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Sun Devils Keep Omaha Dreams Alive With Thrilling 7-6 Win Over Titans
June 7, 2003
FULLERTON, Calif. (www.TheSunDevils.com) -- Andre Ethier and Jeff Larish each hit two-run home runs and junior closer Ryan Schroyer nailed down the win with two and a third perfect innings as the No. 4 Arizona State Sun Devils defeated No. 3 Cal State Fullerton 7-6 Saturday afternoon in front of a record crowd of 3,581 at Goodwin Field.
The Sun Devil victory forced a third game in the Fullerton Super Regional with the winner of Sunday's 12 p.m. game advancing to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. ASU improved to 54-13 overall and have an impressive 11-2 record after each of its 13 losses. The Titans lost for only the third time at Goodwin Field this year, falling to 47-14 on the year.
ASU senior starting pitcher Ben Thurmond improved to 8-0 on the year giving five solid innings before leaving with a blister on his pitching hand. The transfer from Winthrop scattered eight hits and gave up two runs to pick up the win. The Devils are now 14-2 this year when Thurmond starts. After relievers Robbie McClellan and Carlos Arguello combined to give up four runs, Schroyer sealed the win with his ninth save of the year and the 17th of his career. The 17 saves tie him for third in the ASU career record books.
Cal State Fullerton's freshman All-American starter Ryan Schreppel was tagged for six hits and five runs in three innings as he took the loss to fall to 5-3. Darric Merrell, a freshman All-American in 2001, allowed only four hits in three and a third scoreless innings.
Ethier led the Devils at the plate going 3-for-4 to extend his career-long hitting streak to 22 games. The second-round draft choice of the Oakland A's earlier in the week hit his 10th home run of the year with a two-run shot in the third inning. During the streak Ethier is 43-for-96 (.448) with eight of his 10 home runs.
Jeremy West went 2-for-4 with two runs scored to extend his hitting streak to 23 games, marking the seventh longest in ASU history. Nick Walsh scored three runs while going 2-for-3 and Larish went 2-for-4 with three RBI and hit his team-leading 18th home run of the season. Larish now has 95 RBI on the season, moving him into fifth place in the ASU single-season record books.
The Titans recorded 12 hits in the loss and left seven runners on base. Shane Costa (2-for-5), Richie Burgos (2-for-4, HR), Kurt Suzuki (2-for-4) and Jason Corapci (2-for-3) all recorded multi-hit games.
ASU gained the early lead with a two-run first inning and built its lead to 5-0 after a three-run third frame. Ethier extended the Devils lead with a two-run homer over the right field fence. The Titans came storming back with two runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth. Burgos drilled a solo homer off Arguello in the seventh to cut ASU's lead to 7-6, but Schroyer came in to retire all seven batters he faced for his ninth save of the year.
Sunday's game will be televised live across the nation on ESPN2. ASU will be the visitor in the game as decided by a coin flip following today's game. Senior right-hander Beau Vaughan (10-5, 4.34 ERA) will face freshman All-American Dustin Miller (8-2, 3.19 ERA).
Game Notes: ASU's two-run first inning marked the 32nd time this year the Devils have scored in their first at-bat... ASU is 29-3 when scoring in the first... ASU is also 51-1 this year when leading after eight innings... ASU's NCAA record consecutive games scoring streak reached 500 games with today's victory... the streak dates back to April 7, 1995 (at USC)... Andre Ethier (22 games) and Jeremy West (23 games) each extended their career-high hitting streaks... senior third baseman Dennis Wyrick also extended his hitting streak to eight games...
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Football: Football Post Game ReportTODAY | 4:30pm PTLive


text: Hello. We are using LacZ as a reporter gene in the chick embryo. Dose anybody know of a presence of endogenous galactosidase or any other enzyme the may react with the LacZ staining procedure, which will result in non-specific staining. please reply to: cinnamon at agri.huji.ac.il Thank you in advance, Yuval cinnamon

