text:
I understand people's frustrations with him, and even if it was mainly due to him being sick and being injured, I'd take my chances on a guy who's sick and can play through injury versus a guy who can't play a lot every/almost every season and wasn't ever DPOY. While Camby might still be able to play great, he's 39 and has been injured and not been able to play a lot of his career. Kenyon Martin is great, but I don't feel safe with him as our only above average interior defender either because of his past injuries.
I don't know about players in the draft, or about other centers in the NBA's seemingly future ability, but we know what Chandler has done in the recent past, won a championship with his defense and changed the Knicks' defense for the better. Do NOT forget what you want, and that's a championship. You think the Knicks can win just by scoring and perimeter defense? Did you see the Pacers against Chandler and Martin? Chandler wasn't healthy, you think the Knicks can get somebody else to do a better job? The Pacers' big men aren't the only ones the Knicks have to be ready for. Also, they need to defend great slashers.
I'm not saying there's no other alternative to Chandler, but I don't see there being any. Tell me what you think. Besides, would it be that shocking for him to return to form? The team defense has the potential to be good, so if Chandler is healthy, he just needs to not worry about foul trouble as much and scare opponents from coming in the paint.
Hopefully Chandler works with Hakeem. I do think Chandler can be smooth on offense and score a solid amount more.


text:
2.3 isn't the only thing that Google was showing off yesterday
when it comes to smartphones. The company also pulled the wraps off
the latest version of its popular Google Maps application.
The latest version of Google Maps can
operate in a mode that forgoes the use of data-intensive
photorealistic tiles to represent cities and instead uses dynamically
rendered vectors for maps complete with 3D buildings (the New York
Times says that 3D buildings will
be available in 50 cities at launch, but Google is likely to
quickly expand that number). By using vectors instead of tiles,
Google says that it can significantly pare down the amount of data
required to provide mapping data.
The key advantages to this approach
include faster load times and the ability to cache entire cities for
offline use (which means that you won't always require an internet
connection to continue navigation as long as the mapping data is
Google Maps also takes a page from
Google Earth's book with the ability to tilt maps in 3D.
The newest update to Google Maps should
be coming within the next week and will be supported on the following
hardware according
to Android Police:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
by Stephanie Jones
Editor's Note: In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News Channel Thursday night, GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney said his 47% remarks were "just completely wrong" — a major reversal from his initial reaction in which he said that the comments were not "elegantly stated" and were spoken "off the cuff" but didn't come anywhere close to disavowing them.
(NNPA)—There are 47 percent who are with [President Obama], who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. These are people who pay no income tax. My job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.Republican presidential nominee —Mitt Romney
When Mitt Romney was busted boasting to wealthy supporters that he has no use for the 47 percent of the American voters who don't pay federal income tax, the former Massachusetts governor further hobbled his already limping presidential campaign. But he may also have unwittingly broken the bond between the GOP and the White Republicans who make up a large part of that 47 percent, paving the way for an interesting potential political realignment.
After all, White Republicans who are retired, serving in the military, are disabled or work hard but don't make enough money to pay federal income tax must have been pretty surprised to hear just what their party's standard bearer thinks of them. After all, they pay plenty of regressive payroll, sales and other taxes.
For months, Romney's remarks were known only to the well-heeled few who had paid $50,000 apiece to hear him make them. But now everyone knows that the Republican nominee has written off half of the nation's voters, including a substantial portion of the GOP base and, even worse, brags about it in his favored "quiet rooms" with disdain, condescension and a sneer.
We also now know, thanks to his obtuse and incoherent triple conflation, that logic isn't Romney's strong suit. How does the fact that 47 percent of voters support the president and 47 percent of households don't pay federal income tax and some people who don't pay federal income tax are irresponsible, add up to nearly half of all American voters being lazy, government-dependent, non-taxpaying Obama-supporting victims?
Romney defended his comments by claiming they were "off-the-cuff," as if that means they shouldn't be taken seriously. But the fact that they were spontaneously and spoken when he didn't think he would be overheard by anyone outside of his narrow station makes Romney's comments all the more telling. After all, character is who you are when no one is looking. And when Romney thought we weren't looking, he showed us exactly who he is: a man who believes that people are expendable if they don't serve his purposes, even those people who believed he was on their side.
To those folks who have been so callously cast aside, I say: Welcome to our world. We know how you feel.
In our world, where we Black voters are dismissed and demeaned by the Republican Party as a matter of policy and practice, Romney's comments come as little surprise. While the Republican Party falls all over itself catering to and pandering to White voters, the party and its candidates have long shown very little interest in us. But at least, until recently, they made an effort to pretend to seek our support, even though they knew that we knew that they really didn't mean it.
But in this election cycle, the party has flung itself headlong into the gutter, fielding a stream of candidates who alternately ignored and insulted us, often in words and tones better suited to the Jim Crow era than the new millennium. The party's refusal to denounce—and its willingness often to participate in and even generate—racist dog whistle swipes at minorities, in general, and the president, in particular—denigrates a once-respectable and respected political organization.
And while they don't care whether we vote for them, Republican officials across the country are now using every lever of power at their disposal to try to keep us from voting at all. No matter how much these modern-day poll taxers claim "voter fraud," and "ballot integrity," the record shows that the voter ID requirements, early voting restrictions, and other voter suppression measures they have forced into law are designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to keep minorities, women, the disabled, the elderly from voting because they think they'll vote for President Obama and other Democrats. Period.
It is no secret what the Republican Party thinks of Black voters—when it bothers to think of us at all; it is one of the reasons that support for Romney among African-Americans is so infinitesimal that pollsters can't even measure it. But now, Romney has slipped up and showed all of us that he thinks much the same thing about a whole lot of White Republican voters, too.
As a result, the White Republicans in the 47 percent are now getting a taste of what Black folk have been experiencing for much too long. But will they realize that they have much more in common with us than with the party that smiles in their faces and talks about them behind their backs? If they do, imagine how our shared experience of being treated as others/outsiders/less-than could empower us to recognize, build upon and leverage our shared political interests.
Welcome to our world, indeed.
(Stephanie Jones is president of Stephanie Jones Strategies, a Washington, DC public affairs firm. She is an attorney and former executive director of the National Urban League Policy Institute.)


text:
Do Muzzles Slow Horses' Pelleted Feed Intake?
Wearing a grazing muzzle during feeding is a simple, effective intervention for horses prone to choke, scientists found.
Photo by Photos.com
Study Evaluates Esophageal Stricture Treatment
Stricture occurs when a ring of tissue reduces the esophagus' diameter, making it hard for a horse to ingest food.
Photo by iStock
Adult Horses Get Pneumonia, Too
This inflammation of the lungs most commonly affects foals, but that doesn't mean your mature horse isn't at risk.
Photo by Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse
Poll Recap: Older Horse Care Concerns
October 03, 2017
Readers said maintaining weight, osteoarthritis, and other lameness were their top senior horse care concerns. ... Read More
Feeding Choke-Prone Horses
September 25, 2017
Find out which horses are at the highest risk for feed-related choke and what you can do to reduce that risk.... Read More
Emergency 911: Horse Show Edition
August 25, 2017
Critical conditions can strike when you're at a competition with your horse. Here's how to handle them. ... Read More
Senior Horses and Choke Risk
June 15, 2016
Do older horses that eat senior feeds have a higher risk of choke? ... Read More
Do Muzzles Slow Horses' Pelleted Feed Intake?
January 08, 2016
Wearing a grazing muzzle during feeding is a simple, effective intervention for horses prone to choke, scientists found.... Read More
Study Evaluates Esophageal Stricture Treatment
September 19, 2015
Stricture occurs when a ring of tissue reduces the esophagus' diameter, making it hard for a horse to ingest food.... Read More
Adult Horses Get Pneumonia, Too
June 30, 2015
This inflammation of the lungs most commonly affects foals, but that doesn't mean your mature horse isn't at risk.... Read More
Senior Horse Feed: Not Just for Seniors
November 13, 2014
Here are five situations when a senior feed could benefit a horse, regardless of age.... Read More
What Can I Do to Help My Horse With a History of Choke?
October 23, 2014
Dr. Bryant Craig shares ways to prevent choke in horses and reviews what to do during an episode.... Read More
Hypersalivation in Horses
October 06, 2014
Does your horse drool like a dog? Here are some reasons why, from the benign to the life threatening.... Read More
Slobbering in Horses
July 18, 2014
Excess slobber in your horse can mean a variety of things beyond slaframine toxicity from clover.... Read More
The Horse: Top 10 Blog Posts of 2012
December 31, 2012
We've taken a few minutes to tally our most popular blog posts of 2012. Did your favorites make the list?... Read More
Resolving Horse Choke with an Antispasmodic Drug (AAEP 2011)
February 16, 2012
Buscopan has been accepted as effective treatment for simple choke in other countries for 40 years.... Read More
Equine Medicine/ Gastrointestinal Issues (AAEP 2011)
December 17, 2011
Choke, Lawsonia infection, and more topics were discussed during the AAEP's equine medicine/GI session.... Read More
A Kick to the Throat
December 01, 2011
My horse got kicked in the lower throat area (esophagus) a while ago. Lately his breathing has been vigorous... Read More
Esophageal Problem Hereditary in Friesians?
May 07, 2009
Megaesophagus, a chronic dilation of the esophagus, appears to occur at an atypically high rate in Friesians.... Read More
Choke: No Heimlich for Horses
December 08, 2008
Unfortunately, even if you could do the Heimlich maneuver on your equine friend, it probably would not help. That's because choke in horses is completely different than when a human chokes, at least from an anatomical perspective.... Read More
Handling a Choking Horse
April 25, 2008
All animals can choke, including horses. When it happens, it should be considered a medical emergency. A horse chokes when its esophagus is obstructed, rather than the trachea, or windpipe. Although horses are still able to breathe in this... Read More
May 01, 2005
What the heck?! What is that sound out in the barn? The big horse Elvis is barking out enormous, intermittent coughs. Your pulse quickens--Elvis shouldn't be sick! Good grief, he hasn't been anywhere, hasn't had any of his horse friends over to... Read More
Mangoes Toxic to Horses?
June 01, 2004
In our horse paddock there are four mango trees. Is it possible for our horses to get sick from eating too many mangoes?... Read More
Choke (Esophageal Obstruction)
April 01, 2001
The word choke for me conjures up images of someone hovering over a table, unable to talk or breathe because a piece of food has lodged in their trachea or windpipe--fortunately, the Heimlich maneuver usually rectifies the situation. Choke is... Read More
Feeding Older Horses: Cuisine For The Golden Years
May 01, 2000
Horses which have been correctly fed all their lives are far more likely to live to a ripe old age.... Read More
Fluids and Electrolytes: Life's Curious Brew
August 01, 1997
Encouraging water consumption is extremely important. This often starts by making sure your horses have free access to a good, clean water source.... Read More
Nutrition Primer
July 01, 1996
Many common terms come from the long experience of man with horse, and some perhaps should be applied to the modern experience of raising horses. One of them, where feeds are concerned, might be "penny wise and pound foolish."... Read More
Related Topics
Related Multimedia & Downloads
News/Interviews Video
Equine Medicine/ Gastrointestinal Issues (AAEP 2011)
Farm Call: Your Questions Answered
Senior Horses and Choke Risk
Q. Do older horses that eat senior feeds have a higher risk of choke?


