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PAWTUCKET, R.I. (CBS News)-- Scottie dog has a new nemesis after Monopoly fans voted to add a cat to the game and eliminate the iron token.
Toy maker Hasbro (HAS) announced the changes Wednesday, hours after voting on Facebook closed, marking the first time that fans had a say on which token to eliminate and which piece to replace it.
The eight tokens identify the players and have changed quite a lot since Parker Brothers bought the game from its original designer in 1935.
The online contest to change the tokens was sparked by chatter on Facebook, where Monopoly has more than 10 million fans.
The iron, wheelbarrow and shoe were neck and neck for elimination in the final hours of voting. Rhode Island-based Hasbro says fans from more than 120 countries voted in the Save Your Token Campaign.
The change to the classic Monopoly game its most significant change in decades. The tokens identify the players and have changed quite a lot since Parker Brothers bought the game from its original designer in 1935.
The voting closed just before midnight Tuesday. Rhode Island-based Hasbro says the wheelbarrow, shoe and iron were neck and neck for elimination through the Save Your Token Campaign. The new addition will be a robot, diamond ring, cat, helicopter or guitar.
Fans from more than 120 countries have voted.
The online contest to change the tokens was sparked by chatter on Facebook, where Monopoly has more than 10 million fans. The initiative was intended to ensure that a game created nearly eight decades ago remains relevant and engaging to fans today.
Monopoly's iconic tokens originated when the niece of game creator Charles Darrow suggested using charms from her charm bracelet for tokens. The real-estate trading game is based on the streets of Atlantic City, N.J., and has sold more than 275 million games worldwide.
The current eight tokens are an iron, racecar, Scottie dog, a shoe, thimble, top hat, wheelbarrow and battleship. Most of the pieces were introduced with the first Parker Brothers iteration of the game in 1935, and the Scottie dog and wheelbarrow were added in the early 1950s.
Versions of Monopoly with the new token will come out later this year.
Hasbro said in January that its fourth-quarter revenue failed to meet expectations because of weaker-than-expected demand over the holidays. It plans to cut about 10 percent of its workforce and consolidate facilities to reduce expenses.
© 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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The field was dedicated roughly six years ago in honor of the late Mama Johnson, a long-time resident and employee of the Hoboken Housing Authority. Mama worked through the housing agency's resident services department to provide many recreational outlets for the city's children.
"We are taking her mission one step further. We are breaking down a barrier for our residents. Many of you don't know or remember what this field was once like. When I was a young boy, it was only a dirt field. We had to go all the way across town to practice or play games," said HHA Executive Director Carmelo Garcia. "Now our residents have their own state of the art facility that others will come to. We are exposing our children and our families to the community at large, as well as exposing the community at large to the housing authority."
Although the families of the Hoboken Housing Authority have priority at Mama Johnson Field, it is shared with the city's recreation department as the resident children play in the city's sports leagues, as well as the entire community.
Mama Johnson Field is home to Hoboken's girls' softball program, PAL grunts football, and, most recently, the citywide instructional soccer program. ZogSports and ABL Sports also operate recreational adult leagues for young professionals. These programs include the popular kickball and softball programs.
The $950,000 project was funded partially by community development block grants, capital funds and a shared services agreement with a City of Hoboken bond.
"I'm thrilled to be here at the new Mama Johnson field," said Senator Menendez who has worked to provide federal funding to the Hoboken Housing Authority, including $500,000 to make upgrades to the field. "Mama Johnson knew what we needed to do to keep children engaged and active, to keep them out of trouble. By giving them a place to play ball, she kept kids on the field, off the streets and out of trouble. This wonderful field is an investment in our children and our community."
"This field will boost our efforts to integrate the community and expose families outside the Hoboken Housing Authority to the excellence of our residents and assets," said Executive Director Carmelo Garcia. "I believe this field has enabled the tearing down of a barrier that used to exist within the community at large. We are ecstatic to offer this state-of-the-art multi-purpose artificial turf field."

subset: commoncrawl


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Jetting into Tinseltown ahead of her primetime performance, Carrie Underwood touched down at LAX Airport in Los Angeles, California on Saturday afternoon (November 17).
The casually clad country cutie shuffled through the metro terminal while later turning up at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live for her scheduled rehearsals for the 40th American Music Awards.
Aside from Miss Underwood, other acts getting in last day practice sessions included Justin Bieber, Cyndi Lauper, Linkin Park, Pitbull and Swizz Beatz while Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Carly Rae Jepsen, Psy, The Wanted, and No Doubt round out the ceremony's star-laden lineup.
Also looking to take home a little hardware, the 29-year-old "American Idol" alum is up for Favorite Female Country Artist and Favorite Country Album for her latest studio effort, Blown Away, with winners to be crowned when the AMAs air live on Sunday (November 18) at 8/7C on ABC.
Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/carrie-underwood/carrie-underwood-tunes-40th-american-music-awards-762253


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A 21-year-old convicted sex offender is wanted by police after failing to register his current address.
A 21-year-old convicted sex offender is wanted by police after failing to register his current address.
Steve Florestal also is wanted on an active warrant issued by Sussex County Family Court, police said.
A medium-risk Tier II sex offender, Florestal was convicted in Sept. 1996 of unlawful sexual contact with a victim between the ages of 12 and 15, according to the Delaware Sex Offender Central Registry.
He reportedly had been living in the 900 block of Ingramtown Road in Georgetown as of Dec. 9, 2011.
Thomas is described as being 5'6" and 175 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He reportedly has tattoos on both hands and is known to use the aliases "Steve Florestar" and "Steve Florestol."
Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call 911 or the Delaware State Police Sex Offender Apprehension and Registration Unit at (302) 672-5306.
Anonymous information also can be provided online at www.tipsubmit.com or by texting 274637 (CRIMES) and starting your message with the keyword "DSP."


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Antonio Conte's men put an end to a bright start from the Viola with two first-half goals proving to be enough to open up a temporary six-point lead at the top of Serie A
Despite an open start to proceedings the Bianconeri soon asserted their dominance over the Florence outfit with Mirko Vucinic and Alessandro Matri providing the goals in what eventually proved to be a routine win.
The Viola had clearly not come to Turin to sit back and that contributed to an extremely stretched start to the game.
Andrea Pirlo looked on song early on as he sprayed a number of quality passes in behind the defence but it was Claudio Marchisio who provided the goal threat in his 200th appearance for the club, pulling a low effort narrowly wide of the goal in the ninth minute.
Both goalkeepers were having a busy start to the evening yet the pair were not fazed by intensity of the game as Stevan Jovetic, Juan Cuadrado and Vucinic were all kept out before 15 minutes had passed.
Stephan Lichtsteiner was the next to go close but in the 20th minute Vucinic was the man to find the back of the net. The Montenegrin pounced on Stefan Savic's headed clearance and then rifled an astonishing volley past Emiliano Viviano from 25 yards.
Vucinic then had a chance to double the Old Lady's advantage just after the half hour mark as he dispossessed Gonzalo Rodriguez on the edge of the box. Matri could not provide a supporting option so the former Roma man went alone and ended up firing a shot straight at the keeper.
Vicenzo Montella's men continued to attack their hosts but they lacked conviction and in the 42nd minute the Bianconeri grabbed their second.
Arturo Vidal did magnificently to pluck the ball out of the sky before turning and surging into the area. He slid a pass into Matri, who peeled away from his defender and swept a shot into the back of the net.
Juve continued in a similar fashion after the break and it took them just three minutes to forge an opportunity in the second half. Paolo De Ceglie's cutback was met by Vidal at the edge of the box but he could not keep his attempt on goal down.
Content with their two-goal advantage, the Bianconeri began to approach the game with an increased level of caution, built upon their resilience at the back.
The visitors did not have an answer up front and would have found themselves three goals down in the 64th minute if Matri had been able to find the far corner from Lichtsteiner's threaded pass.
Substitute Sebastian Giovinco was desperately close to having the perfect impact as he sent a curling effort to Viviano's right. The keeper, however, had other ideas and parried the ball well to safety.
Juventus' win therefore puts the pressure on Napoli to get a result against third-placed Lazio later on Saturday or see themselves fall six points away from the Serie A summit.


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From the 'Cynic' to 'USA Today'
- 03-29-2012
- By Amanda Kenyon Waite
Natalie DiBlasio's hopes were high that after graduating from UVM she'd land a reporting job at USA Today, but she knew that to do so fresh out of undergrad would be a tall order. DiBlasio, a Pitman N.J. native, was right to hope.
Why USA Today?
In the summer of 2011, she interned for the paper. Not only did DiBlasio land the prestigious and hard-to-get internship in the heart of the national paper's newsroom, she broke records while there. Just four days after arriving, DiBlasio scored a front-page story on the dampening effect of drought and budget cuts on firework displays around the country -- the fastest, in the memory of her editor Dennis Lyons, any intern had achieved A1 placement. The next week, she landed another front-page spot with her article on a national trend toward implementing flashing, left-turn signals to improve traffic safety -- a trend she discovered through her own reporting. By the end of the summer, DiBlasio earned 18 bylines for USA Today, six of which were printed on page one.
The internship wasn't DiBlasio's first time in a newsroom. That came three years earlier, when, by chance, she enrolled in student media adviser Chris Evans' course, "News Writing Across Media." "I had no idea I wanted to go into journalism when I came to UVM," says DiBlasio, who took the class to fulfill a requirement for her public communications major. To earn extra credit, she submitted one of her stories to UVM's student newspaper, the Vermont Cynic.
"What happens at the Cynic is if you're really good, you advance through the ranks quickly," Evans says. And that is the story of DiBlasio's tenure at the paper, where she started as a reporter, became news editor and served as editor-in-chief her senior year.
How did the experience shape her time at UVM? "It changed everything. It was, really, my education at UVM," DiBlasio says. "I learned so much through everything you can do at the Cynic -- from the writing experience, from the editing experience and from our adviser."
With DiBlasio back at the helm in the fall of 2011, the Cynic, bolstered by its leadership's experience at a national paper, was awarded a Newspaper Pacemaker, college journalism's top prize and a first for the Cynic.
It was a busy fall for DiBlasio. Along with her responsibilities at the paper and finishing the coursework for her public communications major her final semester, she was selected to continue her relationship with USA Today via its collegiate correspondent program, for which she submitted one story a week to the USA Today College website. On top of that, she freelanced for the paper on stories about Occupy Wall Street, school bullying, volunteerism and more.
And, like many college seniors, DiBlasio was entrenched in a job search, as well.
The searched ended happily in January 2012, when she was offered a position back in the USA Today newsroom in D.C., working a general assignment reporting job. And two weeks after starting in March, she was on page A1 again, this time with a story about schools' leftover snow days from the year's mild winter.
"This is the job I've been wanting for so long," DiBlasio says. "I'm so excited."


