text:
Astros formulating plan for White's recovery
By Brian McTaggart / MLB.com
HOUSTON -- The Astros are awaiting more test results on the right elbow of right-hander Alex White, who sprained his elbow in Friday's exhibition game against the Cubs and was placed on the 60-day disabled list. He had additional tests on Sunday.
Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said that even though the team doesn't know the full extent of the injury, he knew there would be a long recovery.
"Regardless of the course of action, he was going to need to be not throwing for at least a period of a couple of weeks," Luhnow said. "And once you start to do the math of not throwing and getting back in shape an all of that, it gets you close enough to 60 days we felt that was the right thing to do and not rush him back."
The Astros had a relatively healthy spring until the final days before the start of the regular season, when White went down and outfielder Fernando Martinez went on the disabled list with a strained left oblique. The team feels confident with being able to have veteran right-hander Edgar Gonzalez fill White's long-relief role.
"We sought to go out and increase our depth, as far as pitching goes, and immediately we had an injury. But at the same time, Edgar Gonzalez has done everything this spring and he could have made the ballclub anyway," manager Bo Porter said. "It was good to have a person like that sitting in the wings, ready to go, that has pitched in the big leagues and we know the role which we're going to put him in, which is a long reliever. He's more than capable of filling that role."
Porter 'all in' as Astros begin new era
HOUSTON -- Throughout the course of the spring, Astros manager Bo Porter has done several things to change the culture in the clubhouse, including posting motivational signs around the ballpark, putting mirrors in players' lockers as a symbolic gesture and not allowing names on the backs of jerseys until the regular season.
Porter was at it again on Saturday following the club's exhibition-season finale against the Cubs. He set up a table in the middle of the clubhouse and gave each player, owner Jim Crane, team president/CEO George Postolos and general manager Jeff Luhnow 25 poker chips and started to bid. Porter went first and put in his all his chips and grabbed an orange T-shirt that read: I'm all in."
Porter said he got the motivational idea from Hayden Fry, his former football coach at the University of Iowa who was known for his motivational skills and psychological approach.
"Man to man, everybody had to come up one at a time and put their chips all in," Porter said. "When you go all in, that means you're willing to lose it all, but you're also willing to win it all. At no point can you say, 'No, no, no, I didn't want to be all in, I want to pull myself back.' It something ... we're going to win together or die together, but we're all in."
Crane, who purchased the team for $680 million in late 2011, appreciated the gesture, even though he did get a chuckle out of having to invest poker chips.
"I said I had already put them, but I'll do it again," Crane joked.
Porter hopes Barnes' story inspires Astros
HOUSTON -- Brandon Barnes, who's been in the Astros organization longer than any other current player, was chosen by manager Bo Porter to address the team on Saturday night. Porter wanted Barnes to tell his teammates how hard he had to work to make Sunday's Opening Night lineup.
Barnes, who started in right field for the Astros against the Rangers, was drafted in 2005 but was never considered a big prospect and twice nearly quit the game. But he persevered and made his debut last year and won a spot on the 25-man roster this year with a strong spring.
"I just saw it fitting, with him not only making the 25-man roster, but also being in the Opening Day starting lineup," Porter said. "That's a huge accomplishment for a guy who was once told he wouldn't make it out of A-ball. That speaks to our mantra of defying the odds."
Barnes got in front of his teammates and shared his passion, his story of working through the Minor Leagues and how he refused to give up when others told him he should.
"He completely identified with the theory of 'Ignoring the noise,'" Porter said, citing one of his motivational phrases. "He said if he would have listened to all the things that were said to him, he wouldn't be standing in front of the group as the Opening Day starting right fielder for the Houston Astros."
Barnes, 26, was moved by the gesture.
"It was truly an honor to be able to stand in front of my teammates in there, like Rick [Ankiel] and Carlos [Pena] and the coaching staff we have," he said. "My whole career, I've never given up and people have never thought I would get to the big leagues to get past A-ball, and my hard work has proved that hard work does pay off."
Porter is well supported in managerial debut
HOUSTON -- Astros manager Bo Porter couldn't even begin to count the number of friends and family members he had at Minute Maid Park on Sunday night for his first game as a manager. The list did include his wife and son, mother and father, grandmother and some aunts and uncles from different parts of the country.
"No one can come to my house because it's full," he joked. "You'd have to find a nearby hotel."
Several of Porter's former football and baseball teammates at the University of Iowa were also in attendance, which came as a surprise to Porter.
"Some of them came in yesterday," he said. "You always feel honored when you have special people that are part of your life and have been part of your life for a long time, and to have them come out and support you, it makes you feel good."
Porter said he put his wife, Stacey, in charge of making sure everyone had tickets and was where they needed to be, but not before throwing her a surprise birthday party Saturday night. Her birthday is next Friday.
"The number of people we have here, I pretty much could not even tell you because I let my wife handle it," Porter said. "I just put it on her and said, 'I don't want to deal with it.' She'll make sure everyone comes to the game and has a good time."
One person close to Porter who couldn't make it was his former football coach at Iowa, Hayden Fry. Porter had hoped to have him at Minute Maid Park.
"He's still dealing with some health issues and the travel would have been a bit much for him," Porter said. "I talked to him this morning and he sends his well-wishes, and he's here in spirit."
Seven Astros make Opening Day debut
HOUSTON -- Seven Astros appeared on their first Opening Day roster on Sunday night: outfielders Brandon Barnes, Justin Maxwell and Chris Carter, infielder Matt Dominguez, catcher Carlos Corporan, left-handed pitcher Xavier Cedeno and right-handed pitcher Brad Peacock.
The chance to be introduced before the home crowd was a huge honor for Corporan, a Minor League lifer who had one career in at-bat in the Major Leagues before the Astros plucked him off waivers two years ago. He's the team's backup catcher to Jason Castro.
"It's a dream come true," he said. "I've been working 11 years for this opportunity, man. That's what all ballplayers dream about, and I'm really happy I have the opportunity the Astros gave me. Everything I have is earned. Everything. I've been working really hard, so it's something that I kind of feel complete in my life and I have to continue to stay for a long time. That's the hard part, to stay here for a long time in the big leagues."
Barnes was surprised to see his name in the starting lineup.
"My thought was I'm completely blessed," he said. "There are really no other words for it, but I'm very thankful."
Porter debuts vs. former coach in Wash
HOUSTON -- When the starting lineups were introduced prior to Sunday night's game, Rangers manager Ron Washington and Astros manager Bo Porter shared a handshake and an embrace. Washington was Oakland's third-base coach when Porter was playing for the A's in 2000, and they've remained friends.
"We've always kept a close relationship and he's a friend, first and foremost, and throughout the course of the year we will compete against each other, but at the end of the day our friendship will remain," Porter said.
In fact, Washington has been a source of guidance for Porter, who was hired last year by the Astros to be their manager after interviewing with a couple of clubs previously, including the Marlins.
"When Ron Washington was hired by the Texas Rangers, I was one of the first five to 10 people that gave him a call and congratulated him," Porter said. "When I was hired by the Houston Astros, Ron Washington was one of the first people that called and congratulated me."
Porter said Washington has been a sounding board for him on a number of different things.
"Even before I became a manager, the first couple of times I interviewed and it went all the way down to the wire with an opportunity get the job and I didn't get the job, he was one of the people that called me and said, 'Hey, hang in there. I interviewed 11 times before I was hired, your opportunity is going to come, and when it comes it will be the right opportunity for you,'" Porter said.
Street festival gears up fans for Opening Night
HOUSTON -- Fans wearing the Astros' new blue and orange colors sipped on cold drinks, played games and enjoyed live music along Crawford Street outside Minute Maid Park on Sunday afternoon as part of the team's 12th annual Opening Day Street Festival.
Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, manager Bo Porter, bench coach Eduardo Perez and pitchers Philip Humber and Lucas Harrell addressed the crowd about the 2013 season.
"I'm extremely excited about the spring," Porter said. "You have to credit the entire staff and the guys on the stage and the rest back in the locker room for working very hard. They put together a good program that has them prepared for Opening Night, and we're excited to share it with the fans of Houston."
Luhnow reminded the fans of the historical significance of Sunday's game, which opened the Astros' first season in the American League after 51 years in the Senior Circuit.
"You all are participating in something pretty special," he said. "Tonight is an historic event. The Houston Astros and Colt .45s were in the National League for [51] years. We managed to get to the World Series once but didn't win it. We left some unfinished business in the National League, but as Bo said, that's behind us. We're looking forward. We're entering the American League and we're going to win a championship in the American League. We're going to win more than one championship in the American League."
Worth noting
• Crane said he remains confident Astros games will soon be available to a majority of the Houston TV market. The Astros' regional network partnership with the NBA's Houston Rockets and NBC Sports is currently available in about 40 percent of Houston TV households and isn't on carriers such as DirecTV and Dish Network.
"I think something will get done," he said. "We want the fans to watch the games, we're concerned about it. What we told people is we've to get a good deal for the long-term value of the team, which is the revenue base we need to support the team to compete with the Rangers and Angels and those sorts of people. Getting a good TV deal is important, so we hope it goes off on time, but if it doesn't, I think you'll see something shortly after that."
Brian McTaggart is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, Tag's Lines. Follow @brianmctaggart on Twitter. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
Taken from :
HTC One X and Evo 4G LTE
April 29th, 2012
HTC rejuvenates itself with a new design and new approach
For HTC, 2011 was sometimes considered a write-off: what looked to be a promising year with an early 4G lead saw the company overwhelmed by Apple and Samsung, and even by its own at times confusing lineup with problematic phones like the Thunderbolt. The One series for 2012 is the reboot, a return to basics with an emphasis on high-end design and even stripping back the custom Sense interface layer. We'll determine in our review of the HTC One X in 4G LTE trim, and to some extent the Evo 4G LTE, whether HTC is back to being a fierce competitor for the iPhone and Galaxy roster.
For HTC, 2011 was sometimes considered a write-off: what looked to be a promising year with an early 4G lead saw the company overwhelmed by Apple and Samsung, and even by its own at times confusing lineup with problematic phones like the Thunderbolt. The One series for 2012 is the reboot, a return to basics with an emphasis on high-end design and even stripping back the custom Sense interface layer. We'll determine in our review of the HTC One X in 4G LTE trim, and to some extent the Evo 4G LTE, whether HTC is back to being a fierce competitor for the iPhone and Galaxy roster.
Design and the display
The challenge of taking smartphone design upscale has been striking a balance between build quality and durability. At one end is
Apple's iPhone 4S
, which feels jewel-like but is fragile both at the front and the back. The other extreme has a device like the
Galaxy S II
, which was top of its class in performance but dominated by basic (if rough-and-ready) plastic.
HTC's route is to use plastic, but to give it a premium feel. Not unlike the
Nokia Lumia 800
and 900, the One X's main shell is a single piece of matte-finished polycarbonate. The effect mostly comes across as expected. It's not Apple's metal and glass, but it feels both high-quality and sturdy -- and looks particularly good in a ceramic-like white. As much as we'd still be loathe to drop it or get it dirty, there's a certain longevity that's communicated just through a quick grip.
That grip is mostly a pleasure. Although the screen at 4.7 inches is just slightly bigger than that of the 4.65-inch
Samsung Galaxy Nexus
, we found the One X a bit easier to hold, in part because the body tapers inwards. HTC has gone with an uncommon front design as well: the front bezel is not only flush with the body but 'spills' off to the side, both eliminating a point of friction and making it look as if the whole phone is curved. At 0.35 inches, it's just slightly thinner than the Nexus in most areas, although the camera lens bulge technically makes the One X thicker at one point and makes us worry about possible lens scratches.
Not all is perfect once it's in your hands. It's still a very big phone, and it illustrates a problem with pushing screen sizes further. Like with the Nexus, it's difficult to reach to the status bar or other elements at the top of the screen if you're trying to use the One X one-handed. The better hold does improve the situation somewhat. The wide body at once helps with and slightly hurts typing: it provides a very comfortable spacing for the keyboard, but leads to a two-thumb typing hold that's not quite as graceful as we'd like with a certain gap between the back of the phone and our fingers.
Choosing a unibody shell has its consequences, and HTC's design choices in particular magnify some of this. There is no removable storage, and with just 16GB of total space (some of it already used for the OS) in the LTE version, that could see you run out of local storage very quickly. HTC does supply 25GB of Dropbox cloud storage, and services like Google Drive or Spotify reduce the need for local space, but this is a far cry from the 32GB in Verizon's Galaxy Nexus or the 64GB of an iPhone 4S. No removable battery exists, and while we'll soon see that it's not as much of an issue, it rules out quick swaps in the middle of a long day like you can with most Android phones.
Some consolations are there for the reduced storage. NFC should be handy for an eventual wave of tag-aware goods and mobile payment systems. Right now the only official Google Wallet support will come through the One X's special variant at Sprint, the
Evo 4G LTE
, but the arrival of an unlocked HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus with Wallet support gives us hope that AT&T will make the system an option on the pure One X as well. We'd also point out a micro-USB port with MHL (HDMI and power) as well as a pin grid on the back for a horizontal docking port.
Most any complaint fades with one look at the display. We've seen HTC do high-quality 720p LCDs before, such as with the
Raider and Vivid
; even compared to those, the screen on the One X is just that much better. The newer smartphone uses a virtually gapless panel, where the LCD is virtually in direct contact with the glass above it. That leads to a bright display with a more direct sense of connection to what's happening on the screen. It reduces the amount of visible gloss as well.
HTC is clearly using an IPS (in-plane switching) panel here, and it shows in vivid colors that aren't exaggerated, as they can be on AMOLED, or flat. And while we've already mentioned that it was bright as a whole, it's almost surprisingly so next to a Galaxy Nexus or iPhone 4S, and compares well even next to a fairly bright (but poorer-color)
Sony Xperia S
. If you're not set on using a competing platform and at all value image quality, the One X should be on the short list.
Android 4.0 and Sense 4.0
Many Android phone builders will often harp on the importance of "differentiation:" that they absolutely have to produce their own take on the software in the belief that it will stand out and give users a reason to stay. As we've seen from nearly everyone taking this path, however, it doesn't necessarily help, whether it's bogging down the phone (Sony), doing little that actually matters (LG), or delaying OS updates by months (Samsung). HTC's "sin" has been more one of excess. By 2011 and Sense 3.0, seemingly every part of Android had been customized, often with flourishes that weren't necessary -- the infinitely and unnecessarily spinning home screen carousel being the epitome of unneeded tweaks.
Moving to Sense 4.0, then, feels like lifting the proverbial weight off the shoulders. HTC's message was that it would let Android's elements shine through and customize only where it thought it could provide an advantage. Skinning is very much visible here, but it's consistently lighter and less intrusive. Gone is the strange decision to make the Personalize and Phone buttons permanent fixtures on the home screen. HTC defers to a (somewhat cosmetically modified) stock Android 4.0 approach for the always-up icons, and it smartly linked them to the lock screen to make it very easy to determine what apps are available as quick-launch shortcuts. Even the emphasis on options for smaller widgets and fewer elaborate animations goes a long way towards conveying the more considerate attitude.
A misstep appears in multitasking: for some reason, HTC has decided to switch from the small, vertically stacked thumbnails of stock Android 4.0 to large, horizontal views. It's somewhat reminiscent of Windows Phone, and just like Microsoft's OS, it's not as useful.
