text:
By David Kane
As we edge closer to December 21st and the world hurtles closer to its Mayan-predicted end, more and more signs of the apocalypse appear to be popping up.
For one, the American media largely ignores tennis, save for the weeks during the US Open. Yet, at the height of the off-season, the sport found itself as a topic of conversation on the popular talk show, The View. The ladies were discussing last weekend's exhibition in Brazil that featured, among others, Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams. Free from the usual tournament tension, players use exhibitions as their opportunity to entertain the crowd without fearing a win or a loss.
The panel, Sherri Shepherd and Whoopi Goldberg in particular, took issue with one of those attempts at entertainment. As the event unfolded, Wozniacki (referred to as "Carol" by Ms. Goldberg) impersonated Williams, and stuffed her front and back to simulate the American's famous assets. The question, to the shock of tennis fans, was whether the move by Wozniacki was racist.
When panelist Joy Behar quipped that white women are made fun of for their bodies, Ms. Shepherd retorted, "I'm speaking as a black woman…to see Serena Williams reduced to this, I don't like it." Ms. Goldberg, typically looked to as the panel's voice of reason, went further and likened the image of the Dane's stuffed bra and underwear as one "generally seen with a bone in their nose and a short little skirt." She went on to say, "I don't ever remember them making fun of the white tennis players."
The reaction on Twitter was swift:
@TheRoot247 ANNNND…would Caroline Wozniacki have been brave enough to act like that in front of Serena? #beatdown
— Earnesta Taylor (@etlaw) December 12, 2012
Wozniacki you stupid bitch you just gave @serenawilliams more fuel to WHOOP YOUR ASS (AGAIN)
— Matt Nelson (@NoDaysOff85) December 12, 2012
Fact that Caroline Wozniacki felt like she could do that kind of ïmitation" of @serenawilliams in public speaks VOLUMES about her and event
— Zemrag (@ZemragSkrap) December 12, 2012
But I must point to another sign of our impending doom: Today, the outspokenly conservative panelist, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, talked some sense. She brought up the very important point that players impersonate each other all the time, citing Novak Djokovic as a player quick to comically don the mask of one of his peers. Ms. Hasselbeck's argument was not perfect if only that she claimed that the players of the ATP impersonate each other. Quite the opposite; in fact, some of the most remembered on-court clowns, Djokovic along with Andy Roddick and Dmitry Tursunov, get their biggest laughs from impersonating the ladies. Which famous, multiple-Slam winning player do they impersonate the most?
Maria Sharapova.
Djokovic won over an Arthur Ashe Stadium night crowd in 2007 with his ability to encapsulate the Russian's deliberate pre-serve routine, down to the tucking of hair behind the ear.
One may argue that Djokovic didn't physically alter himself in the way that Wozniacki did. However, 10 months earlier, it was Sharapova's compatriot Tursunov who stuffed two strategically placed tennis balls down his shirt while impersonating her.
(The "transformation" can be seen at :22).
When the reader takes this into consideration, it becomes clear that impersonations in tennis are anything but a black/white issue. Williams and Sharapova are the sport's two most recognizable stars; when a player impersonates them, an exhibition crowd can easily point them out.
Caroline Wozniacki is not a racist for knowing how to entertain a crowd. She did not step on the court in blackface, and to deem large breasts and buttocks as a signifier of black women alone does not do justice to the women of all colors who are either full figured or aspire to be shaped like Serena Williams.
An impersonation can be racist, but not all people who impersonate people of other races are racists. If that were true, then where was The View when Caucasian Fred Armisen repeatedly impersonated President Barack Obama or former New York Governor David Patterson on Saturday Night Live?
But this is more than simply an issue about who has the right to impersonate whom; what matters is the message that The View's discussion sends to non-tennis fans. Often looked on as an elitist, country club sport, professional tennis is truly the opposite, with the rankings alone a testament to the melting pot that is the tennis world. Players like Williams, Andre Agassi and Roger Federer have done immeasurable outreach with underprivileged youth in the United States and Africa, opening schools and driving home the global nature of the sport that made them famous.
Baseless accusations like this senselessly sully the sport's reputation, and most ironically, give people who know nothing about tennis the wrong "impression."


text:
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Preparedness: Vitamin tablets for your food Stash!
Canned food loses vitamins as time goes by and dry staples such as rice, wheat and beans lack the nutritional properties of fresh food. Especially due to the lack of fresh goods, including meat, fruits and vegetables, it's a good idea to add vitamin pills to your supply.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Housing after the Collapse: Country vs. Urban
Thanks so much for your wonderful blog. I've seen a lot written about the pros / cons
of debt going into an economic collapse.
You're recent blog post about contracting brought up this topic.
We're in the opposite position however, I'd like your thoughts on the dangers of
being debt free during/after a collapse because I see risks with this decision
as well. We own two houses with no debt
or mortgage. One is a large nice home
near downtown Houston in a walled gated community, not in the suburbs; we use
this house part-time. The other is a
small place with 15 acres just outside the city which is our full time home.
We think the US is headed for a dollar collapse. We are considering selling the house in the
city because much of our savings is in this home. If we sold now, we could invest this money in
precious metals. However, we'd take a
significant loss on the home. So do we
hold or sell?
Reasons to sell:
If we hold
the home, we're concerned about being able to pay property tax and insurance
during a collapse
concerned about rioting and crime in the city during/after a collapse, further
driving down the value of this property
buyers may become very difficult after the collapse
Reasons to keep the property
We could use
it as a rental property for income.
(However, I'm concerned about the downward pressure on rents during a
collapse b/c people will be so focused on having enough money to pay for food.)
If people
migrate from the suburbs to the city b/c transportation costs skyrocket, it
might be a good investment
We really
like this house and enjoy the property
Your thoughts
on this would be much appreciated. If
you post on your blog, please keep me anonymous.
Hi K, I think that right now isn't the best time to
sell given the overall low prices. I also believe you can profit nicely when
renting it because of the reasons I'll explain.
Regarding your two properties, they represent opposing
views in terms of what works or not in a post-collapse society. Fiction
survival literature would have you believe that a house in a rural setting is
the best option. Stay as far from rioting cities as you can, avoid criminals by
living far away. This is repeated over and over until people take it for a
fact, but ironically the truth is that living in such conditions is possible
only in very safe, functioning societies. The further away and more isolated
you are, the more vulnerable you are. With higher gas prices commuting back and
forth or driving into town puts a dent into your finances. As the system and
infrastructure starts failing, roads, reliable power and proper medical care
becomes unreliable the further away you are.
After a decade of studying different crisis and
disaster scenarios in different countries all over the world I believe that the
idea of retreating to rural areas as a way of rationally preparing for hard
times has no foundation on empirical facts but is instead rooted on American survival
fantasy concepts. In what seems to be a vicious circle, people keep regurgitating
what others have said and take it for a fact rather than checking how things
actually turn out when serious social crisis have occurred. You only have to
study South Africa's recent history, most third world countries or the post
communism western union nations to understand that what is taken as a fact in
the American survival culture isn't quite so. Keeping it short, if you live
well today in an isolated homestead without 24hs security, its precisely
because society has not collapsed. You wont be able to do so afterwards.
Because of this, a house in a walled gated community
is highly desirable and it will be even more so after a serious crisis or
collapse. In most Latin American countries, gated communities such as those are
the only way in which you can live with a degree of peace of mind while you
sleep. Your two properties are basically giving you those two options.
As crime gets worse in USA, demand for such properties
will go up. With a gated community you have options such as all neighbors
paying more so as to have added security.
I wouldn't sell it. If you like the other place more
then I´d just rent it so as to make some money, always good to have another source
of income, and at the same time you keep it as a plan B in case things go South
Africa or Latinamerica way and you have to move into the gated community
home security,
real estate
Monday, September 24, 2012
Pre Crisis Contracts in Argentina After 2001
Hi Ferfal,
I've enjoyed reading your blog over the last year and
I've purchased your book, but have not read it yet. I enjoy your insight and stories from your
experience in Argentina and look forward to reading your book.
My questions are about financial contracts. I've seen on your blog and have read that a
lot of post-crash purchases of large items, like a house or car, are primarily
in US dollars cash. Before the crash in
2001 did people use mortgage loans or cars loans? If a loan was written in 1999 in Argentine
dollars were the loan payments still accepted in the debased currency because
of the contract? Did the banks or
lenders just write off the loans or did they try to force payment in US dollars
or Euros? Did the government force loans
to be forgiven?
I would like your perspective on what happens to a
contract. I think the US will be seeing
similar problems in the near future and I'd like an idea of what it may look
like to carry any debt. The US situation
may not play out like Argentina, but I wouldn't put it passed US officials to
look at other countries handling of these issues.
Any insight would be appreciated. Please feel free to share the letter and your
reply if you have one, but please do not publish my e-mail address.
Thank you for sharing you knowledge and experience!
God bless you and your family in Ireland!
Hi Andrew, sorry for the delay in replying.
You bring up an excellent point. After an economical
collapse or significant economic crisis like the world is seeing now the importance
of correct contracting becomes even more significant. On one side frauds become
more common and you really have to cover your back from any possible legal
loophole, on the other the rules by which you do business chance constantly in
times of turmoil so you have to keep up to date on everything.
Take for example contracts for renting. When inflation is spinning out of control you
have to keep this in mind. When doing a two year contract we would adjust for
inflation, the second year price being 20 or 25% higher than the first
one. Some people did contracts that
included an increase if inflation reached say, 10% in 12 months (just an
example) but these lost their meaning as soon as the government started cooking
the books. Officially the inflation may be 4% a year, but on the street the
real inflation is 25% per year. When such a situation presents itself your
contracts can hardly go along the lines of official figures because they don't
mean much at all anymore so you have to be careful.
