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DOWNUP with Amy Storch
March 19, 2008
In my long and illustrious career of bothering minor celebrities, I have:
1) Swiped fried calamari from Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
2) Screamed IMABIGFAN!! at Ted Allen outside a wine festival while waving a commemorative wine glass at him.
3) Ate fondue with Project Runway's Laura Bennett; spilled fondue on self.
4) Non-consensually hugged Alan Cumming in the bathroom line of a restaurant.
5) Stared slack-jawed at 30 Rock's Judah Friedlander while he ate ravioli with his family.
LESSON FOR CELEBRITIES: if you see me, and there appears to be food involved in the scenario, RUN AWAY.
A few weeks ago, Jason got an email from someone at the Food Network. They were looking for local "food people" to participate in a new travel series that would profile a local chef. I was invited too.
Food Network People: We need some DC-area foodie people for this show.
Google: Here you go!
Food Network People: Oh look, he's married! Hmm, maybe she's a foodblogger too!
*Food Network People visit my blog on the day this entry was posted *
Food Network People: Well, THAT was easy.
LESSON FOR BLOGGERS: Visibility on Google is important, even if your blog is TOTALLY NOT.
Of course, we DID explain that I am not a foodblogger, and the Saltines were NOT involved in any sort of gourmet cracker-and-black-truffle napoleon amuse bouche, or anything, but they still liked the idea of husband-and-wife foodies, and invited us to be on some show we'd ever heard of as part of "panel" that would sit around and eat food and then talk about said food. I encouraged Jason to accept the invite, since I figured that, as part of PANEL, the OTHER PANEL MEMBERS were probably researched a bit better and we could sit back and let them talk and just be the idiots who are always on camera shoving free food into their mouths in the most awkward manner possible.
We showed up at the appointed time yesterday. I wore the only two items of clothing I own that currently fit. A old pair of maternity jeans from the Gap and a Liz Lange t-shirt from Target. I did not get a haircut for the occasion, and decided to take the risk that unplucked eyebrows won't be noticeable on HDTV. I looked somewhere between "sort-of pregnant" and "so how was the kegger?" My goal for the day was to stay away from the camera as much as possible, and to NOT THROW UP. (I have thrown up about 300 times since Monday, of course.)
"Hey," I said to Jason as he paid our cabbie, "I swear I just saw Bobby Flay."
LESSON FOR EVERYBODY, EVERYWHERE: The Food Network is run by Ashton Kutcher.
We walked in just in time to hear Bobby Flay challenge the local chef to a throwdown. A motherfucking Throwdown with Bobby Flay.
The restaurant was already packed, and the crowd seemed especially well-lubricated. We found some friends and took our place in the anonymous mob, and I breathed a sigh of relief because the crowd had a LOT of tall people who were willing to jump into the camera frame and scream WOOOOOOOOOO DC RUUULLLES! while I parked my ass in a prime bit of real estate next to the ladies room.
Bobby Flay is really blurry in person. That's a fact!
Bobby Flay and our hometown chef started cooking mussels and fries. (Moules frites!) The smell was...oh. Dear. Two minutes in and I was not doing well. Jason held onto my elbow to keep me from reeling and right then a guy with a headset approached us. He told us he needed to take us upstairs.
And once we were upstairs we learned the full extent of our complete and total punk'd'ing. We were not part of the crowd or a panel. We were the goddamned JUDGES.
"Just us?" I squeaked.
Just us.
And judging would involve on-camera interviews and personal introductions, something called "hero shots" and also, you know, ACTUAL JUDGING OF FOOD. That we would do in front of the cameras, the chefs, and that crazy-ass drunk mob downstairs.
Our official God-like judging cards and beverages of choice. Well. Not my FIRST choice, anyway.
The good news is that the cooking smells were definitely muted upstairs. The bad news is that I was now nauseous for completely different reasons.
Oh my God, you guys. I fully admit to having my attention whore qualities, but I was TERRIFIED. OUT OF MY WITS. I wanted to RUN AWAY and I couldn't get my hands to stop shaking. I'm more of a print attention whore, I think.
Jason and I held hands and promised to never, ever leave each other's side during this horrifically surreal experience and solemnly swore to judge the dishes fairly and honestly, even though it sounded like the crowd would fucking crucify us if the hometown chef didn't win. (The judging is done blind, at any rate, I suppose you might be able to guess but you really only know the two versions as Dish A and Dish B.)
The camera crew came upstairs and miked us (the sound guy lifted up the back of my shirt and said, "Congratulations!" at the sight of the ulta-attractive navy belly band) and had us do a million and four takes of our personal introductions (whatever, like ANYONE is going to hear "amalah.com" and have any idea how to fucking spell it) and our personal tastes in moules frites ("blah blah texture balance flavor holy shit please let me stop talking now), and then we had to like...MUG for awhile. Arms crossed, hands on our hips, grimaces and tough-guy hard-ass judgey looks, or something.
Jason was especially good and hammy at these, while I just stood there and stared at the camera like a deer. AFTER it's been hit by the headlights. Of course, Jason had more problems SAYING stuff on camera, since he kept adding "uhs" and "ums" and they made him redo it all over and over. I think his problem was that he was actually trying to THINK about what he was saying, and make POINTS and SENSE, while I just opened my mouth and let nonsense spill out until I eventually got to a spot that seemed to call for a period. Then I would stop talking and stupidly look off-camera at the producer, who would sigh and tell me to do it again and to LOOK AT THE CAMERA THE WHOLE TIME, IDIOT.
I am telling you, those guys' jobs are really hard, and we did not help with anything.
I was really impressed with the custom judging cards, obviously. Maybe if the foosball table actually had a foosball I wouldn't have been, but we did what we could to pass the time.
Then it was time for judging. We were brought downstairs and the crowd was ordered to part for us, like we were some big-shot judgey judge experts of DOOOOOM (even though I'm sure everybody was like, "who the fuck?"). We sat down at a table with everybody behind us and Bobby Flay came and shook our hands and he is much shorter than I thought but is very very good-looking and an extremely sharp dresser. I would very much like a maternity version of his jeans, and the man can really pull off eggplant.
Unfortunately, I was not there to discuss Bobby Flay's personal style. We were there to judge moules frites, which...not exactly the most appetizing thing to the first trimester digestive tract, and I don't even know if I'm supposed to eat them at ALL, but I figured since these mussels were MOST LIKELY not purchased off the hood of a car parked on the shoulder of the interstate and were PROBABLY cooked with a high degree of care, I could risk eating a few. In the name of the Throwdown! Tis my duty! A higher calling!
(I think we maybe got a touch of the Stockholm syndrome during the hour or so of sequestering.)
They brought the dishes and told us to go ahead and eat and discuss and make notes, and I panicked for a second because there were no forks on the table. I asked for forks (complete with fucking BABY SIGN LANGUAGE, people, since I clearly do not get out much), and the director said, "Oh, you want forks?" Like, really? Is that your way, here in DC? How strange!
And then I panicked again because...yes? Right? You use a fork to get mussels out of their shells? I know how to suck down oysters but...mussels? They can be stubborn and slimy and there's all sorts of other stuff in the broth you need to eat in the same bite? Or fuck, did I just make a huge cutlery faux pas on national television?
She gave us plastic forks. And we dug in.
And here's where the story must end for now, in the name of preserving the sanctity of the results and the show, which most likely won't air until the summer. (I think they shoot the entire season pretty much back-to-back and then edit them all later.) (Jason's convinced he'll get edited out completely, and I am quite hopeful they'll replace me with a cute CGI bunny rabbit, or a digital Ted Allen.) I learned later that I said at least one completely boneheaded misinformed thing about one of the dishes, but was assured that my hair was NOT doing anything weird and I didn't have lipstick on my teeth.
When it was all over I ran to the bathroom because I'd had to pee the entire time but was afraid to pull my pants down in case the microphone slid off and fell into the toilet. The end.