Some components haven't changed, although whether or not they need to varies. Friend Stream as a full app still doesn't compare to a truly dedicated Twitter client, and the stock browser customizations are mostly for show rather than having a real impact. We still like the easy sorting in the app launcher, though, and the heavy customization of the Mail app turns it into a substantially more useful client than Google's own with easy mass-deletes and better access to folders. The music app now serves as a handy aggregating point for third-party apps, including ones that HTC doesn't explicitly draw on, such as Spotify. The Watch movie store and HTC Hub provide curated avenues for shopping for movies and apps if Google Play isn't to your taste.
Beats Audio widens in Sense 4.0, and now covers every media app, not just certain officially blessed examples. With that in mind, it's ultimately still a party trick. Across multiple genres, what it ultimately did was boost volume and bass, or things that the volume control and an EQ could manage. The sound was already good coming from our third-party in-ear headphones (none were in the box), so we'd really consider Beats an edge case addition where bass-heavy music is matched up with not quite strong enough headphones that could use the extra push.
The on-screen keyboard will be familiar to Sense users. We could generally type quickly on it, although we found ourselves producing errors a tad more often than with the official Android 4.0 keyboard. Google's keyboard doesn't have tap-and-hold shortcuts for common characters, though, so it's hard to say it's a step back.
What may be nicest is simply that HTC has cut back on how many apps it reaches and how deeply it gets involved when it feels a change is necessary. Gmail is the pure Android 4.0 app. People (contacts) does have some of HTC's handiwork visible, but you can tell it's much closer to the reference version. Our takeaway was of one of the few custom Android layers that we wouldn't mind having. Although stock Android 4.0 will get updates much faster, it now feels slightly cold next to the warmer Sense 4.0 experience.
Performance and data speeds
The One X is the first device in North America to ship with Qualcomm's new
Snapdragon S4
inside (sometimes leading to it being called the One XL). This is a break from the international version: in most cases, people elsewhere will get the quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3. On the surface, it's something of a letdown for those who wanted to boast that they had a quad-core phone.
In the real world, it doesn't matter much. The 1.5GHz S4 in the American and Canadian versions still produces a consistently quick interface. Android doesn't prioritize responsiveness as much as iOS or Windows Phone, but we're now at the point where the hardware closes that gap.
If there's an anchor holding the One X back, it's the graphics. The regular S4 uses Qualcomm's Adreno 225, not the roughly four times faster Adreno 320 of the
Snapdragon S4 Pro
. As such, the performance in gaming is only slightly better than it would have been with the Snapdragon S3, borne out by a good but unspectacular 59 frames per second in Qualcomm's own NeoCore benchmark for 3D. Games played well enough, and visibly better than on the Xperia S, but a game like
Death Rally
was sometimes running under 30 frames per second where it's consistently over that on an iPhone 4S. The Tegra 3 version of the One X would very likely be faster here; if you're enamored with the One X and want it for frequent gaming, it may be worth the premium for an unlocked international model to trade some raw overall performance for the faster 3D.
We'd like to tell you about LTE Internet speeds, but something was clearly wrong, either with the phone or the network, during our testing. No matter which part of Ottawa we were in, download speeds were what we'd consider good for 3G over HSPA+, not 4G using LTE. At its best, the phone would pull 6.2Mbps downstream using Ookla's Speedtest, and uploads continue to confuse the test. Entirely too frequently, the test would fail, and we noticed the signal outside of the test would periodically just quit altogether, even downtown and outdoors. Thankfully, unlike some other Android phones, there's an option to turn LTE off and use HSPA+ instead, where we got slower but much more consistent results of around 5.5Mbps down and 1Mbps up. We just wish we didn't have to exercise that option, and it's proof that having LTE for its own sake isn't good enough.
If you're on Sprint and get the Evo 4G LTE, be aware that LTE speeds (when working) should be the same, but that the drop back to EV-DO for 3G will scale the performance back considerably. It may not be until 2013 that most Sprint subscribers can assume they'll be on 4G with the new phone most of the time.
Camera apps, speed, and image quality
Camera apps on Android are very much hit-or-miss affairs. Some of them will give extensive amounts of customization over the final shot, but others are basic, and few of any stripe dare to change the top-level controls for focus and shutter that have been in camera apps for several years.
Which is why the camera app in Sense 4.0 is such a welcome break. HTC's philosophy is to put both still and moving images on an equal footing, and accordingly, there's no movie/still toggle: there are just separate buttons, so you tap to record whichever's most convenient. There's good reason for it in hardware. A new ImageSense processing chip dramatically speeds up the time taken to handle photos to make it almost insignificant, so you can snap high-resolution photos even while recording a video. In that regard, the One X is the ultimate phone for a concert, as you can record that (hopefully legal) clip of a performance for YouTube but still get the images to post on Flickr afterwards.
The rapid-fire nature of the camera plays into pure still shooting as well. Hold down the shutter button and the camera will take as many as 20 photos in the space of a few seconds, bringing up by default a Best Shot mode that lets you pick which of the group is the most relevant. Again, it's great for concerts or sports events (if you're close enough to not need zoom). Should you still only shoot one photo at a time, the instant response is akin to that of the Galaxy Nexus or iPhone 4S and encourages you to take multiple photos at a time for experimentation.
When it comes to actual image quality, the One X is mostly superb. There's still an eight-megapixel sensor, but with both backside illumination and a wider f2.0 aperture, it takes in considerably more light at a wider angle. The end results are surprisingly good performance in low light without a flash, good shallow depth of field in close-ups, and overall fast focus helped by a tap-to-focus control to help lock off-center subjects. HTC has implemented what it calls a smart flash as well. Rather than fire at full strength, it will light up at a reduced power if you're particularly close.
The end result produces images that would be regarded as top-tier even for some DSLR and mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. Colors are vibrant, but true to the scene, and that lens bulge on the back makes sense when you see how sharp images can be. Even the front 1.3-megapixel camera is decent. With that said, there are a few caveats. We noticed that the One X was sometimes less likely to focus macros than an iPhone 4S, even using a software close-up preset. Contrast could sometimes be too high in normal shooting, as well, leaving a dark shadow underexposed. Still, the One X is one of the few phones that for many could replace a compact camera for any situation that doesn't require optical zoom -- it's that consistently good.
Like the Galaxy Nexus and an increasing number of phones across the board, the One X has a number of special shooting modes to fit certain conditions. A few of these are more to accommodate newcomers, such as a portrait mode, but a few can be particularly valuable. We most like high dynamic range (HDR) mode. Most HDR modes either have little impact or create a garish effect, but HTC's appears to be just right. As long as you keep the phone still a bit longer than usual, it will brighten up shadowed areas and tone down bright backgrounds in a way that's at once dramatic and yet truer to what your more sensitive eyes would actually see.
HTC supplies a number of art filters that replicate common tricks like vignetting, tilt-shift as well as deliberate exaggerations, such as a Lomo-like blown-out quality, vintage, or a psychedelic Solarizer. They go beyond what many social photo apps offer, but the truth is that Instagram for Android will likely take care of the effects for those that care to use them.
We noticed a slight improvement from the Low-Light mode as well. The one area with mixed blessings is the panorama mode. You can sweep like you would on a Galaxy Nexus, but rather than simply taking the motion and creating a shot from the most consistent part of the shot, it guides you towards the next whole frame it thinks it should capture. That has occasionally produced odd effects: we saw one image where there was a clear rift at one point in the panorama. Thankfully, the problem didn't manifest often.
HDR off and on (two pairings), plus a filtered shot and a panorama; click the panorama for a large version
Video is on the same high level as for static photos, and outside of low light it avoids the blurring, block artifacts, and jarring contrast transitions we're used to with smartphone cameras. You won't entirely escape the rolling shutter effect of a slight "wobble" during fast pans, but it's very usable for more than just fixed-viewpoint shots and includes image stabilization to reduce jitter. Audio isn't stellar, although it's sensitive enough to pick up on quieter details, if also some wind noise. Apart from the expected reduced performance in dim conditions, the main issue with video was some lag in the continuous autofocus.
HTC replaces the stock video editor with one of its own. Don't expect an app on the level of Apple's iMovie, with tight control over transition choices and titles. You can still apply professionally made themes that more elegantly join clips together. Its main limitation is a 720p maximum resolution, an odd choice given that the phone itself can record 1080p.
The high-speed sensor mostly helps video through a slow-motion mode. You're still made to drop down in resolution, as you often do with dedicated cameras, but it's an option that most don't even have. It's mostly for those moments when you might miss the moment a bird takes flight or a street performer manages a skilled trick.
Call quality and battery life
Voice on the One X in its AT&T and Rogers forms is mostly accomplished, helped by a loud top speaker. Unlike the flat if consistent Xperia S, the One X's sound seems to vary slightly depending on which end of the conversation you're involved with. A recipient said he liked the incoming quality more than he did for the Xperia S he'd heard just a week earlier. We found the quality on our end to be ever so slightly harsher, if still very much within the realm of high-quality calling.
Our experience with the Evo 4G LTE's voice has been limited, but it may ultimately be better. Sprint is promising "HD" quality calling that, from our quick experience, will be enough to get a clearer sound than what CDMA (and possibly HSPA) would provide.
Longevity for the One X varies wildly depending on what wireless technology you're using and what apps you're running. If you're sitting on Wi-Fi nearly all of the time and engaged in light to moderate use, it's possible to go for one to two full days. Switch to mixed use where you're on both LTE and Wi-Fi, and you'll definitely want to plug in for the day, although at 15 to 16 hours of use, that's very reasonable. In a stress test of near constant photo, video, web, and streaming audio use, we could push the phone down to four hours of life, down about an hour from a HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus. Runtimes are thus still short relative to a well-tuned HSPA+ phone or a thicker, big-battery device like the
Galaxy Note
, but they're considerably better than other slim LTE phones we've tried.
Wrapping up
When 2011 came to a close and 2012, all signs were that Android might be facing its first big shakeout, with HTC facing a
rough fall and winter
after being bruised by the iPhone 4S and carriers skewing rapidly towards Samsung. The year was proof that Android wasn't a guaranteed ticket to success, even for the company that made the originating T-Mobile G1. One year's worth of an overpopulated lineup with rushed or at times simply unnecessary devices was all it took to reverse years of gains.
Never have we seen a company adapt so quickly. Although there's no doubt the switch would have been in planning for months, HTC has gone from thick, uninspiring devices with buggy new technology and overweight software to slim, distinctive hardware that both exudes polish and a sense of very thoughtfully considered additions or subtractions. HTC has understood that "differentiation" by itself doesn't matter. The only thing that matters on any phone is making a better device, even if it means leaving Google's features intact rather than imposing your own stamp. Here, that means bolstering apps that needed improvement and providing hardware features that realize their full potential in the software, like a high-quality and very responsive camera.
Would we pick the One X or the Evo 4G LTE over their Android peers, or the iPhone? That depends entirely on what you value and how much you're prepared to pay. If you're interested in fast Android updates and having all the latest features as soon as they're available, the Galaxy Nexus (preferably in HSPA+ unlocked form) is still the go-to device. The iPhone 4S still has a slightly better camera, up to 64GB of storage, the fastest OS updates of any mobile platform, and an app ecosystem with both more apps and overall higher quality. We'd also be remiss if we overlooked the wildcard of Samsung's third-generation Galaxy S. As of this writing, the S III (or whatever it might be called) was just days away from being announced, and Samsung had already confirmed that it would bring its own quad-core chip to a phone that most would expect to also have a next-generation 720p screen and new software.
We'd still be tempted to give HTC our money after all that. There's something to be said for a smartphone with a truly distinct design and overall very well-rounded performance, whether it's the processor, camera, or the software balance. Some of this may depend on cost, although carriers have given HTC a good enough start so far. In North America, AT&T has the best deal at $200 on a two-year contract and $550 contract-free. We'd definitely pick the AT&T One X over a Galaxy Note any day. Rogers has it for $170, albeit with a long three-year contract; if you think you might switch carriers and you're not willing to swallow an early termination fee, it may be worth considering the Galaxy Nexus unlocked, which is still a reasonable $415 Canadian at third-party stores as of this writing and will give most of the technology you're looking for.
We remember when HTC was just coming out of its shell as a manufacturer of no-name, carrier-branded phones. One of our earliest reviewed phones, the
original HTC Touch
of nearly five years ago, was in some senses what HTC had nearly regressed to in 2011: an unwieldy device whose software was starting to hold it back. In 2012, we're glad to say that the One X and its siblings represent a phone designer, if not Android as a whole, at the top of its game with software that pushes it forward.
- Well-balanced mix of Android 4.0 and Sense 4.0.
- Exceptional display quality.
- High-quality, slim build; manageable despite size.
- Very good back camera with fast performance, useful features.
- Better-than-usual front camera.
- Speedy for most tasks, even in the dual-core version.
- Above-average call quality.
- Good battery life for an early LTE phone.
- Affordable on-contract prices for what you get.
- NFC and docking support.
- No removable battery or storage; only 16GB built-in for North America.
- Still a bit bigger than we'd like for comfort's sake.
- LTE possibly erratic, still cuts into battery life with heavy use.
- Graphics still a bit slow.
- Beats Audio mostly a gimmick.
- May face stiff fight from Samsung.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
"It was too many mistakes against a really good football team," RHS head coach Jeff Holt said after the game. "We didn't play together. We didn't execute. If you can't stop them and you can't score, you're not going to win any games."
It was the Bulldogs (10-0, 7-0 7A/6A-Central Conference) who scored first after holding the Cyclones (6-4, 4-3) to four plays. They scored quickly, and they scored often. Greenwood quarterback Jabe Burgess found every receiver on an eight-play drive to the end zone. After the PAT, the Bulldogs led 7-0 with 7:38 left in the first quarter.
Russellville (6-4, 4-3) almost threatened to come alive on the next series when quarterback Cody Jones connected with Jalen Curtis for a 17-yard gain, but on the next play he threw a wobbly pass that was interceptedby the defense.
Greenwood took nine plays to find the end zone again. Saul Palmer crossed the goal line from 1 yard out. The PAT made it 14-0 with 3:05 left in the first.
Once again, the Cyclones seemed as though they were going to pull it together. Quarterback Mitch Mullen hit Curtis for a 28-yard gain, but an incomplete pass and a false-start penalty halted the drive.
After Michael Troub drilled Burgess in the backfield for a loss of four yards, running back Hoyt Smith broke free on the right side for 84 yards and a touchdown. With :41 seconds left in the first quarter, the Bulldogs widened their lead, 21-0.
Greenwood ate up the majority of the second-quarter clock on its next drive before finally punching it into the end zone from four yards out. The score was 28-0 after the PAT with 5:11 left in the first half.
The Bulldogs found the end zone once more before halftime, after punter Oscar Reyes was hit in the backfield on a keeper, giving Greenwood possession on the Russellville 26. Two plays later, they crossed the goal line.
The score at halftime was 35-0. If the Cyclones had any hopes of mounting a comeback, they were dashed on the first play of the third quarter, when Bulldog Matt Sisco returned the kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. Greenwood scored once more in the period to make it 42-0.
In the final seconds of the fourth quarter, Jones connected with Curtis in the corner of the end zone to prevent a shutout. The extra-point was good, and the final score settled at 42-7.
The beat-up Cyclones are down but not out. Russellville will host next week's first-round Class 6A state playoff game at Cyclone Stadium.
"We'll see what kind of character we have next week," Holt said. "We've been handled the last two weeks. We need to see if we've got some fight left in us.
We've got a home playoff game, something to be proud of. We finished well in the conference, but we need to have a better showing."


