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Securing tomcat
* Content should provide a link and references to
- SecureTomcat - http://securetomcat.googlecode.com
Released 14/1/2007
Updated 10/7/2014
https://tomcat.apache.org/tomcat-8.0-doc/security-howto.html is almost the same...
Darren Edmonds
Jacques Le Roux
Most weaknesses in Apache Tomcat come from incorrect or inappropriate configuration. It is nearly always possible to make Tomcat more secure than the default out of the box installation. What follows documents best practices and recommendations on securing a production Tomcat server, whether it be hosted on a Windows or Unix based operating system. Please note that the section ordering is not a representation of the section importance.
Software Versions
The first step is to make sure you are running the latest stable releases of software;
- Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or SDK
- Tomcat
- Third-party libraries
Many software projects, including Tomcat and Java, maintain multiple branches. New features are added to more recent branches, the older branches receive only bug-fixes and security updates. This allows developers to advance the software without disrupting production environments. Be aware of which branch you have deployed, and track new releases within that branch.
For example, if you are running Tomcat 5.5.26, you should watch for new versions within the 5.5 branch (e.g. 5.5.27) and upgrade to this bug-fix version. If you are content to stick with the Tomcat 5.5 branch then it is not necessary to upgrade to a new 6.0.18 version.
You should subscribe to announcement lists for Tomcat, and any other software you deploy, to stay abreast of new versions released due to security issues. As soon as a security issue is disclosed, potential attackers will begin trying to exploit that vulnerability. It is important that you upgrade your software before an attacker uses the vulnerability against you.
Installation of Apache Tomcat
- Create a tomcat user/group
- Download and unpack the core distribution (referenced as CATALINA_HOME from now on)
- Change CATALINA_HOME ownership to tomcat user and tomcat group
- Change files in CATALINA_HOME/conf to be readonly (400)
- Make sure tomcat user has read/write access to /tmp and write (300 - yes, only write/execute) access to CATALINA_HOME/logs
- Download the core windows service installer
- Start the installation, click Next and Agree to the licence
- Untick native, documentation, examples and webapps then click Next
- Choose an installation directory (referenced as CATALINA_HOME from now on), preferably on a different drive to the OS.
- Choose an administrator username (NOT admin) and a secure password that complies with your organisations password policy.
- Complete tomcat installation, but do not start service.
- Remove everything from CATALINA_HOME/webapps (ROOT, balancer, jsp-examples, servlet-examples, tomcat-docs, webdav)
- Remove everything from CATALINA_HOME/server/webapps (host-manager, manager). Note that it can be useful to keep the manager webapp installed if you need the ability to redeploy without restarting Tomcat. If you choose to keep it please read the section on Securing the Manager WebApp.
- Remove CATALINA_HOME/conf/Catalina/localhost/host-manager.xml and CATALINA_HOME/conf/Catalina/localhost/manager.xml (again, if you are keeping the manager application, do not remove this).
- Make sure the default servlet is configured not to serve index pages when a welcome file is not present. In CATALINA_HOME/conf/web.xml
<servlet> <servlet-name>default</servlet-name> <servlet-class>org.apache.catalina.servlets.DefaultServlet</servlet-class> <init-param> <param-name>debug</param-name> <param-value>0</param-value> </init-param> <init-param> <param-name>listings</param-name> <param-value>false</param-value> <!-- make sure this is false --> </init-param> <load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup> </servlet>
- Remove version string from HTTP error messages by repacking CATALINA_HOME/server/lib/catalina.jar with an updated ServerInfo.properties file. Note that making this change may prevent Lambda Probe (popular Tomcat monitoring webapp) to initialise as it cannot determine the Tomcat version. A solution to this can be found on the Lambda Probe Forum. An alternative to repackaging the JAR is available on the Discussion page.
- unpack catalina.jar
cd CATALINA_HOME/server/lib jar xf catalina.jar org/apache/catalina/util/ServerInfo.properties
- update ServerInfo.properties by changing server.info line to server.info=Apache Tomcat
- repackage catalina.jar
jar uf catalina.jar org/apache/catalina/util/ServerInfo.properties
- remove CATALINA_HOME/server/lib/org (created when extracting the ServerInfo.properties file)
- Replace default error page (default is stacktrace) by adding the following into CATALINA_HOME/conf/web.xml. The default error page shows a full stacktrace which is a disclosure of sensitive information. Place the following within the web-app tag (after the welcome-file-list tag is fine). The following solution is not ideal as it produces a blank page because Tomcat cannot find the file specified, but without a better solution this, at least, achieves the desired result. A well configured web application will override this default in CATALINA_HOME/webapps/APP_NAME/WEB-INF/web.xml so it won't cause problems.
<error-page> <exception-type>java.lang.Throwable</exception-type> <location>/error.jsp</location> </error-page>
- Rename CATALINA_HOME/conf/server.xml to CATALINA_HOME/conf/server-original.xml and rename CATALINA_HOME/conf/server-minimal.xml to CATALINA_HOME/conf/server.xml. The minimal configuration provides the same basic configuration, but without the nested comments is much easier to maintain and understand. Do not delete the original file as the comments make it useful for reference if you ever need to make changes - e.g. enable SSL.
- Replace the server version string from HTTP headers in server responses, by adding the server keyword in your Connectors in CATALINA_HOME/conf/server.xml
<Connector port="8080" ... server="Apache" /> <!-- server header is now Apache -->
- Start Tomcat, deploy your applications into CATALINA_HOME/webapps and hope it works!
Protecting the Shutdown Port
Tomcat uses a port (defaults to 8005) as a shutdown port. What this means is that to stop all webapps and stop Tomcat cleanly the shutdown scripts make a connection to this port and send the shutdown command. This is not as huge a security problem as it may sound considering the connection to the port must be made from the machine running tomcat and the shutdown command can be changed to something other than the string SHUTDOWN. However, it's wise to take the following precautions;
- if you are running a publicly accessible server make sure you prevent external access to the shutdown port by using a suitable firewall.
- change the shutdown command in CATALINA_HOME/conf/server.xml and make sure that file is only readable by the tomcat user.
<Server port="8005" shutdown="ReallyComplexWord">
- if this is still a big problem for you then check this thread, from the Tomcat mailing list, for alternatives (they all involve code customisation though).
Securing Manager WebApp
- By default there are no users with the manager role. To make use of the manager webapp you need to add a new role and user into the CATALINA_HOME/conf/tomcat-users.xml file.
<role rolename="manager"/> <user username="darren" password="ReallyComplexPassword" roles="manager"/>
- When you access the password-protected manager webapp, the password you enter will be sent over the network in (nearly) plain text, ripe for interception. By using an SSL connection instead, you can transport the password securely. Fortunately, this is simple to accomplish. After configuring an SSL Connector in server.xml (see your Tomcat documentation), simply add the following to CATALINA_HOME/webapps/manager/WEB-INF/web.xml inside of the <security-constraint></security-constraint> tags.
<user-data-constraint> <transport-guarantee>CONFIDENTIAL</transport-guarantee> </user-data-constraint>
- This will force an SSL connection to be used when accessing the manager webapp. Plus, with a little more work, the SSL Connector can be configured to require a client certificate.
- Using a valve to filter by IP or hostname to only allow a subset of machines to connect (i.e. LAN machines). Add one of the following within the Context tag in CATALINA_HOME/conf/Catalina/localhost/manager.xml
<!-- allow only LAN IPs to connect to the manager webapp --> <!-- contrary to the current Tomcat 5.5 documation the value for allow is not a regular expression --> <!-- future versions may have to be specified as 192\.168\.1\.* --> <Valve className="org.apache.catalina.valves.RemoteAddrValve" allow="192.168.1.*" />
<!-- allow only LAN hosts to connect to the manager webapp --> <!-- contrary to the current Tomcat 5.5 documation the value for allow is not a regular expression --> <!-- future versions may have to be specified as *\.localdomain\.com --> <Valve className="org.apache.catalina.valves.RemoteHostValve" allow="*.localdomain.com" />
- Rename the manager webapp.
- This is 'security through obscurity'. Although widely maligned, obscurity is a useful adjunct security measure on a one-off basis. A would-be attacker seeking to gain access to the manager webapp will look for it in its usual location. By renaming it, you force the attacker to guess URLs or assume that it is not installed. It is important to note that you are not relying upon this obscurity for security, but rather using it as a backup measure in case someone finds a way around the remote valve filter you have configured as described above.
- To rename the manager webapp, decide on the new name (we'll use foobar in this example), and:
- Move CATALINA_HOME/conf/Catalina/localhost/manager.xml to CATALINA_HOME/conf/Catalina/localhost/foobar.xml
- Update the docBase attribute within CATALINA_HOME/conf/Catalina/localhost/foobar.xml to ${catalina.home}/server/webapps/foobar
- Move CATALINA_HOME/server/webapps/manager to CATALINA_HOME/server/webapps/foobar
As of tomcat 5.5 logging is now handled by the commons-logging framework allowing you to choose your preferred logging implementation - log4j or standard JDK logging. By default the standard JDK logging is used (or a compatible extension called juli to be more precise), storing daily log files in CATALINA_HOME/logs.
