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Ninoy Aquino and the Rise of People Power
Ninoy Aquino and the Rise of People Power Previous Broadcasts
KQED World: Sat, Aug 9, 2014 -- 5:00 PM
Benigno S. "Ninoy" Aquino II was the boy wonder of Philippine politics until the object of his criticism, Ferdinand Marcos, threw him into prison. There Aquino became a deeply reflective and spiritual person who changed the course of history. Where Gandhi used non-violence to drive out the colonizer, and Dr. King used it to fight for civil rights, Aquino adapted nonviolence to overthrowing national dictatorships. The Philippine uprising in the wake of his 1983 assassination began a global wave of pro-democracy movements that continue today.


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This is not the first time, but I hope it will be the last. What am I talking about? The number of messages in my email inbox. Over the past two days I have whittled it down to just under 1,300 (total). By this time Sunday morning (yes, 2:28 a.m.). I hope to have it down to less than 50, follow up and close out all of the flagged ones, file any I need to keep in the appropriate folders and respond to those that are pending. Whew, sounds like an ambitious goal, huh? Wish me luck.
<---- Like my little Avatar pic? That's me… email style. :-D
How many email messages are in your inbox?

subset: commoncrawl


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CLEMSON - Former Clemson receiver DeAndre Hopkins ran a 4.55 second 40-yard dash during Clemson's pro day Thursday. The time was a slight improvement from the official 4.57 second 40 time he ran at the NFL Combine last month.
Hopkins and 11 other former Clemson players worked out before 47 NFL scouts from 31 NFL teams. Only the Chicago Bears were not represented.
After setting single-season team records with 82 catches for 1,405 yards and 18 touchdowns last season, the only reason Hopkins is not projected as a sure-fire first-round pick is because he lacks elite speed.
Hopkins has a rare combination of strong hands, body control and competitiveness. He measured in at 6-1, 215 pounds at the combine.
Charleston native Brandon Ford ran a 4.73 second 40 and posted a 37-inch vertical jump, both are above average for a tight end.
Jaron Brown ran a blazing 40 time of 4.4 seconds.
Berkeley High product Andre Ellington will not work out for scouts until March 29 as he recovers from a hamstring injury.


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A drift of swine: 30,000 pigs take to the water, reports the Morning Bulletin
February 11th, 2011Posted by Joel Gunter in Editors' pick, Niche
A correction from Monday's edition of Australia's Morning Bulletin. I'm pretty sure that it's my favourite correction of all time.
Hatip: @substuff on Rantings of a sub-editor.
Tags: Funny, pigs, the morning bulletin


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Peace Officers Memorial Day is May 15
Wednesday, May. 15, 2013
Peace Officers Memorial Day, an annual observance in the United States, is marked May 15 in honor of federal, state and local officers killed or disabled in the line of duty and is held in conjunction with Police Week. In honor of the day, flags are flown at half-staff.
The holiday observance was created Oct. 1, 1961, when the U.S. Congress asked the president to designate May 15 to honor peace officers. The bill was signed into law by U.S. President John F. Kennedy Oct. 1, 1962. The legislation was amended in 1994 when U.S. President Bill Clinton directed that the flag of the United States be flown at half-staff on May 15.
Each year the president issues a proclamation in observance of the day. In compliance with that proclamation, Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert has authorized the lowering of the state of Utah's flag in addition to the flag of the United States of America.
All flags will be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset May 15, 2013.


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Røde introduces the M1 dynamic live microphone
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- Languages spoken : English
- Original title : The Expendables 3
- Youtube Id : -youtube_id-
- Status : In Production
- Tagline :
- Release Date of film : 2014-08-28
- Movie Genre : Action, Adventure, Thriller,
- Societies of production :
- Vote Count : 3
- Average rate : 7.8
- Film Note : -movie_rating-
- Duration of movie : 0
- Sylvester Stallone Character (Barney Ross)
- Jason Statham Character (Lee Christmas)
- Terry Crews Character (Hale Caesar)
- Randy Couture Character (Toll Road)
- Antonio Banderas Character (Galgo)
- Jet Li Character (Yin Yang)
- Wesley Snipes Character (Doc)
- Dolph Lundgren Character (Gunnar Jensen)
- Mel Gibson Character (Conrad Stonebanks)
- Harrison Ford Character (Max Drummer)
- Arnold Schwarzenegger Character (Trench)
- Kellan Lutz Character (John Smilee)
- Kelsey Grammer Character (Bonaparte)
- Robert Davi Character (Vata)
- Ronda Rousey Character (Luna)
The Expendables 3 Synopsis:
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EEOC Suits Charged Nooses, Swastikas, Graffiti Were Displayed to Harass Black Workers
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that it has resolved three race discrimination lawsuits in Alabama and Mississippi for a combined total of nearly half a million dollars and injunctive relief – including the settlement of a class case against Pemco Aeroplex, a Birmingham-based aerospace and defense company, involving nooses, swastikas and other threatening symbols creating a hostile work environment for African American workers. The other cases were settled with Ryan's Restaurant Group, Inc. and Renal Care Group, Inc.
"Despite what some may think, overt racial harassment of African Americans still occurs in workplaces more than 40 years after passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act," said EEOC Chair Naomi C. Earp. "In addition to the severe types of race discrimination witnessed in these cases, the EEOC also is seeing more subtle forms of bias against people of color – which is why we recently launched the E.RACE Initiative."
In February 2007, Chair Earp unveiled the Commission's E-RACE Initiative (Eradicating Racism And Colorism from Employment), a national outreach, education, and enforcement campaign focusing on new and emerging race and color issues in the 21st century workplace. Further information about the E-RACE Initiative is available on the EEOC's web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/initiatives/e-race/index.html.
In the biggest of the three EEOC litigation settlements announced today, Pemco Aeroplex will pay $390,000 and modify its policies on workplace discrimination. The agency's suit (Civil Action Number 200-cv-02762-WMA in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama), filed in September 2000, was based upon 36 separate discrimination charges which had been filed in 1998. The EEOC charged that, since at least January 1995, Pemco had engaged in a "pattern or practice" of race discrimination against its black employees by subjecting them to a racially hostile work environment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC said this hostile environment included racially offensive graffiti, the display of nooses, swastikas and KKK graffiti in work areas, as well as racial slurs and epithets.
In addition to a fund of $390,000 to be distributed to aggrieved Pemco workers, the consent decree settling the lawsuit requires Pemco to revamp its policies concerning workplace racial harassment and retaliation -- including implementing a new internal complaint procedure, annual training on the company's equal employment opportunity policies and investigative procedures, and other preventative measures. Pemco will also conduct periodic surveys on implementing the agreement and provide team building and diversity training.
Some private individuals also filed a separate lawsuit against Pemco, which provides aircraft maintenance and modification services for government and military customers. The claims in that litigation were either settled or went to trial in 2002. At one point, the EEOC complaint was dismissed, but then reinstated after a successful appeal.
In another case, Ryan's Restaurant Group, Inc. agreed to pay $41,000 to a black former employee to settle an EEOC race bias suit (Civil Action Number 6:05-cv-02540-LSC in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama). The EEOC charged that Ryan's violated Title VII when it created and condoned a racially hostile work environment at its Jasper, Ala., restaurant. The harassment included the display of hangman's nooses by the Jasper restaurant's manager. The employee complained about the workplace nooses, the EEOC said, and was fired in retaliation. This settlement also includes requirements for anti-discrimination training.
According to its web site, Ryan's Restaurant Group is headquartered in Greer, S.C., and operates more than 340 Ryan's and Fire Mountain restaurants in 23 states primarily in the Southern and Midwestern United States. The company employs approximately 23,000 employees and serves more than 110 million customers annually.
Finally, the EEOC settled its lawsuit against kidney dialysis center Renal Care Group, Inc. of Jackson, Miss., for $21,000 (Civil Action No. 3:05-cv-00052-HTW-JCS in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Jackson Division). The EEOC's suit alleged that Renal Care discriminated against the African American facility manager and fired her for complaining about discrimination.
EEOC Birmingham District Director Delner Franklin-Thomas. "We encourage employers to implement training programs, as well as other policies and procedures, to prevent discrimination in the first instance. Proactive prevention measures promote voluntary compliance, which is in the best interest of every employer."
In all of these cases, the EEOC filed suit only after attempting to reach voluntary settlements.
"Each of these lawsuits addressed the mistreatment of blacks in the workplace based solely on their race," said EEOC Birmingham Office Regional Attorney C. Emanuel Smith. "The Commission will continue to identify issues, criteria and barriers that contribute to race and color discrimination."
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.
This page was last modified on May 31, 2007.
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Microsoft's Anti-Piracy Efforts: Millions Spent Driving People To Open Source Software
from the surely-that's-not-the-best-use-of-money? dept
Of course, this ignores the fact that such organized crime groups have actually discovered that it's harder and harder to make money with counterfeit software -- because more and more such software is just available for free online, leaving little reason to pay anything for it, especially from counterfeiters. But, what strikes me as most interesting through the blatantly ridiculous claims throughout the article from Microsoft's folks and its stand-ins at the BSA, is that all the company is really doing here is spending a ton of money to convince people to look at cheaper (or free) alternatives.


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Refillable pens, cedar wood pencils and an accessories set designed to round out the writing kit. These are the writing and drawing instruments from the new Writing Collection, designed to attach to Moleskine notebooks with a simple clip.
Fine 0.5mm or medium 0.7mm tip Roller Pens are available in classic black and metallic grey. They attach to notebooks with the clip-on cap or with the pen holder that holds up to three pens or pencils. The gel ink, created specifically for Moleskine paper, comes in several colors: black, blue, green, red, violet and brown. For those who prefer graphite, the pencil set includes a sharpener and a clip-on cap to protect the lead while attaching the pencil to the cover. In addition to the pen holder, the accessories set includes three flexible silicone rubber grips for a more comfortable writing experience.
The Writing Collection is available at the Moleskine Store and in select shops around the world.


