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The best way I can describe it is if you close your eyes and dream. You could never be hungry, never be sick; have all the energy you need, all the water, all the food and no diseases. There is no aspect in the world economy or your personal life that is not assumed to be transformed by this new technology," says Pat Mooney. What is this transformational technology? Nanotechnology-the science and technique of precise manufacturing at the atomic scale. And who is Mooney? Far from a starry-eye booster, he is a fierce anti-nanotechnology activist. But more on that later.
Nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, manipulating and manufacturing things on the scale of billionths of a meter. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. Ten hydrogen atoms lined up would fit within a nanometer. Our DNA molecules are 2.5 nanometers wide. A typical bacterium, say E. coli, is a thousand times bigger, measuring between 1,000 and 2,000 nanometers, while a virus measures around 20 nanometers. The width of the dot above this letter i is approximately 1 million nanometers. From the point of view of the nanocosm, the tiny etchings on our densest microchips are vast highways.
Nanotech is more a conceptual break through than a specific technology. It arises from the insight that it is possible to manufacture objects by placing individual atoms and molecules in precise locations. In addition, materials at the nanoscale exhibit different properties than they do at micro- or macroscales. For example, large surface area per unit volume of nanosized catalysts enhances their reactions. Using nanoscale platinum particles in automobile catalytic converters could increase their efficiency by 50 percent while dramatically reducing the amount of expensive platinum used.
Businesses are already in the nanotech revolution, but most don't yet know it. "Just like the arrival of computers, the changes will be slow and progressive," said University of Montreal engineering professor Jean-Christophe Leroux in the Ottawa Citizen last March. "We won't see the impact on our lives until after much of it has happened." This evolution is a continuation of businesses' ceaseless quest to make products smaller, faster and cheaper. In the next 10 to 20 years, nearly every product will incorporate nanotechnology of some type. Outwardly many of the consumer products we use will look much the same, but their performance will be dramatically enhanced and they will be less expensive. Clothes will produce energy to supply our mobile devices and be self-cleaning; airplanes, autos and buildings will be stronger, lighter and more flexible; energy supplies will be smaller and more efficient; medical side effects will be a thing of the past as smart medicines target only disease organisms and diseased tissues.
In 2005, a survey of nearly 600 executives by the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences found that 18 percent of industries are already marketing products using nanotech, and about 80 percent expect to commercialize nanoproducts by 2010. In 2005, nanotechnology was incorporated into more than $30 billion in manufactured goods. Mihail Roco, the head of the National Nanotechnology Initiative at the National Science Foundation, noted, "Nanotechnology development time is less than half that we expected. … If a company does not enter nanotechnology now, in five years it will be too late-it will be out of business."
The Next 10 Years
In 2006, the consultancy Lux Research reported that governments, corporations and venture capitalists worldwide spent $12.4 billion on nanotechnology research and development-up almost 30 percent from 2005. By 2014, Lux estimates $2.9 trillion in manufactured goods will incorporate nanotechnology-or about 15 percent of the global total. "By 2015, half of the newly designed advanced materials and manufacturing processes will be built using control at the nanoscale," said Roco. In June 2007, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies published a list of more than 500 consumer products claiming to incorporate nanotechnology. More than $50 billion in nanotechnology- enabled products were sold worldwide in 2006.
Source: Lux Research Report "Sizing Nanotechnology's Value Chain"
But one must keep these numbers in perspective. The consulting firms are counting all of the products whose performance will be enhanced or where some aspect of nanotechnology will lower production costs. The markets for purely nanotech products will be considerably smaller. However, all companies will have to grapple with how nanotech will improve their products and those of their competitors. In a July 2006 report, the Massachusetts market research firm BCC Research estimated the global market for nanotechnology products was over $10.5 billion in 2006 and will grow to about $25.2 billion by 2011.
Source: The Freedonia Group
A new report, "Nanotechnology: The Future is Coming Sooner Than You Think," issued in March by the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) of the Congress looks 20 years into the future and identifies four stages of commercial nanotechnological development-passive nanostructures (2000-2005); active nanostructures (2005-2010); systems of nanosystems (2010- 2015); and molecular nanosystems (2015-2020). We are well into the era of passive nanostructures.
Companies like Applied Therapeutics, Crown Laboratories and SkinCeuticals, for example, now offer highly effective sunscreens using nanosized particles of titanium-dioxide and zinc. Zyvex uses carbon nanotubes to make sailboat masts 30 percent stiffer without adding any weight. Textiles coated with nanofibers enable clothes to resist staining. Consumers can now buy nano-protected khakis from Eddie Bauer and Dockers, deodorizing fabrics from Tianjin Rongze Textile and even stain-resistant nano- ties from Brooks Brothers.
The next stage, the development of active nanostructures, is just beginning. Active nanostructures change their state during use, responding in predictable ways to the environment around them. For example, Pilkington offers a window glass that cleans itself of organic matter by the interaction of permanently embedded nanoparticles and natural ultraviolet light. Nanofilm sells Clarity Defender, a self-assembling thin film that coats automotive glass and mirrors with an invisible, water-repellent nanobarrier that can increase visibility 34 percent on a rainy night.
In the meantime, much more transformational research is taking place in energy production and battery improvement. Massachusetts-based nanotech company Konarka Technologies has developed fourth-generation solar cells and incorporated them into Power Plastic. These dye-sensitized solar cells are based on nanoscale titanium oxide that can produce power even in cloudy and other low-light environments. While not as efficient as high-end, silicon-based solar cells, they cost only about a fifth as much.
Another bottleneck for renewable energy has been battery storage for electricity. Current battery technologies are heavy, don't hold much charge, take too long to charge and can be charged only a limited number of times. Nanotech is now coming to the rescue. For example, A123Systems of Watertown, Mass., developed a Nanophosphate battery that has been adopted by BAE Systems as part of its HybriDrive propulsion system for DaimlerChrysler's Orion VII transit buses. These batteries charge quickly and last for years.
Similarly, Phoenix Motorcars is ordering NanoSafe batteries from Reno, Nev.-based, Altairnano, to fuel its all-electric trucks. These lithium ion batteries can be charged in 10 minutes at a commercial 480-watt station or in six hours using home power. The trucks can accelerate from 0 to 60 in 10 seconds with a top speed of 95 miles per hour and can go 100 miles before recharging. Amazingly, they can be recharged 20,000 times. Typical Li-ion batteries can be recharged only 500 to 1,000 times, and lead acid batteries less than 700 cycles. Nanosafe batteries replace combustible graphite in typical Li-ion batteries with nano-scale titanium.
How important could electric cars be to the U.S. economy? In 2006, a U.S. Department of Energy study concluded that if 84 percent of all cars and light trucks were plugin hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), fueling them would not require any additional electric generation capacity. The study assumes that the PHEVs would travel an average of 33 miles per day solely on electric power and could be charged using off-peak power at night. PHEVs have gasoline engines that kick in for longer trips.
Current nanobatteries are not yet cheap. They add at least $6,000 to $10,000 in costs to a vehicle. For ex ample, Phoenix Motorcars is adapting the $25,000 Korean-made Ssangyong Actyon truck to all-electric. Phoenix will sell its all-electric version for $45,000. On the positive side, it is estimated that all-electric vehicles' fuel savings over their lifetimes will pay for their upfront costs. By 2015, the Joint Economic Committee report foresees the emergence of "systems of nanosystems." The report describes this stage as one in which "assemblies of nanotools work together to achieve a final goal. A key challenge is to get the main components to work together within a network, possibly exchanging information in the process."
However, this may come sooner than predicted. In May, IBM announced that it is building computer chips using a self-assembling nanocoating process. IBM claims that this breakthrough enables electrical signals on the chips to flow 35 percent faster and consume 15 percent less energy compared to the most advanced chips using conventional techniques.
Medical Miracles?
Nanotechnology will have an especially profound effect on medicine in the coming decades. According to Lux Research, as of mid-2006, 130 nanotech-based drugs and delivery systems and 125 devices or diagnostic tests are in preclinical, clinical or commercial development. In the diagnostic field, companies like Advanced Liquid Logic are hard at work designing labs on a chip that would use a drop of blood or saliva from a patient to detect cancer or infectious diseases. As for treatment, Abraxis BioSciences' breast cancer pharmaceutical Abraxane encapsulates the anti-cancer drug Taxol in particles of albumin that measure 130 nanometers in size. Earlier versions of Taxol produced serious side effects the albumin nanoencapsulation dramatically reduces. Not only was the nanotech drug less toxic, it also improved patient survival rates.
In the next decade, nanotechnology will enable physicians to sequence the entire genome of an individual for under $1,000-yielding information about the diseases to which a patient may be prone. It took $4 billion and more than 10 years to sequence the three billion letters of the first human genome. By 2006, the price had dropped to $16 million. In May, the Branford, Conn.-based company 454 Life Sciences used its nanotech sequencing process to decode the entire genome of James Watson, the co-discoverer of DNA's double helix structure, for under $1 million.
In its February study, Nanotechnology in Healthcare, the Cleveland-based industry research firm The Freedonia Group predicted, "Demand for nanotechnology medical products will increase more than 17 percent per year to $53 billion in 2011. Afterwards, the increasing flow of new nanomedicines, nanodiagnostics and nanotech-based medical supplies and devices into the U.S. marketplace will boost demand to more than $110 billion in 2016. What's more, the U.S. National Science Foundation projects that nanotechnology will produce half of the pharmaceutical in dustry product line by 2015.
With development of molecular nanosystems will come a shift from evolutionary nanotechnology to revolutionary technology, says Michael Berger, co-founder of Nanowerk LLC, a leading portal for nanotechnology information. He notes, "Truly revolutionary nano technology envisages a bottom-up approach where functional devices and entire fabrication systems are built atom by atom. There is no way today to put a market value on this visionary technology and its hypothetical products."
Some nanotech visionaries foresee the development of personal nanofactories by 2020, which, if supplied with energy, the right atoms and molecules and the right design instructions, could conceivably produce any desired product. Such nanoforges could lead to the utopian world described by Pat Mooney at the beginning of this article.
Nano-Utopia Speed Bumps
Powerful technologies that confer tremendous benefits might also pose large risks and threaten to upset social and economic relationships. Nanofactories that could produce supercomputers, vaccines and so forth could also produce toxins, novel infectious viruses and perhaps even nuclear weapons. There is also some concern that current nanotechnologies may cause harm.
The anti-technology activist organization ETC Group, headed by Pat Mooney, called for a "global moratorium on nanotech lab research and a recall of consumer products containing engineered nanoparticles" last year. Worried that nanoparticles in personal-care products may be harmful, Friends of the Earth began campaigning for "a moratorium on the further commercial release of personal-care products containing engineered nanoparticles."
First, is there any evidence that nanoparticles in these products are dangerous? In March, a review in the journal Critical Reviews in Toxicology by European and Australian academic and industry re searchers concluded that the "weight of the evidence" is that current cosmetic nanoparticles "pose no risk to human skin or human health." So far, so good. But the fact that some nanoparticles are highly reactive implies that they could damage biological tissues. One worrying experiment exposed bass to a type of carbon nanoparticle called a bucky-ball at one part per million. After two days, the fish had 17 times the brain damage that unexposed fish had.
In addition, studies on rats have shown that inhaling carbon nanotubes can cause inflammation; how ever, when carbon nanotubes were injected into mice, their livers cleared them within 24 hours and exhibited no harmful effects. An important point to keep in mind is that most nanostructured materials will not be free-floating. They will be incorporated into macroscale products like glass, plastics and ceramics where they no longer exist as nanomaterials.
Scientists are now analyzing potential hazards. The federal government's National Nano technology Initiative spends about $39 million per year researching the effects of various nanotech products. In February, DuPont and the activist group Environmental Defense released a draft of the Nano Risk Framework out lining a six-step process for the responsible development of nanoscale materials. Under the proposal, the industry would transparently describe, manage the lifecycles of and monitor any risks that might be posed by novel nanomaterials. In an open letter to the international nanotechnology community in April, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, the ETC Group and various unions, including the AFL-CIO, rejected the proposal as "fundamentally flawed."
Clearly, businesses that want to use nanotechnology must manage the risk that it will become embroiled in polarizing politics just as nuclear power, pesticides and crop biotechnology did. As a study by the Cultural Cognition Project at Yale Law School found, "One might suppose that as members of the public learn more about nanotechnology, their assessments of its risk and benefits should converge. Our results suggest that exactly the opposite is likely." In other words, people who are already fearful of other technologies will likely also bring their fears to nanotech as well.
When even an anti-technology activist like Pat Mooney acknowledges the stupendous benefits offered by nanotechnological development, there is no choice but to forge ahead with due caution. The Joint Economic Committee report argues that a moratorium on nanotechnological research and development is a bad idea. "Nanotechnology must be allow ed to proceed as other transforming technologies such as chemistry, steam power and electricity have done," declared the JEC. "Regulations need to be based on clear cost/benefit calculations supported by scientific evidence. And regulations to address specific identified risks should not delay the advancement of a broad range of products that will surely bring large social and economic benefits.
"The world in which our children live will surely be a different one," concluded the JEC. "Whether it is a better one is largely up to them to decide. Continued technological advancement, including on the nanoscale, will not automatically make the world any fairer or safer, but it will increase the resources available to those who want to ensure that it is."
Ronald Bailey is the science correspondent for Reason magazine.


