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ALFRED, Maine — Attorneys in the high-profile Kennebunk prostitution case battled Monday on how search warrants were executed at defendant Mark Strong Sr.'s Thomaston insurance agency in July 2012, and on how the evidence obtained at that time was handled.
Maine State Police Detective Herbert Leighton returned to the witness stand Monday, at one point finding himself in a terse exchange with defense attorney Daniel Lilley, who sought to prove that police records from the search included holes that could leave unreported some instances in which different investigators handled pieces of evidence.
Central to the defense case is the argument that Strong is the target of police retaliation for research he was doing into alleged misconduct by members of the Kennebunk Police Department, specifically Officer Audra Presby, who led the local investigation and was part of the team that executed the search warrant at the insurance agency.
Strong, an insurance broker and part-time private investigator, faces 12 counts of promotion of prostitution and one count of conspiracy to promote prostitution in connection with allegedly helping Kennebunk fitness instructor Alexis Wright run a prostitution business out of her Zumba studio. Wright faces a separate trial scheduled to begin later this spring.
State investigators, including Leighton and Detective Terry James, were called by prosecutors from the York County district attorney's office to vouch for the evidence seized from Strong's insurance company and nearby Thomaston home. Leighton testified that several pieces of evidence collected at the business, including copies of checks from Wright's Pura Vida dance studio, appeared in court exactly as he recalled them at the scene.
Cross-examining Leighton — who had begun testifying late Friday — Lilley referenced evidence inventories from the search of Strong's agency. The defense attorney suggested that while Leighton is listed on the forms as the collector of the evidence because he led the team that executed that search warrant, other members of the team may have physically picked up the pieces of evidence listed and handed them to the detective.
Leighton sharply disagreed with Lilley's description of the investigation, saying that while he cannot say for certain that no other police touched any of the evidence, the standard procedure involves the exploration of the property by the investigative team, then alerting the team leader about items of interest to be subsequently picked up and logged.
Lilley is pursuing an argument that Kennebunk Officer Presby, the subject of Strong's alleged expose, had an opportunity to tamper with evidence in the case.
Through the questioning of state police Sgt. Mark Holmquist on Friday, Lilley determined that a black Toshiba hard drive was taken by Presby at the end of the day in which the search warrants were executed on Strong's properties in Thomaston.
Holmquist testified that Presby was allowed to take possession of the hard drive despite concerns previously expressed by Strong's brother, an attorney, that she was the subject of Strong's research and should not be given access to computer equipment that might contain files related to that private investigation. Holmquist also said that the hard drive was the only piece of electronic evidence handed over to Presby that night, while the remainder of the computer evidence was moved into the locker at the Gray state police barracks.
Presby has yet to testify in the trial. Less than two hours before she was scheduled to take the witness stand Thursday afternoon, the court received a letter from an attorney representing the town of Kennebunk and its police department, stating that past personnel records at the department are regularly purged in accordance with the officers' union contract. As a result, a written reprimand Lilley planned to reference during his cross-examination of Presby was no longer in her file.
The news surprised the defense team and Superior Court Justice Nancy Mills, who scolded prosecutors and town lawyers for the late announcement despite knowledge since July that Lilley would be pursuing the police payback argument.
In a pretrial ruling just more than one month ago, Mills denied a prosecution motion to block discussion of police retaliation during the trial, paving the way for Lilley to follow the angle before the jury.
Strong has said he was pulled into the prostitution investigation as payback for an investigation he was doing into a 2009 affair between Presby and her married then-supervisor, Nicholas Higgins, as well as subsequent custody battles over Higgins' child.
Kennebunk police Lt. Anthony Bean Burpee said in an October 2012 news release that Presby was reprimanded for the affair at the time, Higgins resigned from the force and that department's investigation into Strong had nothing to do with the incidents.
Others to testify in the trial Monday were Mark Soucie, Dawn Ego and Jessica Miller of the state computer crimes task force, as well as Saco police Detective Frederick Williams, Detective Joseph Murphy of the Cambridge, Mass., Police Department and Matthew Fasulo of the U.S. Secret Service, all of whom testified about the process by which computers seized from Strong's Thomaston properties were imaged and analyzed.


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In this article I will overview 7 essential applications for the Xfce desktop environment, including screenshots, most popular features, strong and weak points.
1. File manager: Thunar (full review here)
Thunar is the default file manager in Xfce. It comes with a simple interface (just like any other Xfce application), side panel, configurable location selector (if you want the typical location bar to appear in the toolbar), possibility to sort items, zoom in/out, three view modes (icons, detailed list, compact list), and image previews. Thunar is simpler than Nautilus, but in turn it will consume less resources. It offers basic configuration options but it will get the job done, especially if you only need to do basic file browsing and management.
2. Web browser: Midori
I think trying Midori for the first time will give the exact same feeling as trying Epiphany. It features the usual interface of simple browser, offering enough options to make it a simple, yet useful web browser. Midori uses the powerful WebKit rendering engine, so it will successfully support any web page out there that WebKit supports. Midori comes with extension support, bookmarks, history, encodings, zooming web pages in or out, source viewer and fullscreen mode. It also supports tabs (a must have) and it includes a speed dial page by default when opening a new tab for fast access to your favourite web pages.
Regarding configurability, Midori is pretty rich in options: except for the usual ones like homepage or start-up routine, it allows spell-checking, enabling/disabling showing images, scripts, interface, external applications, proxy, privacy and even appearance settings.
3. CD/DVD burner: Xfburn
The burning application in Xfce offers quite the usual features basic GNOME burners have. It provides a drag and drop interface using a tree file viewer and a file browser, it supports burning CDs, DVDs, ISO images, creation of audio CDs and that's all there is to it. Very simple and easy-to-use, without any additional options. Xfburn is very well suited if you're looking for a minimal, less resource-hungry application for burning discs.
4. Audio & video player: Xfmedia
Xfmedia is the default media player which comes with Xfce, based on the Xine engine and capable of playing any audio or video format that Xine supports. Xfmedia offers a basic interface which is best fit for playing audio files, but Xine makes it possible to play videos and movies too.
5. Image viewer: Ristretto
Ristretto comes with one of the most simple interfaces an image viewer could have, dividing the interface into two places: a widget showing the image (in full size or zoomed in or out) and a thumbnail preview bar, which can be relocated or hidden on demand via the View -> Thumbnail Viewer menu entry. Preferences window allows the user to customise the slideshow options, image cache size, background colour and scaling. Fullscreen mode and rotating images is also available.
6. Text editor: Mousepad
In the same fashion as the other Xfce applications, Mousepad offers a basic text editor, stripped from advanced features like syntax highlighting, spell-checking or any of the features advanced text editors have. Mousepad, as the name suggests, is just a simple text editor, fast to edit configuration files or any other text file. The features it provides are font selection, line number, auto-indent and word wrap.
7. Terminal application: Xfce Terminal
Since any productive Linux user will need the terminal for making things faster, the Xfce Terminal will prove a good replacement for applications like xterm, Konsole or GNOME Terminal, especially if you strive for simplicity. The Xfce4 Terminal allows you to configure its appearance, background image, font, colours, shortcuts. It even supports tabs, which is very useful when you need more than one instance opened.

subset: commoncrawl


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No, I don't work at one, but I thought I'd pass these along.
Ordering it online is required:
3 topping large $7.99 Promo code C03TFW
5 topping large $10.00 Promo code ANY410
What's better than cheap pizza? No, free beer isn't included.
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Our third annual Orchid Show and Sale is back and boy, does it smell sweet. Don't miss this fabulous — and FREE — event!
Join us in the grand hall April 21 and 22 for a judged show and sale of the finest orchid specimens around. Judges will be on-hand Friday, April 20 to decide which orchids are the fairest of them all. Then, on Saturday, April 21 and Sunday, April 22, vendors will arrive with orchids available for purchase.
Peruse the aisles to admire the judged displays and then speak to one of our several national vendors (including one hailing from Hawaii) about what orchid variety best suits your tastes.
The Orchid Show and Sale, presented in conjunction with the Houston Orchid Society, is free and open to the public.
What: The Houston Orchid Society 2012 Show and Sale
Where: The Houston Museum of Natural Science Grand Hall, 5555 Hermann Park Dr., 77030
When: Saturday, April 21 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, April 22 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For a full list of vendors, visit the Houston Orchid Society website.


