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Ready for some football: Charlie Weis Q & A opens KU's fall camp
With the first day of Kansas University football practice a day away, head coach Charlie Weis opened up fall camp Thursday morning by speaking with the media.
Entering his third season at KU, Weis hit on the program's progress, key players, a late addition to the roster and much more.
Here are some of the highlights:
• The new NCAA rules that allow two hours of football work a week during the summer were invaluable. The only guys that are behind for KU are the ones who are walking in the past couple of days. The Jayhawks spent six hours a week this summer on strength and conditioning. The other two of the allotted hours went toward football meetings. The KU coach's vacations got cut short so players could get prepared mentally. That also helped the new guys play catch-up.
• The only guys not physically here yet who are on the KU roster are 6-foot-3 junior "buck" Damani Mosby and 6-3 freshman linebacker Josh Ehambe. Mosby is finishing up final juice requirements and Ehambe is waiting for NCAA clearance after attending Prime Prep Academy.
• Junior linebacker Schyler Miles had a knee scoped a couple weeks ago with a two to three week recovery window; he is not gone for the year. He could be ready tomorrow.
• Sophomore quarterback Montell Cozart won the starting job in the spring and then the summertime was his to step up and be a leader. He won't take over for senior receiver Nick Harwell in that role, but he put himself in a position where he can handle and manage the team. … Cozart has become more accurate. Key for him will be not being nervous. Inaccuracy didn't show up in practices, when he wasn't getting hit.
• Coaches and this year's seniors had a conversation about senior leadership at the end of spring football. KU has a lot of older guys who have played. They're in a bit of a different position now.
• Now that senior receiver Tony Pierson isn't a running back, he should be in good shape to stay healthy. But they will also be cautious with him because of his history of concussions. There will be just enough contact to have him ready for the season-opener.
• In the spring, Rodriguez Coleman was ahead of Justin McCay at wide receiver. But that has changed since.
• Junior receiver Nigel King is the new member of the KU football team. The 6-3 former Maryland player graduated last Friday and asked for a release from his scholarship. His high school coach had a relationship with KU receivers coach Eric Kiesau. The Jayhawks have six receivers now that coaches feel like can all play. This all happened fast with King. As of Thursday morning, Weis had only seen him on video. King adds experience and production — has made plays and scored touchdowns. "It'd be nice to have some receivers scoring some touchdowns," Weis said.
• As far as Cozart's backup, junior Michael Cummings probably starts camp ahead of sophomore T.J. Millweard. Both of them will battle it out, and red-shirt freshman Jordan Darling is in that mix. But the close race is between Cummings and Milweard. They have plenty of time to settle that.
• Senior CB JaCorey Shepherd and junior CB Kevin Short are close in competition. It isn't fair to list Short ahead of Shepherd when Short has never played a down for KU.
• Now that Weis is just the head coach and not the O-coordinator, he will spend some time in offensive and defensive rooms, but he will spend a lot more time with special teams. He wants to create a level of importance for the special teams. On game days he will be more involved with special teams, too. … Some of the terminology remains the same from Weis' offense. … He lets the coordinators determine the depth chart.
• In Weis' opinion, the quarterback is more important than the scheme. You also have to look at all of your personnel before you get to the QB. Part of the reason Kansas hasn't had productive QBs is because the players around them weren't strong, either. Cozart has athleticism and that makes it tougher to defend, with an extra runner. In offensive coordinator John Reagan's scheme, Cozart is another guy the defense has to account for.
• KU will be "very big" on the offensive line. Weis looked in the hallway and saw juniors Larry Mayzck and Devon Williams both pushing about 370 and there was no room to walk down the hallway. In past years, opponents looked a lot bigger than Kansas.
• With the offensive change, the main concern is getting the system in and developing during fall camp. On defense, there is far more self-scouting and there are just tweaks to what they were doing in 2013.
• "Im pretty happy with our running back situation now," Weis said. Seniors Brandon Bourbon and Taylor Cox have been waiting for their turn and junior DeAndre Mann didn't come here to play behind them. That's without even mentioning freshman Corey Avery.
• Avery is a natural running back. He might evolve to be like Tony Pierson, but he has "giddy-up." Avery arrives fourth on the depth chart without including Pierson. He has a ways to go to get in that mix.
• In the Big 12, it didn't take long to figure out if you don't have athleticism on defense you don't have much of a chance. And that includes defensive linemen. You need a middle linebacker like Ben Heeney who can run sideline to sideline. This is the best Weis has felt about the talent at KU by a wide margin. But they've done very little to back it up.
• Pierson gives KU the chance to get into different formations and force defenses to decide if they want to defend him as a RB or WR.
• Junior defensive lineman T.J. Semke is someone who very few people know about here. In the summer he works in the bail bonds business. He is tough and he works so hard that he makes his teammates better. All he did was push, and he has the respect of both coaches and players. … Semke was the strongest defensive lineman tracked this summer by the strength staff.
• Freshman safety Joe Dineen from Free State High, in Lawrence, has to decide if he wants to be a defensive back or a linebacker. Weis liked him as a QB in high school as well. Dineen would be an emergency QB if it ever got to that point. He makes plays all over the field… Cassius Sendish is clearly the leader of the secondary. You could see Dineen turning into that guy, having that glow. Weis loves the fact that he's local and gets to play in his hometown.
• After Weis arrived and gutted the program, they knew there would be a high risk-reward situation. Now they have upperclassmen with experience on the roster. They have athletes who can play. That's why the Jayhawks have expectations to be a lot better than most people think.
• What KU is doing on offense gives it a better chance to win. Bringing in Reagan and Kiesau have helped invaluably. … Reagan likes to run first. There might be a misconception that he likes to throw more because it is a spread formation. They have a chance now because they have a QB who can run it, too. Weis likes that run-first mentality. There are other schools that KU plays that you know they'll throw it 70 times. If KU is throwing it 70 times, it means the Jayhawks are getting blown out.
• Cummings has a powerful arm and they wouldn't be afraid to play him. Cozart has just proven to be better "at everything."
• On KU's kickers: sophomore Matthew Wyman has a "pro leg." His whole summer was spent on being more dependable and accurate. With freshman John Duvic coming in, Wyman will have to work for the job because the new kicker is accurate. It's clearly between those two for field goal kicks.
• On the three non-conference games: Weis loves opening at home, and he thinks playing at Duke is a great opportunity. People might say the Jayhawks have no chance, but no one in the locker room will be thinking that way.
• Sophomore offensive lineman Brian Beckmann played both guard and tackle in the spring. He'll know both positions. He is clearly big enough to be in the two-deep.
• Based off of senior O-lineman Pat Lewandowski's mannerisms and what he picked up in the summertime, he hasn't expected for someone to come in and replace him. Someone will have to work hard to move past him.
• Backup CB Ronnie Davis, a junior, doesn't look like the same guy after a summer of strength training. Probably added 20 pounds. … Strength coach Scott Holsopple molds the players in the offseason and can spot in the high school ranks which players are capable of putting on that kind of weight.
• Weis would like to red-shirt freshman offensive lineman Jacob Bragg. But Bragg looked so good in the summer, it seemed like he might be capable of playing this fall.
• By the end of his first year at KU, Weis could tell Heeney was a frontline player. He has grown as a person, too. Heeney has turned himself into a leader. There are a bunch of guys on defense who want to be like Heeney. A couple of years ago that might've been a bad thing. … Heeney reminds Weis of former pro LB Zach Thomas because people said he was too small, not big enough. "He might be as good as any defensive player in the league. Period," Weis said of Heeney.
• Weis has been "very encouraged" with freshman LB Kyron Watson. Heeney has taken him under his wing. Watson would like to be Heeney when Heeney is gone.
• The field at Memorial Stadium really looks good now after the summer project of removing the track. They could practice there every day, once it starts getting dark early. There is so much more space with the expanded turf.
• RB Cox has had some injury issues in the past. So he is on a big stretching program to minimize those things. He is so muscular that he gets really tight.
— Listen to the complete audio: Charlie Weis talks new addition, depth chart, offensive changes and more
Big 12 unveils new logo
In the college athletics business, July 1 marks the start of the new year. Goodbye, 2013-14. Hello, 2014-15.
Consequently, today holds great significance for some of the country's most famous conferences. The Big Ten — or B1G, as the league's marketing folks like to call it — now boasts 14 teams with the additions of Maryland and Rutgers.
Not one to take conference realignment lying down, the ACC officially adds Louisville today, reaching 15 teams when you count Notre Dame, which remains independent in football.
(Aside: How great is ACC basketball going to be? Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, Pitt and Syracuse? That's a ginormous wow factor, even without mentioning resurgent Virginia or Notre Dame, North Carolina State and Florida State.)
Of course, the league Kansas University calls home — the Big 12 — isn't welcoming any new institutions today. But the 10-team conference rolled out a new logo.
Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said the following in the league's press release:
"Today marks an exciting day for the future of the Big 12 and its member institutions. The Conference is proud to launch a new logo that integrates the league's iconic heritage with a progressive new look."
So, without further ado, here it is. Cue the drumroll and hold onto your hats.
That do anything for you? No? Well, how about this?
Or this?
Not exciting enough. I get it. Good news. The Big 12 has you covered.
Sparks! Magic! Different colors! Flames! Ice! Melted ice! Plants! Paint! Spinning! Lasers!?!? Smoke! Graphics! Lights!
Now that's a logo unveiling.
The conference's Twitter account is posting different photos featuring the new design throughout the day. Here are some of the highlights so far.
But let's face it. Nothing's going to beat that video.
Check out the league's revamped website at Big12sports.com.
Smart, Brown, Nash lead potent OSU offense
No one reading this blog has forgotten what happened the last time Oklahoma State played at Kansas.
The Cowboys prevailed, 85-80, and Marcus Smart performed a backflip after OSU won at Allen Fieldhouse for the first time since 1989.
Saturday afternoon, No. 9 Oklahoma State (15-2 overall, 3-1 Big 12) will attempt to knock off No. 15 Kansas (12-4, 3-0) on its home floor again, rather than wait another 24 years.