text:
How desperate does one have to be to own and use one of these things?
And how are these companies not repeatedly sued? Because they're poking fun/using fake names about public figures?
Who else would you like the manufacturer to immortalize in the love doll form?
If a reproduction could ever be produced which would feel and look like the real person, I'm going with newly legal goddess, Victoria Justice.
Next in line would be Yuuri Mori****a, into which I would release a powerful, torential tsunami.
EDIT: Found it.
Last edited by Borgoguy; 04-07-2011 at 11:37 AM.
[QUOTE=Borgoguy;3996435]Now I know you lean more to the hetero side. You could not find a flaw with Victoria Justice if you tried for a hundred years. Add that she's part Latina, and you are looking at perfection, H2B.
Nope....she has a strong jawline...and sometimes kind of looks like skeletor or something....she has a great body and don't get me wrong, I would totally date her. She kind of has a crescent moon face...weird for me...I get that from living in KY for so long. I always heard that moon faces were inbred.
Good. Leave her for us true carpet munching aficionados out here. I mean, look a her.
Last edited by Borgoguy; 04-08-2011 at 12:40 PM.


text: So, I generally dislike Chinatown episodes. They always involve "the triad" and people smuggling. It's like Chinese people don't know how to do anything else when they're not doing Kung Fu. It didn't help that there was some widely varying degrees of Cantonese proficiency throughout the episode. I think Peter's Cantonese was better than some of the "Chinese" character's Cantonese. Still, at least it worked well for what it was. The triad was pretty much non-existent, so they didn't have any chance to act "Chinese" - the dude who played the evil scientist was also on Cold Case speaking stilted Confucianisms a few weeks ago - and I actually enjoyed the moment between Walter and the Chinese lady. It was just unexpected. Although, kind of weird that he was in a silk robe though.


text:
Free Horse: Castle Magic daughter needs home ASAP
I have a daughter of Castle Magic that needs a new ASAP. She was suppose to go back to her original owners this spring but that fell through. I think she is 24 will have to check her papers. Does not look her age and is on no special feeding or supplements. She is a great babysitter for the young ones, knows how to teach them manners without hurting anyone. She can still be ridden around the farm but is not 100% sound in the left hind leg. I need to find her a home soon please feel free to em
Horse NameBut Not Tonight (need to check)
Height16.2 hh
Weight1200 lbs
SireCastle Magic
DamShy Liz
LocationRiner, VA, USA
StatusFound Home


text:
PONTIAC, Mich. - Chilling testimony was heard Friday in the Cipriano murder trial against accused accomplice Mitchell Young.
Jurors heard from the police who were the first to arrive at the Farmington Hills home.
They described a grisly scene.
The jury saw graphic photos from the Cipriano home including images of the alleged injuries to Young's face after the attack.
Tucker Cipriano plead no contest to felony murder for his role in the 2012 baseball bat beatings.
Young's defense is to blame the crime on Tucker Cipriano so those images are a key issue in the trial.
WATCH: Tucker Cipriano's interview with police read in court
"I look into that window and shine my light through the window there. Right where the stairs are at if you can see them in the picture, in front of the stairs is a little girl, she's just standing there looking at me wearing just her nightgown," said Farmington Hills officer Eric Buckberry during court testimony.
Buckberry testified he arrived at the Cipriano house just before 3 a.m. on that horrific morning. The girl was 8-year-old Isabella.
Buckberry says Young ran into her, knocked her down and ran up the stairs. Inside the home Bob Cipriano was found dead, his wife Rose and son Sal were gravely injured.
Tucker Cipriano would be arrested a few hours later, but Young was arrested in the house.
"I addressed Mr. young whose still laying on the floor, still on the ground. He's still crying. I told him to stand up. He stood up," said Buckberry in court. "I asked him what had happened and the only thing he said was Tucker went crazy and started swinging."
Buckberry said Young complained of back and neck pain, but no pain in his jaw. Young claims Tucker Cipriano also hit him with a bat during the attack. The prosecution is challenging that claim.
Testimony: Mitchell Young never showed emotion
In court, other officers showed photos of Young in the hospital in handcuffs.
The jury also saw photograph of Young's shoes which had blood on them.
Officers testified they don't believe that marks on Young's face were consistent with being hit by a baseball bat.
Police testified that based on their experience Young did not appear to be under the influence of drugs at the time of his arrest.
Testimony in the trial resumes Monday.
Copyright 2013 by ClickOnDetroit.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
Transverse Ranges > San Gabriel Mountains > Mt. Disappointment > Climber's Log
Mt. Disappointment Climber's Log
[ Sign the Climber's Log ]
Date Climbed: May 27, 2007
|Easy going hike from just past Red Box. Did San Gabriel Peak first.
|Posted Feb 2, 2009 12:24 am
|From Eaton Saddle TH
Date Climbed: May 18, 1975
|This was part of a 5 peak day in the San Gabriels. Beautiful day above the smog in the basin.
|Posted Jan 15, 2009 9:55 am
|Via Echo Mtn trail
Date Climbed: Dec 21, 2008
|Hiked this one from the Sam Merrill trail head on Lake Ave. Started hitting snow at about 4000' and it got serious at Markum saddle. Lots of daylight burned by breaking trail through upwards of 2' snow drifts to the top of San Gabriel first. Then did Disappointment and Lowe before descending down by sunset.
|Posted Dec 21, 2008 10:28 pm
|HPS day
Date Climbed: Jan 7, 2006
|Nice peak.
|Posted Jul 20, 2008 2:58 pm
|David Rosenberg
|A Couple O" Times
Date Climbed: May 15, 2005
|Hiked this one with the rest of the bunch in this area, twice. Easiest clear-out of peaks from one trailhead in the San Gs. Used Eaton Saddle as well as Disappointment trailhead.
|Posted Nov 25, 2007 8:55 pm
|Very nice views
Date Climbed: Sep 23, 2007
|Did this peak together with San Gabriel Peak. Gorgeous views from the top.
|Posted Oct 19, 2007 5:48 am
|Vic Hanson
|A favorite Area
|Have done a couple of times, along with Markam, San Gabriel and Lowe, from the Sam Merrill Trail
|Posted Jul 21, 2007 3:46 pm
|Did this one in the same day as Lowe and Gabriel. I think I missed deception. Apparently it's like right around the corner. I am dumb.
|Posted Jun 7, 2007 8:11 pm
|4th HPS hike
Date Climbed: Mar 3, 2007
|My wife and I (with our dog - badger) hit Mt. Lowe, San Gabriel Peak and Mt. Dissappointment today. Great hike from Eaton Saddle. The upper slopes were snow covered still, but you could hike with a light jacket. There were a couple of sketchy sections along the trail were the snow was really compacted and icy. Trekking poles helped. Great views...Baldy was all snowy.
|Posted Mar 25, 2007 7:48 pm
|Nice Hike
|Nice page for one of our local peaks. Well worth a visit!
|Posted Jan 26, 2007 3:07 pm
|Disapointment and San Gabriel
Date Climbed: Dec 3, 2006
|Hit Disapointment and San Gabriel today. The best view I had ever seen, you could see the ocean clearly, Catalina and the other islands as well. Amazing.
|Posted Dec 4, 2006 1:01 am
|Matthew Holliman
|HPS round-up with Bob
Date Climbed: Mar 26, 2005
|Not quite as much fun as Disappointment Peak in the Sierra, but worth a visit nonetheless. Scenic area.
|Posted Dec 1, 2006 2:51 am
|CNC Dave
|Peak roundup
Date Climbed: Oct 23, 2006
|Good trails connecting other peaks. Great day good weather.
|Posted Nov 22, 2006 3:56 am
|Final peak of the day
Date Climbed: Nov 4, 2006
|Did Markham, Mount Lowe and San Gabriel Peak first and finished the day off with Mt. Disappointment. Four easy peaks in three hours. Views west and north were quite good.
|Posted Nov 5, 2006 12:12 am
|2nd time
|Quick jaunt with old friend. First climbed San Gabriel Peak. Great views of Josephine Peak. A good area to gather a bunch of Hundred Peaks.
|Posted Oct 29, 2006 1:22 am
|8 HPS 1 day
Date Climbed: Nov 12, 2005
|Climbed 8 HPS this day: San Gabriel, Disappointment, Markham, Occidental, Wilson, Lowe, Barley Flats, Sally. Better planning and someone could easily climb 15-20.
|Posted Oct 27, 2006 4:44 pm
|Bob Burd
|Not so many visits
Date Climbed: Mar 26, 2005
|Only one, in fact. But Matthew and I had a fun day tagging HPS peaks in the area, 13 in all. Trip Report
|Posted Oct 25, 2006 7:57 pm
|Augie Medina
|Many Visits
Date Climbed: Jun 11, 2006
|I've hiked and run to this summit many times. I've come at it from the Mt. Disappointment Fire Road trailhead on both the fire road and San Gabriel Peak Trail; from the Eaton Saddle trailhead; and from Switzers through Bear Canyon.
|Posted Oct 25, 2006 5:11 pm


text:
This is kinda offtopic..
last night i decided to update firmware to change the nokia n70 to n70 music edition(no hardware changes needed to be)
Ok i was ready with all the programs..right
Firstly my first mistake was that i dont know what the firmware size was...ok,now i dont know exactly how much data bundles i had left.I guessed
Right now i am updating and the firmware i see that is loading on the phone is like 47.8 megs...but alas i only have 40 megs of data to use...What am i to do.
right i am biting my nails and counting each meg as it goes on.
during the the upgrade at 38megs a sms comes to the phone saying that there is x amount left on the bundle..I am really biting my nails now and the loading continues for the upgrade.
Another sms comes and says now money is now being deducted.
I think this sim had 12 rand on it,and that equals 6 megs in total
As the firmware reaches 47.8 exactly,my internet bombs out...err...did i make it(no bundles no airtime left)
then the second proces starts to update the phone(usually 15 mins)
For that 15 minutes i was sweating so much ,as i dont know if i made it or broke the phone....
WHat do you think happened..
Did i make it and the phone rebooted with music edition software or
Is the phone a total brick now
I bought the phone second hand just to use it as a modem..(but itchy fingers is a beeech.
what you guys and gals think
Was i the most lucky son of a beech??????????????????????????????? or not


