text:
Skip to main content
Sign up
Log in
Ranting Soccer Dad
By Beau Dure
Frank but fair conversations and occasional silliness about youth soccer.
Where to listen
Apple Podcasts
Intro: Why the US Men Will Never Win the World Cup
A reading of the introduction to my new book is at the 15-minute mark, after a brief autobiography to explain my perspective as an old but still upbeat soccer supporter.
October 26, 2019
RSD 2-7-19: Dan Loney drops by and doesn't talk about pro/rel
We were going to talk about promotion and relegation. Really. We just didn't get around to it. Dan and I have been talking soccer online for a couple of decades, and we've been accused of being shills for Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer. And we've been accused of being the same person. We submit this podcast as proof that we're not, though someone will probably figure I just recorded both voices and spliced it together in Audacity, like the inverse of Jim Henson and Frank Oz teaming up to be the Swedish Chef. And THAT, we talk about. We also trip down Memory Lane to remember a coven of soccer bloggers and journalists, along with MLS Cup 2009. And we talk about soccer hipsters. But you have to listen to the end to hear the Dave Chappelle joke. And the nice tidy ending.
February 8, 2019
RSD short: A meditation on losing and coaching
You can't fix luck. But can you rethink things? Can you find holes in what you're being taught? Why do people who follow the rules always lose? If you hurl a bag of balls, cones and pinnies off a cliff, does it make a sound?
November 18, 2018
RSD 10-9-18: We need refs! Not just me!
One thing we all know but becomes more vivid when you become a referee: We need more referees. A funny story or two from a long weekend on the field illustrates the point.
October 9, 2018
RSD short: Funny youth stories, USSF arrogance and NASL spin
How's the new "Play/Practice/Play" model working? Probably not as well for me with the number of kids I'm coaching. That's the first topic here. Then it's funny reffing stories. I get to USSF coaching education arrogance around the 18-minute mark, and then I defend Jason Davis and Nipun Chopra against the NASL's spinning efforts. Finally, a reminder to get moving if you want to run for USSF VP.
September 20, 2018
RSD short Aug 10 2018: On Twitter and Cordeiro
Personal news: I'm boycotting Twitter over the Alex Jones situation and related misdeeds, and The Guardian has just posted my story on Carlos Cordeiro's first six months. Youth soccer news: What can Cordeiro's task force do to stop the insanity?
August 10, 2018
RSD Short: New US Youth chairman, WoSo and aspirations
New format for the pod! Today's topics are the new U.S. Youth Soccer chairman (with some discussion of USSF president Carlos Cordeiro), WoSo and feminism (with some discussion of Hannah Gadsby), and some RSD content updates.
August 3, 2018
RSD38: A productive promotion/relegation chat
Soccer writer Kyle Williams joins the podcast this week to talk about promotion and relegation, proving that we can talk about such things without bloodshed.
July 24, 2018
RSD37 (pt 2): Shoeless Soccer's Nathan Richardson
This is part two of a lengthy but worthwhile interview with Nathan Richardson, co-author of a book called Shoeless Soccer. The title isn't necessarily advocating that we all toss our boots in the trash, but the book does suggest that we've organized things a bit too much and should let kids learn more by doing, which is actually how much of the rest of the world does it. (You know, the countries that QUALIFIED for the men's World Cup.) If you missed Part 1, please check it out: https://rantingsoccerdad.com/2018/07/18/rsd37-shoeless-soccer-author-nathan-richardson-on-taking-youth-soccer-off-the-long-grass/
July 18, 2018
RSD37 (pt 1): Drills? Travel? PLAY! Guest: Nathan Richardson
Nathan Richardson, co-author of Shoeless Soccer, joins the podcast this week to talk about the radical yet somewhat globally accepted ideas in his book. Basically, instead of turning soccer into an expensive coach-driven activity, why not let kids learn by playing? And maybe on hard surfaces so they'll learn to control the ball instead of booting it? This conversation should give us all some ideas for how to reform youth soccer, even if you don't agree with all of them, and it should put the term "rec mindset" to bed once and for all. We all start as rec players, and in many cases, that's where we (well, not me) learn the things that make us better players down the road. We ran rather long, so this will be a two-parter. Practice plans mentioned in the podcast are at http://www.mayouthsoccer.org/coaches/u14/ Thanks as always to Patreon supporters, and keep an eye out for RSD merchandise available soon.
July 18, 2018
RSD36: Player pathways, college and elite leagues, with Lesle Gallimore
Lesle Gallimore has been head women's soccer coach at the University of Washington since 1994, and she's the current president of United Soccer Coaches. In this conversation, we talk about how college coaches adapt their recruiting to the new "elite league turf war" environment. And we talk about how players adapt and whether they *can* adapt. For example: Could Gallimore's most famous player, Hope Solo, work her way through the system today and be discovered? Coincidentally, Solo made a lot of news this week, and I discuss that before the interview (which was recorded before all that news happened). The Gallimore interview starts around the 10-minute mark.
June 8, 2018
RSD35: Dennis Crowley on putting together a soccer pyramid
Dennis Crowley didn't just start a soccer team. He created a laboratory for "open-source soccer." He shares business and financial info on his NPSL club, the Kingston Stockade, on Medium. And though Kingston might not be the likeliest market to have a club that would climb an open pyramid to Division I, he has become one of the most thoughtful (or reasonable, if you like) advocates of promotion/relegation. In this conversation, we talk about the challenges of putting together a pyramid in the lower divisions. Yes, there's more than "U.S. Soccer stinks," though he argues the federation could be doing more to facilitate change and stability. And at the end, he shares his experience of seeing the Stockade make their Open Cup debut.
May 18, 2018
RSD34: The USL/youth hybrid Richmond Kickers, with Daryl Grove
The guest is Daryl Grove of the popular Total Soccer Show podcast. The topic is his hometown club, the Richmond Kickers, which has a couple of decades of history as a youth soccer club with a professional team on top of and integrated into its internal pyramid. Yes, really. It's not just a pro team that started up some half-assed youth programs. It's not an MLS team that has Development Academy teams and little else. See its tryout page to see how many levels of travel soccer it offers, and then look at its "Little Kicks" page to see former pro player Luke Vercollone's programs for preschoolers. The Kickers also join forces with the rival Richmond Strikers for the Richmond United Development Academy pro
May 14, 2018
RSD33: Soccer played in Germany, with Ian Plenderleith
Today's guest is an English/American/German soccer writer/referee/parent/coach/player. He's Ian Plenderleith, and we had a good conversation about the differences in the USA and Germany -- at least, as many of them as we could fit in a one-hour chat. Read more of Ian's work at ... - The Quiet Fan, a blog related to his upcoming book - Referee Tales, dispatches from the fields in Germany - Rock n Roll Soccer, his book on the NASL (the old one) - Twitter
May 4, 2018
RSD32: Christian Lavers on ECNL/DA, U.S. Club/U.S. Youth competition
Maybe they're not turf wars. Maybe it's just healthy competition. Christian Lavers is fully immersed in the complicated landscape of U.S. youth soccer. He's a technical director with FC Wisconsin and an executive with the ECNL and U.S. Club Soccer. And miraculously, he still sounds optimistic. Even "nice." If you're looking for mud-slinging, you're not going to find it here. Instead, you're going to hear a candid but polite take on why we have multiple national championships and other stuff that those of us who cover youth soccer complain about. He's aware of the travel requirements these days -- "not every game should require a hotel stay or flight," he says. But he sees different organizations filling different legitimate needs. Leading
April 25, 2018
RSD31: Grassroots and futsal, with Leslie Hamer and Jason Longshore
It's a futsal/grassroots doubleheader! After a brief intro (no full rant this week), you'll hear from Leslie Hamer, who works with futsal at every level from the grassroots to the pros. She has been getting futsal into New York City public schools and now into colleges. Next up: Jason Longshore, whom you may know as a commentator on Atlanta United games but has spent much of the last 12 years working with Soccer in the Streets, an organization that brings soccer (or futsal -- whichever makes sense for the available facilities) to underserved communities and schools. You may know them from their effort to put a small soccer field at a MARTA (local transit) station.
April 11, 2018
RSD30: Announcement time
This week: The Ranting Soccer Dad Guide to Youth Soccer is officially underway. Check out the first couple of entries and support it on Patreon. In the podcast, I spend about five minutes explaining all that. Then I go on a rant about the generation gap in understanding soccer and why we don't have a glorious promotion/relegation pyramid just yet. (Plus a few ideas on how to get there. Or how not to.)
March 28, 2018
RSD29: A random but interesting coach/parent, Mike Davitt
Do you know Mike Davitt? Until a few weeks ago, I didn't, either. He's a longtime soccer coach who, like many longtime soccer coaches do, also became a soccer parent. He's originally from Kearny, N.J., hallowed ground for U.S. soccer. After listening to a few of my rants, he emailed me and said he didn't think youth soccer was doomed. It might even be a good thing. I've been hoping to find people like that for the podcast, and so we chatted. Our conversation (starting around the 15:00 mark) ends up with an interesting idea on educating coaches, which is an issue that popped up in the big election. We talk about the positives of having an alphabet soup of leagues and organizations, how to help parents make educated decisions (23:00, including a suggestion that we should stop using the word "academy" unless you're in the DA), how to watch out for players
March 14, 2018
RSD28: SAY Soccer's Doug Wood
After today's explanation of the upcoming Guide to Youth Soccer (3:00) and a rant about promotion/relegation (4:15), my guest (12:30) is Doug Wood, executive director of SAY (Soccer Association for Youth). He starts by explaining what SAY does -- mostly recreational soccer through several different entry points, including schools. SAY isn't the most top-down organization out there. Its leagues and clubs sometimes have diverse approaches. Sounds a little different than the U.S. Soccer mandates, doesn't it? Along with U.S. Youth Soccer, U.S. Club Soccer, AYSO and USSSA, SAY is part of the Youth Council Technical Working Group, which sprung up in response to those mandates. We talk about whether that's making a difference (26:00).
March 7, 2018
RSD27: Julie Foudy finds reasons to be optimistic about youth soccer
Today's guest has an impossible task: Make me feel better about youth soccer, and soccer in general, and youth sports in general … maybe just life in general. But she's faced tougher tasks. She's Julie Foudy, Hall of Fame soccer player and ESPN journalist. After I make an announcement and then rant about curling commentary, the interview starts around the 13:20 mark with a discussion of what's good about youth soccer, whether soccer can have the same supportive atmosphere of extreme sports (20:30), the lack of women in coaching (26:20), her experiences as a soccer parent (31:20) and then U.S. Soccer politics, including the role of the Athletes' Council (40:10). She also talks a bit about the U.S. women's team heading into the SheBelieves Cup (51:10).
March 1, 2018
RSD26: Charles Boehm on the U.S. Soccer election and youth soccer
This week's guest, Charles Boehm, is a player, coach, referee and writer -- check out his intro at the 2:45 mark and learned where he played alongside future non-U.S. national teamers. Like me, he was in Philadelphia for the United Soccer Coaches convention and attended many of the U.S. Soccer presidential candidates' sessions. We talk about what makes a soccer person and what makes an elitist (5:30), whether Eric Wynalda is the front-runner (8:00), the "anyone but (so-and-so)" approach to voting (9:45), what the candidates showed us in Philly (13:05), Kathy Carter and Soccer United Marketing (24:10), what's changing in U.S. Soccer (30:00-ish), then youth soccer and the surprising focus on ODP (38:15). I didn't get around to finishing my thought on why I was once the best U12 center back in Athens, Ga. The answer is the same reason why I was once a competent over-30 coed indoor goalkeeper: Reckless disregard for my own safety. It surely had nothing to my sk
January 24, 2018
RSD25: Phillypalooza election preview, the disappointing USSF coaching education overhaul, and being nice
Point 1: Why this weekend will be huge for the U.S. Soccer presidential election. (2:02) Included in that: Why I'm skeptical of current election projections (including a NewsRadio reference), what the Number 1 issue in this election should be (8:10), a few surprising things on Paralympic soccer (8:30), a question of what we're really saying about futsal -- the next beach volleyball? (9:30), SUM and pro/rel (11:30), and finally back to the Number 1 issue and how it overlaps with other major issues (18:00). Point 2: The new U.S. Soccer coaching curriculum, grassroots level (22:15) Included in that: Welcome to Disney (25:55), introducing tactics at 4v4? (26:20), the painful irony of the chosen video clip (27:15), U6 parent coaches developing their own coaching philosophy? (28:00), the nice tone (32:25). Point 3: Socc
January 18, 2018
RSD24: An election-related New Year's resolution
No interview lined up, so what's the rant this week? How the United Soccer Coaches convention in Philadelphia might help us reset the hostility-to-substance ratio in the presidential race. Who I would NOT endorse for U.S. Soccer president, based on what I know now. (The answer is NOT Eric Wynalda, which I know might blow the minds of some folks on Twitter.) Why Riccardo Silva's tweet about promotion and corruption was irresponsible and inaccurate. (He's welcome to chat with me or simply tweet again to explain, clarify, etc.) https://twitter.com/_Riccardo_Silva/status/948324499631558658 A bit of U.S. Soccer voting history.
January 3, 2018
RSD23: The convoluted U.S. Soccer presidential race and the educational Soccer Parenting Summit
Beau flies solo for the likely 2017 RSD finale and talks about the magnificent seven or the elite eight to reach this stage of the USSF presidential race. At the 15-minute mark, he tries to sum up 20-some hours of the Soccer Parenting Summit. Happy holidays, and get more details on this pod later this week at RantingSoccerDad.com
December 13, 2017
RSD22: U.S. Soccer presidential candidate Paul Lapointe
If you want to skip Beau's rant on the good and bad of US Club Soccer, Sunil Gulati and Twitter, skip to the 15-minute mark. That's where you'll find the interview with Paul Lapointe, one of the first candidates to declare his intent to run for the U.S. Soccer presidency. We talk about promotion/relegation, the role of the president, equal pay for the U.S. women's team, women's soccer promotion/relegation/Open Cup, the fragmented world of futsal, the fragmented world of indoor "balls and walls" soccer, youth soccer and coaching. All in less than 45 minutes.
December 6, 2017
RSD21: U.S. Soccer presidential candidate Eric Wynalda
Eric Wynalda has played in multiple World Cups, Germany, MLS, etc. He's been a successful coach and commentator. Yes, we talk about promotion/relegation. In fact, we did it first just so you single-issue types can listen and then bail out. If you want to hear about EVERY issue facing the next USSF president -- well, we got to maybe half of them. There are lot of issues. In rough order, we talk about: 1. What's different or similar between the concerns of the Twitterati and the concerns of the typical state or national association. 2. Whether people are nervous to speak up about the USSF power structure. 3. Women's soccer: The new collective bargaining agreement and the NWSL. 4. Youth soccer: Has the federation done too little? Too much?
December 1, 2017
RSD20: Mediating the NASL/USSF suit with Neil Morris
Neil Morris covers his local teams -- North Carolina FC and the North Carolina Courage -- for WRAL. His work includes a terrific podcast, the Inverted Triangle. In his day job, he's an attorney and mediator. So why not combine his areas of expertise and try to mediate the NASL/USSF lawsuit? We gave it a whirl, with Neil playing the role of mediator and your host flipping between the roles of NASL and USSF advocates. The conversation starts around the 8:45 mark. We quickly explain what's going on in the real world with the lawsuit, and then Neil explains the mediation process. I present a hypothetical NASL offer, prompted by Neil's helpful questions and prodding, around the 25-minute mark. (Highlights: Cosmos owner on the USSF Board, drop divisional sanct
November 29, 2017
RSD19: U.S. Soccer presidential candidate Kyle Martino
A vote for Kyle Martino is actually a vote for a network of people that he believes can solve the problems in U.S. Soccer. He's going to bring them together in early December to flesh out a "progress plan" that he outlines on his site. He's already hard at work building this consensus, and this interview has a few glitches because he was on the run as we chatted. He had to run at one point to do a live interview, and the phone connection dropped as he hopped from train to train. The former MLS player and current (though on leave) NBC analyst grasps the complexities of the U.S. Soccer presidency for which he's running. Like a couple of other candidates, he's out talking with youth and adult constituencies to find out what they need. He has mixed feelings about the incumbent, Sunil Gulati, whom Martino firmly believes has run his course as president but still has a lot to offer U.S. Soccer. He's shocked to hear
November 15, 2017
RSD18: U.S. Soccer presidential candidate Mike Winograd
He doesn't have the name recognition of Eric Wynalda, he hasn't been in the U.S. Soccer inner circle like Carlos Cordeiro, and he hasn't been campaigning as long as Steve Gans. But Mike Winograd is an interesting candidate for the USSF presidency. He's a former player, he helped launch a pro club, and he's a lawyer who works on very big deals. In our conversation (starting around the 10-minute mark after I ranted a bit about the NASL lawsuit and gave an overview of the presidential election), we talk about Winograd's background and his plans, which he outlined in a prior interview at GotSoccer. His basic mode of operation: He wants to get everyone on the same page -- or, as he puts it, rowing in the same direction. Key quote: "U.S. Soccer should not be in the business of trying to ram things down people's throats." Particular p
November 8, 2017
RSD17: Adding tiers to the U.S. soccer cake, with NPSL's Jef Thiffault
Jef Thiffault is the managing director for the NPSL, an elite amateur league that's been sometimes pulled into promotion/relegation discussions. But he used to work for MLS and SUM. Mind blown yet? It's actually an encouraging discussion that gives the impression that we have some smart people in U.S. soccer, toiling far away from the courtrooms and big-league boardrooms. And we might see a sea change in elite amateur competition that just might spill upward to the pros. Interview begins around the 10:30 mark after I give a long introduction and rant a bit about the NASL and so forth.
November 1, 2017


