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98 User Reviews of Norwegian Sky Cruise Ship
NCL Sky, Miami, Nassau, Great Stirrup Cay 09/11/09
Ship NCL advertises this ship as the newest in the Miami / Bahamas market. I agree..
This ship is more of the super ship design like the destiny class. If your not looking to go on a 90's era ship this is your cruise to the Bahamas.
Now I need to be critical of NCL. While this is a newer ship, NCL is in third place when it comes to attention to detail. Let me give you some examples.
The stateroom was clean and functional, and you did feel very clean and comfortable.
However.. the bathroom floor was not spotless as you will ALWAYS find it spotless on Carnival and RCCL.
There also were signs of wear and tear, like a scratched up table in the stateroom, oxidation on door locks, cracking in the bathroom sink basin where the water stopper is located, and oversized light bulbs stuffed in the ceiling light pins.
The wear is not major in most cases, but its also a sign that NCL has been ignoring these things.
Bottom line NCL, little things leave big impressions, if the other guys can getit done right so can you.
NCL will need to take her offline at some point to get these things fixed or they will become old ship issues quickly, tainting her newness image.
Especially since this ship has two cruises in every seven day stretch, which is allott of people using and breaking things in short periods of time.
Activities NCL offers a behind the scenes (how a cruise ship works) tour for anyone who wants to go, you don't need to be a frequent cruiser, HOWEVER, NCL charges $55 per person for the pleasure. Come on NCL, are you serious?? I paid my cruise fair, I spent $300 in your casino and $600 more in the spa and on drinks, maybe you could throw this in possibly?
I found this just absolutely chinsy NCL..
The Sky has all your usual ship fun, shuffle board, ping pong, spa, shows, music, comedy, photography, and dance lessons.
Ok so here NCL is exactly the same as its competition and its quality is no better or worse. SO don't base your decision on the activities.
To the good, and there is a lot of good here.
Food Let me be clear, NCL has the BEST food at sea when comparing the value cruise lines in my humble opinion.
I have been on all the major players many times and the food was great!
It was Fresh, different, and had well thought out menus.
I tasted the buffet, room service, and the main dining room and there were dishes I had never had before. Everything was full of flavor, the portions were great, and the service was excellent.
To add to this, what other cruise line has Wonton Soup at midnight? NCL has it. That's right! Wonton Soup. Check it out at the "Great Outdoors" bar. They actually have a full menu available until the very early hours of the night.
A+++++ NCL well done.
Sky, the concept.
I think NCL wants to be different, you can tell in just about everything they do.
The colors in the rooms and the public areas are different and not boring. The bars are set out in new and exciting ways, and the ship in general was thought out in a much different and exciting way then your usual mega ship way.
If you're bored with nornal, NCL is the way to go. I will say the ship is so different I got totally lost at first, not to fear though, they have clear, intelligible signs everywhere and by day two I was fine.
One great difference is this ship has an open terrace area aft called the "Great Outdoors", with a buffet and bar overlooking the water and sky, its a really nice place to eat or drink and have fun.
Costs There is value here, you can sail for as little as $199 per person in an inside cabin, or around $299 for a balcony, of course depending on the date the price will go up. Add $45 per person for port charges.
Premium Food This ship has three premium restaurants, of which I visited none, you see, I still think all food should be included, so I don't go for this gimmick.
However in fairness, you may want to try these out if your into French, Italian or a Steak House. There is a flat cover fee which includes all the food you can eat.
The Drinks As far as alcohol, drinks cost between $4 and $18, depending on what you like.
I ordered two red bull and Grey Goose drinks and it cost me $32. I almost fell out of my chair, so be warned, ask first before you order. NCL you think maybe that's a little too much??
Port Parking This ship is home ported in Miami.
Get ready to pay $20 per day to park your car at the port, so if you live in the area get a friend to drop you off or pick you up, or take a taxi because its outrageous. We can thank Dade County for this, as usual; they soak you when you have no alternatives.
Getting on and off Embarkation and disembarkation was smooth, we chose to carry our luggage out and we were off in 10 Minutes, 20 minutes if you count going thru customs.
Summary All in all, for a 3 or 4 day Bahamas cruise, this is a better deal than what RCCL and Carnival offer by a mile, for now anyways.
I sincerely hope the other carriers get a little more competitive with each other, a nice price war would be great for us cruisers ;-)
Happy cruising.
I will will be posting some pictures soon.
We just returned from our cruise. Overall it was great.
First a bit about the ship. The food was great. We put out the extra bucks and went to dinner in Cagney's Steak House and Il Adiago and they were both worth the extra money. The service was super and the food wonderful. The buffets were good also. When the inside buffet was busy, we just went outside without a wait.
We had a balcony cabin, as well as a handicapped room for a friend of ours. NCL took very good care of our friend. The room was huge, especially the bath. Perfect for a wheelchair. Our balcony room was perfect. I will never stay in an inside cabin again.
The shows were okay. We cruised Royal Caribbean five years ago and the adult games were similar. I would think by now things would change. The comedian was very funny. The broadway type shows were cheesy and a waste of time. The partying at the pool at night was fun. We always found something to do if we didn't care for the shows. There are so many things to doon the ship that if we didn't like what we saw in one place, we would just go someplace else.
Surprisingly we did well in the Casino. The machines go from $.01 on up. There were plenty of tables to choose from.
Our overall ship experience was good and we would cruise on the Sky again.
My only suggestion would be to do something about the entertainment. The cruise director as Austin Powers was a bit much. I think a dueling piano bar for adults would be great fun.
As for the ports, Freeport was pathetic. Where we docked was all industrial. Cargo containers, sand piles -- it was just awful. Nothing pretty about it at all.
We took the $39.00 NCL shore tour. Driving around was sad. They had lots of devastation from past hurricanes, and the homes are in very poor condition. These people are very poor. The first market was dirty and there was no paper in the toilets. Bring you own, I guess. It wasn't worth the stop as far as we were concerned. The second place was better. There were 86 shops and a casino across the street. Much nicer. The last stop was the beach. 20 minutes for picture taking and a drink.
The next day we went to Nassau. The port was much better. We decided to take a taxi on our own and went over to the Atlantis Resort. We shared a taxi and paid $4.00 per person. We were there in five minutes. It's a beautiful place. We walked around for about an hour. I'm sure we didn't see even half the place. We took a taxi back for $4.00 each again. Right across from the place where we docked there was a straw market. Lots and lots of stores. Something for everyone. We really enjoyed that.
The last day we went to NCL's island. It was very nice, although you need to get there early to get a lounge chair. Otherwise you'll have to sit on a sand chair. They had bar service, a BBQ, music, volleyball and you could also rent floats, snorkel equipment or take a parasail ride. The food is free, but of course everything else has a charge. We paid $18.99 for two foam floats for the day. The beach is nice and the water was crystal clear.
On the last day getting off the ship couldn't have gone more smoothly. We opted for the easy walk off. We took our own luggage, and went through Customs in about two seconds. It was perfect.
So overall, we had a blast. We would have hoped the ports would have been better, but didn't think about the hurricane damage. Shame on us being from SW Florida.
We are planning another cruise and will go with NCL again. But next time we'll do more research into the ports.
I just got back from a HORRIBLE cruise. I have been on many cruises, this is my first time on NCL. So I thought we could spend Christmas on a cruise for a change. It almost ruined our Christmas. It was the WORST! What they say and what they do is not the same. The staff were SLOW, LAZY, and the food wasn't good at all. We ate the same thing EVERYDAY!
The stateroom was so small that we did not have enough room to put our luggage. The room is supposed to sleep 3, but the sofa bed was set up poorly, that we couldn't go to the door or the bathroom without tripping over the bed. We went to the reception desk to complain. The girl didn't seem to really care about our complaint, so we asked to speak to the manager. The manager told us the same, that all the rooms are set up like that because it is a smaller boat. The boat is fully booked so that they can't change the room for us.
The dining room service was just as bad. The service wasmessy and the food was blaaaa. One morning we went to the Crossing Dining Room for breakfast and found that we had to wait around 20 mins. There were 20 to 30 people waiting for a table, but the dining room was empty around the middle. I asked the hostess why the long wait when there are empty tables. She replied that they don't use that part of the dining room for breakfast. We definitely won't book with that company again. BEWARE of NCL.
So, I had wanted to go on a cruise for the longest time, and while it was a wish of mine, I didn't want to have spend a lot of money on something I wasn't sure if I was really going to enjoy or not. So, I opted for a short 3-night cruise sailing out of Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, on the Norwegian Sky.
As we live in New Jersey, we decided to take a flight to arrive to Miami the same day as the cruise was sailing. Some of our family picked us up at the airport, and we went to lunch, and then we were on our way. We got to the port at around 1:45pm, and the embarkation process was very easy. In a matter of 15 minutes, all pictures had been taken, credit card infomation was processed, and we were on the ship! There were a total of three in our party; all different ages - my 68-year-old widowed mother, myself (a 39-year-old mom of one), and my little 11-month-old baby boy. All employees of NCL, both in the terminal before boarding, and once we goton the ship, were very helpful and accomodating with us since I had the baby stroller, diaper bag, baby, etc. I liked that a lot.
Once we boarded, we went straight to our stateroom, #6210, on the Oslo deck. Our room was an oceanview, and it was a perfect size for the three of us. The only real complaint I have is that the layout of the deck is very uncomfortable because it is not elevator-accesible. To get to the stateroom, we had to take an elevator to the seventh floor, and then, fold up the stroller, and carry everything down one flight of stairs to the deck where our stateroom was. The stateroom was not overly large, but it wasn't outrageously small, either. We had two single beds, and a pack 'n play for the baby set up in the middle between the two beds. I did not feel cramped, nor did I feel like we were knocking into one another at any time. The room was very pleasant, and very clean, with a good amount of towels, and complimentary toiletries in the bathroom.
Our luggage did not take long to arrive to our room, and once it came, we put it inside, and went out to walk around, and to become acquainted with our home for the weekend. We went to the Buffet on the Pool Deck, Deck 11, to see what was going on. Lots of people were milling about at the pool, and we went to Il Adagio, where pizza and pasta were being served. The pizza was fresh out of the oven, and the pasta was being made to order. We grabbed small plates of pasta, and grabbed a table, and sat around talking, just taking everything in.
At 4:30pm, we were scheduled for the obligatory muster drill, so before the drill, we were instructed to go to our stateroom, and grab the life preservers, and go to our assigned stations. When we got to our Station C, starboard, it was so hot and muggy, and no one had really arrived yet, just a handful of passengers, and the crew member in charge of leading the drill. When he saw me with the baby, he suggested that I go inside, so that we would be comfortable, and to not worry about it. So, we went inside, and sat in the Atrium, on the International Deck, by the windows, in very comfortable bamboo furniture, and patiently waited for the start and completion of the mandatory drill. One thing has to be said for NCL - this a cruise for anyone. In the Atrium, seated next to us, obviously also sitting out on the uncomfortably hot muster drill was a couple approximately in their 80's. There was another young family with four children, ourselves, and a very loud, very drunk bachelorette party. Anyway, finally, the drill was over, and we were free to do whatever (sorry, no pun intended).
