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Sunday 17 August 2008
Dark Jamaican ginger cake
The CCM (Caked Crusader's Ma) has a passion for ginger. Oddly, it can never be too hot for her. I say "oddly" because she doesn't like spicy food – no chilli or peppers for her but, put a ginger cake in front of her and she can take it as strong as you like, usually commenting "I could've done with it a bit hotter". So I've really stoked this one up! The original recipe only used fresh grated ginger but I have added some ground ginger too. If your tastebuds are more delicate then probably leave the ground ginger out. (Unsurprisingly, the CCM claimed she could have taken it hotter. Curses!)
You have to wonder about the great food discoveries in history. Ginger is a good example – I mean, who was the first person to look at this and think "yum, that looks tasty"?
This cake can be made either with or without the icing. Personally, I love the sweet white icing taking the heat out of the ginger – it's a perfect combination.
One thing I did learn making this: as it is so squidgy and moist, I find that ginger cake sometimes sinks a little on cooling. It happened to me with this cake:
When the cake was still warm I turned it out of the tin and inverted it to cool – this was how I served the cake so the sunken bit was out of sight:
On cutting the cake the next day – lo and behold – the sunken bit had corrected itself. It must have been because I inverted it while it was still cooling. See, no sunken bit:
225g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground ginger (optional)
225g unsalted butter
125g light brown sugar
2 tablespoons peeled and grated fresh root ginger
125ml evaporated milk
125g black treacle (or molasses)
2 eggs
Optional: white glace icing
125g icing sugar
2-3 tablespoons water (start with 2 – you can always add more)
How to make:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.
- Line a 900g loaf tin.
- Put the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, allspice nutmeg and the (optional) ground ginger into a bowl and mix together.
- Beat in the butter until well combined.
- Beat in the sugar and the grated ginger. Put to one side.
- Put the evaporated milk and black treacle into a saucepan and heat gently until the two have combined. Don't wander off as the mixture shouldn't be allowed to bubble. At first the liquids will stay separate even though you are stirring them and then, in an instant, they combine.
- Remove from the heat and pour into the cake mix. Stir until well combined.
- Beat in the eggs. The batter will be runny(ish) but don't worry – ginger cake mix is always thinner than other cakes and this is what gives such a lovely moist cake.
- Pour the batter into the tin and bake for approximately 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out cleanly. Mine took exactly 50 minutes.
- Leave to cool in the tin for 30 minutes as ginger cakes are particularly fragile on coming out of the oven. As they are so moist, ginger cakes do tend to sink a little on cooling. If this bothers you, invert the cake when you turn out onto the wire rack and no one will know! Leave to cool totally on a wire rack.
- If you decide to make an icing simply mix together the icing sugar and water and add more water if required. You are aiming for a thick, glossy consistency that will ooze over the cake but not run off. Spoon over the loaf as desired.
- Bask in glory at the wonderful thing you have made.
- Eat.
50 comments:
- Beth (jamandcream) said...
Definitely with the icing. I love ginger cake. My Mum always made ginger cake when we were kids, it was yummy, as Im sure this one is. Like that it has grated ginger in it, you don't often see that
- 17 August 2008 at 20:35
- Mike of Mike's Table said...
I'd have to say keep the icing for sure--plus, it just looks so darn good on top of that dark cake. This sounds delicious!
- 17 August 2008 at 23:24
- glamah16 said...
I fell in love with a similar cake I made last year. One thinks of it as a winter cake, but I could eat it all year round. I wish more people liked ginger bread/cake.
- 18 August 2008 at 00:18
- Rosie said...
Oh my goodness C.C. what a wonderful ginger cake!! You have me drooling just thinking of sinking my teeth into a slice!!
Rosie x - 18 August 2008 at 20:25
- Maggie said...
I love ginger cake too!
- 19 August 2008 at 08:49
- Lynda said...
Have to agree, iced ginger cake is the best! I usually add a handful of raisins in the mix too - divine!
- 22 August 2008 at 09:45
Of all the ginger cake recipes I have tried, this one is the best. I also added some crystalised ginger with a little of the syrup, added sultanas and as I had run out of icing sugar made some custard :) excellent as a warm pudding and then cool as sliced cake. Oh, I didn't have any brown sugar either so compensated by adding extra golden caster sugar and a tablespoon of G&B cocoa powder. I used buttermilk instead as I love it in chocolate cake :)
- 18 July 2009 at 19:54
this looks good i am definately going to try it, been looking for a recipe for ages drooling at the thought of eating it the hardest part will be stopping my husband fromm eating it before it is cool enough to cut.
- 13 November 2009 at 23:17
Hey Caked Crusader!
Just made your Dark Jamaican Ginger cake and the texture and taste were delicious! I was trying to emulate a ginger cake that I tasted in Crixa Cakes (in San Francisco) and your recipe is the nearest thing.
Few questions?
My cake was done in forty mins and predictably it was 'sunk' in the middle (baked mine in an 8 inch round tin), did your trick of turning it upside down and that worked to flatten the top. Is there a way of baking the cake to avoid the crater?
My cake cooled with a very thin crunchy crust, is there a baking method to avoid the crust?
When I plated the cake it fell apart, is that the result of too much butter (is there such a thing!!!!).
Thanks, - 17 July 2010 at 00:20
- The Caked Crusader said...
Hi anonymous
I think that if you used a round tin maybe you should've baked it a bit longer. I have made ginger cakes in round tins and find that even the slightest undercooking can result in sinkage. Often now when I make ginger cakes I'll give it an extra 5 mins after it's actually done and this stops it.
The crust is usual - it's such a dark cake that I think it will always happen.
The falling apart has stumped me. Did you plate it soon after baking so it was still warm? Cakes can be vulnerable at this stage and I always leave them to cool completely before moving them or plating them.
Hope this helps! - 18 July 2010 at 16:25
Hey this cake is AWESOME!I made it for a friend's birthday with the icing....and everyone devoured it saying it was the best Ginger Cake they had ever had. Result!I am making another and it's in the oven so fingers crossed it comes out as good as the last one!I did bake it for about an hour too....just covered with tin foil to stop overbrowning.
Thanks for a great recipe! - 11 August 2010 at 16:45
- bex said...
ive only ever eaten shop bought ginger cakes , and realy want to make my own so im going to try this recipe and hopefully the shop stuff can stay on the shelf .
- 18 September 2010 at 21:40
This is a poor recipe. It is not as moist as you would think and leaves a nasty aftertaste. I was very disapointed with this recipe.
- 2 November 2010 at 19:37
- The Caked Crusader said...
Hi Anonymous
As you will see from comments above many people have made this recipe and enjoyed it, so I don't think there's anything wrong with the recipe. I'm wondering if you baked the cake for too long? That would explain the dryness - 3 November 2010 at 09:00
- Blue Rock said...
I've got lots of root ginger and a husband with an egg allergy (yep I know - it's a pain when you love all things cakefied...) Do you reckon this would work with sunflower oil instead of eggs as in a carrot cake ? It's just the photo of the cake with the icing dripping down the sides is making me drool..
- 12 December 2010 at 11:31
- The Caked Crusader said...
Hi Blue Rock
I reckon it would work but the cake texture might come out lighter. I'm sure it will be lovely and sticky though!
Let me know how it goes - 12 December 2010 at 16:27
- Delyth said...
I typed into google "Jamaican ginger cake" and got your blog as the no.1 hit. I am planning on making this for Christmas, thank you for a lovely, nostalgic recipe. I live in Canada and cannot buy the McVities version I used to eat regularly in the UK.
- 20 December 2010 at 21:59
Depending where you are in Toronto, you can find the original McVites Jamaica Ginger cake in most British goods stores or Scottish Bakers. Mmmmmmmm
- 27 December 2010 at 13:24
- Delyth said...
Delyth @ www.thedelicious.net
I made this cake as a present for my husband for Christmas. It was a huge hit. Here is a link to my blog post.
Thank you
http://www.thedelicious.net/2010/12/christmas-2010.html - 6 January 2011 at 02:15
- Delyth said...
PS. Anonymous, I'm not in Toronto. I'm in Vancouver, I've been to many British shops. It is available occasionally, but is very expensive and not on sale regularly enough for our love of it to be satisfied.
Thank you for your comments - 6 January 2011 at 02:18
- jenny said...
am debating whether or not to make this today. yum!
- 14 January 2011 at 14:14
How many does this recipe serve? Looks great!!!
- 27 January 2011 at 22:24
- The Caked Crusader said...
Hi Anonymous
That's a tricky question as it depends on your portion size. I'd say you'd get 8 slices out of it easily - 28 January 2011 at 08:31
Ok thank you, it is just for girl guides to have a try and see what they think of it. Just wondering how many to make. Thanks for the advise.
- 30 January 2011 at 13:23
It's 12.30 am i cant sleep so I'm gonna give this cake a go to give to hubby for valentines tomorrow. I will let you know how i get on
- 14 February 2011 at 00:33
Hiya CC, just made this cake (currently waiting on the cooking so cant say if it's successful -- I'm quite cavalier on quantities of ingredients! ) but just an idea - I've made some Orange icing; orange juice rather than water and this is delicious on a number of other cakes so i've made it up for this one , as well as having a fun orange taste it also has a nice glow to the near white colour :)
waiting 20minutes to see how it turns out..... - 18 March 2011 at 17:37
My boyfriend made this cake today and its the best ginger cake I've ever tasted. Love the grated ginger. Can't understand the negative comment saying its too dry coz ours was lovely and moist. They must have done something wrong.Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
- 27 March 2011 at 21:39
This cake is amazing, so moist and yummy - it kept beautifully for three days (probably would have lasted longer but it was too delicious and I ate it all). I used lime juice in the icing to add a bit of zing but as the cake was so moist the icing isn't really needed, just an added naughtiness! I'm making it again this afternoon - thanks for the recipe
- 5 May 2011 at 13:26
- Unknown said...
Hi i love this recipe i have a close friend who loves this recipe but due to hm having type 2 diabetes, it severely restricts his sugar and fat intake, i want to modify it to make it low in fat and low carb, i was thinking of substitutng agave and stevia and maple syrup for the sweeteners and applesauce egg whites and cream of tartar and meringue powder to for the binding and also trying ground pecan and almond flour ,coconut olive blend oil instead of butter, to find an alternative flour, i was thinking of ground oatmeal flour (finely pulsed quick oats in a blender) and focus on the flavors of the ginger and also maybe put in a little unsweeatened coconut. has anyone tried making a diet sensiitive version of this cake. I haven't yet tried it planning this as a holiday gift. any suggestions would be helpful.
- 26 December 2011 at 12:30
- The Caked Crusader said...
Hi Meena
I have to confess I'm out of my depth regarding some of those ingredients you mention - can any of my other readers help? Any comments, suggestions welcome!
Happy baking - 26 December 2011 at 20:08
Can you please put ingredients in imperial measurements.
- 21 January 2012 at 04:10
- The Caked Crusader said...
Hi Anonymous
This is a good converter site:
Happy baking - 21 January 2012 at 09:40
- medisin said...
Just wanted to say thanks for this recipe! My friends bribe me to bake for them & this is our favourite ginger cake. Two different people have told me its even better than the ones their Jamaican mums make - that's some high praise! I can't understand the comment about dry cake, this always comes out perfectly moist and sticky, just how it should be.
I like to add stem ginger as well as fresh & ground - you can never have too much ginger. My friend likes dark chocolate chips in it. We never use icing cos it's sweet enough on its own. I love this cake!
@meena - I'm type 1 diabetic so I can just inject for this, but I've made lots of cake for type 2s. Unfortunately ginger cake is damn near impossible to make low carb. You need a really thick syrup like treacle to get the stickiness, and substituting the eggs & flour will obviously do weird things to the texture. You might be better off making a carrot cake, there are lots of good recipes around for egg-free sugar-free carrot cake, add loads of extra ginger instead of the usual cinnamon, and top with a low-fat cream cheese frosting made with your choice of fake sugar and juice from grated ginger. That works well :) - 7 March 2012 at 02:28
- Mandy_C said...
Hi Caked Crusader. I really want to try this gorgeous sounding recipe. I too am a sucker for McVites Jamaica Ginger cake and this looks like a fantastic version. One quick question - do you think it will freeze OK? I want to make it for an event in a few weeks time, but am on holiday until the day before I need it. Do you think it will survive being frozen and defrosted?
- 26 April 2012 at 17:50
- The Caked Crusader said...
Hi Mandy C
I'm sure the cake will freeze but I'm not so sure about the frosting. I'd freeze the cake un-iced and then add the icing when the cake has thawed
Hope this helps
Happy baking! - 26 April 2012 at 17:59
- Mandy_C said...
Hi CC, I just wanted to let you know that the cake froze beautifully. I made a few tweaks to the recipe to suit my personal tastes. I subbed half the treacle for golden syrup (and a little syrup from a jar of stem ginger), increased the ground ginger to 2 tbsp ( can't get enough!), added two balls of chopped stem ginger and left off the icing. Instead I brushed the top of the cake with syrup from a jar of stem ginger to make it nice and sticky. It's a great cake, thak you so much for sharing it.
- 19 May 2012 at 14:06
Just made it for people at work - went down a treat!
I sliced it length ways and then into little chunky fingers - got 20 out of it! - 17 July 2012 at 17:20
Hi cake Crusader...seeing as you have so much brilliant feedback i will be making this cake for a friend that is leaving for Jamaica end of the month. Just a quick question...What size egg's did you use? thanks x
- 8 August 2012 at 12:53
Hi Cake crusader. Im really looking forward to making this cake for a friend. Can you just let me know what size eggs you used please. Thanks x
- 8 August 2012 at 13:05
- The Caked Crusader said...
Hi Anonymous & Kirsti
I used large eggs - I always use large eggs in my recipes.
Hope your cake is a triumph!
Happy baking - 8 August 2012 at 13:26
In honour of Usain Bolt, I made this cake today and am sure the family will devour by tomorrow's Olympic closing ceremony! Thank you for this recipe!
- 12 August 2012 at 00:31
- The Caked Crusader said...
Hi Anonymous
If anyone deserves cake in his honour it must be Usain Bolt! I'd like to think you could spare a slice for his compatriot Yohan Blake!
Hope you enjoy
Happy baking - 12 August 2012 at 07:40
Hi i am making this for the top layer of a wedding cake,i hope it goes well will come back and let you know.x
- 29 August 2012 at 12:53
My first ever attempt at baking a ginger cake....wow! What a lovely tasting cake! Thank you so much for the recipe :-)
- 28 October 2012 at 12:54
Hi The CC
I baked this cake this week after trawling through many recipes. I increased the ingredients by half again and baked in a 13 x 9 inch cake tin. Also used half butter and half yogurt and added some chopped crystallised ginger. Cooked much quicker due to the pan type, approx 30 mins. Did not ice.
My husband and four children absolutely devoured it as did I. It was moist, sticky and perfectly gingery.In Australia we don't get the McVities one which I love as had in the UK for many years. After baking this one I would never buy what I can make just as good or even better myself! Thanks for sharing a truly wonderful recipe. - 3 November 2012 at 01:58
This ginger cake is amazing! I added a handful of rum soaked sultanas and next time will double the amount of fresh ginger - you can never have too much ginger in my opinion :-)
- 4 April 2013 at 16:00
I made this today it was so easy cooked it for 50mins and it turned out great...its a really nice moist cake..my only gripe really was it wasn't Gingery enough for me even though I used Ground Ginger as well as Root Ginger...sonext time I make it I will increase the amount that I use...but ide give this cake a def 10/10....
- 29 July 2013 at 18:22
Amazing recipe! I used half salted half unsalted butter and mixed the butter in melted. Also i turned the heat down a little to cook longer and i have no sunken bit... Its perfect! Thanks :))) *****
- 10 November 2013 at 19:58
I made this wonderful cake in the food mixer and it was so easy. My dear friend and family who I also made one for were delighted with the cake. I have made a good few since and have pasted on the recipe as it is so good. I am going to try it with raisins next. Thank you so very much for this cake. I am going to have to up the activity I do mind ha ha. Enjoy with butter, custard or just by itself.
- 7 June 2014 at 09:34
Has anyone made this in a 20cm cake tin and if yes, how long and at what temperature did you bake it? :D Thanks! Chloe
- 14 December 2015 at 14:27


