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The calcium phosphate imbalance – hyperphosphatemia and hypocalcemia and acidosis – of chronic renal failure causes havoc on bones and circulation, and can be considerably mitigated by supplements with dolomite (CalMag) – (NOT aluminium)- and vigorous vitamin D3, and timely dialysis and transplantation. .
But apart from rickets and renal failure, IATROGENIC PHOSPHATE DEPLETION by antacids is a perhaps-forgotten hazard of chronic antacid ingestion : dozens of papers on Pubmed since the early 1970s to the 1990s attest to the common problem even in adults outside hospital. The authoritative University of Oregon website sums up the need: the recommended daily phosphate allowance RDA for adults is about 700mg (up to 1200mg in pregnancy) – but the safe upper limit is at least 3000mg/day.
The common causes of adult chronic phosphate deficiency include (apart from food- soil phosphate depletion that blights crops; anorexia nervosa; diuretics[ thiazide, Diamox); in perhaps descending order of prevalence: fructose (now used as profuse sugar substitute in the cooldrink and fast food industry); vitamin D3 deficiency; poorly controlled diabetes and insulin excess; alcoholism; starvation and diarrhoea- malabsorption:- but especially chronic ingestion of phosphate-free antacids of sodium, calcium, magnesium and especially aluminium. Given the accumulating toxicity of aluminium in bone and dementing diseases, there is no longer place for aluminium antacids, which should be banned.
A recent review of Medication-induced Hypophosphatemia from Greece stresses that diuretic and bisphosphonates (eg Elisaf ea 1998) are the chief causes. A 40year old article in the BMJ lists thiazides as a cause, although Massry ea showed a decade later that thiazides blunt the hypercalciuria of phosphate depletion..
And this week a 3year study from Germany of 4000 women on oral bisphosphonate shows a median oral bisphosphonate treatment duration of 145.5 days. Persistence rates after 1 and 2 years were 27.9% and 12.9%, respectively. These abysmally poor medium-term compliance figures tell us how badly patients tolerate and view bisphosphonates.
Hence, dont use bisphosphonates for osteoporosis. There is no need for them with their major risks. Use appropriate harmless calcium-magnesium phosphate and vitamin D. There has never been convincing evidence to justify prescription of biSphosphonate for osteoporosis.
It is symptomatic of the pernicious influence of Big Pharma that the Wiki section on osteoporosis devotes dozens of lines to designer commercial drugs heavily promoted and prescribed by the Disease Industry, that have never been proven to be necessary let alone safe; but only a few lines to the score of natural essentials that reverse both osteoporosis and all other common degenerative diseases of aging. It doesnt even mention phosphate supplementation, though it mentions phosphate depletion as one of the many causative factors in osteoporosis- ignoring the fact that bisphosphonates actuallly worsen phosphate depletion in some studies. .
February 10, 2011 In today's NEJM N Engl J Med Bisphosphonates for Osteoporosis, Vis Dijkman and Lems at the hallowed VU Amsterdam bewail that a 67year old woman with osteoporosis was not treated with a bisphosphonate..
This is precisely the reflex response that marketeers of such synthetic drugs spend millions to obtain by doctored trials, massive advertising, ghosted papers in leading journals that crave such marketing adspend, and employment of spin doctors and lobbyists… to promote $billion sales.. . .
Although bisphosphonates and other modern designer drugs like strontium halve fracture rates, they cost a fortune, and have deadly albeit arguably rare risks; and have negligible need or indication except profiteering.
It is indeed medical malpractice when such patients are not placed on the economic safe multisystem protective supplements freely available in any democracy .
So where is the indication for such heavily advertized contentious patented designer drugs when they do nothing for multisystem health -especially frailty and falls, the chief risk factor for fractures – and all-cause morbidity and mortality?
When osteoporosis and all the other associated chronic major degenerative diseases of aging are at least halved, adding health to years, by the sensible combination of at least 20 micronutrients- fish oil, appropriate balanced human hormone replacement and a sensible powder blend of the vitamins, minerals and biologicals-that have each been shown to strengthen all-system health at little cost and no significant risk?
update 29 Jan 2011 Prof Heaney's team showed in a 12 month trial published last year that while women on a potent anabolic agent "with phosphate intake less than 1000mg/day, phosphate and carbonate salts of calcium appear to be approximately equally effective in supporting vigorous bone building in osteoporosis ; but phosphate salt may be preferable in patients with restricted phosphorus intakes". Combined Vitamin D and balanced sex hormones , the other minerals and vitamins, are potent anabolic agents.
Hence it becomes clearer from Heaney's and White's respective recent trials that since so many older women have relative calcium and phosphate deficiency- without obsessively checking the plasma calcium-phosphate product too regularly- modest supplementary tricalcium phosphate eg eg 1 gram a day can be given with eg modest calcium carbonate a gram a day to provide about 700mg calcium and 200mg phosphate a day, safely combined with the score of other natural bone-and muscle-anabolic supplements mentioned below and in previous reviews on this website. If the plasma calcium and phosphate levels and product do not rise to the mid-upper range of healthy people despite all the other supplemments, if desireable the dose of calcium phosphate can be titrated upwards and the calcium carb dose downwards .
It is intriguing that, predictable hypocalcemic hyperphosphatemia from chronic renal failure and hypoparathyroidism aside, on Pubmed and Google, phosphate overdose has rarely been reported in adults , and then in bizarre circumstances.with gross overdose of eg sodium phosphate for purgation. Search for "calcium phosphate overdose" on Pubmed and Google reveals no case reports. Such is evidence-based medicine- there is no report and thus no evidence of serious risk from appropriate use of oral calcium phosphate supplements.
By contrast, already by 1976 Heaney and Saville showed that bisphosphonate elevated blood phosphate and calcium, but reduced both bone resorption and mineralization by about 50%.
Hence there is no place for bisphosphonates in the treatment of osteoporosis, when it is calcium-magnesium phosphate that is needed.
23 January 2011 Regulators, Administrators, medical schemes, Academics, specialists and family practitioners must produce evidence for patients to support why they (the Healthcare Industry) promote patent synthetics like Fosamax – bisphosphonates BPN- and Pro(el)os – strontium ranelate- ahead of solidly evidence-based century-recognized and balanced physiological safe low-cost natural multisupplements like vitamins, minerals and the past century, appropriate human steroids.
The accumulating evidence against synthetic designer drugs which target solely bone, and for well-proven combined safe approriate natural supplements that benefit all bodily systems –has been updated regularly for bisphosphonates eg alendronate- the Fosamaxes – and strontium ranelate– Prot(e)os. .
In PHOSPHATE NUTRITION AND TREATMENT OF OSTEOPOROSIS Professor Robert Heaney in 2004 anaylses the crucial role of adequate phosphate in the elderly. As we had hardwired into our brains in organic chemistry at med school 50 years ago, the main cation mineral elements in bone are calcium and phosphorus in the ratio of 2:1 in the matrix hydroxyapatite- [Ca3(PO4)2]3 Ca(OH)2; whereas potassium and magnesium are the main and thus most vital cellular ie intramuscular cations; and sodium (chloride) extracellularly. Thus while overall cationic mineral balance including sodium is crucial, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium are the main locomotion- strength – cations. . Heaney and Chris Nordin have for almost 50 years urged dietary balance of calcium and phosphorus to optimize bone – why do doctors and Regulators continue to ignore this basic truth?
The association of calcium and phosphorus balance in senile osteoporosis goes back on Pubmed to at least 1953 if not to the 1930s.
But Pubmed and Wiki are only small windows on history. It is salutory that on Pubmed osteoporosis was already reported by Wherry in a fulltext report dated 1894 ! It was already a scourge in Egyptian women 4000 years ago. My thick Lancet volume for 1839-40 does not list osteoporosis, nor does my bulky 2 volume 1959 Oxford Universal Dictionary.
Nor does my facimile Sir William Osler's Principles and Practice of Medicine 1892- but under rickets, for the frail child it warmly recommends milk as the chief food; phosphorus dissolved in olive oil; cod liver oil; and iron iodide given with the oil. And on the next page under scurvy, Osler discussed Dr James Lind's as yet unidentified antiscorbutic factor which some felt might be due to the alkaline salts in fruit; with in children fracturing scurvy very much like rickets The Google layout of the 1901 edition is of course longer, but the section on rickets treatment was identical.
By WW2 Fuller Albright recognized one extra major osteoporosis link- menopause- and began treating such women successfully with estrogen replacement HRT.
So by WW2, decades before bisphosphonates for profit were thought of, mainstream medicine already knew about the chief nutrrients for healing bone- cow's milk for its calcium, potassium, protein and vitamin D; cod liver oil for its abundant vitamin D3; iron, iodine, phosphates, lemon juice for its vitamin C, and estrogen.
Thus it is unsurprising that, apart from the major food components- protein (nitrogen) and energy (starch and fats) , strength and upright posture and locomotion depends on maintenance of optimal micronutrients- calcium magnesium potassium phosphate, vitamins especially C and D, and acid-base balance in the blood, ie in the diet.
It is common knowledge that as kidney function fails, with unrestricted diet, acid and phosphate accumulate and calcium falls with calcification of vessels and tissues and weakening of muscles and bones.
