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MMA Forum - UFC Forums - UFC Results - MMA Videos (http://www.mmaforum.com/forumindex.php)
- Forum Feedback (http://www.mmaforum.com/forum-feedback/)
- - Signature Sizes (http://www.mmaforum.com/forum-feedback/11068-signature-sizes.html)
Signature Sizes
It has come to my attention that some people are linking to 250k - 1+ MB images in their signatures.
This makes surfing for other people unbearable as the pages will not complete loading.
At this time, we ask you to keep your image sizes in your sig down to less than 80k.
If the supermods or myself see sigs that are unreasonable in size, we will remove them without warning.
Well, Non prem members like me dont have to worry about it:laugh:
LOL. I just went through 1 page of a thread with over 6mb of signatures :laugh:
Wow, jesus... The forum is pretty fast though. Once .. like 2 months ago.. it took me 2 hours to open a topic.
Btw, this is nothing wrong with having big text and to much of it right?
I think you should blame those gif avatars. They are just as worse.
larger text is not an issue. Signature images and avatars were killing the site in the past. I remember opening one thread and it had just under 9mb of images. :laugh:
made a thread about this a while ago and got ignored http://www.mmaforum.com/mma-forum-fe...ignatures.html
glad someones see's the problem
Yea, we cant have people with 4 MB signatures, and have 5 unique people with different ones. It just kills the user experience because pages take to long to load.
I was wondering if i could have a banner in my sig that is over the limit if i dont use an avatar.
People like anton and Trey B use gif avatars and have banners in their sigs and combined that is way over the 80k limit.
me and trey paid for this right :thumbsup:
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So often this season, the Hornets have beaten teams using tough defense, sharp shooting and a special performance from a guard. On Friday night, New Orleans watched as another team - the hottest one in the league - did exactly that.
The Houston Rockets extended their NBA-best winning streak to 11 games, dominating the Hornets 100-80 before a crowd of 17,714 - the third sellout of the season - at the New Orleans Arena.
Rockets guard Tracy McGrady had a game-high 34 points and six assists, while center Yao Ming picked up a double-double with 28 points and 14 rebounds.
"I think when both of those guys are clicking on all cylinders, it's tough to beat them," Hornets point guard Chris Paul said.
Hornets forward David West and Paul each had double-doubles, but the game was a blowout by the end of the third quarter.

subset: commoncrawl


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The Best Fitness Trackers
We conducted research, surveyed readers, interviewed industry and exercise-physiology experts, walked, ran (and ran some more), slept, grocery-shopped, jumping-jacked, swung kettlebells, analyzed user experience, and got many a curious look from passersby. And after 60 hours of all that activity, we determined that the Garmin Vívosmart HR is the best fitness tracker for most people. It effectively collects the same data as top competitors from Fitbit and Jawbone but offers a larger, more legible touchscreen and more useful smartphone-notification options, as well as full waterproofing to 50 meters—other models are merely splash-resistant.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $150.
The Vívosmart HR checks off nearly all of the boxes: It tracks steps, floors climbed, distance traveled, calories burned, and active minutes. Its display is easy to read, and you can customize it more than its peers to show whatever metrics you desire. The display also manages to show smartphone notifications and the current weather along with music-player and camera remote controls, something its closest competitor, the Fitbit Charge HR, can't touch. Its distance-measuring accuracy is particularly impressive, even when compared with that of trackers sporting built-in GPS receivers. It also monitors heart rate continuously, keeping a record of both resting pulse and workout intensity; many rivals do one or the other but not both. (However, the heart-rate data isn't always accurate, which is true of every tracker we tested.) And it packs all of this functionality into a slim, waterproof package.
For about the same price, the Fitbit Charge HR offers a more user-friendly app and better online opportunities for friendly competition than the Garmin Vívosmart HR. Unlike our top pick, however, it's merely "splash-proof" rather than waterproof, and its screen lacks an always-on mode—you have to tap the display or move your wrist to view the time or other metrics, including your heart rate during a workout. On top of that, the Charge HR is capable of receiving missed-call alerts but no others, and its band is stiff and less comfortable than the Garmin's stretchy strap.
If you want not only to collect stats on your activity levels but also to receive advice on what to do, look to the Jawbone UP3. It measures the same stats as our other picks (except active heart rate), and the slim band looks more like jewelry than a high-tech fitness device. Based on your data, the app's Smart Coach feature provides advice to make improvements to your health, which other trackers can't match. However, the merely splash-proof UP3 lacks a display screen, monitors only resting heart rate (not intensity during workouts), and often retails for about $30 more than our other picks.
For stealthy activity tracking, clip the Fitbit One on a pocket or waistband, or elsewhere on your clothing. For about half the price of our top wrist picks, you'll get the basics, including step and stair tracking, plus a record of your sleep if you wear the One at night with the included soft-fabric band. You can also take advantage of the great Fitbit community. What you won't get is heart-rate tracking, or step counting that's any more accurate than what wrist-worn options offer (see How we picked and tested for more).
Table of contents
- Why you should trust us
- Who should get this
- How we picked and tested
- Our pick
- Flaws but not dealbreakers
- Runner-up (with a better app)
- A stylish pick that gives you advice
- A clip-on pick for discreet tracking or team sports
- The competition
- What to look forward to
Why you should trust us
I'm a certified personal trainer (NASM-CPT), a running coach (USATF Level 1), and a regionally competitive runner. I also served as the staff writer for the Good Housekeeping Institute for nearly five years, working closely with the engineers and other scientists to interpret product test results.
In researching for this guide, we started with a survey of more than 800 Wirecutter readers, who told us that when they shop for a fitness tracker, they prioritize a slim design with a display, accurate step counting, waterproofing, and an integrated heart-rate monitor. I also reviewed innumerable articles from sources such as CNET, Gizmodo, and WIRED, interviewed industry experts Jill Duffy of PCMag and Ray Maker of DC Rainmaker, and discussed heart-rate monitoring with Clinton Brawner, PhD, a clinical exercise physiologist at Henry Ford Medical Center in Detroit.
Who should get this
The lines that separate a dedicated fitness tracker from a GPS running watch, a smartwatch, or even a smartphone have never been blurrier. Now you can find fitness trackers with GPS and push notifications, running watches with fitness tracking, and smartwatches with both. But as our testing revealed, a device that's designed to do all of those tasks isn't necessarily good at all of them.
Generally speaking, if getting information or advice on your overall fitness level is your primary goal, a fitness tracker is your best bet because it offers comprehensive data while remaining relatively affordable. If you're a runner, a GPS watch provides a better interface for tracking your pacing and other stats, and it's better for capturing and comparing your data across outings. Finally, a smartwatch, which often costs at least twice as much as a fitness tracker, is a good pick only if you're willing to pay extra for the smartphone connectivity it provides. Smartwatches also last only a day or two between charges, which limits the amount of data they can collect.
If you're looking for a way to monitor your activity, sleep, and workouts, or if you need encouragement to improve your current fitness level, choose a dedicated activity tracker with heart-rate monitoring. These devices provide at-a-glance feedback regarding steps taken (as well as reminders to get up and move), measure the intensity of your exercise, and report on the quality of your sleep. And because they typically last about four to seven days between charges as opposed to the couple of days you get from a smartwatch, they give you a more complete picture of your fitness level. Taken together, these measures can help you make positive changes to your health. Such devices also let you set up friendly competitions among your relatives and friends who have trackers of the same brand, and their ability to create conduits to pass or interchange data with other health-focused apps enhances the value.
All the best trackers these days include continuous heart-rate monitoring, a feature that many GPS watches and smartwatches, and almost all smartphones, lack. Your pulse is one of the best indicators of overall health—depending on the context—so capturing it to develop a complete picture is important.
Having an idea of your resting heart rate—the lowest bpm (beats per minute) at which your heart pumps blood, a figure best taken when you first wake up—helps you gauge improvements in your overall fitness. A resting heart rate that lowers over time is one indication that your heart muscle is getting stronger and more efficient at pumping blood.1 The other benefit to heart-rate tracking is the ability to quantify your training intensity.2 The people who benefit most from this data are heart patients under doctor's orders and competitive athletes honing their fitness. As exercise physiologist Clinton Brawner explained to us in an interview, "Monitoring heart rate can provide biofeedback about an individual's response to an exercise program. Following several weeks of regular aerobic exercise, heart rate will be lower at rest and at a given exercise pace (e.g., 3 mph). Some people appreciate this feedback."
If you're an avid runner, you're better off with a GPS running watch. A few trackers offer integrated GPS, but a running watch gives better real-time feedback on your pacing while you're running. It also tracks your actual route in addition to your distance traveled. Furthermore, the latest running watches pull double duty as regular fitness trackers, so you have no need to get a tracker on top of one of those watches. Some GPS watches even have optical heart-rate monitors built in. If heart-rate monitoring is your primary concern, whether you opt for a fitness tracker or a GPS watch, a dedicated strap monitor still provides greater accuracy and faster readings.
If you're more cursorily curious about your daily movements, or if you want a quick way to track a run, you may be satisfied with the tracking capabilities of a smartphone and apps. Unless you turn it off, your iPhone (5s or newer) tracks your step count automatically in the Health app anyway, and Google Fit on Android can track your steps, too. However, a smartphone is less practical for providing the whole picture of your wellness efforts unless you carry it on your body constantly. And it can't track your heart rate or sleep quality without additional hardware or software.
