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In some of the most important aspects of public school reform in West Virginia, baby steps may have to be the way we proceed. Frankly, I'm not certain some Mountain State residents are ready for what needs to happen.
During his State of the State speech, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin dropped some hints about what may happen in the not-too-distant future.
Kids who can't read well can't learn much, obviously. "If a child cannot read at grade level by the end of the third grade, bad things happen," the governor noted. It shows as they grow older: "Thirty-five percent of children in poverty who aren't strong readers by the end of third grade do not graduate on time," Tomblin explained.
What do we do about that? Tomblin's prescription will help. He wants to ensure every new elementary school teacher has good training in how to teach reading.
Tomblin also wants to get more children involved in early childhood education - beginning as early as birth. For the first few years, clearly, education is up to parents or guardians. But so-called "pre-K" programs exist in West Virginia - and have been very effective in some Northern Panhandle counties.
Within three years, Tomblin wants every school district to be required to offer full-day preschool programs for 4-year-olds. That will be a giant step forward.
But there's still the matter of accountability, and I don't mean just from teachers. Parents - all of them, not just those already inclined to take education seriously - need to be gotten on board.
Tomblin is right to stress the third grade as a cut-off for reading skills. But Ohio takes an important additional step, the so-called third-grade reading guarantee. We need to think about it in West Virginia.
In Ohio, if a third-grader is not reading at an appropriate level, he or she can be held back a year so those skills can be developed. If Johnny can't read, Johnny doesn't go on to fourth grade with the rest of his class.
No one has suggested that be done here, probably because of the outcry from thousands of moms and dads if their children are held back a year. Perhaps it needs to happen, though.
For a few years, Ohio did something else Mountain State legislators should consider. It was the Ohio Graduation Test, sometimes referred to as the proficiency test. Beginning in their sophomore years, high school students took the test (actually five examinations in important subjects). With some exceptions, students had to pass the OGT before they could receive high school diplomas.
Virtually no one seemed to like the OGT and, as a result, it is being scrapped. State Department of Education officials are trying to come up with a replacement.
But some form of competency-based criterion for high school graduation is needed. Otherwise, we're going to continue handing meaningless diplomas to too many youngsters.
No doubt West Virginia education leaders saw what happened to the OGT. Again, political pressure killed it. Perhaps that's why Tomblin is suggesting baby steps on reading, rather than a system like Ohio's "guarantee." It's still new. Will Buckeye State officials stick with it after several thousand parents raise the roof because their children didn't get promoted to the fourth grade?
We say we want education reform in West Virginia. But do we, really?
Ask a few teachers and principals who have had to take abuse from moms and dads whose sons and daughters have been given Fs. Almost invariably in such cases, it must be the school's fault, the educators are told. The possibility that little Johnny isn't really trying - or even more unacceptable, that mom and dad aren't helping - isn't even considered.
So do state legislators have the intestinal fortitude to match increased quality from schools with accountability from students and parents?
We'll see. If not, we may improve schools - but we won't be doing real education reform.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Mike Myer is executive editor of The Intelligencer and the Wheeling News-Register. He can be reached via e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com


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September 1, 2006
Heading to the lake is a Labor Day tradition for many...but low levels can mean trouble for boaters.
Lake Thurmond holds hundreds of billions of gallons of water, but right now, it's only about 60 percent full.
All the recent rain in our area hasn't done the lake a lot of good. The lake has lost about 10 feet of water. The docks at Wildwood Park are unusable, which could be a problem for boaters this holiday weekend.
Now, hundreds of Wildwood Park boaters like Jay Wilhelm have to share one ramp.
"In the last few months it's drastically dropped, so you can't even use the new super ramps over here," Jay told News 12.
Capt. David Dickenson with Martinez-Columbia Dive and Rescue says most boats need about 10 feet of clean water.
That sounds simple enough. Normally, Lake Thurmond averages 50 feet of water. But in many places, the lake has dropped to 20 feet...and underwater plants and trees that also reach 20 feet can damage boats.
"There's obviously a hazard they aren't aware of," Capt. Dickenson says. "They could obviously ground their boat, or if they're pulling a skier, possibly injure a person."
Most depth meters don't work at full speed, which makes it hard to avoid underwater dangers.
"This area is not marked that there are any hazards, but there's one right here and it's next to a popular ramp and beach area," Capt. Dickenson pointed out.
"There's a lot of stumps and areas that have sandbars," Jay said. "If you don't know the area, it could tear the boat up and you could get hurt."
Jay says between the dangers and the one usable dock, being patient and perceptive is the key to a fun Labor Day weekend.
There are one-foot underwater islands all over Lake Thurmond. Now, many of them are above water.
Boaters this weekend are advised to take it slow and be on the lookout for the shallow areas.
Water evaporates at 750 cubic feet per second on a sunny day. Experts say if we don't get some steady, heavy rain, the levels will continue to drop.

subset: commoncrawl


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This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic newsletter.
February 07, 2007
USDA Farm Bill Proposal Includes $1.6 Billion for Renewable Energy
While the federal government is gearing up for its fiscal year 2008 funding, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has an additional distraction, as the Farm Bill is up for renewal this year. On January 31st, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns unveiled the USDA's 2007 farm bill proposals, which propose a total of $1.6 billion in new funding over the next 10 years for renewable energy research, development, and production. See the USDA press release.
The proposed funding over the next ten years for the Farm Bill includes $100 million in direct support to cellulosic ethanol producers; $500 million for a bioenergy and biobased product research initiative; $150 million in competitive grants for biomass research, focusing on cellulosic ethanol; $18 million to expand and improve the Federal Procurement of Biobased Products program; $210 million to support up to $2.17 billion in loan guarantees for the Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements loan guarantee program; $500 million for the Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements grant program; and $150 million for a new wood-to-energy program. The proposal also envisions adding a new program to the Conservation Reserve Program to reserve lands for biomass energy production. See the Title IX chapter (pages 142 to 147) of the Farm Bill proposal (PDF 536 KB). Download Adobe Reader.
Back in 2002, when the Farm Bill was last reauthorized, it included energy provisions for the first time in Title IX of the bill. One of those provisions was the Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements program, which assists eligible farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses in purchasing renewable energy systems and making energy efficiency improvements. Among the other energy provisions in the 2002 Farm Bill were an extension of loans for value-added agricultural products to include renewable energy systems and the creation of the Federal Procurement of Biobased Products program. All of those provisions placed the USDA in a much more active role regarding energy development. See the description of the Title IX provisions in the 2002 Farm Bill on the USDA Web site.


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The Internal Revenue Service has issued a warning about a new scam. The federal government says scammers are duping people out of millions of dollars in a past-due tax scam.
According to the IRS, scammers call people telling them they filed their taxes incorrectly and they owe the government money and must pay immediately or risk arrest.
Investigators have tracked more than 60,000 of these calls across the U.S. since last October and scammers have collected more than $4-million.
An IRS official says before the IRS ever contacts you over the phone, they send multiple notices in the mail and they never threaten to arrest people.
If you get such a call and suspect it's a scam, hang up and call local law enforcement.
Courtesy WHEC.com
Location, ST | website.com


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- Features
- Learning
- Comparison
- Specs
- Awards
- Mobile App
PhotoDirector Deluxe Rave Reviews and Awards
Excellent Rated - PCMag, US
[N]ew 64-bit operation makes it faster, and new tools like lens profile-based image correction, multi-shot HDR, and improved noise reduction make it more capable of getting your photos looking their best. PC Mag, US, 02/2014
Highly Recommended, Photography Blog, UK
"The attainable price tag and powerful systems make Cyberlink PhotoDirector 5 an attractive purchase if you're a keen amateur or start up professional." Photography Blog, UK, 9/2013
Best Photo/Video Software Award, PC Advisor, UK
"...it deserves to be a popular choice for editing photos." PC Advisor, UK, 6/2013
Highly Rated Award - PCMag, US
"I continue to be impressed with this newcomer among photo workflow apps.... It sports an incredibly well thought out interface, and all the standard photo editing tools along with a bunch of cool extra goodies." PCMag, US, 10/2012
4.5 Star Award, CNET, US
"CyberLink PhotoDirector is a winner… its strength is really its simplicity of workflow." CNET, US, 02/29/2012
Top Ten Reviews Gold Award, USA
"PhotoDirector is photo-organizing software that merges a wide selection of tools with an intuitive user interface. Learning to edit and organize your photo albums has never been easier. All of the tools and features in PhotoDirector are clearly marked and their functions are obvious." Top Ten Reviews, US, 10/2012
3.5 Stars Award, PC Advisor, UK
"While adding facial recognition facilities is welcome, and very well implemented here, it's not as earth shattering an innovation as it might once have been. The Body Shaper tools are just mesh deformers with a celebrity mag makeover. Pros might balk at the big friendly icons, but PhotoDirector is a fast and versatile cross-platform tool for working with collections of digital photos, with just enough image adjustment tools to interest professionals." PC Advisor, UK, 10/2012
Excellent Rating, Software.informer, US
"CyberLink PhotoDirector is no longer a "pro-looking" photo editor, but a full-featured professional editing tool with more functionality than many other similar tools that boast of wearing the "pro" tag in their names.", US, 10/2014
4 Stars Award, Photoschool, FRA
"A good tool for editing and organizing your photos." Photoschool, FRA, 02/2013
Sehr Gut, Digital Photo, Germany
"The user prompting is clear and suitable for beginners as well as advanced users." Digital Photo, Germany, 3/2013


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Oak Ridge residents are encouraged to dispose their unused medicine this Saturday at Operation Medicine Cabinet. The Oak Ridge Police Department and ASAP will host the event as part of a continued effort to reduce drug abuse and practice stewardship toward our environment. Medication may be dropped off with officers in the parking lot at ORPD, 200 S. Tulane Ave., from 9 a.m. to noon this Saturday, July 26. All packaging materials will be recycled.
For more information call Officer Brandan Sharp at (865) 556-6696 or ASAP at (865) 457-3007.
What we accept for disposal:
• Prescription medications (unwanted, expired, unused)
• Antibiotics/steroids
• Cold and flu medications
• Vitamins/herbal supplements
• Pet medications
• Medication Samples
• Medicated ointments/lotions
• Unused sharps (epinephrine, unused pricking devices)
What we do NOT accept for disposal:
• Business waste
• Used needles and other sharps
Used needles and other sharps should be disposed by placing the sharps/needles in a sealed plastic container and putting that in with your household waste.
Location, ST | website.com


