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Two-Car Accident at Clarksburg Intersection
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Four people escaped serious injury Thursday after another accident at the dangerous intersection at Route 8 (River Road) and Henderson Road.
The crash occurred shortly after 11 a.m. when a northbound late model Ford sport utility vehicle collided with a red Chevrolet pickup truck exiting from Henderson Road.
There were three people in the Ford, the driver, another adult and a child; the pickup contained only the driver. No one was injured.
According to Police Chief Michael Williams, the driver of the pickup had stopped at the stop sign and had checked for traffic before crossing Route 8 toward Middle Road.
The Ford was unable to stop in time and clipped the rear of th3 pickup on the driver's side. Williams said there was no indication that speed was a factor in the crash, but rather the configuration of the intersection, which has seen a number of accidents.
Drivers exiting from Henderson Road have a difficult time seeing northbound traffic because of the highway's higher grade to the south and a banking that obstructs the view. Motorists heading north often can't see any traffic until they begin the descent a few hundred feet from the intersection.
The town has complained to the state Department of Transportation a number of times about the intersection, which has had at least one fatal in recent years.
Williams said it appeared the driver of the Ford, from Lanesborough, was unfamiliar with the roadway and was doing at or about the 45 mph speed limit as she approached the intersection. She apparently hit her brakes, because he estimated the impact at about 20 mph.
No one was cited in the accident.
The Ford sustained damage to its front end and the driver's side front fender; it was towed from the scene by Cariddi Auto; the pickup, which sustained damage to the rear of its bed, was able to drive away.
Traffic was slowed but not detoured; Clarksburg Fire Department and North Adams Ambulance responded, state police assisted with traffic.
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Clarksburg Brush Fire Contained on Third Day
|The fire burns up The Dome on Friday in this image taken by Fire Director Stephen Meranti.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — More than 50 firefighters from around the region spent a third tough day finally containing a blaze that has burned an estimated 300 acres in the Clarksburg State Forest.
The brush fire had torched 189 acres on Thursday but crews had left the forest in the late afternoon believing it was contained and nearly out.
Clarksburg Fire Chief Kyle "Chip" Chesbro, who had coordinated efforts on Thursday, said the Department of Conservation and Recreation had planned on going in on Friday morning and ensuring it was extinguished.
"This morning at 6 o'clock I get another call that it has grown, that we needed to get people started up there," the soot-covered chief said on Friday after spending the day in the woods.
The fire had rekindled by early Thursday evening; numerous photos on Facebook showed a ring of smoldering orange high on the ridgeline.
Firefighters had to make their way up through rough terrain, including through Pine Cobble on the west end, to about a 2,000 foot elevation.
The hardest part has been accessibility, Chesbro said.
"If you can drive a fire truck in, a class a fire truck, you can put a lot of water out here. These brush trucks have water but the terrain up there is so bad, accessibility is just horrendous," he said. "When you get to the scene, working the scene, there's all brambles, and trees down and the incline and stuff like that you're trying to work on and the footing ... It's just not a good situation."
Indian Pump water packs were brought in by all-terrain vehicles and crews used shovels, chainsaws and leafblowers to clear the dry underbrush for digging breaks.
The fire began early Wednesday afternoon when a cook fire at the Sherman Brook primitive camping area went out of control. The campsite is nearly 2 miles in on the Appalachian Trail from Massachusetts Avenue.
The forest is in the far western end of Clarksburg, bounded by North Adams, Williamstown and Pownal. It's separated from Clarksburg State Park (Mauserts) by about 3 miles.
The blaze extended in a ring around the camping area and, on Thursday evening, "slopped over" the fire break that had been made to contain it. The secondary fire pushed westward up toward the top of The Dome, just north of Pine Cobble.
"They set it up with the left flank and a right flank with The Dome in the middle ... the heaviest fire was really on the right flank toward Clarksburg," North Adams Fire Director Stephen Meranti said. "They did a really good job of knocking it down.
"Again, it was really difficult to get to ... the access today was a little easier because they could get ATVs closer to the fire."
Meranti could only recall a fire of this size back in the 1970s, not far from the state forest.
Fire crews were planning on going in again on Saturday morning to check for hotspots and DCR will have people on site to monitor the area for the next few days.
No one was injured, though there some scrapes, bruises and blisters, and no homes or private property were ever in any danger.
On Thursday, a National Guard Black Hawk helicopter spent hours ferrying 500 gallons of water at a time from Mount Williams Reservoir to dump on the fire's perimeter.
A state police helicopter aided in aerial observations on Friday and several local pilots took Meranti to survey operations over the past few days.
The mobile command center was set up on Pattison Road to allow for clearer communications and staging was at the Blackinton Mill on Ashton Avenue.
DCR's Chief Fire Warden David Celino was at the command center along with other state and local fire officials.
About a dozen departments have been working the blaze, including Williamstown and Adams departments and forest wardens, Clarksburg, Dalton, Florida, Hinsdale, Lanesborough, New Ashford, Richmond, Windsor, and Pownal and Stamford, Vt., DCR forest wardens and the state forest fire control.
North Adams Fire Department provided backup coverage; other services were provided by the Berkshire County Fire Chiefs, North Adams Ambulance Service, Pittsfield Fire Department, National Guard, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and the Northern Berkshire Emergency Planning Committee.
Meranti said the community has been very supportive, with people dropping off food and water.
"One guy stopped by and dropped off pizza," he said. "I don't even know who it was."
Both he and Chesbro stressed their appreciation of the volunteers and others who had put so much effort in over the past few days.
"The town of Clarksburg and the Clarksburg Fire Company would really want to thank all the departments who are working here, all the organizations, DCR , MEMA, everyobody involved," Chesbro said. "It's a lot, a lot of work.
"These guys are taking time out of their day, we really appreciated it."
Update 1:40 p.m., May 1, 2015
Fire crews are in the woods for the third day battling an extensive brush fire in the 3,000-acre Clarksburg State Forest.
At this time, the slow-moving fire has expanded but is not considered dangerous to homes in the area.
The fire had been considered contained on Thursday night but apparently fueled back late yesterday.
Update 8:45 p.m., April 30, 2015
North Adams Police reports the brush fire is contained but still smoking on the mountain.
Fire crews spent much of the day tamping hotspots taking measure to contain the outbreak that reportedly burned about 180 acres.
The fire began in the Sherman Brook area from a cooking fire and spread outward in a circular pattern.
Update: 11:33 a.m., April 30, 2015
Some 40 firefighters are in the Clarksburg State Forest battling a brush fire that began Wednesday afternoon. About 60 firefighters were on the scene on Thursday, with staging continuing at Ashley Swift & Sons on Massachusetts Avenue.
A National Guard helicopter has been scooping 500 gallons of water at a time from Mount Williams Reservoir and carrying over the fire deep within the mountainous state forest.
Clarksburg Fire Chief Kyle "Chip" Chesbro said the fire is 4,000 feet into the woods.
"It took our guys this morning an hour to hike into it," he said.
Fire crews are using Indian Pumps, a backpack form of water suppression equipment, and portable water tanks to draw from. They are also using shovels and chainsaws to create a break.
"We went from huge head fire front to a controllable front overnight," Chesbro said, adding the humidity, temperatures and morning dew had helped in containing the blaze.
The helicopter out of Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield was dropping about 2 tons of water each time it flew over, he said. It was expected to stay for about an hour before it had to head back to Westfield.
Agencies participating are Williamstown, Clarksburg, Stamford, Florida, Windsor, Dalton, Adams, Lanesborough, Pownal, North Adams and Forest Wardens, Department of State Fire Control, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, Berkshire County Fire and North Adams Ambulance.
Update 9 a.m., April 30, 2015: Twelve agencies are now working to extinguish the fire in the Clarksburg State Forest, according to a post by the Northern Berkshire Regional Emergency Planning Committee.
"All together, we have approximately 60 firefighters and command staff on scene consisting of Williamstown, Clarksburg, Stamford, Florida, Windsor, Dalton, Adams, Lanesboro, Pownal, North Adams Firefighters and Forest Wardens. Department of State Fire Control, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, Berkshire County Fire and North Adams Ambulance."
The fire had "settled" somewhat during the night because higher humidity and lower temperatures. "This is a contributing factor to why the decision is made to remove crews and not risk there safety during the night hours," according to REPC's Amalio Jusino.
Firefighters were using aerial observations to locate and evaluate the blaze.
Update at 9 p.m., April 29, 2015 (original post at 7:39 p.m.)
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A nearly 40-acre brush fire was burning beyond a ridge line in the Clarksburg State Forest on Wednesday night.
The glow could be seen from the south side of Route 2 in the city and smoke hung in the air.
Fire crews had been working the blaze since late in the afternoon but had to pull back as the light dimmed.
"Everybody is out of the woods as far as the fire departments," said James Howe of the Clarksburg Fire Department, the incident commander for the fire. "We're out for the night. We'll be meeting back here with other departments to go back in in the morning."
The fire was first reported before 2 p.m. by a hiker somewhere along the Appalachian Trail in the forest off Massachusetts Avenue. Initial reports described it as a cooking fire gone out of control. There was a burning smell throughout the downtown area.
Airport manager Bill Greenwall flew the fire director over the fire so they could get a better understanding of where it was.
"The hiker that reported it had hiked north to stay away from it so he was farther up the trail," Howe said. "He was found complaining about dehydration ... he was taken out through Williamstown, from the Pine Cobble Trail."
According to scanner reports, the rattled hiker was trying to come down from Pine Cobble but was told to head back that way to be taken out. About 4:30, he was described as being about a half-mile from Pine Cobble.
Firefighters from Clarksburg and Stamford, Vt., were in the woods earlier in the afternoon with firefighting gear and chainsaws; other units were being positioned. Clarksburg firefighters were taking the lead because the state forest is within Clarksburg.
Adams Forest Wardens, Williamstown Fire Department and Forest Wardens, North Adams Fire Department and forest wardens with the state Department of Conservation and Recreation were also mobilized. North Adams Ambulance was also at a staging area at Ashley Swift on Massachusetts Avenue. The North Adams Mobile Command was being used in tandem with the communications center at the ambulance station.
Howe had said earlier in the afternoon they were being careful about going into the forest and retrieving the hiker.
"We want to make sure we do things safely and that we do things right," he said about 6 p.m..
"We have firefighters searching for the fire right now ... We have crews from everyone I told you here."
The smoke could be seen billowing over the mountain ridge from Route 2, and appeared to be coming from a hollow. Reports put it near the Sherman Brook Campsite area, between one and two miles from the main road.
The fire was thought to cover about 40 acres in the 3,000-acre state forest. Almost 5 miles of the Appalachian Trail cuts through the forest on its way to Vermont.
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North Berkshire Men Injured in Vermont Rollover
POWNAL, Vt. — A Williamstown, Mass., man may face charges of driving under the influence after a rollover accident early Sunday morning injured himself and a passenger.
Allen Whitney, 23, was operating a 2006 GMC Sierra on Route 346 in North Pownal, near the New York State line, at about 3:27 a.m. when the vehicle left the roadway and rolled over multiple times.
According to the report by State Trooper Justin Walker, "The truck was nearly unrecognizable as it had rolled approximately 500 feet after leaving the roadway."
Whitney was able to exit the pickup truck but his passenger, Brady Kuzia, 25, of Clarksburg, Mass., had to be extricated from the vehicle. Both men were transported to Southwest Vermont Medical Center in Bennington.
Walker said Whitney told him that they were driving home from Hoosick Falls, N.Y., at the time of the crash. The conditions were cold and clear and the road was wet.
Whitney, who was not wearing a seat belt, suffered multiple lacerations to his body, face and head. Kuzia, who was wearing a seat belt, also had multiple lacerations an a possible fractured leg.
During the investigation, Walker suspected that Whitney was under the influence of alcohol and he was processed for suspicion of driving under the influence. Blood results are pending as well as other charges in this case. Investigation is ongoing, but the police report stated "speed was also clearly a factor in this crash."
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Superior Court: Man Arraigned in North Adams Murder
|David Delratez at his rendition hearing in Bennington, Vt. He was arraigned in Berkshire Superior Court in Pittsfield on Wednesday for the murder of Ellen Depaoli.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The man accused of murdering 84-year-old Ellen Depaoli in North Adams is being held without bail after his case was moved to Berkshire Superior Court.
David Delratez entered not-guilty pleas on single counts of murder and larceny of a motor vehicle on Wednesday.
Delratez is accused of murdering Depaoli at her home on Walker Street in North Adams on September 17, 2013 and fleeing in her car.
He was taken into custody a few days later in Bennington for violating his probation from a previous charge.
Authorities then charged him with murder and larceny of a motor vehicle and he entered not guilty pleas to those charges at an arraignment in Northern Berkshire District Court on Sept. 23.
The case is now moved to Berkshire Superior Court after a grand jury indicted him on Monday; he was arraigned again on Wednesday.
He again pleaded not guilty to the previous charges of breaking and entering with intent to commit a misdemeanor and malicious destruction of property in connection with an incident in Clarksburg on Sept. 13, 2013 — the charges he was originally taken into custody on because it violated his probation.
Also from that Sept. 13 incident, he was charged and pleaded not guilty to a single count of use of a motor vehicle without authority.
According to police documents presented at the first arraignment, Delratez was found after police tracked down Depaoli's car in Bennington. They found a knife in the car, which police say was used in the murder.
Delratez then allegedly told police that two other men committed the crime and forced him to take the car and drive them out of town. He then says he was scared and went to stay with a friend in Bennington, according to police documents.
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Police Investigating Shooting in Clarksburg
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Police are investigating an alleged shooting Friday night that sent one person to the hospital.
Law enforcement officials are tight-lipped about the incident although it reportedly occured during an altercation in the town.
Police Chief Michael Williams referred all inquiries to the district attorney's office; Fred Lantz, spokesman for the DA's office, said the incident is currently under investigation.
Lantz did say the incident led one person to be transported and later released from the hospital. No arrests have been made yet, and the investigation is ongoing.
The investigation has included Clarksburg, North Adams and state police.
North Adams Police Director Michael Cozzaglio on Monday said a fight between two women at the Artery Lounge early Saturday morning involved city police in the incident.
"In the course of their investigation, it was brought to the officers' attention that there was a person inside the bar who had a gunshot wound," said Cozzaglio. The officers contacted North Adams Ambulance, which transported the individual to the hospital. "We assisted Clarksburg until the state police detective unit arrived on scene."
According to the North Adams police log, officers were called to the Artery on Union Street at about 1 a.m. for a report of a fight in progress between two women, neither of whom had any relation to the earlier incident in Clarksburg. At 5:36 a.m., the log reports that a North Adams officer also found two .22-caliber casings on Cross Road.
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Bucs, Patriots swap running backs and draft pick
April 27, 2013
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have traded running back LeGarrette Blount to the New England Patriots in exchange for a seventh-round pick in this year's NFL draft and Olympic sprinter Jeff Demps.
Demps was a silver medalist as part of the 4x100 relay team that finished second to Jamaica at the 2012 London Games. The former Florida running back was not selected in last year's draft because he told teams he wanted to focus on his track career.
The Patriots signed Demps last August.
Blount was a 1,000-yard as a rookie with the Bucs after going undrafted in 2010. He led Tampa Bay in rushing again with 781 yards the following year, but lost his starting job after Doug Martin joined the team as a first-round draft pick in 2012.