Finally, if you're more interested in having smartphone functions on your wrist, a smartwatch with activity-tracking abilities might work best for you. But a smartwatch tends to cost a lot more than a fitness tracker, has a one-to-two-day battery life as opposed to four to five days for a tracker, and can be distracting if you don't like to be attached to your phone at all times. Though some fitness trackers support phone notifications, their interactive capabilities and onboard apps are currently limited or nonexistent.
No matter which of these options you choose, Brawner told us, "the most important thing is for people to be more active. If technology helps to motivate someone, then I am all for it. One trick doesn't work for all."
How we picked and tested
In our reader survey, a whopping 71 percent of respondents said they want heart-rate monitoring in a fitness tracker, and more than half (54 percent) told us they plan to use it for monitoring the intensity of their workouts. As for the design, 43 percent said they prefer a simple, unobtrusive band to a sports or analog watch or jewelry look, and 57 percent indicated that they want a display for reviewing stats at a glance. Water resistance is important to 43 percent, and nearly half (47 percent) listed accurate step count as a must-have. Finally, respondents pinpointed a price of $150 as the sweet spot.
Fortunately, the offerings are coming around to match what consumers want. Using the above criteria, plus the insights of industry journalists Jill Duffy of PCMag and Ray Maker of DC Rainmaker, as well as reviews from CNET, Engadget, WIRED, and other websites, we examined the market and winnowed 26 initial contenders down to seven trackers that seemed to fill the bill: the Basis Peak, Fitbit Charge HR, Fitbit Surge, Garmin Vívosmart HR, Jawbone UP3, Microsoft Band 2, and Polar A360.
I then set out to test these products both as a group and individually. To gauge step-count accuracy, I wore all seven bands simultaneously for two full days, paying attention to which devices' instructions recommended wearing on the dominant hand versus the nondominant hand, if they specified that. (Fitbit lets you pick your preference, so I wore one on each wrist.) I compared their readings with those of two hip-worn trackers, a Fitbit One and an older-model Omron pedometer, both of which I expected to capture fewer errant steps.3 Surprisingly, the nine devices' results were all over the map, ranging from 8,104 to 11,427 steps on the first day and from 8,508 to 10,595 steps on the second day. This included variation between the two hip trackers, both of which I watched as they counted a series of steps incorrectly—too high for the Fitbit One, and too low for the Omron. That said, step counts were generally consistent for each device (the Microsoft Band 2 was the low number on both test days, for example), so for relative comparison with a single device you purchase, you should be fine.
To home in on what might be affecting the accuracy, I clapped along to Queen's "We Will Rock You" (resisting the urge to also slap my thighs) to determine if arm movement minus leg movement registered as steps, and I also took the trackers for a stroll pushing a grocery cart around my local supermarket to see if they could capture my strides when my arms weren't moving. Finally, I did three sets of 30 kettlebell swings to determine whether that arm-plus-hip movement logged any steps.
Indeed, the claps foiled all seven wrist trackers, and only the hip trackers counted the 500 or so steps I actually took at the store. Curiously, only the Omron pedometer registered zero "steps" during my kettlebell exercise; even the Fitbit One registered nearly every one of the 180 forward-and-backward movements my hips took during those 90 swings.
For a look at how the trackers fared in a more standardized step-movement pattern, I ran for one mile on a treadmill to see how well each device captured distance traveled. My movements were even and consistent in this test, and I took steps with a matched arm swing. Three trackers nailed the distance down to the tenth (Polar) or hundredth (Garmin and Jawbone) of a mile.
All of the trackers contain technology that determines stride length based on factors such as your height and movement intensity. On a few of them, you can set your particular stride length manually to improve accuracy. Instead of calculating and entering mine, however, I used the defaults in this treadmill test, assuming that most people won't want to fuss with something that many trackers automatically figure out. All three Fitbit models, which do permit customized stride length, came up short, with the wrist trackers consistent with one another at 0.72 and 0.73 mile, and the One clip registering 0.78 mile.
All of the manufacturers concede that accuracy can vary—after all, wrist movements are consistent with leg movements only when someone is striding forward in a more-or-less straight line, which is not always how people move. But given that these devices' ultimate intention is to capture the user's activity and encourage more of it, they all deliver in spades. To determine your personal baseline, I recommend wearing your new device for a few days without making any concerted effort to change your usual habits, and then using those numbers to build on.
For heart-rate accuracy, I performed two tests pitting each band against a Garmin chest-strap monitor: a sequence of 30-second intervals of jumping jacks and recovery, and a five-minute steady-state treadmill run. For each, I recorded heart-rate readings every 30 seconds during the exercise and for two minutes of recovery following. (I excluded the Jawbone from these tests because it doesn't track heart rate during workouts.)
These test results also gave me pause: In general, the trackers were slow to notice an increase in heart rate when compared with the strap monitor, and in far too many cases they overshot or undershot the control heart rate by more than 5 bpm, which was on the very outside of the tolerance that exercise physiologist Clinton Brawner told us was acceptable for training use. With too-high readings, you may erroneously slow your workout pace and get less of a benefit; with too-low readings, you might wonder if you're not working hard enough and push past your target zone.
Curiously, the trackers often seemed to "catch up" during recovery periods, but that isn't so helpful if your aim is to monitor exertion. Our data was a bit better for the steady-state exercise versus the intervals, but the bottom line is, if heart-rate training is your primary aim, you're better served with a strap monitor. Otherwise, relying on the talk test (checking that you can say a few sentences without excessive breathiness) or gauging effort based on how you feel on a scale of 0 to 10 may be a better intensity indicator for when your fitness tracker seems to be giving you inaccurate data.
Finally, I spent some quality time with each band individually, assessing the comfort, the user friendliness of both product and app, the sleep tracking, and overall impressions. (Sorry, no comparison test on sleep tracking: I doubt I'd have slept well wearing all seven trackers at once, plus some of them wouldn't have been in an optimal position for reading my heart rate.)
One of the problems I've seen as a trainer is that people get excited about their new activity toy, use it for a bit, and then either tire of it or outgrow it. For these reasons, I paid particular attention to the features that encourage next-level fitness, including integration with other apps, opportunities for friendly competition, and tracking for workouts while the user is running, cycling, training, and more.
Our pick
*At the time of publishing, the price was $150.
The Garmin Vívosmart HR narrowly edged out the also-good Fitbit Charge HR because it tracks everything the Charge HR does but offers more features for around the same price. Its larger, always-on, customizable touchscreen display is easier to read and interact with; it's completely waterproof to 50 meters (as opposed to just "splash-proof") for worry-free use in the shower or pool; and it's impressively accurate in measuring distance traveled, despite a lack of GPS.
And while the Fitbit offers only missed-call alerts, the Garmin gives you smartphone notifications for calls, texts, email, and social media, plus music controls, at-a-glance weather forecasts, and a handy "find my phone" feature that lets you play Marco Polo with your misplaced phone if it's in Bluetooth range. Finally, its integration with the Apple Health app gives you more flexibility in how you use your data and partially compensates for the Garmin Connect app's lack of polish. Overall, we believe the benefits of the Vívosmart HR's hardware make it a more complete fitness-tracking device than anything else currently available.
The Garmin's touch-sensitive passive OLED display is its biggest advantage over competing trackers. The display is always readable in ambient light, and a screen light comes on at the graze of a fingertip for legibility in the dark. (In contrast, the Fitbit model's screen has no always-on mode and requires prompting to light up.) You can orient every screen except smartphone notifications in portrait mode, which I immensely preferred to landscape orientation for more comfortable viewing on my wrist. Some other trackers with long screens, such as the Microsoft Band 2, offer only landscape orientation, which forces you to tilt your wrist in an awkward position to read the screen.
And because the Vívosmart HR has a touchscreen, you can easily start an activity with a couple of taps instead of sorting through a maze of button presses just to tell the device that you're beginning a run, swim, or yoga session. Finally, via the app you can select exactly which data screens and smartphone notifications you want your Garmin tracker to show for a personalized experience.
Active people aren't active only when and where it's dry, so we appreciate the fact that the Garmin tracker is fully waterproof down to 5 atm or 50 meters, a major pro in PCMag's opinion as well. That means you can safely wear it in the shower, tub, or pool. (The same goes for the Basis Peak; the Polar A360 is water resistant to 30 meters or 3 atm.) The Fitbit Charge HR—as well as the Fitbit Surge, Jawbone UP3, and Microsoft Band 2—are merely splash-proof.
While the Vívosmart HR's step-count accuracy is serviceable, it's far from perfect. Wrist movements can register as steps, and steps without wrist movements may not register, but I saw similar problems with every tracker I tested, including the clip-based Fitbit One and the Omron pedometer I wore as a control.
Nonetheless, the Garmin Vívosmart HR measured distance impressively in our 1-mile treadmill test, where it was spot-on to a hundredth of a mile. The Polar A360 and the Jawbone UP3 also did well in this controlled test, but the Garmin Vívosmart HR set itself apart when I took it on an outdoor interval run (the workout I was doing on the day I tested it solo). I ran eight quarter-mile repeats with quarter-mile recovery for a distance of 4 miles, as measured by the Garmin Vívoactive GPS watch. The Vívosmart HR measured just one-tenth of a mile longer than the GPS watch—especially impressive considering that my stride length (which the Vívosmart HR was capable of estimating) most certainly varied for the fast quarter-miles versus the recovery ones. If tracking distance for runs is your priority and you don't care about knowing your actual route, you could feasibly get away with using this tracker instead of a dedicated running watch. This isn't a huge surprise given that the original Vívosmart (our former pick for runners) and the Garmin Vívofit have always been good at estimating distance, but it does set the Vívosmart HR apart from other trackers.
