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Blue Jays prepared to be Centre of attention
Questions about expectations, chemistry likely to hound players throughout spring
By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com
DUNEDIN, Fla. -- It was 9 a.m. ET, and Brett Lawrie was clutching his first -- and quite possibly not last -- Red Bull of the day. And he was doing something he's going to have to do countless times in the coming weeks, talking about the excitement in the air as the revamped Toronto Blue Jays prepare for the year ahead.
"It's just a whole different situation in here," Lawrie said. "You look at the guys we brought in, and it's obviously a bigger deal and everybody's treating it like a bigger deal. There's more talent and there's more energy."
The spaces between words, it should be noted, are simply a matter of devotion to proper grammar on my part. Because Lawrie talks like he plays -- at 150 mph -- the spaces were non-existent in his actual speech.
And the energy to which Lawrie referred, it should be noted, is no morning Red Bull creation. It is a natural byproduct of a winter in which the Blue Jays went from American League East afterthought to international attention-getter.
Little wonder, then, that a media mob scene preceded the Blue Jays' first official workout of the spring Wednesday morning at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium -- an appropriately sponsored home site for a team amplified by the winter swap market. We crowded around new additions R.A. Dickey, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle. We asked all the obvious questions about chemistry and expectations and excitement, etc. And come tomorrow and the next day and the next day, the next round of cameramen and national scribes will show up and do the same thing.
This is the reality that comes with becoming one of baseball's "it" teams, and, for now, the Blue Jays wear the label well. Like most modern-day athletes, the members of this club are well-schooled on the caveats and cliches that must be offered up whenever the subject of expectations arises, as it often will.
"On paper," Buehrle said, "we look good. We've got to stay healthy, but that's the same with any team."
The Blue Jays didn't stay healthy last year. Not by a long shot. They lost three starting pitchers in one four-day span. Even by the standards of one of the more fragile positions in professional sports, it's difficult to do.
Beyond that, they lost Jose Bautista, Lawrie, J.P. Arencibia and Adam Lind from the lineup just as the offense was starting to reach its peak potential. And so a team that looked like a legit AL East sleeper candidate going into the year instead needed a franchise-record 32 pitchers and a ridiculous number of disabled list days just to get to the finish line.
It would seem reasonable to anticipate a little more luck in the health department in 2013. But even if that's not the case, general manager Alex Anthopoulos has assembled a club that should be better-positioned to sustain the inevitable injury blows.
Ricky Romero, due a bounceback from a horrendous 2012, goes from Opening Day starter one year to back-end option the next. J.A. Happ, a worthy rotation candidate, is on the outside looking in. And as far as the lineup is concerned, the Blue Jays will have a versatile, veteran bench with Maicer Izturis or Emilio Bonifacio (the two are competing for the starting second-base duties), Rajai Davis and Mark DeRosa. Davis and Bonifacio, especially, give the Blue Jays tremendous late-inning speed potential.
The expectations, then, are appropriate -- perhaps moreso than they were in 2006, on the heels of the A.J. Burnett, Lyle Overbay, Troy Glaus and B.J. Ryan acquisitions.
"We like our team better than we did in '06," said John Gibbons, manager then and now. "I think there's a little bit more depth in the pitching staff and some other areas -- more pop in the lineup and definitely more team speed."
What the paper can't predict, though, is how all these disparate pieces will mesh in the immediate. We saw what a disaster the Miami Marlins were last season, and baseball history is littered with star-studded clubs that didn't amount to much when it mattered. That's where all those chemistry questions come into play.
"I think it's an asset to have the Marlin group [Buehrle, Johnson, Reyes, Bonifacio] over here," Dickey said. "Because a year ago at this time, they're singing the same song that we're singing now, and it ended up very badly for them. So having that resource can't go overlooked.
"What's going to be really important is that people take ownership individually. It's not my team, it's not Brett Lawrie's team, it's not any individual's team. It's a collective effort. To empower others to take ownership in that is very important."
Maybe that's a message Gibbons and his staff hammer home. But sometimes, admittedly, all this chemistry stuff can be a media concoction anyway.
What is not a concoction is that inflated player payroll. Anthopoulos saw opportunity within this division and put a lot of money and prospects on the line to bring this club together. And so he took no chances in handing the reins back to Gibbons, a man he knows and trusts.
"I think Alex understands how much this edition of this ballclub has to do with his future," said Buck Martinez, the former manager and longtime broadcaster. "He hired John Farrell, maybe not with total conviction to it, but everyone told him Farrell was the right guy. And then when he found out he wasn't, the next manager was going to be his manager. It's your job, and you'd better have the guy you want. And they have that relationship."
Right now, Blue Jays camp is basically a bunch of guys pulled from other places, putting on their batting practice caps with giant red maple leafs above the bills, hitting the fields and forging relationships under the Florida sun. All spring, they'll get the questions about how it's going and where it's headed, and that element will undoubtedly get exhausting. Better keep the Red Bull handy.
Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his columns and follow him on Twitter at @Castrovince. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Magnum Photos & IdeasTap Photographic Award - 2013 shortlist announced
July 25, 2013
by London Office
Magnum Photos and its educational partners IdeasTap are delighted to announce the 18 photographers shortlisted for the 2013 Photographic Award.
Each of the shortlisted photographers will receive a mentoring session with a Magnum photographer and £60 of Blurb book vouchers, plus their work will be printed, framed and be exhibited in October 2013.
Nine finalists will then receive £1,500 to shoot their dream project. They will also create a Magnum in Motion style multimedia essay and attend a second mentoring session.
One winner from each age group will finally be awarded a £5,000 prize and the two younger photographers will do paid internships with Magnum Photos.
Age category 16-22
For her project Playing Soldier, Holly Lucas immersed herself in the world of airsoft military gaming. Rather than documenting on the action, Holly's images focus on the relationships between participants – often fathers and sons.
See her portfolio here
David Shaw's documentary photography reveals the environmental and social impacts suffered by the ordinary people of Gaza as a result of ongoing conflict with Israel and the blockade imposed on the area.
See his portfolio here
Self-taught photographer Chrystal Ding travelled through the Mongolian countryside documenting wide-open landscapes, sunshine-drenched skies and the people and animals she encountered along the way.
See her portfolio here
The title of Clémentine Schneidermann's project, Three Minutes, refers to the duration of a burlesque performance, but her images take us beyond this into those quiet moments that populate the performers' off-stage lives.
See her portfolio here
Two Kolkata slums on the brink of demolition provide the locations for Souvid Datta's arresting images, which present and preserve both positive and negative aspects of daily life in The Panditya and Gorcha Bastis.
See his portfolio here
We normally move unthinkingly through service stations but Joe Dixey's meditative photographs take a closer look these liminal places and the people who temporarily inhabit them.
See his portfolio here
Age category 23-30
Shot on expired SX-70 Polaroid film, Rhiannon Adam's pictures of British holidaymakers in Margate and Benidorm have a nostalgic air that harks back the 70s, when Polaroid was still a popular way for Brits to snap their seaside adventures.
See her portfolio here
Robert Ormerod's work takes us into the world of pigeon flying, or "doo flying" as it's known in Scotland. Popular on Edinburgh housing estates, the sport is introduced to teenagers by their parents as a way to keep them out of trouble.
See his portfolio here
Earlier this year Fern Leigh Albert joined The Steward Wood Community, a self-sufficient community on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. In medium format, Fern's images document her personal journey into the woodland way of life.
See her portfolio here
Lee Price's project Sex With Strangers, explores gay cruising areas – where men who aren't necessarily "out" can explore their sexuality in secret. Long exposures protect his subjects' identities and give the images a dream-like feel.
See his portfolio here
Lithuanian-born, but now based in Glasgow, Kotryna Ula Kiliulyte returned to document Dubininkai, a village in rural Lithuania that she visited as a child when it was a buzzing destination but which now has a population of only five people.
See her portfolio here
ula photography/portfolio/a099d4cb-6d9a-4d06-8bad-a1c60114b959
Owen Harvey introduces us to the sharp-suited characters that populate the UK Mod scene. Combining portraits with candid shots taken at dances in Brighton and London, Owen's work celebrates the style of this enduring subculture.
See his portfolio here
Age category 31+
Drawing on her own experience, Abbie Trayler-Smith's photographs of teenagers classified as obese take a sensitive and considered look into an issue often sensationalised in the mainstream media.
See her portfolio here
From rice field workers to restaurant owners, fish markets to tea ceremonies, Ambra Vernuccio documents local cultures and industries along the Noto-peninsula in Western Japan in bold black and white.
See here portfolio here
Love letters from the Second World War inspired Denise M Myers' project, which combines landscape images shot by Denise on an old twin-lens reflex camera with archive material found on eBay.
See her portfolio here
Using a 6x7 camera and long exposures, Lihee Avidan photographs the rooms used by prostitutes in downtown Tel Aviv, accompanying her images with extracts from interviews with the women who work in them.
See her portfolio here
The largest salt lake in the Middle East, Lake Urmia in Iran, is shrinking fast and its loss will have a disastrous effect on the local environment. Aletheia Casey's pictures capture a community facing impending ecological disaster.
See her portfolio
Seven years after Petra Creffield's mother died and her family home sold, she went back to the house. Created by photographing projections of old photos onto the walls, Petra's images visually enact her emotional attachment to the place.
See her portfolio