Coach Travis Ford's Cowboys have won three straight games since falling, 74-71, at Kansas State, and the Jayhawks will be the fourth ranked team they've played this season. In the non-conference, OSU split two games with Memphis and beat Colorado.
Oklahoma State's strength of schedule (40th) isn't close to Kansas (1st), but the Cowboys lead the Big 12, as well as the nation, in scoring margin at plus-20.2 a game, and put up 84.8 points an outing, compared to 78.9 for KU.
Now it's time to meet the guys that make Oklahoma State explosive.
Marcus Smart, No. 33
6-4, 220, so. guard
A unanimous Associated Press pre-season All-American, Smart averages 17.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists, while shooting 46.3 percent from the field. And because he is stronger than most of the guards trying to check him, as well as some of the larger players who slide over to help, he gets to the foul line regularly. Smart has converted 87 of his 123 free throws — both team highs.
If you ever want a thorough scouting report video on an NBA prospect, look no farther than DraftExpress.com's YouTube channel.
There's a great one there on Smart (posted below). Ignore the stats, because the video was created in the off-season, but the highlights begin at the 1:50 mark and show off the beast of a point guard's wide array of skills, including a series of post-ups in which he shows better footwork than most big men in the country.
Or — if you prefer a (relatively) more condensed Smart highlight reel — watch him torch Memphis for a career high 39 points earlier this season.
Smart opened his barrage with a filthy spin move in transition, before offering up a step-back three, a post-up in the paint, a fast-break throw-down and a dunk via alley-oop, to name a few of his most impressive offensive plays.
Basically, Smart does everything the Cowboys need him to do, as you can read in a John Helsley piece for NewsOK.com, which came in the wake of Smart's 22-point, 13-rebound, five-assist night at West Virginia on Jan. 11:
The best way he can make the Cowboys better right now is by being the best player on the floor, which he's doing, with an added bonus of playing big, not just figuratively but literally. Against Texas, Smart posted a staggering stat line: 24 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, six steals and a blocked shot. And zero turnovers. At West Virginia, it was more of the same. Smart scored seven of OSU's final 15 points and either scored or assisted on his team's final four buckets.
Smart plays with the strength of a power forward, the mentality of a sniper and is built sturdier than a number of NBA point guards.
Markel Brown, No. 22
6-3, 190, sr. guard
Brown brings nearly as much offensive punch as Smart, adding 16.6 points, while pulling down 5.2 boards a game and dishing out 2.9 assists.
The OSU veteran scores efficiently, too, hitting 50 percent of his shots (93 of 186) and 79.2 percent of his free throws.
He's the Cowboys' third-best option from long range, as well. Brown drilled a three that held up as the game-winner when Oklahoma State's trip to West Virginia came down to the wire.
As if that weren't enough, the guy can sky. Known for putting on slam dunk shows, Brown compiled a list of his top 10 dunks for NewsOK.com.
His No. 1 favorite came a couple years ago against Missouri — remember those guys? — and Brown actually earned a technical on the play, his second of that game, which led to his ejection. Apparently it was too nasty to drop on the list, despite the repercussion.
NewsOK.com dubbed Brown: "mayor of LobStilly."
Here's what the living myth of a dunk artist had to say about his vertical ferociousness:
"When I do one of those dunks, immediately I get tweets saying, 'Markel's going to be on SportsCenter.' Things like that. I like doing those type of dunks. It's exciting. It gets the crowd pumped up. It gets my teammates some hype."
Le'Bryan Nash, No. 2
6-7, 235, jr. wing
Nash has the potential to play just as lethal a brand of basketball as Smart and Brown. But he still hasn't found that consistency that would make Oklahoma State even more trouble for its opponents.
Nash averages 13.5 points and 5.9 rebounds this season and has made 52.3 percent of his shots, but check out his scoring totals from his previous five games: nine vs. Robert Morris, 20 at Kansas State, 2 vs. Texas, 18 at West Virginia and 13 vs. TCU.
Like Smart and Brown, Nash is at his best when he's attacking, and he gets to the foul line, where he is a 70.5-percent shooter, averaging 5.6 freebie attempts a game.
Brian Williams, No. 4
6-5, 210, jr. wing
The most likely player to score outside of Oklahoma State's top four (the Cowboys' fourth-best offensive option comes off the bench, and we'll get to him in a moment). Williams averages 8.4 points and isn't great at any one thing, outside of scoring efficiently.
Williams has only hoisted 10 three-pointers, so much of his job duties come near or in the paint. He has made 52 of 93 shots and 36 of 47 free throws.
Plus, ball-handlers beware: Williams has swiped at least two steals seven times this season.
Kamari Murphy, No. 21
6-8, 220, so. post
When he gets a touch in the paint, odds are the ball is going through the hoop. Murphy has made 60 percent of his field goals this season.
He has only started four games to date, but Murphy has made 39 of his 65 shot attempts, and averages 5.9 points and 5.9 rebounds (tied with Nash for the team lead).
The young big man gets a lot of those when the Cowboys have the ball, and Murphy leads OSU with 32 offensive boards this season.
If there is a situation late in the game in which Kansas needs to foul someone from OSU, Bill Self and his staff will target Murphy if he's on the floor. While a nice role player, his one problem area is the free-throw stripe, where he has missed more than he has made: 16-for-35 (45.7 percent).
His 23 blocked shots are a team best.
OSU bench
Phil Forte, No. 13
5-11, 185, so. guard
The deadeye shooter's 46 three-pointers and 47.9-percent accuracy from deep lead the Cowboys.
Forte hops off the bench and starts killing his opponents from deep, averaging 12.0 points and 2.7 made threes a game.
Plus, when he goes to the foul line, he's the best in the Big 12, at 90.2 percent.
Stevie Clark, No. 5
5-11, 175, fr. guard
A lot of times this season, Clark has been the guy leading off an OSU highlight on SportsCenter. He's the one placing the ball perfectly near the rim for Brown or Smart to flush.
Clark averages 3.3 assists a game, with a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
He only scores 6.0 points a game, has hit 16 of 36 from three-point land, and only attempted 13 shots inside the arc, making three of those (23 percent).
KU facing talented bunch in No. 8 Iowa State
Fourth-year Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg doesn't have much to complain about these days.
His Cyclones have shot up through the rankings this season as they won 14 straight games, beating the likes of Michigan, BYU, Iowa, Boise State and Baylor along the way.
ISU, which many figured would enter tonight's Big Monday showdown with Kansas unbeaten, suffered its first setback of the season Saturday at Oklahoma, 87-82.
For a program with legitimate Big 12 title aspirations, a conference loss always stings, but potentially worse for No. 8 ISU (14-1 overall, 2-1 Big 12) heading into its home game against No. 15 Kansas (11-4, 2-0) is how the game at OU ended. The Cyclones' breakout star, senior guard DeAndre Kane, injured his left ankle with 22 seconds left.
Hoiberg said Monday morning Kane will be re-evaluated before tonight's game to see whether he will be able to play. However, it seems more likely that he will play.
For what it's worth, ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla, who will be part of the Big Monday broadcast, offered his prediction on the situation via Twitter:
I fully expect DeAndre Kane tonight. Be stunned otherwise.— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) January 13, 2014
(Update:1:30 p.m.) -- Still no official word, but Kane seems to like his odds of playing tonight, too.
Ankle feeling good pic.twitter.com/j00wNS86WW— Deandre kane (@King_Kane50) January 13, 2014
Here's another indication that Kane will play against KU, courtesy of CBS's Doug Gottlieb:
Been told from a spy that DeAndre Kane is ok, will play tonight, was jogging (Or Yogging if you like Anchorman) yesterday) #KUvs#ISU— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) January 13, 2014
The Cyclones, who have four players averaging double-digit scoring, are far more lethal with Kane. If he can't go against the Jayhawks or isn't at full strength, it could allow Kansas to build an early cushion in the Big 12 standings.
Of course, ISU is far from a one-man show. Here are the guys who hope to harness some "Hilton magic" and give KU its first conference loss of the season tonight.
Melvin Ejim, No. 3
6-6, 220, sr. forward
Even if Kane doesn't play, Ejim leads Iowa State in scoring and is third in the Big 12 with an 18.0 average. The small forward has a nice all-around offensive game and has posted double figures in 17 straight games, dating back to last season. He put up 20-plus in six of those games.
He's shooting 52.1 percent from the field this year and has made 19 of his 55 three-pointers.
The Big 12's active leader with 26 career double-doubles, Ejim averages 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists, as well, despite being just 6-foot-6.
DeAndre Kane, No. 50
6-4, 200, sr. guard
The 24-year-old, a transfer from Marshall, arrived at Ames, Iowa, and quickly became one of the nation's stars, as detailed in a feature by Eric Prisbell of USA Today.
The versatile veteran, in his first season at ISU, has posted back-to-back 20-plus point efforts, and averages 16.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists.
As Bryce Miler of The Des Moines Register puts it, Kane is a "matchup disaster" for opposing guards.
Kane, a 34.5-percent three-point shooter, had 23 points and nine rebounds Saturday at Oklahoma, but the Big 12's assists leader left after injuring his ankle with 22 seconds remaining.
One could try to make a case that another player in the Big 12 has had a better all-around season, but it would be a waste of breath. That's why the injury Kane suffered Saturday could be such a blow to the Cyclones if it lessens his ability or keeps him out of tonight's Big Monday clash.
Georges Niang, No. 31
6-7, 240, so. forward
Every player in Iowa State's starting lineup can knock down three-pointers and the big guy from Methuen, Mass., is no exception. Though Niang has started the season cold (30.2 percent) from deep, his 53 attempts are fourth among ISU players and Hoiberg trusts in the sophomore wherever he touches the ball.
Niang averages 15.3 points, 4.1 rebonds and 3.5 assists (quite a number for a big) and averaged 15.7 points in three meeting with Kansas last season.
He has proven to be confident in clutch situations, too, going 11-for-15 from the floor in last five minutes of games this season.