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Name: Goal Zero Switch 8 Solar Recharging Kit
What it is: an eco-friendly recharging kit that uses either solar power or electricity to charge its Switch 8 lithium ion portable battery, which has a tip for solar charging and another for USB charging. It weighs 11.2 ounces total. When fully charged, the Switch 8 can recharge an MP3 player three times, a smartphone twice or give a power boost to an e-reader (50 percent) or a tablet (25 percent). The kit includes a folding 5-by-10-inch solar panel, the battery and a USB cable to connect the battery to the solar panel. Mono-crystalline solar panels are known for reliability and can last 30 years. They provide the highest wattage per square foot and can collect solar energy in low light. Users angle the solar panel so it receives the most direct sunlight possible. Four blue LED lights will blink while charging or show you how much juice is left.
The good: I love tramping around with a backup power solution that works when I'm nowhere near an electrical outlet. This kit could have helped passengers power their portables when the Carnival Triumph lost its engine in February. Though my windshield's tempered glass limits the solar panel's charging ability, the Switch 8 still gets some juice from the sun when the panel rests on my dashboard on a road trip. I try to suspend it from a backpack whenever I'll be outside for more than an hour. The variety of loops is great for suspending the solar panel at whatever angle suits the sun. If trapped inside, I recharge using my computer's USB port. I primarily use it to recharge my iPhone, but it will boost my iPad when I'm not near an outlet.
The bad: There's no carabiner for clipping to a backpack.
Cost: $99.95
Available from: rei.com, goalzero.com and backcountry.com, among others.


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Executive Summary:
Xperf, a versatile Microsoft Windows event-tracing tool, provides a stackwalking feature that you can use to determine which system functions are consuming the most processor time. You can use this information to uncover the source of Windows system performance problems, such as might occur after you update an application or make a configuration change. Michael Morales shows you how to run an Xperf stackwalking trace for a specific time period, then view and interpret the trace data to pinpoint resource-consumption issues that may be impeding your system's performance.
One of the more powerful features of Xperf is the stackwalking feature, which lets you capture and view the functions executed during a specific time period and determine the most processor-intensive operations. The stackwalking feature lets you see not only the where all the processor time is being spent but also the path of execution for a process that led up to the expensive operation. Xperf can also help uncover the impact of configuration changes to a system by collecting aggregate data and parsing it for information about performance or patterns of resource consumption. In this article, I'll walk you through step-by-step how to properly capture a stackwalking trace and how to interpret the data.
When Stackwalking Can Be Helpful
Here's an example of a scenario where Xperf stackwalking can be useful. Following a recent update to a web application, you notice that system performance deteriorates. Using Xperf and the stackwalking feature, you find out that processor is spending time trying to draw a border around a JPEG file on a website. As you examine the function calls within Xperf, you discover that each JPEG file lookup results in hundreds of registry lookups, which is where all the processor time is being spent. When you give this information to the application vendor or in-house developers, they quickly realize that all the registry lookups are unnecessary and that the information could be held in memory where access times are much faster and less processor-intensive.
Capturing a Stackwalking Trace
Here are the tasks you'll need to perform to use Xperf to capture a stackwalking trace.
Set system variables for symbol loading. On the target system, the best way to ensure that your symbols are properly configured is by setting the following two system variables. You can set these two variables via the command line; however, my recommendation is to set these variables using the Control Panel's System applet or by right-clicking My Computer and selecting Properties, clicking the Advanced tab, and clicking Environment Variables.
The first system variable you need to set is this one:
_NT_SYMBOL_PATH = srv*c:\symbols*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols*c:\APP1
If you're a developer, then you may want to add paths to your own application's symbols or to another vendor's symbols. Simply add an additional asterisk (*) to separate each path.
The second system variable to set is this:
_NT_SYMCACHE_PATH = c:\symbols
Setting this variable tells Xperf to strip each symbol of the unnecessary information (i.e., structure definitions) and create a smaller-sized symbol file. The smaller file increases the speed of symbol loading and improves the overall Xperf experience when you're viewing stacks.
Specify the stackwalk flag. There are several ways you can use the stackwalking flag in Xperf. Following is a typical command line that turns on stackwalking for kernel events and can be used to help diagnose high–CPU-usage issues:
xperf -on latency -stackwalk profile
To find a more comprehensive list of stackwalking events, use this command:
xperf -help stackwalk
Turn on symbol loading. After the trace has been collected and you're viewing the trace file, you'll need to turn on symbol loading from within the Xperf viewer, as Figure 1 shows.
Figure 1: Loading symbols from within Xperf
Those are the three main action items required to utilize the stackwalking functionality within Xperf, which leads us to a question: Is there any value in enabling the stackwalking feature if you don't have access to symbols? Answer: Yes, but it depends. Without symbols, you'll be able to see only the module within the process responsible for consuming the CPU. However, in some cases that could be enough information for you to make progress in resolving an issue, such as high CPU usage.
Capturing and Interpreting a Trace
Now let's walk through the complete set of steps you'll need to perform to first capture a stackwalking trace, then view and interpret the trace data.
Step 1: Issue the Xperf command. Following is a typical command line you can use to capture the information you'll need to diagnose a high–CPU-usage issue by using the stackwalking functionality. Once you've set up symbols (as I just described) and installed Xperf, you don't have to reboot or restart any other service. You're ready to run the following command:
xperf -on latency -stackwalk profile
This command says, "turn on tracing for the kernel events that the latency group represents, and turn on the stackwalking profiler for this session." You won't be able to view any stack traces without issuing the -stackwalk profile flag.
Step 2: View and then stop the trace. The CPU spike needs to occur sometime while tracing has been enabled. To view and stop the trace, enter the following command:
xperf -d perf.etl
By default ETW places the information into the kernel.etl. By issuing the -d command you are saying, "merge the kernel.etl with the name of the etl file you specified (e.g., perf.etl).
Step 3: Open the perf.etl file. Now all that's left to do is open the perf.etl file inside the Performance Analyzer Viewer (i.e., Xperf), by issuing the following command:
xperf perf.etl
Figure 2 shows a complete end-to-end string of command-line entries.
Figure 2: Xperf trace commands
The Xperf viewer (aka Windows Performance Analyzer) will display a list of charts and graphs that you can view to start parsing through the data. As Figure 3 shows, once the viewer is opened, you can select the area of concern.
Figure 3: Viewing the summary table
To help make the graph less cluttered, you can uncheck all but the particular process you want to explore, as I've done. In this case, the process spiking the CPU is WMIPrvse.exe. Next, select the time of concern, right-clicked on the selected area, and choose Summary Table.
Once the Summary Table is open, click the chevron fly-out arrow at the far left. Make sure the Stack option is checked. This may take a few seconds as the symbols and stack load. Uncheck the Module and Function check boxes to make the view appear as it does in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Summary table detail
Notice the yellow line in Figure 4. Columns to the left of the yellow line determine the sort order. So, since the Process column is the furthest left, with the Stack column next, basically this indicates that you want to sort CPU time by process, then by stack. You could also sort by process, then by module if you didn't have access to symbols and only wanted to see which module consumed the most CPU time.
Here's the key to understanding this data. The time interval you selected appears in the title bar of the Summary Table. Thus, in Figure 4, we can see that our selected area encompassed 2.5 seconds. The highest-consuming process during this time period was WMIPrvse.exe, which we know because it has the topmost position in the graph. The numbers in the Weight column represent how many samples were collected during the selected time window. So, for example, we selected a time window of 2.5 seconds, and during that time we can expect to have approximately 2,500 events firing to collect event tracing information—the total of all the values in the Weight column. In this example, then, the CPU was in the context of the WMIPrvse.exe process 1,859.971 times, which represents a weight of 73.8 percent relative to all processes during that same time.
Furthermore, by expanding the plus (+) signs, we can start to unroll the stack and find out what functions consumed the most CPU time. You can also interpret the numbers under the Weight column as 1ms per event, so 1,859 translates to approximately 1.8 seconds. As you start to unroll the stack, you're looking for big drop-offs in time as the areas you'll investigate. In our example, Figure 5 shows a drop-off from 1.14 seconds to .57 seconds.
Figure 5: Finding the time drop-off in the summary table
If I were a developer, I'd start to investigate the cimwin32.dll function calls into kernel32!FindFirstFileW. If I were an administrator, I'd immediately do two things:
- Search online for an update to cimwin32.dll.
- Provide this information to the application's vendor; doing so will significantly reduce the time required to resolve the issue if an update isn't available.
The Anti-Debugger
Sometimes debugging is the only way to get to the root cause of a system performance problem. However, by using Xperf, you can uncover an application's behavior by scanning the names of the function calls and also determine exactly where all the system time is being spent—all without knowing a single debugging command or opening a dump file or being an expert in Windows architecture (although it wouldn't hurt!). Next month, I'll expand on the Xperf topic by digging into the multiple ways you can use the tool to help diagnose some common performance issues.
Special thanks to Tate Calhoun, a Microsoft senior escalation engineer, who contributed significantly to this article.


