text: Re: Do we "need" those >20kHz ultrasonic frequencies for high-fidelity audio? Reply #75 – 2017-04-24 16:42:51 Quote from: Jakob1863 on 2017-04-23 18:26:03Quote from: Arnold B. Krueger on 2017-04-21 17:37:25<snip>I don't recall you admitting that sighted evaluations are generally invalid. So, I have not confirmed your position at all. You don´t need to confirm my position at all, I don't need to, but it would be good for you if you had a confirmable position, particularly one other than "Yet another poorly educated, inexperienced, delusional Golden Ear with an obvious self-serving agenda"QuoteBeside that it is known to nearly everybody doing sensory (perceptual) tests. The reason is quite simple; "blinding" removes just one cognitive bias, all others are still at work.False. While removing cognitive bias is called blinding, many other experimental controls including some others that you mentioned can be called blinding. IOW, some cats are called Tabby, but other cats are called by other names and they are still cats.Quote And the list of remaining bias effects is quite long, starting with Rosenthal and Hawthourne, covering presentation order and/or time order errors, habituation effect (strongly related to the internal criterion problem) and does not end with bias effects due to knowledge about the EUT.Why are you wasting my time telling me things that you should know that am highly aware of and an experienced practitioner of the art of effectively managing those things and many other?QuoteNonusage of positive and negative controls makes incorrect results even more likely.Ditto.QuotePS. Tom Nousaine noted the high error rate in same/different tests already back in 1990 and in other well documented (even with large samples) that fact is confirmed by error rates up to 80% in trials.Yup, and he said it here: DBT comments in Boston Audio Society journal.He also said: "Note that the much attacked ABX technique, where a forced choice is made, is free of this problem." which one can easily interpret to mean that most of the audio DBTs that are done these days are free of this problem that somehow you feel compelled to be wasting our time with.Experiments within Signal Detection Theory have shown that for example cash prizes directly influenced decision strategies of the participants. QuoteThat's the lie that audiophiles seem to like to gratify themselves with. They like to pretend that there is some kind of reasonable choice between their uncontrolled audiophile listening and DBTs, I am very irritated by that absence of a viable alternative to DBTs, but I can't find any. .No such thing seems to actually exist. Do you know of one?QuoteHave a look at fields of science where "blinding" is not possible or maybe even ethically forbidden. They do controlled tests without "blinding" and it seems they nevertheless can achieve some valid work.As you say, "some valid work". If you can put 2 and 2 together and get 4, you might realize that blinding is a recognized method for increasing the probability of obtaining valid work. If you have any familiarity at all with the problem at hand you know that blinding is generally possible if not easy, and that there are no ethical problems at all. Why are you wasting our time with this irrelevant drivel?QuoteBut, as we are able to incorporate the "blind" property we should do it, but your assertion that "sighted listening is invalid" isn´t correct, as impossibility to show validness isn´t the same as invalid. Now you are splitting hairs. This isn't a theoretical math problem where bantering absolutes is relevant. This is practical, experimental work. Impossibilitty to show validity might not be identically same as invalid, but in the circumstances it presents the rather significant relevant question of "why not?". The answer to that question is frequently related to the fact that blind tests don't give the desired complementary and confirming answers to evaluations of snake oil. And you may ask, how do we know that its snake oil, to which the answer is: "Study of the relevant technology". That cuts most know-nothing audiophile eggspurts out of the action.QuoteThe problem with sighted listning tests (that could otherwise be controlled in the same manner as a controlled tests including "blindness") simply exists because one is not able to show the internal validity.Doooh!QuoteAs said many times before, most people use controlled blind tests to confirm something they discovered during sighted listening; wouldn´t make much sense if sighted listening isn´t of merit.Wrong again. It is well known that sighted listening has very little merit, particularly if it involves smaller, harder to hear differences. It is well known that by improving the controls on the evaluation, which is sometimes generically called "Blind testing", the quality of the results may be improved. Sighted testing for small differences has very little merit, which is why blind testing is used so often when people are serious about their work and have to submit it for approval by others, such as academic paper review boards.QuoteSubjective evaluation deals a lot with bias effects, if participants aren´t not able to control (up to a certain degree) their bias, correct results were simply only due to chance.Seeing the double negative, please get back to me when you have a coherent question for me to comment on. ;-)


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Wouldn't it be wonderful to "Talk to the Animals"? Well, the Kidsongs Kids™ can! They learn to chat in chimpanzee, giggle in guinea pig and discuss in rhinoceros, then one alligator says to another, "See You Later, Alligator". Elephants and eagles, buffalos and beagles and many, many more animal friends join the cast of this wonderful animal adventure that will keep you singing and laughing along! Features: Kid Friendly Auto Repeat, Digitally Mastered, Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo, Closed Captioned. Running time: approximately 30 minutes.
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subset: commoncrawl


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(Sorghum bicolor) Sorghum is one of Africa's greatest contributions to the world's agricultural diversity, and is a traditional crop in the South. Adaptable and drought tolerant, sorghum varieties exist that provide grain, sweet syrup, animal fodder, or sometimes, more than one crop from a single planting! The main requirement for sorghum is heat—plant the seeds about ½" deep a couple of weeks after spring frosts are over and soil is really warm. Ordinary garden soil and moisture are sufficient to get a crop, although sorghum may be more productive under better conditions. Seeds are ripe at about the same time as sugar content of the stalks reaches maximum.
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Tarahumara Popping Sorghum
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Warner Bros. is launching a Facebook series that will feature Facebook users.
The new Web series, called "Aim High" and starring "Twilight" actor Jackson Rathbone as a teen spy, will also star Facebook users -- mainly in random photographs, posters and credits, according to Reuters.
For instance, as Nick performs his spy duties in his high school's hallway, he may pass a poster for a class president candidate and the picture on it is you. Or, the end credits might have photos of your friends when listing Nick's spy accomplices.
U.S. & World
McG, the producer of the Web series (and "Supernatural," "Chuck" and "The O.C.") calls the social series a breakthrough in interactivity. "You're detached when you watch a show on FOX or NBC or when you go to the movies," he told Reuters.. "This experience is more intimate."
Warner Bros. is banking the series will do well with women 18-34, because of Rathbone's "Twilight" credits, but we think if that were the case, the company should have chosen a slightly older protagonist. The "Twilight" books and movie drew audiences because it was about forbidden love, not because it was about high school students.
Still, will the reward of seeing their faces in a series make people watch it? And how many viewers mean a Web series is a success anyway?


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New Year's Resolutions That Fail
Avoid These Healthy New Year's Resolutions
Avoid These Healthy New Year's Resolutions
The first day of 2014 is here! For those of us who have fallen way off the healthy wagon, especially over the last few months, we have the opportunity to make a fresh start. Before you set your New Year's resolutions, know that there is a technique to being successful. Here are a handful of popular resolutions that, when gone about the wrong way, have the greatest possibility of failing.


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Daily Activities
|7:00 – 8:00 am
Dogs are checked in, their belongings are put into their cubbies, and they wait in their individual "rooms" for play to begin.
|8:00 – 11:30 am
Morning Activities
Dogs participate in ball-fetching, chasing games, wrestling, "A-Frame" climbing, tunnel running, etc.
|11:30 am – 12:00 pm
Individual Attention
Special needs are attended to, lunch/snacks are distributed, etc.
|12:00 – 2:00 pm
Nap Time
Yes, they actually rest! It's lights out time with classical music played and dogs resting in individual crates. This is an important quiet time, as the dogs have had a very active morning and need time to unwind and relax.
|2:00 – 4:30 pm
A less fast-paced version of the morning activities involving more one-on-one attention and TLC.
|4:30 – 5:00 pm
Individual Attention
It's dinner time for those that are sleeping over, salon time for those that need a bit of tidying up before going home and time for other special needs that our guests may require.
|5:00 – 6:30 pm
Pick Up Time
Each dog is crated for an unwinding period before his or her owner arrives.
|Sleepovers available 365 days a year.
Get the full details. Click here.


