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ANKARA (Reuters) - Five Turkish border guards were wounded in a clash at the Syrian border with an armed group that one Turkish official described as smugglers but an opposition activist suggested may have included rebel fighters of the Free Syrian Army.
Turkish media said 10 people, including civilians, were wounded in the clash at Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, opposite Syria's Tel Abyad gate.
Private broadcaster NTV said the Syrians had been waiting to cross at the border gate, and opened fire when they were refused entry.
A Syrian opposition activist said two rebel fighters were killed in the clash, but a Turkish official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Syrians were smugglers and the five wounded were guards.
Reuters could not independently verify any of the reports.
Rebels from the Free Syrian Army, a loose collection of army defectors and volunteers battling President Bashar al-Assad's forces, regularly cross from Turkey, where they have been given sanctuary, into Syria to launch attacks on the army.
Smugglers and rebels also cross over to carry supplies like medicine and blankets to fighters inside Syria and to bring back wounded fighters and civilians as well as refugees into Turkey.
Still photographs from Turkey's private Dogan news agency showed smoke rising from the border crossing, with a fire engine at the scene. One photograph showed a wounded man being loaded onto an ambulance. Broadcaster CNN Turk said cars at the crossing were set on fire.
Turkey is now sheltering more than 300,000 Syrians who have fled the fighting in their homeland, most of them in camps along the 900-km (560-mile) frontier, and is struggling to keep up with the flow of new arrivals.
Ankara has denied previous reports that it has stopped entry to Syrians trying to cross into Turkey, saying it operates an open door policy but that at times it need to regulate the flow of refugees across the border.
The U.N. refugee agency criticized Turkey in March for sending home at least 130 Syrians in what some witnesses said were forced evictions following a riot at one refugee camp. Turkey denied it deported the Syrians.
The incident on Thursday was a reminder of the strains faced by neighboring countries as violence from the civil war in Syria, now into its third year, spills across its borders.
In October, five Turkish civilians were killed in Akcakale when a mortar bomb fired from Syria landed on their house, prompting Turkey to fire back across the frontier.
Reporting by Jonathon Burch in Ankara and Oliver Holmes in Beirut; Editing by Parisa Hafezi and Sonya Hepinstall


text:
Instead of Personal Attacks, Obama and Romney Must Debate Their Visions For The Country
In choosing to focus on Romney's perceived vulnerabilities, the Obama Administration is failing to tout its own record. They should be talking about the job numbers. They are not where they need to be but they have trended in a positive direction.
[The View From Washington]
The fundamental debate of the 2012 election is nothing new. The debate of how much power to give the national government goes as far back as the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
The Federalists argued for a real division of power between the national and state governments. They wanted a centralization of power in a strong national government. The Anti-Federalists feared a tyrannical national government and argued for greater localized power with stronger state governments.
A stronger national government meant order and uniformity but required higher taxes to support it. Stronger state governments would protect the rights of the individual by keeping decision making closer to those who would be directly impacted by them.
In the late 1930's as a response to the Great Depression, President Roosevelt and fellow Democrats proposed and passed the New Deal. The New Deal was a set of programs administered by the national government that reformed banking and finance regulations, used taxpayer dollars to create social safety-net programs such as welfare and social security and created jobs in public works programs. These programs were designed to stimulate the economy, relieve suffering and rebuild a crumbling infrastructure. Roosevelt drew upon the power of the national government to solve monumental national problems.
In the mid1960's, President Lyndon Johnson and fellow Democrats promoted and passed the Great Society programs. The two main goals of the Great Society social reforms were the elimination of poverty and racial injustice. New major spending programs that addressed education, medical care, urban problems and transportation needs were launched during this period.
The Great Society in scope and sweep resembled the New Deal domestic agenda of Franklin D. Roosevelt, but differed sharply in the types of programs it enacted. As did Roosevelt before him, Johnson drew upon the power of the national government to address monumental national problems.
In 2012 Americans find themselves facing financial problems similar to those of the Great Depression. America also finds itself facing record home foreclosures, racial disparities in home ownership, racial disparities in wealth accumulation, disproportionate levels of incarceration based on race and 8.2 percent unemployment.
All issues similar to the ills that the Great Society was enacted to address. According to Bread for the World, "We live in the world's wealthiest nation. Yet 15.1 percent of people living in the United States live in poverty… More than 48 million Americans—including 16.2 million children—live in these households."
In the 2012 presidential race Mitt Romney and President Obama have not focused their campaigns on articulating these issues and providing real solutions to these problems. They are too busy engaging in the politics of personal attacks and character assassination, not the politics of policy.
Romney's "brilliant" policy proposals are more deregulation and tax cuts. He seems unaware of the historical realities that the Great Depression of the 1930's and the Great Recession (Depression) of 2010 were partly caused by deregulation and tax cuts.
He erroneously claims that President Obama has done nothing for the economy. On January 16, 2012 Romney tweeted, "More Americans have lost their jobs under Barack Obama than any president in modern history."
According to ABC News, "…the U.S. economy has now been creating jobs for 22 consecutive months… All told, the economy added 1.6 million jobs in 2011 after adding 940,000 in 2010…"
Unfortunately, President Obama and his re-election team have chosen to focus their efforts on personal attacks on Romney's tax returns, Swiss bank and Cayman Island accounts and job outsourcing.
In choosing to focus on Romney's perceived vulnerabilities, the Obama Administration is failing to tout their record. They should be talking about the job numbers. They are not where they need to be but they have trended in a positive direction. President Obama should be talking about success in banking and financial reform, as well as his immigration policy. Since 2009, the annual average number of deportations has approached 400,000, double that of the Bush administration.
The president should also clearly explain why the Affordable Care Act is a good idea. He has overhauled the food safety system, advanced women's rights in the work place, ended Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), stopped defending DOMA in court, passed the Hate Crimes bill and appointed two pro-choice women to the Supreme Court.
There are a number of decisions and policies that those in the President's base can and have taken issue with. I will not rehash them here, I have raised some of those issues in previous articles.
The point is, as Americans watch the ads and listen to the rhetoric, real debate about real issues is not taking place. Romney's not telling Americans what he stands for; he just talks about what he's against. Meanwhile the president is allowing himself to be defined by his adversaries, instead of standing behind a productive first term. The President is not campaigning to win; he's campaigning not to lose while the American people continue to suffer.
Dr. Wilmer Leon is the Producer/ Host of the nationally broadcast call-in talk radio program "Inside the Issues with WilmerLeon," and a Teaching Associate in the Department of Political Science at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Go to email@example.com, www.wilmerleon.com , email: firstname.lastname@example.com. orwww.twitter.com/drwleon
© 2012 InfoWave Communications, LLC.
Latest comments
- Ann GarrisonFebruary 22,2018 @ 08:03 PM
I think you have "Filtered HTML" turned on here. If you switch to "Full HTML," it will probably...
googletag.pubads().definePassback('6785150/BENN/BlackStarNews', [[300,250]]).setTargeting('fold',['BTF']).display();

subset: commoncrawl


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You can get two pairs of the Prendas ones for the same price though. And you don't need to set about those with scissors!
Defeet's Slipstreams are are a solid pair of oversocks (figuratively and literally) and you get to feel just like a seasoned pro of yesteryear by having to manually cut your cleat holes. Whether that's cool or not is a matter of taste.
DeFeet were one of the first to create specific oversocks. Frequently seen covering shoes in the pro peloton, Slipseams must be good – or is it just because money has changed hands?
I must admit, I almost failed in my job as a reviewer as I first thought these to be a rather well built pair of socks. This is because unlike most oversocks, these require you to manually cut a hole for your cleat – harking back to the idea of simply cutting a hole in a pair of socks that started it all.
Once I realised the true role of this garment, the differences became clear: they're a heavy knit, uniform throughout the sock (not lightweight mesh like a race sock) with a tall, lighter stitched cuff. That said, they did fit my feet pretty well and as someone who seems to have razor blades for toenails, a tougher sock could be just the thing!
The idea behind the heavy stitching is to provide that extra layer of insulation and cover the vents in your shoes when the weather is a little on the chilly side. They are also far less prone to snagging on shoe buckles and cycle path brambles. It makes for a dense oversock, more so than a lot of the competition, which does indeed do a great job at keeping the wind chill at bay.
Back to the manual cutting. On closer inspection, these have a single thread line across the bottom – a bit like a laddered pair of tights – that acts as a center guide. You cut along this line to the length of your cleat. It can be a bit fiddly as you want a clean cut; a bit of time and care is needed.
As I said, a clean cut is key to the durability of these oversocks. Pre-cut oversocks have a sealing stitch around the hole. These don't and so any fray edges could invite the hole to grow. In my experience that happens even with pre-cut oversocks over time and these didn't seem to be wearing at any quicker rate; they were in fact quite durable. It is a complaint I've heard of these socks however, with a top tip being to apply nail varnish to the cut edges, sealing any threads.
The manual cutting is a bit of a downside though and thins the line between just buying a pair of socks and cutting a hole in them. The only reason I can see of doing this is to cut production costs but this doesn't seem to be reflected in the RRP: £14.99, about what you'd expect for a pair of oversocks. You do get a greater material density than most the competition, which does mean they do a better job at keeping your tootsies warm. So if you're happy taking scissors to some brand new kit, you'll have a fine pair of oversocks.
Tough oversocks with plenty of insulation, but having to cut your own cleat hole is annoying.
If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website
road.cc test report
Make and model: DeFeet Slipstream
Size tested: Black
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
DeFeet says: "As recently as the late 1980's, professional road cyclists would wear a pair of socks over their shoes while racing and training. If asked why they did this, they would answer 'It's warmer, more aerodynamic, keeps my shoes cleaner, looks better, and it makes me faster.' Of course, one could argue that putting cotton socks over cycling shoes makes none of those possible. DeFeet crafted a solution that actually keeps windchill off the feet, creates smoother lines, keeps dirt out, looks better, and ultimately makes riders faster. Slipstreams™ also last much longer than a pair of socks while barely costing more. Pay homage to the classic era of cycling, wear Slipstreams™ and go faster."
Not sure about barely costing more than a pair of socks - only if you grace your feet with £10+. They also don't mention you will still be cutting a hole for your cleat like in the 80s. Otherwise, a nice history lesson.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
56% Cordura Nylon 32% Lycra 7% Elastic 5% Nylon makes for a dense material which should prevent snagging and also does a good job at keeping the wind out. The cuff is a slightly looser fit around your ankle.
One of the best at keeping feet warm.
In the middle here because if you don't take care with the cut, I can see these falling appart rather quickly
Comfortable even worn as socks!
An £14.99RRP is smack in the middle of pre-cut oversocks. Whilst the material is denser than you can expect with most the competition, I'd have expected the manual cutting to reduce production costs more.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Did a great job at keeping wind chill away from my feet.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The density of the sock body.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Manual cutting of the cleat hole - this might be of preference for some.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes - I can get over having to cut the cleat hole as it is a solid oversock.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
About the tester
Age: 23 Height: 184cm Weight: 66kg
I usually ride: Orbea Onix (Carbon) - Summer, Orbea Asphalt (Alu) - Winter My best bike is: Orbea Alma G10
I've been riding for: Under 5 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Semi pro
I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, club rides, mtb,