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|Rajon Rondo all wrapped up and ready to go
|05.09.11 at 7:52 pm ET
With his injured left elbow in a heavy white protective wrap and brace, Rajon Rondo took the court Monday and started for the Celtics.
The Celtics All-Star point guard dislocated his left elbow when he was pushed to the ground by Dwyane Wade with 7:02 left in the third quarter of Game 3 Saturday night at TD Garden.
He left the game and had the elbow popped back in place and started the fourth quarter, inspiring the Celtics in a 97-81 win over the Heat. After taking part in the pregame shootaround Monday morning, Rondo was cleared to play in Monday's Game 4.
|Celtics Live Blog: C's-Heat Game 4 from the Garden
|at 5:59 pm ET
Join WEEI.com Celtics writers Paul Flannery, Ben Rohrbach and Mike Petraglia as they provide live updates from inside TD Garden as the Celtics look to even their best-of-7 with the Heat at 2-2 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
|Kevin Garnett's blog: 'You got a flash of what we got'
|05.08.11 at 2:37 pm ET
After submitting his most dominant playoff game in a Celtics uniform, Kevin Garnett published an entry in his Anta blog. Here's the entire post.
Fight night tonight! Big game tonight and props to my boy No. 9 [Rajon Rondo] fighting back from injury. Team was in sync and ball moved well. We got big stops when we needed it. P2 [Paul Pierce] fought through cramps tonight, so props to him as well. Thanks to ZICO [coconut water] for getting me through the fourth quarter! No cramps and felt good.
Having the Big Shamrock [Shaquille O'Neal] with us was big, and everyone played a role! If you watched the game, you got a flash of what we got left. Felt good and had on the new Antas!!!!
Keep believing in us and Reach higher.
Garnett's 28 points in the 97-81 Game 3 victory against the Heat tied for his second-highest total in green — and best since the 2008 Eastern Conference semifinals. His 18 rebounds set a new high for his Celtics career. As he did in his blog, Garnett deflected praise to his teammates in his postgame press conference.
"I've been in a zone, and that wasn't it," he said. "Man, I've been in a zone, and that wasn't it. I had a nice rhythm going. Guys looked for me. I had Rondo and Paul encouraging me. Like I said, I've got to continue to be aggressive. It gives us a force and another source of scoring. At the same time, I can't lose my focus on trying to slow [Chris] Bosh down and making sure that that is even ground."
Equally as impressive as his offensive output was Garnett's defense. He held Bosh to six points on 1-of-6 shooting and five rebounds in 30 minutes of Game 3 action. The Heat forward had averaged a double-double and outplayed Garnett in the first two games.
|Dwyane Wade: 'I'm not a dirty player'
|at 2:00 am ET
When Ray Allen gets in your face, you know you've done something wrong.
The NBA's 3-point king rarely loses his cool, but once Dwyane Wade leveled him underneath the Celtics basket just 1:07 after sending Rajon Rondo to the locker room with a dislocated left elbow, Allen jumped to his feet and got into Wade's face before being restrained by his Heat teammates.
If you'll recall, it was Wade's bullrushing of Paul Pierce in Game 1 that ultimately led to the Celtics captain's ejection. Of his 10 personal fouls in the three-game series, at least three came the hard way.
"The game of basketball is a physical game," said Wade, who has also taken 29 free throw this series, including two in Game 3 after a hard Pierce foul on a layup attempt. "I'm not not a dirty player. It's physical. Everyone falls down, and everyone gets up."
Thankfully, for the Celtics' sake, Rondo did get up — triumphantly returning from what originally appeared to be a horrific arm injury in the third quarter after he got tangled up with Wade and bent his elbow back about 30 degrees in the wrong direction. The C's point guard recorded four of his six points and one of his 11 assists while playing the entire fourth quarter of Saturday night's 97-81 victory with essentially one arm.
"We play this game as competitors, and you never want to see anyone get hurt, whether it's a friend or not a friend," added Wade. "It's someone we have respect for in this game. We have respect for each other. So, you never want to see anyone get hurt, no matter what kind of injury it is. Kudos to him for coming back. That's a tough injury to come back from that fast. He showed a lot as a leader of the team, coming back and having the performance that he had with that injury."
The doubters were out in force following Game 2 against the Heat when Kevin Garnett was held to six points and eight rebounds in over 37 minutes in a loss that put Boston in a 2-0 hole. This came after a fairly pedestrian 16 points and six rebounds in 37 minutes in a Game 1 loss.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra knew it was just a matter of time before Garnett exploded. Saturday night was that time – and specifically the third quarter. KG hit seven-of-eight shots from the field in scoring 14 of his game-high 28 in a 97-81 Game 3 win over the Heat.
'Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. That's what it reminds me of," Spoelstra beamed afterward. "He's too proud of a player, talk about an MVP, one of the best players in this league, as soon as he stepped on the court as a rookie 14 years ago."
Garnett added 18 rebounds to go with his 28 points on 13-of-20 shooting in 38 minutes.
'I thought tonight I was just a lot more poised," Garnett said. "Just as a unit, as a team we had a lot more energy. I felt like I've been nonexistent pretty much offensively in this series. Tonight was a little more focused on offense versus defense. I thought I did a good job of balancing out to be honest. I looked for my shot to be honest. They weren't bringing a double team so I just took my opportunities and I was aggressive. That's what I've got to be like for the rest of these series if not the whole playoffs.'
Still – to Spoelstra – he couldn't help but think of Kareem when he saw KG Saturday night dismantle his team.
"For the revisionist out there, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when everyone threw dirt on him in the finals against Boston, he came out the next night and had 37 [points] and 15 [rebounds]," Spoelstra said of Kareem's 1985 Game 2 performance that helped the Lakers beat the Celtics in six. For the record, Kareem had 30 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists, one steal and three blocks in a 109-102 win at Boston Garden.
"And while all this fuel was going on the last three days, I was cringing because you know this is a proud group, and you knew they would have a response which is fine. If we're going to go where we want to go to, we have to outplay them when they are at their best. They're going to be at their best, and we feel that our best game is good enough, and we were not at our best game tonight certainly, you have to give them credit.' Read the rest of this entry »
|Fast Break: Rajon Rondo's return sparks Celtics
|05.07.11 at 10:57 pm ET
Rajon Rondo played with one arm, Shaquille O'Neal actually played basketball and Kevin Garnett submitted a vintage performance — and it all added up to a gritty 97-81 Celtics victory in what was essentially a must-win Game 3 against the Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
In a scary third-quarter moment, Rondo got tangled up with Dwyane Wade and dislocated his elbow. After receiving treatment, he shockingly returned for the fourth quarter — finishing with 11 assists and six points with essentially one arm. Meanwhile, Shaq scored just two points in eight minutes.
If not for those two Celtics comebacks, Garnett would've been the headliner — totaling 28 points and 18 rebounds in the victory. Wade led the Heat with 23 points, and Mario Chalmers added 17 off the bench.
The Big Three: Even before Rondo went to the locker room with an elbow injury — and especially while Rondo got treatment — the Celtics' Big Three asserted themselves and carried the team on both ends of the floor. The trio looked as sharp as they had all series, totaling 70 points on 26-of-51 shooting. Paul Pierce nearly matched Garnett's output with 27 points of his own.
Meanwhile, the C's Big Three held Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh to 43 combined points on 15-of-41 shooting. Bosh was nearly invisible, totaling only six points and five rebounds.
Encouraging start: For the first 5:07 of Game 3, the Celtics appeared ready to seize early control and set a tone for what the Heat could expect in Boston. The Garden crowd was loud, and the starting five's play spoke louder. Behind a stifling defense and out of the flow of a well executed offense, Pierce scored 10 early points as the Celtics took a 16-7 lead — forcing Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to spend a timeout with 6:53 still remaining in the first quarter.
Shaq comes back: With 2:41 remaining in the first quarter, Shaq returned to the court for the first time this postseason and just the second time since Feb. 1. A minute and a half later, he scored his first bucket to put the Celtics up 27-20. He played 4:46 in the first half — lumbering for much of it, but also altering at least a few Miami shots on the defensive end. His final line of two points and one rebound were less climactic — but his 8:29 playing time was certainly encouraging.
Down goes Rajon Rondo: With 7:01 left in the third quarter, Wade and Rondo got tied up in the paint on the Celtics end, and Rondo landed awkwardly on his arm — appearing to hyperextend his left elbow. After clutching his arm on the floor for what seemed like an eternity, trainer Ed Lacerte ushered Rondo — and what appeared to be the C's season — into the locker room.
At the end of the third quarter, Rondo returned to the Celtics bench with a dislocated elbow. And he returned to the floor to start the fourth quarter, bringing the crowd to a deafening level. He played the entire fourth quarter.
Joel Anthony's energy: As has been the case all series long, the Celtics had no answer for Anthony (12 points, 11 rebounds) off the bench. He recorded 10 points (on 5-of-5 shooting) and seven rebounds in the first half alone. Four of those seven boards came on the offensive end, where he often found himself wide open underneath the basket (hence the perfect first-half field-goal percentage).
Ray Allen's foul trouble: Questionable or not, Allen picked up his third foul with 6:48 still to play in the second quarter as he brushed Wade's elbow on a 3-point attempt. The whistle came on the heels of a string of questionable calls by the refereeing crew of Bob Delaney, Bill Kennedy and Steve Javie. Also, Moments after Rondo's injury, Wade took down Allen underneath the basket, and Allen had to be restrained from going after Wade — a rare but understandable burst of anger for the 3-point king, for certain.
|Rajon Rondo returns after dislocating left elbow
|at 10:04 pm ET
Rajon Rondo dislocated his left elbow in a collision with Dwayne Wade midway through the third quarter. He returned to start the fourth quarter of Game 3 Saturday night against the Heat after Celtics medical staff popped it back in place.
He was holding his left arm and had to be helped to the locker room by team medical staff with just over seven minutes left in the third quarter. Rondo appeared to fall awkwardly on his left elbow on a foul by Wade with 7:02 left in the quarter. Wade appeared to push Rondo to the floor after Rondo collected a loose ball rebound.
Moments later, Wade pushed Ray Allen under the Celtics basket and the two came face-to-face before tempers cooled.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Syracuse, N.Y. -- Onondaga County will collect $5.6 million less in property taxes next year than it will this year, but that does not translate into tax cuts for everyone.
Under a $1.2 billion budget approved 13-6 by the county Legislature on Tuesday night, the county's tax levy will shrink from $153.8 million to $148.2 million in 2012. On average, that means the county tax rate per $100,000 of assessed value will fall from $5.82 to $5.56.
However, things are not that simple when it comes to county taxes. Despite the shrinking of the tax levy, county taxes will go up or down or stay the same next year depending on where you live.
That's primarily because of differences in how villages, towns and the city of Syracuse spend the shrinking sales tax dollars the county is giving them.
Non-village property owners in 11 of the 19 towns will see their county property taxes rise from 2 percent to 15 percent. Eight will see their taxes go down, by less than 1 percent to 17 percent.
Property owners in 14 of the county's 15 villages and in the city of Syracuse will see county taxes fall by 4 percent or 5 percent. Residents of the village of Fabius will pay 10 percent more in county taxes next year.
The variations are caused mostly by the fact that some communities will take their share of the county's sales tax revenues as a credit against their county taxes while others will use them to pay for their own government expenses.
Most villages and the city of Syracuse have never used their sales tax revenues to offset their county property taxes, so the county's new policy of phasing out its revenue-sharing and keeping most sales tax money for itself does not have any effect on their county tax rates. But in towns that have used their sales tax revenues to lower their county taxes, county tax rates are rising because they are receiving less sales tax revenues.
The increases are higher for communities that in the past used their sales tax revenues to lower their county taxes but are no longer doing so.
The town of Clay, for example, has opted to take the town's entire $1.4 million share of county sales tax revenues in cash next year to be used for town government expenses. As a result, Clay will see the biggest increase in county taxes.
If Clay used its share of sales tax money to lower its county tax liability instead of to pay for town government expenses, the county property tax increase there would have been less than half of what it will be next year.
A change instituted this year in the formula the county uses to distribute sales tax revenues also plays a role in the tax rates. The change favored less populated but wealthier towns over the more populated towns with lower property values.
After next year, though, county tax rates in all communities in Onondaga County will go up or down in tandem because the county will no longer share any of its sales tax revenues with any municipality except Syracuse.
Here's how each lawmaker voted on the budget:
Yes: Richard Lesniak, R-Lysander; John Dougherty, R-Clay; Kathy Rapp, R-Salina; James Rhinehart, R-Skaneateles; James Corbett, R-Camillus; Mark Stanczyk, D-Syracuse; Kevin Holmquist, R-Manlius; Pat Kilmartin, R-Onondaga; Robert Cox, R-Pompey; Robert Warner, R-Van Buren; Casey Jordan, R-Clay; Marty Masterpole, D-Syracuse; Linda Ervin, D-DeWitt.
No: William Meyer, R-Cicero; Judy Tassone, R-Salina; Tom Buckel, D-Syracuse; William Kinne, D-Syracuse; Sam Laguzza, D-Syracuse; Monica Williams, D-Syracuse.
Contact Rick Moriarty at firstname.lastname@example.com or (315) 470-3148.