By default additional webapp log entries are added to CATALINA_HOME/logs/catalina.YYYY-MM-DD.log and System.out/System.err are redirected to CATALINA_HOME/logs/catalina.out. To place webapp log entries in individual log files create a logging.properties file similar to the following within CATALINA_HOME/webapps/APP_NAME/WEB-INF/classes (change the APP_NAME value to create a unique file for each webapp)
handlers = org.apache.juli.FileHandler, java.util.logging.ConsoleHandler org.apache.juli.FileHandler.level = ALL org.apache.juli.FileHandler.directory = ${catalina.base}/logs org.apache.juli.FileHandler.prefix = APP_NAME.
Further details on logging configuration can be found in the tomcat logging documentation.
If you find you get logging output duplicated in catalina.out, you most likely have unnecessary entries for java.util.logging.ConsoleHandler in your logging configuration file.
- SSL for password or other sensitive data exchange (bordering on application security, not specific to tomcat)
- SSL for connections (JDBC, LDAP, etc ..)
- The Tomcat documentation clearly explains how to enable SSL.
Sample Configuration - Good Security
Balance between compatibility and security. Supports blocking IO. Tested on Tomcat 7.0.54 and JVM 1.7.0_60-b19. Supported clients include:
- Android 4.0.4 and later
- Chrome 37 and later
- Firefox 24 and later
- IE 7 and later EXCEPT on Win XP
- IE Mobile 10 and later
- Java 7u25 and later
- Safari 5.1.9 and later
<Connector port="443" protocol="org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol" SSLEnabled="true" maxThreads="150" scheme="https" secure="true" keystoreFile="..\ssl\keystore" keystorePass="yourpasswordgoeshere" clientAuth="false" sslProtocol="TLSv1.2" sslEnabledProtocols="TLSv1.2,TLSv1.1,TLSv1" ciphers="TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384, TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384,TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384, TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256, TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256, TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384, TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA, TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384,TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384, TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA,TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA, TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256, TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA, TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256,TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256, TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA,TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA" />
Sample Configuration - Better Security
Sacrifices compatibility for security. Supports non-blocking IO. Tested on Tomcat 7.0.54 and JVM 1.7.0_60-b19.
- Android 4.4.2 and later
- Firefox 32 and later
- IE 11 and later
- IE Mobile 11 and later
- Java 8 b132
- Safari 7 and later
<Connector port="443" protocol="org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11NioProtocol" SSLEnabled="true" maxThreads="150" scheme="https" secure="true" keystoreFile="..\ssl\keystore" keystorePass="yourpasswordgoeshere" clientAuth="false" sslProtocol="TLSv1.2" sslEnabledProtocols="TLSv1.2" ciphers="TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384, TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384,TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384, TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256, TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256, TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384, TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA, TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384,TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384, TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA,TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA, TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256, TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA, TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256,TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256, TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA,TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA" />
Java Security
Running Tomcat with a Security Manager
The default Tomcat configuration provides good protection for most requirements, but does not prevent a malicious application from compromising the security of other applications running in the same instance. To prevent this sort of attack, Tomcat can be run with a Security Manager enabled which strictly controls access to server resources. Tomcat documentation has a good section on enabling the Security Manager.
It's always a good idea to start tomcat with the "-security" parameter. This also makes sure (among other things), that a webapplication isn't able to read/write/execute any file on the local filesystem without enabling it in the catalina.policy file. This effectively stops web shells like described here from working.
Using Port 80
If you are on a Windows machine you will be able to change the port attribute of the connector within the Catalina service from 8080 to 80. This allows you to use tomcat directly to serve all requests. Depending on your requirements it may not be good enough to serve directly from Tomcat so you may like to consider;
- Use IIS / Apache running on port 80 and mod_jk to proxy requests to Tomcat
On a UNIX machine only root is allowed to run services on ports below 1024 (kernel recompilation can overcome this). It is a very bad idea to run Tomcat as root, so the options are (in no particular order);
- Use Apache running on port 80 and mod_jk (or mod_proxy_ajp) to proxy requests to Tomcat
- Run Tomcat as root, but in a chroot jail
- Use a tool like authbind to enable a non root user to bind to ports below 1024
- Use a port forwarder such as Iptables to redirect incoming requests from 8080 to 80. This has the disadvantage that internal redirects still need to use 8080.
- Run Squid as a web accelerator in front of Tomcat
- Use JSVC/procrun
Each of the above options may bring extra security concerns which are outside the scope of this document.
Cleartext Passwords in CATALINA_HOME/conf/server.xml
When configuring a resource, such as a JDBC pool, it is necessary to include clear text username and password in CATALINA_HOME/conf/server.xml Best practices advice us never to store clear text passwords, but the following paragraphs highlight it is very difficult to avoid.
If one way encryption was used on the password it must be possible for a database connection to be established using a username and encrypted password - so the encrypted password is just as valuable as the clear text one to an attacker.
If two way encryption was used a keyfile is needed which must also live on the filesystem. To make it more secure a passphase is added to the keyfile which then has to be stored in the configuration as clear text - no improvement.
Encoding is security by obscurity and offers no form of protection (algorithms can be reverse engineered). What encoding does do is make huge amounts of overhead work - you need to customise Tomcat and the commons digester it uses to parse the config files. You'd also need a way to create encoded passwords.
In the case of a JDBC pool what you can do is;
- make sure the database user only has access to the databases and tables they need (also limit rights as necessary).
- make sure the raw database files are only accessible to the user running the database services (e.g. mysql/postgresql user)
- make sure the Tomcat configuration files are only accessible to the tomcat user
The author would like to thank Kris Easter, Michel Prunet and Stephen More for their valuable input.


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13 Graphs for Laughs
Can graphs be funny? That's a silly question, as you've seen plenty of funny flowcharts, pie charts, and Venn diagrams, as well as other charts and graphs, made just for fun here already. But there are other kinds of charts that have a joke in them somewhere. Doghouse Diaries explains a graph's potential for humor. This type of chart is called an XY Plot, or scatter chart, which places items along two axes depending on the two variables measured in relationship to other items.
Randall Munroe of xkcd made a scatter plot comparing the tastiness of fruits with the difficulty of preparing and eating them. The comic has a NSFW title.
This graph sparked a bit of controversy, as both tastiness and difficulty are opinions, and inspired another graph from R. Stevens, a grapefruit lover.
The kind of graph that is the most familiar to most people is the line graph that plots the rise and fall of one variable over time. It's easier to understand when the peaks and valleys are labeled accordingly. Here we see the highs and lows of being a young man.
One you may relate to this time of year is the vacation graph by Jorge Cham of PHD Comics. The stress that goes into arranging a vacation pretty much negates the stress relief you get from being on a vacation, and then you have to deal with all the problems that cropped up in your absence. Is it worth it? Yes, for the stories you'll have to tell about it for the rest of your life.
Graphic artist Stephen Wildish creates clever posters and graphics of all kinds. One form he uses is the narrative graph, which plots stories, more than one at a time, in order to compare them. This one called Common Nanny Narratives has the three nanny stories we are most familiar with. They are obviously familiar with each other as well. Also see his Common Fairytale Narratives, three of them, and the Hamlet/Lion King graph.
Wildish also does Venn diagrams, mostly of food, but no subject is off-limits. Favorite foods are often made of three or four main flavor ingredients, and can be broken down into their components, like this diagram of sauces. See more of Wildish's Venn diagrams here, and buy one at Red Bubble. See Wildish's full range of graphics at his website.
A Gantt chart is a type of timeline, often used for projects, in which different elements each have their own timeline, but they are all coordinated. When I first read about them, I thought these would be perfect for explaining to my kids how to cook several dishes and get them to the dinner table at the same time. The Universal Gantt Chart for Project Managers shows how projects actually go, instead of how they are planned.
A simpler example is this Gantt chart by Bridget Finnegan detailing what interested her during childhood. You can see her baby brother was only interesting for a short time, while only mommy predated her interest in Barbie.
Timelines can be confusing in movies, and none as much as the time-travel film Primer. Although the movie covers only five days, there are nine timelines, according to this graph at Unreality magazine. Click the image at Unreality twice to enlarge it to readable size. While this is a serious attempt to make sense of the movie, it is way more trouble than it's worth even to read it. I can imagine the torture that went into constructing it.
Still, it's an improvement over the Primer timeline from Randall Munroe at xkcd, a small part of a comic that has several movie timelines. The others are pretty straightforward.
Then there are pie charts. You'd think that pie charts would be so easy to understand, but there's always someone who doesn't get it. See more pie charts in a previous list.
If you don't like any charts at all, may I suggest the Grapathy Shirt, for those who are sick of graphs.

subset: commoncrawl


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Bill Donohue comments on some of the issues that are gripping the critics of Pope Francis:
Pope Francis has captured the goodwill, indeed the love, of millions around the globe, and the response is hardly confined to Catholic circles. However, his critics are emerging, though none with any luck.
Sex is always a good subject for Catholic haters. Their goal—sex without consequences (kids and diseases)—is threatened when religious leaders counsel the virtue of restraint. Similarly, we have the lament of people like Mary Johnson, a former nun, who told the MSNBC audience how "marginalized" gay and lesbian Catholics are. Catholic-bashing lawyer Marci Hamilton chimed in, commenting about the "sex abuse scandal that has scandalized the church over the past decade." Any high school fact checker knows better: the timeline of the homosexual scandal was the mid-60s to the mid-80s.
