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Computers may have become a lot more user-friendly over the past decade, but they're still far from perfect—PCs require a certain amount of configuration and maintenance to operate at their full potential. Unfortunately, because we humans are also far from perfect, we frequently don't put in the work we should, and we end up with a slower, sloppier, less secure machine as a result.
No more excuses! Whipping your PC into the best shape it can be requires but a dozen simple tasks. None are complicated, most take a matter of minutes, and all will have a major effect on how well your computer works for you. Even better, by the time you're finished you'll never have to worry about doing many of these tasks again.
Clean the case, keys, and display
The first task is the most basic: Are you keeping your computer clean? It's not just important because a dirty PC looks gross, or is less pleasant to use. Simply put, a clean computer can last longer. Dirt and dust buildup in and around your computer can clog the fans and air intakes, causing your hardware to run hotter, which lowers its expected life span. So if your PC is looking a little musty, take the time to clean it.
To do so, you need to have only a few things on hand: a Phillips-head screwdriver, a can of compressed air, paper towels, and rubbing alcohol.
Once you're ready to begin, shut down your computer, unplug it, and move it somewhere with a little open space in which to maneuver. Look on the back panel, and find the screws that hold the case's side panels in place. Unscrew them—making sure to put them someplace safe—and remove the side panels, usually by sliding them backward and then pulling them away. If you haven't cleaned the computer in a long time, you should immediately see some areas where dust has collected.
You're likely to find the most dust bunnies on the fans inside the computer and on the vents outside. You can remove a lot of dust simply by wiping the fans gently with a paper towel, and by using a lightly dampened paper towel on the vents. Once you've wiped away any piled-up dust, use the can of compressed air to blow the dust out of the inside of any heat sinks, such as the one attached to the CPU or the graphics card. Use the air to clean out remaining dust from the system's various fans too, but be careful: A sustained blast of air can overspin the fan, damaging it. Either use short bursts of air or hold the fan with your finger to prevent it from spinning. Afterward, clean out any other dust you see inside the case.
Your keyboard is next. Start by clearing out as many crumbs as possible: Simply turn the keyboard upside down and give it a good shake or two. Unless you're interested in seeing a disgusting reminder of why you shouldn't eat Ritz crackers at your desk, you should perform this step over the sink or a trash can. Use the compressed air to dislodge any crumbs that may still be stuck under the keycaps, and then repeat the flip-and-shake procedure. If you have a mechanical keyboard, you can also pop out individual keys to remove particularly stubborn debris.
If your keys have gotten grimy, lightly moisten a paper towel with rubbing alcohol and scrub the tops and sides of the keycaps. While you're at it, use the rubbing alcohol to give your mouse a thorough rubdown. Pay special attention to the areas where your fingers make contact, as they tend to become the oiliest and grimiest. Flip the mouse over and make sure that the sliding surfaces (where it makes contact with the desk or mousepad) aren't dirty, and that dust isn't collecting in the optical sensor.
Finally, wipe the monitor. Although paper towels are useful for most other PC cleaning tasks, I don't recommend them here as they can scratch your screen. Instead, use a microfiber cloth—the kind that comes packed with most glasses, sunglasses, and computer monitors. You can also find them in the cleaning section of just about any store. Give the screen a quick, light wipe, and see if any dirt persists. If it does, dampen the cloth with water, or a fifty-fifty mixture of water and vinegar, and wipe it again.
Back up your data
The 12 tips we describe in this article aren't necessarily ranked by importance. If they were, however, this tip would be first, followed by about seven blank pages, and then everything else.
Your computer is not invulnerable. Hard-drive failures happen, as do floods, fires, earthquakes, thefts, and other calamities. The hardware in your computer is replaceable, but the data inside—whether critical business documents or precious family photos—might not be. If you don't want to face the gut-wrenching realization that you've lost something important, you need to have a backup plan. Here's how you can protect yourself, right now.
First, you need backup software. A number of perfectly fine options—such as Carbonite and Mozy—are available, but for our purposes here I'll recommend CrashPlan, which provides all of the functionality you need for local and offsite backup absolutely free. To get started, just download and install the CrashPlan software. When the program runs, you'll see the straightforward CrashPlan backup procedure: Select drives or folders to back up, choose a location to back them up to, and click the Start Backup button.
The simplest form of protection is to back up your files to another location in your computer, to an external drive, or to other computers you own. This approach allows for fast and easy transfers, but poses some risks—if your house burns down or a robber breaks in, for instance, you could lose your backup alongside the original data. That's why it's smart to use offsite storage, as well.
Fortunately, CrashPlan makes offsite backup easy. You can back up your data—encrypted, no less—to a friend's computer for free, as long as that person is also running CrashPlan on their computer and can spare the storage space. If you don't have a friend with enough disk space (and you don't want to buy them a new external hard drive for the purpose), you can sign up for CrashPlan's online backup service, which runs $33 per year for 10GB of storage or $60 per year for unlimited space.
Whether you're stashing your data online or offline, CrashPlan's automatic-backup feature takes a lot of the headache out of backup management. Even if you don't want to bother with software utilities, however, you owe it to yourself to back up your most critical files. Manually slapping data onto a DVD or an external hard drive is a lot better than doing nothing.
Guard against malware
If you've been using computers for a long time, you might be tempted to think that you don't need to run antivirus software. "I never open suspicious email attachments, and I stay away from sketchy websites," you might say, "and I haven't gotten any malware in years." And yet, you're still vulnerable.
As the Java breach in early January shows, you don't have to do anything stupid to get a virus, and it takes only one infection to make you wish that you had spent a few minutes to set up an antivirus suite. If you haven't done so yet, do it now.
The big question is whether to use free or paid antivirus software. Paid products offer the most comprehensive protection, and usually come with extra features such as a firewall and live support. However, if you follow basic precautions regarding what you download online, the core features of free antivirus utilities should be enough to protect you in conjunction with the baked-in Windows Firewall.
I recommend starting with AVG Anti-Virus Free. Our testing has shown that the AVG suite offers top-notch threat detection and removal, and the free version comes with a surprisingly robust set of features, including email, hyperlink, and download scanning. AVG Anti-Virus Free takes only a few minutes to set up—simply grab the downloader from the website and let it do its thing. Just be sure to uncheck the various AVG Secure Search and Security toolbar options during installation to avoid filling your system with unwanted bloatware.
The program prompts you to run a full system scan after it installs. If your machine has any malware, AVG will quarantine it and offer to clear it out for you. After that, you can leave the program running in the background; by default it will automatically update its virus definitions daily, and scan your PC once per week. You can change the frequency and timing of those tasks by going to Options > Advanced Settings > Schedules.
Next page: Update your software, organize your files, toss out the chaff
Update your software
Unlike fine red wine, software does not get better with age. Rather, software is like chocolate milk: Great when you first get it, but more and more likely to make you sick the longer it sits. In other words, old software is a security risk, often containing vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to get into your system. Plus, failing to update apps means missing out on any cool new features that the programs' creators may have worked in.
You have an easy, free way to scan your PC to find software that needs updating, however. Just download and install the Secunia Personal Software Inspector. After you run the installer, Secunia PSI asks what you want it to do when it finds an out-of-date application; you can choose to manually determine which updates to download, but I suggest selecting the automatic option. The point, after all, is to make it easier to keep everything current.
Afterward, click the giant Scan button. Once the scan completes, you'll see a list of the programs installed on your computer, along with a subset of programs that aren't up-to-date. Secunia PSI can update some of the programs for you (and if you chose the automatic option during setup, it will already be downloading the updates for those applications), while others require manual updating. Below each nonautomatic update, you'll see a Click to Update link. Click it, and Secunia will start the process.
Secunia PSI starts on boot by default and runs in the background, keeping a vigilant eye out for insecure programs. Once per week the utility prompts you to update any outdated software.
I also recommend setting Windows Update to download new patches automatically, if you haven't done so already. In Windows 8, open Settings in the charm bar on the right side, and then select Change PC Settings and click the Windows Update option. In Windows 7 and Vista, click Start > All Programs > Windows Update > Change Settings.
Organize your files
I'm not judging you for letting your data get out of hand—it happens to the best of us. Sometimes it's just too tempting to save time right now by dumping files and folders into your Documents folder, or your C: drive, or onto the desktop. You can always organize things later, right? Well, later is now.
First, you should download a utility called DropIt. Imagine that you owned a magical trash can, and that any item you dropped into it would instantly teleport to the proper place. That would make cleaning up the house a lot easier, wouldn't it? Simply go around and shovel everything into the magic can! That's what the open-source DropIt is, only it's for your computer.
The utility puts an icon on your screen and automatically sorts any file you drop onto that icon according to rules you define. When you run the program, you will see a blue box with an arrow, which you can drag around your screen. Right-click the box, and click Associations. A menu will open where you can create rules, such as "Any file ending in '.jpg' or '.png' should move to my Pictures library." Setting up a comprehensive list of associations can take a while; but once you do that, you can organize any folder on your computer in no time at all.
After you have installed and configured DropIt, you can make the rounds and bring order to your computer's cluttered file system. Start with your desktop. The desktop functions best as a temporary space to keep files as you're working on them—filling it up with icons merely slows you down every time you have to find something there. The Start menu or the taskbar (with jumplists) is a better place to store shortcuts to programs and files that you regularly access. Other places that frequently get cluttered are your Documents folder, the root of the C: drive, and your Downloads folder.
If you're using Windows 7 or 8, take advantage of the built-in Libraries feature, if you haven't already. Libraries provide a great way to organize a collection of files, even if those files are not all stored in the same place.
Toss out the chaff
While you were organizing your files, you probably noticed a different problem: You have a lot of old and useless files, documents, and applications taking up valuable space on your hard drive. More than likely, you cleared some of them out while you were organizing, but chances are good that those were just the tip of the iceberg. Your next step should be to conduct a thorough audit of everything on your hard drives.
Start with SpaceSniffer, a free application that visualizes all the data on your machine, showing you each folder as a colored square—the bigger the box, the more drive space that folder is occupying. A full scan takes only 5 to 30 minutes, depending on the capacity and speed of your drives. After the scan is complete, you can double-click any square in the graph to drill down and discover what's taking up so much room. SpaceSniffer lets you easily see where all your gigabytes are going.
It's simple to delete excess files, but getting rid of programs can be more of a pain. PC Decrapifier can help you quickly uninstall multiple programs at once if you're doing a truly deep clean. Revo Uninstaller is a handy tool if you try to uninstall a program but still find it taking up space. Revo Uninstaller lists all the software on your PC and lets you manually obliterate any stubborn programs. It then scans for data or Registry entries that the program may have left behind, and deletes those as well.
Once you've given your PC a thorough, manual cleansing, run an automatic cleaner such as CCleaner to see if you missed anything. CCleaner scans your computer for known space-wasters, including temporary Internet files and log files. You can review the files it finds, and then tell CCleaner to erase them all, potentially clearing up gigabytes of wasted space.
It probably goes without saying, but make sure that you understand what you're deleting before you pull the trigger. Freeing up a bit of space isn't worth the risk of nuking an important system file or losing a valuable document.
Next page: Encrypt private data, change your passwords, optimize startup, and organize your inbox
Encrypt your private data
How much of your life resides on your computer? Do you keep medical records, bank statements, or other files that you wouldn't want other parties to access? I'm not saying that you shouldn't store sensitive data on your computer—it's one of the best ways to keep track of such things, assuming that you have a strong backup plan. You should encrypt those sensitive files, however, to make sure that your information stays safe and secret even if your data winds up in someone else's hands.
First, find all of the sensitive files on your computer—financial and medical records, contracts, and anything else you wouldn't want strangers to see. Place them all into a folder. You can (and should) organize them in subfolders, just as long as you have one root folder that encompasses all of them.
Next, install TrueCrypt, a free and open-source program that provides easy-to-use, government-grade encryption. TrueCrypt stores encrypted files inside a container file called a volume; think of a volume as a safe, and TrueCrypt as its key. Click the Create Volume button and then choose the Create an encrypted file containeroption. Proceed through the remainder of the volume-creation wizard. Each step is explained pretty clearly, and if you don't understand something you can safely leave the default selected.
Once the utility has created your volume, you need to mount the volume. Think of this action as opening the safe, although it will remain open only while TrueCrypt is running. Click Select File, and find the volume file you just made. Click the Mount button, and enter the password you created with the wizard.
When TrueCrypt mounts a volume, your computer will see it as though it were a new hard drive. Open Windows' File Explorer and look for the new drive on your system—it should be empty. Move the folder of sensitive files onto this drive. When you're done, close TrueCrypt; the virtual hard drive will disappear. The sensitive files are now hidden inside the encrypted volume.
Whenever you want to access those files, you will need to remount the volume in TrueCrypt, so make sure that you don't lose the volume file or forget its password. Speaking of passwords…
Change your passwords
Performing this task is just as crucial as backing up your data. Most users, unfortunately, make several fundamental password errors that can compromise their online accounts and data, and the easiest way to fix them is to start over from scratch. When you're selecting new passwords, you should keep the following three tips in mind.
First, create a strong password. A password that's too short or too simple is a password that's easy to crack. To keep yours safe, make sure that it contains at least 10 characters, and include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters as well as symbols and numbers. A letters-only password, however, can still be secure as long as it's at least 20 characters long.
Second, don't use the same password across multiple websites. Even people who pride themselves on using a secure password often fall into the trap of reusing passwords. Do that, and a security breach at any site you use could compromise your most sensitive accounts. If you absolutely can't manage different passwords for each of your accounts, at least use a unique password for your email account and for any accounts with sensitive financial information.
Finally, don't get too attached. No security system is perfect, which is why it's important to change your passwords regularly. If somehow one of your passwords is cracked or leaks, you don't want someone to be able to snoop on you indefinitely. By changing your most important passwords every six months and your less-sensitive passwords every year, you can minimize the damage done in the worst-case scenario.
If you're following these three rules already, congratulations: You're one of the responsible few. If not, it's time to get serious about password security. If you're worried that following these rules might be difficult, one simple program that can help you out is KeePass, a free, open-source password-management application that can track all of your passwords as well as generate randomized, highly secure passwords on demand.
Optimize startup
One of the most frustrating experiences in computing is waiting for a slow-as-molasses startup to finish. You have to wait through the POST (power-on self-test) screen, then pass the Windows Startup screen, and then tolerate the most irritating part of all: when you can see your desktop but the computer is still unresponsive and too slow to use. Of course, it wasn't always like this—when you first bought the PC, startup was a breeze. So what happened?
Software happened. You installed all sorts of applications, and they took liberties with Windows, setting it up so that any variety of programs and services now launch automatically when the operating system boots. These days, Windows is launching 30 programs every time it starts up, meaning that you have to wait an extra few minutes before you can check your email.
You need to take back control of your computer's startup sequence.
First, run CCleaner. You used this application earlier to clear out some hard-drive space, but the utility does double duty as a startup manager. Click the button labeled Tools at the left of the CCleaner window, and then click Startup. You'll see a list of every program that is currently set to launch when Windows starts. Scan through the list, and whenever you see a program that you don't need to use every time you start the computer, click it and select Disable.
If you want finer control over the startup process, I recommend WinPatrol, another great free application. Like other utilities, WinPatrol shows you a list of startup programs and services—but it also gives you the option to schedule startup so that your computer doesn't try to load everything at once. To do this, find the program that you want to delay in the main Startup Programs tab, right-click that program, and select Move to Delayed Start Program List. After that, you can switch to the Delayed Start tab, select a program, and click the Delay Options tab, where you can choose how long you want Windows to wait before launching the selected program.
Organize your inbox
When you're trying to get things done, email can be your worst enemy. Sure, it's invaluable for doing business and for keeping in touch, but it can also be a distraction and a massive time sink. You might not be able to get back all of the hours you spend on email, but you can at least reclaim the wasted time spent staring at your overflowing, messy inbox.
First, create multiple folders ('Labels' in Gmail) dedicated to specific topics in order to better organize your messages. An average user's selection might include folders designated for work, bills and receipts, newsletters, and the like. Create a new folder in Outlook 2010 by selecting the Folder tab and clicking New Folder (in the New group). In Gmail, click More labels > Create new labels in the left pane.
Next, clean out the inbox. I know that the task seems daunting, but the purpose of the inbox is to serve as a temporary holding zone for new messages, not to be a permanent warehouse for every email you've ever received. Sort your messages into the folders you just created, ruthlessly deleting any items that aren't worth retaining. Keep email that needs responses in your inbox, or better yet, create a 'Needs response' folder and sort the messages there.
To keep your inbox clean going forward, continue the practice of sorting messages as you receive and respond to them. Alternatively, you could use Outlook rules (File > Manage rules & alerts > New Rule under the Email Rules tab) or Gmail filters (Gear icon > Settings > Filters tab > Create a new filter) to automatically sort incoming email to specific folders based on criteria such as the sender or specific words included in the message. Most major email clients support message filters.
If you don't want to deal with the hassle of manually maintaining your inbox's sanctity or creating a plethora of automated rules and filters, check out Sanebox, a $5-per-month service that works with any IMAP email account and does a scarily good job of sorting your incoming messages.
Finally, get proactive and unsubscribe from any newsletters or daily-deal email that you don't regularly read. You'll be surprised at how much inbox clutter that action can eliminate.
Next page: Automate everything. Plus, should you defrag your drives?
Automate everything
Keeping your PC running smoothly and securely doesn't have to be a headache. Many of the tasks that are described in this article have to be performed only once, or involve software that updates automatically. For the rest, Windows' baked-in Task Scheduler can help you keep programs running on a regimented schedule.
Start by searching for Task Scheduler by name in the Start menu (in Windows Vista and 7) or Start screen (in Windows 8). Once it's open, click the Create Basic Task option to make a simple but automatic, timer-based action. The wizard that pops up will ask how often you want the task to be performed, and what program you want it to launch. For example, you could set up a task that launches CCleaner and SpaceSniffer every two weeks.
Since a basic task won't actually launch a scan when it opens a program like CCleaner, it isn't a completely automatic approach. Still, postponing necessary maintenance is a lot harder when Windows pops up the needed tool on a regular basis. Windows ninjas can coax programs into running specific tasks using a mixture of the Create Task option, called-out command-line arguments, and a hefty dose of experimentation—but that's a whole article in and of itself.
Should you defrag your drives?
If you've been using PCs for more than a year or two, you have probably heard about how important it is to defragment your hard drive regularly. Defragmenting ("defragging," more commonly) consolidates the data on your drive. Although modern hard drives don't see much of a speed boost when they're defragged—unlike the drives of yesteryear—it's still a good idea to defrag your storage periodically to prevent heavy fragmentation from becoming an issue over time. If nothing else, the odds of recovering lost data after a disaster are increased if you defragged your drive recently.
If you're using Windows Vista, 7, or 8, the operating system automatically defragments itself once a week, late at night. Just search for "disk defragmenter" in the Start menu or Start screen and click the result if you want to see when the process runs. If, however, you're still using Windows XP, you need to manually defragment every couple of weeks or so using the built-in defragmenter (Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter).
However, you'll want to disable Windows' automatic disk defragmenting if your machine contains a solid-state drive. Fragmented data doesn't slow down SSDs because of the way they read and write information—in fact, hardware manufacturers say that defragging adds unnecessary wear that can reduce the life span of an SSD. So in this case, turn it off!


