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Paige Jordan looked up at the St. Charles East scoreboard in disbelief.
Who could blame her? The Saints had just accomplished something nobody could remember doing before, if they had ever done it.
Thats what you get when you look up and see an 81-75 final score, with that win coming in overtime over the premier area program, Geneva.
Saints coach Lori Drumtra said her team has never scored 81 points, and she couldnt recall the last time they had beat the Vikings, who have dominated the Upstate Eight Conference River Division since joining it.
So that should more than explain why when that final buzzer sounded the Saints swarmed each other, hugging and celebrating like they had just won a regional maybe state championship.
It means the world, Jordan said. Now we have to do it one more time to prove this wasnt a fluke. Now we put ourselves on the map. Now I think teams are going to look at us in a different light and know when they walk into our gym that they are going to have to bring their A game because we wont quit until the buzzer sounds.
Geneva (6-3, 3-1) learned that lesson the hard way, despite coach Sarah Meadows stressing to her team this week in practice that St. Charles East (5-4, 3-0) is a second-half team.
The Saints have won their last three games with big second halves, none finer than the 16 minutes plus 4 more in overtime that they turned in Thursday against Geneva.
Trailing by 16 points in the second quarter and 35-23 at halftime after 8 different Vikings scored in the first half as they carved through the Saints full-court pressure for several high-percentage looks (15-of-24 shooting from the field), St. Charles East welcomed back Amanda Hilton in the third quarter.
A three-year starter, Hilton sat the first half per team rules for being out last weekend at a soccer tournament. She said she stayed after practice Wednesday putting up extra shots, and she gave her team a big lift with 18 points in the final 20 minutes.
I knew since I was coming off soccer I needed to get my shot going, Hilton said. I practiced it and it fell. It was a really, really good game and just competitive both ways so Im glad we stuck with it.
After Carly Pottle opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer, Hilton hit a pullup jumper the start of a torrid pace by both teams that saw the Saints outscore the Vikings 27-19 to pull within 54-50 entering the fourth quarter.
Hilton scored 9 points in the third quarter alone and Pottle had 11, while the Vikings were hitting right back. In one exchange Jordan drove for a pair of baskets to pull the Saints within 42-40 only to see Morgan Seberger nail an NBA-distance 3, then Pottle answer with a 3 on the Saints next trip, then Sami Pawlak find Abby Novak on a backdoor cut for a 3-point play leaving Geneva up 48-45.
Hilton found Pottle for another 3-point shot only to see Sidney Santos hit a long 3 of her own. Jordan penetrated for a 3-point play only to be matched by Sebergers 3, then finally a Hilton layup just before the third-quarter buzzer sounded.
They werent exactly what I drew up, Drumtra said of some of the tough shots Jordan, Pottle and Hilton kept hitting. I think they were just reacting and playing. We definitely upped the pressure in the second half, that is the story of the last three games weve played.
Im kind of in awe here myself. Great confidence-booster. I cant remember the last time weve had a win against Geneva.
The fourth quarter saw more of the same. This time it was Pawlak who came out on fire scoring Genevas first 12 fourth-quarter points, sinking one jumper after another until the Saints changed from a zone to a man. After Jordans 3-point play put the Saints ahead 65-64 their first lead since 6-4 with 2:59 remaining, Pawlak scored again on an assist from Santos to put Geneva up 66-65.
Jordan tied the score at 66 with a free throw with 1:24 left. Neither team scored again, Hannah Nowling stealing the ball to allow the Saints to hold for the last shot.
Hilton was fouled with 1.7 seconds left but missed both free throws sending the game to overtime.
I just told her to shake it off, Drumtra said. Its a hard free throw to make. Thats who Id want at the line.
Seberger drove for a layup to put Geneva up 68-66 in overtime. That turned out to be the Vikings last lead as Jordan drilled a 3-pointer from the wing for a 71-68 lead, then after the Vikings missed 4 times including a block from Kyra Washington, Jordan hit a deep 23-footer on a third-chance possession for a 74-68 lead with 1:25 left, and Geneva never got within 5 points again.
Ive always been taught to have a short memory and never remember the last shot you took, always remember the ones you make, Jordan said. I got the play set up for me so I knew I had a lot of support, my teammates and coaches all believed in me so that really helped. I just launched it and it felt right and when it went in it felt like the greatest shot Ive ever made. Those two 3s are really going to go down (as my favorite shots).
Jordan and Pottle both scored 25 points for Saints Jordan 14 in the overtime and fourth quarter while Washington grabbed 11 rebounds as the Vikings won that battle 44-29. The Saints made up for it by turning the ball over just 11 times to the Vikings 22 including 7 in the fourth quarter and 3 in OT.
Hilton only played a half and scored 18 points, Meadows said. What a great basketball player but were better than that.
Sami had some huge shots. Her jumper looked really nice tonight. We had some silly turnovers and they just kept the momentum and their kids can shoot. Those three kids can score.
Pawlak hit 10 of 13 shots from the field to lead Geneva with 20 points. Novak came off the bench with 18 points and 8 rebounds, Seberger scored 13 and Santos filled up the stat sheet with 10 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots.
The Vikings shot just under 50 percent at 31 of 63 while the Saints made 28 of 64 from the field including nine 3-pointers for a win they wont soon forget.
We havent beat Geneva in years and they always kill us and we knew this was our year and we knew we could come out and beat them, Pottle said. We did the best we can and came through.


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KAHANA - Kahana Grill is now open for dinner and cocktails seven days a week from 5 to 10 p.m. The restaurant is located in the Kahana Gateway center at the former Roy's location.
The menu is "a culmination of world cuisine with island attitude." The service and dishes are sophisticated, yet presented in a comforting, casual environment.
Staff can guide diners through the menu, recommending small plates to share or dishes with pairings. Some house favorites include Kahana Grill Baby Back Ribs with house-made tamarillo glaze and cucumber namasu, Bowl of Shells & Lap Xuong Sausage, Kula mixed greens, gourmet pizzas from the restaurant's brick oven, sushi by Chef Gregory Tanihara and house-made desserts.
Article Photos
Head to Kahana Grill for a specialty cocktail at its U-shaped bar, indulge in a chef's tasting menu along the open copper kitchen, or bring the family and dine at the handcrafted lychee ohana table in the dining room.
Kahana Grill's wines and crafted beer selection were hand-picked to complement the eclectic menu, and cocktails are created with fresh local ingredients.
The restaurant features a 33-foot Hawaiian outrigger canoe, KAHANA, positioned across the dining room ceiling and blessed by Kimokeo Kapahulehau.
Kahana Grill is a wireless "hot spot" for the neighborhood. Innovation in both service and style is visible throughout the restaurant, from wait staff using iPads and iPhones to service guests to a private event space equipped with the latest technology. Soon, nightly sunsets will be transmitted live for the enjoyment of all Kahana Grill guests.
Kama'aina and Kahana Grill Family specials are offered. The restaurant will soon be open for happy hour and late night. For information, visit www.kahanagrill.com.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
it was a short tour...
a mini tour...
really nothing more than a ride to a destination
there was not much planning
nearly all the information that I found was inaccurate
my language skills did not help with the process
laguna de paron
the air was thin and cold
the water was certainly colder
had I known of the myth of the healing powers of the water I would have climbed in
not sure how I would have warmed up again... perhaps it is best that I did not
the ride to the lake was a long climb
the ride down was a scream
maybe I will glance at some pictures from the trip for a more detailed story
Fermin Sanchez... that was the name of the ranger at the station by the lake at the top
it was a short tour... yet the trip to Peru was a month long
bringing a bike had its hassles yet offered a variety of freedoms as well as an assortment of memories
Laguna de Paron... Peru
3 comments:
- Blue-eyed Devil said...
Where you fortunate enough to sample any of this with a local shaman?
- 4/30/2009
- gwadzilla said...
it is funny...
on the long steep fire road switchback climb I found myself dizzy
a long day of exertion
lack of food
poor fitness
there I was above the clouds staring across this valley at a 500 foot water fall
I got off the bike and took a break
I laughed to myself as the meaning of life entered my brain
then when I thought... I should write this down... it was all forgotten
no shaman needed...
- 4/30/2009
- Blue-eyed Devil said...
Not the same...trust me.
- 4/30/2009
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It is Monday Morning. If you are like me on the first day of the work week you are probably trying to ease the depressing realization that the weekend is over and you have the five day grind ahead of you. For me at the 9-5 desk job I am spending the first hour(s) of my day meticulously analyzing my fantasy baseball team and catching up on sports stories I might have missed during the pregame Friday & Saturday night.
The anxiety could be even higher this week, and I may have to spend the beginning of my day reading about how bath salts turn humans into zombies and why Scientology ruined the marriage between Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise. Baseball is at its All-Star Break. Wimbledon is over. The Olympics have yet to begin in London. Football, basketball, and hockey have yet to begin. Might I actually have to start "working"? Ugh, this could get brutal. I better drink another Espresso double shot. Embrace yourselves everyone; we are about to experience the worst sports week of the year.
I mention the All-Star Break for baseball, for the past ten years I have taken a dissenting attitude towards MLB's mid-summer event. That differs in my apathetic stance towards the Pro Bowl, NHL & NBA All-Star Games, where I can watch the highlights on SportsCenter and live with myself. In 2002, Bud Selig and the MLBPA transformed the event from casual to competitive. I used to hate it. It baffled me that home field advantage in the World Series was indicated by which All-Star Team's pitchers brought their best stuff during the one inning each of them would get on the mound. It drove me nuts that traditional cellar dwellers like the Royals, Pirates and Orioles (sorry everyone) had at least one player on the All-Star Team, even though there was a better shot of Anna Kournikova coming out of retirement to beat Serena Williams to win the Wimbledon than any of those teams winning the Fall Classic.
This year, I have decided to cave in and embrace the All-Star Game, and I suggest all of you fellow sports fanatics do the same. This year, forget about them ludicrous reasons I mentioned in the previous paragraphs. If you love sports, chances are you are someone who craves competitiveness in sports and life alike. Plus this week, you don't really have a choice, right? The 4th of July relaxed attitude around your office is over. Daily stresses are back and we are on the full five day work week again.
If you are a Baltimore Orioles Fan, as most of you reading on WNST.net probably are, this is the first time in more than a decade that this game has some real meaning to it. Let's call a spade a spade, does anyone reading truly believe that the O's are ready to make a push to play in the World Series? I did not think so. However, heading into the All Star Break, Baltimore is six games back of the Yankees, six games above .500. If the season ended now, the first year of expanded playoffs would open with Baltimore at the Los Angeles Angels for the one-game AL wild card. The guys representing the resurgent O's this year in Kansas City, Matt Wieters, Adam Jones and Jim Johnson, make up a trio that marks the first time since 2005 that the Orioles have sent multiple players to the All Star Game.
"It's pretty cool," Jones said of the group the Orioles will send to Kansas City. "For the last seven years, it's been one player. You have to win to get more than one player nowadays. Representing the Baltimore Orioles, it's a tremendous accomplishment for us as a team, also."
Wieters, who was the Orioles' representative in last year's All-Star Game also added, "It makes it even more fun that you get to share something with your teammates that you're battling the whole year with."
Comparing baseball's All Star Game to the other major sports in the United States, one cannot forget the fact that just because it is an exhibition game, the play of the field does not change. For example, in the NBA's ASG, there is little to no defense played. There is an open lane almost every time when either squad comes down the court. While alley oops and monster dunks are cool, when it occurs every possession, it can get old very quickly. In baseball, the matchups do not change. When Clayton Kershaw comes to the mound and faces Adam Jones, do you think he is going to toss a 75 mph meatball for Adam Jones to crank towards the fences? Not a chance. He is going to bring it just like he would during a regular start for the Dodgers.
I mention those All-Stars facing each other as just one example of a potential matchup that makes for a great watch. How about the 23 year old phenom Steven Strasburg going head to head with legend Derek Jeter who is 15 years his senior? How cool would it be to see RA Dickey, the arguable front runner for NL Cy Young, tossing his knuckleball and trying to fool slugger Josh Hamilton? And 2012 will be the last All Star Appearance for eight time all star and surefire Hall of Famer Chipper Jones, who is retiring after this season. It will certainly be weird without him in Atlanta next season that is for sure.
Back in February of this year, I explained to Mike Huber on XTSR Towson Radio why I believed that the second calendar month was the worst sports month of the year. The football season was over. Pitchers and catchers report in the middle of the month, but baseball was still months away from beginning. Basketball, both college and professional, was still in their respective regular seasons. Same applies to hockey. Not to mention on the East Coast, February is typically a cold, dark month (but after this torturous heat wave, I sure would not mind a 35 degree day.) Now we approach arguably the worst sports week, not entire month, of the year. I hope my words give you something to look forward to when it's quitting time on Tuesday.


