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Garza's debut gives Crew preview of intensity
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- For 9,227 fans at Salt River Fields on Sunday, it was just another sunny Spring Training game, but for Matt Garza, this was something more. When he takes the mound, it is almost always something more.
"I couldn't sleep last night," Garza said. "I went to sleep early, but it was 3 o'clock, wake up; 4 o'clock, wake up; 5 o'clock, wake up; 6 o'clock, wake up. My wife was like, 'Go to sleep!' But she knows every year, it's the same thing."
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- For 9,227 fans at Salt River Fields on Sunday, it was just another sunny Spring Training game, but for Matt Garza, this was something more. When he takes the mound, it is almost always something more.
"I couldn't sleep last night," Garza said. "I went to sleep early, but it was 3 o'clock, wake up; 4 o'clock, wake up; 5 o'clock, wake up; 6 o'clock, wake up. My wife was like, 'Go to sleep!' But she knows every year, it's the same thing."
You don't hear things like that very often in the Cactus League, especially not from an eight-year veteran whose spot in the Brewers' starting rotation was secured the moment Garza signed a $50 million, four-year contract.
It was the richest deal in club history for a free agent, and it meant Garza could be the kind of guy who shows up to camp, gets his work in and doesn't lose any sleep about Spring Training games.
But Garza is not that kind of guy, which may help explain why pitching in a Brewers uniform for the first time meant something on Sunday, and why he struggled equally to contain his adrenaline and the Colorado Rockies. Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki and Co. touched Garza for four runs on four hits and two walks in the first inning of what became a 6-5 Brewers win at Salt River Fields.
Garza's first inning in a Brewers uniform was also his last for now. Asked how many pitches he threw, Garza said, "Um, roughly… too many."
Twenty-eight pitches.
"Well, he was just all over the place," manager Ron Roenicke said with a shrug of his shoulders. "But hey, he got in a lot of pitches. He's an aggressive guy, and he does get amped up. He's got to get where his arm strength is enough that it matches his rhythm and everything is in sync. That's what we always said about him, is that when he gets in a rhythm, he's really good. When you're against him, you try not to let him get in that rhythm."
Garza called the game a mental workout, explaining that "everything was just fast and flying for me."
How does he plan to remedy that?
"Just letting it run out," Garza said. "This is a process. I have a history of not very good springs. I don't, like, take pride in that, but I take pride in my work, and I get it done. When the bell rings, I'm ready to go. However I need to get there, I'm going to get there."
The good news, Garza said, was that his body felt great. He threw only fastballs and changeups, firing a couple of good ones early in the inning before things got away.
It should not surprise anyone that Garza was amped up for a Spring Training game, he said.
"You guys might say, 'It's spring,' but for me it's a baseball game, you know?" Garza said. "You can't train with the same intensity or the same adrenaline that you get from facing big league hitters, from stepping out on the mound to get going.
"You know?"
A couple of Garza's new Brewers teammates know.
Aramis Ramirez manned third base for Garza in Chicago in 2011, Ramirez's final season with the Cubs before he signed a three-year deal with the Brewers. Garza had just arrived in Chicago after a big offseason trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, a move that paid off to the tune of 31 starts and a 3.32 ERA that first season.
"Even when he's not pitching, he's out there," Ramirez said. "Even when he's not pitching, you're going to hear him and see him on the top step of the dugout. I think we need some of that. You guys are going to like him. Everybody in Milwaukee is going to like him."
Sean Halton likes him. Halton played some first base and outfield for the Brewers last season and is among a cast of players in camp with an eye on first base in 2014. He goes way back with Garza because they are both from Fresno, Calif., and Halton played baseball from a young age with Garza's brother. They have worked out together in the offseason every year since Halton was drafted by the Brewers in 2009.
When Garza threw his no-hitter against the Tigers in 2010, Halton was in the stands as a guest. When Halton was called up to the Majors in 2013, Garza called with congratulations. When Halton got his first Major League hit the next day, Garza was the pitcher. When Garza finalized his contract with the Brewers, Halton was among the first to know.
"We go way back," Halton said. "I've known him long before I was batting 1.000 against him."
How competitive is Garza?
"We talked for a couple of years previous about facing each other," Halton said. "He always said, 'I'm going to come right at you and blow you by.'"
But when that moment arrived, Halton said with a laugh, "First pitch is off-speed. Breaking ball."
Garza wanted to win the at-bat more than he wanted to keep his vow to fire fastballs.
"He's a fun, energetic guy, and I think he's exactly what this clubhouse needs," Halton said. "You can see just in the last couple of weeks his assertiveness as a leader. I think he's taking on that role really well, and I think it's going to help everybody out."
Garza's history says he will help the Brewers more often than not, assuming he can stay healthy and continue to settle in with his new team.
"I was telling my wife today, I'm the most relaxed I've been in a couple of years because I know what's going on and I know that it's permanent," Garza said. "I'm fully embracing that, and I'm enjoying that. I'm not upset today. I'm just happy to get this thing going, finally. No more five hours in the weight room doing workouts.
"It's, 'Let's go! Play ball!'"
Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Brew Beat, and follow him on Twitter at @AdamMcCalvy.


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DEE_C on Family Tree Circles
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Looking for Josef DRDLA of Omaha, Nebraska
Wife, Katherine, Children; Frank, Mary, Joseph, Josephine, Louis, Helen, and Agnes. Lived in Omaha, Nebraska. 1897-1950's.
Interested in exchaning any information.
Looking for George Clark, lived in Iowa, Nebraska
Looking for George Clark, lived in Iowa, Nebraska. He was Wagon Master at Fort Omaha for awhile. Has a son, Benjamin, who married Mary Kaiser.
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In The Box
Photo Album fits 200 pieces 4x6 inch photos
Features two photos per page
Product Features
Enjoy your memories the way it should be enjoyed.
Showing photo albums at home is becoming an increasingly popular pastime. A photographic album, or photo album, is a collection of photographs, generally in a book. Some albums have compartments which the photos may be slipped into; other albums have heavy paper with an abrasive surface covered with clear plastic sheets, in which photos can be put. Older style albums often were simply books of heavy paper which photos could be glued to or attached to with adhesive corners, or pages. Album fits 200 pieces 4x6 inch photos Weld bound construction Features two photos per page Pages are photo safe: acid, lignin, and PVC free


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There's no car quite like the new Vauxhall ADAM. With a million personalisation possibilities, this is a one-of-a-kind model that is as much about you as itself. Customisable to your own personality, it's at once bold and inspirational, yet breathes fresh life into urban driving, with its JAM models tailored to inject excitement into your daily commute. With the vivacious new Vauxhall ADAM, you have the ability to really express yourself through your car.
For design that inspires and charm that is distinct and expressive, each and every Vauxhall ADAM is truly individual. This is a modern vehicle for the modern age, standing out from the competition thanks to its fresh, distinctive appearance. With the ADAM, you have the ability to set the trends others will follow.
Thanks to its compact dimensions and supreme agility, the ADAM provides the ideal urban driving experience. While its size enhances its performance, it's the bold styling that sets the ADAM apart. Topped by a 'floating' roof that's intelligently separated from the body by smart black pillars, the ADAM is unlike anything in the Vauxhall range.
Personalisation of the exterior is matched by the ability to tailor all areas of the cabin in the Vauxhall ADAM. From selecting the finish for the dashboard and door inserts, to choosing a panoramic roof that floods the cabin with outside light, the ADAM can be styled to your exact demands.
With a million personalisation possibilities available to the Vauxhall ADAM, every last detail is yours to decide, making it a model that delivers a city driving experience unique to you. While the chic appearance and bold styling are immediately striking, the comfort and technology options available ensure that every drive is fun, comfortable, exciting, and entertaining.
While technology features vary according to trim and specification, you can rest assured that even entry level models include everything you need for an unforgettable journey. The freedom to pick the items you prefer when you order the car, however, means that any new ADAM will be tailored to your individual requirements.
With the ADAM's trendy model range come three engines and a world of possibilities. Packing great ability into its lightweight form, each engine helps keep your conscience stay clear – and road tax costs downs – with its eco-awareness.
New ecoTEC technology is built into a number of engines providing even more efficient economy, and it works alongside advanced Start/Stop technology in preventing wasted energy.
A five-speed manual gearbox is standard at each trim level, while City Mode lightens steering, tackling tight city streets effortlessly.
You're always in safe hands with the Vauxhall ADAM. The vehicle comes fitted with six airbags, ESP-plus, and ABS as standard. Optional Advanced Park Assist II is a useful feature for city dwellers too, with Park Pilot guiding you into your parking slot with ease. In addition, it has the ability to identify suitable parking spots as you drive.
Please note: Selected features are optional, available for an additional cost, and/or available on selected models only. Please contact us direct for more details.


