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Boeheim earns 900th career victory as Syracuse wards off Detroit
Jim Boeheim called it just another number. The message board in the Carrier Dome didn't agree.
Moments after his third-ranked Syracuse Orange held off Detroit for a 72-68 victory Monday night in the Gotham Classic, making Boeheim just the third Division I men's coach to reach 900 wins, Hall of Famer Dave Bing, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and Louisville's Rick Pitino offered congratulations on the big screens inside the Teflon dome as the hometown faithful cheered.
Boeheim, 68 and in his 37th year at his alma mater, is 900-304 and joined an elite fraternity. Krzyzewski (936) and Bob Knight (902) are the only other men's Division I coaches to win that many games.
"To me, it's just a number," said Boeheim, whose first victory was against Harvard in 1976. "If I get 900, have I got to get more? That's why maybe it's just not that important to me because to me it's just a number, and the only number that matters is how this team does."
So far, it's done OK.
James Southerland had 22 points for Syracuse (10-0), which increased its home winning streak to 30 games, longest in the nation. Detroit (6-5), which lost 77-74 at St. John's in the second game of the season and 74-61 at Pitt earlier this month, had its four-game winning streak snapped.
Bing, Boeheim's college roommate, teammate and fellow Hall of Famer, and Roosevelt Bouie, a star on Boeheim's first team in 1976-77, were in the Carrier Dome crowd of 17,902.
Bing was standing tall in the locker room after the game.
"Nobody would have thought when we came here 50 years ago that either one of us would have had the kind of success we've had," said Bing, today the mayor of Detroit. "I'm so pleased and proud of him because he stuck with it. He's proven that he's one of the best coaches ever in college basketball, and he'll be No. 2 shortly."
After a victory that nearly was short-circuited, Boeheim was presented a jersey encased in glass with 900 emblazoned on it.
"I'm happy. I've stayed around long enough. I was a little nervous," Boeheim said at center court. "I'm proud to be here. To win this game is more pressure than I've felt in a long time. I wasn't thinking about losing until the end. That wouldn't have been a good thing to happen, but it very well could have."
Midway through the second half with Syracuse dominating, fans were given placards featuring cardboard cutouts of Boeheim's face with 900 wins printed on the back to wave in celebration. But when the public address announcer in the Carrier Dome invited fans to stick around for the postgame ceremony, the Titans roared back.
Juwan Howard Jr., who finished with 18 points, scored 14 over the last 6 minutes to key a 16-0 run, his two free throws pulling Detroit within 67-63 with 55.1 seconds left after the Titans had trailed by 20 with 6:09 to play.
"You know what, I didn't hear it, but the players probably heard because they sure came alive," Detroit coach Ray McCallum said. "This is a big stage. Guys sitting around the hotel watching television getting ready to play the No. 3 team in the country and they're talking about going for 900 wins, coach Boeheim. That's a lot for a young man to digest."
Michael Carter-Williams hit three of four free throws in the final seconds to secure the win.
"Michael made big-time free throws you've got to make. If he misses a couple, it's a new game. That was the difference," Boeheim said. "We have not been in that situation. Hopefully, we'll learn from that."
Carter-Williams finished with 10 assists and 12 points, his sixth straight double-double.
"It was great to be part of this," Carter-Williams said. "It's a part of history."
Doug Anderson scored 18 points and Nick Minnerath had 13 for Detroit. Ray McCallum Jr., the coach's son and Detroit's leading scorer at 19.4 points per game, finished with nine, while Jason Calliste had seven.
Southerland scored a career-high 35 points, matching a school record with nine 3-pointers, in a win at Arkansas in late November and, after an 0-for-10 slump over three games, found his range again Saturday night with three 3s in a win over Canisius. He finished 5 of 8 from behind the arc against the Titans.
One of the keys to breaking Syracuse's 2-3 zone is hitting the long ball, and Detroit struck out in the first half. The Titans were 0 for 10 and the lone 3 they did make — by McCallum with just over 6 minutes left — was negated by a shot-clock violation.
Detroit could only lament what might have been if a couple had gone in.
"We never gave up. That's a tribute to our team," Howard said. "We had the right attitude. We played a tough opponent. You usually don't want a moral victory, but we can take some positives from this game."
Syracuse plays again Saturday against Temple in Madison Square Garden, and the Orange faithful are likely to be out in numbers as they usually are when the team plays there.
Boeheim was effusive in praise of the support the team has received during his long tenure. Syracuse has had 71 crowds of over 30,000 since the Carrier Dome opened in 1980 and holds the NCAA on-campus record of 34,616, set nearly three years ago against Villanova.
"The support of fans cannot be overestimated," he said. "You have to have that kind of support in your building to bring recruits in, to help you play better. We've had a tremendous loyal fan base. That's why I always felt this was a great place to coach and why I never really thought about going anywhere else. The support from the fans is the No. 1 thing you have to have."