We returned to the Pool Deck for the Sail-A-Way, and got a table by the window in the Garden Cafe. We finally pulled out of port at around 5:30pm.At around 6:30pm, we headed back to our room to change for dinner, and I could definitely feel that the ship was moving. My baby was in his pack 'n play, and kept swaying from side to side, and not voluntarily. Needless to say, both my mother and myself got very seasick and had to get some Dramimine from the Reception Desk so that we could enjoy the rest of the trip. We went to dinner at the Palace Dining Room, but a lot of the crew members could not walk straight, even they were pitching from side to side. We half-heartedly ordered our meal, but my son was tired and cranky, so I just asked our waiter to prepare our meals to take back to our room. When we got to our room, it took all of ten minutes for my son to go to sleep, and quite honestly, I was out like a light very soon after.
The next morning, we woke up bright and early, and when I looked out of the window, we were docking in Nassau, and I could see the beautiful Atlantis hotel to my left. We took showers, got dressed, and went to eat breakfast so that we could disembark as soon as possible. We had not made plans to go on any shore excursions, as we just really wanted to go shopping, and be at our leisure to come and go as we wished. Good move! We went straight to the Straw Market, and were pretty much there all morning. I found the prices to be actually even better than the prices I have found on Canal Street in Chinatown, in NYC. After an arduous morning of shopping, we went back on the ship to eat lunch, and then got off again to buy some booze and some jewelry (neither of these two items were purchased at the Straw Market). Happy with our purchases, and tired by the sun and the walking, we were back on the ship by 4:30pm, and took our Dramamine just in case. No need to worry, the seasickness that we had felt the night before did not repeat itself.
We got ready, and got dressed up, and decided to go to dinner at the Palace Dining Room. We were seated immediately, and service was great. The waiter brought my son a very fancy serving of strawberry and banana yogurt, and he loved eating that, along with the very yummy rolls that were in the bread basket. I ordered the scallops appetizer, and as my entree, the lobster and grouper dish, and both were very tasty, and impeccably presented. My mother ordered the absolutely most delicious appetizer ever; watermelon with fried feta cheese. One would never think of pairing those two together, but it was DELISH!!!!! I can't recall what her main entree was, but I do remember that she was very pleased. For dessert, I had the creme brulee, and coffee, and then, since it was my birthday, I was presented with a birthday cake, along with four or five crew members singing "Happy Birthday" to me. It was a very nice way to end my birthday.
After dinner, I had every intention of going out to explore the ship some more, but I went to our room to lay with my son while he fell asleep, and the next thing you knew, it was the next day.
Sunday was our day to spend at Grand Stirrup Cay, and I wanted to get as much sun as possible. I had made an appointment to have a hot stone massage at the Waves Spa before going ashore, so I got up at 7:00 to get going. My massage ended at 9:00am. By the time I got back to our room, both Abuelita and the baby were ready. We went to eat breakfast at the Cafe Garden buffet, and then made our way to the private island. By the time we got there, it was no later than 10:30am, and there was not an umbrella that was available, or empty lounge chair to be found. We decided to sit in a small grove of palm trees that had pretty decent shade, and that had lots of hammocks. It was a bit of a walk to the water, but that was all right. We went into the water for a while, and just hung out, but it was too hot. My mother went to make the line at the buffet once lunch was being served, but nothing looked appetizing to me. I decided that I would wait until we got back on the ship to eat. Because of the sun and the heat, we decided to head back to the ship at approximately 1:30pm. We got back to the ship, and my mother decided to take a nap while my son slept. I took the opportunity to go the lunch buffet, and go to the pool to get some sun. Boy, did I ever!!!! I was tanned to a crisp! But, it was nice that it wasn't overly crowded since everyone was at the beach.
After sunning, we got ready for dinner, and decided to go to the Crossings Dining Room. We got a table with a beautiful view, and ate the most delicious meal. There is one crew member who I have to mention, Claudia Aching, originally from Peru. She is one of the most attentive, caring, nicest employees I met on this cruise. She really made the difference for me. All of the crew members were very nice, but I had the opportunity to have her services on four different occasions, and she is one of the best examples in customer service.
Anyway, after dinner, we went to the Reception Desk to get our luggage tags, and went back to our room to pack, and get ready for the next day, which was our last day of the cruise.
On Monday morning, when I opened my eyes and looked out of my window, I was disappointed to realize that we were back in Miami and that the cruise was over. At the same time, I felt a little relief to know that everything had gone smoothly, and that nothing bad had happened.
Disembarkation was cake. We chose to get off the ship at the next-to-last group as our family would not be picking us up at the terminal until 9:00am. Yes, the line for immigration was long, but nothing that wasn't manageable. They didn't ask one single question, and let us through right away. We got our bags from the carousel and wheeled them out and were back on "terra firma" by 9:10am.
Would I go on another cruise? Absolutely, in a heart beat. I found it to be one of the best values for your money around. I plan to do a couple of things differently: 1.) Go with more people, and hopefully someone around my age 2.) Go on a longer voyage - three nights was too short!!!
I just got back from a HORRIBLE cruise. I have been on many cruises, but took my granddaughter for her FIRST cruise on the NCL Sky. It was the WORST!
What they say and what they do is not the same. The staff were SLOW, LAZY, and the food wasn't good at all. We ate the same thing EVERYDAY! This included hot dogs, hamburgers, and fries.
The buffet was a joke! It was like a realy bad Morrisons. We had to wait over 30 minutes for a burger, and at the buffet, have you ever?
The ship had a bad layout. It was in dry dock, for what?
We didn't see our room steward till the second day! No towel animals EVER! Anyone even THINKING about booking with them, DON'T DO IT!
We just completed a 10 day cruise of the Hawaiian Islands. The service on this ship was terrible.
Our cabin was dirty -- hair on shelves in bathroom, no toilet tissue, no washclothes. Shelves in staterooms were very dusty and dirty. Very little storage space.
We could not get a glass of juice after the morning breakfast. No trays available to carry food from buffet area. Very limited late night snacks.
Terrible time getting in to dine in the free style "free" dining rooms. Every day we were told only times available were either 5:30PM or after 8:30PM. Nothing available in between. Service in Specialty dining rooms was better, but of course you paid extra for it.
Thought if anyone else reads these for a little insight this might be helpful. We managed to only spend $250 on alcohol, but I heard a lot of horror stories on disembark about bill running thousands. Stick to the buckets of beer, good value. KEEP your receipt, you'll need it to get the 5 bucks back deposit on the helmut bucket. If you want wine with dinner, consider buying the package at the start.
Food: Head chef is Indian. The curry dishes are amazing, dont be scared of the vegetarian dishes even at the Palace and Crossings. The fresh fruit is the 2nd best part of the main buffet. Going to buffet at peak times is like Hometown Buffet meets Denny's. Use as last resort. Desserts are worth the calories. Secret: Il Adagio (the pay extra italian place at the back of ship opposite the buffet) has an omlette and waffle station for breakfast and pasta and pizza for lunch FREE. Tables are plentiful and if you want extras go get them at the Great Outdoor cafe (the "mini buffet").
If you have a day at sea get a lounge chair early(think 9am). Best quiet place - outside the Outrigger Lounge, theres a "hidden" door to the left of the entrance that takes u outside. The bartender there will also give you hints on how to win the Resort Quest contest on the last nite, so hang out by the bar until you get your number.
The entertainment was the best part of the cruise! Go see the shows. Also, we made the mistake of thinking that the luggage we set outside by midnight per instructions the last night wouldn't be seen again until the airport, not so. You will get it back before you head to airport, so if you need to put some stuff back in there that can't be checked you can.
The cruise ship smelled like raw sewage.
The staff was unprepared for passengers upon arrival.
I will never cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line again!
I was disappointed in Norwegian Cruise Lines, as I was told the room for me and my 2 teenage sons was as big as a Holiday Inn Hotel room. That was a lie. It was half the size of a normal hotel room. I had to climb over my son's bed (pull out couch bed). It was tiny -- the size of a little girl's play house bed. So I climb over his bed. His legs get scrunched up, while I'm going to the bathroom, or getting the door. The room was tiny! It ruined the first part of our trip. We were given on our 3rd night of the cruise the same room on the 8th deck (which is where I was supposed to have been in the first place), and was what I had requested when making my reservation. The new room the manager offered us was a little better in that it had one big bed for 2 instead of 2 little tiny kids' beds and a pullout sofa bed. Oh, it did still have the tiny sofa bed too, but they turned it sothat we could get to the bathrooom if we needed too, but we still had to climb on top of the bed to get there. The only problem with the room they wanted to give us was that the AC wasn't working properly, and they offered us a fan. The room downstairs was ice cold, which we liked. So, in the end I stayed in that room and my kids went up to the 8th floor room (so in the end we were satisfied), not enough to take another cruise with NCL though.
By the way, to get this new room, i had to first complain to a manager at the front desk. She said sorry Charlie, nothing she could do, except report it to her manager and she'd get back to me. So Ginny, the other manager, told me to come to her office. She said there's nothing anyone could do for me. The next day I got mad and asked to speak to her manager, a man. He listened to me and offered me the other room I told you about, but when I said the AC's not working right, he got all upset, and was like "that's all we can do for you mam; we've offered you 2 rooms for the price of one." We took it, fan and all.
In all parts of the ship, the service was very good -- not excellent -- but good (I have been on better ships with better service though), but all in all no complaints there.
The food was Ugh!! It was very bad, except in the dining rooms that you pay extra for. Cagney Steak House cost us $157 dollars plus extra for a tip. The tip was included but the service was very good. The food there was high quality, and very good steaks. The desserts were good too.
In the Palace, the food was horrid. The lobster (they say it is from Maine) didn't look like it or taste like it, and was pre-frozen. It was very tough. That being said, I did have two tails. The service was very good though, and the dining room manager was very nice and accommodating to us.
The Crossings for breakfast was good. It was not the best of food, but pretty decent for breakfast fare. No complaints there and the service was exceptionally good!
Room service was lame. The service always takes one hour. Sometimes it was quicker for just drinks. They had a lame menu -- turkey sub with like one slice of turkey in it; a BLT that was made with oldddd bacon; sogy bread; chicken fingers that were cold, not even warm; and pizza that was horrible, a small round one that a kid could make. It was just not good.
On the last night of the cruise we were hungry and wanted something to eat. Bam, room service said since it's the last night of the cruise there is no room service. What?????? That didn't seem right, so I called the front desk and they did get me some food, but it took one hour or more, and the food was old and cold.
The entertainment was lame as well. There was a corny commedian (frankly, I could've been more funny). Some of the music sounded nice though and on the all white night my kids had a good time. The teen room was lame also, and my kids wouldn't even go in there. It was too boring.
The pools were a definite disappointment. They were small and didn't look appealing, so we didn't even go in them once. And it was the same for my teens, and that's the main reason I was going on the cruise -- to swim.
Would I go on another NCL cruise? No, I wouldn't due mainly to the room size.
Bon voyage!
The service on the ship was very poor. We had to wait for up to 45 minutes to be seated for dinner. Reservations should not be allowed on freestyle cruising.
The food was outrageous. It was obviously food that was left over from previous dinners, especially the appetizers. The leg of lamb dinner was questionable. I have never had leg of lamb served with baked beans!
Appetizers were bizarre; i.e. short-rip crepes, bruschetta with tortilla chips instead of toasted French Bread! Our dinners took sometimes up to 2-1/2 hours -- the service was that slow!
I was very disappointed in the whole cruise. The only thing that my husband and I liked about it was the itinerary.


