text:
Wan-based gateway
In one embodiment of the invention, an apparatus is provided for establishing a communication session between first and second terminals in communication over a plurality of networks that employ differing transmission standards. The plurality of networks are selected from among a circuit switched network (e.g., a telephony network), a connectionless packet switched network (e.g., the Internet) and a connection-oriented packet switched network (e.g., an ATM or frame relay network). The apparatus includes a call set-up translator for translating among call set-up protocols associated with the circuit switched network, the connectionless packet switched network and the connection-oriented packet switched network. An encoding format translator is provided for translating among encoding protocols associated with the circuit switched network, the connectionless packet switched network and the connection-oriented packet switched network. Also provided is an address database for storing a plurality of addresses in different formats for each registered terminal, which includes the first and second terminals. The apparatus also includes a session manager for storing control information relating to the first and second terminals. The control information includes an identification of the first and second terminals that participate in the communication session.
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This application is a continuation-in-part application of Ser. No. 08/743,784 filed Nov. 7, 1996, which is hereby incorporated by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates generally to an apparatus for establishing communication paths over a circuit switched network, a connectionless packet switched network, and a connection-oriented packet switched network, and more particularly to an apparatus for establishing point-to-point or point-to-multipoint audio or video communication over a telephony network, the Internet, and an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) or a Frame Relay (FR) network.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Voice traffic transmitted between two or more users over a telephony network is carried over circuit-switched paths that are established between the users. Circuit-switched technology is well-suited for delay-sensitive, real-time applications such as voice transmission since a dedicated path is established. In a circuit-switched network, all of the bandwidth of the established path is allocated to the voice traffic for the duration of the call.
In contrast to the telephony network, the Internet is an example of a connectionless packet-switched network that is based on the Internet Protocol (IP). While the majority of the traffic carried over the telephony network is voice traffic, the Internet is more suitable to delay-insensitive applications such as the transmission of data. The Internet community has been exploring improvements in IP so that voice can be carried over IP packets without significant performance degradation. For example, the resource reservation protocol known as RSVP (see RSVP Version 2 Functional Specifications, R. Braden, L. Zhang, D. Estrin, Internet Draft 06, 1996) provides a technique for reserving resources (i.e. bandwidth) for the transmission of unicast and multicast data with good scaling and robustness properties. The reserved bandwidth is used to effectively simulate the dedicated bandwidth scheme of circuit-switched networks to transmit delay-sensitive traffic. If RSVP is implemented only for those communications having special Quality of Service (QoS) needs such as minimal delay, the transmission of other communications such as non-real time data packets may be provided to other users of the Internet in the usual best-effort, packet-switched manner.
The majority of Internet users currently access the Internet via slow-speed dial/modem lines using protocols such as SLIP (serial line IP) and PPP (Point to Point Protocol), which run over serial telephone lines (modem and N-ISDN) and carry IP packets. Voice signals are packetized by an audio codec on the user's multimedia PC. The voice packets carry substantial packetization overhead including the headers of PPP, IP, UDP, and RTP, which can be as big as 40 octets. Transmitting voice packets over low speed access lines is almost impossible because of the size of the header relative to the size of a typical voice packet (20-160 octets, based on the average acceptable voice delay and amount of voice compression). However, several proposals have emerged to compress the voice packet headers so that greater transmission efficiency and latency can be achieved for voice-packets transmitted over low-speed, dial access lines.
A substantial number of users is expected to begin sending voice traffic over the Internet with acceptable voice quality and latency because of the availability of RSVP and packet-header compression technologies. The transmission terminals for sending packetized voice over the Internet are likely to be multimedia personal computers.
In addition to the telephony network and the Internet, other transmission standards such as Frame-Relay and ATM have been emerging as alternative transport technologies for integrated voice and data. ATM/FR networks are similar to the telephony network in that they both employ connection-oriented technology. However, unlike the telephony network, ATM/FR networks employ packet switching. In contrast to the Internet Protocol, which is a network layer protocol (layer three), FR and ATM pertain to the data link layer (layer two) of the seven-layer OSI model.
Frame Relay and ATM can transport voice in two different formats within the FR (or ATM) packets (cells). In the first format, the FR (ATM) packets (cells) carry an IP packet (or some other layer-3 packet), which in turn encapsulates the voice packets. Alternatively, the FR (ATM) packets (cells) directly encapsulate the voice packet, i.e., without using IP encapsulation. The first alternative employs protocols such as LAN Emulation (LANE), Classical IP Over ATM, and Multiprotocol Over ATM (MPOA), all of which are well known in the prior art. The second alternative is referred to as "Voice over FR" and "Voice over ATM", respectively. Note that the first alternative, which includes IP encapsulation, allows voice packets to be routed between IP routers. That is, layer-3 processing is performed by the routers along the voice path to determine the next hop router. The second alternative is a purely FR/ATM switched solution. In other words, switching can be performed only at the data link layer. FIG. 1 depicts the protocol stacks for transport of voice over IP and the two alternatives for voice over FR/ATM.
The audio codec depicted in FIG. 1 enables voice encoding/decoding, including voice digitization, compression, silence elimination and formatting. The audio codec is defined by ITU-T standards such as G.711 (PCM of Voice Frequencies), G.722 (7 Khz Audio-Coding within 64 Kbps), G.723 (Dual Rate Speech Code for Multimedia Telecommunications Transmitting at 6.4 and 5.3 Kbps), and G.728 (Speech Encoding at 16 Kbps).
The "Voice over ATM/FR layer" depicted in FIG. 1 is referred to as the multimedia multiplex and synchronization layer, an example of which is defined in ITU-T standard H.222. ITU-T is currently defining the H.323 standard, which specifies point-to-point and multipoint audio-visual communications between terminals (such as PCs) attached to LANs. This standard defines the components of an H.323 system including H.323 terminals, gate-keepers, and multi-point control units (MCUs). PCs that communicate through the Internet can use the H.323 standards for communication with each other on the same LAN or across routed data networks. In addition to H.323, the ITU-T is in the process of defining similar audio-visual component standards for B-ISDN (ATM) in the H.310 standard, and for N-ISDN in the H.320 standard. The previously mentioned standards also define call signaling formats. For example, IP networks use Q.931 call controls over a new ITU-T standard known as H.225 (for H.323 terminals). Telephony networks use Q.931 signaling and ATM networks use Q.2931 signaling.
Many standards bodies are in the process of defining how voice (and video) can be transported within a given homogenous network such as the telephony, IP, FR and ATM networks. However, there is currently no arrangement for transmitting voice over a heterogeneous network that consists of two or more such networks employing different transmission standards.Summary of the Invention
In accordance with the principles of the invention, the foregoing problem is addressed by employing a gateway which connects to the telephony network, the Internet and the ATM/FR network. Such gating facilities are needed if communication getween users on different networks are to be allowed. The telephony network, Internet and FR/ATM Networks all use different schemes for establishing a voice session (i.e., call set-up protocols), and different formats for controlling a session and transporting voice. The gateway of the present invention provides conversion of the transmission format, control, call signaling and audio stream (and potentially video and data streams) between different transmission standards.
Embodiments of the disclosed gateway provide some or all of the following functions: call-signaling protocol conversion, audio mixing/bridging or generation of composite audio and switching, address registration, address translation, audio format conversion, audio coding translation, session management/control, address translation between different address types, interfacing with other gateways, interfacing with the SS7 signaling network, and interfacing with an Internet signaling network.
The apparatus establishes a communication session between first and second terminals that may be resident in networks that employ differing transmission standards. The different networks may, illustratively, be a circuit switched network (e.g., a telephony network), a connectionless packet switched network (e.g., the Internet) or a connection-oriented packet switched network (e.g., an ATM or frame relay network). The communication session may be an audio session, a video session or a multimedia session.
The apparatus includes a call set-up translator for translating among call set-up protocols associated with the circuit switched network, the connectionless packet switched network and the connection-oriented packet switched network. An encoding format translator is provided for translating among encoding protocols associated with the circuit switched network, the connectionless packet switched network and the connection-oriented packet switched network. Also provided is an address database for storing a plurality of addresses in different formats for each registered terminal, which includes the first and second terminals. The apparatus also includes a session manager for storing control information relating to the first and second terminals. The control information includes an identification of the first and second terminals that participate in the communication session. Participation in a conversation by more than a pair of terminals is easily accommodated by the disclosed gateway.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 shows a simplified protocol stack for transporting voice over an IP network, a telephony network (e.g., an ISDN network) and an ATM/FR network;
FIG. 2 shows a gateway in accordance with the present invention situated among a telephony network, an IP network and a AM/FR network;
FIG. 3 shows a plurality of gateways interfacing with one another and with user terminals;
FIG. 4 shows a simplified diagram of a gateway interconnected with various networks;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the functionality of various interfaces of which the gateway is comprised;
FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of an exemplary method for processing calls through the gateway in accordance with the present invention; and
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the gateway shown in FIGS. 2-4.DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 2 shows a gateway 100 in accordance with the present invention. As shown, gateway 100 communicates with networks employing differing transmission standards such as telephony network 52, ATM/FR network 57 and Internet 53. Illustratively, gateway 100 is connected to a switch, router or server, and an ATM/FR switch, which are within telephony network 52, Internet network 53, and ATM/FR network 57, respectively. Gateway 100 facilitates voice communication between a variety of end-point stations connected to the individual networks. Such stations may include telephone 61, fax machine/telephone 62, and PC 63 (which are connected to the telephony network 52), PCs 71 and 72 (which are connected to the Internet 53) and workstations 81 and 82 (which are connected to the ATM/FR network 57).
An illustrative functional embodiment of gateway 100 in conformance with FIG. 2 is presented in FIG. 4. Networks 52, 53, and 57, are three different networks that are connected to gateway 100. Network 52 is the conventional, well known, telephone network, network 53 is an internet network, and network 57 is an ATM/Frame Relay network. This, of course, is merely illustrative, and it should be appreciated that any number of networks can be coupled to gateway 100, that not all of the networks must be different from each other, and that the illustrated set of types of networks is not exhaustive.
Each network that connects to gateway 100 has an interface block. Thus, gateway 100 in FIG. 4 has an interface bus 301 for connecting Internet network 53 to interface block 311, an interface bus 302 for connecting telephony network 52 to interface block 312, and an interface bus 303 for connecting ATM/FR network 57 to interface block 313. Within network interface 311 there is an IP call setup module 101 and an IP mixer 201. Within network interface 312 there is a telephony call signaling module 102 and a telephony bridge 202. Within network interface 313 there is an ATM/FR call signaling module 103 and an ATM mixer 203. Each one of the interfaces (311, 312, and 313) is connected to a signaling format adaptation module 104, to a voice format adaptation module 204, and to session manager 304. Thus, module 104 handles the signaling handled among the network interfaces (311, 312, and 313); module 204 handles communication (e.g. conversation) signals flowing among the network interfaces; and session manager handles session managing needs of conversations passing through gateway 100. In the context of this disclosure, a session corresponds to the activities that set-up a call, that carry on communication, and that tear-down a call.
A number of different approaches can be taken for handling the signal formats between interfaces 311, 312, and 313 on the one hand, and processing elements 104, 204, and 304, on the other. One approach is to allow interfaces 311, 312, and 313 to operate in formats that are native to the networks with which they interface. For example, signals between the core elements (elements 104, 204, and 304) and interface 311 may be in a format acceptable to IP network 53, signals between the core elements and interface 312 may be in a format acceptable to telephony network 52, and signals between the core elements and interface 313 may be in a format acceptable to ATM/FR network 57. Another approach is to employ a chosen, generic, format and have all interfaces (elements 311, 312, and 313) interact with the core elements in that generic format. Of course, all functions and other conversions that need to be performed by the gateway are carried out by the core elements or the interface elements. The division of labor between the core elements and the interfaces is a matter of designer choice.
Interface 311 includes an IP call setup unit 101 and an IP mixer 201, interface 312 includes telephony signaling unit 102 and telephone bridge 202, and interface 313 includes ATM/RF call signaling unit 103 and ATM Mixer 203. Units 101, 102, and 103 are involved in establishing calls, and units 201, 202, and 203 are involved in combining voice signals.
When an IP station in network 53 wishes to establish a call, for example with a conventional POTS telephone in network 52, it sends an appropriate signaling packet to its Internet Service Provider (ISP). That signaling packet eventually arrives at unit 101, and unit 101 determines that the packet wishes to establish service with a particular POTS telephone. Element 104 determines the POTS phone number of the called party, and forwards a call set up request to unit 102. The POTS number is determined either from the signaling packet, or packets, of the IP station, or with the aid of database 105 which is coupled to element 104. For example, the IP station may specify the called party in terms of an IP address. Database 105 would then translate the IP address to the format desired by network 52. Most simply, unit 102 is coupled to a central office and simply dials out the called party's number using DTMF signals. In such a case, the called phone number has the familiar 1, area code, exchange, number format. Alternatively, unit 102 can be constructed to possess some of the capabilities that are found in a central office, such as the ability to consult with the SS7 signaling network and to proceed with the call establishment if a line is available. In such an embodiment, unit 102 interfaces with network 52 in the format that is acceptable to network 52, for example Q.931, and it includes circuitry to interact with the SS7 network. Such circuitry generates SS7 signaling messages to a Network Control Point (NCP) to obtain, for example, a telephone number translation prior to generating an outgoing Q.931 signaling message to the telephony network 52
In the course of sending information from unit 101 to unit 104, and then to unit 102, some signal conversion must necessarily occur. As indicated above, this can occur by unit 101 converting the information in the signaling pocket(s) to information formatted in a selected generic format. In such a case, unit 104 accepts the information in the generic format, performs its analysis, forwards the necessary information to unit 102 in the same generic format, and unit 102 converts the information to a format that is suitable for telephony network 52. Alternatively, unit 101 sends information in IP format to unit 104, unit 104 ascertains what that information is, formats the necessary information into a format acceptable to unit 102 (e.g. DTMF, or Q.931), and forwards the formatted information to unit 102. Element 101 also monitors the status of each call establishment session and transmits error messages as appropriate (in the form of audio messages or digital data) to the IP station, as necessary.
A similar interaction occurs when an IP station wishes to establish a connection with a station in network 57, except that unit 103 is involved rather than unit 102 (and the format might be Q.2931). Also, a similar interaction occurs when a station in some other network wishes to establish communication with a station in IP network 53. For example, if a POTS telephone wishes to call a station in network 53, it dials out the called number. The SS7 network identifies the called number as one that must be accessed through gateway 100 and if a path is available, the calling party is connected to interface 312 and the called party number is provided to unit 102. Unit 102 sends the necessary information to signaling format adaptation unit 104 which, with the aid of database 105, converts the dialed phone number into an IP address of the called party (IP station). The necessary information is then forwarded to unit 101, which sends a call establishment packet, or packets, to the called IP station.
