text:
- "We've had vicious kings, and we've had idiot kings, but I don't know if we've ever been cursed with a vicious idiot for a king!"
- ―Tyrion Lannister, summarizing his nephew Joffrey Baratheon.
King Joffrey Baratheon is a major character in the first, second, third, and fourth seasons. He is played by starring cast member Jack Gleeson and debuts in the series premiere. Though believed by most to be the eldest son of King Robert Baratheon with Queen Cersei Lannister, Joffrey is actually a bastard born from Cersei's incestuous relationship with her twin brother, Ser Jaime Lannister of the Kingsguard. He is the older brother of Myrcella Baratheon and Tommen Baratheon, both of whom share the same parentage.
Joffrey is believed to be the oldest son and heir of King Robert Baratheon and Queen Cersei Lannister, both of whom entered into a political marriage alliance after Robert took the throne by force from the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen. In reality, his father is Jaime Lannister, the queen's brother and the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. He has a younger sister, Myrcella, and a younger brother, Tommen , both whom are also the product of Jaime and Cersei's incest.[2] Their sole biological grandparents, Tywin and Joanna Lannister, were also apparently first cousins.
Joffrey takes after his mother in terms of looks and personality, his blonde hair being a subtle clue that he isn't really a Baratheon, who famously always possess black hair even when one of their parents possesses blonde hair. (Cersei herself lets it slip to Catelyn Stark that she once had a child with black hair who died prematurely before she had Joffrey.[3]) He is usually accompanied by his sworn shield, the formidable Sandor Clegane, who is better known as the Hound. Even before he ascends to the Iron Throne, Joffrey is spoiled, arrogant, cowardly, and sadistic; however these traits are further exacerbated upon Robert's death and his ascension to the crown.[4]
Season 1RedaguotiPrince Joffrey accompanies his parents to Winterfell and is betrothed to marry Sansa Stark as part of King Robert's plan unite House Baratheon to House Stark by blood. Both seem happy with the prospect, and Joffrey is charming and polite towards Sansa.[5] However, he shows no sympathy when Bran falls from a tower and is severely injured, and has to be physically chastised by his uncle Tyrion before he will pay his respects to Bran's parents.[3] While on the Kingsroad to King's Landing, Joffrey is walking with Sansa and chances upon her sister Arya practicing sword play with a commoner, Mycah. Joffrey sees a chance to have some fun with Mycah, who is too scared to move. Joffrey accuses him of assault on a noble girl and makes a cut on his face with his sword, but Arya hits Joffrey, allowing the butcher's boy to get away. When Joffrey turns on Arya, her direwolf Nymeria overpowers Joffrey, injuring him, and Arya throws his sword in the river. Joffrey begs for his life. Sansa offers aid, but Joffrey is angry at her because she saw him weak and defeated. Later, he lies about the incident and says he was attacked in an unprovoked manner. King Robert knows Joffrey is lying, and is disgusted that Joffrey let a little girl disarm him, but agrees to forget about the incident in return for the death of Nymeria. When she cannot be found, Sansa's direwolf Lady is executed instead.[3]
In King's Landing, Joffrey tells his mother about how he would handle the people of the North as she treats his injury. He suggests capturing Winterfell, taxing the people hard and forcing their warriors to join a "royal army". Cersei elucidates the flaws in his plan and warns Joffrey that a king needs to be more careful in choosing his battles. Cersei tells her son that, "Everyone who isn't us is an enemy". She also urges Joffrey to do something nice for Sansa to win back her goodwill.[6]
Eddard Stark discovers that Joffrey isn't King Robert's son and rightful heir, by examining the family history and realizing that black hair is a dominant trait in the Baratheon line. Eddard realizes that Joffrey's true parentage can be attributed to the incestuous relationship between his mother and his "uncle" Jaime Lannister. Meanwhile, Joffrey wins back Sansa's affection by giving her a pendant.[7]When King Robert Baratheon is grievously wounded in a hunting injury, he talks to Joffrey on his death bed and says he could have been a better father. Joffrey ascends the Iron Throne. He orders that preparations be made to crown him within the fortnight. Eddard refuses to recognize Joffrey's claim to the Iron Throne. He presents a proclamation from Robert making him Regent and Protector of the Realm to enforce his authority, but Cersei tears up the document. Eddard expects Lord Petyr Baelish and Commander Janos Slynt of the City Watch to take Cersei and Joffrey prisoner, but is betrayed. Eddard is taken into custody and his remaining guards and household are murdered.[8]
Sansa is taken captive as well, but Arya manages to escape into the city thanks to her dancing teacher Syrio Forel. Joffrey dismisses Ser Barristan Selmy from the Kingsguard and names his "uncle" Jaime as the new Lord Commander. Barristan is shocked, as the Kingsguard are sworn to serve for life, and it is legally impossible to dismiss one of their members. Joffrey listens to Sansa's pleas for her father, and he agrees to show mercy to Lord Eddard if he admits treason and recants his claim that Joffrey has no right to the throne. Sansa is sure that he will.[9]Joffrey is present at the Great Sept of Baelor for Eddard's public trial where, due to threats to Sansa's life, he confesses to treason and acknowledges Joffrey as the true king. Joffrey, playing to the crowd, reveals that his mother and his betrothed have both urged him to spare Eddard's life and exile him to the Wall (this deal had been worked out involving Queen Cersei, Varys, Grand Maester Pycelle, the High Septon, and Yoren waiting in the crowd to take him in custody). Joffrey had been told to spare him, but surprises everyone by saying that his mother and betrothed have the weak hearts and constitutions of women, while he has no mercy for traitors. He orders Ser Ilyn Payne to bring him Eddard's head. While this understandably horrifies Sansa, who vehemently begs for her father's life, it also horrifies both Cersei and the Small Council as they know it will lead to another war. Cersei desperately begs her son to reconsider his sentence, and Varys run to the king as well. Yet Payne carries out the order, making Sansa faint from shock [10] Days later, Joffrey holds court. Marillion sings a song he wrote about King Robert and Queen Cersei, which includes lyrics saying that the boar may have disemboweled Robert, but the "lion in his bed" (the Lannister's sigil is a lion) was the one who tore his balls off. Joffrey is displeased by the song and its insults against his parents. He forces the minstrel to choose between having his hands or tongue removed, then orders Ser Ilyn to instantly carry out the order, ripping out his tongue in front of the entire horrified court. Joffrey and his guards escort Sansa out of the courtroom and he states to her that she will be kept captive there and will still marry him; he also casually mentions that his mother said he should "put a son in you" as soon as Sansa has had her blood. They arrive at the castle's wall, where there are several heads mounted on long spikes - one is revealed to be Ned's. When Sansa is appalled, Joffrey angrily points to another spike carrying the head of Septa Mordane, revealing that he also needlessly killed Sansa's own Septa. She confronts him about his promise to show mercy to her father, but he says it was mercy, as he gave him a quick death. Then Joffrey forces her to look at the severed heads, and he says that he will give her Robb's head on a spike as well if he were to be defeated by the Lannisters, prompting her to reply: "Or maybe he'll give me yours."
Joffrey is infuriated, but restrains himself from striking her as he says "Mother tells me a king should never strike his lady" - so he simply calls on Ser Meryn Trant to strike her for him, and the knight slaps Sansa hard across the face twice. Sansa comes up behind Joffrey on the walkway, obviously thinking of pushing him, though it would mean her death. The Hound realizes this and stops her, under the pretense of wiping the blood off her lip.[11]
Season 2Redaguoti
Joffrey rules with cruelty and arrogant whims while his grandfather Tywin Lannister fights in the War of the Five Kings to secure his hold of the Iron Throne.[12] Joffrey celebrates his nameday with a tourney and continues to torment the captive Sansa Stark, also naming Ser Dontos Hollard as his new fool as punishment to showing up drunk. He is perturbed when his uncle Tyrion Lannister is made acting Hand of the King. Rumors about his parentage begin to circulate and he confronts his mother, Queen Regent Cersei Lannister with them. He asks her about King Robert Baratheon's bastard children and she slaps him. He threatens her life and then arranges for a city wide massacre of the bastards.[13] Tyrion responds by exiling Janos Slynt and installing Bronn as the replacement Lord Commander of the City Watch.[14]
Robb Stark continues to win victories against Joffrey's Lannister allies. Furious, Joffrey has Sansa Stark brought into the throne room. Before the whole court, he demands she answer for her brother's treason and threatens to kill her with a crossbow. Instead he orders Meryn Trant to strip and beat her. Tyrion interrupts the proceedings and scolds Joffrey for his behavior, as Sansa is his future queen. When Joffrey retorts that as king he can do whatever he wishes, his uncle reminds him that the mad king thought he could do whatever he wanted as well, and ended up being overthrown.
