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Snøhetta's Aberdeen Maggie's Centre succeeds despite, rather than because of, its clashing forms and materials, writes Penny Lewis. Photography by Philip Vile
Maggie's Centres are designed by high-profile and well-established architects, often by practices in which the partners had a personal relationship with the charity's founder, the late Maggie Keswick Jencks (1941-1945), or are part of the peer group of her husband Charles, the landscape architect and theorist. But for Norwegian practice Snøhetta, the commission arrived out of the blue. According to Charles Jencks, Maggie's team has an ongoing shortlist of preferred practices and Snøhetta was added to the list after Jencks had visited the practice's competition-winning Alexandria Library in Egypt.
It was the 'local' factor that won Snøhetta this commission. 'We like to use local practices; we looked at the cheapest flights to Aberdeen from a variety of places and discovered Oslo was actually local,' recalls Jencks. As if to underpin this special Scottish-Nordic relationship, HM the Queen of Norway (alongside her friend and the charity's patron, HRH the Duchess of Cornwall, known in Scotland as the Duchess of Rothesay) opened the new Aberdeen Centre.
Sitting on the edge of the kitchen table at the brand new Maggie's, Charles Jencks is smiling as he listens into a conversation between friends on the other side of the lobby. He's discovered that the dome-like roof acts as a whispering gallery - but, because it's a complex geometry, the conversation travels in just one direction. Jencks is excited; these are the kind of unexpected joys that are created when you play with form. It's hard not to share his enthusiasm. The overarching roof, with its circular roof lights, gives this building a highly sculptural, other-worldly quality. As the light changes, the skylights cast beautiful light patterns across the ceiling. There are aspects of the concrete work that are reminiscent of Niemeyer's concrete shells and, at moments, Lubetkin's Penguin Pool.
The modest building consists of a shell-like form roughly triangular in plan and a series of fairly intimate spaces organised in a spiral around a central timber core, which supports a mezzanine level. As a result, you have one single space created by the concrete shell and numerous other spaces (internal and external) sculpted from and around the shell form.
Snøhetta says it didn't design the building as an object but developed the form from a discussion with the client about the variety of internal spaces that were needed. However, the new centre's pebble-like form certainly marks its territory and proclaims to the rest of the unpromising patchwork of parking and building blocks at the Foresterhill campus and to the surrounding granite bungalows the message: 'this is not an institutional building'. Like Zaha Hadid's Kirkcaldy centre and Page\Park Architects' Inverness project, the Aberdeen centre is designed as a pavilion in a garden setting, making good use of the fact that it sits next to the helipad and is therefore, and will always be, afforded a large green front lawn and a certain amount of park-like breathing space.
Making good architecture is part of Maggie's Cancer Care Centre's ethos; it is also part of the fundraising strategy and it is central to the running of the charity that the buildings should be uplifting and welcoming.
At a conceptual level, in terms of its immediate visual impact and sense of drama, this building is a success. The fact that it is already known as the Pebble (or the Teletubby House) seems to confirm Jenck's thesis about the importance of publicly adopted metaphors in architecture.
Snøhetta partner Robert Greenwood argues that there is really just one measure of success for this building and that is whether people want to visit it and feel comfortable being there. There can be little doubt that the Maggie's charity staff will inhabit the space in the comfortable and elegant way to which we have become accustomed and that people will enjoy their visits to the centre. However, as a piece of architecture, the building is slightly uncomfortable.
Greenwood argues that the contrast between the soft form and hard material of the shell and the sharp forms and soft timber of the box that sits within it is part of the building's appeal. But the relationship between the shell and the box has not been handled with the same care and attention that we might we have come to expect, based on previous Maggie's projects like OMA's at Gartnavel.
The funding for the centre was raised in record time, thanks to local campaigners and the Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation, founded by golfer Colin Montgomerie in memory of his mother. Local contractors and professionals supplied services, materials and equipment free of charge. Maggie's calculates that this saved the charity about £400,000. Under the circumstances, it seems slightly mealy-mouthed to raise questions about the quality of the building finishes, but the fact that the two contradictory forms seem to clash, rather than complement each other, is unavoidable.
The last time I visited the centre, back in spring, the concrete contractors were working away at the shell to ensure they had all of the lines right. The shell was formed in a process that began with the setting-out of the reinforcement bars (29km of bar was used to form the shell). Once the form was fixed, the concrete contractors, who are more often involved in civil engineering tunnelling projects, sprayed 600 tonnes of concrete onto the reinforcement from the outside, using high pressure hoses. Once the outer shell was in place, 230mm-thick insulation was moulded by hand to the interior face of the building. Contractor Robertsons, better known for its work on large-scale PFI projects, has clearly learnt a great deal from building this modest but complex building. However, it's hard to avoid the fact that Maggie's Aberdeen raises the question about the mismatch between the digital technology of the architects' studio and what we are capable of producing in the construction industry in Scotland. Greenwood recognises there may indeed be a mismatch, but is optimistic.
He says: 'You may have seen the Reindeer Pavilion we made in Norway out of wood. It's made without any drawings - it's made with computer files. The computer files feed into a machine and the machine makes the interior. Maggie's is a little bit more analogue - they had sticks and they had heights - but it could have been done by GPS. You are getting new connections in the building industry that you didn't know about five years ago. They might make the future brighter. There is a time lag, of course, but things are changing.'
Penny Lewis is a lecturer at the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture
Parametric pebble: Aberdeen Maggie's Centre by Snøhetta
A man-friendly Maggie's
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The Real Banking Crisis, Part II
Just a gentle reminder that you can get this for free from Sprott.com so you might want to sign-up for it, its usually a very good read in our humble opinion.
By: Eric Sprott & David Baker
Here we go again. Back in July 2011 we wrote an article entitled "The Real Banking Crisis" where we discussed the increasing instability of the Eurozone banks suffering from depositor bank runs. Since that time (and two LTRO infusions and numerous bailouts later), Eurozone banks, as represented by the Euro Stoxx Banks Index, have fallen more than 50% from their July 2011 levels and are now in the midst of yet another breakdown led by the abysmal situation currently unfolding in Greece and Spain.
Source: Bloomberg
On Wednesday, May 16th, it was reported that Greek depositors withdrew as much as €1.2 billion from their local Greek banks on the preceding Monday and Tuesday alone, representing 0.75% of total deposits.1 Reports suggest that as much as €700 million was withdrawn the week before. Greek depositors have now withdrawn €3 billion from their banking system since the country's elections on May 6th, seemingly emptying what was left of the liquidity remaining within the Greek banking system.2According to Reuters, the Greek banks had already collectively borrowed €73.4 billion from the ECB and €54 billion from the Bank of Greece as of the end of January 2012 - which is equivalent to approximately 77% of the Greek banking system's €165 billion in household and business deposits held at the end of March.3 The recent escalation in withdrawals has forced the Greek banks to draw on an €18 billion emergency fund (released on May 28th), which if depleted, will leave the country with a cushion of a mere €3 billion.4 It's now down to the wire. Greece is essentially €21 billion away from a complete banking collapse, or alternatively, another large-scale bailout from the European Central Bank (ECB).
The way this is unfolding probably doesn't surprise anyone, but the time it has taken for the remaining Greek depositors to withdraw their money is certainly perplexing to us. Official records suggest that the Greek banks only lost a third of their deposits between January 2010 and March 2012, which begs the question of why the Greek banks have had to borrow so much capital from the ECB in the meantime.5Nonetheless, we are finally past the tipping point where Greek depositors have had enough, and the past two weeks have perfectly illustrated how quickly a determined bank run can propel a country back into crisis mode. The numbers above suggest there really isn't much of a banking system left in Greece at all, and at this point no sane person or corporation would willingly continue to hold deposits within a Greek bank unless they had no other choice.
The fact remains that here we are, in May 2012, and Greece is right back in the exact same predicament it was in before its March 2012 bailout. Before the bailout, Greece had approximately €368 billion of debt outstanding, and its government bond yields were trading above 35%.6 On March 9th, the authorities arranged for private investors to forgive more than €100 billion of that debt, and launched a €130 billion rescue package that prompted Nicolas Sarkozy to exclaim that the Greek debt crisis had finally been solved.7 Today, a mere two months later, Greece is back up to almost €400 billion in total debt outstanding (more than it had pre-bailout), and its sovereign bond yields are back above 29%. It's as if the March bailout never happened… and if you remember, that lauded Greek bailout back in March represented the largest sovereign restructuring in history. It is now safe to assume that that record will be surpassed in short order. It's either that, or Greece is out of the Eurozone and back on the drachma - hence the renewed bank run among Greek depositors.
Meanwhile, in Spain, bank depositors have been pulling money out of the recently nationalized Bankia bank, which is the fourth largest bank in the country. Depositors reportedly withdrew €1 billion during the week of May 7th alone, prompting shares of Bankia to fall 29% in one day.8 The Bankia run coincided with Moody's issuance of a sweeping downgrade of 16 Spanish banks, a move that was prompted over concerns related to the Spanish banks' €300+ billion exposure to domestic real estate loans, half of which are believed to be delinquent.9 The Spanish authorities were quick to deny the Bankia run, with Fernando Jiménez Latorre, secretary of state for the economy stating, "It is not true that there has been an exit of deposits at this time from Bankia… there is no concern about a possible flight of deposits, as there is no reason for it."10 Funny then that the Spanish government had to promptly launch a €9 billion bailout for Bankia the following Wednesday, May 24th, an amount which has since increased to a total of €19 billion to fund the ailing bank.11 Deny, deny some more… panic, inject capital - this is the typical government approach to bank runs, but the bailouts are happening faster now, and the numbers are getting larger.
The recent bank runs in Greece and Spain are part of a broader trend that has been building for months now. Foreign depositors in the peripheral EU countries are understandably nervous and have been steadily lowering their exposure to Eurozone sovereign debt. According to JPMorgan analysts, approximately €200 billion of Italian government bonds and €80 billion of Spanish bonds have been sold by foreign investors over the past nine months, representing more than 10% of each market.12 The same can be said for foreign deposits in those countries. Citi's credit strategist Matt King recently reported that, "in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal, foreign deposits have fallen by an average of 52%, and foreign government bond holdings by an average of 33%, from their peaks."13 Spain and Italy are not immune either, with Spain having suffered €100 billion in outflows since the middle of last year (certainly more now), and Italy having lost €230 billion, representing roughly 15% of its GDP.14
As we've stated before, no matter what happens in the Eurozone, the absolute worst case scenario for the authorities is a bank run. It terrifies all involved, because they can spiral out of control faster than governments can react to stop them, save for the most Draconian measures. They also prompt banks to liquidate whatever assets they can, revealing the truth about what their "assets" are actually worth. In this environment, no one wants to find out what the market will really pay for them. We're seeing this now in Spain, where according to Bloomberg, "Many Spanish banks are avoiding property sales so they don't have to "mark to market" valuations. Instead, they're giving developers new loans to pay debt coming due to prevent defaults."15 Sound familiar? We're now at the point where a bank run in one Eurozone country could quickly seize up the entire system - not just in Greece or Spain, but throughout the entire Eurozone and beyond. Greek and Spanish banks are just like all the others; they operate with leverage ratios averaging 25x their equity capital. They are all so overleveraged that it takes very little in deposit withdrawals to cause instantaneous liquidity issues. This is why we'll likely see another ECB-induced printing program announced (with a new abbreviation, hopefully) before a broader bank run can take root. The Eurozone authorities simply cannot risk the consequences of bank runs in countries like Spain, Portugal or Italy, which are far too big to bailout for the over-stretched ECB. It's not about Greece staying or leaving the European Union anymore, it's about the bailout ability of European banking system to survive the impact of massive money transfers.
Nothing is really being solved here, and everyone knows it. We're essentially in the same place we were when the crisis erupted back in 2010, only now there's more total debt outstanding. Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney remarked in a December 2011 speech that "the global Minsky moment has arrived", and it's now plain for all to see.16 The "Minsky moment" refers to the work of Hyman Minsky, a deceased American economist who developed theories on how debt accumulation eventually leads to financial crises. You don't have to be an economist to understand the crux of Minsky's theories. As an economy grows it takes on increasing amounts of debt. The point eventually comes when the cost of servicing that debt can no longer be met by that economy's productive capacity - that's the Minsky Moment, and we're watching it play out all over the world today. When Greek bond yields spiked back in February 2012, bond investors looking at the country's €368 billion of debt outstanding, its population of 11 million people, and its nominal GDP of $312 billion realized that it couldn't possibly work. There was no way Greece could pay the interest on its debt load. There was no way the bond market could keep pretending everything was ok, like it currently does with the UK, US and Japan… for now.
Greece clearly needs another large-scale bailout, and we think they'll get one. Greece's exit from the Eurozone represents a Lehman-like scenario to the global banking system - why wait to see what carnage it will unleash? It's always easier to print money, and printing another couple €100 billion is nothing compared to the trillions that have been printed since last November. Where this will get tense, however, is when the market acknowledges the Minsky moment in a larger EU economy, like Spain or Italy. As we go to print, Spanish bond yields are now trading back above 6.5%, signaling the market's non-confidence in the country's ability to back-stop its own banking system. Spain has a population of 47 million, a GDP of roughly $1.3 trillion, national debt of roughly $1.1 trillion, debt owed to the ECB and various bailout funds totaling €643 billion, and now, a banking system that also appears close to collapsing.17 Their Minsky Moment has already arrived, and it's simply a matter now of how the market will react to it, and how long it takes the ECB to come to Spain's rescue.
Without a doubt, the most counterintuitive aspect of the Greece/Eurozone debacle has been its impact on the price of gold. Gold is now back below $1600 for the third time since August 2011; each time has coincided with severe banking stress within Greece and the broader Eurozone. Some pundits have suggested that various European banks are selling gold to raise liquidity, and this would make sense if the Eurozone banks had gold to sell, but we cannot find any evidence of large physical sellers out of Europe. Also, ever since the unlimited US-dollar SWAP agreement was launched in November 2011, USD liquidity has not been the key issue in Europe - rising sovereign bond yields and deposit withdrawals have. On the contrary, the selling pressure in gold once again appears to be expressed primarily through the futures markets, which are highly levered and rarely involve any physical transactions involving actual bullion. The futures market sell-off also appears to be waning now, since the European banking crisis has provided central banks with a politically-palatable excuse to take action if it deteriorates any further.
The recent gold price has been particularly frustrating given the continuation of bullish demand trends out of China. China posted another record Hong Kong gold import number in March of 62.9 tonnes. Gold imports into China have now totaled 135.5 metric tonnes between January and March 2012, representing a 600% increase over the same period last year.18 We don't have to connect the dots here - China is stockpiling the precious metal while investors in the West scratch their heads wondering why the spot price is so low.
Source: UBS, Bloomberg
Non-G6 central banks have also continued to accumulate physical gold, with the latest reports revealing another 70 tonnes of gold purchases completed in March and April by the central banks of Philippines, Turkey, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Sri Lanka.19 We won't bore you with the exercise of annualizing those numbers and comparing them to the annual global mine supply, but suffice it to say that the fundamentals still remain firmly intact. It's now simply a matter of improving sentiment towards gold in the West, and if the current banking crisis in Europe gets any worse, or if we see another large-scale policy response, it will likely happen on its own accord.
Although the last eight months have not played out the way we would have expected for gold, they have played out the way we envisioned for the banks. The question now is how long this can go on for, and how long gold can remain under pressure in a banking crisis that has the potential to spread beyond Greece and Spain? So much now rests on the policy responses fashioned by the US Fed and ECB, and just as much also rests on what's left of European citizens' confidence in their local banking institutions. Neither of these things can be precisely measured or predicted, but we continue to firmly believe that depositors in Greece and Spain will choose gold over drachmas or pesetas if they have the foresight and are given the freedom to act accordingly. The number one reason we have always believed gold should be owned, and why we believe it will go higher, is people's growing distrust of the banking system - and we are now there. We will wait and see how the summer develops, and keep our attention firmly focused of the second phase of the bank run now spreading across southern Europe.
Hope, Kerin and Wigglesworth, Robin (May 16, 2012) "Greek banks see steady deposits outflow". Financial Times. Retrieved May 22, 2012 from:
Smith, Helena and Treanor, Jill (May 16, 2012) "Greeks withdraw €3bn in 10 days since election". The Guardian. Retrieved May 22, 2012 from:
Rueters (May 28, 2012) "Greece Pours $22.6 Billion Into Four Biggest Banks". Reuters. Retrived May 29, 2012 from:
Paris, Costas and Paris, Jenny (May 22, 2012) "Former Greek PM Papademos: Risk of Greece Leaving Euro is Real". Dow Jones. Retirved on May 23, 2012 from:
Smith, Helena and Treanor, Jill (May 16, 2012) "Greeks withdraw €3bn in 10 days since election". The Guardian. Retrieved May 22, 2012 from:
Becatoros, Elena and Steinhauser, Gabriele (March 9, 2012) "Greece secures biggest debt deal in history" Associated Press. Retrieved May 20, 2012 from:
Reuters (March 9, 2012) "Sarkozy says Greek problem solved". Reuters. Retrieved May 20, 2012
Vigna, Paul (May 17, 2012) "Whatever You Do, Don't Say 'Bank Run'". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 22, 2012 from:
Reuters (May 17, 2012) "Moody's cuts Spanish banks ratings". Reuters. Retrieved May 22, 2012 from:http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/17/idUSL1E8GHGOZ20120517
Johnson, Miles (May 17, 2012) "Spain denies bank run reports". Financial Times. Retrived May 20, 2012 from:
Giles, Ciaran and Woolls, Daniel (May 28, 2012) "Spanish PM adamant bank sector won't need European Union as Bankia shares plunge". The Associated Press. Retrieved on May 28, 2012 from:http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/85633--bankia-bailout-plan-sends-shares-plunging-10-year-spanish-bond-yield-soaring
Milne, Richard (May 23, 2012) "Bond exodus on a par with eurozone bank run". Financial Times. Retrieved on May 24, 2012 from:
Field, Richard (May 21, 2012) "Citi's Matt King on deposit flight likely to pick up speed in the EU". Trust Your Instincts Blog. Retrieved on May 24, 2012 from:
Milne, Richard (May 23, 2012) "Bond exodus on a par with eurozone bank run". Financial Times. Retrieved on May 24, 2012 from:
Smyth, Sharon and Callanan, Neil (May 29, 2012) "Spain Delays And Prays That Zombies Repay Debt: Mortgages". Bloomberg. Retrieved on May 29, 2012 from:
Carney, Mark (December 12, 2011) "Growth in the Age of Deleveraging". Bank of Canada. Retrieved on May 20, 2012 from:
Taylor, Anthony (April 19, 2012) "Spanish Debt as at April 19th 2012 vs GDP". British American Marketing. Retirved on May 20, 2012 from:
Bloomberg News (May 8, 2012) "China's Gold Imports Jump As Country May Become Biggest User". Bloomberg. Retrieved on May 20, 2012 from:
Williams, Lawrence (May 25, 2012) "Central Banks boost gold holdings yet again". Mineweb. Retrieved on May 26, 2012 from:
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subset: commoncrawl