Regarding your questions, loans weren't that common,
not like in USA, but some people that owed money in USD did benefit from the
new rules, in many cases paying back just a fraction of what they owed. In
others, especially for deals between individuals, either an in between point
was agreed or they went to the justice to settle the matter. In general yes,
you benefited if you had to pay a loan in USd. When it came to banks you had to
repay at an official 1.4 rate, then a little higher, but always less than the street
price. Paying back at a 1.4 peso to dollar rate is actually a great deal when
the street price is 3 pesos per Usd. Why
did banks allow this? Because on the other hand they were being allowed by the government
to steal everyone's Usd savings, taking away basically 75% of people's savings,
with a similarly low conversion rate during the "pesification" period (turning
people's Usd savings to pesos). Getting
in debt to take advantage of such circumstances is still a high risk deal. If
the timing isn't just right you're just losing money so I would recommend
people staying out of debt as much as possible. I avoid debt that piles up in a
snowball effect. Buying a cell phone, smart TV, etc, all in monthly payments is
an awful idea under most circumstances. In a free falling economy like
Argentina with a 25% inflation it is a pretty safe bet, that's why people don't
think much of it and jump right in. The TV is going to cost 50% more by the end
of the year anyway, but for normal countries getting into debt isn't recommended.
Having said this, an especially for people thinking of buying real estate, if you find the right property at a low enough price it might be worth getting into debt. In many places property has reached an all time low.
Having said this, an especially for people thinking of buying real estate, if you find the right property at a low enough price it might be worth getting into debt. In many places property has reached an all time low.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
"Don't kill my grandpa, I'll give you mi toys".
"Don't kill my grandpa, I'll give you mi toys".
The pleads for mercy by his grandchild weren't enough to save 74 year old Victor Granada, shot through the heart last night during a robbery attempt in his residence located in La Matanza, Buenos Aires. The two robbers also shot Victor's 36 year old son who is now hospitalized in critical condition. According to the mother's child, Mr. Granada´s grandson told the robbers ""Don't kill my grandpa, I'll give you mi toys" when they threatened to kill his grandfather.
It seems that word got around that Mr. Granada had property for rent and had received payments for it recently. Turns out that the tip was inaccurate and he had no money to surrender which may have angered the criminals.
Both criminals, one armed with a handgun and the other one armed with a knife, managed to escape after shooting both men and stealing a few valuables.
Consider the following:
*They entered through the main door, quickly forcing the security metal door. In 99% of homes, doors can simply be kicked opened. (and 99% of people thing their door is MUCH stronger than it actually is)
*Loose lips sink ships. They went after them because they knew the guy had property up for rent and thought there was rent money there. Don't tell others about your business, lie if you have to but anything that sounds like money can be the cause of your doom in a violent society where crime is out of control. Most people just talk about everything and have no regard about these sort of things. As the world keeps moving, you better adapt before you end up learning the hard way.
*They just shot the old man, no mercy was shown so learn to expect none, same for the son. Which brings me to the much mentioned moral debate of killing in self-defense. It seems that putting down one of these animals scars you for life, that you live in regret and see their faces every time you close your eyes. Ah, Hollywood can be so sentimental. Brutal honesty moment here? Maybe that´s the kind of thing people debate about in SoHo NY while sipping green tea. In the "conurbano" of Buenos Aires there's no such philosophical ponderations, we know perfectly well that you do the world a favor by ending the evil lives of these walking scumbags.
home security,
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Glock vs Springfield Armory XD?
Hey ferfal,
I'm sure you have probably got this email before, but
just in case you haven't:
I have seen posts questioning the SA XD, and I can say
with certainty they're good stuff.
A friend of mine has a Glock 9mm (G 17 I believe, but
I cant say I remember well), and I have an SA XD 9 subcompact.
Fired side by side the action is very similar.
The action on the SA is (get this) smoother, but
recoils wasn't noticeably different. The Glock felt a little more mechanical.
You can feel the slide run back, and impact the stop during ejection of the
I've played with them a bit and the only thing I can
think of is the polymer frame on the XD absorbs vibration so you feel less vibration
in your hand when firing.
This will most likely mean that the steel frame of the
Glock might hold up to abuse more, but I have seen good things during my
reliability research. The polymer frame will also resist corrosion more when
exposed to oils and acids of concealment.
When looking for a common failure on the XD forums the
most common issue I can find is "too many dry fires causes a pin to snap"; this
pin however prevents the firing pin from smacking the breach wall and a failed
pin will prevent a fractured breach wall.
I cleaned it once, and then ran 100 FMJs through it,
then 100 HPs through it without a clean or oil, and it didn't jam. It doesn't
have a manual safety, but it has a grip safety and a trigger safety. The grip
safety prevents the slide from cycling, and the trigger safety puts a physical
block in the path of the firing pin so allegedly, if the pin of a cocked gun
dislodges and engages it will not make it all the way to the round without
hitting the block first.
I haven't been able to confirm this one: I loaded my
XD up with snap caps (dummy rounds that don't fire) cocked it, and threw it
around a room for 5 minutes and I wasn't able to get the firing pin to dislodge
and drop-fire.
I was able to stovepipe it. Here's how; chamber round,
remove clip, fire.
There is a button that the round follower in the clip
engages to lock the slide back on the final round that wasn't present.
In a normal situation, the following round will aid in
ejection of the previous round (pushing it out) on the last round of each clip,
there is no following round so when the slide locks back it allows a few extra
milliseconds for the last round to eject.
The subcompact 9 doesn't have much recoil for a short
barrel and it conceals well for its size.
The handle is wide like a Glock's handle so it fits
comfortably in the hand of a decent size guy(I am 6'6" with a size 13-USA
shoe). I tried the Rueger lc9 which is very similar to the bodyguard and it
actually hurts to fire because the small square handle wiggles in my hand under
recoil and causes pressure points. The recoils of the smaller 38cal LC9 is
higher than the recoil of my XD 9mm subcompact also. There is an accessory rail
on the XD 9 standard, and subcompact. Fitting a light to the rail (very close
to the exit of the barrel) will certainly cover the lens in burnt cordite after
100 rounds, but if your firing 100 rounds in a situation of duress you have bigger problems than a
dirty light.
In a pancake holster on the small of the back there is
a bit of discomfort sitting down leaning back on something, so I can't say it
will be a perfect conceal carry weapon. It is comfortable to stand with, and
doesn't show under a shirt in the small of the back though. So if you have a
standup job, go for it.
Hope this helps answer the XD question.
Thanks for your email Jim. Indeed, I get asked about the
XD a lot and here is my opinion.
Before saying anything, I have to say that I just love
guns. Heck, I love anything that shoots, cuts, explodes or has any kind of violent
chemical reaction. Just the way it is. But when it comes down to giving advice
I can only call it as I see it and I see the Glock being the best, most
successful all around combat handgun. I'm not saying that the XD is a bad gun,
its very good, but a Glock it is not. Not only is the XD a copy (some will say
improved version of..) of what was already done correctly the first time (in
the Glock), with a few changes here and there so as to at least do something
different, the changes made aren't the ones I would have done myself.
Take the XD grip safety for example. Why? Dear God,
Even JMB didn't like the grip safety in the 1911. He
included it because it was demanded by the military. He got rid of it in the
Hi-Power. The grip safety also means that the gun will not fire if not gripped
properly and that is NOT a good thing. Yes, in ideal conditions you always grip
the gun as you´re supposed to, but there's nothing ideal about a gunfight.
Chances of you getting shot in your arms during a gunfight and getting a finger
blown off? Chances of that are actually pretty high (within the context of
being in a gunfight). It generally tends to work this way: When you shoot at someone
and he has a gun, he probably will shoot back. You naturally will shoot center
of mass, and both of you will have your hands and arms covering your center of
mass because that's just what happens with nearly all shooting stances, even
point aiming, even instinctive shooting. Stand in front of someone aiming at
you and you see it clearly. This is why learning to shoot and reload with your
other hand is important and is trained often.
Maybe because of the stress you just got a less than perfect grip, it
can happen too. The gun should still fire in spite of a poor grip being used.
Why a safety in the first place? Manual safeties where
used mostly because of the mechanical unreliability of the first autos, then
their use continued because of police or military spec requirements. Still, if you think about it you can see how unnecessary
they are with safer modern guns. Have you ever seen a manual safety in a
revolver? You don't need one either in a modern striker fire auto.
Finally, no other handgun is as prolific in the
defensive and tactical community. If there's parts and accessories available for
a gun, anywhere in the world, that sure is Glock.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
This article was written for the Unz Review: http://www.unz.com/tsaker/week-twenty-one-of-the-russian-military-intervention-in-syria-the-calm-before-the-storm/
The ceasefire in Syria (which is not really a ceasefire, but rather a "focusing of combat operations") is holding surprisingly well. This is primarily due to the brilliant tactic of forcing each fighting group in Syria to define itself either as a "good moderate", and be guaranteed safety, or as as en "evil terrorist" and become an indisputably legitimate target which anybody can engage. De jure, the only ones who can legally engage anybody in Syria are only the Russians and the Syrians, everybody else, including the US-led coalition, is present there in total illegality, but de facto the latest agreement also acknowledges the right of all parties to engage the "evil terrorists". By forcing each group to self-define itself the Russians have completely taken away any credibility from the rather ludicrous accusation that they were bombing the "good terrorists", the latter category having basically disappeared from the conflict. And to be really honest and blunt about it, the US has been forced to accept the Russian definition of a terrorist as "anybody who fights against the Syrian government". Oh, I know, they never agreed to such a wording, but since those who until now fought were categorized into "good" and "bad" opposition to the Syrian government and since now the "good opposition" accepts the truce/ceasefire, that means that all those who fight against the government are ipso facto "bad". Thus anybody taking up arms against the Syrian government is "bad" and a legitimate target for total elimination. QED.