text:
Personalized Baby Gifts
The Best Personalized Baby Gifts Available
Find the ultimate baby gift to customize
Find a range of personalized baby gifts for new newborns and parents and give memorable gifts for all occasions. Unique personalization gifts of good quality for all events and occasions such as Christmas, weddings, birthdays, baby showers and more. Send meaningful, personalized baby gifts for birth announcements, baptisms, christenings and more. Customize your baby gift with names, special dates or initials and give a gift to remember! Pink Taffy Designs' online baby boutique offers the most thoughtful and memorable personalized gifts perfect as keepsakes. Find the best personalized baby gifts with us and delight any loved one or cherished friend. Browse our great selection of premium quality baby gifts from baby clothing, blankets, burp cloths and bibs to personalize all at low everyday prices. Find the perfect personalized baby gifts for both boys and girls from our wide range of baby gifts. Send the warmest regards with one of our beautiful and deluxe personalized baby gifts to welcome a new life into this world. For the most effortless and thoughtful gift you will be able to find online at cheap prices, browse Pink Taffy Designs' online catalog for personalized baby gifts today!
Sort By
Sort By

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The New Power of Mobility
This story appears in the June 2010 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
Russell Shaw, general manager, Skype Mobile
Internet voice maven Skype sees mobile as its next frontier. Initially available as a download for a limited number of mobile phones, Skype has started working with device makers to integrate its apps into their phones as well as with mobile-service providers to offer Skype as an additional alternative to their own voice service. (Verizon recently became the first U.S. mobile carrier to offer unlimited Skype-to-Skype calling on some of its smartphones.) Last year, Skype brought in mobile marketing veteran Russell Shaw to head its mobile efforts. Here, he speaks out about open networks, customer choice and the advent of the mobile office.
A lot of people thought video calling wasn't going to happen, but why? There are more devices starting to come out to support it and more networks starting to support it.
There will still be instances when people don't want to use that video call button, but it's a great way to do business when you want to see someone face-to-face.
When you look at it, what do small-business users really want? Value and control. They want it to be easy to use with no hassles. Skype working with Verizon can offer that. Business mobile users are going to see freedom of choice now.
The walled garden for mobile applications can only last so long before the forces of market and the forces of customers break it down. Customers should have applications flexibility and should be able to use the applications they want wherever they are.
We're a real advocate of open networks and policy because customers want that flexibility. No government should help build barriers that limit creativity and innovation in any way.
Devices are changing, too. The device manufacturers have been learning a lot in recent years about how to make devices more intuitive.
Some companies will always have a physical office location in some way, but the office of the future will have so many permutations--whether you are working in a Starbucks, in the airport or wherever. Mobile helps call into question how much time you spend filing and doing desktop things and whether or not you can do those things from another location.
Abundant Apps
"Doing more on mobile" might be a good theme for small business to work toward, as more apps look to cut the cord on daily functions such as managing travel details, initiating video calls, processing mobile payments and attending meetings.
Sabre TripCase
Developed by the well-known airline booking network Sabre, TripCase is an iPhone app that shows messages, alerts and status updates on travel-related information such as waiting times for security lines, bag claim info, flight status, gate changes and all pertinent flight, hotel and rental car information for different trips.
Skype Mobile
The VoIP and video calling app is no longer available on Windows Mobile phones, but Skype is looking to make up for that by integrating Skype Mobile on more devices out of the warehouse and packaging it with service from mobile carriers like Verizon Wireless.
Charge Anywhere
The latest among a cadre of applications that enable payments by mobile phones, including the capability for small businesses to use mobile phones to process customer credit- and debit-card payments.
Fuze Meeting
This BlackBerry and iPhone app takes videoconferencing toward full collaboration with screen-sharing of presentations and other data, similar to the popular desktop app WebEx. It even lets you "fetch" the folks who haven't shown up yet.
A group chat app that also allows shared presentation, this iPhone player may realize its fullest potential now that it's available for the big-screen iPad, too.
Bill Malloy, venture partner, Ignition Partners
Small-business owners were the earliest of early adopters for mobile service. From the outset of mobile technology, the entrepreneurial-minded were savvy enough (and busy enough) to see the benefit of a phone without a wire--even the original, expensive, bulky ones that cost thousands of dollars. Those who got it understood from the beginning that mobility made small business bigger.
The evolution of technology and services has made mobile not only more appealing and more affordable for small business--mobile is now also an indispensable tool. Video-capable smartphones with computer-like processing power change the way businesses interact with their customers. Innovative applications free desktop-bound daily business processes. And mobile broadband technology options challenge expectations for where and how phones can be used, rendering physical office locations optional.
How will the continuing evolution of small-business mobility further change how small businesses operate? Will emerging applications transform how you conduct your business? Will your phone really act like a computer? Will you ever need to go to the office again?
Who better to answer those questions than three mobile visionaries: the leader of one of the nation's largest mobile-service providers, a long-time industry executive and investor and the head of mobile endeavors for a global Internet juggernaut.
We sit down with each of them to get their take on how mobile services, devices and apps are changing the way small business does business. (Here's a hint: video.)
Dan Hesse, CEO, Sprint Nextel
You've seen Dan Hesse--strolling down a city street, walking the concourse at Grand Central Terminal and sitting in the back of a cab. These scenes are from Sprint TV commercials, but Hesse's casual, low-key delivery in discussing unlimited-use plans and mobile broadband is meant to appeal directly to the everyday business user and make you feel as if you could continue the conversation with him after the commercial ends. (Hesse even includes his e-mail address in one.) We talk to him about where business service rates are going (down), where video app usage is headed (up) and why you're stuck with those ghastly early-termination fees.
When you look at the economy coming out of the recession, the small-business market will pick up sooner than the consumer segment.
We are seeing some evolution to the mobile office. Daily active wireless usage among small businesses is growing. We see more hoteling and sharing of offices or cubicles but that also creates more teamwork challenges.
You will see more wireless access of centralized office resources, and you will see less and less reliance on a physical office by many business users. But that office will not go away anytime soon.
Rates will continue to come down for business users, particularly when you talk about data and rate per gigabyte. In service plans, there will be an increase in simplicity and predictability and more sharing of plans among business users.
A lot of things are done today in the cloud. In the long-range future, you'll see a combination of fairly loaded phones, and also some applications residing in the cloud.
Video applications are going to be more common, particularly as you get into a 4G network environment. There will be a lot more video, TV and movie downloads. You'll see this in both entertainment and business applications.
Our network is extremely open. Sprint has never blocked an application. Our app store is really just an augmentation of what's out there from many different sources.
Sprint was the first one to open all of its devices for HTML browsing. We can't guarantee the quality of that application that you find somewhere other than our store, but we think you should have access to it.
We sell devices for $100 that we paid our suppliers $400 to $500 for, and that's not even counting if there is a retailer involved. So, we're out a lot of money when you walk out the door.
If customers don't want a contract, that's fine. It's all about customer choice. But with a contract, you can get a smartphone for a fraction of the cost you would pay without a contract. Most of them will choose not to pay all that money upfront and instead take the contract.
Early-termination fees have become a real hot-button issue, but there is a reason for them that's rooted in the reality of the cost of doing business. We'll continue to use them.
We want users to have as many devices as possible to use on our network. The smartphone will continue to be the Swiss Army Knife.
Honestly, my No. 1 mobile-business app is e-mail. I use calendar functions a lot, too, and the camera and the alarm clock. I like the Android apps, things like Google Maps and Google Sky. The soundboard apps on Android are a lot of fun. That's about it, which I guess makes me kind of a boring old guy.
Transformative Technologies
What can businesses do via mobile technology? The easier question to answer is "What can't they do?" Not much, thanks to a few technologies you will be hearing more about later in the year:
The mobile industry geek brigade will want to corner you and try to explain the differences between 4G LTE and 4G WiMAX, two technologies beings used in network upgrades. But the important thing for businesses is that they will be able to enjoy bandwidth bursts up to 12 Mbps--which is why everyone is suddenly talking about video apps.
No more dropped calls inside your office when you have a femtocell. It's like having a cell tower next to your desk--but without the broken ceiling, the noise or the giant concrete base to trip over. A rapidly dropping price tag (now between $50 and $100) makes femtocells ideal for small business.
Everyone knows about Wi-Fi, but one of the most interesting trends for the rest of 2010 and beyond is the phone as Wi-Fi hot spot. The Novatel Wireless MiFi unit--in use by Sprint and Verizon Wireless, among others--started the trend. But smartphones integrated with the capability, such as the HTC Evo and Palm Pre Plus, are making it more attractive and efficient.
Voice over IP is another not-exactly-new technology that's new to mobile. Alternative voice apps, such as Skype Mobile and Google Voice, might be close to finding a place in everyday mobile communications. For business users, it's all about cheaper calling, but these apps wouldn't be ready for prime time if mobile devices and mobile networks weren't ready to fully leverage the Internet.
Russell Shaw, general manager, Skype Mobile
Bill Malloy, venture partner, Ignition Partners
Bill Malloy has been there since the beginning: He started out in marketing for McCaw Cellular in 1985, helping the mobile industry pioneer launch the first mass-market product (the Go Phone) and the first nationwide mobile brand (Cellular One). After AT&T acquired McCaw, Malloy became a top exec there. He's a two-time Internet company CEO (Peapod and WorldStream Communications) and since 2002 has been at VC firm Ignition Partners, in Bellevue, Wash., guiding the next generation of mobile and Internet innovation. Malloy talks to us about patience, the vending machine of mobile apps and how mobile video changes everything.
The best customers for wireless always were small businesses. The small-business user has always been one of the first to figure out what's right for them.
Since I started in the mobile business more than 25 years ago, we have been in search of the one device that can do everything. My God, did it take a long time.
We're at the point where we've rendered the computer into a small device. You also have almost a vending-machine approach with applications. The result is a great, rich environment where the thresholds are so low for starting a new business.
I remember when I had a SkyPager and my cell phone, because the pager had better coverage and you got messages. Even when the BlackBerry came out, I still had a phone. But since I've had a smartphone, I'm not using other devices as much.
Because applications are starting to go independent of wireless carriers, you have more of a shopping mall environment.
All of the things that make a small business work are now at the device level with smartphones. You can get business apps, QuickBooks, your time sheets--all on mobile. The investment you had to make before in an office and Centrex service--you don't need to worry about today.
There are so many emerging things that were new years ago that we now can touch and feel. What I'm really interested in are the people who are creating businesses from the intersection of all those things.
Back in the day, we would sell a small business a $3,500 phone based on the idea that you could use it in a car. The idea that you could do something you couldn't do before was enough. That's where we are today with mobile video apps.
Mobile video will absolutely be a big area. The ability to see people on the call and items that you want to look at changes everything.
Adequate has more value than not being able to do it at all. And it will only get better.
Decadent Devices
The excitement around the iPad demonstrates that mobile-device users are ready for new form factors and larger screens built for a mobile video experience. As 2010 plays out, business users will see a number of new mobile devices, from smartphones to netbooks, that will help deliver on the promise of new mobile video apps while providing other new features of interest to business users.
HTC Evo
Due out this summer, it will be the first phone made for Sprint's 4G network, the advent of which Sprint CEO Dan Hesse says will usher in an array of mobile video apps. The Evo's 4.3-inch screen will accommodate video apps that businesses will find useful, such as videoconferencing. It also has two cameras--an 8-megapixel camera for HD video and a 3.1-megapixel camera on the front screen to enable all those video calls. Plus, it can serve as a Wi-Fi hot spot for as many as eight other devices.
Dell Aero
The computer company started making smartphones for international markets last year, and it makes its U.S. debut this year with the Aero. The first Android smartphone for AT&T's network, it will one-up the iPhone by including Adobe Flash. Also notable: Wi-Fi connectivity and a custom user interface developed by Dell and AT&T.
Motorola i1
It's billed as the first Android smartphone with push-to-talk service--good news for field businesses on Nextel's network that have been waiting for a device that preserves traditional push-to-talk utility. Somehow simultaneously slim and rugged, it also has Wi-Fi and a screamin' speaker.
Palm Pre Plus
Another smartphone that doubles as a Wi-Fi hot spot, the Palm Pre Plus and related Pixi Plus also allow cordless inductive battery charging. The Pre Plus has double the memory of the original Pre--encouraging if you want to run multiple apps at the same time.