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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Setting his clock back six years Sunday at LP Field, Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher stayed stride for stride with Titans running back Chris Johnson covering a deep pass route down the sideline.
Johnson, who once clocked 4.24 seconds in the 40-yard dash, boasts some of the fastest feet in the NFL. Urlacher, 13 seasons removed from the days when he played defensive back in college, possesses a balky left knee that has been the source of international intrigue and considerable doubt.
Using the sideline as his friend, Urlacher kept up with his fleet-footed enemy well enough that he was in perfect position to break up Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck's lofted pass.
Urlacher returned an interception 46 yards for a touchdown, forced one fumble and recovered another in a game he acknowledged was his best of the season. But Urlacher's most significant display of athleticism came when the 34-year-old isolated on the league's speediest running back and won the battle.
When Urlacher makes plays like the Urlacher we recognize, the Bears look like a defense with no weaknesses and a team with few peers.
The only time Urlacher looked quicker in a 51-20 victory was when he raced over to congratulate emerging NFL defensive player of the year candidate Charles Tillman after Tillman's fourth forced fumble. Together they celebrated a day of fun and ferocity when the Bears defense that created five turnovers turned Music City into Gnashville.
Surely it's just a coincidence that the Bears reached midseason in a city halfway to New Orleans, site of Super Bowl XLVII. But if the Bears offense uses this as a springboard, Sunday's game might represent more than a metaphor. Matt Forte surpassed 100 yards rushing. Jay Cutler posted a 138.1 passer rating. Brandon Marshall caught nine passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns.
Yet no one could stop talking about a Bears defense so feared that Hasselbeck admitted expecting the Titans not to worry about turnovers was "like telling someone not to leave a putt short on the green.''
Tennessee's bad case of the yips started early and continued often.
"The big plays, the takeaways, I've never been around anything like this in high school or college at any level," Urlacher said. "Every week, it seems someone else is doing it."
Much to the delight of Urlacher's teammates, this week it was the emotional leader of Lovie Smith's best defense ever. Sometime after Corey Wootton scooped up Sherrick McManis' block of Brett Kern's punt to score a 5-yard touchdown, Urlacher told Tillman he wanted in on the end-zone action.
"I said, 'Hey, call it, man. The tongue has the power of life or death. Say it, speak it, believe it,' " Tillman said.
When Hasselbeck took the shotgun snap on first-and-10, Urlacher did it with instincts and experience — Urlacher's biggest asset at this stage. He noticed Lance Briggs had jumped the running back and floated in front of wide receiver Damian Williams.
"I was just reading his eyes trying to get underneath one of those guys running across the middle," Urlacher said.
Hasselbeck never saw Urlacher, who caught the pass and lumbered into the open field like so many Bears defenders had before him. He sidestepped Hasselbeck because NFL quarterbacks just aren't supposed to tackle 258-pound linebackers, received a nice block from Israel Idonije and ambled across the goal line.
"I made it," Urlacher kidded.
Was there any doubt?
"No," Julius Peppers said. "He does it in practice all the time."
Ho-hum. Urlacher's pick-six made the Bears the first team in NFL history with seven interception returns for touchdowns in the first eight games. Yet, to a man, the Bears acted more thrilled about Urlacher making progress than their defense making history. They realize what a productive Urlacher means to a season looking more special every Sunday.
"We have been waiting for Brian to really step up like that," Smith said.
Added safety Chris Conte: "It's been a long road. To see him come back and make a play like that, we're all proud of him."
Respect and affection for Urlacher run deep enough to wonder if his uncertain future helps motivate a team driven to win a Super Bowl ring for the aging face of the franchise. No, Urlacher's new mustache doesn't include flecks of gray. But nobody except Urlacher knows how healthy his knee really is, and a contract paying Urlacher $7.5 million expires in eight games.
The more Urlacher plays as he did in a blowout of Titanic proportions, the more likely No. 54 will be around for more days like Sunday.
"There are going to be times we can't do this," Urlacher said. "But we're going to keep trying every week."
For a football team thinking Super Bowl, it never gets old.
Twitter @DavidHaugh