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(hereafter known as the Pen Mini for simplicity.)
First things first: I don't do measurement style reviews; there are other sites that do that much better than I can. I write from a shooter's perspective: is it a good tool? Do I enjoy using it? Are there any critical flaws potential purchasers should know about? If you're fine with that, read on.
Olympus E-PM1 Pen Mini, taped up for stealth and wearing the excellent Zuiko Digital 12/2. I've since switched to using a small lanyard strap, because a strap this chunky is overkill for such a small camera – and I wanted to use it on my M9-P.
At the end of 2011, Olympus introduced an interesting trio of cameras. Although they were ostensibly positioned at different market segments, just a couple of hundred dollars covered the spread, and they all shared the same sensor and AF system. Two of them even almost had the same body (the E-PL3 and E-PM1 only differ by a mode dial, flip screen and another button or two). The E-P3 had sightly different firmware, better build, and a greatly increased number of manual controls.
Prague river evenings. Olympus Pen Mini, 45/1.8
Let me be honest upfront: I was not a fan of the original E-P1, nor any of its descendants or sub-lines. They were slow to operate and focus, had frankly quite poor image quality, and were neither small nor light. They were also ergonomically pretty poor.
So what changed? Firstly, the ergonomics. The Pen Mini is tiny. As in compact camera tiny, without a lens attached; and not much larger than a LX5 if you use one of the pancake lenses. The main thing is operation speed. The latest generation are fast. Fast enough that you're constantly impressed that it's found focus, and done so accurately. And fast in every other way too – navigating menus, playback, zooming review images, shot-to-shot, etc. Curiously, the small-bodied E-PM1 and E-PM3 are both faster than the flagship E-P3; they'll shoot at around 5fps with the stabilizer off, but the E-P3 is limited to 3fps. Apparently it's a limitation of the older shutter or stabilizer design. (But that's not as fast as it gets; the new E-M5 will do 9fps with AF locked, and focusing is supposed to be even faster – not that you'd really be able to tell the difference.) Bottom line: you're not waiting for the camera, and it isn't what's stopping you from getting the shot. After trying one in a store – a friend bought the E-P3 – I instantly decided it was fast enough; if the image quality was okay, then we'd be in business.
Rush hour storm. Olympus Pen Mini, Panasonic 20/1.7
Autofocus is very fast indeed for static subjects in good light; I can't tell the difference between the Pen Mini fitted with the right lenses (the new Olympus ones) and my D700. In lower light, there's a difference; in very low light, sometimes the camera will fail to find focus at all. Forget about moving subjects; although there's notionally a tracking mode, it's essentially useless. Fall back to prefocus, timing and the larger DOF afforded by the small sensor in such situations. There is one quirk with the Olympuses (Olympii?) that I haven't seen with other contrast-detect AF systems: it gets confused by extreme contrast (for example, focusing on the sun or a point light source) and just hunts, or perhaps reports good focus after settling at an intermediate point. That's odd, because something that high contrast should be a perfect focusing target, right? Maybe it's the pixel overload – blown channels – that stops it from working properly.
The assembly of modernist cuisine. Olympus Pen Mini, Panasonic 20/1.7
The headline spec isn't that exciting – just 12MP, and seemingly the same sensor as the previous generation of cameras. What Olympus did was increase the sensor readout speed to 60Hz, which has the effect of doubling autofocus speed (slightly more, actually, when the new focusing algorithm is taken into account) and making the view smoother. A good 12MP is more than enough for almost all but the most demanding uses; I've been plenty happy with the output of my D700, and guess what, that has exactly the same resolution.
Afroman. Olympus Pen Mini, 45/1.8
A D700 it is not, however. The Pen Mini (and by extension, other cameras using the same sensor) produce detailed, sharp images when used with the right lens and within their optimum shooting envelope; in some ways the output reminds me of the Leica M9 at low ISO. The antialiasing filter is very weak, if there is one; single pixel detail is excellent, especially when paired with the right lenses – the Olympus 45/1.8 that accompanied the cameras at launch is a good example of that. I'd say the sensor provides clean output up to ISO 800; it's useable at 1600, and perhaps 3200 in a pinch. What you see isn't the increased luminance/ chroma noise (but maintained detail) of the M9; there's definitely a gentle smeary noise reduction going on even for the RAW files which seems to kick in around ISO 1250. Fine detail structures are the first to go, followed by edge detail. It's noticeably by ISO 1600, and annoying if you go any higher. More critical is the narrowing dynamic range as the sensitivity increases – by ISO 1600 you're probably looking at no more than 6 good stops from a RAW file. Note the reduced dynamic range is also noticeable at base ISO – specifically, the highlight recovery slider in Adobe Camera Raw does very little if the image is overexposed, and what little it does is tinged with false color information. The shadow slider still shows that there's a decent amount of information in the quarter tones, but at the expense of luminance and chroma noise.
Arches, Vienna. ISO 1600 – looks good at this size, right? Visible edge erosion due to non-cancelable noise reduction at 100% though. Olympus Pen Mini, 45/1.8
You'd think this sounds pretty damning – it's not. The files are punchy, and respond well to tweaking. However, the color palette is pleasing rather than accurate; something you need to take into account of if shooting objects, scenery or architecture. It excels at skin tones, however – in both RAW and JPEG. I'm a stickler for accurate color, especially after curve tweaking; it required quite a number of tries before I could accurately correct for the Olympus color palette (but still leave some residual camera signature in place).
Overall, image quality is right where you'd expect it to be for a sensor of this size: better than the 1/1.3″ compacts, but probably lagging a stop or so behind the best of the current APS-C cameras (Nikon D7000, for instance.)
Cathedral reflections, Prague. Olympus Pen Mini, 45/1.8
Let's talk about ergonomics. With a body that small, there's no way you can fit a huge amount of external controls in. And they didn't even bother trying. In fact, there are so few buttons on the back of the camera that you really HAVE to use the 'super control panel' screen to make settings changes – or suffer through the absolutely horrible menu system. I also find the camera quite slippery to hold because it has no thumb grip other than the movie record button and a vestigial rubber protrusion above the D-pad/dial combo; I fitted a spare ThumbsUp and haven't looked back since. It doesn't really fit properly, but it does the job well and hugely improves handling. I suspect one of those stick on front grips by Richard Franiec would also make a big difference. There's only one programmable function button – the record button under your thumb. You'll have to decide what your most frequently used function is from a rather short list. I'm using it for center AF point during shooting and instant delete during playback; you could also use it for the usual AF/AE functions and a few other things.
Magritte strikes again. The camera really does quite lovely blues, especially sky tones. Olympus Pen Mini, 45/1.8
I have a love-hate affair with the menu. On one hand, the menu button brings up something that's clearly aimed at a complete novice – you have a choice between scene modes, movies, PSAM, and a deeper-level settings menu. Curiously, the settings menu has two versions: the simple 'idiot' version with only basic options such as time, date, format etc – and a super-comprehensive version that makes the camera's behavior more customizable than my D700. For instance, I can even adjust the LCD's color temperature (!). The nice thing about this is you can set up the camera once to suit your shooting style, and not really touch it again after that. I shoot RAW, auto-ISO to 1600 with a lower limit of 1/60th (small cameras held at arms' length mean higher propensity towards camera shake blur) and auto-WB. It's in continuous high mode, with the stabilizer off, single point AF-C. The JPEG color settings do affect the RAW preview, so as usual I turn the saturation and contrast down, and crank up the sharpening so I can more easily tell whether what I've shot is in focus or not.
New year's eve rebel. Olympus Pen Mini, 12/2
You're probably wondering why I don't use the stabilizer: basically, it's pretty much useless. I have much better results by shooting fast bursts and keeping the middle image. Turning the stabilizer on creates an odd double image effect that I suspect is an artifact of not being fully able to compensate for the shutter recoil. At higher shutter speeds, you shouldn't be using stabilization at all on any camera, because it won't react fast enough. And don't even think about using the stabilizer for movie recording; it's a digital effect and creates horrible rolling-shutter jello. That said, I tried shooting video once with the camera, and was horrified by the jellocam effect even with stabilizer off; sufficient to say, this isn't a good choice for movie makers. This is rather odd, since the sensor can read out at at least 60fps; furthermore, the design of the cameras actually seems somewhat video-centric – why else would you fit a 16:9 LCD to a camera whose native aspect ratio is 4:3? That's actually one of my pet peeves with the Pen Mini: you've got a lot of unused LCD space in normal shooting mode, so the 3″ LCD is effectively more like 2.5″. At least there are plenty of pixels, so the image is sharp and fluid.
Architectural trees. This is about as bad as flare gets with the 45/1.8, with the sun in the frame – it's not technically great, but it is very pleasing in a cinematic sort of way. Which suits my shooting style pretty well. Olympus Pen Mini, 45/1.8
Assuming you can figure out the menu and set up the camera to suit your style, the Pen Mini is actually a joy to shoot. I enjoy using it because it's so small; it un-encumbers me and allows me to just be there with the option to shoot (without much compromise, if any) rather than consciously be shooting, as I would be if I was carrying a larger, bulkier camera. On a recent trip to Europe, I carried a Pen Mini and three lenses as my secondary/ backup system – all in the spare pockets of my jacket! I didn't notice it was there until I needed a 90/1.8 equivalent, and out it came.
Sushi. Seared isaki with momeji oroshii chili. Olympus Pen Mini and Panasonic 20/1.7
Ultimately, the make or break for any camera system is the available lenses; it's why the NEX and Nikon 1 haven't quite taken off with anything other than then beginner/ upgraded market, and it's unlikely the Ricoh and Pentax systems will appeal to anything other than a very niche audience. Argueably, Micro Four Thirds is the most complete compact system; it certainly has the most lens options other than Leica M (and there are plenty of adaptors that allow you to use those lenses, too). I could find fast primes in the focal lengths I'd want to use, which is more than I can say of any of the other systems; better yet, I had a few choices. Fast and wide? No problem – there's the excellent Olympus 12/2, or the compact Panasonic 14/2.5. And then there are a few zooms, too. I went with the 12/2, smitten by its clutched focusing ring (but finding later that it lacked sufficient resolution to be truly useful for zone focus, and wishing I'd bought the much smaller Panasonic instead). Midrange? Olympus 17/2.8 pancake, Panasonic 20/1.7, Panasonic-Leica 25/1.4, or the insane Voigtlander 25/0.95. All are good except for the 17, which is an utter dog. I went with the 20 for the size; it's a fantastic and very versatile lens, except being an older model, focusing isn't as fast as the newer lenses. The Voigtlander looks insanely cool and offers very close minimum focus, but is hugely impractical (magnified live view focus at arms' length, anybody?) and expensive. The Leica is a nice option, but too bulky for my liking. I shoot usually 24/28 and a short tele pair; on the D700 for instance it's the 24/1.4 or Zeiss 2/28 Distagon plus the Nikon 85/1.4 G. Olympus released a new 45/1.8 together with the trio of cameras; it's probably the standout lens in their range. It's light, cheap, fast to focus, has great bokeh, biting sharpness and a very pleasing overall rendition – what more can you ask for? Sure, metal build would be nice, but I'm happy saving that for the new 75/1.8 (150mm equivalent) exotic. I was considering a macro solution, but I have the D700 for that – and don't think that will be changing anytime soon.
Edible foam. Olympus Pen Mini, 14-42/3.5-5.6 IIR kit lens
I know in my mirrorless tips article I recommended using an external finder/ EVF for stability; I don't with the Pen Mini for one simple reason: the stability I gain from bracing my face against the finder is negatively offset by the loss of stability caused by removing the ThumbsUp. Plus it makes the camera rather bulky, not pocketable, and fragile-feeling – I'd be constantly worried about snapping the finder off because it pivots through 90deg for waist level shooting, and doesn't really lock in place all that securely.
Graffiti. Olympus Pen Mini, 45/1.8
With all cameras, the ultimate litmus test for me is how much I use it: the cameras I like more tend to be workhorses or go-to cameras, either because I enjoy using them or they're the best tool for the job. Anything that stays around for longer than around 2-3,000 exposures is a keeper for me; none of the other mirrorless systems I tried (NEX-5, X100, X1) lasted that long. The Olympus is rolling over 7,000 and going strong – which is nearly as much as I shot with the M9-P during the same period (since November last year). My D700 has seen just a couple of thousand frames, which is unusual.
The embarrassment of having a pigeon crapping on your head. Olympus Pen Mini, 45/1.8
In conclusion, it's a competent, fun camera. And at the current price of around $499 (I've seen it as low as $399 after rebates) in the US, it's a no brainer. In fact, I'm thinking of picking up another one in electric pink to use as a spare or street photography camera; nobody is going to see me as a concern or take me seriously with one of those, which should make for some very interesting images. Micro Four Thirds has finally made good on its promise of smaller, just as good with this camera – its cheapest entry level option – not the flagship. I just hope the current corporate farce doesn't kill the company, now that they've finally figured out how to produce a great product. MT

