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Metro Air carries the finest heating and cooling equipment in the industry and offers excellent warranty protection and financing options for homeowners in Jordan, MN. We can take care of your HVAC systems from beginning to end, providing free in-home estimates, installation services, preventative maintenance, repairs and 24-hour emergency service.
Our Heating Services in Jordan, MN include:
Metro Air also provides the following Cooling services for Jordan, MN:
We know that breathing in clean air is crucial for families, so Metro Air can also provide you with various Indoor Air Quality Services, including:
Please give us a call at 952-447-8124 or contact us today for more information!
Joe Storms did the work and was very professional. Understood what I needed and I was extremely satisfied with his work. I will be using your company for any future needs I may have with heating and cooling
So thankful that they were able to come out so quickly! We've had them service our AC & furnace and they've always been very helpful and professional.
Metro Air's staff was able to explain my options for installation and pricing without making me feel pressured to buy. The technicians are very knowledgeable about the product and how to install it. In short, I have found…
Very professional staff to deal with here and they show up on time and take care of the problem very quickly. I like really their reliability and their pricing.
Best thing about Metro Air was that they did what they said with no exceptions. They were fair with the pricing and efficient in the installation. I would recommend these guys without hesitation, very quick response time!
When our air conditioner went out during a string of hot 90 degree days this summer we called Metro Air. They were professional, clear about what it would take correct the issue and the costs. Then they did what they said…
I have used Metro Air on many occasions. They are prompt, professional and explain everything that they are working on in a very detailed way. They are available when you call, are good at answering your questions, and on…
Metro Air installed a new furnace for me and the installers were neat and careful while doing the job. The installation was completed on time and the crew was very respectful of my home.
Metro Air installs high quality equipment at a reasonable price by extremely well trained technicians.


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Noble Wilde Moss Stitch Scarf - Cornflower
Noble Wilde Moss Stitch Scarf - Regatta
Possum fur and merino wool for warmth even when damp.
Noble Wilde | Merino Possum Woolens
The story of Possum & Merino starts over a hundred years ago, when possums were introduced to New Zealand as a farming experiment. With no natural predators and a landscape bursting with lush flora and fauna, the possum flourished. It now represents a serious ecological threat, stripping native forest and endangering the habitat that many of New Zealand's unique bird species depend on.
The Ministry of Conservation have a cull order out on the Possum, such is the dire effect of their position in New Zealand. For over three decades Noble Wilde has perfected the blending of two of the most exceptional natural fibres in the world, the dense silken wool of Merino, and the luxuriant fur of the possum. Exquisite in themselves, together these materials form a velvety soft yarn, unsurpassed in warmth and durability. Merino and Possum have outstanding qualities, tactile, functional and are from an ethical source.

subset: commoncrawl


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Police say they assisted a bleeding, naked Gainesville man who ate psilocybin mushrooms and crashed through a window.
Police assisted a 20-year-old Gainesville man early Saturday morning who was found naked and bleeding on West University Avenue after eating psilocybin mushrooms and crashing through a window, according to a report.
After ingesting the hallucinogenic mushrooms, Nicholas Koster stripped naked and ran from his friends' apartment at 111 NW 15th St. when they called 911, the Gainesville Police Department report said.
Police found Koster on West University Avenue near Chipotle around 4 a.m., and he resisted officers as they tackled him to the ground. Koster had a laceration on his back from jumping from the first-floor window pane of his friends' apartment, police said.
Koster was not in possession of any drugs when apprehended by police and does not face any charges.
A similar incident occurred a week earlier when Michael Joseph Silecchia, a University of Florida student, was arrested for wandering naked around Campus Club apartments at 4000 SW 37th Blvd. after taking LSD. He was charged with battery on a medical care provider, battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer.
The incident occurred around 1:25 a.m. last Saturday. Silecchia, 19, spoke randomly about God and told people, first, not to cut off his penis, and then to cut it off, police said.
Silecchia refused to dress himself when approached by police. He attempted to walk away from police, who then physically restrained him. Silecchia struggled with law enforcement, punching one officer in the head. Police hit Silecchia with a Taser about six times, but it had no effect, police said.
He was then taken to Shands at the University of Florida where he spit on Shands employees, police said.


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Hand made make-up bag with positive affirmation3
Hand made make-up bag with hand painted on silk butterfly and positive affirmation "I love my life". It will tune in positive mood everyday. Luxury Hand made make up bag beautiful gift idea for birthday, Christmas or just because you care about some one.
- Lined with nice fabric.
- Plastic Zipper.
- Measures: 14(H) x26 (W) cm, botom-7cm depth
- Materials: basis- good quality soft strong fabric and hand painted natural silk; lining- different fabric; zipper - plastic.
For silk painting I use proffesional paints, fixed with steam.
Accept custom orders. Feel free to contact me :)
Every peace will be unique - because of the creating technique and 100% hand work, there is not even a remote possibility that the design could be repeated or replicated in 100% the same.
Edition: Handmade artwork


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Drainage Services
Unblocking of Drains, Sewers, Gullies, Toilets, Sinks, Showers, Baths, Rainwater Pipes, Urinals, Fat Traps, Internal & External Manholes and Inspection Chambers.
CCTV Surveying
CCTV Surveying – Pre house purchase survey; Site Investigation to find out why repeat blockages or other problems are occurring; Pre and post build over CCTV survey to WRc standards for submission to the water authority.
Drain Cleaning & Repairs
Excavation and replacement of broken/collapsed drains and gullies. No dig epoxy resin liners and patches fitted.
Our Promise
Fixed price work, free quotes and no call out fee
All work guaranteed including drain unblocking
All Major Payments Taken
Committed to safe working and customer care
0 %
Reliability & Time Keeping
0 %
0 %
0 %
"Quick, efficient friendly service, very pleasant gentleman."
Toilet drain unblocked
Customer in Newark
"2nd time we have used Blitz Drainage, fantastic service."
Unblock drains
Customer in Nottingham
"Excellent service, very friendly gave good advice and provided an all round good job. Would absolutely recommend them to anyone."
CCTV drain survey
Customer in Nottingham
"Sewage smell coming up in house from broken sewer. Camera inspection revealed the issue. Because it is a common drain, advised us how to get a free repair from Severn Trent. No fee for the inspection. You rarely get this level of professionalism and honesty. What more can I say, fantastic, would recommend without hesitation."
Camera inspection of sewer
Customer in Nottingham
Did what they said, very efficient.
Blocked toilet
Customer in Mansfield


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Website Accessibility overview
Mankato Area Public Schools is committed to providing a website that's accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability.
Our aim is to conform to level Double-A of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. These guidelines explain how to make website content more accessible for individuals with visual, hearing or cognitive disabilities. Conformance with these guidelines helps make our website more user-friendly for everyone. For more info on the federal standards, visit the Section 508 website or the Federal Access Board website.
Technical information about our site
Most of our documents are in a Shared Google Document. Additionally some are in Adobe PDF format, which require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. If you don't already have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it for free from Adobe's website.
Reporting an inaccessible page or external link
The district's administrative website team continually reviews this website and modifies any pages found to have accessibility issues.
If you're unable to access or decipher any page(s) on our website, please contact us at: email@example.com with detailed information on the location of the page or document you were attempting to access and the problem you experienced. Attaching the exact link URL would be prefered. Be sure to include your name, email address and phone number so we may contact you to provide the information in another format. Reports can also be submitted via this Google form.
These guidelines apply to all web content produced or updated by the Mankato Area Public Schools. In addition, the district will ensure third-party content providers are aware of our website accessibility guidelines and will favor providers based on their accessibility conformance claims.


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Override Request Information: www.lsa.umich.edu/rll/langinstruct/overrides.html
Course coordinator: Amaryllis Rodriguez-Mojica, email@example.com
ITALIAN 101 is an introductory-level course designed to provide students with a basis to communicate effectively in Italian in everyday, realistic situations while practicing reading and writing skills. This course is task- and content-based and incorporates grammar in a functional use of language through listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Vocabulary and structures are practiced in class through communicative activities. Readings and cultural notes introduce students to contemporary Italian life and culture.
Their cultural awareness and listening skills are further developed through audio-visual materials. Grading is based on regular attendance, oral participation, in class-work, homework assignments, quizzes, a midterm, a final examination and a speaking test.


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Warriors nab league decision; Lexington plays to tie; Dwight edges Heyworth
Matt Kennedy and Jesse Leskanich combined on a two-hitter as Woodland-Flanagan-Cornell topped Dee-Mack in a Heart of Illinois Conference baseball game Wednesday afternoon.
Kennedy struck out 11 in his five innings of work for the win. He walked four and allowed just two hits. Leskanich fanned three in his two innings of relief for the save.
"Matt threw a great game and Jesse gave us a nice lift out of the pen," WFC head coach Todd Hoffman said. "Could not have asked for anything more from those guys, they did a great job."
The Warriors scored a run in the bottom of the second inning but Kennedy's one bad inning came in the fourth when he allowed the Chiefs to score twice.
WFC responded in the bottom of the inning with three runs to regain the lead. Tanner Bertsche had a pair of doubles and drove in three runs for the Warriors (3-3, 1-1).
Lexington 7, GCMS 7
GIBSON CITY — Lexington started strong but Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley finished fast in forging a 7-7 tie in a Heart of Illinois Conference game called due to darkness after seven innings.
The Minutemen touched the Falcons for at least one run in each of the first four innings in building a 7-1 advantage.
Ted Lingle singled to lead off the game and scored on a wild pitch to Donavan Laible with one out to get LHS on the board. Jonny Meints reached on a fielder's choice, stole two bases and scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-0.
Lingle and Tucker Lee each walked in the second and then pulled off a double steal. Laible followed with a two-run double that plated Lingle and Lee. Laible scored on a Meints sacrifice fly to make it 5-0.
GCMS scored a run in the bottom of the second but Lexington came back with a run in the third inning and one more in the fourth. Chase Payne singled and eventually scored on Tanner Tattini's base hit.
Meints reached on an error in the fourth inning and scored when Payne singled for the second time.
The Falcons scored five times in the bottom of the fifth inning. The big hit was a bases-loaded double from Dylan Schoolcraft. GCMS tied it in the sixth.
Laible pitched the first four innings for the Minutemen. He struck out six, walked two and gave up four runs on six hits. Lee fanned two and yielded three runs on four hits and two walks. Meints finished up with two strikeouts in one inning of work.
Tattini had three hits and Payne added two safeties to lead the Lexington offense. Laible doubled and Lingle and Meints each singled.
Dwight 6, Heyworth 5
DWIGHT — Carson Banks gave up the tying run in the sixth inning but delivered the game-winner in the seventh as Dwight eked out a 6-5 nonconference win over Heyworth at DTHS.
Banks was on the mound when Heyworth tied it at 5-5 in the top of the sixth inning. He threw two innings, giving up a run on two hits with one strike out.
Banks came through in the bottom of the ninth with a one-out base hit that drove in the winning run.
Owen Pulver started for the Trojans. He gave up four runs on six hits and five walks in four innings. Pulver fanned five. Chris Peck got the win after pitching the seventh inning. He gave up a hit and struck out three.
Austin Gantzert had two hits and drive in three runs for DTHS (2-3-1). Jake Wardell had a single and double and Ryan Kodat added a two-bagger. Peck and Aaron Wyllie also had two hits apiece while Karsen Kopmann, Banks and Kiefer Kious contributed one hit apiece.


