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Monmouth Clinches NEC Tournament Berth
from press release
BROOKLYN- Monmouth University's women's lacrosse team (7-9, 5-2 NEC) earned a Northeast Conference Tournament berth with their 21-13 victory at Long Island (3-12, 2-6 NEC) on Friday afternoon.
The win clinched at least the fourth seed in next weekend's NEC Tournament, which will be held on the campus of the highest seed, currently tied between Sacred Heart, Mount St. Mary's and Quinnipiac. Monmouth has now qualified for the postseason tournament all 12 seasons in which it has been held.
Monmouth commanded a 15-5 first half lead, with Hawks accounting for the first five goals of the contest. Those goals came from five different Hawks, with junior Ali Pollock (Watervliet, N.Y./Shaker) getting the ball rolling just 2:33 into the game after taking a feed from Megan Brennan (King of Prussia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll). LIU's Claire Ranney broke the run in the 22nd minute but Monmouth freshman Caitlin Kelly (Mendham, N.J./West Morris Mendham) answered right back with her second marker of the contest. Over an eight minute span, Monmouth went on a 8-2 run, including seven straight goals. Brennan tallied three more goals while redshirt freshman Molly O'Brien (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville) tallied three. LIU closed out the half with back to back goals but it was Hawk Brittney McLaughlin (Coram, N.Y./Longwood) who scored MU's 15th goal of the half with 1:20 remaining.
With many of the Monmouth starters resting to start the second period, the Blackbirds scored a pair of quick goals to get back in the game. Long Island would get within five goals of the Hawks at the 12:51 mark after scoring four unanswered goals over a 10 minute period. The Blue & White put any thought of a comeback out of reach with four straight goals of their own, including two from the stick of O'Brien.
O'Brien, Shawn Evans (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) and Brennan each had five points in the game, with the first two scoring four goals apiece. Sophomore Carissa Franzi (Fairfield, N.J./West Essex) had a career-high three assists on the afternoon while tallying three ground balls, three caused turnovers and three draw controls. MU's two goaltenders split time in the cage, with each making four saves.
LIU's two goaltenders made nine saves as the Blackbirds were outshot 40-28 in the contest. LIU's Christie Wienckowski led all scorers with six points on four goals and two assists. Ashley Prizio also had three goals on the night.
The Hawks return home against Quinnipiac looking to improve their seed on Sunday. Both of Monmouth's seniors will be honored before the scheduled 1 p.m. start.
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More green infighting – federalism edition
Posted by Rich Sweeney on January 8, 2009
Or "Electricity Transmission Clusterf*ck Story of the Day". From Climate Wire (more CT commentary on transmission here):
States defend turf as Congress weighs expanding power over grid (01/08/2009)
Evan Lehmann, E&E reporter
A top utility regulator expressed concern yesterday about states losing approval power over proposed transmission lines, underscoring the challenge of updating the nation's aging web of power lines as new sources of electricity, like wind, come online.
New Jersey utility regulator Frederick Butler, who presides over a national group of state commissioners, reacted to plans in Congress — and to suggestions by President-elect Barack Obama — that point to growing support for federal jurisdiction over the placement of transmission lines that could carry energy between states.
"We don't like the idea of pre-emption," Butler told reporters. "We don't want to be just told what to do. We want to be consulted. We want to have a voice."
He added that states should have "veto" power over proposed lines that could have negative impacts on the environment and rates in local regions that federal officials might not fully understand.
The assertions come as Congress considers ways to create a national grid that is more reliable, wastes less power and is able to move a growing amount of renewable energy throughout the country. One plan calls for $75 billion to be spent constructing a high-voltage "backbone" that would connect major energy centers around the country.
Congress took the first step toward a national grid in 2005, when it gave the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authority to override states in congested areas and to give the go-ahead for new lines that serve the national interest.
So far, that new power is untested. One utility has taken advantage of the rule, though the outcome is still pending. Southern California Edison is asking FERC for permission to build a 270-mile line from the Palo Verde nuclear plant near Phoenix to Palm Springs, Calif. Edison appealed to FERC after the Arizona Corporation Commission rejected the plan, saying it would cause environmental damage and boost prices in Arizona.
Obama wants a 'whole new' grid
It's unclear where Obama stands on the thorny issue of pre-empting states. But he has expressed support for significant transmission upgrades. In October, he said one of the "most important infrastructure projects that we need is a whole new electricity grid."
"Because if we're going to be serious about renewable energy, I want to be able to get wind power from North Dakota to population centers like Chicago," he added.
Butler pointed to a downside to that notion, though he generally agrees that upgrades are needed.
Installing a superhighway of transmission lines makes it easier to access power produced from faraway coal plants, he said, rather than work harder on local efforts to save energy. It could also mean that developers are less likely to build local alternative energy projects, like wind.
"The more transmission you build, the less impetus there is to do efficiency," Butler said.
But he acknowledged that "strategically sited" transmission lines could bypass power plants in coal states, while running through countryside laced with wind farms to promote clean energy.
Butler is president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, a group that includes regulators from every state. The diverse origins of the association's members make it difficult for them to agree on specific policies.
Butler, for example, acknowledged that he's "open to the concept" of a nationally administered grid. But that's not a consensus viewpoint within the association of regulators, many of whom vigorously defend their states' jurisdiction over transmission siting.
"I'm open to the concept of having someone at the national level oversee this, because … there is some need for a national grid that is not a byzantine, jerry-rigged" grid, he said. "But at the same time, I don't think states should be pre-empted out of that."
Regulators sitting on the association's climate change task force are assembling in Washington over the next two days to update its policy on global warming. Currently, the group supports federal legislation to reduce greenhouse gases through a cap-and-trade program.
3 Responses to "More green infighting – federalism edition"
January 8, 2009 at 3:42 pm
That coal plants would utilize new transmission infrastructure is definitely true (the same would go for utility grade storage intended to smooth out wind power – the coal plants would benefit from it too). The real question is whether or not we should care if new infrastructure investments that can help bring wind or solar resources to market benefit existing coal producers. I say no. If you want to 'harm' existing polluters, make them pay for pollution. But don't inefficiently route "green" transmission lines away from coal plants, just so you can be sure none of those evil coal guys benefit.
There is also an obvious incentive problem here: what would a state regulator rather spend resources on – a power line running through his/her state with no immediate benefit to him/her/the ratepayers, or local efficiency programs? I'm not saying one is better or worse than the other, its just that its not surprising these guys aren't rolling over without a fight.
January 12, 2009 at 4:13 pm
[…] What do you think about federalizing the electric grid? The state utility regulators are already rankling over this prospect, but it would seem necessary in full or in part to ensure long-term renewable […]