subset: commoncrawl


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Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (UK - BD)
Chris checks out the first instalment of the original Star Wars trilogy on Blu-ray
In the first instalment of the original Star Wars trilogy the galaxy is caught in the iron grip of the evil Empire, which rules through fear and oppression. A young farm boy, Luke Skywalker, is catapulted into a world of excitement and adventure by a desperate plea for help from the beautiful Princess Leia. As a member of the Rebel Alliance, Leia has discovered a weakness in the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star; one that must be exploited if peace and justice are to be restored to the galaxy. Luke seeks out and joins forces with an old Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and together with a cocky smuggler named Han Solo (and his Wookie co-pilot Chewbacca) they embark on a perilous quest to rescue the princess from the clutches of the Empire's sinister emissary, Darth Vader.
The 2004 DVD release of the 'original' Star Wars trilogy left many dissatisfied, be it with the poor quality control or the alterations to the films themselves. Although no official mention was made prior to the release, Internet rumours surfaced claiming that further alterations had been made to the trilogy over and above those made for the 1997 Special Editions (most of which proved to be true when the street date finally rolled by). There was an outcry from the vocal minority, who demanded the original versions of their favourite films on DVD. Lucasfilm - and for that matter George Lucas - remained unimpressed, with Lucas himself going on record to state that the original versions were 'dead' to him, and that the 2004 DVD Special Editions represented his vision of the Star Wars trilogy.
Fast-forward seven years to the Blu-ray Disc release and it probably won't come as much of a surprise to anyone to learn that Lucas has been tinkering yet again. Along with the 2004 alterations a bunch of new 'fixes' have been applied; everything from the addition of CGI rocks to R2-D2's hiding place, to the removal of garbage mattes and the correction of a number of technical issues introduced with the DVDs. On the whole these new changes aren't anywhere near as drastic as those from 1997 or 2004. In fact some of them are actually pretty neat, as a couple of long-standing effects issues have finally been fixed. However, not everything is rosy in the Star Wars garden. With this release Lucasfilm had the opportunity to correct the mistakes of 2004, but contrary to pre-release rumours they have only done half of the job. Issues such as Luke's incorrectly coloured lightsaber have only been partially addressed, resulting in a situation where the young Jedi-in-training's weapon is now three different colours in one scene.
While the above is one of the more obvious issues it's not an isolated incident. Apart from feeling wholly unnecessary the latest additions to the film have been inserted in what is best described as an amateurish fashion. The aforementioned rocks that R2 hides behind are a particularly curious change, not just because they would appear to prevent the little droid from entering his hiding spot in the first place, but also because they are nowhere to be seen in the next shot. Similarly, the escape pod's blue lid has been changed to a dark grey in the opening scenes, but shortly after it features prominently with its original bright blue colouring. It's as if no one was paying any attention to continuity for this release and it smacks of laziness. There are also further changes to Obi-Wan's krayt dragon call, which is now so far removed from the original effect as to be unrecognisable.
What's worse many of the effects shots that really did need some work have remained untouched. The Han Solo meets Jabba the Hutt scene is still present in its 2004 incarnation and it looks just as bad as ever. In fact, it looks worse in high-definition because CGI Jabba looks like he was rendered at a lower resolution. Similarly, much of the CGI added for Mos Eisley is really beginning to show its age. Elsewhere laser bolts that were ruined by the 2004 transfer issues have not been rotoscoped to restore them to their former glory and audio elements are still missing from the soundtrack (more on this below). I have a slew of similar complaints about the releases inconsistencies, but I don't want to be writing this review for the next week. I'll just say that given the amount of coverage devoted to the restoration of this film on the official Star Wars website prior to its release, it's very disappointing that some of the basics haven't been done right after all of these years.
Now I'm aware that all of this sounds very negative, but my love of Star Wars is well known to regular visitors of this site and I don't think a gushing fanboy review will do anyone any good. Let's just take it as read that I'm still a massive fan of the original trilogy, I'm just pointing out these issues so that people can make an informed purchase. Sure this is the flawed 2004 version of the movie with even more 'enhancements', but at its core it's still the same film that I marvelled at as a small child. These characters have been a part for my life ever since I can remember and I still have a lot of affection for them. I just wish I could say the same about the constant revisionism.
Prior to the Blu-ray release we were promised the very best picture and sound quality by none other than George Lucas himself. If you cast your mind back to the 2004 DVDs you may remember that A New Hope came in for quite a lot of criticism, what with its over-saturated palette, contrast issues, and technical errors with certain visual elements. You can imagine my surprise, then, when I first learned that the eight year old masters created for the DVD were going to be used as a staring point for the Blu-rays. It seemed disingenuous to claim that such an old and obviously flawed HD master represented the very best of anything, but I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Was that a wise decision? Well at first glance the film's 2.35:1 widescreen (1080/24p AVC) transfer actually looks pretty terrific, more so it would seem if you aren't particularly demanding when it comes to your high-definition presentations (as a lot of people aren't judging by some of the professional reviews I've read). However, closer inspection reveals that most of the problems that plagued the DVD version of the film affect this release to one extent or another. Let's start with the colours, which have been altered and over-saturated to the point where they bare little to no resemblance to the original look of the picture. That in itself wouldn't been too bad - director's revise the look of their pictures all the time, just look at Aliens - but it's the consistency that's the real problem here. The early scenes on Tatooine appear to be an ever-shifting sea of colour, with hues that fluctuate wildly before your very eyes. As we move through the film the palette does stabilise, but saturation changes from scene to scene (and indeed within scenes). Another major issue is black crush. While not as bad as the 2004 DVDs thanks to some gamma tweaking, a lot of detail is still lost to the darker areas of the screen. Conversely a couple of scenes have issues with blooming, whereby detail is obscured by overblown whites. At other times contrast is very flat, resulting in a drab image (explosions in particular are adversely affected by this).
While detail is generally fairly good there are a few scenes where the quality takes an obvious nosedive. These tend to be scenes with heavy CGI utilisation, which got me to wondering whether the CGI elements were rendered with enough detail to stand up to scrutiny in HD. Jabba the Hutt looks particularly bad, for example. Another phenomenon carried over from the DVD release is that of frozen grain. This isn't the same as DNR - although I can't rule out its presence - but rather an artefact whereby the film's grain is static. It's there, it just doesn't move. It's a very odd effect that's more noticeable on Tatooine than anywhere else, particularly in the sky and on the sand. I also spotted a couple of instances where characters were surrounded by strange outlines (but not edge enhancement), which I think can again be attributed to the grain issues. Now I'm sure there will be those among you who think I'm being too picky, but this is Star Wars. It's one of biggest releases in the history of the format and we were promised great things. The final product is not great, merely average to good. Had this arrived in 2007 during the early days of the format's life-cycle I'm sure I would have been over the moon, but this is 2011 and after seeing the care and attention that has gone into restoring older films with less cultural significance I can't help but feel a little bit disappointed. To be honest I found this a tricky one to score. On one hand it has problems, but on the other it's still a reasonably clean, attractive image and a lot of the issues are down to the source not the transfer. In any case it's a significant step up from the DVD and my disappointment stems largely from my desire for a reference quality presentation.
If A New Hope's video suffered in 2004 it was nothing compared to the audio problems. Among the complaints were indistinct dialogue with fluctuating levels, missing sound effects and music cues, and a stereo reversal of the surround channels. All of these issues were denied by Lucasfilm at the time. They even went as far as to release a statement confirming that the changes were an intentional creative decision.
Well here we are seven years later and the Blu-ray makes a mockery of that statement. While not perfect, or indeed as good as the prequel trilogy's audio, this is the best A New Hope has sounded on a home format for quite some time. That's not to say it doesn't have its issues though. For one thing fidelity is noticeably inferior to the other five films, which is immediately apparent from the music that accompanies the opening title sequence. It's not terrible, but it's definitely not as crisp as the other movies. Dialogue is similarly affected, with many obvious fluctuations in both the quality and level of the spoken word. For the majority of the film most of the speech sounds like it belongs in a seventies movie, lacking the clarity of a modern feature, but every now and then certain lines will sound like they've been pulled from an entirely different film. Having said that, some effort has definitely been made to address specific instances where dialogue was badly degraded. The infamous conversation between Tarkin and Leia on the Death Star has been largely normalised, removing the jarring variance in quality and volume. I just wish this issue could have been addressed universally.
Elsewhere there is much to enjoy about this new 6.1 mix. Ambient effects are very impressive, particularly early on as the wind whistles across Tatooine's Dune Sea. C-3PO's trek through the desert is accompanied by the sound of his hydraulics and R2's bleeps and whistles echo through the jagged canyons. There are numerous little touches like this throughout the film and they set the mood nicely. There's also a decent amount of discrete channel action, not just across the frontal array but also from front to rear. The training remote moves convincingly around the Falcon, while the ship itself sounds fantastic as it zooms overhead while in pursuit of a TIE Fighter en route to the Death Star. You'll also hear blaster bolts zip around the detention area and trash compactor, not to mention the roar of X-Wings as they travel through the soundstage during the Battle of Yavin. On the negative side some effects are still buried too deep in the mix, rendering them all but inaudible. The most obvious of these is the sound of Darth Vader's frantic breathing as his TIE Fighter spins uncontrollably through space. In the original mix this was very clear, but it was hardly audible on the 2004 DVD release and it's no better on the Blu-ray.
Bass is very powerful, perhaps too powerful at times. Although events like the destruction of Alderaan and the Death Star are accompanied by suitably ferocious rumbles from the LFE, there's a little too much weight afforded to minor events. For example, when the Jawas shoot R2 in the canyon the bass response isn't far short of an exploding planet! Still, it lends satisfying weight to everything from the Star Destroyer flyby at the beginning of the film to Jabba's voice, blaster bolts, Force chokes, and even the trash compactor. As previously mentioned the music lacks the fidelity of some of the later instalments, but John Williams' score still sounds magnificent. I've said it before, but I honestly think Lucas owes a lot of his success to Williams' music. From the Main Title to the Throne Room/End Credits each and every piece of music is wonderful. You'll also be happy to hear that the signature Force Theme used during the Battle of Yavin as the X-Wings dive towards the Death Star's surface has been restored to its rightful place in the mix. If I had to make one criticism it would be that the score often overpowers other elements of the mix, but when it's this good you can forgive it. I still feel it necessary to mark this track down for some of the more avoidable issues (buried effects, inconsistent mixing), but it is still a very good effort and hey, it's Star Wars.