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すべてはケベックシティ(カナダ)の近郊の小さな町、ベ・サン・ポールで始まりました。1980 年代の初め頃、ベ・サン・ポールでは色とりどりの衣装をまとったキャラクターの一団が街を練り歩き、竹馬、ジャグリング、ダンス、火吹き、音楽などの芸を披露していました。彼らこそ、ジル・サンクロワが組織したストリートパフォーマンスのグループ、Les Échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul(ベ・サン・ポールの竹馬乗り)でした。すでに街の人々はこの若いパフォーマーのグループに心を動かされ、魅せられていました。パフォーマーの中に、後に Cirque du Soleil の設立者のひとりとなり、CEO となるギー・ラリベルテもいました。
Cirque du Soleil's International Headquarters (IHQ), located in Montreal, is the unique world-class creative laboratory where creators from all disciplines and hailing from the four corners of the world gather to collaborate on various creative projects. Because of its role as a catalyst in bringing talent together, Cirque du Soleil is able to continually renew itself.
General information
The IHQ is located in Montreal's Saint-Michel district, (one of the most sensitive neighbourhoods in Canada), adjacent to the former Miron quarry and the Montreal waste sorting and disposal centre. Construction of the IHQ was part of a major urban development project, the Saint-Michel Environmental Complex, in which Cirque du Soleil represents the cultural pole.
Since 1997, all Cirque du Soleil shows have been created at the international headquarters also called the Creation Studio. The Studio is a full-fledged creation, innovation and training laboratory which provides a great deal of flexibility to the creative teams working on various Cirque projects.
Artists training
Upon being hired by Cirque du Soleil, performers come to the Studio at the International Headquarters in Montreal for a few weeks or months of preliminary training before joining a show.
Performers come from a variety of backgrounds, including artistic gymnastics, tumbling, acrosport, swimming, diving, dance, singing, music and, of course, circus arts. Some fifty nationalities are represented among Cirque du Soleil artists. In 2013, nearly 350 performers will receive customized training in the Creation Studio.
To supervise performer training programs, the Studio employs close to one hundred trainers from around the world. These trainers specialize in such fields as dance, theatre, singing, and acrobatics.
Physiotherapists and fitness specialists work on site in the Studio to keep performers in good health, help maximize their physical potential, and ensure an optimal environment for their development.
The training rooms
In addition to a physical fitness training room, the Studio houses various acrobatic and artistic training rooms to address the various training needs of the artists.
Three acrobatic training studios:
Two artistic training studios:
All costumes and their props needed for the various Cirque du Soleil shows are created in Montreal, in the production workshops (ateliers) at IHQ. Specialists of every description (including master shoemakers, milliners, textile experts, sewers, lace makers, carpenters, etc.) devote their painstaking labour to making all of the items needed for the shows.
The second IHQ building, called the Workshops, was inaugurated in early 2001. In addition to office space, it houses the production workshops: a large costume shop that includes sewing and fitting rooms as well as space for shoemaking, hat making, textile design and a workshop for costume props and special effects.
Nearly 400 artisans are employed in the workshops making some 20,000 or so items (hats, shoes, dresses, swimwear, etc.) required for Cirque's shows. It takes more than 150 kilometres of fabric just to make the costumes, 80% of it is processed and dyed right in the shop by the textile design team.
In 2007, Cirque du Soleil added a third wing to its international headquarters, to quell a pressing need for more administrative space. The expansion, dubbed Le Mât (the mast), houses eight floors of uniquely-designed office spaces and relaxation areas conducive to inspiration. The building is equipped with a rainwater collection system, which will recover enough water for one part of the complex to function independently.
The landscaping at IHQ is highly original. Constantly in motion with seasons, the look of the vegetables garden and other gardens evolve just like the company. In addition to shrubs, apple trees and rosebushes, the gardeners also sowed a vegetable garden in front of the building, complete with various vegetables and herbs. Of course the harvest goes to prepare meals at the cafeteria, and any surplus is given to staff.
Since the summer of 2003, Cirque du Soleil's International Headquarters complex has included a residence to house artists who are in Montreal for short periods for their acrobatic and artistic training. The building was designed as part of the development of "TOHU," the circus arts complex in which Cirque du Soleil is a partner.
TOHU is the name of the circus arts complex and the non-profit organization behind it. The organization was created in November 1999 through the initiative of En Piste (the umbrella organization for circus arts professionals, organizations, and institutions in Quebec), Montreal's International Circus School, and Cirque du Soleil.
TOHU's main mission is to make Montreal an international circus arts capital, but the organization has broadened its mission over time to include environmental and community components: to actively participate in the revitalization of the Saint-Michel Environmental Complex (the second largest urban landfill site in North America) and to contribute to the cultural, social and economic development of the Saint-Michel neighborhood in Montreal.
More than ten years after the organization was created, a true "circus arts village" took shape around the perimeter of the Saint-Michel Environmental Complex. TOHU will be one of the world's foremost hubs for circus arts training, creation, production, and performance. TOHU is sure to make its mark, both for its infrastructure and for its international profile.
About Cirque du Soleil international headquarters:
Architects: Dan S. Hanganu (the Studio), Éric Gauthier (the Ateliers and Le Mât)
Inauguration: Feb. 1997 (the Studio), Jan. 2001 (the Ateliers), May 2007 (Le Mât)
Total area of main buildings: 387,500 square feet
Area of grounds: 807,293 square feet
Address: 8400, chosen to echo 1984, the year of Cirque du Soleil's creation


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Nelson Mandela took the long view of South Africa. He saw the potential for prosperity and peace through equality during a time of repression, turmoil, and inequality. In tribute to Mandela, astronaut Chris Hadfield offered up his version of South Africa's long view.
This photo was taken from the International Space Station on May 9, 2013, looking across the southwestern tip of the country. The image focuses on the mountainous Western Cape, dominated by the Great Escarpment, a 5,000-kilometer long mountain chain that marks the edge of the African plateau. The Cape of Good Hope hooks out from the mainland, with the city of Cape Town coloring the top in cement gray. To the east is Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of the African continent where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean.
The view from above helps us see the geographic connections that bind humanity together on a single planet. Writing in Wired, Hadfield said: "While I was on the space station, I used Twitter to ask hundreds of thousands of people what they would like me to take a picture of. Resoundingly, the answer was 'home.' After millennia of wandering and settling, we are still most curious about how we fit in and how our community looks in the context of the rest of the world."
Connection is something that Nelson Mandela understood on many levels. Speaking at Mandela's memorial service on December 10, 2013, President Barack Obama stated: "Mandela understood the ties that bind the human spirit. There is a word in South Africa—Ubuntu—that describes his greatest gift: his recognition that we are all bound together in ways that can be invisible to the eye; that there is a oneness to humanity; that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us."
As the world pauses to lay Nelson Mandela to rest on December 15, we salute the power of connections.
- Clark, V.R., Barker, N.P., and Mucina, L. (2011, July 22) The Great Escarptment of southern Africa: A new frontier for biodiversity exploration. Biodiversity and Conservation. Accessed December 13, 2013.
- CNN (2013, December 10) Nelson Mandela memorial: Barack Obama's speech in full. Accessed December 13, 2013.
- Hadfield, C. (2013, November 25) Chris Hadfield: We should treat Earth as kindly as we treat spacecraft. Wired. Accessed December 13, 2013.
Astronaut photograph ISS035-E-026253 courtesy NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by Holli Riebeek.
- Instrument(s):
- ISS - Digital Camera