text:
Rankings are updated every Monday of the NASCAR season.
Kurt Busch
Busch provided the drama Sunday night and capped off one of the biggest sports stories in years. Eight months after suffering a broken leg and foot from a horrific crash in the season opening Xfinity Series race at Daytona, the 30-year-old Busch celebrated his first NASCAR Sprint Cup title in 11 seasons. Busch did it in dramatic fashion, taking the lead with less than 10 laps to go and winning the race and the title.
Kevin Harvick
On Sunday night, Harvick did what he has done all season long: He finished second. It was his record 13th runner-up finish of 2015, but with Busch's win, it was one spot short of the title. Harvick won three races this year and did have all those second place finishes, but he struggled much of the second half of the race after leading 46 laps. Last year, the roles were reversed and Harvick won the race and the title. Let there be no doubt, however: Harvick isn't going away anytime soon and he'll be a contender for another title for years to come.
Jeff Gordon
Gordon had much of the attention on him prior to the start of the race, and for good reason. Sunday marked his last race as a full-time competitor. It would have been a great story to see him with a fifth title, but he never really had the speed to contend for the win, especially late in the race. He did make one last charge on the final restart, but came home sixth. The future Hall of Famer leaves the sport with 93 wins, four titles, and the admiration of all.
Martin Truex, Jr.
Truex was the underdog the entire Chase, but never really had the speed to contend this weekend. His single-car team made wholesale changes to the car, but it wasn't enough. Truex finished 12th, and is now looking forward to next year, and rightly so. His team is switching manufacturers in the off season and will have an alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, the organization Busch drives for. That move could pay dividends next season, and Truex may go from the underdog to a real threat to win it all.
About The Ranker:
Greg Engle is an Examiner.com writer and an award-winning columnist who has worked full time for the Sporting News and the NASCAR Wire Service—if you wanted to get any more inside the sport of NASCAR you'd have to wear a crash helmet. He has received bylines in hundreds of newspapers across the country on auto sports and has also been featured on NASCAR.com, ThatsRacin.com, ESPN and Fox Sports. His work can be found at Examiner.com.


text:
Hi All,
Sorry if this has been asked before. I've been searching and searching for someone with the same problem, and only came across one other instance -- In which it was suggested that the poster use Inkscape instead of Illustrator to create the SVG, which worked for them. I tried it, and it didn't solve my problem.
I'm attempting to extrude from an imported SVG. The problem, however, it that when I switch from 2D to 3D in the OBJECT DATA menu, the fills go away. Therefore, when I extrude, it only extrudes the curves, with no top or bottom to the shape. As in, if I extruded a rectangle, it would only create the 4 "walls", not the top" or bottom.
I've followed every tutorial I could find on extruding from SVG curves, but it seems this problem is never brought up. None of the modifiers I've tried applying have helped ('solidify' just makes the "walls" thicker), and converting to mesh doesn't close the open ends.
Any ideas?
Pictures for reference:
Illustrator CS5
Blender ver 2.63a
Mac OSX 10.6.8
Problem working with imported Illustrator/Inkscape SVG
Blender documentation projects, tutorials, translation, learning & teaching Blender
Moderators: jesterKing, stiv
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text:
3-5 days make to order.
Since this is custom made, the figure on the top is just effect image, the finish ready product might be a little different in color/size of the image/area from the effect image, and these kind of different are not quality issue, thanks for your understanding and support.
Material: made of clear soft or hard TPU or plastic.
Patterns: #1-#6
For phone models:
Almost all phone case, just leave note if you don't find it below:
Iphone 5/5S/SE
Iphone 6/6S
Iphone 6 Plus/6S Plus
Samsung Please leave note
Other Phone case please leave note
Get a Screen Protector here:
Shipping: Free Shipping Worldwide for order over 15$, 7-15 days delivery to US/UK/CA/AU/FR/DE/IT and most Asia Countries


text:
Hoping for leads in San Rafael's latest bank robbery, police released a video Sunday that shows the crime in progress.
The robbery occurred at about 1:35 p.m. Friday at the Westamerica Bank at 1 Mitchell Blvd. in north San Rafael. The robber demanded money from a teller and ran off with the money, and witnesses were unable to confirm whether he had a weapon, police said.
The robber eluded a police search in the neighborhood. Witnesses did not see a getaway car.
The losses were not disclosed.
The man was described as white, in his late 20s or early 30s and about 5-foot-8 with a thin build, police said. He was wearing a black or dark gray beanie, black sunglasses, a dark gray hooded sweatshirt and dark blue jeans.
Police said the robber was dressed similarly to the man who struck Jan. 4 at the Westamerica branch at 1177 Francisco Blvd., but the link has not been confirmed. Investigators said that the Francisco Boulevard bandit could be the same man who hit the Westamerica branch on Jan. 10 at 300 Ignacio Blvd. in Novato.
Anyone with information about the robber can call San Rafael police at 485-3000. Tipsters can also call the multilingual Bay Area Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-222-8477, where they can leave information anonymously and possibly be eligible for a cash reward.
The incident was the seventh time since Dec. 12 that robbers have struck a Marin County bank, although three or more robbers appear to be involved in the series. In addition, a gunman tried to rob a San Rafael check-cashing business on Jan. 19, firing a shot at several employees before fleeing empty-handed.
Of the seven bank robberies since last month, police have arrested one suspect. Jeremiah Clyde Martin, 37, of San Francisco is charged in connection with the Dec. 20 robbery the Citibank branch in downtown San Rafael.
Contact Gary Klien via email at firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
dad turns seventy
My dad recently turned seventy (!) and my mom and I wanted to do something special for him. Dad didn't want a big party, and he and my mom were going to be out of town on his actual birthday, so we decided to give him a gift that would continue all month long.
I printed 70 postcards on thick cardstock (110 lb.), each with a different number between 1 and 70. My mom helped gather addresses for seventy of the important people in my dad's life: family members, old classmates, dear friends and all his grandchildren. Included in the envelope was a card explaining that it was dad's birthday, and that they needed to send the postcard back sharing their funniest memory of Skip. To make things easy, I pre-addressed and pre-stamped the postcards so all they had to do was write a quick note on the back and toss the card in the mail.
When my dad got home a few days after his birthday, there were a handful of cards in his mailbox. He was surprised and delighted. And then the next day there were a few more cards, and the day after that, a few more. This continued on for the rest of the month until he had quite a stack. I hadn't asked people to stagger when they mailed their cards, that just happened naturally. Some of the notes were heartfelt and quite moving, others were funny, bringing up memories my dad hadn't thought about in years. I especially loved reading what his grandchildren wrote. All in all, a pretty inexpensive gift (postage was our main expense) and one I think my dad will remember for quite some time.


text:
Voting rights back in court
On Sunday, March 7, 1965, some 600 peaceful civil rights activists gathered in Selma, Ala., to march for equality and the right to vote. What began as a nonviolent protest, ended with an outburst of violence by state police employing billy clubs and tear gas, broadcast on television into homes across the nation. These images galvanized Congress to enact the Voting Rights Act on Aug. 6, 1965.
Just days before the 48th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," the Supreme Court will review Congress's authority under the Constitution to reauthorize Section 5, a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that requires covered jurisdictions to "preclear" voting changes with the Department of Justice or a federal court. Section 5 is important because it shifts the burden of proof to jurisdictions that have a serious demonstrated history of discrimination, protecting the rights of minority voters from protracted litigation.
Story Continued Below
Legal challenges to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act have routinely been made after Congress has reauthorized the statute; this is the fifth challenge to reauthorization. The Supreme Court first affirmed the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in 1966, after the state of South Carolina sought to have the act declared unconstitutional in South Carolina v. Katzenbach. In that case, the court upheld the entire Voting Rights Act as a legitimate exercise of Congress's powers under the 15th Amendment and cited Congress's careful study and the "voluminous legislative history" underlying the Voting Rights Act as a basis for upholding it. The Congress continued this careful study prior to each reauthorization.
In 1970, 1975 and 1982, Congress again gathered and analyzed extensive facts, conducting dozens of hearings, taking testimony from hundreds of witnesses and amassing a record of thousands of pages during each reauthorization process, with each documenting significant ongoing discrimination and revealing that covered jurisdictions continued to devise tactics to suppress effective minority participation. In 2006, our committee undertook a similar study, compiling an extensive record that totaled more than 15,000 pages, spanned 20 hearings and included testimony from 96 witnesses representing interests ranging from federal and state executive officials to civil rights leaders.