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Aaron Toppen, Betty Winter
U.S. Army soldier Aaron Toppen's grandmother Betty Winter right, is comforted at Toppen's home in Mokena, Ill., Tuesday, June 10, 2014. The 19 year-old Toppen was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan this week. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
MOKENA, Ill. (AP) — The five American troops killed in a friendly fire airstrike included an Illinois soldier who went to Afghanistan a month after his father died, an Ohio man who was engaged to be married, a California Green Beret who only deployed in January, and Washington state man who loved the outdoors.
Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said the five were killed Monday "during a security operation in southern Afghanistan." Officials said an airstrike was called in after the unit was ambushed by the Taliban. It was one of the deadliest friendly fire incidents in nearly 14 years of war.
Family representatives of Aaron Toppen of Illinois and Justin Helton of Ohio told The Associated Press that military members came to their relatives' doors in the middle of the night to deliver the news of the deaths.
Relatives and local schools on Wednesday confirmed the deaths of Justin Clouse of Washington and Staff Sgt. Scott Studenmund of California. The other victim has not yet been identified.
Here is a look at the lives of Toppen, Helton, Studenmund and Clouse:
Aaron Toppen, 19
Family members of Toppen remembered him as a kind-hearted man who had aspired to a career in the military or law enforcement.
"Aaron was predisposed to serve. He was very keen to be in the military," his uncle Jack Winter said. "He was quite proud to be there."
It was the second death of a loved one for the family this year. Toppen, from the Illinois city of Mokena, about 40 miles southwest of Chicago, was set to leave for Afghanistan in February. But his gravely ill father died that month, and he stayed for the funeral. He deployed in March.
Toppen was a graduate of Lincoln-Way East High in Frankfort, Illinois, and loved the outdoors, especially fishing. Family members at the home Tuesday circulated a picture of Toppen as a young child sitting next to his father in a fishing boat.
"He was something somewhat rare in youth culture today. ... In a word, I would summarize what he had as 'class,'" Winter said of his nephew. "So rarely now do you see somebody like that who truly does have class, who's polite, humble, loyal, who's a kind-hearted soul, generous."
Toppen was the youngest of three children.
Justin Helton, 25
Helton had been in the Army since 2010 but had been in Afghanistan for only about two months, according to cousin Mindy Helton. It was his first deployment, and he expected to be home in about six months, she said.
She said her cousin specialized in dealing with explosives and was based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. She also said he was engaged. His parents live in Beaver, a two-hour drive east of Cincinnati, Ohio.
"He was a great boy, so full of life and outgoing," she said. "He loved hunting and the outdoors."
The 2006 graduate of Beaver's Eastern High School was known to friends and family as Buck and was a quiet leader, Robert Day, his high school baseball coach, told WCMH-TV in Columbus.
Tim Hattle, who had known Helton since grade school, told the station that he messaged his friend on Facebook last week.
"He said time was really dragging over there. I said, 'Just don't worry. You'll be home soon.' And to be safe," Hattle said. "Then I told him I loved him."
Scott Studenmund, 24
Staff Sgt. Studenmund of Pasadena, California, was deployed to Afghanistan in January and was set to return home in August. His mother is former eHarmony CEO Jaynie Studenmund, and his father is Woody Studenmund, an economics professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles.
Scott Studenmund was a 2008 graduate of Flintridge Preparatory School in the Los Angeles foothill suburb of La Canada Flintridge.
Both schools confirmed his death Wednesday with permission from the family.
Studenmund was a "brave, virtuous patriot" who played football and ran track at Flintridge and loved military history and a good debate, the school said in a statement.
"When I think about Scott's service, I think of the Founding Fathers — a virtuous man must be prepared to risk his life, fortune and sacred honor for his country," Headmaster Peter Bachmann said in the statement.
Though undersized for a defensive position, "he made our defense go," football coach and science teacher Glen Beattie said. "He was aggressive, quick and wouldn't let anyone block him or dominate him. He would fight through anything and would not let himself be defeated."
Studenmund played football at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, for a year, then took leave to pursue his "life's dream" of becoming a Green Beret, the Flintridge statement said.
Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard has requested that flags in the city be flown at half-staff in his honor.
Justin Clouse, 22
Clouse, of the tiny town of Sprague, Washington, loved sports and the outdoors, family members said.
He played basketball and football at Sprague High School, about 30 miles west of Spokane. In basketball he was the team captain and most valuable player his senior year.
Clouse enrolled in the Army shortly after graduating.
Orville Clouse said Wednesday his grandson was an "awesome man" who loved fishing and hunting. He was planning to leave the military next spring and get married.
"He was outgoing, and yet quiet," Orville Clouse said. "He was always a hard-working and ambitious kid."
Justin Clouse's parents departed Wednesday for a military base in Delaware, where his body will return to the U.S., Orville Clouse said.
Residents of the town of 550 people gave them a community send-off Wednesday morning.
Justin Clouse enlisted in the Army in 2010 and was on his second tour in Afghanistan.