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Saturday, June 15, 2013
A Fusion of Substance and Form
Posted by Shreve & Co. at 12:25:32 PM in Panerai (29)
The Panerai watch company flies a banner of seasoned expertise and astute discipline, which is not something unexpected given the brand's history closely tied to the navy and marines. Oficine Panerai's contemporary Radiomer 10 Days GMT remains loyal to that heritage. The chronograph's Panerai P.2003/6 calibre is an automatic mechanical movement that is executed entirely in-house. It has 290 components which support multiple key functions like hours, minutes and small seconds, as well as date, second time zone and 24 hour indicator. It also has a circular power reserve indicator that warns the wearer how much time of the 10 day power reserve is left. Like all other Panerai watches, Radiomer 10 days is not just about functionality. The reliable, precise instrument is encased in 47mm polished steel case with patented wire loop strap attachments. The modern and sleek chronograph is held in place by brown Panerai personalized alligator strap and large size polished steel buckle. This is the watch for the man who looks for both admirable substance and sophisticated form.
Find Panerai watches at authorized dealer Shreve & Co. in Post Street, San Francisco.
Written by Shreve & Co. at 12:25:32 PM in Panerai (29) | Comments (0)
Commenting has been turned off for this entry.


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Jason Anderson">
STOCKTON - A 14-year-old girl was flown to a Sacramento-area hospital with serious injuries after stealing her parents' minivan and crashing into a brick wall Saturday evening just east of Stockton, authorities said.
The accident occurred shortly after 5 p.m. where East Main Street meets Alpine and Copperopolis roads, the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office said. The girl left home in the van following a family dispute and crashed a short distance away, deputies said. She knocked down a white wrought-iron fence and crashed into a brick wall near the driveway of a home, knocking over a pillar and causing major damage to the front end of the vehicle.
"I was at church when the neighbor called me and said, 'Get over here,' " said Abel Hurtado, who owns the home where the girl crashed. "I didn't expect this much damage. This is kind of crazy. These kids don't measure danger. This is a good lesson for them. When they get upset, don't do something crazy because look what happens."
The girl had to be extricated from the vehicle and taken to nearby Garden Acres Community Park on Bird Avenue, where a helicopter landed to transport her to a hospital, authorities said. She was bleeding from the nose and mouth and had lacerations all over her body.
Deputies said the girl would likely be arrested, but they were still investigating to determine what crimes she had committed.
Contact reporter Jason Anderson at (209) 546-8279 or email@example.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/crimeblog.
Location, ST | website.com


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Events from November 28, 2013
ICAR 2013 - Intl Conference on Advanced Robotics From November 25, 2013 08:00 to November 29, 2013 18:00 At Universidad de la República - Montevideo, Uruguay Categories: Conferences
RAS has local chapters in over 40 countries. Find a chapter near you!
Students are future of robotics and automation.
IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation
IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering
IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems
Find the form you need here.


text:
Source: DefenseNews
quote: ...and the OBOGS failure was thought to have contributed to the fatal crash of a Raptor pilot in 2010. That fatal crash was instead ruled pilot error.
quote: "There have been approximately 90 events of interest and 15 are being investigated for potential physiological incidents -- 8 involving pilots and 7 involving aircraft maintenance personnel. This translates to a 1.8 percent event rate since the return to flight in September. "
quote: "I find the cause of the mishap was the MP's [mishap pilot] failure to recognize and initiate a timely dive recovery due to channelized attention, breakdown of visual scan and unrecognized spatial disorientation." ... The report read, "The MP most likely experienced a sense similar to suffocation." ...
quote: Symptoms of mild acute poisoning include lightheadedness, confusion, headaches, vertigo, and flu-like effects
quote: Toxins found in pilots' blood include oil fumes, residue from burned polyalphaolefin (PAO) anti-freeze, and, in one case, propane. Carbon monoxide, which leaves the blood quickly, is also suspected."There is a lot of nasty stuff getting pumped into the pilots' bloodstream through what they're breathing from that OBOGS [On-Board Oxygen Generation System]. That's fact," one former F-22 pilot said. "How bad it is, what type it is, exactly how much of it, how long — all these things have not been answered."The blood tests were performed after each of the 14 incidents in which pilots reported various cognitive dysfunctions and other symptoms of hypoxia. One couldn't remember how to change radio frequencies. Another scraped trees on his final approach to the runway — and later could not recall the incident.


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Never before since Lennon/Stalin (can't remember which one) has there been a great purge of the highest ranking brass,,,mostly on trumped up charges.
What is your opinion on why this is happening?
Never before since Lennon/Stalin (can't remember which one) has there been a great purge of the highest ranking brass,,,mostly on trumped up charges.
What is your opinion on why this is happening?
Religion is like a guy in church thinking about fishing
Christianity is a guy out fishing thinking about God
Obama is putting in the cronies that will do what he wants and will not confront him on anything.
Time to get rid of those wascally corpse-men!
Bill Davis
Obama likes "YES" men ( and women) around him.
Look at his cabinet!!!!
My mom had pneumonia at the end of Sept and spent 9 days in ICU and it really knocked her back. she is still so weak that we pretty much have to watch he all the time to prevent a fall so I haven't had time to even monitor POTUS or the national news very much so could you provide a few more details? I feel a bit like I have been living in a cave somewhere so don't really know what you are talking about. Thanks.
Any doctrine that weakens personal responsibility for judgment and for action helps create the attitudes that welcome and support the totalitarian state.
(John Dewey)
Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company.
(George Washington)
Gig'em Aggies!! BTCO'77HOO t.u.!!
"For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required." -- Luke 12:48
Raven - Moneybird's Black Magic Marker***
(Esprit's Power Play x Trumarc's Lean Cuisine)
Mick - Moneybird's Jumpin' Jack Flash***
(Clubmead's Road Warrior x Oakdale Whitewater Devil Dog)
Peerless - Moneybird's Sole Survivor
(Two River's Lucky Willie x Moneybird's Black Magic Marker)
general carey in charge of nukes---personal misbehavior
Roberts alledged adultry
Giardina accused of using fake poker chips
Baker---alledged groping also said we could get helicopters intime at bengozzi
Gaouette---judgement in leadership ability said we could have helped in time at bengozzi
Ham---said we could have made it on time to save everyone at bengozzi
Vicenza allogations of argueing with an MP
Buckingham--lost confindence
and many more
now 2 admirals accused of bribery
Last edited by Pete; 11-10-2013 at 08:17 PM.
Religion is like a guy in church thinking about fishing
Christianity is a guy out fishing thinking about God
Given the sheer amount of rules and laws that have been passed I highly doubt that anyone and I mean anyone has not broken more than a few. What would be interesting to know is if these persons were not with the current program.
In regards to the two Generals who cheated on their wife and cards respectively. They put themselves at risk of being turned by foreign espionage officers. It was fair and prudent to get rid of them. In regards to the two navy officers they were selling information on ship movements for the same kind of blackmail material that could have been used as leverage for more state secrets. The rest I will have to look up and see, but for these guys great power came with great responsibility and they failed.
"Its hard to win an argument with a smart person, but its damn near impossible to win an argument with a stupid person." - Bill Murray


