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Room to Operate
Dartmouth's new Center for Surgical Innovation makes space for research in clinical care.
By Anna Fiorentino
Imagining what life would be like if medical technologies never advanced is not hard. "We would be dying sooner and of many more diseases if we hadn't put money and effort into research," says Keith Paulsen, Thayer's Robert A. Pritzker Professor of Biomedical Engineering.
The value of medical research is why Paulsen and Dr. Sohail Mirza, chair of Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Department of Orthopaedics, have worked together to create the Center for Surgical Innovation (CSI), the nation's first surgical facility dedicated to translational research.
Paulsen, CSI scientific director, and Mirza, CSI medical director, will oversee research that combines Thayer expertise in biomedical engineering, imaging, and computation with clinical expertise at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and Geisel School of Medicine—research that uses the CSI to test new approaches in the operating room, such as complex real-time image-guided surgical procedures.
The CSI mitigates a major limitation for researchers: a lack of operating room time and space for the clinical studies on animals and humans that must be carried out before any new technique or technology becomes standard practice. While various hospitals, including those affiliated with Duke and Johns Hopkins universities, have surgical centers dedicated to imaging research and innovation, the CSI is the only one where research won't have to compete with clinical care. Completely separate from Dartmouth-Hitchcock's busy operating rooms, the 12,000-square-foot CSI is largely free from the scheduling and financial realities that drive high-volume clinical surgical units. "The pressure to make this a profit center where patients need to get in and out won't be prevalent," says Paulsen.
Although most of the research will benefit patients in the future, Paulsen says the CSI gives Dartmouth-Hitchcock surgeons access to the most advanced surgical environment for handling complex cases that would otherwise end up elsewhere. "If we didn't build this center, all of our patients would go to Boston," Paulsen says. "If you want to do research, you have to create your own space."
THE $20-MILLION CSI BEGAN TO TAKE shape in 2010 when Thayer, Geisel, and Dartmouth-Hitchcock matched $10-million in federal stimulus money. Adjoining Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Advanced Imaging Center—which Paulsen, an imaging expert, also directs—the CSI occupies space below a new clinical radiology unit, which factored into the project planning.
The CSI features two operating rooms that are large enough to accommodate multiple researchers and equipment. Computed tomography (CT) scanning and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems can be moved from one operating room to the other along ceiling-mounted tracks. Two diagnostic imaging rooms can be used for nonsurgical or minimally invasive procedures. Windows overlook the operating and diagnostic rooms so researchers and students—from undergraduates to graduate and medical students—can observe surgeries, imaging sessions, and other research activities. The CSI also includes ancillary offices, patient holding spaces, control rooms, and labs, including a small wet lab for tissue studies.
Carefully planned elements of the CSI will allow researchers to use the same operating room for either animal or human procedures. Animals enter the operating room through a separate entrance. A state-of-the-art ventilation system minimizes the risk of cross-contamination between human patients and animal subjects. Differential pressurization sensors maintain positive pressure with laminar airflow over the table during human surgeries and negative pressure during animal procedures. If the pressure isn't at the correct level, the doors to the operating room won't even open. "We wanted to get the floor as clean as possible," says CSI managing director John Peiffer.
The CSI will leverage previously funded research in brain and breast imaging and also roll out new programs in interventional psychotherapeutics and intraoperative biomarkers for guiding surgical resections. The CSI will introduce emerging research programs in prostate surgery, intraoperative oximetry imaging, and in vivo optical microscopy.
Paulsen expects the facility to lend itself to employing and refining image-guided technology used in the da Vinci robotic surgical system, which the surgeon manipulates from a console outside the operating room. Paulsen says that research conducted in the CSI may help bring to life a machine with vision sharper than the human eye. The day may come, he says, when "we can let images obtained by scanners drive the surgery, especially in orthopaedics, where not a lot of soft tissue is moving around."
Another project Paulsen and his team will take to the CSI explores fluorescence imaging to guide neurosurgeons as they resect brain tumors. In research that began in 2008, Paulsen's lab group is among the first to harness fluorescence to prevent tissue damage during brain surgery. German doctors had discovered that if a patient is given an oral dose of a 5-aminolevulinic acid solution before brain surgery, a chemical reaction causes certain cells, including cancer cells, to fluoresce—illuminating tumors so they can be removed during surgery. Paulsen and his team, along with doctors from the Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto, took even more of the guesswork out of fluorescence-guided brain surgery by creating a fiber-optic probe that can detect early-stage, low-grade tumors via fluorescence not visible to the naked eye. With the probe already sharpening the accuracy of fluorescence-guided tumor detection from 64 to 94 percent, Paulsen's group will further assess how to use fluorescence more precisely so neurosurgeons can consistently perform safer and more complete resections.
The work may well open new treatment options for deadly tumors. "By the end of this next phase of research we plan to conduct at the Center for Surgical Innovation, we will have implemented and evaluated wide-field techniques in human surgeries," says Paulsen. "We expect to demonstrate that these innovations improve surgical outcomes when added to visually detected fluorescence imaging in a prospective enrollment of patients with malignant glioma."
Thayer students and graduates are among the many people who will be conducting research in the CSI. For example, Ph.D. candidate Kolbein Kolste will continue to improve the fluorescence-detection probe for neurosurgery. In another project, research associate and Ph.D. graduate Xiaoyao Fan Th'12 is working with Dr. David Roberts, a Dartmouth-Hitchcock neurosurgeon, on a noninvasive, ultrasound-based registration method for guiding surgery, a technique used last year at Dartmouth-Hitchcock for the first time. According to Fan, the CSI will magnify the scope and outcomes of their work. "The intraoperative MRI and CT can be used together with the navigation system to update information during a partial or complete tumor resection to ensure all tumor tissue has been resected," she says.
"The CSI will make Thayer the magnet school for students and faculty interested in improving surgical technology," says Mirza. "In return, Thayer faculty and students will change surgery in meaningful ways that benefit patients by developing technology to make surgery safer and more effective for patients."
The CSI will also be open to researchers beyond the Upper Valley, including companies that need to conduct preclinical trials en route to securing FDA approval for new technologies, products, and procedures. "My goals for the CSI is to have enough resources and personnel to allow maximal use of the facility, and provide easy access to any student or faculty member anywhere in the world to bring their ideas here," says Mirza.
"The CSI will be a national destination for patient care and innovation," he says. "We want outside engineers, biomedical scientists, and physician-researchers to bring their ideas to the CSI because it will have the very best capabilities."
According to imaging specialist and Thayer adjunct professor John Weaver, the CSI will be a vital means to a critical end: saving lives. "The CSI provides a unique opportunity to improve surgical practice. The intersection of excellent engineers and surgeons makes the prospects so promising," he says. "Professor Paulsen and Dr. Mirza know how to improve the surgical process so the entire system can be optimized and the right innovations can be incorporated in effective ways."
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- This event has passed.
Flickathon: Sets From the Pickathon Vault: Lady
Pickathon sets from years past
Featuring: Lady at Mt Hood Stage, 2013
Once in a lifetime performances straight from the Pickathon vault. Every Tuesday, experience notable musical acts spanning the last 10+ years as they climbed the ladder of success. These unique performances have never been made public before, and after they premiere tonight, there's no telling if or when they will see public eyes again.