text:
Copyright © 2009-2017,2018 by Thomas E. Dickey
mawk is an interpreter for the AWK Programming Language.
Mawk was written by Mike Brennan. There was no maintainer for some time. I adopted it in 2009, starting with fixes from the Debian package, and resolving issues which its ostensible package maintainer did not respond to (initially Debian #496980, but upon review there were other reports not dealt with).
See the changelog for details:
Here is a
summary of the amount of changes made since the original
mawk 1.3.3 (plus Debian patches).
I have excluded the generated configure script as well as the utilities config.guess and config.sub
Besides the gamut of *nix systems (including the Cygwin layer in Windows), I have built this with Visual Studio also. Here are binaries:
Like most of my projects, the source archives for mawk use RCS. For people interested in reading the development history of mawk, I have made exports from RCS to git here:
There was an issue-tracking system at code.google, which is currently on github:
As noted, mawk has been neglected by some packagers (see for
example this).
For that reason, the list is presented in two parts.
There are, by the way, various rpm and dpkg packages in my ftp area which you may find useful.
You can report bugs to me via email, or via the bug-tracking page.


text:
The Lions are still committing needless penalties with their unhinged approach, and it's clear they refuse to look in the mirror. But where are they getting their cue?
It's a pure coincidence that the words Detroit, denial and discipline all start with the letter D, but I'll bet you can already see where I'm going with this.
When Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz watches his notoriously undisciplined team quickly re-enforce its reputation in its Week 1 win against Minnesota, then says there's nothing to apologize for, he's in denial about his role and responsibility.
When Ndamukong Suh delivers a block that's been illegal for years in the NFL, but says he didn't mean to injury Vikings center John Sullivan with the blow, he's in denial and missing the point.
And when we're just 72 hours after the first Lions game of the season and again talking about this team's glaring lack of discipline, there's absolutely no denying the problem still exists—and has existed for years now—in Detroit.
Suh is $100,000 lighter in the wallet after the NFL came down on him Tuesday for his illegal block in the first half of the Lions' 34-24 win over the Vikings at Ford Field, but that should not be the end of this story. He has been fined before, and even suspended, and his reckless behavior continued, so why should we believe this time is the charm? With repeat offenders, even ones who have been recently named a team co-captain and lauded for their increased maturity, words are meaningless and only actions count.
But to beat up on Suh alone for the Lions' flag-filled opener against Minnesota (11 penalties for 88 yards) leaves us guilty of not standing back far enough to see the big picture. This is a larger problem than Suh in Detroit, and it won't go away until someone in the Lions organization realizes the issue has to be corrected from within. Detroit's players and coaches have to care enough about the pattern of chronic discipline failure and self-inflicted wounds to address it, police it, and bite the bullet of accountability when need be.
Call me skeptical that any of that has been taken as seriously as it should be in Detroit in the first four-plus seasons of the Schwartz coaching era. Like any other problem in life, admitting the issue exists is taking a big first step toward solving it. And it's pretty clear the Lions still don't fully grasp their responsibility for the controversial label they wear.
As Lions receiver Nate Burleson said on Tuesday, in reaction to Suh apologizing to his teammates for putting them in the position of having to battle back from his mistake: "He also said, with him having a target, and people looking for him, they're looking at us in the same light. So as a team we've got to understand that the microscope is on us.''
Hard to miss the sense of denial and unmistakeable persecution complex in that statement. If Suh has a target on him, it's because his repeated actions have earned him one, egregious infraction by egregious infraction. The microscope is on him and the rest of the Lions for a very good reason, and it's not because the league or the game officials had a meeting and decided to make Detroit's life as miserable as possible. Even in his apology, Suh underlined his basic lack of understanding of how he got to this point. The actions create the reputation, which attracts the extra attention. That's the way it always works, and always has. It is not a which-came-first-the-chicken-or-the-egg type of debate.
The search for the root cause of Detroit's discipline failures has gone in a lot of different directions in recent years. But I know I've heard one particular theory more than once in talking to people around the league who have insight into the Lions' team culture, and it's that veteran defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham's take-no-prisoners coaching style could be part of problem.
(Gunther Cunningham) doesn't want to do anything to reel in the passion of his players, but he also needs to remind them that they've got to live within the rules.
Cunningham, the veteran NFL coordinator and former Chiefs head coach, is a widely respected and in some cases beloved figure in the game. But he's also a highly emotional, old-school, won't-back-down style coach, and the most succinct way to describe his approach to the game is passionately unapologetic. He's going to do what he thinks is right, and coach his way, and he doesn't care what anyone thinks of his methods. His nickname is "Gun,'' and he's been known to shoot from the hip.
Players routinely love playing for Cunningham, but his reputation is as a tough, no-nonsense guy, and he can be rough on his players. He's vocal and demonstrative, can be volatile, and wears his emotions on his sleeve. Players feed off his energy and intensity, but sometimes that edge can cut both ways. Some league sources I've talked to think that Suh and other Lions defenders could be getting something of a mixed message from Cunningham. His coaching stokes the passion of his players, in order to get their sell-out best on game days, but then he doesn't always offer enough words of caution on when to take their foot off the accelerator and stay on the safe side of the yellow line.
And Cunningham has been a bit quick to view the NFL as an us-against-the-world environment at times, bemoaning that the league or the game officials are out to get whatever team he's working for, without counter-balancing that approach with enough doses of reality. As one close observer of the Lions told me: "He doesn't want to do anything to reel in the passion of his players, but he also needs to remind them that they've got to live within the rules. At times, what the players also need to hear is, 'Look, this is the way it is, and we have to conduct ourselves accordingly.
"We don't have to like it, but we have to do it. Because when we don't, it leaves our whole team vulnerable.' I think that's a legitimate concern in Detroit at this point.''
Interestingly, Cunningham is coaching back upstairs in the coaches' box this season, not on the sideline as he has the past three seasons in Detroit (he also spent the 2009 season up in the box as coordinator). It's nothing more than conjecture, but some believe it's a move that indicates Schwartz knows Cunningham's emotional sideline demeanor can serve to fan the flames of the Lions players at times, and not in an always helpful way. For a team with a well-known discipline problem, less might be more when it comes to game-day emotions, and removing Cunningham from the sideline environment might be a step in the right direction.
Ultimately the Lions won't shed their reputation for routinely hurting their own cause until they stop routinely hurting their own cause. There can be no more taunting penalties like the one safety Louis Delmas committed in the second quarter against Minnesota, when he ran over to seemingly help break up a scrum on the Vikings sideline and wound up head-butting a receiver and drawing a flag. That play, Schwartz said, more than anything else last Sunday, hacked him off in regards to his team's lack of composure.
Somewhat ironically, Suh and fellow Lions co-captain, quarterback Matthew Stafford, reportedly led a players-only meeting last week and talked about having a greater sense of accountability to each other this season, and being responsible enough to eliminate a lot of the mistakes of over-aggressiveness or a lack of self-control. And then last Sunday unfolded, and Suh wound up right back in the headlines. Go figure.
Schwartz, himself a former Titans defensive coordinator, is said to be spending more time and energy on that side of the ball this season, and is trying to be more involved on defense, seeking to empower his players to take control of the discipline issue. Not to make a comparison in terms of severity, but perhaps Schwartz learned from Saints head coach Sean Payton's mistake of not keeping better track of what defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was preaching on defense in New Orleans in 2011, the year before the team's bounty program surfaced. The Lions coaching staff this week even told rookie tight end Joseph Fauria and running back Joique Bell to tone down their end-zone celebrations after both put on over-the-displays against the Vikings -- a sign that attempts are being made to work on the self-control issue.
What that tells me is that Schwartz fully comprehends the urgency of 2013, and the tenuousness of his job security. He and his staff know the discipline issue could wind up being the tipping point, and the mistakes of last season can't be repeated if they hope to see a sixth year on the job. The Lions need to win again, as they did in their breakthrough 10-6, playoff-berth 2011 season, and they need to clean up their act and prove they've learned their lesson when it comes to beating themselves.
But Week 1 against the Vikings convinced no one that Detroit can play with self-control, even if the Lions did win by 10 points. Instead, they looked and sounded like they still believed the rules don't completely apply to them, and their issue is more about how they're perceived than how they actually play.
In Detroit this season, the denial has to end. It can't be the same old Lions, playing the same old undisciplined game. The problem is only theirs to fix.


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Often a stock upgrade from "below average" to "average" can pinpoint an investment opportunity that might otherwise be missed. This week, we search for new stock upgrades to find underpriced calls that are attractively priced. Our screening came up with calls on eight different companies, including Advanced Battery Tech. (ABAT) and Capstead Mortgage Corp (CMO).
Stock Price
Fair Value
Months to Expiration
Current Leverage
Advanced Battery Tech
6 1/2
Ariad Pharmaceuticals
1 2/3
6 4/5
Capstead Mortage Corp
4 2/3
Commercial Vehicle Group
12 2/7
Sturm Ruger and Co
3 1/2
13 1/2
Advanced Battery Technologies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of rechargeable polymer lithium-ion (PLI) batteries in the United States, Europe, and Asia. PLI batteries produce a relatively high average of 3.8 volts per cell, which makes them attractive in terms of both weight and volume. Additionally, they can be manufactured in very thin configurations and with large footprints. PLI cells can be configured in almost any prismatic shape, and can be made thinner than 0.0195 inches (0.5 mm) to fill virtually any shape efficiently. This combination of power and versatility makes rechargeable PLI batteries particularly attractive for use in consumer products such as portable computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and cellular telephones. www.abat.com.cn
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ARIA) provides medicines to treat cancer in the US, Europe, and Japan. Its lead cancer product, ridaforolimus, is being studied in multiple clinical trials in patients with various types of cancers, including sarcomas, breast cancer, prostate cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and endometrial cancer. The company is also developing ponatinib, in Phase I clinical trial for chronic myeloid leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, and other hematologic cancers; and AP26113 in the preclinical stage for various cancers. www.ariad.com
Capstead Mortgage Corporation operates as a mortgage conduit which purchases and securitizes various types of single-family residential mortgage loans. In addition, the Company has formed a mortgage servicing unit to function as the primary mortgage servicer and master servicer for loans and servicing rights acquired by the Company. The Company offers investors the opportunity to participate in the income generated from servicing and investing in mortgage loans, securitization activities and other portfolio strategies. www.capstead.com
Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (CVGI) designs and manufactures integrated system solutions for the commercial vehicle market. Its products include seats and seating systems, including air suspension seats, static seats, bus seats, and rail car seats for heavy trucks, and for commercial vehicles used in the construction and agricultural industries. The company also provides static and suspension seat systems, interior trim systems (including instrument panels, door panels, headliners, cabinetry and floor systems), cab structures and components, mirrors, wiper systems, electronic wire harness assemblies, and controls and switches specifically designed for applications in commercial vehicles. Its principal customers in North America include International, PACCAR, Caterpillar, Daimler Trucks, and Volvo/Mack. www.cvgrp.com
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (RGR) engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of firearms in the United States. The company offers its products under the "Ruger" name in four product categories, including single-shot, auto-loading, bolt-action, and modern sporting rifles; over and under shotguns; rim-fire auto-loading and center-fire auto-loading pistols; and single-action and double-action revolvers. It also manufactures and sells accessories and replacement parts for its firearms. www.ruger-firearms.com
At the time of this writing, the writer had no positions in any of the stocks mentioned in this report.


