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About the Talk
October 8, 2010 6:30 PM
HTML5 and friends have been getting implemented in browsers at an impressively quick pace. But that leaves us as web developers wondering, "Great, but how am I supposed to build cross-browser applications with these features when I still have to support IE".
We'll take a look at what the landscape of implementable features are, detailing best practices of implementation and fallback solutions where appropriate. For example, how do you pair WebSockets with a standard comet stack and what do you have to watch out for.
We'll also review your available feature set if you're only targeting webkit mobile, or if you've already given IE6 the boot.
The data will be up-to-the-day accurate, covering all major browsers and filled with best practices from topic experts.


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Green Eggs & Scam
This story appears in the January 2002 issue of Entrepreneurs Start-Ups magazine. Subscribe »
Something smelled fishy to George Sarris. When the 49-year-old owner of The Fish Market Restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama, opened a letter from a disgruntled customer demanding a $6.89 refund, his gut told him to check it out. He didn't recall the customer and, after a few phone calls, realized that the author of the letter was nowhere to be found. Then, Sarris started hearing that similar letters were popping up in eateries all over town. In fact, the same "customer" who had written to Sarris had blanketed other area restaurants with demands for refunds.
"He didn't ask for a lot of money, so some people would probably send it, no questions asked," says Sarris. "If he sent out 1,000 letters and got half back, that's over $3,000."
Sarris is just one of thousands of entrepreneurs targeted by scam artists each year. In fact, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners estimates that fraud, ranging from bogus billing and dishonest direct mail to sales scams, costs U.S. businesses more than $400 billion annually. Shirley Rooker, president of Call for Action Inc., a nonprofit scam-busting organization in Bethesda, Maryland, thinks more businesses need to take the problem seriously.
"I don't think businesses think in terms of being victims of fraud," Rooker says. You must be aware that scam artists are threatening businesses like yours, often preying on employees who may be less likely than you to question their smooth-as-ice approach. Warns Rooker, "Often, the weak point is the person answering the phone who unknowingly gives out information."
Royal Rip-Offs
The tactics used by scam artists range from the classic to the high-tech. Here's a rundown of what to watch out for:
Fraudulent Charities: Within 48 hours of the September 11 terrorist attacks, reports of bogus charities claiming to collect for relief efforts began to surface. You can check out any charity before sending money by visiting the Web sites of watchdog groups such as the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the American Liberty Project, a cooperative effort between Amazon.com, AOL Time Warner, Cisco Systems, eBay, Microsoft and Yahoo! If you wish to donate to smaller, community-based organizations, which may not be listed on watchdog sites, you should get information in writing and request references. Another tactic: Check the charity's Web site domain through the WHOIS function at Network Solutions to find out who registered it and whether the name on the registration matches the name of the charity. If it doesn't, you should be suspicious.
90# Scam: In this scenario, callers who claim to be telephone company representatives ask the receptionist to dial 90# to test the phone. On many systems, this allows a third party to then make calls on your dime. Some variations include callers asking to be transferred to extension 90 or 900. Tell your employees: When a caller asks for 90#, hang up.
809 Scam: Beware of urgent letters or e-mails demanding you call a number in the 809 area code. Originating in the Caribbean, these 809 numbers are often "pay per call," much like 900 numbers in the United States, and may cost you up to $25 per minute. While some 809 numbers are legitimate, make sure to check the origin of any unfamiliar area code before you dial it. You can use the listings of U.S.-based area codes found in most telephone books, or call your long distance provider for information.
Voice-Mail Access Scams: The remote access features of Private Branch Exchange (PBX) systems can be cracked by hackers--who can then run up thousands of dollars in long-distance charges in a short period of time. Monitor phone bills closely and change the authorization numbers often.
Dummy Invoicing: According to Ron Berry, senior vice president of bureau affairs for the Council of Better Business Bureaus Inc. in Arlington, Virginia, fake invoices still rake in big bucks for scam artists. Your business may receive a "look alike" invoice for a product or service that it regularly orders, such as local media or Yellow Pages advertising. Thinking the bogus bill is valid, you may pay it. Berry reminds entrepreneurs to set up systems for invoice verification and approval.
Toner Phoners: An employee, usually an assistant or receptionist, gets a call from a company posing as your office supply provider. The scamster asks him or her to verify the make and model of your copier, then sends inferior and overpriced supplies that were never ordered, using the employee's name and the acquired copier information as proof of the order. Your company is billed an exorbitant price, and the scamster uses high-pressure tactics, such as the threat of legal action or a collection agency, to get paid. Rooker says this scam is rampant and that you should tell employees never to answer questions about your company's equipment over the phone.
Hot Opportunity--or Scam?
Before you write out a check to a seemingly lucrative franchise or business opportunity, make sure you've done your homework by fully researching the company. Read these how-to articles for more information:
- Entrepreneur's Guide to Franchising
- How to Research a Business Opportunity
- 10 Warning Signs of a Shady Opportunity
Government Document Dupes
In this scam, you receive an official-looking document that leads you to believe you must purchase signage, such as minimum wage declarations, and display it by law. But in most cases, signage that's mandated by law is available for free from the government. In another twist, the BBB confirms that a number of Alabama-based restaurants received demands from the "Environmental Protection Enforcement Agency" to fill out a lengthy questionnaire and return it with a fee of $189 or risk being fined $5,000 per day. If you get an official-looking document demanding money, call the state or federal agency referenced in the document to verify the demand is valid.
Phony Customer Con: This is the scam mentioned earlier in Sarris' story. Here, a scamster sends a letter posing as a disgruntled customer and demands a refund for a nominal amount. Because the amount is so small, many business owners send it without question. To avoid being ripped off, follow up on such requests with a call to verify that the customer is real or ask the customer to send a copy of the receipt.
Business Identity Theft: Immediately following the World Trade Center disaster, hundreds of thousands of confidential papers were strewn about the streets of Manhattan, many from brokerage firms and other places of business that house sensitive information. If this information were to get into the wrong hands, some of it could be used in identity theft scams against both businesses and individuals.
Recently, Rooker met a pet shop owner who found suspicious charges on her company credit card. Soon, she realized that someone had deceptively obtained credit cards and borrowed money in her company's name. You should closely monitor bills and watch for erroneous charges. On a daily basis, follow basic precautions to guard against identity theft, including destroying business credit offers before discarding them. Safeguard important information such as tax identification and bank account numbers, and watch for change of address notices from credit companies or other vendors.
Energy Shocking: Similar to phone service "slamming," shocking is the practice of switching energy service without permission in states where energy deregulation allows for a variety of service providers. The BBB advises that companies check their bills monthly for irregularities to safeguard their power sources.
Copier Service Scheme: In this brazen scam, the con artist poses as a service technician for your office equipment. Once he gains access to your copier or other expensive machinery, he then substitutes an inferior machine or steals the office equipment altogether. Always ask service technicians for identification, and if they show up unannounced, call your provider to double-check identity.
"Cash a Check, Get a Bill" Con: In this scenario, businesses receive nominal checks in the mail resembling rebates or refunds. However, the check has fine print that says cashing it authorizes the issuer to bill the business for a product or service, change long-distance carriers and so on. Review all checks and their point of origin. If it seems suspicious, don't cash it.
|Damage Control
you've been scammed, you have several options, says David
Lenci, an attorney with Preston Gates & Ellis LLP in Seattle.
Your state's attorney general's office or your local law
enforcement agency may have an unfair
trade practices group.
"These agencies may take action on your behalf, especially if the scam is widespread," says Lenci. He adds that, depending on the cost of the scam, you may choose to file suit on your own. Federal authorities, such as the FTC, U.S. Postal Service or FCC, may also be able to help, depending on the nature of the scam. Watchdog groups and nonprofit scam-busting organizations can also assist by providing information and advising a course of action.
Regardless of whether you fall for a scam, it's important to report it. Says Frank Gorman, an attorney with the FTC, "[The FTC] houses a database of scams that helps law enforcement officials determine how widespread a particular scam may be and whether or not the FTC or other agency will file suit."
Fake Directory/CD-ROM Ruse
A telemarketer uses high-pressure tactics to get the business owner or employee to participate in, and then purchase, a directory or CD-ROM that never materializes. While there are a number of reputable directory publishers, always ask to see documentation of the company and the product in writing, and check with the BBB to see if any complaints have been filed against the publisher.
Invalid Insurance: Rooker cautions businesses that receive questionable insurance bills or phone solicitations to buy insurance to beware of con artists selling or billing for phony policies. Buy insurance only from reputable brokers or companies, and verify invoices before paying them.
Advance-Fee Loans: According to Berry, it's common for cash-strapped entrepreneurs to fall for the promise of a loan that's "guaranteed" once a processing fee or other fee is received. Once the business owner sends the fee, which can total up to several thousand dollars, the loan never materializes. Berry advises that businesses should conduct financial transactions only with trusted institutions and never to send an advance fee for a business loan.
Domain Registration Rooks: Scam artists try to sell new top-level domain names, such as .biz and .info, before the names are available for assignment, and usually at a highly inflated price. Be sure to register using a reputable service such as Network Solutions or Register.com.
Phony Web Site Scams: You're promised a free Web site and a month of free hosting. Once you give your credit card information, though, you never hear from the provider again. Protect yourself by doing business only with one of the many established and reputable companies that provide this service, asking for references and, if possible, using a credit card for payment to protect yourself from liability.
Hackers, Crackers and Thieves
Have an online business? Then a whole new world of fraud is waiting especially for you. Find out which scams to watch for in Scram, Scam!
Scam-Busting Tips
If you think it can't happen to you, you're wrong. Even seasoned entrepreneurs are suckered by scam artists. "Because small businesses often don't have those layers and layers of protective procedures, one person may be handling purchasing and invoices, and that person may not have much experience in implementing checks and double-checks," Berry explains.
Rooker points out that some businesses may be more at risk than others. Many con artists target companies that have recently moved or opened a new office. In addition, Berry adds that scams are more prevalent during the winter holidays or over the summer, when employees tend to be on vacation and someone other than the regular manager or bookkeeper may be handling orders or payments.
Overall, says Berry, the best offense is a good defense. He advises that no matter how small your business is, you should educate your employees--especially those who answer phones, order supplies and pay bills--about how to recognize common scams. It helps to discuss prevalent ruses and post them around your place of business. Institute a system of documenting orders and checking invoices against those orders. Never buy over the phone unless you've established a relationship with a particular vendor. And always check unknown parties with the BBB to see if any complaints have been filed. Says Berry, "It's awfully hard to get your money back once it's been lost."
Scam Patrol
If you've been victimized by a scam or need more information on preventing scams, these organizations can help:
- Better Business Bureau
- Call for Action Inc.
- Imaging Supplies Coalition for International Intellectual Property Protection Inc.
- National Fraud Information Center
- ScamBusters.org
Contact Sources
- Preston Gates & Ellis LLP
(206) 467-2839, www.prestongates.com
- The Fish Market Restaurant
(205) 322-3330, www.thefishmarket.net