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And in the spirit of keeping it real, here is what the rest of my living room/kitchen looked like while all this mantle happiness was being created:
And just so everyone doesn't think I am a total slob, here is proof that I did clean up.
Thanks for the keeping it real pictures. I was getting depressed knowing you have children and that your house is immaculate after crafting with Abby and Bubba. :)ReplyDelete
I think you of all people should know "immaculate" is not even in my house's vocabulary lol But thanks...Delete
Your house looks alot like mine when I'm trying to put together decorations! I'm glad I'm not the only one! Love the mantel! I found your blog through Ten June's Link Up party! I'm your newest follower! :)ReplyDelete
Thanks for following! It got pretty scary there for a while, so I decided I should post it on the internet for all the world to see. Haha!Delete
Such a beautiful creation. I love it! My living room looks just like that after I complete a project too :) Like JoAnns exploded or something LOL... But I always say it's not about how big a mess you make, it's how fast you can clean it up, right :)ReplyDelete
Haha! That's a good saying...but I'm not very fast at cleaning, especially if the kids are awake!Delete
That mantle is spot on! I love the use of non-traditional colors for Christmas. You nailed it. I get the same eye-rolling from my husband concerning color descriptions.ReplyDelete
Our arguments over colors are so silly...he have had two quite memorable debates over mauve, and a car that I described as apricot, then conceded to copper after he told me it was orange. lolDelete
I'm totally digging the red window! I'd keep that baby up year round : ) Great job!ReplyDelete
Thanks! I love it too, and that thought definitely crossed my mind! I think I probably will, but I might paint it a different color for spring!Delete