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Relay For Life calendar
The Relay For Life team with Commonwealth Credit Union in Lawrenceburg will host the following events to help raise money for this year's Relay For Life, scheduled for June 12.
April 13: Dairy Queen will donate 10 percent of proceeds from sales between 5 and 8 p.m. to Relay For Life
April 14: CCU team meeting, 6 p.m., Patriot Hall, American Legion Park
May 11: Dairy Queen will donate 10 percent of proceeds from sales between 5 and 8 p.m. to Relay For Life
The Anderson Public Library will offer the following free classes in March.
Pilates Plus
When: Mondays and Wednesday
Time: noon to 1 p.m.
APL Book Club
When: Monday, March 9
Time: 6 to 8 p.m.
APL Crafters
When: Tuesday, March 10
Time: 10 to 11 a.m.
Wednesday, March 4
10:30 a.m.: Sampling and nutrition with Joan
11:30 a.m.: Lunch
12:30 to 3 p.m.: Rook/cards
Thursday, March 5
8:30 a.m.: Breakfast Club
9 a.m.: Chair yoga
10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.: Tax assistance
9 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Shopping and errands
Friday, March 6
10:30 a.m.: Music with Carl and Jean
12:30 to 2 p.m.: Bingo
Saturday, March 7
The rides have moved on to another county and the horses are cantering at other horse shows but the fair is far from over.
The Home, Craft & Garden Fair will be held Tues., July 22, at the community building in the county park.
Formerly known as Floral Hall and a part of the Lawrenceburg Fair & Horse Show, the Home, Craft & Garden Show is now a separate event and is still sponsored by the Anderson County Extension Homemakers.
The fair is open to all Kentucky residents. There is no charge to enter or exhibits.
Benefit Ride benefits Open Hands Food Pantry
The Open Hands Community Food Pantry is sponsoring a benefit ride Sat., July 19.
Registration starts at 11 a.m. and kick stands up at 12:30 p.m.
The ride will begin and end at the pantry with all proceeds going to support the Pantry.
For more information, contact David Montgomery at 502.680.6645, Dan Dunnum at 502.682.0956 or Ed Nivison at 502.803.1431.
The Pantry is located at 1111 Industry Rd., Lawrenceburg KY 40342.
Historical Society will meet
The Anderson County Historical Society will meet at 7 p.m. Thurs., June 26 in the old section of the Lawrenceburg cemetery.
Those attending should dress comfortable. Plan to park at the cemetery. This meeting is free and open to the public.
The cemetery is located at 1031 Bond & Lillard Rd.
Salvisa Ruritan Club Vendor Fair
The fair will be held on Sat., June 28 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. This event is located at Salvisa Ruritan Fairgrounds on Main Street in Salvisa, Ky.
Anderson County Cooperative Extension has events
The following are upcoming events at the Anderson County Cooperative Extension located at 1026 County Park Rd., Lawrenceburg KY 40342.
To register for an event or for more information, contact the Anderson County Extension Office at 502.839.7271 or e-mail Joan Martin at email@example.com.
Anderson County High School graduation is June 5
Anderson County High School graduation will be held Thurs., June 5, at 6:30 p.m. at the Civic Convention Center located at 405 Metro St., Frankfort KY 40601.
Second Brigade Motorcycle Club hosts memorial run
The Second Brigade Motorcycle Club is hosting its 5th Annual Memorial Run Sat., June 7.
The Run will begin at S&B Cycles, 865 N. Main St. Lawrenceburg KY 40342.
Anderson County Board of Education meets today
The Anderson County Board of Education will hold a special called meeting Wed., May 28, at 7 p.m. at the central office located at 1160 Bypass North, Lawrenceburg KY 40342.
Anderson County High School graduation is June 5
Anderson County Board of Education meets June 9
Annual Chamber golf scramble is May 31
The Anderson County Chamber of Commerce Golf Scramble will take place at Wild Turkey Trace Golf Course May 31 starting with breakfast at 8 a.m.
A brand new car, plus several other hole-in-one opportunities, at stake, this year.
For more information, contact Chamber Pres. Pam Brough at 502.839.5564 or Ryan Wells, ACCOC Golf Classic chair, at 502.875.0195.
ACHS greenhouse sales are scheduled
Copyright © 2019
The Anderson News is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Lawrenceburg, KY and the surrounding area.


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A long week of super long drainers
Phew. That was a long one. We just wrapped up a full week of drainer tides -- where low tide completely drains the bay floor giving us loads of time to hand pick oysters -- most of which started super early in the morning. It's typically the longest week of the year since the tide stays out for hours on end several days in a row. Only, we couldn't go out to pick on Monday or Tuesday because of the weather. Monday's storm seemed to hold on forever with the wind and rain blowing us off the float by lunchtime. Tuesday was another windy, rainy one. Catie and I were on the dock with the rain blowing at us sideways while we graded some of our seed. But it had to be done: our oldest seed had popped and almost a quarter of it was big enough to go into seed bags. When we grade, we separate the quarter-inch seed from the smaller stuff and put the smaller stuff back into the upwellers to continue growing. It brings down the volume in our silos allowing the smaller seed more room to grow. So we graded that batch and had enough quarter-inch seed to fill about 600 bags. At the end of the day on Tuesday, the crew spent the evening filling the bags with the seed and finally, on Wednesday morning (5:30 a.m. start time), we were able to get out on the tide. We spent the first few hours hand picking oysters and once the tide started to flow back in, we put the filled seed bags into cages which we set up in southeastern facing rows of 10 on part of the lease. Each cage hold 6 bags so we filled about 100 cages that morning. Quick work to do when the tide starts coming in but we got all the bags out and made it on the boat before the water spilled into our waders.
There was more seed washing to do on Wednesday afternoon, plus we were able to take a look at some of the seed Skip's been growing in the back river. It's coming along a little at a time -- it'll be interesting to see how much it pops once we move it into the bay.
On Thursday, the weather FINALLY broke. We were out on the tide in the fog that morning but by the time we came in, grabbed a coffee and got to work culling, we were working in the sunshine. After lunch, Catie and I graded another set of silos which meant we were set up under the scorching sun on the dock for the afternoon. Nothing wrong with that after 20 straight days of rain. Yes, we wore hats and sunscreen but still managed to get some color. We capped off the day with a trip back out to the float where we found a spanking new soaker float attached to our garage float. That gives us around 70 feet of float space to work on -- it's like adding a patio the size of your house to the backyard. It's huge! I'd show you pictures but, sadly, my camera bit the dust after sitting in a pool of water one rainy afternoon. Ugh.
Friday was another decent day. We were out on the tide in t-shirts in the morning and made our way in for an early lunch by 11:30. Eva came to the dock to help us grade that afternoon (it goes much faster when there's three of us) and despite a passing thunderstorm and an army of ferocious no-see-ums (tiny, invisible, flesh biting gnats), we finished up by about 4 p.m. and joined the rest of the crew (who had been culling and bagging on the float) to help load up the truck.
I'd recount more details or give you some funny anecdote about the crew but to be honest, I'm wiped. We put in a few 12-hour days and worked our tails off all week. After two full nights of sleep and even a few naps, I'm still recovering. But this is the busy time and from what I hear, we'll keep it up at this level until summer's over. I'm ready for it. My hands and lower back are ready for it. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we've got some drier days ahead.


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The Body in the Bouillon, the third volume in Katherine Hall Page's cozy mystery series featuring amateur sleuth Faith Fairchild
Minister's wife, sometime sleuth, and culinary artist Faith Sibley Fairchild is intrigued by rumors of mysterious doings at Hubbard House — an elegant, secluded retirement home for the well-heeled Yankees of Aleford, Massachusetts. Determined to do some surreptitious snooping, she joins the pricey retreat's flu-depleted kitchen staff, only to witness an aging resident collapse face-first into a bowl of Faith's hot and savory bouillon. But it isn't until a blackmailing drug dealer turns up dead in Faith's bedroom that the amateur investigator realizes that murder not only happens at Hubbard, it's the specialty of the house! And Faith's own demise might very well be the next item on the menu.


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Protestors of Muslim prayer in secular public schools - don't be swayed by this false argument
Those who gather to protest the mosqueterias tonight at the Toronto District School Board offices may hear this: "For many years, Christian prayer - and only Christian prayer - was allowed because you were a majority. You only care now because in some districts, another religious grooup is a majority and wants the same thing."
The people who might say such a thing are appallingly ignorant, but there is no law against that.
The skinny: When Canada was founded in 1867, it had two strong religious cultures at loggerheads, Protestant vs. Catholic. And churches were largely responsible for education back then.
Disunity could have destroyed the country, so a political compromise created "Protestant" schools vs. "Catholic" schools - each supported by its own taxpayers. No, it ain't pretty, but religious civil war is uglier, and in any event, it worked.
Over 150 years, the Protestant system gradually morphed into the "public," secular system, with no religious orientation now preferred - both by law and by general preference.
History doesn't matter in this situation, because a choice has been made against it. Anyone who brings it up is introducing a red herring that might divide people who should work together.