The worst part for the Americans must have been that they waltzed into this conceptual trap with their eyes absolutely open, but that they could do nothing about it. They knew that their only chance to avoid a humiliating military defeat on the ground was to transmogrify it into a "ceasefire" followed by some kind of vague "transition". So yeah, they hate this outcome, but the other one was even worse. Besides, some officials no doubt realized that the American policy in Syria was totally insane, bordering on a kind of dissociative identity disorder in which various agencies were not aware of what the others were doing and, in some cases, were even literally fighting each other on the ground. To persist on such an absolutely crazy course was bringing the risk of a major war with Russia, something neither the Europeans nor a big part of the (non-Neocon) US deep state really wanted. So while we can legitimately pour scorn on the imbecility of the Obama Administration's policy in Syria, let us always also remember that it could have been worse (just imagine Hillary in the White House!). By stepping back from the brink the USA did the right thing.
And it's not like we should choke up on gratitude either. First, the USA created his mess to begin with and, second, it's not like right now they have fully recovered their sanity either. Not only is the US seething at its humiliation by Russia but now some die-hard Neocons want to try Assad, Russia, Iran for 'war crimes' in Syria! That nonsense is the direct result from this uniquely American mix of delusion and impotent rage about Russia and, really, the entire world. Something like a child breaking a toy he was told he could not have. While I would never discount the possibility of the USA doing something really reckless, the main danger today, as before, comes not from the USA but from the toxic and explosive Turkey+Saudi combo.
Ankara and Riyadh are giving all the signs of being up to no good. Not only does their rethoric remain bellicose, they are also playing all sorts of very dangerous military games: in a display of total irresponsibility and recklessness Saudi Arabia has reportedly engaged 150'000 troops in what the Saudis describe as "the 2nd largest military gathering since Desert Storm". Other sources (here and here) speak of 350'000 troops (20 countries are now officially participating in these exercises). The Saudis have also moved 4 F-15S to the Incirlik air base in Turkey. This is not much, but this could be just a "tripwire force" which, if attacked, could justify the engagement of a much larger and reasonably modern Saudi Air Force (roughly 300 combat aircraft, 5 AWACS and 5 aerial refueling aircraft). Add in the Turkish Air Force (roughly 250 combat aircraft, 4 AWACS and 7 areal refueling aircraft) and you will see that the threat to the tiny Russian Aerospace task force (50 combat aircraft) is very real, even if the Russian pilots and their aircraft are quite superior to anything the Turks or Saudis have. The Iranians also feel threatened and are warning against an invasion of Syria.
So how big is this Saudi-Turkish threat really?
It really depends on your assumptions.
If you assume that the Turks and the Saudis are rational actors, then the threat is not that big. For one thing, even if this "Wahabi coalition" brings in a lot of airpower, their ground forces, while large, are far away from the conflict zone and do not have what it takes to take on the Syrian-Iranian-Hezbollah forces on the ground. And since airpower alone cannot win a war, the only ground force the Turks and Saudis could count on would be Daesh. Not a good option at all, not militarily not politically. However,
If you assume that the Turks and the Saudis have "lost it" and are lashing out in frustration over their failure to overthrow Assad and take control over Syria, then they most definitely can bring about a direct conflict which Russia: since they tiny Russian force in Syria cannot protect itself against such a large adversary, Russia would have no other option than to bring her long range strike capabilities (Aerospace Forces, cruise and ballistic missiles) into the fight. Even more relevantly, Russia would have to strike at the Turks and the Saudis who would be operating from air bases shared with the US (CENTCOM) and NATO in Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Also, in case of such a brazen Saudi-Turkish attack on Russian Forces I would fully expect Russian MiG-31s (possibly operating from Iran) to engage enemy aircraft. At the end of the day, neither Iran nor Russia will allow the Wahabis to overrun Syria and thus the Turks and Saudis need to ask themselves if they really want a war against Russia, Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, especially a war in which both Russia and Iran can, and probably will, strike at their domestically deployed military forces and their support infrastructure?
A more likely scenario is that the US, Turkey and the KSA are trying to find some way to rescue Daesh and to carve up some "Syrian Wahabistan" which could be used to keep Syria weak and bleeding for the foreseeable future. This is clearly the options the Israelis also favor: to break up Syria into a de facto Syrian Kurdistan in the north, a Wahabistan in the east and a secular Syrian republic along the Mediterranean coast. The fact that all this is in total contradiction with the decisions of the UN Security Council apparently does not bother those who are now contemplating such options.
It appears that we are in the proverbial "calm before the storm" and that the war in Syria will soon re-ignite with a possibility even bigger intensity than so far.
The Saker
PS: it appears that Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has now traveled to Tehran to speak with his Iranian counterpart. Good. God willing the Iranians will hammer some sanity into the Turkish rulers.


text:
Cavaliers fall to Kings on the road
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- DeMarcus Cousins didn't let his frustration affect his game, which hasn't always been the case this season for the emotional Sacramento Kings center.
Despite drawing a technical and flagrant foul during a short span in the third quarter, Cousins regained his focus and still had one of his best games of the season.
Cousins had 26 points, 14 rebounds and six assists in helping the Kings snap a four-game losing streak with a 124-118 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night.
The maturity of Cousins hasn't gone unnoticed by Kings coach Keith Smart, who in late December suspended the third-year center following a verbal confrontation on the court.
Smart was pleased how Cousins handled a potentially damaging situation against Cleveland. He was called for a technical foul in the third quarter after committing his first foul of the game. Less than a minute later, Cousins was called for a controversial flagrant 1 foul against Zeller.
"I think when he plays in the heat of battle you can see how quickly he got himself back in control," Smart said. "That's growth for him to get himself under control quickly and to communicate with the officials in the right way. He plays like a big man is supposed to play in the paint. His arms and legs go flying everywhere."
The Kings leading scorer and rebounder, Cousins made 7 of 14 shots, hit all 12 free-throw attemps, and also contributed three blocks and two steals, the second one which he converted into a layup late in the game.
"He (Cousins) is a beast down there and he is tough. He's playing well," Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said. "I've been watching some of the box scores and he's been averaging 20-22 points and 11 or 12 rebounds per night. Tonight was no diffferent."
Jimmer Fredette and Cousins both scored eight points in the fourth quarter for the struggling Kings, who had allowed nearly 118 points per game during the losing streak and had three losses of 20 points or more.
"We definitely took a step forward tonight and that's a good thing," Cousins said. "It feels good to come in and get a win, especially after that embarrassment (a 29-point loss to Miami), it feels good."
Marcus Thornton had 20 points and Tyreke Evans added 18 for the Kings. Fredette had 16 points, John Salmons 14 and rookie Thomas Robinson tied a career high with 12 points and added seven rebounds.
Reserve Dion Waiters scored a career-high 33 points for the Cavaliers, who have lost three straight and eight of 10. CJ Miles scored 17 points and Tristan Thompson had 17 points and 15 rebounds. Kyrie Irving had 15 points, but shot 6 of 19 and had six turnovers.
Despite scoring a season-high point total, the Cavaliers watched their six-game winning streak snapped at Sleep Train Arena. The Cavaliers previous loss in Sacramento was on Jan. 20, 2005,
Waiters made two straight 3s, cutting the Kings lead to three points. After the Kings made a free throw, Waiters missed at the other end and Cousins secured the rebound and was fouled. His two free throws sealed the victory.
The scoring of Waiters kept the Cavaliers in the game, especially in the fourth quarter when he made all three 3-point attempts and scored 16 points.
"They shared the ball well and were able to make shots - a lot of shots tonight," said Waiters, who made12-of-18 field-goal attempts and had five assists in 29 minutes. "I'm just doing what I know I can do and staying confident about it. I'm just taking what the defense gives me."
Irving made two free throws and a jumper to get the Cavaliers within five, but he lost the ball on consecutive possessions and the turnovers led to fastbreak layups byThornton and Cousins, giving the Kings a 116-107 lead with 1:29 to go.
Rumors continue regarding the sale of the Kings. The Maloof ownership is reportedly on the verge of selling the team to a Seattle-based ownership group that would move the team to Seattle next season.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson is searching for a local group that will buy the team and keep it in Sacramento.
Evans made his first start since missing 16 games, including 11 straight, with a sore left knee. Evans, who played in a reserve role the previous three games, got going early, scoring seven points in the game's first four minutes.
Evans made all six field-goal attempts, including two 3-pointers, and converted four of four free throws. Both he and Thornton lost playing time due to injuries.
"I very much wanted Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton to have a good game tonight," Smart said. "I have to get those two guys back into a flow with the game. I thought both of those guys did a great job with that."
NOTES: The Cavaliers shot nearly 49 percent and made 8-of-16 3-pointers. ... Making a rare early appearance, Robinson had six points in the first quarter, highlighted by a dunk off a lob pass with one second left in the period. . Former King Omri Casspi had a strong second quarter off the bench, scoring 10 points. . Sacramento had its entire roster available, which hasn't been the case for much of the season due to injuries and suspensions.


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Tiger Woods could have avoided the water on his second attempt to the island-green 17th under the new Rules of Golf.
Instead, he hit a second shot into the water and made quadruple bogey.
It raises anew the semantical question that has been around as long as The Players Championship has been held on the TPC Sawgrass: Is the notorious island green really an island?
Woods hit his pitching wedge to a back pin on Friday that was a little left and a little long. It rolled off the green and started to go down the walkway when it tumbled over the wooden frame and into the water.
Typically, players hit again from the tee or go to the drop area some 90 yards away. Woods did the latter. That shot was too strong and one-hopped over the green and into the water. It was the first time Woods hit two balls into the water on the 17th hole, and it led to a quadruple bogey. He was nine shots back going into the weekend.