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State Supreme Court justices to hear cases at Western
DANBURY, CONN. — The Connecticut Supreme Court justices will hear arguments in two cases on the campus of Western Connecticut State University on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011.
The seven justices from the state's highest court will hold full court over oral arguments in a civil case and a criminal case to be held at 10 a.m. and noon, respectively, in the Westside Campus Center Ballroom, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury. At the end of each case, attorneys for each side will remain to answer questions from the audience. The event is free and open to the public.
WCSU Professor of Legal Studies Charles Mullaney said this event is an educational opportunity for everyone to closely observe a prestigious judicial body and to enhance their understanding of the role and responsibilities of the often-mysterious appellate court system.
In preparation for the visit by the Connecticut Supreme Court to WCSU, Associate Professor of Accounting Thomas Monks and Assistant Professor of Justice and Law Administration Terrence Dwyer will conduct a pre-argument educational session of the cases that will be argued at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011, in Room 243 of the Westside Classroom Building on the university's Westside campus, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury. Monks will explain the civil case, Stewart v. Town of Watertown, in which the town clerk of Watertown refused to report to work claiming the town hall building was environmentally unsafe and the town cut off her salary. Dwyer will explain the criminal case, State v. Altajir, in which ostensibly incriminating Facebook photos were used to send a probationer to prison for three years. A question-and-answer session will follow the explanations. The event will be free and the public is invited.
For more information, contact the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.
Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England's best small private universities.


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|One of my favorite childhood candy was the mallocup. Toasted coconut, chocolate and marshmallow cream. This is one sweet brownie that reminds me of that wonderful candy I could never get enough of.
Toasted Coconut Mock Mallo Cup Brownies
15 comments
- Federica said...
Wonderful mix of ingredients, it looks yummy ^_^ Bye, have a good we
- March 24, 2012 at 3:48 AM
- Becky said...
Mallow Cups were my favorite candy as a kid. I had not thought about them in years, until I saw your recipe. There were little cardboard "coupons" in the package that we would save. I have to make this recipe soon.
- March 24, 2012 at 7:46 AM
- Lizzy said...
I never had mallow cups...but if they're anything like these decadent brownies, I would have been a fan!
- March 24, 2012 at 1:18 PM
- Cookin' Canuck said...
I love the taste and texture of toasted coconut in desserts. I'll bet it's hard to eat just one of these.
- March 24, 2012 at 2:49 PM
- Pam said...
I adored mallow cups too so this recipe is a must try.
- March 24, 2012 at 3:11 PM
- Greg said...
I haven't had a Mallow cup in years. do they still make them?
- March 24, 2012 at 3:43 PM
- Deelicious Sweets said...
Wow, these look amazing! I don't think I have ever had a mallow cup. Not that I can recall at least. I don't think I would forget it if they were anything like this though!
- March 24, 2012 at 6:28 PM
- ARLENE said...
Choco and mallow, two affixes that immediately draw me in. This looks like a dessert that would put me in sugar heaven.
- March 24, 2012 at 9:47 PM
- Marcellina said...
I don't know what mallow cups are but I know this brownie would be a hit in my family. What a great idea!
- March 25, 2012 at 1:02 AM
- Tina said...
Nothing like making a brownie a little but more indulgent and tasty. Mallow cups are something I have heard about but never tried. Obviously I have been missing out! Delicious post.
- March 25, 2012 at 4:26 AM
- Kathy said...
Wow…These look so decadent and delicious! Great post!
- March 25, 2012 at 3:34 PM
- Kathy said...
Wow! These look so decadent and delicious! Great Post!
- March 25, 2012 at 3:37 PM
- Shelby said...
Right up my alley Claudia! Has me drooling!
- March 25, 2012 at 5:20 PM
- Catherine said...
Dear Claudia, These are just calling me!! Love chocolate! Blessings my dear, Catherine xoxo
- March 27, 2012 at 11:18 AM
- Sandra Merizzi said...
deliziosa la vorrei subito !!!
- October 2, 2012 at 2:33 PM


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VIDEO: Russell Westbrook nails 3 with 0.1 seconds left in OT to drop Warriors
THE HEADQUARTERS — As the Stylistics eloquently put it, payback is a dog and Russell Westbrook has packed the meanest bite of the young NBA season.
After a thrilling finish in the Bay Area a little over two weeks ago, when Westbrook and Andre Iguodala traded clutch baskets, we knew the rematch would be a battle. What competitor doesn't crave get-back after coming up short?
Consider it a mission complete by Westbrook, who couldn't have served a colder dish than his turnaround 3 in OT with 0.1 seconds left to lift OKC to a 113-112 win. This time, he didn't give anybody a chance to return the favor.
He started the game hitting his first five shots, then went 4-for-19 until his victory-snatching snipe. In a game that featured 20 lead changes, 32 points from Stephen Curry, a poster dunk from Serge Ibaka, this game had "Game of the Year" written on it before you-know-who ended matters.
Best game, best shot, best celebration? Yes. Yes. Affirmative. And yes, you want to mark January 17 in your calendars.
Extra Mustard
The shot alone is enough to catapult Russ to the peak of the Top Plays mountain. What adds to it is what came directly before. Ibaka missed a foul-line jumper at the top of the key and Jermaine O'Neal was a simple rebound away from securing possession and most likely the game for Golden State. But he didn't box out and that's all Westbrook (who flew in from the 3-point line) needed to knock the loose ball away from a surprised O'Neal.
Thabo Sefalosha tracked down the rock and made a blind save to a springing Westbrook, who in a flash snatched the ball out the air with his right hand, took one dribble toward the 3-point line, looked left, whirled right and launched before a scrambling Harrison Barnes could give a good contest.
(Actually, Barnes did get a hand up. Westbrook just got a clean look first).
The dejected look on Barnes (13 seconds into the above clip) is the perfect flip side to the pandemonium surrounding him.
BONUS: Luckily, a fan caught the emotional moment from an excellent courtside angle.[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgON8L91834#t=21]
More Playmaking
First, Andre Iguodala did this on November 5:
VIDEO: Andre Iguodala serves nifty behind-the-back in Philly
Then Friday night, Lance Stephenson performed his rendition:
VIDEO: Lance Stephenson feeds C.J. Watson with the fancy dish
Which was better? Both were done in the midst of a blowout and both were completely unexpected. I'm going with Iguodala because of the original factor and the lessened margin of error of being in the corner. But Stephenson's dime did count for three points on the board…
What sayeth you?


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The single-engine airplane that crashed into a Palm Coast house earlier this month killing all three on board first hit a tree, breaking branches and scattering debris for 50 feet as it fell, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board released Friday.
Initially, it was thought the plane plunged straight into the house in the crash that killed pilot Michael Anders, 58, of Albany, Ky., and passengers Duane Shaw, 59, also of Albany, and Charissee Peoples, 42, of Indianapolis.
The report did not address what effect, if any, the impact with the tree might have had on the plane's trajectory. It's unknown if the tree caused the plane to hit the house, said attorney Marc Dwyer, who represents Susan Crockett, who was home when the plane punched a ragged and fiery hole into her house.
"There is insufficient evidence to determine what role the tree, if any, may have played in where the plane landed," Dwyer wrote in an email. "Initially, it was thought that because of the lack of tree impacts that the plane's trajectory was a nosedive. It appears now it was not a complete nosedive. Until their final report is done, I don't believe anyone would be able to assess its impact, if any."
The NTSB investigator could not be reached to comment on the preliminary report. The NTSB usually takes an average of one year to issue final reports on fatal accidents.
The 1957 Beechcraft Bonanza crashed at 2:19 p.m. on Jan. 4, minutes after the pilot reported vibrations in the propeller and engine, according to the NTSB report. The plane crashed 4,200 feet southeast of the airport and into Crockett's house at 22 Utica Path.
Crockett, 50, was in the master bedroom of the house and talked about the terrifying ordeal during a news conference on Friday at Dwyer's law firm, Chiumento Selis and Dwyer, in Palm Coast. One of her daughters, Jocelyn, 18, sat next to her during the news conference.
Crockett's path out the door was blocked by the flaming wreckage so she climbed out a back window despite the flames outside. She suffered an injury to one of her legs.
Crockett is living in a room provided by a retirement home where one of her daughter's works. Crockett said she remains uneasy two weeks after the crash.
"Not sleeping well, having nightmares, sleeping a lot during the day, can't go back to work, loud noises scare, just make me jump, and they scare me, jumping out of my skin. That's pretty much my life right now."
She said she doubted she would ever return to the house near the airport.
"I can probably say right now 'no,' " Crockett said. "Every time I hear a plane or a helicopter I'm like jumping and, you know, ready to hit the dirt."
Dwyer said that at this point there's a lot of investigation to be done before determining whether to file a lawsuit. Later, he said the report of an oil pressure problem indicated a possible mechanical problem with the plane.
Anders and his passengers aboard his Beechcraft Bonanza had departed the St. Lucie County International Airport and were headed to Knoxville, Tenn., the NTSB said. Anders radioed controllers at Daytona Approach that he had vibrations in the propeller and the engine, according to the NTSB.
The cloud ceiling was about 900 to 1,000 feet, and Anders, who had an instrument rating, received radar directions for runway 29 at the Flagler County Airport.
Anders then radioed several minutes later that his engine's oil pressure was zero and the plane cylinders were cool, the NTSB said.
No more radio transmissions were heard from the plane once it was two miles from the runway, the NTSB said.
Two witnesses said they saw the plane flying "unusually low" as it approached the airport. About one mile from the runway, they "lost sight of the airplane behind tall pine trees," the report said.
Among the many things Crockett lost when the plane crashed into her house was the dress she was going to wear to the wedding of her oldest daughter, Jasmine, on Jan. 26.
NTSB report: Plane hit tree before crashing into Palm Coast house
The single-engine airplane that crashed into a Palm Coast house earlier this month killing all three on board first hit a tree, breaking branches and scattering debris for 50 feet as it fell, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board released Friday.


