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Who's Leading the Dow's Surge
Finally, investors get some good news from the markets! The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) is shaking off the past weeks' losses, up 161 points, or 1.3%, as of 2 p.m. EST. Stocks are showing green as far as the eye can see, with only one beleaguered tech giant dipping lower on the Dow today. From one company's upgrade lifting an entire sector to a refreshing breath of economic news, there's hardly a lagging stock out on the markets. Let's see what's behind this upbeat session.
Good news out of housing and finance
A pair of reports out of the housing sector opened up the flurry of activity to start the day. Homebuilder sentiment jetted up to its highest level in more than six years as the industry slowly turns the corner. If that weren't enough optimism out of housing, the National Association of Realtors also released a statement today, reporting a monthly gain of more than 2% in existing-home sales. For the year, those sales are up more than 10%.
Who else should get a lift from good economic news but the financial sector? Bank of America (NYS: BAC) has taken off today, with shares up more than 3% so far. It's not just the economy that's helping out: B of A also received an upgrade from Stifel Nicolaus from hold to buy, with a price target of $11 -- more than 20% above what shares currently trade for. Analysts cited a likely dividend increase and positive EPS growth in the assessment. The good news spilled over to the sector as a whole; fellow bank JPMorgan Chase (NYS: JPM) also ranks among top Dow leaders, with its shares up 2.6% today.
Telecoms are also having a good day, with both AT&T (NYS: T) and Verizon (NYS: VZ) ranking near the top of the index, picking up gains of 1.75% and 2.4%, respectively. Reports have surfaced citing high demand for Nokia's (NYS: NOK) new Lumia 920 phone, which is sold exclusively by AT&T. The phone's success would likely lead to a big gain for AT&T -- and an even bigger one for struggling Nokia.
Little on the losing side
The only stock struggling to tread water in this bull market is Intel (NAS: INTC) , whose shares are down 0.2% today. It's been tough times recently for the chip maker as the PC market continues to decline, but news surfacing today further compounded the company's problems. Intel said its CEO, Paul Otellini, will leave his post in May 2013. Intel has yet to name a successor, although whoever fills the position will need to turn around the company's fortunes in the mobile market as PC sales lag.
Overall, it's hard to criticize today's spectacular Dow session. Bank of America continues to impress, continuing its rise of more than 62% year to date. Is this rise a sign of things to come, as today's upgrade indicated, or is it time to sell the most talked-about bank in the country? To find out what you need to know, check out our in-depth company report on Bank of America. The report details Bank of America's prospects, including three reasons to buy and three reasons to sell. Just click here to keep reading.
The article Who's Leading the Dow's Surge originally appeared on Fool.com.
Dan Carroll has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America, Intel, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend Intel and AT&T. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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Xerox D1011LS Disc DuplicatorXerox Updated: 2009-02-03 RSS
Model: VP4690-XRDUP-11LS
Duplication speed: CD: 3 minutes for 700MB capacity at 40x speed
DVD: 6 minutes for 4.7GB capacity at 20x speed
Connectivity: USB 2.0
Standard HDD size: 160GB
Copies per hour: CD: 330 based on 300MB capacity at 40x speed
DVD: 165 based on 2.5GB capacity at 20x speed
LightScribe labels per hour (Title only): Draft Setting: 330 Discs
Normal Setting: 220 Discs
Best Setting: 165 Discs
LightScribe labels per hour (with Graphics): Draft Setting: 55 Discs
Normal Setting: 33 Discs
Best Setting: 22 Discs
Quick Facts
* Complete standalone operation (no PC required to operate)
* Equipped with 1 CD/DVD reader drive & 11 CD/DVD writer drives
* Able to duplicate all common DVD formats including Single Layer DVD±R/RW and Double/Dual Layer DVD±R formats
* Supports all common CD formats including Video CD, CD-TEXT, ISRC, Over-Burned CD (90 min/99min)
* The text on the LCD screen can be displayed in English, Spanish, French and more (Chinese and Arabic are avaliable upon request)
Competitive Edge
* Able to label discs with full graphics and text using LightScribe Technology: Using LightScribe capable discs, the duplicator can burn the labels onto all the discs in the writer drives at the same time.
* Transfer files from a PC direct to the duplicator's hard drive (HDD): Connect the duplicator to a PC by USB connection and transfer the file that needs to be duplicated directly to the duplicator's internal HDD. No longer need to burn a master disc to initiate the duplication process.
* Large 128MB buffer memory: Keeps all drives burning without pausing (known as buffer under-run) for the most stable and reliable high speed duplication - The higher the memory buffer the less likely to encounter buffer under-run errors.
* Improved Load and Copy supported: Improved "Load and Copy" transfers the data from the master disc to the internal HDD while simultaneously copying that data disc to disc on the first run. All subsequent runs are copied through the HDD.
* Dynamic hard drive partitioning: The HDD partitions are created with flexible partitions that can be used to match the size of the project being stored. This process saves space and allows for more projects to be stored on the HDD.
* Hard drive partition/image name Editing: Able to name the images/data stored on the hard drive partitions.
* Drive firmware upgradeability: Capable of upgrading the drive's firmware through the duplicator.
* Account management (password protection): This function will authorize only specific user(s) to operate the duplicator with their preferred settings. Able to assign numerous passwords for multiple users.
* Creates mix compilation audio CD: Able to compile multiple tracks onto a single disc from multiple sources.
Performance Features
* Auto-Counter technology: Displays the total number of discs successfully copied compared to desired output for each project.
* Auto DVD format conversion: Can convert media between DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW automatically.
* Aluminum case provides a highly functional and attractive exterior: Duplicator casing available in metallic silver.
* Power-on self diagnostics: Keeps the duplicator functioning optimally.
* Disc info feature: Provides the format of the disc & the disc manufacturer's information.
* Selectable CD & DVD burning speeds: Ability to increase or decrease duplication speed for supported formats.
* Upgradeable for future drive technology: Able to upgrade duplicator for installation of future drives.
* Future functions upgradeable through firmware: Duplicator able to upgrade future software updates via firmware.
Ease-of-use features
* AutoCopy feature: Fast duplication without pressing any buttons.
* Fast key support: 4 fast keys for faster operations.
* User friendly interface with 'easy-to-read' LCD display: Offers easy to recognize and use terms and operations on the LCD display for simple usage.
* Supports both Disk-at-Once and Track-at-Once modes
* Automatic format recognition: Duplicator recognizes automatically if the discs are CD or DVD as well as the correct format to copy.
* Continuous copying without waiting for cool down: No need to stop the duplicator for fear of overheating.
User Guide
Related Manuals
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Iomega 33938 Super DVD Burner

