text:
An Air Force member who was based at Fort Meade has been found dead, officials said Friday.
The airman, whom officials did not name, was found Wednesday at a hotel. The cause of death is under investigation.
The airman had been away from the Army base in Anne Arundel County on leave or temporary duty, officials said. They did not release the location of the hotel.
The airman served with the 70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing at Fort Meade.
"This loss affects us all and we are greatly saddened by this unfortunate incident," Air Force Col. Mary O'Brien, the commander of the 70th ISR Wing, said in a statement. "Our sympathy goes out to the airman's family, friends and fellow airmen during this extremely difficult time.
"The airman's professional service to our nation will not be forgotten."
The 70th ISR Wing, known as the Cryptologic Wing, is one of the largest wings in the Air Force, with 4,700 airmen serving in 15 locations around the world.
The wing is headquartered at Fort Meade, where it employs 2,300 airmen and civilians working with U.S. Cyber Command, the National Security Agency and other organizations.
The wing provides code-making and code-breaking support, computer network defense and attack, and intelligence to the president, secretary of defense and Air Force units worldwide.


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Six weeks ago, Alexa Scimeca and her partner Chris Knierim weren't sure if they would even be competing at worlds.
After taking ninth and finishing as the top American pair at the 2013 ISU World Figure Skating Championships on March 15, Scimeca and Knierim are now among the favorites to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Scimeca, who was born in Addison and graduated from Addison Trail High School, and Knierim qualified for worlds after a second-place finish at the 2013 U.S. Championships. The top two U.S. pairs qualify for worlds, but it wasn't that simple this time.
The 2012 national champions, Caydee Denney and John Coughlin, didn't compete at nationals this year because Coughlin tore the labrum in his left hip. They successfully petitioned to the U.S. Figure Skating Association to compete in worlds.
That made Scimeca and Knierim the U.S. alternates, but they were required to continue training. To make matters more awkward, both pairs train in Colorado Springs under coach Delilah Sappenfield. That helped Scimeca keep track of how Coughlin's injury was progressing.
Less than a month before worlds, it was announced that Coughlin's injury recovery wasn't going well enough and they weren't going to compete at worlds. That opened the door for Scimeca and Knierim.
"I have mixed emotions about it because we did earn our spot to get there by getting second at nationals," Scimeca said. "I want everybody to do well so I felt sad that John and Caydee couldn't go, but I was also happy because we did earn our spot and we did work hard to make it there."
At worlds in London, Ontario, Scimeca and Knierim put up season best scores to finish ninth and surpass this year's national champions, Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir.
"To be there for the first time was already kind of a dream come true," Scimeca said. "To skate your best there was just a cherry on top of the ice cream for us."
More impressively, Scimeca has only partnered with Knierim for the last 11 months. Scimeca, who began skating at the Addison Ice Arena, was looking for a new partner a year ago and wasn't sure how it would work out. Her top priority was to begin training under Sappenfield in Colorado Springs.
"We were just going to go from there and hopefully find a partner even if he had to be from another country because U.S. pair boys are rare," Scimeca said.
Knierim, a 25-year-old from Arizona, had previously contacted Scimeca about partnering up, but she wasn't available. This time around they made the connection and it quickly paid off.
With the Olympics less than a year away the pair is hoping a second year together will improve on already impressive results.
"Our goal this season is to improve upon every competition," Scimeca said. "Our main focus this year is to make the Olympic team. I think it's possible."

subset: commoncrawl


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Feb 21, 2013 | Atlanta, GA
Atlanta's transportation network includes railroads, MARTA trains and buses, freeways, bike paths and the world's busiest airport. Georgia Tech alumni and faculty have played a significant role in shaping that infrastructure, and now Ramblin' Wrecks are helping plan Atlanta's transportation systems of the future.
Adapt, Improvise, Innovate
Keith Golden, CE 86, MS CE 89, and Todd Long, CE 89, MS CE 90, are the commissioner and deputy commissioner, respectively, of the Georgia Department of Transportation.
Georgia transportation funding is in a time of transition. Much hard-asset infrastructure, like the Interstate System, is 50-plus years old and in need of significant rehabilitation, if not replacement. Unaddressed, congestion will stifle growth and the city's vibrancy. Billions of dollars are needed for long-term solutions.
Anything close to that amount, however, is not likely to be available—at least not from traditional sources. The prevailing view is that foreseeable federal funding will remain static or decline, perhaps as much as 25-30 percent. July's rejection of the T-SPLOST one-cent sales tax referendum showed a majority of Georgians oppose increased state transportation taxes for a variety of reasons. For the 46 counties that did pass the transportation sales tax, expect to see growth as they resolve many of their transportation problems.
Our mission is to continue transforming the bureaucracy into a responsive, customer-focused enterprise making better use of the Department of Transportation's 4,300 dedicated employees. We aim to implement initiatives like variable speed limits, flex and auxiliary lanes, signal synchronization and immediate incident response to maximize the efficiency of our existing infrastructure. We strive to eliminate inefficiencies and privatize work when it makes sense to do so. We want to develop more public-private partnerships and managed toll lanes when they best serve mobility and taxpayer interests, and we'll focus available resources on projects that yield the highest benefit/cost ratio to Georgia.
It is a daunting challenge. But thanks to Tech, we know we are well prepared.
Build Upon Existing Vision
Ryan Gravel, Arch 95, M Arch/CP 99, imagined the Atlanta BeltLine—a 22-mile path for pedestrians, bicycles and light rail circling Atlanta—in 1999 as his Tech master's thesis; he is now a senior urban designer with Perkins+Will.
T-SPLOST, the proposed penny sales tax that would have raised $8.5 billion for roads and transit in metro Atlanta, suffered defeat at the polls on July 31.
Explanations for this are as divided as the vote. What is clear is that developing a nuanced plan to address the varied transportation needs in a diverse, sprawling region is challenging, and the politics of doing so are even more challenging.
But instead of starting from scratch, what if we built on a bold, sustainable vision already underway?
In the 1960s, Fulton and DeKalb counties and the City of Atlanta began to build the current MARTA rail system.
With nearly half a million boardings every weekday, MARTA is now America's ninth-largest system. It consistently ranks among the most cost-efficient and cost-effective systems in the country and contributes significantly to Georgia's transportation solutions.
But it receives essentially no money from the state. MARTA was last expanded over a decade ago. Complaints about the rail system "not going anywhere" are explained by our lack of investment in it.
The original MARTA Act was far more aspirational and visionary than T-SPLOST, but it was not entirely successful because three of metro Atlanta's five core counties opted not to participate. Perhaps now the time is right.
Clayton, Cobb and Gwinnett Counties—which stand to gain the most from transit expansion—could buy into the system right away.
With significant demographic shifts taking place in these counties, and with leadership changes underway at MARTA, now is the perfect time to leverage our existing assets, mend relationships and move forward with a shared vision befitting Georgia's role in the global economy.
This story originally appeared in the February issue of the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. Photos by Josh Meister.


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Our love for rice never ends :)... what else can you expect from a SouthIndian?...hehehhee... so here you go with yet another recipe on Rice.
I have seen many Vangibath (VB)/Fried Rice with Brinjal recipes around, here is my version. Before telling you the recipe for VB, let me tell you the recipe for VB powder.
I have seen many Vangibath (VB)/Fried Rice with Brinjal recipes around, here is my version. Before telling you the recipe for VB, let me tell you the recipe for VB powder.
Vangibath Powder:
Uddinabele/blackgram/Urad dal 400gm
Kadalebele/bengalgram/Chanadal 400gm
Chakke/Cinnamon/dalchini 25gm
Lavanga/Clove/Laung 5gm
Marati moggu/Dried Capers 10gm
Ananas hoovu/Star Anise 7gm
Byadagi Menasinakayi/Kashmiri Mirch 50gm (this is for color)
Chikabalapura menasinakayi/A spicier version of Red Chillies 75gm
Kottambari Beeja/Coriander seeds/Dhaniya100 gm
Dry coconut grated/Dessicated dry coconut =
500gm (Do not fry this)
salt to taste
Pan roast all the ingrediants separately and grind them to a coarse powder with Coconut and salt. Store in a airtight container in your refrigerator.
VangibathBrinjals (Long Green Variety) : 5 medium sized (clean and chop into 1''thick and 2''long pieces)
Cooked Rice (Basmati/SonaMasuri/Ponni)- 3 cups
Vangibath Powder : 2 heaped tbsp
Oil : 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds : 1/2 tsp
Uddinabele(uraddal)/kadalebele(chanadal) : 1tsp each
Curry leaves 1 line
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Salt, Lemon Juice according to taste
Coriander for garnishing
Heat oil in a pan, when it is hot add mustard seeds. When mustard stops popping, add two bele's/dals, curry leaves and turmeric. Let bele's/dals turn golden brown, now add in brinjals. Cover and cook brinjals till they are soft. Add VB powder, salt and remove from stove. Add rice and lemonjuice and mix. Check the rice for salt, adjust the flavors. You can add more VB powder at this stage if you like it more spicy. Garnish with coriander and serve it with curd


