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Q&A with Assistant Coach Kristin Jones
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After a star-studded playing career at UC San Diego, that included a pair of NCAA Soccer Championships, Kristin Jones has spent the past eight years on the sidelines as an assistant to her Head Coach, Brian McManus. During that span, UCSD has racked up a 126-29-18 record and been a regular post-season participant. McManus says that Jones has transferred her best playing skills to the coaching ranks. "Kristin's got great vision," says McManus, whose teams have captured seven NCAA titles in his 25 seasons at UCSD. "She sees things so quickly-before others do-and can make adjustments on the fly, the same as she did while playing. She's been a huge factor in our success. Over the years, coaching women has become a little more sophisticated and having her here, particularly with her credentials as an All-American, benefits us a great deal." An 81-goal scorer as a collegian and holder of a Human Development degree from UCSD, the Oceanside native took time recently to talk about her career, the Triton program and the sport of soccer.
Q-After playing four years at UC San Diego, you essentially went straight into coaching under Brian McManus. When did you know you wanted to make a career out of coaching soccer?
wouldn't let me leave! I began
coaching club my senior year at UCSD and I loved it from the start. I was fortunate enough to have all the
pieces fall into place and allow me to work my way up the ranks quickly in
college and club coaching. At
first I did it as more of a hobby, but the more I coached, the more I knew that
it was my passion.
Q-Which do you like better, playing or coaching? Why?
JONES-I love coaching, but I still consider myself a player. There is something to be said for controlling what happens in a game. Even though soccer is the epitome of a team sport, when I play, I try to have as much of an impact as possible on the game. I play as much as my schedule allows but afterwards my body does everything it can to remind me I am definitely a coach and not a player anymore.
Q-You were a four-year starter at UCSD, won four CCAA Championships, reached the NCAA Final Four three times and won CCAA Player of the Year honors as a senior. Early on, what was the most difficult part of your transition to the coaching ranks? What was one thing that surprised you most about being a coach?
JONES-Early on, I had a hard time not being overly passionate. I have so much pride in the UCSD Women's Soccer program that I took every little thing personally. Ultimately, I enjoyed my four years so much that I wanted everyone to leave feeling as great about their experience.
I was very surprised at how emotionally invested coaches are in their teams. When I played I knew my coaches cared, but I didn't realize it was to this extent. The time and energy every coach in this department puts into their teams is amazing.
Q-What do you remember as the highest and lowest points of your Triton playing career?
JONES-That's a hard question. I remember some of the games I played at UCSD like it was yesterday. Every time we beat Dominguez Hills was great! One of my favorite experiences would have to be the NCAA Championship my freshman year when we won with seconds left on the clock and it was our first year in Division II. To go from Division III to Division II and win a national championship might be something that no other program is ever able to do.
But the best experience would have to be the 2001 NCAA Championship we won on our home field, in front of thousands of fans, against a previously undefeated team. Our team had to be the only group in the country who thought we would win that game, but we had so much confidence in each other we won 2-0 to repeat as national champions.
The low had to be the way I ended my career. We suffered a heartbreaking loss in the national semi-finals in overtime. To make things worse, the opposing coach came up to me before the press conference and apologized for "stealing the game from us". I know he was trying to make me feel better but at the time it just made things worse and it is something I will never forget.
Q-As a player and coach, what are a few of the most important things you've learned from Head Coach Brian McManus? In your opinion, what makes him so successful?
JONES-What Brian taught me as a player and a coach go hand-in-hand. The players laugh at me when I say it, but he taught me the importance of the "little things". A lot of teams and programs have great players, but talent only takes you so far. You have to do the things that your opponent isn't. Whether it is ice baths, curfews, or eating at the right times, Brian forces his players to do things right.
Brian is a machine. He has created a program that ultimately runs itself due to the amount of success he has had to date. He cares about the game, the sport, but more importantly, he cares about each of the kids like they are family. The best part is, they know it. He demands a lot out of the girls, but they thrive in the setting he provides. He instills a sense of pride in each of them where they are proud to wear the UCSD jersey.
Q-What's the biggest difference you notice in the UCSD player of today compared to your collegiate teammates? What commonalities do both possess?
JONES-Biggest difference is they are young. But seriously, they are better players technically then what us old ladies were. The sport has grown so much over the years and the game itself has forced these kids into being elite athletes.
For the most part, we are the same breed. Soccer players tend to be passionate, superstitious, loud , hard on themselves and CRAZY. Whether they are 20, 30, or 40 we all are the same. It is funny to compare some of the girls now to my teammates. Whether it is the way they play or act, some are so similar to the ladies I played with.
Q-How did you get started playing soccer? What other sports did you play as a youngster? What ultimately made soccer your sport of choice?
JONES-I was very lucky to have parents who encouraged me to participate in a lot of sports. My soccer career began at age four and just played because that's what kids did. Neither of my parents played the game but both have grown to become fans. I played competitive basketball and softball throughout high school and had offers to play collegiately, but when it came down to it, I obviously chose soccer. While I enjoyed the other sports, I could never imagine not playing soccer.
Q-You also coach at La Jolla High School and with the Nomads club program. What is your ultimate objective professionally?
JONES-I enjoy club and high school because of the relationships you develop with the kids and families. I've met very good people along the way. Watching the kids develop and establish a love for the game is very rewarding.
The different levels of club, high school and college keeps me sane. Each team is so different and presents a different challenge. I want to continue to learn and grow as a coach and do what I love for the rest of my life. I can't imagine doing anything else.
Q-How surprised have you been at the growth of soccer in the United States?
JONES-I'm not surprised at all. There are so many kids playing and so many ex-players now coaching that it keeps a good cycle going. I am happy to see the exposure the sport has gotten especially during major international tournaments. ESPN covering every game of the European Championships the entire month of June is a good example. Kids watching those games will grow as players and I am glad they are given the opportunity.
Q-In your estimation, what is the key to moving the U.S. to the next level internationally on both the men's and women's sides?
JONES-Establishing a plan. If you look at some of the best soccer countries in the world, they have a system. I think we need to figure out who we are. Whether it is defensive, offensive, athletic, we just need to play within our strengths. We also need the support of our country. England is a perfect example. When you talk to the English fans, they will be the first to say they didn't play well. But win, lose, or tie, they will be at the next game cheering just the same.
Q-You recently traveled to Europe to see the final rounds of the UEFA Champions League Tournament. What was that like? What are the things you think you'll remember most about that trip?
JONES-It was an unforgettable experience. Germany was amazing. The culture and history was beautiful but just as beautiful in my opinion was the passion for the game. The whole city was decked out weeks before. Everywhere you looked, there was something soccer related. Soccer is their life and their passion was indescribable. I am so lucky to have experienced it first hand.
Q-Last year's UCSD team won the CCAA South Division title but loses a large number of high quality seniors. What are your expectations from the 2012 Tritons?
JONES-I think every year I have coached at UCSD has been a "rebuilding year". Though we did lose some great players and teammates, our roster is still loaded with experience. The seniors did a great job of getting us back to our winning ways. There are still plenty of players on the roster with Final Four experience and I am confident they will do everything they can to get us back there. Knowing these girls, anything less than a Final Four will be considered a bad season.
Q-Can you name one or two players you think are poised for breakthrough seasons next fall?
JONES-Though she had a great season last year, I think we have only seen the beginning of what Cassie Callahan has to offer. She won't accept a "sophomore slump".
Also, I am banking on the fact that Hayley Johnson will break her assist record.
Overall, our junior class has the desire to be the best. They all will play an important role in winning us championships.
Q-Outside of soccer, what are some of your interests? What would people be surprised to find out about you?
JONES-Well I don't have too much time outside of soccer but when I do, I am quite the dork. I have a new found love for gardening, I LOVE Disneyland and I have a serious obsession for singing reality shows. Don't tell anyone.
Q-When you first entered UC San Diego in the fall of 2000, would you have predicted that you would still be here today?JONES-Absolutely not! These past 12 years have been amazing. Time has flown by but I also have grown so much from my experiences at UCSD. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have played and coached for such an amazing soccer program. Hopefully I'm around for a while!
Previous Q & A Articles
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Kris Lesovsky (Softball) March 16, 2012
Danny Susdorf (Baseball) March 6, 2012
Sarah Lizotte (Women's Water Polo) February 9, 2012
Charity Elliott (Women's Basketball) January 31, 2012
Alex Henley (Women's Swimming & Diving) January 17, 2012
James McCann (Men's Basketball) December 29, 2011
Emily Osga (Women's Basketball) December 19, 2011
John Butler (Men's Water Polo) November 28, 2011
Lauren Demos (Women's Volleyball) November 8, 2011
Cory Wolfrom (Men's Soccer) October 26, 2011
Ellen Wilson (Women's Soccer) October 1, 2011
Brian Donohoe (Men's Water Polo) September 4, 2011
Roxanne Brunsting (Women's Volleyball) August 19, 2011
Jon Pascale (Men's Soccer) August 4, 2011
Jon Pascale (Men's Soccer) August 4, 2011
Vincent Nguyen (Tennis) July 1, 2011
Patti Gerckens (Softball) May 26, 2011
Blake Tagmyer (Baseball) May 11, 2011
Theresa Richards (Women's Track & Field) April 27, 2011
Austin West (Men's Tennis) April 17, 2011
Drew Lawyer (Men's Crew) April 11, 2011
Keith Okasaki (Men's Golf) March 26, 2011
Matt Herman (Men's Swimming & Diving) March 12, 2011
Hanalei Crowell (Women's Water Polo) March 5, 2011
Camille Gaito (Softball) February 23, 2011
Tim Shibuya (Baseball) February 8, 2011
Carl Eberts (Men's Volleyball) January 31, 2011
Neda Nguyen (Women's Swimming & Diving) January 24, 2011
Amy Bianchini (Fencing) January 14, 2011
Lauren Freidenberg (Women's Basketball) January 3, 2011
Christian Hatch (Men's Basketball) December 24, 2010
Blake Langland (Men's Swimming & Diving) November 27, 2010
Sarah McTigue (Women's Soccer) November 8, 2010
Brandon Yee (Men's Soccer) October 11, 2010
Bryce Madsen (Men's Water Polo) September 23, 2010
Annette Ilg (Women's Soccer) September 9, 2010
Ricci Luyties (Women's Volleyball Head Coach) August 24, 2010
Kevin Messey (Head Athletics Trainer) July 7, 2010
Dan O'Brien (Baseball Head Coach) June 18, 2010
Christine Merrill (Women's Track & Field) June 14, 2010
Vance Albitz (Baseball) May 11, 2010
Erik Elliott (Men's Tennis) May 3, 2010
Kelly Fogarty (Women's Track & Field) April 23, 2010
Liz LaPlante (Women's Tennis Head Coach) April 15, 2010
Kirby St. John (Baseball) March 24, 2010
Dan Perdew (Men's Swimming) February 28, 2010
Calvin Ross (Men's Volleyball) February 20, 2010
Nicole Saari (Softball) February 4, 2010
Brad Kreutzkamp (Women's Water Polo Head Coach) January 18, 2010
Tyler Acevedo (Men's Basketball) January 4, 2010
Dr. Cliff Kubiak (UCSD's Faculty Athletic Rep) December 18, 2009
Chelsea Carlisle (Women's Basketball) December 9, 2009
Carianne Cunningham (Women's Swimming) November 23, 2009
Elena Inouye (Cross Country) November 6, 2009
David Morton (Men's Water Polo) October 28, 2009
Juan Pablo Carillo (Men's Swimming) October 19, 2009
Sara Spaventa (Women's Soccer) October 10, 2009
Karen Reis (Women's Volleyball) October 2, 2009
Daniel Pavitt (Men's Soccer) September 23, 2009
Daniel Anderson (Cross Country) September 11, 2009
Peter Gresham (Men's Water Polo) September 2, 2009
Alexia Zatarain (Women's Soccer) August 24, 2009
Elaine Chen (Women's Volleyball) August 12, 2009
Jared Kukura (Men's Soccer) July 30, 2009
Dawn Lee (Former Women's Soccer Standout) July 8, 2009
Rob Mamula (Director of Athletic Performance) June 18, 2009
Garrett Imeson (Baseball) June 8, 2009
Leon Baham (Men's Track & Field) May 21, 2009
Kristyn Lesovsky (Softball) May 8, 2009
Kazumi Negishi (Men's Tennis) May 5, 2009
Laiah Blue (Women's Track & Field) April 16, 2009
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7 Secrets That No Girl Tells Her Boyfriend If a girl tells you she needs space, that does not mean, at all, that she does not want to see you, or that she has stopped loving you. She just wants you to understand that t gene important things to do and you need them alone. Happy Valentine Day
- We have a sixth sense and we understand body language
It is well known, that all women have a sixth sense, especially if it is about relationships. We always realize and analyze all the little details, and that includes everything from body language to the hairstyle that has been done that day.
Once we realize something we consider "suspicious", we start to spin and think, although you may not even be aware of what it is, what bothers you exactly.
- We want honesty, without coarseness
Often, men tend to confuse these two terms.
While it is true, that all the girls are looking for our men to be sincere, we do not like being talked rude.
Example: You try a new dress does not suit all, it marks the hips, makes you belly … and you ask your boyfriend how he sees you …
Answer A) You look great
Reply B) you look like a pregnant seal
Answer C) I think That dress does not favor you, surely with another you will look better. Let's look.
Which answer do you prefer?
- We like surprises
What girl does not like being surprised? It seems very complicated to understand for most of the male population.
This is not to say, you have to go to a jewelry store and buy the world's largest (that good .. if you like …) diamond with a simple detail, a sweet, a massage when you get home , hug wake up In the morning … Simply, with initiative, concern and love towards her, you will have her in the boat.