subset: commoncrawl


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It's been a rough year for Boston University. BU police have received nine reports of sexual assault and five reports of rape so far this academic year, including two very high-profile cases involving former members of the men's ice hockey team. There have also been three Peeping Tom incidents, and one report of a public library groping. That's double the number of incidents over the previous two years combined, and that's not even all of it.
In addition to the aforementioned assault charges, Peeping Toms, and bookish groping, Boston University has also dealt with an alleged sorority hazing incident that sent a group of heavily intoxicated women to the hospital in March (the sorority, Sigma Delta Tau, was suspended; University police believe a fraternity — as yet unnamed — provided the alcohol, but no action has been taken against the house). Oh, and then there was that unfortunate "April Fools" edition of BU's independent daily paper that attempted to satirize sexual assault (Sample line: "Seven frat dwarves were arrested last night after they allegedly drugged and gangbanged a Boston University student") and resulted in the editor-in-chief's resignation.
And yet, while these incidents (alleged or otherwise) suggest a prevalent rape culture amongst the student body, over a dozen students told us that they blame the administration, not their peers, for perpetuating the problem.
Although only 10 percent of the nearly 19,000 undergraduates at BU participate in the Greek system, students say the university is widely considered to be a "party school" thanks to stereotypically "fratty bros" as well as "privileged" students who can afford to pay $42K in annual tuition. "Those kids are the loudest and most visible, and the school encourages them by putting more emphasis on athletics and vocational programs, such as communications, instead of critical education," said one male senior.
"The hailing of bro culture turns into an uglier, more violent culture, especially on nights and weekends, on and off campus," said recent BU graduate Allison Francis. Francis, whose account of punching a cat-caller near campus was published on Jezebel earlier this year, says she received near-constant harassment, often from her fellow students, while she attended the college. "It's just as you would expect at a huge school where sports are such an important part of the culture. There's an emphasis on praising the aggressive, violent aspects of sports culture" — which manifests itself off the field — at the expense of people who don't feel safe."
One female undergraduate who once wrote a paper on "Douchbaggery at BU" for an anthropology class said that "everyone has at least one story of a friend who had a bad run-in with a hockey player or rare frat guy." She cited a campus staircase that for decades students have jokingly referred to as the "rape stairs" — for a series of alleged assaults that may have taken place there in the 1980s — as an example of "the type of normalization [on campus] when it comes to sexual assault and rape." Still, she said, "BU isn't a campus that breeds this behavior." Most students agreed with that statement. The university doesn't actually feel less safe than other universities — it just seems that way thanks to increased media coverage following the high-profile hockey scandals.
The more pressing issue is that the school is ill-equipped to handle sexual violence and — perhaps even more problematically — doesn't seem to care unless it makes the university look bad. For example: Why did the administration only assign an internal task force to investigate the hockey team after a second player was charged with sexual assault? In a campus-wide email addressing the matter, President Robert A. Brown called the players' acts "reprehensible" but failed to use the terms "rape" or even "sexual assault" to describe the charges. He included a Boston Globe quote from the hockey team's coach, who said, "I hope [the charges are a] horrible coincidence. I don't want this to be the culture of our team, and if it is, we'll change it." Unsurprisingly, Brown failed to add that the same coach told the Daily Free Press that charges against one attacker were just "another incident" related to the player's known history of alcohol-related problems.
Students called the internal task force a step in the right direction, but the effort was "too little too late" and counterintuitive. "The task force doesn't address the problems of student culture, just athletic culture," said Michelle Weiser, a BU senior and public relations coordinator for the school's Center for Gender, Sexuality and Activism (BUCGSA). "It makes no sense whatsoever that the investigation is internal," said another female student. "Athletes are a huge investment for the university and it's in [their] best interest to protect them. I don't have faith that they'll be objective. What are they going to do if they find out the situation is even worse than they thought? Scrap the team?"
While the task force carries on — they've promised an update by summer — some students have launched their own investigations into BU's paltry crisis counseling services. In February, Francis called the Student Health Services' after-hours operator number, BU's only late-night support system for victims of sexual crimes, to test its effectiveness and documented the exchange. Things did not go well; the confused male operator who picked up said, "We don't have anything about sexual assault here," and led her through "a useless loop of automated menus that provide no real resources or response to sexual assault." Francis wrote about the exchange on her Facebook page (which she maintains under a different name), concluding that "Boston University has neither an emergency support system for victims of sexual assault nor staff members trained in responding to rape crisis situations." Margaret Ross, director of SHS Behavioral Medicine, told BU Today that the protocol now "explicitly directs the answering service to first inquire as to the safety and well-being of the caller." But SHS, which only has two professional crisis counselors on staff for 30,000+ students, does not anticipate adding any additional services.
Weiser and her BUCGSA cohorts were thrilled when SHS Director David MacBride told BUCGSA that he supports expansion efforts, saying in a meeting (via a BUCGSA press release) that "SHS is not able to do as much as I would like with our current staffing pattern." But when we tried to contact SHS to confirm some basic facts about their counseling services, Colin Riley, BU's Executive Director of Media Relations, told us that MacBride and the counselors were too busy to "discuss our system." He said the center was "very responsive, modern, and appropriately staffed" and that to suggest more counselors were needed would be like debating whether "you needed one or more gardeners." Riley seemed confused when we didn't equate the hockey team assaults with campus culture in general. "Why can't you just let the task force do their work?" he asked repeatedly.
President Brown and Dean Elmore declined to speak with us for this piece, since — according to Riley — "this may not be the right time, given the context of the way the issues are right now." But students say this is the perfect time to confront rape culture. "One positive aspect of all of this is that the student body is really learning about sexual violence," a female undergraduate said. "The problem is that they're learning way quicker than the institution."
Boston University, one of the largest independent, nonprofit universities in the country, has tons of cash to spend — not that we'll find out how they spend it anytime soon. BU is a private school and President Brown is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts, which is lobbying against a proposed bill called the Massachusetts Higher Education Transparency Act that would publicize the financial activities of the state's large private colleges and universities. That said, the university offers luxury dorms with skyline views and plasma TVs. A "much needed" $24 million sports field is planned to open in 2013. It's safe to assume that BU could afford to devote more resources to sexual violence. Why haven't they?
One recent graduate who was extremely politically active while at BU and now works for the White House has a theory. As a student, he worked for years to convince the administration that it was wrong to reserve the right to punish victims who reported sexual assaults if, during the course of a report, they acknowledged having violated the university's "zero-tolerance" drug and alcohol policy. Officials finally told him they wouldn't pursue such charges, but they wouldn't promise or publicize witness amnesty in writing in the student handbook. He believes that's because the university doesn't actually want more victims to come forward. "This is the really ugly truth, but I'm convinced that the administration is happy that ambiguity keeps their stats low," he said. "The higher the rates of reported sexual assault, the worse it is for them. It's better that it goes unreported." Weiser, who looks forward to potentially working with the administration to open a crisis center, hopes that's not the case. "I'd really like to think the university has the campus' best interests at heart," she said, "but it's true; no one wants the university to look bad."
Correction: Apparently juniors and seniors, not freshman — as first implied — typically live in the luxury dorms described in this piece. We regret the error.


