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Alex Payne looks at the odds ahead of round two of the Six Nations
Alex Payne says Ireland stalwart Brian O'Driscoll can guide his side to victory over in-form England.
Last Updated: 08/02/13 4:46pm
The biggest winner from the opening weekend was surely Warren Gatland, the Lions head coach, and you would imagine he'll have a very close eye on events in Dublin this weekend...
Ireland v England
Since England's Grand Slam win in Dublin a decade ago, Ireland have been the Red Rose's bogey team with seven wins in nine Six Nations games. This does feel like a very different England, though, one that isn't burdened with talk of the 2003 World Cup triumph and isn't saddled with the weight of past failures in the Irish capital. Such has been the high turnover of players that from the last Six Nations trip to Dublin, for the 2011 Grand Slam, only five of the side remain.
For Ireland, rather like England, things seem to be coming together pretty quickly. Prior to their win over Argentina in November, the Irish had only won two of their previous 10 games, beating Italy and Scotland. However, in Cardiff their work at the breakdown was as frenzied as in the Grand Slam season of '09, while Brian O'Driscoll's form is back where he wants it and the defence in the second half to stifle the Welsh comeback was nothing short of heroic. It is a win that will have lit Ireland's fires of ambition and belief and England will need to be ready to handle the passion on Sunday.
In terms of the game, England must bring everything that was so impressive at Twickenham - huge intensity at the breakdown, the subtlety of the offloading game which caused Scotland so much uncertainty, the threat of Ben Youngs and the authority of Owen Farrell. However, given the ferocity of Ireland's defence England won't have anything like the time on the ball that they enjoyed in round one, and they'll have to be tighter to deny Ireland the same opportunities that brought Scotland two long-range strikes.
England have a very exciting momentum with them at the moment but I can't escape Ireland's air of desperation - driven by O'Driscoll's pending departure from centre stage. For so long he has been the danger man in this fixture, having not lost to England since 2003, and in the last four match ups in Dublin he's come away with three tries and a drop goal. It's going to be close, but I think Ireland will come through - just. The home side by 1-5 points is available at 9/2.
France v Wales
To Paris, and the two sides with most of the disappointment to shift from the shoulders after round one. Wales seem to be carrying the weight of the world at the moment, and their first 40 minutes in Cardiff were symptomatic of a side that has lost its mojo. They did save face with the second half fight back, but even the coaching staff have been admitting this week that there are no quick fixes. One boost is the enforced selection of Justin Tipuric who made a big impact after the break, the open-side was about the only Welsh player to enhance his Lions claims.
And what of France? After their autumn they were my one banker last weekend, but like so many great French sides before them they managed to serve up a performance of such staggering apathy that you wonder why they bother. 'Beware the backlash' is a phrase that has been used so many times before with the French, and judging by the performances in November and the volatility of their coach Phillipe St. Andre, expect them to have blood pouring from their noses and black eyes before they even emerge from the tunnel.
I think the French will look to play a bit more this weekend - the likes of Wesley Fofana (pictured) and Yoann Huget will be hungry to get the ball in their hands and the Stade de France jumping. For me, the real interest lies around Mathieu Basteraud who comes back in to the centre to partner his Toulon team mate Maxime Mermoz. On a club level their defence has been shredded recently in the Heineken Cup, and while Basteraud is dangerous going forward (15/2 to score a brace is interesting), I would keep a keen eye on his opposite number Jonathan Davies who will hope to exploit their uncertainty - Wales' 13 is 20/1 as first try scorer and 7/2 anytime.
However, I'm afraid I'm going for France in this one - apologies to all my friends over the Severn bridge, but France to win and win quite comfortably. They have to wake up at some point, and I think Les Blues will make it nine loses on the bounce for Wales. 11-15 is 6/1, 16-20 on offer at 15/2.
Scotland v Italy
And finally to Murrayfield - Italy with the result of round one and probably of their Six Nations history, and Scotland with bits to build on from their trip to Twickenham. This is such an important game for these two - for the Italians to prove that they're building consistency alongside their new adventurous style, for Scotland to prove that they're not getting cut adrift from the rest of the pack.
A 20-point defeat against England is bad reading on paper, but there were signs to admire in Scotland's losing cause - Johnnie Beattie, Stuart Hogg and Matt Scott all had fine matches and the attacking intent looked sharper than in recent seasons.
But their inability to stop England on the gain line meant that they were always chasing attackers, and with it the game. The control at half back also remains an issue, something that has long been an Achilles heel for the Italians. However, Luciano Orquera (pictured) showed on Saturday that the debate around 10 may die down for a while.
One concern as far as Italy are concerned is how much the win over France has taken out of them emotionally, but with the weather set to be dry on Saturday I'm going with the visitors - the set piece and power game has always been there but the new found attacking intent makes them so much more dangerous than the old sides which just used to stifle. In terms of anytime try scorers, I'm sticking with the outside centre theme and will be keeping an eye on Thomas Benvenuti who has been very strong in the Heineken Cup this season.
Two 8s over the line last weekend, let's hope it is lucky 13 for the anytime tryscorers - O'Driscoll, Basteraud, Davies and Benvenuti all worth investigating.
Here's hoping round two delivers on the entertainment front again, and brings you a few winning bets!