subset: commoncrawl


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Letterpressed Beer Coasters
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Because of Bonaventure: Tom and Michelle Cullen, '00, share the secret to their success Passionate about being a Bonnie: A conversation with Jennifer Kane, '03
Michelle and Tom Cullen can sum up the key to their combined personal and professional success in one word: Bonaventure.
Both graduated in 2000 from St. Bonaventure's School of Business (Michelle with a BBA in accounting and an MBA; Tom with a BBA in Finance) and each holds an executive spot in a successful startup company in Chicago. Michelle serves as CFO of tastytrade, Inc., a financial network that offers live daily programming about finance and investing. Tom is co-founder of LaunchPad Lab, a web development studio devoted to helping businesses grow through technology.
"We're where we are because of Bonaventure," said Tom. "We honestly believe that if we went to a different school, we wouldn't have the same abilities, the same network, or the same potential that we have coming from Bonaventure."
They point to Bona's professors, who offer inspiration as well as instruction, and to the Franciscan tradition, which serves as a strong foundation in their lives, as critical to their accomplishments.
"St. Bonaventure helped shape my career by introducing me to a great opportunity right from the start," said Michelle, whose maiden name is Hoffstaetter. "I got my first job at KPMG, one of the most competitive professional service companies in the world, after attending an on-campus event. Public accounting was demanding work but the business school had prepared me for it."
After a year at KPMG's Syracuse office, Michelle accepted a transfer to Chicago where she earned her CPA and connected with fellow St. Bonaventure alumni, many of whom worked for thinkorswim, an online options-brokerage bought by TD Ameritrade in 2009.
She will tell you that Tom likes to say she followed him to Chicago, where he was working as a trader in the Dow Jones pit of the Chicago Board Options Exchange — which isn't the case, but Michelle lets him think that, she shares with a smile.
While at Bonaventure, Tom joined the Finance Club and toured the exchanges in New York and Chicago, and knew immediately he would eventually move to Chicago (his brothers, Joe, '97, and Tim, '04, '05, work in Chicago's finance district). He found a mentor and a good friend in Dr. Jeffery Peterson.
"Jeff was a big inspiration for me and for my brothers as well. We started trading on the floor because of Jeff. He had a passion for options trading. I got into it because of his passion. That was so exciting. We would talk to him every couple of weeks and whenever we needed to hire someone."
Dr. Peterson, who passed away in February, served as a professor of finance for 29 years and as chair of the Department of Finance for 16 years.
"The real value of Bonaventure comes after Bonaventure," said Tom. "In our businesses, we're always trying to find people who have passion and Bonaventure people certainly are passionate. But there's something better than passion and that's compassion — and that's what Bonaventure people bring."
Tom and Michelle hail from a long line of Bonnies, one that began with Tom's grandfather, Dr. Kenneth Anderson, a professor and administrator at Bona's from 1946 to 1985. At last count, nearly 30 members of the Anderson/Cullen legacy family hold St. Bonaventure degrees.
Though they are busy building their careers and raising their nine-month-old daughter, Lauren, the Cullens still find time to give back to Bona's. Tom is a member of the National Alumni Association Board and most recently returned to campus as a guest speaker for the Third Annual SIMM Boot Camp.
They are also the University's youngest Seraphim Legacy Society members and have included St. Bonaventure in their estate plans.
"We feel we need to give back to the University as a thank-you for preparing us with the skills and knowledge we need to excel in the business world. It introduced us to key people who led us to our career paths," said Michelle. "Thanks to St. Bonaventure professors and alumni, we now have challenging jobs that we really like. Most importantly, though, St. Bonaventure enforces good ethics, which is the most important part of business."
by Susan Anderson, fall of 2013
Michelle and Tom are part of Chicago's active startup community. Learn more about their companies:
LaunchPad Lab < A web development studio / > Find it at: http://launchpadlab.com/
tastytrade, a real financial network from the creators of thinkorswim. Enjoy a taste at: https://www.tastytrade.com/tt/
View Tom's visit to tastytrade where he discusses the future of electronic trading: youtu.be/ng-crpyLn7I
Tom's Maxims: Passion. Be accountable. Help people grow.
Michelle's most important role as an alumna: Raising awareness of the University and its graduates. My company recently hired a finance major from St. Bonaventure who is really exceling in his position and doing great things. I would encourage all alumni to remember where they started when they are looking to hire.
The place they call home: Lincoln Park (and St. Bonaventure).
Application forms, procedures and additional information
There are many ways to experience
St. Bonaventure for yourself
Learn more about the programs that interest you


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Brazilian Série C Fixtures
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Novelist Cristina García Kicks Off Living Writers ProgramAward-winning author Cristina García will give a public reading at Muhlenberg College
Tuesday, September 3, 2013 04:24 PM
Award-winning author Cristina García will give a public reading at Muhlenberg College on September 9, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. in Miller Forum, Moyer Hall. The reading, which is free and open to the public, is part of the College's Living Writers series.
García is the author of six novels, including Dreaming in Cuban, The Agüero Sisters, Monkey Hunting, A Handbook to Luck, and The Lady Matador's Hotel. García has also edited Cubanísimo: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Cuban Literature and Bordering Fires: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Mexican and Chicano/a Literature. In addition, she has written a collection of poetry and numerous books for young readers. Proir to her career in fiction, she was a journalist, having worked at Time magazine as a researcher, reporter and Miami bureau chief.
García's work has been nominated for a National Book Award and translated into 14 languages. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Writers' Award, a Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University and an NEA grant, among others.
Recently, García was a visiting professor at the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas-Austin as well as the University of Miami. Currently, she is university chair in creative writing at Texas State University-San Marcos.
Living Writers, established in 1994, is a course offered once every three years that brings six established and emerging writers to Muhlenberg College. The students read their recent works and then interact with the authors directly as they visit campus for a day. The writers come to class, have lunch with students and then give a public reading of their work in the evening.
Future readings will be given by writers Colm Toibin (9/23), Patrick Lawler (10/7), Kay Ryan (10/21), Terrance Hayes (11/4), and Chris Ware (11/18).