text:
This is a swallowtail caterpillar, Papilio machaon.
Yes, it is about to pupate - the silk girdle is visible.
But... in North Somerset!
That is way outside the normal distribution of the British race (parts of the Norfolk Broads).
Migrants of the continental race have been recorded at many localities in the south of the UK
But it is much rarer for larvae to be spotted...
Do you have any of its foodplants growing nearby?
- Milk-parsley (Peucedanum palustre) - used by the native race
- various umbellifers such as Wild Carrot (Daucus carota) and Wild Angelica (Angelica sylvestris) - used by the continental race
Do you know anybody who rears butterflies locally? (maybe it escaped)
I suggest you tell Peter Eels about this (email@example.com), he runs the website above.
And report it to Butterfly Conservation (http://butterfly-conservation.org/55/contact.html)
Good observation Richard!
Dear Mike
Thanks - I thought I was seeing things! I went back and forth through Porter knowing what it looked like and convinced it must be something else. Checking the Millenium Atlas and Butterflies of the Bristol region just made me more suspicious. If an adult had been spotted in the village then I'm sure we would have heard.
Caterpillar is still there this morning and still in the same state. It is on the edge of a patch fennel 6ft tall, which is the closest we've got to anything approaching its normal food plants in this garden.
Will follow up the links you sent.
Thanks for the update; good; keep us posted!
How exciting - yes please keep us updated.
Richard, you are SO lucky! I knew someone who lived on the south coast who saw an adult swallowtail flying in their garden. He assumed it was an escape from a butterfly farm. But there are usually several sightings a year (in the south UK ) of Swallowtails that have flown in from the continent. For you to have a larva about to pupate could point to the fact that continental Swallowtails have come over and bred in your garden. Wouldn't it be lovely if Swallowtails established in southern England?
Thanks for the repsonses. On Bank Holiday Monday morning the larva was still looking very much like a caterpillar. When I got in from work in the evening it had become a pupa, as per the photograph. The general consensus seems to be that it is either the result of an escapee from captive breeding or offspring of one of the European race (gorganus) that have been spotted along the souh coast this summer. Either way it was a bit of a shock!
Now, if it is either captive breed or European race, will it be robust enough to survive our winters? Any thoughts on whether I should/am able to do anything to increase its chances of survival?
Good update!
Turning into a nice story.
I'd be guided by what BC have to say.
So, the weather has been warm and the swallowtail hatched today, almost exactly 5 weeks after pupating. As you can see one tail was missing, but otherwise it was fine. It spent an hour on the patio warming itself up, not fazed by the visits of neighbours annd then flew high and strong over the trees and is currently visiting local gardens. However, today we were also visited by a party of ten blue tits plus a few great and coal tits and there are plenty of other hunrgy birds about... and the temperatures at night aren't so rosy.
Thankyou so much for this update. I have been wondering what happened. You are so lucky and at least now you can prepare yourself for next year and keep a close eye on that fennel plant of yours and its potential rare and beautiful visitors :-)
Thanks for letting us all in on this story!


text:
Cardinal Sports Report recently spoke with Columbia High School (Idaho) head coach Derek Mertz about his star tight end and recent Stanford commit Eric Cotton.
Cardinal Sports Report: What can you tell me about Eric as a football player?
Derek Mertz: I think really to evaluate Eric, first of all, I think he's a great student. And he has a great head on his shoulders. One of his first offers was from Harvard. And another one was from Yale. And Boise State is obviously in our neck of the woods and they play some big-time football and they were very interested in Eric, so we had that talk of 'Hey, you have an opportunity at a school like Harvard that could change your life. It's not Division-One football, but obviously it's a fantastic education. I want you to maybe consider passing on a D-1 school for that education.' One of the things that really impressed me is he's really given that a hard, hard look. And I think a lot of young men, especially if they're here in Idaho would think, 'Oh my goodness, Boise State, ESPN. I've never play Harvard play in my life, why would I go to Harvard?' But I think he values the right things. He really values the academic side.
And anyway, we talked more, and I asked him, what would be your dream schools. And this is just as our season ended up, and he said, 'You know coach, I'd love to play at Stanford.' Stanford was his dream school and I'm tickled that he has an opportunity to go play there.
CSR: What does Eric do well as a tight end?
DM: I think he's an exceptional route runner. I think he's very, very athletic. Missouri offered him as well and he was MVP of the Missouri camp a couple of weeks ago, and I think there were 600 athlete there, and very athletic kids obviously in the SEC conference. But for a guy who's legitimately, I think 6-foot-5,1/2 without shoes on and weighs 237 pounds, he's a big man. He's very young and exceptionally athletic.
I was around Dallas Sartz, I coached six years at Granite Bay High School down in Sacramento. Dallas Sartz went to USC, went to the NFL. Eric is like [a bigger] Dallas Sartz. He's tall, he's athletic, he's just another 20 pounds heavier. He's big, he's muscly. It's just so rare to see that athletic and that big and be so young. You talk about numbers, he ran an electronic 4.69 40 and that was in the spring. And that was after he worked out. He's pretty fast. And I think that there are a lot of guys at Stanford right now that don't have the numbers that he has. I'm not saying that Eric is a better player right now than the juniors and seniors, I'm just saying athletically he's probably more gifted than many of them.
CSR: What areas in Eric's game aren't as well-developed?
DM: I would say that in our offense, we split them out wide. We use him as a receiver and I know Stanford puts them on the end of the line of scrimmage and has them block. It's not that I don't think Eric can do that or Eric's bad at that, it's that Eric doesn't have a lot of experience doing that. So if there's an area of weakness, I wouldn't say it's a weakness, it's just a lack of experience. So he's strong enough to get it done, he's one of the strongest players on our football team. Actually when he was a sophomore for us, because we didn't have many big guys and we had a bunch of receivers, he played offensive tackle for us when he was a sophomore and started every game as a varsity player.
CSR: From a high school tight end's perspective, how big is the draw to an offense like Stanford's where the tight end is featured so prominently?
DM: I think for him one of the things he recognized that was a little bit different than Washington State or Missouri is that he was going to learn how to play in that three-point stance, quite honestly. I think he felt that it would prepare him very well to be a pro football player and that's something he's dreamt of doing. Being in the Stanford offense, not only will he have opportunities to catch the football, and they plan on possibly if his athleticism proves to be genuine, which I think it will be, they might move him out wide and create mismatches kind of like the Patriots do with Rob Gronkowski on linebackers and whatnot, but they'll also put him down tight and that will be an opportunity for him to learn the position as an NFL player would play it and make him more marketable in four years.
CSR: What in your mind distinguishes Eric from some of the other high school prospects?
DM: He's a real gentleman. He's a 3.95 [GPA] kid. I think you're getting a young man that wants to excel in the classroom. Again, I go back to the before Stanford was an opportunity - he was really taking a hard look at Harvard because of the future academically for him and what it meant for his family as he moved beyond football. I think you have a guy that's going to want to excel in the classroom, and there's of course a negative stereotype to football players that they're loud, they're obnoxious, they don't know when to turn off the testosterone. I think Eric's going to go there, he's going to play football the way it's meant to be played, and when he steps off the field, I think he's going to be a great student. So I think he's someone that Coach Shaw wisely recruited. I think he'll represent the university well and I think the Stanford alum will be proud to point to Eric Cotton as one of their own. Nowadays, that's hard to do. Because a lot of times you'll find those guys that have a great motor, they have the tenacity, but they don't have the kind of character off the field that you want on your campus. And Stanford's a place where they don't compromise that and I think they made a good pick with Eric.


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Music teacher jailed for having sex with teenage student loses appeal
A music teacher who had sex with one of his teenage students has lost his bid to overturn his five-year jail term.
The teacher had applied for leave to appeal his conviction and sentence after a County Court jury found him guilty of three charges of sexual penetration of a child under 16 but not guilty of five other child sex charges. The jury failed to reach a verdict on nine other charges.
The Court of Appeal's Chief Justice Marilyn Warren and Justices Robert Redlich and Mark Weinberg rejected the teacher's application on Friday.
In their judgment, Justice Weinberg said the teacher had preyed on the girl between 2004 and 2005, when she was aged 14 and 15 in Years 9 and 10 and he was aged 33.
''The prosecution case was that for just over a year ... the applicant (the teacher) repeatedly engaged in acts of sexual penetration with the complainant,'' the judge said.
''These offences took place at a series of different locations. They included both her home and his, the school itself, and his car.''
Justice Weinberg said the man continued to teach the girl up to 2007 when she was in Year 12 and would accompany her to various musical performances.
''The applicant became a family friend,'' the judge said.
''He was invited, on a regular basis, to the complainant's home for dinner.
''He also went on two camping holidays with her family during the school mid-year breaks in 2004 and 2005.''
The girl claimed that shortly after the mid-year break in 2004, the teacher invited her to sing at a wedding function in Melbourne, accompanying him while he played the piano.
When the teacher was later driving the girl home, he was ''taking drags with his cigarette'' and blowing the smoke in her direction.
''He blew the smoke into her mouth and was getting closer and closer until eventually he kissed her on the lips at some traffic lights,'' the judge said.
''He then pulled over and they kissed on the lips passionately for 'quite some time, perhaps five, ten minutes'.
''The complainant could not 'really strongly remember' whether there was any conversation. She felt 'overwhelmed, confused, just kind of swept away in whatever was happening'. He then drove her home.''
On another occasion, the teacher and the girl met during class time in a small room at the school where the performing arts were taught.
The room was elevated and looked out over two large classrooms. It was not possible to see into the room from either of the two classrooms below.
The girl said the teacher locked the door and they had sex while he sat on a chair and she sat on his lap.
The judge said the girl claimed the teacher later gave her a paper bag containing a vibrator and some lingerie.
There were two other occasions when the girl was babysitting the teacher's young son when he had sex with her.
Justice Weinberg said the teacher's defence during his trial was that the girl had ''either concocted all of these allegations, or that for a combination of other reasons, her evidence was unreliable''.
The three judges said they did not believe the jury got it wrong when convicting the teacher who was jailed for five years with a non-parole period of three years.
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Can someone id this dragonfly for me, seen at rspb ouse washes.
Thanks Jonty
Apart from the green eyes, this looks like a female black tailed skimmer. I don't know enough about dragonflies to know if the eye colour is significant or if this is variable depending on the angle of the incident light.
I've looked at the vein pattern on the hind wing and it appears to me to resemble that of the black tailed skimmer and you can find a photo to make your own comparison here
Thanks for your reply, having looked in field guides i was not to sure, but i think you could be correct about black tailed skimmer.
Where are you?