But in average aging women (who mostly undergo loss of crucial anabolic steroid hormones in early midlife, decades younger than men), as Heaney says, dietary phosphate deficiency becomes another major risk factor for osteoporosis- which is aggravated by increasingly earlier menopause, vegetarianism, regression to tea and sandwiches diet, and increasing intolerance for dairy products and darker climate, let alone in devout muslim women applying cultural avoidance of all sun exposure; and
- the idiotic marketing and preaching of pills like B-D-cal- which provide harmful unopposed daily 1500mg calcium as citrate or carbonate with a trivial vitamin D3 dose of perhaps 400iu a day
- aggravating the increasing calciferol deficiency from decreasing dairy intake; urban work indoors and no-longer compulsory sport at schools; and the idiotic omission of meaningful supplements of all the other essentials that become deficient with diet and aging- bone-and-muscle trophic minerals and vitamins especially magnesium, boron, selenium, manganese, zinc, iodine, even strontium, fluoride; and vitamins B, C, K;
- and the modern irrational and adverse denial of appropriate balanced physiological gonadal hormone replacement after age 60yrs.
- This is in turn worsened by the liberal use of purgatives; calcium-magnesium-wasting furosemide, SSRI antidepressants, corticosteroids and ethanol; and aluminium and synthetic antacids and deodorants rather than calcium magnesium salt.
And as Heaney says, confusing the phosphate retention of kidney failure with people with normal kidney function- who in fact have phosphorus depletion worsened by high calcium intake.
As he says, supplement with Calc (tri)phosphate works best, to provide a positive phosphate balance of perhaps 90mg/day to maintain serum phosphate well within the healthy range of 1.5 to 2mmol/L. Calcium triphosphate provides some 400mg calcium and 200mg phosphorus per gram, thus 400mg a day of this salt will provide only 160mg calcium but perhaps adequate 80 mg phosphorus a day – dose to be adjusted simply on the blood calcium and phosphate levels if not just on progress in bone density restoration. The remaining adequate supplement of calcium- ~500mg/d – is provided by eg calcium carbonate 1500mg a day, and of magnesium eg 300mg/day as mag -ox 500mg/day. There is no reason why females should be far more vulnerable to fractures because of targeting merely the mediocre peak bone density of average women at 30yrs instead of that of young men.
If everyone were encouraged to take safe vigorous combined appropriate supplements, premature aging diseases would fall greatly, cutting need for hospitalization, prescription modern drugs and acute-care specialists by far more than half ie putting thousand of health workers out of work other than to care for the increasing numbers of old survivors- pensioners. .
So it is now clear that Bisphosphonates and ranelate- Proteos/Protos- are unnecessary for osteoporosis when the latter is so easily healed and prevented by all the natural supplements discussed above, and when these patented synthetics designed solely for Big Pharma profit have rare but deadly adverse effects eg lethal DRESS syndrome, oesopageal ulceration-stenosis and cancer, and devastating teeth and jaw loss let alone collapse of the femur.
NEW TRIAL SHOWS NATURAL PHOSPHATE IS BETTER THAN BISPHOSPHONATE : Now a new paper from Liverpool University UK by White ea confirms that natural phoshate supplement does better than bisphosphonate- alendronate, BNP- in restoring bone density in patients..
This expose of the redundancy of potentially crippling BNPs comes just 10 years after Rogers et al in Scotland noted that " After more than 30 years of clinical use, bisphosphonates' molecular mechanisms of action are only just becoming clear"- they reduce bone resorption necessary for bone remodelling. .
But the BNP deception goes back a lot longer. Already in 1990 Prof Reid ea in New Zealand showed that BNP produces a gradual rise in serum phosphate- BUT " an acute and sustained inhibition of bone resorption followed by a more gradual reduction in bone formation… over the 12 month period. ". This explains clearly why BNPsreduce fracture rate in the shortterm, but can produce disasterous osteonecrosis and long bone fractures.
COMBINATION SUPPLEMENTS: In 1999 Reginster ea reported ia randomized controlled trial showing that lowdose monofluorophosphate MPF (20mg fluoride) in osteoporotic women for 4 years decreased fracture rate as much as calcium supplement alone. In 2009 Castel-Branco ea showed in a metaanalysis that hyroxyapatite was significanlty more protective than calcium alone.
By 1999 the world's leading osteoporosis research team – Christiansen and Riis, still active after 26 years together – showed in a similar 2year trial that the same dose MPF plus 50ug estradiol and NETA produced an exciting 11.8% increase in spinal bonemass density compared to 4% on the HRT alone, and only 2.4% on the MPF alone. The same team in 1996 showed that in 15year followup, postmenopausal women fall into two groups: as opposed to the 70% majority slow bone losers, the 49 fast losers "had at all sites significantly less bone mass than the normal bone losers (p < 0.001). 23 women had experienced a peripheral (Colles') fracture and 25 a spinal fracture. The fracture groups had generally significantly (p < 0.05) less bone mass than the group without fracture, both in the forearm, spine, and hip and they also had the highest rate of bone loss after menopause (p < 0.05). Baseline bone mass and rate of loss predisposed to the same extent to fractures with ODD's ratios of about 2. If both low bone mass and rate of loss were present, the ODD's ratio increased to about 3." For three decades they have promoted appropriate estradiol and modern progestin replacement, withdrawal of which leads again to steady bone loss.
So why are BNPs- and increasingly strontium ranelate – – trumpeted as the most-prescribed drugs for osteoporosis? Quite simply- because health workers do what academics and professional bodies, Regulators and osteoporosis associations, politicians and Magnagement dictate- and thus what Big Pharma dictates since Big Pharma with its $multibillion a year raincheck synthetic (but long term never tested ) drugs pays such lobbyists well to research and register and promote their ever-new modern drugs before they go out of patent or are cancelled due to major adverse effects- or proof that they are actually useless. .
No matter how superior and safe combined supplements have been abundantly proven to be against fractures and all other common degenerative diseases of aging, no Big Pharma company is going to massmarket any supplements or combination of these when they are not patentable. So the AntiOsteoporosis Big Pharma lobbyists- the FDA and academic researchers, are well rewarded to denigrate effective natural supplement combinations since these are not patentable. It is obvious that no western ie allopathic Medical School can resist ie function without the massive research funding from Big Pharma.
Balanced natural supplements (which we evolved on and from in available diet over aeons – which protect all systems in the body- reduce all diseases and mortality drastically. Their free availability as foodstuffs (and human HRT as prescription supplements) is thus increasingly suppressed by eg the FDA, NHS , European Medicines Authority and medical schemes at the behest of their paymaster Big Pharma, for whom Only Disease Pays.
Hence BNP promotion and prescription for common osteoporosis is longstanding criminal fraud when simple supplements including phosphate heal bone without any of the horrendous risks of BNPs. We dont need reminding that BNP were developed to treat cancer bone pain ie terminal disease. Their use for common osteoporosis has never been remotely justified.
One may thus well ask again- since natural phosphate and the other essential supplement micronutrients are abundant, low cost, and so safe (like everything else in life- in appropriate balanced dose)- and so well known to become deficient with ageing and restricted diet- why did and do Authorities and Regulators allow heavily marketed synthetics phosphate salts- BNPs – and synthetic strontium salt- to be launched and continued to saturate the market before there was good proof of both need for them and evidence of long term safety, lack of major adverse effects?
It is trite to repeat that Regulators are there to protect the public- in this case consumers, patients- not promote reckless profiteering by ruthless corporates.
The essential role of abundant phosphate in diet was already exquisitely described by Harmon ea from Illinois in 1974 in pigs, (whose physiology so closely resembles humans) where paralysis and bone loss were prevented simply by adequate phosphate diet supplement to improve the calcium:phosphate balance in diet from about 2:1 to 1.4:1. The paper details references going back decades- so the benefits of adequate phosphates were already long and well known to science.
In the face of such simple nutritional benefit of natural microsupplements, why else except for commercial gain would research on BNPs already be reported since 1958? and their use against osteoporosis since 1971? Guanabens already reported BNP -associated long bone fracture in 1994 ; and he reviews the problem of vitamin D and phosphate deficiency related osteomalacia in a study a few months ago.
It is painfully obvious that synthetic drugs like BNPs that produce low bone turnover will cause brittle bones- osteomalacia, as Whyte reviewed in 2009. So why use such drugs, when all that patients need – if they cant take abundant sunshine and milk- is some balanced lowcost multisupplements. So it becomes increasingly negligent to promote, prescribe the synthetic drugs BNPs and SrRanelate, and high calcium-low vitamin D pills; and withhold balanced proven multisupplements.
Why do Regulators and so-called Expert Committees allow BNPs, SrRan and high calcium-low vitamin D pills (followed by expensive patents like synthetic designer HRT – xenohormones, and calcitonin and terapeptide ), to be the "most popular prescriptions" for osteoporosis (dictated largely by Big Pharma, and surgeons- gynecologists and orthopaedists – not metabolic nutrition-physiology-based endocrinologists and dieticians) – unless such authorities are in commercial cartel collusion with Big Pharma and the fracture industries against patients' interests? Why are payors and the most vulnerable older women- patients and others- allowed to be fleeced, preyed on like this for profiteering by poor health?