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Columbia River Williams Shinbu
New from Columbia River Knife and Tool, it's the stunning new Shinbu, designed by James Williams. It boasts an aggressive tanto-style blade made from YK-30 steel, cord-wrapping over stingray skin handle, and comes in a custom dark lacquer wooden presentation and storage. Make no mistake, however; this isn't a museum piece-it was designed for our coalition forces serving overseas. Ships with a custom-fitted Kydex® sheath which can be belt-mounted.
See these and other Columbia River products at www.knifecenter.com.
Here's the word from Columbia River: Continue Reading


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Today, I took a moment to sit and breathe with the awareness of how life has a way of changing. There are moments, as we look more deeply into where we are and where we are going, we discover some profound things about ourselves and our self development. It brings me hope I will continue to become a more authentic, whole, and self aware human.
The last few years have brought many developments. As I read through these blog posts, a profound sense of gratitude and awareness...Click HERE to read more
As the seasons change...
Age of Innocence
Fluffy Butt and Goat Hut
Working on our chicken coop/goat hut has been a long and arduous process. Part of this is due to the fact we had the goal of building it almost entirely out recycled, old, and reclaimed items. Oh don't get me wrong, I drool over those fancy pants huts you see on Pinterest, but seeing how much waste we produce in our world, our goal became to A. not add to it and B. show this is a project which can be done, while admitting I wish the tin we found was all matching but next spring a spray can of paint may be taken to it ;) and C. I get messages over and over on the blog how people can't wait to be able to afford to move ...buy land... be able to "afford" to be self sufficient. Be encouraged... we are doing this on 2 rented acres!!! We've built this hut for under $100! This includes the straw and screws we purchased! Let me show you how by clicking HERE!
Farming... It Aint For Sissies
Thoughts on farming, urban and backyard farming... is it for you?
Read More Here>>>
"For Better Or Worse"
There are so many things I miss since Seth's accident. I miss the happy go lucky way we were with each other, and date nights such as the picture on the left (Halloween). They say the truth will set you free. They never promised it would be easy. This is life... for better or worse.
Read More>>>>
Building a Brooder
Want to raise chicks? We built a brooder to house ours! Read More Here>>>
"Feeding With Fodder"
Want an inexpensive and fresh way to feed your "farm" animals... from chickens to goats...to cows...to horses... to pigs??? Check out our post on Fodder! Read More Here>>>>
"B Twitterpated"
Springtime in Wyoming is DRASTICALLY different than anything I grew up with in the South land. Spring always spoke of green grass, dogwood blossoms, bunnies, Sunday's Best Dress, the chirping of birds, and families getting together around a well placed table.
Wyoming boasts a spring with very little promise so far. Snow still covers the mountains and the air is crisp and cold; many nights still dropping down into the single digits. I haven't seen hide nor hair of the birdies singing spring into being.
Read More>>>
Becoming a "Milk Maid"
For years, it has been a HUGE dream to have milk goats! Luckily, the cowboy shares my enthusiasm for healthy eating, raising as much or our own food as possible, and a love for goats. Having combed the local buy/sale list and asking around regarding who sells goats in the area, I finally came into contact with a wonderful family who had just the "babies" for us!
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Love Day Vignettes
Valentines Day is wonderful... celebrating love in all it's forms... who can disagree with that? Hearts, candles, flowers, and all things lovely abound. While I would love to go ALL OUT, I have a job and a family to consider, but I can never resist a few love day vignettes. Hugs and Kisses! May you have More than "A Little Love In Your Heart!" May it be overflowing! To see my Valentines Day Vignette click HERE!
Remember to click on the pictures to take you to the blog link!
Don't want to miss a thing? RSS Feed to this main index page, where we will keep a running list of all the current posts!
Stilettos In The Mud has their very own cottage industry over at Etsy! So, head on over to Cowgirls Chic Boutique and check it out!
Country Girl


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The Virtual Botanic Garden
Marie Joy Schulte
I have contributed to VIRBOGA 3 pictures of 1
species that I took in Germany!
The standard species list is by binary botanical species name. Beyond
this list you can opt to list all species contained in the database by following
In addition, you can access species that contain pictures of a specific author or are taken
in a certain country:
Species illustrated with my pictures:
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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Stock futures trimmed gains on Wednesday after a surprisingly strong data showing a surge in manufacturing activity in the New York region and as wholesale prices rose for the first time in three months.
The Empire State index jumped to 12.5 in January, its highest reading since May 2012.
Some investors think stronger economic growth might force the Federal Reserve accelerate its tapering of bond purchases, cutting off the liquidity it has been pumping into the economy for the past few years.
Still ahead for investors on Wednesday is the Federal Reserve's Beige Book and more Fed speakers.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average US:DJH4 rose 21 points to 16,320, while those for the S&P 500 index US:SPH4 were up 1.9 points to 1,834.80. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index US:NDH4 gaining 11.25 points, or 0.3%, to 3,585. as Apple rose on a China Mobile deal.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's report showed manufacturing activity in the New York region surged in January after three months of weak readings, topping forecasts.
Separately, U.S. wholesale prices rose in December for the first time in three months, largely reflecting higher costs of gasoline and tobacco, the Labor Department said. The gain was higher than economists expected.
Investors will be looking to see if the Beige Book, due to be published at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, gives off a positive vibe over the economy.
Meanwhile, Bank of America BAC, -0.63% reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of 29 cents on revenue of $21.49 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet were projecting EPS of 26 cents on revenue of $21.2 billion. Follow the live blog of Bank of America's earnings call.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans is due to speak at 12:50 p.m. Eastern Time, while Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, who also gave a talk on Monday, will speak at 5:45 p.m. Eastern Time, after the market closes. On Tuesday, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said he wanted the taper to be double the size it was, while Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said he wants the Fed to exit quantitative easing before the end of 2014.
But markets brushed aside that Fedspeak in favor of better-than-expected retail sales and tech gains, pushing Wall Street to its best day of the year. The S&P 500 index SPX, +0.26% closed up 19.68 points, or 1.1%, to 1,838.88, while the Dow industrials DJIA, +0.13% rose 115.92 points, or 0.7%, to 16,373.86, breaking a four-session losing streak.
"Technically it's still a buyer's market, but the increased volatility in recent sessions is a sure signal something's about to give," said Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at stockbroker Interactive Investor, in a note. "News that the World Bank has upgraded its global outlook while U.S. consumer spending surprised to the upside may have brought some calm to the VIX VIX, -1.57% (Volatility Index) but the poor jobs data last week should serve as a reminder that the U.S. economic recovery is still patchy."
The World Bank said high-income economies will drive faster economic growth worldwide this year, as they appear to be "finally turning the corner" after the financial crisis. The body sees global growth rising to a rate of 3.2% in 2014 from 2.4% last year, and rising to 3.4% in 2015.
Other regions picked up the baton from Wall Street, with Japan's Nikkei 225 index NIK, -0.15% closing up 2.5% and Europe notching five-year highs, lifted by the World Bank comments. Oil prices inched up, while gold slipped. The dollar index traded choppy, but was last lower.
Also in corporate news for Wednesday, 3-D printing companies Fastenal Co. FAST, +0.33% and railroad operator CSX Corp. CSX, -1.67% could see pressure. ExOne Co. XONE, +0.00% slid 16% premarket after slashing its revenue outlook after Tuesday's close.
Shares of General Motors Co. GM, +2.90% rose more than 1% in premarket after the auto maker said it sees "modest" 2014 North American market-share gains, but it also forecast restructuring costs of $1.1 billion for this year. GM said after the market closed Tuesday that it will pay a dividend this March, the first since May 2008.
Apple AAPL, +0.36% rose more than 1% in thin trade after the chairman of China Mobile Ltd. 941, +0.00% said the company's recent deal with Apple will entail broad cooperation between the two. He also said millions of iPhones have already been ordered by customers, signalling strong demand for the device. Apple's Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said he was "incredibly optimistic" about the outcome of cooperating with the Chinese carrier.
More stories from MarketWatch:
Jeffrey Gundlach: Treasurys are under-owned, bitcoin is a 'mirage'
If the market goes bust, don't blame boomers
Stock analyst herd mentality highest in nearly 30 years: B. of A's Subramanian