text:
A significant reduction in stroke deaths in England in recent years appears to be tied to lower dietary intake of salt, according to an analysis of nationwide data.
In parallel to an average drop of 1.4 g/day of salt, stroke deaths fell 42% and deaths from ischemic heart disease fell 40% between 2003 and 2011, according to Feng J. He, PhD, of the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in London, and colleagues.
The study, published in BMJ Open, appears just weeks after a meta-analysis in the American Journal of Hypertension questioned the link between sodium intake and stroke and heart attacks, finding little evidence that salt restriction recommendations have resulted in reductions in cardiovascular deaths.
In that meta-analysis, the Danish authors said their findings were an important extension of the controversial 2013 Institute of Medicine report, which suggested there was not enough evidence to show sodium reduction below 2,300 mg per day resulted in declines in stroke and other cardiovascular events and deaths.
In an April 1 blog post, the American Heart Association (AHA) criticized the Danish study for being based on "flawed data." AHA recommends limiting sodium intake to less than 1,500 mg per day.
"Those studies [in the meta-analysis] were poorly designed to examine the relationship between sodium intake and mortality, and the findings fail to take into account well-established evidence about sodium intake," the AHA post noted. "Other problems ... included unreliable measurements of sodium intake and an overemphasis on studying sick people rather than the general population."
On the other hand, the research by He and colleagues addresses many of the methodological problems associated with the earlier studies, said AHA president-elect Elliott Antman, MD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
"This is a very rigorous and important study," he said. "The 8-year time frame is certainly a strength, as is the fact that the researchers eliminated people receiving blood pressure lowering medications to isolate out, as much as possible, the impact of salt restriction. And they used 24-hour urine, which is the gold standard for measuring sodium intake."
Salt Restriction Program
The U.K. initiated a nationwide salt reduction program in 2003-2004, which resulted in a 15% reduction in population salt intake by 2011.
"To determine the relationship between this reduction in salt intake and the fall in blood pressure and mortality from stroke and ischemic heart disease, we analyzed the data from a series of health surveys carried out in a nationally representative sample of the population in England," He and colleagues wrote.
The researchers used blood pressure and other cardiovascular disease risk factor data from the Health Survey for England, which is an annual survey of the English population living in private homes. The surveys included in the analysis were from the years 2003, 2006, 2008, and 2011 and included participants who were age 16 or older with recorded blood pressure measurements. The number of participants with recorded measurements was over 9,000 in 2003, over 8,000 in 2006 and 2008, and about 5,000 in 2011.
In each survey, interviewers recorded demographic information, smoking status, consumption of alcohol, and fruit and vegetables. Trained nurses measured body weight, height, and blood pressure.
Mean salt intake, as measured by 24-hour urinary sodium, was taken from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey in participants ages 19 to 64.
In the 2000-2001 survey, 24-hour urine was collected in a random sample of about 1,200 adults in Great Britain. As 24-hour urine collection was not made in 2003 when the U.K. salt reduction program started, it was assumed that salt intake in 2003 was the same as that in 2000-2001.
In 2005-2006, 24-hour urine was collected in a random sample of 350 adults in England.
In 2008, the 24-hour urine collection was made in a random sample of 692 adults in the U.K., and in 2011, 24-hour urine was collected in a random sample of 547 adults in England.
The authors pointed out that the original health surveys did not did not separate the results by countries.
"It has been shown that salt intake was higher in Scotland and lower in Wales compared with that in England," they explained. "A difference in the composition of the population surveyed at different years may cause a bias to the trend in 24-hour urinary sodium."
However, they noted that Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland make up a small proportion (16%) of the entire U.K. population. Difference in salt intake among the smaller countries may have balanced each other out, they said.
The researchers compared blood pressure in 2011 with that in 2003 with adjustment for potential confounding factors. In order to further exclude any potential confounding effect of blood pressure treatments, they included only participants who were not on blood pressure drugs or other medications that might affect blood pressure.
Death data were obtained form the Office for National Statistics.
Average Salt Intake Declined Over Time
The authors reported that the average salt intake was 9.5 g/day in 2003, falling to 9 g/day in 2005-2006, 8.64 g/day in 2008, and 8.1 g/day in 2011. This represented a reduction over this time period of 1.4 g/day or 15% (P<0.05).
They also noted:
- Reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure of 3.0/1.4 mmHg (P<0.001 for both measurements)
- Decrease of 0.4 mmol/L in total cholesterol (P<0.001)
- Decline in smoking prevalence from 19% to 14% (P<0.001)
- Increase in fruit and vegetable consumption (0.2 portion/day, P<0.001)
- Increase in body mass index (BMI) for the population as a whole by 0.5 kg/m2 (P<0.001)
They concluded that all of these factors (except the increase in BMI) contributed to the decline in stroke and ischemic heart disease mortality, along with improvements in the treatment of hypertension, cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease.
In people who were not taking antihypertensive drugs, blood pressure fell by 2.7/1.1 mmHg (P<0.001) between 2003 and 2011 after adjusting for age, sex, ethnic group, education, household income, alcohol consumption, fruit and vegetable intake, and BMI.
Salt intake was not measured in these participants, but the average salt intake in the population at large fell by 15% during the period.
"The fact that after adjusting for almost all other major factors known to be associated with [blood pressure], there was still a significant fall in blood pressure of 2.7/1.1 mmHg from 2003 to 2011, would suggest that these falls ... were likely to be largely attributable to the reduction in population salt intake which occurred during this period," He and colleagues wrote.
A study limitation was the use of different sets of participants in the different surveys, which could subject the study to ecological bias. Another limitation was the potential confounding effect of variables which were not measured, such as the effect of physical activity.
The authors concluded that more efforts to reduce salt intake were needed.
"Despite considerable progress being made on salt reduction, the mean salt intake in England (8.1 g/day in 2011) was still 35% higher than the recommended level of 6 g/day, and 70% of the adult population (80% men and 58% women) had a daily salt intake above the recommended level," they wrote. "Therefore, continuing and much greater efforts are needed to achieve further reductions in salt intake to prevent the maximum number of stroke and [ischemic heart disease] deaths."
He reported relationships with the Consensus Action on Salt & Health (CASH) and World Action on Salt & Health (WASH). Both are nonprofits, and no financial support was received by the researcher.
One co-author is chairman of Blood Pressure UK, chairman of CASH, and chairman of WASH. One co-author is a employee of CASH.


text:
POKEMON Single Card SM - SUN & MOON BASE SET (Reverse Holo) - 125/149 Poké Ball
Mint / near mint condition trading card.
Shipped in soft sleeve for safe transit.
Please see the checkout for the delivery options. We offer a wide range of services to give you the greatest choice.
We ship for FREE within the United Kingdom, as well as offer services to Europe. If you have any questions on whether we ship to your country, please let us know using the contact us form.


text:
Contact Supplier
Ms. ChloeLeave a message
|Payment Type:
|L/C,T/T,Western Union
|Min. Order:
|10 Set/Sets
|Delivery Time:
|35 Days
Basic Info
Model No.: New Sofa 007
Color: White
Size: 3380*1770*940mm
Additional Info
Packaging: carton
Productivity: 50 Set per day
Brand: Olucy
Transportation: Ocean
Place of Origin: China
Supply Ability: 1500 Set per month
Certificate: ISO9001:2008
Port: Shenzhen,China
Product Description
With seamless seat cushions that reach beyond and around its armrests, our Olucy International sofa trades traditional box-like cushions. Filled with a soft down blend, the sofa's cushions sit deep and and comfortable. Tapered maple legs lighten the look with a little lift.White color with a elegant shape with a slim feet.Just like a beautiful young girl stand in there. Simple and elegant and comfortable is the Olucy international sofa.
Company Information
1. Our company has a lot of production line, advanced technology and equipment with skillful and experienced key staff to delivery most fashionable, elegant, high quality product.
2. We have years of experience in producing bed frame, commercial and domestic use mattress and sofa, we deliver our services and products to commercial hotels, direct furniture wholes sale across china, currently 69 retail branch alliance and in partner with our company.
Our products are exported to Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, india and other countries.
3. Our team has strong design and development capability, providing OEM.
4. thought effective management and produce process, we are pound of delivering the lowest price and best service.
Our Service
1). Custom made as required
We can make the sample for every client as per your requirement.
2) Quality
All material are 100% genuine environmental friendly
We`ve been focused on making furniture for 10 years. We have been successfully passing on the value added product to client from effective technology development.
4). Why choose us?
1. Provide OEM order
2. Strict quality and manufacturing control system
3. Prompt delivery and small order welcome.
4. Great product, great service
Polited Notice:
Because of commercial secrecy, we just show some of our products on the website.
Pls don't hesitate to contact us if you are interested in our products.
We promise to give you best products and service.
1. I can`t find the size I want
Customized size is ok. All sizes available.
2. How can I get them to my Country ?
Shipment is easy based on your requirements.It is usually by Sea Shipment. But it can be also shipped by Trucks or by Air
Product Categories : Modern Sofa > Genuine Leather Sofa
Hot Products


text:
FanSlam Q&A - Dec. 2003 Double DVD-R
Available in VHS or DVD-R
Please verify you have a compatible player before purchasing our DVD-R titles. We are not responsible for the compatibility of your player to our DVD-R titles.
Click here to check: (DVD-R Compatibility Chart)
Highspotsexclusive release of the December 6, 2003 Fan Slam Convention in Totowa, N.J.
This unique four part set covers comments and answers from Ted DiBiase, "Dr. D" David Schultz, Virgil, Gary Michael Capetta, Chief Jay Strongbow and The Missing Link.
The first part was a Q & A segment hosted by Greg Oliver (author of The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Canadians). Listen to "Dr. D" David Schultz comment on the John Stossel '20/20' segment where he hit Stossel in the ear. Schultz's discusses who knew he was going to do it, and he also comments on what Vince McMahon's first reaction was and how McMahon's reaction changed once the lawsuit by Stossel was filed. This DVD also contains Dr. D's shocking and controversial comments on Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon. He calls each man every name in the book and comments on how he would like revenge on Vince McMahon for the end of his career.
Ted DiBiase speaks about why he would never allow his children to grow up to be wrestlers. DiBiaseand Virgilthen share stories of their run with the WWF.
Missing Link opens up with comments about his drug use and how it ruined his career and life. Also see the Missing Link without his make-up.
Gary Michael Capetta comments on his first meeting with a young Shane McMahon and what Shane told him the goal of running a good promotion is.
The second part is an upclose interview with legendary wrestler "Chief" Jay Strongbow. Strongbow sat down one-on-one with Highspots for this exclusive interview of his career. Listen to him talk about his first pay day. He talks about matches with legends like Lou Thesz, Gorgeous George, Freddie Blassie and more. He comments on what tag team partners he liked and disliked. He said who his true friends in the business were. Great stories of Andre the Giant, Gorilla Monsoon, Mr. T and more.
The third segment is a short segment with Dewey Robertson. Robertson is the man behind The Missing Link. This is a short preview of the upcoming shoot interview Highspots conducted with Robertson. Robertson comments on why his stay with the WWF was so short in 1985. He talks about hearing the "Kiss of Death." This preview is maybe one of the most emotional shoot interviews ever done.
The fourth segment features some of the wrestlers on this video in action. See rare and exciting matches from the men during their careers.
Average Customer Review: Not yet rated
Write an online review and share your thoughts with others.


text:
State Profile: Largest Employers
North Carolina
These are the 50 largest employers in North Carolina. Select an employer name to learn more.
Displaying Records 1 - 25 of 50 Next
Business Information is provided by Infogroup, Omaha, NE ©2020. All Rights Reserved.
To request a change or addition, please contact Infogroup at firstname.lastname@example.com or visit www.expressupdate.com
to state profile page.


text:
'Anarcho-Capitalists' Seen as Cousins of the 'Patriot' Movement
'Anarcho-Capitalists' Seen as Cousins of the 'Patriot' Movement
The courts disagreed. In 2009, after years of very public litigation, a federal appeals panel upheld the SEC's charges and fined Stansberry $1.5 million.
Stansberry — who had enjoyed some respect in financial circles and whose First Amendment argument (though not his conduct) was endorsed by respected news outlets who feared the case would set a precedent for punishing the press for publishing incorrect financial analysis — did not take the verdict well.
He did not stop peddling advice — but these days, it's about more than get-rich-quick schemes. Evidently soured on the government by his brush with the law, Stansberry has turned from scam artist to antigovernment radical, using various Internet publications to mix dubious investment advice with apocalyptic warnings about a coming era of tyranny that will destroy America.
His most recent insight? According to a YouTube video distributed across a multitude of far-right websites and discussed with great seriousness by figures like antigovernment conspiracist Alex Jones, President Obama is planning to overthrown the Constitution, implement socialism, and seize a third term in office.
According to Stansberry, Obama won't even have to use force to do it. Instead, the president plans to buy his third term with untold profits gained from mining America's vast shale oil deposits, which will lead to an era of extraordinary prosperity unlike anything America has seen before.
"All of this new wealth," Stansberry says, "will seem like a gift from the Prophet Muhammad to the administration of Barack Obama."
And his supporters will eat it up. Once the black gold really starts flowing, Stansberry claims, the president will execute a Hugo Chavez-like power grab, distributing money and favors to friends, cronies, and political allies, who in return will cheer for him in the streets as he seizes an unconstitutional third term — and, possibly, even a fourth — in office. During his reign of terror, Obama will replace America's market economy with a socialist dictatorship and "punish and tax those who work hard," using the wealth they create to "buy favors and luxuries for millions of Americans … who have done nothing to earn it."
America, of course, will be ruined.
Stansberry is not the only ultra-libertarian to promote such ideas. One of his most prominent fellow travelers is Doug Casey, an antigovernment "investment guru" who on Nov. 29 told subscribers to his newsletter that being a taxpayer in America today is analogous to "being a Jew in Germany in the mid-1930's."
On the surface, Casey (who often cross-promotes Stansberry's articles on his various websites and newsletters and who is described by Stansberry as a friend and mentor) seems a cheerful misanthrope, whose breezy manner and self-deprecating wit (he often says Uncle Scrooge McDuck is his hero) is a refreshing change from the pompous grandiosity of his close cousins in the far-right "Patriot" movement.


text:
Just as the grains add sugars to the wort they also each contribute color. Grains which have been roasted longer during the malting process provide darker color as well as additional roasted flavor. You can see this amount in the grains/sugars listing under min/max color. This calculation sums the color added by each of the grains which depends on the weight of the grain addition and estimates the color based on the final batch amount. Other additions such as fruits may impact the color as well but are not accounted for in this calculation.
Beer Color Calculator
The grains, extracts and fermentable sugars you use contribute color to your beer. You can use this calculator to estimate the color of finished beer from a set of fermentables.


text:
Liberty will take on Longwood in the second semifinal of the Big South Men's Soccer Championship, Friday at Bryan Park Soccer Complex in Greensboro, N.C.
The No. 7 seed Liberty Flames men's soccer team will face the No. 3 seed Longwood Lancers in the second Big South Men's Soccer Championship semifinal, Friday evening at Bryan Park Soccer Complex in Greensboro, N.C. The contest is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The winner advances to the Big South Championship final against the winner of Friday's first semifinal between No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina and No. 5 seed Radford, Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
How to Follow the Flames Friday evening's contest will be video streamed live on the Big South Network free of charge. The broadcast can be accessed by clicking on the video link under men's soccer on LibertyFlames.com.
In addition, live stats will also be provided. They can be accessed by clicking on the live stats link under men's soccer on LibertyFlames.com.
Sunday's title game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
A Look at Liberty Liberty advanced to Friday's Big South semifinal with a 1-0 win over No. 2 seed High Point, Tuesday evening in High Point, N.C.
A strong defensive effort keyed the Liberty victory. Junior Scott Sutarik, playing in his first game since Oct. 1 due to injury, tied a season high with seven saves in the contest and along with a solid performance from his teammates on the defensive end, recorded the Flames' sixth shutout of the season.
Forward Sachem Wilson netted his team-leading 10th goal during the 22nd minute in the win. Wilson put in a rebound of a shot by defender Jamie Foxwell after a Liberty corner kick.
The victory moved the Flames to 10-8 on the season. With its win Tuesday, Liberty has posted 10 or more victories in six out of its last six seasons. The Flames have advanced past the first round of the conference tournament in six of the last eight years.
Midfielder Sachem Wilson has paced the Flames in goals and points for most of 2013. The sophomore enters Friday night's contest with 10 goals and three assists for 23 points. Wilson's goals and points are the most by a Liberty player since Darren Amoo scored 12 goals and compiled 27 points in 2010.
Sophomore defender Tim Harbison follows Wilson with 10 points on four goals and two assists. Both are career highs for the defender. Midfielder Blessing Tahuona and forward Kyle Breitmeyer have scored three goals each. Forward Tyler Bullock has netted two goals to round out the multi-goal scorers for the Flames this season. In total, nine Flames have netted a goal this season.
Tahuona leads the Liberty with four assists on the year, while midfielder Jonatan Torres and Wilson have three assists each. The Flames have had 11 different players record an assist in 2013.
Sutarik has started six games between the goal posts for the Flames this season. The junior has posted a 0.95 goals-against average and .833 save percentage. He has been in goal for four of Liberty six shutouts this season.
Before Tuesday, Jeremy Lee had started the previous nine contests and 10 games in 2013 for Liberty. The redshirt freshman has posted a 1.40 goals-against average and .700 save percentage.
Liberty has recorded six shutouts, all coming in victories this season. As a team, Liberty enters Friday's game with a 1.26 goals-against average.
Liberty's Jeff Alder is in his 13th year as head coach at his alma mater. Alder has posted a 126-94-22 career record, while heading the Flames' program. He has led Liberty to its only two Big South titles, capturing the championship in 2007 and 2011.
Liberty in the Big South Championship Since joining the Big South Conference for men's soccer in 1991, Liberty is 23-17-3 in Big South Championship matches. Including this year, the Flames have posted a 9-3-2 record at the tournament during the past seven seasons, reaching the title game three times during the span (2007, 2009 & 2011). Liberty has reached the title game seven times in program history, winning the Big South crown twice in 2007 and 2011. Liberty won its first Big South crown with a 2-1 victory over Radford on Nov. 18, 2007 at Eagle Stadium in Rock Hill, S.C. In 2011, Liberty captured its second Big South title with a 3-1 win over Gardner-Webb at Greene-Harbison Stadium in Boiling Springs, N.C. on Nov. 13.
The Flames' most common opponent in the Big South tournament has been the Winthrop Eagles. The two teams have split their 11 tournament meetings, 5-5-1. Liberty has faced Radford the second most times, nine, in the tournament and has posted a 5-2-2 mark against the Highlanders.
Liberty Against the 2013 Big South Championship Field in Tournament Coastal Carolina.................... 1-1 Longwood.............................. 0-0 Radford.............................. 5-2-2 Liberty in the Big South The Flames are 98-56-14 in Big South play and 141-80-27 all-time against the current membership of the Big South Conference.
The most common opponent in the history of the Liberty men's soccer program has been fellow Commonwealth member Radford. The Flames and Highlanders have met 46 times, with Liberty holding a 22-16-8 record all-time. Liberty has faced Radford 11 more times than any other school in program history.
Big South member Winthrop is the second most faced opponent for the Flames. The Eagles have played each other 35 time, with the Flames holding a 21-11-3 mark in the all-time series.
Liberty All-time Against Big South Membership Campbell............................................. 9-11-1 Coastal Carolina.................................. 8-16-1 Gardner-Webb...................................... 9-5-2 High Point.......................................... 13-11-4 Longwood............................................ 14-3-3 Presbyterian College............................. 6-0-0 Radford............................................. 22-16-8 UNC Asheville..................................... 22-5-3 VMI...................................................... 17-2-2 Winthrop............................................ 21-11-3 All-Time........................................ 141-80-27
Sutarik Returns Tuesday night, junior goalkeeper Scott Sutarik returned to the Liberty lineup after missing several weeks of action due to an injury suffered in 3-1 loss to High Point at Vert Stadium on Oct. 1. This time was drastically different for Sutarik as he tied his season high with seven saves, helping to lead the Flames to a 1-0 win over High Point at Vert Stadium. He recorded his fourth shutout in six games this season in the victory.
With his shutout Tuesday, Sutarik enters Friday night's Big South semifinal tied for fourth all-time at Liberty with 15 career shutouts. In addition, he lowered his career goals-against average to 0.91 and currently ranks third all-time in program history.
Duininck Answers Call Defender Sam Duininck heads into Friday night's contest, having started every one of the Flames' matches the past three seasons. The senior and two-time team captain will be among Liberty's starting 11 for the 56th time in a row for the Flames, Friday evening.
Road Runners Liberty has played 11 of its 18 games on the road this season, posting a 5-6 record. Head Coach Jeff Alder's team opened 2013 by playing seven of its first nine games on the road. Liberty enters Friday night's contest having won its last two road outings. The Flames won 3-1 at Campbell on Nov. 2 in their final regular season road game, before advancing to Friday evening's Big South Semifinal matchup with their 1-0 win at High Point, Tuesday.
Relying on Youth For the 2013 campaign, Liberty has relied on underclassmen. 17 of Liberty's 26 players are either a sophomore or freshman.
Of Liberty's expected starting 11, two are freshman (Defenders Alex Dominguez and David Gray) and four are sophomores (Jamie Foxwell, Tim Harbison, Blessing Tahuona and Sachem Wilson).
Goalkeeper Scott Sutarik is the only junior on Liberty's current roster.
Duininck, Niño Named Big South All-Conference Liberty defender Sam Duininck and midfielder Juan Niño have been selected to 2013 Big South All-Conference teams. Duininck earned first team selection, while Niño was named to the second team. A two-time Liberty team captain, Duininck was named to the all-conference team for the first time. The senior defender has started every Flames contest this season and has been among the Liberty starting 11 for 55 consecutive contests.
The Tulsa, Okla. native has scored one goal and added one assist this season. His goal was the game-winner in a 1-0 win at American on Sept. 21. In addition, he has been part of six shutouts this season.
Niño receives his first all-conference honor. The midfielder has started and played in 17 games this season. A strong defensive presence and midfield fixture for Liberty, the senior has two assists. One of his assists led to the game-winning overtime goal in a 2-1 victory over Longwood on October 29.
In addition, he was selected to the 2013 men's soccer All-Academic team. The Katy, Texas native is a three-time Big South Presidential Honor Roll member.
One Last Run All three members of Liberty's coaching staff are Liberty graduates. Head Coach Jeff Alder graduated from Liberty in 1991, while assistant coach Dean Short is a 2002 graduate and assistant coach Andrew Madero is a 2010 graduate. After 10 years as an assistant on Alder's staff, Short will be leaving Liberty to pursue full-time missions work this spring. He also spent four seasons as a goalkeeper with the Flames and is one of three Liberty players to earn three first team Big South All-Conference selections.
2013 Big South Men's Soccer Championship Tuesday, Nov. 12 (at Highest Seeds) Game 1: No. 4 seed Gardner-Webb 1 vs. No. 5 seed Radford 2 (OT) Game 2: No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina 2 vs. No. 8 seed Winthrop 1 Game 3: No. 2 seed High Point 0 vs. No. 7 seed Liberty 1 Game 4: No. 3 seed Longwood 2 vs. No. 6 seed Campbell 2 (Longwood advances on PKs, 4-1)
Friday, Nov. 15 (Bryan Park, Greensboro, N.C.) Game 5: No. 5 seed Radford vs. No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina, 4 p.m. Game 6: No. 7 seed Liberty vs. No. 3 seed Longwood, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 17 (Bryan Park, Greensboro, N.C.) Game 7: winner game 5 vs. winner game 6, 2 p.m.
Like Us on Facebook
Follow Us on Twitter
Follow Us on Instagram


text:
A bantamweight bout between former WEC champion Eddie Wineland (17-6-1 MMA, 4-2 WEC) and promotional newcomer Ken Stone (9-1 MMA, 0-0 WEC) will be part of December's promotion-ending WEC 53 card.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed that verbal agreements are in place for the fight, which was first reported by MMAFighting.com.
WEC 52 place Dec. 16 at Jobing.com Arena near Phoenix in Glendale, Ariz. The night's main card, including a pair of title fights, airs live on Versus.
As MMAjunkie.com first reported back in September, Wineland was expected to fight Damacio Page at Thursday's WEC 52 event in Las Vegas. However, an injury eventually forced him off the card.
But the layoff will be a short one for Wineland, who looks for his fourth straight WEC victory following decision wins over Manny Tapia and George Roop and a TKO victory over Will Campuzano at WEC 49. The WEC's first-ever 135-pound champ looks to reclaim his belt, which he lost to Chase Beebe in 2006. Wineland, who's resurrected his career in the past couple years, is 5-1 since that title loss.
Stone, an American Top Team fighter who's competed all over the East Coast, is a finisher who's posted stoppages in all nine of his career victories. His only loss came via split decision to Jason McLean back in 2009 in a fight in which he broke his foot. Stone hasn't exactly faced world-beaters thus far in his career, but the former NCAA Division III wrestler does own wins over Chris Simmons (6-0 at the time) and Ben Manseau (5-1).
The latest WEC 53 card includes:
- Champ Benson Henderson vs. Anthony Pettis (for lightweight title)
- Champ Dominick Cruz vs. Scott Jorgensen (for bantamweight title)
- Donald Cerrone vs. Chris Horodecki
- Bart Palaszewski vs. Kamal Shalorus
- Shane Roller vs. Jamie Varner
- Ivan Menjivar vs. Brad Pickett
- Danny Castillo vs. Will Kerr
- Renan Barao vs. Chris Cariaso
- Ken Stone vs. Eddie Wineland*
- Danny Downes vs. Tiequan Zhang*
- Yuri Alcantara vs. Ricardo Lamas*
* – Not officially announced
For the latest on WEC 53, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
(Pictured: Eddie Wineland)


text:
Chapleton - Navy Suede
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Materials: navy suede
Sole: Ultramar Island
All our Shoes are Handcrafted Made To Order by our Highly Skilled Artisans in our workshops in Spain. All Shoes are handcrafted & delivered in 4 - 6 Weeks.
See Our Shipping Rates Below
Please ensure all items & details are correct before submitting your order. ( size - see size guide listed under products, address & contact details )Remember that you are purchasing a totally Made-To-Order product which is not produced in advance, every part of it will be crafted, exclusively for you.
You will have 14 days from receipt of your goods to raise a return request
We aim to reply within 48-72 Hours.
We use DHL as our preferred shipping partners. £4.99 Worldwide Shipping
You will normally receive your goods in 3-5 Days from receiving your Shipping Confirmation email
*Please note that on major international holidays there could be minor delays in delivery. (we will not be held liable for parcels held by customs)
We will do our best to fulfil the above production time for all the orders, however, as a hand-made production process, our production line is subject to issues which are out of our control. Issues like stains or broken pairs while moulding the shoes, forces us to start the manufacturing process from the beginning.
In those cases, we will do our best to keep you informed and try to finish manufacturing as soon as possible.
On the unlikely event of not being able to produce your pair again from the beginning in a reasonable amount of time (i.e. Out of stock of a certain material), we will contact you immediately and offer an exchange or a full refund
If you believe an item to be defective on delivery & would like to discuss a return, please contact us within 14 days of receipt of goods via our Returns Page. Please provide a detailed explanation & photographic evidence of all defects - photos can be sent to email@example.com
The returned product should be unused & in its original packaging.
The cost of returning the product will be payable by the customer.
*Please bear in mind that each individual skin is unique & genuine. Our hand cutting artisan will arrange cutting patterns on the leather-based on their own experience & craftsmanship. There might be differences in skin patterns, size & tones.
If the leather has any type of irregularity it is due to this fact & is one of the special characteristics of a 100% handcrafted product.
On receipt of the returned product, Walcott's Footwear will examine & determine if the refund is applicable.
*Please note that Shoes with your Personal or Embossed Initials cannot be returned under any circumstance.
Please review all orders before submission to ensure all is correct.
Walcott's Footwear is not responsible for any customs fees. Customers must coordinate with the appropriate customs office of their residing country to coordinate pick up or delivery of their shipment, and to process payments for any customs charges.
Box Calf
Calf Suede
Kid Suede
Calf Crust - Hand painted calf
Patent Leather
Polished Calf
The above types of leathers represent a full array of leather skins. They are all used in luxury shoe production and they are different from the "look" and "texture" point of view.
- Crust calf leather (painted calf) enables artisans to hand paint the pieces with special creams and brushes. The look is very artisanal. Source is CONCERIA NUOVA ANTILOPE from Italy (same crust material used by Santoni, Berlutti, Andres Sendra, among many others.
- Box Calf is the regular calf leather use on mens shoes ready made collection
- Calf Suede is our regular calf suede used in most of our ready-made production
- KID SUEDE is the most soft, velvety suede leather type which comes from small goat skins. The skins are pretty small which increases the price of leather (consumption per pair). This is a very delicate suede.
- Polished calf refers to rectified grain calf. This eliminates any skin imperfections. The look is not as natural as a regular, plain full grain, but the look is very good, luxurious. This type of leather is quite expensive because of the post-production processes that it needs at the tannery.
Leather Grades Explained
- Full Grain Leather is the best quality leather sitting at the top of the chain. The majority of our smooth leathers can be categorised as high grade full grain leathers. It refers to the outside part of the animal's hide just below the hair. The term "Full" means that it has not been buffed or sanded, which is a process that is used to remove imperfections or marks. The tight porous nature of the leather prevents moisture retention but it also means that it is thicker.
- Essentially, Top Grain Leather is like full grain but with a twist. It undergoes light sanding to shave off a few millimeters from the top, removing any imperfections. One of the most prominent kinds of top grain leathers is Nubuck.
- Lastly, the most common type of leather comes in many forms and has many names but is best known as Split Leather. It is created from the Corium part of the hide after it is split off the grain layer, hence its name. A prominent kind of split leather is Suede.
Our Production Supply Chain
- If we send leather into the factory that is not up to our Premium Quality standards, the product suffers, the factory struggles and we cannot meet our core Design Values LUXURY STYLE | PREMIUM QUALITY | HIGH COMFORT
- This is why great importance is placed on searching and buying the most expensive element to our high quality footwear.
The Break of the Leather
- There is a saying in the industry –'the break of the leather'– which refers to creases made as the leather naturally flexes time and time again as it is worn. Of course, all shoes take a huge amount of punishment as they are worn day-to-day, open to the elements.
- Only the finest full grain leather, if cared for well, will continue to spring back and hold its shape over time, so we always look for 'a good clean break' in our leathers.
Alligator Genuine Skin
"Alligator mississippiensis" skin renders a very attractive and fashionable leather. The leather is strong, supple, durable and very expensive. A bony layer within the skin adds a protective shield, while a dimple on each scale makes a very exotic look.
- Hailing from the Southeast USA and frequently harvested from farm-bred gators as well as from wild animals, American alligator skin is a classic, durable and versatile leather. The American alligator's hide is the soft and more pliable material. This is because the skin of this reptile is less bony than the skin of crocodiles. This softness makes the alligator's skin easier to work with than the skin of other reptiles, making it easier to work with for cutting, stitching and folding.
Ostrich Genuine Skin
Ostrich leather is one of the finest and most durable leathers. It's a luxurious leather well known for its softness, flexibility and durability. In spite of its softness, Ostrich leather is unsurpassed for its tactile strength. It is, in fact, one of the strongest leathers available. Naturally occurring oils in the leather contribute to its durability, preventing cracking, even under extreme temperatures and sun exposure.
- The main distinguishing feature of ostrich leather is the quill or feather socket markings. The "full quill" area of the leather is the most sought after and therefore the most expensive type of ostrich leather. The quill pattern is the result of large follicles which each contained a feather.
Python Genuine Skin
Snakeskins are very desirable for shoes because of the unique grain, scales, and colour patterns. Snakes are skinned in two ways, cut down the belly scales leaving the small scales in the centre "belly" or "front" cut python, and cut down the back leaving the wide belly scale in the centre, called "back" cut python. We use the "front" cut python.
- The scales were the snakes protection from the elements and are essentially like a callous, dead skin. The size of the scale will vary depending upon the area of the skin cut. The scales have a "lip" open toward the tail will grab and aid the snake in crawling. This lip is your assurance that the snake is genuine.


text:
2014 Pirelli Calendar
Pirelli's Photo Shoot Isn't Sexy, According to Peter Lindbergh
It's back . . . and bigger than ever (in star wattage, that is!). For the celebration of the 50th annual Pirelli calendar, the Italian automaker teamed photographers Patrick Demarchelier and Peter Lindbergh with a bevy of supermodels including Miranda Kerr, Helena Christensen, and Karolina Kurkova. The result is a year's worth of sultry shots of some of the most famous faces in fashion, which certainly give us something to look forward to in November, when the calendar images will be released.
Until then, a behind-the-scenes video — set to the beat of "Blurred Lines," naturally — captures the beachy setting with models decked in black swimsuits and little else. In the clip, Lindbergh explains why windy days are better for oceanside shoots, why he loathes the word "sexy," and which Brazilian model tops his favorites list. See all those moments (including a surprise Gisele Bündchen cameo) in the video and read on to see two steamy photos.
Copyright Pirelli Calendar 50th Anniversary, shot by Patrick Demarchelier.
Copyright Pirelli Calendar 50th Anniversary, shot by Peter Lindbergh.


text:
Trifid Nebula – Messier 20
The Trifid Nebula, also known as Messier 20 (M20), is a large star-forming region located in the southern constellation Sagittarius. The nebula's name means "divided into three lobes," and refers to the object consisting of three types of nebulae and an open star cluster. The open cluster is surrounded by an emission nebula, a reflection … [Read more…]


text:
Horror in the hallway: Masked assailant faces sentencing
When Kurt Kroboth went to the Charlottesville Wal-Mart in the fall of 2004 and bought a vampire mask, his purchase probably didn't raise any eyebrows. After all, it was October 26– five days before Halloween– and Kroboth, a well-heeled financial consultant and film buff, was hardly the only shopper preparing for the holiday.
He may have been the only one plotting a murder, however. On Halloween night, he now admits, he donned the mask and tried to kill his estranged wife by staging a mock suicide that ended up with a harrowing fight in an upstairs hallway.
And while the plot– a cross between the Michael Douglas-Kathleen Turner drama War of the Roses and horror flick Halloween– might not have won him an Oscar, it has won him two felony convictions; his sentencing is set for February 21 in Albemarle Circuit Court.
As he faces a virtual life sentence, friends wonder what could have driven the now 50-year-old Kroboth, whom they describe as "very smart" and "considerate," to commit such a crime.
The root of all evil
"It was greed," says Albemarle County Detective Phil Giles of Kroboth's motive.
Indeed, prosecutors alleged at trial that money was Kroboth's driving force. The Halloween night attack took place exactly one week before the Kroboths' divorce was to be finalized in Albemarle Circuit Court. That left Kroboth just a few days during which he could inherit all marital property without dispute.
And there was plenty to inherit.
In addition to the 4,000-square-foot house the couple built on Terrell Road in 1999 (currently on the market for $945,000), they had purchased a second home on St. Clair Avenue in the city in 2002 as a residence for Kroboth when the marriage began to unravel. All that was in addition to a rental property in Wisconsin, retirement accounts and other investments. In all, court records reveal that a 2004 appraisal set the couple's worth at more than $1.6 million.
And that did not include Kroboth's six-figure income. A mergers and acquisitions expert, he worked on multi-million-dollar deals as a consultant for a New York-based firm called CFC Capital. According to tax records in the court file, Kroboth– who has two graduate degrees including an MBA from Columbia University– earned more than $200,000 in 2000, and had an average annual income of about $130,000 between 1999 and 2003. Jane Kroboth, a stay-at-home mom to their two sons, volunteered for the Virginia Autism Institute.
The issue of custody was particularly heated between the couple. At the time of the murder, they were sharing custody of their 13- and 14-year-old sons, though Jane had primary physical custody and was pressuring Kurt to keep the children away from his girlfriend during the boys' visits.
But, according to prosecutors, while the custody fight may have angered Kroboth, it was the child and spousal support he was ordered to pay that pushed him over the edge.
In July 2004, the court had ordered Kroboth to pay monthly support to Jane in excess of $6,000. According to court documents, Kroboth claimed the sum was nearly 75 percent of his $8,710 gross monthly income– in effect, more than 100 percent of his after-tax, take-home pay.
"The defendant was extremely upset," said Commonwealth's Attorney Cynthia Murray at Kroboth's January 24, 2005 hearing, "to the point of being obsessed with the court's determination, and sought to kill his wife, Jane Kroboth, because he saw her as being the source of his problems."
Marital trouble
Married in 1986 in Fremont, California, the Kroboths had attained all the external trappings of success by the time they moved to Albemarle in the 1990s– two children and soon a stately home they designed and built themselves.
But as emails contained in their divorce file reveal, the marriage had begun to deteriorate, and in 2001 and 2002, they went to an unusual extreme to save their relationship: they opened the marital door– the bedroom door.
Kroboth was aggressive in his search for new mates. Trolling various Internet dating sites including yahoo.com, he had contacted no less than five potential sexual partners, whose correspondence litters the divorce file.
"I'm also happily married," Kroboth wrote in November 2001 to 32-year-old "cutenpetite2001" in Springfield, who described herself as "married but looking." And to Annalee40, he wrote, "Married 15 years, happy enough but not quite satisfied. I miss the excitement experienced in the first stages of a new relationship."
But if Jane had briefly acceded to Kroboth's plan for an "open marriage," her interest in the swinging lifestyle had waned by October 2002. And Kurt– by then seriously involved and claiming to be in love with a new girlfriend– had moved into the house on St. Clair Avenue in the Locust Grove neighborhood.
Though the couple made one last attempt at reconciliation in the fall of 2003, it wasn't long before the wheels of divorce were rolling, and the stage was set for Kroboth's final marital act: murder.
Halloween night
As his two sons slept, Kroboth left the house on St. Clair Avenue some time on Halloween night. It had been an unseasonably warm night for trick-or-treating with the day's high temperature, according to archived weather records, hitting 80 degrees.
Although the temperature plummeted after nightfall, the full moon had come just four days earlier, and the 49-year-old man with the vampire mask had clear skies and no appreciable wind to slow his nocturnal trek.
Upon reaching the Terrell Road house, like the so-called Manson family had done 35 years earlier at the infamous Tate mansion, Kroboth cut the phone lines. Unlike the killers of Sharon Tate, however, Kroboth, as he testified in court, also cut the electrical power to his wife's house.
Having lived in the home for three years, Kroboth knew the floor plan and his wife's habits.
He entered the house around 3:45am, while Jane was asleep upstairs. As a former friend would later testify, Kroboth's plan was to enter the master bedroom they'd once shared and knock his wife outwith a chloroform-soaked rag. Then he planned to take her to a bathtub and slit her wrists, a scenario suggesting that the middle-aged mom had taken her own life.
But this middle-aged mom fought back.
Awakened by a figure in a grotesque mask, Jane struggled with her attacker, whom she later testified she could not identify. Though he attempted to smother her with a pillow, she escaped his grip and ran out of the room onto a second-floor landing, where, according to court documents, Kroboth struck her in the face and repeatedly attempted to heave her over a railing to the first floor, nearly 15 feet below. He failed.
The 911 call came in at 4:09am November 1, says Thomas Hanson, director of the Emergency Communications Center. The caller, using her cell phone, described a masked attacker wearing latex gloves and explained that he had run out the door, Hanson says.
When police found Kroboth at the corner of Angus Road and Emmet Street soon after the attack, they quickly knew they had their man, according to one of the arresting officers.
"He seemed nervous," says Detective Phil Giles, adding that Kroboth, who'd been traveling on foot, was "cooperative" during the arrest but refused to give a statement.
Giles says that Kroboth's finger was red and swollen– Jane reported she had bitten her attacker's finger– and he had speckles of blood and a long black hair consistent with Jane's on his gray hooded sweatshirt– attire Jane had described her attacker wearing.
Inside Kroboth's "fanny pack," police discovered a latex glove, a knife, a small flashlight, and a jar of a "suspicious smelling chemical." And following a sweep of the surrounding neighborhood, they discovered a vampire mask and a piece of another latex glove in a trash can.
Following Kroboth's arrest, police went to his St. Clair Avenue home, where his car was parked and his sons were still sleeping.
Though Giles says police once considered that someone could have driven Kroboth to Terrell Road, they eventually determined he had acted alone by covering the three-plus miles on foot.
"It's not a long run," Giles says, mentioning the Rivanna Trail as one possible path Kroboth, an avid runner, could have taken from St. Clair to the Terrell Road area without being seen.
After determining that the children were unharmed, Giles says, police released them to Jane, who had been treated at the University of Virginia hospital for contusions and a broken nose.
Next, Giles says, police searched Kroboth's house, where the extent of his plan began to unfold. A copy of Jane's will– naming Kurt the sole beneficiary– was out on his desk, and a subsequent forensic analysis of his computer revealed thousands of hits for "chloroform" as well as several hits for "rosary tea," a deadly herb.
But the most damning evidence may have come from a witness who claimed that he had told police months before the attack that Kroboth planned to murder Jane.
Ayers-ing dirty laundry
At first, Kurt Kroboth was simply a gym acquaintance, a man named Michael Ayers testified in Circuit Court. But after Ayers was involved in a car accident in the spring of 2004, Kroboth became a good friend– a good friend with an open wallet.
Ayers– who'd spent nearly a decade in prison for his role in several burglaries– said he'd found religion and healed spiritually, according to court documents, but he still struggled financially. Kroboth, he testified, bought Ayers' young son toys and clothes and often paid Ayers' bills. He even gave him a car, a 1989 Audi.
But Kroboth's generosity eventually came with a string attached, Ayers said, a string that he wasn't willing to pull. Ayers testified that on several occasions, Kroboth offered him $10,000 to kill his wife.
It was Ayers (who could not be reached for comment for this story) who testified to the specifics of Kroboth's plan. Ayers said that Kurt talked of sedating Jane, carrying her limp body to the bathtub, filling the tub, and then slitting her wrists. It would look like the petite brunette had killed herself.
At first he thought Kroboth was joking, Ayers testified, but then he heard that Kroboth had made the same request of another man, a friend of Ayers, who'd also turned him down.
Soon, Kroboth and Ayers' friendship was on the rocks– and it ended completely when Kroboth contacted police to report Ayers for harassment and theft.
"Kroboth came to the station complaining he was getting these annoying phone calls," recalls Charlottesville police officer Phil Waufle, who also testified in the case.
Waufle testified that Kroboth claimed he had given Ayers a car and that Ayers "kept bothering him, saying this needs fixing and he should pay for it."
According to Waufle, Kroboth claimed Ayers had essentially stolen the car, and he asked Waufle for help. "All I want to do is get my car back, and he won't give it to me," Waufle testified Kroboth said.
On September 2, 2004, Waufle accompanied Kroboth to the Lucky 7 convenience store on East Market Street. The conflict, Waufle says, seemed overblown.
"Ayers said, 'You can have the thing back, just let me get stuff,'" Waufle recalls. Ayers then removed several children's toys and an alternator that belonged to him, and Kroboth got in the car and drove away.
