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Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
from the long-and-short dept
One of the tiresome refrains of our detractors around here is that we are too critical of the government but uncritical of Google (neither of which is true). John Fenderson won first place for insightful this week with a simple response to all comparisons between Google and the NSA:
Google is optional. The NSA is not. End of story.
Meanwhile, when we discussed the fact that 99% of misconduct cases against New Jersey cops are being dismissed by Internal Affairs, one commenter suggested that it's because those claims are all flimsy. Second place for insightful went to an anonymous commenter who responded with an extensive list of Techdirt posts about clear police abuses. This is a rare case where I'm not going to reproduce the comment here, since it's very very long, but anyone wanting to navigate Techdirt's bad-cop coverage should check it out.
For editor's choice on the insightful side, we've got two thorough comments explaining interesting and important concepts. First up is an anonymous commenter musing on what the copyright industries have in common with the NSA:
The copywrong industry now suffers from the same problem as the government and the NSA. They've lied so long no one believes them anymore.
The movie industry has had consecutive banner records, block buster years, with one break in between that wasn't a block buster year. That one was something like 5% or so under being a block buster. It's not piracy that is killing them at all or there would not be banner years.
The music industry is a victim of it's own policies. Especially having turned all it's management over to politicians and lawyers rather than artists who understand what the artist is going through and how to fix that. You can't run an industry with a club and then not expect people to abandon you.
The copyright industry has gotten it so wrong that its become the copywrong industry. Beyond those with greedy hands stuck out, no one else much cares what they demand and want. Its not applicable in most peoples lives as something they need to pay close attention to. It shows up as constant legal threat letters and court cases.
A good law doesn't need enforced because everyone thinks it is wrong. A bad law is ignored no matter how many are jailed or taken to court.
And next we've got Seegras who responded to comments from the EU Advocate-General by explaining the philosophical and functional underpinnings of copyright:
Copyright is, and was, ALWAYS about publishing. And never about "receiving" or "getting" something.
Now, just about every copyright law on earth is about this. Except the german one, they recently included a paragraph where they made "downloads from an illegally published source" illegal. Which is of course an epitome of stupidity, because no one except a judge can tell whether something was "illegally published".
Of course, nowhere in the European Union (which is actually a series of directives aimed at harmonizing the laws of the different countries), there is anything written about "receiving". So this Advocate-General obviously don't know his law.
Furthermore of course, everyone is a copyright holder. I have a blog, I post photographs on the internet, thus a lot of what I am doing is copyright protected. Now, what happens if you download a picture of a cute cat from the internet, which somebody put up there, without having it made himself? If the AGs view of the law was only remotely correct? Yep, copyright violation. Because nobody ever gave you an explicit permission. In fact, if the AG were right, we'd find hundreds if not thousands of files (especially emails!) on his computer which would constitute a copyright violation according to his own misinterpretation of the law. I could even make him break the law by e-mailing him something which I do not have the necessary publishing rights for. Ridiculous.
Or let's take another angle: How do I now some TV-station has the necessary rights to show a movie that was obviously made by someone else? Do they need to publish all the contracts they have with the movie studio? Because if they don't everyone can call "copyright violation". And the movie studios, do they need to publish all contracts with the people that actually made the movie, because otherwise anyone can call them for "copyright violation"? It's probably not what the AG was thinking of, which just shows he wasn't probably thinking at all...
In other words, its totally, completely, utterly impossible to know if _anything_ is "legally published". Yes, it's possible for the copyright-holder to recognize his own work, and then for a judge to decide whether that claim has any merit. But before that happens, nobody can really know.
And that is the reason, (most) copyright laws are not about the receiving but only the publishing end.
Over on the funny side, first place goes to mattshow for pointing out the real downside of the FBI's decreasing focus on "law enforcement":
Most tragically of all, the number of agents assigned to investigate files with a paranormal or supernatural element to them has fallen from 2 to 0 since 2008.
In second place we've got bmarsh, who read our post about Australia's transit authority reporting a teen hacker to police for trying to help them with a security hole and embraced the wordplay that we let slip by:
The transit department, "throwing someone under a bus?"
For editor's choice on the funny side, we've got two quick one-liners that made me laugh. First up is an anonymous commenter, upon hearing the news that Insane Clown Posse is suing the FBI for branding their fans as a gang:
So THAT'S why the weather's been so frigid - hell has frozen over, I'm actually on the Juggalos' side on something.
And last but not least, Grammar Terrorist replied to some friendly corrections from another commenter with a joke that probably isn't new, but was new to me:
Every time you make a typo, the errorists win.
That's all for this week, folks!


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Apple Cofounder Wozniak Coming to Rapid City
RAPID CITY - Apple Computers cofounder Steve Wozniak will speak in Rapid City next month.
Wozniak will give a talk at the John T. Vucurevich Foundation annual speaker series event, April 29 at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Theatre.
Wozniak's presentation will focus on innovation and creativity, and he'll offer his personal vision for the future of technology.
The Silicon Valley icon and philanthropist for more than thirty years currently serves as Chief Scientist for Fusion-IO.
Wozniak and Steve Jobs founded Apple Computer in 1976 with Wozniak's Apple I personal computer. The following year he introduced the Apple II, which was integral in launching the personal computer industry.
Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for students.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