subset: commoncrawl


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A look at the 17 casino proposals for upstate NY; state will award 4 licenses
New York state has authorized up to four casino licenses to be divided among three regions: the Albany-Saratoga area, the Southern Tier-Finger Lakes region and the Catskills and mid-Hudson River Valley. A state board is now evaluating the applications and is set to make its recommendations this fall. Here's a look at the contenders:
Caesars New York in Woodbury, Orange County. By Caesars Entertainment.
Sterling Forest Resort in Tuxedo, Orange County. By Genting Americas.
Resorts World Hudson Valley in Montgomery, Orange County. By Genting Americas.
The Live! Hotel and Casino in South Blooming Grove, Orange County. By Cordish Companies and Penn National Gaming.
Hudson Valley Casino & Resort in Newburgh, Orange County. By Saratoga Casino and Raceway and Rush Street Gaming.
Grand Hudson Resort & Casino in New Windsor, Orange County. By Greenetrack.
Montreign Resort Casino in Thompson, Sullivan County. By Empire Resorts.
Mohegan Sun at The Concord in Thompson, Sullivan County. By Concord Kiamesha LLC and Mohegan Gaming NY.
Nevele Resort, Casino & Spa, Ellenville in Ulster County. By Nevele.
Rivers Casino & Resort at Mohawk Harbor in Schenectady, Schenectady County. By Capital Region Gaming.
Howe Caverns Resort & Casino in Howes Cave, Schoharie County. By Howe Caves Development.
Unnamed facility in Amsterdam, Montgomery County. By Florida Acquisition Corp.
Hard Rock in Rensselaer, Rensselaer County. By Hard Rock International.
Capital View Casino & Resort in East Greenbush, Rensselaer County. By Saratoga Casino and Raceway and Churchill Downs.
Tioga Downs Casino in Nichols, Tioga County. By Tioga Downs Racetrack.
Traditions Resort & Casino in Johnson City, Broome County. By Traditions Resort & Casino.
Lago Resort & Casino in Tyre, Seneca County. By Wilmorite.


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The Return of the Statesville Owls
The 1961 Statesville Owls were one of only two minor league affiliates the Angels had in their first season.
If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know I've written about my research into the early years of the Angels' minor leagues, specifically the Statesville Owls. Statesville was a Class D team in the Western Carolina League. The team could sign and trade its own players, while receiving a handful of players from the Angels.
One project has been to organize a reunion. It's been in the talking stages for a couple years, but as the adage goes, if you want something done right, do it yourself, which I did.
This week, in Tempe, the Statesville Owls reunite 48 years after their 1961 season ended.
Confirmed attendees are former major leaguers Jack Hiatt and Dick Simpson, along with Dave Best, George Bryson, Walter Darton, Alan Flitcraft and Bob Lucas. Ed Thomas and Jerry Fox, two independent players who still live in Statesville, will also attend. Also joining us will be Dan Ardell, signed in 1961 but sent to a Dodgers' Class C team in Artesia, New Mexico. Dan played with most of them in 1962 at San Jose.
Roland Hemond, the Angels' original farm and scouting director, is now an executive with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He'll be joining us too. He signed most of these guys.
The reunion dates are September 24-26. Some are driving, some are flying. Some will only join us for a day, others for more than one. The reunion dinner will be Friday night September 25 at a nearby hotel.
The morning of September 25, I'll take them over to the Angels' minor league complex at Tempe Diablo where the Angels are currently holding fall instructional league. No games are scheduled, just instruction and workouts, but I think that's actually more interesting as they'll get to see how teaching the game has evolved since they played. I'm sure there will be some interaction between the original Future Angels and today's Future Angels.
I'm truly humbled that these players have bought into the idea of a reunion, some of them with only two weeks notice. Most of them left behind baseball long ago for other lives. It shows that the baseball flame still burns inside them, no matter how much they tried to extinguish it and move on to other lives.
In a few days, ten aged men in their late 60s will be twenty years old again. If you're looking for the Fountain of Youth, look no further than the National Pastime.
I'll be shooting photos and video, of course, along with whatever I can do at the instructs as time permits.


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"I'm Barack Obama, and I approve this message." Voters are used to that tagline on political ads, and most get the idea behind the decade-old law requiring it in federal campaigns. Known as the Stand By Your Ad provision, it forces candidates to take responsibility for whatever facts or foolishness their TV commercials contain. Without it, the mudslinging might be even dirtier.
Shouldn't the same principle apply to political ads made by people and groups who aren't officially associated with candidates and ballot measures, but wield just as much influence in elections?
It should. That's why Californians should encourage state legislators to support the Disclose Act, a bill by two San Francisco-area senators that would require the top three funders of political TV and radio commercials and print and online ads to be boldly identified in the ads.
No fine print. None of the misleading names that special-interest groups like to go by. Instead, big, bold words right up front.
SB 52 sponsors Sen. Jerry Hill and Sen. Mark Leno are right: Voters can't do much to reduce the money in campaigns, but they have the right to know which individuals, corporations or unions it comes from.
The Disclose Act (it stands for Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections) is part of the popular backlash against the loosening of political-donor restrictions by the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling.
In Sacramento, two other active bills, by Sens. Ted Lieu of Redondo Beach and Lou Correa of Santa Ana, take different approaches to helping voters to know who is advocating what.
But the Disclose Act is the effort with the most support and the most history behind it.
Similar past attempts in Congress and the California Legislature have come up short, including a 2012 bill by then-Assemblywoman (now Rep.) Julia Brownley that was beaten back by nearly unanimous opposition from Republicans.
California should lead the way on this reform. We were among the many voters in the state who were appalled when an Arizona nonprofit with anonymous backing dropped $11 million into two proposition campaigns. Under the Disclose Act, an ad mostly paid for by money like that would have to disclose the source of the money.
The 2013 Disclose Act was approved by a 4-1 vote Monday in the Senate Appropriations Committee. It now will be sent on to the Appropriations Committee for consideration.
If it reaches the full Legislature, and it certainly should, it will require two-thirds approval because it's an amendment to the 1974 Political Reform Act — passed by voters.
Californians should tell their lawmakers they approve this message: SB 52 would bring more vital transparency to state politics.