The other area in which the Vívosmart HR shines is ergonomics. I found it easy to put on and reasonably comfortable to wear as long as I didn't strap it on too tightly—the optical sensor sticks out slightly in back and can leave a dent in your skin. It's downright petite in comparison with the mammoth Basis Peak and Fitbit Surge, both of which were uncomfortably large on my small wrist. I appreciate that both the Garmin Vívosmart HR and the Fitbit Charge HR come in different band sizes, though I wish the hardware portion of each were more contoured for a snug fit. The Vívosmart HR sticks up just a bit higher than the Charge HR—CNET reviewer Dan Graziano dings the Garmin tracker on its "bulky" design—but I didn't find it any more obtrusive, and Garmin's supple stretchy band is both easier to fasten and more comfortable than Fitbit's stiffer one.
Its resting-heart-rate measurement was accurate when compared with my own finger-on-pulse calculations, but its evaluation of my active heart rate was not as accurate. (I talk more about this problem in Flaws but not dealbreakers below.) However, I could say the same for all of the heart-rate monitoring devices.
The battery lasts about four to five days between charges, which is about in line with the longevity of other heart-rate monitoring fitness trackers, including the Fitbit Charge HR.
Beyond the fitness features, the Vívosmart HR also offers impressive integration and other functions. The smartphone alerts are robust for a fitness tracker, an observation that CNET's review also makes. With the Vívosmart HR, nearly every notification you can get on your phone you can also view on your wrist. The Charge HR shows only missed-call alerts.
In addition to letting you select exactly which data and smart notifications it should show, the Garmin model has an activity mode for tracking workouts (the most important thing to set if you care about recording a run's distance), an altimeter for measuring flights of stairs climbed, internal memory for up to 14 days' worth of data, remote-control options for music on your smartphone, and a handy "find my phone" feature. It also plays nice with Apple HealthKit for integration of all your health data in one place, while Fitbit products do not. If you happen to own a Garmin VIRB camera, you can use the Vívosmart HR as a remote control for that as well, but we didn't test this function. Only the Microsoft Band 2 could beat the Vívosmart HR's level of notification support and interactivity, but it costs $100 more and really competes as a smartwatch.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The app that Garmin offers with the Vívosmart HR can't quite compete with Fitbit's, and that's the Vívosmart HR's biggest flaw. Garmin Connect has steadily improved from its early days, but it still feels overly complicated next to Fitbit's streamlined simplicity: The info that Fitbit's app shows in one scrollable screen takes Garmin Connect multiple screens to show. However, Garmin continually pushes app updates, so we have reasonable hopes that Garmin Connect will improve.
The other area in which Garmin lags behind Fitbit is in social integration. When it comes to fitness, friendly competition is a great way to inspire improvement, and although Garmin isn't hurting for users, the company simply doesn't have the audience of step-count-focused casual users that Fitbit has. Garmin is making strides to change that by installing activity tracking in a number of its newer GPS watches, but its core audience still skews much more heavily toward runners and cyclists.
As with all of the other models, the Garmin Vívosmart HR's heart-rate tracking didn't impress me. In my interval workout, it lagged behind the control strap and didn't capture my peak heart rate until about 15 seconds after exertion. In my steady-state run, it measured my heart rate to be much higher than the control—as much as 20 bpm higher. However, its last three readings were just 1, 1, and 3 bpm off, respectively, and after a 30-second delay in registering my recovery, it caught up to within 3 bpm once more. These results aren't too shabby overall, but they indicate that the Garmin tracker isn't reliable enough to replace a dedicated strap if you're serious about measuring active heart rate. The Fitbit Charge HR struggled even more than the Garmin Vívosmart HR in keeping up with my intervals but fared slightly better in the steady-state run, giving me consistently low readings that were up to 16 bpm off from the control.
In his in-depth review of the Vívosmart HR, Ray Maker of DC Rainmaker reports similarly unreliable results for interval training and notes that in his tests the stated resting heart rate tended to err on the high side—he attributes this to a lower sampling rate that excludes motionless periods. But he also found that it tracked pretty close to accurate in regular, medium-intensity running. If you get readings that are blatantly off, he suggests trying the following:
A) Moving it away from the wrist bone. It should be at least 1-2cm away (and never on-top).
B) Try putting it on the inside of your wrist (the soft fleshy part, generally sensors do better there).
C) Try the other wrist, you'd be surprised how often that makes a difference
The DC Rainmaker review also notes that you can rebroadcast the heart-rate data to other ANT+ devices (such as a running watch or a cycling computer) if you so desire. But we wouldn't bother due to the general unpredictability of the heart-rate monitoring.
Overall, in our tests none of the other fitness trackers that have heart-rate monitoring (including the Vívosmart HR) were very accurate when compared with a chest strap. The heart-rate data readings you get from any of these devices are better viewed as ballpark estimates—which is why we're not surprised by the recently filed Fitbit class-action lawsuit. If you're planning on doing heart-rate training, you should invest in a separate strap.
The Vívosmart HR's sleep tracking provides interesting data on light versus heavy sleep based on your heart rate and movements. But I know that I was wide awake for at least a few minutes at 3 a.m. one night when I was testing the Vívosmart HR and the Charge HR head-to-head, yet neither of them picked that up. Conceding that I have no practical way to test the sleep tracking, I was most impressed with the presentation of the sleep data on the Jawbone UP3.
As for the silent vibrating alarm feature, the Vívosmart HR's worked fine and went off at the scheduled time. But I liked the UP3's wake alarm best: Not only does it have a gentle-yet-effective vibration that doesn't quit until you hit the band, but it also purports to wake you at the optimal moment up to 30 minutes before your alarm based on your depth of sleep, so you'll be less groggy. The Garmin and Fitbit alarms wake you at the scheduled time only, and the Garmin alarm buzzes rather audibly, which could disturb a sleeping companion.
Note that the Vívosmart HR drops the ANT+ support found on the original Vívosmart model. This means no more support for older external heart-rate monitoring strap or cycling sensors. The fact that the Vívosmart HR measures heart rate on its own makes up for this oversight in most cases, though.
Runner-up (with a better app)
The admirable Fitbit Charge HR, our pick in the March 2015 version of this guide, remains a great tracker. It performs comparably to the Garmin Vívosmart HR in almost every fitness-tracking category except for estimating running distance, where it undercounted by about a quarter mile in my tests. And the Fitbit app offers more user friendliness and has more social-interaction features than Garmin Connect. Overall, however, the Charge HR comes in a close second to the Vívosmart HR for one big reason: its tiny screen.
In contrast to the Garmin device's large touchscreen display, the Fitbit tracker's non-touchscreen OLED display remains black to conserve battery life unless you tilt your wrist or double-tap the band; I found both responses inconsistent. To my mind, if you're going to wear something that replaces a watch, you should be able to simply look down to see the time. A bigger usability complaint is that the Charge HR's screen doesn't have an always-on mode for viewing heart rate during a workout—I found myself tapping and button-pushing a whole lot during my heart-rate tests. (This is also a nuisance with the Polar A360.)
The Charge HR is also merely "splash-proof," not waterproof, which seems like an oversight for a product that in theory you should wear 24/7. This could be a dealbreaker if you're a swimmer, and it made me nervous when I got caught running in a pretty heavy downpour (though the Charge HR survived).
The thick, stiff rubber band of the Charge HR is another disappointment: It's tricky to clasp, and it traps in heat and moisture, particularly during a workout (a problem for the Fitbit Surge and the Microsoft Band 2 as well). And while the Charge HR differs in design from the earlier Fitbit Force, which suffered a recall because it caused wrist rashes, our reviewer Jim McDannald had an unpleasant experience: "My skin that contacted the clasp became red and irritated after two weeks of wear. This is the first time ever I've had a skin reaction to the metal on a fitness tracker or watch. If you have a history of similar skin sensitivity, I would suggest a different wrist or clip tracker."
If, like 12 percent of our survey respondents, you consider social interaction a priority for your fitness tracker, you may prefer the Fitbit Charge HR. In addition to giving you access to a notably active internal community, its software allows you to link to Facebook to find friends who've done the same. "If you have friends or family members that own a Fitbit, however, I recommend you buy the Fitbit Charge HR," writes CNET's Dan Graziano in his review. "Friends don't let friends track fitness alone."
Ray Maker of DC Rainmaker writes in his review of the Vívosmart HR that the Charge HR is overall "a more 'basic' version of what Garmin is delivering," and we agree with that assessment. If you prefer to interact with an app instead of with the tracker itself, the Fitbit Charge HR will give you a better experience. But we think the Garmin Vívosmart HR's bigger screen and greater functionality make it a better pick for most people because it's a more complete device.
A stylish pick that gives you advice
The Jawbone UP3 is a bit of an outlier in this category, but you might consider it if you want a discreet device that doesn't scream "fitness tracker" and also provides more guidance and insight on what to do with the data it gathers. (And for what it's worth, the UP3 is one of Oprah's Favorite Things.)