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Color your world. The Cary Company offers a variety of pigments for use in paint and coatings, ink, and plastic. Pigments are finely ground natural or synthetic insoluble particles added to paints and coatings to create color, bulk or a preferred physical property. Pigments can be organic, inorganic, functional or special effect. Organic pigments do not disperse easily and form clumps of particles. Inorganic pigments are more easily dispersed. Functional fillers impart a desired property to the coating. Special effect pigments create unique finishes such as metallic. Our pigments come in a variety of colors and finishes.
HIBLACK® 600L Beads - MCF, Carbon Black for PolymersPart #: S-HIBLACK600L-BDS
PRINTEX® 80 Beads - MCF, Carbon Black for PolymersPart #: S-PRINTEX80-BDS
- Quantity Qty Price
- Call for Price
Limited Supply
PRINTEX® 80 Powder - MCF, Carbon Black for PolymersPart #: 24W244
- Quantity Qty Price
- 22 $6.570 lb.
- 485 $5.150 lb.
- 970 $4.950 lb.
Limited Supply
HIBLACK® 600L Powder - MCF, Carbon Black for PolymersPart #: S-HIBLACK600L-PWD


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In six short years, Cuda Ridge Wines has become one of the most well-respected wineries in the Livermore Valley. Winemaker Larry Dino has built his reputation on small-lot, Bordeaux-style wines, with a particular touch for soft expressions of single varietal cabernet franc and petit verdot.
Now, with a new tasting room and production facility across from the historic Ravenswood site on Arroyo Road, Larry and his wife, Margie, have an ideal setting from which to showcase their handcrafted wines. The new winery, a former olive mill on the site of the old Eckert Estate Winery, opens to the public this weekend. The grand opening celebration is on Aug. 10 and 11.
Cuda Ridge was founded in 2007, but Dino has been making wine as a home winemaker since the 1990s.
"It started as a 300-case hobby," he says, standing on the future site of Cuda Ridge's 1-acre petit verdot vineyard, which surrounds the long, narrow entryway to the winery.
The building, a renovated early 1900s barn, is complete, but the vineyard won't bear fruit until 2016. Come its first harvest, it will no doubt serve as a dramatic entrance to the winery and adjacent outdoor picnic area, which is surrounded on all sides by olive trees and rolling hills.
"It's a real milestone for us to be here," says Dino, taking in the view. "We're aspiring to be Steven Kent. We want to be the high-end winery in Livermore, and this location will hopefully help us be that destination."
It is quite a step up from their previous digs. Dino was a weekend winemaker until 2008, when he was laid off from his job as a software engineer in Silicon Valley. In 2009, he and Margie decided to make winemaking their full-time gig, moving the winery from their garage to a small barn on East Avenue. There, they increased production and ran their first tasting room. But, after a few years, they outgrew the space.
The new, 1,500-square foot tasting room has a stand-up tasting bar, seating area for flights and a private tasting room for reserve and by-appointment winemaker tastings. It has an art hanging system to display the work of local artists and views of the barrel room and cellar through the glass doors.
"We're just excited about the customer experience that we will be able to offer our guests now," Dino says.
We're hoping the wines won't change much. Production is currently just under 2,000 cases, and Dino says the extra space will allow him to experiment with and expand their barrel program to include European acacia wood barrels, which contribute hazelnut flavors and a creamy palate to his 2011 Livermore Valley Semillon ($19).
But the vineyard program is set and solid, Dino says. He has developed relationships with the finest growers in the valley, including Steven Mirassou, who manages the 55-acre Ghielmetti Vineyard, where those semillon grapes are grown.
"I usually get to go in and hand-select the blocks and rows I want," Dino says.
Another beauty is the 2010 Livermore Valley Cabernet Franc ($29), a lush and fragrant example of what this varietal can do on its own. The fruit comes from Bill and Donna Johnson's White Cat Vineyard and yields flavors of red raspberries and pomegranates with a smooth, lingering red licorice finish.
"It's the first red in our lineup, so we consider it our softest wine," he says.
But, Dino's stunner — and the winery's current No. 1 seller — is the 2010 Livermore Valley Petit Verdot ($34) from the Smith Ranch Vineyard on the western side of Livermore. Dark and inky in color, the wine is bold and flavorful without knocking you upside the head with tannins and alcohol. Rather, it feels silky-soft on the palate, with dark berry flavors mingling with hints of tobacco and dark chocolate.
"I tend to pick my grapes about a week earlier than most in the valley," he says. "It helps keep some of that acidity and minerality, which I think is crucial to making memorable Bordeaux-style wines."
Contact Jessica Yadegaran at email@example.com.
cuda ridge grand opening
Celebrate the grand opening of Cuda Ridge's new winery and tasting room with wine tasting and live music from noon to 4:30 p.m. Aug. 10 and 11, 2400 Arroyo Road, Livermore. www.cudaridgewines.com.


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From the beginning of the quads with wooden wheels to the rise of in-line speed skating, races are the places to test new equipment and technologies. There are several big events like Roller World cup, national cups and championships, and many more everywhere in the world. There are many race types and places:
- Races on track - indoor or outdoor - from 300 m to 10000 m
- Marathons on roads - 42 km or more
- Downhill
- Urban races


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Analyst fears iPhone 5 power pack to prompt launch postponement
Battery production troubles alleged
Apple's handset battery supplier is struggling to produce the high volume of units required for an iPhone 5 launch, moles claim. The issue could see the smartphone's debut delayed.
The whispers, which come by way of Chinese web portal Sina.com, were relayed by stockbroker Topeka Capital Markets' Brian White, who has already talked up Apple's supposed intention to launch its sixth-generation handset this August.
While the unnamed battery vendor is allegedly working hard to solve the production problem - in which, it's claimed, 70 per cent of batteries fail to meet Apple's specifications - White reckons the end-of-summer launch looks more unlikely now, pushing estimations back a month.
"If there is a battery challenge, we trust that Apple will be able to figure it out in time for a September launch," he said.
August or even September? Surely not. Plenty of other analysts have forecast an October iPhone 5 introduction - not a towered feat of deduction, since it means the new handset will be launched 12 months on from the last one.
Apple's next-gen handset is said to sport a controversial all-new 19-pin connector, up the display dimensions to a generous four inches and include the latest micro Sim card.
We'll have confirmation on all that in
August September? Oct… Oh, whatever... sometime later on in 2012. ®


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By Alberto Sisto
ROME (Reuters) - Telefonica <TEF.MC> Chairman Cesar Alierta has offered assurances to Italy over the future of Telecom Italia <TLIT.MI> as his company tightens its grip on its Italian rival.
The Spanish telecoms group reached a deal last month to start a gradual takeover of Telco, the investment vehicle that controls Telecom Italia, prompting a backlash from some Italian politicians and trade unions concerned about national security, job losses and the pace of investment in technology.
But after a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta on Tuesday, Telefonica's Alierta told reporters: "Telecom Italia will remain an Italian company and Telefonica will ensure employment."
Alierta also said that his group would ensure continued investment in fiber-optics and fourth-generation mobile networks at Telecom Italia, which is battling with a debt burden of nearly 29 billion euros ($40 billion) and a deep recession in its domestic market.
Telco, owned by Telefonica and a consortium of three Italian financial groups, holds a 22.4 percent stake in Telecom Italia but effectively controls the company because it appoints the majority of its board members.
Telecom Italia's new chief executive Marco Patuano, appointed after the Telco deal was announced, is reviewing his company's strategy and will present a new business plan at a board meeting on November 7.
Earlier on Tuesday, Italy's Industry Minister Flavio Zanonato said that Italy aimed to safeguard the security of data travelling on Telecom Italia's fixed-line phone network and was not against foreign investments in Italy.
After the Telco deal was announced, Italy said it would extend its powers to veto strategic changes in the energy, transport and telecommunications sectors. It also said it would take steps to lower the threshold for obligatory takeover bids in a move that could complicate Telefonica's Italian ambitions.
However a government source said after the meeting between Letta and Alierta that Rome had no near-term plans to modify laws on company takeovers, reversing previous indications.
Alierta said that he and the Italian prime minister did not discuss new takeover limits or a plan to spin off Telecom Italia's fixed-line network, Italy's biggest telecoms infrastructure, which employs about 20,000 people.
Alierta's comments failed to reassure minority investors in Telecom Italia that have been left out by the Telco deal.
Italian businessman Marco Fossati, who owns 5 percent of Telecom Italia and is seeking to replace the company's current board, voiced concerns that increasing Telecom Italia's share price was not an objective pursued by Telefonica.
The issue is not "whether or not an Italian or a foreign group takes over management of the company but whether control is given to groups that are really concerned with increasing the value of Telecom Italia," he said in an email to Reuters.
Retail investors association Asati said on Tuesday Telefonica should launch a takeover bid on Telecom Italia or pursue a merger valuing the Italian company at more than 1.1 euros a share, a 50 percent plus premium to Friday's price.
Since its privatization in 1997, control of Telecom Italia has changed hands twice in heavily leveraged deals that have brought no benefits to minority shareholders.
Telecom Italia shares ended on Tuesday up 6.1 percent at 0.7195 euros.
($1 = 0.7262 euros)
(Additional reporting by Giselda Vagnoni, Stefano Rebaudo and Giancarlo Navach; Writing by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Anthony Barker)