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Parent Directory | Revision Log
|Links to HEAD:
|(view) (download) (annotate)
Enable verbose compilation output for the ruby gnome packages.
Support EAPI=4 (with RUBY_S).
dev-util/pkgconfig -> virtual/pkgconfig
Remove unneeded dev-ruby/rubygems dependency since this is already covered by ruby-fakegem.
Turn off ruby-fakegem automatic documentation task since it is not supported by ruby-gnome2 and it triggers errors when run. Fixes bugs 383623 and 384049.
Respect overrided RUBY_FAKEGEM_NAME
Move new version dependencies into the new version check.
Install gemspecs.
Add common dependencies
fix random bugs in eclass documentation, and convert to new @AUTHOR tag
Support >=ruby-gnome2-0.90 file structure. Based on a code from Shunsuke Shimizu.
Ensure LDFLAGS usage
Use a subshell to properly catch the echo.
Make ruby-ng-gnome.eclass prefix-aware.
Update ruby eclass documentation.
Solve bug #320545 in the least hacky way: disable --no-undefined for the Ruby-Gnome2 bindings. Unfortunately they rely on a partially-undefined behaviour, let's just hope they'll never come giving us trouble for this. Also avoid using cp -a (non-portable) for installing samples, use insinto/doins instead.
Initial version of new ruby-ng-gnome2 eclass. This eclass supersedes ruby-gnome2 and uses ruby-ng to allow parallel installation of the ruby-gnome2 packages.
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Sunday Sweets: When Geeks Marry
I'm pretty sure I will never get tired of geeky wedding cakes. Especially when they come in so many great "flavors":
Coding Geek:
Mac/PC Geek:
Gamer Geek:
If you're wondering, it's a Tonberry. And if you're not wondering, well, it's still a Tonberry.)
(This gorgeous Companion Cube cake was sub'd by Emily H. & originally posted on Offbeat Bride)
Old School Geek:
Nominate your own Sunday Sweet by sending it to Sunday Sweets [at] Cake Wrecks [dot] com.
- Similar Sweets: Stargate Cakes


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Company Introduces World's First Commercial 16-gigabit, 3-Bit-Per-Cell NAND Flash Chip
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, February 6, 2008 - Reaching a new threshold in the development of flash memory, SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today announced that it expects to start mass production of the world's first commercial three-bit-per-cell (x3) NAND flash memory in March/April 2008. The 16-gigabit (Gb) x3 NAND flash employs SanDisk's standard 56 nanometer (nm) flash technology and provides over 20 percent more die per wafer compared to standard NAND Multi-Level Cell (MLC) memory (2-bits-per-cell) on the same technology node. x3 enables higher manufacturing efficiency and lower die cost for the same capital investment. The new x3 flash architecture has been in development for the past two years and employs SanDisk's most advanced patented design innovations to achieve the same performance and high reliability found in SanDisk's 2-bits-per-cell chips.
The 3-bits-per-cell technology was co-developed with Toshiba which shares with SanDisk the development and manufacturing of advanced flash memories. At the 2008 International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), SanDisk and Toshiba are presenting today a technical paper describing the key technology advancements that led to the development of 16Gb 3-bits-per-cell NAND flash memory on 56nm technology with a write performance of 8 megabytes per second (MB/sec).
Dr. Khandker N. Quader, senior vice president of flash memory design and product development at SanDisk, said, "Innovative patented All Bit Line (ABL) architecture with advanced proprietary programming algorithms and multi-level data storage management schemes were used to overcome the challenges of developing a 3-bits-per-cell (x3) NAND flash memory chip without sacrificing performance or reliability, thereby paving the way for widespread use of x3 across many of SanDisk's product lines. We consider x3 as a major commercial breakthrough for flash memory that will extend Moore's Law in this and future generations of NAND flash storage."
SanDisk believes that the introduction of 3-bits-per-cell technology with a write speed comparable to existing MLC memory positions SanDisk well to respond to the growing market demands for higher density flash memory for a wide range of applications and at a significantly lower cost compared to 2-bits-per-cell MLC on the same technology. Advanced systems-level expertise is essential to productize 3-bits-per-cell NAND memory. SanDisk's systems-level expertise provides a unique competitive advantage to harness the power of x3 NAND memory technology.
SanDisk Corporation, the inventor and world's largest supplier of flash storage cards, is a global leader in flash memory - from research, manufacturing and product design to consumer branding and retail distribution. SanDisk's product portfolio includes flash memory cards for mobile phones, digital cameras and camcorders; digital audio/video players; USB flash drives for consumers and the enterprise; embedded memory for mobile devices; and solid state drives for computers. SanDisk (www.sandisk.com/corporate) is a Silicon Valley-based S&P 500 company, with more than half its sales outside the United States.
SanDisk's product and executive images can be downloaded from http://www.sandisk.com/about-sandisk/media-kit.aspx
SanDisk's web site/home page address: http://www.sandisk.com
SanDisk and the SanDisk logo are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation.
Other brand names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be the trademarks of their respective holder (s).
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including expectations for technological advancements, new product introductions, manufacturing efficiencies, lower costs, applications, markets, and customers that are based on our current expectations and involve numerous risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate. Risks that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate include among others: unexpected delays, or difficulties in producing x3 NAND, higher than expected manufacturing costs, market demand for our products may grow more slowly than our expectations or there may be a slower adoption rate for these products in new markets that we are targeting, our products may not perform as expected and the other risks detailed from time-to-time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, our Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We do not intend to update the information contained in this press release.
|SanDisk Corporation
|Ken Castle
|(408) 801-2195


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Organisations protest the navigation from RAF Waddington of unmanned Reaper aircraft in Afghanistan
Police have closed sections of the A15 and other roads in Lincolnshire as anti-war protestors gathered on Saturday outside an RAF base today to protest the UK's use of armed drones in Afghanistan.
Members of the Stop The War Coalition, CND, the Drone Campaign Network and War on Want began marching from Lincoln to nearby RAF Waddington at around 12.30pm.
The Guardian revealed on Thursday that the RAF had begun remotely operating its Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles deployed to Afghanistan, from the Lincolnshire airbase.
The drones were previously operated from a United States Air Force base in Nevada.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the RAF said it had commenced supporting the International Security Assistance Force and Afghan ground troops with "armed intelligence and surveillance missions" remotely piloted from RAF Waddington.
The organisers of the protest march and rally are calling on the government to abandon the use of drones, claiming they make it easier for politicians to launch military interventions, and have increased civilian casualties.
Commenting ahead of the protest, War on Want senior campaigns officer for militarism and security, Rafeef Ziadah said: "Drones, controlled far away from conflict zones, ease politicians' decisions to launch military strikes and order extrajudicial assassinations, without democratic oversight or accountability to the public. Now is the time to ban killer drones – before it is too late."
Chris Nineham, vice-chairman of the Stop the War Coalition, claimed drones were being used to continue the "deeply unpopular 'war on terror'" with no public scrutiny.
Calling for armed drones to be banned, Mr Nineham said: "They're using them to fight wars behind our backs."
The Ministry of Defence has defended its use of drones in Afghanistan, stating that they have saved the lives of countless military personnel and civilians.
An MoD spokesman said: "UK Reaper aircraft are piloted by highly trained professional military pilots who adhere strictly to the same laws of armed conflict and are bound by the same clearly defined rules of engagement which apply to traditionally manned RAF aircraft."
Lincolnshire Police have held talks with the organisers of the protest to minimise disruption to the local community.
The route of the march from South Common along the A15 to the peace campsite opposite RAF Waddington will see the road closed in three phases to limit inconvenience to motorists.
Community policing inspector for Lincoln, Mark Garthwaite, said: "Our aim is to ensure that visitors to the area can participate in peaceful protest but that disruption to motorists and local residents is kept to a minimum.
"Different sections of the road will be closed at varying times as the marchers move along the route."


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forestview needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 112 designs submitted by 46 freelance designers.
We want you to create the main logo of the resort . The name of the resort is "Forest View" and together with "Resort", these are the words to be included in the logo together with any image you will create.
Forest View Resort
Desired Color Scheme:
Free, but you can inspired by the photos colors
Desired Style:
Accepted File Formats:
Standard Web Formats (.jpg, .gif or .png); Vector Formats (.eps, .pdf or .ai); Layered Formats (.psd or .tiff)
The logo should be classic.
You should be aware to not use images that will remind Norht American or norh-middle European forests. The forest is Mediterranean and I have included photos of it so you can get an idea.
Feel free to get inspired by the hotel bulding I include in the fotos too.
For the colors you are free to choose, but a theme based on the photos colors is not a bad idea.
You are free also to use any capitalization of the 3 logo words (Forest View Resort)
First Photo
Second Photo
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Baltimore VA Medical Center have published results of a randomized, controlled trial showing that physical activity, including walking on a treadmill and stretching and resistance exercise, appears to improve gait speed, muscle strength and fitness for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Study results are published Nov. 6, 2012, in the online edition of Archives of Neurology, a publication of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
"People with Parkinson's often see a serious decline in their quality of life when they begin to have trouble with walking, so many patients ask what kind exercise they should be doing to help them maintain their mobility and independence. Our research shows that treadmill walking and stretching and resistance training are effective in improving mobility, strength and fitness," says Lisa Shulman, MD, principal investigator and professor of neurology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
"We also found that lower intensity treadmill walking, which most people with Parkinson's can do, was actually more effective than the higher intensity treadmill exercise," adds Dr. Shulman, who is the Eugenia Brin Professor in Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
The researchers, who received funding from the Michael J. Fox Foundation, compared 67 people with Parkinson's disease who were randomly assigned to one of three exercise groups: walking on a treadmill at low intensity for 50 minutes, higher-intensity treadmill training to improve cardiovascular fitness for 30 minutes, and using weights (leg presses, extensions and curls) and stretching exercises to improve muscle strength and range of motion. Participants exercised three times a week for three months under the supervision of exercise physiologists at the Baltimore VA Medical Center.
"When we tested the participants, all three groups showed improvement, but low-intensity exercise (performed for 50 minutes three times a week) was the best in terms of helping participants to improve their mobility," notes Dr. Shulman, who is also co-director of the Maryland Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
The University of Maryland investigators found improved cardiovascular fitness in both the higher- and lower-intensity treadmill exercise groups. However, only the stretching and resistance exercises improved muscle strength (16 percent increase) compared to when the participants started.
One key measurement was distance covered during a six-minute walk, where all three types of exercisers showed improvement compared to their baseline measurement: lower-intensity treadmill exercise (12 percent increase), stretching and resistance exercises (9 percent increase), and higher-intensity treadmill exercises (6 percent increase).
"We are encouraged to see that the lower-intensity treadmill exercise, which is feasible for most Parkinson's patients, proved to have the greatest benefit for mobility while also improving cardiovascular fitness," says Dr. Shulman.
"This study by University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty provides a very practical, real-life option for doctors and patients. The research builds a strong foundation, opening the possibility for future investigation, such as comparing different combinations of exercise or looking at the potential benefit of a longer training session," says E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, vice president for medical affairs at the University of Maryland and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
In fact, the University of Maryland School of Medicine team is already exploring the possibilities of exercise with a new study looking at the benefits of exercise on memory and cognitive ability in Parkinson's patients.
Parkinson's disease affects about one million people in the United States and Canada. Most people begin to develop symptoms in their late 50s or early 60s, although it can occur in younger people. Parkinson's disease affects the brain's ability to produce dopamine, the neurotransmitter involved in the communication between the brain cells for motor control. Physical symptoms include tremor, muscle rigidity, slowness of movement and gait impairment. There are also non-motor symptoms such as changes in cognitive function, sleep disturbance and depressed mood.
Contact Sharon Boston Media Relations 410-328-8919