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By JULIE PACE
This undated handout photo provided by the US Secret Service shows Secret Service agent Julia Pierson. President Barack Obama will appoint the veteran Secret Service agent as the agency's first female director, signaling his desire to change the culture at the male-dominated service, which has been marred by scandal. (AP Photo/US Secret Service)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Tuesday named veteran Secret Service agent Julia Pierson as the agency's first female director, signaling his desire to change the culture at the male-dominated service, which has been marred by scandal.
Pierson, who most recently served as the agency's chief of staff, will take over from Mark Sullivan, who announced his retirement last month. The agency faced intense criticism during Sullivan's tenure for a prostitution scandal during preparations for Obama's trip to Cartagena, Colombia, last year.
The incident raised questions within the agency — as well as at the White House and on Capitol Hill — about the culture, particularly during foreign travel. In addition to protecting the president, the Secret Service also investigates financial crimes.
"Over her 30 years of experience with the Secret Service, Julia has consistently exemplified the spirit and dedication the men and women of the service demonstrate every day," Obama said in a statement announcing Pierson's appointment, which does not require Senate confirmation.
At the Secret Service, Pierson has served as deputy assistant director of the office of protective operations, assistant director of human resources and training and chief of staff. She started in 1983 as a special agent in Miami. Before that, she was a police officer in Orlando, Fla.
"Julia is eminently qualified to lead the agency that not only safeguards Americans at major events and secures our financial system, but also protects our leaders and our first families, including my own," Obama said. "Julia has had an exemplary career, and I know these experiences will guide her as she takes on this new challenge to lead the impressive men and women of this important agency."
Thirteen Secret Service employees were caught up in last year's prostitution scandal. After a night of heavy partying in the Caribbean resort city of Cartagena, the employees brought women, including prostitutes, to the hotel where they were staying. The incident became public after one agent refused to pay a prostitute and the pair argued about payment in a hotel hallway.
Eight of the employees were forced out of the agency, three were cleared of serious misconduct and at least two have been fighting to get their jobs back.
The incident took place before Obama arrived in Colombia and the service said the president's safety was never compromised. But news of the scandal broke during his trip, overshadowing the summit and embarrassing the U.S. delegation.
Sullivan issued a new code of conduct that bans employees from drinking within 10 hours of starting a shift or bringing foreign nationals back to their hotel rooms.
Sullivan apologized for the incident last year during testimony before a Senate panel.
Associated Press writer Alicia Caldwell contributed to this report.

