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The gals up at Lucy were kind enough to send me some super cute running gear and I wanted to review it for all you guys.
I first ran in the Propel Tank. I REALLY love the tank. It is very lightweight and loose fitting. Also the print is flattering and I love the colors. It's also relatively LONG which I love in a tank. So many tanks I find are short and thus not flattering. I didn't have to pull and tug at this tank to stay down. I also loved the fabric. It's really soft and you can tell that it's a great quality garment. EEEEE after run picture….
The green is just my sports bra, nothing to do with the shirt :) I also love the neckline. It fits really well and allows breath ability and is a flattering cut. I am wearing a size medium.
Secondly, I ran in the matching shorts to the shirt. The Distance Run Shorts. I LOVE these shorts. They fit perfectly and are made of a great material. I love the length on them and how they fit when I run. I like the smallish cuts on the side that allow great movement and I like the pocket on the back of them too!
The front view
The back view with the small zipper pocket. They were long enough to not be booty shorts and aren't super tight. I really love the fabric though. As you can tell from the pictures, there is a band at the top of the shorts and there is a drawstring in there. I really like the band though because it keeps the shorts in place and doesn't allow them to be saggy.
Then we have the glorious booty shorts that I ran LA in. The Propel Run Shorts. I got these the day before the race at the Lucy tent and I'm all for wearing new clothes while racing. I know many people believe it's a no-no, I love doing it. These are a tad longer than the ones I usually run in, which was a-okay by me. They have a 4.5 inch inseam and their fabric, again is awesome! I felt like they never rode up during the whole race, which is a huge bonus and they fit perfectly. The band at the waist is another one of my favorite features.
Here's a few pictures from the LA Marathon and the shorts.
Love the length and the fit!
HA! I may have not been the happiest camper on the course, but my shorts were amazing :)
Finally the finish! :) Also the 'stripes' on both the sides of the shorts are reflective stripes.
Just because this was probably the highlight of my interesting experience at the LA Marathon. Firemen! :)
So, the thing I love about Lucy clothes is that they are quality gear. I love their fabrics and they do have some sweet sale items on their websites and in stores. They are PRICEY though. That's the only downfall. I know their stuff lasts longer but it's hard for me to fork out big dollars for something I'm just going to sweat in and get dirty and wash constantly. To each their own. I do love their stuff though and have gotten some great finds on sale! :)


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Hewlett Packard (HP) 3835 All In One Printer and Scanner Price Analysis (F5R96C (2016))
|Printer Technology
There are several types of printing technologies :
Inkjet printers uses liquid ink sprayed through nozzles onto the paper, and laser printers use a toner cartridge (filled with fine powder) and a heated fuser for printing.Each technology has its own importance.
Inkjet Printer : In the inkjet printing technology, the print head has several tiny nozzles. The copy from an inkjet printer needs a little time to dry. Adequate drying time is especially important if the hard copy contains large sections of solid black or dark color.The advantage of using an inkjet printer is that they give an excellent color output.
|Printer Function
|Fax, Photo Copy, Print, Scan, Wi-Fi
|Monochrome/Colored Printer
|Coloured Printing, Colored Fax
|Borderless Printing
Borderless printing is a printing technique that makes a printer print an image without any margin or other border. Borderless printing is mainly used for printing a photo without any border, printing an image which needs multiple pages of paper like billboard or big photo, or printing a full page template.
|Printer Type
|All In One
An ink tank system in printers continuously supplies ink to a comparatively small inkjet print head. It increases the print capacity. Ink in the tank will lasts for a long time and it is refillable. How long the ink will last depends on how heavy the usage of the printer is for the user. The general warranty that companies offer for the Ink Tank system is for a period of one year or in a range of 25000 to 30000 pages.
A multi-function printer is a type that performs multiple tasks alongwith printing such as scanning, sending fax, photo copy, automatic document feeding etc.
|Best Suited For
|Home and Small businesses
|Double Sided Printing
|Optical Resolution
|Up to 1200 dpi
A scanner's optical resolution is determined by how many pixels it can actually see. In a typical flatbed scanner it uses scanning head with 300 sensors per inch, so it can sample 300 dots per inch (dpi) in one direction.
|Series #
|DeskJet Ink Advantage
|Available on Conzumr Since
|March 2018
|Prices in US Dollar
|Walmart USA
|Prices in Indian Rupee
|Tata Cliq
|₹ 5899 SELL 33% off
|₹ 7445 SELL 16% off
|₹ 7700 SELL 13% off
|₹ 8560.25 SELL 3% off
|Hewlett Packard (HP)
|Refreshed 3 hours ago

subset: commoncrawl


text: Tonner Toys launches City Girls, a new doll collection by doll artist Robert Tonner and creative designer Jason Carrao-Reilley. The new collection features Astor the Fitness Model, Houston the Personal Shopper, Brook-Lynn the Event Planner, and Billy the Bakery Owner. The 16–inch dolls in heels are City Girls that have Saran hair and are dressed to impress. The dolls are available for purchase at www.tonnerdoll.com.


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– You learn about your brother's divorce via his status update
– When you look at your friends list you have no idea who half of those people are
– You feel like you want to start poking and bitch-slapping people in real-life
– Complete strangers know more about you than your partner does
– The easiest way for your boss to contact you is by leaving a message on your super-wall
– People you hated at school are now on your best-best-friends list (anything to get that friends number up!)
– You start virtually stalking old girlfriends you haven't seen in 10 years
.. and then get jealous when you realise they're married ..
– Your mobile data plan blows out to $300 a month
– Your believe your friends really do include world leaders and A-list celebrities ('It is Sylvester Stallone. Honest!')
Anyone got any more?


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Akira Kurosawa is one of the greatest directors of all-time. It's indisputable so don't even try. However, his work is not immune from the clutches of remakes and his classics Seven Samurai, High and Low, Ikiru, and Drunken Angel have all been in development at one point or another. However, most of his work has remained out of the hands of a single company until now. Variety reports that new production company Splendent Media (the folks behind Al Pacino's upcoming film Wild Salome) has picked up the remake rights to 26 of Kurosawa's films including Yojimbo, Ran, Kagemusha, Dreams, and Rashomon. In addition, Splendent also now owns 24 films Kurosawa wrote but didn't direct and 19 unproduced screenplays.
Hit the jump for why you shouldn't be dismayed.
While it's tough to argue that no one will be able to tell these stories as well as Kurosawa, we should all remember that Kurosawa also adapted stories. For example:
- High and Low is a loose adaptation of Ed McBain's King's Ransom
- Ran, Throne of Blood, and The Bad Sleep Well are all based on Shakespeare plays.
- Red Beard is based on Shûgorô Yamamoto's novel Akahige shinryô tan.
- Yojimbo is loosely based on Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest.
And let's not forget that Kurosawa has been remade before, most notably with A Fistful of Dollars and The Magnificent Seven. Kurosawa's legend lives on, his importance to cinematic history, is undiluted, and—let's be honest—he told some great stories. No one can ever replace Kurosawa or hope to imitate him but it would be narrow-minded to say "Well he made these movies so no one is allowed to ever re-interpret them." At the end of the day, his magnificent filmography will continue to influence generations of filmmakers and perhaps these remakes can even bring his work to audiences that would never have given the Japanese director a second glance. But even if that doesn't happen, his work getting remade is no reason to freak out or be upset.


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Margin Of Safety is the essence of Value Investing — an investing philosophy which focuses on the preservation of capital. Value investors are 'buy and hold' investors who look for companies where the fundamentals (and other factors) suggest that the current share price does not reflect the intrinsic or true worth of the company or its shares. (In value investing terms, share prices are either under-priced or over-priced relative to the intrinsic value of the business and not to the stock market as a whole.) The gap between a company's current share price and what the value investor believes it ought to be is known as the 'Margin Of Safety'. So if the true worth of a company is say £100 Million and the current market capitalisation is £70 Million, then a 30% margin of safety exists. There is no universal rule which states exactly how wide the margin should be but the larger the gap is, the more the downside risk is minimised. The purpose therefore of the Margin Of Safety is to cushion an investor against any errors they make in their calculations, exercising their own but incorrect judgement and market downturns.
Intrinsic value
Intrinsic value can be defined (there are other definitions) as what a business would be worth to the owner, or indeed a potential buyer, based on its own merits and irrespective of a share's closing, opening, asking or bidding price, or the market's opinions, moods or trends. But determining the real worth of the shares of a neglected, misunderstood or unpopular company is far from easy. Investors will look at the company's fundamentals such as its EPS, cash flow, EG, ROIC etc, plus a company will sometimes have hidden assets or unquantifiable attributes which are almost impossible to value.
(Value investors do not subscribe to the belief that stock markets are efficient as those investors who subscribe to the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) do. According to the EMH, a share's price directly reflects all the information that's available in the public domain about that business. Furthermore, the price will change — barring 'accidents' — only when new information about the business emerges. In other words, the current market price is almost always equal, or close to, the company's intrinsic value.)