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Thinking It Through
Football is over — for good?
For Christmas, I received two New England Patriots-themed gifts: a winter hat with the team's logo on it and a hooded sweatshirt just like the one coach Bill Belichik wears on the sidelines, minus the cut-off sleeves.
The sweatshirt is nice and warm and I wear it at home. I wear the hat when I ski and go for walks, and hope people don't throw rocks at me or yell nasty things. Up until last weekend, when the Patriots were summarily embarrassed on their home turf and sent packing, I was proud to wear this hat. Now I feel a little silly when I put it on.
The Patriots' loss marked the end of the NFL season for me. Yes, I'm bitter. And I hate the Baltimore Ravens.
But there's more to it. I've become increasingly troubled by football and what we're learning about the game's impact on players. I've enjoyed watching games this season, but as the season has progressed, I've also felt increasingly guilty.
My guilt peaked early last week when researchers at UCLA reported that signs of the crippling degenerative disease known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, had been identified in living ex-NFL players for the first time. Using brain scanning technology, the researchers detected the presence of an abnormal protein associated with CTE, which is linked to dementia, memory loss and depression, and is triggered by repeated head trauma, such as concussions.
The study represents a possible breakthrough in the effort to understand CTE.
Right now, the disease can only be confirmed by examining the brain after death, but the researchers believe their findings suggest that it will soon be possible to diagnose CTE in living patients.
The study was released less than two weeks after former NFL linebacker Junior Seau was posthumously diagnosed with CTE. Seau, a Hall of Fame-caliber player who spent 20 years in the league, killed himself last May at the age of 43, just four years after retiring. His family has since filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NFL, accusing it of "acts or omissions" that hid the dangers of repetitive blows to the head.
"We know this lawsuit will not bring back Junior," the lawsuit states. "But it will send a message that the NFL needs to care for its former players, acknowledge its decades of deception on the issue of head injuries and player safety, and make the game safer for future generations."
These are laudable goals.
But football is a violent game.
How safe can you make it?
And do fans care enough about player safety and health to demand changes?
Earlier in the season, I mentioned my growing unease about football to the New England Sports Fan Friend. We were watching a game, of course, and enjoying ourselves immensely. "What do you think of all this research showing that football is causing brain damage and depression?" I asked.
"NFL players are modern-day gladiators," he said, seemingly unconcerned.
"But if you had a son, would you really want him playing tackle football?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Tackle football is a lot more fun than touch football," he said.
A few months later, when I swung by the New England Sports Fan Friend's house to watch the Patriots take on the Texans, he was singing a slightly different tune. The Junior Seau news had just broken and he was bothered by it, as was I. But it didn't exactly ruin our enjoyment of the game. We had a great time watching the Patriots win, as usual.
The writer Ta-Nehisi Coates decided to give up watching football this year in response to Seau's suicide.
A lifelong fan, he described his decision as a personal choice in his blog for The Atlantic magazine, writing, "I'm not here to dictate other people's morality. I'm certainly not here to call for banning of the risky activities of consenting adults. And my moral calculus is my own. Surely it is a man's right to endanger his body, and just as it is my right to decline to watch."
In response to the report about the brain scan study, he predicted that football would eventually go the way of, well, gladiators. "I don't know if this will change anything, right now," he wrote. "But telling a player 'You have CTE' is a lot different than 'You stand some chance of developing it.' "
I've defended my continued enthusiasm for football by noting that the players are consenting adults. But lately I've been wondering whether I should follow Coates' lead — give up a game that appears to destroy people. It's a fun game to watch. But isn't that fun somewhat diminished by the fact that brain injuries that can lead to an early death are occurring right in front of my eyes?
Last week my friend Adam noted that in his school district, the "kids with engaged parents" do not play football, opting instead for less dangerous sports such as soccer and lacrosse. "I wonder when the whole game of football will fall off the map," he wrote in an email. "Already I hear that fewer and fewer kids are signing up for football."
It goes without saying that Adam's fourth-grade son doesn't play football. But it's not like Adam has given up the game. He has a fantasy team each year, and when we talked he expressed plans to watch at least some of the playoff games. Similarly, I do football picks each week, watch a fair number of games and get excited for the playoffs. But as the bad news about football continues to mount, I find myself questioning the morality of being a football fan.
Whether I'll ever stop watching football remains to be seen.
It's the most popular sport in America and I enjoy reading about it and talking about it with friends and family; if I gave it up, I wouldn't be able to engage in those conversations. But if I had a son, he wouldn't be playing football, that's for sure.
So I don't know.
Perhaps I'll give up football when Tom Brady retires and the Patriots enter their inevitable decline.
But that seems like taking the easy way out.
Foss Forward makes a weekly appearance in print, in The Gazette's Saturday Lifestyles section. You can email Sara at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Coastal Dynamics is a sister conference of the Coastal Sediments Series in the USA and is held every four years, typically in Europe although in 2009 in Japan. The Coastal Dynamics conference Series advances the community's understanding of recent applied and basic research concerning coastal waves and currents, interactions between wind, water and sediments, and morphology changes in the coastal zone. A wide range of environments (with and without structures) are considered such as sandy, rocky, and muddy coasts, inlets, and estuaries. The conference documents research and applications treating these coastal dynamics at the short, medium, and large/long spatial and temporal scales. Coastal processes span a wide range of temporal and spatial scales with complex and nonlinear interactions. The organizers especially solicit papers that integrate or aggregate spatial/temporal scales and explore the coupling between different processes to respond to practical coastal applications. Scientific scope Approaches include theoretical formulations, field and laboratory observations, and numerical simulations... Participants are invited to submit papers on : * Coastal hydrodynamics (waves, tides, storm surge ...) * Coastal sediment transport & morphodynamics * Coastal environmental problems and marine ecology * Observational techniques and results (field and lab) * Numerical simulation (models and results) * Miscellaneous coastal dynamics
The registration fee includes the access to the sessions, the conference proceedings and delegate kit, lunches and refreshments, and the participation in the gala dinner. Field trips, short courses and extra gala dinner are NOT included in the fee. Fees and extra rates are detailed in the registration webpage. To benefit from the early bird rate, register before April 15, 2013.
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March 6, 2013
In Tall Buildings is the recording moniker of Chicago musician and producer Erik Hall (NOMO, Wild Belle). The home-recorded debut album was released in 2010 by Chicago's Whistler Records, and Erik's songs were immediately praised by the Chicago Tribune as being "dense, textured, [and] hypnotic." American Songwriter magazine referred to In Tall Buildings as "the aural representation of a pleasantly scattered mind," and The Huffington Post included In Tall Buildings on their Best of Chicago list.
sound CLOUD


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It's been far too long since I made macarons. The last time I made them was more than a year ago at Le Cordon Bleu in London – we made macarons using two different methods. The first one involved use of a French meringue (egg whites+sugar), which is made by whipping egg whites while simultaneously adding castor sugar to it until it is firm. The second method for the macarons was a bit more involved, using the Italian meringue method. In this method, the egg whites are whisked gently in a KitchenAid while a sugar syrup boils up to 118ºC. Once the sugar hits this temperature, it is poured into the bowl of egg whites that are now being whisked on high speed. The whites are whisked until they are firm and the temperature of the meringue drops to 50ºC.
The difference in the macarons is most striking after they are baked. The macarons made with the French meringue method look grainy and more "rustic" (though some claim it offers a superior taste), compared to the shiny surface and perfectly smooth macaron shell made with the Italian meringue method. The latter is also the one that Pierre Hermé favours and has based his entire macaron empire on. No reason not to follow suit.
With all the talk about boiling sugar and working with a thermometer, making macarons might sound a bit daunting. I was anxious as well. Especially a few years ago when macarons were quite the fad across blogs and everyone had something to say about making macarons, with words such as tant pour tant, macaronage, humidity and even 'macaron Gods smiling upon you that day'! The information out there can get overwhelming, and in the end it's best to simply dive into making the macarons. As I realised over time by studying pastry and following Pierre Hermé's method, you're going to get better at making macarons and will learn something new each time you make them.
Macarons are not complicated and making them should not be viewed as an insurmountable task. Just think of them as baking any other cookie. Here are some tips on making your own macarons that I've picked up over time:
- It's not to say that every batch of macarons you make will be perfect. It won't, but with every batch you will learn something. For example, I brought back home some leftover macaron batter that resulted in perfectly gorgeous macarons at Le Cordon Bleu. It just didn't work at home. The macaron had feet (the crinkly thing at the base) but the tops cracked. Everything was the same at school and home, except the oven itself. So that explained that the oven I was using at home wasn't suited for the job.
- On another occasion, I added too much liquid colour to the mixture that made the macarons stick to the parchment paper and not form a bottom crust where the macaron shell is in contact with the parchment.
- The same thing happened when I hadn't whisked the egg whites to soft peaks before pouring in the boiling sugar.
- Egg whites must be at the soft peak stage by the time the boiling sugar is ready. One time, mine weren't and I went ahead and made the meringue anyway, which resulted in a much softer macaron batter that wouldn't hold shape when piped, thereby resulting in uneven macaron rounds.
- It's imperative to wait 24 hours after filling the macarons before you can eat them. It's a long wait, but well worth it once the flavour and moisture from the ganache has soaked into the macaron shells. This is key. (Thus, there is no such thing as a freshly baked macaron, unless you want a less flavourful one :))
- While Pierre Hermé's instructions stress on letting the macarons dry (feel dry to the touch) for 30 minutes before baking them, I popped a tray in to see what might happen if I didn't. Turns out, it didn't make a difference to the structure – it took 2-3 minutes longer than the 12 minutes stated in the recipe but was just a lot less cumbersome given my shoebox-sized oven and its low yield. (I also halved the shell recipe to feed a household of two).
- Pierre Hermé also talks about aging egg whites up to a week so that the eggs lose their elasticity. I aged mine for two days for one batch and a week for another and both the batches turned out OK.
I'll keep adding more pointers to this list when I learn something new.
This Pierre Hermé recipe for macaron shells makes about 150. I halved the recipe and it worked perfectly. I use and highly recommend Pierre Hermé's Macaron book (USA | UK | India) for making the macarons. It has the whole process beautifully illustrated and simplified for making macarons at home. You will also need a digital thermometer to be able to measure the temperate of the sugar.
- Passionfruit macarons
- Bowl 1
- 300g ground almonds
- 300g icing sugar
- 110g liquefied" egg whites
- 2g approx. blue food colouring
- 4g approx. red food coloring
- Bowl 2
- 300g caster sugar
- 75g mineral water
- 110g liquefied" egg whites
- Passionfruit ganache
- 500g milk chocolate (I used Valrhona Jivara)
- 250g passion fruit pulp (obtained from approximately 10 passion fruits)
- 50g butter
- *"Liquefied" egg whites. Egg whites will lose their elasticity if you sit them in the fridge for several days, preferably a week. (refer to my notes above)
- Bowl 1: Sift together the icing sugar and ground almonds. Stir the food colouring into the first portion of liquefied egg whites and pour into a well in the bowl of icing sugar and ground almonds.
- Bring the water and sugar to boil at 118ºC. When the syrup reaches 115ºC (this was too late for me while making half the recipe, I began to whisk the whites at 105C), simultaneously start whisking the second portion of liquefied egg whites to soft peaks. When the sugar reaches 118ºC, pour it over the egg whites. Whisk and allow the meringue to cool down to 50ºC, then fold it into the almond-icing sugar mixture. While folding, work from the centre outwards, making sure to incorporate all the colour evenly. By the time you are don't folding the macaron shell mixture should look shiny.
- Spoon the batter into a piping bag fitted with a plain tip No. 8 nozzle.
- Pipe rounds of batter about 3-3.5 cm in diameter on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 180ºC for 12-15 minutes. Once baked, slide the parchment off the baking sheet and once the macarons have cooled, peel them off the paper.
- For the ganache, chop the chocolate and put it into a bowl and place it over a double boiler to soften. Pull it off the heat. Pour passionfruit pulp that has come to a boil over it and let it sit for a minute before beginning to whisk it gently. Next, whisk in pieces of butter at room temperature . Once everything is incorporated, transfer to a piping bag (do not cut the tip) and clip the end. Refrigerate until firm enough to pipe on to the macarons.
- Finally, fill the macarons with the ganache, and refrigerate for 24 hours before serving. If the weather is too hot, the macarons might show signs of condensation when they're removed from the fridge. To combat this, let the macarons come to room temperature in an air-conditioned room.
Useful links:
Pierre Hermé Ispahan making video (French)
Macaron making myths