After Kroboth left, however, Ayers had a different story for Waufle.
"He was telling me how this guy had come to him and asked him if he wanted to make some money," Waufle recalls.
After hearing about Kroboth's solicitations for Jane's murder, Waufle returned to the Charlottesville police station and filled out an incident report detailing the allegations, which he says he passed to his supervisors on September 2, 2004– two months before Kroboth's attack on Jane.
Waufle says his report was not investigated. And thus the Halloween horror caught the victim with her house unlocked and her guard down.
Ayers testified to his belief that if the city had investigated his claim, Kroboth could have been caught before he acted. "They could have prevented this," he said.
Did the city fail Jane Kroboth? She seems to think so. In a May 2005 letter, she notified the city of her intention to sue for "police negligence." Virginia law requires an individual intending to sue a city or town to give notice within six months of an incident.
"I did everything I was supposed to do," says Waufle.
Police Chief Tim Longo declined comment other than to express "concern" over the allegations, and City attorney Craig Brown says he's received no other communication from Jane Kroboth regarding a lawsuit. However, Jane's attorney, Ron Tweel, says a civil case may be waged by a Richmond law firm in the near future, though he declines to elaborate.
Pleas and no thank you
After his arrest, Kroboth hired prominent Charlottesville defense attorney Francis McQ. Lawrence and his associate Rhonda Quagliana. Faced with the amount of physical evidence in the original seven charges he faced, Kroboth agreed to plead guilty to two: attempted murder and breaking and entering with intent to commit murder while armed with a dangerous weapon.
But sometime after entering that plea on May 5, 2005, Kroboth changed his mind, asking the court to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea.
At what would have been Kroboth's sentencing hearing on August 2, 2005, Lawrence and Quagliana asked the court to recuse them and any member of their firm from serving as Kroboth's counsel. It is an ethical violation for a lawyer to be a witness in a case in which he is counsel, an eventuality that was likely in the Kroboth case, Lawrence and Quagliana said.
An outraged Kroboth wrote to Judge William Shelton, who had granted the attorneys' request to withdraw, asking him to force Lawrence and Quagliana's colleague Cheryl Higgins to represent him, and explaining why he had entered the guilty pleas.
Quagliana and Lawrence "took the case fully intending to have it end in a plea," Kroboth wrote the judge, "thereby earning a large fee for relatively few hours.
"They were clearly occupied by other cases and gave mine minimal attention," he continued in the hand-written letter from the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail, "to the point of failing to investigate a key piece of evidence despite my pleas to do so for three months."
Kroboth's letter didn't specify the allegedly "key" piece of evidence, and Lawrence and Quagliana have declined comment for this story.
Finding a new lawyer from the Jail, where he has been incarcerated since his arrest, Kroboth explained to the judge, is "next to impossible," particularly after the conflict over his legal team's withdrawal had "effectively poisoned the well" with other local attorneys.
Kroboth eventually retained the services of attorney David Heilburg in August 2005, and with Heilburg's counsel, Kroboth once again changed his tack and returned to agreeing to the two guilty pleas.
On Heilburg's advice, Kroboth declined the Hook's request for an interview, but the attorney describes the back-and-forth pleas as the result of a simple misunderstanding.
"He thought he'd originally entered an Alford Plea," Heilburg explains, in which a defendant stops short of admitting to a crime but agrees that the prosecution has enough evidence to convict him.
But according to attorneys on both sides, Kurt Kroboth was under suspicion of domestic assault in early 2004.
"It was a 'run-of-the-mill' domestic assault," says Tweel, "pushing, shoving, that kind of thing." It turned into a "he said, she said" case, he explains. Jane, he says, refused to have her children testify against their father.
But Heilburg says the judge threw the charge out because it was without merit, and that prior to his attempted murder, Kroboth's record was clean.
Though there is now no question about the guilty pleas in the Halloween night attack, Heilburg has filed a motion to continue the sentencing hearing to gain an extra month to gather witnesses who can testify that Kroboth should be spared a harsh sentence.
"This is a man who's never done anything wrong before," he says.
Who was Kurt Kroboth?
To members of Kroboth's family, the crime came as a shock.
It "was so unbelievable to all who know and love him," write his parents, Harvey and Alice Kroboth, in a February 12 email to a reporter. "Just thinking about it is still giving us, his parents, many sleepless nights."
The Kroboths, who live in Wisconsin, describe their son as "very intelligent, very good in conversation with all kinds of people."
Indeed, Kroboth has a graduate business degree from Columbia as well as an MFA degree in film. He has lived abroad and is fluent in French. But beneath his intelligence and charisma, his parents say, is genuine kindness.
"He has always shown love, caring, and consideration for our welfare," they say, "and has helped us tremendously in many ways, at many times."
That generosity extended beyond his family.
One of Kroboth's neighbors on St. Clair Avenue, an elderly woman who asks to remain anonymous, says she too benefited from Kroboth's giving nature. "He was always offering to help me," she says, recalling him carrying groceries and performing other chores for her around her property. "He was such a nice man."
It's hard to reconcile her experiences with Kroboth, she says, with the harsh reality of his crime.
How did she survive?
No doubt Jane's experience mimics many women's worst nightmare– awakened in the middle of the night by a murderous, masked assailant. But somehow Jane Kroboth was able to fend off her attacker.
One local self-defense instructor says Kroboth's instincts likely saved her.
"We do whatever we believe is going to lead to our survival," says Jessica McGrane, who also serves as outreach advocate at the Sexual Assault Resource Agency.
In Jane's case, that included biting her husband's finger, scratching him, and eventually allowing her body to go limp while gripping the spindles on the banister in the hallway.
Jane had some experience with self-defense. Her two sons were karate students at the Inner Stairway in the late 1990s, and both Jane and Kurt were supporters of late dojo master Jim Ennis.
After an article in a local newspaper revealed the existence a double mirror at the studio that might allow voyeurs to peer from a handicapped-accessible bathroom into the ladies locker room, Ennis committed suicide. Both Kroboths wrote letters of outrage about the coverage.
"Observing without getting involved," wrote Kurt Kroboth, "isn't that the definition of voyeurism? Or is it merely the definition of journalism?"
Ennis, Jane Kroboth wrote, was a "gifted teacher" who didn't deserve to be in the headlines.
Years later, it is the Kroboths' own story making headlines, and appropriately perhaps, the self-defense lessons taught by Ennis may have saved her life.
But apparently it was her words more than her actions that broke her husband's murderous will.
"At one point, I beseeched him," Jane said during the preliminary hearing, attended by a Hook freelance reporter. "I said, 'I'm a mother, I have two kids. I've had the worst damn year of my life.'" After that, she testified, her attacker suddenly fled.
Experts say it's not unusual for an unskilled assailant to desist before completing a crime.
"We can start a behavior without being 100 percent committed to it," says psychologist Peter Sheras. "It might, in fact, be something that the other person says or does that makes you rethink what's going on."
For Kroboth, Jane's mention of their children might have been enough to cause him to change course. At 6'2 and 170 pounds, Kroboth was more than a match for the petite– if athletic– Jane, and might still have overpowered her or used the knife he was carrying.
But Detective Giles says the fact he didn't succeed does not minimize the fact that he went there with murder in mind.
"This could," Giles says, "have had a very different outcome."
A family suffers
While Kroboth awaits sentencing, Jane and her two children continue to suffer, according to a $750,000 civil suit Jane has filed against her ex-husband in Albemarle Circuit Court.
"She has suffered physical pain, sleep loss, discomfort and mental anguish, and these may or will continue in the future," the suit alleges. Kroboth's behavior against Jane is "to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized society."
The suit also seeks compensation for expenses the attack has caused her to incur, both in medical treatment and in psychological treatment for herself and her children.
Psychologist Sheras says it's vital to recovery that both she and the children receive ongoing support from family and counselors.
"There has to be a lot of fear, anger, grief experiences," he says. "People can't get over them in a day."
One place the children are currently not receiving support is from Kroboth's parents.
"We feel so bad that because of an unfortunate action, which we certainly do not condone, we have the heartbreaking situation of our two grandsons, Kurt's sons, not willing to have a relationship with us," they wrote in their letter to the Hook. "We babysat for them and took care of the boys many times when they were younger, and we love them very much, as we do our son."
As for Jane's recovery, both Giles and Tweel say she is trying to stay strong for her children.
"It's been traumatic for her and the boys," Tweel says. "She's still, I think, suffering the emotional and physical consequences of the attack."
Giles says he admires her grace under stressful circumstances: "She's a strong woman. She's managed herself very well through this."
As for Kroboth, the detective doesn't think the masked attacker will have a chance to try for a sequel.
"I don't think he's getting out any time soon," says Giles.
Kurt Kroboth's November 1, 2004 mug shot PHOTO COURTESY ALBEMARLE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Albemarle County Police Detective Phil Giles holds the vampire mask Kroboth wore during his November 1 attack on wife Jane.
Kroboth planned his wife's murder from this house at 815 St. Clair Avenue.
Once the Kroboths' dream home, the house at 186 Terrell Road is now for sale for $945,000.
An empty bottle that once contained chloroform, a folded handkerchief, Jane Kroboth's will, a latex glove, and photos of Jane the night of the attack are among the exhibits used in the case.
1)186 Terrell Road, site of the attack
2) 815 St. Clair Avenue, Kurt Kroboth's house
3) Kurt Kroboth was arrested on Angus Road near Emmet Street.
4) The Rivanna Trail, one possible path Kroboth used to travel on foot between the two houses