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Amazingly, pretty much nothing about people's income has kept pace with the cost of living during the last 30 years. And they are wondering why less people are flying airplanes?
Indeed. It's the same story with recreational sailboat registrations.
Tort reform lacking, plane builders are driven out by fake litigation costs.
What do you expect when you elect lawyers to run things they feed their brethren...
Many things have "conspired" to drive down private aviation.
1. As you mention, insurance costs for small plane manufacturers. Somehow, when some idiot flies into IFR weather, despite warnings from the FFS and ATC, the plane manufacturer is liable. Several small manufacturers have been bankrupted by lawsuits resulting from just one accident caused by pilot error.
2. Local communities are raising fees, placing restrictions on, and generally forcing small airports to close. Small strips in the middle of nowhere
Amazingly, pretty much nothing about people's income has kept pace with the cost of living during the last 30 years. And they are wondering why less people are flying airplanes?
Well, the cost of flying lessons is mostly dependent on the per-hour airplane costs.
Ground school is so cheap, most flying schools (Flight Training Units) ask for $200 and it's a lifetime membership - take it as many times as you want. Or you can take online courses for a little more.
But the plane rental is fairly expensive. Though there are several innovations in the area. Like Light Sport, which has far lower rental costs, far lower training requirements (half the time), and while it's a bit restrictive, it is a cheap stepping stone to a full private pilot's license. Plus, no medical - if you hold a valid driver's license, you can self-certify.
The other innovation is flight simulation - many schools are getting new RedBird full motion simulators (cheap - something like $30K fully equipped). Some schools even offer free use of the simulators to practice as much as you want, minimizing the amount of propeller spinning time because you can practice maneuvers over and over again at a much lower cost.
And it's not news - AOPA in 2011 did an extensive survey of why aviation has an 80+% dropout rate. Barring financial difficulties, they discovered there's a lot of systemic problems - imagine you're spending $20,000 on flight training - you'd like to be treated with respect, courtesy, and everything else due a customer, right? Surprisingly, they found a good portion of horror stories.
Of course, the other big reason is, well, pilots aren't paid very much. If you intend to make it a career, you're looking at $40-80K+ in education (comparable to many degrees). However, the starting pay for a right seater (copilot) on a regional is barely $20k. And that's the shit routes with shit times and shit layovers. Give it a good 15 years, and maybe you can get into big iron like a 737 and start making $100K+. Provided your airline hasn't folded, merged, or anything else (one of the biggest things during airline mergers is seniority - the longer you have been with the airline, the more you're paid, and it takes years).
Yes, the early career of a pilot is poverty. Most people have done the math and realized they could just get an engineering degree (even in aerospace!) and make twice that as a new grad. Or more.
Of course, the final thing is that people think flying is "for the rich" - but all you need is a decent middle-class income. It greatly extends the reach of the "weekend getaway" from a state away to several states away. Or you can go from coastal California (say, San Diego) to Vegas for a weekend and still have a lot of time to gamble, see a show, and partake lunch, while arriving home in time for dinner.
Except for those that got wrecked, most of those planes from 1980 are still flying. So if there are fewer pilots, it's no surprise that few new planes are being built.
Add to the costs: fuel. Overhauls from hell, with designs that haven't improved much since the 1940s. Draconian IFR costs. Jepps that break the bank. Tie down fees from the depths of hell. NOTAMs only a mother could love or an engineer understand, and plentiful poundage of them. Insurance costs.
Yeah, older planes still fly, fewer pilots, new plane costs far higher than the cost of an average new home.
And people wonder why sales are in the crapper.
Well perhaps if planes did not cost as much as high end luxury cars (i'm sure federal regulations are some of that cost). More people would be into flying. Just learning to fly is expensive. It is a hobby only the well to do can afford anymore.
I spent pretty much my whole childhood hanging out at the local general avaition field. Gone were the days when pilots felt secure taking some local kid up for a flight. And that was 30 years ago.
Yes. A new Cessna 172 Skyhawk probably cost $310,000 or more.
Even renting an older (though nice and very well-maintained) airplane is $90/hr, which at least includes fuel.
Some people kit-build planes, but that's a lot of work and it all has to be done and maintained right.
Insurance is expensive. Renting a hangar stall is expensive. Continuing education is expensive.
Regulations don't help, though there are low-regulation categories. Those are a considerably higher risk category because some of the people that take advantage of the lower barrier to entry are a bit more lax in doing things properly.
Learning to fly often isn't a good career move because pilots are now generally paid poorly.
One really has to want to fly badly, especially to give up several other hobbies to afford flying.
Yep. Also, I recently got life insurance, and one of the questions they asked me was, "Have you been aboard an aircraft other than as a passenger on a commercial airliner?" I wonder how much a "yes" answer would've cost me each month. I'd love to do it, but we're talking about $6000-$8000 just for the license, daytime, single engine only. How much more for any of the other certifications? I drive past an airfield every day on my way home from work and look longingly...then remember how much it costs.
Luxury car? As far as I can tell, the cheapest Cessna (the 172) costs $275,000 USD... that's as much as a house. And yet, the price of the aircraft when it was introduced, adjusted for inflation, is only about $72,000.
So the cost of the aircraft has increased nearly 4x faster than inflation. That can't help!
I was visiting an aviation site a couple of days ago and it said you could start picking up decent used planes at around $30k.
I was visiting an aviation site a couple of days ago and it said you could start picking up decent used planes at around $30k.
Yup, and by those standards you can pick up a decent used car for around $200.
Granted, the engines on the planes are in much better condition, but the interior is probably not nearly as nice as what you'd find in a $200 used car, nor is the safety equipment.
I'm thinking this is somewhat better than a $200 car.
Aeronca 7AC Champion [flyingmag.com]
I don't see any pictures of the interior. If the seat belts are anything like the ones in the C172 I trained in you'll have a hard time just getting the shoulder harness to stay in place, so we won't even talk about pretensioners, airbags, or crumple zones.
Read my post carefully... "Granted, the engines on the planes are in much better condition, but the interior is probably not nearly as nice as what you'd find in a $200 used car, nor is the safety equipment."
If you buy the $20k "project" airplane mentio
you can pick up a decent one for half that price.
BUT then there is yearly costs:
$500 to park it outside or $2500 in a hangar
$1000 inspection
$3000 toward engine overhual ($18000 every 1700 - 2000 hours but we'll say every six years)
$1000 insurance
and we haven't talked about fuel
A lot of things have gone up 4x faster then inflation.
The cost of an airplane is not the issue. If you look back to at least the 1960s, an airplane cost about as much as a middle class house. That has not changed. The cost of OPERATING an airplane HAS changed. It is more expensive. It is more complicated and arcane. I say this as a licensed pilot for the last 25 years. Some things are much easier and safer. TIS and ADS-B have improved traffic awareness. GPS has improved navigation. Moving maps and weather overlays have improved situational awareness tremendously. Some minor improvements in aerodynamics have trickled down to the GA market and that has helped as well.
But the airspace systems is hideously more complex than it was in decades past. Controlled airspace has grown enormously over cities. The day when you could cross the country in a Piper Cub without even so much as a radio are vanishing fast.
All that said, I don't think the complexity or cost is the issue. I think the primary change is social. People returned from military training wanting to do some of the things they did in the service. So amateur radio grew, aviation grew, recreational shooting sports grew, sport diving grew... but if you look at the statistics today, there aren't as many who make the transition from military to civilian life. It ended when the draft ended --and those baby boomers are retiring and dying off.
Most kids approach these endeavors with Grandpa gently hoping a spark will light in their grandchildren. And it doesn't happen. These activities are all perceived as legal liabilities, frightening, and pointless.
The thrill of doing really cool things in aviation/radio/mechanics/shooting sports/etc.. is vanishing fast. These activities remain as expensive as they ever were, but the romance of doing it is just not there. We have killed the adventure and excitement with safety, policies, regulations, and so on. I'm not saying the latter are a bad thing; but people want to feel alive by doing something unique and exciting. Aviation is just another form of transportation and it isn't even particularly glamorous any more. Radio is your cell phone. You can call your buddy overseas for next to nothing any time you like. Who needs a shortwave radio? Guns owners are regarded as social pariahs by much of the population, with politicians and the news media ranting non stop nonsense against them at every opportunity. Backyard mechanics are considered an environmental nuisance by most home-owner associations. There was even a time when kids used to have chemistry labs in their back yard sheds. No longer. If you have a chemistry lab, you are usually regarded as some sort of subversive bomb maker.
We are killing this generation with mediocre education, discouraging technical endeavors at every step, polluting minds with nonsense endeavors from the Internet, and then we sit and wonder why so few kids take any sort of STEM interest.
Aviation isn't the only thing that is dying. It is the curious, entrepreneurial spirit and playfulness of the average teen-age kid that is dying. They're being coddled and protected by every helicopter parent and school administrator around. Then they go to college in record numbers, only to come home and live in the basement for lack of any interest in the world around them.
Societal mediocrity has won. We need to light an afterburner under the maker movement to undo this nonsense. It is killing us as a society.
"The cost of an airplane is not the issue. If you look back to at least the 1960s, an airplane cost about as much as a middle class house. That has not changed."
Oh dear. You are comparing the airplane with something which has also increased massively in price compared to income over the last few decades. That middle class house costs many more times the average income than it used to. Not least due to easy availability of loans. What has changed is that both the housing and planes have gone up massively in
I agree with most of what you wrote, except your title. Cost is indeed a large part of the problem, along with everything else you cite.
I also think you unfairly pick on teen-age kids. I see ' the curious, entrepreneurial spirit and playfulness' of just about every age group diminishing in all the activities you cite, and more. I've been a pilot for two decades and an experimental aircraft builder, and I see fewer and fewer unique homebuilt planes every year. Most new homebuilt planes are now assembled from a handful of popular kits. Why? Building from plans or even designing your own plane takes an extraordinary amount of time and money, something only a few have anymore.
Amateur radio? Only a hardcore few still build their own gear, with the rest buying do-everything transceivers from a few big firms. What happened to the rest of the electronics hobbyists? Those with the passion and money apparently moved on to computers and now robotics. The rest left the hobby along with Radio Shack and the newsstand electronic and computer magazines. To build anything other than basic LED-flashing circuits today takes a lot of time and fancy (expensive) equipment.
Shooting? My grandfather was an avid shooter and reloader. It takes time, commitment and the right gear. Another niche, expensive activity now.
Mechanics? In 1982 my brother and I hot-rodded an old '67 Camaro for around $2K in our driveway. New V8, new tranny, and a bunch of parts scrounged from junkyards. 32 years later, I can't even change the oil on my Honda for less than $20, plus another $10 to take the used oil to the hazardous waste facility. None of the kids I know have the money to buy the tools and parts needed to 'hop up' a modern car, even if they had the skill to deal with EFI, CAN buses, and the like.
In my opinion, the '50s and '60s were an anomalous time in U.S. history. A post-war economic boom, a baby boom, a nascent technology boom and Cold War panic, along with 40% fewer people around to get in the way, made for a unique set of circumstances that invigorated all the activities noted above. Those times are gone forever. Even the Maker movement cannot rescue us from the reality of the lack of disposable time and income that exists today.
All that said, I don't think the complexity or cost is the issue. I think the primary change is social. People returned from military training wanting to do some of the things they did in the service. So amateur radio grew, aviation grew, recreational shooting sports grew, sport diving grew... but if you look at the statistics today, there aren't as many who make the transition from military to civilian life. It ended when the draft ended --and those baby boomers are retiring and dying off.
Great post, and I agree that for aviation the reduction in number of military pilots is certainly a factor. But I am going to quibble about SCUBA diving - equipment has gotten vastly better and relatively cheaper over the last 30 years I have been certified, and I don't think people who were trained by the military has ever been more than a tiny fraction of the diving population. My impression is that diving is getting more popular, not less, but I admit that I don't have any statistics to back that up.
Luxury car? As far as I can tell, the cheapest Cessna (the 172) costs $275,000 USD... that's as much as a house. And yet, the price of the aircraft when it was introduced, adjusted for inflation, is only about $72,000.
Just to give you a comparison, a Pagani Huayra [caranddriver.com] costs $1.3 million. The Lexus IS 350 is not a luxury car.
Forget the cost of the plane, because if you can afford the 100LL fuel, you can afford the plane. Even a relatively cheap little Cessna 172 costs more than $100/hr just for fuel. Once you add in maintenance, insurance, and fees for things like parking and landing, you're going to be paying at least $2000 per month!
The cost of manufacturers liability awards is what's killing the light aircraft industry in the USA.
And how have they changed in the past 60 years? You know, since Congress pass a law (1958) explicitly protecting manufacturers from liability: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Aviation_Revitalization_Act
The protection from the General Aviation Revitalization Act is only for aircraft older than 18 years old.
$100 hamburgers are gone now days fuel costs have gone up alot.
ok, so clearly the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G... [wikipedia.org] that someone else linked to isn't working and needs to be strengthened to give manufacturers of aircraft stronger immunity against this kind of lawsuit (i.e. protection strong enough so that the manufacturer can get it thrown out of court before a jury even gets to it)
Maybe pass a law that gives manufacturers strong immunity from lawsuits (civil and criminal) if there is a valid FAA report showing that the manufacturers aren't to blame.
Quoting from that Wikipedia article:
GARA is a statute of repose generally shielding most manufacturers of aircraft (carrying fewer than 20 passengers), and aircraft parts, from liability for most accidents (including injury or fatality accidents) involving their products that are 18 years old or older (at the time of the accident) , even if manufacturer negligence was a cause.
(Emphasis mine.)
If the decline continues, it will spell trouble for entrepreneurs such as Austin Heffernan, who runs an aircraft maintenance and repair company in Hagerstown, Md.
Sure, and if people eat less fatty food then the entrepreneur who started up my local fry-up breakfast café will be in trouble.
(Note: I'm not saying the use of the word is incorrect, but rather noting that it generally seems to carry concepts of innovation and novelty with it, which really don't apply here)
The B-52 completed fifty years of continuous service
At least they must be doing something right.
I don't think LSA is so much a "problem" as simply not delivering on its planned promise.