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News: World
Letter to the Family of the Palestinian Sniper Who Killed David Damelin
Posted byon 02.15.08 |
This for me is one of the most difficult letters I will ever have to write. My name is Robi Damelin, I am the mother of David who was killed by your son. I know he did not kill David because he was David, if he had known him he could never have done such a thing... I also feel that if he understood that taking the life of another may not be the way and that if he understood the consequences of his act, he could see that a non-violent solution is the only way for both nations to live together in peace. READ MORE >
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subset: commoncrawl


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Flood Auto getting on track
Flood Auto Group has gone 2-2 in its first four Connie Mack games this summer, and the second loss was tough to take. Cranston beat Flood 14-4 on Saturday.
On Monday, Flood returned to the field for a non-league game against West Warwick. While it wouldn't help in the standings, it was a chance to get back on track.
Flood didn't waste it.
On the heels of the rough showing against Cranston, Flood came out swinging and pounded 17 hits on its way to a 15-6 victory over the West Warwick squad.
"It was definitely a good day," said manager Bryan Leahey. "We saw some pitchers with some good pop on the ball. It builds up that little bit of confidence going forward. We were just trying to get the bats going. We've been a little slow lately."
Flood certainly wasn't slow on Monday.
West Warwick took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Flood's Ron Gaynor led off the bottom of the first with a single, and after a brief lightning delay, Flood went to work. Gaynor stole second and scored when Kevin Sutyla reached on an error. Brady Chant and Billy Keegan followed with RBI singles before Joe DeGiulio brought a run home with a sacrifice fly. When West Warwick finally got out of the inning, 10 men had come to the plate, and the lead was 4-1.
West Warwick came back with two in the second, but Flood never let the lead slip. Keegan had an RBI double in the second to make it 5-3. In the third, Ryan Rotondo and Eric Edwards had base hits before Rotondo scored on a wild pitch and Edwards raced home on an error. Flood tacked on another run in the fourth on an RBI single by Dan Thadeio.
In the fifth, Flood broke the game open with seven runs. Josh Rego started the burst with a base hit, and Alex Cerbo followed with a single. After Matt Ciociola was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Rotondo singled through the drawn-in infield to score a run.
Gaynor followed with an RBI single, before Thadeio hit a line drive into center field. West Warwick's Andrew In couldn't make the play but was able to throw to second for a force-out. Ciociola scored on the play.
An error on a ball off the bat of Sutyla brought another run home before Chant tripled to deep right-center to plate two more. Keegan then brought Chant home with a double.
"Player one through 20, every single one of them is a great athlete and great kid," Leahey said. "They bring a lot of goods to the table for us so it was good to see everybody get their at-bats and get their swings. You can see a lot of them thinking. They're starting to get their baseball sense going, which is good to see."
Because the game was non-league, the teams agreed to play one more half-inning despite the 10-run lead. Flood reliever Matt Colucci allowed a run on a sacrifice fly but avoided further trouble and induced a groundout to end the game.
Jake Sendley started for Flood and went 3.2 innings.
"We wanted to give both of those guys some work," Leahey said. "With us, it's just about the development. Right now, we're just working on figuring out who can do what for us, try to establish our roles going forward for the playoffs."
Keegan led the way at the plate for Flood, going 3-for-4 with three RBI. Chant also drove in three while Gaynor went 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Christian Habershaw added two hits.
Flood will be in action today with a 5:30 p.m. home game against Tiverton. The goal going forward is to keep improving and to jell for the playoffs.
"We definitely have good chemistry with this team," Leahey said. "We've got the sophomores back from last year and they've taken a little bit of a leadership role. The freshmen are jumping right in and mixing well with everybody. Hopefully that can continue for us. That's been the big thing for us – it's always chemistry with these guys every year."