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Roger Waters has been touring his Pink Floyd-era double-album "The Wall" around the world for the last two years, giving the 1979 warhorse a long, lavish victory lap that landed Friday at Wrigley Field.
Perhaps only Waters could build a wall without ivy in the Cubs playground. He unleashed massive inflatables that likely gave high-rise dwellers in Wrigleyville the shock of their lives. It's not every evening you see a fascist pig the size of a bus drift past your window bearing Big Brother slogans such as "Trust me" and "Everything will be OK." What's more, this particular pig covered more ground than any Cubs centerfielder in recent memory, eventually crashing in the grandstand behind home plate.
This is a show about ideas and visuals as much as music, and Wrigley Field provided an appropriately epic setting for one of the most over-the-top rock operas ever staged. Wrigley made the United Center, where Waters first staged the tour in Chicago in 2010, seem rather quaint by comparison. With listeners filling the rooftops and the streets outside the stadium, the setting was the equal of the show's outsized ambitions.
Waters didn't play the traditional rock front man, and how could he? For a good part of the show he was obscured by that 35-foot-tall, 424-cardboard-brick monstrosity, which doubled as a massive video screen and art canvas upon which bombers buzzed, hideous cartoons marched and slogans were flashed like Times Square billboards.
The bassist and conceptual mastermind in Pink Floyd wasn't content to merely replicate the original 30-date "Wall" tour from 1980. Back then, the album could have been subtitled, "Roger's Difficulties With Authority Figures," including his mother, ex-wife and schoolteachers. His narrator becomes a paranoid recluse prone to sociopathic fantasies. "If I had my way I'd have all of you shot," he shouts.
But "The Wall" tour Mach II tries to come off as less solipsistic, with Waters at one point mocking "miserable, (messed) up little Roger from all those years ago." Strumming an acoustic guitar, he performed a duet with a 1980 video of himself singing "Mother," and it remained one of the night's most moving moments in a show otherwise brimming with monsters, demons, psychotics and gun-wielding tyrants.
In trying to update his most ambitious album and make it more universal, Waters gave it a socio-political spin: the wall as a symbol of the barriers that divide nations. The wall was transformed into a memorial for war victims of the last century, starting with Waters' own father, who died in World War II. Violent set pieces threaded through the show, beginning with a spectacular plane crash into the wall, complete with flames, and finishing with the wall's destruction. In between Waters played one of his most convincing roles: the lean, gray-haired dictator in a trench coat and shades with red arm band.
Subtlety was not a strong suit in this rather cartoonishly broad evening of multi-media entertainment – the cartoonish hammers that marched across the wall are Waters' favorite instruments when driving home an idea. But even if the connection between rock stars and despots isn't particularly novel, Waters made it in memorably chilling fashion. As the familiar chords of "Run Like Hell" rang out, he led the crowd in a cross-armed salute, than swung his arms overhead, the fans dutifully following suit, as if to prove their leader's point. "Follow me! All together now," Waters commanded. "Good! Enjoy yourselves!" Later he was firing a toy machine gun, wearing a maniacal smile, then removed his gloves with a self-satisfied smirk.
It added up to one of the darkest evenings of "entertainment" that $250 could buy. There was just enough vulnerability and humanity, and a handful of truly memorable songs, to keep things from sliding into nihilism: the 15 dancing children who shooed away the demon-eyed teacher in "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2," the poignantly unanswerable questions of the bewildered son in "Mother," the desperate cry of "Bring the Boys Back Home."
Three guitarists took the place of Waters' old sidekick, David Gilmour, who wrote some of the most indelible melodies on "The Wall." When it came time for Gilmour's showpiece, "Comfortably Numb," one of the stand-ins replicated his solo note for note, while Waters played cheerleader. Like everything else during the two-hour show, it was scripted and executed precisely – a near replica of the concert Waters first played in Chicago two years ago.
In the end, when Waters and the band played in front of the wall's ruins as a scruffy acoustic street band, they celebrated the "bleeding hearts and the artists," presumably much like the Waters of three decades ago who poured out his anxieties in what would become one of the best-selling double-albums of all time. It may be a relic of a more grandiose era, but "The Wall" still saturates the senses and invades nightmares like few stadium spectacles ever have.
Roger Waters set list Friday at Wrigley Field:
Part 1 (60 minutes)
1. In the Flesh?
2. The Thin Ice
3. Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1
4. The Happiest Days of Our Lives
5. Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2
6. Mother
7. Goodbye Blue Sky
8. Empty Spaces
9. What Shall We Do Now?
10. Young Lust
11. One of my Turns
12. Don't Leave Me Now
13. Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3
14. The Last Few Bricks
15. Goodbye Cruel World
Part 2 (55 minutes)
16. Hey You
17. Is There Anybody Out There?
18. Nobody Home
19. Vera
20. Bring the Boys Back Home
21. Comfortably Numb
22. The Show Must Go On
23. In the Flesh
24. Run Like Hell
25. Waiting for the Worms
26. Stop
27. The Trial
28. Outside the Wall


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Yes: Breaking Web Articles Into Multiple Pages Is A Pain
from the stop-it deptI made this same basic argument almost seven years ago, but it seems that many news websites still think it's a good idea to break up stories into multiple pages. Farhad Manjoo, over at Slate, has an article arguing why paginating long articles is a bad idea, whose only purpose is to goose page view numbers and ad views for websites -- and it does nothing to make the reading experience better. Somewhat ironically, he's writing this on Slate, which does paginate stories. At least Slate has a "single page" option, which is what I linked to above, though you can look at the idiotically broken up version if you'd like as well.
From my standpoint, sites that do excessive pagination -- especially if they have no "single page" option -- are automatically less interesting to me. I find Forbes to be one of the worst here. While I think the site has some good reporting, I will often look for alternative sources to link to stories, because I don't want to send users to a page where they'll have to click five times just to read a single story. To me, this makes Forbes look really bad: like it knows it has to trick readers to get page views, rather than trusting its content. If Forbes doesn't trust its own content, why should I?
Thankfully, Manjoo points out that some newer, more innovative sites -- such as Buzzfeed and The Verge (both of which are immensely popular) -- have decided that breaking up stories into multiple pages just doesn't make any sense:
In other words, what I suspected seems to be true for those sites. If you trust your content, and trust your readers -- and want them to share your content -- you don't break up your stories in annoying ways. You make it easier for your readers to consume and share your content. Hopefully other sites will begin to realize this, though considering how long we've been discussing this, I doubt it.
I asked Joshua Topolsky, the Verge's editor, whether he had a hard time convincing the advertising sales department at the magazine to ditch pages. He said he didn't: "From the beginning, there's been a company-wide belief that we can marry great advertising with great content and not have to cheat or trick our users," Topolsky emailed. "And so far, that's proven 100 percent correct. Our traffic has been on a big climb, and I believe advertisers are really beginning to see the true value in engaged users who care (and return) versus sheer volume of pageviews (though our pageviews have also been through the roof)."
Jonah Peretti, BuzzFeed's founder, echoed this sentiment. BuzzFeed publishes dozens of photo galleries daily, and lately it's been getting into longform reporting, too. (See Doree Shafrir's 7,000-word piece on nightmares.) If it paginated, it could boost its pageviews significantly. But it has never paginated, and Peretti suspects the site never will. (Even BuzzFeed's homepage isn't paginated—it keeps loading older stories as you scroll.) BuzzFeed can afford to run stories in full because its advertising model—which relies more on "branded content" and not banner ads—doesn't rely on pageviews. For Peretti, the most important metric for a story is how many unique people click on it, and how widely it's shared. He says: "If you build things that people are excited about sharing with their friends—if you build things that don't annoy people and if it's presented in a user-friendly way—then, long-term, people will share content more, new people will come and check out what you're doing, people will have more positive feelings about you, and … OK, maybe it's a little bit utopian of a view, but it's working for us."
For the most part, it really does seem that those who go for pagination seem to come from more old school media businesses -- and perhaps that's not surprising. They look at things through older metrics, such as how many page views, rather than metrics like how many people share your content. On top of that, I find the arguments "in favor" of pagination, questionable. Manjoo asked Slate why it paginates the articles, and was told that readers like it better that way.
"Pages that run too long can irritate readers," Plotz said in an email. "We run stories of 2,000, 4,000, even 6,000 words, and to run that much text down a single page can daunt and depress a reader. So pagination can make pages seem more welcoming, more chewable." An editor at another site made a further point that pagination can be a useful signal to readers about the length of an article—if you see an article with 10 pages, you know to set aside a lot of time to read it (or skip it).Depress a reader? Really? I recognize that there's TL;DR syndrome, but that would apply to long articles whether they're paginated or not. Also, the idea that the number of pages is a "symbol" ignores that we've already got this magic thing called... scrollbars, which effectively do the same thing.
The whole thing just seems like a rationalization for trying to boost pageviews by annoying readers, and that doesn't seem like a good long term strategy.
Filed Under: news articles, pages, pagination, reader friendly, websites


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Stocks finished in positive territory Wednesday, reversing two-straight sessions of losses, as the energy sector jumped on rising oil prices amid speculation of a U.S.-led military strike on Syria.
(Read more: Gartman's trade of the moment on the Syrian crisis)
"The market was somewhat impervious to the geopolitical risk that was out there and now it's come home to roost I think you want to watch both oil and gold," said Art Cashin, director of floor operations at UBS Financial Services. "We're playing a game of headline roulette here…you really don't know. The difficulty is that once events begin to take place, they can accelerate and that becomes a problem."