subset: commoncrawl


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The fastest-growing IT staffing firms follow a different approach
By Leslie Stevens-Huffman
Even the Great Recession didn't discourage the movers and shakers in the information technology staffing industry. These brazen frontrunners defied conventional wisdom by hiring staff and investingin training and technology while their competitors were busy slashing costs; now, they're cashing in on the boom.
"Instead of panicking during the recession, we made opportunistic hires and tapped our entrepreneurial spirit to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace," says Amar Panchal, CEO and founder of Akraya, based in Sunnyvale, Calif.
So what's the reward for being an avowed risk taker? The fastest-growing IT staffing firms have achieved compounded average growth of 15 percent to 46 percent over the last four years.
Vast and Dynamic Sector
Blink and you could miss the next wave in the IT staffing industry, where the only constant is change. More than 1,000 of the contract positions currently advertised on Dice.com require mobile proficiencies, which wasn't a top request just 12 months ago.
And according to a survey by the CIO Executive Board, the top seven IT-related roles in 2015 do not exist today, while 16 roles that are housed in IT will transition into business units or multifunctional shared services.
When one door closes, it's easy for resilient IT staffing firms to find an open window in this dynamic sector. If mature companies move technical services and infrastructure to the cloud, account managers can hunt for opportunities in emerging industries like green energy or robotics. Of course, some companies continue to offshore rudimentary jobs like coding and help desk, but the movement has actually created an insatiable demand for highly educated contract engineers, architects and project managers.
In fact, downsizing created a backlog of IT projects across Corporate America, and now companies are using specialized contractors to climb out of the hole, because they're reluctant to hire regular employees until the economy stabilizes.
Flexible and Focused
It's not surprising that entrepreneurial firms are growing faster than their larger, hierarchical counterparts. Having a flat organizational structure allows small firms to flex and meet customers' shifting needs for experienced technical talent. Plus, owners say they're able to continue making investments even when the economy slows, because they don't have to worry about appeasing impatient shareholders.
But mavericks also attribute their success to sticking to a focused go-to-market strategy, because they insist that IT staffing firms won't grow by trying to be all things to all people.
Dallas-based Pinnacle Technical Resources has been able to reach $200 million in revenue since its founding in 1996 by tailoring its services to meet the broad needs of a few enterprise companies. But according to Nina Vaca-Humrichouse, chairman and CEO, serving a limited number of customers has allowed the firm to control its growth and not exceed its resources or capabilities.
Meanwhile, Q Analysts' business model features specific technical practices with an industry overlay. The firm supplies contractors in software quality assurance and testing as well as business intelligence and data warehousing to companies in just four industries. The firm has grown by penetrating existing accounts and finding additional customers that fit their tightly-focused model. Their success should come as no surprise to seasoned IT staffing executives, because 44 percent say that account penetration is the most effective marketing strategy.
"Many IT staffing companies don't grow because they take whatever business comes along," notes Stephen Graziani, senior vice president for Q Analysts, based in Santa Clara, Calif. "But having focused practices allows us to understand our customers' problems, develop specific tools and solutions and differentiate ourselves from the competition."
Mavericks don't let recruiting boundaries or branch structures keep them from sourcing scarce IT contractors. Q Analysts relies on a centralized model, so the entire staff can work on open requisitions, and they also employ recruiters in India and the Philippines to tap overseas labor markets. Again, Q Analysts is slightly ahead of the pack — just 25 percent of IT staffing firms used outsourced or offshore recruiters in 2010.
Culturally Distinct
Graziani credits his firm's success to its educational culture and being "maniacs" about training and development. Q Analysts hires diverse business professionals and puts them through a comprehensive training program that includes 31 hours of basic technical instruction and 24 hours of instructor-led sessions in their technical practice area. Employees then study sales and recruiting before tackling their daily staffing duties.
Although Q Analysts' training regimen requires a significant investment in unproven employees, it's really not a gamble. IT staffing firms that prioritize training have been consistently profitable over the last five years.
Conversely, Panchal says it's easier to teach people recruiting than technology. He's managed to lure professionals with degrees in computer science into the staffing industry by creating a Silicon Valley-esque culture that features a history of community support and environmental stewardship.
To make sure Akraya recruiters aren't pilfered by the valley's perk-laden tech giants and free wheelin start-up firms, Panchal offers top pay and lets employees avoid rush hour traffic by working from home. He also provides monthly house cleaning services, so his staff isn't stressed by having to balance work responsibilities with domestic chores.
He boasts that he hasn't lost a single employee to a competitor, but like any prudent CEO, he justifies his pay and benefits by noting that his firm's average revenue per employee is higher than comparable staffing organizations.
"It's hard to expand in the space if your staff isn't technically proficient," says Panchal. "Our fill ratio is higher than our competitors, because we understand the technical requirements and we don't submit generic resumes."
Tactical and Strategic
Many high-growth staffing firms offer IT solutions in addition to traditional services like staff augmentation, so they can be viewed as a strategic partner and interface with CIOs in large companies who control 80 percent of domestic IT staffing expenditures.
But being a strategic partner carries additional responsibilities, such as having the technical capabilities and systems to benchmark key deliverables and create balanced scorecards to share performance data. Large clients also expect IT staffing firms to support their VMS and MSP. In fact, almost 76 percent of IT buyers used a VMS to procure contractors in 2009 and another 19 percent said they plan to implement a tool by the end of 2011.
So high growth staffing firms have made significant investments in technology and tools, but the investment also allows independent firms to be a strategic partner by offering clients a proprietary VMS and program management solutions.
Because major companies are seeking a holistic solution to mitigate contingent workforce risk, nearly 51 percent of IT staffing firms now offer independent contractor compliance programs and payrolling services, while 61 percent offer SOW and IT solutions.
Bright Future
Although the IT staffing sector is expected to grow by 12 percent in 2011 and 2012, executives in the fastest-growing firms have higher aspirations.
"I definitely feel bullish about our prospects, especially when you look at the size of the industry," Panchal says.
He foresees an opportunity to expand internationally by riding the coattails of the firm's global clients, especially considering he's established a proven track record here in the U.S.
Graziani expects Q Analysts to maintain 30 percent growth and achieve its revenue goal of $100 million by 2017. He says the firm is in a better position to sustain long-term growth, because it continued making investments and increased its capacity during the recession.
And while he expects 85 percent of the firm's revenue increases to come from its core technical practices, he notes that it's possible to add more specialties, but only when the time is right.
"Sometimes you have to be patient and things don't happen on time, but we've been successful because we haven't created goals that we know we can't accomplish," he says.
Leslie Stevens-Huffman is a freelance writer in Southern California who has 20 years' experience in the staffing industry. She can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.
IT Staffing Sector Characteristics
- $18 billion in revenue in 2010
- Forecasted growth of 13 percent in 2011 and 12 percent in 2012
- Sixty percent of fastest growing staffing firms are IT
- Seventy-seven percent of top firms have market share of just 1 or 2 percent
- Only 16 to 20 percent of IT staffing clients have fewer than 1,000 full-time equivalents
- Finance/insurance and tech/telecom are biggest users of IT staffing
- Offshore recruiting, strategic solutions, statement-of-work and independent contractor compliance programs are growing


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On Wednesday, NBC News' reporter Richard Engel gave a jarring report of just how bad the problem of hackers is in Sochi, reporting that his phone was hijacked "before we even finished our coffee."
The report was pretty scary, but the technical details simply aren't adding up, according to cyber security researchers. In one of the most incredible moments of his report, Engel's smartphone seemingly downloads a piece of malicious software that "hijacks" his phone.
But there are a number of holes, as Robert Graham lays out on his blog at Errata Security under a headline calling the story "100% fraudulent.":
- They aren't actually in Sochi (they are in Moscow).
- The "hack" happens because of the websites they visit (Olympic themed websites), not their physical location. The results would've been the same in America.
- The phone didn't "get" hacked; Richard Engel initiated the download of a hostile Android app onto his phone.
I had expected the story to be about the situation with WiFi in Sochi, such as man-in-the-middle attacks inserting the Blackhole toolkit into web pages exploiting the latest Flash 0day. But the story was nothing of the sort.
Put more simply: Engel basically visited a bad website, clicked a button he shouldn't have, and downloaded malicious software himself. That's far different from a hacker actually working to crack a password or worse.
"In this case, he would have been hit in Russia; just the same way he would if in Philadelphia," tweeted security researcher Kyle Wilhoit, who was in the report with Engel.
That's also the case for the "hacked" computers, which were apparently not hacked in the true sense, but compromised due to browsing malicious websites or receiving phishing emails.
Wilhoit, who works for Trend Micro, also criticized the editing of the report. "Unfortunately, the editing got the best of the story," he tweeted. "Cut a lot of the technical/context details out."
A full technical paper from Wilhoit on what exactly happened is due on Friday, according to his Twitter feed.
An NBC spokesperson pushed back on the claims, telling Business Insider they were "completely without merit." Here's the full, point-by-point response:
"The claims made on the blog are completely without merit, here's our response to each one:
1- From the very first frame it was made absolutely clear that the piece was taped in Moscow. Richard welcomed the expert to Moscow on camera, in front of a well-known Moscow landmark.
2- Of course this type of cyber attack can happen anywhere in the world, but the point we were demonstrating is that a user is more likely to be targeted by hackers while conducting search in Russia, and that such attacks happen with alarming speed from the moment a user goes online.
3- The story was designed to show how a non-expert can easily fall victim to a cyber attack when they are deceived into downloading a piece of malicious software that is disguised as a friendly message or alert. Just like any regular user, Richard went online, searched sites and was very quickly targeted and received a tailored fake message designed to trick him into downloading the software."
Now of course, just because this one report doesn't seem to add up, that doesn't mean hackers — civilian and government-backed — aren't working overtime in Sochi. As a senior U.S. intelligence official told ABC News, "the influx of tens of thousands of American spectators and dignitaries will be 'an intelligence bonanza' for both Russian spies and organized crime groups."
You can watch the full report below:
This post has been updated.


