text:
Snowy River
Ecological Communities
What the results tell us for Snowy River
Thirty-two vegetation communities have been recorded within Snowy River Shire, 10 of which are considered of conservation significance. The shire also contains occurrences of three ecological communities listed as endangered nationally or in NSW as at June 2004, one of which was gazetted during the current reporting period. Five wetlands of national importance, covering 22 separate wetland areas, are also located within the shire.
It was not possible to assess accurately changes to the extent and condition of native vegetation in the shire during the current reporting period. However, minor areas of vegetation were reported to have been cleared, and extensive wild fires affected vegetation in the west and south of the shire in the 2002–03 fire season.
No vegetation communities considered to be poorly represented within the broader region's reserve system in the previous reporting period met reservation targets within the current period because of additions to the reserve estate in Snowy River Shire. Only one of the nine conservation reserves within the shire had a plan of management in place; it was adopted during the current reporting period. One property in the shire had a Voluntary Conservation Agreement in place, and another two properties are designated wildlife refuges.
The Monaro Grasslands Conservation Management Network and council carried out a range of activities during the current reporting period to help protect grassland ecological communities in the shire. A range of other on-ground projects during the period enhanced the conservation of other ecological communities, including some affected by the 2002–03 wildfires.
Vegetation communities in the shire
Thirty-two vegetation communities (or ecosystems) have been recorded within Snowy River Shire (see Table 1). These communities were classified as part of the Southern Comprehensive Regional Assessment (CRA) program in south-eastern NSW over 1999 (see About the data) and provide the best coverage and most consistent description of vegetation in the shire.
Eight of the forest vegetation communities that occur within the shire were considered vulnerable in 1999 (see Table 1), i.e. they were approaching 70% clearance of their pre-1750 extent. In the context of the Southern CRA region, an additional two communities were still considered poorly represented within the region's reserve system in 2004.
|Forest vegetation communities
|CRA Number
|Poorly Reserved*
|ACT/Monaro Dry Grassland
|Alpine Wet Herbfield and Sub-alpine Wet Herb/Grassland/Bog
|Central Tableland/ACT Montane Dry Shrub Forest
|Central Tablelands Shrub/Grass Dry Forest
|Cooma Dry Grass Forest
|Eastern Tableland Dry Shrub/Grass Forest
|Lower Snowy Dry Shrub/Tussock Grass Forest
|Lower Snowy Rain Shadow Woodland/Shrubland
|Lower Snowy White Box Dry Shrub/Herb Woodland
|Monaro Dry Grassland
|Montane / Sub-Alpine Dry Rocky Shrubland
|Montane Acacia/Dry Shrub/Herb/Grass Forest
|Montane Dry Shrub/Herb/Grass Forest
|North-Western Montane Dry Shrub/Herb/Grass Forest
|South Coast and Byadbo Acacia Scrubs
|South East Tablelands Dry Shrub/Tussock Grass Forest
|South Eastern Tablelands Dry Shrub/Grass/Herb Forest
|Sub-alpine Dry Shrub/Herb Woodland
|Sub-alpine Herbfield
|Sub-alpine Shrub/Grass Woodland
|Tableland Acacia Moist Herb Forest
|Tableland and Escarpment Wet Layered Shrub Forest
|Tableland Tussock Grassland /Sedgeland/ Woodland
|Tablelands and Slopes Dry Herb/Grass Woodland
|Tablelands Dry Shrub/Grass Forest
|Tablelands Moist Sedge/Herb/Grassland
|Tablelands Shrub/Tussock Grass Forest
|Western Escarpment Moist Shrub/Herb/Grass Forest
|Western Montane Acacia Fern/Herb Forest
|Western Montane Dry Fern/Grass Forest
|Western Montane Moist Shrub Forest
|Western Tablelands Dry Herb/Grass Forest
* Determinations (preliminary and final) under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 made by the NSW Scientific Committee; # Listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 by the Commonwealth Minister for Environment and Heritage; Source: DEC 2004a, b; DEH 2005a.
Other significant communities or habitats
Five nationally significant wetlands listed in the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia (DEH 2005b) either occur within or intersect the shire. They are:
- Blue Lake—reserved; surrounding land is National Park
- Kosciuszko Alpine Fens, Bogs and Lakes (those occurring in the shire include Hedley Tarn and Club Lake)—reserved; surrounding land is National Park
- Rennex Gap—reserved; surrounding land is National Park
- Snowgum Flat—reserved; surrounding land is National Park
- Monaro Lakes (those occurring in the shire include Jillamatong, Island, Buckleys, Coolamatong, Carrolls, Salt, Kiah, Bullenbaloong, Hugundara, Wishing, Cootralantra, Killmacoola, Arable, Tinkers, Long, Rocky, and O'Neills lakes)—not reserved (mostly freehold land, some lakes on travelling stock reserves); surrounding land tenure is freehold or State Forest.
No Ramsar sites (i.e. internationally important wetlands) have been declared within the shire.
Vegetation extent and condition
Pressures on vegetation extent
Clearing was the main pressure on the extent of native vegetation in Snowy River Shire during the current reporting period; it can also result in fragmentation of vegetation remnants. Past tree clearing for rural development in the shire has significantly altered Snowgum woodland communities (Eucalyptus pauciflora – E. stellulata alliance) (Dovey 1984). Increased fragmentation of vegetation remnants and clearing are the most significant vegetation threats in eastern Australia (Sattler and Creighton 2002), and both have been identified as particular threats to the three endangered ecological communities with occurrences in Snowy River Shire (DEC 2005).
Mapped vegetation change relating to extent of native vegetation in the shire in the current and previous reporting periods is summarised in Table 3. During 2000–04, two forest communities were impacted by regrowth, one of which was rated vulnerable and one poorly reserved in July 2000. During 1997–2000, two forest communities were impacted by clearing, one of which was rated vulnerable and one poorly reserved at the beginning of that period.
|Vegetation change
|Forest communities 2000–2004
|Forest communities 1997–2000
|Area (ha)
|Total No
|Poorly Reserved at 1 July 2000*
|Area (ha)
|Total No
|Poorly Reserved at
1 July 1997
|Regrowth forest
|Vegetation loss or clearing**
* For definitions of Vulnerable and Poorly Reserved communities, see About the data; ** No distinction made between vegetation loss (e.g. through harvesting) and vegetation clearance; Source: Agrecon (see About the data).
Two clearing applications were approved within the shire during the reporting period under the NSW Native Vegetation Act 2003. They included removal of willows along river banks and removal of vegetation for augmentation of a water supply. The total area of vegetation cleared was about 22 hectares, of which willows comprised 36%.
Pressures on vegetation condition
Wildfire was a major, broadscale pressure on the condition of native vegetation in Snowy River Shire during the reporting period. About 249,000 hectares of land (approximately 41% of the shire) were affected by fire (predominantly wildfire) in the period 2000–04 (see Table 4), mostly during the 2002–03 fire season. Known fire severity levels ranged from very low to very high, with 22–28 forest vegetation communities affected at each severity level. In the preceding reporting period, only about 3,400 hectares were burnt, mostly as part of fuel reduction programs.
|Fire Severity
|No. of communities
|No. of communities
|Fire very high severity
|Fire high severity
|Fire moderately high severity
|Fire low severity
|Fire very low severity
|Fire severity unknown
Source: see About the data
Other factors such as drought and weed invasion (including the spread of St John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) and the noxious pasture grasses Serrated Tussock (Nassella trichotoma) and African Lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula)), asserted broadscale pressure on vegetation condition within the shire. By 2002–03, 108 Section 18 notices had been issued for Serrated Tussock, African Lovegrass and St John's Wort since the previous reporting period, an increase of 16 notices (McConkey 2003).
General threats to the condition of the three endangered ecological communities with occurrences in the shire include (DEC 2005):
- land degradation and fragmentation of remnants
- grazing and trampling by stock
- weed invasion
- erosion and sedimentation
- soil disturbance caused by feral animals
- harvesting of firewood and collection of on-ground woody debris
- high frequency or high intensity fires
- climate change.
Changes to water tables and surface flows caused by drainage works or altered flows in catchments, are also considered threats to the endangered montane peatlands and swamps (DEC 2005).
Conservation and management
Law and policy
Some national and state laws require recovery plans or action plans to be prepared for endangered ecological communities, and for the presence of such communities to be taken into account during decision-making on developments applications. These laws also aim to minimise the effects of threatening processes on endangered ecological communities or prevent communities from becoming endangered. Laws such as the Native Vegetation Act 2003 (enacted during the current reporting period and replaced the Native Vegetation Conservation Act 1997), also aim to minimise the effects of threatening processes and to protect, conserve and improve the condition of existing native vegetation, particularly at a local and regional level (see government laws and policies.
Snowy River Shire is located within the Murrumbidgee and Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority (CMA) areas established under the NSW Catchment Management Authorities Act 2003. Each CMA is required to work in partnership with Local Government as well as other stakeholders, and must develop and administer a regional vegetation management plan. These plans and the catchment blueprints prepared by the catchment management boards which preceded the CMAs, also support the conservation of native ecosystems. The Murrumbidgee Catchment Blueprint (Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Board 2003) and South East Catchment Blueprint (South East Catchment Management Board 2002), both completed during the current reporting period, include a range of management actions to restore, maintain or conserve biodiversity values in each catchment area. The Murrumbidgee and Southern Rivers CMAs had yet to develop their regional vegetation plans as at June 2004.
Local government legislation, regulations and planning documents such as local environment plans (LEPs) may also provide some protection for ecological communities, or limit or prohibit certain activities that may lead to the further decline of endangered ecological communities.
Conservation reserves
List of conservation areas in Snowy River Shire
Nine national parks, nature reserves and state conservation areas either fall within or intersect Snowy River Shire, and cover approximately 222,800 hectares (37% of the shire).
Eight new conservation reserves totalling about 3,270 hectares were gazetted in the shire during the current reporting period, compared with no new reserves in the previous period (see Table 5). Additions totalling about 10,660 hectares were made to one reserve in the current period compared with no additions to reserves in the previous period. These additions to the reserve network during the current reporting period were outcomes of the Southern Regional Forest Agreement (discussed further in Landuse).
No forest communities which were considered poorly represented within the regional reserve system in 2000 met regional reservation targets by June 2004 due to the above additions to the reserve system. Another three forest communities which were included in the additions to the regional reserve system within the current reporting period were classed as vulnerable.
|Conservation Reserve^
|Gazettal Type#
|No. of significant communities+
|Poorly Reserved
|Binjura NR
|Bobundara NR
|Ironmungy NR
|Kosciuszko NP
|Myalla NR
|Ngadang NR
|Nimmo NR
|Paupong NR
|Wullwye NR
^ NP = National Park; NR = Nature Reserve; # New = new conservation reserves gazetted in the reporting period; Additions = additions to existing conservation reserves within the reporting period; + For definitions of Vulnerable and Poorly Reserved communities, see About the data; Source: NSW Department of Environment and Conservation
Kosciuszko National Park is the only conservation reserve within the shire with a formal plan of management in place; the plan was adopted in November 2000. No fire management plans had been developed for any of the nine reserves in the shire at the time of reporting.
Other conservation management
One privately owned property in Snowy River Shire has a Voluntary Conservation Agreement (VCA) in place, while another two are designated wildlife refuges. The VCA covers 113 hectares and the two wildlife refuges 927 hectares. No information was available on the vegetation communities occurring within the VCA and wildlife refuges, or whether a plan of management or scheme of operation had been developed and/or implemented for them.