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Despite the decision to ultimately remove the Kinect from a retail version of Xbox One, chief marketing and strategy officer Yusuf Mehdi still thinks bundling it was "the right call." In comments recently, Mehdi argued that the usage stats back up their idea that most people who have a Kinect use it.
"I think it was the right call to bundle with Kinect," he told Forbes (via IGN). "In the beginning of a new console generation, you're trying to set the bar for a new experience, and I think we did that with Xbox One. The proof is really in the usage. 80 per cent of people are using Kinect which is remarkable compared to the last generation. We're doing 120 voice commands on average a month with over a billion commands issued. People who wanted the experience came and bought it. We were sold out all through the holidays. I think it was the right call, and now is a good time to offer more choice for people who haven't been able to get that experience."
He also reiterated that Kinect is part of a step towards the future, to offer functionality that will be commonplace soon enough.
"The way I look at it is that you should take a five year vision. I think in five years, we will laugh at any computing device you can't walk up to and talk to. Voice is going to be there for all devices. We're a pioneer with Kinect in the living room."
Presumably, that assumption that voice will be ubiquitous is convincing Microsoft that the standalone Kinect will eventually be a hit. For the time being, we doubt many users will miss it all that much, and its absence may even be a benefit for gamers.


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Marlon Moore has not received any gifts yet
Welcome, Marlon! Glad you could join us. :D
Please consider joining a group to meet people and talk about anything that's on your mind, Hang With Friends.
I also recommend Eco-Logical and Climate Concerns, since the climate is changing so drastically.
After you've searched for topics of interest in "Groups" above and in the "Forums", don't forget to look at recent activity which hides along the right margin of the page all the way at the bottom.
On a personal note, I've developed an animated gif technique, sort of "pull quote marries slideshow". Samples are scattered across various groups, but you can find them easily by going to my twitter account. Each tweet has a link (after the description and before the hashtags) to a visually rich example here at Atheist Nexus. If you like them, please follow me
Hi Marion
Welcome to this world of rationality, truth and peace, where common sense and science lead to open freethinking wisdom as you know as a lifelong atheistwell.
We invite you to join the busy group "ORIGINS: Universe, Astronomy, Life, Earth, Humans, Religion, Gods, Atheism, Evolution, Darwin..." with 700 discussion topics and 3600 members.
Say Marlon, you need to get some stuff up on your page, I am really hoping that you start a blog, I always did like to see how you approached different topics. Welcome to the site, and don't forget to check out the groups. You are going to like it here, I have only been here 2 days and it has already replaced my Face Book addiction!! Talk to ya soon bro!
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Whether you attended Clemson University or not, you're an heir to the generosity and foresight of two people — Anna Calhoun Clemson and Thomas Green Clemson.
More than a century ago, they looked to a future full of possibilities and put the plans in place to leave a gift that founded Clemson University and inspired advancements for our state, our nation and our world. With your help, that gift will continue to do so — forever.
There are many ways to support Clemson Forever. Take a look at the possibilities.
How you choose to give to Clemson University is a personal choice, and we're here to help you find the best method for you and your family.
Scan the giving methods below and feel free to contact us for more information.
Establish a personal tradition of annual giving to Clemson, and help the University rise into the ranks of the nation's finest institutions. This is perhaps the easiest way to be sure your gift is here to help support our priorities and any unforeseen needs as they arise or opportunities as they emerge. Members of the Clemson Family — our alumni and our friends — take pleasure in their Ever Loyal support of consecutive giving. In fact, Clemson is ranked No. 6 in the nation in alumni participation.
Ann Smith
Annual Gifts Program Director
Clemson University assists individuals, corporations, parents, friends and foundations in creating major gifts (those greater than $25,000) that will make a specific impact for the University. As we build a relationship with you and determine the best path to match your goals with those of our students and faculty, we will carefully steward this process.
Each college within the University has a team to work with you, and those contributing major gifts are honored at our annual Major Gift Club events and listed in the Major Gift Club roster.
Missy Ryan Penland
Senior Director of University Development
Gifts of $1 million and more are designated as Principal Gifts. These gifts are usually designated as endowments, with the principal amount of the gift kept intact and invested so that the interest earned may be used to fund the University's priorities.
JoVanna King
Principal Gifts Senior Director
Office: 864-656-0663
Cell: 864-940-7983
Clemson University values our partnerships with businesses and corporations and is proud of the resulting benefits to our students, our faculty and our partners. Economic development is top priority on our main campus and evident throughout the state at our enterprise campuses and PSA research and education centers. Wherever you find possibility and promise, you will find Clemson.
Partnership with Clemson University, our students, faculty and researchers offers unlimited opportunity. Together, there are no boundaries to our potential.
Anne Barr
Senior Director of Corporate Relations
Planned giving involves deferred gifts that come to the University later, often through gifts of life insurance, trusts, retirement assets and bequests. Just as Thomas and Anna Clemson had a plan to create a "high seminary of learning," you can make a positive difference in Clemson University's future by the plan you make today. There are many ways we can assist you in determining the best ways to meet your family's needs and goals.
JoVanna King
Gift and Estate Planning Senior Director
Office: 864-656-0663
Cell: 864-940-7983


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The Kansas City Chiefs today announced that Todd Haley has been relieved of his duties as head coach effective immediately.
"This was a difficult decision but one that we feel is best for the future of the Chiefs," Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said. "Although there have been bright spots at different points this season, we have not made meaningful progress and we felt that it was necessary to make a change. We appreciate Todd's contributions during his time with the club, and we wish him well in the future."
The Chiefs were 19-27 during Haley's tenure with the club and claimed the AFC West Division Championship in 2010.
"Todd helped this team in many valuable ways over the past three seasons, and I am thankful for his contributions," Chiefs General Manager Scott Pioli said. "Unfortunately, we have not been able to establish the kind of consistency we need to continue to build a strong foundation for the future and we believe a change is important at this time."
The Chiefs will hold a news conference to discuss the announcement later today.


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Carnaval in Québec City
In my head, the Caribou candy canes were not so big. Oh, I'd heard about them; a cute Carnaval attraction, filled to the brim with 'Caribou', a kind of souped-up mulled wine, spiked with brandy or vodka or both. Perfect for keeping out the icy chill and keeping up the party spirits, I thought a small stripy pipe o' booze would be just the ticket, but when I was handed what looked like a walking stick, rather than the compact little twig I'd anticipated, I realised I was out of my depth. I was swimming in French-Canadian waters now but it wasn't like I hadn't been warned… "They know how to party in Québec" everyone had said and oh boy, do they ever…
I'd been so excited about attending the Carnaval. For years I'd heard about the bikini-clad snow bathing, the ice sculptures and I'd dreamed of seeing people genuinely enjoying the cold weather rather than cowering away from it as we do in Britain. And it was everything I'd hoped that it would be; parents towed their red-cheeked, snowsuit-ed infants around in lightweight plastic sleds, couples held hands and ice-skated around the park, children shrieked with laughter as they played on the slides and begged to queue up to meet the star of the show, Bonhomme.
Ah, Bonhomme, the spokes-snowman of the Carnaval, who is idolised and adored in a positively Bieber-like fashion. Unlike most mascots, Bonhomme speaks (here he is meeting the Canadian PM), throughout Carnaval he has a hectic schedule gracing parties and doing his trademark high-kick dance at endless photos calls. I walked past a queue of some 100 people, waiting to get a photograph with him.
Even entry to the Carnival is with a cute little Bonhomme 'effigy', I tied it to my trusty Canada Goose and walked through the lyrically-named Plains of Abraham, straight into a winter wonderland. I'd been given a ceinture fléchée to wear, a sash with an arrowhead design, part of the traditional outfit of the French-Canadians in the 19th century. I tied it around my waist, its ends peeking out under my parka. This was my first clue that this wasn't just a party, the Carnaval had its roots in a more interesting place. Over the speakers, traditional French folk songs played, everywhere, the heavily-accented Québecois French was spoken, make no mistake – when you are in Québec City, you are in the heart of French-speaking French-Canada. You really need to try to speak French. It's their language and it's who they are. Québec baffles and fascinates me in equal measure. It feels like another country and its winter celebrations, the wearing of the ceinture fléchée, the pride in its long historical culture and traditions are all part of cherishing that uniquely French side.
It was the last weekend of Carnival when I attended, I'd missed the ice canoe racing and snowboarding, but the ice sculptures from around the world still held their shape and Bonhomme's Ice Palace continued to shine in the sun under the impossibly blue sky. They've built an ice palace each winter since the late 1800s, I stroked the glossy walls of the latest incarnation and thought about how lucky I was to have a warm centrally-heated hotel to go to later and gratefully wriggled my toes in my thermal socks.
The big event of the weekend was the bain de neige, one of our group, a Lonely Planet reporter, Regis, decided to take the plunge – it looked like so much fun! I cursed my sprained ankle… next time. Although my consolation prize was a sleigh ride, something I'd never have done if I wasn't limping. The bells jingled, the ponies stamped and we were off; I burrowed under the fur throw as we trotted through the snow, up and around the park. I felt like I was in the most romantic of fairy tales, and yes – it was schmaltzy and cheesy and I absolutely loved it.
Later that night we watched the Carnaval parade, a whirl of lights and colour, dancing and music. The cold bit brutally at our fingers whenever we de-gloved to take photos. I was amazed to hear French versions of Mary Poppins songs as a float with a flying Poppins wheeled past, accompanied by a dozen dancing sweeps.
The final treat of the night was dancing at Bonhomme's ice palace. Of course, dancing with a badly-sprained ankle is a terrible idea… but an irresistible one after a few Caribous. I'm still limping three weeks later. I can't help thinking dancing in the snow, zipped up in my coat, having a blast in the minus-whatever-it-was temperature, the lights bouncing off the ice, the music so good and loud and the company so much fun probably has something to do with it… Oh, and that damn candy cane. The size of a hockey stick and full to the brim of hot, sweet, deceptively-strong Caribou… We shared it between us, waved the stick in the air to the music and by the time the hot drink was cold I somehow didn't care so much about the sprain and the pain.
But I got it; when winter is so cold and harsh, when the weather beats you down every day with its intensity, you have to go out and embrace it. Celebrate being alive and enjoy all the good things that living in that climate can bring, connect with your inner snow-bathing, high-kick dancing Bonhomme.
I travelled as a guest of Tourism Quebec, however – as always – my views are 100% my own.
Find out more:
I travelled as a guest of Québec Tourism and stayed at the Hilton.