subset: commoncrawl


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Brazil star Neymar has revealed his admiration for Barcelona's Lionel Messi, saying the Argentinean is the best in the world and that it would be a "dream" to play alongside him.
The Santos forward has been gathering headlines of his own over the past year or so, with many even claiming he is the best in the world, but Neymar was adamant as to who that honour belonged to, though he did cite Messi's Camp Nou colleague Andres Iniesta and Cristiano Ronaldo as being close to him.
"To play alongside Messi would be a dream. Even just training with him would make me very happy," he is quoted as saying by Goal.com.
"For me, there are three players who are better than the rest: Iniesta, Ronaldo and Messi. But, the best is Messi. There is nobody who can do the things he does."
Recent reports have suggested Neymar is set to join Messi at Barcelona at some point, but the 20-year-old claimed it was too early for a move to Europe in an interview earlier this week.
The Catalans are unlikely to be the only club interested in the star of Mano Menezes' Brazil side, as he turned down a move to Chelsea two years ago and it is conceivable that Roman Abramovich could sanction a move to try and bring him to Stamford Bridge – he certainly has the spending power.
However, Neymar's comments about Messi would suggest his preferred destination would be Barcelona, whose fans will be rubbing their hands together at the prospect of the South American superstars lining up together at Camp Nou.
Neymar was also full of gratitude for Messi praising him recently – the captain of Argentina described his Brazilian counterpart as an "excellent footballer".
"Can you imagine the best in your profession giving you praise? It made me very happy and I can only thank him for his words," he added.
Messi and Neymar are set to go head to head in the vote for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or, which is to be awarded at the beginning of next year, but Barcelona's talisman is the heavy favourite to win the award a fourth time in a row.
Neymar may have to wait for his opportunity to lift the award but he is being primed for greatness by Santos and momentum is building towards him dazzling for the Seleção at the World Cup in 2014 in his home nation.
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2 days ago
Forum Sevens:
Selling The Drama at NRL Creek
To those with a background in 90's rock, the title will be instantly familiar. But in singing the song last night (in my best Ed Kowalcyzk voice of course), I wondered to myself, how can the NRL identify with the song?
Let's face it, the NRL has the product. They have a game that Rupert Murdoch thought was good enough to sell to the world. Now whether you agreed with the ideals of Super League is an entirely different matter. The fact remained that one of the biggest media tycoons of all time considered the rugby league product good enough to take to the people, from Beijing to Bangkok, Manila to Mauritius; they were all going to have a rugby league team
Now let's just push aside for a moment what actually happened ;)
I go to plenty of league games. Fifteen to twenty most years to be exact. And I do love each and every game. However, I do get the feeling at times that some of the games are not hyped and promoted in the right ways. Nothing consolidated that feeling more for me then when on Sunday, the only recognition that we got that Hazem El-Masri had amassed 500 points for the Bulldogs was a quick 5 second announcement over the PA. In comparison, a 200 game player in the AFL will usually be chaired off the field. Not to mention the pre-game hype surrounding the milestone
I wrote about a similar issue last year when Luke Ricketson broke the Roosters record for most games played at the club. A paltry 9,000 turned up and no one gave a tinkers toss. It's pathetic, and I feel the same as I sit here typing this again
Why can't the NRL make every game an 'event'?? What prohibits them (and the clubs for that matter) from hyping up every game and making the contest to look important and in following, make people want to attend? Once again, I turn to the AFL who promote many of their games through a variety of means, including indigenous days and kid's days.
Going to some games can be painful for those who are not hardcore fans. Why would have anyone wanted to go watch the Cowboys play the Dogs on a cold Sunday afternoon at the Showgrounds? Do they wonder why they barely got 7,000? But the situation can be applied to any club at any time; we all know that each club has had their encounters with poor crowds through the years.
Solution? Well, being the solutions man that I am, I can only really see one. The clubs say that reducing the number of club games to 22 will result in reduced revenue. I say rubbish. If an NRL club budgets for a net of 120,000 people through the gates for a year (10,000 per game on a 24 round basis + 2 byes) then what would the difference be if they only played 10 games at home? 12,000….a paltry increase of 2,000 people per game. I firmly believe that a 22 round home and away season would promote more excitement in rugby league and as a result, more people through the gates. Each game would be an event.
Add to this the fact that it would give players more rest (as Joey has mentioned) and it would give time for a more complete international season to be run at the completion of the year without interference from club games. The recent test results involving the British and Kiwis indicate that running test games during the year is not the way to go.
My arguments have developed from many incidents, and with only 750 words, the topics can scarcely be covered. But the fact remains that something needs to be done about the great 'slide in crowds' that regularly happens year after year come round 14-20. The AFL can do it, most other codes can do it, why can't we keep up the interest for the whole year?
Make no mistake; we still have the best core product. But it's how we promote our product that still causes me a lot of concern. Davy Gallop, if your listening, it's time to turn the promotion up a notch for 2K4, try a few different things, stir the pot. We live in dynamic times, the stagnant get left behind.
Give people a reason to go every week!
Posted in the 'The Front Row' Forum Sevens Competition. To view the full competition, click here.
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Dynamic videoendoscopy: A new method for diagnosing equine upper airway disease
Traditional upper airway assessment methodsFor more than 30 years, James T. Robertson, DVM, DACVS, has used equine endoscopy, both in the standing horse and with the use of the high-speed treadmill, and has now become a pioneer in the use of DVE. Before high-speed treadmills were available, veterinarians like Robertson were limited to resting or immediate postexercise endoscopy. This remains the most available diagnostic procedure for racetrack and performance horse veterinarians. However, with these techniques, various dynamic obstructions are often underdiagnosed because of an inability to observe the upper respiratory tract under actual performance conditions.
"You can still make a diagnosis, in most cases, with resting endoscopy," Robertson says. "There is still room for good old-fashioned physical examination, scoping at rest and making a diagnosis, without having the sophistication of this new technology."
However, for patients that may appear normal on resting endoscopy but that have a history of respiratory noise or poor performance or for patients with an identifiable airway abnormality that does not correspond with the clinical signs and history, it is necessary to better evaluate their upper respiratory tracts during strenuous exercise. For instance, some horses are presented when they are very early in the process of developing left laryngeal hemiplegia, and it can be difficult to make a definitive diagnosis. Some dynamic conditions may not show up on resting endoscopy, even with manipulations (such as nasal occlusion) that stress the airway. Examples of this include soft palate displacement, intermittent epiglottic entrapment and nasopharyngeal collapse. Another situation that can be encountered is when a horse has already had throat surgery and yet is not performing up to expectations. It may be beneficial in these cases to further assess the airway with a dynamic examination.
In some cases, relying solely on resting endoscopy may not give the necessary confidence to elect a specific treatment. Veterinarians often have unanswered questions or feel that their observations are not yet complete. In these situations, more information can be provided by a dynamic airway examination.
"I think that there is a lot more information to be gained by examining the airway under stress, and we learned this using the high-speed treadmill," says Robertson. "We might have had an idea based on the history, clinical signs and the findings of the resting endoscopy, but with a dynamic evaluation, we can be more definitive in our assessment." The use of a high-speed treadmill allows veterinarians to assess a patient's airway during controlled exercise.
Treadmill exercise does not mimic racing precisely. Studies comparing treadmill with field conditions showed a significant variation in heart rate, exercise stride length and stride frequency. The treadmill lacks various racing factors such as ground quality, rider weight, the presence of a harness and sulky (Standardbreds) or other tack maximal achieved speed and other environmental variables. Concerns for injury on the treadmill, treadmill training sessions and expensive equipment costs are additional limitations.
"With a treadmill, it's difficult for me to believe that you can even come close to simulating having the horse on the racetrack," says Gary Priest, DVM, Harthill and Priest, Versailles, Ky. "You don't have the rider, the bit, the bridle, the tongue tie, and so on. Additionally, there is a lot of inherent danger with the use of treadmills — risks to the horse and equipment as well as the need to transport the horse to the location of the treadmill."
The advent of DVE
With the development of exercise videoendoscope systems, horses can be examined at regular training sites and under natural training conditions. This is helpful in reaching a definitive diagnosis in many cases, as Robertson notes: "If a horse is displacing it's soft palate, it's more likely to displace under more natural conditions — on the racetrack, at the training center or wherever it trains on a day-to-day basis."
The typical DVE system consists of:
> A semirigid malleable insertion tube (9.8 mm in diameter) with an autolighting head (light-emitting diodes), which negates the need for a heavy and energy-consuming light source
> A solid permanent virtual circuit (PVC) box containing all the electronics
> An integrated lavage system including pump with settings, tubing and bottle
> A remote receiver PVC video display box for real-time visualization that operates on a battery or AC.


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A (stupid) question.
There are two apk for ARM.
The "normal" one and the ARMv7a one.
Question is, the "normal" one is BELOW ARMv7a or ABOVE ARMv7a?
(in other words, ARMv7a version is "up to ARMv7a" or "from ARMv7a and up"?)
As far as I can see, the Android build targets the ARM v5 instruction set. I am not an expert, but I think this will run on later ARM chips, but at a performance hit. The Android v7a builds for the v7a instruction set and thus will not run on earlier chips, but improves performance. See:
P.S. This is usually the case as the "unversioned" variant is the older one. You then have to add the version number when you add a newer one.


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Despite having 10 cosmetic procedures in one day to improve her look and help boost her career, Heidi Montag has failed to capitalize on her new face and body.
The 23 year old star of The Hills may have set a record for album sales and not a good one by the way. UsMagazine is reporting that Heidi's album, Superficial, has sold less than 1,000 copies in it's first week of release, according to Nielsen Soundscan.
You can see post surgery photos of Heidi here!
Industry sources tell UsWeekly that the album, which was released on Tuesday, has sold only 658 downloads to date. This should be upsetting news for Heidi, who lied told Entertainment Weekly that she went broke making Superficial but thought that "within the first week, she would definitely make her money back.
Heidi claimed she spent almost $2 million making her album. She told EW, "I put every dollar I have into this. I've spent over $1 million, almost $2 million, on this album. It's cost as much or more than a Britney Spears album because I wanted it to be that quality… The songs will make an impact in pop history."


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Perfect Torkornoo, C '15
"You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life."
John 39-40
In today's reading, John is sent to proclaim the truth to the people. In John (5:36), Jesus tells the people that He has a testimony much greater than John's testimony, but the people refuse to believe this testimony because they do not believe in the One that God has sent to them to die on the cross. The people study the scriptures and believe they will find eternal life in the them and not in the One whom God has sent to save the world. Instead of believing in Christ they seek human glory rather than God's glory. How many times have you neglected to spend time with Jesus in prayer and adoration? I can tell you from experience I have done this many times. Sometimes I get so caught up in making sure I am doing the right things that I forget to build a relationship with Christ. Today's reading is a good reminder that we cannot have eternal life or know the truth without believing in Christ and having a personal relationship with Him. Reading the scriptures, being kind, having good morals, and fulfilling what some will call "the Catholic requirements" do not guarantee we will have eternal life.
We will not automatically have eternal life. Our eternal life is found in His Son, who died on the cross for us. Jesus is the life, the truth, and the way. Spend some time with Jesus in daily prayer and, or adoration, and build a relationship with Him. Having a relationship with Jesus is like having a relationship with friend or a loved one; it requires time and effort.
Father, help me to seek a relationship with Your Son and to seek Your glory, so I may know Your Son is the life, the truth, and the way. Amen.
Ex 32: 7-14, Ps 106: 19-23; Jn 5: 31-47


