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It's hardly page-turning literature, but there are many reasons why you should read these documents before making any property purchase:
- Title abstract
- Title insurance policy and schedule of exclusions
- Plat or a survey while you walk the property boundaries
- Homeowners' association documents (bylaws, board of directors minutes, etc.)
What if you inspected a foreclosure, and everything about it looked great, especially the two parking spaces on the side of the house? Everything was so perfect you didn't look at the county plat or take the time to have a survey done -- you simply rushed to buy it. Then, a week after closing, you show up and there's a fence closing off the parking spaces you thought were part of your land -- turns out they weren't. The neighbor let the previous owner use those spaces because they were friends. You? You're out of luck
Or, what if you bought a house and the previous owner had given a recorded easement to the neighbor to use your driveway? In this case your neighbor -- whom you might like now, but who knows about the future -- has the absolute right to park in your driveway, drive across it and work on his car in it.
Or, what if there was a significant restriction on your property, recorded in the property chain of title? Perhaps you're required to clip your trees so they don't block the neighbor's view, or there's a height restriction on new construction.
Or, maybe someone else owns the subsurface (oil, water, minerals, natural gas) rights to your land and has the right to drill for them from an adjacent property?
Or, perhaps the parking spaces you received in your new condominium garage were also given to another unit?
These are all real situations that occur on real properties. In fact, I've either read about or personally been apprised of each one of these issues within the past two years.
The hard truth is: In almost every circumstance listed, the potential for trouble would have surfaced if the new owners had read important documents before purchasing their property. You may decide you can live with a restriction, but wouldn't you like to know about it before you make the decision to purchase?
When you buy a property through a multiple listing service transaction, the escrow company will generally provide you with documents relating to the legal rights and responsibilities that come along with your purchase. It may also provide a plat of the property showing its boundaries (or in some areas you may need to have a survey done).
The title insurance company will provide an insurance policy stating that the seller has the right to sell it to you -- with some exclusions to the policy. That's the Schedule of Exclusions, and you need to read and review the issues noted on it. You should also fully review all of homeowners' association documents.
You, as the buyer, will generally receive all these documents in an inch-thick packet of papers after you are going into escrow. Read them. Get together with your real estate sales professional, title insurance officer and, if necessary, your lawyer. Protect yourself.
You are making one of the most expensive and complicated purchases you will ever make. A little reading, review and research will go a long way toward reducing the chances of something going wrong.
- How to Vet an Investment Property
- Buying? Use This Checklist to Avoid Surprises
- Demystifying HOA Fees and Special Assessments
Leonard Baron, MBA, CPA, is a San Diego State University Lecturer, a guest blogger on Zillow.com, the author of several books including "Real Estate Ownership, Investment and Due Diligence 101," and loves kicking the tires of a good piece of dirt! See more at ProfessorBaron.com.
Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Zillow.


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Oil executives face House lawmakers
After a Senate grilling, executives from the nation's largest oil companies take more congressional heat on fuel prices.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The debate over who is to blame for high gas prices continued on Capitol Hill Thursday as executives from the nation's largest oil companies returned to face more questions from House lawmakers.
The House Judiciary Committee's Task Force on Competition Policy and Antitrust Laws held a hearing to investigate competition in the oil industry on the day crude topped $135 a barrel for the first time. The Task Force heard testimony from the top brass of ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM, Fortune 500), ConocoPhillips Co. (COP, Fortune 500), Shell Oil Co. (RDS.A), Chevron Corp. (CVX, Fortune 500) and BP (BP).
"This record runup in prices threatens grave economic damage to the U.S. and the world economy, and will no doubt have life or death consequences for many of the world's most impoverished peoples," Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., who chairs the Task Force, said in prepared remarks.
Senate lawmakers grilled the same executives Wednesday, pressing them to justify how their companies can make enormous profits while American households struggle with high gas prices.
Partisan tone: Thursday's hearing took a partisan tone even before the executives testified.
In opening remarks, House Republicans argued that Congress has "locked up" the nation's oil reserves by preventing oil companies from drilling domestically in environmentally sensitive areas.
Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, said these policies have forced America to depend on foreign imports and to "rely on the mood of third-world dictators" and the "choppy waters of OPEC."
"Democrats have interfered continuously against our efforts to bring down gas prices," said Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah. "The availability of oil is vast," he said. Congress should "get out of the way of industry and let them get on with producing oil."
Cannon also remarked that the issue of high gas prices is complicated and that he is "not sure Americans understand it."
That comment prompted a sharp reply from Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, D-Fla., who said "it is that kind of patronizing attitude that has shaken Americans' confidence in their government."
Congress has given the oil industry "more permits than it know what to do with," Wasserman-Schultz said. "We're not tying their hands," she added.
Economic factors. The executives said fundamental economic factors beyond their control are driving oil and gas prices higher.
Strong demand from developing countries, a weak dollar, high input costs, speculative investment, stiff global competition and geopolitical issues are all driving oil prices, they said.
"We alone can't change the conditions that brought us here. Energy companies, policymakers and consumers all have a role to play in creating a new energy future for the U.S.," Robert Malone, president of BP America, said in prepared testimony for Thursday.
American oil companies compete in a "vast global market place," where large, government-owned oil companies with nationalized resources "dominate the top spots," J. Stephen Simon, senior vice president of ExxonMobil told lawmakers.
As the price of crude has surged and U.S. oil companies have been denied access to domestic reserves, refiners have been forced to pass on higher input costs to consumers, he said.
Refinery capacity. Democratic lawmakers questioned whether the oil companies have done enough to increase refinery capacity.
"We have an administration that is refusing to do anything to expand the capacity that we have except more and more drilling, and that is not the answer," Wasserman-Schultz said.
Increasing refinery capacity would add more product to the market and would held bring gas prices down. But Democrats argue that oil companies have been reluctant to invest in refinery capacity, which is suggestive of price fixing.
"I can't say that there's evidence that you are manipulating the price, but I believe that you probably are," Rep. Wasserman-Schultz said.
Simon maintained that new refineries are not necessary and that the oil industry has expanded capacity at existing facilities "commensurate with demand."
"The market is working - I know it's painful - but it's working," he said.
Unconscionable profits. Though their profits are high "in absolute terms," Simon said ExxonMobil, and other oil companies, have tight profit margins.
But Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., argued that oil industry profits are "unconscionable" and that oil companies are "gouging the American public."
In response, the executives said most of their profits are reinvested into their companies to help boost production, which will ultimately puts "downward pressure" on gas prices.
Cohen pointed out that ExxonMobil reported a $40.6 billion profit last year, the largest profit in U.S. history, and the company's former president received a "$400 million retirement package."
Simon disputed the $400 million number and said that executive compensation is determined by an independent board and is comparable to other industries.
Limited access: Opening access to restricted oil resources was a common refrain during the hearing.
To reduce the price of gas, Congress should "commit to the U.S., and people around the world, that we will resolve this issue of restricting supply once and for all," said John Hofmeister, president of Shell.
Showing a willingness to exploit domestic resources would send an important signal and would "knock the futures market on its head," Hofmeister said. In other words, it would discourage traders from bidding up the price of oil based on a perception of tight supplies in the future.
A proposed gas tax holiday, which is aimed at providing temporary relief from high prices, was roundly rejected by the oilmen, who said it would spur demand and exacerbate prices.
Congressional moves: Gas prices have become an increasingly important political issue as the nation's economy slows and family budgets are crimped by the rising cost of driving.
Congress voted overwhelmingly last week to order President Bush to stop deliveries to the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve for six months, in an effort to alleviate high gas prices. The House also recently passed a bill that would allow the Justice Department to sue OPEC.
Earlier this month, Senate Democrats called for a temporary windfall profits tax on oil companies and a rollback of $17 billion in oil industry tax breaks as part of an energy package. But the effort met with stiff resistance from Republicans.