subset: commoncrawl


text: Remember the Boogie Board "tablet" that, factoring in 50,000 erases, cost less than paper? It's been super-sized to 10.5 inches, giving you basically twice the real estate to doodle or leave disgusting dorm door messages. You still can't record your sketches or writing, but depending on how indecent your friends are, that might not be the worst thing in the world. [Wired]


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Saturday, 28 December 2013 01:03 PM EST
Federal unemployment benefits will officially expire for 1.3 million out-of-work Americans on Saturday. With Congress in recess, no last-minute fix is possible.
Democrats have spent much of the holiday week criticizing Republicans for resisting an extension of the emergency jobless aid program, which began in 2008 under President George W. Bush and has been extended every year since then.
Editor's Note: 5 Phases of a 'Retirement Heist' Exposed (See Video)
The federal benefits kick in once people exhaust their state jobless benefits, which end in many states after 26 weeks.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has vowed to make an extension of the benefits the top issue in his chamber when Congress returns on Jan. 6.
The issue is part of an economic agenda aimed at winning support from middle-class Americans. Along with the push for an extension of unemployment insurance, Democrats will also push for an increase in the minimum wage.
The renewal of unemployment benefits is expected to face opposition in the Republican-led House of Representatives, but Democrats said this week they are increasingly optimistic about gaining political traction for the issue.
Democrats have been highlighting the personal stories of out-of-work Americans about to be bumped off the unemployment rolls.
An ad running on cable television by the liberal group Americans United for Change accuses Republicans of putting the interests of the wealthy above those of ordinary Americans and spoiling Christmas for the unemployed.
Earlier this week, House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, held a conference call with reporters to highlight the plight of unemployed mothers.
The White House is also hammering the message.
"As the president has repeatedly made clear, it defies economic sense, precedent and our values to allow 1.3 million Americans fighting to find jobs to see their unemployment insurance abruptly cut off - especially in the middle of the holiday season," Gene Sperling, director of the White House National Economic Council, said in a statement.
Obama, who is spending the holidays in Hawaii with his family, on Friday telephoned Democratic Senator Jack Reed and Republican Senator Dean Heller, the sponsors of a measure that would temporarily extend the federal unemployment benefits.
Congressional Democrats, on the defensive over the botched rollout of Obama's signature healthcare law, view a focus on economic issues as a chance to improve their prospects in the midterm congressional elections in November.
Reviving a strategy that helped Obama win re-election in 2012, Democrats plan to use Republican resistance to renewing unemployment benefits and raising the minimum wage to portray them as insensitive to the struggles of middle- and lower-income Americans.
"The clock is ticking, not only for 1.3 million Americans who have been looking for work for longer than six months, but tens of thousands more who each week will lose their unemployment insurance if House Republican leaders don't agree to put an extension up for a vote," said Representative Sander Levin, ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee.
Democrats have seized on a comment earlier this month from Republican Senator Rand Paul that extending the unemployment benefits would be a "disservice" to those out of work by giving them less of an incentive to rejoin the workforce more quickly.
Republicans have argued that the federal unemployment benefits were always meant to be temporary and that the program would add to the deficit unless offset by reductions in spending elsewhere in the budget.
"We're not going to convince (Republicans) substantively that it's the right thing to do. We have to put political pressure on them," said Brad Woodhouse, president of Americans United for Change.
The proposal by Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, and Heller, a Nevada Republican, would extend the federal unemployment benefits for three months.
Editor's Note: 5 Phases of a 'Retirement Heist' Exposed (See Video)
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NOTD Gold Stars
Hey ladies,
It's been a really long time since I blogged and I really miss it and I miss you so I'm gonna try to get back on the blogging horse. So in this time that I've been away I kept painting my nails and trying to take pictures and that's what I'm gonna share with you in the upcoming days.
For today I have a mani that I loved. It's purple with gold stars (What's not to like?) For the base color I'm using Milani Purple Pop Art, in my ring finger I have a coat of Essie Shine of Times, hence the flakies and both star designs were stamped with China Glaze Passion and Cheeky plates.
Check it out:
I was seriously in love with this design I didn't want to remove it. Do you like this combo?
Thanks for reading <3
Stamping how to


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Amnesty International report: Malian soldiers committed human rights abuses, killed civilians
SEVARE, Mali – An international human rights group says it has documented cases of the Malian military killing civilians and says other people have disappeared since the conflict began.
In a report released Friday, Amnesty International cited witnesses saying the Malian army had arrested more than 24 civilians on the eve of the French-led intervention on Jan. 11.
Amnesty says it is feared that many were later killed by soldiers and some bodies were thrown down a well in Sevare. The Associated Press had earlier reported killings of civilians by the Malian army in Sevare.
The Malian government has promised to investigate allegations of human rights abuses by its soldiers.
France has said that it wants to hand over responsibility to the Malian army and other African counterparts.