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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Charles Tillman and Lance Briggs have been Chicago Bears teammates for a decade, watching each other grow from talented rookies to entrenched starters to savvy veterans.
If they weren't forever linked before, they surely are now.
Tillman and Briggs made NFL history Sunday by becoming the first teammates to return interceptions for touchdowns in consecutive weeks. Tillman's score was pivotal in a 41-3 victory at Jacksonville.
``We're still going strong 10 years later,'' Tillman said.
The Bears (4-1) scored 38 unanswered points in the second half to win their third consecutive game. The streak has everything to do with defense. Chicago has returned five interceptions for touchdowns in those games.
Tillman and Briggs returned two of the team's five INTs for scores in Monday night's 34-18 victory at Dallas. Major Wright returned one the previous week against St. Louis.
Tillman's second of the season - a 36-yarder in the third quarter Sunday - proved to be the decisive play in a game that saw as many punts (six) as points in the first half.
``This one was an easier catch,'' Tillman said, recalling his juggling pick of Tony Romo's pass six days earlier. ``Last week, it was, `Is he really throwing me the ball?' This week was normal. This one was easier. It came at a good time. We needed a lift, and that score got us rolling to the point the offense started putting up points after that.''
The Bears finished with 501 yards of offense, 309 in the second half, and held Jacksonville to 45 yards after the break. The Jaguars ran just four plays in the third quarter.
``It's been the same thing for five years,'' Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew said. ``Obviously, we're not working hard enough. I don't know. We're just not playing well right now. We have to figure something out. No one here is going to save us. We got to look man to man at each other and figure out what we're going to do.''
The Jaguars (1-4) never recovered from Tillman's touchdown and played the final quarter amid a chorus of boos. Jacksonville now heads into its bye week with serious questions about what direction the team is headed under general manager Gene Smith, quarterback Blaine Gabbert and maybe even first-year coach Mike Mularkey.
With Smith assembling the roster, the Jaguars have lost 18 of their last 24 games.
They have been downright pathetic in three home games this season. They managed 117 yards in the home opener against Houston, 212 last week against Cincinnati and 189 Sunday.
``I can talk up here all night about what we did, but that's not going to cure anything,'' Gabbert said. ``We've got to come out in the second half and play better football. It starts with me. When you throw two Pick 6's in a half, that's awful. I've got to find a way to fix that and get this offense going a little bit.''
Gabbert completed 17 of 33 passes for 142 yards, with two interceptions and a lost fumble. The Bears stacked the line of scrimmage, clearly wanting to shut down Jones-Drew. It worked, as Jones-Drew finished with 56 yards on 12 carries.
Following Tillman's score, the Jaguars allowed consecutive touchdown drives after playing stout defense in the first half.
Jay Cutler hooked up with rookie Alshon Jeffery for a 10-yard score on the first play of the fourth quarter and then found Brandon Marshall for a 24-yarder with 8:37 remaining in the game.
Briggs' score came after that, a 36-yard return that made it 34-3.
``The defense put up some points again,'' said Cutler, who completed 23 of 39 passes for 292 yards. ``We're never really out of a game with those guys on defense.''
Marshall caught 12 passes for 144 yards. Matt Forte, who has one touchdown this season, ran 22 times for 107 yards.
Few outsiders gave the Jaguars a chance before the game. The only thing that seemingly was in Jacksonville's favor was catching Chicago on a short week. The Bears got home from Dallas early Tuesday and were back on a plane Saturday.
That may have contributed to Chicago's slow start. But it mattered little in the second half - thanks mostly to the interceptions.
``I know they know how important it is to take the ball away,'' Bears coach Lovie Smith said. ``There is an emphasis on it. And after a while, you see one guy doing it, you want to join in on that action. It's discouraging to the offense. We normally win when we score one time, and it's probably safe to say we haven't lost when we score a couple times on the defensive side.''
Online:http://pro32.ap.org/poll andhttp://twitter.com/AP-NFL


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"In the end we all just play the roles given us... Sometimes they dont fit so well,... but I guess we make do."
Dont forget MultiMedia forums!!
2x91,92,94 Q45s, 2x 350Z, 1x 240SX w/ SR20DET, 1x Sentra SER SPEC-V, 2k2 Maxima, 2x03 G35, 09 Maxima, 2k2 Maxima, 2015 XTerra, 2005 Xterra, 2012 Pathfinder,
I do like his reviews. He did one on the Passat when I was shopping for a used family sedan that convined me to test drive. Obviously I went with another 3rd gen Altima.
Thanks for sharing, man!