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Senior guard Olivia Grayson tied a season-high with 20 points and pulled down a team-best nine rebounds, but it was not enough as the Tulane women's basketball team dropped a 71-52 decision to Conference USA foe UTEP in the regular-season finale on Friday evening at the Don Haskins Center.
With a chance to secure a share of the C-USA crown, the Green Wave came out cold in the second half while the Miners opened the frame with a 23-2 run to all but put the game away. The loss snapped Tulane's four-game winning streak as the Green Wave conclude the regular season 22-7 overall and tied for second in C-USA with an 11-5 league mark. UTEP, meanwhile, halted a three-game skid to improve to 20-9 on the year and even their conference record at 8-8.
Tulane will be the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Conference USA Women's Basketball Championship, which will take place in Tulsa, Okla., from March 13-16. The winner of the conference championship will receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
As a team, the Green Wave shot a season-low 26.8 percent from the field (19-of-71), including a 7-of-36 showing in the second half (.194). UTEP, meanwhile rebounded from a 27.0 first-half field goal percentage (10-of-37) to hit half of their shots in the final frame (15-of-30) to finish with a .373 clip.
UTEP held a 51-47 rebounding advantage and had 18 assists to the Green Wave's eight. The Miners out-scored Tulane in the paint, 24-14, turned 13 Green Wave turnovers into 12 points and had 19 fast-break points to the visiting squad's two.
"It was a combination of two things," Stockton said. "I thought they were really on fire. They played as well as they've played all year. Different players hit 3s, they scored in transition and really dominated inside. For us, we just had so many good looks and just couldn't knock them down. It was a bad combination."
Grayson was the lone Tulane player to finish in double digits offensively as senior wing Janique Kautsky and sophomore guard Jamie Kaplan each had eight points. Kaplan led the Wave with three assists, senior forward Brittany McDonald came off the bench to post a team-best two blocked shots, and Grayson paced the defense with a pair of steals.
UTEP scored the game's first four points and a back-and-forth battle ensued as the opening half featured three ties and seven lead changes. Tulane led by as many as five on a Kautsky 3-pointer with 8:18 to go before the break, but the Miners held the Green Wave without a field goal for the next 6:05 and went on a 9-1 run during that span to go on top 25-22. The Wave, however, converted on each of final four possessions of the half – including a running layup by Kaplan at the horn – and went into the locker room on top by four.
The second half, however, belonged to the Miners. UTEP center Anete Steinberga got things going with a pair of free throws and forward Kayla Thornton put the Miners ahead with a 3-pointer to make it 32-31. Kaplan put Tulane ahead momentarily with a layup on the ensuing possession, but a Thornton layup the next time down the court put UTEP ahead for good.
Her basket sparked an 18-0 run over a span of 4:22 which saw UTEP drain three of its nine 3-pointers, and a trey by Cameasha Turner with 11:06 on the clock staked the Miners to a 57-39 lead. Tulane cut the deficit to 13 as senior guard Tyria Snow connected on a layup and Grayson canned one of her three 3-pointers, but that was as close as the Green Wave would get the rest of the night.
UTEP's lead swelled to as many as 23 at 67-44 on a Thornton layup at the 5:22 mark and Tulane used a 6-2 run to get it down to 18 with 3:56 remaining in regulation. The Miners quieted any talk of a Green Wave comeback with three straight free throws, and Grayson closed out the scoring a jumper with 55 seconds to go.
"We've had a great year," Stockton added. "We're 22-7 and we just have to do what we've done. (UTEP) is a good team. I think we got frustrated at times tonight because our shots wouldn't fall, but we've got to stick with our plan and just be ready to play our next opponent."
Steinberga led all players with 22 points and was one of two UTEP players to post a double-double with a game-high 17 rebounds to go with three blocked shots. Thornton also recorded a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds, and paced the Miners' defense with four steals. Kelli Willingham had a team-best seven assists while Chrishauna Parker added six.


text:
Published on May 08, 2014
Flying from the top rope to the side of the ring.
Dave Mathieson - Cumberland News Now
Published on May 08, 2014
Published on May 09, 2014
Dave Mathieson - Cumberland News Now
SPRINGHILL – Beauty Slammers, Ladies of Wrestling are doing battle in Springhill Saturday morning at the Dr. Carson and Marion Murray Community Centre in Springhill.
Wrestlers include Former WWE wrestler Serena and former TNA Impact Wrestling star Sarita.
The doors open at 10 a.m., and the bell rings at 11 a.m.


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Drain Cleaner & Fixture Finishes
Discussion in 'Drain Cleaning' started by sobersgea, Nov 2, 2006.
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These were the most read stories on MassLive.com yesterday. If you missed any of them, click on the links below to read them now. This most viewed item overall, however, was the Mountain Park through the years photo gallery, above.
1) Michelle Chamuel of Amherst takes second place on 'The Voice' [Dave Canton]
2) East Longmeadow police responding to 'suspicious activity' report arrest town resident on drug charges [Conor Berry]
3) Aaron Hernandez of New England Patriots receives another visit from police in homicide investigation [Nick Underhill]
4) Springfield police seeking 2 suspects, 1 armed with shotgun, in connection with Monrovia Street robbery [Conor Berry]
5) Wilbraham residents Dominic Arillotta and Alison Santos, arrested after police discovered marijuana growing operation in their home, deny charges [George Graham]


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Welcome to McGowans of Phibsboro
It's Dublin's best known, worst kept secret for a great night out this Christmas, out of town. It doesn't care who you are or what you wear as long as you're being yourself.
And it's a guaranteed good time with the old friends and you bring with you and the new ones you pick up along the way to ring in the New Year with.
It's McGowan's of Phibsboro and if you're not here – you're in the wrong place!


text:
At the beginning of last week, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam no doubt expected that by today, he'd be consumed with final preparations for Thursday night's National Football League draft. The talent harvest will be an early test for the management team Haslam has assembled to turn around Cleveland's most beloved franchise.
But at midday on Monday, April 15, when dozens of federal agents turned up at the Knoxville, Tenn., headquarters of Pilot Flying J -- the privately held truck-stop company that is the source of the fortune Haslam used to buy the Browns for $1 billion last summer -- his legendary focus abruptly shifted.
It had to, because Haslam is now trying desperately to salvage not only his company's reputation, but his own.
No one has yet been indicted. But the 120-page affidavit that FBI agents filed to obtain search warrants paints an unflattering portrait of Pilot Flying J as a rogue company whose managers boasted of fleecing their least sophisticated customers out of millions of dollars by failing to pay promised rebates on fuel purchases. It doesn't appear Haslam himself is caught on any of the recordings made by informants, but some managers are quoted as saying "he knew all along" what they were doing.
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Haslam has denied any personal wrongdoing and, after first suggesting the issues were relatively minor, has taken increasingly aggressive steps at damage control. On Monday, he declared himself embarrassed by the allegations and announced that he was putting several managers on administrative leave, launching an internal audit, hiring a chief compliance officer to oversee rebate procedures and bringing in an outside investigator with federal law enforcement experience who would report to Pilot Flying J's board of directors. He also said he has been calling customers to apologize -- and offer to make amends.
Nothing less than Haslam's future and that of the $29-billion-a-year operation his father founded in 1958 are on the line. Suddenly, quarterbacks and cornerbacks must seem like very small potatoes -- although to Browns fans the stakes certainly loom large.


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The least likely Red Wing to be an NHL player has to be Brett Lebda. He wasn't drafted despite a solid career at Notre Dame because he was considered too small to be an NHL defenseman.
That might have been the case in the old NHL. But in the new NHL, with its emphasis on skating and quick puck movement, there is a place for a player like Lebda. The Wings signed him as a free agent in 2004 and he made a quick ascent to the NHL after playing only one full season with Grand Rapids (AHL).
Note: Look for a scouting report on a different Wings player every Monday and Thursday this summer leading up to the start of training camp on Sept. 14
He caught Wings coach Mike Babcock's eye in training camp. Babcock felt Lebda's speed and skills were ideally suited for the up-tempo style he wanted to establish. Surprisingly, Lebda made the season-opening roster. He was sent down after veteran Jason Woolley was signed and shuttled back and forth a few times before beating out Woolley and Cory Cross, players Babcock had no use for, to nail down the sixth spot on defense late in the 2005-06 season and into the playoffs.
Chris Chelios, as he's done with several other young defensemen, served as Lebda's mentor, and the two Chicago natives have been paired together for much of the last two seasons.
A good passer who'd probably do a decent job at the point on the power play, Lebda has the potential to be more potent offensively. He probably won't get that chance in Detroit, however, because he's not going to get much time on the power play with Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski and Niklas Kronwall ahead of him for years to come.
He's not physical because of his size (5-9, 194), so what Lebda needs to focus on is being more sound positionally and cutting down on his mistakes. He figures to be on the third pairing with Chelios next season.


