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0 Members and 1 Lonely Barbarian are spying on this topic.
As promised, sentient art item posted- 101 Festival Attenders.
Submitted sentient clothes.
it claims that it is an article.
Quoteit claims that it is an article."It" doesn't claim to be an article. I claim it to be No glitch. It is not a location. It is a state of mind.
Congratulations on the birth of your daughter!!
However, while Riddlerock clearly shows up in articles, it also shows up in locations/Area. The Barbarian Horde never even thought to be upset at this combination not existing.
Quote Btw, now that I've re-discovered this thread, i shall endeavor to help un-upset the horde! What do we need besides a lot of different "doors"? Your assistance is appreciated. I have been updating the first post in this thread, keeping track of every empty combination, and logging the contributions of each Strolenite to the appeasement of the horde. So bookmark page 1 of this thread to stay updated. Unfortunately, there are no notifications when I modify that post, so I will occasionally remind everyone of who is the greatest Barbarian Horde Appeaser in the Citadel.
Btw, now that I've re-discovered this thread, i shall endeavor to help un-upset the horde! What do we need besides a lot of different "doors"?
Would a sentient burlap bag-npc be considered, "materials-sentient" or ?
Remember this parody spam from the golden years of spammage? ...
Ruins- cyberspaceAn old social media site where the only ones left are the dead - and thread necromancy is very real.
Page created in 0.919 seconds with 33 queries.


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WJXX-TV, Jacksonville, Fla., reported Friday.
A report form the Clay County Sheriff's Office said Pitts was wearing a black "DEA" tee shirt, with khaki utility pants and what appeared to be a "drop leg" holster for a weapon. The deputy who pulled him over asked him to step out of his car and noticed he was also wearing handcuffs in the back of a "duty style" belt, the report said.
When asked for identification, Pitts allegedly patted his pockets and said, " Oh man, I left my ID, my badge and my gun in my locker at the station." The deputy said he asked Pitts who he worked for and Pitts allegedly responded that he was a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency.
The deputy then allegedly asked for Pitts' name and date of birth, to which he allegedly replied "Special Agent Terence Dunbar, April 30, 1984," the report said.
The deputy then placed a call to the DEA to verify Pitts' alleged identity as a field agent, but found there was no information on an officer at the DEA matching the information Pitts allegedly provided.
During a subsequent search of Pitts' car, the deputy found Pitts' wallet with a Florida identification card, but no driver's license. A stun gun was also allegedly found in the center console of Pitts' vehicle, the police report said.
Pitts was arrested on charges of impersonating an officer. He is being held at the Clay County Jail without bond.

subset: commoncrawl


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The View From 1776
§ American Traditions
§ People and Ideas
§ Decline of Western Civilization: a Snapshot
§ Books to Read
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
Obama Enlists Scientific Fraud To Further Socialistic World Government
The president manifestly is an ignoramus with regard to economics, as evidenced by his deficit-spending stimulus programs and other economic interventions that have produced the longest major recession and debauching the dollar since FDR's Great Depression in the 1930s.
He suffers the same deficiency regarding science.
In his inaugural address, and on many other occasions, Obama cites consensus among climate study fraudsters as more worthy of consideration than the simple, unavoidable fact that there has been no global warming for at least the most recent dozen years.
Nonetheless, Obama continues his pursuit of uneconomic, and often destructive, "green" policies, including bankrupting the coal mining industry. As the fraudulent "scientists" of global warming admit themselves, global warming has always been nothing more than a panic lever to push us toward a world socialistic government in order to redistribute wealth on a global scale.
Read In Their Own Words: Climate Alarmists Debunk Their 'Science' on the Forbes website.
IPCC official Ottmar Edenhofer, speaking in November 2010, advised that: "…one has to free oneself from the illusion that international climate policy is environmental policy. Instead, climate change policy is about how we redistribute de facto the world's wealth…"
…subordinating climate science to ideology, however well intentioned, have proven to be incredibly costly.
The U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO) reports that federal climate spending has increased from $4.6 billion in 2003 to $8.8 billion in 2010 (a total $106.7 billion over that period). This doesn't include $79 billion more spent for climate change technology research, tax breaks for "green energy", foreign aid to help other countries address "climate problems"; another $16.1 billion since 1993 in federal revenue losses due to green energy subsidies; or still another $26 billion earmarked for climate change programs and related activities in the 2009 "Stimulus Bill".
Virtually all of this is based upon unfounded representations that we are experiencing a known human-caused climate crisis, a claim based upon speculative theories, contrived data and totally unproven modeling predictions. And what redemptive solutions are urgently implored? We must give lots of money to the U.N. to redistribute; abandon fossil fuel use in favor of heavily subsidized but assuredly abundant, "free", and "renewable" alternatives; and expand federal government growth, regulatory powers, and crony capitalist-enriched political campaign coffers.
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RENTON, Wash. – Two or three years down the line, Richard Sherman or Earl Thomas might feel much like Marshawn Lynch does now: underpaid on a contract that once helped set the market with multiple years to go.
Lynch began his holdout Friday in hopes the Seattle Seahawks will upgrade his deal, which has two years and $13 million remaining. But the precedent such an upgrade would set is perhaps the most important reason the Seahawks don't seem interested in appeasing their star running back with more money.
"It's a contract for a reason. We made a decision and it was signed, by us and by them," Carroll told USA TODAY Sports after the Seahawks' first training camp practice. "We expect them to honor their contract just as we will. We're going to honor it and we expect them to do the same. …
"We've had a big plan for a long time working here, and Marshawn is a huge part of that plan, and we made a huge commitment to him a couple years ago. He remains a big part of that plan – if he'll show up. The same thing will carry over to Doug (Baldwin) and Richard and Earl and Kam (Chancellor) and all of the guys that have signed with us."
Carroll said he doesn't have any idea when or if Lynch might show up. He faces a $30,000 fine for each day he misses and partial signing bonus forfeiture if his absence reaches six days.
"He's got his own mind on this," Carroll said. "We've communicated quite a bit, and I know where he is on it and we just have to see what happens."
The four-year, $30 million contract Lynch signed in March 2012 already has paid him $17 million. The $7.5 million average per year remains among the top six for NFL running backs, even after Kansas City's Jamaal Charles got a raise following his own holdout threat with the Chiefs this week.
Lynch's deal has been surpassed on his own team, though. Thomas signed a new five-year, $44.7 million contract in April. The next week, Sherman signed a five-year, $57.4 million deal. Percy Harvin got a six-year, $67 million deal last offseason.
All three contracts rank among the top deals at the players' respective positions for now. But with the salary cap rising in concert with NFL revenue, there figures to come a time those players may not be happy with their cash flow either.
If the reigning Super Bowl champions depart from the plan and redo Lynch's deal now, how can they say no to the next star player who asks?
"Obviously, we want Marshawn here," quarterback Russell Wilson, who's next in line for a lucrative contract extension, told USA TODAY Sports. "He's a great friend of mine. He's a guy who works so hard. It's one of those things where we want him here, for sure.
"But it's also a great opportunity for Robert Turbin, who's an unbelievable running back. He's strong, physical, fast, quick. Christine Michael, too, a young guy. We're excited about seeing those guys step up to the plate and see what they can do."
Turbin took the first rep with the Seahawks' starting offense Friday. Michael mixed in as well. It raised memories of a year ago, when Harvin was a surprise scratch for the first day of training camp last year and ended up undergoing hip surgery that cost him almost the entire season.
"It isn't about one guy. It hasn't been," Carroll said. "We have a lot of really good football players here, and the opportunities for the guys to take advantage of that spot is extraordinary and they're going for it. I think that's a really good illustration of how our language was last year with Percy, our language is now again, because that's what we believe."
The Sept. 4 opener against the Green Bay Packers is still almost six weeks away. And Wilson said he believes Lynch will be there.
"I definitely expect that and hope so," Wilson said. "He's a competitor. He's a guy who wants to play, a guy who loves the game of football, a guy who loves his teammates. We love him to death, too. We pray and hope that he's here, just because he's a great friend and great teammate."
If Lynch is set on returning with a raise, though, he may be waiting for a while.


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Swimming Pool Blog
by Myles McMorrow - February 28, 2009
With a growing trend of eco-friendly products on the market from solar self charging cell phones to smart cars, most people are trying to do their part to save our planet. A lot of these folks are cutting back on power consumption or saving water, or recycling more. Many swimming pool owners do not know that swimming pools can be green too ( I am not talking about algae in the water).
There are many products on the market that can make a pool more eco-friendly and help cut back on energy bills and save water too. I will cover most in this article to educate all of you pool owners out there. There are also techniques or methods of operating your pool that can save energy, while not requiring new products to do so.
Let's start with the biggest source of free energy on the planet, the sun. The sun of course heats the pool, but also evaporates your pool water. There has been a product on the market for about 30 years now that is nontoxic and biodegradable that does two things for your pool. The first is it will slow down the evaporation of the water (farmers also use this on irrigation ponds). The second thing is a byproduct of the first, it slows down the heat loss, keeping the pool warmer. For more product info click here: https://www.poolcenter.com/liquid_solar_heating.htm
Now for the next part of the power of the sun, free heat. For years now people have used the sun to heat their pools using solar heat. What you might not know is the US department of energy says solar pool heating is the most efficient use of solar energy there is ( yep, that's right - beats solar electricity production).Have you ever been on top of a roof in the middle of summer? Then you know the temperature can reach over 140 degrees. Why not put that heat in the pool? Solar panels are not that expensive and will pay for themselves in about 2 years.
They are easy to install and can be used to pre heat the water before conventional gas or electric pool heater to keep the gas and power bills lower. There are many types of Solar Pool Heaters on the market with many installation options from roof tops to fences to just laying on the ground. If you have the room, why not get free heat and lower your bills, right? The cost for a 40,000 gallon pool (about 20x40 ft & 8 ft deep end) is only about $2000 DIY installed. For more info click here https://www.poolcenter.com/solar_pool_heating.htm.
Next Blog post we will look at more ways to enjoy a blue pool, while being green!


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|swing, jazz, blues, rhythm & blues: This Johnny Nocturne CD is unique in that it features all three vocalist that have worked with the band over the years. All the tracks are previously unreleased. Brenda Boykin performs a beautiful rendition of "When Did You Leave Heaven," Kim Nalley is her usual sassy self with "That Cat's Evil," and Ms. Dee comes on with a bluesy take on "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You." Firmin and the band continue with the unique mix of jump blues, small band swing, soul and jazz. "Good to the Damn Bone," is the first tenor sax, B-3 instrumental feature by the band. Firmin and Henry Salvia swing through this classic Willis Jackson blues head. This CD is a good introduction to this band if you haven't heard them yet. And a must addition to any previous Nocturne CDs.The Johnny Nocturne Band on these recordings is John Firmin / Johnny Nocturne: tenor sax and leaser; Henry Salvia: piano and organ; Alex Baum: bass; Anthony Paule: guitar; Keny Bryson and Terry Baker: drums; Marty Wehner and Derek James: trombone; Rob Sudduth, Marlo Green and Danny Bittker: baritone sax; Pete Sembler and Bill Ortiz: trumpet; band and Kurt Pasch: background shouts.Produced by John Firmin with Alex Baum and David Luke.Graphics by Mitsuko Baum.
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Barack Obama and Mitt Romney don't care about Texas, California, New York and Illinois — unless it involves raising money for the 2012 election.
But while the presidential candidates have blown off all but a handful of swing states, a group of true blue and deep red states have become battlegrounds in another campaign: the fight for control of the House of Representatives.
About 30 congressional seats in those four megastates are up for grabs, according to Sabato's Crystal Ball, the web site of University of Virginia government professor Larry J. Sabato.These "orphan states" could well hold the balance of power in the House, where Democrats must pick up 25 seats to replace John Boehner as speaker with Nancy Pelosi.
The two parties also have targeted 18 other House races in states without a close presidential contest. Democrats are hoping to gain four GOP seats in Minnesota, while Republicans dream of capturing Democratic seats in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
"Orphan states are playing an outsized role in the House landscape this year," said Zach Hunter, a spokesman for the Congressional Leadership Fund, a group working to elect Republicans. "States like California and New York will be central in the battleground for the House for the next decade."
Because most states seem certain to back either Obama or Romney, these "orphan states" give both parties an unusual opportunity to broadcast messages to voters uncluttered by the presidential nastiness.
"When you don't have to think about the presidential race because it's not being thrust upon you (in television commercials), then the voter can think of things closer to home and come to a not-predetermined decision," said Ed Costantini, a political scientist at the University of California, Davis.
The "orphan state" effect is magnified by the availability of TV ad time. In many presidential swing states, television stations are sold out of advertising space through the election, so groups trying to influence congressional elections are likely to focus on other states.
"There's going to be a lot of attention (on those states) in the days ahead," said Gary L. Rose, chairman of the Department of Government and Politics at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.
Among the high-profile contests:
— Texas' 23rd District, where freshman Republican Francisco "Quico" Canseco and Democratic state Rep. Pete Gallego are locked in a close race in a majority-Latino district that is evenly divided along partisan lines.
— New York's 19th District race, where redistricting forced Albany-area Republican Chris Gibson to seek a second term in a more Democratic district with a large bloc of new voters.
— California's 52nd District, where six-term San Diego Republican Brian Bilbray is trying to hold off Democrat Scott Peters, a former city council president, in a newly designed district that is almost evenly divided among Republicans, Democrats and Independents.
— Minnesota's 8th District, where Republican Chip Cravaack ousted powerful Democratic committee chair Jim Oberstar two years ago but now faces a stiff challenge from former Duluth City Councilor Jeff Anderson in a Democratic-leaning district.
— New York's 21st District race, where Democrat Bill Owens has won two elections with less than 50 percent of the vote but now faces a united GOP in a district with a 15 percentage point Republican registration edge.
— Connecticut's 5th District, where Republicans are hoping to take back a swing seat currently represented by Democrat Chris Murphy, who is running for the U.S. Senate this year.
Democrats say Romney's presidential campaign missteps have put Republican incumbents on the defensive all over the country, but most significantly in heavily Democratic states such as California, New York and Illinois.
"The Romney-Ryan ticket is an anchor around House Republican candidates in these 'orphan states' and it's getting heavier by the day," said Jesse Ferguson, spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "These Republicans were swept in on a Tea Party wave of 2010 and will be swept back out as the wave disappears and the Romney-Ryan agenda drags them down."
Democrats say they still expect to win many of the 71 House districts carried by President Obama but represented in Congress by a Republican. To maximize their opportunities, DCCC executive director Robby Mook says the party has built "a sophisticated turnout operation" in California, Illinois and New York.
Republicans respond that redistricting has given them the potential to pick up seats in many of these same Democratic states, including up to four in California and two in New York and Illinois. What's more, the GOP expects to gain a half-dozen Democratic seats in heavily Republican states such as Utah, Georgia, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
"Republicans (are) poised to make huge gains in the South and perform well in traditionally blue states," said Hunter. "While Democrats were originally bullish on their chances of making huge gains in California, New York and Illinois, they're publicly lowering expectations now because Republicans have real offensive opportunities in these Democratic states."
Guy Harrison, executive director of the National Republican Congressional Committee, says the lack of presidential competition in so many states creates "a unique opportunity to have almost a mid-term type of a race," rather than one tied to the top of the ticket.
"We think it's a great opportunity for us," Harrison said.
Strategists from both parties say they expect the "orphan states" to remain battlegrounds until the next round of redistricting.
"California, for the next decade, may be the epicenter of who controls the House of Representatives," said GOP consultant Rob Stutzman, who advises two Golden State congressional candidates. "It's a wake-up call."
Summer Ballentine of the Hearst Washington bureau and Carla Marinucci of the San Francisco Chronicle contributed to this report.


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Welcome to the Asia Markets live blog, a running account of what the region's stock markets are doing, along with other news. Today, stocks trade mostly higher, but many investors have their eyes fixed on big events later this week, including China manufacturing data, the U.S. jobs report, rate decisions from Australia and India, and Japan's first consumption-tax hike since the 1990s.
6:10 am | Latest chapter in China's power struggle: a decabillion-dollar asset seizure | by Laura He
It might be a signal that the curtain is rising for the end chapter in one of China's most compelling political dramas. Zhou Yongkang, 71, formerly a Politburo member and China's security chief, has been at the center of a massive corruption probe, in which more than 300 people in his inner circle have been investigated and more than 90 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) of assets have been seized by Chinese authorities, according to news media.
The size of the asset seizures and the scale of the corruption investigations are "unprecedented in modern China," Reuters said.
A list published by Hong Kong newspapers showed that the seized assets include more than 360 houses located in a dozen major Chinese cities, which are worth around 1.76 billion yuan ($282 million), more than 60 vehicles, as well as antiques, paintings, gold, silver, securities assets and cash in domestic and foreign currencies. Those assets also included 27 guns and more than 11,000 bullets, according to Hong Kong's Oriental Daily.
The Chinese government has yet to make any official statement with respect to the probe, but there's been a recent media frenzy on the topic, including a number of reports by domestic media hinting that Zhou has used his power to help his son's businesses succeed. A cryptic remark by a central government official (see previous MarketWatch story) may have also signaled the ongoing pursuit by the current Xi Jinping administration.
The epic anti-graft probe might be due to the rampant corruptions in the state security entities and oil sector, where Zhou was a leader. However, it might also be another chapter of an ongoing power struggle since the downfall of Zhou's former ally – Bo Xilai, an ousted top politician whose wife has received a suspended death sentence for the murder of a British businessman.
4:37 am | Japan's Nikkei plunges 9% to end first quarter | by Laura He
Japan's Nikkei Index closed on Monday 0.9% higher at 14,827.83. However, it closed out the first quarter with a 9% loss, the sharpest quarterly drop since June 2012, according to FactSet.
4:20 am | Markets check -- 4:20 pm in Hong Kong | by Laura He
Tokyo (Nikkei Average) up 0.9% (closed)
Hong Kong (Hang Seng Index) up 0.4% (closed)
Shanghai (Shanghai Composite Index) down 0.4% (closed)
Sydney (S&P/ASX 200) up 0.5% (closed)
Seoul (Kospi) up 0.2% (closed)
3:06 am | China stocks sink to biggest quarterly losses in 9 months | by Laura He
Intensifying worries are denting Chinese stock markets, as the Shanghai Composite Index is falling 0.4% to 2,033.31. So far, it has posted a loss of 3.9% in the first quarter, marking the sharpest quarterly decline since June, when the index plunged 12% for the quarter.
Reports about troubled Chinese companies and rising bad debt levels in state banks are piling onto market worries that China may be facing a more severe slowdown than people have expected.
Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group, China's largest private shipbuilder, reported Monday that its net losses widened to 8.7 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) for 2013, logging the second annual loss in a row, due to shrinking orders and rising costs. It also said its total debt level has reached 22.4 billion yuan, of which 13.7 billion is due in 12 months.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times published a report Sunday warning that the level of bad loans written off by Chinese state banks has more than doubled last year, adding to market concerns about pressures facing China's financial system.
However, some analysts also say markets are being too pessimistic and not accounting for the likelihood of stimulus measures by the powerful CHinese government.
"The weakening domestic economic momentum would prompt policymakers to act," said analysts from SG Global Economics in a note on Monday, adding that a deterioration of China official PMI due Tuesday might be expected.
Analysts from Credit Agricole CIB Research gave several reasons why the Chinese government woud not want to "sacrifice a decent level of growth in order to accelerate the pace of reforms."
"The economic system remains centralised enough that the government is able to implement new stimulus measures to ensure GDP growth of about 7.5% this year," said Hervé Goulletquer, Head of Global Markets Research for Credit Agricole CIB, in a note.
1:24 am | Markets check -- 2:24 p.m. in Tokyo
Tokyo (Nikkei Average) up 0.6%
Hong Kong (Hang Seng Index) up 0.3%
Shanghai (Shanghai Composite Index) up 0.1%
Sydney (S&P/ASX 200) up 0.5% (closed)
Seoul (Kospi) down 0.3%
Mumbai (Sensex) up 0.2%
11:53 pm | VIDEO: Taiwan protests of deal with Beijing heat up
11:40 pm | Markets check -- 12:40 p.m. in Tokyo
Tokyo (Nikkei Average) up 0.5%
Hong Kong (Hang Seng Index) up 0.2%
Shanghai (Shanghai Composite Index) up 0.1% (at break)
Sydney (S&P/ASX 200) up 0.8%
Seoul (Kospi) down 0.3%
Taipei (Taiex) up 0.1%
11:34 pm | Has Hong Kong's stock market lost its mojo?
In his column this week, Craig Stephen bemoans Hong Kong's bourse losing out on some of China's most desirable stock listings: Alibaba, JD.com, Sina Weibo, and the list goes on. (Though to be fair, Sina Weibo's parent already lists in the U.S.)
Instead of snagging these exciting IPOs, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is increasingly serving up a fare of old-economy, state-owned enterprises, Craig writes.
If it continues down this path, Hong Kong risks becoming "just another dysfunctional Chinese stock market," he writes.
You can read the full column, entitled "How Hong Kong dropped the listings ball," here.
10:21 pm | Hong Kong gets bank-earnings cheer | by Laura He
Hong Kong stocks are trading just a little higher this morning after strong earnings from some of the big Chinese state-owned banks, with the Hang Seng Index rising 0.2% to 22,098.
Among the Chinese banks strengthening post-earnings, China Construction Bank is popping 1.1% higher (it reported Sunday an 11% increase in net income last year, beating markets expectations), while the nation's largest bank -- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China -- is up 0.6% after 6.5% gain last week (its 10% rise in 2013 net profit continues to cheer investors).
However, Bank of Communications is losing 1.2%, as its net income for the fourth quarter of last year (down 2%) fell short of market estimates.
Elsewhere among the Chinese financials, Bank of China is adding 0.6%, and Bank of Chongqing Co., a city-based commercial lender, is also tacking on 1%.
Meanwhile, Intime Retail, a Chinese department-store operator, is swinging wildly, down 5.9% after surging by more than 17% in early moves. The company said that e-commerce giant Alibaba would invest 5.37 billion Hong Kong dollars ($698 million) in it for a stake as large as 26%, and that it would establish a joint venture with it to develop "O2O" (online-to-offline) business.
On the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index is trading lower by 0.2% at 2,037.
9:55 pm | Markets check -- 9:55 a.m. in Hong Kong
Tokyo (Nikkei Average) up 0.3%
Hong Kong (Hang Seng Index) up 0.1%
Shanghai (Shanghai Composite Index) down 0.3%
Sydney (S&P/ASX 200) up 0.8%
Seoul (Kospi) flat
Taipei (Taiex) up 0.3%
9:48 pm | Japan industrial output: No drop-dead data here | by Mike Kitchen
Yes, industrial production fell 2.3% in February, and yes, it flew in the face of expectations for a 0.3% according to separate Reuters and Wall Street Journal/Nikkei surveys of economists, and yes, it accompanied a drop in the manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the current month, but there were a few mitigating factors.
For one thing, the plunge in February output was still not enough to offset the 3.9% jump in January's result, and for another thing, "industrial output has not always sent reliable signals about the overall direction of the economy," according to Captial Economics Japan economist Marcel Thieliant.
As for the production forecasts included with the data, manufacturers now expect a 0.9% gain for March industrial output (compared to a forecast 3.2% drop when the same group was asked about March last month). For April, they tip a 0.6% drop. Of course, these forecasts can be wildly off the mark: The February forecast had called for 1.3% gain last month.
Credit Agricole economist Yoshiro Sato says that the long-awaited hike in the consumption tax should have boosted the results as people and companies alike front-loaded their demand ahead of the increase. The fact that output dropped sharply instead suggests "heavy snowfall in February had a strong negative impact on production."
Meanwhile, the up-0.9%-in-March-down-0.6%-in-April prediction suggests "that the impact of kickback decline in production from front-loaded increase in demand will be only modest," according to Sato.
As for that Markit PMI data mentioned above, it showed a drop to 53.9 from 55.5 last month, though still holding about the 50 level that separates growth from expansion.
But as with the survey from the government data, the PMI "has tended to overpredict the speed of expansion in output in recent months," according to Thieliant of Captial Economics.
So what are we to believe? If we look to the market for our cue, then the data were no big deal: The Nikkei Average opened 1% higher minutes after the data, though it has since come off its highs to trade with a 0.5% gain.
Really, the bigger data point of the week for Japan will likely be tomorrow's Bank of Japan quarterly tankan survey of business sentiment. The closely watched survey could give us a sharper picture of how bad Japanese executives think the hit for the consumption-tax hike will be.
8:46 pm | Markets check -- 9:46 a.m. in Tokyo
Tokyo (Nikkei Average) up 0.7%
Sydney (S&P/ASX 200) up 0.9%
Seoul (Kospi) up 0.3%
8:40 pm | It's yen again — Tokyo trading higher | by Mike Kitchen
Even a surprise drop in industrial production couldn't keep Japanese stocks from bubbling higher on the last day of the Japanese fiscal year.
About 15 minutes into trading, and we have the Nikkei Average up 0.7% (on top of Friday's 0.5% gain) and the broader Topix up 0.8%.
While some reports said year-end window-dressing among the institutional investors may be a key factor in today's trading, the shares are likely getting some solid support from the weakening yen.
At this point, the dollar is buying 102.89 yen, little changed from before the release of the industrial-output data and well above the ¥102.20-ish level recorded during Friday's Tokyo stocks session.
And how about that data? The market had been expecting industrial production to have risen a modest 0.3% in February (per a Wall Street Journal survey), but in actual fact, output suffered a 2.3% drop.
The survey of manufacturers that accompanies each month's data showed manufacturing executives now see output rising 0.9% in March, swinging sharply from an expected 3.2% drop projected in the previous survey, for whatever that's worth (and really, it's not worth too much — the survey seems to have limited predictive power.)
Anyway, given the forex action, it's no shock that the currency-sensitive exporters are on their way up this morning — in particular, it's Sony up 2.1%, Nintendo up 2.2%, Renesas up 2%, and Mazda up 3.4% (with Mazda's fortunes perhaps most closely tied to the yen among the main auto makers).
Strength in oil has also translated into strength in Japanese energy shares, with JX Holdings up 2.5%, and Inpex up 2%, though Japan Petroleum Exploration (a.k.a. Japex) is a mere 0.4% higher.
Some Nikkei newspaper reports appear to be moving shares in the retailing sector: Aeon is 2.2% higher on the heels of its reported plan to offer smartphone services, starting this Friday, at price points well below what the established mobile carriers charges.
On the other hand, Fast Retailing is weaker by 0.1% as the market seems unimpressed with the possibility it could seek a New York listing as it targets 1 trillion yen ($9.7 billion) in U.S. sales this year (all this according to a Nikkei interview with Fast Retailing Chairman Tadashi Yanai saying).
7:56 pm | Another step forward for Sydney | by Mike Kitchen
Australian shares are on the rise in this last trading day of the quarter, with the resource shares once again leading the charge, thanks to positive price action for oil, copper and gold, among other commodities.
Currently, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.7% higher, its highest point of the morning some 45 minutes into trading.
Specifically, it's gains for the larger miners (BHP Billiton up 1.5%, Rio Tinto up 0.7%, Fortescue Metals up 0.6%, Oz Minerals up 2.3%), for the gold miners (Evolution up 3%, Kingsgate up 1%, though Newcrest is off 0.3%), for the oil and gas names (Oil Search and Caltex Australia up 1.2% each, Karoon Gas up 0.8%), and for various others (Paladin Energy up 3.3%, Whitehaven Coal up 2.5%).
The big banks are also advancing, as NAB, CBA and ANZ all trade 0.7% higher, while Westpac adds 0.6%.
This comes after the TD Securities–Melbourne Institute monthly inflation gauge showed a 0.2% rise, unchanged from last month. TD Securities Asia-Pacific research chief Annette Beacher says the latest report — closely watched, as Australia's government reports inflation on a quarterly basis only — offers "little comfort" for the central bank.
"We suspect the recent and unexpected pickup in inflation has prevented the Reserve Bank of Australia from talking down the currency in recent months," according to Beacher.
On the downside, the ever-volatile shares of Billabong are 2.9% weaker as the surfwear maker offers details on its retail entitlement offer, in which the stock went for 28 Australian cents (26 U.S. cents) apiece compared to their current trading level of 50.7 Australian cents.


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High Valley vs. Chris Young – The Showdown
The surprise Showdown song of the year has to be 'Love You for a Long Time' by Nashville newcomers High Valley. The brother trio hopes to make it five wins in a row today and tonight on Taste of Country Nights radio. That would mean the peppy love song gets retired to the Showdown Hall of Fame.
The new single from Chris Young is standing in the group's way, however. Young has made 'I Can Take It From There' the fourth single from his latest 'Neon' album. It's another steamy love song from the 'Gettin' You Home' singer. His fans are among the most active in country music, so it's sure to be a great battle.
Listen to clips of both High Valley's and Young's songs and vote for your favorite here. You can vote once every hour online, so come back and vote often to be sure your artist wins. Hear the full versions of the songs tonight after 10PM on Taste of Country Nights. Help your favorite song win by placing additional votes at (888) 678-9995. Call as many times as you like! You can listen to the show online through any of the 41 radio stations that carry it. Voting will end tonight at 10:40PM CT.
Listen to a Sample of High Valley, 'Love You for a Long Time'
Listen to a Sample of Chris Young, 'I Can Take It From There'
Showdown Rules: The song with the most votes wins, and the winner goes on to face a new challenger in the next Showdown. Vote as much as once per hour online, and as much as you want by calling (888) 678-9995. If a song wins five days in a row, it will be retired into the Taste of Country Showdown Hall of Fame to allow for new songs to compete. Some songs will be considered for a second Showdown if voter turnout is healthy in a losing effort.


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Defender Jonathan Woodgate believes Stoke have two huge factors in their favour - a strong team spirit and a ground nobody likes visiting.
The Potters climbed to eighth in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday as they held off Tottenham at the Britannia Stadium for a hard-fought - although highly controversial - third successive victory.
Coming amid a run of games that has also seen Tony Pulis' men qualify for the knockout stage of the Europa League, confidence has been restored after a tricky autumn spell, and Woodgate said: "It was a great win against a top team in Tottenham. They are going for the league title but it is hard to come to Stoke and get three points."
Copyright (c) PA Sport 2011, All Rights Reserved.


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hơn một năm qua Riku114 said…
pinkbloom commented…
Riku114 posted on Oct 12, 2017 at 09:00PM
Owner: link
Permanently Banned: LavenderGolden
-Icon must apply to the theme of the current round
-Icon must be between 100 x 100 and 200 x 200 as well as square
-Entry may not be made after to the deadline (one week per round)
-No voting for yourself
-No stealing icons or using icons that do not belong to you
-Polls last for a week
-Winner chooses next round, if winner does not choose something by a week, I will select the round
-Ties will be resolved with a tiebreaker round that will last 3 days
-Winner gets a prop. If I win, I dont get a prop. If there is a tie, regardless of the tie, both get a prop
-No repeat themes
-Have fun a be fair
-Icon must be cropped and edited by you.
-Avoid polling Random itself for advice and tips on which icon to choose, you may poll other spots like user clubs and anime clubs and all, but avoid polling Random as that will be where the official poll ends up.
Any icon that is not between the sizes of 100 x 100 and 200 x 200 and is not square will be left out. Also, any icon that does not agree with the rules above will not be included either.
Round 1: Halloween
link TheLefteris24
Round 2: ;)
link SwordofIzanami
Round 3: Mythological Creature
link Zeppie
Round 4: Meme Representation
link TIE. TheLefteris24, THaSlimJim
link THaSlimJim
Round 5: Crossover
link Riku114
Round 6: Ship / Couple
link 8theGreat
Round 7: Food and Drink
link 8theGreat
Round 8: Birds
link 8theGreat
Round 9: Cute Things
link Zeppie
Round 10: Winter Wonderland
link SeraphOfTheEnd8
Round 11: Something Blue
Round 12: Gaming
last edited on Aug 22, 2018 at 07:51AM
Showing Replies 1-50 of 487


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I realise that one reason for Minecraft's success is that it can run on older/weaker computers, but this is crazy.
What you're seeing here is Mojang's world-builder running on the Raspberry Pi, a tiny hobbyist computer that's little more than a glorified chipboard, and which costs only $35.
The version of the game has been modified to accommodate the Pi's limitations (and is free!), but come on. The fact you're looking at any kind of Minecraft running on a computer that costs less than most retail games is bananas.
Minecraft: Pi Edition is available for download! [Mojang]
Minecraft - Pi Edition (Download and Gameplay) [YouTube]


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Michael Sanderson is worried. Dr. Sanderson, a biologist at the University of Arizona, is part of an effort to figure out how all the estimated 500,000 species of plants are related to one another. For years now the researchers have sequenced DNA from thousands of species from jungles, tundras and museum drawers. They have used supercomputers to crunch the genetic data and have gleaned clues to how today's diversity of baobabs, dandelions, mosses and other plants evolved over the past 450 million years. The pace of their progress gives Dr. Sanderson hope that they will draw the entire evolutionary tree of plants within the next few years. "It's within striking distance," Dr. Sanderson said.
There's just one problem. "We have no way to visualize such a tree at the moment," he said. If they tried, they would end up with a blurry, inscrutable thicket. "It would be ironic," Dr. Sanderson said. "We'd be saying, 'We've built it, but we can't show it to you.' "
Ever since Charles Darwin first sketched a spindly sapling in 1837, biologists have relied on evolutionary trees to understand the history of life. Today biologists draw evolutionary trees to help them track the emergence of new diseases, identify species at risk of extinction, and trace the history of disease-related genes in the human genome. Within the next few decades, biologists may figure out how the millions of species on Earth are related to one another. But for people to actually see that tree of life, the tree itself will have to evolve.
Biologists have responded to the problem by enlisting the help of computer scientists and software designers from companies like Google and Adobe to find a new way of looking at evolution. Their goal is to create a program that allows scientists and nonscientists alike to fly through evolutionary trees.
"Just like Google Earth changed the way people look at geography, a sophisticated tree of life browser could really change the way we look at the life around us," said Mark W. Westneat, the director of the Biodiversity Synthesis Center at the Field Museum in Chicago.Continue reading the main story
Darwin drew the first evolutionary tree when he was 28. He had recently returned to England from his five-year voyage around the world aboard the Beagle, and his theory of evolution was still in an embryonic state. It occurred to him that evolution could explain the similarities and differences between species. The descendants of an ancestral species might have evolved into different forms, splitting into separate lineages "like the branching of a great tree from a single stem," as he would later write in "On the Origin of Species."
Darwin's first tree is now a familiar sight in books, museum exhibits and, of course, on Wikipedia. But David Kohn, the director of the Darwin Digital Library at the American Museum of Natural History, has recently discovered 10 other trees that Darwin drew in later years. "It's a long-term preoccupation," Dr. Kohn said. "It feels like he's using it to think." While pondering how humans evolved, Darwin drew a cluster of branches to represent our common ancestry with apes and monkeys.
But during Darwin's life, he published only a single tree. In the "Origin of Species" he included a set of branching lines, marked only by letters. "It was all at a very theoretical level," said David Hillis, a biologist at the University of Texas. (Read Dr. Hillis's comments on Darwin's "On the Origin of Species.")
Darwin left it to other biologists to figure out what real evolutionary trees looked like. In 1879, for example, the German biologist Ernst Haeckel published a tree, complete with bark and leaves, showing humans and animals evolving from single-celled creatures.
The science of tree-building took a significant step forward in the late 1900s. Biologists set up standard rules for comparing species and figuring out who was most closely related to whom. Once they were all speaking the same scientific language, they could test each other's hypotheses with new evidence. They also began to get new kinds evidence for their trees. It became possible to compare not just the skeleton or color patterns of species, but also their proteins and genes.
At first biologists could draw only small trees, typically with a dozen branches at most. They were held back by the fact that a group of species may possibly be related in many different ways. If a biologist adds more species to a group, the possibilities explode. "For 25 species, there are more possible trees than there are stars in the known universe," Dr. Westneat said. "For 80 species, there are more trees than there are atoms in the known universe."
Simply comparing every single tree would be impossible. Fortunately, mathematicians developed statistical methods for searching quickly through potential trees to find the ones that do the best job of explaining all the evidence. Computers could do millions of calculations for biologists and store a growing database of information on Web sites. Trees grew hundreds of new branches, then thousands. "We're overwhelmed with information," Dr. Hillis said.
Today trees with thousands of branches, sometimes called "supertrees" or "megatrees," are starting to appear in scientific literature. Their branches reveal patterns in evolution that were missed in smaller studies.
In 2007, for example, Olaf Bininda-Edmonds, a biologist at Carl von Ossietzky University in Germany, and his colleagues published a tree of 4,500 mammals — in other words, just about every known mammal species. The tree allowed researchers to estimate the rate at which mammals have evolved into new lineages. For decades, many researchers have argued that most major groups of living mammals evolved after the dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago. Based on their mammal supertree, Dr. Bininda-Emonds and his colleagues argued that mammals were diversifying millions of years earlier.
Less than two years later, the mammal supertree is looking puny. In a paper to be published in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology, Stephen Smith of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in North Carolina and his colleagues have created a tree containing 13,533 species of plants. Their study shows that ferns — sometimes considered as living fossils that have changed little for hundreds of millions of years — have actually been evolving faster than younger groups of plants, like conifers and flowering plants.
Plants are not just related to one another. They're also related to us animals, fungi, bacteria and all other living things on Earth. Over the past seven years, the National Science Foundation has been financing a project known as Assembling the Tree of Life, the goal of which is "to reconstruct the evolutionary origins of all living things," according to its Web site. Research teams are analyzing slices of the tree, while mathematicians and computer scientists work on methods to combine them into a single analysis. "You can just imagine how Darwin would have enjoyed it," Dr. Kohn said.
Darwin would probably not enjoy trying to draw such a tree, though. "Even when the mammal supertree is printed out at two meters by two meters, the species names remain virtually unreadable," Dr. Bininda-Emonds said. "It's a Google Earth kind of problem. You can't simultaneously see where Central Park is in New York, and where New York is in the United States."
It has become clear to biologists that they are going to have to find new ways to draw evolutionary trees. "Our advances in understanding evolution are moving really fast now, but the tools for looking at these big trees are lagging behind," Dr. Westneat said.
The future of evolutionary trees may be on display on a wall in Dr. Sanderson's laboratory in Tucson. He and his colleagues have mounted a bank of flat-screen monitors that can show off a program they have designed called Paloverde. Dr. Sanderson can transform an evolutionary tree into a three-dimensional structure, and then use his mouse to navigate through it, zooming in on particular branches he wants to inspect.
It's a mesmerizing sight, but Dr. Sanderson is quick to point out its limits. "My program can handle 1,000 species fairly effectively. When you get to 5,000 species, it gets very slow and not very beautiful," he said.
To bring evolutionary trees up to date, biologists are working with computer scientists and other visualization experts. Dr. Westneat has been organizing meetings over the past year to bring the two cultures together. "It has the potential to move us beyond what biologists with a little bit of programming can do," Dr. Westneat said.
Even with the help of visualization experts, biologists won't be able to fly through the tree of life any time soon. "It's definitely not small potatoes — it's cutting-edge research," said Tamara Munzner, a computer scientist at the University of British Columbia.
Dr. Munzner is working on methods to allow biologists to see details of the tree of life without losing sight of its overall shape. One of her programs acts like a fisheye lens, blowing up clusters of branches. She has also figured out how to make trees rubbery, so that a biologist can stretch some parts of it open and squeeze others down. Although a few thousand branches may slow down Paloverde, Dr. Munzner's programs can handle millions of branches.
For Dr. Hillis, drawing the tree of life is not something to do simply because it's there. He thinks it will become a practical tool, in the same way online databases of DNA have become practical tools for geneticists.
"What I'd really like is the entire tree of life on a small hand-held device," Dr. Hillis said. Biologists would be able to put a tissue sample from a plant, animal or other organism in the machine, which would then scan its DNA and find its place in the tree of life, even if it's a new species. The data could then be uploaded to a database, so that every biologist's machine would get an updated tree. "It would be a 'tricorder'-like device, able to identify any species on Earth in the field," he said.
If biologists do ever succeed in drawing the tree of life, it will look profoundly different from Darwin's sketch. Lineages do branch as they evolve, but sometimes the branches join back together. It has long been known that separate plant species sometimes produce hybrids that can no longer interbreed with their parent species. In other words, they become new species. When biologists draw the relationships of some groups of plant species, their pictures look more like webs than trees.
In other cases, genes don't have to wait for two species to come together — they simply leap from one branch of life to another.
Viruses sometimes infect a new host species, and in the process they transfer genes from its previous host. Many species of bacteria can slurp up naked DNA or pass it to one another on tiny genetic ringlets.
"Each gene has its own evolution. It's not inherited from mother to daughter; it's inherited from a neighbor," said Peer Bork of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory.
Biologists are just starting to understand how this different kind of heredity alters the tree of life. Although genes may move from one species to another fairly often, it may be rare that they become a permanent part of a new genome. Tal Dagan, a biologist at the University of Düsseldorf, has estimated their impact by analyzing hundreds of thousands of genes from microbes. She estimates that 80 percent of the genes in any microbe have been passed from one species to another at some point.
Dr. Dagan and her colleagues have not simply published their results as a table of numbers, though. "We had to have a new picture of evolution," she said.
For Dr. Dagan, evolution is still shaped like a tree. "Most of the evolution is still going on in the branches," she said. But over billions of years, thousands of genes have shuttled among the branches. To drive this point home, Dr. Dagan and her colleagues have drawn a dense filigree of lines between the branches of the tree of life. "You see the tree and you see the thousands of edges, and you know this is how it is," she said.
Could these sorts of evolutionary vines be added to a complete tree of life without letting visitors get lost in the complexity? "It does make things more complicated," Dr. Munzner said. "But it doesn't mean it's hopeless. My answer is, 'Bring it on.' "
An article on Feb. 10 about efforts to create complete evolutionary trees misspelled the name of a computer program that can navigate through a three-dimensional evolutionary tree. It is Paloverde, not Paleoverde. The article also misspelled a type of tree that researchers have studied. It is the baobab, not baobob.


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After a Chase Jensen RBI single gave Houston a 2-1 lead in the third inning of its tilt with No. 17 Central Florida on Friday night, Knights starter Brian Adkins was met by teammates and a coach for a brief mound conference as the theme song to "Growing Pains" played over the Cougar Field speakers.
While it provided a little humor at the time, the song seemed more fitting for the Cougars, a young group loaded with newcomers who are undoubtedly enduring growing pains of their own, the latest an 8-3 defeat at the hands of the Knights on Friday, Houston's fourth loss in five games.
Nobody said it would be easy, especially with a schedule that by most accounts is among the toughest in the nation, (one website had it ranked second toughest in the country earlier this week), but that doesn't mean the Cougars are enjoying the results after falling to 10-14 with Friday's loss (1-3 in Conference USA).
"We have played a tough schedule but you're going to have to beat good teams to be good," senior righthander Jared Ray said. "That's the bottom line. You can't say 'Oh we had a tough schedule.' That means you're not good, because you're playing good teams and you can't beat them. We've proven that we can beat good teams."
The Cougars have proven they can beat good teams — they beat a talented Arkansas team earlier this season, they came into this series with a road win over Southern Mississippi and they have a road series win over a respectable Oklahoma State team.
But many of their losses haven't been pretty. Friday wasn't necessarily of the ugly variety but it was frustrating all the same to Houston, which put together a stellar defensive night, making several tough plays in the field yet yielding eight runs on 15 hits while only being able to scratch out three of their own on 12 base knocks.
"I don't think we're a bad team," UH coach Todd Whitting said. "We have been through a rough schedule, with the teams that we've played our record could be a lot worse. But it is what it is and we've got to move forward. We've got one of the best teams in the conference in here this weekend and we play another really good one next weekend so it doesn't get any easier. This is a great league. We've got to find a way to win some games."
Pitching has been at the core of the struggles in recent weeks. That was symbolized well by Jared Ray, who after starting this season like gangbusters has suddenly seemed unable to put together a quality outing. On Friday, the senior righthander gave up a pair in the first four innings and got into a jam in the fifth. After yielding a third run on an RBI infield single by Ryan Breen, Ray struck out Jeramy Matos swinging then got leftfielder JoMarcos Woods to a 2-2 count. Just when it looked like Ray might escape with minimal damage and possibly ready to throw a sixth frame while keeping the Cougars in the ballgame, Woods got one just past second baseman Taylor White for a two-RBI single and a 5-2 lead.
In his last four outings, Ray has yielded 20 earned runs. What started as a promising year for the talented righthander — who is coming off three surgeries on his right arm but is physically 100 percent — has turned into a puzzler.
"I wish I had the answer to give you," Ray said of why he has struggled. "I'm not missing a lot of bats right now and it's frustrating. I don't know."
He said physically, he feels fine.
"That's the thing — I felt really good tonight," he said. "That's the embarrassing part. My (velocity) was good and I had everything I needed. I felt good, I felt like I was going to perform well and I just didn't. It's frustrating when you give up 11 hits in 6 1/3 innings. That's embarrassing."
Ray isn't the only one who has struggled on the mound. Saturday's starter, Jordan Lewis, hasn't gotten out of the third inning in two of his last three starts. True freshman Aaron Garza hasn't seen the weekend rotation since his March 11 outing at Ole Miss and struggled on Tuesday against Baylor and the bullpen has been hit-or-miss as well.
"It starts on the mound," Whitting said. "That's our main issue right now. We've got to throw better pitches….I know it's not from lack of effort, those guys are working hard."
While the Cougars were able to compile 12 hits, they weren't always able to get the timely ones. One example was in the fifth inning, after UCF took its 5-2 lead, centerfielder Landon Appling led off the UH fifth with a single. The next two batters, John Cannon and Jensen, each popped out on the first pitch. Codey Morehouse eventually grounded out to end the inning.
And the Cougars are operating, for the most part, without first baseman Casey Grayson who injured his hamstring in the final game of the Oklahoma State series on March 18. He returned to game action for the first time since then on Friday, pinch-hitting as a designated hitter for Jonathan Davis in the late innings, but clearly isn't 100 percent based on the speed in which he ran to first after making contact in his first at-bat.
Despite the struggle, Whitting is pleased with his team's effort.
"It's easy in this game in the sixth or seventh inning to shut it down," Whitting said. "This team doesn't shut it down. All I can go off of is what I'm watching. I feel bad for them. I really do, because they're playing their friggin' butts off right now and they're getting nothing to show for it. They don't deserve the losses that we're piling up because they're doing everything the right way. We've just got to hope that it's going to turn here pretty soon."
The Cougars will try to bounce back against UCF on Saturday, with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch at Cougar Field. Jordan Lewis (3-3, 4.76 ERA) will be opposed by UCF's Chris Matulis (3-0, 3.46). On Sunday, the probables are Austin Pruitt (2-2, 2.43) for Houston and Ray Hanson (2-1, 1.69) for the Knights, with a 12:30 p.m. first pitch.


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In this section we run through a couple of fictitious interactive XSTAR sessions to illustrate how to use XSTAR's interface. First of all, it is important that the environment variables are set in a manner similar to that required by FTOOLS. This is described in more detail in Chapter 14. Once XSTAR is installed and configured, at the unix prompt, type:
unix> xstar
By invoking XSTAR with this simple command, you will be prompted for a series of physical and control parameters for the simulation.
The input parameters are: The model covering fraction, temperature, pressure or density, spectrum shape and ionizing luminosity, column density, ionization parameter, and element abundances relative to their cosmic abundances. Definitions for these and the units assumed are described in detail in chapter 4. All input parameters have default values, selected by pressing return at the prompt, thus it is possible to simply start XSTAR as above to invoke the default model.
Input of these parameters is handled through an IRAF-style interface, XPI, developed for the FTOOLS suite of programs. This has several features which may prove convenient to the user: (i) Parameter values from an invocation of XSTAR are stored and available as default values for the next XSTAR run. These are shown in square brackets when the user is prompted for values. (ii) Default values of input parameters are stored in the file xstar.par which is stored in the directory specified by the PFILES environment variable. (iii) Each parameter has an allowed range of values, shown in parentheses during the prompting. Input values outside of this range will result in exiting the program. (iv) Input parameters can be hidden from the prompting process. Such parameters, in the default xstar.par, are those which are expected to be unneeded for simple problems. Manipulation of these parameters requires a slightly more advanced familiarity with the code. (v) Parameter values can be input from the command line rather than by prompting. The value of this scripting capability will be seen in Chapter 7 which discusses building table models for the XSPEC spectral analysis program. All these features are described in more detail in the documentation for FTOOLS
(c.f. <http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/frames/hhp_sw.html>)
It is also possible to run a model at a fixed temperature, i.e. to disable the thermal equilibrium condition. In order to do this the ordinarily hidden parameter niter must be set to 0, and then the temperature parameter must be set to the desired value (in units of 10 K).
In the sections that follow are a few XSTAR sessions to illustrate using the program. We illustrate both the prompted and the command line invocation of XSTAR with only the required parameters specified.


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Patty Snodgrass had qualified to run in her first New York City Marathon three years ago, but injuries derailed the retired U.S. Treasury Department employee from fulfilling that dream. She was going to use what is essentially a rain check from the New York Road Runners Club to enter this year's event, which was scheduled to be held last Sunday.
Snodgrass and her husband, Don, left their Annapolis home for New York a few days before the race, only to be among the tens of thousands of runners to find their plans changed dramatically by the cyclone Sandy. After announcing that the race would go on despite the devastation in and around the city, event organizers finally canceled this year's race less than 48 hours before the start.
While the Snodgrasses were able to fulfill most of their nonrace schedule in New York — which included taking in the Broadway show "Wicked" and going to the Carnegie Deli for pastrami sandwiches — it also forced Patty to figure out what she was going to do about her training schedule and whether another marathon was on the horizon.
Since taking up running in 1994 after she and her husband both quit smoking, the now 58-year-old Snodgrass has run in more than two dozen marathons — "I have lost count, it's like 28 or 29," she said — and actually had the same exact time, down to the second, the two times she ran in the Boston Marathon in 2005 and 2007.
"What are the odds of that happening?" she said.
Instead of winding down and taking time off after the New York City Marathon, Snodgrass will now run in Jacksonville (Fla.) Marathon next month. It is about four hours north of her winter home and is run on a pretty flat course, according to what she has been told.
"Really I thought my long runs were over, so when we were up in New York [and the race was called off] I thought I would have a good time and when we got home, not that I would have to start over, but I would have to keep it going a little longer," Snodgrass said.
The biggest disappointment might come in the fact that runners who are unable to compete in the New York City Marathon after qualifying or signing up have in the past been given a one-time entry to be used in the future, though it comes with a new entry fee of around $200. The policy was supposed to be changed after this year so the raincheck might no longer be valid.
"I knew they were changing it, and I kept saying, 'If I don't do it this year, I don't know if I will get to do it,'" Snodgrass said. "I just got an email the other day saying that they are looking at their options, please be patient. They're trying to figure out what is the best way to handle it."
While she and her husband enjoyed their trip to New York, they did cancel a reservation at one of their favorite restaurants, Carmine's.
"I figured if I wasn't running 26 miles, I'd save it for a time when I could afford a few extra calories," she said with a laugh.


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From the moment the 33-year-old Thomas Jefferson arrived at the Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1776, he was on the radical side. That caused John Adams to like him immediately. Then the Congress stuck Jefferson and Adams together on the five-man committee to write a formal statement justifying a break with Great Britain, and their mutual admiration society began.
Jefferson thought Adams should write the Declaration. But Adams protested, saying, "It can't come from me because I'm obnoxious and disliked." Adams reasoned that Jefferson was not obnoxious or disliked, therefore he should write it. Plus, he flattered Jefferson, by telling him he was a great writer. It was a master class in passing the buck.
So, over the next 17 days, Jefferson holed up in his room, applying his lawyer skills to the ideas of the Enlightenment. He borrowed freely from existing documents like the Virginia Declaration of Rights. He later wrote that "he was not striving for originality of principle or sentiment." Instead, he hoped his words served as "an expression of the American mind."
It's safe to say he achieved his goal.
The five-man committee changed about 25 percent of Jefferson's first draft of the Declaration before submitting it to Congress. Then, Congress altered about one-fifth of that draft. But most of the final Declaration's words are Jefferson's, including the most famous passage — the Preamble — which Congress left intact. The result is nothing less than America's mission statement, the words that ultimately bind the nation together. And words that we desperately need to rediscover because of our boiling partisan rage.
The Declaration is brilliant in structure and purpose. It was designed for multiple audiences: the King of Great Britain, the colonists, and the world. And it was designed for multiple purposes: rallying the troops, gaining foreign allies, and announcing the creation of a new country.
The Declaration is structured in five sections: the Introduction, Preamble, the Body composed of two parts, and the Conclusion. It's basically the most genius breakup letter ever written.
In the Introduction, step 1 is the notification — I think we need to break up. And to be fair, I feel I owe you an explanation...
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another…
The Continental Congress felt they were entitled by "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" to "dissolve the political bands," but they needed to prove the legitimacy of their cause. They were defying the world's most powerful nation and needed to motivate foreign allies to join the effort. So, they set their struggle within the entire "Course of human events." They're saying, this is no petty political spat — this is a major event in world history.
Step 2 is declaring what you believe in, your standards — Here's what I'm looking for in a healthy relationship...
This is the most famous part of the Declaration; the part school children recite — the Preamble:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
That's as much as many Americans know of the Declaration. But the Preamble is the DNA of our nation, and it really needs to be taken as a whole:
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
The Preamble takes us through a logical progression: All men are created equal; God gives all humans certain inherent rights that cannot be denied; these include the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; to protect those rights, we have governments set up; but when a government fails to protect our inherent rights, people have the right to change or replace it.
Government is only there to protect the rights of mankind. They don't have any power unless we give it to them. That was an extraordinarily radical concept then and we're drifting away from it now.
The Preamble is the justification for revolution. But note how they don't mention Great Britain yet. And again, note how they frame it within a universal context. These are fundamental principles, not just squabbling between neighbors. These are the principles that make the Declaration just as relevant today. It's not just a dusty parchment that applied in 1776.
Step 3 is laying out your case — Here's why things didn't work out between us. It's not me, it's you...
This is Part 1 of the Body of the Declaration. It's the section where Jefferson gets to flex his lawyer muscles by listing 27 grievances against the British crown. This is the specific proof of their right to rebellion:
He has obstructed the administration of justice...
For imposing taxes on us without our consent...
For suspending our own legislatures...
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us...
Again, Congress presented these "causes which impel them to separation" in universal terms to appeal to an international audience. It's like they were saying, by joining our fight you'll be joining mankind's overall fight against tyranny.
Step 4 is demonstrating the actions you took — I really tried to make this relationship work, and here's how...
This is Part 2 of the Body. It explains how the colonists attempted to plead their case directly to the British people, only to have the door slammed in their face:
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury...
They too have been deaf to the voice of justice... We must, therefore... hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
This basically wrapped up America's argument for independence — we haven't been treated justly, we tried to talk to you about it, but since you refuse to listen and things are only getting worse, we're done here.
Step 5 is stating your intent — So, I think it's best if we go our separate ways. And my decision is final...
This is the powerful Conclusion. If people know any part of the Declaration besides the Preamble, this is it:
...that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved...
They left no room for doubt. The relationship was over, and America was going to reboot, on its own, with all the rights of an independent nation.
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
The message was clear — this was no pitchfork mob. These were serious men who had carefully thought through the issues before taking action. They were putting everything on the line for this cause.
The Declaration of Independence is a landmark in the history of democracy because it was the first formal statement of a people announcing their right to choose their own government. That seems so obvious to us now, but in 1776 it was radical and unprecedented.
In 1825, Jefferson wrote that the purpose of the Declaration was "not to find out new principles, or new arguments, never before thought of… but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm… to justify ourselves in the independent stand we are compelled to take."
You're not going to do better than the Declaration of Independence. Sure, it worked as a means of breaking away from Great Britain, but its genius is that its principles of equality, inherent rights, and self-government work for all time — as long as we actually know and pursue those principles.
On June 7, 1776, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania State House, better known today as Independence Hall. Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced a motion calling for the colonies' independence. The "Lee Resolution" was short and sweet:
Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.
Intense debate followed, and the Congress voted 7 to 5 (with New York abstaining) to postpone a vote on Lee's Resolution. They called a recess for three weeks. In the meantime, the delegates felt they needed to explain what they were doing in writing. So, before the recess, they appointed a five-man committee to come up with a formal statement justifying a break with Great Britain. They appointed two men from New England — Roger Sherman and John Adams; two from the middle colonies — Robert Livingston and Benjamin Franklin; and one Southerner — Thomas Jefferson. The responsibility for writing what would become the Declaration of Independence fell to Jefferson.
In the rotunda of the National Archives building in Washington, D.C., there are three original documents on permanent display: the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence. These are the three pillars of the United States, yet America barely seems to know them anymore. We need to get reacquainted — quickly.
In a letter to his friend John Adams in 1816, Jefferson wrote: "I like the dreams of the future, better than the history of the past."
America used to be a forward-looking nation of dreamers. We still are in spots, but the national attitude that we hear broadcast loudest across media is not looking toward the future with optimism and hope. In late 2017, a national poll found 59% of Americans think we are currently at the "lowest point in our nation's history that they can remember."
America spends far too much time looking to the past for blame and excuse. And let's be honest, even the Right is often more concerned with "owning the left" than helping point anyone toward the practical principles of the Declaration of Independence. America has clearly lost touch with who we are as a nation. We have a national identity crisis.
It is urgent that we get reacquainted with the Declaration of Independence because postmodernism would have us believe that we've evolved beyond the America of our founding documents, and thus they're irrelevant to the present and the future. But the Declaration of Independence is America's thesis statement, and without it America doesn't exist.
Today, much of the nation is so addicted to partisan indignation that "day-to-day" indignation isn't enough to feed the addiction. So, we're reaching into America's past to help us get our fix. In 2016, Democrats in the Louisiana state legislature tabled a bill that would have required fourth through sixth graders to recite the opening lines of the Declaration. They didn't table it because they thought it would be too difficult or too patriotic. They tabled it because the requirement would include the phrase "all men are created equal" and the progressives in the Louisiana legislature didn't want the children to have to recite a lie. Representative Barbara Norton said, "One thing that I do know is, all men are not created equal. When I think back in 1776, July the fourth, African Americans were slaves. And for you to bring a bill to request that our children will recite the Declaration, I think it's a little bit unfair to us. To ask our children to recite something that's not the truth. And for you to ask those children to repeat the Declaration stating that all men's are free. I think that's unfair."
Remarkable — an elected representative saying it wouldn't be fair for students to have to recite the Declaration because "all men are not created equal." Another Louisiana Democrat explained that the government born out of the Declaration "was used against races of people." I guess they missed that part in school where they might have learned that the same government later made slavery illegal and amended the Constitution to guarantee all men equal protection under the law. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were an admission of guilt by the nation regarding slavery, and an effort to right the wrongs.
Yet, the progressive logic goes something like this: many of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, including Thomas Jefferson who wrote it, owned slaves; slavery is evil; therefore, the Declaration of Independence is not valid because it was created by evil slave owners.
It's a sad reality that the left has a very hard time appreciating the universal merits of the Declaration of Independence because they're so hung up on the long-dead issue of slavery. And just to be clear — because people love to take things out of context — of course slavery was horrible. Yes, it is a total stain on our history. But defending the Declaration of Independence is not an effort to excuse any aspect of slavery.
Okay then, people might say, how could the Founders approve the phrase "All men are created equal," when many of them owned slaves? How did they miss that?
They didn't miss it. In fact, Thomas Jefferson included an anti-slavery passage in his first draft of the Declaration. The paragraph blasted King George for condoning slavery and preventing the American Colonies from passing legislation to ban slavery:
He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights to life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere... Determined to keep open a market where men should be bought and sold, he has prostituted his negative for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or to restrain this execrable commerce.
We don't say "execrable" that much anymore. It means, utterly detestable, abominable, abhorrent — basically very bad.
Jefferson was upset when Georgia and North Carolina threw up the biggest resistance to that paragraph. Ultimately, those two states twisted Congress' arm to delete the paragraph.
Still, how could a man calling the slave trade "execrable" be a slaveowner himself? No doubt about it, Jefferson was a flawed human being. He even had slaves from his estate in Virginia attending him while he was in Philadelphia, in the very apartment where he was writing the Declaration.
Many of the Southern Founders deeply believed in the principles of the Declaration yet couldn't bring themselves to upend the basis of their livelihood. By 1806, Virginia law made it more difficult for slave owners to free their slaves, especially if the owner had significant debts as Jefferson did.
At the same time, the Founders were not idiots. They understood the ramifications of signing on to the principles described so eloquently in the Declaration. They understood that logically, slavery would eventually have to be abolished in America because it was unjust, and the words they were committing to paper said as much. Remember, John Adams was on the committee of five that worked on the Declaration and he later said that the Revolution would never be complete until the slaves were free.
Also, the same generation that signed the Declaration started the process of abolition by banning the importation of slaves in 1807. Jefferson was President at the time and he urged Congress to pass the law.
The Declaration took a major step toward crippling the institution of slavery. It made the argument for the first time about the fundamental rights of all humans which completely undermined slavery. Planting the seeds to end slavery is not nearly commendable enough for leftist critics, but you can't discount the fact that the seeds were planted. It's like they started an expiration clock for slavery by approving the Declaration. Everything that happened almost a century later to end slavery, and then a century after that with the Civil Rights movement, flowed from the principles voiced in the Declaration.
Ironically for a movement that calls itself progressive, it is obsessed with retrying and judging the past over and over. Progressives consider this a better use of time than actually putting past abuses in the rearview and striving not to be defined by ancestral failures.
It can be very constructive to look to the past, but not when it's used to flog each other in the present. Examining history is useful in providing a road map for the future. And America has an obvious road map that, as a nation, we're not consulting often enough. But it's right there, the original, under glass. The ink is fading, but the words won't die — as long as we continue to discuss them.
Mercury One is holding a special exhibition over the 4th of July weekend, using hundreds of artifacts, documents and augmented reality experiences to showcase the history of slavery — including slavery today — and a path forward. Good Morning Texas reporter Paige McCoy Smith went through the exhibit for an exclusive preview with Mercury One's chief operating officer Michael Little on Tuesday.
Watch the video below to see the full preview.
Click here to purchase tickets to the museum (running from July 4 - 7).
Over the weekend, journalist Andy Ngo and several other apparent right-leaning people were brutally beaten by masked-gangs of Antifa protesters in Portland, Oregon. Short for "antifascist," Antifa claims to be fighting for social justice and tolerance — by forcibly and violently silencing anyone with opposing opinions. Ngo, who was kicked, punched, and sprayed with an unknown substance, is currently still in the hospital with a "brain bleed" as a result of the savage attack. Watch the video to get the details from Glenn.


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On the first Tuesday of each month at 6:00pm. The Firehouse hosts an Orientation, offering those interested an opportunity to learn more about the classes and certification process. Sign up for the next Orientation here and learn more about Firehouse Orientations here.
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The MNN El Barrio Firehouse broadcasts its programs on Sundays at 8:00 pm on MNN1 and Thursdays at 8:00 pm on MNN4. They feature artists, writers, poets, and filmmakers, community and social justice activists, and neighborhood residents engaged in advancing human liberation, culture, and politics for the benefit of the community. Programs are streamed on MNN.org. MNN Youth Channel programs air Monday-Friday on MNN4, between 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm.
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Sonic Hours (10)
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Attending School With a Mitt Romney
The schoolboy next to me had cool clothes and perfect Brylcreem hair; he was our Mitt Romney. My wardrobe made people stare; generations of alterations on hand-me-down jeans passed for stretch marks. He wore a few layers of IZODS and Penny Loafers with dimes in their tongues.
He had his own IRA. I only had my Buck Creek DNA.
He spent a day at Purdue's Co-op for an extra-credit project on agriculture. I interviewed my Uncle Buck about his 150 fighting roosters.
He claimed to be a philatelist and collected stamps. We used stamps to buy food, and S&H stamps from Bel Air cigarette packages to acquire kitchen utensils.
His family of four ate breakfast at Frisch's Big Boy. I was the oldest of four boys and shared my cereal's milk with them or one of my four sisters.
Yeah, the Mitt Romney in my neighborhood seemed to have it all.
He bought roses for a girl on Valentine's Day. I had already handed the same girl a drawing of flowers. He got the date while I fished with my grandpa using night crawlers coached out of the ground with hot soapy water.
At 16, he picked up dates in his dad's new Riviera. I showed up wearing a half helmet on a Rupp mini bike my dad had won in a poker game. I could have passed for Sergeant Schultz from Hogan's Heroes.
He could outline Disneyland's streets and key rides. I could locate the local Salvation Army's shoe section with my eyes closed. My only trip out of Buck Creek, Indiana was to pick the strawberry fields in Michigan (and was told it was our vacation).
He stepped out of his mom's Suburban each morning. I filed off the big stub-nosed bus; my mom had no driver's license.
Yeah, our Mitt Romney didn't appear to have any worries.
His paved driveway was flanked by an awkward little man statue with a black face holding a lantern. I had a dirt driveway that went through Sugar Creek and disappeared into the woods. We used lanterns for gigging large bank catfish that escaped my uncle's grasp while noodling.
His dad owned a business that usually did well. Mine was a mechanic at a Sinclair station before trying carpentry and seasonal unemployment.
He attended a SAT prep-class during the summer before his junior year. I didn't know SATs existed, but that summer did catch and sell over 1,000 crayfish to local bait shops.
His basketball was leather. Mine was slick plastic and looked more like an anemic bowling ball without holes. He had his own lined court. I had a net-less rim on a neighbor's security light pole with a packed dirt floor.
He had a Texas Instrument SR-52 calculator the size of my metal lunchbox. I shared a Mannheim slide rule.
He and his dad shot clay skeet at the range. We shot beer cans near my uncle's hand-painted aqua blue camper (home) down by the river.
It wasn't that their Mitt Romney lifestyles were better or worse than ours – just different. For the most part, they were unaware of the depth of our poverty. That was unfortunate, but nothing sinister. And they often hired my dad or an uncle for work, from fixing mowers to remodeling rentals. I'm not sure how many taxes they paid, but am aware that someone must have paid for those stamps that occasionally bought our food, sponsored the Christmas parties for us "special" kids, and donated our baseball and football fields sporting local business signs on the fences.
The press is filled with demeaning talk of Mitt Romney's wealth, and somehow chastises him for paying "only" $1.9 million in taxes last year. The truth is, Mitt Romney's taxes paid for the 174 people to live a full year on welfare – based on the poverty level of $10,890 in 2011 (according to the poverty guidelines of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). In a sense, he made it possible for people like me as a child to survive. Or in another category, his money covered the expenses of 63 impoverished families of six (at $29,990). That's 378 people!
At the core of the poverty index's formation is the notion that one-third of an impoverished person's income is used for food. One could further accent Mitt Romney's contribution to the disenfranchised by noting that Mitt's taxes fed 1,134 people last year – people in families like mine in childhood. I think we should applaud anyone paying "only" $1.9 million in taxes.
President and First Lady Obama paid around $162,000 in federal taxes. If we subject it to the same formula, they supported 5.4 families – or 32 people (or 346 fewer than Mitt and Ann Romney). Still, their taxes equal the minimum amount of 32 people at the high end of the poverty matrix. However, there's a striking difference that makes this gap even wider from Mitt; instead of supporting others with these taxes, consider that $400,000 of the Obamas' combined salary ($789,674) is taken from the taxpayers (the presidential salary), leaving a deficit of $238,000 from available taxes to help the poor.
Or in simple speak – the Obama's $280,000 from taxes (president's salary minus taxes paid) actually took funds that could have helped eight impoverished families, or 47 people. Mitt Romney's taxes supported 378 people. And the gap of Romney helping the poor goes even further. Because of his financial success, he and Ann also gave $4,020,772 to charities (29.4% of their income). The Obama's gave $172,130 (21.8%), which is also noble. However, Vice President Biden only gave $5,540 (only 1.5%), and only an average of $369 on average over ten years. Most of us give considerably more than that in tips annually.
The President of the United States should be paid well (especially in the light of what many NCAA coaches make). However, to criticize Romney for "only" paying $1.9 million in taxes and as not caring for the poor is rather disingenuous. That's what is implied by demanding more taxes of him.
This reality evokes no smiles. Imagine going to 47 impoverished people and share – we'd like to help you, but we have to pay the President. Or, going to 378 people and share – this year we were able to give you public assistance, but next year we'll have to pull that back because Mitt Romney decided not to make as much money and to prevent paying "only" $1.9 million. I think Ayn Rand would smile. No need to ask in this scenario "Who is John Galt?" It's obvious.
There's no easy way to determine the actual amount a family can glean from "major-means tested" programs (government assistance for the poor). The Department of Health and Human Services has at least sixteen such programs, ranging from Low Income Energy Assistance Program. The Department of Agriculture has at six major programs, including SNAP (formerly Food Stamp Program), and another six departments administer another six major initiatives.
However, there is a way to determine if a person is generating more income than others, or tapping their resources. Or, if a person gives a higher or lower percentage of income to charity.
When PBS sent a crew to film the remains of our Buck Creek home, I was reminded anew that the Mitt Romneys and Obamas of this world had helped me to succeed. Some through their own financial success and generosity, and some through lifetimes of trying to leverage the financial success and taxes of others. And the stark truth that the latter approach is only possible with the former success of creators, innovators, and sound thinkers.
The film (via the WIPB affiliate) is entitled "Leading the Way out of Poverty," and captures an amazing aspect of five different families. However, a common thread is that at some point we all had to take ownership of our personal situation, and we couldn't borrow that intrinsic drive from another's success or taxes. And, several were creators, inventors, and leaders. In Atlas Shrugged, Dagny Taggart finally realizes a profound answer to the mysterious question, "Who is John Galt?" It applies to this election. "We are!"


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After giving up on TiVo honouring their 'Bonus Offer', I have just received a pleasant and apologetic email from TiVo telling me that the missing 'bonus offer' had inadvertently been omitted from their shipment, and is being mailed. Better late than never! Customer care does exist...eventually!
As an otherwise satisfied TiVo user, I must warn other users to be extremely cautious before responding to 'Special Offers' from TiVo Australia.
In August 2010 I received an e-mail offering a great deal on 'Expanding my TiVo family'. A second TiVo was offered at a discount of $100, and TiVo stated they would 'throw in' a Bonus Wireless Adapter and a Home Networking Package with a combined value of $168.
When responding, I followed TiVo's order instructions precisely,


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Syracuse volleyball loses season finale, 3-1, at Notre Dame to finish year 7-23
Syracuse finished the year on a six-game losing streak and lost eight of its last nine contests. The Orange lost the final game of its season on Friday. Read more »
Syracuse finished the year on a six-game losing streak and lost eight of its last nine contests. The Orange lost the final game of its season on Friday. Read more »
Syracuse lost its second-to-last regular season game on Wednesday night. The Orange takes on Notre Dame on Friday. Read more »
Syracuse had several opportunities against Virginia Tech but struggled to close out sets. The Orange lost, 3-1, on its senior day. Read more »
Syracuse racked up its 20th loss of the season in a 3-1 defeat against Pittsburgh. Read more »
Syracuse has struggled mightily at times this season, in large part because of its errors and low hitting percentage. Read more »
Mackenzie Weaver's mother raised her and coached her with a fiery passion. It's helped Weaver progress through her volleyball career and contribute in her first year at Syracuse. Read more »
Syracuse won the third set against the Seminoles on Sunday. But FSU won the other three sets. Read more »
Syracuse's players were sent diving all over the court trying to adjust to Florida State's low serves. It resulted in a loss and the worst set for SU in the season. Read more »
Syracuse middle blocker Leah Levert helped Syracuse stay in sets against Miami, but she couldn't bring the Orange all the way back Friday. Read more »
After several close sets, Syracuse eked out a 3-1 win at Virginia on Friday night. Read more »
Syracuse lost to Boston College in four sets. SU has now lost five of its last six games and is in 10th place in the conference. Read more »
Jalissa Trotter posted career highs in digs and kills. She was one of SU's best attackers and defenders on the day, keeping the loss to Duke close. Read more »
After splitting the first two sets, Syracuse dropped two straight against Duke on Sunday afternoon at the Women's Building. Read more »
Syracuse finished with its most blocks in a game but also its second most errors. SU needed more than 25 points to win two of the sets but won the unusual game against Wake Forest. Read more »
Santita Ebangwese made several key plays in Syracuse's five-set win over Wake Forest. She recorded 16 kills in the victory. Read more »
Syracuse's primary strength this season has been its blocking despite the Orange having a down year overall. Read more »
Syracuse has found success using a hit that is unconventional and looks like hitting a fly on the wall. Read more »
Syracuse lost to No. 8 North Carolina on Sunday, marking the first ACC weekend of the year it came away winless. SU lost to North Carolina State on Friday. Read more »
Syracuse dropped to 5-14 on the season with its loss on Friday night at North Carolina State. Read more »
Syracuse commits 7.2 service errors per game despite the Orange winning four conference games after a poor start to SU's season. Read more »
Syracuse lost for the 13th time this season, falling to Georgia Tech, 3-0. Read more »
Syracuse dropped the first set, but won the final three in a constant back-and-forth game against Clemson. Read more »
Syracuse won its fourth game of the season on Sunday at the Women's Building. Santita Ebangwese, Mackenzie Weaver and Leah Levert played key roles in the blocking game. Read more »
Syracuse committed a lot of errors against Louisville, but the Cardinals buried themselves by committing more errors than SU. The Orange picked up its fourth win of the season with the five-set victory. Read more »
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