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Wow, a unique watch you can design yourself, with really different modern looks and not a single comment?
Well, looks like I'm keeping this secret to myself then!
So, I've been a bit excited for the last week after discovering Unity Watches from Barcelona.
Before reading on, some of you may want to cut up your credit cards, if you find this as enticing as I did...
They have a set range of their watches in different styles and the special edition bronze Jules Verne model, but the main attraction is the watch configurator.
This allows you to choose from the range of case finishes, bezel finishes, dial, hands etc. I admit it's hard to come up with anything much better than Unity themselves, but I think I managed to? The results are shown below, I called it Caged BlackE (they seemingly randomly attached the E, it must be a Spanish thing...)
Unity assemble, pack and ship your watch so it arrives in 7 business days. I was skeptical, but they delivered to me in NL within the 7 days.
So, on to the watch I created. It's currently the only one like it in the world. If you want, you can pay 50% more on the purchase price and they will retire your design, so it is a completely unique one off. Otherwise, once you have designed yours, the site notifies you that someone has chosen this combination and design before.
Here's my watch.
The rather nice box -
And now the watch in the box with the 'credit card' warranty card
Let's dive in for a look at this beauty...
As you can see, black DLC case, bezel, case back and crown. Black screws for the "staples" (a new watch word on me!?)
You can see the clear inspiration from Panarai on the dial layout, but I think the overall similarity is just with the dial?
Here you can see the curve of the crystal a bit better
A side shot of the case and crystal
A case back shot with the Valanvron V24-2 - quite nicely finished and up there with my decorated 2824-2's...
Wrist shot
The full specification of my watch and serial, on the back of the warranty card, a nice touch
It's a very well finished watch and I like the quality of the DLC finish over PVD, very nice.
It's also very comfy and easy to read.
So, if you fancy something different, perhaps unique, for Glycine money, I'd check out Unity watches of Barcelona.
Also, Eduardo, the CEO of Unity was a pleasure to deal with and the customer service was excellent.
All in all, a good experience and I can recommend the finished product.
Wow, a unique watch you can design yourself, with really different modern looks and not a single comment?
Well, looks like I'm keeping this secret to myself then!
I had fun playing around with the case options.
Thanks for flagging this one up.
Thanks for the info. Good to hear some feedback on one of these DIY places.
That is pretty cool i have to say
Might have to treat myself in April (uh oh)
Really interesting concept. Just had a good play with the online configurator.
Thanks for posting this up, like your combination btw. I had some fun with the configurator too. Strangely, my selection came to 678 whereas some of the off-the-shelf designs are 800+, which is unusual for a custom jobbie but I wouldn't complain about that..!
Not for me, but as long as you are happy - its your dosh after all.
For some reason, the riders or 'staples' reminded me of a certain Romaine Jerome model and that somehow ruined it for me, as I got a queasy feeling in my gut - not due to your watch, but because I was reminded of the RJ watches.
A totally unfair comparison and really not something, that should have reflected on your watch.
Congrats. Seems you are happy with your new watch - that is all that matters.
Very nice watch & a great looking web store... I know what I'll be doing tonight.
Out of all of them, I think this is my favourite combo so far.....
Looks like it's flash based :(
Does the company make a model named 'Mitford?'
Last edited by WatchScout; 20th March 2013 at 19:00.
Does anybody have the scoop on the movements?
Some say, the VALANVRON is a reworked Sea-Gull (not that there is anything wrong with that), some say it isnt....
WooHoo ... !
I like the concept and the watch, especially with the black case. Ive tried to create one with the iPhone but the design option doesn't want to play ball (probably financially for the best)!
Just whiled away half an hour with the configurator...... very nice site. Thanks for sharing.
Not bad at all.
Congrats, great looking piece!
Pity they only do one type of case, great concept, just need a little more variety.
Glad everyone is having fun. I'm loving mine, I have to say.
It's very "fresh"
The "soft case" is OK. Not a fan of the "strong case" if I'm honest.
Fun to mess about with at any rate.
That's a pretty cool idea, and I could see them adding more case styles later.
I better stop looking though as it could get costly.
Good idea but are they not limiting their sales potential by signing off individual designs?
Very cool idea! Have to spend a bit of time on this :)
I made this, quite like it
Refreshingly different, I could even live with some of the designs that came up, but a very sinister and unpronouncable movement name............!
Got a new watch, divers watch it is, had to drown the bastard to get it!
Nice watch, nice idea. I could be tempted to do a build myself.
BTW Seb d, I really like that blue dialed one.
It's "dim" is the best way to describe it and fairly short lived, I'll do some more testing and report back.
If anyone has tips on how to take a dim lume shot with a camera phone, please let me know!?
Has anyone got the Augmented Reality to work? What was it like?
I have regular reality to deal with and I struggle with that at times....
thats actually a good fun website, i like the option to make your own version unique.
I thin i would like the case a lot more if it didnt have those staples though.
Great site, as mentioned above, I'd prefer a more traditional case. But then I am boring.
Lots of fun to be had:
I have the bronze one, hope you like it. With 2824-2
What a great way to indulge your imagination. I tried it before reviwing other posters , only to find my "unique" watch replicated by another member!
Thanks for posting and enjoy your watch
This is a good game!
Here are my two efforts at 619 Euros and 694 Euros respectively...
What d'you think?
Does anyone know what the Wr is on these? I can't see it listed on the website anywhere.
If you look at the back of the watch in my second photo you'll see it says 256 ft...
50 m = 164 feet
256 feet = 78 m
I'm sure it doesn't make much difference either way but it would be nice if it was consistent.
Or perhaps it depends on whether you're in Metric or Imperial water. ;-)
This is my somewhat traditional design. It has the eta movement and polished caseback.

subset: commoncrawl


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Structural Engineering Experts Serving Saskatchewan
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Find a Structural Engineering Expert
Investigation and litigation involving structural engineering. Experts in identifying causes of structural failure. Issues related to fatigue, quality control, safety, reliability and regulatory compliance. Structural Engineering experts serve as expert witnesses and forensic consultants in Saskatchewan legal matters, and provide expert reports and testimony for judges, attorneys, lawyers, law firms, insurance companies and government agencies in Federal and state court trials and arbitrations in Saskatchewan.
The listings below are of Structural Engineering experts serving Saskatchewan.
Expert ListingsPacific Structural & Forensic Engineers Group Inc. (PSFEG)
Casey K. Hemmatyar, SE
Los Angeles, CA
With about 30 years of experience Casey Hemmatyar, SE has been retained as Forensic Structural Engineer & expert consultant witness by defendants & plaintiffs on construction litigation in single and Class-Action lawsuits. Offices in 5 Continents, 8 Countries and 22 Cities. LA, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Irvine, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Seattle, Las Vegas, Reno, Denver, Houston, Washington DC, Washington, New York, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, Chile, Qatar.
Vincent N. Campisi, P.E. Consulting Forensic Civil/Structural Engineer
Frenchtown, NJ
Vincent N. Campisi P.E. has over 50 years of experience in the design of fixed movable bridges highway railroad projects in the US and abroad. He provides forensic engineering analysis and expert witness services for several State DOT's and private clients concerning structural failure investigations claims design errors and omissions.
James G. Rice, PhD
Mechanical Engineering, IP/Patent Litigation
Keswick, VA
Experienced expert witness working with top law firms on patent litigation in the area of mechanical engineering. Over 40 years experience in industry and academia. Has provided litigation support in over 75 patent cases over the last 18 years.Dr. Rice has been deposed more than 40 times and has testified at trial 9 times.
Head Of Engineering, LLC
Michael C. Head, PE, LEED AP BD+C
Atlanta, GA
Mr. Head has more than 35 years of structural engineering analysis design and project/construction management experience throughout Saudi Arabia and the United States. His investigation design and construction experience make him highly qualified to engage in forensic investigations and to assist the design construction and legal communities.
Josephson-Werdowatz & Associates, Inc.
Carl H. Josephson, SE
San Diego, CA
Structural design and construction defect investigations and evaluations of wood, masonry, steel and concrete structures; seismic and wind design. As expert witnesses, JW&A has been retained by plaintiff and defense clients on over 1,500 cases, and have testified at deposition, trial and arbitration on over 300 matters. JW&A provides special studies, investigations, code review and analysis, and had conducted structural investigations on thousands of buildings throughout the Western United States for a diverse group of clients. JW&A currently has offices in San Diego, Sacramento, Las Vegas and Scottsdale. With licenses/degrees in the following states; PE/SE (CA,AZ,NV,ID,IL,OR,HI,UT,WA) and PE (CO,FL,NM,IN,TX).
Habitat Engineering & Forensics, Inc.
Fari Barzegar, PhD, PE
Oakland, CA
Over 30 years of experience; Structural/Civil Engineering; Construction Defects/Accidents & Disputes; Buildings, Bridges, Silos, Public Works; Vibration, Explosion, Earthquake, Wind, Fire, Flood & Demolition-Related Damage; Failure Investigations/Analysis, Errors/Omissions, Code Compliance, Standard of Care; Slip, Trip & Fall Injuries; Inspection & Report; Expert Consultant/Witness in Over 60 Cases; Testimony & Trial Experience
Ellis Fall Safety Solutions
Nigel Ellis, Ph.D., Principal, CSP, P.E., CPE
Wilmington, DE
Ellis Litigation Support (ELS) is headed by Dr. J. Nigel Ellis a leading authority on fall protection. Dr. Ellis has more than 40 years of safety engineering experience. Based upon his unsurpassed experience and knowledge, Dr. Ellis has performed fall hazard assessments in hundreds of facilities and construction sites and has been retained as an expert witness in approximately 1000 fall-related cases nationwide. Dr. Ellis' participation has led to multi-million dollar settlements/awards in a number of cases and exoneration of defendants in others.
Engineering Associate Services
Michael Plunkett
South Kingston, RI
Thirty five years experience in the design analysis, inspection and auditing of piping, pipe supports structural and other mechanical components. Extensive experience performing design reviews, safety and hazards & engineering risk analyses. Office: Homosassa, Florida Office: Wakefield, Rhode Island


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Startling facts about guns, violence, and schools
I knew everything in this video, but this is the first time I've seen it put together so neatly, if you will. The only thing in the video to which I object is the length of Nick Gillespie's sideburns — trim them back, dude. It's not a good look.
Here's the accompanying article, with links to all the statistics and facts that Gillespie states.