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This deal has ended.
Perfumania takes up to 90% off select fragrances for their Winter Clearance Sale. Save on fragrance, body gel and more for men and women like the Men's Boss Selection by Hugo Boss, originally $52 and now $18.74 and the Women's Escada Sentiment Fragrance (pictured) reduces from $52 to $19.74. Shipping is from $5.95 and there's no sales tax (except NY). Spend $65 and your order ships for free.No longer available


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Officers arrested 47-year-old Aaron David Delagarza Sunday evening and booked him into the Multnomah County Jail on one count of Theft in the First Degree.
The husky, Tuesday, was stolen from the World Famous Kenton Club, located at 2025 North Kilpatrick St., when the owner tied him up outside and ran into the bar for 15 minutes. When he returned, the dog was gone.
Saturday, officers learned someone from Vancouver bought the dog then realized the dog was stolen after seeing news reports. Tuesday was returned to the owner, Joel Sprenger.
Officers contacted Delagarza at North Lombard Street and North Concord Avenue and took him into custody without incident. He will be arraigned Monday.
-- Findley Merritt


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I consider a requirements set good if and only the following condition is met:
The requirements set correctly represents the input > output control and data transformations of the system and their performance properties for all conditions, environments and operational uses of the system, without specifying internal design decisions.
Systems engineers hand off specifications to downstream engineering. Downstream engineering designs and implements correct realizations of the requirements. If the requirements meet that condition of goodness before they're handed off, you could avoid defects rather than having to fix them later (Tip #2).
How to meet the condition of goodness
Hygienic design, explained in hint #2 is the key to meet the condition of goodness. You must use principles, practices, tools, and methods to avoid disease (defects). Evidence suggests that the single best way to do that is to apply hygienic (i.e. verification) techniques during the creation of the work products, continuously, or at least approximately so.
To understand what this, verification needs to be defined clearly. There are two basic categories of verification: syntactic and semantic. Syntactic verification means the work product is well-formed and correct in form. For example, your project may have a requirements standard that says:
- All requirements are uniquely numbered.
- Each functional requirement uses the word shall to indicate the normative part of the statement.
- All functional requirements are modified by at least one quality of service requirements.
- Etc.
This is not the same as requirements that say correct things. It is only that the statements made comply with a set of well-formedness rules. Verification of syntactic correctness is usually performed by members of the quality assurance team and may be performed either manually or automatically.
Semantic verification means that the statements are correct, consistent, and accurate in content. Assuring semantic correctness is more commonly what is meant by the unqualified term "verification." Subject matter experts, mathematicians, or testers do the semantic correctness.
There are three primary methods for semantic verification of system work products:
- Review
- Formal (mathematical) analysis
- Testing
Semantic review
Semantic review is the weakest form of semantic verification. The work product is reviewed by one or more peers or subject matter experts looking for defects and both internal and external inconsistencies. Human cognition is wonderfully effective in narrow focused analyses, but falters when the work product is large and/or complex. The issue becomes one of vigilance rather than intelligence. It is difficult to remain vigilant while spending tens or hundreds of hours examining the minute interconnected details of complex systems. Another problem with reviews is the cost. Having multiple people in a room reviewing a work product means that there is a high engineering overhead for review time. It is not uncommon to have a dozen or more people involved in a review. This means you are paying a dozen times the cost per unit time than you would spend on other means of verification.
Even in the best of times, semantic reviews are weaker than other types of verification. They do add value as a supplement. The issue I see in many companies is that this is the only verification means applied to most system engineering work products.
Formal analysis
Formal analysis has the advantages of eliminating personal opinion and providing rigorous analysis of system aspects such as safety, reliability, and robustness simultaneously. Formal methods can be applied at a variety of levels, from determining that all states of a system are reachable in finite time through formal theorem proving (e.g. "An elevator will arrive in response to a request within 1 minute."). One of the strengths of formal methods is that it can verify conditions regardless of execution paths. It can verify outcomes for all possible circumstance, something that cannot, even in principle, be done with testing. The primary difficulty with the application of formal methods is the very same degree of mathematical rigor that provides the value of the approach also makes it unusable by the vast majority of engineers. Further, as with all analyses, the outcome is only valid in the context of its axiomatic preconditions and class invariants (assumptions). Unless you have someone on staff with a PhD in formal methods, you should be resigned to using the lighter-weight techniques of formal methods.
Having said that, there is tool automation that supports some of the application of formal methods. The Automatic Test Generator (ATG) tool for IBM® Rational® Rhapsody®, for example, can produce a set of test vectors that visit all possible states of a state machine or identify that some states are not reachable.
It is impractical to expect formal methods to provide the bulk of semantic verification. As with reviews, it remains a useful addition to other verification means.
Testing remains the most practical means for the semantic verification of work products such as specifications, designs, implementations, and resulting systems. Testing is done by defining a set of test cases. Each test case is composed of a set of events and specific data values. These occur in a specific order and timing – with a known-to-be-correct outcome.
An issue with testing, in principle, is that it only verifies the specific paths and data included in the test case. Other sequences of events and other data values are not verified. Because intelligent systems can achieve an essentially infinite set of states with an essentially infinite set of data values, you cannot exhaustively verify a system through testing.
A number of standards call out minimal levels of software test coverage. These include:
- Structure coverage
- All lines of code are exercised by the test set
- Decision coverage
- All Boolean decisions branches are covered in both true and false composite condition)
- Modified condition/decision coverage (MCDC)
- All Boolean phrases must independently assume their true and false cases at all decision points
- Data equivalency set coverage
- Data is classified into equivalency groups such that the behavior of the system is qualitatively the same for all values within the set, and the test set must include data from all equivalency sets
For semantic verification, the best approach is a combination of all three methods. You can rely primarily on testing, but make sure you augment testing with reviews and formal analyses.
Continuous verification
The hygienic approach proposed in this article is to apply verification techniques continuously as the work product is developed. Figure 1 shows the development of requirements models. In Figure 1, you can see the places where verification is performed. Notice that the inner loop (from Define the Use Case System Context down to Verify and Validate the Functional Requirements and back) is a nanocycle and is run every 20-60 minutes. So you take some small set of requirements, realize them in the model, execute and verify them, and repeat. This continues until all of the requirements bound to the use case are expressed and verified in the model.
Figure 1. Test-driven development-high-fidelity modeling workflow for requirements analysis
As you execute this requirements analysis nanocycle, you apply test verification at the last step of this very short loop (Verify and Validate the Functional Requirements). You may also use formal methods to develop test cases to ensure you have covered the state space expressed in the use case model. You might even define a theorem about the system invariants and apply mathematical analysis to verify that theorem. You also validate the model during some of these cycles by demonstrating the model execution, along with any created or modified requirements (see the Update and Maintain Requirements task), to the customer to ensure that your understanding and expression of the requirements result in a system that meets their needs. At the end of the development of this (relatively small) work effort defining the use case, there is the review step (see the Perform Review task) where the stable and verified use case specification and associated textual requirements are verified using both semantic and syntactic review process.
Because these verification method are applied in place during the development activities, you can, for the most part, avoid defects that are only uncovered during a rigorous examination. This improves the quality and vastly reduces the rework typical in a system engineering environment in which verification comes late in the process.
There you have it – my top ten hints for model-based system engineering. This is not an exhaustive list of how to perform systems engineering but hopefully, it provides some help. As an industry, we certainly can use it.
- To learn more about the tool for collaborative, model-driven development for embedded systems, start with the Rational Rhapsody product line overview and the Rational Rhapsody page on IBM developerWorks. Also see the Rational Rhapsody 7.6 information center and the Changing the location of help content to get a local copy of the documentation.
- Explore the various versions, too: IBM Rational Rhapsody Architect for Software, a visual development environment for embedded systems and software
- IBM Rational Rhapsody Architect for Systems Engineers
- IBM Rational Rhapsody Designer for Systems Engineers
- IBM Rational Rhapsody Developer for collaborative, model-driven development of embedded systems. This edition is required for Eclipse users, and editions are available to create specialized projects in C, C++, Java, and Ada languages.
- To learn more about Rational Rhapsody design management capabilities, check out the IBM Rational Rhapsody Design Manager to see how to collaborate, share, review, and manage designs and models with the entire engineering team. Also see the Design Management page on Jazz.net.
- Explore the Rational software area on developerWorks for technical resources, best practices, and information about Rational collaborative and integrated solutions for software and systems delivery.
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text:
This was for my trip to Ohio, I just had time to post it now.
May 29
Seat 2D
Gate A20
Scheduled Departure (Actual): 1835 (1837)
Scheduled Arrival (Actual): 2145 (2151)
Arrived at IAH about 1730 for Comair flight 5807 to CVG. I really didn't want to go on this nonstop, I wanted to go through ATL, but I really didn't have the time to, so I hopped on 5806 for the hop to CVG. It was really my first time in a CRJ (I avoid them like the plague), but it was nice to get on a bird I've never been on before. Anyway, I checked in, paid the yield fare for my S4, and strolled down to gate A20 to sit around for a while. It was hot and humid outside. I sat around for a while, watching CO 737's and ERJ's race each other departing on 15L/R. (The 737's usually ended up on the losing end of that proposition. Finally, they called boarding at about 1815, and I got my seat assignment, 2C with no one sitting next to me. Cool. I walked outside into the 95 degree heat with 100% humidity that reigns in Houston on the tarmac, and stood out there for a while withstanding the heat because of a traffic jam on the aircraft. After that perfect definition of hell, I walked onboard listening to the jokes of a really cool, pretty f/a. I sat down on the bench known as seats 2C and 2D, and got as comfortable as possible. The seats on this plane were really hard and thin. But I got used to it. We pushed a couple of minutes late and taxied towards 15L. After a moderate takeoff roll, we were up to FL290 and later FL330 towards CVG. It was a very smooth flight, and I ate Pringles and read a magazine most of the time, until dusk. At dusk I began looking out the window to see the lights, and we flew on toward CVG. We touched down around 2140 and a very short taxi took me to the Comair terminal. I walked a good three miles to baggage claim, got my bags and left.
June 5
Seat 6A
Scheduled Departure (Actual): 1045 (1045)
Scheduled Arrival (Actual): 1212 (1202)
I got to CVG at about 930, and had to pay 50 cents to change my arrival airport from IAH to HOU. It seems that Hobby has a 50 cent higher airport charge or something. So I gave the agent a dollar, got my change, and headed down to some gate in Concourse B. N629DL was waiting for me in the new colors (they suck). I then sat down and looked at the plasma screen to discover that my name was dead last on the standby list. (It sucks being an S4). I then sweated and hoped that three people wouldn't show up so that I could take a seat in first. And as it turned out, after about 30 minutes of sweating and hoping, I got 6A in first. As a matter of fact, there were two empty seats in first... where were the Medallion members? Anyway though, this flight had about 80 pax on it. I preboarded at about 1015, and got on the plane. I asked the flight attendant at the door if she would take my jacket, and she had an attitude, then she said, "I'll get it". I was like OK, then I turned left toward first class. Then she put on a big smile, and surprisedly said, "Oh you're sitting up there!!!! I'm sorry." And I'm sitting up here thinking, "Well trick, you should've been nice in the first place and you would have nothing to be sorry about..." But I kept my cool and sat down. At first, a lady was sitting in 6B, but she sat next to her husband or something in 5C when she realized that there wouldn't be anyone sitting there. I got some orange juice preflight, and relaxed. It was a very relaxing, quiet atmosphere on the plane and I was glad because it kept me from giving that rude woman a piece of my mind. But I was on an S4, so I wouldn't have done it anyway... We pushed back at about 1044 or so, and rolled all the way to 18L, the furthest departure runway from our gate. I guess, though, they didn't want to have to vector us too much in the air. But they were also using 27, and it was right by our gate...whatever. Takeoff was brainshattering, I think we may have used about 3000 feet of runway before we were gone. I slept most of the flight to ATL, and woke up over a bunch of white houses right before final. Not sure which outer runway we landed on, but we eventually crossed and got to gate B14 at a very quick pace. I deplaned very quickly, (being the closest to the door does have its advantages), and ran around the airport for about an hour looking for something to eat, then finally settled on the fried chicken place in the food court. I than went to Concourse D trying to get a Cinnabon, but thanks to the line, that idea didn't work out. I then hurried to B29 to catch:
B737-800 Shuttle
Seat 16F
Scheduled Departure (Actual): 1420 (1417)
Scheduled Arrival (Actual): 1524 (1631)
I changed my seat assignment really quickly, then I hopped on this VERY NICE shuttle 738. The seats have great pitch and they're all leather and very comfortable. I had a little old lady sitting on the aisle, but no one in the middle. Cool. We pushed back a little early, with the captain saying he wanted to beat an approaching storm into Houston. Yeah, right... an unspectacular takeoff followed, and we were in the air to Houston. It was relatively bumpy until somewhere in eastern Louisiana, then it smoothed out for a while. At about 1510 I noticed that we were not descending, and that it was nothing but white outside. Soon after, the captain announced that we were holding because of weather over the entire Houston area and delays of arrivals at both IAH and HOU. So we flew around for about 45 minutes. Eventually, we broke out of the clouds at about 4000 feet, and flew by Ellington Field and the beltway. We landed on 30R I believe, and slowed down cautiously in the rain. I got off the plane, walked through the terminal, and waited forever to get my bags. Once I got them, I finally was able to go home.
Hope you liked my trip report, I have a very exciting one coming up about a missed approach in COS. I'll try to write it tomorrow.