First up we have the original commentary track from the 2004 DVD release. Participants include George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Denis Muren and Carrie Fisher. Lucas dispassionately drones on about this and that, most of which seems to be unrelated to what's occurring on screen, and there's very little insight into the creative process. I still have my suspicions that the track was completed before many of the 2004 'tweaks' were implemented, as Lucas often seems to refer to unaltered scenes. Burtt may be a legendary sound designer (his editing skills aren't quite in the same league), but he dosn't add much here and personally I find the man's voice annoying. Carrie Fisher's role seems to be to add some levity to the otherwise stodgy track, a role that she fulfils with mixed results.
As with the prequel trilogy the second track is stitched together from various interviews with cast and crew, and like the prequel commentaries it's actually very interesting because of the wide variety of participants. These include Kenny Baker, Ben Burtt, Richard Chew, Anthony Daniels, Peter Dymond, John Dykstra, Richard Edlund, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Stuart Freeborn, Alec Guinness, Mark Hamill, Paul Hirsch, Gary Kurtz, George Lucas, Peter Mayhew, Ralph McQuarrie, Dennis Muren, Norman Reynolds, Phil Tippet and Robert Watts. It was great to hear from some of the old hands who worked on the original films, but who weren't involved with the prequels.
I'm sure there will be a few raised eyebrows from Star Wars fans when they see my score for the feature. In my defence I'm trying to score these films objectively rather than through rose-tinted glasses composed of nostalgia. If this were the original, untainted version of the film it might just have scored higher, but sadly the bloated incarnation that Lucas favours today just isn't as good as the film I grew up with. The new computerised effects and 'gags' in Mos Eisley are totally incongruous with the rest of the film and only serve to distance me from the action, and even putting aside the terrible CGI the utterly redundant Jabba the Hutt scene kills the pacing at a time when the plot should be racing ahead. Having watched the original fairly recently (courtesy of the 2004 bonus disc) I find the revised version all the more irritating. As for the Blu-ray presentation, well that's a mixed bag. Some faults have been addressed, others are unresolved, and new ones have been introduced. The fact that some things have been corrected serves as tacit admission that there were problems with the DVD release. Where's my refund? All (half) joking aside, the way I see it is that this is the best looking version of the film that we're likely to see until Lucas makes the decision to return to the original elements, scan them at a minimum of 4K and perform a proper restoration. While he's at it he can remove that bloody Jabba the Hutt scene...
* Note: The above images are taken from the Blu-ray release and resized for the page. Full-resolution captures are available by clicking individual images, but due to .jpg compression they are not necessarily representative of the quality of the transfer.
Review by Chris Gould
Existing Posts
State wrote: Matt wrote: My biggest disappointment over the set--besides the pre-1997 versions not being included which everyone knew wasn't going to happen anyway--is that they still haven't seen fit to include isolated score tracks for these films.
You could just buy the soundtracks...
Really?!?! I had no idea that the soundtracks to the Star Wars films had ever been released numerous times on CD.
Quote: Very rarely do I see this as an extra and it's much easier on CD (which can be ripped) instead of going through menus to get the option. Plus it's harder to skip to certain sections.
In all seriousness, I think you're missing the point of including an isolated score track with a movie.
You could just buy the soundtracks...
Really?!?! I had no idea that the soundtracks to the Star Wars films had ever been released numerous times on CD.
Quote: Very rarely do I see this as an extra and it's much easier on CD (which can be ripped) instead of going through menus to get the option. Plus it's harder to skip to certain sections.
In all seriousness, I think you're missing the point of including an isolated score track with a movie.
Burtt certainly brought in his own bias in terms of preferences in audio-mixing, favouring his own beloved sound effects (which were continually rehashed for the Prequels) over Williams' scores.
The Wilson Bros
The Wilson Bros
Matt wrote: My biggest disappointment over the set--besides the pre-1997 versions not being included which everyone knew wasn't going to happen anyway--is that they still haven't seen fit to include isolated score tracks for these films.
You could just buy the soundtracks...
Very rarely do I see this as an extra and it's much easier on CD (which can be ripped) instead of going through menus to get the option. Plus it's harder to skip to certain sections.
Wilson Bros wrote: It would be hilarious to listen to an isolated score for Attack of the Clones - it was such a cut-and-shut job that people would finally be aware of the level of sonic butchery that was performed on it by Ben Burtt.
The Wilson Bros
But at the request of Lucas, who rejected a Clone Wars theme and opted to re-use TPM's soundtrack instead.
You could just buy the soundtracks...
Very rarely do I see this as an extra and it's much easier on CD (which can be ripped) instead of going through menus to get the option. Plus it's harder to skip to certain sections.
Wilson Bros wrote: It would be hilarious to listen to an isolated score for Attack of the Clones - it was such a cut-and-shut job that people would finally be aware of the level of sonic butchery that was performed on it by Ben Burtt.
The Wilson Bros
But at the request of Lucas, who rejected a Clone Wars theme and opted to re-use TPM's soundtrack instead.
Chris Gould wrote: Intergalactic Ponce wrote: Nice to see that 'tit' goes unmolested.
Not if I can help it.
ba rum bum!!
Not if I can help it.
ba rum bum!!
Intergalactic Ponce wrote: Nice to see that 'tit' goes unmolested.
Not if I can help it.
Not if I can help it.
I had a close watch of this the other day and was really impressed by the level of detail on R2's 'dome' (no sn****ring please) then on the Tatooine scenes, I was just puzzled by the way C3PO colour kept flashing 'red' while he's arguing with R2. Overall though, glad to have them all in HD. The Greedo shooting first change, as wrong headed as it is, has been improved somewhat. The Jabba scene is always going to be superfluous to requirements but the CG'd Death Star Battle is an improvement over the original model work. Not an improvement in the quality of actual models/ships but rather of their movement through the frame.
If only some middle ground could be found on future versions.
That's funny. I was just wondering 'what's so offensive about 'no sn****ring', then I realized. Okay then, 'No tittering'.
Nice to see that 'tit' goes unmolested.
If only some middle ground could be found on future versions.
That's funny. I was just wondering 'what's so offensive about 'no sn****ring', then I realized. Okay then, 'No tittering'.
Nice to see that 'tit' goes unmolested.
It would be hilarious to listen to an isolated score for Attack of the Clones - it was such a cut-and-shut job that people would finally be aware of the level of sonic butchery that was performed on it by Ben Burtt.
The Wilson Bros
The Wilson Bros
My biggest disappointment over the set--besides the pre-1997 versions not being included which everyone knew wasn't going to happen anyway--is that they still haven't seen fit to include isolated score tracks for these films. I knew that it was going to be a long shot, but I still held out hope. The original trilogy contains some of the most iconic film scores and music cues in history, if not the most iconic. The music really deserves the opportunity to take center stage if only so fans can truly appreciate how much of these films' stories are told through the music. Much lesser films have included such tracks and it's a shame that those who make such decisions have decided that Star Wars isn't one of them.
I just find it unbelievable that Lucas thinks that the film requires rocks in front of R2, but the creaky lightsaber effects in the film are fine.
It's essentially the one change fans actually want, yet it's the one that never gets done.
It's essentially the one change fans actually want, yet it's the one that never gets done.
Suitable for all
Disc Details
Release Date: 12th September 2011
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 2.35:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 6.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 French, Dolby Digital 5.1 Portuguese, Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish, Audio Description Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
Extras: Audio Commentaries
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: George Lucas
Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Sir Alec Guinness, Peter Cushing, David Prowse, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy and Sci-Fi
Length: 125 minutes
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A blag containing my current adventures in logic, haskell and agents.
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Using LaTeX for homework exercises
Anyway, one of the problems I had while working with LaTeX was the lack of larger examples. The documentation for LaTeX and the packages I used was pretty good most of the times, but larger examples still help a lot when you're just starting out. So hoping some people will get use out of it, I've uploaded the sources of my solutions to the exercises. (Of course these solutions are not 100% correct.)
Some of the packages I used were amsmath and amssymb. These really helped a lot to do the proofs. (Some documentation can be found here and here.)
For Assignment 2 I also learned to use graphviz to draw my graphs. So some example DOT files are included in the extras. (The guide I used was here.)
I split the assignments into the original problem description (the part I had to deliver was the hand-in part), the LaTeX source and other sources such as pictures, the final outputted PDF and possibly additional sources such as the solutions in the tools.
Assignment 1 (Logic):
Problem description | LaTeX + other source files | Outputted PDF | Extra files
(Extra files include the python files I used and edited to generate the truth tables in LaTeX, thanks to midorikid)
Assignment 2 (CLIPS):
Problem description | LaTeX + other source files | Outputted PDF | Extra files | CLIPS
(Extra files include the DOT files I used for graphviz, Microsoft Visio Drawing of the family tree and the CLIPS files I made.)
Assignment 3 (Protégé):
This was not done in LaTeX because I did not have access to my own computer. If you're interested, tell me, and I'll find the sources from Protégé and Microsoft Word anyway.
Assignment 4 (Hugin/Probability Theory):
Problem description | LaTeX + other source files | Outputted PDF | Extra files | Hugin
(Extra files include the multiple probabilistic networks.)
Assignment 5 (Fuzzy Logic/Systems):
Problem description | LaTeX + other source files | Outputted PDF | Extra files
(Extra files include the Maple 13 file to model the functions.)
4 comments:
- Anonymous11 January 2010 at 15:06
If you know any grad students, ask them for paper or thesis sources. Also often your department or other departments have sample latex theses.ReplyDelete
I remember using LaTeX to write up homework exercises in physics and maths courses (typeset derivations are much easier to read than my scrawling hand writing) and logic courses (where I found it easier to typeset a proof and draw it by hand).ReplyDelete
For Dot (and, I think GNUplot), I used some environment macros which feed the contents of the environment (the Dot code, for example) through an external program (like `dot` or one of the other layouts). This lets you have everything in a single source file and rebuilt the document with a single `pdflatex`
Hmm using macros like that sounds quite a bit nicer :). I'll remember it for the next time.ReplyDelete
Well most grad students I know aren't doing anything in LaTeX anyway. But at least some people will now be able to use some sources without having to ask around.
- Anonymous8 March 2010 at 09:45
try using pgftikz, it is a very nice graphics package for latexReplyDelete