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Under "a la carte," cable subscribers would be allowed to pick and choose the individual channels to which they wish to subscribe. So if you think you want to watch only a classic movie channel, C-Span's BookTV, the Weather Channel and ESPN, the theory goes, you should be able to select and pay for only those channels.
The problem with Martin's renewed push for a la carte--apart from serious matters of public policy raised by such direct government interference in a competitive marketplace--is that the government may not take an a la carte approach as to which constitutional provisions it chooses to follow. By interfering with the discretion of cable operators to present their programming as they prefer, mandatory "a la carte" very likely violates the First Amendment's free speech guarantee.
What rationale is offered for ? In late April, when the FCC released its highly publicized report on television violence, Martin repeated his oft-stated view that a la carte would be a tool "to give parents more direct control over the television content that comes into their homes." He says
Martin acknowledged the constitutional difficulties whenever the government attempts to regulate program content. But he suggested that requiring cable (and satellite) television operators to adopt a la carte "would be a more content neutral means for Congress to regulate violent programming and therefore would raise fewer constitutional issues."
Mandating a la carte may pose less of a slam-dunk constitutional objection than, say, an outright government edict banning HBO's The Sopranos because it is "violent" or Sex and the City because it is "indecent." But the constitutional objection nevertheless is strong.
Imagine if the government required The Washington Post to be offered a la carte on the basis that readers should not be required to pay for the news section, which, with a war on, contains some "violent" content, or the style section, which contains some content that may be considered "indecent." Many readers surely would prefer to pay only for the sports section. Now imagine the same thought experiment with respect to Time. The magazine contains sections readers might prefer to do without if only the government required it to be sold on an unbundled basis.
No one suggests a government-mandated a la carte regime for newspapers or magazines would pass First Amendment muster.
Under the Supreme Court's current jurisprudence, it is true that laws that impose special restrictions on cable operators are not subject to precisely the same level of strict scrutiny under the First Amendment as laws that restrict the print media. But in the leading case of Turner Broadcasting System v. FCC, the Supreme Court nevertheless made clear that special restrictions on cable operators still call for "heightened First Amendment scrutiny." The government generally must show that the speech-restrictive law serves an important government interest that cannot be satisfied in a less restrictive manner.
Assuming there is an important government interest in protecting children from viewing indecent and violent programming, there are certainly less restrictive means to accomplish this objective. Even putting aside the notion that it might be enough that parents may choose not to subscribe to cable television at all or, if they do, restrict what their children watch, the government might require that cable operators allow blocking of channels parents find objectionable.
But Martin has acknowledged "cable operators already block any channel that a consumer requests to be blocked." Channel-blocking is a less restrictive alternative than negating cable operators' editorial discretion to decide how they wish to package program content.
An a la carte regime almost certainly would involve the government setting the prices for the unbundled channels. Otherwise cable operators could set the price for individual channels in a way that, in effect, establishes incentives not much different than those that exist in a current regime that allows blocking, but without any billing credit. This is why Martin has suggested an a la carte regime "could simply require the cable operator to reimburse consumers for the channels they request to have blocked." One way or another, the government surely will get involved in setting the reimbursement rate.
This doesn't trouble Martin. He says: "While the Constitution protects the right to speak, it certainly doesn't protect a right to get paid for that speech." But this formulation misses the mark. One of the landmark free speech cases of the 20th century, , involved a paid ad in the Times. What the Constitution protects against are government restrictions, in the face of less restrictive alternatives, that affect the amount of speech a speaker wishes to convey, or the format in which the speaker chooses to convey the speech to those willing to pay to obtain it.
Mandatory a la carte almost certainly will diminish the amount and diversity of programming available to cable subscribers, a result at odds with First Amendment values. This is because the current system of packaging programming in tiers that subscribers, on the whole, find attractive allows cable operators to subsidize new program networks while they try to gain a foothold and maintain existing networks that have a narrow appeal, such as to minority interests. This is why so many civil rights groups oppose mandatory a la carte. If the government dictates a la carte, the economics of the cable business will force operators to drop some less popular individual channels.
When Martin was asked earlier this month about the Don Imus imbroglio, he said it is preferable for the market, not government, to address offensive expression. The marketplace drove Imus from the air, and it is entirely possible, especially in today's increasingly competitive video marketplace, that one or more pay television providers will decide to offer programming on an a la carte basis.
A considerable amount of video programming already is moving to the Internet and even to cell phones, platforms well-suited to a la carte video consumption. Cable, satellite and the telephone companies offering pay-television services will be responsive to consumer preferences.
But in the meantime, our government cannot choose to ignore the First Amendment. A la carte constitutionalism simply won't do.


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Mets, Yankees join forces on links for charity
First baseman Davis, reliever Robertson host Hurricane Sandy benefit tournament
OLD BETHPAGE, N.Y. -- One day after the All-Star Game, some prominent local athletes took a swing for society. Neither Ike Davis nor David Robertson were a part of the All-Star Game, but the tandem paired up Wednesday to host a charity golf tournament in relief of Hurricane Sandy.
Davis and Robertson were the front men for the Players Trust, the charitable foundation attached to the Major League Baseball Players Association. Several former stars were on hand Wednesday -- including Hall of Famer Jim Rice -- for an event at Bethpage Black, one of the nation's premier golf courses.
Robertson, a setup man for the Yankees, and Davis, the Mets' first baseman, didn't do much golfing on Wednesday, but they were happy to lend their names and faces to an honorable cause. Robertson, in fact, said that he started playing golf and then decided that he'd better leave it for another day.
"I only played two holes. I haven't played golf in a long time and I don't really want to risk an injury or something," Robertson said. "It's very hot out here. I've been kind of drifting around the course and speaking to people, hanging out at the tee boxes. But I can tell you from two holes, I lost two golf balls. If you miss the fairway, you're in the thick stuff. And it's hard to find the golf ball."
Rice was the headliner on Wednesday, but several familiar faces of various eras turned out in support of the Players Trust. Bobby Bonilla and Jose Cruz Jr. were on hand, as were Ron Darling, Reggie Sanders, Mike Cameron and former Yankee Jim Bouton, among others.
Davis elected not to golf on Wednesday, and he said it's a sport he doesn't really play until the offseason. A cause like this, though, was a different animal. Davis said he was thrilled to help people affected by Sandy in any way possible, and the golf tourney provided a perfect outlet.
"It shows that you can take a little time out of your life to help the community. And that anyone can do it," Davis said of the tourney. "Especially with the superstars that are here that probably don't have too much time. I have plenty of time. But David Wright, doing all the things he does, I know he doesn't have very much time to himself. It's definitely good to see and it shows that you can take a little time and give it to a good cause. If everyone did it, then we could get things moving a little faster."
Hurricane Sandy, the second-most costly hurricane in American history, made landfall near New Jersey on Oct. 12, 2012, and wreaked havoc all along the Eastern Seaboard. It has caused an estimated total of $68 billion in damages, a sum exceeded only by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Robertson, who has given back to the community through his own charitable foundation -- High Socks For Hope -- said it was vitally important for people to keep Sandy victims in mind. Robertson's charity was created specifically for relief of natural disasters, making him a perfect fit on Wednesday.
"I think it's great that Major League Baseball gets involved in this," said Robertson. "And the Players Trust does such an amazing job of running events like this, it makes them able to raise large sums of money that's going to be turned around and used for Hurricane Sandy victims. The spotlight has kind of faded on Sandy. In some people's minds, it's still fresh for the people for the people who live here. But I've seen firsthand that after natural disasters hit, once the news coverage is off of it, it becomes harder and harder to get funding for people that are without homes or that are having problems."
Robertson said that he personally visited the Rockaways with his wife as part of a relief effort, and he helped to furnish three houses for families that had lost everything in the storm. But there is still so much work to be done, and there are still so many people in need of assistance.
Enter the Players Trust, which has provided more than $13 million in contributions to charities over the years. The Trust is funded through contributions from all MLBPA members and a percentage of licensing revenue, and the rest comes from special fundraising events throughout the year.
"The Players Trust is a crucial part of what we do," said Michael Weiner, the executive director of the MLBPA. "This is the first time we've ever paired with Bethpage for an event, and it's tremendous to be out here with all these players and former players to support the Trust and support relief for Superstorm Sandy. It's been a great day, from what I understand."
Weiner, who has an inoperable brain tumor, recently revealed that the MLBPA will meet to appoint a deputy director within the next few weeks. Weiner is confined to a wheelchair and cannot move the right side of his body, but he said that he's thrilled to work for as long as he can.
"My goal is to live each day as it comes," he said of attending the tourney one day after the All-Star Game. "I don't take for granted that I'm going to be able to wake up tomorrow and be able to work. I knew this was going to be a wonderful event and a wonderful day and I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Robertson, 28, is generally thought of as the presumptive heir to the great Mariano Rivera, and he said he watched Tuesday night's All-Star Game with glee. Rivera, who pitched the eighth inning in the American League's 3-0 win, was named the Most Valuable Player of the game.
And for Robertson, there couldn't have been a better outcome. The right-hander said that he has loved working with Rivera and that he was glad the nation paid him a fitting tribute on Tuesday.
"I thought the reception for Rivera was amazing. He got everything he deserved," said Robertson. "He's an incredible player and [he's had] such an amazing career. If you look at longevity and what he's done in years past, there's no one else like him. He got everything he deserved."