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Hi, I'm currently having a problem with zone alarm 6.0.631.002. The reason why I'm using this current version because I am trying to avoid a conflict problem with Gateway P3 751mhz and NOD32.Very long
Story: about 4 days ago I was using zone alarm 7.0 and very few problems with it. one day the ZA asked me to update it...... it was asking me every 4 hours a day last week to update, so I gave in and said screw it let it update.... tuesday morning my system is hitting 100% CPU Usage and when a program needs permission for internet or system resources (Files or Folders) -GLB40- temporary folder it locks up and forces me to reboot the PC. My PC can't take so much abuse with me having to a hard reboot and in the end cost me 2 sticks of RAM or 1 of my HDD's which I don't need dying.
So I reinstalled XP pro sp2
put in that zone alarm version as stated above. the problem I have with this is that when I install software it will go through and make it to the end however though it won't finish until I hit ctrl-alt-del and then zone alarm says the program is
making a dangerous behavoir movements example: monitoring what the user is doing and it will help the user access a certain feature or whatever and then it locks up I also noticed zone alarm is pointing to GLB40 temporary folder or other temporay folders whn setting up software.
Can anybody offer any help that would help me continue using this version
or use another 6.0 version of ZA
until ZoneAlarm crew fixes version 7.0 ? don't get me wrong I love zone alarm since version 5.0 and up along with a tag team NOD32 stopping trojans from getting important data.
Would it be good to setup my netgear wireless router firewall for my pc ? been trying to avoid it.
Operating System:Windows XP Pro
Product Name:ZoneAlarm Pro
Software Version:6.0


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RHS (23-9), the third seed from the 6A-East, defeated the Lady Panthers, the second seed from the 6A-South, 19-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-20, 17-15 inside Annie Camp Junior High School.
Hunter Eshnaur, last year's finals MVP, had 16 kills to add to her 14 kills from Tuesday night's win over El Dorado. Meredith Darnell had 10 kills on Wednesday. Ashtin Kendrick had seven blocks for the Lady Cyclones.
Russellville will play Jonesboro, the top seed from the 6A-East which defeated Greenwood on Wednesday, at 6 p.m. today in the state tournament semifinals. The winner will play for the 2014 state championship at 7 p.m. Saturday inside Russellville High School's Cyclone Gymnasium.
Today's game can be heard locally on KCJC 102.3 FM.


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Kaycee Stroh Straight Formal Updo Hairstyle - Medium Brunette (Auburn) Hair Color
Description(Added: 14th April 2011 )
This is a fantastic look for those looking for an upstyle to suit any day or night occasion. The back is pinned up to the head to form this splendid 'do, with the long bangs blow-dried smooth and worn over to the side for a magnificent finish. This hairstyle is easy to re-create and will need a little hairspray for hold and shine.
- Hair Category: Formal
- Hair Length: Updo Long
- Hair Elasticity: Straight
- Gender: Women
- Face Shape: Round, Oval, Heart, and Triangular
- Hair Density: Thin/Medium
- Hair Texture: Fine/Medium
- Age: Under 21, 21 - 30, 31 - 40, and 41 - 50
- Height: Any
- Weight: Thin/Average/Large
- Glasses: Without glasses suits best
- Styling Time: 30+ minutes
- Styling Tip: Allow up to 2 hours styling time for hot roller setting, teasing, pinning and spraying. This long lasting style is great for all occasions and all weather conditions.


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This sound is part of a sample pack of sounds that I recorded from my Dean Z Playmate (circa 1980s) using a 1/4-inch-to-USB cable. It is a single chord played on my guitar, which is tuned to a Dsus2 chord - DADEAD, from low to high. The lowest note played on my guitar is D below middle C, and the highest note is two octaves above that. The chord name played in this sample and the position are listed in the filename. Light processing has been done (light noise removal) using Audacity, although there is still some noise from the cable itself.
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Tulo makes habit of starting season slimmer
By Thomas Harding / MLB.com
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- If Rockies star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki seems a little trimmer than most folks remember, it just depends on what you're remembering.
Tulowitzki, whose health is the key to the Rockies' dreams of contending in the National League West, is playing at 205-210 pounds. He noted that he usually reports in that range, but by season's end, he's at 215.
"I'm one of those rare players that gain weight during the season," Tulowitzki said. "The theory behind it is me being lighter in the beginning is going to help me with my legs. But I try to put on a little bit during the season. It's such a long, grueling season that I feel like I need that extra weight at times."
McKenry working on thwarting basestealers
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Rockies catcher Michael McKenry believes in his ability to stop runners from stealing bases, even if the numbers glare in the other direction.
McKenry, in Rockies camp under a Minor League contract, threw out 19 percent of runners attempting to steal (32 of 167) in the last three seasons with the Pirates. As a comparison, in Monday's 8-1 loss to the Mariners, McKenry started and gave up three stolen bases, but one was on a double-steal so he made just two throws.
It looks as if he'll have more chances early in camp. McKenry caught Monday because Jordan Pacheco, the projected backup for Wilin Rosario, has shoulder pain and will not swing the bat for a couple of days.
But McKenry, who turned 29 Tuesday, hasn't always struggled. Originally drafted by the Rockies in 2006, McKenry earned his debut with the club in 2010 by throwing out 23 of 80 (29 percent) at Triple-A Colorado Springs.
"It's mechanical -- there have been a couple of things I've been doing the last couple of years that put me in bad spots," McKenry said. "When I was here the first time, I threw really well and even led all of baseball one year.
"It's keeping it simple. I play hard. I've got to throw hard. Sometimes we get a little out of sync and try to do more than we're capable of, or maybe you do something a way somebody is trying to teach you. I've been a little over-coachable at times when it comes to catching and throwing. I'm a good thrower. I have to believe that."
McKenry also is coming off surgery on his left knee. Camp has been an exercise in passing rehab milestones.
"I feel very sure," McKenry said. "It took some time when I first got here. I could still feel the scar tissue and I'd get the occasional scar tissue pop. I can feel that joint space.
"I started out with Knee Savers [the product catchers wear on the backs of their legs to alleviate pressure]. They're gone. Blocking is pretty much back to normal. Throwing is coming along. Early along, I got a lot of scar tissue planting on that foot, but it's better and I'm not as hesitant."
Martin's winding road could lead to Majors
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Chris Martin went to McLennan (Texas) Community College in 2005 with a dream of making it in baseball, and options if it didn't come through.
But when his dream and his fallback fell apart, and four years of laboring just to pay bills turned out unfulfilling, Martin turned back to baseball. Almost miraculously, Martin, a 6-foot-7 relief pitcher, has a chance of realizing his Major League dream with the Rockies.
If he didn't sign in pro ball -- the Tigers had taken him in 2004 (18th round), and the Rockies selected him in 2005 (21st round) -- he would go to the University of Oklahoma, and if pro ball wasn't there at the end, he had an exciting dream.
"I really wanted to major in meteorology, and I wanted to chase tornadoes," he said. "I've chased a few, actually seen a couple in person. It's pretty intense. A lot of adrenaline you get."
Instead, Martin suffered a shoulder injury in 2005 that dissuaded the Rockies, who were going to track him all year before deciding whether to sign him, and seemingly ended his baseball dream. He wound up loading trucks for UPS, working (and disliking) working at Lowe's, then rolling fridges and washing machines on dollies for a warehouse called Texas Appliance. He wasn't moving toward meteorology or any type of rewarding career.
"There were times I needed to go to school, but I needed to work and make money and pay the bills," Martin said.
One day while working at Texas Appliance, his boss brought a ball and gloves and wanted to throw. The ball came out of Martin's hand with the old life. And the next day, he didn't hurt anymore. He thinks his body matured.
"When I was younger, I was skinny and throwing as hard as I am now," Martin said. "I don't think the shoulder was able to handle that much pressure or velocity. Over the years I gained weight and put muscle on."
In 2010, Martin signed with the Grand Prairie AirHogs of the independent American Association. The Red Sox saw him, worked him out a couple of times and signed him for the 2011 season. The maturity he learned in the real world helped him deal with baseball's ups and downs.
Last season, Martin began at Double-A Portland and went 2-0 without giving up a run in 12 relief appearances. The Sox called him to Triple-A Pawtucket. He went 3-3 with a 3.18 ERA in 30 relief appearances and along the way discovered a cut fastball that went with his fastball and slider.
The Rockies acquired Martin, 27, and lefty Franklin Morales for infielder Jonathan Herrera during the winter. Now Martin finds himself in competition for a relief role. Should Morales make the rotation instead of being used as a reliever, Martin could be competing with fellow non-roster invitees Manuel Corpas and Nick Masset, as well as prospects Rob Scahill and Chad Bettis, for a right-handed spot.
In 2 1/3 innings in this spring, Martin has given up no runs and one hit, while brandishing a 93-95 mph fastball.
"He's made a great early impression. People are talking about the fact that he's a strike-thrower, he's in the mid-90s, he's got real good angle, is a ground-ball guy -- a lot to like about him," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said.
"I had friends that I saw on TV, like Logan Ondrusek of the Reds, who was my college roommate," Martin said. "I was like, I want to be in his shoes. Watching him and all my other friends that I knew, I definitely thought about making it happen."
Rutledge contending with sprained ankle
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Josh Rutledge lost the Rockies' starting second-base job last season, and his early attempt at winning back at-bats has been slowed by a slight left ankle sprain.
Rutledge suffered the injury the second day of full-squad workouts and aggravated it while playing Saturday against the Reds.
"Better now than in the season, missing a whole bunch of time," Rutledge said. "The thing now is to not try to come back too quick on it, and there will still be plenty of time."
Rutledge jumped from Double-A Tulsa to the Majors in 2012 to replace injured shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and hit .274 with eight homers and 37 RBIs in 73 games, but he hit .235 last season in 88 games and spent 38 games at Triple-A Colorado Springs. DJ LeMahieu ran with the starting second-base job after Rutledge struggled.
Now Rutledge wants to regain playing time. His history at short means he can be used as a utility middle infielder, but second is the place he wants to earn starts.
In other injury news, catcher Jordan Pacheco said an MRI on his ailing left shoulder revealed that the problem is fatigue.
"It's fine structurally; it's strong," Pacheco said. "You want to play every day and get your reps in Spring Training, but I played winter ball and I'm not too worried about it."
Worth noting
• Weiss said he is not concerned long term about first baseman Justin Morneau's stiff neck, which has kept him out of action since Friday. However, Morneau will not play in either of the Rockies' split-squad games Wednesday, against the Cubs at Mesa or against the Rangers at Surprise.
"March 4 or whatever it is, you've got a lot of time," Weiss said. "My feeling is hitters don't need many at-bats down here, especially guys that have been around for a while."
• The Rockies are careful not to put a timetable on right-hander Jhoulys Chacin (shoulder strain and inflammation) and are prepared for him to miss some starts early in the regular season. But Weiss said he is progressing positively. The hope is Chacin can return to long-toss in a couple of days and eventually work up to bullpen sessions.
"Sometimes with injuries you hit a plateau and stay there for a week or two, but it sounds like he's progressing nicely," Weiss said.
Thomas Harding is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @harding_at_mlb. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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A group of 140 people from around the Sunflower State gathered in Topeka for the Kansas Credit Union Association's Annual Day at the Capitol on Feb. 7.
The Kansas Senate and House of Representatives recognized 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives during their sessions and Kansas credit unions were acknowledged for their role in the cooperative industry. The credit union staffers then met with lawmakers and each other to discuss the issues of the day.
That included 13 members of CUnext, the KCUA's Young Professionals Council. That group met with Department of Credit Unions administrator John Smith and House Speaker Pro Tem Representative Jene Vickrey and also met Gov. Sam Brownback.
"Since joining, I have been given excellent opportunities that I would not have had otherwise to meet and exchange ideas with my colleagues in the credit union world, " said Farron Lynch, member services and Gen Y rep at the $69 million Central Star CU in Wichita. "I was introduced to a passion for the CU movement that was evident in all the executives, association staff and the lobbyists that work extremely hard to ensure the future of all Kansas credit unions."
Kansas has 100 credit unions with about 625,000 members.
KCUA President/CEO Marla Marsh and Kansas Treasurer Ron Estes. Kansas credit unions partner with Estes' office to bring financial literacy programs like Money$mart camps to Kansas schools.
CUnexter Jaclyn Lawson, left, from Quest Credit Union, joins seasoned advocates and fellow Quest colleagues Vickie Hurt and Valerie Taylor, in meeting with State Rep. Kay Wolf, second from right, at the KCUA legislative reception.
The CUnext Young Professionals Council met with Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback during the annual Credit Union Day at the Capitol in Topeka on Feb. 7.