Washington Post opinion writer Eugene Robinson wants to know "what did the newly chosen Pope Francis do" about the right-wing dictatorship in Argentina's "Dirty War"? We have an answer from Adolfo Perez Esquivel, the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize winner: he said the pope "was no accomplice of the dictatorship." Indeed, he firmly concluded, "He can't be accused of that." Others have written books praising the pope for his yeoman efforts in undermining the junta.
Miguel A. De La Torre, a professor at the School of Theology in Denver, condemns the pope for not changing "the social structure that creates poverty." Guilty as charged. Nor did the pope cure insanity; if he did we would not be subjected to such crazy talk.
Sadly, more than a few evangelicals are showing how insecure they are. Bethany Blankley is particularly exercised over Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly and Fox News executive editor John Moody for saying God was at work in selecting the pope. Of course He was. Too bad she never learned of the Holy Spirit in Sunday School.


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Dogma-shattering: an idea integral to the creation and evolution of ultrarunning – a sport created out of the notion that we could run longer and farther, beyond road and track, than anyone believed was possible.
Modern trail ultrarunning was borne from the notion of refusing to accept the belief that no one could run a hundred miles through the mountains in a single day. Done.
Then, no one could run all the uphills in that fabled Sierra Nevada foot race. Done again.
No one, let alone a woman, could cover 47 miles a day for weeks and months on the Appalachian Trail. And no one, period, could eclipse the fifteen-hour barrier at Western States. Done, and done.
Ultramarathon running has pushed the limits of conventional wisdom on all things in human performance: distance and speed, nutrition, and even footwear. Indeed, it was the tales of the rubber tire-shod indigenous ultrarunners of the Copper Canyons that fueled the mainstream adoption of minimalist running, smashing the dogmatic belief in the necessity of hyper-engineered shoes.
It is fitting, then, that the sport of ultramarathoning be ground zero for more dogma-shattering in another area: hydration in endurance exercise.
A new book by renowned sport medicine expert, Tim Noakes, MD, aims to change our beliefs – many of them longstanding, many of them inaccurate – on what it means to fuel optimally in endurance sports:
- Drink only to thirst, not on a schedule.
- Drinking does not prevent heat illness.
- Ingesting salt is unnecessary in ultras.
- Urine frequency or color has nothing to do with hydration or kidney function.
Say what? Them's fightin' words!
Noakes knows it, but he's ready for the fight. And, with his background, there's no one better armed. Dr. Noakes has been studying running and endurances sports for nearly fifty years. He has authored or co-authored over 250 scientific studies, including over fifty that examine the role of hydration and electrolytes in sports performance. In addition to sitting on the boards of the American College of Sports Medicine and the International Olympic Committee's Science Academy, he's also an experienced ultrarunner: having raced over seventy marathons and ultras, including the famed Comrades Marathon in his native South Africa. One could argue that he wrote the book on distance running: his Lore of Running is one of the most thorough, expansive scientific work on running, and, in its fourth edition, it is standing the test of time.
It was his work with Comrades that first sparked his interest in fluid replacement science. In 1981, Noakes received a letter from a Comrades participant describing her acute illness and hospitalization after that race, the result of drinking too much.
This perplexed and troubled Noakes: he subscribed to the early studies showing relationships between body temperature and weight loss, and was an early proponent of the "drink as much as you can" movement, pervasive to the sport in the 1980s and '90s. However, this letter – and mounting cases of Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia (EAH) – caused him to re-evaluate, not only his own beliefs, but also the existing research.
Combining empirical research, fundamentals of human physiology, and numerous performance studies, Waterlogged is an exhaustive look at the research, past and present, the origins of the "dehydration myth" and the role of industry in its propagation, and what athletes really need for optimal performance and safety.
An Argument for Self-Regulation
At its core, Waterlogged is a work that sets out to defend the fundamental biological quality of self-regulation – the idea that the body possesses mechanisms to self-regulate its own physiology to survive any physical challenge, no matter how extreme.
For various reasons – flawed or misinterpreted research, personal beliefs, or outright fear – many people – scientists, physicians, and athletes, alike – began to adopt the "catastrophe model." Dr. Noakes describes it herein:
"According to this catastrophe model, the body cannot accommodate even small increases in body temperature during exercise, nor can it adjust to the fluid and sodium deficits that develop as it loses both in sweat during exercise. Instead, when exposed to exercise under demanding conditions, the body will simply continue without control until eventually a catastrophic physiological failure must inevitably develop."
Based on this belief system, the sports medicine community – ranging from doctors to coaches and athletes – has recommended that all exercisers must avoid deficits of fluid – as well as salt and glucose –at all costs. Moreover, this belief system insists that our built-in controls are "hopelessly inadequate," and that only by overriding these controls can we as athletes avoid catastrophic failure – ranging from DNF to death.
Indeed, this belief system – pushed powerfully by a burgeoning sports drink industry – fueled radical changes in how we fuel for endurance exercise. Within a few years, our drinking habits changed from "not a drop" to "drink as much as you can." And not without consequence.
The Emergence of Hyponatremia in Endurance Sports
Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia (EAH, or simply hyponatremia) is a condition of decreased blood sodium concentration. Once exceedingly rare if not unheard of during endurance exercise, EAH has exploded in incidence across all events, ranging from marathons to triathlons, to even shorter sub-marathon events.
Its symptoms – weight gain, swelling, nausea and vomiting, headache, muscle cell breakdown, altered consciousness and seizure – were, for years, erroneously attributed to either heat exhaustion or dehydration. As such, EAH was incorrectly treated with the exactly the thing that caused it – more water!
The results can be dangerous and deadly. Excess water causes muscle cells to balloon and burst. It drowns nerve cells. But left unabated, the water accumulates in the confined space of the skull, causing brain tissue to herniate – the brain stem pushes its way out the base of skull, causing death.
Recreational athletes – running easy, in cool temperatures, minding recommendations to "drink as much as you can, to drink before you're thirsty!" – began showing up in the hospital instead of the finish line.
Some of them were dying.
Hyponatremia was nearly non-existent before the 1970s. Where did it come from?
The Florida Panhandle: Where Dogma – and The Sports Drink Industry – Was Born
Waterlogged tells the story of the creation of Gatorade, the world's first electrolyte drink. In August of 1965, an assistant football coach for the University of Florida, Dewayne Douglass, shared lunch with a renal scientist, Dr. Dana Shires, at the university, where the coach described his team's struggles with "heat exhaustion and dehydration." In that meeting, he implored the scientist and her team – which included renowned renal scientist Robert Cade – to develop "something to negate the strain of the brutal summer heat." She returned to the lab, conferred with Dr. Cade and within two months, an experimental electrolyte solution was field tested: first with a freshman and varsity B-team scrimmage, and then in a real contest between the Gators and Louisiana State. Based on those two outcomes – second-half "rallies" by both the downtrodden freshman and the underdog Gators – the Legend of Gatorade – was born. The drink was adopted by college and pro teams, alike, and a new industry developed.
It doesn't take a PhD or a background in research to determine the flaws in this experiment: the lack of any controls and the inability to control placebo effect: the players were given a drink that, coaches insisted, would help.
(It's worth noting by Dr. Noakes that the success of the '65 and '66 Gators also included stellar play from legendary quarterback and future coach, Steve Spurrier, who won the Heisman Trophy in '66. More notable is that Spurrier drank Coca-Cola, not Gatorade, during games!)
Later studies of Gatorade – performed years after the drink was successfully marketed and sold to masses – demonstrated only that ingesting glucose during competition was beneficial. Every subsequent study of Gatorade failed to demonstrate any significant benefit from the ingestion of either water or low-concentration sodium on core body temperature, blood sodium concentration, and performance.
In some cases, of the opposite was found.
The Tipping Point of Overhydration & Endurance Running: the Wyndham and Strydom Studies
One of the early studies examining hydration, core temperature and weight loss was conducted two South African researchers, Cyril Wyndham and Nic Strydom. Pre-eminent researchers in thermoregulation, they decided to study the role of hydration and marathon running. Their 1969 study found a loose correlation between rising core temperature and percent weight loss during marathon running. Based on those findings, they concluded that dehydration caused core temperature increases, and that, allowed to continue unabated (read: catastrophe model), runners are at high risk for heatstroke unless they drink.
Based on their study, they inferred that the optimal fluid for marathoners to be nearly a liter per hour – roughly two to three times that of previous studies, and an order of magnitude greater than what the elite marathoners of '60s were ingesting – in order to prevent the "dangers" of heatstroke.
Initially, the study was tough to argue: it showed a neat, linear relationship between water deficit and core temperature, indicating that any level of dehydration equated to core temperature rise.
But their study was flawed:
- The runners they examined were not allowed to drink any water – rather than compare multiple levels of hydration, they studied only a group that disallowed any fluid.
- The runners were advised to run as hard as they could; their efforts were not controlled.
- There was no correlation of race performance with dehydration and core temperature. This is notable, because the winners of these race studies also happened to have the highest core temperature and weight loss.
Perhaps pressured to release this data and save the masses from impending danger, Wyndham and Strydom failed to execute a thorough study. That, coupled with the emergence of an industry giant replete with anecdotes of athletic prowess, was enough to spin the cogs of hydration dogma for decades: "Drink before you get thirsty! Replace all fluid and electrolytes lost during exercise!"