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36 injured veterans to receive Segways at Va. event
Segs4Vets is a project of Disability Rights Advocates for Technology, which will present the Segways to the veterans later this week.
Post a comment
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text:
|By Business Wire
Article Rating:
|July 9, 2014 04:29 AM EDT
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/psf3m8/global_and) has announced the addition of the "Global and Chinese Flexible Flat Cable (FFC) Industry Report 2014" report to their offering.
The Global and Chinese Flexible Flat Cable (FFC) Industry Report 2014 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the global flexible flat cable industry with a focus on the Chinese situation.
The report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The flexible flat cable market analysis is provided for both the international and Chinese domestic situations including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, key regions development status and a comparison analysis between the international and Chinese markets.
Development policies and plans are also discussed and manufacturing processes and cost structures analyzed. Flexible flat cable industry import/export consumption, supply and demand figures and cost price and production value gross margins are also provided.
Key Topics Covered:
Chapter One Flexible Flat Cable(FFC) Industry Overview
Chapter Two Flexible Flat Cable(FFC) International and China Market Analysis
Chapter Three Flexible Flat Cable(FFC) Development Environmental Analysis
Chapter Four Flexible Flat Cable(FFC) Development Policy and Plan
Chapter Five Flexible Flat Cable(FFC) Manufacturing Process and Cost Structure
Chapter Six 2009-2014 Flexible Flat Cable (FFC) Productions Supply Sales Demand Market Status and Forecast
Chapter Seven Flexible Flat Cable (FFC) Key Manufacturers Analysis
Chapter Eight Up and Down Stream Industry Analysis
Chapter Nine Flexible Flat Cable (FFC) Production Line Marketing Channels Analysis
Chapter Ten Flexible Flat Cable (FFC) Industry Development Trend
Chapter Eleven Flexible Flat Cable (FFC) Production Line Industry Development Proposals
Chapter Twelve Flexible Flat Cable (FFC) Production Line New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis
Chapter Thirteen Global and China Flexible Flat Cable (FFC) Production Line Industry Research Conclusions
Companies Mentioned:
- Alphaplus
- Axon' Cable
- Cicoil
- Cvilux
- Dongguan XINGAO Electronic
- Hezhi
- Hitachi Metals
- Johnson Electric Group
- Kentec
- Mei Xing Electronics
- Samtec
- Shhsgroup
- Specialty-cables
- Sumida-flexcon
- Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
- Wavelink
- Würth Elektronik
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/psf3m8/global_and
SYS-CON Events announced today that Hitrons Solutions will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Hitrons Solutions Inc. is distributor in the North American market for unique products and services of small and medium-size businesses, including cloud services and solutions, SEO marketing platforms, and mobile applications.
Aug. 29, 2016 08:15 AM EDT Reads: 733
SYS-CON Events announced today Telecom Reseller has been named "Media Sponsor" of SYS-CON's 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Telecom Reseller reports on Unified Communications, UCaaS, BPaaS for enterprise and SMBs. They report extensively on both customer premises based solutions such as IP-PBX as well as cloud based and hosted platforms.
Aug. 29, 2016 08:00 AM EDT Reads: 918
SYS-CON Events announced today that eCube Systems, a leading provider of middleware modernization, integration, and management solutions, will exhibit at @DevOpsSummit at 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. eCube Systems offers a family of middleware evolution products and services that maximize return on technology investment by leveraging existing technical equity to meet evolving business needs. ...
Aug. 29, 2016 08:00 AM EDT Reads: 831
Pulzze Systems was happy to participate in such a premier event and thankful to be receiving the winning investment and global network support from G-Startup Worldwide. It is an exciting time for Pulzze to showcase the effectiveness of innovative technologies and enable them to make the world smarter and better. The reputable contest is held to identify promising startups around the globe that are assured to change the world through their innovative products and disruptive technologies. There w...
Aug. 29, 2016 07:30 AM EDT Reads: 801
SYS-CON Events announced today that Isomorphic Software will exhibit at DevOps Summit at 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Isomorphic Software provides the SmartClient HTML5/AJAX platform, the most advanced technology for building rich, cutting-edge enterprise web applications for desktop and mobile. SmartClient combines the productivity and performance of traditional desktop software with the simp...
Aug. 29, 2016 03:00 AM EDT Reads: 2,416
With so much going on in this space you could be forgiven for thinking you were always working with yesterday's technologies. So much change, so quickly. What do you do if you have to build a solution from the ground up that is expected to live in the field for at least 5-10 years? This is the challenge we faced when we looked to refresh our existing 10-year-old custom hardware stack to measure the fullness of trash cans and compactors.
Aug. 29, 2016 02:15 AM EDT Reads: 1,829
Extreme Computing is the ability to leverage highly performant infrastructure and software to accelerate Big Data, machine learning, HPC, and Enterprise applications. High IOPS Storage, low-latency networks, in-memory databases, GPUs and other parallel accelerators are being used to achieve faster results and help businesses make better decisions. In his session at 18th Cloud Expo, Michael O'Neill, Strategic Business Development at NVIDIA, focused on some of the unique ways extreme computing is...
Aug. 29, 2016 02:15 AM EDT Reads: 2,220
The emerging Internet of Everything creates tremendous new opportunities for customer engagement and business model innovation. However, enterprises must overcome a number of critical challenges to bring these new solutions to market. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Michael Martin, CTO/CIO at nfrastructure, outlined these key challenges and recommended approaches for overcoming them to achieve speed and agility in the design, development and implementation of Internet of Everything solutions wi...
Aug. 29, 2016 01:45 AM EDT Reads: 2,192
Cloud computing is being adopted in one form or another by 94% of enterprises today. Tens of billions of new devices are being connected to The Internet of Things. And Big Data is driving this bus. An exponential increase is expected in the amount of information being processed, managed, analyzed, and acted upon by enterprise IT. This amazing is not part of some distant future - it is happening today. One report shows a 650% increase in enterprise data by 2020. Other estimates are even higher....
Aug. 29, 2016 01:15 AM EDT Reads: 3,021
With over 720 million Internet users and 40–50% CAGR, the Chinese Cloud Computing market has been booming. When talking about cloud computing, what are the Chinese users of cloud thinking about? What is the most powerful force that can push them to make the buying decision? How to tap into them? In his session at 18th Cloud Expo, Yu Hao, CEO and co-founder of SpeedyCloud, answered these questions and discussed the results of SpeedyCloud's survey.
Aug. 29, 2016 01:00 AM EDT Reads: 2,259
Today we can collect lots and lots of performance data. We build beautiful dashboards and even have fancy query languages to access and transform the data. Still performance data is a secret language only a couple of people understand. The more business becomes digital the more stakeholders are interested in this data including how it relates to business. Some of these people have never used a monitoring tool before. They have a question on their mind like "How is my application doing" but no id...
Aug. 29, 2016 12:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,909
Actian Corporation has announced the latest version of the Actian Vector in Hadoop (VectorH) database, generally available at the end of July. VectorH is based on the same query engine that powers Actian Vector, which recently doubled the TPC-H benchmark record for non-clustered systems at the 3000GB scale factor (see tpc.org/3323). The ability to easily ingest information from different data sources and rapidly develop queries to make better business decisions is becoming increasingly importan...
Aug. 28, 2016 11:15 PM EDT Reads: 2,164
The 19th International Cloud Expo has announced that its Call for Papers is open. Cloud Expo, to be held November 1-3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, brings together Cloud Computing, Big Data, Internet of Things, DevOps, Digital Transformation, Microservices and WebRTC to one location. With cloud computing driving a higher percentage of enterprise IT budgets every year, it becomes increasingly important to plant your flag in this fast-expanding business opportuni...
Aug. 28, 2016 10:30 PM EDT Reads: 4,071
Qosmos has announced new milestones in the detection of encrypted traffic and in protocol signature coverage. Qosmos latest software can accurately classify traffic encrypted with SSL/TLS (e.g., Google, Facebook, WhatsApp), P2P traffic (e.g., BitTorrent, MuTorrent, Vuze), and Skype, while preserving the privacy of communication content. These new classification techniques mean that traffic optimization, policy enforcement, and user experience are largely unaffected by encryption. In respect wit...
Aug. 28, 2016 08:30 PM EDT Reads: 1,858
Deploying applications in hybrid cloud environments is hard work. Your team spends most of the time maintaining your infrastructure, configuring dev/test and production environments, and deploying applications across environments – which can be both time consuming and error prone. But what if you could automate provisioning and deployment to deliver error free environments faster? What could you do with your free time?
Aug. 28, 2016 08:15 PM EDT Reads: 1,965


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When you're having trouble getting your Tippmann marker in that sweet spot range between 280-300 FPS, don't settle for a less than perfect velocity output. The Trinity velocity spring kit comes with four different springs of varying tension from high, medium, medium low, and low velocity settings to keep your marker shooting consistently at the velocity needed.
Keep your gun safe and consistent with this trusted Trinity product.


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NEW CASTLE - On a cool spring evening, a small group of men and women are hunting for plastic eggs filled with treasures in a side yard.
They look under bushes and in clumps of new green grass for the ultimate prize, the golden eggs.
They welcome the spring season with a focus on rebirth and new beginnings.
Their celebration is not out-of-the-ordinary, although their faith is not as mainstream as, say, Christianity. Wicca is their religion. Webster's defines it as one "influenced by pre-Christian beliefs and practices of Western Europe that affirm the existence of supernatural power (as magic) and of both male and female deities who inhere in nature, and that emphasizes ritual observance of seasonal and life cycles."
In short, Wicca is a modern take on the ancient pagan religion. It has historically involved witchcraft and magic, but that doesn't mean those characteristics are required in a Wiccan's personal practice. And not all Wiccans call themselves witches.
But this group, called the Enlightened Circle, doesn't mind.
"That's one thing about being a witch is you got to have a sense of humor," said Susan Herwick, of Basalt. "My ringtone is a witch's cackle."
Herwick said an event listing in the paper for The Biker and The Witch
(a motorcycle shop/clothing store/bookstore) caught her eye. The shop, which started in New Castle in June 2012 and has since relocated to downtown Glenwood Springs, offers pin-up- and rockabilly-style clothing, workshops on Wicca, metaphysical supplies, jewelry and more.
"I've been looking for this since 2005 when I came out of the broom closet," Herwick said. "I had found very friendly witches out there, but they had moved on. I saw that in the paper and thought, 'Since when do they have Wiccan classes in Glenwood?' I wanted to meet other Wiccans."
Self-described as a solitaire - which is practicing Wicca alone as opposed to a group or coven - Herwick had mostly been conceptualizing her faith on her own. She was happy to meet The Biker and The Witch owners Donnie Gonzales and Kristin West. The couples' store at 918 Grand Ave. (Suite C) hosts Witch's Night monthly for those interested in pagan practices.
West said she first became interested in Wicca right after high school and has been practicing for 17 years since.
"I watched the movie 'The Craft,'" she said. "And read a book I bought in Vegas."
West and Gonzales said they run the only metaphysical shop in the mountains.
"I wanted a place where pagans can get together and kind of feel safe," West said.
The venue was a welcome sight for many of the believers of the metaphysical in the Roaring Fork Valley.
"We had all been looking for each other, obviously," said Enlightened Circle member Tammy Reynolds, of New Castle. "It was as soon as we went to the bike shop that we all started coming out of the woodwork, or more like the broom closet."
Reynolds and Herwick spoke of the many misconceptions that surround Wicca.
"There are bad people out there and there are people out there who practice black magic," Reynolds said. "But I follow the idea that do what you will, but harm none. Whatever energy we send out it will come back threefold. I can't hurt anybody and we cannot affect your free will."
Herwick agreed that society, history and Hollywood have done a fine job of portraying witches as evil or bad, but that is not the case in her practice.
"We don't hex, we don't curse," she said. "People still want to burn you at the stake. They think you practice evil. There is no devil worship in the craft. We do not believe in the devil or hell. The higher power is in the god and goddess. I have a very strong faith in God, I just don't buy into Judeo-Christianity."
But not all Wiccans follow or believe in a god or goddess, Reynolds said.
"Some choose not to worship a deity at all," she said. "For me, Mother Nature, she is the mother."
The Enlightened Circle group has grown from around nine members to close to 20. They meet about twice a month, whether it's through The Biker and The Witch's Wiccan workshops or seasonal get-togethers, like the spring ritual in March that involved a ceremony and egg hunt. During the Ostara coven ritual, a few of the witches donned capes and hats.
"In true covens you would probably find more ceremonial dress," Reynolds said. "Or you can be sky clad [clothes-free]. I normally wear a witch's hat at Halloween. I try to wear whatever the color of the day is - today the color of the day is red. There are certain reasons for why we do things."
Twenty-two-year-old Kaitlyn Kennedy, originally of Colorado Springs, arrived at the springtime ritual with pink tulips. She has been practicing for a few months and became interested in Wicca as a teen.
"When I was in high school I did a book report on paganism," she said. "This summer I had an epiphany of what I needed to do. I knew I needed to move to [the Western Slope] and meet Kristin. I knew I needed to follow the goddess and the god. I pray or meditate to the goddess for me. But I have father issues. I just think I need to be in touch with my masculine."
Kennedy said she recently came out of the broom closet to her parents.
"It was kind of forced on me this week. My brother outed me," she said. "So I flat-out told my mother I'm a witch, I believe in Wicca. She needs to adjust and know what I do is on my own time. I just told her, I'm still me. I haven't changed."
Matt Moore, 35, is a shaman from New Castle who has been attending the Enlightened Circle get-togethers. He was influenced by a family member.
"I do have an aunt who has a lot of pagan beliefs," he said. "She influenced me a lot, that the world wasn't black and white, that there are different religions in the world. Now I'm actually mature enough to practice it."
Moore began studying different aspects of shamanism, which is the study of altered states of consciousness to encounter and interact with the spirit world, 17 years ago.
"I've never classified myself as a Wiccan or a healer, but we can all talk to each other here," he said. "The shamanistic approach is more appealing to me. I really had to look into myself. I just want to be able to listen and learn."
The Enlightened Circle doesn't consider itself a fully-organized coven, but it is a group interested in representing itself in the community so more people understand Wicca. The members aspire to have a float in the Strawberry Days parade and participate in community events such as trash pick-ups and workshops throughout the year.
"It's a very diverse group of very open people," Herwick said. "It just feels right to me."


