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By Joey Leake
I learned a lot at the SWTCG Championships this year.
First, I learned that the players I met and hung out with throughout the weekend are about the best people you can hope to come across in life. Seriously, there is no prize Wizards could offer that would be a bigger draw for me than getting to hang out with that group again.
Second, I learned that even the smallest metagame oversight could be your doom. What I mean by that is, we tested a little against Tusken decks. Too bad they were bad Tusken decks. When eventual champion Mike Bickford unleashed his wicked creation on the environment, we were caught entirely off-guard, and almost completely unprepared. Our Light Side deck was pretty teched out, but it just didn't have the right tools to deal with the tremendous pressure the Tuskens could apply early on.
Before I go on, I suppose I should give a brief background of our Light Side deck.
When the spoiler for Jedi Guardians was first posted to the net, we scrutinized it trying to find the "next big thing". Of course, the deck that popped into everyone's mind was a Jedi Council Quorum deck. We put one together, and started testing it. Like most other Quorum decks, it ran a glut of the "fog" cards (cards like Peace on Naboo that prevent all damage in an arena) to give the deck time to build the required seven council members. We all agreed that it looked pretty awful on paper. To our surprise, it actually tested quite well. Even against a Dark Side deck running a pretty focused discard package, it was a really tough deck to beat. One of the most surprising things we noticed about the deck was that a lot of the time it wasn't even winning by completing a Quorum. It was winning by beating down with its inferior units. This was mostly due to the ability the fogs grant you to wait until the most opportune moment to start fighting.
It was at this point that I took the Quorum deck, removed the Quorums, the Gather the Councils, the council members, and the build-generators, and put in the best units Light Side had at its disposal. The way the new deck would work would be to use Remember the Prophecy and Coruscant Air Bus to draw lots of battle cards. A good portion of those cards would be the fogs. You would then retreat in one of the arenas that you're able to contest, and prevent all the damage in the arena you left your units in. There would be no attacking, you'd just go on to the next turn where you'd do it all over again as long as you keep drawing fog cards. The new deck looked very promising, able to steamroll traditional Dark Side decks even when placed at a severe build disadvantage (we routinely tested it at 25 build). We tweaked it a little bit, and that was the deck we took to Gen Con.
The deck performed very well against the field. Teammates David Hsu, Steve Smith, and Adam Dittmer all put up respectable records at the Championships by almost exclusively playing the Light Side deck. We just couldn't beat Tuskens.
With Gen Con over, we had some time to reflect upon what we got right, and what we got wrong before the next tourney we would be attending, Dragon Con. Tusken decks were likely to be the rage, and we had to be prepared. We knew the core deck concept was a good one. Fogs plus card drawing was a devastating combination in the Light Side deck. People were happily paying two build for Seek the Council's Wisdom, when it was just as easy to drop a Peace on Naboo for free, buy another turn, gain the four force and get another build roll. That kind of ability to control the pace of the game and start fighting only when you felt you were advantaged is unbelievably powerful.
So we took a look at the different arenas. The problem wasn't in space. We were hardly ever losing space. Let's face it; something has to go terribly wrong for Light Side to lose space in the current environment. No changes were needed.
In ground, we definitely needed help. The Tusken deck was entirely too fast and too efficient at dealing damage in ground. The Mobile Artillery Divisions were solid, but entirely wrong in the Tusken matchup. Against Tuskens, we knew right away that we wanted to run Krayt Dragon. If we could just get a Dragon to attack, we felt very good about our chances of winning ground. We considered A Moment's Rest in the deck to act as extra fogs, and to guarantee Krayt Dragon got the chance to munch on some Tuskens, but ultimately we decided that Windu's Solution was a better choice since it also granted the Dragon +2 power, which provided a nice hedge against low rolls that could end your untapping fun.
Finally, even though we were able to generate a huge amount of force before fighting in character, evading just wasn't enough against the Tuskens. Tusken Raider and Kouhun were too much for our overworked Jedi to handle, so something had to change. Something we did notice was that "Pay 5 Force Deflect 2" was an incredibly strong ability. This led us to add another Mace Windu (A) and to substitute Yoda (B) for the somewhat lackluster Yoda (A). Since Vader (C) rendered our attacks ineffective against the Tusken mob, we needed some way to get the pesky Sith out of the arena. Anakin was our answer. We wound up taking out the entire Obi-Wan stack and brought in Anakin (A), (B), and (E). Since force generation was the key to everything, we also brought in a Jedi Youngling, whose extra two force a turn really adds up when you're fogging several turns in a row before the fighting even starts.
So, here's the deck we ran at Dragon Con:
We were confident with the deck going into the tourney. The turnout at Dragon Con wasn't quite what we would have liked, but the deck performed exactly as we'd hoped it would. Bin Chen, Steve Smith, Adam Dittmer, and myself all ran the deck, along with a modified version of Mike Bickford's Dark Side Tusken deck. All four of us made top eight. Adam, Steve, and myself advanced to top four. And I managed to beat out Adam in the finals 2 games to 1. I played the Light Side deck all three finals games, with both my wins coming after bidding the Light Side deck down to 27.
So, it worked. One thing I can now confidently say about this deck is that it beats the Tusken deck consistently. You have an awesome array of weapons to use against the Tusken deck, and all you need to do is get one to work. What weapons, you ask?
First off, you get to auto-win space. That means you want to put out one and only one unit in space during setup. Obi-Wan's Starfighter (B) is ideal, but any of the units with evade are fine. Auto-winning space means you only have to win either ground or character. That gives you the luxury of picking which other arena you have the strongest weapons for, and acting accordingly.
In character, you're looking to go with one of two plans. Both plans require a decent amount of force, so keep that in mind. You'll want to abuse every trick the deck has to gain force before initiating either plan. The first plan is to get a unit with "Pay 5 Force Deflect 2" into the arena, then turn their own damage back on them. Almost every unit they run in character has a health of 2 or less, so picking a target for the deflect damage isn't always easy. I can say, however, that most of the time you're going to want the Tusken Raiders dead first. If that's not an option, you'll probably want to take out the Kouhuns. The other plan is to get an Anakin into the arena along with at least one other Jedi, contest Vader out of the arena, and hack the Tusken army into little pieces. It's amazing how fragile the Tusken character arena is without Vader there to soak up the attacks. Also, even though it's not something you should plan for (as it comes up very seldom), remember that Yoda (C) can use his lightning ability without Vader being able to intercept (since it's not an attack).