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Note: This article is unfortunately very old at this point. Dual Wield/Devastate Spam PVP hasn't been viable for a long time now =(
Never one to succumb to conformity, this is my effort at showing that prot spec can be a viable, if not successful pvp spec. My typical PVP style is dual wield, using The Decapitator and Fool's Bane, mostly geared with arena and pvp armor, pushing almost 2000 attack power with Battle Shout and over 33% crit in berserker stance.
You should also be able to see all battleground and arena results here:
WarcraftRealms Recent Battleground Results


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"Zero Days" S6 E18
Pictured: Eric Christian Olsen (LAPD Liaison Marty Deeks). The NCIS: LA team is called in to determine if the computer system that controls Russian missiles is at risk after Eric overhears his friend, a computer systems expert, being attacked during online game play. Meanwhile, Kensi is shocked when a familiar face from her past shows up in Afghanistan, on NCIS: LOS ANGELES, Tuesday, March 25 (9:00-10:01 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS ©2014 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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Working in physics: Physics for a safer world
The Home Office Scientific Development Branch offers some of the most varied scientific jobs available. And, as Colin Wilson describes, it also combines a university-like atmosphere with all the benefits of working in the civil service.
It is almost five years since I started working for the Home Office Scientific Development Branch. If you are anything like me (and the many other people I have met in my time here) your first question will probably be "The Home Office what?". You might also wonder why the Home Office — which is the UK government department responsible for protecting the public from terrorism, crime and antisocial behaviour — needs science. Many people are surprised by the answers.
The Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) is a group of about 200 scientists and engineers who offer advice and technical support to the Home Office on all aspects of its work. Its main customer is the police service but it also works for many other government departments, including immigration, prisons and transport. These services have an enormous impact on society and they are all making increasing use of technology to achieve their aims. As a result, they need advice from experts to ensure that they make the best (and safest) use of new technologies.
A project generally starts with a customer explaining what they want. For example, the police may need a vest that helps prevent stabbing injuries. The first step usually involves translating that requirement into technical terms, so one needs to find out about the customer's requirements for weight, sensitivity or any of the other factors that you need to consider when designing a piece of kit. Once HOSDB employees have a detailed idea of what is needed, they then advise on available equipment that may be suitable. One of our largest tasks to date has been evaluating the safety implications of equipping the UK's police forces with TASERs — non-lethal weapons that incapacitate victims by giving them an electric shock. In some cases, however, no commercially available equipment fits the requirements, so we look at the latest research to see if what we need is possible and, if necessary, develop the equipment ourselves.
It is difficult to describe an average project at HOSDB because of the enormous diversity of its work. There are, for example, ongoing programmes in drug detection, explosive detection, and radiological and nuclear threat detection, as well as in surveillance, physical security, biometrics and road safety. This sort of work is vital in the current political climate and working in an area that has such an impact in the real world comes with a big feel-good factor.
HOSDB mostly employs science graduates early in their career, and the exact nature of their degree is less relevant than their ability to apply scientific methods and to communicate their findings clearly. I arrived at HOSDB with a PhD in astrophysics from Durham University, which is not, on the face of it, enormously relevant for the work, but my skills have always been put to good use. Indeed, whether it be determining new ways to look for radiological weapons (so-called dirty bombs that are designed to spread radioactive material) or calculating how strong a piece of body armour needs to be, almost every project requires some knowledge of physics.
Reality check
My move from academia to the civil service was not exactly planned. When I reached the end of my PhD — which I really enjoyed — I decided that I wanted to work somewhere that was a bit more "real". During a visit to the university careers service, the advisor found an advert for HOSDB in a magazine, which sounded interesting. I applied, got the job and then swiftly found myself moving to Hertfordshire, where HOSDB has its main site. Its other site is in Sussex, thus sparing Home Office scientists from having to work in London.
I started out in the surveillance section, where I was investigating how to improve surveillance equipment and methods by examining the underlying theory of the area — generating new ideas was also part of the remit. Working with engineers was a new experience — unlike physicists, I found that they tend to build first and plan later — but it turned out to be a really productive relationship. Indeed, collaborating with scientists from many disciplines is one of the best things about working at HOSDB. As well as physicists, it employs chemists, forensic scientists, electronic engineers and others, which means that you get to see the world from a variety of viewpoints.
After a couple of years in surveillance, I moved to a temporary job in the communications department (mostly because I am a relatively chatty scientist). Moving from core physics to science communication was a bit of a shock. I found myself writing press releases and answering the public's questions (which were mostly about speed cameras!). It was a great job and a superb opportunity to hone my writing skills, but — as I was only covering the role until someone was employed full time — my career as a science writer was brief.
People power
My current role is in operations management, which is a job that is much more about people than science. Not everyone who works at HOSDB chooses to move in this direction but it sounded like an exciting challenge. Day to day I look after several teams, including an engineering design and manufacturing group and a team that provides security for major events in the UK (you would be amazed how much work goes into a political party conference or foreign visit). My job is to make sure everyone is doing the right work and that they have the support that they need. Although I don't do much physics anymore, I have to understand the technical issues that arise within these teams, which is why all the managers at HOSDB have a science background.
I find management very enjoyable, and I have been surprised by the similarities to doing theoretical physics. As with analysing data and coming up with new theories, managing people and designing work flows involves spotting patterns and making connections that are not immediately obvious. I may not be looking for black holes anymore but I am still analysing a very complex system, which means that in many ways I feel that I am using the skills from my PhD more than ever.
HOSDB is definitely a unique place to work. In many ways it feels somewhat like a university department — the social life certainly resembles one — but we work at the forefront of issues that affect the whole country. People here are interested not only in science, but also in how the country works. In the end, our work is about making the world a better place.
About the author
Colin Wilson is the operations manager for the Home Office Scientific Development Branch's National Technical Support Unit in Hertfordshire, UK.
This article originally appeared in the February 2008 issue of Physics World
last edited: September 11, 2018


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|2011-10-26, 13:07
|Link #41
Hiding Under Your Bed
Join Date: May 2008
So, spending some time with some pirates doesn't seem unlikely.
|2011-10-26, 14:33
|Link #44
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Edinburgh
Age: 37
But I want differently evolved human, maybe a new race that composes only of female, that are abducting male humans for reproduction reasons... forgot that the story needs to be a bit child friendly ^^
|2011-10-26, 14:33
|Link #45
Supreme Grocer
|2011-10-26, 15:15
|Link #47
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Edinburgh
Age: 37
|2011-10-26, 22:39
|Link #49
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Another translation, Wolf behaving like Bernard Monsha of 0083. I'm sure Flit will not readily give up the AGE-1 this time unlike episode 1.
|2011-10-26, 22:45
|Link #50
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Earth
if UE can go back time, why won't they go back even further to destroy the threat once and for all? Time travel is supposed to be the ultimate weapon that can bend all the rules XD
not buying it, but won't be surprised if it's true...i don't like time-travelling story tho...too many plothole usually on those stories XD
|2011-10-26, 22:49
|Link #51
A Proud Lolicon
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: In front of my computer
Age: 32
Can go back time doesn't mean they can go back to whatever time frame they want.
|2011-10-27, 09:09
|Link #52
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Earth
"Don't know the whereabouts of the enemy" would be the most valid reason..
Other reasons, like "couldn't go back further" "can't go to any time frame" etc are not as convincible imo, and that's why I don't like those time-traveling story in general...you just have to believe what they said...
It's too early...still just a speculation...tho it would be funny that if the speculation is true, UE decides to go back to the exact year when Flit is born XD
P.S actually when i think about it more, if UE really wants to advance the tech in the past time, why do they have to destroy the damaged suit in episode 1 so earthling can't get the tech?
|2011-10-27, 10:53
|Link #53
A Proud Lolicon
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: In front of my computer
Age: 32
I'm going to quote myself again.
Before, people only dreamed of going to the moon, and you see now they are trying to go further than that? 50 years later, when humanity could go anywhere they want, there will be some ask "why did human could only go to the moon at that time?".
|2011-10-27, 11:24
|Link #54
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: CH aka Chocaholic Heaven
Age: 35
This was more or less explored in Turn-A, were they had the most overpowered technologies at disposal, yet barely scratched their potential, all protagonists being perfect amateurs, war having been unknown of for centuries if not millenia.
Examples of Turn-A overpowered tech:
Spoiler for Turn-A tech:
|2011-10-27, 19:29
|Link #55
Carpe Diem
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: ||At the edge of finality.||
Age: 29
Time really isn't a technological advancement similar to any other, and I do not think can be fairly compared to it. Physical limitations do not apply to time travel once you have it mastered, whereas they do apply to space travel, flight, getting up in the morning, and just about everything else.
I'll be perfectly honest that a time travel plot will raise an eyebrow from me at the very least as it is the hardest type of plot in sci-fi to truly pull off without leaving plot holes.
|2011-10-27, 19:52
|Link #56
A Proud Lolicon
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: In front of my computer
Age: 32
The problem is you put too many assumption in your argument. Resource is a big problem, but you assume it's your usual type of resource that's available at any era. Secondly, why do they bother with time travel? Because "the Earth was destroyed" in the future. You assume they could do that multiple time, but take into account that everything was pulled in the desperation, otherwise who would choose time travel as a solution?
Beside, the reason they lose the war is really clear if Flit's generation indicates anything. It's way too peaceful, and I wouldn't be surprised if Earth was wiped out in the short amount of time, even before they know who's the threat.
People used to think creating human is god's work, didn't they? And now we could even do something as cloning. What makes you so sure that time isn't a technological advancement similar to any other?
|2011-10-27, 20:50
|Link #57
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
So, assuming this spoiler is correct, I suggest you give the show a chance to explain the story first.
|2011-10-27, 20:57
|Link #58
Carpe Diem
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: ||At the edge of finality.||
Age: 29
Resources, for a time traveler, are a non-issue (and are a non-issue for space fairing races as well) unless they travel so far into the future or backwards in time that either (a.) the universe had not yet started to form under baryogenesis or (b.) the universe had decayed into its lowest state. There is no such thing as a resource not available unless it runs out but that is not possible if you can travel backwards in time, and is only an issue in forward time travel or standard progression of the arrow of time. (Basic constituents of matter do not simply pop up out of nowhere at some point in time, they were either there for billions/millions of years or they weren't. We are talking a hundred year time span in this series which is less than the blink of an eye for the universe. For instance, even a rapidly generated organic compound (on planetary time scales) such as oil has existed since life existed which is billions of years. And while its specific molecular compound only came about because something died and turned into oil, the basis of it is carbon and any sufficiently advanced life form (especially one with prior knowledge of the compound, such as our UE with their supposed time traveling) would not be troubled to reproduce it.)
So either: resources is not an issue, or the resource came from the big bad and was made of some non-universe thing that simply did not exist anywhere in our known universe. But since you can time travel, and at the very least learned how to use the vastly alien resource to your advantage, you have an infinite amount of time within which to learn to reverse engineer said compound. I'll concede that if somehow this compound were made of something you could never, ever attain again, then sure, you are more or less hosed. But that begs the question....
What prevents the big bad from just traveling back in time with their own, likely infinite amount of, resource and use it to undo everything you did? If the resource is big bad limited, then any action you may do in time would be quickly rendered ineffective by an action by your enemy in time. It would be like playing Chrono Trigger with two people, both having the ability to time travel, and with the goal of disrupting one another. The game would never end.
Where the heck did it come from? And why at that particularly convenient point in time when you were facing your doom.
Now: Who would chose time traveling as a solution?
Answer: Me, and many other people. Time traveling is a power that encroaches on the so-called powers of God. You know the future, you can manipulate it to your liking. And as I previously said, the ability to time travel (even if only once, which really doesn't make sense to me because once you go backwards you can again find the thing that let you go backwards before, repeat this process forever if you must) provides you with the ultimate tactical advantage... and if you can't win with even that sort of clairvoyance... you're army is hopeless. The earth being wiped out really isn't an issue if you can time travel, again you have clairvoyance of the events that lead to said destruction, giving you unparalleled advantages should you go back in time and fight said battle all over again.
Cloning is cloning is again a physical thing, just as everything else you listed before. Time travel is not physical. Time does not occupy any physical area or thing, it is a concept that marks progression. Time is a concept closer to a logical truth than it is to anything tangible.
Last edited by Vena; 2011-10-27 at 21:15.
|2011-10-27, 21:23
|Link #59
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
For example, you think that resources are a non-issue. Why is that? Do you even know how they were even able to travel through time or the circumstances in which that occurred that you can say that resources are a non-issue? I don't think that you can say that you do. Bringing up these "issues" now when we don't even know the condition of the UE in Flit's time (let alone the condition 100 years from now other than the Earth being destroyed, at least, according to the spoiler) seems a bit pointless as there's no way to say one way or another whether your "issues" are even real.
|2011-10-27, 21:34
|Link #60
Carpe Diem
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: ||At the edge of finality.||
Age: 29
Given a resource, no matter what it is or its origin, if you can travel backwards in time (specifically to a point in time before you used the resource and while it still existed, say a few seconds before you used it in normal time) could you not simply continue looping time forever because you would always have said resource?
Now add to that question: Could you, with your future knowledge of just a few seconds, work with yourself over and over and over, until you have thousands of hours of experience with the material and time traveling, and in every iteration furthering your own technology ever so slightly. Even if one of 'you' may die, there would technically be an infinite number of yous available, all younger, to carry on your research?
Stargate (as bad a resource as that is) had an episode specifically on this concept, the whole of Ground Hog Day is built on this, and hell even Steins;Gate had elements of this, Chrono Trigger and Radiant Historia use this even. The moment you can go backward in time, is the moment creating a loop becomes an almost certainty.
|Thread Tools


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Most of you are aware that the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE) limits database size to 2 gigabytes. However, how do you know when it reaches that limit. Well, the database becomes inaccessible. Yesterday one of my clients called and said, "My SQL Server is not running, can you take a look?". Of course I could. I logged into the server and the SQL Server was running. Hmmmm, I thought. The server did not have any client tools installed, so I had to logon to another machine and connect.
Before I did that I asked the client what was the specific error? He sent me the following screen shot:
While reading the error I realized one thing, the SQL Server was running as a named instance. Typically in our environment, this usually indicates that someone in the department installed an application that's using a Desktop version of SQL Server. I connected to the instance via Management Studio and ran, SELECT @@version, which returned the following:
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 - 8.00.760 (Intel X86) Dec 17 2002 14:22:05 Copyright (c) 1988-2003 Microsoft Corporation Desktop Engine on Windows NT 5.2 (Build 3790: Service Pack 2).
I quickly noticed that it was an MSDE install. A quick look in the error log validated my suspicions.
2009-10-06 16:54:01.98 spid3 CREATE/ALTER DATABASE failed because the resulting cumulative database size would exceed your licensed limit of 2048 MB per database.
The database had reached the 2 gigabyte limit. As a result, I stopped the SQL Server, copied the .mdf and .ldf files to another SQL Server (SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition) and attached it to that server.
Just a little blast from the past for all of you have that have ever experienced this.
Talk to you soon
Patrick LeBlanc, Founder TSQLScripts.com and SQL Lunch
SQL Down South


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Bowie remembered: Iman posts beautiful tribute to the man who sold the world
Please like us to get more great stories like this
Leading up to his death, Iman celebrates Bowie and shares her thoughts in posts
January 12, 2016
In the days since word hit of David Bowie's death, the reactions seem as dynamic and diffuse as the man himself. Many write of particular personas, songs and shows, but what emanates from these confessions is wonder — about what he imparted and how it endures.
His aura of invincibility, especially in his art, went unspoken for so long that the news was a jolt. Who was ever surprised about what he tried? Even if we did not understand it at first, there was power and persuasiveness to it that would seep inside eventually.
Perhaps we did not understand his greatest private collaboration, though, until his wife Iman tweeted in the days leading up to her husband's death. In one she reminds us of the joy of living in the moment, and underneath that, the sorrow when we know those experiences will be no more. She also acknowledges the pain of struggle and the belief in a higher power. They are both poignant but private postings.
The couple, who wed in 1992, met at a dinner party, according to a CNN story. She explained to Express in 2011 how she overcame her reluctance to get involved with a rocker, "He wooed me." A rebel and a gentleman, he clearly was a potent private personality too.
In keeping with the public-private life separation, few knew Bowie had cancer, according to an Associated Press story. On his birthday, Jan. 8, he delivered a present, what we presume is his last record, "Blackstar." NPR writes that his illness did not dampen Bowie's musical exploration. And really, what else would we expect from him?
So as the days go by and his illuminating showmanship pops up in all the familiar spots online and in print, Bowie's words will be used to describe his effect. Yes, he changed music, but really his reach overflowed into sexuality and gender, pop culture, art, music, theater, acting, fashion/hairstyles and technology — just about every facet of our lives.
Now consider what he told the L.A. Times' then pop music critic Robert Hilburn in 1987:
"For me, rock was always about narrative or putting forward little stories and ideas, however strange or off the wall they might be. ... I guess it's flattering that everyone believed I was those characters, but it also is dehumanizing. I meet people all the time and I can see the mistrust in their eyes, like calculation is my middle name."
What did Hilburn have to say about the life and art of Bowie?
"He was brilliant in every facet of the genre: on stage (ah, the Ziggy Stardust tour), on record (from 'Hunky Dory' and 'Ziggy' to 'Low' and 'Scary Monsters')," Hilburn told the Times on Jan. 11, 2016. "Ultimately," Hilburn said, "for me it's 'Heroes.' In his most inspiring moments, he made us all feel like we could be heroes. And isn't that what rock 'n' roll is all about?"
§ People, CNN, The Guardian, Associated Press, NPR, L.A. Times, "Today", and Ars Technica
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Bowie remembered: Iman posts beautiful tribute to the man who sold the world
News · January 12


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Conservatives: Jobs data are phony
The release Friday of unexpectedly positive jobs numbers immediately touched off a conspiracy theory among conservatives, who suggested the data was being manipulated to benefit President Barack Obama's reelection.
"Chicago style politics is at work here," Florida GOP Rep. Allen West wrote on his Facebook page. "Somehow by manipulation of data, we are all of a sudden below 8 percent unemployment, a month from the presidential election. This is Orwellian to say the least and representative of Saul Alinsky tactics from the book "Rules for Radicals" — a must read for all who want to know how the left strategize."
Story Continued Below
West added, "Trust the Obama administration? Sure, and the spontaneous reaction to a video caused the death of our ambassador … and pigs fly."
Other conservatives agreed and targeted the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compiles the unemployment data.
"Either the Federal Reserve, which has its fingers on the pulse of every element of the economy, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics manufacturing survey report are grievously wrong, or the number used to calculate the unemployment rate are wrong, or worse manipulated," Americans for Limited Government declared in a press release. "Given that these numbers conveniently meet Obama's campaign promises one month before the election, the conclusions are obvious."
The group's president, Rick Manning, quipped that Obama must have hired "infamous Iraqi Information Minister Baghdad Bob to calculate the unemployment rate. Anyone who takes this unemployment report serious is either naïve or a paid Obama campaign adviser."
Conn Carroll, an editorial writer at the conservative Washington Examiner, had a slightly different theory.
"I don't think BLS cooked numbers. I think a bunch of Dems lied about getting jobs. That would have same effect." — Conn Carroll (@conncarroll) October 5, 2012
Market analyst Rick Santelli said on CNBC: "I told you they'd get it under 8 percent — they did! You can let America decide how they got it there."
Newsbusters, a conservative media criticism website, said Santelli's comments "put a big question mark over the validity of the data."
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said it was "ludicrous" to suggest the data had been manipulated to boost Obama.
"I'm insulted when I hear that because we have a very professional civil service organization where you have top, top economists that work at the BLS," Solis said on CNBS. "They've been doing these calculations. These are our best trained and best-skilled individuals working in the BLS, and it's really ludicrous to hear that kind of statement."


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Mo Williams: Jazzman Once More + Kevin O'Connor's Views on Social Media
Mo Williams
** On wearing #16: Me and Al [Jefferson]'s pretty cool, so Imma let him keep #25.
** On where his "toughness" comes from: I think it just come from the way I was raised. I think the way you is raised is who you are. I didn't come from the greatest of situations, but one thing about it, I wasn't in the worst either. And I watched my parents battle, work night shifts, work two jobs, and that's toughness. That's toughness.
When I'm going to school and my dad just getting home from work, my mom going to work, my mom get off work, my dad going back, that's something. And I think it all carries over from your parents, and I was fortunate enough to have both parents in my life. And my dad's very demanding, and I think that's where I get it from.
** On how playing for Jerry Sloan honed that toughness: I already had [toughness] in me, and I say it to this day. I couldn't have went to a better place. Couldn't've went to a better place. After you go to other organizations, you really appreciate this organization…the way Jerry approached things. Everybody know Jerry. He's very fair. You play hard, he will reward you. And that's one thing he taught me. You play hard, you'll play. And when I played hard, I played. And I always remember that.
** On standing up for teammates in the event of wet willies and such: When a guy hits the floor, I don't care who hits the floor, somebody needs to run over and pick him up. It shouldn't be told to you, that's something that should be done. If a teammate is in an altercation, everybody on the floor, not the bench, everybody on the floor need to go [remedy] that situation. Not fight, but we need to be beside our teammates, making sure nothing happen, and protect him. Make sure he don't do anything, 'cause we gonna need people in the game.
Not saying everybody go get kicked out, but that's a form of togetherness. That lets you know that, you know what, we here. If you wanna play like that, if you wanna be dirty, you gonna have to be dirty to all five of us on the court. That's a tone that you want to set, because if you have that tone, if you have that makeup on your team, those things won't happen. Those players wouldn't do that. So that won't even happen. If you know a dog gon bite you already, you won't go in the pen with him.
** On Al Jefferson: I be seeing a lot of Al in the next few weeks. Me and Al got our camp back home, and then me and Al open camp together. Every year, we both have our individual pre-camps that we do [in] the communities that we grew up in, and then we do an elite camp together where we take the top 12 players, boys and girls, in the state and we do a two-day camp with them.
** Do you see yourself finishing your career here? That's the goal. That's the goal. Absolutely.
Kevin O' Connor: That's ours too.
** On different styles of point guards: Everybody has their own talent, and you shouldn't have to change the way you play to appease anybody.* They know my strengths. I'm very, very, very comfortable in my own skin…I am what I am, and Imma continue to get better in the areas that I'm not great at. I'm always getting better.
* Found this interesting, because this is pretty much what Devin Harris had to/was asked to do last season.
** On having played different roles in his career: In Cleveland, I had the ball in my hands a lot. I think that's the guy I'll be here, more so than last year…When I went to Milwaukee, I was a point guard. That's all I played. I distributed a lot; I didn't really score that much. And then all of a sudden T.J. Ford came back from injury–he missed a whole year–and then I came off the bench my third year…and I was strictly a scorer [like] I was last year, but just better…
And my fourth year, fifth year, sixth year, seventh year, eighth year, that was my starting years where I was a point guard. And when I got to L.A., obviously the situation changed. So I'm able to adjust; I was kind of comfortable with that. I wasn't happy about it, but I was comfortable with whatever I needed to do, just the approach I took my third year when T.J. got the starting job, I took the approach of "whatever it takes."
If I gotta play small forward, if I gotta play power forward, I want to be on the floor. Imma do whatever it takes. If you want me to just be a scorer, that's my role? That's my role.
** On his kids (four and one on the way) and #16: One thing about my kids, they're probably more basketball-educated than a lot of adults, and that's the honest truth. My kids know every player in the NBA, what team they on, when they get traded, who they got traded for. They fully aware of what team I'm on, they pick my jersey number, they picked #16.
Unintentional Dirty Quote Machines of the Night (UDQM)
** Mo Williams: Some guys are kind of laidback and reserved. I'm not. I'm kind of a balls-to-the-wall, I'm going to go hard.
** Mo Williams: If you wanna play like that, if you wanna be dirty, you gonna have to be dirty to all five of us on the court.
Kevin O'Connor
** On Mo Williams: He's in an opportunity where, when they, obviously [the Clippers] traded for Chris Paul, he became, you know, not the starter, and he wants to start somewhere, so, you know, that's gonna be, he's gonna be given an opp–a strong opportunity to do that here.
** On rule changes: Back when Oster was here, he could stand out on the wing offensively and he could play 3-on-3 on one side of the floor.
I just included this part because it's funny KOC calls Greg Ostertag "Oster."
** On Twitter: The last time I thought about tweeting was when I used to watch cartoons with Tweety Bird.
** On social media and blogs: The toughest thing is for guys that don't have to, don't have any accountability. We talk about it as players, and talk about it as, you know, my respon–my job and everything else is accountability. But it, it, it doesn't seem to transcend into the, into the, what my wife says, 'cause I, is the "social media world."
** On his wife and Mo Williams: This is the God's honest truth and I'm not even gonna, I'm not even gonna get close to exaggerating. She said, "Is there free agents? Who are you talking about?" So we mention some names and talked about getting a guard. She said, "You know, you screwed up the last time. You gotta get Mo Williams." … I'm not even paraphrasing. I believe that was a quote from her.
Well, the secret's out. If you have draft/free agency/trade proposals you want the Jazz to act on, you have to go through Linda O'Connor.
** On Jazz players and social media: Here's what we try and do…You sit there and you say, "…Would your mother like to see what you wrote?" And you know, they all, especially the younger players, they go, "Ooh." You know, they smile at you a little bit, like, "What are you, crazy?" But at least, you know, you try and talk to them about making sure that they don't do something on there as a joke, as anything else, that would be misconstrued.
"Reunited" pic via the Jazz
modernagejazz permalinkJuly 4, 2012 10:59 pm
Burks' 21st birthday is around the corner. There's some serious twitter danger around!
July 6, 2012 12:10 am
thanks for the report


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Harvester at The O2
Serving honest, freshly-cooked food, Harvester creates a warm, family-friendly vibe at its hundreds of restaurants throughout the UK. From tapas-style starters and juicy rotisserie chicken, to famous signature ribs and 100% British beef burgers, the Harvester menu is filled with crowd-pleasing favourites. Harvester's unlimited salad bar is on hand for a healthy accompaniment: replenished with super-fresh ingredients throughout the day.Breakfast goods (including an unlimited cooked or continental option) are on offer in the morning, and there's a kids menu served throughout the day to keep the little ones happy.
|Average main course
|£7.00 per diner
|Average food spend
|£15.00 per diner
Venue Details & Map
Harvester at The O2
- Address
The O2
17 Peninsula SquareGreenwichLondonSE10 0UZ
- Telephone:
- +44 2088534574
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- ,
Facilities & Accessibility
For comprehensive accessibility information on this venue please click here


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My favorite season is summer, but you wouldn't necessarily know that by looking at me. Almost my entire wardrobe is black and I'm pretty pale, which is usually the hallmark of people who prefer things a little cooler. In truth, I used to be one of those people, but half a decade of New York winters has given me an appreciation of warm weather I didn't have during my quarter century of brutal Atlanta summers. I still have my lifelong preference for black clothing, though, so I have to pick and choose my summer shopping list carefully.
Summer black is more abundant than you'd think, but if that's not your thing, there's a little color below as well, especially in the handbags. There's even some white, even though I am objectively too messy to be a person who wears white. I can dream, right?
I love a flat sandal, I love a black sandal, I love a strappy sandal. Since these tie in the back instead of buckle or snap, it'll also be way easier to adjust them perfectly.
A couple weeks ago, I walked several blocks behind a girl carrying one of these, and it was so sleek and beautiful in person.
I've loved this smaller version of the Simple Tote since it made its debut, and this fun little leopard version is my favorite one yet.
I love bag charms but have never bought one; these dino charms from Coach are so cool and intricate that I might take the plunge.
Dior makes all of my favorite sunglasses right now, and white pair feels particularly fresh for summer.
Between Chrissy Teigen and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, I'm fully convinced of the virtues of Gianvito Rossi summer suede.
A little black dress is always useful, and all-over lace lightens up the look for warm weather.
I'm a longtime fan of Mansur Gavriel's bucket bags, and I like this color and size of the Lady so much that they just might be the way I branch out.
I'm really into mini totes right now, in case that wasn't already clear.
I've actually already ordered these. I have the all-black version, and the Flyknit material makes the sneaker light as a feather and totally non-bulky. Perfect for summer!
My favorite facial exfoliator is from this brand, and this one for body (and face, if you're into that) gets very high marks. Gotta keep the arms and legs soft for the season.
My favorite summer pieces are things that feel a little boho and a little goth. This one fits into that perfectly.
If there's anyone I trust to make my skin soft and sexy and wonderful-smelling, it's Tom Ford.
This shows up not as white, but as a totally sheer shimmer that doesn't look too glittery or frosted. It's your lips but better.


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Chara, Karlsson and Weber are Norris finalistsby Adam Kimelman
The responsibilities a defenseman faces are numerous. He has to be strong in his own end to prevent goals, make smooth passes out of the defensive zone and chip in offensively by getting pucks to the net. The best blueliners also have to be able to play large amounts of ice time in all situations.
Three defensemen met those responsibilities better than any other during the 2011-12 season, and because of that Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins, Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators and Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators have been named as finalists for the Norris Trophy, awarded "to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position."
NHL Awards Finalists / Schedule
Calder Trophy (top rookie)
Henrique, Landeskog, Nugent-Hopkins
Monday, April 23
Selke Trophy (top defensive forward)
Backes, Bergeron, Datsyuk
Lady Byng Trophy (skill/sportsmanship)
Campbell, Eberle, Moulson
Tuesday, April 24
Masterton Trophy (perseverance, dedication)
Alfredsson, Lupul, Pacioretty
General Manager of the Year
Armstrong, Poile, Tallon
Wednesday, April 25
Vezina Trophy (top goaltender)
Lundqvist, Rinne, Quick
Thursday, April 26
Norris Trophy (top defenseman)
Chara, Karlsson, Weber
Friday, April 27
Hart Trophy (most valuable player to his team)
Monday, April 30
Jack Adams Award (top head coach)
NHL Foundation Award (community service)
The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association and will be announced at the 2012 NHL Awards Show on June 20 at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas.
At age 35, Chara had his best offensive season with 52 points, fourth among all NHL defensemen. He played 25 minutes per game and led all defensemen -- and was third in the League -- with a plus-33 rating. He also brought a physical presence, using his 6-foot-9, 255-pound frame to lead the Bruins with 166 hits.
Chara also had 12 goals -- including eight on the power play -- played his 1,000th NHL game in March and was named a captain at the 2012 All-Star Game, his sixth All-Star appearance.
This marks the fifth time Chara has been a Norris finalist. He won the award in 2009, finished second in 2004, and was third in 2008 and 2011.
"It's been a pleasure and an honor getting to play with one of the best, a guy who I think should go down as the best defenseman ever," teammate Tim Thomas told ESPN.com. "Certainly, in his own way, there's been nobody like him in the NHL. Nobody brings the exact attributes that he brings, so I count myself lucky to have been playing with him and behind him."
Karlsson had one of the best offensive seasons by a defenseman in recent memory. He was tied for 10th among all players in the League with 78 points, the most by a blueliner since Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom had 80 in 2005-06. He led all NHL defensemen in goals (19), assists (59) and points. He tied the Senators' single-season club record for goals by a defenseman, while his assists, points and five game-winning goals set new team records.
Not only did Karlsson star offensively, he was a plus-16, second on the team and a huge turnaround from his minus-30 last season. He also led all defensemen with 67 takeaways. And he did it while playing a career-high and team-leading 25:19 per game. He also played in his second straight All-Star Game.
Thanks in part to Karlsson, the Senators rose from 13th in the Eastern Conference in 2010-11 to eighth this season.
Karlsson is the first Senator to finish in the top three in the Norris voting since Chara finished second in 2004.
"We wouldn't be where we are right now without him," goalie Craig Anderson said of Karlsson earlier this season. "I can't say that for any other defenseman in the League right now -- that their team is so dependent on one player. Not that we rely on just one player, but in the grand scheme of things, he is our Sidney Crosby or whatever you want to call him for our team."
Weber was just as important for the Predators this season. He tied Karlsson for the League lead among defensemen with 19 goals, and his career-best 49 points tied for sixth in the League. His 10 power-play goals were the most among defensemen this season.
The workhorse and team captain was fifth in the League in ice time per game at 26:09 while posting a career-best and team-high plus-21 rating and finishing second among all blueliners with 51 takeaways. He quarterbacked the League's top power-play unit and also played more than two minutes per game shorthanded. Weber used his 6-4, 232-pound frame to punish the opposition, leading the team with 177 hits and blocking 140 shots. And he did all that against the best the opposition had to offer -- he tied for the team lead and tied for 16th in the League in advanced-metrics website Behind the Net's Quality of Competition rating, a number generated by the average relative plus/minus rating of opposing players based on head-to-head ice time.
With Weber, the Predators finished in the top 10 in the League in goals-for and goals-against, and had their best season since 2006-07.
"I think in terms of his game, it's raised in the sense that he's always been good offensively and he's always been physical and all that," Predators coach Barry Trotz told NHL.com. "Where he's raised his game is he's more comfortable as Shea Weber as an elite player in the National Hockey League. A lot of players make the statement the player has arrived. Well, he has arrived. He's arrived not only as a player, he's done that the last few years, but he's arrived as an elite player in the League and an elite leader."
This is the second straight year Weber is a Norris finalist; he finished second last year to Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom. He also finished fourth in 2009.
Contact Adam Kimelman at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK


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Okay, I've put aside my sewing-for-me hang ups and made a shirt for Rae's Spring Top Sewalong.
I drafted the pattern myself and used these great rayon/spandex knits. The black one is from the April Johnson for Project Runway line at Joann's. Do I feel facier that I was sewing with PR fabric? Yup!
I get bored with the plain t-shirt and jeans option, but never feel like I find interesting shirts in my price range. This color block option feels just interesting enough (without the "what were you thinking?" piece).
And, if you were wondering what the back looks like (or what I would look like being frisked), here it is!
Look for me in the Spring Top Photo Pool!
Wishing you the courage to tackle a new project!