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Americana meets Bluegrass, with a contemporary pop twist, in the creative music of Diet Folk. The band played a live, in-studio set on The PlayList and inclu...
Diet Folk, Voice Set on Fire
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Funding for this program is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Click here for more information or visit the Minnesota Legacy website.Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment


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Vince Lombardi once said, "We never lose, but sometimes the clock runs out on us."
The New Orleans Saints certainly weren't losers this season; they fought through a number of obstacles -- many unprecedented -- with toughness and determination. But the clock has run out on them.
Thursday's loss to the Atlanta Falcons sealed the 5-7 Saints' fate in the NFC South. To make the playoffs now, they'll need to secure a wild-card spot -- which would take a miracle.
Actually, it might take even more than that, because the Saints are not playing like a good team. They have too many problems on defense, too many problems on their offensive line, and, most of all, are making too many costly mistakes.
Can all of these problems be blamed on the fallout from the team's bounty scandal? No, but most are related to the absence of coach Sean Payton, who was suspended for the season as part of that fallout.
After I learned in March that Payton wanted to bring Bill Parcells, his former boss with the Dallas Cowboys, in to take his place with the Saints on an interim basis, I wrote that it was a great idea. Replacing Payton with an outsider who had Parcells' presence and command might have been the only way to offset the impact of the suspension.
The coaches who did end up stepping in, assistants Aaron Kromer and Joe Vitt, have done the best job they could have, but filling Payton's shoes is not an easy task, especially when it comes to game preparation. What we've seen in New Orleans is that there's a huge difference between being a head coach and just being in charge of the other assistants.
Payton had the ability to oversee the entire operation, ensure that the team played in the style and manner he thought would best help it win, and bring fear to the players. These are the things the Saints miss most.
Never forget, fear always does the work of reason. Vitt and Kromer likely haven't been able to put real fear into the Saints locker room, because they are managing the team -- not leading it. Leaders do the right thing, while managers merely do things right. Without Payton, it must be hard, if not impossible, to know the right thing to do on a weekly basis.
Coaches need coaching. Like players, they need someone above them demanding that they improve and perform their best. Coaching the coaches is a job requirement of the head man, and it's vital to his success.
But coaching the coaches must be especially difficult for an assistant who knows that, in a few weeks or months, he'll be back working alongside the staff he's been tasked with leading. Those circumstances made the situation facing Kromer and Vitt in New Orleans quite daunting, and in reality, few could have handled it.
A head coach in a normal situation might have walked into defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's office and ordered him to pressure less and cut down on the scheme each week. Can you imagine Vitt or Kromer doing that without offending Spagnuolo or over-stepping their boundaries? Can you imagine either man telling offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael to use less scat protection and run the ball more? Or telling receivers coaches Carter Sheridan and Henry Ellard to demand more attention to detail from their group? I can't.
Therein lies the difference between a manager and a leader. Payton had no problem being demanding; he embraced confrontation and held everyone accountable for their work. Without him there to monitor things on an hourly basis, attention to detail slips, and games are lost.
Again, this is not meant as an indictment of either Vitt or Kromer. I'm merely attempting to illustrate how difficult it is to replace a head coach.
When Payton returns to the office -- assuming he and the Saints are as close to working out a new contract as general manager Mickey Loomis recently indicated -- the Saints will have their leader back at the helm. They'll be hearing the one voice they need to hear, reminding them what to focus on. Most importantly, they'll have fear in the building again.
Just wanted to link this article for you guys to read. I don't usually like Lombardi's stuff but he is 100% spot on in this case. The Saints never stood a chance without Payton, let me know if you guys agree


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What is a tumpline?
Tumplines were originally used back in the day by the voyageurs of the North American fur trade to help carry their heavy loads of pelts and rations across portages. The tumpline should NOT be worn on the forehead. Rather, it is placed across the top of the head, just to the rear of the hairline. By doing this, the weight of the load is transferred off your shoulders and it also keeps the load over your center of balance.


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Privacy and security
Keep your information safe with Firefox OS locks, privacy features and more.
- Clear browsing history and cookies This article explains how to clear the browsing history, the cookies and stored data on the Firefox Browser on Firefox OS.
- Do not track on Firefox OS Firefox OS has a feature that lets you tell websites not to track your browsing behavior. Learn what tracking is, how the feature works and how to turn it on.
- Find My Device for Firefox OS The "Find My Device" feature lets you locate, lock or erase your information from a lost or stolen Firefox OS device via the Web.
- Tracking protection in Firefox OS Firefox OS actively blocks domains that are known to track users.
- Privacy and Security on Firefox OS Protect your privacy and security on the web by using the tips described in this article.
- Set your SIM PIN This article explains the process of setting the SIM PIN on Firefox OS.
- Send performance data to Mozilla This article explains Firefox OS's telemetry feature, and how to enable or disable it.


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Did you read today's front page stories & breaking news?
From the Wires
Great Park Names Award-Winning Orange County Choreographer Jennifer Backhaus as latest Artist-in-Residence
Backhaus to choreograph and direct site-specific outdoor dance works at the Great Park
By: PR Newswire
Nov. 26, 2012 04:45 PM
IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Orange County Great Park is proud to welcome Artist-in-Residence Jennifer Backhaus, an award-winning choreographer, who will invent and direct one-of-a-kind dance works at the Great Park. Visitors will see and experience dance performances developed by one of Orange County's premier choreographers.
"We are excited to feature dance as part of the Great Park Artist-in-Residence program," said Beth Krom, Chair, Orange County Great Park Board Corporation. "This is a wonderful opportunity for visitors to be inspired and learn about choreography and dance."
The dance programs will be performed by Backhausdance. This company's performances will be designed to animate the Great Park, creating a cultural experience unlike anything in Southern California.
"I'm excited to bring concert dance to an outside and less formal environment," said Backhaus. "My residency at the Great Park will provide an opportunity to engage and interact with an audience that may not be familiar with what dance can be."
Visitors can meet Backhaus and see photographs and videos of past performances at the Great Park Artists Studios in the Palm Court Arts Complex during open "Dance Lab" hours. Upcoming "Dance Lab" hours include:
Backhaus will also be creating larger dance performances to take place at the Great Park during her residency. Backhaus' tenure as a Great Park Artist-in-Residence runs through the end of February 2013.
About Jennifer Backhaus
About the Great Park Artists-in-Residence Program
Admission and parking are free.
The Orange County Great Park is located at Sand Canyon and Marine Way, and can easily be reached by the 5 or 405 freeways.
For more information, please visit www.ocgp.org or call 866-829-3829.
About the Great Park
SOURCE Orange County Great Park
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In attempting to save a possession for his Bobcats, Kemba Walker leaped over the baseline and threw the ball back into play, unintentionally hitting Shavlik Randolph in the groin. After doing its damage, the ball rolled out of bounds. Charlotte ball.
Randolph waddled like a duck for a few moments, then returned to playing defense. It's the type of reaction expected from a player on a 10-day contract, a journeyman trying to stick for the remainder of the season.
In rare meaningful minutes, Randolph played as if he was trying to make an impression on Celtics coach Doc Rivers. He scored 6 points on 3-for-9 shooting (a number of those misses were on one possession) and a team-leading eight rebounds and two steals in the Celtics' 105-88 win Saturday night at TD Garden.
The Celtics already have signed Randolph to a second 10-day contract, and now have until Thursday to decide whether to release or sign the forward for the remainder of the season.
It's a difficult position for any player. The NBA journeyman has the responsibility of convincing teams he is capable of being a productive member on these 10-day contracts, knowing full well he may not garner a minute of actual playing time.
Randolph played 18 minutes last Tuesday in Charlotte, but the Celtics were in the process of being obliterated. This time, Rivers offered him quality minutes because Kevin Garnett missed the game because of a strained left adductor muscle.
With Jeff Green replacing Garnett in the starting lineup the Celtics were small, and needed size off the bench. Enter Randolph with 9:38 remaining in the second quarter. And the 6-foot-10-inch, bearded backup rammed his body into opponents, chased rebounds, pump-faked to score layups, and, of course, took one below the belt.
Will it be enough to secure a commitment from the Celtics? Randolph has no idea. Neither does forward D.J. White, who also is playing on a second 10-day contract. Randolph got the longer look Saturday night.
"He was great. I thought he just came in and made things happen," Rivers said. "He rebounded the heck out of the ball, both ends, offense and defense. Threw his body around. So, it was good. He made a couple of great passes and some instinctive cuts to the basket, so I was really happy with him. I just thought Shav played better [than White]. I thought D.J. came in and played OK, and then Shav came in and played great, so I played Shav."
Rivers acknowledges he offers few hints to those on these contracts about their progress. There is no special attention or personal conferences.
"I don't say much. I think the more I say the more it probably brings attention," Rivers said. "I try to stay away from them and tell them what I need team-wise. I just try to observe. I like them both. I think they're both great guys in your locker room, good teammates."
Randolph has been handed his temporary NBA card before. He's accustomed to instability. The Celtics are the second team to sign him to a 10-day contract, so the process of impressing a coach and adjusting to new surroundings is nothing new.
"That's tough, but I don't know if that's necessarily the situation here," Randolph said, when asked about Rivers's relative silence. "I think our impression was made prior to them bringing us over here. They have done their due diligence, and signing us they knew what they were getting. The tough part is just been trying to pick up everything because the tough part is this isn't a team that's just out there playing pickup basketball. This is a detail-oriented offense, very detailed-oriented defense, and you've got to pick it up. It's a thinking system. The toughest part is picking it up in such minimal practice time and films. It's part of being a professional. I've had to think a lot since I've been here."
The life of an NBA nomad is difficult. There is little margin for error and these 10-day contract are filled with anxiety. During his nearly three years away from the NBA, Randolph had playing stints in China and Puerto Rico. And now he's trying to stick with a playoff-contending club, knowing his job could be terminated Thursday.
"I think I have been pretty comfortable with not being comfortable," he said. "I think they made it pretty clear they didn't bring us in to take minutes from anybody, they brought us in if they needed us. So, I think we have done well when they have needed us, so I don't necessarily think we're not being judged, but I think the majority of the judgment was made before us being brought over here."Gary Washburn can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter at @gwashNBAGlobe