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March 2014 Plant Profile: Stewartia sinensis
It may seem odd that we're profiling a plant we currently don't have yet at UWBG, but soon everyone will be able to see it in a very prominent spot at the Center for Urban Horticulture. After over 10 years in its place, the 2nd of two Parrotia persica (Persian Ironwood) in the Soest Garden will be removed to make room for a new tree that will take its place for the next 10 year cycle to cast part shade in Bed 2. Curation has selected the exquisite and rare Stewartia sinensis.
Many keen gardeners and horticulturists are familiar with the more common Stewartia pseudocamellia and the stunning bark of S. monodelpha. This Chinese stewartia seems to have been overlooked in the trade as descriptions state that the flowers are a hair smaller than that of S. pseudocamellia and monodelpha and the fact that it may be less hardy than the two species may also have contributed to its status as a collector's item destined mainly for taxonomic collections. It has the same exquisite white blooms with the yellow stamens and the trunk of this small tree is truly exceptional with pretty peeling bark and a magnificent marbling pattern as the plant ages.
Be on the lookout for this stunning species. It will be years until it casts the kind of shade the underplantings of herbaceous perennials prefer, but the eventual effect will be quite dramatic.
Common Name: Chinese Stewartia
Location: Soest Garden Bed 2
Origin: Central China
Height and Spread: 20-25′ high x 15-20′ wide
Bloom/Fruit Time: June-July


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NEW YORK, April 9 (UPI) -- U.S. actor and singer Frankie Avalon says it makes him smile to know his late friend and co-star Annette Funicello is at peace after years of suffering.
Funicello, 70, died Monday due to complications from multiple sclerosis, a disease she battled for decades.
Avalon, who starred with Funicello in a string of iconic beach party films, said he first became aware she had the disease when they were working on their 1987 reunion film, "Back to the Beach," but her condition only got worse from there.
"For at least the past six, seven years, she was without communication. It was a terrible existence," Avalon told TV's "Inside Edition."
"It makes me smile to know that she's up there dancing and singing and having a good time."


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Find the place you'd love to call home with local lifestyle info.
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by Michelle
*spoilers ahead*
That's right. Stop reading now if you haven't seen last evening's episode.
Before I get into the cocktails, was anyone else shocked when Don took a temporary turn for the dark side last night? I hadn't expected him to sleep with Andrea, let alone strangle her. I was, of course, relieved to discover it was a fever-induced delusion. But perhaps we did take a turn for the darker side of things last night. Don has discovered that it is probably within him to kill someone who might destroy his happiness. Sally has been exposed to the "real world," with the brutal murder of 8 nursing school students in Chicago. To combat this? Grandma just splits a sleeping pill with her. So yeah, maybe we are walking a bit on the dark side this season. I said to someone this morning that I find the 60s to be one of the most confusing times. Civil rights, the beginnings of the women's movement, the shadows of different wars hanging over the country like a spectre, whether it's Viet Nam or WWII. I can't imagine growing up in the middle of all that, and I wonder how it will affect Sally.
Then there is Joan. She has her own darkness with which to contend. In case we'd forgotten what an ass her husband is, the writers brought him back for an episode. I admit, I'd been waiting to find out he'd been killed in action. I'd forgotten that he has very low self-esteem, that he failed at landing the job of his dreams, and that he made up for the lack of faith in himself by raping his now-wife. Joan hadn't forgotten. "You were never a good man." Go Joanie! I was rooting for her! I get that he re-upped because the military is the first place he's felt useful and knowledgeable. That counts for a lot. But Joan is right; that's just not a decision you make without consulting your wife. I wonder if now that she's kicked him out if they'll get a divorce or if the writers will kill him off. Either way, Joan is effectively a single mom now , and lest we forget, that's really Roger's baby.
From 4/8/12 episode of AMC's Mad Men
When Joan first found out about the re-upping, they were in a restaurant with her in-laws. Everyone else ordered wine. "That one," he said, pointing at the menu. We never did find out what wine "that one" might be. Joan, however, bucked the wine trend and ordered a gin fizz, so that's what we'll talk about today.
Sloe Gin Fizz (from Cocktail Times)
Sloe Gin is a red gin-based liqueur infused with sloe berries. It is usually bottled at between 15 to 30 percent alcohol by volume. Some sloe gins are made with neutral spirit flavored with sloe berries.
Garnish: orange slice and maraschino cherry
Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a tall glass over fresh ice. Garnish with orange slice and cherry.
Ramos Gin Fizz (from Gumbopages.com)
Years ago, Kevin and I spent New Year's Eve at the cocktail lounge in Arnaud's in New Orleans. I drank a variety of champagne cocktails, but the bartender took Kevin on his own personal tour of New Orleans cocktails. The one that sticks with me is the Ramos Gin Fizz because it was the first drink I'd seen ever made with an egg white. The drink was invented in the 1880s by Henry Ramos at New Orleans' Meyer's Restaurant. It later became the signature drink of the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans and New York, thanks to Governor Huey Long, who happened to be a fan. This recipe calls for shaking at least one minute. I've read that you can shake up to 10 minutes and because of that, it often takes a bartending team to make a large number of Ramos Gin Fizzes.
According to Gumbopages.com, you need to be very careful when adding orange flower water to the drink because it can easily overwhelm the cocktail.
Shake all ingredients except the soda water WITHOUT ICE very vigorously for at least one minute, preferably longer — the longer the better. Then add ice and shake for 1-2 minutes, as long as you can manage, until extremely cold and frothy. Strain into a tall thin glass, or a very large old fashioned glass, and top with soda water. Stir gently.
My thanks also to GumboPages, who pointed me towards this great video on making a Ramos Gin Fizz:
Wine Competitions Wine Book Club (WBC) Wine Judging Reviews Readings Whiskey Watch France Games Weblogs Wine Clubs Books RIP Repost WBW #65 Wine Glossary Wine Maps TasteCamp Web/Tech Marketing Uncategorized Legislation Recipes Florida Recession Wine Meet the Winemaker Greatest Hits Drink Pink! (BCRF) Holiday Current Affairs Television Spirits Photos Wine Shop Wednesday Contests Scotch & Whiskey History Disney Wine Tech Food and Wine Pairings Mad Men Monday Guest Writers Pop Culture Food and Drink Wine Blogs Knowledge Entertainment Dinner and Drinks Life Charity Benefits News Beer-Guy.net Special Events Beer WBW Local Wineries Cocktails Wine Shops Restaurants Travel Wineries Wine Notes Wine Events Weekly Cincinnati Wine Events Wine Misc Local Tastings Cincinnati
Krystal Pepper Memorial Scholarship Fund
Raising money for a scholarship fund in memory of Michelle's little sister who passed away in 2007


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Old Westbury - 1, Farmingdale State - 0
Old Westbury, N.Y. - Junior defender Michael Bayne (Coram, N.Y.) scored the game-winning goal for Old Westbury in the 35th minute of action as the Panthers blanked Farmingdale State 1-0. The Rams dropped to 5-6-1 overall, 3-1 in Skyline play, while Old Westbury now stands at 2-10, 1-2 in conference matches.
Bayne broke the scoreless tie as he scored on a header off the pass from freshman defender Andrew Moorman (Kings Park, N.Y.) with 10:35 remaining in the first half. The Panthers held a 10-5 shot advantage in the half.
In the second half, Old Westbury outshot the Rams 10-9 and each team attempted two corner kicks.
Junior goalkeeper Angelo Viteritti (East Northport, N.Y.) made eight saves for Farmingdale State, while junior Marcelo Guardado (Huntington Station, N.Y.) stopped five shots for the Panthers.
The Rams next will travel to Mount Saint Mary College for a Skyline match on Saturday, October 6th at noon.