For sake of simplicity, the following descriptions relate to an embodiment where signals between interface 311 and the core elements are in IP format, signals between interface 312 and the core elements are in telephony format, and signals between interface 313 and the core elements are in ATM/FR format.
As can be surmised from the above, signaling format adaptation block 104 is a signaling format translator. It translates the call-setup requests from the form with which such requests arrive into a form that the destination interface can properly understand. For example, it generates the information that Q.931 signals need if network 52 is the destination, the information that IP packets need if network 53 is the destination, and/or the information that Q.2931 signals need if network 57 is the destination. It also effects number translations with the aid of database 105.
Mixer 201 is needed for the occasions when more than one IP terminal participates in the communication. When one IP terminal communicates with, for example, a POTS telephone, the IP terminal encodes the speech in accordance with a particular algorithm and transmits the resulting digital data in IP packet format. The stream of IP packets of that terminal is applied to voice format adaptation block 204, wherein the encoded speech contained in the packet is decoded and converted to the format needed for the POTS telephone. Conversely, information destined to that IP terminal comes from block 204 already formatted in IP format and in the speech encoding that is suitable for the IP terminal. However, when two or more IP terminals are involved, the situation is more complicated. This is particularly so when the IP terminals that participate in the connection employ different speech encoding algorithms. On the side going to other networks, it is the function of mixer 201 to process incoming packet streams and to create a single packet stream that represents the combined speech signal of the IP terminals that participate in the communication. That IP packet stream is applied to element 204, and element 204 converts it to the speech signal format of either interface 312 or interface 313, as appropriate. In the other direction, signals that reach mixer 201 from element 204 and are destined to more than one IP terminal have to be converted to a number of individual IP streams, addressed to the appropriate individual IP terminals. Mixer 201 performs this "demultiplexing" and also insures that each of the IP terminals receives a signal that is encoded in the proper speech encoding algorithm, for example, 16 Kpbs speech encoding (standard G.728) for one IP terminal, and 64 Kbps speech encoding (standard G.722) for another IP terminal. The speech encoding translations are performed in mixer 201 pursuant to information provided to IP mixer 201 by session manager 304.
In some embodiments of the invention, the IP packet mixer 201 also provides control functionality that would otherwise be performed by IP call set-up interface 101. In particular, IP packet mixer 201 performs such control functions when in-band signaling is employed. If out-of-band signaling is employed, the control functions may conveniently reside in IP call set-up interface 101. In the former situation the IP packet mixer receives control packets over an IP connection such as a dedicated UDP or TCP socket interface, for example. The control packets identify the control information pertaining to the station from which it receives the packet, such as the type of voice encoding that is employed by the station, bandwidth utilization, and Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirements. A QoS requirement relates to a measure of goodness of a service connection. In packet-routing networks, it may relate to the probability of lost packets. Of course, if no control information is provided, previously defined default control parameters may be used. IP packet mixer 201 is also used by an IP station to terminate its participation in a session. The session control information received by the IP packet mixer 201 is forwarded to the session manager 304 to maintain a current database of station requirements.
Voice bridge 202 serves a function that parallels the function of mixer 201, except that it concerns itself with multiple session participants from network 52. For example, when more than one voice instrument from network 52 participates in a communication, voice bridge 202 combines the two signals to form a single signal that represents the combination. Likewise, ATM mixer 203 concerns itself with multiple participants from network 57. As an aside, bridge 202 can be an analog bridge when the incoming signals are analog. It can also be digital, if incoming signals are digital or conversion to digital precedes the bridge.
Voice format adaptation block 204 is a speech format translator. It translates incoming speech that arrives in one particular format and speech encoding standard into a format and speech encoding standard that the destination terminal is adapted to accept. Voice format interface 204 also performs appropriate de-encapsulation (if the incoming signal is from interface 313), protocol conversion, echo cancellation, encryption, packetization, etc., before the digitized voice is sent to the IP mixer 201 and/or the ATM/FR mixer 203 for subsequent forwarding.
Address translator 105 is provided to various stations to register using various address formats, such as email address, IP address, E.164 address, MAC address and/or ATM NSAP address formats, etc. This allows element 104 to translate addresses from one address format to another.
Session manager interface 304 is employed to receive control information from the mixers, bridges and call set-up interfaces which pertains to the capabilities and status of those stations participating in the communication session. Session manager interface 304 assists the IP mixer 201, telephony bridge 202 and FR/ATM mixer 203 in forwarding voice traffic to all participating stations.
In an initial, commercial, introduction of the gateway disclosed herein, it is possible that a telecommunications services provider may find that a single gateway will suffice. However, most telecommunications services providers own networks that span a large geographic area, and the different types of networks that they own have roughly the same geographic footprint. Since most subscribers make most of their calls to subscribers that are geographically close, it is quite possible that even in an initial introduction of the gateway disclosed herein, the telecommunications services provider will find it advantageous to employ more than one gateway. In accordance with the principles of this invention, when more than one gateway is used it may be found advantageous to interconnect these gateways in a wide area network (WAN). In this manner, calls from a terminal in one type of network to a terminal in another type of network would pass through one gateway, or perhaps through more than one gateway, based on the geographic distance between the calling and called parties. More specifically, under normal circumstances it is expected that when the distance is short, only one gateway would be employed. When the distance is large, two or more gateways would be employed. It may be noted in passing that use of the term WAN does not intend to suggest any particular network arrangement, because any network that interconnects geographically disperse gateways will do. This includes hierarchical and not hierarchical networks, fault tolerant and non-fault tolerant networks, etc.
FIG. 3 illustrates one arrangement of a WAN which, in a sense, is a hierarchical network. It includes gateways 150, 110, and 120 which are connected to each other and which make up the highest level in the hierarchical structure. A lower level is also shown, and it comprises gateways 130 and 140. The arrangement illustrated in FIG. 3 does not show a direct connection between gateways 130 and 140 but such a connection may be permitted. As depicted, the FIG. 3 network can be also thought to comprise "master" gateways 100, 110, and 120, and "slave" gateways 130 and 140.
Each of the gateways, whether a master gateway or a slave gateway, can support subscribers from one or more diverse networks. The gateways for the FIG. 3 arrangement can be replicas of the FIG. 4 gateway, except that those gateways that support subscribers from less that all of the different networks can be constructed with fewer components. Illustratively, if the three networks that are shown in FIG. 2 constitute all of the different network to be served, and one of the gateways supports only customers from one, or perhaps two of the networks then, of course, that gateway may be constructed with fewer than all of the elements shown in FIG. 4.
Bus 109 in FIG. 4, which carries signals from elements 104, 204 and 304, is the bus that is used to couple gateways to each other. The format of the signals that bus 109 carries is a matter for designer's choice. Certainly, it should permit any possibly of connections. Perhaps the most challenging connection occurs when a conference call is conducted with six participant (in the context of the three diverse networks of FIG. 2), where two gateways are involved, and each gateway services one subscriber in each of the three diverse networks. Given some thought, it becomes apparent that in such a connection, bus 109 cannot simply employ the signal format of the network from which a subscriber calls (i.e. choose to not make any conversion). Some conversions must be made. This, however, does not dictate that some format be fixedly selected. The format employed on bus 109 may be the format of one of the networks, may be some generic format that is a super-set of the other three formats, may be the format of the first subscriber that initiates the conference call, etc.
As illustrated in FIG. 5 gateway 100 also connects to various common Operations Administration Management and Provisioning (OAM&P) functions, databases/directories (e.g., authentication databases such as for credit card authorization), and signaling network intelligence that reside within the SS7 signaling network such as a network control point (NCP) and an Internet NCP residing within the Internet. For example, an NCP may be used by the telephony call set-up interface 102 to translate an 800 number into a telephone number. Similarly, an Internet NCP may be used by the IP call set-up interface 101 to request a translation of a station's email address, host name, or URL to an IP. The Internet NCPs provide intelligent services, such as discussed in U.S. application Ser. No. 08/618,483.
FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of an exemplary method for establishing a voice session between user stations 300 and 600 of FIG. 3. Station 300 is an IP station and is provided with direct connectivity to the gateway 150. Station 600 is an ISDN station, and it communicates with the gateway 120. The method begins at step 501 when station 300 sends a call signaling request over the Internet to gateway 150 in the form of an IP packet. The IP packet carries signaling information (e.g., in the form of a Q.931 message), including the IP address of the called station 600. Within gateway 150, station 600 is connected to interface 301.
In step 503,. IP call set-up interface 101 parses the IP packet, retrieves the IP address of station 600 and communicates that information to element 104. In step 505, element 104 sends an address query to the address translator 105 to retrieve another address for station 600. In step 511 element 105 retrieves an address for station 600, normally in the format of the network in which station 600 resides. Of course, knowing the network address of station 600 is insufficient to inform the arrangement of which gateway is best to use in order to reach station 600. Element 105 may have a single designated gateway for station 600, or it may have a list of gateways arranged in order of priority. Element 105 may also include an associated means (e.g. a processor) for dynamically choosing a gateway for station 600; for example, based on traffic conditions in the various telecommunication networks. In other words, the Wide Area Network can employ almost any of the routing techniques that are currently known.
It is also possible that station 600 is known to others by an 800 number. In such a case, it may be advantageous to design the gateway so that element 105 informs element 104 of the fact that the number sought to be translated is an 800 number, and provides to element 104 the 800 number in an appropriate format. This information is sent to element 102, which interacts with an appropriate database outside the gateway to obtain a proper translation. Of course, one can have a plurality of 800 number-translation databases outside the gateway, and in different formats; in which case, the outputs of database 105 might be different. To account for the above, following step 511, conditional branch point 513 determines whether address translator 105 returned an 800 number for station 600.
If the result in step 513 is NO, then the information provided by database 105 reveals the gateway through which it is best to reach station 600; which in the illustrative example is gateway 120. Control then passes to step 601 (FIG. 6B). Otherwise, control passes to step 515.
If the result in step 513 is YES, indicating that station 600 was requested by dialing an 800 number, address translator interface 105 sends the 800 number to the IP call set-up interface 101 of gateway 150 in step 515. In step 517, IP set-up interface 101 of gateway 150 sends the 800 number to the signaling format interface 104, which in turn constructs an SS7 message and forwards it to the telephony call set-up interface 102. In step 519, the interface 102 sends the SS7 message to the NCP in the signaling network to translate the 800 number into a telephone number. The NCP provides the requested telephone number to the telephony call set-up interface 102.
Once the proper telephone number is determined, in step 521 interface 102 provides that information to element 104. Once element 104 obtains the translated number, control returns to step 511 where database 104 is asked to translate the number and to identify the gateway to be employed. Control then passes to step 513, from which control passes this time to step 601.
Connection to station 600 is then effected and, once the station 600 is connected across the Telephony Bridge 202 and IP Mixer 201, a "connection negotiation" is established between the users 300 and 600 in steps 601 and 603 to indicate their respective audio encoding preferences, say G.711 for station 300 and G.723 for station 600. Note that gateway 150 needs to know the encoding preferences of station 300 while gateway 120 needs to know the encoding preferences of station 600. Once the station capabilities and preferences are known to each gateway, in step 605 the session managers 304 in both gateways 150 and 120 store a conference table that includes the preferences of both users. Communication proceeds between stations 300 and 600 in step 611 when station 300 sends a voice packet to the IP mixer 201 in gateway 150, which in turn sends the packet to the IP mixer 201 in gateway 120.
The method described above in connection with FIG. 6 may be implemented in a similar manner if station 600 is an ISDN terminal that employs voice over ISDN without implementing the Internet protocol.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of WAN-based gateway 1001 which includes a) central processing unit (CPU) 1002, b) interface port 1003 c) data bus 1004 and d) memory 1005. Central processing unit (CPU) 1002 provides the computational capability necessary to control the processes of gateway 1001.
Data bus 1004 provides for the exchange of data between the components of gateway 1001.
Interface port 1003 provides for the exchange of data between gateway 1001 and devices external to Gateway 1001 via link high speed backbone 425.
To this end, interface port 1003 contains, for example, well-known data transceivers.
Memory 1005 includes 1) code portion 1006, which contains the instructions (program) used by CPU 1002 to control the processes of Gateway 1001, such as those described herein above, and data storage portion 1007, which contains the information necessary to the gateway to perform its specific function, such as, address registration and translation.
The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention and are thus within its spirit and scope.
1. A method for establishing a communication session between at least a first terminal in a first network and a second terminal in a second network, where said first network and said second network are members of a set of networks that employ differing transmission standards, said set of networks including a circuit switched network, a connectionless packet switched network and a connection-oriented packet switched network, said method comprising the steps of:
- receiving a call set-up request from said first terminal in accordance with a call set-up protocol associated with said first network, said call set-up request specifying said second terminal;
- ascertaining said second network and identifying type of said second network, the type being one of the types of networks that belong to said set of networks;
- translating said call set-up request into a call set-up signal in conformance with a protocol associated with said second network;
- translating information received from said first terminal from a first encoding format to a second encoding format;
- transmitting said information in the second encoding format to the second terminal;
- storing control information relating to the first and second terminals, said control information including an identification of the first and second terminals participating in the communication session.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of translating said call set-up request includes the step of retrieving at least one address from an address database of said second terminal in a format different from a format in which it is received from the first terminal.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein said control information includes dynamically alterable control information.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein said dynamically alterable control information includes data formats.
5. The method of claim 3 wherein said dynamically alterable control information includes encoding formats.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein said circuit-switched network is a telephony network.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein said connectionless packet switched network is the Internet.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein said connection-oriented packet switched network is an ATM network.
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- Crowcroft J et al, "Multimedia Teleconferencing over international Packet Switched Networks" IEEE Communications for Distributed Applications and Systems, Chapel Hill, Apr. 18-19, 1991, pp. 23-33.
- Mortensen R, "DPBX-LAN Internetworking" Digital Communications, Saskatoon, May 11-12, 1988, IEEE conference May 11, 1998, pp. 6-9.
Type: Grant
Filed: Nov 6, 1998
Date of Patent: Jan 15, 2002
Assignee: AT&T Corp. (New York, NY)
Inventors: Seyhan Civanlar (Middletown Township, Monmouth County, NJ), Don Richard Coffield (Locust, NJ), William J. Leighton, III (Scotch Plains, NJ), James J. Mansell (Fair Haven, NJ), Vikram R. Saksena (Freehold, NJ)
Primary Examiner: Douglas Olms
Assistant Examiner: Ken Vanderpuye
Application Number: 09/187,351
International Classification: H04L/1266;