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STERLING – James E. Scoles, 68, of Sterling, died Thursday, May 2, 2013, at his home.
James was born June 3, 1945, in Waterloo, Iowa, the son of Raymond and Gwen Scoles. He had worked in retail for 45 years. He served in the Army. James enjoyed golfing, fishing, camping, and joking around with friends.
Survivors include one daughter, Katie Olds, and one son, James (Kolesha Shepard) Scoles, both of Sterling; two brothers, Ronnie Scoles of California and Sonny Scoles of Waterloo; and two grandchildren, Landyn and Kaydence.
He was preceded in death by his parents; and one sister, Judy.
Cremation rites have been accorded. McDonald Funeral Home & Crematory in Rock Falls is handling arrangements.
Visit www.mcdonaldfuneralhomes.com to send condolences.


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WASHINGTON -- President Obama says going over the so-called fiscal cliff by missing the deadline for a deficit reduction deal by year's end would be a "rude shock" for Americans. Republican House Speaker John Boehner says it would be a "fiasco."
Yet a small and potentially influential group of lawmakers in both parties is emerging as fiscal-cliff skeptics, willing -- and some even arguing -- to take the dive. Their attitude may make striking a compromise a messy and drawn-out process.
Allowing the more than $600 billion mix of tax increases and automatic spending cuts to begin in January if no deal is reached isn't their first choice, these lawmakers said, yet it's a better alternative than a compromise that violates their principles.
Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the fourth-ranking Democrat in the leadership, said her side is willing to push the debate into 2013 if Republicans refuse to raise taxes on high earners as part of the deal.
"No one wants to go off any cliff or hill or slope; there is a responsible way to resolve this," Murray said Thursday on MSNBC. "But if we take a bad deal and say that all of the nation's fiscal problems are to be balanced on the back of middle-class families and the wealthy don't participate, that's a bad deal that we cannot and should not live with."
In the other party and on the other side of the Capitol, Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois said, "Nobody knows how bad or ugly it would get, so because nobody knows, we don't want to do it." A Republican aligned with the small-government tea party who lost his re-election bid this month, Walsh said: "The thing that would be much worse would be to craft a bad deal that would do anything that raises taxes. Doing what's right over the next couple weeks is more important than doing something that would harm our economy in the name of meeting a silly deadline."
The doubters' caucus remains small, as most lawmakers are urging Republican leaders and Obama to reach an agreement and avoid sending yet another shock to the fragile economic recovery. The business community also is working the halls of Congress to convince lawmakers of the economic need to strike a deal and begin work on reducing the deficit.
Yet the countering voices in both parties are an unsettling dynamic for investors who find the prospect of hurtling over the fiscal cliff unacceptable.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell as much as 0.6 percent on Tuesday after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., suggested no headway had been made beyond initial "happy talk" from Republicans.
The benchmark equities gauge declined 0.5 percent in three minutes yesterday, erasing an earlier rally, after Boehner, of Ohio, said "no substantive progress" had been made toward a deal. The S&P 500 then recovered as Chuck Schumer of New York, the Senate's third-ranking Democrat, said there has been progress in talks, and the index ended the day with a 0.4 percent gain.
"The market is at the mercy of the fiscal cliff until we get some sort of resolution," Liz Ann Sonders, the New York- based chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab, which has $1.9 trillion in client assets, said in a telephone interview. "Mathematically, the worst scenario is if we go fully off the cliff."
Economic forecasters, including the Congressional Budget Office, estimate the economy would likely go into recession in the first half of 2013 if Congress did nothing and allowed all the tax increases and spending cuts to take effect.
Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., says doing nothing is "unacceptable" yet doubts the consequences of going over the cliff would be as dire as predicted. Businesses have already anticipated the tax increases that would result and the Pentagon has ways of shifting money around to absorb the effects of the automatic budget cuts on defense spending, he said.
"It's been hyped to a level to create a crisis so that there will be widespread panic at the end of the year when they come out with their proposal," DeMint said of Obama and Democrats. "The key thing is how the markets respond to these tax rates, and how the rating agencies respond to whether or not we make cuts."
High-ranking Democrats were the first to make it clear they were willing to go over the cliff and enhance their negotiating position.
Murray said such an approach may relieve pressure on Republicans who signed an anti-tax-increase pledge promoted by Americans for Tax Reform, a Washington-based group founded by Republican activist Grover Norquist. Over the cliff are automatic tax increases that would raise marginal rates to 2000 levels, with a top rate of 39.6 percent, up from 35 percent now.
"When we come back in January, anything we do will be a tax cut and the Grover Norquist pledge won't apply," Murray said. "So it puts the Republicans in a better box. But I think there's a growing understanding among Republicans that putting us in that position doesn't help them at all, the country at all, and does put us in jeopardy."
Labor and other Democratic-leaning groups are also agitating for the White House to resist cuts in such entitlement programs as Medicare and Medicaid as the price of a compromise.
"It's really clear to me that we can avoid the cliff," said Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md., but if Republicans won't agree to higher taxes for the wealthy, "the president might be in a better bargaining position at the beginning of the year."
Republican leaders have accused Democrats of practicing "Thelma and Louise economics," referring to the 1991 movie that ends with two female outlaws driving their convertible off a cliff.
Still, they are chastened by their losses in this month's elections and cognizant of polls that show the public would consider Republicans more to blame than Democrats for a failure to avert the fiscal cliff. They are working to remake their image and show they are ready to find a bipartisan solution.
"I'm going to do everything I can to avoid putting the American economy and the American people through the fiasco of going over the fiscal cliff," Boehner told reporters Thursday, calling it "serious business."
While the cliff-divers in both parties are a minority now, their ranks could grow as the specifics of a deal come into view, said analysts on both sides of the debate.
"You're going to see a calculation on the part of many Republican members about whether going over the cliff is worse than a bad deal," said Brian Darling, of the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based group that advocates smaller government. "Congress is very sensitive to the gyrations of Wall Street, and as we get closer to the cliff, if Wall Street starts panicking, we will start to see them putting their noses to the grindstone to get something done, even if it's not very good. If that's the case, why not go over the cliff, make the president own it, and then the fight continues next year?"
Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a group that backed the winning Senate campaigns of Democrats Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Baldwin this year, agrees.
"The main priority has to be fighting for the will of the people, and if they're able to accomplish that in a deal before the New Year that would be great; but if not, they have to be willing to go past the first of the year," he said in an interview.
A recent poll his organization commissioned in the presidential primary state of New Hampshire found that the public is overwhelmingly opposed to cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits and backs tax increases for households earning $250,000 annually, he said. Democrats say changes to Social Security are off the table during the fiscal- cliff talks.
Green argued the very concept of a fiscal cliff is a ruse concocted by Republicans and corporations to pressure Democrats into surrendering their leverage in the debate.
"We think that even the words 'fiscal cliff' are a canard," Green said. "We're in a very rare situation where, if nothing happens, Democrats do better."
_ With assistance from Michael P. Regan, Inyoung Hwang and Jeff Sutherland in New York.