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Mrs. Kidd
Welcome to my class!
STAFF > Teachers > High School > Kidd, Roberta
Contact Us
High School Contact Info
808 N. Main St.
Chiefland, Florida 32626
Phone: (352) 493-6000
Fax: (352) 493-6018
Middle School Contact Info
811 NW 4th Drive
Chiefland, Florida 32626
Phone: (352) 493-6025
Fax: (352) 493-6048
Student request for Guidance appointment
Things to know
Parent access to student grades
Parents with access can view their child's grades online through Skwyward Family Access.
Parents may come to the school to pick up their log in information and directions on how to access the site. See Parents tab above for the link.
When requesting access, everyone must produce photo identification.
Teacher of the Year
Chad Hodges
ESP of the Year
Donna Brock


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Cooley Information Session - Grand Rapids
WMU-Cooley Law School
Wednesday, March 13, 2013 from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM (EDT)
Event Details
Check in starts at 5 p.m., Expert panel starts at 5:30 p.m.
» Attend an expert panel of Cooley faculty, staff, students, and alumni.
» Learn about the value and versatility of a law degree.
» Find out how to prepare, perform, and succeed in law school.
» Ask questions about admissions, financial aid, and scholarships.
» Take a campus tour and meet personally with campus deans.
Call toll free (800) 874-3511 or email email@example.com.
When & Where
Cooley Law School Grand Rapids Campus
111 Commerce Ave SW
Grand Rapids,
Wednesday, March 13, 2013 from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM (EDT)
Add to my calendar
WMU-Cooley Law School
Western Michigan University Cooley Law School combines the status of a nationally-ranked, public, comprehensive research university with the commitment to practical legal education of an independent, non-profit, national law school. Since 1972, nearly 20,000 graduates have gone on to become leaders in every state in the nation and around the world, in the legal profession, in public service and in private commerce.


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July 4th in Washington DC at the World War II Memorial' A spectacular design.
Each State has a column like the one below, to remember all the men and women who contributed.
At the Vietnam War Memorial, the crowd stops to watch the Ranger take a tracing. I am always amazed at how the crowd quiets down when at the Vietnam site.
The Washington Monument with the Capitol dome in the background. The reflecting pool is drained for repair.


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If you are shopping for a tablet, consider the following areas:. Tablets come in many forms and sizes, but build quality and performance can vary greatly.
Product warranties are a standard feature, along with support via phone, or company websites. Help & Support When your tablet has software or hardware issues, you'll want quality customer support with quick turnaround times. Manufacturers such as Samsung, Apple and Microsoft even have retail locations that can provide support without the hassle of having to ship your tablet away.
Display As the central part of the tablet, it is vial the display has a quality build. How vibrant do the colors in a photo look? Can you see the individual pixels around the edges of each letter in onscreen text? Factors such as these allow you to see the screen's visual fidelity with additional precision. Higher resolutions are generally better, but the strength of a tablet's display can also be seen in other areas.
Whether you're on the couch or the bus, a tablet shouldn't feel heavy or difficult to hold in your hands. When you're on the road, the best tablets also minimize the disruption of working away from home. Many manufacturers even have separate models with 4G support, which allows your tablet to connect to mobile data networks for internet access. Lengthy battery run-times and cloud storage options ensure that you can work remoy without being tied to a portable hard drive or power adapter. Portability With their smaller form factor, tablets are designed for on-the-go use. However, these models require additional service plans.
The best tablet computers can easily fit into a backpack or a purse without feeling bulky. Generally, tablets feature slim designs and displays under 10 inches. One of the biggest factors that distinguishes tablets from other types of computers is their size.
Tablets often feature components built for mobile use, but performance can still differ from one tablet to another. In general, the newer the tablet, the more likely it will carry upgraded components that offer faster performance levels. Speed As with any computer, tablet performance is driven heavily by components such as processors, graphics cards and operating systems. While the benefit of these faster parts may be insignificant if you're primarily using your tablet for low-intensity tasks like web browsing, you'll see noticeably fleeter performance with applications like playing games or watching videos.
If you want to find more information, check out our articles on tablets. Tablets like the Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display, Sony Xperia Z2, and Apple iPad Air fit high-end performance into lightweight cases. That allows many tablets to prioritize multimedia content, such as books, games or videos, and to take full advantage of the myriad of apps in their dedicated online stores. Increasingly, the performance of the best tablets belies their compact size, thanks to responsive high-resolution screens and fast graphics processors.
Front-facing cameras are typically used for video conferencing and generally have lower resolutions than their rear-facing counterparts, but both cameras can be used to shoot video and photos. As with smartphone cameras, image and video fidelity depends on the quality of the parts and software used within each tablet. Camera Many tablets are outfitted with both front- and rear-facing cameras.
Whether you're watching a movie on the plane or reading an eBook at the park, the best tablets are built around portability and ease of use. Tablets aren't a perfect fit for every computing situation, but they offer a fine compromise between the functional but bulky laptop and the small (and small-screened) smart phone.
But thanks to their emphasis on portability, tablets offer advantages that their bulkier cousins lack. After all, it seems like the missing keyboard would be a potential disadvantage when you compare tablets to other computers. At first glance, a tablet might look like a step down from a full-sized laptop or desktop computer.
Best business tablet 2012


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Home > Fencing > Fence Care > Fence Paints > Ronseal > Ronseal High Performance Wood Filler White 550g
Wooden Supplies will treat all of your Personal Information as confidential. We will keep it on a secure server and ensure all current UK Data Protection and consumer legislation is followed.
We deliver nationwide, from Suffolk to Swansea, Sheffield to Southampton!
We offer a 3-14 (Monday - Friday) standard delivery. Depending on product size and availability.
We have specific delivery days for specific parts of the country, once your order has been processed, we will email you with your expected delivery date. If your order is direct from a supplier, they will be in contact with you directly to arrange delivery.
Once we advise you of your delivery date for your wooden supplies order. We will email you again to notify you that your order has been dispatched. Unfortunately we are not able to advise or agree specific delivery times.
Every effort is made to ensure that our handmade gates are delivered within 14 - 21 days, but occasionally if treatment is required, or it is a bespoke order, delivery times may increase.
Free delivery is available within selected delivery zone. For more information see our delivery details.
If part of the order is delivered directly from our suppliers, one single delivery will not be possible.
Please add us to your address book to prevent your delivery notification email being sent to your junk folder.
Where on your property will we deliver your order?
Due to insurance guidelines, our delivery will be to kerbside only. Our delivery personnel are unable to enter private residences, we cannot deliver into, through or to the rear of your property.
Delivery Advice
We strongly recommend that you do not book tradesmen until your order has been received and checked by you. We cannot be held responsible for any third party charges for deliveries not received or not checked upon receipt.
All deliveries are subject to stock availability.
Contact us for information about our Returns Policy.


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City leaders are able to breathe a sigh of relief after it was learned the Federal Aviation Administration has taken the Ardmore Airpark control tower off the chopping block.
The control tower is one of 16 that will remain open as participants in the "cost share" program. David Grizzle, FAA Chief Operating Officer, said in an email the towers would remain open because Congressional statute sets aside funds e ver y fiscal year for the towers. He also said the funds are subject to sequestration but the required 5 percent FAA cut in funds will not result in tower closures in the program.
"I am cautiously optimistic," Chris Bryant, Airpark Manager, said. "I'm happy for the fact that, according to the FAA, we are not on the chopping block. We will continue to support the other four airports that are not as fortunate as us." Enid Woodring Regional Airport was among 24 towers that were taken off the list because of the negative impact it would have nationally if the control tower were closed. The 24 towers were taken off the list following FAA consultations with the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security. Operational assessments of each potential closure on the national air transportation system were also conducted.
The Oklahoma control towers remaining on the list for closure are:
■ Lawton Fort Sill Regional
■ University of Oklahoma Westheimer
■ Wiley Post in Oklahoma City
■ Stillwater Regional All four towers are scheduled for closure April 7.
"I think this is the best news we have heard in a while," J.D. Spohn, Ardmore City Manager, said. "There has been a significant investment made in the airpark. I think it is extremely beneficial to the community and our efforts to expand business opportunities at the airpark. I appreciate the hard work of everyone who sent emails and phone calls on behalf of the airpark."