text:
So we're basically the laziest bloggers ever! After not posting for more than a month, what's one of the first things we do? Put up a guest post! But Allison has been waiting patiently for so long now, we just had to post one! We really like the topic, too, because really, who doesn't like Mexican food? We're sure your family will love her recipes too! Take it away, Allison!
I love Mexican food. Tex-Mex really. Since I am a native Texan it only makes sense that I
would love those flavors. However it is not just the taste of Mexican food that I love. I also love
it because it is so easy and quick to put together. Not only that but Mexican food is infinitely
customizable. From vegetarian versions to kid friendly meal ideas, Mexican food is great for any
occasion. Here are a few easy Mexican meals you can make in a snap:
Tacos are a family get-together favorite because they are so adaptable. No matter what taste you
have or what veggies you like you can be sure to load up a taco that is to your liking. Kids love
to use just the basic meat, cheese, lettuce and tomato combo but you can spice it up with salsa,
add some smooth guacamole and more. Here is a basic recipe that your family is sure to love:
10 Small Corn Tortillas (Taco Shells) Soft or Hard
1 lb.Ground Beef (or Turkey or Refried Beans or Ground Chickpeas)
1 pkg.Taco Seasoning or 2 tbsp. Flour(Optional)
2 cups Shredded Cheese
1 jar Salsa (or Pico de Gallo)
1 cup Diced Tomatoes
2 cups Shredded Lettuce
½ cup Sliced Mushrooms
¼ cup Sliced Ripe (Black) Olives
1 cup Diced Onion
¼ cup Diced Green Bell Pepper
½ cup Sour Cream
½ cup Guacamole (or Avocado Slices)
Tacos are easy because they are so versatile. You can assemble them ahead of time or allow
everyone to create their own. First you start with the meat. Ground chuck has the best flavor for
tacos. If you do not wish to use meat you can also use refried beans or ground chickpeas. Brown
the meat and pour off the grease. For a strong Mexican flavor add taco seasoning. For a less
spicy flavor add the flour. Make sure the flour is stirred into the meat well before serving. You
can also do without either. Next you need to prepare the shells. Crunchy shells can be purchased
next to the salsa in the international aisle. They need to be baked until crispy. Soft shells can be
purchased near the bread and must be fried before serving. Using a non-stick skillet spray the
pan with oil and cook each side until lightly brown. Shells will start to bubble when cooked. Let
everyone assemble their own flavor combinations. Or if you want to you can pre-make the tacos
by taking the uncooked crunchy shells, filling them with meat and cheese, and then baking ,
closely packed, in a casserole dish.
I love the chunky, crispy goodness of a burrito. A great meal to eat on the go it is also a tasty
dinner treat that you can whip up in no time flat. Although this recipe is able to feed up to ten
people, you can cut down the ingredients and just make one or two. You can even turn it into a
fun party meal by letting everyone make up their own and then baking them all together.
10 Large Flour Tortillas
1 can Refried Beans or Ground Chickpeas
2 cups Spanish Rice
1 lb. Ground Beef (or Ground Turkey or Shredded Chicken)
1 pkg. Taco Seasoning or 2 tbsp. Flour (Optional)
2 cups Shredded Cheese
1 can Whole Kernel Corn (Drained Well)
½ cup Roughly Chopped Tomatoes
½ cup Roughly Chopped Mushrooms
¼ cup Whole Ripe (Black) Olives
1 cup Roughly Chopped Onion
¼ cup Roughly Chopped Green Bell Pepper
½ cup Sour Cream
½ cup Guacamole (or Avocado Slices)
1 jar Salsa (or Pico de Gallo)
2 cups Shredded Lettuce
Burritos are both similar and different than tacos. First of all, after you cook the meat (following
the directions for the taco meat) you do not cook the shells. Flour tortillas for burritos are larger
than taco shells, about the size of a large dinner plate. Burritos are cooked fully assembled.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Take the flour shell and start in the middle. Make sure you
leave room on the ends and sides. Do not overfill. Spread the bean paste first and then top with
meat and rice. Sprinkle on a thin layer of cheese and add the vegetables, excluding the lettuce.
The veggies should be rather large so that they will not get too soft in the baking process. Wrap
the burritos by folding in the top and bottom first and then wrapping the sides. Hold closed with
a toothpick. In a large casserole dish, place the burritos so that they are touching but not packed
too close. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for twenty minutes. Take off the foil and bake for
five to ten more minutes or until the shells turn golden brown. Serve with lettuce, sour cream,
avocado, and salsa.
Corn Bread Casserole
This is another great meal for big crowds or hungry teens. This one is a hit and so simple to
throw together. With only a few ingredients you can make this up in minutes and have dinner on
the table. It is also very affordable and filling for those days that you need to stretch the budget.
Feel free to add in more veggies if you would like, but remember that salsa has lots of veggies in
it too!
2 boxes Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix (2 Eggs and 2/3 cup Milk)
1 can Creamed Corn
1.5 lbs. Ground Beef (or Turkey)
1 cup Diced Onion
½ cup Diced Carrots
1 16 oz jar of Salsa
4 cups Shredded Cheese
This tasty casserole makes enough for a crowd! It is very easy to make too. Preheat your oven to
350 degrees. Grease a 9 by 13 casserole dish. Prepare the Jiffy as directed and then stir in the can
of creamed corn. Set aside. Brown the meat, onions and carrots until cooked through. Drain off
grease. Add the jar of salsa and mix well. Pour meat mixture into casserole dish. Sprinkle on half
the cheese. Over that, pour half the Jiffy mix and spread until the meat mixture is well covered.
Sprinkle on the rest of the cheese and then pour on the rest of the Jiffy mix. Spread until Jiffy
mix reaches edges of pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until the cornbread is fully cooked.
Mexican Casserole
Also known as Mexican lasagna, this tasty recipe can easily be supplemented by extra veggies
depending on what flavors your family likes. I love it because it is a great one pot meal that
freezes well too. Make a couple of batches of this and freeze one for later. You won't regret it!
1 lb. Ground Beef (or Turkey)
1 cup Chopped Onion
2 tbs. Taco Seasoning (Optional)
2 ½ cups Salsa
1 canBlack Beans or Red Kidney Beans(Rinsed and Drained)
¼ cup Italian Salad Dressing
1 can of Whole Kernel Corn (Drained)
¾ cup Sour Cream
6 Small (8 inches) Flour Tortillas
2 cups Shredded Cheese
1 cup Shredded Lettuce
½ cup Chopped Tomato
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9 by 13 casserole dish. In a large skillet brown the
meat and onion until cooked through. Drain off the grease and add the taco seasoning if desired.
Stir in the salsa, beans, corn, sour cream, and dressing until well mixed. Pour 1/3 of the meat
mixture into the casserole dish and spread thin. Take two flour tortillas and tear into bit sized
pieces or leave whole and spread over the meat layer. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat
until all layers are complete. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Serve with lettuce and tomatoes.
These tasty Tex-Mex recipes are sure to become a hit with your family. Why not try out
something new and see how easy it is to have a great meal on the table in minutes!
Author Byline:
Blogging for was a natural progression for Allison once she graduated from college, as it
allowed her to combine her two passions: writing and children. She has enjoyed furthering
her writing career with http://www.nannyclassifieds.com. She can be in touch through e-mail
Thanks so much Allison! We hope you all enjoy her recipes as much as we did!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
On how tough it will be to play against the Heat this year with their improvements:Listen to the full KILT in Houston with Marc and John interview here. You can also check out more Kendrick quotes here. JR 7/30/2010 04:22:00 PM Tweet Edit
"It's not hard. I think we proved that this year. It's not important where you finish in the regular season in my opinion. If you got a team that has just one goal, the goal is getting into the playoffs. Last year we finished the year at 17 and 17. That wasn't even above .500. That was right at .500 record. A lot of people were counting us out but we knew what we were waiting on. We were just waiting to get to the playoffs. When you get to the playoffs, it's a totally different game. It's not more fast paced, it's all slowed up, it's more of a half court set, and it's more physical. It looks good on paper with Miami and stuff like that, but at the same time each team is going to come at you. You gotta be prepared. It would be nothing more than amazing for us to meet up with Miami and beat them. I think any team would love to upset them. They've got a lot of pressure on their end. Forget the other teams have to play against them, they've got a lot of pressure on their end to win, to actually produce. It won't just be as if you're gonna get three All Star players and then you win a championship. You gotta have the right coach, everybody has to sacrifice, you gotta be willing to move the ball, it's gotta be about team, and you gotta be able to play defense. We'll see when it's time to match-up so we can just go from there."
10 Responses so far.
I like the confidence.
Bohemian says:
Get well soon Perk, we will need you!
Also, is this pic from his rookie year? LOL, he does look younger :D
FLCeltsFan says:
I just love Perk.
It's very simple and Perk put it plainly. Miami should be afraid of the Celts not the other way around. The media needs to stop pushing Miami like they've proven something when they haven't done a damn thing. This whole thing is a media creation, nothing more.
Boston Celtics lets go baby!!
fresh says:
Perk is great. Dude has the perfect for this team.
fresh says:
perfect attitude, that is.
just to let you know, google chrome just flagged your site as harmful to my computer
JR says:
Yeah I heard google is having issues. Only happening with them I believe. We'll have to wait til they fix it. We don't have have any spyware on here. Thanks for the heads up though.
Found this online:
"Attention Google Chrome Users
12:52 pm 7/31/2010 — If you're using Google Chrome and being warned of malware from a Clearspring.com domain, this was due to an earlier technical problem which has since been resolved. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. We're now working as quickly as possible to get this resolved with Google."
Perkins mentioned a few, crucial FACTS. Gotta love the Big Guy! We need you, Perks!!!!