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Brazil urges rich nations to curb climate change
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged rich countries on Tuesday to pay to help curb climate change by protecting tropical forests and reiterated criticism of the United States for its import duties on biofuels.
Lula's message came ahead of next week's United Nations climate change conference in Bali, Indonesia, which the world body hopes will lead to negotiations on a new global pact to reduce carbon emissions blamed for global warming.
"The rich countries need to know that in Bali we will discuss in depth the price they must pay so the poorest countries can protect their forests," Lula said during the launch of the United Nations Report on Human Development in the capital Brasilia.
"You are not going to convince the poor anywhere in the world not to cut a tree without the right to a job and food in exchange," the former union leader added.
Brazil, a major developing world trading power with an increasing influence on environmental issues, is a pioneer in producing and using low-emissions ethanol derived from sugar cane and 85 percent of its power generation comes from renewable energy sources.
But its is one of the world's largest carbon gas emitters, due largely to the destruction of the Amazon rain forest. Tropical forests like the Amazon release stored carbon dioxide when trees are burnt or decompose.
Brazil has proposed "positive incentives" financed by rich countries to help protect forests in developing nations. It also wants an international convention to force pharmaceutical companies to pay for drugs derived from plants found in rainforests.
"We are not prepared to be treated as second-class citizens in this debate," Lula said.
Lula also criticized the United States for subsidizing less efficient ethanol derived from corn, while charging duties on imported ethanol made from sugarcane.
"Where is the trade equality, where is the will to clean the planet? ... They could start taxing oil," Lula said.
The former factory workers also ridiculed gas-guzzling vehicles used in developed countries.
"There are cars in parts of the world that are so big they can't turn a corner, with one of those you could make three common cars here in Brazil."
(Reporting by Raymond Colitt; Editing by Stuart Grudgings)


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She was born Aug. 25, 1924, in Birta to the late Ira and Eva Hubbard Archer.
Survivors include her children and their spouses, Darrell and Terry George of Rose Creek, Ella Morrison of Ola and Gary and Pam George of Conway; and several grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Funeral service will be at 2 p.m. today at the Birta Missionary Baptist Church. Burial will be at Birta Cemetery. Visitation will be from 1-2 p.m. prior to service.
Arrangements are by Cornwell Funeral Home in Danville.
Online guestbook and condolences at www.cornwellfuneralhomes.com.


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Manny says he'd approve a trade
If right deal comes along, left fielder won't stop Red Sox
By Ian Browne / MLB.com
"What I said was, if the Red Sox, if they think they could find a trade, you know, that's going to make their team better and both sides are going to be happy, I'm going to agree," Ramirez said.
And what if there is no sufficient deal?
"But if they cannot find that trade, it's something simple," Ramirez said. "It's no big deal. At the end of the season, all they've got to do is call my agent and tell him, 'Hey, we're not going to pick up Manny's option for '09. He's going to become a free agent and that's it. I'll go my way, and you guys go your way.' It's something simple."
Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein has explored trades for Ramirez in the past -- both during the season and in the offseason -- but he has never been able to find anything close to equal value for one of the finest sluggers of this generation. That figures to be an obstacle again if the Red Sox do wind up soliciting offers for their cleanup man in the next few days.
The club did not think it was appropriate to respond to Ramirez's comments or to divulge its strategy heading into the Trade Deadline.
"We are concentrating on one thing -- a playoff spot," Red Sox owner John W. Henry wrote in an e-mail.
"We will have no further comment about this situation on the record or off the record," said Epstein. "Our focus is on this team -- which is in the middle of a pennant race -- and in any case it would be premature to comment now on an offseason contractual issue."
Though Ramirez has certainly had plenty of highs and lows during his near eight seasons in Boston, he indicated that closure is probably the best thing for both sides at the end of 2008. The Red Sox hold $20 million club options for Ramirez for 2009 and '10.
"I know they've got me, but hey, enough is enough," Ramirez said. "I'm tired of them, they're tired of me. After 2008, just send me a letter or whatever, you don't even have to call my agent or whatever, 'Thank you for everything, you're going to become a free agent, we're not going to pick up your option in '09.'"
Ramirez doesn't seem to expect that the Red Sox will pick up his option in November.
"That's not going to happen, they're not stupid," Ramirez said.
With the Red Sox fighting for their third World Series championship in five seasons, Ramirez also doesn't think that he'll be traded this week.
"Boston is not stupid," Ramirez said. "They're not going to do it. They can say whatever they want. But when it comes to make a deal, they're not going to pull the trigger because they know what they've got here."
Is Ramirez happy with the Red Sox?
"I'm happy," Ramirez said. "But enough is enough, you know?"
What does enough is enough mean?
"That's it," Ramirez said. "You've got to ask Theo and John Henry, they know."
Red Sox manager Terry Francona said Ramirez hadn't mentioned anything to him about wanting to be traded or being willing to veto his no-trade rights.
Ramirez was even more expansive about his willingness to accept a trade in a phone interview with ESPN Deportes.
"If the Red Sox are a better team without Manny Ramirez, they should trade me; I will not object," Ramirez said. "I don't have any preferences. I could choose a team that offers me the best conditions or one in the chase for the postseason. I don't care where I play, I can even play in Iraq if need be. My job is to play baseball."
The latest Manny being Manny controversy started on Wednesday in Seattle, where the left fielder informed Francona he couldn't play because of right knee soreness. Francona was surprised, informing reporters that the injury hadn't been on any of the team's medical reports in the previous days.
Another storm cloud developed on Friday, when Francona had Ramirez listed in his lineup roughly three hours before the game, only to have Ramirez tell bench coach Brad Mills that he couldn't play.
Shortly thereafter, there was a meeting in Francona's office that included the manager, Epstein, Henry, club chairman Tom Werner, Ramirez and members of the training staff. The Red Sox had Ramirez sent out for an MRI that night on both knees, and the results were negative.
Several media outlets reported that the Red Sox were prepared to hand down disciplinary action to Ramirez -- perhaps even a suspension -- if he still claimed he was unavailable on Saturday. But Ramirez did return to the lineup that day, and he was back in there on Sunday night.
While, to a man, almost every Red Sox player has been tight-lipped regarding Ramirez's recent controversy, shortstop Julio Lugo came out and defended his friend on Sunday.
"I've been here for two years, and I think I'm one of the guys who has been as close to Manny as anybody else," said Lugo. "As a friend, I'm going to defend him. He cares so much. He does so much to be ready. He prepares himself. Things distract him."
Lugo believes that Ramirez's knee injury is legitimate.
"If he says it's hurting, it's hurting," Lugo said. "Nobody knows. Sometimes you have tendinitis in your knee and it doesn't show anything. But if you're hurting, you're hurt, you know? I can't say anything. I know Manny. He plays every day. He's been hurt for a while. And they ask me the same thing -- 'Is he hurt?' I say, 'He tells me he's hurting.' I can't tell you he's not hurting. I know he's been hurt for a while. If you ask me, that's what I'm going to tell you. He tells me he's hurt, and I believe him."
Francona doesn't think the issues surrounding Ramirez will be a distraction to the team.
"Our job is to not necessarily have bumps in the road, but to deal with the bumps and move on and be better," Francona said. "I think we've always been able to do that. That's our job."
Ian Browne 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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The eyes' romantic depiction as the "windows to the soul" isn't just the stuff of whimsical verse. Sure, the word pupil comes from the Latin for "little doll," referencing how those storied orbs produce miniature, doll-like reflections of people in their sightline, much like shiny sunglasses lenses [source: Merriam-Webster]. But the vacillating openings at the center of our irises indeed mirror more than what's on the outside.
The mechanism of pupil constriction and dilation is regulated by the autonomic nervous system, which is also responsible for other uncontrollable reactions like goose bumps and heart rates. Inside the eyeball, the dilator and the sphincter muscles play the iris tissue like an accordion to the tune of light [source: Swaminathan]. Then again, the sun isn't the only thing orchestrating when the pupils open and shut. Humans' inborn fight or flight response, triggered by the parasympathetic nervous system -- a subset of the autonomic nervous system -- also manifests in our irises. When fear strikes, as Charles Darwin first proposed in the 1870s, the pupils expand to heightened attention and focus [source: Stern, Ray and Quigley]. About a century later, scientists discovered that pupils also pop when we experience emotions on the sunnier end of the spectrum.
In a 1965 Scientific American magazine article, psychologist Eckhard Hess described an intriguing experiment [source: Stern, Ray and Quigley]. While showing his research assistant James Polt a series of photographs, Hess tracked changes in the diameter of Polt's pupil size. Lo and behold, Polt's pupils enlarged most dramatically when a picture of a nude woman flashed before his eyes, leading Hess to hypothesize that sexual arousal stimulates the pupils [source: Andreassi]. Further experimentation found heterosexual people's pupils dilated when staring at opposite-sex nudes, whereas homosexual participants exhibited that pupillary response when looking at same-sex nudes, offering further confirmation of a link between sexual interest and dilation [source: Andreassi].
Additionally, the researchers noticed a compelling clue about how the eyes may influence physical attraction. Not only do pupils dilate in response to titillating material, but people also rate faces with saucer-like pupils as more attractive than those looking back with fuller irises [source: Murphy].