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The Dura Grappler® is a highway terrain tyre that provides a combination of tread life and ride comfort. The Dura Grappler® is suitable for a wide variety of light trucks, SUVs and CUVs. It is also available in popular 'E' load range, heavy-duty LT sizes for today's demanding diesel trucks. All P-Metric sizes in the Dura Grappler® line come with a 5-rib pattern. Whether you're working on a construction site or towing your toys, the Dura Grappler® was designed to meet your needs. Traction: A Temperature: B
(Price includes GST)


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A journal dedicated to truth, freedom of speech and radical spiritual consciousness. Our mission is the liberation of men and women from oppression, violence and abuse of any kind, interpersonal, political, religious, economic, psychosexual. We believe as Fidel Castro said, "The weapon of today is not guns but consciousness."
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Pacifica Radio Rejects Advocacy Identity
Posted by Marvin X. Jackmon at 2:19 AM
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text:
Captain's ReportRoom for the Family with Performance of a Skiboat--Vectra's 2572 O/BBy Capt. Bob SmithDeckboats are growing more and more popular because of their versatility and ability to be a large cruising platform and an agile speed boat. ConstructionThe Vectra 2572 has plenty of interior cockpit space for friends and family. The 2572's hull has a 5-year warranty and they use 24 ounce Woven Roving fiberglass and a six inch overlap adds extra strength and durability in stress areas. The reverse chine hull delivers speed and agility as well as a smooth dry ride. The one-piece stringer system is composite for rot-free service and the composite transom reinforcement eliminates the worry about wood rot at that critical point of the boat.Bow FeaturesStarting at the bow, the Vectra 2575 has docking lights for safely approaching the docks or the trailer after dark. The spacious platform offers a great place to hang out at anchor on the plush marine grade seating which has plenty of room below for storing your gear. With the filler cushions added, this area transforms into a huge sun platform for soaking up rays. Other features include bow speakers which face the riders for clear listening, pop-up cleats which keep the gunwale tops clear, and a large in the floor locker up front. The port side entry is the preferred method to climb on board if you are parked alongside the dock. At the ControlsBeneath the helm is another large storage compartment with room for adding stereo amps and player parts. The helm is raised giving you tremendous legroom and putting the instruments up higher for better underway view. Simulated brushed aluminum panels improve the elegant look and the helm seat is just as comfortable as the loungers. Just below the stereo is a MP3 jack so you can play your favorites. On the companion side is a swing-out door to a changing room with Porta-Potti. The aft benches add more room for your friends to join you underway, and the filler cushions create another tanning lounge back here. Watersports FeaturesThe walk-through on our test boat was to port and came outfitted with a second stereo control head, a swim shower, and a hatch with two fender keepers in the sole. Across the back was a swim platform on port with four-step telescoping ladder and a storage locker in the stern on the starboard side.SpecificationsThe Vectra 2572 measures 24'1" in overall length and has a beam of 102 inches. She weighs 3075 lbs dry and carries a maximum of 2800 lbs of people and gear. Inside depth is a very kid-safe 32 inches. She can handle up to a 250-hp outboard for power and carries 75 gallons of fuel.Test Results & PerfomanceThe Vectra 2575 O/B handled smoothly with great response at the wheel. She was on plane in 4.8 seconds and up to 30mph in 8.8 seconds. She cruised most economically turning 3500 rpm at 27.8mph allowing a full tank range of 261 miles. On test day with the Honda 225-hp four-stroke she reached a maximum speed of 47.5 mph.The Vectra 2575 O/B maximizes room for friends and family and also gives you the power to ski, pull water toys, or just get to your destination fast.
Test Result Highlights
- Top speed for the Vectra 2572 OB (2007-) is 47.5 mph (76.4 kph), burning 19.7 gallons per hour (gph) or 74.56 liters per hour (lph).
- Best cruise for the Vectra 2572 OB (2007-) is 27.8 mph (44.7 kph), and the boat gets 3.86 miles per gallon (mpg) or 1.64 kilometers per liter (kpl), giving the boat a cruising range of 261 miles (420.04 kilometers).
- Tested power is 1 x 225-hp Honda 4-stroke (outboard).
Standard and Optional Features
|CD Stereo
|Head: Portable
|Shore Power
|Washdown: Fresh Water
Exterior Features
|Swim Ladder
|Swim Platform
|Standard Bow & Stern
|Tower: Watersports
|Transom Door
|Wet bar
|Bimini Top
|Cockpit Cover
Full Warranty Information on this brand coming soon!
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Naomi Campbell: New Year's Eve on the Beach in Kenya!
Naomi Campbell wears a white dress that blows in the wind while celebrating New Year's Eve 2014 on Tuesday (December 31) in Malindi, Kenya.
The 43-year-old supermodel attended the New Year's Eve Billionaire Party that evening on the beach alongside her ex-partner Flavio Briatore and his current wife Elisabetta Gregoraci.
PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Naomi Campbell
The next day, Naomi was seen wearing a bikini while going for a boat ride to enjoy the beautiful weather.
30+ pictures inside of Naomi Campbell celebrating New Year's Eve on the beach…