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YAY IT'S HALLOWEEN AGAIN!! (Actually it no longer is, at the time of writing, but it was at the time of the shoot. Nevertheless, I love to pretend that it's a day for dressing up every day HOHO)
To prepare for this shoot, there were weeks of conceptualizing and planning! UGH! I don't know why I had to choose a Halloween theme for my Philips Visapure video. #liketomakethingsdifficultformyself. We had A LOT OF FUN though! So glad and grateful to have my girlfriends make time for me.
Shopping for props and costumes took days as well. I had to get appropriate props – we had wayyyy more props than they appeared in the video and pictures, think of how to execute the makeup in the best possible time, and how to do it all with the least possible cost. OMG I even did an Excel spreadsheet for cost budgeting.
What I totally UNDERESTIMATED was the amount of work needed to transform myself into a mummy. *slaps forehead
Oh, Mummy!
I bought 2 types of cloth – a coarse eggshell cloth and a softer light beige one, you know, coz the Egyptians didn't have cloths all dyed the same shade, right?
Luckily my dad helped me with this! I was sulking at the sheer amount of cloth I had to cut when he came and taught me a quick trick. Just cut at the edges,
AND TEARRRR!! So easy! We were done in minutes! 😀
On the day of the shoot I went to collect the props and clown costume from the costume shop (super expensive, please! =.=") and checked in to the hotel.
I tried wrapping myself up. It was very fun – AT FIRST. Then I realized it wasn't easy doing it myself and the cloth kept unwrapping! Grrr!!
So I got started on the makeup, which took like, 10 minutes max to complete. I chose the mummy costume thinking I'd save plenty of time on makeup – no wounds, no blood, no contouring – but the costume took about 10 times as much time. Regret x 10!!
Luckily I had help from my good friends! Everyone rushed down after work and didn't even get to eat a proper dinner, just packed food bought by one of them, I can't even remember who coz so many things were happening at the same time! I didn't eat until after filming wrapped up at 4am.
There was a BLACKOUT!!!
And it was only OUR ROOM!!!
The blackout made it very difficult for us to carry on with our preparation but we made do with whatever light we could manage. It was kinda… creepy… coz we were in 'undead' attire and about to film something scary. The blackout lasted very long and the electricians couldn't figure out what was wrong.
When the lights finally came on, they went out again. Oh my goodness.
Filming definitely got affected and went late into the night. Thank you so much to my friends and videographer for being so patient with everything! 😀
See if you can spot this guy in the video! HAHAHA!
Death stare + slow shutter speed in almost-darkness = one of the reasons for blackout. LOL
Bought this cauldron at Spotlight for S$16.90 I think. The organs were from a shop and we DIY-ed the starch mixture. I even ordered dry ice which we placed beside the cauldron. The effect was fantastic, the whole room was super smokey but I don't think the camera managed to capture the fog. =(
No, it wouldn't have triggered the fire alarm because it's dry ice, not hot fire – in case you were wondering. Heh.
Witch was brewing a special concoction of organs, spiders, cockroaches, and snakes
Sadako can be tech-savvy too. HAHAHA!
Then it was time to unwrap the mummy. Took SUPER LONG.
I thought I would, at 1.55m, need not much cloth but I WAS SO WRONG. To ensure it looked some-sorta convincing, so much more cloth was needed that my friend had to rush to Spotlight to buy more cloth for my stoopid costume.
Don't Be An Egyptian Mummy!
Seriously, if you were ever considering an Egyptian mummy for a costume, I would strongly advise against it.
Not much makeup needed, but you would spend an insane amount of time and money on cloth and getting ready. I would have been better off getting a costume from a shop and use the saved time expediting the preparation process and bring forward the time we actually started filming.
I was immobile for the most part and felt so helplessly useless.
My more successful Halloween costumes: Geisha, Zombie Nurse
Never Alone
This shoot would not have been possible if it weren't for my good friends!
BIG THANK YOU to:
– BFF – For rushing from work to accompany me for a while and start wrapping me up, rushed off for something and came back again later, even though you had absolutely nothing to do with this shoot. HAHAHA! Reminds me of the time when we would all go to your house to do project even though you weren't part of the group, just because your house is very centrally-located.
– Honey (Sadako) – For being the very chill Sadako and helping in every way possible. Whenever there's you in a situation, I know things will definitely turn out alright! My Honey will be my bride-of-honor. ^_^*
– Min (Clown) – For playing the role of a murderous clown so well! Your emotions and eerie roar of laughter sent chills down our spines!! Super convincing! So sorry the costume made you itch so bad after filming! Tsk you really never know if costume shops really send their costumes for dry cleaning.
– Hm (Witch) – For your outstandingly rendition of a witch's high-pitched screech and not breaking character even when we were laughing like mad in the background. You have such a beautiful soul (and face), my dear! Believe in yourself! =)
– BlurKat (Opera Singer) – For surpassing my expectations of your acting chops. Your portrayal of a mad opera singer was spot on! Super freaky please!! Great job on the cobwebs too!
– Siew – For coming down to the shoot and helping and staying throughout even though you were camera-shy! And for helping me get the extra cloth for my stoopid costume and going for supper with me! So grateful to have you help me pack all the stuff in the morning. I wouldn't have been able to do it by myself!
While I was getting wrapped up in my lonely little corner and could only delegate, my friends helped me make the witch's starch mixture, jars of colored liquid with insects in them, hang the cobwebs, light the candles, arrange the props, and helped each other with makeup in the best way they could manage. (BAH! I would have been able to take pictures of these wonderful stuff had I not been so immobile!)
And thanks to YOU for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! =)
Watch the video here!
If you're interested, I'm giving away a Philips Visapure worth SGD269.00! YOU MIGHT WIN! 😀


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Jozy Altidore and Omar Gonzalez have been added to the US National Team roster that will face Brazil on August 10.
Altidore, who plays striker for Spanish club Villarreal, will replace midfielder Jermaine Jones.
Jones had initially accepted US head coach Bob Bradley's invitation, but declined later after discussing the call-up with his club, stating he didn't think he would be fully fit for his national-team debut.
"While I initially felt like I was ready to make my first appearance, it is also extremely important to me that I am 100 percent fit for my first national-team game and that I make a good impression on the manager and my teammates," said the FC Schalke player, who missed last season for his Bundesliga team with a leg fracture, in a prepared statement. "I hope to receive another invitation and finally fulfill my goal of playing with the US National Team in the very near future."
One player that will have the chance to make his first appearance for the USMNT is Gonzalez. The LA Galaxy standout and 2009 MLS Rookie of the Year will replace Chad Marshall, who's dealing with a sore knee, in the back line.
The rest of the US roster remains unchanged.
The Nats last played Brazil in the final of the 2009 Confederations Cup and lost a tough but entertaining game by a 3-2 score. Landon Donovan & Co. will look to exact revenge when they host the five-time World Champions in the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey.


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Mike Sherman always seemed like a really nice person. And my guess is that he still is. Just a good overall human being. But I never liked his playcalling. He just didn't have a good sense for game flow and made some positively bewildering play calls at crucial moments. And it wasn't just that the playcalls were bad/perplexing – but of course, the real problem was that they often just didn't work. Well, fast forward a few years to the present day and doubts are surfacing in Miami about Sherman's playcalling as the Dolphin's offensive coordinator. Fans and players alike have offered up some criticism. Even one "high level executive" in the organization apparently said that he doesn't think Sherman knows some of the very basic fundamentals of offense. Again, as much as I don't like to kick a good guy when he's already down, the fact is this is not surprising. Mike Sherman may have done an OK job in his history as an offensive line coach – and to his credit he did help to develop a decent running game with Ahman Green in Green Bay – but I never thought his pulse for the game as a head coach was quite right. After all, he was one of the original "deer-in-the-headlights" coaches who would often stand dumbfounded on the sidelines when things were going wrong (to be followed by Lovie Smith, Wade Phillips, etc).
But forever one of the most annoying things to me about Sherman back in the day was all of the talk about how much time he spent in the office or at the facilities "working hard". I'm all for hard workers, but I am all against inefficient workers. If he spent 18-20 hours a day in the office as the stories indicated, why did he call the same 3rd down draw play EVERY SINGLE TIME! You'd think something a bit more creative would have surfaced after all that time thinking about it.
Anyway – we all could have forewarned Miami of this issue before they hired the guy. But I'll be interested to see if Philbin exerts some of his authority here and directs some more of the playcalling going forward. While McCarthy and Rodgers did most of that while Philbin was the "Offensive Coordinator" in Green Bay, he has to have a better sense for playcalling than Sherman…because everybody does.


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Police and SWAT forces used tear gas after repeated warnings and negotiations to end a standoff on Sutton Road in Shaker Heights overnight Wednesday.
The standoff began just before 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Sutton Road was closed in the area while police negotiated with a suspect inside of an apartment on Sutton Place.
The suspect, who was barricaded inside of an apartment, was said to be off his medication and suffering from a mental illness, reports say.
Reports also indicate that the standoff began at a party, where guests at the party distanced themselves from the suspect and called police. Details are unclear.
Beachwood sent their SWAT unit to assist.
The suspect's mother was among the people negotiating with him on the loud speaker.
Tear gas was used to draw the suspect out of the apartment. He came out peacefully and was arrested. He was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center's psychiatric ward for evaluation.
There is no word on exactly how the situation started.
article courtesy of Wkyc.com


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Lois Elmer
Lois Elmer serves in a dual capacity as the scheduling officer for the School of Music (SOM) and as the office manager and primary contact for Music Education and Music Therapy (MEMT). She provides a variety of information such as program, admission and advising procedures, and enrollment processes.
As scheduling officer she is responsible for overseeing, administering, and coordinating the SOM schedule of classes production and associated room schedules. In her role as MEMT office manager she provides student records management for undergraduate and graduate MEMT students from pre-admission through post-graduation.
Additionally, she provides direct assistance to the MEMT division director, MEMT graduate director, and the School of Music Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.