text:
The Multiple Roles of the College Professor
What is a Meta-Profession?
College teaching is a profession built on top of another profession—a meta-profession. Individuals come to the professoriate with specific—professional—knowledge and skills, including content expertise, practice/clinical skills, and research techniques. These skills constitute what may be called the base profession of college faculty. But college professors are immediately called upon to perform at professional levels in four possible roles: teaching, scholarly or creative activities (including research), service to the institution and community, and administration.
These roles require skills beyond the base profession and are characterized as "meta-professional" skills. The base profession and meta-profession skills and the various faculty roles are arrayed in the matrix below.
Figure 1, below, summarizes the spectrum of skill sets that may be called upon in the broad faculty roles of teaching, scholarly and creative activities, service, and administration. Additional matrices that provide a further detailed itemization of the skills required by each faculty role may be seen at the Meta-Profession Project website.
The summary matrix shown in Figure 1 also indicates the frequency with which faculty skill sets are called into play in the successful performance of each faculty role. The frequency coding was based on evidence in existing literature, our own work in faculty development and evaluation over the past three decades, and in consultation with colleagues. The meta-profession matrix uses the following scale: Almost Always—Frequently—Occasionally—Almost Never.
The Meta-Profession Project website contains six interactive matrices: Summary; Teaching; Scholarly & Creative Activities; Service; Administration; and a special Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) matrix. This latter matrix shows how the SOTL may be seen as a subset of base profession and meta-professional skill sets. What is apparent is that graduate school training focuses on the base profession role but rarely provides preparation for the other requirements of the meta-profession.
Figure 1.
The Meta-Profession Project
The Meta-Profession Project has four main objectives:
- Engage college faculty in providing precise information about the frequency with which various identified skills are required in their work;
- Gather information that will permit the determination as to whether the skill set use patterns vary from institution to institution;
- Provide a structure (the meta-professional matrices) that can be effectively used in faculty development and evaluation, policy decision-making, research, and in important campus dialogue; (For an example, see the report on nurse education at Florida State University at the Meta-Profession Web site.)
- Gather information on and provide a central source for resource materials about faculty skill sets that can then be applied to faculty evaluation, faculty development, research, and the development of campus policies and programs.
The goal of the Meta-Profession Project, as for any true program for faculty development and evaluation, is to improve instructional effectiveness and promote the recognition of the professoriate as a truly complex and higher calling.
Implications for Professional Development
Using the meta-professional approach, institutions can initiate campus dialogues that will define and clarify faculty roles, work, and expectations, and form the basis for the development of authentic and responsive faculty development programs. Here are two examples of process guides for these activities.
Arreola has proposed an eight-step process for developing a faculty evaluation system. In brief, the steps are:
- Determine the faculty role model: Specify the work that defines the roles of teaching, scholarly and creative activities, service to the college, professional growth, and other roles.
- Determine the range of weights assigned to the faculty role model: Establish precisely the relative weights or values to be assigned to the roles of teaching, scholarly and creative activities, service, and the other activities.
- Specify the components of these roles: Identify subcategories of the faculty roles (such as instructional design, delivery, and assessment in teaching) as well as content expertise.
- Determine the component weights: Decide the weight of each component (for example, instructional delivery may be worth 30 percent of the evaluation of teaching, content expertise 25 percent, course management 10 percent, and so on).
- Determine sources of information: Decide whether students, peers, administrators, or others will provide information about various components of the teaching role.
- Determine source weights: Determine what percentage of the data each source provides (for example, students provide 75 percent of the data on instructional delivery and peers provide 25 percent, while peers provide all of the data on content expertise).
- Determine general data collection tools/process: Decide whether to use a student ratings instrument, peer observation, a teaching portfolio, or a combination.
- Select/design instruments/protocols/reports: Select, adapt, or create a ratings questionnaire or determine the content and organization of portfolios.
In a parallel approach, Theall has proposed eight steps in the creation of a faculty development system. In brief, these are:
- Determine needs and associated development functions: Use surveys and interviews that inform decisions about users' needs and institutional directions.
- Determine the principal clients of development services: Decide whom the range of programs will serve (faculty, chairs, the administration, and/or students).
- Determine the configuration and location of development programs: Create a unit or center, decide who should direct it, and to whom that person should report.
- Determine the allocation of development resources: Determine the percentages of time each function allocates to each client group, and then assign resources proportionately.
- Determine the intended impact of development programs: Decide on program goals and activities, as well as the process and criteria to be used to assess performance and determine success.
- Determine the connections to other campus programs: For example, plan joint activities or data sharing to maximize the combined effectiveness of efforts in areas like assessment, evaluation, and institutional research.
- Establish leadership in faculty development: Ensure a priori and continued support from faculty and administrators and guarantee necessary resources.
- Ensure operational stability: Use long-range resource allocation; staff with qualified and dedicated people; create a client advisory body; regularly interact with faculty and administration; assess results; and report activities and accomplishments.
For a more detailed description, visit the Meta-Profession faculty development project.
References & Resources
Arreola, R.A. (2000) Developing a Comprehensive Faculty Evaluation System: 2nd ed. Anker Publishing, Bolton, MA.
Arreola, R. A. (2000) "Higher Education's Meta-Profession." The Department Chair, 11 (2), 4-5.
Arreola, R. A., Theall, M.,& Aleamoni, L. M. (2003) "Beyond Scholarship: Recognizing the Multiple Roles of the Professoriate." Paper presented at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Chicago: April 22. Available at: www.cedanet.com/meta/Beyond%20Scholarship.pdf.
Arreola, R. A. (2005) "Monster at the foot of the bed: surviving the challenge of marketplace forces on higher education." To Improve the Academy, 24. 15-28.
Boyer, E. L. (1990) Scholarship Reconsidered. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Glassick, C. E., Huber, M. T. & Maeroff, G. I. (1997) Scholarship Assessed. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Theall, M. (2001) "Beyond the Scholarship of teaching: searching for a unifying metaphor for the college teaching profession." Paper presented at the 81st Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Seattle: April 14. Available at: www.cedanet.com/meta/MT-AERA2001.pdf.
Theall, M. (2002) "Leadership in faculty evaluation and development: some thoughts on why and how the meta-profession can control its own destiny." Invited address at the 82nd annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. New Orleans: April 3. Available at: www.cedanet.com/meta/meta_leader.pdf.