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Southwind Rigid Plus *6001P Farmhouse Brown*
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Southwind Rigid Plus Farmhouse Brown Luxury Vinyl Plank is a great option. Especially for busy homes with children or pets. It is scratch resistant and waterproof. It also has an attached padding for noise reduction! This means it's suitable flooring for not only your kitchen or bathrooms. It's also great for your basement. Farmhouse Brown is affordable. Contact us for pallet pricing or special pricing.
The 20 mil wear layer makes Southwind Rigid Plus Farmhouse Brown good for commercial installs as well. Which is why it has 10 Year Commercial Warranty. As an SPC, this floor is dimensionally stable. Especially when compared to hardwood or laminate flooring. The uniform dimensions of the planks leads to shorter install times. Installers should remember to keep the floor staggered randomly. This would help make the most use of the floor planks. See below for install directions.
As a rule of thumb, SPC floors help keep down noise levels. They are soft underfoot but durable for everyday use. This flooring product has a realistic texture and holds up well against toys and pet claws. All around Southwind Rigid Plus is a comfortable option that would go well in most homes. Farmhouse Brown goes well with both modern and traditional home designs. The locking joint ensures this product will hold up against gapping. Please ensure you do proper prep prior to install.
More Info:
Indoor Air Quality Certificates Maintenance InformationSouthwind Warranty Information Installation & Maintenance Instructions
Install Instructions:
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- Ensure floor is clean, flat, and RH levels are within spec.
- Bring in your flooring 48 hours prior to install.
- Under cut all door jams and remove all baseboards.
- Find your starting point
- Snap a chalk line to verify if starting wall is square
- Keep a 1/4" gap all around your installation
- Use a tapping block to put flooring together.
- Use a scoring knife to make your straight cuts.
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- Joints should be clear of debris before inserting into installed floor.
- Use a Swiffer to remove dust.
- Reinstall baseboards
- Caulk entryways, toilets, and bathtub connections.
Brand: Southwind
Model Number: R060D-6001P
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Application: Commercial,Residential
Characteristics: Woodgrain
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5 free things to do in Monaco
MONTE CARLO, Monaco (AP) — Just before noon on a brilliant Riviera day, two columns of guards line up smartly in front of the Prince's Palace, gold braid glinting on their full dress uniforms, vivid blue helmets rivaling the azure sky.
A bell tolls as the guards put on what may be the world's most glamorous shift change, marching and presenting arms with practiced precision as a crowd of tourists standing just feet away Instagram the moment.
The best part? Watching this piece of royal pageantry won't cost you a sou.
Sure, Monaco's known as the "millionaire's playground," and it's easy to see why, from the multimillion-dollar penthouses and high-roller casinos to the fleets of Bentleys and Ferraris roaming the narrow streets. But you don't have to break the bank at Monte Carlo to have fun in Monaco. Here are some things to do that will cost you as much as Monegasques (as the locals are called) pay in income tax. Which is to say, zero.
Monaco is a principality covering less than 1 square mile (2.6 square kilometers) on the French Riviera, near Nice. (If you're car-less, you can get here by the No. 100 bus from Nice for under $2.) Set on a narrow strip of land bordered by France on three sides and the Mediterranean on the other, Monaco can be reached by three scenic roads, the Basse Corniche (low coast road), the Moyenne Corniche (middle coast road) and the Grande Corniche (great coast road). Fans of the Hitchcock classic "To Catch a Thief" may recognize the Grande Corniche as one of the roads Grace Kelly and Cary Grant drive along. Tragically, Kelly, who famously married Monaco's Prince Rainier and became Princess Grace of Monaco, died in a car crash near the Grande Corniche in 1982.
A key stop on your Monaco visit is the Prince's Palace in Monaco-ville, the old city perched on a rocky promontory known, logically, as Rocher de Monaco or "the Rock." At 11:55 a.m. each day you can see the changing of the guard on the square in front of the palace; http://www.palais.mc . Line up early if you want a good view; this is popular. In winter, the guards wear dark uniforms, in summer, white. As you walk into the square, look for the statue of Francesco Grimaldi, who dressed as a monk to lead a surprise raid on the castle in the 13th century.
After you're done with the guards, follow the signs to the Monaco Cathedral nearby. Here you'll find the tombs of past members of the ruling Grimaldi family including those of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace (4 rue Colonel Bellando de Castro; free admission outside of religious services 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m., 6 p.m. in winter).
Another must-see is the Monte Carlo Casino. (Monte Carlo is one of 10 districts within Monaco.) Going into the gaming room will cost you 10 euros and, incidentally, you'll need to be well-dressed and carrying a passport to show you're not a Monaco resident since they are banned. But it costs nothing to walk around the lobby, with its marble flooring, columns, sculptures and pictures; http://www.montecarlocasinos.com , open from 2 p.m. daily.
Also free, taking a picture beside one of the posh cars to be found parked outside the ornate, Belle Epoque building. Check out the sculpture, "Sky Mirror," facing the casino, a large, circular mirror that reflects the building and nearby Café de Paris.
Home to about 32,000 people, Monaco is largely urban. But there are a number of parks that provide green oases where you can stop to smell the flowers or rest up on a convenient bench. The St. Martin Gardens, just below the Monaco Cathedral, are nice to walk in after you've visited that building; 2 Avenue Saint Martin. http://www.visitmonaco.com/en/Places-to-visit/Gardens/St-Martin-Gardens . Come here for views of the Mediterranean and check out the statuary, including a larger-than-life rendition of Albert I as a navigator looking out to sea.
Another good place to find respite is the Japanese Garden not far from the Monte Carlo Casino. Inspired by Zen Buddhism, the garden includes a waterfall and stream; Avenue Princesse Grace, open 9 a.m.-sunset, http://www.visitmonaco.com/en/Places-to-visit/Gardens/JapaneseGarden2 .
You're going to need a rather expensive car, along with a few other requirements, to compete in the Grand Prix de Monaco held in May. But walking the course the rest of the year? That's not going to cost you a dime. Stop by the Monaco tourism center, 2a Boulevard des Moulins, to pick up a free map of the route, a circuit of approximately 2 miles (3.2 kilometers). The route passes the Monte Carlo Casino, the famous hairpin turn in front of the Fairmont, formerly the Loews Hotel Monte-Carlo, and the bottom half of the circuit hugs the coast with views of yacht-studded harbors.
There's no border checkpoint to pass through when visiting Monaco. But if you want an official memento of your visit, you can get your passport stamped at the tourism office, a short walk from the Monte Carlo casino. A cut above the bland insignias of many countries, the stamp is of the Monaco coat of arms which features two sword-wielding monks in honor of the wily Francesco Grimaldi.
Maybe you'll go home feeling as cunning as old Francesco. After all, you've sampled the gilded streets of Monaco without parting with a copper.