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These deeds were reported as recorded by the office of Marion County register of deeds.
Norman L. and Charlotte N. Craft to Dennis E. and Mary L. Steiner, warranty deed; part of Block 6, Dahl's Addition, Hillsboro, with exceptions.
Jean D. Ward Revocable Trust by trustee to Sharon A. Harshman and Jeffrey C. Harshman, trustees, trustee's deed; SE/4 S23-T20-R5; all S26-T20-R5.
Sheriff of Marion County to Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, trustee, sheriff's deed; Lot 1, N 40' Lot 2, Block 1, Excelsior Addition, Goessel.
Mae Frey and Bonnie Gleason, trustees, to Skyler R. Cole and Jessica D. John, trustee's deed; Lot 2, Unruh's Addition, Goessel.
Sergio and Danielle N. Gomez to Darian Gale Simons and Donna Carmin Wilson-Simons, warranty deed; part of N/2 N/2 SE/4 S27-T19-R1.
Brenda M. and Bradley Allen Walls to Wesley D. and Deloris M. Hiebert, warranty deed; Lot 15, Thies Addition, Hillsboro.
Raymond P. and Ann A. Shepherd to Brenda M. Walls, warranty deed; Lot 6, Block 2, West A Addition, Hillsboro.
Rachel Cartwright to Brenda L. Dawson, quitclaim deed; part of Lots 15 and 16, Block 16, Billings & Bowers Addition, Marion.
Richard T. Dover to Barbara Ann Dover Dirlam and Dennis Allen Dirlam, quitclaim deed; Lots 1, 2, and 3, Block 19, North Peabody Addition, Peabody.
Richard T. Dover to Teddy Gene Dover, Terry Dean Dover, and Barbara Ann Dover Dirlam, transferrable on death warranty deed; Lot 3, Block 83, North Peabody Addition, Peabody.
Wilbert H. and Eunice M. Schmidt, trustees, to Lynn Auernheimer and Jamie Remsberg, trustee's deed; Lots 15, 17, and 19, Block 5, Buller's Addition, Goessel.
Carl E. and Juanita J. Stovall to Kevin C. and Janet Robinson and Edwin H. Robinson Jr., warranty deed; SE/4 S11-T21-R4 excluding public road.
Robert Yunghans and E. Diane Yunghans by power of attorney to Gary and Gail Lanier, warranty deed; part of NE/4 S16-T21-R1.
Janice J. Schmidt, trustee, to Timothy A. and Lynette R. Kraus, trustee's deed; all of Lot 9 and S/2 Lot 10, Block 4, Excelsior Addition, Goessel.


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The Merging Technologies Development Team is pleased to announce the release of Pyramix v8.1. This new version includes Merging Technologies' Horus Networked Audio Interface DXD/DSD support, new features, improvements and bug fixes. This new version will be announced to all users in the coming days.
Pyramix has earned a reputation for its quality as the most advanced DAW on the market and want to thank you all for your evaluation as beta-testers.
- Ravenna DXD and DSD playback and record support with Horus
- Background Recording
- Record Pre-Buffering
- Editing while Recording
- Recording Post-Effects
- New Take Logger tool
- New Media Markers
- New Automation Preview mode
- Improved Recording Status windows
- Horus PreAmps support within the Pyramix Mixer
- Secondary audio device host support
- Timestretch algorithm update from MPEX3 to MPEX4
- New Dirac Timestretch option (Key required)
- Algorithmix ReNOVAtor available in Pyramix installer for those who purchased the key (ReNOVAtor Key required)
- SoundMiner/Pyramix integration fixes
- New Tango Beta-ConsoleSoft available for Horus MicPre Remote control (v3.2.2 >)
And many bug fixes,...
Please carefully read the release notes for the installation procedure for all details.
WARNING: Since Pyramix v8.1 Beta2 we include new MassCore version, please follow instruction in the release notes or the installation guide (page 10), links are available below
WARNING: Users currently running in MassCore on a Core2Duo should NOT update to Pyramix v8.1
WARNING: Make sure that you have your new v8 keys before proceeding with the v8.1 Release (v7.1 keys are not valid)
WARNING: Since Pyramix v8.1 Beta2 projects are not compatible with the previous Pyramix 8.1 beta1 and Pyramix 8.0 versions, users must use the adequate Save Special option to open such project in older Pyramix versions
- At Pyramix v8.1 install you might have a "Bonjour" pending requirements, please proceed with this installation and afterwards the Pyramix installer will start. Once Pyramix is installed it is Mandatory that you reboot your system.
- Pyramix v8 and Ravenna/MassCore hardware recommendations:
- Follow the Pyramix v8.1 Installation Guide (mandatory for v8.1 beta1 or older versions that are running MassCore user so refer to page 9):
Installation Troubleshooting:
pdf: http://www.merging.com/uploads/assets/Installers/Pyramix_8_1/IntervalZeroRTX_Uninstall_Troubleshoot.pdf
forum: http://forum.merging.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=6467
- Users that need to run Pyramix and VCube on the same system configuration will have to install VCube 4.1.7 along with Pyramix v8.1.7
- The Dolby E (Encode/Decode) comes as a separate installer and is no longer bundled within the Pyramix installer.
Please contact email@example.com in order to have access to it.
- Since Pyramix 8.1 beta2 and versions above the projects are NOT compatible with the Pyramix v8.0 and v8.1beta1 releases. In order to open such projects in an older Pyramix version please make sure that you perform the proper Save Special, a new "Save as Version 8.0" entry was added.
MT USB Sync:
Users experiencing a MT USB Sync slowdown at start up should be reverting to the previous USB Sync driver v 1.0.15
Horus users need to install the latest firmware v1.1.7 build 20795 and above. Which has the DXD and DSD support and Mic PreAmps support for Pyramix
- Horus Firmware v20795: http://www.merging.com/uploads/assets/Installers/Horus/HorusFirmware_1.1.7_20795.bin
- Horus release notes v20795: http://www.merging.com/uploads/assets/Installers/Horus/Horus_Release_Notes_(v20795).pdf
- Horus User Manual Rev16: http://www.merging.com/uploads/assets/Installers/Horus/Horus_User_Manual_rev16.pdf
Ravenna Driver for ASIO:
The Ravenna Driver will allow the running of Ravenna in ASIO (PC Windows) with your Merging Technologies Horus converter. Users installing the Ravenna ASIO driver must remove their previous installed version under the Windows Programs (if ever you had a pre-beta version installed).
Merging plans to eventually release a Core Audio driver for Mac users. Documentation and links below.
- Pyramix 8.1.7 is downloadable for registered users at:
- Pyramix v8.1.7 Release Notes:
- Pyramix v8.1 Installation Guide:
- Pyramix v8.1 User Manual:
- Merging Ravenna Easy Connect Guide:
- MTDiscovery User Guide (for Horus users):
- Pyramix v8 – Horus – Ravenna Troubleshooting Guide:
- AMR v8.1.7 Release (32bit OS supported only):
- Ravenna ASIO and Core Audio Drivers documentation
- Ravenna ASIO Driver (For Windows 32bit PC users):
- Ravenna ASIO Driver (For Windows 64bit PC users):
- Ravenna Core Audio Driver (For MAC users):
To be Beta in a near future (Alpha version available on demand)
Best Regards,
The Merging Team
Pyramix v8.1 Build 20795 Released
Pyramix official announcements board.
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Renee,I asked if all the temples that had been placed on hold now had an official roll-out date. Here is their response.
Here's an update on some temple districts. Since I can't remember what I've given you I might have some repetition.
Temples that are now live on new FamilySearch
Nashville – June 10
Madrid Spain - June 10
San Jose Costa Rica - June 10
Ciudad Juárez México (El Paso Stakes) – June 17
Hermosillo Sonora Mexico - June 17
Birmingham – June 24
Raleigh – June 24
Temples with announced dates
Newport Beach - July 8
Redlands - July 8
Johannesburg South Africa - July 8
Caracas Venezuela - July 8
Santiago Chile - July 8
In North America, the only districts with an official date are Redlands and Newport Beach. There are nineteen other districts in NA that have begun their preparation periods and have received notices indicating that their temple districts could go live in the next 90-120 days. These nineteen are:We are hitting some milestones right now. Of the 127 temple districts that I currently know of operating 56 are now live, 34 are announced and we have only 37 temple district unannounced right now. With the recent announcements all the United States temple districts are either live or announced EXCEPT the Wasatch Front which are the temples in Idaho and Utah. Those of course have been rumored to be last. The Wasatch Front accounts for 14 of the unannounced temples districts. The next big chuck of unannounced temples are in Asia & Middle East and the Pacific Islands areas.
Columbia SC
Columbia River
St Paul
Washington DC
Oklahoma City
The remaining NA temples in Utah, Idaho, and Las Vegas are still on hold. I don't have all of the data for the other international temples since my focus is on the NA districts.
Given that news; tomorrow will probably give us another round of temple district receiving word. I have updated this information on my New FamilySearch Roll-out spreadsheet. I wonder what temple districts will go next?
See ya tomorrow, for tomorrow is always another genealogy day!


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New Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer introduced himself to fans in an introductory pep rally at the Staples Center on Monday, and he did not disappoint.
Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO who's known for his emotional speeches, was beyond excited. He started chants, professed his love for Los Angeles, gave the crowd his email address (email@example.com), and attempted to usher in a new era of Clippers basketball with overwhelming enthusiasm.
Ballmer bought the Clippers for a cool $2 billion ( four times the record sale for an NBA team, according to the LA Times) after former owner Donald Sterling was banned from the NBA because of racist comments he made to his girlfriend.
In the wake of the Donald Sterling scandal, Ballmer made a fantastic, passionate speech delivered at a near-scream for 13 minutes.
The best part came at the nine-minute mark, when he told the crowd:
"We're going to be hardcore. HARD-core. HARDCORE! We're going to get better everyday. We're going to be tenacious. Something knocks us down and we're going to get back and keep coming and coming and coming and coming. Did you watch these guys? That was hardcore! Hardcore baby! Nothing gets in our way, BOOM! Keep coming. HARD-core. The HARDCORE Clippers, that's us."
Here's the entire thing:
The Clippers players were excited/utterly baffled:
Sterling bid to buy the Clippers finally closed last week after a judge ruled that Donald Sterling's estranged wife Shelly Sterling had the authority to sell the team on behalf of the family trust, ESPN reported. In an interview with ESPN, the billionaire explained why he wanted to spend $2 billion on a basketball team.
"It's very, very exciting. I'm a basketball nut," Ballmer told ESPN. "I've got time. I love Los Angeles. I love Seattle, too, which is where we have our home. But the notion of spending a lot of time in Los Angeles has been exciting to me for years. The community down there is great. I look forward to supporting the community, the fan base, the staff, Doc [Rivers] and the players to take this thing to higher heights."