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When he closes his eyes, Heinrich Palmer can still see Phoenix from his home in Münster, Germany. "It was for me a very strange place," he says, his accent thick. "Hard to forget, because of the bright sunlight every day, all that sandy dust, and the big cactus that looked very odd and a little scary."
Mostly, the visions that come to Palmer are of Camp Papago Park, the German prisoner of war camp where he lived from 1944 until 1946. He can describe in detail the barbed wire, the guard towers, even the latrine where a young German spy was hanged for trading secrets. He can conjure up the tidy white officers' huts that are today part of an apartment complex in Scottsdale, and the American officers' club that is now an Elk's Lodge near the intersection of 64th Street and Oak. Even more memorable to Palmer are the good times he had at Papago Park, which today hosts family picnics, but during World War II was the site of a POW Axis camp that housed 3,100 German prisoners of war.
Unlike POW camps overseas, where captured American soldiers were underfed and routinely tortured, U.S. camps were downright hospitable. And thanks to slipshod security and a program that emphasized leisure time, Camp Papago was among the most appealing to prisoners. "It was like a kind of resort," Palmer says. "I have many good memories of that place."
Among the best times Palmer had at Papago was the evening, just before Christmas, when he and 24 buddies tunneled their way out of the camp, embarking on a monthlong spree that generated embarrassing national headlines and an FBI investigation into the lax security at Arizona's POW camps. Although history books and local legend recall the escape as daring and dangerous, and while a new play and a forthcoming television documentary retell the story as a significant and dramatic chapter in World War II history, many of its principals are of another opinion.
"It was nothing important," Palmer says, laughing. "We got out, we came back. Two weeks later, it was forgotten."
In textbooks and by war historians, the escape from Papago is hardly forgotten. It's referred to, in books about the event and in dozens of journals and magazine articles, as the greatest breakout from a United States compound by prisoners of war during World War II. And while it has all the elements of a good Hollywood yarn, the Papago getaway is more Abbott and Costello meets Stalag 17 than The Great Escape.
"It's true that the Americans don't come out unscathed in the story," says Ben Tyler, a local playwright whose two-act Escape From Papago Park opens here March 15. "The prisoners dug a huge tunnel right under the guards' noses. But it's still a great story. There's the incongruity of having sailors out in the middle of the desert, and then having them tunnel out of camp. And most people are just intrigued to know why these guys were here in the first place."
They were here -- and in hundreds of other camps across the country -- under the guidelines of the Geneva Convention of 1929, which governed the ethical care of military prisoners of war. By the mid-1940s, nearly half a million foreign soldiers had been captured by American troops overseas. Shipping these prisoners to the States made it easier to care for them and, once they were installed in camps away from the battle line, made them available as a supplemental work force. With American men away at war, German POWs provided a solution to the labor shortage: From 1943 to 1946, Arizona war prisoners ran motor pools, cleaned out irrigation ditches and picked fruit. Steve Hoza, a book and paper conservator responsible for the Papago display at the Arizona Historical Society and author of a book about POWs, says 90 percent of local cotton crops were harvested by German prisoners who opted for work details here.
"These men were migrant farm workers," Hoza says. "They'd get shipped to Idaho during potato season, then off to Pomona during citrus season, then back here to pick cotton." The prisoners were paid about 80 cents an hour in scrip, which they could use to purchase snack foods or personal items from the camp supply hut.
Before they became field hands, the men housed at Camp Papago had been the elite of the German armed forces. Their new home was a former combat training barracks at Papago Park, a national park founded in 1914. Converted into a POW camp, the site was divided into four prisoner compounds and a separate officers' compound, overseen by a guard contingent of 367 enlisted men and four officers. German officers retained their ranks and were assigned better housing and their own errand boys. Enlisted men bunked down barracks-style.
"The housing was only adequate, but living at Papago was like a vacation," sighs former Papago prisoner Hans Lammersdorf, in a phone interview from his home in Seattle. "There was no bitterness about the war on either side. The guards, the people we worked for, were all very nice. I would gladly have signed a life contract to stay in Arizona if I could have. But then the war ended and they made me go back to my homeland."
In his book PW: First-Person Accounts of German Prisoners of War in Arizona, Hoza writes that Lammersdorf and his colleagues referred to Papago as Schlarafenland -- the land of milk and honey. "These were not the German soldiers of the Hollywood battlefield, willing to fight for the Fuhrer at any cost," he says. "They were young men grateful to be treated this well by the American government. Particularly after the concentration camps were discovered. And especially considering how American POWs were treated in enemy camps."
When they weren't picking cotton -- and only 700 of Papago's residents chose to work -- prisoners were indulging in a list of recreational activities to rival any country club. Horseback riding and swimming (albeit in the irrigation canal that flowed past the camp) were offered to prisoners, and twice-weekly movies were screened in the camp's moviehouse. This same structure was home to the prison's eight-man choir, which performed frequent concerts, and also hosted the prison's theater company, which presented POW musical revues. Daily classes in commerce, law and foreign language were taught by German officers, who often digressed from their lesson plans to discuss effective means of escape from a prison camp and how to elude capture once one was out. POWs who eschewed the classroom could work on the prison newspaper, The Papago Rundschau, or tend the gardens and rabbit farms that sprang up all over camp.
Even romance, of a kind, could be had at Camp Papago. "The local girls, Mexican girls, would come to the fence at night," recalls Lammersdorf. "They knew that there were men who had not had any contact with women for some time. So these guys would sneak out of the camp, through a hole in the fence, and then come back later that night. Everyone was happy."
Maybe not everyone. "Nothing like that ever happened," insists former Papago guard Larry Jorgenson, today a Scottsdale retiree. "This story is absolutely false. We did not entertain prostitutes or any other kind of women at the camp."
They did, however, host public art exhibits, where the elaborate projects that prisoners created in the camp's crafts program were displayed and sold. Organized bridge games and soccer matches were enlivened by the schnapps brewed in a wash barrack from distilled orange and grapefruit peels, as were the talcum powder fights that were popular with prisoners after lights out.
With all this merrymaking, it's not surprising that, once an escape plan was hatched in late 1944, most of Papago's German prisoners opted to stay behind. "These men had survived combat," Hoza says, "so why should they risk being shot by a farmer for trying to escape from a place where they enjoyed comparative luxury?"
Lammersdorf remembers why some of his comrades decided to flee their comfortable life in the desert. "It is not so foolish that we would want to escape our fine home in the prison camp," he chuckles. "You see, it's the duty of a prisoner of war, an unwritten law, to try to return to the homeland. Some of us were just more patriotic than others."
And so, late in the fall of 1944, the digging began.
There were hundreds of documented escapes by German POWs during World War II; prisoners were forever wandering away from work details or hiding out in laundry trucks in an attempt to regain their freedom. The Papago escape is notable because of the number of prisoners who vanished, and because of the incompetence of their captors. The men running Camp Papago Park were so inept, in fact, that no one noticed that prisoners were missing until 24 hours later.
The Papago break was practically inevitable. Camp commander William Holden, in the first of many boldly stupid moves, consigned every prisoner who had ever escaped from a prison camp to Compound One. These "troublemakers," as Holden officially dubbed them, were responsible for 13 previous breakouts from Papago. Most of them were naval officers with keen engineering skills whose talent for flight was exacerbated by boredom and patriotic fervor.
"Yes, that was folly, putting all the former escapees together," says Heinrich Palmer, who was one of only two deserters not housed in Compound One. "Here were the experts, all in one place, talking about leaving. It was very helpful, in a way."
Holden wasn't worried that his prisoners would try to tunnel out of Papago. He knew that the camp was built on decomposed granite, and that his men had watched building crews blast through the stuff to install Papago's septic tanks. If it took dynamite to penetrate the camp's foundation, he reasoned, no POW would be able to burrow out.
But Holden was mistaken. His prisoners, perhaps while cleaning up after an especially messy powder fight, discovered that, when wet, decomposed granite turns into soft mud, then dries hard again. Using coal shovels and screwdrivers, a team of prisoners began digging their way to freedom in late-night shifts, dragging up tubs of dirt and scattering it throughout the camp. Much of it was used to fill flower beds; some of it was stored in a special attic; still more was flushed down the toilets. In his book The Faustball Tunnel, John Hammond Moore describes the prisoners' plan to build a faustball (volleyball) court as so much sand thrown in Americans' eyes. The construction project created an excuse for great heaps of earth to be lying around the camp, should any guards get suspicious. According to Palmer, none did.
While the digging commenced, the Germans began training for their hike to the nearby Mexican border. "We prepared for the escape right under their noses," Palmer says, giggling. "We walked and ran every day with weights under our clothes to get in shape for the long journey ahead."
Despite his glee, Palmer is quick to defend the American guards at Camp Papago. "It is not that the guards were stupid. It was that they were friendly with us. The tunnel entrance was very well camouflaged. And they thought since we liked them, we would not go. We did like them. And we went anyhow."
Hoza is less generous in his assessment of Papago's security. "The guards will be the first to tell you that they were lax," he says. "Most of them were 4F, the lowest military rating, and couldn't qualify for combat. They became military policemen and prison guards."
But not particularly good ones. On the evening of December 23, 1944, Papago prisoners diverted their captors' attention with noisy celebrations of a recent German victory against the Allies. Searchlights were all trained on a weather balloon carrying a German naval flag, released by prisoners as another distraction. While guards busted up POW parades throughout the camp, and as "Don't Fence Me In" played on KTAR's Your Hit Parade, two- and three-man groups began sneaking into the tunnel.
Three feet high and only half as wide, the 178-foot tunnel burrowed beneath a pair of camp fences and exited on the banks of the Arizona Crosscut Canal. It was illuminated by an electric light and was filled in places with muddy water. Although U.S. Army archival drawings made after the tunnel's discovery show a neatly dug underground trench, Moore writes that these sketches are far too flattering. "Nobody had the slightest idea how to dig a tunnel," he quotes one of the fugitives as saying. "It was our first, you understand."
Hoza says that most of the deserters knew a successful escape was a long shot. "They didn't think they'd make it back to Germany," he said. "They treated it like a big prank. They were bored."
Palmer recalls being more hopeful. "I thought if I could get to Mexico, I could make it home," he says. "My plan was to try to go to Guaymas, then stow away on a ship to South America. From there, I could return to Germany and the war."
Lammersdorf stayed behind. "It was useless to go into the desert without a clear plan. Mexico was far away, and most of us had no desire to expose ourselves to real hardships. We had a good life. We were well fed, we spent many hours reading and relaxing, with no trouble from our friends, the guards."
The guards were apparently so full of Christmas spirit that they failed to notice that Wattenberg and two dozen of his cronies were missing until a full day had passed. Although Palmer remembers being told that camp officials discovered their charges were gone after evening roll call on Christmas Eve, other reports paint a more embarrassing picture.
"Herbert Fuchs had seen what was on the menu at Papago for Christmas, so he surrendered to police," says Lloyd Clark, a former Arizona Republic writer who's made a second career of documenting the escape in articles and oral presentations. Clark says that by the time Fuchs was returned to camp, five more escapees had been apprehended in Tempe.
Papago officials didn't bother to report the missing men to the FBI, which first learned of the escape when a representative of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office called to report a group of POWs were in custody. Camp officers were quickly called back from holiday leave and search parties were dispatched, while guards began counting heads and searching for a hole in the fence.
By now, the story had been leaked to the press and, while the remaining 19 escapees napped in caves or hiked through gullies in the desert, the local media began spinning tales about their whereabouts. The Arizona Republic broke the story on Christmas Day, in a front-page article that claimed that prisoners had scaled an eight-foot barbed wire fence on December 24. A sidebar listed names and descriptions of escapees, but failed to mention that six of the men had already been captured. An early Phoenix Gazette story claimed that local buildings would be tear-gassed to flush out POWs hiding there.