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A Deeper Silence (Timeroom Editions)
Landmass (Timeroom Editions)
Empetus (Projekt)
Listening to A Deeper Silence, cochlea bathing in its luxuriant fathoms, begs contemplation regarding the inexorable march of time, particularly as this year's already slipped into the eve of its final quarter; in fact, speaking in senses both chronological and philosophical, notions of time, of fleeting moments and indelible memories, thread the conduit binding Steve Roach's first handful of 2008 releases. There's a simultaneous longing and exuberance across the span of these three recordings—embracing things past and things current yet remaining anticipatory towards the future, Roach nevertheless recognizes the unerring arc of the circle. Dots are connected, lines are re-drawn and recalibrated, the ghosts of muses past beg for exorcism; amidst Roach's work, time is truly the fire in which he burns. Sounds might rest temporarily, occupying relatively safe havens until their oasis is shattered by the next cyclonic statement, yet in Roach's slipstream, psychotropic fulfillment comes from bridging the id of then with the momentum of now. It's beginning to and back again.
Out of the barest sliver of eclipsed sunlight illuminating the top of the front cover, an infinity symbol subtly emblazoned over the tray card's near-blackest ever black, years bloom, flare, fade, and are reborn within the tableau of A Deeper Silence. Ostensibly a continuation of the themes augured by 1987's Structures from Silence but allowed to naturally expand across a far longer bandwidth, when the soft machine tufts of A Deeper Silence first emerge it's as if they always existed, ready to unveil themselves to whomever chooses access. Like ancient solar winds, gravity thinning their entrails across limitless parsecs, the disc's beauteous tones achieve a perfect symbiosis between reflection, sensation, and environment. "Immersive" these elastic, whispering filigree are, yes, but it's a far different tenor (though the aesthetics are certainly shared) than that displayed on Roach's earlier Immersion series. On those 2007 recordings, Roach's dronic maps availed themselves of braided, gelatinous, and indeed minimal, textures, eerie fugs of sound that engulfed you in startling ultraviolets. Play A Deeper Silence in varying situations—as a preternatural listen, precursor to sleep, or perchance to dream—and each time its sparse opiate narcotizes different corners of the soul. A more profoundly introspective skein of sound, yielded via the "cold" ions of electronics, one would be challenged to find—embodying ambient music, in fact codifying Eno's own behavioral maxim for such musics, the subtly insinuitive tow of A Deeper Silence not only suspends memories, but left to its own devices, displaces the very flow of time itself.
Reacting to the moment, indeed fabricating its template as the post-midnight hours drew out all sorts of internal phantasms, Roach's fomentation of Landmass out of a radio station's sound booth speaks volumes about his regenerative gift for invention and application. While A Deeper Silence opened up vast, unhurried spaces for disembodied traveling, Landmass is a far more extroverted construct, six lengthy pieces of stormsurge and metamorphic resonance. Recorded live at WXPN studios in Philadelphia on the venerable Stars End radio show, Landmass condenses a millennia's energy of continental drift into one epoch-spanning force of nature. The breathtaking vistas that ribbon-wrap the digipak provide some total recall of their own—Roach's collaboration with Kevin Braheny on Western Spaces, imagery coveted from Dreamtime Return—but rather than a historically assembled composite, Landmass instead feels more like a statement of intent. And what a statement. Though the protean chord sweeps and abyssal ambiences incontrovertibly image-stamp this as a Roach album, there's little in the way of repetitive motifs or overused passages; everything about this recording, from point of conception to execution of ideas, feels fresh, vibrant, cinematically rich. Roach's choice of sound design, carved in situ, is all the more dazzling for it: the chromium synths ratcheting-up tensions along a boiling sequencer front acts as the propellant enabling "Transmigration" amid a flurry of levitating pulses central to the record's tingling spine. Track titles vividly depict what becomes electronic analog: indeed, soaring through "Cerulean Blue Sky Over a Seared Desert Wasteland" is no doubt abetted by its oxygenated rush of synthetic cloudbursts and interlocked, serpentine rhythms. "Monuments of Memory" and "Alluvial Plain" bear witness to the movements of geologic time, jettisoning the acrobatic thrall of sequencer so Roach can brush great swathes of plangent color across his desolate canvas. When he finally leaves Landmass's (and his host's) excoriated territory behind with the appositely-titled "Stars Begin," hushed drones, cast amongst the galaxies like grains of sand, seem to portend some kind of big bang; instead, they ebb discretely back into the void, forever primed for reawakening when next Roach decides to smite the power.
With embers from 2007's Arc of Passion still unextinguished, vintage Klaus Schulze poised to hit the racks in early 2009 and far more circumspect artists errorizing the sequencer mainframe, there's no better time than to revisit Empetus, Roach's 1986 sequencer-intensive follow-up to his earlier Now and Traveller sessions. Reissued as a two-disc set, its cover a bisection of fibre-optic kaleidoscopia catapulted as if through a particle accelerator, twenty-two years of retro-stylings and digital brinkmanship hasn't rusted one bolt on Empetus's die-hard chassis: if anything, its utter lack of irony or nostalgia serves to shore up the record's totally distinctive, and bracing, architecture. Roach's first true sequential masterwork remains seminal precisely because it handily acknowledges its source code without breaking bread with it. Sure, Schulzian parallels could be drawn by dearth of the comparable instrumentation involved, but Empetus is truly that rare breed: a synth/sequencer album that doesn't sound like any other, despite the malapropism so designating Roach one of the few then-emerging "West Coast" synth artists. Empetus effectively crystallized a genre—these works aren't mere Klaus encounters of a third kind. What's held the album in such high esteem over the tide of years is it's magnificently diverse patterning and impeccable arrangements. Sequences are turned inside out, twisted, corkscrewed; the elephantine synths of "Arrival" airburst overhead as they climax, as do the dizzying motifs that drive "Seeking" and "Merge." "Twilight Heat" contains the kind of sprightly sequence that most bit-programmers would kill for, while the hypnotic acid-trance headrush of "Distance is Near" maxes out a near-perfect distillation of Berlin/California sensibilities. And "The Memory" could very well be one of Roach's best ambient nuggets committed to disc, a languid decompression infused with diaphanous stillness and Quiet Music melancholy.
However, the ride doesn't end there. As a way of clearly affirming that even in the early 80s, at the dawn of his career, he often transcended his influences, Roach produced a longform sequencer piece with fellow electronic artist Thomas Ronkin. Considered lost for years, Roach obtained the original tapes and appended them to the revived Empetus package as a second disc labeled The Early Years. Consisting of two mammoth tracks, "Harmonia Mundi" (clocking in at 46-plus minutes), and "Release" (just under a half-hour in length), these enormously powerful, orgiastic blowouts, though definitely of their time (1982-83), still pummel the speaker fabric with earth-shaking ferocity. Totally analog, "Harmonia Mundi" is the sound of two gents locked in mortal electronic combat, wielding their synths like swords, hacking lesser soundbytes into mulch. Notes interlocked so closely their tightly-wound springs threaten implosion, synths galloping triumphantly over parched terrain, Roach and Ronkin tagteam on an extraordinary symphony of sequencercore. "Release" harkens back to Roach's formulative upbringings splayed over the Now and Traveler releases, as he pirouettes his modular's pliable contours across an atavistic dappling of spongeiform noises and varispeed rhythms. As a landmark album, Empetus is beyond reproach—the inclusion of the Roach/Ronkin twin behemoths, rescued, ripped, out of time, cements its legacy as one of the finest sequencer albums ever. These recordings quite rightly square the circle, bridging gaps separating decades and genre, the artist himself forging ahead, time's great ennabler, built for the future. DARREN BERGSTEIN • www.steveroach.com
Friday, September 26, 2008
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President Barack Obama's choice to lead the Pentagon, former GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel, will likely be confirmed next week, one of his most dogged opponents said Sunday.
"I'm confident that Sen. Hagel will probably have the votes necessary to be confirmed as secretary of defense," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
After Senate Republicans voted to sustain a filibuster and block the former Nebraska senator's nomination from advancing toward confirmation, McCain acknowledged that Hagel will likely win confirmation once the chamber returns from its recess.
"I think it's a reasonable amount of time to have questions answered," McCain said of the week-and-a-half-long window which Senate Republicans demanded to pore more thoroughly over their former colleague's records.
Democrats and the Obama administration have complained that a filibuster for a defense secretary nominee is without precedent. Moreover, they argue that filling the defense post is particularly urgent given outgoing Secretary Leon Panetta's plans to leave the Pentagon, and the looming "sequester" of automatic spending cuts, which fall heavily upon the defense budget.
The administration publicly shrugged off, though, the notion that the delay had damaged Hagel's ability to serve effectively.
"No, he's not going to be a weaker defense secretary," said Denis McDonough, the president's new chief of staff, "he's going to be a great defense secretary."
Wrapped up into the GOP's objections are the desire to ding the administration, a demand for fuller answers to the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks on the diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, and personal quarrels with Hagel over his criticism of President George W. Bush and the handling of the war in Iraq. McCain denied, though, that Republicans' attacks on Hagel were personal in nature.
"99 percent of it has to do with the positions Sen. Hagel has taken," he said.
The Hagel fight has consumed Congress in recent weeks, threatening to expend Obama's political capital as he enters a second term. It's yet to be seen whether this fight, and the looming fight to replace the sequester with other equivalent savings, would affect other elements of the Obama agenda — including gun control, and immigration.
Amid a New York Times report that suggested the White House had pushed ahead with its own immigration bill, McDonough said it was consistent with Obama's promise to simply be prepared with his own alternative plan. Obama, McDonough said, was still hoping that a bipartisan Senate group would be able to produce its own comprehensive immigration reform proposal.
"I believe we're making progress on a bipartisan basis," said McCain, a member of the eight-member, bipartisan Senate group working on the immigration proposal. The Arizona senator said, though, that Obama had had no communications with the Senate group.
"Does the president really want a result?" asked McCain, reflecting Republicans' concerns on the politics of immigration. "Or does he want another cudgel so he can beat up Republicans to get an advantage in the next election?"