subset: commoncrawl


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A three stage assault on the capital of Naboo. Squads of droids protect a colossal MTT as it lumbers its way toward the royal palace.
The waves of Kamino crash beneath the slender platforms of the cloning facility as armies of battle droids descend on the artificial island.
On Takodana, the First Order moves against Maz Kanata's castle. Resistance forces have taken up a defensive position inside.
First Order forces have trapped a group of Resistance fighters within the derelict hull of a crashed Star Destroyer in the desert of Jakku.
Deep within the Great Temple on Yavin 4 is a secret of key importance to the survival of the Rebellion. But Imperial ground forces have arrived!
As the Battle of Endor rages all around it, an Alliance Corvette crashes straight into the Death Star. The surviving Rebels must fight their way out!
Rebel forces steal an AT-AT walker and use it to demolish an Imperial base.
Plodding AT-AT walkers advance toward the Rebel position under air cover as Rebel defenders and their screen of T-47s try to hold the position.
As the droid army storms up a beach, Wookiee Warriors and Clone troopers dig in to defend a grounded cruiser.
Imperial stormtroopers rush from shuttles into the crowded streets of Mos Eisley.
Trapped by the First Order, a group of Resistance fighters buys time until they can find a way to escape.
The Resistance turns to improvised gravity field generators to hold off a First Order assault before the enemy fleet arrives.
Hoping to disrupt Imperial mining operations of precious Tibanna gas, the Rebels dispatch a strike team to Cloud City.
Separatist forces have laid siege to a Geonosian droid factory occupied by a Republic demolitions crew.
Notorious for its treacherous spice mines, Kessel also serves as a valuable source of coaxium, the fuel which powers the Imperial fleet.
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The Dewpoint Jacket is our lightest weight and most packable rain shell.
Features & Benefits
Integrated Pit Zips and Hand Pockets
Deep pit zips mesh seamlessly with the hand pocket zippers to eliminate the redundancy of separate zippers and cut down even further on weight and bulk. The zippered hand pockets safely cache your necessities.
Waterproof GORE-TEX® Laminate
A 100% waterproof, breathable GORE-TEX® laminate keeps you dry inside and out.
Stretch Woven Nylon
The innovative face fabric, a 20-denier stretch-woven nylon mini ripstop, exhibits stretchability previously impossible in waterproof garments.
Micro-Taped Seams
For maximum weather protection with minimal bulk.
Built-in Stuff Pocket
The Dewpoint Jacket packs down and stuffs into its own chest pocket, conserving precious pack volume.
GORE-TEX® Technology
Garments engineered with GORE-TEX® fabrics are durably waterproof and windproof and very breathable — guaranteed. They provide reliable weather protection and maximized comfort in all weather conditions. Excellent management of perspiration leads to...Read More
Product Care
Routine Care and maintenance ensures the optimum performance of your SITKA Gear/GORE-TEX®.
Be sure to follow the manufacturer's care instructions –typically found on the inside tag.
- Do Not Bleach + Do Not Dry Clean + Do Not Iron
- See Care Guide To Better Understand DWR And How To Revitalize It.
Product Comments
Tendoys: In Their Eyes
SITKA Gear | 08.09.2016
You've seen the film. Now see what it was like. From failed boots to failed stalks to regrettably little training, these are the stories from the hunters and makers behind Tendoys.


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Loyola at a Glance
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Haiti earthquake hero receives Loyola's top alumni award
May 10, 2013
Loyola University New Orleans alumna Dr. Vanessa Rouzier-Taluy '98 helped save trauma victims from the rubble after the 2010 earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She's also a key player in the campaign against the country's worsening cholera epidemic, labeled the disease's deadliest outbreak in recent history. Loyola will honor this health care hero with its highest honor for alumni—the Adjutor Hominum Award presented by the Loyola Alumni Association.
Rouzier-Taluy will receive the award during the Alumni Association Jazz Brunch May 12, part of the university's annual Alumni Weekend celebration and reunion events. The 11:15 a.m. brunch is set for the St. Charles Room in the Danna Student Center on Loyola's main campus. The cost is $30 per person or $50 per couple. A 10:30 a.m. Alumni Mass held at the Ignatius Chapel in Bobet Hall will precede the brunch. Register online.
Rouzier-Taluy is the chief of pediatrics at GHESKIO, a Haitian medical center located in Port-au-Prince. As a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist, she oversees the clinical care of more than 1,000 children, specifically focusing on underserved children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and mother-child health.
The health care hero is also known for her tireless help in reuniting a baby—badly injured from the 2010 earthquake and with one leg amputated—with his mother after the two were separated when the baby was taken for emergency medical care.
"Her life epitomizes what we strive for at Loyola, developing men and women for others," said her former teacher, Loyola biology professor Patricia Dorn, Ph.D.
While an undergraduate at Loyola, Rouzier-Taluy conducted Chagas disease research with Dorn, also traveling to Guatemala to help teach molecular techniques to Central American investigators.
Her advice to Loyola students? "Success is great, but helping others along the way makes it even more rewarding."
For media interviews or high-resolution photos, please contact Mikel Pak, Loyola's associate director of public affairs.
For the latest updates about Loyola University New Orleans, follow us on Twitter @LoyolaNOLANews or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/loyno.
Loyola at a Glance is written and distributed for the faculty, staff, students and friends of Loyola University New Orleans. It is published by the Office of Public Affairs, Greenville Hall, Box 909, 7214 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118. (504) 861-5888.
Information to be included in Loyola at a Glance must be received 2-3 weeks in advance of the publication date. Send us your news here.


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Seven Hilariously Wrong Wedding Cake Monograms
(I'm hoping to make this a Top Ten list by the end of this wedding season. Fingers crossed!)
Not everyone is fully fluent in text speak and common abbreviations, so let's cut these couples a little slack, mkay?
Right after we finish laughing, I mean.
*Do Not Attempt
Hey, guys! You've just make the most serious vow of either of your lifetimes.
Aw, just kidding. Really. It's no big deal.
Wedding cupcake are the hot new(ish) trend these days.
Want to know how to make 'em even hotter?
Just add a little of this:
[Photo removed at baker's request. Please enjoy this lovely picture of Epcot:]
[And imagine it's a giant pink cupcake.]
At least the center circle wasn't brown.
(Oh, don't look at me like that; YOU WERE THINKING IT, TOO.)
Some of these could be chalked up to a simple oversight, but this? How could you NOT notice your monogram spells something?
I know it's an old joke, but...
...nope, that's pretty much it.
Hey, you're not superstitious, are you? Because some people might be tempted to take this as a sign:
It's all in the delivery.
And finally, my wedding monogram of the month:
[head in hands]
I can't decide if I'm more delighted or horrified that their accent color was blood red. I'm delorrified.
Or horrighted.
No, wait: I've had time to think about it, and I'm definitely delorrified. Mostly 'cuz that's how I'd describe Marty when he gets stranded in 1955. Right? Delorrified? Eh?
(You're welcome, BttF fans.)
Thanks to Amy M., Bobbi K., Deanna F., Kelly G., Maegan, Ruth H., Kimberly W. for the initial discomfort.


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There's Just Something About a '70 Chevelle
In any discussion about the "best muscle cars ever," it's a pretty sure bet that the '70 Chevelle will be at the top of many lists, especially the Super Sports models outfitted with the ground-pounding LS6 option. That was the year GM finally lifted its ban on putting engines larger than 400ci in intermediate-size cars; Chevrolet responded with a 454-inch torque monster, bigger than its Hemi and Boss rivals.
In fact, Chevy offered two 454s for 1970. The tamer of the two, the LS5, was rated at 360 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque, enough twisting force to best the vaunted Hemi by 10 lb-ft and the Boss '9 by 50 lb-ft. If that wasn't hairy enough, the brutish LS6 was also available, with a rock-solid four-bolt main cap foundation and breathing through giant valves in the heads and a premium-guzzling 780-cfm Holley four-barrel. The torque rating for the LS6 equaled the LS5, but the horsepower rating grew to 450 hp, a number that was most likely shy of actual output by more than a few dozen ponies.
All that power was wrapped in arguably the best-looking Chevelle ever. The 1970 Chevelle was bulked up with muscular fenders, a chunkier grille between the quad headlights—which were restyled and separated—reshaped C-pillars, and new bumpers front and rear. SS models were fitted with the trademark bulging hood, which now could be topped by the ZL2 Cowl Induction system, a vacuum-actuated flap that allowed cold air to flow into the Holley.
All that power was wrapped in arguably the best-looking Chevelle ever
The LS6 was a serious performer at the strip. The 13.44-second e.t. Steve Kelly ran for his May '70 Hot Rod magazine road test was about average for the scribes of the day; Car Craft and Super Stock writers turned low 13s, and the Super Stock guys even saw some high 12s in a car equipped with headers and slicks. Motor Trend and Car and Driver testers logged high 13s.
Sealing the deal for the 1970 Chevelle SS454, collectabilitywise, is the fact that not many were made—a little more than 4,400 LS6 versions—and it was a one-year-only car. The 1971 Chevelles looked different, and their engines, even the 454, were powered down, hamstrung by lower compression ratios mandated for the coming unleaded fuel.
The car you see here is rarer still. High estimates put LS6 convertible production at 70 units. It could be as few as 20 were built. Is it any wonder, then, that the car's owner, Gene Bumgardner, has a thing for '70 Chevelles? This is the third one he has owned; previous Chevelles in Gene's garage included a SS396 coupe and another SS454 convert, that one a LS5 model.
"There's just something about them, their stance, that roofline. They just got it," says Gene. "They are the last of the four-headlight cars, and I love the way GM did the bulges in the body. They're muscular, yet sexy."
Gene bought this car about 10 years ago as a basket case out of the Midwest. The previous owner had taken the car apart and started its bodywork. The rear quarters had been redone in GM sheetmetal, says Gene, and it was all in primer. The born-with driveline was still there, though the LS6 was missing its carburetor, exhaust manifolds, alternator and smog equipment.
"I spent years acquiring those and buying as many N.O.S. parts as I could find and afford before starting the restoration," Gene says. "I found a guy in Florida who hunted down a smog system for me. I got an alternator out of New York, and I found an original, fifth-week-of-December Holley for it." Gene's friend Steve Des Georges helped him completely disassemble the car, then they took it to JV Enterprises in Azusa, California, where it was put on a rotisserie.
Once the body and chassis were separated, Gene found that the frame's rear section was damaged, likely from exposure to road salt, so the metalworkers at JV filled the frame then painted it a semigloss DuPont black. When the rails were solid again, Gene took the frame back to his garage, where he assembled the rolling chassis. New front coil and rear leaf springs from Global West returned the Chevelle to stock ride height, while Karp's Power Brake Service rebuilt the entire brake system, from master cylinder to rear binders.
Gene took the LS6 to Superior Automotive in Anaheim, California, for a rebuild. The block was bored 0.030 over and fitted with Ross racing pistons and a Comp Cams LS6-spec cam, and the heads were treated to a three-angle valve job.
While Gene was working on the chassis, "JV Enterprises was working its magic on the body, which was straight to begin with," Gene tells us. "But it was even straighter after Vince at JV was done with it." JV sprayed the car a deep Black Cherry color, and then took "a lot of care getting the SS stripes just right," says Gene. "They were sprayed with around seven or eight coats of DuPont clear. In fact, you can still feel a little ridge when rubbing your finger over the stripes."
Gene brought the rolling chassis back to JV, where they gently dropped the newly refinished body onto the frame. Well, most of the body. "The doors and trunk lid were on there, but they handed me the rest," Gene says. "Steve and I spent countless days hanging the fenders, hood, doors, and bumpers, getting the gaps just right. Had I worked for GM back in the day on the assembly line they would have shot me, but I wanted the gaps to be as perfect as possible."
Steve and I spent countless days getting the gaps just right
Gene farmed out the interior restoration, first to Convertible Services in San Gabriel, California, for the power top installation. Then Mark Lopez at Elegance Auto Interiors in Upland, California, refurbished the factory buckets and rear seat with new foam and Parts Unlimited, Inc. (PUI) upholstery. "He even sandblasted the frames and springs," Gene says. "Mark is a true perfectionist."
It took Gene and his assorted craftsmen about a year and a half to complete the Chevelle's restoration, which was finished last fall. Gene plans to show the car—whenever his job as an over-the-road trucker allows him. He also enjoys driving it, even though the 11.25:1-compression LS6 needs a 50/50 blend of race gas and pump premium "to run decent," he says.
"Aside from three-point turns—it still has manual steering—the car feels pretty good," says Gene. "I know people like their Pro Touring and G-Machines, but this car is vintage 1970. Well, more like new 1970, just like you bought it yesterday."
At a Glance
1970 Chevelle SS454 Convertible
Owned by: Gene Bumgardner, Azusa, CA
Restored by: Owner; JV Enterprises, Azusa, CA; Elegance Interiors, Upland, CA; Convertible Services, San Gabriel, CA; Superior Automotive, Anaheim, CA; Steve Des Georges; Jon Johnson
Engine: 1970 454ci/450hp LS6 V-8
Transmission: Muncie M22 4-speed manual
Rearend: 12-bolt with 3.31 gears and Positraction
Interior: Black vinyl bucket seat
Wheels: 14-inch SS
Tires: F70-14 Goodyear Polyglas
Period performance: 13.44 @ 108.17 mph (Hot Rod, May 1970)