But under the new rules that allow for a drop to be one club length from a yellow hazard — and based on where his first shot went into the water — Woods could have dropped on the grass walkway some 40 feet away and had a straight chip, or even a putt, toward the pin for par. Odds are the worst he would have made was bogey.
Woods said Saturday he wasn't aware that his ball had caught a piece of the walkway.
"I thought it had crossed on the green and just hopped over the back, and that was it — go right to the drop area," he said after a 72 that included a birdie on the 17th, a five-shot improvement. "Unfortunately, I just didn't know where the ball had crossed."
There were questions on social media, and Golf Channel's crew of analysts — David Duval, Brandel Chamblee and Frank Nobilo — went back to the spot in darkness Friday night to inspect the option.
Because players now can use one club length for the drop involving a yellow hazard, Woods could have used that to his advantage. Instead of going to the drop area, he could have dropped on the walkway.
"It was interesting," Duval said Saturday morning. "I texted with Tiger last night. He didn't know. I think in the future they should have a spotter there to let guys know. Because the assumption is you have to go to the drop area. The rules are there to protect the entire field."
Woods concurred, adding that he was aware of the new rule for a yellow hazard.
"If we had a marshal up there to tell us that's where it had crossed, then I would have had that option," he said. "But I didn't know."
Previously with a yellow hazard, one option for players was to determine where the ball entered the hazard, keep a direct line between that point and the pin, and go back on a straight line as far as they wanted.
In this case, there would have been no place to stand because the walkway is right next to the water.
Under the new rules for yellow hazards, the relief area is one club length in any direction no closer to the hole (two club lengths for a lateral drop from a red hazard). That means Woods could have indicated where his ball crossed the yellow line, moved it one club length to the right (away from the wooden frame) and had a chip or a putt.
Li Haotong hit a similar shot Friday, went to the drop area, hit to 20 feet and two-putted for double bogey. Li missed the cut by one shot.
On the 17th hole, the option most likely comes into play with a back pin. Duval believes having a spotter there would let players know what's possible. That said, it's still up to the player to understand what the rules allow.
Jordan Spieth had a similar incident on the fourth hole Friday when his ball went into the water. Instead of dropping short of the green — for a shot over the water not nearly as daunting as the 17th — he called an official and was able to go back in a straight line on the back side of the green, and hit a flop shot to 6 feet to escape with bogey.
So is it an island?
"It's not now," Duval said with a laugh.
Credit : Associated Press (AP) | Photo Credit : (AP)


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We all know that E=MC2 - after all, it is arguably one of the most famous equations - but have you seen it in Albert Einstein's actual handwriting?
In 1946, popular science magazine of the time, Science Illustrated, asked Einstein to write an article about his formula, which has become synonymous with the nuclear age. Einstein titled his paper "The Most Urgent Problem of Our Time."
To celebrate his birthday last week (March 14, Pi Day), the Hebrew University of Jerusalem will release more than 80,000 of Albert Einstein's papers and put them online.
Previously on Neatorama: 10 Strange Facts About Einstein


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Excuses, excuses . . . well, I do have a few, but you probably don't want to hear my tales of woe regarding a house needing cleaning, deadlines for other projects (seminar submissions, articles, etc.) looming, and more bookings than I can stay on top of. It's not that bad . . . as some of my Facebook friends will tell you, I've also spent more time than probably necessary playing Words with Friends. (I believe in that old adage: "all work and no play . . . blah, blah." So, in an effort to avoid dullness, I have been allowing myself some "down" time.)
I will be heading to SLIG in January so have also been working on my project for that (said project being due the end of this month). This will help me, hopefully, tear down a brick wall that was constructed with iron rebar. It has been interesting visiting this part of my family that I have often given up on, only to return to a few years later with new leads, most going nowhere. (Decided, also, that it was time to work on my own family history a bit . . . who knows, I may get an article or presentation out of it!)
In early November I'll be going to Mesa, Arizona to spend the weekend with my daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, granddaughters-in-law, close friends, extended family, and a great-granddaughter, too. I don't have the latest count of attendees, but it should be an amazing weekend with very little sleep, I am sure.
Meanwhile, there have been other exciting things taking my time. All my efforts on my Certification renewal, which I did back in May, have paid off and I have been renewed for another five years. Yay! Articles I have submitted have been accepted for publication (in NGS Magazine, Family Chronicle, and SPEAK!). These have all cut into blogging time. And now, to add to blogging diversions: I have just been called as the new director for the Corona Family History Center. I hope to include more blogs for that facility - most dealing with FamilySearch - so this should actually provide me with more blogging, not less. But, until I get acclimated to the new responsibilities, my blog may feel the pinch. But, be patient. I shall return, and will include more of those NARA films.
I do want to add here that I am also going to be doing some "guest blogging" at the recently assembled SCCAPG (Southern Calif. Chapter of the Assoc. of Professional Genealogist) blog; most posts there will deal with SCCAPG particulars. Everyone is welcome!
So, please be patient with me . . . more will be coming.
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No. Your business location must be inspected by the necessary city departments before your license is issued and it is open to the general public. In certain circumstances, a prospective business location may not pass the initial inspection which could delay the issuance of your business license.
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Almost every construction project requires a permit. A Building permit is required for:
If you're not sure whether you need a permit, contact the Building Division at 650-616-7074. Building is only one of the departments and/or agencies that may be involved in the approval process. Depending on the scope of your project, you may need approvals from other departments and agencies.
To apply for a tenant improvement permit application, please visit our Community Development Department Customer Service Counter located at 567 El Camino Real.
After a Community Development Department Technician verifies that the application package is complete, and you pay the Plan Check Fees, a set of plans/documents will be forwarded to relevant departments for review; Building Safety, Planning, Public Services, and Fire. Approval from all departments/divisions is required prior to permit issuance.
The plan check process is then tracked in our Automated Tracking System and the project is assigned a standard turn-around time. The standard turn-around time for an initial review is 10 calendar days. The standard turn-around time for follow-up reviews (rechecks) is 5 calendar days.
A business license is an annual tax for doing business within the incorporated area of the City of San Bruno. The San Bruno Municipal Code requires that you obtain a registration when you conduct any business activity within the City - even if your business is located outside the city limits or you have a business registration from another city.
Building Division verifies conformance with applicable Disabled Access requirements related to existing buildings and tenant improvements in existing buildings. Per State law (California Building Standards Code - Title 24), existing buildings and facilities must comply when alterations, additions or repairs are to be made. Verification of compliance includes:
Small projects (2015 construction valuation up to $147,863) may qualify for an unreasonable hardship exception. See Application for Unreasonable Hardship Exception, Form. Granting an unreasonable hardship exception does not exempt all non-complying features. You still need to spend an amount equal to 20% of the project cost, and only that amount, on making some or all of the non-complying features comply. Existing non-complying features that will cost more than 20% of the project cost to make them comply, or will push the cumulative cost above the 20% limit, may qualify for an exemption. Your plans must show those accessibility features that will be brought to compliance and those existing non-complying features that may qualify for an exemption. For additional information or clarification contact our Chief Building Official at 650-616-7020.
Yes. Permanent and temporary signs require review and approval prior to the issuance of permits and installations. Check with the Planning Division before using or installing ANY type of sign, flag or banner, even balloons.
When a new business moves into an existing commercial or industrial tenant space, tenant improvements are the proposed interior alterations or additions (both structural and nonstructural). This applies to new buildings after the completion of the shell construction or when an existing business changes or modifies its use and/or expands within an existing building.
A complete tenant improvement permit application package consist of the following:
After you obtain all the required approvals and pay the Permit Fee, the Community Development Department will issue you a building permit. Now you can start construction. At certain stages of construction, your contractor must request a building inspection. See below for the typical sequence of required inspections for a Tenant Improvement:
To schedule an inspection by a building inspector, please call the building inspection voicemail system at 650-616-7076. Please do not contact the building inspector directly.
New businesses often require site inspections by multiple city departments. You will need to contact the different departments directly to schedule the appropriate inspections.


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Battlefield 4: Second Assault to be made available on Xbox One at launch, gameplay debuts November 1
Battlefield 4's second DLC pack, Second Assault, is already confirmed to launch on Xbox One first. The news, however, is that the pack will actually launch with the new console.
Videogamer apparently got a confirmation from an EA UK spokesperson about the news. The DLC pack is to be made available for download on Xbox One November 22, the console's launch date.
A launch date for other platforms is yet to be set, but you will get your first look at the DLC containing updated Battlefield 3 maps in an upcoming tournament held in London November 1. The tournament will pit a team from Europe against a team from the US, with 32 players each. It will be live-streamed at at 10:00AM PDT .
The Battlefield official blog also notes that one player could win a trip to London to play for the US team in the event, more details are through here.


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Bradley Keoun, Max Abelson and Donal Griffin Wednesday, 17 October 2012 10:53 AM EDT
Citigroup Inc. paid a hedge-fund manager with a doctorate in finance more than $200 million over five years to save the bank from the brink of collapse. Now it's turning to a former Harvard football lineman to run it better.
The board of directors replaced Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit with Michael Corbat, who "will place a special emphasis on sharpening the company's focus on achieving sustained, strong operating performance," Chairman Michael O'Neill said on a conference call Tuesday.
That may mean cutting jobs, overhauling management, exiting businesses and improving ties with regulators, who this year blocked Pandit, 55, from fulfilling a pledge to restore shareholder payouts, said analysts, investors, employees and former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair.
"He's very strong operationally, which is what Citi needs," Bair, who took part in discussions over the lender's $45 billion bailout in 2008 and later pushed for changes to the company's management and board, said of Corbat, 52. "He was always on top of things."
Pandit, whose doctoral thesis for Columbia University was titled "Asset Prices in a Heterogeneous Consumer Economy," was ousted after the board concluded his mismanagement had caused setbacks with regulators and cost credibility with investors, a person with knowledge of the decision said Tuesday, requesting anonymity because the deliberations were private.