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Katherine E. Wynne-Edwards is a professor of biology at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, who studies hormonal changes in expectant fathers and hormone-behavior interactions in other animal models. She offers the following explanation:
When pregnancy symptoms such as nausea, weight gain, mood swings and bloating occur in men, the condition is called couvade, or sympathetic pregnancy. Depending on the human culture, couvade can also encompass ritualized behavior by the father during the labor and delivery of his child. Couvade has a long anecdotal history and is named from the French verb couver, which translates as ¿to hatch¿ or "to brood." The phenomenon has received attention from biologists only quite recently, however.
Estimates of the frequency of couvade are hard to obtain because of the low rate of reporting symptoms. For example, a research team led by Anne Storey of Memorial University in Newfoundland found that when wives were asked about their husband's experiences a higher incidence of couvade was reported than when the husbands answered the same questions at the same time. Across a wide range of studies--and an equally wide range of definitions of what constitutes couvade--estimates of the frequency in modern Western populations range from under 20 percent to more than 80 percent of expectant fathers.
Society and health professionals all show a lot of interest in a pregnant woman. She is encouraged to talk about any symptoms of her pregnancy, even common ones she is not experiencing. At home, the conversation can range from frustrated incapacitation as a result of her symptoms to boundless joy in anticipation of a child. Thus, it is not surprising that a large number of mental health professionals have considered a range of hypotheses--from jealousy about a man's inability to carry a child to guilt over having caused this transformation in his partner to selfish attention seeking--as the root causes of couvade.
Of course, there are other obvious origins for at least some of the symptoms. For example, if the pregnant wife does much of the shopping and cooking, her cravings, as well as the increasing food intake she needs during pregnancy, are quite likely to result in weight gain for her husband as well as associated symptoms of heartburn and indigestion. There are also studies suggesting that men who have deep empathy toward their pregnant partner and are prone to couvade symptoms end up with strong attachments to their child. If this is the case, then the symptoms might either stimulate, or result from, underlying biological processes that are involved in social attachment.
In recent years animal models of social monogamy (defined as a strong social preference for a single partner), such as prairie voles, have contributed a great deal to our understanding of the neurobiology of love and attachment. Neuropeptides, including oxytocin and vasopressin, are now known to play important roles in the formation and maintenance of strong pair bonds. Mammalian parental behavior involves the formation of a strong social bond to the infant and also engages hormonally stimulated neural circuits. Parental behavior, however, currently appears to depend on sex steroid hormones and prolactin more than on oxytocin and vasopressin. In addition, there is hormonal data from nonhuman primates and naturally paternal rodents--including California mice and dwarf hamsters--that indicates a positive association between the expression of paternal behavior and increases or decreases in prolactin, estradiol, testosterone, progesterone and cortisol concentrations. For example, male mice that lack a gene for the progesterone receptor are not infanticidal toward unrelated pups and, instead, retrieve and huddle over them. Unfortunately, few experiments have established causal relationships between hormonal changes and the behavior.
The situation is similar with respect to our understanding of the hormonal experiences associated with fatherhood in men. Since 2000, several studies have reported hormonal differences between expectant fathers, men in committed relationships and men who are single. There is no doubt that testosterone concentration is lower in the men in relationships, but it is unclear whether men have a decrease in testosterone after the relationship begins or whether men with lower testosterone are more likely to enter into stable relationships. Similarly, there are hormone changes associated with fatherhood. Prolactin is highest in men in the weeks just before the birth, testosterone is lowest in the days immediately after the birth, estradiol levels increase from before to after the birth, and cortisol peaks during the labor and delivery (although it remains an order of magnitude below the hormonal experience of the laboring mother). Alison Fleming of the University of Toronto and her colleagues have shown that maternal cortisol is linked to social bonding with the infant and to postpartum depression, whereas Storey has shown that paternal prolactin is positively associated with the self-reporting of couvade symptoms and powerful emotional responses to infant stimuli. Hormone changes in expectant fathers therefore involve the same hormones that are changing in an expectant mother. They are also the same hormones that are implicated in animal models of parental behavior. In addition, it is known that men are not reflecting a "muted" version of the hormonal experiences of their partner: Within couples, day-to-day hormone status is not correlated during pregnancy or after the birth.
Unfortunately, these data remain correlations, and the exact role of hormones in facilitating paternal behavior or causing couvade symptoms in expectant fathers remains unknown. It is certainly tempting to look to hormones for the biological root of couvade symptoms, but caution is needed. Other events also happen around a pregnancy, especially the birth of a first child, and could independently affect hormone concentrations. Changes in sexual activity, shifts in the social priorities of the couple, time off work, or the arrival of a mother-in-law for a potentially stressful extended visit are obvious candidates. Of course, even if the stimuli causing the hormonal changes are not the result of an approaching birth the hormone changes might produce couvade symptoms and/or facilitate a father's social bond with his child. Either way, this kind of research has quietly expanded the horizons for research on hormones in men--testosterone alone is clearly no longer the sum of the man.