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Michigan Tech Student Takes Two Mountain Bike Championships
Michigan Technological University won two more national championships and they didn't happen on the ice or in the classroom. Paul Mayes won the dual slalom and downhill events at the 2012 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike Championships, held Oct. 20-21 in Angel Fire, N.M.
"It's exciting to be able to repeat in dual slalom, but the downhill title means more to me coming from the Midwest," said Mayes, a mechanical engineering major and member of Michigan Tech's Copper Country Cycling Club. "I crashed in downhill last year, so I really wanted to perform well this year."
Mayes, who won the national title in dual slalom in 2011, used his previous knowledge of the course to his advantage. "The dual slalom course was the same design as last year, but conditions were completely different. Last year, it was very muddy and cold. This year, everything was dry and dusty. The dust over hardpack made the course very fast, but also slippery in the corners. Lots of riders crashed, with a couple ending up in the hospital."
According to Wikipedia, dual slalom consists of two racers racing two almost identical tracks next to each other down a slope. The courses are usually short, with one run lasting about 30 seconds. It is filled with tabletop jumps, doubles and bermed turns. Both riders' times are taken, and then they switch tracks for another round, whereafter the combined times are counted and slower rider is eliminated. The winner moves on to the next round until two riders are left racing in the final.
The downhill course started 1,500 feet up the mountain. "It was a really fast course, with berms and jumps throughout," he said. "A lot of riders were unhappy with the course, but I really liked it. It was the kind of trail that I would ride all day at a bike park. It was, by far, the fastest downhill race I've ever been in."
Mayes said the Angel Fire and Tech Trails courses share some similarities: lots of berms and rollers. "The biggest difference is speed," he said. "The Angel Fire course drops 100 feet, so the speeds are much higher than on the course here. Riding the dual slalom course here was good practice for nationals."
After winning the downhill title on Saturday, Mayes' expectations were not very high. "I wasn't really worried about slalom. I just planned to have fun and do the best I could. I didn't really care how I qualified."
A near crash in his qualifying run resulted in the slowest time of the day, and he entered the dual slalom competition as the lowest seed.
"I figured if I stayed upright and rode consistently, I'd do pretty well. It seemed like everyone racing was having fun, which was really cool. Sometimes the races seem too serious to be fun."
Mayes relied on his girlfriend, Liz O'Neill, and teammate Coty VanLannen, who would finish 14th in dual slalom and 13th in downhill, for support in the dual slalom. "After he was knocked out in dual slalom, Coty and Liz helped me carry my bike, helmet and water back up the hill to the starting gate after each round. This doesn't seem like a big deal, but pushing the bike back up the hill between rounds is nearly as tiring as the race itself. He did the same thing last year, pushing my bike up and cleaning the mud off of it. I would not have won without his help."
Michigan Technological University is a public research university, home to more than 7,000 students from 54 countries. Founded in 1885, the University offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, and social sciences. Our campus in Michigan's Upper Peninsula overlooks the Keweenaw Waterway and is just a few miles from Lake Superior.


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Home › Scene › A Grand Slam ›
A Grand Slam
The worlds of pro baseball and fashion met in the most meaningful and celebratory of ways at the River East Arts Center for the Strike a Pose celebrity fashion show, presented by the David DeJesus Family Foundation. After a VIP reception and a cocktail hour featuring bites from some of the city's best restaurants, including RPM Italian, Chicago Q and Pastoral, Cubs players and their wives took to the catwalk sporting the latest styles from the 900 N. Michigan Shops. Proceeds from the event, which also included a raffle, auction and dancing to DJ Kasper K, benefitted ALS research and support. Photography by Donna Binbek