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Ryan RauFree Agent
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|Dolphins | One signed, one waived
Tue, 05 Aug 2014 18:26:43 -0700
The Miami Dolphins signed free-agent PK Danny Hrapmann (Cardinals) to an undisclosed deal and waived LB Ryan Rau Tuesday, Aug. 5.
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|| Source: ESPN - Adam Caplan
|Dolphins | Ryan Rau signs
Fri, 01 Aug 2014 16:18:02 -0700
The Miami Dolphins signed free-agent LB Ryan Rau (Patriots) to an undisclosed deal Friday, Aug. 1.
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|| Source: KFFL.com
|Panthers | 11 cut
Sat, 24 Aug 2013 12:21:39 -0700
The Carolina Panthers waived-injured WR Kealoha Pilares (knee), OT Bruce Campbell (shoulder) and FB Michael Zordich (knee). P Jordan Gay, CB Nick Hixson, PK Morgan Lineberry, WR Dale Moss, DE Louis Nzegwu, LB Ryan Rau, S Ricardo Silva and OG Justin Wells were waived.
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|| Source: The Associated Press
|Panthers | Ryan Rau claimed
Wed, 22 May 2013 14:19:21 -0700
The Carolina Panthers have claimed LB Ryan Rau off waivers from the Cleveland Browns.
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|| Source: thesidelineview.com - Adam Caplan
|Browns | Make roster moves
Tue, 21 May 2013 11:31:25 -0700
The Cleveland Browns waived S Eric Hagg, LB Ryan Rau and RB Robbie Rouse Tuesday, May 21.
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|| Source: Twitter
|Browns | Awarded Ryan Rau
Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:36:27 -0700
The Cleveland Browns were awarded LB Ryan Rau off waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles Friday, April 12.
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|| Source: The Cleveland Plain Dealer - Mary Kay Cabot
|Eagles | Four players released
Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:04:53 -0700
The Philadelphia Eagles have released WR Ronald Johnson, LB Ryan Rau, LB Marcus Dowtin and CB Chris Hawkins.
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|Eagles | Inexperience reason for mistakes
Sat, 15 Dec 2012 04:34:14 -0800
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid said the team's inexperience has led to many miscues this season, particularly a blocked punt against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15. Reid said that the problem was rookie WR Marvin McNutt getting beaten by his man so badly that he was pushed into the path of P Mat McBriar, who ended up punting the ball into McNutt. Reid also said that rookie LB Ryan Rau was to blame for the team's punt team not having the correct personnel on the field on that play. The head coach also explained how inexperience is the reason for the team having so many fumbles this season.
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|| Source: ProFootballTalk.com - Michael David Smith
|Eagles | Ryan Rau promoted
Sat, 08 Dec 2012 08:06:32 -0800
The Philadelphia Eagles have promoted LB Ryan Rau to the active roster from the practice squad.
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|| Source: PhiladelphiaEagles.com
|Eagles | Add seven to practice squad
Sun, 02 Sep 2012 13:42:59 -0700
The Philadelphia Eagles have signed C Chase Beeler, TE Chase Ford, FB Emil Igwenagu, WR Marvin McNutt, LB Ryan Rau, WR B.J. Cunningham and DT Frank Trotter to their practice squad.
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|| Source: Philadelphia Inquirer - Zach Berman
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Independent Senator-elect Angus King of Maine said Wednesday he has decided to caucus with Democrats, which will add to the party's voting edge.
His decision ends months of speculation about which party he would align with.
The former Maine governor was elected last week to replace retiring Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, a prominent centrist who complained about Washington's partisan gridlock in stepping down. GOP and conservative super PACs spent millions of dollars to attack King during the campaign for Snowe's seat.
With King joining their caucus, Democrats will have a 55 to 45 edge in the Senate.
King said that caucusing with Democrats will still allow him to take independent positions on issues.
"I have decided to affiliate with the Democratic Caucus because doing so will allow me to take independent positions on issues as they arise and at the same time be an effective representative for the people of Maine," King said.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada welcomed King to the caucus.
"I'm confident Senator King with be a bridge to working with Republicans," Reid said.
King said he considered not aligning with either party, but realized he could be shut out of committee assignments, where the bulk of legislative work gets done, and that would have hurt his effectiveness on issues vital to Maine.
He said aligning with Democrats does not mean he's "in automatic opposition" to the GOP.
King had requested a seat on the Senate Finance Committee, a plum assignment usually reserved for more senior lawmakers, in recent talks with Reid, but said Reid made it clear that was not likely to happen.
"My father used to say, 'If you don't ask, you don't get,'" said King. Snowe serves on the finance panel.
King has vowed to vote his conscience, saying independent voices like his are needed to try to break the partisan gridlock in Congress.
The 68-year-old King was Maine's governor for two terms between 1995 and 2003, establishing credentials as someone who could work with both parties. Before that he spent 18 years as a commentator on the Maine Public Broadcasting Network, reporting and analyzing state public policy issues.
He's a former Democrat who backs President Barack Obama, but who also supported George Bush in 2000. He backs Obama's health care overhaul. His views on issues like abortion rights and environmental causes track most closely with Democrats.
King has Capitol Hill experience, working as an aide to former Sen. William Hathaway, D-Maine, in the 1970s.


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Popular Japanese video-sharing site uses HP IO Accelerator cards to consolidate key video-content cache servers, while implementing a more scalable, higher performing growth platform.
The Challenge
Dwango's Nico-Nico Douga service is a popular Japanese video-sharing site with 1.5 million paid subscribers and over 26 million registered users. It is one of the most visited websites in Japan.
As Dwango's video-sharing business grew, scaling its video-hosting caching tier became problematic. Nico-Nico Infrastructure Manager Tetsuya Sato realized Dwango needed a solution that could address the following challenges:
The Solution
Raising the Roof on Reporting Performance
Tetsuya knew that slow disk I/O was a key constraint in Dwango's environment. After seeing the ioDrive card's excellent price/performance ratio, he decided to test its performance on some of Dwango's MySQL databases.
Tetsuya said the results were better than he had hoped. "On jobs that typically took a day to run, the HP IO Accelerator cards reduced their processing times to just hours. This enables us to make business decisions that weren't previously possible."
This impressive performance convinced Tetsuya to test whether the HP IO Accelerator cards could be as effective on Dwango's video-hosting servers.
Maximizing Scale-Up to Minimize Infrastructure Footprint
Dwango's primary objective was to consolidate the footprint of its video-caching tier to halt the escalating costs of its disk-based system. At the same time, it could not sacrifice its best-in-class performance. The SanDisk-powered caching tier accomplished this, enabling Dwango to slash its server footprint by 75 percent, and eliminating 1,600 hard disks, all potential failure points, from its system.
"Using HP IO Accelerator cards, we consolidated the video-hosting caching servers by a factor of four to one, cutting 200 servers to about 50 servers," Tetsuya said. "This consolidation fully utilizes the 10GbE bandwidth in each server and leaves plenty of I/O headroom for complex, on-demand traffic for a 200,000-user workload."
Tetsuya Sato,
Infrastructure Manager Nico-Nico Douga, Dwango
Hot Performance for Hot Data
A challenge that Web content providers are keenly aware of is accommodating massive traffic spikes as content popularity surges. Disk-based systems require massive scale-out to build in this headroom—something that is not the case with SanDisk-powered systems.
"Hot videos can be viewed by tens of thousands of simultaneous users," explained Tetsuya. "Supporting high performance for our hot content used to require about 20 servers. The HP IO Accelerator cards have allowed us to support these same traffic spikes with just four to five servers at the most. This allows us to guarantee our customers a consistently good experience for all content, regardless of popularity, and without the over-provisioning we used to need."
Cutting Costs
In addition to cutting its hardware spending, Dwango realized an immense reduction in facilities costs and total cost of ownership that included the following:
Implementing Fusion ioMemory solutions gave Dwango the following benefits:
Tetsuya is thrilled and told us, "SanDisk has made what we once thought impossible a reality. The HP IO Accelerator cards have become a major contributor to a paradigm shift to support Dwango's next level of growth."
About Dwango
DWANGO Co., Ltd. is a Japan-based company providing content for online entertainment and game software, providing services for mobile devices, games and gaming software, animation, live event coverage and general entertainment. Its Nico-Nico Douga service is a popular Japanese video-sharing site with 1.5 million paid subscribers and over 26 million registered users. It is one of the most visited websites in Japan.
Whether you're a Fortune 500 or five person startup, SanDisk has solutions that will help you get the most out of your infrastructure.
Whether you'd like to ask a few initial questions or are ready to discuss a SanDisk solution tailored to your organizations's needs, the SanDisk sales team is standing by to help.
We're happy to answer your questions, so please fill out the form below so we can get started.
Thank you. We have received your request.


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Hi Color Pikkersorry that wouldn´t do as the Zeiss is for 35mm and this chip has 63,5x35,4mmThis needs MF lenses. It will also be totally uncritical in sharpness as any decent MF lens will feed the 8,2 Micron easily (that´s about the Pixelsize of the old 20 Mpix backs)RegardsStefan
I was talking about the 70mp cmosis sensor.
Hi TorgerI´m pretty sure this is what it says, the camera is much too big for a small 1/2,5" and it sports full PL mount which also doesn´t make sense for such small stuff.The datasheet is definite - it says 2,5".http://www.astrodesign.co.jp/english/astro/News/NAB_Debut/ASTRONEWSE_AH4800_20130405.pdf
2.5" sensor usually means something like 1/2.5" sensor, that is rather small... sensor makers have a funny way of relating inches to sensor size which I have never truly figured out.For example, Nikon 1 has a "1 inch sensor", and the actual size is 13.2x8.8mm, I wonder where 25.4mm fits in there?
AH-4800 Image sensor: 2.5inch 33million pixels single plate CMOS...http://www.astrodesign.co.jp/english/news/news-20130405-1790.html
1/2.5" 4:3 10.160 7.182 5.760 4.290 But this would mean this camera has only a 5,7 x 4,2 mm large chip ?
Thanks for the link Hening !1/2.5" 4:3 10.160 7.182 5.760 4.290 But this would mean this camera has only a 5,7 x 4,2 mm large chip ?I don´t think so !