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So it was pretty long day and I felt like it was like that for both of us, but I didn't know that this usual day could become one of the best days in my life. We drove to the forest to have some time together and rest from active city life. Meanwhile it was getting darker and I started making a fire. So, we sat on the log near the fire and... For some time we were silent, but it wasn't one of those awkward silent moments, no, we were both enjoying this moment. I felt like I should add some wood to the fire as it was getting smaller and as I was about to make it, our eyes met. We were staring at each other for around 2 minutes, and it was like our eyes were talking. Our lips were getting closer and closer until we kissed. The rest of the day was just as good, I felt like the kiss gave me some extra energy. I was telling stories, we were both laughing, and it was like that until it got really late. In the middle of one story, I felt that my darling had fell asleep on my knees, so I started thinking about how great this day was, until fell asleep myself. I don't know what you think about it, but I love and will keep spending time like this with my dad.


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Industriegebied Sloterdijk, World Fashion Center, Sloterdijk
Spaarndammerdijk 3041013 ZX, Amsterdam60 kamers
Golden Tulip Amsterdam Art is a newly built and just opened four star design hotel.
The hotel has 60 spacious rooms, including 2 suites and 1 bridal suite.
There is a bar, the Art Cafe, decorated in an artistic way with a typical Amsterdam atmosphere.
Restaurant "The Gallery", with its pleasant artistic atmosphere serves international dishes.
In the summer you can enjoy the outside terrace, which is overlooking the outdoor pool.
Spaarndammerdijk 3021013 ZX, Amsterdam130 kamers


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What's New
- Updated Icon
- Support for our brand new game Mad Wheels!
App Description
Top-down off-road arcade racing is finally here for your iPhone! Horror Racing Lite is packed with explosive weapons, speedy upgradable cars, and powerful pick-up items. Drivers of any ability can use their driving skills and customized firepower to defeat the dastardly denizens of Horror Racing in an assortment of action-packed tracks!
•Choose your character and car, with fiendishly fearsome drivers such as Little Monstrous and Eye offering different vehicle statistics and appearance.
•Drive to win around action-packed tracks in a variety of ghoulish environments.
•Battle your opponents with an arsenal of upgradable weaponry such as machine guns, rocket launchers and mines!
•Multiple gameplay modes include the prestigious Championship Series and battle-focused Skirmish beat-downs.
•Upgrade your car and weapons using money won in your previous races. Make sure you're fast enough to speed past your opponents; then use devastating new weapons to attack them while your upgraded vehicle armor withstands their mighty attacks.
•Pick up Special Power Runes to unlock stunning abilities during the race. Shoot flames out of your car to scorch your enemies, zap them with lightning projectiles and even unlock quadruple weapon damage!
Horror Racing Lite is developed by NEWFX Games and published by Chillingo Ltd
App Changes
- July 27, 2011 New version 1.4


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Click here to view our collection of Iowa Caucuses cartoons
Republican presidential hopefuls are making their final pitches in Iowa today, criss-crossing the state to bolster their chances of winning tomorrow's Iowa Caucuses.
One thing crazy about this year is the wide-open nature of the race. After endless debates and months of town halls and handshakes, 41 percent of those polled said they could still change their minds.
What do cartoonists think of the first in the nation presidential contest? Find out with our new Iowa Caucuses cartoon collection.


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DENVER – The rust-colored sign in the arena's loading dock serves as both a welcome and a warning for players when they step off the team bus.
The greeting part — "Pepsi Center Welcomes You ..." — hardly registers. But the other portion of the message is designed to catch your attention, maybe even making the pulse race a little bit more: "... to the Mile High City. Elevation 5,280 feet."
Purely a mind game, though. A ploy to plant elevation as a seed of doubt when visiting teams arrive.
Although this version of the women's Final Four really is up in the air, the higher altitude shouldn't bother Baylor, Stanford, Notre Dame or Connecticut on the court over the weekend.
That searing sensation in the lungs after a few trips up and down the floor? Think of it as imaginary.
The difficulty of taking a deep breath before a crucial free throw late in the game? Again, just a figment.
Or so research indicates from high altitude performance technicians, who say proper hydration and nutrition are almost bigger obstacles in thin air than the altitude itself.
"If one team is really hung up on elevation — 'Oh my gosh, we're at altitude!' — and loses it mentally, the opposing team who keeps it together mentally can use altitude as a sixth man," said Scott Drum, associate professor of exercise and sport science and director of a high altitude performance lab at Western State College of Colorado in Gunnison, where the elevation is 7,700 feet. "But if they come in and believe in their skills and their readiness, they should be fine. It should not affect their game."
Getting players to buy into that concept, though, is a little more tricky. Because feeling the burn in the lungs is believing.
"It definitely is a real thing," said Irish senior guard Natalie Novosel, whose team faces Big East rival Connecticut on Sunday. "Honestly, at that point, we're going to have to suck it up and play through it because it's the biggest stage and we can't let climate and altitude get in the way."
UConn coach Geno Auriemma thought he had a solution to the altitude situation, only to have his idea quickly quashed by the team doctor.
"I suggested turning the oxygen off in the plane on the way over there for about an hour and get them used to sucking for breath," Auriemma said. "But he advised us not to do that.
"So, I guess we'll have to deal with it when we get there."
And hopefully not this: headaches, nausea, dizziness and lethargy. Those are all symptoms of acute mountain sickness. But don't worry, Drum insisted, those signs typically only manifest at 8,000 feet and above.
"If players eat on a regular schedule and drink water, they'll be fine," Drum said. "They need to deliberately stay well fed and hydrated."
That could be the secret to reaching college basketball's mountain top come Tuesday night's title game.
Oh, and minimize distractions. No sightseeing excursions since a well-rested team could be the difference in the championship game.
"Everybody is on the same level playing field," Drum said. "They're all well trained already, but nobody is well acclimated."
For Baylor coach Kim Mulkey, the altitude presents a different predicament. She was recently diagnosed with Bell's palsy, a form of facial paralysis.
"We have medicine in the doctor's hands, because I am concerned about the inner ear and the altitude for myself," said Mulkey, whose team is 38-0 heading into the game Sunday against Stanford. "Now, for the team, I've had them visit with our strength and conditioning coach and (the trainer) on hydration, drink a lot of water prior to going."
Each team is making a pretty dramatic leap up in elevation.
Notre Dame boasts the highest campus of the four at around 725 feet above sea level. Connecticut (600 feet) and Baylor (470 feet) aren't too far behind, while Stanford (23 feet) is hardly more than three Brittney Griners (the Bears star who stands 6-foot-8) above sea level.
"Altitude will tweak them a little bit, but not too much — 5,200 feet is not that bad," Drum said.
Chiney Ogwumike of Stanford certainly agrees.
"When the heat of the game starts going, it goes away," Ogwumike said. "You're going to push yourself to the limit."
Ogwumike and the Cardinal have some experience playing at altitude this season, winning at Colorado and in Utah by a combined margin of 45 points.
"It definitely takes some getting used to, but that's a tiny factor," said Stanford's Nnemkadi Ogwumike, a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award given to the top women's college basketball player. "It's the Final Four. I'm not even really thinking about that."
A good strategy, really.
Here's another helpful hint, on the house and courtesy of Colorado women's coach Linda Lappe: Get a good sweat going before the game.
"You really do have to warm up differently maybe than in lower elevations," said Lappe, whose Buffaloes play down the road in Boulder, where the elevation is 5,430 feet. "If you don't get a sweat going before the game starts, you'll get a little bit winded and the first eight minutes could really be painful. But as long as you do that, I don't know if there's much difference."
And remember this: Mind over altitude — at least to a degree.
"One of our most fundamental human drives is to breathe. So, we really don't like anything to change the way we breathe," said Dr. Robert Roach, the director of the Altitude Research Center at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "It's such a primal instinct to breathe and we're hard-wired to not let anything get in the way of us and a lungful of air. If we get psyched out by that, we lose the mind-over-altitude challenge. If players relax and adjust well, they'll do just fine."
The Irish played their regional round in Denver on their way to the 2001 national title. Back then, coach Muffet McGraw's approach to altitude was simple: "We really didn't do anything," she said.
And this time?
"I'm not planning to do anything special," McGraw said.
AP Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg and AP sports writers Arnie Stapleton, Janie McCauley, Stephen Hawkins, Aaron Beard and Joedy McCreary contributed.