subset: commoncrawl


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Unlike runners who have a reputation for being injury-prone, cyclists tend to be healthier. Or so we've been led to believe. Yet, even though cyclists don't pound the pavement, they, too, suffer their fair share of aches and pains.
Also unlike runners, who have countless experts offering an opinion on running injuries, the cycling community is far less invested in the cause of their aches and pains. In fact, most statistics highlight injuries incurred from bike collisions and offer little insight into the type of injuries incurred by spending time in the saddle.
This lack of knowledge about the cause of cycling injuries is surprising considering the number of cyclists on the roads. It's for this reason that a research team out of the Courage Kenny Sports and Physical Therapy Center in Minneapolis decided to study a group of road cyclists to find out whether variables like bike fit, training volume and biomechanics play a role in the cause and/or prevention of injuries.
To be considered for the study, cyclists had to be between 18 and 60 years of age, have at least one year's experience on the bike and consider cycling to be their primary sport — multi-sport athletes were excluded. Sixty-three cyclists were included in the study, all of who logged their training habits over a two-week period, detailed past and present injuries and participated in a series of tests including evaluating strength, flexibility and bike fit.
The mean age of the group was 41, with 46 of the 63 cyclists male. They had, on average, 17.5 years of cycling experience with 78 per cent using bikes that were at least five years old. All but one wore a helmet whenever they were in the saddle and 59 per cent had their bikes professionally fit.
As for their training habits, the cyclists averaged 4.6 days a week on their bike, accumulating just over 10 hours in the saddle and logging almost 209 kilometres weekly.
Interestingly, 69 per cent of cyclists began the study with a pre-existing injury and/or pain, 65 per cent of whom had been nursing their injury for at least a year. More than half reported pain in two or more locations, with the neck, shoulder, lower back and knee the most frequent sites of injury.
Despite the rate of injury among the study subjects, the researchers failed to pinpoint differences in the training patterns or biomechanics of those who were injured and those who weren't. Training volume was comparable among cyclists as was flexibility and strength, all of which seemed to play little role in predicting injury.
As for bike fit, which is often the first variable evaluated when cyclists complain of pain, the study actually found a higher rate of injury among those who had a professional bike fitting as compared to those who didn't. The researchers suggest this surprising phenomenon is probably the result of an increased tendency for cyclists to seek out a professional bike fitter when they're injured and the inability of a perfectly fit bike to alleviate all pre-existing pain. They also alluded to the possibility that, because more than half the cyclists in the study had been professionally fit more than three years earlier, cycling biomechanics may change over time.
There are other elements about bike fitting to consider. There's no standardized procedure for fitting a cyclist to a bike, allowing for lots of variation between fitters. Also, some bikes are fit for comfort while others are fit for performance, which further muddies the waters when it comes to linking bike fit to injuries.
Another important finding in the study was the tendency for cyclists to train through pain, which makes them a member of the not-so-exclusive club of fitness fanatics who put off seeking medical advice until pain makes it almost impossible to carry on. In this particular study, which was accepted for publication in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine in March 2014, the cyclists reported seeking medical attention only when they were no longer able to keep up with their teammates.
Admittedly, the age of the cyclists in this study suggests that they may be more prone to injury than their younger counterparts, but the data offers a fair snapshot of the type of recreational cyclist riding on roads all across the country. And while there's no consensus as to what types of training strategies can reduce the risk of injuries, it's likely that pain from cycling is the result of multiple factors including training habits, bike fit, age, gender, strength and joint mobility.
For the average injured cyclist, then, it's worthwhile making changes one variable at a time to see if pain abates. It's also worthwhile heading to your local bike shop if it has been a while since your bike was professionally fit. Finally, don't wait to seek medical advice. Subjects who started the study nursing an injury were significantly more likely to experience new aches and pains, so deal with pain early or suffer the consequences later.
Twitter: jillebarker


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President is in better shape in both states, with higher favorable ratings than before and with an elevated profile among key constituencies.
When President Obama accused Republicans who opposed the auto industry bailout of peddling a "load of you know what," he might have been describing the residue in Michigan and Arizona for Republicans now that the two primaries are over.
Obama is in better shape in both states since the GOP circus came to town, with higher favorable ratings than before and with an elevated profile among key constituencies, like blue-collar voters and women who have new appreciation of his handling of the auto bailouts and the contraception issue. The bruising primary campaigns didn't elevate Obama all by themselves. The slightly improving economic picture helped. But the tone and substance of the GOP primaries gave Obama newfound traction that, for now, has led to a big lead in Michigan and a dead heat in Arizona.
In Michigan, where Mitt Romney eked out a victory, an NBC News/Marist poll has Obama up 18 points over Romney (51 percent to 33 percent). In 2008, Obama won Michigan by 16 points. After underwhelming poll numbers in the fall—Romney led Obama 46 percent to 41 percent in an EPIC/MRA poll in mid-November—Obama's prospects have brightened considerably in Michigan and it may be harder now for the GOP to consider it a potential swing state.
Democrats do consider Arizona a potential swing state, despite Obama's 9-point loss there to Republican Sen. John McCain four years ago and despite the fact that Arizona has backed a Democratic presidential candidate only once since 1948—Bill Clinton in 1996. New polling puts Obama in the running in Arizona and Democrats believe GOP positions in favor of the state's tough immigration law will energize Hispanic voters and create turnout problems for Republicans in November.
During the primaries, Romney embraced Arizona's tough immigration law and its use of police searches of suspects thought to be undocumented. He also described a process of "self deportation" that would occur if undocumented workers cannot keep jobs because of tighter identification screening. Lastly, Romney has said he would sign only a part of the so-called DREAM Act, which provides a path to citizenship for undocumented residents who serve in the U.S. military. That's a narrower commitment than the underlying legislation, which would also provide a path to citizenship for undocumented residents who pursue a college diploma.
"These extreme positions are going to haunt him should he make it to November," wrote Democratic National Committee spokesman and strategist Brad Woodhouse in a memo seeking to identify GOP weaknesses after Arizona and Michigan.
The deeper problem for Romney in Arizona, as it has been elsewhere, is the loss of support among independents. In a November Pew Research Center poll, Obama was losing independents to Romney by 53 percent to 41 percent. In a Pew poll this month, the president was winning independents 51 percent to 42 percent.
Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said that in both states Republicans have been hurt by the "echo chamber" primary in which attacks have dominated and the challengers have spent more time positioning around and against each other than explaining their plans for the future. "It's a party talking to itself, not independent voters," LaBolt said.
In Michigan, Romney and Santorum's opposition to the GM and Chrysler bailouts—started by President George W. Bush but enlarged and managed by Obama—has cost Republicans support not only among auto workers but among owners and employees of small businesses who depend on the economic activity that the Big Three generate. "Any day Romney is talking about autos is a good day for us," LaBolt said.
Woodhouse said Romney has lost ground in Michigan that he's unlikely to regain. "Mitt Romney has badly damaged himself with the working- and middle‐class voters who make up Michigan's electorate," he said. "If Mitt Romney had his way, GM and Chrysler's doors would be closed today and the American auto industry would no longer exist."
The fight the Republican candidates picked over the Obama administration's handling of a controversial contraception ruling also wound up as a big plus for Obama the candidate. The administration's negotiated agreement appeased Catholic employers who had objected to paying for contraceptive services, while Republicans, particularly Santorum, who personally opposes the use of contraceptives and some prenatal testing for birth defects, were left struggling to defend positions largely out-of-step with the lifestyles of moderate women and independents.
Late last year, Obama's support dropped among women, but his standing with them has improved in recent weeks, as the economy inched upward and the birth control issue became a bigger part of the debate, according to polls by the Associated Press-GfK.
While Republicans have been competing in Arizona and Michigan, the Obama campaign has been stepping up its voter-identification and mobilization efforts. The reelection campaign already has eight offices in Michigan—in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Warren, Pontiac, Ann Arbor, Flint, Lansing, and Kalamazoo. In Arizona, three offices are open in Phoenix, Flagstaff, and Tucson. Another will open soon in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale and will focus on Hispanic outreach.
The campaign is also aggressively organizing voter-registration drives and social events to contact new voters. From now until March 31, the reelection has 73 such events scheduled in Detroit, 22 in Grand Rapids, and 59 in Ann Arbor. The same kind of grassroots activity is planned in Arizona. From now until April 22, the campaign will conduct 69 organizing events in and around Phoenix. The Tucson area will have 40 events between now and March 29, and Flagstaff will host 16 between now and March 20.
"Unlike every other president, President Obama didn't let his election organization go away," LaBolt said. "He has kept his supporters actively engaged. The goal is to persuade new people and turn up participation."
The movement in the polls in Arizona and Michigan in Obama's direction suggests some of that work is being done by Republicans. A whole load of it, in fact.
NEXT STORY: Setting Data Free