subset: commoncrawl


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This study is provided by ICPSR. ICPSR provides leadership and training in data access, curation, and methods of analysis for a diverse and expanding social science research community.
County-Specific Net Migration Estimates, 1980-1990 [United States] (ICPSR 26761)
Principal Investigator(s): Fuguitt, Glenn V., University of Wisconsin-Madison; Beale, Calvin L., United States Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service; Voss, Paul R., University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Odum Institute for Research in Social Science
This data collection represents a set of United States county net migration estimates by age and sex for the 1980-1990 decade, and is part of a series of estimates done for each decade since 1950 (1950-1970: see NET MIGRATION OF THE POPULATION BY AGE, SEX, AND RACE, 1950-1970 [ICPSR 8493]; 1970-1980: see NET MIGRATION OF THE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES BY AGE, RACE, AND SEX, 1970-1980 [ICPSR 8697]; 1990-2000: see COUNTY-SPECIFIC NET MIGRATION BY FIVE-YEAR AGE GROUPS, HISPANIC ORIGIN, RACE, AND SEX, 1990-2000 [ICPSR 4171]).
Net migration, the difference between the number of people moving into an area and the number moving out over a period, is measured here, and in all the other sets of estimates in the series, by the residual method. That is, net migration is equal to the population change over the period minus the natural increase (births -- deaths). Full details on how natural increase is estimated for each county, as well as other details of the data collection, are described in the codebook.
Access Notes
Data in this collection are available only to users at ICPSR member institutions. Please log in so we can determine if you are with a member institution and have access to these data files.
ASCII + SAS Setup SPSS Setup Stata Setup
Study Description
Fuguitt, Glenn V., Calvin L. Beale, and Paul R. Voss. County-Specific Net Migration Estimates, 1980-1990 [United States]. ICPSR26761-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2010-04-02. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR26761.v1
Persistent URL: https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR26761.v1
Export Citation:
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This study was funded by:
- University of Wisconsin-Madison. College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
- United States Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service
- University of Wisconsin-Madison. Center for Demography and Ecology
- United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health
Scope of Study
Subject Terms: age, birth, census data, counties, population, population estimates, population migration, sex, vital statistics
Geographic Coverage: United States
- 1980--1990
The Public Law file for 1980 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1983), the MARS file giving 1990 data (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1992), and the 1980-1990 Components of Change File (U.S. Bureau of the Census, n.d.).
Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Original ICPSR Release: 2010-04-02
Related Publications
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If you're looking for collection-level metadata rather than an individual metadata record, please visit our Metadata Records page.


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it comes to high speed rail transportation, the U.S. is getting left
behind. Europe and Japan have long championed high speed rail, and
China is currently working to install 16,000 miles of high speed
rail track -- or roughly 1/3 of the length of the U.S.'s total
interstate highway system -- and spending $1T USD on the
project. By comparison, U.S. President Barack Obama has
committed a mere $13B USD in high
speed rail investment. And where the U.S. deployment has
struggled with landowner and property concerns, the more efficient
Chinese system has simply relocated land owners (despite their
protests) and started construction.A few months back set
a speed
record (average speed, not top speed) of 236 mph (380 km/h)
for its Shanghai to Beijing line. This week it bumped that
speed up even higher recording a speed of
258.9 mph (416.6 km/h) for its new train line between
Shanghai and Hangzhou.The previous train took approximately
80 minutes to cover the 125.5 mi (202 km) between the cities.
The new line will typically travel at around 217.5 mph (350 km/h),
cutting that time to around 40 minutes. China currently
has 4,300 miles of railroad track -- the most of any nation in the
world. While its trains aren't quite as fast at top speed
compared to foreign models -- Japan's JR-Maglev train (unrailed),
which achieved a speed of 581 km/h (361 mph) and France's TGV at
574.8 km/h (357.18 mph) (railed) -- in average speed it is
unbeaten.So why does the world care if China is beating it in
high-speed transportation? Well China's train system is not
only high-speed, it is also high volume as well. And at the end
of the day it's offering its citizens days in extra productivity
every year, which will likely have tremendous and unheralded benefits
on the economy. For example, the average citizen commuting on
the new record-setting line will save approximately an hour and 20
minutes a day.Of course the costs are tremendous and China
has much work to go before it can reach its hyper-ambitious goals,
like 1,000
km/h super-trains, it's clearly setting a blistering pace with
technological advancements.China's train lines are almost
entirely managed by state-owned enterprises, though many are publicly
traded on stock markets in Hong Kong and China.


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[Video] Behind the scenes of Kisongo Trek
After being at World Vision for over 27 years, you start to think you've seen it all. But every trip to the field is unique. I took a team of four other people to Tanzania last December to film the new World Vision Experience: Kisongo Trek, and it was life-changing.
We focus a lot on poverty at World Vision. We want to break people's hearts and show them the plight of the world's poor -- but it's easy to forget that the work God called us to is also the work that radically changes people's lives for the better. We have the honor of working alongside our fellow man across the world to build strong communities.
Kisongo Trek tells that story: the story of hope. The story of change. The story that poverty can be eradicated from a community through child sponsorship.
We left for Tanzania in east Africa on December 10, the height of the Christmas season. We traded the typical holiday chaos of shopping in overcrowded malls, waiting in long lines, Christmas parties, and holiday food for grueling 14-hour days in the hot sun, filming and hearing the stories of how World Vision helped change the community of Kisongo for the better. The people of Kisongo were our gift that Christmas.
We landed in Arusha, Tanzania, with a rough outline for a story in hand. We had a plan. And we had a lot of prayers being said back in the United States on our behalf. God stepped in and everything came together. At 11 p.m. the night we arrived, thinking we had all our paperwork for equipment in order, we found out that we were wrong. But God is in the details, and we were cleared to bring all the equipment into the country.
When you go through the new World Vision Experience: Kisongo Trek, you see an incredible experiential exhibit housed inside an 18-wheel trailer, complete with top-of-the-line technology that transports you to Africa in a matter of seconds through beautiful cinematography. What you won't see are the hundreds of people who made the trip possible: the trip planners, the film crew, the team who designed the interior, the team who built the truck, the programmers -- and the list goes on from there.
A lot of people ask if this story is real. Are the people real? Yes. The people you meet on this experience are real.
We met Babayetu, the main character, his family, and his community. We saw firsthand a fully developed World Vision community and the power of sponsorship dollars at work. We got to sit in Babayetu's hut and talk to his mom while he gathered his books for school -- the school that World Vision sponsorship money provided.
Before World Vision, they didn't have a health clinic to care for their community. We met a beekeeper who has a thriving business selling honey because of the economic development training World Vision provides. We saw the water wells that provide clean water to this community. Life is very different now. Things are better.
Sometimes it's easy to want to pat yourself on the back and think that World Vision did all of this, until you realize that World Vision only provided the means. The community members of Kisongo actually did the work that has transformed their village. World Vision had the privilege of partnering with this incredible community to bring hope and lasting change.
After two incredibly long but rewarding weeks in Kisongo, we got home on Saturday, December 22 -- just three days before Christmas. As I stepped back onto U.S. soil, it hit me: That rough story outline we created before we left was the actual story we got. God took an outline, a dream, a hope of a story, and He filled in the details with real people and real stories that mirrored the hope we wanted to find. It's not just hope -- it's reality.
Sponsorship isn't a dream. It works. Kisongo Trek is proof of that.
* * *
Paul Diederich is the director of the World Vision Experience team.
"Travel" to Kisongo, Tanzania, through the immersive World Vision Experience: Kisongo Trek. Hear the real-life story of how 13-year-old Babayetu's community moved from poverty to hope with help from World Vision and caring supporters. Find an event near you!


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This study is provided by ICPSR. ICPSR provides leadership and training in data access, curation, and methods of analysis for a diverse and expanding social science research community.
Census of Population and Housing, 2010 [United States]: Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File (ICPSR 33441)
Principal Investigator(s): United States Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census
This data collection contains summary statistics on population and housing subjects derived from questions on the 2010 Census questionnaire. Population counts for the total population and for the population 18 years and over are presented in four tables: (1) population of all ages by race, (2) population 18 years and over by race, (3) Hispanic or Latino population of all ages and not Hispanic or Latino population of all ages by race, and (4) Hispanic or Latino population ages 18 years and over and not Hispanic or Latino population ages 18 years and by race. The data also contain one table showing the number of occupied and vacant housing units. With 1 variable per table cell, plus additional variables with geographic information, the collection comprises 156 data files, 3 for each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
The tables are tabulated for multiple levels of observation, called "summary levels" in the Census Bureau's nomenclature, including states, congressional districts, counties, places, voting districts, census tracts, block groups, and blocks. These redistricting data only cover within-state summary levels. Summary levels that cross state boundaries are provided in a separate collection: Census of Population and Housing, 2010 [United States]: National Summary File of Redistricting Data (ICPSR 33442).
Fifty-four ZIP archives constitute the collection. There is an archive for each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and for the convenience of those who need all of the data, a separate ZIP archive with all 156 data files. The Census Bureau produced a codebook and other documentation files, a Microsoft Access database shell, and SAS setups for this collection, all of which are contained in the last ZIP archive.
Access Notes
Data in this collection are available only to users at ICPSR member institutions. Please log in so we can determine if you are with a member institution and have access to these data files.
WARNING: Because this study has many datasets, the download all files option has been suppressed, and you will need to download one dataset at a time.
WARNING: This study is over 150MB in size and may take several minutes to download on a typical internet connection.
Study Description
United States Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. Census of Population and Housing, 2010 [United States]: Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File. ICPSR33441-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2012-02-21. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR33441.v1
Persistent URL: https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR33441.v1
Export Citation:
- RIS (generic format for RefWorks, EndNote, etc.)
- EndNote XML (EndNote X4.0.1 or higher)
Scope of Study
Subject Terms: congressional districts, Hispanic or Latino origins, population, race, redistricting, states (USA)
Geographic Coverage: United States
- 2010
- 2010
Universe: All persons and living quarters in the United States and Puerto Rico.
The 52 ZIP archives for the states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico contain four files each: three data files and a "packing list" which describes the contents of the archive.
Original ICPSR Release: 2012-02-21
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Prince's sorrow at Iraq persecution
The Prince of Wales has sent a letter professing his "profound sympathy" and heartbreak over the persecution of Christians and other religious people in Iraq.
Charles described his sadness at what he called the "unbearable and barbaric persecution" of certain religions in the war-torn country, in a letter published on the website of the Chaldean church.
The signed letter, accompanied by a donation to the charity Aid to the Church in Need, was sent last month and addressed to Baghdad-based Archbishop Louis Sako, head of the Chaldean Catholic Church.
The Prince of Wales described his sadness at the persecution of certain religions in Iraq
The Prince said those involved were in his prayers, and spoke of a "fervent hope" that the "diabolical evil" behind the persecution can be overcome.
In a letter responding to the donation and Charles' words, Archbishop Sako said he was moved by the gesture, and urged the international community to continue to help.
He wrote: "Our Christian community in Iraq has endured massacres, atrocities and other human rights abuses by the terrorist armed group calling itself the "Islamic State" (IS), for the reason of their Faith ... we ask yo ur Highness to encourage the international community to preserve the lives and dignity of the huge number of people affected by this disaster."
Clarence House said they would not comment on private correspondence.
Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.