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More notes now that I've had a few hours to sleep on the first round. I also posted late Thursday night about Brandon Graham, the first round and the NFC East.
* I'm going to take a more detailed look at this in the coming weeks, but a lot is being made about Graham's size: 6-1 1/3, 268. I took a look at last year's top sack guys to see how their height compared to Graham's. Keep in mind that these might not be prototypical left defensive ends (some fall in the hybrid OLB/DE mold), but we don't really know how the Eagles plan on using Graham.
Elvis Dumervil, who led the league in sacks with 17, is listed at 5-11, 248 pounds. Dwight Freeney's listed height and weight is identical to Graham's: 6-1, 268. He's had double-digit sacks in six of eight NFL seasons. Pass-rushing linebacker LaMarr Woodley (also from Michigan) is 6-2, 265. He had 13.5 sacks last season with the Steelers.
The point? Look at each prospect individually. Making generalizations based on height, school or conference is easy, but doesn't really work. Remember 1997 first-round pick Jon Harris? He was 6-7. He finished his career with two sacks in two seasons.
* Derrick Morgan, the Coatesville native, had this to say about the Eagles passing on him: "I felt like I was the best pass rusher in this draft so I'm just gonna use it as motivation and I got a chip on my shoulder."
* Tonight should be interesting. I've been saying for months that cornerback remains this team's biggest concern. I refuse to believe Ellis Hobbs will be the starter in Week 1. They're already thin, and the situation would turn into a full-on disaster if Asante Samuel were to get injured. We'll find out if there is a corner the team likes at 37 or 55, a guy that can come in and play right away. Last year, they traded a pair of fifth-rounders for Hobbs. I wonder if trading picks for a corner is a possibility again this year.
* Day 2 mocks? Hey, why not? ESPN.com's Todd McShay has the Eagles taking guard Jon Asamoah out of Illinois at No. 37 and South Florida cornerback Jerome Murphy at No. 55. Meanwhile, Mel Kiper Jr. has the Birds taking Florida safety Major Wright at No. 37 and Asamoah at No. 55.
* And draft grades already? Once again - why not? Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com gives the Eagles an A:
Love this pick. Love the aggression to go get him. He is a big-time pass rusher. He will be an immediate impact player in their defense. I like this pick as much as any.
* John Czarnecki of FoxSports.com analyzes the Eagles' pick:
Graham's play was a big reason why Iowa's Bulaga is still available in this draft because he beat him like a drum when he played him. Now, Graham is a speed rusher and Andy Reid is hoping that he can mature into another Dwight Freeney. Graham was a solid producer and his selection proves that there were a lot of defensive linemen in this draft.
* A reminder that I'll be back at 6 p.m. to chat rounds two and three. As of now, that means two picks for the Eagles, but that of course could change.
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I have taught Math for 11 years with experience in Gifted/Talented and English as a Second Language. My teaching experience includes 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th grade in the public school sytem. I teach Algebra 1, Algebra 1 lab and TAKS tutoring right now.
I like making math easy to understand and I love being able to give my students a chance to have fun while learning.
District Teacher of the Year. Served on Texas State Board of Education TEKS Review committee for 9th grade math, for the 2011 school year. District Treasurer for ATPE. I serve on the district vertical team.
I have a Bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio. My certifications include Math 1-12th grade, English as a Second Language and Gifted/Talented.
I have one child and live in the San Antonio area.
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Math, Algebra, Applied Math, Arithmetic, Basic Operations, Fractions, Geometry, Graphing, Science, Social Studies - History, Arts & Music, Math Test Prep, For All Subject Areas, Statistics, Algebra 2, Basic Math