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Apple announced OS X Yosemite at its Worldwide Developers conference Monday, and among other features, the new version is ushering in the single biggest visual change to OS X in, well, ever. OS X's visual identity has evolved continuously since version 10.0, but always in baby steps. Reading John Siracusa's OS X reviews from the last decade-and-a-half, you can watch the old candy-blue "Aqua" design morph slowly into the more reserved, muted UI that Mavericks uses, but Yosemite is in many ways a clean, iOS-7-style break from that evolution.
The final version of the software won't be available for a few months, but Apple developers (and, for the first time ever, one million public beta testers) can download and install the first Yosemite beta version now. Developers will be used to the process of testing new OS X versions on their hardware, but those people in the public beta may be wading into uncharted waters.
This guide is for those people, the ones who want to test the new OS X beta without wrecking their Mac—you never want to put your data at risk by installing beta software on your main partition. This way, you can play with all the shiny new features without risking the comfortable, stable, non-beta OS X installation you need to get all your work done.
Create a new partition with Disk Utility
Fire up your Mac and launch Disk Utility, which can be found both in the Utilities folder and through a Spotlight search. It's going to display any internal and external disks connected to your system, as well as mounted CDs or DVDs (do you still use those?) and disk images. Select your Mac's main hard drive, which should be easy to spot—it will use a grey hard drive icon and will probably have a partition named "Macintosh HD" underneath it.
Now, select the Partition tab. If you don't see the Partition tab, make sure you've selected the disk itself (in my case, it's called "251 GB APPLE SSD SM0256F," though this will vary from Mac to Mac) and not your Macintosh HD partition.
Click the Plus button to add a new partition to your disk, and then decide how large you'd like that partition to be. I find that 30 to 40GB is more than enough for the operating system and my basic set of applications, but give yourself as much as you think you'll need. Give the partition a name that is easily distinguishable from your main system partition, so you don't accidentally install the beta to the wrong one later. I just used "OS X Test," which is pretty straightforward. The default format should be "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)," and you should leave it that way.
Now click Apply, and after churning away for several seconds you'll have a brand-new OS X partition.
What if I can't create a new partition?
You may open Disk Utility to try out the steps above only to find that it can't create and resize partitions on your internal drive. This doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong with your disk—several totally normal activities can render your partition table immovable, including setting up a Boot Camp partition or encrypting your disk with FileVault.
If you don't want to disable and then re-enable those features (easy enough for FileVault, a giant pain for Boot Camp), your best bet may be to use an external disk. 2012 and 2013 Macs with USB 3.0 ports can actually provide reasonable performance using USB flash drives or hard drives, although obviously it won't be as fast as an internal disk. Thunderbolt comes even closer to internal storage speeds, though it's much more expensive. USB 2.0 and FireWire ports will work, though those interfaces' lesser transfer speeds will slow things down quite a bit.
I like to use this 32GB SanDisk USB drive recommended by Tested.com a while back. 32GB is enough room for the OS and most important apps, and the drive performs pretty well. If you've got a larger USB hard drive, you can use the same process as above to open Disk Utility and create a second partition on the drive for your testing.
Installing OS X
All OS X installers, including the installers for beta versions, are now distributed via the Mac App store. We'll use the Mavericks installer here to avoid violating any NDAs for Yosemite, but the process should be similar for either operating system.
All you'll need to do is download the OS X installer from the Mac App Store and double-click it. At some point, you'll be asked which disk you'd like to install the operating system on. Click the "Show all disks" button and select your new test partition (or external drive), and the installer will do the rest.
If you have enough storage space, you could even use the Migration Assistant to transfer files from your other partition as you would if you were going from an "old" Mac to a "new" Mac, though this will eat up a lot of space, and you'll have to deal with keeping both partitions current.
Once the final version of Yosemite is released and you're ready to switch over to using it full time on your main partition, you can open up Disk Utility and use the minus button to remove the test partition you created. Either adjust the size of your main partition or click and drag it to regain the space you used for your test partition.


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TOKYO (AP) — Japan marked the 69th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Wednesday, as Mayor Kazumi Matsui called on U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders to visit the city to see the scars of the atomic bombing first hand.
In his "peace declaration" speech, Matsui invited world leaders to his once-devastated hometown, referring to a proposal made at a ministerial meeting in April of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative in Hiroshima, urging them to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
"President Obama and all leaders of nuclear-armed nations, please respond to that call by visiting the A-bombed cities as soon as possible to see what happened with your own eyes," Matsui said. "If you do, you will be convinced that nuclear weapons are an absolute evil that must no longer be allowed to exist."
Hiroshima launched a campaign this year to send invitation letters to Obama, written on papers recycled from tens of millions of "origami" cranes — a symbol of peace — sent from around the world.
About 45,000 people stood for a minute of silence at the ceremony in Hiroshima's peace park near the epicenter of the 1945 attack that killed up to 140,000 people. A second bombing, over Nagasaki three days later, killed another 70,000, prompting Japan's surrender in World War II.
The number of surviving victims, known as "hibakusha," was just more than 190,000 this year. Their average age is 79, and many of the attendants at the ceremony were their younger relatives and descendants. Hiroshima officials said 5,507 survivors died over the past year.
The anniversary comes as Japan is divided over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent Cabinet decision to allow the country's military to defend foreign countries and play greater roles overseas. To achieve the goal, Abe's Cabinet revised its interpretation of the country's war-renouncing constitution, making it even more controversial.
Abe, among dignitaries attending the event, said that as the sole country to have suffered nuclear attacks, Japan has the duty to seek to eliminate nuclear weapons. But he did not mention his push for a more assertive defense posture under his "proactive peace contribution" policy.
Public polls show more than half of the Japanese are opposed to the decision, mainly because of sensitivity over Japan's wartime past.
Matsui did not directly refer to Abe's recent change to the interpretation of the pacifist Article 9, which is the cornerstone of Japan's pacifist pledge to the world. But he said the pacifist constitution is what has kept Japan out of war for 69 years.
Attendants this year included U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and representatives from 67 other countries, including Britain, France and Russia.