Talking to Bronn, Tyrion decides that Joffrey is at an age when sexual frustration might be an issue, and this could be one reason for his torment of Sansa. He then sends Joffrey two prostitutes, Ros and Daisy, as a belated nameday present. Joffrey forces one prostitute to brutally beat the other as a message to Tyrion that he will tolerate no further interference.[15]
Joffrey attends the departure of his sister Myrcella Baratheon for Dorne as part of a marriage alliance pact. Joffrey is confronted by an angry populace as he makes his way back to the Red Keep. One onlooker throws some cow dung at him and Joffrey foolishly triggers a city wide riot by petulantly ordering his heavily outnumbered guards to kill everyone in the crowd. He barely escapes the riot under the protection of his Kingsguard, City Watch, and Lannnister soldiers but then Tyrion publicly berates him for being a "vicious idiot". When they realize Sansa has been lost in the chaos, Joffrey callously commands that she be left to the mob. Tyrion has to point out that if any harm comes to Sansa then his uncle Jaime, a prisoner of the Starks, will be killed in retaliation.[16]
King Stannis Baratheon sails on King's Landing with a fleet of over 200 ships. Joffrey is determined to fight personally, scaring his mother. Cersei suspects that Tyrion is encouraging Joffrey and plots to blackmail him into ensuring Joffrey's safety by imprisoning his lover. Joffrey tours the sea wall of the city with Tyrion and insists that he will kill Stannis himself. His bravado is undercut by his woeful lack of appreciation of the danger he is in; he stupidly suggests that they should be planning to assault Robb rather than defending their capital.[17]
Joffrey procures a new sword for the Battle of the Blackwater, naming it "Hearteater." He forces Sansa to meet him in the Throne Room before going to the city walls, making her kiss the blade and claiming that when he returns it will have Stannis' blood on it. Sansa carefully undermines his claim by questioning if he will fight in the vanguard. Joffrey is frustrated by not being made aware of Tyrion Lannister's plans to defend the city and angrily threatens his uncle. The absence of the Royal Fleet frightens Joffrey. He is pleased when Tyrion's wildfire explosion decimates Stannis' fleet. However, his courage wanes when he sees the size of the landing force that comes ashore. A sortie led by the Hound fails to drive the attackers back. The Hound then deserts his place on the Kingsguard rather than go back out. Joffrey is relieved when Ser Lancel Lannister tells him that the Queen has ordered him back to the Red Keep and ignores Tyrion imploring him to stay and lead. His cowardly exit damages the morale of the men but Tyrion is able to rally them into a further sortie, protecting the gates from a battering ram. Tyrion is wounded during the fighting but the battle is won by the arrival of a host of House Lannister and House Tyrell soldiers under the command of Lord Tywin Lannister.[18]
Joffrey rewards Tywin by naming him Savior of the City. He also grants a favor to House Tyrell for their aid and Ser Loras asks Joffrey to unite their houses in marriage. Joffrey balks at setting aside his betrothal to Sansa, but is easily convinced in a sham dialogue with his mother and courtiers and agrees to marry Margaery Tyrell.[19]
Season 3Redaguoti
King Joffrey is passing through Flea Bottom in a heavily guarded palanquin. The Riot of King's Landing recently occurred in this part of the city. His convoy suddenly stops moving because his betrothed Margaery Tyrell insists on interacting with the smallfolk and visiting an orphanage. Later that night, he has dinner with Margaery, her brother Loras, and his mother Cersei. Cersei tells Margaery that the king barely survived the recent riot, but Joffrey explains that they were not in any real danger. He also defends Margaery's actions, to Cersei's discomfort.[20]
While fitting clothes in his chambers, Cersei asks Joffrey what he thinks about Margaery, and he says the alliance with the Tyrells will help them defeat the northern rebellion. Cersei asks what he thinks about her personally, but Joffrey dismisses her questions. Later, Joffrey summons Margaery to his chambers. Joffrey is holding his new crossbow and asks why she was married to traitor Renly Baratheon and why she failed to give him a child. Margaery tells Joffrey that she doesn't believe Renly was interested in women. Joffrey says he is considering making homosexuality punishable by death. He then demonstrates to Margaery how to use a crossbow.[21]Joffrey, Margaery, Cersei, and Olenna Tyrell are visiting the Great Sept of Baelor, where the royal wedding will be held. Joffrey tells Margaery about the history of the dead Targaryen kings. Margaery feigns interest, then they hear a crowd of smallfolk outside. Margaery suggest they greet them, and Joffrey is reluctant but has the doors opened. Joffrey and Margaery step outside to a happy, cheering crowd, while Cersei looks on angrily.[22]
Ros is caught spying on Lord Petyr Baelish, so Lord Baelish gives her to Joffrey, who brutally kills her in his chambers with his crossbow.[23]
Joffrey summons his Hand Tywin Lannister to the throne room. Joffrey asks for a report of the small council meetings, and Tywin invites him to attend the small council meetings. Joffrey complains that Tywin holds the meetings in the Tower of the Hand, which requires him to climb many stairs. Joffrey squirms as Tywin approaches the throne, and Tywin tells him that he can be carried to the tower. Joffrey then asks for information on the rumors about Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons. Tywin confirms the rumors are true, and Joffrey demands to know what is being done about it. Tywin tells him it is not his concern, and he should leave such matters to his advisers.[24]At the wedding of Tyrion Lannister and Sansa Stark, Joffrey escorts Sansa to the altar. He then removes Tyrion's stool, so he cannot reach Sansa's shoulders to cloak her. Joffrey laughs when Tyrion is unable to cloak her. When Sansa excuses herself from her table during the feast, Joffrey follows her, and suggests he might pay a visit to her chambers that night after Tyrion passes out. Joffrey then calls for the bedding ceremony, and Tyrion insists there will be no bedding ceremony. Tyrion threatens the king, which infuriates Joffrey. Tywin says they can do without the bedding ceremony, and Tyrion says he was only joking, feigning being drunk so as not to anger Joffrey to the point where he might order harm upon him.[25]
At a meeting of the small council, Joffrey gleefully informs Tyrion of the deaths of Robb Stark and Catelyn Stark. He tells Grand Maester Pycelle to thank Walder Frey for his service and wants to serve Robb's head to Sansa at his wedding feast. Lord Varys and Tyrion take offense to this, and Tyrion threatens the king again. Tywin interjects by saying that he has won Joffrey's war for him. Joffrey angrily states that his supposed father won the real war, while Tywin hid in Casterly Rock during the fighting. Tywin orders that Joffrey be put to bed, and given Essence of Nightshade to sedate him. Joffrey is taken to his chambers by Cersei.[26]
Season 4RedaguotiWith King Joffrey basking in his "glory", he is not very interested in planning his own wedding. Joffrey insists to Jaime Lannister that the people of King's Landing know that he "saved the city" in the Battle of Blackwater and they know that he "won" the War of the Five Kings, and is convinced that there will not be a riot at the wedding.[27]
At a breakfast celebration on his wedding day, Joffrey receives various gifts. Among them, he is given a book by his uncle Tyrion, and a Valyrian steel sword forged from Ned Stark's sword Ice by his grandfather Tywin. Pleased with the gift, he promptly destroys the book with his new sword, to the horror of his guests. He says the sword needs a name; one guest suggests "Widow's Wail", which gains Joffrey's approval.
In the Sept of Baelor at the Purple Wedding celebration, Joffrey and Margaery are wed. At the wedding feast, a band plays The Rains of Castamere; Joffrey throws money at them and tells them to go away. Later, Dontos Hollard performs in front of the royal family and Joffrey promises a gold dragon to whoever knocks Dontos' hat off, which leads to many objects hurling at his head. Joffrey then announces some entertainment that he has organized: a group of dwarfs crudely re-enacting the War of the Five Kings and fighting each other. Joffrey laughs hysterically during the show, spitting wine all over himself, though many others in attendance clearly find the spectacle distasteful.
Once the dwarf show is over, Joffery turns his attention to Tyrion and suggests he borrow a costume and join in. Tyrion politely declines and suggests that the king himself take part, with a veiled reference to Joffrey's cowardice at the Battle of the Blackwater. Joffrey responds by pouring his wine over Tyrion's head and appointing Tyrion his new cupbearer. As the crowd watches in tense silence, Joffrey drops his goblet and orders Tyrion to pick it up. He then kicks it away and tells Tyrion to pick it up again, as Sansa picks it up and hands it to Tyrion instead. Joffrey demands that Tyrion kneel before him, but Tyrion doesn't move as they glare at each other. The standoff is interrupted by Margaery who announces the arrival of the big wedding pie, which is cut by Joffrey with Widow's Wail, and doves come flying out of it.
While Joffrey is eating his pie, he commands Tyrion to stay to bring him his wine. Tyrion does this and asks to leave, which Joffrey refuses. After drinking his wine, Joffrey begins choking. As he gasps for air he staggers down from the high table and starts vomiting on the floor. Jaime runs from the crowd, and Cersei from the high table. Cersei holds her son in her lap. His face has turned purple, and blood is running from his eyes and nose. With a last gesture, Joffrey looks up at Tyrion, who has picked up the goblet to examine it for poison, lifts an accusing finger in his direction, and then dies of asphyxiation. Cersei immediately accuses Tyrion of poisoning her son and demands that he be arrested.[28]Joffrey's funeral is held at the Great Sept of Baelor, which Cersei, Tommen and Tywin attend to pay their respects. Tywin informs Tommen that with Joffrey's death, the crown will pass to him. Over Joffrey's corpse, Tywin lectures Tommen on what it takes to be a good king, despite Cersei's feeble complaints that this is neither the time nor the place for this. He opines that Joffrey was neither a wise nor a good king, and that had he been, he may still be alive. After Tywin leaves and Jaime arrives, Cersei is adamant that it was Tyrion who killed Joffrey, and asks Jaime to kill him to avenge their son. Jaime scornfully asks why he was forced to love such a hateful woman, and they angrily have sex in front of their son's corpse.[29]
After Joffrey's death his younger brother Tommen succeeds him as king. Other than his mother Cersei, Joffrey was not particularly mourned by anyone. Even his own alleged supporters had come to see him as a hindrance to future Lannister political goals. Tywin openly scorned him in front of his own corpse when it was laid in state, and said he was a bad king.[30]
Though gone, Joffrey's death has devastating consequences. Tyrion is put on a farcical show-trial for Joffrey's murder and he demands a trial by combat, a decision that ultimately leads to the near-fatal injury of Gregor Clegane and the deaths of Prince Oberyn Martell, Shae and Tywin himself. For his part, Tyrion is freed by Jaime from imprisonment and smuggled out of Westeros after he is sentenced to death. Oberyn's death also leads to a brief conflict with Dorne that results in the death of Myrcella. Olenna Tyrell later confides to Margaery that it was she who poisoned Joffrey in order to protect her from Joffrey's beastly nature that he had very clearly displayed with Sansa, and Petyr Baelish reveals to Sansa that he and Dontos Hollard provided Olenna with the poison.
At no point did Joffrey control all of the Seven Kingdoms. In the first year of his reign his faction only controlled the Westerlands, the Crownlands, and a narrow strip of the southern Riverlands between the two. By the second year of his reign his faction managed to gain control of most of southern Westeros: after the Battle of the Blackwater, he had gained control of the Stormlands and the support of the Reach, with the Vale and Dorne at least neutral to his reign. For the few short weeks between the death of Robb Stark and Joffrey's own death, he nominally extended his control over the North (under the Boltons) and Riverlands (under the Freys), though functional control would take some time, as scattered Stark-Tully holdouts continued to resist. Stannis remained free and in defiance of Joffrey on Dragonstone, while Joffrey never controlled the Iron Islands at all (with the continued attacks of the ironborn remaining an ongoing problem into his younger brother's reign).[31] The constant civil wars of Joffrey's time on the Iron Throne drained the remaining financial resources of the crown and House Lannister, drastically exacerbating what was already a massive debt crisis with the Iron Bank of Braavos.[32]
Joffrey was a cruel, arrogant, sadistic, and tyrannical ruler. However, he was also incompetent, unintelligent, naive, petulant, cowardly, and prone to rash outbursts of violence. Much like earlier Targaryen kings, it was suspected that Joffrey's psychopathic behavior was a result of his incestuous bloodline. Joffrey was consumed by megalomaniacal delusions of grandeur. Even though he was absurdly unskilled at ruling, making far more problems than he solved. He was convinced that he deserved praise and utter devotion from everyone around him because of his purported royal blood. Despite the fact that at the start of the War of the Five Kings most of the realm rose in rebellion against him, to the point that his faction essentially controlled only the Westerlands, the Crownlands, and a narrow strip of the southern Riverlands between them, Joffrey was convinced that he was the greatest king in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. Added to what was an unstable personality to begin with, Cersei utterly spoiled and indulged Joffrey his entire life, resulting in him possessing a massive sense of entitlement, along with having no impulse and self-control due to getting whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it, which knew no rational bounds. Moreover, his father-figure King Robert was largely absent from his life and a terrible role-model, with his constant drinking and whoring (though Robert, at least, lamented on his deathbed that he hadn't been a good father).
Joffrey was deceitful, but showed even less tact than his mother. He was willing to take advantage of the trust that Sansa Stark initially placed in him, when she was blinded by fantasies of marrying her handsome prince. In general, however, Joffrey was usually too short-sighted to bother lying, often simply committing various atrocities in public, without concern for the consequences.
Joffrey was obsessed with the self-conception that he was a great warrior like King Robert, but displayed no martial skill. Joffrey never raised a weapon against an enemy combatant in his entire life. Particularly, despite the fact that his faction was losing the war and bracing for a siege in King's Landing, Joffrey insisted that was the time for him to strike against the Stark forces as they were distracted by the Fall of Winterfell. However, Tyrion pointed out that his own city was on the verge of attack by Stannis's superior forces. His delusions are so extensive that during breakfast prior to his wedding - Joffrey noted, after receiving the Valyrian steel sword Widow's Wail, that using it would be like cutting off Ned Stark's head all over again - implying that he was the one who beheaded Lord Eddard, even though he simply ordered it and Illyn Payne was the one who actually beheaded him.
Aptly described as a vicious idiot by his uncle Tyrion, Joffrey was not simply a ruthless tyrant, but absurdly incompetent. While Robert was also not skilled at ruling (though not as bad as Joffrey), he was at least respected as a great warrior. Joffrey, in contrast, had no redeeming values whatsoever: literally his only claim to rule was that he was the son of Robert, the previous king. The great irony, of course, was that Joffrey was actually Jaime's bastard son and had no valid claim to the throne, but a shockingly large number of Joffrey's followers continued to blindly obey his crazed orders without question.
Once in a while, Joffrey does make a valid point, such as that the feudal levy system in the Seven Kingdoms is somewhat antiquated, or that his advisors should be worried that Daenerys Targaryen reportedly hatched three new dragons in Essos, or that his grandfather Tywin Lannister bided his time before he finally aided the rebels during Robert's Rebellion. Generally, however, Joffrey only rarely made a valid insight as a means for the narrative to underscore that everyone else is overlooking something, i.e. "if someone as stupid as Joffrey realized this, it should have been obvious to everyone else". Even on those first two points Joffrey was quite short-sighted: he was concerned about Daenerys in the far east, despite the fact that Robb Stark was already leading major armies in rebellion in Westeros itself, and didn't consider that he should concentrate on the much more immediate threat (which is how Tyrion reacted to news of Daenerys). Similarly, while he vaguely said that having a standing royal army was better than using feudal levies, Cersei had to explain to him that his suggestion for how to make one was too impractical to work (if a royal army conscripts men from the North, they still wouldn't feel enthusiastic about attacking their fellow Northmen). Joffrey may also have been correct when he said that the Stark forces were distracted after the Fall of Winterfell, and that would have been the perfect opportunity to strike, but once again Tyrion had to remind him that his own city was preparing for a siege by Stannis Baratheon.
Despite all these negative traits, however, Joffrey is shown to be capable of feeling emotion. On Robert's deathbed, he is visibly shocked and sad at the thought that his (legal) father may be dying and holds his hand, and (in the books) it is stated by various characters that Joffrey was very fond of Sandor Clegane despite his outwardly aloof manner towards him.
|Season One appearances
|Winter is Coming
|The Kingsroad
|Lord Snow
|Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things
|The Wolf and the Lion
|A Golden Crown
|You Win or You Die
|The Pointy End
|Fire and Blood
|Season Two appearances
|The North Remembers
|The Night Lands
|What is Dead May Never Die
|Garden of Bones
|The Ghost of Harrenhal
|The Old Gods and the New
|A Man Without Honor
|The Prince of Winterfell
|Valar Morghulis
|Season Three appearances
|Valar Dohaeris
|Dark Wings, Dark Words
|Walk of Punishment
|And Now His Watch is Ended
|Kissed by Fire
|The Climb
|The Bear and the Maiden Fair
|Second Sons
|The Rains of Castamere
|Season Four appearances
|Two Swords
|The Lion and the Rose
|Breaker of Chains *
|First of His Name
|The Laws of Gods and Men
|The Mountain and the Viper
|The Watchers on the Wall
|The Children
* Only appears as a corpse.
Image galleryRedaguoti
Family treeRedaguoti
Spoken by Joffrey
- "My mother wishes me to let Lord Eddard join the Night's Watch. Stripped of all titles and powers, he would serve the Realm in permanent exile. And my Lady Sansa... has begged mercy for her father. But they have the soft hearts of women. So long as I am your King, treason shall never go unpunished! Ser Ilyn! Bring me his head!"
- ―Joffrey Baratheon orders the execution of Eddard Stark
- "You're here to answer for your brother's treason."
- ―Joffrey Baratheon to Sansa Stark
- "The king can do as he likes!"
- ―Joffrey Baratheon
- "They say Stannis never smiles. I'll give him a red smile. From ear to ear."
- ―Joffrey Baratheon to Tyrion Lannister
- "Widow's Wail, I like that. Hah... Every time I use it, it'll be like cutting off Ned Stark's head all over again."
- ―Joffrey Baratheon chooses to name his sword Widow's Wail
- "Kneel before your king!"
- ―Joffrey Baratheon to Tyrion Lannister
Spoken about Joffrey
- "Lord Orys Baratheon, black of hair...Axel Baratheon, black of hair...Lyonel Baratheon, black of hair...Steffon Baratheon, black of hair...Robert Baratheon, black of hair...Joffrey Baratheon, goldenhead."
- ―Eddard Stark deduces that Joffrey is not a true Baratheon.
- "The King Joffrey Baratheon is neither a true King, nor a true Baratheon. He's your bastard son."
- ―Robb Stark to Jaime Lannister
- "Your brother was not a wise king. Your brother was not a good king. If he had been, perhaps he'd still be alive."
- ―Tywin Lannister to Tommen Baratheon
- "You don't think I'd have let you marry that beast, do you?"
- ―Olenna Tyrell to Margaery Tyrell
Behind the scenesRedaguoti
Actor Eugene Simon had also auditioned for the role of Joffrey before later being cast as Lancel Lannister.[33]
Gleeson's naturally dark hair needed touching up every single day he shot to keep it Lannister blonde. His hair was also kept short because it made him look younger.[34]
Joffrey appears to be loosely based on Nero when one compares their appearances, personality, ambitious mothers and adoptive relationships with no ties to the throne.
Gleeson was born in Cork, Republic of Ireland. He is a student of Trinity College Dublin and a member of DU Players. As a result, Gleeson's natural speaking voice actually has a pronounced Irish Cork accent: the upper-class, Received Pronunciation accent he adopts while playing Joffrey on-screen is a conscious part of his performance. In the Blu-ray commentary for "Lord Snow", Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) explains that for amusement between takes, the English-accented Turner and Irish-accented Gleeson would imitate one another's accents.
Gleeson said his performance was influenced by numerous Hollywood villains, in particular Joaquin Phoenix's performance as the crazed, petulant Emperor Commodus in the movie Gladiator.[35]
On the Season 3 Blu-ray, Joffrey narrates a Histories & Lore video on "The Red Keep".
In the booksRedaguoti
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Joffrey is twelve years old when the story begins. He is described as a handsome young man, with the gold hair and green eyes of the Lannisters, and is tall and strong for his age. His uncle Tyrion occasionally tries to teach him something of politics and learning, but he is uninterested in such matters, more interested in warring. He and Robert have a distant relationship, but his mother dotes upon him. Throughout the books, Cersei is willfully blind to Joffrey's insane and homicidal behavior, no matter how ridiculous. Rather than recognize the monster that she has unleashed on the Seven Kingdoms by putting Joffrey on the throne, Cersei embraces the fantasy that he is a great king, or at worst "willful", and chides her younger son Tommen that he should try to be more like Joffrey. Later books also retroactively reveal that Tommen has lived in terror of Joffrey his entire life. Joffrey killed and skinned several of Tommen's childhood pets, yet Cersei continued to dote on him. At one point Tommen even says that he used to "go away inside" mentally when Joffrey did certain things to him, though the exact extent of what he did (killing his pets or something far more sinister) has not been made clear. At one point, Joffrey, as a child, was told that a kitchen cat was pregnant. Upon this discovery, he cut open the cat and took out the unborn kitten fetuses. He presented the fetuses to his "father", wanting to gain approval from him, but Robert was shocked and disgusted by this action, which caused him to hit Joffrey so hard that two of his baby teeth are knocked out, and is thought to be dead. Cersei brushes off Joffrey's actions as some nonsense with a cat, and threatens to kill Robert in his sleep if he ever harms Joffrey again. Many of Joffrey's cruel actions are his attempt of being more like his "father".
The reason for Joffrey's sociopathic, borderline-insane behavior is suspected to be due to his incestuous parentage, much like some of the earlier Targaryen kings. However, Joffrey also had a distant relationship with his "father" Robert, his mother spoiled him, and he lacked any good role models throughout his childhood, which heavily contributed to his mental instability. From a strict technical standpoint, Joffrey is not "insane" in the sense that King Aerys II Targaryen was, in that he didn't suffer from hallucinations. Otherwise, Joffrey is a megalomanical sociopath by any measure.
In the second book, A Clash of Kings, Joffrey at several points shoots and kills peasants with his crossbow, for largely imagined insults. When crowds of refugees from the war he started come to the castle gates to beg for bread, he picks them off with his crossbow from the battlements, for daring to consider him "a baker". He then brags about doing this in open court, before having Sansa stripped and beaten in front of everyone. When Sansa asks if he killed any of the peasants, Joffrey matter-of-factly states that of course he did, he was trying to kill them. He also expresses fondness for making men fight to the death and giving "justice" to criminals. In the book, however, it is not Joffrey who orders the massacre of Robert's bastards, but Cersei. The books make no mention of Joffrey doubting that Robert was his father, while in the television series, it is Joffrey who gives the order, implying that basically, Joffrey knows (or at least suspects) that Robert wasn't really his father, and he is doing his best to destroy the evidence.
After his death, with the exception of his mother, Joffrey is not particularly mourned by anyone; there are no public displays of grief at his passing, and even his real father openly professes that Joffrey "deserved to die".
Fans sometimes derisively assume that "Joffrey Baratheon" should really be called "Joffrey Lannister", because of his status as the bastard offspring of the incestuous relationship between Cersei Lannister and Jaime Lannister, and not the son of King Robert Baratheon at all. This is actually in error, as according to the customs of bastardy, Joffrey doesn't even have the right to use the surname "Lannister". As Jaime's bastard son, given birth to by a woman from the Westerlands (Cersei), Joffrey would have to use the bastard surname for the Westerlands: "Joffrey Hill". There's also the possibility that he might be called "Joffrey Waters" given that both Jaime and Cersei had been living in the Crownlands for many years, and Joffrey lived his whole life there. All of this, of course, would only happen if Jaime were to openly acknowledge Joffrey as his son, which is an impossibility given the disastrous political fallout this would create. Further, as the product of not merely bastardy, but incest, the Faith of the Seven would want to outright kill Joffrey as an abomination before the gods if his actual parentage were ever revealed. Therefore from a strict legal standpoint, given that Jaime will never acknowledge his children with Cersei, Joffrey has no right to any surname, and should properly just be called "Joffrey" as if he were a lowborn commoner.
Joffrey is stated to be 17 years old in the TV series at the time of the Battle of the Blackwater, as stated in "The Prince of Winterfell". Most of the younger characters in the TV series were aged-up by about two years compared to their book counterparts (i.e. Sansa states that she is 13 years old in the first episode of Season 1, but is 11 in the first novel). Making Joffrey 17 years old in the TV series drastically increases his age relative to the other characters, however, as he is stated to be only 13 years old during the Battle of the Blackwater in the novels (the Tournament he holds in the beginning of book/Season 2 is to celebrate his nameday). This would make TV-Joffrey 16 years old in Season 1, which is stated to be 17 years after Robert and Cersei were married at the end of Robert's Rebellion (which was increased from 15 years ago in the TV series). Cersei also states that she became pregnant with a son by Robert at the very beginning of her marriage who died in infancy. Assuming that Cersei's first son died even a few days after birth, this requires a nine month pregnancy, plus another nine month pregnancy before Joffrey was born (assuming she became pregnant quite soon after her first son died), meaning Joffrey could have been born no earlier than sixteen and a half years before the beginning of the narrative - drastically increasing Joffrey's age to sixteen years old in Season 1 strains the plausibility of this timetable, and drastically increasing his age by four years instead of two like the other characters may have been a dialogue error in "The Prince of Winterfell", in order to make a forced comparison between Joffrey and how Jaime was such a skilled warrior at seventeen that he became the youngest man ever to join the Kingsguard.
See alsoRedaguoti
- Joffrey Baratheon on A Wiki of Ice and Fire (MAJOR spoilers from the books)
- ↑ Tyrion states that Joffrey is 17 years old in Season 2, "The Prince of Winterfell"
- ↑ HBO viewer's guide, season 2 guide to houses, House Baratheon of King's Landing entry
- ↑ 3,0 3,1 3,2 "The Kingsroad"
- ↑ HBO viewer's guide, season 2 guide to houses, House Baratheon of King's Landing - Joffrey Baratheon entry
- ↑ "Winter is Coming"
- ↑ "Lord Snow"
- ↑ "A Golden Crown"
- ↑ "You Win or You Die"
- ↑ "The Pointy End"
- ↑ Baelor"
- ↑ "Fire and Blood"
- ↑ HBO viewers guide, season 2 map, special features - Areas of Control, Joffrey Baratheon entry
- ↑ "The North Remembers"
- ↑ "The Night Lands"
- ↑ "Garden of Bones"
- ↑ "The Old Gods and the New"
- ↑ "The Prince of Winterfell"
- ↑ "Blackwater"
- ↑ "Valar Morghulis"
- ↑ Valar Dohaeris
- ↑ Dark Wings, Dark Words
- ↑ And Now His Watch is Ended
- ↑ The Climb
- ↑ The Bear and the Maiden Fair (episode)
- ↑ Second Sons (episode)
- ↑ Mhysa
- ↑ Two Swords
- ↑ The Lion and the Rose
- ↑ Breaker of Chains
- ↑ "First of His Name"
- ↑ "Breaker of Chains"
- ↑ "The Laws of Gods and Men"
- ↑ Eng, Jared (October 26, 2011). Eugene Simon Interview - Exclusive Just Jared.
- ↑ Wischhover, Cheryl (June 4, 2012). Game of Thrones' Hair and Wardrobe Secrets Revealed Fashionista.
- ↑ Hill, Logan (June 2012). Jack Gleeson GQ June 2012 The Bad Guys Portfolio GQ.
|King Tommen I
|Red Keep, King's Landing
|The Crownlands
|King of the Andals and the First Men · Lord of the Seven Kingdoms · Protector of the Realm
Current members:|
colspan="5"| Queen Mother Cersei Lannister · Queen Margaery Tyrell
Deceased members:|
colspan="5"| King Robert I · King Joffrey I · Princess Myrcella Baratheon
colspan="5"| Lord Mace Tyrell · Grand Maester Pycelle · Ser Jaime Lannister · Ser Gregor Clegane · Ser Preston Greenfield · Ser Arys Oakheart · Ser Boros Blount · Ser Balon Swann · Ser Osmund Kettleblack · Ser Ilyn Payne · Lord Gyles Rosby · Ser Aron Santagar · Qyburn · Septa Eglantine


text:
Contact Information
- Section Name:
- Connecticut
- Contact:
- Chuck Motes, K1DFS
- Evening Phone:
- 860-747-6377
- Email:
- firstname.lastname@example.com
Basic Information
- Division:
- New England
- Description:
Welcome To The Connecticut Section of the ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio (TM)
Find out how you can get involved by viewing the narrated Power Point and learn about The ARRL Field Organization. If you wish, you can use keyboard shortcuts to clickable links: alt-n for next, alt-p previous, pause the audio with alt-a and replay with alt-l.
Get the latest monthly Section news and other important info and news at the CT Section Page: http://ct.arrl.org
View and post Section events on the Section calendar.
Find a club near you at http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club
Get current ARES and digital info at the Connecticut ARES® Web page http://www.ctares.org.
Attention new hams: Want to see some videos about ham radio? Go to the K7AGE Channel where you will find lots of information. Watch for more sources in a few days.
you can apply for an ARRL station appointment. Program leaders are members of the Section manager's cabinet and are shown on this page and in most issues of Section News available to members through email.
We're looking for volunteers in Fairfield County to become official observers. For guidelines and form to apply see http://www.arrl.org/official-observer-1.
NTS Corner
The National Traffic System dates back to 1939 when George Hart, W1NJM skillfully created a way to route messages across the country in 24 hours. In Connecticut, we have nets that meet daily to handle traffic into and out of the Section. You too can get involved by contacting Section Traffic Manager Anne West K1STM firstname.lastname@example.com.
What is NTS? What are nets? What is traffic?
These questions are answered in this very nice guide written by Mark W2EAG and is used here with enthusiastic permission. There may be a couple of inconsistencies as some time has elapsed but they can be handled on a case-by case basis. The material is well written and represents a great deal of work by an avid traffic handler. I hope it is useful to you and that you enjoy the content.
View the net schedules and monthly station activity reports, net reports and public service honor roll totals and make plans to participate!
Handy Reference
Here are some items you will use daily when you handle traffic.
The official NTS guide Methods and Practices Guidelines is found at http://www.arrl.org/table-of-contents-nts-methods-and-practices-guidelines.
Various forms, handling instructions
Public Service Honor Roll
If you're an NTS operator or an ARES volunteer, you can be recognized on the Public Service Honor Roll by filing a report with your Section Traffic Manager at the beginning of the following month indicating your service. For many years, this was known to be an NTS-only award but categories for ARES participants were added some years ago so do file a report and be recognized! Read all about it at http://www.arrl.org/public-service-honor-roll.
- Links:
- The CT Section Page, CT ARES Web Page, American Council of the Blind Radio Amateurs, TIPS Net, Linked Repeaters in CT, New England Repeater Directory
Connecticut Officials
Section ManagerCharles I. Motes K1DFS
Public Info CoordinatorDana A. Borgman KA1WPM
Official Observer CoordinatorCharles A. Newman NA1CN
Assistant Section ManagerJames F. Ritterbusch KD1YV
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Section Youth CoordinatorDouglas Sharafanowich WA1SFH
Technical CoordinatorSteven M. Simons W1SMS
State Government LiaisonJonathan R. Beatty WF1H
Section Traffic ManagerAnne M. West K1STM
Section Emergency CoordinatorGary Michael Walters W8ZY
Connecticut Media
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- 1st Canadian Para...
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
I am a student at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio. For our energy class, I am assigned the task of designing and building a sunspace for a mobile, energy-efficient building (16 feet wide × 16 feet long × 10 feet high). How do I correctly size this sunspace and make it usable as living space?
Kelley Barstow • via email
It sounds like a great project! The sizing of the sunspace depends on what your objectives are. The most ambitious goal would be to heat the cabin using only the sunspace, and even include solar-heat storage. You'd need to make sure that the cabin is well-insulated and tight. This is a very tall order.
A less ambitious goal is to keep the sunspace environment warm enough for plants all day, and warm enough for people during the day and for a few hours after sunset. Within these constraints, you'd seek to generate a bit of space heating for the cabin. This is the way a lot of conventional sunspaces are sized.
For example, let's take a look at a less ambitious goal, and try to size a low-mass sunspace so that, on a sunny day, it generates heat for the cabin during the day and for a few hours after the sun sets. On cloudy days and for part of the night after a sunny day, the cabin would need another heat source. We'll assume:
You'll need to match the cabin's heat loss to the sunspace's heat gain. Looking at a sunny, 20°F day, the cabin's heat loss (assuming the above construction details) comes out about 4,700 Btu per hour. (You can use the heat-loss calculator at bit.ly/BIS-HeatLossCalc.) Since you're using efficient lighting and appliances, with a couple of people included, the internal heat gains might be 400 Btu per hour. That would give a net heat loss of 4,300 Btu per hour.
If the average outdoor temperature for the day is 20°F, then the 24-hour heat loss would be 103,200 Btu per day (4,300 Btu/hr. × 24 hrs.). This is about equivalent to 1.4 gallons of propane burned in an 80% efficient furnace.
That's the simplified heat-loss calculation—you could be more accurate with a simulation that takes into account hourly temperature variations and other things. You could also do it for your actual weather for the whole heating season, day by day.
Our example sunspace solar heat gain looks like this: The solar insolation for a sunny winter day is about 300 Btu per square-foot•hour. If you assume that a LTMS can achieve 50% efficiency, then its solar heat output would be 19,500 Btu per hour (300 Btu/ft.2•hr. × 130 ft.2 × 0.5 efficiency).
This is more than four times the per-hour heat loss from the cabin. That's good because:
You'll also need to follow the other design rules that are covered in the article "Low Thermal Mass Sunspaces" in HP158 and at the link above. Of particular importance is summer venting—the sunspace will be an oven without it.
The simple building energy performance estimators that I use are easy to understand, but if you want to take it to the next level of simulation accuracy, you might want to check out eQUEST or EnergyPlus, which also offers a plug-in for Google SketchUp.
Both of these software packages are free, but both have fairly steep learning curves. Don't get so wrapped up in these simulations that you lose sight of the basic physics that are going on.
Gary Reysa • builditsolar.com


text:
ExactSpy-Software Helps Tracks Cheating Spouse
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ExactSpy – Helps Tracks Cheating Spouse
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You Can Download: ExactSpy-Software Helps Tracks Cheating Spouse


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To predict the validity of Watch-PAT (WP) device for sleep disordered breathing (SDB) among highway bus drivers.
A total number of 90 highway bus drivers have undergone polysomnography (PSG) and Watch-PAT test simultaneously. Routine blood tests and the routine ear-nose-throat (ENT) exams have been done as well.
The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were 89.1%, 76.9%, 82% and 85.7% for RDI > 15, respectively. WRDI, WODI, W < 90% duration and Wmean SaO2 results were well correlated with the PSG results. In the sensitivity and specificity analysis, when diagnosis of sleep apnea was defined for different cut-off values of RDI of 5, 10 and 15, AUC (95%CI) were found as 0.84 (0.74-0.93), 0.87 (95%CI: 0.79-0.94) and 0.91 (95%CI: 0.85-0.97), respectively. There were no statistically significant differences between Stage1+2/Wlight and Stage REM/WREM. The percentage of Stage 3 sleep had difference significant statistically from the percentage of Wdeep. Total sleep times in PSG and WP showed no statistically important difference. Total NREM duration and total WNREM duration had no difference either.
Watch-PAT device is helpful in detecting SDB with RDI > 15 in highway bus drivers, especially in drivers older than 45 years, but has limited value in drivers younger than 45 years old who have less risk for OSA. Therefore, WP can be used in the former group when PSG is not easily available.
Yuceege M; Firat F; Demir A; Ardic S. Reliability of the Watch-PAT 200 in detecting sleep apnea in highway bus drivers. J Clin Sleep Med 2013;9(4):339-344.
There have been many traffic accidents in our country, and the total number is constantly increasing. In 2002, there were 439,958 traffic accidents, and in 2011, there were 1,228,938 accidents reported in Turkey.1 Being sleepy and nonstop driving without sleeping are the most common factors (70.3%) related to these traffic accidents.1 Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, insomnias, narcolepsy, periodic leg movements, jet lag, parasomnias, and depression may all lead to daytime sleepiness but are not routinely assessed in professional drivers.
In our country, an item published in the official register concerning polysomnography (PSG) indications for heavy-vehicle drivers states that any heavy vehicle driver applicant older than 45 years and those younger than 45 years with snoring, witnessed apnea, and/or daytime sleepiness with BMI > 25 should have a PSG before getting a license.2 However, the law is not in practical use because the number of applicants is substantially greater than the capacity of the sleep centers to test them; thus most of those who should have PSG testing cannot be tested.
In a previous study (the first part of this study), we utilized four questionnaires to define drivers at high risk for sleep apnea and found that the STOP-BANG questionnaire is helpful and easy to use and can identify drivers at risk for OSA. We concluded it might be a potential alternative diagnostic pathway when portable monitoring or PSG are not accessible.3
High cost, long waiting lists, and the requirement of one night of hospitalization limit the usage of PSG. Less expensive and more practical unattended portable devices are now available in many sleep labs. In the current study, we aimed at validating such a device by simultaneously studying patients with a portable device and multichannel polysomnography. We hypothesized that the portable device, the Watch-PAT 200, would be accurate in diagnosing OSA in bus drivers.
Current Knowledge/Study Rationale: Polysomnography is mandatory in drivers older than 45 years old and those with snoring, witnessed apnea and/or day time sleepiness who are younger than 45 years old, before getting a highway bus driver licence in Turkey, but the number of sleep centers are not enough to test all the applicants. This study has been done to test the accuracy of Watch-PAT device in detecting sleep disordered breathing among the highway bus drivers.
Study Impact: Watch-PAT device has been found to be helpful in detecting sleep disordered breathing especially in drivers older than 45 years old, thus it can be used to test sleep apnea before getting highway driver license, where polysomnography is not available.
We contacted two bus driver companies; 90 highway bus drivers willing to participate were enrolled to the study. The study was performed between September 2010 and December 2011. All participants underwent a simultaneous recording of PSG and the Watch-PAT 200.
PSG was performed for 5 h during the daytime after a full night's work (driving) without sleep. Fasting blood samples were taken for complete blood count, liver and renal function tests, spirometry, lipid panel, and thyroid function tests as routine tests for hospitalized patients. Drivers were analyzed for metabolic syndrome (according to ATPIII criteria). The results have previously been reported.3 Exclusion criteria were prior diagnosis of sleep apnea, α-blocker medication, bilateral sympathectomy, Raynaud disease, acrocyanosis, severe vasculopathy, neuropathy, and total sleep time < 180 min in PSG recordings. The study complied with the declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the local research ethics committee; all drivers gave written informed consent prior to participation.
All drivers underwent daytime polysomnography using the Compumedics E series (Compumedics, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia); ≥ 5 h of recording was performed, and those with total sleep time < 180 min were excluded from the study. PSG recordings included 6-channel electroencephalography, 2-channel electrooculography, 2-channel submental electromyography, oxygen saturation by an oximeter finger probe, respiratory movements via chest and abdominal belts, airflow both via nasal pressure sensor and oro-nasal thermistor, electrocardiography, and leg movements via both tibial anterolateral electrodes. Sleep stages and respiratory parameters were scored according to the standard criteria of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). Based on the guidelines of the AASM published in 2007, apnea was defined as ≥ 90% decrease in airflow persisting ≥ 10 s relative to the basal amplitude. Hypopnea was defined as ≥ 50% decrease in the airflow amplitude relative to the baseline value with an associated ≥ 3% oxygen desaturation or arousal, persisting ≥ 10 seconds.4
Apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was calculated based on the following formula: total number of obstructive apneas + hypopneas / total sleep time (h). Patients with a sleep recording of < 5 h or total sleep time < 180 min were excluded. Sleep stage scoring was done by using software (Profusion PSG 3) in 30-s epochs by a certified registered polysomnographic technologist according to AASM criteria.4 The scoring technologist was blind to the Watch-PAT device result.
Watch-PAT 200 (Itamar Medical, Caesarea, Israel) is a 4-channel unattended home device, categorized as Level 3 device by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The channels are: (1) PAT (peripheral arterial tone), (2) pulse oximetry, (3) heart rate, and (4) actigraphy.
Peripheral arterial tone (PAT) signal measures the arterial pulsatile volume changes of the finger that are regulated by α-adrenergic innervation of the smooth muscles of the vasculature of the finger, and thus reflects sympathetic nervous system activity. This augmentation in sympathetic activity accompanies the increase in heart rate and desaturation at the termination of respiratory events. Thus, the WP indirectly detects apnea/hypopnea events by identifying surges of sympathetic activation associated with the termination of these events.5,6
Descriptive statistics were provided as mean and standard deviation for numerical variables, and frequency and percentage for categorical variables. SPSS v 16.0 was used in the statistical analysis. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive values, and 95%CI were calculated for different cutoff values of RDI and AHI (5, 10, and 15) selected to diagnose OSA. Receiver operating curves (ROCs) were drawn to evaluate the validity of WP for the diagnosis of OSA. Area under curve (AUC) and 95% CI was calculated. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the correlation between PSG and WP. Agreement between the 2 methods was investigated with Bland-Altman plots for AHI, RDI, and ODI.7 The average of the findings of PSG and WP was graphed (x-axis) versus the difference between the PSG and WP (y-axis). Differences between the 2 methods were calculated as index measured with PSG minus index measured with WP. Differences were compared with 0 (no difference) and tested with one-sample t-test. A p value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant in the two sided testing.
Of 90 highway bus drivers who were evaluated, 85 were included in the study; 5 were excluded due to short total sleep time (< 180 min). All participants were male; 23 were younger than 45 years, and 62 were older than 45 years. All of the drivers were shift workers; none of them were regular daily drivers. Fifty-two percent of the drivers had RDI > 15. Thirty-nine of 62 drivers (62.9%) older than 45 years and 7/23 (30.4%) drivers younger than 45 years old had RDI > 15. We performed routine blood examinations from these consecutive hospitalized patients and we evaluated their associated values (fasting glucose, triglyceride, and HDL level) for "metabolic syndrome." The results were reported in our previous publication.3
The sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV were 89.1%, 76.9%, 82%, and 85.7% for RDI > 15, respectively. The specificity was 10% and sensitivity 96% for RDI > 5 (Table 1).
Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of Watch-PAT 200 for RDI > 5, RDI > 10, and RDI > 15 compared with polysomnography
(more ...)
WRDI (RDI measured by Watch-PAT), WODI (Oxygen de-saturation index measured by Watch-PAT), W < 90% duration (< 90% saturation measured by Watch-PAT), and Wmean SpO2 (Mean SpO2 measured by Watch-PAT) results were well correlated with the PSG results (Table 2). As shown in the Table 3, age was relevant for the correct performance of Watch PAT. Scatter plot graphics and ROC curves of the PSG data and WP data are shown in Figures 1 and 2, respectively. In the sensitivity specificity analysis, when diagnosis of OSA was defined for different cutoff values of RDI of 5, 10, and 15, AUC (95%CI) were found as 0.84 (0.74-0.93), 0.87 (0.79-0.94), and 0.91 (0.85-0.97), respectively.
Correlation between polysomnographic data and Watch-PAT data
Validity of Watch-PAT 200 by age < 45 years old and > 45 years old
Validity of Watch-PAT 200 by age 45 years old
(A) AHI, (B) RDI, and (C) ODI recorded by PSG and WP. Pearson correlation coefficients were 0.96, 0.90, and 0.92, respectively (p < 0.001 for all).
Scatter plots(A) AHI, (B) RDI, and (C) ODI recorded by PSG and WP. Pearson correlation coefficients were 0.96, 0.90, and 0.92, respectively (p
(A) RDI ≥ 5, (B) RDI ≥ 10, (C) RDI ≥ 15. Area under the curves and 95%CI's were 0.84 (0.74-0.93), 0.87 (0.79-0.94) and 0.91 (0.85-0.97), respectively.
Receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) analysis for the specificity and sensitivity for obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis of Watch-PAT for different cut-off values of PSG(A) RDI ≥ 5, (B) RDI ≥ 10, (C) RDI ≥ 15. Area under the curves and 95%CI's were 0.84 (0.74-0.93), 0.87 (0.79-0.94) and 0.91 (0.85-0.97), respectively.
Figure 3 shows the Bland-Altman plot of the comparison of 2 methods for AHI and RDI. The difference between the 2 methods was calculated as the index with PSG minus the index with WP. The difference had a mean (SD) -1.78 (4.18) for AHI, -1.43 (7.26) for RDI, and 0.54 (4.91) for ODI. WP AHIs were significantly larger than PSG AHIs. Differences for RDI and ODI were not significantly different from 0. Range of the differences (variance) increased with the mean value of the 2 methods, as illustrated in a funnel shaped graph. There was no systematic difference in RDI measurements.
(A) AHI, (B) RDI, (C) ODI. Differences were calculated as index with PSG minus index with WP. Means of PSG and WP findings are on the x-axis, and differences are on the y-axis. Lines on the y-axis are drawn from 0, mean difference and mean ± 1.96 × SD of the differences. Statistical comparison of the differences with 0 gave p values of < 0.001 for AHI, 0.07 for RDI, and 0.30 for ODI.
Bland-Altman plot of the comparison of two methods(A) AHI, (B) RDI, (C) ODI. Differences were calculated as index with PSG minus index with WP. Means of PSG and WP findings are on the x-axis, and differences are on the y-axis. Lines on the y-axis are drawn from 0, mean difference...
There were no statistically significant differences between stage1+2/Wlight, stage REM/WREM. The percentage of stage 3 sleep differed significantly from the percentage of Wdeep. Total sleep times in PSG and WP showed no statistically significant difference. There were also no significant differences in total NREM duration and total WNREM duration (Table 4).
Sleep stages of PSG and Watch-PAT
We planned to evaluate the reliability of Watch-PAT 200 in detecting sleep apnea in highway bus drivers and found that polysomnographic values were well correlated with Watch-PAT values; r = 0.9, 0.92, 1, and 0.76 (p < 0.001) for RDI, ODI, < 90% duration, and mean oxygen saturation, respectively. Watch-PAT identified the drivers with RDI > 15 with 89.1% sensitivity and 76.9% specificity. There are studies confirming the validation of Watch-PAT device simultaneously with PSG,5,8–12 detection of the arousals,6,13 and assessment of CPAP efficacy.14,15 This is the first study evaluating the reliability of Watch-PAT in a particular group, in this case, highway bus drivers.
The statement from the Joint Task Force of the ACCP, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the National Sleep Foundation recommends in-service evaluation if the driver falls into one of five categories:
Sleep history suggestive of OSA,
Two or more of the following:
neck circumference > 17 inches for men and > 16 inches for women;
hypertension (new, uncontrolled, or unable to control with fewer than two medications)
Epworth Sleepiness Scale score > 10
Previously diagnosed sleep disorder, but recent medical visits/compliance data not available for immediate review
AHI > 5 but < 30 and no excessive daytime somnolence, no motor vehicle accidents, and no hypertension requiring ≥ 2 agents to control.16
In our previous study involving the same 85 highway bus drivers, the STOP-BANG questionnaire was shown to have the highest sensitivity and negative predictive value (87% and 76%, respectively) of the four questionnaires tested (Berlin, STOP, OSA50, and STOP-BANG) to assess risk of OSA.3 As a second procedure, the Watch-PAT 200 can be used to evaluate OSA in those drivers with high risk for OSA with 89.1% sensitivity (Figure 4). Low risk drivers (according to the STOP-BANG questionnaire) had a prevalence of 24% of RDI > 15, with 83% sensitivity and 84% specificity.
Algorithm for diagnosing OSA in highway bus drivers with BMI > 25 (in relation with our previous study with the same drivers in Firat et al.3)
The disadvantages of Watch-PAT 200 are: (1) It does not differentiate the type of respiratory event (obstructive apnea, mixed apnea, central apnea, or hypopnea) (2) The detection of the respiratory event relies on the augmented sympathetic activity. However, not all the arousals are the cause of the respiratory events. Other disorders (e.g., severe periodic limb movements) that cause arousal from sleep can cause sympathetic activation. Because of this reason, WP RDI results were higher than the PSG RDI results and this may explain why specificity was lower than the sensitivity.
The advantages of the Watch-PAT are5:
It does not require a sleep technician; adjustments can be learned and performed by any personnel.
Scoring is automated.
Hospitalization is not required.
Comparing the Watch-PAT and standard polysomnography, there were no significant differences in total sleep time, total NREM, light sleep stages, or REM, but there was a difference in estimation of deep sleep. Deep NREM sleep shifted partially to light stage of NREM in Watch-PAT in our study.
The association between sleep states and autonomic output has been studied extensively. The transition from wake to sleep is associated with decreasing sympathetic activity and increasing parasympathetic activity. REM sleep is characterized by increased variability of sympathetic activity with mild changes in parasympathetic activity.17–19 Light and deep sleep are differentiated by autonomic activations manifested predominantly as higher and more stable parasympathetic activity in deep sleep than light NREM sleep. Autonomic nervous system effects on heart rate, heart rate variability, or peripheral tone may be of significant importance in evaluating the quality of NREM sleep. The Watch-PAT recorder is based predominantly on recordings of peripheral arterial tone signal and pulse rate (two important outputs of the autonomic nervous system).18 In our study, the PAT signals helped to differentiate REM from NREM.
In Hedner's study,17 sleep stages were analyzed epoch by epoch with PSG; the authors reported accuracy of Watch-PAT as 0.475 Cohen κ in differentiating sleep stages. In their study, 14,351 deep stage epochs according to PSG were classified as deep stage in Watch-PAT, while 12,409 epochs classified as deep stage in PSG were classified as light sleep by the Watch-PAT. The statistical analyses showed moderate accuracy (Cohen κ coefficient 0.45). We were unable to analyze Watch-PAT epoch by epoch and calculate a Cohen κ coefficient.
Hypertension can be a cause of augmented sympathetic activity, and it is possible that this augmentation can lead to less deep sleep percentage in Watch-PAT, but this theory warrants further investigation.
We used Watch-PAT 200 in our study. Most of the studies are with Watch-PAT 100 device.5,6,8–15,18,19 Recently, Watch-PAT 200 has been shown to provide quick diagnosis in OSA and to be valid in the diagnosis of OSA during pregnancy.20,21
Our particular question was the reliability of this device in the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea in highway bus drivers. The feature of distinguishing sleep stages helps to augment the reliability of the device. Sleep staging and sleep architecture are important for understanding sleep pathology. In OSA patients, decreased REM continuity and deep sleep quantitity are hallmarks of the disease. Evaluating the patient as a whole with sleep structure, not with only AHI or RDI, helped to augment the diagnosis of OSA in our study group. The Watch-PAT had high sensitivity and specificity values when compared with PSG in the diagnosis of OSA in drivers with RDI > 15 and older than 45 years old, but the reliability of this device was limited especially in drivers with RDI < 15 (10% specificity, 25% NPV, Table 1) and younger than 45 years old (71% sensitivity 75% specificity, Table 3).
As all the drivers in the study were night drivers, we could not investigate the effect of sleep deprivation on PSG results. Some studies have shown that sleep deprivation may worsen the obstructive sleep apnea index.22,23
The major limitation of this study is that the comparison of the results of Watch-PAT and polysomnography were not performed epoch by epoch; total scores were compared because of the technical limitations of synchronizing PSG and Watch-PAT data. There are validation studies using epoch-by-epoch analysis.17,18 This limitation can have potential effect on defining sleep stages.
In our study, we found that the Watch-PAT 200 is helpful in detecting OSA in highway bus drivers, particularly in drivers older than 45, who have higher risk of OSA. The Watch-PAT 200 has limited value in diagnosing OSA in drivers younger than 45 years, who have less risk of OSA. Both polysomnography and Watch-PAT tests were performed during the same day which would be controlling the day-to-day variability of sleep study. Since the Watch-PAT test was performed in the sleep lab, it would be difficult to make inference about the clinical use of Watch-PAT in the ambulatory setting. We think that the Watch-PAT findings in the sleep lab and ambulatory setting would not be different, except for the changes in the quality of sleep due to sleeping in the lab. This should be investigated in further studies.
This was not an industry supported study. The authors have indicated no financial conflicts of interest.
The authors thank the Turkish Thoracic Society for providing financial support for this study.
Turkish National Traffic Statistics of general Directorate of Security Affairs. 2012. Updated. Available from UTL: http://www.trafik.gov.tr/istatistikler/10_yil_istatistik.asp.
Official Register in Turkey with 26.09.2006 date and item no: 26301. Available from URL: http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/2006/09/20060926-6.htm.
Firat H, Yuceege M, Demir A, Ardic S, authors. Comparison of four established questionnaires to identify highway bus drivers at risk for obstructive sleep apnea in Turkey. Sleep Biol Rhythms. 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1479-8425.2012.00566.x. [PubMed Central][PubMed]
American Academy of Sleep Medicine.. International classification of sleep disorders: diagnostic and coding manual. 2005. 2nd ed. Westchester IL: American Academy of Sleep Medicine;
Bar AB, Pillar G, Dvir I, Sheffy J, Schnall RP, Lavie P, authors. Evaluation of a portable device based on peripheral arterial tone for unattended home sleep studies. Chest. 2003;123:695–703. [PubMed]
Pillar G, Bar A, Shlitner A, Schnall R, Shefy J, Lavie P, authors. Autonomic arousal index detection based on peripheral arterial tonometry. Sleep. 2002;25:543–9. [PubMed]
Bland JM, Altman DG, authors. Statistical methods for assessing agreement between two methods of clinical measurement. Lancet. 1986;327:307–10
Zou D, Grote L, Peker Y, Linblad U, Hedner J, authors. Validation of a portable device for sleep apnea diagnosis in a population based cohort using synchronized home polysomnography. Sleep. 2006;29:367–74. [PubMed]
Pittman SD, Ayas NT, MacDonald MM, Malhotra A, Fogel RB, White DP, authors. Using a wrist-worn device based on peripheral arterial tonometry to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea: in-laboratory and ambulatory validation. Sleep. 2004;27:923–33. [PubMed]
Ayas NT, Pittman S, MacDonald MM, White DP, authors. Assessment of a wrist-worn device in the detection of obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Med. 2003;4:435–42. [PubMed]
Kenny P. Pang, Christine G. Gourin, David J. Terris, authors. A comparison of polysomnography and the WatchPAT in the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2007;137:665–8. [PubMed]
Hedner J, Pillar G, Pittman DS, Zou D, Grote L, White D, authors. A Novel adaptive wrist actigraphy algorithm for sleep-wake assessment in sleep apnea patients. Sleep. 2004;27:1560–6. [PubMed]
Pillar G, Bar A, Betito M, et al., authors. An ambulatory device for detection of AASM defined arousals from sleep: the WP100. Sleep Med. 2003;4:207–12. [PubMed]
Pittman SD, Pillar G, Berry RB, Malhotra A, Macdonald MM, White DP, authors. Follow-up assessment of CPAP efficacy in patients with obstructive sleep apnea using an ambulatory device based on peripheral arterial tonometry. Sleep Breath. 2006;10:123–31. [PubMed]
Berry RB, Hill G, Thompson L, McLaurin V, authors. Portable monitoring and auto-titration versus polysomnography for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea. Sleep. 2008;31:1423–31. [PubMed Central][PubMed]
Hartenbaum N, Collop N, Rosen IM, et al., authors. Sleep apnea and commercial motor vehicle operators. Statement from the Joint Task Force of the ACCP, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the National Sleep Foundation. Chest. 2006;130:902–5. [PubMed]
Hedner J, White DP, Malhotra A, et al., authors. Sleep staging based on autonomic signals: a multi-center validation study. J Clin Sleep Med. 2011;7:301–6. [PubMed Central][PubMed]
Bresler M, Sheffy K, Pillar G, Preiszler M, Herscovici S, authors. Differentiating between light and deep sleep stages using an ambulatory device based on peripheral arterial tonometry. Physiol Meas. 2008;29:571–84. [PubMed]
Hersovici S, Peker A, Papyan S, Lavie P, authors. Detecting REM sleep from the finger; an autonomic REM sleep algorithm based on peripheral arterial tone and actigraphy. Physiol Meas. 2007;28:129–40. [PubMed]
Ceylan T, Firat H, Kuran G, Ardic S, Bilgin E, Celenk F, authors. Quick diagnosis in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: WatchPAT-200. Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2012;14:475–8. [PubMed Central][PubMed]
O'Brien LM, Bullough AS, Shelgikar AV, Chames MC, Armitage R, Chervin RD, authors. Validation of Watch-PAT 200 against polysomnography during pregnancy. J Clin Sleep Med. 2012;8:287–94. [PubMed Central][PubMed]
Paciorek M, Korczynski P, Bielicki P, Byskiniewicz K, Zielinski J, Chazan R, authors. Obstructive sleep apnea in shift workers. Sleep Med. 2011;12:274–7. [PubMed]
Laudencka A, Klawe JJ, Tafil-Klawe M, Ztomanczuk P, authors. Does night-shift work induce apnea events in obstructive sleep apnea patients? J Physiol Pharmacol. 2007;58 Suppl:(Pt 1):345–7. [PubMed]


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DETROIT - There was a collective sigh.
That was followed by disbelief. Lastly, it was followed by loud boos.
That was the scene at On The Rocks, a sports bar in Madison Heights. Fans had come for a Lions NFL Draft party hosted by WDFN's Sports Night with Parker and The Man.
Then, Twitter and Facebook erupted with fans disappointed that the Lions used their first round pick, the 10th overall, to draft North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron.
It's not that Ebron can't play. He was considered the best TE on the draft board. It's just that the Lions had many needs and a tight end wasn't one of them.
Most fans were hoping the Lions would address the defense with a cornerback to help that horrid secondary that gave up four, fourth-quarter leads last season.
Many hoped the Lions would land either Oklahoma State CB Justin Gilbert or Michigan State CB Darqueze Dennard. Both were drafted in the first round.
A shock by the selection of Ebron is a understatement. In fact, nine media members were polled on Lions.com before the draft. Eight picks were of defensive players. Only one person picked Ebron. It was the Lions' radio play-by-play man. Hence, he might have been tipped off in advance by the organization.
The Lions' spin of the unpopular pick was that Ebron could be the next Jimmy Graham, the talented Saints' TE.
"The guy's a very special offensive weapon," GM Martin Mayhew said to media after the pick. "I talked earlier (this offseason) at the league meetings about there being a certain number of elite, I thought, athletes and prospects in the Top 10. He's one of those guys I was talking about."
Still, fans aren't worried about the offense. It's the defense that hasn't been good enough to win in a division with stud QBs Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler.
It's way the Lions' pick made many fans say, "SOL - same old Lions."
Sherman on the Money
Fresh off a new $57 million deal, Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman was right on the money.
And his comments had nothing to do with his new contract.
In a Time Magazine story, Sherman didn't bite his tongue when talking about how the Donald Sterling scandal was handled.
It's been more than a week since the NBA banned Sterling for life after the Los Angeles Clippers owner was caught on tape in a racist rant.
Sherman praised the NBA and how it took action against Sterling. He went onto say that he didn't believe the NFL would have done the same thing.
He pointed to the simple fact that the NFL has a team called the Redskins, a racist name to many.
"No I don't," Sherman said. "Because we have an NFL team called the Redskins. I don't think the NFL is as concerned as they show. The NFL is more of a bottom line league. If it doesn't affect their bottom line, they're not concerned."
When NBA commissioner Adam Silver threw the book at Sterling - which included the process of forcing him to sell his team along with lifetime banishment - the NBA players clearly won after threatening a boycott.
On that day, it was interesting to see NFL players tweet in support of their NBA brothers.
Sadly, the NFL players union has been even softer than players from the Association. So often, they have been pushed around and bullied by their own commissioner.
In this case, the NFL had a similar situation this past year and handled it totally different.
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper got caught on tape using the N-word last year. Not to one person, but about all black people at a country music concert.
Cooper got off.
Sterling was caught saying on tape about black people. And how ironic, Sterling never used the N-word. Cooper did and was allowed to keep playing.
The players allowed a guy who had no issue using a degrading word in public despite a league and locker room where more than 70% of the league is African American.
The NFL players union has also turned its head to the Washington Redskins flap over team's racist name.
It's not a Native American fight. It's a right, wrong fight.
The Washington name controversy could have been solved already.
You wouldn't need Native American groups to protest or picket outside stadiums around NFL America. You wouldn't need the NFL commissioner to step in use his ultimate power to get this name change to happen.
All it would take is for all African American players on the team to stand together and demand it.
Yes, it's that simple.
Copyright 2014 by ClickOnDetroit.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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In my last boat my whole stereo was car audio equipment and it worked great
Great thread. I'm either upgrading my tunes or my boat this Winter. Would like to buy car amps and take a bit of the pain out of a stereo upgrade. Since I trailer my boat to the water and is otherwise kept in my nice and dry shop, I'm thinking I'm going to be okay with car amps.
Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The X-Star
I Put a JL XD600/6 in for my 4 in boat speakers and 2 tower speakers.
Added Kenwood KAC-9105D for my sub.
Neither one is a marine rated amp.
Mounted inside up off the floor. No problems at all.
91' Maristar 210.
I've got a Boss 4 channel "marine" amp running two tower speakers and a sub. It works well, but can get pretty hot. Anyone have any suggestions for fans? What/where to buy, how to power them, etc...
Edit: I may have come up with a solution. I ordered a 5", 12volt fan for $7 from sonicelectronics.com. I should be able to connect directly to the battery. Just need to figure out how to mount it to the amp. I still welcome other suggestions!
Last edited by dvsone79; 11-26-2012 at 06:15 PM. Reason: Answered my own question
An amp getting hot to the touch, is not abnormal, especially with a Class-A/B. Even the more efficient Class-D amps get hot. The heat generated can be attributed to a few external factors and may be addressable. Is the amp getting hot enough to shut down for a period?
Cable gauge feeding amp: too small for current draw x distance can effect the amps efficiency, resulting in added heat and quicker thermal shutdown.
Speaker load per amp chnl. What speakers and how many total is the amp driving? As the amp's load, measured in speaker(s) impedance, will determine the amps output (on a typical amp but not all), so as the impedance drops, the amp works harder. This means more heat produced.
Tuning. Gains too high and cross-over points too low can cause the amp to work harder. Reducing the gains, setting all the full-range speakers to Hi-Pass and upping the cross-over point will lighten the work load of the amp.
When needed, external fans will work. The trick is to get the air flowing from the bottom as heat rises. Also orienting the amps vertically, will allow the heat off the heat-sinks to rise up and off the amp. When mounted horizontally the heat from the bottom heat-sink rolls across the upper heat-sink, reducing its effectiveness. If fans are used, you need to construct it so you have fresh air coming in via one fan and a means to pull the hot air out. Simply blowing hot air from locker across the amps does little.
There are lots of 12V fans out there. They can be easily wired up with a relay that triggered when the amps turn on, or with a manual switch. If you dig enough, there are some temp sensors out there that will turn the fan on at a calibrated point.
Great info MLA. The amp is running two 100w tower speakers on channels 1 and 2, with channels 3 and 4 bridged to the sub. It gets hot to the touch, but hasn't shut off on me yet. The power cables are 4 gauge, and short in length, which I initially thought was overkill.
Also, iirc, I've got high pass turned on for the tower speakers and low pass for the sub.
Great! I would not say that a pair of 4 ohm tower speakers on 1 half of the amp and a 4 ohm sub bridged on the other half is over taxing an amp by any means. If it was, you should be seeing the amp going into thermal shut down. 4ga power cabling is perfect. Hi-pass on the tower speakers is ideal. So far, I think everything is ok. If you are not seeing any issues playing it hard on a hot summer day, then I would worry about it being hot to the touch, which is normal. If it does, then you can look into some ventilation. One other trick I forgot to mentions is to mount the amp on some short stand-off is its mounted to a carpeted wall. This adds some additional air space.
Another cooling point worth mentioning is that an amplifier fan cover shroud will multiply a fans effectiveness many times. Otherwise, the fan mostly circulates air around the fan perimeter and pushes or pulls air a very short distance away from the fan. Ideally you would like to see the fan encompass the amplifier's entire heatsink surface area.
Most any thin, rigid material (.25" or so) can be used to create a fan shroud, such as wood, ABS, aluminum, plex, a cutting board, etc. The shroud would be the identical footprint of the amplifier and elevated above the heatsink by .5" with 'Z' (double 'L') brackets. The fan would be mounted in the center of the shroud.
Off on a bit of a tangent but related to amplifier heat....there are two seperate functions inside every amplifier. One is the DC to AC to DC switching power supply which is outside the signal path in most topologies. The other, the second, is the audio booster so to speak. As you halve the load resistance (impedance) you will increase the power on the audio booster side. But efficiency drops as the load becomes lower and with a drop in efficiency the ratio of heat generated to power produced to the speakers can get ugly. Now, on the power supply it is a fixed output with a definite ceiling. Ohm's Law no longer applies to the power supply side. It's forgiveable to load an amplifier down on half the channels but loading the amplifier down to the minimum on ALL channels will definitely tax the supply. The result? Voltage from the supply sags. And the amplifier works even less efficiently as the voltage drops. It's possible to load an amplifier down to get a 60 percent increase in power that can generate as much as 4 times the heat! So the initial system design and power management is a big part of it. Sure, fans can help dissipate heat but at the core more heat is an indication of wasted energy.
Earmark Marine
I've attached 3 5" 12volt fans on it, and wired them up with the positive wires going to the REM wire of the amp, and the negative going to the ground wire on the amp. I'm thinking that will cause them to turn on when the amp turns on, and turn off when the amp turns off.
It ain't pretty, but I think it will keep the amp significantly cooler.
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Happy Canada Day / Free Agent Bonanza Day
So, here it is, July 1st… one of the more fun days in the NHL world – the first day of the free agency period (starts at 10PM EST today).
As with every year, there are several players out there that are available through the UFA market. The Fourth Period has compiled a list of the top 30 available UFAs, most of which would be of no interest to the Oilers though. But there are others out there… Continue reading 'Happy Canada Day / Free Agent Bonanza Day'»


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Posted June 03, 2003 by publisher in Cuban Cigars
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Reprinted from the April 2003 Issue of Cigar Aficionado
By James Suckling
The new Jose Mart� factory
The world's most storied cigar producer is creating modern manufacturing sites for its premium hand-rolled products.
Cuban cigar factories are changing for the better. What they are going to look like is going to be hard for some to believe, or even understand. They will be well-appointed buildings and comfortable workplaces where tobacco and people are efficiently managed in the best way possible to produce the best possible cigars.
At least this was the idea I had when I visited two new factories in Havana late last year.
I saw the factories, one in Nuevo Vedado and the other in Boyeros, two neighborhoods outside old Havana. The buildings were still just freshly painted shells, but the plans, according to Fernando Lopez, the head of all Cuban cigar factories, was to "create modern and efficient factories in which to make cigars." Some of the buildings' interiors were already constructed, with everything from marble floors to the latest in ventilation, humidity and temperature control, as well as bright and clear lighting.
Images of clean and well-run factories in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua ran through my mind. Lopez described what the new factories would become as we walked through the building sites. It seemed slightly surreal strolling through the expansive modern interiors after more than a decade of visiting historical, decaying cigar factories, the norm in Cuba. I had to keep pinching myself as a reminder that I was still in Havana.
The fabrica in Nuevo Vedado formerly was used to make Partagas cigarillos, also called minis, while the building in Boyeros was used to produce H. Upmann cigarettes. The former will become the H. Upmann factory while the latter will comprise the consolidation of the La Corona and Por Larra�aga factories. Meanwhile, the Heroes del Moncada factory is due to be closed. The four old factories will no longer produce cigars. Apparently, very little from them will be moved to the new plants, other than the workforce. The ancient factories were too decrepit to merit repairing; the Cubans thought it was better to start from scratch.
The old rolling room at the Jose Mart� factory in Havana
It won't be the same visiting the new Jose Mart� and other factories when they are finally finished this spring. The old factories have a place in my heart. It always has been like taking a time machine back to the 1950s in Havana. You walked through run-down buildings with their stained walls and floors, crumbling wooden work benches, and dim fluorescent lighting. The air in these factories was so dense with tradition that it was almost hard to breathe; they were saturated in human toil and historic craftsmanship combined with a good dose of mature tobacco.
A visit to Jose Mart� or any other Havana factory for a keen cigar smoker was almost like a trip to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem for a devout Jew. There was nothing like it. The history, and the sense of tradition in those old cigar temples, enhanced the visitor's appreciation of a great hand-rolled Cuban cigar. I only hope that other Americans have the chance to visit Havana very soon to catch a glimpse of the old ways.
The fact remains that the working conditions in Jose Mart� and a number of other Havana factories were always less than ideal for making quality cigars. I am no industrial engineer, but it has been pretty obvious that the flow of materials in such factories as Jose Mart� and La Corona was not optimal. A lot of the inefficiency was due to the layout of the buildings. "These factories were not designed for the production of cigars today," says Evis Placer, the vice president of logistics for Habanos S.A., the global distribution company for Cuban cigars. "The rooms are small and there is just not enough room to do things properly."
Moreover, I have to believe that the workers, from the men and women who take the tobacco out of bales to those who roll cigars, are going to be a lot happier. Therefore, the factories should make better cigars. As picturesque as some of these old factories are, the working conditions are difficult, particularly in the hot, humid summer. Cigar rollers must feel more like members of a chain gang rather than talented craftsmen who make one of the greatest handmade products on earth. Whether it has the same image or not, a new, professional environment is bound to give workers more confidence in their work.
Another reason that many of Cuba's best cigar workers will take more pride in their work is that many brands will soon be produced in one unique factory. So, in many cases, several cigar brands will no longer be rolled in various factories.
Obviously, this is not going to be the case for big names such as Montecristo or Partagas, in which tens of millions of cigars a year are sold under their distinctive labels. But small brands are going to be made in specific factories, according to Lopez. He added that Cuba has 34 cigar brands (not all are in wide use) and that the production of about two dozen of them are concentrated, or are being concentrated, into single factories.
Here is a partial list of the factories where most of the brands are or will be made. The brands in boldface are made in more than one factory, but the one where they are listed in bold type simply oversees all the production, even those sizes made at other sites:
Nueva La Corona (Miguel Fern�ndez Roig), Havana: Punch, San Cristobal de la Habana, Hoyo de Monterrey, Flor de Cano, Por Larra�aga, Belinda and Caba�as
Partagas (Francisco Perez Germ�n), Havana: Partagas, Bolivar, La Gloria Cubana and Ramon Allones
Romeo y Julieta (Antonio Briones Montoto), Havana: Romeo y Julieta, Cuaba, Saint Luis Rey, Quai d'Orsay, and Rey del Mundo
Nueva H. Upmann (Jose Mart�), Havana: Montecristo, H. Upmann and Diplom�ticos
El Laguito, Havana: Cohiba and Trinidad
La Habana, Havana: Fonseca, Sancho Panza and Juan Lopez
Rey del Mundo (mostly machine-made), Havana: Statos de Luxe, Troya and Gispert
Pinar del R�o (Francisco Donatien): Vegas Robaina and Vegueros
Holgu�n: Jose L Piedra
Cienfuegos: Quintero
The consolidation of Cuban cigar production is a critical change. I always wondered how quality and consistency could be properly maintained when a large majority of the brands were made in various factories. I had assumed that it was possible to make a consistent blend in a particular cigar and brand in different factories, but seeing the process with my own eyes gave me great doubts. This was especially true a few years back when unrealistically high production goals were set. How could the Cubans ever keep track of everything when cigar factories were making smokes at a feverish pace, often with many unskilled rollers?
Worse, I found many cigars tasted similar from about 1996 to 2000. Or at best, some very strong cigars such as Bolivar tasted rather insipid. I remember one cigar roller who had worked at Partagas. He recalled the floor manager telling him not to worry about what he was making. "It is all the same," the supervisor had said. "We will just change the bands."
Lopez argues that cigars were never made that way, but he admits that the blends may have suffered during the rapid production expansion. He said that the factories are now fine-tuning blends, even going back to old styles and characters of specific brands and sizes. "For a few years we've made some changes in some of the vitolas [sizes], but we're now at a stage where we are evaluating this situation and trying to go back to the original mix in those vitolas that traditionally had a different mix," he says. "The time and the raw materials are available, so now is the time to reevaluate those vitolas and go back to their traditional flavors."
Of course, I never wanted to believe such stories of Cuban cigars all being the same except for the band. But many cigar aficionados remained keen on buying their cigars according to where they were produced, believing that some factories were better than others. That's one reason I broke the secret factory code several years ago to give everyone the opportunity to buy cigars from the factory of their choice. Today, factory codes are still printed on the bottom of every box, but they change periodically.
Obviously, some factories still produce better cigars than others. It's inevitable, because making cigars is not a classic industrial endeavor. People make the difference, whether it's a floor manager with a good attitude or a roller with great pride. People with the proper motivation make better cigars. There's no doubt about that. Rollers who can concentrate on one brand, or even one size, also tend to make better cigars.
Of course, all this may very soon be obvious to everyone when the new factories start functioning at full speed and the consolidation of brand production is completed. We should all be smoking much better quality Habanos very soon indeed.
was wondering if you have heard of a factory stamp that says EAR Nov 2003 on the box and is there such a factory code this would be of great help thank you
I believe the EAR code signifies the La Corona factory.
excellent article! ever heard of a factory called "pantages"? not partagas, but pantages. out of it coming both romeo y julieta and monte cristo? thanks