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A recital featuring Marianne Parker, the principal pianist for the Chicago Civic Orchestra, will be presented at Community Christian Church on Friday, Dec. 20 at 6 p.m. She will be performing with her former piano teacher, Judy Wingate and Wingate's current piano students.
Parker is a 2002 Camdenton graduate. She holds her Bachelor's degree from Missouri State University and her Master's degree in piano performance and pedagogy from the University of Tennessee. She also studied at the Bosendorfer Piano Institute in Vienna, Austria.
Selected students from Wingate's Studio will have the privilege of participating in a Master Class conducted by Parker from 5 to 6 p.m. During the recital, Parker will be performing selections by Beethoven, Barber and Bach. The recital will also include several Christmas Carols by Parker, Wingate and her students.
Students performing will be Nick and Reagan Faiferlick, Micah Hill, Saoirse and Isabelle Lonergan, Taylor Petska, Benjamin Poest, Carson and Lauren Risner.
This event is open to the public and free of charge.
Marianne is the daughter of Mike and Millicent Parker of Camdenton.
Location, ST | website.com


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Jennifer Dobson will be joining CPA Nancy J. Stearman's accounting practice in Greensburg as an associate.
Dobson has lived in Campbellsville all her life. She is the daughter of Howard and Jenny Dobson.
She graduated from Taylor County High School in 2003 and from Campbellsville University in 2007 with a bachelor of science in business administration with an emphasis in accounting.
She has worked in the accounting field for more than four years.
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The Craziest Moments of the 2013 Oscars
Zero Dark Pretty is the only way we can describe the Oscar nom in va-va-voom Giorgio Armani. (She calls it her Happy Birthday Mr. President dress.)
And the Oscar, and the OMG, go to... J-Law (in Dior Haute Couture.) Talk about Catching Fire!
He Said/She Said: NYFW Fall 2013


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Share your experiences with the Washington, D.C. Biggest Loser RunWalk 5K/10K/Kids One Mile Fun Run below Back to event details page.
I had very high hopes for this race and was excited to do it. Unfortunately, it was horribly disorganized, and a lot of the race resources that SHOULD be provided at a race this size and cost were simply not there. Poorly marked race milestones, confusion on waves and runner paths, bathroom cups with 1/4 inch of hot water at ONE hydration station, and a very late start in the middle of summer with a course set on a completely unshaded asphalt parking lot. Absolutely awful and dangerous. Only the people made the experience good.
Apparently they're deleting negative comments from their Facebook page, which is bad and indicates how they operate.but I will post those same comments here. I agree with the previous comment and will add my two cents.
First, the 10k course was only 5.5 miles. They clearly were too cheap to pay the permit to take the course outside of the parking lot so the course was a double circle inside the stadium parking lot (which was not shaded at all) and we didn't know until 5 days before the race. It started at 9 a.m. in the middle of July (most races start at 7:30 to beat the heat) and there was ONE water station along the course.
Poor directionals on the course, no course Marshall's and the water station volunteers, who were great, didn't know which was to direct runners, so there was mass chaos among the 5k,10k, runners and walkers. because of the poor guidance and heat, many 10k folks quit at 5k, which also skewed the results when they crossed the finish line.
I registered early and paid the lower fee but I feel bad for those who paid last minute and were duped out of $50 for this race. They deserve a refund.
Biggest Loser was the BIGGEST BUST. Poorly planned and organized fiasco. Never again.
Since they deleted my comment and several others from their facebook page, I'll post here.
This was my third 5K. So I was wondering if some things were normal hiccups. But too many things went wrong.
First, as I was running the first mile marker I saw said 2 miles. I knew I had not been running fast enough to get two miles at that point. Later I saw the 1 mile marker. Obviously someone had placed the mile markers incorrectly or they did not give good course direction. My GPS says I ran 3.1 mile, but better signage/direction would seem like a basic thing. According to many people who ran the 10K, that course was not 10K. We crossed paths with other runners twice. Even if keeping the course in the parking lot, seems the course could have been designed better.
As a new runner, the flat parking lot course allowed me to easily shave 2 minutes off my previous 5K time, however, a course outside of the parking would have been more interesting. A few grade changes won't hurt anyone.
I received an email a few hours after leaving stating that the results were up. I looked and my results were not there. And apparently, many others didn't see their results. All results are still not there as of 8pm the day of the race. The results for the 5K run abruptly end with a single male listed for the 35-39 age group and no times for that guy. No other results for that age group or any older age groups. As I mentioned above, I have my own GPS results, but I'd like to have the official results recorded by the sensors on the bib.
Obviously, I would not recommend that anyone register for their races. It seems like they felt we would be so starstruck with their "reality" tv "celebrities" that we wouldn't mind a poorly organized race. I don't watch that show and I certainly won't be registering for any other races they have. I hesitated when my friend suggested we run a race associated with a lame reality tv show. I should have went with my gut.
So this morning, it appears that the rest of the results are posted. A heads up in the email that some results would take longer would seem courteous. But I guess you can't expect that when they won't even acknowledge all the other problems and are deleting comments from their facebook page.
ACTIVE is the leader in online event registrations from 5k running races and marathons to softball leagues and local events. ACTIVE also makes it easy to learn and prepare for all the things you love to do with expert resources, training plans and fitness calculators.


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This morning at approximately 2:25am, officers were dispatched to 301 Park Avenue, a residence within the Clinton Public Housing system, for a disturbance. Upon K9 Officer Matt Howell's arrival, a witness stated that a male and female had been arguing before they both fled on foot.
At approximately 2:30am another call came from the nearby 800 block of McAdoo Street, also with the Clinton Public Housing system, for a female knocking on doors asking for help. Upon Sgt. Mike Jones's arrival, he found a female victim who appeared to have been stabbed. The victim, Heather McKamey age 22, died on the scene.
At approximately 2:35am the male suspect, Kieth Pittman age 25, was located by Officer Josh Bunch walking nearby in the vicinity of Fowler Street and N. Charles Seivers Blvd.. He was taken into custody without incident and transported to the police department for questioning. The suspect has been charged with Second Degree Murder and is being held at the Anderson County Detention Facility.
The victim and suspect both lived at the Park Avenue address. The victim is believed to be a mother of three, however the children were not home at the time of the incident.
Location, ST | website.com


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For the first six months with a graduated driver license, drivers must not drive a motor vehicle between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. unless one of these conditions is met:
For the first six months with a graduated driver license, the driver must not drive a motor vehicle containing more than one passenger under the age of 18 unless one of these conditions is met:
An applicant holding an out-of-state driver license is exempt from the driver education / driving practice and instruction permit requirements. The applicant will be required to follow the restrictions stated above for the first six months that the original Class G license is held.
The holder of a graduated license is not required to obtain an operator license at age 18, but may choose to obtain one.
Note: If the teen driver has no outstanding extensions of the restricted driving period or suspension of driving privileges during the completion of the first six months of restricted driving, the teen may drive without restriction until eligible to apply for a Class D driver license beginning at age 18.
Copyright © Arizona Department of Transportation – All rights reserved.