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Brasile, Lauren*†; Glowacki, Philip†; Stubenitsky, Bart M.*‡
From the *Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands; †Breonics Inc., Albany, New York; and ‡Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, St. Antonius Academy, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands.
Submitted for consideration January 2010; accepted for publication in revised form February 2011.
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We previously reported that a bioengineered interface consisting of a nano-barrier membrane (NB-LVF4) used as an artificial interface between skin allografts and wound surfaces significantly prolonged graft survival without immunosuppression. We now evaluated whether NB-LVF4 could serve as a targeted drug delivery system to further improve outcomes. Fibroblast growth factor-1 (FGF-1) was selected for its known function as a wound hormone. Full-thickness 8-mm skin grafts were cross-transplanted between out-bred mice. Controls were transplanted without treatment. In test groups, the NB-LVF4, with or without FGF-1, was applied to both basolateral skin and wound surfaces with polymerization resulting in a tridimensional transparent membrane. The mice were evaluated for T-cell activation and development of donor-specific antibody. Rejection occurred in controls by 7 days. NB-LVF4 treatment, with or without FGF-1, was found to significantly prolong allograft survival (27 and 28 days, respectively [p < 0.05]). Untreated controls stimulated 10-fold shift in the number of circulating CD4+ cells while test groups exhibited substantially reduced shifts in CD4+ cells. The group treated with FGF-1 did not develop donor-specific antibody. Treatment with the NB-LVF4 membrane delays the onset of allograft rejection in the absence of systemic immunosuppression. FGF-1 appears to prevent the development of a humoral response by preventing B cell activation.
Clinical use of allogenic skin has been limited by short graft survival times attributable to the immunologically mediated rejection. While long-term graft survival has been achieved in the case of solid organ transplants for many years using an arsenal of immunosuppressive agents, there has been no corresponding improvement in the acceptance of skin allografts.
A concerted effort to develop semi-synthetic skin equivalents has been undertaken over the years. Some of these technologies have been commercialized including an artificial dermis such as Integra (Integra LifeSciences Corporation, Plainsboro, NJ) followed by the application of sheets of autologous cultured cells once circulation has been established. Alloderm (LifeCell, Woodlands, TX) consisting of human dermis rendered antigen free over which a thin layer of skin graft can be applied. Other products include Adaptec (J&J, New Brunswick, NJ), Conformat 2 (Smith & Nephew, Hull, UK), Epicell (Genzyme Biosurgery, Cambridge, MA), and Laser Skin (Fidia Advanced Biopolymers, Abano Terme, Italy). The disadvantages of these therapies remain the vulnerability of the epidermal layer and the lack of appendages such as hair follicles or sweat glands that breach both the epidermal and dermal layers. Use of synthetic skin equivalents has been associated with high rates of infection and graft loss, highlighting the need for a dermal component.
While an autograft remains the preferable treatment for skin lost from burn or trauma, long-term acceptance of an allograft represents the next best alternative. The ability to overcome the immunologic barriers that have historically resulted in the failure to achieve long-term acceptance of skin allografts could have a corresponding major overall impact in the field of clinical transplantation. A new approach that could potentially improve both skin and solid organ allograft survival would be an immunomodifying therapy that is tissue-specific. Most efforts to prolong allograft survival have focused on the effector arm of the immune system. With the exception of pretransplant graft treatments such as the depletion of passenger leukocytes, efforts have focused on interrupting the effector cell cascade. Our approach to tissue-specific allograft immunomodification entails coating the wound surfaces of the allograft skin with a nano-barrier membrane (NB-LVF4). Similarly, we have used the NB-LVF4 for the immunomodification of the vascular surfaces within a solid organ allograft.1 The goal is to interrupt the normal interface by providing a physical barrier between recipient and donor tissues.
NB-LVF4 is composed of an array of laminin, vitrogen, fibronectin, and type IV collagen that provide an apical surface that remains nonthrombogenic and nonimmunogenic. The network of molecules constituting the NB-LVF4 functions as a barrier to immune cell migration, while simultaneously allowing the free diffusion of nutrients and oxygen. In a previous study, we reported that NB-LVF4 used as an artificial interface between a skin allograft and the wound surface prolonged graft survival in the absence of systemic immunosuppression.2 In this study, we evaluated whether the nano-barrier membrane could function as a targeted drug delivery system. In this feasibility study, we investigated whether incorporation of fibroblast growth factor-1 (FGF-1) into the membrane before application could further improve skin allograft acceptance. The selection of FGF-1 was based on its known function as a wound hormone, with the potential of reducing both the time the skin allograft would be dependent on plasmatic circulation and accompanying inflammation.
The NB-LVF4 used for immunocloaking is a proprietary technology of Breonics, Inc., (Albany, NY). NB-LVF4 is comprised of laminin, vitrogen, fibronectin, and type IV collagen made from proteins synthesized by cultured corneal endothelial cells. The components are polymerized into a three-dimensional transparent membrane approximately 200 nm in thickness. Laminin polymers serve as the template for the NB-LVF4 assembly. The cross-linked type IV collagen provides the structural integrity and the disulfide bonds stabilize the components in the membrane.
The mixed lymphocyte-vascular endothelial cell reaction (MLER) was performed using allogenic peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) as the responding cell population with vascular endothelial cells (VEC) as the stimulator. The VEC were isolated from blood vessels using collagenase digestion, seeded into tissue culture plates, and maintained in culture until confluent. The PBMNC were isolated from whole heparinized blood on Ficoll-Hypaque gradients. The PBMNC were collected, washed twice, and resuspended at a concentration of 1 × 106/ml. Once confluent, 2.5 × 105 of responding allogenic PBMNC were added to each of the triplicate well. The cultures were maintained at 37°C for an additional 4 days, pulsed with 0.6 μCi 3H-thymidine, and harvested 18 hours later. DNA synthesis was evaluated by scintillation counting of the harvested cells. In the wells where NB-LVF4 was tested, the cold solubilized membrane was neutralized and then applied to cover either the bottom of the wells or to cover the confluent layer of VEC.
The test combinations included are listed below:
* Negative control: PBMNC alone
* Positive control: PBMNC + allogenic VEC
* Test: PBMNC + NB-LVF4 treated allogenic VEC
* Test: PBMNC + NB-LVF4 alone
The testing was performed in triplicate on two separate days and the results represented as the mean of the counts per minute (CPM). The Stimulation Index (SI) was calculated as follows: Mean CPM Test/Mean CPM Negative Control. The effectiveness of NB-LVF4 treatment was determined by the % of inhibition it provided in comparison to the positive controls.
The process involved in solubilizing and then polymerizing the NB-LVF4 membrane at physiologic temperature has been previously described.2 A thin continuous membrane that covers the surface of the wound and the basolateral surface of the skin allograft resulted. In the test group where FGF-1 (Breonics, Inc., Albany, NY) was added to the membrane, 5 μg was added to the cold solubilized mixture just before treating the allograft and wound bed. As NB-LVF4 is permeable to low-molecular-weight compounds, free transport of nutrients and oxygen is unaffected and the tissue remains viable. Likewise, the membrane supported cellular functions similar to the role of extracellular matrices in substrata tissues.
Genetically inbred BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice were obtained from Charles River Company (Wilmington, MA). The BALB/c-C57BL/6 model is considered to represent an excellent model for skin allograft transplantation because of the major H-2 complex incompatibilities. Congenic BALB/c mice possess the d phenotype while congenic C57BL/6 possess the b phenotype.3 Mice were housed in compliance according to our Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee following the "Principles of Laboratory Animal Care" with free access to food and water. Full-thickness 8-mm skin grafts were cross-transplanted between the two genetically unrelated groups of mice (BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice) and sutured in place. Control skin allografts were transplanted without treatment after 15 minutes incubation at 37°C in a sterile milieu. In the test skin allografts, the 8-mm skin grafts with 100 μl of the neutralized and normothermic NB-LVF4 with and without FGF-1 were carefully layered on to the subdermal surface of the skin graft using a sterile syringe. Treated skin grafts were then incubated at 37°C for 15 minutes. During the incubation period, an additional 100 μl of the neutralized and solubilized membrane was also layered onto the wound bed on each mouse. After polymerization, the treated skin grafts were allotransplanted onto the surface of the already treated wound bed by suturing the graft in place.
The animals were followed by daily visual inspection as previously described.2 The occurrence of rejection was defined as graft necrosis >90%, resulting in the loss of viable skin.
Group 1 (n = 15): Cross-transplants of untreated skin grafts between BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice.
Group 2 (n = 15): Cross-transplants of NB-LVF4 treated skin grafts between BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice.
Group 3 (n = 15): Cross-transplants of NB-LVF4 + FGF-1 (5 μg) treated skin grafts between BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice (Figure 1).
The development of donor-reactive antibodies was determined by flow cytometric cross-matching to demonstrate the immunologic basis for graft loss. The flow cytometric cross-match, a sensitive test for determining immunologic status, was performed by incubating the recipient sera with the donor lymphocytes stained with a fluorochrome-conjugated secondary antibody [fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG (H and L); Jackson Immuno Research, West Grove, PA]. Specifically, the target lymphocytes were isolated from either the spleens of naive BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice or the cross-transplanted donors after euthanasia. The lymphocytes were used at a working concentration of 2 × 105 cells that were incubated with 50 μl of recipient serum for 30 minutes, washed, and resuspended in 10 μl of fluorochrome-conjugated secondary antibody. After a second 30-minute incubation, the lymphocytes were again washed followed by fixation in paraformaldehyde. The fixed cells were then analyzed using a FACScan (Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, NJ) and Cellquest software (Cellquest Inc., Largo, FL). The baseline channel fluorescence was determined using negative controls consisting of both autologous sera and sera from naive mice.
The median channel fluorescence (MCF) shift used for determining positivity was calculated as the SD based on the average of the median channel fluorescence of the controls. The cutoff for positivity was set at 3SD. The presence of donor-reactive antibody was assigned when the MCF shift was greater than the established cutoff for positivity.
A modified MLER was performed using FGF-1 treated and untreated allogenic PBMNC as the responding cell population with VEC as the stimulator as described above. The cultures were maintained at 37°C for 24 hours and the CD20+ B cells were then counted. CD20 is a marker for B cells as it is constitutively expressed on all B cells. All testing were performed in triplicate.
Control Group (n = 14): Untreated PBMNC.
Test (n = 14): Treated PBMNC incubated vol/vol with 5 μg of FGF-1 for 60 minutes at 37°C before application to the VEC.