In ground your main plan is to get a Krayt Dragon to attack and single-handedly annihilate the entire Tusken team. Since they run Pilot's Dodges and Dark Dreams, it's not the easiest task as they force you to do at least two more damage than the attacked unit's remaining health if you want to be safe. If you set up properly, however, you can pull off the victory in ground consistently. One trick I like to use to "soften up" their units, lessening the chance of a Pilot's Dodge ruining your fun, is to use Rebel Armored Freerunners in conjunction with Peace on Naboo to sneak in free damage in the turns prior to your big attack. Remember, the Freerunner's "tap to deal three damage" ability is not an attack. That means that if your Freerunner is the first unit up in combat, you can use its ability, deal three damage, and then play Peace on Naboo to prevent them from counterattacking. Be careful during the softening process that you don't make the mistake of putting nonlethal damage on Tusken units while there's a Tusken Camp out. If they have a Camp out, either just kill a unit with the three damage from the Freerunner, or spread it out on the Banthas so it'll stick. After you're ready to feed the Krayt, you have to make sure he survives long enough to attack. A single Windu's Solution is usually sufficient to make sure the Krayt goes first, but it's not uncommon at all to have two at your disposal by the time you're ready. Also, Anakin (B) is in the deck for a reason, and Krayt Dragon is one such reason. One nice little trick that comes up fairly often is to use Anakin (B)'s ability during the build phase to give a ground unit +2 power and +20 speed, then at the beginning of combat Anakin and Vader will become contested. Since Anakin (B) and Vader (C) both have the same build cost, you can always lose the bidding, allowing Anakin to safely run back to the build zone so you can use him again next turn. It's like a do-it-yourself Reserves ability. You can use that trick before the "big turn" to make sure the Freerunner goes first, enabling the Peace on Naboo trick. Sometimes you don't have the speed boost to make the Krayt go first. In those cases, you can usually get by with just preventing damage with Yoda's Interventions and Jedi Knight's Survivals. The big drawback with that is that you'll run the risk of a Dark Dreams copying one of your damage prevention cards to bring your attack to a premature halt. One final note about ground is that you'll always want to attack the unit with the least amount of health left with your Dragon. That minimizes the risk of them being able to break up your attack with a Pilot's Dodge.
Oh, and did I mention that Homing Missile is ridiculously good? The flexibility that card provides makes it almost a staple in any Light Side deck. Your list of targets goes on and on, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the Tusken matchup. It'll take out the key units like RIC-920, Tusken Raider, Tusken Sharpshooter, any of the 4/3's in ground... etc. But it's not only good against Tuskens! It kills annoyances like Nexu, IT-O Interrogator Droid, Senator Tikkes, and Tyranus's Geonosian Speeder. Yes, the dropping mechanic is silly. I guess we'll just have to deal with it though, because the card is that good.
So, there you have it. Easy enough, right? Seriously, I have played more games with this deck than any other deck since I began playing this game, and I'm still discovering new aspects I didn't see before. I've tried to give mention to most of the tricks you can use, but you really need to practice with this deck before taking it to a tournament. It will present you with a lot more options than most decks will, and making a wrong choice can easily cost you the game. With a little experience under your belt, you should be ready to go out and give the Dark Side a run for their money.
As always, questions and comments are welcomed. Just email me at firstname.lastname@example.com. Thanks again for reading!
PRIVACY STATEMENT©2007 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ® or TM where indicated. All rights reserved. Used under authorization.


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Elizabeth Arden Sues Over Celebrity Fragrance Inspirations: Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift + Moreby Thomas Chau | PopCrush
Elizabeth Arden — the major cosmetics and fragrance company behind celebrity perfume lines featuring Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, Britney Spears and others — has named Preferred Fragrance in a lawsuit over trademark infringements, according to TMZ.
The lawsuit reportedly claims that Preferred Fragrance, which distributes cheaper fragrances with "Our impression of" messaging, released products with similar names and packaging as some of Elizabeth Arden's brands.
For example: Elizabeth Arden is behind Justin Bieber's perfume lines, 'Someday' and 'Girlfriend.' Preferred Fragrance has released two perfumes, 'Today' and 'Be My Girl.' Elizabeth Arden has distributed Taylor Swift's 'Wonderstruck' perfume, while Preferred Fragrance has put out their own perfume titled 'Wonderful.'
In the example below of Taylor Swift's 'Wonderstruck' vs. 'Wonderful' (taken from their Amazon product pages) you can see that the packaging does look similar.
Taylor Swift's 'Wonderstruck' by Elizabeth Arden
'Wonderful' by Preferred Fragrance
On Amazon, 'Wonderstruck' sells for $24.15 for a 3.4 oz bottle while a 3.3 oz bottle of 'Wonderful' sells for $11.89.
This isn't the first time that Preferred Fragrance has been named in a lawsuit over trademark infringements: In Nov. 2013, Prada accused the company of infringing upon their Prada Candy line.
See Pop Stars Without Makeup

subset: commoncrawl


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White Sox OF Garcia to have surgery Tuesday
CHICAGO (AP) — White Sox manager Robin Ventura says outfielder Avisail Garcia will have season-ending shoulder surgery on Tuesday.
Ventura confirmed the day of the operation before Sunday's game against the Cleveland Indians. The White Sox had already announced that Garcia would have season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
He was injured trying to make a diving catch Wednesday at Colorado, a big blow for a team trying to rebound from a 99-loss season. Garcia has batted .298 since being acquired from Detroit last summer in the three-team trade that sent Jake Peavy to Boston.


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Clients Share Their Experiences With @designREMODEL...
"End results were well beyond what I could have hoped for"
After 17 years of living with two white on white on white bathrooms, I decided to redo both at the same time. I found @designREMODEL on-line and after my first meeting with John, I knew his firm was the right one for the job. Even in the first meeting I could tell he was very attentive to the details and would make the experience go as smoothly as possible. I had an idea of what I wanted, but John was great at bringing ideas to the table and his entire team of craftsman were always open to changes and new ideas. And there were quite a few changes. The project expanded to include not just 2 full bathrooms, one of which had to remain somewhat functional as I was living in the house throughout the project, but a laundry area, wood floors in a master bedroom and the replacement of all interior doors.
Mike, Adam, Al, Rick and Kemp all did an incredible job throughout all aspects of the job. Everyone John brought in had a similar attention to detail and was always open and accommodating to my last minute changes. They always took care to make sure the house was as put together and clean as possible during the 3 month project. As with any renovation there were issues along the way, but they were always handled professionally and solved as quickly as possible.
The project is complete and in addition to unbelievable bathrooms, I feel like I have a brand new house. I was so pleased with the overall renovation that I have already secured John and his team for another project. It is never easy to live through a renovation, but the process and end result were well beyond what I could have hoped for.