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Indianapolis Colts Shave Heads to Honor Cancer Stricken Coach
It's been quite a season for the Indianapolis Colts. Led by rookie quarterback Andrew Luck, they find themselves 5 and 3, a surprising improvement from last year when they were among the league's worst teams.
The Colts have been quick to credit their first year head coach Chuck Pagano for setting the tone for their turnaround. But Pagano has actually been absent from the team since September, when he was diagnosed with leukemia.Pagano took a break from his treatment and visited the team on Sunday, and his stirring post-game speech about his intention to beat cancer and lead the Colts to Super Bowl championships became a viral hit.
In reaction to the speech, many of the Colts have decided to shave their heads in solidarity with their coach, who has lost his hair and signature goatee to chemotherapy.
At least 25 team members, including Luck, have gone to the clippers. And those Colts who don't want to shave their heads -- like defensive back Sergio Brown who looks like he's been growing his dreads for years -- have dyed their hair yellow, which is the color of leukemia awareness.
Pagano got great news Monday when his doctors told him his cancer is in remission He hopes to return to the sidelines before the end of the season.


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At this point, we have all seen the dark side of social media: from phishing attacks launched via Facebook and Twitter, to cyber-bullying.
But an especially enterprising (and manipulative) fellow in Queens, NY, has found a new way to abuse social media -- by creating a hostage situation.
In an attempt to squeeze some $590 out of an ex-girlfriend, Paul Franco hacked into his ex's Facebook account, changed her sexual preference to gay, and then proceeded to spam her friends and family, according to The New York Post.
As a ransom, he wanted his ex, Jessica Zamora-Anderson, to pay the impound lot fine for his car, which was towed on Jan. 30 after having been illegally parked infront of her apartment, the Post reports.
Zamora-Anderson finally went to the police after failing to negotiate for the account's safe return.
"I got worried that he wasn't going to stop," she told the Post. "Everyone believed it was me."
A spokesperson for the Queens DA said that Franco was arrested on Feb. 10 charges of coercion and harrasment for his latest hijinks.
The account hijacking was just the tip of the iceberg in a relationship apparently filled with cyber-abuse -- he had previously blackmailed her over the possibility of a sex tape, and lied about working at Queens College after reading Zamora-Anderson's blog on her classes, according to the paper.
From The Post's report it appears that Franco only spammed her ex's friend and family, but had she been a professional rather than a college student, he could have easily engaged her co-workers or boss, seriously damaging her credibility.
The lesson in all of this? Think before sharing your password with anyone, even your seemingly loving significant other or spouse. The last thing you want to worry about in the midst of a messy break-up is whether or not you have full control of your identity.
If it is too late, and you find yourself in a similar situation -- go to the police, the precedent (at least in New York) is now set.


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Two Central Maine Men Face Charges for String of Burglaries
Two men are facing charges in connection with a string of burglaries in central Maine. Police say the men were caught after a homeowner found them in his barn.
Public Safety Spokesman Steve McCausland said in a press release that James Fields, 25 of Pittsfield and Jacob Graham, 18 of Hartland fled into the woods but were caught when a police canine unit tracked them down. Police believe the men are also responsible for five other daytime burglaries in Pittsfield, St. Albans, and Harmony. An investigation turned up several stolen items including an ice auger, electronics, work boots, and collectibles.
The two men were taken to Penobscot County jail and have since been released on bail. Police say all of the buildings they entered were either vacant or the occupants were not home.


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Monday, October 4, 2010
Minnesota Wild Arrive in Finland
The Minnesota Wild have arrived in Finland over the weekend. The team was selected by the NHL because of their Finnish roots - Mikko Koivu is currently the face of the Finland national team as well as the Minnesota Wild, accompanied by Antii Miettinen and Niklas Backstrom. Not to mention the Wild drafted Finnish native Mikael Granlund in the first round this year of the NHL Draft. They are playing a Finnish League team today and will take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday and Friday to kick off the NHL season.
Posted by MN Wild Freak
Labels: 2010 Minnesota Wild, Antti Meittinen, Finland, Mikael Granlund, Mikko Koivu, Niklas Backstrom
2 comments:
finland would be a pretty cool place to visit someday
- October 5, 2010 at 11:59 AM
Sure, if you have nothing else to do that day?
- October 5, 2010 at 12:00 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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With the recent rains in Texas, many residents are seeing the emergence of fire ant mounds in their lawns and in fields. These aggressive ants cause harm and damage to people, plants, and animals in both urban and rural areas – according to Texas A&M University researchers it is estimated fire ants cost Texans $1.2 billion annually in property damage and control costs, with residential households making up 50% of the total expense incurred.
What Are Fire Ants?
Fire ant is a general name referring to six different species of ants, five of which are found in Texas. Since they all cause damage and harm to humans and animals, there is generally little need for the homeowner to tell them apart. To the naked eye, fire ants resemble ordinary ants. They are very small (average 1/8 to 1/4 inch in length) and are reddish brown to black in color.
They are very aggressive, attacking anytime their mound is disturbed. Fire ants can be dangerous to small animals and humans because of the toxin released from the sting.
Where Are Fire Ants Found?
This biting ant is most commonly found in the southeastern United States including the eastern two-thirds of Texas. Fire ants live in colonies and build mound-shaped nests favoring open, sunny areas. Mature colonies appear as fluffy worked soil and can contain more than 200,000 ants. Fire ant mounds look different from other ant mounds since they do not have a visible opening in the center. Instead, fire ants come and go through an extensive network of underground tunnels.
Undisturbed mounds in rural areas can grow up to 18 inches tall but most are only a few inches. Mounds are often built next to sidewalks, roads, or anywhere fire ants can find food or water – around flowerbeds, landscaped areas, parks, playgrounds, sports fields, and tree trunks or roots.
Even though they are present year-round in Texas, fire ant colonies become more visible after rainfall or heavy irrigation, because the ants are trying to move out of the flooded soil. They are sensitive to temperature and humidity. When the weather gets hot and dry, they tunnel deep into the soil some as deep as 4 feet to find cooler temperatures and water. The ant colony seemingly disappears.
FUN FACT: Although fire ants can be extremely dangerous, they are also a very interesting species. Fire ants are social insects that work together in order to survive harsh conditions. During instances in which their homes are threatened by water, fire ants form a raft using their own bodies to reach dry land and keep their queen safe from harm. The colony of fire ants continually take turns being above and below the water level in order to help each ant breathe and remain alive. This adaptation and others like it enable the fire ant species to be tremendously resilient.
Why Are They So Bad?
Fire ants are very aggressive and if their mound is disturbed in any way, worker ants will rush out in large numbers to protect the colony from harm. They will climb up nearby grass and vertical surfaces and attack the person, animal, or thing that disturbed their nest by biting and stinging aggressively and repeatedly. Each ant firmly grasps skin with its jaws and stings many times. Fire ants can pivot at the head and inflict more stings in a circular pattern.
As they bite, fire ants inject a toxin that stings, causing a strong burning, fire-like sensation (hence the name fire ant). The sting swells into a bump that can cause a great deal of pain or irritation often with localized swelling. Within 24 to 48 hours, a small itchy pustule (a small, firm blister-like sore) forms around the bite site. Excessive scratching can open the pustules, possibly leading to secondary infection.
The toxin is not deadly for most people, although some are very allergic. The elderly, very young, sick, or those with compromised immune systems may be more affected by the toxin. It is always a good idea to seek medical advice if you believe you have been stung or bitten by a fire ant.
How Can I Avoid Fire Ants?
Although it is impossible to completely eliminate the fire ant population in Texas, you can avoid contact with them and prevent getting stung.
- Be aware of your surroundings. Be sure to regularly look for fire ant mounds around your property. Do not stand on or near nests or areas where they are foraging.
- Watch your step. Pay attention to where youre standing. Serious incidents occur when a person unknowingly allows several fire ants to get on them, usually when they stand on a mound for more than a few seconds without realizing it.
- Wear protective clothing. Wear boots and/or tuck pant legs into socks to reduce the risk of a bite.
What Do I Do If I Find A Fire Ant Mound In My Yard?
A possible preventative measure is long residual contact insecticide treatments. Your local pest control expert will apply an insecticide to the lawn surface in order to prevent fire ants from settling into the area. Although there are several self-help methods to eliminating fire ant colonies, it is best to contact your local pest control expert in order to eliminate the infestation safely.
What Do I Do If I Get Fire Ants On Me?
- First of all remain calm and do NOT panic.
- Leave the area immediately while quickly brushing the fire ants off using a gloved hand or a cloth. The most effective way to remove fire ants from the skin is with a fast, repetitive brushing motion. Remove the ants that climb up on your body as quickly as possible.
- Quickly strip off shoes, socks, and clothing where the fire ants are stinging you. Shake out the clothing and inspect every fold before put¬ting them back on.
- Do not try to shake them off fire ants hold on tightly with their jaws so they will not just fall off. Do not try to rinse them off with water – it just makes them hold on and sting in another spot.
What Do I Do If I Get Stung?
People vary greatly in their reactions to fire ant stings. Most people just suffer a burning sensation, itching, and pustules with no lasting effects. Those who may be sensitive to fire ant venom may see the sting area become slightly swollen.
- Ease the burning and itching by using ice, cold compresses, or painkiller sprays and ointments such as over-the-counter antihistamine products.
- Treat the pustules, whether intact or open, like any other small wound. Keep it clean.
Watch for problems if a person is stung more than a few times or has an impaired immune system due to a medical condition (e.g., heart condition, diabetes, etc.). The important thing is to watch for severe reactions. Although rare, seek emergency medical attention immediately if you experience any of the following as it could be a sign of a life-threatening allergic reaction:
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- Faintness or dizziness
- Loss of consciousness
- Chest pain
- Tightness in chest or throat
- Hives or rashes
- Serious swelling
- Nausea
- Severe sweating
- Slurred speech
- Shock
- Coma
Like many pests, fire ants are a fact of life in Texas. Being aware is the best way to stay safe.