Evidence-Based Findings
Noakes began to review the literature pre-Wyndham and Strydom, as well as studies that occurred in its aftermath. Moreover, he conducted his own work. Waterlogged lays out this work dissecting the bad from the good, and presents it to the reader in plain view. Studying events ranging from the standard marathon to hundred-mile and 24-hour endurance competitions, Noakes determined the following:
The Role of Hydration and Performance
- Dogma: In order to ensure optimal performance and/or survive endurance events, one must replace all lost fluids by drinking during the event.
- Science: Fluid (and weight) loss during endurance exercise is normal, if not optimal.
Noakes notes that studies of top performers in endurance events (marathon, triathlon and long-ultras) typically demonstrate weight losses ranging from 2% to upwards of 8% or higher. More notable, weight loss was correlated to performance in these studies. Conversely, weight gain is correlated to impaired performance and – in most cases – a clinical sign of EAH.
The explanation of these findings is two-fold: first, that sugar (in the form of blood glucose and liver and muscle glycogen) is stored with surrounding water, and that when we burn that sugar, the water leaves with it. Therefore, a significant degree of weight loss due to burned glucose and freed water is normal. This value is now accepted to be in the 2% range.
Second, a significant volume of fluid lost during exercise – through vapor, sweat, or urine – comes from extracellular fluid (ECF). This fluid lies in between cells, as opposed to water found within cells (intracellular) or within blood volume (previous studies have shown that upwards of 70-80% of fluid losses are from ECF and glucose storage, not cellular or plasma water).
Therefore, we stand to lose significant volumes of water weight via sugar storage and ECF without physiological – or performance – consequence.
He argues that only when weight loss is coupled with uncorrected thirst, does performance impair due to dehydration.
Hydration and Thermoregulation
- Dogma: We must drink water in order to prevent heat illness during exercise in hot conditions.
- Science: There is no relationship between fluid intake and hydration, and the incidence of heat exhaustion or heatstroke. The only correlate to core temperature is running pace.
Noakes cites volumes of research studies athletes across all sports and events: American football players, marathoners, ultrarunners, and recreational walkers. There is not a single study that demonstrated a difference in core temperature between athletes who drink and those who do not. Nor has there been any evidence – empirical or case study – that links heat exhaustion or stroke to high levels of fluid loss, sodium loss, or the cessation of sweating.
Instead, the only behavioral factor that influences core body temperature during exercise is effort. Again citing the physiological theory of self-regulation and empirical study, Noakes points out that the body will automatically adjust pace in order to ensure that core temperature does not exceed normal thermoregulation (deemed to be <40-42⁰C).
Only pace – dictated by the degree to which our muscles work, burning energy and generating heat – determines core temperature. As such, the athletes who ran the fastest – and won – had the highest core body temperatures, with correlational fluid losses.
It is notable, however, that additional evaporative and external cooling measures – such as ice packs and water dousing – do result in changes in tissue temperature. Indeed, the only acceptable medical treatment for acute heat illness is external cooling via ice packs – not the administration of intravenous fluids, as some may believe.
Heat illness, namely heatstroke, is extraordinarily rare in endurance sports, Noakes points out. Using the clinical definition – a core temperature above 42⁰C, he identifies only six documented cases of heat stroke during endurance (marathon or above) since 1905.
Heat exhaustion or heat stroke is far more common in shorter running events, in large part because the intense efforts and short durations of these events merge to create temperature increases before the body can self-regulate pace. In the vast majority of cases, the heat illness quickly resolves with rest and, when necessary, cooling measures.
Dr. Noakes points out that in most cases of fatal heat illness, there exists an abnormal mechanism of heat build-up – excessive endogenous heat production – whereby the body goes haywire, producing heat, regardless of external temperature or duration of effort. Says Noakes, "this is the only explanation for the large number of cases of heatstroke that occur in cool conditions, or in athletes exercising at a low intensity, or those who have been physically active for only a short time, or in those who have been actively cooled for many hours." Moreover, some cases have shown insidious spikes in core temp, hours – if not days – after cessation of exercise and onset of treatment.
The high incidence of heat stroke in short distance events – versus virtually none marathons and ultras – also shines light on the lack of connection between hydration and core body temperature. That heat illness is so prevalent in short-lasting events – where very little fluid is lost, yet there is next to no incidence in multi-hour efforts, even with profound water loss – is telling.
Sodium Balance and Performance
- Dogma: We need to supplement with sodium to complete long-distance endurance events.
- Science: The body self-regulates blood sodium concentration via several mechanisms, including sodium sparing in sweat and urine. When one "drinks to thirst," blood sodium concentration invariably rises during prolonged exercise; it never falls.
One of the most persistent beliefs in ultrarunning is that we must ingest sodium for optimal performance, if not survival. Not so, claims Noakes. He points out several studies, including sodium deprivation studies involving prolonged exercise over several days, that demonstrates that the body will maintain blood sodium levels in a deprivation state.
In explaining this phenomenon, Noakes points out our biological mechanisms to preserve sodium in both sweat and urine – pointing out that these studies measured sodium concentrations next to nothing during prolonged exercise and sodium deprivation. Moreover, blood sodium concentrations stayed within normal ranges – so long as athletes and subjects drank only to thirst.
- Dogma: Heavy sodium concentrations in sweat – evidenced by salt-staining on skin and clothing – identifies a person as a "salty sweater", and that these people need even more sodium supplementation.
- Science: The self-regulation of sodium concentration results in sodium excesses being secreted; salty secretions will cease when sodium balance is achieved.
Simply put, the presence of salt deposits on skin and clothing are due to the body ridding of excesses, and when sodium balance is achieved – or if a blood sodium deficit is perceived – the body will conserve it from sweat and urine.
- Dogma: Sodium supplementation stops and prevents Exercise-Associated Muscle Cramping (EAMC)
- Science: There is no scientific evidence that shows sodium (or other electrolyte) deficits in those with muscle cramping.
This is another interesting dogma that has thrived, pre-dating even Gatorade. The original belief of salt deficits and cramps was based, according to Noakes' review of research, on studies of a single miner in the 1920s, who showed salt and fluid losses in association with cramps.
Noakes points out many studies that not only fail to show an association, but demonstrate normal – if not mildly elevated – blood sodium concentrations in those with muscle cramps. Conversely, it is well accepted that those suffering from hyponatremia do not suffer from muscle cramps – the very patient population that would, in theory suffer the most cramping, should a sodium deficit truly cause cramping. Internal or external temperatures also do not play a role, as EAMC occur in cool conditions (including extreme cold water swimmers).
Interestingly, more recent studies have even shown that ingesting electrolyte drinks actually increase cramping incidence: a 2005 study found a 68% incidence of those drinking Gatorade, versus a 54% drinking water, or nothing. And there may be a reason for that.
The current leading theory on muscle cramping is that neuromuscular fatigue – and the loss of inhibitory reflexes – causes excessive muscle activity, resulting in cramping. Moreover, a 2011 study has identified those two risk factors for developing cramping: previous cramping experiences, and faster finishing times; not body weight losses or blood sodium levels. This could explain the greater incidence of cramps amongst Gatorade drinkers: if an athlete perceives protection from drinking it – along with the ergogenic aid of glucose solution – they will run more intensely, possibly resulting in more cramps.
Anti-Diuretic Hormone – the Lynch Pin in Hyponatremic Illness and Death
- Dogma: The frequency and color of my urine will tell me whether or not I am adequately hydrated; I should continue to drink after exercise until I am able to urinate – to ensure optimal hydration and kidney function.
- Science: The presence of excessive anti-diuretic hormone during exercises – referred to as Syndrome of Inappropriate ADH (SIADH) secretion – can cause overt fluid retention and resulting in concentrated or complete lack of urine, despite severe overhydration and hyponatremia.
Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH) is secreted during exercise to conserve water from urine, when the brain determines that blood sodium levels are increasing. When sodium levels are balanced, ADH secretion stops. This is the principal reason that, for most of us, we urinate less (or not at all) during prolonged exercise, or that we urinate a lot when well-hydrated.
For reason unclear to scientists, in a significant population of runners (measures as high as 13% of Boston Marathon runners in a 2002 study) exhibit excessive levels of ADH. This condition, referred to as Syndrome of Inappropriate ADH secretion (SIADH), causes athletes to retain water beyond physiologically need, despite potentially severe overhydration and hyponatremia.
These are the runners that may exhibit symptoms of EAH – swelling, weight gain, impaired performance and brain function – yet report either dark urine or none at all. Yet this has nothing to do with the integrity of the kidneys; it is the presence of high levels of ADH that result in the body holding onto this water.
The presence of SIADH – measured in blood lab tests – has been a common finding in the most severe cases of hyponatremia, including deaths. In short, ADH prevented any passage of urine.
To reiterate: there is zero correlation between frequency or color of urination and hydration, or kidney function. ADH controls whether or not the kidney produces urine. Therefore, runners attempting to ensure hydration or kidney function with copious fluids might be endangering their race, if not their health, if there is excessive ADH in their bloodstream, blocking urine production. Indeed, given that hyponatremia leads to muscles cell lysis (explosion due to swelling), one might be endangering his kidneys with excessive drinking during or after endurance events.
The only things we can trust to ensure adequate fluid intake, according to Noakes, is our thirst and, to a lesser extent, the scale. The absence of thirst and an increasing weight (either absolute, or relative) is evidence that additional fluid is unnecessary and potentially dangerous.
Treatment and Prevention of Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia
As dangerous and deadly as EAH can be, the treatment – if initiated promptly and correctly – is quite simple. Research and clinical application has shown that a simple 100-mL "mini-IV" of high-concentration saline solution (3.0% of greater) produces rapid recovery of even the severely hyponatremic – within minutes.
Notable are studies that found a simple ingestion of the same volume and concentration of sodium solution does not have the same restorative effect. It is not known at this time why simply ingesting sodium is less effective.
Either treatment is far cry from what many hyponatremic runners receive – both at medical aid stations and local hospitals, which is typically more fluid, or intravenous solutions with inadequate sodium concentrations – typically 0.9% or less. Noakes implores sports medicine officials – and public health officials, alike – to make a thorough and accurate diagnosis of a hospitalized runner before initiating any IV fluids.
Given this reality, it is even more shocking that a major ultramarathon, at one point, was offering default intravenous solutions, post-race, without any medical justification. It could've killed someone.
Evidence-Based Fueling Recommendations for Optimal Performance and Safety
Drink only to thirst.
According to Noakes and the body of research on hydration and performance, individual differences are too great to make blanket recommendations. The only gauge for fluid need is thirst; the only symptom of dehydration is thirst.
Having said that, Noakes goes on to recommend fluid intake in the range of 400-800ml per hour for athletes across all endurance events, ranging from marathon to 24-hour+ events. This value is determined from observational studies of hydration, performance, and incidence of hyponatremia. The low range is for slower, lighter runners; the high end for heavier, faster runners.
It might be worthy to define "thirst." Clearly, severe dehydration will cause severe thirst. However, those athletes looking to stay ahead of fluid need might consider a similar notion: "If it tastes good, you need it." Simply put: does water taste good? If so, this subjective assessment might be a more nuanced assessment of fluid need. Whether the converse (an overt absence of thirst, accompanied by a dissatisfying taste and appeal of fluid) indicates fluid satiation or excess, was not addressed by Noakes or his book.
Consumption of roughly 60g of glucose per hour during competition will improve performance.
Noakes has separately researched and reviewed studies on glucose supplementation and determined this value for greatest performance and gastrointestinal acceptance. Values upwards of 100 grams per hour have shown even greater benefit; however, this increasing sugar invites GI disturbance.
Supplemental sodium is unnecessary in endurance competition.
This conclusion, based on his work and literature review, will undoubtedly result in controversy in the ultra community. Noakes is careful to point out numerous studies demonstrating that blood sodium levels are maintained in absence of supplementation and outright deprivation, with prolonged exercise over many days. Moreover, he points out the absence of any study that identifies performance benefit from sodium supplementation; in fact, he points out two studies in the past decade that contradict the notion.
For the sports medicine community, he recommends the following:
Be very careful to make accurate diagnoses of troubled runners.
Runners who come into medical checkpoints, feeling dizzy while standing still on a scale, are more likely to be experiencing Exercise-Associated Postural Hypotension than any other ailment, says Noakes. It is the simple notion that – in that brief moment of pause – a runner's blood pressure drops due to the cessation of running. The simple treatment is to elevate the feet over the heart, wherein recovery is rapid. There is no evidence that postural hypotension is due to dehydration.
More important is an accurate diagnosis of the hyponatremic runner. An athlete exhibiting the signs and symptoms of hyponatremia – weight gain, swelling, nausea and vomiting, headache, muscle cell breakdown, altered consciousness and seizure – must be accurately diagnosed. Administering a 100mL bolus of 3.0% sodium solution results in rapid recovery in nearly every hyponatremic runner.
Erroneously determining these athletes as "heat exhausted" or "dehydrated" may result in forcing fluid consumption, or the administration of hypotonic IVs. This "treatment" will only worsen the condition, prolong the suffering and recovery time, and in worst case, may even result in death.
* * * * *
For a text so replete with cold facts, Dr. Noakes' passion for the message permeates the text. Certainly, he is passionate for the sport, being a veteran of the marathon and ultra distance. But elements of personal frustration, and even guilt over having pushed the "drink" message in his early days, are also felt by the reader. Personal accounts of death from overhydration are included in Waterlogged, not to sensationalize, but to better understand how something as innocuous as water, and the good intentions to avoid suffering, can result in deadly consequences.
For this reader, given what has been known – yet ignored – about hydration science for so long, justifies the strength of message. In the very least, hyponatremia can ruin the race day for runners and families. Worse yet, it could end a running career. Or a life.
It is fitting, therefore, that Noakes finishes his text by putting the hard data away and appealing to our common sense, by saying, simply: "Your body will tell you what it needs, if you just listen."
Trust your body, and it'll take you places. Just as it has always done for ultrarunners.
If 4,500 words aren't enough for you, stay tuned to part two of our discussion on hydration and ultramarathons: "Hyponatremia & Western States." There, I will share additional insights, including:
- A Q&A with author Tim Noakes, MD
- My personal account (a "n=1 case study") of applying Noakes' recommendations to the 2012 Western States Endurance Run
- Insights from Marty Hoffman, MD, lead research director for the WS100, and from Kerry Sullivan, MD, medical director
- What the impact of Waterlogged may have on Western States and other ultramarathons in North America
Until then, here's to happier, healthier running.
Call for Questions
- Have you ever experienced symptoms of hyponatremia during a race? Have you ever been diagnosed and held at an aid station – or forced to DNF – by medical personnel?
- What is your experience with fueling (either water, salt or calories) "by feel" versus "by a schedule?"
[Disclaimer: The contents of this column as well as the author's comments are provided for general informational purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. Do not use the information on this website for diagnosing or treating any medical or health condition.]


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Joe Lieberman Has Lost It
Here is Joe Lieberman from two years ago:
As far as I'm concerned [Barack Obama] is a 'Baruch,' which means a blessing. He is a blessing to the United States Senate, to America, and to our shared hopes for better, safer tomorrows for all our families. The gifts that God has given to Barack Obama are as enormous as his future is unlimited. As his mentor, as his colleague, as his friend, I look forward to helping him reach to the stars and realize not just the dreams he has for himself, but the dreams we all have for him and our blessed country.
Joe proclaims that Obama will make America safer and said he would help Obama realize all the dreams for our country. Will he say this with pride during the GOP convention? Let's see if the media brings this up when they cover his speech.


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Smalltalk Programming/Syntax
Smalltalk has one of the simpler syntaxes of any computer language. There are 3 different types of method call - unary, binary, and n-way keyword. The rules for precedence scan from left to right for each of those 3 flavors of method calling. Precedence can be overridden with parenthesis, as usual.
1. Unary method. Can be as simple as display redrawEverything. ; the object display looks up its method redrawEverything to do an unqualified redraw, and does it. Unary methods and the object they act on are both alphanumeric words that don't end in a colon. Whenever you see multiple such words in a row, the one on the left is the object, the rest are a gauntlet of method calls.
display redrawEverything.
2. Binary method. In myNumber + 5., the object myNumber is told to look up the method +, and run it with 5 as the argument. Here, the argument is being discarded, the := assignment will come later. Binary method names are 1 or 2 special characters; they only exist for the usual set of suspects in math and logic equations. There is no special precedence for math operators, you must either state them in the order wanted, or use parenthesis.
myNumber + 5.
3. Keyword method. This is where smalltalk diverges from most other programming languages. In display drawFromX:1 fromY:1 toX:50 toY:100., display is being called with one method and 4 arguments. The method's name is drawFromX:fromY:toX:toY:, and the arguments are positionally passed into the method. If you want to call another keyword method without the two blending together, you can use the comma operator, parenthesis, or just carry the result to a new statement.
display drawFromX: 1 fromY: 1 toX: 50 toY: 100.
A statement optionally starts with an assignment, has at least an opening object, and sends at least one method to that object. The statement ends with a period.
| myNumber |
myNumber := 3 + 5. "the period ends this statement"
display drawFromX: 1 fromY: 1 toX: 50 toY: 100.
A [block] is a bracketed set of statements that are bundled together as a single object, which could be triggered by flow-control style methods. In 4 < 5 ifTrue: [ Transcript print: '4 is less than 5!' ]. , 4<5 evaluates into the boolean object true, who always executes a block passed through the ifTrue: method.
4 < 5 ifTrue: [ Transcript print:'4 is less than 5!' ].


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BLOG — Grover's got the funk
- Published: February 22, 2012
On the fringes of the jam band scene, local rock quartet Grover, blending funk, soul, and jazz, is a down and dirty rock band that comes across unpolished and "garage" as much as they do highly-skilled, almost veteran. Their music is fresh and fun, energetic and playful, but with a mission.
The guitar reverbs and bass lines groove like funk, the vocals are soulful, and the solos take the songs to a higher plane. Because even with much improvisation, "every note has a purpose," explained band member Tommy Emmrich.
Leader Jeff May, a Yellow Springer who used to play with the local band Magic Jackson, amassed a new group of players late last year: multi-instrumentalist Mike Bisig, drummer Terry Butts and bassist Emmrich. But as often happens, the whole has become greater than the sum of its parts. The band views itself as a collaboration and each player has his role. May said he's the band's reluctant leader and loose cannon — sonically, his guitar is like a paintbrush, the tones colors of a painting.
"I look for every song to be a vessel to deliver the best tone," May explained of his high musical motives. More simply, "I love the way a guitar sounds through an amp," he said.
Bisig, who plays the saxophone and flute, among other instruments, is sometimes rhythmic support for May, sometimes lead, and, in the words of fellow band members, "takes up a lot of space" in the band's music. At drums, Butts is the "keel of the sailboat," calm, confident and authoritative, band members said. Tommy is "the drive."
Together, the funk rockers blast a sound that defies a single genre or even a fusion.
"The lines are being blurred," May said of today's genres and subgenres. "First and foremost we're about quality music. We strive to produce a product we're proud of."
A Grover song never sounds the same twice. Improvisation during their pieces is about "keeping it fresh," creating a "loose feel," band members said. Added May, "we jam to get the hippies."
"There's definitely an element of human error in our music," May explained. "It makes it organic and let's something evolve."
What evolves are freewheeling and confident party jams and ballads that are lush and sensual. They have original songs about steam engines and poodles and a reggae tune about smuggling drugs.
continued below
Their influences range from the New Master Sounds, a retro-soul U.K. group, to the swaggering rockers The Black Crowes, to jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, to jam bands like Grateful Dead and Phish, they said.
The bands on their iPods are even more diverse, but the music they most frequently listen to is their own. Grover is relentlessly recording their shows — and their practices — to hear what's working and find ways to improve.
On the name, "Grover sounded gritty, funky and dirty, kind of like our music," May said. "I love the way the word sounds, more so than what it means." Even though Grover is no Muppets reference, though, "he is a cool Muppet," May acknowledged.
Grover plays Canal Street in Dayton this Friday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m. and next month at Peach's Grille, on March 24.
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Ahhh how sweet....
Dear America, welcome to the 21st century!
AT&T has announced that on September 25th it will begin offering MMS service to its iPhone customers, solving one image problem and exacerbating another. In a brief announcement about the MMS debut, Big Phone says that it's "working relentlessly to innovate and invest in our network to anticipate this growth in usage and to …
You buy one of the most advanced phones in the world, and use it to send MMS? What is wrong with email? a) Email is free. b) Email is a reliable proven standard based on over 30 years of development. c) Email is versatile, allowing attachments of significantly larger size and format than MMS. d) Email is not a dubious money maker for the carriers who are duping billions of people across the world by using technology capable of allowing video conferencing to instead send 140 characters of ASCII plus a small bitmap - and then charging them silly money for the privilege.
Want to stop this madness? Don't text, email. And then Wave goodbye to that too as real time live multimedia sharing replaces email.
Good night.
This argument has been put forward many times, and since email is free to use for those with an iPhone, it *should* be a no brainer. Apparently, in the UK at least, grandparents don't understand email and can only use MMS to receive pictures of their cherubic grandchildren and they have to have those images at a low resolution the instant the event happens and that no-one has email enabled phones - and MMS is a 'standard' feature on all other phones, so it *must* be on iPhones otherwise they are shit, like multitasking which is apparently also a 'standard' feature on *all* phones, and as the iPhone handles things differently, it is shit. That's what I understand from the N95/Windows Mobile lot anyway.
I moved from Dallas Tx to San Antonio Tx in June. It took me over 12 hours on the phone, in the store and on the internet to get my service in San Antonio. I couldn't get DSL from ATT. I had to contact a third party who set up a contract with ATT to provide DSl. And no that doesn't make sense. Now hear it is September and I am still trying to straighten out the billing. I can access my Dallas account online, but it is closed but I can't access my San Antonio account.
If the American carriers had sorted out their interconnects like Europe did way back in the 90s, you too would have found what a useful technology the SMS system is, but because the US networks were so unreliable at SMS exchange, everyone resorted to email to send each other messages.
SMS and MMS are GSM standards, not Nokia/Ericsson or anyone else's.
A cross network, cross manufacturer, cross country message push system. If you have a mobile number, you can send them a message (with our without a picture). Most phone contracts include a few hundred of these a month, if not unlimited. So there is no cost.
This cultural difference is one of the reasons the iPhone took so much stick when it first arrived over here. Apple didn't even bother to look at how things were in Europe and only implemented the very basics (any less and they probably wouldn't be able to claim it was a GSM handset!). So when their new wonder phone arrived, couldn't do groups messages, or send picture messages, we all laughed.
They eventually fixed this, and now these features are revealing the cracks in the underlying US cell system.
Now wouldn't you like a system where you can send a message to any of your contacts without having to remember what kind of phone they have, or that Jim's iPhone has had to go back because it needs a new battery and he's using a 10 year old mobile he borrowed? A system that pushes a message onto the phone of anyone, anywhere on the planet (except the USA for previously stated reasons)? Oh, and it does handset delivery confirmation too.
Now tell me how this is backwards?
As for multitasking, are you trying to claim that as the iPhone doesn't do this, multitasking is bad? Good grief man, extract your head, Mr Jobs would like to sit down, and I think you could do with some fresh air.
"Despite the obvious inadequacies of their network, they turned down stimulus funds offered by the Obama administration that could have helped them upgrade it."
And let the Obama administration thereby own it. Crappy though it may be in some areas (not in mine or any I have visited,) I do not blame AT&T for turning that blood money down. I do not blame ANY communications company for turning it down. What, they want to be like GM?
Paris, AT&T turned her down, too.
Yes, all very good, until I want to message a friend that doesn't have an e-mail capable phone. Also, SMS is (more or less) instant- e-mail isn't unless you've got a push account set up.
Yes, SMS and MMS are an utter rip off, but people being morons isn't the *only* reason they're used.
Wow - I didn't realize AT&T were /that/ bad! Makes Rogers/Fido in Canada look good - which is an amazing feat indeed. MMS from the off, and Tethering at no additional charge on the $30/6Gb iPhone 'enthusiast' plan. I find myself Tethering more and more when out now, preferring it to WiFi, even if available, and not limiting my choice of cafe / restaurant based on internet access anymore. Umm, Yay Rogers?! (Really?! - wow!)
about Nokia's Silicon Valley outpost. Obviously this building was wired and (un-wired) to the gills, with WiFi and picocells pumping out CDMA, GSM, 3G, GPRS, EDGE, mental telepathy and astral projection, to the extent that the employees would wander the corridors conducting their entire day's work from wherever they liked the view best/had slumped the day before.
The problem, then, set in once these Communicator-toting warriors took the brave step beyond the airlocks into actual California sunshine. "Outside," one of them was heard to say, "it's like stepping into the Third World."
Simple fact for you here - not everyone has a phone with email capability. Not everyone WANTS a smartphone. Some people are happy with just being able to send or receive the occasional picture (what, one a month maybe?) in an easy way. So, MMS.
It's not about people who "don't understand email" and anyone who suggests that has just got their head stuck up their pretentious backside.
(I have an iPhone (UK). I like using MMS to send pics to my girlfriend and family members - none of whom have email-capable phones. Does that make me backward in some way? Get over it.)
I guess the point of the article was to mock AT&T's announcement of a 'new' service.
And then point out how crappy their overall service is.
Unfortunately the competitors are no better, and can be worse at times.
Sprint? Not good in all areas. Verizon? Don't even get me started.
In any big city, its very easy to get in to high traffic areas where you do either get dropped calls or no calls at all.
Thumbs down because it appears the author was either under a deadline to write some negative dribble, or just doesn't like AT&T. (Did they forget to comp him a phone? ;-)
I live in Chicago, near a very busy intersection that during rush hour, I'll have dropped calls.
You get used to it and you use your land line. (You do have one, right?)
Or you can switch to wi-fi and then make VOIP calls. (You do have a phone that can do that, right? Provided *You* have a VOIP service... ;-)
Remember, this isn't the old AT&T. AT&T was bought by one of the Baby Bells, SBC. When SBC took over Ameritech (the Midwest Baby Bell), service immediately went to sh*t and the normal 14 day wait for landline service went to two months ... and they still missed the date. When a class action suit was filed by a bunch of people in the former Ameritech region, SBC's official response was to blame the customers for expecting good service.
Some things never change.
OMG if AT&T can't even cope with MMS, what hope would they have with the millions of users like me who spend the day watching TV, listening to internet radio/Spotify and Skypeing on their 3G dongles and phones here in the UK.
In fact, the only network that comes close to that low level of service here in the UK is O2... which makes you wonder about Apple's choice of partners.
I think the reason most people buy an expensive item like an iPhone is to use it as... umm.. a phone first of all, not just a shiny fashon statement - even if that's it's second purpose for many.
A phone that can't send texts and pictures to other phones is really a bit useless... and given that most other phones either don't have email or it costs extra to enable email, when texts are free or dirt cheap (especially when sending messages abroad to less connected countries) means that emails are a dated artifact of a bygone age. Also, how do you send an email to a telephone number? I suppose you could text them to ask their email address... oh wait.
I know many people with email capable phones including iPhones and most don't bother to even set it up. Hell, even the people I know with Blackberrys seem to prefer texts to email.
Everyone has a phone (or two). Every phone can send/receive texts/mms (yes I know most landlines can't receive MMS but you can still send them a text)... except it would seem USA iPhone users!?!?!


