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I think with this exercise we were can more vocabulary.
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As you watch the video, look at the examples of countable and uncountable nouns. They are in red in the subtitles. Then read the conversation below to learn more. Finally, do the grammar exercises to check you understand, and can use, countable and uncountable nouns correctly.
Some nouns in English are countable – we can use them in singular and plural forms. Some are uncountable – they only have one form.
We often use a/an with singular countable nouns and some with plurals. We can also use some with uncountable nouns.
What are examples of countable nouns?
Here are a few:
I've got a steak, some red chilli peppers, some potatoes…
OK, well, I've got a lemon, an apple … and some chicken breasts.
I'd like a blue pen, please.
OK, so for things you can count, like one pen, two pens … Why did you say a pen, not one pen?
We often use a/an before singular countable nouns. Before words that start with a vowel sound, we use an, and before words that start with a consonant sound, we use a.
So is one wrong? As in Would you like one drink?
It sounds as if you're saying one (not two). If you're offering someone a drink, you'd say Would you like a drink?
But someone who works in a café might say, So that's one coffee and two lemonades.
So it's usually a or an for singular countable nouns and a number or some for plurals. How many is some?
It can be any number more than one.
I got some new jeans at the weekend. (a pair of new jeans)
Some teachers left at the end of the year. (we don't know how many)
Is some or a number always used with plurals?
No, have a look at these examples
I'm frightened of dogs. (dogs in general)
Strawberries have a lot of vitamin C. (strawberries in general)
What about uncountable nouns?
These are nouns that don't have a plural form.
I've got some garlic and some butter.
I'm looking for information about early rock and roll.
I haven't got enough paper.
You have to get permission from the head teacher.
Do you want some cake?
So, I can use some with uncountables too?
Yes, we use some with both countables and uncountables.
How do I know whether a noun is countable or uncountable?
A dictionary will tell you. Usually dictionaries use symbols [C] for countable and [U] for uncountable.
Just a minute. You said cake was uncountable. What about I made a cake this morning?
Yes that's correct, but there's a difference in meaning.
I made a cake this morning. (a whole cake – countable)
Do you want some cake? (a piece of cake – uncountable)
A box of chocolates. (individual chocolates – countable)
I'd like some chocolate too. (a piece or pieces of chocolate from a bar of chocolate – uncountable)
I thought coffee and lemonade were uncountable too.
Yes, they are usually.
I love coffee with hot milk. (uncountable)
Can you get some coffee? (uncountable)
I'll have a coffee, please. (a cup of coffee, countable)
Wow, so it's more complicated than I thought.
No, they're not really very difficult.
OK, they're easy. It's a piece of cake!
Yes, simple! A piece of cake!
Daisy: So, our first chef is Alfie. Alfie, let's see your ingredients.
Alfie: OK, well, I've got a lemon, an apple and some garlic, some butter and some chicken breasts ... livers! Ah, chicken livers!
Daisy: Mmm ... chicken livers ... an unusual choice. Are you feeling confident?
Alfie: Well, sort of. It's a challenge!
Daisy: OK ... now to Oliver. Hi, Oliver.
Oliver: Hello.
Daisy: What ingredients have you got, Oliver?
Oliver: OK, well I've got a steak, some red chilli peppers, some potatoes, cream, onions and some giant prawns.
Daisy: Wow – an interesting selection. How do you feel about the competition?
Oliver: I'm pretty confident. I mean ... steak and prawns, or chicken livers ... I know which I prefer!
Daisy: OK, well, we'll be back later.
Mum: Hi, love.
Daisy: Hi, Mum. Where are you?
Mum: At the airport. What's going on there?
Daisy: Well, right now Alfie and Ollie are having their Master Chef cooking competition.
Daisy: Only 53 minutes left!
Mum: OK, love, see you soon.
Daisy: Bye, Mum – if you're lucky, you'll arrive home in time to taste the dishes!
Mum: Hmm ... shall I bring some fish and chips just in case?
Daisy: Let's taste the pâté first, Mum.
Mum: OK, it smells and looks delicious!
Oliver: OK, OK. Try it first, judges. It's all in the taste.
Daisy and Mum: Oooooh, that's amazing!
Mum: Mmmm! I could eat it all!
Alfie: Wow, thanks Sophie!
Oliver: OK, leave some space for my dish!
Daisy: Mmmm ... it's tasty ... whoa! How many chili peppers?
Mum: Wow, it's good, Oliver! It's a taste of Thailand! It's going to be a difficult decision.
Mum and Daisy: This year's Master Chef champion is ...
The expression a piece of cake means something is really easy. Is speaking English a piece of cake for you?
I think with this exercise we were can more vocabulary.
at the start of the learn english it could be taugh you coudnt say piece of cake but if you study to hard day by day getting english so you can say piece of cake.
I think that for me is a kind o piece of cake, because i've learned english since I was a child. But it wasn't a piece of cake always.
Do you want an apple?
I have an apple tree.
Speaking English may be a kind of a piece of cake, but writing English is never be a piece of cake for me particularly when it comes to countable and uncoountable nouns. We don't usually care about how many things we have in our language!
by the way i'm new here so i hope you'll help me to improve my english
Hi fazashah! Welcome to LearnEnglish Teens! I'm sure you will improve your English with our site. By reading, listening, doing the exercises and leaving comments you're doing exactly the right thing to take your English to the next level. Good luck and enjoy! Joanna (LearnEnglish Teens team)
not now but i hope it will soon
So, can I say: "Pieces of cake" for something that is hard?Just a stupid question...
Hi kingdragon123. It's not a stupid question – but we don't say that, I'm afraid. We can describe something difficult by saying 'it's tough as nails', 'it's a hard nut to crack', 'it's a tough one' or 'it's a toughie' (although the first two of these are a bit old-fashioned).
What do you think is a piece of cake? And what is tough for you? :)
Jonathan (LearnEnglish Teens Team)
Hi Jonathan,
Thank you for the replya, I've got another question.
I'm wondering if 'toughy' is acceptable instead of 'toughie'?
Do you pronounce the two words differently??
Hi Ken,
Either spelling is acceptable but the pronunciation would stay the same. Remember you can always use an online dictionary to check spelling.
Best wishes, Jo (LearnEnglish Teens team)
Speaking English isn't easy for me.It's not a piece of cake.
The English for me are like four pieces of cake makes me more difficult grammar, in pronunciation is much better when I am alone but when I am in front of someone I am afraid and I go wrong, in the vocabulary I have a midpoint are like two pieces of Cake, but I hope to continue learning that is why I am here and I hope one day my English will be a piece of cake, that is to say very easy.