subset: commoncrawl


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Free Agency Report: National League, Part X
Oh, baby! Spring Training games start Wednesday – meaning that in less than 24 hours, we're going to be checking out boxscores. It doesn't get any sweeter than that. Well, except checking out boxscores while being hand-fed Twinkies by scantily-clad 18-year-old ladies, of course.
Our previous installments:
American League Part I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII , IX and X.
National League Part I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII and IX.
New York Mets
Given a second straight September meltdown that cost them a post-season berth, it's easy to overlook the fact that the Mets actually improved in 2008 (albeit, by a single win). Really, the bottom line here is that the Mets were a mediocre team other than July and August when they went on a 36-19 run. The team's "disastrous" September (13-12) was no different than the club's record in April and was in fact better than how they fared in May and June.
Still, it's time for the Mets to wipe all that away and focus on the future, which means the christening of a brand new stadium – Citi Field – and hopefully, with it, a new era.
The team may certainly have a different look this season, as manager Jerry Manuel — about to begin his first full season in charge of the Mets — is considering some major tinkering to the lineup. Luis Castillo may shift to the top of the order, with Jose Reyes dropping to the three-hole and Carlos Beltran moving up to the second spot. Carlos Delgado would slide up to cleanup, while David Wright would drop from third to fifth.
Hmmm…taking one of the best leadoff hitters in the game and shifting him? Uh, okay.
But the Mets are looking for a big recovery from Castillo after he sucked in his first season with the team. He's dropped 17 pounds and the expectations for a major recovery are large – enough so that I'm reconsidering my plan to dump his sorry ass this spring.
Another change in the lineup could occur in left field, where Daniel Murphy is being pegged as the new starter, a move that would certainly cut into the value of Ryan Church.
Offense was the Mets' calling card last season, as they ranked second in runs and steals. Beltran has been sliding for a couple of seasons, but remains a force in centrefield, and may see a bump in value batting out of the two-hole. Expect more runs, but less RBI. Reyes rebounded after an off year in 2007, but had his lowest stolen base total since he's been a full-time player.
The pitching was middling as best last season, ranking seventh in WHIP. In fairness, other than Pedro Martinez – who looked toast – the starting rotation was pretty good; the bullpen, however, was the bane of the Mets' existence in 2008. That's a situation that has been addressed in a big way with the signing of Francisco Rodriguez and the acquisition of J.J. Putz.
With 11 free agents this offseason, the Mets had plenty to deal with as they attempt to take the next step and return to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Fortunately, the offense was barely affected, with just one key bench player among the free agent class; the pitching free agents, however, included two members of the rotation.
Free Agents
Moises Alou, OF: One of the most injury-prone players of his generation, Alou was limited to 15 games thanks to calf and hamstring problems, the latter of which ultimately necessitated season-ending surgery in July, just the highlight of a season filled with injuries to Met outfielders. He remains unsigned, but it's possible Philadelphia or Toronto (looking for a temporary replacement for Vernon Wells) may come calling.
Tony Armas, Jr., RHP: Armas never looked worse than he did last season during his brief time with the Mets, but at Triple-A, he showed great control and posted strong hit rates, hinting at the pitcher who was once a top prospect in the Expo system. But the fact is, he hasn't been useful since early in 2006, and as usual, injuries derailed him that season. Anyways, the Mets must have liked what they saw of Armas in the minors, and re-signed him to a minor league deal. You never know when all of a sudden everything will click for a pitcher, but the fact that he is experiencing Visa problems for the second straight spring doesn't bode well for him to enjoy any success in 2009.
Luis Ayala, RHP: Ayala started the season in Washington, but was too hittable in a set-up role. Dealt to the Mets in August, he was slightly better, and did have some value down the stretch when he took over the closer role after Billy Wagner got hurt and Aaron Heilman failed. With the Mets' big bullpen additions, Ayala was no longer needed, and he's landed in Minnesota.
Damion Easley, 2B: Can you believe it's now been almost six years since the Tigers released Easley, eating over $14 million in salary in the process? He's been a part-time player since, but at the age of 39, is still hanging around. In fact, when Castillo was so awful last season, Easley saw more action than normal down the stretch, resulting in 85 hits – his highest total since 2001. Easley no longer has any power, but drew interest from Arizona earlier this offseason. However, he remains without a job, and we know the Mets won't be asking him back – they've moved on by signing Alex Cora to take over Easley's role.
Orlando Hernandez, RHP: Hernandez's 2008 season was a disaster as he got a late start to the season because of foot surgery – something that concerned us early in the year when we wondered if he'd be healthy at all. Well, we were bang on, as the injury never healed sufficiently for him to take the mound, and then he opted for season-ending surgery in August to remove a bunion on his big right toe. While his strikeout rate slipped and his command was weak in 2007, Hernandez has always been a consistent winner (lifetime 90-65 mark), so you'd think someone would bite. He's willing to continue his career as a reliever, but there's been no interest in him at all.
Pedro Martinez, RHP: Well, Martinez was healthier last year than he was in 2007. There, now that I've said something good about his 2008, I can take the gloves off. The dude was simply shelled and his shoulder problems resurfaced in September, keeping him winless for the remainder of the season. This former Expo great wanted to re-sign with the Mets, but that isn't expected to happen. Instead, Martinez will use the WBC as a platform to try to generate interest as he seeks a 2009 contract.
Ramon Martinez, 2B: Thanks to injuries and ineffective at Triple-A last season, I wondered whether this vet was done altogether. He wound up in the Met system and after a September call-up, he actually saw some time as the starting second baseman in New York. And although he hit decently, this spoke more to Castillo's ineffectiveness rather than Martinez's prowess. At any rate, the Mets liked what they saw enough to re-sign him to a minor league deal, but I expect him to again spend plenty of his time at Triple-A.
Trot Nixon, OF: Since his career year in 2003, Nixon's slugging percentage has dropped five straight seasons, and after last season's debacle – hernia surgery limited him to a mere 35 less-than-impressive at bats – he looks old before his time. Nixon started the season in the Arizona system and hit well at Triple-A, but was dealt to the Mets when they were dealing with a rash of OF injuries. Of course, he soon joined that mess, getting hurt himself. The Brewers have signed Nixon and he'll compete for the final outfield spot in Milwaukee. He probably has an edge for the job because he's a lefty, but man, has his career ever gone downhill steadily.
Oliver Perez, LHP: Perez was unable to consolidate his great 2007 rebound season, setting a career high in walks in 2008 while also experiencing a decline in his K rate. The upshot of his inconsistency was one-third less wins (just 10 after a career-best 15 in 2007). Regardless, the Mets re-signed him for three years and $36 million, a deal that could be awful if Perez starts to revert to his 2006 form. However, it could be a steal if the work that Johan Santana is doing with him to make him a more consistent pitcher pays off. The Mets need Perez to return to the 15-win range for them to have a shot at the playoffs; with one of the best lefties in the game in Perez's corner, there's a good chance that may happen. I'm issuing a sleeper alert on this still-just-27-year-old southpaw.
Ricardo Rincon, LHP: Rincon missed most of the 2007 season because of Tommy John surgery, and he worked his way back by pitching in the Mexican League this season before the Mets gave him a look. He earned a September call-up and pitched well in limited action. He's still a free agent, however, and at the age of 38, looks just about done.
Matt Wise, RHP: When the Mets signed him last offseason, we actually thought this was a wise move. Unfortunately, an arm injury delayed the start of his season, and when he returned, he was far too hittable, suggesting that he wasn't quite 100 per cent. Sure enough, after just eight appearances, the shoulder started acting up, ultimately leading him to shut it down for the season in August. He's still a free agent, and will likely remain as such until it's clear he's healthy.
Next: We'll drive 100 miles down the Jersey Turnpike and the I-95 to Philadelphia, to check in the offseason happenings of the World Champion Phillies.