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Exclusive: Director Simon West on `The Mechanic`
Hitting theaters this Friday is Simon West's remake of the 1972 action film The Mechanic. Starring Jason Statham and Ben Foster, the film updates the Charles Bronson original with Statham as an expert "mechanic", an assassin who not only kills with ease, but who can make any death look like a perfect accident. When he's tricked into betraying his old friend, Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland), Statham's Arthur Bishop ends up becoming the unwitting teacher to Harry's son, Steve (Ben Foster), schooling him in the art of the kill.
West offered an exclusive interview to CraveOnline to discuss the updating of the original film, the unlikely duo of Statham and Foster, and what he'd like to be doing in the future, including a potential sequel to his very first feature, Con Air.
CraveOnline: Where did The Mechanic begin for you?


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BBC News
- 'One last chance' to get Brexit done, says PM
- Jamie Oliver restaurant chain collapse costs 1,000 jobs
- London Bridge attack inquests: US tourist 'flatlined twice' after being stabbed
- British Steel should be nationalised, urges Labour
- Nigel Farage to be examined over £450,000 from Arron Banks
- Nan Winton: First woman to read BBC TV news dies
- Nigel Farage milkshake attack: Man charged with assault
- Police arrest 586 people in county lines crackdown
- Aron Kato: Missing Newham man seen being bundled into car
- Holidaymakers hit as pound slides
- Jordan Adlard Rogers inherits Penrose Estate after DNA test
- Market Deeping Railway Club vandalism: 'Time lost' for rebuild
- Cricketer Alex Hepburn 'has no idea' of rape hurt
- Mum whose baby died speaks of pain of hearing others cry
- Rocketman premiere 'emotional' for Elton John
- The Glyndebourne opera singer who started by chance
- Middlesbrough: Keeping the flames alive at final foundry
- Wells-next-the-Sea horse sculpture given permanent home
- Mountaineers climb artwork in Birmingham underpass
- BBC News Channel
- Powys village name row is down to a 'T'
- Lonely Planet: Shetland named in list of top European destinations
- Chef Gary Usher offered a homeless man work - but now what?
- Anders Povlsen: Why a Danish billionaire bought the Highlands
- RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2019: In pictures
- Periods, sport and monitoring menstruation
- The Hit List: Marvin and Rochelle on getting competitive
- When women experts are not taken seriously
- European elections 2019: What are the rules on party funding?
- Eurovision: Is Brexit to blame for the UK's latest flop?
- Game of Thrones finale gets mixed response
- Sala father: 'My son was abandoned for fatal flight'
- European elections 2019: Views from centre of England
Our traditional ANY-Village websites can still be found at their original location:
Below we are listing some of the most popular UK property websites advertising homes for sale in the Rushall area:
Nestoria (RUSHALL Map Search)
Vebra.com (RUSHALL Map Search)
Rightmove (RUSHALL Map Search)
Zoopla (Rushall Map Search)
Homes for SALE / Flats for SALE in RUSHALL
Homes for RENT / Flats for RENT in RUSHALL


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Metzelaars Starts Second Season With The Coltsby Sam King • July 29, 2005 Share:
Pete Metzelaars, a 1982 Wabash College graduate, has an impressive resume.
He earned it the hard way - by overachieving.
Most 16-year NFL veterans can make a living off their name or use their fame to help get them other positions in the business. They come from big-time NCAA Division I football programs and are highly touted going into the NFL draft.
That isn't how it worked for Metzelaars, who spent his career playing for the Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, and Detroit Lions.
Metzelaars came to Wabash after a high school career at Portage Central High School in Portage, Michigan. He was a quarterback on the football team and a center on the basketball team and wanted to continue to be a two-sport athlete in college. Metzelaars wasn't highly recruited, but had some offers from NCAA Division II and Division III institutions. He never thought he had a chance to be a professional athlete.
"I wasn't a standout, all-star kind of guy," Metzelaars said after a workout Thursday at the Indianapolis Colts' preseason camp in Terre Haute, Indiana. "I had some success, but not great success in high school so I wasn't getting recruited by any big-name schools and getting full-ride scholarship offers. It just came down to what I thought was going to be best for me and the best education I was going to get."
After starring for the Little Giants both on the football field as a tight end and on the basketball court as a center, Metzelaars began receiving questionnaires from NFL teams. That's when he began thinking he had a shot at playing in the NFL.
"I started thinking, geez, maybe I'll have a chance here. I had no idea it would work out as well as it did."
During Metzelaars' junior year at Wabash, he figured he could get a free-agent deal with an NFL franchise. His ambitions rose his senior year, hoping to get drafted in the lower rounds of the draft. Then, on draft day, Metzelaars received a phone call from the Seahawks to inform him that he was drafted in the third round, much higher than he thought he had a chance to be drafted.
He helped the Seahawks to a playoff berth in 1984, then was traded to Buffalo, where he would play in four consecutive Super Bowls, catching a touchdown in Super Bowl XXVI against the Washington Redskins. Unfortunately for Metzelaars and his teammates, the Bills lost the game, as well as the other three Super Bowls they advanced to.
"At that point, we were down pretty far so it was somewhat anti-climactic. But at the same time, it's like, 'I scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl.' I've got the ball at home. It's something I'll always remember."
After his final season in 1997 with Detroit, Metzelaars was back at the bottom, much like in high school, but knew he wanted to coach. Like going into college, big names weren't interested in him.
He started coaching high school football at Charlotte Christian High School in North Carolina, while working as a youth pastor at a church. Metzelaars coached two years at Charlotte Christian before deciding he wanted to start coaching at a higher level. He stayed a total of four years at Charlotte Christian.
Metzelaars began using any connections he could --- former players, coaches he played for, contacts he made while playing in the NFL --- to get a job coaching at the professional level.
"I wanted to start looking to get to a higher level of coaching with better athletes and better players, so I started trying to make end roads and connections into the NFL."
Eventually Metzelaars got an internship coaching for a month in Florida for an NFL Europe training camp. He then moved on to coach at NCAA Division II Wingate University in Charlotte, but he still wanted to coach professionals. He prepared to go to Europe to coach the NFL Europe's Barcelona Dragons for three or four months. First, he attended a summer internship program for the Indianapolis Colts.
In the summer of 2003, Metzelaars was a coaching intern for the Colts when a position became available. He was offered the job as offensive quality control and assistant offensive line coach. He stopped planning for Europe and found himself back in Indiana, where his carousel ride to the top began 25 years earlier.
Sam King is the assistant sports editor for the Journal Review.
Photos: (Top) - Metzelaars making one of his 302 receptions for the Buffalo Bills. He holds the Bills' record for receptions by a tight end.
(Middle) - Metzelaars is second on the Wabash basketball all-time scoring with 1,976 points. Here he poses with all-time leading scorer Josh Estelle '00, just before Estelle broke his record.
(Bottom) - Metzelaars at training camp in 2004. (Courtesy of the Indianapolis Star)


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Darren Sproles may not want to be traded, but that's not stopping teams from trying to pick him up in a deal with the Saints.
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Sproles wouldn't take many carries away from Morris, but he would give head coach Jay Gruden an offensive piece to mix and match with the others in his offense to help make Griffin's 2014 more successful than his 2013. Andre Roberts has already joined Pierre Garçon at wideout, the promising Jordan Reed will be at tight end and adding Sproles to that group would make for a deeper unit than the Redskins had last season.
There's no word on the likelihood that Sproles winds up in Washington for the 2014 season or how many other teams might still be in the running for Sproles' services.