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Moderator: Cartographers
iancanton wrote:Bruceswar wrote:iancanton wrote:west estonia and islands estonia can be combined usefully, for example, to form a proper continent in the classic sense. islands estonia especially ought to be eliminated as a stand-alone bonus because of its small size and isolated location.
Sorry I missed responding to you. I just want to mention I really happen to like that there is a bunch of bonuses. It leads to many different ways to win this map given different drops.
no worries, bruce. having a 2-region bonus in a corner of the map doesn't lead to many ways to win though. it simply ensures that this is the best part of the map to secure in the early stages and gives a consistent advantage to the one who has a good drop there (like classic oceania). with six 3-region and 4-region bonuses, which is already an extreme number, a tiny 2-region bonus in addition makes no sense at all.
natty_dread wrote:Seems feasible to me. A lot of maps have 2, even 1 territory bonuses, and if the bonus is low enough and there's no chance of dropping it, I don't see how having a 2-territory bonus would be a fundamentally bad idea.
TaCktiX wrote:I agree with ian's concern. With it being a corner bonus, it'll be a total shoe-in +2 for anyone who decided to focus on that corner. In the early game it'll be hard to hold, but by the mid-game it might very well be the Most Effective Bonus.
laughingcavalier wrote:Minor point: you have named the island Saaremaa after its capital Kuressaare - is that intentional?
Bruceswar wrote:laughingcavalier wrote:Minor point: you have named the island Saaremaa after its capital Kuressaare - is that intentional?
Not following you here?
iancanton wrote:my previous comments on the undesirability of a 2-region islands bonus still stand, bruce! this is especially because this bonus is in the corner. if u feel that u really must have a 2-region bonus, then split the central latvia bonus, which i see anyone with any sense avoiding, and merge west estonia with islands estonia.
isaiah40 wrote: You can split Central Latvia at Cesis/Ogre and call them North/South Central Latvia. You could also switch Jelgava from West Latvia to South Central Latvia. As for the bonus values, both North and South Latvia could be +4, and West Latvia can remain at +4 as it will have the same number of bordering territories.
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Glen,1. Use a Canon body.2. Use a Canon body.3. Use a Canon body.Job done.
There's also the issue of bulk and weight.I have a 5D which I hardly ever use as I prefer using a CSC. The Sony A7 I've ordered will give me better ultimate IQ than I get from both my current CSC and 5D in a much more compact and lighter body and lens combo than my Canon gear.
The main advantage of this short flange distance/exit pupil to sensor distance thing is the ability to use Biogon (symmetric) design wide angles.
Why is it that film could accept wide angles of incoming light while digital cannot? Is this a fundamental property of ccd/cmos sensors, or is it some trade-off (perhaps with sensitivity)?
The second issue is that the photo sites (individual pixels) on a sensor do not lay on the surface of the chip, but rather, in shallow wells. This means that the light hitting the ones toward the corners of the image area lose some photons, because these are blocked by the sides of the well. Less photons, less exposure. Less exposure of the corners vs the center = vignetting.
Those days, a low flange distance is not only for short focal length symmetric lenses: some of the best near-telecentric designs also have rear elements very close to the focal plane, despite having a high exit pupil, so they are not like the classic inverted telephoto retro-focus designs first developed for movie cameras and then for SLRs. For example, the Sony RX1 reportedly has its rear lens elements very close to the sensor, as did its ancestors from a decade ago, the Sony F707, F717 and F828; those old cameras definitely did not use offset micro-lenses.
It is correct that a lens designed for a longer flange distance can be mounted on a short flange distance body, subject to a proper mountinng adapter, if everything else is equal.But it is no longer true if the sensor on the short flange body is not compatible. Tilted or offset microlens can be one of the cause. If the body need the offset microlens, the flange distance is too short. It can still be good if the lens is design to take this advantage or to tolerate this disadvantage,but it will loose image quality for the lenses that were designed for the plain straight sensor. Any compensation can have the trouble of overcompensation for ones that do not need compensation.
Long story short: Short exit pupil-sensor distance can cause much more problems on digital sensors than on film, but still is definitely not obsolete as the example of the Sony RX 1 clearly shows.
If the rear most element is too close to the image plain, there will be sever ray angle, measured from the outer most edge of the lens to the opposite farthest edge of the sensor. So, the ray angle problem is really the function of the distance from the dearest lens to the sensor.
Not necessarily: you assume that some significant amount of light has to travel from one edge of the rear element to the opposite edge of the sensor, but the existence of lenses with exit pupil well inside the lens and the chief rays striking the lens nearly perpendicular despite the rear element being close to the sensor shows that this is not true. With those lenses, light exiting near one edge of the lens is going almost entirely to that side of the sensor, and not only the chief ray but the whole light cone arriving near an edge of the sensor comes from the part of the rear element near that side.
How do you explain the difference between the example 1 and 2?
Micro-lenses are not an optical image forming device, they are condensers that change the angle of already focused incident light to become more perpendicular.
Bart, this is clearly stated (as usual for you), obvious (now, to me), and something I'd never thought of that way before. Thank you for this insight. And thanks for all you do for this forum.
In the digital signal processing terminology the microlens is the sampler and integrator. It is OK too if you want to see it only the integrator part, ignore the sampler. This may better match your view that it is "only the condensor". Back to your DSP 101 again, if you still have it, check out the window effect of the sampler and integrator, you should find the effect of the window functions. It matters a lot for the recovered signals, "reading, the final image".Sorry for the boring engineering stuffs.
Micro-lenses are not an optical image forming device, they are condensers that change the angle of already focused incident light to become more perpendicular.Cheers,Bart