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Tulsa Ballet CDE Mission
The mission of Tulsa Ballet Center for Dance Education is to offer dance training of uncompromising quality. TBCDE is committed to foster appreciation and support for the art of dance through education and outreach.
Tulsa Ballet Center for Dance Education (TBCDE) believes that the art of dance is rooted in the process of learning. Regardless of each aspiring artist's destiny to become a performer or patron, each student deserves training of uncompromising quality. Tulsa Ballet Center for Dance Education offers professional training designed to urge every young dancer toward the harmony of the body, discipline of the mind and enrichment of the soul that is the core of the art of dance.
- Two convenient and state-of-the-art locations in Tulsa and Broken Arrow
- Training in the Russian-based Vaganova method–believed to be the best in the world
- Interaction with the dancers of Tulsa Ballet's professional company
- Audition opportunities to perform in Tulsa Ballet's The Nutcracker and other ballets
- 5 large studios, live piano music, sprung floors for safety, and an in-house theater
- A summer intensive, Pointe to the Future, which is considered the best in the region and attracts students from all over the country
- Year-end evaluations for Lower & Upper School students assessing the progress of their study and assisting them in setting priorities and goals for the coming year
Ready to enroll in Tulsa Ballet Center for Dance Education? Please contact us at 712-LEAP or Enroll Today.


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Anywho this editorial has my 3 faves...Nasty Gal, MinkPink and Hyoni Kang(so effin' cute)! I received my first MinkPink piece as a gift from Nasty Gal. So I was happy when they asked me to share with my readers the Nasty Gal X MinkPink collabo COMING SOON! Lots of loud neons, crazy print mix ups, skintightness and a chevron crochet bag you can live in!
My favorites are the leopard dress with the yellow panel and the oversized crochet bag, DUH! Yours?
kiss kiss,


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You might be surprised to find out that the life of a video game reviewer isn't all champagne kisses and caviar dreams. When we aren't jet setting around the globe in our private jets and swimming in our Scrooge McDuck-sized pools of gold, we occasionally take breaks to, you know, review games. Sometimes we have to endure some real stinkers, and other times we get lucky when true gems come along that remind us brilliantly why we love video games so much.
Saints Row: The Third is one such game, a glittering and oh so shiny gem that stands out among the rest — made even more impressive with the sea of games that warrant your attention this holiday season. While Saints Row isn't genre defining or breaking new ground, it is a clear example of a game done right. Of course it isn't without its problems, and issues certainly arise in the open and seamless city of Steelport, which while not gamebreaking, do detract from the overall experience.
Welcome to the Streetz
In Saints Row: The Third, The Third Street Saints are now bonafide international celebrities, with everything from their own brand of energy drinks to popular clothing line, with a media empire and success known around the globe. But with mo' money comes mo' problems. After an adrenaline-rushed intro mission goes awry, The Saints must relocate and rebuild, shifting the setting from Stilwater to the new city of Steelport. But pimpin that new territory ain't gonna be easy, as new rival criminal group known as The Syndicate has stolen The Saints money–and that ain't gonna fly.
In Saints Row: The Third, you play as the leader of the Third Street Saints, tasked with wiping out the Steelport's rival gangs and taking down the Syndicate. The sheer amount of customization afforded you in Saints Row: The Third is quite honestly staggering. I spent the first few hours alone customizing my character, selecting everything from her hair color and weight, to her voice and uh…bust size.
And that is just the tip of the iceberg. While the character customization is insanely deep and awesome, it doesn't stop there. You can customize everything from your vehicle, to your guns; even the gang members in your crew down to what they wear, how they taunt, even what they drive. In fact it's pretty safe to say that no two people will have the same experience with Saints Row: the Third.
Putting the FU in Fun
All that customization and bling doesn't come cheap, and for you to truly experience what Steelport has to offer you gotta start earning two things: Cash and respect. Cash is earned easily enough–complete missions, assassinate targets and partake in the various side missions and optional activities the game has to offer.
Want a break from the story missions? Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax show has you participating in a farcical 'Japanese' game show funhouse of death, capping bad guys dressed in giant cat-suits or other zany get-ups. If that doesn't sound like fun then why not try your hand at some insurance fraud? Simply hurl yourself at oncoming traffic and rack up the points. Or my personal favorite, Guardian Angel, where I would deliver some heavenly justice from on high while riding a chopper and laying down some rocket launcher love on rival gang members stupid enough to mess with me and my crew.
In addition to cash, respect is the other form of currency in Saints Row: The Third. You unlock respect in essentially the same way as you would cash. As your respect level increases, it opens up the opportunity for you to unlock even more customization options and upgrades like instant reload for weapons, faster health regeneration, the ability to recruit more gang members, and many more.
Balancing the respect earned with the cash I made played a big part in Saints: Row The Third. Yeah you might have the respect level to unlock the ability to take zero fall damage or unlimited sprinting, but it costs cash, and if you aren't smart with your benjamins then you risk making life in Steelport harder for yourself.
Why. So. Serious?!
It might seem like a game design no-brainer, but what I loved about Saints Row was how the game encourages you to play it, to get creative and to overall just have fun with it. I thoroughly enjoyed finding enemy gang operations and busting them up with a smart rocket, or driving around town with my crew looking for trouble. Why take the elevator down to lobby of my high-rise penthouse when I can just jump off the building and parachute below?
In the past, criticism has been hurled at the Saints Row series for being nothing more than a glorified Grand Theft Auto clone, but that isn't a fair assessment at all, any more than saying that a Prius is a clone of a Ferrari. Yeah they share some characteristics and perform similar functions, but while GTA tries to be based satire and offers a more mature and realistic story driven experience; Saints: Row The Third is unabashedly over-the-top and never apologizes for not taking itself too seriously–and to be honest I really admired that. It's a game and it's meant to be enjoyed as one, it's anything but profound, the only thing 'deep' about Saints Row is its customization.
Luv and H8
So if you're anything like me you may have already darted your little peepers over to the 8.5 score I gave the game and realized that it isn't a perfect one. Despite all my praise for Saints Row: The Third it certainly isn't without its faults. The game can be glitchy and issues arise here and there. At times my car would enter a gravity defying spin when traveling over a bump, whirling like a top over and over again against a building, with me thankfully having enough sense to hit the exit button to escape my spinning, flaming box-of-death just before it exploded.
Another gripe I had about Saints Row: The Third was just how dead Steelport felt at times. Sure, gangs roamed the city and there was a healthy presence of pedestrians and traffic littering the streets and sidewalks, but it never really felt alive to me. It would have helped with the feeling of immersion to have pedestrians interacting more with one another and their environment, the ability to enter more buildings, and things like rival gangs doing something other than just walking the streets and driving around during open play.
Call it a minor annoyance, and perhaps me a sadist, but when running over pedestrians (or anyone for that matter), often they would just bounce off a tad too unrealistically, which took away from the overall enjoyment of my murderous spree of mayhem. That may seem like a minor gripe, but it was part of a bigger issue with the game's Geo-Mod 2.5 Engine that Volition used. People stuck in walls, texturing problems and things appearing and disappearing were also common.
Get to the choppa!
Of course no game, regardless of its features, is worth its salt unless it controls well, and thankfully the Saints don't disappoint in this department. Controls are simple and intuitive. Driving is a breeze with different cars, bikes, boats, and the air vehicles handled smoothly. The chopper in particular took some getting comfortable with — but in time I was doing my best Airwolf impressions with ease.
On foot you'll fair no different. Targeting was simple and effective, grabbing a human shield was alarmingly fun, and the thrill of base jumping off a skyscraper cannot be overstated. I don't have the words to describe how awesome it is to bust through a window Dukes of Hazard-style and jack a sweet set of wheels, all with the touch of a button.
And while indulging in the odd bit of ultra violence, you will look good doing it. In keeping with its over-the-top style, Saints: Row The Third carries a certain cartoonish quality. The visuals are bright, the clothes, cars, and characters are well detailed, and the city is a sight to behold – especially during the bright-light hours of the night. It might not be bleeding-edge graphically, but it doesn't need to be. The graphics of Saints: Row The Third is perfectly in keeping with the style and character of the game.
Friends with benefits
Co-op is the new cool kid at the party these days, and Saints Row: The Third allows you to enjoy the campaign mode with a buddy online or via system-link, just like the previous Saints games. The mayhem is multiplied by two and things get crazy pretty quickly but the great part is –- all your progress carries over to your single player game once you're done with a friend. It is a drop-in/drop-out setup, so the co-op compliments the single player campaign.
When you and a friend want to take a break from bringing down the Syndicate and toppling rival gangs, there are even some co-op specific games you can tackle together before you jump back into the main campaign. One of the most talked about is the immediately offensive "Whored Mode," which has you attacking waves of enemies solo or with a co-op friend. With each new wave you are given new weapons and face new enemies. It is a fun, yet simple, and totally outrageous game mode that will likely be a focus of those offended by Saints Row: The Third, but it is in keeping with the tone of the game.
You won't need the patience of a saint to enjoy Saints Row: The Third. It's a white-knuckle affair that will keep you smiling throughout its mayhem filled campaign. Hats off to Volition and THQ for creating an open-world experience that is simply entertaining and electrifying. There were so many moments that I felt like a complete badass in Saints Row: The Third. Even after every adrenaline filled injection of madness and mayhem the game kept throwing at me, I wanted more and more, and got just that — I simply couldn't get enough.
While Saints Row: The Third might not be game of the year material, suffering from some minor hiccups and technical issues, it's definitely a statement of intent and a challenge to those that write it off as a simple Grand Theft Auto clone, forcing gamers and critics to realize that it isn't GTA and it doesn't need to be. Saints Row has a personality all its own and it's a total blast.
Score: 8.5 out of 10
(This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360 on a copy provided by THQ)