The slim UP3 looks a lot different from the other trackers: Slim and screenless, it comes in a variety of finishes that make it look more like a bracelet than a watch. To log and see your data, you need to have your smartphone nearby, but as long as the phone's Bluetooth is on, the UP3 syncs regularly and updates you on your activity progress throughout the day.
Where the Jawbone UP3 gets really good is in the Smart Coach feature. The app analyzes your data and provides feedback: where you went right, and tips on how to improve where you went wrong. For example, one morning it told me that my resting heart rate was higher than usual and that I might be dehydrated—this suggestion made sense, because I'd been at a cocktail party the previous evening. The graphics and charts for the data it collects on activity and sleep are also well designed, easy to understand, and interactive. On top of that, the band has a smart alarm that you can program to wake you with a gentle vibration up to 30 minutes before your scheduled time, based on when your sleep is lightest during that period.
On the negative side, the UP3 doesn't offer heart-rate tracking during workouts—it records only resting and passive heart rate when you're inactive. But it will notice when your activity increases, and the app will ask you later if you worked out and if you want to log that block of time as such. Its lack of a screen might also be a drawback, particularly if you think that a fitness tracker should double as a watch. And it's usually about $30 more expensive than our other picks.
Oh, and you can safely ignore the Jawbone UP4 (unless it happens to be on sale for less than the UP3), since it's exactly the same as the UP3 but with built-in American Express NFC payments—think Apple Pay or Android Pay, but only for AmEx cards. If you think that feature is worth an extra $20 on top of the cost of the already pricey UP3, go for it. But the UP4 is really a niche product.
A clip-on pick for discreet tracking or team sports
For some people, simplicity is king. The tiny Fitbit One, which clips to a waistband, a pocket, or some other portion of your clothing, counts steps taken, floors climbed, calories burned, and distance traveled without occupying your wrist real estate. It's great for team sports and other activities where, for practical or safety reasons, you can't wear a wrist tracker. (If you also want to take advantage of its sleep tracking, though, you'll have to wear it with the included soft-fabric band.) You still get the superior Fitbit app, with access to its active community. The battery life is superior, too, at 10 to 14 days versus the four to five days you can expect from most of the wrist-mounted options.
Typically we expect clip trackers to be more accurate than wrist ones at step counting because they should detect leg movement; however, judging from my testing and anecdotal evidence, I'm not sure the One is any better (or worse) than wrist trackers. It was the only one of the tested trackers to capture an accurate picture of my steps during my grocery-cart test, and naturally it ignored the hand claps I performed along with "We Will Rock You." On the other hand, it logged nearly every one of the ups and downs of my 90 kettlebell swings (apparently, my hips don't lie), and I watched it count too many paces during an unofficial stride test. Its distance measure on my 1-mile treadmill run was also short, at 0.78 mile. And it lacks heart-rate monitoring.
The competition
The Microsoft Band 2 is packed with features and does all the requisite tracking: steps, stairs, and passive and active heart rate. It even has GPS for running and cycling. You can customize its crisp color AMOLED display to show pretty much whatever data you want plus smartphone notifications, and it even allows you to reply to texts. Among our test group, the Band 2's buckle was by far the easiest to fasten. This model's curved shape makes it more comfortable than the previous Band, though it can feel still heavy and constricting, particularly when you're engaged in activity where you want your wrist to flex, such as yoga (a drawback that PCMag's review also notes).
I like what the Microsoft Band 2 is trying to accomplish. It's a sleek smartwatch-like band for fitness buffs—or is it an activity tracker with some nicely polished extras? A number of other reviewers, including CNET's Scott Stein, have expressed similar confusion. Ultimately, for me, the Band 2 was a pain in the shoulder, the body part that took the brunt of the weird contorting I had to do in order to read the horizontal display screen. As the PCMag review suggests, a software update to allow landscape orientation would be a huge improvement.
My testing results also call its accuracy into question: The Band 2 registered the fewest steps of all the trackers I tested, and its heart-rate monitoring consistently delayed in registering exertion. Once it finally registered, it overshot my actual heart rate by as much as 25 bpm—which is higher than my actual max heart rate (I've had it tested in a lab). I also took the Band 2 for an outdoor run, and the screen helpfully told me that I could start, and the GPS would catch up. Then it registered my first mile at a 6-minute pace (something I'm physically capable of, but definitely not what I was doing as I weaved my way through the streets of Queens). And while the Band 2 is rated at 48 hours of battery life, in my informal testing it lasted little more than 24 hours, a disappointing result considering that the other models offer multiple days of use before needing a charge.
The Fitbit Surge is the Fitbit model designed for the more running- or workout-focused person. It adds a larger screen and GPS tracking, both of which work well. But at more than $200, it's a hard sell. This tracker is worth considering if you love the Fitbit ecosystem and want sports-watch capabilities plus smartphone notifications. The Surge's display is similar to the Garmin Vívosmart HR's, consisting of a passive OLED screen with backlighting when you touch it. This tracker also shows the time and can receive notifications for calls and texts (though not for email, calendar, or social media items), and it can control music on a smartphone.
The GPS functionality allows more precision in tracking runs and bike rides, and multiple workout settings allow you to better categorize your fitness activities. The built-in timer is a nice addition, as well. But the Surge is quite large—not my ideal for all-day wear and definitely not for sleeping. A number of GPS running watches in its price range include activity tracking, too, so if you're more serious about your running and uninterested in Fitbit's ecosystem, one of those watches will be a better buy for your money.
The Fitbit Blaze represents the company's first attempt at a smartwatch. But we advise waiting for the second attempt—or at least until the Blaze gets some more apps. Preliminary hands-on reports from PCMag and The Next Web both conclude that the Blaze doesn't do enough to justify its premium over other fitness trackers yet. A smartwatch is only as good as its ecosystem support, after all, and a dedicated Android Wear or Apple Watch will be much better in that regard because you can respond to notifications as opposed to just receiving them. With the Blaze, for $200 you get what's essentially a GPS-less Surge. It does look a bit better than its sibling, but judging from what we saw at this year's CES trade show, it's still a bit too large to look good on smaller wrists. The one distinct feature it adds is the ability to guide and track structured workout routines designed by Fitstar (think 7 Minute Workout). You can also buy straps to match your style, but they're expensive, ranging up to $150 for the steel-link band!
Neither Fitbit's new Alta band nor Garmin's Vívofit 3 has heart-rate monitoring, so we won't be considering either model for this guide. If you're interested in trackers without heart-rate monitoring, let us know in the comments, and we'll look into them in our next round of tests.
The Basis Peak received an honorable mention in the previous version of this guide for its sleep tracking and data export. But in the time since we last visited this category, heart-rate monitors and the adoption of HealthKit for data export have both become nearly universal, which limits its appeal. The Peak's ability to register an increase in activity and switch modes is cool, but I found the effect of watching the heart-rate screen and having it suddenly change to the activity screen jarring.
In my tests, the Peak's step counting was on the lower end of the spectrum overall. It registered the most errant "steps" from my hand clapping and among the most from my kettlebell swings, and the least actual steps when I was pushing a grocery cart (zero). Other gripes: It was absolutely enormous on my wrist, the stock band was tough to fasten through the two rubber loops, and the screen didn't always register my taps and swipes the first time. To make matters worse, I wasn't able to look at the detailed sleep-tracking data or test the data-exporting abilities this time because I couldn't get the device and the app on my Android device (running Marshmallow) to play with each other, despite the attempts of the very helpful support staff at Basis (both anonymously and through the public-relations team).4
The A360, Polar's first fitness watch with on-board heart-rate monitoring, feels like a work in progress (a conclusion echoed in DC Rainmaker's review). Its color AMOLED screen is nice to look at, but it takes the same mostly-off approach as the Fitbit Charge HR's display does. It tracks heart rate only during exercise and provides no record of resting heart rate, though a software update allows you to take your heart rate on the spot if you desire. Unfortunately, its heart-rate readings in general were disappointing—slow to catch up to exertion and registering up to 35 bpm too low during my steady-state run.
The Polar app is mediocre at best, though the little chart showing how much time you spend reclined, sitting, standing, walking, and running is nice. The device doesn't automatically sync, requiring more button pushing. I found the band tricky to fasten, and the tracker unit pops out of the band when you're charging it, requiring some fussing to pop it back in securely.
During the research stage for this guide, when we were homing in on the models to test, we learned from our reader-survey responses that fitness-tracker manufacturers are moving in the right direction in one particular regard: To be competitive in this latest generation of fitness trackers, the inclusion of onboard heart-rate sensing is essential. For this reason, we excluded the Fitbit Charge, Jawbone UP2, Razer Nabu (which subsequently received some pretty poor reviews on Amazon), Misfit Shine 2 (ditto), Health o meter nuyu (ditto again), and Mira Bracelet, as well as the analog-style Withings Activité and Activité Pop, Timex Metropolitan+, and Runtastic Moment watches. We also left out the Garmin Vívofit 2 and the Polar Loop 2, which record heart rate with an optional strap—likely more accurate, but definitely not as convenient. The Misfit Ray and the Withings Go made a small splash at CES, but they also lack heart-rate monitoring, so we won't be testing them.
We dropped a few additional heart-rate-monitoring watches—the InBody BAND, Striiv Fusion Bio, and Zensorium Being—due to lack of availability. And we nixed the pricey Wellograph due to middling reviews from PCMag and Engadget.