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The almost total marginalization of Rushing and Defense in the NFL is a dissapointment. I always felt the league was best when there were a number of different routes to success.
Today, it certainly seems that there is only one, an elite playmaking QB and Wideouts, with at least a decent O-line. Everything else is of marginal importance, and Defense almost negligible.
But everything goes in cycles. The difference here is that the lague clearly wishes to promote the above style of play and has (IMO) partially ruined the game via rules that make the QB a protected almost Red-Jersey figure in games, and P.I. rules that are often laughable in the minor nature of the contact involved.
Such is life.


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Back in 2012, I was beyond thrilled to meet Rachel Maddow. But I was equally thrilled to meet her executive producer, Bill Wolff. You can read about my encounter with them here: Best New Thing in the World: I met Rachel Maddow last night.
I wrote a sequel to that post about Bill's generosity when he surprised me with a shout out: VIDEO: The SECOND "Best New Thing in the World": A shout out from The Rachel Maddow Show!
And so, last night, when Rachel did a surprising Opposite World segment, the subject matter really hit home. She pulled a switcheroo from her usual Best New Thing in the World and presented The Worst New Thing in the World: Bill Wolff is leaving The Rachel Maddow Show. He "is moving on to an easier show with better hours, not that we're bitter..."
The Hollywood Reporter- ABC is filling another key role in its quest to reinvigorate The View. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that longtime Rachel Maddow Show executive producer Bill Wolff is set to replace Bill Geddie as showrunner for the upcoming season.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Bill Wolff often appeared on camera, but even behind the scenes, he was very visible to us. His humor, intelligence, passion, enthusiasm, and inimitable style pervaded every aspect of TRMS. As Rachel put it, he is a mensch, and he will be sorely missed. Here's to his next big success at his new digs.


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Bristol, England
Bristol is a city of about 500,000 people in southwest England, close to Wales. Thanks to its port, it has been continuously settled since prehistoric times. A thoroughly modern city, Bristol is nevertheless home to several historic religious monuments. Bristol Cathedral was founded in the Norman period, although much of it was rebuilt in the 19th century. The Church of St. Mary Redcliffe, with a tall and slender Gothic spire, is one of the largest and finest parish churches in the country. There are also a number of sights of Protestant interest in Bristol, thanks to the city's connection with John Wesley, founder of Methodism. Follow a link below to explore the religious heritage of Bristol and plan a trip to experience it for yourself.
St. Mary Redcliffe
St Mary Redcliffe is a grand Anglican parish church that is often mistaken for a cathedral. It is the second-largest parish church in England and the tallest building in Bristol.
Bristol Cathedral
Bristol Cathedral began life as a Norman abbey church, became an Anglican Cathedral after the Dissolution in 1539, and was almost entirely rebuilt in the neo-Gothic style in the late 19th century.
Wesley's New Room
The first Methodist chapel in the country, the New Room was built by John Wesley in 1739. The design is attractive in its simplicity and features the double pulpit from which Wesley preached.


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It would not be an understatement to state that newly-appointed Detroit emergency financial manager Kevyn Orr stumbled out the starting block just a day after becoming Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's point man for Detroit's salvation. The man is not perfect or broke, relied on someone else to take care of his taxes, and paid them as soon as he was made aware of the problem.
However, he is an attorney, and one also would reasonably assume that Orr can read and understand Public Act 436, legislation which went into effect March 28, granting him authority well beyond Public Act 72, the law that actually authorized his appointment by Snyder. So it is puzzling to many as to how he could order something under PA 72 that is nullified by PA436 and no one notice or raise hell about it.
On March 26, two days before Public Act 436 went into effect, Orr issued Executive Order No 1, an order that compensation for Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and the City Council would be continued. City Council members could not be happier, and Orr's first order of business seemed to send a message that he was would not be the dictator some Detroiters are labeling him to be.
The problem with all that is that PA436 is crystal clear when it comes to compensation for Detroit's elected leaders. PA436 mandates that the pay for those 10 folk be eliminated immediately and completely. According to the legislation, the first order of business should have been that those officials' salaries be cut from the city's general fund.
From PA436:141.1553.new Pendency of receivership; compensation of chief administrative officer and members of local governing body.
Sec. 13.
"Upon appointment of an emergency manager and during the pendency of the receivership, the salary, wages, or other compensation, including the accrual of postemployment benefits, and other benefits of the chief administrative officer and members of the governing body of the local government shall be eliminated…"
The controlling word here is "shall." From talking to a number of attorneys in the region, the word "shall" is pretty strong, and most of all, explicit, and leaves no wiggle room for mis-interpretation, especially by an attorney of Orr's notoriety. The inclusion of that single word in this legislation in this section makes it abundantly obvious that the so-called "Talentless 10" were to be reduced to a volunteer brigade of not-so-civil servants.
Public Act 436 also directs that compensation for those 10 persons can only be restored AFTER a financial plan is submitted by the EM within 45 days of his appointment. That would mean that the salaries and benefits of the 10 officials should be suspended for at least 45 days.
Again from PA436 141.1553, Sec. 13:
"The emergency manager may restore, in whole or in part, any of the salary, wages, other compensation, or benefits of the chief administrative officer and members of the governing body during the pendency of the receivership, for such time and on such terms as the emergency manager considers appropriate, to the extent that the emergency manager finds that the restoration of salary, wages, compensation, or benefits is consistent with the financial and operating plan."
The financial and operating plan is due to the state within 45 days of the start date for PA436to wit:141.1551-Sec. 11 (2):
"Within 45 days after the emergency manager's appointment, the emergency manager shall submit the financial and operating plan, and an educational plan if the local government is a school district, to the state treasurer, with a copy to the superintendent of public instruction if the local government is a school district, and to the chief administrative officer and governing body of the local government."
The question out there is why are Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and the Detroit city Council receiving any compensation at all when the language in the PA436 is so un-ambiguous. The word on the street is that Snyder, through Orr, is trying to lay down a defense against claims and lawsuits that those Detroiters who do bother to vote have been dis-enfranchised by having their elected official legislatively neutered.
Even that scenario presents a problem for the administration. Why rush to get a replacement act into place when select parts of the Public Act 436 will be conveniently ignored? This gives rise to the suspicions that the state wants to have its cake and eat it, too. Devil's Food Cake, anyone?


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We had the pleasure Saturday morning of seeing our friend, and local artist, Rick Price hang another stunning mural on Main Street in Beacon. His first, which adorns the Howland Library, is a tribute to the library and its influence on the City of Beacon. The second, which sits at the bend in the road at Main Street and Cross Street just as you leave Bank Square, is a tribute to the Beacon Sloop Club, and its influence in helping to clean up and educate people about the Hudson River.
Rick's work is nonpareil, influenced by the work of muralists such as Diego Rivera, and is a stunning and detailed representation of the the Hudson River and the City of Beacon.
If you're making your way to Beacon, I highly suggest you pay a visit.


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Manchester United and Real Madrid look set to lose out on highly-rated transfer target Lucas Digne, after the young French defender signed a new contract with Lille.
According to talkSPORT, both Manchester United and Real Madrid have been pursuing Digne this season, but Lille have been able to secure the 19-year-old on improved terms.
Sir Alex Ferguson has reportedly scouted Digne extensively this term, but the Manchester United boss will now have to look elsewhere for a long-term replacement for Patrice Evra.
Digne is regarded as one the best young full-backs in Europe, and the French teenager has the potential to eventually succeed Evra at Manchester United and for his country.
The left-back, however, is now contracted to Lille until 2017, and Manchester United may now be encouraged to pursue Everton star Leighton Baines, who has been frequently linked with a transfer to Old Trafford.
It was claimed by the Daily Mail in November that Manchester United are considering a £15 million approach for the 27-year-old England international.
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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Jose Fajardo is leaving WMFE…
(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – Jose Fajardo, the president and CEO of WMFE, is leaving, the public broadcaster announced Friday.
Fajardo has been with WMFE since 1996 and became CEO in 2007. He oversaw WMFE's getting out of public television last year, a controversial move that ended with the sale last month of Channel 24 to the University of Central Florida for $3.3 million.
WMFE decided to concentrate on its radio station, 90.7 FM. WMFE Board Chair Bob Showalter said that Fajardo was leaving the radio station in the best financial condition in recent memory. Showalter cited an October fund drive that raised $200,000; the goal had been $180,000…..Cont…..