Dustin Hogue, No. 22
6-6, 215, jr. forward
Just this morning, Bill Self called him "a guy that's as good a rebounder from his spot as any kid in the country."
Another mid-sized ISU forward with huge game on the glass, Hogue leads the Big 12 in rebounding at 9.3 boards a game, while contributing 12.3 points as a 58-percent shooter.
Like every member of the Cyclones' seven-man rotation, Hogue will take three-pointers when he is open. The junior has hit 11 of 32 from three-point land so far.
Matt Thomas, No. 21
6-3, 200, fr. guard
His 65 three-point attempts are second on the team, but Thomas has made just 22 this season (33.8 percent).
He averages 6.8 points and 2.7 rebounds, but Hoiberg has him on the floor for his decision-making. Thomas has 13 assists and no turnovers since Iowa State's win at BYU on Nov. 20.
ISU bench
Naz Long, No. 15
6-4, 205, so. guard
Hoiberg said Long could have the ball in his hands a lot tonight if Kane is out. And Long's shot is the long shot, so if he is behind the three-point arc, expect to see him jack and drain some treys, much to the delight of the home crowd.
Long averages 8.4 points and is a 49.4-percent shooter. His 32 three-point makes and 70 attempts (45.7 percent) lead Iowa State.
Monté Morris, No. 11
6-2, 170, fr. guard
Morris hasn't started once this season, but if Kane doesn't play against Kansas Hoiberg said the freshman will take over a lot of the ball-handling responsibilities.
A guy who figures to be a major part of the ISU program for four years, Morris averages 6.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists. His most impressive stat, though: just three turnovers in his last 245 minutes of play.
K-State streaking entering Sunflower Showdown
In the past few weeks, Bruce Weber's Kansas State Wildcats (12-3 overall, 2-0 Big 12) emerged as one of college basketball's surprise teams of the season.
The guys in purple that reside an easy drive west on I-70 from Lawrence didn't start off 2013-14 in great form, dropping a game to Charlotte and getting blown out by Georgetown in November at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. But the Wildcats have won 10 straight since then, with victories over Gonzaga (currently ranked No. 22) and Oklahoma State (which fell from No. 6 to No. 11 following its 74-71 loss at Manhattan last weekend).
The Wildcats' most recent victim was TCU, which fell, 65-47, at home to K-State. Below is a dramatic interpretation of what transpired, courtesy of the K-State Sports YouTube channel:
Far more awe-inspiring, though, is how K-State shocked most Big 12 observers by beating Oklahoma State on Jan. 7. The 'Cats are winning with their defense. Their 58 points allowed per game leads the Big 12 and ranks No. 9, nationally. What's more, K-State boasts a 25.1-percent three-point field goal percentage defense (No. 5 in the nation) and has held 13 of its last 14 opponents below their scoring average.
This group of Wildcats is stingy, particularly on the perimeter, where each guard stays glued to his man and rarely lets a shot get off uncontested. Though Oklahoma State put up 71 points at Manhattan, the Cowboys went 21-for-52 from the floor (40.8 percent), thanks in large part to a woeful night from deep: 3-for-14 (21.4 percent).
Meet the players who want nothing more in the world today than to come to Allen Fieldhouse and knock off No. 18 Kansas (10-4, 1-0) — the Jayhawks have won 47 of the last 50 meetings in the Sunflower Showdown.
Marcus Foster, No. 2
6-2, 200, fr. guard
Just to give you an idea of how well the freshman has played since arriving Manhattan, some observers in the Little Apple are comparing him to Mitch Richmond.
Yes, that Mitch Richmond.
Foster is averaging 14.1 points and 3.9 rebounds, and has hit 33 of 90 three-pointers (36.7 percent) to date. The dynamic young guard reached double-digit scoring in 10 straight games, including a team-best 17 against Okie State.
And, just in case you missed it, Foster posterized David Stockton of Gonzaga. Prepare to be amazed. The highlights themselves show off Foster's explosive skill set, but the production level on this clip is off the charts, too.
Thomas Gipson, No. 42
6-7, 265, jr. forward
Gipson led K-State with 19 points against TCU, and the team's most reliable big is averaging 13.3 points on 61.6-percent shooting during his team's 10-game win streak.
The third-year player missed the first two games of the season with an injury, but has regained his form of late, with a double-double (10 points, 11 boards) against Oklahoma State, and has made 60 of his 101 field-goal tries this year (59.4 percent).
Shane Southwell, No. 1
6-7, 215, sr. gaurd
The K-State senior is one of the players Weber can rely upon to do a little bit of everything. Southwell has led the team in assists six times this season and been the top scorer on three occasions, while averaging 10.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists on the year, and has 16 steals to his name.
Despite his experience and versatility, Southwell doesn't always take smart shots, and it shows in his percentages: he is 59-for-148 from the floor (39.9 percent) and 17-for-59 from downtown (28.8 percent).
Wesley Iwundu, No. 25
6-7, 195, fr. forward
In his college debut this season, the swingman from Houston posted a double-double, with 14 points and 10 boards off the bench against Northern Colorado.
Iwundu, now a starter, averages 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds on the year, and has got to the foul line more than any of his teammates, making just 44 of 64 free-throw attempts (68.8 percent).
Will Spradling, No. 55
6-2, 185, sr. guard
Now in his final season in a K-State uniform, Spradling has started 87 times in his career. While he only averages 6.9 points and 2.5 assists this year, Weber clearly trusts him — the heady guard averages 28.9 minutes a game. Spradling ranks in the top 10 all-time at K-State with 154 career three-pointers and 273 assists.
Still, he hasn't got going this season, making just 30 of 90 shots (33.3 percent) and 21 of 65 from deep (32.3 percent). Even his free-throw percentage (63.9) isn't great.
K-State bench
Jevon Thomas, No. 5
6-0, 180, fr. guard
Thomas officially joined the team on Dec. 21, after sitting out the fall semester. In his four games, he has 17 assists and just four turnovers.
His eight points and five assists helped K-State knock off Oklahoma State last weekend, and Thomas proved to be just the play-maker the Wildcats had lacked. He can thread the needle on passes inside to get Gipson and other frontcourt players easy baskets.
Nino Williams, No. 11
6-5, 220, jr. forward
A sub averaging just 4.8 points and 2.5 rebounds might not seem like much of a threat, but Williams has averaged 6.8 points in his last six games and made 14 of his 25 shots in that stretch.
Strong, though undersized for a forward who mixes it up inside, his biggest night came in K-State's marquee win over Oklahoma State. Williams hit three of his four free throws in the final 13 seconds to help seal the win and finished with a season-high 15 points.
Bonus clip
No matter what happens today against Kansas, or for the rest of their lives for that matter, the Wildcats can always say they did this:
KU basketball press conference notes: Jan. 10
Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self and sophomore forward Perry Ellis addressed the media Friday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse, less than 24 hours before the Jayhawks' Big 12 home opener, Saturday at 1 p.m. versus Kansas State.
KU (10-4 overall,1-0 BIg 12) is ranked No. 18, and K-State (12-3, 2-0) is No. 25 entering the Sunflower Showdown.
Here are the highlights from the Q & A.
Perry Ellis
Being from Kansas, with two Kansas schools playing, he gets a little fired up, but he tries to take every game the same.
K-State had a good program, good people when he was recruited by them, when Frank Martin was there. But he gladly picked KU.
Ellis played much better at Oklahoma, compared to game vs. San Diego State. It translated from how he practiced.
Wednesday night was great for Wayne Selden. Players have been encouraging him to attack like that and he had a great game.
KU had a couple plays where Jayhawks got on the floor at Oklahoma. "That's Kansas basketball right there." Coaches showed that again yesterday, and it got the players fired up to play that way.
- He had a lot of fun on Wednesday, and he wants to continue to play like that.
Bill Self
K-State is guarding and their freshmen are playing more minutes and gaining confidence.
Jayhawks will talk about the rivalry today. Those from outside this region don't know a lot about the in-state rivalry. They'll talk a lot about it today.
Marcus Foster is hungry/thirsty for K-State. He will be an all-league player eventually. The K-State freshman has impressed so far.
Some have compared Foster to Mitch Richmond. Richmond "one of the baddest boys" in the country when he played at K-State. Richmod was an Olympian. But Self can see why the comparisons are made. People are comparing Joel Embiid to Hakeem Olajuwaon.
Flattering to know that the Sunflower State has three programs in the top 25, with K-State and Wichita State joining KU in the rankings. There is no negative to that. Self likes to see that.
Big 12 schedule has a "monster start" for Kansas. "We need to be our best right now." Kansas has been favored several years, but league title has been up for grabs before. But this is a rare season where a lot of teams have a legit chance.
K-State defense at a very high level this season. Right now K-State coaches have them playing about as well as any team in the country on "D."
There is no question the new proposed apartment complex will help recruiting. KU currently "way behind" in terms of current housing, compared to KU's biggest competitors. Location is the best part about current housing. Bells and whistles are very important. Renovations to Allen Fieldhouse and those sort of upgrades are not different from the intent of the housing. New housing also would give athletes better protection from agents, runners, professional autograph seekers, and circumstances that could be used against the program.
Self proud of Joel Embiid just for playing at OU, with goggles. It was comical that he sometimes forgot to keep the protective eyewear down. But coaches have been nothing but pleased with his development. San Diego State gave Embiid space near the free-throw line, and Self wants Embiid to take those open looks when he gets them.
Jayhawks felt really good about themselves after winning at OU. Great for their confidence. Good for coach's confidence, too, he joked. KU obviously didn't play well in loss to San Diego State. That's a pretty big body blow. He hopes players never get comfortable with losing, and they proved they weren't comfortable with the way they played at OU.
Players were very active at OU, and that's contagious. There were seven players diving on the floor on one play. Might have been a result of getting their "butts beat" against San Diego State. Could have been the start of a "new season," Big 12 play.
Naadir Tharpe closed the game the way a point guard is supposed to close at Oklahoma.
Conner Frankamp played well at OU, it wasn't just the two shots he made.