text:
Online map store scales up their business in the cloud. Outbound Maps is a comprehensive, online map store providing every conceivable cartographic creation, map and guide that budding explorers need to guide them, step by detailed step, through the countryside of the United Kingdom.
Outbound Maps is a comprehensive, online map store providing every conceivable cartographic creation, map and guide that budding explorers need to guide them, step by detailed step, through the countryside of the United Kingdom.
Huge interest in mapping
Finding your own way on foot, by mountain bike, or even in the car, has blossomed hugely since the advent of affordable GPS systems. Rather than diminish interest in traditional printed mapping, the electronic aids have led to a surprising increase in the sales of large scale maps designed for leisure walking, hiking and biking.
OutboundMaps.co.uk offers the very latest map ranges for the UK including walking maps, cycling maps and trail guides, which cover all of Great Britain, its National Parks and trails. And, of course, printed maps will always be the ultimate backup when the power runs out on that trusty handheld device!
Site being overwhelmed
Such was the seasonal growth in interest from consumers that Outbound Maps found their website servers were being overwhelmed by new demand, and they urgently needed to make some very significant changes to accommodate the increasing traffic.
4500 products online
Stephen Clark manages the company website, "We only set the online business up 18-months ago and started out using a hosting company in Canada. They were cheap and cheerful, but unfortunately proved unable to cope with the raised levels of demand we were experiencing. Our growing e-commerce site now features over 4500 products, including maps, travel guides, compasses, and survival equipment. Our customers were becoming disheartened with having to wait for the server to catch up while they tried to check out with their purchases." Stephen added, "Some were even giving up and leaving the site; 'abandoning their baskets in the aisle' because the delay was simply too long."
Cloud ideal for ecommerce
Stephen revealed, "We looked around for new hosting opportunities and discovered Rackspace® Hosting. We were aware of the company's reputation in the market, but had not really seen or experienced their Cloud Hosting service. On investigation this looked to be absolutely ideal for our business, as it offered the pricing and scalability we needed, as well as the support and network guarantees that are essential for any successful ecommerce operation."
The Outbound Maps solution
Stephen said, "We decided to use Cloud Servers for our e-commerce website as the concept is so flexible, and very simple to amend to accommodate rapid changes in content or traffic. We were no longer tied in to fixed hardware configurations and we could also ensure that our payment system was not compromised by heavy site traffic. This has meant a faster, more responsive system and happier customers as a result.
Trusted technical partners
Stephen added, "Rackspace technicians helped us set up our cloud server and advised on a number of trusted technical partners that could assist in the configuration and management of the site as well as integration of secure payment services. Rackspace has proven to be a very valuable asset to the company. Their support is genuinely fanatical and the process of setting up and migrating to the newly created cloud server was a very painless and simple task."
18% increase in business
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text:
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AS WE DRAW «Mirages»October 4th 2014 · 2xLP, CD, Digital · THRT046
"«Mirages» is the outstanding second full-length from french powerhouse AS WE DRAW. Pursuing their will of constant evolution since 2009, these Laval natives have imposed their unique take on post-metal and noisy hardcore, crafted through ambitious songwriting and disarming live performances. Three years in the making, the follow-up to 2010's «Lines Breaking Circles» shows a band decided to challenge themselves as much as the listener (if not even more), out of every sub-genres conventions and commonplaces. As a proof, the album starts with the longest track ever wrote by the band. The ten-minutes mudslide that is "The Window" flows from eerie and intricate melodies to overwhelming parts, before descending into an unreal, glacial ending.
This record is the culmination of the power trio's hard-earned mastery, where dense and nervous tracks ("Blackmail", "Denial") stand alongside richly atmospheric and massive soundscapes ("Shipwreck", "Fata Morgana"). Engineered and mixed at La Senelle by their drummer Amaury Sauvé, mastered by Magnus Lindberg, and lyrically exploring the theme of paranoïa seen through different eyes, «Mirages» is destined to remain an awe-inspiring piece of dark and forward-thinking heavy music."
— Recorded live by Nicolas Aigros at La Senelle Studio, Laval
— Produced, engineered and mixed by Amaury Sauvé
— Mastered by Magnus Lindberg
— Graphic Design by Romain Barbot/I Am Sailor
01. The Window
02. Losing Ground
03. Blackout
04. Blackmail
05. Fata Morgana
06. Denial
07. Acceptance
08. Fata Bromosa
09. Panic
10. Limbo
11. Shipwreck
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AS WE DRAW/EUGLENA/HEXIS «Split»January 11th 2012 · LP, Digital · THRT016
"Nearly one year after AS WE DRAW's first album "Lines Breaking Circles" which propel them into the rank of the biggest european outsiders of their style, the young princes of french post-metal are back to punish everybody once again with these two tracks, more muscular and tighter than never before. Five-stars songwriting, outrageous emotional power and contagious anxiety, this is caviar filled with cyanide. EUGLENA are coming from the red nation but could have come from the pink city; the hardcore from russians Euglena is as dissonant as buzzing, not so far from the know-how of toulousians I Pilot Daemon & Plebeian Grandstand. These three tracks are a good session of revigorating apnea, slower and dirtier continuation of their previous EP "An Anxious Surface". Danish butchers HEXIS throw hardcore, black metal, sludge and blast beats in the most epic and brutal way. If their first eponymous EP has already teared a strip off some people, "Crux" and "Nex" are following the going-over by stepping up their urgency and helped by a nauseous as-fuck sound."
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"AS WE DRAW commands pathos well – preternaturally even – With a release of this caliber, they can stand as a more introverted Buried Inside or Union of Uranus; Lines Breaking Circles thinks first, but rather than allow its obvious mechanical ability act as middleman, produces a mulled outlook second. We know this is to be felt because its been felt for so long and in so many different ways between the album's writing and our listening to it. If you were conflicted with Lucky Me like I was, then this is undoubtedly its antithesis. Interplay between all of the strings is wisely integrated into the affect of the disc, and it's that understatement that keeps momentum strong over other bands' tired impulse to draw obvious lines around their layers. It's my hope that this will be a sleeper hit in the way that Chronoclast was, reminding us that emotion-driven heavy music is vital and not contracted to the whims of a fickle scene." (Hearwax Media)
— Artwork by Bart Balboa & Amaury Sauvé
— Recorded live by Amaury Sauvé & Sylvain Biguet
— Mixed by Sylvain Biguet
— Mastered by Alan Douches
01. Shame
02. Sin Of Addiction
03. Shield
04. Burst Of Colour
05. When Crowds Are Trapped
06. Fault Lines
07. Drowned In Flames
08. Draft
09. Scum Of The Earth
100 x white vinyl (1st press)
200 x black vinyl (1st press)
500 x black vinyl (2nd press)