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Durango Police
2:35 a.m. A woman was trying to kick a door in at the Days End, 2202 Main Ave.
5:54 p.m. A man reported his girlfriend broke his window in the 500 block of Turner Drive.
6:07 p.m. A girl reported she was being beaten in the 1000 block of Avenida del Sol. Police made an arrest.
8:34 a.m. Vehicles were broken into overnight and items were stolen in the 600 block of Pleasant Drive.
10:40 a.m. Someone in a black Ford with a camper and a canoe was dumping waste near the river in the 1100 block of Camino del Rio. Police made an arrest.
9:18 p.m. An inmate assaulted another at the La Plata County jail, 742 Turner Drive.
Durango Fire & Rescue
4:09 p.m. There was an odor of gas outside in an alley in the 500 block of Main Avenue.
8:03 a.m. Someone reported smoke near Jameson Drive.
5:43 a.m. A vehicle was on fire in the 100 block of Mercado Street.
Durango Fire & Rescue Authority responded to 32 calls Friday through Sunday.


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The Bureau of Land Managements Tres Rios Field Office is seeking comments on a proposed federal coal lease modification on public lands near Hesperus. GCC Energy, LLC submitted an application to modify their existing federal coal lease (COC 62920) to include an additional 952 acres. The surface estate is privately owned, and the BLM manages the mineral estate.
This application was submitted to obtain known mineable federal coal reserves and prevent those reserves from being bypassed, said Helen Mary Johnson, BLM geologist. If the lease modification is issued, it would extend underground development allowing more efficient recovery of federal coal from the existing lease and recovery from the applied-for tracts.
The BLM is required by law to consider leasing federal coal for economic recovery. If approved under the National Environmental Policy Act analysis, the modification would be offered by non-competitive sale with appropriate lease stipulations to protect the surface resources.
The additional federal coal recovery would extend the life of the current mine by about nine years. A detailed description of the proposed project, including maps, is available at http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Information/nepa/TRFO_NEPA.html.
The King II coal mine has been in operation since 2007 and produced about 618,000 tons of coal in 2011. Currently, the mine employs 107 people directly and about 110 subcontractors. The majority of these employees, as well as their families, live in communities in La Plata and Montezuma counties in Colorado and San Juan County, New Mexico. GCC Energy also operates a coal truck to a rail loadout facility in McKinley County, N.M. Total direct economic benefits associated with the coal mine exceed $25 million annually, consisting of $8.5 million in wages, $13 million in transfer freight and $3.4 million to local vendors.
La Plata County receives approximately $475,000 annually in tax revenues as the result of the coal mining operations at the King II mine. La Plata and Montezuma County and San Juan and McKinley County, N.M. receive the indirect financial benefit and tax revenue from the indirect businesses that support the mine, and the tax base from the workers and their families, that reside in the area.
Public comments will assist the interdisciplinary team in identifying issues that should be addressed as part of the environmental assessment for this project. Written comments may be submitted by mail, email or fax no later than Monday, Dec. 24. Comments should be sent to the BLM, Tres Rios Field Office, Attn: Helen Mary Johnson, 15 Burnett Court, Durango, CO 81301, email@example.com or 970-375-2338.


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A few key criticisms leveled at GM's generally popular 2011 Chevy Volt electric vehicle (EV) is the short all-electric range (before the gas engine kicks in) and the relative lack of places to recharge on the go. Similar problems face Ford and Chrysler who are promoting electric vehicles of their own. GM, who perhaps of the domestic automakers has the most hopes riding on electric vehicles, has decided to do something about this predicament, pushing a new initiative to wire communities with recharging stations.
Gas vehicles wouldn't have very long ranges without the gas stations that are littered throughout most of America. That's the point GM is making when it comes to the Volt. While, the relatively long 3 hour charge time (on 220V, 6.5 hours on 110V) precludes a quick recharge, at locations that see longer stays -- like gyms, colleges, and workplaces -- a recharging station could be just the thing for those looking to avoid resorting to using gas in their Volt. The Volt can go 40 miles on a charge before the gas engine kicks in to replenish the battery pack.
GM will be working closely with city officials in San Francisco and Washington D.C. to adopt citywide EV recharging stations. Much work will have to be done with area utilities to arrange for payment schemes and to negotiate rates. GM also plans to target communities that are cited as having poor support after the Volt launches. GM is working with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and a coalition of more than 40 utilities to help work out the payment schemes.
At the Washington Auto Show, GM announced the new program. Ed Peper, GM North America vice president, Chevrolet, was on hand, stating, "Collaborating with communities such as San Francisco and metropolitan areas such as Washington, D.C. - where there's already an interest in plug-in vehicles - is another important step toward raising customer awareness of the environmental and economic benefits of vehicles such as the Volt. The Chevy Volt is truly coming to life, but preparing the market for electric vehicles also requires capable partners from outside the auto industry. Momentum is building as governments, technology companies, communities and universities are increasingly working together to prepare the market for electric vehicles."
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom comments, "Cities have an indispensable role in making plug-in vehicles successful. Here in San Francisco, we are acting now to make sure the charging infrastructure will be available to support these vehicles as soon as they are ready for sale, and we are working with other cities in the region to make the Bay Area a thriving market for electric transportation."
San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland announced in November that they were planning a new infrastructure for plug-ins and would be offering incentives to purchasers. Those incentives would come in addition to the $7,500 tax credit that the government is offering to those who purchase the Volt, in order to try to boost the domestic EV market.
While the other domestic automakers are very committed to electric vehicles as well, it's hard to argue that GM is blazing the trail for the other manufacturers and is putting much more of its future success and image on the line. At GM, most believe this is a good thing, though.
"We know plenty of work still remains, both within and outside of GM," adds Peper. "But today's and other recent announcements underscore the comprehensive work being done to bring the Chevrolet Volt and other electrically driven vehicles to market - and they also highlight why we are so optimistic about the ultimate success of the Volt."


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Eric Koreen: Multiple inquiries about Jose's availability. "We'll continue to process things." Twitter
Toronto Raptors, Trade, Jose Manuel Calderon | share
Link http://hoopshype.com/rumors.htm
Eric Koreen: Multiple inquiries about Jose's availability. "We'll continue to process things." Twitter
Toronto Raptors, Trade, Jose Manuel Calderon | share
Link http://hoopshype.com/rumors.htm
I just hope that Portland (Batum S&T) and/or Philly (Iggy trade) are among the teams inquiring about Calderon's availability!
Calderon would be a great mentor for Lillard in Portland, who could run the P&R quite effectively with Aldridge.
He'd also be a good complement to Holiday in Philly, while providing them with a $10.6M expiring contract, given how they appear to be aiming to be big time players in free agency next offseason.
That is a standard company line from BC.
I'm not sure what he is suppose to say other than the quote.
"Yeah, can't move the guy. Little value. Is it 2013-14 yet?"
I do not put much faith in the comment.
Hypothetically speaking, Calderon could be part of a trade for Iggy AND signed on the cheap next offseason, if there was mutual interest for him to return to Toronto. There are still several decent PGs available who could be signed as a backup to Lowry.
*** for the record, until I see this rumor being picked up by a far more reliable source, I don't put much stock in it, but it's something tangible to talk about for the time being!
Iggy is starting to look better and better now that Gay looks less likely to happen....sigh
Even with Jose expiring next year, my understanding is that the Raps won't have any space after dealing with Derozan and other various and sundry salaries and increases. If they want to utilize Calderon to free up space then they better do it now.
I feel like Calderon is getting treated like shit the past couple years. He's one of the most loyal Raptors in history and he's been on the trading block year after year with numerous trade rumors involving him. But hey, I guess that's business....
New Orleans just dealt their only starting caliber PG Jarrett Jack to GSW in exchange for the rights to a Euro prospect and more cap relief. Now they have a giant hole in their roster and a ton of cap space ($28 M), and we have an expendable, high-performing PG on a large expiring contract. While New Orleans does indeed have Austin Rivers he definitely wouldn't be a wise decision at their starting PG spot because he isn't a facilitator in the least, plus he's a 19 year old rookie. Jose would be the perfect, facilitating veteran PG leader type that this young team would need, plus he only comes with a one-year commitment allowing them to move on and be big players in next years free agency market. New Orleans doesn't really have much to offer us back in return as far as players go. Perhaps in a deal for Jose they provide us with pure cap relief? Maybe we send another small asset their way to sure up some holes on their roster and in return we get a future pick, even second rounders would be worth it in my opinion. Maybe we can work a sign and trade for Kaman, who would be our starting centre until Jonas is ready to handle the role full-time? I'm not sure there are many better offers out there for Jose but this appears to be an incredibly viable option. What do you guys think Jose could pull in the trade market?
Or..."The Tank" has begun early this year for New Orleans
Dude, it doesnt matter what Batum says...If the Raptors have made a decent pitch...we all know Toronto is a better location for him as compared to Minny...this money wise, future wise etc.
TORONTO is in a better position. Batum probably said that because he heard some promising stuff from Minny Staff. BC pls give his agent a call get a meeting in place. We can talk after
I don't know about that. If I was Jose, after being treated like dirt, I would leave the first chance I get. There is no loyalty in basketball. Money and championships dictate fate.
You can say KG or whatever, he is still going to make $13M+ over the next 3 years. You think he would stay if the number was below $10M? If Jose gets a better offer to start next season, he would take it in a heart beat.
I dont create controversies. Theyre there long before I open my mouth. I just bring them to your attention.
-- Charles Barkley
Colangelo says Jose is upset about the Lowry signing.
What about him being a great team player who would mentor the young pg of the future?
If he can't accept his backup role he's gone.
Thankfully, regardless of the outcome of this situation, Jose is a pro (as Colangelo has stated already) and will do what the team asks of him, and put everything he's got into it because he's that kind of guy. I love Jose, and want nothing more than for him to win, and be appreciated wherever he ends up.
BC should do another dog & pony show like the vid showing to Nash. This time to Batum in french with Jerry Lewis doing the narration/pleading.
For those wondering about the JL reference...he is a hero in France for his humour...go figure.
We should trade Calderon if there is value for him on the market. I always wanted him over Nash, but now that we have another pointguard as a starter we should try to get as much value out of him as possible and that's trading him because I highly doubt he is going to re-sign with us after the season. Not after almost getting trades, having to compete for the starting position a couple of times, becoming the back-up pointguard again with Lowry, all the amnesty talks and trade talks right now and us wanting him to take significantly less money on his next contract. He's a professional, but after this year he'll gladly be a professional on a contender.
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NAFCU: Proposed FHFA Fee Increase Damaging to Housing Markets
Four out of the five states where the Federal Housing Finance Agency is considering an increase in mortgage guarantee fees do not have healthy housing markets, NAFCU General Counsel Carrie Hunt said Wednesday in a letter to the agency.
As a result, NAFCU said it strongly opposes the FHFA's plan to increase guarantee fees to between 15 and 30 basis points.
The fees, proposed for mortgages originated in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and New York, are intended to allow the GSEs to recover foreclosure costs. Of the five states, only in Florida are housing markets improving, Hunt said.
"Imposing additional cost to borrowing, especially on those borrowers who are creditworthy and ready to enter or re-enter the housing market, is both unfair to those borrowers and potentially damaging to housing market in those states," Hunt said.
The NAFCU attorney proposed the FHFA should withhold any guarantee fee increases until stable agency- and non-agency secondary markets have been established.
"To achieve this stage, Congress and the Administration should work together to reform the housing finance market. In the meantime, however, the FHFA should not take any actions that would create unnecessary obstacles to the recovery of the housing market," Hunt wrote in her letter.