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Jimquisition: Let's End the FPS Sausage-fest
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Let's End the FPS Sausage-fest
According to some of the biggest first-person shooters on the market, women don't exist. Men give birth to men who become manly men and shoot stuff with man-guns. However, not only is that unrealistic, it's exclusionary, silly, and lacking a decent excuse. The FPS sausage-fest should come to an end, and The Jimquisition dons its armor ... as well as its lingerie ... to take up the cause.
Hey, i have an idea. How about in stead of FPS's we make some FPS's? First Person Stabbers? I like a game were i'd use a knife to fight some one else with a knife instead of, As yahtzee says "Me shooting at something really far away and me dying alot"
I demand an avatar of Jim's female counterpart in Blacklight now!
jim in drag O.o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juFZh92MUOY
Aside from the idea of Jim's crotch-less lingerie that has been engraved into my mind, I have to agree with everything Jim said. Though I suppose that's nothing new.
How about some props to Halo for having the option of playing female characters since Halo 3?
Thief and the Elder Scrolls series have melee combat and only that.
I agree Jim. I have played many a game in my time and never used a female avatar, I just don't like it. Similarly my female mates always use a female character when they can so I can sympathise with how annoying it would be if I had to chose the idiotic female blood elf in WoW (which by the way doesn't even look like a girl and is quite obviously a tranny).
Anyway, thank god for you
Good point Jim, but actually in Call of Duty, they do show women, well actually, a woman in CoD4 as she's hear in the mission, Charlie Don't Surf, then you have to rescue her from a downed helicopter in the mission, Shock and Awe
Jim, may I say just what a frankly stunning woman you make. Has anyone ever suggested that you make the change more permanent?
Oh and yeah, good episode as well. Speaking as a dude who is usually more comfortable playing as a dude... needs more chicks.
Great video, Jim! Have to say, they've just been getting better and better lately! Keep it up.
Well, we still have the good ol' TimeSplitters games. Remember those?
Lots of female characters in both single AND multiplayer.
Great video, point well made.
Funny how old games like Unreal, Aliens vs. Predator 2 etc. had female characters in multiplayer... Modern games are a step down in many directions. Look at Duke Nukem 3D level design for example.
Speaking as a woman who likes shooters, I agree. It would be nice to have the option, at least. And the lack of a female option has led me to not buy at least one game. (Brink - because seriously? Over a quadrillion customization options and not one of them is female? Because it would have cut down on the options available? Could you not have not half a quadrillion male options instead? I don't think anyone would have been unsatisfied.)
Why is it a thing that women have to be petite and short?
To be fair to MW,BF and MOH most Western Special Forces unit's don't allow women to try out, outside of Delta Force's "Funny Platoon" and some British Intelligence unit's. Also how it is that Halo: Reach (Kat, Six can be female) is the most gender equal FPS I can think of?
Regardless of whether or not it's good overall, the Mass Effect 3 multiplayer did well in this aspect. There is an even split between male and female playable characters in the Mass Effect 3 multiplayer, and it works well there. Admittedly it's a coop only thing, with no pvp, but there doesn't seem to be an inherent advantage to using a female human instead of a male human.
Well for modern day shooters I do actually understand that there are few to no women in the field... because that's how it really is. Women are represented but usually if they are at all it's in an administrative capacity. Blame the armies in that case.
Before you start flaming away I really do think it is all about setting. Take games like Unreal Tournament 3 and Halo Reach which have female characters.
For Aliens on the other hand, that is plain ridiculous and there really isn't an obvious excuse for that one.
I think the cost excuse is bollocks as unless you just have skin changes you're going to have to model different male models regardless.
So yeah probably too few female characters even in some sifi games, but if you want to have a shooter based somewhat in reality then having women in the field isn't really an option as of yet.
ARG! Tall women! I iz be lozing my immersion.
So the only woman is an earpiece and then a damsel in distress? Kinda just proves his point. And there's still none in the online component.
As a man, I prefer to play as men in online games. That character is my avatar in the world, and playing as a girl feels wierd. So yeah I can imagine some girls would feel the same way.
Although with CoD and BF raking in the money they do with their current gaming model, I can't see them changing any time soon.
I read the description before watchign and hesitated for fear of seeing Jim Sterling in lingerie. I was spared visual scarring but my imagination is now dead.
While that was the example I was thinking of, I can't get past the fact that it's throwing up an easy target for the militant feminist in me, who will no doubt point out that the fact that the one female's sole purpose is to be rescued isn't all that much of a step forward.
Still, a woman in CoD is a woman in CoD.
I don't really see how that is deserving of props, since other games have included female mp characters years before Halo 3 was around. Notable examples include Unreal, Quake 3, Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. Unless you're referring to Halo being a sausage-fest before the third game.
Speaking of Perfect Dark though, apart from No One Live Forever and Mirror's Edge, I can't think of any other fps that has a woman as the main (and only) playable characters in singleplayer.
It's not militant feminism to point out that responding to claims that you don't take women seriously as soldiers by including one as a person in need of rescue is a bit like responding to claims of excluding other races by including a few slaves.
I guess there was that one woman in COD4, yeah, though we can assume she was the last of her kind, made extinct in that terrible war.
If there is a 3rd person game I am playing has a female character model, I make it a point to use the female model. If I'm going to be staring at the backside of my character for untold hours I at least want something half way decent to look at.
hmm. crotch-less knickers..
Speaking as a male who is comfortable playing as either male or female avatars in a game, I agree. It would be nice to have the extra variety.
But then, I don't hardly ever play online games, so I'm not sure my opinion on the matter really holds much weight.
Yes but they also have the option to play in 3rd person and is more of a fantasic adventure freaking awsome game that has stealth elements and magic spells and other great things. I'd just like to see a game like call of duty, minus the guns. With a whole lote more blood and a fun but not over complicated mele system.
That was @ RauikuFA Btw
Its funny, I remember there being exactly ONE woman soldier in an FPS game. And that was COD 4, that helicopter pilot you tried to rescue. And that's it as far as I know. Every COD after that never had a female in any kind of combat role or even in a support role.
While there are few women in military combat just having them to be rescued isn't all that much as a positive step. "Rescue the girl" is about as old a gameplay concept as "shoot the thing" anyway so its wasn't all that spectacular in any way at all.
Heck, that series let you play as monkeys, bears, dinosaurs and squids. The character range in that series is unparalleled.
*sigh* this made me wish my PS2 wasn't broke.
That's pretty much what I wanted to say. Realism is not a good argument for the inclusion of female characters in shooters like these. However, as we all know sometimes realism needs to take a backseat to other more important things in order to make a game fun. It seems that in most games the main character is performing feats that are realistically beyond any man or woman's ability, so I don't see why we shouldn't allow people to play as women. If she's in a unit that in the real world doesn't allow women, just say that she was so impossibly awesome that they made an exception.
We had playable female characters in bloody old-school shooters like Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, and modern ones like Halo: Reach have awesome female characters in multiplayer.
Really, there's zero excuse not to have women in your games. Yeah, I'm a woman, and I always pick women to play as in FPS if the option is available. SOOOO many games have female characters in FPS multiplayer that when a studio like the ones making Battlefield, Call of Duty, or Aliens: Colonel Marines say it's "too hard" or "too costly", I pretty much know it's actually just "laziness". Games with half their budgets are churning out games with a balance of genders and doing it JUST FINE.
It really is a weird phenomenon, since I barely play any multi-player FPS's I hadn't heard about this issue. Still not putting any women is stupid in games that are supposed to have massive appeal or are in the future is plain lazy.
Yet I can think of a FPS that needs no female characters and that is Team Fortress 2, a game which still plenty of women play and has tons of yaoi for some reason. It would interesting to release a Team Fortress 2 esque FPS with only women in it and see how it goes.
Come on Jim, you shouldn't have thanked God this time, thank Mother Gea, when dressing a feminist womyn, you don't need to thank a phallocentric Male God, thank a female one, for Gea's sake.
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This Is Our Kind Of Surprise Birthday Present!
Those of us who are, or have been, married have doubtless, at one time or another, surprised our spouses with unexpected gifts (and not always surprised in a good way). Jim Kipp is no exception–except that he gave his wife Debra one heck of a surprise 50th birthday present. In case you hadn't already guessed, you're looking at it on these very pages. "I found it in the Auto Trader and asked Ryan Reed from SO-CAL Speed Shop to go check it out for me. He felt it was in very good condition so I went ahead with the purchase and in July 2007 it went to SO-CAL and we started the build process. I came up with the overall concept and the look we wanted to achieve, and reviewed the progress on a weekly basis," Jim told us.
In fact, that weekly visit to the shop was one of the hardest parts of the build. Jim's retired, and only lives about an hour's drive south of SO-CAL's Pomona, California base, but getting up there every week to agree on details and check progress without Debra finding out he wasn't in town was somewhat challenging!
Now if you think this coupe looks vaguely familiar, you'd be right, as we covered the Jimmy Shine-chopped roof in a tech article back in our July 2008 issue, but it's come a long way since then. Deuce chassis rails form the foundation, though the chassis was kicked up and bobbed in the rear, as befits a Model A body, while the rear crossmember was changed for driveshaft clearance. One neat touch by SO-CAL fabricator Robin Silk that preserves the coupe's Model A style is the use of A frame horns up front.
The body came in for some subtle modification too, such as the slight channeling over the frame to align the lower edge of the body with the chassis swage line, and the extraordinary amount of work involved in moving the firewall back slightly into the cowl, and then widening it to fit. A '32 cowl vent now replaces the old gas filler (the tank is now located in the rear) for some good old fashioned air conditioning. But why move the firewall rearwards? To make room for the '57 312ci Y-block that now sits between it and the peaked and filled '30 grille shell, that's why. There's also a finely crafted bare metal (a finish that covers the rest of the body and chassis) trans tunnel covering the C4 transmission inside the car too, along with some very tidy olive green canvas and brown distressed leather upholstery and cool purse-like door pockets. The Model A dash has been retained, albeit not employed as the front of the gas tank any longer, while its center is now filled with a SO-CAL dash insert and gauges.
Dubbed the DK Mystery Coupe, the name can be found on both sides of the cowl, and in stamped leather logos in the cockpit. It's no longer a mystery though, and Jim says that the most memorable part of the project was presenting the coupe to Debra at her surprise 50th birthday party with about 200 of her friends present. As he put it, "The look on her face was priceless." Kinda reminds us of a credit card commercial, though you'll have to figure out the costs preceding that "priceless" line for yourselves!
Rod & Custom Feature Car
Debra Kipp
Canyon Lake, California
1930 Model A coupe
Owner contact info: email@example.com
Robin Silk started with a SO-CAL Speed Shop '32 chassis, kicked up the rear section and bobbed the rear horns, while adding Model A horns at the front. The rear crossmember was changed to allow for driveshaft clearance. There's a Currie 9-inch axle back there with 31-spline shafts, hung on SO-CAL ladder bars and transverse spring, and Pete & Jakes shocks, a 4-inch dropped Magnum I-beam keeps the grille shell from dragging on the blacktop, coupled with Magnum spindles and SO-CAL hidden disc brakes. A non-boosted dual reservoir brake master cylinder is operated through a SO-CAL pedal assembly, and the steering box is a Vega unit.
The '57 Ford Y-block was assembled by Ray Zeller, using a stock crank and rods, 9:1 pistons and an Isky cam. The small combustion chamber/big valve heads received a mild port job, and are fed gas from the three Ford 97s through an Edelbrock 573 manifold, fired thanks to an MSD ignition. Those rams horn style exhaust manifolds were polished before being heat coated, and lead to a Jair Valle-fabricated exhaust system. A Torrance Transmission-prepped C4 slushbox selects which ratio to spin the Inland Driveline driveshaft.
Body & (No) Paint
From its 4-inch chopped top to its subtle channel, the body received much massaging, in the form of new rear wheel wells with factory style beads, a canvas-covered sheetmetal top insert that can be removed and stored in a pouch behind the seats, a welded visor, the addition of a '32 cowl vent, and the widened firewall that was moved back into the cowl. The grille shell was filled and peaked and fitted with a mesh insert, while the headlamps are '28 Model A fluted lens items. Paint? You not been looking at the pictures?
Wheels & Tires
The big `n' little tire combo wrapped around the 16-inch SO-CAL wheels consists of 525 and 750 Firestone blackwall bias plies, providing the perfect rubber rake and style for this coupe.
The paintless theme continues inside the coupe, but only on the dash and door shuts. Rubber matting covers the floor, while olive green canvas and brown distressed leather cover the door panels, the Speedway seats, and the upper and lower inner body panels. A Limeworks column and Vintique '40 Ford steering wheel and Lokar shifter handle necessary chores, while a soundtrack to drive to comes courtesy of an iPod Nano hooked up to ARC Audio speakers and amplifier, all hidden from view. A Vintage Air compact heater keeps the extremities warm on those chilly California evenings.


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Does anybody here have or know how I can get a Clone Commando mold/cast or parts? I really want to make myself one of these guys!!
Either the one from IG-88 or THe Hoth Snowtrooper or If you have both, that would be great.
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Inca Cocktail
1 Dash Orgeat Syrup. (1/3 tsp homemade)
1 Dash Orange Bitters. (dash Fee's, Dash Regan's Orange Bitters)
1/4 Gin. (3/4 oz Junipero Gin)
1/4 Sherry. (3/4 oz Bodega Dios Baco Fino Sherry)
1/4 French Vermouth. (3/4 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth)
1/4 Italian Vermouth. (3/4 oz Carpano Antica Vermouth)
Shake (stir, please) well and strain into cocktail glass. (Orange Peel.)
Apparently, I am crazy for liking this cocktail. I tried it a while ago for myself and thought it a really cool puzzle of tastes. I gave one to Mrs. eje to try. Interestingly, her first impression was that it was a whiskey cocktail, but she also liked it.
Then I sent the recipe to a few friends. Crickets. I sent the recipe to some bartenders I know. The silence was deafening.
I made it again a couple other times, including tonight, and still think it rocks.
I do have to say I over-squooshed my almonds when making this batch of orgeat, thus the kind of dottiness due to the almond oils and solids in the cold cocktail. Still tasty despite the somewhat unappealing appearance.
Robert Vermeire tells us, "This cocktail was invented by H.C. Harrison, who supervises the American Bars of the Gordon Hotels in England."
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.