text:
Silvio Berlusconi tells Catholics: 'We'll never allow gays to marry or adopt'
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Reader comments
Laughable isn't it … this guy is a wonderful, shining example of a good Catholic isn't he? Hypocrisy stinks.
'Laughable isn't it'. No, it isn't actually. This stopped being funny long ago.
In recent years, there has been a sharp rise in homophobic hate crimes here in Italy. It seems that not one day can go by anymore without some new charge against gays from a newspaper, politician or catholic cleric.
There is no opposition here.Catholics and berlusconi's supporters are everywhere. The left has vanished.There is not a single political force that has anything like gay/women's rights in their agenda.
Homophobia in the media is another serious concern. Over the last couple of months a string of homophobic articles have appeared in the 'duce's media.
The catholic church has stepped up attacks on LGBT ( and women's) rights, too. Only last week, a high-ranking cleric called homosexuality an illness that ought to be 'extirpated'.
The secular movement has been silenced. Italian media avoid any mention of the sex scandals that have engulfed the Catholic Church in recent years.
I don't think any of us need to state the obvious here so I won't.
So now Sylvio Burlesque-oroni is the spokesmodel for "family values"?
We have truly entered Bizzaro world!
Well, he has to appease the right with something to distract them from the fact that he was allegedly banging Ruby the Heartstealer.
(I say allegedly, cause I don't want no trouble.)
This just goes to show what an outdated buffoon he now is.
This man is a joke and what's even more of a joke is that he's probably going to be re-elected next time around.
Says a 74 year old man addicted to hookers.
Yep religion is all about the love….Not!
Sad thing is ….it works for a lot of ignorant people…but just ignore him!
Ah, Berlusconi, the outpost of morality….shag a child, but don't let those gays get married, it's just wrong.
Actually, he has quite a lot in common with the Catholic stereotype of a gay man – vain, excessive use of tanning beds, promiscuous, paedophilic tendencies, substance abuse, brothel visitor……gun, aim, foot, fire!
Isn't it about time someone gave him a bloody nose again?
I'm so ashamed of John Galliano tho'.
What nerve! With all his philandering and having sex with hookers and an underage female, he has the gall to chant family values. He defies the word "sleaze" and "douche bag".
His views sadly are the views of the majority of Italian men, what does that say about Italy?
Berlusconi makes 'douchebag' sound like a compliment. The English language lacks an appropriate word.
Ah Berlusconi and Catholics both like to shag kids.
Italy is still such a horrid place.
You are right about berlusconi and catholics, as an atheist i would agree with you
As a british – italian citizen I can see your racism in your words.
"Italy is still a horrid place"
very smart of you…
Evviva l'Italia!.The Italians I know are not at all happy about having the Vatican or Berlusconi.
Italians aren't actually race, so it's not racism. It's a criticism of Italian values, which is perfectly valid given that they stem from socio-political and religious views, practices and policies NOT skin colour. The Italian state embodies a great deal of the hypocrisy in Italian society (religious, yet grossly superficial) and, thus, Italians deserve the leaders they have had until now.
Even so, Italy is hardly Uganda. I'd still go on holiday there and have a crack with the locals.
There's nothing wrong with Italy or Italians (or folks in general for that matter).
But there's plenty wrong with bigots and hypocrites ('same thing).
him being the posterchild for family values, is like jimmy swaggert being the posterchild for abstinence
"He has been charged with having sex with an underage prostitute and will go on trial in April."
Sounds like the perfect mouthpiece for the catholic church.
It would be hilarious, except that he actually is still very favoured with the italian public. He is seen as a real, hot blooded ,italian stallion mans man .
Oh and his best mate is the delusional Gadafy, no wonder they get on so well.
Berlusconi has a lot in common with his good friend Col. Gaddafi. Unfortunately, unlike the Libyians, Egyptians, and Tunisians, the Italian people have neither the moral rectitude or desire to oust this corrupt thug. The utter hyposcrisy of the Catholic Church bears a major responsibility for the people's cynicism and the country's toleration of corruption and degradation.
"Gays will never have marriages equal to traditional family values because there is only one family" is that one family made up of underage prostitutes Silvio? Your hypocrisy stinks worse than your policies.
he's a dickhead!
we'll see about that ;-)
HYPOCRISY alive and well in Italy and Jamaica. We have a Prime Minister here who calls for 'family values' and is himself a philanderer. I am so glad I am not a christian.
Never is a long time…don't bet on it Berlusconi you dirty old skirt chaser.
I'm italian, but I really don't now how so many italians can vote this man and close their eyes in front of his enormous hipocrisy
That's rich coming form a paedophile.
I love it when these Neanderthals like Silvio Berlusconi spew forth their religious diatribe, as it only serves to alienate more decent people from Christianity, and firmly knocks another nail into the coffin of religious belief.
Incredible how those who seek to lecture us on how we should live our lives, usually make such a mess of theirs!
Underage girls paid for sex at his parties? Can´t wait to see this old homophobe in prison where he so obviously belongs!
This comment from someone who pays young women for sex and he is married, I believe. He is no position, frankly, to maintain any sort of 'moral high ground' about this or any other issue. He should mind his own business and continue being the good Catholic he is. Hypocrisy is alive and well in people such as he.
So the paedophile Berlusconi is against equality.
That's good.
We don't need or want paedophile scum on our side.
WOW…LISTEN TO MR. MORALITY casting the first stone. Ha-ha-ha.
Poor Italy.
Pink News….. accuracy is important when reporting on stories such as this If as you say the girl was 17 at the time there would be no case. however the age of sexual majority in Italy is 14 with 13 being permissable if the other partner is no more than 3 years older. A quick query on the Interweb provided me with this info in less than .38 of a second.
Hi, Boston – No offense intended in the accuracy department, but here's some more info (and I only vaguely recall this – I didn't look it up or verify it in any way). Yes, the age of consent in Italy is 14, but it's illegal to pay someone for sex who's under the age of 18. Don't ask me why. I can't figure out why there should be different ages – why you can do it for free but you can't charge? From 14 to 18 is when you need money the most! (I'm being facetious – but only partly.)
Interesting in the home of the vatican how the age of consent is 14.
Of course there are all those sex starved priests…….
…actually 14 is the age of consent in the majority of European countries with a smattering of 13…….
….from what i can glean from the Interweb the age of consent for all is 14. There seems to be no exception for prostitution. I would imagine that the charge is probably that of Paying for sex, period. After all prostitution is illegal in a lot of western countries and probably is in Italy too.
Next you'll be telling us he lives in a glass house…. oh? What's that you say… he does?
Rachel, you're absolutely right! Not even neanderthal can aptly describe this devolved piece of human detritus.
Notice the silence of the Vatican in all this? Obviously it gives consent while looking away at this scumbag's disgusting anti-family values in the form of adultery and sexual escapades. Hypocrisy and bigotry of the worst kind.
Oh, our Italian cousins…. !
(in best Queenie voice)
Che segaiolo! Che testa di cazzo!
…He is depraved.
One day I hope the human race will bloody grow up and abandon childish things like believing in a sky daddy…
Not that Berlusconi does, of course. But it is a convenient piece of bait'n'switch so people will asking questions about underage girls.
he may never allow it lets hope his replacement has more of an open mind
Guys here is a well made video about the LGBT community we made and posted on youtube,after the many suicides last year encouraging gay people to love themselves despite religious indocrination.Here is the link:
Spread the word and help get it out there.We want to get it out there but but arent sure how to go about it? (Sorry for the spam )
Hey Mr Berlusconi you are wrong. Italy will join the rest of the civilised world soon. The Catholic Church is not the only influence on power. The people count too and as we have seen in the Middle East that is a powerful thing.
Many countries have moved towards inclusion with things like gay marriage.
Australia is just the latest.
@Boston: The age of consent in Italy is 14; however, the minimum age to work as a prostitute is 18. She is underage on the latter count.
" to work as a prostitute"…. didn't think prostitution was legal in Italy Andy. On the list of EU countries it says Italy is 14 for all and thirteen when both parties are lessthan three years apart age wise…. No mention of a Prfostitute age??
Prostitution is legal in Italy. The age of consent for prostitution is 18.
Hmm I don't know why everyone here is judging him, he's just marketing his way out of his own trouble like he should.
The real problem here is that he's been elected by the Italians so many times… so the real issue is what morons the Italians are, after all politicians are just a reflection of the people voting them… and this is exactly what Italians deserve just like americans so well deserved Bush (twice)
Agreed. The election in Italy is really a census of the stupid, to elect a corrupt Neanderthal like this cretin.
Italy has an appalling historical record on human rights! What do you expect when it envelopes the most evil colony on Earth- the Vatican!
Meh he'll be in jail soon enough
Are gays allowed anything in Italy?
Ok what about some second rate relationship, civil unions? Nah, nothing….
I don't think I'll be moving to Italy in a hurry,,,nor Lithunania, nor Greece, nor Romania,nor…….so much for freedom of movement for gays within the EU!!!
If I was an Italian I don't know why I would bother living there!
I suggest this idiot and the catholic church in Italy do at least what the UK Catholic head (Vincent Nicols) did become " very nuanced." and "not oppose gay civil partnerships" and recognise that in Italian law " there might be a case for those." – Italian gay couples have no rights at all, do they?
The family values of the catholic church on display – underage sex. Banging a 17 year old by a guy in his 70s.
What would you expect of a criminal and a church whose leader was a member of the hitler Youth Corp.
Oh yes – how many know of the latest scandal of the vatican – google "vatican bank".
If you ever wondered why the church hasn't used its resources to crush the Mafia, you will discover that the bank has been laundering the mafias money.
… nothing new im afraid…Google " blackfriars bridge scandal" and "gods banker"….. the vatican has beeen a scandal ridden cesspit from its inception.. Google "the Borgias" for a really hair raising read. …Originally from the beginning the age of consent at the vatican was 12… now theres a surprise…not. It only fell into line with Italy in the twentieth century.
…oh and of course the Medicis i nearly forgot…Lucretia Borgia was a daughter of the Borgia pope and probably the evilist woman who ever lived.
Hello! How did the Catholic Church even allow this scum to attend – let alone speak at- a Catholic Conference?
I suppose you have to admire his nerve, though I suspect that any sense of his own ludicrousness was wiped away by fawning toadies years ago. And he knows all about family values – those of a medieval caliph (concubines, dancing girls, etc) anyway.
I fear Italy with it's closeness to the Vatican will be one of the last European countries to do more for Gay/Equal rights.
There isn't a seperate age of consent for gay people in Italy …it is 14 for all and 13 if both participants are no more than 3 years apart in age.
ok but I meant with regards to marriage.
I'm sure that the Catholic church is thrilled they they have such a fine upstanding underage hooker seeker among their number.
Italy is a beautiful country but sadly is marred by stinking hatreds, corruption and hypocrisy. Berlusconi is a vile human being and represents everything that is bad and wrong about Italy.
Gays and singles are prohibited to adopt or getting married but in the name of the Church and political power we can abuse and do anything. There's nothing wrong while one is married and in the meantime have horns. Laughable no
This is proof that the Catholics who call gays their enemy plan to stop gays from getting married and being free to be gay and have equal rights. Catholics must be stopped using every means possible now before they stop gays dead.
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text:
Vikings strike quickly, hold off Tigers
COCOLAMUS – The night didn't start how East Juniata would have liked.
Williams Valley scored early, on a 74-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage, and often as the Vikings defeated East Juniata 40-19 in a Tri-Valley League football game at West Snyder Elementary School Friday.
"It's hard to stop all those big plays," East Juniata coach Simon Cameron said. "I was glad with the fact that they didn't get any long, sustained drives on us. They guys really stepped up. Williams Valley is a good team. They played hard."
David Brantley carried 22 times for 103 yards and a touchdown and threw for 67 yards and another score.
"I can't speak enough for him," Cameron said. "He's a good all-around athlete. We've played him at slot wideout, he's thrown the ball for us and run the ball for us. He runs hard and you know he's going to give it everything he has."
Williams Valley struck again with 3:53 left in the first quarter when Nick Rodichok tossed his second touchdown of the night to Tim Schorr to give Williams Valley the 12-0 advantage.
East Juniata came right back with its first score of the night.
Brantley gained 49 yards on eight straight carries culminating in a three-yard touchdown run to pull the Tigers to within five.
East Juniata was gaining some momentum when the Tigers forced a Williams Valley three-and-out at the start of the second quarter.
They got the ball back and got back on the Vikings' side of the field, but Brantley was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 and the Tigers turned the ball over.
The Tigers then forced a Williams Valley punt and turned to freshman quarterback Chris Schulgen. Schulgen completed three straight passes, including two to Matt Aurand.
But Schulgen's next pass was intercepted by Williams Valley's Albert Wolfgang and returned 37 yards for a Viking touchdown.
"You got to give them credit," Cameron said. "They have athletes all over the field. The pick-six was big. We had a freshman quarterback in, so we have young guys learning. That was a big thing."
The ensuing two-point conversion run by Cole Barnhardt put the Vikings up 20-7 going into the half.
The second half started exactly how the first half did for East Juniata: Barnhardt returned a punt 75 yards for a Williams Valley touchdown to give the Vikings more breathing room.
Brantley and the Tigers answered right back though, when he hit Matt Aurand for a 29-yard touchdown pass to close the gap to 26-13 on a halfback option play.
"We can't just line up and play regular offense or we're going to be in trouble," Cameron said. "We've got to make teams prepare for multiple offenses. If you keep on switching and they have to adjust – that's where our scores came from."
Schorr scored twice over the course of 11 seconds to give the Vikings a 40-13 lead late in the third quarter.
Reed Bruner tossed a 27-yard touchdown to Andy Hartman with 1:43 to play in the game to finalize the scoring and earn Williams Valley the 40-19 victory.
East Juniata honored the careers of 14 seniors on senior night and ends the season at 2-8.