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Looking for some late-night nom noms? A long day seeing the sights or hitting the town can work up quite the appetite. Luckily, New Orleans has some of the finest food in the world, even at all hours of the night. All throughout Uptown, you can find a wide variety of grub whenever hunger may strike.
Delachaise (3442 St. Charles Ave) serves up a swanky menu of wine, beer, and high-class food—a substantial upgrade from your typical late-night apps and cheeseburger fare. From cheese plates, pate, and eggplant cannolis to smoked salmon cakes, frog legs, and Cuban twice-cooked pork, guests can enjoy a wide variety of classy dishes and imported beer late into the evening. They have an incredible selection of wine by the glass. This is also a good last stop for dessert, their Chocolate Molten Cake is to die for.
Open 24-7-365, The Avenue Pub (1732 St. Charles Ave) boasts one of the largest and best beer selections in town, as well as a unique and impressive menu of nontraditional burgers, sandwiches, and appetizers. Try out the Dump Truck Fries, topped with pork roast, slow-cooked, au jus, and sautéed onions, Green Goblins, jalapeno, cream cheese, and bacon-stuff wonton shells, or The Tea Time, an Indian-inspired sandwich with chicken, kiwi, cucumber, and cucumber cream cheese spread.
Craving some late-night sushi? Satisfy your raw fish fix at Hoshun (1601 St. Charles Ave), where the selection includes a deep-fried Uptown Roll and the seafood-stuffed Chirachi. You can also choose from an array of Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese dinners, served nightly till 2am. Or check out Chiba (8312 Oak St), the latest addition to the local sushi scene, where you can find an extensive and exotic array of sashimi. Till 11pm Monday and Tuesday, 12am Wednesday and Thursday, and 1am Friday and Saturday, enjoy the local flare of specialty rolls and Japanese delicacies like the Satsuma Strawberry Roll, the Gulf Coast Roll, Oyster Ceviche, or Prime Rib Tempura.
Just down the way in the Riverbend is Camellia Grill (626 S. Carrollton Ave), a landmark diner where you'll find burgers and breakfast good enough to sing about—right along with the charming cooks who prepare your meal just a few feet from the counter. Try your hand at the colossal Chef's Omelet, a true meat lover's ambrosia: bacon, turkey, ham, and chili atop a three-egg omelet with cheese, onions, and hash browns—open till 12am on weekdays, 2am on Friday and Saturday.
Further down Carrollton stands Cooter Brown's (509 S. Carrollton Ave), a tavern, grill, and oyster bar open till 2am every day except Sunday, when they close down at 1am. They sport an enormous selection of beer on tap, sandwiches, and seafood including famously, freshly shucked oysters on the half shell.
Head on over to Magazine Street and you'll find a shop to satiate your sweet tooth, open till 10pm Sunday through Thursday, and till midnight Friday and Saturday. Sucre (3025 Magazine St) serves up gourmet chocolates, cupcakes, and their signature macaroons, all of which are not only delectable, but stunningly beautiful as well.
Happy dining!


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I took this photo of the Carolina Cyclone spiraling over the midway on my first trip to Carowinds back in 2004. Years later I used it as part of the header of the first version of my blog (seen here). And after that, I ended up moving my family down to Charlotte, making Carowinds my home park.
Carolina Cyclone was built during the looping coaster boom and its record setting four loops (two vertical, two corkscrews) were quite impressive in 1980. It's one of the most enjoyable Arrow loopers I've ridden. I know that's not saying much, as most of them punish you by bouncing your head off of the restraints, but Cyclone's definitely worth a spin if you find yourself at Carowinds.
What's Your Take?
Have you ridden Carolina Cyclone? Do you have a favorite old-school Arrow looper? Leave a comment below.
Photos, content, and the most insightful, entertaining, or amusing reader comments from my Photo of the Week posts will be included my new book. Read more about my book project. All images are the property of TheCoasterCritic.com


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Monday, June 13, 2011
Miss Liberty Belle
10 comments:
- Aimee B said...
wow! just when you think that they can't get any cuter! i LOVE her hair! can you dye that wool? she's precious, berrie!
- June 13, 2011 at 7:33 PM
- Polar Bear Creations Dolls said...
That's what I said Aimee! She is stunning! :0)
- June 13, 2011 at 8:29 PM
i love her. i love her so much!! i want her!! xoxoxox
- June 13, 2011 at 10:56 PM
- Mary Jane's TEAROOM said...
Liberty is so cute Berrie...love the outfits and the colour combinations too...beautiful work!...
Susan x
- June 14, 2011 at 12:15 AM
- Francine said...
Oh my goodness. Your dolls are so adorable. I just landed here when I was looking through blogs, and I am so glad I did. keep up the great work with your wonderful creations. Hugs, Francine
- June 25, 2011 at 5:12 PM
- Suzan said...
Lovely dolls!
- June 26, 2011 at 9:02 AM
- Mummy of Two said...
So unique - my little girl would love them!
- June 26, 2011 at 1:11 PM
- aliceinwonderland said...
Awesome! I really love the dolls. They look so cute ღ
- July 1, 2011 at 3:18 AM
- Noah0382 said...
Love her white hair. She is just beautiful!
- July 3, 2011 at 10:08 AM
- Green Gourd Creations said...
I love, love, love Miss Liberty Belle!
I wish she were heading my way... thanks for sharing her with us before she headed for Calli.
So glad I stumbled across your blog, I love your work.
- July 6, 2011 at 6:53 AM


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HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania could be more aggressive in collecting restitution from criminals, including garnishing paychecks and suspending state-issued licenses, according to a task force report issued Tuesday that put the unpaid sum at more than $780 million.
The task force suggested 47 ways state policymakers could address the problem, including devoting government workers to collections, more effectively using state-issued licenses as leverage, making procedures more consistent from county to county and attaching wages.
The study was funded by a $90,000 federal grant through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and its recommendations were approved by a majority of the task force.
'The experiences of victims of crime in Pennsylvania, including their access to restitution compensation, vary significantly across the commonwealth,' said the 84-page report. 'Differences in county-level policy and practice result in victims' disparate access to remedies, including restitution. These discrepancies may lead to secondary victimization.'
The 39-member task force said the state could begin taking money for unpaid restitution directly from lottery winnings, tax refunds or the defendants' paychecks.
Historically, the panel said wage attachments have been opposed by employers on the grounds it would constitute a logistical headache.
'Today, wage attachment is a fairly routine practice, as it is often required for support obligations and can be voluntarily ordered in criminal proceedings,' the report said. The garnishment recommendations, which recommended that the General Assembly consider the idea, passed without opposition.
Over a recent three-year period, Pennsylvania courts imposed more than $434 million in restitution, but victims ended up with only about $50 million. The reasons for that, the task force said, are that about one-third of the defendants are jailed, payments by defendants also go to fines and fees, some restitution amounts are so large that they skew the numbers and payment plans can allow very low installments.
'Many payment plans are active for a significant number of years and often these plans become uncollectible over time,' the report said.
Victims also can move and be hard to locate - educating victims about the need for them to stay in touch with the court system would help, the task force said. It also suggested having defendants make payments through a single plan so that older cases are not ignored in favor of more recent restitution orders.
In a survey answered by 55 of the state's 67 counties, nearly half said they did not collect restitution from inmate accounts, even though state law authorizes it.
Driver's license suspensions have proven to be effective in getting people to pay what they owe, and that could be expanded to include other types of licenses, they said.
'If this enforcement tool would be available for all criminal offenses and also include other types licenses (i.e., professional, recreational, etc.) that are issued throughout the commonwealth, significant revenues would be realized for both victims and counties,' the report said.
Another suggestion is that cash posted as bail could be seized for restitution, costs or fines.
The report said that as of the end of August, state court records indicated nearly $2.3 billion was owed in restitution, costs, fines and fees. An Associated Press investigation in December 2007 said the total at that time was about $1.6 billion, including $638 million in owed restitution.
At that time, prosecutors said collections would increase if judges ordered defendants to jail for nonpayment, but that sometimes conflicted with the goals of keeping released criminals employed and drug-free. Some judges believe throwing convicts in jail for not making restitution payments seems too much like debtor's prison.
___ Online: http:// www.pa-restitutiontaskforce.info


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HP Z820 Workstation teardown
Designed for mission-critical, high-end computing tasks, the HP Z820 Workstation is one of the most power computers you can fit under your desk. In this gallery, I show you how HP packed all that tech into a near tool-less case.
For a detailed analysis of the teardown, check out my article and video, HP Z820 Workstation: Tool-less case makes teardown a snap.
Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
Bill Detwiler has nothing to disclose. He doesn't hold investments in the technology companies he covers.
Full Bio
Bill Detwiler is Editor in Chief of TechRepublic and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop support specialist in the social research and energy industries. He has bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Louisville, where he has also lectured on computer crime and crime prevention.