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Dark Days in Norway
Norwegian author Jo Nesbo has written nine novels featuring the alcoholic, still-smarter-than -you detective Harry Hole, including "The Redbreast" and "Nemesis." The latest title to be published in the U.S., "Phantom" is one of his darkest, which says a lot considering his earlier works are filled with murder, betrayal and serial killers.
Mr. Nesbo, 52 years old, is among a group of Scandinavian crime writers whose crime tales are furrowed with undertones of child abandonment, drug abuse and political corruption. These include Sweden's Henning Mankell, and the late Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson, who hit the publishing jackpot with his "Millennium" crime novels featuring computer hacker Lisbeth Salander.
The trio are published in the U.S. by Berteslmann's Alfred A. Knopf, the tony literary house.
While Mr. Nesbo isn't as well known in the U.S. as either Mr. Mankell or Mr. Larsson, Knopf has steadily increased its bet on him. The publisher ordered a first printing of 60,000 hardcover copies for May 2011's novel "The Snowman; 65,000 copies for "The Leopard," published in December 2011, and 75,000 copies of "Phantom." The author, on book tour in the U.S., was interviewed by phone.
Speakeasy: There are a number of noir heroes who can't get along with their own police force or who are constantly battling inner demons. Why is this such an appealing theme?
Jo Nesbo: Story telling has to deal with conflict. In a typical crime novel, on the outer level, there is the conflict of somebody having been killed. The police are trying to catch the killer, and he is trying to escape punishment. If you decide to make the policeman your main character, you need conflict there as well. A main character at war with himself makes for better story telling.
Harry Hole has been on something of a losing streaking, one that includes an ugly facial scar and a titanium finger. In 'Phantom' he patches a neck wound with duct tape. What was Harry's original sin?
If Harry was looking back at his life, he would see a lot of sins. There would be sins where he didn't actively commit crimes, and then again, where he has. When he was young, he was unable to save his first girlfriend, who committed suicide because she was depressed. That always left him with a sense of guilt.
Your first two Harry Hole books, "The Bat" and "The Cockroaches," haven't yet been published in the U.S. Why have the Harry Hole books been published out of order?
The thinking was that readers might not respond as well if the first book they read was set in Sydney, and the second in Bangkok.
Who most influenced you?
Not crime writers but other writers such as Henrik Ibsen, the playwright. In a way, he contributed to forming the structure of the crime novel. He'd introduce characters at a time of crisis, of conflict, and eventually family secrets that had been hidden for years were revealed bit by bit through the story. That would be a recipe for a crime novel today.
One of the themes in the Harry Hole novels is that families don't hold together. Is this a particularly Scandinavian sensibility?
The social safety net that we have in Scandinavian democracies has sort of weakened the family because people don't depend on the family holding together as much as it used to be, when the family was people's lifeline. The state has taken over the role of the family in many ways. It's sad.
You've been published in the U.S. for a number of years now. How has the book scene here changed for you?
In every country it's been a slow burner, not an overnight success. It's the same in the U.S., going slowly book by book. But the series is getting more attention. My core following has always been crime readers. Now the readers I meet are more general readers. They're into literature in general.


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WSJ: UBS whistleblower turns his attention to Boston charity
Bradley Birkenfeld, the former UBS whistleblower who helped U.S. authorities gain a foothold in their fight against Swiss banking secrecy and received a $104 million government payout and a prison sentence in return, has been committing himself to an entirely different cause lately: people caught up in the Boston Marathon bombings.
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ARLINGTON, Texas – Jake Kocher had a career-high 15 points and Chris Hawkins-Mast posted 18, but UT Arlington pulled away in the final four minutes for a 78-64 victory over the Texas A&M – Corpus Christi men's basketball team on Wednesday at the College Park Center. The Mavericks remained undefeated in conference play at 15-0 and improved to 23-6 overall with the win.
Kocher had an impressive game on both ends of the floor, using his hustle to create three steals and four defensive boards to go with his career-high in points. Johnathan Jordan posted five assists in the game to give him 134 on the season, a new Islanders record. Hawkins-Mast played all 40 minutes in a losing effort.
The Southland's leading scorer, LaMarcus Reed III, netted 18 points, while Kevin Butler added 16 and Bo Ingram 14 for the Mavericks. With Myron Dempsey missing the game due to injury, UTA exploited that to post a 46-18 advantage in the paint and a 21-9 edge in second-chance points.
The two teams battled back-and-forth early on, with the Islanders taking an early 12-10 lead on the strength of five early points from Kocher. The Mavs then went on a 7-0 run to build the game's first significant advantage at 17-12. But the visitors countered with their own 7-0 run, highlighted by a Terence Jones three, to regain the lead 19-17, forcing a UTA timeout at the 8:05 mark.
The Islanders pushed the lead to 22-19 after a Kocher three, but the Mavs embarked on an 8-0 run sparked by a Jordan Reves putback to garner a 27-22 lead at the 4:57 mark. The Islanders refused to wilt, though, as the two teams picked up the pace significantly. A Jones triple cut the deficit to 27-25, and a later three-ball by Hameed Ali made it 32-30. Up 34-32 with the half winding down, the Mavs got a goaltending call then a turnover to hold the ball for the last shot of the half. Bradley Gay grabbed an offensive board and buried a putback at the buzzer to push the lead to 38-32 at the break.
After the half, the Mavs scored the first five points to build a 43-32 lead, making it a 9-0 run around the halftime break. Kocher halted that with a triple from the right wing, and that launched an 11-0 Islanders run to tie the score 43-43, with Kocher netting seven of those points. But UTA had another run in them, unleashing a 9-0 run, with Reed and Brandon Edwards scoring all nine points for the Mavs.
The Islanders snapped that with a Hawkins-Mast layup, but traded baskets over the next several minutes, unable to cut into the home team's lead. With the score 65-54 in favor of the Mavs, the Islanders unleashed a 7-0 run to trim it to just four at the 4:37 mark, with Hawkins-Mast and Kocher supplying all the offense. But that was as close as the Islanders would get in the contest. The Mavs converted on free throws and off turnovers down the stretch to pull away with the win.
The Islanders are back in action on Saturday night against Central Arkansas for the 2011-12 season finale at 7 p.m. at the American Bank Center. The game will be Senior Night, as the Islanders will honor Hawkins-Mast prior to his final home game for A&M – Corpus Christi. It will also be Military/Appreciation Night, with special ticket offers for Coastal Bend residents and military personnel. Click here to find out more about Saturday's events.


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Submitted to: United States Animal Health Association Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: August 8, 2006
Publication Date: October 15, 2006
Citation: Bouldin, J.G. 2006. Comparative genome sequencing of salmonella enteritidis isolates that vary in virulence characteristics. United States Animal Health Association Proceedings.p.97-101. Technical Abstract: Salmonella enterica subspecies I enterica serotype Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) is currently the leading cause of salmonellosis worldwide and the second leading cause in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) have recently described epidemiological trends that suggest that this pathogen could be increasing in incidence in people and in broiler chickens. Research is needed to identify small scale genetic change that correlates with the ability of S. Enteritidis to cause food borne outbreaks because methods such as DNA-DNA hybridization microarrays and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) have failed to differentiate between strains that vary in virulence phenotype. The objectives of this project are to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that differentiate the genomes of two isolates that were obtained from a single parent strain but that nonetheless had different pathological outcomes in laying hens. Comparative genomic sequencing (CGS) is a commercially available service (Nimblegen, Inc). CGS requires that a genomic database be available to generate overlapping primers that resolve sequence to a single base pair. Phage type (PT)4 S. Enteritidis genome sequence is available from the Pathogen Sequencing Group at the Sanger Institute (http://www.sanger.ac.uk/Projects/Salmonella/). DNA was extracted from three isolates of S. Enteritidis, one of which was a PT4 isolate used as a template to generate the overlapping primers. The other two isolates submitted for CGS were PT13a isolates that varied in their ability to contaminate eggs. One of these isolates could contaminate eggs, grow to high cell density, and produce a capsular LPS molecule at 25°C and it was designated wt S. Enteritidis. The other PT13a isolate was orally invasive, produced biofilm but could not contaminate eggs or grow to high cell density or produce much capsular LPS at 25°C. It was designated bf S. Enteritidis. Both strains were descended from a single parent strain. The isolates chosen minimize the genetic noise from random SNPs that are unlinked to the phenotype of interest. Results were that 393 SNPs out of the 4.686 million base pairs in the genome, or less than 0.01% of the genome, differentiated the two PT13a isolates that varied in virulence potential. There was an average of 8 SNPs per 100,000 bp. Areas of the genome that had lysogenic phage could not be compared in this assay, because primers made to the PT13a specific bacteriophage Fels-2 were absent for lack of template in the PT4 genome and primers made to the PT4 specific phage, ST64b, were lacking target DNA in the PT13a strains. Thus, SNPs that occur within phage genes that differ between PT4 and PT13a strains are not included in the total and will require manual sequencing. The virulence plasmid from the two PT13a strains differed by 5 SNPs. All classes of genes had SNPs, although genes involved in metabolism were most heavily represented and included more than 30% of the genes identified. Curvilinear analysis of SNPs with identity to PT4 in every 100kb revealed that the PT4 genome under investigation had SNPs occurring between genes pps and yhjO (about 2/5ths of the genome) that were preponderantly similar to bf PT13a S. Enteritidis; however, the rest of the genome was more similar to the wt PT13a isolate. As compared to the two PT13a strains, the PT4 genomic database was genetically a dimorphic hybrid of the wt and bf PT13a isolates, which agreed with previous results obtained by pan-genomic phenotype microarray (Biolog, Inc.). Thus, the PT4 genome sequenced by the Sanger Institute exhibits a mixture of phenotypes from a single genome in response to environmental signals. We conclude that very little genetic change is required for Salmonella Enteritidis to alter its virulence phenotype and that the ability of bacteria to mutate rapidly obscures identification of those SNPs that are most closely linked to outbreaks of salmonellosis. Furthermore, epidemiological investigations that are based on fingerprinting methodology are inadequate for detecting evolutionary trends due to SNPs that impact the virulence potential of the Salmonellae. The current problem of food borne illness associated with S. Enteritidis may have originated when a single bacterial cell was unstably co-infected by two incompatible lysogenic bacteriophage. This single cell may have rapidly split into two phage lines that nonetheless had only slightly different pathogenic potential to begin and that overtime evolved adaptations to different regions and niches within the on-farm environment. 1U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Athens, GA, USA