In subsequent articles, with titles like "Wily Germans Elude Chase" and "Bloodhounds Trailing Nazis Near Arlington," the papers churned out stories that, while inaccurate, certainly enlivened the escape. Clark recalls that one Republic article had the prisoners "slithering away like eels" during a Christmas Eve rainstorm; once the tunnel was discovered, its location and length changed from story to story.
"The newspapers said the boys took a boat out with them," huffs Dorothy Jorgensen, a secretary who worked alongside her husband, Larry, at Papago. "The tunnel wasn't wide enough to get any boat through. The boys brought some boards with them when they escaped, so they could build a raft and float on down to Mexico. Then they got to the river and realized there was no water in it. They laughed about that when we got them back. They were embarrassed, but they thought it was awful funny, too."
"The Gazette and Republic didn't play up the escape as much as the national press did," Hoza says. "Walter Winchell had a field day with it. To this day, the Germans resent the kind of attention Winchell paid to the story."
Among the Republic boners that Winchell inflated was a report that Günther Prien, the most famous of Germany's U-boat commanders, was among the escaped prisoners. Personally decorated by Hitler, Prien was credited with sinking the British battleship Royal Oak in 1939, but by 1941 was listed as missing in action. Prien never came anywhere near Papago; in fact, he'd been killed in action several years before the camp ever opened. Clark calls the Prien story a "latrine rumor" started by prisoners, but Hoza says the tale originated with a Gazette reporter.
"The writer asked [camp security honcho] Major Eugene Tays if Prien was among the escaped prisoners," Hoza says. "Tays wasn't at liberty to say who was interred at Papago, and his 'no comment' was taken as a yes."
Civilians appeared less concerned with their safety at the hands of fugitive Nazis than they did with the contents of the recaptured soldiers' knapsacks. Housewives were incensed at reports that rationed foodstuffs not available to them at Bashas' were found in surplus among the escapees. A letter to the editor printed in the Republic complained, "Now, isn't that a hell of a state of affairs when we, the taxpaying citizens, cannot get a single slice of bacon for weeks on end when we come home from working in a defense plant, and then read in the paper that prisoners of war can get away with slabs of it?"
Meanwhile, Larry Jorgensen had discovered the exit to the escape tunnel on December 26. According to Moore's book, even when Papago personnel were shown the "blind spot" where the tunnel entrance was located, it took some three hours to uncover it. Jorgensen was selected to crawl through the tunnel's 178 filthy, waterlogged feet, an experience he recalls with a shudder today. "You've really got to want to get out of somewhere to work your way through someplace like that," he says.
A full week after their escape, 17 of the 25 men were still at large. Palmer and fellow escapee Reinhard Mark were captured outside of Sells, Arizona, on New Year's Day, after they were spied sleeping under some bushes. The pair were taken to the home of a customs official. After serving the Germans a lavish dinner, their host invited locals in to gawk at the POWs.
"Then, a very strange thing happened," Palmer recalls. "They brought in this little crippled boy. He didn't know anyone who could play chess with him, and he wanted to know if we knew how to play. I told Reinhard, in German, to let the kid win, because I thought we might win favor with our captors. And this kid didn't look like he had long to live, so why not let him beat the great captured war prisoners? He could tell his friends about it later."
Following this impromptu international chess match, Papago officials arrived to return their prisoners to camp. When their American escorts became lost on the way back to Phoenix, Palmer offered directions. He recalls that the American officers wanted to take their prisoners out for a drink, but feared that the Germans were underdressed and wouldn't be allowed admittance to any of the better watering holes. "The lieutenant asked if his prisoners had any special requests," Palmer says, "so we asked to be driven through the city to see the lights." Palmer's only complaint about being returned to camp had nothing to do with his own welfare or his blundered escape. "I was sad to hear that the Indians who turned us in only got about $10 for our capture," he says today. "That's not much of a reward for two whole men."
Civilians continued to spot escapees, and the FBI fielded calls from as far away as San Diego, where a group of 14 Boy Scouts were mistaken for Nazi POWs because, as the Republic reported, "they were carrying knapsacks and walking single file down a mountain trail." A rancher who mistook an Atlanta hobo's Southern drawl for a German accent turned him over to local cops. And a pair of teenage boys, dressed in Levi's and high school letter sweaters, were hauled in by Flagstaff police and questioned because one of them was overheard uttering a phrase in German.
Throughout January, the real Papago prisoners were apprehended and returned to camp one and two at a time. Many had wandered through suburban and downtown Phoenix undetected for weeks; others had trekked as far as 15 miles from the Mexican border before being caught. Finally, on January 29, more than a month after his escape, Wattenberg was recaptured. The last prisoner to be caught, Wattenberg was busted in the lobby of the Adams Hotel, where he'd stopped to nap and read the newspaper. He signed an autograph for arresting officer Sergeant Gilbert Brady ("The game's up and I lost, Sincerely, Jürgen Wattenberg"), bummed a cigarette and returned happily to camp.
While Wattenberg and his comrades were interrogated about where they'd been and what they'd done ("They thought it was all a big joke," says Dorothy Jorgensen, who transcribed the interrogations, "and they didn't tell much about their adventures out there"), Papago authorities were scrambling to conceal their screw-ups. They concocted an incredible story designed to save them that served only to make them appear more foolish. To the press, the FBI and their superiors, Holden and company began extolling the talent of their German wards. The officers claimed that the tunnel was an incredible feat of engineering, blasted through solid granite from the compound to the canal.
The American officers began referring to a letter left by the Germans which reportedly pointed to harsh treatment by camp guards as the reason for their escape. This letter, if it ever existed, presumably proved that the guards were not suckers and that, in fact, they were so devoted to keeping prisoners in line that they were perceived as tyrannical. To bolster their case, and as local board inquiries dragged on, Holden and staff began naming higher-ups who'd denied the possibility of a tunnel escape from Papago.
Despite these stories, or maybe because of them, military officials charged Holden and his comrades with neglect. Cited as evidence was the fact that camp command had failed to hold Sunday roll calls, and that Holden had scheduled no shake-down inspections of Compound One. A plan to court-martial Holden and crew was scuttled because Washington officials feared that undue publicity of the Papago escape would result in firmer rules governing prisoners of war -- rules that would curtail the amount of time prisoners could be allowed offsite to work in local fields. The prisoner work program would be out the window, a notion that no one in Washington liked.
Although records show that Holden retired from military service for "medical reasons" shortly after the escape, there's little doubt that he was sacked.
"Sure, Holden was retired on a medical disability," Clark says. "Which means that he was tired of having to answer questions about the escape."
On February 13, 1945, the Republic reported that a commander from Tule Lake, California, had replaced Holden. The paper did not report that what finally did Holden in was the discovery, just before Wattenberg's capture, that a member of the escape party had been slipping in and out of Papago during the entire month the escapees were gone. Johann Kremer, who'd tunneled out with his comrades on December 23, had revisited Papago every few days since, entering with work crews and staying long enough to collect provisions and an update on how the search was going. He'd then return to the nearby cave where he, Wattenberg and another escapee had been living for weeks. By the time Kremer was finally discovered onsite at Papago, it was obvious that the camp leaked like a sieve and that Holden was a goner.
"I wonder why people in the United States are still interested in this story, 50 years later," Palmer says. "Some prisoners went away, then we were brought back. I can't understand why this makes such a good story."
Ben Tyler says he knows.
"You usually think of U-boat commanders as grizzled war veterans, and German soldiers as stereotypical war machines," says Tyler, a former Wallace and Ladmo Show writer who penned last year's hit musical about that celebrated kiddy program. "But most of these prisoners were guys in their early 20s, out to have a little fun over the holiday. People think this is a classic war escape story, but it's really about the people who were trapped over here."
Despite a handful of laughs, Tyler's play isn't a comedy. "It's a docudrama," he says. "But considering what happened, it can't help but have humor in it."
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Tyler, who's best known as the co-author of Guv: The Musical and its several sequels, has long been fascinated with the Camp Papago story. "I grew up out here, and it was always one of those local stories that you heard people telling and retelling. And they always got parts of it wrong. I wanted to set the record straight by writing about the prison escape the way it really happened."
Although Tyler says that some of the prisoners are aware he's written a play about them, neither Palmer nor Lammersdorf seemed to know anything about it. Even Clark was surprised to hear that the show will open this month; he thought the project had been abandoned some time ago.
Lammersdorf wishes it had. "I don't know if this will make a good play," he says. "New generations would not know about us, because the escape happened so long ago. And sometimes Jews object to any reminder of wartime Germans. Even though we were prisoners of war, and didn't even know about the extermination camps, we are still blamed. So maybe people will not want to be reminded that we were there."
Palmer, on the other hand, is pleased to hear a play has been written about the escape. "People think we were anxious to leave, some great group of prisoners storming back to the battlefront. But we were just young and bored. Or maybe it was this: The Americans put a bunch of German comrades from the same navy in the same compound. These men had great engineering talent. The Americans took away their freedom, called them troublemakers and told them they could never escape. So maybe it became our duty to prove them wrong. And it was very, very easy to prove them wrong."
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Today I've had several different pieces of work to do, which makes it an average day for me.
After my morning cup of tea, I set about checking my work e-mails. The project I work for, the Atlanterra Project, are in the process of submitting the next financial claims for the work that has been done since January 2011. As part of this I have make sure I have all the relevant paperwork ready to upload, and this morning my in-tray contained some of the papers I needed, as well several e-mail attachments of previous project business meetings. Whilst it might not sound very glamorous and archaeology like, the project management element of work like this is very important, if perhaps not the most exciting part of the day. I do enjoy it though, as it helps me plan ahead for the next year of the project and work out how, when, why, where and what I'll spend the project money on.
The Atlanterra Project is a European funded project with ten project partners from five countries (Wales, France, Spain, Portugal and the Republic of Ireland) working together to preserve and promote post-medieval mining heritage.
Among the work being carried out are projects on the creation of geological gardens; reconstruction and preservation of mining machinery; surveying and archaeologically recording mining complexes and collectively working on how best to provide public access to the information collected and diseminated during the life of the project. My own particular role within the project is to provide expert advice and guidance to the other project partners on 'Physical and Digital Data Capture, Storage and Tender Specification'. Basically, if you want a site surveying, have you actually considered why it need to be done and what you will do with the data (which could be CAD drawings, CGI animations, or someone with a tape measure, ruler and piece of paper) once you have asked someone to collect it for you?
As part of my work on the Atlanterra Project, I carry out fieldwork surveying and recording mining heritage sites which are at risk. Two of the sites I have been out to survey as part of this work are Maenofferen Slate Mine, near Blaenau Ffestiniog:
and Mynydd Nodol Manganese Mine, near Bala:
After that, I worked on a talk I am giving at the National Eisteddfod next Tuesday. The National Eisteddfod moves around Wales each year, and this year is being hosted in my home town, Wrexham. With that in mind the RCAHMW Education Officer asked me if I could prepare something for a general audience. I decided to prepare something on one of the RCAHMW projects which is being prepared for publication – in some for or another – in the long term. That project is the The Workers' Houses of Wales Project. You can find details of four of our National Projects here:
and details of my talk at the Eisteddfod here:
Because my first language is Welsh, I've also been asked by CADW: Welsh Historic Monuments if I will guide a walking tour of the village of Cefn Mawr, near Wrexham, to explain its character and history. Details of my walk can be found here:


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Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative 2 (ADNI2)
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01231971
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : November 1, 2010
Last Update Posted : January 21, 2020
|Tracking Information
|First Submitted Date
|October 27, 2010
|First Posted Date
|November 1, 2010
|Last Update Posted Date
|January 21, 2020
|Study Start Date
|January 2011
|Actual Primary Completion Date
|September 28, 2017 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
|Current Primary Outcome Measures
|Rate of volume change of whole brain, hippocampus and other structural MRI measures [ Time Frame: 5 Years ]
|Original Primary Outcome Measures
|Rate of volume change of whole brain, hippocampus and other structural MRI measures [ Time Frame: 4 Years ]
|Change History
|Current Secondary Outcome Measures
|Original Secondary Outcome Measures
|Current Other Pre-specified Outcome Measures
|Not Provided
|Original Other Pre-specified Outcome Measures
|Not Provided
|Descriptive Information
|Brief Title
|Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative 2
|Official Title
|Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative 2
|Brief Summary
|The purpose of this study is to build upon the information obtained in the original Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI1) and ADNI-GO (Grand Opportunity; a study funded through an NIH grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), to examine how brain imaging technology can be used with other tests to measure the progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early Alzheimer's disease (AD). ADNI2 seeks to inform the neuroscience of AD. This information will aid in the early detection of AD, and in measuring the effectiveness of treatments in future clinical trials.
|Detailed Description
The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) began in October 2004 as a landmark study with a public-private partnership that gathered and analyzed thousands of brain scans, genetic profiles and biomarkers in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Although the original goal was to define biomarkers for use in clinical trials to determine the best way to measure treatment effects of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the goal has been expanded to using biomarkers to identify AD at a pre-dementia stage. ADNI1 involves scientists at 59 research centers, 54 in the U.S. and five in Canada. Originally 800 participants were enrolled. This group was comprised of 200 participants with AD, 400 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 200 with normal cognition. In ADNI-GO, an estimated 200 participants with early amnestic MCI (EMCI) were enrolled to understand and characterize the mildest symptomatic phase of AD. An additional 650 participants will be enrolled under ADNI2.
Some of the leading-edge technologies under study are brain-imaging techniques, such as positron emission tomography (PET), including FDG-PET (which measures glucose metabolism in the brain); PET using a radioactive compound (Florbetapir F 18) that measures brain beta-amyloid; and structural MRI. Brain scans are showing scientists how the brain's structure and function change as AD starts and progresses. Biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid are revealing other changes that could identify which patients with MCI will develop Alzheimer's. Scientists are looking at levels of beta-amyloid and tau in cerebrospinal fluid. (Abnormal amounts of the amyloid and tau proteins in the brain are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.)
ADNI2 extends the work of ADNI1 and ADNI GO to understand the progression of AD. The overall goal is to determine the relationships among the clinical, cognitive, imaging, genetic and biochemical biomarker characteristics of the entire spectrum of AD, as the pathology evolves from normal aging through very mild symptoms, to MCI, to dementia.
The overall impact of this study will be increased knowledge concerning the sequence and timing of events leading to MCI and AD, development of better clinical and imaging/fluid biomarker methods for early detection and for monitoring the progression of these conditions, and facilitation of clinical trials to slow disease progression, ultimately contributing to the prevention of AD.
|Study Type
|Study Design
|Observational Model: Cohort
Time Perspective: Prospective
|Target Follow-Up Duration
|Not Provided
|Retention: Samples With DNA
blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid
|Sampling Method
|Probability Sample
|Study Population
|Community Sample
|Study Groups/Cohorts
|Publications *
* Includes publications given by the data provider as well as publications identified by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number) in Medline.
|Recruitment Information
|Recruitment Status
|Actual Enrollment
|Original Estimated Enrollment
|Actual Study Completion Date
|November 29, 2017
|Actual Primary Completion Date
|September 28, 2017 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
|Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
Participants will be classified as either normal controls, SMC, EMCI, LMCI or AD participants. General Inclusion Criteria will apply to all groups, with specific criteria for each group as described below:
General (applies to each category):
Specific Inclusion Criteria for normal controls:
Specific Inclusion Criteria for SMC participants:
Specific Inclusion Criteria for EMCI and LMCI participants:
Specific Inclusion Criteria for AD participants:
Specific Inclusion Criteria for follow-up participants from ADNI1 and ADNI GO:
Exclusion Criteria:
General (applies to each category):
Specific Exclusion Criteria for normal controls and SMC participants:
Specific Exclusion Criteria for EMCI and LMCI participants:
Specific Exclusion Criteria for AD participants:
Specific Exclusion Criteria for follow-up participants from ADNI1 and ADNI GO:
|55 Years to 90 Years (Adult, Older Adult)
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers
|Contact information is only displayed when the study is recruiting subjects
|Listed Location Countries
|Canada, United States
|Removed Location Countries
|Administrative Information
|NCT Number
|Other Study ID Numbers
U01AG024904 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
|Has Data Monitoring Committee
|U.S. FDA-regulated Product
|IPD Sharing Statement
|Not Provided
|Responsible Party
|Paul Aisen, University of Southern California
|Study Sponsor
|University of Southern California
|PRS Account
|University of Southern California
|Verification Date
|January 2020