The CD20+ B cells from each of the triplicate wells of both control and test groups were evaluated for CD25 expression as a marker for B cell activation. An indirect immunofluorescence assay was performed using a murine monoclonal anti-CD25+ antibody (VMRD, CO) incubated with the CD20+ B cells for 30 minutes at 37°C. After incubation, the cells were washed twice and then incubated with a rabbit anti-mouse IgG (Sigma, MO) for an additional 30 minutes. The cells were again washed twice, in resuspended and evaluated for the number of with cells with the phenotype of CD20+, CD25+ using a Victor2 fluorescence reader (PerkinsElmer Life Sciences).
All data ares represented as the mean with accompanying SD for each experimental group. A t test analysis was used to determine statistical significance of the experimental findings.
The traditional mixed lymphocyte culture has been long used as sensitive test for evaluating cellular compatibility within the MHC class II complex in transplantation (Table 1). The results were interpreted as "mini-graft" where a SI of <5.0 was considered negative, indicating that there was no significant proliferative response to the allogenic cells. Similarly, a SI >5.0 was considered positive where an aggressive immunogenic response could be anticipated. In this study, VEC were used as the stimulator cell in place of lymphocytes. The PBMNC proliferated when stimulated by allogenic VEC, resulting in a SI of 62.0. However, when NB-LVF4 was applied to the surface of the confluent VEC, the PBMNC proliferation was essentially eliminated with a 98.1% inhibition of the proliferative response to the VEC. Support for the nano-barrier being nonimmunogenic is the observation that PBMNC did not respond to NB-LVF4 alone. Therefore, NB-LVF4 is not immunogenic, does not elicit a proliferative response of itself, and results in an immunocloaking effect.
Rejection occurred in the group 1 mice receiving the untreated skin allografts with a mean of 7 (±1.5) days. Rejection of the untreated skin grafts resulted in open wounds that eventually formed scabs. In contrast, pretreatment of the skin allografts with NB-LVF4 was found to substantially prolong allograft survival (p < 0.05) with rejection occurring with a mean of 27 (±3.8) days. The observed prolongation of graft survival in group 2 recipients reached statistical significance. In all cases, the treated groups demonstrated good hair regrowth, which in some cases exceeded surrounding native hair regrowth. The eventual rejection of the NB-LVF4 treated skin allografts did not result in an open wound or in the formation of a scab, but the skin graft was eventually sloughed, leaving an intact pseudodermis. Allograft survival was also prolonged in group 3 mice treated with FGF-1, with rejection occurring with a mean of 28 (±2.4) days (p < 0.05).
The results of the flow cytometric analysis indicated that the group 1 recipients of untreated skin allografts demonstrated a 10-fold shift in the number of CD4+ cells (Table 2). In contrast, in both group 2 treated and group 3 treated with the addition of FGF-1, the shift in the number of CD4+ cells was significantly reduced with a fourfold increase.
By 14 days post-transplantation, all the control recipients in group 1 demonstrated donor-reactive antibody, indicating an immunologic basis for the skin graft loss. Donor-specific antibody was also found to have developed in the group 2 recipients of NB-LVF4 treated skin by 45 days post-transplantation. However, the recipients of treated skin containing FGF-1 did not develop donor-specific antibody.
Exposing naïve B cells to FGF-1 before stimulation with allogenic VEC resulted in significant inhibition of B cell activation (Figure 2). The number of B cells staining positive for the CD25 phenotype was reduced to just 8% of the expression observed in the untreated controls.
Our approach to graft immunomodification entails coating the wound surfaces of the allograft skin with a nano-barrier membrane (NB-LVF4).2 The goal is to interrupt the normal interface by providing a physical barrier between recipient and donor tissues. The NB-LVF4 membrane is composed of laminin, vitrogen, fibronectin, and type IV collagen that provides an apical surface that remains nonthrombogenic and nonimmunogenic. The results from the MLER studies demonstrate that the NB-LVF4 membrane is nonimmunogenic and treatment of allogenic VEC with the membrane prevents the proliferative response that normally occurs in its absence.
Attempts to immunomodify allogenic tissues and organs with the goal of eliminating systemic immunosuppression is not new and have been ongoing for more than 20 years.4–7 A variety of encapsulating materials made from biocompatible polymers have been used for immunomodifying a number of proteins and isolated cells. Of these polymers, the most widely studied is poly(ethylene-glycol) (PEG), which has been covalently bonded to a variety of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and cells since the 1970s. PEG has been used in several applications, including reducing red blood cell antigenicity in both blood group mismatched and xenotransfusion, coupled with hemoglobin to develop blood substitutes, and treatment of isolated pancreatic islets.8–11 While red blood cells (RBC) PEGylation is useful for some blood group antigen coverage, the ABH antigens A and B have been difficult to mask.12–15 Interestingly, mPEG has been shown to be stably attached to RBC membranes for 30 days, even in the case of hemolysis.16
The addition of a variety of factors to the NB-LVF4 membrane before polymerization could present the opportunity to further improve the outcomes. As a first step toward this goal, this study evaluated whether the addition of FGF-1 would further improve skin allograft survival. As the goal of this study was to establish feasibility, biopsies were not taken because of concerns that it would disrupt the membrane integrity and initiate rejection.
FGF-1 can be thought of as a wound hormone that has angiogenic properties, stimulates DNA synthesis, regulates cell growth, and inhibits apoptosis. In essence, FGF signaling regulates the activity of virtually all higher vertebrate cell types.17 FGF signal transduction is medicated by a family of membrane tyrosine kinases through both high- and low-affinity FGF receptors, allowing for a number of signaling cascades.18
The results of this initial feasibility study demonstrate that treatment with NB-LVF4 supplemented with FGF-1 delays the onset of acute skin allograft rejection when compared with untreated controls. A surprising result was the observation that the addition of FGF-1 appears to prevent the development of donor-specific antibody. This observation is consistent with a report where FGF-deficient mice were shown to produce increased levels of antibody.19 Conversely, antibody production was found to be suppressed in FGF overexpressing mice.
We evaluated whether FGF-1 mediated the observed inhibition of antibody production by interfering with B cell activation using CD25 as a marker. CD25 is the alpha chain of the IL-2 receptor that is a transmembrane protein expressed on activated B cells. CD25 expression on B cells is selectively upregulated by Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), TLR4, and TLR9 ligands. Blockade of the nuclear factor (NF)-κβ prevents CD25 upregulation in B cells. Such blockade of CD25 has been shown to interfere with the proliferative response in the MLR.20 CD25+ B cells secrete significantly increased levels of IL-10 when compared with CD25− B cells and serve as memory cells that enhance the immune response.21 Most importantly, CD20+ and CD25+ B cells have been shown to produce increased levels of immunoglobulins.22 These early findings suggest that FGF prevented B cell activation significantly to result in the prevention of donor-specific antibody development.
These results provide further evidence for a role of NB-LVF4 in providing temporary protection from skin allograft rejection. Our results also demonstrate that NB-LVF4 can be used as a targeted drug delivery system to immunomodify skin allografts. The inclusion of FGF-1 within the NB-LVF4 appears to have prevented B cell activation and interfered with their ability to produce donor-specific antibody. Such protection would appear logical during the phase when graft survival is dependent on plasmatic circulation and during the early period of communication between recipient and donor microvessels. What is not yet understood is how NB-LVF4 provides protection, leading to prolongation of graft survival when mature complex capillaries, arterioles, and venules should have developed (>7 days postengraftment). The goal of future studies will be to study the fate of NB-LVF4 over time and to determine its mechanism of protection.
Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), R3AI42487A.
Copyright © 2011 by the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs
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By Thomas Garcia: Quay County Sun
A contract for land for a feedlot will be up for review by City Commissioners on Thursday at a regular meeting. The contract is to call for the donation 218 acres of land to the Tucumcari Economic Development Corp. which will in turn donate the land to the developers of the feed lot.
The feed lot developers are Tony Gabel of Conchas and Mark Whetten of Newkirk. The lot is on land owned by the city and adjacent to its new landfill off of Highway 54, about three miles from Mountain Road and Route 66. Construction on the landfill is to be completed later this year.
At a special meeting of the commission on Tuesday, commissioner Jim Lafferty made a motion to approve the donation of the acreage provided the addresses certain points outlined by the commissioners. Lafferty's motion received unanimous approval, except for commissioner Christopher Maestas, who was not at the meeting. The contract is to be drawn up in time for Thursday's regular meeting.
TEDC Executive Director Patrick Vanderpool told commissioners on Tuesday that the economic impact of the feed lot, over a three-year period would range from 27 new jobs during the construction phase with a projected payroll budget of $449,400 in the first year and 17 jobs, with projected salaries of $25,500, in the third year when its operational.
The feed yard would bring a capital investment of $1.5 million for the construction and operation of the lot, Vanderpool said.
In addition, the feed lot would generate tax revenue from the feed lot and from commodities purchased from area farmers.
"This is a win-win situation for the community," said Vanderpool. "It will bring a new business to Tucumcari that will purchase services and materials from local retailers in its development and eventually commodities from area framers."
The TEDC board approved the project before it was presented to the city commissioners, said Vanderpool.
Following the approval of the contract by the commissioners, the TEDC will develop a contract with the feed lot's developers to deed the land over to them, said Vanderpool.
"We would like to have this process done in 30 days or less in order for the project to begin development and construction," said Vanderpool.
A concern that was raised about the project involved potential pollution of groundwater, but the site has had an environmental assessment by the New Mexico Environmental Department and there will be no danger to the ground water and a confined animal permit has been issued, said Vanderpool.
"The land will be deeded over for the project," said Vanderpool. "The economic impact and benefits to the community will far exceed the value of the land if we were to sell it."
The donation of the land to the TEDC will break a lease for 215 acres at the 218-acre site between the city of Tucumcari and the New Mexico State University Agricultural Science center.
NMSU science center's 10-year lease has seven and a half years remaining, said NMSU science center superintendent Rex Kirksey. "The contract that we had with the city was to use the land for grazing purposes only, " said Kirksey.
"Since the contract will be broken in five years the city will reimburse the science center for the materials and labor for the perimeter fence we put up around the property," said Kirksey.
The contract up for approval on Thursday is to address concerns voiced by the commissioners including: the unrestricted access and use of the road leading to the landfill and feed lot, a restriction that prohibits development of the front 30 acres of the 218-acre site should the city need to expand the landfill and the return of the land to the city if the project should not go through, said city manager John Sutherland.
Economic Impact of feed yard on Tucumcari
Year 1
27 jobs
Payroll $449,400
Year 2
15 jobs
Payroll $367,000
Year 3
17 jobs
Payroll $435,00
Capital Investment
Construction: $580,000
Equipment: $ $240,000
Operating Expense: $265,00
Total: $1,534,400
Estimated property tax:
3,000 head of cattle at
taxable rate of $182 a head.
Estimated GRT (Gross Receipt Tax):
$86,940 a year
Commodities purchases from local farmers
Yearly grain and feed
purchases: 13,687 tons
Total: $670,010