Rhonda Snow, Sandwich, MA
"Beyond Thrilled With The Work!"
We recently purchased a condo in New Seabury that hadn't been updated much since it was built in 1986. We were looking to renovate two bathrooms, update the kitchen with new countertops, a backsplash and all new appliances, paint every room/ceiling, as well as a handful of other projects around the house (e.g. install overhead lighting, upgrade electrical outlets, add French doors, replace screens in all the sliders, etc.). Living 90 minutes away, we knew it would be difficult to oversee each project without hiring a general contractor. From the minute we met with John Clark, we knew he was the right person to manage the project – and he exceeded our expectations.
John gave us great advice on each element of our project, and picked out fixtures and details that were in-line with our style. He was patient in quoting us for different "scenarios" so we could determine what projects could be completed within our budget. He quoted us an estimated six week turnaround time for the project and his team worked around the clock – including nights and weekends – to ensure the project was completed within the promised timeframe. John proactively gave us updates each week so we knew where each element of the project stood. The only glitch we ran into was an issue with our plumbing in one of the bathrooms – something that we could not have anticipated from the outset. The only impact it had on us was setting the project back a week due to the plumber's schedule. Otherwise, the project was completed as promised.
John is a true professional and it's worth noting that our neighbors told us how impressed they were with his cleanup each evening – once John and his team left for the day, there was no evidence of work being done to the house from the outside; no eyesores for the neighbors. We are beyond thrilled with the work John did for us. Everything came out beautifully. We had a couple of minor fixes that we asked to be made and John handled those quickly. I would without a doubt recommend John to anyone in the greater Mashpee area looking for a reliable contractor. John is a true perfectionist and paid very close attention to detail throughout the project. We couldn't be happier with our choice and our new home!
Keith Watson & Keri Bertolino, Mashpee, MA
"Quite simply it is exactly what I had wanted."
John is professional and charming, it was a pleasure to work with him. John makes you feel as if you were his only client, he is thoughtful, generous with his time, and respects the schedule you and he set up. He handles every aspect of the project so well. Whether it is meeting to discuss the project and his design plans, or whether he is in there working, or whether he is introducing you to any of his top notch sub-contractors, John is consistently upbeat, professional and always moving forward.
My goal was to have a high function, simple looking bathroom. John planned in the high function elements thus: a great deal of storage space, heated porcelain tile floor, heated towel rack, top quality, solid plumbing fixtures and bidet style seat for commode. He planned in serene design elements with muted colors, recessed lighting, clean, uncomplicated lines and rich porcelain and stone materials with quiet textures. Quite simply it is exactly what I had wanted.
This project, as with any I suppose, threw us some curve balls and John had to take my house for remedial lessons in how to have straight walls, running water, insulated bathroom walls, and more. But he managed the crazy obstacles with aplomb. He came up with great solutions. I would say that he quite likes the chance to solve a problem here and there. He is efficient and very fair minded.
Working with John on this project turned out so well that I am already discussing another project with him; I have an idea that I will be back on here posting another positive review afterwards.
Jayne Irvine, Falmouth MA
"Has Redefined Our Entire House..."
Given that we live in Manhattan, we knew that our Cape house remodel was going to be challenging. However, after exchanging at least a dozen emails with John Clark, prior to even meeting him, we felt comfortable with the relationship that was developing. John's attention to detail, exhibited by the questions he asked and the ideas he proposed, gave us the confidence that he was as particular about the aesthetics of the project as we were. Over the last year we have remodeled every surface of our house, as well as undertaking a complete "gut" remodel of our kitchen this past fall.
This approach of John's continued throughout the execution of both phases of our remodel. The work was done according to the plan, according to the schedule and within the budget. The work was thorough and meticulous with the details, and the rest of the house was treated with care. We were consulted about various additional things at the house that were identified as needing attention, though a few things were simply taken care of at no extra charge.
The team that John assembles to carry out the work (carpentry, electrical, plumbing, etc.) is superb. These individuals share his approach. John always gives the team full credit for the results, but takes full responsibility for any bumps along the way.
At our most recent meeting, following completion of the second phase of our remodel, John asked if we were pleased with our kitchen? In retrospect, we believe that question surfaced due to our apparent lack of enthusiasm over the completion of the kitchen. We were guessing that what John did not realize was exactly how high our expectations were regarding the kitchen remodel, and that we fully expected it to look as amazing as it does. The truth of the matter is that the kitchen remodel has not only completely redesigned the space, but has enhanced both the efficiency and the aesthetic dimensions of what is possible in a kitchen. In essence, the kitchen remodel has redefined our entire house.
We are now about to embark upon the addition of a bathroom and laundry space on the lower level of our house, and we continue to have complete confidence and trust in the fact that John Clark will hear and address our concerns and vision of the remodel, while maintaining the design and integrity of our house as a whole.
John and Denise MacKerron, Falmouth, MA
"Unbelievable Handle On Projects..."
The review below was posted on Houzz by the homeowner:
The project consisted of a complete remodel of our Maushop Village Condominium. The scope included new kitchen, new bathrooms, wallpaper removal and complete painting of interior, wide pine floors being refinished.
John from @designREMODEL made the process of remodeling our summer home a complete stress free experience. As you can imagine being a second home we were not able to be onsite everyday and in fact only came down a few times during the 2 1/2 month construction. With that said you really have to have complete trust in the builder you choose. John not only met this but went beyond including sending us almost weekly updates along with pictures.
We had some issues with structure once the drywall was removed in some areas, but John explained the issues along with pictures and made the decision to fix the issues easy. We had one issue with a wrong accent tile strip being ordered, but John fixed the issue before we even had time to worry about it.
We feel we were treated with complete respect during the construction and John has a unbelievable handle on his projects and even remembered items that I brought up during our first meeting but had forgotten about, but John incorporated into the final project.
John developed his own punch list of items that did not meet his own quality control measures. When John told us some of the items such as a small blemish on a lighting fixture that 9 out of 10 people would never have noticed, I knew we had made the right choice in choosing John as our contractor.
It is this level of quality and commitment that John brings to his projects that I enjoyed the most!
Dan and Nan Kleeberg, Mashpee, MA
"Three separate projects spanning three years"
The review below was posted on Yelp.
John Clark of @DesignRemodel is absolutely wonderful! Thanks to him, we now have 2 beautiful bathrooms, a laundry center, and a refurbished dining area. Our modest Cape-style home is becoming much more upscale, because his work is always meticulous. I can't wait to have him re-do our kitchen!