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Stupid Dino Tricks: A Visit to Kent Hovind's Dinosaur Adventure Land
Greg Martinez
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 28.6, November / December 2004
Young-earth creationist Kent Hovind has built a dinosaur-filled theme park in the Florida panhandle and claims to prove that evolution is bunk. A visit there shows that it is definitely a fantasy land.
Old Palafox Street is an aging, two-lane stretch of road running through the middle of Pensacola, Florida. To the east of Old Palafox, the next major road is Interstate 110 and in between those thoroughfares rests the sprawling campus of Pensacola Christian Academy, quickly followed by the even more sprawling campus of Pensacola Christian College. Both campuses are crammed with spotlessly maintained buildings and grounds. They stand out starkly amid the visible economic decline that surrounds them. The area is littered with empty, boarded-up buildings and abandoned strip malls.
Less than a mile north of the Academy on Old Palafox is a Christian educational center aimed at an even younger set of pupils. Bracketed by auto-repair businesses and across the street from a pawn shop, Dinosaur Adventure Land beckons all comers with a billboard-sized street sign that includes a fierce cartoon dinosaur and announces, "Evolution: What a Dumb Idea!" The park's slogan is: "Where dinosaurs and the Bible meet!" Built in 2001 by Kent Hovind, founder of ministry, Creation Science Evangelism, the park boasts having hosted over 38,000 guests (Goodnough 2004). (This number may seem small compared to attendance rates at other Florida theme parks like Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, but it is also small in actual numbers. This averages out to approximately two hundred and forty guests a week, or less than fifty a day.)
The building of this rather small park has created a "tempest in a teapot" kind of controversy with local government. Essentially, Hovind converted the backyard of his home at 29 Cummings Road into a theme park, improvising an entrance off Palafox and refusing to file the proper zoning-permit requests with Escambia County. Hovind was charged on September 13, 2002, for failure to observe county zoning regulations, but through many legal maneuvers (multiple requests to have judges recuse themselves, switching lawyers and eventually requesting a public defender, and various stays requested, once for failing to appear), the case is approaching its two-year anniversary in the court system with no conclusion imminent. The charge is a second-degree misdemeanor resulting from refusing to pay a $50 permitting fee.
This is not Hovind's only scrape with the law (a visit to the Escambia County Clerk of the Courts Web site shows over a dozen court cases involving Hovind and his family). A month before the misdemeanor charge, Hovind was charged with felony assault, battery, and burglary with assault or battery. Charges were dropped in December 2002 when the victim, a member of Hovind's congregation, withdrew the complaint. (A lengthy description of the incident and an e-mail tit-for-tat between Hovind and his accuser can be found at www.geocities.com/kenthovind.) More significantly, the Internal Revenue Service raided Hovind's home and office in April 2004, confiscating financial documents related to the ministry and the park since January 1997. The IRS is charging that Hovind is evading taxes on more than $1 million in annual income and does not have a business license nor tax-exempt status for his ministry and the park (Norman 2004).
Dinosaur Adventure Land (DAL) and Hovind's home and ministry compound reside on approximately two acres. The entrance to DAL is off a road dominated by industrial parks, car dealerships, closed businesses, and convenience stores. The rear entrance, which leads to Hovind's home and the buildings for his Creation Science Evangelism (CSE) ministry, are off a pleasant and quiet residential road lined with modest single-family homes. One could walk from the entrance of the park (with a gate that very much recalls the memorable entrance in the film Jurassic Park) to the entrance of Hovind's ministry in about thirty seconds. The effect really is like being in someone's big backyard, stuffed full of children's games and playground equipment . . . and lots of fiberglass dinosaurs. (A pamphlet in the bookstore explains that the park is available for children's birthday parties.)
It is notable that the "Suggested Donation $7.00" mentioned on the ground-level entrance sign becomes a required admission fee by the time one enters the attraction. The park is centralized around the three-story main building that houses the admission office/bookstore, "Hands-on Science Center," and park offices.
The bookstore is small but has a wide-ranging selection of books, videos, DVDs, fossil replicas, hats, T-shirts, toys, cold drinks, photographic film, and so forth. The book selection reveals a broad array of concerns for Hovind aside from creationism. Unsurprisingly, there are titles addressing how to fight the teaching of evolution in public schools, but there are also some that describe how to fight the coming New World Order. Beyond conspiracies, Hovind also seeks to inform visitors about cryptozoology (books about sea and lake monsters—more about that later), home schooling, the risks of immunization, and a government-suppressed cure for cancer (Laetril).
Touring Pseudoscience
Practically from the moment you enter the park, you are surrounded by tour guides. They are all male, appear to be in their twenties, and all wear the same yellow, oxford, button-down shirts with the DAL logo embossed above the breast pocket. They are omnipresent and suffocatingly attentive. They are the most important part of the park, because they are the ones who carry out its true mission. They keep up a breathless stream of patter and proselytizing, declaring almost everything in the environs an example of God's love and power.
The guides sweep the crowd of children and their adult escorts to the first part of the tour, called "The Expedition." It is a collection of playground equipment and learning-center activities dressed up with dinosaur-related names and the occasional dino head or tail. There is a sign next to each activity that explains what to do, the science it purports to illustrate, and the spiritual lesson that one should really take away from the experience. There is a simple lever-and-pulley device that a child can sit in and pull himself up and down on very easily. It is called the "Longneck Liftasaurus," and after the guides demonstrate the device with a child volunteer, they tell their audience that while the block-and-tackle device can give one a physical lift—that's the science lesson—it is only God that can give one a spiritual lift—that's the spiritual lesson.
Then it is on to the "Circle Swivel Springasaurus," in which a child volunteer is spun around a clearing on a swiveling harness that is suspended under the spreading branches of a huge, live oak tree. The child is instructed in how to hold his legs and arms to control his balance and change the shape of the arc. The science lesson includes some vague statements about centrifugal forces and conservation of energy, but the real point is that a life without God can leave you dizzy and confused and only God's guidance can show you the way. This is recited while the child stumbles around and nearly falls, indeed dizzy and confused after his Springasaurus experience, eliciting laughter from the crowd. The guides get a bigger laugh when they advise him that if he feels like he's going to "puke," he "should puke in the bushes and not on any of the rides." This, like almost everything said by the tour guides, is scripted. There is a television in the bookstore running a copy of the videotaped tour of the park hosted by Hovind, and his narration, even down to the "puke" joke, is repeated by the guides.
And on and on it goes. A visit to a common trampoline equipped with a low basketball hoop is next. The object is to bounce but stay in enough control to focus on getting the ball through the hoop. God, the guide intones, requires your total concentration; you need to focus on Him too. A climbing wall gets the same tiresome treatment. The guides get to rest their voices when they declare twenty minutes of free play for the kids.
Two single-user restrooms form a border to "The Expedition," and they provide what may be the most humorous item in the park. Bolted to the wall in both the boys and girls rooms are chains with tracts by the cartoonist/evangelist Jack Chick hanging from them. The pages are laminated and set on rings for ease of reading while using the toilet.
Eventually, the guides gather up the visitors and direct them to the "Raptor Range" on the other side of the park. This section follows the same pattern as "The Expedition," but with less control by the guides. The area is dominated by the "Dinosaur Frisbee Golf" course and the "Super Sound Satellite" (two concave disks that send echoes back and forth across the park that can only be heard by standing and speaking in a particular spot). The game with the longest line is the "Dinosaur Hunt," which is two large, rubber slingshots mounted in a wooden frame. Participants are given three water balloons apiece to launch at a metal-sculpture T. rex and stegosaurus.
During the free-play session earlier, five of the guides went to that game and began filling a large bucket with water balloons in preparation for the next stage of the tour. I wandered past taking photographs and eavesdropped on their conversation for a few moments. One would expect that men of that age would be talking about girls, sports, or even politics, but they were animatedly discussing a particular bit of scripture and how Presbyterians were particularly misguided in their interpretation. There was much gentle tsk-tsking when a balloon got loose from a fill-valve and sprayed the khakis of two of the guides.
Second in popularity to the water-balloon attack is the "Flingasaurus," a four-seat swing like one would find at a carnival. It is painted with black and yellow striping and spots on a green background. There is also a teeter-totter with a crossbeam that is cut and painted to resemble a row of large teeth. The science lessons are quite a bit thinner here than on "The Expedition," but the spiritual lessons are always there.
The "Science" Center
The crowd is eventually pushed along to visit the "Science Center." Happily, it is air-conditioned and parents are slow to leave when the next stage of the tour is announced. The center is probably the cleverest in its seduction of the park visitors. Spread over three stories are demonstrations of actual science (gyroscopes, the Bernoulli effect, magnets, etc.) resting side by side with displays of pseudoscience, parapsychology, religious cant, and quackery. Each display is written in the same authoritative voice, but the voice is deceptive. Factually accurate sentences are mixed in with sentences that are patently false, producing a farrago of argument that only the most careful of readers will be able to parse.
A perfect example of this stands directly to the right of the entrance door. A sandwich sign rests above a long trough filled with sand, and a water spigot rests above the sand. Visitors are encouraged to make their own miniature Grand Canyon the way it was really made: by the Noachian Flood. The signs mock any other ideas of the canyon's formation.
Another installation purports to address Haeckel's Law (biogenetic law, or "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny"), but only muddies and confuses an already complex debate. The many reasonable criticisms of Haeckel's research and theorizing are blown out of proportion until they are distorted. One would believe that Haeckel's theory was still an important part of biological research. This sign is the most intemperate of only a few that actually become active in their criticism. Most exhibits are gentle and nonconfrontational in their tone, which is what would be expected of instruction aimed at children. One seeking fire and brimstone would have to look elsewhere.
The middle of the bottom floor of the center is a sandpit with toy shovels and pails so that younger children can dig up fossil replicas. The pit is surrounded on three sides by glass cases at waist height that include fossil replicas and signs with scurrilous information denigrating geology, chemistry, and evolution. Particularly notable are the two models in the case directly next to the entrance of the "Fossil Dig." One dramatizes a scene from the Old English epic poem Beowulf (an inexpensive Dover Books edition of the poem is for sale in the bookstore.) The plaque explains that this is one of many examples of dinosaurs living contemporaneously with humans; apparently, Beowulf is a historical documentary and not just a legend. Next to that is a model of a sinking ship with survivors floating in the clear acrylic waves being caused by what appears to be an Ichthyosaurus. The plaque accompanying this model provides a quote from a survivor of a torpedoed English warship, which describes the sea monster he sighted during the chaos. This is only the first example of what will be a much more richly addressed topic in the "Creation Museum": dinosaurs did not become extinct in an ice age but are the sea and lake monsters that are known as Nessie, Ogopogo, Champ, and so on.
A staircase to the second floor runs along the back of the "Fossil Dig." The staircase is decorated with an installation that has more than three dozen different kinds of scissors attached to it and declares itself to be "The Phylogenetic Tree: Scissor Evolution?" The second floor is much smaller and contains a few computers and television/VCR combos to peruse the CD-ROM and video library offered there. Small posters illustrating various aspects of evolution and geology decorate the walls of the second floor. They are printed with what appears to be a red-ink stamp that declares each of these tenets of scientific research a "Lie." In the midst of these posters, Haeckel is invoked again and a small flame of outrage jets up briefly. The text on one poster insists that embryos never grow gills and that abortions are killing human beings, not fish. There is also a detailed model of Noah's Ark.
The third floor is considerably smaller than the two other floors and is a recreation room with a television, board games, and an air-hockey table. The table is scattered with pamphlets for the park, Bibles, and many copies of Chick cartoon tracts that rail against evolution.
The tour moves on to the "Creation Museum," which directly adjoins the main building and has a fiberglass T. rex dramatically bursting through the wall above the museum's entry door. The first room of the museum greets you with a large heirloom Bible opened to Genesis. The room also houses a collection of several small animals (a Madagascar hissing cockroach, a ruby tarantula, chinchillas, etc.) whose complexities are alleged to be sterling examples of deficiencies in evolution that serve to disprove Darwin's science and demonstrate the superiority of creation science.
The next room is a small theatre where one can watch a videocassette that explains Hovind's grand vision of biblical creation, a young earth, and so forth. Directly above the large-screen television is a sign that says: "Reality! Evolution is a religion." The back of the theater consists of two large, glass display cases, one that addresses the many ways in which the Noachian Flood created the modern world and the other devoted to explaining that dragons are not mythology but instead accurate reports of dinosaurs living among humans.
The third and final room of the museum is a collection of fossils, including a plaster cast (under glass with muted lights, as if it was truly a fragile antiquity and not a painted plaster casting) that purports to be from a thirteen-foot-tall human giant that was unearthed in California in 1883. This, coupled with other anecdotes and photos of other modern-age giants (Robert Wadlow, et al.), leads to an assertion that biblical accounts of giants were indeed factual. The room also contains a collection of replica fossils both real and fraudulent (including replicas of the Ica Stones and Paluxy dinosaur/man tracks). The room resembles a cramped version of a Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum.
Dinosaurs and Deception
Dinosaur Adventure Land is deceptive on many levels. It is obviously wrong about its claims of a scientific explanation of the origins of life on Earth based on the Book of Genesis. But it is also deceptive in its manner and methods. Much of the park contains little more than playground equipment, exhibits, and activities one would find at a real science education center for children. These rather commonplace activities are dressed up in a dinosaur drag that has no real point except to act as a come-on, a lure to children and families that might otherwise stray away. A plain creationist museum would serve to attract only the already converted, acting as an echo chamber so that they might have their ideas repeated back to them. To attach a bunch of silly dinosaur names to playground equipment and stick fiberglass dinosaur parts here and there is the beginning of an effective marketing ploy. The realization that there really isn't anything much dinosaur about it comes only after you have paid your admission and been subjected to a lengthy bath of proselytizing.
The proselytizing is very carefully scripted. Such a script is necessary because the connections between the games and activities and biblical doctrine are virtually nonexistent. The lesson signs are usually too high for any but the tallest of children to read, and the kids probably wouldn't read them anyway. The guides are always there, always polite and always present, repeating the message. The message needs to be emphasized in this way because the items in the science center and museum are so scattered and diffuse that they never really add up to an effective argument. Here you will find some confounding assertions about granite and polonium halos; there a sign calls Darwin a liar. Here's a display telling you that sea monsters are real; there a beach ball floats on a shaft of air generated by a fan. Curatorially speaking, the place is a disaster.
Dinosaur Adventure Land is just a playground tricked out with dinosaur dressage to attract an audience that can then be enticed, seduced, and eventually duped into accepting superstitions, pseudoscience, and plain nonsense passed off with a patina of both scientific and religious authority.
I thank Susan McLaughlin and Toria Martinez for their invaluable assistance in the researching and writing of this article. I also thank Barry Karr for his help and support.
- Analysis of Kent Hovind. 2004. Available at www.kent-hovind.com/.
- Dinosaur Adventure Land. 2004. Available at www.dinosauradventureland.com.
- Goodnough, Abby. 2004. "Darwin-free Fun for Creationists." The New York Times, May 1.
- Hovind, Kent. 2004. Available at www.drdino.com.
- Norman, Brett. 2004. "IRS Raids Business, Home of Creationist." Pensacola News Journal, April 17.
- The Talk.Origins Archive. 2004. Available at talkorigins.org.