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Notice About H1N1 (Swine Flu).
As you settle into the new semester, we would like to let you know about our preparations in case the H1N1 virus (swine flu) affects you or other members of the Chicago-Kent community. You can find detailed information in our H1N1 FAQ at http://www.kentlaw.edu/depts/stuservices/H1N1faq.html. We would particularly like to encourage you to follow the guidelines listed below. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jenna Abhijeet, our Director of Student Services, at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Chicago-Kent will continue to monitor the situation and will notify the community of any additional changes to our institution's strategy to prevent the spread of flu on our campus.
Finals Events
Research suggests that you should take frequent breaks while you study. For example, some experts claim that the average person can only concentrate for about 50 minutes. After that, your ability to learn and retain information declines. For every hour that you study, you should treat yourself to a 10 minute break. We're here to help!
Reading Period Study Breaks
and FREE FOOD in the Student Lounge (5th Floor)
Monday, Dec. 7 at 1:00pm
Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 5:00pm
Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 1:00pm
Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 5:00pm
Continental Breakfast
December 10th: 7:15-8:15
1st Floor Lobby
For the first day of Finals, join us for a continental breakfast in the lobby.
Finals Coffee Hour Breaks
Student Lounge, 5th Floor
December 11 at 8:00 am
December 14 at 5:00 pm
December 16 at 8:00 am
December 18 at 5:00 pm
December 21 at 5:00 pm
Winter Exam Raffles
Exam period is a stressful time of the year. This year, from December 7-21, 2009 the Office of Student Services is sponsoring the Winter Exams Raffles. Each day, when you enter the Library, you can enter your name into the drawing. The Library staff will draw the winning names.
Drawings will be held daily at
6:00pm (Mon.-Thurs.) and
4:00pm (Fri.-Sun.),
you do not need to be present to win
The following offices have donated prizes: The Library, Office of Student Services, Admissions, Career Services and the Cafeteria. This year's prizes include Chicago-Kent t-shirts; computer bags; movie passes; and gift certificates ranging in value from $5 - $25 to the DTC cafeteria, Starbucks, Best Buy, Borders, and other local stores and restaurants. Prizes will be claimed from room 310a.
Student health insurance information: SPRING ENROLLMENT AND WAIVER INFORMATION
Spring Health Insurance Enrollment Period
If you were not enrolled in student health insurance this fall, you can now enroll for the spring. Spring health insurance costs $508 for the coverage period of January 9 - August 13, 2010. This cost will be added to your spring semester fees. Please submit an online enrollment form by January 26, 2010. (The spring enrollment form should be put online this week.) Please save a copy of the enrollment form confirmation for your records. For more information about the student health insurance plan, please visit IIT's Student Health Center website or the Health Insurance FAQ. Students can also enroll in student health insurance by emailing Melody Jack at email@example.com. When emailing Ms. Jack, please include your CWID.
Waiving/Canceling Health Insurance for the Spring
Any student (day or evening division) enrolled for 12 or more credits in the spring, will be automatically enrolled in student health insurance. If you have your own insurance coverage, you can waive student health insurance by completing the online waiver form by January 26, 2009. If you previously waived student health insurance, the waiver will remain on your account indefinitely unless you re-enrolled in the plan after you submitted that waiver. If you are on a F1 or J1 visa, you cannot waive student health insurance.If you were enrolled in student health insurance in the fall and no longer want the coverage either because you have another insurance plan or are now registered for less than 12 credits, you can cancel student health insurance for the spring by contacting Melody Jack at firstname.lastname@example.com by January 26, 2010. You will receive a refund on your account for the spring.
Academic Resource Library
The Office of Student Services maintains a small resource library of study aids and other materials for first year classes, including Civil Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law, Justice, Property, and Torts. Students can borrow materials for a three-day period. This is a great way to preview a study aid before you buy it or do a quick review for a class. If you are interested in borrowing a book or flashcards, please see Jenna Abhijeet in Room 310a.
Click here for a list of Subject areas and Book titles
CTA Upass Information
Fall U-Pass Activation Period
Fall '09 U-Pass cards will remain valid through Monday, December 21, 2009, the last day of final exams. If you have problems with your pass before this date, please see Frequently Asked Questions about the U-Pass or the CTA U-Pass website.
Spring U-Pass Distribution
All day division students who are considered full-time for the Spring 2010 semester will receive a U-Pass, which provides unlimited rides on the CTA from January 19 - May 14, 2010. Status as a full-time student is determined by your official division status, and not be the number of credit hours you take in a particular semester. If you qualify for a U-Pass and want to obtain it during the first available distribution, you must be registered for spring classes by 5:00pm on December 30, 2009.
Spring U-Pass distribution will begin a few days prior to the start of spring semester classes. The exact times and locations for Spring U-Pass Distribution will be announced in the Record and an email sent during Winter Break. Students will only be permitted to pick up their own U-Pass cards.If you are not registered as a full-time, day division student by December 30, 2009, you have a financial hold on your account on that date, or you do not have an ID picture on file in the Registrar's Office by that date, you will not receive a U-Pass during the initial distribution period. Students who qualify for the U-Pass after December 30 or were not included in the initial spring U-Pass request sent to CTA will have passes ordered for them in January.
Replacement Upass Information
Lost or Stolen: If you lose your U-Pass or it is stolen, you need to go to CTAHeadquarters at 567 West Lake Street, 2nd Floor. Replacement cards cost $35.00 (cash, credit card, or money order only) and you will need to bring a valid Chicago-Kent student ID card. Replacement passes are sent to Chicago-Kent five to seven days after you apply. You will be notified by email once it arrives. Please note: CTA will replace lostor stolen U-Pass cards only one time per academic year.
On a Bus: If your U-Pass is captured in bus equipment, the bus operator will ask you to complete a customer service card and allow you to ride free. If needed, a free transfer will be provided. You must bring the customer service card, along with your valid Chicago-Kent student ID card, to CTA Headquarters at 567 West Lake Street, 2nd Floor to apply for a replacement. Replacement passes are sent to Chicago-Kent five to sevendays after you apply. You will be notified by email once it arrives. If you fail to get the customer service card, it can take up to two weeks to replace your U-Pass.
On the El: If your U-Pass is captured in rail station equipment, locate a customer assistant and inform him or her of your problem. The customer assistant will have you omplete a fare discrepancy report (FDR) and issue you a free transit card valued at 3.60. You must bring a copy of the FDR, along with your valid Chicago-Kent student ID card, to CTA Headquarters at 567 West Lake Street, 2nd Floor to apply for a replacement. Replacement passes are sent to Chicago-Kent five to seven days after you apply. You will be notified by email once it arrives. If you fail to get the FDR, it can take up to two weeks to replace your U-Pass.
You can find more information about the U-Pass at CTA's U-Pass Website or Kent's U-Pass FAQ.
Additional Information
Counseling Services: IIT's Counseling Center will have a staff psychologist at the Law School on Mondays throughout the academic year. She will be available by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, call (312) 808-7132. There is no charge for these counseling services.
UpComing Programs
Professor Sheldon Nahmod
Public Employee Speech and Academic Freedom
Wednesday, November 18th
3:00 – 4:00
Room 590
Refreshments and snacks will be served
Please rsvp – spaces are limited
Other Helpful Links:
Academic Support Program
Law School Survival Guide
Student Health Insurance FAQ
U-Pass Information
Main Chicago-Kent event
Academic calendar
CLE calendar
Alumnae/i event calendar
Admissions calendar