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The ORIGINAL gathering place for a merry band of Three Percenters. (As denounced by Bill Clinton on CNN!)
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Still can't get this to load on my computer at home, but I stopped by the library late yesterday and viewed it.
"Memories of Waco Siege Continue to Fuel Far-Right Groups." Looks like I didn't do a half-bad job and the editing was even more or less in context. That was more than I expected from the NYT. Note, of course, that while we are labeled "far right groups," the SPLC is not truthfully labeled a "far left group." There is much more that is objectionable in it from a factual point of view, but that was to be expected. I found the comments to the article interesting.
1 comment:
So much bias and distortion in that piece, it's difficult to watch. And Potok is a worthless lying pile of human fecal debris.
- July 14, 2015 at 9:37 PM
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subset: commoncrawl


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The Times Are Changing
It seems to be that we're about to enter another digital era and we can't help but feel that technology has woven it's way into almost every fabric of our daily lives, to the point where we're living out the Matrix.
The traditions we held as being fundamental to our society are slowing disappearing. The letter is virtually extinct, talking is old fashioned, art galleries are being driven by technology, music is no longer touched is just listened to, the feeling of a mouse is comforting than that of a hand.
And then to top it all, the last bastion of our news world decides subscription e-papers and online news sites are the future.
We're now used to information being easily accessible, up to date and supported with additional blogs, audio clips and videos. Online news sites have enabled news reporting to happen minute by minute as opposed to day by day and more importantly has made it accessible to anyone, anywhere and any when.
But let's not forget, newspapers are a business after all, with the supposed downturn in print advertising and increasing decline in circulation it is no surprise publishers are perceiving e-newspapers to be a profitable option, and with The Times and Sunday Times going digital (and charging users for a subscription) it appears there's now no turning back.
But we can't help but ask, with such vast information readily accessible on the internet, will there ever be a day when we are willing to pay for an e-paper? Is subscription of a daily newspaper the right next step for the printed paper? Would we be content with reading our daily update from a computer screen?
Surely people young and old will still want something tangible they can hold in their hands? And God forbid we lose the internet connection . . .


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Oracle has confirmed it will release its long-awaited Fusion Middleware 11g portfolio at a launch event in Washington, D.C. at the beginning of July.
Company president Charles Phillips and senior VP Thomas Kurian will deliver keynotes, and sessions are scheduled for WebCenter Suite 11g, the company's portal platform; Identity Management 11g and SOA Suite 11g. Oracle is also planning to discuss WebLogic Suite 11g, its application server, as well as its application grid technology.
Oracle discussed Fusion Middleware 11g at its OpenWorld conference in November 2007 and since then released a number of developer previews, but the suite's general availability date has been in question as Oracle worked over the past year to integrate the array of middleware technologies it acquired by buying BEA Systems.
The 1 July event may shed light on how Oracle plans to reconcile overlaps between its middleware portfolio and software it would acquire if it successfully completes its pending deal to purchase Sun Microsystems. Sun has an application server, GlassFish, as well as identity management software.
Still to come, though, is an announcement of another anticipated product, Oracle Database 11g Release 2. During a recent conference call, Phillips said 11g R2 should be released in the first quarter of Oracle's fiscal year, which started in June.
Meanwhile, Oracle middleware users reacted quickly to the launch event news.
"For those of us that inhabit the Oracle ecosystem, the Fusion Middleware 11g release is an enormous shifting tectonic plate," said Jason Jones, who works for an Oracle systems integrator, in a blog post.
Jones is eagerly anticipating the release, but added that it poses a certain challenge: "As exciting as all the new shiny toys are, at what point do we put our relationships with our clients on the line by recommending 11g over 10.1.X? Such is the life of an Oracle SI."