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tags: Del Toro, Eye Respect, Interview, Matt Chevallard
Brand: Del Toro Shoes
MC: Matthew Chevallard/25/Miami Beach
Favorite shoe brand/favorite apparel brand:
MC: Del Toro Shoes/Tailored Clothing/Brunello Cucinelli/Visvim
What made you want to start the brand?
MC: Seeing a void in the market and a passion for style and fashion. Also not wanting to work for anyone and being responsible for my own fate.
Why are the shoes Made in Italy and what benefit does sourcing internationally provide?
MC: I chose Italy because I am from there and there is no finer product in the world than Made in Italy. Italy makes amazing shoes using the finest leathers and components and offering product from here at an accessible price points gives me a huge leg up in the industry. The comfort and feel of a Made in Italy shoe is hard to replicate anywhere that is an old, old testament that is hard to challenge.
Talk about the different silhouettes you offer.
MC: Our staple is the velvet slipper but we are actively expanding from there. We now offer wingtips, driving shoes, espadrilles, sneakers, and more…All our silhouttes represent classic and timeless silhouttes with an edgier styling of them. That is, an infusion of Italian elegance, American Prep, and NY sneakerhead culture. Above all else, individuality and being unique is what we go for and in making limited edition extremely high end shoes we achieve that.
How do you choose the the fabrics and embroideries for the popular slipper models?
MC: In terms of the fabrics I choose I just look for fabrics that tickle my fancy. I am a huge camo fan so you see a lot of camo all over the place. I stay away from embroideries for the most part and opt for more timeless fabrics to achieve more longevity for the shoes. I try to offer classic yet fresh fabrics.
Talk about the different materials you guys use.
MC: Velvet is our bread and butter, but the better question is what fabrics don't we use. We use Cashmere, Raffia, Suede, Nappa Leather, Patent leather, Linen Canvas, Silk, Wool, and much more. The versatility of our shoes are unreal and that is something I am extremely proud of.
Explain the custom process you guys offer.
MC: We are extremely flexible in the customization offerings we have. Anything is really possible. Our shoes are supposed to evoke one's individuality so there is no better way of doing that then choosing a shoe that fits you best. You can go so far as sending us fabrics and or choosing the embroidery you want on the toebox etc..
What trends do you see coming up?
MC: Well to be a leader you have to establish the trends so that is what I go for. All said and done, fashion is extremely cyclical so it all comes back around. What I enjoy doing is plugging and matching different styles to form the collective that becomes Del Toro.


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|South Bend, Ind.
|High School (Prev. School)
2009 (Track and Field): Did not compete for the Crusaders during track and field season last year ... earned a spot on the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll both semesters.
2008 (Cross Country): Placed among Valpo's top-four runners in all six races on the season, despite never having run cross country at any level prior ... was the second Crusader to cross the line at the season-opening Crusader Open, finishing 21st overall with a time of 19:36 ... broke the 20-minute barrier twice more on the season (Notre Dame Invitational, Evansville Invitational) ... ran a season-best 5K time of 19:10.04 at Evansville ... was the fourth-fastest Valpo runner at both the Horizon League Championships and the NCAA Great Lakes Regional ... named to ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District V women's track and field/cross country First Team ... a member of the Horizon League Academic All-League team ... earned Horizon League Academic Honor Roll recognition for both the fall and spring semesters ... previously played volleyball during sophomore season, appearing in six matches for the Crusaders ... also has been part of the track and field squad in her first two years at Valpo ... an All Mid-Continent Conference honoree indoors as a freshman as part of distance medley relay team ... was a member of the Mid-Con All-Academic Team.
Prep: Earned four letters in track and field for the Knights ... a four-time First Team All-Conference honoree ... twice earned All-State honors ... member of school record-setting 4x800m relay squad ... a member of National Honor Society.
Personal: Lindsey is the daughter of Doug and Gayle Gilman ... major is chemistry, with minors in physics and mathematics ... has earned a spot on the Dean's List and received Presidential academic honors during her time at Valpo ... received Top Student award for U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored Nuclear and Radiochemistry summer school during summer of 2009 ... born April 21, 1988.
Athletics-Recreation Center (ARC)
1009 Union Street
Valparaiso, IN 46383
Staff Directory


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[ Keeping Your Green Resolution with EarthShare ]
Keeping Your Green Resolution with EarthShare
Come February, plenty of well-intentioned New Year's resolutions are abandoned in the midst of hectic daily living. But if you want to make a sustainable change this year, EarthShare wants to help!
Pick one (or more) of the resolutions below and we'll follow up with you throughout the year to see how it's going. If you have a particularly compelling story, we might even feature it on our website!
Some tips on keeping resolutions: pick one you really want to do, write down a plan for achieving it, and tell someone else who will hold you accountable.
We've organized some possible green resolutions below by level of difficulty. If there's a resolution you want to try that isn't on the list, or don't know how to go about tackling a resolution you've chosen, tell us about it in the comments section. We'll do our best to help you find the information you need.
So pick a resolution and see what a positive difference you can make this year!


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|Madison, Ala.
|High School:
|Bob Jones HS
2012: Started eight of 10 games as a receiver...second on the team with 17 catches...hauled in a season-high four passes for 97 yards against Huntingdon College and had four grabbs for 30 yards versus Rhodes...caught touchdown receptions against Rhodes and Wesley...made the SAA Academic Honor Roll...named to the All-SAA Second-Team offense.
2011: Started in eight games... made 15 catches for 278 yards... one touchdown catch against Huntingdon on Sept. 10... SCAC Academic Honor Roll member.
2010: Played and started six games his sophomore year... had one touchdown reception for 26 yards... SCAC Academic Honor Roll member.
2009: Did not see varsity action... SCAC Fall Academic Honor Roll.
Pre-BSC: Played under coach Shannon Brown at Bob Jones High School... served as team captain as a senior in 2008... 2008 Huntsville Times Elite Football Team member... received the Outstanding Wide Receiver award in 2008... State Farm All-Hands Player of the Week in 2008... WVNN Player of the Game against Florence High School in 2008... also lettered in baseball... four-year member of the A Honor Roll and graduated in the top 10 percent of his class.
Personal: Born on Aug. 10, 1990... son of Phillip Sherrill and Barbara Sherrill... has two older sisters, Holly and Jessica... father Phillip played football for three years at Southern Oregon University... majoring in mathematics.


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Who's afraid of the big bad Fed? Oil traders, that's who! Oil succumbed to the rising dollar after homebuilder confidence hit the highest level in seven years. That kind of number in the sector that led us into the economic crisis is convincing the market that the Fed will signal that they will taper sooner rather than later. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index jumped 8 points, which was the biggest monthly increase since September 2002 and came after an upbeat number on New York area manufacturing. Now, if you take Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke at his word, you had better get ready to taper down.
President Obama seems to be getting the market ready for life beyond Ben Bernanke. He said that Ben has stayed longer that Ben wants and probably longer than he should have and a very strong sign that Ben will leave the wind-down to his successor.
Of Course Mario Draghi also was taking victory laps for basically jaw-boning Europe into submission just by threatening to do whatever it takes to save the euro. He said that he is open to QE, but why should he do it when his words seem more powerful than ink. The euro of course continued to rally. Of couse, Draghi should also be thanking Bernanke because it was him and the U.S. central bank that provided the cover with its QE that allowed Europe to try to convince the market that they sort of have their act together.
The rebound in the dollar weighed on crude, which seemed to want to break-out on Mideast tensions. Obama talked tough and other G-8 members snubbed Putin over Syria but all Putin wanted to talk about was that he did not steal the Patriot Super-Bowel Ring. In fact he offered to buy it. What a guy! The Wall Street Journal said "President Barack Obama and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin clashed openly over Syria as world leaders began a summit, sharply underscoring deepening differences over the civil war." And the Super Bowl ring?
Nat gas came flying back as summer and tropical storms return. The shorts have to run for cover after squeezing the market to the downside. Tropical Depression number 2 will clip the southernmost tip of the Gulf of Mexico but should not pose a major problem for imports or production. The technical setup on gas looks good.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Mexico might finally be ready to give in and allow foreign investment in their energy sector. While U.S. production is in a renaissance Mexican oil and gas production is falling. In fact they have been looking to the U.S. to help meet domestic gas demand. This is despite the fact that they sit on a wealth of supply that they can't get to because the government controls the company. The WSJ says that "President Enrique Peña Nieto will seek in the coming months to end a taboo of nearly eight decades by opening the state-run oil-and-gas industry to private investment and competition; a move the government hopes will attract billions of dollars in investment.
Mr. Peña Nieto's government wants to allow private energy firms to share the risks involved in developing increasingly complex energy reserves such as deep-water oil deposits by letting them produce oil and gas through profit-sharing deals and joint ventures with state monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, according to three high-level government and ruling party officials who gave details of the proposed reform for the first time. The proposal, which would involve amending several articles of Mexico's Constitution, will need two-thirds support from Mexico's Congress. But officials say they are optimistic they can get at least one of the two main opposition parties to back the plan without drastic changes. Formal negotiations will likely start after local elections on July 7, with a bill presented to Congress as early as August, the officials said."