text:
Write Brent Bozell
This column was reprinted by permission of L. Brent Bozell and Creators
Syndicate. To reprint this or any of his twice weekly syndicated columns, please contact Creators Syndicate at (310) 337-7003 ext. 110
Lying Al Gore: Will the Puff Pieces End?
by L. Brent Bozell III
March 6, 1997
Al Gore is the anti-Quayle. From the day he was added to the
Clinton ticket, reporters have presented Gore as the cerebral antithesis of
his predecessor, as well as half of the "gold dust twins" (Time
magazine). So Bob Woodward's March 2 Washington Post story exposing Gore as
the Democrats' "solicitor-in-chief," an aggressive shakedown artist
of business donors, must have come as a shock.
Weird, isn't it, that Gore seems to be getting his first
vetting more than four years into his vice presidency? Within hours of Dan
Quayle's announcement, the same reporters had pored over his draft record, his
report cards, his resume, his golf trips, and his financial statements -- and
they got much of it wrong. Yet nobody's investigated Al Gore's military record
-- the strangely shortened six-month tour as a reporter in Vietnam.
Special privileges invoked? Nobody cares. Lying to a nationwide convention
audience about your sister's death spurring you to fight the tobacco menace?
Nobody cares.
Gore the environmentalist making $20,000 a year in zinc
mining royalties? Nobody cares. Even worse, getting it from Occidental
Petroleum, part of the the cozily slimy relationship between the Gore family
and the Soviet stooge Armand Hammer. In his book, "Dossier," Edward
Jay Epstein noted a Whitewater-style deal between Al Gore Sr. and Hammer:
"In 1950, Hammer had made Congressman Gore a partner in a cattle-breeding
business, and Gore made a substantial profit." (Gore the Elder later
worked directly for Hammer for $500,000 a year.) This might explain why young
Al wrote to Dad that anti-communism was a "psychological ailment," a
"national madness." Hammer's business interests in communist
countries were a family cash cow!
Al Gore had to be feeling invincible the past few years.
Reporters ignored his cronies leaning on the Immigration and Naturalization
Service to help left-wing Latino groups cram aliens through the machinery to
vote Democratic. The networks and news magazines ignored Gore's bizarre
Buddhist temple fundraiser -- until after the election. Even as Gore's initial
story crumbled into obvious lying, these outlets ignored or downplayed it.
For years, the regular pattern for the Democratic Party
press was to pile on the puff pieces for the heir apparent, with his mammoth
brain, his bottomless compassion, his self-deprecating Macarena. Last
September, Time and Newsweek competed to see who could slobber over Gore the
best. Note to airplane passengers reading these words: reach for the air
sickness bag.
First, Time's J.F.O. McAllister: "The young Dan Quayle
never convinced the country he had the gravitas to be Veep, let along top man.
But the cerebral, private, intensely competitive Al Gore has managed the
contortionist's feat of projecting an almost perfect loyalty to his boss's
re-election without diminishing himself...Gore and Clinton, both brainy,
moderate Southerners with an abiding interest in the plumbing of government,
speak an easy shorthand and razz each other like competitive brothers."
Time didn't wonder where intense competitiveness might lead, say to
fundraising improprieties?
In the other corner, Newsweek's Bill Turque: "Though Al
Gore relishes politics almost as much as his boss does, tonight he's next door
in the Old Executive Office Building, doing what he really loves: thinking
about complexity theory, open systems, Goethe and the absence of scientific
metaphors in modern society...Clinton may lead the country into the next
millennium, but it is Gore who truly embodies the new century's possibilities
and anxieties." Newsweek missed Telemarketer Al's cold calls shaking down
corporate titans in between Goethe readings.
U.S. News soon joined the circus. Timothy Noah exclaimed:
"Gore's commitment to the world of big ideas is no pose. Unlike John F.
Kennedy and Adlai Stevenson, who became darlings of the highbrow set without
really earning the honor, Gore is truly engaged in the life of the mind...Had
the younger Gore not become a Congressman at 28, a Senator at 36, and Vice
President at 44, he might have become the sort of essayist who aspires to
membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters." Earth to U.S.
News: If Gore's so damned cerebral, how come he can't figure out it's illegal
to twist donors' arms on government property?
Newsweek's Evan Thomas came back for more: "Because
Gore is a reserved politician, his sometimes messianic zeal has been
overlooked. The vice president has written that his call to save the
environment began with the shock of a near-fatal car accident to his son,
Albert III. Characteristically, Gore felt it wasn't enough to save one child;
he wanted to save all the world's children."
Now that scandals are surrounding Al Gore, will the puff
pieces end? Will Gore's shifty, stammering, wholly unconvincing press
conference taint the Gold Dust Twin image? Or will the press rush to the
rescue instead? The media's credibility -- as much as Gore's -- is at stake.
Voice Your Opinion!
Write to Brent Bozell
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text:
By Corinne Fayo
Hop Back to Bucky's
This article has been published in the following newsletters:
Mt. Ears (12/97)
Valley Voice (9/97)
PGNDRC Newsletter (1/98)
The News Disrict II NDRC (3/98)
This article has been reviewed by Carol Green a rabbit breeder with a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology, her area of research is drug metabolizing enzymes and she has more than 80 publications in the field. She said the article is accurate.
And by a medical doctor & research writer who had studied the HME system for six months. Her comments to me were; "If all the phenols do is to induce some of the microsomal enzymes, that's nothing to be concerned about."
This article started out as an internet post on the alt.pet.rabbit list because I wanted to find out the truth about pine shavings. I have used pine shavings for as long as I've had rabbits and have never had respiratory problems, cancer, or liver disease in my animals. I have not heard stories or rumors of problems, just posts or articles on the internet which often didn't cite studies or articles but made outlandish claims of health problems. I did e-mail Harriman and Flentke regarding their articles, and the "Rat "Lady e-mailed me once and asked if I had read certain studies which I had, I let her know she mis-quoted a study never heard back. To date no one has challenged the information in the article, rather they say since I'm not a Ph.D or a vet I can't be believed, or the new one that since it wasn't published in a major scientific journal that it is to be discounted. It was never intended to be published in a scientific journal, rather to explain what the studies found about pine and cedar. However the other articles on the 'net which claim a danger in using shavings also have not been published in any major scientific journal, why the double standard?
Hepatic Microsomal Enzymes (HME)
The real "debate" is over whether or not untreated pine and cedar shavings are a danger. It has been proven that untreated pine and cedar contain an inducing agent of HME activity. HMEs are by-products of the liver after processing drugs. "It is simply the way the body-or more specifically, the liver-handles many of the elements it comes into contact with each day."(20). I was also lucky enough to run into a medical doctor/research writer who had studied the HME system for six months. Her comments to me were; "If all the phenols do is to induce some of the microsomal enzymes, that's nothing to be concerned about." She continued with "I know that there are lots of things that both induce and suppress microsomal enzymes in humans, and it's no big deal except when it causes a concomitantly administered drug to be metabolized differently. When that occurs, all you have to do is to adjust the dose of the drug appropriately." After reading the studies which are most often quoted as providing evidence untreated shavings are harmful I must state I don't see where any demonstrate a danger. What I have learned from the studies about HME is that there are many factors which can affect this sensitive system and cause an increase or decrease in activity (2,3,4). This is a partial list from one study (4): Table 1 list of factors affecting drug disposition: air exchange and composition, barometric pressure, cage design, cedar and other softwood bedding, cleanliness, coprophagia, diet, gravity, handling, humidity, light cycle, noise level, temperature, age, cardiovascular function, castration and hormone replacement, circadian and seasonal variations, dehydration, disease, fever, gastrointestinal function, genetic constitution, hepatic blood flow, malnutrition, starvation, pregnancy, sex, shock, stress..." "Dirty environments should now be added to the growing list of factors that affect the extremely sensitive hepatic microsomal system for metabolizing drugs. Among others, these factors include, age; sex; strain; litter of origin; painful stimuli; ambient temperature; degree of crowding; time of day or season of drug administration; hormonal; nutritional; and physiological status; and type of bedding." (2)
As you can see by the factors listed many things can set off a change in HME activity. Dr Hawley's article also
mentioned grapefruit juice can induce HME, as did the medical doctor I spoke to (20). So why are the scientists so
concerned by HME and the inducing effects of pine and cedar? Several studies mentioned the problem of getting
standardized test results in pharmacological studies (1,2,3,4).
"Differences in the capacity of various beddings to induce may partially explain divergent results of studies on drug-
metabolizing enzymes." (1)
"These experiments offer an explanation for differences in the results of studies on drug-metabolizing enzymes in mice and
rats." (1)
"These numerous factors contribute to large day-to-day variations that have become a major problem impeding
investigation of drug disposition and response in laboratory animals." (4)
"These data suggest that commercial bedding materials differ in their ability to affect microsomal enzymes. Thus,
interlaboratory variability in basal enzyme activities reported in the literature may be partly due to bedding materials used in
animal cages." (19)
"Pharmacological and biochemical investigations of hepatic microsomal enzymes (HME) in rodents have been plagued by
large day-today variations in control values for these enzyme activities" (4).
It seems HME activity to the scientists is actually a sort of "background noise" in their experiments, but important to note so test results can be accurately interpreted.
Do the scientists feel untreated pine and cedar should not be used in any laboratory? Not from what I have read in the studies. "Rejection of all softwood beddings because they are potent inducers of hepatic microsomal enzymes does not appear justified." (3). However in an effort to standardize certain test results it is suggested untreated softwood not be used (6). "Softwood beddings have been used, but the use of untreated softwood shavings and chips is contraindicated for some protocols because they can affect animals' metabolism (Vesell 1967, Vesell and others 1973, 1976)." (6). "White spruce may provide a relatively inexpensive alternative to hardwood for studies that require bedding that does not alter barbiturate sleeptime" (3). I think the above quotes illustrate that the inducing effect of untreated softwood shavings is important only to the scientific community in the process of studying drugs and their effects. In addition Dr Hawley writes that "Nearly every commercial laboratory today uses pine, cedar, or other hardwood beddings, except when conducting specific drug metabolism studies." (20).
I did come across an interesting result shown in several studies, accumulation of urine and feces which increase ammonia levels cause a decrease in HME activity (2,3,4). Now we all know increasing ammonia levels can cause damage in our animals. It has been associated with causing increased susceptibility to Pasturella infections and respiratory damage. "The present experiments reveal that drug metabolism in hepatic microsomes was inhibited when urine and feces of rodents were not removed twice daily but permitted to accumulate for 1 week. Inhibition of drug metabolism in rats kept under these conditions may arise from hepatic toxicity due to increased concentrations of ammonia (5) in such environments." (2). May I also point out that I have yet to find in a study a reference to pine or cedar causing hepatic toxicity. Dr Hawley also points out that the presence of these enzymes do not suggest there is damage to the liver (20).
I also found another study which reported that oral administration of praziquantel at a dosage of 1600 mg/kg and 2000 mg/kg caused a significant decrease in 3 drug-metabolizing hepatic enzymes (16). The rabbits who received the dosage of 2000 mg/kg all died within 10-20 hours. In another study rabbits were given aflatoxin to see the effects it would have on liver enzymes (17). None died but body weight gain was altered and again a decrease was noted in some HME, "Biochemical exploration of plasma components revealed a dose-dependent hepatotoxicity characterized by cytolysis and cholestasis." (17). And finally in a study comparing the activity of HME in rats given single or repetitive fluke infections HME decreases were noted (18). Given this evidence I can't come to the conclusion that increased HME activity is a sign of harm being done to a small animal.
Pet owners also argue that untreated cedar and pine cause shortened barbiturate sleeptimes and that would be harmful for an animal undergoing surgery. The increased HME activity does shorten barbiturate sleeptimes in the studies (1,2,3,4) but note that the scientists were testing for this, not performing surgery. The studies have found that sleeptimes were shortest for cedar shavings compared to the softwoods (3,19). There were also differences among different types of pine bedding with white spruce not significantly different than hardwoods but longer than white pine (3). "In other studies, mice kept on pine beddings exhibited hexobarbital sleeptimes intermediate between those of mice kept on red cedar or Douglas Fir (9), and intermediate between mice kept on red cedar or ground corn cobs (10)." (3). Heat treated pine shavings have been shown not to alter sleeptime in comparison to control animals (19).
But does any of the above really affect us and our pets? I don't believe so, there are many factors which affect HME and therefore barbiturate sleeptime (2,3,4,). A study also found increased ammonia levels alter sleeptime and that lowering the room temperature lengthens sleeptime (3). The same study also showed that two different strains of mice studied had significantly different sleeptimes. Also consider this quote "No alteration in the hexobarbital concentration in the brain at the time of restoration of the righting response occurred on any of the softwood beddings tested." (1). "While sleeptimes are decreasing and the microsomal enzyme activity is increasing, the amounts of hexobarbital in the brain on awakening remain unaltered in mice put on softwood bedding; thus, the responsiveness of the receptor sites seems unaffected by softwood bedding." (1). I have not been able to find any scientific references or entries in veterinary books warning of a danger in regard to surgery when animals are exposed to softwood shavings. If altered barbiturate sleeptimes due to softwood exposure were critical during surgery I would think there would be a warning about it.
I also found an interesting section in the Harkness and Wagner book relating to injectable anesthetics in rats. It is stated that sodium pentobarbitol used in rats "poses considerable risk" (7) pg.109. "Pentobaribitol also has poor analgesic properties in rats and produces profound hypothermia and causes excitement on induction (Wixson et al., 1987a,c,d). The young, the females, cooled animals, and possibly the albinos are more susceptible to the drug, whereas males, animals receiving low caloric diets, and animals on cedar bedding are more resistant." (7) Pg 109. The same book also states pentobarbital is not recommend for rabbits.
Heat Treated Shavings
Heat treated pine shavings are fine for use as bedding and litter for small animals including rabbits. The first piece of evidence is the fact that many people have been using pine shavings for years without any ill effect to their rabbit(s). The next pieces are what the veterinary books and others have to say about the use of shavings for litter. Harkness and Wagner Pg 61: "Bedding, which may be paper, sawdust, or soft pine, aspen, or cedar shavings should be nonallergenic, dust free, inedible, absorbent, nontoxic, and free of pathogenic organisms. Soft pine and cedar wood shavings are used for pet rodent bedding because of their pleasant aroma. However, because volatile hydrocarbons from these shavings may stimulate microsomal enzymes, they are avoided as bedding material for research animals. Softwood shavings and tissue paper make excellent rodent nesting material" (7) TBLR Pg 29 "Bedding must be used in nest boxes. It may be straw, hay, excelsior, wood shavings, or other such material." (8). Hillyer and Quesenberry pg 292 small rodent section: "Pine shavings remain the most commonly used bedding for small pet rodents in many parts of North America. Corncob products and recycled paper products are excellent for certain rodents such as gerbils and dwarf hamsters. Cedar shavings also are popular but their use is controversial. Cedar has been shown to affect microsomal oxidative liver enzymes. Although these changes affect factors such as drug metabolism, no clinical signs associated with them have been documented." (10) Rabbit Production Pg 90 "The nest box should ...contain bedding of hay, straw, shavings, or similar material." Pg 93 "If the does are being fed a ration consisting only of pellets, they may eat any palatable material used for bedding, and in this case softwood shavings...may be used" (9) If the use of softwood bedding was dangerous why on earth would any of these books mention it as good bedding material. All of these books are recent publications and the studies many cite showing a "danger" were published closer to 30 years ago.
Finally we have evidence treated pine is safe from the scientific studies pet owners often quote from (1,3,4,19). The process of heat treating removes the HME inducing agent as demonstrated in the above mentioned studies. It is also mentioned in the National Institute of Health guide to Laboratory animals "Heat treatments applied before bedding materials are used to reduce the concentration of aromatic hydrocarbons" (6). "By two different experimental approaches Wade et al. (47) showed that cedrol and cedrene were active agents in the inductive response of mice to cedarwood bedding. In the first experiment cedar shavings from which cedrol and cedrene had been extracted...produced hexobarbital sleeping times indistinguishable from those observed in control mice housed on inert corncob bedding." (4). I also offer this quote from an HRS educator I wrote to "There are some shavings which are safe, and these are the kiln-dried pine."
I have also heard the rumor cedar causes cancer. I found three studies (11,12,13) and none of them came to the conclusion cedar bedding caused or contributed to the occurrence of cancer. "From these results, the high incidence of cancer in the C3H-AvyfB strain could not be attributed to the routine use of cedar shavings in the bedding material." (11). "Hepatoma incidence in males at 18 months of age was not affected by the presence or absence of cedar shavings in the bedding " (12). "There was no evidence that the cedar shavings were carcinogenic." (13).
Sorting Through Rumors
The arguments presented by those against softwood bedding often sound convincing on the surface, however closer inspection reveals discrepancies. For example the HRS has made statements that softwood bedding has caused liver disease in rabbits they have fostered and caused the death of rabbits during surgery. I have read the article by HRS founder Marinell Harriman, "Litterboxes and Liver Disease" and question her conclusions. Apparently HRS began investigating softwood bedding after one rabbit died during a routine spay surgery. They maintain that rabbits housed on pine or cedar may risk death during surgery, however they also have made statements that they have not lost many rabbits during spays or neuters. They stopped using softwood bedding after Sarah the rabbit died in 1989 so prior to her death they must not have had problems with surgery on other rabbits exposed to softwood. The article also discussed several foster rabbits had elevated liver enzymes and some had liver disease. Dr Hawley points out that the enzymes tested by veterinarians in a serum or plasma chemistry panel are "leakage enzymes" and not the same enzymes the researchers studied in the softwood bedding experiments (20).
So what could explain the liver disease in the HRS foster rabbits? I checked into liver disease in rabbits, there is very little about it but what I did find is hepatic coccidiosis, which causes an enlarged liver and it is contagious (7,8,9). I would assume the HRS members had adopted the rabbits that had liver disease so it is possible that the rabbits were exposed to hepatic coccidiosis, I feel it is a pretty big leap to assume untreated shavings caused their deaths. From TBLR: Pg 206 long section on hepatic coccidiosis, clinical signs included enlarged liver. pg 267: Liver cancer: "The tumor appears to have little potential as a research model, primarily because of the difficulty of case findings." (8). The common causes of liver spots in rabbits are hepatic coccidiosis, migrating tapeworm larvae, Tyzzer's disease, and colibacillosis (7). So there doesn't seem to be any evidence linking untreated softwoods to liver disease or other problems in rabbits.
Another opponent of softwood bedding is Debbie "The Rat Lady" Ducommun who wrote a long article pointing out the "dangers" of softwood bedding. She stated "Because of the toxic effects of softwood shavings, laboratories have pretty much stopped using them for their animals." Well as we now know this is not the reason some labs would not use them. Also where is the evidence that their effect is toxic? The liver disease connection was also brought up and she stated "unless these animals [rabbits housed on softwood] received full autopsies at death with no sign of enlarged livers or liver disfunction, respiratory infection, or altered immune system, how can they claim that the pine or cedar did not affect them?" I submit that even with a full autopsy how can you tell softwood did, afterall the animal died of something so we would expect to see problems. An enlarged liver is a sign of hepatic coccidiosis (8) so that can't be used as proof. And we know there are other causes of respiratory infection and other things that can alter the immune system. Also obesity can cause elevated liver enzymes and contribute to problems. An autopsy showing the above problems would not be proof that softwood bedding or HME induction caused liver damage.
I think there has been too much "interpreting" of scientific studies and that is what is causing the great pine/cedar scare. As an example let's look at chloroform. If you have municipal water then you and your animals are being exposed to chloroform. Is this harmful? What do the studies say, "Present in the water supplies of many of our cities in concentrations reaching 311ug/1, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, chloroform has also been identified as a contaminant of the air. Thus chloroform can gain entry and accumulate in organisms by both the oral and inhalational routes. From the point of view of this symposium, the question of the effects on laboratory animals of environmental exposure to chloroform is raised. Chloroform is toxic to both the liver and kidney of laboratory animals (12), liver tumors arising after chronic chloroform administration (13)." (4).
It looks like it is, and if you have been giving your animals municipal water you are killing them! Make sure you get a full autopsy done after they die and check for liver and kidney damage as well as respiratory problems to "prove" the chloroform was the cause. Oh wait a minute the study says a little more, "Chloroform is only one of a large number of newly identified environmental pollutants to which laboratory animals are being continuously exposed: continuous exposure of laboratory animals to chloroform, as well as to many other environmental pollutants, could affect the responsiveness of these animals under a wide range of experimental conditions." (4). Well I guess the scientists weren't warning us of the dangers of using municipal water afterall, just discussing how it could affect experimental data.
We and our animals are exposed continually to different "pollutants" in our environment, what matters is the health of an individual and the concentration of pollutants they are exposed to. Some chemicals in small concentrations are harmless but in larger doses are lethal. An example of this is benzoic acid in Listerine. Benzoic acid is toxic if ingested in large enough quantities, the amount in Listerine is well below that amount and therefore is safe for use in humans. It is important not to over-interpret what scientific studies are showing us.
In closing I just want to say I still have not read, experienced, or heard anything that leads me to believe the use of pine shavings are harmful to rabbits. What I have read and experienced shows me they are safe. I still won't use cedar because in the past I heard it could be toxic for a rabbit if they ingest too much of it, plus it has a very strong odor. I included many quotes in this article so you are able to read exactly what the scientists have discovered about softwood bedding and the effects on HME. If one closely looks at the evidence offered that pine shavings are harmful you will see the arguments are weak and lack evidence. Dr Hawley reports pet retailers are being subjected to anger from animal rights advocates who accuse them of selling "dangerous" bedding material (20). It's too bad these people didn't first read the studies instead of subscribing to the "I heard it was bad, so it must be true" theory. But those of you reading this now know more than you ever wanted to about softwood shavings and HME!
(1) "Induction of Drug-Metabolizing Enzymes in Liver Microsomes of Mice and Rats by Softwod Bedding" Vesell 1967, Science.
(2)"Hepatic Drug Metabolism in Rats: Impairment in a dirty Environment" 1973 Vesell, Lang, White, Passananti, Tripp, Science
(3) "Barbiturate Sleeptime in Mice Exposed to Autoclaved or Unautoclaved Wood Beddings." Cunliffe-Beamer, Freeman, Myers 1981, Laboratory Animal Science
(4)"Environmental and Genetic Factors Affecting the Response of Laboratory animals to Drugs" Vesell, Lang, White, Passananti, Hill, Clemens, Liu, Johnson. 1976, Federation Proceedings Vol 35 #5.
(5)Bacterial counts associated with recycled newspaper bedding. 1990 Hogan, Smith, Todhunter, Schoenberger
(6) From the"Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals" formerly called the NIH Guide
(7) Harkness & Wagner Biology and Medicine of Rabbits and Rodents 4th ed 1995.
(8)TBLR 2nd Ed, Manning, Ringler, Newcomer 1994
(9) Rabbit Production 7th ed., McNitt, Patton, Lukefahr, Cheeke 1996
(10) Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery; Hillyer and Quesenberry 1997
(11) Possible Carcinogenic effects of cedar shavings in bedding of C3H-Avy fB mice. Vlahakis G, J Natl Cancer Inst. 1977
(12) Spontaneous hepatomas in mice inbred from Ha:ICR Swiss stock: effects of sex, cedar shavings in bedding, and immunization with fetal liver or hepatoma cells. Jacobs BB, Dieter DK. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1978
(13) Testing for possible effects of cedar wood shavings and diet on occurence of mammary gland tumors and hepatomas in C3H-A-vy and C3H-Avy-fB mice. Heston WE, J Natl Cancer Inst, 1975
(14)Bacterial counts associated with recycled newspaper bedding, Hogan JS, Smith KL, Todhunter DA, Schoenberger PS. J Dairy Science 1990
(15) Comparison of in vitro drug metabolism by lung, liver, and kidney of several common laboratory species. Litterst CL, Mimnaugh EG, Reagan RL, Gram TE, Drug Metab Dispos, 1975
(16) The effect of praziqunatel on the activities of some drug-metabolizing hepatic enzymes in rabbits. Kheir WM, Elsheikh HA, Hapke HJ, DTW Dtsch Tierarztl Wochenschr, 1995
(17) Dose related effect of aflatoxin B1 on liver drug metaboling enzymes in rabbit. Guerre P, Eeckhoutte C, Larrieu G, Burgat V, Galtier P, Toxicology 1996
(18) Comparison of hepatic and extrahepatic drug metabolizing enzyme activities in rats given single or multiple challenge infections with Fasciola hepatica. Biro-Sauveur B, Eeckhoutte C, Baeza E, Boulard C, Galtier P. Int J Parasitol 1995
(19) Effects of cage bedding on microsomal oxidative enzymes in rat liver. Weichbrod R, Cisar J, Miller R, Simmons A, Alvares A, Ueng T. Laboratory Animal Science 1988
(20) "Bedtime Story" by Dr S. Blake Hawley, Pet Age magazine, Nov. 1997 pg. 14-19
we sell lots of pine and cedar to be used as small animal bedding and have never had a report of anyone's animal getting ill as a result! -Howard McMurrian, President GEM Shavings & Sawdust Co.
Our company is over 100 years old. My family has owned the company for over 50 years. I have been with the company since 1987. Like GEM Shavings and Sawdust Company, we have never had anyone report that their animal(s) have become ill or died as a result of our Pine Shavings. Thank you for taking the time to dispel the many myths that softwood bedding is dangerous to small animals. General Manager Pioneer Sawdust e-mail 12/12/06
Thank you for that article. I am a UK rat breeder and also a scientist and have been plagued with this rubbish for years now. I would agree with all that you say, having bred rats for 40 years.(snip)
I was quality manager under GLP regulations for a research lab and shared my office with a rat liver toxicologist. She told me everything that is in your article, plus, in one study we did, a full life study where one group of rats had their microsomal enzyme systems significantly raised. The ones with high enzymes lived much longer than the others and on autopsy had decreased abdominal fat." Ann Storey Pres National Fancy Rat Society e-mail April 2007
The author has a Bachelor of Science degree, wrote "Caring for Your Pet Rabbit" & the Rabbit Education Society Rabbit Care Guide, as well as Bucky Bunny's Guide Pet Rabbit Care CD, was interviewed on Television (including nationally broadcast Fox's Pet News), has had several articles about rabbits published in various magazines (including Animal Life, Exotic Market Review, Domestic Rabbits, & Dwarf Digest) has raised rabbits as pets and for show since 1982, is educated in all aspects of rabbit care including health, and is an educator for the RES. The author is a member of the following organizations: World Rabbit Science Assoc.-American Branch, American Rabbit Breeders Association (has held position of committe chairperson), American Netherland Dwarf Rabbit Club, District II NDRC, NYSNDRC, New England NDRC, MVRBA (Past President).
The author wishes to thank her husband, a research scientist in organic analytical chemistry with the NYS Dept. of Health, for technical assistance in the preparation of this article.
Is there a financial reason why certain groups want people to stop using pine and cedar and use another product?
From NJ HRS summer 2000 newsletter
"Donate to HRS by Saving Yesterdays News UPCs!"
" NJ House Rabbit Society is part of a savings program offered by the Yesterdays News litter company."
Hmmm perhaps there is.
Check out the back of a bag of alternative litters, many have printed on the bag a reference to the phenols that softwood litter contain and that their alternative litter is much safer. Problem is these alternative litters have not undergone testing to see if they affect HME or respiratory function. It seems that the alternative litter companies are taking full advantage of the pine/cedar scare to increase their market share. Keep in mind that most of these alternative litters are also much more expensive than shavings.
Petbunny site Pine/Cedar with reprints of some of the studies and commentary. Good reading as the commentator points out that the studies cited do not show what so many say they do.
HRS article "The Dangers of Softwood Shavings" George Flentke, Ph.D.
"The phenols in the softwood (pine and cedar) shavings causes changes in the liver's enzymes."
Those changes are not a sign of damage as already reported. I hate that this is stated by so many but they neglect to mention that the "changes" are part of the normal function of the body. I believe that putting it this way easily leads people to misinterpret what actually happens.
"The second objection to softwood shavings exposure as a cancer risk is less concrete. Epidemological studies in humans point to increase risks in people who work in saw mills, but the issue of volatile phenol involvement is not clear. Cedar shavings have caused increased risk for cancer in certain rodents, but in many ways this work was skewed by the nature of the experiment. Thus the evidence is, at best, only suggestive."
Again with the sawmill studies, but there is a big difference in environment between sawmills and a small animal with processed shavings in a cage tray or litterpan. Basically the author hasn't found a link between cancer and shavings use in small animals.
HRS again:
Listed under references for "Pine/Cedar Shaving Toxicity" the HRS lists the following:
"1.Rabbit Health Newsletter (Nov. 1991) cites U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health pamphlet No.86-23 titled "Guide for the Care and use of Laboratory Animals" A quote is listed as saying: "Aromatic hydrocarbons from cedar and pine bedding materials can induce the biosynthesis of hepatic microsomal enzymes (Vesell, 1967; Vesell, et al., 1976; Cunliffe-Beamer et al. 1981."
Rabbit Health Newsletter was published by an HRS chapter manager and more importantly the partial quote they use has been explained in my article. This section was what prompted me to research pine and cedar as I wondered what exactly "biosynthesis of hepatic microsomal enzymes" meant and was that bad. A classic example of how to mislead people by using scientific terminology.
Respiratory toxicity of cedar and pine wood: A review of the biomedical literature from 1986 through 1995 Written by Jeff Johnston, doctoral candidate in epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil
The above internet post is often referred to by opponents to pine/cedar use, however it appears that it was written by a student, wonder what his grade was. Again all it does is refer to studies done in sawmills on occupational hazards. Another paper that has not been published in any toxicology or pharmaceutical journals. If all this information from Johnston and HRS and others is accurate then why have they not had their articles published in scientific journals? All it boils down to is a bunch of people giving their opinion of published studies and interpreting them (or mis-interpreting) as they wish.
-WHAT'S THE SCOOP? or, What's Wrong with Cedar Shavings? by R. Kelly Wagner
The only merit in this article is that she lists excerpts from some of the studies, otherwise it's just a rehash of the above mentioned articles and studies that discuss occupational asthma and allergies, again nothing to show there could be a danger in using cedar or pine as small animal bedding. She does discuss her own experiences with people who have allergies to cedar or pine and how when they changed litter they stopped sneezing. It seems the danger of pine and cedar really only applies to owners and rabbits who happen to be allergic to them.