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Midnight Sonata
4 February 2017
MIAMI, Fla. (Feb. 4, 2017) - After a lack of wind halted racing on Day One, the Melges 20 headed out to the race course in a fragile northerly that had just enough pressure to get racing started on-time. PRO Blake Middleton and the robust volunteers from Coconut Grove Sailing Club did a fantastic job of making changes to the course to keep the racing fair and balanced despite the tough conditions.
With a gradient 'left' northerly wind and a seabreeze 'right' wind battling each other all day, it was a constant game of hedging bets on which breeze would win without many visible indications on the course. Jason Michas and his team on Midnight Blue did a great job of staying in phase with the pressure and balancing the sides to take the bullet in Race One, followed by Daniel Thielman on Kuai and Jason's father, Alexis on Midnight Sun in third.
Proving their race win was no fluke, Jason nailed the first beat in Race Two and never looked back. A happy Michas commented, "We felt fortunate to be sailing with a crew of four today, the extra body helped us be dynamic in the chop so we could keep the boat moving. It was also a great to have Stu McNay nail the tactics. He knows Biscayne Bay incredibly well." Drew Wierda at the helm of Merga grabbed second followed by Jim Wilson on Oleander.
As the breeze continued to show big left phases, followed by big righties, the power boat chop also increased adding another layer of difficulty to the sailing. Showing nice patience to dig into a heading right shift, Series leader Drew Freides on Pacific Yankee held tough and took the bullet in Race Three followed by Wilson and Igor Rytov on Russian Bogatyrs finishing second and third respectively.
Holding firm on his plan to get four races completed, PRO Blake Middleton adjusted the race course 50 degrees to the right to get in the last race of the day. In what proved to be the steadiest in terms of velocity, the breeze still had plenty of surprises for the fleet. Charging in from the right corner came Liam Kilroy's Wildman Melges 20. Thirteen-year old Liam was excited about the win. "Today we focused on improving downwind, and making sure to communicate as a team. It finally came together the last race!"
Jason Michas had yet another satisfying race to take second, followed by Rytov.
As the fleet looks ahead to one more day of racing, Jay Golison's Midlife Crisis is in charge of the Corinthian Division by a slim margin. Occupying second place is John Brown sailing Blind Squirrel and Rhonda Joyce on Grinning Streak keeps it real in third.
Stay tuned to the Melges 20 Facebook Page for live coverage and colorful moments from beautiful Miami. Racing wraps up on Sunday, February 5th.
As with other Melges 20 events around the world, racing updates will be posted online at the Official Melges 20 Facebook Page. Be sure to also follow the fleet on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Tune in for the latest racing information, results, video interviews and photos at melges20.com.
TOP FIVE RESULTS (PRELIMINARY - After Four Races)
1.) Jason Michas, Midnight Blue; 1-1-5-2 = 9
2.) Drew Freides, Pacific Yankee; 4-7-1-5 = 17
3.) Igor Rytov, Russian Bogatyrs; 5-6-3-3 = 17
4.) Jim Wilson, Oleander; 13-3-2-4 = 22
5.) Liam Kilroy, Jr., Wildman; 8-9-6-1 = 24
View Full Results
2017 Miami Winter Regatta Yachtscoring Event Website
2017 Miami Winter Regatta Scratch Sheet
View Photo Gallery - Double Shot Studios
2016/17 Miami Winter Series Website
2016/17 Miami Winter Series Ranking (Overall & Corinthian)
Melges 20 on Facebook
Melges 20 on Twitter
Melges 20 on Instagram
Melges 20 on YouTube


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Card Drop: Solitaire Reloaded! Review
- Publisher: Kuyi Mobile
- Genre: Entertainment
- Released: 22 Aug, 2009
- Size: 17.9 MB
- Price: $0.99
- The game's concept is original and fresh.
- The gameplay is very simple, but very addictive.
- The fast thinking style gameplay might not appeal to some people.
- The game's music track can be distracting at times.
If you enjoy fast games and a lot of split second decision making, then Card Drop is well worth the current price.
- Full Review
- App Store Info
Card Drop is a card game where players must stack up cards on free falling cards to get points. The stacking system is similar to Solitaire, where players either stack cards in sequence counting up or down. The difference in Card Drop however, is that players must stack their cards before the falling cards drop off the screen. Players must stack as many cards as they can for points before the game timer runs out.
Players stack cards by dragging cards from their piles at the bottom up to the falling card in the sequence. Players can repeat numbers in any sequence and switch order as long as the card you drag on is the next in the sequence. The concept might seem a bit confusing at first, but once players get the hang of it, the game gets very interesting.
The visuals are fine; cards can be clearly seen and expanded on. The soundtrack can get a little annoying after a while, but players are free to use their iPod instead. Card Drop is a single player game, but highscores can be submitted to a global leaderboard system.
Card Drop is a game that fans of Solitaire or quick thinking will enjoy. The frantic gameplay is highly addictive and the simple controls leave you free to try and rack up big combos. And while the single player game is the only mode available, you really don't need anything else to keep you busy.
Description***Thank you for voting Card Drop! 2011 2nd Place - Best Card Game on BestAppEver Awards!***
***2009 BestAppEver Awards Finalist!***
"...a completely new and exciting Solitaire experience!" - App-reciation Reviews
"...amazingly simple yet nail bitingly addictive!" - Appsized.com
"...the kind of game you figure out in seconds but play obsessively for hours!" - The iPhone App Review
Ever been stuck waiting for a delayed flight or been forced to endure a doctor's waiting room for an hour? Listen up because those mind-numbing situations will never be a problem for you again, once you have Card Drop!
Card Drop turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into a stimulating and addictive game machine. It's really easy to figure out what you have to do but challenging enough that you will never want to stop playing. Card drop is the new millennium version of solitaire, but don't worry - it is definitely NOT your grandmother's card game. This app is a souped up version of that old classic--solitaire on steroids!
***How to play***
Cards drop from the top of the screen in columns. As they fall, you must move cards from your hand at the bottom of the screen to stack them on the appropriate falling card before it disappears, sinking out of sight at the bottom.
Official website:
Support and Feedback:
What's New in Version 2.0.1- New and improved OpenFeint & Game Center integration!
- Misc bug fixes and improvements
Thank you for playing Card Drop! Your 5-star ratings help keep the updates coming. If you haven't rated the game yet, please support us!
You may also want to try our other games!
The Smartypants Test
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Happy playing! :)