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For a project as ambitious and complex as CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC), setbacks are likely, in fact almost inevitable. However, the delay would be worth it according to Bob Cousins, deputy to the scientific leader of one of the sensor experiments as it would allow the sensors to be made "even more perfect than before".
While the sensor may indeed be nearing perfection, the overall design is still experiencing problems. Leaks in the insulating layer's vacuum were discovered in sectors 8-1 and 2-3 that would prevent it from properly operating. This new problem will delay the restart from October to November.
The leaky sectors will be needed to be warmed from their current temperature of 80K to room temperature in order to plug the leaks. The near-vacuum of the beam pipe will not be impacted.
The LHC is cooled with liquid helium injected into an insulating layer which surrounds the beam tube and is kept at near-vacuum. This allows the LHC beam tube to be cooled to temperatures colder than that of outer space. Last fall the particle collider was briefly turned on, but a cooling circuit melted leading to the damage to the electrical and cooling systems. Scientists initially wanted to restart the LHC in April, but the large extent of the damages necessitated more repairs.
The cost of all the repairs thus far, though, have been small compared to the $10B USD estimated cost of building the LHC. Current repairs have run over $35M USD, according to reports.
The LHC sits on the border between Switzerland and France and consists of a 17 mile long ring. The ring is capable of imparting energies of 7 TeV onto particles, making for potential collisions at unprecedented energies. Scientists hope these collisions will help them unlock physics secrets including understanding how dark matter and energy work and the discovery of the law theorized "God Particle" -- the Higgs boson.
The accelerator, when active will continue to close each winter, to avoid the prohibitively high energy costs. The accelerator requires massive amounts of power to operate.


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RCDevs WebADM is Web-based LDAP administration software designed for professionals to manage LDAP organization resources such as domain users and groups. WebADM is also a core framework component and management console for RCDevs SOAP-based Web Services (e.g. OpenOTP, OpenID, and OpenPKI) and for the related end-user WebApps (e.g. User Self Service Desk). It provides a hierarchical view of LDAP organizations, SQL audit trails, and powerful LDAP management features. It includes delegated administration and fine-grained access control to LDAP resources; administrators can be created at different levels of the tree structure, with different privileges and views. WebADM is compatible with Novell eDirectory, OpenLDAP, and Microsoft Active Directory (Windows Server 2008).
QuickDic parses data from en.wiktionary.org and Beolingus to generate dictionary files that can be used offline. It currently has built-in dictionaries from English to: German (Deutsch - Englisch), Italian (inglese - italiano), Afrikaans, Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Belarusian, Bengali, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Chinese|Mandarin|Cantonese, Danish, Dutch, Esperanto, Estonian, Finnish, French, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Irish, Latin, Latvian, Lithuanian, Japanese, Korean, Kurdish, Malay, Maori, Mongolian, Nepali, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Sanskrit, Serbian, Slovak, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tajik, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Welsh, Yiddish, and Zulu.
ECommands is intended to make it easy to execute commands over Unix/Linux Servers using a Web interface. It was implemented completely in Python and Django, and it will work from automation processes to generalization commands. It allows centralized administration, better understanding of repetitive and complex operating systems commands, connections made over SSH to multiple servers using a Web console, auditory feedback over the execution of commands processes on servers, multiple users and permissions, easy installation on 64-bit Linux, grouping commands, and more.