text:
Rory Staunton Foundation for Sepsis Prevention
The Rory Staunton Foundation for Sepsis Prevention works to increase public awareness of sepsis, an extreme response to any kind of infection. Sepsis is one of the leading causes of death in the United States,claiming more lives than AIDS, breast and prostate cancers, and stroke combined: between 250,000 and 500,000 annually. Because sepsis is preventable through good hygiene and wound care and treatable with antibiotics if diagnosed early, it is essential that all students and their parents understand the dangers and signs of sepsis and how it can be prevented and treated. The Foundation has developed a series of interactive lessons and learning tools to teach students in grades K-12 about infection and sepsis. The Foundation was established in 2012 following the preventable death of 12-year-old Rory Staunton who died when a graze acquired playing basketball at school led to sepsis which went undiagnosed and untreated.


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TURLOCK, Calif. – Late goals from JJ Koval and Billy Schuler led the San Jose Earthquakes to a 2-0 win against Sacramento Republic FC Wednesday night at CSU Stanislaus' Warrior Stadium.
The Earthquakes dominated the run of play throughout the match and finally broke through in the 86th minute thanks to a dynamic sequence that ended with Koval heading a shot into an open net. In addition to the win, forward Alan Gordon made his preseason debut in the 71st minute and helped create several scoring chances during his 19 minutes on the field
Cordell Cato had the game's first golden chance in the 28th minute after a lofted ball across the field from Brandon Barklage saw the winger free on goal. Cato took a touch and then had his shot blocked by an on-rushing Republic FC goalkeeper, Jake Gleeson.
Adam Jahn had the next look in the 53rd minute with a roundhouse attempt at the far post. Atiba Harris sent the cross in and Jahn had a go with his left foot on the volley, but misfired wide.
The Earthquakes had another great chance in the 67th minute after Jahn nodded a corner kick on target from close range. The ball was net-bound, but a Republic FC defender cleared it off the line. Jason Hernandez had the next look, but his sliding shot went inches wide.
JJ Koval broke the deadlock in the 86th minute with a header in front of an open net. Walter Martinez found Alan Gordon at the far post where the bulky target man was able to head the ball back across the box. The pass found Koval in stride for the finish.
San Jose nearly doubled their lead two minutes later after Billy Schuler beat the keeper one-on-one, but the goal was whistled back for a foul. Gordon was again in the mix to create the opportunity.
The Earthquakes continued to pepper the goal late, this time with Sam Garza leading the charge. Gordon held his defender off and directed a pass off his body to spring Garza in the area. The third-year winger beat the last defender and then tried to slide a pass across the goal face, but it was cleared by a Republic FC defender for a corner.
Garza got his assist moments later on a corner from the other side of the field. His pass found the feet of Schuler, who tucked his shot past Gleeson to make it 2-0.
The Earthquakes open their competitive schedule on Tuesday, March 11 against Deportivo Toluca FC (Mexico) in the first game of a two-leg CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal. Kickoff is 7 p.m. PT at Buck Shaw Stadium. San Jose will play its first MLS regular season game on Saturday, March 15 against Real Salt Lake at Buck Shaw Stadium at 7:30 p.m. PT.
San Jose Earthquakes 2:0 Sacramento Republic FC
Warrior Stadium at CSU Stanislaus – Turlock, Calif.
March 5, 2014 – Attendance: NA
Scoring Summary: SJ – JJ Koval (Alan Gordon, Walter Martinez) 86; SJ – Billy Schuler (Sam Garza) 90+1.
Misconduct Summary: SAC – Mickey Daly (caution) 17; SJ – Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi (caution) 39; SJ – Clarence Goodson (caution) 65; SJ – Joe Sofia (caution) 83.
San Jose Earthquakes: Jon Busch (David Bingham 81), Brandon Barklage (Brian Niel 71), Jason Hernandez (Joe Sofia 71), Clarence Goodson (Ty Harden 71), Jordan Stewart (Shaun Francis 71), Cordell Cato (Sam Garza 71), Sam Cronin (Khari Stephenson 71), Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi (JJ Koval 71), Atiba Harris (Walter Martinez 71), Chris Wondolowski (Billy Schuler 71), Adam Jahn (Alan Gordon 71).
Sacramento Republic FC – Jake Gleeson, Nemanja Vukovic (Jack Avesyan 56), Jose Gonzalez (Emrah Klimenta 71), Mickey Daly, Harrison Delbridge, Rodrigo Lopez, Dakota Collins (Thomas Stewart 58), Max Alvarez, Octavio Guzman (Aaron Long 46), Ivan Mirkovic (Chad Bond 71), Justin Braun (Chad Bartlome 71).