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Off the tourist trail in Southeast Asia: 5 underrated cities
Modern Bangkok, historical Hanoi and tourism-boom town Siem Reap — home to the world-famous Angkor Wat temples — are some of Southeast Asia's best drawcards…
Until European powers gained a foothold at the northern tip of Borneo in the nineteenth century, the tribal peoples of Sabah had only minimal contact with the outside world. Since then – and particularly since joining the Malaysian Federation in 1963 – these groups have largely exchanged traditional ways for a collective Malaysian identity. As Sabah's cultural landscape has changed, so has its environment: the logging industry has been allowed to exploit huge swathes of the rainforests, with cleared regions used to plant oil palm – a monoculture that makes a poor habitat for wildlife. On the other hand, many locals would argue, this agro-industry provides work for thousands, and generates much-needed income into the state coffers.
While arguments rage between campaigners, corporations and politicians, tourists continue to enjoy the remaining natural riches of "the land below the wind" (so called because Sabah's 72,500 square kilometres lie just south of the typhoon belt). The terrain ranges from wild, swampy, mangrove-tangled coastal areas, through the dazzling greens of paddy fields and pristine rainforests, to the dizzy heights of the Crocker mountain range – home to the highest peak between the Himalayas and New Guinea, Gunung Kinabalu (Mount Kinabalu). Although habitats for Sabah's indigenous animals have shrunk dramatically, the remaining forests still offer some of the best wildlife-watching opportunities in Malaysia. Offshore, damaging fishing practices have as elsewhere in the region taken their toll, but marine parks protect areas of magnificent coral – most famously around Sipadan – and the attendant sea life.
Sabah's urban centres are not especially attractive or historically rich, thanks to World War II bombs and hurried urban redevelopment. While places like KK (Kota Kinabalu) and Sandakan lack notable buildings, however, they abound in atmosphere and energy, plus good places to eat and sleep. That said, Sabah's remarkable natural attractions are the major draw for most visitors.
The Klias Peninsula south of KK offers activity-based day-trips such as whitewater rafting or firefly cruises, while with more time you could visit the island of Pulau Tiga; you may also need to transit through duty-free Labuan on the way to Brunei. North of KK lie the beaches and coconut groves of the Kudat Peninsula, where it's possible to visit longhouses belonging to the Rungus tribe; the northernmost point, the Tip of Borneo, features windy shorelines and splendid isolation.
Heading east from KK, things get truly exciting. Dominating the landscape are the huge granite shelves of the awesome Gunung Kinabalu, a major attraction as getting up and down involves spending just one night on the mountain. Further east is Sandakan, a rapidly modernizing town with offshore attractions including the Turtle Islands National Park. Back on the mainland, at the nearby Sepilok Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre and Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary, you can get a ringside view of animals at feeding times.
Deeper into the oil-palm plantations of east Sabah lies the protected Kinabatangan River, where visitors can take boat trips to see wild proboscis monkeys, elephants and orang-utans. Further south, the Danum Valley Conservation Area offers a spectacular canopy walkway, with the choice of staying at a luxury lodge or a humbler research centre. Alternatively try the more affordable Tabin Wildlife Reserve, with a mud volcano and an elephant colony. In the deep south, accessible via the boom town of Tawau, nestles the untouched forest sector of the Maliau Basin, now open for challenging trekking.
For divers, the offshore islands near the southern town of Semporna are the jewel in Sabah's crown. Sipadan offers world-class diving off coral walls, while its neighbour Mabul is known for its fabulous macro (small-scale) marine life. These two are simply the best known, and the area can keep divers and snorkellers enchanted for days.
Little is known of Sabah's early history, though archeological finds in limestone caves indicate that the northern tip of Borneo has been inhabited for well over ten thousand years. Chinese merchants were trading with local settlements by 700 AD, and by the fourteenth century the area was under the sway of the sultans of Brunei and Sulu.
Europe's superpowers first arrived in 1521, when the ships of Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan stopped off at Brunei before sailing northwards. Almost 250 years later, in 1763, colonial settlement began when one Captain Cowley established a short-lived trading post on Pulau Balambangan, an island north of Kudat, on behalf of the British East India Company. Further colonial involvement came in 1846, when Pulau Labuan (at the mouth of Brunei Bay) was ceded to the British by the Sultan of Brunei. By 1881 the British North Borneo Chartered Company had full sovereignty over northern Borneo.
First steps were then taken towards making the territory pay its way: rubber, tobacco and, after 1885, timber were commercially harvested. By 1905 a rail line linked the coastal town of Jesselton (later Kota Kinabalu) with the resource-rich interior. When the company introduced taxes, the locals were understandably displeased and some resisted; Mat Salleh, the son of a Bajau chief, and his followers sacked the company's settlement on Pulau Gaya in 1897. Another uprising, in Rundum in 1915, resulted in the slaughter of hundreds of Murut tribespeople by British forces.
On New Year's Day 1942, Japanese imperial forces invaded Pulau Labuan; Sandakan fell less than three weeks later. By the time the Japanese surrendered on September 9, 1945, almost nothing of Jesselton and Sandakan remained standing (although the worst structural damage was inflicted by Allied bombing). Even worse were the hardships endured by civilians and captured Allied troops, the most notorious of which were the Death Marches of 1945.
Unable to finance the postwar rebuilding of North Borneo, the Chartered Company sold the territory to the British Crown in 1946, and Jesselton was declared the new capital of the Crown Colony of North Borneo. Within fifteen years, however, plans had been laid for an independent federation consisting of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, North Borneo and (it was intended) Brunei. The Federation was proclaimed at midnight on September 15, 1963, with North Borneo renamed Sabah.
Relations with federal Kuala Lumpur have seldom been smooth, but differences had seemed to narrow until, in 1985, the opposition Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), led by the Christian Joseph Pairin Kitingan, was returned to office in the state elections. This was the first time a non-Muslim had attained power in a Malaysian state. Anti-federal feelings were worsened by much of the profits from Sabah's flourishing crude oil exports being siphoned off to KL.
Nowadays, with PBS having joined the country's ruling BN coalition, central government is following a policy of patching up long-running, cross-state disunity to realize a vision of a multi-ethnic – but Muslim-dominated – nation.
Although many traditions have died out, Sabah's three-million-plus population includes more than a dozen recognized ethnic groups, and numerous dialects are still in use. The peoples of the Kadazan/Dusun tribes constitute the largest indigenous group; then there are the Murut of the southwest, and Sabah's so-called "sea gypsies", the Bajau. In recent years, Sabah has also seen an influx of Filipino and Indonesian immigrants, particularly on its east coast.
Town and village tamus (markets), usually held weekly, are a wonderful opportunity for visitors to take in the colourful mixture of cultures. Large tamus include those held on Sundays in the state capital Kota Kinabalu (KK) and in the small town of Kota Belud, two hours north by bus. The biggest annual festival is the Pesta Kaamatan, a harvest festival celebrated in May by the Kadazan/Dusun.
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Can Wuhan's state-owned giants adapt?
Through the grime and pollution that hangs over the city of Wuhan there are days when the sun barely shines. It's just a yellow disk.
This industrial city that sits on the Yangtze river in the middle of China is home to more than six million people.
In the grey murk the tower blocks on the far bank of the Yangtze look like shadows. Ships steam downriver laden with containers full of goods.
Wuhan is a pretty good place to take the temperature of what's happening in China's economy.
On the face of it things look good, China has just announced growth picked up a little at the end of last year to clock in at 7.8% for 2012. But that is well below the average of 10% China has recorded for the past decade.
Massive old iron and steel industries helped build Wuhan's economy. Wuhan Iron and Steel Corp (WISCO) is one of the biggest iron producers on the planet, among the biggest 500 firms in the world.
WISCO employs 80,000 people. The giant ironworks occupy 20 sq km of the city. It's a vast complex of factories and workshops. Giant piping criss-crosses the site, towers belch out smoke and steam pours from vents in the ground.
Molten steel pours from giant furnaces to be used in everything from cars to boats, railways to buildings. Huge slabs of it are piling up in warehouses, along with giant rolled sheets.
You'd think this firm would be booming given China's incredible economic growth. But despite sales worth billions of dollars every year WISCO is making a loss on its iron and steel, its only profits come from other businesses it has expanded into.
"The economic problems we're facing this time are more serious than the Asian crisis in 1998," explains Sun Jin, the firm's director of international communications. "It's like the steel business has entered a deep winter, it's probably going to continue for three to five years."
As China boomed many iron and steel mills were opened. But for much of the past two years growth has been slowing and even for an economy growing at nearly 8% a year there's just too much steel being produced - oversupply means WISCO can't make profits.
"To get through this winter we have to first strengthen our steel-making, to adopt new technologies and make higher quality steel," says Mr Sun. "We also aim to diversify into new businesses." WISCO's boss has even talked of going into pig farming.
Drive to urbanise
Part of the problem is that WISCO is a giant state-owned enterprise. The government has ordered it to cut production, but it is not allowed to shed large numbers of jobs to save money.
It's China's problem too, giant state corporations still dominate parts of the economy. Many are inefficient and need to change if China is to create new, more profitable jobs for its workers.
Despite the problems at its biggest employer, the city of Wuhan is booming. It's province of Hubei, home to more than 60 million, is now among the fastest growing in China. Last year it expanded by around 12%.
The growth is, in large part, down to China's relentless drive to urbanise, which has now shifted from the coastal cities to inland areas like Wuhan. The whole city is dotted with construction sites, giant tangles of motorways have been built. Last month saw the opening of a new high-speed rail line and the city's first subway.
Wuhan is copying the formula that's been successful in places like Shanghai. But China's new generation of Communist leaders, headed by Xi Jinping, know this building spree can't continue forever. China's economy needs to reform.
That's why they have said China needs to switch from chasing high GDP growth as an end in itself to creating better-paying jobs that will lift incomes.
Urbanisation will continue to drive China forward, moving people from the countryside to the cities like Wuhan where they can earn more. But new jobs need to be created too.
So to replace Wuhan's grimy old industries, the city is doing its best to encourage new, higher-tech, innovative firms.
On a science park, workers in spotless white overalls are making screens for mobile phones.
Zhou Yunzhi is deputy general manager at Tianma Microelectronics. "China is making changes to its economic growth. We want some old industries to fade out and to develop new and high-tech industries," he says.
And he adds: "China is losing its advantage in labour-intensive industries. In the past we could rely on mass production, low quality but low cost. But we can't compete like that in future. We need to upgrade. So for the next 10 years we are going to go through a process of change."
New future
Along part of Wuhan's river frontage you can see the aim taking shape. Han Street, a new, upmarket shopping district is being built, housing Western brands like Marks and Spencer from the UK, C&A, Zara and Uniqlo.
This is the new consumer economy China's new leaders want to grow. They want their country to rely less on exports and massive investments in construction projects as it does now, and develop instead China's own, domestic economy.
The idea is that a new middle class, with rising incomes, will spend more. Service industries will create more jobs, and the economy will be more sustainable.
It'll mean making deep changes to old industries like Wuhan Iron and Steel, reforming China's giant state-owned enterprises. It'll require changes to policies that restrict the ability of people to migrate permanently to the cities.
Bank and financial reforms are needed, changes to the way governments in places like Wuhan earn their revenues, and better provision of healthcare and pensions.
The goal is clear, but getting there, finding a way through the murk and smog that hangs over cities like Wuhan, and forging a future based not on steel but a different type of economy - that's the hard part.


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MUS428 Classical Voice Studio
Applied voice students develop performance skills in workshop setting, performing regularly and observing one another. Analysis of individual performances guided by the instructor. Students also receive weekly half-hour coaching with an accompanist assigned by the professor.
- 1 (may be repeated for credit)
- Must be enrolled in the following level: Undergraduate
- May not be enrolled in the following class: Freshman


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Networking and collaboration is key to successful business and Sterling has developed a new, free-flowing way to network.
Join us for our Sterling Network Groups Lunch Time Networking Meeting.
The "engine room" of the professional yet friendly, fortnightly meeting is a break out session where business connections are made, with support from the group leader. Quality collaboration leads to growth and development.
Groups operate both individually and as part of a larger and ever growing Sterling network - with members frequently visiting other lunch and breakfast groups and coming together at business shows.
As a non-member you are welcome to visit our meeting to see for yourself what we are all about. There's absolutley no pressure to join - just give it a go!


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Victim Services - Division of Pretrial Detention and Services
The Division of Pretrial Detention and Services (DPDS) assists the victims and witnesses of crimes when the perpetrator is in custody at the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center or the Baltimore City Detention Center.
The Division recognizes that victims and witnesses suffer direct or threatened physical, emotional or financial harm as the result of crime. Many of the victims want their voices heard by criminal justice professionals on how the crime has impacted them and they take an active role in the judicial proceedings. Others fear the defendant's return to the community and want to be notified when the defendant returns to the street.
The Division helps victims and witnesses by treating them with respect, dignity and sensitivity and providing prompt notification of the defendant's:
- Expected sentence expiration date, bail release or other court release;
- Transfer to another institution or a treatment facility, or
- Escape from custody.
If you are a victim of a crime and the defendant is in custody of the Division of Pretrial Detention and Services and you want to be notified of a change in the defendant's status, please provide the following information to the Central Records Office, by phoning 410-209-4416 or 410-545-8278. The office is open 24 hours daily.
- Your name;
- Your address;
- Your home, work or cell phone numbers;
- The inmate's name and if known, date of birth and prison ID number.
The information you provide will be entered in the defendant's record and you will be notified when any changes in the defendant's status occurs. If you prefer, you may request notification by submitting the above information in writing to: Division of Pretrial Detention and Services, Central Records Office, 300 East Madison Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202.