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King County, Washington, home to Seattle, recently released new versions of its public transport network maps. While they may seem standard, they actually represent a significant move forward in how cities communicate crucial information to residents and visitors.
On his Human Transit blog, public transit planning consultant Jarrett Walker argues that most transit maps are misleading. Unlike road maps, which use thicker lines for larger roads, they represent all bus or subway lines in the same way, regardless of how often and when they run.
The better approach, Walker argues, is a "frequent map" — distinguishing different lines based on when they are in service, how quickly they move, and how far they go.
In a 2010 post arguing the merits of frequency mapping, Walker used King County's bus map as an example of what was wrong with the non-frequent approach. "A transit map that makes all lines look equally important is like a road map that doesn't show the difference between a freeway and a gravel road," he wrote.
Now, King County's Department of Transportation has mended its ways, using different colors to distinguish light rail, Rapid Bus, all-day bus lines, and peak-only lines:
It's a simple improvement that makes getting around a city more intuitive, saving time and aggravation.
Seattle is not the only city to incorporate frequency; Vancouver, Toronto, and Washington, D.C. have all released frequent maps.
In contrast, here's the non-frequent map of Manhattan's bus network:


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Cinnamon Rolls
While I was perusing my usual batch of food blogs, I noticed that quite a few had made cinnamon or sticky buns. After a bit of reading I discovered that there is a food blogging group called The Daring Bakers, and each month they set a challenge for themselves- i.e. mirror cake, caramel tart or, like this month, cinnamon or sticky buns. After seeing photo upon gorgeous photo of the sweet, swirly buns, I decided to try my hand at them as well. And lucky me- most of the bakers had used a recipe from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice, a book I own and love.
I got to work and quickly decided to make a double batch so I just doubled all of the ingredients in my head. Everything came together quickly, but as I was kneading the dough, I just felt it wasn't right. I've kneaded a decent amount of dough in my time and you can literally feel it coming together in your hands, turning from a tacky, sticky mass into a smooth and shiny ball. Somehow, that wasn't happening, and the dough was so tough. I checked the recipe again and realized my big mistake- I'd doubled everything but the milk- so there was double the dry ingredients and only one part of the wet. Great. I tossed the dough balls out and started all over again.
The second mass was easy to knead and came together just as I described in the previous paragraph. After about ten minutes, I had two, smooth balls of dough which I nestled in some oiled bowls, covered with plastic wrap and a towel and set outside on the patio since the weather was nice and warm. After about 90 minutes, both were puffed and doubled in size, so I got to work on mixing up the cinnamon sugar and rolling out the dough.
Here's where I made another sort-of mistake. Normally, I'd punch the dough down before rolling it out, but the recipe didn't say to do so and I simply rolled out the puffy balls into rectangles. After liberally coating each with the cinnamon mixture, I rolled them up……and a lot of the sugar kept pouring out of the ends. It made quite the mess but I soldered on…….and finally cut the rolls into, well, small rolls, let them rest again for about an hour.
After they had puffed up nicely, I baked them in the oven and the entire house smelled like sweet spice. The rolls swelled even more in the oven and they looked really good. I let them cool for a bit and then drizzled the fondant icing over each one.
The verdict? Well, I was wondering how I could have fit all of the cinnamon sugar onto each dough rectangle- it seemed that there was way too much sugar to dough, which is why a lot of the sugar fell out while I was rolling. I emailed Fanny, whose cinnamon rolls looked absolutely perfect in her post and she pointed out that I should let the air out of the dough before rolling it out, making a bit more room and also giving the dough more elasticity for the sugar to cling to. Next time I will definitely have to do that. I was also thinking that I might try and make a cinnamon paste of some sort so I can spread it onto dough.
I also found the rolls to be a tiny bit on the tough side, even though I kept the rolling to a minimum. I think my choice to use all butter instead of shortening (the recipe calls for either or) may be the culprit. Next time I'll try using butter flavored Crisco since shortening contributes a certain tenderness to dough that butter just doesn't.
Overall they tasted and looked good- I guess I just want something that is so time consuming to be perfect!! I'm looking forward to making them again and am glad I made the attempt.
Have a great weekend!


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Cashner' scoreless again; Padres beat Rockies 5-0
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) Andrew Cashner threw four more scoreless innings Monday in the San Diego Padres' 5-0 win over the Colorado Rockies.
In line to start opening day, Cashner hasn't allowed a run or walk in nine innings this spring training. The right-hander finished the 2013 regular season with a 16-inning shutout streak.
"Today I thought was the best my command has been," said Cashner, who threw 34 of 50 pitches for strikes.
Cashner gave up five hits and at least one in every inning, but used his effective sinker against the heart of Colorado's order to get out of a jam in the third.
After allowing consecutive singles to Jordan Pacheco and Charlie Blackmon, he struck out Carlos Gonzalez looking between groundouts by Michael Cuddyer and Troy Tulowitzki.
"I threw CarGo a comeback sinker there," Cashner said of the strikeout pitch. "It was probably the best one I've ever thrown."
Manager Bud Black, who likes to have fun with reporters, was coy when asked to confirm that Cashner would throw the March 30 opener.
"That's a good question," Black said, smirking. "I think he is going to throw – whether it's playing catch, a side piece, long toss or a game against the Dodgers."
Ryan Jackson, seeking to make the Padres' roster as a reserve infielder, hit a two-run homer off Franklin Morales in the second.
Gonzalez had two of Colorado's nine hits.
Padres: Cashner also singled off Morales, but that shouldn't come as a surprise. He hit .245 last season with a home run. Cashner also won a bunting competition among Padres pitchers earlier in camp.
"I love to hit," Cashner said.
Rockies: Morales, contending for the fifth spot in the rotation, retired the first five batters before running into trouble.
Morales allowed three runs on five hits, the last run scoring on his wild pitch, while getting seven outs.
"I think he got the ball up," manager Walt Weiss said. "He got to two strikes on a lot of hitters, but just had trouble finishing."
Padres: Closer Huston Street, who hasn't pitched in a game because of a minor groin injury, threw a bullpen session Monday. Black said he'll throw batting practice, possibly on Wednesday, before getting into a game.
Black said third baseman Chase Headley is "where he's supposed to be" in his recovery from a strained right calf. He's hitting, jogging and taking grounders, but hasn't done any sprinting.
Rockies: Justin Morneau started at first base and went 0 for 2 in his first game since Feb. 28 because of a stiff neck.
"He looked good," Weiss said. "Good to see him out there."
Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal singled in his first at-bat and later threw out a runner at second in his first game following ACL knee surgery in July.
"I've been waiting for this moment for a long time," Grandal said.
Grandal, who played the final three innings, said his right knee isn't strong enough to catch all nine innings yet. Black said it's "too early to tell" if Grandal will start the season on the disabled list.
Morneau made a diving stop of a grounder behind the bag and completed the flip to pitcher Tommy Kahnle for the out in the fourth.
Second baseman D.J. LeMahieu made a diving stop and hit Morales in stride for the first out of the game.
"To hit the pitcher on the run after sliding around out there, that's very impressive," Weiss said.
With Tulowitzki, a two-time Gold Glove winner, healthy and showing good range at short and Nolan Arenado winning a Gold Glove at third last season, Weiss thinks the infield has a chance to be the best in franchise history.
"Absolutely," he said.


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Actor Drake Bell has defended his pal Amanda Bynes amid growing concerns for her mental state, insisting the actress is "good" and "healthy".
The Hairspray star has hit headlines for all the wrong reasons of late, following a string of driving incidents, months of bizarre behaviour in public, her recent arrest for drug charges and her outbursts on Twitter.com, taking aim at celebrities including
Rihanna, Courtney Love and former friend Lance Bass.
However, Bell, who co-starred with Bynes on her Nickelodeon programme The Amanda Show from 1999, claims there is no cause for concern.
He tells America's OK! magazine, "Amanda and I are close… I talk to her every day. She's a sweetheart. I had lunch with her yesterday, and she's brilliant. She's good, and she's healthy… She's in a place right now where she is searching. She's ready to be her own person, and do her own thing… She is a girl who is finding herself.
"I'm like, 'Dude, you come off crazy.' She's like, 'I know, but I don't mean to. I just changed the way I look'.
"Anytime I've ever been with Amanda, she's totally coherent, totally there, totally everything."


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giant otter pack vs. cayman
giant otter pack vs. cayman
is that a carp???
Last edited by rewch; 21-07-2005 at 10:36 PM.
that's pretty weird.Originally Posted by rewch
Big Squid for sale:
Last edited by rewch; 16-01-2006 at 12:35 PM. Reason: picture
lots of interest in something called a buck fush but i've found no pictures
Last edited by nomos; 16-01-2006 at 04:56 PM.
not strictly fish related... but fishy nevertheless...
octopus vs. mini-sub
conjecture as to its motives
Last edited by rewch; 30-01-2006 at 12:09 PM. Reason: more
This might be old news by now, but since no one has added it yet, here it is:
Smallest fish in the world (?) found.
The coolest thing: "The elusive fish lives in highly acid peat swamps on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and in the Malaysian part of Borneo"
acid fush?
looks suspiciously like a bogy to me


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Science Friday® is produced by the Science Friday Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Science Friday® and SciFri® are registered service marks of Science Friday, Inc. Site design by Pentagram; engineering by Mediapolis.
Carbon emissions are slowly acidifying ocean waters, forcing marine life to adapt. Oysters and other shellfish, for example, may have a harder time building their shells, according to NOAA's Richard Feely. At Quilcene, Washington's Taylor Shellfish Hatchery, research director Benoit Eudeline says he's already seeing those effects.


text: Research interview Andrew Wilson (Curator of Modern & Contemporary British Art) and Patricia Smithen (Head of Conservation Programme) interview Bernard Cohen about his painting Early Mutation Green No. II 1960 in Tate's collection. tabsAbout Bernard Cohen was born in 1933 and studied at South West Essex Technical College, St. Martin's School of Art and the Slade School of Fine Art, London. During his career Cohen has taught at Ealing School of Art, Chelsea College of Art & Design and Wimbledon College of Art. Cohen was Professor and Chair of Fine Art at the Slade from 1988 to 1990. Cohen's discussion of his 1960 painting Early Mutation Green No. II forms part of a series of interviews with the artist about his works in Tate's collection. Tate undertakes research interviews with artists to establish core information about works in the collection and to record the artists' thoughts about how their works should be interpreted, displayed and cared for. Tags:Works in focusResearch