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Kacie Jean Photography
Andrew Firestone has come a long way from the Bachelor pad!
The former reality star — now senior vice president at West Coast Asset Management — and his wife Ivana will welcome their third child this winter, the couple confirm to PEOPLE exclusively.
The new addition will be a sibling for son Brooks, 4, and daughter Anja, 2.
"We are so thrilled to add another member to our family," Andrew, 38, tells PEOPLE. "I figure since our kids are already outsmarting us, they might as well outnumber us too!"
Ivana, 35, adds that their children have very specific hopes for their new baby brother or sister.
"Anja wants it to be a girl, Brooks wants it to be a boy," she says. "But we're not finding out. We like the surprise!"
Andrew and Ivana were married in July 2008.
— Aili Nahas


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Let's face it: There are a lot of distortion pedals out there aimed at metal players, But if you don't pick the right amp, you'll probably always be chasing that holy grail of perfect tone.
That's why we're providing you with a shortcut!
A group of Guitar World staffers, including Technical Editor Paul Riario, sat down to come up with the cream of the crop when it comes to some seriously sinister guitar amps. We looked at power, versatility and stage-worthiness, narrowing down our picks to 10 amps that will have you ready to seek and destroy straight out of the box, no pedals required!
Bogner Uberschall Series 120W
A lot of metal tones are all about mid-range attack, but if you need some serious low-end for that menacing Drop-B riff you've been working on, you can't do much better than the Bogner Uberschall.
German for "super sonic," the Uberschall features a two-channel, all-tube design that's stylishly backlit by fiber optics. Powered by an EL34 output section, the Ubserschall also features a tube-buffered effects loop with a mute feature that makes for an ultra-quiet rig.
Utilized by everyone from Avenged Sevenfold's Zacky Vengeance to Six Feet Under's Rob Arnold, the Uberschall is sure to deliver for any brand of metal guitarist. And if you're having trouble deciding what to pair the head with, look no further than the Uberschall 4x12 straight speaker cabinet to round out your setup.
Engl Powerball II
For maximum versatility in a metal amp, it's hard to beat the four-channel Engl Powerball II. Featuring clean, crunch and two lead channels, the Powerball II is the favorite amp of players like Jeff Loomis and Glenn Tipton.
What makes the Powerball II so appealing to gigging musicians is its range of features that make it perfect for the stage, from an improved noise gate to power tube protection. The Powerball II also lacks an impedance switch, cutting out a trouble spot familiar to most amp techs.
While most metal guitarists will be able to wring all the gain they need out of the "Soft Gain" channel, switch over to "High Gain" to over-the-top solo sounds and some of the most perfect black metal distortion sounds you'll find in a head.
Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier
No list of metal amps would be complete without the Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier, perhaps the most-cited amp by metal guitarists as the muscle behind their signature tones.
The Triple Rectifier features three fully independent channels with eight modes, allowing for a myriad of clean and distorted tones. Better than nearly any other amp, the Triple Rectifier pays special attention to rhythm sounds. Its powerful third channel allows for maximum chunk, making it a favorite of guitarists who are all about pick-hand precision.
Hand-built in Petaluma, California, you'll find the Triple Rectifier on the backlines of bands as diverse as Cannibal Corpse and Pelican, proof that it may very well be the ultimate all-in-one metal amp.
Blackstar Series One 100
They may have just set up shop in 2004, but the folks at Blackstar boast of "50 years combined experience in guitar amplification design and production." And it shows.
Blackstar have quickly become the go-to amp makers for all stripes of metal players, including artists as diverse as Gus G, Richie Sambora, Ihsahn and James Williamson. If you want to know why, you only need to look as far as the craftsmanship behind the Blackstar Series One 100-watt head.
The amp's two channels are each divided into two modes, with the clean channel featuring "warm" and "bright" modes, the latter being perfect for clean intros and bridges, a la the middle section of "Master of Puppets."
For distortion, the overdrive channel gives you the options of a "crunch" or "super crunch" mode, which pretty much tells you all you need to know about the crushing tones you can expect. Guitarists falling far on the "extreme" side of the spectrum may need to throw an extra pedal in their chain for those absolutely distortion-drenched tones they so crave, but few metal amps come as solidly built or highly recommended by metal's elite.
Diezel VH4
Since 1994, the German-made Diezel VH4 has been the go-to amp for purveyors of many styles of hard rock and metal.
Perfect for that late-era Angus Young sound right through the grittiest of metal tones, the VH4 features four completely independent channels — clean, crunch, mega, lead — along with four individual preamps with gain and volume settings. While the clean and crunch modes are plenty pleasing to the ear, the "Mega" channel is where the trademark Diezel sound kicks in, providing all the wallop you'll need for Maiden-style gallops or slithering Drop-D riffs.
For a little added sustain and compression, just click over to the "Lead" channel for cutting, creamy lead sounds that should please shredders as well as the more melodically inclined metal player.
Peavey 6505+
Most high-gain fiends know that Peavey's 6505 Series amps are evolutionary creations that began with the Peavey/Van Halen–designed 5150 heads. When Peavey's association with Van Halen ended in 2004, the company continued to build the same insanely high-gain amp under the new 6505 name and went about updating some of the amp's ancillary features.
However, they didn't change the amps' extreme-gain circuits, die-hard construction and affordability.
The amp (which comes in a ton of variations) is primed by up to six 12AX7 preamp tubes and driven by four 6L6GC power tubes, delivering brutal high-gain power.
Try plugging into the high-gain input to double the input gain for crushing overdriven tones. You also can create a second "lead" tone by engaging the Crunch option on the rhythm channel. In the master section, you'll find the Resonance and Presence controls. Resonance acts as a low-frequency boost, while Presence acts as a high-frequency boost, both allowing you to sculpt your tone. All of this tonal power is housed in an exterior that is built for the rigors of the road.
Marshall JVM410H
If you're into built-in gain, you'll dig Marshall's all-tube, four-channel JVM410H 100-watt head. It actually sports more gain than any other Marshall model ever made, which is kinda saying something.
One thing's for sure: This is a feature-packed machine. There are four channels, each with an independent EQ. Volume and Gain controls run through separate, footswitchable master volumes driven by four ECC83 tubes (or "valves" in the UK, where this amp is made) in the preamp, one ECC83 and four EL34 power amp tubes. Each channel comes with three separate gain modes — green, orange and red. Each one reconfigures the gain structure of the channel to offer gradually increasing levels of gain. You could say (as Marshall does) that this amp is 12 Marshalls in one.
The JVM410H also offers digital reverb with a level control for each channel. This also is footswitchable, as are the amp's two Master Volume controls and the Series/Parallel effects loop. Resonance and Presence are equipped with master controls.
If you're shooting for a classic name with an updated, brutal sound, this is the Marshall for you. (But remember, this thing will provide some super-clean tones as well.)
MSRP: $2,999.99 to $3,400 | MORE INFO
Orange Amps Dark Terror
Based on the size of this amp, it could've been called the Tiny Terror, but that name is already taken, of course.
Simply put, the Dark Terror is a lot like Napoleon Bonaparte — small but very aggressive. This distinctive-looking head produces a mind-blowing sound that combines the Shape control of Orange's Thunder series with the weight and size of its Terror family. The result is plenty of lovely gain and responsiveness.
And speaking of gain, due to its high-gain preamp, the Dark Terror is the highest-gain amp in the history of Orange's Terror series. It also comes with a handy, tube-driven FX loop. So we agree with Orange when they say, "It is uncompromisingly brutal, doubtless unhinged, even ferocious. The Dark Terror rises from the ethereal depths to fulfill the every desire of the heavy metal and rock guitar players. With its characteristic fearless Orange Amp looks, heavy duty construction and portability, guitar players everywhere will quickly become attuned to this scary dark force of nature."
For more about this amp, check out Paul Riario's video review.
Hughes & Kettner Coreblade
Germany's Hughes & Kettner offers a huge range of gear for players in search of an assortment of tones. It dabbles in "the vintage thing" with its Puretone amps and produces several cost-effective solid-states, including the Attax. The Coreblade, however, is a bit different.
For starters, compared to some others, this is a very big head — but the sound it produces is also big, if not huge. The amp, the flagship head in the brand's Pro Class, delivers seriously tough tone, dynamic response and an explosive punch. Two of the four channels are voiced to offer completely different high-gain alternatives. The amp's Drive channel supplies the classic sounds of the early metal era. The Clean channel offers tons of headroom, rendering even the most aggressive attack with sparkle and chime.
Boost is separately switchable and three effect modules may be used simultaneously for each per channel. The ultra-precise, remarkably musical IDB noise gate is available for all channels. Programmable potentiometers enable settings to be stored in 128 memory slots, and the included MIDI board affords easy access to these presets.
The Coreblade is the first tube amp that downloads presets directly to USB sticks and uploads new presets at the touch of a button. Best of all, every sound is all tube with no modeling.
For more about this amp, check out these two review videos featuring GW's Paul Riario.
The top video checks out the amp's sounds; the bottom video focuses on its features.
The EVH 5150 III all-tube amp head was developed to meet the specs of one Edward Van Halen. The cool thing, however, is that, while you certainly get his patented "brown sound" out of this attractive amp, you also can dial in a much more metal-friendly, high-gain, saturated tone with tons of harmonics and sustain.
The 5150 III is a three-channel amp that sets players off in three different directions — high-def cleans, the brownest of brown sounds with punch and definition, and maniacal high gains. We're talking an attractive range of crunch to all-out mayhem. To be honest, the 5150 III sounds like no other amp and should be applauded for its versatility alone.
And let's not forget the EVH 5150 III 50-watt head, which is a smaller-sized version of the 5150 III. Its size and portability make it perfect amp for players who want arena volume, tone and performance from something that will fit in your bedroom.


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Mar 1, 2013
Basketball is a lot of fun to play and a pretty difficult to become good at. For those of us who aren't all that great at it in real life, we can play them on our phones. As with any sports games, over time they have progressed and gotten really realistic.
Basketball has a lot of different styles of games that can be taken from the sport. This week we are talking about some different variations of basketball games for Android devices.
Basketball Throw!
Basketball Throw! is a pretty simple basketball game. It's really addictive too. By dragging a finger on the screen, the path of the ball is displayed with dotted lines. Aim at the basket and try to get as many baskets as possible in the allotted time. It is a little harder than it looks.
Basketball Shots 3D
Some times what makes a game more interesting than the others like it is the different modes or ways to play. That's the case with Basketball Shots 3D. Not only can is there a chance play 1-on-1, there is also an online mode. This means there can be challenges with friend who aren't in the same room or state. Battle mode is also a lot of fun trying to block the other player from making their shots.
Real Basketball
Real Basketball lives up to its name. Modes like the Time Attack mode are fun to see how many baskets can be scored within the round. The Arcade mode is a real game. Using the realistic physics, popping a 3 from way back is a lot like doing it in real life; it takes skill. The camera angle when taking a shot is an over the shoulder style so it looks like it would in real life.
Big Win Basketball
What I like about Big Win Basketball is the cartoony characters. I have always liked the less realistic games, the ones that use exaggerated physics. Get some power ups in the form of Impact Cards to help get the team the trophy in the competition. The more the teams win, the more Impact Cards the team will get. It's a circle of winning really so practice up.
Basketball Mania
Basketball Mania is a really fun skill game like they have at arcades and carnivals. See how many baskets can be made before the time runs out. As the levels are completed, the game changes a little to make it more and more challenging. The basket even moves so it's a lot harder to time the shots. Some of the skins are pretty cool looking too.