text:
SEATTLE — A Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway spokesman says runs of passenger trains between Seattle and Everett have been halted because of mudslides.
Spokesman Gus Melonas says passenger train runs will be on pause until Monday, unless conditions improve.
Heavy rain soaked the Puget Sound region on Friday and Saturday, pushing mud, rocks and debris onto track sensors.
Melonas say freight trains continue operating.
Passenger train service has been significantly disrupted between Seattle and Everett over the past ten days because of rain.
Commuters can check soundtransit.org for updates.


text:
NEWARK – While the county school board opposes legislation proposing an independent panel to handle employment contract negotiating disputes, the Worcester County Teachers Association (WCTA) is all for it.
"I think it's a good idea," said WCTA President Terry Springle. "The teachers are the only organization in the state that does not have a third party to resolve disputes between the bargaining agents."
Currently, when an employee organization and the Worcester County Board of Education negotiators cannot come to an agreement during contract negotiations, the power now lies with the school board to make the final decision.
Springle likened this situation to asking a mother-in-law to decide which spouse is right in an argument. Your mother-in-law will probably decide in the blood relative's favor no matter what, he said.
Collective bargaining with school employees should be in the hands of the local school board, not a state panel, the Worcester County Board of Education concluded recently in deciding to oppose a bill that would, according to staff, give a state panel strong powers over employee contract negotiations.
The legislation, introduced in the Maryland General Assembly in 2009 and again in 2010, would rewrite collective bargaining laws in the state for county school systems.
"Our school board has been very forthcoming and very considerate in negotiations and I believe we have a good process in the county," said Springle.
That is not the case in the rest of the state, Springle said, where some teacher and staff organizations are taken advantage of by the county school authorities.
"That's just not right," Springle said.
The Public School Labor Relations Board, according to a summary by Worcester County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jon Andes, would have a broad swathe of authority to decide all school and employee labor disputes.
According to a memo from Andes, the panel would also have the authority to overrule local school boards and make employment decisions binding on local school systems.
Teacher and employee transfers, currently the province of local school boards, would also be subject to collective bargaining under the legislation, and disputes would be reviewed by the labor relations board.
The power to declare an impasse in collective bargaining negotiations would be taken from the superintendents of schools and given to the labor relations board, according to the memo.
Springle said that he could not remember negotiations between WCTA and the county school board ever reaching this point.
"We've been able to work things out," Springle said.
Current laws allow the negotiating sides to engage an outside mediator after an impasse is declared, but the school board has the final say.
The legislation would allow the labor relations board to force the two parties to undergo arbitration.
According to Andes, the arbitrator in this situation could mandate program cuts or layoffs to handle teacher salaries.
Springle said this interpretation of the legislation is incorrect, and that the process would revert to the current method, leaving that money allocation decision in the hands of the school board.
Disciplined and terminated employees under the current law can appeal those actions to the local school board and then the Maryland state school board. The proposed law would allow collective bargaining on discipline and terminations.
The legislation under consideration would also remove local school boards' authority to decide which topics may be negotiated, giving that authority to the labor relations board, school board staff contends.
"Elected local Board of Education members will be held accountable by local citizens for the success or failure of a local school system while a state Public School Labor Relations Board meeting in Annapolis or Baltimore will be making decisions that will drastically limit the authority of the local Board of Education," Andes concluded.
Spingle believes the impact would not be as far reaching.
"All this does is put an independent panel in place of the two sides," said Springle. "This is just an individual panel that makes the decision."
The Worcester County school board agreed unanimously to oppose the proposed legislation.
"If adopted, this legislation will significantly limit the authority of the elected Board of Education to adopt policy and operate the school system," Andes wrote.
According to Springle, the legislation needs to pass to ensure fairness for all parties involved.
"We're hopeful that the bill will pass because it puts in place a fair and impartial party to make the decision if we can't come to an agreement," said Springle.