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I'm so glad you've joined us today for the Countdown to 2013! We had more than 25 awesome bloggers link up recipes yesterday – and if you missed it, the Linky is still open for you to add your best breakfast recipes of 2012.
Day 1: Top 12 Breakfast Recipes of 2012
We are on day 2 today – looking for yummy soup, stew, chili recipes and delicious breads!
Day 2: Top 12 Soup and Bread Recipes of 2012
Click on any photo to see the recipe!
1. Minnesota Wild Rice Soup
2. Tomato Basil Bread
3. Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup
4. Crockpot Kielbasa and White Bean Soup
5. Lentil Minestrone Soup
6. Wheat Oat Soda Bread
7. 20-Minute Minestrone
8. Caprese-Stuffed Dinner Rolls
9. Rice and Lentil Soup
10. The Best & Easiest Cheesy Garlic Bread
11. Turkey & Sweet Potato Chowder with Wild Rice
12. Simple Minestrone with Tortellini Soup
Now it's your turn - can't wait to see your best soup and bread recipes of the year!
There are two easy ways to participate:
1) Create a post highlighting your best recipes of 2012.
2) Link up your best individual recipes for 2012.
All I ask is that you link back to the countdown and that you visit others! All the recipes will be pinned to the "Best Recipes of 2012" board too. Be sure to follow along!


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DPS Serves as Presenting Sponsor for SCA Earth Day Event in 12 Communities Nationwide
Dr Pepper Snapple Group and Student Conservation Association (SCA), the national leader in youth service and stewardship, are continuing their relationship to protect America's natural resources and build a new generation of conservation leaders. The company is kicking off the second year of its involvement with SCA by participating as a Presenting Sponsor for the group's 2012 Earth Day program to be held in communities nationwide.
Leadership from SCA and DPS say continuing their partnership was an easy decision given their common goals and first-year accomplishments. In 2011, DPS's support enabled SCA members in all 50 states to conduct projects in water conservation, native planting, waste reduction and recycling, and engage and educate more than 1.5 million Americans in sustainable behaviors. SCA indicates that through DPS's extended commitment, more than 4,000 young adults will protect America's public lands while gaining meaningful work experience.
"Dr Pepper Snapple Group understands the need to connect youth with nature, and to support young adults seeking the green job skills and experience they need to launch a career in today's competitive marketplace," says Dale Penny, President of Student Conservation Association. "On top of that, DPS's corporate commitment to sustainability, particularly in the areas of water conservation and watershed protection, makes them an ideal partner."
Entering a new chapter of the partnership, DPS is serving as Presenting Sponsor for SCA's 2012 Earth Day festivities. From April 14 through April 22, community members in nine cities from Seattle to Washington, DC, are getting back to nature, doing everything from planting trees to cleaning up parks. DPS employees themselves are putting on their gloves and working alongside SCA and student volunteers at local events to help conserve the great outdoors.
"We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Student Conservation Association and show our support by participating in these grassroots Earth Day projects," says Tina Barry, EVP of Corporate Affairs for Dr Pepper Snapple Group. "SCA's hands-on approach to conservation strengthens our youth, our communities and our environment. The organization's mission effectively aligns with our philanthropic priority of supporting environmental sustainability initiatives, and we look forward to working together to make more of an impact in the future."
DPS supports SCA's efforts to conserve natural resources as a part of the company's ACTION Nation corporate philanthropy program. For more information on DPS's philanthropic efforts and sustainability goals, read "Putting Sustainability in ACTION," the company's 2011 update to its corporate social responsibility report, available at http://dpsg.com/sustainability .
About Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. is the leading producer of flavored beverages in North America and the Caribbean. Our success is fueled by more than 50 brands that are synonymous with refreshment, fun and flavor. We have 6 of the top 10 non-cola soft drinks, and 11 of our 14 leading brands are No. 1 in their flavor categories. In addition to our flagship Dr Pepper and Snapple brands, our portfolio includes Sunkist soda, 7UP, A&W, Canada Dry, Crush, Mott's, Squirt, Hawaiian Punch, Penafiel, Clamato, Schweppes, Rose's and Mr & Mrs T mixers. To learn more about our iconic brands and Plano, Texas-based company, please visit www.drpeppersnapple.com
About the Student Conservation Association
The Student Conservation Association SCA is the only national organization that develops tomorrow's conservation leaders by providing high school and college students with service opportunities in all 50 states, from urban communities to national parks and forests. Since 1957, SCA's hands-on practice of conservation service has helped to develop a new generation of conservation leaders, inspire lifelong stewardship, and save the planet. SCA is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in Boise, ID, Charlestown, NH, Oakland, CA, Pittsburgh, PA, and Seattle, WA. For further information, visit www.thesca.org