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Skip to comments.Big Turn-Out for Cal Bake Sale
Posted on 09/27/2011 12:23:31 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Bake sales don't normally get national attention.
There was a big turn out for a very controversial bake sale on the Cal campus Tuesday.
The Berkeley College Republicans' "Increase Diversity Bake Sale" kicked off right on schedule in Sproul Plaza at 10 a.m.
The group announced the sale last week. They said it was designed to spark conversation about a bill that is now on Gov. Jerry Brown's desk that would allow California public universities to consider race, ethnicity and gender in student admissions. The bill is SB185.
Berkeley College Republicans posted the prices of its cookies according to race, gender and ethnicity.
"White/Caucasian" pastries for $2 "Asian/American" for $1.50 "Latino/Hispanic" for $1 "Black/African American" for 75 cents "Native American" only had to pay a quarter Women get a 25-cent discount UC Berkeley student leaders condemned the event. During an emergency meeting on Sunday night, student senators voted 19-0 that the bake sale is discriminatory.
There was a counter protest also held at Sproul Tuesday afternoon. Although the gathering was large, it remained peaceful.
Gotta hand it to the college students these days. Nothing gets past them...
It's good to read the leaders understand it is discriminatory. Too bad they can't quite make the mental leap to understanding that allowing "California public universities to consider race, ethnicity and gender in student admissions" is also discriminatory. They just aren't quite that bright.
God Bless the Berkeley Republicans.
It's the liberal "feel good about myself" blindspot.
They wouldn't be upset about the bake sale if it didn't so clearly point out their hypocrisy.
The left has gone nuts over this and the Idiotic lib media is too. This one really HURT, didn't it leftists?
This is the verdict - the light has come into the world but the people preferred darkness for their deeds were evil.
It would be better if, after a caucasion bought a $2 cupcake, the seller would grab it from him and hand it over to a black or Hispanic. That's the reality.
Even better, there should be a quota as to the percentage of cupcakes sold. This should be in addition to the pricing differential They need to force the appropriate diversity among cupcake consumers you know.
Why of course it is, and the Republicans themselves said as much. It was meant to raise the question about whether the bill being pondered by Jerry Brown is also discriminatory.
Yeah, only so many of the cupcakes should have been sold to white people before the rest would be available only to other races.
And as long as the people doing the selling can make the rules, they can define what they can take and what they can give away. THAT would be the real lesson in all of this: the powers-that-be can do whatever they darn well please to us, including forcibly taking whatever portion of our money they want and giving it to whoever they want.
To carry your version out a bit farther, the person who complains because their $2 cupcake was taken away and given to a black or Hispanic would get audited and put into "diversity re-education". If they sued they would be told it is none of their business that their cupcake was stolen because EVERYBODY'S cupcake can be/is stolen the same way.
Kudos to these young people who had the courage to give a "children's message" that even the elites could understand.
Semi-OT, but SB 185 is clearly unconstitutional, at least as a matter of state law. (I think it's also federally unconstitutional, but we have to ask Justice O'Connor about that. Has it been 25 years?)
Reason: In 1996 Cal voters passed Prop 209, an amendment to the state CONSTITUTION (point being, NOT a mere statute), barring racial preferences by state agencies.
No mere statute can undo (or ease, or fuzz, or dilute) a constitutional provision. No, you'll have to re-amend the constitution for that.
All the female Native Americans on campus should have wiped them out ordering the free cookies.
I don't know if there are enough.
All they'd need would be one unless, ironically, they instituted a quota.
What about the LGBT? Why are they being left out?
One exception, Rush Limbaugh's "Dan's Bake Sale" got lots of attention.
"During an emergency meeting on Sunday night, student senators voted 19-0 that the bake sale is discriminatory."
This is the same place for which Californium, Berkeleum, Einsteinium, and Lawrencium are named.
Talk about high's and low's. They took a vote to declare it discriminatory, and never thought about what that would look like to the public?
It used to be a great university. No more.
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Biosimilars Market Expected to Soar
Frost & Sullivan will present global trends, challenges and opportunities with a focus on Europe at the 2nd Biosimilars Congregation in London this month
Feb 14, 2013, 10:33 EST
LONDON, Feb. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Top representatives from the healthcare industry are confirmed to attend the 2nd Biosimilars Congregation which will take place in London on the 19th and 20th of February 2013. Ranjith Gopinathan, Frost & Sullivan Program Manager for Life Sciences, Europe Practice, is set to participate to the event's Keynote Panel Discussion focusing on challenges and opportunities in the global biosimilars market.
"Experience in biosimilars development, manufacturing and commercialisation in regulated markets such as Europe and the US is limited. Furthermore, reluctance from some physicians and patients to adopt biosimilars due to perceived efficacy and safety issues could have an adverse impact on market penetration. Such uncertainties, in addition to the complex regulatory pathway, compound the risks for biosimilars manufacturers," says Ranjith Gopinathan, Frost & Sullivan Program Manager for Life Sciences, Frost & Sullivan.
Initially, manufacturers of biosimilars will focus on the 3 protein classes of erythropoiein and human growth hormone due to their recent patent expiry. In the long run, insulin, interferon and more complex proteins like monoclonal antibodies are likely to emerge. However, some companies may concentrate on certain therapeutic classes depending on their capabilities and strategic fit.
Europe has the highest number of biosimilars approvals in the regulated market and will continue to increase in the near future. Further patent expiries of biologics will likely increase the number of approved biosimilars and players in the market and thereby will bring in a greater number of products that will increase the market size. Biosimilars are currently priced at about 20-30% below the original product price.
The 2nd Biosimilars Congregation 2013, which is organised by Virtue Insight, will bring together top pharmaceutical, biotechnology and regulatory representatives under one roof, who will address the industry key issues - ranging from the evolving regulatory landscape and challenges in clinical development, to the legal and economic aspects. The event will take place in London, UK, on the 19th and 20th of February.
For more information please click on the following link or contact firstname.lastname@example.com - http://www.virtueinsight.com/pharma/2nd-Biosimilars-Congregation-2013/
About Virtue Insight
Virtue Insight equips business professionals around the world with the latest in-depth industry knowledge and provides networking opportunities in the telecom, infrastructure and pharmaceutical industry. Our aim is to provide a platform to share knowledge and insights and provide our event attendees to network effectively and deliver maximum ROI by make new business alliances. We strive to produce high quality conferences which include the latest topics which are delivered by world class leaders of the industry.
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies? Contact us: Start the discussion
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As climate change increases the incidence of natural disasters like flooding and landslides, governments are looking for ways to protect their people and they're finding that nature can help.
"Conserving ecosystems such as forests, river basins and mangroves — or 'natural infrastructure' — can help buffer the worst impacts of extreme weather," says Kaia Boe of IUCN's Ecosystem Management Programme.
Natural solutions are a cost-effective way of reducing the magnitude of hazards and protecting livelihoods. Healthy forests stabilise soil, wetlands absorb flood water and mangroves can protect coastal communities and their livelihoods.
"What we need to do now is better communicate the links between ecosystem management and reducing the risk of disasters as well as build partnerships that bring the conservation, development and humanitarian sectors together," adds Boe.
Many conservation projects already include natural strategies to reduce risks but others could go further in integrating safeguards.
Examples of integrated approaches include combining coastal restoration with preparing for disasters and diversifying livelihoods, making space for excess water through wetlands restoration and responding to oil spills and natural hazards through greener recovery strategies.
All this will be discussed during the IUCN Congress where Members and partners with experience in integrating disaster risk reduction with ecosystem management will showcase their work.