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Jupiter?s moon Io is one of the strangest places in our solarsystem, with extremely tall mountains, foul-smelling gases in its tenuous atmosphereand incredible levels of volcanic activity beneath its surface.
A new study of some of the chemical compounds present on theJovian moonIo has revealed fascinating new details about this peculiar world,researchers said.
"It's an exciting place," said researcher ArielleMoullet of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. "It's the mostvolcanic place in the solar system and as far as we know in the universe.It is unique."
Moullet and colleagues used the SubmillimeterArray, a collection of radio telescopes on Mauna Kea in Hawaii, to look for thetelltale signatures of several chemicals in the moon's atmosphere, includingsulfur dioxide, sulfur monoxide and sodium chloride. The researchers found thatthese smelly gases tend to be concentrated on the side of Io facing away fromJupiter. [TenExtreme Planet Facts.]
"These species are located very close to the main volcanic centers, which may suggestvery strongly that they are really driven by the volcanic processes,"Moullet told SPACE.com. She conceded the moon isn't a very pleasant place,though, because of the rotten-egg smell of the sulfur gases.
Gassy volcano moon
In fact, it's impressive that the Jovianmoon can hang on to these wispy gases at all.
"What is special about Io is, it's pretty small so it'ssurprising it can retainan atmosphere," Moullet said. "It's as big as our moon, so that?swhy people are looking for what is the main source of this gas."
Scientists think the atmosphere is tied to the intensegeologic activity on the moon, which is spurred by Io's relatively shortdistance from Jupiter ? they are separated by about 260,000 miles(420,000 km) ? and Jupiter's humongous mass. Jupiter exerts tidal forceson Io, much as Earth's moon does on our planet and vice versa, that tug at Io'snear side stronger than at the far side.
The tidal forces cause layers of Io beneath the surface tomove and rub against each other, creating friction that heats up these layersand melts magma that erupts in volcanoes.
The volcanoes spew out material that tends to freeze quicklyafter reaching the surfaceof Io, because its temperature can reach as low as minus 298 degreesFahrenheit (minus 183 degrees Celsius). Over time, the sulfuric ice layersublimates, or transitions directly into a gas, to create the moon's tenuousatmosphere.
Great peaks of Io
The intense geologic activity is also responsible for Io'stowering peaks, including some mountains taller than Mount Everest.
The researchers hope this mysterious place gives up evenmore of its secrets in the future when more powerful instruments and betterimagery is available.
In particular, a proposed joint NASA/European Space Agencymission to Jupiter and its other moon Europa called EJSM (EuropaJupiter System Mission), could offer up-close views of Io, too, if it islaunched in 2020, as proposed.
- Top 10 Extreme Planet Facts
- Gallery - Moons of Jupiter
- Jupiter's Volcanic Moon Io Could be Target for Life


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Ed Reed will be back in Baltimore after all, this time playing for the New York Jets.
The Jets announced today that they have agreed to terms with the Ravens' longtime free safety just a couple of days after Reed was released by the Houston Texans. The move reunites Reed with his former defensive coordinator in Baltimore, Rex Ryan, who is now the head coach of the Jets.
The Jets will face the Ravens next Sunday at M&T; Bank Stadium, giving Reed a second opportunity to return to the city where he played for the first 11 seasons of his NFL career. Reed received loud applause when he returned to M&T; Bank in Week 3 of the season as his Texans were beaten, 30-9, by the Ravens.
Reed, 35, didn't make much of an impact in that game, finishing with three tackles. He was cut by the Texans this week after he made 16 tackles in seven games, including five starts. Reed had recently lost his starting safety job and probably sealed his fate with the Texans when he said after Sunday's loss to the Arizona Cardinals that Houston had been "outplayed and out-coached."
There was some speculation after his release that he could re-sign with the Ravens, but coach John Harbaugh shot down that possibility Wednesday.
"Ed's a Raven, he'll always be a Raven," Harbaugh said. "I'm sure he'll be in the Ring of Honor someday, in the Hall of Fame someday. We've kept in touch with Ed off and on here regularly. He's a good friend of everybody here. There are no plans to change our secondary personnel at this time. We're happy with what we have. Our guys are playing well, so that's where we're at."


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For the past number of years, I have been a law school professor.
And, since this blog was first started, it has been my pleasure to write about matters dealing with equity, equitable remedies, and various other related topics in this Blog for the benefit of my readers (typically South Carolina lawyers and Judges).
While I certainly plan to continue to write on topics of interest dealing with equity and related property matters, I thought I should advise all my readers, present and future, that I have left the Charleston School of Law and now I am "Of Counsel" to a Law Firm in Charleston called Stevens & Lee. The firm has a number of offices in several states including Pennsylvania and Delaware.
My own focus will continue to be on South Carolina and certainly invite any interested reader to pass along any case or opinion or order in this State which deals with the topics of equity and equitable remedies.
Remember, the goal is educational – to share news and lower court orders and other matters that may well be of interest to a number of Lawyers and Judges and I will try my very best to follow the wishes of those who may well be involved.
By the way, my new contact information is as follows:
Stephen Spitz
Of Counsel
Stevens & Lee
Email: email@example.com
Phone: 843-414-5085


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Prepar3D v2 supports an ecosystem of very talented developers and designers who build scenery and airport addons for Prepar3D.
A great highlight of this partnership is Orbx. Orbx develops extremely high fidelity, award-winning environment and scenery expansions for Prepar3D.
Orbx recently took their beautiful approach to re-imagining life-like airports and regions for Prepar3D and applied them to the entire Prepar3D globe. Orbx FTX Global creates an entirely new simulation experience for Prepar3D users.
FTX Global Feature Overview and Highlights
- Orbx Simulation Systems – fullterrain.com
- Total upgrade of your Prepar3D base world texture set – the entire globe re-imagined
- New ground and autogen textures, 3D night lighting system, and more!
- For more information, visit the FTX Global Product Page
Exclusive FTX Global Image Gallery in Prepar3D v2.2


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Pity Justin Bieber. Not since his fellow mop-toppers ignited the world with Beatlemania five decades ago has a pop star had so much trouble getting from cab to curb. New video footage shows poor Bieber being overtaken by fans while frantically throttling a Segway (top speed 12.5 mph). He and his mother were also recently mobbed at an airport in New Zealand; a riot at a CD signing at a Long Island mall resulted in injuries and the arrest of Bieber's manager for "reckless endangerment and criminal nuisance"; and after a show on the Fourth of July, he fled bare-chested with the kind of police escort usually accorded to Third World dictators. The escape was made in a humble van—a less-than-ideal getaway vehicle, since, as his guitarist says in New York Magazine, mothers will often stand in front of a Bieber-mobile, forming a human blockade "so that their kids can bang on the side."
Bieber's vulnerability results from the inadequate transportation he's using to flee the scene. Popular Mechanics herewith submits a list of four alternative getaway vehicles that should be marked improvements in areas of safety, expedition and Bieber-grade élan.
The Vehicle: The Eleonora Maersk
Description: Length 1305.78 feet; beam 183.7 feet; max draft 429.8 feet; top speed 9.2 knots
Pros: The Canadian heartthrob is known for being unusually fan-friendly. His success is predicated largely on viral YouTube videos; he indefatigably signs autographs; he uploads various uploadables and Tweets until blue in the fingers. Perfect for a post-show reception, the Eleonora Maersk is the longest container ship in the world, longer than the Chrysler Building is tall. It's big enough for Bieber, his mother and his posse to take their pick of hiding places, yet it still has more than enough space to accommodate thousands of spectators.
Cons: There is a strong possibility that weather, moisture or sea spray could contribute to complications in matters of personal grooming and style. Bieber's carefully hand-tousled hair may become chaotically wind-tousled and, ergo, substantially less dreamy.
The Vehicle: The Zorb
(Photo by misterbisson/Flickr)
Description: Double-sectioned inflatable plastic ball typically 10 feet in diameter
Pros: Many nonthreatening situations merely require Bieber's escape vehicle to outrun the top speed of a highly adrenalized 12-year-old girl. In these cases, he may opt for the Zorb, or "human hamster wheel." The inflated, transparent, dual-sectioned plastic ball provides a literal and metaphorical buffer against the madding crowd. Thus, what could have been a violent public eruption could very well be turned into a parade of baby-duckie-like gentleness and order. It also transitions neatly from terrestrial to an aquatic transport, whereupon the spectacle of Bieber walking/hamstering on water would act as a stirring apotheosis.
Cons: Powerful centrifugal forces within the hot, confined inflataball may induce nausea or public regurgitation. This may not be an insurmountable PR situation, however. In fact, paired with fans' drool and tears, the converging bodily ejecta may serve as a primitive bonding ritual.
The Vehicle: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Description: Vintage aero-racing car/plane/hovercraft designed and built by eccentric inventor and playboy Caractacus Potts
Pros: This was a photo-finish with KITT, Knight Industries Two Thousand, the car from Knight Rider. Both act as friends and quondam mascot/chaperones, and each boasts a cheeky personality, charming in its artificial intelligence. But ultimately it was determined that CCBB is more age-appropriate and has stronger family values. (CCBB saves telegenic children from the bilious Baroness Bomburst, while KITT helps Michael Knight get girls—the last thing Bieber needs.)
Furthermore, CCBB can perform aerial extraction. Like the Zorb, it is capable of aquatic transport. Like KITT, it has its own sonic signature, its anima. But instead of a digitized bigeminal pulse, this robotic ride's backfiring engine produces the sound "chitty chitty bang bang." That's an onomatopoeia—a word Bieber likely needs to know for an upcoming vocab quiz.
Cons: When referring to it in conversation, sooner or later you have to actually utter the words "chitty chitty bang bang."
The Vehicle: The Sultan's Elephant
Description: 20-foot tall, 50-ton mechanical elephant built in reclaimed poplar and steel, with various hydraulics, motors and manipulators
Pros: The Sultan's Elephant is one of the few vehicles on earth that gets the same Swiss-watch attention to detail as Bieber's personal styling—the young man employs a "swagger coach." From the lifelike leather ears to the craquelure of its hide to the 22 mysterious "manipulators" in its proboscis, the Sultan's Elephant must be the most magnificently bespoke vehicle on earth. Riding atop such a mount conjures images of the august dignity and might of exotic, bygone emperors. But unlike your average pachyderm, the Sultan's Elephant feels no urge to trample large crowds of screaming bipeds.
Cons: The Sultan's Elephant is also a cautionary tale about the costs of stardom. The owners were so overwhelmed by requests to make public appearances around the world that they eventually destroyed it. Bieber will have to settle for a replica elephant, built in 2007.
Honorable Mentions:
The EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle; the V Mothership; the Popemobile; the Aptera; the Martin "Jet-Pack"; the MaxiMOG; the Land Walker Exoskeleton.


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Facing up to FATCA has been saved
Facing up to FATCA
ME PoV Fall 2011 issue
Since its enactment in U.S. tax law in March 2010, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) has generated significant controversy amongst financial institutions across the globe. However, despite repeated calls for its repeal, financial institutions everywhere are having to accept the inevitable: FATCA is here to stay.
Download and read this article


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It's only mid March of 2013 and so far we've seen some compelling smartphone offerings from the likes of Sony, LG, and more recently, Samsung. But on February 19th, HTC unveiled its latest flagship smartphone, the One, and it's one hell of a device.
Oozing with style and power from every port, the HTC One is simply one of the most beautiful devices we've ever seen, which is something that we said about the One X. The spec list runs long on the One, giving it a deadly combination of beauty and brawn, but is that enough? In this review, we'll try to see if what HTC has been working on all this time has finally paid off.


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Ade-Ojo, Gordon ORCID: 0000-0002-1098-0765 (2003) Perspectives on error and the teaching of English to non-mother tongue speakers. Language Issues: the journal of NATECLA, 14 (2). pp. 15-17. ISSN 0268-5833


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Published in the March 2013 issue
How to Make Bryan Caswell's Whole Fish
Reef, Houston
Serves two.
Tip: Most whole-fish recipes call for dry roasting — stuffing with herbs and baking. But it usually turns out exactly that: dry. Caswell poaches fish in its liquidy natural habitat.
This is a shallow-poaching technique — something we do in the restaurant by the hundreds every week. The fish stays moist and contributes a significant amount of flavor to the liquid (called cuisson). Then, with a little butter and even less work, you've got a truly showy sauce. And it all happens in one pan.
You Have:
1 1/2-to-2 1/2-lb fish (like sea bream, snapper, or striped bass), gutted, cleaned, scaled, and fins clipped off with scissors (with the exception of the tail)
You Need:
A heavy ovenproof pan in which the fish fits comfortably but snugly: a large skillet, an oval-shaped Dutch oven (like Le Creuset's), or a heavy-gauge roasting pan with a flat bottom. You want the entire surface of the fish to come in contact with the pan.
Lay out the fish so that the head is to the right and the belly closest to you. With a sharp knife, make two slits (about 1 inch below the gill plate), angling the blade away from the head at about 25 degrees and cutting straight to the bone (but not through it). Flip fish over (head to the left and belly closest to you) and repeat process. This will help reduce cooking time in the thickest part of the fish.
Rub the entire fish liberally with olive oil. (You don't want the delicate skin to stick to the pan.) Liberally season the exterior as well as the interior belly and gill pouches with kosher salt and cayenne pepper.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Get your pan ripping hot and liberally coat the cooking surface with a shallow puddle of olive oil. (Again, so the delicate skin doesn't stick. Fish looks better with its skin intact.) When the oil is rippling across the surface, gently place the fish in the pan and sear the first side until crisp. (Much depends on the heat and the pan, so timing can vary. Gently lift the fish to check.) Gently flip the fish and let the second side sear for about half the time it took for the first side. This takes practice.
Add some peeled and sliced shallots and garlic cloves, a few thyme sprigs, and a handful of chopped scallions, using only the white ends and reserving the green parts for later. Let the aromatics sweat around the fish for a few minutes to release liquids. Deglaze with a glug of white wine, giving it a few seconds to fizzle down. Add equal parts water and clam juice, using just enough to come about one third the way up the fish. Arrange a few lemons slices over the fish. Bring the liquid to a boil and transfer the pan to the hot oven. When the blade of a knife can pierce through the fish without resistance, it's done. (I like to use a thin metal cake tester because it doesn't flake the fish.) The average cooking time is 12 to 15 minutes, but again, this will vary depending upon the pan and the heat.
Remove the fish to a platter and return the pan (it's hot, so be careful) to a low burner. Add the chopped scallion greens, and bring the liquid to a simmer. Whisk in 1 tbsp cold unsalted butter to finish the sauce and give it a sheen.
Serve from one side of the fish. Pick up the bone at the tail end and lift it toward the head as though you were pulling off a Band-Aid, pressing down with the side of the knife blade to release the connective tissue below the gill plate if necessary. The entire bone frame will lift right off, looking like one of those fish skeletons in the Tweety Bird cartoons. Now serve the bottom half, spooning sauce over each portion.
How to Carve a Whole Fish
Step 1
Working from the belly side, use a thin-bladed knife to gently separate the top half of the fish. When properly cooked, it will slip right off the bone.
Step 2
Carefully transfer to serving plate, using your hand like a spatula if necessary and gently turning the fillet so that it is skin-side down.
Step 3
Peel off the fish frame like a Band-Aid, detaching it at the base if necessary.
Step 4
Serve bottom half, carefully transferring it skin-side down.


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Philadelphia (CNN) – The seated statue of Benjamin Franklin towered over Mitt Romney in the marbled rotunda but the White House hopeful stood tall as he reflected on becoming the Republican presidential nominee.
"Yeah there are challenges and there are days that you get beat up in the newspaper and you don't worry about it because you don't read them – ha ha," Romney said at a Tax Day Tea Summit, hosted by the Independence Hall Tea Party Association.
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Acknowledging the unrelenting news cycle of his second White House run, Romney signaled his campaign was transitioning from primary election mode facing GOP opponents to the general election against his sole Democratic opponent President Barack Obama.
"This campaign is just getting going. It's going to be fun," he told hundreds gathered at the Franklin Institute on Tuesday night.
Romney spoke out against one of Obama's signature economic initiatives, known as The Buffett Rule, which would have required anyone earning more than $1 million to pay a minimum tax rate of 30%.
"His big idea now is this Buffet Rule, which is – someone calculated by the way, that the taxes he would raise from his Buffet Rule would pay for 11 hours – would pay for 11 hours of the government, alright? This is not exactly a grand idea. This is a man who is out of ideas, he's out of excuses and in 2012 we're going to make sure he gets put out of office," Romney said as the audience stood up and chanted his first name.
He did not acknowledge the news from Capitol Hill, which occurred less than an hour before he appeared in Philadelphia, where Senate Republicans blocked the measure from receiving the 60 votes necessary to allow the Senate to open debate.
With 10 months of campaigning behind him, Romney remained optimistic despite a tough slog ahead.
"I had not expected to have the great privilege of doing this and I find myself having the time of my life," he said.
Obama re-election team increases fundraising haul
Buffett Rule would barely dent debt but fits nicely into Obama's theme
I think I read that the Buffett rule would amount to about 5 billion in taxes a year extra. I guess that's about enough to pay for a GSA Conference!
I hope your ready mitten, we all know how bunkers you get when your about to end up with short stick. We know you will lie lie, spin spin, and get grouchy as heck if you lose. I hope you'll be a good sport if this should happen.
Yes, Romney, I'm gonna have fun voting for Pres. Obama!!!! Ha, ha, ha what a day that's gonna be! 🙂
It is so fitting to see our Mormon star Mitt Romney near the statue of Ben Franklin. It is not always well known, but Ben Franklin attended many different church services of many faiths, so it is clear that he would have accepted a Mormon as president.
That fake "ha ha ha ha ha" of his will do him in.
He isn't funny (though he laughs at all the peons when he tries to make us think he is).
Like Mitt Romney, Ben Franklin spent considerable time in France. He understood exactly how important it was for the colonies to be well funded and he appealed to the French. Ben Franklin was a pragmatist.
Ben Franklin would have understood Mitt Romney. He would see that we Americans must sacrifice and we must do it now, for the sake our future. This is in our blood. The blessed Latter Day Saints faced times of great hardship. Much sacrifice was needed.
Mitt Romney will be a wonderful president. He comes from a long line of pure people with good intentions. Evangelicals and Mormons must unite and see our common ground.


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CDFG workshop walkout
The California Department of Fish and Game's (CDFG) first Scott Valley flow study workshop got off to a rough start yesterday at the Fort Jones Community Center when a group of property rights activists staged a walk-out.
Though the meeting was not structured to include an open comment period, representatives of Scott Valley's Protect Our Water (POW) and the Siskiyou County Water Users Association addressed the 60 or so attendees, voicing their objections to what they believe is the agency's attempt to take water and property rights from landowners.
After the statements were made, attendees were encouraged to boycott the process by walking out. Nearly 40 people left the workshop, leaving about 18 participants to continue with the process.
CDFG says they are required to make minimum instream flow recommendations for the benefit of salmon and trout populations in the Scott and Shasta rivers, along with a list of other rivers across the state. The recommendations will be made to the California Water Resources Control Board.
In order to make the recommendations, the agency plans to eventually perform a flow study on the Scott and Shasta rivers. However, before the flow study is designed, CDFG is attempting to engage landowners and interest groups in a collaborative process to gather local input to inform the study design. So far, agency representatives have met with strong opposition from the Siskiyou County agricultural community.
CDFG has contracted Normandeau Environmental Consultants to perform the initial study planning process. The consultants are using a computer model known as the Legal Institutional Analysis Model (LIAM), which they say engages participants in a formal, structured decision making process in which their concerns are clearly identified and acknowledged. "It also helps participants better understand their potential role in conducting or evaluating the technical studies," according to Normandeau's website.
The man who designed LIAM, Lee Lamb, was on hand yesterday to facilitate and explain the process to those who stayed to participate.
"This is designed for analyzing negotiations," Lamb said.
LIAM uses questionnaires to guage perceptions of the interest groups involved in the collaborative process. Each group answers questions about other groups rather than questions about their own group. The computer model then scores the answers and plots the groups' scores on a graph. The position on the graph occupied by each group then predicts the group's tendency to favor advocacy for change versus preserving the status quo, as well as the group's preference for settling disputes via courts versus mediation.
By making groups answer questions about other groups, the process aims to increase understanding of divergent view points. Also, by plotting each group's position on these issues, the LIAM process attempts to predict their role in the negotiation.
Normandeau's Scott/Shasta project leader Curtis Thalken said, "We're just trying to get as much participation in this process as we can." He said even though most of the remaining attendees at the workshop after the walk-out were representatives of government agencies, the process will continue to move forward.
"We still have other participants who have answered questionnaires online or on paper forms that we've made available at our public meetings. And we'll be getting more questionnaires in the next few days," Thalken said.
After all of the questionnaires are processed and the results are plotted, a "debrief" meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn Express on Thursday, Dec. 6 from 4-7 p.m. to present the initial results to the public. During the debrief meeting, the public can assess the results and make suggestions for adjustments.
The final results of the group assessments will be used in selecting representatives for a technical working group that will ultimately consult on the study plan for the eventual instream flow study.
A second LIAM workshop for Shasta River stakeholders will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 11 at the Holiday Inn Express in Yreka from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and a debrief meeting to assess the results will be held on Dec. 13 at the Holiday Inn Express in Yreka from 4-7 p.m.
Stakeholders and interest groups who wish to complete questionnaires for the Scott or Shasta river watersheds can do so online by visiting normandeau.com/scottshasta.


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ThunderCats, LOL!
As a kid, I was a big fan of ThunderCats. It was pretty much a perfect storm: I loved cats, cartoons, and...uh...post-apocalyptic feline-dominated alternate realities, so the show was a no-brainer for my five-year-old self. I frankly haven't thought once about ThunderCats in something like twenty years, but was pleasantly reminded of it by this animated MAD parody. In the video, a classic TV trope (a father/son dispute over seemingly unprovable beliefs) is applied to internet memes, with genuinely hilarious results. Actually, I'll qualify that: it's hilarious if you've seen ThunderCats and you're vaguely familiar with LOL Cats, Nyan Cat, and similar recent online stuff.
See also: Quiz: Name That ThunderCat.
(Via Waxy, via @codinghorror.)