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by David Crane defrev at gmail.com DefenseReview readers are well aware that we've been following the Pinnacle Armor Dragon Skin body armor vs. U.S. Army Interceptor Body Armor Program for quite some time, now. As you also know, the Pinnacle Armor vs. U.S. Army situation subsequently resulted in the Departiment of Justice (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP) pulling (i.e. …Read More »
Tag Archives: pinnacle armor sov
Dragon Skin Armor Passes More Tests: Dr. Gary Roberts and 'Test Lab' Video
by David Crane [email protected] On September 15 (2006), DefenseReview reported on Pinnacle Armor's SOV-2000 Dragon Skin panels passing all NIJ Level III test protocols and requirements for flexible armor systems (anti-rifle body armor). Well, SOV-2000 Dragon Skin has just passed another fairly tough ballistic test, this one performed by Dr. Gary Roberts, who has been following the Dragon Skin vs. …Read More »
DefRev Update: Pinnacle Armor SOV-2000 Dragon Skin (NIJ Level III) Body Armor
by David Crane [email protected] In addition to recently passing the NIJ requirements for Level III Flexible Body Armor, Pinnacle Armor SOV-2000 Dragon Skin body armor (NIJ Level III) just passed some real-world ballistic testing by Dr. Gary Roberts, and we plan on publishing information on Dr. Roberts' results very shortly. So, stay tuned…Read More »
Dragon Skin Body Armor (SOV-2000) Passes all NIJ Level III Tests at USTL
by David Crane [email protected] This just in: Pinnacle Armor, Inc.'s SOV-2000 Dragon Skin has just passed all NIJ Level III ballistic testing/requirements at USTL (United States Test Laboratory). Official NIJ Level III certification should come in approx. 3-4 weeks, but it will come. Pinnacle Armor company officials have told us that it's a done deal. This is BIG news for …Read More »
U.S. Military Body Armor Saga Enters New Phase: New Trouble for Interceptor?
by David Crane david at defensereview.com For the last few months, DefenseReview has been writing about the Pinnacle Armor SOV/Dragon Skin vs. Interceptor Body Armor fight. We consider this situation to be one of the most important developing news stories in the country, as it directly impacts the lives/survivability of our infantry warfighters. As the situtation has progressed, DefenseReview (DefRev) …Read More »
U.S. Air Force Sets the Record Straight on Dragon Skin Body Armor
by David Crane david at defensereview.com In our latest article on Pinnacle Armor SOV/Dragon Skin body armor, DefenseReview discussed the extensive and unrefutable (unclassified) ballistic test data on Dragon Skin that we recently viewed with our own eyes. This data was compiled by three different well-known ballistic test centers (ATC, USTL, and H.P. White). In fact, to my knowledge, I …Read More »
DefRev Sees Test Data: Dragon Skin Hands-Down Superior to Army's Interceptor
by David Crane david at defensereview.com Defense Review has confirmed it. Just as we expected, Pinnacle Armor SOV-2000 (Level III/III+) and SOV-3000 (Level IV) Dragon Skin body armor appears to be significantly superior in every combat-relavant way to U.S. Army PEO Soldier's and U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center (NSC)/Soldier Systems Center's Interceptor Body Armor, which is comprised of the following components: …Read More »
Pinnacle Armor Responds to U.S. Army SOUM and Gen. Sorenson
by David Crane defrev at gmail.com On April 5, 2006, DefenseReview published the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense news transcript (Unclassified) of Major General Jeffrey Sorenson's News Briefing on Pinnacle Armor Dragon Skin body Armor and the Safety of Use Message (SOUM) relating to it. In his news briefing Mr. Sorenson made a …Read More »
Interceptor vs. Dragon Skin: Body Armor Fight Gets Ugly
by David Crane [email protected] Everyone who's been following the U.S. Army's body armor drama involving Interceptor body armor program vs. SOV/Dragon Skin body armor is probably already aware that U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center (Natick)/Natick Soldier Center and PEO Soldier (Program Executive Office Soldier) have essentially declared war on Pinnacle Armor. According to Major General Jefferey A. Sorenson, Deputy for …Read More »
DefRev Exclusive Video: Pinnacle Armor SOV/Dragon Skin Gets Live-Fire Tested
by David Crane [email protected] The following article contains links to video clips of Pinnacle Armor Dragon Skin/SOV body armor being live-fire tested against 7.62x39mm military ball ammo (FMJ) and 9mm military ball ammo (9x19mm FMJ) at short distances. As our readers know, DefenseReview has been reporting on the Pinnacle Armor SOV/Dragon Skin body armor vs. Interceptor Body Armor for a …Read More »


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DOVER, Del. — Thirty-five years ago, funeral directors in Delaware struggled to quickly bury and cremate the remains of more than 900 people who died in a suicide-murder in Jonestown, Guyana, many of them Peoples Temple followers who drank cyanide-laced punch.
Some bodies that arrived back in the U.S. at Dover Air Force Base in 1978 were claimed by families. Some were cremated. Others were buried in a mass grave in California.
On Thursday, officials revealed that not all had been brought to a final resting place. The cremated remains of nine Jonestown victims were discovered in a decrepit, now-shuttered funeral home in Dover, officials said. The discovery reopened wounds.
"All the survivors in touch with me are traumatized because that door had been closed," said Jonestown survivor Laura Johnston Kohl, now a retired teacher from San Diego.
"Whatever journey the ashes took in the U.S. is secondary. The first issue is how do we settle it to make sure the ashes are where they belong … at Evergreen where everybody is," she said, referring to the cemetery that is the site of the mass grave.
Hundreds of children and a U.S. congressman died at Jonestown, and 911 decomposing bodies were brought to Dover Air Force Base, home to the U.S. military's largest mortuary. The base has handled mass casualties of both military personnel and civilians from wars, the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon and the NASA Challenger and Columbia space shuttle missions.
As the bodies were identified, the military asked about a half-dozen local funeral homes to help the families make arrangements.
Last week, though, the ashes of nine victims were found neatly packaged and clearly marked, with the names of the deceased and place of their death included on accompanying death certificates, the Delaware Division of Forensic Science said Thursday. No names were released publicly because relatives hadn't been notified.
"It's just so sad, for me as a survivor," said Yulanda Williams, 58, now a sergeant with the San Francisco Police Department. Williams spent a decade with the Peoples Temple, including three months in Jonestown, named after the group's founder, Jim Jones. She left with her 8-month-old daughter before the massacre.
"You consistently wind up finding yourself trying to heal but having your wounds opened up again when new information is given," she said.
"We would do what they wanted, either cremation or send the bodies back home. Most of them were sent back home," said funeral director William Torbert Sr., 79.
Funeral directors say it is not uncommon for family members to never retrieve cremated remains.
The Jonestown remains were found at the former Minus Funeral Home after the property's current owner, a bank, called, according to Dover police and public records. They also found 24 other containers of marked, identified remains, and five containers of remains they could not immediately identify, said Kimberly Chandler, spokeswoman for the Delaware Division of Forensic Science.
The dilapidated former funeral home in Dover had a padlock on the double front doors. The building showed few signs of its former use, although a floral design was etched in glass panes at the entrance. Dead vines hung from the building's white plaster walls, and cracked windows were repaired with blue tape.
Jones ran the Peoples Temple in San Francisco in the early 1970s. He founded a free health clinic and a drug rehabilitation program, emerging as a political force. But allegations of wrongdoing mounted, and Jones moved the settlement to Guyana, the only English-speaking country in South America. Hundreds of followers moved.
On Nov. 18, 1978, on a remote jungle airstrip, gunmen from the group ambushed and killed U.S. Rep. Leo Ryan of California, three newsmen and a defector from the group. All were visiting Jonestown on a fact-finding mission to investigate reports of abuses of members.
Jones then orchestrated a ritual of mass murder and suicide at the group's nearby agricultural commune, ordering followers to drink cyanide-laced grape punch. Most complied, although survivors described some people being shot, injected with poison, or forced to drink the deadly beverage when they tried to resist.
Many of the bodies were decomposed and could not be identified. Several cemeteries refused to take them until the Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, California, stepped forward in 1979 and accepted 409 bodies.
The remaining victims were cremated or buried in family cemeteries over the period of several months following the massacre.
Associated Press writers David Dishneau in Hagerstown, Maryland; Scott Smith in Fresno, California; and Amanda Kell in Washington contributed to this report.


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Most of us are forced by cultural circumstances to say far more about homosexuality than we would like. Because of the persistent moral challenge presented by gay advocacy, most of what we have to say is negative. This troubles me because it is just another burden for those with homosexual inclinations who are committed to living chastely in accordance with the teachings of Christ and His Church. So I'd like to take time out from the culture wars to look at things from the perspective of these courageous men and women, to whom I believe we owe a significant debt.