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"It's a very simple game. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes it rains." (Bull Durham)
Saturday, September 11, 2010
He attended Long Beach Poly HS, which boasts one of the most storied high school athletic programs in the state. Its baseball team has graduated Milton Bradley, Oscar Brown, Ollie Brown, Chris Gwynn, Tony Gwynn, Randy Moffitt and Chase Utley.
McDonald played basketball, baseball and a bit of football for the Jack Rabbits. He was thought of more as a first baseman than a pitcher when he was selected in the 11th round in 2002 as a "draft and follow" pick of the LA Dodgers while at Golden West College, a JC in Huntington Beach.
Even though a Dodger fan, like most Long Beach kids, he waited until the midnight hour before finally signing with the Dodgers for a $150,000 bonus. It was probably worth the wait; his pitching had improved enough that the scouts realized it was his ticket to the show.
He pitched for the Gulf Coast Dodgers in 2003, but was off the mound for the 2004 and most of the 2005 seasons due to tendinitis. Instead of rehab, McDonald served his time as an outfielder, both to do something to pass the time away constructively and to see if he had what it took with the lumber.
His arm eventually recovered 100%; the outfield placed little strain on it. And he could focus on making his name as a pitcher - .224 and .229 batting averages proved his future was up to his arm, not his thunder stick.
J-Mac returned to pitch six innings for the Ogden Raptors at the end of 2005 and moved on to the Class A Columbus Catfish in 2006 to toss full time. He led the rotation with a 3.97 earned run average, 143 IPs and 147 Ks, along with an OBA of .229, though he finished just 5-10.
McDonald started 2007 with the High A Inland Empire 66ers, and had a 6-7 slate with 3.95 ERA and fanned 104 batters in 82 innings (11.4/9 IP) while walking 21.
He was promoted to AA Jacksonville in mid-season. J-Mac posted a 7-2 mark with the Suns, recording a 1.71 ERA and holding opposing batters to a .218 mark. He finished with a combined 13-9/3.07 line with 168 strikeouts and 37 walks in 134 innings of work, and was named the Dodgers Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
Still with Jacksonville to start 2008, he went 5-3 with a 3.19 ERA and whiffed 113 batters in 118-2/3 innings, walking 46.
In August, he was promoted to the AAA Las Vegas 51s. He went 1-0 in his first two starts, striking out 20 batters in that span, and ended up 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA, striking out 28 in 22-1/3 frames.
MLB.com selected him as #45 among its minor league prospects, and he was again LA's Minor League POTY again.
He was called up to the Dodgers on September 1. He made his major league debut on September 17th against the Pittsburgh Pirates, working one scoreless inning in relief. He impressed enough to earn a spot on the post-season roster, and made two scoreless appearances against the Phillies, striking out seven in 5-1/3 innings.
McDonald earned a spot in the Dodgers' starting rotation to start the 2009 season and started his first game in the majors on April 10 against the San Diego Padres. He got ripped, and made just three more starts, only lasting as many as five innings once, during his first MLB win against the Rockies.
J-Mac was demoted to the bullpen. With an ERA of 6.75, he was optioned back to AAA on May 14th, and then recalled by the Dodgers on June 19th, and pitched exclusively out of the bullpen the rest of the season, where he shaved his ERA down to 4.00.
That was the beginning of the great James McDonald debate. Some felt he was better suited as a bullpen back-ender (his heater went from 92 MPH as a starter to 96 as a reliever), while others felt his three-pitch mix was starter's stuff.
In spring training, they primarily evaluated him as a starter, and they sent him back to Albuquerque to join the rotation. He was recalled by the Dodgers to start the game on July 19th against the San Francisco Giants, and that was followed by a few appearances from the bullpen.
The Dodgers gave up on J-Mac, never settling on a role for him. On July 31st he and Andrew Lambo were traded to the Pirates for reliever Octavio Dotel.
The famous quote to describe the deal was written by Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus: "MCDONALD? FOR DOTEL? Damn, everything you've ever said bad about Neil Huntington, take it back."
It did seem like a steal. McDonald had gone 26-23 with a 3.40 in 93 minor league appearances, with 79 starts.
But in 53 appearances with the Dodgers, only five of them starts, he went 5-6 with a 4.11 ERA, with 63 strikeouts in 76-2/3 innings, but also with 40 walks and .262 opponents' batting average.
Not known as a power pitcher, McDonald makes up for his 88-92 MPH heat with a deceptive, high arm angle and the ability to change speeds. His 12-to-6 curveball and sinking changeup are considered his best pitches, and he's added a work-in-progress slider to his repertoire this season.
The Pirates, like the Dodgers, see J-Mac as a starter. But unlike LA, the Pirates are in a situation where they can run him out on the hill every five days without the pressure of a pennant race to hone his craft. He's worked under 125 innings of MLB ball, so there will be a learning curve involved. But so far, so good.
He's 3-4 in seven starts, with a 4.17 ERA and 40 K's in 41 innings with 16 walks. His command has been streaky, and J-Mac is prone to get into deep counts. His fastball command has been good, and he's hitting 94 with it as a starter. When his control is on, he's mixed his pitches well, an art he admitted that he'd like to improve on, to keep the hitters honest.
And he's not a stranger in the clubhouse; he played with Andy LaRoche and Delwyn Young in the Dodger system. He's a great fit for the suits, too; McDonald, if our calculations are right, doesn't hit arbitration until after the 2011 or maybe 2012 season, depending on how this year's service time shakes out.
There are no guarantees in the baseball business. But James McDonald will get a chance to thrive in the Pirate organization, and so far he's taken the opportunity and run with it.
3 comments:
- WilliamJPellas said...
I like McDonald a lot. I didn't realize he had played outfield full time for a couple of seasons in the bushes. That probably makes him more of a threat with the bat than most pitchers, which can only help in the NL. If B-Rad can ever get it together on the mound, maybe he and McDonald can be the second coming of Rhoden and Robinson. When the Pirates had both of them on the team at the same time, they had two extra bats off the bench and frequently used them as pinch-hitters.
- September 11, 2010 at 2:22 PM
- Ron Ieraci said...
J-Mac better make his name with his arm, Wil. He was 6-59 (.100) in the minors since the OF stint, and is 0-23 in MLB. I've seen him at bat; it's not a pretty sight.
Bad Brad can swing a stick. He hit .295 with 14 HR and 53 RBI his last year at the U of Houston, and .308 in the bushes.
Re: McLouth's power (and I'm not being contentious; I think Presley is a fourth-OF type at best), you may be surprised, as I was, that he only hit more than nine homers/season once in the minors, and that was his first year. He did crank out doubles pretty regularly; he averaged 20+/year.
The point, I guess, is that the old wives may be right about young players; their verse and chapter is that power is the last thing they develop, and 2Bs are often a good indicator of future pop.
- September 11, 2010 at 3:54 PM
- WilliamJPellas said...
Hmmm. I'd a thunk McDonald would at least be around the Mendoza Line, given that he did play a position more or less full time for not one, but two seasons in the low minors. Alas.
Regarding McLouth and the comparisons with Presley, I freely admit I am not real objective here. First, because McLouth was far and away my favorite Pirate during the time he was here. Second, because I maintain he was traded at the wrong time for the wrong return, and no amount of polishing the turd that is Charlie Morton is going to change that. Sorry for the strong words, but that is my opinion.
I also get really hacked off at the almost complete lack of respect that McLouth gets in most quarters of Pirate fandom, something I will never understand. Unless it's wishful thinking on the part of most of the Huntington apologists. You know, like Aesop's fable of the sour grapes. In this case, McLouth MUST have stunk, you see, because we so badly want Opie to succeed and we've all got our sabremetric hopes up, so---Presto! McLouth was never any good, he was overrated, Morton is actually our future ace, blah blah blah blah.
(None of what I just described, describes you, of course, Ron. I'm just sayin!)
I agree that when young players, particularly in the minors, bang out lots of doubles, it often means some of those doubles will turn into home runs once the players reach the majors and hit their physical peak, usually in their late 20s. And again: .250-ish hitter or not, McLouth's 20-20 power-speed combo, along with his better than average glove, make him a very good all-around player, particularly in the National League---at least, when he is healthy. I don't believe Presley is capable of hitting 46 home runs, stealing 42 bases (with 9 caught stealing), and winning a Gold Glove over a two year period, as McLouth did. That is very, very good production where I went to school. If he can do that, great. Good for him, good for us. He'll have to prove it to me.
- September 11, 2010 at 9:23 PM


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A former Reno councilwoman convicted of conspiring to steal campaign funds could face jail for violating probation, authorities said.
A probation revocation hearing is scheduled Wednesday in Washoe District Court for Sherrie Doyle, whose probation ends next week.
"We're going to go in and ask that her probation be revoked," said Tom Sargent, spokesman for the state attorney generals office. "What that ultimately means will be up to the judge."
Doyle told the Reno Gazette-Journal that said she expects to fulfill court-ordered conditions by the time her probation period ends Feb. 12.
The former Ward 4 councilwoman was give a suspended three-month jail sentence and placed on a year's probation last year after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft, a gross misdemeanor.
She also was ordered to pay $2,500 in restitution and to perform 40 hours of community service.
But probation officer Wayne Diek said Doyle has violated several conditions of her sentence.
"Ms. Doyle has failed to follow through with the directives of the court despite admonishments and referrals by the division," Diek said in a report filed with the court.
"She has not completed any hours of community service and has made very little effort to pay supervision fees and no attempt to make restitution payments," he wrote.
Doyle said she has completed 10 hours of work with the Nevada Humane Society and plans to complete the other 30 hours by the time her probation is complete.
She also said she will pay the $2,500.
A single mother, Doyle said 2003 was a difficult year. Her 7-year-old daughter has been chronically ill with a rare virus and has required extensive medical care, she said.
"I spent most of the summer in the Stanford University's cardiology ICU," Doyle said.
Doyle was indicted by a grand jury in March 2002 and charged with 16 felony counts of stealing from her 1998 and 1999 campaign contributions.
Prosecutors said she took $10,000 and misused another $5,000. In a plea bargain, Doyle agreed to plead guilty to the one conspiracy count but maintained her innocence.
Last February, Hardesty criticized prosecutors for seeking felony charges instead of taking the case to the ethics committee.
He then sentenced her to three months in the Washoe County Jail, suspended the sentence and ordered her to spend a year on probation, with conditions that included paying restitution and community service.


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Ready to plan your garden?
Published 5:29 pm, Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Kent garden coach Karen Bussolini is leading a one-night workshop, "Naturescape Your Garden," on how to create environment-friendly landscapes that work with nature to reduce maintenance and costs, while increasing beauty and enjoyment.
Bussolini's free workshop on Thursday, March 13, will provide examples of gardens from across the country that conserve resources, foster diversity, sustain wildlife, provide food and incorporate environmentally sound practices to create sustainable yards.
A garden photographer, Bussolini is also a writer, speaker, eco-friendly garden coach, lifelong organic gardener and nature enthusiast.
Her photographs of sustainable gardens -- and the stories behind them -- are featured in "The Naturescaping Workbook: A Step-by-Step Guide for Bringing Nature to Your Backyard," by Beth O'Donnell Young, and "The Homeowner's Complete Tree and Shrub Handbook," by Penelope O'Sullivan. Copies of the books will be available for purchase.
Kent Memorial Library, 32 N. Main St., Kent. Thursday, March 13, 6-7:30 p.m. Free. 860-927-3761, www.kentmemoriallibrary.org.