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NBA Draft Live ThreadPosted: June 23, 2011 Filed under: 2011 NBA Draft | Tags: 2011 NBA Draft, 2012 NBA Draft, Al Jefferson, Alec Burks, Andrea Bargangi, Andrew Bogut, Beno Udrih, Bismack Biyombo, Brandon Jennings, Brandon Knight, Charlotte Bobcats, Cleveland Cavaliers, Corey Maggette, Derrick Favors, Derrick Williams, Detroit Pistons, Enes Kanter, George Hill, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Jan Vesley, Jimmer Fredette, John Salmons, Jonas Valanciunas, Kawhi Leonard, Kemba Walker, Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, Marcus Morris, Markeiff Morris, Michael Jordan, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Monta Ellis, New York Knicks, Nikola Vucevic, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Ricky Rubio, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Shaun Livingston, Stephen Jackson, Toronto Raptors, Tristan Thompson, University of Kansas, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards Leave a comment
After the 16th pick, I am going to make a new post
Trade Rumor: Spurs will send George Hill as part of a package to the Pacers for Leonard.
Update #16 (9:0 PM) Philadelphia selects Nikola Vucevic – I hate you Philadelphia. My favorite Knicks target is gone. New thread boys.
Update #15 (9:00 PM) Indiana selects Kawhi Leonard – My #1 Knicks target at this point is gone. What a steal for the Pacers.
Update #14 (8:54 PM) Houston selects Marcus Morris of Kansas – Twins back to back. Good pick as well.
Update #13 (8:46 PM) Phoenix selects Markeiff Morris from Kansas – Another Knicks target gone.
Update #12 (8:40 PM) Utah selects Alec Burks with their 2nd first round pick. – there goes another of my favorite Knicks targets.
Update #11 (8:34 PM) Golden State selects Klay Thompson – no surprise here. I mocked this last week and now let the Monta Ellis trade rumors begin.
Update #10 (8:28 PM) Milwaukee selects Jimmer Fredette for the Sacramento Kings (via the trade reported earlier) – Fredette and Evans in the backcourt is going to be a scary combination.
Update #9 (8:23 PM) Charlotte Bobcats select Kemba Walker – God damn you Michael Jordan go to hell. There goes my dreams for the Knicks to get Kemba. Read the rest of this entry »
A few predictions for the NBA DraftPosted: June 23, 2011 Filed under: 2011 NBA Draft | Tags: . Kevin Love, 2012 NBA Draft, Alec Burks, Andre Igoudala, Bertans, Biyombo, Boston Celtics, Brandon Knight, Cleveland Cavaliers, Derrick Williams, Enes Kanter, Iman Shumpert, Kawhi Leonard, Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Michael Beasly, Minnesota Timberwolves, Mirotic, Motiejunas, NBA Draft, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, Tony Parker, Tristan Thompson, Valanciunas, Vesley 1 Comment
Here are some predictions of mine for the NBA Draft.
- Enes Kanter will go #2 overall to the Timberwolves: Even though I have Derrick Williams mocked there, I think the Wolves are going to avoid the Michael Beasly type player in Williams and go after a true center to pair with Kevin Love to give them a very talented front court.
- The Cavs will trade the #4 pick: With Kanter off the board and the Europeans being to much of a risk, the Cavs will trade the 4th pick in the draft for a mid 1st round pick and a 2012 1st round pick, since that draft will be loaded.
- Six (6) teams will buy first round picks. That number is slightly higher than normal but with a ton of picks being available from 18 to 30, I think a lot of contenders are going to be looking to get back into the 1st round.
- Seven (7) Europeans will be selected in the first round. Kanter, Valanciunas, Vesley, Biyombo, Motiejunas, Bertans, and Mirotic.
- The first five picks in order will be Irving, Kanter, Knight, Thompson, and Leonard.
- The biggest bust in this draft will be Bismack Biyombo. He lacks any offensive game and is not that good of a defender. He is a shot blocker that gives away post position to often
- The biggest steal in this draft will be Alec Burks if he goes after 15. If he goes before 15 the biggest steal will be Iman Shumpert.
- Tony Parker, Andre Igoudala, and Lamar Odom will all be finding new homes after tomorrow's draft.
- The Heat, Knicks, Cavs, Celtics, Lakers, and Suns will be the teams to buy first round picks.
That is all I got. Get ready for the NBA Draft, which is at 7PM tomorrow on ESPN. Friday and Monday I will recap the NBA Draft and then we will be back to football.