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Search results for author:"Shinn Rong Lin"
Total records matched: 2 Search took: 0.077 secs
School Culture and Principal's Leadership For School Sustained Development in the Information Age
Shinn-Rong Lin; Hsiao-Ting Teng
World Conference on Educational Media and Technology 2006 (June 2006) pp. 313–318
This study explores school culture and the principal's leadership for a school's sustained development in the information age. The case study describes how the principal creates a positive school culture for Xing-ya. The principal has utilized the...
Case Study of School Culture in Responding to Information Age
Shinn-Rong Lin; Hsiao-Ting Teng; Huei-Chuan Lin
World Conference on Educational Media and Technology 2005 (Jun 27, 2005) pp. 2275–2281
This work explores school culture that would be required for effectively responding to the advancement of information technology. By the case investigation, there are five school cultures generalized for a high performance school: establishing the...
Topics: Professional Development, Culture, Schools


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A selection of football articles from the site, excluding most standard match reports and previews. This is sort of an archive of fanzines, opinion pieces and unusual snaps and scans.
Football History and Opinion:
Richmond Park and Ireland's first rock festival.
FAI Cup Final 1966, and the 1916 connection.
Northern Irish and Southern Irish annual friendship match.
The Beautiful Game (A brief history of football in the capital)
Trouble On The Terraces (Republic of Ireland versus England 1995 match programme selection)
Football Club United Of Manchester (FCUM) in Ireland.
End of season 2010 Ultras review
Ballyfermot Late Night League
League of Ireland Fans, Unite! (Published after murder of young Shelbourne athlete)
The United Irishmen (Airtricity side take on Manchester United)
Come Here To Me! article published in Galway United F.C match programme.
Bohemian F.C:
Samuel L. Jackson is a Bohs fan
Eccles Is Innocent (Fanzine)
Bohemians and the Champions League 2010
Only Fools And Horses (Fanzine)
A Rough Guide To Dalymount, 1993 (Fanzine)
'El Classico Has Nothing On This' (A look at what the Dublin derby between Rovers and Bohs means)
The Morning After Night The Before (A follow up on the Dublin derby)
I Had A Dream Last Night (On the verge of the last game of the 2010 season.)
'Even National Monuments Can Take A Turn For The Worse'
Football; much better when watched in a pub? (Bizarre advertisement in The Metro)
Saint Patrick's Athletic:
Osam Is Doubtful (Fanzine)Match Programme versus Shamrock Rovers August 30 1981 (Featuring new signing Paul McGrath)
Gorden Banks and Saint Patrick's Athletic
Reflections on the 2010 FAI Cup semi final pitch invasion incident
'Saints Blasts from the Past' (Classic moments from the club uploaded to YouTube)
Shamrock Rovers
Hoops Upside Your Head (fanzine)
Match Programme versus Saint Patrick's Athletic August 30 1981
"Shamrock Rovers Meet Belfast Celtic" (1939 Dublin Evening Mail)
Housemartins letter in support of SRFC.
Shelbourne F.C:
The Beautiful Game
University College Dublin A.F.C:
UCD Ultras
Past Football Events:
Annual Match Programme Fair 2010
African Nations Cup at Dalymount (2010)
Whytes Auction of football goods (2010)
Links of note:
Thebohs.com Bohemian F.C fan forum.
Shed End Invincibles Online home of Saint Patrick's Athletic Ultras.
Extratime.ie Fantastic League of Ireland coverage.
SRFC Ultras Online home of Shamrock Rovers Ultras
SRFC TV 'View from the gantry'
Football Press 'Irish Football and the Media'
www.foot.ie League of Ireland forum
Red Independent (Shelbourne F.C)
Briogaid Dearg Online home of Shelbourne F.C Ultras


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When I was a little boy, I used to watch a couple of my dad's brothers with curiosity. They were so outgoing and carefree. And drunk too most of the time. The beers just enhanced who they were though – something I believe is true for all drunks.
They were huge men and they truly didn't care about how they appeared to others and didn't try to hide much of what they thought. They were irreverent and loud and loved to laugh – unlike my dad who, though he was just as large as them, was the polar opposite in character: angry and belligerent and always spoiling for a fight.
As I grew up, I could never picture myself being as free as my uncles.
While riding your bike up and down the street as a child, the idea of inhibiting yourself in any way doesn't even cross your mind. You have fights with your friends, you make up, you play "flying saucers" with them (always you get to be the captain, and they are your underlings, if you have any say about it) and together you go through a full range of emotions every day. And the next day you forget what the previous day was about. It doesn't matter. You are in the now.
Kids don't seem to have a sense of nostalgia, even for a moment.
Flashes of memory:
Scene: teenaged me on a stepladder, applying paint to the eavestrough of our house. I don't even recall the colour. Though lost in ADD-addled thought, I was intent on ensuring the paint went where it was supposed to go. The sun was shining in the west, and my dad was out on the front lawn scowling as he watched me work, an ever-present bottle of beer in his hand. I was a little unfocused while my brain processed yet another shiny ball piece of inspiration. He could tell, because he would say something and I would provide one-note replies. In exasperation he bellowed "you're always in your head. You never talk." He barked "so what the hell are you thinking about?"
That was a surprise. I knew he was right but it was the first time I remember being forced to be a little self-aware. I probably turned red – I didn't like being in the spotlight. Not his, anyway. As I struggled to reply, he huffed again and walked away in disgust. A more mature me would have been able to analyze it: I didn't think I mattered to him. At least, he didn't show it, in amongst all of the anger and shouting and drinking and swearing and hitting people. So why would it would occur to me to talk with him? I was afraid of him. I was slowly building a belief in his hatred of me. Hindsight reveals so much.
Not being mature, I had no sense of all of this at the time though. I just knew I had somehow angered him, and I was afraid of what that might mean. I had no idea what the consequences would entail. Would I be beaten up? Was he going to use this as an excuse to come at me? God knew. I kept painting, fearful and shaking inside.
(Nothing happened)
Scene: a dark night, my best friend and I were in a camping trailer in his parents' front yard, talking about something. This was probably within the same year as the painting scene above. I thought Joe was a genius: his marks in school were excellent and we both kind of knew he would end up becoming some sort of an academic. The guy was linear and logical, and we talked about a great many things. This night, however, it was me doing most of the talking. I remember really enjoying the time, until I realized that he wasn't saying much at all.
"Joe, what's wrong?"
He looked at me. Shrugged. Put his head down, staring at the floor. "Nothing".
Being around a drunk father for most of your life, and being taught how to read him in order to survive, I had developed somewhat of a sense about people, even then. I landed right on the problem. "You think I talk too much don't you?"
He hesitated. Then nodded.
Shock. Teenage immature revelation.
I shut up.
And then, like many teens, I made a point of fitting in by keeping quiet, and making sure my image was intact. There was no way anyone would ever have to become disgruntled about my saying too much ever again. I had learned my lesson well.
Such behaviour, once learned, becomes hard to unlearn. It becomes your new "normal". You get used to it. You think this is what you're supposed to do. This for you is social conditioning, and though marginally disappointing, you're happy to have learned it. Now you can fit in, and not stand out or become the focus of anyone's attention. It doesn't occur to you that "focus of attention" can be a positive thing – you're only used to seeing it as a negative, ranging from the disdain of your friends to the red-eyed drunken and raging stare of violence.
Scene: I'm an adult, sitting in the basement of a building in the heart of the downtown Toronto entertainment district. A bunch of people – maybe fifteen or so, all different ages and backgrounds – are assembled. All are paying attention to the teacher. Only, it's not a lecture. He's giving instructions.
"Never say no". He starts. "You may think you have a better idea, and maybe you do. But if someone gives you an offer, take it, and leave your 'better idea' in your back pocket. You may get a chance to use it later. It's more important to follow the lead of the other guy. Think instead of how you can help build his idea." He smiled. "Or hers".
It was a comedy improv class. The objective was to tap into our "inner child" and play pretend with each other. It was entirely positive, and it involved taking the focus, and becoming the center of attention, if only for a few moments.
It was exhilarating. I was the guy on a fishing trip with a friend, and we were discussing my getting a job at his company. And all the while we were sitting in an imaginary boat, casting our lines and winding the reel back in. He built on my idea by presenting an offer: if he could have a date with my wife, he'd see that my job application was approved. My instinct was to immediately say "no" but then I remembered the teacher's instructions. "You know – that might work. I'm going to need more than a job though. " I thought for a moment, while casting the line once again. "Maybe stock options. And your cool new car. That would be my price." We dickered back and forth, adding conditions and treasures, until we finally ended it by reaching an agreement.
So odd, playing that scene. We had became oblivious to the fact we were both the center of attention – except for the brief moments when the class laughed.
In another improv exercise, we were learning about adding dimensions to our invisible props; to be aware of them. The teacher said "very often you'll see some actors on stage, sitting in a car. One of them will get out and walk to the other side – RIGHT THROUGH THE IMAGINARY ENGINE. It irks me every time. It destroys the scene. I want you to be aware of your scene, and everything in it, and respect it completely. Make it real." He looked at us, intently. "If you can make yourself believe everything in your scene is real, your audience will follow you and they'll believe it too. Every time."
To illustrate that point, the teacher chose an imaginary thick heavy door that didn't open too well. One by one, classmates went up to the door, used big heavy keys to unlock it, and then struggled to get it open. Then they would struggle just as hard to pull it closed behind them. Then they would sit down, or go to an imaginary fridge, grab an invisible drink and open it. Or read a newspaper. About four or five of them went up. Then I had an idea: I walked up, struggled with that same door, got inside and closed it. Then, with my back ramrod straight, I looked around at them in disgust. "One, two, three…." I counted them all. "All five of you are in here… " I raised my voice in anger. "….and there are 1,500 prisoners out there, all unsupervised." Their eyes all widened and they got up in a rush and scrambled to get out the door.
The class laughed. That did it. The seed was planted. Attention. Positive attention. Instant addiction.
Scene: a sports bar in a small town. Noon hour. About seven colleagues and I sitting around a table, having lunch. A TV set was situated on a shelf that was close to the ceiling, and it was tuned to a music video station. The theme was 90's music, and we were enjoying it, and discussing the songs as they came on.
Then the Divinyls' song "I Touch Myself" came on. Anyone who's ever heard it knows the lyrics fairly well. It features a woman singing to her lover about how she masturbates when she thinks of him.
The conversation around the table stopped abruptly. Most of us were guys, and we couldn't even look at each other. For some reason I found this hilarious. My improv-enhanced mind whirled with possibility.
I cleared my throat, turned and looked at the guy next to me (who, aware of my gaze, elected to stare with apparent focused and fascinated attention at his plate of fries). In the deepest voice I could muster I growled "kind of embarrassing isn't it?"
The table exploded with laughter.
I didn't know it then, but I was reprogramming myself. Detoxing from a lifetime of self-repression. Learning that embarrassment should be reserved for honest mistakes, not for honest behaviour. Not for speaking out. Not for truth-telling, no matter how ridiculous or outrageous the truth, or even whether it was couched in humour or bold straight talk.
I brought that dynamic to my workplace, often blurting out wild-eyed stuff to the disbelief and laughter of my friends and co-workers. Safety doesn't seem that much of a factor anymore. And even when there is the possibility of violence – like on a crowded subway or busy mall – it's better to face it head-on, with truth. People truly don't expect that. They expect fear, and hiding.
I was learning that you get a lot more done, accomplish more, find more satisfaction in throwing off the safety of quiet, and replacing it with risk, and attitude and laughter.
To this day, I still have to coach myself though. What about you? Do you find yourself, as I do, having to repeat "what's the worst that can happen" to yourself? Do you find what that is, and then say to yourself "to hell with it – I'm doing or saying this, and if they don't like it, or me, that's too bad"?