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In the Dilbert comic strip, the socially-awkward engineer prepared for the complete meltdown of the country's financial system by stocking his house with food, water, batteries, flashlights, and gold coins. His co-worker had no plan other than jotting down Dilbert's home address. She assumed that his preparations would be more than adequate for the two of them.
RIAs must do more than just prepare for financial disasters. During every season of the year, natural disasters threaten RIAs and their clients. In the spring and summer of 2011, tornadoes ravaged the Midwest and even hit states as far north as Massachusetts. Floods destroyed homes and businesses in several states. During May through November, many areas of the country also face the threat of hurricanes. In late August 2011, Hurricane Irene caused horrific damage up and down the Eastern Seaboard.
A compliance examination can be a disaster if the RIA has not engaged in contingency planning. As mentioned previously, examiners report their findings in a deficiency letter. According to one deficiency letter, an RIA's disaster plan should address business continuity issues, especially if it's a small firm. Whereas a disaster may lead to a business continuity problem, succession planning addresses situations where a key person leaves the firm.
In a speech on March 21, 2011 at the IA Watch Annual IA Compliance Best Practices Seminar, Carlo V. di Florio, the director of the Office of Compliance Examinations and Inspections (OCIE) discussed best practices for RIAs. Among other areas, the SEC will pay close attention to an RIA's business continuity and disaster recovery plan. According to di Florio, "business continuity and disaster recovery planning has always been an important part of our overall examination program, including for investment advisers. The recent natural disasters in Japan and New Zealand highlight the continued importance of this for firms and markets."
On any given day, a disaster might be looming, and the threat of death or disability is present as well. For these reasons, investment advisors must plan for the worst and hope for the best.
Keys to Successful Succession Planning
According to John Sullivan, Editor, Investment Advisor, the 2011 FA Insight Study of Advisory Firms: People and Pay, found that a "staggering two-thirds of firms do not have an adequate plan in place for transitioning equity, management responsibility, and client relationships to a new generation; more than half of these firms indicate having no succession plan at all." In view of this, RIAs should focus their attention on the issue of succession planning.
In conjunction with disaster planning, RIAs should engage in succession planning, ensuring a smooth transition if an owner of the firm dies, retires, scales back, or leaves the business. Effective succession planning can benefit clients and results in financial rewards for the adviser who is retiring or leaving the business. Staff members also take comfort in knowing that the advisory business will remain viable, even after a key person dies or leaves the firms.
As part of their fiduciary duties, it is important for RIAs to protect clients by putting a contingency plan in place for the time when owners or principals move on to other phases of their lives. A sound succession plan ensures an orderly and seamless transition to a different management team or a merger with a different firm.
Elements of a Sound Succession Plan
Succession planning takes a great deal of information into consideration. Much depends on whether an owner wants to retire, sell the company, or continue in a limited capacity. Family, tax, and estate planning issues must also be considered.
A sound succession plan requires consideration of many issues including the following:
- The goals of shareholders and owners
- The value of the business
- Potential buyers
- Contingency planning in case key people leave the firm or are otherwise unavailable
- Terms of a buy-sell agreement
- Funding options such as life or disability policies
- A process for reviewing and updating the plan
Founders of most investment advisory firms would like to see their business go on without them. One possibility is to groom a successor who shares the founder's values and investment philosophy. This approach allows clients to become comfortable with the person who may one day run the firm.
Internal successions are quite common. This takes place when the advisory business is sold to principals or employees. According to a TD Ameritrade Institutional survey published on November 14, 2011, finding an internal successor is the preferred exit strategy for half of the advisors who participated. Eleven percent hope to sell the firm, while eight percent plan to merge with another RIA.
Although solo practitioners have fewer options, succession planning is every bit as important. One option for solo practitioners located near one another is to negotiate an agreement to take over each other's practice if one of them dies or becomes incapacitated.
Establishing a Value for the Business
Investment advisors usually spend decades building a business of value. Putting a price tag on that advisory business for succession planning purposes isn't always easy. Although there are rules of thumb, which set a value for the business based on gross revenue or net profits, many factors should be considered. For example, an advisory firm in a large and growing area might be worth more than one situated where the population is declining. Nevertheless, no matter where the firm is located, growth may not continue at the same pace. There are also no guarantees that clients will stay with the firm after a key person dies or retires.
The state of the market also influences the value of an advisory firm. The firm's value might not be as high during an extended bear market. There are additional factors affecting the value of an advisory firm such as:
- the quality of client relationships and whether they will survive the succession;
- any other assets that are transferable to the successor firm; and
- cash-flow available to help fund the sale of the advisory practice.
Having a clean compliance record, as well as a good reputation, adds to the value of the advisory business.
An effective plan addresses situations where the eventual succession is sudden or conversely when it is a planned departure. The plan establishes a valuation methodology agreed to by the parties. This approach is likely to prevent disputes with the IRS or a fight between the heirs to the RIA's estate.
Issues to Resolve during Succession Planning
There are numerous issues to resolve as part of the succession planning process. They include the following:
- Deciding whether an owner wants to retire, sell the company, or continue to run the firm on a part-time or full-time basis
- Determining if there are family considerations or estate planning issues affecting the succession plan
- Planning for death, disability, or incapacity
- Calculating the value of the business
- Identifying potential buyers, including internal candidates, and how the sale will be financed
- Evaluating the tax ramifications of any and all alternatives
Successor Registration
An advisory firm may not continue operating unless it is properly registered to conduct business. Successor registration enables advisors to operate for a limited period of time without interrupting their day-to-day business. No RIA wants to lose clients while it takes steps to ensure the firm is properly registered.
When a new firm assumes the business of an RIA or an RIA changes its legal framework, a new organization is created. This new firm can rely upon the prior entity's registration if an application is filed within thirty days. If the new firm does not qualify for successor registration, they may not provide advisory services until the application for registration is approved. This process might take months.
In most cases, the new advisory firm files for succession by application. Yet, in limited situations, succession by amendment is the appropriate course of action. There cannot be a succession by application or by amendment if the original investment advisory firm continues to exist after the transaction. If the prior advisory firm continues to exist after the succession, the new RIA must file its own independent registration and may not operate until the application is approved.
Succession by application may be the appropriate choice where a new advisor is acquiring all or substantially all of the assets and liabilities of an advisory business. The following requirements must be satisfied:
- The successor advisor must file a new application within thirty days after the succession. Under Section 203(g) of the Investment Advisers Act, the successor is deemed registered until and unless the SEC denies, revokes or suspends its registration.
- The successor may rely upon the registration of the advisor acquired until its new registration is effective, but only if the original adviser is no longer conducting advisory activities. Upon approval, new registration numbers are issued.
- Once new registration is effective, a Form ADV-W must be filed to withdraw the registration of the acquired advisor.
- The successor must acquire all significant assets and liabilities of its predecessor.
In contrast, succession by amendment is available only if the new RIA is formed solely as a result of a formal change in its structure or legal status and there has been no practical change in control or management of the advisory firm. The RIA's registration is amended to reflect these changes rather than filing a new application.
In either case, the successor provisions are not available in class where RIAs are attempting to:
- sell their registrations;
- thwart lawsuits or reduce their liability exposure;
- spin off personnel; or
- facilitate the transfer of the registration to a shell organization.
State-registered advisors may face different registration requirements. It is important that state regulators be contacted to determine the advisor's registration obligations.
Investment advisory contracts are automatically terminated if they are assigned without the client's consent. With successor registration, however, clients need not agree to the assignment and the RIA is permitted to notify them in writing about the succession. Generally, RIAs may presume that the client has consented if there is no objection made within a reasonable time.
Even though this change in control or ownership is not necessarily viewed as an assignment, RIAs are encouraged to notify clients in writing regarding the change. If there has been a material change in the person who directly or indirectly controls the RIA's management and policies, an other-than-annual amendment to the firm's Form ADV must be filed.
The Big Picture
On August 24, 2011, Bill Winterberg posted the following suggestion on RIABIZ.com regarding how advisors might test their disaster recovery plans. Winterberg suggested that on Monday morning, RIAs should shut off the circuit breakers to their offices and lock the doors. Winterberg asked:
"Can essential business functions be restored by the end of the day? Think of how one would manage trading or withdrawal requests from clients. What about contacting clients and employees? Where is their latest contact information stored? Hopefully not on a server or workstation that doesn't have any power."
Winterberg's suggestion was bold and would certainly test an RIA's disaster recovery plan.
RIAs must also focus on succession planning. Having worked many years to build their practice and relationships with clients, most advisors want to see the firm stay in business long after they are gone. Succession planning facilitates a smooth transition of ownership and avoids a disruption of service. Clients are usually relieved if the firm they trust will be available to counsel their children and grandchildren. A common strategy is for senior members of the firm to gradually sell off equity to younger RIA representatives.
Though the owner of an advisory firm may know a great deal about taxes and estate planning, it is always wise to engage professionals who specialize in these areas, such as a CPA or an estate planning attorney. There are many different types of buy-sell agreements that should be considered.
The TD Ameritrade Institutional survey cited earlier in this chapter found that satisfying clients' expectations is the main reason RIAs have a succession plan. The RIAs' surveyed were also motivated by a desire for the firm to be viable for the future and for easing the advisor's transition into retirement. RIAs should also be motivated by a desire to satisfy their fiduciary obligations to clients.
Fiduciary Duty to Plan for Disasters
RIAs owe a fiduciary duty to their clients to prepare for disasters and other contingencies, which may devastate the advisory firm. If an RIA does not have a disaster recovery plan in place, clients' financial well-being may be jeopardized through no fault of their own.
A disaster recovery plan should contain the steps that an RIA will take in situations where service to clients might be interrupted. This plan should be a formal document that is sent to employees, and should be updated at regular intervals. Each revision of the plan should be shared with employees.
Employees need to understand their responsibilities in the event that business operations are interrupted. A comprehensive disaster plan should address contingencies such as specifying an alternative location for employees to meet and conduct business in the event of a disaster. An RIA should have access to current contact information for clients, employees, regulators, suppliers, and service providers as part of their disaster recovery program.
Protecting sensitive information is at the heart of every disaster plan, and the plan should stipulate that computer systems must be backed up on a regular basis. An RIA should test its ability to store, maintain and recover backed up electronic data. The results of this testing should be documented and retained in the RIA's books and records. Finally, the firm should also make certain that third-party vendors, like broker-dealers, have implemented their own disaster recovery plan.


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Cornerstone of Change: Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma League Merger Seen As Inevitable
When credit union members of the Texas Credit Union League were presented with the question whether to merge with Arkansas Credit Union League and the Credit Union Association of Oklahoma to form a new regional cooperative organization – the Cornerstone Credit Union League – there was a sense of quiet inevitability in the air.
"There was no debate, no questions or anything," said John Lederer, president/CEO of the $1 billion Credit Union of Texas in Dallas, who voted for the proposal Wednesday during a TCUL special meeting in Austin. "I think it was a no-brainer, slam-dunk kind of thing."
However, in January and February, the TCUL held town hall meetings throughout Texas to inform the state credit unions about the formation of Cornerstone Credit Union League, so perhaps all of the questions had already been asked and answered, said Lederer.
Only 114 of the state's 535 credit unions that attended the special meeting voted. The final vote count was 109 in favor, five, against.
"I have no idea who voted against it," Lederer said. "I talked to a few people and if anybody did, they were not willing to admit it."
Lederer believes the consolidation of the leagues is inevitable because of the many mergers that are occurring among credit unions across the country. With less dues-paying credit union members, it becomes increasingly difficult for smaller leagues such as Arkansas and Oklahoma to keep up with rising costs and to deliver the products and services credit unions need.
"When I first came to work at Mil-Way Federal Credit Union in 1985, there were 120 credit unions in Arkansas. Now, we are in the upper 50s," said Allen Brown, CEO/president of the $106 million Mil-Way FCU in Texarkana, Ark. "Our dues structure is such to where it's hard to make ends meet and it's harder to keep raising dues."
Arkansas and Oklahoma league members will vote on the merger on April 11 and May 13, respectively.
Brown anticipates Arkansas credit unions will vote in favor of the merger next week.
"One of the things we (Arkansas Credit Union League) did in 1995 is that we sold our league services corporation to the Texas Credit Union League," said Brown, who was then a board member of the ACUL. "All of our credit unions in Arkansas have access to the resources center in Texas for audit services compliance, HR consulting and other services.
"That has been a very great relationship between their service corporations and our credit unions in Arkansas. This, (Cornerstone Credit Union League) in my opinion, is basically the same thing," he said.
Tim Lyons of the $1.2 billion TTCU in Tulsa, Okla., said that the merger of the leagues made more sense as time went by. The state leagues initially began discussing the possibility of a merger in 2009.
"When I started in the credit union movement in Oklahoma 25 years ago, there were still about 110 credit unions in Oklahoma, and now there are about 70 credit unions in the state, and I know there will be fewer (in the future)," Lyons said. "There are not enough credit unions for us to maintain a viable credit union league. A small league is not able to handle the diverse needs of all the different credit unions in Oklahoma."
Lyons also believes Oklahoma's credit unions will vote in favor of the consolidation on May 13.
The merger proposal formally began last year when credit unions in each state were notified at their annual league meetings that the three leagues were discussing consolidation. On Dec. 17, the boards of the three leagues announced their intention to pursue consolidation into a single regional organization.
Although Cornerstone's operations would be based in Dallas, an office will remain in each state capital to advocate and protect the interests of credit unions in their respective state legislatures.
If Arkansas and Oklahoma credit unions vote yes, credit union executives will assume positions on the Cornerstone Credit Union League board of directors with three directors from Arkansas, three directors from Oklahoma, and 12 directors from Texas.
Although Texas permits board members to be paid, the board of the new league will be unpaid volunteers, its organizers said.
Cornerstone's first Texas directors will include: James S. Tuggle of the $39 million Transtar FCU in Houston; Kenny Harrington of the $188 million MemberSource CU in Houston; Paul Withey of the $289 million Texas Bay Area CU in Houston; Carol Murray of the $6 million Express-News FCU in San Antonio; JoBetsy Tyler of the $58 million First Central CU in Waco; Paul A. Trylko of the $612 million Amplify FCU in Austin; Nancy M. Croix Stroud of the $42 million First Class American CU in Fort Worth; Robert Peterson of the $87 million One Source FCU in El Paso; James L. Boyd of the $348 million Abilene Teachers FCU in Abilene; Z. Suzanne Chism, of the $14 million Texas Health Resources CU in Dallas; Kay Stewart of the $124 million North East Texas CU in Lone Star and Jim Brisendine of the $371 million Resource One CU in Dallas.
From Oklahoma, the Cornerstone board members will be: Jason Boesch of the $25 million Oklahoma RE&T Employees CU in Oklahoma City; Genia Wilson of the $474 million Oklahoma Central CU in Tulsa and Michael Kloiber of the $2.9 billion Tinker FCU in Oklahoma City.
From Arkansas, the Cornerstone board members will be Windy Campbell of the $10 million Electric Cooperatives FCU in Little Rock; Dwayne Ashcraft of the $64 million Arkansas Superior FCU, in Warren, and Allen Brown of the $106 million Mil-Way FCU in Texarkana.
A wave of league consolidations began in 2007 when the North and South Dakota Credit Union Leagues formed the Credit Union Association of the Dakotas. Later, the Maryland and Washington, D.C., leagues combined as did the Arizona, Colorado and Wyoming credit union leagues under the Mountain West Credit Union Association, the Alabama and Florida credit union leagues merged under the League of Southeastern Credit Unions, and the Oregon and Washington credit union leagues consolidated under the Northwest Credit Union Association.
What's more, in December 2012, the North Carolina Credit Union League and the South Carolina Credit Union League boards of directors authorized a six-member task force to explore the consolidation of the two leagues.
Not all merger proposals went through. The Maryland and DC Credit Union Association and New Jersey Credit Union League backed off their plans to consolidate in June 2011.