Finally, we should note the fitness trackers that are guilty (of not being great) until proven innocent. These include trackers made by electronics companies that don't have a fitness pedigree (like Huawei, Razer, and Xiaomi) as well as fitness companies that don't have a tech pedigree (like Under Armour). That isn't to say that these trackers can't be good, but tracking fitness is hard, and making good tech is hard. If companies that are good at both can still produce mediocre trackers, we have less confidence that newcomers can contend for the title of "best for most people" on their first attempt. We'll wait for reviews before spending our time on these—and you should, too.
A couple of GPS running watches with heart-rate monitoring, such as the TomTom Spark Cardio and Garmin Forerunner 235, also offer step counting, but these devices are really designed more as athlete watches with a bonus than true fitness trackers. We expect that integrated GPS will be the next frontier in fitness-tracking devices, and Ray Maker of DC Rainmaker concurs: "GPS will become more mainstream," he told us, "but the challenge is to miniaturize that technology to be competitive."
What to look forward to
Smartwatch maker Pebble announced a new lineup of devices in late May 2016, including the Pebble 2 watch, which the company seems eager to position as a fitness tracker. The new Pebble watch has the face, strap, and buckle of a traditional watch but adds a wrist-based heart-rate monitor connected to the fast-improving Pebble Health system. The always-on, e-paper screen promises to be a useful exercise display, as it is visible in both indoor and outdoor light, and the multiday battery life allows the watch to track your steps and sleep, too. We expect to test the Pebble 2, with a focus on fitness, in fall 2016.
Fitbit unveiled two new trackers in late August 2016: the Charge 2 and the Flex 2. Although Fitbit seems to have improved some areas of its design in these models, we still don't think the changes will be enough for them to upset the Garmin Vívosmart HR as our top pick. For one, we haven't been able to determine whether Fitbit has updated its heart-rate monitors, the same ones that have embroiled the company in a class action lawsuit due to their alleged inaccuracy. We plan to test the new models to see if the HR monitoring has improved or if we're missing anything else. But unless you're a devoted Fitbit user, we don't think you need to rush out and buy either of these just yet.
TomTom has revealed a new fitness tracker, the TomTom Touch, which can measure body fat percentage and muscle mass along with standard fitness-tracker features such as monitoring heart rate and displaying messages. Although such sensors are becoming more and more popular, they remain, in our opinion, somewhat temperamental. The TomTom Touch will be available in October for $130, and we'll look closely at this new model by then.
(Photos by Amy Roberts.)
1. The greatest change in heart rate occurs when a person first increases his or her cardio activity, going from sedentary to not, or adopting a more intense cardio program. The American Heart Association pegs normal resting heart rate between 60 and 100 beats per minute, with athletes, as well as people on certain medications (like beta blockers), having much lower resting heart rates. Note, however, that having a lower resting heart rate than your friend doesn't necessarily mean you're in better shape; comparisons are useful only against your own data. Jump back.
2. Using a maximum heart-rate value, monitors calculate zones to categorize intensity, from light to moderate to hard. One challenge is that the heart-rate zone calculations are usually based on averages by age (typically determining the max by finding 220 minus your age) and may not be reflective of your heart. People on beta blockers or under a cardiologist's care will have their maximum rate set lower. Also, monitors often label zones as "fat-burning" and "cardio," which is really a disservice: While it's true that your body will burn proportionately more calories from fat than from carbs in the 60-to-75-percent zone, your overall calorie burn will be higher in the 75-to-85-percent "cardio" zone, and your heart will reap more benefits. Jump back.
3. I didn't wear the Fitbit One on the first day of testing because I'd already tested it and realized that it was counting high. I expected that the Omron would be more accurate, so I chose to wear just that one and then realized too late that it was counting short. Jump back.
4. The app said it was syncing, but no data appeared. Apparently, my data was on the servers somewhere, and the tech expert who tried to help me could see that nothing was loading on my app; I seemed to have encountered a bug that the support team had yet to replicate. After several weeks the issue remained unresolved. Jump back.
Garmin Vívosmart HR
The best fitness tracker
*At the time of publishing, the price was $150
- PCMag, Interview, November 9, 2015 ,
- DC Rainmaker, Interview, December 9, 2015 ,
- clinical exercise physiologist at Detroit's Henry Ford Medical Center Cardiopulmonary Exercise (CPX/VO2) Core Laboratory, Interview, December 11, 2015 ,
- Best wearable tech of 2016, CNET, January 3, 2016 ,
- The Best Fitness Tracker for Every Need, Gizmodo, July 20, 2015 ,
- Garmin Vivosmart HR, PCMag, December 10, 2015 ,
- Garmin vívosmart HR review, CNET, December 4, 2015 ,
- First look at the new Garmin Vivosmart HR with optical sensor, DC Rainmaker, October 27, 2015 ,
- Review: Fitbit Charge HR, WIRED, February 2, 2015 ,
- Fitbit Charge HR review, CNET, November 25, 2015 ,
- Microsoft Band 2, PCMag, October 29, 2015 ,
- Polar A360 In-Depth Review, DC Rainmaker, December 10, 2015 ,
- Hands-on: Fitbit Blaze adds style to the substance, but sorely needs apps, The Next Web, January 5, 2016 ,
- Don't expect Fitbit to integrate with Apple HealthKit anytime soon, CNET, October 27, 2014 ,
- Fitbit Recalls Force Activity-Tracking Wristband Due to Risk of Skin Irritation, US Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2014
- Garmin Vivosmart HR In-Depth Review, DC Rainmaker, January 14, 2016 ,
- Wellograph Watch: Activity tracking with style and sapphire, Engadget, October 3, 2014 ,
- All About Heart Rate (Pulse), American Heart Association, August 5,2015
- Wellograph Review, PCMag, September 26, 2014 ,
- Hands On With the Fitbit Blaze, PCMag, January 7, 2016 ,
- Hands On: Huawei's Affordable Honor 5X, Honor Band Z1, PCMag, January 6, 2016 ,
- Fitbit hit with class-action suit over inaccurate heart rate monitoring, The Verge, January 6, 2016 ,
Originally published: June 6, 2016
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Sign up for a FREE sample of Dove Daily Treatment Conditioner. This is a different link than the one that I posted on Monday, so you can sign up for it again, even if you already signed up for the previous one.
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It sounds like the plot of a romantic comedy: John Krasinski wasn't looking for love – but then he met Emily Blunt.
The Office actor, 31, says he knew right away when he met the actress, whom he married last July, that she was special.
"It was one of those things where I wasn't really looking for a relationship and I was thinking I'm going to take my time in L.A." Krasinski says on Wednesday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "Then I met her and I was so nervous. I was like, 'Oh god, I think I'm going to fall in love with her.' As I shook her hand I went, 'I like you.' "
Krasinski – who currently stars in the romantic comedy Something Borrowed with Kate Hudson and Ginnifer Goodwin – calls married life "awesome" and "amazing."
He jokes that he wanted to pop the question to Blunt before she realized she could find an even better catch.
"I was like, I'm going to propose to her real fast before she wakes and was like, 'What am I doing? I can have anybody,' " says Krasinski. "I was like, just put [on] this the ring. Shhh..."
On a serious note, Krasinski says their chemistry was immediately apparent. "It's one of those things where as soon as you meet someone you kind of know."
Asked if Blunt, 28, also knew Krasinski was The One, he says, "She says she does. So I'm going to take that as a yes."
Krasinski and Blunt began dating in 2008 and got engaged in August 2009.
John Krasinski Fell for Emily Blunt Right Away
John Shearer/WireImage


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Single Article Purchase:
Interventions to Improve Recognition of Delirium: A Sine Qua Non for Successful Transitional Care Programs
Alici Y.
Arch Intern Med. 2012;172(1):80-81.
Published online January 9, 2012
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Sadie's fans will soon have another location to visit.
Sadie's is building a new restaurant inside the old Garduno's near Academy and San Mateo. It's the restaurant chain's fourth location.
The old Garduno's space has been empty for almost three years as one of three locations shut down after bankruptcy.


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Society for Cinema and Media Studies
March 4-7, 2004
Atlanta, GA
DEADLINE: August 15, 2003
"The Crisis of Academic Labor: Roots, Ramifications, Responses": Long a growing trend in higher education, reliance on contingent academic labor is becoming the norm rather than the exception, as more and more college and university courses--including those in film/media studies--are taught by visiting professors, non-tenured faculty with multi-year contracts, graduate teaching assistants and adjunct faculty. Papers are sought for a workshop/roundtable discussion examining the roots of this trend, both as an ongoing phenomenon and as exacerbated by the defunding of higher education as a result of increased expenditures related to the "war on terrorism" and tax cuts. Also encouraged are papers that focus on the ramifications of this growing trend in terms of the impact on curriculum, enrollments, and employment or that analyze current and potential responses at the campus, disciplinary, academic institutional, and national levels. Sponsored by the SCMS Caucus on Class.


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WALL TOWNSHIP – State Sen. Barbara Buono (D – Middlesex) will appear at a rally in Wall Township tonight following her endorsement by the Monmouth County Democrats and the emergence of growing statewide support for her challenge against Republican Gov. Chris Christie.
Buono, the only official Democratic candidate for governor, continues to build her case for statewide support. She was endorsed earlier this week by Monmouth County Democratic Party Chairman Vin Gopal, who called her "a first-tier candidate, and the strongest candidate to challenge Governor Christie."