Dear Sir
Regarding my last question eg pencil and baggage ... Is it alright to say 'a piece of baggage on the table'
Best regards
Hi Srilal,
Yes, exactly. If you really needed to specify that it was only one item, you could say 'a piece of baggage'. If not, we would probably just say, 'my baggage is on the table', or something like that. You can use 'some' for uncountable nouns and it doesn't necessarily mean more than one:
eg. I've got some good news for you! (= one piece of information)
Best wishes, Joanna (LearnEnglish Teens team)
Dear Sir
Please help me to make this clear. Eg. There is a pencil on the table. If I want to say 'baggage' instead of 'a pencil' how can I say it? If I say some baggage that means more than one but I want to say only one but I can't use one or a before baggage.
Please help.
Thank you.
Best regards
I suppose that English is sometimes like a piece of cake.
Currently I'm trying to swallow the piece of cake ;D
Hello! Can you explain me why we use "some" in questions not "any", for example, in sentences like "Do you want some cake?", "Would you like some coffe?" or "Can I borrow some money?". Whereas by rule we might use 'any' for questions. Thanks in advance!
Hi clp920. It depends on the function of the question. If it is to offer something or request something, use some. This is the case in your examples. Using some encourages the person to say 'yes' in reply.
Using any in the same question is possible too, but it seems like you expect the person to reply 'no'.
If the question is just to ask about some other thing, not to offer or request it, use any.
I hope that helps to understand these tricky words!
Jonathan (LearnEnglish Teens Team)
Wow. now it is really become much more clear, like a piece of cake! Thank you so much
I think it is a piece of cake as long as you know grammar and conventions. There are exceptions too though.
yeah if I had a good knowledge of vocabulary it'd be piece of cake
Sorry but i can not watch this video.
It plays normally until the 15th second. It's weird :))
Please fix. I have F5 the page already.
I've just checked the video and it's working fine. Please check your internet connection. If you continue to have problems please send more details. You can use the Contact us link at the bottom of the page: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/contact
Best wishes, Jo (LearnEnglish Teens Team)
Never be a piece of cake!
It's hard to find reasons exactly why a piece of cake = easy?? a whole cake= difficult??
not really :D
not yet :D
No, speaking English isn't a piece of cake for me yet.
The expression A PIECE OF CAKE means something really easy. I think speaking English is not a piece of cake. We have been studying English in schools since early childhood and I myself doing my best to get fluency in speaking English but still couldn't get success. Keeping all these facts in mind, I can't say that English language is a piece of cake.
© British Council The United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland).


text: Bee & Nick Say: Whilst we will still be keeping the blog trucking, we're branching out into YouTube to capture some of the crazy whirlwind life adventure we are on. We are totally new to this (hence the Blair Witch camera shakes and questionable editing!) but will do our best to share some of our shiny new lives through the power of video. Feel free to send any questions, queries or requests for things you'd like us to film! Here are our first forays – Our Last Week in London / First Week in Los Angeles.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Battle
>> Monday, November 29, 2010
Thanksgiving was great but it was after Thanksgiving that really threw me for a loop. My husband and I have had smooth sailing and we came to a bump in the road. Now most blogs do not bring up problems in their marriages but why not? How else can we truly learn from each other and relate as spouses.
It was not easy to hear all the things that led up to this point. He had a difficult time as well. We had silent treatments, to struggled for clarity, to time in our own thoughts, to expressed anger, to "just go I will live without you, I think, of course I will, kinda, good riddens." Then stillness. Then a sealed letter and long email simultaneously, to let's talk tonight and then the civil conversation of more reality testing and uncovered feelings, to more struggle for clarity but this time freeing. And Release. Smile, to giggle, to laughter and all is again, right in the world.
I have to tell you. I thought this was the big one. I even thought of all of you who are nice enough to join and check in with a few words here and there. Live Ever After (Happily) would have been no more or Live Ever After (with someone else). It really was difficult. I almost did not want to write about it but I knew I had to be true to myself and blog. That's a real blog in my standards. It's not just about recipes and jokes as I have learned.
I was really taken off guard as I did not expect it. We are at the point where we work things out simply and it has been a while since we argued. Maybe it was time for one. We became too comfortable with each other. There needed to be some shaking up to see what this marriage is worth. It took two days. But it had been rearing its ugly head for some time now, invisible to the both of us and then showed up and ruined the holiday weekend celebration. We just resolved everything five hours ago, but I tell you I am exhausted. It's the feeling of victory after a 10 mile run but better. Hearing him and my own voice speak about changes was the refreshing part. "You mean you don't want the D word?" Whew, What a relief. "I'm a keeper?" "Aaaah. Well I think I'll keep you around, just make sure you behave yourself".
Another married battle has been won. I am emotionally and mentally exhausted and going to bed now. Sleep is going to be soooo gooood. Goodnight. Thanks for listening.


text:
Now in its 14th season, Sirk's Notebook is an independently-written feature that often focuses on the irreverent side of the Crew experience. A local fixture, it has appeared on TheCrew.com from 2000-2003 and 2008-present. Any opinions expressed in Sirk's Notebook are not necessarily the views of the Columbus Crew organization. Especially when he makes fun of other teams.
A week before the season finale, the Columbus Crew and New England Revolution played a 3-2 thriller in Foxborough that Crew midfielder Wil Trapp described as "100 miles per hour." On Sunday, the Crew and Revs spent a lot of time in rush hour traffic, rubbernecking at various collisions that slowed the flow to a bumper to bumper logjam. New England emerged victorious, 1-0, and clinched a berth in the 2013 MLS Cup playoffs.
"The game was very sporadic, choppy, in terms of the flow," said Crew interim coach Brian Bliss. "There was no rhythm. Between guys getting injured, guys laying down on the field, them doing what they needed to do in terms of eating up the clock, there was no rhythm to the game unfortunately. That's just the way it was. It was their game plan and it worked and I can't fault them for that."
The Crew came in to the game hoping to turn the season-ending home-and-home with the Revs into a case of mutually assured destruction. New England eliminated the Crew the previous weekend, and Columbus could have done likewise to the Revs with a win or a tie. It didn't happen.
"After losing to them last week, we didn't want them to get in on our backs," Trapp said. "It was a pride thing, so today we came out and we worked hard, but sometimes working hard isn't going to win you the game. You also need to score goals, but that didn't happen today."
New England scored the only goal of the game in the 28th minute. Juan Agudelo posted up Tyson Wahl at the edge of the 18-yard box and then back-heeled the ball through Wahl's legs to hit Lee Nguyen in stride as he raced into the box. Agudelo then spun off of Wahl to receive the return pass. His quick shot perfectly split a diving Andy Gruenebaum and a sliding Josh Williams.
"It was a little bit of a breakdown and then a couple of passes," Gruenebaum said. "[Nguyen] could have shot, but he laid it back off. I tried to get across and I didn't get there and I think Josh dove into me. It just wasn't going to happen."