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Monocle on Design
V&A's new Chinese outpost
00:00 / 00:00
5 December 2017
Episode 321
30 minutes
Photo: ALAMY
We mull over the results of the V&A's new Chinese outpost in Shenzhen's Design Society, step out with US boot-maker Red Wing and proffer a list of wardrobe essentials for the winter.
5 December 2017
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I lost my job in March 2009 and joined Credit Solutions in June 2009 after trouble paying all my credit card bills. To only have to pay/ save $400 a month instead over $1,000 I was currently paying on credit card debt sounded like the right decision to make (the only decision in my mind at the time). The first six months of the program was the hardest. I was receiving creditor calls, letters, etc. (someone even showed up at my door), and didn't have enough money saved to make any settlement offers.
Plus, I wasn't sure what Credit Solutions was supposed to be doing on my behalf since I stopped paying my monthly credit card bills. I couldn't understand why people kept calling. This was so disheartening. Then, after 6 months an offer came in from a credit card I owed over $5K on. It was a great offer and I was able to settle my first account for less than half of what I actually owed. I finally had faith in this program I had been buying into for 6 months. A few months later I paid off two more accounts (thanks to Christmas money from family).
Recently I was receiving calls from one of my creditors, but it was just sold off to a third party, and Credit Solutions knew about it before I did and updated it for me on my online account. Since this account was sent to a collection agency, I have stopped receiving the annoying phone calls. So, I know that Credit Solutions has been in contact with them and they know I am on this program. I will continue to save and hopefully I will be done in another year (which seems like forever in my mind). If all goes as planned and I continue to save, I will have paid off all my credit card debt in 2 years.
I was on a 4 year plan originally with Credit Solution, which at the time was better than the 35 years it was going to take if I continued to pay minimum payments. The only reason I write this, is because I was one of the confused Credit Solution customers reading all these horrible reviews and wondering if I had made a huge mistake. Well, I am halfway through my debt, so I personally think it has been worth it. Having someone on my side to help me when I had questions while making the negotiations on my behalf has been worth their service fee.
Plus I have already saved twice as much as their total service fee and I still have more to save when I settle the remaining accounts. It is not easy, and, yes, your credit score will be destroyed (I am afraid to look at mine). But in my situation, it seemed like the only way to get out of debt. Paying the rent and buying food for the kids seemed more important than my credit score at the time. :)
They promised to settle all my accounts for less than 50% of my balance and I ended up paying more on my Capital One. I only owed 590 and I ended up paying 597 with the threat of litigation if I did not settle. They promise to help but all they do is charge you a ridiculous amount of money and you really do not even save CLOSE to 50%. I did settle 3 of my accounts but they were smaller. My largest account I owed 6000 and I had to settle with 3400. With the fee Credit Solutions charges I might have saved 1000, really not worth the hassle. So yeah it SOMEWHAT helps but they just want your money, and half the time you have to stay on their butt about getting settlements.
RICHARDSON, TEXAS -- Thanks to good people like you sharing your experiences I got out of "Credit Solutions" before it was too late. I signed up 1 week ago and already had all my creditors enrolled with this scam. the hardest part of recovering from this mistake was cancelling the account with Credit Solutions which turned out to be a 2 hour phone call process. 1 hour of the call roughly was on hold time. The rest was being juggled around to different salesmen trying to convince you to stay with the same pitches as the original salesmen gave me.
After all that they claim that my account was closed and that none of the first payment they took was refundable $231. We'll have to see about that. I may try calling and getting it back. But I don't want to deal with them anymore and I'm glad I got out of it. I called all my creditors and explained the situation. All of them were understanding and most swiped off the late fees that I accrued being told by Credit Solutions not to make them. Stay away from this scam!
RICHARDSON, TEXAS -- The thing that I want to say is my experience with Credit Solutions which was nightmare. I believed and I was under the impression that Credit Solutions helps people get out of debt. When I was first enrolled I was told that I was going to be helped by them, calling my creditors and updating them of my situation. Little did I know that they had not checked all my creditors that I have. One of them was my HSBC Auto Loan of which I later found out that they had put it under their system as a student loan.
When I got letters from my HSBC Auto Loan I explained that Credit Solutions was helping me with my debt and was told by my HSBC Auto Loan that they had not heard from Credit Solutions. I then called Credit Solutions to see what was going on. By this time my payment to HSBC Auto Loan was over $1,500.00.
I finally was able to talk to one of the representatives at Credit Solutions and told them why they had not contacted HSBC Auto Loan. I was told by the representative that they don't handle auto loans and they did not see have anything listed on my account with Credit Solutions as being with HSBC Auto Loan, and the only they showed in their system was a student loan of which I told them that I don't have a student loan.
Credit Solutions then told me that I would need to talk to HSBC Auto Loan directly and make payment arrangements with them. I told Credit Solutions that when I registered with them. I gave them all my information as to what my creditors are and they confirmed with me that they would take care of it.
That was one of the issues that I had with Credit Solutions. During the last past months my assumption was that they were talking to my creditors and keeping them informed. About seven months ago of which I already had paid them over $2,200.00, a letter was mailed to me about a court hearing of which I was shocked to see. I faxed that letter to Credit Solutions and was told by them not to worry and that they would take care of it.
A month later passed and a summons to court would be required. I then called Credit Solutions and told them what is happening with one of the accounts which are with Target. Credit Solutions told me hold on and will contact the creditor. Then finally I was told by Credit Solutions that if I wanted to make payments with one my creditors or else they would take me to court.
Now I did not have any experience in this. I asked Credit Solutions how much the creditor wanted at the time and Credit Solutions said that I would have to come up with $800.00 and there would be a monthly payment of $170.00 a month. About three months ago I got laid off and have been unemployed. Trying to pay bills and my creditors of which is too much to handle. Actually I was going to cancel my registration from Credit Solutions sooner but I thought if I get out who is going to protect me from the creditor that I need to pay.
Two months ago I faxed in several letters and called to see if they received them and was told "No, we have not received anything". But I knew that they had received it since I have gone to Office Max and make sure that it went through. Yet they said they never got anything.
Again I thought I really did not have a choice but that I had to have Credit Solutions since I thought that creditors would hurt me. Honestly that's the way I was thinking. Until this past week that I saw that I did not have enough money to pay my bills. So I called Credit Solutions to see if they could help me. I told Credit Solutions if they could check and see if I can skip one month of the payment that I'm paying for Target.
Was I surprised when they told me that I needed to talk to the creditor and they would go ahead and help you. That did not sound right to me but again I have no experience in these matters. To my surprise he told me things that I did not know. And to top off he was very friendly, willing to work with me. He said there cannot be any changed and the case is in litigation process of which I did not know. I asked him if it was okay for me to cancel my registration with Credit Solutions and was told that it was okay.
I'm a person that does not like to discuss or argue but if I know something is not right I just simply will say "Please, I really don't want any part of it. I lost a lot of money paying to Credit Solutions of which I could have paid my other creditors.
ADDISON, TEXAS -- Trying to get anything done through Credit Solutions was beyond painful. My MINIMUM time of being on hold with them was an hour. I never talked to a person who had a clue what they were doing, and their "superiors" never got back to me in a timely manner. And when they did they only made unfulfilled promises, and nothing ever got done.
The whole "company" is so difficult to work with. I was shocked that the BBB gave them a good review. Clearly no one at the BBB apparently ever worked with Credit Solutions. I ended up settling my debt because that I had no more patience dealing with this company. Once I called my credit card company they told me that Credit Solutions barely made any contact with them, and communication was scarce. So what exactly was I paying for? Oh yes, being on hold for hours upon hours.
The biggest blow was receiving my settlement letters. For some reason they were "misplaced" for WEEKS and no one knew where they went? They were not handled properly and no could help me. So for WEEKS I had no proof that my credit card debt was settled. My piece of advice - do not EVER work with this company. And I will be sure to spread the word.


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Halloween by Cheri Burry!
1 hour ago
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng announced Wednesday that he had new affiliations with three U.S. institutions after leaving New York University under disputed circumstances. He said they would provide him a fresh platform to speak out against the Chinese's government's "inhumane brutality."
The blind dissident's escape from house arrest in China in 2012 sparked a diplomatic crisis after he took refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. The new U.S. affiliations cover a wide ideological range, which may go some way to countering concerns that he's aligned himself too closely identified with American conservatives as he wages his war of words with Beijing.
For the next three years, he will be supported in his studies and human rights advocacy by the Witherspoon Institute, a conservative think tank in Princeton, N.J., the Catholic University of America in Washington, and the Lantos Foundation, a human rights organization in Concord, N.H.
"I believe that human rights supersede partisan politics and (are) greater than national borders as well," Chen said at a news conference. Speaking through an interpreter, the self-trained lawyer said his goal would be to push China toward democracy and constitutional government.
For the time being he'll remain in New York, where his two children are in school, with a view to relocating later to Washington.
Chen's flight to the U.S. Embassy on the eve of high-level U.S.-China talks last year ago complicated the Obama administration's efforts to foster more cooperative relations with the Asian power, which has seen remarkable economic growth but brooks no political dissent.
With the agreement of China, Chen and his family came to the United States, and since last May, he'd been a special student at NYU's U.S.-Asia Law Institute.
He has said that NYU forced him to leave because of pressure from the Chinese government. The school denies that, saying that his one-year fellowship was up.
Chen expressed gratitude Wednesday for the "assistance and care" NYU had provided, but made clear he still felt the university had faced pressure from Beijing.
"The threat posed by the Chinese communist authority to the free world is very clear and that threat is not only posed to academia but also to other parts of society," Chen said in response to a question. "I hope in future more people will be courageous enough to stand up and share those experiences."
Since relocating to America, Chen has redoubled his blistering criticism of Beijing, and on Wednesday he referred to the Chinese government as an "evil power." He also said an intensified crackdown on social media by Chinese leader Xi Jinping pointed to the government's lack of confidence and the growth of civil society in China.
"We can see that in the future, change will definitely take place," he said.
Even before his escape, Chen had gained international renown for his defiance of local officials in his native Shandong province. They had kept him in prison or under house arrest in what had seemed a personal vendetta for his activism exposing forced abortions and other abusive enforcement of family planning limits in the rural communities around his home.
Chen complains that Chinese authorities have reneged on assurances made to U.S. diplomats before he left the country that his relatives in China would be treated according to the law.
Chen's nephew, Chen Kegui, was convicted last November of attacking officials who stormed his house looking for his uncle and sentenced to three years and three months in prison.
Chen said he remains concerned about the health of his nephew, who is suffering from appendicitis but has been denied medical parole. Chen said Chen Kegui has had a medical examination in prison, but according to Chen's brother who visited his son last Friday, authorities still can't figure out his condition and how to treat it.