The idea was new LSA-compliant aircraft would sell for about the price of your typical 40+ year old Pipers and Cessnas (the $25,000-50,000 range - and mainly toward the low end of that spectrum), which would make them an attractive option for new pilots pursuing flight training to buy and fly at a cost similar to a boat or car.
The reality is most LSAs are a far cry from the simple aircraft that you can find as a "Legacy
The motorcycle community is facing the exact same problem of declining numbers.
Libraries are facing the same problem.
Classical music is facing the same problem.
Newspaper readers are dwindling.
The source of the problem is the same:
There are less and less younger pilots, riders, readers, etc. interested.
As the Baby Boomers slowly are forced to give up their passion / hobbies due to age, sickness, etc the rate of exit is significantly >>> the rate of entering.
I also wonder if
The same trend is also happening in gaming; I call it "Fast Food Gaming" -- dumbed down button mashing of which Diablo 3, COD, etc. are the perfect examples. Now there is a time and a place for less cerebral challenges but I wonder if we're losing something along the way
Developing the heart & soul of personal relationships, and we no longer care about experiencing and exploring our passions physically. Why, when we can do it "all" virtually?
Piracy === Disrespect.
Piracy =/= Theft.
Will people be talking of our "contemporary classical" composers (I can't even name one)...
Your geek card is now on probation. John Williams? Composer of the Star Wars Imperial March (and everything else in all six movies, but especially the damn March). Also composer for everything Spielberg has ever done, with the exception of The Color Purple.
Williams has won 5 Academy Awards, 4 Golden Globe Awards, 7 British Academy Film Awards and 21 Grammy Awards. With 49 Academy Award nominations, Williams is the second most-nominated person, after Walt Disney.
He's 82 years old, but he's still alive, and still composing. One of a tiny handful of symphonic composers who became a legend in their own time.
Classical folk music is still alive. I have three different CDs of it, featuring bagpipes, hammered dulci
Motorcycles and aviation catered to a certain demographic of people looking to get out there and do something interesting, something crazy. Perhaps they were the adrenaline junkies of their time.
I have a bike license. Haven't owned or driven a bike in ten years, and by now I probably never will again.
Part of it is simply growing up. It's just not as much fun any longer as it was in my 20's. And with work and other committments I have little time left to ride, never mind maintenance and other chores.
Why youn
Classical music
Think horses and horseback riding. All this is heading in that direction. Horses we're more used than cars or milk bottles back in the day and now what? It's a niche recreation. Expensive or not.
Flying's not mainstream anymore and will reach a steady state, likely through rediscovery. Then again, if rediscovery is a lost passion, we are doomed.
"Folk" music seems to be largely forgotten by history.
There are a great number of folk and ancient music groups and organizations out there, and people interested in it overlap widely with people interested in classical. Also, many very famous composers (Dvorak, Brahms) regularly integrated folk music into their work to bring it to wider audiences, well before the days of recording and Alan Lomax.
As for who will be remembered? It's hard to say. Bach was largely forgotten for decades before multiple reviva
Pardon me, but you sound like a grumpy old fart who picked the randomest things to suggest the next generation is going to shit.
We frigging didn't have much choice, if we wanted to hang out together we had to physically be together. Being at home was pretty damn boring, we had to get out. Today I've got a ton of entertainment and access to everyone I know in my pocket, of course that changes things. YMMV but I'd say overall for the better. And no, I used to play "fast food gaming" a lot when I was younger, it's called getting old and not so easily dazzled by a cheap adrenaline thrill anymore. They're no worse today than I was back then, do you really remember yourself ten or twenty years ago? Honestly we weren't much into "deep intellectual stimulation".
I used to tinker with my machines a lot and felt it was great fun, swapping parts and building machines from scratch and it was somehow fun. Then it became routine. Then it became a chore and now I just want to get the damn thing working out of the box and to never break. Same way about running around in an FPS deathmatch, it used to be fun for years. Then I hang in there to play with friends. Today I find the idea of everybody running around shooting each other and respawning just for the sake of shooting each other incredibly dull and pointless. But I'm the one that's changed, not the world.
[...] for the most part people don't want "deep intellectual stimulation" anymore.
I find it cute that you think a thousand people all yelling "FUCK BETA" at the same time constitutes "deep intellectual stimulation".
As a private pilot, doing short hops in your own plane is nice. You skip the humiliation of the TSA.
Unless you own a jet, longer flights are hard to do in a private plane. Range and speed limit how far is practical to travel in a few hours on your own.
I kind of wonder if there's a business opportunity in all this.
Create a national chain of airplane rentals and subsidize the cost of obtaining a pilot's license. Encourage the use of rented planes for regional travel. Build a common air fleet of simple to fly, fuel efficient planes with modern materials and avionics.
There's probably a group of wannabe owners and former owners who like to fly and would fly more often and for more utility but can't afford their own planes. Plus existing rentals aren't setup like car rentals and don't promote them for travel. Discounts or credits could be offered for pilots who would fly a "one way" plane back or to its next destination, since some would fly for free because they could.
I would think there would be an unmet aviation need out there.
I'm an airplane pilot and glider instructor, I donated my time to the local glider club. I stopped instructing in part because I was concerned about the liability if a student should be in an accident and someone was hurt. Paying for hefty liability insurance wasn't really practical for me, especially as I wasn't getting any income from it. I pretty much gave the whole thing up shortly after 9/11 when the security regulations started to become too intrusive. It was also becoming too expensive, even for gliders, especially as insurance and gas costs increased.
I've trained many students who went on to become pilots, some became airplane pilots from their exposure to aviation in gliders, some became instructors (a few of whom I trained to be instructors). Without instructors, you don't get student pilots. Without student pilots, you don't get new pilots, or new instructors.
The primary reason was that the accessible aircraft are pretty low performance unless you're planning on dropping a lot of money. Somehow, we had hundreds of thousands [sic] of prop jobs able to do 300-400 mph in WWI but the planes the average joe will get to fly today move at less than half to a third of that. So, for me all the fantasy trips across country became unreasonable.
Because those high performance 400 mph prop planes were piloted by 20 year olds with great eyesight and reflexes (and a depressingly large fatality rate). Your average 50 year old dentist should be in a Cessna, not a P51.
You, however, probably need the income of a 50 year old dentist to afford the fuel bill for a zippy 'little' P51 (about 4.5 nmi/US gallon) runabout. (The C152 runs about 13 nmi/USG)
I'm in a similar position. I could get a pilots license without a whole lot more time investment but there are a bunch of things that cumulative caused me to stop my training. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed the time I spent on lessons and don't consider it a waste for the experience. Some of the issues I found are:
1. I'm reading slashdot, ok. I'm the sort of person who contributes to the linux distro he runs, has a diskless PXE mythtv front-end in the living room, and so on. However, despite working at a fairly decent IT job the only planes I could really afford to fly only contain integrated circuits in the (fairly old) radios.
2. The costs just really add up even when when flying bare bones. I could take a Sat afternoon to go have lunch at an airport 60 miles away, for $450. I could probably drive there in the same amount of time. For a longer distance trip the plane might be faster but unless I just fly there and back the owner is going to want to be compensated for the time it is sitting on the ground while his fixed costs accrue. If I'm the owner, well I'm paying for those fixed costs so I'm not saving anything.
3. The regulatory atmosphere makes just about any kind of modern technology incredibly expensive. We're talking $1k for a radio, or $10k for a GPS that might have looked modern in the mid-90s (oh, and $3k/yr database updates). You can get modern glass cockpits but that costs more than the 40 year old plane that you want to install it into. Some of these devices can be bought at 1/10th the cost minus their certification, so that they can only be legally used in an experimental plane (despite being identical hardware).
4. The costs (driven by regulation, largely) mean that many pilots don't want to invest in technologies that improve safety. Few aircraft are equipped with ADS-B/TCAS, and pilots lobby to get rid of regulations that would require their installation. Heck, pilots lobby to prevent the requirement to even install radios in planes.
5. Honestly, the flying community really comes across to me as curmudgeony. Everybody wants to do everything the way it was done 50 years ago. Things like fuel injection, engine computers, automatic fuel mixture, and automatic transmissions are considered scary new experimental technologies. We fly around in planes with float carburetors which can ice up on humid days. Costs certainly interfere with modernization, but so does the culture.
6. Anything having to do with the FAA is really stuck in the 60s. Official weather products are all coded or formatted to be transmittable on a 45 baud teletype, or a radio FAX (if you listened to one of these you could practically demodulate the transmission in your head). Exams contain questions on equipment that few pilots have equipped in the last decade. Exam questions give wind problems that require estimating the travel time on a 75mile flight to the nearest minute, or require interpreting obscure symbols on charts that nobody uses, and which are only used on the ground where anybody can look up the conventions. Instructors openly talk about students having to learn flight planning techniques that nobody actually uses in real world flying.
I found that most of the things I was interested in about flying weren't really accessible at a cost that most could afford. I'd rather fly a flight sim where fuel is free, any aircraft can have a glass panel, and so on. Sure, it doesn't actually go anywhere, but if you want a plane that gets you someplace faster than a car you're talking about serious money.
Then for me personally I really struggled to deal with moving air. I really had no trouble with the concepts, but it felt like I was swimming in a rip tide half the time I was in the air, constantly being bumped about by erratic currents and having to adjust. Sure, I could land the thing, but I was never really quite sure when taking off if my next flight would be my last. My instructor would tell me that I was doing everything just fine, but it felt like skillfully driving down the middle of a freeway coated in ice; perhaps some would fine this exhilarating, but for me it was bordering on terrifying.
A big part of this trend is the aging of pilots trained in the Vietnam war. The youngest of them are in their 60's. When the war ended, the US government's "learn to fly for free*" program sharply contracted.
* Certain sacrifices required.
The only way I think you could do it was the way my old neighbor did- he was a master mechanic who was working on his FAA certificate. He'd signed up with a couple of wealthier folks and he got a fraction of the plane free if he did the work on it.
TFA says
it will spell trouble for entrepreneurs
I am glad we care about the entrepreneurs, but why focus only on that person? What about the employees of the business that are impacted? They do not deserve to exist in the author view?
The stagnation of design in the factory-built market was caused by a few jury decisions to hold manufacturers liable for crashes, not by government regulation. The liability problem made USA manufacturers stop introducing bold design changes. The "51% rule" holds that if the customer builds an airplane himself, then he's the manufacturer and assumes liability. This has caused all of the interesting design progress to show up in the kit plane market instead of in the factory-built market. (Two examples a
With aging populations, rising fuel prices due to crude oil depletion, population growth, and the improvement of rail roads and bus services, and effective telecommuting: why is hte reduction of personal aircraft in any way a surprise?
Oh, goodness, I said population growth twice. I meant to say urban sprawl the second time.
Man, I take issue with about 90% of what you say. Yes, there are people who are all rules, but I haven't found them more likely to be in an accident, mostly because they spend so much time worrying about the rules they hardly ever fly. What I did find was that people who didn't take flying seriously were the ones more likely to have problems, regardless of their attitude towards being a stickler for the rules. Now, I knew quite a few of the "old fart" pilots, they were great pilots. They also knew their limits, they knew the rules, and they didn't do stupid things. They weren't good because they ignored the rules, they were able to get away with ignoring SOME of the rules because they understood exactly what the rules were for and when you could bend them. You fly a haphazard traffic pattern with them, though, you'd get your ear chewed off.
My experience with FAA regulations is that most of them are more about common sense than blind obedience to stupid rules. If you read between the lines, most of them say "you can kill yourself, just don't kill anyone else, please." Many of the rest are about protocols, how you and other pilots can co-exist in the same airspace. That's as of 9/11, I pretty much stopped around then when stupid security regulations started coming out, so maybe things have changed.
The most dangerous people are yahoos who think the rules are dumb, they're better than the average pilot, they can get away with it, so why should they bother. People who say "flying is easy, any monkey can do it" tend to be like that. Yeah, the mechanics of flying are pretty straightforward, and most people can learn to do it, however I found that people who took longer to learn tended to be the ones that had the highest flying skills eventually.
If your instructor wasn't constantly testing your situational awareness, asking you what you'd do if something unexpected happened, either you had a poor instructor or you weren't paying attention. That's at least half of what your training is about.
If your plan of action if your elevator gets stuck is to ask your front seat passenger to climb into the back seat - well, I don't think you've really thought it through very well. You're either going to be in an uncontrollable spin well before he gets his seat belt unbuckled or the airplane is controllable and the last thing you want to do is push your CG backwards with limited elevator control. Fail.
The problem is that overseas aircraft are treated the same as kit built ones by the FAA. They're "experimental" so you don't have to get FAA certified everything, but that's because non US parts normally aren't normally FAA certified, even if they're from the manufacturer. This sounds neat until you realize that these "experimental" aircraft are restricted by the FAA, and you'll be paying an insurance premium. Plus, you now have to worry about finding a mechanic that will work on your plane.
This isn't a problem that is limited to the USA.
I live in New Zealand and have a workshop on the local airfield.
Of the 9 hangars at the airfield, only two now have airworthy aircraft in them -- and most of those are home-built or microlite types rather than GA craft (like Cessnas).
Just about the only (semi) regular users of the runway are flight schools which train pilots for overseas airlines such as EasyJeet and JetStar.
The skyrocketing cost of maintaining a PPL combined with hikes in just about every oth
The requirement is "a definite detractor to business," Heffernan told the committee. He and several lawmakers noted that the closest individuals come to a medical exam when obtaining a driver's license is usually a vision test. Meanwhile, most boat operators do not need any medical certifications.
In the case of a car or boat when the operator becomes ill he can pull over and stop. An aircraft is a different matter in that it could kill many more people including the operator if it crashes. There is also the difference that aircraft fly at altitude and the thinner air can exacerbate health issues. One needs to be much more fit to pilot an aircraft than operate a vehicle and boat. By the way, commercial drivers usually require a doctor's exam on license renewal.
The other issue is have these regulations changed recently? I had a glider pilot's license in the '80s. I needed a medical exam and private aviation was pretty healthy then..
I am a computer. I am dumber than any human and smarter than any administrator.