text:
The 19-year-old charged with the Boston Marathon bombing, his throat injured by a gunshot wound, wrote down answers to the questions of investigators about his motives and connections to any terror networks.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's answers led them to believe he and his brother were motivated by a radical brand of Islam without major terror connections, said U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.
But the written communication precluded back-and-forth exchanges often crucial to establishing key facts and meaning, said officials who cautioned they were still trying to verify what Tsarnaev told them and were poring over his telephone and online communications.
Tsarnaev was interrogated and charged Monday in his hospital room, where he was in serious condition with the throat wound and other injuries suffered during his attempted getaway. His brother, Tamerlan, 26, died Friday after a fierce gunbattle with police.
The charges came just hours before a memorial service for one of the three people killed in the bombings, 23-year-old Boston University graduate student Lu Lingzi, was held at the school and attended by hundreds of people, including Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
"She's gone but our memories of her are very much alive," said her father, Lu Jun, who spoke in his native tongue and was followed by an English interpreter. "An ancient Chinese saying says every child is actually a little Buddha that helps their parents mature and grow up."
Tsarnaev, a student at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, was charged with using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction. He was accused of joining with his brother in setting off the shrapnel-packed pressure-cooker bombs that killed Lu and two other people and wounded more than 200 on April 15.
The next step in the legal process against Tsarnaev is likely to be an indictment, in which federal prosecutors could add new charges. State prosecutors have said they expect to charge Tsarnaev separately in the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer who was shot in his cruiser Thursday night on the campus in Cambridge.
After Tsarnaev is indicted in the bombing, he will have an arraignment in federal court, when he will be asked to enter a plea.
Under federal law, as a defendant charged with a crime that carries a potential death penalty, he is entitled to at least one lawyer who is knowledgeable about the law in capital cases. Federal Public Defender Miriam Conrad, whose office has been asked to represent Tsarnaev, filed a motion Monday asking that two death penalty lawyers be appointed to represent Tsarnaev, "given the magnitude of this case."
A probable cause hearing — at which prosecutors will spell out the basics of their case — was set for May 30. According to a clerk's notes of Monday's proceedings in the hospital, U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler indicated she was satisfied that Tsarnaev was "alert and able to respond to the charges."
Tsarnaev did not speak during Monday's proceeding, except to answer "no" when he was asked if he could afford his own lawyer, according to the notes. He nodded when asked if he was able to answer some questions and whether he understood his rights.
Conrad declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press.
The criminal complaint outlining the allegations shed no light on the motive for the attack. The two U.S. officials who spoke anonymously said preliminary evidence from the interrogation suggests the brothers were motivated by religious extremism but were apparently not involved with Islamic terrorist organizations.
The brothers, ethnic Chechens from Russia who had been living in the U.S. for about a decade, practiced Islam.
A statement released Monday by Kazakhstan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs bolstered the U.S. officials' comments about seeking details on the suspect's other modes of communication and his associations.
Two foreign nationals arrested Saturday on immigration violations are from the central Asian nation and may have known the suspects, the ministry said. U.S. authorities came across the students while searching for "possible links and contacts," it said.
Officials have not disclosed the names of the nationals, who the ministry said were found to have "violated the U.S. visa regime."
In the criminal complaint against Tsarnaev, investigators said he and his brother each placed a knapsack containing a bomb in the crowd near the finish line of the 26.2-mile race. The FBI said surveillance-camera footage showed Dzhokhar manipulating his cellphone and lifting it to his ear just instants before the two blasts.
After the first blast, a block away from Dzhokhar, "virtually every head turns to the east … and stares in that direction in apparent bewilderment and alarm," the complaint says. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, "virtually alone of the individuals in front of the restaurant, appears calm."
He then quickly walked away, leaving a knapsack on the ground; about 10 seconds later, a bomb blew up at the spot where he had been standing, the FBI said.
The FBI did not say whether he was using his cellphone to detonate one or both of the bombs or whether he was talking to someone.
Among the details in the affidavit:
— Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had gunshot wounds to the head, neck, legs and hands when he was captured hiding out in a boat in a backyard in the Boston suburb of Watertown, authorities said.
— One of the brothers — it wasn't clear which one — told a carjacking victim during their getaway attempt, "Did you hear about the Boston explosion? I did that."
— The FBI said it searched Tsarnaev's dorm room at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth on Sunday and found BBs as well as a white hat and dark jacket that look like those worn by one of the suspected bombers in the surveillance photos the FBI released a few days after the attack.
Shortly after the charges were unveiled, Boston-area residents and many of their well-wishers — including President Barack Obama at the White House — observed a moment of silence at 2:49 p.m. — the moment a week earlier when the bombs exploded.
In addition to that and the memorial for Lu, who was from Shenyang, China, and studied statistics at BU, a funeral was held Monday at St. Joseph Church for another victim, Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager who had gone to watch a friend finish the race. Services have not been announced for the third bombing victim, 8-year-old Martin Richard, of Boston.
As of Monday, 51 people remained hospitalized, three of them in critical condition. At least 14 people lost all or part of a limb; three of them lost more than one.
Sullivan reported from Washington. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Steve Peoples, Allen Breed, Bridget Murphy, Jay Lindsay and Bob Salsberg in Boston and Pete Yost in Washington.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2013 Capitol Hill Blue


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Time for monthly favorites! I've got quite a few goodies to share with you this month that i'm absolutely loving. And guess what, i'm doing a giveaway as well. Check it out!
I'm continuuing on with my favorites giveaway. Today I'll be giving away a 4U Z-Palette in Black. I love this for travel and keep one in my luggage for trips, so easy! Here's how to win:
- Follow my blog
- Leave a comment telling me why you'd like to win
- Open internationally


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Swanky beach enclave seeks relief from bird stench
SAN DIEGO (AP) — La Jolla's jagged coastline is strictly protected by environmental laws to ensure the San Diego community remains the kind of seaside jewel that has attracted swanky restaurants, top-flight hotels and some of the nation's rich and famous, including billionaire businessman Irwin Jacobs and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Tourists flock to the place. So do birds. Lots of birds. And with those birds comes lots of poop.
So rather than gasping in amazement at the beautiful views, some are holding their noses from the stench coming from the droppings that cake coastal rocks and outcroppings near its business district.
"We've had to relocate tables inside because when people go out to the patio, some are like 'Oh my God. I can't handle the smell,'" said Christina Collignon, a hostess at Eddie V's, a steak and seafood restaurant perched on a cliff straight up from the guano-coated rocks.
On a recent afternoon, tourists on spring break walked along the sea wall. Some scrunched up their faces in disgust.
"It smells like something dead," said Meghan Brummett as she looked at the birds with her husband and children. The family was visiting from Brawley, a farming town two hours east of San Diego.
Biologists say the odor is the smell of success: Environmental protections put in place over the past few decades have brought back endangered species.
Cormorants and brown pelicans nearly became extinct in the 1970s because of the pesticide DDT. The brown pelican was taken off the federal endangered species list in 2010, and its population, including the Caribbean and Latin America, is estimated at more than 650,000. The total U.S. cormorant population is about 2 million.
La Jolla is a state-designated area of "special biological significance." That means California strictly regulates its waters to protect its abundant marine life, which also attracts birds.
"We're kind of a victim of our own success," said Robert Pitman, a marine biologist at the National Marine Fisheries Service in La Jolla. "We've provided a lot of bird protections so now we're getting a lot of birds. I think we're going to be seeing more of these conflicts come about, and I think we'll have to deal with them on a case-by-case basis. I think there'll have to be compromises all around."
In Canada, guano from cormorants has been blamed for the destruction of native vegetation, while in Mississippi, catfish farmers loathe the sleek, black birds because their keen fishing skills cost them millions every year.
In La Jolla, the birds took over the rocks after the city prohibited people from walking there years ago for safety reasons. There has been little rain to wash away the feces.
George Hauer, who owns the gourmet restaurant George's At The Cove, launched an online petition that has garnered more than 1500 signatures. It states: "The cormorant colony at the La Jolla cove has reached critical mass with their excrement. The smell is overtaking the entire village. The result is a loss of business and a potential public health disaster."
Any cleaning method will require a permit, city officials say. The area is regulated by several government agencies. Washing it with a non-toxic solution would cause concern because of the run off into the ocean, state officials say. Even using just water could cause problems since guano discharged into the ocean in high concentrations would be considered a pollutant.
San Diego Mayor Bob Filner — lauded by animal lovers for placing a security camera at a nearby beach to catch anyone harassing seals there — has promised to find a fix. He wants something a solution before summer arrives and tourism peaks. He's suggesting the rocks be "vacuumed," but hasn't supplied details.
Pitman said vacuuming would not work. He personally recommends something simpler: Sounding a horn over a period of weeks to scare off the birds.
Jessica Manns said it would be a shame to see the birds relocate.
"I think they are a tourist attraction and this is a tourist area so it probably wouldn't be a good idea to try to get rid of them," said Manns, a waitress who often hears complaints about the stench wafting by the seaside tables at the Goldfish Point Cafe.
On a recent afternoon, nearby tourists snapped photos of the cormorants and pelicans standing stoically on their droppings next to seals, basking in the sun.
"I guess it's the price you have to pay for having a locale this close to paradise," said waiter Anton Marek. "I wish there was something we could do about it honestly, but it's also a part of nature. People come here because they want to see nature."
He added with a shrug: "Poop is a part of nature."