John has done this work in 3 separate projects, spanning 3 years. The initial project took more time to plan, as John was getting to know our likes and dislikes, and as we got to know how John organizes the projects, and what kinds of materials he uses. By the third project (the gorgeous upstairs bathroom) I think we only had to spend a few hours arranging the details with John, because we had such a good sense of each other's tastes and abilities!
It is easy communicating with John by email or phone to arrange all of the little details that go into these projects. John often sends suggestions as links in his emails, which makes for very efficient "shopping".
One of the things I like best about John is that he will work within your budget and your personal tastes. If you want affordable yet high quality cabinets, fixtures, etc. he is familiar with the pros and cons of the major brands.
John knows how the work should be done to achieve superlative results. During projects, he has incidentally found potential problems with the old windows, roof, trim, etc. on our house. He has solved the problems efficiently if they relate to the project at hand. He has also suggested ways the problems might be dealt with at a later date, in a cost-effective and timely way. If it isn't a major undertaking, he usually just fixes the problem at no additional cost, and moves ahead with the project.
John is very organized! He has the project planned and the materials on hand before he begins the project. He has a trailer loaded with his tools and miscellaneous hardware, and rarely needs to interrupt his work to go to the store for a critical piece of hardware or materials.
Above all, John is very considerate of the fact that people have to live in the house during the construction. He keeps the house CLEAN AND TIDY while he is doing the project. He lays down heavy paper to protect the floors where he needs to walk through the house. He vacuums up the dust and litter at the end of the day. He tries to leave the materials he is installing out of the way for as long as possible. He tries to notify everyone ahead of time when things will get noisy.
I can trust John, his crew, and his contractors 100% if they are in my house when I am not there. I also trust them 100% to make things work out right when there are glitches in the construction project (and with an older home, those glitches do come up!).
I recommend John Clark and @DesignRemodel without reservation!
Sue & Lary Ball, North Falmouth MA
You can read about the fabulous new bathroom in North Falmouth here.
"@design may not come in with the lowest bid for your project..."
"Finding good contractors on Cape Cod has proven to be quite difficult. Most times you're lucky if someone even shows up and if they do you start wishing they never had after dealing with all the painstaking problems throughout the duration of the project. Those that do put on a good front you're afraid to even contact because they're probably way out of your price range.
We had dealt with pretty much all of the above on various smaller renovations on our historic little Cape Cod. Until we hired John from @design Remodel. I had good feelings from the very beginning when he called to tell us that he was a few days behind on getting our design ready. This small courtesy of communicating everything continued throughout the process and really put us at ease about talking to him about any concerns we had throughout the renovation.
@design may not come in with the lowest bid for your project, but you certainly get what you pay for and then some. John was very understanding when it came to our budget and never made us feel like we were being forced into anything. He took care to find us products that were on sale, allowed us to take part in some of the smaller tasks to save money, and did his best when picking products and manufacturers to keep to our budget. This was particularly important for us given today's questionable economy.
John had a rigorously planned schedule that even included keeping us, the clients, on task by reminding us about decisions we needed to make in order to keep to the greater schedule. The order of operations was meticulously planned to prevent any destruction or potential damage to areas that were already completed and John took extra care to keep the rest of our home as clean as possible.
Even though we ran into a few issues with manufacturers that delayed the whole process by a few weeks, John made sure we had a working kitchen during that time and checked to see that we were comfortable with how things were going. Not having to deal directly with all of the plumbers, electricians, cabinet companies, painters, inspectors, countertop manufacturers, etc. really made things seem less stressful and I always had full confidence that John was on our side.
John's attention to detail, professionalism, and down to earth personality are some of the things that make him stand out from other people in his industry. He has a wonderful way of getting to know his clients and I was rather impressed with his ability to understand our style and what we we were looking for right from the beginning. This was something I hadn't experienced before and really saved me from the exhausting task of describing every little detail of what we wanted or didn't want.
He also made great suggestions for ways to keep the design within the 'look' of the rest of our old house. The end result was an amazing kitchen and a content feeling that I no longer had to put time and effort into finding a good contractor."
Tim & Alicia Miller, West Falmouth MA
"There was a problem in the installation..."
"My wife and I have been living on Cape Cod for over thirty years. Locating a professional to provide dependable and proper service in a timely and efficient manner has always been a challenge for us. Some make promises they do not keep, while others leave work unfinished or sloppy. John met our needs and wishes. We are pleased to have had John help us remodel our bathroom by adding a beautiful shower.
From soup to nuts, from estimate to successful completion, John remained true to his word and cost. He was hard working and genuinely caring. There was a problem in installation that was discovered near job's end and, without hesitation, John addressed the problem to our satisfaction. I highly recommend John and would not hesitate to seek his help again."
Dr. Robert Fournier, Sandwich MA
"We were nervous and apprehensive about starting our next large renovation..."
"We have used the same professional contractor for over 25 years. When he retired last year, we were nervous and apprehensive about starting our next large renovation, a Kitchen and 3 Bathrooms. John and his team were just great to work with. The quality of his work and his communication with us during this process (of remodeling) was just fantastic. Certainly way beyond our expectations.
We believe we have more then replaced our former contractor... hopefully for the next 25 years!"
David & Carol Orloff, West Falmouth & Norton MA
"Thank you for putting professional skills and your integrity to such effective use on our behalf..."
"John, It's been almost a year since your team installed our new shower. It is with great satisfaction that we send the following:
1) Pre-installation - You responded immediately to our "cold call" and immediately began working with us to design the bathroom modification. Your patience with our sometimes strange ideas, willingness and professional approach to recommending better ideas and explanation in plain english 'why' set the stage for a successful modification. The details in the finished plans was exceptional.
2) Installation - You and your team successfully executed the installation with the minimum of inconvenience. Your attention to detail in the removal of the old facilities and the preparations for and installation of the new shower was, in keeping with the plans, exceptional. Particularly in dealing with some unexpected challenges. The post installation cleanup was spotless.
3) Post installation - We have made very good use of the shower and its features including the variability of the fixed head shower head, the convenience of the European shower hose and the control features. The bottom line -Thank you for putting professional skills and your integrity to such effective use on our behalf."
Gerry and Sam Klein, Waquoit MA
"The originally quoted price was adhered to…"
"Now that the work on the house in Chatham is complete, I wanted to let you know that I truly appreciate the diligence, professionalism and attention to detail that you demonstrated throughout the project. Although we faced many challenges in a home as old as mine, they were all handled with creativity that I know only comes with experience. I also appreciate the fact that despite the numerous changes, the originally quoted price was adhered to by your company. It was a real pleasure to work with you as you made the whole process, which I feared would be a real hassle, as painless as it could possible be!"