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• Hessonite, Lubash in good order following G3 Victories on Saturday at Belmont
ELMONT, N.Y. – Kentucky Derby winner Orb, Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey and jockey Joel Rosario returned to Belmont Park Sunday, prepared to gear up for the next leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness, on Saturday, May 18. The series concludes June 8 with the 145th running of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes.
"I don't know that I've been able to sit down and think about it yet, but I will, now that I'm home," said McGaughey of his first Derby victory. "The last 10-12 days [leading up to the race] had been absolutely perfect. Everything went right for us. I had a quiet confidence about me – I didn't get nervous like I thought I would.
"To see the race unfold the way I thought it would unfold – they kept saying there wasn't going to be a lot of pace, but I thought there would be a lot of pace, and there was a thought at one time, 'Are we too far back?' – but when he punched the button, I knew we were going to have something to say about it. To see that horse run the way he did was an absolute thrill for me."
McGaughey said Orb would likely ship to Baltimore on May 13 or 14, and added he was looking forward to the second leg of the Triple Crown.
"He's not overcooked, and I think we have time for him to get over this race and get to the next one," said the trainer. "I think probably the important ones that are in there that have gone through the same thing, except for Departing, who's had a couple extra weeks."
Rosario, who moved his tack from the West coast to New York last summer, went into Sunday's card at Belmont leading the nation in wins (130) and earnings (nearly $7.5 million) – which does not include his victory aboard Animal Kingdom in the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 30.
"To win the Dubai World Cup, a $10 million race, and then to win the Derby – it's more than a dream," said Rosario. "It's awesome."
* * *
Trainer David Donk said he watched yesterday's Kentucky Derby but didn't "absorb" much of what had happened because he was still exited from having witnessed Hessonite's dramatic three-quarter-length victory in the Grade 3 Beaugay approximately an hour earlier.
Hessonite, who had already won six stakes against New York-breds, was trapped behind horses until she angled out sharply in midstretch, giving her enough room to surge to the lead under Junior Alvarado's hand ride. The Beaugay, a 1 1/16-mile grass race for fillies and mares, was her first graded stakes victory and her 5-year-old debut.
"[Trainer] Walter Kelly would say, 'A loaded gun will go off in anybody's hands,'" said Donk. "When you watch a horse like that, wow, it's hard to believe she's in your barn. She looked great in the paddock, and she's as healthy as she has ever looked."
The Beaugay was the first time Alvarado had ridden Hessonite, who carries the colors of William J. Punk, Jr. and Philip diLeo.
"I was confident running her, but you got to get the trip," said Donk. "It was really impressive. We were looking for a rider to ride her with Ramon [Dominguez] being out. I think it worked out well; [Alvarado] had a chance to get to know her, and I think he was impressed."
Hessonite likely will make her next start in Belmont's Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay at 1 3/8 miles on May 25.
"Now that she has won a graded race, I don't want to say the rest of it is icing in the cake, but I don't have to be afraid of where to run her," said Donk.
It was another New York-bred, Aliyu Ben J Stables' homebred Lubash, who captured Saturday's Grade 3 Fort Marcy at Belmont. The 6-year-old son of Freud was reported to be doing well the morning after his first graded stakes victory.
"Lubash came back in very good order from his race," said trainer Christophe Clement. "He looks good this morning, lameness exam was perfect, no problems. Most probably we'll go to the Kingston next month. I'm very happy for [owner Leonard Pivnick], he's an owner-breeder, and it's very nice when you succeed for an owner-breeder."
The $125,000 Kingston is scheduled to be run as part of Belmont Park's spring New York Showcase Day on June 1.


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Light facial toner spray hydrates and refreshes. Help condition the skin and prepare for proper moisture absorption when you spritz over skin after cleansing, and before applying your prescribed Dermalogica Moisturizer.Learn More
Light facial toner spray hydrates and refreshes.Learn More
After performing the Dermalogica Double Cleanse, spray directly over the entire face and throat with eyes closed. Follow with prescribed Dermalogica Moisturizer.
Use in flight to keep skin hydrated.
Water/Aqua/Eau, Butylene Glycol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Extract, Melissa Officinalis Leaf Extract, Sodium Lactate, Sodium PCA, Sorbitol, Proline, Propylene Glycol, Malva Sylvestris (Mallow) Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Hedera Helix (Ivy) Leaf/Stem Extract, Cucumis, Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Sambucus Nigra Flower Extract, Arnica Montana Flower Extract, Parietaria Officinalis Extract, Ricinoleth-40, Polysorbate 20, Methyl Gluceth-20, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Linalool, Polyquaternium-4, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Citrate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil.
Dermalogica is dedicated to maintaining the accuracy of the ingredient lists on this website. However, because ingredients are subject to change, we cannot guarantee that these lists are complete, up-to-date and/or error-free. For an accurate listing of ingredients in each product, please refer to your product packaging.
Reviewed by 1 customer
I take it with me on the plane to give a refreshing spritz on the flight. Keeps my skin nicely hydrated
Do you have questions about this product?
Get answers from Dermalogica Skin Therapists and our community.
Q:Will this toner irritate acne prone skin (that's dry)?: My skin becomes extremely dry as a result of my prescription topical medication (epiduo), so I was wondering if this will exacerbate any acne problems due to the ingredients?
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Arsenal's striking woes were worsened on Wednesday when it was confirmed their top goalscorer in the Premier League this season, Gervinho, is out for a month.
The Ivory Coast international suffered and ankle injury not long after coming on as a substitute in the Gunners 1-0 win over QPR last Saturday.
He was stretchered off and, according to the Daily Mail, a scan carried out on Monday night showed ankle damage that would prevent Emirates Stadium boss Arsene Wenger from picking him for the next four weeks.
It leaves the Frenchman with limited options going into the crucial clash with Manchester United in the Premier League next Saturday.
It leaves Wenger with only Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski as recognised centre-forwards, though the latter has only been deployed in the central role once this season as Wenger has preferred to use him on the left.
Giroud has been struggling to find form in the league so far this season and his experience in the Premier League may have led Wenger to choose to use Gervinho in that role, as he has done so numerous times this season.
However, Giroud was impressive as a substitute in the astonishing 7-5 comeback win against Reading in the Capital One Cup clash on Tuesday night.
Theo Walcott scored a hat-trick in the match – Arsenal were trailing 4-0 at one point in the first half – and he has publicly stated a desire to be used in a striking role, but Wenger has yet to acquiesce to the England international's wishes.
Do YOU want to write for GiveMeSport? Get started today by signing-up and submitting an article HERE: https://www.givemesport.com/writeforgms


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Winter the tailless dolphin soon could have a new home. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium's surprising victory Tuesday in persuading voters to embrace an opportunity to build a state-of-the-art facility on the downtown bluff could be a game changer for Pinellas County's second-largest city. Now the challenge falls to city officials to negotiate a contract with the aquarium that protects taxpayers, and to the aquarium to fine-tune its plan to ensure success, including raising the private money to support it.
Tuesday's vote was only the second time in 13 years that city voters have agreed to alter the protected downtown waterfront. It came amid vigorous objections, particularly from some downtown residents who would be the aquarium's neighbors. But it also suggests voters saw value in expanding a significant tourist and educational asset with better facilities in a downtown dominated by the Church of Scientology. Also sweetening the deal: Tuesday's vote could provide needed financing to replace an outdated City Hall.
The first order of business for the aquarium, now located in a rehabilitated sewage treatment plant in Island Estates on Clearwater Beach, will be to determine whether it needs to downsize its ambitious plan to build a 200,000-square-foot, $160 million facility — even in light of a pending sequel to Dolphin Tale, the movie that made Winter a worldwide sensation. The current plan would require private fundraising that is unprecedented in Tampa Bay, and the facility's projection of 2 million visitors a year is optimistic in a region with another major aquarium.
The Clearwater aquarium already has engaged a consultant to assess the feasibility of its plan, and its board members have committed to adapt ambitions appropriately. That is an absolute necessity, particularly given the aquarium's plan to seek a portion of the county's bed tax that becomes available after Tropicana Field's debt is paid off in 2015. The aquarium will have a far stronger case for bed tax dollars if it shows up with significant private donations in hand and a business plan that isn't financed primarily by public dollars.
Wisely, the ballot language approved Tuesday is conditional. Nothing will go forward unless the aquarium can raise the money it needs for construction by August 2016. Only then are city officials authorized to sign a 60-year lease with the nonprofit in exchange for $7.5 million from ticket sales to build a new City Hall at an undetermined site, and eventually, $250,000 in lease payments annually for the life of the lease.
The chance for Winter to get a new home and build on the aquarium's amazing success increased Tuesday, but it is far from a done deal. Now it's up to aquarium and city leaders to build on voters' trust and fine-tune a plan that has the potential to be a tremendous asset to the city and the entire region.


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Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Minneapolis again to film some makeup tutorials for Sigma Beauty with xSparkage. Leesha and I had a great time!
We filmed four videos- two looks each. I think they all came out awesome! I can't wait for you all to see them.
The videos should be available sometime in September. Don't worry, I'll let you guys know as soon as they're up!
Here are some behind-the-scenes photos from the shoot and the trip.
My super serious makeup face...