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Egg Foo Yung
Makes 8 servings
The combination of tastes and textures of the fresh seafood and crunchy sprouts make this Chinese-American dish practically irresistible.
Find this recipe and more in Chef Paul Prudhomme's Pure Magic.
6-12 tablespoons peanut oil, in all
1 cup diced ham (about 4 ounces)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 cup chopped green onion tops
1½ teaspoons minced fresh garlic
4 cups fresh sunflower, mung or soybean sprouts
1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
1 pound peeled small shrimp
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon Chef Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic®
½ teaspoon ground ginger
8 eggs
how to prepare
Place 3 tablespoons of the oil and the ham in a 10-inch skillet over high heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the ham is lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the fresh ginger, green onion tops and garlic, and cook until the vegetables are lightly browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, transfer the contents of the skillet to a large bowl, and add the sprouts, crabmeat, shrimp, Seafood Magic® and ground ginger.
Beat the eggs until frothy in a separate bowl and gently fold them into the cooked vegetables until well blended.
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in an 8- or 10-inch skillet over high heat. Stir the egg mixture and ladle about ½ cup per omelet into the skillet; cook the omelets, 2 at a time, until golden brown on both sides. Stir the mixture just before ladling each omelet, and add oil to the skillet as needed, letting it get hot before cooking the next omelets. Drain the omelets on paper towels, and serve immediately with or without soy sauce.
Note: It's very important to stir the ingredients every time just before ladling the mixture into the skillet, to be sure there's enough of the egg to hold everything else together during cooking. However, don't worry if your egg foo yung falls apart-it will be just as delicious.
Note: Don't worry if you can't find the sprouts we call for-they're large and juicy and give the omelets an exciting texture, but you can certainly make this dish with whatever varieties are available. Try radish or alfalfa sprouts, for instance.
Copyright© 1995 by Paul Prudhomme