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A new academic study shows that graduated response policies against file-sharers fail to boost box office revenues. The empirical research, which looked at the effects in various countries including the United States, suggests that these anti-piracy measures are not as effective as the movie studios had hoped.
Over the past decade, entertainment industry groups have lobbied hard for so-called graduated response systems, where alleged pirates are warned and in some cases fined.
France was one of the pioneers in this area with its three-strikes anti-piracy law, and similar policies have been implemented in countries such as Ireland, South Korea, New Zealand and the United States, among others.
One of the main goals of these policies is to lower overall piracy rates and ultimately increase revenues for rightsholders. The question is, though, whether the measures will reach this desired goal.
Thus far there has been very little research on the topic but a new study, published by Dr. Jordi McKenzie of Sydney's Macquarie University, suggests that these "strikes" policies don't boost box office revenues
Research: Piracy 'Warnings' Fail to Boost Box Office Revenues
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- Home
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- Public Notices
By VINCE LUECKE, Editor
The Perry County News continues to be far and away the most subscribed-to periodical here at home, with more than 75 percent of households receiving the newspaper via subscriptions or from newsstands.
Community newspapers like ours are still in demand and while papers like ours have certainly felt the effects of the recession, we're faring better than many dailies.
Why? I think it's because local people are always interested in reading about local news and events, whether it's their neighbor's new baby or pending wedding or which recent graduate made the dean's list at their college.
It makes me feel good to see stories our staff has written posted on refrigerators, in businesses and restaurants. It's a small sign we're doing our jobs right and keeping true to our mission of covering Perry County.
But The News isn't the only publication on residents' reading lists. The Audit Bureau of Circulations' annual report offers a county-by-county look at what daily newspapers and magazines are subscribed to.
The Evansville Courier & Press, has a circulation of 1,686 in the county, giving it a penetration rate of 22.8 percent.
Local magazines with substantial circulation are AARP the Magazine, with 1,483 issues mailed to members of the organization. Readers Digest has a big following, with 688 issues arriving in the county.
Other magazines sharing mailbox space with The News are geared to women, with Better Housekeeping leading the way at 576 county subscribers. Women's Day had 370 subscribers, Good Housekeeping delivered 366 copies each month, Ladies Home Journal, 336 and Family Circle, 323. Cosmopolitan and Redbook, other magazines popular with ladies, had 246 and 251 subscribers, respectively. Southern Living had 61 subscribers.
What else was hitting mailboxes over the past year? Maxim, a publication catering to gents, has 153 local subscribers, with 79 copies of Mens Health delivered each month. National Geographic, one of my favorite magazines, had 155 subscribers, just behind Sports Illustrated's 167 county subscribers.
Prevention counted 205 subscribers last year, Entertainment Weekly had 90 subscribers in Perry County and news magazines Time and Newsweek counted 153 and 98 subscribers, respectively.
It's a mixed mailbag when it comes to your reading interests. We're glad to be leading the way. Thanks.
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Cal Ripken tournament: Celebrating America's pastime between weather delays
by Richard Creaser
BARTON — By any objective measure, the greater the number of delays, the harder it is for pitchers to stay warmed up. Friday night, opening night of the Vermont U12 Cal Ripken Baseball tournament, was just such a night. Fans and players alike sought what shelter they could find as the umpires cleared the playing field behind the Pierce Block in Barton Village. Overhead menacing skies threatened, but so far, had failed to surrender anything more than loud noises.
Twice the game would be called for thunder delay, a mandatory period of 20 minutes to allow any danger of lightning strikes to pass. Given the fact that tall light poles and chain link dugouts constituted the bulk of structures closest to the field, the precautions seemed justified.
No sooner had the second thunder delay come to an end when a light rain began to fall. The players, coaches and umpires gamely took to the field, playing half an inning before the intensity of the rain increased and even the most die-hard of parents and fans scrambled to their cars, under the trees or, through forethought and good planning, popped open their umbrellas. Game one of the tournament was off to a rather poor start.
Coming out of the third delay in as many innings, the field now given a good drenching, the quality of play suffered somewhat. Pitchers struggled to control sopping wet baseballs from atop a greasy mound. The ring of aluminum bat on plastic cleats became a familiar sound as the players took breaks to remove the accumulated muck from their spikes.
"I got a lot of dirt stuck in my cleats," Hartford reliever Chris Nulty acknowledged. "I was having a hard time staying on the mound. I would throw and then start to slip."
Nulty was the second pitcher to take the mound for Hartford, Hunter Perkins having been pulled after an accumulated hour-long delay. Though Nulty struggled, loading the bases and allowing North Country to tie up the game, he was far from defeated. Nulty went on to record a three-run inside the park home run to begin Hartford's rally from a long, painful inning.
North Country's Aiden Gariepy, though subjected to the same routine dashing delays as his Hartford counterpart, would likewise struggle to recover his form. Fastballs adopted unexpected movement, jinking and juking like knuckleballs, rising or dropping unexpectedly. The role of the catcher became one less of calling pitches and catching strikes than one of simply arresting the ball's forward momentum and hoping to keep it out in front.
Hartford moved on to the winner's bracket, ousting North Country 15-5 in five innings. Despite the ten-run mercy-ruled game, an hour of delays pushed back the start of game two.
The slick conditions persisted into the evening portion of the tournament as the Lake Region All-Stars took on Central Valley. The lights, coupled with a persistent haze, gave the outfield a rather Field of Dreams quality. However, what came out of the shrubbery on this night was not Shoeless Joe Jackson but, rather, a determined and ravenous horde of mosquitoes.
Despite the weather and the little miseries that accompanied them — or perhaps because of an ample supply of popcorn and hot dogs provided by the Barton Academy and Graded School's eighth grade class — the players returned to the field and the fans got up and stretched, tried to dry out a bit, and went back to the business of baseball.
It was a sentiment shared by the players. The night game has a certain mystique about it, recalling the major leagues and all those golden heroes of the diamond. Maybe it's just a function of the background being lost behind the lights, but everyone seems to stand a little taller. There are no network TV cameras, but the dim glow of shaky handy cams and the luminescent sparkle of camera phone flashes fills the night.
"This is my second one," Lake Region catcher Parker Perron says of night games. "You don't really do anything different. You just don't want to look right at the lights."
Tracking pop-ups and running down baseballs in the outfield are probably the hardest parts of night baseball, he said. The lights tend to be off to the sides and pose little problem for the catcher, he added.
The night game also holds the power to magically ward off bedtime, a fact not lost on the players. Rian Hayman-Jones marveled at the hour when his walk-off three-run inside the park home run allowed the Lake Region team put away Central Valley 11-0.
"It's pretty fun to be out playing baseball at 11 o'clock at night," Hayman-Jones said afterward.
Adding to the fun was a strong sense of teamwork that enabled Lake Region to advance to the winners bracket. A loss to North Country in the district playoffs spurred the Lake Region squad to do better, Hayman-Jones said.
"Losing that game made us work harder as a team," Hayman-Jones said. "We just had to work harder and play better."
Despite being made up of players from Glover, Barton and Irasburg, the Lake Region All-Stars played as if they had spent the entire season together. Indeed, this U12 team is largely composed of the same players who came within one out of being the U10 state champions two years earlier, Coach Jethro Hayman said.
"Some kids have gone and others come in, but this is basically the same team," Mr. Hayman said. "They're very close. They're like brothers, and it shows."
Like brothers, some of their dugout chatter spoke of their fellowship. Parker Perron admired a bat and asked Parker Brown, the bat's owner, if he could use it in his next at-bat.
"You don't have to ask," Brown replied. "Unless you're gonna use it to hit rocks or something."
That good-natured rivalry and the spirit of fellowship that is the game of baseball would prevail. Bernie Gonyaw, the state commissioner for Vermont Cal Ripken Baseball summed it up best.
"What better way to spend a Friday night than to spend it watching baseball under the lights?" Mr. Gonyaw mused. "It's the only place to be."
contact Richard Creaser at [email protected]
For an article on the tournament champions, click here.
For more free articles from the Chronicle like this one, see our Sports pages. For all the Chronicle's stories, pick up a print copy or subscribe, either for print or digital editions.


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I was hoping someone would invent something like this!
Homework, class trips, extracurricular activities- staying on top of all the things your children participate in at school is a big job. Get some help with the School.files from Buttoned Up. It is the perfect container for keeping all the information about their scholastic life at your fingertips. By Buttoned Up.Key Functional Features:


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698: You Hang Up First
|You Hang Up First
Title text: No, YOU stumble past a series of post-breakup hookups in a daze as you slowly realize what you've lost and how unlikely you are ever to get it back first.
Telephone conversations can't terminate until somebody hangs up, even if both participants have run out of things to say. The line "you hang up first" has entered popular culture as an immature thing preteens and teenagers do with their friends and significant others at the end of a phone conversation.
As xkcd often does, this comic takes the "you hang up first" line to its logical extreme with two adults, Cueball and Megan, that turn the game into an argument resulting in their breakup. In the title text, one of them notes that they'll never have the same kind of relationship with anyone ever again, no matter how many rebound relationships they have, and it's all because of one of the stupidest arguments possible. (and then tells the other to do that first)
- [Cueball is sitting on a bed, on the phone.]
- Cueball: You hang up first.
- [Megan is lying on a bed, on the phone.]
- Megan: No, you hang up first.
- Cueball: No, you hang up first.
- Megan: No, you fucking hang up first!
- Cueball: You hang up first, or we're OVER!
- Megan: Then I guess we're fucking OVER!
- Cueball: FINE!
- Megan: ...
- Cueball: ...
- Megan: You move on and find somebody else first.
add a comment! ⋅ add a topic (use sparingly)! ⋅ refresh comments!
Of course, even after they broke up, neither will hang up. Mountain Hikes (talk) 03:58, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
- How do you know they're adults? 126.96.36.199 14:09, 18 May 2016 (UTC)