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Chicago St steals a win at CS Bakersfield, 71-63
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) Clarke Rosenberg scored 21 points as Chicago State stole a 71-63 win at Cal State Bakersfield Thursday night.
The Cougars collected 13 steals and forced 14 turnovers to earn the win on the road.
Erik Kinney made a pair of free throws to cut the Chicago State lead to four at 56-52 with 3:34 to play, but Johnny Griffin and Corey Gray each responded with a pair of free throws and Rosenberg added a layup and a jumper to push the lead back to 10 points, 64-54 with under two minutes to play.
Chicago State (9-10, 4-1 WAC) got 14 points each from Matt Ross and Quinton Pippen as the team shot 23 of 53 from the field (43.4 percent).
Issiah Grayson was 10 of 14 from the field for 238 points to lead CS Bakersfield (8-11, 1-4), with Stephon Johnson adding another 12 points.


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In a brilliant piece of investigative journalism, the PBS show Frontline has revealed the seedy underbelly of secret money in elections, with a full-hour expose of Montana politics and a secretive right-wing group known as American Tradition Partnership, or ATP.
Numerous Republican candidates might have worked too closely with ATP, and could be in trouble legally if not electorally. They might be going to the pokey (meaning the clink, the one in Deer Lodge.)
The short story is that the 2010 election, in which the Tea Party swept into control of the Montana legislature, may have featured massive illegalities. Under state law, third party groups, the ones like American Tradition Partnership which spend masses of unregulated, unreported money, are legally barred from coordinating with candidates. But several legislative candidates and the ATP have been caught red handed, working together, in violation of the law. The Frontline documentary reveals that a secret stash of incriminating documents has been found, showing extensive communications between Republican legislative candidates and the ATP, and showing that the ATP was even preparing campaign material for them.
The Havre Daily News, for example, reported today that GOP legislator Wendy Warburton appears to have been in direct communication with the group, even going so far as to send them a "signature stamp," presumably so they could send out mailings on her behalf, using her signature. That's likely to be found illegal under Montana law.
Files on Mike Miller, Ed Butcher, Bob Wagner, Joel Boniek, Jerry O'Neil and Derek Skees were also featured on Frontline. Again, groups and candidates cannot coordinate on campaign communications.
Candidates might be subjecting themselves to a range of penalties, including removal from office, fines, or worse. The question is whether there is a prosecutor out there who is willing to begin looking into this stuff. Generally, county attorneys stay away from political stuff, leaving it to the Commissioner of Political Practices.
Worse, the ATP's headquarters is revealed by the documentary to be nothing more than a P.O. Box at a UPS store in Washington DC, even though the group is spending tens of millions of dollars on elections around the country and is the most influential source of money in Montana politics. They were estimated to have spent well over a million bucks on just a handful of state legislative races in 2010. They'd send mail to voters, which looked very much like electioneering material, something that is illegal if you are hiding who your donors are.
Not all ATP's donors have been able to hide. Investigative journalist Paul Abowd this week uncovered a document that revealed one of ATP's largest bankrollers-a Colorado anti-union group called Coloradans for Economic Growth.
And I would say that this documentary, above all, is an outright humiliation for the Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who this summer rejected a request by Montana to reconsider the Citizens United ruling in light of the ATP's shady, unreported, anonymously funded activities in Montana. In rejecting Montana's plea, Kennedy offered a single paragraph describing why he (the swing vote on the court) was refusing to consider the matter. He wrote that there was nothing that led him to believe that the ATP's activities could lead to "corruption or the appearance of corruption."
Kennedy, if he watched Frontline this week, probably wishes he could have that one back. Because he is now revealed to be not a brilliant jurist but a stupid old man, who got duped by a bunch of bad actors. Soon, groups like ATP will completely own our state and federal governments, using corporate money, installing candidates into office, from a P.O. Box, never revealing who the donors are. And the Supreme Court believes that this is all perfectly okay.


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New Albany Symphony Orchestra officials say they want to reach out to the hearing-impaired community with a performance in April 2014 that will feature a light show and a deaf violist, 16-year-old Israelle Johnson.
New Albany Symphony Orchestra officials say they want to reach out to the hearing-impaired community with a performance in April 2014 that will feature a light show and a deaf violist, 16-year-old Israelle Johnson.
"We're doing a show trying to reach out to the deaf and hearing-impaired community, which is very underserved in the concert hall," said Heather Garner, director of the symphony orchestra.
"We're going to make them feel very welcome by adding laser-light show that will be timed with music."
The April 6 performance will close the 2013-14 season. In addition to the light show and Johnson, Canadian pianist Jon (Jackie) Kimura Parker will perform Short Ride in a Fast Machine by John Adams and Ludwig Von Beethoven's second piano concerto.
"Beethoven was deaf in the latter part of his life, so he's a really great inspiration," Garner said.
John Moore, executive director of the Deaf Services Center of Worthington, said he was pleased the symphony orchestra would offer such a concert.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for deaf and hard of hearing individuals who may not be able to enjoy music because of the lack of visual aids," Moore said.
"Music is based on sound and the ability to modify and manipulate sound through song, instruments and other means to provide entertainment and pleasure to the masses," Moore said.
"When a deaf person views a concert or symphony, the person will see people playing instruments but cannot hear the music and therefore are not able to fully enjoy it," he said.
"Imagine yourself watching a concert and there is silence. This is how deaf people when they go to a concert."
The concert will feature Johnson, who lives in Baltimore in Fairfield County and is a freshman in the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio's hearing-impaired program based at Upper Arlington High School. Sign-language interpreters attend classes with the six students in the program.
Johnson said she was born with hearing loss, but can hear the viola when using her hearing aids.
She said she became fascinated with music listening to her family sing karaoke.
"It made me really start wanting to play an instrument," she said.
Johnson started playing violin at age 11 and switched to the viola the next year.
"I had to switch to the viola because it's a lower pitch," she said. "The violin was harder to hear because of the higher pitch."
Johnson plays the viola in Upper Arlington High School's concert orchestra.
Ed Zunic, Upper Arlington's concert orchestra director, said Johnson sits between violas and cellos, which are easier for her to hear.
Her sign-language interpreter attends practices to sign Zunic's directions and the student who shares her music stand, another viola player, helps Johnson know where to begin playing once the orchestra stops.
"She has the most precise freshman left hand I've ever seen in my career," Zunic said.
Johnson had to try out to be in the concert orchestra and Zunic said she tested "slightly above average for a freshman on that instrument."
Johnson said she one day wants to teach music to "hearing and hard of hearing kids."
"I also want to encourage hard of hearing and the deaf population, kids especially, to try and learn music," Johnson said.
"If you can do it, if you want to, then they shouldn't allow anyone to stop them. If you dream of music, you should go for it," she said.
Johnson said the April 6 New Albany Symphony Orchestra concert will be her first performance with a symphony orchestra and she plans to practice at least three hours a day this summer to prepare.
Garner said a sign-language interpreter will be on stage for the second half of the show when the symphony performs The Planets by Gustav Holst.
"The language interpreter will be interpreting the sound through sign language and images of planets will be projected on the big screen," Garner said.
"With the inclusion of visual aids and interpreters, the New Albany Symphony Orchestra has made the full effort to make it accessible to individuals who are deaf or have hearing loss," Moore said.
"The visual aids being provided will enable a deaf person to follow the beat and rhythm and enjoy the symphony."
Garner said the idea for next year's show came from a documentary she watched on music therapy.
"It's interesting to me to try and reach this audience that doesn't seem to be served in music," she said.
The 2013-14 season will open Oct.13 with the symphony and the Capital University Chapel Choir performing Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Ode to Joy.
The second concert, the holiday spectacular, will be performed on Dec. 22 and will feature the 2013-14 student concerto competition winner.
The third concert, titled Let's Go to the Movies, on Feb. 9 will feature themes from the silver screen and a performance by the symphony orchestra's first vocal competition winner.
The orchestra's artist in residence for the season will be Jurate Phillips, a 2002 graduate of the Columbus College of Art and Design and a Columbus resident. Phillips is a native of Lithuania who came to the United States in 1997.
She will create a piece of art that will be used in promotions and programs this season and finally auctioned off as a fundraiser for the symphony, Garner said.
Season tickets currently are on sale. Tickets to individual shows will go on sale Aug. 1.
Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster or the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts. All performances are held at the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts, 100 E. Dublin Granville Road in New Albany.


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On this page, you will find links that will help you get ready actually to attend law school. Whether you attend Valparaiso University School of Law or some other school, the resources available on this page will have information that you need to know. Whether you are looking for information about financing law school, areas of specialization in the legal profession, or just information about some specific law school, we hope that you can find the answer here.
If you need more help, remember that Valpo has many knowledgable Pre-Law Advisors who are happy to help you find what you need to know.


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Jerusalem, 1191 AD. The Third Crusade is tearing the Holy Land apart. You are an elite Assassin sent to stop the hostilities by suppressing the powers on both the Crusader and Saracen sides. But as you carry out your missions, a conspiracy begins to unfold. You find yourself tangled up in a conflict that threatens not only the Holy Land, but the entire world.
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free - or sign in with your social account on the right) and join in the conversation.


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Using HipLink software empowers healthcare organizations with a reliable, server-based, wireless communication platform that instantly delivers messages to EMS personnel, trauma teams, on-call nurses, physician groups, IT personnel and more.
HipLink complements your current public safety efforts for both 911 and emergency operations systems by giving you an effective way to get wireless emergency alerts to any device serviced by a commercial carrier. Messages can be sent by either SMS text or voice from integrations with systems, like CAD, or manually from any desktop browser
HipLink is the powerful wireless test message software used by Sheriff Departments for jails and Wardens for prisons to improve operations, reduce costs, increase safety and provide a means for internal, public or victim notification. It's advanced technology that quickly mobilizes key personnel across departments, agencies, and geographic locations.
Network downtime and application inefficiencies result in poor customer experience, declining employee performance, and potential lost revenue. Organizations are completely reliant upon their IT infrastructure and need to instantly alert the proper staff in the event of IT and network issues. Highly reliable SMS text alerts from a common alert management platform are an essential tool.
Energy and Utility companies that either harvest natural resources or provide consumer services are under constant scrutiny from industry watchers and the public alike. Any interruptions in the production-service demand supply chain can instantly raise fear and create knotty business problems. With well-publicized accidents in the foreground, flawless operations are often mandated and should an incident occur, energy and utility suppliers are required to demonstrate fast response.
HipLink provides robust, wireless notification software that communicates critical information to any device, anywhere, any time. Designed to seamlessly integrate with existing software applications, dispatch systems, access control systems and more, HipLink provides powerful tools that ensure the right messages immediately reach the right people. Using HipLink, airport officials can immediately alert first responders, maintenance crews, TSA employees, airline representatives as well as public officials, and other outside groups.
Crisis management in response to emergencies has become a vital component of ensuring employee safety, company reputation, safety of corporate assets and future financial results. As organizations develop contingency plans to deal with a multitude of emergency situations, the first step in all of these plans is communication. To be truly effective this communication should include wireless at its core.
HipLink is the wireless messaging solution used successfully across all organizations, from large Fortune 1000 enterprises to small businesses and to local government agencies. It works seamlessly to integrate with the existing network, and offers a wide range of flexible options through its modular design. We look forward to working with your organization and meeting the messaging requirements of your specific industry.


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The BSI website uses cookies. By continuing to access the site you are agreeing to their use.
Making excellence a habit
On 31 July 2012 EN ISO 14971:2012, Medical devices — Application of risk management to medical devices, replaced EN ISO 14971:2009 as the European harmonized standard. The 2009 version was considered obsolete as of the same date. The 2012 version allows the presumption of conformity to the applicable Essential Requirements of the three Medical Device Directives, 90/385/EEC, 93/42/EEC and 98/79/EC. EN ISO 14971:2012 applies only to manufacturers placing devices on the market in Europe; for the rest of the world, ISO 14971:2007 remains the applicable standard.
We describe below the steps BSI as a medical devices notified body plans to take to meet the requirements of EN ISO 14971:2012. This should help manufacturers update their risk management procedures and files to maintain compliance with the Essential Requirements of the directives.
What is the difference between EN ISO 14971:2012, EN ISO 14971:2009 and ISO 14971:2007?
There has been no change to the Normative Text of the standard; the Normative Text contains the requirements and is the same in all three versions. Only the Annex Zs of EN ISO 14971 have changed in the 2012 version. The new Annex Zs describe where the EN ISO 14971 standard does and does not meet the requirements of the European Directives. The Annex Zs describe these differences as Content Deviations for each Directive.
What does this mean for future BSI Quality System or Technical Documentation Audits and Design Dossier Reviews?
The role of the Notified Body is to assess compliance to the Directives, focusing on risk management and whether clinical benefits outweigh risk to patients and users. Manufacturers should have read the new harmonized standard and can then choose to use the harmonized standard to help meet the requirements of the Directives. The latest harmonized version has clarified the gaps.
BSI QMS Assessors and Technical Specialists will be asking questions in upcoming audits and reviews that ensure that manufacturers who place devices on the market in Europe are aware of the gaps between the requirements of the standard and those of the Directives, and that manufacturers have undertaken (or are undertaking) any actions needed to address these. Key questions will include:
The wording in the Directives has not changed and some manufacturers will have procedures and risk management files that already comply. Others may have corrective actions to take. Please be ready at your next BSI QMS or Technical File Assessment to share evidence to show that EN ISO 14971:2012 Annex Z has been considered in your compliance to the Essential Requirements for newer devices and to share your plans for evaluating and addressing the impact of EN ISO 14971:2012 Annex Z on older and legacy devices that will continue to have CE Marking applied.


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In an earlier blog, I echoed Gartner's recommendation: Beware the Single Vendor as Trusted Advisor, referencing their Vendor Influence Curve.
I'm here at Interop and customers are getting the facts (verified by independent third parties) on Green networking (50% less energy consumption), on performance (20x better), on reliability (7x the resilience) and on TCO (50% reduction) of our networking solutions.
One customer (an educational institution) apparently is stopping an order for $2M of Cisco gear when they heard this story!
The bottom-line is that enterprises need to do due diligence and look at alternatives to Cisco in the data space. That's exactly what this institution is doing.


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Teaching is your passion.
Teachers are ours.
Extended Learning is committed to supporting teachers, administrators and district personnel in all stages of their professional development. Together with the CSUSM School of Education we offer courses, both online and face-to-face, to meet teaching credential and pre-requisite requirements. For those that hold a teaching credential, we offer additional certificates to develop new skills and move up on the pay scale. We also offer a new, fully online, MA in Education, focus on Literacy degree program that prepares educators to teach literacy in the 21st century classroom! At CSUSM Extended Learning we know that supporting teachers in their continued learning is the key to student success.


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Willem Willemsz (16th century)
Willem Willemsz, a tailor of Utrecht, Netherlands, a member of the Utrecht congregation, was arrested there in 1562. He declared that he had not attended the Catholic Church since 1559, in which year he had bought a New Testament. Since 1560 he had attended Mennonite meetings, and was baptized in early 1561 by Elder Joost Verbeeck of Antwerp. Besides a New Testament he also possessed a copy of the first Dutch martyr book, Offer des Heeren (first ed. 1562). After being tortured two or three times Willem recanted and was banished from the town on 12 May 1562, and sentenced to the galleys.
Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (1903): 6, 7, 8 f., 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 20, 25, 36; (1908): 126.
Hoop Scheffer, Jacob Gijsbert de. Inventaris der Archiefstukken berustende bij de Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente to Amsterdam, 2 vols. Amsterdam: Uitgegeven en ten geschenke aangeboden door den Kerkeraad dier Gemeente, 1883-1884: I, Nos. 47c, 398a.
Kühler, Wilhelmus Johannes. Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Doopsgezinden in de Zestiende Eeuw. Haarlem: H.D. Tjeenk Willink, 1932: I, 294.
|Nanne van der Zijpp
|Date Published
Cite This Article
MLA style
Zijpp, Nanne van der. "Willem Willemsz (16th century)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 23 Sep 2019. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Willem_Willemsz_(16th_century)&oldid=111768.
APA style
Zijpp, Nanne van der. (1959). Willem Willemsz (16th century). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 23 September 2019, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Willem_Willemsz_(16th_century)&oldid=111768.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 955. All rights reserved.
©1996-2019 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.


text: MILWAUKEE - An Iraq war veteran told detectives that he stalked his wife for several days while she was patrolling the streets of the Milwaukee suburb where she was a police officer, then ambushed her in the early hours of Christmas Eve and killed her, according to prosecutors.Ben Gabriel Sebena, 30, was charged Thursday with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of his wife, Jennifer Sebena, who was found dead in front of Wauwatosa's fire station by her fellow officers before dawn on Monday. She had been shot five times in the head.Ben Sebena made an initial court appearance Thursday, and a court commissioner ordered the decorated Marine Corps veteran held on $1 million cash bond. Sebena wasn't required to enter a plea, and his attorney, Michael Steinle, didn't immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.Authorities say officers went to check on Jennifer Sebena when she didn't respond to radio calls. She joined the police force two years ago and had been patrolling alone on the night she was killed."She was everything I could hope for in a young police officer: intelligent, energetic, willing to be of service and wanting to be a great police officer," Wauwatosa police Chief Barry Weber said at a news conference.Investigators said they found a number of details tying Ben Sebena to the killing. Surveillance video showed a vehicle that matches his in the area around the time of the shooting, and detectives who searched the couple's home found a gun in the attic that fires ammunition matching the bullet casings found at the scene. They also found Jennifer Sebena's service weapon hidden in the attic.The investigation began when Ben Sebena called police Monday about 6:30 a.m. asking them to check on his wife's well-being. A police sergeant called him back five minutes later telling him to come to the station because his wife had been involved in an incident.Ben Sebena didn't ask what happened, the complaint said. Later, when he was told at the station that his wife had been killed, he still didn't ask what happened to her.During the interview, Ben Sebena "stated that he had been jealous of other men with regards to his wife," the complaint said.Less than three weeks before she died, Jennifer Sebena told a colleague that her husband had acted violently toward her and put a gun to her head, prosecutors said.The police chief said he wasn't aware of issues that would have been a cause for concern for Jennifer Sebena's safety.The state Justice Department is assisting in the investigation. Dave Spakowicz, the director of the department's criminal-investigation operations, said authorities are not speculating on a motive.While at the police station, officers used video equipment to monitor Ben Sebena as he sat in an empty room. A detective heard him talking to himself, saying something to the effect that his wife had been helping him, adding, "How could I do that to her."Ben Sebena told investigators he had been stalking his wife for a few days. He said he waited a few hours near the fire department where officers often take breaks, and when he saw her squad car he opened fire. He said she reached for her weapon and he took it from her holster, and then shot her repeatedly in the face."Benjamin Sebena stated that he wanted to make sure she was dead so she wouldn't suffer," the complaint said.Ben Sebena served two tours in Iraq with the Marine Corps. He was honorably discharged in 2005 after suffering severe arm and leg injuries in a mortar attack that year. Among the 10 medals or commendations he was awarded were a Purple Heart, a Good Conduct medal and a rifle expert badge.In a 10-minute video for his church made in 2010, Ben Sebena describes his transformation into a decorated war veteran rediscovered a love of God."Before I went in I was pretty much a hippie. I was very laid back but the anger was there - it was just very hidden," he said.He said he joined the military because he felt unloved and unimportant, and that the Marines helped him centralize the anger, but that the rage persisted even when he returned to the U.S. He said he would ignore red lights and tear down the freeway on his motorcycle at 150 mph.He also discussed his blossoming relationship with Jennifer, whom he knew from high school and with whom he exchanged emails during his recovery."Our love flourished. We became actually infatuated with each other," he said in the video for Elmbrook Church in nearby Brookfield. The church's pastor, Scott Arbeiter, confirmed to The Associated Press that it was Ben Sebena in the video.Jennifer Sebena's funeral is scheduled for Saturday.


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Woah, has it really been 3 weeks since my last post?! Oops.
A lot has happened and I've been horrible about updating my bloggity blog. So to catch you up to speed here are five things that have happened since my last post.
1. Ryan graduated from grad school - WOOOOO!!!!
2. We had a fantastic graduation celebration full of dessert and karaoke. Mr. Belding was at karaoke and sang a song. It was amazing.
3. For Memorial Day weekend we ventured over to Temecula wine country for some wine tasting with some of our cronies. It was spectacular.
4. We hit up 2 Memorial Day BBQs.
5. We saw 3 movies in the theatre! What to Expect, MIB 3, and Moonrise Kingdom. All of them were awesome.
So I guess after making the list I realized that I wasn't as busy as I thought I was. There was also a lot of work, sleep, and pretend cleaning involved (you know, telling yourself that you're going to stay in tonight so you can get some cleaning done then you really just play Super Mario).
I'm sorry I've been so negligent of this blog these days. I will try to get my regular posting schedule back on track!
I seriously miss the weekend already. But at least tomorrow is already Wendesday! Woooooot.


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I was hesitant to visit a restaurant owned by a Taiwanese pop star. In the US, celebrity-backed ventures are usually failures with seriously bad food. It didn't help that one online reviewer mentioned that the décor was "over the top."
"Really?" I asked my friend, who usually prefers threadbare restaurants where one can feast like a king for next to nothing. He insisted we try, because it was listed on his Beijing map.
I guess Taiwanese celebs know their food better than their American counterparts. We ended up having a pretty good meal of mostly Yunnan and Guizhou food. One dish I loved was a dish of fava beans with Yunnan goat cheese. (I had mentioned Yunnan goat cheese before, from a restaurant I have come to despise because of the horribly rude, even for Beijing, service.)
Rǔbǐng (乳饼) is the only Chinese cheese I know of that is widely known and popular, at least in China. It's delicious when pan-fried, with a sprinkle of sugar or salt and pepper on top. In this fava bean dish, it was steamed and dressed with a mellow rice wine sauce. Simple, and a great rice accompaniment.
We also had a fried radish dish overed with dried chilis. While more photogenic than the goat cheese, I couldn't really taste the radish beyond the thick layer of greasy fried batter. One bite and I felt pimples starting to form. That dish will be one to avoid on future visits.
The restrooms are still too trendy for my taste. The stalls have silver beaded curtains in lieu of doors.
Jia 21 Hao (甲21号) 21 Beitucheng Donglu Chaoyang District, Beijing 朝阳区北土城东路甲21号


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Rihanna and her rumored on-again beau Chris Brown make separate exits out of the same studio on Thursday night (January 17) in West Hollywood, Calif.
The 24-year-old songstress and 23-year-old entertainer drove away from the recording studio in separate cars as well.
Earlier in the week, Rihanna revealed some new cover art for her latest singles "Stay" and "Pour It Up". It has been speculated that the man RiRi is cuddling up to in the "Stay" artwork is Chris.


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Obama's liberal problem
President Barack Obama is pitching airstrikes in Iraq as a moral imperative, but some members of his own party on Capitol Hill aren't sold.
Liberal Democrats fear the targeted airstrikes could ultimately spiral into the kind of deep military entanglement that Obama pledged to unwind when he ran for president. And while they aren't in open revolt, the apprehension suggests Obama might not have much cover in Congress if the operation proves not to be as limited as he hopes.
Story Continued Below
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), the lone lawmaker who voted against authorizing military action in Afghanistan in 2001, said she supports "strictly humanitarian efforts to prevent genocide in Iraq." But she's still concerned the situation could escalate into a larger conflict.
"There is no military solution in Iraq," she said in a statement.
( Also on POLITICO: Neocons to Obama: No half-measures)
The skepticism is more complex than the hard-line opposition of many liberals a decade ago when President George W. Bush launched a military campaign in Iraq with heady expectations. Today, liberals seem open to Obama's appeals to provide aid to religious minorities who he says are victims of genocide. But — among this set of lawmakers — that doesn't translate into support for significant military intervention.
Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), one of the biggest anti-war advocates on the Hill, said in an interview Friday he was concerned the airstrikes could signal broader U.S. involvement, and urged Obama to have a "very, very clear definition" of the United States' goals in Iraq.
"We are on a slippery slope," said Garamendi, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. "Where this ends, I don't think any of us know. But the president has to be very, very clear about timing and purpose. Thus far, it's insufficient from my point of view."
Obama, who has repeatedly said U.S. combat troops won't return to Iraq, didn't seek congressional authorization for the strikes. But if he turns to Capitol Hill at some point down the road to approve broader action, liberals could be a key voting bloc. Almost exactly a year ago, they demonstrated their strength by joining with Republicans to stymie Obama's efforts to win congressional approval for military action in Syria.
( Also on POLITICO: What is victory for Obama?)
Lawmakers from both parties were concerned about the prospects of conflict in Iraq long before the airstrikes began Friday.
In July, the Republican-led House overwhelmingly backed a resolution that would prohibit sustained U.S. military action in Iraq without congressional approval. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), one of the authors of the resolution, said Friday that if the airstrikes were still ongoing when lawmakers return in September, Congress should vote on whether the bombings should continue.
"These strikes do involve the United States directly in hostilities, regardless of how limited they are and regardless of whether there's a humanitarian purpose involved," McGovern said in a statement. "The president is acting according to the powers of his office — and Congress must do the same."
Though last month's resolution in the House, written by McGovern, Lee and Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) and passed 370-40, was primarily symbolic, it signaled the resistance on Capitol Hill for deploying U.S. combat troops in Iraq once again.
( Also on POLITICO: Obama's Iraq vortex)
The Senate hasn't approved a resolution similar to the one passed by the House, but the concern among liberals is just as deep there. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat, said he has been "assured" by the White House that no U.S. ground troops will be deployed in Iraq, but "I still have concerns."
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), warned that Obama's airstrikes could become an "open-ended" commitment in Iraq.


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And so the non-story came and went.
For those a day or two behind: On Sunday night, Boston Red Sox fixture and World Series MVP David Ortiz went on CBS Boston's Sports Final program and said that he's feeling good about coming back to Boston (why wouldn't he?), but that baseball is a business and that he's looking for long-term security in the form of a multiyear deal. Ortiz, entering the last season of a two-year deal and 38 years old, added that if he can get that deal somewhere other than Boston, he will.
That was a terrible mistake on his part. There are few if any markets where a veteran player can acknowledge on TV that his team loyalty varies directly based on his current contract, despite the fact that this is true of essentially every veteran player who has the option of choosing free agency. Those markets in which Ortiz's comments wouldn't have made much of an impact aren't more tolerant than Boston, they're just paying less attention, because their current team is terrible. Going on live television and acknowledging that you're a gun for hire -- disrupting that tacit fiction that allows fans to pretend you care about being a part of Boston's ballclub specifically as much as they do -- is a pretty quick way to get half the sports media flacks in broadcast range gunning for you.
Which of course, they did. The mood is fairly well captured by the headline to Dan Shaughnessy's column: "David Ortiz's Contract Talk Is Selfish, Offensive." That language might be a bit extreme, but it's Shaughnessy, and the actual thrust of the piece is blunted somewhat by the fact that he first establishes all of the good things that Ortiz has done for the team, for which Shaughnessy is grateful, before looping back around to excoriate him. If you've read a column from either Shaughnessy or really any other mainstream guy in that region, on the whole it reads pretty similar to all the other times Ortiz has said something that's gotten the Boston press riled up.
On Thursday, Ortiz squashed the beef, telling WEEI that he's more than happy with his current deal, and he loves playing in Boston, and he doesn't know why people are spreading "bad rumors," which is an interesting choice of words considering how all this started. But the fact that Ortiz even has to backtrack and apologize -- when all he did was plainly state the financial realities of the game -- is absurd to begin with, isn't it?
It would be, if it were anyone but Ortiz in Boston. Ortiz's relationship with the press and the fans has never had the sort of serene, deflector-shield like stability of say, Derek Jeter's with his "home" town, but Ortiz nonetheless has built a strong following, in a mostly organic way. This idea -- that professional athletes fervently care about the cities and teams they represent with the same passion as their fans -- is a fiction that both sides have to keep up, so that fans can still feel connected to their teams in this most mercenary of eras. Ortiz has reinforced that fiction pretty well from his end, from that outburst about leadership in the locker room last season to the way he carries himself in press appearances. And there was that big moment everyone remembers from last April, when he said something on national television that I can't directly quote in this space, yet somehow got a free pass from the FCC.
The real reason why Ortiz has no business talking about the cold, harsh financial realities of the game isn't because of the profanity he used in that April moment, but rather because of one of the words that came before it: "our." In one of the most emotionally charged moments in recent Boston history, he used the first-person plural to refer not to himself and all the guys in the locker room, but to himself and everyone in the stands -- in the city. And then he used the profanity, to make sure everybody remembered it.
Is that a bad thing? Not at all. But it's something he can't take back -- he has to own that moment for the rest of his career and beyond. This little dustup, small and otherwise insignificant as it was, should signify that since the last time he signed a contract, his relationship with the city where he plays has changed a little bit. With Thursday's apology, it seems he's figured that out.


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They aren't out of the woods yet, but for the first time in more than 24 hours Prince William finally felt able to offer a smile.
Leaving his pregnant wife's bedside last night after a six-hour vigil, the exhausted father-to-be fleetingly acknowledged the nation's good wishes before stepping into his car. Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, was said to be feeling better but will continue to receive treatment for the next few days.
The Duchess, 30, has been on a drip in hospital after being admitted on Monday with an acute - and potentially dangerous - form of morning sickness.
St James's Palace said: "The Duchess of Cambridge is continuing to feel better. She and the duke are immensely grateful for the good wishes they have received.
"She will remain in hospital at present and will continue to be treated for hyperemesis gravidarum."
In spite of William's obvious concern, the couple may be forced to spend the first months of Kate's pregnancy apart if her medical condition does not improve, the Daily Mail understands.
The condition that the Duchess, who is believed to be only eight weeks pregnant, has been diagnosed with can last for the first five months of pregnancy - sometimes even for the entire duration.
It may require regular hospital treatment because it can lead to severe dehydration, putting mother and baby at risk.
This means that Kate, who is being attended at the King Edward VII Hospital in London by not just one but two of the Queen's personal doctors as well as the hospital's own medical staff, may be forced to remain in the capital for the foreseeable future instead of returning to their rented farmhouse on Anglesey in North Wales, close to RAF Valley, the base where William is a Search and Rescue helicopter pilot.
However sources close to the couple say the Prince is duty bound to spend the first half of next year at RAF Valley in order to keep up his flying hours, leaving him with a potentially agonising dilemma.
Such enforced separation is far from ideal, and clearly William and Kate will do anything they can to avoid it, but the pair may have little choice because William needs to seriously "bump up" his flying hours after scraping through with the bare minimum this year because of his Diamond Jubilee commitments, sources have revealed.
"With their Pacific tour and all the extra engagements both he and Catherine have had, the duke was able to meet only the minimum commitments required in terms of flying hours and shifts this year," an aide explained.
"Some time ago the duke made clear to his office that he would be carrying out fewer public engagements in the first half of 2013 in order to fully commit to his job.
"He even instructed that when he was required to work, the engagements needed to be clustered together in order to minimise the time he was spending travelling to and from Wales.
"He is very passionate about his job and is part of a team. He doesn't want to - and can't - let anyone down."
Just where this leaves their diary is still a matter of debate. Staff had expected the Duchess to take on more public engagements and patronages in order to make up the shortfall.
Now, an aide says: "No one knows what is going to happen for sure. Everything is up in the air."
For now, however, William has been given compassionate leave from his job to remain in London to be with his wife.
Dressed casually in a sweatshirt, chinos and trainers, the second in line to the throne arrived at the hospital yesterday with his police protection officer at 11.30am and left just after 5.45pm.
A source told the Mail that while the Duke was encouraged by his wife's condition, he remained extremely concerned because it was "such early days".
"There's a very good reason that pregnancies aren't normally made public until after a successful 12-week scan, so the couple obviously remain concerned," they said.
The Duchess received no other visitors, even though her sister Pippa was seen walking through a shopping area only a few minutes' drive away.
Her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, have released no official statement.
They were pictured driving to and from their Georgian manor house in Bucklebury, Berkshire, several times during the day.
The Queen, William's grandmother, continued with a planned investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace yesterday.
Although she has declared herself "delighted", the Queen clearly isn't taking any chances either and Kate is currently being attended by both her personal surgeon/gynaecologist, Alan Farthing, and his predecessor.
Mr Farthing, former fiance of murdered television presenter Jill Dando, was appointed in 2008 and this will be his first royal birth.
His predecessor Marcus Setchell held the role for 18 years and delivered both the Countess of Wessex's children as well as leading her medical care when she had an ectopic pregnancy.
Historically the Royal Family aren't known for their bedside manner - not a single member of the family visited the elderly Prince Philip when he was in hospital in Scotland with a bladder infection this summer.
William drove with his wife of 18 months to hospital on Monday and stayed at her bedside until early evening.
He is expected to return again today and every day until Kate is released, which may not be until the end of the week.
Although Kate has cancelled her three planned engagements this week, William is expected to meet his own two public commitments this weekend - an appearance at a charity tennis gala on Saturday and a visit to the British Military Tournament on Sunday - although the palace has yet to confirm this.


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Google in Talks About Possible Acquisition of Twitch
Google's Talks With Live Video-Streaming Service at Early Stage
Google Inc. is in talks about a possible acquisition of Twitch, a fast-growing, live-video-streaming service, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The talks are at an early stage, and a deal isn't imminent, the people said. The potential purchase price couldn't be learned. Twitch also has considered raising additional funding instead of selling the company, according to one of the people.


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SAN FRANCISCO – A day after San Francisco 49ers fans got that sinking feeling when their team lost the Super Bowl, Larry Ellison's Oracle Team USA relaunched its newly-repaired boat Monday after a catastrophic capsize months ago while training for the super bowl of regattas - the America's Cup.
"It's a big day for the team," Grant Simmer, general manager for Oracle Team USA, said. "It's getting sailing again, getting our boat in after the setback of the capsize."
The news comes the same day that one of Oracle's chief rivals, Emirates Team New Zealand -- which was able to sail its 72-foot catamaran a full 30 days without mishap -- showed just how far ahead it appears: While Oracle relaunched its old, repaired boat, their South Pacific rivals christened their new, improved second boat Monday in New Zealand's Hauraki Gulf.
Still, Simmer and the Oracle crew are confident they will make up the training time on the water, launch the team's second boat this spring and emerge triumphant this summer, when the America's Cup races begin in San Francisco.
Teams from New Zealand, Sweden and Italy will begin racing July 4 in the Louis Vuitton Cup on the bay for the right to take on defending champion Oracle, which won the Cup in 2010 and brought it to Ellison's home port. The America's Cup finals begin in September. The races will mark the first time in America's Cup history that spectators can watch the races from shore -- in the past the courses have been farther out to sea. Even competitors have marveled at how the natural amphitheater of the San Francisco Bay will make for great viewing of the races.
But Team Oracle has a lot of catching up to do. Not only did the Oracle boat capsize and break apart in strong winds after only eight days of sailing last fall, but the team was found guilty in December of spying on the Italian team by sending a photographer to shoot pictures too close to the competitor's boat. As a penalty, a panel of sailing judges ruled that Oracle will be forbidden from sailing the last week in April, meaning that Oracle will have to squeeze in the universally-allowed 45 days of training before then.
"It's critical for our program what we can achieve over these next 45 days," Simmer said.
Beginning in May, there is no limit on practice days -- and Oracle plans to be on the water every day while New Zealand and Italy are packing up their rigs and shipping them to California. The Swedish team, Artemis, is already based on the bay in Alameda.
Based on lessons learned from those eight days of sailing before the capsize, Oracle made a number of modifications to the repaired boat to make it better, Simmer said, including raising the middle platform so the crews can move around easier. All four teams are required to build and race AC72s -- 72-foot catamarans with the same fundamental design. Each team can modify the boats and build two of them, with one as a backup.
"We've made the best of what we could from the short amount of sailing," Simmer said. "It wasn't where we wanted to be, but we'll make the best of it."
Oracle is hoping to train on the water several days this week. Monday started out with light winds, which were expected to be much stronger by Thursday.
This time, Simmer said, "we'll be quite cautious."
(Source: Google News: San Jose Mercury News. View the original story here.)


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'Bizzle' ain't getting special treatmeant --- Says Miami Mayor
Justin Bieber's gonna face the full wrath of the law after his arrest for DUI and drag racing ... so says the top dog in Miami Beach, Mayor Philip Levine.
Shortly after Justin's bust, Hizzoner was in Washington D.C. for a conference ... and told us folks in his city won't stand for Bieber or anyone else recklessly speeding while drinking and driving.
And if Bieber thinks he's gonna get special treatment while he's in custody -- the Mayor's got a strong opinion about that ... though he left a little wiggle room.
He's a politician.


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Utah State Records Committee Orders City Of Bluffdale To Reveal Data On NSA's Water Usage
from the water,-water-everywhere,-and-nary-a-drop-publicly-accounted-for dept
The NSA's new home in Utah is increasingly looking like a bad idea. While local politicians were likely delighted to have a federal money funnel set up shop in state, that initial euphoria has faded in the wake of the Snowden leaks.
Multiple legislative attempts have been mounted by various states to basically nullify the NSA's programs, either directly or indirectly. In Utah, the leverage point has been the public utilities. There is no doubt that the NSA's new data center consumes massive amounts of electricity. But it also goes through water like… water. Not much is known about how much the data center uses (estimates place it at about 1.2 million gallons a day), but one fact that has emerged so far is that the NSA is paying far less ($2.05 vs. $3.35) per thousand gallons than other high-volume businesses.
The Tenth Amendment Center has been pushing for the adoption of legislation aimed at cutting off public support (meaning "public utilities") for the NSA's domestic surveillance programs. While this legislative battle has been moving forward, attempts to gain more insight into the NSA's utility usage have been stonewalled by both the City of Bluffdale and the NSA itself.
Fortunately, the state has stepped up and ordered Bluffdale to release the NSA's water usage records.
This month, the Utah State Records Committee ruled that the City of Bluffdale must release water records pertaining to the massive NSA data center located there.The City of Bluffdale was a major combatant, insisting on collecting a $45/hour fee for compiling responsive documents. All told, the total stood at $767.45 when the reporter brought this to the attention of the State Records Committee.
Salt Lake City Tribune reporter Nate Carlisle pursued the information, and his success shows how a series of small, seemingly insignificant actions can lead to a major victory.
The committee voted unanimously to require the city to make details of the NSA's water use public last week.
The agency itself was no better. It refused to release info on its water usage by relying on the same excuse it uses for everything: terrorism.
By computing the water usage rate, one could ultimately determine the computing power and capabilities of the Utah Data Center. Armed with this information, one could then deduce how much intelligence NSA is collecting and maintaining, and this clearly relates to one of NSA's core missions, which is the collection of foreign intelligence.Robert McMillan at Wired calls bullshit on this argument.
The reality is that Sherman's argument requires a pretty big leap of logic. Data center engineers can get rough ideas of compute power based on how much power a building consumes, but figuring this out on water is another matter. Some data centers, like Facebook's facility in Prineville, Oregon, use custom-made swamp coolers to mist the air and cool down servers. Others push hot air into evaporative cooling towers, which are kept cold by running water.Without access to all of this water, the NSA's shiny new home can't function. That it consumes over a million gallons a day (at least) should be of concern to Utah's residents, especially considering the ongoing water management issues the state is facing. Early in 2013, water experts met to discuss the problems inherent in the nation's second-driest state -- one which also sports the nation's highest birth rate.
"There are many different ways to cool a data center," says Jonathan Koomey, a research fellow at the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance at Stanford University."Without knowing more about the actual facility then I don't think anyone's going to give you solid [computing capability] numbers."
Among the many suggestions were removing the tax subsidies from water that kept prices artificially low and starting to meter secondary usage. Nowhere in the discussion was a suggestion to funnel 400+ million gallons a year into a surveillance agency's data center.
This cut rate on top of an already artificially low water price would explain the attractiveness of the locale to the NSA, but in the end, it's the rest of Utah's citizens who will be screwed. When its water usage details are finally revealed, one can safely expect there to be more public support for the Tenth Amendment Center's attempt to literally drain the agency of resources.
Filed Under: bluffdale, foia, nsa, surveillance, utah, water


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Subscribe To Kelly Reilly Joins Denzel Washington In Robert Zemeckis' Flight Updates
I've already subscribed
When it was announced on Friday that production on Robert Zemeckis' Flight would start in October, I mentioned that we would likely be getting a lot of casting news in the next few weeks. Turns out that the folks behind the film aren't twiddling their thumbs and have already found a lead actress.
British actress Kelly Reilly, known to most audiences for her turn as Mary Morstan, Watson's beau in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, has landed the highly coveted role of Nicole Devlin in the Zemeckis film. According to Deadline, Reilly beat out some top tier talent, including Olivia Wilde and Dominique McElligott, for the part. The film centers on a pilot named Whip, set to be played by Denzel Washington, who saves 98 of 106 lives when he manages to safely land a damaged airplane. While Whip is treated as a hero, an investigation is launched into the pilot's misbehavior the night before the incident. Nicole Devlin is a drug addict who is befriends Whip as they both try to "get their demons under control." Based on a script by John Gatins, the film will be Zemeckis' first live action project since 2000, when he directed both Cast Away and What Lies Beneath.
Reilly has actually been steadily working since 1995 and this project could turn her into a star. I don't know a single better way to launch a career than by starring as drug addict in a film with Denzel Washington. It will be interesting to find out what Zemeckis saw in her when the film comes out.


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Movies for adults
Movies for adults
Movies for adults
Movies for adults
Movies for adults
Movies for adults
Movies for adults
Movies for adults
Movies for adults
Movies for adults
Movies for adults
- Dean Obeidallah: A movie or TV show can educate or (mis)educate you
- Obeidallah: Two new films about hot issues are firing up both the left and right
- Senators slammed "Zero Dark Thirty," and energy industry attacked "Promised Land"
- Obeidallah: What does Hollywood want? To make money, of course
Editor's note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is a political comedian and frequent commentator on various TV networks including CNN. He is the editor of the politics blog "The Dean's Report" and co-director of the upcoming documentary "The Muslims Are Coming!" Follow him on Twitter: @deanofcomedy
(CNN) -- Can a movie actually convince you to support torture? Can a movie really persuade you that "fracking" -- a process used to drill for natural gas -- is a danger to the environment? Can a movie truly cause you to view certain minority groups in a negative light?
Some scoff at the notion that movies do anything more than entertain. They are wrong. Sure, it's unlikely that one movie alone will change your views on issues of magnitude. But a movie (or TV show) can begin your "education" or "miseducation" on a topic. And for those already agreeing with the film's thesis, it can further entrench your views.
Anyone who doubts the potential influence that movies can have on public opinion need to look no further than two films that are causing an uproar even before they have opened nationwide. They present hot button issues that manage to fire up people from the left and right.
Dean Obeidallah
The first, "Zero Dark Thirty," is about the pursuit and killing of Osama bin Laden, which features scenes of torture. The second, "Promised Land," stars Matt Damon and explores how the use of fracking to drill for natural gas can pose health and environmental dangers.
Critics of "Zero Dark Thirty" fear that audiences will accept as true the film's story line that torture was effective in eliciting information to locate bin Laden. They are rightfully concerned that the film will sway some to become more receptive or even supportive of the idea of torturing prisoners.
Peter Bergen: Did torture really net bin Laden?
Opposition to the film escalated last week as three senior U.S. senators -- John McCain, Carl Levin and Dianne Feinstein -- sent a letter to the film's distributor, Sony Pictures, characterizing the film's use of torture as "grossly inaccurate and misleading." The senators bluntly informed Sony Pictures that it has "an obligation to state that the role of torture in the hunt for Osama bin Laden is not based on the facts, but rather part of the film's fictional narrative."
Is this just more liberal whining?
Well, the hostility toward "Promised Land" shows us that it's not just liberals who complain about movie messages. Big business -- namely, the gas industry -- is aggressively objecting to the allegation in "Promised Land" that fracking poses environmental and health risks.
How concerned is the gas industry?
It has set up a rapid response team to counter publicity for the film by using two Washington-based groups that lobby for gas and oil companies: the Independent Petroleum Association of America and Energy in Depth. These groups have scrutinized appearances by the films stars on talk shows, questioned who the financiers of the film are, published parts of the script and mocked the film on social media.
Energy in Depth went as far as to "fact check" a recent appearance by the films co-star and co-writer, John Krasinski, on "Late Night With David Letterman." Within hours of Krasinski's appearance, Energy in Depth posted a blog on its website pointing out what it perceived as factual errors made by Krasinski about fracking.
Regardless of whether "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Promised Land" intended to promote any message, people who watch them will be "educated" in some way on torture and fracking -- even if very subtly.
This is the same reason that minority groups continue to object being represented in a negative light in movies and TV. They understand that accurate representations matter because studies have shown that biases can form based on stereotypes or inaccurate representations. (Being of Italian and Arab descent, I'm acutely aware of this issue as my respective heritages have been represented by a parade of mobsters and terrorists.)
What's Hollywood's role in all of this? The same as it has always been -- to make money.
In fact, there's no doubt that the studios behind these movies are overjoyed at the controversy that has erupted and the resulting free press. Indeed, the response of Sony Pictures to the uproar over "Zero Dark Thirty" tells you about what they really hope we will all do: "We encourage people to see the film before characterizing it."
So go ahead, enjoy these films and ones like them that are based on actual events or current hot issues. But while you are watching them, be aware you might be getting more than the price of ticket. You might also be getting a (mis)education.
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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dean Obeidallah.
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Texas man travels country to buy homeless signs
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Texas artist who is traveling across the country purchasing signs from homeless people stopped in St. Paul Tuesday.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports Willie Baronet of Dallas made the 11th stop of his monthlong cross-country trip through 24 U.S. cities.
During his visit, Baronet met with Margaret Kelly, a Lutheran pastor who is organizing a new congregation to serve the homeless and others living in poverty. The pair scouted sign-purchasing locations together, paying $10 to $20 each for cardboard signs made by homeless people.
The artist hopes to raise awareness of homelessness by producing a documentary film and a book, as well as featuring the signs in future art installations and exhibits.
"There is a part of me that wants to make people uncomfortable, too," Baronet said. "I'm trying to put it in a context where they're less likely to ignore the signs."
His project is being funded by the $48,000 he raised on a crowd-sourced funding site.
Baronet has been purchasing signs for 21 years and estimates his collection to be around 700 signs. He said he paid $4 to $40 for each sign. They say things such as "''Hungry" or "Embarrassed mother with three kids. Don't want to be on the street."
"Some of the signs I find most compelling are ones that are just scrawled and look like the emotion and just the pain is in the letters," he said.
Baronet said he bought his first sign in response to the guilt he felt when seeing a person asking for money on the street.
He tells stories about the people he's met during his travels on his website, weareallhomeless.blogspot.com.


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Name: Orange with Yellow Accent Mini Gerbera Daisies (Germinis)
Colors: These mini gerberas are a gorgeous fire orange shade with a contrasting bright yellow center ring. Usually, orange with yellow accent mini gerbera daisies have dark centers.
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Availability: Mini gerbera daisy flowers are usually available year-round. If a chosen color is unavailable at the time of shipping, GerberaDaisies.com will match the color and/or variety as closely as possible. Farm growing conditions, weather conditions, market demand, and other factors may result in the unavailability of the flowers.
As soon as you receive your shipment of gerbera daisies, please open the box and check on your flowers. It is to be expected that the gerberas will be tired after their journey. Their petals will be softer and more droopy at first, and stems will be weak. This will correct in less than 6 hours after being in water. You will see them take their first drink and start to perk up and become crisper and more 'alive'. All gerbera daisies are shipped fully open.
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You will need to provide a functional telephone number to FedEx. Also you should double-check the shipping address you give to FedEx since it must be accurate in order for you to receive your package on time. We cannot be held responsible for a shipment that did not reach its destination if you provide us with a wrong address! Plus, you will have to pay an extra fee and the redirection of your package will cause undue stress. So, Please Double Check Your Shipping Address!
Since your shipper will be Fed Ex, they are the ones you need to call if there is a delay, a problem or a question about your shipment. Gerberadaisies.com cannot be responsible for packages that are lost, stolen or damaged. This is the shipper's responsibility.
If the tracking number you receive by email starts with the letter "D", your package has been shipped with Ontrac. You can call them at 1-800-334-5000 or go online at www.ontrac.com to reschedule your delivery or to ask questions about your shipment.
Shipments to Hawaii and Alaska are possible but there will be an extra charge of $45 per box.
Shipments to Canada are possible. Please contact us with your address and your order so that we can tell you how much shipment will cost for you.
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