Management of grasslands
The Monaro Grasslands Conservation Management Network, established in 2002–03, extends over part of Snowy River Shire. The network aims to promote grassland conservation in the Monaro region (including endangered natural temperate grasslands) across a range of land tenures, such as private, state and local government managed lands. The network has been funded through the NSW Environmental Trust and the Snowy Monaro Biodiversity Conservation Strategy of the Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority. Funds for specific projects were obtained from a range of other sources. Network activities in or relevant to the shire during the reporting period included (Eddy 2005):
- field days to promote plant species identification skills and to discuss grassland management issues such as burning, revegetation and weed control
- establishment of four conservation management agreements over grazed native grassland on private land, in association with the provision of incentive funds for conservation management works.
The Southern Tablelands Grassy Ecosystems Conservation Management Network also covers some of Snowy River Shire, but is currently inactive.
A project to map the Monaro region's native grasslands was undertaken during 2003 as a collaborative effort between the then South East Catchment Management Board and the NSW NPWS. The mapping was also to show areas occupied by open grassy woodland, introduced pastures, crops and weeds (Anon 2003).
Snowy River Shire Council received funding from the WWF (formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund) in 1993 to help conserve a network of 11 grassland sites in council-managed cemeteries and roadside reserves within the shire. This project continued through the current reporting period, with management practices including minimising soil disturbance, spot spraying of weeds (replacing broadacre spraying), revegetation with native species and the development of mowing regimes to enhance seeding of native plants.
Council also initiated a Grassy Ecosystem project that was completed in Autumn 2003. As part of the project, council held training days for roadside weed contractors and staff that covered identification of significant grasslands in roadside vegetation and council reserves, and provided information on minimising the spread of noxious weeds.
Other management
Council was proactive during the reporting period in education and public awareness activities. It held community education days and participated in annual events such as Weedbuster Week.
Since the extensive wildfires in the shire in the 2002–03 fire season (see Pressures on vegetation condition), revegetation work has been carried out in areas including Ingebyra, Moonbah, Gullies Road, Reedy Creek, Paupong, Little Paupong, Numbla Vale, Snowy Plain, Crackenback, Wollondibby, Hilltop, Rocky Plain and Adaminaby (McConkey 2003).
Ten Landcare groups operated in Snowy River Shire. For information on the range of activities occurring there and in the Murrumbidgee and Southern Rivers catchments, see the Landcare NSW website.
Community groups, council and/or other organisations undertook various projects during the reporting period that enhanced the protection of ecological communities in the shire; a selection of these projects is shown in Table 6. The Snowy River Rehabilitation Project included activities such as eradication of Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus) and Willow (Salix spp.) as these weeds have significant impacts on river ecology (McConkey 2003). Other nationally funded activities undertaken during the reporting period in the Murrumbidgee and Southern Rivers CMA areas (DIPNR 2004) may also have enhanced the conservation of ecological communities in the shire.
|Project area
|Source of grant**
|Minnehaha Point, Lake Jindabyne
|Natural Heritage Trust, 2001–02
|Sustainable grazing
|Natural Heritage Trust Envirofund, 2002–03
|Paupong, Numbla Vale
|Land conservation incentive
|Natural Heritage Trust, 2001–02
|Rainbow Beach (Snowy Mountains)
|Natural Heritage Trust, 2000–01
|Rockwell (Dalgety / Numbla Vale)
|Natural Heritage Trust, 2000–01
|Rocky Plains
|Rehabilitation of emergency fire trails
|Natural Heritage Trust Envirofund, 2002–03
|Snowy River
|Rehabilitation of emergency fire trails
|Natural Heritage Trust Envirofund, 2002–03
|Snowy River catchment
|Assessing options for sustainable landuse and trade-offs
|Natural Heritage Trust, 2001–02
|Snowy River corridor
|Remnant vegetation actions
|Natural Heritage Trust, 2000–01
|Snowy-Genoa catchment
|Catchment action plan
|Natural Heritage Trust, 2001–02
|Southern Monaro
|Natural Heritage Trust, 2001–02
|Thredbo Valley
|Rehabilitation of emergency fire trails
|Natural Heritage Trust Envirofund, 2002–03
|Upper Snowy catchment
|Natural Heritage Trust, 2000–01
*For more information about these projects, see the NHT website and the Environmental Trust website; ** Council, community groups and other organisations may have contributed additional funding.
About the data
Forest vegetation communities referred to in this regional State of the Environment report were derived from the Eden and Southern Comprehensive Regional Assessment (CRA) forest ecosystem mapping. This mapping was undertaken in 1998 and 1999 respectively. All calculations are based on the extant and pre-1750 forest ecosystem layers. The extant forest ecosystem layers reflect the extent of these vegetation communities at the time of mapping.
Under the CRA mapping, a Vulnerable vegetation community was defined as one whose areal extent at the time of mapping was approaching 70% loss of its pre-European extent. A vegetation community was defined as Poorly Reserved when less than 15% of its pre-European extent was located in formal conservation reserves across the CRA region. Further information on the 70% clearing threshold and the 15% reservation threshold is provided in JANIS (1997).
The CRA mapping was used for this report because it provided the most current data which covered the entire extent of the majority of local government areas in the Australian Capital Region. However the mapping data have the following limitations:
- some mapped CRA ecosystem types may be inconsistent with vegetation on the ground because the CRA vegetation types were modelled and limited ground truthing was undertaken in some areas
- the vegetation classifications were focussed primarily of forest vegetation types and may poorly reflect non-forest communities
- the vegetation classifications used to describe forest ecosystems were not a widely used system
- the vegetation classification systems used in the Eden and Southern CRAs differ and there may be some duplication of forest types at the borders of these two study areas.
No data were available regarding extant vegetation at 30 June 2004, and hence it was not possible to determine changes in the extent of forest communities within the shire during the current reporting period.
Vegetation change was mapped by Agrecon in 2005 for the 1997–2000 and 2000–04 reporting periods using Landsat analysis. This mapping is at a coarse scale and may not have identified small changes in vegetation extent.
Fire severity mapping, prescribed burn and wildfire polygon data were provided by DEC South Branch. This data shows only those fires which occurred on or passed over DEC-managed conservation reserves. No data were available from Forests NSW regarding control burns undertaken by this department, nor wildfire data for fires which occurred on their estate. The Rural Fire Service provided polygon data for Section 44 fires; these are generally fires which cross more than one land tenure and are usually major wildfires. Fire severity categories used in this report were derived from the fire severity mapping undertaken by DEC for the January 2003 fires. Prescribed burns were attributed a very low fire severity and other wildfires were attributed with severity unknown. These severity classes were chosen as prescribed burns are generally thought to be undertaken so as to minimise the long-term impact on native vegetation, whereas wildfires may be of vary severities. Where areas were subject to control burns, and then burnt again by a subsequent wildfire during a reporting period, these areas are shown as fire severity unknown.
NSW National Parks estate data was provided by the DEC, South Branch. DEC also provided information on the number of voluntary conservation agreements (VCAs) and wildlife refuges. It was not possible to determine vegetation communities within these areas due to privacy concerns regarding location.
Threats to endangered ecological communities were provided by DEC, Threatened Species Unit, South Branch as an extract from its Property Vegetation Planning Database. The information contained in this database is available on the internet (DEC 2005), however the website is still being developed. The underlying data is being refined, additional utilities will be added and a number of known bugs resolved before the site is officially launched.
For further information regarding changes in landuse that could impact on condition and extent of ecological communities, see Landuse.
Anon (2003) Southern Tablelands Grassy Ecosystems Conservation Management Network, The Austral Bugle Volume 1, Issue 2, Autumn 2003.
DEC—see Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW)
DEH—see Department of Environment and Heritage (Commonwealth)
Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW) (2004a) NSW Scientific Committee—Final Determination, Montane peatlands and swamps of the New England Tableland, NSW North Coast, Sydney Basin, South East Corner, South Eastern Highlands and Australian Alps bioregions—endangered ecological community listing, NSW Department of Environment and Conservation, viewed 24 June 2005, http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/npws.nsf/Content/montane_peatlands_endangered.
Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW) (2004b) NSW Scientific Committee—Final Determination, White Box Yellow Box Blakely's Red Gum woodland—endangered ecological community listing, NSW Department of Environment and Conservation, viewed 24 June 2005, http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/npws.nsf/Content/Box-gum +woodland+endangered+ecological+community+listing.
Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW) (2005) Threatened Species, Populations and Ecological Communities of NSW Catchments, viewed 23 June 2005, http://www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au/index.aspx.
Department of Environment and Heritage (Commonwealth) (2005a) Species Profile and Threats Database, viewed 5 August 2005, http://www.deh.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/sprat.pl.
Department of Environment and Heritage (Commonwealth) (2005b) Australian Wetlands Database, Department of Environment and Heritage, viewed 4 July 2005, http://www.deh.gov.au/cgi-bin/wetlands/search.pl?smode=BOTH.
Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources (NSW) (2004) 2003/04 Combined NSW Catchment Management Authorities Annual Report, Volume 1: CMA Activities and Achievements, Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources, Sydney.
DIPNR—see Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources (NSW)
Dovey, L (1984) The Snowy River Shire Conservation Study; vol. 1: summary and recommendations; vol. 2: environmental description and evaluation; vol. 3: appendices, National Parks and Wildlife Service, South-eastern Region.
Eddy, D (2005) Coordinator, Monaro Grassland Conservation Management Network, personal communication.
JANIS—see Joint ANZECC/MCFFA National Forest Policy Statement Implementation Sub-committee
Joint ANZECC/MCFFA National Forest Policy Statement Implementation Sub-committee (1997) Nationally Agreed Criteria for the Establishment of a Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative Reserve System for Forests in Australia, Joint ANZECC/MCFFA National Forest Policy Statement Implementation Sub-committee, Commonwealth of Australia.
McConkey, G. (2003) State of the Environment, Supplementary (Annual) report on the State of the Environment within the Snowy River Shire. Snowy River Shire Council, 2002-2003, Snowy River Shire Council, Berridale.
Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Board (2003) Murrumbidgee Catchment Blueprint, NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation, Sydney, viewed 5 August 2005, http://www.dlwc.nsw.gov.au/care/cmb/blueprints/pdf/murrumbidgee_blueprint.pdf.
Rehwinkel, R (2005) Threatened Species Officer, Department of Environment and Conservation, Queanbeyan, personal communication.
Sattler, P and Creighton, C (eds) (2002) Australian Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment 2002, National Land and Water Resources Audit on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia, Chapter 4: Threatened Ecosystems and Species, viewed 4 August 2005, http://audit.deh.gov.au/ANRA/vegetation/docs/biodiversity/bio_assess_threat.cfm.
South East Catchment Management Board (2002) South East Catchment Blueprint – An Integrated Catchment Management Plan for the South East Catchment 2002, NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation, Sydney, viewed 5 August 2005 http://www.dlwc.nsw.gov.au/care/cmb/blueprints/pdf/south_east_blueprint.pdf.