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It was June 29, and James and Edie Chouinard of Auburn were in Portland, driving south on I-95 on their way to celebrate their 26th anniversary.
Suddenly they saw the flashing blue lights on Maine State Police Trooper Douglas Crooper's vehicle. The police cruiser was stopped across the lanes on the interstate.
"I told my wife, 'Slow the heck down!'" James said. She slammed on the brakes. Their Mercury Marquis fishtailed before coming to a screeching stop, missing the police car.
At the same time, an elderly man — driving toward them — crashed into the cruiser. The man, 88, was going the wrong way on the interstate.
James Chouinard, 53, said he never saw the driver who was headed toward them. "If it wasn't for that trooper, we'd be gone. We would have hit that guy going 65 mph."
Instead, no one was injured. As the couple looked at the smashed vehicles operated by the elderly man and the trooper, "I started crying," Edie Chouinard, 52, said. "We all would have died."
Cropper put himself at risk to stop the driver, she said. "He is a hero."
Cropper said he was on a routine traffic stop in Portland that afternoon when he got a call about the wrong-way driver. From where he was stopped, he could see cars pulling over on I-95, getting out of the way of the driver. The trooper raced onto the interstate to get ahead of the driver, passing cars with his siren blaring.
"I had to go pretty fast," Cropper said. "I was northbound in the southbound lane for about half the way" to get to the man.
After he stopped the wrong-way driver, he asked him, "Why didn't you take an exit?"
"What exit?" the man said to Cropper.
"Did you think about stopping?" Cropper asked.
The man gave no answer.
The man told police he was all done driving. The state police sent an adverse driving report to the Secretary of State's Office, recommending the man's license be reviewed. On Aug. 2 the state took away his license.
More accidents among the elderly
The majority of drivers 65 and up are good drivers, cautious and courteous, according to police. "They're part of the generation that has a lot more respect for others," Auburn police Chief Phil Crowell said.
But research shows older motorists are involved in a disproportionately high share of traffic deaths.
Nationally, drivers 65 and older account for 16 percent of all drivers and 8 percent of all miles driven, but account for 17 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2010, according to TRIP, a national transportation research group.
Maine has 189,000 licensed drivers 65 and older, about 20 percent of all drivers, according to the Maine Secretary of State's Office. However, 22 percent of fatal crashes in Maine involved drivers 65 and older in 2010, according to TRIP.
Maine Department of Transportation data show drivers over 65 also experience more crashes per mile driven than any age group except 16-year-old drivers.
Furthermore, the crashes are 1.7 times more likely to lead to serious injury or death than drivers age 25 to 65. The reasons for this, according to MDOT, include that older drivers have diminishing physical, sensory and cognitive capabilities, and they're usually more fragile.
Safety and transportation officials are aware of the statistics. In 2011 a Maine Strategic Highway Safety Plan recommended upgrading older driver screening by 2013 and making senior transportation more available. So far in Maine and the nation, however, systemic changes have not been implemented to improve safety among older drivers.
In Maine, a growing challenge
With an aging generation of baby boomers reaching retirement age and a growing population of people 65 and older nationally, safety among older drivers is becoming a greater concern among health and safety officials.
Maine is now the oldest state in the nation, with a median age of 42.7, topping Florida, with a median age of 40.7, according to the U.S. Census.
"We're living longer than ever before," said Katherine Freund, president of the Independent Transportation Network of America, a nonprofit group started in Portland. ITN provides rides to seniors. Freund started the group after her little boy was struck and injured by an elderly driver.
Nationally, 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65 every day. That will continue for 18 years, she said. "That's the wave everyone is talking about. People are outliving lots of systems," including transportation.
But responding to the challenge of safety among elderly drivers has been tricky.
In Maine, the only additional requirement as drivers age is vision testing. Beginning at 62, vision is checked at every license renewal, which occurs every four years — instead of six — once a driver turns 65.
The only time road tests are given is when an individual's doctor suggests it, or there's an adverse report filed by police on the driver, Megan Sanborn, spokeswoman for the Secretary of State's Office, said.
Some experts say change is needed, including road testing for license renewals for older drivers. But that has proved to be difficult politically. In the 1990s, Maine legislators considered road testing for older drivers.
"I went to the public hearing," said Kathryn Pears, the former director of the Maine Chapter of Education and Public Policy for the Alzheimer's Association. "There were 200 seniors in there, all concerned with increased scrutiny."
The proposal went down in flames. "We need to revisit the issue," Pears said. To that end, a summit on the issue involving all stakeholders has been scheduled for November by the Secretary of State's Office.
Freund supports road testing for age 75 and up. She's 62 and plans to stop driving at 75. She'll get rides through the ITN service she created.
But proposing road exams would be a lightning rod for controversy, she added.
Another solution is expanding the services of a network like hers, providing rides that allow seniors to give up driving, she said. "People will do the right thing if they have choices," Freund said.
How aging influences driving
Driving is a complex task. As we age, changes make driving riskier, experts say.
For most, the day will come when we should no longer drive. "It's only a question of when," Freund said.
Changes brought on by aging — including slower reaction time and weakened vision — start to negatively influence driving ability as early as age 35, Freund said. Driver experience compensates until about age 75, when, for many, aging "overtakes the benefits of driver experience," she said, noting that for many, driving especially worsens around 85.
Aging causes most motorists to change their driving patterns. "We stop driving at night because we can't see as well," Freund said. "We stop driving on the interstate because it becomes difficult to merge into traffic. It becomes difficult to judge the speed and distance of oncoming vehicles."
Sometimes older drivers come to a dead stop in merging lanes. "They're trying to be careful," Freund said. "The same when turning left."
Older drivers often avoid driving in inclement weather. "Raining weather is hard; they lose the ability to understand visual contrast," Freund said. Being able to divide attention among multiple events transpiring on the road also diminishes. "You see older people slow down so they can process it."
The aging process also means a reduction in physical abilities for things like turning your head to see if a lane is clear. Also, taking multiple medications, which is common among older citizens, can slow reaction time. These kinds of changes "happen to everybody," Freund said.
On top of that, there's dementia, added Pears, who works with families and police at her Dementia Care Strategies in Brunswick.
The majority of older drivers don't have dementia. At age 65, 13 percent have dementia; by age 85 the number rises to 45 percent, according to the Alzheimer's Association.
Pears said dementia is often responsible for things like confusing the gas and the brake, driving the wrong way on a highway and putting the vehicle in "drive" instead of "park." "It's related to confusion, visual and perceptual changes," she said. "Dementia causes damage in the brain. It changes how people react."
If most people were to get on the interstate headed the wrong way, "we wouldn't have to go too far to know something was wrong," Pears said. "We'd pull over and at least stop."
But people with dementia may not see vehicles around them. "I work with law enforcement officers who've said they've tried to stop an elderly driver," Pears said. "They had their sirens and lights blaring. The drivers said they weren't aware of the police car."
People with dementia often aren't aware they shouldn't be driving; it usually takes the intervention of family members, a doctor or police to convince them otherwise, she said
Time to give up the keys?
Anna Faucher, 92, of Lewiston gave up driving last year at age 91.
It wasn't because she was in an accident. "I wasn't comfortable driving," she said recently, as she played cribbage with Lewiston seniors at the Lewiston Memorial Armory. "I was afraid of getting in an accident."
She gets rides from her son. Her friend, Betty Ames, 77, also gives her rides to card games. When seniors should stop driving "is an individual thing," Ames said. "You can be 80 and do good." Others need to stop. "It depends."
Wrestling with when to stop driving "becomes a challenge for us and families," Auburn Chief Crowell said. "Driving is the last piece of independence an elderly person has to get groceries, go to the doctor's and visit friends."
Other than some city bus service, elderly transportation "is a huge unmet need" in Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties, said Koriene Lowe, director of transportation for Community Concepts.
Police work with families, "especially after a bad crash," Crowell said. There have been times that the Auburn Police Department has written letters to the Secretary of State's Office "recommending this person's license be withdrawn. That's extreme," Crowell said. "We don't do it often."
His officers use their judgment, the chief said. "When we're investigating a crash, we're pulling that person's history." If there seems to be a lot of crashes lately, they'll begin investigating why and try to determine if the driver should stop. Often seniors give up driving themselves, Crowell said.
When police do write to the Secretary of State's Office suggesting a person's license be reviewed, they typically have the family's support, Crowell said.
"Sometimes we have family members who come in and say, 'Can you do it so we don't have to?' Sometimes it's near misses, not crashes, that brings up their concern," he said.
Like police, Pears meets with families worried that their aging friend or loved one may no longer be safe driving. Families are looking for help, she said.
It's a tough subject, Pears acknowledged, but noted that driving is a privilege, not a right.
One question Pears asks family members: "'Would you let your grandchild ride with this person?' If someone hesitates for a second, you have your answer."
Senior Driving Summit Nov. 2 in Augusta
Maine Secretary of State Charlie Summers is calling for a daylong "Senior Driving Summit" Nov. 2 at the Augusta Armory based on serious, high-profile crashes involving elderly drivers and research highlighting the correlation between aging and accidents.
The event will be sponsored by the Secretary of State's Office and AAA. The stakeholders — including seniors and family members, policy makers, law enforcement officials, physicians and care givers — will talk about the challenges of senior driving and the lack of transportation alternatives in much of Maine, said Secretary of State spokeswoman Megan Sanborn.
Changes in laws could come from the forum, but Summers isn't recommending any at this time, Sanborn said. On July 23, the Bangor Daily News reported that Summers was beginning an exploratory process that could lead to changes in driving laws in regard to elderly motorists, but Sanborn later said Summers is only calling for the summit.
Summers is the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate seat held by Olympia Snowe. Independent Angus King and Democrat Cynthia Dill are also vying for the seat.


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Twenty years ago today, the live-action take on Eastman and Laird's trailblazing indie comic hit the big screen. And you should thank it for changing Hollywood for the geekier.
There had been comic book-based movies before Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — Superman and Superman II, Tim Burton's Batman, Swamp Thing, Howard the Duck, to name a few — but if you'll look at that list, one thing is clear: the films that had heroes that were part of the fabric of Americana did well, and the ones that didn't, didn't.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles changed all that. Based on Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's movement-defining independent comic, TMNT cost New Line Cinema a mere $13.5 million to make and raked in more than $200 million worldwide — and this was in 1990, back when $200 million counted for something. In the wake of that success, Hollywood studio executives took notice and started looking deeper into the comics catalog for material, rolling out a bounty of films based on relatively unknown characters: The Rocketeer (1991), The Crow (1994), The Mask (1994), Tank Girl (1995), Judge Dredd (1995), Men in Black (1997), Spawn (1997), and Blade (1998). Some hit it big, some didn't, but the gates to the comic mines had been flung open, never to close again.
As for the movie itself...it's okay. The comics' pulpy arch seriousness — you can, after all, play it but so straight when your heroes are turtle martial artists — was eschewed for a more playful, merchandisable tone. There was a little too much breakdancing and pizza.. But the kung-fu was solid, the character-design brilliance remained intact (four irradiated turtles, each who wields a different weapon while taking on the name of a Renaissance master? Come on!), and the usually tricky origin story stuck the landing.
So, hey, if you're hoisting a glass today, or obsessing over every last millisecond of the Scott Pilgrim trailer (sqeeee!), give a silent toast to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The movies would be a far less awesome place without it.