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any chance there will be an update to Avanti GUI this year?
+ Reply to Thread
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(CPUz Report) -- Desktop - Win7_ultimate_x64 -- http://valid.x86.fr/ssns8i
(CPUz Report) -- Laptop - Win7_ultimate_x64 -- http://valid.canardpc.com/vfz8pk
First my apologies for not replying to the latest posts. I stopped my work on Avanti at
May 2015 because of several irresolvable technical issues and limitations. Please read here ...
The last approved Avanti version (0.9.2) is more than a year old and not updated for the latest
FFmpeg changes and additions. I do not recommend to go for Avanti if you are looking for a FFmpeg gui.
Look here for the many alternatives for Avanti ...
Note that the most popular conversion tools at VideoHelp currently are; Vidcoder, HandBrake, MeGUI,
VirtualDub, AviDemux etc. For these is a lot of expertise available from members who are glad to help.
Thanks to all who showed their interest in the past years,
thx for the info
please don't give up hope on AvantiGUI maybe some day you will work on updating AvantiGUI again
I use AvantiGUI for FFmpeg because FFmpeg can convert Sony PlayStation STR files
I found http://winff.org it seems to work with FFmpeg ok
Last edited by Melchior; 4th Sep 2016 at 22:23.(CPUz Report) -- Desktop - Win7_ultimate_x64 -- http://valid.x86.fr/ssns8i
(CPUz Report) -- Laptop - Win7_ultimate_x64 -- http://valid.canardpc.com/vfz8pk
I am getting a Error #01 - Could not open file for preview. I use to be able to open Sony PlayStation 1 stream files (.str) no problem in AvantiGUI...
Its not FFmpeg's fault since I tested the str file with X-WinFF https://www.videohelp.com/software/WinFF and it loads the str file just fine.(CPUz Report) -- Desktop - Win7_ultimate_x64 -- http://valid.x86.fr/ssns8i
(CPUz Report) -- Laptop - Win7_ultimate_x64 -- http://valid.canardpc.com/vfz8pk
I use Avanti and I think is the best GUI for FFMPEG.
The only problem with it I have is I do not know where is its temporary folder? In what folder puts its encoding stuff?
Does anybody know how it can be changed?
Chris K, your software works just fine on my Windows 10.
Maybe you can still continue updating this 32 bit version. It is avery good project of yours a lot of people use, including me.
Please maybe you can help us by correcting the deprecated FFMPEG and demuxer syntax.
It is the best project for video encoding I have used.
Please Chris K continue this nice project on 32bit. It works just fine on the latest Windows Aniversary with 64bit FFMPEG 22 September 2016.
Best regards,
Last edited by georgenistor; 23rd Sep 2016 at 08:37.
Thank you for your detailed consultation. В северо-восточной части Москвы находится Малахитовая улица в зелёном районе Ростокино.
Last edited by dimolga; 1st Dec 2016 at 04:57.
i have a Problem with the Batch Conversion the conversion works but if the first File in the List is done it doesn't goes to the next File
It appears no Error Message.
I am using Avantie 0.8.9
Hi I have a huge folder of size 85 GB which contains 5000 directories and 35000 music files. Some of the music files are 128kbps and some 256kbps and some 312kbps.
I want to compress all these music files recursively at 64kbps and at the same time retaining the directory structure of the source directory.
I know how to compress single music file but my question is I want to compress all music files recursively containing in various sub directories.
Can anyone of you suggest how to compress music files recursively using avanti.
downloaded newest (april 2017) Will try older versions. Support for XP may be stopped/
This FFmpeg build doesn't support AviSynth (AviSynth options disabled)
and run simple FFmpeg script get error 12:49:55 - Error #06 - FFmpeg didn't respond within the time-out threshold.
Possible cause: 1. FFmpeg 'hung' or 'crashed'.
2. You loaded a unsupported or corrupted source file.
So anyone can help me about nvenc?
Adobe premiere pro cc 2017 with NVenc plug in will run. But I noticed some Audio video Sync problems. X recode is the program to use. It has NVenc built in The GPU load was with Elemental program amazing 75% . Now with NVenc it is only 3% GPU load .And with resize operation it is the CPU core that is working and not the GPU . Premiere has GPU openGL support on some effects. So on the forums professionals seems to have dropped NVenc and will use i7 4 core processing for top quality.
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The protesters called it murder. The prosecutor called it felony animal cruelty. But Rudolph Poppe's defense attorney said his 71-year-old client was just trying to put his elderly golden retriever out of his misery when he repeatedly hit it over the head with a sledgehammer.
Poppe, of Savage, who has been jailed for eight days, made his first appearance Friday morning before Scott County District Judge Christian Wilton in Shakopee. More than three dozen protesters carried signs demanding "Justice for Millie" outside the courthouse and filed neatly into the courtroom for the hearing.
Poppe is charged with two counts of felony animal cruelty, obstructing the legal process and disorderly conduct.
According to the criminal complaint, police were called to Poppe's home shortly after 7:15 p.m. July 12. There they found the dog with a white plastic bag tied over its head. The dog had a crushed skull and was covered in blood but it was breathing and twice tried to stand up while an officer waited with it for a rescue group to arrive and take it to the vet. The dog was euthanized about 8:40 that night.
Poppe, who apparently had been drinking, resisted arrest, refusing officers' commands to put his hands behind his back and get down on the ground. Officers had to use two sets of handcuffs to restrain him and force him into a squad car, the complaint said.
Poppe's neighbor told police that he saw Poppe hit the dog over the head with the large hammer about 15 times and saw the dog's head split open. The neighbor said that he and others at the scene — including children — pleaded with Poppe to let them take the dog to the vet to be euthanized and that he "did not have to do it this way," the complaint said.
"Defendant said he had to put his dog out of its misery," the complaint said.
After he was arrested, Poppe told police that his dog was old, could barely walk and pooped on the floor. He said he didn't know how many times he hit it "but he then put the plastic bag over the dog's head to try to finish killing it," the complaint said.
He didn't say anything when police asked him why he didn't take the dog to the vet to be put down.
Poppe's other dog was seized from his home.
In court Friday, Poppe's attorney, Richard Swanson, asked Wilton to lower bail from $40,000 bond or $5,000 cash. Swanson pointed out that Poppe is 71 and has no history of similar actions.
"I'm not going to go into what was done," Swanson told the judge, "but it was his dog. He's not only lost his yellow lab, he's apparently lost his wife, too."
Poppe's wife has filed an order for protection that prohibits the defendant from going to his home. He also was ordered not to drink or have any alcohol and not to have any dogs.
Swanson said he has "heard through the grapevine" that there had been threats on Poppe's life, which he said was "more egregious than what my client has supposedly done.
"I understand how people can be upset … but it's not a person, a human being, that this happened to," the defense attorney said.
The judge refused to lower Poppe's bail, which pleased Emily Randolph and other protesters at the courthouse Friday.
The protesters were organized through Facebook, initially through Second Chance Animal Rescue's page and later through Justice 4 Millie.
"We're out here pretty much to be the voice for Millie," said Randolph, of Shakopee, a volunteer for 4 Paws. "We want to ensure that he's getting punished to the full extent of the law."
Poppe's next court hearing is Aug. 8.