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In May 1947, the Sun Beauty spotted a lifeboat drifting in the warm waters off Mexico. When captain Clarence Fernandes steered his tuna clipper over for a look, he found two bloated male bodies, their faces blistered beyond recognition. Fernandes hauled the boat to the large port at Manzanillo. The men had been on a freighter headed from Ecuador to San Pedro, he learned, that was lost at sea.
Two months later, the Sun Beauty sank near Cape Colonet, 110 miles south of San Diego. Clarence, his younger brother Arnold, and ten other men escaped in a 16-foot skiff, in what the Coast Guard called some of the "roughest waters ever encountered off the coast of Mexico."
In the 1940s, tuna boats had radios, but there were no weather stations. "Someone would say 'Storm coming' on the radio," says Arnold Fernandes, "then no one kept track. You watched the barometer and made a judgment call."
Ask a tuna fisherman about the weather, and no matter how bad it's blowing, he's seen worse. During WWII, Arnold served as sonar operator on two 165-foot Navy cutters, Perseus and Aurora. In 1943, the Aurora was doing search and rescue off the Aleutian Islands in a storm from hell. The Beaufort Scale ranks hurricanes up to Force Twelve. With registered winds blowing up to 200 knots, this one was off the scale. Every vessel for hundreds of miles had to make port. When the Aurora pulled into the safety of Adak Harbor, the tower flashed a coded message: turn around, head back out; two Liberty ships have foundered in the storm.
"We couldn't believe it," recalls Arnold. "Back out in that? They should've just said, 'Commit suicide.' But the Aurora followed orders." They found the Chief Washakie, lodged on rocks off Cape Cheerful, in waves as high as 40 feet. It had a two-inch-wide crack just forward of the bridge. The deck beams sagged and threatened to snap the hull in two. Using logging chains, crews kept the bridge and bow together until the winds subsided and help arrived.
The storm off Cape Colonet in 1947 "wasn't as bad as that one," says Fernandes, "but was bad enough."
Sun Beauty left San Diego on July 10, 1947, with a brand-new white paint job. Built in 1937, and originally called the White Eagle, the wooden-hulled clipper could hold 100 tons of tuna. Clarence was the skipper. His brother Arnold was 23. "The Sun Beauty was a live-bait boat," he says, meaning it used poles and lines to catch tuna. "Most of the fishing was done off the coast of Mexico [and] all the way down to Costa Rica and Panama."
For the first ten hours, the clipper sailed under blue summer skies. By late afternoon, the seas began to build. "A few big swells," says Fernandes, "but nothing, really. You must understand: tuna fishermen're used to that."
Although the radio said a chubasco — a tropical cyclone — was heading north from Cabo San Lucas, southern skies were cloudless.
That can be deceiving, skippers say. Often, when a chubasco nears, the sea calms. The air gets heavy. ("You can smell one coming," says an old adage.) Then iron-gray clouds flatten out overhead and fill the sky. Winds whip and howl, swells steepen, and ships pitch about like drunks.
Toward sundown, about 20 miles west of Cape Colonet, the Fernandes brothers watched boats steer toward the protected bay under clear skies.
At midnight, Arnold took his four-hour wheel watch. Though the waters were bumpy, he saw no sign of trouble. At 4:00 a.m., relieved of duty, he stopped at the galley "for a quick cup of coffee before hitting the sack."
He shared a starboard cabin with Bill "Red" Morgan, the navigator. As Arnold climbed into his upper bunk, the ship rolled "a little more than before, but not enough to be alarmed." Seconds later, he fell asleep.
Around 5:00 a.m., his feet kicked straight up and his head slammed a wall. "I knew then we were in trouble."
Something hit the Sun Beauty, jerking it 60 degrees to the right. Water spilled over starboard.
"Red!" Fernandes shook Morgan in the bunk below. "Let's get the hell out of here!"
Outside the cabin door, foamy seawater burst on deck and stampeded into his cabin. ("That sight gave me nightmares for years — over the rail and into your room!")
The generator flooded: no radio, no bilge pumps. The main engine still ran, and the boat moved in a lazy circle, listing to starboard.
When Fernandes saw no one at the helm, he climbed to the flying bridge, raced into the pilothouse, and tried to jerk the wheel "hard over" to the right. "If a ship's tilting to starboard, turn the rudder that way. Do the opposite, she'll roll over."
The rudder wouldn't budge. "Just too far gone."
From the flying bridge, Fernandes counted only 11 men standing below on the portside rail: the high side. Where was Joe? Sixteen-year-old Joe Cutri bunked forward of the engine room. As the skipper ordered the crew not to jump — because no one would find them in the roiling waters — Fernandes rushed down to the engine room. He shook the knob frantically, but debris jammed Joe's door shut.
"That was the worst feeling: Joe's trapped, and I can't do a thing about it."
When Fernandes climbed the slippery ladder, Joe stood on deck. "He came up through a hatch on the bow. I can't tell you how relieved that made me."
The Sun Beauty lurched hard to the right. The hull must have sprung a leak, or hit something? Two of the ship's three small boats — a speedboat and a ten-foot skiff — had tumbled over the side and vanished.
After the roll, the Sun Beauty righted itself. Water on board shifted forward. The engine went dead. The bow tilted down. "We had just minutes to launch the net-tender skiff."
Since booms and equipment had failed, it took "brute force" to shoulder the 16-foot craft into the water. Someone salvaged two oars from the others.
Part 1: Anatomy of a Tuna Clipper | Part 2: Let's Catch Us Some Tuna! | Part 3: The Lone Wolf Hits a Royal Flush
More from SDReader
- More stories by Jeff Smith
- Beauty goin' down — Jan. 30, 2013
You're one helluva researcher, Jeff! I'd still like you to take over that 1850 manuscript I once mentioned some months ago and give it the story-telling treatment it deserves. I'm just not up to the job.
T: I'd love to, but my plate is full, and my table, and my dining room, and...
Terrific article, the happy ending makes it all the better, but I'll bet you ten dollars that boat never had its name lettered in Comic Sans, which entered the world on a dark day in 1994, which, by my calendar, was some time after 1947. Tsk.
Type joke: Why can't typographers enjoy movies? The typefaces are not historically accurate!!