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In the nine days the state spent laying out its second-degree-murder case against George Zimmerman at his trial, prosecutors questioned 36 witnesses and submitted 200 items of evidence.
Though it's unclear whether Zimmerman will testify, jurors have already seen and heard from him in audio and videotaped interviews he made in the days and months after he shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Prosecutors contend those statements will help prove his guilt.
The defense began presenting its case Friday shortly after the state rested. Here are some of the highlights of the prosecution's case:
The investigation
A half-dozen police officers testified. Two Sanford officers stood out: lead investigator Chris Serino and Tim Smith, the first officer on the scene.
Both described Zimmerman as cooperative and compliant.
The state got one of its biggest boosts of the trial Tuesday when Serino testified that two of Zimmerman's words to a dispatcher moments before the shooting — "[expletive] punks" — showed that he had ill will toward Trayvon.
That is one of the key elements that prosecutors must prove for a second-degree-murder conviction: that the defendant acted with a depraved mind, hatred, evil intent or ill will.
Serino testified that he doubted some details of Zimmerman's account but that he could find no solid evidence to dispute it. Zimmerman gave four recorded statements to police, including a video walk-through the day after the shooting.
Smith arrived within moments of the shooting, handcuffed Zimmerman and seized his 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, which he had placed back in a waist holster.
Smith testified that the back of Zimmerman's jacket and pants was wet, and the back of his jacket had grass clippings on it. He also saw blood coming from Zimmerman's nose and from cuts to the back of his head.
"He stated to me that he was yelling for help but nobody came to help him," Smith said.
At the heart of the state's theory is that Zimmerman, a wannabe cop, profiled Trayvon as a criminal. Prosecutors sought to prove that by digging into Zimmerman's past.
Jurors heard that he applied to be a policeman in Prince William County, Va., in 2009. They heard he took a ride-along with Sanford police and was studying criminal justice.
They also heard five recorded phone calls Zimmerman, a Neighborhood Watch volunteer, had made to police in the months leading up to the Feb. 26, 2012, shooting.
In four of those calls, he was reporting suspicious persons in his neighborhood. Each time, the person was black. The calls were similar tothe one Zimmerman placed to report Trayvon the night of the shooting. But the tone was different.
In an August 2011 call, he said suspicious people "typically run away quickly." In the Trayvon call, he added profanity: "These assholes, they always get away."
In another pre-shooting call, Zimmerman uses the word "gentleman" to describe someone he found suspicious. In the Trayvon call: "[Expletive] punks."
Prosecutors say it all adds up to a man with a gun who had become increasingly frustrated and decided to take the law into his own hands.
Friend on phone with Trayvon
Rachel Jeantel was the most-awaited witness of the trial. She was Trayvon's friend and had been on the phone with him moments before the shooting.
Her behavior on the stand was unforgettable.
Trayvon told her he was being followed by a "creepy-ass cracker," she said. He told her he had lost the man, but the man reappeared, so Trayvon asked why he was following him.
She said the man responded with, "What are you doing around here?"
Then there was a bump, "like something hitting somebody," she said. Then she heard "grass sounds" and Trayvon say, "Get off. Get off," then the phone went dead.
But her words were sometimes overshadowed by demeanor. She used slang, made faces, was defiant at times and talked so fast, so softly and so indistinctly that it was often difficult to make out her words. Upon further questioning, Jeantel said English was her third language.
While on the stand, she admitted she had twice lied: once when she told Trayvon's mother that she was 16 — she was 18 — and a second time during a sworn statement when she said she had missed Trayvon's wake and funeral because she was in the hospital.
In the end, she withstood a punishing 51/2-hour cross-examination by defense attorney Don West with most of her story intact.
Neighbor witnesses
The state called seven neighbor witnesses. All of them heard the fight, but few saw it, and no one saw how it started.
John Good, who was closest to the fight, testified that he saw a dark-skinned male in a black shirt or jacket on top of someone with lighter skin who was dressed in red or white. (Trayvon had on a dark-gray hoodie and Zimmerman a red jacket.)
The one on top was on his knees, Good said, straddling the person on the bottom and either punching or pushing down. Good described it as doing the "ground and pound."
One of them called for help.
"It sounded like it was coming from the person on the bottom," Good said.
Jayne Surdyka saw the fight through her upstairs window: "I heard loud voices." One was dominant, "very aggressive … very angry," she said. A second was "lighter, softer, higher-pitched."
She saw two people on the ground wrestling, one on top of the other, the one on the bottom facedown, she said. She heard a "yelp," a cry for help, then three gunshots. (There was only one.)
She then saw a figure in black clothing stand up and begin to walk. (Trayvon, fatally wounded on the ground, was wearing black, and Zimmerman was wearing red.)
Medical testimony
In statement after statement to police after the shooting, Zimmerman described the brutal attack he said preceded it. During the state's case, prosecutors tried to convince jurors that account was exaggerated at best.
Dr. Valerie Rao, the Jacksonville-based medical examiner for Duval, Clay and Nassau counties, testified that Zimmerman's wounds "were insignificant."
Earlier, jurors heard from the physician assistant who saw Zimmerman the day after the shooting. Lindzee Folgate of Altamonte Family Practice said the cuts to the back of Zimmerman's head measured 2 centimeters and 0.5 centimeters, and neither needed stitches.
Of Zimmerman's nose, Folgate said no X-rays were taken: "I would say likely broken; it's hard to say definitively."
The Sanford Police Department's lead investigator, Chris Serino, testified he didn't think Zimmerman's injuries matched his account: "In my view, yes, they were lacking."
State witnesses — or defense?
Time and again, witnesses called by the state to help win a conviction wound up giving the defense a boost. The most noteworthy:
John Good: The neighbor who said he saw Trayvon on top of Zimmerman during the fight and thinks the cries for help came from the defendant.
Capt. Alexis Carter Jr.: Zimmerman's former teacher at Seminole State College, who told jurors that in Florida you can pick a fight, and if the other person overreacts and becomes violent, you have the right to kill him, provided you feared he was about to kill or gravely injure you.
Officer Tim Smith: The first officer on the scene, who said Zimmerman was bloody, had grass on the back of his jacket and said he'd been calling for help from neighbors but got none.
Chris Serino: The case's lead detective, who told jurors that in four recorded interviews, some of the details of Zimmerman's story varied but not on major points and that other evidence corroborated his account.
Lindzee Folgate: Zimmerman's physician assistant who testified that if Zimmerman had not stopped the fight, he might have been killed.
Wendy Dorival: The Sanford Police Department employee who helped Zimmerman's homeowners association set up a Neighborhood Watch program and testified that his neighbors told her they were concerned about a series of burglaries.
firstname.lastname@example.com or 407-650-6394. email@example.com or 407-420-5171.


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National parks across the country have begun to release specific information on the upcoming sequestration, in an effort to warn families planning vacations, community members who depend on the parks for income, and park employees to brace for the impact.
Blue Ridge Parkway will cut 21 seasonal interpretive ranger programs, resulting in the closure of 50 percent of its visitor centers and contact stations. Eliminating seven stations will put 80 miles between open facilities along the parkway, severely reducing the interpretive information available to visitors.
Gettysburg National Military Park will eliminate 20 percent of its Student Education Programs this spring, canceling field trips for 2,400 students.
Glacier National Park will delay the reopening of Going-to-the-Sun Road by two weeks. Previous closures of the road resulted in lost revenue for surrounding communities and concessions of $1 million per day, a potentially devastating blow to businesses that depend on the park for tourism dollars.
Mount Rainier National Park will close its Ohanapecosh Visitor Center permanently, eliminating this resource for 60,000-85,000 visitors annually.
Grand Canyon National Park will delay the seasonal opening of its East and West Rim Drives, and reduce hours of operation at the main visitor center – impacting a quarter of a million visitors.
Lassen Volcanic National Park in California will keep its main road and campgrounds closed for an additional two weeks this spring, and close the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center for two days each week. The Red Bluff Daily News reports that this will affect 1,100 schoolchildren who would normally visit the park during these weeks, and the park will lose about $156,000 in revenue.
Shenandoah National Park has delayed the opening of campgrounds, picnic areas, and visitor centers, as well as the hiring of seasonal employees, park spokeswoman Karen Beck-Herzog told The Daily Progress newspaper in Virginia. Preventative search and rescue operations have been scrapped, eliminating an effective program that placed people at trailheads and on trails, making sure that hikers had water and a plan to keep themselves safe on challenging trails.
"A $110 million cut will not only be devastating to the parks themselves, but to the many businesses and communities that rely on them to drive sales," said Perry Wheeler, a spokesperson for the National Parks Conservation Association, in an email. "Our national parks represent just 1/14th of 1 percent of the federal budget, and they sustain a quarter-million private sector jobs and generate $31 billion from tourism and recreation alone. Every dollar invested in the National Park Service generates about ten dollars in economic activity."
Now that President Barack Obama has announced that he will not meet with Congressional leadership until after the sequestration takes effect on Friday, visitors could begin to see the difference in their favorite parks by the end of this week.