subset: commoncrawl


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FENTON, Mo.-- The GC Women's Soccer team battled for a full 90 minutes, but could not bring home the SLIAC Tournament trophy, losing 1-0 to Webster.
The Gorlock's Ally Nikolaus scored off a rebound for Webster with just 28 minutes remaining in the game.
The Panthers made an impressive late run, taking three shots on goal in in final 10 minutes of the match. Heidi Koehl was a huge presence for GC, making three saves and carrying the team defensively. Natalie Henneberry had three of the Panthers' five total shots. Although Greenville did not win the contest, Coach Jeff Wardlaw was proud of his team.
"I am so incredibly proud of you all," Wardlaw said after the heartbreaking loss. "I know you all gave everything you had and left it all on the field and I thank you for that."
The Lady Panthers ended their 2012 season with a record of 10-9-1.


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Global carbon emissions are growing three times faster than in the 1990s and that could produce a global temperature rise of 4C-6C by 2100, a leading Australian climate scientist says.
Dr Pep Canadell, one of the lead authors of a new paper warning of the growth of emissions, said their analysis showed that by the end of 2012, global emissions from fossil fuels would reach the unprecedented level of 36 billion tonnes.
"Just to put this into perspective, this is 58 per cent over 1990 ... and growing about three times faster than they were growing during the 1990s," he told ABC radio.
"In 2012 we grew about 2.6 per cent and last year was about three per cent."
Dr Canadell said 80 per cent that growth came from China with the rest split among emerging economies and the developed world.
"If you look at what's has happened over the last year and this year and what has happened overall over the last 10 years, we are now following perfectly on track of the emissions path that is going to take us to anywhere between four and six degrees by 2100 if we don't do anything different from what we are doing now," he said.
Dr Canadell said this was occurring as Europe and the US experienced major economic difficulties with reduced industrial production.
He said there still remained real possibilities to reduce emissions if governments took aggressive action.
Dr Canadell said there had been examples in the past when France moved to nuclear power generation and the UK moved from coal to gas for power production which produced significant emissions reductions.
"We have no idea whether we can actually take these examples and put them into a global context for many decades but there is certainly good past experience which could allow for governments to be inspired and look at much more aggressive and faster actions," he said.


text:
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It's Almost Showtime at the Shakespeare Summer Conservatory!
By Sloane Henry, Artistic Learning Intern The Bentley Five-week Conservatory is in full swing! We're almost half way through and time continues to fly by. I have been stage managing for the Merry Kinsmen—the youngest group (third–sixth grade) and I … Continue reading
Posted in Conservatories Tagged "Brett Jones", "Bristol Glass", "Caitlin Volz", "Catherine Castellanos", "Cordelia Miller", "Heidi Abbott", "Macbeth", "Professional Immersion Program", "Sam Callahan", "Shakespeare Summer Conservatory", "summer camp", "The Taming of the Shrew", "theater camp", "theater", "Twelfth Night", "Two Gentlemen of Verona", Susannah Martin, Titus Andronicus. Leave a comment


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As Glenbard West's football team hurried off the field at Glenbard South High School, the mission of the day was not yet accomplished.
The Hilltoppers secured their 19-13 victory over Lake Zurich, but they still needed to rush back home to ring that victory bell.
Saturday's Class 7A semifinal game was technically a home game for Glenbard West, but poor field conditions at Duchon Field forced the game to be moved elsewhere in Glen Ellyn to Glenbard South. Traditions aside, the top-seeded Hilltoppers (13-0) made themselves right at home while avenging last year's second-round loss to No. 6 Lake Zurich (10-3).
Glenbard West advances to its fourth state title game, its first since a runner-up finish 2009, in search of its second championship. The Hilltoppers will play fellow top seed Lincoln-Way East (13-0), a 37-13 winner over Benet, at 4 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Champaign.
"I had brothers who couldn't do this," said Hilltoppers junior Jordan Hassan. "This is awesome. I'm speechless."
Glenbard West used a little bit of everything -- but especially stifling defense -- to build a 19-0 lead by halftime. It took only two plays for the Hilltoppers to take a 6-0 lead when quarterback Henry Haeffner, who completed 9 of 15 passes for 154 yards, hit Nate Hokenson in stride for a 73-yard touchdown pass.
Devante Toney, who plowed his way to 68 rushing yards, scored on a 1-yard dive on the Hilltoppers' next possession. Then just before halftime Nathan Marcus went up high for a 22-yard touchdown catch from Haeffner and a 19-0 lead at the break.
The Hilltoppers had a red-zone fumble and a missed field goal or else the margin would have been bigger. Glenbard West outgained Lake Zurich 242-22 in the first half while limiting the Bears to 1 first down.
"Our thing is we had to take care of business, worry about us and not last year's team," said Glenbard West coach Chad Hetlet. "It's great for us to be able to play that way and, honestly, I thought we could have put some more in on them."
Thanks to Lake Zurich's defense, things become much more interesting in the third quarter. The Hilltoppers recovered a fumble at Lake Zurich's 17-yard line and worked to a first-and-goal at the 7.
On the next play from scrimmage, however, Bears senior Grant Soucy picked up a fumble and dodged traffic for a 94-yard return for a touchdown.
"My teammates did a great job of punching it out," Soucy said. "I picked it up and there was a big caravan of white jerseys that I just followed all the way to the end zone."
Glenbard West fumbled on its next possession as well, and Lake Zurich used its only drive of the game -- a 49-yarder -- to narrow the gap to 19-13. Connor Schrader fumbled at the 2-yard line, but teammate Noah Allgood picked it up and ran the final 2 yards for a touchdown.
Momentum surged in Lake Zurich's favor entering the fourth quarter.
"When we came back in the second half we kind of started out slow," Toney said. "But I knew the defense was going to do its job and we were going to do our job."
Glenbard West was glad to put the game in the hands of its defense, which held Lake Zurich to 110 total yards while forcing 4 turnovers.
The Bears had two more possessions but never again reached Glenbard West territory. The first possession ended with a punt, and then Glenbard West sealed the win on Tyler Dayton's interception with two minutes left.
"In all honesty they were the better team today," said Lake Zurich coach Dave Proffitt. "We played our tails off."
Follow Kevin on Twitter @kevin_schmit


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To the editor:
We read the article in your April 3rd edition of the Fort Myers Beach Observer titled " Flight tracking system now available," which concerns noise problems with aircraft flying over the island.
We have been visiting the island for a couple of months for about 10 years, and the only objectionable noise for us is the motorcycle cowboys in love with straight pipe exhausts.
If there is a town noise ordinance it surely would not allow these blasts from these cowboys. We can only assume there is no ordinance or it is not being enforced. If the Fort Myers Beach Town Council would like to do something to make visitors' stays more enjoyable, they could look into this problem.
Many people are annoyed by this racket.
Tom Schon
Fort Wayne Ind.