Sexuality is an important part of our identity as persons. By this I mean primarily the question of whether we are male or female, which is part of the core definition of who we are. I do not mean that our sexual inclinations are part of our self-definition in the same sense. Inclinations, however deep-seated, do not define us for the simple reason that we can master them. For example, I cannot change the fact that I am male no matter how much self-mastery I attain, but I can control to a considerable extent how my maleness expresses itself and I can even alter over time the degree to which I am subject to the temptations that typically afflict males. Yes, my inclinations are part of me. But they do not define me.
At the same time, sexual inclinations play a huge role in our lives because they are so closely linked to our core identities. The Catechism of the Catholic Church puts this nicely in number 2332: "Sexuality affects all aspects of the human person in the unity of his body and soul. It especially concerns affectivity, the capacity to love and to procreate, and in a more general way the aptitude for forming bonds of communion with others." The Catechism goes on to say that we should "acknowledge and accept" our sexual "identity"— that is, our maleness or femaleness:
Physical, moral, and spiritual difference and complementarity are oriented toward the goods of marriage and the flourishing of family life. The harmony of the couple and of society depends in part on the way in which the complementarity, needs, and mutual support between the sexes are lived out. (2333)
Trial and Cross
For the overwhelming majority of men and women, it is one of the more significant moral, spiritual and psychological projects of life to integrate, control and channel a broad set of sexual inclinations which essentially fit this natural model, this model of complementarity and mutual support between men and women. Some may voluntarily deny direct physical expression of this complementarity, adopting virginity for the sake of the Kingdom; others may do so because they do not have the opportunity for marriage and they wish to be chaste. Clearly, both situations can be challenging, and the acceptance of an involuntary single state can be a heavy cross.
But a person with homosexual inclinations faces an even greater challenge. He or she must not merely integrate, control and channel sexual inclinations, but must largely deny them altogether, not only in their physical expression, but also in a far broader range of affectivity which is conditioned even in small ways by sexual interplay: Heightened interest, a sense of romance, a special tenderness. It is true that a celibate priest must be very careful of what we might call sexually-tinged affectivity, on the altogether sound theory that one thing leads to another. But the person with persistent homosexual inclinations must suppress or redirect such inclinations to an even greater extent. This is an enormous challenge.
Now consider such a person in a culture which is pressing full tilt for the embrace, approval and even glorification of this same affectivity which he is called by Christ to suppress or redirect. And finally, consider him (or her) in a subculture of chastity in which he must constantly hear arguments against the positions of gays (i.e., those who advocate a specifically homosexual lifestyle), arguments which are sometimes clumsily expressed in ways which denigrate "homosexuals" generally and which, even if they are not clumsy, keep his conflicted sexual inclinations ever before his mind. In this subculture of chastity—hopefully a Christian subculture—others may find relief from their long, wearying preoccupation with their sexual defenses, but not he.
Which of us, in our wildest flights of sacrificial piety, would beg God for this particular cross?
Perception and Disorder
In a cultural vacuum, it ought to be relatively easy to understand intellectually that homosexual inclinations are disordered. It ought to be fairly clear that the sexual faculties are both naturally ordered to the propagation and preservation of the species and supernaturally ordered toward a kind of union among man, woman and child which mirrors the essential fecundity of Divine love. When one notices that one's own sexual inclinations do not tend toward this sort of union and fecundity—or even this ability to reproduce—then one can perceive a very definite disorder in those inclinations. There may be something one can do to alter them; they may be a very confused set of inclinations which are bound up with past experiences or habits, and so amenable to change as one comes to terms with these experiences or habits. Or there may be no way to eliminate the inclinations at all. Nonetheless, that they are disordered can be intellectually grasped.
But we are fallen, and our intellects are dark, and the predominant ideas of our surrounding culture often darken them even more. It can be very difficult to see what ought to be obvious. In our own culture, sexuality is commonly viewed from the point of view of the immediate pleasure it can provide; its deeper meanings and longer-term consequences are typically ignored. Most people slip into a lifestyle based on this relatively superficial understanding of sexuality through the practice of contraception, which distorts the nature of sexuality and seems to permit a more casual definition. This is why, in treating the question of contraception within marriage, the Catechism quotes John Paul II's Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio (On the Family):
Thus the innate language that expresses the total reciprocal self-giving of husband and wife is overlaid, through contraception, by an objectively contradictory language, namely, that of not giving oneself totally to the other. This leads not only to a positive refusal to be open to life but also to a falsification of the inner truth of conjugal love, which is called upon to give itself in personal totality…. The difference, both anthropological and moral, between contraception and recourse to the rhythm of the cycle…involves in the final analysis two irreconcilable concepts of the human person and of human sexuality. (Cat 2370; FC 32))
A culture which is built upon the premise that the meaning of sexuality is exhausted by its ability to be manipulated for immediate pleasure does not lend itself to informed intellectual judgments about what is or is not disordered. The question simply doesn't arise. Our culture, therefore, is an enormous barrier to the self-understanding of all men and women, and it places particular obstacles in the paths of those who are trying to understand, alter or at least live at peace with their inclinations toward other persons of the same sex.
Affective Reach
Those of us whose human affectivity is not rendered fundamentally problematic by the disorder of homosexual inclinations may find it difficult to perceive just how deeply and in what a far-reaching way our affectivity colors our entire lives and all of our relationships. We all must learn to control our likes and dislikes, our emotional reactions, our tendencies to favor some persons and ignore others, the way we pay compliments, the amount of flirting that is acceptable, and the degree to which we permit attractions that are at least partially sexual to color our behavior. We also learn to shape the expression of our masculinity or femininity in various ways, smoothing rough edges, exercising restraint, suiting ourselves to the situation.
For those with a properly ordered heterosexual affectivity, there is a general subconscious delight in the interplay between male and female, a sense of difference and complementarity and joyful mystery. On those occasions when we act inappropriately, the consequences may be unpleasant, but both our affective range and our mistakes are generally understood. We may have to learn to behave differently—to guide and channel our affectivity more suitably and more productively—but we do not have to suspect, reject or alter its basic orientation. Though our sexuality colors and influences much or most of what we do in subtle ways, there is nothing about it that we must fundamentally call into question or doubt.
This is not the case for those whose affectivity is persistently imbued with homosexual inclinations. The attractions they find natural, mysterious or even exhilarating will be perceived by most people as inexplicable or even repulsive. If one seeks comfort and solace in the company of the small minority who share these attractions, the dangers are obvious. Yet not to do so can force one to question one's affectivity at nearly every level. Why is so much of what I feel and how I interact with others imbued with a sexual pattern that others cannot understand and are likely to reject violently? Is my entire outlook, my entire attitude toward life and love fundamentally broken? Am I therefore incapable of love? Am I even unworthy of it?
Am I worthless? If our affectivity itself is suspect, how can this question fail to arise? I do not wish to exaggerate the issue. Even though every human difficulty can be assigned to some class, each difficulty remains above all personal. The depth and consistency of our feelings are very personal, and different people will surely experience the problem of homosexual inclinations in different ways, to different degrees, and with greater or lesser impact on larger concerns about their fundamental integrity and worth as human persons. In general, however, it seems fair to say that the question of self-worth must surface whenever the fundamental nature of one's own affectivity is called into question. Therefore, with this particular cross, the question is very likely to come up.
Affirmation and Mission
Some wonderful supporters of CatholicCulture.org have written to me about this, expressing something of their trials, their struggles, their hope and their faith. This has been inspirational for me, and I am even more convinced from such exchanges that whenever devastating questions arise in the mind and heart of anyone with persistent homosexual inclinations, these questions must be answered decisively—and without a moment's hesitation—in a way which affirms the person as one who is so beloved by God as to have been entrusted with a special mission.