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What is VoIP for Business in Monte Rio, CA?
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) for businesses is a phone-based technique intended to satisfy your company's communication requirements. Business VoIP in Monte Rio, CA works by using your fast-speed web connection to initiate and respond to phone calls and provides companies of all sizes the functions and adaptability that can fulfill each one's demands.
VoIP plans exist for both commercial and household usage in Monte Rio, CA. What sets them apart is that commercial plans concentrate more on tools and special functions that companies need to be successful, whereas home plans include standard functions and regular in and outbound calling features.
Commercial VoIP enables you to place phone calls using your high-speed web connection rather than via standard telephone lines. Purchasing a commercial VoIP plan is a great deal more than a simple substitution for a standard telephone line, however. VoIP options for businesses come with some sort of virtual PBX (private branch exchange) telephone system, as well as high-tech output and call control settings.
Although PBX telephone systems and sophisticated output options are usually regarded as extras by conventional phone service providers, they are integrated into business VoIP plans. In addition, most commercial VoIP service providers provide you with a sense of adaptability and freedom that a standard telephone service simply cannot. You owe it to yourself and your company to evaluate these various commercial broadband telephone services in comparison to your present phone company. You are sure to observe a variance between their products and prices.


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ThreadworX Moulinè - 1076 - Honky Tonk
This is a premium quality, six-strand embroidery floss made from the finest long-staple, 100% Egyptian Giza cotton. Perfect for hand stitching on all types of fabrics. Over-dyed beautiful and vibrant floss. 20 yards skein (about 18.29mt.).
Although ThreadworX products are carefully dyed to be colorfast, environmental issues have eliminated certain chemicals that ensure this process. Therefore it is important to launder any project with dark colors very carefully. We seldom have a problem with our colors running but we cannot guarantee complete colorfastness. Specialty threads must be treated gently! The threads must first be unskeined, put into a bathroom basin 1/2 filled with cold water with 2 tbls. table salt and 2 tbls. vinegar. Soak for 2-3 minutes, remove, blot with towel and let dry. This is recommended for any piece that will require washing. Please Note: HOT WATER and using a STEAM IRON and/or a damp cloth when pressing completed project will reactivate dyes and cause bleeding. If your work has been completed and the dyes have bled in washing then you must soak the piece in ICE WATER until the color starts to bleed out. Remove from the water and run an ice cube over the problem area and then place back in fresh ice water to soak again. Repeat this process until the problem area is clear of dye. This may take continued effort, possibly over a few days, but it does work!