Robert Culnane, Chatham & Boston MA
"You were up front about the few delays we had..."
"John - Thank you so very much for the fantastic job you did remodeling our master bedroom/bath space. We were so impressed with how organized you were, your attention to detail and the craftsmanship that went into the project. You and your contractors were dependable and extremely respectful of our property. I think you left our home cleaner than when you came! You made the process very easy for us since you brought samples of the cabinet doors, shower enclosure, knobs, etc. to the house - and gave us some great choices. I particularly love the heated floor in the bathroom. Great to stand on with stocking feet!
As I told you throughout the project, I really appreciated your communication. You were up front about the few delays we had and if you said a contractor would be there at 8 the next morning, he was there! Keep up the good work!"
Larry and Wendy Bennett, Marstons Mills MA
"Wasn't sure how the project would turn out..."
"We were especially impressed with how well the work went. Your attention to detail and the extra time you took to make everything right was well appreciated. You and your contractors always came on time; if there were any unexpected obstacles encountered during the remodeling, you always let us know what they were and how you were going to handle them: and at the end of each day the work area was always cleaned up so there was no mess to have to deal with. Having built our house and dealing with contractors for more then 8 months, I can't tell you how important this was to us! John and his team exceeded our expectations.
Bob has admitted he wasn't sure how the project would turn out, but since then has told me he is happy with the results."
Bob & Jeanne Nichols, Sandwich MA
"I must admit I was a bit nervous..."
"From the moment you stepped into our house to assist us with the design and preparation it was obvious to us that we were dealing with a true professional. I must admit I was a bit nervous about knocking down of walls, removal of fixtures and a large bathtub. Your crew did an excellent job of cleaning up. We are very pleased with our remodeled bathroom and have received many compliments from family and friends"
Dr. & Mrs. Ted Keary, Falmouth MA
"John was a delightful person to work with."
"John was a professional from start to finish. From taking me through the various steps of gutting and redoing 2 bathrooms to the budget review to going over the various materials that he uses, John was a delightful person to work with.
My house was clean from start to finish, as promised, and he was on budget and on time. I appreciated the progress reports along the way and the care John took to make sure the bathrooms came out the way I had planned. I'm delighted with the end results"
Katharine Bullock, Osterville & Wellesley MA
"I never had to worry about a thing"
"From the design and actual building stage I never had to worry about a thing when you started the work on our home, I could continue with my own responsibilities knowing that you would take care of everything. As always you handled everything with true professionalism."
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We appreciated the thoroughness of your proposal which meant there were no bad surprises at the end. You also were great at communicating with us along the way, letting us know when different pieces of the project would be completed. The attention to detail on the little things like towel racks, hooks and other fixtures resulted in a project where all the pieces worked together. When the project was completed, not only did we have a beautiful new bathroom and kitchen, the house was returned to us completely cleaned and in move-in condition."
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"My wonderful new kitchen"
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text:
UBS news
UBS is the best online broker in Switzerland.
In the opinion of the independent Internet rating agency, BlueSky Ratings TM, UBS is Switzerland's number 1 online broker.
According to BlueSky, UBS earned the top position thanks to its comprehensive information service, its wide range of functions and international stock markets as well as its user-friendly e-banking service.
Zurich/Basel, 30 June 2000


text:
Q&A with Two-Time All-American Michael Baier
Related Links
Fifth-year senior Michael Baier of the UC San Diego swimming team has experienced the ups-and-downs of a typical collegiate athletic career. A two-time All-American who has served as team captain the past two seasons and is ranked in the UCSD career top 10 in both the 200 and 400 individual medley, Baier qualified for six individual events at the 2003 NCAA Division II Championships as a sophomore. His junior year was postponed due to shoulder surgery but he came back strong, again achieving All-American status with a pair of top six NCAA finishes, including a personal best of third in the 400 IM. He was also part of a school record-setting 800 freestyle relay team. "Michael's an immensely talented athlete who's realized his potential through hard work," says Head Coach Scott McGihon. "He's an extremely versatile swimmer that we could put in virtually any event." Heading into the annual Speedo Cup, the biggest meet of the fall, the 22-year-old
Q-Swimming's not usually thought of as a sport where you see a lot of injuries, but you sat out an entire season after surgery. What happened?
BAIER-Actually, you do see a lot of repetition injuries in swimming, like tendonitis of the shoulder. They come from using the same motion hundreds and hundreds of times.
I hate to admit it, but I actually injured my shoulder playing flag football during the fall of my sophomore year. I dove for the ball and landed on my shoulder. My shoulder partially popped out and it tore the labrum. I iced a lot and finished off my sophomore season. When the pain didn't go away in the off-season, my doctor recommended surgery. I expected to be ready for my junior year but I tried to come back too soon and ended up having to sit the year out.
Although most injuries come from the repetitive nature of training, some swimmers are known to be "land challenged" and you see some interesting injuries that occur during land workouts. We lift weights, do a lot of stadium stuff for explosiveness and have a medicine ball workout program.
Q-What's the lure of swimming for you?
BAIER-It's a sickness (laughing). Seriously, the feeling you get right before you step onto the blocks when you look around at your competition and have the confidence based on training that you can perform at a high level.
And then, when you hit the wall and see that you've attained the goals you've set for yourself—that makes the alarm and the wake up calls worth it. I do it for those feelings.
Q-One of your specialties is the individual medley. Why do you like it? Which of the four strokes is your easiest, most difficult?
BAIER-Most swimmers don't like the IM. I actually do. I was afraid in my freshman year when Scott (McGihon) said he wanted to try me in that event because I'd never done it before.
I like it because everybody has their own strengths. For me, it's the breaststroke which comes in the second half of the race. That's where I feel I have to do it and I know that if I can keep it close during the butterfly and backstroke, I'm going to get some people on the third leg.
It's fun to swim for the same reasons it's also a great event to watch. There's so much variety. Everyone has different strengths and there's a lot of shifting positions during the course of the race, especially in the 400. It's pretty common to see huge changes. The backstroke is probably my toughest leg.
Q-What's a typical weekly workload for you?
BAIER-We usually put in about 50,000 yards a week in the water. Monday's the worst day. We're in at and swim about 8,000 yards. Then we go to the weight room and have a medicine ball workout. In the afternoon, there's a second hard workout.
It usually tapers down from Monday with specific event workouts on different days. We have what we call "crazy IM workouts" on Tuesday. That can range from straight IM racing to concentrating specifically on one or two strokes for 30-40 minutes.