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Driver VA Real Estate & Homes For Sale
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Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Easy regular expression development
Every now and then, you find one of those utilities that makes you smack your forehead and say, "Now, why didn't I think of that?!" Such it was today when I found Edi Weitz's Regex Coach. A while ago, I downloaded Edi's well-written portable Perl-compatible regular expression library for Common Lisp (CL-PPCRE). The CL-PPCRE web page has a link to Regex Coach, which I glanced at once, but I didn't really read very well. At least to me, the name "Regex Coach" suggests a utility that will help you learn about regular expressions and how they match and parse strings, and so I probably glanced at it and moved on (I'm sure that Edi will nicely point out that it's all there in plain English--on a German web page, even--and I should have my eyes checked). In any case, it does that, but there's much more to this utility than a simple educational session. Simply, Regex Coach allows you to develop regular expressions incrementally (sound familiar with Lisp?).
I don't know about you, but I frequently have trouble when I'm writing out complex regular expressions. The syntax is terse and cryptic. There are multiple ways to specify various matching terms. It seems like I'm continually tweaking my expression string and then re-running my program with some sample input to verify that things are being matched the way that I intend, particularly for some odd corner cases of input strings. If I'm matching a really long expression, this can be quite involved. Now, Lisp's REPL makes this tons easier than it would be in a batch-compiled language like Java, C, or C++, but it's still slower than it needs to be.
The absolute genius (yes, Edi, you're a genius) of the Regex Coach is that it presents you with two main input fields, one for the regular expression string and a second for a sample string that you're trying to match. Given the inputs, the GUI graphically highlights portions of the sample string that match portions of the regular expression. Everything works interactively. Change the regular expression or the input string and the highlighting changes to suit. There is even a pane to single-step through the matching process where you can see how the regex engine matches various pieces of input in relation to each term in the regular expression.
Simply put, this utility is fantastic and will be a huge timesaver from here on out whenever I need to create a regular expression. Best of all, Regex Coach is written in Common Lisp (Lispworks) and uses Edi's CL-PPCRE library for all its matching, so you know that whatever syntax you come up with will be compatible with CL-PPCRE when you paste your regular expression into your Lisp code. Regex Coach works on both Linux (Motif-based) and Windows.
Did I mention that Edi is a genius?
Yes, very similar. I hadn't realized that re-builder was in Emacs until you mentioned it. Regex Coach supports Perl-compatible regexes with compatibility with the CL-PPCRE library, so it's not quite a functional equivalent, but the basic idea is almost identical. Regex Coach also offers more than the basic regex highlighting that re-builder supplies, but that's the main feature and the one of most value for me. Now I know how to generate my elisp regexes!
Another good tool for developing Regular Expressions is The Regulator. It shows all of the matches in a third pane that you can click on one of them to highlight it in the input pane.
It is written in .Net and somewhat .Net-centric, but has proven itself very useful in developing for .Net's beast of a regex library.
There is also an option for ECMA Script which from my two seconds of research I believe is Perl compatible. Anyone know for sure?
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Real-World Review
2014 BMW 4 Series Convertible: Real World Review
Choosing a convertible over a coupe almost always results in compromise, and that's true of the 2014 BMW 4 Series Convertible. New for 2014 and based on the 4 Series Coupe, this new BMW convertible is more expensive than the coupe and is also heavier, slower, less fuel-efficient, and smaller in terms of trunk space and rear-seat room. But hey, the top goes down with the push of a single button, and there's plenty to be said for letting the sunshine in on a bright summer day.
Plentiful Options
Three versions of the new 4 Series Convertible are on sale. Save money and gas by choosing the 428i, and if you want BMW's available all-wheel-drive system, the 428i xDrive model is the only way to go.
I tested the 435i Convertible, which wears a base price of $55,825; that's $8,900 more than a 435i Coupe. After adding the Luxury Line trim, Saddle Brown leather, Mineral White paint, a set of 19-inch multi-spoke aluminum wheels, and several option packages containing upgrades such as satellite radio, smartphone integration, a navigation system, a reversing camera, a neck-warming system and more, the sticker price rose to nearly $70,000.
The 435i Convertible is equipped with a turbocharged 3.0-liter 6-cylinder engine making 300 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque. It powers the rear wheels through a standard 8-speed automatic transmission, and an automatic stop/start system shuts the engine off when the car is idling in traffic or at an intersection in an effort to improve gas mileage.
If you want a traditional manual gearbox for the 2014 BMW 4 Series Convertible, you're out of luck. Instead, what you do get is Driving Dynamics Control: BMW's way of letting you select an appropriate vehicle setup to match your driving style. Choices include the Eco Pro, Comfort, Sport and Sport+ driving modes. The driver chooses the setting, and for my driving I selected the Sport mode, in part because this selection shuts off the rather rough automatic stop/start feature.
Large, but Still Nimble
Despite a hefty, 4,050-lb curb weight -- nearly 500 pounds more than a 435i Coupe -- the 435i Convertible is a quick car and accelerates effortlessly. BMW says it will get to 60 miles per hour in 5.4 seconds, and that feels right by the seat of my shorts. Clearly, I spent lots of time exploring the 435i's performance potential during a rousing drive in the Santa Monica Mountains northwest of Los Angeles, extracting 17.8 miles per gallon from a car that the Environmental Protection Agency says ought to get 20 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway.
Thanks to my test car's Luxury Line trim, it was not equipped with the sport seats that are installed in the Sport Line and M Sport Line models, so this example of the 2014 BMW 4 Series Convertible didn't pinch my sizable midsection. The testing day was a scorcher, though, and the 435i Convertible isn't available with ventilated seats, which results in a sweaty backside. Honestly, I can't think of anyone who can afford to spend almost $70,000 on a new car putting up with this type of discomfort.
BMW has planned well for top-down driving in chilly weather, though. If you get the Cold Weather package, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and a neck-warming system keep the cabin warm and toasty. Power the windows up and install the optional wind blocker, and a 435i is a genuine 3-season convertible. Better yet, the power retractable hardtop is insulated and soundproofed, and with the 428i version's available xDrive all-wheel drive, you can use a 2014 BMW 4 Series Convertible year-round in any climate.
Raise the Roof
With the push of a button, the roof folds into the trunk in about 20 seconds and can be used at speeds up to 11 mph. This action erases nearly 5.3 cu ft. of trunk space, but when the top is dropped, the 4 Series Convertible still provides 7.8 cu ft. of room, which BMW reckons is good enough for luggage or golf clubs. While that is less than an Audi A5/S5 Cabriolet, which supplies 10.2 cu ft. thanks to its traditional soft-top design, the BMW's trunk is larger than the Audi's when the roofs are raised.
Both the Audi and the BMW are equipped with folding rear seats and a ski pass-through to expand cargo room as is necessary. A power assistance function raises the BMW's folded roof for improved access to items kept in the trunk, representing a fairly complex solution to an unavoidable problem. Audi's approach of using a lighter, simpler and more compact fabric on their roofs might still be the best way to design a convertible.
Made for Cruising
As for how the 435i Convertible drives -- well, it accelerates, handles and brakes like a 435i Coupe loaded down with a couple of pro football players. Especially in the Luxury Line trim, this is a cruiser, a quick and comfortable luxury car for rolling up a sun-drenched coast. If the wind buffeting is too much, power all four windows up using a single, convenient switch to dramatically reduce the level of irritation.
The car accommodates friends, too, and while full-sized adults might find rear-seat room snug, there's no shortage of headroom with the top down, is there? In that respect, a 4 Series Coupe simply cannot beat the 2014 4 Series Convertible.


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This photo provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office, via The Buffalo News shows Theresa Anderson. Anderson, 58, faces 14 to 17 1/2 years in prison when she is sentenced Oct. 8 for running a 12-year operation that monopolized crack cocaine sales in her neighborhood. Police say she sold drugs from numerous homes she owned and employed her grown children and close acquaintances. (AP Photo/U.S. Attorney's Office, via The Buffalo News)
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — For a dozen years, Theresa Anderson was the queen of Deshler Street. The unassuming woman owned five small wooden houses along the poor side street, filling them with her children, grandchildren and other relatives who kept their lots tidy, watched out for trouble and pitched in with the family business.
That the family business was selling crack cocaine at all hours of the day and night didn't seem to matter to some of the neighbors, who say their little street on Buffalo's impoverished east side has actually gotten less secure since SWAT teams stormed in and shut down Anderson's drug operation last year.
"I miss Theresa, I really do," said Debra Walker, who has lived on Deshler for more than nine years. When Anderson was in control, "I actually felt safer. Now my place has been broken into."
The 58-year-old Anderson, who is set to be sentenced this week to up to 17 ½ years for conspiracy, was notable for her ordinary appearance. Prosecutors say that's part of what made her an insidious criminal. And neighbors say that's part of why she and her family are remembered more for being valued neighbors than being drug peddlers.
Plywood now covers the windows of Anderson's houses, some of which sit side-by-side among the street's 20 occupied homes and overgrown vacant lots, giving Deshler Street even more a feel of abandonment.
Neighbor Deanna Gresko said prostitutes and their johns have now invaded the street, something that didn't happen when Anderson and her family were around.
"There was people here. There was people watching," Gresko said, adding that Anderson "wasn't a gang-banger drug dealer who would threaten you."
Anderson had no reason not to be nice to those who didn't interfere with her business, said Common Council member David Franczyk, who represents the area.
"It's a sad commentary," he said. "It's like the old days of Prohibition when you looked for the mob to keep order on your street. … But it's a false sense of security. She's bringing criminals into the neighborhood."
Anderson admitted running the Anderson Drug Trafficking Organization, a fittingly business-sounding name for an operation that boasted loyal employees, multiple locations and squashed competition.
When SWAT teams raided the Deshler Street drug houses and several others Anderson owned on nearby streets in February 2012, police swept up not only Anderson but also her common-law husband, three adult daughters, two of the daughters' boyfriends, Anderson's son and a granddaughter. All have since pleaded guilty to drug charges.
"It was a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week operation for the last 12 years, and literally hundreds of grams of crack cocaine were sold," U.S. Attorney William Hochul said.
Michelle Spahn, acting resident agent-in-charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Buffalo, said drugs were stored in and sold from Anderson's homes, and lookouts patrolled the street to alert Anderson to suspected police.
"It was kind of like a monopoly," she said. "They used intimidation and violence …to make sure that the competition didn't come into her neighborhood."
In all, Anderson agreed to forfeit 10 houses, most purchased for less than $10,000, along with $52,000 in cash as part of a plea agreement in June. Eventually, the houses may be sold. As part of the plea, the government is also putting a $1.25 million lien against her and plans to seize anything they can find of hers until that amount is satisfied.
Anderson's lawyer, Robert Ross Fogg, did not return calls from The Associated Press before sentencing. He said in court this year that she pleaded guilty to ease the legal burden on her family members.
"Drugs, they take hold of you," he said. "They take your soul, and they take your mind."
Dannette Coleman moved to Deshler in February, a year after the raid. She has thought about trying to buy the boarded home next door that Anderson owned.
"I heard there was a lot of drug activity but that she was a nice lady," Coleman said. "That she took care of her community."
Spahn is not surprised by that perception in the community.
"The public in general perceives that there is a stereotype" of a drug trafficker, she said. "When they see her picture, they would probably be very surprised."