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SCHAUMBURG, IL—In a turn of events that has stunned the worldwide medical community, local infant Nathan Jameson, born just six days ago, has become the youngest person ever to permanently and irrevocably lose all faith in humanity.
"This shatters all previous records," University of Chicago psychologist Douglas McAllister said Monday. "In all of documented medical history, there is no case of a newborn taking less than four months to develop the mental faculties required to grasp the full extent of this existential nightmare we call life on earth."
"Considering he already comprehends harsh realities that many people spend their entire fleeting, shallow existences attempting to deny, Baby Nathan is quite the little miracle!" he added.
Though he has not yet developed the capacity for speech, extensive cognitive testing has definitively shown that the shockingly perceptive 6-day-old fully understands and accepts that human beings cannot be trusted, that they remain far too ignorant for their opinions to be reliable, that a lack of self-awareness about their own destructive tendencies pervades the species as a whole, and that most are too ineffectual to successfully pursue even the shallow self-interested agendas that rule their lives.
Sources said the early-blooming newborn was putting two and two together about the real nature of humanity even before leaving the hospital, where his first sensory experiences included the shouts of sick people arguing to get treatment they urgently needed, visitors staring vacantly at smartphones as they sat next to bedridden loved ones, televisions blaring the empty rhetoric and emotionally manipulative appeals of political advertisements, and dozens upon dozens of pained, desperate cries, including his own.
Local reports confirmed the baby's disillusionment was only compounded by the fact that he spent his first days in the bleak and soulless suburban conformity of Schaumburg, IL, its empty consumerist non-culture allowing him to realize in record time that all human pursuits are cold, joyless, and devoid of any substantive purpose or integrity.
"For a baby, he sure is an insightful little guy," Nathan's mother, Melanie Jameson, told reporters. "My husband and I are a loveless, narcissistic couple whose weird, freaked-out neediness and anxieties—which we sublimate under a mask of facile self-regard—would normally be introjected into our child's forming psyche over the course of years. But this talented fella just took it all in at once!"
"We're awfully proud to have such a precocious son," she added, her face displaying no genuine emotion.
According to household sources, Baby Nathan has already noticed that his father, Michael Jameson, resents the infant's 3 a.m. crying, feels more trapped than ever in his sham-marriage now that he's a father, and is inwardly building an ever-growing wall against the reality of his own life one mid-afternoon cocktail at a time.
"The kid's not even a week old, and he has the thousand-yard stare of a middle-aged man," said psychologist Helen James, one of the cognitive scientists who verified that by his third day of life, Nathan had already begun to sense the overwhelming air of desperation surrounding other people. "That look that says, 'I've finally given up on the reassuring fictions that prop up humanity's delusional self-image as dignified, intelligent, or decent in any way.' He knows the truth."
"At this point, he shouldn't even be able to distinguish between himself and the rest of humanity, let alone have the capacity to lose faith in it," James continued. "Evidently, the human condition has gotten even more depressing than it already was, and we're going to need to reformulate our entire theory of childhood development."
"My God, what a depressing development," she added.
At press time, there were unconfirmed reports that Baby Nathan had used the wind-up mobile above his crib to hang himself.


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Welcome to the New Empire State Purchasing Group. This New York bid system provides a way for local government agencies across all regions of New York state to more effectively notify vendors of RFP and bid opportunities, while increasing efficiency and lowering costs for New York agencies (and taxpayers) through shared resources. The procurement solution delivers convenient, centralized online access to open New York RFP and bid opportunities, reducing paperwork and making it easier for vendors to do business with local New York government organizations.
Vendors are encouraged to register on the Empire State Purchasing System to receive direct access to the RFPs, bids, quotes, addenda and awards posted directly by local New York government agencies.
For technical support or questions on using the bid system, please contact Support.
Local agencies located within the state of New York who are interested in joining the purchasing group to increase vendor competition and efficiency in bid distribution should visit the SourceSuite procurement site for more information or contact 800-835-4603.
System Information
Number of Agencies 268
Formal Bid Solicitations 41853
Quote Solicitations 22323
Award Notices Posted 28010


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Christian Apologist Dismisses American Atheists' 50th Anniversary Convention as 'Nothing but Posturing'
Dr. William Lane Craig, research professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, Calif., has dismissed the American Atheists' 50 year anniversary convention as "nothing but posturing," arguing that their intellectual arguments against theism do not hold up.
"Their motto '50 years of reason' is nothing but posturing. It's an attempt to present themselves as intellectual and that their atheism is based in reason, when in fact that is far from the truth," Craig, who has written over thirty books on theology and philosophy and frequently debates atheist scholars, said on Monday in a phone interview with The Christian Post.
American Atheists, the largest secular group in America, which supports civil rights for atheists, will kick off their 2013 National Convention on Thursday, featuring three days of speakers.
"The 2013 National Convention will host hundreds of fellow atheists, plus vendors, speakers, comedians, entertainers, an art show and silent auction, and much more," the convention website says as it promises that attendees will hear from prominent atheist figures, such as professor & philosopher A.C. Grayling, Congressman Pete Stark, musician Jay Jay French, and others.
A talking point at the convention will likely be the "rise of the nones" in America, or people who do not have a religious affiliation. An October 2012 Pew Forum study showed that one in five, or 20 percent of Americans are not part of a religion. Secular groups have used the poll to claim that America is losing its religion – but a significant distinction that is sometimes not made is that only 3 percent of those people actually identify as atheists.
"These people who say that they are non-religious, are not necessarily atheistic," Craig told CP.
"Only around two to three percent of people claim to be atheistic. In many cases, people who say that they are non-religious, it simply means they are not affiliated with any particular denomination. These people might still have spiritual lives, believe in God, engage in prayer, and so forth."
The Christian professor explained that Asian Americans make up some of the largest non-religious proportions in America, concentrated largely in the Pacific Northwest, and said that American churches can still welcome and reach out to them.
"This suggests that a lot of these folks may come from non-Christian cultures, in China, Japan and elsewhere. In this case, it is not so much that they have left the Christian faith, but they never had it."
He added that the polls might also be failing to reflect that more and more people today are comfortable in saying that they are non-Christians, as opposed to actively leaving the faith.
"It is not so unwelcome that people who formerly identified as nominal Christians, but really weren't biblically orthodox, should now recognize that they are non-Christians and non-religious. In one sense, that is a positive thing," the author pointed out.
As for statistics suggesting that younger, college-educated people are more likely to be non-religious than any other demographic, he argued that the trend is more reflective of the secular nature of the college environment as a whole.
"In terms of the educational level, I think this has more to do with the sort of secular culture that is characteristic of the university environment and tends to be self-perpetuating. But it would be a very poor argument that because a view is held by a great number of certain people, that therefore the view is true," he noted.
American Atheists actively produces billboard campaigns which promote secularism around the country. Their latest efforts have targeted a number of conservative political leaders who have spoken of their faith in public.
"His solution to school shootings? Prayer," one AA billboard in Texas reads, concerning Texas Governor Rick Perry.
"Amend the Constitution to (what I say are) God's Standards," reads another, targeting former Arkansas governor and 2008 GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
Craig believes those billboards will hardly have a significant effect on many people. The ads also show that the secular group is very political in nature, he noted.
"They tend to be ad-hominem in their attacks on politicians who are candid about their religious faith," the theologian said.
As for the three-day American Atheists convention, Craig revealed that he has already publicly debated a number of their speakers, including A.C. Grayling, and said that he hasn't found "that they are able to sustain a credible argument for the truth of their worldview." He added that the group is primarily political and cultural rather than an intellectual force.
Craig offered that for people interested in the new atheism movement, the most effective thing to do would be "to engage them in dialogue and debate on the question of God's existence, and see whether the arguments for theism are better that the arguments for atheism."