Q-Does a swimmer lose his or her "feeling" for the water if they're out for a certain length of time?
BAIER-We used to joke that if you've been out a long time, even a week, you were "feeling alien." When you get back in, it feels like something totally foreign. I don't know if it has the same effect on non-swimmers but when you swim a lot, there's definitely an adjustment period when you've been away.
Q-Is the swimming season one long grind or do you break it down into different segments?
BAIER-We do kind of break the season into at least two parts. The team reports in early September and we go hard pretty much through October. Then we go into a short rest period, which we're in now, for our mid-season taper meet, the Speedo Cup.
After that, we have a bit of a break with Thanksgiving and finals. Then we hit it hard through Christmas. After Christmas, we come back to regular training through our conference championships in February and then start tapering again for the NCAA Championships in early March.
Q-What's the significance of the Speedo Cup?
BAIER-The objective is to make your NCAA qualifying time (if you haven't already) at the Speedo Cup. It's not essential, but it's nice to make the time early in the season because then you don't have to taper twice—for conference and NCAAs—in a relatively short period of time. That's tough to do. It also takes away the stress that comes with basically having one chance left to make the cut.
The Speedo Cup is also good because it's the first time in the season that we'll be rested which gives you a chance to see some results from the hard work. If you're able to swim fast it's a great motivator for the second half of the season.
Q-How do the men's and women's teams get along? Is it more like one big team or two separate units?
BAIER-The two teams are really one. We get along very well and we like to think our unity with the women makes us stronger vs. the teams we compete against.
A lot of the other schools have two teams that compete together but don't travel and train together. What makes us strong is that everybody gets along and likes each other. Instead of having 20 people at the wall when you're racing, there are 50 people behind the blocks supporting you. It makes a difference.
Q-What members of the 205-06 men's swim team are ready for a "breakout year?"
BAIER-That's tough. It's a pretty long list. I'd say that one is definitely Joel Tourtellotte. He had a great freshman year but he's swimming even better now.
Then there's the seniors. You definitely see a difference in the work ethic when you hit the senior year. There's something in your head when you know it's your last season. For instance, I see a big difference in Ben Falcioni. He was solid last year, but he's been amazing so far.
Also, I get a chance to train with the breaststrokers and as a group, Jacob (Dong), Evan (Hsiao) and Ryan (Kloos) are going to be tough. We've also got an extremely talented freshmen class and you can see good things already from them.
Q-You sister Katie was a freshman at UCSD last year. What's it like having her on the team?
BAIER-I really enjoy it. We weren't as close as I would have hoped in high school and I wasn't sure I would like it at first—something about my space, my friends.
But, it's been great. We've become better friends and I'm really glad she decided to come to UCSD. Unfortunately, she's injured her shoulder and will probably redshirt this season.
Q-What are the strengths of your coach, Scott McGihon?
BAIER-I think he does a great job of building and maintaining unity between the two teams and using that to our advantage. Everyone buys into that. Some coaches are good with men, some are good with women. Scott handles both teams very well.
There are also a lot of little things, details that are always taken into account. He also highlights expectations for people and pushes you to reach those goals. Scott won't let you go below your potential.
Q-What sport would you be competing in if you weren't swimming?
BAIER-I really miss playing soccer (he was an all-league soccer player in high school). I started at four and played year-round from ages 12-14 and all the way through high school.
Swimming is a team sport, but it's not the same. I definitely like having a little bit of contact thrown in.
Q-Sonora is not exactly known as a swimming hotbed. How did you get started?
BAIER-My mom, Patti, was a swimmer and a pretty good one. She swam at the Senior Nationals in high school. The whole family swims. I don't remember exactly how I got started but it probably involved her pushing us in. I've pretty much been doing it forever.
My mom is still a masters swim coach in
Q-What would make collegiate swimming a better spectator sport?
BAIER-I don't know if you can really help swimming. People don't really know what's going on.
The big meets are really exciting, though. Even if you don't know what fast is, you can figure it out. Unfortunately, dual meets aren't that exciting—but they're necessary practice if you want to swim fast.
Q-What would make 2005-06 a success for you?
BAIER-I think it would be great for us to win our conference championships and improve on our placing at the NCAAs as a team (the Triton men finished fourth last year).
At the NCAAs, personally, I'd like to be top eight in all of my events. The maximum for one person is four individual events and three relays. I'd like to do that.
Q-What interests do you have outside swimming?
BAIER-We're not allowed to have a life outside of swimming (laugh). Back home in the summer, I like to rock climb and go river rock jumping (going off cliffs into the water). I hope my mom isn't going to read this.
I've got some pretty crazy friends who go out with measuring tapes looking for canyon walls over 100 ft. I just watch that but it's still crazy.
I also like to watch movies and go to the beach.
Q-What's your major and what are your future plans?
BAIER-I'm a general biology major. After I graduate, I hope to teach English in
As far as the future, can I get back to you 10 years from now? I really have no idea.
Q-After two years as team captain, you relinquished those duties prior to the season. Why?
BAIER-I'd had that role for two years and just felt it was time for new blood. Our team is a lot younger and I felt that maybe we'd be better off with guys who could relate better to all elements of the team.
Jacob (Dong) and Barney (Sclafani) have the team really unified and are doing a great job. I'm glad I made the decision.
Janell Jones (Women's Basketball) - November 1, 2005 Jonathan Hopkins (Men's Water Polo) - October 25, 2005 Mimi Hodgins (Women's Cross Country) - October 17, 2005 Heather Sugg (Women's Soccer) - October 11, 2005 Laura Watkins (Women's Volleyball) - September 28, 2005 Kevin Murray (Men's Soccer) - September 20, 2005 Carl Lostrom (Men's Cross Country) - September 13, 2005 Clark Petersen (Men's Water Polo) - September 6, 2005
Janell Jones (Women's Basketball) - November 1, 2005
Jonathan Hopkins (Men's Water Polo) - October 25, 2005
Mimi Hodgins (Women's Cross Country) - October 17, 2005
Heather Sugg (Women's Soccer) - October 11, 2005
Laura Watkins (Women's Volleyball) - September 28, 2005
Kevin Murray (Men's Soccer) - September 20, 2005
Carl Lostrom (Men's Cross Country) - September 13, 2005
Clark Petersen (Men's Water Polo) - September 6, 2005


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text:
Blanco (Feat. Redman) - Smash Hard [Label Submitted]
"Produced by Bedrock. Off Blanco's upcoming debut album, "American Psycho" in stores everywhere February 15th 2011 "
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(CNN) -- Widespread anxiety about the damaging effects of burning fossil fuels, coupled with a genuine fear that oil and gas will become scarce before the century ends have fueled a renewed interest in renewable energy and, in particular, solar power solutions.