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Kovacevic: 7 ways to win without Big Ben
The number of positives to be culled from Ben Roethlisberger's injury couldn't reasonably be counted on one clavicle.
At the same time, am I the only one who finds it silly that so many seem ready to bury these Steelers before seeing, you know, at least one more game?
Oh, well. Without further ado, then, and without bidding adieu to all hope for 2012 just yet, here are seven suggestions for how this team might — that's might — overcome losing No. 7:
7. Believe.
Intangibles can be overstated in sports. Not in this case. If the Steelers don't think they can win without Ben, especially with the Ravens on tap two of the next three weeks, they won't.
Doesn't seem to be an issue, based on my talk Tuesday with veteran guard Ramon Foster.
"We've been through this before, when Ben was out four games in 2010, and we went 3-1. We held our own then, and we can hold our own now," the big man said, serious as a Willie Colon cuss word. "Look, we'd love to have Ben back. But there's nothing we can't do as a team, and we're going to come together and fight no matter who's back there for us."
6. Run, run, run.
Simplest solution to losing a quarterback is to keep the ball on the ground. Which makes all of Todd Haley's emphasis on running — futile as it was early on — now look pretty smart.
Neither Jonathan Dwyer nor Isaac Redman had much room Monday, but the Steelers acknowledged afterward that the Chiefs' underappreciated quickness and size on defense had much to do with that.
The Steelers do have a good running game. They've shown it. The Ray-less Ravens rank 26th in rushing defense, giving up 132 yards per game.
No need to overthink this.
5. Go shorter.
Byron Leftwich will get the nod over Charlie Batch, and that's OK, I guess, with Leftwich having taken all backup snaps since the first day at Latrobe.
Still, it's fair to wonder if that's the best fit for Haley's dink-and-dunk. Leftwich, whose arm is as strong as any in the NFL, scans downfield by default. When he did look short, he made little out of quick hits to Mike Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders and — most egregious — failed to find Heath Miller. It looked outright scary.
A tight end is the backup QB's best friend. Spot Miller and aim squarely between the 8 and 3.
4. Get AB back.
This might sound nuts, but it sure looked like the Steelers missed Antonio Brown more than anyone — Ben included — Monday night.
Kansas City deserves credit for its sticky secondary and a scheme that had six or seven dropping back, but it still was glaring that the receivers couldn't create any daylight.
That's Brown's specialty, of course, and his daylight leads to more for his mates, notably Wallace. But Brown's high ankle sprain — which he described after the game Monday as "not quite where I want it to be" — still has him questionable.
It would be a huge boon to the offense if that changes.
3. Tighten up on D.
"I think we took a step back on defense," James Harrison said Monday, and he was right.
Forget the 13 points. Fact is, the offense-starved Chiefs got 100 yards out of Jamaal Charles despite laughably predictable running patterns to the right. They averaged 4.6 yards per play overall and were done in only by going 2 of 13 on third downs.
The Ravens will target Ziggy Hood and LaMarr Woodley for Ray Rice's patterns, too, and those two need to get the job done without Dick LeBeau's schematic first aid. There's no reason a first-round pick and a $61.5 million linebacker should require safety support.
2. Rage against the Ravens.
No time is a good one for the franchise QB to go down, but if there's a week where the Steelers wouldn't dwell on it, this is it.
As Mike Tomlin boomed in his news conference Tuesday, "It's Ravens week for us. This is going to be an awesome game."
Tuesday was supposed to be an off day, but players showed up on the South Side for day-long workouts and already were licking their lips to resume the NFL's most belligerent rivalry.
"Oh, this is real," Foster said. "And it starts in practice. We start getting nasty with each other in drills, man. There's no other way to get ready for Baltimore."
1. Hope Ben heals. Soon.
Hey, no one said this would be easy, right?
Dejan Kovacevic is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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< Tax Hike Bill Failrs In Oregon Senate
Jul 03, 2013 06:44
Category: General News
Category: General News
Texas Abortion Bill Moves Forward
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — New abortion restrictions are moving ahead in Texas. State Republicans limited testimony at a public hearing and voted the bill out of committee. The full Texas House will vote next week. The bill was scuttled during the last special session when final approval was voted after time ran out.


text:
DrTati needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 123 designs submitted by 42 freelance designers.
Red Fox is a veterinary practice management program. which aids vets in the daily administration of their animal clinic. Benefits include medical diagnosis, accounting, laborotory, X-Ray and more. This program is more comprehensive than any other program currently on the market.
Red Fox
So Smart!
Desired Color Scheme:
We are open to your creativity
Desired Style:
Modern, clean, technical, cutting edge, medical
Accepted File Formats:
Vector Formats (.eps, .pdf or .ai)
We are looking for a fresh, clean, modern logo design. Think cutting edge, medical, professional and technical. Here is a link to a sketch which is just an idea of a possible direction http://www.veterinaireonline.com/logo.jpg
Please stay away from designs that are homey and cutsie.
Must be original artwork cannot accept anything that is copyrighted or trademarked. No clipart, stock photography or stock artwork. You must be willing to provide in writing, that you warrant the originality of the artwork you submit.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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NC JUSTICE CENTER BRIEF: Family and Medical Leave Insurance - A Crucial Investment in North Carolina's Families and Economy
By Sabine Schoenbach
Policy Analyst
May 2012
- Most of North Carolina's caregivers are engaging in both care work and paid work, yet current workplace policies do not recognize these dual responsibilities.
- Although the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides unpaid leave to eligible employees, eligibility rules keep the FMLA out reach for many workers. Even for workers who are eligible, the lack of paid leave can keep leave time inaccessible.
- Family and Medical Leave Insurance programs have been implemented in other states to fill the need for paid leave, and have been shown to create benefits for workers, businesses, and the economy.
Research & Publications:


text:
Favorite Products of 2006
The editors, contributing writers, Editorial Advisory Board and readers of Food Processing collectively picked eight top product of the past year: Dannon Activia, PepsiCo's Diet Pepsi Jazz, Kool Freeze's Kulfi bars, Birds Eye Foods Steamfresh, Campbell V8 V-Fusion, Wish-Bone Salad Spritzers, Nspired Natural Foods - OCocos cocoa crisps, and Kellogg Co.'s Special K Protein Meal and Snack Bars and Special K20 Protein Waters.
Even though the food industry faced tremendous challenges from food safety scares, the feds, watchdog groups blaming the industry for obesity, shareholder demands for instant gratification and consumer attrition to foodservice, this was a very good year for new product introductions.
Health benefits beyond nutrition, innovative new technologies for veggies and salad dressing, bold/creative flavor combinations and calorie reduction through portion control were attributes of Food Processing's favorite new products of the past 12 months. And, of course, good taste.
These eight new products were suggested by the editors, contributing writers, Editorial Advisory Board and readers of Food Processing. We must confess, it was a more difficult decision this year because participants were passionate about their suggestions. Happily, we are all speaking to and taste-testing new products with each other again.
Dannon Activia: Teaching gut instinct
Dannon nails the three most important trends today - convenience, portion control and wellness - in its new yogurt product Activia.
Led by younger consumers, U.S. sales of yogurt have grown 10 percent annually for the past three decades, meaning consumption has doubled every 7.2 years, reports Time. "Give it a few more generations, and this could be the No. 1 food," says Harry Balzer, vice president of the NPD Group. "This is where the country is heading."
Early this year, The Dannon Co., White Plains, N.Y., a subsidiary of France's Group Danone, launched low-fat Dannon Activia, the first yogurt in the U.S. to use probiotics that are clinically proven to help regulate the digestive system "in two weeks when eaten daily as part of a healthy and balanced diet," as the promotions say. Each 4-oz. serving of Activia contains billions of beneficial probiotic cultures, including its trademarked Bifidus regularis.
DHA for growing children
Danone Canada Inc. launched Danino, a yogurt for children containing DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), an essential fatty acid important for children's growth and development. Many studies have shown DHA plays an essential role in optimal brain and eye development and, when available in sufficient quantities, it helps improve learning, memory and concentration.
Flavors include Strawberry, Banana, Raspberry and Peach. "In addition to consuming fish, Danino is an easy and delicious way to help kids contribute to their daily need for DHA," says Tom Pugh, director of marketing with Danone Canada Inc. Danino contains the Meg-3 DHA brand provided by Ocean Nutrition Canada Ltd.
Probiotic yogurt and dairy drinks sell to the tune of $10 billion worldwide and the market is growing. Activia has been one of Groupe Danone's best selling yogurt products globally, generating some 650 million Euros in 2004 sales in more than 20 countries, primarily in Europe and Asia. Finns eat 50 lbs. of yogurt, the French consume 49.1 lbs. and the Saudis eat 46.6 lbs. a year on average. Americans, who have been slow to get on the yogurt bandwagon, average 7 lbs.
Although Danone has been in the U.S. marketplace since 1942, this is its first major push to promote the health benefits of its yogurts. The company is cranking up production capacity and targeting niches such as the Hispanic community, reports MarketWatch. In 1980, U.S. sales of yogurt were a measly $300 million, but in 2005, they registered $3.5 billion.
Probiotics, which literally means "for life," are living microorganisms, "friendly" bacteria. Elie Metchnikoff, a Russian physiologist and Nobel-prize winner, suggested in 1907 that consuming friendly bacteria could have a beneficial effect. He named one strain Lactobacillus bulgaricus, based on the long life span and good health of the yogurt-consuming Bulgarian people.
Activia is packaged in 4-oz. cups in four- and eight-packs and is available in six flavors: Strawberry, Vanilla, Blueberry, Peach, Prune and Mixed Berry. It works by helping to reduce long intestinal transit time for food to pass through the digestive system. Studies show this reduction has reached up to 40 percent, depending on levels consumed and demographic profile. For individuals whose digestive system is functioning regularly, Activia has no adverse effects and provides all the benefits expected of a traditional yogurt.
"Irregularity is a source of true discomfort for many people who experience feelings of being heavy and bloated - a person's entire day can be ruined by even a mild digestive problem," says Michael Roizen, MD, professor of medicine and chair of the Division of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine and Comprehensive Pain Management at the Cleveland Clinic. He also authored two bestselling books: "RealAge: Are You As Young As You Can Be?" and "You: The Owner's Manual."
"Those who experience irregularity can take several measures to help get their digestive system back on track, like drinking more water, consuming more high fiber foods, such as fruits and vegetables, exercising more often and eating Activia daily for two weeks," says Dr. Roizen. "Activia, with its probiotic cultures, provides an innovative and good-tasting new way to help address this all too-common problem."
"Americans are increasingly looking to food for benefits beyond basic nutrition, and probiotics, such as Activia, and our other great-tasting wellness products, including DanActive, do just this while accelerating growth in the already expanding yogurt category," says Juan Carlos Dalto, president and CEO. "As a new product, Activia is unique in how it combines great taste and a clinically demonstrated benefit."
- Diane Toops
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text:
It's easy to understand why someone who owns one of the 2.6 million recalled General Motors cars with faulty ignition switches might not want to drive it until the defective part can be replaced.
That's why GM told its dealers to give their customers a loaner if they asked for one.
During her appearances on Capitol Hill this week, CEO Mary Barra told Congress that the company has "empowered our dealers to take extraordinary measures" to assist its customers. And she specifically mentioned the free loaner policy.
Read MoreHere's what GM needs to do: Ralph Nader
"If people do not want to drive a recalled vehicle before it is repaired, dealers can provide them with a loaner or rental car—free of charge," she testified.
So how do people find out about this, when that information wasn't included in the recall notice and isn't posted on the GM website?
Click here to see the recall notice.
Lawyers for GM owners in California filed a motion on Tuesday asking a U.S. District Court judge to order the automaker to immediately notify customers about the loaner program. They say this notification is required by California's Secret Warranty law, which prohibits a vehicle manufacturer from quietly starting an "adjustment program" without telling everyone who is eligible to participate.


text:
"The kingdom of God, beloved brothers and sisters, has drawn near," wrote St. Cyprian. "The reward of life, the joy of eternal salvation, the perpetual happiness and the possession of paradise once lost are now coming as the world passes away." Cyprian, the bishop of Carthage, wrote in the third century. Was he wrong in saying the kingdom of God is near? Or that the world is passing away? No, and this week's readings can help us more deeply appreciate his perspective.
Centuries earlier, the prophet Malachi wrote of an approaching day of judgment and justice, a day "blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch ..." Malachi was writing in the fifth century B.C., after the people had returned to Jerusalem from exile, and he proclaimed the need for deep spiritual and institutional reform, especially among the priesthood. Those who fear and follow God, he said, will see the "sun of justice" arising, a sun with "healing rays." The prophet wrote of a future messenger — identified as Elijah, the prophet — who would arrive "before the day of the Lord comes, the great and terrible day" (Mal 3:23).
That messenger was John the Baptist, and the "sun of justice" was Jesus of Nazareth. As John preached repentance, he also preached about a man mightier than himself. "I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." Everyone will be judged by the Son of Justice, and this strong truth is found throughout the Gospels. The difficulty, however, is while God's judgment has begun and is ongoing, it will not be fully realized and revealed until the End.
Jennifer Rey is the web editor of Our Sunday Visitor Publishing.
Copyright © 1996-2018 Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.


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posted by Thom Holwerda on Tue 9th Nov 2010 22:31 UTC, submitted by poundsmack
"This release incorporates major changes to the core of the Xfce desktop environment and hopefully succeeds in fulfilling a number of long time requests. Among the most notable updates is that we have ported the entire Xfce core (Thunar, xfdesktop and thunar-volman in particular) from ThunarVFS to GIO, bringing remote filesystems to the Xfce desktop. The panel has been rewritten from scratch and provides better launcher management and improved multi-head support. The list of new panel features is too long to mention in its entirety here. Thanks to the new menu library garcon (formerly known as libxfce4menu, but rewritten once again) we now support menu editing via a third-party menu editor such as Alacarte (we do not ship our own yet). Our core libraries have been streamlined a bit, a good examplle being the newly introduced libxfce4ui library which is meant to replace libxfcegui4."


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British Broadcasting CorporationHome
WWII: The Soviet Union Joins the Allies | Reporting the uneasy alliance made with Stalin's Russia
Document Type | Memo
23 June 1941
Now that Britain and the USSR share a common enemy, the Director of Variety at the BBC asks for guidance on how Russia should be treated.
A swift reply comes from the Controller of Programmes which makes it very clear that jokes about Russia are not appropriate in the light of Germany's attack on the USSR.
Tommy Handley, mentioned in this document, was the star of the hugely successful wartime comedy show 'ITMA'. 'ITMA' stood for 'It's That Man Again', which was a phrase invented by the 'Daily Express' to refer to Hitler.
John Watt oversaw many of the most popular variety successes of the time including 'Workers' Playtime' and 'Band Waggon'. He later went onto to become a well-liked compere of 'Housewives Choice'.
The Director General of the Ministry of Information speaks on its wartime role.
The Home Service interrupts its programming to make a special announcement.
The Soviet Ambassador praises British workers for 'Tanks for Russia' week.
The British Foreign Secretary travels to Moscow as Germany invades Russia.
Colonel Britton introduces a broadcast to the occupied territories by Ambassador Sir Stafford Cripps.
A former British resident of Moscow describes life there during the war.
A member of the RAF's medical staff visits war-torn Moscow.
BBC bosses advise programme makers to tread carefully when referring to Russia.
The importance of wartime news and the dangers of listening to it in Poland.
As Germany invades Russia, the BBC ponders the appropriateness of humour.
Programme makers are warned of continuing sensitivities with Russia.
A German propaganda broadcast meant to appeal to christians in Britain.
Examples of how Russia tailored its propaganda to national identities.
Scrutiny of the BBC intensifies.
Evidence of Soviet atrocities in Lwow [Lviv] reaches the BBC.
'Stalin is a primitive Caucasian bandit.'
The Head of Talks details the problems with broadcasting features on the USSR.
How to balance news reporting with morale building.
'The Internationale' can now be played, if caution is taken.
Should the BBC try to temper public enthusiasm for Russia?
Should the BBC try to temper public enthusiasm for Russia?
'Let the false legend prevail', the government advises.
'As regards the recent crisis in Russo-Polish relations, we have been most circumspect.'
The theme for the special programme is described.
Plans for a night of programmes dedicated to Russia cause concern at the Foreign Office.
Press release describing the night's schedule.
Script set in an aircraft factory which supplies Russia.
The BBC inadvertently causes a diplomatic row with unvetted broadcasts from Russia.
Churchill's statement about his conference with Stalin must dominate the news.
The latest news on the war and how much can be shared with audiences.
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An Olympic medalist from Taunton is back in the United States after bringing home silver from Sochi.
Taunton's Michelle Picard, 20, and the U.S. women's hockey team arrived at Logan Airport on Monday night after winning the silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Now, city officials in Taunton are planning a welcome home celebration for Picard to fete the hockey player for her Olympic accomplishments.
The Team USA players remained together and had a team dinner on Tuesday night, Picard's family said.
The day after losing in a heartbreaking gold medal final match against Canada last Thursday, Picard had a special Twitter message for everyone who was watching back at home.
"Thank you to all the U.S.A. hockey fans and supporters out there," Picard wrote. "I am blessed to have been on an amazing journey with incredible teammates."
Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. said the city will be welcoming Michelle back to her hometown on Friday with a public celebration at the Silver City Galleria.
"We couldn't be prouder of Michelle and Team USA for their performance in the Olympics," Hoye said. "Michelle represented Taunton like a true champion, and we are very excited to welcome her home."
Picard will be in attendance this Friday at 5 p.m. at the Silver City Galleria's center court to celebrate her Olympic medal, according to Hoye's office. Picard will be available from 5 to 6 p.m. to sign autographs and take pictures, Hoye's office said.
This event is open to the public and free to attend, Hoye's office said. Questions about the event can be directed to the Taunton Mayor's Office by phone at 508-821-1000.
Picard may be the first silver medal winner from Taunton. According to Sports Reference, an online database of statistics and athletic history, the only other Olympic athlete from Taunton was Mildred Dee, who was born in the city and won the bronze medal for the running high jump during the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.
Michelle Picard grew up playing in Taunton at Aleixo Arena, before later attending the Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, where she played high school hockey. Picard attends Harvard University and plays college hockey for the Crimson.
Before joining the Olympic women's hockey squad last year, Picard also won several medals with the U.S. U-18 youth national team, including a gold medal at the World Championships in 2011.