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Kratz waiting for latest All-Star surprise
Catcher collects special Triple-A midsummer classic moments
By Jared Ravich / MLB.com | July 13, 2011 4:28 PM
In 2009, Kratz walked off the field in Portland, Ore., with the game's MVP award. In 2010, he walked off the field in Allentown, Pa., with instructions to join the big league club after being informed of his promotion during the fourth inning of the All-Star Game. What could be in store for the Lehigh Valley backstop this year?
"I don't know," said Kratz with a smile. "It's a corny answer, but it's just an honor to be invited to it and to get to come see a different ballpark and hopefully showcase my skills. It's one game.
"You can say 'Oh, I don't get my three days off.' My wife and I are out here on vacation. How many people get to say they went on a three-day vacation in Salt Lake City? It's unbelievable. You don't find many views like this at a Minor League ballpark, let alone a big league ballpark."
It's no secret that All-Star position players garner attention/consideration with their bats, but Kratz prides himself on his skills as a receiver. The IronPigs, who have never finished above .500 since their debut in Allentown in 2008, lead the International League's North Division in Kratz's first season with the team. The 2011 IronPigs have a winning record when he's behind the plate (39-22), one game under when he's not. Their team ERA? A run-and-a-half lower (3.22 vs. 4.70). Even the staff's walks-to-strikeouts ratio is significantly better when Kratz's glove is the target.
Kratz's appreciation of the game is deep and he loves the aspects of the defense that don't always get noticed by fans watching closely.
"If a catcher has a good pickoff move to first, the guy's going to take one less step towards second base," he said. "People might not see that as a big deal. Now he tries to go first-to-third and gets thrown out by a step. Was that the right fielder who threw him out by a step or was it because of the catcher?
"Stuff like that. Even from second, one less step, a bang-bang play at the plate. ... But that shows up in the wins and losses. It's the game within the game."
IL coach and Indianapolis manager Dean Treanor saw Kratz's work up close as pitching coach for the 2010 Indians, where Kratz played 70 games before his callup. Treanor said the difference in the pitching staff was "noticeable" when Kratz worked with them.
"A lot of guys like to throw to him," he said. "It's kind of unusual, a guy that size (Kratz is 6-foot-4, 255 pounds), you know. But he puts out a great target and pitchers like throwing to him."
Will Kratz get another big call during tonight's game? He'd be thrilled, of course. But the veteran is happy just being on the field.
"I'm here because I love playing baseball. Hopefully I get a chance to play more in the big leagues. I'm 31. I don't feel like I'm 31. Some people say when you're 31, your career's done. But some guys play longer and I think I can, too.
"That's why I come into this game, for me, it's an honor. To be able to be voted in. It's not just fans that voted me in, but coaches, managers, general managers. ... I'm going to enjoy it."
True 'Blue': While Salt Lake City is filled with rising stars this week, one young athlete has perhaps the straightest arc of them all. Albuquerque Isotopes outfielder Trayvon Robinson's stock is perpetually on the rise, but his path goes deeper than his steady progress through the Minors. He's been an All-Star at every level. The prospect's roots go all the way through the Dodgers organization to Los Angeles.
Teammate Dana Eveland, by contrast, has played for seven different organizations since Robinson was drafted out of Crenshaw High School by the Dodgers in the 10th round of the 2005 June Draft. The 23-year-old LA native is also one of the great success stories of the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program and the MLB Urban Youth Academy (UYA), both of which were founded in South Los Angeles. Even after being drafted, Robinson regularly trained at the UYA and also served as an offseason coach.
In fact, Robinson has a good shot at becoming the first player who regularly trained at the UYA to reach the Major Leagues. Another pioneer named Robinson working to make it to the Major Leagues as a Dodger?
"I hope nobody looks to me like [Jackie Robinson]," said Trayvon. "But I do look up to Jackie and how he handled himself with adversity."
On Jackie Robinson Day earlier this season in April, Trayvon returned to speak to students at Crenshaw High School, along with Major League All-Star Matt Kemp and a host of other current and former Dodgers. But it was Robinson who received the standing ovation.
"That's all we strive for," said the Dodgers' first selection from Crenshaw. "That's what got me here. When I was in high school, I looked up to lots of guys and for the kids in high school to look up to me now. ... That's just a dream come true.
"And from the front desk to the field, I look up to a lot of guys on the field now. The front office, the coaching staff, I look up to them. They're just great guys."
Isotopes (and Pacific Coast League All-Star) skipper Lorenzo Bundy predicts success for Robinson, if he can cut down the strikeouts (103 so far this season) and work more on making good contact and bunting.
"One out of three strikeouts is tough," said Bundy. "When he puts the ball in play, he's probably hitting .460."
Dodgers coach and 1962 National League MVP Maury Wills has worked with Robinson on bunting and has absolutely no doubts where he is ultimately headed.
"He's going to make the big leagues," said Wills. "He's on the fast track, in the terminology the Dodgers use, to get to the big leagues. He's a good student. He's got aptitude. He has this willingness to do whatever he needs to do to get better and make the big leagues. But I want him to be a first-line player, not somebody sitting on the bench."
Robinson is a switch-hitter with some speed, not completely unlike Wills, who offers the same prescription as Bundy.
"He swings a little harder than I did. But the thing that's going to get him there is his mental approach to the game. I think he has the desire to be outstanding and successful. He needs to hit line drives. With his running speed, he wants to hit a lot of ground balls too.
"Players develop differently. Just because he's struggling (with strikeouts) a little bit right now, that's not a minus. It doesn't mean he's not progressing. We go through periods like that, even when you're an established player. He's in a good place.
"I would trade with him right now, any day."
All-Star, all thumbs: If you see a pair of hands furiously manipulating a BlackBerry in the IL dugout tonight, they most likely belong to Toledo infielder Will Rhymes or @willrhymes as he's known to his 11,674 followers on Twitter.
"My agent brought [Twitter] up to me when I was in Detroit," said Rhymes, batting .324, fourth in the league. "I like it. It's a good way to interact with the fans. It's turned out to be a lot bigger than I thought it would be."
Rhymes insists he is not a pioneer or early adopter, though, just a fan of baseball ... and the fans.
"I had an old-school phone. I'm up in the big leagues with an old flip phone I had for like five years. My agent made me get a new phone. I'm not a technology person at all.
"It's hard for us at the ballpark. We're trying to work and it's hard to go over and give the fans as much attention as they want. It's a good way, on my own time, sitting on the bus, I can answer questions. The fans have been good to me. In the Minor Leagues, they're very supportive. They want to see you get there."
Salt Pond City? The spectacular geography of Utah carries with it a downside, other than the risk of visiting players missing game action while being mesmerized by the beauty of the mountains. Sometimes the city is blessed with ample supplies of water, but on occasion, too blessed.
In fact, in spring 1983, so much water came down from the mountains that when the snow melted, a dike had to be constructed at 1300 South, the street which runs along the left-field line of Spring Mobile Ballpark. Nearby State Street became the "State Street River" and water was redirected to the Jordan River. An emergency bridge was built so fans could get to Derks Field, the park that stood where the Bees play today.
Massive floods aren't predicted for tonight's All-Star Game, but because it resides in a flood plain with an underground river flowing beneath it, hidden inside the confines of Spring Mobile Ballpark are a pair of man-made ponds, built to contain runoff that could otherwise saturate the field.
"The ponds are for basically any water," said Bees head groundskeeper Jared Olson. "Water from the field drains, drains from the stands, from the dugouts. ... Anything that's not wastewater goes through there."
No team officials have heard of sunken treasure or rookies in the ponds, but Olson articulated the consensus opinion.
"It definitely has a smell, so there could be some people hiding or dying in there."
Unique among ballparks: While Albuquerque also has hosted a pair of All-Star Games, Salt Lake City becomes the first to host two in the same ballpark. The 1996 Triple-A All-Star Game took place at this same facility, then named Franklin Quest Field.
Jared Ravich is a Senior Technical Producer at MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JaredRavich. Alden Gonzalez, a reporter for MLB.com, contributed to this report. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.View More


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Dogs were first introduced to the Lincoln Police Department in 1961 when the country was having an increase in public unrest and riots. The city adopted the idea of using dogs to assist officers in their duties, like numerous other police departments throughout the country. Since the scientific name for a dog is Canine, it was quickly adopted as the K-9 Unit.
In 1961, the first K-9 unit was approved for Lincoln, but privately donated funds were needed for the purchase of the specially bred and trained dogs. Thanks to those donations, the department purchased their first two dogs and assigned them to the first two Lincoln Police Handlers. The dogs were Kep, handled by Officer Flansburg, and Tap handled by Officer Cooper.
They were trained in tracking, handler protection, building searches, and obedience. The program became very successful and after the department saw the success of the two dogs, the department added a third dog the next year. He was named Ken and was handled by Officer Bruder.
|Ofc. Flansberg and Kep
|Ofc. Bruder and Ken
|Ofc. Novak and Silver
The successes continued over the next 13 years, with 12 handlers in that time period and with 19 dogs. At first these dogs rode in the front seat of a regular police cruiser with their handler. They even attempted to develop a special vehicle for the K-9 officers by adapting one of the department's old Harley Davidson 3 wheelers that were being phased out. Unfortunately this idea was short lived as the dog kept getting thrown from the bike on bumpy roads. In 1963 the department purchased a station wagon specifically for the K-9 unit. The new vehicle has a caged area in the back that provided a much safer mode of transportation for the dogs.
|Canine Three-Wheeler
|Canine Station Wagon
The Police Department was very happy with the K-9 program's many successes over those 13 years. Unfortunately, national attention had turned towards K-9 divisions in the Southern states of America. Photographs of dogs being used to intimidate people during non-violent marches were putting a bad light on K-9 units nation wide. Local opinion became divided and, despite public demonstrations to improve public opinion, the last K-9 was phased out in 1978.
In 1983, two of the first three K-9 officers were allowed to reconstruct the K-9 program. Lieutenant Bruder and Captain Flansburg selected the new K-9 handler, Officer Scott Alexander and the city purchased his dog, Shane. More dogs were wanted and two Lincoln families contributed money for the purchase of two more dogs. Those two dogs were named after the families who donated. Beersie and Doc were then added to the new K-9 unit.
|Members of the Canine Unit with Several Generous Donors
The new canines' duties hadn't changed, but they were improved upon as more uses for the dogs were discovered. They became so successful that the department decided that all four teams in the city should have a K-9. They added Bullet for a total of four dogs.
|Canine Handlers in the 1980s
|Tracking a Suspect