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The road for Samsung's Galaxy Nexus to arrive on Verizon has been a long and winding one, but at long last, the first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone will debut on Big Red this Friday.
Originally slated for a November release, the Galaxy Nexus was discovered over the weekend hiding in Verizon's final retail boxes.
Then came an internal memo leak pointing to an official launch on Dec. 9.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Galaxy Nexus will sell for $300 with a two-year contract, but don't think the delay on Verizon didn't introduce a few changes to the device.
Google's flagship Nexus Android phones are usually hailed as being the best Androids in town because of their stock OS (no skins, no bloatware, etc.), but Verizon being well its big old fat self; removed the Galaxy Nexus' Google Wallet NFC mobile payment system. Replacing Google Wallet will likely be Verizon's own rival NFC mobile payment system ISIS.
The usual Verizon bloatware apps will also come pre-installed, including My Verizon Mobile and VZ Backup Assistant.
Not only that, but Verizon's 4G-LTE version of the Galaxy Nexus is actually slightly fatter than the international HSPA+one, but you also get a battery that's 100 mAh larger (1,850 mAh v. 1,750mAh).
Other outstanding specs include a contoured 4.65-inch Super AMOLED display with 1280x720 resolution, Android 4.0 ICS (which is said to be amazing), an 8-megapixel rear camera, 32GB of storage, micro USB port, 1GB of RAM and a fast 1.2GHz dual-core processor.
If you've been holding out for the Galaxy Nexus, this Friday's your lucky day.


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In order to be considered a member of MCPA in good standing, privy to all regular benefits membership affords, you must be currently employed by, or a retiree of, Manassas City Police Department and pay dues.
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The recent hoopla surrounding the new season of "Two and a Half Men" is understandable, given the off-camera circuses, even if the show's appeal still eludes us. We're much more excited, though, about the return of another comedy airing Mondays at 9 p.m. that's also about three guys who don't quite add up to three men.
Monday's season three premiere of HBO's "Bored to Death," it's safe to say, probably won't make much of a dent in the ratings of CBS' "Two and a Half Men." But this quirk-fest, a mix of smart, neurotic neo-screwball comedy and occasional slapstick, offers what may be TV's best comic trio, if not since Moe, Larry and Curly, then since Jerry, George and Kramer.
For the uninitiated, the New York-centric show centers on Jonathan (Jason Schwartzman), a physically unimposing novelist haunted by a lost love and writer's block, who touts his services as a private detective on Craigslist. His best pal, Ray (Zach Galifianakis), is an aggressively schlubby comic book writer who never quite knows where he stands with his on-again off-again live-in girlfriend and her kids. The breakout character is George (Ted Danson), a sixty-something pseudo-suave magazine editor wallowing in memories of his vanished youth, career woes and the realization of his own shallowness.
The unlikely trio bond over uncertainty about their place in the world as men – and a love of good pot.
They're less bored than restless, losing themselves in Jonathan's cases, which range from retrieving a skateboard from teenage punks to stealing a flash drive from mobsters running a bondage dungeon. They generally resolve the cases, but not much of anything else. Victory for the would-be heroes comes in somehow not getting killed.
In last season's finale, Jonathan extracted a measure of revenge on his supercilious literary archenemy (John Hodgman), a suddenly successful Ray (clad as his comic book alter ego, Super Ray) survived a stabbing by his rival (show creator Jonathan Ames) and George got through a cancer scare. This season, Jonathan is set to embark on quest to track down his biological father.
The trio's strange alliance comes at times when guys – at least of the traditionally heroic variety – are the odd men out in TV comedy. The geeks of "The Big Bang Theory" might eventually rule the world, but are essentially harmless. Larry David is cranky, while Louis CK is fatalistic – and both are unable to do much about the pettiness they obsess over. Even rugged, rogue government worker Ron Swanson, the newly iconic and ironic macho man of the current sitcom world, lost his Samson-like mustache in a recent episode of "Parks and Recreation" while dealing with the various emasculating Tammys in his life.
"Bored to Death" is perhaps the most introspective lost-guy comedy of the bunch, but doesn't take itself too seriously, thanks to gently sardonic writing and a rotating band of supporting oddball characters that include a frustrated poet/chauffeur, a dominatrix-loving cop and Kristen Wiig as a noir-ish boozy floozy.
For all their perceived failures, Jonathan, Ray and George are at their best creating chaos to escape what plagues them – which adds to up to a show that's usually funny, occasionally oddly poignant and never boring.
Local news from across Southern California
Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multi-media NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is the former City Editor of the New York Daily News, where he started as a reporter in 1992. Follow him on Twitter.


text:
I lost my password to my Time Machine backup. It's on a Seagate FreeAgent USB drive. I don't mind losing the data, I just can't figure out how to format the drive. I found this thread, however, the "Erase" tab that's mentioned doesn't appear when I select the drive. It's also grayed out for the partition.
I've tried running VirtualBox and accessing the drive in Windows, but the FreeAgent drive is grayed out as one of the available devices.
I've also tried hooking up the disc to a Windows XP machine and running the EaseUS partition tool, but that tool doesn't give me the option to format (as if it was grayed out).
Any thoughts or ideas?


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There was very little that didn�t go right Saturday at the fourth annual Oyster Cook-off.
The crowd was huge, food tasted good, fun prevailed and weather stayed perfect, helping more money than last year roll in to fill the needs of the Apalachicola Volunteer Fire Department.
The volunteering went well beyond the Apalachicola firefighters who pranced around in a conga line after choreography by Pam Nobles dancers, and for Marisa Getter, who chairs the organizing committee, that volunteer effort made all the difference.
�It�s the most organized so far,� she said. �We keep getting more organized but it keeps growing so we never seem to be both ready and organized.�
This year�s growth was noticeable several blocks away, where latecomers later than the noon start were forced to park. The more than a few minutes wait in the lines for peel-and-eat and fried shrimp, oyster stew, and fried, raw and steamed oysters attested to what was even greater than the 25 percent attendance increase Getter�s crew had forecast.
Based just on Friday night�s art preview, and Saturday�s cash and credit cards, nothing else, the event took in $36,000, about one-third more than the $27,000 last year.
Friday night�s silent auction and preview at the Apalachicola Center for History, Culture and the Arts, which committee member Meghan Davis �kind of took over this year,� brought in $5,000, about three times last year�s total, Getter said.
The attendance was good, and the items and art kept coming in even on Saturday to be auctioned off, she said.
Assisting Getter and Davis with organizing duties were treasurer Shelly Shepard, secretary Carrie Jones, Joe Taylor and Betty Webb.
The dozen competitive teams each received their dozen oysters, or a pint for stew, at the noon start of the cook-off.
Past winners Jeff Ilardi, with his Pearls of the Bay spruced-up on the half-shell, and the Eastpoint Volunteer Fire Department, with their �Lazy Lester,� deep dish baked oyster dish, both modified their past winning recipes to take aim at victory this year.
John Solomon�s Florida Seafood festival team, known for their barbecue wins but not yet for oysters, complicated the challenge both geographically and gastronomically, with their �Oysters of the World� dish.
Solomon used recipes from Japan, Australia and Ireland to create three distinct variations, the Japanese with rice wine, soy, ginger and salmon roe; the Irish deviled with egg, cayenne, breaded and baked; and the Australian with bacon and bread crumbs, also baked.
The small dishes each had s specially ordered flag from their respective countries, and a map on the plate, but the clues didn�t resonate with judge Michael Allen, owner of Oyster Radio.
�I was not told I had to know the flags of the countries,� he said, between satisfied bites.
With few exceptions, the presentations of the dozen dishes were well-done. The Weems team, Led by Jody Fortunas, served up two rows of Mirabella oysters, marinated in garlic, olive oil and lemon juice, topped with black caviar, each atop a ceramic spoon, accompanied by seasoned crackers.
Bobbi Walker, from Orange Beach, Alabama, prepared fried oysters flavored with blue cheese and potpourri sauce, in a silver serving dish. She had help from Cheryl Childress and husband Ron, from Daphne, Ala., and Sheryl Watts, from Meridian, Mississippi, all down here staying on Cape San Blas.
�We just decided we wanted to do something fun,� Walker said.
Former undersheriff Joel Norred, and his wife Susan, did �Naked Oysters Under Glass,� each grilled with bacon, spinach, and anise, and served with a �firecracker� to add crunch.
Earl Solomon did Oysters Rockefeller, and that earned him third place with Allen and the other two judges - Ron Sewell, a self-described �little fat Ford dealer from Odessa Texas� back for his second year, and St. George Island�s Jerry Thompson, who was at least 15 minutes late due to parking hassles, which delayed the scheduled start of judging.
�I think some dishes would have been better if they had started eating them 15 to 20 minutes before, like they were supposed to, instead of letting them get cold,� said Getter. �I told them this one should have been warm, so keep that in mind. This is cold now but don�t take it against them.�
The three judge panel eventually selected the Eastpoint Volunteer Fire Department�s dish for the top prize, the second year in a row, and Ilardi�s half-shell delights for second, repeating top finishes they each earned in previous years.
Getter said she believes it may be time to bring in some fresh palates to the task. �You live and learn,� she said. �Maybe it should be like that, but it doesn�t make sense to have the same judges.�
Many of the attendees brought their dogs to the event, and Getter said boosted turnout as well. �Everybody had their dog on the leash, which is nice too,� she said. �My goal always was to have a nice, old town, kind of festival oriented for families.�


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Discovery Center Sundays Afternoons with Miss Jean!Name: Discovery Center Sundays Afternoons with Miss Jean!Date: April 19, 2020Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM CDTEvent Description:Stop by for Sunday Afternoons with Miss Jean at the Discovery Center!
Every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month Miss Jean, a retired teacher, shares chess, juggling and logic puzzles at the Discovery Center. She teaches beginning chess to all, from preschoolers through adult or she will play a strategic game with an opponent to match their skill level. Additionally, she loves to juggle and can teach anyone of any age to become a successful juggler. Also, Sweeney has on hand three large cases of logic puzzles, construction materials, and hands on brain teasers to fascinate any age.


text: We can say bad f---ing words! This is the first f---ing time since I have been to junkie that we are able to f---ing say words like f---, motherf---er, c---sucker, s---, *******, s---hole, c---, ***********... Historic day in the JFF! Feel free to let your f---ing aggression out in this thread via the "bad" words you so love to f---ing use.


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During the past several years, the Republican-led Legislature has passed some of the county's toughest laws aimed at driving illegal immigrants from the state and deterring them from entering it.
For the most part, those laws have focused on enforcement within the state's boundaries.
Now the strategy has shifted, and immigration hawks in the Legislature are taking their fight directly to the border.
This year, two bills that deal with border enforcement are moving along party lines toward passage.
One would fund, train and equip a volunteer militia to fight cross- border criminal activity. The other would give the Joint Border Security Advisory Committee — a small group of select lawmakers, sheriffs and ranchers — power to spend donations from a fund established with a grand vision of building a fence along the U.S.- Mexico border.
From 2007 to 2010, Republicans passed a long list of internal enforcement laws, which include penalties for employing illegal immigrants, restrictions on soliciting day-laborers, a prohibition on cities that try to resist state immigration laws and the requirement that police throughout the state check the immigration status of anyone they reasonably suspect of being in the country illegally — the most controversial provision of Arizona's 2010 landmark immigration law.
But following the backlash against SB1070, support for similar measures has fractured among the state's Republican lawmakers, endangering the easy passage of further "internal enforcement" measures.
Sen. Sylvia Allen, the Snowflake Republican who is sponsoring the militia bill, says that other than perhaps getting tougher on identity theft, there's no pressing need to pass new laws aimed at internal enforcement. Instead, the fight should be taken to the border.
Plus, she says, despite the injunctions and ongoing litigation, she believes SB1070 will be upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear the case in April.
"I don't think there's any need to do anything further," Allen said.
"We've already got Supreme Court backing for our employer sanction bill. I believe the Supreme Court's going to go the exact same way with 1070. The root of the problem is the insecure border."
Sen. Steve Smith, the Maricopa Republican who is sponsoring the border fence funding bill, lamented the failure of more internal enforcement measures and promised to continue to push for them.
This year, he reintroduced measures that failed amid resistance from his own party, including bills that would have schools and hospitals track and report suspected illegal immigrants they serve. The bills never gained traction and weren't heard in committee.
Last session, they drew even more telling opposition, when a bloc of moderate Republicans sided with Democrats to reject them during a dramatic Senate floor vote.
Senate President Steve Pierce, R-Prescott, said he didn't assign Smith's bills this session because of the fracturing that played out last year.
"There isn't the support for them," Pierce said plainly. "There has to be 16 votes for them to move forward."
Pierce said he wasn't sure what the fate of this year's border security bills will be, but the votes so far show partisan support that could easily carry them to passage.
The border fence appropriation bill has so far split the Legislature along party lines at every vote, and only Sens. Robert Meza, D- Phoenix, and Jerry Lewis, R-Mesa, dissented from their respective parties on the militia bill.
Although the votes on these bills so far hint at easy legislative passage, objections remain.
The state agency that oversees law-enforcement training, Arizona Peace Officers Standards and Training Board (AZPOST), says the border militia proposal is dangerous because volunteers would be minimally trained.
The Arizona Cattlemen's Association, a powerful ranchers' lobby, opposes it over the fuzzy liability issues it raises.
And all but one of the state's 14 sheriffs opposes the measure because it would siphon money from an immigration enforcement task force the sheriffs rely on. The lone supporter is Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu.
Those criticisms have been echoed by Democrats, who say giving direct spending power over the border fence fund to an advisory committee stacked with immigration hawks will never actually lead to the construction of a border fence along Arizona's southern border.
The arguments are partly based on the fact that the fund has only received about $300,000, or enough money to build less than a half- mile of fencing.
According to the Congressional Budget Office's 2007 estimate, building the fence along the 376 miles of Arizona-Mexico border could cost around $500 million. And in 2009, the U.S. Government Accountability Office's figures would put that cost at more than $1 billion.
Democratic leaders at the state Capitol explain the broader shift in focus with a more cynical perspective. Recently, House Democrats held a press conference focused on what they describe as the "last gasp of a super majority," highlighting Allen's militia bill in particular, as an example.
Both Allen and Smith's bills are ineffective legislation and Republicans know it, the Democratic leaders said. The border security bills are cutting-room-floor ideas, they say, being wantonly rushed by Republicans who believe they will lose seats in the Legislature this November, which would make these sorts of bills more difficult to pass.
And at least one Republican admits that's the case, too.
Rep. Jack Harper, the Peoria Republican who sponsored a state militia bill last year, said he thinks the possibility of dwindling Republican control is at least partially responsible for the current border security push.
"I do not believe Republicans are going to get another chance at this issue," Harper said. "It has to be done with legislation this term."
If coming votes on these bills reflect the same party-line support they've received so far, they'll only need the governor's go-ahead to become law.