text:
Wills and Estate Records Available to Members of South Carolina Pioneers
Fairfield County Will Book A (abstracts)
Fairfield County Will Book 1: Transcripts (1787-1791)Testators: Arledge, Moses; Beasley, Jacob; Belton, Sarah; Briggs, Frederick; Brown, Jacob; Carden, Larkin; Carledge, Isaac; Colfman, Charles; Dods, John; Fellows, Mathias; Graves, James; Hill, William; Hornsby, Leonard; Lewis, John; Lowe, Isaac; Marple, Thomas; McCreight, William; McMaster, Hugh; Miller, Alexander; Neal, Samuel; Owens, Thomas; Peay, George; Phillips, Robert; Robertson, Henry ; Rogers, John; Routledg, Thomas; Scott, George; Starns, Peter; Young, John
Fairfield County Will Book 2: Transcripts (1792-1795)Testators: Aiken, Charles; Andrews, James; Andrews, John; Auston, Elizabeth; Bell, Thomas; Bennett, Sarah; Boney, Jacob; Brown, Robert; Burns, Dennis; Camron, Joseph; Cassity, Peter; Cockrel, Moses; Coleman, Robert; Colhoun, James; Colhoun, William; Collins, Moses; Cook, Esther; Cork, John; Dods, Joseph; Evans, David; Frazer, William; Funderburgh, Henry; Gamble, Hugh; Gamble, Samuel; Gibson, Jacob; Hardage, James; Hays, Mathew; Holles, Moses; Holmes, William; Hugeley, Henry; Johnson, James; Kirkland, Francis; Knighton, Moses; Lemley, Peter; Lewey, George; Littlejohn, Marcellas; Martin, George; McBride, Robert; McClurken, John; McColloch, John; McCreight, David; McDowell, Alexander; McFadden, Anne; McMullon, John; Mickle, Thomas; Neeley, Richard; Neely, Richard; Paul, James; Pettipool, Ephraim; Phillips, William; Porter, James; Robertson, Alexander; Robinson, Margaret ; Sanders, Nathan; Shaver, Philip; Waugh, Samuel; Whitted, William
Lighter from Austria
Fairfield County Will Book 4: Transcripts (1800-1803)Testators: Arskin, Peter; Austin, Elizabeth; Austin, James; Bell, George; Ewing, William; Henson, Bartlet; Husey, Isaac; Kincaid, James ; Lightner, John; Marple, Northrup; Miller, John; Mobley, Samuel; Morris, William; Paul, Arsbald; Richardson, Samuel; Robinson, James; Thompson, John; Walker, Henry; Woodward, Elizabeth; Woodward, Henry
Fairfield Will Book A (abstracts)
Indexes to Probate RecordsIndex to Fairfield County Will Book 1 (1787-1791)
Index to Fairfield County Will Book 2 (1792-1795)
Index to Fairfield County Will Book 4 (1800-1803)
Index to Fairfield County Will Book 5 (1804-1805)
Index to Fairfield County Will Book 6 (1806-1807)
Index to Fairfield County Will Book 7 (1815-1816)
Index to Fairfield County Will Book 8 (1822-1823)
Index to Fairfield County Will Book 9 (1824-1829)
Index to Fairfield County Will Book 10 (1828-1829)
Index to Fairfield County Will Book 12 (1829-1830)
Index to Fairfield County Will Book 11 (1836-1837)
Index to Fairfield County Will Book 13 (1831-1833)
Index to Fairfield County Probate Records, 1787 to 1868, Surnames A to Z
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The county was formed in 1785 as part of Ninety-Six District and Camden County; parts of Edgefield later went to form Aiken (1871), Saluda (1895), Greenwood (1897), and McCormick. The town of Winnsboro, which was settled around 1755, is the county seat. It was settled both by Scotch-Irish immigrants from northern colonies and by English and French Huguenot cotton planters from the low country. In the colonial period, this area was a center for the Regulator movement, which sought to bring law and order to the backcountry. During the Revolutionary War, Lord Cornwallis made his headquarters in Winnsboro from October 1780 to January 1781.
Early Settlers: Mobley, Killpatrick, Maple, Walker, Hendrix, Austin, Woodward, Williams, Sights, Gibson, Andrews, Thompson, Brown, McKinstry, Alston, Marple, McCaulley, Durham, Davis, McMorris, Martin, Bell, Minor Winn, James Robertson, Benjamin Cleveland, and others.
Irish Emigrants Landed in Pennsylvania
Where to find Irish records
Irish Names
Irish in Rhode Island and New York
Irishin the Revolutionary War
The Irish Tract of Land in the Carolinas
Irish Butter


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In Bill Willngham's comic book epic Fables, Snow White, the Big Bad Wolf, Prince Charming, and scores of other characters from folklore are forced to live together in exile in Manhattan. Now ABC is offering them all a chance at life on television. The network has ordered a pilot based on the trials and tribulations of these legendary characters living in our modern world.
The Fables pilot is being written by Stu Zicherman and Raven Metzner, creators of the short-lived ABC series Six Degrees, and will be directed by David Semel, who also directed the pilots for Heroes and My Own Worst Enemy. The comic book series follows a group of Fables, characters from fairytales and folklore, who flee their magical Homelands after they are conquered by the mysterious Adversary. The Fables arrive in our "Mundy" world and build their own society, Fabletown, based in Manhattan.
There is no word on whether the pilot will follow the first book in the series, in which Fabletown deputy mayor Snow White and sheriff Bigby Wolf investigate the murder of Snow White's sister Rose Red. But the writers promise that Snow White and Bigby will have similarly central roles in the show as they do in the comic books.
"We set up a structure to allow any fairy tale character to show up in any one episode," Metzner said.
The fairy tale characters will keep some of their trademark characteristics. For instance, Prince Charming will be handsome, while Big Bad Wolf will have to shave a four-day shadow from growing back every day.
But overall, "they are just like real people in the real world who live and breathe and look just like you and me," Metzner said.
This isn't the first time a network has tried its hand at adapting the series. In 2005, NBC ordered a script for a Fables series, but never made it to production. If ABC ultimately decides to pick up Fables as a series, it could appear on the 2009-2010 television schedule.


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Murray overcomes slow starts, wins at US Open
NEW YORK - Andy Murray weathered a slow start in the latest stop of this long, successful summer.
Seeking that elusive first Grand Slam title, Murray began his U.S. Open campaign Monday with a straight-set victory over Alex Bogomolov Jr. that included some hairy moments. The Olympic gold medalist overcame early breaks in the first two sets of a 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 win.
The third-seeded Murray won the final five games of the first set and the last four games of the second after falling behind early against the 73rd-ranked Bogomolov.
Murray, who won the gold medal in his home country at the London Games, also reached the final at Wimbledon.
Back at the site of her greatest victory, Samantha Stosur looked like a champion again, not the player who has often struggled this year.
The Australian began the defense of her Open title with a dominant win, needing 51 minutes to beat 64th-ranked Petra Martic 6-1, 6-1 in the tournament's first match at Arthur Ashe Stadium before rain suspended play for more than two hours.
"As soon as I got here, it was just a good feeling and excitement to be back to a city that obviously brought me so much last year," Stosur said.
The last time Stosur played on this court, she stunned Serena Williams in the 2011 final at Flushing Meadows for her first Grand Slam title. But in so many ways, that 6-2, 6-3 victory was starting to feel as if it happened much more than a year ago.
Stosur lost in the first round in front of the home fans at the 2012 Australian Open. She lost in the second round at Wimbledon, then again in the first round at the London Olympics.
Sandwiched in between, she made a run to the semifinals of the French Open, but fell apart by committing 21 unforced errors in the third set of her loss to Sara Errani.
"Today kind of carried on from exactly how I was feeling last year," Stosur said. "Hopefully that's a good omen. ... Last year I did feel that comfort out there and nothing bothered me; today was along the same lines."
Against Martic, who withdrew from the Olympics with a left foot injury, Stosur won the first 19 points, five away from a golden set, before the streak ended on a double-fault.
"It pops into your head and you think, 'Oh, that would be cool,'" Stosur said of winning a set without dropping a point.
She was still nearly perfect, with 22 winners and 10 aces. She didn't face any break points.
Ninth-seeded Li Na reached the second round for the first time since 2009, beating Britain's Heather Watson 6-2, 6-3. She's coming off a victory in Cincinnati, her first title since the 2011 French Open.
Li was a top-10 seed when she lost in the first round at Flushing Meadows in each of the previous two years.
Marion Bartoli of France, seeded 11th, defeated American Jamie Hampton 6-3, 7-6 (5), and 19th-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia advanced with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win over Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia.
It was a rough first day for the German women, with 16th-seeded Sabine Lisicki and 18th-seeded Julia Goerges both losing.
The American men got off to a good start with wins by two wild cards, 32-year-old James Blake and 19-year-old Jack Sock.
Sock took a two-set lead over Florian Mayer before the No. 22 seed quit after feeling faint and dizzy. Sock won the U.S. Open boys championship in 2010, becoming the first American to take that title since Andy Roddick, 10 years earlier. He came into this year's tournament ranked 248th and without a win over a top-50 player.
Sock was ahead 6-3, 6-2, 3-2 when Mayer retired.
Blake reached the second round of a Grand Slam event for the first time this year, beating Lukas Lacko 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. He had needed a wild card to make his 12th appearance at the Open after his ranking fell out of the top 100. He hadn't lost in the first round at Flushing Meadows since his debut in 1999.
Blake, who has twice made the quarterfinals at the Open, won the first two sets against the 54th-ranked Lacko before the rain delay.
Top-seeded Roger Federer plays American Donald Young in the night session Monday.
Also playing in Arthur Ashe Stadium are No. 3 Maria Sharapova, against Melinda Czink of Hungary, and No. 23 Kim Clijsters, opening the final tournament of her career with a first-round match against American Victoria Duval. Clijsters missed last year with an injury, but has won the tournament the past three times she's entered - in 2005, 2009 and 2010.
AP National Writer Eddie Pells contributed to this report.
Follow Rachel Cohen at https://twitter.com/rachelcohenap.