The state Democratic Party establishment had recently been appearing to wait for other potential candidates, such as Newark Mayor Cory Booker and former governor and State Sen. Richard Codey (D – Essex and Morris) to enter the race, so far to no avail. Booker declined to run against Christie, and chose instead to seek the Senate seat currently held by Frank Lautenberg (D – N.J.). Codey plans to visit Washington, D.C. next week to seek financial support from national labor groups and Democratic organizations for a potential run for governor.
This week, however, saw momentum swing towards Buono as statewide Democrats increasingly coalesced around her candidacy.
South Jersey power broker George Norcross backed Buono in an article posted Wednesday night on the news website PolitickerNJ, and described her as a "high quality candidate, and in the absence of anyone else, the party ought to rally around her and move forward." Norcross also slammed a possible Codey candidacy, assessing his longtime rival's gubernatorial aspirations as only a "theatrical representation."
Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo said today that he believes that Buono is "going to be the candidate" Democrats ultimately put forward to take on Christie in November.
"Barbara Buono right now, she's the one who's out there," DiVincenzo said in a phone interview with the Star-Ledger. "I believe she's the one who's going to be the candidate."
DiVincenzo, who has deep influence in a county important in both a potential Democratic primary and in the general election, dismissed Codey's gubernatorial ambitions, and stated that he had "nothing to say" about his intra-county rival.
Gopal noted that the 75 Democratic elected officials and municipal party chairs now standing behind Buono in Monmouth demonstrates both the importance of the county in statewide elections and that the party is ready to close ranks behind the top of its ticket.
"We are the fourth biggest county [in population] in the state, and we have over 100,000 registered Democrats here," said Gopal, of Long Branch. "We are very important in a primary, and in a general election we have a lot of middle-class families that split their votes fairly evenly. Democrats have to perform well in this county if they want to win statewide."
Gopal indicated that the strong endorsement of the Monmouth County Democrats came not a moment soon.
"All the other potential candidates have had plenty of time," Gopal said. "The reality is that the [Democratic county] conventions start next month. We've got to get behind somebody, and [Buono] is in the game."


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the first one lol i laugh to even cry xd
the first one lol i laugh to even cry xd
dude infuckingcredible!!!!!!
i love oda and the way he stresses certain aspects and events <3
Spoiler!Mangas i read/have read (in no particular order)
Hunter x Hunter
One Piece
666 Satan
D. Gray-Man
Death Note
Deadman Wonderland
Highschool of the Dead
Vagabond (just starting)
and i think 2 or 3 others ive forgotten about
Source:AP Forums
Verification: Confirmed
Next week there are no chapters. =(Spoiler!
Squad: That's why you sold the heads of us 43 pirate captains allied with you!!
And in exchange, he bought Ace's life!!
The Whitebeard pirates and Ace will live!! You made a deal with Sengoku, did you not!?
And look at us, unaware of your dealings....!! We gave our lives for Whitebeard and Ace, came all the way down here... and look what happened!!
The marines are targeting ONLY US!! The iced wave is blocking our way, we can't even escape!!
Croc: What a disgrace, Whitebeard!!!
I sure didn't lose to a weakling like this!!
Whitebeard: ......
Daz: .....!
Iva: Crocoboy....!!
Jinbei: Crocodile
Marco: (Yeah... he should have been able to dodge it!!!
If he was the same pops we always knew....!!
No matter how unexpected the attacks are, even an attack from a comrade he trusts...
You would never have been hit so easily....!! That's the problem...!!)
Marco's flashback of Whitebeard ripping IVs off of himself
Whitebeard: What, you expect the enemies to pity me seeing me in these devices!? Take all of them off!!!
Marco: Pops!!
Marco: His health has been getting worse and worse!!
Whitebeard: Squad.... how dare you stick a sword in your parent.
Son, you're a fool!!!
Whitebeard: But no matter how foolish you are son, I still love you.
Squad: ugh!! Don't play with me!! You sold out our lives...!!
Whitebeard: Even your loyal and straight forward heart has been pulled into the darkness.... Who did this to you.
Squad: A traitorous informer in the marines... he told me if I killed you, my men will be spared!!
Akainu: I'm against this deal. The one that needs to die is Whitebeard!!
To let him go is out of the question. If you work with me, I'll save you.
Whitebeard: Let's go!
Source: Aohige AP of AP forumsSource: Aohige_AP
Chapter 563: One man, One heart
Marco rushes to Squad. Squad explains his actions.
During this war, Akainu contacted Squad, and told him that Whitebeard and Sengoku made a deal, that they won't kill Ace and the Whitebeard pirates in exchange for wiping out the New World pirates. (meaning, to offer them as sacrifice of war)
Squad's pirate crew was wiped out in the past by Roger.
Marines knew that, and that's why they contacted Squad, thinking that they'll be able to use him for their scheme.
Sengoku most likely revealed about Ace being Roger publically for this intent.
And as if to prove all this, the PXs were only attacking the New World pirates.
(into making Squad believe the marines' words)
Whitebeard realized everything that just took place.
"Even then, you are all still my sons!" He exclaims.
Marco sees how Whitebeard took the blow directly, and realizes how weakened Whitebeard had become since his prime.
Whitebeard responds to him by saying "You can't be the most powerful forever. There's only one heart for every man."
Whitebeard is enraged at the marines' dirty schemes.
The war resumes, and Sengoku gets ready.
Ace: Pops!!!
Buggy: Whitebeard!! Whitebeard's been stabbed!!!
Luffy: old man
Marco: Squaaaaaaadddd!!!!
Marco slams Squad's head into the ground
Marco: Why did you do this!!
Squad: Shut up!! You guys are the one that made me do this!!
Stop this nonsense, Whitebeard!! You already made a deal with the marines right!?
The lives of you Whitebeard pirates and Ace will be spared, right!?
Whitebeard pirate: What are you talking about!?
Squad: We've been trapped!! I didn't know... that Ace was the son of Gold Roger!!
When you took me in, I was all alone... you know why right!?
Because all my men were wiped out at the hands of Roger!!
You know how much I hate Roger!!
Squad: You just had to tell me... that Ace is Roger's son, and you intend to make him the next pirate king!!
I was already betrayed at that point... I even became friends with Ace... what a mockery!!
And then Ace, who is so precious to you was captured...!!
You bought back his life in exchange for us, the 43 captains' heads!!
Captains: !?
Squad: The Whitebeard pirates and Ace will survive... He's already made deal with Sengoku!!
Isn't that right!? And look at us, unaware of it...!!
We come all the way down here to give our lives for Whitebeard, and look what happened!!
The marines are only targeting US!! The iced wave blocks our way, and we can't even escape!!
The Pacifistas don't attack the Whitebeard pirates, just the allied captains and their crew.
Captain: Pops... is this true!?
Whitebeard: ......
Squad: It was a miracle that I even got a single hit on you.... I'm ready for it, kill me!!
Squad: You expect me to believe your nonsense?
Akainu: You'll soon change your mind. If you think you're lying, watch closely.
The focused attack that's starting now... only you pirates allied with Whitebeard will be attacked!!
We won't lay a hand on the Whitebeard pirates!!
Squad's men: Whoa!! You're lying, there's no way...!! Look, they're only targeting us!!
Squad: I didn't want to believe it... I couldn't believe my eyes...!!
Marco: You fool!!! You've been tricked Squad!! Why don't you believe pops!!
???: It's true that Ace is Roger's son... And they picked the person most disturbed by this fact.... their scheme went above our anticipation.
Sengoku: Aokiji!!!
Aokiji freezes Buggy and his men
Marine: Activate the Enclosing walls!
Marine: Yes sir!!
Crocodile: Damn bastard... how disgraceful!! Whitebeard!!
I didn't lose to a weakling like this!!
Ivancov: Crocboy...!!
Jinbei: Crocodile
Marco: (....yeah, he should have been able to dodge it... if it was the same pops we always knew...!!
No matter how unexpected, even attacks by his trusted comrades, he wasn't the type to easily get hit...!! That's the problem...!! His health is getting worse)
Whitebeard was sickened, and is seen taking off medical devices off himself
Whitebeard: What, you expect the enemies to pity me seeing me in these devices!? Take all of them off!!!
Marco: Pops!!
Whitebeard: Squad... how dare you stab your own parent.... son, you're a fool!!
Squad: Uwaaa!!!
Whitebeard: But I still love you, foolish son.
Whitebeard embraces Squad, instead of killing him
Squad: Ugh...!! Don't play with me!!! You sold us out...!!
Whitebeard: Even your loyal and honest heart was pulled into the darkness... Who did this to you?
Squad: .... a traitor among the marines... he told me if I slay you, my men will be spared!!
Akainu: I'm against this mission. The one that needs to be slain is Whitebeard!!
To let him go is out of question. If you work with me, I'll save your men.
Whitebeard: Is that what Akainu said...
I know how much you hate Roger... I know it painfully well...
But Squad, blaiming the sins of a parent on the child is foolish... what did Ace ever do to you?
Get along with him... Ace isn't any more special than the rest... you are all my family!!
Whitebeard: You haven't changed a bit Sengoku... you really screwed with us.
Pirate: Pops!! Please tell me he's lying!!
Damn it, we've been sold out!!
Whitebeard: Are you saying I sold off the heads of my sons...!?
Whitebeard creates a quake, and destroys the iced walls
Sengoku: He opened a retreat path for the pirates... He's one crafty man.
Whitebeard: If you call yourself a pirate!! You decide yourself what to believe in!!!
Squad's men: The iced walls are no more...!! We can take over this ship!! We can get out of here at any time now!!
Captain: Pops....!!
I knew it, it was a lie!! It's all the marines' plan!!
Whitebeard: "A wealking" huh...? Say whatever you want, but give me a break croc brat...!
I'm still just a man... with one heart.
They may call me a demon and a monster, but I can't stay the most powerful man forever!!
If I save the future of one young life, I should be allowed to retire from this, no?
Ace: Pops.....
Whitebeard: Anyone coming with me... throw your life down with me, and follow me!!
Everyone: Uooooo!!!!!!!! Let's go!!!
Whitebeard comes down from the ship, and heads to the enemies.
Sengoku: Get ready men!!! The world's strongest man... is about to rampage!!!!!
Last edited by popoy08; 11-05-2009 at 08:20 AM.
So that's the story... treacherous Marines.
Hmm, I like the way Oda's doing this as usual. He's doing something unpredictable which is good guys lose. I think pirates will lose this war, but some will live like Luffy and possibly Ace. Either that or an unexpected appearance by dragon has to happen.
Currently reading/watching:
One Piece, Naruto, Shingeki no Kyojin, Kenichi, Hajime No Ippo The Rising, Hunter x Hunter
is that whitebeard in the last pic?
aa, so squad was no whitebeard pirate, dont understand why they call him dad/pops then isnt that only for the whitebeard pirates?
and if its true what squad says wonder what luffy will think about whitebeard


text:
Rescue and recovery efforts continue a day after the West Fertilizer Co. explosions
Photo: Charlie L. Harper III/Special Contributor
A helicopter from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security circles the water tower over West, Texas, on Thursday, April 18, 2013.
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text: Marjorie L. Bell, 85, Graystone Court, Bellmeade, formerly of Bellwood, died early Saturday morning after a brief illness. Friends will be received from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014, and from 10 until the 11 a.m. funeral service on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014, at Jon C. Russin Funeral Home Inc., Bellwood. A complete obituary will appear in Monday's Mirror.


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Canada, ON, Hamilton
Joined Oct 2005
3,898 Posts
Thats looking really good Craig.
Computer problems; I used to worry about all that stuff but my head is getting full and I dont worry about it anymore. Why? My son is an IT guy (among other things ie-auto mechanics) and keeps it all going. However Ive been waiting forever for him to get my CalComp plotter running on the new windows platform. It only works (for me) on an old system with AutoCad R12!
Beside, balsa is really a lot more fun.
Looking at SDs built in servos reminds me of when I built a really nice (at the time, to me at least) model of a Spit, all balsa, powered by an OS Max .15. I worked my buns off, as a kid, built it, dreamed of flying it, test ran the motor, etc. etc. Proudly I brought it into my LHS (early 1960s) and Murray looked at it made a few nice comments, but did not point out the mistakes I had made. I had built the tank and engine in! I later had to cut the cowl area to get the engine out.
Well, watching your build, Ill just have to add a Vic Smeed "Mams'elle" to my to do List. Well guys/gals, were all going to have to live into triple digits!
United States, AL, Tillmans Corner
Joined Oct 2012
1,091 Posts
Day 18 -- Wing
The starboard panel has been attached to the center section. It's a rough joint, and I'm going to need a bit of lightweight compound to fill the dips, but I think it will look OK in the end.
Discovered something -- the angle drawn into the dihedral brace on the plan (bottom edge of DB) is a tad more than 2 3/4" at the tips. I'm not going to rip out the braces at this point, and just need to make sure the port panel lines up symmetrically.
Photo 1 shows the progress...
United States, AL, Tillmans Corner
Joined Oct 2012
1,091 Posts
Day 18 -- Wing
Photo 1 shows the glue-up of a completed wing. I managed to get the tips equalized, and I think it will all work itself out with compound, but it's still rough looking. The balsa was very soft, and wanted to tear and crush instead of cut. If I do this model again, I'll know what not to do...
Photo 2 shows the center section held in place with clamps. It also shows what a careless thumb can do. There's a big gash in the rear section where my thumb just politely punched itself through the skin. Fixable, but ugly...
United States, AL, Tillmans Corner
Joined Oct 2012
1,091 Posts
Having to see through these try-to-focus peepers doesn't exactly help the situation much, either... I figure as long as I keep my fingers out of the blade, I must be doing something right...
I may be visiting the US on business in the next few months - I have decided that I just have to get me some of those clamps!!!
And I am fully aware of the issues of seeing through 'try-to-focus' peepers as well
With very soft balsa, I have found that a new razor blade beats any Xacto to a cocked hat - as long as you watch out for fingers. The Dart Kitten has a rather fetching blood stain on the fuz side
I am impressed with your progress on both models - you'll be maidening two before I have finished one!
Please Blinkie, before you amputate something get a Swann-Morton scalpal handle and a good supply of 10A blades. The ONLY way to cut medium and soft balsa without risking life and limb!
I agree with George - Swann Morton's are probably the best you can buy. This is what I use for most manual cutting with a trusty Stanley knife for anything too recalcitrant
Handle 6A/25A blade
Handle 5A/10A blade
Handle 9/11 blade.
I prefer the plastic handles for better grip and the small one is used only for film cutting and covering.
I have a whole selection of scalpel handles - but then many years ago at a model jumbly sale I bought a box full of 50 Swann-Morton scalpel blades (not sure what type number) which didnt fit any of the handles I had or subsequently bought! So since then, my sporadic times modelling have been done with holding the bare blade in my podgy fingers. Handles? Pah! They're for beginners and lightweights!!!!
But I am now down to my last half dozen or so, and I'm not sure I would have the same feel using a handle after all this time.....
I know where I'll be going this weekend...Cheers!
United States, AL, Tillmans Corner
Joined Oct 2012
1,091 Posts
Day 20 -- REBOOT
After a couple days of soul-searching and eyeballing that wing, noting that even after being careful to try to get the dihedral angles right, it still wasn't, I have decided to scrap this attempt. It just isn't up to my expectations.
At this point in the build, it doesn't make sense to me to use a frame-up that just isn't right and never will be. Also, all of the balsa came from my scrap box, so I have no major investment in the frame except for time. Even that isn't a total loss -- I know what to look for in the frame, and have learned some things about what I want to change.
I have some fresh scraps for ribs ready for the knife, and it won't be difficult to work up the rest of the parts. Again, it's all just scrap balsa. And time.
All-in-all, I'm not unhappy that this happened. Disappointed in my own deficiencies at building, of course, but not so bummed out that I'd call it quits on the whole project. I had similar problems with Envoy, and that one got fixed easily. So will this one. Mamselle is just too pretty an airplane to use sub-par components in the build.
More updates to come...
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text:
Not very often does the NHLPA and the league agree on things. It's led to two lockouts in the past fifteen years but public enemy no. 1, Matt Cooke, looks like the bridge between the gap. For the first time, in a much publicized event, the PA nodded at the league and quietly accepted their decision to suspend Cooke for the rest of the season and the first round of the playoffs. Matt Cooke has no defenders anymore.
Cooke is no first-timer – he's a repeat offender who's effectiveness and skill as a hockey player, like Sean Avery, is overshadowed by his antics. Cooke's decision to lay out that type of hit was such an absolute bone-headed error in judgment. I have no sympathy for Cooke either, but it was also the worst time to make that kind of hit, amidst suspensions to both Dany Heatley and Brad Marchand and the GM meetings.
When Lemieux criticized the league for not punishing the Islanders' puke-inducing buffoonery harsh enough, people called him a hypocrite because he's Cooke's employer. But Lemieux's the owner of the Penguins – did you really think he was going to come out and say: "Matt Martin? 4 games? That's fair! Awesome!" Of course not.
Just because Lemieux criticized the league for letting his opponent get away with a dangerous sucker punch doesn't means he's dancing with glee when Cooke gets off easy. He's not complaining about the league being harsh on his own players, which is usually what GMs and owners whine about (Boudreau on Ovechkin's 2-gamer), he's complaining about the league being too lenient on other players. Those who do think about criticizing the league about being too lenient on their opponent stop just short, like Jacques Martin on Zdeno Chara. That his team was on the receiving end of a brawl gave him a chance to speak up. Lemieux collectively spoke the mind of all the GMs. Lemieux's a good owner and good owners protect their players (case in point, the Dallas Mavericks' Mark Cuban, who famously ran onto the court to stop a fight. God, I wish he buys the Stars – imagine the entertainment value). And we're faulting Lemieux for that? C'mon, man.
Lemieux's a good guy – he's practically a Pittsburgh legend now that he's got the city three Cup titles (two as a player, another due to Crosby) and saved the Penguins from extinction. I think Lemieux's changed dramatically from the immature and grumpy 18-year old who refused to wear the Penguins jersey or shake GM Eddie Johnston's hand when they made him their first overall pick because contract negotiations weren't going well. He's never been a dirty player. I don't think he likes it when Cooke is elbowing guys in the head. But he's not going to come out and say anything about it either, because believe it or not, Cooke can be an effective hockey player. The Penguins, on most nights, are better with him in the lineup.