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Go back and watch the previous matches between Sporting Kansas City and the Houston Dynamo and the battles for the wings have been some of the best to watch.
Those matchups have epitomized the back and forth between two teams who look to push the other, both physically and mentally.
In their MLS Eastern Conference Semifinal, which begins on Sunday (2:30 pm CT, NBC, BUY TICKETS), the flanks will once again be important battlegrounds. Sporting's Kei Kamara and Graham Zusi, plus wingbacks Chance Myers and Seth Sinovic, provide a combination of relentlessness and athleticism that the Dynamo duo of Corey Ashe and youngster Kofi Sarkodie will have to contend with.
"It's going to be a good battle," Ashe told MLSsoccer.com. "I love playing against Kei, love playing against Graham. I'm looking forward to it. It's definitely going to be competitive, and that fire's going to be coming out."
Ashe, in particular, enters the match on an extended run of good form. The 5-foot-7 midfielder turned fullback was instrumental in slowing Chicago's fast wingers in Wednesday's Eastern Conference Knockout match.
"One guy that doesn't get enough credit is Corey," said Brad Davis. "Knowing that I have him behind me is a huge confidence booster and allows me to take more chances. These games, he loves playing just as much as all of us. He's been there before. He's a veteran on this team now and knows what it takes."
Sporting has shown the tendency to rotate their two wingers, meaning Ashe will likely see time against both the crafty Zusi and the athletic Kamara. Same goes for his counterpart on the other side of the field.
Sarkodie is not a veteran and doesn't "know what it takes." A first round draft pick in 2011, he had made only 10 career appearances before becoming a regular in the starting lineup two months ago.
"It's taken a little bit of time for him to get some playing time," said head coach Dominic Kinnear. "But he's worked hard to get his chance, and I think he's been playing well for us. He's kept his game simple, which I think helps him."
Against top seed Sporting's formidable flank attack, he's going to have to keep it simple again for the fifth-seeded Dynamo to have a chance to pull of the upset.
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.
LAST MEETING AT BBVA COMPASS STADIUM: Houston 2, Sporting KC 1


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|The largest independent, non-commercial, consumer-oriented resource on the Internet for owners, collectors and enthusiasts of fine wristwatches. Online since 1998.
A marketplace for chronographs, dive watches and other tool-type wristwatches and timepieces
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Rules: Postings must be an ad announcing an intent to sell, buy or trade. Full item description and photo(s) must be posted within the message here, not as links to other websites. Links to online auctions and other sites: Links to online auctions, dealer sites or other listings of items are permitted, but you should be careful to ensure that such listings will comply with our other ChronoTrader Policies. In addition, we request that sellers linking to online auctions or listings offer some benefit or accomodation to ChronoTrader readers (for example, some discount or an undertaking to end an auction early, to keep a watch "in the family"). Photos must be of the actual item for sale in its present condition. No counterfeit or replica products. No post for the same item may be repeated within 7 days, except to lower the asking price. Commercial dealers are limited to three unique posts per day. [More...]
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|Chronocentric and zOwie site design and contents (c) Copyright 1998-2005, Derek Ziglar; Copyright 2005-2008, Jeffrey M. Stein. All rights reserved. Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the terms of use.


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St. John's
Sponsored By
Missouri Advances to Holiday Tourney FinalTigers defeat St. John's 90-82 in semis of Advocare Invitational in Florida
Big East: One More Time, With FeelingThe death of the Big East as we know it hit home last week as 14 teams arrived at the World's Most Famous Arena (Connecticut was ineligible). Next season, the "Catholic 7" will be reportedly joined by Butler, Creighton, and Xavier in a basketball-only conference that has paid to keep the Big East name.
Stage Set For Final Big East Tournament As We Know ItThe Big East tournament will have a touch of a wake to it this week. When games end, there will be plenty of reminiscing about rivalries and talk of what is to come.


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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Three defensive touchdowns and a safety helped the No. 11 Wesley College football team to a 37-0 lead after the first quarter and the Wolverines went on to beat the Birmingham-Southern Panthers, 46-12, at Battle Field on Saturday afternoon. Both teams now stand at 3-1 on the year.
Wesley also moved the ball well offensively with both the run and the pass, rushing for a season-high 252 yards while throwing for 208. Five runners got multiple carries for the Wolverines, led by Rick Jackson's 63 yards on ten carries. Cimirrow Moat ran the ball ten times for 45 yards while Eugene Byrd ran for 49 yards, including the game's first touchdown on eight carries. Kenneth Virden (43 yards) and Jamar Baynard (29 yards) combined for 72 yards on 11 attempts.
Sophomore quarterback Joe Callahan also played well in just his fourth career start, completing 16-of-23 passes for 194 yards and a 4-yard touchdown pass to Steve Koudossou in the first quarter. Callahan also ran for a score from four yards out midway through the third before giving way to Jake McCusker. McCusker was accurate in both of his pass attempts, throwing for 14 yards before Daniel Kesack came in late and the fourth, running for nine yards on his first play from scrimmage before lining up in victory formation.
Tight end Kyle George had a big day while receiving his most playing time of the year, catching four passes for 100 yards, including a 46-yard catch in the first quarter. Bryce Shade also caught four passes while eight others recorded receptions on the day.
For the first time this season, the Wolverines opened the game on the receiving end, and they were quick to make the Panthers pay for deferring after winning the coin toss. After a pair of runs by Byrd, Callahan completed four-straight passes for four-different receivers to get the ball inside the BSC 30-yard line. Runs by Shade and Byrd then moved Wesley inside the ten, and two plays later, Byrd ran one in from three yards out.
On the Panthers ensuing possession, the Wolverines forced a three-and-out, but the snap on the punt went over Hagen Mancuso's head and through the endzone for safety, giving Wesley a 9-0 lead with 8:12 left in the first quarter.
A 22-yard run by Byrd followed by a 46-yard pass to George on the seam keyed a six-play, 69 yard drive after the Wolverines received the free kick after the safety. Callahan then hit Koudossou from four yards out for a touchdown, increasing the lead to 16 points.
Following Jon Storck's kickoff, Sosthene Kapepula converged on BSC running back Teddre Williams for a four-yard loss, forced a fumble and then ran into the endzone from 21 yards out for Wesley's first of three defensive scores in the quarter. Aamir Petrose returned a fumble 49 yards for a score on the Panthers next possession and Dominique "Duke" Herald intercepted a pass and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown with one tick left in the first quarter.
Both teams went scoreless in the second quarter but BSC got on the board on its first possession of the third quarter. After missing the extra point, Wesley's lead was cut to 37-6 with just over ten minutes left in the third.
Virden got the call four times and responded with 43 rushing yards on Wesley's possession after giving up a score. Following an 18-yard pass to George and a six-yard run by Jackson, Callahan called his own number and ran for his first career touchdown on the ground to increase the lead to 38 points.
Birmingham-Southern was able to score on a two-yard run midway through the fourth, but the defensive scoring for Wesley story continued as Bruce Tyler intercepted a pass on the two-point conversion attempt and ran in back from in the endzone for two points.
Defensively, Wesley held BSC to just 18 rushing yards while Panthers quarterback Tyson Beacham also threw interceptions to Luke Maginnis and Julian Jones. Kapepula finished with a team-high seven tackles along with 3.5 tackles for loss, including the fumble for a touchdown while Petrose was credited with three hurries from his defensive end position. Brenton Barnes had the best game of his career with six tackles and a tackle for loss.
Wesley hosts Huntingdon (3-0) for Homecoming on Saturday, October 5, at 12 pm.


text: Beautiful handmade round crystal earrings with stickpin in high quality stainless steel from Coeur De Lion. Pair it with matching Coeur De Lion jewellery to complete your look. Coordinate this with any ensemble from business casual to everyday wear to polish your look without compromising fashion. Arrives in official packaging.


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The past week has been a flurry of motion and emotion. It's hard to process all that has transpired, but what we already know is that several Southern Indiana and Kentucky communities need our help.
In the coming weeks, media attention on the March 2 outbreak will wane, but if the response to the catastrophe by ordinary people is any indication, the support for the affected towns isn't going anywhere.
Thank you to those who took the time to participate in The Voice-Tribune's March 3 donation drive for Henryville Community Church. Senior Pastor Rich Cheek continues to give us daily updates on how that initial relief effort involving his church has already affected lives.
One little girl was handed a soft, blue blanket from the massive load of supplies and started sobbing when she was told she could keep it. The snuggly throw had been packed into the back of the semi we loaded after being contributed by a young Louisville child.
Two older gentlemen made their way to the church shortly after we'd unloaded all of the trucks and headed back to Louisville. They broke down when handed cash to fill up a gas tank. The money was from a last minute collection the Pleasure Ridge Park basketball team, coaches and parents asked us to present to Pastor Rich.
The stories are endless. They're inspiring, too. They're also evidence that the situation is immense. The only way Kentuckiana will recover is if we commit to helping one another.
Ante Up For Adam
For much of the past week, Adam Underwood has juggled his job as general manager of Wick's Pizza Parlor & Pub in New Albany with coordinating numerous outreach efforts into the devastated areas of Southern Indiana.
Almost immediately after the March 2 tornado outbreak, Wick's and The McMahan Group offered to donate $10,000 of food to the stricken areas nearby, particularly Henryville. Delivery after delivery, the staff – including big-hearted owner Michael Wickliffe – has continued to make good on that promise, feeding hot slices of pizza to volunteers, emergency personnel and those whose lives have been irreversibly changed.
Adam didn't get a chance to visit Henryville until Tuesday afternoon. "There was so much destruction all around you up there. The first thing I thought was I couldn't believe the strength of the people there. I felt if that would have happened to me, I would have just given up, and then you look around and you see people from all walks of life – from the construction workers to the volunteers to the people who live there – pitching in.â€
The experience, Adam said, " makes you feel human again. It makes you realize it's so simple: You see people in need and you help.â€
He plans to do just that on Friday night at "Helping Henryville And Beyond,†a benefit concert Wick's is hosting at its New Albany location.
On that evening, Adam (who sports a stellar beard) has offered to allow master barber Jay White of Market Street Barbers (owned by Bennie Pollard) to give him a full-on shave – for the right price, that is. He won't shave it for anything less than $300 in donations, which will go to Henryville Community Church, though the consensus among The Voice crew is that his hairy handiwork is worth far, far more, if for no other reasons than his commitment to those in need and his desire to add a bit of levity to what has been a heart-breaking week.
"It just seemed like in the midst of all this craziness and this heartache and everything, it seemed like something fun and lighthearted that I could do that would sort of take the seriousness off the situation while still raising some money,†he said.
Sure would love to see people ante up for Adam and what is clearly a worthy cause.
Connect to Angie Fenton at www.facebook.com/angiefenton2, firstname.lastname@example.com, 502.551.2698 or by following @angiefenton on Twitter.