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LOS ANGELES — Diana Taurasi scored a season-high 32 points, including season-best seven 3-pointers, and the Phoenix Mercury beat the Los Angeles Sparks 94-89 for their seventh straight victory Sunday, tying a franchise record.
Penny Taylor hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:18 to play, giving the Mercury a 90-89 lead. They got the ball back on a turnover by Kristi Toliver. Taurasi hit a 3-pointer while being closely guarded with 8 seconds left for a 93-89 lead, ensuring the Mercury's longest winning streak since August 2006 and the longest in the WNBA this season.
Taylor added 17 points, Candice Dupree and Brittney Griner had 15 points each, and DeWanna Bonner had 11 points and eight rebounds for Phoenix (13-3).
Candace Parker scored 10 of her 27 points in the fourth, when the Sparks (7-10) trailed by six to start and fought back to lead by four twice before losing. Toliver added 26 points, including five 3-pointers. They fell to 3-6 at Staples Center.


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Hotels Near Jasper Ga
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Totalise suspended on AIM
Late with its accounts
Totalise, the formerly mutual ISP, was suspended on the AIM stock market on February 1 for failing to file its interim accounts on time.
At time of writing, Totalise has not returned our calls to the company.
So far as press coverage is concerned, Totalise has escaped pretty lightly - the announcement of suspension on RNS, the Regulatory News Service of the London Stock Exchange, does not appear on Etrade.co.uk, where we look for our UK company financial information.
All we can find is an article on the Yorkshire Post (good for financial background), a tiny reference on iii.co.uk, and this copy of RNS notice on UK-Wire.com
Companies have three months after the end of the half-year to file interims, and up to six months after that. Failure to file within the time means cancellation of a company's listed status. ®
Sponsored: Becoming a Pragmatic Security Leader


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The Function Description area gives a description of the function selected in the mainarea, or, if nothing is selected, the current function (as displayed in the Function area). The following items of information are displayed:
The name of the function.
The function object.
Lambda List
The lambda list of the function.
Source Files
The source file in which the function is defined, if any.
You can operate on any of the items in this area using the commands in the Works > Description menu, which is also available as the context menu. This contains the standard actions described in Performing operations on selected objects.


text: Aaron Bacote Rick Voight LA Tech Edges Monarchs 71-66 February 22, 2014 By ODU Athletics MBB vs LA Tech - Recap MBB vs LA Tech - Presser Game box Photo Album NORFOLK, VA—ODU (13-15/7-6) and Louisiana Tech (22-6/10-3) were tied 51-51 with 6:57 left in the game, when the Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run en route to a 71-66 C-USA victory over the Monarchs at the Ted Constant Convocation Center before a crowd of 6,940. ODU sophomore Aaron Bacote led with 25 points, followed by Dimitri Batten with 17. In the second half, La Tech led by nine, 43-34 after a three-pointer by Alex Hamilton with 16:14 left in the game. ODU would go on a 15-4 run on a layup by Denzell Taylor for a 51-49 lead. LA Tech tied it at 51-51 on a Hamilton basket, then took off on an 8-0 run to lead 59-51 with 3:32 left in the game. A three-pointer by Dimitri Batten with 49 seconds left cut the lead to three four times starting at 63-60, but the Bulldogs would finish the game 8-for-8 from the free throw line with the help from Kenyon McNeail, Alex Hamilton and Chris Anderson the final 30 seconds the seal the victory. In the first half, ODU led by as much as seven, 23-16 with 5:56 left on a Dimitri Batten three pointer before LA Tech battled back to take its first lead at 27-26 on a three-point play by Chris Anderson at 1:41 left in the half. ODU would go into the lockerroom at halftime with a 30-30 tie thanks to a driving layup by Bacote as time ran out. LA Tech had four players in double figures led by Alex Hamilton with 20 points, Chris Anderson with 19, Kenyon McNeail with 14 and 10 from Jaron Johnson. Kenneth Smith dished out eight assists. LA Tech forced 14 turnovers with ten steals and committed only six. ODU shot .469 from the floor to LA Tech's .352, and the Monarchs hit eight (8-14) three-pointers to the Tech's five (5-23), but LA Tech hit 28-34 free throws. Besides scoring 25 points, Bacote also dished out five assists. Batten grabbed six rebounds to go with his 17 points and Richard Ross hauled down a game best nine rebounds, while freshman Denzell Taylor blocked three shots. The Monarchs return to action Thursday when they host Marshall at the Constant Center.