Pandit's Proposal
The Federal Reserve in March blocked Pandit's proposal to increase payouts to shareholders, who rejected his compensation plan in a non-binding vote a month later. Moody's Investors Service cut Citigroup's credit rating by two grades in June, and last month the bank took a $4.73 billion pretax writedown on the value of its stake in a brokerage venture with Morgan Stanley.
Among Corbat's first tasks as CEO of the New York-based lender will be to prepare a submission for the next round of Fed stress tests in early 2013, O'Neill, 65, said on the call. It failed part of the test this year.
The new CEO also may have to weigh in on whether big banks should be broken up, a debate stoked in July when Citigroup founder and former Chairman Sanford I. "Sandy" Weill said he advocated it.
Citigroup plunged about 89 percent since Pandit took over as CEO on Dec. 11, 2007. The shares have climbed 42 percent this year through Tuesday, and on Wednesday the stock rose 3.2 percent to close at $38.43.
Corbat has a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he played football as an all-conference offensive guard.
'Torch Fat'
He was assigned by Pandit in April 2009 to divest $573 billion of assets as permanent head of the Citi Holdings unit, which held unwanted businesses. They included private-equity stakes, auto loans, a life insurer, a student-loan firm, a fund-of-hedge-funds business as well as mortgages and corporate bonds. In 2010, he pursued an exercise regimen called the Spartacus Workout that, according to MensHealth.com, is designed to "torch fat" and "send your fitness level soaring," people with knowledge of his routine said.
The Spartacus Workout entails a series of minute-long exercises including squats, pushups and dumbbell lifts, with 15 seconds of rest in between, according to MensHealth.com. The process is repeated twice. Corbat also is a trustee of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team Foundation.
By the end of 2011, when Corbat was transferred to become the bank's European regional chief, the assets in Citi Holdings had been cut 61 percent to $225 billion.
As CEO he'll look to dispose of more businesses and cut costs further, said Tom Brown, who runs hedge fund Second Curve Capital LLC, based in New York. It's a strategy O'Neill used in the early 2000s as the chief of Honolulu-based Bank of Hawaii Corp., where the stock price tripled during his tenure.
'Relentless Focus'
While Bank of Hawaii revenue dropped on his watch, costs fell faster, boosting profit, Brown said.
O'Neill became known for a "relentless focus on process," Brown said. "O'Neill's going to help Corbat in that regard."
Citigroup, the third-biggest U.S. bank by assets, might sell or shut some of its 1,017 bank branches in North America, said Gerard Cassidy, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets in Portland, Maine.
"Citi had a grandiose plan of retail banking in major urban areas around the world," Cassidy said. "O'Neill and now Corbat will take a very hard look at business lines that may not justify their remaining at Citi."
O'Neill, Corbat and Pandit didn't respond to interview requests yesterday.
Corbat told graduates of the all-boys Salisbury School in Connecticut that "short-term thinking is what led to the downfall of some of this country's once-great companies," according to a transcript of his 2010 commencement speech on the school's website. He was a trustee of the preparatory high school, which his son had attended.
He also quoted the comic-book character Spider-Man. "With great power comes great responsibility," he said.
Corbat joined Salomon Brothers Inc. in 1983. The Wall Street firm became part of Citigroup under Weill in the 1990s.
Corbat became head of emerging markets in Citigroup's fixed-income unit, and took over corporate lending in 2004. Four years later he was assigned to run the wealth-management division, which included serving ultra-high-net-worth clients.
His pay totaled $9 million for 2010, including a $500,000 salary, $3.4 million cash bonus and stock awards valued at $5.1 million, according to a company filing. His pay for 2011 wasn't disclosed. Citigroup said Tuesday that Corbat will receive a base salary of $1.5 million as CEO.
Ethics Rules
Bank cleanups haven't always been seamless for Corbat. Resolution Trust Corp., the government agency that sold the assets of failed savings-and-loan institutions, alleged in 1995 that he was one of two Salomon employees who broke ethics rules by entertaining the agency's employees.
Corbat, whose firm earned $45.9 million in fees from the agency, discussed asset sales while spending $1,456.17 on a day of hunting in Millbrook, New York with two Resolution Trust employees, the New York Times reported then.
The agency's inspector general found no connection between contracts and the entertainment.
Steve Bell, the other Salomon employee cited, said in an interview yesterday that the consequences were minimal.
"In essence they said 'Don't do it again,'" he said, adding he doesn't recall any fines.
Corbat was "a straight-shooter," said Mark Field, a former Salomon colleague who's now a senior managing director at Guggenheim Securities LLC.
'Good Guy'
"In the land of Wall Street, where you meet all types, he was just a good guy," Field said.
Corbat gave underlings the feeling they were working with him and not for him, said Richard Couch, a managing director in Citi Holdings's financial office until 2010. Other executives at the firm, he said, "definitely walked around with a little more of an air that they were in charge and you needed to do what they did, or else."
Corbat must show colleagues that Citigroup can "come back to a time when they were a prestigious and well-thought-of institution," Couch said. It "hasn't been that way for many years now."
Roger Caron, a fellow Harvard lineman who played in the National Football League, said Corbat once told him to stay on the field despite a knee injury.
"He kept encouraging me to play on," Caron said.
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Any electrical work in conjunction with a building permit requires an electrical permit. Where no building permit has been issued, and more than three outlets (receptacles, lights, switches, etc.) are added, an electrical permit is also required. (This usually excludes minor repairs.)
Show All Answers
The owner of an existing single-family dwelling where they reside may obtain an electrical permit for wiring in that dwelling. New residences, work on electrical services, and all other wiring in the City must be done by an electrical contractor licensed in Green Bay. If you are hiring a licensed electrical contractor to do the wiring, they will submit the electrical permit. (There is no need for you to meet with an electrical inspector in City Hall.)
If you intend to do the wiring yourself, you must meet with one of the electrical inspectors in our office. A helpful suggestion would be to call 920-448-3300 prior to coming to confirm the inspector will be in the office when you arrive. Please bring a floor plan with you to the Inspection Office showing the locations of all receptacles, lights, switches, etc. that you intend to install.
The inspector will then ask you some basic wiring questions to determine if you are knowledgeable about that wiring, such as:
If you can answer these basic wiring questions and/or others, the inspector can issue an electrical permit to you.
It depends upon the work being done, but in most cases it is $50 for a residential project and $70 for a commercial project.


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Avention Inc. has partnered with akaCRM, a provider of professional services for Salesforce.com and Force.com cloud customers. akaCRM customers will now have access to industry consultants specializing in Avention system implementation and training.
"Our partnership with Avention provides our Salesforce.com customers with an effective integration tool that guides them on how to use valuable B2B insight," says Brent Mellow, CEO of akaCRM. "By offering Avention's services, we will be able to address client needs surrounding intelligent prospecting, catching and interpreting business signals, and establishing ideal profiles that complement the CRM functionality and drive growth."
According to Avention, access to its solutions through akaCRM will provide users with vital information at their fingertips by harnessing the power of big data in a platform that thinks the way businesses do, all with the ease of use and flexibility from alignment with Salesforce.com. akaCRM customers now have access to consultants, system implementation and training for the core capabilities of Avention Conceptual Search(SM), Avention Business Signals(SM), Avention Ideal Profile(SM) and Avention SmartLists(SM) within their day-to-day tasks.
"The Avention partnership with akaCRM is a natural alignment for us," says Jim Tinney, director of channel sales at Avention. "Avention's integration with Salesforce.com is one of the key functionalities for its users. The team of experts at akaCRM, as a premiere CRM Alliance Partner for Salesforce.com, will help its clients identify and meet the needs of their customers through actionable, real-time data mining and analysis, boosting the efficiency of employees across an organization."
To learn more about Avention, visit www.avention.com. For additional information about Avention through akaCRM, visit www.akacrm.com/partners/avention.html.


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The development technology is constantly testing the limits of existing compute and storage infrastructure.
One of the companies innovating to stay ahead of the curve is HPE, with its in-house research and development department HPE Labs constantly working on refining and creating new solutions.
SecurityBrief spoke to HPE ProLiant and Cloudline servers global business unit VP and GM Justin Hotard to gain an insight on HPE's server strategy.
What's the reason for HPE's renewed focus on a multicloud strategy?The benefit of multicloud manageability with OneSphere is it allows customers to get an integrated view across the entire environment and what we see with these workloads is based on geography or the specific element of a workload, sometimes it's more cost effective to have it on-prem, you may have requirements that push you to the cloud, you may need to manage devices at the edge.
But having a single pane of visibility and being able to migrate and manage workloads across it is a huge level of simplification for customers because they no longer have to sit there and try to aggregate that up or worse, run in silos.
They can see across their enterprise.
Last year, we also introduced security features like intrusion detection to our devices and servers.
If you have a distributed network of infrastructure, you need to know if anything is compromised, because the data isn't in a controlled data center, where you have clear access control.
Even if it's secure, it may be remote, that means knowing if someone is in a part of a building, or services something else, you can ensure that they can't compromise the device, especially if you're making business-critical decisions on this infrastructure, and I think that's another element.
What has HPE done to ramp up server security since the first features were introduced?We implemented a secure root of trust in all our devices.
That means when the device boots up and anytime it's live, all the components and the firmware inside the device will be authenticated so we know they're the real and correct device.
There have been major breaches in the industry with things like credit card terminals.
There's a device that physically sits at the edge.
You can put a device on an ATM that can skim card and consumer data.
Servers are becoming much more distributed - in office buildings, in retails shops, in different campuses - knowing that what's running there is authentic, so if someone tries to insert malware into the firmware via USB stick or goes in physically and swaps a drive, the system will actually know that, and recognise it and create an alert.