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OU Library seminar, given by Tony Hirst and Hassan Sheikh. Reprise of talk at ILI given by Hassan last year – draft presentation, PPT. Tracking referrals from course websites and how that affects their behaviour on the OU library site.
Google Analytics allows you to track users across your website during their session – how long they spend, which pages. Tracking code (Javascript) put in to page templates. Up to 5m page views per month. Eay to set up.
Lets you ask and answer: How well is the home page working? Gives you an overlay of % clicks on each link. One way of using the data is to change your site design to make things easier for users. (E.g. to match Fitt's Law – make the common elements larger and hence easier to acquire.)
Most clicked links: Databases (20%), eJournals (19%), library catalogue (11%).
53% traffic direct, 41% referring sites (i.e. via link), 5% via search engines. List broken down by referrers – so learn.open.ac.uk is 18%, intranet next.
Then look at summary report of behaviour of visitors from a specific referrer site – so intranet.open.ac.uk traffic as an e.g. Show clear work-week peak of traffic. Bounce rate (single page hit): 27%.
Direct traffic much more steady through the week.
Content overview is another headline report – shows you top content, popular pages – / is top, find/journals is, top, then find/databases, etc. (Can map URLs on reports to easier to read names.)
Most popular pages: journals, databases, eResources. Top traffic sources – shows you where the traffic comes from.
Can tunnel down too. Interestingly, the databases get about 45% of traffic on site, but drilled down in to the databases themselves, even the top one only captures 5% – distribution much flatter. But we can't get down to the activity spent on the journals themselves.
Library using GA to generate some performance indicators on page site – e.g. unique visitors, bounce rate, visitor loyalty, average page views, depth of visit, length of visit. Bounce rate is not necessarily bad for the Library site – if they come in and then go to somewhere you're trying to get them to go, then that's good.
Can export the data from any of the reports you can get on a single screen in GA – as XML, or CSV – so can plot e.g. avg time on site vs pages/visit, with a dot size for bounce rate, or avg time spent on site per network location – Tony has done quick graphs of this in ManyEyes.
Search traffic – can track search terms used – top were: athens, safari, refworks, referencing. 99.29% visits are without search (good site design?).
These are all averages – but be wary of them.
Next up: exploring OU library website usage, based on course referrals. Brief look at traffic from Moodle (OU VLE), and also from TU120 (which has Google Analytics on it, so can match them).
Segmentation (breakdown) by Referral URL. Moodle has complex URLs with queries in them (which define the course, etc), but Google Analytics by default throws that away. But can define a rule in GA to say 'don't discard that'. Then can see where traffic comes from (which courses), and then where it goes to on the Library website. Can look at the originating page too. So can get inkling of how effective (little bits of) the course pages on the VLE are in terms of where they send people.
Landing pages across VLE referrals – mostly home page, then eResources, then the Library Guide, then specific pages on eResources.
Tracking back, can find e.g. that 'Article for Question 3' was a big traffic driver on M882 – "Success Factors for Implementing Global Information Systems". (Currently a few technical fiddles required about being hard to distinguish links to separate sections of the same resource – an additional bit of tracking code on each link.)
TU120 2008J presentation – information skills "Beyond Google" – in Relevant Knowledge programme.
Out of 227k visits, TU120 generated 1678 visits. (In this sample – Sep-Dec for a single presentation.) Can segment down in Google analytics. Data is not TU120 students, it's TU120 students visiting the Library.
Profile of visits – big spike at start, another spike in the middle, another towards the end. Content Performance – tells you what pages were viewed. Databases and journals are popular. Look at referrer – and it's mostly the ECA (week 10, final spike), then Section 3 of the course (multiple pages, week 3, mid-spike). Can look down at what databases (it was Academic Search Complete, and Nexis UK).
Average 4.6 pages per visit, 14 min. But for the ECA, 28% of visits (overwhelming mode) are 2 pages deep – not normal distribution. But the depth of visit is much flatter in the middle of the week.
Can run A/B tests using Google Analytics – so 50% see page A, 50% see page B, see if the patterns are different. Low risk way of trying A/B testing out for real on course content. (Or multivariate testing, would be more efficient but more complex.)
Can look at which pages are sending e.g. traffic to the journals page.
Actions: segment onsite/offisite and regional users (IP range filters). Track by course referrals from the VLE. Enhanced OU Library PI reports (Many Eyes?). Improve homepage by keeping eye on site overlays. Worth tracking changes – useful flag for problems. Keep eye on usage of database. Reduce long list of databases (?). Use consistent names and URL paths.
Tony posts about Library analytics – eight posts already.


text: These photos are a gift from Sellers Summits. Photography credit: Nichole Bensel. These photos are here for your enjoyment and sharing. As a gift from Sellers Summits you are able to download your favorites for free! To download please click the download button located below the photos on the bottom right. Don't forget to use #SellersSummit when sharing on social media!Read More


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Where does the corporate bottom line end and the public interest begin? Through the voodoo economics of federal contracting, Washington's "partnerships" with private corporations have drained the public trust straight into the pockets of top corporate executives.
The progressive think tank Demos calculates in a new research report that private contractors have funneled up to $24 billion in federal funds into executive salaries. Yet, according to the analysis, the same system of contracted firms—from defense manufacturers to concession stands at national tourist sites—also employs hundreds of thousands of poverty-wage workers at the bottom.
Federal contractors are currently subject to a very loose limit on the amount of an executive's salary that can come directly from federal subsidies: about $763,000. Extrapolating from survey data on the top contractor executive salaries fromthe Government Accountability Office, Demos estimates the aggregate share of public money that is ultimately funneled into executive pay at $23.9 billion.
Besides taxpayers, those who stand to lose most from these skewed CEO pay schemes may be the low-wage laborers carrying out the actual work of the contract projects, such as repairing a school or building a bridge. These are the workers featured in another recent Demos analysis of contractors, showing that "an estimated 560,000 Americans employed by federal contractors were paid $12 an hour or less."
Demos points out that the government could save taxpayers a hefty sum by simply shrinking the CEO portion of contractor payments. For example, by capping it at the level of the U.S. vice presidential salary, taxpayers could save "$6.97 to $7.65 billion." Theoretically, under a more equitable pay distribution, that sum would be enough to significantly lift the lowest tier of worker wages:
If taxpayer-funded payouts for these executives were capped at $230,700—the salary of the U.S. Vice President—the pay of hundreds of thousands of low-wage federal contract workers could be raised by as much as $6.69 per hour or $13,902 per year for a full-time worker, without costing taxpayers an additional dime.
Demos notes that these are "conservative estimates" based on extrapolated data. Researchers based the analysis on a representative sample of defense contractors evaluated by the Government Accountability Office, with some adjustments for civilian contractors. The takeaway is that while legions of workers struggle to survive on the wages paid through federal contracts, the same grants are fattening the wallets of some of the wealthiest executives in the country.
Demos analyst Amy Traub tells In These Times that as the country's chief executive, Obama can take immediate steps to tighten the CEO payout cap without having to battle congressional conservatives who disdain any government intervention to mitigate income inequality:
When it comes to… raising standards for low-wage contract employees, this is something that President Obama can do with an executive order… He has advocated raising minimum wage–that's great, but… this is something that can be done without Congressional action.
Demos contends that curbing subsidies to CEOs would complement grassroots efforts to raise the base wage for the poorest contract workers. Worker-led protests have in recent weeks spearheaded a national campaign calling attention to the subsidization of bad jobs on the federal dime and demanding fair pay for rank-and-file contractors.
The populist idea of capping CEO pay gained currency in the wake of the 2007 financial crisis. Earlier this year, Obama proposed curtailing executive salaries for federal defense contractors at $400,00 amid criticisms of bloat in the outsized defense budget.
But overall, despite abysmal income inequality across the country, the idea of limiting the salaries of corporate behemoths remains political anathema. For example, in implementing the reforms of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulation legislation, the Securities and Exchange Commission has faced stark resistance on Wall Street against a basic mandate for audited companies to merely report on–not limit–the gap between executive salaries and the median pay of rank-and-file workers.
Last year, on average, the top CEOs "earned" more than 350 times the wages of rank-and-file, non-supervisory workers, according to the AFL-CIO's yearly corporate pay analysis.
Demos notes that while federal contracting rules mandate a cap on the share of public funds going to CEO pay, they do not cap CEO salaries per se. So nothing prevents a contractor from privately paying executives whatever it wants. The only limit is how much of that is funded by Uncle Sam.
A lower cap on the federal support for CEOs could parallel the effect of other public interest mandates built into government contracts, such as mandates to pay construction workers a living wage. Although limiting taxpayer payments to top executives won't solve income inequality in corporate America, it might at least send a message about incorporating principles of social equity into the federal contracting system.
Still, other reforms are needed to really clean up the federal contracting system. DEMOS and other reform advocates recommend that contracting in general should be minimized "when work can be done more efficiently and effectively by government employees than private companies." In addition, the group calls on the White House to enact reforms to avoid "contracts with companies that regularly violate wage and hour laws, workplace health and safety regulations, or other employment protections."
But limiting federal payments to executives would help draw a line between using private firms to advance public interest projects and propping up corporate bloat with government money. As long as corporations are enlisted to work for Washington, taxpayer-funded federal contracts should reflect the values of a democratic social contract.
Michelle Chen is a contributing editor at In These Times, a contributor to Working In These Times, and an editor at CultureStrike. She is also a co-producer of Asia Pacific Forum on Pacifica's WBAI. Her work has appeared on Alternet, Colorlines.com, Ms., and The Nation, Newsday, and her old zine, cain. Follow her on Twitter at @meeshellchen or reach her at michellechen [at] inthesetimes [dot] com.