Should we be turning to nuclear power in our fight to stop global warming?
Maybe is time to resolve the problem, maybe it's time to see what we have to do. But one thing that I'm sure of is, if we use nuclear power, we start to have a big excuse to make nuclear weapons. Arturo Ibáñez, Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
Nuclear power is emission free on a day to day basis. Chernobyl's disaster proves that nuclear power can be very harmful in the long run. Additionally, for nuclear to be cost effective it takes extra large scale plants leading to two major disadvantages; increased losses through cables and the risk of large scale black-outs. Agelos Labrou, Athens, Greece.
I think solar power will be a renewable energy here because an earthquake might cause a serious damage to a nuclear power plant. The fossil fuel will run out in future and we have to consider how to get safe energy without import of natural resources from abroad. Furubayashi, Osaka, Japan.
Yes, we need nuclear power and more research and development about nuclear energy to minimize the risks and to increase its efficiency. Nuclear plants can be used for base load electricity and when allowed, also for residential heat, thus increasing its efficiency drastically. Dr Nyilas, Germany.
Yes, because it is the cleanest technology -- until and unless other clean energy sources like solar energy is commercially viable. Moreover it will free the world from a generation of green house gasses responsible for global warming. It will also help maintain ecological balance by reducing the exploitation of nature through mining activities. B. N. Bhattacharyya, Kolkata, India.
Since the solar energy can be best tapped within 15-20 degrees on either side of the equator, and not many "developed" countries are located in this belt, then this project will require a real political will, given the fact that none of these countries are ready to shoulder the "carbon emission" load and work on that matter. So Nuclear power looks a better option. Ashish Dumbre, Bombay, India. E-mail to a friend


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High School Sports
Manatee students honored for community service
BRADENTON - Miranda Massey's tears Thursday night reflected specks of brightness from the lights strewn across the Bradenton Auditorium ceiling.
Her mom, Lisa Marie Phillips, hugged her tight with one arm, the other holding the program she had rolled into a makeshift loudspeaker to yell through when her daughter walked on stage to accept the 2006 Golden Herald Award in Speech and Drama.
The other 14 categories ranged from art to journalism to business. Nominees, all students at Manatee County high schools, were judged in a variety of areas, with an emphasis on community service.
"For people to see and recognize what I've known her whole life is amazing," said Phillips, who gave her daughter two kisses on her right cheek when she first found her in the crowd that clustered near the stage after the ceremony.
Massey, a Bayshore High School senior, has volunteered more than 400 hours with the Manatee Players Theatre, where she is also helping raise funds for the construction of a new theater.
But she considers a recent role as her most important project.
Massey played the leading role in "Drugged Home," a free production about substance abuse based on true stories from clients at Manatee Glens and Safe Haven.
Honorable Mention winners won a trophy and $500. Each Golden Herald winner went home with a medal, a trophy and $2,000.
One winner plans to save the prize money for things she may need to buy as she heads to the University of Florida. The winner in Music, Caitlen Williford, of Manatee High School, is considering studying interior design or business in college while continuing to do what earned her a Golden Herald.
"I'll continue doing community service throughout college," Williford said.
The winner in the Vocational category, Manatee School for the Arts senior Corie Bieniek won the raffle for a two-year lease on a Ford Mustang convertible.
Bieniek has been a camp counselor at 4-H summer camps and is a small group leader at her church. One of her supervisors from 4-H described Bieniek as having some of the highest moral and ethical characteristics she has seen in a young person.
The winner in Mathematics has learned through her community service to appreciate the little things in life, but Shannon Walsh, from Lakewood Ranch High School, has also learned that "a lot of people don't take youth seriously."
She hopes to continue to prove that there's a lot young people can do as she goes on to Florida State University, where she plans to study biomedical engineering or psychiatry.
When Walsh's name was called, her friend Katie Derespino scurried to the side of the stage to snap some pictures of a girl Derespino said has shown how to be totally selfless.
"When you think there's no more you can give, there's always more," Derespino said of what Walsh has taught her.
On a mission trip to Guatemala, Walsh helped give micro-loans to women wanting to start a business. The experience helped her gain perspective on her own life, a life that she says seems spoiled in comparison to the poverty she witnessed.
"Every time I saw someone, they were working and no one was complaining . . .," Walsh said. "It's made me appreciate things more. Everything I do, I do with a smile."
Thursday night's winners and all the nominees join the more than 3,600 high school seniors that have participated in the Golden Herald Awards, established in 1978 by The Herald. Each participating school is allowed to nominate two seniors in each category.


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Media Mining Digest 111 – 27 Dec 2013: Affordable Care Act, Aging Workforce, Amateur Enthusiasts, Apps for the Blind, Behavior Modification, Church and State, Craig Venter Interview, Dollar a Day, Dragon Slayers, Ecuador v Chevron, Education Report Card, Fire Management, Geriatrician Interview, Gunpowder Nation, Health Survey, Job Satisfaction, Joy Luck Club, Malaria Research, MOOC with Lab, Neil Gaiman, NYC Public Health, Organ Donors Canada, Physician Assisted Suicide, Puerto Rico Economy, Skin Cell Gun, Stop and Frisk, Styrofoam Hazard, Syria Conflict, T-shirt Cost, Teenage Drug Use, This Week in Law, Working Class Politicians
The following audio files come from a larger group of 196 for this week. Double or ctrl-click individual highlighted links, below, to get single podcasts. A zip file of all 32 podcasts converted to 1.5x speed will download here for four … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged affordable care act, aging workforce, amateur enthusiasts, Amy Tan, antimalarial chemotherapy, apps for the blind, Assad, B J Fogg, Baptists, Bashar al-Assad, Bayer, behavior modification, Blue Can Pure Water, Carnes, church and state, Cool Tools, Craig Venter, dollar a day, dragon slayers, Eben Bayer, Ecovative, Ecuador v Chevron, education report card, Elance, Farley, fire management, Fogg, freedom or religion, geriatrician interview, Gerlach, Gunpowder Magazine, Harrell, health survey, investing, J Craig Venter, job satisfaction, Joy Luck Club, KathleenSebelius, Kelly, Kevin Kelly, Lago Agrio, lung transplant, Malaria research, marijuana, Massive Online Open Course, Miami Gardens, MOOC with lab, Neil Gaiman, New Orleans Fire Department, Nicholas Carnes, Nora Volkow, NYC Public Health, organ donors Canada, Persuasive Technology Lab, Perto Rico economy, physician assisten suicide, physics, public health, Pulse Magazine, Regina Harrell, Richard Slotkin, Sandman, Sebelius, skin cell gun, Slotkin, stop and frisk, styrofoam hazard, suicide, Syria conflict, t-shirt cost, teenage drug use, this week in law, Thomas Farley, TWIL, Venter, Volkow, white-collar government, Whole Earth Catalog, Wired Magazine, working class politicians Leave a comment
Media Mining Digest 49 – Oct 19, 2012: Whistleblowing, Alzheimer's Patients, Mental Health in Developing Countries, Iran Currency Crisis, Avon in Africa, Corruption in South Africa, Ocean Preservation, Charisma, Acne Research, Podcasting Basics, Science Simulations, Debt, Poverty, Community Broadband, Stop and Frisk, Contraceptives, Slow Medicine, Civil Politics, Nigeria Sues Shell, Education Status
The following audio files were selected from a larger group of 178 for the last week. The link to each podcast is at the highlighted topic and reached by double-clicking or ctrl-clicking the topic. All 23 podcasts converted to 1.5x speed … Continue reading
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text:
Captain John VanBilliard
7 April 1803-12 Sep 1875
I am posting about two of the obituaries published about one of my Paternal 3rd Great Grandfathers. The first, from Bethlehem's Daily Times, was published the afternoon after he died. It is only the first paragraph of what went on to be his entire life story. I just think the language is so noteworthy. The second one I just found on Genealogy Bank. It was published 14 Sep 1875 in the New York Commercial Advertiser. They seemed to publish the obituaries of "Prominent Men" from everywhere in "The Death Roll"
Capt. John Van Billiard.