text:
- Discover
- Used Books
- Staff Picks
- Gifts & Gift Cards
- Sell Books
- Stores & Events
- Let's Talk Books
Special Offers see all
More at Powell's
Recently Viewed clear list
Other titles in the Bantam Spectra Book series:
Springwar (Bantam Spectra Book)by Tom Deitz
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
From the author of Bloodwinter comes the continuation of that epic tale, as two rival kingdoms clash while heroes, heroines, and rogues on both sides — and no side — vie for control of a world-altering magic more powerful than anyone's wildest imaginings.
As the realm of Eron sits frozen in the grip of winter, two men struggle through the snow-clogged Wild toward the citadel of their king: the arrogant goldsmith Eddyn, haunted by his past crimes, and his bitter rival, Avall, anxious to increase the power of his clan. Each man brings news of a magical gem discovered in the northern mines.
Meanwhile, Avall's twin sister, Merryn, and her lover, exiled prince Kraxxi, have been captured by Kraxxi's outraged father. As Ixti's king readies his first assault in a devastating war against an unsuspecting Eron, he will force Merryn and Kraxxi to terrible betrayals that will bring Eron's fall ever nearer.
As the armies of Ixti crash across the border, Avall and Eddyn must seek their destinies. For each knows the power of the magical gem and can use it for unbelievable good — or unimaginable evil.
From the author of Bloodwinter comes this epic tale of the clash of two rival kingdoms, as heroes, heroines, and rogues on both sides — and no side — vie for control of a world-altering magic....<P>As the realm of Eron sits frozen in winter's grip, two men dare the frigid forests of the Wild to reach the citadel of their king: arrogant Eddyn, haunted by his past crimes, and his bitter rival, Avall. But they cannot know that Avall's sister, Merryn, has betrayed her homeland, and that the Ixtian army is massing on the border, primed to strike an unsuspecting Eron. Yet in the hands of Avall and Eddyn rests knowledge that could alter the balance of power forever...in the service of unbelievable good — or unimaginable evil.
About the Author
"Deitz's unusual setting and strong, magnetic characters bode well for this new series, where loyalty seems to be as dangerous a character flaw as raw ambition."
-- Publishers Weekly
What Our Readers Are Saying
Be the first to add a comment for a chance to win!
Product Details
Other books you might like
Related Subjects
Fiction and Poetry » Science Fiction and Fantasy » A to Z