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Welcome to your virtual Dissertation House and Writing Retreat
Congratulations on making it to the Dissertation Writing Retreat (DWR).
In the era of Covid 19 where we are all at home possibly sheltering in place, we
still have goals that we want to accomplish. With the COVID-19 coronavirus
wreaking havoc across the world, for instance PhD completion provides
universities with the opportunity to participate in a virtual Dissertation Writing
Retreat. As part of Dr. Carter's Thesis and Dissertation Accomplished (TADA!)
program and the Dissertation House at University of Maryland, Baltimore
County (UMBC), we have always had an online component for graduate students across the
globe who could not participate face to face.
The focus is the same: The Dissertation Writing Retreat activities focus on
places where students typically have problems: conceptualizing a topic,
developing a pre-proposal, writing a literature review, writing a proposal,
analyzing data, writing the last chapter, and editing.
The purpose is the same: The program is designed for doctoral students who
are writing their dissertation proposals, first dissertation chapters, or who have
found their writing progress stalled, or who desire expert guidance and the
opportunity to join a community of dissertation writers.
The commitment is the same: Students accepted to the Dissertation Writing
Retreat will commit to attending a writing session from 8 a.m.-6:00 p.m.,
Monday-Wednesday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday. See below for detailed daily
To participate, you will be asks to blog twice daily at the start of the day and the end of the day. On the first day you will be asked to posts answers to the following questions:
- What will you work on?
- How much time will you spend daily working on it?
- Tell us how much progress you are making, or problems you are having.
- At the end of everyday plan what you want to accomplish the following day
Ready, Set, Go… You can tweet your participation with #phdcompletion


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From our Venom: Fangs, Stingers, and Spines exhibit with over a dozen species that bite, stun, and sting, to our charismatic colony of endangered African penguins, Steinhart Aquarium captivates visitors of all ages.
Steinhart Aquarium
Steinhart Aquarium is one of the most biologically diverse and interactive aquariums on Earth. Home to nearly 60,000 live animals, representing more than 1,000 unique species, it offers guests an unprecedented view of underwater and terrestrial habitats. From species displayed nowhere else in the world to exhibits about cutting-edge research in little-known ocean ecosystems, a visit to Steinhart Aquarium is full of discovery.
Since 1923, Steinhart Aquarium has developed a colorful history of firsts. From becoming the first public aquarium to display flashlight fish and coconut octopuses to advancing exploration of the ocean's mysterious "twilight zone," innovation and scientific excellence are in our DNA.
Today, Steinhart Aquarium continues to shape the role that modern aquariums play in educating and inspiring the public about the biodiversity and sustainability of our oceans and rainforests.
Update: Pogo and Ozzie, our two new penguin chicks, have joined the rest of the colony! Enjoy their exploits during your next visit or via webcam.
Exhibits that inspire
Hope for Reefs
The Academy's bold initiative to research and restore critical coral reef ecosystems focuses on solutions to sustaining these "rainforests of the sea" for future generations.
Animal care and well-being
Caring for nearly 60,000 live animals goes far beyond daily feedings and regular check-ups. Enrichment programs developed by aquarium biologists ensure that animal residents remain happy, healthy, and engaged.
Species Survival Plan programs
Steinhart biologists participate in a variety of breeding programs aimed at conserving species and maintaining genetic diversity in zoo and aquarium populations, including African penguins, frogs, cuttlefish, and corals.
Scientific diving
From performing daily dive shows and keeping aquarium tanks pristine to conducting underwater research in ocean depths around the world, the Academy's scientific diving program is making waves.
Sustaining our oceans
As part of the Academy's commitment to sustainability, our aquarium biologists and marine scientists work to protect and conserve vital ocean habitats—from restoring coral reef ecosystems to reducing single-use plastics, sustainability is at the center of our science.


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The news just keeps getting worse for trees in Colorado, with floods, drought, bugs and other thugs making their lives miserable. We don't want to be without these leafy giants shielding us from the sun, but having to take them down and start again when a new pest invades town is heartbreaking. Planting a tree means planting for the future; choose wisely and you — and your children — will enjoy it for years.
To find the best trees for planting in our landscapes, we went to three people who consider the silent giants their closest companions: two foresters and a nurseryman. They've shared their suggestions for what to plant when you want to have it made in the shade.
Overall, the best advice for tree shoppers is to integrate plantings so that everything — trees, shrubs, and perennials — plays a role in the overall display. Asking too much from one plant is difficult to achieve. Says Denver City Forester Rob Davis: "We don't have a lot of big trees with red fall color for a reason; the soils here don't work for a lot of them." So, "Get your color from the smaller woody shrubs or ornamentals, and let the trees provide shade or wind blocks," he advises.
Rob Davis, Denver city forester
"You want the junkyard dogs of trees," says Davis, "tough, durable species that can get planted in places like roadways and grow well. Here are three of his top picks that are "rugged enough for Colorado, while still reliable, high quality producers of shade."
Chinkapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergii)
This one is high on Davis' list for elevations up to 6,500 feet. "It's important not to lump all oaks into a group. Some do well here, but some won't deal with our soil," said Davis.
Growing into a stately, 40-foot-tall tree with a rounded canopy, the Chinkapin oak has narrow, glossy, dark green leaves and sweet, edible acorns.
Kentucky Coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus) and Western Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa)
Davis describes these two species as having an "ugly duckling" syndrome. When young, they're gangly and unattractive, but over time they grow into beautiful swans in the landscape. Both take a bit of maintenance in fall when seed pods litter the ground (and coffeetree seeds, leaves and pulp are toxic to humans and animals).
Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
This one's a favorite for Davis because he believes in giving kids trees they can interact with — seed pods to play with, samaras that spin on the wind, interesting fruit. (It doesn't hurt to add in an attractive multicolored bark in gray, brown and cream.) The globe-shaped achemes of sycamores fit the bill; they're perfect for tossing around as a makeshift ball.
Stanley Brown, tree wholesaler
Brown knows all about the trials and tribulations of trees in our area. The wholesale supplier to members of the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado has been growing and testing trees for over 50 years in Englewood.
"Historically, the Eastern United States had chestnut as the dominant tree species, but then the chestnut blight came in and nearly wiped them out. Elm had the same problem with Dutch elm disease, and now ash is under attack from the emerald ash borer."
Diversity is the key to limiting catastrophic losses, Brown says, so don't plant the same type of tree all in a row. Even if without killer pests, a tree or two in the center will inevitably die and you're left with gaps. Mix up plantings with uncommon, but striking, specimens.
Tricolor beech (Fagus sylvatica "Roseomarginata")
Locations up to 7,000 feet that provide protection from wind and late afternoon sun are ideal for this tree. It struts its stuff throughout the summer with purple leaves edged in pink and white. It holds its own in spring, too, blushing in shades of delicate rose as leaves emerge. When the tree is kissed by the sun, it blazes with color for a stunning effect.
Heritage river birch (Betula nigra "Cully")
This tough tree is resistant to the bronze birch borer and our fickle winters. What Brown finds endearing is its "gorgeous exfoliating bark, which curls back to expose cinnamon-red patches underneath." Use it in place of aspens; it grows well as a clump or pruned to be a single trunked tree, and does well to 7,500 feet. (Note that "resistance" doesn't mean immunity; keep an eye on your tree for signs of the pest).
Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii var. leucodermis).
Pines and Colorado go together like rivers and trout, but if you're looking for an evergreen that doesn't swallow the yard whole, plant a Bosnian. A lookalike for Austrian pines at half their size, this slow-grower takes its time, keeping your yard looking tidy and balanced. "We need more small trees for landscapes as house lots get smaller," says Brown.
Vince Urbina, assistant forester with Colorado State Forest Service
Knowing what does best in your area is crucial to good tree choices, says Urbina. "I travel all over the state and see trees doing fabulously in one place but not in another." So check your local resources for what does well.
Ask Urbina "what's your favorite tree?" and he'll respond "in what genus?" This member of the Colorado Tree Coalition doesn't play favorites when it comes to trees; he loves them all. Based in Grand Junction, he says Cyprus and cedars do well in its high pH soils, as do Western Catalpa and bur oaks.
Winter King hawthorn (Crataegus viridis 'Winter King')
This pick of Urbina's is a three-season tree that does well up to 7,000 feet. A small tree at a petite 30 feet when mature, its snowy white spring flowers give way to scarlet red berries that are held through winter. And it ends the summer with a show of purple-red leaves.
Mulberries (Morus alba)
The glossy, waxy leaves of mulberries help the trees survive the heat and drought of the Western Slope. But the fruit can be messy and stain sidewalks or carpets when tracked indoors. So if you're fussy, pick a fruitless type.
Bur oaks (Quercus macrocarpa)
These oaks also do well, sinking roots into the poor soil with little effort. Tolerant of drought, they slowly grow to stately size. The lobed leaves provide good shade, and the acorns nestled in a fuzzy cap are an excellent food source for squirrels.
Carol O'Meara is a local garden writer and tree enthusiast.
Making the right tree choice
Choosing a tree is a personal decision. Some people want shade, while others want to screen out the neighbors. Questions like fruit, fall color, and shape can make the task seem daunting.
Take the dilemma out of choosing by picking up a copy of Dependable Landscape Trees From Colorado State University Arboretum, by James Klett, PhD., and Sarah Shaub (CSU Press, $19.95).
The culmination of over 30 years of tree trials conducted by James Klett, professor and extension landscape horticulturist, the book is a reference guide to 225 evergreen and deciduous trees deemed outstanding for our area.
"We looked at the data collected over the years and used a ratings system, giving point values for different characteristics. The trees had to be in the arboretum for at least 10 years to be considered," said Klett.
The book, filled with color photographs of the most outstanding aspects of the trees, gives descriptions of each tree, including growth habit, size, leaf color, and pests or diseases. Designers will love the appendices, which cross reference trees by flower color, fruit, fall color — including which turn from orange to yellow, or red to purple — and recommended uses, such as native plantings, street trees, or in borders.
Other resources:
Front Range Tree Recommendation List, from Colorado Nursery Grower's Association, American Society of Landscape Architects Colorado, the Colorado Tree Coalition, and Colorado State University Extension. ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/treereclist.pdf.
Recommended Trees for Colorado Front Range Communities, from Colorado State Forest Service, csfs.colostate.edu/pdfs/trees_for_frontrange.pdf.