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Gaining Perspective
Gaining Perspective
During the last few decades of the 20th century it became evident that tropical rainforests were endangered not only by road-building, timber-cutting, and other incursions of the bulldozer and saw, but by thousands of wildfires. Historically, relatively small fires have been set by slash-and-burn farmers trying to clear patches of jungle for farm land. But starting in 1997, fires in the worlds tropical forests from Brazil to Vietnam raged on a scale never recorded before. The causes of these huge conflagrations raised questions, because tropical rainforests rarely burn naturally.
In the wake of several haze-induced accidents and public health warnings in smoke-covered Indonesia, the need for a clear answer to these questions was given legal significance when President Suharto, under pressure from neighboring countries, passed a decree making it illegal to set forest fires. The politically connected timber industry had managed to direct most of the blame for forest fires on the small-scale, slash-and-burn farmers, but Indonesias rogue environment minister Sarwono Kusumaatmadja employed a relatively new intelligence-gathering technology to get a clear picture of the situation: he downloaded satellite images of burning Indonesian rainforests from a U.S. government website and compared them to timber concession maps. The satellite images confirmed that many of the blazes were being set in areas the timber companies wanted to clear for plantations. With the satellite evidence in hand, Kusumaatmadja got his government to revoke the licenses of 29 timber companies.
High Speed Intelligence
The environment ministers quick work on the rainforest issue is just one of many recent cases involving environmental questions in which satellite surveillance has been used to provide answers that might otherwise not have been known for years, if ever. The images captured by cameras circling high above the planet are proving effective not only because they scan far more extensively than ground observers can, but because they can be far faster than traditional information-gathering methods.
Pre-satellite studies of the oceans, for example, had to be done from boats, which can only reach a tiny fraction of the oceanic surface in any given month or year. And even after centuries of nautical exploration, most of the information scientists have gathered about winds, currents, and temperatures comes from the commercial trade routes of the North Atlantic between the United States and Europe. Satellites dont replace on-the-water research, as they cant collect water samples, but for some kinds of data collection they can do in minutes what might take boats centuries to do. Satellites can, in principle, watch the whole of the worlds oceans, providing almost immediate assessments of environmental conditions everywhere.
Similarly quick surveillance is available for many parts of the biosphere that are otherwise difficult to reachthe polar ice, dense forest interiors, and atmosphere. As a result, says Claire Parkinson of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), theory and explanations no longer have a database restricted to areas and times where humans have physically [gone] and made observations or left instruments to record the measurements. The speed of environmental research has taken a quantum leap.
Speed isnt only a matter of technical capability, however. In practice, its also a matter of access. Spy satellites began circling the globe soon after Russias Sputnik went into orbit in 1957. But the information they relayed to Soviet and U.S. intelligence agencies was kept sequestered. The difference now is that satellites are increasingly being used for purposes other than espionage or military intelligence. The great majority are for telecommunications. However, more than 45many owned by governments, but a growing number of them privately ownedare being used for monitoring various phenomena on the ground, on the water, or in the atmosphere. In addition, more than 70 launches are planned during the next 15 years by civil space agencies and private companies. How these instruments are used, and by whom, will have enormous consequences for the world.
The Race Against Time
If incidents like the Indonesian forest fire intervention are any indication, environmental monitoring by orbiting cameras could play a critical role in reversing the global trends of deforestation and ecological collapse that now threaten the long-term viability of civilization. Denis Hayes, the former Worldwatch Institute researcher who is the chairman of Earth Day 2000 (see page 6) asked a few years ago, in a speech, How can we have won so many environmental battles, yet be so close to losing the war? Since then, we have edged still closer. Clearly, the number of battles being won is too small, and the time it takes to win them is too long.
Another way of posing Hayess now famous question might be to ask whether the processes of information-gathering and dissemination essential to changing human behavior can be speeded up enough to accelerate the environmental movement. Telecommunications satellites began providing part of the answer several decades ago by facilitating the formation of an active international environmental community that can mobilize quicklywhether to protest a dam on the Narmada River of India or to stop the use of genetically modified organisms in food production in Europe.
But while activism gained momentum, field work remained ominously slowbiologists slogging about in boots and rowboats, while the forces they were trying to understand raced over the Earth on the wings of global commerce, or ripped into it with the blades of industrial agriculture and resource extraction. However, satellite monitoring has begun to help researchers to more quickly assemble the data needed to bring decisive change. Remotely sensed images are contributing to critical areas of environmental research and management, including:
Weather: The first meteorological satellites were launched in the early 1960s, and quickly became a key part of the U.N. World Meteorological Organizations World Weather Watch. In addition to the satellite data, virtually all nations contribute surface measurements of temperature, precipitation, and wind to this program to aid weather prediction, which has enormous social and economic benefits. In recent years, optical sensors that collect data on sea surface temperature and radar sensors that estimate ocean height have proven useful in understanding and predicting El Nio events, which can damage fisheries and agriculture by bringing warmth and wetness to much of the west coasts of South and North America, and drought to Southeast Asia, Australia, and parts of Africa.
Climate: In the 1990s, researchers began to delve into satellite archives to study longer-term climate patterns. For instance, satellite images have helped reveal a decrease in snow in the Northern Hemisphere, a lengthening growing season in northern latitudes, and the breakup of major ice sheets. Radar sensors have been used to construct topographical maps of the ocean bottom, which in turn provide better understanding of the ocean currents, tides, and temperatures that affect climate. However, it was not until recently that space agencies began to design satellite systems dedicated specifically to climate research. In 1999, the United States launched Terra, which carries five different sensors for recording climatic variables such as radiative energy fluxes, clouds, water vapor, snow cover, land use, and the biological productivity of oceans. It is to be the first in a series of satellites that will create a consistent data set for at least 18 years.
Coastal boundary changes: Whether as a result of warmer temperatures contributing to sea-level rise or irrigation projects shrinking lakes, coastal configurations change over timesometimes dramatically. Scientists have compared declassified images from covert U.S. military satellites pointed at Antarctica in 1963 to recent images of the same regions, for example, to reveal changes in the continents ice cover. Other comparisons show the extent to which central Asias Aral Sea and Africas Lake Chad have diminished in size.
Habitat Protection: The destruction of habitats as a result of human expansion has been identified as the largest single cause of biodiversity loss. Satellite images have proved quite effective in revealing large-scale forest destruction, whether by fire or clearcutting, not only in Indonesia but in the Amazon and other biological hotspots. New, more detailed imagery may reveal small-scale habitat niches. In Australia, for example, the Australia Koala Foundation plans to use detailed satellite images to identify individual eucalyptus trees. Researchers will compare these images to field data to determine what this species of tree looks like from above, then use the information to more quickly map individual trees or groves than would be possible from the ground. In the oceans, the same satellite-generated maps of undersea topography and sea surface temperature used to study weather and climate can be used to track the upwellings of nutrient-rich water that help to sustain fisheries.
Environmental law enforcement: International organizations and national governments can use remote imaging to put more teeth in environmental laws and treaties. One of the leading fishing nations, Peru, is monitoring its coastal waters to prevent the kind of heavy overfishing that has so often caused fisheries to collapse. In Italy, the city of Ancona plans to buy satellite images to detect illegal waste dumps. Within the next decade, large-scale use of this technology could give urgently needed new effectiveness to such agreements as the Kyoto Protocol to the Climate Convention, the Biodiversity Convention, the Convention on Illegal Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), or the Law of the Sea.
Making Sense of Nonsense
Look closely at a small detail of a newspaper or magazine photoput it under a magnifying glassand it may make no sense. The dots dont form any recognizable image. But stand back and see the photo as a whole, and it snaps into focus. Satellite images do the same thing, only on a vastly larger scale. Bits of information that might make no meaningful pattern when seen from the ground may, when seen from many kilometers above, resolve themselves into startling pictures.
The first pictures from space were photographs made from film, by astronauts aboard the first manned flights to the moon in the 1960s. These photos, of a fragile blue planet suspended in the vast blackness of space, helped to inspire the nascent environmental movementone of them becoming the emblem of the first Earth Day in 1970.
In later surveillance from satellites, the imaging was digitized so that the data could be sent down in continuous streams and in much larger quantities than would be possible with film. Although one Russian satellite still uses regular camera film that is dropped to Earth in a canister and retrieved from the North Sea, most remote sensing satellites now use digital electronic sensors. The binary data they send down can be reconstructed into visual images by ground-based computers.
The amount of detail varies with the type of sensor (see table, page 21). For instance, an image of a 1,000 square kilometer tract of land obtained by a fairly low-resolution satellite such as AVHRR, which is used in continental and global studies of land and ocean, might contain 1,000 picture elementsor pixels (one piece of data per square kilometer). In contrast, an image of the same tract from the new, high-resolution Ikonos satellite would have 1 billion pixels (one per square meter). Between the broad perspective of satellites like AVHRR and the telescopic imaging of those like the new spy-quality satellite Ikonos, are medium-resolution sensors, such as those aboard the Landsat and SPOT satellites, in which one pixel represents a piece of land that is between 30 and 10 meters across (see back cover). However, the level of detail is also limited by the size of the medium on which an image is displayed. For instance, if an Ikonos image with 1 billion pixels were reproduced in a magazine image one-quarter the size of this page, it would be reduced to 350,000 pixels.
Different tasks require different levels of detail. The value of high resolution lies in its enabling the viewer to hone in on a much smaller piece of the ground and see it in a kind of detail that the lower resolution camera could not capture. For a larger area, a lower resolution would suffice to give the human eye and brain as clear a pattern as it can recognize. Whereas the wide coverage provided by lower-resolution satellites has proved useful in understanding large-scale natural features such as geologic formations and ocean circulation, very detailed imagery may be best able to reveal niche habitatssuch as the individual treetops that are home to the koalaand manmade structures, such as buildings, tanks, weapons, and refugee camps.
But satellite surveillance can do much more than provide huge volumes of sharp visual detail of the kind recorded by conventional optical cameras. The orbital industry also deploys a range of sensors that pick up information outside the range of the human eye, which can then be translated into visual form: Near-infrared emissions from the ground can be used to assess the health of plant growth, either in agriculture or in natural ecosystems, because healthy green vegetation reflects most of the near-infrared radiation it receives; Thermal radiation can reveal fires that would otherwise be obscured by smoke; Microwave emissions can provide information about soil moisture, wind speed, and rainfall over the oceans; Radarshort bursts of microwaves transmitted from the satellitecan penetrate the atmosphere in all conditions, and thus can see in the dark and through haze, clouds, or smoke. Radar sensors launched by European, Japanese, and Canadian agencies in the 1990s have been used mainly to detect changes in the freezing of sea ice in dark, northern latitudes, helping ships to navigate ice fields and steer clear of icebergs. Radar is what enabled satellites to map the ocean bottom, which would otherwise be obscured.
While satellites have the technical capability to monitor the Earths entire surfaceday or night, cloud-covered or clear, on the ground or underwaterthis doesnt mean we now have updated global maps of whatever we want. Aside from the World Weather Watch, there is no process for coordinating a worldwide, long-term time series of comparable data from Earth observations. Rather, individual scientists collect data to answer specific questions for their own projects. In recent years, national space administrations have teamed up with research funding agencies and two international research programs to support an Integrated Global Observing Strategy that would create a framework for uniting environmental observations. Researchers are now trying to demonstrate the viability of this approach with a suite of projects, including one on forests and another on oceans.
In addition, to make sense of remotely sensed data requires comparison with field observations. An important element of the weather programs success, for instance, is the multitude of observations from both sky and land. And satellite estimations of sea-surface temperature cant generate El Nio forecasts automatically, but must be combined with other data sources, including readings from a network of ocean buoys that monitor wind speed and a satellite altimeter than measures water height. Similarly, the radar scans used to make maps of the ocean floor are calibrated and augmented by sounding surveys conducted by ships. Even a task as straightforward as the location of eucalyptus trees for the Australia koala project requires initial field observations to confirm that the typical visual pattern being searched out from above is indeed that of the eucalyptus, and not of some other kind of tree.
Satellite imagery has become even more useful with the advent of geographic information systems (GIS), which allow users to combine satellite images with other data in a computer to create maps and model changes over time. In much the same way that old medical encyclopedias depict human anatomy, with transparencies of the skeleton, circulatory system, nervous system, and organs that can be laid over a picture of the body, a GIS stores multiple layers of geographically referenced information. The data layers might include satellite images, topography, political boundaries, rivers, highways, utility lines, sources of pollution, and wildlife habitat.
Maps that are stored in a GIS allow people to exploit the data storage capacity and calculating power of computers. Thus when geographically referenced data are entered into a GIS, the computer can be harnessed to look at changes over time, to identify relationships between different data layers, to change variables in order to ask what if questions, and to explore various alternatives for future action.
Because human perception can often identify patterns more easily on maps than in written text or numbers, maps can help people understand and analyze problems in ways that other types of information cannot. The Washington, D.C.-based World Resources Institute (WRI), for example, has used GIS to analyze threats to natural resources on a global scale. Researchers have combined ground and satellite data on forests with information about wilderness areas and roads to map the worlds remaining large, intact frontier forests and identify hot-spots of deforestation. A similar WRI study, investigating threats to coral reefs, assembled information from 14 global data sets, local studies of 800 sites, and scientific expertise to conclude that 58 percent of the worlds reefs are at risk from development.
With advances in computing power, some GIS software packages can now be run on desktop computers, allowing more people to take advantage of them. In fact, the number of people using GIS is swelling by roughly 20 percent each year, and the leading software company, ESRI, grew from fewer than 50,000 clients in 1990 to more than 220,000 in 1999.
A related technology spurring the market for geographic information is the Global Positioning Systema network of 24 navigation satellites operated by the U.S. Department of Defense. A GPS receiver on the ground uses signals from different satellites to triangulate position. (For security reasons, the Defense Department purposefully introduces a distortion into the signal so that the location is correct only to within 100 meters.) As GPS receivers have become miniaturized, their cost has come down. The technology is now built into some farm machines, cars, and laptop computers. Researchers can take air or water samples and feed the data directly into a GIS, with latitude and longitude coordinates supplied by the GPS receiver in their computers.
The relatively new field of precision agriculture demonstrates how satellite imagery, GIS, and GPS systems can all be used to show farmers precisely how their crops are growing. Conditions in every crop row can be monitored when a farmer walks into the fieldor when a satellite flies overand recorded for analysis in a GIS. During the growing season, satellite monitoring can track crop conditions, such as the amount of pest damage or water stress, and allow farmers to attend to affected areas. The central component of a precision agriculture operation is a yield monitor, which is a sensor in a harvesting combine that receives GPS coordinates. As the combine harvests a crop such as corn, the sensor records the quality and quantity of the harvest from each section of the field. This detailed information provides indicators about the soil quality and irrigation needs of different parts of the field, and allows the farmer to apply water, fertilizer, and pesticides more accurately the following season.
Meanwhile, the growth of the Internet is allowing satellite images and GIS data to be more easily distributed. In late 1997, Microsoft Corporation teamed up with the Russian space agency Sovinformsputnik and image providers such as Aerial Images, Inc. and the U.S. Geological Survey to create TerraServer, the first website to allow people to view, download, and purchase satellite images. Some satellite operators have begun to offer catalogs of their images on the Internet.
Whose Picture Is It?
Throughout history, people have fought for possession of pieces of the Earths land and water. It was not until the advent of Earth observation satellites that ownership of the images of those places was seriously debated. To legitimize its satellite program, the United States argued strongly that the light reflected off the oceans or mountains, like the air, should be in the public domaina claim now accepted by many other countries. But for the last two decades, the United States has also promoted the involvement of private U.S. companies in earth observation. Until the end of the Cold War, companies were reluctant to enter the satellite remote sensing business for fear of restrictions related to national security concerns. But in September 1999, a U.S.-based firm called Space Imaging launched the first high-resolution commercial satellite; this year, two other U.S. enterprises, Orbimage and EarthWatch, plan to launch similar instruments.
This trend raises questions about the tension between public and private interests in exploiting space. On the one hand, the widespread availability of detailed images means greater openness in human conduct. With satellite imagery, it is impossible to hide (or not find out about) such harmful or threatening activities as Chernobyl-scale nuclear accidents, or widespread forest clearing, or major troop movements. On the other hand, whether the information will be used to its full potential is up to governments and citizens.
There are obvious benefits to commercially available high-resolution images. Governments wary of revealing secrets have traditionally restricted the circulation of detailed satellite information. Now, images of the Earth that were once available to a select few intelligence agencies are accessible to anyone with a credit card. The information may be valuable to many non-military enterprisespublic utilities, transportation planners, telecommunications firms, foresters, and others who already rely on up-to-date maps for routine operations.
In the world of NGOs, the impact of high-resolution imagery may be most dramatic for groups that keep an eye on arms control agreements and government military activities. When one-meter black-and-white pictures hit the market, a well-endowed nongovernmental organization will be able to have pictures better than [those] the U.S. spy satellites took in 1972 at the time of the first strategic arms accord, writes Peter Zimmerman, a remote-sensing and arms control expert, in a 1999 Scientific American article.
Indeed, when Ikonos released imagery of a top-secret North Korean missile base last January, the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), a U.S.-based nonprofit group, published a controversial analysis of the images contradicting U.S. military claims that the site is one of the most serious missile threats facing the United States. (The potential threat from this base is a key argument for proponents of a multi-billion dollar missile shield, the construction of which would violate the anti-ballistic missile treaty.) Noting the absence of transportation links, paved roads, propellant storage, and staff housing, the FAS report found the facility incapable of supporting the extensive test program that would be needed to fully develop a reliable missile system.
In addition, the private entrants in the satellite remote sensing business may spur the whole industry to become more accessible. Already, the new companies are beginning to seek partnerships with government imagery providers, so that customers are able to go to one place to buy a number of different types of images. For instance, Orbimage, which is scheduled to launch its first high resolution satellite this year, has made agreements to sell medium resolution images from the French SPOT series and radar images from the Canadian Radarsat. Such arrangements may make it easier for people to find and use imagery.
But private ownership of satellite datamaking it available only at a price that not all beneficiaries can pay, or protecting it with copyright agreementscould also cause serious impediments to reversing ecological decline:
One of the most important potential applications of remote sensing could be its use by non-governmental public interest groups, which provide a critical counterweight to the government and corporate sectors. NGOs that monitor arms control or humanitarian emergencies, for example, can use satellite data to pressure governments to live up to international nonproliferation agreements and foreign aid commitments. But a group that buys images from a private satellite company in order to publicize a humanitarian disaster or environmental threat coulddepending on copyright laws and restrictionsfind itself prohibited from posting the images on its website or distributing them to the media. While low-resolution imagery from government sources is easily shared, citizen groups and governments should quicky set a precedent for sharing information from high-resolution imagery.
Only a few, very large agricultural operations can afford the high-tech equipment required to practice precision agriculture. Because farmers with small plots of land can simply walk into their fields for an assessment, the technology will remain most useful to larger operations. So although this tool could improve the way large-scale agriculture is practiced in the short term, it could also delay the long-term transition to more sustainable agricultural practices, which tend to require smaller-scale farms.
Large companies looking for places to extract oil, minerals, or biological resources could purchase detailed satellite data and gain unfair advantage over cash-strapped developing nations in which the resources are located, whose governments cannot afford satellite imagery, GIS software, and technical support staff and systems needed to make and maintain such maps.
Finally, along with the question of who will own the technology, there is the related question of whether there is significant risk of its being badly misused. A few decades ago, the advent of commercially available high-resolution images would likely have been met with great alarm, as a manifestation of the Big-Brother-is-watching-you fear that pervaded the Cold War years. That fear may have receded, but what remains is a conundrum that has haunted every powerful new technology, from steel blades to genetic engineering. Could access to detailed images of their enemies cause belligerent nations to become more dangerous than they already are?
In any case, theres no turning back now. Many of the remote sensing satellites now scanning the Earth and scheduled for launch this year will be in orbit until long after the basic decisions affecting the planets long-term environmental futureand perhaps the future of civilizationhave been made. Ultimately, an educated global citizenry will be needed to make use of the flood of data being unleashed from both publicly and privately owned satellites. Policy analyst Ann Florini of the Carnegie Endowment writes: With states, international organizations, and corporations all prodding one another to release ever more information, civil society can take that information, analyze and compile it, and disseminate it to networks of citizen groups and consumer organizations.
If the Internet has given the worlds technological infrastructure a new nervous system, the Earth-observation satellites are giving it a new set of eyes. In precarious times, that could be useful. U.S. Vice President Al Gore, who understands the potential of remote sensing, has called for the completion of a Digital Earth, a 1-meter resolution map of the world that would be widely accessible. According to Brian Soliday of Space Imaging, the Ikonos instrument alone might be able to assemble a cloud-free map of the world at 1-meter resolution within four to five years. Thats about as long as it has taken to do the vaunted Human Genome map, and this map would be much bigger. Arguably, because it covers not only us humans but also the biological and climatic systems in which our genome evolved and must forever continue to depend, it could also be at least as valuable.
Molly OMeara Sheehan is a research associate at the Worldwatch Institute.