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People who are more fit during middle age have less chronic illness in later years, study shows
(CBS News) It's never too late to start exercising. A new study shows that people who are fit in their 30s through 50s are more likely to avoid chronic illness in their later years.
Fitness has been shown to boost health and extend lifespan, but this research shows that it may also lower risk of getting lung cancer, colon cancer, heart problems, obstructive pulmonary conditions, stroke, kidney disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.
"We've determined that being fit is not just delaying the inevitable, but it is actually lowering the onset of chronic disease in the final years of life," senior author Dr. Jarett Berry, assistant professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, said in the press release.
According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, adults between 18 and 65 should get at least two and a half hours of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week. It is also acceptable to partake in one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous -intensity aerobic activity weekly. At least twice a week, adults should partake in muscle-strengthening activities.
For the study, which was published online in August 2012 in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers looked 18,670 participants in the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study, which contained records of more than 250,000 patients over 40 years. The compared the data with the participant's Medicare claims during the ages of 70 to 85.
Patients who were able to increase their fitness levels by 20 percent in their midlife years were able to decrease their chance of developing chronic illness by 20 percent in their later years. By the time the subjects reached the age of 50, the part of the group in the lowest 20 percent of the fitness scale had almost twice as many chronic illnesses than the people in the highest 20 percent. The people with the highest fitness levels at midlife had 34 percent more time with one or no chronic illness than those who were the least fit.
Fitter people were also more likely to live their last five years with fewer chronic diseases. The results were similar in both men and women.
"What sets this study apart is that it focuses on the relationship between midlife fitness and quality of life in later years. Fitter individuals aged well with fewer chronic illnesses to impact their quality of life," first author Dr. Benjamin Willis of The Cooper Institute said in the press release.
However, the study showed that people who were more fit were no less likely to die earlier than those who were least fit. The fittest people were more likely to live healthily until they died suddenly or suffered from a short illness, while the least fit people were more likely to suffer from an illness for quite some time as their health slowly went downhill.
In an accompanying commentary published in the same journal, Dr. Diane Bild, associate director of the Prevention and Population Sciences Program at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, said this new research implies that fitness can help people live healthier years. She interpreted the results with caution, however, since 98 percent of the participants in the study were white. She also pointed out that genetics may play a bigger part in the results - meaning exercise may not lead to fitness in all cases.
"Because genetics likely plays a role in longevity and certainly plays a role in disease avoidance, if some of the same genes are involved in the longevity and fitness, they may serve as major confounders in the attractive interpretation that exercise leads to fitness, which leads to healthy aging," she said.


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William F. "Chip" Klostermeyer is a Professor in the School of Computing. He is a graph theorist, interested in problems in domination theory and graph coloring. Recent work has centered on proving theorems describing the number of mobile guards needed within a network to defend it against an infinite series of attacks. His other papers include ones on problems related to the famous "four-color" map-coloring problem and a long series of papers with John Goldwasser on the parity domination problem. He has published 69 refereed papers in these areas in journals such as Journal of Graph Theory, Discrete Mathematics, and Graphs and Combinatorics. His work has been extensively cited in the literature and two of his papers have been ranked among the most-downloaded papers of the year for the journal Discrete Mathematics. He won the UNF Outstanding Faculty Scholarship Award in 2008 and is a "Fellow" of the Institute for Combinatorics and its Applications.
Dr. Klostermeyer was President of the UNF Faculty Association and a member of the UNF Board of Trustees from 2006 to 2008. He has served as chair of the Academic Standards Committee (2003-2004), chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee (2008-2009), and chair of the Intercollegiate Athletic Committee (2004-2006).
Dr. Klostermeyer is a native of Charleston, West Virginia and received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 1992.