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Whose watching tonight's national championship game? Who does not care to watch it? I could careless myself but I love college football. It's a toss up for me but I'll go with the..... Georgia Bulldogs
This is not high school but...
Started by buckeye1503, Jan 08 2018 02:55 PM
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Government Foreclosures and HUD Foreclosure Listings in Oklahoma Cities
Oklahoma HUD Homes and Government Foreclosures by City
Below are HUDForeclosed.com's government and HUD foreclosure listings in Oklahoma cities. These are properties in which a government agency has insured a loan to a borrower, who has since defaulted. At this point, the insuring agency acquires ownership of the defaulted property. HUDforeclosed.com then aggregates this data from these government agencies and presents it here en masse for our customers.
A good portion of this data is acquired from HUD (shorthand nickname for U.S. Government's Department of Housing and Urban Development) - we call these types of listings 'HUD Foreclosures'
Also included are VA foreclosures (Veteran's Affairs), Fannie Mae Foreclosures (Federal National Mortgage Association), and Freddie Mac Foreclosures (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) all of which are government agencies that insured a homeowner who has defaulted.
Since these agencies are not realtors, having an inventory of foreclosed properties on their books can prove costly - and they are very motivated to sell off these propeties at a significantly lower price than market value.


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Welcome to So Cool Hostel Porto, feel yourself at home!
So Cool Hostel Porto building was built before 1890 and fully restored in 2013, and together with our staff, we have created a cozy environment, so that our guests feel at home. You can choose to stay in one of our comfortable dorms or in one of the double rooms.
So Cool Hostel Porto is located 5 minutes (walking) from the Rotunda da Boavista (near Casa da Música), 10 minutes (walking) from the old town, where you can find the most important cultural focus with art galleries, theaters, restaurants, bars and nightclubs. 15 min (by bus) is the time you take to reach Serralves House, with its Contemporary Art Museum, with 5 minutes more of travel, you can sit down in great terraces, admire the sea and eat a tasty fish.
The central location of the So Cool Hostel Porto allows you to easily access the public transport network, that will take you to anywhere in the city, its surroundings and other places of beautiful Portugal! If you need any help with directions, just ask our staff.


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Tablighi Ijtema regularly held in Raiwind which is in Pakistan. Raiwind Ijtema held in two phase as like as Bishwa Ijtema,Tongi,Bangladesh.When will be held the Raiwind Ijtema in 2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019,2020:it's a question ? Generally Raiwind Ijtema held at the late of the year. During the last Raiwind Tableeghi Ijtima 2011 around half a million people took part in the first four-day session of the Ijtema, which ended on Sunday.
|Devotees are coming in the Ijtema
There is no doubt that the organising of this type of gatherings (Ijtima) is a miracle. These are physical activities and that lead to the alertness of the Shari'ah-rules of Islam. This is a great way really.During the last Riwind Ijtema peoples from most of the countries came to ponder about Islam.150 thousand people's demand for visas had been forwarded.
The government said that they will accept everyone, even if it is a million people. They say that they are happy that (Tabligh) produces goodness.There is some inclination in the government in favour of Islam. The previous agenda of Bush and Musharraf has been broken with a hit.Tablighi Jamaat peoples helped to all maintain activities.
|Peoples are gathering in the Venue
Maulana Zubairul Hassan led the final prayers and in his bayan called for world peace and for the reliability and long life of the country as well as the world. At the start of the congregation, Tableeghi Jamaat Ameer Maulana Haji Abdul Wahhab called for brotherhood, unity and peace in the muslim Ummah.Raiwind Ijtema finish with the final prayer as like as the Bishwa Ijtem.Peoples come from all state of Pakistan to hear the sermon delivered by various Maulana.Ijtema bayan are popular to all muslims.The people who did not joined the Raiwind Ijtema can be Listen the audio mp3 and video of the bayan.


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BarrettKinch avait besoin d'un nouveau design de logo et a lancé un concours sur 99designs.
Un gagnant a été sélectionné de 85 designs proposés par 12 designers freelance.
Pickleball Kitchen
Pickleball Kitchen is a website (and soon to be YouTube channel and podcast) that shares with the world what I've learned and discovered about a sport called pickleball. It is designed to help new players get started and allows them to "come into my kitchen" to see what I've been concocting in order to see what works and what doesn't work in the pickleball world. On the website and other channels you'll find entertaining, honest, yet super helpful articles for beginners and advanced players alike.
"Pickleball Kitchen" is a play on words in two ways.
1. The "Kitchen" is a zone on the pickleball court where you cannot be standing if you want to "volley" the ball, or in other words, hit it out of mid air. The "Kitchen zone" is infamous due to it's name, but also due to how often people make this mistake.
2. "My kitchen" is a metaphorical place that I refer to where I learn, tinker and explore the world of pickleball. I want to invite people into my kitchen to check out what I'm working on in terms of pickleball.
Some other notes:
1. As you can see from the designs that I've chosen for inspiration, I need something where all the elements of the logo are tied together visually. I don't want something where the visuals of the logo and the "pickleball kitchen" text are separated. Something like a badge basically.
2. Please do not include actual pickles in my logo unless you can find a brilliant way to incorporate it. ;)
3. I had an idea about making a pickleball paddle look like a spatula. Maybe there's something good there.
4. It should look very different from the USAPA logo.
5. I had an idea about having a "pickleball chef" as an avatar. A character with a chef's hat that looks tough and ready to play hard with his pickleball knife/paddle. Just an idea though, you don't have to follow this line if you don't want to. (I don't think this is going to work. But if you can make it work without it looking like a food website then I would like to see it!)
6. Prefer vector files only.
Thank you so much for reading through this. I can't wait to see what you come up with!
Savoir comment fonctionne un concours de design ou en savoir plus sur nos services de design de logo.