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Terrorizer is the unholy bible of black, death, thrash, doom and heavy metal music. If you're a passionate fan of the genre, then Terrorizer magazine is an essential read. With global insight into the heavy metal scene, you'll find exclusive features on some of the darkest names in metal, as well as the up and comers you'll want to be listening to.
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Loyola alumni, NBC anchor and producer kicks-off centennial, speaks to journalism students
Loyola press release - April 10, 2012
Emmy-Award winning NBC News journalist Tom Llamas '01 and wife, MSNBC producer Jennifer Llamas '03, will be returning to campus to help Loyola University New Orleans kick-off its centennial celebration this week. Both graduates of the School of Mass Communication, the couple will speak to several journalism classes about the state of broadcast and digital news on Thursday, April 12. Tom will also serve as the master of ceremonies at the Picnic Dinner Anniversary Celebration, held at the Marquette Horseshoe on Saturday, April 14 from 6:30 – 9 p.m.
The picnic, featuring food, activities for all ages, music by the Y'at Pack and Loyola's own Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, will culminate with a special appearance by New Orleans' one and only all-male dance crew, the 610 Stompers, and a fireworks finale.
Tom currently anchors the 12 p.m. and 5p.m. news for WNBC, NBC's flagship station in New York. He has reported on everything from presidential political campaigns to the Miracle on the Hudson, to the earthquake in Haiti. He has covered nine hurricanes, including Katrina, and in 2011 won an Emmy Award for his coverage of Hurricane Irene. Tom is also the recipient of two Edward R Murrow awards. He has also contributed to MSNBC, Telemundo, NBC Nightly News and as a news reader on Today, NBC's award-winning, long-running morning news program.
Jennifer is the line producer for "News Nation with Tamron Hall," which airs weekdays on MSNBC and has produced breaking news coverage of many national and international stories, including the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the toppling of the Khadafy regime in Libya. Llamas first joined MSNBC after graduating from Loyola University New Orleans in 2003. She worked as an associate producer on NBC's "Early Today" and prior to that, as a production assistant on MSNBC's "Lester Holt Live."
For more information, contact Matt Lambert in the Loyola's Office of Public Affairs at email@example.com or 504-861-5448.