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A friend of mine e-mailed me last week to ask where I write. He can't sort it out through all the tweets and links and so on. I can understand; I'm all over the place. So, if you're interested in following my work, see the following links:
Gadling (travel): http://www.gadling.com/bloggers/tom-johansmeyer (If you want to read about hostels and backpacking, go read someone else. I tend to roll upscale)
Luxist (art and cigars): http://www.luxist.com/bloggers/tom-johansmeyer/ (Occasionally, I do a luxury travel or real estate story here, too)
BloggingStocks (finance, economics and markets): http://www.bloggingstocks.com/bloggers/tom-johansmeyer (I do a bit on the clean technology sector, venture capital, private equity, hedge funds and social media for this blog, in addition to all my work as a generalist)
DailyFinance (finance and economics): http://www.dailyfinance.com/bloggers/tom-johansmeyer (I don't have a specific beat, though I do write a lot about cleantech, social media and the alternative investment space)
Envy (travel): http://envymags.com/index.php?s=johansmeyer (It's not a regular gig, but I am starting to do more with this magazine)


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AUSTIN, TEXAS (Sept. 6, 3 p.m. ET) — Make no mistake about it. Reducing packaging waste and incorporating product stewardship into business strategy has become a mainstream focus of packaging companies.
That shift, which began two years ago and is now picking up speed, has spawned a growing group of organizations with similar missions — but different approaches — to increasing the recycling of materials.
"We want to increase recycling rates, recycle materials on a larger scale, and do it at a lower-cost per household," says Paul Gardner, executive director of Recycling Reinvented, a 6-month-old non-profit group funded mostly by Nestle Waters North America Inc., which advocates for extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation at the state level.
Likewise, the American Institute for Packaging and the Environment is out to drive up recovery rates of packaging in the United States — but through voluntary product stewardship efforts and through partnerships and collaborations with others, said Ameripen Executive Director Joan Pierce, who also is director of packaging sustainability at Colgate-Palmolive Co.
"It is critical that we partner with you," Pierce said at the recent Resource Recycling conference in Austin. "If we're not well-connected and collaborating with you, we won't succeed."
"We want to provide data and science-based information — not personal opinions — to help companies and organizations take action," said Pierce who heads the 18-month-old organization formed by large consumer goods brand owner companies, packaging converters and raw material companies 18 months ago. "We are committed to working from facts and data."
The first step in that process for Ameripen: a web-enabled searchable and interactive Product Recovery Knowledge Map on its website that allows its 30 members to develop recycling plans based on data.
"It lists and has a profile for all materials across all phases of the recovery system," she said. "That helps us and our members determine what is the best thing to do to increase the recycling of each specific packaging material."
.The map was developed by environmental consulting firm Resource Recycling Systems, based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Resource Recycling also is working to develop data for the Foodservice Packaging Institute which earlier this year formed a Plastics Recovery Group to encourage recovery of used plastic foodservice packaging in North America. FPI also has a Paper Recovery Alliance.
"There has been a shift in thinking," said Lynn Dyer, president of FPI which represents companies that convert paper, plastics, aluminum and bio-plastics into single-use foodservice packaging. "We have gone from viewing trash as waste to viewing it as a valuable resource," she said. "There also has been a shift in market supply and in demand, as we are starting to see more post-consumer recycled content in food-service packaging."
The problem remains, she said, that single-use foodservice packaging is "typically not being recovered after use because of limited infrastructure and end markets. In addition, no single company has enough influence to affect broad change alone."
Dyer said industry needs to work collaboratively on a number of solutions to those challenges.
"We think there will be a number of solutions, not one," she said.
Alcoa Inc. also is working with coalitions to move recycling rates higher.
"We want to get beyond discussion and get to action," said Elizabeth Schmitt, Alcoa's director of recycling. in explaining why the aluminum producer pulled together 90 people from more than 70 organizations for the Action to Accelerate Recycling summit in Dallas in February.
"We want to get people to voluntarily work together to drive rapid step-change in U.S. recycling rates for packaging and printed materials," she said. "Our goal is to drive recycling rates higher and provide incentives for consumers to recycle.
With the exception of Recycling Reinvented, most of the organizations prefer voluntary industry-driven solutions as opposed to an EPR system where the government is involved, usually in setting goals and performing the role of oversight.
Despite that difference of opinion on EPR, many recycling-oriented groups have a number of things in common. Among them: a focus on making the recovery of packaging and products efficient and a focus on identifying areas where improvements can be made.
"We have to determine the economic viability of current and new initiatives and develop a toolbox to provide information" to develop programs that are efficient, Dyer said. "We want to identify market-driven recovery options" that make sense.
Pierce agreed.
"We want to make sure that as we drive improvements in the recovery of packaging, that it's efficient," she said. "Cost is the big issue because the whole process of driving improvements is very expensive.
"We have to drive efficiencies to where they need to be because there is a limited number of resources," which makes assessing the financing for any initiative a priority, Pierce said.
To that end, Ameripen formed a Resource Development committee in late July, whose mission will be to secure the financial resources needed to support the work of Ameripen project teams.
"We plan to develop a strategic document that lays out all the different approaches to funding the re-engineering of the infrastructure for municipal collection" for the short-term, the mid-term and the long-term, Pierce said. "We have to figure out the financial gap that exists to get the things done that we want to achieve."
"We have to learn how to optimize the process, drive efficiencies and then strategically think through the scale-up process" whether it is for collection, processing, recovery or local and state partnership initiatives, Pierce said.
Similarly, AAR has identified six areas where opportunities exist to expand recycling: the use of reverse vending machines, shifting consumer mindsets, the development of data standards, curbside collection, on-site collection at premises and workplace recovery.
"We hope to have a pilot kicked off sometime in 2013 for scaling up curbside recycling — to make it larger and to do it right," Schmitt said. "We are looking to work together in collaboration with Ameripen" on that, and also involve upstream material manufacturers "who want to capture that material."
She also said AAR plans to develop "five or so best practices that can be scaled up and deployed across the board" to increase recycling onsite or at premises." That effort, she said, will be led by the glass industry and companies that sell major brands of beer and be done in conjunction with the National Restaurant Association.
AAR also wants to build upon the existing Keep America Beautiful/Ad Council campaign to "inspire" individuals and groups to "take accountability" for recycling packaging and printed materials, Schmitt said.
"Education and awareness is critical to driving recycling to make it a consumer norm," said Schmitt. "Brands need to be involved, but it is in the consumers' hands to make a difference."
At the corporate level, she noted that Alcoa bought out its recycling partner, Novelis, and took 100 percent ownership, at the end of August, of Evermore Recycling LLC, the world's largest purchaser of used aluminum cans. And earlier this year, Alcoa invested $10 million for a 10 percent equity stake in Electronic Recyclers International, a large U.S. collector of e-waste.
Some of the groups are also keeping an eye on the legislative front, particularly in light of an increased level of activity, surrounding EPR.
For example, at its annual meeting in late July, Ameripen organized a government affairs committee to lobby and influence legislation in favor of environmentally responsible policies.
"We feel that we need to provide information to respond effectively" to EPR initiatives, said Pierce.
"I do not feel legislation is necessary to resolve this issue. We certainly do have a problem, but if you have every stakeholder sitting at a table with an open mind, you will get a solution, she said. "We have the technology, the desire and we will achieve the results. We don't need a legislator to tell us what to do."
However, Gardner — who was executive director of the Recycling Association of Minnesota from 1997 to 2006, and then served two terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives— believes EPR programs are the "best opportunity to increase recycling on a large scale."
He said that EPR — a mandatory form of product stewardship in which brand owners assume the cost of recycling collection and allocate the costs among themselves — can drive lower costs, more efficiency and result in higher quality materials for domestic manufacturers to use.
"That's the focus," Gardner said. "You don't want to maximize recycling and just get a lot of junk and low-quality materials. EPR can provide more raw materials for domestic manufacturers and make it easier for brands to use post-consumer material."
"You can harmonize materials collection. You can scale up best practices. You can take away the patchwork system we have now and do things on a regional or state level," said Gardner, "You can standardize measurement each ton properly."
Besides, he said, companies need to be involved in EPR efforts because if "legislators are left to their own devices, companies can get saddled with something worse and also get a lack of uniformity. It is better to go to the gatekeepers of supply and start there" to design the system for collection of materials.
"We are still planning on targeting several non-bottle bill states for legislation in 2013," said Gardner. "We have several states we are looking at simultaneously."
The groups agree that there are challenges ahead and that while improvements can be made in the short-term, creating the right solution for the future remains a long-term effort.
"It will be until the end of the decade for something like this [EPR] to mature," said Gardner.
"The three biggest obstacles are infrastructure, developing or using the right incentives to get consumers to recycle and do the right thing, and education, and they all pretty much go together," said Schmitt.
"We need public-private partnerships to educate people about what's not being recycled and why it should be, and that incentive piece is an important driver of that whether it is Pay As You Throw" or something else, she said.
"People have to understand the value of packaging and the importance of recycling," said Schmitt. In addition, the "fear of change" at the municipal level must also be overcome.
"I'm optimistic," she said. "Capital funding is tight. But I believe the economics of recycling are becoming better understood, and that the partnerships and dialogues from the AAR summit will equal dividends in the future."
Packaging veteran Pierce has no doubt that companies will develop a solution.
"It's a challenge, but there aren't any barriers," she said. "If you get the right people in a room and that group decides on a destination, you will get there and it will get done because the right people are leading those discussions and because we now share the destination."
"The only barrier is time," said Pierce. "This is a 12-15 year effort. It is not going to be solved in the short-term. We need to drive short-term projects to drive efficiencies and then add long-term projects."
While some organizations have set goals for increasing recovery rates, she said that Ameripen isn't taking that approach at this point.
"We have not set goals for recycling rates," she said. "We strongly believe in continuous improvement and in driving results. If you sets goals [for rate improvements], you might do something stupid just to reach the goal. And then that goal will cost you more than what you gain."


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52nd Grammy Awards: The Nominees
Nominees announced Wednesday in top categories for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards:
Read More: Beyonce Leads Grammy Nominations
Photos: Grammy Nominations Concert
Photos: Grammy Nominations Backstage
Photos: Grammy Nominations Rehearsals
Record of the Year: "Halo," Beyonce; "I Gotta Feeling," The Black Eyed Peas; "Use Somebody," Kings Of Leon; "Poker Face," Lady Gaga; "You Belong With Me," Taylor Swift.
Album of the Year: "I Am Sasha Fierce," Beyonce; "The E.N.D.," The Black Eyed Peas; "The Fame," Lady Gaga; "Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King," Dave Matthews Band; "Fearless," Taylor Swift.
Song of the Year: "Poker Face," Lady Gaga and RedOne, songwriters (Lady Gaga); "Pretty Wings," Hod David and Musze, songwriters (Maxwell); "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)," Thaddis Harrell, Beyonce Knowles, Terius Nash & Christopher Stewart, songwriters (Beyonce); "Use Somebody," Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill and Nathan Followill, songwriters (Kings Of Leon); "You Belong With Me," Liz Rose and Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift).
New Artist: Zac Brown Band, Keri Hilson, MGMT, Silversun Pickups, The Ting Tings.
Pop Vocal Album: "The E.N.D.," The Black Eyed Peas; "Breakthrough," Colbie Caillat; "All I Ever Wanted," Kelly Clarkson; "The Fray," The Fray; "Funhouse," P!nk.
Rock Album: "Black Ice," AC/DC; "Live From Madison Square Garden," Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood; "21st Century Breakdown," Green Day; "Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King," Dave Matthews Band; "No Line On The Horizon," U2.
R&B Album: "The Point Of It All," Anthony Hamilton; "Testimony: Vol. 2, Love and Politics," India.Arie; "Turn Me Loose," Ledisi; "Blacksummers' Night," Maxwell; "Uncle Charlie," Charlie Wilson.
Rap Album: "Universal Mind Control," Common; "Relapse," Eminem; "R.O.O.T.S.," Flo Rida; "The Ecstatic," Mos Def; "The Renaissance," Q-Tip
Country Album: "The Foundation," Zac Brown Band; "Twang," George Strait; "Fearless," Taylor Swift; "Defying Gravity," Keith Urban; "Call Me Crazy," Lee Ann Womack.
Latin Pop Album: "5to Piso," Ricardo Arjona; "Te Acuerdas ...," Francisco Cespedes; "Sin Frenos," La Quinta Estacion; "Hu Hu Hu," Natalia Lafourcade; "Gran City Pop," Paulina Rubio.
Contemporary Jazz Album: "Urbanus," Stefon Harris and Blackout; "Sounding Point," Julian Lage; "At World's Edge," Philippe Saisse; "Big Neighborhood," Mike Stern; "75," Joe Zawinul and The Zawinul Syndicate.
Classical Album: "Bernstein: Mass," Marin Alsop, conductor (Asher Edward Wulfman; Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Morgan State University Choir and Peabody Children's Chorus); "Mahler: Symphony No. 8; Adagio From Symphony No. 10," Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (Laura Claycomb, Anthony Dean Griffey, Katarina Karneus, Quinn Kelsey, James Morris, Yvonne Naef, Elza van den Heever and Erin Wall; San Francisco Symphony; Pacific Boychoir, San Francisco Girls Chorus and San Francisco Symphony Chorus); "Ravel: Daphnis Et Chloe," James Levine, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra; Tanglewood Festival Chorus); "Ravel: L'Enfant Et Les Sortileges," Alastair Willis, conductor (Nashville Symphony Orchestra; Chattanooga Boys Choir, Chicago Symphony Chorus & Nashville Symphony Chorus); "Shostakovich: The Nose," Valery Gergiev, conductor (Orchestra Of The Mariinsky Theatre; Chorus Of The Mariinsky Theatre).