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Still smarting over a Senate Committee gruelling over its tobacco investments, the Future Fund - the largest fund in Australia - is being accused of insufficient transparency over climate-change risk mitigation within its portfolio.
A FOI search two years ago revealed that despite investor warnings of particular risks to long-term investors like the Future Fund, it had not once mentioned climate-change in any of its Board meetings.
Despite the more recent development of Australia's own carbon pricing scheme, the Future Fund is accused of not giving the issue sufficient oxygen or providing stakeholders with clarity about its strategies to protect its portfolio.
In a letter to the Asset Owners Disclosure Project, the $75 billion fund claimed it suffered "resource constraints."
Asset Owners Disclosure Project (AODP) Chair Dr John Hewson and former leader of the Liberal Party said: "It is quite extra-ordinary that Australia's largest fund which will have to supply pension liabilities over the long-term has decided not to come clean over its climate position."
"While investors all over the world continue to build understanding of how to protect themselves from the market and physical impacts of climate change, the Future Fund thinks it is immune. It needs to come clean."
It's understood that the former head of the Future Fund David Murray was known to refute the conclusions of the scientific community regarding climate change.
But rather than taking a scientific view, Hewson claimed that the bigger issue is around the risks to the assets in the Future Fund portfolio.
""There are many ways in which we could see a rapid shift to the low carbon economy in the coming years. Under any of those scenarios, we will see rapid direct or indirect re-pricing of carbon, and then the Future Fund will be unable to sell any stranded assets and so it must start planning now."
"Australia's retirees cannot afford another sub-prime crisis," he added.
John Connor, CEO of The Climate Institute, which operates AODP in Australia, added that as a carbon and resource intensive economy, Australia has a massive risk exposure to climate change and its regulation.
For our largest pool of capital to ignore this is a problem for government and regulators", but most of all for citizens and taxpayers who are entitled to know what the board of guardians are actually doing," he concluded.
The AODP issued disclosure requests to the world's largest 1,000 asset owners in August and will publish its first global index of funds later this year.
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Last night, PennDOT officials met with the public concerning the upcoming Route 119 connector road project. The proposed project will eliminate all the current left-hand turns from 119, in or out of Greenville Road, Lockard Avenue, and Grover and Short streets, and provide a connector road to connect the current Route 119 to Old Route 119 near the Sheetz Gas Station. The meeting had a lot of people from Homer City turn out and according to PennDOT Project Manager Mark Rozich, people understand why this project's being done, in regards to safety due to the high number of crashes in the project area.The project is anticipated to start in the Spring of 2016.
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2 thin-skinned juice oranges, such as Valencia
1 cup granulated sugar plus 11/3 cups sugar
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
teaspoon baking soda
teaspoon Fleur de Sel (French sea salt)
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 10-inch cake pan. In a large pot, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Slice the bottom and top from the oranges (where the skin is the thickest) and quarter the oranges. Plunge the oranges into the water, allow the water to return to a boil, then drain the oranges. Repeat the process two more times. This will remove the bitterness from the orange rind.
Place the oranges in a pot filled with 1 quart of water and 1 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil and cook until the rind is softened and can be easily pierced with a fork, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove and discard any remaining seeds in the cooked orange segments and cut the oranges into chunks. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, blend the oranges until they form a chunky puree. With the machine still running, add the olive oil in a slow drizzle until it is incorporated into the orange puree.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt,
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, the remaining 11/3 cups sugar, and the vanilla extract until the mixture is fluffy and pale. Using a rubber spatula, fold 1/3 of the flour mixture into the egg mixture, then the orange mixture. Repeat, continuing to alternate between flour and orange mixtures, until all the ingredients have been combined into a batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean and the top of the cake is golden, 35 to 40 minutes.
Yield: One 10-inch cake serving 8 to 10
Source: William Yosses, White House executive pastry chef