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Car Review
2012 Toyota Camry: First Drive
Test 1
The Toyota Camry has long been the automotive equivalent of eating mac and cheese while wrapped in a warm blanket in front of a cozy fireplace. Even as the uncertainties and hardships of the past decade have taken their toll on our collective psyches, that comfort quotient is one of the main reasons the Camry has perennially remained America's best-selling car.
While maintaining all that down-home comfort, the completely redesigned 2012 Camry is more than just a familiar face. Representing the car's seventh generation after 28 years in the U.S., it manages to inject a bit of excitement, style and additional value that promise to make this iteration at least as popular as those that came before it.
Edgier Styling in the Same Size Package
The current generation Camry has suffered from a case of generic design, with an interior that has started to feel ho-hum compared to the competition. And with intense challengers ranging from the Kia Optima to the Hyundai Sonata, and the Ford Fusion to the Chevy Malibu, the battle for mid-size family car dominance has never been hotter.
With the 2012 Camry, Toyota appears to have borrowed some of the best exterior design elements from other vehicles. There certainly are bits of Acura, VW and Subaru in there, all combined into a package that looks classy and sleek. Toyota calls this new design language "rational tech-dynamism." One effect of these changes is that the car looks smaller, yet it has exactly the same dimensions as the current generation.
On the inside, Toyota looked to the elegance of a leather saddle for inspiration, with all trim levels now sporting high class stitching and an overlapping panel appearance on the dash.
Knobs, buttons and controls are intuitive and within easy reach. The 2012 Camry also has the option of including Toyota's new Entune connected mobility package, which uses your Bluetooth-enabled smartphone to do things like play Pandora radio, search movies and buy movie tickets, locate restaurants and make reservations, conduct internet searches on Bing and more.
Better Fuel Economy, Especially in the Hybrid
The 2012 Camry will initially come in the standard four flavors: LE, SE, XLE, and Hybrid. At some point in the future, Toyota will also sell an L trim, but with only bare-bones equipment, the L is aimed primarily at fleet sales. Where the Hybrid once had only one trim level, Toyota will offer the new version in LE and XLE grades.
Both the 178 horsepower four-cylinder and 268 HP V6 engines are carryovers from the previous generation. However, Toyota was able to significantly improve fuel economy through overall vehicle weight reductions, aerodynamic improvements, and new low-rolling resistance tires.
Toyota estimates that the four-cylinder powerplant, found standard on the LE and XLE, will return 25 miles per gallon in the city, 35 MPG on the highway and average around 28 MPG in combined driving. That's compared to current generation's 22-city/32-highway/26-combined MPG for the current generation.
Likewise, on the V6-found standard on the sporty SE and as an upgrade on the LE and XLE, Toyota estimates a modest 1-2 mpg improvement of 21-city/30-highway/25-combined mileage.
While those numbers are up from past models, the Hybrid trim is where the fuel economy improvements become more drastic. In the Hybrid, a variant of the four-cylinder engine found on the conventional models is paired with the company's well-developed Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) system. Several enhancements to that drivetrain result in a very good estimated 43-city/39-highway/41-combined MPG for the LE and 41-city/38-highway/40-combined MPG for the XLE. That's a substantial improvement compared to the 31-city/35-highway/33-combined MPG of the current generation.
Over the course of a 25-mile loop of both in-town and moderate speed country road driving in "Eco" mode, we were able to return about 43 mpg in the Hybrid XLE, even better than Toyota's prediction for that kind of driving.
Performance Remains Comfortable
For 2012, moderate changes to the Camry's suspension and aerodynamics have slightly altered the car's driving dynamics, all for the better. This is especially true in the Hybrid, where weight distribution between front and rear is more even. The suspension performed comfortably and expectedly in emergency maneuvers, with the only hiccup arising from the sport-tuned SE with the heavier V6 engine. In that vehicle, the extra weight in the front end made for some unexpected roll in tight corners.
While the car handled twists and turns in relative comfort, the standard front seats lack appropriate bolstering, which allows average-sized drivers and passengers to unnervingly shift around in their seats in those same corners. The effect can be rather distracting if you choose to drive the LE or XLE aggressively. The SE, on the other hand, comes with sport seats that have much higher levels of bolstering to keep drivers planted.
Improved Pricing For Upgraded Trims
Certainly the Camry has always had a strong value equation, but price drops in the upgraded SE, XLE and Hybrid models for 2012 make those trims even more enticing. The base LE will start at $22,500, about $200 less than the current LE, not including destination. The SE will start at $23,000 for the four-cylinder model, almost $1,000 less than the 2011 model, and the SE V6 will start at $26,640, around the same price as the outgoing Camry SE. The XLE with a four-cylinder will start at $24,725, $2000 less than the 2011 XLE, and the XLE V6 will cost $29,845, around the same price as the current car. It's no wonder that Toyota expects the better-equipped models to make up a significantly higher portion of sales.
With consumers more focused on fuel economy than ever, and interest in electric vehicles growing by the day, Toyota has decided to bring the Camry Hybrid into more of a mainstream pricing bracket than in the previous generation. By making the Hybrid available in two trim levels, the barrier to entry for the hybrid has been lowered. The Hybrid LE will start at $25,900 and the Hybrid XLE at $27,400, whereas the current generation Hybrid costs $28,200.
The 2012 Camry is still doesn't qualify as a "sexy" vehicle, but with the changes made for 2012, it's certainly more handsome than ever. In any event, when it comes to kind of car, it's not really about how the vehicle looks; even with a few quirks, the 7th generation Camry offers Toyota value and quality in spades, intended for families that yearn for stability, dependability and safety.


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Americans Look for New Cheese Options
The American palate is seeking out new cheeses, even as research improves the old standbys.
It's a great time to be in the cheese business. In fact, according to Productscan Online (www.productscan.com), the cheese category experienced the greatest rise in new food launches from December 2005 to February 2006, growing more than 150 percent.
Other categories Meals & Entrees, Pizza, Hot Snacks and Sandwiches, which often incorporate cheese, grew 18 percent during the same period, adding to cheese's momentum. And a cheese and whey plant is the biggest new plant project planned for 2006, we reported in our April issue, the second year in a row whey leads the way.
In the past few years, two shifts in cheese preference occurred, according to the Madison, Wis.-based International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Assn. (IDDBA) (www.iddba.org). Gruyere beat out other varieties for the greatest sales increase, in both volume and dollars, between mid-2004 and mid-2005. Overall, however, cheddar, at 10.28 lbs. per capita, or more than three-quarters of all American cheese, and mozzarella, at 9.92 lbs. per capita, or more than three-quarters of all Italian cheese sales, remain the two most popular varieties. It's notable mozzarella sales increased 2.8 percent in 2004, and wedged out cheddar as the leading cheese produced in the U.S. for the first time.
Expectations are America's cheese consumption will grow from 31 lbs. per person in 2003 to 33 lbs. by 2013, according to IDDBA (see graph below). Projections are being spurred by demand for specialty cheeses, authentic Hispanic cheeses (Hispanics are the most prevalent shoppers of dairy in general) and new varieties arriving via restaurants, foodservice and retail, expanding American palates.
Nutritional concern is another growth driver. Research shows the way to good health is three servings of calcium a day, and preliminary research finds eating three servings of cheese can help manage weight.
"A lot of innovative cheese R&D is occurring in the whole health and wellness area," says Dean Sommer, cheese and food technologist at the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research, which is supported by Rosemont, Ill.-based Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) (www.innovatewithdairy.com). "There's renewed interest in low-fat cheeses because of both adult and childhood obesity. What's unique this time around is we're looking at low-fat cheeses that taste far better than the original ones, in retail, foodservice and industrial venues."
Consumer expectations of a low-fat retail cheese are very different from those in a foodservice/ingredient application. "Attributes are different when using low-fat cheese in frozen entrees or frozen pizza or further processed foods," he explains. "We've done successful work using low-fat cheese in cracker applications; there you look at both the nutritional aspect and the desired flavor profile that must survive the cracker baking process."
Specialty trends show an increase in demand for organic, Kosher, artisan and farmstand cheeses, and the myriad of flavors available are becoming more popular, reports Gourmet Retailer. Adding fruit, chocolate and peanut butter to cheese has expanded it into the dessert course.
In supermarkets, 367 cheese products rolled out in 2005, according to Mintel, more than double new product introductions in yogurt. Processed American (566 million lbs.) is the largest slice in retail, followed by cheddar (536 million lbs.), and mozzarella (261 million lbs.).
The American palate also has branched out into specialty and artisan cheeses, shown by the substantial growth in sales of smaller categories, led by havarti (up nearly 40 percent), asiago (up 35 percent) and gruyere (up 24 percent). Sliced natural cheese sales were up as well, to $620 million, according to Information Resources Inc. (IRI), led by private label, Plymouth, Wis.-based Sargento Foods LLC and Kraft Foods, Northfield, Ill.
Low-fat/no-fat redux
Processors often want stronger or different flavors in ingredient cheeses than consumers might want in a table cheese, according to Sommer. "DMI is working on low-fat and no-fat mozzarella cheeses for pizza applications," he says. Sommer adds that controlled functionality of cheese, especially in pizza and other uses of mozzarella, and controlling browning in heating applications are ripe areas for R&D.
"Many pizzerias now use harsh ovens with higher temperatures to push product faster," he says. "Higher temperatures stress and over-brown cheese, so we're working on technical ways to make it more resistant to browning. Another area of interest is melt restriction for appetizers or stuffed crust pizza. You don't want the cheese to overly ooze or squirt out, or end up with voids in the crust. We're working with natural cheeses to solve those problems."
Other areas in the health and wellness area include vitamin fortification of cheeses. "Studies show Americans don't get enough vitamin D, so Kraft Foods petitioned the FDA to increase the amount of vitamin D that can be added in cheese," Sommer says. "The FDA granted Kraft's petition, and the fortification level for vitamin D went from 89 International Units (IUs) of vitamin D per 100g cheese to 81 IUs vitamin D per 30g cheese, an increase of almost three times.
"There's also interest in adding vitamin A, minerals, calcium and probiotics. Usually associated with yogurt, probiotics are an excellent opportunity, since cheese is a very good medium for probiotic growth, survival and ultimate delivery. We've also done work increasing conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a healthy fatty acid for prevention of cardiovascular disease. Research shows grazed dairy animals have higher levels of CLA in their milk, thus there's more in cheese. We also can fortify cheese with omega-3 fatty acids, derived from fish oil, but the trick is not to end up with a fishy flavor."
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In some sense, all of maths should come under the label "logic", but mathematical logic has shown that mathematics isn't entirely logical. Makes sense? If not, then this teacher package may help.
It's not long until Christmas! To help you pass the time (or ease your nerves if you're stressed), we bring you the Plus advent calendar with a mathsy goody from the Plus archive lurking behind each door. Find out what's behind today's door...
What do Gollum, the new Olympic stadium that's being built in London and the quest for sustainable energy have in common? They all involve the work of engineers. Engineering provides some of the most exciting applications of maths there are, and they impact on all our lives every day. To highlight the importance and excitement of engineering, we are launching the Constructing our lives project, which will bring you articles and podcasts on engineering, directly from the engineers themselves.
This teacher package brings together all our articles that have to do with sport, from cricket to football and from the sport itself to sporting architecture and infrastructure.
"Mathematics is biology's next microscope, only better." That's what the scientist Joel E Cohen once said of the power of mathematics to revolutionise biology and the biomedical sciences. And he was right. Maths enables scientists to understand complex organisms and diseases, it's crucial in developing sophisticated medical technology and materials, and we can even use it to model our psyche and intelligence. In this sense maths has become a genuine research instrument for biomedical sciences. The insight it gives them are on a par with the revolutionising power of the microscope.
Journey to the frontiers of maths with Plus as we cover the International Congress of Mathematics in Hyderabad, India
Understand the maths behind health and medicine. Read the latest and join the debate!


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no items in the wish list
Although the memory can be installed one module at a time, the best performance comes from using matched pairs of modules.
If you know your system's specs, use this tool.
Tell us your system's manufacturer, make, and model, and we'll provide a list of compatible upgrades that will work best with your system's specs and capabilities.