If you asked me to sum up the second half in 30 words, those words would be as follows:
Cross, clear, cross, clear, injury stoppage, cross, clear, injury stoppage, cross, clear, cross, clear, cross clear, cross, clear, injury stoppage, cross, clear, cross, clear, injury stoppage, cross, clear, cross clear, final whistle.
Bliss said the monotonous second half routine was out of necessity, not design.
"I'm not a big fan of everything being old school, end line, whip in the box," he said. "That's not how I like to see the game played, but at the end, that's what they were giving us and we had to go with that. I like to move the ball and play it through combinations, but it was very compacted in the middle of the field, it was tough to get a combination off, to get in behind them, and that's what we had to resort to. I'm not saying it's the best way to play, but that moment we have to take what's given to us, and the flanks were there to be taken."
Bliss hoped that the Crew's size advantage may have come into play, but it did not. Trapp agreed that the second half was a frustrating exercise in pumping balls in and waiting to get a bounce in the congested New England penalty area.
"When you're down a goal, you have to push numbers forward and hope for something to fall," Trapp said. "We went to three in the back, which was a smart move, but we couldn't generate enough and we couldn't finish. It's frustrating, but that's how you have to go about it to get the goal back."
The weekend before, the Crew were twice able to erase one-goal deficits at New England. On Sunday, not so much.
"It always comes down to what you can get done in the last 30 (yards) or the final third," Bliss said. "Last week, we were quicker, sharper, more active, I guess, but today, as much as we were in their end, in terms of the possession and crossed balls, we weren't as sharp and weren't as alert and we came up short."
Andy Gruenebaum returned to the starting lineup for the first time since July 27. A shoulder injury initially sidelined him and then Bliss was reluctant to tinker with the success the team was having under Matt Lampson. In the season finale, Gruenebaum got a chance to do his thing.
"I felt good," he said. "Obviously the result sucked, but it was fun to be out there."
Gruenebaum is now out of contract, so there is a possibility that it could have been his last game for Columbus, but the Hebrew Hammer is hopeful that he will be with the Crew for years to come.
"Absolutely," he said. "We've never wavered in the fact that we consider Columbus home. It's an unbelievable place to play, with great fans. We've made no secret of our love for Columbus, so whatever will be will be, but hopefully it will all work out."
It will be a strange contract negotiation. After years of serving as the backup, Gruenebaum had a break-out year as the starter in 2012, but his injury in 2013 allowed his understudy, Lampson, a chance to shine. With next year's coaching situation still unclear, it's impossible to know which goalkeeper would have the upper hand for 2014. That train of thought might have an impact on the contract negotiations, but on the playing field, this predicament of having two starting-caliber goalkeepers for one spot would be nothing new for Gruenebaum. He worked under those conditions for years with William Hesmer. Like his previous relationship with Hesmer, Gruenebaum said he has forged a friendship with Lampson based on mutually-supportive competition.
"You're competing, but you have to have a working relationship because it makes things that much more pleasant in training," Gruenebaum said. "I've been in situations where not a word is spoken, and it's not ideal. At the end of the day, only one of us can play, but it doesn't mean that you have to hold some sort of grudge. You just have to keep working and hope that you can show that you should be the number one and can hold the position. We both obviously want to play, and contractually, it's obviously a weird situation at the moment, but I can't worry about that. I've got to just put my head down and work and get back to the weight room and just get after it."
Gruenebaum has been impressed by Lampson's professional growth, as evidenced by his string of late-season performances.
"I think this league is all about confidence, and when you play games, that's how you get it," he said. "He's been getting games and he's confident. It's not always going to be roses and there's always going to be adversity, but at the same time, you're definitely seeing confidence in him. You want to see him grow and you want to see him do well, but obviously we're competing, so that means I have to put my head down and work even harder to do my thing, and then whatever the coaches decide, I'm always going to be helpful and be a good teammate. That's the way I was raised and that's what I know. Matt and I have a good relationship where we can compete and be friends as well."
With the dismissal of goalkeeping coach Scoop Stanisic over Labor Day weekend, Gruenebaum used his injury downtime to serve as the de facto goalkeeping coach, working with Lampson, Dan Withrow, and league pool goalkeeper Brad Stuver. Gruenebaum had fun with it, but he isn't ready to jump professions just yet.
"I enjoy the coaching aspect, but I've got years left in the legs and I want to play for a couple years before I even think about that," he said. "But it was fun. You need that. That's part of the environment. If you have good coaching and you have a good training session day in and day out, that's what goalkeeping is. At the end of the day, that's what you need. You never want to see anybody lose their job, but I'd like to think I stepped in and did a pretty good job."
Speaking of which…
The playoffs were all but an impossibility when Bliss took over, and now we know in hindsight that it would have taken seven wins in eight games to catapult the Crew into playoff position. The fact that the Crew strung the drama along until the penultimate game was a feat unto itself.
In his postgame comments, Bliss was asked about his results. "You always want to win more games than you lose," he said. "Four and four maybe gets you into the playoffs if you go .500 all year."
The Crew averaged 1.5 points per game under Bliss. That rate would have been good enough for the playoffs and could have put the Crew as high as third in the conference, depending on tie-breakers.
Back when Bliss was first hired, Larry Johnson from Massive Report and I discussed how interesting it would be to see how much improvement Bliss could wrangle out of a team that been struggling all summer. Across many different metrics, it turns out that the results were substantial.
Points per game: +33.9% (1.50 vs. 1.12)
Goals scored per game: +45.5% (1.63 vs. 1.12)
Goals allowed per game: -2.2% (1.38 vs. 1.35)
Goal differential: +0.48 goals per game. (+0.25 vs. -0.23)
So the team saw a major bump in points per game, while scoring significantly more goals and allowing almost negligibly more goals, resulting in a net turnaround of almost half of a goal per game. The Crew's +0.25 goal differential per game under Bliss translates to +8.5 over the course of a full season. Only six MLS teams bettered that mark, and they were the top three finishers in each conference.
To give these statistical turnarounds a little more context, consider that the Crew faced significantly more difficult opposition in the final eight games than they did in the first 26 games. Seven of the eight games were against teams with winning records. The league had three comically inept punching bags this season, and all six of the Crew's games against D.C. United, Toronto FC, and Chivas USA were in the books before Bliss took the helm. The Crew took 15 points out of those six games (2.50 per game) and scored 12 goals while surrendering just three.