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"To Master the Art," William Brown and Doug Frew's biographical drama about the life and work of the famed culinary icon Julia Child, is to have a reprise commercial engagement at the Broadway Playhouse in Chicago this fall.
The piece, which stars Karen Janes Woditsch as Child and Craig Spidle as her husband Paul, was first seen at the Timeline Theatre in 2010, under Brown's direction. Most of the piece takes place in Paris during the 1950s.
The producers of the new engagement is the Chicago Commercial Collective, a small and mostly untested company with local investors that aims to give hits from the non-profit theater world a future in Chicago and beyond. TimeLine Theatre Company originally commissioned the play.
The veracity and charm of Woditsch's performance as Child was greatly admired in 2010; reviews for the play itself were mixed, although producer Brian Loevner said Brown and Frew are revising the script for the new production.
Performances at the Broadway Playhouse, 175 E. Chestnut Ave, are slated to begin Sept. 10, with an opening night yet to be determined. Broadway in Chicago is marketing the show as part of its 2013 subscription season.


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All items > Knives > Automatic Knives > Schrade (Auto) > Schrade SC60 Knives
- Overall Length:7.875"
- Blade Length:3.25"
- Cutting Edge:3.00"
- Blade Thickness:0.11"
- Blade Material:4116
- Blade Style:Tanto
- Blade Grind:Hollow
- Finish:Tan Camo
- Edge Type:Serrated
- Handle Length:4.625"
- Handle Thickness:0.52"
- Handle Material:Aluminum
- Color:Tan Camo
- Weight:3.52 oz.
- User:Right Hand
- Pocket Clip:Tip-Up
- Knife Type:Automatic
- Opener:Push Button
- Lock Type:Plunge Lock
- Brand:Schrade
- Model:Extreme Survival
- Model Number:SC60DTS
- Country of Origin:Taiwan
- Best Use:Everyday Carry
- Product Type:Knife
Whether it's for everyday tasks or urgent situations, Schrade's SC60DTS automatic knife has what you need. This model features a desert camo coated blade and handle. The serrated tanto blade is designed to handle piercing and slicing tasks you encounter, while the glass breaker tip is available in case of emergency. The aluminum handle features sculpted and textured grips to improve safety and handling. The push button release gives fast action and secure lock up. A tip-up pocket clip and lanyard hole mean you will always have this blade within easy reach when you need it.
This knife may have light marks on the blade or handle from the conversion process.


text:
MIAMI — Lawmakers joined customers and the state's consumer advocate Thursday in opposing rate increases proposed by hurricane-prone Florida's largest homeowner insurance company at a public hearing held by regulators in Miami.
State Sen. Mike Fasano, a longtime critic of state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp., said the company already has, in-effect, raised rates without approval. The New Port Richey Republican accused Citizens of inflating replacement values of homes, and thus their premiums. He also cited a re-inspection program that has revoked discounts many customers were getting for strengthening their homes against hurricanes.
Fasano also complained about lavish spending by Citizens officials on overseas trips and expensive hotel rooms and meals.
"Citizens has filed a premium rate increase that, given the myriad negative circumstances surrounding this insurance company, is not warranted and, frankly, is the epitome of arrogance," Fasano said.
Citizens wants to raise rates for homeowners in coastal areas, which are at higher risk for hurricane damage, by a statewide average of 11.1 percent. The proposed increase for homeowners in other areas averages 12 percent. Increases, though, would differ from one area to another. The company also is seeking similar increases for mobile homes, condominium associations and other properties.
The hearing was conducted by Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, who will decide whether to grant the rate increases.
Citizens president and CEO Barry Gilway said company officials were simply complying with state law by proposing increases designed to put it on a course to ensure that it has sufficient assets to cover potential hurricane losses without having to resort to special post-storm assessments to make up the difference. An outside consultant said that the currently proposed increases, though, will fall short of that goal.
"We're not the enemy," Gilway said. "We're hired by and work for taxpayers and it's our obligation to do our very, very best to keep rates as affordable as possible."
Florida Insurance Consumer Advocate Robin Smith Wescott said the premium increases should be denied because the company has overestimated its potential losses and is on a "glide path" toward rate adequacy thanks to recently passed legislation.
"Policies in some territories already have actuarially sound rates and many more will reach soundness within a year," Wescott said.
She said separate rate increases for sinkhole coverage also would be excessive and failed to take into account savings resulting from a new law designed to curtail excessive claims.
State Reps. Frank Artiles, R-Miami, and Luis Garcia, D-Miami Beach, also spoke against the increases.
Artiles said he's been unable to get information from Citizens on how much the company is spending on attorney fees.
"Their costs are out of control," Artiles said.
He also criticized the company's plan to give $350 million in low-interest loans to private insurers as an incentive to get to them to take thousands of Citizens' policies.
Gov. Rick Scott and many other politicians have been urging Citizens to spin off policies to reduce its exposure.
Some consumers told McCarty that they have dropped insurance coverage because they no longer could afford it rates that already are too high.
Citizens originally was formed as the insurer of last resort after large private companies pulled out of the state or balked at covering homes and other properties in high-risk areas. The company now has grown to 1.4 million policies and Gilway said it is adding customers at a rate of 300,000 per year.
McCarty said he will continue to accept written comments for another week. They can be submitted by email to RateHearings(at)floir.com.