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Lenovo FRU - Cover Assembly ThinkCentre A55/M55, Lenovo 41R6220-02.
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Grantees Will Help Prepare Loan Application Packages
WASHINGTON, September 6, 2012 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is accepting applications for technical assistance grants to develop domestic and migrant farm labor housing.
"These grants will help communities submit quality applications to increase their chances of getting funding to build much-needed affordable housing for farm workers," Vilsack said. "Increasing the supply of affordable housing in rural communities not only helps the residents, it helps the entire community."
Grants are available to organizations that will help housing authorities, state and local governments, Indian tribes, non-profit organizations, and community- and faith-based groups apply for loans and grants to build farmworker housing. The purpose of the grants is to increase the number of high-quality applications USDA receives. Vilsack announced on July 18 the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for loans and grants to build or preserve affordable rental farm worker housing. This technical assistance funding is to organizations that assist potential borrowers under that NOFA.
Technical assistance grantees must have the knowledge, ability, expertise or practical experience necessary to develop and package farm labor housing loan and grant applications. They also will be required to submit a minimum number of applications to USDA, based on their location.
For additional information, see page 54877 of the September 6 Federal Register, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-09-06/html/2012-21885.htm. The deadline for submitting applications is November 5, 2012.
Please visit Rural Development's new interactive web map featuring program funding and success stories for fiscal years 2009-2011. The data can be found at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/RDSuccessStories.html.
President Obama's plan for rural America has brought about historic investment and resulted in stronger rural communities. Under the President's leadership, these investments in housing, community facilities, businesses and infrastructure have empowered rural America to continue leading the way – strengthening America's economy, small towns and rural communities. USDA's investments in rural communities support the rural way of life that stands as the backbone of our American values. President Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack are committed to a smarter use of Federal resources to foster sustainable economic prosperity and ensure the government is a strong partner for businesses, entrepreneurs and working families in rural communities.
USDA, through its Rural Development mission area, has an active portfolio of more than $172 billion in loans and loan guarantees. These programs are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural America.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).