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http://falcfans.com/atlanta-falcons-201 ... bell-23568
Here is a breakdown of the Atlanta Falcons' 2016 fourth-round pick: Minnesota linebacker De'Vondre Campbell.
Height: 6'3⅝ "
Weight: 232
Arm Length: 33⅝"
Hand Size: 9⅝"
40 Time: 4.58
Three Cone: 7.07
Bench Press: 16
Vertical Jump: 34″
Broad Jump: 116″
De'Vondre Campbell was born on July 1, 1993 in Fort Myers, Florida and attended Cypress Lake High School, where he played defensive end.
Due to poor grades he was compelled to enroll at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas out of high school. He redshirted his first season there due to a concussion, but came back as a freshman to tally 83 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, one interception (returned for a 34-yard touchdown), four pass breakups and a fumble recovery in 12 games at outside linebacker. Thereafter he verbally committed to the University of Tennessee but wound up at Minnesota when Derek Dooley and his entire coaching staff was fired at the former school.
He started three out of 13 games as a sophomore during his first year at Minnesota. He finished the year with 41 tackles, three tackles for loss, one pass breakup and one forced fumble. He started all 13 games as a junior at weak-side linebacker, finishing third on the team with 75 tackles. He also added 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, one interception (returned 30 yards for a touchdown), one pass breakup and three fumble recoveries. He earned Academic All-Big Ten honors that year as well.
During his senior year he logged 11 starts in 13 appearances, finishing third on the team with 92 tackles. He also added 6.5 tackles for loss, a team-leading four sacks, one interception, three pass breakups and one forced fumble. He was named All-Big Ten honorable mention.
Weighed 210 pounds while at Hutchinson, bulking up to 225 his first year at Minnesota. Bulked up to 240 as a junior, but slimmed down thereafter. Known for his work ethic, partially evidenced by the fact that a player that struggled with grades in high school was eventually named an all-conference academic honoree as a junior at Minnesota.
Note: scroll right to see more stats.
Key: MT – Missed Tackles; KBd – Key Blocked; YAC – Yards After Catch; UC – Uncatchable Pass
Date Opponent Stop TFL MT KBd FF Sk Hurry Hit INT PD Tgt Rec Yds YAC TD UC Pen Pen Type
Sep 03 Texas Christian 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 N/A
Oct 03 at Northwestern 1.5 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 N/A
Oct 31 Michigan 2.5 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N/A
Nov 07 at Ohio State 2.5 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N/A
Nov 14 at Iowa 0 0 1 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 4 44 32 0 0 0 N/A
Nov 28 Wisconsin 4.5 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N/A
Dec 28 vs. Central Michigan 0 0 1 1 0 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 N/A
TOTALS 7 gms 11 2 5 9 0 2 5 2 0 2 8 5 48 32 0 3 0 N/A
SKILLS: How Good Is He?
Skills are graded on a 10-point scale: 1-pathetic, 2-poor, 3-weak, 4-below average, 5-average, 6-above average, 7-good, 8-very good, 9-excellent, 10-elite
Speed (8.0): Has good top-end speed and accelerates well. Should have little issue running with backs, receivers and tight ends at the next level. Plays fast and does his best work against the run in pursuit. Closes quickly on the ball when he doesn't have to deal with blockers or traffic.
Strength (5.0): Shows physicality when taking on blocks, albeit still undersized. Will need to bulk up a little more to deal with NFL-sized linemen and blockers, but isn't often overwhelmed due to lack of strength or toughness. Many of his issues in terms of dealing with bigger players can be improved by refining his technique.
Tackling (6.0): Does a good job wrapping up and doesn't miss too many tackles. Will occasionally duck his head and not see what he hits, but rarely results in whiffed tackles when he can square up ballcarrier. Most of his misses come because he takes a bad angle or is late reacting to a play, which doesn't allow him to proper square up. But for the most part, breaks down and does a good job driving through ballcarrier to bring him down. Isn't overly powerful and might have some issues with bigger backs and tight ends at the next level, but generally does a good job wrapping and holding up a ballcarrier until the cavalry arrives.
Campbell (26) is lined up towards the middle of the screen and does a great job shooting a gap to make a nice, sound tackle while unblocked
Campbell (26) is lined up towards the middle of the screen and does a great job shooting a gap to make a nice, sound tackle while unblocked
Coverage (5.0): Is capable in coverage mostly because of his athleticism, range and speed. Needs to play with better instincts and awareness when working in zone coverage and can too often be a step late reacting to the play in front of him. In man coverage has the tools to get better but due to raw technique and balance, tends to get "grabby" when covering guys tight ends and slot receivers. Might lead to an excessive amount of penalties at the next level until he cleans up his technique. Doesn't have a ton of experience working in man coverage as most of his coverage assignments in Minnesota's defense called for zone.
Campbell (26) is lined up towards the top left and does a nice job breaking up a throw while jumping a throwing lane in the flat
Campbell (26) is lined up towards the top left and does a nice job breaking up a throw while jumping a throwing lane in the flat
Point of Attack (5.0): Does a decent job taking on blocks at the point of attack, but has a tendency to get engulfed when facing larger offensive linemen. But most of his issues there come due to poor technique and not getting proper leverage rather than because he is physically incapable of holding up there. Shows the ability to stack and shed blockers but can be hesitant too often because he doesn't immediately recognize the play. Has a tendency to play on his heels for those same reasons, which limits his effectiveness when teams run at him. This too often allows blockers to get effective position against him, preventing Campbell from making the play.
Here is an example of the good things Campbell can do at the point of attack:
Campbell (26) does a good job taking on the lead-blocking fullback, and making the stop at the point of attack
Campbell (26) is lined up near the bottom, does a good job taking on the lead-blocking fullback, and making the stop at the point of attack
Here is an example of the bad:
Campbell (26) is lined up towards the right side and does a poor job getting leverage on the reach block, getting turned around and allowing a big gain through his gap
Campbell (26) is lined up towards the right side and does a poor job getting leverage on the reach block, getting turned around while trying to disengage. This shows poor technique.
Instincts (3.0): Is consistently a step or two late when it comes to reacting to plays, as he is usually the last defender in Minnesota's front seven to read, recognize and diagnose a play. Because of this, he tends to play on his heels too often and it allows blockers to get position against him. Will get caught out of position too often and lose his gap responsibility at times.
Here is an example of him "freelancing" on a run play, completely losing gap integrity on a touchdown run:
Campbell (26) is lined up at weak-side linebacker, shows his lack of discipline by attacking the wrong gap and not staying at home, which allows an easy touchdown against Wiscinson
Campbell (26) is lined up at weak-side linebacker, shows his lack of discipline by attacking the wrong gap with the wrong key, which allows an easy touchdown against Wiscinson
Pass Rush (6.0): Is a capable pass-rusher due to his speed and burst, able to get past slower-footed linemen. Shows some rudimentary pass-rush moves, showing bull rush, rip and swim moves to disengage from blocks. Won't overpower most and when a running back squares him up on the blitz pickup, the offensive player often wins the battle. But there is room to grow based off his burst, length and the beginnings of a decent pass rush.
Click here for more information about my grading system.
Developmental Starter (4.8) – A player right on the cusp of being a starter but may be lacking in at least one key area that limits his potential. If he does become a starter, almost never will become more than a complementary player as opposed to an impact player since he will struggle to compete against quality players at the next level. A solid mid-round pick that should be targeted early on Day 3. Towards the upper end of this tier could sneak into the Top 100 picks.
NFL FORECAST: How Do His Skills Project to the NFL?
Campbell is a good fit as a weak-side linebacker in a 4-3 scheme that also has some potential to play the strong-side given his length and potential as a pass-rusher. But for now, he's most natural as a flow and chase defender on the weak side. His technique is not quite refined to the level necessary when it comes to setting the edge to be a capable performer on the strong side.
He has the potential to be a capable starter, but he's going to have to overcome his lack of instincts. This will likely mean he needs to have help in the forms of a simplified defensive scheme or playing alongside a group of smart, talented linebackers that will be able to cover his mistakes somewhat.