It becomes our painful duty to day to announce to our readers the death of Capt. John Van Billiard, one among the oldest and highly esteemed burghers of the borough of Freemansburg. The event, which will be unlooked for, and the sad intelligence will be received by hosts of acqnantances with mingled feelings of sorrow and regret, took place at the old homestead, the well known hostelry, The Eagle Hotel, Freemansburg, At 7:15 last (Sunday) evening.Captain John Van Billiard, a prominent citizen of Freemasburg, died at his residence at a quarter past seven o'clock P.M. Sunday. The deceased was injured six years ago by a spirited horse and never thoroughly recovered.


text:
More than 300 scientists will gather this weekend at MIT for the first international workshop devoted exclusively to exploring this simple idea: Approach diseases such as cancer and diabetes with an engineer's mind-set, including thinking about cells as if they were software and hardware that can be rewired, debugged, programmed, and hacked.
Until recently, the audacious quest to build new forms of life had focused mostly on small-scale tinkering, such as building useful bacteria. But powerful new tools that allow researchers to edit the genes of mammalian cells, including human cells, have brought the field of synthetic biology to a turning point and a new emphasis on major human health problems.
"Every cell in the body has DNA and chromosomes and so on; you can think of that as the operating system of the cell," said Ron Weiss, director of the synthetic biology center at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the workshop organizer. "We're thinking about how do we create additional patches, program updates, little apps. Over the last several years, there's been almost an explosion in interest in what is possible in mammalian synthetic biology."
Any therapies are years away, but possible future applications range from the far-out to the practical.
Pamela Silver, a professor of systems biology at Harvard Medical School, envisions an extra, artificial chromosome that could carry custom-made genes to protect against disease or act as bodily sentinels, detecting threats. Weiss has built a biological circuit, a sort of biological computer made of DNA, that could be used to detect whether a cell is cancerous, and then unleash a lethal attack if it detects cancer. Others are more focused on short-term goals, such as improving the manufacture of vaccines.
Weiss hopes that the meeting will function similarly to a 2004 conference, Synthetic Biology 1.0. That gathering, also held at MIT, helped establish the field of synthetic biology — the effort to design and construct new biological machinery to change the capabilities of organisms — which has now become one of the hottest areas of biology.
The focus of much of the science has been on industrial applications. Companies hoping to reap the rewards of custom-built microbes have invested in it to build organisms that secrete biofuels or produce a key ingredient needed to make a malaria drug. Do-it-yourself genome hackers have been inspired by the idea that basic biological parts could be used to build new organisms.
The hope is that extending the techniques to mammalian cells will allow synthetic biologists to work on human health. The conference will include the traditional leaders of the field, some of them renegade engineers, computer scientists, or physicists who began working on biological systems over the past decade or two. But there will also be top scientists who use more traditional approaches to do research on stem cells, cancer, and diabetes.
"It's better to build the community than reinvent the wheel," said George Church, a genetics professor at Harvard Medical School and a leader in the field. "I hope they get excited about this."
Earlier this year, Church published a paper in the journal Science demonstrating the latest in a string of new tools that allow scientists to precisely edit spots in the genome, making cuts and inserting new genetic material. The new technique, called CRISPR, is cheaper and easier to use than other methods. Last week, stem cell biologist Rudolf Jaenisch from the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge showed that the approach could be used to rapidly edit the genome on a large scale, creating mutations in five genes in mice. The technique took only about a month, compared with traditional methods that would take more than a year.
The conference is a sign that the field is maturing and its tools are improving, said James J. Collins, a biomedical engineer from Boston University.
"Most of us who entered the field or launched the field were amateurs at best at molecular biology," Collins said. Now, however, he has grown more interested in human health.
As the science has advanced, so has the debate about the safety and ethics of creating synthetic organisms. Over the years, various efforts have been made to draft guidelines for how synthetic biology can proceed safely. At the end of 2010, the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues issued a report on how such research should be conducted. The Hastings Center, a nonprofit focused on bioethical issues, has examined the ethical questions raised.
Much of the worry has focused on the possibility that engineered life, such as a microbe designed to combat an oil spill, could escape into the environment and wreak havoc or that someone could use the tools to create harmful pathogens.
Mammalian synthetic biology is so new, said Thomas Murray, president emeritus of the Hastings Center, that the ethical conversation has not yet caught up.
"I'll be honest, I don't have a settled view on this," he said. But Murray said he believes that synthetic biology will begin to have an effect on human life much more indirectly; long before synthetic biologists are actually proposing to alter cells in living people, they will have created cells that can alter human health by other means.
For example, it has become clear that health depends not only on a person's own cells, but on many billions of microbes that live in and on us.
Collins, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is engineering probiotic bacteria, like the ones found in yogurt, that can detect molecules created by cholera. If the bacteria detect cholera, they would start churning out an antimicrobial protein that targets the germ.
Carolyn Y. Johnson can be reached at cjohnson@
globe.com. Follow her on
Twitter @carolynyjohnson.