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22 March 2019, The global graphite electrode market is expected to reach USD 5.68 billion by 2024 and is expected to grow on account of its increasing use for production of steel. Asia Pacific emerged as the fastest growing market and is projected to continue dominating as a result of the presence of robust steel manufacturers. The usage of graphite electrode has increased due to rigorous competition in the steel industry.
Rapid steel production and increasing spending on infrastructure in developing economies across the globe are expected to boost the demand for high-grade steel that is manufactured using electric arc furnaces (EAF). Adoption of advanced technology for steel production with the purpose of saving time and energy is expected to augment the demand for graphite electrodes.
The demand for electric arc furnace is expected to grow significantly as it offers several advantages such as production flexibility and low CO2 emission. It also saves raw material and energy due to its efficiency. The segment is likely to grow at a 4.1% CAGR over the projected period.
Graphite electrodes offer excellent thermal resistance and high current carrying capacity which makes them a suitable choice in electric arc furnaces (EAF) steel, refinement of steel and similar smelting processes. Besides EAF and LF, graphite electrodes are also used for electrolytic aluminum smelting and electrical discharge machining (EDM). The development of these non-steel applications is also anticipated to provide an opportunity for market growth over the forecast period.
Browse Details of Report @
Ultra-high power graphite electrode is expected to grow at the highest volume CAGR of 4.1% over the forecast period. Despite the high price of the product, the demand for these products is anticipated to be high in line with the rising demand for superior steel quality in various niche applications within the aerospace, automotive and electronics sectors.
A specially prepared flux pitch used in graphite electrodes helps to increase the durability and density of the final product. Ultra-high bending resistance, low electrical resistivity, and high-temperature resistance properties will increase the demand for UHP graphite electrode over the forecast period. In compliance with the driving factors, companies are focusing on mergers & acquisitions and capacity upgrades to expand their presence in global market. For instance, in January 2014, Kaifeng Carbon Co., Ltd.'s completed its Phase II expansion and can produce 50,000 tons of UHP graphite electrodes.
Hexa Research has segmented the global graphite electrode market based on product, application and region:
Segmentation by Product, 2014 – 2024 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million)
• Ultra-high power (UHP)
• High power (HP)
• Regular power (RP)
Segmentation by Application, 2014 – 2024 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million)
• Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)
• Ladle Furnace (LF) & Others
Segmentation by Region, 2014 – 2024 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million)
• North America
- Mexico
• Europe
- France
• Asia Pacific
- China
- Japan
- India
• Central & South America
• Middle East & Africa
Key players analyzed
• Graphite India Limited
• Beijing Great Wall Co., Ltd.
• Nippon Carbon Co Ltd
• GrafTech International
• Ameri-Source Specialty Products
• Tokai Carbon Co., Ltd
• HEG Limited
• Schutzcarbon.com
Browse Related Reports in Digital Media Industry:
Rubber Transmission Belt Market: The global rubber transmission belt market size was valued at USD 3.47 billion in 2017 and is expected to witness a CAGR of 3.0% from 2017 to 2025.
Aerospace Composites Market: The global aerospace composites market is anticipated to witness substantial growth in coming years owing to increasing use of carbon fibre composites in wings of aircrafts.
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Hexa Research is a market research and consulting organization, offering industry reports, custom research and consulting services to a host of key industries across the globe. We offer comprehensive business intelligence in the form of industry reports which help our clients obtain clarity about their business environment and enable them to undertake strategic growth initiatives.
More Information Visit @ www.hexaresearch.com
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Website: www.hexaresearch.com/research-report/graphite-electrode-market


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Perez homers twice in Tiburones' loss
Royals catcher drives in four before Parra hits two-run walk-off shot
Venezuelan Winter League
Zulia 9, La Guaira 7
Royals catcher Salvador Perez homered twice and drove in four runs, but D-backs outfielder Gerardo Parra hit a two-run walk-off shot in the ninth inning to give the Aguilas their third straight win. Ernesto Mejia (Braves) also smacked a two-run blast and Phillies infielder Freddy Galvis went 3-for-5 with an RBI for Zulia. Phillies prospect Darin Ruf slugged his league-leading 11th homer for the Tiburones. Box score
Magallanes 5, Margarita 1
Astros infielder Jose Altuve went 4-for-5 with a two-run double to lead the first-place Navegantes to their third consecutive victory. Former Major Leaguer Gustavo Chacin allowed four hits over seven innings for his second win, while Phillies prospect Edgar Duran scored the Bravos' lone run. Box score
Caracas 6, Caribes 5
Pirates newcomer Darren Ford collected three hits and scored three times, including the go-ahead run on Luis Rodriguez's eighth-inning sacrifice fly, for the Leones. Rodriguez, who spent the season with the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate, finished with three hits, while Jake Goebbert (Astros) doubled twice and drove in a pair of runs for the Caribes. Gameday box score
Aragua 5, Lara 0
A's prospect Carlos Hernandez allowed two hits and struck out five over 5 1/3 innings for his first winter ball win as the last-place Tigres blanked the Cardenales. Yangervis Solarte, who spent the season with the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate, ripped a two-run homer and Hector Gimenez added a solo shot for Aragua. Lara's Jose Lopez walked twice. Box score
Puerto Rican Winter League
Manati 7, Mayaguez 1
D-backs catching prospect Michael Perez homered for the second straight game and scored twice, leading the last-place Atenienses past the Indios. Former Cardinals farmhand Tyler Herron gave up a run on five hits over six innings for Manati, while Dodgers newcomer Angel Sanchez went 2-for-4 and scored Mayaguez's only run. Box score
Carolina 3, Ponce 1
Former Twins Minor Leaguer Deinys Suarez allowed an unearned run on two hits over six innings as the Gigantes handed the Leones their fourth straight loss. Pedro Valdes went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Carolina, while Dodgers prospect Jesmuel Valentin walked twice and scored the lone run for Ponce. Box score
Santurce 8, Caguas 6
Leadoff man Fehlandt Lentini went 4-for-5 with a homer, four RBIs and three runs scored to lead the Cangrejeros to their second straight win. Minor League veteran Sergio Miranda added two hits and three RBIs for Santurce, while Major League veteran Ramon Castro homered twice and drove in five runs for Caguas. Box score
Mexican Pacific League
Navojoa 8, Los Mochis 5
Wes Bankston's two-run double capped a four-run sixth inning as the Mayos ended the Cañeros' four-game winning streak. Former Indians farmhand Jose Chavez also had a pair of RBIs and Minor League veteran Steve Moss went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored for Navojoa. Saul Soto homered, doubled and drove in all five runs for Los Mochis. Gameday box score
Culiacan 5, Guasave 4
Marlon Byrd and Tigers farmhand Ben Guez homered in a three-run first inning that lifted the Tomateros into a first-place tie with the Algodoñeros. Cesar Tapia added a solo shot in the seventh and Francisco Campos yielded a run on three hits over five innings for his third win. Jose Rodriguez extended his RBI streak to 12 games with a solo homer for Guasave. Gameday box score
Obregon 6, Hermosillo 3
Iker Franco went 3-for-3 and homered for the third time in his last four games, helping the Yaquis double up the Naranjeros. Major League veteran Alfredo Amezaga singled twice and scored a run for Obregon, while Hermosillo got three hits from Braves prospect Todd Cunningham. Gameday box score
Mazatlan 5, Mexicali 1
Twins prospect Anthony Slama struck out two in a perfect ninth inning, putting the finishing touches on the Venados' victory over the Aguilas. Former Phillies farmhand Brian Burgamy and Ivan Terrazas each drove in two runs, while Oswaldo Morejon went 3-for-4 with a run scored for Mazatlan. Former Minor Leaguer Jon Weber doubled home Mexicali's only run. Gameday box score
Dominican Winter League
Licey at Aguilas, postponed