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During the Korean War, hundreds of U.S. air strikes were launched from nearly 900-foot-long Essex-class aircraft carriers plying the Sea of Japan off the east coast of Korea. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Korean Peninsula, a much different sea war was being waged. There, in the Yellow Sea and with China to the west, a single escort carrier—barely half the size of those off the east coast—along with one destroyer fought a lonely war. Every 10 days, the little American flattop would head to Japan for resupply, swapping places with a small British carrier and her escort.
In late 1952, I was a pilot in Marine Corps Attack Squadron (VMA) 312 flying combat missions from the USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116). While most were flown during daylight, a number were launched in the darkness before dawn—the Early-Early missions.
Our little task unit of a single aircraft carrier and lone destroyer was appropriate for the size of the Yellow Sea. Only 507-feet long, the Badoeng Strait operated in the sea's constricted waters about halfway up the west coast of Korea. Shortly after taking off, pilots could see the darkened landmass of the great Shandong Peninsula of mainland China to the west and the Haeju Peninsula of North Korea to the east, each less than a half-hour's flight away.
On the day of this November l952 Early-Early launch in the bitter cold off North Korea, the Badoeng Strait and her destroyer push through the sea's dark waters. The ships are blacked out. The icy sea is frosted with white caps whipped up by a brisk wind. All night the carrier has been maneuvering to place herself as near the target area as possible for the early morning launch.
On the hangar deck, one level below the flight deck, planes are serviced and repaired. In the frigid predawn, crew members wearing heavy jackets are busy moving the F4U-4B Corsair fighter-bombers onto giant elevators up to the flight deck. Marine crewmen check the planes for readiness. Sailors, meanwhile, man their stations on a lonely watch.
There is a clear division of labor on the carrier. The Badoeng Strait—nicknamed the Bing-Ding—has a Navy crew, which operates the ship and launches and recovers aircraft. Combat missions and aircraft maintenance are conducted by the men of VMA-312 the Checkerboard Squadron.
The crisp black outlines of the Corsair fighter-bombers, their wings folded up, stand out against the cloudy, moonless night. Snow flurries blow across the deck. The sky and the sea seem to merge as one.
Just below, under bright overhead lights on the warmer hangar deck, there is a whirl of activity as mechanics, electronics specialists, ordnance crews, and other technicians give the Corsairs additional final checks. An implicit spirit of trust flows through all of this. The aviators know the crewmen will do every repair to keep the planes in superb flying condition. Some have been at work throughout the night. The Marine technicians take pride in their squadron and the pilots who fly their Checkerboard planes. Their job is not easy. They must make sure these World War II-era piston-engine fighters are safe.
It is now 0400 and the squadron duty officer and duty non-commissioned officer begin the other half of the predawn mission. They must awaken the aviators who will fly before the sun comes up. The duo move forward and aft to awaken pilots on the list.
The squadron comprises 32 Marine Corps aviators. On this morning, their number includes 2 first lieutenants, 20 captains, 9 majors, and 1 lieutenant colonel. All learned to fly before or during World War II. Their average age is 32, and all but eight are fathers.
Their number is about evenly split between regular Marine Corps officers and reservists. The typical VMA-312 pilot could be a reservist recalled for war service, like Captain Alexander Watson, who was a furniture merchant in San Diego less than a year ago. Or he might be a regular Marine Corps officer like Major Bryce Howerton of Hurdland, Missouri, who trained cadets at Corpus Christi, Texas, a few months ago. He likes pictures of his growing family and writes letters at night in the ship's wardroom. He goes to bed early.
However varied their backgrounds, they have one thing in common: At one time or another, they fly the Early-Early.
Our typical pilot dresses before 0500. After donning long underwear, a wool shirt, and two pair of socks, he climbs into a thick blue quilted liner, which makes up his inner cold-weather survival apparel. Next, he laces up his high-top leather boots. Around his neck hangs his dog-tags. After checking to make sure he is carrying his Geneva Convention identification card, he washes, shaves, and heads for breakfast in the wardroom.
Duty messmen and cooks have been up since 0430, making hot coffee, opening canned fruit juices, cooking oatmeal, and scrambling eggs. While aviators eat breakfast beginning at 0530, they read news of the world from the ship's mimeographed newspaper. At the same time, on the pitching flight deck above, ordnance crews are hard at work loading the Corsairs' guns and hanging bombs and fitting rockets under their wings.
Below, as additional readied planes are rolled from the hangar deck onto lowered elevators, blasts of icy air chill the work space. Once on the flight deck, the planes are carefully inched to their precisely assigned deck spot, preserving valuable real estate.
It is 0550 and still dark. Below, the pilots are arriving in the ready room forward, which is illuminated by red lights to acclimate their night vision. Their dressing continues. They pull heavy rubberized immersion suits resembling deep-sea diving gear from hangers. Pilots sprinkle cornstarch on their hands, wrists, and necks. This enables them to slide into the tight-fitting openings of their suits without tearing them. (The suit is useless unless perfectly watertight.) This is followed by snapping shut all openings and zipping up the rubber overshoes which are attached to the bottom of the suit.
By now the entire crew on board ship is engaged in a thousand details that must be attended to before the launch. In the ready room, pilots strap on their web belts, which carry a bayonet, a compass, and two survival packets. Over his immersion suit, our aviator dons a cloth summer flying suit, which helps prevent tears in the rubber suit in the event of a bail out.
Next, he adds a fur-trimmed parka draped over his shoulders with the hood hanging behind his neck. Around his neck and under his left arm, he slings a leather holster holding a .38-caliber revolver and strap with extra bullets.
Finally, he fits on his Mae West flotation vest, which is well-stocked with survival devices. Among them are two dye markers to stain the water around him if he goes down at sea, a flashlight, knife, shark chaser, first-aid kit, signal mirror, and whistle.
Now all the pilots are briefed on their targets, water ditching, and defensive tactics against possible enemy MiG jet interceptors capable of 600-mph flight. The Navy air officer announces: "Pilots, ten minutes standby." This is enough time for the aviators to put on nylon liner gloves, rubber gloves, and then leather outer gloves. They don their hard-hat plastic helmets, which cover a surprising number of receding hairlines, and chinstraps are fastened. Their trademark checkerboard-painted helmets match the engine cowlings of their aircraft.
"Pilots, man your planes!" blares from the ship's intercom. "Ready room aye," comes the answer from the Marine operations duty officer. The pilots carry with them an oxygen mask, map case, and a kneepad with target information, codes, and radio frequencies. It is 0635 as they lumber up the ladder to the flight deck in their heavy gear.
The warmed-up and checked-out Corsair engines have been shut down. These are the most powerful models of the World War II-era Pratt and Whitney Double-Wasp. They have two radial banks of nine cylinders each, producing an awesome 2,100 horsepower at 2,600 rpm. The Corsairs' fuel tanks have been topped off.
Using his flashlight, our pilot inspects his bombs' fuses. (Dropping an instant-fused bomb instead of a delayed-action bomb on a low pass over the target could damage or destroy his plane.) He also inspects the external fuel tank.
The plane captain, a Marine sergeant, gets behind the pilot and gives him a boost up into the cockpit. No small part of the flight is the preparation and strapping in of the pilot, aided by the crewman. He stands on the wing outside the cockpit helping adjust the seat and rudder pedals to the pilot's stature. The oxygen mask is stored for ready use, and maps are placed in the case to the pilot's left. The kneepad is strapped to his thigh and the parachute harness is fitted and then tightened.
"Everything okay, sir?" asks the sergeant.
The pilot nods.
"Good luck," the crewman shouts and then drops down off the wing.
He stands by with a fire extinguisher, awaiting the command to start engines. From the bridge comes a familiar, loud public-address command: "Check all tie-downs, chocks, and loose gear about the deck." After a few more seconds comes the order: "Stand by to start engines."
The pilot scans his red-illuminated instrument panel. He turns on the fuel pump, magneto switches, battery switch, and sets the fuel mixture to idle cut-off. Then, "Start engines!" booms down from the bridge. At 0645 the big four-bladed Hamilton-Standard propellers begin to turn, the engines are starting, and light snow swirls across the deck.
Black, noxious clouds of smoke and fumes meanwhile belch from the carrier's four smokestacks as she picks up flank speed and heads straight into the wind. The pilots hold handkerchiefs to their faces to avoid breathing the choking fumes before their takeoff.
At a flashlight signal from the deck handler, the aviators spread and lock their Corsairs' wings. Each pilot then slides out the aircraft check-off list from a shelf to the right of the cockpit panel. Even though he has done this exercise scores of times, he methodically goes down the list. Mistakes are not an option.
Another signal comes from the carrier's PA system, this one ordering the launch of the Bing-Ding's helicopter, known as "Angel" and flown by a Navy pilot. Equipped with a sling, the copter hovers just off the ship's bow to pick up a pilot if he winds up in the sea after a failed takeoff.
As the aircraft engines warm, the bridge makes a radio call to each aircraft to check transmitters and receivers. The four-plane flight leader's call sign is "Scotchman 1." The other planes are in numerical sequence. Our pilot now has a few minutes to try the transfer switch, which pumps gas from his external auxiliary tank to the plane's internal fuel tank. A warning light flickers on the instrument panel and then goes off. That means it works.
Only Navy deck handlers wearing yellow helmets are authorized to give taxi instructions to pilots on the flight deck. Before the Early-Early flights, the handlers can only be seen as blurred beams of swirling light as they point with battery-powered wand flashlights. In the blackness, our pilot slowly taxies his plane into position astride the catapult slot. The plane captain is just inches away from the left wheel, ready to throw a chock in place once it stops.
The catapult appears as nothing more than a two-inch-wide slit in the deck, about 90 feet long. Beneath the plane's engine, a movable lug with a steel cable, called the bridle, attached protrudes from the slot. The ends of the bridle are now fastened to hooks on the Corsair's two main landing-gear struts. A small steel ring is attached to the tail and fastened by a cable to the deck to restrain the aircraft until launch. All this is done by flashlight. The mini-hurricane blast from the whirling propeller makes the bitter cold even colder.
By this point, the carrier has turned into the wind. The catapult lug is inched forward to put tension on the bridle and restraining cable and ring. The pilot lowers the flaps to full-down position and then locks the canopy full open-to escape quickly if the plane goes into the water on takeoff. He glances at the carrier's island, looking 25-feet upward at the officers on the bridge who probably include the ship's captain. It is nearly 0700 now. The flurries are lessening and the first glimmer of dawn contrasts with the black sea.
The catapult officer gives the "number one" engine-turn-up signal. At the "number two" windup, the aviator once more momentarily checks full-throttle operation. The plane is now ready for takeoff.
The pilot makes one last check of the instrument panel. With his right hand he switches on his wing lights—the signal to fire the catapult. His head is firmly against the rear headrest, and the artificial-horizon instrument is his only reference to the plane's flight orientation. The time is 0700.
The tremendous action of the catapult starts to move the Corsair from its stationary position, and the steel ring restraining the tail breaks open, releasing the aircraft, which jumps forward. In 90 feet the plane goes from a standstill to about 98 knots and, as the bridle detaches, flies off the carrier into the blackness. It then drops a few feet as the wheels are pulled up, the flaps remaining down to provide all possible lift. In a few seconds the pilot makes a gentle turn out of the path of the carrier. He then starts a slow, steady climb to the rendezvous area, 4,000 feet ahead and to the left of the carrier. Meanwhile, he closes his canopy. The leader has left his wing lights on so the other pilots can see his plane. It is still dark, but the overcast has lifted to 5,000 feet.
In a matter of minutes, all the remaining planes are hurled into the air by the Badoeng Strait's mighty slingshot. At the rendezvous, the lead plane makes wide left-hand circles until all four planes are in formation. The first gray light of dawn emerges as they head to the North Korean mainland. In a minute or two, the flight is out of sight of the carrier.
The pilots pay attention to their instruments. They also turn on heater switches for the cockpit, the guns, and the all-important pitot tube (the device that registers air speed) as the flight drones over miles of the bleak Yellow Sea toward land. The overcast skies are only slightly brighter than the white-capped sea below. The cloud cover keeps the flight below 5,000 feet.
Soon, familiar landmarks come into sight along the North Korean coast, and visibility and overcast improve in the dim dawn light. The flight climbs to 8,000 feet as it crosses land-feet dry. It is now 0730.
Somber frozen rivers and snow-covered mountains characterize the empty land. Railroad lines, bridges, dirt roadways, and even footpaths are bare. Hundreds of rice paddies are transformed into little ice-jammed ponds. Although no antiaircraft gun emplacements are seen, the fliers well know that they are very likely down there.
The Early-Early flight continues about 90 miles inland, climbing to 12,000 feet as the dawn skies begin to clear. The newborn day is still sunless, with a high, gray overcast. The mission's task is now to find the target—a camouflaged supply area. The flight leader reviews his map for local landmarks. On first approach, the suspected area appears to be no more than a thickly wooded landscape of ridges and valleys. The leader confirms the location from map coordinates and landmarks, including the intersection of ridges and a frozen stream. Semiconcealed buildings are on the far slope of the southernmost ridge.
The flight leader orders the other pilots to orbit while he makes a reconnaissance pass over the target area. His experience flying many missions and hitting many targets pays off. He quickly finds the target, six oblong buildings half-covered with dirt and brush. Climbing to rejoin the flight, the leader identifies the target for the others, giving reference landmarks.
"This is Scotchman 1," he announces over a predesignated tactical channel. "There are the six buildings near the bottom of the ridge, two o'clock off my right wing. I will mark the target by strafing on my bomb run. We will join up ten miles due west from the target at 8,000 feet, in a left-hand orbit."
The four pilots charge their Corsairs' 20-mm cannon. At 0815 the flight leader makes a sweeping left-hand turn and pushes into his dive. Small red bursts blossom up from the ground around the target area as antiaircraft fire erupts. Fortunately, no plane is hit. The three follow the leader at close intervals as he strafes the target during his bomb run.
Then, a big orange flash appears as bombs from the first two planes make direct hits. Number three's bombs fall short. Number four makes another direct hit, completing the destruction of the enemy supply center. As the planes retire from the scene, the target area is smothered in flames and black smoke.
The flight, in formation once again at the appointed location, begins its next task-conducting a reconnaissance patrol. They head in a southwesterly direction along an active enemy supply route. Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, is a short flight to the north, while the Haeju Peninsula is to the south. The pilots search for trucks, supply caravans, railroad cars, or other military targets. At 0815, the flight leader spies a recently repaired bridge overpass.
"Scotchman 3 and 4, orbit this site. Scotchman 2 and I will drop wing bombs on the bridge."
One bomb hits the bridge; the other is a near miss. The span is destroyed. However, as the leader is pulling out of his bomb run, a warning arrives from the carrier's radar control center: "Scotchman flight, we have bandits in the area at 20,000 feet headed south, distance 40 miles."
"This is Scotchman l, roger. Scotchman flight, join up," orders the leader. "Charge your guns."
This can only mean that enemy MiGs are on the way. The Corsairs head south, climbing all the while. Four pairs of eyes scan the sky looking for a sign of the enemy.
"Bandits returning north," comes the next report from the ship's radar center. The flight resumes its patrol. As the four approach a battered town, three enemy trucks partly covered with brush and straw are sighted.
"I am going to fire rockets at the trucks," says the leader. "Follow my run with rocket attacks."
Into another dive, the pilots carefully aim their rockets. The first is fired, and a truck erupts in flame. Another rocket misses its target. The second and third trucks are destroyed by a combination of rockets and 20-mm gunfire. Time and fuel are now both becoming short. The flight is scheduled to land at 0915. At 0845, the Corsairs head back over the Yellow Sea to find their postage-stamp-sized carrier.
The four are now 35 nautical miles north of the carrier. They move into a right echelon formation. Each pilot checks the next plane to make sure that no weapons are hung up, or failed to detach from the plane. They also signal to make certain all guns are in the safe position.
By now the carrier has picked up the aircraft on its radar. "Scotchman 1, your steer is l75 degrees, 29 miles."
"This is Scotchman 1, roger our steer. All checks clean."
The weather has cleared, with a 4,000-foot ceiling around the ship. At 0910 the carrier is in sight. The 0900 morning flight has already been launched, and the deck is cleared to receive the Early-Early back on board. The bridge bellows out a "Prep Charlie" call, meaning the ship is prepared for the landings.
The pilots, however, are not yet through with their mission. Ahead waits landings on a pitching, rolling platform that is barely 200-feet long and 100-feet wide. Fifteen miles north of the carrier, southbound on the same course as the ship, the leader bows his head and the pilots in unison drop their tail hooks and landing gear. The planes descend to 400 feet.
Still in echelon, the formation drops to 150 feet. The Corsairs fly by the carrier, which is now plowing into the wind at top speed. Observers on the bridge check to confirm that wheels, flaps, and hooks are down as the planes pass to the right of the ship's bridge.
When well in front of the carrier, the leader peels off to the left to start his landing pattern. In a few minutes, the others follow with 180-degree turns, heading in the course opposite to the ship's. As the leader makes his second, final 180-degree turn, he approaches in a broad left-hand turn. The plane is now turning onto the same course as the ship, which is pitching in the rough sea. The flight leader has in sight the LSO (landing signal officer) who is on a small square platform that juts out from the left rear corner of the flight deck. He holds brightly colored cloth paddles to give signals—height, speed, and attitude information—to the approaching pilot, and his back is to the gusty, unsteady 30 knots of wind now flowing over the flight deck.
Marine Captain Richard W. "Bunny" Benton of Honolulu, Hawaii, is "waving" (giving signals) for this recovery operation. He is one of three LSOs in the squadron who fly missions when not helping land aircraft.
Our pilot locks his shoulder harness. Two dangers are present in the final approach of the plane, now l00 feet above the sea or about 50 feet above the pitching deck. First, the Corsair, flying just a few knots above its stall speed, could slow too much and spin into the icy water. Second, it could approach too fast and land too long, missing the arresting wires. The plane would crash into a "fence" of thick steel cables erected amidships.
As our pilot nears the carrier, he closes the cowl flaps (small panels on the fuselage behind the engine for cooling). This allows maximum visibility to see the LSO and his crucial signals. Out of the corner of his eye, the pilot sees one paddle drawn across the LSO's chest beneath his throat—the signal for the "cut." The pilot pulls the throttle back, pushes the stick forward to dip the nose, and then pulls it back so that the tail of the plane hits the deck first.
In seconds, the extended tailhook catches one of six elevated arresting wires. The plane decelerates from 90 knots to zero in less than 25 feet.
Immediately, a yellow-helmeted deck handler is off the wing, giving signals to the pilot. Timing is of the essence; the deck area must be cleared in seconds to allow the other planes to land. The handler signals the pilot to release his brakes. The plane rolls back, and the hook is released and restored to its proper position. The cowl flaps are opened. The landing flaps are raised. The tail wheel is unlocked. It is now 0915.
The pilot opens the throttle with a short blast, and picks up taxi signals from another handler. The crash fence is lowered, he taxis forward to the ship's bow, and responding to another signal, folds the plane's wings. The barrier, now behind him, is quickly raised for the next plane, now in its final approach for landing. Only 43 seconds elapsed between the time the Corsair landed and when the carrier is ready for the next plane.
As our pilot's plane is taxied to its parking space, 18 inches from the forward edge of the flight deck, the next plane has already landed and is going through the same routine. The last two planes are close behind.
After landing, the leader shuts off the engine, deplanes, and goes below to be debriefed. Six supply buildings and one road bridge were destroyed. One truck destroyed and two more damaged, he reports. Bandits were reported in the area, but no contacts were made.
Our typical pilot sits down at 0925 with a cup of coffee. His survival suit and most of his clothing will remain on for four more hours. He is scheduled for another launch just after lunch.
Today's "Early Early" is completed. Just a minor part of the history of the Korean War, these missions are flown several times during each carrier's 10-day stint on the line in the Yellow Sea. This kind of flying-from a lone, small, remote carrier-will most likely never be seen again.
Lieutenant Colonel Cooper flew combat missions in World War II and the Korean War. Later, as a newsman in print, radio, and television, he won numerous journalism awards, including two Emmys for news programs. He ended his flight duties as VMA-312's executive officer.
Rescue on the BeachThe call heard through the radio headphones was crystal clear: "I need help. I'm trapped."
At the other end of the broadcast was Marine Captain Timothy Ireland. Restrained by his shoulder harness and lap belt, he was hanging upside down in the cockpit of his F4U-4 Corsair. Unable to see anything but sand, he smelled raw aviation fuel all around him.
High above, Major James L. Cooper, a fellow pilot with Ireland in VMA-312 off the USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116), heard the plea and reacted immediately.
"I'm going down to get him out," he told his flight as he headed for a tiny mile long by half-mile wide uninhabited island called Chodo, less than a mile from the North Korean coast.
The island, codenamed Bloodstone, was a designated emergency landing area for United Nations aircraft. It had a short arcing beach with bookend high rock outcroppings. Ireland had set down there because he had a hung rocket that could neither be fired nor jettisoned. The carriers had strict rules about aircraft landing with live ordnance—they weren't allowed.
Ireland had to tread a thin line when landing. Close to the water, the sand was hard and compact. Farther away, it was loose, providing little support. His Corsair had made a decent landing but as it slowed it ran into loose sand, which bogged its wheels, causing it to flip onto its back. Ireland was unhurt but completely trapped, his prospects for survival slim. If the leaking gas didn't catch fire and burn him, the rising tide could drown him. He needed help.
Within five minutes of hearing the first call, Cooper, with Ireland's precarious situation visible through his windscreen, landed on the island a bit closer to the water. "I burrowed into the sand to get him out," said Cooper. "I—we—were both wary of the dripping gas." It took about 15 minutes to dig a ditch about two-feet deep and two-feet wide to reach the inverted pilot.
But then Cooper discovered that "We had another problem. He couldn't release his harness. I got out my knife, but it was too dull to cut through the thick webbing. He gave me his and I cut him out." Both crawled out from under the overturned aircraft. Ireland always carried his camera with him when he flew. He recovered it, and the unlikely tourists took snapshots of each other next to the overturned fighter.
After returning to the United States in 1953, Cooper was awarded the Navy-Marine Corps Medal for his rescue. "One thing I've always wondered," Cooper mused, "is what happened to Ireland. We lost contact shortly after we transferred to the Bataan (CVL-29). I often wonder how his life turned out."
-J. M. Caiella