The Catholic tradition is rich in understanding of victim souls, those who seem to have been put on this earth primarily to suffer physically, perhaps being ill or even paralyzed their whole life long, yet embracing a mission of love for souls, and growing into an intense and fruitful union with God. All of us, of course, are victim souls in smaller ways in that we each have our own crosses, which are so many opportunities for spiritual growth and cooperation with Christ: "In my flesh," says St. Paul, "I make up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of His body, the Church" (Col 1:24). So must we all, if we are Christians, and we should rejoice in the opportunity. Nonetheless, it is clear that some souls are singled out for a particularly obvious mission of redemptive suffering.
All of us are afflicted by deficiencies, defects and disorders in our human nature as a result of the Fall, but no deficiency, defect or disorder comes to any one of us by chance. In every case, then, these things are crosses to be embraced for our own good and the good of others. And in some cases, the particular deficiency, defect or disorder provides a signal opportunity. It is an opportunity to bear the cross as a witness to a particular aspect of Christian life which needs strengthening if souls are to grow and prosper in the love of God.
Now again, some persons may find that they can free themselves of homosexual inclinations through a change in lifestyle, through therapy, and through prayer. But it is nonetheless clear that as long as they are afflicted by this disorder, they are called to be chaste. Let us again consider the Catechism:
Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teaches them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection. (2359)
But note that something precious follows from this. Homosexual persons, by the very nature of their particular cross, must raise chastity to a special height, dealing not only with physical temptation but with the broad range of their own human affectivity. It follows that those who must suffer this disorder throughout their lives have been chosen by God to give a particular and exalted witness to the virtue of chastity. This is vocation as beautiful as it is arduous, and it is doubtful that its importance to our sex-saturated age can be overestimated.
One must be wary of using single terms to describe anyone, for such terms obscure more than they clarify even as they minimize the rich diversity of the human personality. But I will use the single term here for the first and only time in this essay: The homosexual is called to be a special and extraordinary witness to the triumph of love over feeling. There is in this, I think, an analogue to the dark night of the soul. It is Love Himself who calls the homosexual, perhaps in a special kind of darkness, and it is in Love alone—and not in feeling—that he will bring many souls to heaven in his wake.


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News•June 15, 2014
Refreezing Water Causes Weird Warps in Greenland's Ice
The flat, glistening, white expanse of the Greenland Ice Sheet, stretching out across hundreds of thousands of square miles, appears placid, unchanging … boring even. But this tranquil surface belies the turmoil taking place below, at the base of the ice sheet. There, scientists have discovered sections of ice up to a kilometer thick and tens of kilometers long where meltwater has refrozen to the base of the ice sheet, setting off a dynamic process that causes the layers of ice to build up over the eons and contort into sinuous folds.
Melting and refreezing at the bottom of ice sheets warps the layer-cake structure of the ice above, as seen in this radar image from Greenland.
Credit: Mike Wolovick
The refreezing and folding heats the surrounding ice, which impacts how it flows on its journey from the ice sheet's interior out to the ocean. Several of those regions coincide with the place where one glacier dramatically speeds up. Understanding what controls the behavior and flow of ice sheets and the glaciers within them is a key part of improving climate models that project what effects global warming might have on the ice and how that might impact sea level rise.
"What this shows is we have to go past just watching the surface," said Robin Bell, a climate researcher with Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and leader of a new study describing the strange sections of ice in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Peering Inside an Ice Sheet
Sections of refrozen ice were known to exist at the base of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is much thicker, larger and colder than the Greenland Ice Sheet, itself almost incomprehensibly large. Early radar measurements made by flights over Greenland hinted that something similar could be hiding under the surface there, but the data was too coarse and sparse to tell for sure. Some thought the radar signatures were the echoes of mountains trapped below the ice. But her experience in Antarctica had Bell "pretty convinced" that they were showing these "basal units" of refrozen meltwater.
She was able to confirm her suspicions when NASA's Operation IceBridge — a series of scientific flights taken across Earth's polar region, taking radar scans, measuring gravity and gathering other valuable data — were able to peer beneath the ice surface in greater detail and in side-by-side transects. Bell compared the difference between the early radar and the data from IceBridge to writing with a crayon and then with "a beautiful fine marker."
The radar data showed that while the surface of the ice sheet may appear "boring" during the hours and hours spent in a research plane, "when you can actually look inside the ice sheet, it's like, 'Wow'," she told Climate Central.
The flat topography of the Greenland Ice Sheet seen from a plane stands in sharp contrast to the jagged features found to be underlying much of the ice sheet.
Credit: Kirsty Tinto
"They did a commendable job of locating these features," said glaciologist Joe MacGregor, of the University of Texas, who was not involved in the research.
'Tortured Ice'
The basal units start with meltwater — a key influence on the flow of glaciers and ice sheets. Meltwater comes from two sources: It forms when the sun's rays shine on the surface of the ice sheet in the summer, creating pools that can then go cascading down huge conduits in the ice sheet called moulins, eventually winding its way to the ice sheet's base. It can also form at the base of the ice sheet as heat generated in Earth's interior warms the ice or as friction from the movement of the ice against the bedrocks causes it to melt.
Once there, two processes can also cause the meltwater to refreeze to the bottom of the ice sheet: "One is it just kind of cools slowly," Bell said. As if you took it and "just threw it in the freezer."
The other is a little more complicated. The movement of the meltwater is under the control of the glacier, which can cause the water to flow upslope on the underlying bedrock. This causes the water to become supercooled and it freezes instantly.
When the meltwater refreezes, Bell and her colleagues think that something that sounds a bit paradoxical happens: The freezing water gives off heat, which softens the surrounding ice and causes the layers of ice to warp to create what Bell calls "tortured ice."
An uplifted and deformed ice sheet in Greenland's fast flowing Petermann Glacier as seen in this radar image.
Credit: Mike Wolovick
The ice sheet is often described as a layer cake, made up of layers of ice that build over the eons as new snow is deposited at the top of the ice sheet, pushing down on older layers sitting underneath. The basal units throw this tidy arrangement into disarray, bending the layers and forcing older layers atop newer ones. These contortions can reach halfway up the thickness of the ice sheet.
"It's a pretty ugly cake if that's what it is," MacGregor said.
Next Steps
Bell and her team think the softening and warping of the ice sheet in these areas affects the ice sheet's flow there. The data Bell and her team examined shows that several of these units line up with the point where Greenland's Petermann Glacier speeds its flow.
"It does actually seem to affect how one of these glaciers is flowing," MacGregor said.
That match was a surprise to the team, but shows them that there are unanticipated processes controlling the flow of the ice, Bell and MacGregor both said, and the bottom of the ice sheet is more varied than previously thought.
It's too early to tell how this refreezing and its effects might factor into calculations of sea level rise, MacGregor said, but it does give scientists more insight into the workings of the whole ice sheet system.
Now, scientists need to model the processes at play to figure out exactly how it works and see if they can predict "where and when this process happens," Bell said. Whether the freezing is controlled by the meltwater, or the thickness of the ice overhead or perhaps by the cycling of the ice ages isn't known. "I officially say, 'We don't quite know yet'," Bell said.


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Dress: Onze; Shirt: c/o ModCloth; Knee Socks: H&M; Boots: c/o ModCloth; Glasses: c/o BonLook (Martha in Olive)
Anyway, this album is gold (well, really it's purple). I am a happy camper.
How very vintage. Lookin so cute.
For a while I was never sure how I felt about the knee high socks..you have changed my mind! Loved this!!ReplyDelete
I am dying to go to a record store and pick up some album's. We have vintage vinyl her in stl. I need to make a trip over there. But before that, I need a new needle for my record player. Do you know if you can order them onine? or is there a shop in springfield that sells them. I'm going to be down there in a couple of weeks.
How exciting! And I'm loving the dress! :)
AHHH...too awesome. I love Mazzy Star too!! Sweet to know there are some other super fans out there :)ReplyDelete
I had no idea Mazzy Star was coming out with a new album! Was very excited when you instagrammed it and am even more excited to be going to their show in November!! They're a band I never thought I'd get to see live!ReplyDelete
That's awesome! I love that you named your kid after Hope! :)
Are you kidding me!??? REALLY??? I think there last album came out in the mid 90's! I had no idea they were still even playing together. (I guess I've become completely secluded and un-cool in my momdom).
anyways, LOVE it! (and now have it streaming ... thanks to the magic of the internet)
I have never heard of Mazzy Star. Just listened to Flowers in December though and I think I'm in love!
This outfit is so cute. -Hanna MarieReplyDelete
Yay! how exciting when your favourite band brings out new music! I still have the same favourite band as when I was a teenager too, I love them a lot and have just bought their newest album too
I was more of a Portishead girl in high school, but I totally know how you feel. Super cute outfit--I love the knee socks!ReplyDelete
I adore this outfit, and I think you nerding out over this is adorable, and sharing it with us is even better. Of course I did name my dog after Howl Jenkins of Howl's Moving Castle.
Fashion and Happy Things
Great outfit. I have a couple of bands which make me feel like that oo!
Rosie x | Every Word Handwritten
Adorable. I love her too.ReplyDelete
cute outfit!
adorable! There is nothing better than buying a new pretty record :)ReplyDelete
I recently got my own record player and I have loved filling up my stock of records! So fun! I will have to check them out.
Love your outfit.
Leah Faye
a clover and a bee
that dress is adorable! xx
Alice Barton ♥ TheMowWay
I want it because it's Mazzy Star.
I want it a second time cause the vinyl is in a PERFECT "Prince Purple!"
I love your outfit, you look amazing. It's good to have something or obsess or be passionate about, glad you got the record!ReplyDelete
aw that's so great!
Valentina Duracinsky Blog
-- Facebook Page
i do love mazzy star as well! it's been ages since the last album, this one is a goodie! x enjoy :)ReplyDelete
I love Mazzy Star! Sadly, their tour doesn't extend to the UK, but I've ordered the LP. I love that Hope is named after Hope Sandoval, she's an idol of mine.ReplyDelete
So, you may have changed my life with this post. Checked out Mazzy Star. I'd never heard of them, considering I spent most of the my musical nineties memorizing Hanson lyrics and Spice Girls dance moves... But I digress.. Mazzy Star: LOVE... lu-hooooveeee...laouve....lurrrrve... so wonderful. TY for the recommendation.Evenings on my porch are now a little more magical.ReplyDelete
You look so cute!ReplyDelete
You'd get along wonderfully with my bestie...Her oldest kid is named after a Canadian rockstar, Raine,...and an angel.
Love new vinyl. Last purchase was Jeff Buckley. Gorgeous.
Must look this album up.


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Stanford-spawned nanoparticles home in on brain tumours, boost accuracy of surgical removal
Like special-forces troops laser-tagging targets for a bomber pilot, tiny particles that can be imaged three different ways at once have enabled Stanford University School of Medicine scientists to remove brain tumours from mice with unprecedented accuracy.
In a study to be published online April 15 in Nature Medicine, a team led by Sam Gambhir, MD, PhD, professor and chair of radiology, showed that the minuscule nanoparticles engineered in his lab homed in on and highlighted brain tumours, precisely delineating their boundaries and greatly easing their complete removal. The new technique could someday help improve the prognosis of patients with deadly brain cancers.
About 14,000 people are diagnosed annually with brain cancer in the United States. Of those cases, about 3,000 are glioblastomas, the most aggressive form of brain tumour. The prognosis for glioblastoma is bleak: the median survival time without treatment is three months. Surgical removal of such tumours — a virtual imperative whenever possible — prolongs the typical patient's survival by less than a year. One big reason for this is that it is almost impossible for even the most skilled neurosurgeon to remove the entire tumour while sparing normal brain.
"With brain tumours, surgeons don't have the luxury of removing large amounts of surrounding normal brain tissue to be sure no cancer cells are left," said Gambhir, who is the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor for Clinical Investigation in Cancer Research and director of the Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford. "You clearly have to leave as much of the healthy brain intact as you possibly can."
This is a real problem for glioblastomas, which are particularly rough-edged tumours. In these tumours, tiny fingerlike projections commonly infiltrate healthy tissues, following the paths of blood vessels and nerve tracts. An additional challenge is posed by micrometastases: minuscule tumour patches caused by the migration and replication of cells from the primary tumour. Micrometastases dotting otherwise healthy nearby tissue but invisible to the surgeon's naked eye can burgeon into new tumours.
Although brain surgery today tends to be guided by the surgeon's naked eye, new molecular imaging methods could change that, and this study demonstrates the potential of using high-technology nanoparticles to highlight tumour tissue before and during brain surgery.
The nanoparticles used in the study are essentially tiny gold balls coated with imaging reagents. Each nanoparticle measures less than five one-millionths of an inch in diameter — about one-sixtieth that of a human red blood cell.
"We hypothesized that these particles, injected intravenously, would preferentially home in on tumours but not healthy brain tissue," said Gambhir, who is also a member of the Stanford Cancer Institute. "The tiny blood vessels that feed a brain tumour are leaky, so we hoped that the spheres would bleed out of these vessels and lodge in nearby tumour material." The particles' gold cores, enhanced as they are by specialized coatings, would then render the particles simultaneously visible to three distinct methods of imaging, each contributing uniquely to an improved surgical outcome.
One of those methods, magnetic resonance imaging, is already frequently used to give surgeons an idea of where in the brain the tumour resides before they operate. MRI is well-equipped to determine a tumour's boundaries, but when used preoperatively it can't perfectly describe an aggressively growing tumour's position within a subtly dynamic brain at the time the operation itself takes place.
The Gambhir team's nanoparticles are coated with gadolinium, an MRI contrast agent, in a way that keeps them stably attached to the relatively inert spheres in a blood-like environment. (In a 2011 study published in Science Translational Medicine, Gambhir and his colleagues showed in small animal models that nanoparticles similar to those used in this new study, but not containing gadolinium, were nontoxic.)
A second, newer method is photoacoustic imaging, in which pulses of light are absorbed by materials such as the nanoparticles' gold cores. The particles heat up slightly, producing detectable ultrasound signals from which a three-dimensional image of the tumour can be computed. Because this mode of imaging has high depth penetration and is highly sensitive to the presence of the gold particles, it can be useful in guiding removal of the bulk of a tumour during surgery.
The third method, called Raman imaging, leverages the capacity of certain materials (included in a layer coating the gold spheres) to give off almost undetectable amounts of light in a signature pattern consisting of several distinct wavelengths. The gold cores' surfaces amplify the feeble Raman signals so they can be captured by a special microscope.
To demonstrate the utility of their approach, the investigators first showed via various methods that the lab's nanoparticles specifically targeted tumour tissue, and only tumour tissue.
Next, they implanted several different types of human glioblastoma cells deep into the brains of laboratory mice. After injecting the imaging-enhancing nanoparticles into the mice's tail veins, they were able to visualize, with all three imaging modes, the tumours that the glioblastoma cells had spawned.
The MRI scans provided good preoperative images of tumours' general shapes and locations. And during the operation itself, photoacoustic imaging permitted accurate, real-time visualization of tumours' edges, enhancing surgical precision.