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Park Ridge Health
u A daughter was born on April 15, 2013 to Ashleigh Riggins of Fletcher.
u A son was born on April 16, 2013 to Joseph Stahr and Briana Stahr of Hendersonville.
u A daughter was born on April 16, 2013 to Eric and Anna Ingle of Hendersonville.
u A son was born on April 17, 2013 to Roger Brown and Suitlana Brown of Zirconia.
u A son was born on April 17, 2013 to Alison Storm and Kevin Storm of Asheville.
u A son was born on April 18, 2013 to Antonio Huerta Jacome and Meybeline Avila of Hendersonville.
u A daughter was born on April 18, 2013 to Erica McMahan of Hendersonville.
u A son was born on April 18, 2013 to Jody and Ashley Wilson of Leicester.
u A daughter was born on April 22, 2013 to Brittany Westall and Ryan Hipp of Hendersonville.
Emergency Notes
Henderson County fire calls
The Henderson County Fire Commission reported the following alarms between noon Tuesday and noon Wednesday:
u Blue Ridge, emergency, 5:59 p.m.; head injury, 3:03 a.m.
u Dana, assault, 7:28 p.m.;
heart attack, 9:37 p.m.; heart attack, 4 a.m.
u Edneyville, auto accident, 7:31 a.m.; respiratory distress, 10:45 a.m.
u Etowah-Horse Shoe, stroke, 5:16 p.m.; auto accident, 5:29 p.m.
u Fletcher, auto accident, 5:06 p.m.; auto accident, 5:08 p.m.; barking dog, 5:25 p.m.; fire alarm, 5:25 p.m.; respiratory distress, 7:14 p.m.; all other, 7:50 p.m.; respiratory distress, 9:58 p.m.; victim down, 8:03 a.m.; stroke, 9:33 a.m.
u Green River, illegal burn, 9:40 p.m.
u Mills River, life line, 12:26 p.m.; public service, 1:06 p.m.; auto accident, 7:40 p.m.
u Mountain Home, respiratory distress, 4:53 p.m.; auto accident, 5:03 p.m.; auto accident, 5:07 p.m.; heart attack, 5:52 p.m.; emergency, 7:25 a.m.
u Valley Hill, structure fire, 5:05 p.m.; victim down, 5:13 p.m.; victim down, 7:48 a.m.; life line, 9:56 a.m.
Hendersonville fire calls
The Hendersonville Fire Department responded to the following calls from noon Tuesday to noon Wednesday:
u Victim down, 4:44 p.m.
u Assist invalid, 5:07 p.m.
u Victim down, 8:11 a.m.
u Victim down, 9:54 a.m.
Crime Report
Henderson County Sheriff
The Henderson County Sheriff's Department responded to 273 calls Tuesday. Deputies served eight warrants and provided two assists to other agencies.
Hendersonville Police
The Hendersonville Police Department reported 125 calls Tuesday. Officers made two arrests, investigated two accidents and provided five assists to other agencies.
The following crimes and incidents were reported Tuesday, according to law enforcement records: Henderson County Sheriff's Department
u Breaking and entering residence, Flat Ridge Lane, 6:46 p.m.
u Domestic assault, Sugarloaf Road, 7:56 p.m.
u Identity theft, Old Turnpike Road, 7:57 p.m.
u Animal bite, High Peak Road, 7:59 p.m.
u Breaking and entering, Cane Creek Road, 11:12 a.m.
u Larceny, Sam King Road, 10:20 a.m.
Hendersonville Police Department
u Security check, Main Street, 5:17 a.m.
u Security check, Seventh Avenue East, 5:26 a.m.
u Larceny, Harris Street, 11:12 a.m.
u Accident, hit and run, Highway 64 East, 4:19 p.m.
u Accident, Ninth Avenue West, 5:26 p.m.
For the Record: April 25


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hanelse wrote:I am new to this site and am interested in the idea of a study group. I am just now downloading White's First Greek book and am wondering if there may be any interest in a study group for Greek newbies like myself. I would love an opportunity to learn with others on the same level as myself to share support and insight. Also to vent when needed.
Paul wrote:Hi All,
The first lesson is due one week from tomorrow. I see 5 people signed up.
If you intend to join the white-a study group, please use Will's post above to sign up.
You will also need some time to get familiar with the study group software.
anakainosis wrote:I am new to this group and new to the group study thing. I signed up for the "White, session A" group study. What other software will I need to get used to? And where can I find information on how to use it?
Bert wrote:Are we going to comment on each other's work with the guides kind of looking over our shoulders to keep us from going to far of base, or are the guides planning to comment on every lesson?
annis wrote:Paul and I will be trading correction duties. No Eng->Greek, though.
Astraea wrote:But we can still enter our English to Greek answers, right? So we can compare our answers with eachother and discuss any questions we have about them?
Deccius wrote:Is there any chance a new study group may start soon?


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Car News
Honda's American Odyssey
- Honda's minivan enters the One Lap of America event
- Ten states, eight tracks and 3,500 miles to cover in one week
- Twice the power of a regular Odyssey
The Honda Odyssey minivan is well known and well respected among parents with large families - just as the Honda name in general enjoys high regard in motorsport circles. But the two pursuits of moving several people around in a safe yet comfortable conveyance and shaving tenths of a second from a fast lap time seem worlds away from each other.
Every so often though, worlds collide. The 2012 One Lap of America is an unusual kind of motorsport event, so it shouldn't be too surprising that it would attract an unusual kind of entry. This Odyssey is an example, built and prepped in their free time by a group of workers from Honda's manufacturing plant in Lincoln, Alabama (a.k.a. HMA).
The challenge isn't literally a lap of the United States, but it does start off in South Bend, Indiana on Saturday, May 5 and take competitors through a total of 10 states - the most westerly being Colorado - before the checkered flag is waved one week and 3,500 miles later. On public roads, things are kept in control by adding time penalties if drivers arrive at certain points too early. The winner is the one who ends the race with the lowest number of penalties.
So far, so good for a vehicle like the Odyssey. But a competition that came from the mind of legendary racer Brock Yates - the man who created the coast-to-coast Cannonball Run - was never going to be so, um, pedestrian.
The route visits eight racetracks, where entrants take part in time trials that include running on banked ovals and drag strips. Suddenly, Honda's best-selling minivan needs a little help. The team from HMA decided a turbocharger should be bolted to the 3.5-liter V6. A tune-up resulted in doubling the engine's horsepower from the stock 266 to 532.
And so the process began, because it's never a simple matter of having more muscle. The brakes had to be upgraded with Brembo units (suppliers to Ferrari). Fitted to new 19-inch alloy wheels was a set of performance tires (the One Lap of America rules stipulate that only one set of tires may be used - a tricky situation when on the track), while an aftermarket H&R racing suspension was installed. One last surprise was the inclusion of a six-speed manual transmission instead of the usual automatic.
The men doing the driving, Paul Street and David Manley, both work at HMA. They have a Facebook page that provides regular updates on their progress. Hope they get back in time to take the kids to soccer practice.
What it means to you: It just goes to show that even the humble minivan can be a contender in the right kind of race.