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The Lexus RX comes in two basic forms: RX 350 and RX 450h. The RX 350 is powered by a smooth 3.5L V6 engine and produces 295 horsepower. With this engine, 60 mph arrives in under eight seconds, and the RX 350 achieves 28 mpg on the highway in front-wheel drive trim. The RX 450h combines a traditional gasoline engine with an electric motor for a total of 308 horsepower. Highway fuel economy climbs as high as 30 mpg for the front-wheel-drive models. The only transmission available is an 8-speed automatic, and all-wheel drive is optional on either version of the RX.
Both the RX 350 and the RX 450h are also available in F SPORT guise, further enhancing both the interior and exterior styling, while also tightening up the handling. The F SPORT package adds an 8-inch LCD display instrument cluster, unique quilted seats, adjustable suspension, interior aluminum trim accents and drilled aluminum pedals. Outside, the F SPORT gets a blacked-out grill, plus exclusive 20-inch wheels.
Option packages available on the RX 350 include a Luxury Package with perforated leather seats, a nicer powered driver's seat, 20-inch wheels, a heated steering wheel and Gray Sapele wood trim. A Navigation Package adds a 12.3-inch color screen for the navigation system, a 15-speaker Mark Levinson sound system, voice command, a DVD player, dual-zone climate control and Lexus Enform app suite. A Lexus Safety System package includes a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, dynamic radar controlled cruise control, a lane-keep assist and lane departure warning system, intelligent high beam headlights and premium triple beam LED headlights.
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The line drive that knocked out A's pitcher Brandon McCarthy last month was the kind of ball-meets-skull moment that can make a player seriously reconsider his theological leanings, if not his career choice. But the incident, which required emergency surgery to ease the swelling of an epidural hemorrhage, has done little to alter the tenor of any discussion about safety in baseball. It's a time-tested tradition within a sport known for the glacial pace at which change is accepted — but it doesn't have to be this way. Precedent, it seems, works in mysterious ways.
In August 1954, Joe Adcock of the Milwaukee Braves was hit in the head by a pitch from Dodgers right-hander Clem Labine. The first baseman, despite being one of the few big leaguers at the time to use a batting helmet, was carried, immobile, from the field. He had vowed to wear the helmet after watching teammate Andy Pafko sidelined for nine days by a similar pitch to the head, but even then it was three months before he finally put one on. Weeks later, it saved him. Despite spending the night in the hospital, Adcock played the following day.
The change came in the aftermath. As Adcock lay near the plate at Ebbets Field, Dodgers players gathered around him, aghast. So jarring was the scene that Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson visited Adcock in the hospital, where he still held the dented helmet and credited it with saving his life. Before long, they, too, and many of their teammates, were wearing similar gear.
"I guess it was a good thing," Adcock later told the Associated Press.
Following his own incident 57 years later, McCarthy isn't so sure. The pitcher suffered a fractured skull on Sept. 5 when Erick Aybar of the Los Angeles Angels felled him with a line drive in the fourth inning. Even as he continues recuperating from an injury that could have killed him, the A's right-hander is reticent to commit to the idea that he'll ever wear a helmet, even though a Northern California company has one in the works.
"In this game, we obsess over little things to make sure everything is just right, and all of a sudden someone is trying to put a bulky helmet on you that you've never worn before," he told Wired. "Honestly, it sounds like asking a pitcher to throw with the opposite arm."
His reaction is understandable.
Baseball's latest batting helmet, made, by Rawlings, of carbon fiber and able to withstand a 100 mph fastball, will be universally mandated next season — and has barely drawn notice. That's because it merely involves tweaks to equipment already widely used, whereas pitcher-safety advocates are clamoring for a device that until recently did not exist.
Baseball among all sports has proven slow to embrace change, particularly when it comes to safety gear. Adcock's helmet stood out in the early 1950s, and earned more than a few guffaws. When Ken Harrelson first wore golf gloves in the mid-1960s to protect his blistered hands while batting, he was at first roundly mocked — then widely copied. Even the basic fielder's glove was slow to gain traction. One of the first men to wear one, Charles C. Waite, was derided as soft for employing it while playing for Boston in 1875. (At least one man, however, took quiet notice. Before long, Albert Spalding not only starting wearing a glove of his own, but began manufacturing them through his eponymous sporting-goods company.)
This general attitude was summed up in a poem by George Ellard, a founding member of the first professional baseball team, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings:
We used no mattress on our hands
No cage upon our face
We stood right up and caught the ball
With courage and with grace
This is the history that Easton is up against. Last year, the Scotts Valley, California, athletic equipment company offered a preview of its prototype "pitcher's helmet," devised in the wake of a McCarthy-esque accident involving a high school pitcher. In that instance, Gunnar Sandberg, a right-hander for Marin Catholic High School, about 90 miles north of Easton headquarters, was hit above the right ear by a 100-plus-mph comebacker. He spent two weeks in a medically induced coma, endured cranial surgery and lives with lasting effects on his cognitive ability. After significant rehabilitation, Sandberg rejoined his baseball team last year.
Last year, Sandberg modeled the protective equipment — essentially a headband padded with strategically placed expanded polystyrene and meant to slip on over a player's regular cap — with a message for those who may think it looks uncool: "Wouldn't you rather wear this than be in the hospital for two months?"
That notion is the primary obstacle for Easton, and any other company that may be working on a pitching helmet. The issue has less to do with solving a problem, which to this point has gone untreated, than with convincing players that preemptive safety measures are not only acceptable, but desirable.
"Baseball has a rich history of tradition," said Chris Zimmerman, president of Easton Sports. "It's more than understandable that there's going to be some resistance. It's challenging for people close to the game to imagine something like [a pitcher's helmet], to define what they haven't seen and what they don't know."
Tempered reaction to the possibilities for such gear are hardly limited to McCarthy, at least among the pros.
"No. No, no, no," Rangers pitcher Ryan Dempster said at the mere mention of pitcher's headgear. "I have compassion for what McCarthy went through, but think about how many pitches have been thrown in the history of Major League Baseball. Millions. Now how many guys have been hit by line drives? The odds are very long. I don't believe in living in a bubble. I'm all for safety, but this isn't something I'd ever want to use."
This helps explain why Easton has focused primarily on youth leagues, which is where innovation of this type typically germinates. Look no further than Little League's second president, Dr. Creighton Hale, whose patented batting helmet, which covers the head and both ears, became mandatory in 1961. By contrast, Major League Baseball did not universally adopt batting helmets until a decade later, and even then they were earflap-free buckets perched atop the head.
When concerns grew through the 1990s that aluminum and composite bats were becoming powerful enough to put youth-league pitchers in danger, Little League reached an accord with numerous manufacturers — including Demarini, Easton and Louisville Slugger — to mute their performance to better mimic the output of their wooden counterparts. Precedent appears to have been set.
"If appropriately certified protective equipment can be developed to protect pitchers and other players, we are certainly willing to look at approving [it]," Stephen D. Keener, president and CEO for Little League Baseball and Softball, told Wired in an e-mail.
Still, Little League's own literature (.pdf) states "There are a variety of instances ... where injuries have been suffered which could have prompted a knee-jerk reaction. Succinctly aware of the human element, the organization's rules committee has been quite careful not to overreact to an emotional situation."
This seems to aptly describe big leaguers' feelings about the McCarthy situation, as well. McCarthy himself said he doesn't "want to be reactionary." While the incident inspired widespread concern for the pitcher's well-being among his major league colleagues, few appear willing to take subsequent action.
"We all step on the field assuming certain risks, one of them being line drives to the head," said Colorado Rockies pitcher Jeff Francis.
"[The idea of a pitcher's helmet] is intriguing," said San Francisco Giants reliever Javier Lopez, "but I don't know if I would be the guy to launch the trend."
"Maybe if you want to make [a pitcher's helmet] something that's an option, great," said Lopez's teammate, Jeremy Affeldt. "But a mandatory thing? No way."
Members of the Pittsburgh Pirates felt much the same way in the early 1950s, after team executive Charlie Muse was tapped by Pittsburgh's general manager, Branch Rickey, to design what would become the first true batting helmet — a plastic shell with a sponge rubber inner band. Rickey was so enamored of the device — designed to replace the then-ubiquitous thin plastic cap liners that batters used for protection at the plate — and so convinced of its necessity, that in 1953 he had every player on his team wear one at the plate and in the field. (It didn't hurt that Rickey owned the company that manufactured them.) It's not unrealistic to claim that there has never been a better-protected pitching staff, a fact that didn't keep its members, or their teammates, from open revolt.
"We hated [the helmets]," catcher Joe Garagiola said in a New York Times account. "Guys on other teams would make fun of us."
So did the media. The headwear was widely derided in newspaper accounts as resembling things miners would wear, and United Press referred to them as "space helmets." Fans took to bouncing marbles off players' heads. The chorus grew so loud, particularly from his own clubhouse, that Rickey eventually scaled back his mandate to include only players at bat. Regardless, before long, players around the league — Adcock included — were making steady use of the helmets.
Could a pitcher's helmet eventually earn similar support? Players may be reluctant, but there's at least one man in the big leagues willing to throw his full-throated support behind such a device.
"Pitcher safety is a wonderful subject matter," said Rockies manager Jim Tracy. "There are people in this league who hit balls back through the middle that, if one of them clips a pitcher, it's going to do some serious damage."
Tracy speaks from experience. In August 2011, one of his pitchers, right-hander Juan Nicasio, was knocked unconscious by a line drive that hit him in the temple. He fell headfirst onto the mound, fracturing his skull and breaking vertebrae in his neck. He missed the rest of the season.
In 2002, when Tracy was managing the Dodgers, Los Angeles pitcher Kaz Ishii was felled by a comebacker that ricocheted off his forehead, resulting in surgery to remove bone chips from his nasal passage. He, too, would be out for the year.
"I've seen my fair share of this," said the manager. "To see it up close and personal is devastating — life gets sucked out of you.... To see a guy laying there, kicking at the dirt, face down in puddle of blood, or Juan Nicasio laying on his side, seeing his fingers twitching as you're running toward him — that's really scary stuff."
McCarthy has tried on a prototype pitcher's helmet that was so uncomfortable, he said, that "it may as well have been a virtual reality helmet." While the right-hander remains open to the possibility that the right device may come along someday — one that's lightweight and unobtrusive and not only comfortable but nearly undetectable — he's quick to note that it's not here yet. Until it is, he wants no part of whatever it is a manufacturer might be offering.
Which is to be expected. Ted Williams, after all, steadfastly refused to wear a batting helmet, even as he saw the benefit they provided to teammates and opponents alike. His reasoning: He was against anything that could potentially interfere with his supreme concentration when it came time to hit a baseball. Pitchers are much the same way, but minds can always be changed.
"When we get the product right, we can imagine that early adopter, that key influencer coming from Major League Baseball," said Easton's Zimmerman. "That is one of those bonfire moments where an idea can spread. And that's what we really want to happen."


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After her husband was arrested from being a Guerilla warrior, Pilar agreed to be a wet nurse to the Japanese General's infant son whose Filipina wife died from giving birth. While attending and taking care of the baby, an unintentional love affair developed between Pilar and the General Hiroshi. She begins to be isolated from her husband and her townspeople as she refused to help the Guerillas to conspire the General's administration following the battle between the Guerillas and the Japanese Soldiers
Gatas Sa Dibdib ng Kaaway
Labels: Movies, Pinoy Movies


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as we know Java does not provide any classes to preview JComponent before sending it to printer. So, I want to build my own class/classes to make a preview JFrame for this purpose. Just like a "Print Preview" frame e.g. in Word, Excel, etc.
Could you please advise me what steps I need to take in order to:
- pass a JTable in Graphics2D object in order to print it on screen
- create a Pageable object from the JTable as to getNumOfPages of the JTable
- how to use Book and what steps to take as to split the JTable in multiple pages inside Book
- how to go through preview pages when pressing "nextPage" and "previousPage" JButtons
- how to zoom in and a zoom out the preview of the current page
(using getScaledInstance from BufferedImage is not what I want, since it does not produce nice results even in BufferedImage.SCALE_SMOOTH mode and it is very slow)
Are my thoughts correct ?
Any advice would be highly appreciated.