If you remove the patsies, a group from which the Crew were three minutes away from sweeping all 18 points, the Crew's numbers look like this from the other 20 pre-Bliss games:
Points per game: 0.70 (3-12-5, for 14 points)
Goals per game: 0.85
Goals allowed per game: 1.60
Goal differential per game: -0.75
Some might say that excluding the patsies is just fiddling with numbers because Bliss didn't face Supporters' Shield-winning New York or Western Conference topping Portland, for example. But here's the thing—it makes for an almost perfect comparison. Using a weighted average of opponents points per game, Bliss faced opponents who averaged 1.51 points per game in 2013, whereas that mark was 1.35 before Bliss. That means Bliss faced competition that was 11.9% tougher, so the improvements under his tenure should take that into account. Facing 11.9% tougher competition, the team increased points per game by 33.9%, and so on. If we remove the six patsy games, the weighted opponents points per game is 1.54 pre-Bliss, nearly identical to the 1.51 Bliss faced.
So this is how Bliss shakes out against the 20 non-patsy games prior to his appointment:
Points per game: +114.3% (1.5 vs. 0.7)
Goals per game: +91.8% (1.63 vs. 0.85)
Goals allowed per game: +13.80% (1.38 vs. 1.60)
Goal differential: +1.15 goals per game (+0.25 vs. -0.90)
With the patsies removed, the Crew astronomically improved on every single metric based on a weighted non-patsy opposition that was only 1.95% easier. And even if you consider the smaller sample size, the Crew already attained one more victory in eight non-patsy games under Bliss than they had in the previous 20 non-patsy games.
And all of these results were obtained with only three healthy games from the team's MVP, Federico Higuain. Bliss went 3-1-0 with Higuain in the lineup, and 1-3-0 without Pipa. (And the loss with Higuain was the game in which he was limited by his injury.)
I'm not privy to the interview process or the grand designs and all of that stuff, so I don't know where Bliss rightfully stands compared to the other candidates. But if coaching is a results based business, I'd say that Bliss put up some good results and enormous improvements under difficult circumstances.
Was it enough to earn a permanent appointment to the head coaching position? If the stated timetable holds up, we should find out in the next few weeks. The Crew are determined to be thorough in their coaching search, so if Bliss does get the job, it won't be a knee-jerk interim-to-permanent appointment. He will have to be deemed the best of the available candidates. That process is still ongoing, so now we wait.
While we're all waiting, Bliss was asked to assess his chances.
"I can't determine that," he said. "I know what I did, I know how I view the game, I know how I feel the game should be played, I know what needs to happen in training every day in order to get to that result, I still believe in those methods, those views of the game, and I'll leave that to the others who are making the decision whether that is good enough to make a cultural change and an impact in that area. That's not for me to determine. I'd say I'm biased. I think I got us on the right track, but that's for others to determine."
The players said they definitely felt the culture change of which Bliss spoke.
"I think that obviously the last few results haven't been ideal," said Andy Gruenebaum, "and we all know this is a results-based business, but at the same time, the culture has changed in terms of everybody's mentality."
"We fought our heart out for Brian," Josh Williams said. "I hope he knows that. He came in and gave us energy. We said we wanted to fight for him, and unfortunately we came out on the wrong end towards the end of the year. Going into the offseason, it is an uneasy feeling because nobody knows what is going to happen. I think it was important that we left it on the field, and showed everyone coming in that we fought our hearts out."
One would think that the safest assumption in the world is that Frankie couldn't possibly be any more Frankie than he has already proven to be during his tenure as the Crew's brand ambassador. As it turns out, that is not the case, On Sunday, Frankie Hejduk took himself to new levels of Frankie-ness by skateboarding around Crew Stadium while waving a big Crew flag and pumping up the crowd.
"There's a first for everything," Hejduk said. "We have the first soccer-specific stadium, so why not have the first stadium that has a brand ambassador skateboarding around with Crew flags?"
So, wait…now Frankie is the first soccer-specific skateboarder?
It turns out that the skateboarding scheme had practical origins that go beyond Frankie being Frankie, although he then took it to the appropriate level of Frankie-ness.
"It came about because I often have to go from one side of the stadium to the other, and sometimes it takes me 30-45 minutes, depending on the day," he explained, "It can take a long time depending on seeing people, signing autographs, taking pictures, and all of that stuff. I love doing that and I can't say no. Whatever they want. This is our family, dude, so if a member of your family asks you to take a photo, you want to stop and take it. But I also have a job to do, sometimes, every now and then. To get to where I need to be at a specific time on game day can be difficult. I came up with the idea that riding my skateboard would get me around the stadium quicker. It was originally thought of as a way to cruise around to where I need to be, but then I thought, 'Why not carry a flag around and support the team, dude?' That's how it evolved. I think you're going to see it many more times in the future. I think we're a club that does the first of a lot of things, so this was the first time we had a brand ambassador cruising around the stadium on a skateboard with a Crew flag."
If Frankie weren't real, I don't know that I could make him up.
An ownership change, a coaching change; a scoreboard fire; Higuain's ridiculous chip-shot goals in back to back weeks; everything about Dominic Oduro (speed, goals, pizza, hair, twitter, etc); a starting lineup featuring six Ohioans; terrible season-ending injuries to Eddie Gaven and Glauber; those wins over first-place teams; those drubbings of terrible teams except for that back-breaking late-game loss in Toronto; Gruenebaum's preposterous save in D.C. against Dwayne De Rosario; the emergence of longtime academy wunderkind Wil Trapp and fellow academy product Chad Barson; the inexplicable troubles while playing 11v10; first career goals for Ben Speas, Ryan Finley, and Aaron Schoenfeld; the summer swoon; the songwriting of Sloan & the Keepers; the lightning delay vs. Seattle; the departure of Duncan Oughton to Toronto; Dos A Cero, Part Tres, and the #TifoSweat "HOME" banner; Eric Gehrig winning the Kirk Urso Heart Award; the search for Kyle Hyland's tooth; the crowds returning to Crew Stadium; the trip to Medieval Times that started it all…
Even though the Crew missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season, 2013 was certainly a memorable year. I had fun bumbling around like I always do in an effort to give all of you something (hopefully) fun to read. I can only do so much, so a lot of the credit, as always, has to go to the players, coaches, team staff, and front office staff, who year after year assist me in doing whatever it is that I do. Especially the players. None of this happens without their willingness to open up, share their insights and personalities, and patiently respond to poorly-formed and un-thought-out questions, both face-to-face and via emails/calls/texts. For the 14th season in a row, "Sirk's Notebook" has been the beneficiary of a great locker room.
Also, a special shout out to Crew communications gurus Alex Caulfield and Tim Miller. Like the players heading into 2014, I also faced the uncertainty of a changing of the guard heading into 2013. Luckily for me, Alex and Tim continued to trust me with my longstanding yet unorthodox role, and they were a great help whenever I had questions or needed assistance with anything. I also learned quite a lot from them this year, as they have provided a fresh perspective to their positions. It's been a pleasure.