But Cooke's elbow on Ryan McDonagh signaled that enough was enough. Mario Lemieux just couldn't stomach it anymore. He knew what was going to happen and he silently agreed to agree with whatever sort of decision the league comes up with. He knew the NHL had the golden opportunity to throw the book at Cooke and expected anything but a lenient punishment.
Even if the Penguins made it to the second round, I don't think the Penguins will dress Cooke. At this point it just isn't worth it. Cooke's not a commodity any team will want because the headaches he causes aren't worth whatever skill or talent he may possess. Matt Cooke is no Dany Heatley – which is why Cooke may have played his last game as a Penguin. It is also why Cooke may have played his last game in the NHL for the foreseeable future.


text:
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Meat and Poultry Plants' Food Safety Investments: Survey Findings /
TB1911 Report summary
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Technical Bulletin No. (TB-1911) 48 pp, May 2004
Inspectors from USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)
traditionally conducted visual examinations of cattle and poultry
during slaughter and processing, looking for disease and other
obvious physical defects, and rejecting meat deemed to be
unwholesome. FSIS shifted the focus of its food safety inspection
procedures in 1996, when the agency promulgated the Pathogen
Reduction/Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point rule
The meat and poultry processing and slaughter industries have
adopted a number of voluntary food safety measures in response to
that change in focus, in addition to complying with the new
regulation. The PR/HACCP rule employs a system of checks at
critical control points where food safety is at risk, requires
plant operators to conduct tests for generic Escherichia coli (E.
coli), and imposes Salmonella performance standards. Implementation
began in 1997 and was mandated by early 2000 in all sizes and types
of meat and poultry slaughter and processing plants in the United
Anecdotal accounts have been available since the 1980s on
industry efforts to ensure food safety. But there are no
comprehensive reports of how industry and government concern about
food safety have affected processing practices, technologies, and
investment decisions. ERS' Meat and Poultry Plants' Food Safety
Investments: Survey Findings provides information on the effects of
the FSIS regulation.
Prior to the ERS-initiated survey, very little data existed on
how the PR/HACCP rule has affected the types of food safety
technologies in processing/slaughter plants and the costs plants
have incurred and investments they have made independent of
PR/HACCP to ensure food safety. ERS initiated the survey in order
to obtain data that would provide a better understanding of how the
complex mix of technological developments, private markets, and
government regulation interact to provide safe and wholesome meat
and poultry products.
From 1996 through 2000, U.S. meat and poultry
slaughtering and processing plants as a group spent about $380
million annually and made $570 million in long-term investments to
comply with the PR/HACCP regulation. During the same time
period, the industry spent an additional $360 million on food
safety investments that were not required by the PR/HACCP rule.
Those figures are much higher than the cost estimate of $1 billion
to $1.2 billion spread over 20 years made by FSIS prior to
enactment of the regulation, but close to the $623 million in costs
projected by ERS in earlier research. FSIS considered primarily
administrative costs: recordkeeping, planning, testing, and capital
outlays. The ERS analysis also included the costs of hiring the
workers necessary to remain in regulatory compliance, and the
additional capital outlays necessary to bring each plant up to the
standards necessary for regulatory compliance. Notwithstanding the
higher cost estimate, projected health benefits still exceed
industry costs. A 1997 ERS study estimated benefits of $1.9 billion
in annual health cost savings linked with a reduction in foodborne
illness due to implementation of new food safety technologies.
Consumer prices of meat and poultry products have been
affected very little by PR/HACCP. ERS survey data suggest
that the PR/HACCP rule has raised beef and poultry slaughter plant
costs by about one-third of 1 cent per pound. These are average
prices per pound of beef and not the average cost incurred by each
plant. Small plants, which tend to produce more specialized
products, had much higher average costs than the giant plants,
which produce mainly commodity products, such as boxed beef. Since
plants must recover their costs, this means that while prices for
commodity products will rise very little, prices for more
specialized products, like cut-to-order beef, may rise as much as 2
or 3 cents per pound. It also means that small plants that do
compete in commodity markets may find it more difficult to remain
in business.
A meat or poultry plant's size was a strong predictor of
its choice of food safety technology. Large plants tended
to choose equipment and testing technologies; small plants relied
more on manual sanitation and adjusting plant operations.
Meat and poultry plants made significant new investments
to comply with the PR/HACCP rule. However, market forces
were also at work. Retail and restaurant customers of meat and
poultry plant products and officials receiving exported meat
products are vitally concerned about food safety and are in a
better position than consumers to ascertain the food safety of the
products that they receive. Using this position, they encouraged
the use of more sophisticated food safety technologies, an expanded
array of food safety practices, and a level of investment beyond
that required by the PR/HACCP regulation. U.S. plants that exported
products and/or those whose customers specified food safety
measures made greater investments in food safety operations than
other plants did.
The role played by markets in imposing strict food
safety standards on meat and poultry producers has public policy
implications. It suggests that information about plant
food safety performance provided by FSIS, such as plant quality
control performance ratings, could be used by meat and poultry
buyers in their purchasing decisions and may encourage greater
diligence in performing food safety-related tasks and elicit
greater investment in food safety technologies.
The ERS/WSU survey provided a substantial amount of data related
to PR/HACCP that will be explored more extensively in future
studies. Those studies will examine the perceived benefits of
PR/HACCP and the long-term rather than the short-term costs of
PR/HACCP. They also will examine the impact of plant
characteristics, food safety equipment, and processing practices on
plant quality control performance. The technological methods plants
use to provide food safety is another potential area of
ERS designed and funded the survey. Washington State
University's Social and Economic Sciences Research Center (SESRC)
conducted the survey in early 2001, completing it in May 2002.
Surveys forms were sent to 1,725 plants classified as cattle, hog,
or poultry slaughter plants or as cooked or raw meat processing
plants with no slaughter operations.
Of the 1,725 recipients, representatives from 996 plants
completed surveys and returned them to SESRC. The survey plants
ranged in size from establishments with only a handful of workers
slaughtering 1 or 2 animals per week to firms with more than 1,000
workers and producing millions of pounds of product per year.
Last updated: Wednesday, April 04, 2012
For more information contact: Michael Ollinger, Danna Moore, and Ram Chandran


text:
Letter written aboard Titanic sells for $200,000
LONDON -- A letter written by a passenger on the Titanic describing the "wonderful passage" -- hours before the ship hit an iceberg -- sold at auction Saturday for $200,000.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said the handwritten note, which had belonged to a collector, was bought by an anonymous overseas telephone bidder during a sale in Devizes, western England.
The price, which includes a fee known as the buyer's premium, topped the pre-sale estimate of 100,000 pounds.
Aldridge said the price reflected "the exceptional quality and rarity" of the letter.
The letter was written by second-class passenger Esther Hart on April 14, 1912. "The sailors say we have had a wonderful passage up to now," she said of the ship's journey from England toward New York.
Her 7-year-old daughter Eva added a postscript: "Heaps of love and kisses to all from Eva."
Hours later the passenger liner described as "practically unsinkable" hit an iceberg and sank, killing more than 1,500 people including Hart's husband, Benjamin.
The letter, on White Star Line notepaper, was tucked inside the pocket of a sheepskin coat Benjamin Hart gave Esther as he put his wife and daughter in a lifeboat. The family had been traveling from England to Canada, where they planned to settle.
Esther and Eva were rescued, along with about 700 others.
Esther Hart died in 1928. Eva Hart, who died in 1996, became a prominent Titanic survivor, critical of attempts to salvage the ship, which she considered a mass grave.
Prices for Titanic memorabilia have soared in recent years. In October, a violin believed to have been played as the doomed vessel sank sold for more than 1 million pounds.
Aldridge, whose auction house specializes in Titanic items, said the fascination with the ship is no surprise.


text:
Here comes the next collaboration by Ambush on their "POW" ring. This time they worked with Hong Kong's Silly Thing. TK chose to go with a monochrome grey for the ring. The ring is now available at the Think Silly Store in Hong Kong. Via Milk.
Ambush x Silly Thing TK "POW" Ring
What To Read Next


text:
Madhusree Mukerjee
is the author of the forthcoming "Churchill's Secret War: The British Empire and the Ravaging of India During World War II"
Even as President Obama is insisting that BP pay for all the damage caused by its oil spill, his administration is leaning on the Indian government to render its citizens unable to claim damages from U.S. power-plant suppliers in the event of a nuclear accident.
Before U.S. companies enter India's burgeoning nuclear-power market, the U.S. government is pushing for legislation limiting their liability. "The passing of the bill by Indian parliament would mean a win-win situation for both the countries, generating employment as well as giving India abundant clean energy," U.S. Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer said.


text:
The Don't Trust the B---- star made her way to Nine Zero One salon in West Hollywood for some VIP hair and beauty treatment before heading to a chic pre-Globes event on Saturday.
Starting with her hair at the shop's Colgate Optic White Beauty Bar, co-sponsored by Joico, the actress opted for a "braided up-do to show off her gown that evening," an onlooker tells PEOPLE. "After seeing a photo of her good friend Nina Dobrev, Krysten asked for a copycat look."
When it came time for beauty, Ritter went for something much more subtle, requesting a look that was "au naturel," the observer says.
Ritter, who the source says "was in a really good mood and excited about the night," chatted with a fellow salon-goer about surfing and snowboarding.
– Dahvi Shira
Spot a celebrity? Tweet us your sighting— People magazine (@peoplemag) August 7, 2012
@peoplemag with #CITA and it could appear on PEOPLE.com!