text: Anyone had the chance to experience the X with the 19" wheels/tires package ? Any hint on the range impacts ? Any hint on the driving dynamics impacts ? I am in advance, but buying them is a one month delay from what I see on the shop site. My guess: they use 265mm wide tires for all 4 wheels, compared to a 265mm/275mm for the 20" package. So probably some improvements on range, but could be just cancelling the impact of winter tires (still good news)


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SIGMA Surgical is a health-data company focused on streamlining and optimizing the surgical process using the data collected from the steps of common surgical procedures. The data is used to created targeted surgical reports to analyse performance and present opportunities for improvement. This allows for better patient safety and health care efficiency.
OxiLight is developing a wound imaging system, which will be able to assess viability of tissues, monitor wound healing progression, and triage treatments at earlier points.
Artin Biomed develops highly personalized orthopedic implants using a novel absorbable synthetic material that mimics the natural composition of human bone.
CleanSlate UV is a portable UV-sanitizing device for hospital tools and handheld electronics. It enables healthcare facilities to sanitize portable electronics – such as smartphones and thermometers – in just 30 seconds, while automatically tracking compliance with sanitization protocols.
Hospital Connection introduces brands directly to new parents by donating kits filled with products to parents upon the birth of their child.
Translatum Medicus Inc. (TMi) provides therapeutic for age-related macular degeneration (blindness).
They are dedicated to saving sight for patients with dry AMD. TMi de-risks and accelerates drug development for "dry" Age-Related Macular Degeneration.
Sensassure is a startup that is working on a reusable Smart Patch that sits on the outside of any commercially available incontinence product. At the beginning, the co-founders identified what they thought was the biggest issue with incontinence management – nurses don't have the data to know when a resident has urinated. Instead, nurses often implement a routine check, usually every two hours.


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I can chew with the best of 'em, but I was not able to pull of the blogging feats I hoped to accomplish this week. The planned (and much hyped!) series on "Facilitating Technology Integration" did not happen. I underestimated the amount of energy it takes to drive around a mountainous state, visit 3-5 schools […]
Archive for May, 2008
Biting off more than I could chew
May 29th, 2008 by Jon Becker
Facilitating Technology Integration – Day 1
May 26th, 2008 by Jon Becker
[WHERE IN THE WORLD IS JB: Sutton, WV. Gearing up for visit to first 5 schools tomorrow] So, I've arrived in West Virginia, and as promised, here's the first of this 5-part chronicle. After my visits tomorrow (5 schools in three different counties), I'll begin my discussion of findings. For today, just an introduction. My […]
My road trip through WV (aka fun with Google Maps)
May 26th, 2008 by Jon Becker
Here are my destinations for the next four days. Fun with Google Maps: View Larger Map
Channeling my inner John Denver
May 25th, 2008 by Jon Becker
Tomorrow, I head out to West Virginia for a week of data collection. From Tuesday through Friday, I'll be visiting 15 schools as part of a statewide evaluation of their Technology Integration Specialist (TIS) program. That program, funded through federal EETT funds, puts specialists in schools to work with teachers to facilitate better integration of […]
From the "You Knew This Was Coming" department
May 24th, 2008 by Jon Becker
Gary Stager rightfully challenged edubloggers to follow/care/blog about the Reading First study. I'd ignored his words… until now. After reading an article by Sol Stern about the study (txs to eduwonkette for pointing me to the article), I had to comment… You're probably aware of the old adage, "If you're losing the game, change the […]
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Untitled #68
ISO: 100, Shutter speed: 1/1600, Aperture: f/4,
Camera: Canon EOS 20D, Flash: None, Cropping: Minor,
Lens: Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L, Focal length: 35mm,
Captured: 25th August 2007, 3:32pm,
I doubt this will be to everyone's taste but it's the first of a few textured images I've got to post.
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Corporate social responsibility
Dublin Port Company recognises its role in the local communities with which it has strong connections over past generations and the CSR programme comprises three elements of support for these local communities education, community events and sports.
CSR has a central and important place at the heart of Dublin Port Company's Strategic Plan where CSR is defined as the commitment of the Port to contribute to sustainable economic development working with employees, the local community and society at large to improve the quality of life, in ways that are both good for the business of the Port and good for Dublin City, its citizens and visitors.
In particular, we recognise our role in the local communities with which we have strong connections over past generations and our CSR programme comprises three elements of support for these local communities:
- Education as a means to improve the economic wellbeing of local people through to the generation of employment opportunities in the local economy;
- Community events;
- Sports in local communities and in Dublin Bay.
We have established our Advisory Group (with membership from both the Board and the Executive) and the Board approved terms of reference for the group. As part of this approval, we also set a target for our cash contribution to CSR activities of 1.0% of pre-tax profits.
In September 2015. Dublin Port Company was awarded with Excellence in the Community, for the sponsorship of the National College of Ireland Early Learning Initiative. The Early Learning Initiative¹s mission, is to address the educational disadvantaged, through the provision of an integrated programme for children, their parents/families, and educators from the early years up to third-level.
Through our CSR strategy, Dublin Port Company continues to build on the strong and historic relationship's it has with the city and its local communities.
Dublin Port Company, in conjunction with the Dublin Port Community Liaison Committee, has initiated a scholarship programme to provide opportunities for individuals living in the Port area of Dublin, to fulfil their potential through education.
Download the Dublin Port Company Scholarship Programme Information Sheet
Download the Dublin Port Company Scholarship Programme Criteria
Download the Dublin Port Company Scholarship Programme Application Form


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Health IT
The CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare supports the development of an integrated health system. Achieving that goal will require widespread use of patient-focused healthcare information technology and the secure exchange of health information. MITRE plays an active role in increasing the effective use of such patient-focused technology by working across the health sector in pursuit of two primary goals:
- Advance health IT standards, interoperability, and networking
- Promote the "meaningful use" of electronic health records
Even before the creation of CAMH, our researchers made significant contributions to the health IT community. For example, MITRE, the Object Management Group, and HL7—a health IT standards organization—are currently refining and promoting the MITRE-developed hData, which is well on its way to becoming a worldwide standard in electronic health information exchange. The hData standard uses the same types of Web-based services as Amazon, Facebook, and Google. It enables thousands of independently developed applications to access and manage large volumes of data. hData would allow for the secure exchange of data on a national scale, in a format that works for all parties—patients, doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, and others involved in the health of a patient.
We're also leading the development of the RESTful Health Exchange (RHex), which uses Web technologies to create a simple, secure, standards-based health information exchange. RHex, which we built using the hData specification, will give patients and caregivers convenient access to the vital information they need, even on mobile devices.
Besides contributing to better patient outcomes, these efforts and many others are helping the national health-information community move in sync with the White House strategy for digital government in the 21st century.