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Tame Impala: Memory Tapes Remix
Posted at 1:55pm, 12/6/2012
One of the best songs from Tame Impala's much-loved new album, Lonerism, has recently been given a great remix by Memory Tapes. The "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" Memory Tapes Remix is available below. Listen now:
This track will be part of the Feels Like We Only Go Backwards Single Package, out December 14th. Lonerism is out now on Modular. Memory Tapes' new LP Grace/Confusion is out now on Carpark Records.
If you are able to donate to help keep betterPropaganda going strong, please do. If not, just sit back and enjoy the music! Any amount is appreciated. Please feel free to donate securely through Paypal. Thanks for your support, we wouldn't be here today without our fans! For more information, http://bit.ly/p2x0o8.


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In the midst of the Angie Zapata murder trial in Greeley, Colo., which came to a conclusion last week with the sentencing of Allen Andrade, I was able to travel with Angie's sisters Monica and Stephanie - along with their close family friend Tina Blea - from Colorado to Los Angeles for the GLAAD Media Awards.
Univision's Aqui y Ahora had been nominated for two segments on Angie's story in the Spanish Language Newsmagazine Category. As Monica Trasandes, GLAAD's Director of Spanish Language Media, wrote last week, when the winner was announced, Monica Zapata joined Aqui y Ahora producer Belisa Morillo onstage to accept the award.
The trip gave me an important opportunity to connect to Angie's family. Having attended the Angie Zapata murder trial in Greeley all day Apr. 17, the Zapatas and I were forced to delay our flight due to a massive snowstorm in Denver, postponing our flight to Saturday morning.
While we were held over, I had the opportunity, for the first time, to have a very casual conversation with Monica, Stephanie and Tina. Previously we had talked many times, but they were almost always focused conversations about our work with the media around Angie's life and death.
What has become abundantly clear to me with every conversation I have with this remarkable family is how much they love Angie - and how much they stick together.
Over dinner they remarked that their trip to Los Angeles for the GLAAD Media Awards was particularly significant to them because of Angie. "You know, this was Angie's dream. She dreamed of going away, being famous, and having her picture everywhere. She would have loved to take this trip," they told me. They said that Angie dreamed big, and they feel that their first trip to LA was an opportunity to honor her dreams.
They also told me that Angie's favorite movie was A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story, which won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Television Movie in 2007. In life, Angie saw a lot of similarities between herself and Gwen. She used to make her family watch the movie over and over with her.
It is devastating that now Gwen and Angie share more than the same life story - but that they were both victims of anti-transgender violence.
In court on the day before she arrived in L.A., Monica recounted that she used to tell Angie to be safe "every day." She worried about the cruelty that exists in the world against transgender people.
At the event, she stood up while accepting the award and said these words to the audience:
"My family, some who are with me here tonight, always loved and supported Angie. We understood that she was born in a boy's body but she was a woman. So many transgender people do not receive that love, acceptance and support.
I would like to thank the reporter and producers of the Aqui y Ahora segment for treating Angie and her story with so much respect. And for telling her story to Latino audiences.
Thank you to GLAAD for bringing us here, for recognizing Angie's story and for helping us with the trial, and more. To all of you here tonight, I would like to say exactly what I would tell Angie if she was here. Be yourself and be proud of who you are. No tengas verguenza. Eres una buena persona (Don't be ashamed, you are a good person.)"
You can also watch a video of producer Belissa Morillo accepting the award for the Aqui y Ahora segments as well as Monica's speech below:
The resolve of seeing this wonderful family stand up and demand dignity is inspiring. It is my hope, that as this family continues to speak up they can, as Monica implores people, "change the world for Angie."


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Seb Yates is an awesome trails rider and an all round nice guy. He hasn't had much coverage so i thought i would hook him up with an edit of him riding his local trails. The last trick is crazy.. but doing it on that huge jump is just nuts!
Filmed and Edited: James Hamilton-Martin | digitalbmx.com
Music: Night By Night – Chromeo


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ONU representatives present at national engineering conference
Dr. Ken Reid, director of first-year engineering and director of engineering education, and Courtney Hetrick, a senior electrical engineering major from Frazeysburg, Ohio, presented "An Innovative Interdisciplinary Project: Engineering and Nursing" at the 2011 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference, held June 26-29 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Sue Montenery, assistant professor of nursing, was a co-author on the paper.
Reid also co-presented "Enhancing the Entrepreneurial Mindset of Freshman Engineers" discussing an ongoing study of the growth vs. fixed mindset of first-year engineering students with Dan Ferguson from Purdue.


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January 2011
The RSBS Podcast, Episode 18: Major League Fleshlights… and Other Stuff
And so in this Podcast brought to you by Lifestyles…
Jeff, Allen, Johanna and Second City's Mark Piebenga knock off the winter rust and gear up for what looks like a fantastically competitive 2011 season. Besides being racy, risque and borderline offensive (or, just plain offensive), the topics of discussion include but are not limited to the best orange juice of all time, Michael Young's precarious situation, Major League collisions and much, much more… all to make you happy face!
– – –
Subscribe to the RSBS Podcast by clicking *HERE*
Subscribe via iTunes by clicking *HERE*
*Special thanks to our PodMaster Keith Carmack. You can experience Keith's wicked podcast and subsequent film projects at Undercard Films. Keith is a hot topic right now! Not only is he filming that cool baseball doc, but now he's got some commercial gigs from the Undercast, AND he's investing in fleshlights! Pay him a visit!
– – –
Recorded Saturday, January 29, 2011
Bring Out Your Dead!
A couple of years ago a guy in Canada made the international news when he killed a fellow bus passenger for seemingly no reason at all. Even that probably wouldn't have been enough except that he proceeded to cut the dead man's head off and hold it up for everyone else to see.
Thankfully, this type of crazy remains relatively rare. Sure, we get the occasional nut job like Jose Offerman but he's the exception rather than rule. And, to be fair, he didn't cut anyone's head off either.
Here in the US we also get our fair share of far-out nuts. These stories run the gamut from the tragic (Timothy McVeigh and the Columbine Killers) to the macabre (Jeffery Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy). However, every once in a while a story hits the wires that just can't be categorized. For instance, Richard Elwood Sanden.
Honestly, I'm not even really sure where to start on this one. And I'm not even really sure why I'm bringing it up except to spread the horror a little wider in hopes that my own will dissipate. I mean seriously, who uses telephone dating services? That's why the internet was created.
….Oh, you're horrified for other reasons? Oh, yeah, ok. I guess I can see where you're coming from. That part is pretty bad, too. But seriously, I didn't even know that telephone dating services still existed or that anyone used them.
Beyond Non Sequitur VII
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu —
Happy Saturday!
(GIF via 9GAG)
Sometimes Size Is Relative
RSBS loves beer. In fact, although Jeff may dispute me on this one, there's nothing wrong with going to a baseball game just for the beer. Sure, it's more expensive, and yeah, it's watered down. But sitting at the ballpark in the middle of July with a beer in your hand beats just about any other feeling. Since I also tend to be a bit of a snob, finding ballparks like AT&T Park in San Francisco, which serves Anchor Steam, only adds to the allure. Baseball and decent beer? Yes and yes.
But here's a secret. Get the small. The tall cup might look bigger and you're sure going to pay more but volume and surface area have only a tenuous relationship at best. Go ahead, see for yourself:
Oh yeah, that's right. 16 ounces is 16 ounces no matter which way you stack it. But $1.25 extra? That's straight up thievery. Of course, it is Washington where Microsoft is based and if anybody knows thievery, it's those guys…….Uh, hey, wait. Why is Explorer crashing? I'm just kidding guys. I love Microsoft. And I'll gladly pay an extra $1.25 for your "large" beer. Please?
A Few of His Favorite Things
Happy "Kiss a Cardinal Day" or, as it's known in some corners, Jeffery Lung's birthday. That's right, today my buddy Jeff officially reaches the ripe age of 29+. The beautiful thing about that plus is that it could really mean anything. Although my protestant guilt forces me to tell you that it means 3 this time around.
I don't have to tell you that Jeff and I have known each other for a long time and helped each other celebrate birthdays many times before. However, it has been a while since we were able to celebrate either one of our birthdays together. This year is no different.
However, that doesn't mean I can't help him celebrate his birthday correctly. And what could be more correct than an alternately loving and loathing collection of photos.
In honor of Jeff and his birthday, I present this little birthday present, a gallery of things he loves, although sometimes ambivalently. Without further ado, here we go:
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a picture of Ozzie and Albert making out which means I couldn't photoshop Jeff into it either. Guess that just means we have something to look forward to next year!
Happy Birthday, buddy!
Whittemore, Washington and Darwin
Survival of the fittest drives natural selection. The mechanisms evolved decide whether your particular branch of a species flourishes or fails. Over the years, this has led to mimicry in butterflies, symbiosis between birds and crocodiles and Kirk Gibson. However, humanity has done itself a disservice in the past decade in its continued attempt to thwart survival of the fittest.
At the birth of our nation, we had this:
And just in case the story couldn't get more bizarre, the woman in the video is now suing the mall.
I'm pretty sure Samuel Whittemore didn't sue the British soldiers who bayoneted him. In fact, I'm betting he slapped on a few bandages before hopping on a velociraptor to go help his buddy, George Washington.
Hey, it's history. And survival of the fittest.
Three Up, Three Down
Just like a Pedro Martinez pitched inning circa 1999, this is gonna be quick, probably painful and will most likely include more soul-glo than the FDA deems acceptable:
A few weeks ago, I ran into Rahm Emanuel at the Roosevelt Red Line stop. I shook his hand, wished him luck in the Chicago mayoral election, then basked in the warm glory that is his presence. Yeah, kinda makes me sick too. But I can't lie. He had a an insidiously welcoming glow about him. And as I stood there, standing next to (and above, as the man is quite short) him, I couldn't help but debate myself, asking Well, Jeff, are we on Rahm's team or no?
Then, yesterday, I read *this* and realized the Carol Moseley Underlings and Gery Chico Brigade might have already made the decision for me.
Of course, Rahm is Rahm and Rahms don't go down without a fight.
So let's sit back and watch as time and LOTS OF MONEY are wasted on the proceedings.
The American Way.
Se la vie.
Call it desperation or call it genius (I'm goin' with genius, by the way), but the Tamp Bay Rays certainly found a flashy way to fill some holes in their lineup by adding Idiot One and Idiot Two to their roster. On the cheap! Hey, if they could just convince Curt Schilling (and that unstoppable mouth) to suit back up, maybe the Rays will have a real chance at stickin' it to the Yank Sox again this year! If nothing else they have succeeded in ultimately defying logic: Manny Ramirez will get $2 million while *GASP* Kyle Farnsworth will make $2.7 million! WTF?!?!?!?
Say what you want about the Chicago Bears and their NFC Championship performance, but as a Chicagoan, I call out to all fellow Chicagoans to lay off Jay Cutler. For realz.
In fact, I'm just gonna shut up about it and defer to RSBS regular, Johanna Mahmud with the quote:
"you can never quiet the stupid."
Hate me, just don't hate me 'cuz I'm right.
Last year, RSBS gave you a guide to surviving the zombie apocalypse. Sure, maybe it hasn't happened yet but you're welcome nonetheless.
The problem is, we forgot to include a survival guide for overcoming the undead already among us. No, I'm not talking about Dick Cheney or anyone else with a pacemaker. I'm talking about something much, much scarier. Hippies.
We all know people who just don't understand when it's time to give up or time to go. Names that come to mind immediately include such luminaries as Jamie Moyer, Brett Favre and Roger Clemens. But what about the hippies? Seriously, these guys have been going at it since the 60's at least. If you want to lump the Beats in there with them, you're going back even further. C'mon man, pot and patchouli are cool but at some point you have to give it a rest.
Now, there's no denying that the hippies have given us some wonderful things. There's no way that VW could have stayed afloat long enough to give us the new Beetle if it wasn't for the hippies buying up all the VW vans. And where would we be without tie-dye? I'd be missing at least one shirt, that's for sure.
But at some point you have to accept that your revolution has reached it's natural end and move on to something new. For instance, try on some skinny jeans and an ironic t-shirt and join the hipster movement. At least the name is similar. That's helpful when you're working with less than a full contingent of brain cells.
Here's the thing, the anti-hippie revolution is already underway and if Malaysia has put their foot down, other civilized countries can't be far behind. The bell has tolled, hippies. Time to wake up. Jerry Garcia is gone, Timothy Leary is dead (I think) and pot is almost legal. Hm, now that I think about it, maybe we should be writing a guide on helping hippies reintegrate instead of marginalizing them further……..Nah. Stupid hippies.
Still Leagues Apart
As a man, the sport simply speaks to the inherent barbarism that has trickled down my side of the species for time ad nauseum. Some of my fondest high school memories revolve around strapping on the pads and hitting people as hard as I possibly could, without getting in trouble for it. In fact, I can honestly say that I enjoyed getting hit — laid out on my back with stars circling overhead — more than doing the hitting (see Fight Club).
And the language of football is deeply connected to the language of our cave-dwelling ancestors:
Arggh. Me want. Arggh. Me take. Arggh. Touchdown!
Football provides that wormhole back to warriorism — where heroes are born for their stubbornness to quit, where the last guy standing reigns supreme, whether he's got all of his limbs or not. From this we have been treated to Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Reggie White — WARRIORS the whole lot!!!
And I respect that. All of that. Every single bit of it.
Still, football ain't baseball.
It's not even close.
So, for me, when football playoffs come around, it's just not the same as when baseball playoffs come around.
I don't obsess over every matchup. I don't lose sleep at night wondering how the benches will play out. I don't break things or make women cry or have the cops called on me for repeated noise violations. And this is for games in which my team isn't even in it.
'Cuz if my team is in it, you can fuhgettabout me paying attention to anything else but the game, series, trophy, until it's over.
Hate me 'cuz it's the thing to do, just don't hate me 'cuz I'm right.
Obama v. Ocala
Man, what a start to the new year. Health care gets repealed in the House, Tunisia throws out its president and Michelle Obama lights up a state dinner. January isn't even over yet. What next? Aliens landing in the Kremlin? Pujols sporting a big Detroit "D"?
Even if ET and his homeboys do show up at Lenin's tomb, though, I'm not sure it could be any more amazing than a series of events that took place right here in our own fair country. Sit back and let your mind wander (and wonder) as we take a trip to beautiful Ocala, FL.
Wow. Just…..wow.
Happy Saturday, y'all, and god bless America.