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Tagged: Alan Zinter
2006/07 Offseason and In-Season Moves
They say it takes five years before you can truly evaluate a trade.
The 2007 season was an important one in the history of the Houston Astros. It brought the end of Tim Purpura's tenure as general manager, and the beginning of the Ed Wade regime. It brought the beginning of the Carlos Lee era.
And then there's Travis Phelps. More on that later.
Below is a list of the transactions between the end of the 2006 season and the beginning of the 2008 season, with just enough analysis to make it not completely boring.
October 15, 2006
The Astros had just finished the season, going 82-80, second in the NL Central by a game and a half. They'd won nine in a row and ten out of eleven to move to within a half game of the St. Louis Cardinals, who would go on to beat the Tigers four games to one in the World Series, but Houston lost two out of three to the Braves to end the season out of the playoff picture.
Definitely a disappointing season after Houston's 2005 World Series appearance, but hopes were still high that they were within striking distance of another National League crown. This had the potential to be a very big offseason, and indeed some big things happened. But before big things can happen in any offseason, first little things have to happen. And on October 15, 2006, those little things involved letting players depart via free agency.
Those players included Travis Driskill, Mike Gallo, Jesse Garcia, Carlos Hernandez, J.R. House, Joe McEwing, Eric Munson, Jailen Peguero, Tike Redman, Walter Young, Alan Zinter, and Brian Gordon.
Travis Driskill – Driskill put together a couple of nice seasons early in his career with Baltimore and Colorado, and his one relief appearance in 2005 may have qualified his as the greatest Small Sample Size (SSS) player on the roster: 1 IP, 2 K, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB. He had a FIP of -0.98. That's negative 0.98. I'm gonna be honest here and admit that I didn't know a negative FIP was even possible. He had a pretty good year in AAA for the Astros in 2006, striking out over 8 batters per 9 IP, walking fewer than 2 per 9 IP, and finishing 4-8 with a 3.20 ERA.
Mike Gallo – 2006 was the end of Gallo's miserable four-year run as an Astro. In 116 innings since 2003, he'd walked (3.65/9) almost as many as he'd struck out (5.35/9), going 4-3 with a 4.11 ERA, which actually out-performed his FIP (5.49) by a fairly wide margin.
Jesse Garcia – After a less-than-stellar career with the Orioles, Braves, and Padres, Garcia spent the 2006 with the Astros organization in AAA, where he posted a walk rate under 3% and slugged just .392, with a 72 wRC+.
Carlos Hernandez – Hernandez began his career with the Astros in 2001, and by the end of 2004, he'd thrown 170.2 innings in 35 games (33 starts). But in 2006, he only managed 14 innings for Corpus Christi, walking 10.3 per 9 innings.
J.R. House – House began his career in Pittsburgh, where he was ranked as high as the #21 prospect in all of baseball in 2001. He was signed by the Astros as a free agent prior to the 2006 season. He had a stellar year between Corpus Christi and Round Rock, but went 0-9 with 2 strikeouts in his limited time in the big leagues.
Joe McEwing – McEwing was a good-not-great super utility man for the Mets, Cardinals, and Royals before the Astros purchased him from Kansas City before the 2006 season. He spent the majority of the season mashing in Round Rock, with just 6 appearances at the major league level.
Eric Munson – The third overall pick in the 1999 draft, Munson had played pretty unspectacularly for the Tigers and Devil Rays before signing with Houston as a free agent. He finished 2006 under the Mendoza line, hitting 199/269/348 with 5 home runs and 19 RBI. Though dreadfully unlucky (.219) in BABIP, he didn't help himself with his walk (7.1%) and strikeout (20.5%) rates.
Jailen Peguero – An amateur free agent, signed by the Astros out of the Dominican Republic in 2000, Peguero never rose above the AAA level in Houston, though he would later go on to pitch 24 mediocre innings for Arizona in 2007 and 2008.
Tike Redman – Signed as a free agent after being released by the Tigers during the 2006 season, Redman had 121 nice plate appearances in Corpus Christi, with a .366 wOBA, but couldn't find a spot on the big league roster, perhaps owing to his reputation as a poor defender (he'd led the league in errors by a CF in 2005 for Pittsburgh.)
Walter Young – Young hit 277/309/410 in 366 plate appearances in Corpus Christi after being released by the Padres, but never moved up to Round Rock.
Alan Zinter – A former first rounder (24th overall) by the Mets, Zinter was a journeyman minor leaguer long before arriving Houston, having played in the Mets, Tigers, Red Sox, Mariners, Cubs, and Diamondbacks systems before joining the Astros. It was his second stint with Houston, who'd actually given him 44 of his 84 big league plate appearances, back in 2002.
Brian Gordon – Gordon was drafted out of Round Rock High School, and showed nice peripherals in the minors, but could never manage to stay healthy.
ANALYSIS: This is so early in the offseason that none of these moves can exactly be analyzed yet. Several of the players on this list did, in fact, come back and play for the Astros in 2007. Of those who didn't, not much was given up. Redman was worth 0.2 wins for Baltimore in 2007, but he's offset by Jailen Peguero, who lost 0.2 wins with Arizona. House was worth 0.1 wins in 2007 for Baltimore. So we've got a NET LOSS of 0.1 wins. Hardly worth mentioning.
October 30, 2006
The Astros let Russ Springer depart via free agency. A piece of the pennant-winning 2005 team, Springer was an extreme (60.5%) flyball pitcher with a tendency towards allowing home runs. He threw 59.2 innings in 2006, going 1-1 with 46 K, 16 BB, 1.039 WHIP, and 3.47 ERA.
ANALYSIS: Springer pitched 116.1 innings over the next two seasons for the Cardinals, going 10-2 with a FIP near 3 and a hefty strikeout total. His HR/9 total dropped from 1.51 to 0.41, owing largely to playing in a park where flyballs didn't leave quite as frequently. He was worth 1.7 wins over his two seasons in St. Louis, with 1.2 of them coming in 2007. So, a NET LOSS of 1.2 wins.
October 31, 2006
Craig Biggio, Roger Clemens, and Aubrey Huff departed via free agency. Don't worry, future Hall of Famer Biggio would be back for one final season.
Huff had come over mid-season in a trade with the Devil Rays for Mitch Talbot and Ben Zobrist. It's a good thing we're not analyzing that trade, which was a giant loss for the Astros. He hit 250/341/478 for the Astros down the stretch, but poor fielding and baserunning gave him replacement value. Clemens had gone 38-18 with a 2.40 ERA in three seasons in Houston, striking out 505 batters in 539 innings while walking just 101. He won a Cy Young Award in 2004 (his 7th) and finished in the top three in 2005, but 2006 had been a bit of a struggle for him, and all signs pointed toward him heading into retirement.
ANALYSIS: Huff signed with the Orioles for three seasons, and was worth 1 win in 2007. In 2007, he was worth four times as many. After struggling through the first half of 2009, he was traded to the Tigers for Brett Jacobson, who never advanced past the AA level. Clemens pitched for the Yankees in 2007, going 6-6 with a 4.14 FIP. He was worth 1.8 wins. For the 2007 season, this is a NET LOSS of 2.8 wins in 2007.
November 6, 2006
Andy Pettitte departed through free agency. Something of a foregone conclusion after the loss of Clemens, Pettitte had gone 37-26 over three seasons in Houston, with a 3.38 ERA. He'd been worth 3.5 wins in 2006.
ANALYSIS: Pettitte went back to the Yankees in 2007, where he's pitched ever since. 2007 shows a NET LOSS of 4.5 wins, as he went 15-9 with a 3.87 FIP for the Bombers.
November 10, 2006
Free agent Craig Biggio re-signed. Biggio came back for one final season, in which he hit a pretty lackluster 251/285/381, but he collected his 3,000th hit and solidified his Cooperstown credentials.
November 15, 2006
Free agent middle infielder Jesse Garcia re-signed.
November 24, 2006
Free agent outfielder Carlos Lee and free agent pitcher Woody Williams signed .
Lee had been a powerhouse for the White Sox, Brewers, and Rangers, and was signed by Houston to provide pop from the cleanup spot.
Williams was brought in to plug up the rotation with the departure of Clemens and Pettitte. An effective pitcher for the Blue Jays, Padres, and Cardinals, Williams' tenure in Houston was less successful.
ANALYSIS: Williams struggled in Houston, going 8-15 with a 5.27 ERA through 33 games (31 starts). He was worth -0.1 wins. It's hard to argue with the Lee signing, as – aside from a subpar 2010 in which his defense negated his 246/291/417 line – he consistently provided positive value. He was worth 10.7 runs over the next 5.5 seasons (at about $9.3m per win). Specifically for 2007, these two signings showed a NET GAIN of 3.3 wins, with Lee offsetting Williams' negative value.
However, signing Lee forced the Astros to surrender their first round pick (17th overall) to the Texas Rangers. The Rangers used this pick to select Blake Beavan, who they later traded to the Mariners (with Matthew Lawson, Justin Smoak, and Josh Lueke) for Cliff Lee and Mark Lowe.
Lee played the remainder of the season in Texas and then was signed by the Phillies, giving Texas two more draft picks in 2011, which they used to select Kevin Matthews and Zach Cone. Cone, in particular, looks like a win so far for Texas. He hit 262/326/421 in A-ball in 2012 (115 wRC+) and, if he can learn a little more patience at the plate, could eventually prove to be a solid center fielder in the big leagues.
For his part, Lowe has provided 0.4 wins over the past two seasons for Texas.
Losing the first round pick carries its own unique set of hardships, but since we're evaluating the 2007 season, we'll stick with the net gain of 3.3 wins.
December 12, 2006
And away we go. Perhaps believing – somehow – that Woody Williams alone wasn't quite enough to plug up the loss of Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens, GM Tim Purpura decided to pull the trigger on a trade: Taylor Buchholz, Jason Hirsh, and Willy Taveras to the Colorado Rockies for Miguel Asencio and Jason Jennings.
Whatever Buchholz's emotional shortcomings may have been (and they certainly may have been), he'd been a pleasant surprise for the Astros in their 2006 campaign. Though he'd gone just 6-10 with a 5.18 FIP, worth 0.4 wins. Nothing to write home about, but his future looked promising enough.
Jason Hirsh had shown command and control problems in his own rookie campaign in 2006, walking 4.43 batters per 9 innings and allowing 2.22 home runs per 9. An extreme flyball pitcher (69.9%), he didn't fit the profile of a MMP pitcher. But he certainly didn't fit the profile of a Coors Field pitcher, either.
Taveras was one of those frustrating leadoff hitters, all speed with no on-base skills. He drew just a 5.8% walk rate in 2006, with a wRC+ of 72, but saved 20.3 runs in center field and stole 33 bases. He'd boasted a .333 OBP, aided largely by his insane 42.9% bunt hit percentage.
Asencio had shown some early promise in Colorado, generating lots of groundballs, but could never quite command the strike zone.
Jennings was the real keystone of this piece for Houston. The 2002 NL Rookie of the Year had built a solid reputation in Colorado, going 58-56 with a 98 ERA+. Though he'd gone just 9-13 in 2006, he'd posted career-low ERA (3.78) and WHIP (1.373) totals.
ANALYSIS: For all the buzz that this trade generated, it was more or less a wash. Asencio spent 2007 struggling in the Astros' minor league system, while Jennings generated the highest flyball percentage (64.8%) and HR/9 (1.73) of his career to date. He went 2-9 through just 18 starts, with a FIP of 5.39 and just 0.2 WAR.
On the other side of the trade, Taveras was worth a career-high 1.1 wins in 2007. Hirsh provided 0.9 wins of his own, going 5-7 with a 4.81 ERA, and Buchholz was worth 1.7 wins in 2007, limiting the long ball and the free passes. Overall, this was a NET LOSS of 3.5 wins for the Astros in 2007.
January 4, 2007
The first transaction of the new year saw the Astros re-sign free agent Eric Munson, as well as signing free agent Kevin Walker, who'd been lackluster for the Padres, Giants, and White Sox. Walker never pitched a big league inning for the Astros.
January 5, 2007
The Astros signed free agent Ray Sadler, who'd shown promise in Pittsburgh, but never materialized on the Astros' big league roster.
January 8, 2007
The Astros signed free agent Mark Loretta. This was Loretta's second stint with the Astros, having played 21 games for them during the 2002 season. But mostly, he'd been with the Brewers, Padres, and Red Sox. He was an infielder with good on-base skills and a little power, but not a ton in the way of defensive ability. He performed as expected for the Astros, going 287/352/372 in 2007, for a NET GAIN of 1.3 wins.
January 10, 2007
The Astros re-signed free agent Travis Driskill.
January 16, 2007
The Astros signed free agent Travis Phelps, albeit not for the last time during this offseason. They also signed free agent left-hander Steve Randolph. Phelps would not play in the majors for Houston. Randolph, on the other hand, pitched 13.1 innings. He struck out 22 batters in that time (14.85/9), but walked 17 (11.48/9) and gave up 18 earned runs, 21 hits, and 4 home runs. He ended the season 0-1 with a 12.15 ERA and a 2.850 WHIP, providing a NET LOSS of 0.4 wins in the process. Pretty impressive for 13.1 innings.
January 17, 2007
The Astros signed free agent infielder Danny Klassen.
January 18, 2007
The Astros signed free agent outfielder Todd Self.
January 19, 2007
The Astros signed free agent outfielder Tim Raines. Not that Tim Raines.
January 27, 2007
The Astros signed free agent pitcher Brian Moehler. This was Moehler's second stint with the Astros (he'd thrown 13.2 innings in 2003 for Houston). He'd established himself as a capable pitcher with Detroit, Cincinnati, and Florida. Someone who could pitch out of the bullpen or as a starter. This was a fairly low-key signing, but Moehler would prove to be quite an asset for Houston in 2008, going 11-8 with a 4.57 FIP. In 2007, though, he was a replacement-level pitcher.
January 31, 2007
The Astros re-signed free agent Brian Gordon.
Februrary 2, 2007
The Astros signed veteran lefty Scott Sauerbeck and righty Rick White. Sauerbeck would not pitch at the big league level for the Astros, but White did end up contributing 29.1 miserable innings in 2007, with a NET LOSS of 0.3 wins.
March 2, 2007
The Astros signed free agent outfielder Barry Wesson.
March 6, 2007
The Astros signed international free agent Jose Altuve. Though he wouldn't begin contributing until 2011, the diminutive seventeen-year-old infielder may have been the second-best signing of the offseason. An All-Star in 2012, he's been worth 2.1 wins in roughly a season and a half in Houston. Still, for the 2007 season, he's a wash.
March 26, 2007
The Astros claimed Ezequiel Astacio off waivers from the Rangers. Though he'd pitched before in Houston, Astacio would not re-surface on their roster in 2007 or beyond.
Purpura also pulled off a low-profile trade, sending Wade Robinson to the Nationals for Danny Ardoin. Robinson struggled at the AA-level before Washington cut him, and Ardoin never made it to the big leagues for Houston, despite appearances in the past for Minnesota, Texas, Colorado, and Baltimore.
March 27, 2007
The Astros released Travis Phelps. Poor guy.
March 30, 2007
The Astros released Charlton Jimerson. Jimerson had gone 247/287/445 for Houston's AAA club in 2006, and had even contributed 0.1 wins for the big league club. After he was released, the Mariners signed him. Though he only had two plate appearances for Seattle in 2007, one of them resulted in a home run, for an impressive (on paper) line of 1000/1000/2500, 1.448 wOBA, 848 wRC+. He also flashed a good glove and stole two bases in his limited time for the Mariners, worth a NET LOSS to Houston of 0.2 wins.
This would be the final move of Spring Training before the Astros began the 2007 season. The dates, moving forward, will have the Astros' record for the sake of reference.
April 3, 2007 (0-2, t-5th NL Central)
The Astros released Kevin Walker.
April 27, 2007 (9-13, t-5th NL Central)
The Astros signed Travis Phelps. Hey, welcome back!
May 20, 2007 (21-22, 2nd NL Central)
The Astros released Travis Phelps. Oh, hey, never mind.
June 7, 2007 (24-35, 5th NL Central)
The 2007 Rule 4 Draft was, more or less, an unmitigated disaster for Houston. They didn't select until 111th overall. In total, they selected 42 players, only one of whom ever played in the major leagues. That one, Robbie Weinhardt, was drafted in the 38th round. He didn't sign. In 2008, Tigers drafted him in the 10th round, and he's contributed 0.4 wins for them
The small amount of upside is that they were able to flip 10th-rounder Matt Cusick to the Yankees for LaTroy Hawkins, who would go on to be worth 1.1 wins for Houston, but not until the 2008 season.
11th-rounder Robert Bono was part of the package sent to Florida for Matt Lindstrom in 2010. Lindstrom was worth 0.3 wins that season, and was later sent to Colorado for Jonnathan Aristil and Wes Musick, both of whom pitched in Oklahoma City in 2012.
June 12, 2007 (27-37, 4th NL Central)
The Astros signed veteran free agent pitcher Chan Ho Park. Park would not end up pitching in the majors for Houston, though he would have a productive year two years later for Philadelphia.
June 19, 2007 (31-40, 5th NL Central)
The Astros released Scott Sauerbeck.
June 28, 2007 (33-46, 5th NL Central)
The Astros released Rick White.
July 28, 2007 (46-58, 4th NL Central)
Despite being ten and a half games out of first place, Purpura still believed Houston had a shot, owing largely to the reputation the Astros had put together of being a "second-half team." It was the pressure to make a push for the postseason, no doubt, that prompted him to trade Dan Wheeler to Tampa Bay for Ty Wigginton.
At the time, this felt very similar to the deal that sent Talbot and Zobrist to Tampa for Aubrey Huff. Huff and Wigginton were both part-time rentals from Tampa Bay. They both played third base. They both had some power. In reality, though, this trade hurt Houston far less. Wigginton turned in a career-best 3.1 WAR in 2008, limiting his defensive liabilities. In just 187 plate appearances in Houston in 2007, he went 284/342/462 and was worth 0.8 wins.
Wheeler had been a key piece of the Houston bullpen in 2005 and 2006, and had been moderately less effective in 2007. He never again matched his 05/06 peak, finishing the season with 0.3 WAR for Tampa, but contributing 0.3 more over the following three seasons combined. This resulted in a NET GAIN of 0.5 wins for Houston in 2007.
July 31, 2007 (46-60, 4th NL Central)
Wigginton's signing made it pretty clear that Morgan Ensberg's days in Houston were done. Ensberg had been electric during the 2005 season, with 6.5 WAR, and another 3.8 in 2006. But he struggled in 2007, both in the field and at the plate, and was responsible for -0.5 WAR. He rebounded slightly after being traded to San Diego for cash considerations. This move resulted in a NET LOSS of 0.5 wins.
August 22, 2007 (57-70, 4th NL Central)
Danny Ardoin was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for cash considerations.
September 11, 2007 (63-81, 6th NL Central)
The Astros purchased Dennis Sarfate from the Brewers.
September 20, 2007 (67-86, 5th NL Central)
Ed Wade was hired as the general manager of the Houston Astros.
September 24, 2007 (68-88, 5th NL Central)
Wade's first move as GM is to ship Jason Lane off to San Diego for nothing. Lane, once one of the Astros' most highly-touted prospects, floundered at the Major League level, and in 2007 he was worth -0.5 WAR. Even after the trade, he resulted in a NET GAIN of 0.1 WAR. He's currently trying to rebuild his career as a pitcher.
Altogether, a net loss of a little over 7 wins. The 2006 Astros had won 82 games; eight fewer puts them at 74. Though they actually only won 68 games, Pythagoras had them good enough for 72. Between expected regression, a few bad bounces, and personnel decisions, two games of variance isn't too bad for this experiment.
The Chicago Cubs won the NL Central in 2007 with 85 wins, or roughly the cost of trading pieces for Jason Jennings and not replacing Andy Pettitte's value.