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Palladino: Cross girls win 4th straight jamboree
Who said these games don't count? The girls city basketball jamboree drew more than 500 spectators to Sacred Heart's Alumni Hall on Saturday, and every minute of all eight games seemed pretty important to the seven city high schools.
In a frantic championship quarter, Holy Cross won its fourth straight jamboree title with a thrilling 17-15 victory over the host Hearts.
"This absolutely counts," said Cross senior Kiera O'Donnell, who has contributed to all four jamboree victories. Saturday, O'Donnell scored 13, and in the final against the Hearts, she had five points and three steals.
"This sets the tone for the entire season," she said. "You see all the city schools at once, and see what you're going to be up against this year."
And for the Crusaders, the jamboree was won the usual way — with defense.
"We had to do it with defense," O'Donnell said. "Coach (Frank Lombardo) always has keys to the game, and the only key to the game was defense, defensive rebounding and defensive intensity."
Senior Chelsea Houlihan scored 10 for Cross in two quarters.
The top scorer of the day was Sacred Heart's Mikyla Jacobs, with 16, while teammate Maya Eggleston had seven points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.
Jacobs put this final thought on the jamboree: "It was fun, and exciting to see what we're going to get in the NVL. This was just the beginning."
Here is a recap:
Game 1
Crosby 12, Kaynor Tech 0: Za'Nayia Love, the NVL's leading scorer last season, scored seven points and Ariel Fulton added five to pace the Bulldogs. Destin Tremmell grabbed four rebounds as Crosby blanked the Panthers.
Game 2
Sacred Heart 8, Chase Collegiate 6: Amber Craig tied the score with a 3-pointer and Maryn Vaillancourt scored the game-winner with 4.8 seconds left on an assist from Jacobs as the Heart rallied to beat the Highlanders. Eggleston pulled down seven rebounds. Lexie Dvarskas led Chase with four points.
Game 3
Kennedy 12, Wilby 5: Lynadia Whiting scored four to lead the Eagles into the jamboree semis. Deana-Jo Alberto scored three, and Dominique Moss grabbed three boards and added an steal. Kari Ervin and Becky Chambers each had a field goal for Wilby, and Liziana Silva collected five rebounds.
Game 4
Sacred Heart 12, Crosby 9: In the first semi, the Hearts came from behind again. Nicole Jolly hit a 3-pointer to give Sacred Heart the lead for good with 3:26 to play. Jacobs led with seven points and five rebounds. Eggleston had three boards and two assists. Fulton scored five for Crosby, and Trammell grabbed three boards.
Game 5
Holy Cross 18, Kennedy 4: The Crusaders finally got on the floor and advanced to the final behind eight points, three rebounds, and two steals from O'Donnell. There were two 25s on the floor for Cross, and both of them, Robyn Grimshaw and Caitlin Cipriano, grabbed four rebounds. Whiting scored three for Kennedy, and Moss had three more rebounds.
Game 6
Kaynor Tech 18, Wilby 4: The Panthers found the bucket this time, led by Nathalie Vega with seven. Chambers scored all four points for Wilby.
Game 7
Chase Collegiate 15, Kennedy 6: Natalie Fitzgerald hit two 3-pointers on the first two shots she took to lead the Highlanders, Alberto scored four for Kennedy.
Game 8
Holy Cross 17, Sacred Heart 15: This time, the Hearts rally fell short. Cross led by eight with three minutes to play, as Houlihan scored six, and had three steals, and O'Donnell hit a trey.
But an Eggleston runner and a Carlie Vaillancourt jumper brought the Hearts within two points with 18 seconds to play, but Cross held on. Jacobs scored nine in the final quarter for the Hearts.
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For sale on eBay: Record store for $480K
On the Beat Records has been a London staple since 1979
Looking for a gift for the music fan who has everything? How about an entire record store?
The owner of On the Beat Records in London has put his store up for sale on eBay for a cool $480,000.
Owner Tim Derbyshire, 59, opened the shop in 1979.
He's trying to find someone to take over the store's eclectic stock of records, posters and music memorabilia from the 1960s to the 1980s, and keep the place running, according to The New York Times.
It's "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live the High Fidelity life!" the posting notes, calling the store "the oldest record shop in the center of Swinging London."
The post had received 35 bids as of Monday morning.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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REDWOOD CITY -- In the wake of a major court ruling against PG&E, it now appears unlikely any of the survivors' lawsuits stemming from the deadly 2010 San Bruno explosion will go to trial.
During a Monday hearing in San Mateo County Superior Court, attorneys involved in the suits said they'll come up with a process that could take about 90 days to settle the remaining legal claims lodged by more than 320 residents. Mediation efforts so far have netted settlements for some 120 other plaintiffs.
"I'm highly optimistic we'll be able to resolve the (remaining) cases without necessity of a trial," said Frank Pitre, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs.
The major development is linked in part to a key ruling from San Mateo County Judge Steven Dylina. In October, he denied Pacific Gas & Electric's move to bar jurors from weighing whether the utility should pay potentially millions of dollars in punitive damages to the victims.
Attorneys said the ruling was a factor because it puts pressure on PG&E to make more attractive financial settlement offers to their clients rather than risk the potential for huge punitive damage awards if the cases go to trial.
But some attorneys are not ready to rule out a trial, even though Dylina on Monday canceled the current schedule, which had opening arguments slated for March. Attorney Mike Danko said only a quarter of victims' claims have been settled, leaving unresolved hundreds of cases that stem from the September 2010 blast that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes.
"It's very aggressive," Danko said of the 90-day timetable. "It's very optimistic."
Plaintiffs' attorney Amanda Riddle echoed Danko's sentiments. "I am hopeful that our clients will be fully compensated through the settlement process, but if a trial is necessary, we are prepared for that fight."
The tone in court was much less skeptical. Dylina complimented the attorneys on their work and said he would now return to his "other full-time job," as settlement judge for civil cases in San Mateo County.
"I cannot tell you how pleased I am," Dylina said from the bench. "Now we'll look forward to resolving everything."
Dylina's key ruling came during an October hearing, where the plaintiffs' attorneys laid out their most potent evidence to support their claim the utility had chosen profits over safety.
They argued the utility had cut its safety budget while boosting executive pay. PG&E responded by saying the explosion was an accident because the utility didn't know it had a fatally flawed piece of pipe in the ground. Dylina ruled a "reasonable" jury could conclude the utility crossed the legal line needed to trigger punitive damages, which are intended to punish wrongdoers.
Also, recent settlements with the Ruigomez and Tafralis families were key in prompting the cancellation of the trial schedule. They were among the handful of cases slated to go before a jury this spring.
One of the cases centered on Joseph Ruigomez, then 19, who was watching a football game at home with his 20-year-old girlfriend, Jessica Morales, when the pipe tore open. The flames caused third-degree burns over 50 percent of Ruigomez's body, according to his lawsuit, and killed Morales.
The other case was brought by the Tafralis family, which includes Gregg Tafralis, a former U.S. Olympian in the shot put who competed at the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea. On the night of the blast, he fractured a hip, hurt a knee and was burned as he ran from his home.
The settlements for those two families, like the agreements for the resolved cases, are confidential.
While the settlements may be good news for some families tired of fighting, it represents a lost opportunity to hold the utility accountable for others. Fire survivor Kathy DeRenzi said she does not blame her neighbors for accepting settlements but had hoped the lawsuits and the errors that led to the explosion would go before a jury.
"They are getting away with it," she said of PG&E. "I just feel they will forget about us, and the whole thing will be swept under the rug."
The utility says its goal is settling the cases so the victims can find closure.
"We've made significant progress, and we are committed to settling the remaining cases as quickly and as fairly as possible," PG&E spokeswoman Brittany Chord said.
Contact Joshua Melvin at 650-348-4335. Follow him at Twitter.com/melvinreport.


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Browsing made beautiful. And smart.
Before Safari, browsers were an afterthought. Something you put up with if you wanted to surf the internet. One browser looked and felt just like another, so you chose the one that worked the best and crashed the least. They were ugly, cluttered affairs, whose interfaces competed for your attention and made browsing â" the very purpose for which they were created â" more difficult. Safari changes all that.
Safari is designed to emphasize the browsing, not the browser. The browser frame is a single pixel wide. You see a scroll bar only when needed. By default, thereâs no status bar. Instead, a progress gear turns as your page loads. And if you so choose, you can hide almost the entire interface, removing virtually every distraction from the browser window. A great browser should get out of your way and let you simply enjoy the web. Safari does just that. And it does it regardless of platform.
The first browser to deliver the ârealâ internet to a mobile device, Safari renders pages on iPhone and iPod touch just as you see them on your computer. But this is more than just a scaled down mobile-version of the original. It takes advantage of the technologies built into these multi-touch devices. The page shifts and reformats to fill the window when you turn it on its side. You zoom in just by pinching and extending your fingers. Of course, no matter how you access it, Safari is always blazing fast and easy-to-use.
Required OS: not specified
Tags: webbrowser , web , browser , crossplatform , internet , apple
55 Opinions
Clean and simple. There's very little more that I can ask from it at the moment. Well, maybe more speed :)
Simply the BEST browser out there (including Camino and Firefox).
For you web developer types, http://www.zappatic.net/safaritidy/ is pretty awesome.
It took me a while to find the right combo of extensions to match what I expected after using Firefox (An excellent browser, I love the extendability), but Safari Stand, SafariBlock, and Inquisitor make Safari better.
I use Safari when I want to look something up quickly or open a page from another application. Pithhelmet cuts down on the ads greatly.
Then I use Firefox for "heavy" browsing.
Unbeatable combination.
Safari with Saft tools absolutely rocks! Get Saft! I do use Firefox, but mainly for its developer tools extension.
Install the Saft tools, and Safari holds its own with Firefox, OmniWeb, you name it.
Like many others, I've tried them all and really USED them all for varying lengths of time and despite I keep coming back to Safari. It's pros outweigh its cons by a greater margin than FireFox, Camino, Omniweb, Opera, and Shiira. My latest affair was with Camino but I've finally come home to mama.
Safari is fast. Fanstastic RSS Integration. The BEST Mac OS X integration (obviously). Most efficient system resource usage.
Safari is nice because you get to see all of those well-designed, informative, accurate, and inviting web advertisements. I tried Camino for a while. The Internet wasn't ugly enough. I likes my internet like I likes my TV, Radio, Newspapers, and Magazines - 60% ads.
I despise Safari and I think they really need to take some time from iPod development and work on this app. But hey, I use it because it easily syncs all of my bookmarks with .Mac and my laptop.
Page 5 of 6. 55 entries.