What we've also done since then is we've allowed for recovery, so you can actually recover back to a healthy state.
That's not only a security aspect, it's an IT operations value point because you might have a policy where you don't want to upgrade firmware on a device, on a certain environment, or on certain servers for whatever reason.
This allows you to then roll it back and recover that environment.
So those are the kinds of things that we're doing because we recognise that we can't just assume that the compute infrastructure is going to be in this stable core network, it's really not all going to be in the cloud, so our customers need to have manageability to contemplate all of the different scenarios that could happen.
Security will continue to grow as a major aspect of our products as compute becomes more distributed.
How does HPE mitigate the security risk while data is being transferred from different cloud environments?So in a multicloud environment, your data flows are largely protected by the way you architect your network.
You're expecting the cloud hosters to protect your data, but that's a part of the customer's infrastructure design.
What the multicloud environment allows you to do is manage and move your data, so once you're confident or comfortable that it's secure, you're managing across it.
If there was a security or availability issue with a multicloud environment, having something like OneSphere where you can move across it allows you to quickly migrate your applications and data and give you stability and consistency of operation.
How does HPE package its offerings for the SMB markets?Our priority in terms of how we go to market is through partners.
Partners vary in their business models - we have partners like resellers, system integrators, and managed service providers for SMBs.
We used to push a lot of complexity out to those partners and leave it to them to integrate their server or build the solution that they want.
What we're really pulling back to across the portfolio is a solution approach.
So if you need a solution that runs VMs, we recommend a good, better, and best architecture, and that cuts across the majority of these kinds of workloads.
We're actually bundling software in some cases to make it easier for them.
The whole idea is rather than pushing out the complexity out to our partner, give them a curated set of solutions for the workloads that they have across the platforms we sell for their customers.
So their focus is really on, "How do I take that hardware and deliver it to my customer and solve their problem, do I package PointNext services into it, how do I potentially leverage HPE OneView, how I pull all that together?
When did you start transitioning to this more structured model?The first products were released in the market about five months ago.
From there, we've been actively releasing new offers to continue to expand on that capability.
The partner community has been very positive.
They see a lot of value on getting the expertise and the advice and really focusing on their customer's solution and being able to take a set of recommendations from us, having a few choice points around where they configure, and what options they might choose, what serviced options they might choose as an example, and then focus on delivery and solve their customer's problem.
It also helps with time to market, speed, and it's an offer available across our partner community, so they're able to take advantage of it, whether they're one of our largest partners or one of our smaller partners.
The partner community that serves SMBs varies widely.
You can have a large pan-Australia/New Zealand partner that supports them, or you might have someone who's very local who's hosting a few SMBs in a town or a small city, and the benefit of this is that it's available and accessible to all of them.


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- Categories BX, BXOS, Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, General Fiction, IM1, RM 10 - RM 19.99
- Author(s) Prose, Francine
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Inc
- Pages 304
- Format Hardcover
- Dimensions 23.7cm x 2.7cm x 16.0cm
- Weight 0.47 kg
product description
The acclaimed New York Times bestselling author weaves an ingenious, darkly humorous, and brilliantly observant story that follows the exploits and intrigue of a constellation of characters affiliated with an off-off-off-off Broadway children's musical. Mister Monkey-a screwball children's musical about a playfully larcenous pet chimpanzee-is the kind of family favorite that survives far past its prime. Margot, who plays the chimp's lawyer, knows the production is dreadful and bemoans the failure of her acting career. She's settled into the drudgery of playing a humiliating part-until the day she receives a mysterious letter from an anonymous admirer ...and later, in the middle of a performance, has a shocking encounter with Adam, the twelve-year-old who plays the title role. Francine Prose's effervescent comedy is told from the viewpoints of wildly unreliable, seemingly disparate characters whose lives become deeply connected as the madcap narrative unfolds. There is Adam, whose looming adolescence informs his interpretation of his role; Edward, a young audience member who is candidly unimpressed with the play; Ray, the author of the novel on which the musical is based, who witnesses one of the most awkward first dates in literature; and even the eponymous Mister Monkey, the Monkey God himself. With her trademark wit and verve, Prose delves into humanity's most profound mysteries: art, ambition, childhood, aging, and love. Startling and captivating, Mister Monkey is a breathtaking novel from a writer at the height of her craft.


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Eric Johnson at the Taft Theatre in Cincinnati, Ohio, 2010. © Amy Harris/Corbis
Eric Johnson is on the move. No, he's not playing dates - not at the moment anyhow, although he's just wrapped up the fall run of the Experience Hendrix tour and will hit the road again in January for the second leg of the Guitar Masters tour. Johnson is in the middle of packing up his house in Austin, which he sold recently, and he admits that the process is a stressful one.
"I didn't plan on moving so fast," he says. "I put my house on the market while I was on the road, not thinking that it would sell so quickly. But it did, so now I've got to get all of my stuff together and put it in storage. I'm building another place in Austin, which will take a year or two, so I'm going to have to lodge temporarily at another residence."
With his astounding new album, Up Close, just released and receiving rave notices (check out our extensive track-by-track guide, with thoughts on each cut from the guitarist himself) and a 2011 solo tour in the works, it's inevitable that Johnson's temporary residences will also include many hotel rooms. "I'll definitely be touring behind Up Close as soon as I can," he says. "I'm really looking forward to playing these new songs live."
While packing boxes and dealing with moving men, Johnson recently took some time out of a hectic day to answer questions from MusicRadar readers.
Craig Williams says, I totally love Up Close. I think it's your best album since Ah Via Musicom. Can you describe what it was like to record? You seem to labor over your albums in the studio, but from what I've read on MusicRadar, that wasn't the case this time.
"Wow, thanks so much for the compliment. I'm really glad you like it. That's true, I didn't labor over it - not in the same ways as my other records, at least. Well…different ways, maybe. [laughs] The most fun I had on Up Close was when I basically played live and saw where the songs wanted to go. I let them guide me, as opposed to the other way around. In the past, I would always try to force a song to do what I wanted, and I think that results in music that sounds sterile and artificial. On Up Close, I tried to avoid that at all costs. I wanted the songs - and the whole album, really - to feel natural and spontaneous, like people playing music together for the very first time.
"A big plus was having a bunch of other musicians and singers come in and add their own two cents to the tunes. That really made the whole studio experience joyful and fun. Recording an album definitely requires work, but I wanted to keep the emphasis on 'playing' and not 'working,' if that makes any sense."
JP Holesworth@Stratoblogster says, Jeff Beck has signature guitar models with both Fender and Gibson. If the opportunity for a Gibson EJ-335 presented itself, would you be interested and able to help create such a model?
"That's a really good question...and an intriguing one. The truth is, I had wanted to do that very thing, and there were some people at Gibson who were into the whole idea. When it got to the higher-ups, however, they kind of nixed it. It was pretty strange. I tried to get something going with the company. I talked to some of the people there, and they were like, 'Yeah, let's do it. Call this guy at this number.' So I'd call up and…I don't know, they just sort of dropped the ball on everything.
"Eventually, I blew the whole thing off, which was a drag because I love the red 335 from 1964. I was looking forward to trying to work with Gibson on some pickups and get going on a model that was really cool and special. What can I say? I guess they weren't interested in pursuing it with me. [laughs] It happens."
Johnson experiences Hendrix in San Francisco, 2010. © Tim Mosenfelder/Corbis
Trundrumbaland1976 asks, What are your memories of opening for Rush during the 1991 Roll The Bones tour? Also, are there progressive rock or metal bands that you favor?
"It was great being on tour with Rush. I really loved hanging with those guys and getting to know Alex Lifeson a bit. They're such pros, man. I learned a lot about touring and how to put on a show from watching them and their whole crew. They're seasoned veterans. Watching their entire operation was pretty eye-opening.
"As far as metal and progressive music…hmmm. I don't know if you'd call Steve Morse 'progressive,' but he's amazing. Gentle Giant did some interesting stuff, of course. John Petrucci's an excellent player. Everything I've heard him do has been very solid and cool. [pauses] Wow, I'm kind of stuck here. Would you call Nirvana a 'metal' band? Probably not. Still, I always thought Kurt Cobain was a brilliant songwriter."
Isaac Defee says, During the past few years, I have noticed a change in your approach to soloing. Your technique sounds more rhythmic in nature, where notes are sometimes played almost like a pulse as opposed to in and out of beats. The descending pentatonic lines in the song Austin exemplify this. Has this change been conscious, or is it a natural evolution in your playing?
"You know, it's funny: I had a conversation with a friend of mine who said something along those very same lines. He thought a lot of my notes were kind of sounding the same rhythmically - you know, like 'da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da.' He thought I should break up the attack a bit more, change up the picking style - be a little more out of the pocket in some places.
"I think it's a valid point to bring up, but it certainly wasn't a conscious decision on my part to pick notes that way. I wasn't even aware I was doing it. I guess there's parts on Austin and a few other places on the record where my playing is kind of 'pulse-like,' sure. A natural evolution? That's really hard to say. It might be more a case of de-evolution when you get right down to it." [laughs]
Juan Espino asks, What are your thoughts on the current instrumental guitar scene? What do you think of the state it is in, and where do you see it headed?
"I think there will always be an audience for guitar music. On the other hand, we've pretty much taken things to the hilt in terms of the guitar hero thing. For somebody to come along and change things in a major way, they'd have to be doing something pretty fresh and unique. I guess we'll all just have to wait and see if that happens. But there's still guys out doing it, and they do it well, so I tip my hat to them."
Kiaran Jay asks, How do you deal with writer's block? Do you move away from playing for a while, or do you jam until you find something cool?