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There has been a build-up again of questions, so I thought I would take a post to answer some of the ones that have come in lately. Sorry if this post is boring - since many people have asked the same or similar questions, I thought this might be an efficient way to handle answering them.
- I was wondering what your immune issues were/are and how they were treated? What?! You don't have our reproductive nightmares committed to memory? Of course, you don't. You have a life. So long story short, after our fifth consecutive loss, I saw a reproductive immunologist for some of the more controversial/ less mainstream testing that REs don't usually do. He did a ton of blood work and told me I had the following abnormalities:
positive for antiovarian antibodies, abnormal TH1:TH2 cytokine ratio, high natural killer cell assay, abnormal leukocyte antibodies, DQ Alpha partial match with my husband.
He recommended IVIG. Because it was so expensive, and I wasn't convinced by the lack of science behind it, I tried intralipids for pregnancy #6 (much cheaper and easier on the body). After I lost that chromosomally normal pregnancy, I tried IVIG for pregnancy #7.
I'm not totally convinced this is what did the trick, but things are definitely going better than ever now, so I am sticking with it. My fourth IVIG is coming up soon.
- What are you going to do with this blog once you have the baby? Um, keep writing it? Honestly, I haven't considered this exactly, because I'm so busy with the trying-to-stay-pregnant and being-pregnant thing. It's actually a good question, because I know some bloggers stop writing or create a new space. I'm imagining I'll keep writing here, although obviously the writing will change. We've always hoped to have 2 or 3 children. Now that it looks like we might actually get to have one (one step at a time - not getting ahead of myself!), we are starting to talk about what we would and wouldn't be willing to go through to have another child. I certainly won't spend another five years and have six more losses to do it, I'll tell you that. But if we decide to try for more, we might adopt, or use a donor egg, assuming the frozens we have can't make a baby (which they likely can't). Point being, even if we reach the miracle outcome of a real live baby, I'll still be super infertile (just damned lucky). So I think this space is still the right place to write.
- Does your list of blogs on the sidebar get a lot of traffic? Does it bring a lot of traffic to your blog every day? i have to admit, sometimes i come to your blog just to find new blogs, the blogs that you have stumbled upon somehow. i wonder how much traffic they get coming from your blogs every day?! Some of those on my blogroll may have to step up here and comment, because I don't know how much traffic their sites get from me. To be honest, I don't really put a lot of emphasis on traffic. I write because it helps keep me sane, and because I've grown fond - very fond - of this community and the people in it. I'm lucky to have a strong readership who've stuck with me during some really tough times. I'm super grateful for that. Occasionally, someone who I've newly put on my blogroll will email me because they've seen readers coming to them from my blog, so I know some folks definitely click over. But honestly, I put blogs on my blog roll that touch me in some way, or that I can relate to. So mostly it's something I do for myself, so I can follow those blogs. But it would be a nice bonus if they got some new readers that way.
- I see you're using the term "gender" of the baby. Do you make a distinction between sex and gender? Just curious since you and Will both are in the medical field and you're in psychology. Ooh. Good question. There of course is a distinction, but no, when I wrote gender on my blog, I was commingling it with "sex" - as in, will the baby genetically be male or female. So to be more correct, I should have said "sex" of the baby. Good catch!
- How much does it cost to freeze your eggs? I don't really know, as I haven't done this (despite doing or thinking about doing so many other things!) I'm thinking it's about $10,000-$12,000 per attempt. And if you were trying to preserve your fertility you might want to freeze two or three cycles worth, because an egg is not an embryo. And an embryo does not necessarily a baby make. Believe me. If eggs = babies, I'd have 110 babies (move over, Octomom! But well, we may get one baby out of it all - which is unusually terrible luck, I grant you, but still, you get the idea). My recommendation? Call a reproductive endocrinologist's office and ask about egg retrieval/freezing costs. Much better than relying on my best guess. One other thing is that when I talked to Dr. Schl. about this in regards to my sister potentially needing it, he said he would only recommend two centers in the U.S. for egg freezing. His own (no surprise), and a well-known clinic in Atlanta. You'd want to do some research on the best places to be sure whatever clinic you pick has a top-notch lab and vitrification capabilities.
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Mat Latos helps Reds to shutout of Travis Wood, Cubs
CHICAGO -- The Cincinnati Reds aren't hitting much and their bullpen is tired. Mat Latos made sure they wouldn't need much of a contribution from either area to beat the slumping Chicago Cubs.
Latos pitched eight scoreless innings, and Brandon Phillips hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to lead the Reds to a 2-0 win over All-Star Travis Wood and the Cubs on Monday night.
Latos, 4-0 with a 1.32 ERA since the All-Star break, allowed six hits and struck out nine for the Reds, who gained a half-game on idle Pittsburgh and St. Louis in the NL Central.
Latos (12-3) gave the Reds' bullpen a much needed rest after Cincinnati used six relievers for a combined six innings of work Sunday in a 3-2, 13-inning win over San Diego. He also helped pick up an offense that has scored just six runs in three games.
"I had real good stuff," Latos said. "I was able to rely on the fastball and the slider all game. I threw one other pitch beside the fastball and the slider."
Cincinnati left fielder Ryan Ludwick returned from the disabled list and went 0 for 3. He had been out since April 1 when he tore cartilage in his right shoulder while sliding headfirst into third base against the Los Angeles Angels.
Though Ludwick didn't produce much, Latos didn't need anything else. When Aroldis Chapman struck out the side in the ninth inning for his 28th save in 32 tries, Cincinnati had its 10th win in 12 games over the Cubs this season.
The Reds are 13-1 in their last 14 games at Wrigley Field. They also continued the Cubs' home scoring woes.
Chicago has gone 32 2/3 innings without scoring a run at Wrigley Field, and was shut out there for the third straight game. That hadn't happened since Aug. 20-21, 1924.
"It's funny. We're scoring in bigger parks and stuff on the road and we can't seem to muster up anything at home," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "We have no slugging percentage at home right now."
Cincinnati didn't have much of a slugging percentage, either, against former Reds pitcher Travis Wood.
Wood (7-9) posted his 20th quality start but took the loss. He went eight innings and allowed Phillips' homer among four hits. Wood struck out four and walked only one, but the Cubs lost for the 11th time in 15 games.
"That was big, Brandon's home run, because Woody was dealing on the other side, too," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "That guy has given us kind of the blues."
Latos and Chapman did the same to the Cubs, who didn't get their first hit until Donnie Murphy singled with two outs in the fifth. Darwin Barney followed with a single that moved Murphy to third. Latos ended the threat by getting Wood to fly out to left.
Chicago also made a costly mistake on the bases in the sixth. Junior Lake singled with one out, and when Anthony Rizzo followed with a hit to center, Lake was thrown out at third by center fielder Shin-Soo Choo.
"At any given time, it doesn't matter who's in an offense," Latos said. "It could have just as easily blew up real quick. They've got young talent and a lot of guys that swing the bat. A lot of dangerous bats."
Wood, facing the team that traded him before the 2012 season, kept the Reds in check, too. He was helped by double plays in the second and fourth innings, and was aided in the third when David DeJesus threw out Devin Mesoraco at second as he tried to stretch a single into a double.
But Wood made one too many mistakes to beat Latos, giving the Reds their fifth win in six games.
"From pitch one (Latos) was hitting every spot and making the pitches, so I felt like, `OK, you have to step it up and make sure we can't fall behind here," Wood said. "Hats off to him, he was outstanding tonight. He outpitched me."
Game notes
Cincinnati optioned OF Derrick Robinson to Triple-A Louisville to make room for Ludwick. . Mesoraco went 1 for 3 after playing all 13 innings on Sunday. When asked about playing Mesoraco on Monday, Baker cited his average against left-handers (.339), his familiarity with Latos, and his age (25). ... The Cubs promoted Kris Bryant, the No. 2 pick in this year's draft, from short-season Boise to Class-A Advanced Daytona. . Cubs RHP Scott Baker threw a bullpen session and will throw one more before resuming his rehab assignment at Daytona. Baker, 31, is working back from Tommy John surgery. He has allowed 14 earned runs in 12 innings through four rehab outings at Class-A Kane County and Daytona. . On Tuesday, the Reds' Homer Bailey (7-10, 3.73) faces the Cubs' Jeff Samardzija (6-11, 4.23).
CIN Wins 3-0
Game Information
- Umpires:
- Home Plate Umpire - Adrian Johnson
- First Base Umpire - Brian O'Nora
- Second Base Umpire - Fieldin Culbreth
- Third Base Umpire - Bill Welke