Kansas has missed on some kids in state, made some recruiting mistakes. Local kids, in games like versus K-State, it's nice to have some players that understand the rivalry. KU has had some great local players, such as Tyrel Reed, Travis Releford. "I wish we could get a kid out of here every year."
Complete audio from Bill Self's Friday press conference is available here.
Getting to know OU
You know all about Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid, Perry Ellis, Wayne Selden, Naadir Tharpe and the rest of Bill Self's No. 18 Kansas Jayhawks (9-4).
So let us take a few moments to learn a little bit about the Oklahoma Sooners (12-2 overall, 1-0 Big 12), coached by Lon Kruger, before today's 6 p.m. clash at Norman, Okla.
KU is the only Big 12 program with a winning record against OU (the Jayhawks have won 10 of the last 11 meetings and hold a 139-65 all-time record in the series), but the Sooners might have the fire power (87.3 points a game, first in Big 12, fourth nationally) to give Kansas (77.7 points, seventh in Big 12, 74th nationally) another difficult game away from Allen Fieldhouse. Keep in mind, the Sooners beat the Jayhawks, 72-66, last season on their home court at Lloyd Noble Center.
Here's a glance at Oklahoma's starting five. Why just those five? Well, OU is the only Big 12 team to utilize the same starting lineup in every game, the Sooners' top five has produced 78 percent of the team's points and all five average double figures in scoring, another attribute no other Big 12 team can boast.
Cameron Clark, No. 21
6-7, 211, sr. forward
Clark's 17.7 points per game average ranks third in the Big 12. And if you have any doubt about the validity of those numbers due to them coming mostly in non-conference play, you should know Clark scored a career-high 32 points in an 87-76 loss to Michigan State (then ranked No. 1) on Nov. 23, in Brooklyn, N.Y.
After making just one three-pointer all season as a junior, Clark added range to his offensive prowess, and has connected on 18 of 38 from downtown this season.
If Kansas fouls him, Clark is one of the Big 12's top free-throw shooters: 82.9 percent (fourth in the league).
He's not too shabby in transition, either.
Buddy Hield, No. 24
6-4, 208, so. guard
The Sooners have made 109 three-pointers this season, and Hield leads the way, with 27 makes on 74 attempts.
He averages 16.3 points a game (seventh in the Big 12), and though he plays on the perimeter, has made 81 of his 181 shot attempts (44.8 percent).
In Oklahoma's Big 12 opener Saturday at Texas, Hield contributed 22 points, four rebounds and three assists in an 88-85 Sooners victory.
Here's a look at what he's capable of, in this clip from last season, against Texas Tech:
Jordan Woodard, No. 10
6-0, 185, fr. guard
We know the freshman can come through in the clutch. Woodard proved that even before he arrived in Norman. He finished his high school career at Edmond Memorial (Okla.) by stealing an in-bound pass, and eventually tipping in the game-winner in Oklahoma's Class 6A state championship game.
KU's guards and bigs better beware of his play-making ability (12.2 points, 4.8 assists, .357 three-point shooting) everywhere on the floor.
Though small in stature, he gets to the foul line more than any other Sooner, and has racked up 85 easy points on 111 free throws.
Ryan Spangler, No. 00
6-8, 232, so. forward
A transfer from Gonzaga, Spangler has won Big 12 Newcomer of the Week twice already this season, and posted five double-doubles. Not only does he boast a 65.6 field-goal percentage, but he has shot 50 percent or better in all 14 OU games while averaging 11.0 points and 9.2 rebounds.
As highlighted in a December story by Ryan Gerbosi for The Oklahoma Daily, Spangler played high school hoops just outside of Norman, but never caught the eye of former OU coach Jeff Capel. When things didn't work out at Gonzaga, Kruger happily welcomed the big man back to The Sooner State.
Isaiah Cousins, No. 11
6-4, 186, so. guard
In his second season at OU, Cousins has made the kind of progress every coach hopes to see between a player's freshman and sophomore seasons. In fact, as Ryan Aber wrote for The Oklahoman, Cousins points to the Sooners' summer trip to Europe as the jumping-off point for this season's success.
In Oklahoma's last 11 games, Cousins produced his top eight scoring performances of his career. He only put up 85 points in 32 games as a freshman, but Cousins scored between 10 and 19 points in his eight nights of stepping up this season. The guard has averaged 10.9 points, and has made 15 of his 33 three-point tries (45.5 percent).
KU football coach Charlie Weis talks offense, recruiting and much more at today's press conference
Kansas University football coach Charlie Weis met with the media today to discuss the 2013 December signing class and a number of other topics.
Here are some quick hits from the coach's comments throughout.
Just as an introduction, here's a look at the three players Weis will talking up:
Ronnie Davis
- DB, 6-0, 181, Jr.
- Midwest City, Okla.
- Midwest City HS/Northeastern Oklahoma A&M
- 3-star prospect according to Rivals.com
- 24 tackles, 4 interceptions, 3 pass breakups in 7 games in 2013
Keyon Haughton
- OL, 6-2, 309, Jr.
- Baltimore, Md.
- WEB DuBois HS/Georgia MIlitary College
- Helped GMC to 11-1 mark and NO. 3 national ranking
- Anchored Bulldog's O-line that paved way for NJCAA's top rushing offense at 289.2 yards a game
Anthony Smithson
- DB, 5-11, 185, So.
- Baltimore, Md.
- Highland HS (Utah)/Hartnell College
- Helped lead Panthers to Coast Conference title and 9-2 mark
- All-Coast Conference First Team selection
- Led Panthers with 74 tackles and 8 interceptions; 58 solo tackles
On to the press conference:
Keyon Haughton's coach couldn't be any higher on his size, physical ability. He'll give KU depth immediately.
Ronnie Davis and Anthony Smithson are coming in to help the KU secondary. Smithson was a late addition and KU didn't know it would have a chance on him until late in the process. Staff watched a lot of tape on him as they realized there was interest and liked what they saw.
Both should help their secondary depth immediately.
Haughton started at LG, but he could play guard or center. They'll figure it out when he gets here and starts working.
When opponents are playing three or four wide receivers, KU needs more DB's on the field. That's why bringing in more secondary options was important, and Davis and Smithson should help on that front. KU needs to bring in even more depth.
Tim Grunhard leaving, Weis said, in part came with how hard it was to see a player KU was recruiting, Shawnee Mission West's Andre Maloney, die unexpectedly. Grunhard first started thinking and talking about stepping down at that point, because Grunhard wanted to spend more time with his family.
John Reagan first got approached by Weis about becoming offensive coordinator during Rice's season, and Weis is glad Reagan's team was able to keep rolling and have success before he left for KU.
Weis wanted an O-line coach who could coordinate. Weis is confident with the KU staff and how the offense will work under Reagan. Weis is letting Reagan be in charge of the offense, lead meetings.
Reagan is respected in the Lawrence community and is highly regarded as an offensive mind. It made him an obvious choice and Weis found himself searching out Rice games on TV so he could watch the Rice offense this past season.
KU's offensive issues the past two seasons, since Weis's arrival, can not be narrowed down to one thing but the lack of production through the passing game has been concerning. There were various problems, including 47 dropped balls this season. Accuracy is another facet of the passing game, as are blocking and other intangibles.
When Weis is out recruiting, the message varies from player to player. There are some positions where he can tell a player he can come in and compete immediately, but he isn't going to lie to them. "That doesn't always work, but I'll always do it."
There are less holes on the roster now. It would be hard for a newcomer to get to campus and beat out KU's safeties, corners and linebackers. The problem is KU isn't there at every position. KU "not even close" to the same situation as last year, in terms of needs.
Darian Miller will be OK and will be a part of the program. Weis expects him to trot out there in the spring, just like everybody else. He just has some personal issues that Weis thinks will get worked out.
Smithson was headed to the Pac 12 and Utah, but he decided he wasn't interested in returning to the state where he played high school football, and Smithson's brother reached out to KU to inquire about the possibility of coming to Lawrence. The Jayhawks had a talented safety with range and it happened very quickly.
"I wasn't very happy with the offensive coordinator, so I made a change there." Weis joked he had to fire himself in order to make the program better. People might think he is dogmatic in his approach but he is always looking for a better way, and Reagan's offense gives KU a better chance to win.
Weis likes the efficiency of Reagan's offense. Especially with how it clicked when he was at KU, under former head coach Mark Mangino, and served as the run-game coordinator. The KU offense will have a staple, because Reagan is an O-line guy. That's his starting point. Weis's starting point was at QB. It should be a nice blend.
It will be interesting to watch the QB situation in the spring to see if Montell Cozart and T.J. Millweard (transfer from UCLA) have improved greatly. KU had depth at this position, and the starting/second-string/third-string assignments will work themselves out.
It's too early to talk about changes to the roster. A lot of times at mid-year things come up and players transfer. Weis is dealing with 105 different guys and each situation is different. He is sure there will be some changes. Any changes to the staff, if they were to happen, wouldn't come until the end of the recruiting season.
By February, the recruiting class should be in the 20s. By the summer time it will be full. The Jayhawks should max out at 26.
KU staff will have its spring game, evaluate for a week and then hit the junior colleges. Coaches like to get out to JUCOs before they have their spring games.
One of the Big 12's marquee programs, Texas, has a coaching vacancy. Weis thinks there are issues with going to a high profile job like that. "Who do you answer to?" ... "I think that would scare a lot of people off." The dollars will be big, but that only goes so far. "You could be miserable, too."
Weis met with seniors who are moving on this past Friday and gives them advice as needed about playing at the next level. He'll talk to everyone generically but if they ask him specifically about their chances at playing in the NFL he gives them a truthful opinion but doesn't discourage them from chasing their dreams.
It's easier to evaluate whether a Big 12 player can move on to the NFL than if a high school kid can thrive in the Big 12. Sometimes kids get on campus and they just don't have what it takes.
The game is different in the BIg 12 than it was when Weis and Dave Campo were coaching in the NFL. Reagan is better suited to run offense and Clint Bowen is better suited to run the defense. Weis and Campo are in advisory roles and hope they can be wonderful resources that make the job easier for Reagan and Bowen.
