zenz, Grand View (Iowa)
Week 6 (Oct. 9): Mallory Rondeau, Grace (Ind.); Ilyssa Espiritu, The Master's (Calif.)
Week 7 (Oct. 16): Esther Anyanwu, Brenau (Ga.); Lauren Terry, Vanguard (Calif.)
Week 8 (Oct. 23): Ashley Correa, Westmont (Calif.); Kristen Fulbright, Northwest Christian (Ore.)
Week 9 (Oct. 30): Melissa Martinez, Kansas Wesleyan; Becca Skillman, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)
Week 10 (Nov. 6): Mia Persson, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.); Kristen Morency, John Brown (Ark.)


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Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Green Tea, Black Coffee And Brains
If you've been living under a rock for the past few years then perhaps you can be excused for not knowing that green tea is supposed to be good for you. But only if it was a really big rock and you were down at least ten feet.
The green tea/health connection has just about beaten to death, so I try not to write about it too often. But recent articles in Time and Psychology Today weighed in on the topic, so I thought I'd share, in case you missed them.
Dr. Andrew Weil, writing in Time, says that green tea and black coffee are both good for you and cites the recently published Japanese study about the former. He also mentions that brown seaweed may promote weight loss, if you must know. Read all about it here.
At Psychology Today, Anne Becker theorizes that the polyphenols and tannins in green tea help make your brain work better. Find out why here.
tea, green tea, food, food and drink, coffee, seaweed, polyphenols
Adagio Teas - Free Teapot Offer
2 comments:
- ~ Phyll said...
"At Psychology Today, Anne Becker theorizes that the polyphenols and tannins in green tea help make your brain work better. Find out why here."
It's not working for me. I'm as dump as beefore!
- William I. Lengeman III said...
I'm still just as much a dimwit as ever, but I'll keep trying.
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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Morton, McCutchen lead Pirates in series opener
PITTSBURGH -- Charlie Morton was given an extra day of rest before his Monday start, and Clint Hurdle challenged the right-hander to be more effective and "recommit" to his sinker.
Nine ground-ball outs, 82 pitches and seven innings of one-run efficiency later, Hurdle got his wish.View Full Game Coverage
PITTSBURGH -- Charlie Morton was given an extra day of rest before his Monday start, and Clint Hurdle challenged the right-hander to be more effective and "recommit" to his sinker.
Nine ground-ball outs, 82 pitches and seven innings of one-run efficiency later, Hurdle got his wish.View Full Game Coverage
"He retired 17 on three pitches or less. Only one three-ball count. He nailed every one on the list of things we wanted him to see," the Pirates manager said.
Morton's effort and three RBIs off Andrew McCutchen's bat lifted the Pirates to a 6-2 win over the Cubs in the opener of a four-game series at PNC Park. The win turned out to be an undercard to the major Pirates news of the night, as lauded prospect Gregory Polanco is set to join the team Tuesday after Neil Walker was placed on the 15-day disabled list. But it was the sixth straight series-opening win for Pittsburgh.
It came on Morton's best start in a month. The 6-foot-5 sinkerballer gave up six hits, only one of which left the infield in the first five innings, and he stymied the Cubs by making his pitch count, count.
The 82 pitches were the fewest he threw all season, but it was only the fourth time in 13 starts Morton was able to complete the seventh inning. Morton didn't walk anyone Monday, compared to distributing 11 free passes in his last three starts (16 innings). Morton also has hit 13 batters this season -- four more than any other pitcher in the Majors -- but also did not plunk any Cubs in his third win of 2014.
"A couple pitches I really grooved, I don't really think it was great control," Morton said. "But I got some quick outs, and that helps -- not many deep counts."
In addition to the quick, ground-ball outs, Morton struck out seven batters. He has nine punchouts over his last two outings, which is as many as he had in the four starts prior to striking out nine against the Padres last week. Both Hurdle and Morton contribute the higher number of strikeouts to an improvement of Morton's breaking ball.
"It's a little more consistent, I'm getting a more vertical break, not so much side-to-side," Morton said. "That was something we were working on mechanically. I think it's allowed me to throw more consistent in and around the zone, opposed to pulling them a lot, throwing at a lefty's ankles or his knees or behind him."
McCutchen's damage came on two balls he crushed the opposite way. The first cleared the 21-foot wall in right field for a two-run homer in the third inning and the second hit high off the fence in the fifth, scoring Travis Snider.