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Johnson retirement a Dem challenge
Sen. Tim Johnson announced Tuesday that he will not run again next year, giving South Dakota its first open Senate seat since 1978 and adding another challenge to the Democrats' Senate majority.
This is a prime Republican pickup opportunity in a state Mitt Romney carried by 18 percentage points, but Democrats have two strong candidates and promise a close election in a race that could also feature a divisive GOP primary.
Story Continued Below
South Dakota is part of any realistic scenario that gets the GOP the six seats it needs to retake the Senate majority in the 2014 midterms. Johnson is the fifth Democrat whose term expires next year to announce his retirement and the second to do so in a red state — a trend that has inched up anxiety in Democratic ranks.
"I will be 68 years old at the end of this term, and it is time for me to say goodbye," he said, standing behind a lectern with his wife, Barbara. "The Bible says there is a time for every season. … It is now our season to spend more time with our six grandkids and in the state we love."
Johnson, 66, made the announcement at the University of South Dakota, his alma mater. A major brain hemorrhage in 2006 nearly killed him and continues to affect this speech. He received a hero's welcome when he returned to Congress in 2007, and he basically got a pass from national Republicans when he sought reelection in 2008.
It has been obvious for several months that the Senate Banking Committee chairman would retire, so this news comes as no surprise, but Democrats have trod carefully out of respect for the senior senator's timeline.
Attention now turns to the two Democrats who have their eyes on the seat: Johnson's son, Brendan, and former Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, who lost her House seat in the tea party wave of 2010. Each is expected to make their plans clear in short order.
Johnson did not weigh in for his son Tuesday. He claimed that he has not spoken in specifics with him about whether he will run.
There are "several good candidates out there, and you'll have to ask Brendan about that," the senator said. "I have not discussed in detail what comes next whether it's [with] Stephanie or Brendan or whoever."
Asked how active he will be in the 2014 campaign, Johnson listed off all of his committee assignments in D.C. and said he wants to make the most of his remaining two years: "Let the process play out," he said. "That is enough to tide me over."
The elder Johnson had $1.5 million in his campaign account at the end of the year. He was noncommittal about how he'll spend it, although legally he could funnel it through the party to be spent on his son's behalf.


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by Kara Deschenes
Toeing the start line of an IRONMAN might be the beginning of your individual race journey, but training to get there doesn't have to be a solo effort. With the support and camaraderie of a triathlon club, you can enhance the voyage to the finish and gain like-minded friends along the way.
Not sure a club environment is right for you? Read on, and doubt no more.
Training partners galore
Say goodbye to solitary sweat sessions and dive into group workouts. Triathlon clubs have no shortage of athletes looking to head out for a brick (bike and run sequence) workout or an open water swim. As an added bonus, organized workouts and scheduled partner training helps boost accountability to push beyond your limits.
Gear gurus
Looking for a recommendation on a reliable GPS watch, fast wheels or energy gels? Don't fret, just ask around. It's no secret that triathletes love the latest gear. Belonging to a triathlon club means you'll have access to real-life gear testers with firsthand product experience. You'll never have to make a purchase again without consulting fellow racers.
All ages and abilities
Whether you're just starting out or consistently topping the podium, clubs have something for everyone. Newbies gain confidence and valuable tips of the trade, while speed demons have a group to challenge their fast-twitch muscles. And with clubs available for any age (kids through masters), membership can truly be a family affair.
Experience advantage
Are you searching for a race with incredible scenery, or one with no hills? A group of triathletes brings a variety of race experiences to the table. Picking the brains of peer racers means you'll be able to make the best registration decision based on your strengths and preferences.
Never finish alone
While race day is about individual effort, sporting your team's colors brings a flash of spirit and inspiration. Hearing the cheers of teammates on course provides a boost to carry you through the miles ahead, and after crossing the finish line, trading war stories makes victory feel even sweeter.
Ready to join a club, but not sure where to begin? It's as easy as sending an email, says IRONMAN Director of Athlete Development and Communication Liz Kollar. (Think triathlon's answer to Match.com, minus the pressure of dating.)
Through the IRONMAN TriClub program, athletes can send an email inquiry including where they live, and will receive a response with matching clubs in their area. Kollar says that with over 700 clubs in the program representing more than 85,000 athletes, there's a group to suit everyone. "Joining the club environment and feeling a sense of belonging in a sport that is completely focused on individual experience extends the IRONMAN journey beyond race day," she says.
Don't wait. Email [email protected] and find a triathlon club near you.
Kara Deschenes is a freelance health and fitness writer living in Tampa, Fla.


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Since 1990, the world has seen a 44 per cent decline in the maternal death ratio – an enormous achievement. But in spite of these gains, some 830 women still die every day from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth. This is about one woman every two minutes.
And for every woman who dies, 20 or 30 encounter injuries, infections or disabilities. Most of these deaths and injuries are entirely preventable.
Making motherhood safer is a human rights imperative, and it is at the core of UNFPA's mandate.
UNFPA works around the world with governments, health experts and civil society to train health workers, improve the availability of essential medicines and reproductive health services, strengthen health systems, and promote international maternal health standards.


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All About Your Eyes
Everything you need to know about your eyes. How the eyes work, what are the most common eye conditions, eye diseases, vision symptoms and their treatments.
Age and your vision
Find out how age and vision are related, what eye problems can occur at different stages of your life. Learn all about symptoms and treatments.
All About Lenses
Learn all about lenses, for your glasses or contact lenses, find out how they work and how to choose the best ones for you.
Eye Care
Everything you need to know about taking care of your eyes. How to protect your vision, what activities need special vision protection and a lot more.
Visiting your optician
Everything you need to know about visiting your eye care professional: what vision tests to expect, choosing the right frames and the right lenses for your glasses.