text:
Garant S IP44 cable reel 25m AT-N05V3V3-F 3G1.5 black
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Article number
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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the President's health care initiative, set out new mandates, subsidies and credits to employers and individuals to increase Americans' access to health care. Upon its passage in March 2010, investors began boosting the shares of drug makers, insurance providers and hospitals because they all suddenly had a lot more paying customers, courtesy of the government and taxpayers.
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Insurance provider Unitedhealth Group UNH -4.94% is up 73% since Obamacare passed. Smaller biotechs have gained a lot more, led by Alexion Pharmaceuticals ALXN -3.57% , up 252%.
Overall, SPDR Health Care XLV -2.26% , which includes all the health care stocks in the S&P 500, is up 31% since the President's health-care law passed, vs. 27% for the broad market. It's still a good bet going forward, as most of the benefits still lie ahead.


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LINSAY 10.1 inch Quad Core 1024 x 600 HD Screen Tablet with White Purple Square Leather Protective Case
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text:
Google the Library
See the difference between a web page and a database
Start with any search engine. As an example, we'll use Google to look for the Everett Community College Library web site. Google shows the library's web site because it has "crawled" the web, found the link to Everett Community College Library web site, and added the link to its own database.
Now use Google to find a book in this library:
Zero hits. A search engine cannot "crawl" the library's database of books (book catalog). The library's web site is part of the open Web. The library's catalog is in the deep Web. Next >>


text:
Missing rugs: Eways slips away
"They must have known they were in trouble," Marie Deans said when I told her Eways Carpet One had closed its doors. I'd been thinking the same thing– in fact, when she called, I'd been imagining a kind of financial mood ring that businesses could be made to display. If Eways had been equipped with such a warning device, Deans never would have entrusted her heirloom rug to the care of this business near Antiquer's Mall.
My column about Deans' debacle ["Pulled rug," March 4, 2004] closed with her intention to take Eways to court– and no one could accuse her of being impulsive.
Her story began in October 2002, when she took her rug, which was almost 60 years old and had been handmade by her great-aunt, to Eways and left it to be hand-cleaned and the edges repaired. She paid a 50 percent deposit of $111, and claims the salesman said they would try to have the rug ready by Christmas.
Beginning just before Christmas and continuing for the next year, Deans claims, she called the store numerous times and was repeatedly assured that the rug would be found and that someone would call her. But they didn't. Last June– eight months after she'd left the rug at Eways– she was startled to receive a bill for the second half of the deposit. Again, she called the store.
"When the woman asked if I hadn't picked up the rug," she says, "I explained that I'd been calling since December and had been told either that it wasn't ready or that someone would return my call." That call, she claims, was as nonproductive as all the others. She contacted me in late January for an investigation.
On the eve of my column's March 4 publication, Eways employee Vanessa Robertson called me to say that she thought she'd located the rug at a shop in Richmond, where it had supposedly been sent for repair, and that she intended to drive there the following day and retrieve it. Deans says that Robertson also called her to say that the rug had been found.
But when Deans went to Eways on Saturday, April 3, she got a surprise: The rug was indeed there– but it had been neither cleaned nor repaired. According to Deans, Robertson promised to mail her a check for her $111 deposit on April 5. It never arrived.
"When you have a business and treat people that way," Deans remarks, "no wonder you close your doors."
Deans wasn't the only unhappy customer left in Eways' wake. Rochelle Garwood and her husband say they ordered carpeting for their family room last November– when the brand they wanted was on sale– and arranged to have it installed on March 11. Garwood emailed me what happened next.
"We had all our furniture moved out," she claims, "and March 11 came, and half of March 11 went, and no carpet installers. My husband called and was at first told that our salesman had retired and they couldn't find our paperwork. That was resolved, but then we were told they still hadn't ordered the carpet."
Garwood claims that Robertson and owner Bob Dumitru "stalled" them for a few days and declined to return their calls. Finally, Garwood went to the store, where, allegedly, Robertson told her that Dumitru had "messed up" Eways' account with the manufacturer, Mohawk. The situation, Robertson allegedly said, needed to be straightened out before Mohawk would release the carpet.
A few days later, she claims, Robertson told her that she "was investigating the possibility of obtaining the carpet from another source." The last update they got from Robertson, according to Garwood, was on April 1, when she stated that "a sample was on the way" and would arrive in a day or two. By the time Garwood emailed me on April 8, however, the store had closed down.
The good news for the Garwoods is that they hadn't paid any money yet; the bad news is that their family room's been in an upheaval for more than a month now, and they're back to square one with carpet.
Robertson declined to return my call, and Dumitru's voice mailbox is full. Deans, although she's lost countless hours and $111, has at least emerged with her rug intact– if still a bit unraveled.
Do you have a consumer problem or question? Email the Fearless Consumer or write her at Box 4553, Charlottesville 22905.


text:
12 years ago Dale and I became grand parents for the first time when
this cute little guy entered our life.
Happy Birthday Tyler!!
Tyler missed being born on his Uncle Jeff's birthday by a few short hours and Jeff will never let Julie forget it!! Tyler is our firstborn grandchild and there sure is something special about that first one. Now here he is all grown up - our little (big) karate master
Thanks for stopping by!
Christi a.k.a. Gramma
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