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There are so many albums released every year that it's almost impossible to keep up. Usually I spend the first two months of the new year acquiring all the albums I didn't buy the previous year before all the new releases start to flood the market. 2007 was no exception, I missed more than a few notable Hard Rock and Heavy Metal albums, but I made up for it in 2008. The following is a list of albums I missed in 2007 and picked up at some point in 2008. Some of these records might have cracked my Top 15 Albums of 2007 or at least extended it to a Top 20 or 25.
After Forever – s/t (2007): I picked up this album January 2nd and it has remained in my playlist pile the entire year. I have always been a fan of female-fronted Gothic/Symphonic Metal bands and bands like The Gathering, Lacuna Coil, and Tristania have made me take a good look around the scene for bands I overlooked. What I like about After Forever is their use of beautiful operatic female vocals courtesy of Floor Jansen mixed with Death Metal growls while keeping everything heavy. This album would have easily made my Top Albums list if I had bought it last year.
Anvil – This Is Thirteen (2007): I'm an old school Metal guy and it doesn't get more old school than Anvil! Independently released and limited to 1000 copies through their website, Anvil created an album that is straight forward Heavy Metal. The band is like AC/DC in that they don't stray too far from their original sound. Heavy riffs, solid drumming and gritty vocals…..that's all that's needed. Like I said in the review, THIS IS THIRTEEN is one of the most underrated albums of 2007!
Armory – The Dawn Of Enlightenment (2007): I stumbled on Armory when I was looking up local New England Metal bands on MySpace. I heard the songs on their page and I was hooked! The guys in the band were kind enough to submit their album for review and I got one of the best Metal albums of 2007! I can even tell you that it would easily have made the best of list from last year at #7. Traditional/Power Metal blended with Progressive and Thrash Metal…..Armory is a band that has shot to the top of my list for a band to watch.
Gamma Ray – Land Of The Free II (2007): LAND OF THE FREE II was released in 2007 in Europe and Japan, we had to wait until January in the U.S. I picked up the European version in January from a CD sale at the local record store the same day the album was officially released here in the States. Is there really any difference? Nothing bothers me more than when a CD gets released eveywhere else and we have to wait a few weeks, or months, for a proper U.S. release. It's either that or buy the import! It's an excellent Power Metal record by one of the best in the genre but it seemed to get lost in my playlist with all the new albums coming out.
Helix – The Power Of Rock And Roll (2007): This album is a re-release of the GET UP! promotional disc with four more songs added in for good measure. Helix hasn't changed their sound over the years, they still play the good time party Hard Rock that made them a success in the '80s. Another album that would have made my Best of 2007 list.
King Diamond – Give Me Your Soul…Please (2007): Nothing can beat a new King Diamond album and I passed on this one too many times in 2007. Not sure why because it was on my list all year long and I just kept leaving it the racks. I bought this CD the same day I bought the Gamma Ray disc at a really good price and playing this regularly over the last year got me to fill some of the King Diamond/Mercyful Fate holes in my collection.
Lana Lane – Red Planet Boulevard (2007): I passed on this album in 2007 because I was disappointed with the last few Lana Lane albums. There are so many live records and covers collections you can take before you need real songs and it had been 5 years since 2002's PROJECT SHANGRI-LA. The conceptual LADY MACBETH was in there somewhere but I couldn't get into it at all. This album is exactly what I was hoping for from Lana Lane and it's another release that would have made my Best of 2007 list.
Nightwish – Dark Passion Play (2007): I have never been a big Nightwish fan because of the Opera style vocals of former vocalist Tarja Turunen but I had a couple of their CDs. Nightwish split with Tarja and the news wasn't taken lightly by many of the band's fans. When the band announced that former Alyson Avenue vocalist Anette Olzen would replace Tarja, I knew that it was a great move. I liked Alyson Avenue a lot and Olzen's style is more to my liking. This is another one of those albums that had an international release in 2007 but a U.S. release in 2008. I ended up grabbing the last sale copy of the collector's edition that included an expanded booklet and a 2nd CD of orchestral versions of the album.
U.D.O. – Mastercutor (2007): I missed the release date on MASTERCUTOR and I was trying to hold out until I could find the European limited edition with the bonus tracks. Unfortunately, that search continues but I picked up a U.S. copy used for $7 and it was one of the best purchases all year. I've been an Accept/U.D.O. fan all along and I usually pick up anything these bands put out but I missed out on one of the best releases of the 2007.
W.A.S.P. – Dominator (2007): I passed on DOMINATOR for the same reasons I passed on Lana Lane's RED PLANET BOULEVARD, I wasn't thrilled with W.A.S.P.'s last few albums and I wasn't going to waste my time with an album that wasn't good enough to get U.S. distribution. It just had to be bad. W.A.S.P. had released two stinkers with the NEON GOD records and I just figured that this one would follow suit. This album blew me away and ended up becoming one of my 2007 favorites, just like the U.D.O. album.


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Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Serves 12
A blog dedicated to perfecting the art and joy of baking and cooking by an aspiring domestic goddess!
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
I ve baked this too and I have to say it's amazing, I m baking this cake in cupcakes too :)
A lovely moist carrot cake and very attractively presented. Great job, Maria!
Looks lovely Maria :)
moist and delicious, my mouth is watering....buen trabajo maria!
This looks so yummy! You decorated it so cute!
Your carrot cake looks beautiful Maria. Love the sugar flowers on top - well done on a great bake :0)
Rosie x
Boy that looks good, especially with the frosting and flowers. Yum!
Fantastic pick for the month. For me, carrot cake is number one but the cream cheese frosting always has to be there as well as the raisins. Too good!
Thanks Maria for sharing such a lovely recipe with us. It was indeed a pleasure baking the cake.And thanks for saying such sweet words of encouragement...it means a lot.
Thank you for introducing this wonderful cake to me, if not I wld probably never will eat any carrot cake. Simply delicious. :)
The cake looks so nice and delicious...the deco is so nice and simple..
Lovely recipe and the cake looks wonderful too.
Looking at your picture close up it seems like you had the exact same result with the frosting as I did. I too made it on a warm day and as I'd never made cream cheese frosting before I had no idea the weather/temperature could mess with it like that.
Your cake still looks absolutely delicious though!
Absolutely loved this month's bake - so impressed with myself for having made a carrot cake. I didn't find anyone who refused a slice either, even Fred and Lily liked it (although that was behind my back!)
Hi, I am a first timer to your website as was searching for the perfect carrot cake. Thank you Sooooo much for this recipe - this cake got me out of some pretty hot water with my boyfriend! Whoever says the way to a mans heart is through his stomach was spot on :) thanks again, ellie
wow! what kind of food coloring did you use to make those pretty colors on top?
you have yummy stuff.


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Jorge Posada's been around more than a few blocks with the Yankees over the years and, as well as anyone on the team, knows how hard it is to win a World Series. That's why it's confusing as hell to try and figure out what he was thinking when he decided it was best for his team to get into a bench-clearing brawl during a 10-4 Yankee loss Tuesday night.
Make no mistake, Posada started that brawl -- and now he's suspended for three games because of it. His little chicken wing elbow while crossing the plate assured that there'd be a response because it unbalanced the table after Jesse Carlson, who was also suspended for three games, threw behind him earlier in the inning. Posada's no naif, he knows that Mark Melancon hit Aaron Hill on purpose to touch things off, and he'd already registered his distaste for being thrown at earlier in the inning. By taking a swipe at Carlson, Posada went out of his way to look for a fight and given his experience that's baffling.
Posada's not exactly been a picture of health over the last couple of years, what if he broke his hand throwing a punch at Carlson's noggin? It would be pretty tough to win a title without his bat in the middle of the lineup. Or what if the wrestling match happened to find its way to CC Sabathia's ankle? Or any of the other hundred things that could have gone wrong because Posada started a fight in a lost-cause September game against a team whose season ended a long time ago because a pitch came nowhere near hitting him.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
"We can't afford to get anyone hurt or get anyone suspended," Joe Girardi said. "In the heat of the moment, sometimes we get caught up. We make decisions that maybe we wouldn't have made if we weren't in the heat of the moment. It's an ugly incident that probably shouldn't have happened."
Girardi's right that it shouldn't have happened, but he's giving his catcher too much credit by saying it was in the heat of the moment.
Look, if Posada got hit and charged the mound in that spot it would be much harder to blame him. Split-second, emotionally driven decisions aren't subject to the same scrutiny. But this was a belt-high breaking ball nowhere near Posada's body that Posada knew was meant to say "Hey, we know what you did to Hill and we don't like it." He's gotta be better than allowing that to continue eating at him through three more at-bats, a time span that eliminates the excuse that emotions were running high.
The Yankees are an old team, they're a fairly injury-prone team and they need to tread delicately in the waters that seperate them from October. Andy Pettitte's shoulder fatigue is the latest illustration of the way that aches and pains will help define their season. That's why you don't go looking for them.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.


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IL STATEWIDE - Evidence-Based Practice Support with AUTISM w/Kristine Bretl
- Start Date:
- 11/16/17
- End Date:
- None
- Duration:
- 8:30 AM CDT 3:00 PM CDT (Time Zone Sensitive)
- Type:
- ISBE Grant Trainings
Registration: 8:30am. Workshop: 9:00am to 3:00pm. *************** FULL TITLE: EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE THAT SUPPORT STUDENTS WITH AUTISM****************** Who Should Attend? This session is designed for SLPs, OTs, Gen. Ed. Teachers, Sp. Ed. Teachers, Parents, Paraprofessionals, Social Workers and Administrators. ***************** What Is It? This workshop will discuss autism characteristics and challenges for school professionals and how to choose and use the evidence based practices that are established, within school settings. These evidence-based strategies that address social communication, behavior, and classroom/academic supports for students with autism will be explored, considered and practiced. The two projects that have identified evidence based strategies for autism spectrum disorder, the National Standards Project from the National Autism Center and National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder will be used as reference and support. Participants will be considering the best practices from these projects and how they relate to supporting our students with autism within the classroom and school environment. *********NOTE: REGISTRATION IS 30 MINUTES BEFORE THE WORKSHOP***********(*APPROVED FOR ASHA CREDITS -- 100% ATTENDANCE REQUIRED)
1 Main Event Lane, Suite #510, Sparta, IL 62286
Registration: CLICK BELOW FOR REGISTRATION FORM
|11-Kristine Bretl 11-16-17 -$- ASHA.pdf (807.7k)


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I wanted to share some pictures from our trip so far. ** "I did not edit any photos ***
We are staying with my mom's cousin and she has she four cats, a bird, and a dog. The kids are in heaven with all the animals to play with. The cats love to play with the laser, they chase it all over the house.There is a small red laser light on the floor in front of the cat.
Noah and the cat.
Katelyn and the cat
Noah is guarding his cereal from the cats
Katelyn got to hold the bird
We went down to the dinosaur museum to see Katelyn's "dinosurs". We took my mom's cousin's daughter with us.
A stop at the watering hole to play with the water, dinosaurs, and sand
the island made for the dinosaurs
We stopped by to see the newest member of our family, baby Charlotte. The girls also had a sleep over last night with these cousins and had so much fun.
Last night we went down to see the lights. These were lights that you drive through in your car. They were great. The kids loved them. They even had 3d glasses !!
dinosaurs in lights !! A huge hit
I've got to go now, our University of Utah football team is playing their bowl game this afternoon, and then it is new years eve. I wish you all a very wonderful New Years Eve. See you next week in 2012 !!