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Ravaged - Acclaim Trailer
A trailer for Ravaged featuring high praise from media outlets.
A trailer for Ravaged featuring high praise from media outlets.
Ravaged is now available!
The PC shooter Ravaged launches on October 17, 2012.
This week we check out The Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan, 007 Legends, Doom 3 BFG Edition, Ravaged, Mugen Souls and Serious Sam 3: BFE.
Highlights from our play session including tons of helicopter fail and plenty of combat.
Aaron Sampson shows us the closed beta for Ravaged - a post apocalyptic vehicular FPS!
Check out a developer interview for Ravaged, going over the nuts and bolts of the game.
Check out a gameplay teaser trailer for Ravaged.
Check out a behind-the-scenes look at where the ideas for Ravaged come from.
Here's a teaser trailer for Ravaged.
This developer diary for Ravaged breaks down the gyro helicopter featured in the game.
The Trike is spotlighted in thei developer diary for Ravaged.
Use your keyboard!
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NRHA's product knowledge training
programs for employees are designed
to give store associates the information they need to be productive right from the
start. We offer training programs in core hardware and building materials categories
and it's free to all NRHA members.
June 1, 2012 — Obermeier returned to the family store in 2009 and increased sales by 20% in just two years. Additionally, he worked to increase margins 6% by dropping dead inventory, adding new lines and focusing on power equipment repair. His comprehensive rental business has become a regional destination, sharpening more than 800 chains a year. Read more »
May 18, 2012 — The editors of Hardware Retailing offer live feedback from each day of the National Hardware Show. Follow our editors as they uncover the trends, new products and helpful business advice in their daily video recaps. Read more »
May 1, 2012 — The 67th Annual National Hardware Show® got started this morning with a bang as exhibitors and attendees crowded around the National Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) Village Stage for the official opening ceremony. Read more »
April 30, 2012 — As attendees continue to arrive into Las Vegas for this year's National Hardware Show, exhibitors are busy preparing the halls. Editor Jaime Koch gives you a sneak peek at some events you won't want to miss and why the NRHA Rethink Retail Conference, running in conjunction with the National Hardware Show, should be on your to-do list. Join NRHA all this week as we provide live coverage of each day at the National Hardware Show. Read more »
March 29, 2012 — The North American Retail Hardware Association will be performing live booth interviews during the 2012 National Hardware Show®. Anyone who signs up for an interview will receive: Read more »
Get an inside look at photos and videos of events, behind-the-scenes action, new resources and association happenings.
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Stay connected with other professionals in your industry and find outlets for professional development.
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Road to Saturday: Yale tries to salvage its season with a win at Harvard
Yale football is having a rough time lately.
Going back to last year, when a coach and a player were involved in strange incidents involving Rhodes Scholarships, not much has gone right.
The school had to hire a new coach after Tom Williams resigned during an investigation about whether he lied about being a Rhodes Scholarship finalist on his resume. Yale has gone 2-7 this season while dealing with a crazy rash of injuries. If that wasn't enough, Hurricane Sandy affected many alums still on the East Coast.
But, there's always one last chance to turn everything around: The Game.
Harvard and Yale have played 128 times in one of the most heated rivalries in college football. It doesn't take a national stage like Ohio State-Michigan, but Yale and Harvard defines the season for fans of those Ivy League teams.
Harvard is on the upswing. The Crimson is 7-2. Probably more importantly, they have won five in a row against Yale, and 10 of 11.
Mother Nature is piling on Yale too. According to a Bloomberg report, Yale couldn't even sell out its allotment of tickets for the game, and Hurricane Sandy was a big reason why.
"An enormous concentration of former football lettermen are located in the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy," Yale athletic department spokesman Steve Conn said in an email to Bloomberg. "We don't expect anyone impacted by a catastrophic storm like Sandy to place a sporting event on their priority list."
Yale has to overcome a lot to break Harvard's dominance against it. The Boston Globe said Yale is down to its fifth-string quarterback. One quit before the season and three got hurt against Penn. The Bulldogs have scored just seven points in their last two games.
But if they can just get it together for one afternoon against Harvard ...
"It would be a phenomenal way to go out, to get a win against Harvard," linebacker Will McHale said, according to the Boston Globe.
- - -
Got a tip for Dr. Saturday? Email us at email@example.com . You can also connect with us via Twitter @YahooDrSaturday and be sure to "Like" Dr. Saturday on Facebook for football conversations and stuff you won't see on the blog.


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The rosters for the 2014 BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge game at All-Star weekend in New Orleans were announced Thursday night on TNT. The game will take place on Friday, Feb. 21, at 9 p.m. ET, also on TNT. Current NBA analysts Grant Hill and Chris Webber will coach the teams, which are made up of some of the most talented rookies and second-year players in the league.
The rosters, as selected by the respective head coaches:
MORE: Lillard to compete in all events | ASG rosters | Slam Dunk, 3-point, skills rosters
Anthony Davis, F, New Orleans Pelicans
Michael Carter-Williams, G, Philadelphia 76ers
Tim Hardaway Jr., G, New York Knicks
Trey Burke, G, Utah Jazz
Jared Sullinger, F, Boston Celtics
Mason Plumlee, F, Brooklyn Nets
Victor Oladipo, G, Orlando Magic
Steven Adams, C, Oklahoma City Thunder
Kelly Olynyk, C, Boston Celtics
PHOTOS: All-Star Game jerseys through the years
Damian Lillard, G, Portland Trail Blazers
Bradley Beal, G, Washington Wizards
Andre Drummond, C, Detroit Pistons
Harrison Barnes, F, Golden State Warriors
Terrence Jones, F, Houston Rockets
Giannis Antetokounmpo, G, Milwaukee Bucks
Jonas Valanciunas, C, Toronto Raptors
Dion Waiters, G, Cleveland Cavaliers
Pero Antic, C, Atlanta Hawks


text: Continued U.S. investment in maternal health is part of a responsible drawdown in Afghanistan, according to a white paper from the MacArthur-supported Council on Foreign Relations. Authors believe that improving delivery of health-care services could be a stabilizing factor in a country that will continue to face severe security challenges from anti-government forces, and that maternal health has the added benefit of empowering women. More.


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Does this mean the universe will hit old age and die faster?
IIRC, German keyboards have the Z and Y keys close together but in true Slashdot tradition, I can't be bothered to check this (purported) fact right now. Nyah.
There is no epicenter of the Big Bang. It's everywhere. Space itself was created with the Big Bang, remember.
Imagine the universe as a balloon that starts out incredibly tiny, and is then blown up to full size. What's the epicenter of the balloon? It doesn't have one, it's everywhere.
This is also why it's possible that two galaxies can seem to move at higher than c relative to each other - they do not actually move that fast, rather the space between them can expand to make it seem that way.
IIRC, in standard cosmological models the stuff at the edge of the observable universe is moving away from us at exactly the speed of light.
You can also think of the expansion as a growth of space itself, not just the motion of galaxies away from each other.
While what you say may be true (or not), it does not seem to be a requirement. If we can see 13 billion light years, and there is only another billion to go, it seems quite possible that we could see nearly the entire universe, as it existed at the age of 1 billion.
Of course it was all dark, since the plasma hadn't allowed neutral hydrogen to form yet.
There are parts of the universe that are receding from us at the speed of light and faster. Although we might choose a definition of "universe" such that things permanently outside our light cone are excluded, we can indeed see all the way to the big bang -- that's what the cosmic microwave background is.
So we can see all the way back to when the universe was small. It would appear that the further back you look, the more of the universe you can see.
Although we might choose a definition of "universe" such that things permanently outside our light cone are excluded
In a universe with zero cosmological constant, there is nothing that is permanently outside our observable region.
After all if its outside of the observable universe, how can we tell what features it has?
The observation that we live in an open universe, combined with general relativity, make a definite prediction: that the size of the part of the universe observable to us will grow without limit. It's infinite in the sense that if you wait long enough, you can see as much of a volume of space as you like. Sort of like how the number of integers is infinite in the sense that if you count long enough, you can name as many integers as you like.
BTW, I wonder if Slashcode imposes a limit on the depth of replies to replies to replies
God helps them that themselves. -- Benjamin Franklin, "Poor Richard's Almanac"


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The Fourth of July may be officially over, but the fireworks celebrations continue. Montauk's fireworks, originally scheduled for Wednesday night, were postponed until tonight because of last night's threat of thunderstorms. The show will be launched at 9 p.m. from Umbrella Beach. It can be seen from any of Montauk's ocean beaches.
Grucci fireworks will be visible over Shinnecock Bay tomorrow in Southampton as part of the Fresh Air Fund's yearly American Picnic, which begins at 7 p.m. on Meadow Lane.
On Saturday at the Devon Yacht Club in Amagansett, a private show will take place at 9:15 p.m. Nonmembers can catch it from Fresh Pond Beach, Big or Little Albert's Beaches or from the water.
Shelter Island's fireworks will go off on July 14, a Saturday, from a barge at Crescent Beach. The Shelter Island Chamber of Commerce has asked for donations.
Rounding out the July pyrotechnics, the Clamshell Foundation's annual Great Bonac Fireworks Show will explode over Three Mile Harbor on the 21st at 9:15 p.m. The foundation, which is based in East Hampton, has requested donations toward its programs on the East End.
As for Main Beach in East Hampton Village, the East Hampton Fire Department sponsors a display there on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend each year.


text:
111 East 210th Street
Bronx, NY 10467
Requests for consultation or primary care: 866-MED TALK (866-633-8255)
Montefiore Medical Center is the site of inpatient clinical activities of the Einstein Division of Geriatrics.
The Division of Geriatrics Acute Care Service provides comprehensive, integrated primary and consultative care for older adults hospitalized at Montefiore Medical Center. The service is comprised of community-dwelling older adults, residents from long-term and sub-acute care facilities, and consultations from surgical and other disciplines.
Primary care and consultations for older adults are provided at the patient's and/or physician's request. The Einstein-Montefiore geriatrics team provides medical care with a special focus on the following:
Einstein-Montefiore's Division of Geriatrics faculty physicians have particular expertise in the acute care of the frail elderly, with the goal of examining and improving the use of acute care services for this population. This highly visible service assists physicians in all specialties at Montefiore in managing elderly patients, as they are among the most vulnerable and complex patients admitted to the hospital.
The service is led by a geriatrician faculty member and staffed by geriatricians, geriatrics fellows, residents, and students, as well as nurses, pharmacists, rehabilitation specialists, and geropsychiatrists.
Division of Geriatrics
111 East 210 Street
Bronx, NY 10467
Fax: 718-655-9672
more contact info


text:
A college student is alive Thursday after Tallahassee firefighters saved his life.
Station Three responded to a call just after midnight Wednesday night to King Street. Firefighters say when they arrived the front of the duplex was completely engulfed in flames.
Firefighters Scott Simmons and Robert Ingram went into the burning house to search for occupants. They say the back room was locked they kicked it in and carried a young man out to safety.
Firefighters say he is doing fine, but the house is total loss. Investigators say they don't know yet what caused the fire.