And, of course, thanks to you for reading. You haven't heard the last of me for 2013. I should probably take this opportunity to remind everyone that my second book—"Kirk Urso: Forever Massive"—should be available before the end of the year. It's gone a little slower than I anticipated when I first started the project last fall, but that's because I keep getting more awesome stuff to put in it. This past week alone will result in two new pieces even though I was "done writing" a couple of weeks ago. The book is going to clock in just north of 300 pages and will feature the thoughts and memories of Kirk's 2012 Crew teammates, coaches, and staff. They all did a great job capturing the friendly, determined, and funny spirit that made Kirk such a beloved member of the team. The book will also be chock full of photos and artwork, with well over 100 images in all. Kirk's family made many special contributions as well, bringing us all even closer to Kirk. Working on this book has been an illuminating labor of love, and all proceeds will go to the Kirk Urso Memorial Fund. I hope you will check it out, not only to raise money for a great cause, but also to better understand, as I now do, why Kirk Urso and his legacy remain such a vital part of the Columbus Crew.
Until then, it's playoff time. The Crew aren't in it, but then again, neither are Chicago, Toronto, or D.C. United. At least we've all got that going for us. Misery loves company, and what perfectly miserable company it is.
We can now look forward to the first full season of the Anthony Precourt era. Let the countdown to Crewsmas begin!
Questions? Comments? Know if I jumped the gun and we're still in stoppage time? Feel free to write at email@example.com or via twitter @stevesirk


text:
So, my brother hits me up and says him and his brother-in-law were having a contest to see who was a better MC: Jay-Z (my brother's pick) verses Eminem (his brother-in-law's pick). How to do this? By having each person put together a CD of what they considered to be each respective emcee's best songs… and then having ME listen to the CDs and determine a winner. So I did – and I gave the results by putting together a 13-minute video analyzing each CD's strengths and weaknesses, then analyzing each song and coming up with a score for both that would determine the winner!
Check it out:
By the way, if you're curious to see the numerical rankings of each song and album overall that helped me come to my conclusion, you can download this nice little PDF I've put together: Jay Z Eminem Contest
– Double A (formerly known as A.P.T.)


text:
A stunning modern gem conveniently
located in Rayong province, tucked away on the sands of Laem Mae Phim
Beach, the Centara Q Resort Rayong is now set to invite you into a crisp,
futuristic cocoon. Small and sleek, the hotel has just 41 intimate,
innovative rooms; which, like the rest of the Resort, have all just
undergone an extensive renovation. Clean, swooping lines combine with
subtle recessed lighting and judicious touches of evocative colour,
adding up to a sophisticated retreat in tune with its surroundings.
The resort has also expanded to gain a whole new accommodation building, and its dining venues also sport a bold new look, but they're still just as laid-back and relaxed as they've ever been, basking beachside in boutique style. Just because the Resort is built on an intimate scale doesn't mean that it's missing any of the touches that help create a great getaway; here you'll find breezy ocean-facing rooms, a full service spa, a large swimming pool, and a range of enticing leisure activities.
Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport is just three hour's drive away, and we are happy to arrange transfers and pick-ups for you.
The 41 freshly-styled rooms make light, bright retreats for couples and families, and perfectly
evoke the wide open sea and fresh air with their uncluttered lines and sleek configuration.
Each living space is between 34 and 58 square metres, and all rooms come with an
open-air balcony plus large picture windows that let the seaward views become a dominant feature.
If you've got a family that needs some flexibility when it comes to room layouts,
the resort can offer you the choice of two double beds or a king-sized bed plus a sofa bed – one less thing to have to figure out.
Along with a totally relaxing getaway, you will have free wireless internet access, and a range of in-room amenities including a flat-screen TV with DVD player, individually controlled air-conditioning, a work station, an in-room safe, a minibar and a hairdryer.
Children 12 years old and above are classed as adults.
Superior Ocean Facing
(34 square metres)Each Superior Ocean Facing room has a combined indoor and outdoor space of 34 square metres, laid out in a contemporary style combining sharp lines, light wood accents and a cooling white and grey décor.
The Gulf of Thailand forms an alluring visual backdrop for each furnished balcony, and each room offers you the choice of either a king-sized bed for 2 adults and1 child; or two double beds, ideal for families of 2 adults and 2 children. Every Superior Ocean Facing room has a bathroom with a spacious shower.
In-room amenities and services include free Wi-Fi, individually-controlled air-conditioning, a flat-screen TV with international channels and DVD player, a minibar, tea and coffee-making facilities, an in-room safe and a hairdryer.
Interconnecting rooms are available upon request.
Deluxe Ocean Facing
(58 square metres)Revivifying views of the beach from your spacious Deluxe Ocean Facing room are just the start. 58 generous square metres of total living area include a balcony for lounging and sunning yourself, a bedroom with the option of a king-sized bed or twin beds, and a bathroom with both bathtub and shower. The Deluxe Ocean Facing rooms can comfortably accommodate couples and families of 2 adults and 1 child.
In-room amenities and services include free Wi-Fi, individually-controlled air-conditioning, a flat-screen TV with international channels and DVD player, a minibar, tea and coffee-making facilities, an in-room safe and a hairdryer.
|Qzeen Restaurant
|Qube Pool Bar
Type of cuisine: Thai and European cuisines
Seating capacity: 60 seats
Perched up on the second floor, the brand new QZeen Restaurant is both a crisply modern and laid-back dining destination. QZeen Restaurant commands great views across the swimming pool and out to the beach. Within this sleek, chic setting, we serve a variety of buffet-style breakfast options, and then an excellent array of European and Thai dishes for lunch and dinner, including zesty regional favourites such as pad thai with king prawns, pad kra-pao fettuccini (fettuccini pasta with Thai basil and chilli), tom zab (North-eastern spicy meat soup) and moo cha-muang (fragrant and rich Thai pork curry).
Opening Hours: 06:30 - 22:00 hrs
Type of cuisine: refreshments, cocktails and light bites
Seating capacity: 40 seats
Located on picturesque Laem Mae Phim Beach, a stone's throw away from the swimming pool and the calm waters of the Gulf of Thailand, Qube Pool Bar is found in a relaxed, open-air setting, and is home to an extensive list of refreshments and exquisite cocktails that are just begging to be sampled, along with a selection of light bites inspired by traditional Thai flavours.
Opening Hours: 10:00 - 21:00 hrs
|Quicksand Beach Terrace
|In-room Dining
Sometimes it's just easier to stay in the lap of luxury and have dinner brought to you. Dine on Thai delicacies or a choice of international dishes in the comfort of your own room, available throughout the day until 10.00pm.
Opening Hours: 06:00 - 22:00 hrs
Type of cuisine: light bites, refreshments and cocktails
Seating capacity: 20 seats
For another dimension of relaxation, what better than lazing the day away beachside while enjoying a selection of drinks and light bites inspired by Thai and international flavours. Quicksand Beach Terrace is found in a relaxed open-air setting with a choice of day beds and sun loungers.