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Blue Jays open Spring Training eyeing playoffs
By Gregor Chisholm / MLB.com
DUNEDIN, Fla. -- The road to respectability and perhaps even contention officially began Tuesday morning at the Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.
Blue Jays pitchers and catchers reported to the club's Spring Training complex for their physicals on Day 1 of Spring Training, and they will be joined by the position players Saturday.
It marks the start of a long journey and one that comes with expectations running high following an offseason in which Toronto boosted its payroll by almost 50 percent.
"I think the optimism is at an all-time high," Blue Jays No. 2 starter Brandon Morrow said. "We were, I think, hopefully optimistic last year, but this year we expect to win."
Those expectations sprouted after general manager Alex Anthopoulos made a series of bold moves during the winter to improve his previously underperforming squad. It started in November with a shocking multi-player deal that sent the core of Miami's roster north of the border.
That move was followed by a pair of free agent signings and yet another blockbuster trade -- this time with the Mets. When the dust had finally settled, Toronto found itself as the new home for the likes of R.A. Dickey, Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle and Melky Cabrera.
The hope is that the new core of players will help turn the Blue Jays around following a drought of 19 consecutive years without making the postseason. Last year's biggest weakness was in the starting rotation, but this spring it is arguably the club's biggest strength.
Dickey leads the way, but the overall depth is almost remarkable with Morrow, Buehrle, Johnson and Ricky Romero rounding out the top five options. There are certainly no guarantees, but the names alone have those in attendance excited for the upcoming year.
"It's an opportunity is what it is," said Dickey, who was acquired from the Mets in December. "It's an opportunity for us to kind of put our stake in the sand, so to speak, as a staff. We have the names and the pedigree to be able to do that."
It seems almost fitting that on Day 1 of Spring Training one of the main topics of conversations was injuries. The Blue Jays were decimated by trips to the disabled list in 2012, and while the hope is that history won't repeat itself, multiple players will have to be monitored.
Closer Casey Janssen is coming off right shoulder surgery in the offseason, and while he is expected to be 100 percent by Opening Day, he is less than that right now. The veteran's offseason throwing program was delayed, and he will be forced to play gradual catchup during the early weeks of camp.
If Janssen is unable to go by April, the job would most likely be handed to Sergio Santos, who began the 2012 campaign in the closer's role but lasted only six games before he was shut down with a shoulder injury of his own. For now, Santos would have to be considered Plan B, as the goal remains to have Janssen on the mound and ready to go.
"Right now I'm in a little bit of the building phase, but at the same time I'm going out there and not thinking about my arm and just throwing, which is nice," Janssen said. "I'm a little bit behind but not far enough where I can't catch up.
"In years past I've come into Spring Training having thrown 4-6 bullpens, so it's a little different, but having a little bit of experience and a role now, I'm not coming here to blow the doors off the camp in my first bullpen."
The same situation will apply to slugger Jose Bautista. The 32-year-old's season was cut short in 2012 because of a left wrist injury, and while he has made great strides since then, the club is still opting for a cautious approach.
Toronto opted to not make Bautista available for the upcoming World Baseball Classic in March and will have its medical staff keep a close eye on his progress throughout the Grapefruit League season, which begins Feb. 23 with a game against Detroit.
"He looks good to me," manager John Gibbons said. "I've been watching him in the cage when he's doing his drills and I've seen him a little bit out on the field, and the reports you get from the trainers are there are no complaints, no soreness, any of that stuff. That's the big thing.
"You've still got to be smart with this guy, because he's a big, big part of it, and we want him ready Opening Day. So he may feel great when first game of spring rolls around, but let's be smart and ease into this a little bit, too."
It won't be easy to go from a 73-win season to the -- at least -- 90-win total it will take to get into the postseason, but that is exactly what the Blue Jays will set out to do this year.
More than a third of the roster has been turned over, and the opening days of camp will be as much about players getting to know one another than anything else. It's all smiles and laughs for the moment, but it will soon be time to get to work knowing that the Blue Jays will no longer be considered an afterthought in the American League East.
"Just like you guys build up expectations, so do we," Bautista said. "The sky is the limit for us, because I know how many good players we have. I've been on other teams where I felt like we've had a chance to go to the playoffs and contend, but we haven't for whatever reason.
"This is by far the best team I've played on. I just don't see where it can go bad for us. Because of those reasons, I think we should and we could be in the playoffs and the World Series."
Gregor Chisholm is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, North of the Border, and follow him on Twitter @gregorMLB. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
National Corrections Reporting Program, 2009 (ICPSR 30799)
Principal Investigator(s): United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. Bureau of Justice Statistics
The National Corrections Reporting Program gathers data on prisoners entering and leaving the custody or supervision of state and federal authorities. The dataset is comprised of four types of data: prisoners who were admitted to prison (Part 1), released from prison (Part 2), released from parole (Part 3), or in prison at year end (Part 4). The National Prison Statistics (NPS) program was established in 1926 by the Bureau of the Census in response to a congressional mandate to compile national information on the populations confined in correctional institutions. This program described the characteristics and counts of prison inmates during each calendar year. Since its initiation, responsibility for this program has shifted among several agencies -- in 1950 it was transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons and to the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration in 1971. Since 1972, the Bureau of Census, under agreement with the Department of Justice, has had responsibility for compiling the statistical data. Census staff negotiates directly with each state, assembles and edits the data, and prepares the data for analysis and publication.
Series: National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) Series
Access Notes
One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions ; consult the restrictions note to learn more. You can apply online for access to the restricted-use data. A login is required to apply.
Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement, specify the reasons for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.
Any public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
Study Description
United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. Bureau of Justice Statistics. National Corrections Reporting Program, 2009. ICPSR30799-v2. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2013-02-11. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR30799.v2
Persistent URL: https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR30799.v2
Export Citation:
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- EndNote XML (EndNote X4.0.1 or higher)
This study was funded by:
- United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. Bureau of Justice Statistics
Scope of Study
Subject Terms: correctional facilities, correctional facilities (juveniles), correctional system, demographic characteristics, federal correctional facilities, jail inmates, juvenile offenders, national crime statistics (USA), offenders, offenses, parole, prison inmates, probation, state correctional facilities
Smallest Geographic Unit: counties
Geographic Coverage: United States
- 2009-01-01--2009-12-31
- 2010-01-01--2010-03-31
Unit of Observation: Individuals
Universe: All persons admitted to prison, released from prison, discharged from parole, or in prison at year end in 2009 in the United States.
Mode of Data Collection: mail questionnaire
Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Original ICPSR Release: 2011-05-06
- 2013-02-11 The data were updated to standardize missing data codes.
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was seemingly a significant day for Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ) with the board firing divisive CEO Léo
Apotheker and pegging former eBay, Inc. (EBAY) CEO Meg Whitman as his replacement. Now
it looks like that move might have been more of a token gesture to placate angry shareholders than an actual sign
of change.
Reuters reported mid-yesterday that insiders stated that HP
executives had not deviated from plans to butcher the company, gutting the core
Personal Systems Group in a spinoff and discarding the webOS devices business. That report was
confirmed yesterday in a brief interview of new CEO Meg
Whitman by Bloomberg Businessweek. The new
CEO commented, "It [the leadership change] does not signal a change
in the strategy. We are behind the actions that were taken on Aug. 18. We are
firmly committed to Autonomy."
The news set investor pessimism to new highs. The unpopular plans and
outrage at analysis that HP is grossly overpaying to buy UK software
maker Autonomy, Corp. Plc. (LON:AU) sent shares plunging to new lows. Stock
was down 4.4 percent in today's trading to beneath $21.80. Previously
shares had hit a low of $22.22 -- a 47 drop from when Mr. Apotheker assumed the
CEO position. Initially when news hit of Mr. Apotheker's departure, stock
jumped to $24.92 on hopes that the leadership change might signal a course
correction for HP.
If there's a ray of sunshine in the gloomy outlook for HP, it's that HP will
owe Mr. Apotheker no severance pay, unlike previous CEO Mark
Hurd who was given a severance package estimated to be worth
between $25M and $50M USD.