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A year-long effort to push a comprehensive immigration reform bill through the House was officially declared dead yesterday. Prospects for the bill were always dicey and the debate became more complicated by the recent wave of unaccompanied children seeking entry into the United States. NPR's Richard Gonzales has more.
RICHARD GONZALES, BYLINE: A key feature of the immigration reform bill was a path to citizenship for many of the 11 million people residing here illegally. It will be a year tomorrow since the Senate approved its version of the overhaul bill. House Republican leaders said they wanted some form of immigration reform, but they were warned off at every step by a small but vocal group of conservative lawmakers. A very frustrated Representative Luis Gutierrez, an Illinois Democrat who spearheaded the reform effort, took to the House floor to say he was giving up. Using a visual cue from the World Cup soccer tournament, Gutierrez raised a card referees use to throw a player out of the game.
REPRESENTATIVE LUIS GUTIERREZ: I gave you the warning three months ago and now I have no other choice. You're done. Leave the field. Too many flagrant offenses and unfair attacks and too little action. You're out. Hit the showers. It's the red card.
GONZALES: But opponents of immigration reform say Gutierrez was merely acknowledging that the Republican House would never agree to a bill that includes a path to citizenship. Then came the televised images of tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors trying to cross the southern border. Immigration advocates hoped those images would revive reform efforts, instead there was a backlash. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia laid the blame on the Obama administration.
BOB GOODLATTE: It was easy to predict that people in South and Central America as well as in Mexico, would recognize a veiled invitation from the administration to send their children and families to the United States with little chance of deportation.
GONZALES: Goodlatte and other Republicans say the president created this crisis when two years ago he allowed thousands of immigrant children brought to this country illegally to stay with protections against deportation. But those immigrant kids were raised in this country and immigration reform advocates say their situation has nothing to do with the current border crisis.
Frank Sharry is executive director of America's Voice, an immigration advocacy group. He says the administration should still do something about those undocumented immigrants who are here...
FRANK SHARRY: Who are settled, are working, are contributing, are taking care of their families. Do we really want to rip those families apart? Or do we want to do what we can to say you folks can stay here, be screened, get work permits and await legislation?
GONZALES: Sharry and other immigration advocates hope the president will use his executive powers to expand the protections for people already here. But that would likely set off another political firestorm, says Mark Krikorian, who directs the D.C. based Center for Immigration Studies, which supports immigration limits. Krikorian says in the current climate, the administration is not likely to take executive action before the November elections.
MARK KRIKORIAN: After the election, especially if the Republicans take the Senate, I could see the pressure on the president become irresistible to do some kind of dramatic mass amnesty on his own, and essentially daring the Congress to impeach him.
GONZALES: There is one common agreement in the immigration debate - that with a presidential primary and election coming up, a reform package that includes a path to citizenship is not likely until 2017. Richard Gonzales, NPR News.
You are listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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September 12, 2013 // Uncategorized
USCCB president: CHA support of health care rules 'less than helpful'
By Dennis Sadowski
WASHINGTON (CNS) — The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said the Catholic Health Association's acceptance of rules governing women's access to contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act was "less than helpful" to the bishops' effort to seek changes in the mandate.
"We have not, ourselves as bishops, been able to arrive at the same conclusion, that accommodation with HHS is that easy. There's no way that we're ready to say that yet," said Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York at a news conference Sept. 11 after a two-day meeting of the USCCB's Administrative Committee.
While acknowledging CHA's expertise in health care concerns, the cardinal told reporters that he appreciated the fact that the organization acknowledged that the bishops remain the authentic teachers of faith and morals within the church.
"We really listen to them in a lot of the input they give us. But when it comes to faith and morals that, of course is what this ultimately is all about, they do defer to us," he said.
The contraceptive mandate remains a "high, high concern among the bishops," he said.
The Department of Health and Human Services June 28 issued final rules for implementing the mandate, which is part of the Affordable Care Act. The USCCB maintains that the rules still conflict with church teaching. Cardinal Dolan said the conference continues to evaluate what next steps it will take in response.
In the final HHS rules, contraceptive coverage for accommodated religious organizations with health insurance plans will be provided separately through health insurance companies or third-party administrators who must ensure that payments for contraceptive services come from outside the objecting organization's premiums. For self-insuring institutions, a third-party administrator would provide or arrange the services, paid for through reductions in federally facilitated-exchange user fees associated with their health insurance provider.
The mandate does not include a conscience clause for employers who object to such coverage on moral grounds.
Cardinal Dolan pledged to continue to educate and "rally our people," challenge the rules in court, and seek changes in the law.
"We're going to continue keep giving this careful study, but I tell you we still worry about how, if where we can comply because the problems, the questions we have remain grave," he said.
The three bishops at the news conference welcomed President Barack Obama's announcement that he asked Congress to delay a vote on a resolution authorizing U.S. military strikes on Syria in response to the reported use of chemical weapons against civilians by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, chairman of the bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace expressed hope that a proposal by Russian leaders to place Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles under international control would lead to negotiations to end the country's 30-month-old civil war.
"It is critical the recent international proposals to secure and destroy Syria's chemical weapons get serious attention, evaluation and encouragement. As Pope Francis has said repeatedly, dialogue and negotiation are paths to peace, not military attacks and arms shipments," Bishop Pates said.
"Overwhelmingly the nations support this (proposal). (Assad is) one of the remaining few who still has these (weapons) in possession. So just taking away, it's that the world does this. It's not just President Obama's problem, not just an American problem, a Russian problem, a Chinese problem, a French problem, an English problem. All of us acting together sends a much clearer message to the world than just our acting alone."
Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the Committee on Communications and former chair of the Committee on Migration, urged the U.S. and the rest of the world to begin to plan to accept Syrian refugees who may not be able to return home once the war ends.
He said some 2 million people have fled Syria to neighboring countries and the 4 million people displaced within the country and that many of them will need homes in the future.
Prior to the news conference, the Administrative Committee issued a Sept. 10 statement in support of the humanitarian work of Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. church's overseas relief and development agency. The statement follows the release of a report by the Population Research Institute that accused CRS employees in Madagascar of distributing contraceptives in opposition to church teaching.
Cardinal Dolan said that Carolyn Woo, CRS president, told the bishops that the agency's principles are clear and that employees are held accountable for their actions. When a problem arises, he said, CRS leaders address the concern as quickly as possible so that all services align with church teaching.
"We don't have perfection here on earth of any organization, but they adhere very strongly in terms of their values and principles … and they will not deviate from that," Bishop Pates added.
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Peering into the far reaches of the solar system, astronomers have spied a pink frozen world 7½ billion miles from the sun.
It's the second such object to be discovered in a region of space beyond Pluto long considered a celestial wasteland. Until now, the lone known resident in this part of the solar system was an oddball dwarf planet spotted in 2003 named Sedna after the mythological Inuit goddess who created the sea creatures of the Arctic.
The latest discovery shows "Sedna is not a freak. We can have confidence that there is a new population to explore," Yale University senior research scientist David Rabinowitz said in an email. He was one of Sedna's discoverers, but had no role in the new find detailed in the journal Nature.
For years, astronomers hunted in vain for other Sednas in the little-studied fringes of the solar system.
The new object, 2012 VP113, was tracked using a new camera on a ground telescope in Chile by Scott Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C., and Chad Trujillo of the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii. Trujillo was part of the team that found Sedna.
Like Sedna, VP is also a dwarf planet. It's jokingly nicknamed "Biden" after Vice President Joe Biden because of the object's initials. It measures about 280 miles across, or half the diameter of Sedna. It's bone-chilling cold with a temperature of around minus 430 degrees Fahrenheit.
Unlike red and shiny Sedna, the newfound object is more pink and much fainter, which made it hard to detect.
By contrast, Earth is about 7,900 miles across and located 93 million miles from the sun.
Sedna and VP reside in what's known as the inner Oort cloud in the outer edge of the solar system where some comets such as the sun-diving Comet ISON are thought to originate. ISON broke apart last year after brushing too close to the sun.
"Finding Sedna so far away seemed odd and potentially a fluke. But this one is beginning to make it look like that might be a typical place for objects to be. Not at all what I would have guessed," Mike Brown, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology, said in an email.
Brown, self-proclaimed "Pluto killer," led the Sedna team, but was not part of the new discovery.
Far from being deserted, Sheppard and Trujillo estimate there are probably thousands of similar objects in the inner Oort cloud.
"These objects are not unique. There's a huge number out there," Sheppard said.
Not all of them will be visible to telescopes because they're so far away and it takes a long time for them to swing by the sun. Sedna and VP were spotted at their closest approach to the sun, which allowed light from the sun to hit the objects and bounce back to observatories on Earth.
VP is currently the third farthest object in the solar system after dwarf planet Eris and Sedna, but it has an eccentric, elongated orbit that can take it out to 42 billion miles from the sun. Sedna can loop out as far as 84 billion miles from the sun at its farthest point.
Now that Sedna has company — and likely lots of them — scientists are searching for more objects in an effort to learn how they and the solar system formed and evolved.
In a separate discovery published in Nature, a team led by Felipe Braga-Ribas of the National Observatory in Brazil found a pair of rings around an asteroid-like interloper in the outer system named Chariklo.
While not as dazzling as Saturn's rings, it's the first time rings have been discovered outside of the four gas giants — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. How little Chariklo got its rings remains a mystery, but scientists think they may have formed from debris from a violent collision.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press


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"Bionic eye" restores sight to blind man
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A degenerative eye disease slowly robbed Roger Pontz of his vision.
Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa as a teenager, Pontz has been almost completely blind for years. Now, thanks to a high-tech procedure that involved the surgical implantation of a "bionic eye," he's regained enough of his eyesight to catch small glimpses of his wife, grandson and cat.
"It's awesome. It's exciting - seeing something new every day," Pontz said during a recent appointment at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. The 55-year-old former competitive weightlifter and factory worker is one of four people in the U.S. to receive an artificial retina since the Food and Drug Administration signed off on its use last year.
The facility in Ann Arbor has been the site of all four such surgeries since FDA approval. A fifth is scheduled for next month.
Retinitis pigmentosa is an inherited disease that causes slow but progressive vision loss due to a gradual loss of the light-sensitive retinal cells called rods and cones. Patients experience loss of side vision and night vision, then central vision, which can result in near blindness.Not all of the 100,000 or so people in the U.S. with retinitis pigmentosa can benefit from the bionic eye. An estimated 10,000 have vision low enough, said Dr. Brian Mech, an executive with Second Sight Medical Products Inc., the Sylmar, Calif.-based company that makes the device. Of those, about 7,500 are eligible for the surgery.
The artificial implant in Pontz's left eye is part of a system developed by Second Sight that includes a small video camera and transmitter housed in a pair of glasses.
Images from the camera are converted into a series of electrical pulses that are transmitted wirelessly to an array of electrodes on the surface of the retina. The pulses stimulate the retina's remaining healthy cells, causing them to relay the signal to the optic nerve.
The visual information then moves to the brain, where it is translated into patterns of light that can be recognized and interpreted, allowing the patient to regain some visual function.
When wearing the glasses, which Pontz refers to as his "eyes," he can identify and grab his cat and figure out that a flash of light is his grandson hightailing it to the kitchen.
The visual improvement is sometimes startling for Pontz and his wife, Terri, who is just as amazed at her husband's progress as he is.
"I said something I never thought I'd say: 'Stop staring at me while I'm eating,'" Terri Pontz said.
She drives her husband the nearly 200 miles from tiny Reed City, Mich., to Ann Arbor for check-ups and visits with occupational therapist Ashley Howson, who helps Roger Pontz reawaken his visual memory and learn techniques needed to make the most of his new vision.
At the recent visit, Howson handed Pontz white and black plates, instructed him to move them back and forth in front of light and dark backgrounds and asked that he determine their color.
Back home, Terri Pontz helps her husband practice the techniques he learns in Ann Arbor.
For them, the long hours on the road and the homework assignments are a blessing.
"What's it worth to see again? It's worth everything," Terri Pontz said.
The artificial retina procedure has been performed several-dozen times over the past few years in Europe, and the expectation is that it will find similar success in the U.S., where the University of Michigan is one of 12 centers accepting consultations for patients.
Candidates for the retinal prosthesis must be 25 or older with end-stage retinitis pigmentosa that has progressed to the point of having "bare light" or no light perception in both eyes.
Dr. Thiran Jayasundera, one of two physicians who performed the 4.5-hour surgery on Roger Pontz, is scheduled to discuss his experiences with the retinal prosthesis process during a meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery on Friday in Boston. He calls it a "game-changer."
Pontz agrees: "I can walk through the house with ease. If that's all I get out of this, it'd be great."