"I basically jam until I find something cool. I think the less we worry about stuff like writer's block, the less we own it - or let it own us, if you want to look at it that way. More and more, I try to treat it like the wind: I let it breeze right by me. I figure, if I don't fixate on writer's block, it won't stick to me.
"On a practical level, if you're playing and you're stuck in a rut, stop playing whatever it is that's bogging you down. Play something else, play something fun. Just play with no expectations or goals. Too much of the time we focus on the result: 'If I play this or write this, then this will happen.' You have to get out of that mindset. It really comes back to the reason why you probably started playing in the first place - because you enjoy it."
At the mic in Universal City, CA, 2010. © Paul Hebert ./Retna Ltd./Corbis
Tuki from Calcutta asks, How do you keep finding that special place from where music flows? Also, what's it like knowing that you are worshiped not only as a musician but also as a godly person?
"Man...I don't even know how to react to that last part. A 'godly person' - that's definitely not my gig on earth. I'm just trying to reiterate messages that have been told to me. There's certain precepts and available modes of life that seem to be beneficial to us - being good to ourselves, trying to treat others with compassion and forgiveness - and if I can shed any kind of light on those ideas, well, that's about as far as I can go on that level. Truthfully, I'm still trying to get myself together! [laughs]
"But I do feel that a lot of those concepts will ultimately reflect in what you do, be it as an artist or whatever you do in life. The less emotional luggage you have, the lighter you are, and you become transparent and more open to inspiration. It's really there all the time anyway - you just have to find your own ways to become receptive and take in all the positive energy that's floating around you. And the great thing is, everybody can have it; nobody's excluded. Nobody gets more, nobody gets less - it's all up to you."
Stratcat51 says, Eric, your respect for the talents of Clapton, Beck and Hendrix has been conveyed on numerous occasions. Are there any non-guitar players that had a profound impact on you?
"Oh, definitely! Without a doubt, Stevie Wonder is at the top of the list. As a songwriter and musician, he's been a major influence. I'm such a fan of his work. There's other people, too: I love Miles Davis, especially the old, early records he did with the sextet. Weather Report - Joe Zawinul was a great composer and pianist. Bill Evans was fantastic, so he's an influence, too. I'm all over the map with who I like. Richard Rodgers, Benny Goodman, Keith Jarrett, Aaron Copland, Stravinsky - I listen to a lot of varied music to get ideas for my guitar playing. Face it: if you just listen to guitarists, you're only going to emulate guitarists. Open you ears to other kinds of music and your playing will blossom in so many surprising ways."
Petergrifindor asks, What is the maximum amount of time you can stay away from the guitar before you start to get rusty?
"Oh, man, I get rusty, for sure. If I take a break for one day, I notice it. And if I take a break for two days, the audience notices it. [laughs] You really have to keep practicing the guitar all the time - at least, I do.
"Now that I'm involved with moving out of my house, I haven't been able to play for five or six days, which is bothering me a bit. But you know, sometimes it can be good to get away from playing, to get out of the corrals and boxes you put yourself in. Coming back to the guitar after some time away can allow you to redefine yourself. It's both good and bad, a yin-yang thing. You just have to find what works, and that can change on you from year to year."
Doreen asks, Aside from music, do you have any other special talents?
"No, not really. I wish I was good at other things, but music is pretty much it for me. Although I can water ski - I do enjoy that. And I'm a pretty good ping-pong player. Those are about the only other things besides music that I'm OK at. Ping-pong and water skiing - kind of weird, right?" [laughs]
Johnson lays into his Strat at San Francisco's Warfield Theater, 2010. © Tim Mosenfelder/Corbis
Bryanwright says, I saw a picture of you in which your Strat appears to have a Floyd Rose tremolo system on it. How do you manage to get a tone you're satisfied with using a Floyd? I've always found Floyds to change my tone to where it was extremely bright and brittle.
"I don't use a Floyd. I totally agree with what Bryan is saying here. Floyds are excellent as far as keeping your strings in tune, but the price you pay is too high in that you lose aspects of the tone that I like to keep.
"I use a Super-Vee locking tremolo, which basically retrofits right onto a regular Strat with absolutely no modifications or screw holes necessary. And it works great! It stays in tune, it does what it needs to do. Am I losing a little tone? Mmmm…not really. It makes it a little different, but not in a bad way; it's just different. I started using the Super-Vees on one of the Hendrix tours because I had to do lead and rhythm and really go crazy with the tremolo bar, and I found I really liked them. They're great."
Jourdan asks, When will you be touring Europe? I'm French, but I will travel to see you if needed.
"I have no plans to tour Europe at the moment, but I hope to very soon. I'd really like to get over to Europe sometime in 2011. And hopefully, you won't have to go too far to see me."
The Wainer asks, What was your worst show ever, and why?
[laughs] "It wasn't just one, it was a few. I remember two or three really horrible shows, and they were all because I was sick at the time. I came down with the flu, and it was so bad that I had to go to a hospital to get medication. They gave me this weird kind of penicillin - I don't really know what it was. The drug eventually got rid of the flu, but the side-effect it had on me gave me this depression or something, like I just didn't care about anything. I thought it was just me, but now that I remember the events clearly, three of the four people in the band, including myself, all came down with the same flu. So we all took this medication and felt the same way, just totally out of it.
"Man, it was awful. We were up on stage, and not only were we sick, but we just didn't care about anything. It was the weirdest thing. We were standing there playing, being all apathetic, thinking life wasn't worth living anymore. I mean, we sucked! Talk about some rotten shows. A really bad deal. I don't know if there was something wrong with the medication or if we were all having the same allergic reactions or what, but it was definitely a messed-up situation. Finally, we stopped taking the pills and came out of it, but for a time it was a total nightmare."
Johnson during an Experience Hendrix concert last spring. © Paul Hebert/Icon SMI/Corbis
Beed84 says, I know you're obsessed with finding the best possible tone all of the time. But do ever say, "Forget it, let's just plug in and play"?
"Yeah, I do. More and more, I feel that way. You know, the Fender Strat is a thing of beauty, so I'm always trying to get everything I can from it. I don't know if I ever will, but I'm trying. Sound and tone, though, they're so elusive and mysterious. I think tone comes from a lot of happy accidents. We can tweak things here and there, but I just try to play around with the guitar and different amps and kind of float around until something cool happens.
"The guitar is a funny thing: I'll have a day where I'm playing, and everything sounds amazing. It's like I can do no wrong, and tones and sounds are flying through the air and…you know, it's just pure joy. The next day, I'll plug in and I'll be like, 'What happened? Where did the sound go?' [laughs] It's like, you can control things, but then some days you can't. But you can't get hung up on it. Tomorrow's another day."
Lastly, we have a question from Pongoman25, who says, Up Close is utterly amazing. I love the different artists you have singing on some of the songs. When you tour, who is going to handle vocals? Are you going to sing everything yourself?
"That's a good question. I don't know. I'd like to find somebody who can sing a bunch of songs and play a little bit, maybe have kind of an all-purpose person. I don't know who that person is yet. I'm going to have to start looking."


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The storied Freed Unit at MGM—home of the movie musical—had its last hurrah with Gigi, from the legendary team of Lerner and Loewe. Librettist and lyricist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe were coming off of their Broadway triumph My Fair Lady when they agreed to adapt the novella by Colette into an original screen musical. Though Gigi had a bumpy road to the screen, the film proved to be producer Arthur Freed's biggest success, raking in nine Oscars, including Best Picture (a tenth, honorary Oscar went to key supporting player Maurice Chevalier).
A comedy of manners set in fin-de-siècle France, Gigi purportedly tells of a girl (of indeterminate age, but definitely a "girl") ostensibly being groomed to be a courtesan by her great-aunt Alicia (Isabel Jeans) and grandmother Madame Alvarez (Hermione Gingold). Due to the threat of the production code, screenwriter Lerner and director Vincente Minnelli (An American in Paris) sufficiently obscured the plot to the degree that it's easier to read the story as a girl being groomed to be a debutante, to attract men, rather than being trained to be a proper woman for hire. The climactic decision of whether or not she'll give herself to a man seems unsavory not because it's a literal depiction of prostitution but a figurative one, in which a man will pledge a luxurious life to the woman if she'll agree to bypass the emotional intimacy of wedded union. To some today, that arrangement would simply qualify as a certain stripe of modern relationship. After all, it's a fine line between those two old standbys of one-way love: prostitute and golddigger.
Of course, even that point proves irrelevant, as Gigi is, after all, a love story. World-famous idle playboy Gaston Lachaille (Louis Jourdan) has never thought much of the social scene. As he musically expresses to his uncle Honoré Lachaille (Chevalier), "It's a bore!" Notwithstanding the Eiffel Tower, the only thing in Paris that doesn't bore Gaston is the company of Gigi (Leslie Caron, skillfully evoking girlhood) and Madame Alvarez (Gigi's mother remains resolutely off-screen and oddly uninvolved). A cup of tea and a game of cards with the witty elder and her vivacious granddaughter provides Gaston with diversion and even escape from the drudgery of maintaining appearances amongst the rich. Though he never once considers packing it all in to live in a relatively humble walkup apartment like that of Gigi and Madame Alvarez, Gaston does find cause to notice Gigi one day, an event which leads to the climactic negotiations.
Gaston's discovery takes the form of the title tune, a musical contemplation. It's one of several scenes to take advantage of authentic French scenery (others have to make do on studio sets). The fondly recalled musical numbers include "I Remember It Well," a light-comic duet for Chevalier and Gingold; the up-tempo "The Night They Invented Champagne," and "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore" and "Thank Heaven for Little Girls," both late-career signature tunes for Chevalier. The latter puts a mildly creepy spin on the film's theme that female youth can reinvigorate the male spirit, with a steady supply of little girls coming up to replace those being "aged out." Still, Chevalier's charmingly corny performance as a man whose life has been "devoted to the chase" overcomes all; besides, the film seems to say, he's French, and you know the French.