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A free outdoor screening of the Florida movie classic "The Yearling" kicks off a yearlong observance of the 75th anniversary of the publication of the novel that won author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings the Pulitzer Prize in 1939.
A free outdoor screening of the Florida movie classic "The Yearling" kicks off a yearlong observance of the 75th anniversary of the publication of the novel that won author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings the Pulitzer Prize in 1939.
The film, which will be shown at 7:30 p.m. April 7 behind the Matheson Museum, is part of "The Year of The Yearling: Celebrating a Literary Classic" and includes an exhibit of memorabilia and photographs of Rawlings, who lived in nearby Cross Creek.
The exhibit will run 7-7:30 p.m., prior to the showing of the film at the Matheson Museum, and features mounted wildlife and photographs of the young boy, Jody Baxter, his pet deer, Flag, and the menacing bear, Old Slewfoot.
On April 12, Flo Turcotte, Anne Pierce and Betty Jean Steinshouer — the latter portraying Rawlings in her own words — present "The Yearling: The Author Creating the Book" at 7 p.m. at the Matheson Museum.
Other events planned for "The Year of The Yearling" include a 5K Yearling Run and Scamper Nov. 16 at M.K. Rawlings Elementary School and a daylong symposium at the University of Florida on Feb. 7, 2014, called "The World of The Yearling: Florida in the 1870s." Cracker Cuisine, scheduled for March 22, 2014, will explore frontier Florida cooking at the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park. Future public events exploring children's literature, gardening, pets and Florida history related to Rawlings and her world of rural Florida will be held throughout the year.
The yearlong series of events are sponsored by the Matheson Museum, the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Society, the Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm, the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park in Cross Creek, the George A. Smathers Libraries at University of Florida and VisitGainesville.
The Matheson Museum is located at 513 E. University Ave. in downtown Gainesville. For more information, visit www.floridastateparks.org/marjoriekinnanrawlings/events.cfm.
Book reading: Jim Chapin, editor of "Elotchaway, or How It Will Be," will read from the series of short stories at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Broken Shelves in the Sun Center.
The subject matter varies, but the stories are all set in specific locations in Gainesville and Alachua County, including Bo Diddley Plaza and Boulware Springs.
The book's title comes from one of the oldest names for the Alachua area, but the setting is in a not-too-distant future-time. The reading is followed by a discussion led by Chapin and other writers on the place of literature in today's public square.
"Jane's Stories": Gainesville author Sandra Gail Lambert is joined by three other Florida authors for a reading from the fourth Jane's Stories anthology by women writers, "Jane's Stories IV: Bridges and Borders," at 2 p.m. April 14 at Volta Coffee, Tea and Chocolate, 48 SW Second St.
The four are among the 31 authors chosen for the anthology, which includes poetry, fiction and nonfiction about conflicts, dilemmas, harrowing adventures and other problems, and how they were resolved — or not.
Lambert will read from her story, "The Chassahowitzka." Her work has appeared in The North American Review, The Alaska Quarterly Review and Arts & Letters. She received a Yaddo Fellowship and blogs regularly about her writing life at www.sandragaillambert.com.
Also reading are Tallahassee author Pat Spears, whose fiction has appeared in The North American Review and other journals; Katherine Riegel, a University of South Florida professor whose poetry book, "What the Mouth Was Made For," is just out from Future Cycle Press; and Leny Kaltenekker, a retired nurse who writes in both English and Dutch.
The reading will be moderated by Tricia Booker, a self-styled writer-fighter mother who writes about adoption, kickboxing and other aspects of her life at the popular blog www.mylefthook.com. Booker will share some of her nonfiction work.
Beginning April 1, interviews with the authors can be found on Jane Book Chats at http://tinyurl.com/c7o8zbo. Details about the reading and authors can be found on the website at www.janesstories.org or at Twitter #janesstories.
Shell Elementary School Presents: One book, One School, One Community: Parents, family and community members are encouraged to purchase the novel "Jason and Elihu" by local author Shelley Frasier Mickle, and read along with Shell Elementary School students as part of the book study, One Book, One School, One Community.
The book features art by renowned painter Tom Sadler and photographer Richard Sexton. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Florida's foster care system. The book study starts April 10.
"The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope": Rhonda Riley's debut novel mixes literary fiction with elements of fantasy and magic to create a powerful otherworldly love story that reveals the exhilarating, terrifying mystery inherent in all relationships.
During World War II, with all of her male relatives at war or working at the cotton mill in her rural North Carolina town, teenager Evelyn Roe is sent to manage her family's farm alone. While tending her land in the midst of a heavy rain, Evelyn rescues what she believes to be a badly burned soldier, all but buried in the heavy red clay soil.
As the stranger recovers at an alarmingly fast rate, it quickly becomes clear that he is not a man and, perhaps, not even one of us. With equal speed, Evelyn and this being, who becomes known as Addie and then Adam, fall deeply in love.
"The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope" (Ecco Trade Paperback Original, $15.99) goes on sale April 23.
Riley, who lives in Gainesville, is a graduate of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Florida. This is her first novel.
"Florida's Haunted Hospitality": Daytona Beach artist and writer Michelle Davidson has investigated the paranormal since 2007 and has recently published "Florida's Haunted Hospitality" (Schiffer Publishing, $16.99), a guide to 18 of the state's most haunted inns and locations. The guide includes information on inns, local haunts and ghost tours in Florida.
Davidson works in St. Augustine, said to be the country's most haunted and historic town, where she displays her art, writes and uses her psychic intuition to shed light on the afterlife.
"If a Frog Had Wings": In his new book, The Villages author Paul D. Jackson Jr. reflects on how his life experiences from childhood to adulthood prepared him for the fight of his life when he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in July 2008.
Readers share in the humor, heartbreak and steadfast stubbornness in Jackson's love of life that have helped him overcome great adversity.
Published by Tate Publishing and Enterprises, the book is available at www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore, barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com.
The Book Rack Book Club: Book club meets at 3 p.m. the first Thursday of each month; group collectively chooses each month's read; The Book Rack, 4936 NW 39th Ave. (224-3945)
Gainesville Poets & Writers: Meets 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Books-A-Million, 2601 NW 13th St.
Mystery Reading Group: Bring any mysteries you have, 6:30 p.m. Thursdays, High Springs Branch Library, 135 NW First Ave., High Springs. (454-2515)
Weekly Poetry Jam: Gainesville's longest-running open poetry reading, 9 p.m. Thursdays, Civic Media Center, 433 S. Main St. (373-0010, CivicMediaCenter.org)
Writer's Alliance of Gainesville: Anyone interested in the written word is welcome; see www.WritersAlliance.org for exact dates, Millhopper Branch Library, 3145 NW 43rd St. Free.


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Cuomo presses minimum wage hike in NY budget plan
Minimum wage would be increased $1.25
Cuomo presses minimum wage hike in NY budget plan
Minimum wage would be increased $1.25
The push to increase New York's minimum wage affecting millions of workers got a boost and hit a snag in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed budget.
Cuomo's inclusion of the bill in his 2013-14 budget proposal muted some opposition and makes a deal appear to be within reach. Items in a governor's budget rarely get dropped completely in negotiations with legislative leaders.
But Cuomo's plan to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $8.75 also dropped a provision that would "index" the wage to inflation.
That pleases Republican leaders, but rankles Democrats, including Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who pushed for indexing.
Yet Cuomo's proposal is the kind of compromise that could finally get the long-blocked bill passed.