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General Hospital Spoilers For April 28-29.
Getting increasingly desperate, Claire bends the law when she tips Johnny off about Lisa being the one and only 'not guilty' holdout on the jury. The young gangster pays a special visit to her room at the Metro Court. The next day, she gives a passionate speech to the other jurors in a final bid to sway their votes. Meanwhile, Patrick and Robin get into yet another ethical argument about the proper course of action to take after they spot Michael in the park.
Also getting more desperate, Carly gets close to the end of her rope and her pleas for help turn into threats as she attempts to get her son's location out of Olivia. It's unlikely that she'll be helpful, but Dante may be re-evaluating his decision again after Claire warns him that there could be serious repercussions if Sonny goes free.
Across town, Jason repeats his words of warning to his boss that faith placed in Dante is faith misplaced. As the father worries, Kristina begs her mother not to reveal where her brother is to Mac. Alexis does it anyway. Michael goes on the run again and meets up with Kristina, Molly and Morgan at the boat house. In spite of everything, he's optimistic that Dante won't betray him. As they hope, Dante marches into the courtroom to make a shocking declaration.
Please be sure to check out our GH news, spoilers, actor bios, appearances, video clips, polls, comings and goings!
Photo Credit: Soap Opera Fan Blog
Fun fact! Matthew Purvis wrote this story just for you on April 27th, 2010 |


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The state of human rights in Azerbaijan requires "urgent attention," the commissioner of a European watchdog organization said Wednesday. Nils Muižnieks, Commissioner for Human Rights at the 47-nation Council of Europe, said in a press release Wednesday that "no progress" … Continue reading
President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Maine Monday to discuss Iran's nuclear ambitions and a missile defense system in Europe. Foreign policy analysts assess where the two leaders made progress. Continue reading
President Bush is scheduled to hold a critical meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a few weeks to discuss a nuclear shield in Europe. A spokesman for Putin outlines key differences between the two countries. Continue reading
Eight industrialized nations concluded their summit Friday after reaching an agreement on aid to Africa, but failing to reach consensus on climate change or missile defense. Two experts detail the conference results. Continue reading
The World Health Organization confirmed seven human cases of the H5N1 strain of the bird flu in Azerbaijan. Five of the victims died, bringing the human death toll to 103 out of 184 recorded cases since late 2003. Continue reading


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text: When opened in 1957, Frank Cuneo Memorial Hospital was the most modern of hospitals, including a stunning lobby and operating rooms with patterned walls and floors of individually designed Romany-Spartan glazed tile walls. Architect Edo J. Belli introduced a new modernism to Roman Catholic architecture in Chicago, including St. Patrick's High School at 5900 W. Belmont and St. Joseph Hospital at 2900 N. Lake Shore Drive. Cuneo Memorial Hospital demonstrates his whimsical yet thoughtful approach to hospital design, including a roof line that resembles an artist's palette. Belli combined lyricism with modern materials to create his own architectural style, one that departed ever so slightly from the rigid "Miesian" orthodoxy that dominated architectural expression at that time.