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For the second time in recent months, I've been tripped up by police scanner traffic that led me to believe there was an active SWAT incident going on in the Tri-City area.
In May I heard SWAT action on the Fremont police radio channels, and it turned out to be nothing more than a training exercise at a defunct car dealership. And today I heard similar static on the Union City radio channels. One big difference though: I didn't race out there today with my notebook and press pass in hand. Instead I was able to confirm by telephone that stuff I was hearing was indeed a training exercise.
I suppose it's a dead give away when you hear an officer calmly say "shots fired," instead of screaming it as would be the case if the incident were real.
For you scanner junkies, be aware that this training will also be taking place tomorrow.


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|Page (1) of 1 - 02/28/12
|email article
|print page
Woman charged in burning of 3,500-year-old cypress tree in Fla park; 1 of world's oldest
LONGWOOD, Fla. (AP) ' Authorities say a central Florida woman is in jail, charged with setting a fire that burned one of the world's oldest cypress trees.
Investigators say two witnesses identified 26-year-old Sara Barnes as the person who caused the 118-foot-tall bald cypress tree named "The Senator" to burn and collapse Jan. 16.
The Seminole County parks department says ring samples showed the tree was roughly 3,500 years old.
The Orlando Sentinel (http://thesent.nl/yidEHC ) reports that Barnes also took photos of the fire with her cellphone. The Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement searched Barnes' Winter Park home Tuesday and confiscated her cellphone and laptop. Authorities also reported finding methamphetamine, scales and drug paraphernalia. Barnes told investigators she set the fire while trying to use illegal drugs.
Jail records didn't say if Barnes had an attorney.
Information from: Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com