If Campbell doesn't have these circumstances, then his chances of sticking long-term as a starter are going to be lower. Because of the concerns over his instincts, recognition and awareness, he also might be a player that takes the better part of three years before he's ready to trust as a starter.
The positive is that in the mean time, he should be able to stick on special teams. He was a regular on Minnesota's punt coverage as a senior and his speed, tackling and physicality should make for an easy fit on special-teams units throughout the NFL right away.
The big question is going to be whether or not he'll develop to become more in time. If he does, he should be a solid complementary starter that is capable of making some plays to sort of counterbalance the mistakes that he'll inevitably make.
His slow recognition skills are potentially attributed to his past as a defensive end and the fact that he is more an athlete at this point than a smart, heady playmaker.
For that reason, he may never develop the ideal sort of awareness that a team fully trusts him as a starter. A player that is an easy comparison is someone like Demorrio Williams, who played for the Falcons and Kansas City Chiefs in the past.
Williams played both defensive end and outside linebacker during his days at Nebraska. He managed to start three seasons at weak-side linebacker in Atlanta and was an occasional playmaker, but never a consistent one. He started two seasons with Kansas City before eventually getting surpassed by the late Jovan Belcher, who was an undrafted free agent.
Like Williams, Campbell might wind up being a functional starter, but never one that is firmly entrenched in that role due to his limitations. Williams put together a nine-year pro career, so even if Campbell never quite hits his stride as a starter, he can still have a long, productive NFL career.
There's little doubt that Campbell should be able to stick beyond his rookie contract as a reserve that can contribute on special teams. It's mainly a question of whether by the time he reaches his fourth or fifth season, will he have developed enough to be trusted as a starter.
Even though his instincts will probably never be on par with many of his peers, I believe that over time some of those issues should be mitigated as long as he gets experience and comfort playing within a scheme. As a hard-worker, he'll likely put in the time in the film room and on the practice field that should help endear him to a coaching staff, allowing him to get the opportunities to play and ultimately be successful.
As long as he winds up in a relatively stable situation where he isn't constantly dealing with frequent coaching and schematic changes, there's reason to be optimistic that he'll wind up becoming a capable, albeit unspectacular starter.
FALCONS FORECAST: How Does He Project in Atlanta?
Campbell is expected to play weak-side linebacker in Atlanta and physically he possesses many of the tools one looks for in Dan Quinn's defensive scheme at that position.
However if it takes more than a year before Campbell starts to hit his stride, he might find himself behind the eight ball. As I wrote before, I expect Campbell and Falcons second-round linebacker Deion Jones to compete for the potentially vacant weak-side linebacker spot in 2017 since I don't see Jones as a long-term fixture at middle linebacker, the position he is currently projected at.
However Campbell might need two years to get up to speed and if that's the case, that would give Jones, a higher-round pick, a significant leg up in any potential open roster battle. If Jones takes advantage of that opportunity, that could make it tough for Campbell to crack the starting lineup down the road.
Campbell could be moved to another position, such as potentially playing strong-side linebacker since his length could make him a decent option there. He'd probably need to bulk up a little bit but he could definitely be a capable starter there if need be. Of course the problem facing a move to that spot might be the presence of Vic Beasley, who is likely to take over full-time duties at that spot starting in 2017 if/when the Falcons move on from Brooks Reed.
This means that there's a above-average likelihood that Campbell spends the bulk of his time in Atlanta as a reserve player, even though he might very well become a player good enough start. He'll have to deal with the reality that he doesn't have the pedigree of higher-round picks like Jones and Beasley, meaning the team won't have as vested an interest in seeing him start especially if it's at the expense of those others.
Of course the Falcons are likely envisioning a scenario where all three players start simultaneously with Campbell playing the weak side, Jones in the middle and Beasley on the strong side. There is certainly a reality where that comes true and if it doesn't, then I doubt it'll be because Campbell isn't up to the task.
If the Falcons do wind up going with that trio in 2017 or later, then it should be a huge benefit for Campbell. While I have my concerns about Jones' ability to adapt to playing in the middle, I have few such issues with Campbell's potential to play on the weak side. Thus there's a good chance that if Campbell does manage to start the 2017 season on the outside, he will play at a high-enough level to justify keeping him at that spot long-term.
Campbell certainly has the skillset the team is looking for at the weak-side spot. He has the speed to make plays all over the field. While he's not great in coverage, he won't be asked to play as much in man coverage as he would in other schemes given the tendency for the Falcons scheme to drop the linebackers in zone. His lack of awareness there won't be as problematic since he'll simply be asked to cover the flat quite a bit, making him much of a "see ball, get ball" sort of defender.
Instincts are going to be the biggest obstacle Campbell has to overcome. Fortunately the Falcons scheme is fairly simplified, which should make his poor recognition skills far less of an obstacle in Atlanta than it would be in a lot of other NFL cities. But Campbell still will have to work to get better at that since as things sit today, he is far from trustworthy when it comes to playing his assignments well enough to be considered a starter. But given his reputation as a confident and hard-working player, that shouldn't be too much of an issue.
If and when Campbell does earn the starting spot, I don't expect him to be a major impact player for the Falcons. But I do think he can be an effective, complementary starter, especially if the Falcons have a smart and impactful middle linebacker that can be more of a playmaker lining up beside him.
That's what K.J. Wright has going for him in Seattle with Bobby Wagner at middle linebacker. Wright isn't the most instinctual player, but is a good athlete with the length and speed to match up in coverage and make plays in space. The Seahawks discovered quickly that Wright wasn't quite up to snuff instinctually to man the middle linebacker spot as they initially envisioned upon drafting him, but Wright eventually found a home at weak-side linebacker. Playing next to a player the caliber of Wagner means that Wright's subpar instincts are far less problematic because Wagner is more than capable of making up the difference.
If Campbell was to have a similar relationship with a current or future Falcons middle linebacker, then he should do just fine as a starter. While it wouldn't be completely fair to project Campbell to become a starter as capable as Wright, who is a relatively rare fourth-round success story at linebacker, yet both players have comparable skill sets.
What Wright has become is an asset on a good to great Seahawks defense, but he's far from a critical component of it. Campbell has comparable potential when all is said and done.
Campbell's deficiencies shouldn't be too problematic as he projects to Atlanta moving forward, and thus I like his potential. There will probably still be many instances where Campbell gets stuck out of position or his slower reactions limit the plays he makes, but he should be far from a liability at any point.
Yet one reason why I'm hesitant to heap too much praise or expectations on Campbell is the reality of being a fourth-round pick. That reality is that he might not get the opportunities that players drafted ahead of him (mainly Jones) will get in the next few years as the Falcons continue to rebuild their linebacker corps in the future.
There is a scenario where if Jones doesn't take off as a middle linebacker this year, the Falcons re-invest in that position next offseason with a higher-priced free agent or high-round rookie. And in that scenario, the team will have a more vested interest in maximizing Jones' potential by moving him to weak-side linebacker over someone like Campbell.
Nonetheless Campbell should easily have a long NFL career and possesses the capability to become a solid starter in Atlanta. He also has just as much a chance of being stuck as a reserve for the next four years. It might really boil down to a coin flip on exactly how it goes.
If Campbell doesn't become a starter in Atlanta, I'm less inclined to believe it will necessarily be due to the fact that Campbell isn't good enough. Circumstances could easily prevent him some opportunities to reach his maximum potential.