text:
Composer harnesses artificial intelligence to create music
Post a comment
PARIS Just as IBM's Deep Blue showed the world a computer can play chess as well as a human master, Eduardo Reck Miranda, a researcher for the Sony Computer Science Laboratories Inc., aims to demonstrate a computer program able to compose original music. So far, neural networks have succeeded in imitating distinct musical styles, but truly original compositions have remained elusive. Miranda is tackling that problem with an orchestra of virtual musicians called agents that interact to compose original music.
"From the viewpoint of a composer, I can hardly say that our agents are composing music at this stage," Miranda acknowledged. Instead, he said, "the breakthrough in this work is the action of collective machine learning for generative music systems." Rather than modeling specific musical styles or compositional processes, the new approach is a first step toward collective music-making with virtual musicians, each of which learns how to compose and play individually.
The Brazilian-born Miranda composes chamber and electroacoustic pieces, compositions that have won prizes in the Americas, Asia and Europe. Today, at Sony, he specializes in artificial intelligence in music. In his latest book, Composing Music with Computers (Focal Press), Miranda summarizes his AI research, which began with cellular automata and evolved into an "adaptive games" strategy based on artificial-life models.
"Perhaps one of the greatest achievements of artificial intelligence today lies in the construction of machines that can compose music of incredibly high quality," he said.
But AI's achievement is restricted to mimicking the style of existing composers, either with a set of AI rules, or by learning a composer's style with a neural network. In other words, computers can compose a new Bach cantata, but cannot compose anything novel, because their algorithms merely encapsulate a particular style of music.
For a computer to create truly novel compositions, Miranda has turned to artificial life (AL) models the fodder for what he calls evolutionary musicology. A computer becomes endowed with an adaptive set of music-composition tools and processes. Under the control of an artificial life model the set displays "emergent" behaviors that is, novel compositions. Miranda has explored this approach with cellular automata, genetic algorithm-like processes he summarized as "adaptive games."
Programming assistance
Miranda began his investigation with musical pieces composed using cellular automata, and created two computer programs to assist in the process a software synthesizer called ChaoSynth and a generator of musical passages called Camus.
Cellular automata are organized as a set of identical "cells" in a two-dimensional grid. Each has a set of rules to follow, but can only communicate with nearest neighbors. New high-level structures in this case, music evolve a pattern through repeated application of each cell's rule set. Over time, a pattern emerges that is translated into a soundscape by Miranda's ChaoSynth.
ChaoSynth uses a granular synthesis method to translate the two-dimensional pattern into a signal that can drive a speaker. By accumulating a sequence of short sound "grains" typically 10 to 100 microseconds in length many different cells can contribute to the final sound sample.
"ChaoSynth is a successful system because it can synthesize a large amount of unusual sounds that are not normally found in the real acoustic world, but which nonetheless sound pleasing to the ear," said Miranda.
The ChaoSynth "soundscapes," often accompanied by Miranda on the piano, have won awards for being "musical" despite the unearthly sound of their individual parts. While pleasing when blended in composition, the everyday sounds fit no known category when isolated.
"Up to now, I considered this work more at a theoretical level, as an investigation into the origins of music, rather than as a practical method to actually compose music," Miranda said. "Only now have I started composing using the sounds created by adaptive agents."
Miranda began by equipping his agents with a voice synthesizer, a hearing apparatus, a memory device and an "enacting script" that the system follows when communicating with other agents. The agents compute the parameters of their synthesizer principally pitch and duration and play them to each other. The agent's memory stores its repertoire of "songs" and it has the processing capability to extract the pitch of songs it hears so as to compare them with its own repertoire.
A variety of statistical, threshold and reinforcement parameters enables the agents to adapt their behaviors toward the goal of imitation. For instance, just because an agent "hears" a song by tracking its pitch, it cannot exactly imitate the sounds it hears because it is saddled with its own motor-skill limitations. In fact, each agent's motor skills also adapt, so that over time agents become more skillful at imitating songs similar to ones already in its repertoire.
Cover track
Agents keep track of the "popularity" of each of their songs by tracking how many other agents have successfully imitated them. Songs rejected by one imitator but accepted by many other imitators are left alone. But songs that are repeatedly "rejected" by imitators are eventually deleted and replaced with a new song that is a permutation of the rejected song.
For Miranda, the novelty here is that his adaptive games can learn to actively compose music, not just passively generalize existing musical knowledge. If borne out, this hypothesis will lead to realistic musical cultures that can be evolved by furnishing virtual musicians with what he calls "the proper cognitive and physical abilities, combined with appropriate interaction dynamics and adequate environmental conditions."