Gigi's principal selling point is its Metrocolorful CinemaScope pageantry, and indeed Minnelli's film is a kind of visual feast of upper-class finery; even the lower-class apartment pops with blazing red wallpaper. The film opens and closes at the Bois de Boulogne, with horse-drawn carriages and beautifully costumed extras lolling around behind the perky Chevalier. The legendary crooner delivers most of his big numbers from a chair while breaking the frame—or "the fourth wall," to use the theatrical term. The theatrical approach fits Lerner and Loewe's mythical France of delicate fair ladies and exploitative men who must be taught to be grateful for their ladies' love and devotion. As such, the film is never more than a stone's throw away from My Fair Lady, especially in the tendency toward talk-singing.
Given the shortage of dancing and soaring vocal melodies (only Betty Wand, dubbing Caron, gets a full-bodied singing part in "Say a Prayer for Me Tonight," a number salvaged from My Fair Lady), Minnelli must lean heavily on personality and a spectacle defined by the pageantry of historic locations, sets and costumes. The designs of Cecil Beaton and crack music supervision of Andre Previn (with orchestrations by Conrad Salinger) take the film a long way. Somehow it all works sufficiently to keep Gigi on the short list of classic screen musicals. Though Chevalier's dating advice to Gastonis implicitly bad, it's a good way to approach Gigi: "Play the game!"
Gigi looks its very best in the new hi-def upgrade from Warner. Transplanting the entirety of its double-disc DVD edition onto single-disc Blu-ray, Warner gives a boost in picture and sound quality that makes the film look better than it ever has on home video: the image is steady, and we get as much detail as there is to be had from the source material, which turns out to be more than earlier DVDs could provide, and the colors are eye-popping. Sound is mixed in 5.1-channel Dolby TrueHD for maximum effect; there's also a Dolby Digital 5.1 option.
A commentary with film historian Jeanine Basinger and Leslie Caron gives us the best of both worlds: an enthusiastic scholarly appraisal (and context for the film and its talents) as well as memories from the star, introduced into the track by Basinger.
The 1949 French feature Gigi (1:22:37) is an especially nice bonus feature, though it comes with a warning about its picture and sound quality. I've seen worse, but it's hard to enjoy the picture due to the obnoxious subtitles, burned in and superimposed over an oversize black box. (Why not simply use yellow subtitles? Well, the sole surviving print already has subtitles, which at times would be unreadable--perhaps the new ones are also updated?)
"Thank Heaven! The Making of Gigi" (35:49, HD) is a very well compiled documentary recounting the film's struggle to get to the screen and its huge success. Interviewees include Vincente Minnelli and the Film Musical author Dr. Drew Casper, author/Colette expert Diane LeBow, Minnelli (vintage), Leslie Caron, MGM's Greatest Musicals: The Arthur Freed Unit author Hugh Fordin, Lerner and Loewe biographer Gene Lees, music and film historian Gary Giddins, and Arthur Freed's former secretary Mildred Kaufman (vintage).
Lastly, there's a trio of vintage pieces: the film's "Theatrical Trailer" (3:30, SD), the 1952 MGM short "The Million Dollar Nickel" (9:30, SD), and the 1958 MGM cartoon "The Vanishing Duck" (7:08, SD), starring Tom and Jerry.
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Fishing Reports
Report Date: September 22, 2013
The swordfish bite in South Florida pretty much year round, but the hottest bite is supposed to occur between September through November. Unfortunately nobody told the fish it was September and for the past two weeks the bite has been very very slow, that is until yesterday! In the past two weeks we have done some half-day trips on the edge, which produced a few kingfish, small blackfin tunas, bonitos and an occasional sailfish. The rest of the trips were daytime sword trips and with the exception of yesterday we were not able to successfully land a fish. We did catch a big thresher shark on one of those trips. Most of the trips we had one or two sword bites, but were unable to keep the hooks in place. We also had two trips where we did not even get one bite, which makes for a long frustrating day. To top the slow start to the season, I also had two electric reels fail, fortunately none of them failed on a fish. Luckily I have three electrics, so we had plenty of backups. One of the reels was sent back and the other reel I was able to band-aid it until I can send that one back as well. We even hung the bottom one day and broke off all our line, so as you can see the frustration of slow fishing, broken reels, hung bottom, was really starting to take its toll.
The last two days I fished with Shane, who came all the way from Australia to catch a broadbill swordfish. The first day we did get a bite and had the fish on for a bit but the hook pulled. That was also the trip that we hung the bottom and lost our line. Our second day started out slow again. Obviously I want all my customers to catch fish on every trip, and since Shane had come all the way from Australia to catch one, the pressure to produce a fish was even greater. I tried everything I knew from dropping precisely on humps and holes, to making longer drifts over banks I knew held fish, trying different baits and even fishing two rods at once. Nothing was working and time was running out. Around 2pm we switched out the bait and put a whole rigged squid down. Squid is a great bait and is probably the swordfish's preferred prey, but it doesn't stand up to their brutal attacks and unless the swordfish eats the squid the first time, you usually only get a mangled bait on the hook that they don't go back to eat. I stitched the squid up as best as I could and sent it down. About 10 minutes into the drift, the rod gets heavy and bows over and it is game on. With heavy drag the fish is still pulling but we were able to gain a bit of line, but only a couple of feet at a time. It was mostly a stalemate for 15 minutes or so, and then Shane was able to gain some line. Halfway up from the bottom, she started rising and I knew we had a good fish on. Somehow we got her all the way up and got a look at her and my first impression as she was tailing down sea was that she was about 250 pounds. This fish was strong and stubborn and was flying all around the boat. She kept me on my toes and was constantly changing her angle and kept trying to get under the boat, swim to the props, and doing everything possible to gain her freedom. She was definitely putting our skills to the test. We got her within 25 feet and missed her on the dart shot. As Leo threw the dart, she dove backwards and with the white water from me having to reverse hard and keep her from digging into the props, it was a tough shot. She pulled all 150 feet off the reel and we started working her way back. A bit closer now she really decided to show her strength and dove close to 1000 feet back down. Shane again did a great job and worked the fish all the way back in and with my help we were able to get her all the way to the boat. On her last burst of speed, she had gotten tail wrapped and we were pulling her in backwards. A quick dart shot and two gaffs secured, she was finally ours. By pulling her in backwards, I could see the size of her tail and knew my original estimate of 250 pounds was way off. Once we pulled her over the gunnel, it was clear that this was a 400 pound fish and she measured out at 91 inches LJFL and 142 inches overall. With a girth of 60 inches the formula weight puts her at 409 pounds. When we got back to the dock and steaked her out, she had 21 squid in her stomach as well as a tinker mackerel and two cuttlefish. No wonder she was that big.
I know every trip cannot be like this one, but unless you go, you will never have a trip like that. And although every trip does not produce a trophy fish like that, know that my effort will be at the highest level every time. I have been catching swords for 20 years and they are one of my favorite fish to catch. A big swordfish will test the anglers, the crew and the captain to its fullest. I thoroughly enjoy that challenge and although sometimes the fish win, with a good crew and angler, you will up the odds and win more often.
October is over ¾ of the way booked with lots of swordfish trips and a couple of trips to Bimini for wahoo fishing, which by the way, I heard they are already biting. Book your trips now before October is fully booked and lets go catch that fish of a lifetime!
Tight Lines,
Capt. Dean Panos


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Medical Blogs May Threaten Patient Privacy
More than half of medical blogs may violate ethical standards.
Aug. 8 -- THURSDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Blogs written by medical professionals may pose a threat to patient privacy, because the authors of the blogs may inadvertently reveal patient information, says a U.S. study that's the first to examine the issue.
The researchers analyzed the contents of 271 medical blogs and found that 56.8 percent contained enough information to reveal the author's identity.
Although obvious violations of patient privacy are rare, supposedly anonymous medical bloggers who provide information about their location, subspecialty or other personal details may reveal their identity to blog readers, noted Dr. Tara Lagu, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar, and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania.
In some cases, patients described in medical blogs may be able to identify themselves, the researchers said. For example, three of the blogs in the study had recognizable photos of patients, including one with an extensive description of the patient and links to photos.
The researchers also found that some of the medical blogs allowed advertisements, and some promoted health -care products within the blog text. None of the bloggers who described products within the text adhered to medical ethics standards of providing information on conflicts of interest, or whether payment was received for promotion of the products.
The study was published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
"While many medical blogs provide valuable information to the public, are respectful in tone and are written anonymously, others pose a threat to patient privacy and have the potential to threaten the integrity of the medical profession," Lagu said in a journal news release.
"Unfortunately, no professional organization has taken the initiative to provide guidance on this issue. As the number of medical blogs grows, professional organizations, medical educators, and the blogging community must address the challenge of this new medium by setting guidelines and standards for what is appropriate," Lagu said.


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Today's topic from Geneabloggers Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories is the Christmas Tree.
We have always had a live pine tree for Christmas. I grew up in a small rural town where farms sold trees, some precut and some where you cut your own. We put it up on Christmas Eve, a tradition from my mother's family, and kept it u p until Epithany.
When my husband and I were first married we lived in the Buffalo, New York area. One year we drove to a corner tree lot. It was below freezing and the snow was coming down heavily. We just sat in the warmth of the car, looking at the trees and picked one out. We dashed out paid and tied that tree to the roof of the car in record time. It wasn't the best tree but it is a tree we still remember.
Now we have a cross country ski resort/tree farm where we have a wide choice of beautiful trees. My husband cuts down the winner. Our cats sniff it and love to nap beneath it, dreaming of the outdoors. I love that pine smell and because we cut the tree ourselves, it is fresh and needles rarely fall.
Read my 2011 Advent Memories post: Christmas Tree Memories.