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Free Astrology Predictions
I happened upon Astrology in the mid-nineties. Linda Goodmans Star Signs was my first introduction to the subject. I was astounded with all I learned about myself and my loved ones. Who knew such information was even possible. Unknowingly I had begun a lifelong relationship with a deeply complex subject. As life unfolded I studied. Always Astrology offers wise guidance; always there was an answer for whatever question I had.
It has been year after year of amazing discovery. I was hooked on useful solid otherworldly advice. Learning to identify past life influences through the birth chart has been endlessly life enhancing. Seeing my own self sabotaging tendencies helped me counteract my own weakness. Without Astrology my life would be less amazing- And Life should be amazing!
I have had the opportunity to teach, write and even host a radio show about a subject I find endlessly helpful. It is my intention to make Astrology useful in everyday life; to share what I know to help others grow and evolve.
For more information or to have your own chart read contact me at : hilloryskott (@) gmail.com
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Aaron Davidson/Getty
Extra host Mario Lopez is having a sporty summer with his two young children!
Between swimming every day in their new pool and heading to local parks in Los Angeles with biking and jogging strollers, the doting father spends his free time introducing his kids, daughter Gia Francesca, 3½, and son Dominic, 10 months, to the great outdoors.
"We just got our pool finished so when Gia is not in Montessori school or at ballet classes, I get her to go swimming with her little brother, who has learned to swim before walking," Lopez told PEOPLE Saturday, while hosting a party aboard the Lady Windridge yacht in Miami Beach to promote Bonefish Grill's new menu.
He adds, "We all love summer because we can be outside and get a lot of exercise while having fun."
Gia is also learning how to speak Spanish, play the piano, do gymnastics and enjoy theme parks.
"When we have time on weekends, I take Gia to Universal," he says. "She loves the Despicable Me Water Park Playground and Minion Mayhem. She is very active and has a great time experiencing new things."
Lopez, 40, believes robust outdoor activity and healthy eating should be a fitness priority for children and adults, which is why he starts each day by having breakfast with his wife Courtney and both children.
"I have to admit that I smother my kids — it is the best part of being a dad," Lopez says of his parenting skills.
And while he's busy with his radio and TV schedules, he balances it all with his daddy duties by making sure he is home for dinner, baths and plenty of play time before the kids go to bed.
"No matter what drama I deal with at work, when I get home and hear them scream, 'Daddy!' I forget whatever it was I was stressed about," he explains.
When Lopez — whose candid new book, Just Between Us, is out on Sept. 30, (in it he talks about who said no, who his dad locked in the trunk of the car, and how many nude scenes he has done) — has to be out of town for a day or two, he talks to the children on the phone and on Skype.
But if the business trip requires more than three days away, he arranges to take the children along.
"The hardest part of my new life as a dad is leaving for work in the morning," Lopez says. "These kids have totally changed my life. They are simply fantastic!"
— Linda Marx


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Leavenworth girls prepare for first state trip since 2003
It has been nearly a decade since the Lady Pioneers last competed for a state basketball championship.
That will all change at 3 o'clock this afternoon. At that hour, the Leavenworth girls will have the honor of playing in the opening contest of the 2013 Class 5A state basketball tournament.
"I believe this is our first time back since 2003 and second time in the last 23 years," LV coach Derek Zeck said. "We try not to talk too much about that. We are just trying to get better each and every game and not make a big deal about any one game."
Still, the moment will be pretty memorable, even if a tall task follows behind it. And that chore starts today for the Lady Pioneers, when the squad faces the tournament's top seed, St. Thomas Aquinas, at 3 p.m.
The Saints are ranked No. 1 thanks to a 21-1 season record and Eastern Kansas League season and tournament titles.
"They are obviously really good, but I think we matchup with them really well," Zeck said. "They have two really good post players, 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-2. They have a really good wing, who is probably the best player in the EKL, and good guards. But height-wise, I think we matchup with them as well as anyone in the state."
Thus, the game's biggest showdown will come inside the paint, which Leavenworth knows it must defend with tooth and nail.
"I think defense is a big factor for our success at state," Pioneer guard Emma Zeck said. "We've tried really hard to work on defense all year and now is the time to show that."
Her coach, and father, wholeheartedly agrees.
"They are a team that is old-school and likes to run offense over and over until they get a good shot," the LV coach said. "We will need to stay disciplined defensively. We also need to really make sure we are efficient on the offensive end."
The Lady Pioneers also referenced the need to stay together, no matter what they face today or later this week inside the Topeka Expocentre.
"We have to have confidence in ourselves," Pioneer senior guard Rashayla Mathis said. "We need to believe in each other and always lift each other up when things are going wrong."
So, for the first time since 2003, the Leavenworth girls' will chase after the ultimate prize.
"Ultimately, we really need to stick together on and off the court," LV senior forward Emily Ruble said.
For up-to-the-minute scores and news from this week's state action, follow Twitter.com/LVTSportsGuy.
Class 5A Girls' State Basketball Tournament
No. 1 Aquinas (21-1) vs. No. 8 Leavenworth (14-8) — 3 p.m. today
No. 4 Newton (18-4) vs. No. 5 Andover (18-4) — 4:45 p.m. today
Winner of Aquinas/Leavenworth vs. Newton/Andover — 3 p.m. Friday
5A State Championship — 4 p.m. Saturday
* All games will be at the Topeka Expocentre*


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By Diane Bartz
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators are investigating a number of companies in the mobile app marketplace for failing to protect children's privacy or not disclosing what information is collected from users, the Federal Trade Commission said on Monday.
The agency made the disclosure in releasing a report that found the makers of mobile apps designed for children had frequently failed to adequately inform parents about what information was collected about their children.
The information collected could include a child's location or mobile device number.
"FTC staff has initiated a number of investigations to address the gaps between company practices and disclosures," the agency said in a report. It declined to say which companies it was investigating or how many there were.
The FTC enforces the 1998 Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which requires companies to get parental consent before collecting information about children aged 12 or younger.
To do the study, the agency chose 400 apps designed for children, 200 from Google Play and another 200 from Apple's App Store. It looked at disclosures and user information that was collected and transmitted.
The agency found that 20 percent of the apps disclosed that they collected information, while 60 percent collected the device's unique ID and sent it back to the developer, an advertising network or another third party.
Fourteen of those apps also sent back the user's location and/or their phone number, the report said.
Neither Apple nor Google responded to requests for comment.
The FTC said the findings, which follow a similar agency report in February, were "disappointing."
"Staff did find a handful of app developers that were providing users with simple and short disclosures," the report said. "(But) most apps failed to provide basic information about what data would be collected from kids, how it would be used, and with whom it would be shared."
The Association for Competitive Technology, which represents more than 5,000 small and medium-sized app developers, said developers were often unsophisticated about legal obligations but that the group held workshops and boot camps to train them in best practices.
"In fact 87 percent of apps are developed by small or micro businesses that do not have legal departments or privacy experts on staff," said ACT Executive Director Morgan Reed in a statement.
There are more than 700,000 apps in Apple's App Store and 700,000 available from Google, the report said. Neither the FTC nor ACT were able to say what percentage of apps are aimed at children aged 12 and younger.
Kathryn Montgomery, a university professor who had pushed for COPPA to become law in 1998, said, "It is clear that there is an urgent need for the FTC to update its COPPA regulations and to engage in ongoing enforcement."
(Reporting By Diane Bartz; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)


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Bedford High adds new courses
They outlined plans to create additional prerequisites for several courses, and also talked about courses that could be removed or added.
Potential classes to be added to the curriculum were courses in journalism, philosophy and history of American music, Christina O�Hara, dean of students, said.
Journalism 2 intends to build upon Journalism 1, which is already offered, by introducing students to the production and business aspects of the industry.
The new philosophy course � added due to the popularity of the school�s only other philosophy class, the Theory of Knowledge � will focus on the foundations of philosophy.
Finally, a course on the history of American music will be offered. O�Hara said this arose, partly, to encourage students who do not typically participate in music an avenue into the subject.
Courses that will no longer be available include Origins of Western Civilization, World Languages 1A and an honors chemistry class. These courses were all deemed unnecessary due to lack of interest or other options being available.
The school is also �actively pursuing� courses that could get students college credit while they are still in high school.
In addition to the change in courses, representatives of the high school introduced the idea of digital report cards to the board.
The plan to replace paper report cards with online copies is set for late March or early April, Assistant Superintendant Chip McGee said.
The online report cards will be accessible through PowerSchool, but a parent can still request a tradtional, paper copy if they want one.
Board member Terry Wolf said she believes parents will like the online-accessible report cards.