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All it would take to "revive PC gaming" is to have a few truly great games get released. Even the best of last year were little more than machinima.
Not only does console gaming make computer games worse, but as the horrible control mechanisms of Mass Effect 2 and others showed, by using console gaming as a starting point can kill an entire franchise. I was a big fan of Mass Effect, but found ME2 such a mess that I won't spend any money if and when ME3 comes out.
PC gaming IS revived.... It's just not what traditional gamers want.... the big games are things like plants vs zombies, Dinner Dash, Farm Town.... things specifically excluded from Console (and apple) platforms. I'd venture the number of hours on Facebook or Myspace games dwarfs Xbox Live and the demographic spread is much wider.
Yes, this is the issue. Lack of cross platform pc gaming is holding back a ton. However, it's almost equal to the amount if games were available on both wii/ps3/xbox360 at the same time.
The difference, and why the PC gaming will win in the long run? It's easier to just program a game in openGL that runs on all platforms than it is to program for wii/ps3/xbox360 where you have 3 entirely separate hardware and development requirements.
It's easier to just program a game in openGL that runs on all platforms
As I understand it, working around NVIDIA driver defects, ATI driver defects, and Intel driver defects is almost as hard as writing a wrapper around PS3 OpenGL ES, Xbox 360 DirectX, and Wii GX.
Really? You seriously think PC gaming is being held back by the tiny market share of Linux and Mac desktops?
That's a little like saying iPhone game development is being held back by the N-Gage....
"The difference, and why the PC gaming will win in the long run? It's easier to just program a game in openGL that runs on all platforms than it is to program for wii/ps3/xbox360 where you have 3 entirely separate hardware and development requirements."
No it's not, because you have to cater to the different levels of processing power, memory, disk storage, you still have to optimise for the different iterations of difference graphics cards for each different vendor, you have to implement optimisations. You
And who exactly are those who want to use OpenGL? Not the developers, as it has serious problems and shortcomings compared to DirectX [slashdot.org] - not all technical, but other issues too.
Gamers? They probably don't even know the technical or philosophical differences between OpenGL and DirectX, and if they do, they don't care.
And who doesn't want to use DirectX 11? You should make your games to support if already, along with providing fallback to DX9 and DX10. Gamers and their hardware will catch up.
And who exactly are those who want to use OpenGL? Not the developers,
Plenty of developers want to develop for multiple platforms, and don't want to be tied to Windows. Especially with the rise of powerful mobile gaming platforms.
Gamers? They probably don't even know the technical or philosophical differences between OpenGL and DirectX, and if they do, they don't care.
Gamers in general (90% console), maybe not, but PC gamers are much more likely to understand the difference.
Saying OpenGL allows direct development to multiple platforms including mobiles doesn't make much sense because in pretty much every case you would need to do the rendering engine again, and in most cases also change the gameplay completely. Mobile phones don't scale up to same performance as consoles or PC.
If PC gamers understand the technical difference, then they know DirectX is technically superior. But those who understand and care about the philosophical difference are probably along the same numbers
DirectX 11 in this context does not mean 'version 11 of the Microsoft API for game programming' it means 'graphics cards with geometry and compute shaders and hardware tessellation support'. Whether these are programmed using DirectX 11 or OpenGL 4 (with OpenCL) is largely irrelevant. If you use these features effectively, you need quite a different design to the older model where you just had vertex and pixel shaders. If you target the older functionality, supported by consoles, then your game will work fine on newer hardware. If you target the newer hardware then a console port will involve a significant amount of rewriting.
The Voodoo card did texturing in hardware and the GeForce did transform and lighting as well, but these were just accelerating parts of the fixed-function pipeline. You used the same programming model with and without this acceleration, it just made your code run faster. With pixel and vertex shaders, you had two separate code paths, one for the fixed-function pipeline and one with shaders. This was a bit more effort, but you were mainly using the shaders to do the same thing as the fixed-function pipeline, just with a few more special effects. With geometry and compute shaders, you can generate a lot of your data on the GPU. Writing fall-back code basically means either writing the engine twice or not using the new hardware to anything close to its full potential.
If "no one really wants to use it", why are AMD (ATI) and nVidia implementing it then in their hardware? In the past those companies have been succesful, because they have made products people want.Yes it's true, we have to wait for the games that can use it, but so what? It's the same as with DX9 and DX10 before.
Besides you need a lot more than just OpenGL, because you need input and sound right?
This used to be much more true when DirectX wasn't artificially limited to the OS version. You just downloaded your new DirectX version and went to town when you bought a new video card.
DirectX 10 became a "Vista exclusive", despite the fact that unofficial ports made it work on Windows XP without much muss or fuss. It was an artificial limitation. So, in order to upgrade from DirectX 9 to DirectX 10, you had to buy a new video card and a new OS. Even some Microsoft games artificially limited detail to make the game seem better on 10 than on 9. Of course, a few clever hackers exposed this as well. DirectX 11 is and update to DirectX 10 and similarly incompatible with Windows XP.
This bs has left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. Couple that with the absolutely absurd Digital Restrictions Management in some PC games and the taste is downright sour. (Related note: Honestly, if you knowingly buy an Ubisoft game at this point, you're an idiot... their games are basically useless because of DRM now.)
When you program a console you know exactly what hardware is available so you can create a "budget" for polygons which uses it 100%.
On a PC you have to program for 20 different levels of hardware capability and try to scale the graphics up/down accordingly. It never really works properly and programmers hate doing it.
There's also the issue of drivers. On a console you know what the drivers are and what bugs are present. On a PC you have no idea.
The stability/predictability of a console's environment is what gives it the edge over a PC, not raw processing power.
Why are modern games being judged based on their technological prowess? How is this holding back PC games? Games produced for five year old tech still run on modern machines. So what if games are targeted towards years-old technology? Are they fun? Are people buying them? There's more to a game that shading effects and the hundreds of hours that dedicated teams put into making realistic water ripples.
Games are sold based upon gameplay and fun. In this current market, those are more easily found in the console market. I don't see that changing.
You're somewhat wrong, because games are also sold by their graphics and sounds and such. You're probably thinking that great graphics and sounds make a bad game, but you can have the both. I enjoy some of the old games, but seriously I rather play with awesome graphics and sound environment too.
Also, you are missing one important thing. If you free more resources from the graphic rendering by using newer technology, you can have more resources on AI and other gameplay elements.
"Graphics" != "latest hardware". Graphics are important, but to a limited extent. The graphics created on five-year old tech pleases the vast majority of the market. The common gamer does not see a need to move to DX11 when games produced on DX9 are "good enough". I never said that graphics were unimportant, just suggested that continually pushing the graphical envelope is a fruitless journey.
//PC Gamer since 1986
Your example of Cave Story just illustrated another point: PCs tend to be better for games from smaller studios. Indie games on PCs are commonplace; indie games on Sony and Nintendo consoles need a jailbreak unless some major label notices the developer. See Bob's Game [wikipedia.org] for an example of what Nintendo can put developers through. And the modding tools for PC games tend to be far more complete than for console games. For example, the stage editor in Super Smash Bros. Brawl is limited to just a few predetermined pieces on a grid; there's no way to add custom pieces, custom characters, or a custom soundtrack.
There is no shortage of MMOGs. The category is growing, even, at an insane rate, despite (or because of?) WoW's dominance. There are only 24 hours in a day, and peeps who play MMOGs can never "beat" their game -- they are continuously rewarded for playing, constantly and forever, and pay monthly for the privilege in many cases.
Many no longer have the time or inclination to start a new, one-off PC game. I recall an interview with supposed "Diablo-Killer" Titan's Quest creators who attributed the poor sales of their well-reviewed game to the fact that their prospective player-base could not break away from their MMOGs.
That's not holding back. It's just that players find those MMORPG's more fun to play. Isn't that improvement in gaming?
That's almost like saying that a few more fun and great games are destroying the market because people play those and don't buy the ones they don't enjoy so much.
In theory, MMORPG are more profitable than other games because:
1. They bring money from monthly fees if P2P or microtransactions if F2P
2. As you need to connect to a server with a valid account, cannot be pirated
Seeing the low quality of the latest games (the cannot possibly keep a large number of players after a couple of months),
it seem to me that the second reason is the real one for the constant production of new MMORPGS (companies are more interested
in the "fast money" from boxes sold)
...prefer game consoles. For starters, you're dealing with a uniform hardware platform. The core specs and capabilities don't change too often, only about once every 5 years or so. So if you are developing for the Xbox360, you only have to get it to work on one 360 and it should work on all. On a PC, you're encountering a vast array of hardware configurations. X CPU with Y Motherboard using Z GPU. So while you can optimize for a number of these, you can't do it for all and that leads to a certain percentage of your customer base complaining.
That and pirating console games is a bit tougher for the average consumer. Usually requires a hardware mod chip and most people don't feel they have the technical skill to install one. On the PC, piracy is pretty much fire up bittorrent, go to the piratebay, and download.
I think you're exagerating the amount of configurations developers deal with. Motherboard version is largely irrelevant. X CPU, well, if the software is designed to scale on the amount of cores, then the only concern is if the CPU is fast enough to execute what you need it to. Well, its the same with single threaded games but I would hazard a guess that most AAA games are capable of scaling. As for videocards, its largely about what feature set it has, and many of them share the same feature set, within sim
Why should devs adopt DX11? Because the last iteration of DX lasted about a year and a half before being ditched and extended/redone? Because the majority of the market doesn't have DX11 cards? Because there's no clear advantage in developing to DX11 rather than DX9c?
Why should developers shift from something they know to something that they don't know as well unless there was significant profit motive to do so? There simply isn't in this case.
Also, Windows XP does not support DX10 or 11.Microsoft did this thinking that it will cause the gamers to upgrade when new games need the new version (in the past games used the newest DX version that was available). However, since DX10 was on Vista, people did not upgrade, so the game companies continued to make games that work on XP since this way they can have a larger customer base (DX9 game runs on XP, Vista and 7), since intentionally restricting your customers is stupid.
Windows XP is still on ~50% of
The real question is:
Is the rush for performance and graphics killing the fun in video games?
I think so.
This argument has been made since 1992 and before. I should know; I actually made that claim in a USENET post in response to someone at Id software on the original comp.sys.ibm.pc.games board. Of course, that same company then came out with DOOM a few years later. I was wrong then, and you are wrong now. The rush for performance didn't kill the fun in video games.
What has happened, however, is diminishing returns. This used to be manifest in the size of the team and expense of the game. Now it's comin
Does anyone really think this cycle is any different? We're pretty much at the mid-point of the console cycle: PCs are flexing their muscle (again) and developers are reluctant to design just for PCs. But, as always, more will jump back on the PC bandwagon as it becomes obvious that the PC is the place to be for graphic quality (and the market loves eye candy). Eventually the console makers will decide to release new hardware to try to coax them back, and we'll repeat this cycle again.
So what's changed?
Eventually the console makers will decide to release new hardware to try to coax them back, and we'll repeat this cycle again.
Except it appears the next generation of actual console hardware is far off. The new gimmick won't be better graphics but instead "Mii-too" motion control. Sony has the PlayStation Eye and the new Move controller, and Microsoft has Natal. And among the big three, the only console maker that has taken any effort to coax the smallest developers away from PCs is Microsoft with its XNA Creators Club; the others require a dedicated office and prior commercial titles [warioworld.com].
The thing that has changes is that the PC exclusive game has almost died out. There is of course still WoW and a handful of other tiles, but most of the big titles these days are basically console games first and the PC might get a port later on. This is even true for series that originated on the PC.
Another changed is that the hardcore gaming PC game has died out. The last one that really pushed the envelope was Crysis, but that is already over two years old. All other titles take a much more moderate appr
I'm not an huge gamer, but my preference is to sit in front of my TV on my XBox 360 or Wii when playing games. In truth I couldn't give a rat's derrière about the graphics of the games I play so long as I find them compelling and fun. Then again when your business model is based solely on churning out the same game time after time and you only differentiate the games by the graphics I suppose this argument becomes reasonable.
Hey game makers, here's a clue: In the last few weeks I have played video games quite a bit due to a knee injury that's meant I can't do much else. If I think seriously about the amount of time I've spent playing video games recently, the one game that really sticks in my mind and has me itching to play it more is Bit Trip Beat on the Wii. Realistically I probably could've run that game on my 25 year old Amiga if I still had it... but damn that game's fun!
I've always been a PC fan all the way back to the original SimCity on my 286. Throughout the years I've also owned Consoles (Nintendo, Gameboy, SNES, N64, Gamecube, GBA, XBox, XBox360, Wii, etc, etc, etc). I've probably owned/built just as many gaming rigs as well.
Obviously I take gaming a little more as a hobby than just a time waster.
The one thing I have loved all this time is Multiplayer. It wasn't really possible back on the 286 unless you shared a keyboard as gaming on PC's was in its infancy. At this point in time it was easier to play multiplayer on one console with a friend.
A few years passed and the internet became a big thing. Quake for example was one of my favorites! Especially CTF online with clans. I even ran my own unsuccessful one but even so, it was a blast! Consoles couldn't touch this kind of fun! 5 on 5, 10 on 10. Just awesome!
Consoles at this time, really couldn't do this at all. XBox + Live just wasn't around yet.
Later on when XBox arrived and I got into the Live! Beta I started to see what multiplayer on consoles is like. Pretty fun! Problem for me here was that FPS games just weren't fun with a controller. I really did (and still do to a certain extent) need a keyboard/mouse combo to be a threat.
So for quite a while, I still preferred to play FPS's on a PC. However, this has changed as of late. Games that I want to play are either coming out without server support and/or mod support (Modern Warfare 2) or are simply outpacing my hardware. Combine those two and frankly, I simply don't want to upgrade my graphics card every year just to play the latest and greatest games. Especially considering that Modern Warfare 2 works just fine on my 360 and I get to play nice multiplayer battles. When it came out, my hardware was just as good as everyone elses. Sure, I have to get use to a controller, but it seems a small price to pay versus making sure my rig can handle the game (plus I run Ubuntu now).
In the end, I'm realizing that gaming on a console is just a _ton_ easier than it is on a PC. They both have the same options and generally roughly the same graphics. The only difference is the controllers.
In my mind, consoles just have the upper hand. Less cost, less hassle (juggling OS's), and the same multiplayer options. It has just become a lot more convenient over the years to play on a console.
And that's my 2 cents on the issue.
Console = 5 years old PC hardware with locked options.
That would be more insightful if PC games didn't typically hold back to support the older cards out there. Depending on where you are in the cycle, PC games are more like 2 years, if that, ahead of a console.
I like a lot of the open source games on Ubuntu, but to be honest you could play most of those on a NetBook
True, open-source games tend to work better on last-gen hardware. But netbooks? A lot of the games in Ubuntu's repository require a screen at least 768px tall, which netbooks tend to lack. For example, the Dell Mini 10 with Ubuntu still has a 1024x600 pixel screen. At least console game developers can rely on standard resolutions like 640x480 (SDTV and EDTV) or 1280x720 (HDTV).
This is all about piracy. Games are harder to pirate on the consoles. If you can boot a pirate copy on a console it can often be detected when you go online. You then get banned from online play.
You can also trade in console games and get a reasonable amount of money back.
Right now, consoles are behind PC gaming and derided by some as antiquated and holding back progress.
And then, in a year or two, the next generation of consoles will slightly leapfrog the average gaming PC, the death of PC gaming will be predicted, and the new commoditized hardware will sell like crazy.
The sales surge will fund ATI and nVidia's development of the next generation of GPUs, PC gamers will provide an eager market to test the next generation hardware, and the cycle will repeat itself.
The simple answer is that 95% of the PC gaming market** can use DX9 while only 56% can use DX10.
* That 39% for DX9 includes 22% people with DX10 hardware using DX9 Win XP.
** Assuming Steam account holders who allow the HW survey are indicative of the relevant PC gaming market. Personally I'm inclined to assume it's not far off, at least not so far that it matters.
If not being able to use the latest shiny things is holding things back, then I say good. Why should I have to spend 2 grand on the latest and greatest hardware every 6 months just to play the latest fad game, when the computer I bought 2 or 3 years ago still serves perfectly well for everything else? Computers are expensive, and last I checked most of the world is dragging it's feet out of financial crisis. Additionally, we reached the 'good enough' mark a long time ago. Pushing the technical envelope for the sake of pushing has been an exercise of diminishing returns for a while now.
The Nintendo Wii in particular has proven a very important point. Hardware spec wise, it's a pile of crap. Yet it's also a wildly popular platform. Why? Affordability is a significant factor. Also it's because instead of focusing on massive polygon counts and 1600x antialiasing and whatnot other geewhizbang features, they make games that are enjoyable to play.
If I wanted high quality photorealistic graphics withe pixel perfect shading, etc, I can go outside. It's better than 1600x1200x32 bits [userfriendly.org] out there.
Now get off my lawn!
The Nintendo Wii in particular has proven a very important point. Hardware spec wise, it's a pile of crap. Yet it's also a wildly popular platform. Why? Affordability is a significant factor. Also it's because instead of focusing on massive polygon counts and 1600x antialiasing and whatnot other geewhizbang features, they make games that are enjoyable to play.
Popularity has nothing to do with quality. Wii is popular because it's a very social platform. people like to have friends over and play things together. they never really care for game quality, as most Wii games are a pile of crap (just like the hardware), but they are fun when you're with friends.
Games as a business probably make more sense on the console. but just because most people are happy with crappy games and equally shitty hardware is that a reason to stop pursuing new frontiers?
Most people don't
Most computers being sold today contain crappy integrated graphics (Intel GMA etc). Only the high end expensive machines tend to come with graphics good enough to play modern 3D games on.
If you want a machine with 3D graphics capabilities, you need to either build one yourself or buy a high-end expensive machine. If you just buy your typical "house brand" PC from stores like Best Buy, Staples, Office Depot etc, you will get crappy graphics.
Whereas, for the price of a typical "gaming" PC, you could likely buy an XBOX 360 or PS3 AND 1/2 dozen games (if you buy the cheaper titles instead of the latest and greatest that is)
There are much bigger issues than graphics in this "Console/PC" debate. The really big issues are things like user interface and game controls. Take Oblivion for example- that game's interface was significantly altered to accommodate console play, which made it a sub-optimal for the PC: an overly simplistic UI and relatively poor use of screen real estate.
PC gamers expect a lot more from their games- private servers, LAN play, mods, etc.; and as the Modern Warfare 2 debacle showed us, game companies are showing less & less love for the PC. There's tons more money (and less hassle) to be make on the consoles. That's a MUCH bigger hurdle than "Console graphics are the holding PCs back!"
What's really interesting to me is how MMOGs haven't really made it to the console. I think that's because of the console's revenue model, which really only supports "throwaway" games with a very short life span. You'd think a subscription-style game would have amazing appeal for console game-makers, but where are the games?
Yes, games are being held back by consoles. PC games used to push the edge of the envelope, not they simply follow the consoles. It's getting particularly bad, with many games designed for consoles and then poorly ported to PC. It wouldn't be so bad if the studios would at least make an effort to port them properly. I've come across all of these problems in many games over the past few years:
- Poorly designed menu systems that do not support mice (keyboard/gamepad only)
- Poorly designed keyboard maps that don't follow established PC standards, which leads to the next item
- Inability to remap or customize keyboard controls
- Games which do not support standard PC peripherals (e.g. some PC games only support console gamepads. I don't own an Xbox so don't force me to buy a damn Xbox gamepad to play your game). Same for driving wheels/pedals.
- Games with severely limited graphics options. These are a must to tailor the game experience to the hardware and performance expectations.
- Games with crippled graphics effects (limited draw distances, low-res textures, artificially limited environments, etc)
- Games with poor savegame support, or only support checkpoints
- Games being launched on consoles, with PC ports following very late afterward (sometimes 6-12 months later or never)
I could go on and on. Literally, there are very few games I've purchased in the last 5 years which do not have at least one or two of the above problems, with a few managing to tick nearly all of the above. I blame the cross-platform game development environments which basically force the game design onto consoles with PC's being treated as second class citizens. It's not likely to change either, as consoles are very popular and many game studios see them as a more profitable market.
I don't hate consoles, they are fine for what they do and I happen to own 2 (Wii and PS2), but the games I play on consoles are vastly different than the games I play on PC. I want my PC games to push the envelop of technology, sadly this seems to be against the trend.
Desktops are obsolete and laptops aren't powerful enough to run the games. That keeps me from PC gaming. There's no way I can be bothered or justify the expense of setting up a desktop just for gaming, and I already have a laptop for everything else.
The only way it could work is if my HTPC became a gaming PC too. However that would interfere with its HTPC duties, it would require a more powerful box and hence no 10W idling (and possibly even be noisy, ouch!) and I'd be playing on the TV which negates most of the advantages of PC gaming in the first place.
Somewhat offtopic, but a lot of people have been posting comments equating TFS's question to "is PC gaming dying?" Last year, when the overall gaming market declined, PC gaming revenues increased by 19% worldwide (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/62729). PC Gaming is definitely not dying.
It's not consoles that're holding games back. It's Windows 7. All the hard-core gamers I know are still running XP on their gaming rigs because of the hit they get to frame rates running Windows 7. These are the people who care about a 5fps difference even when they're getting over 60fps. The game companies know these people are their core audience, and if they put out a game these people can't run on their rigs that game won't sell well. Those rigs run XP, XP won't do higher than DirectX 9c, so the game companies target DX9c. It'll run on the hard-core gamers' rigs, it'll run on the average consumer's Windows 7 machine, so there's no sense in supporting DX10 or DX11. The only games I've seen that require DX10 or DX11 come from Microsoft itself.
Always leave room to add an explanation if it doesn't work out.