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2007 Volleyball
Defiance 3, Bluffton 1
Beavers drop Heartland Conference opener at Defiance, 3-1
September 19, 2007
DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Bluffton University volleyball team struggled for consistency in its Heartland Conference opener, falling to long-time rival Defiance College in four games (30-26, 11-30, 30-23, 31-29) on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007. The Beavers (6-7, 0-1 HCAC) dropped their sixth straight match to the Yellow Jackets (3-10, 1-0 HCAC) who snapped a seven-match losing streak.
Bluffton opened up game one quickly, scoring three straight points behind the serving of junior setter Chelsea Wyse (Archbold/Archbold) as Kayla Pickering (Jamestown/Greenview) pounded two kills. An Allison Streicher (Continental/Continental) putdown and a Brittany Roth (Findlay/Findlay) ace helped the Beavers to an early 10-6 advantage before Defiance got untracked and took advantage of six Bluffton service errors for a 30-26 victory in the lidlifter.
The Beavers regrouped in game two to post a dominating 30-11 victory over the Yellow Jackets. Ahead by a slim 5-4 margin, Brittany Roth carved up the Defiance defense for eight straight points, including three Michele Rosen (Harrison/Harrison) kills and one from freshman Crystal Augsburger (Bowling Green/Bowling Green). Pickering dropped in a pair of aces and freshman Shauna Rowland (Bucyrus/Wynford) served the final seven points for the lopsided 30-11 final.
Unable to maintain the momentum that they built in game two, the Beavers found themselves in a 7-1 hole to start the third game. Five straight points with Yellow Jacket Kelsey Ferguson on serve allowed Defiance to push its cushion to nine points (19-10) midway through the game. Wyse and Roth brought Bluffton back to within five points, but a pair of Lauren Aldridge kills and another Beaver ball handling error put the game out of reach at 25-17. With Kate Barnett (North Bloomfield/Lakeview) serving, the Defiance lead was trimmed to four, 27-23, before the Jackets scored the final three points for a 30-23 win.
Game four saw Defiance make a 6-1 run midway through, breaking a 14-14 tie and giving the Yellow Jackets a 20-15 advantage. Bluffton's Kayla Pickering kept the Beavers in the match with eight kills in the fourth game as Bluffton forged its way to a 29-28 lead, but a ball handling error and a pair of Ferguson service points allowed Defiance to finish the match with a 31-29 victory for a 3-1 win in the HCAC opener for both teams.
Bluffton finished with 60 kills to only 37 for the Yellow Jackets as the Beavers hit .158 for the match compared to .048 for the home team. The Beavers rifled 10 service aces, but their 17 service errors and 11 ball handling errors proved too much to overcome.
Rosen tied her career-best with 20 kills for a .167 hitting percentage. Pickering knocked down 18 kills on only seven errors for a .256 hitting percentage. Rachel Alvarez (Convoy/Crestview) and Rowland chipped in with nine and eight kills, respectively. Wyse equaled her career-high with 29 assists and Shauna Rowland set up the Bluffton hitters 22 times. Rowland ended the evening with 13 digs and four service aces. Defensively, Roth upped her career-best by three digs as she finished with 34. Pickering picked up 17 digs for her fourth career double-double.
The Beavers return to action on Wednesday, Sept. 26, when they travel to St. Ursuline. The match is slated to start at 7 p.m.


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The lights are on
Looking for a survival Horror group? I was as well. Looking to reminisce about such classics as Eternal darkness, Resident Evil and Silent Hill? Why am I asking so many questions? Well then this is the group for you my friend!
My friends,
I was wondering if any of you are planning on picking up Bioshock infinite, and what your expectations of it are. I have played BioShock and thoroughly enjoyed it, but do not know much about Infinite. Tell me why you're picking it up SHG!
Day one! I absolutely loved Bioshock, and everything I've seen from Infinite looks amazing. I'm fully expecting this game to blow me away.
I'm getting right when it comes out. I haven't been this excited for a game in a long time. I'm a huge fan of the series and lore of BioShock. The first BioShock is one of my favorite games of this generation. I think Infinite looks outstanding, I haven't seen any of the demos though, I'm dodging those suckers but from the trailers, the interviews, and everything that I've read I'm more than convinced that it has the potential of being my favorite game this year.
That sounds awesome! I've only played the first BioShock, but I've played it about 10 times, and I absolutely loved it. Possibly the most innovative shooter I've ever seen.
It's encouraging to hear such high enthusiasm, I haven't really been reading up on it, but from what you guys have said I'm very excited.
I know it's not in rapture obviously, but do you guys know if it's related to the first game in any way, or is it completely separate?
Its not related to the first 2 games, they aren't even in the same universe. Its called 'BioShock' because 1) They have the license to name it that and 2) It shares the same ideas of philosophy and because of two concept ideas of BioShock being the fantastical setting and the use of a large number of tools and abilities in creative manners to survive.
Its kind of the same concept on why they named BioShock. They took some ideas from System Shock like learning about the place you are in and discovering more about it as you explore, and Bio was from biographically enhancing your body to become stronger (plasmids). That being said the company likes to tie in their games together with certain elements. That's why their titles are so similar.
Anyway, the games are not related and Infinite is not a spin off or a reboot or anything to BioShock 1 and 2. It's its own game.
@J Warrior: That sounds really exciting, I really look forward to playing it. It looks beautiful too from just the little bit I've seen. Sadly I'm low on cash, so I won't be able to get it for awhile, but let me know what you think after you've finished it!


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Difference between revisions of "Tobacco Caye"
Revision as of 05:20, 30 December 2012
Tobacco Caye is a tiny island off the coast of Belize, popular with budget travelers. Hammocks, novels, group meals and a healthy dose of snorkeling are likely to fill your day, on one of the few islands that won't break the bank in a country that normally excels at doing so.
At only about 200 feet wide and 400 feet long, the atmosphere is intimate and social, but relaxing and friendly (you can circle the island in less than 5 minutes). About 20 Belizeans reside here permanently, but there's no school, so children spend the week on a nearby island, and come home only on the weekends to stay with their families.
Far from deserted, there's very little space on the island that isn't occupied by something. Hurricane Mitch leveled most of the island in 1998, pretty much everything you see now has been rebuilt since then.
Get in
Boats make the journey from Dangriga in about 20-30 minutes and charge Bz$30/person. If you're staying at Tobacco Caye Lodge or Reef's End, you can arrange a time and come on their boats for the same price, or just turn up at 8:30-9:00am at the dock and ask around at the Riverside Café when a boat will be leaving (they depart from the dock directly in front of the restaurant).
From Tobacco Caye, at least one boat usually leaves around 9am each morning heading back to Dangriga. If you're interested in heading somewhere else like Glovers Reef or Thatch Caye you may be able to hire a boat to take you direct, or ride along with some snorkelers who are heading there, which saves a trip back to Dangriga.
Get around
Kick off your sandals when you arrive to the island, and plan on leaving them in your room. You'll be walking around the island for the duration of your stay, might as well feel the sand between your toes. If you're a great swimmer and have some energy to burn, consider trying to swim a loop around the island... the hammock will still be there when you get back. Needless to say, there are no roads or vehicles of any sort on the island... not even a single sidewalk.
The only restaurants are those attached to the resort you're staying at. Most all of them have communal tables and everyone eats together at the same time... the meal bells usually ring around 7am, 12pm, and 6pm.
Gaviotas has a snacks stand behind their rooms, with plenty of imported doritos, cokes, batteries and even Starbucks iced coffees (?!).
Tobacco Caye Lodge and Reef's End both have phones & emails so you can book ahead if you feel like it... for anything else, show up and see what's available. Checkout time is 10am.
Internet service is available at the Tobacco Caye Marine Station, located on the property of the Tobacco Caye Lodge. The cost is BZ$15 per hour to use a Station computer, and BZ$10 if you are travelling with your own computer.
Snorkel equipment is also available for rent from the Station at a cost of BZ$30 per day.
Stay healthy
Mosquitos and sandflies are thankfully scarce here, making bug juice unnecessary. Sunscreen is wise though, if you're planning to be out in the water long or on a boat trip.
Get out


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Page 3 of 5
To test the cooler we used our test rig Radeon HD 4850 card from MSI, which annoys us with constant speed even in idle, because MSI messed up the firmware. The cooler does not feature any other cooling elements, so it's quite easy to fit the Setsugen. Just remove the old cooler and attach the Setsugen and you are finished.
The cooler is compatible with most cards on the market; just three cards, which are old Radeon 9550/9600 and GeForce 6600 GT AGP cards, are incompatible. Before you install the new cooler, go to the Scythe page and read the instructions for your card carefully.
If you are using a weaker card, such as Radeon HD 4600 series and lower and GeForce 9600GT and lower, you can remove the fans and make it completely passive, as long as you don't try to overclock and have sufficient airflow in your case. Either way, the cooler is using a second slot.
We ran all tests with the lowest RPM setting possible, we connected the fan to the mainboard and set the control knobs to the lowest possible position.
MSI Radeon HD4850 stock cooler idle:
MSI Radeon HD4850 Setsugen idle:
MSI Radeon HD4850 stock cooler 3DMark2003:
MSI Radeon HD4850 Setsugen 3DMark2003:
MSI Radeon HD4850 stock cooler 3DMark2006:
MSI Radeon HD4850 Setsugen 3DMark2006:
The results are not impressive at all, so we thought, what happens when we flip the cooler, so the fan can blow onto the card?
MSI Radeon HD4850 Setsugen blowing idle:
MSI Radeon HD4850 Setsugen blowing 3DMark2003:
MSI Radeon HD4850 Setsugen blowing 3DMark2006:
With the much better results we also tried the Furmark Benchmark. This benchmark is causing a lot of stress for any graphics card and you can forget the TDP because Furmark does exceed it a lot.
MSI Radeon HD4850 stock cooler Furmark:
MSI Radeon HD4850 Setsugen blowing Furmark: