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01-03-2009, 10:10 PM #1greencharisma Guest
Is there a problem with registering a domain such as ebuyshirts dot com or ibuyshirts dot com?
I've seen a few out there like ebuyautos, but is this considered too close to ebay whom I understand has a stranglehold on the internet almost as tight as microsoft.
Either way, e and i are very common SLD prefixes, and the word buy is about as generic as it gets.
Any comments will be much appreciated!
01-03-2009, 10:21 PM #2Junior Guru Wannabe
- Join Date
- Jul 2008
- Posts
- 51
Those domains are growing in popularity as more and more domains get registered. I personally like the idea and invested in one myself (see sig) so I think they are a great idea myself
01-03-2009, 10:43 PM #3Web Hosting Master
- Join Date
- Nov 2002
- Posts
- 4,373
I see no live trademark applications for ebuy but there are applications for ibuy and ibuy.com that might cause problems down the road.
01-03-2009, 10:49 PM #4greencharisma Guest
Thanks for the reply!
I checked the database. There's a ton of citations there. I thought that might be good since it apparently has such a broad application.
What about the mark specifically jumps out at you as a potential problem?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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Wraith by sedone
Copyright Notice:
This image copyright © 2002 Sedone Thongvilay.
Artwork Description
An undead fella who isn't particularly happy about being disturbed.
May 20th, 2005
Very good work. Not only is the hand, face and depiction of the creature's mood good, but I really like the robes. So difficult to make good realistic robes.
December 6th, 2003
Oooo! Sensationally creepy! The fingers and the robes!! Terrific!
September 22nd, 2002
I've looked at all your artwork. It's all really great. You're as good as Kay Allen, hehehe. Well, keep it up...
From the one who judges...
May 16th, 2002
your work is really impressive... i love the dark colours that you've used they really add to that sense of the evil undead. can't wait to see more
May 7th, 2002
Wonderful detail. The feeling you get from this peice is so cool. I like how you've got the arm raising all "death" like. Nice fading on his left side.
May 7th, 2002
wow that is nice! yeah what everybody said and I love the subtle colors!
May 7th, 2002
Woah - all you pieces are just fantastic! Welcome, indeed. Marvelous technique, quite painterly and great colors.
May 6th, 2002
Awesome pic... I really really like this... Great job.
May 6th, 2002
Hey Sedone, great to finaly see your work on epilogue. This series of character potraits you have done are all excellent. This one especially is a favourite. Reminds me of the Templar Knights from the Blind Dead films. Great stuff, hope to see more!
May 6th, 2002
Wow, that one is great!
Ha looks very realistic - if one can say so - and I think, you caught his feelings very well!
May 6th, 2002
yep, this is exceptional. nice color scheme as well.


text:
Structural changes in the somatosensory system correlate with tic severity in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome
Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by multiple motor and vocal tics. Previous structural MRI studies have identified regional abnormalities in grey matter, especially in the basal ganglia. These findings are consistent with the assumption of alterations in cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits and dopaminergic neurotransmission playing a major role in the pathophysiology of GTS. Additionally, recent imaging studies suggested an involvement of sensory-motor cortices in the pathophysiology of GTS. However, little is known about the role of white matter changes in GTS. In this study, we aimed to examine whether GTS is associated with abnormalities in white matter microstructure and whether these changes are correlated with tic severity. In a morphometric study based on diffusion tensor MRI of the whole brain, we compared brain tissue diffusion characteristics between 15 unmedicated adults with GTS without psychiatric co-morbidity and 15 healthy age- and sex-matched controls. We performed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) of regional fractional anisotropy (FA) values to identify regional differences in white matter microstructure between the groups. We also tested for a linear relationship between regional FA values and clinical scores of tic severity. Probabilistic fibre tracking was applied to characterize anatomical connectivity of those areas showing differences in regional FA. Compared with healthy controls, GTS patients showed bilateral FA increases in white matter underlying the post- and precentral gyrus, below the left supplementary motor area, and in the right ventro-postero-lateral part of the thalamus. The peak increase in FA was located below the left postcentral gyrus. Probabilistic tractography identified transcallosal and ipsilateral cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathways of the somatosensory system passing through this subcortical region. In patients, regional FA in this region showed an inverse linear relationship with tic severity. These findings demonstrate, for the first time, structural alterations in somatosensory pathways in GTS. Changes of water diffusion characteristics point towards reduced branching in somatosensory pathways in GTS patients. The negative correlation between higher regional FA values and fewer tics suggests that these alterations of white matter microstructure represent adaptive reorganization of somatosensory processing in GTS.
- Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome
- tics
- diffusion tensor imaging
- fractional anisotropy
- somatosensory system
Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome (GTS) is characterized by chronic motor and vocal tics typically starting during childhood with a mean age of onset around the age of six (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Leckman et al., 2001). Abnormal neuronal processing in cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits and altered dopaminergic neurotransmission have been implicated in the pathophysiology of GTS (Stern et al., 2000; Peterson, 2001; Singer and Minzer, 2003; Singer, 2005; Mink, 2006). Post-mortem studies of single patients identified striatal and prefrontal dopaminergic abnormalities (Singer et al., 1991; Minzer et al., 2004) and changes in the distribution of inhibitory neurons in the striatum and globus pallidum (Kalanithi et al., 2005).
Apart from post-mortem studies, knowledge on structural pathology in GTS mainly relies on morphometric analyses of in vivo MRI data obtained in affected individuals (Peterson, 2001). Changes in regional volumes and signal have been reported in numerous brain regions with sometimes conflicting results in different studies. Some authors identified reduced volumes of the caudate and lentiform nucleus and globus pallidus (Peterson et al., 1993, 2003), while others reported unchanged basal ganglia volumes in children (Singer et al., 1993) or specifically girls with GTS (Moriarty et al., 1997; Zimmerman et al., 2000). Additionally, a loss of the physiological asymmetry of the putamen (Singer et al., 1993) and caudate nucleus (Moriarty et al., 1997) was reported in GTS. Cortical regional abnormalities were also reported, including larger prefrontal and parieto-occiptal regions in GTS patients (Peterson et al., 2001) and increased volumes of hippocampus and amygdala (Peterson et al., 2007). Recently, cortical thinning in large areas of the frontal and parietal lobe has been demonstrated by high-resolution structural MRI in children with GTS (Sowell et al., 2008). Regarding white matter, a regional increase of right prefrontal white matter (Fredericksen et al., 2002), and a decrease of left deep frontal white matter were found in GTS patients (Kates et al., 2002). Additionally, altered white matter microstructure as possible evidence of reduced interhemispheric connectivity was demonstrated in the corpus callosum in children with GTS (Plessen et al., 2006). Whereas morphometric changes in basal ganglia volumes have been interpreted as a core abnormality in GTS probably related to the generation of tics (Peterson et al., 2003), changes in cortical regional volumes have been attributed to adaptive reorganization (Peterson et al., 2001, 2007). However, differences in image analysis and sample characteristics such as age, sex, co-morbidity and neuroleptic medication are likely to have influenced results of previous studies, so that these studies cannot easily be compared.
Tics are involuntary sudden stereotyped physiological movements or vocalizations. They can be simple or complex and typically wax and wane over time (Leckman et al., 2001). Although motor symptoms represent the hallmark of GTS, there is little doubt that tics are not a pure motor phenomenon. Tics are usually preceded by premonitory sensations, in particular the urge to move (Bliss, 1980; Bullen and Hemsley, 1983). Paralleling this clinical observation, there is growing experimental evidence of abnormal sensory-motor processing in GTS (Leckman et al., 1993; Nowak et al., 2005; Orth et al., 2005). Based on these observations, adaptive processes involving the somatosensory system have been postulated (Leckman et al., 1993; Kwak et al., 2003). However, evidence for structural changes in the somatosensory system is scarce.
Magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) allows studying the water diffusion properties of tissue and by this provides clues on the microstructural organization of tissue. Anisotropy of water diffusion in tissue describes its property of being directionally dependent. In cerebral white matter, water diffusion is fast along the main fibre direction and slower perpendicular to it, resulting in anisotropic diffusion (Beaulieu, 2002). Therefore, DTI is particularly useful for in vivo studies of the cerebral white matter as it allows characterizing the organization and integrity of white matter pathways (Behrens et al., 2003b; Johansen-Berg and Behrens, 2006). By this, DTI can be used to study white matter abnormalities associated with specific pathologic conditions, such as degeneration of white matter pathways or plastic changes of white matter organization occurring during the course of a disease (Johansen-Berg and Behrens, 2006). Diffusion properties of tissue can be characterized by different parameters. The diffusion tensor can be displayed as an ellipsoid, the principal axes of which are defined by the three mutually perpendicular eigenvectors. The three eigenvalues (λ1, λ2, λ3) represent the diffusivities along these main axes. They are sorted according to magnitude with λ1 representing the highest and λ3 representing the lowest diffusivity. The mean diffusivity (MD) represents orientationally averaged diffusion. Fractional anisotropy (FA) is the most frequently used index of anisotropy in neuroimaging studies. It ranges from zero in fully isotropic diffusion to one in fully anisotropic diffusion (Beaulieu, 2002).
Here, we used DTI to address the question whether GTS is associated with microstructural changes in white matter organization. We avoided confounding effects of medication, age and co-morbidity by studying only unmedicated adult GTS patients without psychiatric co-morbidity. We compared diffusion properties of brain tissue of GTS patients as characterized by DTI with those of a healthy control group matched for age and gender. Our aim was to identify abnormalities in white matter structure, assign these changes to distinct sensory-motor pathways using fibre tracking, and to correlate regional abnormalities in white matter structure with tic severity. Given the early onset and chronicity of GTS and the sensory-motor nature of tics we made two predictions. We hypothesized that GTS is associated with structural changes in sensory-motor pathways and that these changes are associated with tic severity.
Material and methods
Fifteen patients (13 men, mean age: 34.5 ± 8.9 years) were recruited from two specialized GTS outpatient clinics (Department of Neurology, University Hospital Hamburg and Clinic of Psychiatry, Hannover Medical School). We only included unmedicated GTS patients without psychiatric co-morbidity. Fifteen healthy subjects matched for age and gender served as a control group (13 men, mean age: 34.6 ± 9.1 years). All control subjects had a normal neurological and psychiatric examination and no history of neurological or psychiatric disorders. Handedness was assessed using the Edinburgh handedness inventory (Oldfield, 1971): one patient and one control subject were ambidextrous, the other participants were consistent right-handers. The study was approved by the local Ethics Committee (No. 2514) and written consent was obtained from all participants prior to the experiment according to the Declaration of Helsinki.
Clinical assessment
Each patient was clinically assessed by a neurologist or psychiatrist experienced in diagnosing and treating GTS. Lifetime clinical information was systematically collected using standardized clinical assessment and a semi-structured interview adapted from Robertson and Eapen (1996). In this interview, patients were systematically asked for premonitory urges and other sensory phenomena, disturbances of social behaviour, impulse control disorder, as well as for symptoms of depression or anxiety disorder. GTS was diagnosed according to DSM-IV-TR criteria (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), and only patients fulfilling DSM-IV criteria for GTS during the last year were included into the study. Lifetime history of symptoms indicative of GTS was assessed using the Diagnostic Confidence Index (DCI) (Robertson et al., 1999). The appropriate modules of the German version of the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders (SCID-I) (Wittchen et al., 1997) was used to test for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was diagnosed according to DSM-IV-TR criteria (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Patients fulfilling criteria of OCD, ADHD or other co-morbidities were excluded from the study. Severity of tics was rated using the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) (Leckman et al., 1989). Additionally, standardized video recording was performed and data were scored using the Modified Rush Videotape Rating Scale (MRVS) (Goetz et al., 1999), which provides a total tic impairment score ranging from 0 to 20 (Goetz et al., 1999). Moreover, the number of tics per minute during the video recording (performed without the examiner being in the room) was counted, as described previously (Orth et al., 2008). Two patients refused to be videotaped.
Imaging protocol
MRI was performed at 3 Tesla (Magnetom TRIO TIM, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) with a gradient system providing a maximal gradient strength of 40 mT/m using an 8-channel head coil. The head was stabilized with foam pads to minimize head movements. Patients were instructed to suppress tics and minimize head movements during scanning as much as possible. DTI was performed using an echo planar imaging (EPI) sequence covering the whole brain (TE/TR = 105/18.500 ms, bandwidth = 1954 Hz/Px, 128 × 128 matrix, FOV 256 × 192 mm, 60 axial slices, 2 mm slice thickness without interslice gap, resulting in an isotropic voxel size of 2 × 2 × 2 mm3). Diffusion weighted images were sensitized for diffusion along 24 different directions with a b-value of 1000 s/mm2. For every eight diffusion-weighted images, a non-diffusion weighted image (b = 0 s/mm2) was acquired. Partial volume effects of CSF contaminate the quantification of diffusion parameters (Bhagat and Beaulieu, 2004; Chou et al., 2005), therefore we suppressed CSF signal by incorporating the fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) technique into our diffusion weighted imaging protocol. A section selective inversion radio-frequency pulse (TI = 2400 ms) was added before the excitation pulse. To increase signal-to-noise ratio, scanning was repeated twice, resulting in a scanning time of 16 min 59 s. Images were immediately inspected for movement artefacts, and scanning was repeated in case of visible movement artefacts. Structural imaging also included T1-weighted imaging of the whole brain using a Fast Low Angle Shot (FLASH) 3D sequence (TE/TR = 4.92/15 ms, flip angle 25°, 192 slices, 1 mm slice thickness, 20% gap, 256 × 256 matrix, FOV 256 × 256 mm).
Image analysis
Diffusion weighted images were corrected for head motion and normalized to stereotactic anatomic space based on the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) coordinates. In a first step, the second to sixth b = 0 images were aligned to the first b = 0 image taking a least squares approach and a six parameter (rigid body) transformation using the diffusion toolbox implemented in SPM2 (http://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/spm/software/spm2). The realignment parameters of each b = 0 image were applied to the following eight diffusion-weighted (b = 1000) images, thus correcting for movements between each b = 0 image. In a second step, the rotations performed during realignment of the diffusion-weighted images were applied to the gradient vectors, thus reorienting gradient directions accordingly. For each subject maximal translational (mm) and rotational (°) movements were derived from realignment parameters. Maximum translation and rotation were compared between patients and controls using a two-tailed Mann—Whitney U-test, which is a non-parametric test to evaluate whether the distribution of observations of ordinal measurements in two independent samples is equal (null hypothesis).
Motion corrected diffusion-weighted images were co-registered to a single-shot EPI volume acquired during the same session. This single-shot EPI volume was spatially normalized to a standard MNI EPI template using SPM2. The resulting normalization parameters were then applied to the co-registered diffusion-weighted images. Eddy current correction was performed on the spatially normalized diffusion-weighted images using FMRIB's Linear Image Registration Tool (FLIRT) from the FMRIB Software library (FSL) (Jenkinson et al., 2002). Maps of FA, eigenvalues (λ1, λ2, λ3) and MD were generated using DTI Fit within the FMRIB's Diffusion Toolbox (http://fsl.fmrib.ox.ac.uk/fsl/fdt/) (Smith et al., 2004). The resulting parameter maps were smoothed with an 8 mm full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) isotropic Gaussian kernel. There is no gold standard for the choice of filter size in voxel-based morphometry (VBM) style analysis of DTI data, and filter size may influence the results of morphometric analysis (Jones et al., 2005). We chose a FWHM of four times the voxel-dimension of our diffusion-weighted images as this was previously reported to be appropriate for diffusion-weighted images (Jones et al., 2005).
Statistical analyses: group comparison
Individual maps of FA, λ1, λ2, λ3 and MD were entered into a two-sample t-test for a voxel-based statistical comparison of regional diffusion characteristics between patients and controls. DTI is sensitive to changes in organization and integrity of the white matter, but DTI is of limited use to identify regional changes in cortical grey matter microstructure. Moreover, very low FA values are strongly affected by noise. Therefore, analysis was restricted to voxels with an FA value of >0.15. Since white matter usually has a regional FA of >0.2 (Beaulieu, 2002), we are confident that this cut-off included the entire white matter.
Significance level was set at P < 0.05 and corrected for multiple comparisons using the False Discovery Rate (FDR) method with a cluster extent threshold of ≥10 continuous voxels. For parameter maps with significant differences additionally voxels showing between-group differences of P < 0.001 (uncorrected) are reported as trends. Probabilistic cytoarchitectonic maps implemented in SPM2 (Eickhoff et al., 2005) and a web based Talairach atlas (http://www.neurovia.umn.edu/cgi-bin/tal_atlas) were used to verify the anatomical correlates of coordinates of interest. Clusters that showed significant FA differences between patients and controls served as volumes of interest (VOI) for further analysis.
Probabilistic tractography
Probabilistic tractography based on DTI was performed to characterize anatomical connectivity of areas with regional FA differences between groups using the FMRIBs Diffusion Toolbox. To this end, clusters that showed significant FA differences between patients and controls served as seed areas for probabilistic tractography. Based on the calculated probability distributions of fibre orientations in each voxel, probabilistic diffusion tractography identifies the pathways that pass through a seed region and estimates the probability that these pathways pass through any other voxel in the brain (Behrens et al., 2003b). To generate probabilistic maps a total of 5000 individual streamlines were drawn for each seed voxel with a step length of 0.5 mm and a maximum step number of 2000. Curvature threshold was set at 0.2 (corresponding to a minimum angle of approximately ±80°) to preclude implausible pathways and back-tracking of pathways. Fibre tracking was performed on individual data sets in original diffusion space. Individual seed regions as derived from group analysis were obtained by back-transformation of VOI from MNI space into individual anatomical space using the parameters derived from spatial normalization. The images resulting from probabilistic tractography provide for each voxel the probability of being reached by pathways starting from the seed region during 5000 streamlines drawn in each individual. To eliminate noise and outliers, we applied a threshold of 10% of streamlines as previously suggested (Ramnani et al., 2006). Individual results from tractography were then transferred back to MNI space to produce likelihood maps of fibre tracking for each subject. Normalized probability images were binarized, and these individual maps were used to generate a probabilitic tractography map at the group level. In these group probability maps each voxel is labelled with the number of patients or controls, in whom this voxel was reached by a pathway running through the seed region in >10% of samples. Statistical comparison of the individual probabilistic maps between patients and controls was performed by a permutation-based non-parametric two-tailed t-test using the FSL randomize tool with exhaustive testing and family-wise error correction for multiple comparisons (http://www.fmrib.ox.ac.uk/fsl/randomise/). Permutation testing involves arbitrarily exchanging labels (e.g. group allocation) of data points when performing significance tests. A reference distribution to which the statistical value of the hypothesis test is compared is obtained by calculating all possible values of the test statistic under the different allocations of data points and labels (Nichols and Holmes, 2002).
Correlation with tic severity
To address the clinical significance of altered diffusion parameters in GTS patients, tic scores (YGTSS, MRVS, total tics per minute) were correlated with mean FA values in VOI as defined by between-group comparison using Spearman's rank correlation (SPSS 13.0; www.spss.com). We used the Holm-Bonferroni method to adjust for multiple testing (Aickin and Gensler, 1996). In brief, this is an example of a closed test procedure, which performs more than one hypothesis test simultaneously. By this, it controls for the family wise error rate of all k hypothesis at the given type I error rate α, while each hypothesis is tested with the simple Bonferroni correction. This requires ordering the statistically tests by P-values in ascending order. First, the smallest P-value is compared to α/k, and if it is less than α/k, the null-hypothesis for this is rejected and the next P-value is looked at. The second P-value is compared to α/k – 1, the third P-value to α/k – 2, and this procedure is continued, as long as the null hypothesis can be rejected. If one of the hypotheses cannot be rejected, all hypotheses that have not been rejected at previous steps are accepted.
Clinical characteristics
Clinical details of the study population are listed in Table 1. Mean disease duration was 26.5 ± 8.5 years. Mean DCI was 61 ± 15. At the time of assessment all patients had simple motor tics, while complex motor tics were present in 11/15, simple vocal tics in 13/15 and complex vocal tics in 4/15. Mean YGTSS was 42 ± 16. All patients reported premonitory urges preceding at least some of their tics. Five patients were medication naïve, the others had been treated previously with different medications (tiapride, n = 8; sulpiride, n = 4; risperidone, n = 3; aripiprazole, n = 1; clonidine, n = 3; haloperidol, n = 1; olanzapine, n = 1; pimozide, n = 3; quetiapine, n = 1). Six patients had stopped medication years before participation in the study. Only four patients had taken medication during the last year. Two of these had stopped medical treatment weeks (3 or 6 weeks, respectively) or months (3 or 6 months, respectively) prior to participation in the study.
|Age at onset
|Tics –overview
|Tic count/min
|MRVS total (0–20)
|Tics - description
|Blinking, eye movements, screwing up the eyes, facial grimacing, simple and complex head, shoulder, arm and leg movements, gestures, copropraxia, sounds, coughing
|Blinking, eye movements, facial grimacing, simple and complex movements of nose, mouth, head shoulder and trunk, sniffing
|Simple and complex eye and leg movements, throat clearing, muttering words
|Blinking, simple and complex movements of nose and mouth, facial grimacing, simple leg movements, snorting
|Blinking, screwing up the eyes, simple and complex head, shoulder, arm movements, gestures
|Series of simple and complex movements of eyes, face, shoulder, head, arm and leg, facial grimacing, gestures, copropraxia, coughing, throat clearing, coprolalia
|m- - -
|Frowning, blinking, screwing up the eyes, simple leg movement
|Blinking, facial grimacing, simple and complex head, shoulder, trunk and leg movements, coughing, throat clearing
|Blinking, facial grimacing, frowning, simple head movements, coughing, throat clearing
|Simple and complex neck and shoulder movements, simple leg movements, sounds, throat clearing, snorting
|Blinking, facial grimacing, trunk movements, gestures, coughing, throat clearing, sniffing
|Facial grimacing, simple and complex movements of eyes, head, shoulder, hands and feet, gestures, noisy breathing
|Blinking, facial grimacing, eye rolling and screwing up the eyes, simple shoulder and trunk movements, sounds
|Blinking, grimacing, sniffing
|Grimacing, simple and complex head, shoulder, trunk, arm and leg movements, series of multiple tics, snarling, coprolalia
↵aTwo patients refused to be videotaped.
M = male, F = female; Tics overview: m = simple motor; M = complex motor; v = simple vocal; V = complex vocal Tics; Tic count: tics per minute counted on video; MRVS (total) = total score of the Modified Rush Videotape Rating Scale.
Movement artefacts
No movement artefacts were noticeable by visual inspection. There was no difference in maximal translational or rotational movement between patients and controls (translation: median 1.1 versus 0.6 mm, P = 0.117; rotation: 1.0 versus 1.0°, P = 0.380; Mann–Whitney U-test).
Group differences in regional diffusion characteristics
In cerebral white matter FA reflects the degree of organization and integrity of white matter pathways. Patients with GTS showed a regional increase in FA in the white matter underlying the mesial part of the left central and postcentral gyrus compared with healthy controls (Fig. 1A, Table 2). Probabilistic cytoarchitectonic maps localized the maximum of the cluster to the white matter below Brodmann area (BA) 3a of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) (Eickhoff et al., 2005). When lowering the threshold to an uncorrected P-value of 0.001, a bilateral trend to increases in regional FA became evident in the white matter below the postcentral (BA 3a) and precentral (BA 4p) cortex (Fig. 1B, Table 2). GTS patients showed additional trends towards a regional FA increase in the white matter below the left frontal medial gyrus (underlying the left supplementary motor area) and in the right ventral lateral thalamus (VL) and ventral posterolateral thalamus (VPL). No cluster of a decrease in regional FA in GTS patients relative to healthy controls was identified, even at an uncorrected P-value of 0.001.
|FA patients < controls
|MNI peak coordinates (mm)
|Cluster size (voxels)
|P-values (voxel-level)
|Anatomical allocationa
|FDR corrected
|FDR-corrected, P < 0.05, height threshold T = 4.44, cluster extent threshold ≥10 voxels
|Left PoCG (BA 3a)
|Uncorrected, P < 0.001, height threshold T = 3.41, cluster extent threshold ≥10 voxels
|Left PoCG (BA 3a)
|Right PoCG (BA 3a)
|Left PrCG (BA 4p)/SLF
|Right PrCG (BA 4p)
|Left SMA
|Right VL/VPL
↵aAnatomical allocation refers to the white matter below the named areas (except for the thalamus).
PoCG = postcentral gyrus; PrCG = precentral gyrus; SLF = superior longitudinal fascicle; SMA = supplementary motor area; VL = ventral lateral thalamus.
The third eigenvalue (λ3) represents diffusivity perpendicular to the main diffusion direction. A single cluster of decreased λ3 in GTS patients relative to healthy controls was identified below the mesial part of the left central sulcus and postcentral gyrus (Table 3). The location and extent of this cluster was largely congruent with the cluster showing a significant increase in FA. Lowering the threshold to an uncorrected P-value of 0.001 revealed a bilateral pattern of regional decreases in λ3. Resembling the pattern of increased FA in GTS patients, regional λ3 increases were located in the white matter below the pre- and postcentral gyrus bilaterally as well as in the right VL and VPL nuclei of the thalamus (Table 3). There were no areas of significant increases in λ3 in GTS patients and no significant differences between patients and controls for λ1, λ2 or MD.
|Third eigenvalue (λ3) patients < controls
|MNI peak coordinates (mm)
|Cluster size (voxels)
|P-values (voxel-level)
|Anatomical allocationa
|FDR corrected
|FDR-corrected, P < 0.05, height threshold T = 4.44, cluster extent threshold ≥10 voxels
|Left PoCG (BA 3a)
|Uncorrected, P < 0.001, height threshold T = 3.41, cluster extent threshold ≥10 voxels
|Left PoCG (BA 3a)
|Right PoCG (BA 3a)
|Right PrCG (BA 4p)
|Left SLF
|Right SLF
|Right VL/VPL
↵aAnatomical allocation refers to the white matter below the named areas (except for the thalamus).
PoCG = postcentral gyrus; PrCG = precentral gyrus; SLF = superior longitudinal fascicle; SMA = supplementary motor area; VL = ventral lateral thalamus; VPL = ventral posterolateral thalamus.
In the VOI defined by the area of increased FA in GTS patients the first eigenvalue was similar between groups, while patients showed lower MD, λ2 and λ3 than healthy controls (Fig. 2). The increased regional FA in GTS patients were therefore caused by a reduced diffusivity perpendicular to the main diffusion direction (i.e. the main fibre direction) in this area, resulting in a more 'cigar-shaped' diffusion tensor and increased anisotropy of diffusion.
Probabilistic tractography
Probabilistic tractography was used to assess which major pathways pass through the area of increased FA in GTS patients. Tractography identified ipsilateral pathways to adjacent primary somatosensory and motor cortices, connections to the ipsilateral VPL and further along the medial lemniscus stretching out to the superior cerebellar peduncle. Further pathways extended along the posterior part of the corpus callosum to the contralateral mesial sensorimotor cortex. At a group level, probabilistic maps were very similar for patients and controls (Fig. 3). Furthermore, group comparison applying permutation non-parametric t-tests revealed no voxels showing significant differences in the probabilistic connectivity pattern between patients and controls. Threedimensional visualization demonstrates the spatial distribution of ipsilateral and interhemispheric connections of the volume of interest assignable to defined somatosensory and sensory-motor networks (Fig. 4).
Correlation of FA with tic severity
Individual mean FA values in the area showing increased FA in GTS patients were negatively correlated with total MRVS score (Rs = −0.646, P = 0.017) and total raw number of counted tics/minute (Rs = −0.633, P = 0.020) (Fig. 5), while there was no significant correlation with the YGTSS score (Rs = −0.057, P = 0.840). After adjustment for multiple testing using the Holm-Bonferroni method, correlations with total MRVS score and tic count/minute remained statistically significant with an overall type-I error rate α = 0.05.
Using DTI based morphometry we provide evidence for a structural alteration of somatosensory pathways in GTS. Patients with GTS showed a regional FA increase in subcortical white matter underneath the primary somatosensory cortex (BA 3a). Since these structural changes correlated negatively with tic severity, they might reflect a structural correlate of long-term adaptive reorganization in central sensory processing leading to improved tic control.
We used probabilistic fibre tracking to determine the major connectivity pattern of the region underneath the left somatosensory cortex. This region was mainly connected to thalamocortical and transcallosal cortico-cortical pathways that are crucial to somatosensory processing, involving the VPL and the medial lemnisus (Jones and Powell, 1970; Behrens et al., 2003a; Blatow et al., 2007). The tracked transcallosal cortico-cortical projections are known from primate studies (Iwamura, 2000) and passed through a region in the posterior body of the corpus callosum where previous DTI studies have located transcallosal connections linking the primary somatosensory cortices of both hemispheres (Hofer and Frahm, 2006; Zarei et al., 2006). Additionally, the superior cerebellar peduncle was found to be connected to areas of altered FA in GTS patients. The superior cerebellar peduncle represents the major output of the cerebellum, including cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathways involved in sensory-motor integration (Hazrati and Parent, 1992). Altogether, these results indicate that the area of increased FA in GTS patients represents an important connectivity node of the somatosensory system. Furthermore, the results obtained with fibre tracking confirm that the observed between-group in regional FA differences do not follow from the comparison of different fibre structures in the two groups, which might result from spatial shift, atrophy or a misalignment of diffusion-weighted images in patients, but by microstructural changes assignable to the tracked pathways.
DTI based morphometry revealed trends towards altered white matter organization in key areas of the somatosensory system beyond the primary somatosensory cortex. Regional FA was increased in the white matter below the precentral gyrus bilaterally, below the left SMA, and in the VL and VPL nuclei of the right thalamus. All these areas can be assigned to networks involved in sensory-motor processing. While the VPL is known to relay information from the spinothalamic tract and the medial lemniscus to the somatosensory cortex (Jones and Powell, 1970; Behrens et al., 2003a), the VL is an integral part of striato-thalamo-cortical and cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuits, with output to the primary motor and premotor cortex (Jones et al., 1979; Behrens et al., 2003a).
The identification of white matter abnormalities of somatosensory pathways in GTS is in good agreement with the concept of an involvement of the somatosensory system in the pathophysiology of GTS. Positive sensory phenomena represent a core clinical feature of GTS (Bliss, 1980; Kurlan et al., 1989; Cohen and Leckman, 1992; Scahill et al., 1995; Kwak et al., 2003). Premonitory sensations occur in over 90% of adult patients (Leckman et al., 1993) and can appear as localized itches, tingling or burning, or as an increased sensitivity to tactile, auditory or visual stimuli (Cohen and Leckman, 1992; Leckman et al., 1993; Kwak et al., 2003). These urges might be the momentum driving the tic, and some authors have suggested that tics might represent a voluntary response to a premonitory sensory urge rather than a primary motor problem (Leckman et al., 1993; Kwak et al., 2003). Behavioural and neurophysiological studies provide further evidence of abnormal sensory-motor processing in GTS patients, showing abnormal grip force control (Nowak et al., 2005), disturbed postural control (Lemay et al., 2007), and reduced intracortical afferent inhibition in a transcranial magnetic stimulation study targeting the primary motor hand area (Orth et al., 2005). Evidence of primary involvement of the sensorimotor cortex in the pathophysiology of GTS comes also from a recent structural MRI study, which demonstrated thinning of large parts of the sensorimotor cortex in children with GTS (Sowell et al., 2008).
Voxel-wise whole brain analysis of the other diffusion parameters only revealed a significant decrease of the third eigenvalue close to the area of most pronounced FA changes. However, a more detailed analysis of diffusion parameters in the volume of interest defined by the area of increased FA revealed significantly decreased mean values of MD, second and third eigenvalue, thus enabling us to attribute regional FA changes to a decreased diffusivity perpendicular to the main fibre direction in this area. This decrease of diffusivity might reflect an increase of barriers to diffusion or a loss of structures with fast diffusion perpendicular to the main fibre direction axis (Beaulieu, 2002). Possible anatomical explanations include more 'orderly' oriented axonal membranes or myelin sheaths parallel to the main fibre direction and less marked branching or crossing of fibres with a decrease of connections diverging from or crossing the main pathway direction (Beaulieu, 2002; Tuch et al., 2005; Hoeft et al., 2007). Similar findings of increased FA in defined white matter pathways associated with a pathologic condition have recently been reported for Williams syndrome (Hoeft et al., 2007) and Turner syndrome (Holzapfel et al., 2006) and been attributed to reduced branching or fibre crossing (Hoeft et al., 2007) or enhanced pathway development following excess use (Holzapfel et al., 2006).
Due to its cross-sectional character the present study cannot answer the question, whether increased FA in somatosensory connections is a long-term consequence of a primary sensory dysfunction in GTS or reflects compensatory structural changes. However, the negative correlation between regional FA in the left subcortical somatosensory white matter and tic severity provides a possible clue. The finding that more pronounced structural abnormalities were associated with fewer tics suggests that the observed FA changes represent a structural correlate of an adaptive mechanism within the somatosensory system. Previous morphometric MRI studies in GTS patients identified regional changes of grey matter volume in basal ganglia and cortical areas. Interestingly, the direction of these structural changes depended on the age of the patients suggesting a dynamic process (Peterson et al., 2001, 2007). Previous studies already demonstrated certain relations between structural brain alterations and tic severity in children and adults with GTS, contributing to the understanding of the nature of structural changes and their role in the course of the disease. For instance, patients with fewer tics showed regional increases in grey matter in prefrontal and parieto-occipital cortex (Peterson et al., 2001) as well as in the amygdala and hippocampus (Peterson et al., 2007), which was interpreted as a correlate of adaptive structural plasticity in areas engaged in inhibitory control leading to partial tic control. On the other hand, thinning of sensorimotor cortices was correlated with tic symptoms in children with GTS, suggesting that these brain regions play an important role in the pathogenesis of tics and GTS (Sowell et al., 2008). In the latter study most prominent findings were located in ventral parts of the motor and sensory cortex, a finding which the authors related to the prominent involvement of body parts represented in these areas (i.e. facial, orolingual and laryngeal musculature) in tics. Additionally, there was a negative correlation between facial tics and cortical thickness in these ventral sensory-motor areas, and between worst ever YGTSS and cortical thickness in more dorsal parts of the pre- and postcentral gyrus (Sowell et al., 2008). These findings cannot directly be compared with the results of the present study because we studied white matter changes rather than alterations of cortical thickness in adult GTS patients. However, one might speculate that whereas cortical thinning in GTS children related to tics might indicate primary abnormalities of brain maturation, our findings of white matter changes associated with better tic control in adult patients might represent adaptive plastic changes occurring at later stages of the disease. Reduced FA in the midsagittal corpus callosum of boys with GTS was also hypothesized to reflect neural plasticity decreasing interhemispheric connectivity resulting in better tic control via increased prefrontal activity (Plessen et al., 2006).
Given these considerations, the relative increase in regional FA within sensory pathways in GTS patients found in the present study might result from reduced fibre branching reflecting a reduction of horizontally organized cortico-cortical connections of somatosensory pathways. Reduced sensory-motor connectivity might help to reduce the spillover from an overactive sensory system to motor cortical areas, thereby attenuating the urge to move and reducing tic severity. Against the background of deficient sensory-motor integration in GTS patients (Nowak et al., 2005; Orth et al., 2005; Lemay et al., 2007), one might speculate that better tic suppression due to reduced sensory-to-motor connectivity may come at a price, resulting in a reduced capacity of sensory–motor interaction.
The analysis of possible associations of structural changes within the somatosensory system with sensory phenomena such as premonitory urges in GTS would also be of major interest. Currently, this is hampered by the lack of a widely used and validated scale for the assessment and quantification of premonitory urges in adults, although there is some experience with standardized assessment of urges in youths (Woods et al., 2005). In our sample all patients reported sensory phenomena preceding at least a proportion of tics. However, we did not further subdivide or quantify premonitory urges. Future studies are needed to systematically address this issue.
Of note, in GTS patients a regional FA increase was found in the white matter below the mesial somatosensory cortex. From studies in primates it is known that transcallosal connections between the somatosensory cortices are particularly dense in mesial parts where the trunk is represented. In contrast, interhemispheric connections are sparse in more lateral parts, i.e. representation areas of arms and hands (Killackey et al., 1983; Jones and Powell, 1969). In keeping with these data probabilistic fibre tracking identified strong transcallosal pathways connecting the mesial subcentral white matter to homologue areas in the present study. Increased FA as a reflection of altered fibre branching and organization may thus be particularly prominent in areas with strong inter-hemispheric connections. This is in line with findings of previous studies demonstrating altered inhibitory interhemispheric connectivity in GTS (Plessen et al., 2004, 2006).
Previous morphometric MRI studies performed region-of-interest based analyses of T1- or T2-weighted images. These studies revealed inconsistent results regarding cerebral white matter in GTS. The only DTI study reported until now looked at the midsagittal corpus callosum and found a reduced FA along the entire corpus callosum in boys with GTS (Plessen et al., 2006). Increased size of the corpus callosum was observed in children and adolescents with GTS (Baumgardner et al., 1996; Moriarty et al., 1997), while the corpus callosum was found to be decreased in adults (Peterson et al., 1994) and unchanged in girls with GTS in a different study (Mostofsky et al., 1999). Frontal white matter was found to be both increased (Fredericksen et al., 2002) or decreased (Kates et al., 2002). We attribute these inconsistencies to the reduced sensitivity of conventional MRI morphometry to white matter changes, as well as to different methodological approaches used in the different studies. An additional cause for the discrepancies among previous morphometric MRI studies might be that heterogeneous groups of GTS patients were studied including children as well as adult patients, patients with significant co-morbidity, or patients taking neuroleptic medication (Peterson, 2001).
To overcome these limitations, we used DTI of the whole brain to specifically address morphometric changes of white matter changes in a group of currently unmedicated GTS patients without psychiatric co-morbidity. With this approach, we were not able to reproduce previous findings of regional structural white matter abnormalities in GTS patients. This might result from several reasons: most findings of white matter abnormalities in previous studies were reported in boys with GTS (Fredericksen et al., 2002; Kates et al., 2002; Plessen et al., 2006), while we studied adult GTS patients. Moreover, we studied a very selected patient population, characterized by the absence of psychiatric co-morbidity and the persistence of tics into adulthood, which is not the case in the majority of GTS patients (Robertson, 2000; Leckman et al., 2001). Therefore, the results of our study cannot be generalized to all GTS patients. This notwithstanding, we believe that the study of such a selected well-defined patient population represents a first step on the way to better delineate the neural basis of GTS. Another limitation of the present study is the small sample size. Results will have to be confirmed in independent and preferably larger samples of GTS patients. Finally, although none of the patients was taking neuroleptic medication at the time of MRI and most had stopped these drugs months to years before, we cannot fully exclude that previous neuroleptic medication influenced our results. Our study also differs from the above named studies in its methodological approach, using an observer-independent imaging analysis technique with voxel-based statistical analysis instead of user-dependent delineation of regional volumes. Finally, reduced sensitivity of DTI to changes in grey matter might explain why we did not find basal ganglia abnormalities, which were reported in several previous neuroimaging studies (Moriarty et al., 1997; Zimmerman et al., 2000; Peterson, 2001; Peterson et al., 2001; Bloch et al., 2005). While DTI is better suited to detect changes in white matter organization or integrity compared with T1- or T2-weighted MRI, it is less sensitive to structural changes in the cortical or subcortical grey matter. The thalamus is an exception to this because its tissue microstructure is similar to white matter resulting in higher FA values than in the cerebral cortex (Behrens et al., 2003a).
To summarize, using DTI we identified a specific increase of subcortical FA underneath the left primary somatosensory cortex which inversely correlated with tic severity in uncomplicated adult GTS patients. These structural alterations probably represent an adaptive response of the sensory–motor system to primary pathologic neural input or processing in GTS allowing for partial compensation of abnormal behaviour. Longitudinal DTI studies in affected children and adolescents are needed to better understand the dynamics of adaptive changes of brain structure in GTS.
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (MU1692/2-1 to A.M., M.O., H.R.S. and A.S.); University of Hamburg (grant number F168-1 to G.T.).
- Abbreviations:
- Abbreviations:
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- Brodmann area
- corpus callosum
- corticospinal fluid
- diagnostic confidence index
- diffusion tensor imaging
- Text Revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition
- echo planar imaging
- fractional anisotropy
- False Discovery Rate
- fluid attenuation inversion recovery
- Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain
- FMRIBs Linear Image Registration Tool
- FMRIB Software Library
- full width at half maximum
- Gilles de la Tourette syndrome
- λ1
- first eigenvalue
- λ2
- second eigenvalue
- λ3
- third eigenvalue
- Montreal Neurological Institute
- magnetic resonance imaging
- mean diffusivity
- Modified Rush Video Scale
- obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Statistical Parametric Mapping
- echo time
- inversion time
- repetition time
- voxel-based morphometry
- ventral lateral thalamus
- volume of interest
- ventral posterolateral thalamus
- Yale Global Tic Severity Scale
- © The Author (2009). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: email@example.com


text:
The Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks will have an unexpected night off thanks to the work of Mother Nature.
UPDATED on Thursday, Jan. 30, at 2:55 p.m. ET
We now have an official date for the rescheduled Pistons-Hawks game cancelled on Wednesday courtesy of Yahoo! Sports' Marc J. Spears:
The Detroit @ Atlanta game, postponed due to severe weather on January 29, has been rescheduled to April 8.— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) January 30, 2014
Looking ahead, this will now set up both teams for an additional back-to-back. The Hawks will host the Boston Celtics on April 9, while the Detroit Pistons will head out for a road match with the Cleveland Cavaliers the same night.
There's always a down side to getting a snow day off of work. Eventually, it has to be made up.
--End of update--
With a winter storm wreaking havoc on Atlanta, Bleacher Report's Howard Beck reports that the league has postponed the Pistons-Hawks game scheduled for Wednesday night:
NBA has postponed tonight's Pistons-Hawks game in Atlanta due to severe weather conditions. Game will be rescheduled.— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) January 29, 2014
The news has been confirmed by NBA.com:
Tonight's Detroit at Atlanta game has been postponed due to severe weather in Atlanta. The game will be rescheduled at a later date.— NBA.com (@NBAcom) January 29, 2014
Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution had previously reported that the inclement weather had put the game in jeopardy. The Pistons could not travel to Atlanta following their 103-87 home win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, and the Hawks subsequently cancelled their Wednesday morning shootaround.
Winter Storm Leon only dropped a few inches on the ground, but it was more than enough to disrupt the Southern city. Weather.com's Sean Breslin described a chaotic scene in the metro area, reporting on Wednesday morning that "many major roads are still experiencing gridlock."
There is no word yet on when the game will be rescheduled. Both teams have a scheduled off-day on Thursday, but as Vivlamore noted, moving the contest back one night would give the Hawks three games in three nights.
Keith Langlois of Pistons.com said the teams might have another chance to get together at the end of February:
One possibility for a makeup: Friday, Feb. 28. Both teams play on Wednesday. Pistons off til Saturday at HOU, Hawks off til Sunday.— Keith Langlois (@Keith_Langlois) January 29, 2014
This is just another reminder that even meticulously plotted and carefully arranged NBA schedules are subject to change. Sometimes life happens, and the Association has to adapt.
This isn't the first time the league has lost a scheduled game this season. The Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs were supposed to play in Mexico City on Dec. 4, but that game was postponed (and later moved to Minnesota on April 8) after a generator malfunctioned and filled the arena with smoke.
Who could plan for a malfunctioning generator? How do you anticipate snowfall in the Southeast?
The NBA clearly monitored the situation and felt everyone—the teams, the fans, the workers—would be better off by moving the game. If the travel conditions aren't safe, there's no sense in putting people on the road.
Leave it to the NFL to play its frigid Ice Bowls. Battling the elements just isn't the NBA's style.


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Of course, the big news of the day is that it's been SNOWING in Portland!
I took some photos that I will download them later tonight! Of course, hopefully you've seen the white flakes with your very own eyes....
Here's the weekly list of movies showing at the Laurelhurst Theater today through next Thursday, March 27.
***Movies are $3.00. No minors allowed after 3:00 p.m.! Pizza, beer, and wine available! (Popcorn and candy too!)***
Click on each movie title to be directed to a review from Rotten Tomatoes!
Special Movies! Classics from United Artists (Now through May 22nd!)
This Week's Classic:
Manchurian Candidate (1962) (The original, not the one with Denzel Washington (clearly, if you look at the date...))
Nightly 6:45
Sat, Sun 12:45 & 6:45
For this weekend and next week's viewing pleasure...
No Country For Old Men (R)
Fri, Sat, Sun 4:15 & 9:45
Mon-Thurs 9:45
Into The Wild (R)
Fri, Sat, Sun 3:50 & 9:20
Mon - Thurs 9:20
There Will Be Blood (R)
Nightly 8:50
Sat, Sun 12:30 & 8:50
The Savages (R)
Fri, Sat, Sun 4:00 & 6:30
Mon-Thurs 6:30
Atonement (R)
Nightly 7:15
Sat, Sun 1:00 & 7:15
The Orphanage (subtitled in Spanish) (R)
Fri, Sat, Sun 4:30 & 10:00
Mon-Thurs 10:00
Kite Runner (PG13)
Nightly 7:00
Sat, Sun 1:10 & 7:00


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If you are a female resident of Morristown, Madison, Chatham or Florham Park and are enrolled in an accredited educational program, you may be eligible for a grant from the Madison Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW.) We are now accepting applications for our Mature Women's Grant. We are proud of our more than eighty years heritage of supporting women who wish to further their education. Each year the Branch awards several scholarships to local women. We offer this opportunity to women 25 years of age and older, who are enrolled in an educational program pursuing certificate, undergraduate or graduate degrees, and who reside in Chatham, Chatham Township, Florham Park, Madison or Morristown to apply for this grant. Eligibility and submission requirements, including deadline for application are fully described on the application itself.
To learn more about the grant program and to download an application, visit our website at https://gov.rosenet.org/nonprofits/aauw-madison or send email questions to firstname.lastname@example.com. Applications are available from the financial aid offices at Drew and Fairleigh Dickinson Universities, as well as at the College of St. Elizabeth in Convent Station and County College of Morris. The applications are also available at the reference desks of the libraries in Chatham, Florham Park, Madison and Morristown.
Completed applications must be received by the Grant Committee on or before March 30, 2012. Decisions of the Grant Committee will be communicated to each applicant.
The Mission of AAUW is to advance equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. Membership is open to all graduates who hold an Associate Degree or higher. Additional membership information, as well as a membership application can be obtained on our website at https://gov.rosenet.org/nonprofits/aauw-madison


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OCC collecting in Arlington, Marysville
Arlington and Marysville will again join a number of Snohomish County sites in hosting drop-off centers for the gift-filled shoeboxes of "Operation Christmas Child" from Nov. 18-25.
The Atonement Free Lutheran Church, located at 6905 172nd St. NE in Arlington, will open to serve as a collection site for the Christmas gift shoeboxes from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 18, through Saturday, Nov. 23, as well as from noon to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 25.
The Amen! Christian Bookstore, located at 318 State Ave. in Marysville, will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 18-23, from noon to 3 p.m. on Nov. 24, and from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 25.
"Last year, we collected 8,470 shoeboxes in Snohomish County," said Dennis Hoppe, who helps coordinate the annual event for the region. "Marysville and Arlington collected more than 1,500 of those shoeboxes. This year, we're hoping for 10,000 or more shoeboxes from the county."
Hoppe originally got involved in Operation Christmas Child to connect with needy children around the world, not only through the toys, school supplies and hygiene items that each shoebox is packed with, but also through the notes of encouragement that are included and addressed to the children themselves.
"The pure joy you see on the faces of the children, as they open their shoeboxes, is something that's hard to put into words," Hoppe said. "It's a very intense feeling of happiness. I knew I wanted to be part of it."
Hoppe explained that Operation Christmas Child runs on donations and volunteer labor, and while he acknowledged that the logistics can be challenging, he nonetheless noted the numbers of volunteers who make an extra effort to get involved each year.
"When you get to watch families come into collection centers, to drop off the shoeboxes that they filled together, and you listen to children talk about how much fun they had getting to shop for the shoeboxes and help fill them, it can bring tears to your eyes," Hoppe said. "Knowing how happy these shoeboxes are going to make some children is beyond being touched or moved by the experience. Some of these children have never received a gift in their lives. One young girl, who received a shoebox when she was little, told us it was the first time she'd had her own toothbrush, that she didn't have to share with the other kids in her orphanage."
Though these gift shoeboxes often travel thousands of miles, Operation Christmas Child offers a way for participants to follow their boxes, by using the donation forms found at http://samaritanspurse.org. Donors will receive emails telling them the countries where their shoeboxes are delivered.
For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call 253-572-1155 or log onto http://samaritanspurse.org.
Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 100 million shoebox gifts to suffering children in more than 100 countries since 1993. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Operation Christmas Child hopes to collect another 9.8 million gift-filled shoeboxes in 2013. Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan's Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham.
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text:
FLEMINGTON — Miguel A. Jimenez, 48, of Phillipsburg was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of drugs on July 12 at 1:35 a.m.
Sgt. William Soriano said the license plates were not illuminated on his Toyota Rav4 SUV and Jimenez failed to signal a turn, so he pulled him over on Church Street.
Jimenez appeared to be hurriedly concealing something when he was pulled over and he was under the influence of a stimulant, in Soriano's opinion, so he searched the SUV even though the driver would not give him permission.
Soriano found an open plastic bag on the passenger seat containing a white powder and straws containing powder residue, police said.
Soriano suspected the powder was cocaine. Jimenez, who allegedly told police he worked for the Amtrak Police Department in Boston, was also charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance and drug paraphernalia and was issued summonses for alleged possession of drugs in a motor vehicle, not having working license-plate lights, refusing a breath test, failure to signal a turn, and reckless driving. He was lodged in the county jail.
More Hunterdon County news: NJ.com/hunterdon • Facebook • Twitter


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HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – While some people start their work day
drinking coffee or checking emails, Suzy Naumann stands over a hot stove
stirring a simple syrup of sugar and water before she begins peeling and chopping fresh fruit in the kitchen.
The former SAIC technical writer and proposal coordinator doesn't have a 9 a.m.-5 p.m. desk job anymore. After she perfects her mixture – which ranges from mango and habanero to pear and Riesling wine, she pours the sweet, spicy or tangy liquid into a popsicle mold and sticks it in a freezer.
With help from friends and family, Naumann produces several small batches of 20-40 popsicles each day from the kitchen of her Huntsville home. By the end of the week, several hundred pops are packaged and ready to distribute to customers of all ages for $3 each.
Naumann, who opened a one-of-a-kind gourmet popsicle business called Pop Culture with best friend Liz Laney two summers ago, sells the cold treats on Thursday evenings at Greene Street Market on 208 Eustis Ave., and Saturdays at Bailey Cove Farmers Market on 12200 Bailey Cove Road in Huntsville.
Laney, a former librarian for a law firm, and Naumann never imagined they would be selling homemade popsicles in their earlier years when they working full-time jobs and raising children. Inspired by Nashville gourmet popsicle shop Las Paletas, the Huntsville residents decided to give the concept a try.
"When Liz and I were asked to do a food demonstration at Greene Street in June of 2011, we brought a cooler of raspberry hibiscus, key lime pie and peach basil pops to give out to the shoppers at the market and the rest was history," she said. "The next week, we were back with a tent, a freezer and small batches of interesting flavors like watermelon rosemary, orange Campari and mango habanero."
During the first few weeks of operation, Pop Culture gained momentum, and
so did its list of unique flavors. Naumann and
Laney began experimenting with
different flavors to appeal to a wide range of taste buds. They even began selling a few poptails, or frozen drinks, for events outside the farmers markets.
The pear Riesling that Naumann sells at the Greene Street Market is wine flavored, but has no alcohol content. The wine is boiled down during the simple syrup process and the alcohol is evaporated.
"Our most popular pops include blackberry, strawberry cheesecake, pear with Riesling wine and coco for coconut, but if you come to see us at the market, the variety will change every week based on what's in season," Naumann said. "All the pops are made fresh each week."
Pop Culture isn't the only popsicle business in Alabama. The concept hit the Birmingham area last year when entrepreneur Jim Watkins, also inspired by Las Paletas in Nashville, opened Steel City Pops near the Little Donkey restaurant on Central Avenue in Homewood. Since launching, Steel City Pops has opened two additional locations in central Alabama.
Popsicle businesses are popping up in major cities across the U.S., including Atlanta, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and New York City. Right now, Pop Culture is only selling pops at open-air markets and events, but Naumann said she's "toying" with the idea of expansion.
"It's a huge step," she said. "Huntsville's becoming more of a foot traffic town. We're so spread out, and the borders of Huntsville and Madison County are very extensive."
When a customer who was allergic to pectin, an ingredient used to manufacture jellies and jams, asked about the ingredients in one of her popsicles, Naumann gave the woman a very simple answer.
"Strawberries, water, sugar and a squeeze of lemon," she said. "... (Las Paletas') concept of ice pops made from the freshest ingredients with no preservatives was very appealing to us."
The gourmet popsicle shop's Facebook page is adorned with pictures of homemade ice pops and comments from loyal customers. Pennsylvania resident Patricia Rees Roblin tasted the local fare while she was visiting Huntsville recently.
"It is 97 degrees up here in Pennsylvania today...and my thoughts were of your fabulous popsicles," Roblin wrote on Pop Culture's social media page. "I wish Huntsville was a little closer to home! I showed your photos to my co-workers and they were amazed."
Naumann said it's been a positive experience being able to make a living doing "something that directly makes people happy."
"What I was doing before was corporate, and not that that's bad, but it has been nice to move into an arena where I am really seeing people and smiling at the person as I hand them their popsicle."
Lane Tutt and her husband, Drew, also operate a booth called Tutt and Tutt's Relish Our Relish at Greene Street Market in Huntsville. Lane, whose favorite Pop Culture flavor is peach basil, said the cold treats sell out every week.
"I never thought of having something like peach basil," she said. "I can't wait until the peaches come out again so I can have one. She takes fruits you would never think of and mixes them together."
On Pop Culture's Facebook page, the owners wrote, "Once you try our pops you'll never say 'I want a red one' again!" Instead, on a hot day you'll crave mouthwatering flavor combinations like blueberry, cantaloupe, watermelon and rosemary, figs with port wine, cucumber chile and peaches and cream.
"Let's face it – summer in the south is hot, and if you're going to be outside you've got to have something to help you cool off," Naumann said. "A Pop Culture ice pop is just about the most refreshing thing you can find. Whether you like dairy, fruity or spicy pops, we have something delicious for you."
Send Lucy Berry an email at email@example.com.


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Sunday: Tigers vs. Angels
Miguel Cabrera gets a day at DH, with Victor Martinez at first base. Don Kelly gets another start at third. So far as I know, Wilson Betemit is not injured. I do know he's 1-for-8 against Jered Weaver.
- Austin Jackson, CF
- Brennan Boesch, LF
- Magglio Ordonez, RF
- Miguel Cabrera, DH
- Victor Martinez, 1B
- Jhonny Peralta, SS
- Carlos Guillen, 2B
- Alex Avila, C
- Don Kelly, 3B
P: Justin Verlander
- Maicer Izturis, 2B
- Torii Hunter, RF
- Bobby Abreu, DH
- Vernon Wells, LF
- Alberto Callaspo, 3B
- Erick Aybar, SS
- Mark Trumbo, 1B
- Peter Bourjos, CF
- Jeff Mathis, C
P: Jered Weaver
83 Comments
Cleveland got Jiménez . They sent minor leaguers including a last year pick. They did not include MLB players like was asked to the Tigers. Is that bad the Tigers farm?
It seemed to me like it was some gamesmanship from the Rockies…. Playing the, you either give us this or well send him to your competition. I think they tried that game with the Red Sox and Yankees though they weren't biting. But yea, I think it's pretty known that the Indians have higher regarded prospects than the Tigers. They recently have been sellers and we've been buyers the last 5+ years.
Well hopefully Verlander returns to his old self today. Let's be realistic he hasn't been as god his last 3 outings. Weaver on the otherhand has been consistent all year, impossible to score runs on.
One thing I heard on the pregame show is that Fister and Pauly aren't expected to report until Tuesday?? This I don't understand, (atleast Pauley, Fister isn't needed). But Pauley we need him here. I am sorry, if Beltron and Hunter Pence can report for the next days game, so can this guy. Am I wrong??
Today is going to be a tough road. To me advantage Angels
DD said that they dont want him to fly in a hurry from Washington to Detroit and land there with "red eyes". The paperwork must be today at commisioner´s office but him can be there tomorrow. Monday is day off.
Wilson Betemit is not injured. I do know he's 1-for-8 against Jered Weaver.
Buyer´s remorse?
Things always look a bit bleak when we play poorly and lose. They look vry bleak if both of those things happen when Justin pitches.
Let's hope the hitters start hitting the ball better. Starting today. No more team-wide slumps. Leyland can help this by tweaking the lineup just a little.. If he insists on Cab batting cleanup then get Boesch batting 3rd. Ordonez is getting the sweet pitches instead of Boesch and Boesch can do som uch more in terms of converting those into extra base hits..
Also if you insit on plyaaing Magglio anytime after th5th inning if he gets on is time to consider pinch running.. Magglio can't run. Simple as that. No speed bad instincts and afraid to get hurt.
I hope to heaven that the hitters treat Fister to some support on Wednesday when he pitches. Let's get this guy stoked to be here right away.
This team needs to put a winning streak together. Tired of seeing series after series being lost or at best tied.
The Indians are serious about 2011. We need our hitters to start doing the same, and our manager.
Best thing about yesterday is that Coke won't be able to throw today.
Coke lovers keep i mind this guy has a WHIP of 1.5 in his 2 years here. That's not what you need out of an important role pitcher.
Austin Jackson has some of the most absurd, pathetic and pointless at bats as you will ever see. I don't understand how he can watch fatballs down the middle over and over.
A couple of keys for us today are to keep Aybar and Izturiz under control. Aybar plays very well against us.
I sure hope our hitters look better the 2nd time through the lineup.
At least Justin will be able to control the running game.
N.B. to hitters. If it's close—swing. This ump is gonna bias himself to the masters on the mound today.
Great a by Kelly, aother miserable ab by Austin? Geez
Still they are working a lot. Good for Kelly
Nice Maggio!
Homeruns. Accept no substitute.
Well, i'm certainly surprised but Magglio did bput a really nice swing on that hanger. Made him pay and that is a sign of a good hitter. I like it a lot when Magglio doesn't have to run.
A natural hitter
Jackson's approach to his overall game concerns me. I think this guy is gonna get really down on himself.
19 pickoffs, most by any MLB since 2007. Why we only remember when he puts the ball in the dogout?
The Tigers need to pad this lead to take the starch out and make this game a little more difficult for the Angels to get back in it.
Austin is the Tigers' Lost and found department. Today he is lost.
Imagine Bourne (.303 BA, 39 SBs) leading off for the Tigers the rest of the season. The Braves just got him for Jordan Schafer and three mid-level minor league prospects. We couldve given Houston Jackson and a couple mid-level prospects. I can't stand A-Jacks as a leadoff hitter. He's getting worse, not better.
I love Austin, but he just looks lost at the plate to me.
Let's you guys. Why can't you support your pitcher when he throws like this?
Jv is looking sharp today
Adams going to Texas not to Lions, er .,Tigers
Home for lunch. Oh, man. I hate going back to work. Go Tigers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shame on these guys. JV walks a guy in the 7th inning and the tying run comes to the plate?
What's wrong with this picture?
He is Jared Weaver, 1.83 era 1.00 whip not Jeff Weaver. So a close game was due
Weaver is Public Enemy #1 now in Motown.
Pretty classless and pretty stupid.
I like Avila's reaction. Smart–he knows he has to keep his head in this game for Justin.
JV has to NOT respond.And I think he realizes that more than anybody.
Was ejected for throwing to the head?
Well carlos was definately posed and I well can't say I am a fan of that. However I think their was something going on earlier, not sure though. But Mario is right you don't throw at or near anybodys head.