If he has the opportunity to compete for an open starting spot as early as next season, he's a player that I wouldn't bet against winning that job outright. And if that happens, he should be well on his way to fulfilling the better destiny as a long-term starter in Atlanta.
Atlanta Falcons 2016 Rookie Scouting Report: De'Vondre Campbell
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text: On Tue, 26 Nov 2002, Florent Calvayrac wrote: > As always, your demonstration is coherent, fun and convincing, but you > forget : > -that a cluster built of COTS can be transformed into a lot of desktop > PCs 3 years after its building, saving 30 % of the cost Yeah, sometimes we've been able to do this. For certain clusters (generally mine, since my task is EP) I've even put the cluster right on the desktops from the beginning to get dual use from them throughout, saving 100% of the desktop cost (or 50% of the cost each shared between the two purposes:-). After all, for embarrassingly parallel tasks, giving up the 1-2% of the CPU typically consumed by a day of hard desktop use reading mail, websurfing, and playing mahjong is totally painless, and reaps one numerous benefits. Harder to do with rackmounts, though, and for EP tasks I can actually use the nodes for a lot longer than 3 years if they don't break so they don't always make it to a desktop before they die. > -it's maybe not worth building clusters with a thousand nodes, but one > with, say, 16 or 32 nodes can be very interesting at least for teaching > purposes, as it is way cheaper than a supercomputer. Students in > engineering are now routinely confronted > to parallel computers when on a "real job" : finite-elements packages or > fluid dynamics codes are parallelized nowadays, and for, say, an > automotive company, it is interesting to complete a serie of numerical > crash-tests in the next month rather than the next decade. The same > holds for drug developement : I am happy that IBM spends billions on > "Blue Gene" if it saves 5 years in Alzheimer or Creutzfeld Jacob > disease cure. I'm not arguing against building cluster computers at all. I agree completely with what you say here. In fact, I think that we should be building a lot MORE of those 16-64 node clusters and a lot FEWER of the centralized, huge, 512-1024 node clusters, and in particular think that the really big clusters should be subjected to a rigorous CBA before funding them. Obviously Weather, Alzheimers, Mad Cows, Cystic Fibrosis, Aerospace Engineering and many other academic and corporate tasks have huge potential payoffs and warrant big investments if/where they'll do some good. However, huge amounts of money have historically been spent on enormous clusters working on a problem that isn't going away anytime soon and with no discernable benefit to mankind other than the philosophical satisfaction associated with knowing more about e.g. how the very, very early universe got its start or whether the later universe will keep going to infinity and beyond or stop and eventually collapse again. I mean, I'd like to know as much as anybody else, but not even the sun will be around when it finally does what it's going to do, so it seems that we could postpone trying to answer some questions like this (or at least, slow down the rate at which we TRY to answer them) and wait for Moore's law to make answering them cheaper. I also think that the most important single reason to support lots of the academic and institutional clusters that are built is supporting the humans who work on it, not necessarily the science per se. Those humans are the ones that "invented" cluster computing, developed the beowulf concept, wrote and improved the parallel programming tools, all the while training the young scientists and engineers that are doing the really valuable work that IS being done with clusters. One could argue that one does better at supporting this human infrastructure by supporting "sustainable" mid-sized (8-128 node) clusters at a lot of institutions, where by sustainable I mean clusters that you plan to rollover replace in fractions every year forever than by buying one BIG cluster that you will use for only 3 years before Moore's law and hardware failure start to crush you economically. More smaller clusters means more humans, and humans are the key resource and one of the key benefits, not the hardware per se. So I reiterate -- rather than strive for building a "Top 500" computer (or a computer whose not-horribly-covert purpose is to "take back the number one position from the fiendish Japanese":-) one should instead examine the TASKS those computers are intended to work on and determine whether they warrant spending all that money right now to get the answer right away, or if they could do just as well plodding along with a much lower level of annual investment, counting on Moore's Law to carry them to the finish line at (curiously enough) about the same time. One of my favorite little examples is the following: Suppose that computer "capacity" (speed, mostly, but everything else as well) doubles at constant cost every 12 months. Historically, it pretty nearly does this in the mid-price-range sweet spot, and it is more convenient a number than the 16-18 months that is more likely to be the truth. You have (say) $50K to spend on computer hardware, total (I'll assume that networking is "free" for this example -- perhaps 100BT suffices and you already have a big 100BT switch). Your budget has to pay for the nodes themselves and any service/repair. You can: a) Buy the systems all at once in the beginning. Let's call the speed of each system in year 1 "1". This buys you 50 units of computing. We'll assume that the probability of system failure is 10% per year, but that the first year is under warranty. Thus (end of) year work done in year cumulative work ========================================================== 1 50 50 2 45 95 3 40 135 4 35 170 5 30 200 or you can: b) Buy $10K worth of systems a year, but each NEW year the systems you buy double in speed. Thus (end of) year work done in year cumulative work ========================================================== 1 10 10 2 9+20= 29 39 3 8+18+40= 66 105 4 7+16+36+80=139 244 5 6+14+32+72+160=284 528 Allowing for failure along the way, you break even early in the fourth year and accomplish more than twice as much work over the five years. In fact, you'll do almost as much work with the new systems purchased in year five ALONE as you do in all five years under plan a). According to this argument, UNLESS YOU ARE WORKING ON A FINE GRAINED PARALLEL TASK where there is arguably an advantage to homogeneity that might justify the first route IF the communications are fast enough to scale your (by hypothesis fine grained) computation to 50 units of speed 1, you should almost certainly utilize the second strategy. This is still true even if you use a more conservative 18 month doubling time -- the human costs of maintenance and the costs associated with feeding and cooling the relatively wasteful 50 speed 1 systems for five years compared to feeding and cooling just 10, 20, 30..., throwing away old units as they break after eating the dead, are utterly neglected and according to some very serious CBAs sent to me by listvolken in the past, swamp strategy a) EVEN IF YOU THROW THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S SYSTEMS AWAY after 18 months (or give them to folks for their desks:-). Human time is almost always more expensive than hardware, especially on this scale. Given this, why do we see all of these hugely expensive superclusters being built? It is silly as hell to spend $300 million dollars on a cluster all at once, period, for MOST of the tasks to which such a cluster could be applied. One is almost certainly better off spending $100 million a year for three years, or $60M a year for five years, instead of spending $300M on a cluster intended to last 3 years, or 5 years. Of course, that isn't so sexy, doesn't dump as much pure profit in major US corporate pockets to prop up the sagging tech industries, doesn't make the "top 500 list". It is a pure my-thing-is-bigger-than-yours marketing tool, especially given that it lacks the COST of most of the systems presented, making it impossible to answer the question "was this system in the top 500 in terms of INTELLIGENT DESIGN AND COST EFFECTIVENESS". Finally, I find it amusing and enlightening that the top 500 list is almost certainly wrong anyway, at least after the top twenty or fifty or so. Clusters and supercomputers marketed by big hardware manufacturers dominate the list at CPU speed ranges and numbers of nodes that are pretty pedestrian from there on. Hard to believe that there aren't a LOT of beowulfs out there like number 370, with 160 1.47 GHz Athlons, or 338 with 128 1.7 GHz P4's or Dell's 207, with 128 P4 Xeons @ 2.4 GHz. Seems pretty likely that this is because many of us who might own a cluster that "should" be in this list don't care enough to enter it. Perhaps a sign of maturity and security? Perhaps because we care more about cost/benefit in application to our own problems than to "linpack performance" as a measure of "topness"? Perhaps because we have jobs (our own and to run on the cluster) that are more important than doing a basically useless linpack benchmark and going through the hassle of entering the race? rgb -- Robert G. Brown http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/ Duke University Dept. of Physics, Box 90305 Durham, N.C. 27708-0305 Phone: 1-919-660-2567 Fax: 919-660-2525 email:rgb at phy.duke.edu