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Over the past year or two, the big hotel chains, Marriott included, have been rethinking and revamping their properties' restaurants. Guiding these redos are several somewhat overlapping ideas, most of which are in play at the Yard, the recently renovated restaurant at the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards.
The first of these ideas has to do with an embrace, at least on the surface, of seasonal, sustainable and local cuisine. Local purveyors like One Straw Farm, Prigel Family Creamery and Stone Mill Bakery are listed on the Yard's one-page dinner menu, and the new draft beer lineup includes taps from Heavy Seas, Du Claw Brewing Co. and Union Craft Brewing.
There is also an attempt to make the new hotel restaurants feel like a genuine part of the city they're located in.
The Yard, at the back of the hotel's ground-floor lobby, is now decorated, appealingly, with large-scale graphics of Baltimore images and scenes like rowhouses, the Domino Sugars sign and the Hippodrome Theatre. And when you ask for your check, it's presented in a cleaned-out Old Bay seasoning tin. That's a cute, and harmless, touch.
So is the menu section devoted to "Baltimore Creations," which includes things like crab soup, crab cakes, a crab pretzel (served with Natty Boh mustard) and a pit beef grinder. For dessert, there's a Smith Island red velvet cake and a Berger cookie with malted milk.
And so far, so good at the Yard, which, like many hotel restaurants, is asked to perform multiple duties. It's where guests come for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and it's also the property's main lounge area. And, not surprisingly, considering that it's just a few short blocks from the ballpark, it's a sports bar, too.
There are TVs everywhere, even in the dining areas away from the bar. This is not a crime, but if you find the presence of multiple flickering monitors distracting, you'll have a hard time of it here. All that said, the Yard has been designed very well, with a good variety of small, interconnected seating areas.
We had good service here, including a bartender who asked us how we were doing before asking us what we wanted and a very nice waitress who told us how much she enjoyed getting to know everything on the new menu, which certainly reads promisingly enough. There's a generous sprinkling throughout of good-sounding things like roasted radish (with the wild salmon entree), fresh English peas and dried apricots (with the Springfield Farms roasted chicken) and Pennsylvania mushroom risotto (with the Georges Bank sea scallops).
The problems were all on the plate.
I'm as pro-individuality as the next guy, but I'm thinking there's something to be said for consistency, too, and quality control. Food was underseasoned, undercooked, or both, and there's an uncomfortable distance between intent and result.
An appetizer of roasted baby beets, served with goat cheese, crushed pistachios and a grilled lemon yogurt, was pretty, but the beets were undercooked and really needed a splash of salt, pepper or anything. A snack-size portion of deviled egg needed seasoning, too, and so did the scallops, which were also undercooked. The scallops were a shame, too, because the mushroom risotto, salsa verde and roasted fennel that came with it were good ideas.
Only a Chesapeake seafood stew was actively bad, with a burnt taste in its thick tomato broth and a tired, worrisome look to the mussels.
There are hints about how good things could be. An appetizer of grilled oysters, set under the broiler with crab meat and bread crumbs, was a warm, toasty pleasure to eat, with a good dose of carefully preserved "liquor" in each shell. There was a handsome chopped kale salad with carrots, cucumber, avocado and chickpeas that maybe could have done without the super-strong roasted cumin dressing.
Fried rhubarb apple pie sounded like a good idea — I pictured, you know, a pie with apples and fried rhubarbs. But it turned out to be one of those dessert empanada things. I liked the grilled pineapple with Prigel's coconut ice cream and toasted coconut.
I think the Yard has good intentions, but that's not the same as having real feeling.
Rating: 1.5
Where: 110 S. Eutaw St., downtown west
Contact: 410-962-0202, http://www.marriott.com
Open: Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily
Prices: Appetizers $7-$13; entrees $22-$28
Food: Contemporary American fare
Service: Sweet-natured and responsive
Best dishes: Char-grilled oysters with crab meat, chopped kale salad, grilled sirloin steak
Parking: Garage parking is $11 for 3 hours.
Children: A children's menu is available.
Noise level/television: Normal conversation is possible. In some dining areas there are multiple TV screens in every direction, but there is a TV-free side room.
[Key: Superlative: 5 stars ; Excellent: 4 stars; Very Good: 3 stars; Good: 2 stars; Promising: 1 star]


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Hello, local readers! Hot off the press is this week's edition of our weekend guide, filled with the best things to do in and around Atlanta this Thursday through Sunday. As always, be sure to add anything we missed in the comments section. Enjoy your weekend!!
Keep reading for more information about the Chomp and Stomp, the Decatur Wine Festival, The Atlanta Movie Tours Hollyween Party and other exciting weekend events!


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text: NASA recently unveiled a prototype spacesuit, the Z-1, to be used by astronauts on deep-space missions. Everyone with eyeballs immediately noticed the similarity between the agency's idea and the character of Buzz Lightyear from Pixar's Toy Story movies. Spacesuits have a long and varied history, both at NASA and in science fiction. While sometimes the design from one is meant to evoke a style from the other, this latest spacesuit appears to be the most blatant. Here, we take a look at several spacesuits from NASA's pioneering manned programs and contrast them with those from sci-fi films of the same era. It's up to you to tell us who is stealing whose concept and which example seems superior. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments. Above: Z-1 vs. Buzz Lightyear NASA says their prototype spacesuits would incorporate a number of technology advances to make them easier to put on, while improving safety during spacewalks and potential surface activities. Buzz seems to have them beaten, already going to infinity and beyond. Image: NASA/PixarMercury vs. Phantom Planet NASA's Project Mercury was tasked with beating the Soviets into outer space. Running from 1959 to 1963, the program gave Americans their first taste of real spacesuits. In the left image, you can see professional badass Gordon Cooper in his spacesuit. The Phantom Planet is a classic 1961 sci-fi movie in which a crew of Mars-bound astronauts (from 1980!) get sidetracked to a mysterious wandering world inhabited by 6-inch-tall men. The film abounds with classic sci-fi tropes, including bizarre space monsters and damsels in distress, plus some cool-looking spacesuits. Image: NASA/The Phantom PlanetGemini vs. The First Men in the Moon The top two images come from the second U.S. space program, Project Gemini, which included pressurized suits and the daring first American spacewalk in 1965. The lower one comes from a 1964 film adaptation of H.G. Well's The First Men in the Moon, in which a crew of British astronauts are first to the moon (how unrealistic). Once there, they discover a British flag, which turns out to have been planted there more than 60 years earlier by a secret Victorian expedition. Image: NASA/The First Men in the MoonApollo vs. 2001: A Space Odyssey This is a tough one. Perhaps the most iconic spacesuit, the Apollo-era lunar astronauts' in 1969, set up against the best spacesuit in all of science-fiction, from 1968′s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Image: NASA/2001: A Space OdysseyShuttle vs. Moonraker After the end of Apollo, NASA shifted focus to their new Space Shuttle, a partially reusable spacecraft first flown in 1981 that stayed in service for 30 years. Shuttle astronauts' well-known orange spacesuits are deeply embedded in the public consciousness. Though the much-maligned Moonraker wasn't the best Bond film of all time, it contains some snazzy spacesuits that upped the sex appeal of the space program. Image: NASA/MoonrakerNASA Future vs. Film Future Starting in the early 2000s, NASA began testing its new spacesuit designs (top), which were planned for use on the lunar surface beginning in 2020. They were easier to take on and off than previous suits and provided greater mobility and strength. It seems that the makers of the movie Mission to Mars, from 2000, didn't quite have the same ideas in mind when planning their crew's spacesuits (below), for a fictional 2020 manned Mars mission that goes terribly awry. Image: NASA/Mission to Mars


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Go to a sports stadium or arena of any kind these days and you'll witness the profusion of advertising on what seems like every available square inch of space.
Nationals Park in Washington is no different. But most of the advertising signage at the ballpark was discreetly covered for Pope Benedict's Mass today. The largest signs flanked the giant scoreboard in right-center field. Those were covered — mostly — by American flags (see below) nearly as large. One would have to be familiar with the logos of the Washington Post and PNC Bank to recognize them beneath the white stripes of the flags.
A so-called advertising innovation over the past decade or so involves the installation of extremely horizontal, changeable advertising message boards. The ones at Nationals Park, at least for this day, bore a new and unchanging message: "Pope Benedict XVI April 17, 2008 Washington D.C."
Even the white script "W" logo of the Washington Nationals baseball team that appears behind home plate was mostly obscured by a coat of green paint similar to the green of the surrounding grass.
Not every ad was scrubbed. Behind the left-field stands were ads for Miller Lite beer, PNC Bank and Geico, an insurance company. And five signs on the facing of the 300-level seats weren't obscured.
But in an advertising-saturated culture, it was an enjoyable, relatively ad-free day.