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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Brandon Knight had a career-high 31 points, including five 3-pointers, and Greg Monroe scored 17 points and the Detroit Pistons ended a two-game losing streak with a 104-102 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday.
The Magic had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds after a missed free throw, but missed three putback attempts as the final horn sounded.
Orlando's J.J. Redick tied a career high with 31 points and set a career high with eight 3-pointers.
Jameer Nelson had 18 points and eight assists, and Glen Davis added 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The Magic have lost five straight games, including 10 of 11 at home.
The lead changed hands several times throughout the period.
The Pistons led 93-89 on a 3-pointer from the wing by Knight with just over six minutes to play. It would grow to five points a few possessions later on a floater by Will Bynum.
The Magic found a way to rally. E'Twaun Moore connected on a deep 3 to trim Detroit's lead to 95-93. A Nikola Vucevic dunk tied it up, and Moore's three-point play off a steal put the Magic up 98-95 with 2:50 left.
Detroit's rebounding kept alive back-to-back possessions, each ending in 3-pointers by Knight, to put the Pistons back in front 101-98.
The Magic got it back to 103-100 on another basket by Moore, but Davis came up short on a jumper, giving the Pistons the ball with under a minute to play.
Orlando pulled down the rebound on a Detroit miss, but Redick fired an air ball from 3 on the other end, which was corralled by Detroit.
Bynum was fouled with less than 10 seconds left and got 1 of 2 free throws to make it 104-100.
Nelson was fouled on a 3-point attempt. He made 2 of the first 3, but the third rattled out.
During a scramble for the rebound, the Magic got off three attempts that would have tied it, but came up empty as time expired.
The Pistons took a 10-point lead into the break, but it was Redick who was the star of the first half.
Redick scored 16 of the Magic's first 18 points to start the game, and knocked down 6 of his 7 attempts from beyond the arc as Orlando took a 32-29 lead.
The rest of the Magic's lineup struggled to support him offensively, though, as Detroit responded with a 15-0 run to retake control. Redick was 7 for 10 from the field in the opening 24 minutes, compared to 9 for 33 for the rest of his teammates.
Notes: Davis received a technical with 8:33 left in the third quarter. It was the fourth straight game he has received a tech and is his fifth of the season. ...The Pistons earned just their fifth road win of the season, improving to 5-16.


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Cuddyer's two homers help Rockies top Giants
Three-run shot highlights big fifth inning; solo dinger in ninth wins it
SAN FRANCISCO -- The standings offered the Rockies a clear assignment Tuesday night: Break their four-game losing streak, or else fall into last place in the National League West. But Michael Cuddyer doesn't observe such shallow goals.
Cuddyer's two home runs, including a leadoff shot in the ninth off Giants closer Sergio Romo to break a tie, lifted the Rockies to a 9-8 victory at AT&T Park.
The Rockies (67-79) finished last in the division last year. After a strong first month, some trying road trips and injuries to key players have pushed them near the cellar again. The Giants (65-80), who have gone from 2012 World Series champions to the West basement, built an early 6-0 lead and benefitted from Hunter Pence's six RBIs.
Cuddyer, whose 3-for-5, four-RBI night put him just 0.00006 behind the Braves' Chris Johnson for the NL batting lead (.33039 to .33033), said he was happy the Rockies didn't treat the game as meaningless as the standings said it was.
After Colorado was swept three games at San Diego and lost Monday's opener of three with the Giants, Cuddyer, who had a three-run shot off Ryan Vogelsong in the Rockies' five-run fifth and went deep on a full count against Romo (4-7), was watching to make sure the Rockies didn't fall into that trap. The comeback matched the largest of the season. The Rockies came from six down to beat the Mets, 9-8, in 10 innings at Coors Field in the second game of an April 12 doubleheader.
"It's a character-building win," Cuddyer said. "For a lot of these guys, to be able to experience a comeback in this stadium, against this team, down 6-0 where I've seen us fold and kind of go through the motions the rest of the game, we didn't do that. That takes a lot of courage and a lot of fight, not just tomorrow and the rest of the season but for the longer future.
"Unfortunately, we're not going to be in the playoffs. So that's what we want to see."
It was another high moment for Cuddyer, who represented the Rockies at the All-Star Game.
"He hits a home run off one of the toughest closers in the game, especially against right-handed hitters," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "Cuddy keeps doing it."
Pence, who had a three-run homer in the first inning, had tied the game with a two-run single in the bottom of the eighth off Wilton Lopez (3-4). But after giving up three runs and losing the lead, Lopez forced Pablo Sandoval into an inning-ending double play. Also, Rex Brothers closed his 16th save by getting Marco Scutaro to ground out with two on in the bottom of the ninth.
It was a competitive, if spottily pitched, affair between one team trying to climb out of the NL West basement and the other trying not to be leapfrogged. Each team used seven pitchers, and each had 14 hits. The game lasted 4 hours, 2 minutes. It was long enough that Rockies lefty reliever Josh Outman, who had left the club to be with his wife, Ashley, because their second daughter, Bryar Grace, was born Sunday in St. Louis, was able to get back, get into uniform and be available to pitch.
"It was a great game, probably, to watch, and I love the way we competed," Weiss said.
Better pitching was anticipated. Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa had won his previous six starts and was hoping to keep pace with the Nationals' Jordan Zimmermann, who earned his NL-leading 17th win earlier Tuesday.
But De La Rosa lasted just two innings and gave up four runs, three on a first-inning Pence homer that skimmed off the outside of the left-field foul pole. De La Rosa left with a sore left thumb, which has bothered him since June, as well as soreness in his index and middle fingers. It was De La Rosa's shortest outing since July 31, 2008, when he went just 1 2/3 innings in a loss to the Marlins.
However, the Rockies at least saved De La Rosa from being pegged with a loss. They ignited for five runs and five hits in a fifth inning that included RBI singles from Corey Dickerson and DJ LeMahieu and Cuddyer's first homer of the game. LeMahieu's single extended his career-best hit streak to 12 games.
Charlie Blackmon's RBI double and Ryan Wheeler's pinch-hit RBI single, both off Jean Machi in the sixth, gave the Rockies a 7-6 lead. LeMahieu made it 8-6 with a sacrifice fly in the eighth. But Pence's two-run hit in the bottom of the eighth erased that lead.
"To be honest with you, I felt terrible before the game," Pence said. "It's funny. I kind of joked about it because the day before, last night, I felt awesome in BP, my body felt great, everything felt wonderful, and I didn't get any hits and had some pretty bad at-bats. We won the game, so it was a great game."


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David Gallaher and Steve Ellis (High Moon, Box 13) tour New England to debut their new comic, Deadlands! There will be a limited edition Deadlands #1 available with a cover you can only get on this tour! Brought to you by the New England Comic Retailer Alliance (NECRA).
Please note that the times may be changed prior to the event due to travel requirements of the creators.
Saturday June 25th
noon – 2pm
Friendly Neighborhood Comics
191 Mechanic Street (Route 140), Bellingham, MA
RSVP on Facebook!
3pm – 4pm
Larry's Comics
68 Lakeview Avenue Lowell, MA 01850
5pm – 6pm
Chris's Cards & Comics
341 S. Broadway, Salem, NH 03079
Sunday June 26th
10am – 12pm
Jetpack Comics
37 North Main Street, Rochester, NH
1pm – 2pm
Double Midnight Comics
245 Maple St, Unit 11, Manchester, NH 03103
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5000 Classic Bead
This timeless bead makes for an eye-catching feature in classic as wel...l as modern designs. It creates sparkling accents, thanks to an increased number of facets producing extraordinary light refraction and brilliance. The rounded edges of its hole reduce the w...ear on the thread and make application via beading or sewing easy. The versatile bead is particularly suitable for jewelry, DIY, interiors, and a broad range of fashion segments, such as lingerie, couture, and eveningwear.more hide
Metric measurement in millimeters. Pearl Plate (PP), Sieve Size or Stone Size (SS) for round crystals.
Not available in this configuration.
Swarovski has been able to achieve various special surface effects by using special chemical and mechanical processes on the surface of the crystals.* New
Not available in this configuration.
Online shopping is currently only available in selected countries.Change Country Register Now
- Category:
- Beads
- Shape:
- Round
- Material No.:
- 32772
- Color:
- Aquamarine
- Color Code:
- Crystal Colors:
- Plain Colors
- Setting:
- 1 Hole
- Number of Holes:
- 1
- Length:
- 5.00mm
- Height:
- 4.80mm
There are many Swarovski products that are suitable for sewing . These products can be easily applied either by hand, or with standard domestic or industrial sewing and machines. Swarovski also offers an ideal selection of products for a variety of creative techniques by hand.Read More
Hand Application
Products suitable for sewing (by hand or machine), or hand application (e.g. beading).Read More
Turn inside out, choose a gentle wash cycle and use mild laundry detergent. To protect the crystals as much as possible, the use of a soft wash bag is recommended.
Do not use chlorine bleach!
Turn inside out and dry at reduced temperature.
Do not iron!
The textile can be gently dry-cleaned using perchlorethylene. Turn inside out. To protect the crystals as much as possible, the use of a soft wash bag is recommended.
The textile can be gently drycleaned using hydrocarbon. Turn inside out. To protect the crystals as much as possible, the use of a soft wash bag is recommended.
The textile will withstand gentle professional wet cleaning. Turn inside out. To protect the crystals as much as possible, the use of a soft wash bag is recommended.
Advanced optical measurement and high precision manufacturing deliver premium cuts characterized by unmatched brilliance.
Crystals Made In Austria
The combination of innovation with sustainability and respect for individual wellbeing means that quality is always assured.
Application Service
A comprehensive range of application services means customers benefit from the extensive experience of leading international experts, as well as internal specialists.
Advanced Crystal
Swarovski's patented lead-free** formula has changed the DNA of crystal while still offering the same sparkle, dependability, and variety for which Swarovski is famous. (**Crystal glass and all other materials containing 0.009 % lead or less.)
Regular legal monitoring of chemical requirements and reasonable testing provide customers with the comfort of trust in Swarovski's products.
Compliance Service
Assessments regarding substance limitations as well as compliance information and advice to support customers in complying with relevant laws, regulations, and voluntary standards.