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Jeff Vrabel: The bacon diet
The Little Man eats almost nothing. Nothing. Snacks and cereal. Carrots and apples, but only the non-squishy apples; if the apples have any squish about them whatsoever, they are immediately rejected, as His Highness does not cotton to mush.
Pretty much from fetus up until this week (age 8), the Little Man has subsisted almost entirely on a diet grounded in the waffle and/or chocolate milk families, with extra attention given to where those families intersect with bacon. Last year we discovered that he enjoys Clif Bars, mushy patty-like foodstuffs eaten primarily by marathoners and, I suspect, zoo animals. They also contain many vitamins, which explains why they taste like a formerly chocolate-ish object that into which someone has physically smushed vitamins with work boots. This was a big development, as it meant, for the first time in his life, he was consuming basically all vitamins from B to Q. Parenting is full of moments where you fully give up on long-held beliefs you thought you were going to keep in place, such as the times I told the 8-year-old things like, "Finish your Pop-Tarts, and then you can have more bacon."
(There are actually two little men now, and though the older eats like he's on a diet reserved mostly for patients without teeth, the younger one eats as though he's storing up enough to nourish the entire daycare.)
Anyway, because of this, it's always an adventure trying out an unfamiliar restaurant, particularly if that restaurant does not offer chicken nuggets. Most restaurants these days offer chicken nuggets, of course, because most restaurants are in America, and because like most parents they've given up. But now and again you come across one that doesn't offer nuggets of any kind, and that is what happened to us on Sunday.
Happily, we were saved by the bacon dog.
The bacon dog is available at a major national Fast Food Chain whose name I'm not sure I can bring up, but it's like if there were Six Guys and then one of them went off to become an actor. This particular one recently opened in my town, so the Older Little Man hadn't been there before. We had also spent the afternoon on a lively bike ride, so Older Little Man was relatively ravenous, having eaten, in the course of the previous day, something like four Wheat Thins and some sort of organic fruit rope that I'm told is healthy, but it's hard to get through your head that something is good for you when it comes in rope form, especially if your childhood involved buying Super Ropes at high school basketball games, which were 24 feet long and marginally less healthy than actual rope.
And it is genius. It's an overly indulgent culinary vulgarity, but not in the villainous sense, like that Baconator globule, or whenever a fast food joint invents a burger that's like a burger sandwiched between two ice cream cones and covered in pickles and chili and an ox or whatever. The bacon dog is not there to laugh at you, to call you names, to become a headline on some nimrod blog. It is there because bacon and hot dogs should be put together. The Older Little Man demolished it in approximately two bites. (The younger Little Man, of course, spent the meal vacuuming up meat, bread, onions, more onions, cheese clumps, more onions because apparently babies love onions now, an acorn on the ground, and the 3 oz. of bacon that the older Little Man hadn't already shoveled into his face.)
It's a hot dog, sliced in two. These two slices are laid on one side of the bun. On the other side of the bun are two pieces of bacon. Bacon dog. Have you ever stared at something to simple and wonderful and literally begin smacking yourself that you didn't think of it first? This is what happened to me. 45 minutes of staring at a bacon dog at Five Guys, and then I punched myself in the face a few times. This is why we eat at home most of the time now.
Jeff Vrabel is already investing in toddler cholesterol medicine. He can be reached at http://jeffvrabel.com and/or followed at http://twitter.com/jeffvrabel.


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11.7: Invertebrate Classification
- Page ID
- 1387
Invertebrate, arthropod or insect?
This Monarch caterpillar is an invertebrate. It is also an insect and an arthropod. Of all the animal species, it is estimated that well over 90% are invertebrates. Of all invertebrates, the insects are by far the most numerous. There are so many species of insects that scientists have yet to discover them all, let alone name or count them. Estimates of the total number of insect species fall in the range of 1 to 30 million. So, it helps if there are methods to classify not just the insects, but all invertebrates.
Classification of Invertebrates
Eight major phyla contain the majority of invertebrate species.
Major Invertebrate Phyla
Table below gives an overview of the eight invertebrate phyla with the greatest number of species.
|Phylum (includes)
|Notable Characteristics
|Porifera (sponges)
|multicellularity, specialized cells but no tissues, asymmetry, incomplete digestive system
|Cnidaria (jellyfish, corals)
|radial symmetry, true tissues, incomplete digestive system
|Platyhelminthes (flatworms, tapeworms, flukes)
|cephalization, bilateral symmetry, mesoderm, complete digestive system
|Nematoda (roundworms)
|pseudocoelom, complete digestive system
|Mollusca (snails, clams, squids)
|true coelom, organ systems, some with primitive brain
|Annelida (earthworms, leeches, marine worms)
|segmented body, primitive brain
|Arthropoda (insects, spiders, crustaceans, centipedes)
|segmented body, jointed appendages, exoskeleton, brain
|insect (dragonfly)
|Echinodermata (sea stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, sea cucumbers)
|complete digestive system, coelom, spiny internal skeleton
|sea urchin
Protostomes and Deuterostomes
Most invertebrates (and higher animals) can be placed in one of two groups based on how they develop as embryos. The two groups are called protostomes and deuterostomes. As shown in Figure below, organisms in the two groups have different ways of forming the coelom and mouth, among other differences.
Mollusks, annelids, and arthropods are protostomes. Echinoderms and chordates are deuterostomes. This distinction is important. Why does it matter? It shows that echinoderms are more closely related to chordates than are the other invertebrate phyla. This is not apparent based on other, more obvious traits.
Science Friday: Isn't this Octopus Adorabilis?
What do you call a tiny octopus with big eyes, gelatinous skin and is cute as a button? Nobody knows quite yet! In this video by Science Friday, Stephanie Bush aims to classify and name this presently undescribed deep-sea cephalopod.
- Eight invertebrate phyla contain most invertebrate species.
- Invertebrates (and higher animals) can also be placed in one of two groups based on how they develop as embryos.
- What are protostomes?
- Describe evidence showing that echinoderms are more closely related to chordates than are other invertebrate phyla.
- Assume you have discovered a new invertebrate. It has a segmented body, a brain, and jointed appendages. In which phylum would you place it? Why?
|[Figure 1]
|License: CC BY-NC
|[Figure 2]
|Credit: Zachary Wilson
Source: CK-12 Foundation
License: CC BY-NC 3.0


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VANCOUVER (Reuters) - The traditional shroud of secrecy around Olympic opening ceremonies has some gaping holes in this age of digital downloads and social networking.
The 2010 Winter Games open on Friday night in Vancouver's BC Place arena, the first ever indoor opening ceremony in the history of Winter Olympics, and organizers are struggling to keep a lid on preparations to wow a worldwide audience as high as 3 billion people, according to their estimates.
Over 60,000 have attended two dress rehearsals this week, promising not to divulge details of the spectacle in keeping with Olympic tradition.
Confidentiality agreements are no match, however, for society's addiction to iPhones and Blackberrys, to Facebook and Twitter, to instant communication gratification.
"In this day and age where people can disseminate information internationally at the push of a button from anywhere ... it has been a real task trying to maintain confidentiality," said David Atkins, the Australian producer of the Vancouver opening and closing ceremonies.
Atkins also produced ceremonies for the Sydney Summer Games in 2000, when people had mobile phones, but could not do much with them other than make a call.
Now, phones not only take good quality photos, they also offer instant access to the Internet and fast messaging via 140-character "tweets."
Photos from Wednesday's dress rehearsal were on Twitter by nightfall and some traditional media were threatening to publish them before the International Olympic Committee reminded them of their signed confidentiality agreements.
Keeping the Olympic ceremony under wraps is meant to increase the "wow factor," a sensation that hit a new high at the spectacular opening of the Beijing Summer Games in 2008.
With Beijing a tough act to follow -- and one that may not be matched for years to come -- Vancouver organizers have doused down expectations.
Atkins has told viewers to expect more emotion than spectacle in the two-hour show under the souffle-like pressurized roof of the BC Place, lovingly referred to as a "Marshmallow in Bondage" by some locals.
Canada's opening ceremony will probably showcase its vast wilderness, its long winters, its fondness for cold-weather sports and maybe even its cutting-edge aerial acrobatics a la Cirque du Soleil, the famous Canadian troupe.
The native peoples in this country of around 33 million are also likely to get center stage as their cultures have shaped everything in these Games from the logo to the medals.
Despite all the leaks, one very big secret remains: who will be the Canadian to light the Olympic flame? Speculation ranges from ice hockey great Wayne Gretzky to an anonymous aboriginal athlete.
The flame, however, looks set to burn in two cauldrons: one in the stadium and one down by the waterfront.
A local television helicopter spotted what looked like a cauldron down near the media center -- much to the chagrin of Olympic organizers who cried foul.
Editing by Jon Bramley
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.