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What should be a good time for striped bass fishing has turned into a struggle for even the best of anglers. The spring spawning run is in full swing but trollers are having a difficult time.
What should be a good time for striped bass fishing has turned into a struggle for even the best of anglers. The spring spawning run is in full swing but trollers are having a difficult time.
On Monday, guide Barry Canevaro of Isleton traveled more than 50 miles along the Sacramento River to claim a handful of bass, keepers to 8 pounds. Experts such as Clyde Wands and Mark Wilson might have covered even more water to log fish, mainly on shallow-running lures, and a few deep-divers.
On the incoming tide, water clarity on the Sacramento River is about 6 feet. The outgoing tide offers about 2 feet of visibility. Temperatures range from the low- to mid-60s so bass should be spawning very soon. The likelihood of more bass spawning in the Delta and throughout the Mokelumne River, is due to a lack of outflows.
State and federal water regulators aren't releasing sufficient flows to aid the resource. Instead they're holding water back and filing reservoirs.
Stripers range in size from sub-legal to 7-8 pounds on the Sacramento River. A 10-pound fish is rare and one in the teens is almost unheard of. Look for small schools rather than a massive school. Stripers are continuing to move up.
On the Mokelumne River, guide Mike Gravert hooked and released an estimated 52- to 54-inch behemoth in Lost Lake above New Hope. Fly fishing guide Mike Costello has taken stripers in the 30- to 40-pound class on a fly, and released them, as well.
There appear to be stripers, although quite sporadic just now, on the Mokelumne and near the mouth, as well as Potato Slough, the peacocks at Bradford Island and even the mouth of Three-Mile Slough, especially on the outgoing tide.
Good news: Stripers currently in San Pablo will head this way to spawn.
Largemouth bass fishing is good and improving, especially as the waters warm.
Senkos, jerk baits and crank baits account for the majority of the largemouth. Crappie are inhaling live minnows and jigs worked next to docks, bridge pilings and submerged trees.
Ocean - It's official. Recreational fishing for Chinook salmon opens April 6 from Horse Mountain in Humboldt County south to the Mexican border. Daily bag is two salmon, 24 inches or longer. Between April 6-11, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council will adopt regulations for the season including mid-season closures, closing dates and regulations specific to certain zones.
San Pablo Bay - Good striped bass fishing at the top of the tide, either trolling or casting worm-tailed jigs. Most bass weigh 3-6 pounds, but fish to 20 pounds have been checked this week at Loch Lomond Live Bait in San Rafael. Live shiner minnows are good at The Brothers, while boats on the anchor use mud shrimp and try for both stripers and sturgeon.
Feather - Striped bass are among the missing in action. At this time last year, fishing was sensational. Now, there aren't any because of a lack of water outflows.
Sacramento - Still waiting for striped bass in a spawning mood to arrive. Drifting and back-trolling for wild rainbow trout, 12 inches to 31/2 pounds, is good from Redding to Red Bluff.
Amador - Water level is lower than normal because of a lack of rain. Concessionaires release 1,000 pounds of large, Donaldson trout every week day. Largemouth bass and crappie are biting.
Camanche - Water has warmed to 55 degrees. Inflow from Pardee Dam is double the outflow into the Mokelumne River. Twelve-hundred pounds of trout were stocked this week, split between South Shore Marina and the adjacent South Pond. Bass fishing is rated better than trolling for trout.
Don Pedro - A few kokanee and king salmon are in the take for those that target them. Spotted bass are on a solid bite with plastics and jerk baits.
Los Vaqueros - Water level at 119,000 acre-feet and rising. Shoreline fishing for trout is good, especially in South Cove. Trollers work East and Howden coves, mainly with fire-tiger Rapalas, which also entice school-sized striped bass. Next major plants scheduled from Monday to April 8.
New Melones - Trolling is good for under-sized kokanee, 11-12 inches. The small kokes get after pink micro-hoochies, pulled 20-40 feet deep, just off Glory Hole boat ramp, the dam and south of Rose Island. Some deploy four colors of leadcore line and tow an orange/red Cripplure. Spotted bass fishing is exceptional with jigs, plastics and crank baits.
Pardee - Clear water with nearly 15 feet visibility forces anglers to use light line and leaders. Shoreline fishing is slow in the Recreation Area, except right after a plant. Trolling is spotty, best up river at Columbia Gulch.
Ottesen's picks: 1. New Melones Lake (kokanee/spotted bass). 2. San Pablo Bay (striped bass/sturgeon). 3. Delta (striped bass).


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Cashing in on the skyrocketing demand for ivory and other wildlife products, international crime syndicates are wiping out elephant herds, slaughtering gorillas, and leaving a trail of destruction across the African continent. Israeli Ofir Drori is risking his life to bring them to justice. Susan Hack reports
Late last year, about 50 men armed with AK47s and rocket-propelled grenades rode horses and drove pack mules and camels into Cameroon's Bouba N'Djida National Park. Divided into squads, the intruders dragooned local villagers as trackers and butchers, and over the course of a few weeks killed as many as 300 of the park's savanna elephants—wiping out half of central Africa's last significant population. The carnage was easy work in a park so remote and neglected: By the time the first tuskless carcasses were discovered and the government dispatched a small plane to try to locate the poachers, the main caravan had escaped into Chad, carrying away a potential $1.2 million in ivory.
Many African nations lack the financial resources and manpower to protect wildlife from poachers and bring the kingpins and cartels behind the escalating ivory trade to justice. In Cameroon, the problem is not confined to elephants: Bush-meat hunters, sometimes colluding with poorly paid park officials on behalf of deep-pocketed international buyers, kill approximately 3,000 lowland gorillas annually, smoking the flesh for local consumption, chopping off heads and hands to sell as trophies, and—most profitably—collecting live infants to be sold on the international market. The California-size country also serves as a transit point for ivory, skins, and live animals collected in other African nations by networks that reach as far away as Hong Kong.
One of the first investigators on the ground in Bouba N'Djida was Ofir Drori, an intense, rail-thin 36-year-old from Tel Aviv who launched his own war on illegal wildlife dealers in 2002 when he founded LAGA (an acronym for the Last Great Ape Organization), an independent wildlife law enforcement group based in Yaounde, Cameroon's capital. LAGA has partnered with Cameroon's security forces and judiciary to provide wildlife crime–fighting assistance, and operates like a detective agency, specialist law firm, and wildlife news service. Rather than merely advising, LAGA's dozen Cameroonian staffers work in the field and through the court system and have helped convict more than 450 wildlife traders—from market stall owners and members of the military to the director of an Italian logging company who had illegally purchased protected chimps. Most important, Drori and his team have convinced judges in Cameroon to start enforcing wildlife conservation laws that had existed only on paper and to issue stiff sentences for those who break them.
At Bouba N'Djida, Drori, a former freelance journalist with no formal law enforcement training, interviewed villagers and park employees. Tribe and clan names recalled by the local trackers, and ammunition extracted from carcasses, suggested that the raiders were members of a militia from Darfur, Sudan, who were working with Chadian groups to traffic drugs and ivory to buy weapons. Members of the same group are suspected of decimating the elephant population on Chad's side of the border.
The incident underscored Drori's conviction that international crime rings, which funnel wildlife products to other countries, pose the greatest threat to endangered species. "A poacher is usually a poor guy trying to feed his family who winds up dead in the forest while the big dealers remain untouched," he says. Rather than arrest the villagers who aided the militia, Drori recruited them as future informants and collaborated with the wildlife ministry and the army to improve Bouba N'Djida's defenses. Respected across Africa for the technical assistance he's provided Cameroon's government, he dispatched LAGA lawyers to try to persuade officials in Chad to allow activists of that country to set up their own LAGA-style organization.
The roots of Drori's mission stretch back to a 1998 trip on which he nearly starved to death hiking along the shore of Kenya's Lake Turkana. After service in the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), he spent months backpacking solo in Kenya, rejecting creature comforts in the belief that the truest spirit of travel requires cutting all safety nets to one's own culture. ("I loathed even the sight of light bulbs," he recalls in a recently published memoir, The Last Great Ape.) The young man's puritanism might have proved fatal. But Drori survived his Lake Turkana version of Into the Wild thanks to the hospitality of impoverished Samburu and Turkana families, who gave him food and nursed him through bouts of malaria. A Catholic priest working in a fishing village made a deep impression, encouraging Drori to be more than a nomad sampling cultures and to stop testing his own limits and focus on helping others.
Drori worked for a time in Africa as a freelance correspondent for Israeli magazines, interviewing child soldiers in war-torn Sierra Leone and investigating Christian-Muslim conflict in Nigeria. In 2002, while researching an article on Cameroon's illegal trade in live apes, he impulsively rescued a baby chimpanzee whose mother had been killed by bush-meat hunters. Drori coerced the seller to hand over the sickly chimp by brandishing a photocopy of Cameroon's 1994 legislation prohibiting the trade in endangered species, bluffing that the police were on the way even though the law had never actually been enforced. The experience of rescuing the chimp, whom he named Future, inspired Drori to remain in the country to create LAGA to fight not just wildlife vendors but a corrupt and dysfunctional legal system. He had learned that Cameroon's presidential guard was trained by the Israeli army and turned to other Israeli expats for crucial connections in the labyrinth of Cameroon's bureaucracy to secure a residence visa.
In 2003, with the help of Cameroonian friends inspired by his ire and persisting against a culture of rampant bribery, Drori convinced local officials to take the middleman trafficker of another orphaned chimp to court and secured what was likely the first prosecution and sentencing for wildlife crime in all of West and central Africa. It was the first of hundreds of successful prosecutions through which Drori has mentored a new generation of Cameroonian corruption fighters, including students, lawyers, journalists, cops, and government officials.
"Ofir's passion is complemented by his knowledge of how to prepare a case," says LAGA deputy director Alain Ononino, a 31-year-old Cameroonian and aspiring lawyer. "He is always pushing forward." From a baseline of zero wildlife-crime prosecutions in Cameroon in 2002, LAGA investigations now lead to the conviction of, on average, one major dealer per week—one of the highest rates in Africa—with many of the convicted receiving jail sentences of up to three years and fines as high as $100,000. By contrast, the average fine imposed by Kenyan courts for illegal ivory trading is about $125. In some countries the fine is just $16.
"Many conservation groups focus only on recording instances of poaching or ivory seizures, but Ofir has been a pioneer by placing himself in situ and getting criminals behind bars," says Mary Rice, executive director of the U.K.–based Environmental Investigation Agency, which has worked with LAGA over the past decade, during which time growing demand from newly affluent consumers in Asia has led to a sharp rise in elephant and rhino poaching. With Asian ivory carvers offering as much as $1,300 a pound for elephant tusk, traditional medicine vendors in Vietnam selling ground rhino horn for twice the price of gold, and Nigerian firms offering baby gorillas for sale for $400,000, illegal wildlife products and wildlife trafficking have become the world's most lucrative criminal trade after drugs and human trafficking.
To maximize its impact, LAGA aims for arrests as high up a smuggling syndicate as possible. A sting operation often starts with a LAGA staffer posing as a wildlife buyer, using a hidden camera or recorder to collect evidence of a dealer's possession and intent to sell. In one 2008 case, an investigation of shipping documents revealed that international dealers were trying to sell a live hippopotamus for $80,000. The sale was aborted, and charges are pending. Working with Cameroon's security forces, LAGA broke up a Ghanaian ring by confiscating shipments of hundreds of live gray parrots stuffed into crates aboard Ethiopian Airlines flights bound from Cameroon to Bahrain. "A gray parrot that a poacher sells to a dealer for $3 in the forest goes for $1,500 abroad," says Drori. "For the syndicates, even parrot eggs are big business."
In a country where convictions for ordinary crimes are frequently nullified with a bribe, LAGA has rendered wildlife crime sentences meaningful by shadowing police officers, prosecutors, judges, and prison wardens alike to make sure perpetrators don't bribe their way out of prison. "In 85 percent of our cases, someone will try to bribe police during an arrest," says Drori. "Even if we win a conviction, sometimes we'll go to the jail and the guy isn't there anymore because of a bribe." When that happens, LAGA uses evidence of complicity to strong-arm wardens into issuing a document officially stating that the prisoner has escaped, which provides law enforcement officials with a legal basis for rearrest. Besides working within the court system, LAGA publishes a magazine, Wildlife Justice, and encourages newspaper, TV, and radio journalists to do stories that educate the public about conservation and the penalties for wildlife crime, while exposing government incompetence and corruption and praising officials who take a stand against corruption.
Missions can be dangerous. Drori is the target of ongoing personal threats from wildlife mafias. Last year, five ivory dealers kidnapped a LAGA staffer after finding his hidden recorder. Drori rescued his colleague by setting up a second sting operation and enticing the dealers/kidnappers with the prospect of nabbing more-senior LAGA personnel.
Drori's home is a bedroom curtained off from the LAGA office in a modest one-story house set between government ministries and the area where embassies and international NGOs are located in Yaounde. He doesn't own a car, stove, or refrigerator and hires no domestic help. Breakfast is three cups of strong black coffee with seven spoons of sugar in each. For other meals, he prefers corn fufu and njama-njama, a green vegetable, or a local fish served with manioc wrapped in banana leaf.
The ascetic lifestyle stems from Drori's desire to connect with and live like the local people, as well as from a conviction that big-budgeted conservation organizations which focus on fund-raising, conferences, and purchasing four-by-fours and other so-called capacity-building infrastructure are "sluggish, wasteful, and a big part of conservation's problem." LAGA, unlike many NGOs, publishes its donor contributions and operating budget, including Drori's $1,600-a-month salary. LAGA's success, he insists, "isn't due to talking and fancy equipment but to passion, activism, and being willing to take on a fight."
Drori has now extended his battle beyond Cameroon. He has helped train wildlife law enforcement officials in Botswana, Zambia, and Malawi and established LAGA-style organizations in Gabon, the Central African Republic, and Congo Brazzaville. Conakry, the port capital of Guinea, has emerged as the latest center of wildlife smuggling. Last March, in Conakry's first wildlife sting operation, Drori posed as a buyer at a luxury hotel and helped police and Guinea's Interpol chief nab seven major dealers, who had painted their ivory sculptures black to disguise them as ebony for export. The team also uncovered paperwork implicating a ring that has smuggled more than 100 live baby chimpanzees to Asia. "One hundred baby chimps indicate a massacre," says Drori, "because bush hunters have to kill the adult chimps that defend them." His latest challenge is training wildlife officers in Africa's newest state, South Sudan.
"It is rare to have someone so committed, who is willing to risk his life in undertaking dangerous missions," says Grace Mbah, a representative of Cameroon's Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, which has made Drori a member of Cameroon's delegation to CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). "The wildlife mafia has a long reach," says Mbah. "I tell Ofir all the time to be careful. If I can use the language of wildlife conservation, Ofir himself is an endangered species."
Shocking image of a gorilla's hand, a seizure from a LAGA wildlife law enforcement operation against an ape dealer.
Elephant tails and leopard skin arrest.
Action footage from LAGA operation against ivory dealers in Cameroon.
See more videos on the LAGA site.
Frances Beinecke, president, Natural Resources Defense Council
John Paul DeJoria, co‑founder, chairman, and CEO, John Paul Mitchell Systems
Larry Fahn, former executive director, As You Sow Foundation; board member and past president, Sierra Club
Dr. Alasdair Harris, founder and executive director, Blue Ventures Conservation, Madagascar; winner, Condé Nast Traveler's 2009 Environmental Award
Thomas E. Lovejoy, professor, George Mason University; biodiversity chair, H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment
Bill McKibben, founder, 350.org; author, The End of Nature; scholar-in-residence, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont
Marilyn Perry, chairman emerita, World Monuments Fund
Carter Roberts, president and CEO, World Wildlife Fund
Mark R. Tercek, president and CEO, The Nature Conservancy
Photographs from top: Jean-Francois Largot; Courtesy Ofir Drori; Michal Chelbin


