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Matthew Jonas
Matthew Jonas
Matthew Jonas
Matthew Jonas
Courtesy Facebook
LONGMONT — Police are investigating a Friday night shooting at a home on the 2500 block of Cambridge that left 18-year-old Premila Lal dead.
Lal was a recent Niwot High School graduate.
Early Saturday morning, Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur said that a 21-year-old man who shot the woman and then assisted two other witnesses to take her to Longmont United Hospital was cooperating with the investigation.
Satur announced that the man, identified as Nerrek Galley of Orem, Utah, had been arrested about 2:11 a.m. "for actions unrelated to the shooting."
Satur said the shooting is not gang related and that drugs and alcohol do not appear to be involved. But he declined to offer many details about what witnesses told officers about the situation at the home on Friday evening.
Satur added, however, that "we can characterize this young woman's death as unintended and extremely tragic."
Satur confirmed that a report that Lal had been hiding in a closet and that Galley shot her when she jumped out and startled him — "is consistent with our investigation."
Satur said, "This shooting was isolated to the home on Cambridge Drive and does not appear to be motivated by anger … At this time we are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the shooting, but there is no danger to the community."
Police were called to Longmont United Hospital at 8:02 p.m. Friday on a report of an 18-year-old woman who had been shot, Satur said. Two minutes later, officers were called to 2531 Cambridge Drive on an "unknown problem" at the house. Officers quickly learned that the two calls were related.
The woman died shortly after 9 p.m. at the hospital, Satur said.
"We're the ones who called the police," said a neighbor, who asked not to be identified.
She said her husband was outside and "heard yelling and screaming" from the house at 2531 Cambridge Drive. Her husband then saw three or four individuals come out of the house and get into a vehicle and speed away, leaving the front door of the house open.
The neighbor woman said her husband walked over and saw blood and an abandoned mobile phone on the stairway. He came and got her, she looked at the scene inside from outside the door, and they then called 911.
"We didn't hear any shots," the neighbor woman said.
Satur said four people — the victim, shooter, and two witnesses, ages 12 and 15 — were in the home at the time of the shooting.
On Saturday night, Satur said the 15-year-old is Lal's brother and the 12-year-old, her cousin.
A man who asked not to be identified said some occupants loaded up a U-Haul truck Sunday and apparently left. He said he believed a younger family lived in the home and that he frequently saw a man hanging around out front speaking on his phone. He said the man took on a "gangsta" type attitude.
The woman who lives in one of the neighboring homes said Saturday morning that the people who'd moved out were the parents of children who attended school in the Niwot area. She said from what she understood, the children lived with a relative during the week and stayed with their parents on weekends.
Satur confirmed that some residents had moved, but the house was still occupied. He declined to say who lived in the home.
Nicole Coleman, who grew up in the neighborhood, said she does not know the people who lived in the home and was shocked to hear of the crime.
"We never usually have anything happening here," she said.
The Boulder County Coroner's office is investigating the cause and manner of the Lal's death.
The neighbor woman said she thought some of the occupants' children were students at St, Vrain Valley School district schools.
Galley is suspected of child abuse, reckless endangerment and permitting a juvenile to have a firearm, according to an arrest report Satur provided to the media late Saturday morning.
Satur said those potential charges stem from Galley allegedly having allowed Lal's 15-year-old brother to have a handgun in his possession without the permission of the boy's parents, which Satur said is a felony under Colorado law.
Longmont police officer Billy Sawyer's report said that when Sawyer arrived at the Cambridge Drive home shortly after 8 p.m. Friday, "I observed blood on the steps inside the residence. The front door was open but there was a glass door that was closed an unlocked."
Sawyer said in his report that while clearing the residence, including his conduct of a protective sweep to ensure there were no injured parties inside, he saw a handgun, with a live round stuck near its slide's ejection port, lying on the top of the stairs in the home's living room.
Sawyer said in his report that police are requesting the court to set a high bond for Galley because he has "no ties to the community with a permanent residence." Sawyer said Galley "has been in Colorado for a very short time and his family lives in Utah."
Galley was transported from Longmont United Hospital to Longmont police headquarters to be interviewed. Officers there notified Galley of his Miranda rights and he agreed to discuss the incident.
Satur asked that anyone with information about Galley, about people who have recently occupied the home, or other information that might assist police in the investigation should contact Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers, 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).


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Grupe Homes Enters the Whole-House Retrofit Market
The depressed new home market is providing a challenge - and an opportunity - for home builders considering entering the retrofit market.
In July 2009, Green Home Solutions by Grupe Homes completed its first Home Performance with Energy Star whole-house retrofit. Grupe achieved whole-house energy savings of 48% compared to the preretrofit energy usage in the 20-year-old, three-bedroom ranch home, located in California's Central Valley. The home marks the first foray into the retrofit market for the award-winning Sacramento area production builder, who was building 300–400 homes a year prior to 2007. "We see retrofitting as a whole new market for us, and we are excited about the potential," says Mark Fischer, a senior vice president at Grupe.
Fischer heard about Home Performance with Energy Star at the 2008 Energy and Environmental Building Association (EEBA) national conference in Phoenix, Arizona, in September 2008. "After the conference, I started reading about it, and by January of 2009, we decided we were going to try it," says Fischer.
Home Performance with Energy Star, a national program from EPA and DOE, promotes a comprehensive, whole-house approach to making energy efficiency improvements (see "Home Performance with Energy Star"). The program is available in cities where a local sponsor (typically a utility company, state agency, or local association promoting energy efficiency) has agreed to partner with Energy Star. The local sponsor recruits home improvement contractors and trains them to perform comprehensive home assessments and best-practice improvements based on whole-house building science.
|Home Performance with Energy Star
More than half of the over 66 million single-family homes in the United States were constructed before modern energy codes existed. Many of these homes have no wall insulation, high levels of air infiltration, inefficient heating and A/C, and inefficient water heaters and appliances. In fact, over 40% of households report at least some winter drafts, and 62% complain of a room that is too warm in the summer, according to Home Performance with Energy Star. By December 2008, more than 50,000 existing homes had been improved through Home Performance with Energy Star programs, 12,000 of them in 2008 alone. There were more than 25 program sponsors and 750 participating contractors, according to Jonathan Passe, EPA communications coordinator for Energy Star Residential Programs.
For more information on Home Performance with Energy Star, go to www.energystar.gov/homeperformance.
The California Building Perform-ance Contractors Association (CBPCA) is currently the only organization in the state of California providing contractor training for Home Performance with Energy Star. The training is funded by Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs), such as Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Southern California Edison, and Sacramento Municipal Utility District, through the public benefit charge, as well as by grants through other government agencies, according to Pat Colburn, director of CBPCA's Support Services.
"Our signature training is called Home Performance with Energy Star. It is a nine-day course divided into three three-day segments or levels. At the end of the third level, our participants can take the written test from the BPI," says Colburn. All four BPI specialty written tests are offered on the third day of level three. Participants can be certified in one or all of these specialty areas: Building Analyst Professional, Envelope Professional, Heating Professional, and A/C-Heat Pump Professional.
Once trained, the participating contractors provide recommendations and services to homeowners to make their homes more comfortable and energy efficient, while reducing their utility bills and protecting the environment. The contractor will evaluate the house as a whole system and will present the home-owner with a comprehensive proposal.
The recommendations go far beyond just adding insulation; the list of renovations may include air and duct sealing, HVAC tune-up, utility bill disaggregation, building pressure diagnostics, attic ventilation, crawlspace ventilation, window thermal performance, temperature stratification testing, air conditioner performance factors, lighting efficiency, appliance efficiency, water heater improvements, worst-case combustion tests, indoor air quality, building ventilation, and water vapor transmission and control, depending on the condition of the house and the needs of the homeowner.
Unlike typical home energy audit programs, the goal of Home Performance with Energy Star is to turn the recommendations into improved homes. Participating contractors complete the needed renovations or team with other participating contractors who can. Another important element of the home performance approach is that the contractor assesses the home's performance again after the project is completed in order to verify that improvements were properly installed to achieve the promised energy savings.
Finally, all participating contractors are subject to quality assurance reviews by an independent third-party inspector to ensure that projects meet program standards and homeowners receive high-quality work. Verifiers ensure that the contractor has submitted a complete Home Performance Assessment to the homeowner, and that the work was completed to the standards of the BPI. The verifiers are contractors in their own right who have taken Home Performance with Energy Star and additional training and have proven their experience and dedication to Home Performance with Energy Star standards. These verifiers are not given the name of the contractor whose work they inspect, to ensure a truly independent inspection.