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It's no wonder that college students and their families in California are disgusted.
Just a day after the 23-campus California State University system announced that it is planning to freeze enrollment next spring due to budget woes, university trustees have granted a 10 percent pay increase to incoming presidents at the Fullerton and East Bay campuses.
Talk about bad timing.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
New CSU Fullerton President Mildred Garcia is in line for a $324,500 salary. Her predecessor made $295,000.
It's the same for new CSU East Bay President Leroy Morishita. His salary will be $303,660, which is 10 percent above what the previous executive made. That doesn't include a housing and car allowance, of course. Those are extra.
On Monday, the CSU system announced that, depending on the outcome of Gov. Jerry Brown's tax proposal on the November ballot, it is planning to slam the brakes on new student enrollment for Spring 2013.
Except for a handful of community college transfers, there'd be no new admissions. In the fall of 2013, all applicants would simply be put on a waiting list instead of being admitted.
That means that tens of thousands of students would be told, sorry, there's no room. CSU leaders say after a half dozen years of tuition increases, there's no more appetite for further increases.
If Brown's plan to pass temporary taxes fails in November, the campuses would face a further $200 million cut, creating the need to bring the hammer down on enrollment.
The move is a dramatic illustration of the stakes involved as voters consider the consequences of the ballot question they'll face. But it would have far more legitimacy if CSU were actually holding the line on executive salaries.
Last January, fueled by an outcry over the salary given to San Diego State's new president, the board moved to adopt a policy that caps new executive salaries at 10 percent above that of a predecessor's.
It's long been argued, of course, that high salaries are needed to attract quality administrators. But given the budget turmoil that CSU has been wrestling with, even a 10 percent raise sends a wrong message.
That message: we may have to slam the door on new student enrollments, but let's keep raising those executive salaries.


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A "lesser known poet", a brilliant author, and an extremely charming young girl – Ismita Tandon Dhanker made waves with her debut novel- Love On The Rocks earlier this year.
BookChums got talking with Ismita and here's all that we found out.
We saw your blog and it has some real good poetry. So let's begin with the clichéd one first – when and how did you start writing poetry?
Poetry happened to me at the age of twenty-six when I went sailing for the very first time. A stroll on the deck one evening gazing at the blue sky slowly turning crimson and the wind stroking my face, the thoughts kept flowing until they began to rhyme beautifully. Communing with nature was the turning point in my life.
Your first published book is a romantic-thriller and not a collection of your poems. Why?
People don't read poetry. Where is the time in this mad rush to pack meaning in their fast paced lives? And even if they do they don't buy a poetry book and publishers have a tough time selling it in the market. But it's my dream to have a poetry book that would sell like hot cakes. The dream has already begun to pay off since I won 50, 000 for my poem 'I am Beautiful'. Life is much like poetry…beautiful, free flowing, cryptic.
Love on the Rocks had quite a heady mix of characters. What was the thought process while developing the characters? What kind of research did you have to do for the characteristics and the overall plot?
The characters are an amalgamation of all the wonderful people I have sailed with in the last few years. Sailors are quirky, a lot different from the average man you meet back home. Long voyages at sea in the company of colourful sailors, gross jokes, anecdotes, bizarre incidents, the loneliness it all turned out to be one helluva adventure. That's all the research that I needed to put together a thriller.
If the book gets picked up for a movie- who do you think will fit the role of Sancha, Capt. Popeye, Aaron, Harsh, and Baldy?
If we are dreaming, we might as well dream big:
Sancha – Amy Adams
Capt. Popeye – Antonio Banderas
Aaron – Christian Bale
Harsh Castillo – Oliver Martinez
Baldy – I think Christopher Nolan can handle rest of the casting
The title, genre and setting of the book is unconventional and not been explored by many new age writers. What prompted you to work along the lines of suspense/thriller/murder…and not take the conventional route of a chick-lit or simple love story?
Everyone has a story to tell and the first book almost always comes from the authors immediate surroundings, experiences. I have always been inclined towards murder mysteries and it seemed like such a thrill to keep the readers guessing. And love is so twisted in this day and age that any story can hardly be termed as a 'simple love story'. Hence the thriller angle.
What are the challenges you faced while writing the book –maybe in terms of its progress or the characters or maybe with the publishers?
Challenges were plenty. To carry the story forward from different POV's, exploring their personal crisis while moving on with original plot required that changes be made to the draft very often.
Even after the final draft was ready, my troubles were far from over the difficult task of finding a publisher loomed large. A year long struggle, countless rejection mails and nail biting moments were an integral part of the books arduous journey. And I had to kept reminding myself every now and then 'Its a good book and I'll make it'.
Is there an incident that you'd like to share with our readers and budding authors that you encountered while writing the book?
The original manuscript was a grand, elaborate peep into the lives and work of sailors on a ship. Their hardship, the hectic work hours all that had to be pruned to make the plot tighter as editors from various literary agencies believed that the general public would not be interested in reading about the mundane. I differ on that point and today most readers come back to me and say 'they loved the novel, the plot but a little more description of the life at sea would have made it so much more interesting'.
Persistence is what worked in my favour. It's a tough call to roam around with a manuscript that doesn't gel with the standard idea of Indian fiction, the story being narrated by different points of view. And then to be told that Indian writers can't write good thrillers. Well, I just did!
Given a chance, would you think of giving this story an alternate ending?
Nope but I would prefer to stick to the original/working title of my book which is 'Almost Lucid'.
How do you think your writing (fiction and poetry) has matured with time?
Clarity of thought and simplicity of expression are now the hallmark of my writing. Practise makes perfect!
Name the authors and poets who have inspired you.
Jeffery Archer, Sydney Sheldon, Kabir, Rudyard Kipling, Robert Frost.
Tell us something unique about:
Ismita the poet…is restless.
Ismita the author…is an author by default.
Ismita the girl…spends her evenings in the company of Trees.
Tell us:
The one quote that inspires you all the time
To practise any art no matter how well or badly is a way to make your soul grow.
The one character of LOTR that is closer to you than the rest
Manna and his journal entries.
The one dream/aim you still strive to achieve
To be known as a Poetess.
The one poet (and/or author) you desire to meet
Deepak Chopra.
What can we next expect from your desk?
I am half way through another thriller titled, 'Drink and Die', weaved around DND, a rehabilitation centre for alcoholics in a town called Monele near Ooty. The story highlights a social malady, Alcohol addiction, an issue I have always wanted to address.
The plot is a heady cocktail of the different favours of life lust, power, money, incest and vanity. The protagonist of the story is Johnny Will, a man with a high IQ, who runs a rehab and is ostensibly helping the rich and not so sober get over their little alcohol addiction. He has no qualms about blackmailing his wealthy patients too. A crook selling a cure.
What other books/authors of recent time would you recommend our readers?
Deepak Chopra, Robin Sharma, Kabir.
If you had a book club, what would you name it? And what would you be reading in there?
'The Poetry Night Club' and would be reading poetry of course!
Well, there's a lot more to this charismatic young author and we for one, eagerly await her next book.
To know more about Ismita check out her profile page, only on BookChums!


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Band, Wind Ensemble Tour Features Soloist Dr. John Pennington
SIOUX FALLS – Dr. John Pennington, professor of percussion at Augustana, is the featured soloist with the Augustana Band and Wind Ensemble during the group's January Interim Tour.
Both ensembles are under the direction of Dr. Bruce T. Ammann and will be touring through South Dakota and Colorado.
The Band and Wind Ensemble will be in joint concert with the Augustana Choir on January 30 at Augustana Lutheran Church in Denver, Colo., and again at the Home Concert on February 8 at the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science in Sioux Falls.
The joint concerts will conclude with a massed performance of Angels' Chorus (Hallelujah!) by Ludwig van Beethoven and transcribed by Clark McAlister from Christ on the Mount of Olives. Tickets for the Home Concert are available on line at www.augietickets.com.
During the tour the Augustana Band performance will include the following selections:
Rag-Time March by Yasuhide Ito; Unending Stream of Life by David Maslanka (Variations of All Creatures of Our God and King); Fortress Variations by Tim Waters; and Three Dances from the Maid of Orleans by Peter Tschaikovsky and transcribed by John R. Bourgeois.
The Wind Ensemble performance includes the following selections:
Symphony No. 1, Movement 1 by Richard L. Saucedo, and Concerto for Marimba and Wind Ensemble, Movement 1 and 4 by Ney Rosauro and featuring soloist Dr. John Pennington.
Dr. Pennington, new to the Augustana Music Department this year, is the director of the Augustana Percussion Ensemble. He is an orchestral percussionist, who currently performs with the Music in the Mountains Music Festival. He has recorded for the Ensemble 21, Summit, Cristo, OCP, and Equilibrium labels.
Bruce Conley
Director News Information
Phone: 605.274.5526
Fax: 605.274.4903