But neither MRI nor photoacoustic imaging by themselves can distinguish healthy from cancerous tissue at a sufficiently minute level to identify every last bit of a tumour. Here, the third method, Raman imaging, proved crucial. In the study, Raman signals emanated only from tumour-ensconced nanoparticles, never from nanoparticle-free healthy tissue. So, after the bulk of an animal's tumour had been cleared, the highly sensitive Raman-imaging technique was extremely accurate in flagging residual micrometastases and tiny fingerlike tumour projections still holed up in adjacent normal tissue that had been missed on visual inspection. This, in turn, enabled these dangerous remnants' removal.
"Now we can learn the tumour's extent before we go into the operating room, be guided with molecular precision during the excision procedure itself and then immediately afterward be able to 'see' once-invisible residual tumour material and take that out, too," said Gambhir, who suggested that the nanoparticles' propensity to heat up on photoacoustic stimulation, combined with their tumour specificity, might also make it possible for them to be used to selectively destroy tumours. He also expressed optimism that this kind of precision could eventually be brought to bear on other tumour types.
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute's Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence, the Ben and Catherine Ivy Foundation, the Canary Foundation and the Leon Levy Foundation.
Sharing first authorship were Moritz Kircher, MD, PhD, and postdoctoral scholar Adam de La Zerda, PhD. Some of the animal work was carried out through a collaboration with researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (where Kircher is now employed) and at Weill-Cornell Medical College, both in New York City. Additional Stanford co-authors were postdoctoral scholars Jesse Jokerst, PhD, and Cristina Zavaleta, PhD; clinical instructor Erik Mitra, MD, PhD; and research scientist Frezghi Habte, PhD, all of the Department of Radiology; and Robert Sinclair, PhD, professor and chair of materials science and engineering in the School of Engineering, and his graduate student Paul Kempen.
Information about the medical school's Department of Radiology, which also supported the work, is available at http://radiology.stanford.edu/.
The Stanford University School of Medicine consistently ranks among the nation's top medical schools, integrating research, medical education, patient care and community service. For more news about the school, please visit http://mednews.stanford.edu. The medical school is part of Stanford Medicine, which includes Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. For information about all three, please visit http://stanfordmedicine.org/about/news.html.
Contact: Bruce Goldman


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Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) observes particles of solar, interplanetary, interstellar, and galactic origins, spanning the energy range from solar wind ions to galactic cosmic ray nuclei.
The Earth is constantly bombarded with a stream of accelerated particles arriving not only from the Sun, but also from interstellar and galactic sources. The study of these energetic particles will contribute to our understanding of the formation and evolution of the solar system as well as the astrophysical processes involved. The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft carries six high-resolution sensors and three monitoring instruments that sample low-energy particles of solar origin and high-energy galactic particles with a collecting power 10 to 1000 times greater than past or planned experiments. From a vantage point approximately 1/100 of the distance from the Earth to the Sun, ACE performs measurements over a wide range of energy and nuclear mass, under all solar wind flow conditions and during both large and small particle events including solar flares.
ACE provides near-real-time solar wind information over short time periods. When reporting space weather, ACE can provide an advance warning (about one hour) of geomagnetic storms that can overload power grids, disrupt communications on Earth, and present a hazard to astronauts.
The prime objective of ACE is to measure and compare the composition of several samples of matter, including the solar corona, the solar wind, and other interplanetary particle populations, the local interstellar medium (ISM), and galactic matter. While there has been great progress addressing these objectives, the changing conditions over the solar cycle present new opportunities. In addition, new observations and theoretical advances, new missions, and the evolving goals of NASA and the Sun-Solar- System Connection (S3C) Theme have introduced new challenges, including the goal of achieving the scientific understanding needed to forecast space weather in the coming years when humans will venture beyond Earth's protective magnetosphere.


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Every Monday, Gregg Rosenthal picks the five throws that explain the week. Marc Sessler alreadyhas knocked out the defining runs.
We thought about including Robert Griffin III's only incompletion of Week 11 as one of the throws, but that would be trying too hard. Instead, let's go with his fourth Washington Redskins touchdown pass. RG3's two bomb touchdowns included a blown coverage and a fantastic grab by Santana Moss in double coverage, but this toss to Logan Paulsen showed why RG3's ceiling is so high.
He's so calm in the pocket with pressure encroaching on all sides. He surveys the field for his secondary receivers. He stands tall and puts the ball exactly where it needs to be on Paulsen's left shoulder, leading him to the end zone.
I thought about including Josh Freeman's game-winner to Dallas Clark in overtime just for the great radio call. (Compare that to the brutal TV call. "Panthers win! ... Buccaneers win!")
Anyhow, this toss to Vincent Jackson at the end of regulation can't be denied. Freeman delivered the ball between three defenders while being hit. The Carolina Panthers were in great position to stop them. You might not see a better big-moment play all season. This Tampa Bay Buccaneers team has a lot of magic to them.
Joe Flacco's stats weren't pretty in Pittsburgh, but he has a knack for doing just enough. This is the type of throw that other quarterbacks just can't make: falling backward on the move with two defenders in his face. Flacco quietly is throwing for more yards per game and yards per completion than ever before. The Baltimore Ravens' win was massive, no matter who was at quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Larry Fitzgerald had Atlanta Falcons backup cornerback Robert McClain in single coverage early in the first half Sunday. He torched him, but Arizona Cardinals quarterback John Skelton threw the ball nowhere near Fitz. This was the pass that made Ken Whisenhunt go to sixth-round draft pick Ryan Lindley despite a 13-0 lead. This is how you become just the third team since 2001 to go plus-5 in turnover margin and still lose. This is how a team that once was 4-0 got forked before Thanksgiving.
You can't beat the New England Patriots when you let their defense score points. This throw just got away from Andrew Luck. If he's had any weakness this season, it's that he has almost too aggressive like Peyton Manning was during his rookie year for the Indianapolis Colts.


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Before we dig into this bloody business, it's important to note that the Suns have not been plagued by turnovers this season. In fact, their ability to NOT turn the ball over has been one of the few bright spots on an otherwise blah start to the season.
The Suns are fourth-best in the NBA with a turnover rate of 12.8 per 100 possessions. They are behind Toronto, Philadelphia, and New York -- all teams, ironically, that the Suns have fallen to in the last week.
Here's the nine turnovers from the first quarter on Sunday. They have eight more for the entire game so you could argue this one issue caused the loss (although I don't fully buy that).
Turnover #1: One their second offensive possession less than a minute into the game, the Suns come down and run a high pick and roll with Dragic and Gortat. The defense collapses with Morris' defender helping in the lane. Instead of kicking out to the open Morris for a three, Dragic tries to force the ball to Gortat in the lane and travels.
Turnover #2: At about the ten minute mark, Shannon Brown beats his man to the middle but has his head down and barrels right into the chest of Kurt Thomas who was camped out just below the free throw line long enough to have the paint transfer to the soles of his shoes. The game was 6-4, Knicks at this point.
Brown was the only starter with "just" one turnover. The rest had two each. Brown only played four minutes in the period
Turnover #3: The Suns run a nice little play designed to take advantage of the Knick tendency to switch picks (just like Woodsen's Hawks teams used to do). Brown sets a cross screen for Gortat's man (Chandler) coming across the lane and Ronnie Brewer switches on to the Polish center who has good post position with a guard on his back.
Beasley, however, throws a horrible entry bounce pass that skips out of bounds. That's about the 7:55 mark with the Suns already down 13-6.
Turnover #4: About a minute later with the Suns now down 16-6, Gortat sets a ball screen for Beasley who denies the screen and drives past Melo. Melo, however, comes around from behind and swipes the ball. This was a pretty nice little steal from Anthony.
Turnover #5: About 30 seconds later (Suns down 18-6), Dudley tries to throw an entry pass to Morris who has J.R. Smith on his back after another Knicks switched screen. Smith does a good job battling Morris which forces Dudley to pass the ball a bit high. Morris should have still grabbed it but seems to take his eye off the ball and it gets away from him.