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Upon awakening, they took a multiple-choice test of Chinese words they'd never seen before. The nappers did much better at automatically learning that the first of the two-pair characters in the words they'd memorized earlier always meant the same thing—female, for example. So they also were more likely than non-nappers to choose that a new word containing that character meant "princess" and not "ape."Add this latest study fuel to the fire of our unabashed pro-nap agenda; and while you're here see our top 10 ways to sleep smarter and better. Photo by Tina Keller.
Nap without guilt: It boosts sophisticated memory [Physorg.com]


text:
Opening times of Norwich Choi Kwang Do
Choi Kwang Do is one of the most modern martial arts designed to be practical Self Defence for today's society, We use explosive power in our strikes and kicks gained from good technique Which is not only easy to learn but also accessible to everyone. Choi Kwang Do is not just about Self Defense, its a way of life, helping you feel better, improving strength, skills and stamina. The bi-lateral movements within choi also stimulates the mind rebuilding neural pathways to help focus and concentrate.
Share your experience!


text:
About Rob
This is the main technology blog written and maintained by Australian IT consultant, Rob Sanders.
Rob is a proven IT professional with more than 16 years of real-world experience across a diverse cross-section of technical and business environments.
Of these sixteen years, eight have been served in a consultancy capacity, three as a project manager, nine years as an architect and fifteen years in professional software engineering and architecture.
Rob has demonstrated his leadership and management abilities over the past decade, leading teams that have in some cases spanned the globe. He has been involved at all stages of the Software Development Lifecycle, with a particular focus on analysis and delivery.
Rob has worked with several large enterprises such as Microsoft (Microsoft Consulting Services – Solutions Development Centre, via Readify) and Visa, as well as many well known businesses in Australia including Optus Telecommunications, Woolworths, Ticketek and the Queensland Government (Child Services and Youth Justice) to name but a few.
Recently engaged at the Office of the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) in Canberra, Rob currently resides in the ACT, Australia where he is a Principal Consultant for Australian IT consultancy firm RXP Services.
Although much of Rob's technical expertise is Microsoft focused, he is considered an "all rounder" with hands-on professional experience in software design and architecture, software development lifecycle (and application lifecycle management), Agile development, designing network architecture, technical training and presentations, architecture analysis and client management.
Rob has previously lived in Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane (Australia) and also in Vancouver (Canada) and more recently in HangZhou (China).
Rob has been publishing technical articles online since February, 2005.
In 2012, Rob joined the MVB team at DZone.com. To read more about Rob, please review his StackOverflow CV. or LinkedIn Profile.
Get in touch: firstname.lastname@example.com
4 Responses to "About Rob"
Hi Rob,
I enjoyed reading your article on the TFS preview, and was amazed to hear that MS has finally set something up on Azure! I myself have been struggling with the setup internally at my office from both a time perspective and a detail perspective (I'm simply too busy with client projects to give the setup the attention it needs right now) and have been searching for a quality online vendor.
If you have any invites left for the preview, or know where I can get one, I'd greatly appreciate your help. If not, looks like I'll buckle down one of these nights and redo my setup!
Keith O'Shea
Ionia Corp
Hi Rob!
Could you send me the invitation code for tfspreview?
Best regards,
Lucas Bartos
Hey Rob, I noticed your post about our article on the shortcomings of WP7 and wanted to thank you for the clarification of that point. Also, we have some cool programs just getting started and I'd like to show them to you. Send me an email and I can go into more detail. Cheers!


text:
- Advertisement -
The Buckman Art Show & Sell
Features:Price: Fri $5 <br /> Sat $2 suggested donation
The Buckman Art Show & Sell is in its 23rd year, showing and selling art from over 140 Pacific Northwest artists and craftspersons. The show features paintings, ceramics, sculptures, photography, jewelry, and textiles as well as a hands-on children's art area and live music, and food carts. All artists will donate a percentage of their proceeds to the the Buckman Arts Focus Elementary School.
Phone: 503-936-2197
Website: buckmanartshow.weeb...
Event Categories: Charity Events
February 1, 2013 from 5pm to 9pm
February 2, 2013 from 10am to 5pmShow more...
320 SE 16th Ave
Portland , OR
Portland , OR
Phone: 503-916-6230
Website: pps.k12.or.us/schoo...
- Where Do Portland's Best Chefs Eat on their Own Time?
- Top Things to Do This Weekend: Oct 23–25
- Portland's Best Breakfast Spots
- Checking in with Portland's Tiny House Hotel
- Three Reasons To Try Café Castagna's New Middle East Brunch
- Portland's Best Breakfasts
- The Ultimate Guide to Portland's Teahouses
- Q&A: Getting R-Rated with SNL's Norm MacDonald
- Advertisement -


text:
Waxman-Markey tomorrow!
Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 09:35 PM
On Tuesday, Repower America gave me a call from my cell phone. After bidding my parents a hasty farewell from dinner, I listened to former vice president Al Gore speak about the Waxman-Markey bill going on the House floor tomorrow. He spoke of the purpose of the bill: to lay in the groundwork for the steps we as a nation need to take to save our world. He also thanked everyone on the call (tens of thousands of Americans) for their efforts in environmental advocacy.
Gore went on to discuss some of the estimates concerning the new bill. The Waxman-Markey bill will cost the average American a postage stamp each day. In conjunction with Obama's stimulus package, the bill will provide 1.7 million jobs for Americans. In reference to the challenges the bill might face, while on the House floor, he spoke of the oil companies and their agendas with twisted numbers, and the spread of misinformation. Gore spoke of the strengths the bill has; "We have a strong ally: Reality."
With a hint of finality, Gore expressed hopes toward the
U.S. bringing something to the table, having made some changes, during the negotiations in . Gore encouraged us to send a message to our representatives, implying that legislators are scared to take a step forward and need a push from their constituents to show that there is popular support for this initiative. Copenhagen
I left a message, an awkward unplanned thing, filled with "umm"s and "uuh"s and maybe an implication that I'm a voter...
My own little faux pas aside, I'd like to encourage you all to leave a message with your legislators about this as well. Perhaps I haven't given due time for this, and I apologize.
The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.