text:
By Jon and Elizabeth Eckert, F276712
We live in Panama City, Fla., and we have four Australian shepherds that are with us always. They are extraordinary pets.
To "earn their keep," we show them in conformation, obedience and agility shows throughout the United States and Canada. It keeps us and them in shape.
Our dogs are not the pros you see on TV. They're amateurs who do it for the fun of it. As a result, we do quite a bit traveling to various shows. Here are some of our experiences.
Excitement builds
First, we cannot start to pack our Class A motorhome without the dogs detecting that a trip is coming up; they start getting antsy. The day of departure from home finally starts the traveling routine. They know that we have drunk too much coffee and will stop at the first rest stop. I'll swear they can read the blue rest stop sign because they are all up and alert. We always turn on the generator when we enter the rest stop, and then the dogs really know this is a for-real stop.
At the rest stop, the dogs are walked two at a time and then we are back on the road. Now that they have gotten the first stop under their paws, they can go to sleep for several hours. But when the generator kicks on again, that's the signal that it's time for another stop.
The dogs have plenty of room in our motorhome. However, they each have their places: in the easy chair, on the floor, on the couch, and on the copilot's seat, depending on where Elizabeth is. They don't move around much while traveling — we do not crate our dogs.
At campgrounds
Recently, while we were building our "RV Retreat," we lived at a campground for six months with our dogs. This situation was good for us in that the dogs woke us up for the morning constitutional and coffee at the recreation center. The campground offered several areas for good walks and places to keep the dogs' interest up.
I should note that we've been on the road for as long as six months and never have been turned away from a campground, although there are some we have avoided because their write-ups make it clear that dogs are not welcome under any circumstances.
At some campgrounds, often we have been told of a "secret pasture" where the dogs can run off excess energy. We have found that a daily entertainment routing keeps the dogs settled. We seldom walk the whole bunch at one time, so most campers don't even notice how many dogs we have.
At campsites, we place a grooming table outside next to our motorhome's entry door. We put the dogs on the table to wipe dirty feet and brush their hair. We trained them at an early age to get on the table so we can work on them without breaking our backs. We even use the table to wash them. Most campgrounds let us use an empty site to bathe the dogs. We set up the table near a hose and dry them on a picnic bench.
On crating
I guess there are two ways of looking at crating. By not crating our dogs, in case of an accident, the could get loose outside the coach. They each have a microchip implant and collar, so there is some hope we'd get them back.
I would not want the dogs trapped in a crate, even though they may suffer more injuries uncrated. Just in case our dogs get annoying in the cockpit, we have made a barrier out of the PVC picket fencing. We secure it to the headrest with elastic cords and it works like a champ.
Soon, we are getting a puppy offspring of one of our dogs and he'll have to be crated until he learns the ropes.
Food delivery, auto-start generator
I could ramble on for days about traveling with the Aussies, but two final notes and then I'll sign off. First, we get our dog food by mail order. It has never been a problem to get 40 pounds of food delivered to the campground in a timely fashion.
Second, since we travel in the South in high temperatures quite a bit, we have an automatic starter on our generator. When it senses a loss of power, the generator starts so that we don't lose the air conditioning. We have returned to the motorhome to find it running a couple of times.
We probably have hundreds of stories about our 10 years of RVing with four, and sometimes five, dogs and would be glad to share our experiences with other pet lovers. Our e-mail address is [email protected].
Do you travel with pets? Send your tips, ideas, memories or stories to [email protected].


text:
BLM Researching Wild Mare Spayings
- May 3, 2013
- Topics:
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is studying the spaying of fertile wild mares in order to control the growth of the wild horse population. But the agency's senior wild horse and burro program advisor said that use of the procedure is not imminent.
According to BLM estimates, there are approximately 37,300 wild horses and burros roaming BLM-managed rangelands in 10 western states. The agency estimates that another 50,000 animals currently reside in holding facilities. The 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act protects wild horses and burros and places them under BLM jurisdiction.
BLM spokesman Tom Gorey said that the wild horse populations can double every four years. To control wild horse herd sizes, the agency removes animals from their ranges to short-term corrals and long-term pastures. Some wild horse advocates oppose these gathers as a population control method. Also to control herd population, the agency has treated some mares with the fertility-control drug porcine zona pellucida (PZP) and released more stallions than mares back onto the ranges after gathers.
Dean Bolstad, senior advisor for the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program, said that in 2012, the agency's Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board suggested removing the ovaries of some wild mares as a way to control herd growth. The procedure, known as an ovariectomy, is sometimes used to eliminate mares' fertility cycles, treat disease, or control estrus-related behavior. The BLM is deliberating exercising ovariectomies as part of its overall herd population growth plan, Bolstad said.
"We are considering the Advisory Board's recommendation and consulting with fertility experts and with veterinarians," Bolsted said. "But we have not started spaying mares."
Bolsted said that the BLM's decision to use the spay procedure and how it will be applied will be contingent on the opinions of veterinarians and other specialists, and on the experiences of those who have used the procedure in both wild and domestic mares.
Wildlife fertility authority Jay F. Kirkpatrick, PhD, director of the Science and Conservation Center in Montana, said that wild horse fertility is a very complex issue. Kirkpatrick said that the form of PZP used by the BLM (PZP-22) has not "delivered on its expectations," and he believes, from a pharmacologic standpoint, this could be because the agency has not apply PZP treatment to as many mares as it should in order to get "decent" results. He believes the BLM should carefully consider the factors surrounding ovariectomy and the agency's ultimate population control goal before spaying mares.
The safety of the procedure should be the agency's initial concern, Kirkpatrick said. While he said ovariectomy is generally safe and effective if performed under ideal circumstances, he believes that performing the procedure on wild mares is another matter.
"If done carefully and professionally, modern ovariectomy is, in a clinical setting, with experts and laparoscopic techniques, fairly safe and reasonably stress-free (beyond capture)," Kirkpatrick said. "But, of course, spaying (wild mares) in a corral after a stressful capture … is not the same thing."
Kirkpatrick also said he believes it is critical that the BLM know which mares have undergone the procedure and which have not. He explained that if a mare has made a genetic contribution to the herd, rendering her unable to produce any more foals via an ovariectomy "isn't bad. But if she has not made that genetic contribution to the herd, then it is bad."
Beyond that, the use of ovariectomy could also influence the social structure of wild horse bands, Kirkpatrick said: "Ovariectomy will, of course, eliminate estrous behavior and that may or may not have an impact on social structure, depending upon whether or not (the BLM) allows some mares to remain intact in each band."
Ultimately, Kirkpatrick believes that focusing on spaying itself does not address the central issue: wild herd population control. He does not believe spaying is the answer to the wild horse population issue; with ovariectomy, he noted, the BLM would have to spay more than 50% of adult mares—65% in some herds, depending upon factors such as mortality rate—to achieve the desired population control.
"If the BLM could not treat enough horses with a hand-injected contraceptive to make a difference, how are they going to treat enough mares with spaying to make a difference?" Kirkpatrick said.
Finally, Kirkpatrick believes that the agency should not exercise ovarectomy as population control until rigorous testing has taken place.
"Every contraceptive approach used or even discussed has been either carefully vetted and tested in controlled trials before application on a large scale … or various small trials with controlled populations have been (completed), and that has not been the case with spaying," Kirkpatrick said.
Bolstad said that the BLM will research whether ovariectomy might achieve population control without endangering wild horse herds. A National Academy of Sciences report due to be released in June will also address wild horse population control issues, he noted.
"I think ovariectomy is one of many of the tools we have to address wild horse population control," Bolstad said. "We will proceed carefully, cautiously, and respectfully."
About the Author
Pat Raia
Pat Raia is a veteran journalist who enjoys covering equine welfare, industry, and news. In her spare time, she enjoys riding her Tennessee Walking Horse, Sonny.
Related Content
Vet Reflects on Road to the Horse Herd
Foot Type and Laminitis Incidence in Feral Horses
Researchers Examine Ancient Stallions' Genetic Diversity
Feral Horses' Effects on Pine Trees and Grasses
Racehorses, Swimming, and Colic
Controlling Wild Horse Populations Via Immunocontraception
Mares' Social Bonds Might Enhance Reproductive Success
Mustangs Find New Homes on National Adoption Day
Rutgers' Young Horse Program Adds Mustangs to the Mix
National Wild Horse Adoption Day Aims for 1,000 Homes
POLL: Checking for Gastric Ulcers