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Leta Mae Hutson Adams, 88, died peacefully July 17, 2013, at Fox Hollow Assisted Living of Bend, Ore. She was born Dec. 7, 1924, in Yoncalla, Ore., to Addie Mae Wilson Brant and Earl Brant.
After graduating from high school, Leta Mae attended business college in Eugene and Oregon State College in Corvallis.
Leta Mae married Lyle Hutson June 21, 1947. They had a family business working in heavy construction, drilling, blasting and crushing rock for road construction in Central Point, Ore.
They had four children: Donald Hutson, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Donna Howard, of Redmond, Connie Prouty, of Homer, Alaska, and Lonna Carnahan, of Bend.
Leta Mae and Lyle had a very strong faith and were active in the Christian Church. In 1986 they retired and became missionaries in Kenya, Africa, where Lyle died. Leta Mae returned to Oregon and married Wayne Adams, of Singing Hills Christian Church, Hillsboro Ore.
After Wayne's death, Leta Mae moved to Bend to be closer to her family. She loved her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She liked to knit, crochet, garden, cook and sew projects for family and friends. She enjoyed singing alto in the choir and playing the piano and organ at church.
Leta Mae's sweet spirit and sense of humor helped her to make many friends. She lived at Suntree Village, Stone Lodge and Fox Hollow, and was a member of Discovery Church in Bend.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 21, at Discovery Christian Church of Bend, 334 N.W. Newport Ave., Bend, OR 97701; private graveside at the Upper Valley Cemetery of Parkdale, Ore.
Arrangements are under the direction of Anderson's Tribute Center (Funerals, Receptions, Cremations), 1401 Belmont Ave., Hood River, OR 97031; 541-386-1000. Please visit www.andersonstributecenter.com to leave a note of condolence for family.
Condolences are being received online.
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Hucho perryi
|Scope: Global
Language: English
|Scientific Name:
|Hucho perryi (Brevoort, 1856)
Common Name(s):
|Red List Category & Criteria:
|Critically Endangered A4abcd ver 3.1
|Year Published:
|Date Assessed:
Needs updating
|Rand, P.S.
|Augerot, X, Whorisky, F. & Members of the Salmonid Specialist Group (Salmonid Red List Authority)
Listed as Critically Endangered but plausible categories include Critically Endangered, Endangered. Determined using RAMAS Red List software. We used the software default settings for dispute tolerance and risk tolerance.
The IUCN criteria used to estimate the population size reduction for a species can include the following: direct observations, indices of abundance, declines in area of occupancy or extent of occurrence and/or quality of the habitat, actual or potential levels of exploitation, or effects of introduced taxa, hybridization, pathogens, pollutants, competitors or parasites. We relied on four primary sources of information to document declines in population abundance (in Russia) and habitat (in Japan). Below we include documentation of our data sources and our analytical approaches:
1. Khabarovsk bycatch time series
We obtained data on bycatch of Sakhalin taimen in commercial fisheries (primarily gill net captures) along the Sea of Japan coast in Khabarovsk during 1951–1998. These data have been reported in a number of publications (Zolotukhin et al. 2000, Zolotukhin et al. 2002). Data are reported as weight (in 1,000 kg) of landed biomass of taimen (see Figure 2 in the Supplementary Material). We parsed the data into three discrete periods to account for different prevailing social and economic conditions for the fishery. We identified the first period (1951–1964) as the most reliable time series, where bycatch reporting rate was high and consistent. We fit a exponential model to these data and estimated a rate of decline of the regional population at -9% yr-1. Assuming an average weight of captured taimen at 5 kg, the total harvest during this period ranged from ~800 to ~4,000 individuals yr-1, most likely representing the peak bycatch fishery yield for the species in this region. We fit an exponential model to a second time series that extended from 1972–1979, a period marked by a growing black market for the species, resulting in under-reported bycatch. The rate of decline during this period was estimated at -23% yr-1. We fit the remaining data in the time series (1980–1998) to a separate exponential model. This period can be characterized by continued under-reporting of bycatch, and includes recreational landings beginning in the mid-1990s. The model fit to these data suggested the regional population declined by -12% yr-1.
2. Sakhalin bycatch time series
We obtained data on bycatch of Sakhalin taimen in the commercial fishery located in the Nogliki region of Sakhalin Island during 1971–1997. These data were compiled by SakhNIRO, the regional fisheries agency on Sakhalin. Data are reported as weight (in 100 kg) of landed biomass of taimen (see Figure 3 in the Supplementary Material). Assuming an average weight for captured taimen at 5 kg, peak harvest during this time series was ~ 3,000 individuals yr-1, occurring in 1974. We fit these data to an exponential model, and estimated the slope of the regression of log(catch) vs. year. This time series suggests a rate of reduction of the population of 11% yr-1 over the period of record (26 yr). The rate of decline of the older members of the population in the region is thought to be even more dramatic (S.N. Safronov, Sakhalin State University, pers. comm.).
3. Estimate of exploitation rate on the Koppi River population
Catch and age composition data from the Koppi River population was obtained during 2000-2002. Gill nets and angling were the primary methods of capture. Captured individuals were aged by scale analysis (N = 131). We fit a regression of log (catch) vs. age for individuals aged 3-16 to estimate Z, total instantaneous mortality rate of the population (see Figure 4 in the Supplementary Material). This assumes that taimen are fully recruited to the fishing gear by age 3, and that the age composition of the catch is representative of the true population in the river. Our estimate for Z is 0.307 (or -26 % yr-1). Assuming natural mortality (M) to be 0.11 (see above), we estimated fishing mortality by difference (F = Z - M, F = 0.197). The resulting value for fishing mortality is ~ two times the rate of natural mortality of the population. Annual rate of fishing mortality is estimated at -18% yr-1. This mortality rate is within the range of estimated population loss rates based on the bycatch time series for Khabarovsk estimated above (-9, -12, and -23% yr-1). While this may be an overestimate of fishing mortality based on difficulties associated with sampling older, mature individuals in the Koppi River population, it does represent the most comprehensive effort to date to provide a reliable sample of the age composition and relative abundance of a river population of Sakhalin taimen.
4. Hokkaido taimen fry survey
Trend data for the species abundance in Hokkaido, Japan are not available. A comparison of results from redd surveys conducted during 1991 and 1998 in the Sarufutsu River in northern Hokkaido indicated no marked changes over time in spawner abundance for this population (M. Fukushima, JMOE unpubl. data). We feel that that this data set is not representative given the short period of observation, and that the region has seen much less change in land use compared to other regions in Hokkaido. Here we rely on a study on presence/absence for the species in Hokkaido to scale the magnitude of habitat loss for the species. Edo (2001) concluded that the range of the species has been reduced by 57% based on an extensive survey of juvenile taimen (fry, or young-of-the-year) during 2000. The survey involved electrofishing reaches in a total of 30 study streams that were thought to support the species historically (Edo 2001). Fry were observed in a total of 13 study streams, representing 43% of the historic range currently occupied. We acknowledge the likelihood of error by relying on fry absence based on a one-time survey as evidence of extirpation, but we feel this is the best available data to allow us to gauge habitat loss in this region. While numerous anecdotes exists for declining adult abundance in some river systems, we lack reliable time series data. One river, the Shiribetsu (located in southwestern Hokkaido), was recognized historically for it prized receational taimen fishery, but no longer supports adult spawners. Surveys for redds conducted since 1995 have indicated that this population has been extirpated (H. Kawamura, Hokkaido Fish Hatchery, pers. comm.).
Based on results of these analyses, and assuming a generation time of 14 yrs, we estimated regional population reductions over three generations (42 yr period) of 98% in Khabarovsk (based on -9% yr-1 using the most reliable time series), 99% in Sakhalin, and 57% in Hokkaido (based on range reduction using results of fry survey).
|Range Description:
|Russia and Japan (see Figure 1 in the Supplementary Material). Current distribution of Sakhalin taimen extends from approximately 43° N to 53° N latitude and 135° W and 145° W longitude. The Sakhalin taimen is restricted to the Russian Far East region including Primorye, Khabarovsk, and Sakhalin and Kuril Islands, and in Hokkaido, Japan.
We conducted a thorough investigation of the natural range of the species through contacts with experts familiar with Sakhalin taimen distribution. We would particularly like to identify the following individuals for providing input into this process: Dr. Sergei Zolotukhin (TINRO), Dr. Anatoly Semenchenko (TINRO), Mr. Sergei Makeev (Sakhalin Wild Nature Fund), Dr. S. N. Safranov (Sakhalin State University), and Dr. Michio Fukushima (JMOE).
We relied on the stream network developed in ArcGIS based on the Digital Chart of the World, based on a resolution of 1:1,000,000 (ESRI 1992). We generated a convex polygon that contained all the rivers known to support the species currently. The estimate of area delineated by this polygon is 332,153 km², excluding marine waters greater than 1 km offshore. We estimated the area of occupancy based on the sum of the individual basin areas that support the species, and marine waters extending 1 km offshore. Our estimate for the area of occupancy is 233,498 km². We assumed in both cases that the area is continuing to decline, but the species does not exhibit extreme fluctuations.
|Countries occurrence:
Native:Japan (Hokkaido); Russian Federation (Khabarovsk, Kuril Is., Primoryi, Sakhalin)
|FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
Pacific – northwest
|Additional data:
|Range Map:
|Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.
|Very little data exists on absolute population sizes for this species. Redd surveys have been conducted in a number of river systems in Hokkaido. This method is prone to error (see Dunham et al. 2001); however, it is the most commonly used method for enumerating adult abundance in this region. Estimates of total abundance generated from a redd survey by Edo (2001) for a number of Hokkaido rivers are as follows: Sorachi, 211; Uryu, 264; Bekanbeushi, 306; Toikanbetsu, 422; Kushiro, 21; Tokachi, 21; Shiribetsu, 0. We used data in Fukushima (1994) to estimate total spawner abundance of 153 individuals within two tributaries (Nino and Jyugo Creeks) of the Sarufutsu River in northwestern Hokkaido (assuming 2 redds per female and a 50:50 sex ratio) based on sampling conducted during 1992. To generate a Hokkaido-wide population estimate, we divided these population estimates by the total river km for each sampled river segment based on our ArcGIS stream coverage. This generated an average of 2.7 adult taimen km-1 (see Table 1 in the Supplementary Material). This density was used to estimate spawning abundance in river basins where we lack data. We excluded those rivers whose populations have been extirpated (Kubo 1990; Harako 1991). We estimated abundance of the regional population by adding the abundance of taimen in those basins where we have quantitative data to the estimated values of abundance predicted across the rest of the range by multiplying total river km in each basin by the density estimate of 2.7 taimen km-1. This resulted in a value of 5,068 adults for the Hokkaido population (see Table 1 in the Supplementary Material).
We relied on best expert judgment, and consideration of the magnitude of bycatch of taimen in the commercial salmon fishery, to gauge levels of abundance for taimen in the Russian portion of the species range. Ranges of abundance were provided for 10 rivers along the Sea of Japan coast (1-100,101-1000,1001-10000 adults per basin), and 61 rivers on Sakhalin (1-50, 51-100, 101-1000 adults per basin). Because ranges were provided in this case, we estimated densities by basin (2.9-29.6 taimen km-1, see Table 1 in the Supplementary Material) using the low and high value in each abundance strata. We assumed the density range estimated for Sakhalin applied to the Kuril Islands portion of the species range. Populations in five basins on Sakhalin Island are presently considered extirpated. To arrive at a total population for each region, we summed the population estimates (both low and high values in each strata) for the rivers where we had estimates, and extrapolated abundances based on total stream km in basins where we lack data. Our estimates for total population by region are as follows: Primorye: 2,796-28,323 adults, Khabarovsk: 3,351-33,520 adults, and Sakhalin (including Kuril Islands): 1,591-12,024 (see Table 1 in the Supplementary Material). The historic peaks of bycatch landings in the time series (Khabarovsk at ~ 4,000 adults yr-1 and Sakhalin at ~3,000 adults yr-1, estimated by converting landed biomass to adult numbers assuming average weight of landed adult at ~ 5kg) fall within the range of abundances estimated here.