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Like the others who wrote here, we chose Uniworld not because of price, but because they seemed knowledgeable and friendly. Things started going badly at pick-up. First, they never offered to do a walk-through, so the estimated amount was done our inventory we provided them. That would cause problems later. We scheduled for two since we were both shipping and putting things in storage. About two weeks before, Uniworld called to change the pick-up date to later, but we explained we had given them the latest possible date. So they claimed they could complete the packing and pick-up in one day.
Well they arrived over 2 hours late and came unprepared. We had a baby grand piano and they did not have a piano board. The inventory sheets were not completed on top, they claimed that they would do it back at the warehouse. (That never happened.) The movers couldn't even spell storage correctly. We wanted two inventories, one for shipping and one for storage, but they said "no we'll just mark those items going to storage." At 10 that night, they still weren't finished and had no more room in the truck. I told them to stop when they threw my gas grill on the back of the truck. It came missing parts.
They wanted to do the same to our 3 racing bikes, but I wouldn't let them. They promised they would return with bike boxes. I had to make arrangements to have them come back 4 days later to finish. The same driver returned without any packing material. Several hours late again. Luckily they had left some packing material because it wouldn't fit on the truck the first trip. I refused to let them take the bikes, since they didn't have the promised bike boxes.
At destination, the container arrived at port, but couldn't get released because Uniworld hadn't paid the shipping company. I had to complain about that so it sat in port for a week. Next the movers here had not yet been paid to deliver and unpack so it waited again. The movers on delivery were very nice and couldn't believe the condition of the inventory. (Their copy was partially illegible and missing 3 pages.)
When they unpacked the container, we ended up with 15 items that were supposed to go to storage and didn't receive 6 items we wanted. I got a table top and two legs but not the stabilization boards to allow it to stand up. Who knows where they are. We have filed a claim on damage due to some poor packaging.
We contacted Uniworld to seek some reimbursement for the inconvenience they caused us. I now have a lot of stuff with nowhere to store it. I also have the storage list that includes the 15 boxes they sent, so I should be getting some money back on storage costs. We specifically asked for weight tickets on both the shipment and storage to get reimbursement from our employer. They provided neither. We sent a formal complaint letter and it came back refused.
Finally, we got hold of someone by phone and they talk about the good service they provided and honest mistakes. They can't be held accountable for our decision not to trust their packers with our bikes. While they seem nice upfront, I'd never use them again.
I contracted with Uniworld Cargo to move me from California to southern Spain. A woman named Helen called me to set everything up. That was to be the last time I'd ever be able to speak with Helen, as she would never again accept a phone call from me. Helen quoted me a figure and told me that my shipment would arrive within 2 to 4 weeks in Spain.
Uniworld contracted a company called California Relocation to pick up my shipment. That company was extremely efficient, helpful and professional. I would HIGHLY recommend California Relocation. I left for Spain and never again heard from Uniworld Cargo. When a month went by I contacted them to ask the status of my shipment. They said they would check on it and call me back. I never heard back from them.
Another week went by and I called again. They still couldn't tell me anything. Then I got a bill from them. It was over 2 times what they had quoted, and I had no choice but to pay it, as they were then holding my belongings as ransom. In addition to the payment, they also charged me an additional 5% for paying with a credit card, something that they had not mentioned upfront (even when I asked about paying by credit card). And when I made the initial payment before the pick-up, they did not charge the 5% at that time.
From then on I spent week after stressful week not knowing if I would ever see my belongings again, and nobody could tell me anything. The people at Uniworld Cargo were the rudest, nastiest and most unprofessional people I had ever dealt with. I was in Spain and having to call New Jersey twice a week, just to be treated rudely and spoken down to as if I were a second class citizen. At no time did they ever show any concern for my situation.
The 2 to 4 week delivery that I was quoted, ended up taking nearly 5 months!! My belongings left my home in California the end of January and arrived in Spain the end of June, and never once did I get any explanation. I called California Relocation, who were very courteous. They told me that my belongings sat in their warehouse for nearly 2 months before ever leaving California, something they felt was very strange. They also said that Uniworld had not paid them despite numerous attempts to collect the money.
The shipment arrived in England, and then was transported to Spain by truck. I was given no advance notice whatsoever of the arrival, and the day it arrived I was in another city 70 miles away. I got a call on my mobile telephone telling me that they were at my door. The driver told me that I needed to get there as soon as possible because he had a deadline to meet in Portugal and that he would leave with my shipment.
I nearly broke the sound barrier trying to get back to the city where I lived so that my belongings would not disappear once again. When I got there, the arrogant driver told me that his truck would not fit down my street and that I would need to unload the truck myself. This was after waiting nearly 5 months and paying more than twice what I was quoted.
Uniworld Cargo was extremely deceitful and used sneaky and underhanded tactics to get my business. They are the most disreputable people I have ever dealt with. They make a lot of promises upfront, and the minute that they have your belongings in their possession, they no longer will talk to you, other than to demand payment if you want your belongings.
A brand new $2000 mattress and box spring was delivered to me completely hanging out of the box and all stained and torn. I filed a complaint with the New Jersey Better Business Bureau, and that was as far as I was able to go since I no longer lived in the USA.
Uniworld Cargo is not only disreputable and EXTREMELY unprofessional, they are dishonest, deceitful, arrogant, rude, and downright sleazy of a company. They should be run right out of business. In their advertising they say that they understand how stressful a move can be, and therefore they will be able to help you at any given moment by telling you the status of your shipment. That is absolutely a lie and false advertising. At NO time were they able to tell me the status of my order.
And the additional 5% charge that I protested, since it had never been mentioned upfront, they told me I could either pay it or not receive my shipment. I have read other reviews about them from other unhappy customers, and I see that I am, by far, not the only one to have experienced such a nightmare. Uniworld Cargo are despicable people!!
NORTH BERGEN, NEW JERSEY -- Three months ago I moved from New York to Lima, Peru. After a good deal of research I chose Uniworld Cargo. Not because of pricing but because they were extremely helpful and sounded very knowledgeable. I told them I would buy a whole set of new mayor appliances (fridge, washer, etc) and they told me the best way would be to have them sent to their warehouse, where they would put them together with my other belongings in the container where all my cargo would be shipped.
Since was going to do some traveling before reaching Peru, I asked them to ship my goods once I instructed them to do so. Pretty simple and straightforward. What happened afterwards was a total nightmare. First of all they decided on their own to ship my things with no instruction whatsoever, so they arrived before I was ready to pick them up. That forced me to rush into renting an apartment I didn't really want. Their accountants send me the invoice for the second 50% of their charges when the cargo was already arriving to port, and took their sweet time to send me the Bill of Lading that I required to pick the cargo up.
As a result I had to pay a lot of penalties to the shipping company, the local warehouse and the owners of the container (that's about $100 per day). When I opened my cargo I realized that the large appliances had not been loaded. I called them immediately and they suggested me to call the insurance company. "No way jose", I told them and they finally acknowledged their mistake and promised to send my goods asap.
Meanwhile, when we counted the boxes in the container, their number was not what the bill of lading said. Instead of 54 packages, there were 73. How could they miss a simple package count escapes my imagination. The problem is that the bill of lading had to be rectified, and that took a few more days of additional charges plus fines from the customs authorities who hate counting discrepancies in the cargo.
Once I picked up my things, I kept mailing and calling Uniworld Cargo about my missing pieces. After one month of mostly unanswered mails and vanishing personnel (most of the time I could only talk to the phone girl; everybody else seemed to be out of the office all the time) one of their executives had the gall to tell me that the delay was caused because they were searching for the most favorable rates. I had to point her that I had paid my shipping in full, and the rates were not my problem.
Finally, today my cargo arrived to port, but I can't pick it up, because Uniworld Cargo never sent me the required documentation, although for the past two weeks I have been requiring it in all possible ways. Moral of the story, if you ever think in Uniworld Cargo as a possible shipper, fuggedaboutit, beware, don't please even think in them. Unless you enjoy nightmares more than I do.
NORTH BERGEN, NEW JERSEY -- I recently shipped some things from the US to Australia and had a very unsatisfactory experience with the shipping company, and would like to let other people know to avoid that company. While they did not do anything bad to my possessions or me, I found them very frustrating to deal with, and I felt I was deliberately misled on several points.
While the company was excellent prior to collecting my goods, I found it very difficult to get information out of them after my goods had been picked up as they did not respond to queries afterwards. They sent their invoice by e-mail, but I never received. Despite queries from me it took a month for them to resend that invoice, resulting in late payment and financial penalties on me.
I requested a receipt, which was also e-mailed, which was the invoice with "paid" written across the corner, and because payment was made in two installments (deposit and balance) the "receipt" reports the total as the invoiced final balance, not the total paid. Sounds like a nothing matter, but it has caused a lot of difficulty getting reimbursed for travel expenses by my employer, who.
Uniworld quoted a price for a particular volume, and the per cubic foot charge. The per cubic foot charge quoted was much cheaper than any other company, so I selected Uniworld even though they estimated my goods would take up a larger volume. I was then charged for the estimated volume, despite it saying on the contract and me being assured verbally and in writing that the final amount due would depend on the volume as assessed after my goods were picked up.
The Australian company shows I had 109 cubic feet; I was charged for 200 cubic feet, almost twice as much. Presumably 200 cubic feet is half a container, and they only sell by the half or full containers. At no point was I told that, I'm just making a guess as I haven't received a response from the company when I questioned it.
The service I paid for was supposed to include unpacking: reassembly of furniture and taking away packing materials. That did not happen. The Australian company that my goods were handled by told me that many of their other clients had also had trouble with this shipping company. They tried to contact Uniworld cargo to get answers to some of my questions, but were equally unsuccessful.


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Sharks take down Ducks
Anaheim, CA – Martin Havlat, Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns each recorded a goal and an assist as the San Jose Sharks escaped Honda Center with a 5-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks in the opener of a home-and-home series.
James Sheppard was credited with the game-winner, while Dan Boyle sealed the Sharks' third win in their past 10 games with an empty-netter.
Antti Niemi made 24 games against the Pacific Division leaders, while Viktor Fasth was beaten four times on 38 shots against to take the loss.
Francois Beauchemin, Emerson Etem and Corey Perry each scored in a losing effort.
The Ducks were 13-1 at home before losing the final three on their five-game homestand, the previous two both coming against Detroit.
"We didn't play very well," Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Some things we have to address."
The Sharks scored twice in a 1:24 span in the first period, the first coming after Joe Thornton hustled down the ice to prevent icing. Thornton's pass from behind the net found Havlat in the other corner, and Havlat fed Burns in the left circle for the initial tally at the 5:46 mark.
Pavelski quickly cashed in on a Ducks turnover deep in their zone with his eighth goal of the season, and Havlat extended San Jose's lead 34 seconds into the middle period when he put in a long rebound off Matt Irwin's point shot.
"We wanted to start big and we did," Thornton said.
Etem got the Ducks on the board 8:16 into the second as his centering pass went off the glove of Sharks defenseman Brad Stuart and past Niemi.
Beauchemin's wrister into the top left corner 58 seconds into the third period had the Ducks closing in on their 15th come-from-behind win of the year, and when Logan Couture had a goal waived off because of a high stick the signs were pointing that way.
But Sheppard's sharp-angle shot from the left boards found its way past an unsuspecting and partially-screened Fasth with 9:56 remaining, and the two- goal cushion proved vital after Perry found the back of the net with 1:40 on the clock.
Boyle's long shot into the empty net with 28 seconds left capped the scoring.
Game Notes
San Jose hosts the Ducks on Wednesday in the rubber match in the five-game season series ... This is the first time all season the Ducks have lost three in a row ... The Sharks were without forward Ryane Clowe for a fourth straight game due to a shoulder injury.


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Helping the helpers cope with Newtown
DANBURY -- When a disaster strikes a community, those who help people heal sometimes need help themselves.
In the weeks since 26 children and educators were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, stress has become a common problem among social workers, mental health counselors, physicians and funeral directors working with people affected by the tragedy.
One mental health professional, whose son was a friend of one of the slain children and who is working with some of the affected families, called it a balancing act -- "taking care of myself as well as others."
On Sunday afternoon, 30 of these healers took part in a three-hour seminar to learn some of the techniques that Dr. James Gordon, founder and director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, D.C., said would "help them take care of themselves as they take care of the community."
Since 1996, the center has shown health-care professionals, educators and community leaders the techniques, including meditation, movement and nutrition, to reduce their stress levels and help them pass along this healing to others.
"It's learning how to care for ourselves, so we can better care for the people in our practices," said Michelle Novella, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Star Psychiatric Health in Danbury, which hosted the session.
In her practice, Novella has counseled a half-dozen first responders who saw up close the results of gunman Adam Lanza's rampage, and like so many others in her position, coped with "fears we wouldn't be doing it right."
So they reached out to Gordon, a world-renowned expert in the use of mind-body medicine to heal depression, anxiety and psychological trauma. Gordon is a former research psychiatrist at the National Institute of Mental Health.
Gordon led a similar seminar several weeks ago, and about two-thirds of those in attendance Sunday, also attended the earlier session.
Some people, such as Carl Heinemeyer, a social worker at Danbury Hospital who has a private practice, have been counseling families and teachers from Newtown since the day after the Dec. 14 shootings.
"It started on the 15th, and there's been a lot of stress," Heinemeyer said. "I feel for the people and just want to help the best I can."
Others, such as Gina DeSiena, of Ridgefield, a retired dentist who has studied mind-body medicine under Gordon, came to help others learn the techniques they have found so beneficial.
"I've experienced it myself and it's something I want to share," she said.
Gordon began the session with several minutes of what he called "soft-belly meditation" before he split the seminar into smaller groups for training in other techniques.
"Relaxation is crucial in a situation where everyone is feeling overwhelmed," Gordon said of his techniques. "As you use them on yourselves, the time will come when you feel comfortable teaching them to others."