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New Places to Look for Energy Savings
Lowering pressures, plugging air leaks and updating your motors can have a huge impact on your plants energy efficiency.
Soaring energy costs - and the chronic risk that they will only climb higher - have altered the economics of the food processor's supply chain. One way processors can get a grip on energy is to maximize the efficiency of equipment on processing and packaging lines.
Kettle Foods has one of the largest commercial solar arrays in the Pacific Northwest on top of its plant. It generates approximately 120,000 kWh per year.
"The market is being challenged by high energy prices," says Ted Worlick, engineering director for Schneider Electric (www.us.schneider-electric.com), Palatine, Ill. "A lot of companies saw their natural gas bills double. Now we're at a new high plateau for natural gas. Electricity costs continue to head upward."
The challenge is doubled in that processors, who are finally running plants at higher capacity utilization rates, cannot - and should not - sacrifice manufacturing output with equipment replacement or plant modifications. But processors do need to make energy investments that create savings over the long term.
Despite the enormous burden to operations costs that soaring fuel bills have added in recent years, many food companies have yet to take important energy-savings steps: from developing comprehensive energy programs to replacing or modifying equipment to making the necessary plant upgrades to save big energy bucks.
Incredibly, some companies have barely scratched the surface when it comes to processes and procedures to identify waste and save significantly on fuel costs. Heat recovery, capital projects for energy conservation and investment in energy control optimization continue to come on strong and have become more sophisticated - especially for companies that already have plucked the low-hanging fruit with the simplest changes in plant practices.
Lower pressures, higher savings
Manufacturers have put energy efficiency high on their priority lists. "We've addressed energy efficiency in heating and cooling, pumping, homogenizing, and fluid and product movement," says Jim LeClair, technical director for APV Invensys (www.apv.invensys.com), WHERE. "Mixing, too. The more efficiently your equipment uses energy, the lower your cost of ownership (the sum of energy and maintenance costs). Your payback comes back quickly."
Today's high efficiency centrifugal pumps, for example, have added 20-30 percent energy efficiency on top of the overall performance efficiency of the pumps, compared to pumps of the 1970s and '80s. "We have gone from 45 percent pump efficiency to 75-85 percent efficiency. That means for every horsepower you put into a pump, you are getting an average 70 percent return. That's a significant difference," says LeClair.
Those are the kinds of savings plant personnel frequently overlook. But the addition of small improvements - even on systems as seemingly inconsequential as clean-in-place systems - can add up to big savings.
Heat exchangers have been other key targets for energy savings. New designs operate more efficiently at lower pressure. Heat exchangers operating at 75 psi today may work as effectively as those that operated at 100 psi in the past.
Manufacturers have focused on pressure and efficiency of heat exchangers to lower energy requirements.
"The lower the pressure drop required to maintain adequate pressure, the less pumping your equipment will need to do," explains LeClair. "As for the efficiency of heat exchange or the heat exchange pump, it is determined by the thickness of the plate and how (flows - port to port and cross flow - across the plate."
Energy-efficient designs can have significant long-term impact on plant energy costs. For example, LeClair touts APV's corrugated tubular heat exchanger for its energy efficiency. "The corrugated tube creates more turbulence and produces a better mixing of heat."
Homogenizers and mixers that require lower pressure to operate also are proving their worth in energy savings.
"The more efficiently you can make a homogenizing valve, the less pressure you'll need and the less energy you will use," says LeClair. In dairy operations, for example, taking a homogenizer's 1,800 to 2,600 psi requirement down to 1,100 psi will result in a huge energy savings.
"We have valve systems that will take pressure requirements down to 100 psi. That's $10,000 to $20,000 savings just due to the pressure difference in one year," says LeClair.
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Forwarded from: Richard Thieme <rthiemeat_private> An alternative point of view on the use of the word ... http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2002/10/04/hackers.html Real Hacking Rules! Or, Before the Word is Totally Useless, What Is the Essence of Hacking? by Richard Thieme 10/04/2002 On the tenth anniversary of Def Con, the annual Las Vegas meeting of computer hackers, security professionals, and others, I reflected on how the con--and hacking--had changed since I spoke at Def Con 4 seven years earlier. The word hacker today means everything from digging into a system--any system--at root level to defacing a Web site with graffiti. Because we have to define what we mean whenever we use the term, the word is lost to common usage. Still, post 9/11 and the Patriot Act, it behooves hackers of any definition to be keenly aware of the ends to which they hack. Hackers must know their roots and know how to return to "root" when necessary. At Def Con 4 I said that hacking was practice for transplanetary life in the 21st century. I was right. The skills I foresaw as essential just a short generation ahead have indeed been developed by the best of the hacker community, who helped to create--and secure--the Net that is now ubiquitous. But the game of building and cracking security, managing multiple identities, and obsessing over solving puzzles is played now on a ten-dimensional chess board. Morphing boundaries at every level of organizational structure have created a new game. In essence, hacking is a way of thinking about complex systems. It includes the skills required to cobble together seemingly disparate pieces of a puzzle in order to understand the system; whether modules of code or pieces of a bigger societal puzzle, hackers intuitively grasp and look for the bigger picture that makes sense of the parts. So defined, hacking is a high calling. Hacking includes defining and defending identity, creating safe boundaries, and searching for the larger truth in a maze of confusion and intentional disinformation. In the national security state that has evolved since World War II, hacking is one means by which a free people can retain freedom. Hacking includes the means and methodologies by which we construct more comprehensive truths or images of the systems we hack. Hackers cross disciplinary lines. In addition to computer hackers, forensic accountants (whistleblowers, really), investigative journalists ("conspiracy theorists"), even shamans are hackers because hacking means hacking both the system and the mind that made it. That's why, when you finally understand Linux, you understand ... everything. The more complex the system, the more challenging the puzzles, the more exhilarating the quest. Edward O. Wilson said in Consilience that great scientists are characterized by a passion for knowledge, obsessiveness, and daring. Real hackers too. The Cold War mentality drew the geopolitical map of the world as opposing alliances; now the map is more complex, defining fluid alliances in terms of non-state actors, narcotics/weapons-traffickers, and incendiary terrorist cells. Still, the game is the same: America sees itself as a huge bulls-eye always on the defensive. In this interpretation, the mind of society is both target and weapon and the management of perception--from deception and psychological operations to propaganda, spin, and public relations--is its cornerstone. That means that the modules of truth that must be connected to form the bigger picture are often exchanged in a black market. The machinery of that black market is hacking. Here's an example: A colleague was called by a source after a major blackout in the Pacific Northwest. The source claimed that the official explanation for the blackout was bogus. Instead, he suggested, a non-state aggressor such as a narco-terrorist had probably provided a demonstration of power, attacking the electric grid as a show of force. "The proof will come," he said, "if it happens again in a few days." A few days later, another blackout hit the area. Fast-forward to a security conference at which an Army officer and I began chatting. One of his stories made him really chuckle. "We were in the desert," he said, "testing an electromagnetic weapon. It was high-level stuff. We needed a phone call from the Secretary of Defense to hit the switch. When we did, we turned out the lights all over the Pacific Northwest." He added, "Just to be sure, we did it again a few days later and it happened again." That story is a metaphor for life in a national security state. That test took place in a secured area that was, in effect, an entire canyon. Cover stories were prepared for people who might wander in, cover stories for every level of clearance, so each narrative would fuse seamlessly with how different people "constructed reality." The journalistic source was correct in knowing that the official story didn't account for the details. He knew it was false but didn't know what was true. In the absence of truth, we make it up. Only when we have the real data, including the way the data has been rewritten to obscure the truth, can we know what is happening. That's hacking on a societal level. Hacking is knowing how to discern or retrieve information beyond that which is designed for official consumption. It is abstract thinking at the highest level, practical knowledge of what's likely, or might, or must be true, if this little piece is true, informed by an intuition so tutored over time it looks like magic. Post 9/11, the distinction between youthful adventuring and reconstituting the bigger picture on behalf of the greater good is critical. What was trivial mischief that once got a slap on the wrist is now an act of terrorism, setting up a teenager for a long prison term. The advent of global terrorism and the beginning of the Third World War have changed the name of the game. Yet without checks and balances, we will go too far in the other direction. The FBI in Boston is currently notorious for imprisoning innocent men to protect criminal allies. I would guess that the agents who initiated that strategy had good intentions. But good intentions go awry. Without transparency, there is no truth. Without truth, there is no accountability. Without accountability, there is no justice. Hacking ensures transparency. Hacking is about being free in a world in which we understand that we will never be totally free. Nevertheless, hackers must roll the boulder up the hill. They have no choice but to be who they are. But they must understand the context in which they work and the seriousness of the consequences when they don't. Hackers must, as the Good Book says, be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Richard Thieme is a business consultant, writer, and professional speaker focused on "life on the edge," in particular the human dimension of technology and the work place, change management and organizational effectiveness. - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu Oct 10 2002 - 19:04:38 PDT


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Cam Newton looked very comfortable in his first NFL season. The defenders trying to stop him did not. That's why Newton, quarterback of the Carolina Panthers, was the runaway winner of our Rookie of the Year award.
Newton, the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, received with 327 votes to Denver linebacker Von Miller's 96.5. Voting was done by NFL players, coaches and executives.
Rookie of the year is the first of Sporting News' 2011 NFL awards to be announced. Check back daily for other winners. A schedule of awards appears at the bottom of this story.
Questions about Newton's ability to become a franchise quarterback disappeared almost as quickly as the 2010 Heisman Trophy winner runs the 40-yard dash. Newton doesn't fit the mold of the classic dropback quarterback. He's new-school, a multidimensional threat, dynamic as both a runner and passer.
Numbers alone do not tell Newton's story, but they were impressive. He was the first rookie to throw for more than 4,000 yards. He set the single-season record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.
The former Auburn star put together one of the best rookie seasons of all time, and he did it coming out of a lockout, which meant he didn't have the typical preparation time.
Those who were skeptical about Newton before the draft have been silenced. He threw the ball more accurately than expected, completing 60.0 percent of his 517 passes, and he made the Panthers fun to watch again. His competitive fire can't be questioned.
"When you look at what Cam did and you match it up statistically with what any other rookie quarterback has ever done in the National Football League, it's impressive," ESPN analyst Tim Hasselbeck says. "When you factor in that he was thrown right into the fire, not having time to get reps. ... To do what he did in terms of a passer as well as a runner in his first year is without a doubt as impressive as any performance I've ever seen from a rookie."
Newton appears to be on his way to superstardom—and in a rush to get there. He has charisma, and he plays the league's marquee position. The only thing missing is that he has not turned the Panthers into winners—yet. That's what Newton has in mind for an encore. Is there a sophomore slump in his future? Don't count on it.
The Panthers finished 6-10, a vast improvement over last season when they were 2-14 with the NFL's worst record.
Newton's numbers
Passing yards: 4,051
Touchdowns-interceptions: 21-17
QB rating: 84.5
Rushing yards: 706
Rushing touchdowns: 14
Previous winner
Sporting News votes selected Ndamukong Suh of the Detroit Lions the 2010 rookie of the year. Click here for more information.
About the awards
Sporting News polled 632 NFL players, coaches and executives for our awards. Everyone voted for offensive and defensive player of the year, rookie of the year and comeback player of the year. Only the 32 coaches and executives from that group voted for coach of the year, coordinator of the year and executive of the year. Thirty coaches and executives voted on the All-Pro team.
The schedule
Jan. 24: Comeback player of the year
Jan. 25: Defensive player of the year
Jan. 26: Offensive player of the year
Jan. 27: Coach and coordinator of the year