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The next round of Counts will take place from Sept 12th through Sept 19th, 2015. Click here to volunteer now!
The Bicycle Coalition of Maine works with the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System (PACTS) to conduct regular bicycle and pedestrian user counts at key locations in the region at specific times of the day and year. This site is intended to provide information on the count method, locations and how to sign up, as well as links to key forms and documents needed.
The goal of this project is to understand regional cyclist and pedestrian behavior, whether for commuting, recreation, or exercise. The data we collect as part of this project is the only consistent, uniform data set and analysis system for these types of modes. Counts happen three times a year – in May, September, and January.
This data will:
- Track changes in mode share for walking and bicycling
- Justify funding for biking and walking infrastructure projects
- Allow planning and municipal agencies to better coordinate their work
- Inform efforts to manage and mitigate traffic congestion
Please Contact the Bicycle Coalition of Maine with any questions. email@example.com or 207-956-6538.
When and Where
- We conduct counts 3 times a year–in January, May and September.
- Counts are conducted on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday from 4-6 pm and on the Saturday preceding or following the midweek count from 12-2pm.
- The times selected, 12-2pm on Saturday and 4-6pm on weekdays, are meant to capture peak traffic.
- Locations: The following key criteria were considered when Count locations were chosen: historical count location, relative level of bike/ped activity, key regional corridor, access point for path or park, on-street bike facilities, employment or mixed-use area, nearby transit, stakeholder recommendation, year-round activity (for winter count locations).
How to Count
Counting is simple. A counter sets up at their assigned count location and counts every bicyclist or walker that crosses an imaginary line (called a "cordon line") drawn across a street or path. We track gender, helmet use, and whether the rider is operating with or against traffic. An "Other" category lets you record roadway users like skateboarders, roller bladers, or any group you're not quite sure about. Click here for the Count Instruction form.
Both forms are broken into fifteen-minute blocks during which you count every person who crosses the cordon line at the count location. Every fifteen minutes for two hours, you move to the next block on the page and record your observations. At the end of the two-hour count period, you tally up your totals and enter it using the online data form.
Count information is captured in the field using either a Road or a Trail form. Your location assignment will specify which form you'll need to use. Generally the Trail form is used only for counting on multi-use paths.
The goal of the counts is to capture the overall volume of bicyclists and pedestrians in each location. These volumes can be compared across the seasons and years in which the counts are held. The PACTS counts use a methodology that was developed by Alta Design and Planning, an internationally recognized expert firm on bicycle and pedestrian issues, plans and facilities design. This project is aligned with the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project. You can download the Alta Count Methodology document HERE.
Send In Your Data
After you've finished your count, you need to send us the data.
- Click here to input count data from Saturday Sept 12th or Saturday Sept 19th, 2015
- Click here to input count data from Tuesday Sept 15th, Wednesday Sept 16th, or Thursday Sept 17th, 2015.
- Using the online forms:
- At the bottom of each of spreadsheet is a separate tab for each location.
- Once you click the link you must find the tab that corresponds to your location before you enter in the data.
- Each assigned location has a corresponding number. You can find this number in the email that was sent to you with your location and date assignment.
- As we refine the electronic entry form, we are still collecting hard copies of the count forms. Please also copy and return your forms as soon as possible.
- Send by fax to 207-956-6545. Scan/email to firstname.lastname@example.com. Or mail to the Bicycle Coalition of Maine, PO Box 15272, Portland ME, 04101
Map of Count Locations
View PACTS Count Locations Fall 2014 in a larger map
Sign Up Here
Volunteer to Collect Bicycle and Pedestrian Counts, Click here to volunteer now!
Counting only takes about two hours, and it is easy, entertaining, and helpful! No training or experience is necessary to sign up.
Once you sign up, you'll receive an email with your count location and date assignment.
Forms & Documents
- Click HERE for Count Day Instructions. Please print and review these instructions before going to the count or survey site.
- Click here for a roadway count form.
- Click here for a trail count form.
- Click here for the ALTA methodology document.
- Click here for a PowerPoint training document.
Here is the data that has been collected so far:


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By Curtis K. Shelburne: Religion columnist
I'm sore. I don't mean angry or ticked or surly. I mean sore.
Back in January my wife and I started working out at a local gym. If you find that hard to believe, believe me, I understand.
When my wife told me about this opportunity, I was ecstatic. A "good deal" at any gym struck me as something like a good deal at a colonoscopy clinic where you only have to sell one kidney to afford the procedure and not both, and then you get to . . .
But it truly was a good deal, and I wanted to be encouraging, and I went to the evaluation, heel marks all the way. I signed on for a three times a week, though I really figured that the exercise equipment there would likely do me even less good than the stuff we've always hung clothes on at home because, if I'd been betting on me, I'd bet that I wouldn't last 10 visits.
Nobody could possibly be more surprised than I am, but I've actually kept up with the three times a week. Amazing.
I'll never be the poster child for fitness. My diet is likely all wrong, at least until next week when they change the rules again. (I don't think they really know the rules.) But it is strict: I have scruples about not eating anything that doesn't taste good. I like chicken. And I'm in a delightful search for a kind of seafood I don't like. But I had a great steak the other day and I hereby resolve to "Eat More Beef." I agree with one of my sons who said seriously that if the choice was vegetarianism or death, he'd choose the latter.
I feel about exercise like I feel about writing sermons. I really don't like to. But I generally like what the work produces.
Finding time to go the gym is tough. If I go too early, I can't even pretend to enjoy it, and that depresses not only me but also the other gerbils on the equipment. Once I get to the gym, it's not that bad. The folks there are really nice and helpful.
But my thinking is probably wrong. My favorite part of exercising is when it's over. Three times a week is a great plan both because I'll do it and because the days I don't go now have about them a new glow.
I've even found myself tempted to think mathematically.
Removing accidental death from the equation, I'd like to know how many hours exercising should add to my life. Subtracting the hours spent exercising at the present rate, I'd like to see if the total is worth it. I'd rather be resting in peace than exercising if the net hours aren't significant. The factor that messes with that math, though, is quality of life. Feeling better is, I admit, better.
My initial hypothesis was that the extra activity, even with no diet change, would help me drop about fifteen pounds. So far, I've dropped one, but they tell me I've transformed fourteen into muscle. I like that. And messing with the experiment now would invalidate the data. If I don't lose more fat in, say, six years or so, I'll go ahead and change my diet. If I don't lose more in 30, I'll even go to 2 percent milk, if it's still available and the food Nazis haven't made even 2 percent illegal.
Years ago St. Paul told us that "bodily exercise" has at least some value. But spiritual exercise, he said, is worth a great deal more. Even in our terminally shallow society, a loving and gracious and God-focused spirit is worth more to the folks around you than your great abs. It's also harder to keep toned.
Curtis Shelburne is pastor of 16th & Ave. D. Church of Christ in Muleshoe. Contact him at firstname.lastname@example.com


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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – It's been nearly two days since a winter storm hit the Twin Cities and other parts of Minnesota, but driving conditions remain extremely difficult on many roads.
Officials said there is some improvement in road conditions as of Saturday morning, but not much. MnDOT crews are doing the best they can, but the combination of the snow and cold temperatures is making it tough to clear roads and highways.
One area that caused a lot of problems for drivers is Interstate 694. A layer of ice on the road turned one area into a parking lot for much of the morning and early afternoon on Friday. Traffic is slow going again all over the Twin Cities Saturday.
Authorities said the worst areas remains south of the metro. The icy roads and blowing snow forced officials to close down a number of state highways and freeways. Some have re-opened, but the driving conditions are still considered dangerous.
Lt. Eric Roeske with the Minnesota State Patrol said since Thursday's storm started, State Troopers responded to 964 crashes statewide. They've also responded to 2,324 vehicles spun out or off the road, 1,082 stalls, 74 jack-knifed semis and 52 motorists needing assistance. They've responded to more than 4,400 total calls for service.
Troopers said Friday the driving conditions are the worst they've seen in 25 years.
MnDOT is working around the clock to clear the roads.
"Every system is struggling today. City streets, county roads, it's a parking lot. My driveay," said Kevin Gutknecht with MnDOT.
NewsRadio 830 WCCO's Susie Jones Reports
Gutknecht said MnDOT has 200 plows out trying to get the roads in better shape. He said they have upped the amount of salt and brine they're dumping on the roads, but because it's so cold the chemicals take longer to work.
"We're working on it as fast and as hard as we can," Gutknecht said.
Conditions were so bad in some parts of the state, Gov. Mark Dayton declared a state of emergency and called out the National Guard. Their orders were to rescue stranded motorists.
Nearly 300 people spent time in shelters set up in the eight counties. All were south and west of the twin cities, where areas experienced blizzard conditions.
Gutknecht said Sunday afternoon they'll have a better idea of what shape the roads will be in for the Monday morning commute. He said crews are seeing some progress from Friday. In the meantime, the State Patrol and MnDOT are advising to take it slow, be patient and give yourself plenty of extra time out there.
Roeske posted on Twitter Saturday morning that if you're in doubt of driving, err on the side of caution and stay home at least for Saturday.
Roeske said that since 6 p.m. Friday, State Troopers have responded to 279 crashes statewide. Of those, 28 have been injury accidents but none has been serious or fatal. Roeske said 424 vehicles have gone off the road or spun out, 273 cars have stalled and eight semi-trucks have jack-knifed.
During this last snow fall, there have been nearly 400 tows in St. Paul and 450 in Minneapolis, which has just enacted winter parking restrictions. No parking is allowed in Minneapolis on the even-numbered side of non-snow emergency routes from 8 a.m. Sunday until April 1.


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Following are excerpts from an interview with Iranian General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, commander of the Basij, which aired on Al-Manar TV on May 28, 2012.
General Mohammad Reza Naqdi: Israel is much too small to carry out [an attack]. The [Israeli] statements serve only to amuse the terrified tyrants, who say: "We are here." If Israel commits even the slightest mistake or the slightest act of stupidity, it will be the last stupid mistake in its life. Any stupid military act that Israel carries out will be the last stupid act in the history of Israel. Israel is not capable of harming Iran. We consider this laughable.
It's not just about Iran. If Israel attacks any people in the region, it will be the last mistake Israel makes. They tried this mistake twice in South Lebanon and several times in Gaza, in an area of no more than several square kilometers, and they failed.
The Gaza Strip is no larger than the smallest city in Iran. They could do nothing there, so how could they possibly fight Iran?