Opening Hours: 11:00 - 22:00 hrs
Centara Q Resort Rayong may be right on the beach but yet we've got everything any meeting organiser, party-thrower or business person might need, right on site.
Meetings, incentive functions and other business do's are plain sailing when you've got access to a choice of leisure and water sport options,
a beachfront setting right on the Gulf of Thailand and a modern yet casual 124-square-metre function room that opens on to the gardens,
and can be adapted to a range of uses. The Quorum function room can accommodate up to 120 people for cocktail receptions
or 80 people seated theatre-style for meetings, all complete with great natural light and free Wi-Fi.
Outdoors, the gardens can accommodate up to 60 people for cocktail receptions, intimate parties or coffee breaks in a fragrant and lush green setting, surrounded by tropical trees. Our experienced team is on hand to arrange land or sea activities around Rayong if you wish.
|Enter a world of absolute relaxation and pampering at Cense by SPA Cenvaree. Modern in design, with a minimalist style that'll have you feeling the tranquillity before your session even begins, our spa offers you a wide selection of therapeutic skin treatments and massages ranging from Ayurvedic practices to Thai foot and body massages, as well as packages designed just for couples. Our intimate spa has three treatment rooms for singles and couples, plus outdoor areas for meditation and yoga sessions.
Laze the day away beachside or by the ocean-facing swimming pool, just steps away from the cool refreshments waiting for you at the pool bar,
or indulge your senses in a blissful massage at our in-house Cense by SPA Cenvaree. For another dimension of relaxation,
you may become a fan of our beachside yoga sessions – or, if you're feeling active and up for a challenge, why not try your hand at kayaking to destinations such as Koh Kee Pla,
windsurfing or activities such as mountain-biking, island-hopping, or even a visit to the sea turtle farm at Koh Man Nai.
There are even luscious seasonal fruit tastings.
For something even closer, don't give up on your good intentions – get a virtuous glow from a solid workout at our well-equipped fitness centre. Then, still angelically aglow, you can subside into some well-earned bliss at SPA Cenvaree, which has three treatment rooms for singles and couples, plus a full range of muscle-mashing massages inspired by Thailand and Ayurvedic traditions. And there's also Quake entertainment zone for the young at heart*.
There's plenty of shopping to be had at nearby markets, plus golfing and any other activities you might fancy can all be arranged at the tour desk. Business travellers and incentive groups will find a spacious meeting venue at the Resort, along with free Wi-Fi.
|Beachfront swimming pool
|Beachfront swimming pool
|Beachfront swimming pool
|Fitness Centre
The freshly-renovated Centara Q Resort Rayong is an oasis of modern comfort, located at Laem Mae Phim Beach,
a narrow fringe of fine golden sands that surrounds the Gulf of Thailand.
You'll find a complete range of activities and diversions at the resort,
from water sports through to spa pampering amid the tranquil setting of the poolside garden or beach.
The resort is just three hour's drive away from Bangkok and a one-hour drive away from the attractions and golfing opportunities of the resort town of Pattaya. If you're keen on water sports, the islands of Koh Lan and Koh Sak, off the coast of Pattaya, are ideal for diving and snorkeling, while the islands of Koh Samet and Koh Talu, closer to the resort, are purely and simply a relaxed island getaway. Our tour desk will gladly arrange visits to nearby waterfalls, limestone caves, national parks and local markets.
Getting to the resort by road:


text:
From The Ocean Deep To The Courtroom: A Tale Of Sunken Treasure
This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Robert Siegel.
And I'm Melissa Block.
Now, a story about a shipwreck and a sunken treasure. When the SS Central America went down in a hurricane off the coast of South Carolina in 1857, it was carrying tons of gold - enough gold that the loss of that ship contributed to the financial panic of 1857.
A recovery operation in 1988 found the wreckage. The ocean floor was described as carpeted with gold - gold everywhere, like a garden. Some of that gold was brought up, worth many millions, but legal fights among investors and insurers followed, lasting decades.
Long story short, a new exploration team won the rights to recover the rest of the sunken treasure and last month, the team hauled up five gold bars weighing 66 pounds. They hope to complete the rest of the recovery by September.
Gary Kinder wrote a book about the SS Central America titled "Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea." He joins me now to fill in more of the story. Gary, welcome to the program.
GARY KINDER: Thank you, Melissa. It's nice to be here.
BLOCK: Why was this 280-foot long steamship carrying so much gold back in 1857? Where was it from?
KINDER: Well, it was coming from the California gold rush. There were steamers on the West Coast and on the East Coast and they regularly would leave San Francisco and steam down to Panama, and then the passengers would cross over and pick up the Atlantic steamer and back up to New York. It was about a three-week trip. And every one of these ships that left San Francisco was carrying anywhere from roughly $1 million to $2 million in gold at 1857 prices.
BLOCK: Wow. And so in terms of this ship, we haven't even mentioned the human toll when this ship went down, 425 people died. How much gold is it believed to have been carrying?
KINDER: There were three tons of what was called the consigned commercial shipment. These were several thousand coins that were minted in the San Francisco mint. And then there were several hundred bars, also. These were being shipped by businesses, Levi Strauss for instance. There were rumors that miners, on their persons and on their rucksacks, were carrying another three tons. And there has been rumored for a long time, and there's some evidence to support it, that there was what's referred to as a secret army shipment of another 15 tons of gold. So altogether, if all of that gold is there, that would be a total of 21 tons of gold on that ship.
BLOCK: And the value of that would incur dollars would be how much?
KINDER: It could be several tens of millions. It could be several hundreds of millions of dollars.
BLOCK: Mr. Kinder, have you seen any of the gold that was brought up back in the '80s?
KINDER: Oh, yeah, I've held it. It's really a work of art. These gold bars, they're anywhere from the size of - they call them chocolates, the same size of a chocolate, to brownies, to house bricks. They are marked. And that's what's so beautiful about them; they have stamped into them the weight, the value at the time, crest of the owner. They have the fine - it's f-i-n-e - which is the percentage of gold that exists in that bar. When you multiply that times the weight, et cetera, and you end up getting the value that time
BLOCK: Well, it's intriguing to think about the fact that more than 150 years after this ship went down, that gold is still there on the ocean floor and will be brought back up.
KINDER: Yes. It's about 150 years and gold is inert. And so when it sits on the bottom of the ocean, nothing happens to it. There might be some rust from the huge steam engines that the Central America had, but that's easily removed and the gold itself is just as shiny and lustrous as it was the night it went down.
BLOCK: Gary Kinder, thank you so much.
KINDER: Thank you, Melissa.