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I hope you can find a new job quickly (although collecting unemployment checks for a while while doing OS stuff could also be nice if you can afford it). How is the job market in Marseilles at the moment?
(Learning seriously XML ?
I object to this, and I am sure darobin and Antoine do to. We don't want to many people doing Perl &XML in France, you're going to drive the market price down
If you are interested I might have a job offer in Toulouse for you though (no XML required!)


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Monroe County ranked 175th among the largest 329 counties nationwide in terms of employment growth percentage in the first quarter, a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows.
Some 370,700 people were employed in 18,200 establishments in the first quarter, an employment increase of 1.4 percent.
Saratoga County ranked 40th, the highest on the list in terms of percentage of employment increase among the 18 counties ranked in New York State.
BLS reported an average weekly wage of $892 in Monroe County, up 5.1 percent from the first quarter 2011. Monroe County ranked 205th in terms of weekly wage increase. At No. 38, Suffolk County ranked the highest among counties statewide.
In Erie County, some 23,800 businesses employed 449,400 people in the first quarter, a 1.1 percent increase. Erie County ranked 203rd in employment growth for the quarter. The average weekly wage was $842, up 6 percent from the first quarter 2011. The county ranked 139th in weekly wages.
Nationwide, some 9.2 million businesses employed 130.2 million people in the first quarter, up 1.8 percent. Employment increased in 293 of the 329 counties ranked nationwide, BLS reported. The average weekly wage increased 5.4 percent to $984 in the first quarter.
Data in the report include counties with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2011.


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Basketball Wives Episode 4 Top Moments: Touching Moments With Tami's Mother And Shaunie Says "Grow Up And Shut Up" [Video]
Evelyn meets with her attorney to discuss her prenup agreement with Chad and the no contact order she had against him.
Tami treats her mom, Nadine, to a day at the spa and the two talk about getting a family portrait and Nadine's decision about Hospice.
Tami and Evelyn discuss Tami's issue with Shaunie planting a negative seed in Tasha's mind. Tami threatens to get physical with Shaunie if things cross the line.
Tasha and Tami meet to clear some things up about the chef incident, Shaunie planting a negative seed, and Tami's friendly disclaimer.
When Evelyn tells Shaunie what Tami said about her, Shaunie becomes annoyed with Tami and the whole Tasha situation.
While walking on the beach, Suzie shares her personal physical abuse story to Evelyn and the two discuss leaving violent relationships.
Evelyn meets with Dr. Nixon to discuss closing this chapter of her life, what she wants for Chad, and what she wants out of their relationship.
Continue Slideshow
While getting manicures, Evelyn encourages Shaniece to earn her college degree before pursuing a career as a model or actress.


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Padfoot: Well, I'm me! Strong, handsome, compassionate, loving, caring, kind at heart-"
Prongs: "Psh, whatever. You're a lazy, arrogant, cheating, lying, evil, twisted little-"
Padfoot: "Hey! A little respect. After all I did just help you impress Evans."
Prongs: "What are you talking about?"
Padfoot: "At dinner. Don't you remember? I stopped you from throwing that grape at Snape."
Prongs: "You threw that grape which hit his goblet and spilled pumpkin juice all over him. Then you blamed me in front of Lily!"
Padfoot: "Oh... well it's the thought that counts!"
Prongs: "WHAT THOUGHT?"
Lily: "What are you two doing?"
Padfoot: "Ah, Lily, Prongs was just talking about you."
Lily: "Oh really, James? Thinking of throwing more grapes at my friend?"
Prongs: "It was Padfoot!"
Padfoot: "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Prongs: "Lies!"
Lily: "You two are so immature. What's that you're holding?"
Padfoot: "It's a tape recorder."
Lily: "What? Those aren't suppose to work here!"
Prongs: "Padfoot bewitched it. It's a long story."
Lily: "Well hand it over. They aren't aloud."
Padfoot: "That's not a rule!"
Lily: "Oh really? Want to go ask McGonagall? While we're there we can unmask the real grape-thrower."
Padfoot: "You're mental."
Lily tries to grab the recorder.
Padfoot: "Get away you mental witch!"
Lily: "You aren't aloud to have that! Hand it over!"
Padfoot: "Never! You can take it from my cold, dead hands!"
Prongs: "Let it go, Padfoot!"
Padfoot: "Stupify!"
Prongs: "Padfoot, you just stunned her!"
Padfoot: "She was asking for it!"
Prongs: "She's going to kill us when she's back to normal."
Padfoot: "I think it's time for us to get up to the dorm."
Prongs: "Yeah, it's been a long day."
Padfoot: "Night, Evans!"


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Hi is it possible to have styles that change dynamically? i.e a link colour will increase tint by 0.1% everytime it's clicked. I'm guessing is going to involve some extensive javascript. Any hlep would be great. Cheers
Hi eckul, welcome to the forums,
I'm not sure what you mean by tint. AFAIK a color can have 256 values (00 to FF) so incrementing changes by one thousandths would be impossiible.
But in general, yes, javascript can change property values.
Are you sure you want to change link color? Or is this a "for example" type of question?
[ot]For background on this, here's the original thread: http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?1188073-Progressive-CSS-does-this-exist
In the previous thread, @Paul_O_B pointed to this post on HSLa colors.
Hi Thanks for your replies.
Basically I want to make a poll. i.e do you like cats? YES / NO. If people click YES the word cats will start to become green, if people click NO the word will start to turn red. Once the word has a 20 clicks I want the word cats to become either red or green depending on which has the most clicks. I'm not too worried about the increments of colour there might only be 4 different shades of green. I know it's kind of weird. Let me know if you have nay ideas. Cheers
Sounds like you really need a backend script to me. I'm not sure if JS alone can keep a record of all your users' clicks. And what's to stop one user clicking 20 times? A backend script would have a better chance.
Agreed. I see two areas that need to be considered.
Color gradation. i.e. in this image
the left-most is full red, second full red half green, middle full red full green, half red full green, right-most full green
So you could do a transition in twenty steps but are the intermediate colors acceptable to you?
Javascript could use cookies or localstorage per user, but for per page across users the info will need to be stored somehow. It need not necessarily be by using a database, it could be a simple read-write file, but it would need something server-side.
*As Ralph mentioned, if "click cheating" is a concern, that would need to be addressed somehow too.
Thanks, yes intermediate colours are acceptable. It would be good to store click information but I'm also not too worried about click cheating, it's more for fun and engagement rather then a competition.
Do you have a server-side language, PHP? Do you have experience working with ether file or database functions?
Hi Sorry about the delay, I do have some PHP experience but I'm by no means an expert. If you have any ideas that would point me in the right direction that would be great. Then I can have a go and let you know where I get to. Cheers
I think the next step is to determine what kind of information you need to save to get this to work.
Maybe something like this would be enough?button_id click_count
cheers, I'll start with that and let you know how I go.


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Posts Tagged sommers
The "Tebow Phenomenon"
Posted by Kaitlin Provencher in Blogs, Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences on January 13, 2012
For those who actively follow professional football, you are probably no stranger to the name Tim Tebow. The former third-string turned starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos has stirred up quite the media buzz this season, helping his team make it to this Saturday's game verse the New England Patriots, which will decide who is going to the AFC Championship game. But is it all just a bunch of hype? Psychology Professor Sam Sommers shared his thoughts on the "Tebow Phenomenon" in a blog post, taking a more holistic approach to the Broncos recent success.
But there isn't just one simple reason for their success at the end of these games. They have a great defense. They're running an unconventional offense that seems to wear opponents down by the 4th quarter. There's luck too. Real life can be complicated that way.


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imwiththewolf23 wrote:you know what thats a great comparison! (i just love the movie titanic so Jack and Rose were the first couple that came to life) do you read a lot of Jane Austen? she's one of my favorite authors. pride and prejudice is my favorite novel by her. (I know. I'm so cliche.)
Yes, I love Jane Austen! Pride and Prejudice was my favorite until I read Persuasion. That one is just so...thoughtful and reflective. That's the kind of stuff I like. I just adored how after so many years and misunderstandings Anne and Captain Wentworth could never, ever be with anyone else.


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A statistical view of surrounding issues that affect Lubbock and South Plains residents.
Buddy Holly Archives
He changed the face of music and helped put Lubbock on the map. Find out about the life and times of Lubbock's own music legend.
Lubbock Centennial
Lubbock marked its 100th birthday in 2009. Read a collection of stories and photos telling the city's history.
A-J Media topic pages through the years.
A-J History
Wikipedia: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
The Lubbock Avalanche was founded by attorney John James Dillard with his business partner Thad Tubbs, who provided the money for the equipment to publish a newspaper in 1900. According to Dillard, the origin of the newspaper's Avalanche name came from his desire that the newspaper surprise the citizens of Lubbock.
Newspaper editors, publishers build Avalanche-Journal into an institution
J.J. Dillard founded what became The Avalanche-Journal, which set the stage for Chas. A. Guy and Parker Prouty to usher the newspaper into an era of partnership and prosperity while never forgetting a commitment to community journalism.
Delivering Lubbock Avalanche-Journal brought trials, tribulations
Robby Parrish still remembers what might have been the coldest day he ever spent in Lubbock, and he has the frostbite scar to prove it.
A-J Community
A-J Media carries on Goodfellows holiday tradition
For years, they arrived in the quiet of the night, cloaked in anonymity and armed with a common mission: Deliver the Christmas spirit to Lubbock's needy children.