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Morning peeps.
Yesterdays lyrics: Killer by Queen.
Todays- No idea at moment.
What:3M Easy run as legs and rest of body feel heavy and tired.
Wet and windy up here.
Have a good Friday.
Gobi: Enjoy France,
morning all.
Go well Gobi.
Windy here, but not as bad as yesterday, and dry. The wind though is a swirling wind so difficult to run in.
What: smidge under 5.3 miles easy
Why: because
Last hard: sunday
Last rest:6 April
Have a good one peeps
Have a great one Gobi!
Sorry to hear that RFJ.
AF - you've earnt it.
windy night here again - made sleeping difficult.
What: nothing.
Why: still haven't quite found my bounce and it is off season.
Last hard: 7/11.
Last rest: 4/11.
Lyrics - no.
Quiet on here today eh ?!
Afternoon folks!
Ah, Gobi, that planes comment makes sense. Cycling, yes? How long is it? just saw that it's a marathon. Cool and good luck! Let me know what the course/conditions are like please, as I may need a later one next year if I'm not ready for September/October.
Hi y'all. Just thought I'd stick my head in and say hello. Hope you're all doing well?
I had knee arthroscopy yesterday. Essentially my problems seem to have been caused by some debris in the knee joint from the bang, plus inflammation behind the kneecap itself, which was preventing the kneecap from settling into it's groove properly and making it maltrack, so the joint has been cleaned out, and I've had a steroid injection into the tissues behind the kneecap. Luckily there was no cartilage or bone damage, so recovery, in theory, should be a touch quicker. Going to take it very cautiously though, as having put up with this for 7.5 months already I've got too much to lose by trying to rush back.
However, I hope to get back to posting on here more regularly over the coming months as I begin to be able to resume training - fingers crossed this will actually fix it now!
Will pop in again soon.
Run well all
<edit 2> obviously fancied a name/avatar change as well!
Hello all.
What: Nothing (apart from cycle to work)
Why: Not feeling 100% and think I need a rest!
Lyrics: No
Any exciting plans for the weekend?
Happy Friday
Gobi: Have a nice time in Nice.
Welcome Zatu - good to see you back!
The ritual humiliation of the council tax benefic claim was a hoot. After answering all the questions to fill in a 16 page form, we get to the last question: " How much savings to you have?" Apparently, if you have more >16k, no benefit. Why that can't be the 1st qustion is a puzzle. Or why they don't mention it on the web site remains a mystery.
I really will have to write to the Daily Mail. I was expection a life of easement as a benefit scrounger, but it's just not turning out that way. It surely must be true - it's in the paper
Have a good one!
Lyrics - me no like
Today 11 miles very slow - why - must be more tired than I thought, would've liked to have done more - always next week
A lot calmer here today. Sorry you got no sleep LMUH