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Lucious Jackson
|Personal information
October 31, 1941
San Marcos, Texas
|Listed height
|6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
|Listed weight
|240 lb (109 kg)
|Career information
|High school
|Morehouse (Bastrop, Louisiana)
|NBA draft
|1964 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4th overall
|Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
|Playing career
|Power forward / Center
|Career history
|Philadelphia 76ers
|Career highlights and awards
|Career statistics
|5,170 (9.9 ppg)
|4,613 (8.8 rpg)
|818 (1.6 apg)
|Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Lucious Brown "Luke" Jackson (born October 31, 1941) is a retired American professional basketball player.
Collegiate career
Born in San Marcos, Texas, Jackson played college basketball at Pan American College (now known as the University of Texas-Pan American) and was a member the U.S. Olympic basketball team that won the gold at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He also played for the United States men's national basketball team at the 1963 FIBA World Championship.[1]
NBA career
The 76ers drafted Jackson with the 4th overall pick in the NBA draft. He would play eight seasons (1964–1972) with the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA. A 6-foot, 9-inch (2.06 m) power forward who played center occasionally, he was named to the NBA's 1964–65 All-Rookie Team after averaging 14.8 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. He played in the NBA All-Star Game the same season. A teammate of Wilt Chamberlain, Jackson was a starter on the 1966–67 Philadelphia championship team that scissored the Boston Celtics' string of eight straight NBA championships. After the 1968 season, Chamberlain was dealt to the Lakers, and Jackson (along with the acquired Darrell Inhoff obtained in the Wilt trade), were asked to fill the void. However, Jackson suffered a major injury in 1969 and was never the same player after that, missing a total of 66 games his last three years in the NBA.
Personal life
Lucious Jackson's son, also Lucious, played for Jim Boeheim's Syracuse Orangemen from 1991–1995.
References in popular culture
The 1990s all-female rock band Luscious Jackson chose their name as inspiration from Lucious Jackson.[2]
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Basketball-Reference.com
- basketpedya.com
- College stats


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THAILANDFIRMS.COM › T › TR › TRA › TRAV › TRAVE › TRAVEL › Travelogue Agency
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Graham's Funeral Services are proud to offer a range of prestigious vehicles to help personalise the funeral farewell.
For an extra bit of style! This classic is also available for hire in the Auckland and Waikato regions.
A very popular choice with traditional American lines.
In modern olive steel this model offers a shorter base for smaller caskets.
Add a touch of sophistication to the day with one of Holden's flagship models.
For comfort and accessibility.


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Book Blurb~
Fans of Twilight will be immediately drawn into Discovery, a gothic, young adult urban fantasy. This supernatural coming-of-age romance deals with themes of equality for all and staying true to yourself. It's a dramatic tale of transformation, magic and forbidden love. First in the Altera Realm trilogy, Discovery follows compelling characters Syney and Hunter in a war between races as they fight for equality. The young adult supernatural genre has fast claimed the hearts of readers everywhere and Discovery will too. High school and college aged readers as well as adults will be enthralled by this fantastic journey. Each book in the Altera Realm trilogy takes place over the course of a tightly-packed year in the life of Syney Andrews and leads seamlessly into the next, culminating in a gripping climax. Meet Syney Andrews. Syney's life is ordinary until a chance encounter with a carnival psychic informs her that she will be embarking on a great adventure surrounding her real parents. Syney hasn't given herself the luxury of thinking about her so-called family that abandoned her. All she's got left of them is an amulet, the only thing found on her as a baby. The amulet is more powerful than she knows. It breaks a spell that sent her over 100 years into the future in the Human Realm. The Altera Realm has been at war for well over a century. Altera is connected to the Human Realm by a portal and no human knows it exists. It is home to the five old and great races. There are the Magic Users, Lycins, Vampires, Daemons, and Shifters. Each race is an entity of their own with it's own life purpose, rulers and guarded secrets. Syney is a new face in Altera Realm who's about to shake everything up. She's a human-raised, 18-year-old who is about to challenge everything about the old laws and traditions. The Realm will never be the same again. An old prophecy tells that peace can only be accomplished through the gracious Vilori Queen. What will happen when Syney Andrews is thrust into that role? After all, she's human-raised! No one is prepared for the consequences. Things are only going to get harder for Syney, who is feeling a strong attraction to Hunter, from a banished family—and another race. Who can Syney trust, if anyone? Will she go against the law forbidding interracial marriage? Or will she fight to the death for her love, Hunter? Readers will be on the edge of their seats as they find out.
When I started writing Altera, I was re-watching Charmed so there are some things in there that I grabbed, like the lost princess. My characters are really just made up (although I've been watching Buffy again lately and find some similarities between Angel and Hunter. They both have this brooding hot guy thing going for them). The first thing that I came up with for Syney was her purple eyes. I wanted to set her apart from everyone around her in the Human Realm, to show that she was different. A lot of her sarcasm comes from me. I love characters who have really good whit and use it. I have a decent amount of sarcasm (my students have to get used to that on day one) but Syney has lines that I wish I could come up with in a moment. My goal for Gabe was to make him different from other Vampires out there. Sure he is sexy and sneaky but I wanted him to be more complex and I think I accomplished that with his backstory. The only character, who has a real life backstory, is Noelle. I had the opportunity to meet the amazing actress Emilie Ullerup at a convention. She is really nice in real life and I'm a big fan of her work. When I net her, she didn't have an acting job so I told her (when I was getting her autograph) that when I became rich and famous I would hire her. I wrote the part of Noelle for her, really. Other than Noelle, I do have actors that I picture in my head for all of the characters, but I'm not going to list them all here. Maybe one day I can see them all acting out the characters that I love so much.
My book does have a death toll, something that I did in homage to Game of Thrones. No one is safe in my book, not even Syney, which makes it like a high stakes poker game. I really wanted Altera to be different but have elements that readers are used to. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
*Man I love the fact that Author Jennifer Collins got so much inspiration from some of my all time favorite shows!
Author info:
Discovery, part of the Altera Realm trilogy is Jennifer Collins's first foray into the world of gothic young adult fantasy fiction. She holds a BA in English with concentration in Creative Writing from Montclair State University and completed a certification program at Kean University for teacher of English K-12 in New Jersey. She enjoys being a high school English teacher at the Plainfield Academy of Arts and Advanced Studies, a public performing arts middle school and high school in the urban inner-city school district of Plainfield, New Jersey. She currently lives in Colonia, New Jersey, with her husband, Robert, and her handsome cat, Dr. Daniel Jackson.
1 eCopy of Discovery


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Do you know a selfless volunteer who deserves recognition for their work?
To celebrate the work of those who, willingly and freely, give their time and effort to manage and maintain Lincolnshire community buildings the Directors of Community Lincs are requesting nominations from Community Building Committees for the John Barker Trophy.
For many years community building committees across Lincolnshire were able to call upon the technical expertise of John Barker on building related matters.
Although John has now retired from volunteering for Community Lincs, he gave his support and technical advice on subjects including property maintenance, new buildings, extensions and refurbishment of existing premises.
In recognition of his volunteering service the Directors of Community Lincs established the 'The John Barker Trophy' to celebrate the work of local community building volunteers.
Community Lincs community facilities adviser Samantha Smith said there are very many volunteers who deserve recognition for their service to the community in which they live, through their involvement with community buildings.
All nominations for this award will need two sponsors from a community building committee and a written presentation of no more than 300 words as supporting evidence.
The winner of each category will receive their trophy at the organisations AGM on September 23.
Nominations will be accepted between now and 4pm on August 14.
All nominations should be submitted online