In January and February of 2009, Grupe trained seven of its staff in the Home Performance with Energy Star approach. "The classes offered by CPBCA are staggered over time, so to save time, we hired Rick Chitwood, one of their trainers, directly," says Fischer. "He came out and spent two straight weeks with us. It was great."
At the end of the two weeks, the participating Grupe staff took the BPI test. "Then we went out and bought the equipment. We bought the blower door equipment, the infrared camera, the Duct Blaster, the smoking machine … then we started going into homes and learning how to use it," says Fischer. "In July of 2009, we completed our first job."
The Process—Retrofitting One Home From Start to Finish
Grupe's first retrofit was a 2,129 ft2 home built in 1987 in Lodi, in California's Central Valley. The homeowners were interested in learning the results of an energy audit because their furnace was old and needed to be replaced, and they thought they were paying a lot in electricity bills. They also complained that the living room supply registers were blowing too strongly in both heating and cooling modes.
Conducting a Comprehensive Energy Audit
"Even before we go out to the house, we ask for homeowners' gas and electric bills for a year to assess how much they are spending to heat and cool their home," says Fischer. In this case, the electric bill for a year was $5,566 (with a high of $687 in August) and the gas bill was $826 (with a high of $155 in January). The home used on average 1,470 kWh per month, which is high compared to 800 kWh, the average monthly utility bill for a home of its size in California's Central Valley.
Armed with this information, the Grupe team began their on-site assessment. "We follow the Home Performance with Energy Star guidelines. It takes between four and eight hours to do the assessment, and we charge $500 to $1,000, depending on the size of the home," says Fischer. The homeowner pays this fee and gets it back if the builder does the work.
Following the Home Performance with Energy Star guidelines, the on-site team conducted a preretrofit assessment. They
- conducted blower door tests to determine air leakage;
- used infrared cameras to locate areas of heat and air infiltration;
- checked for insulation levels and gaps in the attic and ceiling, the walls, and the floor;
- documented the type and condition of the windows;
- documented details of the mechanical heating and cooling systems and the water-heating system;
- checked all appliances and lights;
- conducted combustion appliance testing for safety an health;
- checked for signs of moisture infiltration;
- measured humidity levels;
- measured water consumption levels; and
- evaluated ventilation needs.
Making Recommendations
Once the energy audit was complete, the Grupe team prepared a detailed proposal with cost estimates and met with the homeowners to review their findings and recommendations. In this case, the homeowners agreed to all of the recommendations at a total cost of approximately $17,000. The homeowners did investigate federal, state, and local rebates and financial incentives for their Home Performance with Energy Star retrofit. (The Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE) provides valuable information on this topic.) They received $2,600 in tax credits and rebates, including a federal energy efficiency tax credit of $1,500 and a $750 utility rebate from Lodi Electric Company.
Doing the Home Performance with Energy Star Retrofit
The work began with sealing the home. Grupe's team checked the home for areas that needed air sealing. They found that the damper in the living room fireplace would not close completely, which resulted in significant heating and cooling loss. Because the homeowners did not use the fireplace, Grupe sealed the fireplace with a Chimney Balloon, which must be removed if the fireplace is ever used.
The home had R-30 blown-in fiberglass insulation in the attic and R-22 fiberglass batt in the cathedral ceiling over the family room. An assessment showed that settling had occurred; the blown-in fiberglass was not at proper depth to provide R-30, nor were the batts in good contact with the drywall in the cathedral ceiling. Grupe removed the fiberglass, sealed the air gaps, reinstalled the fiberglass, and covered this with blown-in cellulose to provide an R-49 rating.
Tests showed 15% leakage in the duct system. The ducts were suspended from the roof framing in the attic (see photo above); they drooped and had kinks in several places that restricted air flow.
The Grupe team removed the hanging ductwork and installed new R-8 insulated ducts. The new ducts were sealed with mastic, laid on the trusses, and covered with the blown-in cellulose insulation.
The importance of a whole-house approach to retrofitting became apparent in the recommendations for heating and cooling. The original 80,000 Btu furnace was manufactured by Rheem in 1985 and was oversized by a factor of 1.9, as the existing load was 41,763 Btu. The original 4-ton cooling system was manufactured by Bryant in 2000 and was designed for a load of 48,000 Btu; it too was oversized by almost 2 tons, as the existing load was 30,515 Btu.
As replacements, the team installed a new Lennox 2.5-ton sealed-combustion, two-stage variable-speed gas furnace/air handler with an efficiency rating (AFUE) of 95%; a new Lennox 2.5-ton, 15.5-SEER/12.5-SEER A/C unit; a Lennox HC-10 filtering system; and a new Lennox ComfortSense 5000 touch screen set-back thermostat. The new furnace and air conditioner are more than adequate to handle the postretrofit heating load of 37,020 Btu and cooling load of 26,029 Btu. In addition to saving money, these properly sized units solved the homeowners' complaint that the living room supply registers were blowing too strongly.
The original double-pane, aluminum-framed windows were in good condition. To save money, these windows were not replaced. Instead, the glass in six of the windows facing west and south was covered with a high-end window film called NV-15. The film, which is made by 3M, reduces solar gain to a solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.29. Software calculations showed that this change should reduce the home's cooling load by 3,500 Btu.
Recessed lights, if not properly sealed and insulated, can cause significant air leakage. Grupe replaced 14 recessed can lights with new insulated, airtight (ICAT rated) can lights and caulked at the rim.
Because the house is tightly sealed, when Grupe installed the new HVAC system it included a mechanical damper timed to the air handler to bring fresh air into the house for 30 minutes of every hour. The ventilation system provides continuous ventilation for the home at the recommended air exchange rate of 0.35 ACH.
The team replaced an inefficient swimming pool pump with an energy-efficient variable-speed pump for a predicted energy savings of 3,000 watts per day in the winter and 5,000 watts per day in the summer.
Conducting Follow-Up Testing
"Now this is the really exciting thing," says Ron Rugani, Grupe's vice president for construction, "to do the diagnostic testing to see what you've got, then to go in there and make the improvements, then to go back and test again. We were able to see some really significant improvements."
The original Duct Blaster test showed 15% leakage in the ducts. The test with the new system showed 5.1% leakage. The original blower door test showed leakage at 2,478 CFM50, which, Rugani explains, is actually not bad for an old house, as standard air leakage for a house of this size is about 2,257 CFM50. By extensive caulking and sealing, "we took this leakage from 2,478 to 1,150 CFM50, a 55% reduction," says Rugani.
Such a tight house needs a good ventilation system. "The good thing about providing ventilation is that now you control the air that you are bringing in," says Rugani. "When you have a leaky house, you have no control. It is coming from the attic, through the walls, and from areas that are probably not the best things to breathe. With a ventilation system, when we bring air into the house, we can control and temper it, filter it, and provide good air for the occupant. We did this by providing a ventilation system with the new heating and A/C system that brings in fresh air, mixes it with the conditioned air, and ventilates the home."
As part of the assessment tests, the team took air flow measurements of 1,143 CFM in cooling mode at each of the registers for the 4-ton system. In the test-out, the 2.5-ton system delivered 1,095 CFM. "We were delivering almost as much air after with a ton and a half less capacity," says Rugani.
Construction leaders like Rugani are not shy about their support for Home Performance with Energy Star. "I think it is fantastic. It is a great opportunity to do great things for homes to make them more comfortable and more energy efficient. I really like that we [Grupe] can do our part to make homes more efficient and do our part to reduce the carbon footprint of homes."
The Bottom Line
When Grupe compared utility billing data for the first four months postretrofit with the same four months from the prior year, it found that the homeowners' bills were down 53% (see Table 1). Utility costs went from a total of $1,680 for August–November 2008 to $784 for the same months in 2009, a savings of $896.
"The California Public Utilities Commission has set a goal of 40% in residential energy savings by 2020 and 20% by 2015," explains Charles Segerstrom, manager of PG&E's Energy Centers. "Home Performance with Energy Star provides the consistency and standardization that are critical as we continue to develop a green economy." And he adds, "Such standardization is necessary in order to achieve the deep energy-efficient retrofits that result in significant energy savings."
Marye Hefty and Theresa Gilbride are researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where they support Building America for the U.S. Department of Energy.
For more information:
The Grupe Company, Green Home Solutions
3255 W. March Lane
Stockton, CA 95219
Tel: (209) 473-6000
For more information on Building America go to www.buildingamerica.gov.
To learn more about rebates and financial incentives check out the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency at www.dsireusa.org. This site is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives and policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. The site was established by DOE in 1995 and is maintained for DOE by the North Carolina Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council.
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Today's News: Our Take - Nicki Minaj to Eliminated Idol Contestants: Be Gracious
Even after contestants are sent home from American Idol, they apparently still get feedback from judge Nicki Minaj.
Minaj went on a Twitter rant Friday after Devin Velez was eliminated Thursday night because the judges opted not to use their one save of the season on him. "America r the 'potential' fans...u MUST win them over. "Saves" are bullsh-- and they know it. Those girls are just too good this year," Minaj tweeted Friday.
American Idol's Nicki Minaj: Love her or hate her?
Though Minaj never addressed Velez specifically, it's possible her remarks were in response to comments he made on a conference call Friday. When asked about Minaj's critique of his group number Thursday - after which Minaj told Velez, Lazaro Arbos and Burnell Taylor to "get off the stage" - Velez said she took her critique a little too far.
"When she went crazy - when she was like 'get off the stage, blah blah blah' ... it's just like 'Whoa, Miss Minaj, I need you to calm down please,'" Velez told reporters Friday, according to Billboard.com. "She could have been upset because the night before she was wearing the same colored dress as Mariah [Carey], or that she was on time. We never know. But I know that I love her as a judge. ... It's when she gets into the exaggerative speaking, where it's just like, ah, take it easy! You don't want to hurt somebody else's feelings."
Curtis Finch Jr. on his Idol elimination: I gave it my all
But apparently Minaj is more concerned with telling it straight than preserving the contestants' feelings. In a series of tweets Friday, she wrote, " Lol. Be mad @ AMERICA when u get sent home. The JUDGES are the ones who FOUGHT for America to get the opp to VOTE 4 U!!! #memba? Trust me BEW BEW. If EYE didn't want u in that TOP, YOU wldnt have been in that TOP. Fought for ALL of you. So just simply b gracious."
Minaj also referred to Curtis Finch, Jr., the first contestant to get eliminated from the Top 10, as the only male who stood a chance in the competition.
"Send the judges some flowers and a card," she tweeted. "If Curtis didn't get SAVED, NONE of u get saved! Best male voice of the SEASON!!!!!!!!!!! #TruthTea"
What do you think of Minaj's comments?
View original Nicki Minaj to Eliminated Idol Contestants: Be Gracious at TVGuide.com
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There is a reason The Beatles' called their song "Drive My Car," not "Buy My Car." (For starters, it was 1965, and they were all tooling around on the wrong side of the road in flashy Jaguars and Aston-Martins, still enjoying the new-car smell.)
But selling your vehicle can bring complications that take the pep out of even the most prolific songwriter.
Granted, unloading your car isn't nearly the odious task that buying it was, but some tips can make the process as smooth as possible.
Time your sale
First off, study the local market — and the time of year.
You will want to check online to see what the market is for your model. Check news sites and Craigslist, and search around with Google to get a sense.
As winter approaches, particularly in snowy climes such as ours, sports cars and convertibles generally won't move as fast as they do in the summer. That four-door kid-hauler you have might not have much sex appeal, but it's a workhorse for people needing basic, reliable transportation. Ditto for trucks and vans, whose utility helps them hold their value.
When Denver resident Randy Larson sold his 2004 Ford pickup in the summer, he was afraid the dents and dings from his contracting job would hurt the sales. But he got the $12,700 price he wanted even though the truck had 76,000 miles on it.
Make a good impression
"I had it washed and waxed and detailed, and made sure to clean out the bed and interior completely," Larson says. "The guy who bought it took it out for about 10 minutes, got it up to speed, checked the braking on it and made me an offer on the spot."
Larson made a smart move in getting the truck detailed. Curb appeal is crucial when selling a car.
Remove everything from the trunk, cabin and glove compartment, except for the owner's manual. This will give prospective buyers a sense that they're test-driving their future car, rather than your old one. Dashboards should be dusted, windows cleaned inside and out, and tires glossed up.
"First impressions mean a lot," says Ron Montoya, consumer advice editor for Edmunds.com, an online site offering tips on selling your vehicle. "Many people will size up a car in a couple of minutes."
Consider getting dents and minor flaws fixed, unless the vehicle is a beater that you plan on selling "as is." (If it's completely trashed and you are worried that you won't be able to sell it in a reasonable amount of time, consider donating it to a charity and taking the tax write-off.)
Topping off your fluids and getting an oil change is also a good idea. Smart buyers will check the dipstick, so you want it to come back gleaming tawny-gold, not gunky black.
Be armed with information
If possible, hang on to your mechanical records. Be upfront about any repairs done on the car, or any major problems that you have encountered. Better yet, have a mechanic's inspection report to hand to the buyer. "You should know what's wrong with your car," Montoya says. "You don't want to be surprised when the buyer's mechanic finds something that needs repairing."
Online advertising is the way most people shop for vehicles these days: Cars.com, Autotrader.com, Craigslist.com, eBay classifieds and, yes, Coloradodrives.com all post ads. Twitter and Facebook are also ways of getting the word out that you're in selling mode. And don't underestimate the value of going old-school. Posting a traditional "For Sale" sign in the window, with the year, mileage and your contact info, can still work.
Online advice on selling your car can be had from sources such as Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds.com. The latter has an appraisal tool that lets you factor in mileage, model, color, option and condition and the like, plus showing regional popularity. (Lincoln Town cars move well in Northeastern cities, pickups are popular in the rural West and South.)
Be prepared for showtime
When you show your vehicle, whether at your house or in a public place like a parking lot, remember that to a certain extent you're selling yourself. Dress neatly. If you look like you take care of yourself, a buyer will have greater confidence that you take care of your car.
Most drivers will want to test-drive a car. Ask to see a driver's license and proof of insurance.
It's good strategy to ask for a bit more money than you are willing to accept. That leaves wiggle room for negotiation. Most prospective buyers try to knock the price down in $500-$1,000 chunks. If you're willing to take $9,000 for the car, ask for $10,500. If a buyer shows up and is ready to cut a check for the asking price, hooray for you. If they negotiate the price downwards, you get fair value and they are happy with their ability to wheel and deal. Win-win.
But be down-to-earth about your asking price. "I think it's important to take a look at the car, see what it's worth and price it realistically," Montoya says. "We tend to sometimes fall in love with our cars and overvalue them."
Lastly, ask for a cash payment or a cashier's check.
Happy trails.
Negotiating the deal
If a person likes your vehicle, you should be ready to negotiate on the spot. Here are some tips from edmunds.com, an online adviser on selling cars in private transactions.
- "I like the car, but…" The buyer might come outright and say the price is too high. If they utter this line and then go silent, ask them how much they would be willing to pay for the vehicle.
- "What's your best price?" That's the direct approach, plus a way of probing how much you, the seller, are willing to move. If you get this question, don't appear too eager to lower the price.
- "Would you accept…?" Now you are in negotiation mode. The buyer has mulled the purchase and is making an offer, while giving you room for a counter offer.
- "Take it or leave it." The buyer is playing hardball. This could be a bluff, but it's also an indication that they're close to their bottom-line offer. Want to make sure? Let them leave. They could call the next day with your price or continue negotiating until you come to an agreement.


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Today is Apple's big day and it has released a new version of iTunes to accommodate the new iPods and the iPhone.
iPhone customers can now purchase ringtones from iTunes. Customers must first pay $0.99 for a song from iTunes, then another $0.99 for the privilege of using that song as a ringtone. Apple is including a utility within iTunes to create ringtones based on any 30-second segment from a song complete with fade-in and fade-out.
Apple says that over 500,000 songs will be available to make the conversion to ringtones and the feature will be enabled in iTunes software sometime next week.
Apple also today announced the new iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. iPod touch owners will be able to use their WiFi connection to logon to iTunes from any wireless hotspot. From the interface, users can browse "New Releases," "What's Hot," and "Games" from the top tab on the screen. Users can also search the entire iTunes music library, purchase individual songs or buy complete albums.
Songs bought from the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store are downloaded directly to the iPod touch. Docking the iPod touch to your desktop PC or Mac will then sync the songs with iTunes library.
Apple announced that the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store will also be extended to the iPhone.
Interestingly enough, Apple also announced Starbucks integration with the new iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. Customers who surf on a Starbucks hotspot will be greeted with a Starbucks icon in their iPhone/iPod touch UI. Customers will then be able to buy the songs playing over the Starbucks speaker system through iTunes.
The biggest thing to take away from this announcement is how much Microsoft dropped the ball with the Zune. Microsoft had all of the building blocks in place to offer a wireless music store with the Zune. Microsoft gave customers WiFi with the Zune, but the company chose to seriously cripple the feature and limit its effectiveness.
Apple has now taken WiFi with the iPhone and iPod touch and expanded its overwhelming online music dominance with the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. Microsoft is going to need a lot more than a $199 Zune to combat this latest salvo from Apple.
Improving dual-core compatibility for gaming
The piracy police made one 9-year-old a very unhappy camper
ZMAX will come with a Snapdragon 400 processor and 720p display
UC Davis dares to go where Toyota won't with the Prius
An Apple spokesperson fires back over Microsoft's latest commercials
Engadget gets the scoop on Dell's latest "ultra-portable" notebook


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One of the most important—and most overlooked—forms of analysis that genealogists must perform is confirming the identity of the subject of the record.
Much has been stated about the difficulty of researching common names like Johnson, Smith, Jones, etc. Researchers must be careful, though, not to assume that the unusual name of their ancestor was unique to them, however. Some surnames seem unique to us but were common in that time and place. Even a unique combination of given name and surname could be common within a certain generation, and not as unique as it might seem to us. So you must be careful to confirm the identity of the subject of every record you locate.
In some cases, you will not be able to tell by looking at the record by itself. This is what the Genealogical Proof Standard means when it requires "correlation" of information. We must compare the information in one record to the information in other records.
Federal census records comprise the most popular record group in use by genealogists. For an ancestor who lived 80 years, he may appear in seven, possibly eight, separate census records. Finding these records is important, but it is also important to recognize and confirm the identity of the families in each household.
Census records allow one of the most useful techniques for confirming identity: using relationships with other people. I discussed this in an article originally published in the "National African American Genealogy" column on Examiner.comon 11 August 2009, "Using 'clusters' to track your ancestors through multiple census years (part one)."
But how do you confirm identity in other records?
Most records contain more than just our ancestors' names. Records may contain ages, occupations, street addresses or neighboring farm owners, names of their fathers (as in "Henry son of Aaron" or simply "John of Thomas"). You can often compare these other details from record to record in order to confirm identity.
The more records (and information) you obtain, the easier it becomes to confirm identity, specifically because of these details.
Take the following death certificate, for example:
[You can click on the image to see a larger image.]
There are a few details on this death certificate that will be useful for identification of this John A. Meagher in other records: name (of course), age, and address of residence. The name of the cemetery also suggests additional records for research.
Using this information we can easily find this John A. Meagher in the 1900 U. S. Census, where his household also contains his wife Mary C., and several sons and daughters.[1] Taking this further, we can find him again in the 1880 U. S. Census, where his household contains the same wife and children.[2] By comparing and correlating the information relating to John's age (and corresponding implicit date of birth) among these three records with his street address as reported in 1900, the names of his wife and children between the two census records, etc., we are able to confirm that all three records relate to the same man.
We can take this research further by comparing other details–like the street address in 1880, the date of marriage in 1900, the date of death, etc.–with the details provided by still more records. Marriage records, probate records, land records, pre-1880 federal census records, etc., could all be consulted to gain additional information about John A. Meagher's family.
Each of these records may also provide more details that would lead to more records, each of which may contain more details, etc. The process of confirming identity requires attention to detail, which in turn allows us to create full (and accurate!) profiles of our ancestors' lives.
Are you taking the time to confirm the identity of the subject of every record you consult?
[photo] Baltimore City Health Department, Bureau of Vital Statistics, death certificate no. B-37632 (1901), John A. Meagher; Maryland State Archives microfilm no. CR 48116.
[1] 1900 U. S. Census, Baltimore City, Maryland, population schedule, Ward 17, enumeration district (ED) 222, sheet 1B, dwelling 12, family 15, John Meagher household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed Mar 2011); citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 615.
[2] 1880 U. S. Census, Baltimore City, Maryland, population schedule, 1st precinct, 12th ward, enumeration district (ED) 104, page 21, dwelling 147, family 175, John Meagher household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed Mar 2011); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 501, FHL microfilm no. 1,254,501.
If you would like to cite this post: Michael Hait, "Who is this? Confirming the identity of a record's subject," Planting the Seeds: Genealogy as a Profession blog, posted 30 Nov 2011 (https://michaelhait.wordpress.com : accessed [access date]). [Please also feel free to include a hyperlink to the specific article if you are citing this post in an online forum.]


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"Overweight" and "at risk of overweight" are terms sometimes used when referring to children who weigh more than expected. Doctors use the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts or the body mass index (BMI) to measure a child's weight in relation to his or her height. To find out your child's BMI, use this Interactive Tool: Is Your Child at a Healthy Weight?
If you have concerns that your child is overweight or at risk of becoming so, first ask your doctor to review your child's growth charts and medical history with you.
Sometimes a child's BMI and weight can increase without a child being at risk of having too much body fat. For instance, before and during puberty it is normal for children to have a significant gain in weight before they begin to grow in height. Also, children who are very muscular (such as children who are very active in sports), may have a high BMI but have normal or even lower-than-normal amounts of body fat.
If your child's BMI and growth pattern suggest a weight problem, your doctor will give your child an exam that looks for health problems that can cause weight gain. This may include questions about eating and physical activity habits. Regular checkups for health problems will also be important over time.
Health Tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health.
Your job is to offer nutritious food choices at meals and snack times. You decide what, where, and when your family eats. Your child's job is to choose how much he or she will eat of the foods you serve. Your child even gets to decide whether to eat.
Do not restrict food. Food restriction causes children to ignore their internal hunger gauges. Children who have their food restricted often end up heavier, because they become anxious about food and eating. Anxiety about not getting enough to eat will often lead a child to overeat whenever he or she gets a chance. This causes the child to become less in touch with how hungry or full he or she is, and the child becomes more likely to eat more than his or her body needs. This can also happen when children or teens follow weight-loss diets. It doesn't work to put a child on a diet—you get the opposite effect.
Pay attention to behaviors that may be adding to weight gain, and then work to correct them. Then trust that your child will end up at the weight that is right for him or her.
If you are concerned about your child's weight, talk to your child's doctor. He or she can tell you if your child is gaining weight too quickly and can give you steps to take to help your child have a healthy weight.
As a parent, your job is to give your child the tools for a healthy lifestyle and remain as relaxed as possible about the result.
To help your child eat well, use the same healthy eating approach with everyone in your family:
To help your child develop a balance between the calories he or she takes in and burns off:
As for any child with health concerns, make sure your child has all of the well-child checkups and treatment that your doctor recommends.
It doesn't take long for children to figure out that our culture and their peers idealize thinness. Children who are overweight are especially at risk of being teased and feeling alone. This can cause low self-esteem and depression.
For information about helping a child who is being teased, see the topic Bullying.
To help your child have greater health, confidence, and self-esteem, you can:
CitationsCommittee on Nutrition, American Academy of Pediatrics (2003, reaffirmed 2006). Policy statement: Prevention of pediatric overweight and obesity. Pediatrics, 112(2): 424–430.
Current as of: April 13, 2022
Author: Healthwise StaffMedical Review: John Pope MD - PediatricsKathleen Romito MD - Family MedicineMartin J. Gabica MD - Family MedicineRhonda O'Brien MS, RD, CDE - Certified Diabetes Educator
Current as of: April 13, 2022
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:John Pope MD - Pediatrics & Kathleen Romito MD - Family Medicine & Martin J. Gabica MD - Family Medicine & Rhonda O'Brien MS, RD, CDE - Certified Diabetes Educator
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content.
To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise.org.
© 1995-2022 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.
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Hot Online: Bombing suspects' uncle: 'I just wish they never existed'
Staff Writer
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Hot video: Suspects' uncle: 'I just wish they never existed'
Ruslan Tsarni, uncle of two Boston Marathon bombing suspects, spoke to WBZ-TV on Friday.
Trending topic: Romney and Obama
President Barack Obama's challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, said that Obama's remarks at an interfaith service honoring the Boston Marathon bombing victims was "superb." Romney told CNN, "I thought the president gave a superb address to the people of this city and the state and the nation. It was an inspiring day." He also said, "This is a learning opportunity. We should learn the lessons that come from this and apply them to the extent that we possibly can."
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Devil's Advocate
In a place defined by vertical geometry, I am the lone exception.As a climber of decades, I am no stranger to seemingly insane positions and situations, the kinds of things that predictably and, I admit, satisfyingly cause sightseers to unhinge their jaws.
In a place defined by vertical geometry, I am the lone exception.
As a climber of decades, I am no stranger to seemingly insane positions and situations, the kinds of things that predictably and, I admit, satisfyingly cause sightseers to unhinge their jaws. Dangling from a jut-browed overhang, posed upon invisible crystals, topping out on a pinnacle with my arms outstretched like an eagle king, I relish not only the joys of conquest, but the sheer wonderment these exploits elicit from tourists, hikers and other passersby.
This time, however, even the other climbers are gaping. This time, instead of dangling or posed or perched, I am, well sideways.
And I don't mean facing to one side — but rotated at 90 degrees. You know the little horizontal line braced between the vertical segments of the letter "H?" That's me: spanned out lengthwise, an unlikely spring-tension rod of arms, spine and legs, wedged between two perfectly parallel walls of stone. It takes a bit of doing to upstage the scenery here but, conspicuously, I have pulled it off.
I'm several hundred feet up the side of Devil's Tower, a rock formation that is itself a befuddling attraction. An utterly unique fusion of striking symmetry and WTF geology, Devil's Tower National Monument draws climbers and non-climbers alike to this backwater corner of Wyoming.
For climbers, "the Tower" (which, like "the Valley," needs no other modifier to set it apart) is among the best climbing locations in North America, and perhaps the world. Cracks at other venues may be longer, steeper, even more uniform (though that would be a knock-down drag-out title fight), but no place can boast such a concentrated assembly. The fact that Nature has raked them so uniformly upon the flanks of a surreal, flat-topped, skyscraper-sized stump — well, that's what brings the tourists.
Of course, the minute the RV captains and crews get a glimpse of our cliff-side shenanigans, they are riveted, amazed and intensely curious. But no amount of patient demonstrations, no matter how dutifully performed by fully roped and racked park rangers, will ever explain to them what I'm doing at this moment. Strung out like a human hammock, I'm not quite sure myself. But I do know who to blame: a photographer. Or, rather, a photo.
Photojournalists are the porn-peddlers of the climbing world. Their images ignite our desires and passions — lust would not be too strong a word. One iconic shot of Our Hero posed upon an exotic chunk of stone is enough to compel us to bad choices: to spend money we don't have, to put lives on hold — in short, and in the language of addiction, "to suffer negative consequences." I once burned through an entire summer's savings traveling halfway around the world for a single route that had bewitched me from a magazine cover. By the time I finally bagged it, I was already under the spell of another route back home, a siren song from the center spread of a climbing journal printed in a language that I couldn't even read.
My very first ascent of Devil's Tower marked the beginning of this pattern. My hometown newspaper had run a photograph of some local heroes on top of the Tower. It didn't look like any summit photo I'd ever seen: no jagged peak, no high point at all, really; just a pile of rocks in a field of weeds. What did capture my imagination was the large wooden signpost that declared, "No Climbing Above This Point." To my adolescent sensibilities, something had finally surpassed MAD magazine as the absolute apex of hilarity. Imagine my disappointment when a year or so later I staggered onto the summit of Devil's Tower myself, a brick-like "instamatic" in tow, and found only a couple of other climbers sitting on that rock pile.
"Hey," I croaked, "where's the sign?"
"That way," one of the guys said, pointing west.
"Yeah?" I brightened, shading my eyes in that direction. "I don't see it."
"No," he said with a smile, "not here. It's on top of the Grand Teton now." Great. A few years later, a guy in the Tetons told me it had been carried to the summit of Mount Rainier. I'm still chasing that sign. And that photo.
Thankfully, my definition of high art has evolved. Today, the most seductive imagery incorporates stunningly unique rock. An elephant-sized flake that is waffle-thin, a corner so clean it surely must have been quarried, the crack that breaks like a flagpole shadow: these surreal angles and shapes burrow like parasites deep into the brain folds to trigger neurons that scream, "Hold up — look at that! Where is that?!" Which, of course, is only a single synapse spark from, "I've got to climb that!" It's all about the stone — the more out-of-this-world, the better. And there's only one place on Earth where no matter which direction you point a camera, you frame columns that embody an alien landscape.
Another killer photograph: That's what's gotten me in over my head. Except that's not quite right. No part of me is actually over my head. Oddly, there's nothing under my head either. I'm not doing any of the things that might make a grain of sense in terms of explaining why I'm bridged out like a plank over empty space between two stone columns. But I'm definitely attracting a crowd.
There's no place to hide on Devil's Tower. A loop of paved trail provides ready access to every aspect of the monument. For climbers, this facilitates quick and easy approaches no matter where you're headed, but it also promotes little knots of ordinary folk who congregate to observe the spectacle playing out on the walls above them. Beneath the deeply weathered southern aspect, they ooh and aah as climbers rappel any of the several equipped descent routes. Their emotions seesaw beneath the awesome North Face when climbers seemingly give up and descend without reaching the summit (the fact that this is de rigueur for avoiding the loose upper sections of many routes here is baffling to them). The East Face is also a mystery. Here, the tourists are likely to ponder the relative absence of climbing activity, oblivious to the formidable barrier of The Window — a double-tiered roof that spans 10 columns. And the West Face — the one displayed above the grandstand of teeming parking lots and the Visitor Center, the one with acoustics that ensure every gasp and whimper is clearly transmitted to the gawking throngs, is the one that I'm stuck smack dab in the middle of.
Of course, even before there were rock climbers, Devil's Tower was the scene of some pretty hair-brained stunts that the public devoured like candy. The first, and probably still the hairiest, culminated with the first ascent of the monolith — with nary a rope involved. As a prelude to the 1893 Fourth of July picnic extravaganza at the foot of the Tower, local ranchers William Rogers and Willard Ripley spent weeks hammering a line of 24- to 30-inch wooden stakes up a crack system on the southeast face of the Tower. The pair fixed a continuous rail of wood to the outer ends of the pegs to fashion a crude but fantastic ladder. On the appointed day, before a crowd of a thousand strong, Rogers ascended to the summit and planted the American flag. Perhaps because this was Indian land, the flag promptly blew over and floated down onto the talus. Because they were Americans, the promoters quickly portioned up the flag and sold the bits as souvenirs. As a veteran of a few epic climbs on welded ladders (TV antennas, water towers, etc.) undertaken by necessity in the dead of the night, I shudder at the thought of Rogers under a blazing midsummer sun, pulling nearly 400 feet of shaky rungs.
Perhaps angels watch over Devil's Tower. (The name alone begs a watchful eye from on high.) Not counting my current predicament, I have used up at least nine lives here stepping on a rattlesnake, dodging lightning strikes, ascending jammed rappel lines, and being present in a local bar when, in response to a cowboy's drunken declaration that he was none too fond of sharing a stool with us "climber faggots," a friend responded, "Well, then, I guess sodomy is out." And that's just the stuff that wasn't actually climbing. The fact is, approximately 5,000 people registered to climb Devil's Tower in 2007, and there have only been five fatalities here. Ever. None of those occurred during the 44-year period before people started using ropes (over two dozen people, including his wife, summited via Rogers' stake ladder during those decades).
In 1937, Fritz Wiessner led the first rock-climbing team up an ugly 5.7 off-width crack that still carries his name and relatively little traffic. Modern teams looking to tag the summit by the easiest path typically opt for the 5.6 trade route pioneered by Jack Durrance the following year (Durrance returned in 1941 to play a part in yet another crowd-pleaser, as leader of the rescue party that brought down a stranded parachutist). After that, the routes at Devil's Tower quickly advance up through the grades, with a high percentage of modern classics concentrated in the 5.10 to 5.11 range. One of these is called El Matador (5.10), and the cameras love it.
Picture this: a stunning perspective shot straight down a breathtaking three-sided chute, the climber posed with legs forked impossibly outward between the columns, limbs split like a rubber wishbone, torqued beyond the tolerances of ordinary sinews and joints. Don't get me wrong, I'm a master at devising unorthodox rest positions. But like a rare book, my crotch is not something that can be roughly pried without threatening the spine. Yet from the moment I laid eyes on an image of El Matador, I've imagined myself as elastic as a cheerleader. Why am I surprised that things have not gone well?
I'm feeling betrayed — by my own stupidity, but also by this crag. Devil's Tower is, after all, an old friend. As the closest Western "mountain" to my lifelong home in the Minnesota heartland, this was the scene of my first multi-pitch climb, my first hanging belay, my first summit. Time and again, this is where my friends and I would return to savor even just a few hours of Big League adventure, despite the fact that it was over 500 miles away. Devil's Tower was both our salvation and our curse. To this day, I question whether the Dakotas really exist because they were never seen. I recall only a fuzzy dreamland of dark grasses and distant lightning that we passed through in fitful half-sleep as our cramped and creaking vehicles traversed the long night separating week from weekend. As Saturday dawned, we tumbled out into the dust beneath the Tower, but by Sunday evening, we were back in our rides again, wheeling east through the nothingness, arriving home with just enough time to bandage our scabs, knot our ties and take our workday seats; sated but scarred — not only in body, but so road-shocked we could not even begin to explain, even to ourselves, how we spent the weekend.
Now, as then, fooling oneself is just too easy. So is blame. Confession is something historically associated with being twisted into bizarre contortions, so it is my turn: it wasn't really a photographer, or a picture. Ambition is what has brought me to this place, and to this end. Towering ambition.
At least I am in good company. Names like Robbins, Kor and McCarthy attest to the Tower's longstanding preeminence as a crucible in North American climbing. El Matador was originally a dicey nail-up pioneered by the ubiquitous Fred Beckey. In the mid-1980s, Todd Skinner — who applied almost frantic energy to advancing free-climbing standards — lived entire seasons based out of a teepee beneath the Tower, as he methodically plumbed the possibilities between every column. Skinner, who was tragically killed in a fall from Leaning Tower, in Yosemite, two years ago, was also a spirited raconteur. Among his campfire standards at Devil's Tower was the story of how he once hired a small boy to confront John Bachar, another 1980s climbing icon, beneath Yosemite's Columbia Boulder. According to Skinner, the kid practically thumped Bachar on the chest as he asked, "Are you John Bachar?"
"That's me," Bachar declared.
Following Skinner's script, the youngster narrowed his eyes in a gunfighter squint and put Bachar on notice: "Someday, I'm gonna blow you out of the water."
But it was Bachar's steely response that brought Skinner to tears: "Go for it, kid."
Skinner loved the idea of a big-name climber matching toes with a child — and he wasn't alone. One morning, as he racked for his daily dance with the Devil, a small boy wandered over from an adjoining campsite. "Are you Todd Skinner?" he demanded.
Skinner responded, "Um who wants to know?"
Undeterred, the kid issued his challenge. "Someday, I'm going to blow you out of the water."
Skinner deflated. "Aw, c'mon, kid," he pleaded. "There are other sports."
Skinner's record for the fastest ascent of the Tower still stands: 18 minutes via the 5.9 classic Walt Bailey Memorial. Of course, he also put a lot of effort into reworking (freeing) the contributions of earlier pioneers. Dennis Horning (aka Dingus McGee) also helped rewrite the book by freeing an impressive number of modern classics, and literally rewrote the book in the late 1970s by supplanting an archaic guidebook with a series of pamphlet-like "Poorperson's Guides" that he practically gave away. Free was indeed the mantra at Devil's Tower.
For a few short years after its own liberation in 1978, El Matador was rated 5.11 — the top of the scale for the place and time. Soon, however, the realization dawned that there simply isn't a move that hard here. To me, considering the outward uniformity of the cracks at Devil's Tower, it has always seemed remarkable that cruxes exist at all. In fact, there is tremendous variation within these crystalline fissures. Feldspar shards and differential weathering of the gray phonolite porphyry have resulted in toothy pockets and tapers within the seams and fractures — myriad opportunities for all manner of locks, jams and protection. As a result, pitches can be outrageously sustained and pumpy, but there is still quite often a distinct hardest move.
Except on El Matador. Even the current 5.10d rating may be a stretch in terms of pure technical difficulty, but nobody's lobbying to drop it another peg. El Matador is a different kind of hard. The climb is the stemming archetype –the one by which scientists calibrate their instruments, and the rating is an attempt to quantify the endurance required to sustain an unconventional and agonizing position for an entire rope-length. From my first, tentative attempts to ascertain El Matador's singular demands, my groin threatened to go critical, but I found I could make and hold the stem. And I did — for a while.
It began as a sort of wounded waltz. Foot up, foot out, work the crack, then again. Each time I abandoned the stem in favor of the crack, I knew I was turning my back on convention and exhausting valuable strength, but I'd found a rhythm. The key was to climb as quickly as possible, don't pause, don't overprotect, don't think, just move. Foot-crack-foot shit, that's not right — I missed something. Crack-foot-rest, no — not rest!
Ground to a halt by flaming calves, smoked forearms and a mental meltdown — locked in an excruciating pose that no longer afforded a shred of recovery or relief — I played my ace. With both hands locked neatly together in the left-hand crack and one foot stemmed out right, I blindly lobbed my other leg outward toward the right-hand corner. The toe caught, and I shuffled both legs up until the burning began to subside. I experienced a fleeting moment of relief — and then dawning dread at the doomed absurdity of my situation: stretched out at full extension between the columns, both hands on one side and both feet on the other.
It was unorthodox. It was creative. It was something I could never reverse.
So it ends here: legs at 3 o'clock, arms at 9. Any relief this position afforded my calves has been replacedby a volcanic burning within my abs. Staring straight down the wide, fluted box of El Matador I consider that at least it will be a clean drop — as long as my arms don't give out first and dump me headlong into the chute.
The crowd is getting excited. "Hey, check it out dude, that guy's horizontal!" I do love impressing the tourists.
Soon, very soon, things at Devil's Tower will fall back into line.
Dave Pagel began his courtship with his wife, Dina, by guiding her up Devil's Tower. Despite his best efforts, nobody got horizontal on that trip. Over the years he has climbed the Tower more than 50 times.


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In 2011, the US government grabbed two domains, one .com and one .org, belonging to Spanish sports-TV "linking site" Rojadirecta, claiming that the site was a flagrant enabler of copyright infringement. The government then sought forfeiture of the domains, at which point Rojadirecta's Spanish parent company fought back. A year and a half after the seizure, the government has capitulated—today it dismissed the case against Rojadirecta and will have to return the domains.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been running "Operation In Our Sites" for two years now, obtaining federal seizure orders against US-registered domains believed to be associated with piracy or counterfeiting. Just before Super Bowl Sunday in early 2011, ICE grabbed a new batch of sports-related domains, most of them sites that let people watch live sports on the 'Net. Rojadirecta, one of the big players (no pun intended) in this space, was an obvious target, and ICE acted, replacing the domain names with its own seizure banner. Rojadirecta promptly relocated to rojadirecta.me and continued operations.
The government said, as part of its evidence against the site, that the links to popular and upcoming sporting events on the site's front page were "purposefully aggregated and organized by the owner(s) and/or operators"—no avoiding blame by saying that "the users did it." And "more than half the material available on the Rojadirecta Website at any given time during law enforcement's investigation appeared to be dedicated to making infringing content available"—trying to counter the "only a few links were infringing" argument.
Rojadirecta also framed the content it linked to with its own ads, and the government said that the site's CEO had made "more than $25,000" from Google AdSense between January 2006 and early 2011—hardly a large haul, but evidence that money was being earned on the activity.
But the site owner, a Spanish company called Puerto 80, fought back, hiring US lawyers to represent it in federal court. Among its arguments was the claim that the seizure had been illegal; the law only covered direct infringement, not linking, lawyers said. While Rojadirecta may have "induced" US residents to infringe copyrights, that was a matter for civil law, not criminal law.
The site's attorneys also argued that seizure law itself was far too draconian in these cases. Unlike a drug case, where the cops might seize someone's car to prevent it from being used to transport narcotics, the website was Rojadirecta's entire business. And, also unlike a drug case, the copyright claims here weren't nearly as clear as when police find someone with a brick of heroin in the back seat, which is by definition illegal to possess. Because of the differences, attorneys argued, Rojadirecta should have the chance to defend itself before having its entire operation seized.
The judge disagreed that the penalty was too harsh, noting that the site's servers had not been taken and that Rojadirecta had simply switched domain names and continued in operation.
As the case dragged on, the government dismissed a similar case against hip-hop music blog Dajaz1, the other major seizure target that had decided to fight back. In that instance, the feds kept postponing the case as they waited on the RIAA, only to realize eventually that the evidence they needed wasn't going to materialize.
Today, the government gave up the Rojadirecta fight with a brief court filing that voluntarily dismissed the case but offered few details about why it had done so after battling for over a year. The US Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, which prosecuted the case, provided me with a copy of the cover letter it sent the judge along with the dismissal; that note said only that the case was being dismissed "as a result of certain recent judicial authority involving issues germane to the above-captioned action" and "in light of the particular circumstances of this litigation." The US Attorney's office would not comment further.
After the filing, the judge signed an order today vacating the seizure warrants and ordering Verisign (which controls the .com registry) and The Public Interest Registry (which controls .org domains) both to return the Rojadirecta domains to Puerto 80 "forthwith."
Attorneys for Rojadirecta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The advocacy group Public Knowledge weighed in quickly, however. "Like the unwarranted Dajaz1.com seizures, this case shows that the procedures for seizing domain names are flawed," said Sherwin Siy, vice president of Legal Affairs. "It is far too easy for the government to seize domain names and hold them for an extended period even when it is unable to make a sustainable case of infringement. The constant expansion of copyright enforcement laws has given us a system where website owners are effectively treated as guilty until proven innocent."
ICE boss John Morton said last year that the tactic was effective, and that most sites targeted didn't challenge their seizures/forfeitures. "Frankly unanticipated was the collateral impact of this enforcement action," he said at the time. "According to industry analysis, 81 other sites that had been offering pirated material voluntarily shut themselves down. In my many years in law enforcement, I have not seen that type of deterrence. Indeed, we were advised that seizing these domain names would be the proverbial Whac-a-Mole game with new ones popping up faster than we could obtain court orders. That did not occur."
But those upset about the entire ICE seizure campaign see only overreach in the examples of Dajaz1 and Rojadirecta. Law professor Eric Goldman, one of the first to spot today's filing, took to Twitter to post the news and then to ask, "But will they be held accountable for the improper seizure?"


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Venezuela's Gas Guzzling Car Owners Unfazed By Planned Fuel Hike
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – Owners of the 1970s-era gas guzzling trucks and sedans that have long reigned over Caracas' smog-filled roadways will soon have to pay a bit more to keep flaunting their energy-inefficient monsters.
As an economic crisis drains government coffers, President Nicolas Maduro is putting motorists on notice and taking on one of the nation's biggest sacred cows: nearly free gasoline. With cut-rate prices for fuel, Venezuelans have never felt compelled to buy smaller, more environment-friendly vehicles like motorists in many other countries, often favoring decades-old clunkers or newer SUVs.
Prices at Venezuelan gas pumps have been frozen for almost 20 years with politicians hesitant to repeat the mistake of rising prices in 1989, triggering days of deadly rioting. The late President Hugo Chavez once confessed it pained him to practically give away fuel to luxury car owners, but during 14 years of rule he never dared to touch the gasoline subsidy that consumes upward of $12.5 billion a year in government income.
But all good things must come to an end. For Venezuelan motorists, to whom cheap gas is something of a birthright and fuel efficiency a foreign concept, that means having to pay more than the 5 cents a gallon that gas currently costs at the official exchange rate, or less than a penny at the widely-used black market rate.
For now, motorists seemed unfazed by the idea of paying more at the pump because it's unknown how much prices will rise. Maduro is still testing the political waters to see if Venezuelans already squeezed by 54 percent inflation and a collapsing currency are willing to fork over more to fill up.
The lobbying began the day after Maduro's party prevailed in Dec. 8 mayoral elections, when Vice President Jorge Arreaza said it was time to debate raising gas prices. The idea gained steam when Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez declared that having the world's cheapest gas "isn't a record to be proud of."
Then last week Maduro said he favored raising prices gradually over three years, making sure it doesn't add to inflation.
"As an oil nation, Venezuelans should have a special price advantage for hydrocarbons compared to the international market," the former bus driver told mayors on Dec. 18. "But it has to be an advantage, not a disadvantage. What converts it into a disadvantage is when the tip you give is more than what it cost to fill the tank."
Politically, the timing is right to increase gas prices. After four elections in little more than a year, Venezuelans aren't scheduled to go to the polls again until late 2015. That gives Maduro a rare opening to push unpopular reforms that analysts say are long overdue. Coupled with a devaluation of Venezuela's currency, the bolivar, eliminating the gas subsidy will help close a budget deficit estimated at 11.5 percent of gross domestic product, among the world's largest.
Unlike the well-maintained 1950s-era American automobiles gracing the streets of Communist Cuba, Maduro's staunchest ally, there's nothing majestic about Venezuelans' beloved steel behemoths.
Most of their cars are clunkers, Dodge Chargers and Chevy Malibus from a bygone era many Americans would rather forget. Some are held together with wire and rope, and driven as unregulated taxis that take the place of public transport in major cities.
Ruben Ruiz is the proud owner of one: a 1975 Ford LTD station wagon that he affectionately nicknamed his "poverty spook," because the vehicle keeps him gainfully employed transporting everything from eight passengers at a time to crates of fresh fruit. He once even transported a cadaver.
The car was purchased new during the height of the oil boom known as Venezuela Saudita, or Saudi Venezuela, when a super-strong currency spurred frequent foreign travel and frenzied consumption.
He's held onto the rusting hulk though subsequent oil booms and busts, its velvet upholstery ripped apart and passenger doors impossible to open from the inside. He said modern cars don't afford the same heft or trunk space. Having paid for his initial investment several times over with cheap gas prices, Ruiz said he can easily afford a little more to keep filling up.
In Venezuela "you spend more on liquor than you do on gas," said Ruiz, who pays 6 bolivars to fill the 60-Liter tank every two days.
Many Venezuelans seem similarly unconcerned about the prospect of higher fuel prices. Despite mounting economic troubles and deep political divisions, it's hard to imagine a repeat of the deadly looting triggered in 1989 when then-President Carlos Andres Perez raised gas prices as part of an austerity package pushed by the International Monetary Fund. The unrest, in which at least 300 people died, became known as the Caracazo and remains a powerful deterrent against policies affecting people's wallets.
Maduro himself has taken care to dismiss any parallels.
"We don't come from the neoliberal school," Maduro said, referring to free-market policies that Chavez rallied Latin American leaders to oppose.
Indeed, Maduro is selling the price hike by promising to reinvest the savings to build schools and homes. It's a path pioneered by Indonesia, which cushioned the effects of a 44 percent fuel increase in June with $900 million in cash transfers to the poor. In 1998, an IMF-mandated fuel increase sparked protests that toppled the three-decade Suharto regime.
But in Indonesia, prices at the pump are $2.50 per gallon — 50 times higher than what Venezuelans currently pay. Even if the government ramps up prices to the level it says is needed to cover production costs, a liter will still only cost around 2.50 bolivars, about 40 cents on the dollar at the official exchange rate, compared with the 12 bolivars it costs for a liter bottle of water
"Prices are so cheap in Venezuela that they may make Saudi Arabia and Iran look expensive," said Lucas Davis, a University of California-Berkeley energy specialist.
The distortions created by such a low price are easy to spot. Lines at gas stations get longer every year as more cars come on the road, pushing up per capita gas consumption that is 40 percent higher in Venezuela than any other country in Latin America, according to Davis.
The subsidies also contribute to pollution, encourage the smuggling of oil to neighboring nations with much higher prices and handicap state-run PDVSA's efforts to develop the world's largest oil reserves. The IMF said in 2011 that a whopping 16 percent of Venezuela's public income is spent on energy subsidies.
Davis said economic theory holds that higher prices, if sustained, over the long run will push the guzzlers off the road and force Venezuelans to fall in line with a global trend toward cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles.
But in Caracas' urban jungle, where multi-lane roadways are the norm, sidewalks few, and crime rampant, old habits die hard.
Homemaker Patricia Lira says she has no plans to stop driving her 4x4 Jeep Cherokee to buy bread a few blocks from her house, even if prices go higher.
"I'm embarrassed to admit it," she said, "but I'll use my car the same way I do now."
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Tips that can extend the life of your vehicle
Tip of the Week
There is no truer saying than "Take care of your car and it will take care of you." Taking care of your vehicle should be at the top of your priority list when you rely on it to transport you, your family and friends. You don't have to be a mechanical expert to take care of your car, you just need to be aware of what needs to occur and keep a regular schedule to ensure the safety and life of your car.
- Know how to check your oil: Checking and changing oil is important to keeping your car's engine running properly and efficiently. Check your owner's manual for what viscosity oil you should use and oil change interval recommendations. The type of motor oil you use is just as important as making sure it's changed regularly. Many cars are now coming from the factory filled with synthetic oil. If your car didn't come with synthetic, consider switching from conventional to premium synthetic motor oil. Using synthetic oil will allow you to go longer between oil changes, usually up to 10,000 miles depending on your driving habits. Fewer oil changes means money saved and less oil deposited back into the environment.
- What is ATF? If your car has an automatic transmission, the Automatic Transmission Fluid or ATF protects against transmission breakdown, corrosion system wear and oxidation. Checking your ATF level is similar to checking your oil level, but with the car running. The usual recommendation for change interval is about every 30,000 miles.
- Battery check. Like other car parts that have been made to last longer, most car batteries are maintenance-free and can last more than three years. The first sign that may indicate you need a new battery is if you have trouble starting the engine.
- See clearly. One of the most neglected basic car care tips is taking care of your windshield wipers. You should change your wipers every 12 months or if the rubber becomes worn. You will also want to check the wiper fluid reservoir and keep it full.
- Brandpoint
GateHouse News Service


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Rob Raker: What I've Learned
Filmmaker, 55, Golden, CO. Sometimes the worst things in life can lead to the most positive outcomes. In my case, it was a really bad ski accident...