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National uprising: NL wins All-Star Game
Braves' McCann delivers the big blow in the seventh
By Lyle Spencer / MLB.com
With Braves catcher Brian McCann delivering the big blow, the National League came from behind to bop the AL, 3-1, in front of 45,408 at Angel Stadium, providing home-field advantage in the World Series for its champion.
This is the first happy ending for the NL in an All-Star Game since 1996, ending a run of seven consecutive AL wins and 12 of 13, interrupted by a draw in 2002.
McCann's three-run double into the right-field corner off White Sox southpaw Matt Thornton earned him the Most Valuable Player distinction. The big hit came after singles by Scott Rolen and Matt Holliday had triggered the seventh-inning uprising against the Yankees' Phil Hughes.
"As a kid, this is what you dream about when you play baseball," McCann said.
After the Giants' Brian Wilson shut down the AL in the eighth, Jonathan Broxton of the Dodgers finished the job. And the dangerous Rodriguez made an exit stage left, the lone card left unused in the deck of AL manager Joe Girardi, A-Rod's skipper in the Bronx.
"I definitely was looking for him," said NL and Phillies manager Charlie Manuel when asked about A-Rod. "He's one of the better hitters in the game, if not the best. That was going through my mind."
Helping to seal the deal in the bottom of the ninth inning was a head's-up play by right fielder Marlon Byrd. With David Ortiz on first base, Byrd quickly scooped up a short bloop off the bat of John Buck to get the forceout at second base and prevent the tying run from ever reaching base.
"I was getting ready around the sixth inning on," A-Rod said. "Maybe next year."
Apart from A-Rod, his ace in the hole for a potential game-breaking situation, Girardi had few options available to run for Ortiz, only pitchers Fausto Carmona, Neftali Feliz and Joakim Soria.
Facts and Figures from the 81st All-Star Game
|Pounds of ice used in concessions
|Gallons of ketchup
|Roster changes since original announcement
|First-time All-Stars
|Number of pitches needed by Cliff Lee to retire the side in order in the fourth
|Attendance for the game
|Attendance for the 1989 game at Anaheim when it was multi-purpose
|Attendance at the first game in Anaheim in 1967
|Game-time temperature in sunny Southern California
|Games Ichiro Suzuki has been AL leadoff hitter, one more than Rod Carew (AL) and Willie Mays (NL)
|All-Star hitting streak for David Wright. He is 6-for-13
|Number of times the All-Star Game has been scoreless through four innings
|Derek Jeter's All-Star BA (10-for-23) after going 1-for-2 with a walk
|Number of home runs hit for the second consecutive year
|Number hits by the American League, their lowest since six in 1999
|Catchers who have been MVP: Gary Carter (1981, 1984), Terry Steinbach (1988), Mike Piazza (1996), Sandy Alomar Jr. (1997) and Brian McCann
|Number of All-Star Games in California, the most for any state
|After 81 All-Star Games, the A.L. has a cumulative one-run advantage
|Number of father-son All-Star combinations. Nick Swisher joined his dad Steve (Cubs, 1976) in playing in the All-Star Game
|Number of years since Andy Pettitte's last All-Star appearance. The longest between appearances was Bert Blyleven (1973 to 1985)
|Time of game
Beltre, the third AL third baseman of the night, struck out after Ortiz's liner to right opened the inning against Broxton. When Buck dropped his blooper in front of the Cubs' Byrd, the right fielder was on it quickly, pivoted and hurled a one-hop strike to beat Ortiz.
"He's very athletic, a very good outfielder," Kinsler said of Byrd, his former Rangers teammate. "He was able to pick that ball up, spin and make a strong throw. A very good play."
Before he realized who was out there, Kinsler felt for a moment that his drive toward the gap might fall.
"I thought it might get down, but those two guys [Byrd and Young] are both center fielders who can go get it," Kinsler said, "and Chris Young got there."
Thornton was close to escaping the seventh when he retired pinch-hitter Young on a popup. But McCann turned on an 0-1 fastball, a 98-mph bullet, to drive in Rolen, Holliday and Byrd, who had kept the winning rally alive with a full-count walk.
"Thornton has got one of best left-handed fastballs in the game," McCann said. "I sat on the fastball and tried to get my hands going a little early. I got a pitch to handle, and luckily I didn't miss it."
Andrew Bailey of the Athletics struck out Brandon Phillips to leave two runners stranded.
The Cardinals' Adam Wainwright snuffed a two-on threat in the seventh when he struck out hometown favorite Torii Hunter after retiring Vernon Wells on a forceout. Buck had doubled with one away off Holliday's glove in left.
"I wanted it real bad in that situation," Hunter said, "and that [Wainwright] was a bad card to draw. I never faced him before. He's good. He's nasty. He didn't throw me any fastballs. He threw nothing but curves and cutters."
Likewise, Wainwright was familiar with his opponent only as a television image.
"I just know what you see on TV," Wainwright said. "I've never faced him before. I know he's a good breaking-ball hitter when you leave it in the zone, and I know he's a pretty good fastball hitter when he's looking for it. So I just tried to make good quality pitches.
"If he's going to hit a good, quality pitch out of the park, that's fine. But I was just trying to not leave anything over the middle."
The AL seized the lead in the fifth inning without benefit of a hit.
Dodgers lefty Hong-Chih Kuo, the first Taiwan native to appear in the All-Star Game, lost leadoff man Evan Longoria leading off, and it cost the NL.
Longoria, behind 0-2 in the count, worked a walk, then Kuo then lobbed Joe Mauer's roller down the third-base line 15 feet over first baseman Adrian Gonzalez's head, the two-base error putting two men in scoring position.
Robinson Cano lofted a sacrifice fly to left, cashing in Longoria. Kuo got Carl Crawford on a force, and Heath Bell sprinted in from the bullpen to retire Hunter on a fly ball deep into the right-field corner to end the inning.
AL starter David Price set the tone quickly by pumping nothing but premium gas, 96 mph to 100 mph, in setting down the NL in the first two innings, with just one infield hit, by David Wright.
Ichiro Suzuki ended the first with a superb running catch in right center the snare Albert Pujols' drive. Price, the Rays' young ace, threw one off-speed pitch, a changeup, and 22 fastballs.
Ubaldo Jimenez, on the hill for the NL, was matching Price, heater for heater, in his two innings. The Rockies' right-hander pitched out of a first-inning jam following Derek Jeter's walk and a single to right by Miguel Cabrera that sent the Yankees' shortstop to third with one away.
Josh Hamilton grounded sharply back to Jimenez, who hit shortstop Hanley Ramirez in stride to turn a double play, quelling the threat.
Longoria's one-out double, a shot to left, wasn't cashed in by the AL in the second when Jimenez retired Mauer and Cano.
Two more lefties, Andy Pettitte and Cliff Lee, followed Price to the mound and kept the NL silent. Pettitte struck out two while yielding a two-out single to Yadier Molina, and Lee dispatched the NL quickly in the fourth.
The Marlins' Josh Johnson, consistently throwing 97 mph to 98 mph, worked two perfect innings behind Jimenez. Ryan Braun made the defensive play of the night in left, robbing Hamilton in the fourth with a full-tilt dive.
The NL mounted a threat in the fifth against Justin Verlander, but the Tigers' hurler shut it down with more pure heat. After Wright led off with a single and stole second, Andre Ethier smoked a single to right. Hamilton, having moved over from center, kept Wright anchored at third with a bullet to home. Verlander struck out Corey Hart and retired pinch-hitter McCann on a drive that sent Hamilton to the edge of the track in right.
Jeter and Hamilton delivered singles in the sixth against Roy Halladay, but the AL was frustrated when Elvis Andrus was caught stealing and Matt Capps struck out Ortiz in a pinch-hitting role.
Capps, in his All-Star Game debut, claimed the victory. Hughes, from Foothill High School about 10 minutes away from Angel Stadium, absorbed the loss in his first All-Star appearance.
A moment of silence was observed before the game in the memory of Yankees principal owner George Steinbrenner, who died on Tuesday morning, nine days after turning 80.
Lyle Spencer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Crème de Cassis de Dijon: The Secret to "Kir"
This week we're highlighting one of our favorite French liqueurs, the inky black currant flavored Crème de Cassis de Dijon. These sweet little bottles of crème de cassis are made in Burgundy by Briottet, a company run by the Briottet family in the town of Dijon since 1836.
Briottet makes their crème de cassis with only "Noir de Bourgogne" black currants. The word "crème" signifies that the liqueur is made from macerated, real fruit rather than flavorings and, the addition of the name Dijon means that the currants ("cassis") used were grown only in the commune of Dijon. These currants are picked quickly at their peak ripeness and are immediately immersed in alcohol where they macerate for 3 months. Sugar is then added to balance out the tart flavor of the currants – it also makes the liqueur syrupy. Upon completion, crème de cassis has about the same alcohol content as port.
The most famous use of crème de cassis is in a cocktail named Kir. It is made up of 1 part crème de cassis to 3 (or more depending on your taste) parts crisp white wine. The Kir is named for the Canon Felix Kir, a priest who helped 5,000 prisoners of war escape from a Nazi camp during World War II. He became mayor of Dijon in 1945 and made a point of offering the drink (previously known as the Blanc-Cassis) to all visiting delegates. This was a boon to local liqueur producers who struggled throughout the war and eventually the name of the drink was changed to honor the beloved mayor. (The drink was also popular locally partially due to Nazi seizures of red Burgundy – lots of white wine kicking around.)
There are several ways we enjoy our crème de cassis. We make our Kir the traditional way – with chilled Bourgogne Aligoté, a crisp white perfectly suited for the cocktail. Sip yours with a nibble of a fruity Comté dabbed with Arraya or Raphaël's cassis confiture. For special occasions, replace the white wine with prosecco or cava for a Kir Pétillant, or with the real deal, Champagne, to make a Kir Royale. Pair either drink with Brillat-Savarin, a triple-crème cheese that works well with bubbles. I have yet to try the red Burgundy variation, known either as the Cardinal or the Communard, but it sounds good.
We also like to mix up a little crème de cassis with a dry Dolin Vermouth and top it off with soda water to make the Pompier (aka the Vermouth-Cassis), a cocktail published by Charles Baker, author of The Gentleman's Companion. If you can keep from drinking it all, Briottet Crème de Cassis can also be used in delicious ways with food. A drizzle over fresh, sweet melon is lovely, or add to a sauce for chicken or duck (especially with hazelnuts and a bit of cream). Even better are desserts like poached pears over vanilla ice cream topped with crème de cassis or little sponge cakes soaked with the stuff. One of our bottles will keep for 3 months in the refrigerator after it has been opened, so you have some time to experiment.
El Diablo
From Green Street Grill's Wednesday taco night. Another great way to use Creme de Cassis in a cocktail. (By the way, if you haven't been to taco night at Green Street, you're missing out.)
1 ½ oz tequila
½ oz crème de cassis
ginger ale
Pour the tequila and crème de cassis into a highball glass over ice and top with ginger ale.
Briottet Crème de Cassis de Dijon is available at Formaggio Kitchen South End and Formaggio Kitchen Cambridge. Our South End location also stocks Briottet's Crème de Framboise (raspberry) and Crème de Peche de Vigne (wild peach) liqueurs.
Julie Cappellano is the General Manager and wine buyer at Formaggio Kitchen South End, Boston.