When you add a player like receiver Nick Harwell, it rises everyone's game up. Harwell transferred to KU from Miami (Ohio) and became a leader at practices since arriving in Lawrence. Behind him, the position battle is open. The outside guy opposite him could be a JUCO recruit or someone already with the program who steps his level of play up.
As far as transfers from other Division I programs, there are players interested in Kansas and the program is interested in them, too. Nothing Weis can say about it on the record at this point.
Bill Self press conference: Dec. 5, 2013
Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self fielded questions from the media Thursday afternoon, before the No. 6 Jayhawks hit the road this weekend for a game at Colorado.
Here are some of the highlights:
On concern Jayhawks are too casual: Jayhawks don't play with the sense of urgency teams here have played with in the past. Veterans need to show the younger guys how to do that. UTEP game a great example. It's one thing to say you want to play harder. They need to think, and execute and get to a point where Self and coaches don't have to coach emotion, and those sorts of thing. Players need to take it up a notch.
UNC has beaten Louisville and Michigan State and lost to Belmont and UAB: Self saw them and noticed how young they were. He's not really an expert on other teams. But coaches sometimes take for granted how well things go when they have veterans. KU hasn't got there yet. The Duke game spoiled them a little. Guys were geeked up to play and that brought an adrenaline flow to that game.
KU's ball movement: Obviously Jayhawks haven't shot it well at all, yet. Teams aren't really guarding them hard out on the perimeter. Makes defense easier for opponents. KU has good wins, just bad three days in The Bahamas. It's not like everything is broken, Jayhawks just have to pay better attention to detail.
Andrew Wiggins sometimes swishes his jumpers, sometimes air-balls: "Pure" shooter is a stretch for anybody on this team. It's just youth and when the first shot is a tough one and doesn't fall, sometimes the confidence isn't there from that point on. When Self tells players to be aggressive, he doesn't mean forcing shots. Pure shooters at KU, under Self, include Conner Teahan, Tryel Reed and Brandon Rush.
Practices this week: Players have gone hard. Self warns his players the season is a marathon and that there will be games when they're not at their best. The reason he was disappointed at The Bahamas was because they didn't bring the same energy or passion.
Would Self have KU play zone defense?: Jayhawks practice it just about every day. But in Self's opinion, why would he bail the guys out and let them play zone when that's not the way they will need to play when the stakes are even higher and opponents more talented. "We ain't going zone." That's the mindset he wants the kids to have. If it gets to January and they need to do something different they will. But Self would prefer Kansas to become great at man-to-man. In baseball, fastball is hardest pitch to hit. In Self's opinion, man-to-man is the hardest defense to beat. KU has been in top 10 field-goal percentage defense in nine of 10 seasons at KU and it was 12th the other year. The hardest thing to guard is the ball, and now there are guys who are 6-foot-7 who can do things with the ball only smaller players used to be able to do.
Newcomers and veterans: The thing Self found out is guys' personalities don't change when they step on the floor. Perry Ellis is never going to be as vocal as a Kevin Young. Andrew Wiggins kind of thinking too much right now. Of the guys that start, Wayne Selden Jr. might be the one who needs to be more vocal on the floor. And it is contagious once it starts happening. Self wants Selden to be that guy but it will take time. Self isn't a psychologist but the "studies" he has done with players makes him think social media and video games have taken away from situations where young people are forced to talk. But it's not that way with everybody. KU has just recruited some great players who happen to be quiet. Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers were quiet when they first arrived, too, but eventually the light came on.
Ready for hard road trip: Whoever did our scheduling, Self doesn't really understand it, he joked, being the one who did it. But it's probably not the wisest thing he has done. The coach hopes the upcoming road games at Colorado on Saturday and at Florida on Tuesday are a much better experience than the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Colorado's Coors Event Center won't be filled with Kansas fans like it used to. Self expects KU will have 1,000 fans as opposed to half the building, and that's a compliment to CU coach Tad Boyle. Boyle has a calming presence with his team, he doesn't get rattled and players respond to that.
Jayhawks will be away from Allen Fieldhouse until Dec. 21. Self thinks it's much easier to play at home because the crowd brings energy to the floor and players respond. Players should be able to use energy in opposing venues, too.
On Frank Mason: He's been great but he's not vocal. Mason had about as bad a two minutes against UTEP as a guy could have to end the game. One could make a case Mason has been the best overall player so far this season for KU (6-1).
This year's Colorado team: They lost a couple key players from a season ago, but have a low-post presence and the Buffs might have the best transition offense KU will see this season. Will be a tough, but fun game.
KU needs one of its perimeter players to step up. That would really help ball movement and half-court offense if that happens, in terms of effectiveness from behind the three-point arc, too.
On Big 12: Iowa State the surprise team, and has been really good. Oklahoma State is great. Big 12 might be the pleasant surprise of the season among the nation's conferences.
Big 12-SEC Challenge: It's a good thing, and the only thing he would change would be having all the games played in a three- or four-day window instead of spread out over a week or more.


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As there are those who may want to clean install Windows 10 Version 1709 on their devices as opposed to updating through Windows Update, has Microsoft updated the MCT for such people, or has an iso with 16299.15/19 been released? Anyone know for certain?
Windows 10 1709 update of Media Creation Tool?
Posted on October 16, 2017

subset: commoncrawl


text: The News: Friday, October 26 Edition Beth Snyder October 26, 2012 It's Friday! It also happens to be the weekend before Hallowe'en, when most adults are having their parties. Do y'all play along with that, or do you think of it as just another weekend? Me, I love Hallowe'en more than pretty much any other holiday. Unfortunately, I usually end up working and can't do anything about it. This year, however, I win. Tonight is nothing special, just working a hockey game and then home. But tomorrow…tomorrow is the night we wear our costumes to work (hockey again), and then I have a party afterward. I'm going to give away my costume, because most people reading this will get it. I'm wearing a run-of-the-mill "death" hooded robe. And on my chest is a Windows fatal error screen. Get it? I'm going as a BSOD. I've been giggling about it for weeks now. Real World Labs starts us off with the MSI GeForce GTX 650 Power Edition OC 1GB TweakTown counters with the PowerColor DEVIL13 Radeon HD 7990 6GB Video Card eTeknix sees that and raises the Palit GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB JetStream Graphics Card TechRadar gets its hands on the iPad mini techPowerUp tests out the Mach Xtreme MX-DS Turbo 120 GB SLC ThinkComputers examines the Patriot Intel Extreme Masters DDR3-2133 16GB Memory Kit OverClocked Inside explores the CM Storm Scout 2 Case TechwareLabs spends some time with the AMD FX-8350 Piledriver Processor BCC Hardware gets into the Giada A51 (AMD) Mini PC Phoronix checks out FX-8350 Piledriver Tuning On AMD's Open64 Compiler HotHardware goes mobile with the Samsung Galaxy Note II Smartphone NikKTech comes back with the Jabra SPEAK 410 USB Speakerphone TechReviewSource sits down with the Dell XPS 12 Hi Tech Legion beats the heat with the Phanteks PH-TC90LS Low Profile CPU Cooler To close out this selection, BigBruin offers you a chance to Win a Mushkin Chronos Deluxe MX 120 SSD Share This With The World!


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Employer Branding & Employee Experience
We uncover your culture, make it enticing through storytelling and create a frictionless experience that wows candidates and employees alike.
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We empower you to test and model the behaviours you wish to see throughout your organisation.
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We carefully design your gatherings to meet your organisation's goals and aspirations. So that every meeting becomes a showcase for the way you collaborate and what you value.
Hanno Renner
CEO at Personio
"This is so us", were the first words that sprang to mind when we read the final version of our newly created Personio Code. We already have a strong culture but after revisiting our
Values and Operating Principles, they now truly capture every aspect of how we
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andto scale our culture as we grow internationally.
The Personio Code serves us as motivation, guides our decision making
and increases how we all identify with our culture.
With Andrea's & Stephanie's support we have a super solid foundation
for scaling our culture as we pursue our ambitious growth plans.
We loved the collaboration and wholeheartedly recommend Andrea & Stephanie to anyone who wants to capture the essence of their company culture in a tangible and inspiring way to consolidate, change or future proof it.
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A global insurance provider in Munich
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Senior Marine Policy Officer /
Seas At Risk / Brussels
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We believe culture is what is happening when no one is looking.
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It's a journey
We believe culture is a living organism and not set in stone. Empowered in the right way, every interaction becomes an opportunity for positive change.
We design our collaborations as a process where we value long term impact over short sighted decisions and co-creation over working with a selected few. We give a voice to your people and invite multiple perspectives to tell us the stories that make your workplace. Together we decide on tangible experiments allowing you to hack your own culture from within. And if you lack inspiration, we have a ton of brain teasing examples that spark ideas as you are starting your own journey.
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We believe in magic - the moment when many brains connect and contribute to something bigger, the joy of achieving a big milestone by uplifting each other, the pleasure of ideas bouncing around the room and taking off to the moon.
We design our processes and interactions for these moments to emerge using facilitation techniques like Liberating Structures and Open Space Technology, co-creation methods like collective Storytelling and Brainwriting and collaborative tools like Miro, Mural and Circles.
CultureByDesign is a culture consultancy for workplaces looking to intentionally design their people experience to wow employees and candidates alike.
At CultureByDesign, we help organisations design the workplace culture of their dreams. We do so by helping you uncover your current company culture, by visualising what a desired culture could look like and by mindfully designing practical measures for this aspirational culture to come alive.
We founded CultureByDesign to support Leadership, People & Culture and Employer Branding teams in gaining clarity and in actively shaping their workplace culture to attract the talent they need, that will enjoy being part of the team and contribute to the organisation's long term success story.
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Over the past 15 years Andrea has been working in, with and for creative agencies and big corporates, Fortune 500 and small start-ups, a future unicorn and dinosaurs, fast growing scale ups and public institutions. From HR tech to hardware, from financial sector to care homes, her experience spans across a large variety of industries.