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When I was young, I loved to travel. Not the flying part of it, no, not that at all, just the idea of going to a new place. And, well, whatever it took to get there. Which is, generally, flying.
I never boarded an airplane as a toddler or even as an adolescent, unlike all parents now who haul their infants with their paraphernalia and their noise on board every flight, all the time. My parents took cruises and flights to Paradise Island and Las Vegas, but the children were never invited on vacations with them except once, just me, on a driving trip to North Carolina, after my siblings got married or were too old to be interested. Durham, N.C., was the destination — I remember my stepfather, fat cigar in his mouth, drove us down there from Brooklyn in his 1965 Oldsmobile Starfire as my mother, smoking cigarettes, pushed the buttons on the radio, searching for Sinatra.
What I also remember of that car trip was where we wound up — "the cigarette capital of the country," where my mother loaded up on packs and cartons that ultimately contributed to her downfall.
Okay. This is meant to be a fun (sort of) piece.
The first time I got on an airplane was when I was 19 years old in 1967, when some friends and I jetted off to Acapulco, me puffing away in the smoking section at the back. Nervous all the while, wondering whether the plane, with its bumps and swoops and crackly P.A. announcements, was destined to go down.
You do feel vulnerable on a plane. Admit it, everybody does. Up there in this lonely silver tube in the sky with its rattles and its lunges and the ever-present possibility of it going down. Going down in the middle of a silent, dark, moonlit ocean in the middle of the night on the way to Europe. Going down on a commuter flight. What with my often going to Cincinnati to make presentations to the Procter & Gamble clients I work for — meetings that don't always go so well — I often think, If the plane is going to go down, let it go down on the way to a bad meeting versus on the way back.
So far, none of my planes have gone down, thankfully, after hundreds and hundreds of flights mostly for business but often for pleasure. A blessing. But, can we talk? How insane is flying now?
(I wasn't fully prepared to be this open about what happened to me on a flight I took 10 years ago, but it's certainly relevant to my story.)
During one American Airlines flight just around New Year's 2002, tan, happy, relaxed, and still dressed for the beach in shorts, a Lacoste polo, and flip-flops, unprepared for winter in New York and still hanging on to the aura of St. Barts, where I had just spent two glorious weeks with my partner, David, I got into some trouble. Trouble? An understatement. I got arrested for causing a disturbance on the flight, appearing threatening and terrorist-like. I have Arab roots — my biological father was born in Syria, and I did tend to resemble a terrorist, especially when I had thick black hair and a full-on black beard — but I'm the furthest thing from a menace, except if you ask some people.
That flight was just months after 9/11 and days after someone had tried to light up his shoelaces, of all things (on an American Airlines flight, by the way), and years before the averted underwear bomber and the forbidden liquids and all. It's unfathomable to me how all this explosives business no longer involves a wick and a cartoon-like black ball bomb. Everything is so different now.
Anyhoo, I needed to use the loo. I have this problem with pissing. Nothing serious, it's just that I drink a lot of liquids and have a high level of anxiety that provokes the pissing, which is further accelerated on a flight. I just had to use the john. The plane was beginning its descent and I really, really had to go. One lavatory was out of order, another one locked, so I wandered into first class, where I was told by a flight attendant (remember when they were called stewardesses?): "Sir, you must take your seat! You have to sit down and fasten your seat belt, and stay seated until the plane lands!"
When you gotta go, you gotta go, and I really hadda go, so I ignored her and entered the restroom. And I did go, then got back to my seat, but not long after, over the crackly P.A. system, as the plane landed and taxied to the gate: "We have a situation here. Please, everyone stay in your seats until the situation is resolved."
"This means you. You're the situation," David said to me. Now, this was long before the Situation from "Jersey Shore" became known as the Situation. I was the situation? Boy, was I ever, as I was greeted by a copse of cops as I deplaned. I eventually learned that I had been aggressive with my bathroom urge and had threatened the flight attendant who'd stood in my way.
I went, all right. Straight to a holding cell at Kennedy for a few hours and, blah, blah, blah, $12,500 later to a lawyer and three months after that, I was gratefully cleared of whatever the charges were. "Threatening to a flight attendant." Done in by my burgeoning, bulging bladder.
Profiling? (Check out my Arabic last name.) Nervous flight attendant in the aftermath of increasing airplane terrorism? Perhaps either. Perhaps both. Perhaps something else. I insist I was treated unfairly — the ride from the plane to the holding cell, handcuffed behind my back yet, overhearing the two police officers in the front seat complaining about their jobs, cursing and complaining, wow, did I get an earful and a lesson. And a further lesson not to drink alcohol on a flight no matter how much one's nerves need calming. It will only make you need to use the men's all the more.
Flash forward: Stephen Slater, remember him? The JetBlue flight attendant? Activating the chute and saying something like, "I'm outta here," beers in hands after a nasty exchange with a passenger about the overhead bins? When I fly coach with my carry-on, I feign a limp so I can get on early as someone needing special assistance and secure a spot for my carry-on. Those carry-ons: one more cause of pressure in the cabin — so many bags, so little space.
In the last six weeks, two stories were of particular interest to fliers, be they frequent or occasional. First, the woman: the flight attendant on American Airlines who freaked out and screamed something about bombs and terrorists and crashes while the plane was still on the ground. That wobbly video over CNN with sound is chilling. The screams! The aisle of confused passengers, her being restrained. And then escorted off the plane and straight to a hospital for mental evaluation.
But wait. It gets worse.
Later last month, there was that JetBlue pilot who also snapped and also screamed on that crackly P.A. about bombs and terrorists and crashes. He had to be locked out of the cockpit, restrained, and this time the plane was 35,000 feet up in the air! One could only imagine the panic on board during the long minutes of that tirade. He, too, had to be whisked off to a hospital, but unlike the female flight attendant on American Airlines (I wonder if it was the same crazy one who blew the whistle on me 10 years ago), the pilot might be charged with charges. As well he should be.
I hate flying. I strap myself in and pray that I get to my destination alive. I hope that my luggage is not rifled through and that I am not humiliated by being felt up or X-rayed to nudity or any other degradation. Now I have to fear that a flight attendant may go berserk and decide to open up the cabin door midair, passengers and seats, tray tables, and carry-ons hurled out into the stratosphere to land, splattered, God knows where. Now I have to worry about pilots who will take it upon themselves to scream, "Yahoo! It's kamikaze time!" taking all of us captive customers with him to kingdom come. Now I have to wonder if I should wear a Depends adult diaper in the event I need to take a whiz while we are warned, and warned rudely, "Get to your seats!"
Bette Davis's famous line in the 1950 movie "All About Eve," remember? "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night." That line was never so applicable to flying in 2012.
Hy Abady is the author of "Back in The Star Again: True Stories From the East End." A creative director at a New York advertising agency, he lives part time in Amagansett.


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The PSP and 3DS are currently restricted to one online account per system. However, it appears the Vita will introduce the ability to have multiple users on one handheld... with one huge caveat.
A PlayStation representative confirmed that PSN IDs are not tied to a system. Rather, they're tied to the system's proprietary memory cards. If you wanted to swap between PSN IDs, all you would need to do is swap out the memory stick.
"Your PSN ID is bonded to your memory card and your memory card is bonded to your Vita," Sony's Crystal MacKenzie told Wired. She clarified that a single PSN user is also allowed to use multiple memory cards, if you need to carry around multiple memory cards for some reason.
The proprietary memory cards have been designed in an attempt to curb the piracy Sony experienced during the PSP generation.
If you no longer want to use your Vita memory card, and want to give it to someone else, you'll have to perform a factory reset in order to wipe it of your personal data. Remember that, before trading those cards into GameStop!
Sony has yet to officially announce the prices of Vita memory cards, but initially leaked retail prices were not met favorably.


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Two children were run over by a car in a residential neighborhood of Union Township Sunday night, and the driver of the car was taken away by police.
Witnesses said at least one of the children was taken from the scene by ambulance; it wasn�t clear how badly the boy was hurt, but he was conscious and talking. Neighbors said he appeared to be about 8 years old. His name and condition were not released.
It wasn�t clear if the other child, a girl about 12, was taken for treatment.
The crash happened around 10 p.m. at the corner of First and Kay streets south of Pickard Road near the U.S. 127 freeway. Neighbors said a group of children were skateboarding and playing under the streetlight near the entrance to the Broadway Acres mobile home park when a small, red Chevrolet drove east on Kay Street, knocked over a stop sign, careened into the children and ended up wedged against a utility pole.
One neighbor, who did not give his name, said he heard a loud bang followed by screaming. Other witnesses said the driver appeared to be drunk.
Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police were first on the scene and were handling the crash. The department had not released any information as of late Sunday night as the investigation continued.
Michigan State Police assisted at the scene.
Mark Ranzenberger is online editor of TheMorningSun.com. His email address is email@example.com.


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In its landmark $660-million settlement with victims of sexual abuse five years ago, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to make public the confidential personnel records of all priests accused of molesting children.
Victims said the release of the files would provide accountability for church leaders who let pedophiles remain in ministry, and law enforcement officials suggested that the documents could lead to criminal cases against those in charge.
After years of delays and legal wrangling, the files are set to become public in coming weeks.
But the documents have been scrubbed of what many regard as the most important information: the identities of the members of the church hierarchy who reshuffled abusers.
The names of the former cardinal, Roger M. Mahony, and the bishops and vicars who handled molestation complaints for him have been redacted by church lawyers at the direction of a retired federal judge managing the files' release.