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The weather forecast was cloudy, with a chance of golf balls — and it didn't disappoint.
About 2,000 golf balls rained down on Mariners Christian School's athletic field just after noon Friday.
"I thought it was pretty awesome and really cool," said third-grader Gabriella Creamer, 9.
The Costa Mesa private school hosted its inaugural Helicopter Golf Ball Drop to raise money for student scholarships. Students sold more 2,000 balls at $10 each to raise about $20,000 for Mariners families in need of support, said Carolyn Johnson, advancement specialist.
That money is in addition to the $50,000 raised for scholarships Monday at a golf tournament.
"We have families whose children have been here for a number of years," she said. "If they hit a bump [financially] … this money really allows these kids to stay here."
About 10% of Mariners' families receive scholarships at any given time, and about 15% to 20% of families need help during a tough patch during their time at the school, said Alumni Director Julie Hellriegel.
As students waited around the street circling the field, they were bursting with excitement, jumping up and down, doing the wave and cheering when three helicopters and a small orange plane flew overhead. A group of boys started doing "The Macarena," which quickly caught on.
When the right helicopter finally showed up and started circling lower, the screams were deafening as students jumped up and down, waving at the black chopper. A chant of "Drop it!" competed with the thundering sounds of the rotor blades before bucket after bucket of golf balls were dumped.
"We were so excited," said third-grader Annie Buda, 8.
"Everyone was out of control all day," added classmate Lexi Miner, 9.
The fundraiser idea was brought to the school by Mariners Christian father Mike Manclark, who had done the golf ball drop at another school and offered up his helicopter.
The golf balls were sold for a chance to win prizes, like a MacBook Pro and iPods, if the purchased ball landed closest to "golf holes."
The two top-selling students, fifth-grader Amanda Hseih and seventh-grader Ryan Sarvak, got to ride in the helicopter for the drop.
The event was a chance to get the school's more than 600 K-6 students involved with helping their friends, Johnson said. Helping others in need is a main part of the school's Christ-centered mission, Hellriegel said.
"We really tried to get them to connect with the heart of the event," Johnson said. "We're trying to instill that sense of community and helping other families."
Twitter: @britneyjbarnes