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McPherson High's volleyball team keeps rolling.
MULVANE — For some volleyball teams, reaching 20 wins is a season goal.
McPherson High did it Tuesday night — and it still has a long way to go in the season.
MHS improved to 20-2 at warped speed, making quick work of Mulvane (25-8, 25-20) and Circle (25-13, 25-8).
MHS coach Christy Doile said the team was in good rhythm in three of the four sets and had a good night against Circle.
MHS now prepares for some good competition this weekend at the Ottawa Invitational.
JVs NOW 19-1 — The MHS junior varsity followed suit with a sweep of Mulvane (25-13, 25-9) and a tough one against Circle (26-24, 26-14).
MHS is now 19-1 on the year.


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Liam Gallagher's Fashion Line Reminds Us Just How Vanilla The 90s Were
Do you remember Liam and Patsy? Oasis v. Blur? Britpop and Cool Britannia? If so, you may be curious to know what aging musician Liam Gallagher's been up to: trying his mightiest to ride the 90s nostalgia wave all the way to the bank. Not that we can blame him!


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OLYMPIA State lawmakers today will take public comments on a bill that would make it illegal to smoke in a car with a child.
A public hearing on House Bill 2086, co-sponsored by East Wenatchee Repubublican Brad Hawkins, is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. today in 260A of the John L. O'Brien building on the Capitol Campus.
Under the bill, anyone lighting a cigarette, cigar or piple in an automobile or truck containing a child could be subject to a traffic citation and fine from $150-$250.
A child is anyone younger than age 18.
The citation would not affect driving records and would not be disclosed to insurance companies or employers, according to the bill's language.
This is too much nanny-state control. If you're going to fine a person for lighting a tobacco product in a vehicle containing children, then logically you should prohibit smoking in said children's homes. How long before legislation is introduced to control how the home of the children is maintained in terms of cleanliness... Will you require home inspections to determine how often clothes are laundered, dishes are washed, bathtubs cleaned, beds changed, pets immunized, and baths given? Perhaps adults should not be permitted to have alcoholic beverages in their homes because their children might be harmed by the exposure to drinking? Maybe the next step will be to prohibit pets, because animals might bring contaminants into the child's life? Yet we still serve McDonald's Chicken Nuggets to the kids, because we don't want to bother with cooking a healthy family meal and enforcing parental expectations to eat or go without.
One of the problems with the uptick of illnesses in the younger generations is that children are not being introduced to things that will cause their immune systems to respond. If children are not exposed to things that will allow them to become stronger, ultimately we will have a nation of people who get sick at a single sneeze. Not to totally cite the old days as being perfect, but partially... We folks who are in our 40-50's were exposed to a lot of things, and as a result we are able to fight off a lot of things. Younger folks now are unable to resist these things because the media and the nanny state said "Oh my, we should avoid certain things at all costs." This is not the way to grow and develop a healthy, robust and strong future. Our kids are sick all the time, now. Illnesses that we older folks took as matter-of-fact are now crisis moments for today's children. This is something serious to look at.
Onto other things. This article became available to me the evening of 1/14/14, via Yahoo News. It stated "State lawmakers today will take public comments on a bill that would make it illegal to smoke in a car with a child. A public hearing on House Bill 2086, co-sponsored by East Wenatchee Repubublican Brad Hawkins, is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. today in 260A of the John L. O'Brien building on the Capitol Campus" How does this notice give anyone a chance to provide public comments? According to the rules, my "public comment" has arrived much too late to be taken into consideration. I view this as very inappropriate governing, because the opportunity for comment was not adequately provided to the public.
Please consider that you are not creating legislation based on the public's input, which is actually your job... to represent the public. You are instead creating rules and laws based on your own opinions and the opinions of those closest to you, whose comments you might have invited. The citizens of Washington State were not appropriately invited to share their input or opinions prior to your legislative session.
My apologies if my long comment has posted multiple times. After I posted it, the page gave me a button to view my comment, and it didn't show up. So I posted it again. Who knows, now, if it even went through... Frustrating to me, and to you as a reader if the comment actually did post multiple times.
I'm not sure which is scarier, the fascism behind this Bill or the fact that this information is found in the Omak paper and not the Spokane Review or the Seattle Times.
I don't smoke, don't enjoy being around the smell of smoke, or smokers, would never kiss a woman who smoked, and don't like it when people smoke around their children. But those are my values and its not for me to try to force my values on others. As a free man in what was once, a couple of centuries ago, a free country, it terrifies me to see Washington State being the national leader in developing laws that restrict almost every thought and action that would and should be a personal choice. People who agree with the sentiment of this Bill will stay silent as yet another right is abridged thinking that it does not affect them. But, indeed it does. With every new restriction those in government are emboldened to force even more of their personal beliefs upon everyone else. And with each comes a wave of consequences not written into the law. With this law any bully cop could stop anyone with anything in their hand while driving because they "believed it was a cigarette" and while you are detained anyway lets wait while a background check is done and your license and insurance are verified and were you wearing your seatbelt and did you have your cell phone out. Then when you can't afford to pay the abusive ticket your driver's license is suspended because driving is not a right of free men, it is just a "privilege" so the next time you drive it is a criminal act and you are arrested and shackled and imprisoned, and on and on and this state works so hard to control everything while creating "criminals".


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Colleen Couch-Smith Exhibition At Playhouse on the Square
Contact: Carrie Corbett
Director of College Communications
Sept. 20, 2013
The Feast by Colleen Couch-Smith
Colleen Couch-Smith Exhibition At Playhouse on the Square
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis College of Art announces the opening of Taking Hold by Colleen Couch-Smith on Sept. 20 at Playhouse on the Square, 66 S. Cooper St. The exhibition will continue on view through Nov. 3.
Couch-Smith received her BFA in sculpture from Memphis College of Art in 2000. Couch-Smith runs Rock, Paper, Scissors and currently teaches papermaking classes at MCA.
In Taking Hold, "the works are done in handmade paper combined with found objects," says Couch-Smith. "The work reflects patterns in nature left behind by organisms which use other organisms as a host."
Playhouse's MCA Gallery is open Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sunday from 1–5 p.m. and on show nights.
Memphis College of Art provides a rigorous curriculum in an intimate, diverse community to empower generations of leading artists, designers and educators to flourish professionally and contribute valuable ideas to society. The region's only independent art and design college, MCA is fully accredited with expert, nationally renowned faculty and grants BFA, MFA, MA in Art Education and MA in Teaching degrees with graduates excelling in various careers across the country and internationally. For more information, visit mca.edu. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/memphiscollegeofart and on Twitter at @memphisart.


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Plant Room: A Small Space Clip-On Apartment Garden
Most apartment and small space dwellers can agree on something they envy of homeowners: outdoor and garden space. A group of New Zealand students share that jealously and are hoping to fix it with their clip-on garden in a box, Plant Room. It is literally a box bolted to the exterior of an apartment building, that will expand the square footage of your space, provide room for a vegetable garden, clothes line, rainwater collection and solar hot water production!
According to Project Manager, Tim Gittos, the idea of the Plant Room came from the basic idea to, "combine sustainability with cheaper energy and a desire to improve the landscape from inside, and out."
The Plant Room has been designed to do a number of things: provide hot water, grow herbs, vegetables and fruit, house a worm farm, and a rainwater tank. In addition to having the duel function of an outdoor space and enclosed room, the room will help shade the attached residence as well as temper the indoor air throughout the year.
The New Zealand-based student design team entered Plant Room into the Sustainable Habitat Challenge, and is now committed to building two prototypes of the design: one as a portable exhibition retrofitted in a shipping container, the second will be fitted onto an apartment building. Fore more info, images and diagrams visit the Plant Room website.
Via Grist, Huffington Post
(Images via The Plant Room)


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Kittie's Live & Work Studio Space
Name: Kittie Lonsdale
Location: Tudor City, Manhattan NYC
My TINY mid-town live/work studio — 225 square feet! — exemplifies William Morris's philosophy from way back in 1882: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or consider to be beautiful". My passion is creating gracious homes in small spaces, tailoring the functionality and decor to the clients' lifestyle. My own studio is my 'test lab' for affordable, innovative solutions to maximize every inch of space, creating a serene living environment in a small footprint.
The special challenge in this 10' x 17' studio was to create multi-purpose 'living zones'. I needed a kitchen/dining space (nicely disguised as a chic downtown bar!), a living/sleeping area AND a home office/library where I could run my interior design business (which I call my 'stealth office', since you'd never know it was there when it is closed). I was also determined to have a luxurious spa - in a 3' x 8' bathroom!
Thanks, Kittie!
We've had amazing response to our Apartment Therapy House Tour Submission Form. While we will work with homeowners of our favorite homes to feature full tours, we will also share the best as House Calls — short, quick tours of readers' homes. Submit your home here.