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Meeting Notes 2010 09 14
The 127th Meeting of Noisebridge
Get someone to grab the membership binder now. Get someone to take notes.
- Moderator: Shannon
- Note-Taker: Steve
Introduction and Names[edit]
- Rachel Defenestration McConnell
- Alison - library stuff
- Nicket - FUNemployed
- Shannon - unsure
- Joe - Software Engineer
- Jessica - happened upon here today, FUNemployed, fire spinner, novice {welder,everything} wanting to learn about F/OSS and Python &c
- Moxie - Institute for Disrupting Stuff
- Maddie Sallon - Interaction Designer, bacon alarm clock (over there)
- Andy - balloon
- Seth - slide about Moxie
- Goatee Fellow (called Josh by earthlings) - is a person
- Rupert - video, balloons, learn stuff, loves us
- Steve - fucking hippie shoes
- Carl - FUNemployment going on sabbatical next week, likes to code
- Mike Kan - technofloater
- Jason - security project manager, forgot how to build things; getting back; met Slim at DNA lounge; worked at syszygrd; now he is here
- 2 People with laptops - ?????
- Kelly - academia, brains, dark room, misc electronics stuff
- Elizabeth - pharmacist, (mumbling, can't hear)
- Iskie - contracted upper respiratory infection as an STD
- What Noisebridge is about: "Noisebridge is a 501c3 nonprofit that provides a space for creation, collaboration, and learning about technology and creative projects. Noisebridge provides space, power tools, and infrastructure to help the public learn new skills and create cool things. Noisebridge continues to exist through and depends entirely on membership fees and donations. Our code of conduct is 'Be excellent to each other'."
- Round of introductions: What's your name, what do you do, and if you are new, how did you hear about Noisebridge? Start with the moderator and go left.
- A brief primer on consensus process: We agree and so should you!
Financial Report[edit]
Funds in bank: like, some. More than $2000, less than prudent reserve
Membership Binder[edit]
- Read off any names from the binder for the past month.
- Anyone up for join this week should introduce them selves then leave the area in search of gifts for the rest of the group.
What's Going On at Noisebridge[edit]
One short sentence about each of the following:
- Circuit Hacking Mondays (7PM, 2169)
- Pyclass at 7ish
- GameDevelopment - Wednesdays at 6PM
- SCoW craft group - Wednesdays at 7PM - sometimes they make hats.
- Machine_Learning - Tuesdays
- Linux system administration certification study group (several days)
- Spacebridge - Sundays
- Knots, Go, and Locks! - Sunday afternoons, as needed.
Project Updates[edit]
Consensus items[edit]
Discussion Items[edit]
October 1st - nominally some type of anniversary for Noisebridge. Do we want to have an event?
Planning an event elsewhere that would work well in this space:
Deal is this. You have an event, and it costs $10 to participate in it. The entire event is deciding what to do with the money. Collectively decide: booze, bouncy castle, fleet of kayaks, airplane hangar. Fun, ADD-type party-style atmosphere. E.g.: Computer vision with colored cards; everyone gets a card and votes against an OCR thinger. Projectors with screens researching and typing in options, voting. Music playing, drinking, etc.
Rachel Defenestration sponsors this event: on the agenda for next week as an item.
No wait, we don't need consensus. Andy: "pfft. Fuck rulings." Done.
Talk about it on the list!
Moxie will be coordinating.
ALSO, he wants help with writing the software and setting up. Talk to Moxie.
ALSO, majority rules. NOT CONSENSUS TECHNICALLY
Went to Argentina. Brought back Yerba Mate for Noisebridge. Not carbonated or sweetened! Does, however, taste like bitter ass (in a positive way). Hopefully someone enjoys it. Also, been in touch with Ilia Vasilyev, who runs the civil hackers school in Russia. Moved here for a year to become a Zen priest at the SF Zen Center. Wants to run the civil hackers school in San Francisco. Trying to figure out where to do it.
The civil hackers school involves meeting two evenings a week and studying hacking.
Is there a time and classroom where it would fit here?
Anything on the wiki that's not actually recurring? Hard to say; Kelly's working on it. Elaborate webcam solution proposed.
Question: has stuff to get rid of. What do we not want?
No CRTs, no broken electronics that can't be salvaged, no garbage.
Recommendation: sit down with one or two anal-retentive people and go over the list.
Alternative: just show up at night and leave it here.
Elaborate philosophical paradox posed.
Our treasurer's term is up. Time to consense on a new treasurer. We have a s/sucker/volunteer/ willing to be the new treasurer. Decided that there should be several weeks of discussion in case of controversy and also if anyone s/is dumb enough/wants/ to volunteer.
How much work is it?
Fucking lot. "Single most working officer position" says Rachel D. ~2-5 hrs/wk. Kelly + ad-hoc minions trying to do audit of stuff.
(Add any new items for consensus to the Current Consensus Items page.)
End of Meeting[edit]
- PGP Key Signing could happen now, check the list to see who wants in on the action.
- Put back the membership binder by the Shrine at the northeast corner.
- Save the meeting notes to the wiki.
- Send a copy of the meeting notes to the discussion list.
- Copy the Meeting Notes Template for next week's agenda and update the main wiki page's link to it.
- Enjoy a cocktail with your fellow hacker or robot.


text:
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text:
We've got no shortage of ideas for cool projects at LACMA that will help improve the visitor experience, but before we give any of them the green light, we want to be sure they would actually address your needs and desires. To that end, we did an experiment last week: we set up an "Ask Me" table near the Pompeii exhibition, looking to see what visitors would ask for if they weren't prompted. (We're also doing onsite and, soon, online surveys.) It was a one-day-only experience, and boy was it enlightening. It was also a lot of fun—I don't get to interact with the general public as much as I'd like and it feels great to chat with people who are as excited about art as I am.
We weren't surprised to learn that our visitors need directions; it's a big campus after all, and not terribly easy to navigate. What was surprising though is that people wanted to know what to see. They also wanted to know what, if anything, is free on campus, from our wi-fi to our Pay What You Wish program to our first Tuesday program. (All are indeed free, by the way.) Then there were the more playful questions posed to us—hey, all the sign said was "Ask Me"; who said it had to pertain to the museum?
What is Lil' Wayne's birthday?
Where can I get a cup of tea and great piece of chocolate cake?
Do you have directions to the store that sells buttons on Beverly Blvd?
Will the Yankees win the World Series this year?


text:
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text:
Barbra Streisand eases perfectionism with new album
NEW YORK (AP) -- Back in the day, if Barbra Streisand made one vocal error or found one problem while recording a song, she'd toss the whole thing.
"If I didn't like that one word, I wouldn't release the record," the 70-year-old said in a recent interview. "Because in those days ... we did take one, take two, take three. We made albums in three days. Twelve songs. We didn't have this digital way."
Now, because of her perfectionism, she has a case full of unreleased material, and she's decided to share it with the world.
"Release Me," a collection of Streisand songs she recorded in the 1960s, '70s and '80s, is out Tuesday. It also includes the new song "If It's Meant to Be," written by her longtime friends and collaborators, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, recorded last year.
Besides the new album, Streisand is readying another duets album and a launching a U.S. tour on Thursday in Philadelphia. She talked with The Associated Press about it all, including politics.
AP: How's does it feel to finally release this music?
Streisand: It feels liberating. It's really interesting because I don't listen to my records after I make them. I am so sick of them because you have to listen to them over and over, in a car, with good speakers, bad speakers. I get so sick of it that I never hear anything. But I had this black case in my house for so long called "Unreleased songs." Listening to some of them again I thought, "God, I was hard on myself."
AP: How many songs are in that black case?
Streisand: I have another album or two. ... I really wasn't aware of how many things I had in there, between films and videotapes and TV shows. I actually never (have) been to my vaults, can you imagine? I just see them in pictures.
AP: What would Barbra now say to Barbra back then?
Streisand: Be easier on yourself. A lot of these things were done in one take; we don't have a choice and I didn't want to fix it. I didn't want to go in and fix things.
AP: You're returning to your hometown, Brooklyn, N.Y., for your tour at the new Barclays Center. How does that feel?
Streisand: It's like a coming home. It's coming back to my roots. It's where I was born. It was where I was raised. I didn't go into Manhattan 'til I was 14 years old. I didn't even know it existed. I thought the world was just Brooklyn.
AP: Do you remember first going into Manhattan?
Streisand: I'll never forget that moment taking the subway to see the theater 'cause I wanted to be an actress. ... Just what was happening in that city, my God. So exciting for me as a 14-year-old.
AP: What can people expect from the tour?
Streisand: A lot of songs I've never sung live before. Some songs I wrote, even. I wrote a song in "A Star Is Born" -- "Evergreen" became the hit -- but not the other song, "Lost Inside of You," that I wrote with Leon Russell, and now we just recorded it for the duets album. Haven't picked who's going to sing the duet yet. But it's really cool. I'm working with Babyface. ... (Babyface) is fantastic. I hope people can sing as good as him because ... he's just fabulous.
AP: What did you think of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions?
Streisand: I am glued. ... I watch news shows -- MSNBC, CNN. Thank God (President Barack) Obama's pulling ahead because it's a clear choice, you know, in my opinion. If you want to survive as a planet, recognize that there is climate change and you want to protect your food and your air and your water from pesticides, chemicals, you want to focus on education and young people and giving healthcare to the public -- there's no choice.
AP: Are there any contemporary musicians who are impressing you?
Streisand: I haven't had time to listen. When I finish an album like "Release Me" and now working on the duets album, believe me, I never turn on the radio. I only listen to news; something that concerns the whole country and world.
Online: http://www.barbrastreisand.com
Mesfin Fekadu covers music for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://www.twitter.com/musicmesfin


text:
With more than 50 years of experience building stunning new homes in Texas, Sitterle Homes has established a legacy of quality, beautiful design and customer satisfaction. Sitterle Homes builds in the most desirable communities in the Austin, Houston and San Antonio areas. Our team understands what homebuyers want: a unique home that truly reflects their individual style, a builder who uses the latest construction techniques, and a low-maintenance lifestyle.
Tired of communities where every home looks the same? Sitterle Homes got its start as a custom builder. When you choose Sitterle to build your new home in Austin, Houston, or San Antonio, you'll get a level of personalization other builders don't offer. We take pride in our approach to building relationships with our homebuyers. At Sitterle Homes, we create a home buying experience that is relaxed, enjoyable, and tailored to your specific needs and wants. No matter where you want to live, or what type of home you dream of, you can trust Sitterle Homes to build a home of unsurpassed quality and exceptional design. Your new home will be luxurious, tasteful, comfortable, and best of all – uniquely yours.