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Notice: This Wiki is now read only and edits are no longer possible. Please see: https://gitlab.eclipse.org/eclipsefdn/helpdesk/-/wikis/Wiki-shutdown-plan for the plan.
Outdated page
This page contains obsolete information about the VPM based VIATRA2 and preserved for archive purposes only.
The currently maintained wiki is available at http://wiki.eclipse.org/VIATRA
Quick links
- Project page
- Downloads
- Forum
- BugTracker
- VIATRA2/Frequently Asked Questions
- VIATRA2/Installation
- VIATRA2/GettingStarted
- VIATRA2/Benchmarks
Release notes:
Project Overview
The main objective of the VIATRA2 (VIsual Automated model TRAnsformations) framework is to provide a general-purpose support for the entire life-cycle of engineering model transformations including the specification, design, execution, validation and maintenance of transformations within and between various modeling languages and domains.
VIATRA2 intends to complement existing model transformation frameworks in providing
- a model space for uniform representation of models and metamodels
- a transformation language with
- both declarative and imperative features
- based upon popular formal mathematical techniques of graph transformation (GT) and abstract state machines (ASM)
- a high performance transformation engine
- supporting incremental model transformations
- trigger-driven live transformations where complex model changes may trigger execution of transformations
- handling well over 100,000 model elements (see our benchmarks)
- with main target application domains in
- model-based tool integration framework
- model analysis transformations
Documentation and Research Papers
This wiki (with sub pages) is intended to serve as the primary source of documentation related to VIATRA2.
For older documentation, you can refer to the official page, which has details on the available documentation. In short, the following off-line documentation is available:
- Transformation language specification: PDF (this is a bit outdated)
- User's guide: PDF (this is completely superseded by this wiki)
For a list of the most important research papers on VIATRA2, see VIATRA2/ResearchPapers
Getting started with VIATRA2
You can find introductory information on getting stared with VIATRA2 on the Getting Started pages.
For new users of VIATRA2, we recommend the following introductory material:
- VIATRA2 is a Model Transformation (MT) tool. The concept of model transformation is explained in the Model Transformations Intro.
- The Using Transformations page presents a tutorial on using existing VIATRA2 transformations. Covers the user interface basics, including an example-guided exercise about loading instance models, exploring the model space, running a ready-made transformation and extracting its output.
- The Model Editing page gives an intro on models in VIATRA2. Features a more in-depth introduction to the VIATRA2 model space, including the VPM metamodel, structure, as well as UI support for browsing and editing.
- Basics concepts of the VIATRA2 transformation language are introduced in the Creating Transformations page.
- Afterwards, to learn transformation development, the Hello World tutorial is the place to start. Includes a walk-through of creating and populating a model space with a very simple model, the creation of a "Hello World!" transformation, and two more transformation programs for demonstrating the concepts of pattern matching and model manipulation.
- Next, we recommend proceeding to the Case Studies page, where numerous example transformations are showcased. It is especially useful to start with the Activity Diagrams to Petri Nets transformation, which is a very simple tutorial intended for learners, and includes a small exercise.
VIATRA2 Common Use Cases
VIATRA2 primarily aims at designing model transformations to support the precise model-based systems development with the help of invisible formal methods. Invisible formal methods are hidden by automated model transformations projecting system models into various mathematical domains (and, preferably, vice versa). In this way, VIATRA2 nicely complements other model transformation tools within the GMT initiative.
The most traditional application area for VIATRA2 – started as early as 1998 – is to support the transformation-based dependability analysis of system models taken from various application areas (safety-critical and/or embedded systems, robust e-business applications, middleware, serviceoriented architecture) described using various modeling languages (BPM, UML, etc.) during a model-driven systems engineering process. Such a model (and transformation)-based dependability analysis typically also includes the verification & validation, the testing, the safety and security analysis as well as the early assessment non-functional characteristics (such as reliability, availability, responsiveness, throughput, etc.) of the system under design. In addition, model transformations for specification, design, deployment, optimization or code generation in traditional model-driven systems engineering are also focal areas for VIATRA2.
The VIATRA framework is a universal model transformation tool, in the sense that it supports a number of typical use-cases in MDD:
- Model import and export. through its universal model storage (VIATRA2/GettingStarted/Model_Editing), VIATRA2 is able to support several models (conforming to potentially distinct metamodels) within the same model space. Models can be imported and exported (VIATRA2/UseCases/ModelExportImport) through plugins, with built-in support for important formats such as UML.
- Model-to-model transformations. VIATRA can run your model-to-model transformations very efficiently thanks to its incremental graph pattern matching engine. Transformations may be specified in a high-level language (VIATRA2/GettingStarted/Creating_Transformations).
- Model-to-code transformations. VIATRA is also a code generator. Code generation is essentially a special case of model transformations, where textual output is also emitted. VIATRA can simultaneously write to multiple outputs, both to in-memory buffers and workspace files (VIATRA2/UseCases/CodeGeneration).
Transformation development with VIATRA2
You can find the detailed description of the transformation language of VIATRA2 here: VIATRA2/Transformation_Language
VIATRA2 supports a number of advanced techniques for transformation development.
- Invoking native code. One of the most important features is VIATRA's ability to invoke your Java code directly from transformation programs. This way, you can integrate your transformations to any existing software environment. A few examples: VIATRA can manipulate external data resources - databases, remote services -, you can create efficient native functions for advanced data queries such as custom random number and ID generation, etc.) For details, see VIATRA2/UseCases/InvokeNativeCode.
- Debugging and visualisation. See VIATRA2/UseCases/DebuggingAndVisualisation for details.
- Traceability modeling. See VIATRA2/UseCases/TraceabilityModels for details.
- Modelspace visualization: VIATRA2/ExtraFeatures/ModelVisualisation
- API example: VIATRA2/API_Example
For further information on general best practices, see VIATRA2/UseCases/TransformationBestPractices.
Case studies
You can find information on user-contributed case studies here: VIATRA2/Case_Studies
Standard conformance
We need to point out that the underlying modeling and transformation concepts of VIATRA2 are nonstandard.
- the model management framework is more expressive than MOF / EMF,
- the VIATRA2 transformation language is not QVT, but combines formal techniques being in use for more than 15 years.
VIATRA2 plans to support related standards by offering
- powerful and extensible model importers and exporters
- exporters/importers of other transformation languages (e.g. QVT)
- domain specific languages integrated to the framework as VIATRA2 (and thus Eclipse) plug-ins.
Known uses
The VIATRA2 framework currently served as a key underlying model transformation technology in various research projects including:
- the DECOS EU FP6 IP in the field of dependable embedded systems
- the SENSORIA EU FP6 IP in the field of service-oriented computing
- the DIANA EU FP6 STREP in the avionics domain
- the HIDENETS EU FP6 IP in the field of vehicular networking.
- the MOGENTES EU FP7 ICT STREP
- the SecureChange EU FP7 ICT FET
We regularly received valuable feedback from the following institutes:
- AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Vienna, AUT
- LMU Munich, GER
- TU Kaiserslautern, GER
- University of Pisa, ITA
- University of Leicester, UK
- Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
Partners and supporters
VIATRA2 development is supported by the following institutions and companies:
- Budapest University of Technology and Economics, HUN
- OptXware Research and Development LLC, HUN
- YourKit LLC, RUS
YourKit is kindly supporting open source projects with its full-featured Java Profiler. YourKit, LLC is the creator of innovative and intelligent tools for profiling Java and .NET applications. Take a look at YourKit's leading software products: YourKit Java Profiler and YourKit .NET Profiler.
Downloads and Installation
Check here for more information. For installation instructions, see VIATRA2/Installation.