BLOCK: Gary Kinder, his book is "Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea."
Copyright © 2014 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
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text:
- 18V Drill/Driver
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text:
Starting Monday morning the team will compete for its seventh consecutive national championship.
At the final practice before nationals, the students of Buchholz High School's math team sat steady and alert, hands hovering over the small pieces of paper on their desks. Friday was no different than the past four days, or even the past five weeks: four hours of practice, followed by three hours of homework in the evening.
As the students waited for the OK to begin, Will Frazer, the team's coach and a math teacher at the high school, hovered between two tables crowded with trophies. This week, the students want to make that collection of trophies even more impressively large.
In the wee hours of Sunday morning, the 47-person math team will leave for San Diego. Starting Monday morning the team will compete for its seventh consecutive national championship against nearly 700 students in the national Mu Alpha Theta championship.
After weeks of training, the kids are itching to compete, Frazer said.
"It's like that in sports," he said. "You sit and have practice with your teammates; that's not near as much fun as just getting out there on game day and going at it."
Buchholz's math team, which will be joined by the math team from Eastside High in competition in San Diego, has been the winner of the state Mu Alpha Theta competition since 2005 and the national championship since 2007. The competition is split between three major divisions — Mu (calculus), Alpha (precalculus) and Theta (geometry and algebra II ) — and the Buchholz team has won in each, in addition to winning overall.
"We get a lot of attention for how good we are," Frazer said.
Keshav Vemuri, an 18-year-old graduating senior, is familiar with the attention.
"I think a lot of schools hate us for winning so many times," he said. "I think we're actually motivating other schools to build up their Mu Alpha Theta teams to be more competitive."
The fact that the team has been winning both state and national competitions has become a kind of joke for the team. At the Friday practice, Frazer wore the team shirt as he controlled the timer while students worked against the clock as a form of practice. The shirt is bright yellow and the text on the back reads: "State Champion 2005 – present" and "National Champion 2007 – present."
"If somebody beats us, we have to buy a new shirt," Frazer said. "We don't want to buy new shirts, so we've got to win."
At the state competition in the spring, Buchholz's team lost the calculus division by one point. For nationals, the students are aware that although they have a winning streak, the competition still is fierce.
"This is probably the most competition we've had this year," Vemuri said. "But I think we have a really strong chance."
For Frazer, the challenge that comes from these competitions gives the students something regular school days cannot. He and Ziwei Lu, the team's second coach, train themselves to make sure their math skills are at a level that will challenge the students.
Early Friday morning, the team will know the results and return home for three weeks of break until school starts — along with another year of training and competitions.
Steve Han, a 17-year-old graduating senior, knows that Buchholz has left its mark, regardless of this year's results. He recalls the way the school was perceived at his first national competition back in 2010.
"There was a huge storm coming in at Washington, D.C., at the time," Han said. "When we walked off the bus and there was this huge storm, Mr. Frazer said, 'Oh, looks like Washington, D.C., knows that Buchholz is here.' "


text: polkalock 0 Posted July 7, 2013 I been playing a Variax JTV 69 since December of last year and I'm still struggling with the sound when I use it live on stage. Some of the sound are way too bassy and even when I adjust the eq on my amp ,which is a Motion Sound amp with a Pod HD500, I still can't get it to sound good. My question to all of you is, could it be the amp I'm playing through, or is it the sound of the models in the Variax, or is it the HD500. I'm not sure what is the best approach to take on this. I would love to know what any of you who have a similar set up are doing to get the best sound! Thanks! polkalock Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


text:
Posted by Barney on June 28, 2001
In Reply to: Forums posted by R. Berg on June 27, 2001
: : : : : : but the trend is broader than that: it's a postcognitive trend. On a website devoted to the old radio comedy "Fibber McGee and Molly," I was looking at scripts and listening to tapes of the show from the 1940s and 1950s. They include the commercials, which differed strikingly from today's commercials in that they still appealed to reason. The announcer actually stated facts about the product.
: : : : : Makes me wonder if the media in the 40s and 50s had a more "cognitive" audience, or rather felt they had a responsibility to edify that audience. There was often a socially conscious content in the old radio plays and movies, which would have given pause for reflection. There was a nod to morality and to love. Nowadays you can sell movies just with big car explosions, or with beautiful bodies and erotic situations. In other words, appealing to zones below the brain and heart (lol)! - Patty
: : : : Or you can sell "Schindler's List" or "The Cider House Rules," just to name a couple with depth. Here's a difference: At the time you're talking about, there were A movies and B movies. (There was also trashy fiction.) Now theaters show one feature for one ticket, and we have an age-based rating system instead.
: : : : I think these societal and cultural issues would fit better on a different forum. We're straying far from the Phrase Finder purpose. Sooner or later we'll get caught at it.
: : : Something is definitely missing today. Nobody is looking out for the children but (if they are lucky) their parents. Most TV and movies are trash. A lot of the music is trash. I know from listening to music from the 20s and 30s, that there have always been dirty words and double meanings in music. But the difference, and this isn't an original thought, is that it's so mean-spirited now. All the more reason to go read a good book.
: : Well, R., where can we communicate about cultural change, social questions, and the like.....as well as how it may all be bound up with language?? Know of any good forums? Please post the URL. I'll meet ya there! You too, ESC. - Patty
: Only the Well (www.well.com) comes to mind. It isn't free, and when I looked at the part available to nonmembers, it didn't seem quite the thing for me. I'm pretty new to Internetting (less than a year). Maybe someone more Webwise with chat-room experience and so on can suggest something.
Seems to me that this is just the thing for a 'Readers Digest' chat line where reality is carefully confined and rose tinted viewing enhancement devices are fitted to the optical light gathering orbs.
My old grandpa always said, and he was seldom wrong, that condemnation of youth, their culture and morals, peaked in parents over 40 and didn't seem to decline much thereafter. Equally his view of the good old days was that they were very, very bad old days and nobody in their right mind would want to return to them.
- Forums ESC 06/28/01


text:
Forget your enemies, fight your friends
Street Fighter X Tekken on the PlayStation® Vita expands on the action-packed console experience, delivering 12 new playable characters and a host of new features that will show off the true power of your PS® Vita.
Click here to read the web manual
STREET FIGHTER X TEKKEN VER. 2013Click here for more details
Free rebalance patch coming soon.
Follow @yoshi_onochin, @streetfighter, @capcom_unity for the latest SFXT news & updates.


text:
1/2 lb lump crab meat, picked over for shells
1/2 onion, minced
1 carrot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1 egg
2 t mustard
2 t grated horseradish
2 T mayonnaise
3/4 c to 1 c bread crumbs, plus more for coating
3 T oil for frying
Cook the onion, carrot and garlic in 1 T butter until softened. Put the crab in a bowl, add vegetables, salt and pepper, egg, mustard, horseradish, and mayonnaise. Add in the breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup at a time, until the mixture isn't too wet and holds together when you press it into a ball. Divide mixture into six balls, and flatten into tight patties. Coat on each side with breadcrumbs. Heat the oil in a pan, and cook on each side until well browned.