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Stephanie supports businesses developing a human-centered focus and making happy customers and engaged employees. This can mean understanding the 'Why' of your customer or helping you uncover the existant culture and shape a new innovative work environment.
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Top 10 villa deals in Dubai: Dh60 million in Emirates Hills tops list
Emirates Hills, home to some of the richest in Dubai, has topped the list of the top 10 biggest villa deals for the first quarter 2015, reveals data shared exclusively by Reidin.com with Emirates 24|7.
Five transactions were reported in the upscale community, totaling Dh223 million, with Palm Jumeirah accounting for the remaining five transactions, amounting Dh145.59 million.
In the Emirates Hills community, a Dh60-million transaction, registered with the Dubai Land Department in February, topped the chart with an average per square foot price of Dh3,046.
In second place is a Dh45 million transaction, followed by two transactions of Dh42 million each.
A Dh40-million deal on Palm Jumeirah follows, with a Dh34 million transaction, once again, in Emirates Hills.
The last four slots went to deals on the Palm with closing prices at Dh33 million, Dh26.275 million, Dh26.121 million and Dh20.20 million, respectively.
Emirates 24|7 had reported earlier that in the first quarter of 2014, Palm Jumeirah registered nine of the top 10 biggest villa sales, with the costliest selling for Dh45 million.
Wealth-X and Sotheby's International Realty report pointed out earlier that non-European ultra-high net worth individuals - those with $30 million or above in assets – were investing in Dubai's luxury property market over Monaco.
Read: Super-rich opt for Dubai's Palm, Downtown over Monaco
Separately, UK-based Knight Frank's Wealth Report 2015 revealed $1 million (Dh3.67 million) could buy an apartment in Dubai that was four and seven times bigger than Singapore and London.
The report said one could buy 145 square metres of prime property in the emirate compared to 17 square metres in Monaco, 20 square metres in Hong Kong, 39 square metres in Singapore and 21 square metres in London for $1 million.
Read: How much space will $1m buy you in Dubai or New York?
Though experts have said that there has been a decline in sales volumes, Moody's Investors Service said in March 2015 that the slowdown in the market was "positive in the long run" and will alleviate the "potential overheating", though prices could fall 10 to 15 per cent.
Dubai is the host city for Expo 2020, which will run for a period of six months, starting October 20, 2020 till April 10, 2021.
The emirate aims to draw more than 25 million visitors, expecting Dh25 billion in total investment in infrastructure-related projects and create 277,000 new jobs.
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.


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Responding to a natural disaster is complicated by trying to deliver medical care in a chaotic environment where the communications infrastructure on the ground is seriously damaged or completely destroyed. Responding to emergency care has always been very difficult especially during Hurricane Katrina, the Southeast Asian Tsunami, and now with the earthquake in Haiti.
USAID is leading the U.S. government's efforts in Haiti and working with the FCC to assess present communications needs, the Haitian government's communications priorities, to assess the damage to key communications facilities. The FCC will evaluate any communication options that can be used to help restore services immediately resulting from the earthquake devastation.
FCC International Bureau Chief Mindel DelaTorre along with the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Chief Engineer, William Lane, went to Haiti to review the destruction of the communication facilities. They met with 25 representatives of the telecommunications industry in Haiti, and conducted extensive talks with company managers, the wireless company TELCO, wireless carriers, and internet service providers.
In addition, to Chief DelaTorre and the PSHSB Chief Engineer, the team also included three staff members who were deployed to Haiti to support the FEMA Mobile Emergency Response Team, plus two FCC engineers, and two industry experts.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said, "The FCC team will continue to work with Conatel the communications agency in Haiti and local Haitian telecommunications providers to come up with practical and sound options for restoring communications services. FCC updates on the communication progress in Haiti is being provided at www.fcc.gov/blog.
The University of California San Diego researchers are also working diligently to find new ways to improve communications during times of disasters. The university has launched a project to find better ways for emergency officials and first responders to talk to each other and share data on the ground at a disaster site.
One of the problems is that disaster sites often have a noisy and chaotic electromagnetic environment that make wireless networks unreliable so researchers are looking for a way for first responders to continue their work even if their connection to a central server is down.
The second problem occurs when first responders arrive at disaster sites at staggered intervals and depending on the size of the disaster, emergency personnel can sometimes reach into the thousands. So the UCSD researchers are looking into a system that is interoperable and self-scaling and has the ability to increase capabilities as responders arrive at the scene.
The third problem is that the capabilities of computer systems in disaster environments can change from moment to moment based on connectivity and infrastructure so applications need to be designed to use information in a seamless way to enhance the work flow for emergency medical personnel.
Recently, $1.5 million was made available from stimulus funding to go to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to underwrite their WIISARD SAGE project. The new project will pick up where the original Wireless Internet Information System for Medical Response in Disasters (WIISARD) left off and will look at collaborative computing in mobile environments as well as examine self-scaling systems for disaster management.
The WIISARD SAGE project will bring together an interdisciplinary team of faculty from computer science, cognitive science, electrical engineering, and emergency medicine in the UCSD Division of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) to find better computing for emergency personnel to use at disaster sites.
The UCSD researchers are going to test their solutions with emergency response agencies during large scale disaster drills to be held in San Diego County in mid May 2010. The drills will be federally funded under the San Diego Regional Metropolitan Medical Strike Team (MMST) and will be composed of fire departments, hazmat personnel, bomb squads, and S.W.A.T. teams. In addition to MMST, the UCSD team will also participate in drills organized by California's Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT).
To get ready for the May disaster drill, UCSD recently pre tested some of their new ideas that includes mobile phones equipped with custom software, Bluetooth barcode scanners to allow responders to scan a patient's paper triage tag to bring up their on-site medical record, RFID technology to help track where responders are located, and development of new network protocols such as "Grapevine", a gossip based protocol that allows communication even if not all network connections are functioning.
In addition, WIISARD SAGE will also add GPS units to the nodes of the ad hoc CalMesh network developed at Calit2 to estimate the positions of responders or disaster victims by triangulating signal strengths.


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Exclusive Download: Brian Wilson Covers Buddy Holly
Click here to listen to Brian Wilson's cover of Buddy Holly's "Listen to Me"
Brian Wilson's interpretation of Buddy Holly's classic song "Listen to Me" is a gorgeous merger of Holly's simple, direct melodic phrasing and Wilson's distinct arrangement and production style. The Beach Boys mastermind fills Holly's composition out with angelic harmonies and delicate instrumentation, enough so that some listeners would be forgiven for assuming that it was a Beach Boys tune all along. You can download the track, which will appear on the new Buddy Holly tribute album Listen to Me now, and pre-order the set, which includes covers recorded by Stevie Nicks, Jackson Browne, Ringo Starr, Zooey Deschanel and many others, at Amazon.


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This document will be updated if and when new firmware update is available.
Boost mobile LG Stylo 2 comes with model number LG LS775 and it was launched with Software Version LS775ZV3 – Android 6.0 M OS.
Current version: LS775ZV3
Release Date:4/15/16
Initial Release
LG Stylo 2 (aka LG Stylus 2) Variants:
LG F720L/K/S – South Korea
LG LS775 – Sprint/Boost mobile
LG-K540 – Internaional
LGL81AL – Tracfone
LGL82VL – Tracfone
The LG Stylo 2 is powered by a 1,2GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 410 (MSM8916) Processor, To flash Stock Firmware on LG Stylo 2 LS775, You need to install the "MSM8916.DLL" (LGUP_8916.DLL for LG UP or LGLS77520_LGFLASHv216.DLL for LG Flash Tool).
LG UP for LG Stylo 2 can be download via this page.
LG Stylo 2 USB Drives, You can download the latest LG Android USB device drivers Ver. 4.0. here.


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I like fantasy, so when I came across The Book of Lost Things, a modern version of traditional fairy tales that has glowing reviews from various sources, I was keen to read it. Fairy tales are full of bad things happening to people, wicked stepmothers, evil witches, wolves and trolls, fantasy characters, damsels in distress and magic and enchantments, but in the end good overcomes evil and they live happily ever after.
The Book of Lost Things begins at the start of World War Two, with David, a boy of twelve, who is mourning the death of his mother, resenting his father's new wife, Rose and his new baby brother, George. Alone in his bedroom he hears the books on the shelves murmuring and whispering in the darkness, and his fantasy world becomes peopled with the characters from his books and he dreams of the Crooked Man, waiting for him out in the woods beyond the house.
One night his dreams and nightmares become reality as he sees through a fissure in his room into another realm beyond. He falls unconscious and coming to he hears his mother calling out him to save her, saying she is not dead but trapped in a strange place. He climbs out of his window and then as a bomber crashes in the garden David escapes through the sunken garden into a different world, a world peopled by the characters from the stories he has been reading. Told that the king has a 'Book of Lost Things' that will help him find the way back to his own world, he is met with the most terrible and gruesome opposition.
As well as stomach churning and excruciatingly toe-curling grisly detail there are some very dark episodes in this book with an element of moralising within the story from a number of 'father figures' David meets, for example the Woodsman and the knight Roland who tells him that life is filled with threats and dangers.
It is indeed filled with danger but the book becomes a sequence of 'this happened and then that happened', of showing rather than telling. The writing is flat; there is no sense of suspense, David is attacked and goes on to fight battle after battle as the characters helping him are killed off. There are his battles against the Loups, wolves who dress like men. He has to answer a riddle to choose the right bridge to cross a chasm thronged with harpies. He meets seven dwarves dominated by an obese Snow White, her face caked with white make-up (this story is quite funny actually with its references to communism). He comes across a peasant village terrorised by a monstrous loathsome worm which gives birth in mid-battle. He eventually finds the castle of thorns where his mother may be imprisoned, and then finally the great castle of the ancient and now dying king, the guardian of the 'book of lost things'. And behind it all is the sinister and evil Crooked Man.
I quite liked the concept of this book, it promised much, but I didn't like its gruesomeness, the torture chambers, the animal and human experimentations, the sexual innuendos, nor did I like the ending, which I thought was weak. These details didn't leave me with a chill down my spine, but just feeling rather sick.
Still, it seems an appropriate book to include in the Once Upon a Time Challenge, which ended yesterday and certainly for the Mount To Be Read Challenge as it has sat unread on my shelves for 7 years. Maybe fairy stories are no longer magical for me, this one wasn't.
I can almost hear the rest of my books muttering, well thank goodness that one's on its way out of the house.


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341 (a) Bankruptcy meetings are being conducted by telephone – until further noticeMay 15, 2020 8:27 pm IMPORTANT NOTICE from CENTRAL DISTRICT OF California, Los Angeles Division Meeting of Creditors Telephonic Information Effective April 13, 2020, and until further notice, all section 341 meetings will be conducted by telephone only; there will be no in-person meetings. Individual call-in numbers for section 341 meetings have been assigned to each presiding trustee. Please read this Call-In Teleconference Numbers and Instructions [PDF – 30 KB] to identify the call-in number for the presiding trustee in your case and this Identification Verification [PDF – 69 KB] for important information on debtor identification procedures. Be advised that all USTP employees are teleworking during the public health emergency and all section 341 meeting rooms are closed. If you have any questions, please contact our main office number and follow the instructions to leave a voicemail message. Messages are being checked regularly throughout the business day and a staff member will get back to you as quickly as possible.
Categorised in: Bankruptcy Law Blog
This post was written by Art Oganesian
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Additional materials for participants of DWC2019
This page includes links to the materials that we would like to share ahead of the Disability & Work in Canada conference 2019 with conference participants
Recent publications relevant to DWC Strategy
Stuart Morris. Workplace accommodations for employees with disabilities in Canada, 2017. Statistics Canada, September 25, 2019. Report #89-654-X
Stuart Morris, Gail Fawcett, Linden R. Timoney, and Jeffrey Hughes. The Dynamics of Disability: Progressive, Recurrent or Fluctuating Limitations. Statistics Canada, December 3, 2019. Report #89-654-X2019002
Materials for the Parallel Discussion Session "Standards and best practices to expand employment opportunities"
Plans for the Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization. Speaker: Paul-Claude Bérubé, Chair, Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization (CASDO). Please note that these presentation slides are available online only, since we will not have the screen and projector in the room for the parallel session.
Materials for the Parallel Discussion Session "Addressing unconscious bias and stigma at work and beyond"
What is unconscious bias? Why we don't just say "bias", "stereotypes" or "stigma", but we add "unconscious" to it? What is stigma? How are stigma and bias relevant to disability & work in Canada? Is it important to address them to implement the DWC strategy? The resources below will respond to some (but not all) of these questions. We look forward to deeper discussion on this topic in the context of strategy implementation.
WSIB/RAACWI Anti-stigma initiative
The summary of anti-stigma initiative; anti-stigma initiative was co-developed by Research Action Alliance for the Consequences of Work Injury (RAACWI) and Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) working together to change the way the WSIB interacts with injured workers.
When help leads to harm: injured worker stigma in the compensation system. Presentation at the AWCBC Learning Symposium, October 7, 2010 (pdf copy). This presentation also offers background and details of anti-stigma initiative. If this file is not accessible to you, please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
WSIB brochure on injured worker stigma
WSIB injured worker stigma famework
Background on what is unconscious bias (text-based materials)
"Introduction to Unconscious Bias: A quick-start guide to help you understand the basics of Unconscious Bias in the workplace." (ELI, Inc., 2015). This publication provides simple and clear message on what unconscious bias is, if it can be harmful for the workplace, what is microagression, and how to address bias and microagression at the workplace. It does not talk specifically about bias or stereotypes regarding persons with disabilities.
Unconscious Bias - Disability is a compilation of resources related to implicit disability bias, including bias towards employees and students with disabilities. It talks as well about what bias is in general.
For further reading: a deeper-level discussion on the systemic nature of bias and how to address it
Noon, M. (2018). Pointless Diversity Training: Unconscious Bias, New Racism and Agency. Work, Employment and Society, 32(1), 198-209. - open-access publication
Several videos below provide a good introduction to the topic of unconscious bias
Concepts Unwrapped | Implicit Bias, by McCombs School of Business (8 minutes 9 sec; includes subtitles and illustrations)
Disability Smart Managers: How do you overcome unconscious bias? by BBC Getin (13 minutes 35 seconds, with subtitles)
Unconscious bias: Stereotypical hiring practices. | Gail Tolstoi-Miller | TEDxLincolnSquare : (10minutes 32 sec., non-edited autogenerated captions). Once a Goth chick living in the East Village of New York City, now in the corporate world, Tolstoi-Miller shares her very personal story of bias and how recognizing her own unconscious bias taught her to say "so what".
If you know other relevant resources and would like to share it with conference participants, send an email to firstname.lastname@example.com


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Founder of the hip-hop label crew Hellfyre Club and a long-time host of Low End Theory, Los Angeles rapper James McCall, bka Nocando, is set to release his second album, Jimmy The Burnout, on March 18th. The crazy cut-up vox and jaunty rhythmics of this latest single, though, sound fresh and smart and quite the opposite of music you'd expect a true "burnout" to make, even as the rapper's words recall a kind of comically half-assed attempt to win over a woman who's already on another man's arm: I'm too old to break shit/ so your heart's safe. Jimmy the Burnout is out via Hellfyre Club/Alpha Pup. Dates for Nocando's March, Hellfyre Club Tour with Milo, Busdriver and Open Mike Eagle below.
Stream: Nocando, "Never Looked Better"
3/7 Boston, MA @ The Middle East
3/8 New Haven @ Stella Blues -
3/9 Washington, D.C. @ DC9 –
3/10 Charlotte, NC @ Snug Harbor – Free Show
3/11 Atlanta, GA @ Purgatory Room –
3/12 Nashville, TN @ Boheme Collectif -
3/19 Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom -
3/20 Tucson, AZ @ Hotel Congress -
3/21 Los Angeles, CA @ The Mint


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Degrees and Certifications:
Ms. Amaya
Ms. Amaya has taught at Como Park Elementary School since 2010, but she has been in the Saint Paul Public Schools since 1997. She has a Bachelor's degree from The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and a Master's of Education degree in Second Languages and Cultures from The University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. She has experience in secondary schools but has recently taught in elementary grades kindergarten thru fifth grade.
When she is not teaching, she spends time with her family and friends. She enjoys reading and dancing.
She lives in the Como neighborhood where she is proud to live and work within the same community. She appreciates Como Park and Como Lake which are close to the school. If you are walking around the lake, you may see her. Be sure to wave and say "Hello!"
She loves being part of such a diverse school of learners. Everyday she learns new things about her students, their languages, and their cultures.


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Prevent dangerous situations by having your employees attend a bike@work workshop that covers the following areas and more: regulations governing (electric) bikes and the highway code, including where you should ride on the road, who has priority, mandatory equipment for the bike and wearing a bike helmet. You learn how to anticipate and recognise risks, and how to control these risks by anticipating hazardous situations. The shortest route is not always the safest route, so we also take a look at the local situation.
Increasing numbers of commuters are discovering the bicycle for travelling to and from work. Employees and insurers alike are faced with a rise in the number of road accidents involving cyclists travelling to and from work. Cyclists face a risk per kilometre of having an accident that is 20 times higher than a car driver. This workshop provides cyclists with insights into safe cycling for becoming more aware about dealing with risks and so leading to fewer accidents.
- You know your place on the road and where you should be riding as a cyclist.
- You know when your bike complies with the law and what aspects of your safety you can increase.
- You know how you need to anticipate things and learn how to select the safest route.
- You are able to respond appropriately to dangerous traffic situations and other road-users.
Contact us for more information by e-mailing firstname.lastname@example.com or call 02/244.15.11.


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Cassandra Lin (19) was only 11 when she started the TGIF (Turn Grease Into Fuel) project. Many other people were trying to raise awareness about global warming with similar projects, but with poor results or none at all – and she did it! With a group of classmates she put together as a community service team, she visited the Energy Solution Expo at the University of Rhode Island – the step that changed everything. They found out that biodiesel can be produced from waste cooking oil. Today, a total of 480 families in three different countries heating their homes this way. Cassandra says she and her team are not going to stop there.
Cassandra Lin (19) was only 11 when she started the TGIF (Turn Grease Into Fuel) project. Many other people were trying to raise awareness about global warming with similar projects, but with poor results or none at all – and she did it! With a group of classmates she put together as a community service team, she visited the Energy Solution Expo at the University of Rhode Island – the step that changed everything. They found out that biodiesel can be produced from waste cooking oil. Today, a total of 480 families in three different countries heating their homes this way. Cassandra says she and her team are not going to stop there.
How to turn grease into fuel?
Cassandra, tell us what are you doing at the moment? You are a student now, how are the studies going, are you enjoying the new chapter in your life?
I am just about to start my freshman year at Stanford University! I'm undeclared at the moment, but I am planning on studying Computer Science.
Your TGIF (Turn Grease Into Fuel) project made you one of the youngest initiators of projects of this kind in the world. What made an 11-year-old so worried and driven to react and make this whole project work with the help of friends?
I think it just boiled down to the fact that we cared about helping our community. We thought to ourselves, if not us, then who was going to help solve this problem? Of course, there is always strength in numbers, and we knew that we could make a bigger impact if we banded together as a group.
Back in 2008, when all this started, did you know anyone suffering and living in poor conditions? Were those families on your mind while you were making this project possible?
Yes, our goal was to help as many of these families as possible and to be able to provide heating funds year after year.
How does it actually work? Can you give us a simple explanation so our readers can contribute in a way by doing the same in their homelands?
We partnered with local businesses, charities, as well as grease collectors, biodiesel refiners, and biofuel distributors to make this work. We first got the support of our Town Council to install a residential grease recycling receptacle at our transfer station so residents could recycle their oil.
Next, we asked restaurants to donate their oil to the program. We also worked with local charities, who were able to identify the most needy recipients of emergency heating assistance. From there, it's a simple system: the grease collectors collect the oil from the residential and commercial sites and bring it to the biodiesel refinery. The biofuel distributors bring the fuel to families in need.