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It is January 28th, 2010 and Alberta is rebounding nicely from a financially tough 2009, but if the first month of the New Year is any indication, then 2010 will be much harder on the hearts of hockey fans in Canada's richest province than 2009 was on their wallets.
The Oilers have lost all ten games in January and the Flames have now lost eight in a row and have been outscored 30-12 in those games. The Oilers play the Blues tonight, while the Flames are in Phoenix and if both lose tonight they will clash for an epic Battle of Alberta on Saturday night.
Nothing like a combined 20 game losing streak to get Albertans excited about hockey.
The big question is who is in worse situation right now?
The Oilers have ZERO chance of making the playoffs and fans are left to cheer for the THRIST for FIRST (keep losing and finish last and have a 48.1% chance of getting the 1st pick) and trying to figure out which players Steve Tambellini will deal before March 3rd. For the remainder of the season they will watch the games while debating whether to cheer more for an Oiler goal or an opposing one. Fun stuff.
Flames fans are on the edge of insanity. Some have called out Jarome Iginla's leadership and many feel that dealing Dion Phaneuf is the cure to the Flames' scoring woes. The Flames can't score, but should we be surprised?
Darryl Sutter continues to build his team around goaltending and defence. He had Mike Cammalleri, but decided that Olli Jokinen would be a better option moving forward. Wrong.
Craig Conroy, a hell of quote, is currently their first line centre. Conroy makes Oiler fans think that maybe Shawn Horcoff isn't the worst first line centre in the league.
Oilers fans are sick of losing, but now they are forced to dream about a possible franchise player being drafted. I wonder if Flames' fans realize that their team doesn't have a first or second round draft pick this season. Imagine if they miss the playoffs and don't have a pick in the first 60 players? It will be hard to replenish a depleted farm system without any top picks.
Even if the Flames make the playoffs is there any reason to believe they can avoid another first round exit? Right now fans of the Red and White need to pray that Sutter can convince someone to take Phaneuf's remaining four years and his $6.5 million cap hit, and get a proven scorer in return. If not, they will either miss the playoffs, or squeak into the playoffs and lose in the first round and then sell their fans that not having a pick in the first two rounds isn't a big deal.
I don't know if any fans will be cheering for their team to win on Saturday. An Oiler win might get them on a hot streak before their biggest game of the season –Monday in the TOILET BOWL battle with Carolina–, while a Flames win might be the start of something and convince Sutter nothing is wrong with his team.
Ice women of the week
Who said the Coyotes don't have any fans? Brazilian Daniella Sarahbya might be their hottest fan. I wonder if Dave Tippett told his team she would show up for an autograph session if they made the playoffs?
Random thoughts
- Keep it in mind that today the Leafs, Flames and Flyers don't have a 1st or 2nd round pick in the 2010 draft. Both Leaf picks belong to Boston due to the Phil Kessel trade. The Flyers' picks belong to Anaheim as part of the Human Rake (Chris Pronger) trade, while Phoenix owns the Flames 1st rounder as part of the Olli Jokinen trade and the Blackhawks have the 2nd rounder as part of Rene Bourque trade from July 1st, 2008. The Leafs will miss the playoffs; the Flames are currently in 9th while the Flyers are tied for 6th, but only one point ahead of 9th, 10th and 11th.
- I wonder how many heads will roll if these three teams all miss the playoffs, and don't have a first or second round pick?
- Since firing their goaltending coach, Eli Wilson, the Senators have won seven straight. Of course Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza have returned, but Brian Elliot was named First Star of the Week, last week so clearly he hasn't missed his goaltending coach.
- The Red Wings reign is over. They gave up two goals in the final 1:30, and then lost in OT to Phoenix on Wednesday. Chicago is the new big dog in the Central division, while the Red Wings are in a fight just to make the playoffs. Only one player from the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 drafts has played in the NHL. Shawn Matthias has played 41 games for the Florida Panthers. We will see if the Red Wings scouting staff can re-build the Wings.
- The Oilers and Flames only have two players with 12 or more goals. Iginla (21), Bourque (17), Penner (21) and Gagner 12. Only the Rangers with Gaborik (29) and Callhan (13) have the distinction of having limited goal-scoring threats.
- Ethan Moreau is a hot commodity out west. San Jose, LA and Anaheim are interested. Putting him on a solid checking line with Pisani and Horcoff is as much of a showcase as it is Pat Quinn trying to shelter his young players from the opposition's top lines. The Sharks and Ducks seem the most interested.
- Sheldon Souray, if he is moved, could easily follow Moreau out west. Keep in mind that Dean Lombardi is very skeptical of acquiring any player who he thinks wants to be in LA for anything other than hockey. So Souray would have to convince him that he isn't interested in any type of acting until he is done playing.
- I spoke with a few agents this week and it seems many GMs are hesitant to make a move until after the Olympic break. If they make a move before the Feb 12th deadline, they will have to pay a player 16 days of his salary before he plays a game. That might not seem like much, but in a cap-tight world it could be.
- The year is 193 days and the salary cap is broken day on a day-to-day basis. Ilya Kovalchuk and his $6.4 million cap hit means he costs $33,160 a day. So if a team trades for him before the break he'd cost an extra $530,569 against the cap.
- Souray would cost an extra $447,668, while Moreau costs $165,803. It might not seem like a lot, but many teams are trying to save money, but more importantly fit contracts under the cap.
- It sounds like Mike Gillis wants a physical D-man and possibly a centreman. The Canucks are on fire and I can't see how he doesn't make a move or two before March 3rd.
- I wonder why Brent Sutter continues to use Daymond Langkow as his go-to-guy on faceoffs? Langkow is a woeful 43.6% on draws. Olli Jokinen is 49.4% and Craig Conroy is 50.2%. None of the numbers are great, but the Flames are tied with the Oilers as worst faceoff teams in the NHL at 47.1%. Wow, Alberta teams suck right now!!!!
Leaders through the season
Here are the top ten in pts, goals, assists and other stats.
35: Patrick Marleau
34: Alex Ovechkin
33: Sidney Crosby
30: Ilya Kovalchuk and Dany Heatley
29: Marian Gaborik
28: Steven Stamkos
26: Mike Cammalleri
25: Alexander Semin
24: Henrik Sedin, Bobby Ryan and Rick Nash
54: Joe Thornton
52: Henrik Sedin
44: Brad Richards
42: Martin St. Louis
39: Ovechkin, Tomas Plekanec and Mike Green
38: Patrick Kane and Vincent Lecavalier
37: Tomas Kaberle, Duncan Keith, Nicklas Backstrom and Paul Stastny
76: H. Sedin
73: Ovechkin
67: Crosby and Thornton
61: Gaborik
59: Kane and B. Richards
58: Backstrom
57: Marleau
56: Heatley, Kovalchuk and St. Louis
+32: Ovechkin
+27: Jeff Schultz, Christian Ehrhoff and Alex Burrows
+25: H. Sedin
+24: Brent Seabrook
+23: D. Sedin, Zach Parise and Backstrom
+22: Marleau and Green
*** Rod Brind'Amour still leads the race for the Green Jacket at -24, one ahead of Shawn Horcoff at -23. Patrick O'Sullivan sits at -22 and Robert Nilsson is -19.
PP Goals:
Twelve: Gaborik and Heatley
Eleven: Stamkos
Ten: Mike Richards, Marleau, Evgeni Malkin and Kovalchuk
Nine: Ryan Smyth
213: Cal Clutterbuck
194: Ryan Callahan
190: Dustin Brown
181: Steve Ott
179: Stephane Robidas
174: Brooks Orpik
160: Mike Fisher
158: Matt Greene
155: Scott Nichol
154: Doug Murray
237: Ovechkin
230: Parise
223: Jeff Carter
197: Crosby
195: Gaborik and Rick Nash
190: Malkin
189: Phil Kessel and Marleau
188: Mike Cammalleri
Final points
If Kovalchuk honestly believes he should be paid close to Crosby, Ovechkin or Malkin then he is disillusioned. He's never won the Hart or the Art Ross trophy and he has never led his team to a playoff victory. His agent should tell him to wake the hell up if he honestly believes he is worthy of $8 million. He is a great scorer, but is way too selfish of a player to be considered with the elite of the elite.
And why did Brent Sutter use Iginla in the shootout last night. He is now 0 for 3 this season and 7 of 26 for his career. He isn't good in shootouts, so why keep using him?


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So for how many times should be as slow?
From the 100 seconds, the preprocessor of the C/C++ compiler will have to expand the includes, the scanner have to tokenize the file, the parser generates an AST (a tree that describe the source code). The AST is visited and is written into GIMPLE. The GCC optimizer optimizes the GIMPLE representation (using every file individually) and later it uses registry allocation and generates the .o (object file) for every source file. At the end, the linking step is made.
All added up to 100 seconds.
In LTO mode, things happen a bit differently: the compiler writes to GIMPLE, and there is no optimization upfront. But later, in the linking step.
As header expansion, template expansion, parsing, linking happen in both cases, it seems that optimizing the 100 files individually (from GIMPLE to .o files) will take let's say 50 seconds. So the non-optimizing step is the other 50 seconds.
And with LTO will take the 300 seconds - parsing/expanding,etc. (=50 seconds) = 250 seconds.
So a program with LTO will basically work like for 5 times as slow (the numbers are fictitious but close to reality).
Anyway, why just 5 times as slow and not 100!? Because LTO is not a naive implementation: before optimizing, is very easy to generate a call-graph based on GIMPLE (it is done by both LTO and non-LTO optimizer). This call graph is the scale of how much LTO "knows many files in the same time". So if a function does its own math routine, and at the end executes a "printf", it doesn't need to think to any other external function than printf. Another part is that LTO has more information to do inlining, so it will do inlining in an extensive scale. Also, it can consolidate more functions (like static constructors), as it knows that at runtime which constructors are and which are their dependency graph.
So LTO is it some times slower than the entire compilation process (I think that the optimizing time, is around 30%, but I don't have real numbers, but if it would be 30%, it would mean that LTO will be a 7 times slower optimizer, with sometimes great effect, sometimes not so much).
At the end I think that LTO has a great value for desktop applications: they have a lot of code that is unused, because most of big applications are loading a lot of frameworks at startup. And I hope that LTO will be a combination that reduce the startup time (as LTO can prove that parts of a function are not used at all, so can be safely removed, and combining of the static constructors told earlier). Performance wise, is a hard thing to say, excluding the developer is not aware of how C++ works. Because in most times the code is using templates (like STL) and this expanded code is already well inlined, so there is no way that LTO gives more information than already specialized templates are.


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Dealspwn.com explains why MiiVerse is one of the Wii U's most important features and deserves more attention.
Dealspwn writes: "Though it failed to light up the UK charts since November 30th, the Wii U has definitely become a talking point. Pundits, developers and gamers are obsessed with its power and specifications; arguing about whether it has enough grunt to be considered a next-gen console. We've been talking about the excellent Gamepad peripheral and how it could potentially lead to some revolutionary games. We've praised the launch lineup - which includes the excellent NSMBU and ZombiU - but complained that Nintendo's new console doesn't yet have a clear killer app.
What most people haven't been talking about, however, is MiiVerse."
I have to say that MiiVerse is a really nice place to be and some of the drawing is absolutely amazing
miiverse is absolutely fantastic......then again all wiiu's features are incredible, nintendo need to do some quick tuning up because we're already know the followers will be copying everything about the wiiu soon.
Yea its great but I hope they can do more with it. Its basically gonna be the Nintendo Fan Art gallary and will eventually get old if they dont update it with more game features. I like the ability to help others in games like ZombiU but most games arent that hard so we wont always have that. The NSMBU in-game thing is cool too.
this is one of the biggest reasons i want to get a Wii U so earlier so i can establish my place in the Nintendo community asap. This is definitely Wii U's killer app imho.