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The DarthMod improves significantly the AI and gameplay for the PC game "Total War: Shogun 2".
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free - or sign in with your social account on the right) and join in the conversation.
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TORONTO - When "Parenthood" creator Jason Katims created the character Max Braverman — an intelligent, inscrutable, insect-obsessed youngster with Asperger's — he had in mind his own son, Sawyer, who was similarly diagnosed.
But while many are absorbed in the travails of the mop-topped Max on the generously open-hearted family drama, Katims' own teenaged son isn't among them.
"Everybody else in the family watches it but he doesn't," the Emmy Award winner said in a recent telephone interview, chuckling softly.
"He'll really just watch sports, it's really all he's interested in watching. He also likes things like politics and conspiracy theories, those kinds of things. But he doesn't really watch scripted television.
"I mean, he's trying to put me out of business."
Fortunately for Katims, millions of other people are playing close attention — particularly those with a loved one on the autism spectrum.
SEE: Portrayals of the autism spectrum in pop culture. Story continues below:
And sadly, those numbers are growing. One in 88 American children has an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) according to the Centers for Disease Control and — while no federal monitoring system exists in Canada to provide a similar rate of prevalence — ASD is the most common childhood neurological disorder or severe developmental disability here.
(A controversial decision was recently made to fold Asperger syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism, into an umbrella diagnosis for autism spectrum disorder, but the families interviewed for this story largely used the terms interchangeably).
Television can often be painstakingly slow to adapt to such shifts in demographics. But it's clear that some of the challenges faced by the autistic population have captured the imagination of TV writers, who are increasingly penning eccentric characters whose quirks would seem to align with typical characteristics of ASD on shows including "The Big Bang Theory," "Bones" and "Community."
These characters are never diagnosed, but they are smart, focused and passionate about certain subjects, stubbornly rigid, and navigate human relationships with either much effort or bemused distance, confused by sarcasm, idioms or other unspoken rules of social interaction that come naturally to most.
These characters are also incredibly familiar to some people on the spectrum and those around them.
But if these shows are helping to craft the popular understanding of a neural disorder still largely shrouded in mystery, it must be asked: Are they getting it right? And how do people on the spectrum or those close to them feel about the representations?
It was a consideration of crucial importance to Katims, who of course counts himself among that community. When the 52-year-old began developing "Parenthood" — after bringing his beloved gridiron TV drama "Friday Night Lights" to a gratifying conclusion — he saw an opportunity to tell stories that weren't being told on television: His own.
But he also felt a heavy sense of responsibility, almost immediately.
"When we were starting out, I really had a lot of apprehension about our ability to tell the story accurately," he said.
"I was sort of overwhelmed by the challenge of doing that and was sort of determined to make it not feel like a bad television version of it, but to make it feel real."
One way he accomplished that was by culling many of Max's stories from his own life. Though Katims does his best to nimbly sidestep autobiography, sometimes he'll casually share details of his home life with his writers, leave the room, and come back to find his personal anecdote expertly adapted into a pitch for a storyline.
The show (which airs Monday nights on Global) also employs behavioural psychologist Wayne Tashjian to work with the show's cast and crew to ensure accuracy. And Katims is quick to pay lavish praise to precocious 15-year-old star Max Burkholder, who portrays his TV counterpart with such a keen eye for detail, Katims says he's been able to delve far deeper into Max's journey than he originally anticipated.
"There's this cathartic element of being able to write about something that's personal to me, and put it out there in the world," he said.
And the portrayal is certainly having an effect.
Tom Hibben, a 30-year-old paramedic from Oklahoma City, was still reeling from the diagnosis of his son with Asperger syndrome when he and his wife sat down to watch the "Parenthood" pilot back in March 2010.
In that episode, a teary-eyed Kristina Braverman (Monica Potter) informs husband Adam (Peter Krause) of their son's diagnosis. In volatile disbelief, Adam spits back: "Asperger's? Like autism? Max is not autistic! I've seen autistic kids!"
Watching at home, Hibben and his wife exchanged stunned glances. Their memories wrenchingly recent, they were initially a little "horrified" by what they were watching, but they also got sucked in and continued following the show. Nowadays, they even sometimes do so with their son (now nine years old), who identifies with aspects of "Parenthood" — specifically, Max's non-plussed reaction when he learned he had Asperger's.
Hibben, meanwhile, found himself more strongly relating to the stomach-churning anxiety Adam and Kristina felt when Max — galvanized by his righteous indignity over the removal of a school vending machine — decided to run for student council president.
The fictional Bravermans were stuck; they wanted to support him but didn't want to see his spirit crushed.
"That kind of hit home for us," said Hibben, a father of three who authors the blog www.adventuresinaspergers.com. "You want them to get involved, but do you want them to have that potential for them to get stomped or made fun of?"
That storyline culminated in Max delivering a stirring speech to his classmates explaining the particulars of what makes him different, resulting in his successful election.
Karen Wesley watched that scene through tears. The Austin, Tex., mother has three children, two of whom are on the autism spectrum. Her 16-year-old son had recently written an essay about his own struggles and read it over the PA system at school.
"Oh my God, I was in tears because (Max's) speech was very similar to the one that my son made," said Wesley, who writes about her life at confessionsofanaspergersmom.blogspot.com.
"I just admired his bravery, and I won't say the average Asperger's kid would do that. It touched me."
Katims hears stories like this from parents of autistic kids all the time. The stories move him, but also reinforce just how slender is his margin for error.
"For people in that community, they're passionate about the show (but) they're also very discerning," he said. "They are not without their criticisms as well."
Indeed, "Parenthood" fans with ties to the autistic community occasionally seem to possess as fastidious an eye for inconsistencies and inaccuracies as a hotshot trial lawyer poking holes in a witness's story.
Among the complaints? Some feel that Max's struggles — with compromising, socializing and empathizing — are resolved too quickly. Some fret that the Bravermans should not have waited as long as they did to tell Max about his condition. Some think his "meltdowns" are too severe and frequent, while some feel the opposite.
And many point out that the Bravermans have a near-endless supply of resources — an in-house learning aide (at one point), one stay-at-home parent and even the option to put Max in a school specially suited to him — that aren't available to real families without crushing financial burden.
(Of course, this is television, where underemployed 20-somethings are always capable of affording cutting-edge fashion and spacious, lavishly appointed New York apartments).
In those respects, "Parenthood" is held to a much higher standard than shows that choose not to diagnose their characters' behaviour.
"Bones"' Canadian-raised creator Hart Hanson once told the Newark Star-Ledger that he based the show's central forensic anthropologist in part on a friend with Asperger syndrome, but decided not to label the character because he wanted the Fox show to appeal to as broad an audience as possible.
As played by Emily Deschanel, Temperance Brennan (nicknamed Bones) is a brilliant scientist who struggles to parse social cues in her dealings with perennially at-odds love interest Booth (David Boreanaz), and whose clinical curiosity and lack of emotional expression sometimes leave co-workers complaining that she's as chilly as the corpses she so expertly probes.
Canada's top-rated show "The Big Bang Theory" — a comedy about nerdy, socially awkward men and the patient women they don't really deserve — has a somewhat similar character in its breakout star, Sheldon Cooper (a role that has earned actor Jim Parsons two Emmys and a Golden Globe).
Sheldon, like Bones, is a bona fide genius, a physicist of considerable renown and a walking encyclopedia who exhausts his friends with deep reserves of obscure trivia.
But he also abhors physical contact, sticks so religiously to routine that he won't let anyone sit in his spot on the couch, possesses such an intractable obstinacy that friends roll their eyes at any nascent signs of a disagreement and treats social convention like the one complex puzzle he can never quite solve.
He actually summed up these issues quite succinctly in a recent monologue toward the end of an episode.
"You may not realize it, but I have difficulty navigating certain aspects of daily life," he said to his friends. "You know, understanding sarcasm, feigning interest in others, not talking about trains as much as I want to. It's exhausting."
But, as on "Bones," "Big Bang" has never directly confronted the reasons behind Sheldon's idiosyncrasies. The show's co-creator, Bill Prady, has said they resisted diagnosing Sheldon because the resultant responsibility would be too much for what is, at its heart, a goofy sitcom.
Still, many of those in or close to the autistic community love the character regardless.
"We adore Sheldon and we totally get him," said Lori Sherry, founder and president of the Asperger Syndrome Education Network (ASPEN), who counts "Big Bang" as her favourite TV program.
In fact, there's an aspirational dimension to Sheldon, given that he's successful and independent (even if he doesn't drive).
"We can only hope that we're raising a Sheldon," Hibben said. "My son reminds me, I hope, of Sheldon, because he's the smartest kid I know. He can read Egyptian hieroglyphics but he puts his pants on backwards every day of his life.
"We watch that (show) with a bit of optimism. And we get the jokes a little more. People with kids on the spectrum connect to it a bit more."
On both "Bones" and "Big Bang" — as well as the oddball comedy "Community," which depicts Danny Pudi's gentle-but-detached Abed in a similar fashion — the traits that distinguish these characters from their friends and co-workers also make them fertile sources of comedy.
Both Sheldon and Bones generate laughs from their off-kilter interpretations of social customs and their blunt honesty. Katims, too, acknowledges that he loves writing for Max.
"It's just always fun to write a character who will say whatever is on their mind," he said. "I enjoy writing Max and it's similar sometimes to how I enjoy my son. An aspect of one of the things I really like about him is how authentic he is.
"He doesn't know how to say anything false. And while that's a real challenge in his life for many reasons, there's also something very charming about it."
Hibben, for one, has no problem with finding humour in these characters, because he does the same with his son.
He relates a recent story in which his wife accidentally sent his nine-year-old to school with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, forgetting that he detested jelly.
"He looked her straight in the eye (later) and said: 'You need to be more careful next time you make my lunch. You screwed it up again,'" Hibben recalled, laughing. "When I was a kid, I'd be unconscious. But he has no fear of repercussions. He corrects teachers when they use incorrect grammar in class."
It's not as though, Hibben points out, their lives are sad.
"Sometimes it sucks, but most of the time it's just freaking hilarious."
Added Wesley: "My kids, if I didn't laugh a lot at the situations, I probably would be in tears."
Wesley, for her part, loves "Big Bang" too. She says her kids draw strength from seeing characters who bear some resemblance to them on TV. But she says it would be beneficial if producers at least alluded to the possibility of a diagnosis for Sheldon.
Natalie Dalton, a mother of two from St. John's, N.L., with a son diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, disagrees. She "adores" Sheldon and says that his Asperger qualities are readily apparent, but magnified to the thousandth degree.
Which is why she'd rather not see him overtly associated with the condition.
"To diagnose his character now would be to make a mockery of Asperger's/autism," she wrote in an email. "Although I love the show, I would be offended if Sheldon was meant to accurately depict a person with Asperger's."
Dr. James Bebko, a professor and autism researcher with York University's department of psychology, is similarly skeptical that Sheldon displays anything more than a shallow resemblance to someone actually dealing with Asperger syndrome.
"One of the things that's part of society now is that it doesn't seem OK anymore just to be eccentric — it has to be pathologized in some way," he said.
"Part of the dynamic of what's going on is that (viewers) with various disorders or challenges are also trying to normalize their experience or their child's experience, so they're looking for examples of that sort of behaviour in recognized personalities or in media."
And Bebko says it's easy to understand why: Sheldon and Bones are highly successful professionals, and thus optimistic examples for young people on the spectrum.
But their lives are sadly not reality for most people with different forms of autism.
"I know a number of individuals with Asperger who are successful in their lives — but they are the exception," Bebko said.
In fact, a recent study published by Pediatrics found that one in three young adults with autism had no paid job experience, college or technical school nearly seven years after high-school graduation — a poorer showing than those who have mental disabilities.
While Bebko thinks that TV shows drawing attention to autism is a positive development (and he likes what little he's seen of "Parenthood"), he warns that there's a danger in viewers forming strong impressions from fictional media.
"What's important is that they have to realize it's entertainment," he said.
Like Bebko, Autism Speaks executive vice-president of programs and services Peter Bell emphasizes that autism is a spectrum disorder that takes many distinct forms. At one end, there are some highly functioning, independent people who can resemble those being depicted on TV. At the other end, there are people with much more significant challenges, some of whom need 'round-the-clock supervision.
Bell points out that roughly 40 to 50 per cent of the autistic population has communication challenges so significant many are largely non-verbal, and that population is hardly represented on TV at all. ("Touch" casts Toronto's Kiefer Sutherland as the father to a mute son but doesn't diagnose the child).
"It does run the risk of stereotyping what autism might look like," said Bell, an avowed "Parenthood" fan who even had a cameo on the show.
"Because I think for the vast majority of people who live with autism, they do have very significant challenges that probably wouldn't play well on the screen."
So we await the depiction of a character at the more severe end of the autism spectrum.
Meantime, Katims continues to explore the real anxieties he experiences as the parent of a child on the spectrum — questions of whether his son will marry or hold a job — to the simultaneous delight and trepidation of other parents trying to chart a path in similarly murky waters.
And those from outside the community are also watching — and learning. After the second episode of the show aired, Google searches for "Asperger's" spiked. (Actually, many of the curious seekers badly misspelled the word).
So while "Parenthood" is just a TV show, to many people it means more. And that group, of course, includes Katims himself.
"Obviously, it's very personal to me," he said. "I've heard many stories over the time of doing the show, of people who have brought their own children in (for diagnosis) through seeing the show.
"People recognize Max in their children, or their grandchildren, or their nieces and nephews."
Asked how it feels to wield such positive influence, Katims pauses.
"It means a lot to me."