From Rhode Island, where it all began, the TGIF project has been expanded a lot. Can you tell us where is this system is being implemented and how many people are using it today?
Currently, TGIF is being implemented in three states in the United States – Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. We have been able to heat the homes of 480 families.
Since you were just a child with a good idea, who helped you and your friends to take the first crucial steps – parents, relatives, local companies? What was the place or institution that started turning grease into biodiesel first?
My dad acted as our team's coach, guiding us through the crucial first steps like approaching grease collectors and refiners to talk about potential partnerships. We first learned about turning grease into fuel at a Green Energy Solutions Expo at the University of RI, where a biodiesel refiner called Mason's Biodiesel told us about how they were turning used cooking oil into biodiesel.
Does your family help you in any way, and how? Was your brother an important figure when you came up with this idea?
My whole family has been really supportive – I remember my mom used to drive us around to the restaurants when we first began the program. My brother acted as the assistant coach and helped us with things like public speaking.
How did you go about raising awareness about the TGIF project? You have done numerous local activities, cooperating with corporations, taking initiatives . . . Can you list some of the most important ones?
We have done numerous presentations and workshops to spread awareness of TGIF. I have given talks at TEDxEast in NYC, TEDxProvidence, and at La Cuidad de las Ideas (a TED-like event in Puebla, Mexico) to name a few.
What were the biggest obstacles you had to face on the way to making this happen? One of them was a "Grease War". Tell us more about these kinds of challenges.
We started in 2008, and during our first year the biodiesel refiner that we were working with went out of business. We had to scramble to find another refiner and keep our project running. Grease is really a commodity now, and there is stiff competition between grease collectors, some of which are paying restaurants for their oil.
So we've had to deal with that as well and stress the environmental and community impact of our collection program to get restaurants on board with the program.
Where and how can people from all around the world find out more about this? Are you or your team available for any kind of consultation or advice?
Everyone can check out our website and on YouTube (search my name or Project TGIF). We are always available for consultation or advice via email (firstname.lastname@example.com).
What are the next steps for the TGIF Team? Can you share some updates with us?
We are currently trying to maintain TGIF (turn grease into fuel) even while we're all moving on to different colleges this year. Two of our teammates are studying at the University of Rhode Island, one of our teammates is going to Georgia Tech, another one is going to Dartmouth College, and my other teammate and I are studying in California (USC and Stanford).
All around the globe young people are struggling between chasing their dreams and harsh reality. What would be your message to them?
My message is to not give up just because things are hard or not going the way you thought they would. There will definitely be moments when you feel frustrated or perhaps disillusioned with the way things work, but you have to persevere and believe in yourself and that what you're doing can and will make a difference.
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As an investor, there are many ways to partner with others to put together deals and increase profits. The key components of any real estate investment are the seller, the buyer (investor), the property, the source of funds, and when you are flipping, the end buyer. As the buyer/investor, your role is pulling all of these resources together into a specific deal. However, you don't have to do that all by yourself. Formal and informal partnerships can leverage your investment business.
Basic Partnership Considerations
Real estate investment partnerships can be very complex or very simple. One of the simplest ones is an interest only loan. As an investor, you bring in a funding partner by agreeing to an interest rate, the length of the loan, and the security (usually a first mortgage on the property). Outside funding could come from your own network if you have a history of successful investments. However, you have many other sources worth considering. The home mortgage industry has evolved to include an almost endless source of funding. A little searching on your part will reveal everything from crowdfunding, to hard money lenders, to individuals investing their 401k retirement accounts. Some are silent partners and others want a more active role.
A more complicated funding partnership can be a profit sharing arrangement. Writing a contract for a profit sharing arrangement has many variables. You may chose to write up a contract for a single property that details the specifics about how the profits will be shared. Or you could enter into a Limited Liability Company that oversees multiple investment properties and again details how the profits will be shared.
Partnerships certainly don't have to be 50-50 split. If, as the primary investor, you're doing most of the legwork, you're entitled to a higher percentage of the profits. You're doing all of the research to find discounted properties, negotiating the sales terms, overseeing the remodeling, and finding an end buyer. You may even be putting down earnest money and/or providing part of the purchase money. Under some or all of these scenarios, you'd certainly be entitled to a higher percentage of the profits.
Advantages to Bringing In a Partner
Reasons why you want a partner:
- To bring other people's 'skin into the deal' to lower your business risk.
- Enables you to spread your own resources across more deals to increase overall profits.
- Enables you to finance and complete more complex and more expensive deals with higher profit margins.
- Brings in experienced people to share their knowledge and ideas.
- Increase your success and shares it with others.
Issues to be concerned about:
- Clearly detailing agreements about how profits or interest will be paid.
- Not giving up too much control of the deals.
- Be cognizant of extra reporting requirements, especially tax related.
- New partners with different investing strategies and goals that you don't share.
Good times to consider partners:
- When a partnership takes both businesses to the next level (such as new networking sources or moving up from single-family homes to small apartment buildings).
- When combined portfolios will look better to outside funding sources.
- Before you start looking for your next investment property.
- When a partner strengthens your weaknesses and you do the same for him or her.
- When partnering is more attractive than other financing options.
- As a method to reduce the cost of leveraging your own money.
- As a way to boost the confidence of future investors for bigger deals.
- When you have potential investors who want another partner in the deal.
- When you're already in multiple deals and are short on cash but another great deal comes along.
- When taking on a new creative investment deal that your partner has more experience with.
The most common problem that comes with partnering on real estate deals are the legal aspects. It's highly recommended that you check out the credentials of new investors as much as they check out yours. Also, have a tightly written contract, partnership agreement, or LLC agreement and attach it to the title of the property to prevent a money partner from taking out another mortgage or selling the property out from under you. Both partners need to be prepared to revise agreements as the partnership matures and new experiences are encountered.
Please comment about your real estate investment partnering experiences.
Also, our weekly Ask Brian column welcomes questions from readers of all experience levels with residential real estate. Please email your questions, inquiries, or article ideas to [email protected].


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19 June, 2008
Natural leaven - day 2
No real change to the leaven except it has separated a bit.
I added
50 g water at 20°C
2 rounded tsp rye flour
2 rounded tsp strong white flour
and mixed it all up again, covered it and I'm leaving it until tomorrow.
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Photos we are missing.
The Snowy Plover has a large breeding range of 1,600,000 square kilometers. This includes salt flats, sandy beaches, and other open, sandy habitats in the southern and western coasts of the United States, Kansas, Texas, and other parts of the western United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, and western South America. It winters in coastal habitats of the southern United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. Nests are shallow scrapes, and are built on the ground. Diets consist of small insects and invertebrates. The Snowy Plover has an estimated global population of 38,000 individuals, and a conservation rating of Near Threatened because of a moderate, long term population decline and ongoing threats to breeding and wintering habitats.
Snowy Plover: Small plover, pale brown upperparts, white underparts. Dark patches on either side of upper breast (partial breast band), behind eye, and on white forehead. Bill, legs, and feet are black. Wings have white stripes visible in flight. Dark tail has white edges. Dark gray legs and feet.
Snowy Plover: This species is a resident along the Pacific Coast from Washington to Baja California and along the Gulf Coast from Florida to the Yucatan Peninsula. It is also a resident in much of the West Indies. Some birds breed locally in the southwestern states and migrate to coastal Mexico. Its preferred habitats include sandy coastal beaches and shallow alkaline lakes.
Snowy Plover C1
Trilled "purrt" and "tur-weet" calls.
Snowy Plover C2
"Purrt" calls given in flight.
"krut", "ku-wheet"
Lapwings and Plovers (Charadriidae)
The taxonomic order CHARADRIIFORMES (pronounced kah-RAH-dree-ih-FOR-meez) is composed of waterbirds such as the auks, gulls, long-toed Jacanas, and the plovers.
In the lapwings and plovers family, Charadriidae (pronounced kar-ad-RYE-uh-dee), there are sixty-seven species in ten genera distributed nearly worldwide.
There are eighteen species of lapwings and plovers in three genera in North America. Members of this family include the well- known Killdeer, the pale Piping Plover, and the golden-plovers.
The Killdeer is known for its distraction displays around its nest. Adult Killdeers noisily feign a broken wing to attract the attention of anyone or anything that comes too close to their nests.
Plovers are small birds with rounded, pigeon-like heads, long, pointed wings for fast flight, and except for the long-tailed Killdeer, short tails. They have fairly long legs with short toes and rather short bills.
Dull colors such as brown, gray, black, and white are the most frequent colors seen in lapwings and plovers plumages. Dark colors are usually found on the upperparts and white on the underparts with several species having black markings on the head and neck. Exceptions are the handsome breeding plumages of the Black-bellied Plover and golden-plovers (these show black on the underparts), and the Eurasian Dotterel with rufous underparts.
The lapwing and plover family occurs throughout North America in non-forest habitats. The most common species, the Killdeer, occupies almost any sort of bare or sparsely vegetated ground from extensive lawns to parking lots and baseball fields. The Mountain Plover of the short grass prairie also prefers little vegetation but is much more particular in habitat choice and much less common. Other plover species occur in wet fields, beaches, mud flats, and salt pans.
Plovers are mostly long distance migrants that winter from the southern United States to Argentina in South America.
Lapwings and plovers form pairs during the breeding season, but occur in flocks during migration and winter. At all times of the year, members of this family have a distinctive mode of foraging whereby they take a few quick steps, then pause to stoop and pick an insect from the ground.
The Piping Plover is considered to be near threatened as its populations have declined in much of its range because of disturbance and development of the beaches, sandy shorelines, and sand bars this species requires.
The Semipalmated Plover gets its name from having partially webbed feet, a feature this small bird makes use of by occasionally swimming in the water. The golden-plovers undertake incredible migrations; the Pacific Golden-Plover to Hawaii and other Pacific islands from its Alaskan breeding grounds, and the American Golden-Plover from the Arctic tundra to the pampas of Argentina.
Imran Kahn
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.