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OAKLAND -- It's not like the A's scaled Mount Everest on Sunday with a 6-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
Kilimanjaro, maybe.
Since the start of the 2011 season, Angels starter Jered Weaver had been as tough as anyone in baseball on the A's, going 8-1 with a 0.87 ERA.
This time around, the A's rocked him for four runs in the third inning and didn't let up the pressure, providing more than enough offense for starter Sonny Gray as Oakland completed a sweep of the three-game series.
Did the A's, who have won five of their first six against the Angels this year, mess with the Angels' minds? It was more like the two-time defending American League West champs certified their authenticity.
"It's important for the team to gain confidence," shortstop Jed Lowrie said. He homered and singled and drove in two runs. "Beyond that, as for sending a message, I don't know. I'm too focused on the day-to-day grind of things to analyze that."
Third baseman Josh Donaldson drove in seven runs in the series, two of them with a bases-loaded single in the third inning that broke Weaver's stranglehold on the Oakland offense. Donaldson said the sweep in which Oakland outscored the Angels 26-11 would speak for itself without the A's resorting to playing mind games.
"We played well this series," he said. "We got some timely hits. We pitched well. I think it's just one of those things. We walk out of here feeling good about ourselves."
And how should other teams feel about the A's, now an American League-best 35-22 and 4½ games up on the Angels in the A.L. West?
"Hopefully they'll take us for granted," Donaldson said with a big smile. "Our whole thing is trying to take it one game at a time."
It seems that's wishful thinking on Donaldson's part. Weaver made it clear that any team that underestimates the A's is likely to have egg on its face when the day is done.
"Coming up in the early years, it was a team we looked forward to playing," Weaver said. "You can't take them for granted now.
"They have a good young staff that is throwing the ball well. The guys in the middle of the lineup (are) doing some damage, and guys at the bottom (are) doing the right things to get on base and set things up for the guys in the middle. You remember this feeling."
The Angels still have four months left in the season, so they have to make up only about one game a month to catch Oakland. They can put a dent into the A's in just over a week when Oakland's three-city trip winds up with three games in Anaheim.
For now, however, the A's focus has to be on three games in Yankee Stadium starting Tuesday.
What's clear is that if the A's can hit the heights against Weaver, they shouldn't have inferiority complexes against almost anybody. Weaver was 5-0 with a 0.47 ERA in his last six meetings with Oakland. This time, the A's scored six runs off him, more than any team this year. Oakland's four-run third inning was more runs than Weaver had allowed in any of his previous eight starts.
"We made him work some, but for the first time we squared some balls up," manager Bob Melvin said. "We hit a few balls that found some holes. But he's always difficult; you never know what you're going to see from him. He's as unpredictable as any pitcher in the league."
That kind of unpredictable aura is something that Gray is working on, too. Like Weaver a starter on opening day this year, Gray ran his record to 6-1 with a 2.45 ERA by limiting the damage.
"It seemed like for this series, whenever they had a chance to break through," Donaldson said in speaking of the Angels, "our pitchers would shut them down. Sonny did that today. When we had chances, we got some big hits."
To make room on the roster for Vogt, the A's sent right-handed pitcher Fernando Rodriguez down despite some outstanding numbers, including a 1.13 ERA and a .143 batting average against.
For more on the A's, see John Hickey's Inside the A's blog at ibabuzz.com/athletics. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JHickey3.
A's (Scott Kazmir 6-2) at N.Y. Yankees (Hiroki Kuroda 4-3), 4:05 p.m. CSNCA


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STOCKTON - A police SWAT team was involved in a standoff late Friday in the 5200 block of Riverbrook Drive after three men robbed a bank earlier in the evening, authorities said. At least one of the three men was believed to be inside a home on Riverbrook Drive, police said. Several people were detained.
Authorities said three masked men robbed a Bank of the West in the 3200 block of West March Lane and fled with an undisclosed amount of money. The police investigation led officers to multiple locations, including the home on Riverbrook Drive, authorities said.
Location, ST | website.com


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Venice woman injured in hit-and-run crash
Published: Sunday, December 15, 2013 at 7:10 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, December 15, 2013 at 7:10 a.m.
SARASOTA COUNTY - A hit-and-run driver caused a Venice woman to be seriously injured Saturday night.
At about 11:50 p.m., Connie A. Davis, 51, drove north on U.S. 41 on a 2013 Honda. The driver of a westbound 2001 Lincoln Continental on Rubens Drive failed to stop at a stop sign and struck Davis' motorcycle. Davis was ejected. The driver of the car fled on foot.
Paramedics took Davis to Venice Regional Medical Center.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Florida Highway Patrol at (239) 938-1800.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


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SPRING CREEK, Nev. - The Spring Creek girls basketball team got a taste of its own medicine Saturday against Truckee.
In a game that was physical throughout and got chippy towards the end, the Lady Spartans used a 16-0 start to slug their way past a hard-nosed Wolverines squad, 51-24.
The Spartans, like so many other games, looked like they were going to run away from their opponent early.
It took Truckee nearly 7 minutes to score its first points and Spring Creek led 18-4 after the first quarter.
From there, though, Truckee began to find success playing Spring Creek's own game, back at them.
Known for playing aggressive defense and racing down the floor for transition offense, the Spring Creek girls have dominated the Division I-A basketball landscape in the last seven years.
Truckee offered them a look in the mirror.
The Wolverines got physical with the Spartans on defense and found much of their success scoring on fast breaks.
For the game, Spring Creek committed four more turnovers than Truckee, and the Wolverines capitalized to score 14 of their 24 points on the fast break.
"After we played Elko (Friday) and then (Spring Creek Saturday), we are learning to match physicality with physicality. But, (we're teaching) that there is a difference between being physical and getting mad," said Truckee coach Geoff Stephens, whose team lost 65-32 at nearby Elko on Friday.
After outscoring Truckee 37-12 in the first half, the Spartans only scored two more points than the Wolverines in the second, 14-12.
"Our play let up a little bit and it's hard not to when you get up to a comfortable lead. But, we survived. Even if it wasn't a great second half we're still 4-0 (against the Division I-A) and we're in a good position," Spring Creek coach Holly Miller said.
The 27-point win Saturday was Spring Creek's closest league game of the season so far and the only one that was decided by less than 30 points.
For the second straight game, and her second game as a starter, Serima Thompson paced Spring Creek's perimeter game. The junior guard made two 3-pointers and scored a game-high 13 points.
Sydnie English led Truckee with 12 points, while Katey Hamill contributed six points.
Truckee played both games without senior guard Olivia Duner, who got hurt 90 seconds into the game against Elko when she took a knee to the quad, suffering a deep bruise or possible pinched nerve, Stephens said. She is one of Truckee's leading scorers and with her defensive ability allows Truckee to play man-to-man defense. In addition, junior guard Kaylee Neill went down in the second quarter of the Spring Creek game with a knee injury and sat out the rest.
Senior forward Jackie Bolton led the Wolverines with eight points against Elko. English and Cassandra Sawyer scored six points apiece.
While the Wolverines (7-6 overall) finished the weekend 0-2, they are 3-3 in Division I-A league games and have a win against Lowry this season. Spring Creek is 8-3 overall and Elko is 7-6.
UP NEXT: Truckee is scheduled to host North Valley on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
- Sierra Sun Sports Editor Sylas Wright contributed to this report.


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Felon accused of shooting gun in air
Published: Tuesday, January 1, 2013 at 3:33 p.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, January 1, 2013 at 3:33 p.m.
MANATEE COUNTY - Deputies arrested four people when they responded to reports of shots fired on New Year's Eve in a neighborhood near the DeSoto Square Mall.
About 10:45 p.m., deputies arrived at a home in the 700 block of 33rd Avenue Drive East, where a neighbor had reported that six to seven men were standing in the front yard shooting.
Deputies say they saw 34-year-old Demetrick Edwards shoot several times into the air with a .45-caliber pistol. At least three children were present.
Edwards tried to hide behind a fence, deputies say, but was spotted and arrested. A database check revealed that Edwards has seven felony convictions, says the Sheriff's Office, which arrested him on charges of possession of a firearm by a felon, openly carrying a firearm and improper exhibition of a firearm.
A 17-year-old struggled with deputies at the home and was subdued with a Taser, deputies say. As the boy was being arrested, his brother and mother attacked deputies, according to Sheriff's Office.
The boy's older brother, Joel Maldonado, 22, was arrested on an obstruction charge, after he struggled with deputies, the report says.
Their mother, Rosa Espinosa, 39, was arrested on charges of resisting arrest and battery on a law enforcement officer after she scratched a deputy's arm, the sheriff's report says.
When they searched Espinosa's vehicle, deputies found a Mossberg shotgun and a Walther 9 mm pistol in the trunk. The pistol had been reported stolen in Manatee County in 1997.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


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STOCKTON - A man walked into his home to find an armed robber in his bedroom Friday night after receiving a call from his alarm company alerting him to an alarm activation at his residence, authorities said.
The man returned to his home in the 300 block of East Bianchi Road about 11 p.m. after receiving the call from his alarm company. When he entered the home, the robber pulled a knife on him before fleeing through the back door and running south, police said.
The robber was described as 25 to 30 years old wearing a black jacket and black pants, authorities said. The victim was not injured.
Location, ST | website.com


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The largest school in the lake area graduated 325 seniors in its commencement ceremony Saturday night.
The Camdenton High School Class of 2013 was awarded a whopping $5.3 million in scholarship money towards higher education.
16 students earned Missouri Bright Flight honors. More than one third of the class — 138 students — completed the A+ program.
Two students were named National Merit Scholars, while 21 students earned International Baccalaureate diplomas.
21 students earned Cum Laude (3.8-3.99 GPA) honors, 17 earned Magna Cum Laude (4.0-4.19 GPA) distinctions and 39 seniors had GPAs higher than 4.2 to earn Summa Cum Laude honors.
Military commitments from the Laker Class of 2013 totaled 24.
Alexandria Brewer, Abi Williams and Makayla McCabe spoke during the Saturday ceremony.
Location, ST | website.com