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Birch Coulee Battlefield
Charles Lindbergh House and Museum
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Harkin Store
Historic Forestville
Jeffers Petroglyphs
Lac qui Parle Mission
Lower Sioux Agency
Marine Mill
Mille Lacs Indian Museum & Trading Post
Snake River Fur Post
Split Rock Lighthouse
Traverse des Sioux
W. W. Mayo House
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Perfumed Multi-Surface Cleaner EV10
EV10Former Name: Concentrated Perfumed Multipurpose Cleaner
Developed for use with a trigger bottle or mop bucket application. Its highly concentrated formulation has been designed as a versatile washroom and general purpose cleaner that has a fresh citrus fragrance.
Ideal for the cleaning of all hard washable surfaces and floors.
Recommended dilutions are dependent on the condition and soiling level of the floor and surfaces to be cleaned.
We offer quick and efficient shipping options to suit your business. Ask Customer Care for details: email@example.com. If the item you have ordered is out of stock we will contact you and let you know the lead time on your purchase. We do not ship on Saturday, Sunday or Local/Public UK Holidays.
International Trade: Cleenol is a major exporter of its products to a large number of countries across the world. Our specialist export division is skilled in export packaging and shipping requirements, compliance with local and international regulations, and export documentation. Cleenol can arrange shipping by container or groupage to any international market, and is actively looking for distributors in the countries in which it is not already represented. For further details please contact email@example.com
Back Orders: In the unlikely event that any items in your order are unavailable for immediate shipment the item(s) will be shipped immediately once back in stock.
Warranty, Refund & Returns Information
Please inspect your order upon reception and contact us immediately if the item is defective, damaged or if you receive the wrong item so that we can evaluate the issue and make it right. We will not accept return of any Cleenol manufactured goods that are over 3 months old. If goods are uplifted as a result as "not required/ordered in error" there may be a handing and collection charge applied.
Dispensers have a one year warranty and are subject to Quality Assurance inspection to ascertain if there is a fault or end-user damage.
Any goods that require return must have the batch number quoted prior to return. Any goods that are returned must be in good clean and resalable condition. To be eligible for a return, your item must be in the same condition that you received it, resalable and unused, with tags and in original packaging. You'll also need the receipt or proof of purchase. Items sent back to us without first requesting a return will not be accepted. You can always contact us for any return question at firstname.lastname@example.com.
In order to avoid misleading the user, Cleenol's biocidal product labels only make claims (for example, 'antibacterial' or 'antiviral') in instances where testing by an independent laboratory has been performed on the product in question, and EN standard certification has been obtained.
Relevant examples of EN Standards include:
BS EN 1276: Chemical disinfectants and antiseptics. Quantitative suspension test for the evaluation of bactericidal activity of chemical disinfectants and antiseptics used in food, industrial, domestic and institutional areas.
BS EN 13697: Chemical disinfectants and antiseptics. Chemical disinfectants and antiseptics, Quantitative non-porous surface test for the evaluation of bactericidal and/or fungicidal activity of chemical disinfectants used in food, industrial, domestic and institutional areas.
BS EN 14476: Chemical disinfectants and antiseptics. Quantitative suspension test for the evaluation of virucidal activity in the medical area.
BS EN 1650: Chemical disinfectants and antiseptics. Quantitative suspension test for the evaluation of fungicidal or yeasticidal activity of chemical disinfectants and antiseptics used in food, industrial, domestic and institutional areas.
BS EN 1500: Chemical disinfectants and antiseptics. Hygienic handrub (hand sanitiser).
Please refer to the Product Use Guides (PUGs) and Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for more information:


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If you did see movement, then you are possibly experiencing CCD image sensor failure. As mentioned, the symptoms of a stuck shutter are very similar to CCD failure. If you own a Canon or Sony camera, please see the following two articles instead as your camera might possibly be eligible for free repair:
Canon CCD advisory article
Sony CCD advisory article
Unfortunately, actual mechanical repair of a stuck shutter is labor intensive as the mechanism is buried deep inside your camera. If the camera is out of warranty the cost of this repair is usually very high, and may be more than the value of the camera. Would not recommend trying to open your cameras to repair this yourself, as it's very unlikely that you'll succeed. However, there is something simple that you can try that might unstick it, albeit it may be only a temporary fix. Also would not recommend that you do this on a perfectly working camera, as I'm not sure what the power interuptions may do to the camera. As usual, only think of doing this procedure as a last resort for a camera that repair cost is out of the question, and as such the camera would otherwise be set for disposal:
Step 1. Turn the camera on. Also turn off any features that may be a power drain to the batteries. You want all available power from the batteries for the following steps. Turn off image stabilization if your camera has that feature. Put the camera in any mode other than Auto, and turn off the flash. Also turn off the LCD screen (press the DISP or DISPLAY button).
Step 2. Move the camera to any mode that will give you the longest exposure time without flash. For many Canon cameras this will be shutter priority (Tv) mode (for many Canon A models the wheel with AUTO,M,Tv,...). For some of the Canon SD models this is also known as "Long Shutter Mode" (select the Moon/Stars icon).
Step 3. Take a picture.
Step 4. After 7 seconds open the battery door for a few seconds and then close it again. The intent is to momentarily interupt power during the exposure time. Note that you may also open the battery door immediately after pressing the shutter button if your camera is not capable of taking 15 second exposures.
Step 5. Repeat the procedure until the shutter becomes unstuck. One person reported on Fixya doing this 15 times before his shutter became unstuck.


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I recently had a debate about the 1963 movie The Great Escape.
While I thought the movie was very funny to a certain extent and could possibly be seen as a satire, the person I was talking to denied that it was meant to be or was funny at all.
I am aware that the history behind the movie is a very serious one, but the casual way the prisoners behave and for example the multiple failed escape attempts gave me the impression that the movie was satirical.
Although I might have just been influenced by the comedy series Hogan's Heroes that had a very similiar setting. Another explanation might be, that the movie is just humouros from today's point of view, but was rather serious 50 years ago.
IMDB lists the movie as "Adventure | Drama | History", so no indication there whether there was any humor intended.
My question is: Was the The Great Escape meant to be funny or satirical at the time it was shot, or is that just my perception of it?


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LOS ANGELES (AP) — It was a caffeine-charged Hollywood whodunit: Just whose bright idea was the "Dumb Starbucks" coffee shop that popped up and started serving free drinks from the corner of an otherwise uncelebrated strip mall?
After several days of speculation, the big reveal came Monday: The buzz-generating shop was a comedian's publicity stunt.
Keeping a straight face, Canadian comic Nathan Fielder told a crowd he was pursuing the "American dream" — before acknowledging that he planned to use the bit on his Comedy Central show "Nathan for You."
Soon after, Los Angeles County health inspectors shut it down for operating without a valid permit.
Earlier in the day, and for much of the weekend, a line from the store wound alongside the parking lot and up the block. Some patrons snapped pictures in front of a green awning and mermaid logo that is familiar — except that the word "Dumb" is prominently featured.
They weren't coming for gourmet fare: Their descriptions of the coffee ranged from "horrible" to "bitter," and one parent said his daughter complained that the hot chocolate was like water.
Instead, they were just coming to say they came, and to score a white paper cup with a sticker bearing the curious logo.
"It was a pretty dumb idea to come out in the cold" and wait for nearly two hours to get a coffee, joked Anthony Solis, who lives in nearby Hollywood.
Dumb Starbucks opened Friday, and the interest it generated grew over the weekend with a boost from posts on Twitter and Facebook.
Before the rush of the past few days, production crews came to the location several times to film, according to permits taken out with Film LA, a private nonprofit that issues the licenses. The permits were billed to Abso Lutely Productions, which has produced Fielder's show.
Once opened, Dumb Starbucks caught the attention of the real Starbucks.
"While we appreciate the humor, they cannot use our name, which is a protected trademark," Laurel Harper, a spokeswoman for Seattle-based Starbucks Corp., said in an email.
She added that most trademark disputes are handled informally, suggesting the company might not need to take legal action.
At the front counter, a sheet of frequently asked questions said the store was shielded by "parody law."
"By adding the word 'dumb,' we are technically 'making fun' of Starbucks, which allows us to use their trademarks under a law known as 'fair use,'" the sheet said.
It continued: "In the eyes of the law, our 'coffee shop' is actually an art gallery and the 'coffee' you're buying is considered art. But that's for our lawyers to worry about."
One law professor suggested Dumb Starbucks needed to sharpen its legal theory.
"Fair use" can protect parodies of copyright material, but a trademark such as the logo has different protections that Dumb Starbucks may well be violating, said Mark McKenna, a trademark law expert at the University of Notre Dame.
Fielder, the comedian, said Monday that he didn't need Starbucks' permission and he was glad the company had not pursued a "case they know they can't win."
He then revealed that city health inspectors had arrived and told his staff that they had to stop serving drinks.
Associated Press writers Candice Choi and Jake Coyle in New York also contributed to this story.


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BBC Mundo writes about "Educación 2.0", noting OLPC's programs in Latin America, Argentina's Conectar Igualdad and Spain's Escuela 2.0 projects. It discusses laptops, tablets, and access to knowledge online, and with a nod to the proposed full-saturation projects in South Korea and Thailand.
While there are many approaches to a connected classroom, there's no question that this is where schools everywhere are heading. The simple question is when each system will make the transition, and at what age students will be allowed to make those connections. A more interesting one is how teaching and school systems themselves will change when the logistics of learning – and of identifying children's talents and interests – is separated a bit more from the physical layout of schools and homes.