Makes six, serve with cocktail sauce or remoulade sauce or just eat plain.


text:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Co (LMT.N) is making "good progress" in negotiations with the Pentagon about the next two batches of F-35 fighter jets and hopes to reach agreement soon, Chief Executive Marillyn Hewson said on Tuesday.
Lockheed is building three models of the F-35 for the U.S. military and eight international partner countries: Britain, Australia, Canada, Norway, Turkey, Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands. Israel and Japan have also ordered the jet.
After protracted and difficult discussions on the previous order of F-35 jets, Pentagon officials had hoped to reach agreement with Lockheed around mid-year on the sixth and seventh orders, valued at multiple billions of dollars.
Air Force Lieutentant General Christopher Bogdan told company officials he wanted to reach agreement on the contracts by the end of July, according to industry sources. It may take some time afterward to finalize and sign the agreements.
The total number of jets involved is 71, with 36 planes to be purchased in the sixth production lot, and 35 in the seventh, said Joe DellaVedova, spokesman for the Pentagon's F-35 office. He said that number includes 60 F-35s for the U.S. military, and 11 for Australia, Italy, Turkey and Britain.
"We've been very open and transparent with our data and I think the negotiations are going well," Hewson told reporters after the company reported higher-than-expected second-quarter earnings.
"We've making good progress and we hope that we'll be able to close in the near term," she said, also citing strong Pentagon and international support for the F-35 program, despite U.S. budget cuts.
She told analysts the program racked up some big accomplishments in the second quarter, including completion of high-angle attack testing, and forecasts by the military services for when they will start using the new jets.
"You can feel the momentum accelerating throughout the program," she said, adding that Lockheed delivered 12 jets in the second quarter and expected to deliver 36 in the full year.
Chief Financial Officer Bruce Tanner told analysts the F-35 program accounted for about 15 percent of Lockheed's revenues, and that percentage would grow in coming years.
He said the two F-35 production deals would add $4.5 billion (2.9 billion pounds) to $5 billion to the company's order books when they were completed, a move he said he expected in the third quarter. That amount comes on top of long-lead funding Lockheed has already received for the jets.
DellaVedova declined to predict when an agreement could be reached but said the two sides were making progress. The F-35 is the Pentagon's biggest weapons program, and officials have been pushing for lower prices to ensure the program's future given mounting budget pressures and mandatory budget cuts that could cut the Pentagon's budget by $500 billion over the next decade.
Tanner told analysts that Lockheed adjusted downward its second-quarter results by $85 million to reflect lower expected incentive fees on the remainder of the F-35 development contract. It made a similar adjustment last year.
Tanner said the adjustment was "a little tougher maybe than what we were thinking" but the company was earning higher single digit margins on the F-35 production contracts, and should get into double digit profits when the program gets to full productions in coming years.
The Pentagon reached agreement with Lockheed on the fifth batch of F-35s last December, agreeing to buy 32 of the advanced warplanes for $3.8 billion.
The U.S. government is negotiating separately with United Technologies Corp (UTX.N) unit Pratt & Whitney to buy engines for the sixth batch of jets. Pratt's CEO Dave Hess told Reuters in June he expected a deal within the next 30 days.
A Pratt & Whitney spokesman had no immediate comment.
Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Sofina Mirza-Reid and David Gregorio


text:
CMU students unveil new medical prototypes
Biomedical-engineering graduating seniors showed off their senior projects in Rangos Hall on the Carnegie Mellon University campus. The 16 projects are the work of teams, and the teams are made up of students in the biomedical field who also have specialties in other disciplines -- material science, chemical engineering and electrical engineering.
Photos: CMU students unveil new medical prototypes
The goal is to develop a product that addresses a medical need. And since CMU allows all its students to own the intellectual property they develop, some of these prototypes will go public.
"Not everyone is going to go off and save the world with these projects, but some have the potential to be used clinically worldwide," Conrad Zapanta said. Zapanta is associate department head and a teaching professor at CMU's biomedical engineering department.
One of the projects attracting a lot of attention is a diaper that contains a sensor with alert the caregiver that the diaper needs to be changed.
The project's team leader, J.J. Lawlor, said, "Urine is often very hard to tell (when to change) and is often what causes diaper dermatitis due to increasing ammonia in the area that lowers the pH."
Another project is a pacifier that collects saliva of an infant for the purpose of testing whether the infant is at risk for cognitive impairment.
"One in six children is diagnosed as being cognitively impaired and they are usually diagnosed late -- usually in their teens," said one of the project's team members, Jonathan Carreon.
Brooke Gladstone and her team have developed something called the Scottie Dock. It starts with a Razor scooter that is motorized, and has a mechanical dock built on it to accommodate a manual wheelchair.
"In the U.S., there are roughly 2 million manual wheelchair users who are above the age of 65. So this is meant for those that can't afford a power wheelchair. It is a cheaper solution," said Gladstone.
For all of the students showing off their work, the main goal is to make a difference -- and graduate, of course.


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ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at email@example.com.
- 1 English
- 1 Public
- Neurosciences
- Feature selection
- Peripheral nerve interface
- Computer science
- 1 Biomedical engineering
- 1 Brain machine interface
- 1 Machine learning
- 1 Neural prosthesis
- 1 Neuroscience
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- Reverse Fountain Cytoplasmic Streaming in Rhizopus Oryzae
- Diné Research Practices and Protocols: An Intersectional Paradigm Incorporating Indigenous Feminism, Critical Indigenous Research Methodologies and Diné Knowledge Systems
- Developing an Augmented Reality Solution for Mapping Underground Infrastructure
- Characterization of 2D Human Ankle Stiffness during Postural Balance and Walking for Robot-aided Ankle Rehabilitation
- Using Molecular, Cellular and Bioengineering Approaches Towards Understanding Muscle Stem Cell Biology
In the last 15 years, there has been a significant increase in the number of motor neural prostheses used for restoring limb function lost due to neurological disorders or accidents. The aim of this technology is to enable patients to control a motor prosthesis using their residual neural pathways (central or peripheral). Recent studies in non-human primates and humans have shown the possibility of controlling a prosthesis for accomplishing varied tasks such as self-feeding, typing, reaching, grasping, and performing fine dexterous movements. A neural decoding system comprises mainly of three components: (i) sensors to record neural signals, (ii) an algorithm …
- Contributors
- Padmanaban, Subash, Greger, Bradley, Santello, Marco, et al.
- Created Date
- 2017


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