BTW—I didn't much like Guillen's stunt either.
Although that pose is definately out of character for Carlos, but a Weaver is a Weaver.
What's the deal with this warm up? I thought this was treated differently than replacing a pitcher due to injury. That's a lot of time for JV to have sit.
On tuesday? Carrasco did the same after Melky Cabrera hit a homer and watched it. Acta said that Carrasco was wrong. And Carrasco said the ball sliped from his hand and to watch a hr was part of the game. So his own manager said the pitcher was wrong
Careful with Aybar.
Well Justin had enough time to throw him out, but instead throws it away. Although is it me or should Martinez have been ableto field it and keep it o a single? Looking for input.
Oh geez. Aybar gets his elbow up and and in on JV and that's not interference?
Justin is losing it too bad. Ya still great but just doesn't feel as good does it?
Really pissed right now
Twice in a week
A run scored without a hit
Verlander's no-hitter is gone because of very questionable non-calls by the home plate ump.
I still say that was interference and Leyland should have been out of the dugout.
The main thing here is to regroup and just win this game.
Jv was his own worst enemy that inning, but hat being said looks like in that replay he was out at home. Ump missed one I think?
I just figured it was going to be Izturiz or Aybar
I tought Abreu, he made him work too much in each at bat
Still the Tigers are winning. It is a one hit game. And Verlander is winning over his main rival for Cy Young in the Clash of The Titans
JV got rattled and that changed the game. Credit to Angels for getting under his skin. Though they had some huge breaks that inning.
I'm pissed at Leyland (Iguess that's nothing new) for not arguing the interference.
Valverde will likely walk Abreau to start things off.
He damn well better pay attention to the base-runners.
This is one of the most frustrating teams in baseball. I say that now before the 9th.
I thought it would be interference against justin for being in the baseline, not the other way around. Do I have the rule wrong or am I remembering it incorrectly?
Nervous about Papa Grande he hasn't been in a game for quite a while, could be rusty. Let's go papa
The third pitch looked like a strike
I think for the most part the home plate ump has been good until the last 2 innings. I think Borjouis was out at home, and I think Abreu was struck out!
I think we are in trouble guys, can pappa work some.magic?
Just as I figured. Boy if they lose this game it will be so demoralizing at such an important juncture of the season.
If he dance what will happens?
One more.
Well we mucked our way through that. Damn shame about the no-no but JV will be the 1st to admit he is responsible for losing it.
The bunt attempt by Aybar is frowned upon but realistically it is a good move in a 3 run game if you are still in contention. I didn't like it it but it was probbly done as a way to win rather than spoil the no-no.
Everyone knows these guys get on base and all hell can break loose.
Still is against the unwritten rules. Anyother pitcher would go for his head after bunting in a no hit attempt
That actually was a little quieter than Valverde's usual celebration.. It was a mature reaction . He did not want to see Weaver going Marichal
I didn't have a problem with the bunt. Realistically it is a close game, and it is part of his game, a team needs to do whatever they need to do to win.
Good job by jv.
The old guys got it done today!!
Bedard just acquired by Red Sox. Seems to me the Mariners squeezed a lot more from us than they did from Boston.
Makes sense, we were more desperate. The Yankees were quiet, Cleveland was not. Red Sox waited to last minute and said take it or leave it.
Royals beat Indians.
I don't know what Boston gave up, but. Wouldn't wanr Bedard, he has been hurt a lot. I do like Fister better.
I'm happy enough with Fister but not entirely happy with how much we gave up. Won't complain because we got a couple of pieces we really needed.
Looking back after some more facts have come forth, here's how I saw it.
Ordonez stays at home to see if his homer is fair or foul. No problem, I saw Konerko do the same last week. He tosses his bat aside which Weaver construes as a "bat flip." Jerrod, one of the infamous Weaver brothers (fine upstanding lads, yeah right), then jaws with Cabrera. Miggy brings word to the dugout. Guillen goes up later and takes three mighty cuts, clearly trying to homer, and slams his bat and helmet down after striking out. Next time around, Carlos actually succeeds in going deep (pretty good feat) and takes it to Weaver big time, demonstrating that THIS is how you show up a pitcher. Jerrod, being one of the infamous Weaver brothers, throws at Alex despite the warning. Bottom line? If it's that easy to get under Weaver's skin, everyone should do it.
I was okay with the Aybar bunt. If it's 8-0, it's dead wrong, but at 3-0 it's a good play.
Almost lost in all this is that Justin nearly pitched another no-hitter!
That was some good entertainment, folks.
That's how I saw it as well
I forgot the part about Weaver questioning Magglio's maternal relationship. Fine young man, that Jerrod.
If that win doesn't galvanise the team, nothing will. Man, does Justin excel in the big games now or what?
My sister years ago had her leg broken trying to block home plate in an inter school girls softball game. She just shook her head over the Maggs incident and wished in her day she had been up against the Tigs.
Hopefully this link will work from the Angels website about Weaver's ejection. Some things I hadn't heard yet. For example Aybar saying Verlander threatened to hit him next time he faces him.
Best game of the year so far!
We were fortunate to win this one. Again we really did not hit well, though much of that can be attributed to Weaver. Hawever, this team is prone to hitting slumberst that come from nowhere and last always longer than one should reasonably expect.
Guillen's HR was very big, obviously, but a nice piece of hitting at the time, too.
Rangers were smart. They didn't stop at Uehara they went ahead and got one of the best in the biz with Adams. He's the guy I was hoping for.
They are gonna be tough and Uehara has pitched well against us.
This was the best game I have seen in a long time.
It is easy to comment during the game but why don't you all just watch it? Do you all know what Weaver was bragging about? Good for Carlos! An error by JV, who prides himself as a great fielder, a botched pickle play, but guess what, the Tigers won. Dan, was that polite baseball? I hope the Angels and the Tigers meet in the playoffs. I saw some emotion today and I am happy.
Missed the game but caught some replays and yes, I think I missed a lot of what was happening. I don't see Carlos pulling that stunt unless it is for a good reason, not sure I have ever seen him behave like that.. I am too biased about him and hate those antics but from what I can tell he was defending a teammate and I am ok with that. Entertaining to say the least.
I am going to Tuesday's game – very excited my first of the year and going with the entire family – 20 of us in total. My daughter just got a Boesch shirt, she is so excited.
Just finished watching the game and interviews. Best game I've seen in a long time. Enjoyed every minute of it. I couldn't believe when they showed Carlos after hitting his HR, but after reading the history, it's understandable. Absolutely loved it. Go Tigers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What Weaver is really upset about:
Being 2nd best!
awesome comment dan, that sums it up. weaver was a whiny little crybaby this afternoon. i rarely see a tigers game on tv, but this was spectacular.


text:
|Event Date/Time
Feb 28, 2013 to Mar 2, 2013
A senior thesis production by Emily Hunt '13, "The Kindness of Strangers" is a solo performance exploring the psychological journey of an actress struggling to find herself in the infamous character of Blanche Dubois ("A Streetcar Named Desire"). Konstantin Stanislavski's and Bertolt Brecht's philosophies and methodologies of theater, in particular, will be closely examined in relation to cognitive dissonance--how does one rationalize acting as a different person, a universal form of deception in the normal world, as "moral" on the stage? These performances are in partial fulfillment of Ms. Hunt's Honors Thesis in Theater.
|FREE! Tickets required. Contact the Wesleyan Box Office
Patricelli '92 Theater
|Additional Information
We make every effort to ensure the accuracy of this information. However, you should always call ahead to confirm dates, times, location, and other information.


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NEW YORK (MainStreet) Sure, you know that having bad credit can mean paying more for a car loan or a mortgage. You know that it means you can pay more to use your credit cards. But did you know that people with bad credit also pay more for their car insurance and sometimes even for rent? There are more costs of having bad credit than you might know.
Increasingly, employers are using credit reports to help make decisions of hiring and firing. Randy Padawer, a consumer advocate with Lexington law states that more than half of all major companies are using background checks as part of a pre-employment screening. "I think it's unfair," he says, but quickly adds "it's something that consumers must remember when they're doing something as mundane as paying a credit card bill."
Gail Cunningham, vice president of membership and public relations for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling points out the reason why credit reports are increasingly used in hiring decisions. "Potential employers might view your credit report as an overall reflection of your responsibility."What's the cost? Tim Lucas, vice president of mortgage at MyMortgageInsider.com, breaks it down. "Say that you have to take a job that pays $10,000 a year less because you have bad credit," he says. "That's $100,000 over ten years." While the math is obvious, what might not be is that, in the case of employment, you might be losing more than you would because of high interest rates on a mortgage.
"Car insurance is a big one," says Lucas, adding that drivers sometimes pay double what they would pay if they had better credit scores. Why are car insurance companies pulling your credit report to see what you should pay? "Car insurance companies assume that if you're not responsible with your finances that you might not be a responsible driver," Lucas says.


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Seed-Study Trail
By Tom Fitzgerald
That's pretty much how the Seed-Study Trail got its name. For lack of a better name to give it, we named it after a forest research project conducted in the same area.
About two years before the Susquehannock Trail system was planned, when I was a young forester assigned to the Susquehannock State Forest District, the U. S. Forest Service's Forestry Sciences Laboratory in Warren, PA, contacted the district. The researchers informed District Forester Robert P. Lewis that the Forest Sciences Lab was planning a multiple-year evaluation of the seeding habits of white ash trees, and wanted to know if the Susquehannock State Forest had any stands of white ash that the research team could include in the project.
Forest districts rarely if ever refuse a request like that. District staff immediately started looking around the forest and Forester "Duke" Hobaugh soon found a stand of mixed Allegheny hardwoods with a heavy component of white ash. It was in Summit Township, Potter County, on the south side of the Rock Ridge Road approximately opposite the upper end of the Fanton Hollow Trail. The Forestry Sciences Lab was notified. The research team came over for a look and pronounced the stand suitable for their project. Several of the white ash trees were subsequently banded and numbered, and for the next few years the frequency and abundance of the white ash seed crops were examined and recorded. During the project and for several years thereafter, the location was referred to by the district staff as "the seed-study area."