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Goalkeeper – The goalkeeper may play the ball with his or her hands, but only inside their own penalty area. The goalkeeper may not waste time putting the ball into play. The goalkeeper wears a different color jersey from his or her teammates.
Ball out of touch – All of the ball must go completely past the outside edge of the touch line or goal line either on the ground or in the air.
Goal – All of the ball must go completely past all of the goal line into the goal.
Throw-In – A throw-in is the restart after the ball has gone over the touch line (for ages 8U and older). The ball is thrown in at the spot it left the field of play. Both of the player's feet must be on or behind the touch line. The ball must be thrown from behind the head with both hands, one on each side of the ball.
Kick-In/Pass-In – In the younger age divisions (5U-7U) this takes the place of the Throw-In. This is the restart after the ball has gone over the touch line.
Corner Kick – After the ball has gone out over the goal line having last been touched by the defensive team. The ball is placed inside the corner arc and kicked by an offensive player.
Goal Kick – After the ball has gone out over the goal line having last been touched by the offensive team. The ball is kicked by a defensive player from anywhere inside the goal area. The ball must be kicked out of the penalty area before it is back in play.
Offside – A player is in an offside position if:
- the player is in the opponent's half of the field, and
- is ahead of the ball, and
- there are fewer than two opponents ahead of the player.
The offside position is judged at the moment the ball touches or is played by a teammate. If, in the opinion of the referee, a player in an offside position touches the ball, interferes with an opponent, or plays a ball that rebounds from the goalkeeper or the cross bar, then an indirect free kick is awarded the opposing team.
There is no offside offense it a player receives the ball directly from a throw-in, corner kick or goal kick.
Indirect Free Kick (IFK) – An IFK is taken from the location of the offense. A goal cannot be scored directly, i.e. the ball must touched by another player before a goal can be scored. An IFK is awarded for various infractions as well as the following fouls:
- plays in a dangerous manner
- impedes the progress of an opponent
- prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from his hands
- The following apply to the goalkeeper within his/her own penalty area:
- controls the ball with his hands after he has released it from his possession and before it has touched another player
- touches the ball with his hands after he has received it directly from a throw-in taken by a teammate
- touches the ball with his hands after it has been deliberately kick to him by a teammate
- touches the ball with his hands after he has released it from his possession and before it has touched another player
Direct Free Kick (DFK) – A DFK is taken from the location of the foul and is awarded for the following offenses when committed by a player while the ball is in play (except when committed inside the offenders own penalty area) :
- kicks or attempts to kick an opponent
- trips or attempts to trip an opponent
- jumps at an opponent
- charges an opponent
- strikes or attempts to strike an opponent
- pushes an opponent
- tackles an opponent
- holds an opponent
- handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own penalty area)
- spits at an opponent
Penalty Kick (PK) – A PK is awarded for a direct free kick foul committed inside a team's penalty area. The kick is taken from the penalty spot. All players except the kicker and goalkeeper must be outside the penalty area, behind the ball and at least 10 yards from the penalty spot. The ball is in play after it has been kicked forward, but the kicker may not be the next to touch it.
Advantage – Any penalty which might in the opinion of the referee give an advantage to the team committing the foul shall not be called.
Warning – A verbal warning from the referee to a player, coach or spectator.
Caution (Yellow Card)
A player is cautioned if he commits any of the following seven offenses:
- unsporting behavior
- dissent by word or action
- persistent infringement of the laws of the game
- delaying a restart of play
- failing to respect required distance when play is restarted with a corner kick, free kick or throw-in
- entering or re-entering the field of play without the referee's permission
- deliberately leaving the field of play without the referee's permission
Send Off (Red Card)
A player or substitute is sent-off if he commits any of the following seven offenses:
- serious foul play
- violent conduct
- spitting at an opponent or any other person
- denying the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to the goalkeeper within his own penalty area)
- denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal by an offense punishable by a free kick or penalty kick
- using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures
- receiving a second caution in the same match
An ejected player, coach or spectator must immediately leave the field and surrounding area. An ejected player may not be replaced during the current match. While team officials can be sanctioned, only a player or substitute may be shown the red or yellow card.


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A balanced plant-based diet provides the same quality of fuel for athletes as a meat-based diet, provided vegetarians seek out other sources of certain nutrients that are more commonly found in animal products, according to a presentation at the 2013 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Expo®.
The research was compiled by Dilip Ghosh, Ph.D., director of Nutriconnect in Sydney, Australia. He was unable to attend the meeting, so his presentation was given by Debasis Bagchi, Ph.D., director of innovation and clinical affairs at Iovate Health Sciences International Inc. in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.
Ghosh's research noted that vegetarian athletes have been present throughout history. Perhaps most notably, analysis of the bones of Roman Gladiators indicate they may have been vegetarians. There are several notable vegetarian athletes today, such as marathon runners Bart Yasso and Scott Jurek, and pro Ironman triathlete Brendan Brazier.
The key to success, Ghosh found, is that vegetarian athletes must find ways within their diet to reach the acceptable macronutrient distribution for all athletes, which he breaks down as carbohydrates (45-65 percent), fat (20-35 percent) and protein (10-35 percent).
"Vegetarian athletes can meet their dietary needs from predominantly or exclusively plant-based sources when a variety of these foods are consumed daily and energy intake is adequate," Ghosh wrote in his presentation.
Vegetarians should find non-meat sources of iron, creatine, zinc, vitamin B12, vitamin D and calcium because the main sources of these typically are animal products and could be lacking in their diets. Vegetarian women, in particular, are at increased risk for non-anemic iron deficiency, which may limit endurance performance. In addition, vegetarians as a group have lower mean muscle creatine concentrations, which may affect high-level exercise performance.
These deficiencies can be avoided or remedied through several food sources acceptable to the vegetarian diet, such as orange/yellow and green leafy vegetables, fruits, fortified breakfast cereals, soy drinks, nuts and milk products (for vegetarians who consume dairy).
Ghosh noted that his conclusions are based on observational and short-term interventional studies, but there needs to be a well-controlled long-term study to further assess the impact of a vegetarian diet on athletic performance.
The presentation also included a discussion of nutrition for bodybuilders, defined as athletes whose primary goals are to maximize muscle size, optimize fat and minimize body fat.
Phil Apong, senior formulation specialist/researcher at Iovate Health Sciences, said dietary recommendations for bodybuilders depend on many factors, such as genetics, age, gender and body size. But in general the current recommendation is 1.4 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram (g/kg) of body weight -- about 1 gram per pound. Ideally a bodybuilder should seek to eat that amount in increments of 20 to 25 grams of high-quality protein throughout the day to maximize protein synthesis in muscle in response to training.
However, Apong noted those benefits did not exist past the limit of 2.4 g/kg.
"This is important because it seems to indicate there is an upper cap of protein intake that seems to promote protein synthesis to the maximum level and if you exceed this upper cap of protein level intake, you will not be pushing protein synthesis any further," Apong said. "In fact, you're going to be oxidizing protein for energy production."
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Materials provided by Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
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