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BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — The one thing that keeps Adam Scott from getting overly frustrated with his recent play is a green jacket in his closet.
That win at the Masters will make this a memorable year no matter what happens the rest of the way. Scott made it clear Wednesday, however, that he isn't satisfied with one major championship, and he's certainly not satisfied with how he has been playing.
He was three shots out of the lead at The Players Championship going into the weekend until a 75-71 finish. He was on the periphery of contention at the Memorial until a 73 on the last day. He started beautifully in the U.S. Open until a bad finish to his rain-delayed first round, and it didn't get much better the rest of week at Merion.
That's what made last week in the Bahamas so important.
"I really felt like last week the focus went back on when I was on the range at home, and it was really productive again," Scott said. "And it felt like it did before winning the Masters. I think, somewhat understandably, you can get lost a little bit — not lost, but you can just float along. I was playing OK, but it just wasn't quite the same as beforehand. And now there's a purpose again, for sure."
Scott highlights the field at Congressional when the AT&T National, a tournament that already has lost host Tiger Woods because of an elbow injury and Justin Rose because he was wiped out from winning the U.S. Open and then playing the following week.
Congressional is as pure a test as the PGA Tour offers, not surprising because it has hosted four majors, including the 2011 U.S. Open that Rory McIlroy won with a record score in soft conditions. Scott won on this course nearly a decade ago, and it's what brings him back — that and a chance to get his game pointed in the right direction with the British Open a month away.
"I've certainly enjoyed being the Masters champion for the past couple of months," Scott said. "I haven't been too harsh on myself for my performances in the last three events since the Masters. Like I said, I got home after the U.S. Open and I was disappointed. Because after starting so great Thursday, I really just squandered away into the back of the pack. And that was the first time I'd done that in a major in a long time.
"So when I got back on the range that that, the focus came back, and the purpose came back to my practice."
This will be his final event before the next major, and it figures to be quite a test.
Woods won a year ago in a wild week that featured extreme heat, a bizarre storm that toppled trees across the golf course and kept fans from attending on Saturday, and a late surge to get past Bo Van Pelt for a two-shot win at 8-under 276.
Only five other tournaments had a higher winning score last year, a list that includes the Masters and U.S. Open.
"Congressional can stand on its own two feet," Van Pelt said. "If you'd have played here two weeks ago, you probably could have had a U.S. Open if you wanted to. You know that coming in, and guys either like that and want to come play here, or they take this week off."
Woods is not taking this week off by choice. He hurt his left elbow a month ago, and doctors have advised rest and treatment to allow it to heal before the next two majors. Even so, the world's No. 1 player didn't want to miss out on defending his title on a course that has shown to identify some stout players.
"It's frustrating for me because I want to play, and I know how the golf course is set up right now, too, and I like the setup of it," Woods said. "The years that it's set up this way, I've done well."
It's the kind of test that Jason Day did not want to miss. Day has only one PGA Tour win, though the Australian has been thriving on tough courses in recent years. He finished two shots back at the Masters twice in the last three years, and he was two shots behind Rose at Merion. Day also was runner-up to McIlroy in the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional, though he was eight shots behind.
"This course ... it kind of feels like a U.S. Open again," Day said. "It's got some length to it, and the rough is pretty dense out there."
Asked later if he preferred the harder courses, Day's eyes lit up and he said, "Tough, yes."
"Just takes out the riff-raff, I guess," he said.
It was a reference to games, not names. This is not a place where players can get by without their best stuff.
Scott won the now-defunct Booz Allen Classic the one year it was held at Congressional. Since the AT&T National began in 2007, the list of winners is K.J. Choi, Anthony Kim and Woods the last two times.
Scott said Congressional was the primary reason he put the AT&T on his limited schedule. Now he hopes to see something good come out of the week.
"This is the time of the year where I play, and I need to be ready and play myself into form," Scott said. "Especially after the U.S. Open, I feel a result is needed, just some kind of result to keep the confidence high and move over to Europe feeling like I'm ready to compete. I want to contend. It's been since the Masters that I've really been in contention. So getting those feelings would be nice again."
BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — The one thing that keeps Adam Scott from getting overly frustrated with his recent play is a green jacket in his closet.


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Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia.
Related to Fibroma: cystic fibroma
A benign tumor composed primarily of fibrous connective tissue. Also known as fibroid tumor.
a mature benign tumor of connective tissue, which can occur in any part of the body. Fibromas may be diffuse or encapsulated, depending on the nature of their growth. Fibroblasts are the source of fibromas, hence their other name, fibroblastomas. The symptoms and the course of a fibroma depend on the site and the rate of growth. Malignant degeneration sometimes occurs. Fibromas are treated surgically.


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Between 1 January and 23 November, all companies were hit by significant falls in stock value, although the rate of decline slowed somewhat through the third quarter and into the fourth.
As in Q2, in several cases poor bottom-line performance came despite generally positive news further up the income statement. Vestas, Gamesa and Suzlon all reported increases in revenues over Q3 2011 alongside declines in net income. However, analyst sentiment towards the sector continues to decline. Just 11% of wind stock ratings were "buys" on 23 November, down from 12.4% at the end of August. Some 34.1% of all ratings were neutral (compared to 41.2%) and 54.9% were "sells" (up from 46.4%).
For the second consecutive quarter, the publication of Vestas' results was accompanied by news of job losses at the company. A further 2,000 redundancies were announced, which will reduce Vestas' overall workforce from 18,000 to 16,000 by the end of 2013. The cuts will mean Vestas has slashed its head count by nearly 30% since the end of 2011, when it employed 22,700. It said the move would enable it to create additional cost savings of more than €150 million on an annual basis, and by year-end 2013 it will have reduced costs by more than €400 million.
Anybody seeking to understand the reason for the cuts needed only to look at Vestas' Q3 results. Despite a healthy 48.7% increase in revenues over Q3 2011, the company posted an operating loss (Ebit) for the quarter of €140 million and a net loss of €175 million. It blamed the losses on write-downs following the closure of research-and-development facilities and reduced activity in India. By 23 November, Vestas' share price was down 56.4% for the year and analysts remained downbeat about its prospects, with only 13% recommending investors buy the company's stock, compared to 39.1% who were neutral and 47.8% who recommended a "sell".
Vestas was not alone in announcing job losses. In October, Gamesa revealed plans to cut 20% of its global workforce between now and Q1 2013 as part of a restructuring plan. The cuts will be mainly in China, the US and Europe, totalling around 1,800. Spain is likely to take the brunt of the European job losses, with 500 redundancies.
A month after announcing the redundancies, Gamesa published its Q3 figures, which included a slump in revenues of 10.2% and an operating loss of €26 million, compared to an operating profit of €21 million in Q3 last year. Its Q3 net loss of €34 million followed a net overall profit of €1 million in Q3 last year.
Reflecting on the first nine months of the year, Gamesa blamed a lower level of activity, pricing pressures and regulatory pressures in key markets such as India for the slump in performance. It insisted that its 2013-2015 business plan would enable it to "emerge stronger as a global leader in the wind industry, recovering and maintaining profitability, reinforcing the balance sheet, focusing on key market-growth segments, and providing competitive technological solutions".
Analysts remain to be convinced, with only 23.8% giving the company a favourable rating, the same percentage neutral and the remaining 52.4% rating it negative. One highlighted the reported decision of Spanish power company Iberdrola, which owns 19.6% of Gamesa, to reduce its investments in wind farms in coming months. As Iberdrola has no commitment to any minimal volume with Gamesa, this could put at risk 15-20% of Gamesa's sales, one analyst claimed. Over the year to 23 November, Gamesa's stock fell 48.7%, although this represented something of a recovery from late-July, when it was down 67.3% year-to-date.
India's Suzlon continues to face even greater challenges than either Vestas or Gamesa. Despite posting a 12.2% increase in revenues over the same quarter last year, it reported an operating loss of INR 3.0 billion ($53.7 million) and an overall net loss of INR 8.1 billion. Last year Suzlon reported a Q3 net profit of INR 480 million.
Chairman Tulsi Tanti blamed "macroeconomic headwinds and policy uncertainties in some key markets, internal challenges around liability management and sub-optimal capital allocation to business operations" for the performance. In October, Suzlon failed to repay $209 million of debt in India's largest ever convertible bond default. Shortly afterwards, the yield on the company's $175 million, 5% convertible debt due April 2016 reportedly surged to a record high of 32%.
Suzlon had been in talks with foreign currency convertible bond (FCCB) holders on various solutions for dues settlements. In the last week of October, the Suzlon Group initiated discussions with its senior secured lenders. It also launched plans to restructure its debt with a maturity period of ten years under its corporate debt restructuring mechanism, including a two-year moratorium on principal and interest payments on term debt.
"This is an important step towards stabilising our business by enhancing liquidity and injecting additional working capital. We believe this will help us to safeguard the interests of our key stakeholders, including customers and vendors," the company said. Suzlon's share price fell 16.9% for the year to November 23, at which point it was subject to no "buy" recommendations from analysts, with 16.7% neutral and 83.3% negative on the stock.
China's Goldwind fared little better than Suzlon, posting a fall in sales of 41.7% and a net loss of CNY 33.4 million ($5.6 million). The company attributed the profit decline to slower growth across the industry and a decrease in turbine prices. Wu Gang, Goldwind chairman and chief executive, still remained upbeat. "In the last three quarters, competition in domestic markets has remained fierce," he said. "To maintain our group's continuous competitive advantage, we have accelerated product research and development into our low-speed and ultra-low wind speed series while at the same time making steady improvements in all our offshore wind turbines."
However, analysts remain almost as pessimistic about Goldwind's medium-term prospects as they are about Suzlon's. On 23 November, none were recommending the stock for a "buy", instead dividing equally between "holds" and "sells". The company's stock fell 30.1% for the year to that date.
There was, however, better news from Nordex, which reported improved performance all the way down the income statement. The German manufacturer posted increased revenues and operating profits of 11.3% and 63.8% respectively, while its net profit of €7.7 million was more than double its Q3 2011 €3.4 million net gain. This followed three consecutive quarters of operating losses.
Over the first nine months of 2012 Nordex earned a substantial profit from its European division while losing money in Asia and breaking even in the US. The firm says several delayed contracts received in October and November pushed its new business above the level achieved in 2011 and thus ensured that the full-year sales target for 2012 would be achieved. Despite this, Nordex's stock price fell 26.9% from 1 January to 23 November, and analysts remained highly cautious about its medium-term prospects, with only 10% recommending investors buy the stock, 40% neutral and 50% advising a "sell".