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As we were working on our first SQL Saturday in Slovenia, we came to a point when we had to print out the so-called SpeedPASS's for attendees. This SpeedPASS file is a PDF and contains thier raffle, lunch and admission tickets. The problem is we have to download one PDF per attendee and print that out. And printing more than 10 docs at once is a pain. So I decided to make a little console app that would merge multiple PDF files into a single file that would be much easier to print. I used an open source...
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This was my fourteenth.
Everything about it was perfect.
The sound, the sights, the weather, holy crow.
And everybody was SO nice!
Camped South 110th with the flower garden.
This was my fourteenth.
Everything about it was perfect.
The sound, the sights, the weather, holy crow.
And everybody was SO nice!
Camped South 110th with the flower garden.
it was a really good weekend. i can't recall if it was the same last year but weekend 2 crowd this year had a waaay friendlier vibe from what i noticed (with a few exceptions of course)
Debbie Deb 2017 sahara headliner pls
One of the best years. I attended weekend two as well and even though I think there were years with slightly better lineups, overall I really have no complaints. No problems getting in or out of parking, nice weather, not overly crowded, great cell reception, free Frutare bars to beat the heat...
Not the best line up but the best experience of three ive been to. Less people, the best weather and smoothest experience.
IMO It was there best line up ever...so thankful
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2013
Yeah, this was my 12th one and it's definitely up there in my favorites. Nothing was too crowded, never had to wait long for shuttles or to get through security, all the acts I wanted to see started on time and didn't have any major sound issues, the weather cooperated, the people seemed pretty chill, and I didn't see a single bad set. Absolutely no complaints all around.
Sound (PA) issues seemed worse this year (both weekends) than last year (both weekends). Lots of feedback and nasty shit like that. Sound bleed from Do-Lab and Sahara into the Gobi and Mojave seemed worse this year too.
Overall, however, a great event and glad I popped in again on Sunday.
I agree that Coachella 2013 W2 may have been the best coachella yet. It was so easy to go from stage to stage and see any act you wanted to see up close. We were able to see EVERYONE we wanted to see, and more. There were pretty much no douche bags (they must all have attended W1). No lines getting in, and no lines once inside the fest (except for one or two acts in the Yuma). I never once felt uncomfortable by crowds, and that hasn't happened since probably 2005. The weather was absolutely perfect, probably the best overall weather ever. I'm still stunned at how perfect W2 was. Good job, GV!!!!
W2 was amazing. The stream from W1 helped me solve out conflicts too
pillows and parties
Weekend 2 this year may have been better than Weekend 1 last year in some aspects. It was definitely a great year. It reminded me of the first few years I went when it was a weekend later in April. Wake up at 7am, melt in the heat all morning, drag myself into the fest and hunt for shade around the acts I want to see. No crazy wind storm, all the art was on display (unlike weekend 1 last year). Wouldn't say it's the best one yet; 2008 was a big year for me.
Sean Penn Acid Test 2008 - Legendary
2008 , 2009, 2010, 2011 , 2012 wk1, 2013 wk2. 6 years running!
Hell or highwater, fire and brimstone, not even cancer is powerful enough to keep me from Coachella!
I, too, attended W2 (this was my first year) and I was amazed at how at ease everyone seemed to be. The only real negative experience we had was watching of monsters and men and Chuck Liddell showed up in the VIP area and several douchebags started pushing and shoving and being assholes just to see him. Otherwise it was an amazing experience, and I think that the lack of a single, huge, big name act kept a lot of the jackasses home.
Agreed. 2013 Weekend 2 has by far been the best year yet. Perfect from start to finish. Don't even know if future Coachellas could top it. Camped 103 South.
Yes! Was my best year. Everyone was so incredibly friendly and the weather was PERFECT. I was 114 North in lot 8 and was surrounded by incredible people. I didn't feel the need to hide out in tents once in the festival, had free tacos all weekend, everything was just perfect.
Totally the best!! I met a few vets and we all agreed what a pleasant surprise it was that everything was so chill and smooth. Anything crappy was easy enough to avoid, and everything great was easy enough to enjoy. I was on 108th North Street on the east side, so RickeyinLA we were totally neighbors. We had the Drinkin' With My Bitches sign and the Black jeep with lights and color blocks that said happy coachella. Our neighborhood was rad.
Staff was awesome, I saw nearly everyone I wanted to, plus more!
I blew bubbles all weekend. Big ups, GV!
Free tacos?! WHERE?
pillows and parties
Was it really that much better? I was thinking about doing W2 for 2014, but am still undecided?
no, it wasn't the best year ever. although it was a very relaxing year, it's going to take a whole lot to overtake 2004. this year easily takes over my number three spot all time. being 32 years old and attending since 2003, i am very impressed at how well coachella has managed to keep the younger crowd and the older crowd somewhat separated. i was only in the sahara twice to see paul kalkbrenner and eric prydz (two of the rarer dj to have u.s. dates) and they were both pretty empty towards the beginning. can't wait to see how coachella improves upon the yuma tent. keep the bros in the corner and let everyone else have the 5 other stages.
1. 2004
2. 2006
3. 03'-present
it was my first. had a blast. which was nice considering all the lineup/weather/dust/crowd/we1vwe2/ bullshit i absorbed here.
This was a great thread to read. I agree with everyone on here - seems like week 2 had no one at it since a lot of people tried to unload their tickets for whatever reason. Good for us since it freed up the grounds for the rest of us. Seemed like it was the least packed Coachella I can remember in a while.
My rankings on my favorite Coachella's:
13 (more quality bands than ever before)
10 (amazing headliners - especially Jay-Z)
06 (Daft Punk)
07 (Rage Against the Machine)
11 (solid mix of bands, I only was able to make 2 days that year though)
12 (heat was ridiculous, or this year would be higher up)
09 (some talent, but the year didn't seem to grab me as much as usual)
08 (not a fan of any of the headliners at all, overall thought the lineup was pretty weak)
Coachella 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.2, 13.2, 14.2
Outside Lands 10, 11, 13, 14
First timer reporting in. Weekend 2 was everything I expected it to be and im glad I chose the right time to go to Coachella for the first time. It was so good my friends only want to go weekend 2 now. T_T I wanted to experience weekend 1 next year but they insisted on weekend 2 so I ended up buying those tickets. Im considering going both weekends but we will see when the line up comes out. Hope weekend 2 next year is as good as my first one this year.
Radiohead - The Xx - Father John Misty - Bonobo - DJ Shadow - Guided By Voices - Preservation Hall Jazz Band - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - The Interrupters - Klangstof
Beyonce - Bon Iver - Nicholas Jarr - Tycho - Four Tet - The Avalanches - Banks & Steelz - Car Seat Headrest - Mitski - Floating Points
Kendrick Lamar - New Order - Future Islands - Hans Zimmer - Toots & The Maytals - Devendra Banhart - Lee Fields & The Expresions - Whitney - Preoccupations - Hinds - Ezra Furman - Pond
Weekends having a more important for everyone. Everyone do lots of activity, According to me, Outing is more best option for any other thing.


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Car Deals
Green Car Deals: July 2012
If you're looking to buy a fuel-efficient new car at a great price in July, you've come to the right place. While many car shoppers think going green requires spending a lot of money for a sought-after new model, we've listed some of the best special offers and incentives available throughout July on a brand-new fuel-efficient car to prove otherwise. And not only will the deals included below save you cash up front, they'll pay off in the long run by helping you save money every time you fill up.
Chevrolet Volt
Chevrolet's futuristic Volt plug-in hybrid hatchback is available with several incentives in July. According to Chevrolet, shoppers interested in financing the sleek five-door can get interest rates as low as zero percent for up to 72 months, and that's a rare deal on such a recently released model. Chevrolet is also advertising a special 36-month lease deal on the Volt, offering monthly payments of just $299 with $2,499 due at signing. Similar deals have improved the Volt's popularity in the last few months, leading the hatchback to outsell its main rival, Nissan's fully electric Leaf, by nearly three to one in May.
Ford Fusion Hybrid
With a new model on its way, Ford is clearing out remaining inventory of its current mid-size Fusion sedan. It used to be unusual for Ford to include incentives on the highly efficient Fusion Hybrid, but now the sedan is available with several great deals. According to Ford, shoppers interested in financing the sedan can get interest rates as low as zero percent for up to 60 months plus an ample cash-back offer of up to $2,000. Meanwhile, buyers interested in buying the sedan with cash can get up to $3,500 back. Both deals are even more enticing when combined with the Fusion Hybrid's city fuel economy figure of more than 40 mpg.
Mazda CX-5
Mazda's new CX-5 compact crossover doesn't offer hybrid technology or even a diesel powerplant, but its highly efficient four-cylinder gasoline engine helps it achieve up to 35 mpg. That makes the CX-5 the most fuel-efficient SUV available today, edging out competitors like the Toyota RAV4 and the Ford Escape by several miles per gallon. Through July, the CX-5 is also available with several strong incentives, including 0.9 percent interest for up to 36 months. The compact SUV can also be had with an impressive lease rate of just $239 per month after $2,999 due at signing-a great offer for shoppers who want to try out the miserly new SUV for just 36 months.
Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec
The diesel-powered Mercedes E350 BlueTec boasts impressive fuel economy, fresh styling, a host of equipment and-through the end of July-a great lease rate. According to Mercedes, shoppers interested in the 33-mpg luxury sedan can take advantage of a lease deal with monthly payments starting at just $579 per month after $3,873 due at signing. That's an especially good offer considering that a gasoline-powered E350 is available for $599 per month after $4,674 at signing despite offering similar performance and inferior fuel economy ratings. If you're still on the fence, don't be put off by the E350 BlueTec's 200-horsepower engine. Its monstrous 400 lb-ft of torque more than make up for the lack of horsepower.
Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid
It has only been out for a few months, but Toyota is already trying to help the new Prius gain more exposure among shoppers by offering incentives during July. According to Toyota, the plug-in hybrid hatchback is available to qualified buyers with 2.9 percent interest for up to 60 months-a great deal on such an exciting new model. Toyota is also offering a lease incentive on the Prius plug-in hybrid, touting monthly payments of just $379 after $2,399 at signing. Both deals are even more impressive considering the Prius's stunning efficiency, which the EPA officially rated at nearly 100 mpg in its "equivalent" rating system for electric vehicles.
What it means to you: Going green doesn't necessarily mean paying more.