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Teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum
Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum
Workshop 2: Making Writing Meaningful
Allen Teng's Lesson
Allen Teng's use of popular media, particularly rap music, resonates with his students and engages them in thinking and writing about critical issues. In this lesson on persuasive writing, Allen peppers the class with images from rap music and from the larger world as a way to help them develop and articulate their opinions into persuasive writing pieces.
Allen spends the first day and a half on a number of pre-writing exercises, many of which involve class discussion and movement—particularly effective for active middle level learners. Students analyze the audience and purpose of a variety of videos and rap songs. They're also studying larger world issues and beginning to take stands and articulate their positions. By the end of the second day, they start to write persuasive pieces on topics of their own choosing.
Persuasive Writing Lesson Plan (pdf)
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© Annenberg Foundation 2017. All rights reserved. Legal Policy


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The "Village" is located in the Northwest quadrant of Carlsbad. West of El Camino Real and North of Palomar Airport road, it is right along the coast and very walkable for exploring restaurants, shops, parks and galleries.
2-4 Units, MLS# 190008610
Listing provided by Compass
Commercial-Off/Rtl/Ind, MLS# 180062863
Listing provided by Diamond Gateway Realty
Residential, MLS# 180050682
Listing provided by Pacific Sotheby's Int'l Realty
Residential Rental, MLS# 190001488
Listing provided by Sterling Real Estate Services
Commercial-Off/Rtl/Ind, MLS# 180038881
Listing provided by ERA Ranch & Sea Realty
Residential, MLS# 190002755
Listing provided by Pacific Coast Real Estate
Residential, MLS# 180064406
Listing provided by Compass
This information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. You should rely on this information only to decide whether or not to further investigate a particular property. BEFORE MAKING ANY OTHER DECISION, YOU SHOULD PERSONALLY INVESTIGATE THE FACTS (e.g. square footage and lot size) with the assistance of an appropriate professional. You may use this information only to identify properties you may be interested in investigating further. All uses except for personal, non-commercial use in accordance with the foregoing purpose are prohibited. Redistribution or copying of this information, any photographs or video tours is strictly prohibited. This information is derived from the Internet Data Exchange (IDX) service provided by Sandicor®. Displayed property listings may be held by a brokerage firm other than the broker and/or agent responsible for this display. The information and any photographs and video tours and the compilation from which they are derived is protected by copyright. Compilation © 2019 Sandicor®, Inc.


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Bumblebee Baby shower Coloring Book, Queen Bee Coloring Books A761
Product Info
This listing is for (6) personalized coloring books.
These coloring books measure 8.5" H x 5.5" W. It has 12 coloring pages for your party. The first one + the cover will have your child's name customized.
I can create a coloring book set with any other party theme, just contact me and I will discuss with you the details.
Please leave me a note about the name you want me to include in the books.
Design: All the designs are Original and made from scratch, I Sketch the design and then I draw the design in the Computer. Each of my products is individually hand made.
Copyright Mariapalito: Although you are buying this item for my shop, you are not purchasing the rights for reproducing this artwork, the characters or the digital images on this website. Thank you.
I would love to hear from you, Contact me if you have questions, requests or any comment about my products. Be sure to see more of my work and items at http://mariapalito.etsy.com


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There's a little excitement in my home today. The word is a "mega-snow" event is headed our way. The idea is uplifting to me, though I know it irks others.
Why, when I love teaching so much does the idea of a snow day make me giddy? Does my anticipation of a day off reflect on my work ethic? Or does it just mean I need a free day to LIVE, without the rushing around and stress of work?
I'll get to sleep an extra hour or so
and have time to slowly drink and savor the morning's hot cup of coffee.
I'll get to finish my book and do some writing.
My husband will make a hot lunch of soup,
served up with a sandwich he has invented.
I may sneak a nap in somewhere.
My son and I will watch an old movie favorite together,
covered up with warm blankets,
the cat purring between us.
Things will slow down a bit,
the mood will be peaceful,
as it always is on a snow day.
Friday after school, I lugged home an over-packed bookbag, filled with papers to grade, writing to edit, and lessons to plan. So, I'll do all of that today, Sunday, so I may enjoy tomorrow, Snow day.
It's nature's way of telling me to slow down, look around, live life.


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"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me.'" -Isaiah 6:8
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Evaluation of the Efficacy, Tolerability and Safety of Etoricoxib (Arcoxia) in Patients With Neuropathic Pain
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01264237
Recruitment Status : Unknown
Verified March 2011 by Analgesic Solutions.
Recruitment status was: Recruiting
First Posted : December 21, 2010
Last Update Posted : March 23, 2011
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
The present study will aim to determine the safety, efficacy, and tolerability of etoricoxib, an NSAID pain reliever, in patients with Neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain, or pain caused by abnormal activity of sensory neurons, remains undertreated. Post herpetic neuralgia (PHN), which is commonly referred to as post-shingles pain, is the most useful disease to study when investigating the efficacy of pain relievers for Neuropathic pain. Therefore, this study will primarily involve patients with PHN.
The hypothesis in this study is that etoricoxib efficacy is superior to that of placebo.
|Condition or disease
|Postherpetic Neuralgia Neuralgia
|Drug: Etoricoxib Drug: Placebo
|Phase 4
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Estimated Enrollment :
|120 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Parallel Assignment
|Triple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|An Enriched Enrollment, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel Group, Randomized Withdrawal Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy, Tolerability and Safety of Etoricoxib (Arcoxia) in Patients With Moderate to Severe Neuropathic Pain
|Study Start Date :
|March 2011
|Estimated Primary Completion Date :
|August 2011
|Estimated Study Completion Date :
|April 2012
Experimental: Etoricoxib
The study will use an Enriched Enrollment Randomized Withdrawal (EERW) design consisting of a 2-week open-label enrichment phase, during which subjects will receive etoricoxib. Patients who experience at least a 30% reduction in pain intensity will be randomized to either continued treatment with etoricoxib 90 mg qd or matching placebo (at a 1:1 ratio) for 4 weeks.
Drug: Etoricoxib
90mg Tablet QD at 10:00a.m.
Other Name: Arcoxia
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
The study will use an Enriched Enrollment Randomized Withdrawal (EERW) design consisting of a 2-week open-label enrichment phase, during which subjects will receive etoricoxib, followed by a 4-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled treatment phase, during which subjects will receive either etoricoxib or placebo.
Drug: Placebo
One tablet QD at 10:00a.m.
- Time to Efficacy Failure [ Time Frame: 28 Days ]To compare the efficacy of etoricoxib to placebo in reducing pain intensity in patients with NP, as measured by Time to Efficacy Failure during the Double-Blind Period.
- To evaluate the efficacy of etoricoxib in NP during the Open-Label and the Double-Blind Periods [ Time Frame: 42 Days ]
- Time to efficacy failure by PHN sub-group based on sensory testing results [ Time Frame: 42 Days ]
- Safety as assessed by adverse events, serious adverse events, and vital signs [ Time Frame: 56 Days ]
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Be a man or a non-pregnant, non-lactating woman 18 years and older. Women of childbearing potential should be willing to use an acceptable birth control method (at the investigator's discretion) during the study to avoid pregnancy.
- Have voluntarily provided written informed consent.
- Be able to speak, read, write, and understand English, understand the consent form, complete study related procedures, and communicate with the study staff.
- Have a clinical diagnosis of PHN by history or objective findings in the opinion of the Investigator for a minimum of 6 months. If the patient pool needs to be expanded to other neuropathic conditions, patients must meet the same criteria of patients with PHN and in addition must have a clinical diagnosis of peripheral diabetic neuropathy (PDN), idiopathic sensory neuropathy (ISN) or small fiber predominant neuropathy (SFN) by history or clinical findings in the opinion of the investigator for a minimum of 6 months.
- Have a pain intensity score averaging ≥3 on a 0-10 NRS for average daily recall over past 24 hours (at Visit 1)
- Be, in the opinion of the investigator, in generally good health (other than PHN) at screening, based upon the results of a medical history, physical examination and laboratory analysis
Exclusion Criteria:
- Are pregnant and/or lactating
- Have been diagnosed as having any inflammatory arthritis, gout, pseudo-gout, Paget's disease, fibromyalgia or any chronic pain syndrome that in the Investigator's opinion would interfere with the assessment of pain and other symptoms of PHN
- Have evidence for multiple causes of pain in the neuropathic pain area, such as lumbar radiculopathy in an area of lumbosacral PHN
- Have any bodily moderate to severe pain (e.g., osteoarthritis) that could confound assessment or self-evaluation of pain due to PHN
- Use NSAID compounds (oral and topical) within 1 week of study and for the duration of the study
- Use opioids including tramadol within 1 week of study and for the duration of the study. (Other NP medications are allowed, provided that the doses have been stable for at least one month prior to Visit 1)
- Have had neuro-ablation or neurosurgical intervention for their PHN
- Have received nerve block or intrathecal analgesia within 6 weeks of study
- Have a history of congestive heart failure, unstable coronary artery disease, stroke, or uncontrolled hypertension
- Have a history of significant gastrointestinal disease, including active gastro-duodenal ulcerations, perforations, or bleeds
- Have abnormal clinical laboratory test results or vital signs unless deemed not clinically significant by the investigator
- Have skin lesions or damage in the area where BSTK measurements are conducted (only applicable to PHN patients)
- Are undergoing active treatment for cancer, are known to be infected by HIV, or are being acutely and intensively immunosuppressed following transplantation
- Have a history of alcohol or other substance abuse (not including nicotine or tobacco) within five years
- Known to have a condition that in the investigator's judgment precludes participation in the study
- Have a significant psychiatric disorder in the opinion of the Investigator.
- Have received an investigational drug or have used an investigational device in the 30 days prior to study entry
- Have previously been admitted to this study
- Are allergic to Arcoxia.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT01264237
|Contact: Karen Cowles, RN
|781-444-9605 ext 121
|United Kingdom
|MAC (UK) Neruoscience Ltd
|Liverpool, United Kingdom, L18 1HQ
|Principal Investigator: Stuart Ratcliffe, MBChB, MFPM, FRSM
|MAC (UK) Neuroscience Ltd
|Manchester, United Kingdom, M32 0UT
|Principal Investigator: Stuart Ratcliffe, MBChB, MFPM, FRSM
|Principal Investigator:
|Stuart Ratcliffe, MBChB, MFPM, FRSM
|MAC (UK) Neuroscience Ltd
|Responsible Party:
|Dr Stuart Ratcliffe, MBChB, MFPM, FRSM. Director of Pain Research, MAC UK Neuroscience Ltd
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01264237 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|First Posted:
|December 21, 2010 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|March 23, 2011
|Last Verified:
|March 2011
Postherpetic neuralgia
Neuropathic pain
Neuralgia, Postherpetic
Peripheral Nervous System Diseases
Neuromuscular Diseases
Nervous System Diseases
Neurologic Manifestations
Signs and Symptoms
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
Analgesics, Non-Narcotic
Sensory System Agents
Peripheral Nervous System Agents
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Anti-Inflammatory Agents
Antirheumatic Agents
Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors
Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors
Enzyme Inhibitors
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action