text:
With early signs of momentum carrying over from Wednesday night's overtime victory against Dallas, New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul appeared pleased as he headed to the locker room with his team holding a two-point halftime lead against the Toronto Raptors.
However, four minutes into the third quarter, Paul had the same frustrating glare as he did during Monday night's loss to the New York Knicks when the Hornets were thoroughly dominated in the fourth quarter, surrendering 40 points at Madison Square Garden.
On Friday night, not even the home-court advantage could save the Hornets as they were undone by the Raptors' franchise-record eight 3-pointers in the third quarter that led to a 107-90 defeat in front of 15,010 at the New Orleans Arena.
"We couldn't stop them, " Paul said. "They came down and started executing, hitting 3s and getting to the foul line. We tried to stay in front of them but they got around and made plays, seemed like every time the shot clock ran down."
Shooting guard Morris Peterson opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer to extend New Orleans' lead to 54-49. Then the Hornets unraveled under an avalanche of consecutive 3-pointers by Jose Calderon, Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu that gave the Raptors a 62-56 lead.
Regardless of the adjustments Coach Byron Scott tried to make, the Hornets were repeatedly late covering shooters after the Raptors' guards penetrated and made kick-out passes to the perimeter. Not facing much resistance, the Raptors went on a 19-2 run to take a 20-point lead.
"For the life of me, I can't understand why we came out with that type of energy, " Scott said. "We just kind of allowed them to run their offense and take the shots that they had."
Andrea Bargnani, the Raptors' 7-foot starting center, stood beyond the 3-point arc, and he made three of six 3-point attempts with Hornets center Emeka Okafor often arriving late to contest. In all, Toronto made 13 of 22 shots to outscore New Orleans 34-14 in the quarter.
While the Raptors were carrying out their shooting clinic, the Hornets made six of 17 shots in the third. They missed five of their seven attempts from behind the 3-point line in the period. And Paul, who led the Hornets with 21 points, went scoreless in the quarter, missing his only two attempts. Coming into the game, Paul had scored 30 or more points in three of the previous four games.
Bobby Brown scored 16 points for the Hornets.
The Raptors used a defensive scheme similar to what the Denver Nuggets successfully executed against Paul and the Hornets last season in a five-game elimination in the first round of the playoffs. They covered Paul with traps to get the ball out of his hands.
"Our focus tonight was on Chris, " Toronto Coach Jay Triano said. "Anytime he gave it up for the most part our guys had a hand in his face. I think we also rebounded well and he (Paul) didn't get many chances."
A disappointing home loss was not what the Hornets needed with a tough three-game road trip ahead, starting Sunday night against the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center.
The Raptors, who made 14 of 29 3-point attempts overall, exposed the Hornets' inability to provide help defense on open shooters. The Raptors entered as the third-highest scoring team in the league with an average of 108.5 points per game. Though the Hornets executed better in the fourth quarter, the Raptors took a 24-point lead with 6:59 remaining.
It left the crowd silent until Scott inserted former LSU shooting guard Marcus Thornton, who was put on the active list for the first time this season Friday. He scored two points.
But no player was more dominant than Bosh, who scored a game-high 27 points while making all nine of his shots from the field. Calderon and Turkoglu finished with 16 each.
"When they get hot, we have to send to guys at them, " said Hornets forward David West, who scored 14 points. "They just played off, kicking the ball out."
John Reid can be reached at email@example.com or 504.826.3787.


text:
Time: March 20, 2010 from 10am to 11am
Location: Zephyr Field
Street: 6000 Airline Dr
City/Town: Metairie, LA 70003
Website or Map: http://www.tix.com/Event.asp?…
Phone: (800) 437-1136
Event Type: meet, &, greet
Organized By: Alison Genet
Latest Activity: Mar 17, 2010
Export to Outlook or iCal (.ics)
Cozy Coffee Meet & Greet – Chaske Spencer – Twilight Saga $149/person - 10:00am
Exclusive Cozy Coffee Meet and Greets: A maximum of 30 fans have the exclusive opportunity to spend 30 minutes with a celebrity in a luxury suite. Photographs and autographs are allowed. Group photos with your friends are also possible.
The purchase of a ticket to the Celebrity Vampire Baseball game is required for entrance to Zephyr stadium where the Celebrity Cozy Coffees will take place.
Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 10:00 AM
Zephyr Field
6000 Airline Dr
Metairie, LA 70003
Phone: (800) 437-1136
Website: www.fantrips.travel/twilightfantrips
E-Mail: email@example.com


text:
Movie Details
During the Credits
The first minute of the credits of The Quiet Ones includes some photos previously seen in the film and some new ones depicting the real-life counterparts of the principal cast. The final one is a group photo of The Experiment's participants. However, these photos of the people whom the film is based upon are reportedly fake. There are no other extras during the rest of the credits.
After the Credits
There is no stinger after the credits of The Quite Ones.
Song During the Credits
"Silver Machine" by Steven Roth
Special thanks to Elliot Mason for the stinger submission.