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Toy company settles lawsuit after kids' information hacked
Toy manufacturer VTech has agreed to pay $650,000 in a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over a 2015 data breach that failed to secure the personal data of more than half a million children.
A lawsuit alleged that the company violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule by collecting data from kids under 13.
The company obtained the info through its Kids Connect app, which can be linked to many of its toys. The complaint claimed that VTech "failed to develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive information security program."
To sign up for Kids Connect, parents must create an account through Learning Lodge, an app store-like platform that holds games, apps and e-books for children.
"By November 2015, approximately 485,000 consumers in the United States had created Kid Connect accounts for almost 638,000 children," the complaint said.
To register, parents submit their full names, email addresses, physical addresses and passwords, along with their children's names, birth dates and genders. The data wasn't encrypted, leaving it vulnerable to hackers.
Learning Lodge was temporarily shut down, and VTech says it strengthened "data protection on the Learning Lodge and...other connected services."
"We want to assure you that we are committed to the privacy and protection of the information you entrust with VTech," the company said in a statement.
VTech acquired popular educational toy company LeapFrog in 2016, which manufactures the Epic, an Android-based tablet created for children ages 3–9.
Parents are growing more concerned over the privacy of children's Wi-Fi-enabled toys.Last March, a security breach was discovered in the CloudPets network, and cyber criminals accessed the private passwords, user names and email addresses of 820,000 users.
In 2015, flaws in Mattel's Hello Barbie app allowed hackers to listen to conversations that children had with the doll.


text: DISCLAIMER: Please be aware that waxed canvas is a natural material and slight discoloration, scratches, or change in texture may be visible. These small inconsistencies should not be considered a defect but rather add to the beauty and uniqueness of your cap. The canvas will develop a patina over time; use will bring out unique character and special qualities in the fabric that no other material could offer. Keep in mind that before this product is constructed, each bolt of waxed canvas is inspected. TexWax is a waxed cotton impregnated with generations old formulations of various grades and qualities of waxes. Popular from the 1920s to the mid-1950s, the product, which developed from the sailing industry in England and Scotland, became commonly used for waterproofing.Fit: CapCrown: UnstructuredTechnique: Rubber patch100% TexWax Waxed CottonMade in USASku: 115020024


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NBC To Offer Users Free Downloads of Networks Shows September 19, 2007 4:47 pmPosted by Rosario T. Calabria in NBC, News, Television, Video Downloads.
NBC today announced that users will be able to download free, ad-supported episodes of the networks popular shows via their NBC.com website.
The service will be called NBC Direct.
Here's the full press release from NBC:
New Service – "NBC Direct" – Sends Full Episodes Directly To Consumers
Free Subscription Feature Gives Fans A Full Season of Their Favorite Programming
BURBANK, Calif. – September 19, 2007 – NBC.com today announced the launch of its new service, "NBC Direct," which will allow users to download and view NBC's popular primetime and late-night entertainment programming on their desktops for up to one week after broadcast. This new feature provides yet another platform on which fans will be able to enjoy NBC Entertainment content. The announcement was made by Vivi Zigler, Executive Vice President, NBC Digital Entertainment.
"With the creation of this new service, we are acknowledging that now, more than ever, viewers want to be in control of how, when and where they consumer their favorite entertainment," said Zigler. "Not only does this feature give them more control, but it also gives them a higher quality video experience."
The first version of this new feature, which will begin beta testing in October, will allow users to download full length episodes for viewing on Windows based PCs. Each original episode will be licensed to users for viewing through "NBC Direct" for one week following broadcast and will then expire. The downloaded file will provide users with an improved overall viewing experience compared to traditional streaming video. The list of programs available at launch will include "Heroes," "The Office," "Life," "Bionic Woman," "30 Rock," "Friday Night Lights," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
Later in the beta launch, users will be provided the free subscription option that will allow them to pre-select their favorite NBC programs they want to watch. Those shows will be automatically delivered to their computers as soon as they are available after the original broadcast. The downloadable player will also have filtering technology, which will prevent it from playing any stolen copyrighted material.
Future versions of "NBC Direct," which will roll out over the next several months, will provide expanded platform functionality and will allow DRM ("digital rights management") protected versions of its programs to be downloaded to Macs and portable devices in addition to PCs. NBC.com plans future enhancements such as high-resolution versions of programming made available via a closed P2P ("peer to peer") distribution network. Using closed P2P will ensure that the maximum number of users will be able to view consistent, high-quality content directly from their desktops. Later in 2008, NBC.com plans to offer other business models for downloaded content in order to provide its users multiple options to consume their favorite NBC programs. These paid business models may include download-to-own, rental and subscription.
Source: NBC
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text: Growing up with business father and an artist mother, I am involved both business and art areas. As a songwriter & guitarist of post-rock band 'RoadSign', I had got interests on fine arts for my inspirations from long time back, and finally started my first acyrlic painting in the middle of October, 2014 after business hours in the office. With my unique eyes of embodying mixture of colors on my paintings which represents 'The Chaos' of the world I perceive, I try to express my nihilistic feelings from external.As a beggining painter, my works are not yet participated on exhibitions or markets, but I would prepare my movement in this field with continious practice of my own way of painting as I got passion for it. Painting is one of the way to express feelings, and most of times while painting is the moment when we can face the unconscious part of ourselves with special activities.I started my painting experiences with acrylic, but I would prefer to use various media in the near future as I want to do my own experiments of painting in various ways. Mainly, I would like to show the bottom of negativity which other commonly think, desperation, frustration, lonliness, death and so on, through my paintings as I found the beauties in it with my own eyes. 'I'm painting Chaos as the world is it' is the sentence which represents my works. I would like to meet more audiences, and let them feel the bottom of them from my paintings for clearer understanding of 'who we are' to them. Mainly my achieve would be related more about enlightenment.


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Series STL Stainless Steel Casters - 4 inch Diameter
Supplier: Hamilton Caster
FOB: Midwest Warehouse
In stock
- Swivel Construction — Mounting plate and horn base, Type 304 stainless steel. Sealed swivel assembly standard.
- Kingpin — Permanent rivet-type, 1/2" diameter stainless steel.
- Main and Secondary Load Bearings — Type 440 stainless steel balls rotating in two smoothly coined raceways.
- Axle — 3/8" diameter stainless steel lube-type bolt and lock nut.
- Lubrication — Pre-lubricated at factory with a high-quality multi-purpose grease.
- Top plate: 2-3/8" x 3-5/8".
Featured Wheel Bearings:
Precision Ball Bearings - double sealed, maintenance free, superior rollability aids manual applications, not recommended if shock loading is prevalent.
Plain Bearings - suitable for light or seldom moved loads, where ease of starting and rolling is not too important.
Delrin Bearings - chemical and corrosion resistant plastic-type bearing.
- Model Info


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This is one of several new designs that I've added to products in The TeacherMarket. More on that in just a bit. If you are one of the regular visitors to The Teacher Beacon, you will know that I've been posting every Tuesday since September 16 of last year. Admittedly, there have been a couple […]
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I'm Surprising Myself with Some Time Off
July 10, 2012 by chadmanis
Filed Under: Good News Tagged With: academic year, classroom, computer labs, first day, fully licensed, Masters degree, media specialists, new school year, Northeast Florida, out of work, professional development, safe summer, St. Johns County, summer, survey vote, teacher market, teachers certificate, time off, Volunteer, your vacation