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Valkyrie Standard / Tourer Lowrider Seat, Passenger Seat, Driver Backrest and Sissy Bar Pad - Plain or Studded - (1996 - 2003)
- Product Code: 4C-10010 and 4C-10011
Available Options
Our Lowrider seat is designed to sit the driver 1 inch lower and the same distance to the handlebars as the seating position of the Honda® OEM stock seat. We recommend the Lowrider for drivers under 5 foot 11 inches and weighing 200 pounds or less. If your leg inseam measures 28 inches or more, you will have both feet planted flat on the ground. We have designed this seat with 6.5 inches of built in back support and an increased nose angle so you sit back into the seat, and it prevents you from sliding forward while braking. The Lowrider seat is 17 inches wide.
The Ultimate passenger seat is 16 inches wide with comfort to spare. The passenger seat has been designed with a steeper nose angle to help prevent the passenger from sliding forward into the driver. The same high quality comfort memory foam that is in the driver seat is in the passenger seat, and it has been molded to give your very important passenger the Ultimate support. (put them in comfort heaven).
Note: If Corbin beetle bags are installed, a special driver seat is required. The standard Ultimate Valkyrie Standard / Tourer Lowrider seat WILL NOT fit with Beetle Bags. Please make the appropriate selection above if you have Corbin beetle bags installed.
Ultimate Removable Driver Backrest
All Ultimate Valkyrie Lowrider seats have the driver backrest hardware built into them, so you can add the backrest at any time.
- Pad measures 7" high by 10" wide by 1.5" thick.
- Built using the same memory foam as our seats.
- Infinite tilt to match your back angle.
- Backrest folds down forward for easily mounting and dismounting.
- Adjustment forward and back is more than 2 inches.
- Adjusts with a thumb screw while you're riding.
- No need to remove the seat or use a wrench.
- Includes zipper storage pouch that velcros to the back of the backrest.
Detachable storage pouch measures 9"W x 6"H and is protected by the driver backrest built in rain flap.
Ultimate Sissy Bar Pad
The large Ultimate sissy bar pad is 12" wide, 8" high and 2 1/2" thick. It sits your passenger 10 degrees straighter than the stock pad, which helps eliminate back fatigue on long rides. The pad comes with stainless steel screws and fits on your Honda® sissy bar. This pad also mounts to your sissy bar in two different height positions, one which is like stock - and one which is 2" higher than stock. We also manufacture sissy bar pads that will fit other aftermarket sissy bars.
When you place your order, we will ask you which make and model sissy bar you have and whether its 2, 3 or 4 bolt mount configuration. We'll also need the measurements, from center of bolt to center of bolt, of where the pad mounts to the sissy bar.
Leather Versus Vinyl and Rain Covers
Leather seating in our homes or vehicles works well for some users however leather seats do not weather well left out in the sun and rain.
In my opinion, there are no advantages with a leather seat on a motorcycle.
Most people cannot visually tell the difference between our premium marine grade Vinyl and Leather unless they are side by side and then it needs to be pointed out which is which.
Neither Leather or Vinyl breathes except through the stitching.
Neither seats, Vinyl or Leather are waterproof. A Vinyl seat will let water in through the stitching and Leather will do the same and also soak through the hide if it gets really wet.
Durability is similar but our premium Vinyl will hold its shape and new look longer than Leather.
A rain cover should be used to prevent water from seeping through the stitches into the comfort foam.
We recommend you cover your seats with our waterproof ride on rain covers when your bike is sitting or riding in the rain.
Enjoy the ride again,
Seating Position | |
Seat Height | 1" lower than Honda® OEM Seat. |
Distance from Handlebars | Same distance as the Honda® OEM Seat. |
Seat Dimensions | |
Driver Seat Width | 17" |
Passenger Seat Width | 16" |
Driver Backrest | |
Amount of Adjustment | More Than 2" Forward and Backward. |
Location of Backrest Bracket | Rider Seat |
Pad Width | 10" |
Pad Height | 7" |
Passenger Backrest / Sissy Bar Pad | |
Large Pad Height | 8" |
Large Pad Width | 12" |
Click on the links below to download
- Installation Instructions for Seat Set Combo, Valkyrie I/S Interstate
- Installation Instructions for Driver Backrest, Valkyrie King
- Installation Instructions for Armrests, Valkyrie Standard / Tourer
- Installation Instructions for Removable Driver Backrest (Lowrider and Big Boy)
- Installation Instructions for Ride-On Rain Covers, Standard / Tourer
- Installation Instructions for Ride-On Rain Covers, Valkyrie I/S Interstate


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US home prices rise in May by most in 7 years
US home prices soar 12.2 percent from a year earlier, biggest gain since February 2006
WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. home prices jumped 12.2 percent in May from a year ago, the most in seven years. The increase suggests the housing recovery is strengthening.
Real estate data provider CoreLogic said Tuesday that home prices rose from a year ago in 48 states. They fell only in Delaware and Alabama. And all but three of the 100 largest cities reported price gains.
Prices rose 26 percent in Nevada to lead all states. It was followed by California (20.2 percent), Arizona (16.9 percent), Hawaii (16.1 percent) and Oregon (15.5 percent).
CoreLogic also says prices rose 2.6 percent in May from April, the fifteenth straight month-over-month increase.
Steady hiring and low mortgage rates have encouraged more Americans to buy homes. Greater demand, a limited number of homes for sale and fewer foreclosures have pushed prices higher. Prices are still 20 percent below the peak reached in April 2006, according to CoreLogic.
Sales of previously occupied homes topped the 5 million mark in May for the first time in 3 ½ years. And the proportion of those sales that were "distressed" was at the lowest level in more than four years for the second straight month. Distressed home sales include foreclosures and short sales. A short sale is when a home sells for less than what is owed on the mortgage.
Home sales are expected to increase in the coming months. That's because the number of people who signed contracts to buy homes rose in June to the highest level since December 2006. There's generally a one- to two-month lag between a signed contract and a completed sale.
One worry is that higher mortgage rates could slow the housing recovery. Still, rates remain low by historical standards. And increases in rates could boost home sales. That's' because many Americans may act to lock in the lower rates before they rise further.
A survey by the University of Michigan released last week found more Americans believe it is a good time to buy a home because both rates and prices are just starting to rise.
Rates have been trending higher for two months. And the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage leapt to 4.46 percent last week, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. That's the highest in two years and a point more than a month ago.
Mortgage rates surged after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said last month that the Fed could scale back its bond buying later this year and end it next year if the economy continued to strengthen. The bond purchases have kept long-term rates down.
Economists say that higher mortgage rates are unlikely to stifle the housing recovery. A more critical issue is whether potential buyers can get loans. There are signs that banks have become more willing to extend mortgages.


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Sonic CD free on Nokia phones, but without Xbox Live Achievements
Earlier today we discovered that a non-Xbox version of SEGA's Super Monkey Ball 2 has become available for free to Nokia handset owners. Distributing an 'indie' version of an already existent Xbox game is pretty much without precedent. Sure, Angry Birds Space and Star Wars for Windows Phone 7 don't have Xbox Live features like their Windows Phone 8 brothers, but those are at least completely different versions of the same games. The free version of Super Monkey Ball 2 has simply had its Xbox Live features stripped.
It looks like free games from SEGA for Nokia users may be a trend, because a second game has just showed up as part of the Nokia Collection. SEGA's phenomenal Sonic CD is now available for free for Nokia owners, once again without the Xbox Live features of the general version. (Somebody forgot to remove the Xbox banner from the game's Live tile though.) The lack of Achievements might just kill much of the replay value of this particular game but people who just want to experience the game will still have loads of fun.
Blast (processing) from the past
Sonic CD is a remake of the classic 16-bit Sega CD game. It plays much like other Sega Genesis Sonic games, though the focus on exploration has increased thanks to much larger levels and new gameplay mechanics.
Sonic's nemesis Dr. Eggman has traveled back in time to change the history of Little Planet and gain its power. Sonic must jump back and forth between past, present, and future versions of seven different zones, destroying Eggman's robot teleporters and eventually doing battle with a robotic version of himself: metal Sonic.
The Windows Phone version of Sonic CD features a ton of improvements over the classic game, including true widescreen visuals, two selectable soundtracks, and the newly-playable sidekick Tails. All told, we consider this one of the very best games of 2012. Check out our full review for lots more details.
Work for that download
Like the free version of Super Monkey Ball 2, it might take a little work to actually procure the non-Xbox Sonic CD. The difficult downloads seem to be a result of general Windows Phone Store errors, so things could improve in a few days' time.
When trying to install on my phone, I kept getting region errors. Oddly, turning on cellular data made those errors stop. Even after initiating the download process, the download might halt and fail a few times. Just keep resuming it over and over until it decides to be nice and finish.
Get the Windows Central Newsletter
All the latest news, reviews, and guides for Windows and Xbox diehards.
Nokia owners, follow this link for use the QR code below to grab the free game. If you'd rather have the Xbox Live version, it's worth every bit of the $4.99 price. All Windows Phone users can get the Xbox Sonic CD right here from the Windows Phone Store.
But what does it all mean?
Xbox version at left; Nokia version at right
We already know that Nokia and Electronic Arts/Chillingo have a strategic partnership. So far, they've produced numerous exclusive Xbox Windows Phone games for Lumia owners. The first of those exclusives – Mirror's Edge just became available to all Windows Phone users today.
These strange free versions of Super Monkey Ball and Sonic CD seem to indicate a new agreement between Nokia and SEGA. The lack of Xbox Live status could be a restriction imposed because both games have already seen general release. We're investigating with Nokia and will let you know whatever details we dig up.
Thanks to Rajkumar Nagarajan for the tip!
Paul Acevedo is the Games Editor at Windows Central. A lifelong gamer, he has written about videogames for over 15 years and reviewed over 350 games for our site. Follow him on Twitter @PaulRAcevedo. Don't hate. Appreciate!


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