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I am planning out this project for research purposes. The basic idea is to build an HTML5 app similar to Foursquare; users can connect, select some interests, and nearby people with similar interests are displayed on a map. The focus is for the app to be highly scalable. I have almost no experience with web development, I have only ever created an ASP.NET website.
From my online research I think that I can achieve this project using the following technologies:
HTML5 with ASP.NET and MVC for the client and server side code
MongoDB for the backend database
Websockets for realtime communication (or web services?)
Will these technologies be sufficient for my project? Have I left something out of my considerations? Are there other tools/technologies that you recommend?
Any ideas are welcome, as my greatest difficulty so far has been just analysing the different possibilities. Thanks.


text: In the first of a new series of films, MR PORTER sheds light on a timeless piece of men's clothing by drawing upon the knowledge of a group of experts. What is it about the biker jacket that means it's still freighted with so many appealing associations 60 years after The Wild One first made it a potent symbol of youthful rebellion? To better understand this iconic garment MR PORTER speaks to four men, each of whom has a unique perspective on the biker jacket's place in popular culture, and its unique place in a man's wardrobe. Watch our film, above, to hear what they have to say.


text: Social strategy comes in all different forms, but more and more often, we see that businesses are getting more granular with their social targeting. A particularly exciting form of targeting is finding consumers who are influencers. Targeting Influencers is important because these are the people that are most likely to share your brand messaging (if they believe in it). However, besides Klout score, which has a number of limitations, there is not much of a tried and tested formula for finding these Influencers, which makes it more difficult to target them.


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"Rock of Ages" knows exactly what it is.
A jukebox musical comprised of 1980s arena rock anthems and power ballads paired with a gossamer plot, paper-thin characters and visuals straight out of a Reagan-era music video, "Rock of Ages" is nothing but a good time.
"Rock of Ages"★ ★½
Location: Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago, (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday through Aug. 5
Running time: About two hours, 30 minutes with intermission
Tickets: $70-$80
Parking: Discounted parking available with validation at the Water Tower Place garage adjacent to the theater
Rating: For adults; includes mature subject matter and language
An affectionate sendup of hair-metal bands and the female fans who loved them, this energetic show -- whose score comes courtesy of Journey, Twisted Sister, REO Speedwagon, Poison and Foreigner among others -- doesn't amount to superlative theater. If that's what you're looking for, I suggest you head to Goodman Theatre where "The Iceman Cometh" is in its final weeks.
And yet, Wednesday's opening at Chicago's nicely intimate Broadway Playhouse -- home to the touring company for the next nine weeks -- put smiles on the faces of several hundred thirty-, forty- and fiftysomethings who zealously sang along, banged their heads and waved faux lighters (which producers thoughtfully provided) as they savored the soundtrack of their youth and young adulthood.
"Rock of Ages" -- whose arrival precedes by a little more than two weeks the release of the film version starring Tom Cruise -- doesn't take itself seriously. Chris D'Arienzo's deliberately cheesy book winks and nods at the audience. Moreover, there is a self-awareness to this self-mocking, joyfully campy, vamptastic show that director Kristin Hanggi and her young, hardworking cast clearly embrace. Which is why "Rock of Ages" works as well as it does: everyone's in on the joke. And everyone, including the audience, is along for the ride.
The perfunctory, predictable plot centers on Drew (the earnest, boyish Dominique Scott), an aspiring rocker from Detroit, and Kansas transplant Sherrie (Shannon Mullen), a wannabe actress with a sweet disposition and a slutty wardrobe. They meet during the mid-1980s on Hollywood's Sunset Strip, where Drew works in a rock club called the Bourbon Room. It's owned by Dennis (Jacob L. Smith), a former rocker who keeps the place afloat with help from raspy-voiced, right-hand man Lonny (Justin Colombo), a drummer turned sound man who also serves as the show's narrator.
Of course, true love never runs smooth in the glam-rock world. Drew and Sherrie's romance -- which seems about to blossom thanks to moonlight and a four-pack of wine coolers -- quickly withers after Sherrie catches the eye of rock god Stacee Jaxx (Matt Nolan, the epitome of the overindulged "artist"), a preening, frequently shirtless frontman who predictably seduces then discards her. Meanwhile, a pair of German developers Hertz (Philip Peterson) and his son Franz (Stephen Michael Kane) scheme to replace the Strip's rock clubs and strip joints with retail chains and fast-food outlets, which prompts a protest led by activist Regina (Katie Postotnik).
But a hackneyed storyline isn't "Rock of Ages'" only problem. Another has to do with songs that don't really suit the story. When it comes to tunes featured in a jukebox show, one size does not fit all. That's a problem that can plague off-the-rack musicals like this, where creators try to force a tune to fit the narrative, or vice versa. Although the opening-night audience didn't seem to notice those ill-fitting moments, probably too caught up in the nostalgia to notice.
Scott and Mullen are capable singers, but on a soaring number like "High Enough," they fail to scale the heights Jack Blades and Tommy Shaw ascended in the Damn Yankees' original version. That said, Poison's pedestrian "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" never sounded better than it does coming from supporting actress Amma Osei. Nolan delivers a suitably world-weary version of Bon Jovi's "Wanted, Dead or Alive." The production boasts a rock-solid stage band led by Darren Ledbetter, and the entire cast comes together to deliver a powerhouse performance of the Whitesnake power ballad "Here I Go Again" to conclude Act I.
At the end of the day, no one will rank "Rock of Ages" among the great musicals. Which is just as well because I don't think it aspires to those ranks. "Rock of Ages" just wants to show audiences a good time. And it does.


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posted by chandler on Sun 16th May 2010 13:25 UTC
The LLVM developers seem to be driven to replace all parts of the GCC toolchain and libraries with home-grown alternatives under BSD-style licenses. The latest addition to the project is libc++, an implementation of the C++ standard library which is faster and uses less memory than the GCC libstdc++. The developers also intend to support standard library debugging which is ABI compatible to the release version, which should help developers cut down on lengthy recompile-and-debug cycles. The project is still in an early state but it already implements 85% of the C++0x standard library. As with the rest of the LLVM project, the development of libc++ is being supported by Apple.


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product review : Benefit's Fine One One
If you are apprehensive about contouring, I'd recommend trying Fine One One. It takes the guess work out. Or, head over to Sephora and test it out before you buy it!
You can also use this product as a lip color, just swipe horizontally across your lips and rub together (I'm not wearing it on my lips). And to brighten up tired eyes at the end of the day, I wouldn't be opposed to dabbing my ring finger on the highlight color and tapping it near the inner corners of my eyes.
The options are endless. Just don't use it as eyeshadow.
Not cute.


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Student or Learner
A British English teacher told me here that the word effect is a noun. However, while I was looking for the meaning of perpetrate, I found its synonym effect.
My question is, can this affect its word class; lexical/open class? In other words, shouldnt its synonym be affect as long as the word perpetrate is a verb?
Thank you.
Effect is used both as a verb and as a noun.
In addition, I did not say in that thread that "effect" is a noun. I said that the word used should have been "affect". I referred only to the sentence you posted in that other thread and I did not mention nouns or verbs.
As probus said, "effect" can be a verb or a noun.
Remember - if you don't use correct capitalisation, punctuation and spacing, anything you write will be incorrect.


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ROCKFORD (WIFR) -- The outpouring of support has been tremendous for the two survivors of this week's fatal house fire.
Tasha Cashatt works as a CNA at Alden Park Strathmoor. Today her co-workers hosted a benefit to help raise money.
Cashatt lost her mother, brother, nephew and niece Sunday night when a Christmas tree caught fire at this home on 10th avenue. Strathmoor's administrator tells us ever since her patients and staff heard the news, they've been looking for a way to step in and help.
"This is family. I think everybody here, this is our second home. These residents are our family, just as much as we are theirs, so that's the biggest reason," said Administrator Jodi Wubbena.
The center has raised more than $800. If you would like to help the survivors of the fire, the Red Cross is currently accepting donations. Trinity Lutheran Church has also set up a fund for the Cashatt Family through Alpine Bank. Monetary donations can be made directly through the bank or at the church to help with funeral and living expenses. The church is also accepting clothing and gift cards for the survivors.