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Neo 1973 Battery
From Openmoko
The battery is a one 3.7V (nominal) cell. It has internal protection circuitry, and a capacity of 1200mAh.
On the battery, which has dimensions of approximately 53mm*38mm*7mm is written "FIC, First International Computer, Model: GTC-01/GTA-01, Standard Battery Pack, 1200mAh Li-ion, Rechargeable Battery: 3.7V".
It is apparently compatible with the Nokia BL-5C See this mailing list post These are available very inexpensively from ebay. Though quality will of course vary. However, currently Neo1973 won't charge BL-5C batteries. Also note that the BL-5C is rated at 850mAh new, only 70% of the FIC battery.
BL-5C battery will work in Neo, but not the other way around. Battery is too thick for Nokia, and attempting to use Neo battery in Nokia will result in Nokia entering strange "test mode". This is because of the pack supervisor chip (the small chip in all Li-* batteries that takes care of charging the pack properly) which also contains some identification data (e.g. serial number, part number etc.), which identification data Nokia uses to perform several tasks, such as entering the aforementioned test mode. If you look in the Nokia service manuals, you will see that the debug rig for mostly all Nokia phones includes a so-called "debug battery adapter" which fits inside the phone, instead of the battery, but replies with a special identification when inquired by the phone upon boot, thus triggering "test mode".
This is also the reason why Nokia phones (and, presumably, all Nokia standalone smart-chargers) will refuse to charge a Neo1973 battery because it does not match the identification code expected by the phone firmware.
Nokia BL-6C is a bit thicker than BL-5C, but (almost?) identical in all other dimensions and electrically. Maybe it'll fit inside Neo too. The original BL-6C is 1070mAh compared to BL-5C 850mAh making it a slightly more interesting replacement battery. Could somebody confirm if it fits? Yes, the BL-6C fits nicely.
Modding BL-6C [1]
Neo1973 will happily run off 3 NiMH batteries, with thermistor disconnected.
|NOTE: This is not recommended as the charging modes for NiMH and Li-Ion are different. The Neo1973 u-boot and kernel will assume the battery is Li-Ion and charge it appropriately. You thus might damage your batteries!!
Being able to use AA/AAA batteries would make the device much more open to this respect. However, no problem if their charging might well need some external appliance, or be impossible for non rechargeable pills. But would it be possible to autodetect Li-Ion batteries and refuse, or warn, on attempt to charge other types?


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I was looking at MITG but it looks like this is no longer being devloped from the info on the product page, does anyone know if any other product is being written or if it Barca can be run from a Memory Stick.
I want to be able to access my EMail from both home and work (via memory stick). My thought is that since I have never had much luck with the Sync in MITG when I played with the trial version I always at best ended up with duplicated data and at worse lost emails, I am looking at accessing the Mail from MyDropBox account which will sync and always have the latest info at both work and home.
Anyone ever tried this?