text:
I am sending this because I KNOW you need it (HA!) don't give my e-address to your husband-I can imagine he'll be thrilled!
They are listed in order from No. to South.....
Center Diamond **A 'DON'T MISS' shop!
PO Box 997
1065 S Hemlock St
Cannon Beach 503-436-0833
Creative Fabric May Not Be there still-
PO Box 303
475 Hwy 101
Wheeler 503-368-5900
Jane's Fabric Patch LOVE this shop too
1110 Main Ave
Tillamook 503-842-9392
BJ's Fabrics & QuiltsIS in a lady's basement- great deals-a bit off road
PO Box 215
38105 Hwy 101 S
2 miles south of Cloverdale
Cloverdale 877-690-5267
Quilter's Cove Moved recently- wonderful landscape fabs and coastal ones also on rt or west side of hwy 101
27 NW Coast Hwy
Newport 866-437-8458
Wenz-Daze Quilter's EmporiumOff hwy 101 on rt., W side- in a metal pole shed bldg. back aways- worth the stop! Her hubby is a long arm quilter of Asian style quilts
5045 Hwy 101 N
Florence 541-997-3293
Joy of QuiltingNICE SHOP!!!Left side of hwy 101
2970 Highway 101
Florence 541-902-8863
Threads That Bindanother nice shop!
120 Central
Coos Bay 541-267-0749
Forget-Me-KnotsMY Favorite on the coast - but not been there for 3-4 yrs.
Po Box 1547
640 2nd St SE (Hwy 101) in old town
Bandon 800-347-9021
Quilters Corner? can't recall!
PO Box 69
335 W 7th
Port Orford 541-332-0502
Country KeepsakesNot worth the time small and mainly garment sewing
PO Box 4012
802 Chetco Ave
Brookings 541-469-6117
Visit our website at: www.quiltrun101.com
Yes, I been quilting all weekend. I finished my Brown and Green commission quilt (more proper photo's to follow later).
I put the extra Brown and blue blocks that were not working with the pinwheels into a new charity quilt top (Chicagosinger, I didn't forget you - three more to go). I added plaid and granite sashing to get 'er done.
Then I started my cousin's quilt. These are all fabrics she picked out to go with the pattern we found. I will be thre offset squares with sashing inside each other, then several boarders
Thea, beautiful Snowmen A-Z. That must have taken ages. People, how do you keep up with all the conversations? I haven't looked at my computer over the weekend and this thread alone continued over ten pages. It is pretty near to impossible to keep up. I thought I had found a system, but apparrently, it doesn't work. I'll keep trying, but please don't hold it against me when I don't answer you personally.
thanks for all your comments on my ragquilt. I make large quilts that I keep, quilts that I give away and in between I make small quilts that are for sell, but not destined to be for sale. If someone comes along, it goes, otherwise, I keep it or give it away myself. Indde, a win win situation every way you look at it.
Marie, the size of my ragquilt is about 24" square.
about the patriottic part, the colours of our national flag are also red white and blue. I got the design out of an american book, called Americana Ragquilts. In thes parts of the Netherlands, I wouldn't really consider the quilt to be patriottic, but farmer/countrystyle, because of the plaids. Funny how culture and history of two different countries go hand in hand in one quilt. I love quilting. It just brings people together and makes the world a better place.
Barbara, very lovely quilt, the beehive and the green and pinks. The red border is a very nice addition. Good advice, good choice.
Hi Debbie-do, I just used my regular small scissors to snip everything. I didn't know there existed a special tool for it. I still don't, actually. I just read that into your comment.
Carol W:
Here's the second one. I call this one "In The Garden". It was started 7 years ago as a BOM. It seemed like life just had a way of getting in the way. It is all hand qulted. I am sure glad to finally finish this one!
I will be entering both of these quilts in our county fair tomorrow.
Here's the second one. I call this one "In The Garden". It was started 7 years ago as a BOM. It seemed like life just had a way of getting in the way. It is all hand qulted. I am sure glad to finally finish this one!
I will be entering both of these quilts in our county fair tomorrow.
OMG Carol W, handquilted? It looks so straight. Wow. When I try the echoquilting, it always seems like my lines make slow curves downward.
Wow Vivian, lovely quilt, I adore the fabrics. Gerie.
Do yall think EQ7 is something a newbie quilter would use???
Do yall think EQ7 is something a newbie quilter would use???
I'm still on EQ6, but if you like to alter existing designs, or alter sizes, or design your own quilts, I'd say go for it. I hear EQ7 works very nice with putting pictures to quilts. Gerie.
Maggie, great looking quilt
[Ava, Missouri
Carol W.,
Sorry, my mistake. I guess I just noticed a few of the blocks in your quilt were some of the Lewis and Clark blocks. Just a better variation of colors. That's my problem too, I just can't seem to get interested in it again. I even bought the little jewelry pieces to go on the quilt. One of these days it'll get finished. Sorry for my confusion. I see now this one is called "In The Garden".
Barbara - Just got back on - finally the meds started to work for a while anyway... Yes the red does wonders for the quilt - brings everything inside out to the edge and then your eyes go back to the center - very very nice... I hope that you win... I have all my fingers and toes crossed for you.
Thea:I have thought about taking that class that Barbara talked about on EQ7
Oh, gosh, I signed up for that class.... I hope I haven't missed the start of it! Thanks for the reminder.
Thea:I have thought about taking that class that Barbara talked about on EQ7
Oh, gosh, I signed up for that class.... I hope I haven't missed the start of it! Thanks for the reminder.
McNancy - finally found my EQ7 program - couldn't find the little net book I had it downloaded on - since the move in of Mom I can't find anything - but downloaded it to my bigger laptop and have enrolled for the class...
Someone asked - think it was Linda if this would be a good program for a beginner... and I say Yes but get some instructions on how to use it - that is the reason I am taking this class - I can fumble around but figure if I take a class I will truly understand and use it more.
I couldn't see where to write, but the Quilt is a Thimbleberries design, that I have quilted twice in the past 10 years, I just wasn't happy with it. I think I am happy now.
North Carolina


text:
It's déjà vu all over again for Los Angeles sports fans. Just like with the Lakers last year, Dodgers supporters are unable to watch their team unless they have Time Warner Cable.
Dodgers games are only being shown on the team's new channel, SportsNet LA, which is distributed solely by Time Warner. Major television distributors DirecTV, Dish, FiOS, Charter and Cox do not have agreements to carry the station.
Frustrated fans can try to watch the game at bars and restaurants but many of them do not have SportsNetLA either.
"We live in LA and we can't even get the local team," said Rob Nevera, manager at Big Wangs in Hollywood. "We're a sports bar, so when we don't have the sports it has a negative impact on business."
Some bars and restaurants have resorted to getting two television providers to ensure they have all the games.
"We want to carry everything," said Erica Minor, a spokeswoman at 33 Taps in Hollywood. "We know some things aren't on DirecTV so we have to carry Time Warner as well."
- Watch: Dodgers Fans Get Upgrades
Time Warner is paying $8 billion over the next 25 years to broadcast the Dodgers. They cover 30 percent of the Los Angeles area, leaving the remaining 70 percent in the dark.
Time Warner has launched an "I Need My Dodgers" campaign to try and put pressure on other providers to carry SportsNet LA. At this time there is no word as to when other providers will get the station, but negotiations are ongoing.


text:
Mine always took two tries. It always started though.
It's unrelated to your issue, but your neutral light issue is a symptom of a failing neutral switch. The bike needs to "see" the green light to realize it is in neutral for the start sequence. If your green light disappears completely you will only be able to start with the clutch in, like it's in gear. The clutch switch is a little unreliable too so you may find yourself unable to start the bike some day. Even that's not a huge deal, because you can jump the wires to the clutch switch (or replace it). You can also pull the starter relay and jump hole 2 to hole 6.


text:
For the most part, Florida's recruiting class is locked away and it is a group that we here at Inside the Gators have spent months tirelessly following and evaluating each signee. With all of this ...
Premium Content
Subscribe today to read the full article and get everything Rivals has to offer.
- Member-only message boards
- Exclusive highlights and recruiting interviews
- Exclusive coverage of Rivals Camp Series
- Breaking recruiting news


text:
College picks: Week 12
No. 18 USC at No. 17 UCLA, 3:05 p.m. Saturday
USC has totally dominated this series of late, taking the last five meetings and 12 of the last 13. Since UCLA upset the Trojans in 2006, they haven't come within two touchdowns the last five years. But this is not the same UCLA team since Jim Mora took over as head coach this season – and USC looks nothing like the group that blanked the Bruins 50-0 last year. Both of these defenses have plenty of holes and the offenses have studs all over the place. I'll take UCLA in what looks like an inevitable shootout. I like the way the Bruins are playing better than I do the Trojans right now, and running back Johnathan Franklin gives them a dimension USC doesn't seem to have.
Wake Forest at No. 3 Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m. Saturday
Fans of one-loss teams – particularly Alabama and Georgia – will be rooting hard these last few weeks for two of the three unbeaten teams atop the BCS standings to go down in upsets. They probably shouldn't waste their time on this game, though. Notre Dame has its issues on offense, but they likely won't be a problem against a team that has been thoroughly dominated by N.C. State and Clemson in the last three weeks. The Wake Forest offense ranks 108th in scoring and 113th in total yards.
Notre Dame 30, Wake Forest 3.
Tennessee at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m. Saturday
Amazingly, Tennessee needs to sweep its annual end-of-season run against Vanderbilt and Kentucky just to become bowl eligible. But even if the Volunteers get to 6-6, it may not be enough to save coach Derek Dooley's job. Tennessee has allowed 37 points or more in all six of its conference games. In that "lowest-scoring" effort against Florida, the Gators finished 11 points above their season average. I have a hard time seeing Vanderbilt's lo-fi offense putting up a huge number here, though, and it just seems like Tennessee's hard luck has to turn around at some point.
Tennessee 35, Vanderbilt 27.
No. 13 Stanford at No. 2 Oregon, 8 p.m. Saturday
Stanford, for all its defensive prowess, has really struggled with Oregon in recent years. That's nothing to be ashamed of, of course, because hardly anyone has been able to stop Chip Kelly's spread option offense. The Cardinal might be a little better on defense this season, but Oregon might have its best quarterback ever in freshman Marcus Mariota. The Ducks are vulnerable on defense, having been ravaged by injuries, but it shouldn't matter too much against this year's Stanford offense. If Andrew Luck were still under center for the Cardinal, they would be the pick. Unfortunately for Stanford, he's playing in Indianapolis.
Oregon 49, Stanford 28.
No. 1 Kansas State at Baylor, 8 p.m. Saturday
I suspect that Kansas State will be the third national title contender to stay perfect Saturday. The Wildcats aren't as explosive on offense as Oregon and they're not as dominant on defense as Notre Dame, but they could be the most balanced team in the nation. Baylor will move the ball, but K-State seems to have mastered a bend-but-don't-break style of defense against the up-tempo spread teams that populate the Big 12. The Wildcats' offense should have no trouble scoring against a porous Baylor defense.
Kansas State 45, Baylor 30.