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|23rd January 2007, 07:57 AM
New Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 4
Hypersonic 105 V 111
Hi Roger
I'm after a Hypersonic. I had a go on a mates 105 about 3 years ago, I loved it. Wind was 8 - 10 knots and I got going quite easy with a 8.2 Ka sail (it was getting too light for 16m kites on this particular day). I had sailed long race boards alot before then, I also have sailed small wave boards for years. I could not believe how light a breeze I could get going fast. I weigh 72 kg. My question is, Was the hypersonic 105 faster/better than the 111. Is the 111 as fast as the 105 ? I didnt mind how the 105 was quite technical to sail, but I found that quite easy to sail anyway.
I have found a new HS 105 and a 111. The 105 is a few hundred $ cheaper, I'm trying to work out which one to buy.
|24th January 2007, 11:40 PM
Dream Team - School Guru
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,202
RE: Hypersonic 105 V 111
Hello Aaron,
Not sure how to answer your question here.
I liked the HS 105 alot, but I felt that for my weight (approx. 75 Kg. (175 Lbs.) the HS had a better light wind range. The bottom shape and the width were virtually identical, it was the Hyper 96 (my favorite HS and the one I still have as I think it's a classic) that was slightly narrower in the tail.
So, if the money difference is really important, go for the HS 105 (you have some experience with this board already).
If a slightly wider range (esp on the bottom end) is more important, look at the HS 111.
At 72 Kg. you really don't need larger than the 105, but I found the 111 to be a little easier to get going and it planed up a little higher so the "wings" didn't catch quite as much.
Hope this helps,
|25th January 2007, 05:12 AM
New Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 4
RE: Hypersonic 105 V 111
Thanks Roger for your reply
I now am thinking about the HS 96. Do you think I would be able to get it up and going in same winds as I did the HS 105 ? (wind was about 8-10 knots when I used the HS 105 a few years ago) I weigh 72 kg and have lots of experience with getting small wave boards going quite early.
I understand this kind of question is difficult for you to answer, as there are so many variables that come in to play.
Do you think with your experience, that you could get the HS 96 up and planing in similar wind strength to the HS105. ?
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I'm writing a letter of motivation for a masters course.
First time I've ever written one. Just looking for some feedback or advice.
Thanks in advance.
April 3rd, 2012
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to apply for the Masters of Environmental Science programme at (UNIVERSITY NAME).
I am a twenty four year old graduate from England. In 2010, I received a Degree of Bachelor of Agricultural Science from (UNIVERSITY NAME), with a second class honours. During my time there, my major was Outdoor Architecture. My degree differed from many other degrees, in that it had a much more personal set up. With only twenty four students in the graduating class, it meant that much of the work took place on a one to one basis, or involving team work. Through this I developed skills that have helped me understand how to listen and work with people, and solve problems in a team.
Many of the projects undertaken during the course were real world problems, such as tackling habitat fragmentation along the cost of North Dublin. Through this I learned a lot about what factors and constraints will actually come into place when dealing with these problems as a professional.
Although the majority of the projects were design based problems, there was always an emphasis on solving the environmental issues that occurred with each project. This became most prominent in the final two years of my study, when I begun studying modules like Landscape Ecology, Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment, and Diversity in the Rural Landscape. These types of modules made me aware of the environmental problems that currently exist and need to be solved. After completing these modules, I realised that I had a much greater interest in the environmental problems that were put in front of me, rather than the design problems. So since then, my aim for the future is to actually solve some of these problems. I have a broad interest in various environmental concerns around the world, and I hope that I can someday personally help to solve some of these issues.
It is through your course that I hope I can take the next step in going on tackle these problems. I believe that the opportunity to study internationally, and obtain my education from different universities and countries will really help me develop personally, and professionally.
Upon completion of my degree, I relocated to South Korea, where I spent a year teaching English to public school students. I had a large organisational role in the English department of the school, where it was my sole responsibility to organise summer and winter camps, as well as after-school classes and clubs. South Korea has a very different culture from Ireland but I enjoyed the experience and learnt how to deal with new and challenging situations. I got on well with my co-teachers, many of whom could speak no English and with my students. I look forward to the challenge of immersing myself in a new environment, and a new culture again.
I see the benefit in working as part of a team, and it is something I enjoy doing. Apart from working as a team in college, I have also played team sports like hockey and rugby since childhood. I continue to play hockey at quite a competitive level, and I have often taken the role of captain on many of these teams in the past. Through this I have gained knowledge about what is involved in being part of, and leading a team. And it is something I hope I will get to do more of as my career develops.
Thanks you for considering my request. I look forward to your response.


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Down for a good time
By Carl Kozlowski
White House Down may be ridiculous, but it's also incredibly fun
People often accuse Hollywood of running out of ideas, whether lamenting sequels and prequels or reboots. But it's mercifully rare that Tinseltown spits out two movies in the same year that have ridiculously similar concepts but are actually from competing studios.
The last time I can recall such a blatant pair of parallel films was 1998, when viewers were subjected to Deep Impact and Armageddon in the same summer. Both movies were loud and dumb and, frankly, not much fun, with Impact exploiting the devastation that would occur if Earth were hit by a giant asteroid and Armageddon absurdly sending a crew of astronauts and oil rig workers up to blow an asteroid out of the sky before it could hit our planet.
But this year has brought us two movies so alike that their makers should be duking it out in copyright court posthaste. Olympus Has Fallen was released in March and featured a lone man, played by Gerard Butler, singlehandedly saving the White House from a crushing attack by North Koreans, while this Friday brings us White House Down, in which Channing Tatum saves the White House while teamed up with a de facto Barack Obama played by Jamie Foxx.
I missed seeing Olympus in time to review it for its release, assuming that it would be just the latest in a seemingly endless string of misguided mega-bombs starring Butler, who is box office poison. But once it shot to No. 1 its opening weekend, my curiosity led me to buy a ticket and I was thoroughly entertained on every level by a movie that might be the best of the "lone wolf" action genre since the original Die Hard a quarter-century ago. I went on to pay to see it two more times because I had to keep sharing it with buddies, and I highly recommend checking it out on DVD when it's released Aug. 13.
White House Down initially suffers from the fact that it creates a strong sense of déjà vu in its opening minutes. Unlike Olympus, which has a harrowing stunt sequence in the first 10 minutes, Down waits a full 30 minutes before the action kicks in. But when it does, it's a doozy — a massive explosion that turns the Capitol dome into a fireball.
By the time the dome has blown, the White House has been infiltrated by a ton of fake janitors and repairmen for the home movie theater, so it's easy for the baddies to kill off Secret Service agents and other guards and take hostages. What they didn't count on is that a DC policeman named John Cale is in the building as well, taking his daughter on an impromptu tour after suffering through a failed job interview for a post on the president's security detail.
In the interview, Cale is presented with his pathetic track record of short-term jobs, a short-term marriage and the fact that he dropped out of college before finishing via night school. He's also resented by his 11-year-old daughter Emily for being a frequently absent father. So with all these cards stacked against him, audiences can be sure that this is the day where Cale mans up and sees the job through in saving the world.
African-American President Sawyer also does a fine job of helping protect himself with an assortment of guns and knives—even a rocket-propelled grenade launcher—as the dynamic duo snakes through the White House's hidden corridors and elevator shafts while picking off thugs. The most audacious and ridiculously entertaining scene involves Sawyer tossing Cale the keys to a super-bulletproof monster of an SUV called "Ground Force One" before they try to make a break for it in a wild chase on the South Lawn that involves both a tank and the aforementioned RPG launcher being utilized in front of a cheering crowd of thousands and seemingly every TV news camera on the East Coast.
Olympus benefited from amazing timing due to its release during the very week that North Korea's dictator, Kim Jong-un, was threatening to nuke us, giving its concept of a North Korean attack an extra-powerful gut punch. Its nearly 20-minute, multi-pronged initial assault across Washington DC stands as one of the best action sequences ever. The evil plot in Down has its own interesting background, with some of the baddies being former Afghan war troops resentful of Sawyer's plans for a total pullout combined with others who are white supremacists eager to take down a black president.
Thankfully, there's room for both these movies to succeed, as both of them are immeasurably more ludicrous and entertaining than Deep Impact and Armageddon ever hoped to be. How can you not enjoy a movie in which a black president slips on his basketball shoes because his dress shoes are slowing him down, and then pays it off during a battle with a potential assassin by kicking the bad guy and screaming "Don't touch my Air Jordans?"
The answer is you can't. White House Down is often ridiculous, but it's also a damn good time at the movies.


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DENISON, TX -- The Fourth of July always brings lots of business to the lake, but it will also be busy on the highways.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says more alcohol-related fatal accidents happen over the 4th of July than any other holiday.
With this 4th of july falling on a Wednesday, troopers and marina owners alike expect these next two weekends to be busy.
"There's 7 million visitors I think that come to Lake Texoma in a year, I think we'll see quite a few of those this weekend," said Jason Cottingame, Grandpappy Point General Manager.
Denison Fire Water Rescue members say they've already seen more boaters on the lake this summer than in years past, and marina owners agree.
"We're seeing a lot of new people coming to the lake that we've not seen before, so we're seeing good business this year," said Cottingame.
More people also means more risk of accidents.
"During the holiday periods every year we do see an increase number of DWI crashes on the highways. It's mainly a result of people going out and trying to relieve some stress and have a good time, but they're not making good decisions and getting a designated driver like they should," said Trooper Mark Tackett with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Texas DPS Troopers made 1,406 DWI arrests during the 4th of July enforcement last year, and this year they're stepping up patrols again.
"DPS is gonna be having all available troopers out on the road looking for drunk drivers, anybody that's trying to engage somebody in road rage, we're going to be trying to crack down on speeding, and trying to make the highways safer for people who are traveling," said Trooper Tackett.
Troopers encourage you to designate a driver during the festivities.
If you live in the Ardmore area, you can use AAA Tipsy Tow service, or if you are in Grayson Count, you can call Van Alstyne's Holiday Haul with Adams Automotive.
Ardmore Tipsy Tow: 1-800-222-4357 or 1-800-(AAA-HELP)
Van Alstyne Holiday Haul: (903) 482-5784
Van Alstyne's Holiday Haul is provided by Adams Automotive. It runs all day Saturday and Sunday, to Monday morning. And then again all day Tuesday and Wednesday. It is for intoxicated drivers only.


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The MDG3 Take Back the Tech! partner in the Philippines, sent us an update on the latest developments of the project.
Small grant recipient conducted a successful RTD in ICT, VAW and sexuality
On June 22 our small grant recipient Women's Legal and Human Rights Bureau conducted a very interesting round table discussion on Women's Emerging Issues on ICT, VAW and Sexuality. They are mapping existing policies and legislative measures related to ICT, VAW and Sexuality. Around 30 participants from both government and non government organizations attended, to include the Chief of NBI Cyber Crime Unit, Staff of the Senate and Congress Commitee on Women, Dept of Social Welfare, professors from the University of the Philippines, very active women's groups in the Philippine Women's Movement namely:
WomanHealth, Coalition Against Trafficking and Prostitution, ARMMNet, STRAP (a Transgender group in PH), Women and Gender Institute, GALANG (an LBT group). And, also we were delighted that Chat Garcia of APC WNSP joined us, as well as Lalaine Viado and Cheekay Cinco.
TBTT learning and sharing session
To provide a venue for all of us to share lessons and reflections about the Take Back the Tech Philippines project, we have set a Learning and Sharing Session among partners in the FTX workshops, small grant project recipients, and research and advocacy work activities.
This was on Friday, 24 June 2011, UP CSWCD AVR. On this day we witnessed some of the outputs from our small grant recipients such as digital stories, short film and radio drama, a policy paper discussion, launch of a website and sharing of an SMS SOS hotline, as well as some digital stories developed during the first ever DST workshop in the Philippines.
Documenting and databasing eVAW: Developing baseline information on ICT mediated VAW, a round table discussion
Recognising the need to begin documenting cases of eVAW or ICT related/mediated VAW, FMA held its initial round table discussion among law enforcement and data collection agencies on 28 June 2011. It aimed to provide a free flowing discussion as to how each agency/organization collects data, document cases brought to them, and see how eVAW can be incorporated if possible. Representatives from National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police, Philippine Commission on Women, Dept. of Social Welfare and Development, Congress and selected women's organizations attended.