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The U.S. economy added 171,000 jobs in October, more than September's upwardly revised gain of 148,000. Yet the unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent.
Why did the rate rise at the same time that hiring has picked up?
Because the government does one survey to learn how many jobs were created and another survey to determine the unemployment rate. Those surveys can produce results that sometimes conflict.
One is called the payroll survey. It asks mostly large companies and government agencies how many people they employed during the month. This survey produces the number of jobs gained or lost. In October, the payroll survey showed that companies added 184,000 jobs, and federal, state and local governments shed 13,000.
The other is the household survey. Government workers ask whether the adults in a household have a job. Those who don't are asked whether they're looking for one. If they are, they're considered unemployed. If they aren't, they're not considered part of the work force and aren't counted as unemployed. The household survey produces each month's unemployment rate.
In October, the household survey showed that the number of people who said they were either working or looking for work rose 578,000. Of that total, 410,000 said they found work, but about 170,000 did not. That increase in the number of unemployed pushed up the unemployment rate.
Unlike the payroll survey, the household survey captures farm workers, the self-employed and people who work for new companies. It also does a better job of capturing hiring by small businesses.
But the household survey is more volatile from month to month. The Labor Department surveys just 60,000 households, a small fraction of the more than 100 million U.S. households.
By contrast, the payroll survey seeks information from 140,000 companies and government agencies — and they employ roughly one-third of non-farm employees. The employers send forms to the Labor Department or fill out online surveys noting how many people they employ. They also provide wages, hours and other details.
Most Americans focus more on the unemployment rate, which comes from the household survey. But economists generally prefer the jobs figure from the payroll survey.
Economists note that the surveys tend to even out over time. Since the recession ended in June 2009, the payroll surveys have shown that employers added 3.25 million jobs. The household surveys have shown that 3.21 million more people said they found work.


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Carson Palmer stepped under center, called out a few signals, then dropped back to pass. Scanning the defensive backfield, he spotted a receiver going deep along the right side and rifled a pass to his back shoulder for a completion.
So what if it was a drill against his teammates during a voluntary minicamp in helmets and no pads.
After weeks of studying and throwing against garbage cans, it was good for Palmer to take what he's learned about his new team and new system against live competition.
"It's completely different," Palmer said on Tuesday, the first day of voluntary workouts for the Arizona Cardinals. "It's full go, 100 percent, guys are going full speed. A lot of what we did in the weeks before were walkthrough speed, kind of half speed, and now there's a defense across the ball. Before, there was trash cans in front of us ... now there's some good football players across from us and it's been good competition for us."
Arizona has struggled to find a consistent quarterback since Kurt Warner retired in 2009 and has put a lot of faith in Palmer.
The Cardinals have started three straight seasons with a new quarterback and last year went through a revolving door of four signal callers without much success, losing 11 of their final 12 games.
With the promotion of Steve Keim to general manager and the hiring of Bruce Arians as head coach, Arizona got rid of two of last year's quarterbacks, releasing Kevin Kolb and John Skelton.
The Cardinals then turned to Palmer, swapping a few draft picks with Oakland and restructuring his contract after he was due to make $13 million.
The first overall draft pick by Cincinnati in 2002, Palmer appeared to be headed toward retirement thanks to a severe knee injury and an elbow problem. Instead, he was traded two years ago by the Bengals to Oakland, where he became the second quarterback in team history to throw for over 4,000 yards as the Raiders went 4-11.
Now Palmer is in the desert, where he has to learn a new team, a new system and new teammates.
What may help his transition is the system Arians runs.
Arizona's first-year coach had success with it while in Pittsburgh, winning a Super Bowl with Ben Roethlisberger under center. Arians became Indianapolis' offensive coordinator last season and led the Colts to a 9-3 record as interim coach while Chuck Pagano was undergoing treatment for leukemia.
"It's very, I guess user-friendly would be the right word," Palmer said of Arians' system. "There's a lot on film to watch, plenty of texts in the playbooks and diagrams, pictures. It is easy to learn. It's not easy, but some systems you get in, it's difficult to learn because there's not a lot of history, but with this, there's a ton of history with this offense and this offense being successful, so it is an easy offense to get used to."
Still, it's going to take some time for Palmer and the rest of the Cardinals to be comfortable with it.
Arians not only brought in a new offensive system, he changed the way Arizona will play on defense and special teams. He and the coaches got their first look at the players running at full speed and there's still a long way to go.
"It was a lot of fun to finally get out here with a helmet on," Arians said. "It will be a lot better when we get the shoulder pads on and we can really tell what we've got."
Palmer is sold on what Arians and his staff have put together so far.
He said the Cardinals have installed about 75 percent of the offense from the playbook, but only ran about 5 percent of it during the first workout. Arizona has two more days of this voluntary minicamp and will get a better gauge during a mandatory minicamp in June, but it was a good start for the first day.
"I'm getting my feet wet, but for being three weeks into a playbook and having a playbook to take home and film to watch what coach Arians did last year, it's a phenomenal system," Palmer said. "It's been very productive, won Super Bowls. He's coached against the best and for the best, and I'm excited to keep installing and get deeper and deeper into the book."


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This laboratory course can be elected with, or following, CHEM 130. It is intended that students planning to enroll in CHEM 130 who have had little or no previous chemistry laboratory enroll concurrently in CHEM 125 and CHEM 126. The focus of this guided inquiry laboratory is to foster critical thinking that allows students to design, perform and interpret experiments. In addition, the student acquires technical skills that are required for further advancement in experimental sciences. Although an ability to collect and analyze data in a quantitative manner is developed, the emphasis of the course is to provide a qualitative understanding of the basic concepts of chemistry. This is accomplished by demonstrating that chemical principles are derived from experimental data. The goal is to provide students both with a more accurate picture of the scientific process and also with skills that are relevant to solving real life problems. Much of the course work is done as a member of a team. Student groups each explore the same problem with each group using different reagents and/or conditions. A networked computer system is used to collect, pool and summarize the largely qualitative class data. Student groups address questions which require them to organize the class data using commercial graphing software. Group answers are presented in discussion. The format of the course is organized into three sections. Pre-laboratory reading and questions are completed prior to each multi-period project laboratory. A one-hour lecture provides support for the topics and problems that will be investigated in the laboratory. The second component is performance in the laboratory where team data are shared, analyzed, and evaluated. The third begins in the first hour following completion of each multi-period project lab where groups communicate their findings during a student-led discussion. There are two one-hour written examinations, scheduled for Tuesday evenings, that constitute 30% of the grade. The remaining 70% of the grade is based on the points acquired in laboratory and discussion.
TEXT: Collaborative Investigations in Chemistry, Konigsberg Kerner & Penner-Hahn, Hayden McNeil (Required).
NOTE: Section 100 — Students must also elect one 100 level dis/lab combination of CHEM 125. Combinations are made in consecutive order and are linked. For example: CHEM 125.110 DIS section and CHEM 125.111 LAB section.
Section 200 — Students must also elect one 200 level DIS/LAB combination of CHEM 125. For example: CHEM 125.250 DIS section and CHEM 125.251 LAB section.


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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — An elite Danish soldier has been killed in southern Afghanistan by an explosive device, military officials said Thursday.
The blast is said to have happened late Wednesday or early Thursday and came as members of Denmark's Ranger and Frogmen units were on a joint patrol with an Afghan police's elite unit.
The Ranger was airlifted by helicopter to a field hospital but his life couldn't be saved. Next of kin have been notified.
The soldier was from the northern Denmark city of Aalborg. His name or rank were not immediately released.
Denmark has about 600 troops in Afghanistan, mostly based in the volatile Helmand province. More than 40 Danish soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since Denmark joined the U.S.-led coalition in 2002.
Denmark has begun withdrawing its combat units and is gradually shifting its role to training Afghan forces.