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Friday 25 January
|Chelonoidis (1)
The enormous Galapagos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) was once so numerous that Spanish explorers of the region named the Galapagos archipelago after its extraordinary inhabitant; 'galapagos' means 'tortoise' in Spanish (8).
This giant reptile is the largest living tortoise, with relatively heavy limbs, a long neck and a heavy carapace that can reach lengths of up to 150 centimetres (2) (8). The different subspecies of the Galapagos giant tortoise illustrate the principal of 'adaptive radiation', where populations isolated on islands or on parts of larger islands within the Galapagos chain have adapted to different conditions, and now have distinct appearances (9). The subspecies can be generally separated into those with 'domed' shells, which occur on the larger, wetter islands, and smaller tortoises with 'saddleback' carapaces that are found on smaller islands with dry vegetation (10).
It is thought that the distinctive saddleback shell of some populations of the Galapagos giant tortoise enables its bearer to reach taller vegetation, with these tortoises also having longer limbs and necks (10).
The Galapagos giant tortoise spends a large part of the day grazing in small groups (2), feeding on a wide range of vegetation, from grasses and flowers to cactus fruits (9). During the rainy season a lot of time is spent wallowing in shallow pools, and at night the Galapagos giant tortoise can be found in depressions dug into the ground (10). On some islands, Galapagos finches clean parasites from the skin of the tortoise, with the tortoise raising itself up on its legs to facilitate the process (11).
The male Galapagos giant tortoise typically becomes territorial during the mating season (2), during which time rivals size each other up by standing tall on their legs and stretching their necks out, with the taller tortoise usually being dominant (11). The female tortoise lays a clutch of 2 to 16 eggs into a nest dug into sandy ground, which is then covered over with soil and leaves. The hatchlings emerge around 4.5 months later (11).
The Galapagos giant tortoise is one of the longest-lived of all vertebrates, and the oldest recorded individual reached the impressive age of 152 (3).
The Galapagos giant tortoise is endemic to the islands of the Galapagos in the eastern Pacific Ocean (1).
During the dry season, the Galapagos giant tortoise is likely to be found on higher slopes, while after the rains many individuals come down to feed on the newly grass-covered flats (9).
The Galapagos giant tortoise is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List (1).
Subspecies: The Charles Island tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra nigra) is classified as Extinct (EX) on the IUCN Red List and the Abingdon Island tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni) is classified as Extinct in the Wild (EW). The Duncan Island tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra duncanensis) is classified by the IUCN as Extinct in the Wild (EW), although it is currently provisionally evaluated as Critically Endangered (CR) by the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group in their 2010 conservation status assessment (1) (5) (6).
The Hood Island tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra hoodensis) is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) and the James Island tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra darwini), Sierra Negra tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra guentheri), Indefatigable Island tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra porteri) and Iguana Cove tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra vicina) are classified as Endangered (EN). The Volcan Wolf tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra becki), Chatham Island tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra chathamensis), Volcan Darwin tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra microphyes) and Volcan Alcedo tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra vandenburghi) are all classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List (1) (5) (6).
The Narborough Island giant tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra phantastica) was not previously evaluated by the IUCN, but has been provisionally classified as Extinct (EX) by the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (5).
The Galapagos giant tortoise is also listed on Appendix I of CITES (7).
When mariners first began to arrive in the Galapagos Islands in the 1600s they captured giant tortoises and stored them live on ships as a source of meat (11). This trend continued and throughout the 19th century whaling ships took a large number of tortoises for food, whilst others were killed for turtle oil (11).
Today the greatest threat to the survival of the Galapagos giant tortoise comes from introduced species. Feral dogs, cats and rats predate juvenile tortoises before their carapace has fully developed, while goats and cattle compete with the Galapagos giant tortoise for vegetation (10). The population of the Galapagos giant tortoise originally numbered in the 100,000s (9), but following centuries of persecution it is estimated that a mere fraction of this population remains; three subspecies have become extinct and there is only one sole survivor of the Abingdon Island subspecies (C. n. abingdoni), known as 'Lonesome George' (10).
The Galapagos giant tortoise is fully protected within the Galapagos National Park, which was established by Ecuador in 1959 (11). International trade is also prohibited by the listing of this species on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) (7).
The Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galapagos National Park Service have been running a highly successful tortoise-restoration programme since the 1970s, by raising hatchlings from eggs until they are robust enough to be released into the wild without falling victim to predation (9). One of their major achievements has been to increase the population of the Critically Endangered Hood Island tortoise (C. n. hoodensis), which numbered just 13 individuals in the 1970s but now boasts over 1,000 members in the wild (4) (9). It is hoped that these concerted conservation efforts will help to secure the future of this giant, iconic reptile.
For more information on the Galapagos tortoise see:
Authenticated (11/06/03) by Howard Snell. Head of Science, Charles Darwin Research Station.
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I love the comments thread over at YouTube — the source of the post title.
Cripes! Like they've never seen a white funnel cloud come out of a hot blonde's house!Ha ha. I never knew there would be a time when the stupid things I tried to avoid would be things I would go out of my way to make everyone look at. Or — for insiders only — the things I eschewed would be things I espewed.
:-D Just love that tornado music.
Heh, that one surfer kinda looks like Nicolas Cage! I can remember that tornado (& trippy musical accompaniment) somewhat freaking me out as a child.
I never knew there was a time where a strong ammonia smell was a good thing...
This post is inspired by the poem wonderful Bissage wrote about the sink rainbow.


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New model computers are introduced in Mesa Arizona daily. You may love a certain brand and purchase it. But if you forget or be careless about repairing and maintaining them then you will face various technical problems.
Computers are machines made of electronic parts. It's a machine which includes both software and hardware. If there isn't proper maintenance your computer will fail to operate and you may end up with data loss and other critical errors.
If you need best computer repair and maintenance services in Mesa , DataMetrics™ is at your service. We are world's best technicians. We provide unlimited tech support. DataMetrics™ guarantees you an outstanding experience. Register with us as a customer and we will show you the true essence of remote computer support.
Getting a Macbook Cracked Screen Repair
If you manage to bang around your Macbook you may end up having to get a Macbook Cracked Screen Repair. This may also be required if you accidentally sit on your Macbook at some point. And really that is not too hard to do especially if you have young children around or travel a lot and sling your laptop around as you go. If you have managed to crack the screen on your Macbook you certainly don't want to order a replacement screen from the manufacturer but you do want to take your Macbook to a reputable Macbook repair shop and let them replace it for you. You cannot repair a screen so you must get a replacement. These screens are rather fragile and they need an expert to properly replace the screen.
If you have an older laptop instead of getting a Macbook Cracked Screen Repair you may want to get a new computer with more bells and whistles. Even though a cracked screen is not too costly to replace it gives you the opportunity to get a new computer. Just let the computer repair place transfer all of your data. In fact this even is the right time to have a custom laptop made exactly to your specifications. This way you will get the power you want to run the programs that you need run. You can get a webcam or other additions that will make your laptop and you more productive or at least have more fun on your Macbook perhaps at a faster speed.
To avoid having to get a Macbook Cracked Screen Repair you would have to realize that even though today's laptops including a Macbook are really rather sturdy they still cannot withstand heavy handling. They are not a reinforced hard sided suitcase that you can just throw down beside you. Especially since so many people don't bother with a case at all they just clutch their laptop tightly in their arms which may also crack the screen if held too tight. Also try not to slam down the laptop cover too hard as this may also damage your screen or even the circuitry that is behind the screen. Heavy handling may also break the hinges on the cover which is not good for the laptop nor for you as that will need to be repaired at some time also.
Of course if you intend to drop your Macbook regularly then you really should invest in a laptop case that should give it some protection. But if you have to go through an airport security check then you will have to take that laptop out of its case. And so many people forget about their laptop and leave it behind on the security checkpoint that you should put your name, phone number and your flight somewhere on the outside of the laptop. That way you can be paged if you leave it behind. Even going through security may damage your Macbook if it is slammed around.
Learn How to Repair Laptops and Start Your Own Small Repair Business
The cyber-world is full of threats such as viruses, spyware, Trojans, Worms and etc. These can affect your PC and even steal your personal information. These cyber-threats can cause huge dilemmas to your PC. Always have an anti-virus guard installed. Upgrade the program and schedule regular updates. Your software's database should be updated for a full-protection.
Laptop Repair In Mesa Arizona
Most laptops have a touchpad that provides the full functionality of a traditional PC mouse. However, it often malfunctions either partially, or occasionally it will fail completely. The simple answer when it fails is to connect a USB mouse and use the laptop without the touchpad. Even after connecting a USB mouse the pointer will sometimes randomly move on the screen because the touchpad is still partly operating. The best solution is to disable or turn off the touchpad; there are two ways to do this.
Many laptops use a function key designed to enable and disable the touchpad. Most use the Fn key plus the F8 key to do this. If this does not work with your laptop look on the key legends of the function keys for what looks like a pointing finger; this is usually the key to press along with the Fn key. However, other laptops have a tiny switch either on the side or the palm rest of the case.
If your laptop seems not to have a touchpad disable key or switch, then you can permanently disable it from the Control Panel of Windows. To disable click on the Start Menu and select Control Panel, double-click on Mouse, click on Device Settings, and click on Disable. Finally click on OK and the touchpad will now be disabled.
If the touchpad operates correctly most of the time but just occasionally twitches or moves the pointer a few pixels, then there is software that may save you using a USB mouse when word processing.
Touchfreeze is a free utility that you can download and install on your laptop. It is a very small program that is simple to install and configure. Touchfreeze disables the touchpad only when you are using the keyboard, it has no effect on most touchpad movements and button clicks, etc. so will not affect the normal operation of the laptop. It helps overcome the annoying problems associated with a faulty touchpad; when using a word processor the pointer jumps to a different line or word, and you continue typing without noticing this until you check the text.
The actions you take to overcome a faulty touchpad depend of how you use your laptop. If you always use your laptop in a fixed place on a table, for example, then you may find that a USB mouse is acceptable all the time. However, if you primarily use your laptop on the move, you probably do not have space for a USB mouse so will either want the touchpad replaced or repaired.