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In the next few weeks, there will be a lot of talk in Washington about reforming our system of health care. As Americans struggle to make ends meet, too many also live with the challenge of affording basic health care for themselves and their families.
I believe America�s health care system is broken and must be fixed. I understand concerns about getting and keeping affordable coverage. I believe poor-quality care is caused by overuse, misuse, waste, fraud and doctors having to practice defensive medicine. All of those things drive up health care costs.
I believe we can do several common-sense things to improve our health care system, and as the House continues to discuss and develop its approach, one thing is clear � small-business owners need meaningful reform that increases access to quality, affordable health care. Sadly, many provisions in the Democrats� draft bills and most recent proposal fall far short of achieving those goals. Specifically, I oppose employer mandates that threaten the viability of our nation�s job creators. An 8 percent pay-or-play mandate would inevitably harm job creation. Research shows an employer mandate could cost 1.6 million jobs � hardly what this country needs in these challenging economic times.
Recently, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found the Democrats� House bill would cost a hefty $1.04 trillion and leave many Americans still uninsured. To be sure, I believe in and will continue to champion increasing access to insurance. In a lagging economy with a mounting unemployment rate, however, a trillion dollars is a lot of money to spend to leave many people still struggling to buy basic health care. Moreover, reforming health care does not mean we have to penalize businesses with more taxes. Under the Democrats� House plan, many small businesses would be hit with a penalty equal to 8 percent of payroll if they fail to provide health insurance to workers.
As a small-business owner and a member of the House Small Business Committee, I am keenly aware of the difficulties small businesses face in providing their employees with health insurance. That is why I support small-business health plans to allow small businesses to pool together and increase their purchasing power so they can provide health benefits to their employees at the same prices available to large corporations.
I support quality, affordable health care and believe we should look closely at several potential health care reforms, such as making it easier to transfer care from one job to another. We should consider putting stronger rules and regulations on health care providers that would, among other things, require health insurers to cover pre-existing conditions. We should look at health care tax credits to ensure hard-working folks have access to affordable health care in the first place. Recognizing not all high school and college graduates are able to find a job that offers health care coverage after graduation, we should consider allowing dependents to remain on their parents� health policies up to age 25. This would reduce the number of uninsured Americans by up to 7 million. We must also act to prevent abusive lawsuits from driving up the cost of care and driving doctors out of business. Although I support health care reform, I cannot and will not support a public health care system that rations health care and allows a government bureaucrat to make life-and-death decisions when it comes to people�s health.
I have already supported legislation that provides health care coverage to low-income children. House Resolution 2 � introduced in the House on Jan. 13 and voted on the next day � had a number of serious flaws, which led me to support a better, longer-term extension of the State Children�s Health Insurance Program. I voted for a seven-year extension of SCHIP that prioritizes covering low-income children without raising taxes. The plan I voted for would not have forced children with private insurance into a government-run health care system, nor would it have spent my constituents� hard-earned tax dollars to provide insurance for families making $80,000 per year in New York. In addition, the plan I voted for maintained the requirement in current law that prevents illegal immigrants from gaining access to taxpayer-funded programs.
Additionally, I have signed on to legislation that would initiate an evidence-based public education campaign about breast cancer in women younger than 40, and I opposed a recent action by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to deny Medicare coverage of computed tomography colonography screenings, also known as virtual colonoscopies. A lack of awareness and decreased access to screenings and detection undoubtedly result in a much higher mortality rate for cancer.
Given the health care shortages throughout the country, including many parts of my district, I have signed on to legislation that would improve access to health care by increasing the number of physicians trained in high-need specialties and by expanding the nation�s graduate medical education training capacity to a larger number of suburban and rural hospitals. Rural areas continue to suffer from a lack of diverse providers for their communities� health care needs.
As Congress tackles these and other important issues, I will continue to work tirelessly to make sure any reforms to our world-class health care system do not destroy the absolute right of patients to make personal decisions on treatment with their doctors and without interference by a third party like the government.
Although not everyone agrees on this issue, I believe we can all agree at least on this point: Any decisions we make on health care should not be motivated by politics but, rather, by providing better care for all Americans.


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http://www.mona.net.au/ or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Old_and_New_Art
Original Photography
http://www.mona.net.au/ or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Old_and_New_Art
Your water is awesome – did you use a polarizer?
No polarizer, just lucky with the light and a slight contrast adjustment.
Must be New Englanders – they camouflaged their BOAT?!?
I'm not sure what 'New Englanders' mean but here is a link to the boats owner:-
I;m guessing you mean Bogan- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogan
Links were a great help! "Bogan" would seem to be more like our "Redneck". A sensible redneck would camouflage their boat to make it harder to be seen by hunting prey. A New Englander would do so to prevent his neighbors from noticing the new toy (folks from the US Northeast – or New England – are generally frugal, very private, and proud to be both). This is, of course, very much tongue-in-cheek and my own personal opinion. Your boat's owner is very sophisticated and uber-cool; a long way from any of the terms we've used here!
I didn't have a clue about 'New Englanders' I love learning new stuff. Thanks so much guys I will look into it more.


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DOWNLOAD: The Russell Brand On Radio X Podcast
21 August 2017, 06:00 | Updated: 7 November 2017, 12:43
Catch all the best bits of Russell Radio X show every week.
He's back on Radio X! You can listen to Russell on Radio X between 11am and 1pm every Sunday, or catch up with the best bits on this special podcast right here. And don't forget, you can contact the show at anytime, day or night via firstname.lastname@example.com.


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They say that in the polling business there comes a point where the numbers are talking to you. In last week's CROP poll for La Presse, the numbers were definitely talking about a realignment of federal voting intentions in Quebec that has only accelerated in the three months since the election.
The Conservatives now lead the Bloc Quebecois by a 34-31 margin, with the Liberals at 15 per cent and the NDP at 13 per cent.
And this was before last week's budget, in which Prime Minister Stephen Harper acknowledged the fiscal imbalance between Ottawa and the provinces, and before last Friday's accord on Quebec's participation in the Canadian delegation at UNESCO, the United Nations educational and cultural organization.
Yes, these numbers are talking.
Consider: Less than six months ago, at the start of the federal campaign, Stephen Harper's Conservatives were languishing in single digits, with no immediate prospect of breaking into double digits, let alone the 20-per-cent threshold of winning a few seats in Quebec.
By election day, they had moved up to 25 per cent, which, concentrated in the 418-area-code region in and around Quebec City, proved to be a very efficient vote that delivered 10 seats to the new Conservative government.
What has happened since the election on Jan. 23? The Conservatives have moved up by nine points to 34 per cent, the Bloc has plunged 11 points to 31 per cent, and the Liberals have lost six points to 15 per cent, while the NDP has grown into double digits at 13 per cent.
Among francophones, the Liberals are in single digits at nine per cent, reduced to rubble off the island of Montreal. It is only their 48 per cent of the non-francophone vote in the Montreal region that pulls them into double digits. And even there, the Conservatives are making inroads, growing to 27 per cent.
What would this mean, in an election held today?
That's easy. These numbers would produce 35 to 40 seats for the Conservatives in Quebec, 30 to 35 seats for the Bloc and about 10 seats for the Liberals in their anglo-allo redoubt in the Montreal region.
Quebec's 75 ridings are the key to a majority in the 308-seat House, where the Conservatives have 125 seats, 30 seats short of a majority.
Again, the numbers are talking. Another 25 seats in Quebec takes the Conservatives to the doorstep of a majority. Another 30 seats gets them to the magic number of 155 in a 308-member House. Add some seats from the Atlantic, Ontario and British Columbia's Lower Mainland and you would have a majority comfortable enough to allow MPs to leave town without fear of losing a vote in the House.
The election ended the polarization between the federalist and separatist options, between the Liberals and the Bloc as joint beneficiaries of their symbiotic relationship. Where they depicted elections as a choice of country, Harper presented a choice of policies on daycare cheques and the GST cut, and a concept of federalism that respected the constitutional division of powers.
After decades of the family feud going back to the Trudeau-Levesque era, Harper is bidding to put an end to it. In this regard, he actually benefits from not being part of the family, but rather a prospective son-in-law being welcomed into it. He seems like a polite young man who speaks pretty good French and has a good job with the government.
Being taken into the family is one thing. Earning his keep is quite another. At the end of the campaign, when it was clear a Conservative breakthrough was at hand, Quebecers said that now Harper had to deliver the goods, almost as a warning of what would happen if he didn't. Failure would drive voters back into the arms of the Bloc at the federal level and the Parti Quebecois at the provincial level, triggering the winning conditions for a third referendum.
There are no winning conditions apparent today, at least not from the federal side of the house. This leaves Gilles Duceppe in a bad place. His litmus test is that the Bloc constructively supports what is good for Quebec.
Thus, by including a discussion paper on the fiscal imbalance, Harper won Duceppe's endorsement for last week's budget, insuring it will pass easily.
The paper didn't resolve the fiscal imbalance, far from it. It didn't deliver another nickel to the provinces. It simply stated the existence of a fiscal imbalance that Ottawa has previously denied.
Besides, Duceppe doesn't want an election right now. Even while the Bloc is trying to figure out what happened to them in the last election, it is still happening.