Ninety feet has not been enough for McCutchen when he gets a hit this month. In June, the reigning National League MVP has 12 hits, six are doubles, four are homers and the other two are singles. During eight games since the conclusion of May, the Bucs' center fielder has a slugging percentage of .938 and an OPS of 1.370.
"I put myself in a position to hit, I've made a little adjustment," McCutchen said. "I've been seeing the ball a little longer and when I get the bat to it, good things happen."
The Pirates' first run came on a Starling Marte double to the left field corner in the second inning. It was Marte's first hit since May 29 and broke an 0-for-23 skid that kept him out of the starting lineup for four games. He tacked on another RBI double in the eighth inning and finished the game 3-for-4.
"It was fun to watch him," Hurdle said about Marte. "Fun to watch him swing the bat with some athleticism. It was a good game for him to regain some confidence."
Marte was not the only slumping Pirate to reverse recent trends in the win. Ike Davis was hitless in 19 June at-bats entering Monday, but roped a solo homer to center field in the eighth inning.
Stephen Pianovich is an associate reporter for MLB.com.


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2014 Men's Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week - No. 1
By: Sam Knehans, Communications & Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Matthew Clowes of Concordia (Ore.) has been named NAIA National Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week and Raheem Cowan of Briar Cliff (Iowa) has been selected as the NAIA National Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Week, the national office announced Wednesday. Clowes and Cowan were selected based on their performances from Jan. 13- 19.
Clowes, a senior from Stoke-on-Trent, England, shattered his own school record and flirted with a sub 4-minute mile last Saturday, crossing the finish line in 4:04.74 to finish eighth at the University of Washington Preview. The returning All-American's time is an NAIA-best this season and meets the standard for automatic qualification for the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championship. Clowes also qualified in the 800 meters with a time of 1:54.17.
Cowan, a junior from Hartwell, Ga., brought home the title in each of his three events at the Dordt (Iowa) Indoor Invitational. He won the triple jump with a mark of 14.94 meters, which meets the standard for automatic qualification for the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championship. He also bested the field in the long jump (6.91 meters) and ran the anchor leg for the Chargers' 4x400 meter relay team that crossed the finish line with a time of 3:25.20.
This is the first award of the 2014 indoor track & field season. For the complete Athlete of the Week calendar, click here.
Track Nominees: Les Jones, Evergreen (Wash.); Mike Blaszczyk, St. Francis (Ill.); Andy Reidsma, Trinity Christian (Ill.); Dewayne Gray, Spring Arbor (Mich.); Troy Solly, Carroll (Mont.); Rafael Reyes, Great Falls (Mont.); Garret Ehlers, Morningside (Iowa); John Cartier, Concordia (Neb.); Brock Taute, Nebraska Wesleyan; Tyler Randall, Baker (Kan.); Akim Muhammad, McPherson (Kan.); Lewis Taylor, Friends (Kan.); Jordan Cheatem, Grand View (Iowa); Tyler Hartley, Mount Mercy (Iowa); Seth Boomsma, Dakota State (S.D.); Kaleb Garcia, Jamestown (N.D.); Richard Langdeaux, Valley City State (N.D.); Stephen Sutherland, Wayland Baptist (Texas); Kenneth Combs, Oklahoma Baptist; Logan Moore, Siena Heights (Mich.); Caleb Teachout, Aquinas (Mich.); Matt Adair, Indiana Tech; Alex Blehm, Davenport (Mich.).
Field Nominees: Nate Moses, Concordia (Ore.); Anthony Johnson, Evergreen (Wash.); Easton Padden, Carroll (Mont.); Jake Henry, Great Falls (Mont.); Cody Boellstorff, Concordia (Neb.); Justin Roberts, Hastings (Neb.); Josh Peck, Baker (Kan.); John Burba, Friends (Kan.); Nathan Stern, Mount Mercy (Iowa); Lance Maxwell, Grand View (Iowa); Garrett Tenney, Jamestown (N.D.); Ryan Gimbel, Dakota State (S.D.); Wayne Northover, Wayland Baptist (Texas); Alvaro Romero, Aquinas (Mich.); Gauge Aebersold, Siena Heights (Mich.); Mike Carey, Davenport (Mich.); Alex Rowe, Indiana Tech.
2014 Men's Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week (Field; Track)
Week 1 (Jan. 22): Raheem Cowan, Briar Cliff (Iowa); Matthew Clowes, Concordia (Ore.)