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It looks like MSI has finally delivered on the promise of an "Eee PC Killer". Details of MSI's new netbook first came to light in mid-May and the specs and pricing were enough to capture the attention of many potential customers.
As announced in May, the MSI Wind is equipped with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor paired with an Intel 945GMS northbridge and ICH7M southbridge. The Linux model will come standard with 512MB of DDR2 memory, while the Windows XP Home model ups that figure to 1GB (2GB maximum) -- both come standard with a 2.5" 80GB 5400 RPM HDD.
Other niceties of the include a 10", 1024x600 display, 1.3MP webcam, 4-in-1 media reader, three USB 2.0 ports, GbE, 802.11b/g wireless, and standard Bluetooth (Windows XP version only). The 2.2-pound Linux model will come standard with a 3-cell battery and the 2.6-pound Windows XP model is equipped with a 6-cell battery (rated at 5.5 hours).
Now comes the part that everyone will want to know about -- pricing. Andy Tung, MSI's Director of U.S. sales stated in May that the Linux and Windows XP versions of the Wind would be priced at $399 and $549 respectively -- those figures weren't entirely correct. While the Linux model is indeed priced at $399, the Windows XP version will slide in at a reasonable $499.
At that price, MSI looks to have a winner on its hands. The 2.6-pound Wind with Windows XP stacks up nicely against its immediate competition (Eee PC 900/901, HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, etc.) as well as notebooks costing more than three times its price. The long battery life and Bluetooth put it over the top.
Laptop Magazine gave the Windows XP version a glowing review as it received 4.5 out of five stars with the main complaints being the single mouse button and below average wireless throughput. The editors, however, had plenty to like about the machine including its TurboDrive feature which can overclock the system to 1.9GHz in AC mode or drop the clock down to 1.1GHz on battery mode for improved battery life.
The King is dead. Long live the King.


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As the Maintenance Supervisor at the Holiday Inn Express in Cortez I would like to extend a great big thank you to everyone who commented on the Christmas lights at our hotel! We look forward to making them even bigger and brighter for your enjoyment this coming year! Happy New Year to all!
Matt Warner


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Montezuma-Cortez High School claimed two wrestling tournament titles at the Sand Devil Invitational last Friday in Page, Ariz.
Ryan Daves remained undefeated at 138 pounds. The senior upped his record to 17-0 after four tourney wins. Daves claimed a first-place medal and the Outstanding Wrestler award.
Daves, who's ranked No. 1 in 4A by coloradopreps.com, pinned Arizona's Chad Edgmon (Winslow) and Eric Cassetta (Prescott).
However, Daves was greatly challenged by a Colorado wrestler. In the semifinals match, Daves took on Tyler Ebberts of Dove Creek. After a hard fought three rounds, Daves held on for a 5-3 decision.
"Tyler wrestled Ryan extremely well. He gave Ryan some troubles. I'm glad he got a good match from him," Panthers coach Eric Smith said. "He exposed Ryan to a few things he hasn't seen this year. We can now use that stuff to fix some things he needs to work on. But he rebounded well and had a really nice match in the finals there."
Daves indeed rebounded quite nicely in the finals against Michael Nelson. Daves recorded a 14-2 major decision over the Camp Verde (Ariz.) wrestler.
Seager Oliver won gold at 170 pounds.
The sophomore pinned Dolores' Kellen Gatzke and Jeremy McEachem of Camp Verde. Oliver scored a 9-3 decision over Adam Lucero (Aztec, N.M.) and took a 12-2 major decision in the finals against Kimball Levitt of Snow Canyon (St. George, Utah).
"Seager wrestled extremely well," Smith said. "That kid he beat from Aztec was a really good kid. He really dominated, and came out and set the tempo."
Trenton Gustafson placed second at 182 pounds.
The senior pinned Tanner Guernsey (Kanab, Utah) and Bayfield's Michael Goodman. Gustafson earned a tough 6-4 overtime decision in the semifinals against Nokoni Slivers (Snow Canyon). But Gustafson fell in the finals 10-4 to Austin Gaun from Flagstaff (Ariz.). Gaun is 39-1 on the season.
Justice Ramos went 4-2 at 145s, while Levi Gross recorded a 3-2 mark at 126. Celestino Fernandez and Tyler Hageman each grabbed wins at 106 and 152, respectively.
"Overall, I was pleased with the way the team wrestled," Smith said. "Justice got a few wins to help his confidence. Tyler Hageman got his first win. Levi Gross wrestled well. I thought we did well, which we need to do every week from here on out. We're not where, we need to be yet, but were getting there. The kids are improving on what we need. I was real pleased with that."
The Panthers will wrestle in a tri-meet Friday versus Palisade and Summit at Palisade High School beginning at 5 p.m. M-CHS then goes to Rifle's dual tournament Saturday morning at 8.
As a roster, the Panthers are currently shorthanded with injuries.
"Team wise, we're only traveling six or seven kids right now," Smith said. "I look more at individually, so it's a lot of good mat time for them. We'll take care of each kid individually."
On a scheduling note, the Panthers have secured a home dual with 2A Ignacio on Tuesday, Feb. 5.
Dove Creek
The Dove Creek Bulldogs weren't able to fill a full roster due to some wrestlers out with injury and illness. But the Bulldogs had some strong individual performances.
Cole Baughman placed second at 132, while younger brother Case Baughman came in third at 113.
Tyson Smith was also a runner-up for Dove Creek at heavyweight.
"Tyson Smith had his best tourney of the year," Bulldogs coach Shane Baughman said.
Ebberts took fourth at 138, Nick Jones was fifth at 126 and Colin Hobbs came in sixth at 106.
Tommy Fury tallied a 3-2 tourney record at 152s.
"I'm pretty tickled for Tommy. It was his best tourney of the year," coach Baughman said.
It was a good experience for Shane Baughman's team. But there are still some improvements to be made.
"We really need to focus on our technique the next couple weeks," Shane Baughman said. "We're outclassed in a couple of those real tight matches. We need to work on that a little bit more. We're battled tested. We just need to work on the little things."
Dove Creek hosts Grand County (Moab, Utah) in a dual Wednesday night at 6.
The Bulldogs dual at defending 2A state champion Paonia on Friday at 4 p.m., before participating in Saturday morning's Paonia Screaming Eagle dual tournament.
Wyatt Wade, Ethen Upton and Deano Valdez all placed for the Dolores Bears.
Wade took third at 145, Upton finished fifth at 182 and Valdez was sixth at 152.
"It was a high caliber tournament," said Dolores coach Leo Garand about the 21-school tourney that was won by Camp Verde. "A real good effort by all the guys."
The Bears were scheduled to host New Mexico's Shiprock High School today, but that dual has been canceled.
Up next is two days of duals Friday and Saturday in Paonia.
"It's a good measuring stick for regionals and state," Garand said. "We're going to see the teams (in Paonia) we're wrestling for regionals and state."
Action begins Friday evening at 4.


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Alan Anderson leads Raptors against Pistons for fourth win in a row
Toronto Sun - It's not a coincidence that Alan Anderson's return to health has coincided with the longest winning streak the Raptors have enjoyed in two years.
Landry sitting eating money...while MR. ANDERSON's low wage...rocking.
Finally Raps catching some breaks in finding someone like ANDERSON


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Welcome to today's Babywearing Party! Brought to you by Ergobaby and BabyCenter to celebrate International Babywearing Week.
This is our final topic! To celebrate International Babywearing Week, just tell us something about babywearing that makes you smile. Feel free to add pictures to answer the question too.
Just comment on this topic for a chance to win one of TWO Ergobaby Organic Bundle of Joy carriers (one in Organic Dark Chocolate and one in Organic Navy) example pictured below!
Every comment = a chance to win, so feel free to comment multiple times. We'll announce the winner at 5:00 pm eastern time.