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We regard the reviewer's review as a forecast of whether the paper will be accepted, rather than an input to the decision. This has the advantage that the reviewer is not required to make a value judgment on the paper; a forecast is just a guess as to whether the paper will be accepted. The obvious problem is that if the forecast gets used to help with the decision, it is at risk of becoming a self-fulfilling prophesy.
We model the paper selection process as follows. Any paper has an associated quantity p∈ [0,1] that represents the probability with which it ought to be accepted, and furthermore, this value is revealed to a careful reader. In an ideal world, the PC passes the paper to a reviewer, who reads it and reports this number p to the PC, and the PC proceeds to accept the paper with probability p. (We assume that the PC has access to an unlimited source of randomness, which appears to be a realistic assumption.)
Suppose now that a reviewer knows in advance that his review will be ignored by the program committee, who will instead read the paper and accept it with the correct probability. In that case, if the reviewer reports probability p, he/she should be given a reward of log(p) if the paper is accepted, and log(1-p) if it is rejected. (These quantities are negative, but we do not claim that reviewing papers is rewarding.) These rewards incentivize the reviewer to report the correct probability.
Now, suppose when the PC has received the review (the number p), they then read the paper with some probability r. If they read the paper, they accept with the correct probability, and if they don't read it, they accept with probability p. The problem is that if r is very small, and the reviewer finds that the paper should be accepted with probability about 1/2, the above rewards tempt him to go to extremes and report (say) 0⋅01 or 0⋅99. Important note: the reward should depend only on the review (the reported p) and the (binary) acceptance decision, since you don't want to reveal any secret discussions to the reviewer. So the PC doesn't have the option to read the paper with some small probability and punish him if they then find he lied.
Given 2 reviewers, we can exploit their professional rivalry to make them tell the truth, by carefully aggregating their forecasts into a single probability, as follows. A basic requirement for a reward scheme is that if a reviewer has obtained value p from a paper, and the other reviewer is truthfully reporting that value p, then the remaining reviewer should also have the incentive to do likewise. Suppose we use the logarithmic rewards above, and the PC uses the average of the 2 reported probabilities, to decide on the paper. The following problem arises: suppose it's a great paper and p=0⋅999. A reviewer might be tempted to report (say) p=0⋅5, since that way, the PC will use a probability of about 0⋅75 to accept the paper, exposing the other reviewer to a big risk of a large penalty. The assumption here is that a reviewer aims to get a higher reward than the other one (his professional rival); the reward being some sort of credit or esteem rather than money.
Let q be the other reviewer's probability, and we seek a function f(p,q) that should be used by the PC as probability to accept the paper; we have noted that (p+q)/2 is not a good choice of f, in conjunction with the logarithmic rewards.
The reviewer's utility u(p) is his expected reward minus his opponent's expected reward:
We now notice that the above must be identically zero, since it should not incentivize the reviewer to change his mind if q is incorrect, but it should not incentivize him not to change his mind if q is correct. Setting the above to zero tells us the function f should be
It just remains for the PC to read the paper with any probability ε>0, and in the event that they read it, accept with the correct probability. If they read the paper, the reviewers are incentivized to tell the truth, and if they don't, (and use the above f) the reviewers have no incentive to lie, so overall their incentive will indeed be to tell the truth.
(Added 6.6.11: at the iAGT workshop, I heard about 2 papers that relate (so now, an answer to the first comment below). Only valuable experts can be valued by Moshe Babaioff, Liad Blumrosen, Nicolas S. Lambert and Omer Reingold, about contracts that will be accepted by self-proclaimed experts, provided that they really do have expert knowledge (and will be declined by a rational charlatan). And, Tight Bounds for Strategyproof Classification by Reshef Meir,
Shaull Almagor, Assaf Michaely and Jeff Rosenschein, about learning classifiers where the class labels of data have been provided by agents who may try to lie about the labels. The latter paper is closer to the "self-fulfilling prophesy" situation described above.)
(Added 22.8.11: This article on "decision fatigue" suggests another reason why it may be better to ask people to try to predict the outcome than to influence it (assuming you believe it puts less strain on someone to make a prediction than to make a decision. It does sometime stress me out a bit to make an accept/reject recommendation for a paper.))


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Becchio header gives Whites win
Neil Warnock's attempts to secure an eighth career promotion kicked off in the best possible manner as his new-look Leeds side beat Wolves 1-0.
Last Updated: 18/08/12 5:43pm
Veteran boss Warnock moved in at Elland Road part-way through last season, tempted by the desire to end his time as a manager with one last hurrah and targeted this campaign as the one where he would achieve it.
Luciano Becchio's 18th-minute diving header gave him the start he wanted today, although in truth his players were not given the test they expected from newly-relegated Wolves who had Norwegian Stale Solbakken as their manager in a league game for the first time.
Apart the notable absence of wantaway striker Steven Fletcher, he had the majority of the squad who were relegated last season at his disposal and was able to start England international Matt Jarvis, who has been the subject of strong top-flight interest.
He did little to massage that, though, as he was locked out of the game by rookie right-back Sam Byram and, with no supply on which to feed, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Kevin Doyle rarely had a kick for Wolves.
Leeds lost a club record 11 home games last season and Warnock, who took over in February, spent most of the second half of the season promising opposition managers they would never again encounter one of his sides that was so bad.
The way his new crop, which featured eight league debutants, began certainly indicated he would be true to his word, with Leeds doing all the running and, at large, creating most of the chances.
Six minutes had gone when Luke Varney skewed over after Ross McCormack pulled the ball back for him, before Rodolph Austin had a header blocked on the line and Byram shot wide at the end of a long goalmouth melee.
Wolves looked moderately threatening in the air and Richard Stearman's header looked as though it could trouble Paddy Kenny until team-mate Ebanks-Blake blocked it with his arm and, less than 60 seconds later, Leeds were ahead.
McCormack was the provider, racing free down the left on to Kenny's raking clearance and whipping in a cross that skipped across goal and found and unmarked and diving Becchio who did the rest at the back post.
After a frenetic start a period of calm followed, although Warnock had something to think about when Paul Green limped two minutes before the break, with El Hadji Diouf sent on for a first league appearance for the club.
Wolves had held a high defensive line throughout the opening half and seemed determined to carry on with doing so in the second, although it should have cost them another goal with 53 minutes gone, but Varney's touch evaded him as he broke clear.
Varney was not the only player to show early-season rustiness, though, with Wolves debutant Slavomir Peszko's cross finding no-one after Aidy White's slip allowed him to break in to the Leeds box.
The introduction of Peszko did pep Wolves up, though, and they started to enjoy more of the ball as a result of his presence, even if it was without hurting Leeds too much.
They had two chances when Ebanks-Blake skinned White and was dragged back on the edge of the box and when Jarvis clipped a shot across goal but their poor start had left them up against it and Leeds saw the game out.