text:
0 notes &
Local Eats Challenge Potluck
I had a wonderful time this past Saturday at the Kamloops Public Produce Project Potluck (say that 5 times quickly!), held at noon in this community group's downtown garden at 121 Victoria Street.
Naming the winners seems secondary to the passion for sustainable and freely available food demonstrated by this group. There were many laughs and I was fed very well (even was urged to go for thirds! I never say no.) Without further ado, here are the prize-winners, as judged by master gardener Elaine Sedgman:
1st Place for Berrysweet Beancakes with Peach Ketchup went to Erin Edwards
2nd Place for Vegetable Celebration Stew went to Ann-Marie Hunter
3rd Place for Applesauce went to Patrick (argh, why didn't I get the name spelling!) Trunson (?)
I tried all the dishes and each had a bright quality not present in food shipped from far away. I judge this potluck on my top-five best potlucks attended by yours truly.
The Kamloops Public Produce Project has gardens at 121 Victoria Street and at McDonald Park. The produce in these gardens are free to the public! For more info on their projects visit http://publicproduceproject.blogspot.ca/ or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kamloops-Public-Produce-Project/148674125190580
Photos above:
i My potluck plate with all dishes present (there were no disposables at this meal - all glass and metal utensils provided by the Project peeps!)
ii Elaine Sedgman, master gardener and potluck judge
iii Berrysweet Beancakes with Peach Ketchup
iv Vegetable Celebration Stew
v Applesauce
vi Lemon-Garlic Rainbow Chard
vii Bean Cucumber Tomato Salad


text:
One of the best lines in the show.
too good not to reblog.
I thought it was a restroom for Daleks …
It took longer then it should to realize its a shower
44 Years Ago Today
44 years later and I'm still amazed by the accomplishments made by a few determined humans.


text:
Build a barn door in a day with reclaimed materials.
A one-of-a-kind desk can be built in about 8 hours.
The frame can be modified to fit your mattress.
Interior doors become a custom headboard.
Put spare building materials to good use.
Gather antique materials to craft this table.
Enjoy this DIY outdoor space year round.
This weekend project costs little to no money.
Build a table from gutters and reclaimed wood.
A butcher block drop is routed and finished.
Prepare soil and support with a stone wall.
Tour the home via this Flash-based floor plan.
Don't have Flash? Explore spaces via beautiful sideshows.Visit Photo Gallery Central
Tool expert Chris Grundy highlights the transformation from beginning to end.
Licensed contractor Jason Cameron turns once-hated rooms into dream spaces.
Interior designer Alison Victoria surprises shoppers and creates fabulous new kitchens.
Licensed contractor Matt Muenster shares amazing bathroom design tips.
Interior designer Anitra Mecadon creates over-the-top rec-room sanctuaries.
Professional landscaper Chris Lambton transforms neglected backyards into party pads.
Licensed contractors Jake and Joel Moss transform backyards in 48 hours.


text:
Birdwatching holidays in Uganda appear to be attracting growing numbers of visitors to the scenic African country.
There is now an annual event, known as The Big Birding Day, when people can enjoy free park access to catch sight of a few of the country's impressive 1,000 bird species.
Uganda is home to a rich array of birdwatching sites, including Bwindi Forest which was named earlier this year by the Africa Bird Club as the best birding site in Africa.
For visitors interspersing trekking holidays across Africa with a spot of birdwatching, another top choice in Uganda is Queen Elizabeth National Park, home to more than 600 species.
But these are just a couple of the stunning areas rich in birdwatching possibilities, with Nature Uganda and Birdlife International having mapped out 34 sites across the country as key birding areas.
Some of those sites come within protected areas where park fees play an important role in maintaining the sites, but others are freely accessible - meaning birdwatching is an activity that is open to all.
The Uganda Tourist Board is set to focus on birdwatching as one of its key areas in 2013 to help promote the country's wide range of natural resources.
Anyone who has already enjoyed specialist tours or family holidays in Uganda will be aware the country is already well known as the largest primate destination in the world as well as being home to a growing selection of adventure holiday attractions.
|< Newer
|Older >
Kicking off in the powerhouse of the Ottoman empire, discover exciting Istanbul, embrace Gallipoli, impressive Roman the...See full tour itinerary


text:
Carrie Brown, Ph.D., in conjunction with the Vermont Humanities Council, will present her research on how the North provided two million soldiers with weapons in a short period of time from manufacturers in Windsor, Vt. and how the technology shaped American life after the war.
The lecture will be held at the Bley House Museum located at the corner of Kent Hill Road and Route 30 in Dorset. It is free and open to the public. Visitors are invited to bring a sandwich to the lecture. Dessert and refreshments will be provided.
For further information, call the Dorset Historical Society at (802) 867-0331.


text:
Social Network Analysis
There has always been an implicit link between social network analysis and human geography. For example, proximity is a strong basis for individuals forming relations, with most relations weakening with distance. Social network analysis examines the structure of the relations connecting nodes (e.g., people, organizations, topics, events). Many of the earliest studies looked at networks of people connected by relationships such as kinship, mentoring, and works-with. These networks are represented as graphs (e.g., Figure), and matrix algebra or nonparametric network statistics are often used to assess these networks; to identify key nodes, critical dyads, and groups; and to compare and contrast networks (Wasserman and Faust, 1994). Social network analysis is a key methodology in the human geography toolkit.
Evolution. Social network analysis emerged prior to World War II, with early advances in frelds such as anthropology, sociology, and communications (Freeman, 2006). The past 10 years have seen a movement to broaden the field of social networks. Changes rnclude the transition from graph-theory-based metrics to a combination of graph-based and statistical measures, the expansion from small networks to very large-scale networks, the increased attention to communication and social media data, and the shift to geotemporal networks. This broader field is often referred to as dynamic network analysis and it is characterized as the study of the structure and evolution of complex sociotechnical systems through the assessment of weighted multimode, multilink, multilevel dynamic networks that are geo-embedded The field is supported by the quarterly journal Social Networks, the online journal of Social Structure, and an increasing number of specialty journals such as Social Network Analysis and Mining
Knowledge and Skills. The study of social networks is integral to fields such as statistics, sociology, organizational science, communication, computer science, and forensic science. However, the ubiquity of networks, the value of graphs as a representation, and the strength of structural thinking has increased the interest in networks in almost every scientific discipline. For example, network analysis has been used in sociology to study social and communications networks (Wasserman and Faust, 1994), in biology to study animal behavior (e.g., Krause et al., 2007), and in geography, civil engineering, ecology, and other disciplines to extend graphs to real or abstract space (Haggett and Chorley, 1969; Urban and Keitt, 2001; Adams et al., 2012). This increased interest has led to a proliferation of theories about how these networks form, evolve, and affect behavior. It has also led to new methods, such as dynamic networks techniques for sets of networks through time, and meta-network metrics for multimode, multilink data. Statistical approaches for assessing dynamics, information loss, and error provide the foundation for social network analysis. Social science approaches are used to study the dynamics within social networks (e.g., recrprocity, social influence, power) and the social, institutional, and historical contexts in which network ties are formed and broken.
Education and Professional Preparation Programs. Classes in social networks are taught in a number of U.S. universities, usually at the doctorate level. However, undergraduate textbooks and courses are starting to appear. Universities with multiple courses in this area include Carnegie Mellon University, University of Kentucky, Northeastern University, Northwestern University, Harvard, Stanford, Indiana University, and the University of California, Irvine. Courses are taught primarily in business and sociology departments, but also in anthropology, communication, management, organizational behavior, organizational theory, strategy, public policy, statistics, information science, and computer science departments. Network analysis in the geometric sense is taught in geography, mathematics, transportation science, computer engineering, and operations research programs.
Continuing education programs provide a primary venue for training in this area. For example, didactic seminars are conducted at the main social networks conference (the International Network for Social Network Analysis) for 2 days prior to the conference. Half-day and full-day training programs are often offered at management science, organization theory, sociology, and anthropology conferences. In addition, there are numerous multiday or week-long training programs, including the CASOS Summer Institute, the Lipari summer school, and the East Carolina University program for marine biologists.
• by facilitating search;
• by enhancing pattern recognition, often by restructuring relations within data;
• by supporting perceptual inference of structures and patterns that are otherwise invisible;
• by improving the ability to monitor large numbers of sensors and events; and
• by providing methods that support exploration and discovery.
Methods in visual analytics are based on principles drawn from cognitive engineering, design, and perceptual psychology (Scholtz et al., 2009). These methods provide a means to build systems for threat analysis, prevention, and response. Visual analytics therefore


text:
Why is my Quaker parrot losing feathers?
Category: Health
Question by tranixter: Why is my Quaker parrot losing feathers?
I have a 6 month old Quaker parrot and I noticed in the past week that she is starting to loose a few feathers. On her back she looks just spit bathed, but on her chest she has a small bald spot and all few feathers seem loose (if you will) they are all ruffled up. Why is this?
is it
her being sick (she does not have diarrhea)
a cold
what is it,
thanks for you help
She is not acting any different than before, but she does seem a little clumsy.
She is a month off of the normal molting schedule, but it is her first molt so im sure it is okay right?
Best answer:
Answer by I love Thomas P.
Well I've heard that parrots molt. I think she's molting her feathers to grow new, fresh, clean, gorgeous feathers!
Add your own answer in the comments!
3 Responses to "Why is my Quaker parrot losing feathers?"
sometimes when birds get stressed they lose their feathers or they pull them out. Try to find out if anything is bothering it.
All bird molt but usually bald spots don't show I tend to think it stress. Does she have something to chew on to take away her stress? Get toys for her cage she can chew and destroy. Check her environment and make sure sure there hasn't been a change in the room. It could be she doesn't recognize people with coats or hats on. It bothers her. YOu have to look at the room from the perspective of a bird. Then see if anything might look threatening.
The best thing yo do is take it to the vet. everybody can tell you what they think ,But will it help your bird take it to the vet.
Feel free to leave a comment...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
You must be logged in to post a comment.


text: Heart Rock - This is an easy trail near Crestline, CA. You park in Camp Seeley in a small dirt parking lot. This trail is short and along a creek with some small water falls and 10-15 foot water fall near Heart Rock (POI 1). Some of the small water falls could be used as natural water slides.


text:
What A Wonderful Man Lyrics - My Morning Jacket
He Was Leading Us Thru The Dark. He Was Sayin That "Love Goes On."
I Was Wanting Some "Ice Cream." He Knew Exactly What I Meant.
From The Driver's Seat In The Dark. He Popped A Tape In The Dash Of His Car.
And When The Singer Started To Scream. I Knew Exactly What He Meant.
I Never Knew For Sure - What A Wonderful Man He Was.
What A Sensible Man He Was. What A Marvelous Man He Was.
Why Do We Love What Is Wrong? Big Devil Told Us To Sing Along.
And Like A Loving Flock We Obey - Except 4 Him - He Went His Own Way.
I Never Knew For Sure - What A Wonderful Man He Was.
Till The Day I Found Out His Cause - Was To Do It For All Of Us.
Click here to submit the Corrections of What A Wonderful Man Lyrics
The following area is only for review, if you want to submit the lyrics or the corrections of the lyrics, please click the link at the end of What A Wonderful Man Lyrics.


text:
Get It DunnBy · Comments
The date is August 10th, 2004, and the Dodgers' Jose Lima finishes his warmup tosses prior to the bottom of the fourth in Cincinatti's Great American Ballpark. Adam Dunn steps to the plate to leadoff the inning, having popped out to second to end a nine pitch battle in his first at-bat. The first pitch is a called strike, and Dunn fouls off the second for a quick 0-2 count. Lima Time tries to get Dunn flailing at something off the plate for the K, but The Big Donkey takes three straight balls to the work the count back full. Dunn fouls off the sixth pitch of the at-bat, then the seventh.
It's just his second trip to the plate in the game, but Dunn has already coaxed sixteen pitches out of Lima; the rest of the Reds have seen just thirty pitches combined in their eleven plate appearances. Lima delivers the eighth pitch of the at-bat and Dunn connects, sending the ball deep to centerfield. It's not a question of if he hit it out, but by how much. The ball clears the bleachers and takes a bounce off Mehring Way beyond the stadium walls. It lands on a piece of driftwood in the Ohio River, which eventually comes to a rest in nearby Newport, Kentucky.
The official measure on the homer is a monstrous 535 feet, and because of the way the Ohio-Kentucky border was defined by the low water mark of the river back in 1793, it is also believed to be the first (and only) homerun in Major League history to cross a state line in flight. Now that is freaking cool.
The Diamondbacks, who have already laid off thirty one front office employees this offseason, declined to offer Dunn arbitration before Monday's line, meaning that the Type-A free agent will not cost a draft pick to sign. I think you know where I'm going with this.
Everything about Adam Dunn is big. He's physically huge (listed a 6'6″, 275 lbs, and I'm willing to bet it's muscle, not fat) and was a tremendous football prospect in high school, signing on to play quarterback at Texas before deciding to focus on baseball full time. He's got tremendous power, racks up huge walks totals and even huger strikeout totals. Since his first full season in 2002 only three players have hit more homers (A-Rod, Pujols, Thome) and no one has drawn more walks (non-Barry division). At the same time, however, he's also struck out nearly two hundred times more than any other player in the game. The man is not without his faults, but the positives outweigh the negatives.
Traditionalists point to his low batting averages (.246 career BA) and aforementioned strikeout totals as evidence of him being an unproductive player, but those of us unafraid of funny acronyms and spreadsheets point to his sky high wOBA (.383 career), EqA (.301) and VORP (37.4) and say "hey, this dude is a really good player." He's Joe Morgan's dream player because he's extremely consistent, smacking 40 homers on the nose in each of the last four seasons, and posting OBP's of .388, .387, .386 and .386 in four of the last five years. Stick him in the Yankee lineup with the short porch in right, and those numbers might jump to 50 & .410. Dunn has seen 4.24 P/PA in his career, more than Jason Giambi (4.12) and just barely less than Bobby Abreu (4.27), and he's also nice and clutchy (2.81 avg WPA over the last five years).
He sucks defensively out in left field, posting revised zone ratings of .899, .826 and .878 over the last three seasons. Dunn has some experience at first, but he's bad there as well and hurts the team less by hiding out in a corner outfield spot. The Yanks have the option of starting Johnny Damon in centerfield, then sliding him over to left late in the game for defense with Melky/Gardner taking over up the middle. Dunn's a better athlete than you may think, but his arm will make you wonder how he was ever recruited to play QB for the Longhorns.
Dunn's name hasn't even been whispered this offseason, with Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez rightfully hogging the position player headlines. Given the holes in the lineup created by the departures of Giambi and Abreu, as well as the complete lack of outfielders under contract beyond 2009, it would behoove the Yanks to look into bringing The Big Donkey aboard. His skill set is undervalued, and while he'll still command an eight-figure annual salary (he made $13M last year), he's a significantly cheaper but only marginally inferior option to Teixeira. Obviously short term contracts are ideal, but a three year deal for the now 29 yr old Dunn wouldn't be absurd. PECOTA has a favorable 50 percentile projection, so even a guaranteed fourth year wouldn't be the end of the world. And think, he won't even cost a draft pick!
Sports' most recognized brand
Via The Biz of Baseball comes a short story sure to warm the heart of any Yankee fan. According to a recent sports branding study, the Yankees are the most popular out-of-market team in the U.S. They lead a pack of high-profile sports franchises atop the Packers, Red Sox, Cowboys and Lakers. This popularity certainly is just another sign that MLB needs the Yanks and that fans love to watch the team they love to hate. · (42) ·
Baseball isn't so recession-proof after all.
Until about an hour ago, no one really knew how the American economic slump would impact baseball. Now that the arbitration decisions are in, it's clear that teams are being far more cautious than usual and that the free agent market for lesser players may not be as robust as those free agents had hoped.
To me, three players and their teams' respective decisions highlight this economic issue. Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell and Adam Dunn were not offered arbitration by, respectively, the Yankees, Phillies and Diamondbacks. In all three cases, the teams are not actively looking to retain their former players, and in any other year, these three players would have been offered arbitration. This year, though, the specter of an arbitration acceptance looms large.
Leaving aside Bobby Abreu for now — because we'll get to him later today — the most glaring example is Pat Burrell. I don't think the Phillies expect to re-sign Burrell, and entering the off-season, Burrell didn't expect to re-sign with the Phillies. As the economy has tanked, though, mid-30s outfielders who aren't Manny Ramirez must not be in high demand.
If the Phillies, Diamondbacks and Yankees all declined to offer arbitration to these players, the teams' GMs must feel that there is a better-than-usual chance these players would accept binding arbitration. Either the market for corner outfielders isn't there or it is not as strong as these players would hope. After all, it would behoove these three, expecting large contracts, to ride out the economic tide for one more year while playing at a salary equal to or exceeding their 2008 total.
So Brian Cashman said no. Ruben Amaro, Jr. said no. Josh Byrnes said no. It makes sense on the one hand, and it doesn't on the other.
Of course, now, these three players are slightly more attractive targets and more so Dunn than the other two. Teams who sign them won't have to surrender money and draft picks, and the three of them are now at the whim of market forces. Those forces, by the way, as the Cubs' decision not to offer arbitration to Kerry Wood shows, don't figure to be too strong. Teams just can't run the risk of saddling themselves with last year's merchandise and last year's price in this year's economy.
In the end, this won't impact the deals that Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and Manny Ramirez get. Those guys have tens of millions of reasons to feel good, and the players at the top will get their deals. But everyone below them must looking at the arbitration carnage tonight in fear. Now we know, at least, why the Hot Stove has been so cool lately.
Manny happy returns
As I expected, the Yanks' decision to decline arbitration has fired up the Manny-to-the-Bronx rumors with Jon Heyman leading the charge. I'll have more on this tomorrow — law-school work permitting — when I get around to delving into the Abreu decision, but I'm not at all surprised to see Heyman's pursuing this line of reasoning right now. · (97) ·
Open Thread: Who gets the Hall call?By · Comments
As Yankee fans grapple with the arbitration decision, another list of sorts hit the wire today as the voters received their Hall of Fame ballots. Nothing, as we've seen, boils the blood quite like a good Hall of Fame discussion.
Now, this year's ballots are notable for a few reasons. First, it's the smallest ballot in recent history with just 23 names on it. Additionally, of those listed, I believe that only Rickey Henderson should be elected. Mostly, the folks on the ballot are retreads. They've all been denied entry in the past but due to the Hall of Fame's rules, they get a second, third or even tenth crack at the Hall.
Finally, this year is significant because of the presence of Jim Rice. In New England, most people think that Rice should be in the Hall of Fame. Elsewhere, most baseball fans don't seem him as deserving. The arguments are out there for all to read. This is Rice's last year of eligibility, and his showing last year — 72.2 percent — fell just 2.8 percentage points short of election.
My question to those who vote for Rice though is this: What has he done in the 14 years that he's been on the ballot that earns him a spot in Cooperstown this year that he hadn't accomplished when he retired? I'm almost tempted to say that eligiblity isn't restrictive enough. If Rice wasn't a Hall of Famer for the last 14 seasons, he shouldn't be one this year just because no one else outside of Rickey is good enough to make the Hall.
Anyway, for our open thread tonight, let's run the ballot. The names of those are below. Who would you pick for the Hall of Fame? I'd go with Rickey Henderson and only Rickey Henderson.
2009 Hall of Fame Ballot: Harold Baines, Jay Bell, Bert Blyleven, David Cone, Andre Dawson, Ron Gant, Mark Grace, Rickey Henderson, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Mark McGwire, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Jesse Orosco, Dave Parker, Dan Plesac, Tim Raines, Jim Rice, Lee Smith, Alan Trammell, Greg Vaughn, Mo Vaughn, Matt Williams
Yanks decline to offer arbitrationBy · Comments
To anyone. Seriously. They won't be getting any compensation draft picks for Bobby Abreu, Andy Pettitte, and/or Pudge Rodriguez. PeteAbe says it came down to economics. The Yanks can not loose the comp picks they received for not signing Gerrit Cole and Scott Bittle, so at worst they'll have two of the top 76 picks after signing some free agents.
Update by Joe: Having paid close attention to the Hot Stove, I've noticed a lack of mentions for Bobby Abreu. When I did hear his name, it appeared that most teams preferred Raul Ibanez to him. So the Yankees fears that he'd accept arbitration seem reasonable. They clearly do not want him on the roster next year at $16 million, and by offering him arbitration they'd give him a clear window. Same with Pettitte. They don't want to pay him $16 million next year. That's what this all comes down to.
Criticize as you will.
Update again: Bryan Hoch has the transcription of Cashman's explanation:
"We certainly have been going through this process for quite some time. First and foremost, unlike in past years, we're not in a position not to be able to sign these players as we move forward. That's the most important thing. In the past and in the previous basic agreements, you were in a position that if you didn't offer, you lose the ability to sign.
"Today's date really has everything to do with the compensation attached to various players, if they had some. Bobby was a Type A and Andy was a Type A, so the determination that we made today was to make sure that we control what amount we'd be spending, at least in the event that we're fortunate enough to bring those players back.
"We did not want to put ourselves in the position of having that determined by a third party without knowing what that figure would be. The arbitration time period falls in early February, so obviously as we attempt to put this team together, in Andy's case and in Bobby's case, they made $16 million a year. It's been tough in the past to try and deviate from previous years' earnings in an arbitration setting.
"We just wanted to control the cost that we would allocate for every position on the club by offering them arbitration, even though we wanted Draft picks if we lost anybody. By offering arbitration, we would lose our ability to at least determine a final cost. By doing so, we chose to go a different direction, not offer the arbitration, and we'll still stay engaged with the entire free agent market including those two players."
A November to rememberBy · Comments
Allow me to take time out of this busy, busy Hot Stove Day — something happened! Mike Hampton signed with the Astros! — to thank everyone who stopped by RAB last month. While the news, outside of a Nick Swisher trade, was slow, we had more unique visitors and more page views than any other month in this site's 22-month history. We had over 281,000 visitors and 444,000 page views, and we just want to thank everyone for stopping by and contributing every day.
Over the next few days and weeks, we'll have some announcements about some upcoming plans and a new t-shirt design as well as Hot Stove coverage as it happens when it happens. Don't go away. And as always, you can find us on Facebook and Twitter as well.
RAB Live ChatBy · Comments
Hughes ready for '09
Phil Hughes had a terribly disappointing 2008. There's really no way around that fact. The subject of numerous true and untrue Johan Santana rumors, the Yanks expected big things out of the 22-year-old in 2008, but injuries derailed his season. He flashed some signs of life at the end of the year and had a generally stellar showing in the Arizona Fall League. To that end, Hughes is ready for 2009, as he told Mark Feinsand today. We lose sight of the fact that Hughes is still young, but there is no reason he won't be a good Major League starter. While critics may say, "Fool me twice" and warn about over-hyping Hughes again, I'm expected big things from the right-hander next year. · (43) ·
BA's Top 20 Hawaii Winter Baseball Prospects
Baseball America released their top 20 prospects list for Hawaii Winter Baseball today, and two Yanks' farmhands made the cut: Andrew Brackman at #2, and Jeremy Bleich at #8. Brackman was behind Giants' first rounder Buster Posey, while he & Bleich were two of just three pitchers in the top 13. Austin Romine and Damon Sublett didn't make the cut. (h/t Reggie C. for the heads up) · (12) ·


text:
|14 Jan 2010
Windows 7
A strange bug with Windows 7 and excel 2007
Check it out,
If you password protect an excel file and have the preview option in the windows explorer switched on. Then if you try to open the file it will ask for the password, open the file in the preview pane but not in the excel window itself.
Any solutions?
|My System Specs
|16 Jan 2010
Win 7 Pro x64, VM Win XP, Win7 Pro Sandbox, Kubuntu 11
Wish I could help you, albeit I am testing 2010 at present, and running 2003 as my primary office suite. What you could do is attempt to go to the Microsoft Office Forums on Microsoft's forums. Or hold on for a little while longer and hopefully someone on the Seven Forums will have the answer.
BTW, Welcome to the Seven Forums.
|My System Specs
|17 Jan 2010
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit
I don't really think that's a bug per se. What is happening is that when you click or otherwise select (eg single click to select) a password-protected file, Windows 7's preview handler is requesting password access to display the content of the file in the preview window, not in the native app itself. Thus when you provide the password, Windows will preview the file in the preview pane, and will not open it in the native app.
However, if you double-click (or by other method explicitly invoke the file to open in the native app), it will open as such; in this case a password-protected file will open as normal in Excel.
This behaviour should not be exclusive to Excel: it should occur whenever any password-protected file of any type is selected for preview, since this is the default behaviour of the preview handler in Windows 7.
I believe the OP may have noticed it in Excel files simply because those are one of the file types commonly protected by passwords.
To verify, try protecting a Word document or powerpoint slideshow and then previewing it.
|My System Specs
|Thread Tools
|Similar help and support threads for2: A strange bug with Windows 7 and excel 2007
|How do I open multiple Excel 2007 files in separate windows?
|Microsoft Office
|2007 Excel doing strange things?
|Microsoft Office
|Excel 2007 on Windows 7 - Problem with ribbons
|Cannot access the Ribbon functions in Excel 2007 or Word 2007
|Microsoft Office
|Starting Excel 2007 and Windows 7
|Microsoft Office
|Excel 2007 doesn't work properly with windows 7
|Microsoft Office
|Can't open 2003 Excel Files in Excel 2007?
|Microsoft Office
|Our Sites
|Site Links
|About Us
|Find Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.
© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:17 PM.


text:
can you plug this charger into a car's 12 volt cigarette lighter?
- Asked by Amanda R from Brooklyn
- 04-Dec-2011
Griffin PowerJolt Dual for iPad, iPhone and iPod
Product No Longer Available
1 Answer from the Community
It's listed at 12 volts so I don't see why not. No harm in trying at least!
- Answered by Katie H from Charlotte
- 17-Mar-2012


text:
HEY EVERYONE ! I saw that there were a few draw meets going on during AX so I decided to pull one up for EVERYONE !!
It's going to be held on Saturday July 6th 5:30 pm IN CONCOURSE HALL!
This is a general draw meetup which means anyone from any fandom can pop in and have a killer time .
( Unless you're a jerk or something I'm probably going to give you a scary look until you leave) Here are some Maps to help u figure out where it's at
If you got any questions or comments just drop in and say yo .
I hope to see some of you guys there !


text:
Looking for a used car dealer? This used cars Austin dealer has great online reviews, take a look! Although you may have had a hard time getting a fair deal on a vehicle, that's changing now. The tips presented in this article will help you make the right decision. You will no longer have to just accept a used car dealer's offer.
If you can't afford it, don't be persuaded by a talented salesman. Tons of people get talked into buying a sports car by a slick-tongued salesperson telling them they look fabulous behind the steering wheel. When you purchase a vehicle that is not within your budget, you can be sure that the dealership and salesperson — not YOU — will benefit.
Financing needs to be in place before you arrive on the lot. This takes a long time when buying a car because of them having to secure your lender and check your credit score. If you already have an approved loan, it will move much quicker.
Monthly Payments
Keep the overall price in mind, rather than the monthly payments. The dealer can set the monthly payments at any amount, but this will extend your terms, resulting in a very high purchase price. Get the best deal you can on the total cost of the car. Once you have done that, determine what the monthly payments will be.
Have someone else come along when you go shopping for a car. They can serve as a disinterested observer and can help you walk away if you are not getting a fair deal. Ask your significant other, a friend, or even one of your parents.
If you don't know how to deal with sales pitches that are high pressure, get a companion to shop with you. Bring someone else with you for negotiations and to ask questions you may forget to ask. Before you even go out to look at cars, make sure you and your friend are on the same page regarding your budget and needs.
When shopping for a car, it is wise to arrange financing in advance. This is simply for your own peace of mind. Many times the finance department of a dealership can find better rates than your bank. You should have an idea of what you would like your interest rate to be before you start shopping.
Ask if you can have an independent mechanic do an inspection. You should trust the mechanic. Don't use a dealer mechanic. Your mechanic will tell you what is wrong with the car, and whether the price is right.
Do not mention your trade-in right away. You should negotiate a good price before you talk about trading in your old vehicle. The value of the trade-in will almost certainly be added into your purchase price if they know you have one before you start negotiating.
When you locate the car you want, go over it with a fine-toothed comb. Check the outside of the car for scratches and dents. Check the interior area for upholstery tears and carpet stains. Keep in mind that it's yours when you buy it. As a result, the scratches, dents, rips, stains, etc. will be your responsibility.
Are you sure that you know that you can take control over the next vehicle you purchase? That should definitely be the case, given that you are armed with the advice found above. There's no reason to take what the dealer says as gospel truth. This information will help you find a good deal.