When the Susquehannock Trail System began to take shape on the map, the decision was made to include the Fanton Hollow and Wild Boy trails in the loop. (The STS was later moved off all but the upper end of the Fanton Hollow Trail after the sunbathing incident at Loeda Lodge. But that's another story.) One of the objectives of the trail planners was to minimize road hiking as much as possible. The seed-study area was directly between the upper end of the Fanton Hollow Trail at its intersection with the Rock Ridge Road and the upper end of the Wild Boy Trail at its intersection with the Wild Boy Road.
The only two trails south of the Rock Ridge Road and east of the Wild Boy Road in that area were the Harts Trail that was too far to the east to even be a part of the STS, and a short unnamed north-and-south trail shown on the topo map that joined the Wild Boy Road near Bench Mark 2168. That trail - if it even existed on the ground - was oriented wrong and too far to the west anyway to be useful. The club decided that a new connector trail needed to be built through the area, and the forest district approved the request. I laid out most of it myself. From the Rock Ridge Road, it passes through the stand with the once-numbered white ash trees, and curves for about three-quarters of a mile in a west-southwesterly direction to meet the Wild Boy Road opposite its intersection with the Wild Boy Trail. That area has no distinctive physical feature, nor any event of known historical significance. So "for lack of a better name to call it...."
To my knowledge, no footpath was ever constructed. The Seed-Study Trail is simply a route through the woods marked by orange paint blazes and cleared brush. It would be great if an actual footpath could someday be built to Civilian Conservation Corps standards. The construction job would be a good Boy Scout Eagle project.
In the meantime when you hike through that area, look for the white ash trees and enjoy them while they remain alive.
The method by which the insects kill the ash trees is girdling by the larvae as they eat their way through the cambium layer. When the larvae turn into adult beetles, they exit the tree through D-shaped holes in the bark. No other bark beetle or wood-boring insect known makes D-shaped exit holes.
In the years to come, ash trees may become as rare as American chestnut trees are today. (Note: Mountain-ash is not a true ash, and is unaffected by this insect.)


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When we were installing heating and cooling at the Reuse Everything eXperiment, there needed to be some give and take between aesthetics and practicality.
Installation of the heating and cooling resulted in two bump-outs in the office.
Not attractive in the eyes of Shannon, but heat is an important practicality.
So, I looked for a solution. By building floor to ceiling bookshelves, I was able to eliminate the ductwork distraction. We used molding from the old house and leftover cabinet trim for the front portion of the shelves.
Just plain old 1-by-12 framing materials were used for the shelves and dividers.
Cha-ching! I didn't have to go out and buy new shelves.
Lastly, I wanted to spice things up a bit, so we splashed a bold orange on the back wall.
Now I get heat, storage and beauty all at the same time.
-- Shannon Quimby is building a new house on Southeast Rex Street by using the pieces of an old house rather than putting a scrap of it into the landfill. She writes about the project -- called the Reuse Everything eXperiment -- each Tuesday and Thursday.


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Aaron Neville and his band got off to a slow start Sunday (May 4) at the New Orleans Jazz Fest, but the veteran headliner more than compensated with fan favorites and goosebump-inducing moments.
The show, which closed out the Blues Tent, kicked off 15 minutes late with music by the backup band, featuring saxophonist Charles Neville.
Aaron Neville didn't appear onstage until nearly 5:50 p.m. The crowd jumped to its feet as he entered singing Curtis Mayfield's "It's All Right." The much-loved vocalist continued with a few more tunes that highlighted his signature falsetto but didn't do much to show his range.
Neville's brother, Charles, provided solid sax solos, but a few songs in, the falsetto-heavy set seemed a little dry, the crowd a bit restless.
The set soon found its groove, however, with "Summertime," which included impressive vocal flourishes and an ultra-funky interlude by the band.
Neville kept the groove going with his hit cover of The Main Ingredient's "Everybody Plays the Fool" and John Hiatt's "It Feels Like Rain," which ended with the tent erupting into cheers.
A Family Affair
The Neville Brothers no longer close the New Orleans Jazz Fest on its second Sunday. That long-running tradition was broken in 2013, when Aaron Neville, with a fresh solo album ("My True Story," an exploration of vintage doo-wop and R&B co-produced by Don Was and Keith Richards) elected to play his own set, closing out what's now the Samsung Galaxy Stage. His three brothers, Cyril, Charles and Art, performed separately, billed as the Nevilles, on the Fest's first weekend that year.
The show only got stronger, livelier and funkier.
A jaunty cover of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On?" and a funky version of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine," with slap bass, delighted the crowd.
The set featured mostly covers, but Aaron Neville made them his own with distinctive vocals and frequent touches of funk.
He serenaded the audience with a smooth version of Sam Cooke's "Change Is Gonna Come" and then brought the mood back up with a medley of Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" and "Stir It Up."
And, of course, more Nevilles turned up to join the show.
Jason Neville entered with no fanfare, adding backing vocals from an unassuming spot toward the back of the stage.
"He needs to tell him not to be so shy," a woman standing next to me noted.
If the younger Neville was feeling shy, it didn't last long. He came out of his shell for the next song, adding strong vocals to the tune "Hercules" before leaving the stage.
Aaron's son, Jason Neville, hopped onstage for a cover of The Doobie Brothers' "Give Me the Beat Boys" that got the crowd dancing in the aisles.
Family time continued as Aaron Neville then dedicated a cover of Hall and Oates' "Sara Smile" to his wife.
Then, he switched gears and shifted into a series of spiritual songs, including a vibrant, funky version of "Down by the Riverside," with a solid sax solo.
The energy intensified as Nevillle and the band swung from that traditional gospel favorite to an even more popular one: "When the Saints Go Marching In," which got the crowd not just on its feet, but dancing, screaming and whistling. Second-line umbrellas went up and twirled in the air.
Neville built on his strengthened connection with the crowd, and the growing electricity under the tent, performing a version of "Louisiana 1927" that felt not just soulful, but holy.
He let the moment linger for just a second and then moved into "Tell It Like It Is," the now-unified crowd singing and swaying together to the 1966 hit.
The energy cresting, Neville brought it home with his a cappella version of "Amazing Grace," his unmistakable voice echoing through the still, hushed tent.
The crowd cheered as Neville swung into one last tune, Bob Marley's "One Love," his brother, Cyril Neville, appearing on stage to sing along.
As the last notes sounded, the crowd roared its approval, hands flying into the air.
Neville's son, Jason, watching from below, just to the side of the stage, threw up a pair of rock horns toward his dad as the applause continued and the crowd began drifting into the sunset.


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The stars may not shine quite as brightly for the Southridge football team this year.
But that's OK by the Skyhawks. They'll just pack their lunch boxes, go to work and get back to the business of winning football games.
"We're kind of a bunch of no-name guys," said Southridge's third-year head coach Doug Dean, whose team graduated six first-team all-leaguers from last year's squad. But "we've got a lot of good high school football players. That's kind of the way it is with all the guys on our team."
The 2014 Skyhawks are coming off a year in which the team went 7-4, tied for second in the Metro League and lost in the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs to Lakeridge.
While the Skyhawks graduated their top two running backs and a D1 wide receiver, they believe they'll be effective again in 2014 and should be even more balanced in their run-pass distribution.
"We want to be more balanced in our run-to-pass ratio," Dean said. "We haven't changed our philosophy – we just want to have better balance."
One of the keys to achieving that balance is the health and development of senior quarterback Peyton King (6-foot-4, 204 pounds), who's finally back at full strength after suffering a broken leg way back in his sophomore season. Junior AJ Knotz (5-11, 181) will also see time at QB.
"He's improved more than any player in our program," Dean said. "Kids want to follow him. He's a big, strong kid with a big arm and he's an outstanding leader."
Up front, the Skyhawks bring back three players with varsity experience, led by seniors Sean Cleary (5-11, 230) and Jeremiah Everett (6-0, 248) at guard, and senior John Waczak (6-0, 277) at tackle. They'll be joined by junior Ollie Klotzbach at center, senior Ryan Spinks at guard, and junior Eric Fischer (6-1, 185), sophomore Isaiah Garza (6-2, 240) and senior Ryan Seabold at tackle.
"The line guys have some really good leadership with Everett and Cleary bringing the other guys along," Dean said. "There's no one who will 'wow' you with their size, but they're good high school football players."
In the backfield, senior Zack Wilbur (5-11, 205) and a first-team all-league pick last year is back for his third starting season at fullback, joined by senior tailback Derek Parnell (5-8, 173), Mike Parks (5-8, 194) and junior Lathen Cruz. At slotback, it will be senior Isaiah Reel (6-1, 170) and junior Tyler Johnson.
Wilbur "is bigger, stronger and faster. We want to get him more touches this year," Dean said, adding that "Parnell is really special. We fell really good about that position even though we lost some really good players."
Junior Jacob Calo (6-1, 220) will go at tight end, while on the outside, Southridge will look to senior Bryce Roesch, junior Dalton Montoya and junior Caden Johnson.
Defense again figures to be a strong suit for the Skyhawks, following a year in which Southridge gave up fewer total points than any other team and also the fewest points per game.
Up front, the Hawks will look to Cleary (a returning starter) and Klotzbaugh at noseguard, and to junior Huntley Sims (6-1, 234), Spinks and Calo at end.
"We're just average size – a couple with good size – but they're all athletic which is what I look for in a defensive lineman," Dean said.
Among the linebackers, Wilbur returns as a starter on the inside, but he's the only one. Joining him will be senior Robbie Strickland (5-10, 180), senior Immanuel Susi (5-10, 196), junior Cam Nowack (6-0, 180) and senior Joseph McRae (5-11, 176) on the outside, and inside by senior Alex Pontrelli (5-9, 178), senior Mitchell Anderson (5-9, 192) and junior Clark Tymchuk .
"We've got a lot of new guys there, but I'm extremely pleased with our progress," Dean said. "They're just solid kids all the way across the front seven."
In the backfield, Parnell and Reel bring experience at cornerback, joined there by senior Collin Nielsen and Tyler Johnson, while safeties include junior Patrick Leendertse, Cruz, Parks and Roesch.
The heights and weights in this preview came from the Southridge football website, MaxPreps and last year's Southridge varsity roster.
Miles Vance | @Miles Vance1