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|Length Overall
|18' 9''
|Dry Weight
|Tested Weight
|Weight Capacity
|Draft Up
|Person Capacity
|Draft Down
|Fuel Capacity
|23 gal.
|Air Draft
|Water Capacity
|Length on Trailer
|Max Headroom
|Height on Trailer
|Bridge Clearance
|Trailer Weight
|Total Package Weight (Trailer,Boat & Engine)
|Prices, features, designs, and equipment are subject to change. Please see your local dealer or visit the builder's website for the latest information available on this boat model.
|Std. Power
|Not Available
|Tested Power
|1 x 115-hp Yamaha Outboards
|Opt. Power
Not Available
|The 186XT has sleek lines on the water
|Captain's helm
|Comfortable seating
|Convenient storage beneath seat
|A view of the ladder and outboard
|Enjoy fishing from the casting chairs
Well-Equipped Rig at a Good Value
By Capt. Robert Smith
Ranger continues to build on the advantages of the popular 176XT. The extra length is focused up front adding about 15 inches to the fishing deck. Another important part of the package is the custom trailer that now comes with the Ranger Road Armor protection.
From the Bow
The fishing space on the bow is more like what you would expect on a 20-footer. Stepping to either gunwale, you find the value of the wide beam and design that doesn't have you staggering back to the center to keep from swamping your own boat. The carpet covers the entire deck softening each step and keeping things stealthy. To port is a standard 40 pound 12-volt trolling motor with the wired foot control mounted to the center. The starboard side of the front has a step pad for sure footing when deploying the trolling motor or boosting yourself up on the front with the boat on the trailer.
Across the aft end of the bow deck you have a spot to put a casting seat or chair and three lockers. Two outboard lockers hold a ton of gear and tackle while the center locker has a 7'6" rod locker. Of course the storage is all lockable to keep your stuff secure when you're not around.
Cockpit Features
Stepping down into the cockpit, you have plenty of room to stretch out for the ride out to the fishing hole. The buddy seat has a running rod holder for two rods and a bungee strap at the top edge to hold it in place. Rubber pads protect the deck finish and the reels from damage. Both you and your fishing crew have cup holders for your morning coffee at your side. Seating is three across with fold-over seat backs and storage under the center seat. The driver's footwell is deep enough that I was comfortable at the helm, and I am 6 feet tall.
Aft Casting Platform
Working our way on back, the aft casting deck is still large enough to work the banks with your partner. You have room to keep your catch alive in a center livewell with removable center divider. Just outboard of the ends of the livewell are two more storage lockers for gear and tackle. Across the aft edge of the deck is a hatch for access to the batteries, on-board charger, oil reservoir and bilge plumbing. Locate on each corner are step pads for sure footing.
Trailer Package
This model has a custom matched single axle trailer with swing-away tongue. The frame is 4-inch steel channel protected by Road Armor coating. The spare is side mounted and you have grease hubs on the wheels. You can opt for disc brakes. On the trailer, the package is 20'1" with the tongue opened up and 98" wide.
The overall length of the 186XT hull is 18'9". She has a beam width of 89" and a transom height of 21". This model is rated for up to 115hp and I tested it with a Yamaha 115hp 2 stroke. She weighs about 1,450lbs and has a fuel capacity of 23 gallons. The center rod lockers can store rods up to 7'6". The cockpit depth is 16 ½".
Test Results
This boat will please the speed demon fisherman both with her budget friendly price and amazing performance for her size using a 2-stroke. With two grown guys on board, she seemed glued to the water with only a slight wiggle when trying to finesse the last tenth of a mile per hour at top end. She was out of the hole quickly in 3.1 seconds, and reached 30mph in about 7.7 seconds with two guys on board and 5/8ths of a tank of fuel. She reached a maximum of 51.6mph at 5600rpm and reached a best cruise of 31.6mph at 3500rpm for a total cruising range of 272 miles.
With an economy slumping and budgets breaking, it is harder to find a value product with exceptional performance. I believe the Stratos fills the bill of delivering a bass rig under 19 feet that fishes like a 22 footer, yet is budget friendly. When most deliver just the basics for budget friendly values, Stratos seems to be raising the bar.
|Battery Charger/Converter
|Exterior Features
|Carpet: Cockpit
= Standard = Optional
|Warranties change from time to time. While BoatTEST.com has tried to ensure the most up-to-date warranty offered by each builder, it does not guarantee the accuracies of the information presented below. Please check with the boat builder or your local dealer before you buy any boat.
|Hull Warranty
|Lifetime (original owner)
|Yes (10 years from the original purchase date)
|Gelcoat Warranty
|No/ Only by review
|No/ Only by review
|No/ Only by review
|Blistering Warranty
|No/ Only by review
|No/ Only by review
|Accessories Warranty
|1-3 years*
|Only to 2nd Purchaser within the warranty period of the component
|NMMA Certification
|Pricing Range
|Prices, features, designs, and equipment are subject to change. Please see your local dealer or visit the builder's website for the latest information available on this boat model.


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Kate Upton said she's considering going to the prom with a high school kid whose video invite went viral this week.
The two-time Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover girl, 20, saw the video made by high school senior Jake Davidson, and told him she'd check her schedule.
"You can call me Katie if you want!" the blonde, buxom model tweeted to Davidson, who asked (while taking a shower) in the video whether to call her "Kate" or "Katie." "How could I turn down that video! I'll check my schedule ;)" she wrote.
If she really goes, that kid's head is going to explode.
According to Us Weekly, the YouTube clip shows Davidson making his hilarious case for Upton to escort him to his prom on May 23, 2013.
"I'm Jewish, 5'9" on a really good day -- and I can't dance. At all," the L.A. resident said. "You're Christian, 5'10", and that Cat Daddy video should have won an Oscar for best short film. You could say this is destiny," he says, adding, "It would mean the world to me if you came and I would do anything to make sure you get here."
"Kate, great moments are born from great opportunity," he said. "And that, is what you have here today. A chance to make a nice guy's senior year the best ever."
Contact Tony Hicks on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BayAreaNewsGroup.TonyHicks, or on Twitter at twitter.com/insertfoot.


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A rape case in Steubenville, Ohio, involving some members of the city's beloved football team has drawn national attention. The Times said that it was a notable case because it was "a sexual assault accusation in the age of social media, when teenagers are capturing much of their lives on their camera phones ... and then posting it on the Web, like a graphic, public diary." There were some images of the crime uploaded to Twitter and Instagram that show the unconscious girl being carried around.
A sub-group of the hacker collective Anonymous called KnightSec has taken up the case and has planned a protest in Steubenville this afternoon. Over the past month, they have hacked the football team's website twice and released some personal information about the accused members of the football team.
Former Presidential candidate and television star Roseanne Barr is now aligning herself with the group after seeing their support of the Stubenville victim. She gave herself an extreme Twitter makeover over the holiday weekend, changing her background and display picture to a mashup of her face and the Guy Fawkes mask. She has previously said that V for Vendetta is the only movie that she likes.
When complimented on the profile change, Barr had only one word to say:
Barr is a manic Tweeter and she often spends hours at a time responding personally to her fans and critics. She told some members of Anonymous how she truly felt about their organization on Thursday night:
But this isn't Barr's first experience with the group. Earlier this year, she had an all out brawl with Anonymous after a simple misunderstanding led the popular account @YourAnonNews to call for her head:
It seems she has let bygones be bygones and is now fully in support of a group that once attacked her. Also, "Pedos r in charge," in case you didn't know:
[Image via Twitter]


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The Berkeley High girls soccer team showed it belonged in elite company last season, and the Yellowjackets' polished play has continued.
The Yellowjackets have clinched their first West Alameda County Conference-Foothill Division championship and should be a factor again in the North Coast Section Division I playoffs, a division headed by the one-two Danville punch of Monte Vista and San Ramon Valley.
Berkeley (15-2-1, 13-0-1 WACC-Foothill) boasts dynamic senior center back Carlin Hudson and two 14-goal scorers -- junior Franny Cerny and senior Farah Otero-Amad.
Making Cerny's statistics more impressive is the fact that opponents focus on stopping her, which creates space for her teammates.
Berkeley has lost only to East Bay Athletic League teams California and Monte Vista this season. The Yellowjackets were eliminated by Monte Vista in the NCS semifinals last season, in heartbreaking fashion. Berkeley led 2-0 with 25 minutes remaining before Monte Vista rallied to tie it and prevailed in penalty kicks.
Berkeley coach Suzanne Sillett described the loss as "disappointing for the girls, for sure, but I think it convinced us that we can play at that level and compete against the best."
The Yellowjackets have two wins over Bishop O'Dowd this season -- an impressive feat considering the Dragons won the past two NCS Division II championships.
Sillett said a key to Berkeley's rise has been facing better competition in the two-year-old WACC. Berkeley had won 12 consecutive Alameda Contra Costa Athletic League titles but was not consistently challenged, thus making it less-prepared for playoff competition.
The WACC doesn't equal the EBAL, but the competition is strong enough to help teams keep their edge.
Berkeley had a slow start this season in part because of late-arriving club players.
"After the holiday break, we certainly raised our level," Sillett said. "We're starting to play really well."
Boys soccer
Three weeks ago, Antioch's prospects of making the NCS Division I playoffs seemed bleak. The Panthers were 3-9-0 overall and had gone winless in their first two Bay Valley Athletic League games.
Since then, though, the Panthers have turned things around and have put themselves in a position to be seriously considered for a playoff spot.
"Once we crossed the threshold of playing simple soccer and as a unit, trusting each other and the younger kids on the team, we started seeing results," Antioch coach Bassam Altwal said. "We started having fun. Plus, in January, I got three players back who couldn't play based on grades. We started pressuring them on grades from the get-go, even players who didn't have the grades I made them practice with us all the time; when they got their grades they were ready and knew what to do."
And because those kids picked up right away with the team, Antioch has gone 5-1-1 in its past seven games and is in second place in the BVAL behind Pittsburg, which clinched the league title Tuesday with a 6-3 win over Liberty.
If Antioch gets into the playoffs, it could be dangerous.
"We will be the dark horse of the NCS; our (nonleague) season to me was a period to experiment and didn't really care about the results (which) gave lots of people the wrong impression about us," Altwal said. "Whoever wants to win NCS has to pass by us. The kids are coming together just in the right time; injuries permitting we will do well."
-- Matt Smith, correspondent