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Rabbi Nissan Aharon Tikochinsky, the head of the Etz Chaim Yeshiva, died on Tuesday in Jerusalem at the age of 90.
His funeral left from the Etz Chaim Yeshiva and Talmud Torah in Jerusalem, at one o'clock in the afternoon. He was buried in the Sanhedria Cemetery next to his father, Rabbi Yechezkel Michel Tikochinsky (sometimes spelled Tukichinsky), author of the Gesher Hachaim volumes on Jewish mourning and author-editor of the widely used Luach Eretz Yisrael, a detailed yearly calendar of prayer times and time-dependent details of Jewish observance based on the laws and customs of Jerusalem.
Born in 1922, Rabbi Nissan Aharon attended Etz Chaim elementary yeshiva, as did many Jerusalem sages in their youth, including Rabbi Avraham Shapira of Merkaz HaRav, until age 14, when he left home to study at the famed Lomza Yeshiva in Petach Tikvah. He was later appointed to head Etz Chaim in Jerusalem, a position that he kept for close to seventy years.
In addition in being known for taking a close, personal interest in each of the hundreds of students studying at the various Etz Chaim institutes and personally overseeing every member of the staff as well as travelling worldwide to lecture on Torah, Rabbi Nissan Aharon authored Ir HaKodesh V'Hamikdash, updated the Luach each year and published the manuscripts of his great-grandfather, Rabbi Shmuel Salant, one of the founders of Etz Chaim and longtime chief rabbi of Jerusalem. Rabbi Salant died on the 29th of Av (August 16) in 1909, and is buried on the Mount of Olives.
Credits: Alexander Gorev via Kuvien Images - www.kuvienimages.com


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Pictures: African Landing Day at Fort Monroe
Community members and local dignitaries gathered together to celebrate African Arrival Day on Fort Monroe in Hampton. The celebration recognizes the August 1619 landing of a Dutch ship carrying "20 and odd" Africans who were traded for provisions and supplies and was the first documented landing of indentured or enslaved Africans in English-occupied North America.
Aileen Devlin/Daily Press
Copyright © 2019, Daily Press


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I got my iPhone 4 a couple months ago, and now that I've had it, I can't imagine life without it. With the app store, I'm almost convinced my iPhone can do anything. However, I was a bit surprised when I found it could also act as a portable guitar effects unit as well.
A couple months ago Griffin Technology released their GuitarConnect cable for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. This cable plugs your guitar right into your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. The headphone output allows you to connect auxiliary speakers or headphones.
I was able to get ahold of the GuitarConnect cable to try out in person, and here's what I think.
First Impressions
Griffin ships the GuitarConnect cable in a small plastic bag. The cable feels very durable in my hands. It's not flimsy, but it's still very flexible. The cable is 6′ long so it's plenty long enough to reach from my iPhone to my electric guitar.
Griffin offers their guitar effects iShred LIVE for free, so I downloaded that, plugged my guitar in, and then plugged my headphones in and I was ready to go.
Exploring iShred LIVE
Upon opening up iShred LIVE on my iPhone, I see a channel strip at the top of app with settings to switch between a clean and overdrive channel with gain settings. Below that, there is collection of eight pedals. The ones that are transparent are ones that are available for purchase for as much as $1.99. These include a compressor, treble booster, tremolo, chorus, and distortion/fuzz pedal. The pedals that come with the app are a noise gate, delay, and phaser/modulation pedal.
If I click to the "Presets" tab, I have a collection of presets I can select from. I can also save presets that I create into the user bank presets.
iShred LIVE Tonal Quality
For a free app that runs an effects unit right from your iPhone, I wasn't expecting it to match the quality of a real-life pedal board. This was a fair expectation. You'll quickly notice that while each of the effects pedals does exactly what it's suppose to, the sound of the guitar tends to sound very digital and thin. This is to be expected though from an iPhone app.
One problem I was having was that even on a clean setting my guitar signal was distorting. Thankfully, the iShred LIVE app includes a sound meter towards the bottom of the app. I simply turned the volume knob on my guitar to fix the clipping issue. This did make me have to compensate for the loss of volume by increasing the volume on my iPhone though.
A Very Handy Practice Tool
You're not going to be getting any really sick guitar tones from this device, but I can see how handy this app can be for practice. The app also includes a tuner, metronome, and an audio player that allows you to play your guitar along to audio files in your iTunes library.
The metronome worked as exactly as I expected. It's nice that you can even specify how many beats per measure you want the metronome to register. The tuner was very simple but accurate enough to get a good tuning.
I was a bit disappointed with the built in audio player. It ended up not being very practical because the volume of the audio file was significantly louder than the output of the guitar. Unfortunately, the volume control controls the volume of the audio player AND the guitar signal. It would be nice if there were two separate volume controls for the audio file and the guitar. However, one really cool part of the built in audio player was that you can select a certain part of the song to loop. This comes in handy if you're trying to transcribe or hear a guitar part.
Final Thoughts
You're not getting a word class sounding guitar tone from this application, however, it does make a very good practice tool considering it's so portable and easy to use. If you could take advantage of this portability, at $29.99 this would be a good buy. Plus, it's just cool to be able to play your guitar through your iPhone.
Learn more about the Griffin GuitarConnect cable at Griffin's website here.