text:
Rocky Mountain National Park > Longs Peak > Keyhole Ridge > Climber's Log
Keyhole Ridge Climber's Log
[ Sign the Climber's Log ]
Date Climbed: Jul 8, 2014
|Climbed with another party, both from Sierra Mountaineering Club. Route has great exposure and the climbing is fun and solid. Simul-climbed until the access ramp then 4 pitches from there.
|Posted Jul 10, 2014 10:54 pm
|Keyhole Ridge
Date Climbed: Jul 30, 2011
|Quality alpine route away from the crowds. Stayed on the east side of the ridge. The second tower climbing and OW crack at the top are fun. Exposure, great position, magnificent views, -- classic route.
|Posted Jul 31, 2011 4:21 pm
|Brian C
|Best route so far
Date Climbed: Jul 16, 2011
|My 6th route on Longs and probably the best so far. Very fun climbing with great position. We followed Gerry Roach's description and did all the climbing on the east side of the ridge instead of traversing around the back. Fun and exposed. A great route.
Trip Report
|Posted Jul 16, 2011 6:43 pm
|Solitude on Longs?!
Date Climbed: Jul 17, 2010
|The weather finally gave in and gave us a nice day for an alpine climb. And there was only 1 other group on the route. The 10ft step caught my attention, especially since I love downclimbing ;-) I was thankful not to be on the standard route when I heard rockfall from the Trough and then, funny enough almost had my head taken off at the rap by a huge rock. 4th Longs summit & 4th route.
|Posted Jul 18, 2010 9:41 pm
|Very fun climb!
Date Climbed: Jul 21, 2007
|One of my first alpine routes and certainly the hardest to date. We saw several groups on this route and all were roped. The climbing isn't that difficult but the exposure is a big factor in places. It was cool looking down onto the standard route from above and seeing ants milling up and down the trough. My 3rd ascent of Longs, but by far the best one. Descended the cables route.
|Posted Mar 3, 2008 12:39 pm
|Good Route
Date Climbed: Aug 18, 2007
|Good alternate to the standard route if you're comfortable with the grade. For those who typically go sans rope when others seem to be on the fence, this would be a great climb for just that. The exposure probably warrants a rope otherwise. Climbed with Miztflip & coloradoiceclimber.
|Posted Aug 20, 2007 11:53 pm
|Fun Route
Date Climbed: Apr 18, 2007
|Fun alternative to the Keyhole route for those with the ability. The technical sections where short and relatively easy. Still, great exposure on very clean rock. Climbed with jwclimbs and coloradoiceclimber, descended the Cable route and the camel to Chasm Lake.
|Posted Aug 19, 2007 3:46 pm
|great time
Date Climbed: Jul 7, 2007
|This was an awesome stab at my first alpine rock route. I never knew scrambling and moderate rock could be so fun. We met two guys who camped at the boulder field unsure of what to do, so they followed us and loved it.
Most people seem to go around the back side, we stayed on the sunny side for all but about 40 feet. The 5.5 crux has great exposure!
|Posted Jul 13, 2007 5:22 pm
|Mountain Jim
|Best route on the mountain
Date Climbed: Aug 12, 1978
|If you're looking for an elegant, "fun in the sun" mountaineering route ... away from the crowds, this is the route.
I've done it about a dozen times.
|Posted Jul 9, 2006 11:38 pm


text:
DM of the Rings LI:
The Tenacity of Greed
on Jan 15, 2007
DM of the Rings
The saying is, "No honor among thieves", but I think it applies just as well to the other character classes. I would not be shocked at all to find a paladin and a cleric arguing over which one of them gets to pry the gold fillings from the teeth of their recently slain companion, and if they are obliged to resurect him afterwards.
Originally players did this because the rules only awarded experience points when they acquired treasure. The rules have since been revised, so now people are free to act this way out of naked greed.


text:
Pectus excavatum describes an abnormal formation of the rib cage that gives the chest a caved-in or sunken appearance.
Funnel chest
Pectus excavatum is a congenital (present at birth) abnormality that can be mild or severe. It usually develops during pregnancy.
It is caused by too much growth of the connective tissue that joins the ribs to the breastbone. This causes the sternum to malform inward. The child typically has a depression in the center of the chest over the sternum, and this may appear quite deep.
If pectus excavatum is severe, it may affect the heart and lungs, making exercise difficult. Also, the appearance of the chest may cause psychological difficulty for the child.
Pectus excavatum may occur as the only abnormality, or together with other syndromes. Often, patients also have a heart problem called mitral valve prolapse.
Pectus excavatum will often occur by itself without any family history or other defects or problems. Other causes include:
Contact your health care provider if:
Your health care provider will perform a physical examination. An infant with pectus excavatum may have other symptoms and signs that, when taken together, define a specific syndrome or condition.
The health care provider will also ask questions about you or your child's medical history, such as:
Tests may be done to rule out suspected disorders. These tests may include:
Pulmonary or cardiac function tests may be done to determine how severely the lungs and heart are affected.
This condition can be surgically repaired. Surgery is generally advised if you have other problems, such as trouble exercising. In addition, some people undergo surgery for cosmetic reasons. Your health care provider can help you make decisions about your therapy.
Sugarbaker DJ, Lukanich JM. Chest wall and pleura. In: Townsend CM Jr., Beauchamp RD, Evers BM, Mattox KL. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2008:chap 57.
Tzelepis GE, McCool FD. The lungs and chest wall disease. In: Mason RJ, Broaddus VC, Martin TR, et al, eds.Murray and Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 5th ed.Philadelphia,Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2010:chap 88.
1000 Johnson Ferry Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30342
(404) 851-8000
450 Northside Cherokee Blvd.
Canton, GA 30115
(770) 224-1000
1200 Northside Forsyth Drive
Cumming, GA 30041
(770) 844-3200


text:
Turning university discoveries into vibrant and growing businesses in New Jersey is our goal at the Commission on Science and Technology. The University Intellectual Property program provides targeted funding to enable New Jersey research universities to develop new products, create new businesses and generate new quality jobs in New Jersey.
The Commission on Science and Technology in April 2005 launched the Commercializing University Intellectual Property program, allocating $1 million to help New Jersey research universities accelerate the transfer of innovations from lab to marketplace. The University IP Program was designed to allow New Jersey's research universities to enhance their commercialization activities and request support from the Commission to meet these goals.
Rutgers University
As part of its activities of enhancing commercialization prospects for university generated intellectual property and other technological initiatives, Rutgers has created the Rutgers Technology Transfer Forum. This program is a series of commercially oriented technology presentations aimed at establishing communications links between the venture investment community, the basic research engines located in the state's universities and the technology companies of New Jersey. Rutgers has invited participation by the other three research-intensive universities in this activity aimed at educating the investment and business community to the opportunities available out of New Jersey's university based research enterprise. Plans are being developed to expand the number and scope of these presentations in support of the overall NJCST commercialization efforts in the state.
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
UMDNJ has collaborated with Rutgers University School of Business to enable Rutgers students to intern at the UMDNJ Office of Patents and Licensing. Rutgers students analyze license agreements for compliance and work with UMDNJ faculty inventors to develop business plans.
New Jersey Institute of Technology
NJIT has created multi-disciplinary teams of students, including an MBA candidate and a graduate student in a specific technological discipline to assess university-generated intellectual property. Students work side-by-side with entrepreneurs. Teams plan to present final reports during a special seminar on technology commercialization in June 2006.
Princeton University
Princeton established a "Gap Fund" awarding from $25,000 to $100,000 to faculty members for proof-of-concept, animal studies, data collection and prototyping to demonstrate the commercial potential of their innovations. Winners included: a miniaturized atomic clock valuable to GPS receivers, potential new antibiotic compounds, video security technology, protein purification methods for New Jersey pharma and biotech industries, biosensors to monitor groundwater and detect biohazards and a coating to prevent corrosion that already is being eyed by a company moving to New Jersey from New York.


text:
|The Metadata Community — Supporting Innovation in Metadata Design, Implementation & Best Practices
Global navigation options:
The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) is an open organization managed as a project of ASIS&T, a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.
You can learn more about metadata and DCMI by exploring the pages listed in the menu bar above: the Home page, Metadata Basics, Specifications, Community and Events, and About Us (this page).
The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) supports shared innovation in metadata design and best practices across a broad range of purposes and business models.
DCMI does this by:
DCMI's principles of operation are:
Open consensus building: Participation in the DCMI community is open to all interested groups or individuals with expertise or interests in metadata. DCMI de facto standards, specifications and best practice documents reflect consensus arrived at through consultative debate and review. No fees are assessed for use of such information, inasmuch as the value of such materials is enhanced by their wide adoption.
International scope and participation: DCMI arose in the 1990s from an informal workshop series that attracted participation of a world-wide community. DCMI has been committed from the start to global participation, as exemplified by a wide array of translations, the location of Dublin Core conferences and regional meetings, and the diversity of regional representation among the DCMI Members and in the Oversight Committee and Advisory Board.
Neutrality of purposes and business models: DCMI is neutral as to the purposes for which DCMI de facto metadata standards and specifications might be used. DCMI encourages the adoption of these standards and specifications in the public and private sectors and in further de jure standardization that does not jeopardize open access.
Neutrality of technology: DCMI de facto standards are fundamentally concerned with semantics—the meaning of assertions about information resources. The technological infrastructure underpinning the encoding and expression of these semantics is expected to evolve with time. DCMI attempts to maintain independence of agreed-upon semantics, and to facilitate the expression of these semantics in encoding idioms appropriate to the active stakeholders of the initiative.
Cross disciplinary focus: Since its early days in the mid-1990s, DCMI's founding principle has been the discovery and management of resources through metadata across the boundaries of information silos on the Web and within intranets.
DCMI Members support the work of DCMI, participate in its governance, and receive benefits such as access to content, discounts for events, and visibility. DCMI is an organization committed to the development and open availability of resources that support a healthy global metadata ecosystem. Annual membership dues by DCMI members play a significant role in ensuring that DCMI continues to advance this commitment to support innovation in metadata design and best practice. Regional Members and Institutional Members help shape DCMI by: (1) bringing their institutional perspectives to the work agenda of the Initiative through active participation on the governing Oversight Committee; and (2) supporting the efforts of an international community of volunteer metadata experts. Supporting Members (private-sector companies and foundations) and Individual Members (interested individuals and students) support DCMI and enjoy membership benefits without formal duties related to governance.
The work of DCMI requires dedicated, paid effort funded through the annual contributions of DCMI members. These paid efforts include:
« More membership information »
The governance and operation structure of DCMI is formalized through a set of by-laws defining the membership, responsibilities, selection and appointment process, terms, decision process, communication and documentation, and reporting procedures for all committees.
The Governing Board manages the affairs of DCMI and performs the duties usually performed by the board of directors of a corporation. These duties include providing direction for the general management of the Initiative, oversight of the DCMI Directorate, stewardship of DCMI's finances, approval of DCMI bylaws, and a broad remit to shape the strategic direction of DCMI and formulate DCMI policies in consultation with the Advisory and Technical Boards. The Governing Board also contributes to the promotion of the Initiative through liaisons with the public and private sectors. In addition to chairing the Governing Board, the Chair serves as chair of the Executive Committee and presides over the DCMI.
Committees: Members & Finance Nominations & Bylaws
The Technical Board is the organizational body that ensures the publication and maintenance of DCMI technical and semantic specifications in accordance with DCMI policy. These include specifications to which DCMI has made a long-term maintenance commitment, adaptations of DCMI specifications published by formal standards organizations, and specifications published as products of DCMI communities. The Technical Board serves as the primary advisory body for DCMI for matters pertinent to the Board's charge.
Committees: Usage Standards & Liaisons Community Specifications
The Advisory Board is the organizational body that advances DCMI's work through engagement with DCMI community members and liaising with other initiatives that have shared, metadata-related interests. For the Initiative, the Advisory Board serves as the primary advisory body for DCMI for matters pertinent to the Board's charge and also as a broad-based sounding board for DCMI on issues deemed of significant importance to the Initiative, its members, and stakeholders.
The Executive Committee, comprised of the chairs and chairs-elect of DCMI's three boards, has two general purposes: (1) to represent the interests, concerns and agenda of their respective boards in collaborative Committee deliberations and decision-making; and (2) to provide a means for routine DCMI management decisions to be made without the full convening of the members' respective boards while maintaining the authority of the boards.
The Directorate consists of compensated directors who support the Executive Committee and DCMI's three Boards through the provision of specific services in areas such as financial management, required reporting, and the development and execution of DCMI activities. The exact roles of directors may change from time to time depending on the administrative and programmatic needs and resources of DCMI.
Committees: Conferences & Meetings Education & Outreach
Communities and Task Groups provide discussion and cooperation platforms for specific communities (e.g., education, government information, corporate knowledge management) or specific interests (e.g., technical architecture, accessibility). Read more...
The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative Web Site is the major public entry point and formal repository for DCMI documentation, including current and past activities and meetings.
DCMI seeks to attract the individuals and organizations worldwide interested in collaborating on metadata standards as well as the design and development of enabling metadata technologies. To this end, the DCMI has established the following policies.
Over the years, DCMI has developed several software applications to generate and manage machine-readable representations of metadata: a metadata registry application (in Full and Lite versions), a Vocabulary Management Tool, and a tool for extracting structured representations of application profiles from MoinMoin wiki pages. The source code for these software applications is freely available for interested users under DCMI open source licenses.
The DCMI logo consists of a central sphere, representing the core of the Initiative. The inner surrounding spheres represent the original 15 core data elements available in the DCMI Metadata Element Set (ISO standard 15836). The outer spheres represent an interpreted and extended element set.
The following banner is provided in the GIF file format for use by members of the public who wish to include them on a Web site:
No special permission is required from the DCMI to reproduce this image. However, the banner must be linked directly to the DCMI Web site at <http://dublincore.org/>.
Please let us know if you are using this banner on a web site by sending a message with your name and the URL of the web site to the address listed on the feedback page.
Copyright © 1995-2017 DCMI. All Rights Reserved.