This article appeared in Rock and Ice issue 191 (January 2011).
Sometimes the worst things in life can lead to the most positive outcomes. In my case, it was a really bad ski accident 15 years ago that resulted in a knee injury that required three surgeries, a broken elbow, and a head injury that has affected me to this day. While recovering, I discovered I enjoyed shooting video and making films.
Find something that allows you to pursue the experiences you love most. Quitting my job as an environmental scientist to pursue a career in documentary filmmaking was one of the best decisions of my life.
In Iraq, I learned that working under the radar and having trusted companions is crucial in documentary filmmaking. In 2003 we traveled to places like Fallujah, Abu Ghraib prison and Ramadi for our interviews. We didn't have the security of the big news stations, but were also able to get better stories.
I've been to all seven continents. Interior Antarctica was the wildest: shockingly devoid of life. Madagascar, where I shot Lynn Hill, was one of the poorest places I've been. The overall desperation was something I will never forget. It's easy to forget how fortunate we are to have the time and resources to participate in something as trivial as rock climbing.
I started rock climbing in 1968 when I was 13 years old. On a family trip to Grand Teton National Park, my dad, brother and I decided to take a rock-climbing class with Exum Mountain Guides. My instructor, a young strapping Rod Newcomb, who later became the company owner, was the epitome of confidence and fearlessness. I wanted to be like him when I grew up! I've been a climber ever since.
Climbing is the unifying theme in my life. It has pushed me mentally and physically, taken me to the most remote and beautiful places on earth, and fostered insights and observations about the natural world that benefited my films. But even more rewarding are the friendships I've made through climbing.
My climbing partners are like family. They have been extremely helpful, especially recently with the discovery that I have a very aggressive, advanced stage prostate cancer.
I am approaching cancer as I have approached all challenges I've faced in my life. You can't change the past, but you can collect as much information as possible about the best ways to proceed and then carry on.
If I could turn back the clock five years, I would make sure the results of my annual physical were being properly evaluated. If they had been, the screening tests I was having would most likely have caught my cancer. Once it spreads into the lymph nodes, as mine has, there are very few options.
My advice to all men my age: Get screened and get evaluated by a doctor who knows what the f- he's doing!
Never stop having as many new experiences as possible. Climb new routes. Visit new countries. Embrace opportunity. Love your friends. Engage in the natural world. When I am climbing on a crag in South Africa, watching birds in the Amazon, diving on a reef in Fiji, or just being with my friends, I am the happiest guy around.
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2 Responses to "The Situation of Optimism"
March 15, 2012 at 8:26 pm
[…] are more skeptical and therefore rational than those without the diagnoses. (Listen to this presentation on Optimism […]
April 24, 2013 at 2:03 pm
[…] The Situation of Optimism – via thesituationist.wordpress.com – Neuroscientist Tali Sharot visits the RSA to explain the biological bias of optimism, and its effect on our lives and societies. […]


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Boston parking spaces auctioned off for $560,000
IRS seizes Back Bay spaces from delinquent taxpayer
Parking tickets can add up in Boston, and spaces are hard and expensive to come by. But how much would you pay to own two tandem spaces in the heart of Back Bay?
"It's a premium property space. It's a great opportunity. I work in the area and having access to Back Bay seems like a good investment," said Sophia Lingos-Papaliodis, who attended an auction where two parking spaces were on the block.
The IRS seized the property from a tax delinquent owner. The starting price was $42,000.
"These are the two prettiest parking spaces I've ever seen," said IRS auctioneer Tim Smith.
With 22 bidders, the battle for premium parking took off fast into six figures. But it quickly became a battle between just two people. The offers were staggering.
Within five minutes, the bids skyrocketed to $560,000. Bidder number 9 was the winner. She said she owned the property next door, making money no object for the convenience.
"We are dealing with a very small percentage of people. Money is not an issue. It's more about convenience. Parking is a convenience and a limited resource." said Mark Ruane of Otis and Ahearn Boston Real Estate.
People have paid a fortune for just one space in Boston, from $80,000 to $300.000 -- and those are market prices, not at auction.
"It's a piece of land that's never going to depreciate. It's the nature of the beast in this market," said Ruane.


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Julia Glass and Jonathan Lethem are reading Joseph O'Neill's novel Netherland. Or so they said in a Wall Street Journal article that also listed the summer reading of John Irving, Geraldine Brooks, Philippa Gregory, Oscar Hijuelos, Joyce Carol Oates and others www.wsj.com/article/SB121332522673370767.html.
What's in your beach bag? If you'd like to talk about a great book or warn people away from a clinker, join the conversation at a new online book club by clicking here www.oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2008/07/01/. A review of and reading group guide to Netherland appeared on this site in separate posts on June 24 www.oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/.
© 2008 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.


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Fla. apartment gunman described as lonely, angry
HIALEAH, Fla. - The gunman who went on a shooting rampage at his South Florida apartment building, killing six people, was a lonely man who spoke about having pent up anger, those who knew him said Sunday.
Pedro Vargas, 42, lived on the fourth floor of a barren, concrete apartment complex in the Miami suburb of Hialeah with his elderly mother. He rarely spoke with others there, and confided to a man who worked out at the same gym that he liked to work out his anger by lifting weights and trying to get big.
"He'd just say this was the only thing that would keep him normal, pulling out all the anger in the gym," Jorge Bagos told The Associated Press.
Bagos said the gunman expressed frustration over bad experiences with women and losing all his hair from using steroids.
On Friday night, Vargas set a combustible liquid on fire in his apartment, sending the unit into flames, police said. Building manager Italo Pisciotti and his wife went running toward the smoke. Vargas opened his door and shot and killed both of them, Lt. Carl Zogby, a spokesman with the Hialeah Police Department said.
Vargas then went back into his apartment and began firing from his balcony. One of the shots struck and killed Carlos Javier Gavilanes, 33, who neighbors said was returning home from his son's boxing practice.
Vargas then stormed into a third-story apartment, where he shot and killed a family of three: Patricio Simono, 64, Merly Niebles, 51, and her 17-year-old daughter.
For eight hours, police followed and exchanged gunfire with Vargas throughout the five-story apartment complex as terrified residents took cover in bathrooms and huddled with relatives, sometimes so close to the gunfire they could feel the shots. In the final hours, Vargas took two people captive in a fifth-story unit. Police attempted to negotiate with him, but the talks fell apart and a SWAT team swarmed in, killing Vargas and rescuing both hostages.
On Sunday, neighbors struggled to remember anything more than cursory exchanges with Vargas. He was often seen taking his mother, who used a walker, to run errands and go to doctor appointments. Sometimes, he greeted residents and politely held open doors. Other times, he could be noticeably anti-social.
One woman recalled how she would see him wait for the elevator, only to then take the stairs if he saw someone was inside when it arrived. And neighbors never saw him with anyone other than his mother.
"He looked very alone," said Isael Sarmiento, 42, who lived on the same floor as Vargas, across an open, gray and red concrete terrace. "I saw it in his face sometimes, like he was someone who had spent many years alone."
No one knew what he did for a living, though an email address listed for Vargas in public records suggested he had an interest in design.
Nearly every morning, Vargas would get dressed in gym shorts and a tank top and drive to an L.A. Fitness gym, water bottle in hand, neighbors said.
"He looked like an athlete," said Consuela Fernandez.
When shown Vargas' photo, many of the men working out at the gym recalled seeing him there, doing pull ups and lifting weights for hours at a time. Bagos said Vargas worked out almost religiously, and always alone.
"Sometimes it looked like he was in his own world," Bagos said.
Vargas didn't talk much, but occasionally he would share hints of the frustrations he described taking out at the gym.
"He said he'd rather be by himself, that women were no good," Bagos said.
Vargas also described how he was dieting and wanted six-pack abs. He was tall and relatively muscular, but when Bagos suggested Vargas get a tan so that his muscles would look better, he scoffed.
"I don't like the heat," Bagos remembered Vargas saying. "The heat makes me mad."
Lately, Vargas seemed to keep even more to himself. When Bagos tried saying hello, Vargas would turn and walk in the other direction.
"I thought he was going through problems and I kept away from him," he said.
Police said Vargas had no known criminal history, and they'd never responded any calls from the home. His past, they said, was "unremarkable."
"Nobody seems to know why he acted the way he acted," Zogby said.
On Sunday, residents stayed away from the building or kept inside their apartments. A few lingered in the stairways, staring from time to time at Vargas' apartment. The front door was half burnt and a black mix of water and ash from the blaze was scattered along the walkway.
Follow Christine Armario on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cearmario