text:
Mattiou necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 181 diseños de 41 diseñadores freelance.
http://www.cubacasa.com - (company name: The Cuban Dream)
We need a logo designed for our website called "Cuba Casa"; dedicated to online hostel booking and "The Cuban Dream". The main functions are to provide info for independent minded travellers, and to allow people to book accommodation online, in 'casas particulares'. This is a type of accomodation quite unique to Cuba, whereby tourists rent rooms in people's houses, giving travellers an authentic insight into Cuban life. I need a logo that portrays this element of authenticity, comfort and The Cuban Dream.
Our target audience ranges from students, to young professionals, families, backpackers and veteran travellers, mainly from Western Europe. Probably about 20-50 years old. Their common denominator is that they want to visit Cuba, may have a penchant for the Caribbean/Latin America and do not go for all inclusive packages...they want the real thing. They like the element of authenticity, safety and independence offered by Cuba Casa.
Amongst other things, The Cuban Dream (as opposed to The American Dream) consists of vintage American cars, beautiful colonial buildings, cigars, Caribbean sun, salsa, rum, lobsters, chess, coffee, health and education for all, revolutionaries... basically, the logo must exude the same dose of soul and character that is inherent to Cuba, while preserving a slick, simple and suave nature...eye-catching!!!
Please bare in mind that the main business drive is online booking for 'casas particulares', so comfort, cleanliness and security are important elements.
Nothing too clustered, the customer must have taken it in with a glance, want to browse the website and book the accomodation.
Key words that characterise the website and our company: quick, easy, simple, hospitable, safe, comfortable, brimming with soul and character.
Things i would like you to avoid as they are possibly too cliché: Che Guevara and Fidel Castro (but it's your call).
Working with the double C of cubacasa could be a starter; clouds or moons in the mix to reflect comfort, pillows, etc?...Anyway, as the creative mind, i'll leave it entirely up to you.
Cheers and good luck,
Matthew Sellar
PS: to get a flavour of Cuba, please see my facebook album link below:
PPS: i quite like the aesthetics of this french website:
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


text:
On page 19 of her phone-book thick "War of the Roses" divorce filing, Jamie McCourt comes right out and says it — while everybody else was cutting back on their lifestyle during the recession, the McCourts were not.
Just look at what she is asking for:
• $488,928 per month in living expenses — nearly half a million per month.
• Unlimited travel expenses, which includes flight by private jet and only five-star hotel accommodations.
• Paid-for business lunches and dinners five nights a week.
• The Dodgers team doctors to look after her health.
Jamie adds that she estimates she was paid $2 million a year as the Dodgers CEO, while her husband Frank had a salary in the $5 million range. To be fair, Jamie says that if the Dodger reinstate her as CEO Frank should only have to pay her $320,967.
How did Jamie and Frank pay for this opulent lifestyle? By paying off their debt with money from increased prices for just about everything at Dodgers Stadium.
Since the McCourts took over the team they have jacked up parking prices, raised ticket prices several times (although not last year), added a lot of expensive dugout seats, raised prices and beer and hot dogs and peanuts — basically, if there was a way to squeeze money out of the fans, they found it.
And each time they did, the cry was the same, "We need to do this so we can compete with the other big-spending teams in baseball." The McCourts claimed to be cash poor pretty much the entire time they owned the team.
But that argument doesn't fly anymore. They were and are greedy. While Dodger fans everywhere were forced to tighten their belts and figure out if they could afford to keep going to games in this economy, the McCourts lived like Roman emperors, complete with a host of vacation homes to choose from.
Next time they say they need to raise ticket prices, or when they say they can't afford a number one starting pitcher, the backlash will be sharp and harsh from fans. The McCourts, who have been exceedingly image conscious, have now blown it in the worst possible way. The curtain has been pulled back.
Of course, in many a divorce, parents try to appease their children with a bright, shiny, expensive new toy. Like, for example, a number one starting pitcher. Just a suggestion.
Divorce Shows McCourts Lived Large Off Fans
The McCourts raised prices for everything from parking to beer. And what did it go toward?
On page 19 of her phone-book thick "War of the Roses" divorce filing, Jamie McCourt comes right out and says it — while everybody else was cutting back on their lifestyle during the recession, the McCourts were not.


text:
Have You Given Your Medicines a Check-Up Lately?
Getting and staying healthy often requires us to take medicine. And these days, we take more medicines than ever to maintain and improve our health. For people who take several medicines, there can be some unexpected reactions.
See Also: Make the Most of Your Meds Online Toolkit
Your first step could be an AARP "Brown Bag" Medication Review, held in collaboration with Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS). Pharmacists will volunteer their time to review, assess, and counsel participants on their medicine regime at these no-cost "Brown Bag" medication reviews.
"Medicine reviews are an effective, low-cost way to enhance communications about medicines and lead to better medicine use and better health outcomes," said Dr. Cheryl Abel, Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice at MCPHS.
At each AARP "Brown Bag" Medication Review, pharmacists and pharmacy students will talk to participants about reducing the risk of adverse drug reactions with multiple medications, discover duplicate or outdated medications, clarify instructions and obtain information to help solve compliance problems.
Participants should arrive at the medication review with a bag full of their medications – prescription and over-the-counter. "Yes, over-the-counter medications such as creams, vitamins, dietary supplements and gels are considered drugs, even though you don't need a prescription to purchase them," added Dr. Abel. Prescription drugs should be carried in the original dispensing container.
To schedule an AARP "Brown Bag" Medication Review for you or someone you love, call the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at 603-314-1706. Instructions will be given on how to prepare, what to bring, and what you'll learn. Reservations will be required and all reviews will be held at the Manchester campus of MCPHS at 1260 Elm Street in downtown Manchester.
In addition to leaving with a better understanding of the drugs they take, participants will take home a completed personal medication record they can then share with their physicians, pharmacists, and other health care providers.
"Keeping an up-to-date personal medication record is a key component in good health," added Abel.
"When we act as partners with our doctors and pharmacists to understand, track and manage all of our medicines, we will be safer," concluded Dr. Abel.
Join the Discussion0 | Add Yours
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text:
Model NO.: OBE6230
Material: 925 Sterling Silver
Gender: Female
Color: Blue
Usage: Decoration
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Delivery Time: 20-30days
Certification: SGS
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HS Code: 7113119010
Type: Eardrop
Shape: Water Drop
Style: Antique
Age: Middle Aged
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Our QC check your products one by one carefully before packing.
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text:
Pipe Mania: Pipedreamz
Merry Christmas. Messhof has a new game out, and it's called Pipedreamz. I'm going to go ahead and say that he named the game after the drug-pipe he uses to smoke his drugs! I am saying that Messhof's games are weird. Messhof, if you want to sue me for libel then this is my email address.
Pipedreamz embodies the Californian dream of working in a burger shop, riding the waves, scarfing down tasty snacks and (more generally) trying to get as high a score as possible before you're fired. Like most of Messhof's games, the music's amazing and it's better played than described. It's also not Nidhogg. MESSHOF! Snap whatever legal shackles are preventing you from releasing Nidhogg and release it. The people need it in their lives. Thanks to the IndieGames blog for the tipoff. Merry Christmas, IndieGames blog.


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NASA's spacewalk yesterday was a tactical success, as astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Michael Hopkins removed a bad valve from the ammonia pump in five hours and 28 minutes—an hour faster than the 6.5-hour exercise originally planned. However, midway through the procedure, Mastracchio encountered an issue with his spacesuit that has caused NASA to delay the second of three possible missions until Tuesday.
Mastracchio started experiencing unusually cold toes during the operation, pumping up the heat inside his boots in order to continue in relative comfort. Based on the two astronaut's efficiency, NASA initially intended to get ahead of schedule with extra work yesterday. However, about two hours after Mastracchio started experiencing difficulty, he respectfully declined when Mission Control spoke of additional work. "I'd like to stow this old module and kind of clean up and call it a day," he said.
According to NPR, the suits worn on Saturday had already been altered in response to helmet flooding that nearly drowned an Italian astronaut during the summer. So Mastracchio and Hopkins went into yesterday's mission with extra safety gear—snorkels in their suits and water-absorbent pads within their helmets.
The new issue is not related to any of those changes. According to Deutsche Welle, the problem is with how the sublimator (a cooling unit) in Mastracchio's suit operated when entering ISS airlock. NASA said the question is whether water entered the sublimator at that time. "During repressurization of the station's airlock following the spacewalk, a spacesuit configuration issue put the suit Mastracchio was wearing in question for the next excursion," NASA said in a statement. Delaying the next steps of the valve replacement from Monday until Tuesday will give NASA time to address the issue. Mastracchio is scheduled to wear a backup suit and needs this time to have it resized.
According to Weather.com, the initial NASA plan was to disconnect the pump Saturday, remove it on Monday, and to hookup the new pump on Wednesday. However, Saturday's work included disconnecting the large pump assembly and securing it in a new location on the outside of the ISS. It was enough progress that despite the spacesuit issue, NASA may only need two exercises rather than three to finish the procedure.
Tuesday's spacewalk will be broadcast on NASA TV's UStream starting at 6:15am ET (with the mission beginning roughly an hour after).


text:
I have a broadband connection and have been trying to do this for a while. I wanted to setup a URL that could link to my system at my home at \"no extra cost\". To start with this is for fun and finally for profit. As you know, buying a space on the web now a days is costly and I believe saving money is earning money and thus did the setup so that I have a URL that can go directly to my system behind the ADSL router.
Check this out:
This is link for phpMan on my system so might not be available at all times, but will try to keep it up and running all the time. I have fixed most of the issues with my system wrt hardware and have been running it for 4 days without re-start before trying this. So do comment if you like it. Will soon write on how I did this.