text:
I believe everyone comes to the planet with a gift that allows them to complete a certain task; your purpose. Your environment either allows the gift to fully develop, partially develop or prohibits it from developing. Here goes. Wii Cruzin Now!!!!
Stuff I like (all)
- Post via techedblogAre Schools Getting a Big Enough Bang for Their Education Technology Buck?
Whether it's a mom-and-pop coffee shop, a Fortune 500 firm, or a...Post via techedblog
- Post via gethopscotch
We won at NYC BigApps!
Also, in addition to our newly-released update, we have exciting news. Last night, Hopscotch won top prize ($20K!) at...Post via gethopscotch
- My favorite bonus questions:
- Draw me something.
- If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
- Would you rather be able to speak every language...
- Photo via purpleishbootsPhoto via purpleishboots
- Photo via mydopeewaysPhoto via mydopeeways


text:
Samsung Focus S $149.99
1st Mar 2012 | 00:32
Thin, light, with a nice display. Does this Windows Phone have all the right stuff?
Overview, design and feel
The Samsung Focus S is a Windows Phone 7 phone on AT&T intended to compete against relatively high-end devices. Its price tag – $199 with two-year agreement, and $549 without – suggests that it is to be pitted against phones like the HTC Titan, 16GB Apple iPhone 4S, and Samsung Galaxy S2.
Compared to non-WP7 devices in its price range, the Focus S's hardware doesn't fare particularly well. Sporting a 1.4GHz (single core) Snapdragon processor and only 512MB of RAM, it strikes us as being about a year too late; however, amongst other WP7 phones, these specs are top notch.
When it comes to WP7 devices, all of that internal hardware mumbo-jumbo is supposed to take a back seat. Microsoft has gone to great lengths to try to ensure that WP7 devices carry very uniform specs, letting you pick a device based on more outward criteria.
The Focus S is all about size and weight. At just 8.5mm thick and 110.6g, it is the thinnest and lightest WP7 phone yet. Even more impressive is the fact that it manages this with a 4.3-inch capacitive touch screen with a 480x800 resolution.
The display is another defining feature of the Focus S. Because it is Super AMOLED Plus, it has excellent contrast and the vivid color really makes the Metro UI pop. At 4.3 inches, it sits as an option between the HTC Titan (4.7 inches) and Samsung Focus Flash (3.7 inches), which both have nearly identical internal specs.
It also features an 8MP rear camera with LED flash, typical of devices in this class, as well as a 1.3MP front facing camera. The usual assortment of sensors, light and proximity, are also present; however, we're disappointed in the lack of notification LED.
The Focus S' camera does share an unfortunate design flaw that we see in many smartphones: it protrudes out from the back. This makes the lens prone to scratches anytime the phone is set down on its back.
As far as build quality is concerned, the chassis is solid, though made of plastic, like most of Samsung's current smartphones. Point of concern is the battery cover, made of extremely thin but very resilient plastic. It clips on using a handful of tiny plastic hooks which may be susceptible to wear over time.
Thanks to Microsoft's design standards, the Focus S has the same buttons found on any other WP7 device, though not necessarily in the same spots.
On the face are the Back, Home (Windows Logo), and Search buttons in capacitive form. The left side of the phone holds the volume rocker.
The Power/Lock button sits on the right side along with a very useful two-stage dedicated camera button.
Along the top is the standard 3.5mm audio jack as well as a microphone for noise cancelling. On the bottom are the mini-USB port and another microphone. The loud speaker sits on the bottom corner of the rear of the phone.
Under the back cover, we find the SIM card slot and a 1650mAh battery. Sadly, there is no expandable storage, so you're limited to the 16GB of internal storage – of which, about 12.6GB is available to the user.
Despite its somewhat underwhelming specs on paper, the Focus S can serve as a worthwhile alternative to phones like the iPhone 4S or Galaxy S2, so long as you have the right purposes in mind.
Quite possibly the best and worst thing about the Samsung Focus S is the fact that it is a Windows Phone 7 phone, and running the latest version, too (7.5 Mango). The greatest thing about WP7 is that it really is nothing like the competition (ie: Android and iOS).
Of course, the flip side to that coin is the massive learning curve you'll run into if you're coming from anything that isn't WP7.
But don't let that discourage you. WP7 has a handful of unique things that it does extremely well by integrating just about every feature imaginable. Uploading a photo to Twitter or Facebook? Integrated into the camera. Want to identify a song? Integrated into Bing Search.
The real discouraging thing is everything that you take for granted with your iPhone or Android phone that Microsoft left out, things like a system-wide file manager, or even the ability to upload arbitrary file types.
As long as you can look past that, WP7 still offers a very usable system. The Metro UI, while a little plain, does grow on you quickly. It's all about the "tiles."
Tiles are sort of a combination of icons and widgets. They're fairly small, like icons, but have the capability of serving up dynamic content, like widgets. You can reorganize the tiles however you like, pinning or unpinning with a simple long press.
Customization doesn't go much further than that, though. It's possible to change the background color and primary color of the tiles, but that's pretty much it. It's a step further than you get with iOS, but considerably more limited than Android.
Apps are located to the right of the tiles, listed in a single vertical column. WP7 does feature its own app Marketplace, but again, if you're coming from Android or iOS, you'll be a little disappointed with the selection, at least for the time being.
Microsoft has chosen to integrate the Windows Phone Marketplace with Xbox Live, so there's a good chance that we'll be seeing a competitive gaming market in the not so distant future.
The Focus S also features multitasking, as do all WP7 phones with the Mango update, but it's far from perfect. The system seems a bit too eager to kill background tasks, even if you're not doing anything else.
For most apps, especially games, leaving them in hopes of coming back and picking up where you left off is always a gamble.
Ultimately, if you're a WP7 veteran, you'll have no trouble finding your way around, but if you're coming from anything else, you'll probably find yourself cursing at your phone a bit in the first week or two.
Contacts and calling
Like just about everything else on WP7, the contacts on the Samsung Focus S is another area where Microsoft opted to go against convention. All of your contacts are listed in the "People" app/tile.
The People tile consists of two sections, "What's new" and "All." The What's New section is basically a conglomerate of every social network you've associated the phone with, like Twitter, Facebook, Windows Live, and etc.
By default, it gives you a timeline of every update from all of your networks combined; however, it's easy to view it as one network at a time with just a couple of taps.
Swiping either left or right brings you to the All section which is your address book. It lists all of your from all of your social networks and phonebook. It's not as simple to filter this list as it is with the What's New section. Fortunately, it does include a search feature (tapping the on-screen magnifying glass, not the capacitive search button).
In the settings, you can select which social networks to display in the All list, but that's the extent of the filtering. You cannot display contacts that have phone numbers only, for example. This is partially remedied by the ability to create contact groups.
Creating a group not only lets you text or e-mail multiple people at once, but also lets you follow their status updates more easily.
From the People tile, you can pin contacts or groups to the start page. This creates a tile that will display their latest updates and photos, making it easy to keep in touch.
Setting this all up is extremely simple. All you have to do is sign in with your various social network credentials, and it integrates your contacts automatically. We were even able to merge contacts from different accounts together.
The dialer is simple, though basic. We do wish it had some form of smart dialing. Short of that, it does have a shortcut to your address book as well as the ability to search call history and contacts.
Audio quality during a call is nothing short of amazing, likely thanks to the Wide-Band AMR encoding Samsung opted to include. It also features active noise cancellation thanks to the dual microphone setup.
Thanks to the WP7 OS, the Samsung Focus S has a long list of options when it comes to messaging. By default, you can text, chat via Windows Live Messenger, and of course e-mail. After jumping through a few hoops, you can also chat through Facebook.
The Messaging tile handles all of it except for e-mail. Like the People tile, Messaging has two sections, "Threads" and "Online." As you'd probably expect, the Threads section is for SMS and MMS messages, while "Online" is for Facebook and Live Messenger conversations.
E-mail is handled through a separate tile – in fact, each e-mail account you use gets its own tile. This can be pretty annoying when you deal with several e-mail clients, but it's possible to link inboxes into single tiles.
The E-mail tile is the same regardless of e-mail service you're using. The All, Unread, Flagged, and Urgent tabs help keep things a bit more organized, especially when combining multiple inboxes.
By default, you can only search through mail that has been synced to the device, but in the case of Gmail, you're given the option to "search more in Google Mail" which allows you to bring up e-mails that have not been synced. Exchange, as you'd expect, works similarly.
Unfortunately, typing on the Focus S is a bit like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In some instances, you get an amazing typing experience with active spell checking, predictive text, and an accurate keyboard.
From time to time, you'll come across a text field that the Focus S just doesn't seem to like. In these cases, all of those advanced typing features just don't exist anymore. Even worse, when you do make a typing mistake, going back to correct it can be frustrating.
Trying to move the cursor requires a long press, simply tapping once will select the entire word. Once you've long pressed, the cursor appears above your finger, not where you originally pressed. In the case of long text fields, such as e-mails or word documents, this is troublesome, because as you move the cursor back down to the word, the screen zips down to the bottom of the page. We've found that it's often easier just to retype the entire word.
In Messaging, you can avoid the keyboard all together using Text-to-Speech; however, we're sad to see that this isn't a system-wide feature. Typing an e-mail or in a text document has to be done the old fashioned way.
The Samsung Focus S' 4.3-inch display makes for a very spacious web browsing experience, and HSPA+ 4G can keep things speeding along – assuming AT&T's network isn't bogged down.
Web browsing is done using the WP7 version Internet Explorer. While it runs using the same engine as its desktop counterpart, It's really nothing like Internet Explorer at all, though. It has a nice, clean interface (no annoying toolbars) and basically integrates everything into the multifunction address bar at the bottom of the screen.
The only real complaint we have would be against the navigation buttons. For starters, there is no forward button, and if you happen to leave IE, such as to answer a phone call, it forgets all of your previously browsed pages in which case pressing the back button simply exits the browser.
Punching in a URL works just as you'd expect, bringing you to a webpage where you have the usual pinch-to-zoom and delightfully smooth scrolling, though there is no Adobe Flash. Things really get interesting when you try a search.
WP7 gets its own search results page where you have three tabs: web, local, and images. Web, of course, brings up your typical Bing search results, but also some WP7 specifics, such as Marketplace apps.
The local tab shows nearby results; however, we've found that it often misses things. The images tab displays Bing images results, fitting thumbnails on the screen in an effective 4x5 grid.
Integrated search
You don't have to fire up IE every time you want to do a search. Hitting the search button will pull up Bing no matter what you're doing on the phone. The Bing search engine is perfectly integrated into the phone, but it's also your only choice.
For those who don't care for Bing, this may be a deal breaker, but in the case of WP7, it's worth giving a shot. It can search the web, search locally, identify music, search by image, and also search by voice.
Local Scout is the Bing local search engine. It brings up nearby stores, restaurants, and even events and attractions.
Music search is very cool. It listens to a song, identifies it for you, and then gives you a link to it in the Zune Marketplace. It's not quite as accurate as Shazam or SoundHound, but it is very convenient.
Seaching by image uses the camera to scan barcodes and find books, albums and movies from cover art. It can also scan and translate text very effectively.
Holding down the Windows button brings up voice recognition similar to the iPhone 4S' Siri minus the advanced language engine. It uses key phrases like text, call, find, and e-mail. Anything that doesn't start with a recognized key phrase simply gets turned into a search query.
Every WP7 device has a lot of great features that go into its camera, and the Samsung Focus S is no exception. From the dedicated camera button to the various photo settings, you can't help but feel that a lot of thought has gone into the camera.
The 8MP image sensor is fairly mainstream for devices in this price range, and in fact, it's the very same module found in the Galaxy S2.
A dedicated camera button is a requirement for all WP7 devices, so naturally, the Focus S has one. The two-stage button allows for a half-press to focus and a full-press to snap the photo.
The camera button also acts as a shortcut into the camera app. All you have to do is hold the button down for a few seconds. Even from the lock screen, you can launch the camera and take an in-focus shot in about 5 seconds.
We'd love to see more smartphones with dedicated camera buttons. As long as you have plenty of natural light, photos come out very well. Colors can occasionally stand to be a bit more saturated, but everything typically comes out crisp and clean.
The Focus S also has a unique feature called Wide Dynamic Range that comes in especially handy with tricky lighting. With it enabled, you lose a bit of that crispness, but gain a great amount of detail in dark areas with strong backlighting.
Low light performance is a different story. The LED flash helps some, but if you're too close to your subject, it gets completely washed out; too far and you may as well not have a flash at all. Without the flash, photos are plagued with more noise than the front row of a metal concert.
Interestingly, though, the Focus S excels at macro photos. You can select the macro focus mode in the options, but there's typically very little need since the autofocus mode detects it quite well.
Apart from that, you get a few image effects (monotone, emboss, outline, etc); the ability to adjust the ISO, resolution, saturation, white balance, contrast and a few others that will likely go untouched; and an anti-shaking mode which, so far as we can tell, doesn't do a thing.
You can also use the 1.3MP front facing camera for photos. You get what you'd expect from a 1.3MP camera – nothing amazing.
Typical saturation and white balance from adequate natural lighting.
Click here for full res version
With Wide Dynamic Range turned off, branches only show as silhouettes.
Click here for full res version
Turning on Wide Dynamic Range gives more detail to the backlit branches.
Click here for full res version
Macro shots come out great.
Click here for full res version
Low light produces a very noisy image.
Click here for full res version
The flash makes a big difference in low light, but can wash out details.
Despite sharing the same camera module with the Galaxy S2, the Samsung Focus S can only shoot at a maximum resolution of 720p (in contrast to the S2's 1080p). On the plus side, it does a good job for only 720p.
For whatever reason, the default video setting is VGA (aka 640x480). We actually thought video recording was absolutely awful until we realized the mistake. Once we switch to 720p mode, we were rather impressed.
With the proper settings, videos come out crisp and bright, although in low light things get a bit grainy. Audio was impressive, picking up sounds cleanly from both behind and in front of the camera, though you don't get the option to record in stereo as with the HTC Titan.
We were also impressed with its ability to transition from bright to dark areas. It wasn't particularly fast at it, but it was very smooth. The frame rate was always equally as smooth.
There was a peculiar quirk we ran into involving the digital zoom during recording in that you can't. So long as you're not recording, you can zoom to your heart's desire, but as soon as you hit record, the option goes gray and you're stuck at whatever zoom level you started on.
It makes sense, considering that fiddling with zoom options while recording would make for a pretty bumpy video, but we'd still like to have the option.
In the end, the Focus S' recording capabilities are pretty good for being limited to 720p, and amongst other WP7 devices, we'd consider it one of the best.
If you've ever heard of the Microsoft Zune, you probably have a pretty good idea how the Samsung Focus S deals with multimedia. Fortunately, WP7 builds on the original Zune platform considerably.
The only really terrible thing about the way WP7 handles multimedia is the fact that in order to copy anything to or from your phone, you'll need to use the Zune software. Anyone used to Android will likely hate this fact, but iPhone users should be partially used to it thanks to iTunes.
The Zune software isn't necessarily bad. We just wish we could have a choice when it comes to copying songs, videos, or even photos.
Storage space is our only other major gripe. The approximately 12GB of space can be a bit limiting, especially for HD videos.
12 gigs is still a decent amount of space for music, though our current music collection far exceeds that. Fortunately, you don't need a ton of space to have a wide selection of songs with the Focus S.
With the Zune Music+Videos tile, you can make use of the Zune Music Pass to download and stream songs right to the Focus S. As an AT&T device, it also comes with AT&T Radio and AT&T U-verse Mobile, if you're signed up for those services.
If you'd rather not have to pay for any streaming music services, the Focus S is one of the rare smartphones with a built in FM tuner. As long as you have a set of headphones plugged in to act as an antenna, you have free local radio.
Then there's the Smart DJ feature that was added to WP7 with the Mango update. It can be used to create a playlist (either from the songs on the handset, or from the Zune Marketplace if you have the Music Pass) based on a seed song of your selection.
Unfortunately, we couldn't get Smart DJ to work quite right. It seemed to have trouble identifying the songs we selected.
Despite that, one of our favorite features is the ability to identify songs through the search button. Similar to Shazam and Soundhound, the Focus S can listen to a portion of a song and find it for you.
The success rate here isn't quite as high as Shazam, but it integrates perfectly into the Zune marketplace. It makes it easy to add new songs to your collection.
Watching videos isn't quite as nice of an experience as listening to music on the Focus S. This is mostly because of the Zune software requirement.
Video formats
WP7 seems to support a very limited list of video formats, and the Zune software sort of lets you know this. Unsupported videos still show up in Zune on your computer, and you can even drag them to the phone to be copied…except they don't actually copy over.
As long as you have the right format, videos look great on the super AMOLED plus display. HD resolutions up to 720p playback just fine.
We're a little disappointed with the lack of streaming video options, but that's mostly due to the still maturing Windows Phone Marketplace.
Battery life and connectivity
The 1650mAh battery that the Samsung Focus S comes with is fairly typical for current smartphones, perhaps even slightly on the smaller side. Still, it manages very well, likely due to the fact that it's powering a single core 1.4GHz processor.
The specs claim that the Focus S is capable of up to 9 hours of talk time and a whopping 25 days in standby. We couldn't find anyone willing to talk on the phone with us for 9 hours, but we were pretty impressed with the overall battery life we got.
Even under fairly heavy use (meaning an hour or two of GPS navigation, some music playback, a few phones calls, a handful of text messages, and quite a bit of web browsing), we still had a solid 45% left after a 12-hour day.
On the days when we weren't quite so demanding, the battery would still be around 85% at the end of the day.
It of course has all of the usual connectivity features such as Wi-Fi (both 2.4Ghz and 5.0GHz, which is impressive), Bluetooth (though lacking file sharing), and GPS. No NFC onboard, but we're still waiting for that to catch on.
One of the biggest disappointments is the data connectivity. The Focus S is a "4G" phone, but barely. It uses AT&T's HSPA+ network, which at least in the San Francisco Bay Area, never seems to come close to 4G speeds.
Despite handfuls of speed tests all over the bay, we never once broke 2Mbps. That's pretty appalling even by 3G standards. The phone itself is supposed to be capable of 21Mbps under ideal conditions.
Maps and apps
As far as apps are concerned, the Samsung Focus S (and all WP7 devices) has a lot of catching up to do compared to iOS and Android. Currently at about 70,000 apps, the Windows Phone Marketplace holds about a 10th of the apps available for iOS.
Microsoft Office comes included. A very basic version of course, but you can still use it to create and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.
As far as gaming is concerned, Microsoft is leveraging its already successful Xbox Live platform. The available games, thus far, have essentially nothing to do with Xbox, but the brand name carries a lot of weight.
Already, many of the popular Android and iOS games have found their way into the Xbox Live market for Windows Phones.
When it comes to maps and navigation, it's either Bing or nothing. It works well for finding all sorts of destinations, especially when you use the Local Scout app.
Even getting directions with Bing maps is a delight – that is, until you want turn-by-turn navigation.
While it's perfectly capable of reading directions aloud, it simply doesn't. It will announce the first direction, such as "In .78 miles, turn left onto Broadway Ave," as you set off but only give a notification chime after you make that left.
You can tap the screen at any time to hear the current direction, but because it doesn't remind you, it's easy to miss a turn. To make matters worse, navigation won't run in the background, so you have to leave the screen on the entire time, which takes a toll on the battery.
There are a few navigation alternatives in the marketplace, though they're not free. Fortunately, WP7 lets you try apps before buying them.
The Samsung Focus S has a tough time competing against smartphones that aren't running WP7. The iPhone 4S is available at the same price with a dual-core processor and 10-times more apps.
Up against other WP7 phones, it's easily among the best choices in its price range. Its only real competitor here would be the HTC Titan, though the Nokia Lumia 900 may be worth consideration.
It really comes down to your feelings towards WP7. It's very easy to hate if you don't give it a fair chance, but after a week or two with it, you might find it hard to go back to Android or iOS.
We liked
WP7 is something unique with all sorts of clever features and amazing integration that you don't realize you've been missing until you give it a try.
The Super AMOLED Plus display really does stand out against other WP7 devices.
Even with a large, 4.3-inch display, the Focus S is very thin and extremely light.
We disliked
The unique experience carries a hefty learning curve, and focusing on all of those clever features and integration seems to have resulted in overlooking some of the fundamentals.
Zune software is required to transfer anything to or from the phone, and even with it, most file types are simply off limits.
The app market still has long way to mature.
AT&T's "4G" network is a complete let down.
Final verdict
If you want to give WP7 a shot, the Focus S should be one of your top considerations. It'll go head to head with any other WP7 phone on the market, and it does it in a thin, light, and sleek package.
It also makes a great choice for anyone looking to upgrade from a Blackberry, Windows Mobile, or WebOS device; however, that's not to say an iPhone 4S or Samsung Galaxy Nexus wouldn't be an equally valid upgrade.
Anyone coming from iOS or Android will really need an open mind if they don't want to wind up smashing the Focus S out of frustration.
Just make sure AT&T's network is solid wherever you'll be using it most.


text:
Saturday Night Live's "newest addition" isn't actually a new addition at all. Colin Jost, named today as Seth Meyers' imminent Weekend Update successor, has been writing for the sketch show since 2005 (shortly after he graduated from Harvard; underachiever) and was named its co-head writer in 2012. True, he's only appeared on the show a handful of times — in just two sketches, according to IMDB — but that doesn't mean Jost lacks performing experience: He's also a seasoned standup comedian who has appeared on stages around the country and on programs including Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show.
Want to know more? Of course you do!