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(CBS) A new study offers a rare inside look at the three full face transplant procedures underwent at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston in 2011.
PICTURES: 7 Amazing face transplants (GRAPHIC IMAGES)
In March, surgeons at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston performed the first full face transplant in the U.S. on Dallas Wiens, a 26-year-old Texas man who accidentally struck a power line when painting a church. Less than a month later, BWH surgeons performed a full face transplant on 30-year-old Mitch Hunter of Indiana, who was disfigured after an auto accident (pictured). Then Charla Nash, who made headlines when her neighbor's chimpanzee mauled her in 2009, underwent the procedure at the hospital in May. All three are well on their way to recovery.
"Unlike conventional reconstruction, facial transplantation seeks to transform severely deformed features to a near-normal appearance and function that conventional reconstructive plastic surgical techniques cannot match," study author and lead surgeon Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, director of the plastic surgery transplantation program at BWH, said in a written statement. "It truly is a life-giving procedure for these patients."
In an effort to advance the face transplant field by sharing their findings, the surgeries are described in the Dec. 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
How did these amazing surgeries unfold? First, Pomahac and his team had to rigorously screen the prospective candidates with physicals and psychological exams to make sure they were mentally and physically prepared for the surgery.
The surgeons then describe in the journal how they worked with lots of hospital staff members and other clinicians so they could prepare the patient for transplant while simultaneously preparing the donor tissue, all within a short time frame.
Lastly, the doctors describe the patients' recovery, and how doctors had to constantly monitor the patients, adjusting their immunosuppressant medications so their bodies wouldn't reject the new faces. Both Hunter and Nash experienced a single episode of rejection each, and were treated with immunosuppressant drugs. All three patients got infections from the surgery, which were also treated.
Overall, the procedures were successful, and over time the transplanted tissue actually transformed and adapted to match features of each patient.
How are the patients doing now? Wiens' feeling in the right side of his face returned within four months. Hunter got feeling back in his chin, forehead, and lips within only three months. Nash currently has sensation in her face but no movement at this time.
"Our focus moving forward continues to be on monitoring and documenting the progress of patients who have undergone FFT, and refining the use of immunosuppressants, with the hope that one day patients will eventually need to take little or none," Pomahac said.
Since 2005, 18 patients have received face transplants with promising results, according to the study, but most have been to restore partial face defects.
Footage of Dallas Wien's surgery:
Surgery DW from BWH Public Affairs on Vimeo.


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You are here
The Best Healthy Seafood Recipes
Lemon-Garlic Shrimp & Vegetables
Shrimp Scampi lovers will enjoy this healthy twist. Nix the butter and add flavor with red peppers and asparagus for a refreshing meal. Serve with whole grains like quinoa, couscous, or pasta.
Scallops Yakitori
Grilled scallops with a salty Japanese sauce are perfect for summer barbecues.
Crab Salad Melts
You don't need to live seaside to make this dish. Use any type of crabmeat, including cans or pouches from the grocery store, to make this light meal.
Seafood Linguine
Dinner guests will think you slaved in the kitchen for hours to make this seafood pasta dish. They don't need to know it only took 35 minutes.
Shrimp Saganaki
Top sauteed fennel, scallions, and peppers with shrimp and feta cheese for a seafood dish that'll transport you to the Mediterranean.
Mussels South of Two Borders
This mussels recipe adds Latin American flavor with chorizo, chilies and cerveza.
Jumbo Prawns & Balsamic-Orange Onions
Bring out the flavors of onions by slow-cooking them in the oven, and add orange zest and balsamic vinegar for a flavorful shrimp recipe.
Creamy Scallop & Pea Fettuccine
Low-fat milk and flour give you a thick, creamy sauce without the extra calories and fat found in traditional cream sauces.
Summer Paella
Do the grilling and slicing before cooking the rice to make this dish more manageable. Later on you can multitask like a pro Spanish chef.
Seared Scallops with Sauteed Cucumbers
Lightly sauteed cucumbers and sweet scallops make a great pair. Serve with bread or boiled potatoes for a simple, delicious dinner.
Scallops in Saffron-Tarragon Broth
Combine tomatoes, tarragon, and white wine to make a broth for this colorful stew recipe. Serve with salad of mixed greens and a whole-grain baguette slice to make it a hearty meal.
Prosciutto-Wrapped Scallops with Spinach
Swap bacon for leaner prosciutto for a more diet-friendly take on this appetizer.
Scallops & Sweet Peas
A simple side of peas and thyme goes well with large, sweet sea scallops.
Edamame Succotash with Shrimp
Trade lima beans for edamame and add shrimp for a twist on this Southern-style dish. Add cornbread to make it a meal.
Shrimp & Plum Kebabs
A simple cilantro-lime marinade adds flavor to shrimp and plum skewers. For variety: use peaches or nectarines instead of plums and bell peppers.
Seafood Couscous Paella
Use whole wheat couscous instead of rice for a twist on traditional paella.
Grilled Sea Scallops with Cilantro & Black Bean Sauce
Stir-fried black beans with garlic, ginger, and rice wine make a delicious dip for grilled scallops.
Clams Casino
Lean Canadian bacon, Parmesan cheese, chopped vegetables, and herbs give these baked, stuffed clams so much flavor you won't even miss the butter that typically goes into this classic appetizer.
King Crab & Potato Salad
A lemony dressing adds bright flavor to this summery combination of green beans, radishes, potatoes, and crab.
Mussels Stewed with Apple & Fennel
Tart green apples and fennel taste great with mussels.
Shrimp Salad-Stuffed Tomatoes
Hollowed-out bright red tomatoes make this simple shrimp salad look elegant — perfect for parties.
Wasabi Crab on Endive
Wasabi mayonnaise adds a kick to crabmeat in this easy appetizer recipe.
Chili-Crusted Scallops with Cucumber Salad
Grilled scallops with a cool cucumber and cashew salad make the perfect summertime meal.
Paprika Shrimp & Green Bean Saute
Steamed green beans provide the perfect complement to garlicky shrimp and butter beans.
Steamed Mussels in Tomato Broth
Why go to a restaurant when you can make this hearty meal at home?
Shrimp with Broccoli
Keep this recipe handy for when you're craving Chinese takeout.
Indian-Spiced Shrimp
A mix of spices adds layers of flavor to shrimp. Serve with rice for a complete meal.
Curry-Roasted Shrimp with Oranges
Shrimp, oranges, and curry make a great flavor combination. Serve as an appetizer or with rice as a main course.
Miso-Glazed Scallops with Soba Noodles
Use the sweet and salty sauce as marinade for the scallops and as sauce for the noodles for a quick meal.


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News & Events
For the Media
Clarkson University Senior James Davis Receives Frederica Clarkson Award
[A photograph for media use is available at http://www.clarkson.edu/news/photos/frederica2012.jpg.]
Graduating senior James C. "Jamie" Davis of Lake Katrine, N.Y., received the Frederica Clarkson Award during Clarkson University's 119th commencement ceremony today. He was selected for the $1,000 award by a vote of the full University faculty based on his scholarship and promise of outstanding achievement.
The award was established in 1921 as a bequest in the will of Frederica Clarkson, sister of Thomas S. Clarkson, for whom the University is named. This award and the Levinus Clarkson Award are traditionally given to the two top students in the graduating class.
Davis, a member of Clarkson's Honors Program, received both a bachelor of science degree in mathematics and a bachelor of science degree in computer science.
Davis worked on several different research projects during his time at Clarkson. During the summer and fall of 2009, he had his first taste of research under Mathematics & Computer Science Professor Scott Fulton, with whom he studied vortex dynamics.
The following year, Davis spent his summer as an intern at IBM in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where he helped build the foundation for a water monitoring project under the umbrella of IBM's Smarter Water initiative. During this time he collaborated with researchers at the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries, a not-for-profit environmental research organization, which recently became a subsidiary of Clarkson University.
In the summer of 2011, Davis participated in a Research Experience for Undergraduates at Hope College in Michigan. There, he used mathematical modeling to study chimney swift roosting behavior.
For his honors thesis, which he began in the spring of 2011, Davis studied the properties of synchronizable networks with his mentor, Mathematics & Computer Science Professor Takashi Nishikawa.
After entering Clarkson as a physics major, Davis received the Outstanding Physics Freshman award. Since then, Davis has received the R. Gerald Bradshaw Outstanding Computer Science Junior award and a Phalanx Commendable Leadership award, as well as both the Hamlin-Darraugh outstanding computer science senior and the Hamlin-Darraugh outstanding mathematics senior awards.
He has been a presidential scholar for all eight semesters and graduated with a 4.0 GPA.
Davis has been a teaching assistant for differential equations for the past four semesters. Outside of the classroom, he took part in several activities. He played the role of Arvide Abernathy during the Clarkson Theatre Club's 2008 production of Guys and Dolls. He also participated in the Big Brother Big Sister program at the Lawrence Avenue Elementary School for two semesters with his fiancée Kirsten Lacksonen (class of 2010), whom he will marry on June 9.
Davis played French horn in the Clarkson Orchestra for two semesters and served as the club's historian for one of those two. Davis has also been a fixture in the Clarkson Open Source Institute laboratory since his sophomore year.
His primary extracurricular involvement was with the Clarkson-Potsdam InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, where he served, in various years, as outreach coordinator, main event coordinator, and president. He also led a weekly Bible study on campus for five of the past six semesters, in which he and his peers studied Mark, James, Ephesians, Daniel, the Fruits of the Spirit, and Mark.
Following commencement, Davis will work for IBM in Poughkeepsie as a software tester. He says that he may return to academia in the future.
Clarkson University launches leaders into the global economy. One in five alumni already leads as a CEO, VP or equivalent senior executive of a company. Located just outside the Adirondack Park in Potsdam, N.Y., Clarkson is a nationally recognized research university for undergraduates with select graduate programs in signature areas of academic excellence directed toward the world's pressing issues. Through 50 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, arts, sciences and health sciences, the entire learning-living community spans boundaries across disciplines, nations and cultures to build powers of observation, challenge the status quo, and connect discovery and engineering innovation with enterprise.
Photo caption: Clarkson University President Tony Collins (left) presents the Frederica Clarkson Award to James Davis.


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Note that a site with a quarter billion page views will not typically experience a nice, convenient traffic flow of 95 sustained hits/sec. It's more likely to be 10 hits/sec a lot of the time and 600 hits/sec at certain times (e.g. for a sports site, maybe right after important matches), averaging out to 95 hits/sec.
Web traffic is often very bursty.
But even that hardly affects the point in question. Most people can only dream of having scalability problems.


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Slimmed Down Stars: See Their Before + After Weight Loss Pictures
Celebs are under a slew of scrutiny about their bodies, so it's not surprising that their weight loss can be pretty extreme at times.
Whether or not these famous faces were even overweight to begin with (many looked great with meat on their bones) is up for debate, and for some celebs, their weight loss was more dramatic than healthy.
Some looked a lot better (get it done, Kelly Osbourne!) while others looked gaunt and sick (Matthew McConaughey, we missed your muscles — we're glad they're back) following their strict regimens. In any case, for some stars, their fluctuating waist lines provided some of us with guilt, some of us with inspiration and all of us with intrigue. Take a gander at the most dramatic celeb slim downs below!