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SUMMIT TWP — State police didn't find the behavior of an apparently impatient motorist humorous while investigating a traffic crash Tuesday afternoon.
The testy traveler found himself behind bars after allegedly refusing to identify himself — and laughing at police.
Zachary J. Hepfl, 19, of Adrian in Lawrence County, is charged with obstructing the administration of law or other government function, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
Troopers were at the scene of a wreck on Route 422 East between the Jefferson Street and the Mitchell Hill Road exits in Summit Township around 5:15 p.m. when they heard a horn blaring from one of the vehicles stuck in traffic.
State police said the 3:10 p.m. crash involved a tractor-trailer and car and closed the road to eastbound traffic for nearly six hours. The horn honking continued for an "extended period," according to authorities, stopped, and then started up again.
A trooper walked over to the vehicle making the racket. Hepfl was a front seat passenger and admitted to sounding the horn.
This is an excerpt — pick up Thursday's Butler Eagle to read more about the arrest.


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Majkovič, Darja, Ph.D., Slovenia
Vol 3, No 1 (2011) - Articles
Analysis of Business Performance in the Case of Mixed Farm
Abstract PDF
To make sure that you can receive messages from us, please add the 'macrothink.org' domain to your e-mail 'safe list'. If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox', check your 'bulk mail' or 'junk mail' folders.
Copyright © Macrothink Institute ISSN 1948-5433


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Clutches can help simplify a woman's life! They don't allow for the over-stuffing that most of us are so guilty of doing. Carrying only the most essential items in your purse can truly lighten the load.
Accent any outfit with the perfect clutch made of fun fabrics and colors. Here are a few that I found in our local boutiques good for wear during daytime or evening.
Store Directory
Rodeo Drive, 2212 Holiday Manor Ctr, 502.425.8999
Rodes For Her, 4938 Brownsboro Road #200 502.753.7633
Circe, 3630 Brownsboro Road,502.894.0095
Blink Boutique, 3706 Lexington Road, 502.899.9885


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Tom Hanks Talks About 'Captain Phillips' and Somali Pirates
The actor talks about the movie and his "no crying in baseball" way of working
Tom Hanks is not an actor one can comfortably imagine in a superhero costume.
"He has made lasting, immortal characters out of ordinary men," says Paul Greengrass, who directed the 57-year-old in the new thriller, "Captain Phillips," due Oct. 11.
In the film, Mr. Hanks plays Richard Phillips, a real-life container-ship captain who in 2009 offered himself as a hostage for the safety of his crew after his vessel, the Maersk Alabama, was boarded by four armed Somali pirates seeking to extract millions of dollars in ransom. Like previous Hanks characters such as Andrew Beckett, an AIDS-stricken lawyer in "Philadelphia" and Chuck Noland, a stranded FedEx executive in "Cast Away," his character discovers over the course of his ordeal that he's tougher than he realized. (Mr. Phillips, who got a writing credit, was rescued by the U.S. Navy.) Excerpts from an interview at New York's Carlyle Hotel:
A lot of your films happen against the backdrop of broader social issues, whether it's AIDS, the death penalty, World War II.
I know. I gotta get away from the heavy themes.
This film deals with the disparity between the global haves and have-nots. Was that something that appealed to you?
It was really Paul's thing. Paul's desire, in order to make sure these four guys aren't just punks who robbed the liquor store, was to have this other thing going on, this dynamic amongst the guys. There's this underlying hopelessness because of the geopolitics of what a disaster Somalia has become. The place has been fished out and all these goods go by their country in ships all the time—everything from Mercedes-Benzes to soybeans. That just adds to the fabric of the movie that makes it rise above the concept of "scary aliens have invaded us and we have to make it home."
Related Video
You were on board right from the beginning, before Paul Greengrass?
Yes, this is one of those things where Sony I guess had been developing the story and [screenwriter] Billy Ray had been writing it for quite some time. I had heard from my crack team of show business experts: [CAA president] Richard Lovett said [whispering], "I'm tracking a project at Sony for you. It's called 'Maersk Alabama.' " I said, "OK. I remember that." Knowing that it might be coming my way, when I was here in New York shooting [2011's] "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" I read Richard Phillips's book. Eventually the screenplay came in, and I was like, "I get it." Then it was in the studio's hands, and Scott Rudin's. Who's going to direct it? They went through their shenanigans, and eventually it was Paul.
Paul Greengrass has said he wanted people to understand the position of the pirates, their humanity. Are you concerned some people may find this sympathy misplaced?
I gave up trying to figure out what's going to happen with anybody's reaction. It's always across the board. On the one hand, there's almost a pro-gun argument in the film, you know?
Yes, I kept thinking how astonishing it was that the ship was unarmed in those dangerous waters.
I asked Richard Phillips, "What's the deal there? How come no guns?" And first off, there are parts of international law saying you can't ship guns into a foreign port. And there's this other concept. You've got 25 guys who argue a lot. You might not want them to be packing heat in their sea bags.
Before you got involved in this film, were you familiar with the story of Richard Phillips?
I was aware of it because it was in the news. When it was over, I remember being like, "Wow, they got 'em! Son of a gun!" But I didn't know anything more than that.
What was it like playing a real person who is alive and well and similar in age to you?
What's interesting about Richard is that he and [his wife] Andrea have been through the maw. There was no glamour in the idea of me coming in and saying "We're going to make a movie." They had met the president of the United States. So there was no "Oooh, this is going to be fun" for them. Rich is a very funny guy and he's very easygoing. But Andrea said that when he's aboard the ship, he's no nonsense and no fun whatsoever.
What kind of input did you get from Richard Phillips to help you play him?
I once said, "So you're at sea. Do you ever go out and ponder the horizon, this vast ocean and the glories of nature and the mysteries of the sea?" And he said, "I haven't done that for 35 years." So you can get rid of that. I realized there is nothing unique, nothing romantic about him going off and doing this. The script at certain points said things like "Phillips is looking out the porthole and the stars are coming out. He wonders: does his family know where he is?" Then we get in the lifeboat and discover there's no porthole to even look through!
You've played a lot of ordinary guys who become heroes, like Phillips. What was it about this character that felt fresh to you?
In "Saving Private Ryan," that wasn't a real guy, but it took place in a real place. That has a real particular logic to it. "Cast Away," certainly did, once you figured out he was alone. "Apollo 13" had a very specific thing. With "Captain Phillips," once he's off that boat [and on the lifeboat with the pirates], it's all his own instinct and he has to constantly keep it in play. He's not waiting for anything to happen. He's trying to stay alive for another hour or so, because he really did think that one hothead was going to shoot him or bash his head in. That added an element that was different from all the other nonfiction stuff I've done.
But, despite the danger of the situation, there were these moments that the pirates and Phillips—nicknamed "Irish" by his captors—almost got a bit chummy.
He told me there were times he laughed with the pirates. They made jokes as best they could. He'd say something and they'd come back, saying "I like you, Irish. You're funny." So I got to do all this work of hidden preparation and I never have to tell anybody about it. I don't have to even show it. I just have to know it. And then when it comes out, it comes out in a palpable way.
The pirates have lost as soon as the Navy ships arrive, but the Somalis don't seem to comprehend the power of the U.S. military.
Exactly. When the Navy showed up Phillips said to them, "Guys, it's done. It's done!" They don't get it. It's like, "Jeez, it would have been so much easier if you guys just cashed in [on a smaller bribe]." But it didn't happen. Then there's that scene when you realize [the lead pirate] has got a boss who's gonna kick his ass unless something happens. That raises the stakes of everything.
Paul Greengrass wanted to keep you away from the first-time actors playing the Somali pirates until you meet for the first time, while shooting the scene when they held you up at gunpoint while screaming in your face.
A lot of times when the unit gets into town and you're starting principal photography, you have a party or a dinner. We didn't do anything like that. The day that we did meet them, it was funny. We shot a scene where we could see them in the distance on the skiffs, and we could see little flashes of them running around as they were coming up, but when we shot the scene where we heard them getting closer and closer and closer and there they were. And, let's just say it achieved the effect that Paul desired.
Then what happens after the director says "Cut"? You shake hands?
It was very ephemeral and very tactile for three takes—and then when we were done with that moment and moving on to the next piece of it, and I say, "Hey, I'm Tom. How are you?" Because we had that powerful sensory experience, continuing on was not far under the surface. When the hair stands up on the back of your neck the way it did, you can remember what that was like.
Were you concerned about sharing most of your screen time with four guys who had never been in a movie before?
Making a movie is kind of a racket. You just gotta learn these particular kind of things, and what you actually have to be disciplined about is not to be self-conscious. Some people can never get over that self-consciousness. And other people can. I think our four guys could. They had rehearsed a lot—like six or seven weeks before we even got down there, so they were ready to make it work. After that initial rush in, there was a little bit of awareness that they were making a big movie with me and Paul and everybody else. But we were over that in seven minutes and got back in the teeth of it. So I never had a moment's discomfort or worry about working with these guys.
Nora Ephron once said that you bring a "no crying in baseball" philosophy when it comes to work.
There's something to be said for you the actor being accessible. Very early on, by way of the first job I ever had, I realized you can be a real ally to the production. You can make things happen easier if you show up on time, if you know your lines well, if you have ideas.
How do you feel about actors who demand to be in character while on set, even if they're not shooting?
There are long sequences where, you know, you just want to keep it going. It actually does aid the process. But I've found you can let it go, then bring it into sharp focus and let it go again. Say, for example, if you require a sort of camaraderie amongst the other people in the scene, you might not be able to create that if you maintain the reality of the thing you're doing—but you can get it if you're just a bunch of guys making a movie. The fact is that you can't substitute the truth when the camera's rolling. So I respect anybody who gets there any way they can. I've worked with people who [stay in character], and I think it's fabulous. And I've worked with other people where all we do is laugh all day long, and that brings something to it as well.
Steven Spielberg predicted this summer that Hollywood will implode because of all these action-driven tentpoles. Do you agree?
The business is driven by businessmen and women. They are not dealing with themes. They are not dealing with stories. They are dealing with business. But when artists come up with surprises, businesses often move forward. I remember when [filmmaker] Irwin Allen first came out and everybody said, "All movies are now going to be big-budget disaster movies with Ernest Borgnine and Gene Hackman and Shelly Winters."
Do you think quality television is increasingly becoming the place to see good, character-driven dramas?
There always will be, and has been every single year, a collection of movies that draw people in. They are not the movies that the business people see as a possibility. In a lot of ways, this other movie I am in, "Saving Mr. Banks," which is a good movie [about the making of "Mary Poppins"]—they were petrified. I don't want to put words in anybody's mouth, but they didn't know what to do with this thing. The marketing people don't necessarily know how to sell it. All of the business of it said "Boy, maybe we shouldn't do this because there's other things that might be more quote-unquote 'surefire.'"
Any plans to return to Broadway after your Tony-nominated debut this year in "Lucky Guy"?
Here's what I learned about Broadway: It's a physical process. I did go into it with this question in my head, whether I could live up to the rigors, both physically and artistically. All I can tell you is that it was more of everything than I thought it was. So, I am going to come back as soon as I can—that might not be for another four years, but I will come back.
The Oscar race has already begun, and you are already being talked about as a best actor contender for "Captain Phillips" and best supporting actor contender for "Saving Mr. Banks." This is a high-class problem.
You know, it never works out the way they want it to work out.
Write to Rachel Dodes at email@example.com
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|Perl Monk, Perl Meditation
Re^4: grep trouble (body of flip-flop range)by LanX (Cardinal)
|on Apr 17, 2011 at 16:21 UTC ( #899823=note: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
IMHO sounds like far less than 1‰ of all CPAN modules might rely on this.
OK found another use-case, I just recently had the need in my ORG-Parser to distinguish the range delimiters and the range "body" with a flip-flop-operator, like for ORG's "BEGIN/END"-blocks.
This can be simplified (i.e. more DRY), if one has access to the last successful pattern:
I think that's a more frequent application, I even slightly remember seeing it in Friedl's book.
But I'd rather prefer an explicit special varą, something like $PATTERN or $&& (in analogy to $MATCH resp. $&) .
Cheers Rolf
1) an special var has the advantage that the regex itself can be accessed, e.g. printed.
for limitations see update in Re^2: Extract table from a block of text (updated)
In Section Seekers of Perl Wisdom