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Rep. Paul Ryan: IRS scandal 'arrogant abuse of power'
This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," May 29, 2013. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
Watch "The O'Reilly Factor" weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET!
BILL O'REILLY: With us now to discuss those situations is the former Republican vice presidential candidate, Congressman Paul Ryan. Let's start with the IRS because you're on the House Ways and Means Committee. So you're going to be investigating this.
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN: Yes, that's right.
O'REILLY: All right, what's going to happen going forward.
RYAN: Ok there are four things we know right now. Number one we know that they targeted people based on their political beliefs not just Tea Party groups but religious groups as well that were conservative in nature.
Number two, we know that they were intimidating and harassing donors to these conservative groups.
Number three, we know that the IRS leaked sensitive taxpayer information which was then used publicly to harass donors.
And number four we already know that the IRS mislead Congress.
O'REILLY: All right. But you don't know who exactly did it -- that's what you've got to find out.
RYAN: So our investigators started last week interviewing and doing depositions. So our investigators are interviewing low level IRS employees. We are working our way through the system.
O'REILLY: Right.
RYAN: And we're starting to get the documents. We've requested thousands and thousands of documents which are now starting to come to the Ways and Means Committee and we're starting to pore through those documents.
O'REILLY: So they have to give you those documents.
RYAN: They have to give us those documents. We will subpoena them if they don't.
O'REILLY: Right.
RYAN: So we will get those documents.
O'REILLY: But if they defy you -- I think people need -- people need to know the parameters. Number one if they lie to your committee that's a federal crime, right?
RYAN: That's right. That's right.
O'REILLY: Number two if they don't hand over -- they being the IRS the Internal Revenue Service the documents -- that you want that's a crime, right.
RYAN: And we'll subpoena them in that case if they don't.
O'REILLY: Ok but when you say we'll subpoena them they can say well, we're not going to do it anyway. That's happened before then they can be charged with a crime.
RYAN: That's correct.
O'REILLY: Ok so you have a criminal capability here.
RYAN: That's right.
O'REILLY: Now you are thoroughly convinced this is just not a Cincinnati deal or a couple of rogue IRS people going --
RYAN: No, that's pretty clear.
O'REILLY: Ok.
RYAN: It's pretty clear that it's more systematic from that.
O'REILLY: So you've got to find out whether it was just contained in the IRS, all right, and this Lois Lerner she's a big player her and she's gone. Or it was ordered from the White House, I mean basically that -- that's what you've got to find out.
RYAN: Yes we don't know the answer to that so we're going to let the facts take us there. We're not going to speculate.
O'REILLY: As you should. As you should.
RYAN: We're going to do our job.
O'REILLY: Right.
RYAN: The legislator branch overseeing the executive branch. This is an arrogant abuse of power. It's really quite --
O'REILLY: By somebody.
RYAN: By somebody, by the IRS for sure.
O'REILLY: Right.
RYAN: The question is what we do not know and what this investigation will bear out. And that's why we are interviewing all these various IRS employees getting the documents. The IG is now doing an investigation not -- they did an audit.
O'REILLY: Right.
RYAN: Now they are doing investigations.
O'REILLY: That's the Inspector General.
Now Lois Lerner you know her -- she is the one who took the Fifth.
RYAN: Yes.
O'REILLY: Right ok. So if you give her immunity your House and Ways Committee and say look Miss Lerner we're giving you immunity you can't be prosecuted, she then has to testify in front of you, has to. Compelled by law too; correct, am I right.
RYAN: Well then, yes that she -- therefore there is no reason to take the Fifth.
O'REILLY: Well no but if she says I'm still not going to testify, couldn't you charge her with something?
RYAN: I think that's the case. That's right.
O'REILLY: Right, that's what you should do. Just get her and give her immunity.
RYAN: Look we have a lot of people telling us do the investigation this way. Do the investigation that way.
O'REILLY: I know that but nobody as smart as me.
RYAN: I appreciate that.
O'REILLY: And Kelly is going to agree with me right behind you. All right, ok. But you could squeeze --
RYAN: We're doing this methodically. We are doing this the right way, we're not -- this is not a partisan. Which is -- this is get to the facts. Get to the truth.
O'REILLY: You have to. You have to.
RYAN: And follow the facts. And that's why we're taking this investigation extremely seriously. We are merging two different committees to do this.
O'REILLY: How long is this all going to take?
RYAN: It's going to take months.
O'REILLY: All right so the rest of 2013 you're probably in.
RYAN: I don't want to put an end because I don't know where the facts will take us.
O'REILLY: Holder you want him to quit. Should he quit?
RYAN: Yes look (inaudible) who is a close friend of mine, one of the giants in the legal community, a member of the Judiciary Committee called for his resignation yesterday.
O'REILLY: And so did you after "Fast and Furious."
RYAN: And so -- and so, look, I think -- when a -- and when a legal giant like (inaudible) who knows this agency extremely well says this man has -- has gone beyond the pale of his office I agree with that.
O'REILLY: All right so you think he's going to resign. I mean --
RYAN: I don't know the answer to that.
O'REILLY: Well Axelrod said over the weekend -- Axelrod I mean that's speaking for the President.
RYAN: Yes I have no idea if he is going to resign or not. Look, we think what his testimony was before the judiciary contradicted the actions he made just like the testimony of the acting commissioner of the IRS contradicted what we now know he knew at the time.
So we see two instances here where -- where people from the administration came and misled Congress.
O'REILLY: Issa is -- Darrell Issa now the Congressman, you know is subpoenaing all the documents from the State Department to try to find out about Benghazi.
RYAN: Right, that's right.
O'REILLY: Right? That's a smart play because Kerry has got to hand them over, right?
RYAN: That's right. That's right. So you know the story on Benghazi. Most Americans don't know the story which is they knew right away because of the number two man in charge Gregory Hicks said that this was a terrorist attack.
O'REILLY: Right.
RYAN: This had nothing to do with a video.
O'REILLY: But they didn't believe Hicks.
RYAN: Yes. Yet they pushed this story for -- for days and weeks. And the question is who made those decisions? Who made those decisions to mislead the country on these issues? And that's what we have to get to the bottom of.
O'REILLY: Well the night of the assassination and the three other Americans were killed as well. President Clinton called -- President Obama called Hillary Clinton.
RYAN: Yes.
O'REILLY: At night.
RYAN: Right.
O'REILLY: We need to know what that conversation was.
RYAN: That's what -- that's what an investigation is all about. That's what the congressional investigators are doing. That's what the document --
O'REILLY: I don't know if you will ever get that because that's you know they're not going to --
RYAN: Well there is a -- there is a point at which they might invoke privilege and then we are going to have to have a big debate about that.
O'REILLY: Right. Do you see this damaging President Obama so that the Republican Party will take control of Congress in 2014?
RYAN: It's -- Bill, it's just way too premature to make a comment like that.
O'REILLY: Ok because this is a low point of the Obama administration now.
RYAN: The point is this is an arrogant abuse of power. You know one of the problems Mitt Romney and I had in the last election was we were debating against big government theory. We had to compete against the promise and the rhetoric of President Obama.
Well now in his second term, now that he's implementing his agenda we are seeing big government in practice.
O'REILLY: Ok but the bigger problem that you and the Governor had was you were not only campaigning against Barack Obama but the American press.
RYAN: Except for Bill O'Reilly and Fox News.
O'REILLY: Well, we're fair here and I think you know that.
RYAN: I know. No I'm just having fun with you. But --
O'REILLY: Right but -- but now, the press may be turning. Have you noticed that?
RYAN: I think when you see the James Rosen case, the AP case.
O'REILLY: Right.
RYAN: The press understands the First Amendment extremely well and I think they take that one extremely seriously and you just can't hide from the fact that this IRS abuse is arrogant and obnoxious. The question is --
O'REILLY: It's dangerous.
RYAN: -- who knew about it, how systemic and how widespread was it and it's an abuse of power.
O'REILLY: Will you -- will you keep THE FACTOR posted here.
RYAN: Absolutely.
O'REILLY: All right, Congressman good to see you. Thank you for coming in.
RYAN: My pleasure.
O'REILLY: Next on the rundown Bob Beckel will reply to Mr. Ryan.
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Synchro de Mayo: A Struggling U.S. Sport Throws Itself a Party
When people used to routinely mock synchronized swimmers for their peacock makeup and matching nose clips, the nation's top competitors in the sport held a trump card: Olympic medals. But ahead of the London Games last summer, the U.S. failed to qualify as a team in the sport for the first time—a low-water mark for a nation that dominated synchronized swimming from its glittery Olympic launch in 1984.
Russia now owns synchro, as it is called, winning gold at the past four Olympics in both the women's duet and team competitions. China and Spain also have surged, winning the other four of six available medals last summer in London. The U.S. has not medaled since winning two bronzes in 2004.
In an effort to pull synchronized swimming from the shower-drain of sports obscurity, a revamped governing body has declared May "Synchro de Mayo," a push to expose newcomers to the sport through performances and free lessons. The hope is that expanded membership in USA Synchro will attract corporate sponsorship and build the U.S. team, said the national governing body's new executive director Julie Swarts, a former gymnast and coach who also works as a gymnastics judge.
The task is daunting. While other nations fund their synchronized swimmers' housing and training, the U.S. is relying on more modest tools to reach the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro—among them, the YMCA and Bingo.
"We're trying to get more recreational groups involved, because the sport's too narrow in terms of its base," said Francis Sargent, president of Aquamaids in Santa Clara, Calif., a club that claims numerous Olympians.
For years the Aquamaids have run a bingo hall with swimmers and their parents working the aisles. In 2011 it took in $2.4 million—$1 million more than USA Synchro's annual budget—that help offset competitors' costs, which can otherwise exceed $10,000 a year per swimmer. Another prominent club, the Walnut Creek (Calif.) Aquanuts, also relies on bingo to fund its activities.
Swarts also has reached out to the YMCA, which has about 2,200 pools nationwide, to help facilitate the sport's spread. USA Synchro aims to increase its number of registered members to 5,800 this year from the current 5,400, and to 10,000 by the 2016-2020 Olympic cycle, Swarts said.
Evidence that the grassroots emphasis is paying off: Emma Baranski of Hamden, Conn., won first place in the junior solo competition at last month's national championships in Greensboro, N.C. Baranski is unusual among elite synchronized swimmers, in that she is from the East Coast and competes with a YMCA-based team, in New Canaan, Conn.
A continuing struggle for synchronized swimming in the U.S. is its lack of a superstar. Perhaps its two most recognizable athletes are comedians. Martin Short and Harry Shearer starred in a 1984 "Saturday Night Live" piece as hapless men trying to break into the all-women's sport, Short sporting an orange life preserver and declaring with a grin that he couldn't swim.
Swarts said such ridicule "set the sport back." A spokeswoman for Short declined to comment. But Swarts acknowledged that "we can't be so intense that we can't laugh at ourselves a little bit." To wit: The Americans who finished 11th at the London Games as a duet, Mary Killman and Mariya Koroleva, recently appeared on an episode of the improv-comedy show "Whose Line is it Anyway?" that will run this summer.
Write to Rachel Bachman at firstname.lastname@example.com
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