|Current Population Trend:
|Additional data:
|Habitat and Ecology:
|Preferred habitat for juvenile Sakhalin taimen is low gradient, coastal rivers (Fukushima 2000), and habitat for maturing and mature adults can extend into first and second order tributaries for spawning and lake and estuarine waters for feeding (Kawamura et al. 1983, Zolotukhin et al. 2000, Arai et al. 2004). Females construct redds (i.e. nests) at the lower ends of pools, where eggs are deposited into discrete egg pockets in benthic gravel (Fukushima 1994, Edo et al. 2000). Data suggests that the density of Sakhalin taimen redds is positively correlated with channel sinuosity (Fukushima 2000). Some populations on Hokkaido are thought to be restricted to freshwater, possibly related to their position near the southern limit of their range, as has been observed for Salvelinus spp. (e.g., Maekawa and Nakano 2002, Morita et al. 2005). The species is known to exhibit both freshwater and anadromous life histories. The species is long lived, slow growing and exhibits delayed age at maturity relative to other salmonids. The species is iteroparous (i.e. repeat spawns), and reaches sexual maturity at ages 6–8, and achieves peak fecundity at approximately age 15 (Zolotukhin et al. 2000). The species spawns during the spring to early summer, depending on location within their natural range. Peak spawning occurs during May-June along the Sea of Japan coast (Zolotukhin et al. 2000), late June in Sakhalin (Gritsenko et al. 1974), and mid-March to late April in eastern to northern Hokkaido (Kimura 1966, Fukushima 1994). Anadromous life history forms are thought to reside in estuarine waters during the summer growing season, and overwinter in lower reaches of rivers beginning in mid-September to late October (Zolotukhin et al. 2000). Diet is dominated by benthic invertebrates during years 1–2, followed by a transition to finfish and crustaceans as they mature. We fit a von Bertalanffy growth model to size at age data for taimen sampled in the following rivers: Kievka and Samarga in Primorye, Russia, Koppi in Khabarovsk, Russia, and several rivers in eastern Hokkaido, Japan. Data for Kievka and Samarga are obtained from Zolotukhin et al. (2000), data from eastern Hokkaido populations are from Yamashiro (1965), and data for the Koppi was obtained from field collections during 2000-2002 (N = 131 individuals, ranging in age from 1 to 16 yr, S. Zolotukhin, TINRO, unpubl. data). We fit the equation with Microsoft Excel Solver and estimated best fit parameters for the model (see Figure 2 in the Supplementary Material). The parameters fit to the Koppi data set, representing our most comprehensive data set on size at age, are as follows: Linf (asymptotic length) = 227 cm TL (TL = total length), K (growth coefficient) = 0.07. Data in Figure 2 are plotted as FL (fork length, also known as AC in Russia), and values were converted to TL for model fitting using a length conversion equation of TL = 1.032*FL, Froese and Pauly 2005). Parameters for the other Russian populations were similar to the results for the Koppi. Growth for taimen in eastern Hokkaido appeared markedly lower than the Russian populations, and may be related to colder water temperatures characteristic of this region (M. Fukushima, pers. comm., see Figure 2 in the Supplementary Material). Growth rates observed for Sakhalin taimen inhabiting a brackish lagoon near the mouth of the Bekanbeushi River in eastern Hokkaido by Kawamura et al. (1983) is relatively low compared to the Russian populations, and is consistent with rates measured by Yamashiro (1965) within the same region. We compared these growth trajectories qualitatively to size at age based on scale back-calculations for 5 adults from Hokkaido's Shiribetsu River in western Hokkaido (H. Kawamura, Hokkaido Fish Hatchery, unpubl. data). Although the method used to generate this growth curve is not directly comparable to the methods applied to the other river populations, the general trajectory of growth for Shiribetsu taimen closely approximates growth for the faster growing, Russian populations. We decided to use the data from the Koppi River as the model for growth dynamics for the species given it is the largest set of data available, while acknowledging that it may not fully represent growth dynamics across the natural range of the species (particularly in eastern Hokkaido, as described above). Based on the parameter values derived for the Koppi River taimen, and assuming an average annual water temperature in the lower Koppi River of 10° C, we used the model of Pauly (1980) to estimate a rate of natural mortality (M) for the species of 0.11. We used this estimate of natural mortality to estimate Lopt (144 cm TL, the length class with the highest biomass for an unfished population) using the model of Beverton (1992). We then used the estimate of Lopt and the parameters from the von Bertalanffy growth model in the following formula to estimate generation time: -1.45 - ln(1- Lopt/L<subinf)/K. The resulting estimate for generation time was 14 yr.
|Freshwater; Marine
|Movement patterns:
|Full Migrant
|Major Threat(s):
|Overfishing by various sectors (commercial, recreational, and illegal take) is one of the most important threats to this species. Although Sakhalin taimen are no longer commercially harvested in Russia, they are still targets of legal and illegal subsistence fishing as they are prized for their large size and good flavor (Zolotukhin et al. 2000). While reporting of taimen bycatch in the commercial pink salmon fishery in Russia has declined in recent years, we feel this is a result of under-reporting and a general decline in region-wide abundance of the species in recent years. These populations are also under threat from dramatic changes to their habitat expected from planned logging operations. An expanded logging lease in the Samarga River basin, for example, extends now to 85% of the total watershed area, with construction of roads that could greatly impact many key tributaries. Rapidly expanding oil and gas development on Sakhalin Island, in particular the laying of pipelines across more than 24 rivers known to support Sakhalin taimen, is posing a growing threat to the species. In Japan, land development (including river channelization, dam construction, agricultural and urban expansion) represents an important threat to critical habitat for the species. The threat from poaching in Russia, while hard to quantify, may currently be one of the most significant threats to the species. During a research trip in 2005, two active poaching camps were discovered, and five dead, adult taimen were recovered that had been captured using illegal fishing gear. Four of these individuals were mature females carrying as many as 15,000 eggs each (P.S. Rand, WSC unpubl. data). During spring peak flows, spawners tend to aggregate in side channels off the main stem of the river, and become vulnerable to capture by large mesh gill nets. Our estimate of fishing mortality in the river, although uncertain given the lack of data, suggests a relatively high rate of exploitation (~ two times the rate of natural mortality). Sustainable fishing rates on wild fish populations rarely exceed the rate of natural mortality. FAO (1999) recommends a precautionary approach in data poor fisheries by restricting fishing mortality to below the rate of natural mortality.
|Conservation Actions:
We feel the following measures need to be taken to stem further losses and allow recovery for the species:
1. We recommend expanding and/or modifying the network of conservation rivers designated by the government in Hokkaido to provide protection to Sakhalin taimen. The existing network was established originally for protection of commercial species (e.g. Oncorhynchus masu cherry salmon and O. keta chum salmon), and has been expanded in recent years to protect rare salmonids. However, a recent effort to identify prime habitat for Sakhalin taimen based on habitat modeling suggests the existing protected area network provides little protection for this species (Fukushima and Kameyama 2006). We strongly encourage the Hokkaido government to consider extending conservation river protection to the rivers identified by Fukushima and Kameyama (2006), particularly those in the Soya peninsula that still support healthy taimen populations.
2. We recommend new regulations on recreational fishing, particularly during the spawning season. While the species has been recognized as endangered ("red book species") in several regions (Primorye, Sakhalin and Hokkaido), the regulations triggered by these listings are not always sufficient or properly enforced (see #3). While establishing a ban on fishing is clearly needed in some circumstances, we think establishing exemptions in certain basins would be prudent if there is sufficient evidence that the exploited populations are stable or increasing. A key virtue of these exemptions is that the presence of recreational fishers, particularly in rivers in remote regions in the Russian part of the species range, could help deter illegal fishing practices. Where recreational fishing is allowed, we feel there should be a set of regulations enforced, including explicit creel limits and gear restrictions to reduce release mortality. These fish tend to become aggregated and vulnerable to heavy fishing pressure during the spring spawning season, so we feel it is especially important to enact regulations during this critical period in their life history.
3. We recommend increased enforcement of existing fishing regulations in the Russian part of the species range. Recent observations by research scientists have revealed illegal fishing operations, and much of the take, beginning in the 1980s and continuing to present, have gone unreported. Our observations have indicated that fisheries officers that are hired to enforce existing regulations have been ineffectual, largely due to a lack of presence on the rivers, particularly during the critical spawning period. We recommend increased vigilance to enforce fishing regulations intended to protect the species.
4. We recommend investigating the role of habitat and population fragmentation, particularly in Japan. Habitat fragmentation has been most widespread in Hokkaido, and we encourage actions that reduce and minimize further habitat loss, and restore habitat where possible. We are aware of ten individual, local efforts in Hokkaido to raise awareness of lost and degraded taimen habitat (e.g., Obirame Restoration Group), but we feel much more can be done through a broader scale assessment of salmonid species diversity, threats, and cumulative aquatic habitat loss across Hokkaido. A formal investigation by key public agencies into how to better balance flood plain development with conservation of rare species is critically important. A key step has recently been taken to form the Committee of Critically Endangered Species (CCES) by the Hokkaido government, and we encourage this group to focus on habitat related issues involving conservation of Sakhalin taimen.
5. We recommend formulating and enforcing best practices for infrastructure development, particularly related to resource extractive industries. While much of the habitat for Sakhalin taimen in Russia is intact, there are a number of threats that exist. Logging, road construction and pipeline development present threats to spawning habitat, in the form of increased bank instability, leading to accelerated erosion and sedimentation. Road construction also leads to increased illegal fishing activities by providing easier access to rivers. Sound best practices (e.g., riparian buffers, pipeline river crossings, culvert designs) need to be established and enforced to reduce erosion and allow unimpeded movement of fish throughout the watershed.
6. While there has been some preliminary efforts in both Japan and Russia at captive breeding for the species, we feel these activities should proceed with great caution. Inter-basin transplants could contribute to loss of locally adapted gene complexes. We encourage basic research on the degree of geneflow that exists between river populations to understand phylogeographic patterns that could help guide future reintroductions. Although there is some evidence that captive propagation can help reduce short-term extinction risk for critically endangered species, there is virtually no empirical evidence to indicate whether propagation can promote long-term sustainability. Therefore, captive propagation efforts, to the extent that they exist, are at best stop-gap measures and are in no way a substitute for conserving the species in the wild.
7. Finally, given the myriad threats to the species, it's dramatic rate of decline, and it's cross border, limited distribution, we feel it is important to establish an intergovernmental working group to consider formally our proposed conservation actions and draft an implementation plan to conserve the species.
|Rand, P.S. 2006. Hucho perryi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2006: e.T61333A12462795. . Downloaded on 24 September 2018.
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