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p.s. The three hottest rallies since 1984 have been Lima, Ohio; Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania; and Spokane, Washington. Not exactly middle southern locations. Looks like it is time to go back to Canada to me. Trenton 2015 anybody??
p.s. The three hottest rallies since 1984 have been Lima, Ohio; Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania; and Spokane, Washington. Not exactly middle southern locations. Looks like it is time to go back to Canada to me. Trenton 2015 anybody??
Paul Glaves - "Big Bend", Texas U.S.A
"The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution." - Bertrand Russell
Great Rally!, one of the best Iv'e ever attended. Hats off to Chuck and Julie Manley and their crew. A job well done.
We were only at the rally Thursday and Friday and thought it was one of the best we have been to and this was our 21st, first one being in 89, missed last year due to mechanical problems. The heat was pretty brutal Thursday and we stayed in a motel 70 miles away so the ride back there was tough. We couldn't imagine camping that night but haven't camped for at least 15 years. The seminars were very well done and the airconditioned buildings were wonderful. I was talking to a friend that had just gone to the Goldwing rally and it doesn't sound as if it is near as well done as ours. Don't know if we will make next year or not being over 2000 miles. Thanks to all that did a GREAT job!!
Had a terrific time and met a ton of great people. Even a couple I met on the way down pulled over with a flat didn't let the mech failure distract them. And the heat... so what! Yeah it was hot, but with so many AC buildings and so many functions, there wasn't a time of day that you couldn't find a reason to pop in and get cooled off if needed. Thanks you to all that made it possible and to all that gladly extended a hand to shake.
On the down side...
Can we talk about the ANTS!!!
-Ride Safe & Avoid Anyone On The Phone-
**2000 R1100RT (Bullfrog), 1976 R90/6 (Tadpole)**
beemerFROG a.k.a. Douglas E. Rost
MotoFrog.net -- Black Frog Marketing
Great rally, no shortage of characters and really nice people, a few butt holes but they declared themselves early and they were easy to avoid.
Well done, MOA.
This was the best national I've ever attended - of course I've only been to the last two. All kidding aside, I had a great time. The facility was top notch with plenty of room for camping and air conditioning and shade when you needed it, vendors with lots of goodies more than willing to take your money, amazing bikes, the nicest people and great roads for day tripping. Yes, it was warm but the humidity was low, each day had a breeze and the nights cooled off enough for sleeping. Oregon's a long way from the east coast, but who knows. If next year's rally will be as good as this year's, I'd hate to miss it.
My Smugmug
Our biggest problem was we expected the heat so we didn't pack sleeping bags and about froze over night.
As Voni says, "Welcome to the dysfunctional family." I'm certainly not going to let a little heat get in the way of my annual family reunion. Without it, I wouldn't have family in every state as well as Canada and Mexico. Not to mention how much I've learned at seminars.
And of course, one of the high points every year is to map out a route on roads that I've never been on as well as roads that I've enjoyed so much in the past.
This was, in my opinion, one of the best rallies yet! Those who chickened out because they THOUGHT it was going to be too hot....well, you were wrong! As Paul Glaves said in this thread, the hottest were Lima, Bloomsburg, and Spokane.
Everything about the rally was well-organized, the facilities and layout of everything were terrific, even the food in the variety of restaurants on-site was significantly better than what's been offered at previous rallies (Gillette and Burlington were, IMO, the worst) and not expensive. I gave the Amish folks who were running the little produce-stand ample business, as their peaches were superb!
Yes, it got hot in Sedalia by late afternoon but, as has been amply pointed out by others who did attend, there was always a good breeze, there was plenty of a/c, plenty of nice shade, plenty of places to sit under a canopy of trees, and a nice breeze blowing through the beer tent in the afternoons/early evenings.
I didn't camp, but the campers can't complain about the overnight temps. Thursday morning we had a brief, gentle rain which really kept things nice and cool all morning. Friday morning the temps were in the low 70's. Saturday morning it was 68 degrees!! How do I know this? I know this because I checked the weather each morning before leaving my hotel room and walking the two miles to the rally grounds. By dusk, temps cooled off sufficiently to make my walk back to the hotel tolerable.
Live fully. Laugh deeply. Love widely.
BMW MOA Ambassador / FOM / Roving Forum Moderator/
Selected Friends of Wile E Coyote/ A Million BMW sMiles
Definitely a great rally! STRESS and I have missed the last several. However, after being at this one, seeing old friends and making new ones, we are now gearing up to attend as many gatherings of our MOA friends as we can over the next year.
Wish we had made more seminars, but really enjoyed the ones we made it to. Bought way too much from the vendors, but happy to support them and thrilled with all of our purchases. And, enjoyed all of the food options. Most importantly, we enjoyed all of the people. There wasn't one person we talked to that we didn't genuinely enjoy.
Not sure we'll be able to make it to Oregon, as we might not be able to get enough time off to do it. However, you never know!
Thank you to everyone that put their heart and soul into making this event special! We really appreciate it!
2012 R1200GS / 2000 R1200C / 2002 Yamaha TW200
My heart doesn't beat, it revs!!!
Welcome back, D-person and Stress! Really happy to see you both again. Let's try harder to stay in touch!
F.O.G.Rider, Rounder #6,
BMWRA Wisconsin Region Rep
MOA Biergarten co-chair
Well done Chuck and the rally team!
Great location, good eats, facilities were very supportive.
Had super time in tent camp land, met some great folks from Ga, Michigan, Minn, and other points.
Look forward to seeing / meeting more folks next year and beyond.
Semper Fi
GREAT RALLY!!! A/C buildings with many vendors, excellant food, clean rest rooms, excellant entertainment, the chance to make new friends and meet with old ones. I hope to make the trek to Salem in 2013.
Ride Safe
Cave Contents: 1980 R100RT/Ural Sidecar, 2004 R1200CLC, 2006 HD FSXTI
Ride Safe


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Sefko: Kobe Bryant's big game exacts heavy toll on Mavs' playoff chances
With every pull-up 3-pointer that splashed into the net, Kobe Bryant should have mouthed two words in the direction of Mark Cuban: Amnesty that.
The Mavericks lost a critical, pulse-pounding game Sunday afternoon for a simple reason: The Los Angeles Lakers had Bryant, and they didn't.
The NBA's highest-paid player played like it, pouring in buckets from all over the court and scoring 38 points to go with 12 rebounds and seven assists as the Lakers outlasted the Mavericks 103-99, at American Airlines Center.
It was a cruel loss for the Mavericks in their only national ABC telecast of the season. Both teams put on a show, but it was Bryant's greatness that overshadowed Dirk Nowitzki's best game of the season.
"Maybe they should have amnestied him this morning," Nowitzki said of Bryant after the painful loss, which vaulted the Lakers closer to a playoff spot and dropped the Mavericks further away from the No. 8-seeded Houston Rockets.
The amnesty provision, which allows a team to waive a player and not have his salary count against the salary cap or luxury tax, was a hot topic after Cuban said last week that he could hypothetically see the Lakers using their amnesty provision on Bryant to save tens of millions of dollars in luxury taxes next season.
Of course, he was just using it as an example. The Lakers would no more cut Bryant loose than the Mavericks would Nowitzki, who threw in 30 points to go with 13 rebounds against the Lakers.
But this was Bryant's show all the way. He pulled up several times in the fourth quarter, when he hit all five of his shots and had 14 of his points despite aggressive double-teams from the Mavericks. He had a hand from either Jae Crowder or O.J. Mayo in his face on most of his shots.
"It's just what I'm supposed to do," said Bryant, who tweeted Amnesty THAT after Sunday's win.
And the Mavericks were powerless to stop him in a frantic ending of a game that featured 20 lead changes, 10 ties and in which neither side led by more than six.
"He was rolling today," Nowitzki said. "He made some tough shots all night. A couple of the threes were from 30 feet. To me, he's the best player in my [time] in the NBA."
The Mavericks were ahead 90-87 with under six minutes to play. The Lakers scored the next seven points — all on free throws — two of them coming on technical fouls against Nowitzki and Mayo, who both made aggressive air-punches with their fists after tough officiating calls. Those two points would loom large later.
"We got to avoid [technical fouls], simple as that," coach Rick Carlisle said. "Dirk and O.J. know we got to avoid those things."
The lead still was at four points until Nowitzki connected on a drive. He botched the free throw that could have completed a three-point play but instead left the Mavericks down, 99-97. Bryant rose up over Carter for a 20-footer with 47 seconds left. The Mavericks' last chance came when they were down 102-99 and inbounded with 16.8 seconds left. Nowitzki bobbled the ball before getting it to Carter, who got into the lane. He passed to Mayo in the corner, who missed a potential tying 3-pointer to snuff the last chance.
"We wanted to get a quick two and foul and maybe get another possession," Carter said. "Dirk bobbled the ball a little. I happened to get in the lane and he was wide-open. If he makes that shot, maybe we're still playing.
"That's all we can ask for, to give ourselves a chance to win in the guts of the game and we did that."
Unfortunately, there was no answer for Bryant. And Steve Nash (20 points) wasn't bad either. Both future Hall of Famers hit 4-of-5 3-point attempts.
"When he's hitting those tough fallaway shots, pump-fakes, you take your hat off to him," said Darren Collison. "He's Kobe Bryant."
Bryant's outrageous play made a rough night for Mayo and Collison more noticeable. They were a combined 5-of-20 from the field.
"You wish all our games could be perfect and we all play well," said Collison, who unlike Mayo stuck around to talk to the media. "But this [wasn't] one of those games."
Follow Eddie Sefko on Twitter at @Esefko


text: I think it's utterly impossible to determine in any quantitative fashion whether the changes in results of a single player are due to aging or to increased competition. Something along the lines of the pro-am split before the Open Era might have made that determination a lot easier, but these days it seems circular. Are Tsonga, Berdych, and Del Potro better now because they beat Federer more often? Or is he simply worse as a player? The only constant in Federer's career has been Nadal - he's always struggled with him. He had a highly superior record against Djokovic until 2011 - the year he turned 30 and also the year Djokovic played better than he ever had or has since. He didn't lose to Murray in a slam until he was 31, so is Murray tougher competition than Nalbandian who beat him twice in slams in 2003 alone? There's just no numbers to look at, unless you look at the kinds of numbers ambk is, which are still very much open to interpretation.