text:
This is a view on the painted water tower of Villeneuve d'Ascq (Le Pron).
It was built in 1936. All white in the 1980s, it was added to the early 2000s three bands on the top floor, one blue, one yellow and one red. In April 2009, it was painted with a pastel orange color background from the ground, sky blue to the top floor. In June 2009, the team Adeline Paule, native of south-west, has painted on the castle a picture of the water cycle, from the top of mountains to river beds. This drawing, made by a Villeneuvois schoolboy, comes from a competition launched by the société des Eaux du Nord in 2007, "I protect the water in my city".
The shot was taken in july 2011, in the middle of the afternoon.
Panorama made in HDR version (enfuse).
Source : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_d%27eau_d%27Ascq (translated with help of Google Traduction)
France is affectionately referred to as "the Hexagon" for its overall shape.French history goes back to the Gauls, a Celtic tribe which inhabited the area circa 300BC until being conquered by Julius Caesar.The Franks were the first tribe to adopt Catholic Christianity after the Roman Empire collapsed. France became an independent location in the Treaty of Verdun in (843 AD), which divided up Charlemagne's Carolingian Empire into several portions.The French monarchy reached its zenith during the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King, who stood for seventy-two years as the Monarch of all Monarchs. His palace of Versailles and its Hall of Mirrors are a splendid treasure-trove of Baroque art.The French Revolution ended the rule of the monarchy with the motto "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity!" On July 14th, 1789 angry mobs stormed La Bastille prison and began the Revolution in which Louis XVI, his wife Marie-Antoinette and thousands of others met the guillotine.One decade after the revolution, Napolean Bonaparte seized control of the Republic and named himself Emperor. His armies conquered most of Europe and his Napoleonic Code became a lasting legal foundation for concepts of personal status and property.During the period of colonization France controlled the largest empire in the world, second only to Britain.France is one of the founding members of the European Union and the United Nations, as well as one of the nuclear armed nations of the world.Text by Steve Smith.


text:
Hurdle hails Martin's tremendous defensive play
By Tom Singer and Steven Petrella / MLB.com
PITTSBURGH -- A relatively mundane, inconsequential and totally overlooked play in the Pirates' 3-1 Wednesday night victory over the Brewers was hailed by multiple team veterans as one of the best they had ever witnessed.
With the Pirates leading 2-1 and one out in the top of the eighth, a filthy two-strike curveball from Mark Melancon befuddled both the Brewers' Jean Segura, who swung hopelessly through it, and catcher Russell Martin, as the ball bounced off his right shinguard and traveled 20 feet to his left. Segura, representing the tying run, took off for first base.
Martin leapt out of his crouch, pounced after the ball, picked it up, spun and blindly threw toward first base with such force that he wound up face-planting in the grass.
The throw was spot on to Gaby Sanchez to retire Segura.
"As good a play as I've ever seen a catcher make," said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. "Martin's play is out of this world. That's a fantastic play. To throw a fast runner out on a ball that travels and had distance that he had to go get. And he slipped and still got enough on the throw to make that play. Awesome."
"That was one of most athletic plays I've ever seen. As far as blocking the pitch, getting up, recovering the ball and getting a guy who runs very well. That's a lot better than I was at catcher, I can tell you that," said Neil Walker, who was drafted as a catcher and broke into pro ball playing the position.
Bucs' bullpen living up to 'Shark Tank' nickname
PITTSBURGH -- Opponents have something to fear in the Pirates' bullpen, and its nickname seems to fit the bill.
Setup man Mark Melancon dubbed the team's group of relievers the "Shark Tank" on Twitter earlier this season, and it has been as deadly as its moniker.
The 28-year-old, well-traveled righty came up with the name while diving with great white sharks in southern New Zealand -- an item on the pitcher and his wife's bucket list. A younger shark hadn't been named yet, so a diver they were with said, "Why don't we just name it after you?"
And the pitcher brought the idea back to Pittsburgh and his cohorts, as a two-ton shark named "Melancon" swims halfway across the world.
"I'm good with whatever they like," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of the nickname. "They seem to like the name, and they've kind of bought into that mentality. So I'm good with it."
Entering Thursday's game, Pirates relievers have a 2.89 ERA, the fifth-best in baseball, and opponents are hitting just .215 against them, good for second in the Majors.
Melancon and closer Jason Grilli have been a nearly perfect one-two punch to close out games. Melancon has a 0.43 ERA to go along with 22 strikeouts, one walk and 14 holds in 21 innings, while Grilli is an unscathed 16-for-16 in save opportunities.
"I feel a lot of confidence in the bullpen," said starter Wandy Rodriguez through interpreter and bullpen catcher Heberto Andrade. He tossed seven strong innings Wednesday night before turning the ball over to the Pirates' eighth-ninth inning duo, which sealed the win with a pair of 1-2-3 innings.
"They've been doing a tremendous job," said Rodriguez.
Melancon, who the Pirates acquired from the Red Sox when they sent closer Joel Hanrahan to Boston this offseason, said he and many of the other relievers take the same approach a closer would, seeing their responsibility as a single inning. And if each is effective in his duty, the torch gets passed right down the line.
"As a reliever, you always tend to try to take that as your approach," Melancon said. "It's our job."
Hurdle gratified with Bucs' attitude, effort, direction
PITTSBURGH -- At some point in the bottom of the third inning of Thursday night's game against the Brewers, the Pirates officially hit the quarter-pole of the 2013 season.
Prior to the start of the contest, manager Clint Hurdle talked glowingly of the team's 40-game performance. But if Hurdle was pleased, most outside of the clubhouse were downright amazed by the Pirates' 23-17 record against generally elite competition despite numerous setbacks.
Told in advance that Andrew McCutchen would be hitting .260, Neil Walker would spend two weeks on the disabled list, James McDonald would be generally ineffective before also landing on the DL, Pedro Alvarez would be back under .200 and critical '12 reliever Jared Hughes would be back at Triple-A Indianapolis, few would have given the Bucs much chance of being in line to post winning records in both April and May for the first time since 1991.
"A large number of people might've been freaked out," Hurdle said. "But I'm weird that way. I would've said, 'It's a challenge -- to get production out of other people.'"
Production from some of those non-marquee guys has been a significant source of satisfaction for Hurdle.
"I like the rotation now. The depth has never been better. I love the work the bullpen is doing," he said. "Offensively, our lineup's never been deeper, and we've still got some guys capable of doing more. Defensively, we're catching the ball. We're playing 27 outs. We're running the bases much more effectively.
"I like the direction we're headed, the effort and the attitude."
First number, last word
5-2: The Pirates' record during a recent stretch with both second baseman Neil Walker and catcher Russell Martin out with injuries. Last season, without Walker in the lineup, the Bucs were 15-22.
"We had winter on Monday and summer on Wednesday."
-- Jim Trdinich, Pirates director of baseball communications, on the temperature moving from 32 degrees Monday morning to 84 degrees for first pitch two nights later.
Worth noting
• By collecting a trio of doubles against San Diego on Wednesday at the age of 20 years and 313 days, the Orioles' Manny Machado became the youngest to turn the feat since Roberto Clemente did it on May 29, 1955, at the age of 20 years and 284 days.
• The reports Hurdle received on Charlie Morton's comeback rehab start Thursday with Altoona credited him with "a good outing," as he threw 61 pitches in four innings. Sidetracked by shoulder discomfort from his original rehab from Tommy John surgery, Morton is scheduled for three more rehab starts, the next on Tuesday with Indianapolis.
• Grilli, who had worked in three of the previous four games, was given the night off and wasn't available out of the bullpen on Thursday night.
Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog Change for a Nickel. He can also be found on Twitter @Tom_Singer. Steven Petrella is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.