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Average rating: 0 / 5.0 Based on 4 reviews.
|I ate here again recently with my parents, who are omnivores. My vegan entree was OK, and my parents liked their carniverous dishes. This is a good spot for mixed dining groups. We were seated right away on a weekend mid-afternoon, so all hope is not lost on getting a seat if you don't go the same time everyone else does. (The same goes for parking.) NOTE: Now open in Oakland at 4721 Telegraph Av.
Reviews: 133
|The food at Burma Superstar is amazing. I ate and loved things I would never imagine eating (vegan of course). I highly recommend the tea leaf salad (mixed at your table). The vegetarian samusa soup is the best soup I have ever had. Chunks of samusas, falafels, lentils, veggies and spices. Pea shoots were phenomenal. Highly recommended, but get there early as it gets packed with long waits.
Reviews: 30
|The food is unique and delicious; I'd recommend the tea leaf salad. The wait is ridiculously long-- I waited 2.5 hours -- luckily there's an awesome bookstore down the street, and the restaurant will call your phone when you're getting close to getting seated. BUT the food also seemed to make me sick that night and after I ate the leftovers (on faith!) the day after. My friend was fine, though. Hm
Reviews: 15
|This restaurant offers lots of vegetarian options and specifically states what is in every dish on the menu. If you like spicy food, it is great. I would stick with these that are marked Burmese.
Reviews: 1
The intent of the Ultimate Guide is to make it easier for folks new to the Bay Area or new to vegetarianism to find businesses that support their vegetarian lifestyle. We welcome your reviews and feedback on businesses and services listed within. For any public reviews, please keep your comments constructive so that the business may learn from them -- no slander or mean-spirited comments.. You are responsible for what you post as a 3rd party contributor to the Ultimate Guide web site. Bay Area Vegetarians and the editors of the Ultimate Guide reserve the right to edit or delete submissions that are deemed inappropriate.


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Dublin, Ireland
series: Burt Wolf: Travels & Traditions
air date: 2/21/13 10:00 PM
For over 700 years Dublin lived under foreign domination. Today, however, it is an independent Republic with one of the highest per capita incomes in Europe and a fashionable destination for tourists. Burt Wolf explores the city's Viking history, visits the Guinness brewery to learn how to "pull" a perfect pint, discovers the origin of the Guinness Book of Records, tours the town's classic pubs, and finds out why the ancient Book of Kells is the most valued cultural object in Ireland.
WARNING: Email reminders for this program have already been sent out. Your reminder may not reach the intended address in time for this program's airing.
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2008 Nissan Sentra Service Repair Manual DOWNLOAD
INSTANT DOWNLOAD 2008 Nissan Sentra Service Repair Manual DOWNLOAD This is the most complete Service Repair Manual for the 2008 Nissan Sentra ever compiled by mankind. This DOWNLOAD contains of high quality diagrams and instructions on how to service and repair your 2008 Nissan Sentra from the front bumper to the rear. This is a must for the Do-ItYourselfer! You will not be dissatisfied. ==================== Downloadable: YES File Format: PDF Compatible: All Versions of Windows & Mac Language: English Requirements: Adobe PDF Reader & WinZip ==================== This Service Repair Manual Covers: General Information Engine Mechanical Engine Lubrication System Engine Cooling System Engine Control System Fuel System Exhaust System Accelerator Control System Clutch Manual Transaxle CVT Front Axle Rear Axle Front Suspension Rear Suspension Road Wheels & Tires Brake System Parking Brake System Brake Control System Power Steering System
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2008 Nissan Sentra Service Repair Manual DOWNLOAD
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Published on Dec 13, 2012
to arrive in the mail...you will receive this manual today via instant download on completion of


text:
Minus gloating, national pride was beaming Tuesday at Avalanche practice.
Olympians Matt Duchene (Canada), Gabe Landeskog (Sweden) and Paul Stastny (U.S.) returned to team headquarters, rejoining a squad that consists of 22 active players from five countries. The Olympics are over, and so is the friendly ribbing.
Canadian and Swedish pride filled the air, but there was no boasting about what happened in Sochi during the NHL's Olympic break, just eagerness to move forward on North American ice.
"You never want to rub it in a teammate's face, ever," Duchene said about his gold medal and Canada's victories over the U.S. and Sweden in the semifinals and final. "I love this group so much. We're all like family."
Canada beat top-seeded Sweden 3-0 on Sunday for the gold medal, two days after blanking the No. 2-seeded Americans 1-0 in the semifinals.
"It's tough. We knew going in one of us was going to be upset and one of us was going to be on top of the world," Duchene said about facing Landeskog in the gold medal game. "Obviously, I was happy it was me who was on top of the world. It's tough being on (the losing) end of it. The silver medal, you know it maybe stings a little bit then and a little bit after, but he's going to look at that thing six months from now and go, 'Wow, I won a silver medal at the Olympics.' And they had no shame in losing to our team at all. I mean, we had a great team. They were depleted a little bit but had a heck of a tournament. He should be very proud."
Duchene and Landeskog brought their medals to the facility, primarily to show the media. Duchene, who surprisingly participated in the full practice Tuesday, was a gracious champion to his American, Russian, Swedish and Czech Republic teammates.
"I didn't pull it out and start wheeling it around the room or anything," he said. "Guys asked me if I brought it with me and I obviously said, 'Yes,' and if they wanted to see it, I showed them.
"But as far as I'm concerned, today all of us are enjoying our Olympic success and talking to our teammates about it, but (Wednesday) it's back to work, back to business here with Colorado."
Landeskog and Stastny did not skate Tuesday but will do so Wednesday morning in preparation for the Avs' 8 p.m. game against the Los Angeles Kings. Landeskog and Stastny flew back to Denver together Monday.
"It was certainly special to get an Olympic medal hung around your neck," Landeskog said. "At the same time, we're obviously disappointed. In the heat of the moment right after the game, it's tough to really appreciate what had happened. But I think now, a few days later, and as time goes along here, I think it's something I'll appreciate even more, and certainly after a couple years or after my career, I'll be able to look back at this medal and (remember) what a great time it was."
Last spring, after the Avalanche failed to make the playoffs, Duchene, Landeskog and Stastny — plus goalie Semyon Varlamov of Russia — played in the 2013 world championship in Stockholm and Helsinki. The Swedes won the gold medal, the Americans the bronze, Canada was fifth and Russia sixth.
"Dutchy just told me he got payback from the world championships (last) spring," Landeskog said. "We all had fun, and it's just an honor to represent your country in itself. We certainly had fun doing that, and unfortunately we couldn't all win medals. We couldn't all win the gold. At the same time, we're here now and we're ready to move forward with the Avs."
Stastny talked about the Americans' disappointing shutout losses to Canada and then Finland in Saturday's bronze medal game and will have more to say Wednesday. Stastny was eligible to play for the United States or Canada.
"I wanted him to win bronze, for sure. I felt bad for him," Duchene said of Stastny. "After Vancouver, where they just came up short (losing to Canada in overtime of the 2010 gold medal game), and it happened against us (in Sochi). But as a Canadian, it's pretty sweet to beat the U.S. I can't lie. But I wish Paulie could have been on my side."
Mike Chambers: email@example.com or twitter.com/mchambers
8 p.m. Wednesday, NBCSN, 950 AM
Spotlight on Drew Doughty: The Los Angeles defenseman led Team Canada with four goals and six points en route to winning the gold medal at the Sochi Olympics. Doughty, who was named to the Olympic all-tournament team, was scheduled to travel to Denver along with Olympic and L.A. teammate Jeff Carter to rejoin the Kings. Doughty and Carter are among six Kings who played in Sochi.
Kings: The 2012 Stanley Cup champions entered the Olympic break 2-8-1 in their previous 11 games. ... Los Angeles recalled Martin Jones from the minors Monday, and the young goalie might start against the Avs to allow Jonathan Quick more time to recover from being the workhorse goalie for Team USA in Sochi. L.A. begins consecutive-day road games in Denver and will face the Flames in Calgary on Thursday. ... Fellow Kings Olympians Anze Kopitar (Slovenia) and Slava Voynov (Russia) practiced with the team Monday in Los Angeles. Quick and U.S. teammate Dustin Brown were expected to join the Kings in Denver, along with Canadians Doughty and Carter.
Avalanche: Jean-Sebastien Giguere will start in goal. ... Rookie Nathan MacKinnon returned to practice Tuesday after taking Monday off with an illness. He remained on the ice with noted rink rat Ryan O'Reilly and Tyson Barrie for about an hour after practice ended and said he is fine. ... Defenseman Erik Johnson will begin a two-game NHL suspension for slashing the New York Islanders' Frans Nielsen in the Avs' last game before the Olympic break. Ryan Wilson will take Johnson's lineup spot, but Nick Holden will play with Johnson's D-partner, Jan Hejda. Avs coach Patrick Roy said Wilson will be paired with Barrie, and Nate Guenin and Andre Benoit make up the third pairing.
Mike Chambers, The Denver Post