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Wingman - Mission accomplished.
After Many Years
After Many Years - All relationship change.
My Wife Believes
My Wife Believes - She is a better driver, I let our dog decide.
His Hand Is On My Knee
His Hand Is On My Knee - While he's talking to his wife.
Rough Riders
Rough Riders - Maybe we should try another brand of condoms next time.
Remember: Dont Stare at it
Remember: It's like looking into the sun. You're not supposed to stare at it.
Aren't You Sweet
Aren't You Sweet.. You look good enough to eat.
So That's The Kind
So That's - The kind of pearl necklace you wanted.
Ogre Love
Ogre Love - It's a beautiful thing.
Annoyance When Playing
Annoyance - Is not being able to finish the level... and knowing who's responsible.
Sandwiches Delicious
Sandwiches - very tasty when meat is surround by delicious buns.
True Friends Always Help
True Friends - Sticking with you through good times and bad.
The Gift Of Giving
The Gift Of Giving - I never get jealous when I see my ex with someone else, because my
Facebook Investigator
Facebook - Saving unhappy couples the cost of a private investigator since 2004.
Single - It's better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone.
Warm Hearts
Warm Hearts - Cold feet.
E-HARMONY - 6 Million Couples & Counting
Double Date With Dog
Dog -The sure bet to get the ladies' attention when your looks won't pull it off.


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The Field Master is also fully repairable.
A super compact, 12 hour run time digital night and day unit, fitted with dual accessory rails and supplied with a T20 Oslon Black multi-setting focusable infra-red emitter and 1000 lumen flashlight.
But we don't stop there! The Field Master also comes supplied with double sets of accessory batteries, standard and remote switches, chargers and mount rings; everything you need in one box, straight out of the box… all for £385!
The Field Master is just 60% the size of the Hunter but with no loss of function, the Field Master main unit weighs in at just 850 grams.
The Field Master sports a pair of weaver rails to which a number of shooting aids can be fitted. In line with Pitch Black wanting to offer exceptional value for money the Standard unit comes supplied not only with an infra-red emitter but also a hi-output visible light spectrum torch (circa 1000 lumens) and even supply both with a set of batteries. As if this wasn't enough, the infra-red emitter is in fact a top spec' Oslon Black T20 unit, good for distances of up to 300* yards in total darkness!
Also in the pipeline is a state of the art laser range-finder which works in unison with the Field Master view screen allowing for real time range confirmation and a compact recording unit.
Given that the view angle of the Field Master is already wide enough to act as a very capable spotter, the addition of the range finder makes the Field Master an all in one shooting tool. From being able to adjust brightness and colour settings via easy access controls on the view screen itself to the custom designing reticule feature, the Field Master allows you to shoot the way you want.
What Nigel Allen, Editor of Airgun Shooter has to say:"I'm in no doubt that Pitch Black Night Vision is going to revolutionise night hunting, the quality of their sight picture is astounding. The 5x magnified image is better than any GEN2+ NV optic I've ever tested. I can see it becoming one of the biggest-selling shooting accessories of the foreseeable future!"
Mat Manning, Shooting Author and review writer:"Reassuringly simple in function and form, the Pitch Black Hunter delivered the goods on a seriously tough night's hunting. I'm very impressed."
Richard Bingham, CEO BEST Fittings:"The Field Master from Pitch Black Night Vision is a breath of fresh air in the field of night vision. It is designed around proven technology matched to give the greatest optical advantage, and is neatly packed into a fully self-contained unit weighing no more than a good quality scope. Having the capability for full daytime or night time use, there really is no need to have 2 shooting set-ups anymore. This unit really does bring all of the benefits of night vision within the reach of many more shooters, and we here at BEST Fittings heartily approve!"
Michael Bell, CEO Target Sports:
Nic Wenham at Pitch Black Night Vision, has released his latest edition to the NV world, the Field Master. Having used this and put it through its passes I could not believe how well this unit works. Having a dedicated NV unit with superior clarity at 300 yards simply is a work of genius. I'm impressed with its 1 shot calibration and that the unit will give you what you need all night & day. Whether you're wanting to customise the reticule to your own preference or change the colour of the reticule, I found the menus very easy to navigate. The fully focusable T20 IR and T6 flashlight that come with this unit are fantastic for your illumination and the 4.3" inch screen offers superb image quality. With its x5 magnification and AV out you can also record your hunts with total clarity. Add the 12 hour run time to this day/night package you really do have a straight out the box set up. You can be sure this unit will put a big smile on your face. I look forward to taking this unit back out and using it again.
Pitch Black Night Vision… It's Time To See The Night.
* Environment Dependent


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Navy Kills 3 Pirates, Rescues Ship Captain off Somalia's Coast
Monday, April 13, 2009
MOMBASA, Kenya, April 12 -- An American captain held hostage for five days by Somali pirates in a lifeboat adrift in the Indian Ocean was rescued unharmed Sunday in a surprise U.S. military operation in which snipers killed three pirates with the captain tied up just feet away, American military officials said. A fourth pirate was in U.S. custody.
The snipers, positioned near the fantail of the destroyer USS Bainbridge less than 30 yards from the lifeboat, fired within seconds after a commander determined that Capt. Richard Phillips, 53, was in "imminent danger" as one of the pirates aimed an AK-47 at his back, military officials said. President Obama had issued a standing order that the military was to act if the captain's life was in immediate jeopardy, said Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, commander of the Fifth Fleet.
After bobbing since Wednesday in the stifling lifeboat cabin, where temperatures topped 100 degrees, Phillips was whisked to the Bainbridge. He then showered and changed into clean clothes, Gortney said, adding that the captain is "in good health."
Phillips spoke to his wife in Vermont, and soon the news was being announced inside his ship, the Maersk Alabama, which docked here Saturday night with its American crew, minus their captain. Sailors came out on deck and whooped for joy, waving a U.S. flag, sounding the ship's horn three times and firing two flares across the starry night sky.
"He's one of the bravest men I ever met," one of the crew members said of Phillips, who boarded the lifeboat with the pirates to get them to leave after the crew had regained control of the ship. "He's a national hero."
The U.S. military operation ended a tense, five-day standoff in which four pirates armed with pistols and AK-47s ultimately faced off with a small American armada in the Indian Ocean off Somalia's coast. Somali pirates who had pulled off the first seizure of an American crewman in recent memory were soon staring at the hulls of the USS Halyburton, a guided-missile frigate equipped with helicopters, and the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship with missile launchers, attack planes and a crew of 1,000, which had joined the Bainbridge.
U.S. military officials acknowledged Sunday that the killing of the three pirates could worsen the problem, an outcome that shipping companies have sought to avoid.
"This could escalate violence in this part of the world, no question about it," Gortney said.
Piracy off Somalia's anarchic coast is hardly a new problem, but it has been escalating for years. Fishermen complaining of widespread illegal fishing in their waters began by seizing trawlers as an act of defiance but soon found they had stumbled onto a lucrative business. Armed with Global Positioning System devices, satellite phones and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, the pirates have earned millions in ransom for vessels such as the Sirius Star, a Saudi oil tanker that is the largest ship seized in history.
Somalia's fragile transitional government, struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency with ties to al-Qaeda, can barely control any part of the capital, Mogadishu, much less a piracy epidemic rooted along its shores, where the multimillion-dollar business has turned sleepy fishing villages into mini-boomtowns.
Foreign governments have sent a flotilla of naval ships to the busy Gulf of Aden, but pirates have simply moved their operations south and further out to sea, often using captured fishing vessels called mother ships to launch attacks.
The closest naval ship was 300 nautical miles away when the Maersk Alabama was attacked Wednesday.