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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will soon appoint his new cabinet, which he promises will once again be based on gender parity, the same as it was when he formed his first government in 2015.
Women are in the minority in both the House of Commons and all provincial and territorial legislative chambers. To compensate for this, the appointment of cabinets composed of as many women as men has spread. Although not a new phenomenon in Canada, this parity is still not the norm.
It was Jean Charest who started the ball rolling in 2007, when, as premier of Quebec, he appointed the country's first cabinet with gender parity. Rachel Notley, elected premier of Alberta in 2015, did the same when she took power, as did John Horgan in British Columbia in 2017 and François Legault in Quebec a year later.
On the federal scene, the appointment of the first cabinet composed of an equal number of women and men by Trudeau in 2015 has received a lot of attention. The retort "Because it's 2015" given by Trudeau in response to journalists who wanted to know the reasons behind this move, was taken up all over the world.
We sought to better understand the different views expressed in the media when cabinets with gender parity were announced. Media coverage is generally favourable, but it also suggests a number of concerns about measures to support better access for women in the political sphere.
A generally positive picture
Articles and columns that address the parity composition of the cabinet highlight the historic aspect of the announcement or present it as a reflection of a society and an era where inclusion and equality are important values.
The hope of seeing a new standard set following Charest's announcement in 2007 of a gender-balanced cabinet was also very present: "Gender parity is a feat, a first in North America, which will put pressure on other Canadian governments, the federal government in particular," wrote columnist Michel Vastel on April 19, 2007.
Whether in articles, columns or opinionated letters to the editor, different persuasive strategies are used to present gender equality and its implementation measures as beneficial for society: the use of statistics on the number of women elected, examples of strategies implemented on the world stage, or the impact of a greater number of women on decision-making.
Researcher Veronique Pronovost, the Raoul-Dandurand Chair at the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM), wrote this in an open letter published in Le Journal de Montreal in 2015:
"Studies on the consequences of parity within organizations confirm this: whether within companies or decision-making bodies, parity generates many benefits."
However, support is not always unreserved, and demands for more sustainable measures, such as legislation or a greater effort by parties to nominate an equal number of female and male candidates for elections, are also expressed, mainly in French-language newspapers.
Opposing opinions
The competence of the women appointed by Charest was highlighted. But concerns about these same skills have been expressed in the case of Trudeau. For some, it was the prime minister himself who was at the root of this controversy in 2015, as can be seen in this column written by Mark Sutcliffe in the National Post:
"The fact that women have an equal place at the cabinet table is historic and welcome. It's just a shame that Trudeau diminished it by predetermining the outcome rather than portraying it as the natural result of the talented people available to him in his abundant caucus. That would have done more for women in leadership than ticking a box from his list of promises."
The idea that gender parity and competence do not go hand in hand is at the forefront of counter-arguments put forward. Some journalists even go so far as to denounce the injustice experienced by men, who, because they are more numerous in Parliament, are less likely to get a ministerial post.
As columnist Lysiane Gagnon wrote in the Globe and Mail:
"The Liberal caucus counts 134 men and 50 women, meaning that at the outset, every female MP had roughly three chances more than her male colleagues to be appointed to cabinet. Shouldn't gender equity apply to men as well?"
A question of political will?
The choice to appoint an equal number of men and women is also portrayed as a sign of political will, a way of demonstrating the importance the prime minister places on equality. In the absence of rules or laws that force political parties to act, it is true that the people who lead them play an important role in increasing the proportion of women ministers.
In Quebec, it took 10 years to see a new premier, François Legault, appoint a cabinet with an equal number of women and men as Charest did in 2007 and 2008.
Trudeau announced during this year's election campaign that his second cabinet would include an equal number of women and men. It would have been difficult for him to do otherwise without seeming to deny the values of equality and feminism that characterized the beginning of his first term in office.
READ MORE: Conservatives' Scheer wants Trudeau to open Parliament Nov. 25
READ MORE: Trudeau says climate and pipeline are priorities after election
This article is republished from The Conversation.
It is written by Carol-Ann Rouillard, Doctorante en communication sociale, Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres, Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres (UQTR) and Mireille Lalancette, Professor, Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres (UQTR) , The Canadian Press
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PAPISS CISSE reminded the Newcastle fans of his quality with an impressive goal in tonight's 3-0 Europa League demolition of Bordeaux.
The Senegal international produced a trademark sumptuous 49th-minute finish to kill off the Frenchmen as the Magpies powered their way to the top of Group D with their first win in front of a delighted crowd of 30,987.
Shola Ameobi had set Alan Pardew's side on their way with his 13th European goal following good work by Girondins old boy Gabriel Obertan, and Brazilian defender Henrique's 40th-minute own goal left the visitors in deep trouble.
Cisse, who belatedly opened his season's account at Manchester United last week, ensured that the points remained on Tyneside with the second half only four minutes old and Newcastle saw out time with the minimum of fuss.
It proved a sobering evening for Francis Gillot's men, who who had not lost in 17 games in all competitions since April 8 but have now lost on all five of their visits to England.
The visitors arrived with high expectations after trouncing Club Brugge 4-0 last month and Pardew had voiced the opinion before the game that Bordeaux were arguably the strongest team in the group. However, opposite number Gillot said the same about the Magpies.
Newcastle's starting line-up was the strongest Pardew had fielded in the competition to date, although he still made seven changes from the 11 men who started at Reading at the weekend with one eye on Manchester United's visit to Tyneside on Sunday.
There was little to choose between the sides early on as Yohan Cabaye reminded his compatriots of his talent, while Czech playmaker Jaroslav Plasil pulled the strings for the visitors.
Indeed, after Cabaye had whipped an early shot across the face of goal the Girondins should have taken the lead when Plasil crossed from the left for Ludovic Obraniak to head high and wide when he might have done significantly better.
Rob Elliot needed to make a smart 15th-minute save from Yoan Gouffran - but the home side took the lead seconds later in impressive fashion.
Cabaye played an inviting pass out to Obertan on the left and he carved his way into the box past Mariano and then Henrique to put the ball on a plate for Ameobi at the far post.
The visitors responded in determined fashion with midfielder Ludovik Sane glancing a header straight at Elliot and then forcing the goalkeeper to dive to his left to parry a 40-yard thunderbolt.
In the meantime, sensing Bordeaux were starting to gain control, Pardew altered the 4-3-3 formation with which he had started to a more conventional 4-4-2, which brought Cisse further infield, and Newcastle immediately had a more compact shape.
The contest remained evenly balanced, but it tipped heavily in the home side's favour with five minutes of the half remaining.
Ameobi slid the ball into the fit-again Danny Simpson's path as the right-back overlapped and when he drilled a cross into the box, Henrique could not resist the temptation to get his toe to it, succeeding only in turning it past keeper Cedric Carrasso and into his own net.
Carrasso came to his side's rescue three minutes later when he blocked Vurnon Anita's close-range effort after Cisse had played him in, and the Magpies left the pitch at the break knowing the three points were all but in their grasp.
Pardew was forced to make a change at the break when he had to replace Elliot, who had been struggling towards the end of the first half, with Steve Harper.
Gillot withdrew Plasil and Obraniak to send on Landry N'Guemo and Cheick Diabate with the game rapidly slipping away from his team and Bordeaux might have been back in it had a combination of Harper and the post not kept out Henri Saivet's cheeky 48th-minute backheel.
However, the game was effectively over within seconds. The ball found its way to Shane Ferguson on the left and his cross was scooped expertly past Carrasso and in off the foot of the post by Cisse.
Sunderland old boy David Bellion might have reduced the deficit 16 minutes from time when he got the benefit of what looked like a generous offside decision, but Harper refused to be beaten.


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• ensconce •
Pronunciation: en-skahns • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Verb, transitive
Meaning: 1. To conceal something in a safe, secret place. 2. To set up in a prominent, fixed place, as to ensconce yourself on the coffee table so everyone can see you.
Notes: This word has the usual family members, such as ensconcing the noun and adjective. However, they are rarely used. The past participle, ensconced, is used almost like an adjective. Just remember, it begins with an E and uses a C after the S—not a K.
In Play: Always check the room before canoodling: "Unbeknownst to his older sister, Little Woody Dewett ensconced himself behind the draperies in the living room to see what his sister and her boyfriend might be up to that evening." In the holiday season we are more likely than usual to ensconce things: "Hillary ensconced the angel she had inherited from her grandmother on the crown of the Christmas tree after all the other decorations were in place."
Word History: It seems unlikely that this good word is related to the sconce that now refers to a wall lamp. In fact, English has another word, sconce "earthworks, small fort", which went into the making of the verb ensconce. This noun probably came from Dutch schans, akin to German Schanze "earthwork, redoubt". Meaning No. 2 above is a US extension of the original meaning of "dig in, fortify". The word for the wall candle or lamp comes from Old French esconse "lantern" from the Latin absconsus "hidden", the past participle (absconsus) of abscondere "to hide". (Yes, our word abscond comes from the same Latin verb.) But the ironic twist here is that the Latin word for "hidden" became the English word for a prominent light on a wall. Quite a semantic journey. (We are happy that Susan Lister has become ensconced in the Alpha Agora and is a regular contributor of Good Words.)
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