text:
Please, keep your ehms to yourself..
But anyway, after a little bit of Googling, I have found that Windows 7 Starter won't allow you to change your desktop background.
I'm not sure, but this may or may not be able to help you.
If you're going to try what LoGiCaL__ and mShred suggest, you might want to do it with a livecd so Windows doesn't know about it.
I already did that, and it "broke" (first said there was a problem with desktop and temporal userprofile, the next try didn't break that much, but was just black. black background). But the size probably wasn't the correct one. I will try again and make sure size and resolution.
Anyway this solution has one counter side and it's that ALL users will have the new background. Which is OK, but... not the ideal solution, no.
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text:
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and happy holidays. I am taking some time off this week to enjoy the family, I hope you are getting to relax as well.
And for those of you wondering, Harry (dog) will make the card again next year. This year it just wasn't possible.


text:
Which Distro Is Best for Beginners?
Oct 14, 2013 5:00 AM PT
Well it was a relatively quiet week here in the Linux blogosphere, where all the code is strong and the UIs good-looking.
Yes, we had the good news about Tor and its NSA resistance, and yes, the Unu three-way gaming device and the Lenovo Android laptop both generated some excitement of their own.
Truth be told, though, Linux fans have been overloaded with good news lately, what with the Valve excitement and even Intel's Arduino adventure.
When times are good, where do most Linux bloggers' thoughts turn? That's right: polls. There's nothing like a good Linux poll to make a good life even better.
'Falling from Grace'
"We often introduce new people to Linux, and there's always that niggling question, what distro to start someone on," began the ever-insightful crew over at TuxRadar. "Not so long ago, the answer seemed obvious: Ubuntu. However that's falling from grace at the moment."
So, "what's the best distro for beginners?" was the team's question in a recent Open Ballot poll.
Down at the blogosphere's seedy Punchy Penguin Saloon, FOSS fans have taken great delight in sharing their thoughts.
'I've Been Suggesting Mint'
"Since Unity, I've been suggesting Mint for beginners," began consultant and Slashdot blogger Gerhard Mack, for example.
Similarly, "there was a time a few years ago when I would have given one single answer: Ubuntu," offered Google+ blogger Brett Legree. "However, I would not automatically suggest Ubuntu today.
"I would actually spend a bit of time with the potential new user and ask a variety of questions, to gauge the person's level of technical expertise, willingness/desire to learn (and read manuals!), desired outcomes and usage patterns, and type of hardware being used," Legree explained.
"Ubuntu might end up being the final choice, but I might also be as likely to suggest Fedora or openSUSE for some kinds of people, or Debian, Slackware, Arch or Gentoo for other people," he added. "Perhaps Linux might not actually be what the person needs at all, and I might suggest FreeBSD or OpenBSD or one of the other BSDs.
"There are many different distros, and every computer user is unique, with different skills, hardware, and desired outcomes," he concluded.
'I Still Have to Go With Ubuntu'
On the other hand: "I know that Ubuntu isn't the 'cool' distro anymore, but for a beginner's system, I still have to go with it," opined Linux Rants blogger Mike Stone.
"It's always tempting to go with a distro that closely mimics that OTHER OS, but I think that one of the biggest problems people have with Linux is that they expect it to BE Windows," Stone explained. "An interface that differs from Redmond's offering helps to reinforce the idea that they're not in Kansas anymore (and that is a very good thing).
"Ubuntu offers an environment that is sufficiently different than Windows but still easy to pick up and use," he concluded.
'The Answer Is Debian'
Blogger Robert Pogson took a different view.
"Obviously the answer is Debian GNU/Linux," Pogson told Linux Girl. 'It has all the flexibility and performance ~37000 packages of Free Software will allow and none of the baggage top-down management incurs in other distros controlled by tyrants, benevolent or not.
"With Debian GNU/Linux, a newbie can be running smoothly on Day One and still have room to grow physically and spiritually for decades," he added.
"Other distros have the 'vision' of some tyrant or small group of tyrants which may fill some niche or other," Pogson explained. "Debian GNU/Linux on the other hand is the 'universal operating system' because that was the goal from the beginning and the diversity of the organization makes that happen. Further, Debian is entirely committed to Free Software which empowers the user, not the distributor."
'My Vote Is PCLinuxOS'
Google+ blogger Alessandro Ebersol, a contributor to the PCLinuxOS project, had yet a different view.
"Oh, well, I'm biased," Ebersol began: "The best newbie distro is PCLinuxOS, hands down."
Of course, "I've been using it since 2009," he said. "It's my bread and butter.
"Then again, it's a very personal matter," Ebersol admitted. "Some may have had terrible experiences with this or that other distro. So, my vote is PCLOS, but, use what you like better."
'I Would Look for a KDE Distro'
Indeed, "this is trickier than it may first seem," observed Google+ blogger Kevin O'Brien. "The question is whether we mean someone who is experience with computers, just new to Linux, or whether we mean someone with very little computer knowledge.
"For someone with a lot of Windows experience who wants to try Linux I would look for a KDE distro, and right now openSUSE looks to me like the most polished KDE distro," O'Brien suggested. "I think KDE works a lot like Windows and looks a lot like Windows, so it make for an easy transfer of knowledge from one domain to another."
For someone with minimal computer experience, on the other hand, "I would recommend Ubuntu," he added. "I know a lot of Linux folks have turned against Ubuntu of late, but I think that is because it is different from what they are used to. I think for someone with no preconceptions of how a computer should works, Ubuntu with the Unity desktop is an excellent experience."
'A Distro With KDE or Xfce'
It is a difficult question, Google+ blogger Gonzalo Velasco C. agreed.
"What is a beginner?" he mused. "If it is a person with the will to learn, any GNU/Linux distribution is usable and the person can learn how to do things in a couple of days. If it is someone coming from MacOS or m$Windows, perhaps some distributions with a desktop environment 'less different' is the best."
Gonzalo Velasco C.'s own suggestions? "I would recommend: first, a distro with KDE or Xfce, also LXDE and Cinnamon since a proper menu is the easiest way to find applications; some dock is pretty, but not mandatory," he explained. "Second, a distro with a good and easy application to install / uninstall packages; and third,an update manager easy to handle."
'This Asks the Wrong Question'
Chris Travers, a blogger who works on the LedgerSMB project, had a different take.
"I think this actually asks the wrong question," Travers asserted. "While there are two distros I would recommend (Fedora and Debian) because they develop long-term skills useful in the Linux world (Fedora as a gateway to Red Hat, Debian as a large ecosystem in itself), I think we pay too much attention to which distro we'd recommend to a beginner and not nearly enough attention to supporting the beginner through learning the new system.
"Setting everything up so that beginners can start getting work done right away and feel comfortable exploring the system is key," he explained. "This can be done using any desktop environment, any distro, etc., but it takes listening to the beginner, helping them take the first steps and supporting them through the transition."
Linux "is not yet (and may never be) at the point where we can just recommend a distro and forget about the beginner," Travers concluded. "What we can, and must, do is provide personable support to help people become productive on the new system."
'Time to Move Forward or Die'
Last but not least, Robin Lim, a lawyer and blogger on Mobile Raptor, also focused on the bigger picture.
"The only thing that has stagnated worse than Microsoft is the desktop Linux distro," Lim told Linux Girl. "Linux distributions have improved immensely under the hood, but the most common desktop environments either took their inspiration from Windows 95 or the Mac OS UI.
"Start menus are relics from the past," Lim went on. "Apps like LibreOffice are alien territory for iOS and Android users. Steer them to the favorite distributions of the Linux die-hard, and it will like taking them to a trip back in time (and straight to the nearest Apple store)."
The one silver lining in the situation is "the much-derided GNOME 3 shell," Lim said. "It is the only forward-looking Linux desktop. GNOME 3's app launcher will be familiar to the Android set and the multitasking interface follows current trends."
So, Lim's distro suggestion for beginners?
"Based on these considerations, I am inclined to go with Fedora 19 or Ubuntu GNOME 13.10," he concluded. "Really, for the Linux desktop and its app ecosystem, it is time to move forward or die."


text:
Public Comment
New: Berkeley School Garden Program Threatened
We have a crisis in our public schools: our beloved garden and cooking classes are loosing their federal funding as of Sept. 30, 2013. We have a committee looking for alternative funding. We are having a community meeting at Longfellow Middle School, April 11 (Thurs.), 7:00 - 8:30, where we hope parents will come to testify how much they and their children love these classes. There will be some film clips (from "LunchLoveCommunity") and a panel of 5 people (where Martin Bourque from the Ecology Center will direct questions to the panel), and we hope to have a discussion about "Next Steps."
I hope that everyone can attend this event, as I think it will be an interesting meeting.


text:
Matsushita Electric Industrial to release blue ray disk recorder
The unit will accommodate dual-layer single sided blu-ray media (50GB capacity), and single layer media (25Gb capacity) and comes with built in digital and analog tuner.
It will allow videotape recording to Blu-ray media as well as DVD-RAM and DVD-R media, but without the use of a HDD. The 50 GB capacity of Blu-ray dual-layer media, corresponds to about 4.5 hours BS digital signal (24Mbps) or 6 hours digital signal (16Mbps) available on high-definition television broadcasts, or about 63 hours of standard analog signal broadcast.
Blu-ray media is expected to be available by start of August also.


text:
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