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Advanced ICU Care launched the first external tele-ICU solution, revolutionizing patient care for hospitals' and systems' most critical patients. We've been the innovative leaders in the space ever since.
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Advanced ICU Care announced the recipients of its 2nd annual I SEE YOU CARE Awards, recognizing hospitals and individuals who exemplify the collaborative partnership between bedside care providers and Advanced ICU Care's remote clinical team.
Evaluation of telemedicine frequently blurs the line between the proven value of clinical telemedicine and the developing case for consumer-directed telehealth solutions. In our first POV, we draw on our experience to provide useful insight.
Article draws on two recent studies to add to growing body of evidence of tele-ICU impact.
Complementing care provided by bedside intensivists with an around-the-clock, collaborative care tele-ICU improves patient outcomes.


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The jig is up for Craigslist; the popular classified ads site has officially unveiled its map view feature on select cities to help apartment hunters get a sense of listing locations. Looks like the embedded maps feature spotted back in August eventually became a site-wide deal after all.
Like the testing preview we previously noticed on the Bay Area and Portland Craigslist sites, the map allows you to zoom in and out of a particular location, with circles identifying the number of listings nearby scattering the closer you zoom in. The circles are also color-coded to represent heavier volumes of listings, such as orange for hot spots and green for less-in-demand locales. The map is Javascript-based, and runs off data from OpenStreetMap, so the option also works on most smartphones.
The new feature is similar to Instagram's Photo Map that geo-plots the various locations of your photo based on where you tagged it. So far, we've tested the Craigslist map search in various cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Austin — even Anchorage — and they all contain the Map View option, which is highlighted in green when you first click any category under Housing. New York is still without a map, likely due to the volume of listings the city receives a day. It's a crying shame, too, considering the amount of people who come and go in this city on a daily basis.
From what we can tell, the service works pretty well but a few bugs still plague listings that have recently been removed or marked as spam. For example, check out the above random "luxury" one bedroom we found sitting in the middle of Lake Michigan. One simple click led us to the disappointment that this apartment has either been taken down or sold, but it was nice to entertain the thought that Craigslist believed someone posted an apartment located in the waters. Still, even without this curious incident, the Map View on Craigslist has a long way to go. In the example above, just 428 out of 2,072 listings were deemed "mappable," meaning that if you were actively apartment hunting, you could miss out on a ton of viable options.
The rollout comes just months after Craigslist launched a full-on war against Padmapper and 3taps, so it's not surprising that this is what the site had under wraps after all. No word on whether a similar option might come to other Craigslist categories in the near future.


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Let your little ones embrace their inner fashion queens with our range of printed baby girls tops and t-shirts. There are pretty pastels, bold brights and cute character designs to choose from. For brand new arrivals, our range of baby girls clothes means they can look super stylish from day one.
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White Sox claim Lars Anderson off waivers from Arizona
CHICAGO – The Chicago White Sox have acquired first baseman Lars Anderson off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
CHICAGO – The Chicago White Sox have acquired first baseman Lars Anderson off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Anderson, 25, appeared in six games with Boston last season, going 1-8 (.125). He spent most of the season with Class AAA Pawtucket, batting .259 (88-340) with nine home runs, 52 RBI and 49 runs scored. Anderson was traded to Cleveland on July 31, 2012 for right-hander Steven Wright and finished the season with Class AAA Columbus, appearing in 18 games.
The 6-foot-5, 195-pounder was traded to Arizona on December 11, 2012 with infielder Didi Gregorius and left-hander Tony Sipp in exchange for right-handers Matt Albers, Trevor Bauer and Bryan Shaw. Anderson was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks on January 24, 2013.
Anderson has appeared in 30 career games over three major-league seasons with Boston (2010-12), hitting .167 (8-48) with four RBI.
Anderson, who bats and throws left-handed, originally was drafted by Boston in the 18th round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft. He entered the 2009 season rated by Baseball America as the No. 1 Prospect in the Red Sox organization.
With Anderson's addition, the White Sox 40-man roster increases to 40.


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Wednesday, August 31, 2011
* ReCycle Craft: Milk Carton Weaving!
This recycled milk carton project was inspired
by our recycled cup weaving project!
We used the same technique as our cup weaving project.
But this time we started by cutting down two empty
and washed out cardboard 1/2 gallon milk containers.
To help the glue stick, the girls and I sanded the outside
of both cartons lightly with a sanding block.
Then, we mixed up an Elmer's white school glue and water solution
to use as homemade Mod Podge.
We painted the exterior of each container with the glue and water solution
and pressed on our paper. For the "spotty" carton we used a scrap
of old wrapping paper and the rainbow band is a strip cut off of a
tissue paper package. The other box is an old road map from the beach.
Allow the glue time to dry completely. Ours took a couple of hours.
Then, you'll need to cut even slits with a pair of scissors around the container.
I used my nice, new, sharp X-Acto brand scissors that Elmer's Glue sent us!
After that, you're ready to start weaving.
I recommend using an assortment
of yarns, threads, string for a variety of textures.
Tuck your loose ends inside the cup (or tie them together inside).
We use our cups to hold art supplies
like pens, markers, scissors, and paint brushes.
Happy Re-Cycle Crafting!
pink and green mama, MaryLea
Posted by pink and green mama MaryLea
Labels: Elmer's Glue, Mod Podge, Recycle Crafts, School Age, Weaving, Yarn
Blog Archive
- ► 2013 (74)
- ► 2012 (164)
- * ReCycle Craft: Milk Carton Weaving!
- * ReCycle Craft: Paper Cup Weaving!
- * Melted Disney Princess Crayon Rainbow Canvas!
- * Make a Melted RAINBOW Crayon Canvas!
- * Elmer's Back To School Giveaway!
- * Permanent Marker and Watercolor Resist Weaving
- * Permanent Marker and Rubbing Alcohol Technique f...
- * Elmer's Gel Glue Batik Aprons
- * How To Make Elmer's Glue Rainbow Glue - ReCycle ...
- * Black Glue and Watercolor Resist: How To Make Bl...
- * Foam Core Puppet Theatre With Elmer's Kids Craft...
- * Elmer's Kids Craft Camp Giveaway Week!
- * Smart Summer Challenge Week 6 Final Super, Doope...
- * Outer Space Themed Sensory Box
- * Outer Space Planet Counting Plates and Preschool...
- * Out Of This World Homemade Outer Space Bean Bags...
- * Homemade Outer Space Felt Board and Felt Build A...
- * Splatter Paint and Watercolor Outer Space Pictur...
- ▼ August (18)
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- ► 2009 (161)