text:
This from the Boston Globe:
Police searching the Quincy apartment of Philip Markoff found underwear from two of the victims in the Craigslist attacks and a handgun hidden in a hollowed-out copy of the medical textbook Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation.
The underpants were described as "mementos" from the crimes, according to another law enforcement official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity. It was not known from which victims the garments were taken, the officials said. Investigators are testing the gun to determine whether the semi-automatic weapon was used to fatally shoot a 26-year-old masseuse last week at the Boston Marriott Copley Place.
Markoff, 23, is a Boston University medical school student whopleaded not guilty yesterdayto charges stemming from attacks against two women in posh Back Bay hotels. Police in Warwick, R.I., say a prostitute who also advertised on Craigslist was attacked in a hotel there last Thursday,but Markoff has not been charged with that crime. No new victims have come forward so far, one of the law enforcement officials said today.
Authorities have said that his alleged crimes may have been motivated by a gambling problem and a desire to dominate his victims.


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"Hi! I have an appointment to have my nipple pierced?" I said brightly to the man standing behind the counter. He smiled welcomingly and asked if it would be my first. When I told him yes, he went into his speel of the health and feeding of a piercing, closing with proper cleaning. "We recommend you should use a cleaning agent. Do you have any Hiberclens?" He asked. "And are you allergic?"
My research had not covered this and I stood there looking a
little perplexed. I was armed with a lot of book knowledge and little else. Actually, nothing else. I didn't even know anyone personally who had a piercing.
I'm allergic to penicillin, but I had never heard of
Hiberclens. I told him I didn't think so, and he produced a
bottle from under the counter. It had been a long drive for me
to the city to have this done by professionals, so I went for the
bells and whistles and bought the stuff. They even showed me a
video on how to use it; now that's what I call service. Keep it
clean and don't fiddle with it until its healed. Use the
Hiberclens religiously and all should be well in a few short
My nipple was still in pain after a month. My research
didn't really cover lasting pain, so I figured it was because I was a wimp. I increased my doses of Potassium, Zinc and C and the concentration of Hiberclens.
A month after I called the piercers and told them it was
still hurting. They couldn't suggest anything over the phone and asked me to come in. `But don't take it out', they recomended. I made plans do it on my coming days off.
Now, this was about the time when a seemingly, unrelated
problem cropped up. Jock itch. I started with powders, then
ointments to finally this gooey herbal concoction my roommate
cooked up. The itching had grown so intense that I felt if I
scratched enough I would orgasm. My will power finally gave out
and I had to leave work early as the itching drove me insane.
The day I had planned to go to the piercer, I went to the
doctor. He confessed he knew nothing about piercings, but gave
me some antibiotics to clear up the puss, as for my flaming
scrotum, he concluded I had scabies. Tiny little mites that
borrow under the skin. Wonderful. He gave me a lotion and said
it was two doses, but I should only need one and the itching
would stop in a couple days.
My doctor is no intern, he knows his stuff. I figured I was
good as healed.
Both doses and a week later my nads were hell fire and my
poor, sore nipple was threatening to leave. I didn't know what to do. It was looking as if the money I spent on the piercing was going to go to waste. I was going to have to take out the piercing.
Back at the doctor, a new lotion to kill those scabies and
more anti-biotic. He had done a little research and concluded that taking out the piercing wasn't going to solve anything, so leave it in.
Coming back from the doctors my wife and I dropped
unexpectedly at her parents house who asked us to stay for dinner. (Hold on, this is important.) I was hot and miserable and decided to take a shower. Away from home I was without my Hiberclens, but I figured that at this point, one day wasn't going to kill me.
Now, my in-laws have this huge mirror in their bathroom and
while toweling off, I noticed there was a bright, red stripe that ran from my sore nipple, to my crotch. Although I have been classed as a person of color, other colors don't come casually. This was my first clue that there was a connection between the two. Hey, I never said I was smart.
That night, I noticed there was an ease in my nipple and in
my groin. It didn't take an Einstein to figure out it was the Hiberclens. I was washing my nipple in the shower and it was rinsing down into my groin. All of my sensitive skin was feeling the affects. I re-read the instructions and I had been following them correctly. But there was the fine print: `If rash develops..."
Well, everything cleared up. I went with plain soap and
water, not ready to risk anything else. I would imagine that under normal use, Hiberclens encourages a piercing to heal faster than any other product. Its just those damned allergies can take any form. I'm sure that if I had taken the time to go back to my piercer, he might have figured it out sooner. Oh well, live and learn. I'm now ready to have the other one done.
Comments to email@example.com
submitted by: Anonymous
on: 25 Sept. 1997
in Nipple Piercing
Artist: +
Studio: +
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text:
OREGON – The Oregon choir teacher has resigned in the wake of violations that apparently took place at this year's state high school solo and ensemble contest.
The school board accepted Mitch Lauer's resignation, effective April 23, at this week's meeting.
Lauer was placed on paid administrative leave April 9 after school officials were informed of a rules violation at the March 2 competition at West Carroll High School in Savanna.
According to Illinois High School Association records, Oregon scored 240 points and took first place in Class B in this year's vocal competition.
Superintendent Tom Mahoney said earlier this month that an investigation by school officials, in cooperation with the IHSA, revealed that the rules violations did occur.
"Under the direction of their teacher, at both the 2011-12 and 2012-13 IHSA Solo and Ensemble Contests, Oregon High School students participated under the names of other students and therefore violated IHSA rules," Mahoney said in a news release.
As a result, the IHSA placed the OHS music program on probation for 2 years and sanctioned Lauer.
The sanctions mean he is prohibited from participating in any way with OHS or any other IHSA member school during the IHSA Solo And Ensemble and Organizational Music Contests during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years.
This includes but is not limited to attending the contests, managing and directing at the contests, and having contact with students during the contests.
The music program's probationary status does not deprive the school of any of its privileges as an IHSA member. It does, however, serve as an official warning that any further violation of IHSA bylaws or other organization rules could bring more serious consequences.
The school district also imposed its own sanctions on the music program.
OHS vacated its placement in the contest and returned all trophies and plaques associated with the accomplishment. OHS officials also met individually with each student who broke the rules and collected any medals earned under a different student's name.


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Gautier, MS Rental Homes and Apartments for Rent
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