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DWTS Season 14 Rumors: Melissa Gilbert, Sherri Shepherd, and Jack Wagner Seen At DWTS Studios
TMZ (who has been known to be a reliable source for Dancing With The Stars rumors and leaks in the past) has learned on three of the celebrities dancing on the show. Read what they've found HERE about Melissa Gilbert, Sherri Shepherd, and Jack Wagner and watch this video below.
Wow, awesome! I am loving this!! What do you think and who do you see them paired with? Let us know in the comments section. 😉


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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Four U.S. service members died in a roadside bombing attack, and two civilians were killed in crossfire during a military operation, military authorities in Afghanistan said Friday.
The bomb attack occurred Thursday in the southern part of the country, but the precise location was not available. Two troops died at the scene and two died later of wounds.
In Ghazni province Friday, a woman and a school-age girl were killed in crossfire during a raid by security forces against militants, according to NATO's International Security Assistance Force.
Such civilian deaths during the Afghan war have heightened grass-roots anger against international and Afghan forces, and those forces have worked to stop such fatalities.
"Afghanistan continues to be a dangerous place, and we are genuinely sorry when any Afghan civilians are killed," said Col. Wayne Shanks, a spokesman for ISAF. "Our operational planning tries to prevent any casualties, but our enemy continues to engage our forces without regard for any Afghan civilians in the area.
"However, I believe our partnership with the Afghan forces conducting patrols such as this will bring more security to this area and prevent more innocent Afghans from being killed or injured."
In Wardak province Friday, troops "killed enemy militants and detained several suspected militants" during a search for a Taliban commander. In Paktika province, several suspected militants were detained.
All About NATO • Afghanistan War


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Posts Tagged World Poker Tour
Four Kings & An Ace at the London West Hollywood
Posted by Cindy Robinson, Life on the Scene in Celebrity, Charity, Fundraisers, On The Red Carpet, Photography on December 5, 2012
Mending Kids International hosted their annual Fall fundraiser, Four Kings & An Ace Celebrity Poker Tournament, on Saturday night at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant inside the London West Hollywood. The evening's proceeds benefit children in over 51 countries around the world in Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Southeast Asia to give children access to critical surgeries that they would otherwise not be able to receive due to lack of medical or financial resources.
Longtime Mending Kids International supporter Mel Gibson hosted the evening along with celebrity friends like Gene Simmons, Robert Downey, Jr., Sean Penn and Jodie Foster. Among other celebrity guests were World Series Of Poker Winner Jamie Gold, Madeleine Stowe, Emily VanCamp and most of the cast of "Revenge," Danny Trejo and Chuck Zito from "Sons of Anarchy", actor Quinton Aaron from "the Blind Side", Olympic diver Greg Louganis, comedian and "Iron Man 2" actor Garry Shandling, Patricia Arquette, and World Poker Tour players Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten.
These celebrities were able to raise enough funds for eight missions to provide almost 200 children around the world with life-saving surgeries. Mending Kids International (www.mendingkids.org) is a California-based non-profit that provides surgeries to children otherwise unavailable to them in developing countries, and surgical training to medical staff to build long-term sustainable surgical programs. 92% of every dollar received goes directly towards helping children.
Will Hartman walked away with the night's poker trophy. Those who didn't play poker enjoyed casino games and entertainment provided by The Commodores Band, American Idol Winner Lee Dewyze, and Dominic Scott Kay.
MKI is a tremendous charitable organization that ran an amazingly well-organized fundraiser. Life on the Scene is always on board to help out this charity in the future!
The only real snag in the evening was the fact that while KISS frontman Gene Simmons gave very generously of his time to the event, his personality was sorely lacking as he wouldn't give the time of day to most of the attendees that paid a top dollar donation to attend this wonderful event.
Sponsors for the event include ICON Films, The London West Hollywood, The Sher Group, Morgan's Jewelers,Variety, Marich Premium Chocolates, Polanti Watches, BERYLL, Smile Sciences, El Cartel Tequila, Akvinta Vodka, Atlantico Rum, Paul Smith, Floral Crush, and GrapeVine Productions. MKI is already planning the 2ndAnnual event for Fall 2013 and sponsorship opportunities and player slots are available. Please visit them at (www.mendingkids.org) to donate or sign up to sponsor an event.


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Patrick Phillips, chief executive officer of the Urban Land Institute provides this commentary on land use in New Orleans five years after Hurricane Katrina left its mark on the city.
The consensus is that, on the whole, New Orleans is on the rebound.
When the Urban Land Institute advisory service panel advised the city on a revival strategy, expanding and diversifying its economy was a core piece of the recommendations for long-term sustainability. The panel maintained that a recovery plan focused on restoring "what was" rather than rethinking "what could be" would cheat New Orleans out of a chance to be more appealing, and ultimately more competitive. In the years following the storm, there are encouraging signs that the people of New Orleans have chosen "what could be."
A Brookings Institute report points to several positives for the area's economy:
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu recently announced plans for more than 100 new public projects that will total nearly $640 million, including construction on the first portion of a $30 million riverfront park; recreational facilities, and community centers.
The proposed new medical research facility, plus the decision by a wind turbine blade manufacturer to locate in New Orleans are just two examples of how the area's economy is evolving beyond the traditional sectors of tourism, ports, oil and gas.
The city can keep its momentum going through careful consideration of how and where it grows, so that it continues to become more accessible to residents and workers of a variety of incomes, age groups and household composition; and more responsive to growing consumer demand for energy-efficient and environmentally conscious places to live and work.
This means sticking with a comprehensive strategy for development (and redevelopment) that conserves land and reduces the need to drive ─ emphasizing development that integrates housing in a variety of price ranges, is close to employment and shopping, and is connected by transit.
Earlier this year, the Center for Neighborhood Technology released new data measuring location costs for more than 330 metro areas across the United States, including combined housing and transportation expenses, miles traveled for local trips, and vehicle carbon emissions. The housing-transportation burden for the metro area remains high, totaling at least 45 percent of the income for the vast majority of residents.
While those in the inner core drive less than 12,000 miles per year, those in the neighborhoods from just outside the core to the outlying edges drive 16,000 miles, even 18,000-plus miles per year for work and errands (nearly twice the national average), according to the center's data. While 14 percent of downtown residents use public transit, the percentage drops to 1 percent or less for the suburbs. And, not surprisingly, the households farthest from major employment nodes have the highest carbon emissions. What this shows is the impact of sprawl in the suburbs, even in close-in suburbs, and even in a city with distinct land constraints.
As New Orleans continues the rebuilding process, how its suburbs grow is pivotal. Suburban growth in the 21st century does not have to be sprawl, not in New Orleans or other urban areas. In metro areas across the United States, the suburbs are where the growth will be, and in the suburbs, less land will have to be used to accommodate more people.
The need for more housing that is close to jobs, and the link between land use, driving, and environmental preservation all make a strong case for changing development patterns throughout urban regions, in the outlying areas as well as urban cores. In many ways, New Orleans is a city like no other, but in this regard, it is no different.
Patrick Phillips, CEO, Urban Land Institute
Patrick Phillips, a longtime member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and a ULI trustee, has a career in the economic analysis of real estate and land use that spans more than 20 years. Prior to taking the position as the top staff executive at ULI, he was president and chief executive officer of ERA AECOM (formerly Economics Research Associates). ULI, which currently has more than 150 employees and a budget of nearly $53 million, is headquartered in Washington, D.C.