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This is a new semi-weekly column from Leitch. It has words, and pictures. It's called Ten Humans Of The Week. It might or might not work. But here it is.
In Stephen King's "On Writing" — the only real book about writing I've actually found helpful, which is probably why I'm more a typist than a writer — he describes three types of writers. At the bottom are the bad ones, or, as King puts it, "found on the staff of your local newspaper, on the racks at your local bookstore, and at poetry readings on Open Mike Night." In the middle are most of us, including himself. He says his basic premise is that "if you're a bad writer, no one can help you become a good one, or even a competent one. If you're good and want to be great ... fuhgeddaboudit." The idea is that you can become better, but you can't become a genius.
Which, considering how he describes the great ones, is a relief. "They are geniuses, divine accidents, gifted in a way which is beyond our ability to understand, let alone attain. Shit, most geniuses aren't able to understand themselves, and many of them live miserable lives, realizing (at least on some level) that they are nothing but fortunate freaks, the intellectual version of runway models who just happen to be born with the right cheekbones and with breasts which fit the image of an age."
I just finished reading the New Yorker's epic profile of David Foster Wallace, and I will say this: I have never been happier to reside in the Blissful Mediocre. DFW was so good that it wasn't enough to say something no one had said before; he forced himself to try to invent an entirely new way of saying it. That's the type of thing that will drive a man mad. It's hard enough to even make sense, let alone try to change the fashion in which humans communicate, avoid saying something any other person has ever said and the way they said it. Christ. It makes my brain bleed just thinking about it. David Foster Wallace was the guy fromPi, only with words instead of numbers. (Though he was into numbers too.)
There are many, many times I'm pleased not to be very smart. Reading that story was definitely one of them. Thank God I'm a hack!
Jim Bowden. I'm proud to report than I saw Jim Bowden's last game as Washington Nationals general manager, and considering Corey Patterson was batting cleanup, I'd say I had a rather representative sample. I'll still miss the guy. You have to love a man who so lacks self-awareness and is so non-self-conscious that he gleefully rode a Segway around training camp. This Washington Post story sums up most of his genius, but for my money, you can't beat his and his girlfriend's dual DUI and domestic abuse arrests a couple of years ago. The world of baseball is a little more boring without him, and a lot safer.
Maurice Clarett. Even though it has apparently been around a while, Maurice Clarett's blog was new to me and probably most of you. I've been pretty blown away by it, and found it so fascinating that I went back to see just how mean I was to Clarett on this site back when he was in the news. I was relieved to note that I wasn't too bad, mainly because it was clear from the get-go that this was a case of mental illness more than it was one of pure malice. (Though this PhotoShop wasn't very nice.) It's worth noting that the guy writes better than most Wordpress bloggers I've seen. I'm glad he's getting some help; I'd forgotten about this old YouTube video from the Draft Combine. The man never did play again after the National Championship Game. Now he's fighting the real enemy: Blog commenters. Those people ARE ANIMALS!
Jay Cutler. Forgive me if I have a difficult time mustering up much sympathy for Jay Cutler. So far, all that has been confirmed is that someone called the Broncos to ask if Cutler would be available in trade. They may have said yes, they may have said no, but that's pretty far from We Are Trying To Trade Jay Cutler. (Now, of course, our friends at PFT are linking him to the Vikings. By the way, I'd love to see Philip Rivers play for the Vikings someday, just to see how Drew would handle it.) And it looks like Cutler's the one who wanted to be traded anyway. The media in Denver's gonna be all over him, right? Let's see what the main columnist over there has to say: "When somebody calls about Jay, Kid Mac or the X-Man should hang up. And the face of your franchise should not be treated like ground beef." I don't think I understood a single world of that paragraph. Is it a talk radio media column? Kid Mac! The X-Man!
Barney Frank. Our one openly gay Congressman is opening up the back door (ahem!) to legal online gambling, as long as it's taxed by the government, because if the government taxes something, that makes it totally OK! I personally would love the Cabinet office of Line Setting. May I nominate William Bennett for Secretary? (UPDATE: Sorry, Rep. Polis!)
Rex Grossman. Obviously, it's impossible to blame the Bears or their fans for doing backflips to see Sexy Rexy finally leaving town. But there's legitimate sadness too in recognizing that the Bears will now be just another boring team with a boring quarterback running boring plays. (No offense, Kyle, of course.) I can't put it better than Spencer Hall: "You probably like your airline pilots and heart surgeons sober, too, you pack of tiptoeing nervous nellies. Hate on, safety freaks. Rex is leaving town, and he's doing it on a flaming train full of bikini-clad hotties with the devil's breath at his back, and he's not using the brakes until he hits something full of money and victory." In a perfect world, Rex would quarterback every Arena League team.
Matthew Leach. Like anyone who grew up thinking writing for a newspaper would be the most double-plus neato way to make a living, I was saddened by the closing of the Rocky Mountain News this week. (I read Dave Cullen's upcoming Columbine, which documents how much the RMN owned the Post in coverage of the tragedy.) The next journalism model — what a reality show that would be, by the way — hasn't been figured out yet, and, sadly for RMN, it didn't get here in time. I do know what the next model of sports beat reporting is, though, and it's best personified by Leach (the St. Louis Cardinals beat reporter for STLCardinals.com) and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Throughout spring training, they've been filing regular stories throughout each game — readers could check out quotes from Chris Carpenter's first spring start by the fourth inning — and both Leach and Goold have active Twitter pages with updates, musings and responses to followers. If you are watching a Cardinals game on TV (or even in the stadium), you can ask one of the top two beat reporters covering the team a question and get a response, specific to you (but for the world to see), during the game. Isn't this how a team should be covered? Remember when journalists used to be impossible to contact? Accountability, interaction and constant news. Heck, not even Mitch Albom would be against this, right? (Other team's reporters are doing this too, of course, but I don't update their feeds every 15 minutes.) Leach and Goold are showing off a new way of covering baseball, and I hope everyone remembers how great they were when they're inevitably laid off and sold into Chinese labor camps, like the rest of us, in 16 months.
Andy Rooney. As I've mentioned before, I own every book Andy Rooney has ever written and pretty much just adore the guy. I've forgiven that awful baseball column, the sleeping through the Super Bowl, even, yes, the infamous Kurt Cobain commentary. ("His jeans clearly weren't ripped from doing any real work! Like during the Depression!") I've always though the man had the right to talk about whatever he wanted at the end of "60 Minutes" — which, because I'm also 94 years old, I still watch every week — because, every once in a while, he'd fire off something great, and eternal. Or at least in my mind. But man, after this week's segment, I have to, finally, say that maybe it's time for Andy to go. Listen, we've all had that moment when, the day before something is due, we've panicked and thrown something together halfass at the last minute. (Like, for example, this column.) But Rooney's commentary this week was ... well, it was literally just a bunch of words strung together, seemingly at random. What was the point of this one again? Time is passing? There are months? Sometimes it's cold and sometimes it isn't? I know it's easy to laugh at him, but it just makes me sad. Next time he sets up for another segment in his office, someone should just not tell him the cameras not running. This causes me no joy. And yes: I'm aware the rest of you have thought this for about 20 years.
Curt Schilling. Johnny 38 Pitches has openly asked the Cubs to court him, which makes sense, because national reporters will need someone to pop in and be the go-to questions-about-The-"Curse" guy. Lou Piniella is too busy, Ryan Theriot is too boring and Carlos Marmol is too Latino. If I were a Cubs fan, I'd be awfully excited about my chances. Nobody's better at Futurespotting a global media opportunity than Curt Schilling. If he wants to play for you, it means you're about to get a ton of airtime.
Ichiro Suzuki. So I finally reached the Mariners chapter of Baseball Prospectus 2009, and man, are they ever down on Ichiro. Understandably, of course: He's a single hitter with little power, aging wheels and a walk phobia. But good old PECOTA actually has him batting .292 this year! With three homers and 20 stolen bases! Sheesh, those are Cesar Izturis numbers! That can't be right, can it? I don't think I'm ready to be old enough to live in a world where Ichiro is batting under .300. I wonder what his interpreter has to say about this.
Norm Van Lier. I never had an NBA team growing up, but because I went to the University of Illinois during the Bulls' dynasty, I watched a lot of their games during a formative (read: stoned) time. My favorite part of every televised game was Norm Van Lier, who died Thursday. (David Aldridge has a great tribute.) He wasn't the smoothest analyst, or the most self-aware, but he was also Norm, cranky, brittle and waiting for you to stop talking so he could start, (Here's a good example.) Norm Van Lier never quite seemed aware he was on television, which is the foundation of many a great television personality. (You really should have seen this guy the day after Scottie Pippen's refusal to re-enter the game during the 1994 playoffs.) The Sun-Times said his funeral was attended by Congressmen and homeless men. That sounds about right. He was the Bulls' Harry Caray, except more lucid, more interesting and more angry. We'll all miss him.


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The Southeast cotton producing region not only picked a big crop in 2012, they also produced a high quality one, according to the latest classing data from USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service.
Meanwhile the Mid-South crop took a big hit from high micronaire.
As of January 9, AMS had classed 14.9 million bales of upland cotton, with about 800,000 bales to go, mostly in the Southeast and Arizona. Around 600,000 bales of Pima had been classed by Jan. 9, with another 125,000 bales to go.
According to USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Southeast produced an estimated 5.535 million bales of cotton in 2012. "It looks like we're going to be classing cotton in the Southeast until mid-February," said Robbie Seals, with AMS in Memphis, speaking at the 2013 Beltwide Cotton Conferences, in San Antonio.
"We are still running multiple shifts there. They've made a heck of a crop, and it's one of the better quality crops that they've made."
Every Southeast state increased cotton yield over the previous year, according to USDA's crop production estimates. Seals noted that the Southeast has moved ahead of Texas for the last two years in percentage of the U.S. crop produced.
Nationwide, the 2012 cotton crop "was one of the highest in terms of color grade we've seen in the last five years," Seals said. "We saw a big improvement in the Southeast, while the Mid-South dropped off just a little bit.
"The average leaf grade was up slightly from the previous year (moving from 3.0 to 3.1). We saw a little more leaf in the Southeast and Mid-South. The Mid-South started out with considerably higher leaf, (5-leaf and 6-leaf) but it got better as we went along."
Extraneous matter, primarily bark, has been on the rise in the Southeast and the Mid-South, according to Seals. "In the Southeast, extraneous matter at the Macon and Florence classing offices was 18 percent and 25 percent, respectively. Normally we would see these higher numbers when we have a lot of freezing and bad weather."
Micronaire numbers
As of Jan. 9, 47 percent of the Mid-South crop had been classed with high micronaire (5.0 or higher). "Micronaire came down a little bit in the Southeast and Southwest, and came up a little in the West," Seals said.
For the third year in a row, the average strength of the U.S. crop was 30 grams per Tex. Since high volume instrument classing was implemented, the average strength of the U.S. crop has steadily improved from 26 grams per Tex to current levels. Average strength for the Southeast was 29 and the Mid-South, 30, according to Seals.
The U.S. crop averaged 35.7 in length, with the Southeast average increasing to 36. Seals noted that the average staple in Texas moved past the national average in 2005, "but over the last two years, as they've been plagued with dry weather, it's moved back below the U.S. average."
High micronaire resulted in the Mid-South's percentage of cotton at base quality or higher dropping below 30 percent, "one of the lowest percentages we've seen since we've been tracking the base quality," Seals said.
The percentage of the crop at high quality and higher, which is 31-3-35 (color-leaf-staple) with no extraneous matter, "was one of the highest percentages we've seen in the Southeast," Seals said.
"It's about 36 percent for Alabama and Georgia and 27 percent for North Carolina and South Carolina."
Arkansas and Missouri jumped up in the latter category last year, "but came back down this year, again due to issues with micronaire." Both states had over 50 percent of their crops discounted for micronaire in 2012.
According to AMS, 98.7 percent of the U.S. Pima crop was at Grade 3 (color, 3 and leaf, 3). Micronaire had fallen for Pima over the last couple of years, but has returned to around 4.0, according to Seals. "Staple was little shorter this year, but strength was the highest we've ever had."
All 10 classing offices were operating in 2012-13. In 2010-11, the Lamesa, Texas, classing office was shut down, and its cotton classed in Lubbock.


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'Switched At Birth' Winter Premiere Pics!
About Photo #518142: Katie Leclerc, Vanessa Marano and Lucas Grabeel get excited about a new food truck in this new still from Switched At Birth. In the episode "The Door to Freedom,"… Read The Post Here
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McCafferty Vet Center Outstation
4242 Lorain Avenue Suite 203
Cleveland, OH 44113
Phone: 216-939-0784 Or 877-927-8387
Fax: 216-939-0276
Normal working hours are 8:00am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday. In an effort to better serve the veteran and family members, upon request Vet Centers will provide services after normal work hours and/or on weekends.
For assistance after hours, weekends, and holidays call : 1-877-WAR-VETS (1-877-927-8387)