Turnover #6: Michael Beasley is advancing the ball after a rebound and around the half court line picks up his dribble to advance the ball to Goran but Goran isn't looking for the pass and the ball goes out of bounds. 5:44, Suns down 18-6.
Turnover #7: Dragic and Gortat run a high screen and roll. Morris is spaced behind the three-point line but is too close to the middle and when Dragic tries to bounce him the ball, Brewer easily reads the plays and gets the steal.
Turnover #8: With about 3:33 left and the Suns down 21-10, Morris runs down the floor and barrels into Steve Novak as he tries to get good post position. Offensive foul.
Turnover #9: Dragic and Gortat run a high screen and roll. Instead of trying a bounce pass, Goran lobs the ball to the rim for what should have been a dunk but the lob is off and hits the rim and Gortat touches it for an offensive basket interference call. Suns down 21-14 with 1:45 to go.
That's it folks. Do you see a pattern here? Both of Morris' turnovers were just dumb. Beasley's too. Goran made a couple of bad passes.
The Suns were down by seven before the third turnover and down by ten by the fourth. But the Suns defense, at least statistically, didn't suck. New York shot 39% from the field (25% from three) while the Suns shot 46.7% in the first quarter. Those numbers will win you games, but the Suns only had 15 FGAs to the Knicks 23 thanks to those lost possessions.
So yeah, nine turnover in the first quarter killed the Suns in this game. Of course, getting outscored 35-22 in the second quarter and giving up 56% shooting and four threes didn't help either.
Dude, Bright Side of the Sun is on the FaceBook.


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A Few Really Dumb Things about the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin Trial.
June 26, 2013 by Staff
Filed under News, Opinion, Weekly Columns
(ThyBlackMan.com) Forgive me for being out of style, but I'm having a hard time getting into the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin trial. I feel for the family, and one must fully appreciate the sadness of a young man losing his life under any circumstances. But when the media has called to ask me what I think about the latest developments in the case, I just freeze up and say, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
I just can't force myself to find this case to be interesting,, not because Trayvon doesn't matter, but because the case doesn't make any sense. I feel incredibly sad for Trayvon Martin and his family, believe me, I do. I don't know what I'm going to say next week when I see Rev. Jesse Jackson at the annual Rainbow/PUSH convention, because I know everyone is going to be talking about it. Like Rev. Jackson, I am haunted by the spirits of all the dead black boys across America, but it's difficult for me to put my energy into one case.
Here are a few things about the trial of George Zimmerman that just don't make much sense to me. At least these are some things I wonder about at night, when no one's looking or listening:
1) If Trayvon Martin had been killed by a black man, no one would be talking about it. Why do most black people get sensitive about black male homicides only if the killer happens to not be black? I feel deeply for the parents of Trayvon Martin (I need to keep saying this, so I am not accused of being insensitive), but I find it oddly ironic that we can't have the same degree of sympathy for the parents of the dozens of young black men who are shot and killed over the last few weeks.
Unfortunately, you'll never hear about their deaths because black-on-black violence is incredibly uninteresting, like the fourth man to go into outer space, or the school shooting that took place right after Sandy Hook – we might hate the George Zimmermans of the world, but the truth is that the enemy is AMONG US. Even worse is that we've been trained to embrace music that leads us to sing and dance to the tune of our own inevitable genocide. Yes my friends, that's just sick.
2) Why are the courts concerned about what kind of person Trayvon Martin was? If one man has a gun and the other has Skittles and Ice Tea, you can't quite call this a fair fight. It seems that some people believe that if Trayvon Martin fought back after being followed by an over aggressive rent-a-cop, that he somehow deserved to be killed. I don't care if he smoked weed, had bad grades, got into a fight in school or even punched George Zimmerman in the face, the fact is that he didn't deserve to die. It is good old fashioned American RACISM that makes us even ask such ignorant and ridiculous questions, like asking a r@pe victim how short her skirt was before she was tackled in a dark alley and assaulted.
3) None of this would have happened if George Zimmerman had never gotten out of his car. The 911 operator clearly told Zimmerman to stop pursuing Trayvon, and he disobeyed the order. Has anyone forgotten about his fact? George Zimmerman caused ALL OF THIS TO HAPPEN. Had he followed instructions and stayed in his car, Trayvon would be alive and he would be a free man. I wonder if this thought has ever crossed his chubby little mind. The truth is that he's in jail for being an obsessive idiot who doesn't know how to listen and follow directions. Now, he's embarrassing his entire family.
4) If Zimmerman is convicted, many of us will be overwhelmed with excitement. But the tough question we must ask ourselves is whether or not anything has changed. Are black boys less likely to die as a result of George Zimmerman being taken off the streets? Has racial inequality been mitigated as a result of this trial? Are black people less poor, better educated, or enjoying a better quality of life with Zimmerman behind bars? I say not. Maybe we should be as critical of ourselves as we are of George Zimmerman, for the solutions to resolving the black male violence issue in our communities go far deeper than this one trial in Florida. That's why I can't even watch it.
Staff Writer; Dr. Boyce Watkins
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. For more information, please visit http://BoyceWatkins.com.


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Ahead of the Mustang's 50th anniversary, Ford unveiled an all-new completely redesigned Mustang with more power, better fuel economy and an available four-cylinder engine.
The Mustang GT will still have a 5.0-liter V8 but with more power than the current version and there will also be an available V6 engine for price-conscious buyers. But, for the first time since the early 1990s, the Mustang will also be offered with a turbocharged performance-tuned four-cylinder engine.
"It is going to surprise and delight a lot of people," said Ford (F) Mustang chief engineer David Pericak.
And, for the first time ever, the base Mustang will have fully independent rear suspension That's something that almost every other passenger car on the market has had for many years, but it's a huge change for this performance icon.
The new suspension will provide a more supple ride and better handling than the current car, Pericak said.
Gallery - 12 historic Ford Mustangs
The new Mustang's body remains familiar with a long, bulging hood and stubby trunk. But the lines are a bit more muscular in the new version. The redesigned car is longer and lower than the current Mustang with a sleeker profile. It retains what Ford calls the "shark bite" front end with its signature trapezoidal grill.
The new V8 Mustang's 5.0-liter engine will produce something over the current Mustang's 420 horsepower, according to Ford. The 3.7-liter V6, meanwhile, will also offer more than the current car's 305 horsepower but Ford hasn't released final performance numbers yet.
But the real news is the new four-cylinder 2.3-liter turbocharged engine, which will be available as a mid-range option. This little engine will crank out 305 horsepower and more than 300 foot pounds of torque (that's the pulling power you feel on acceleration.) Even with all that, Ford is promising "class-leading" fuel economy. Official fuel economy estimates for the car are not yet available.
Special performance packages will be offered with both the V8 and four-cylinder turbo cars. The V6 will be offered as a low-cost, entry-level option.
Final pricing for the car will be announced closer to the fall of 2014 when the car is expected to go on sale.
Since this is a performance car, it's expected that a large percentage of Mustang buyers will opt for the manual transmission. This will be a six-speed transmission with less space between the gears for quicker shifts. The shifter's also been moved closer to the driver's seat and away from the cupholders so drivers will no longer knock the lids off their soda cups while changing gears.
The automatic transmission will now offer steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters for the first time. The car will also automatically match engine RPM for smoother shifts even under hard acceleration or when downshifting. Paddle shifters are nothing new but Ford engineers say that, until now, they haven't had a paddle shift system they felt was worthy of the Mustang.
A computer-assisted torque-vectoring program can direct power to individual rear wheels during hard turns for improved handling.
The new Mustang will be sold in countries around the world but will continue to be built at Ford's Flat Rock, Mich., assembly plant.