text:
With the declining number of horses being bred, better utilising the available pool of racing stock will be crucial to maintaining the code's racing numbers. While funding and stakes will be important factors in this, handicapping and programming will be equally crucial. Racing "like with like" and creating equal opportunities across the horse population are two underlying principles that the Handicapping Sub-Committee consider in reviewing the current system. Over the last six weeks, there have been two Handicapping Sub-Committee meetings where it has been clearly apparent that there is no such thing as a perfect Handicapping system. The system is developed and continually monitored by the Handicapping Sub-Committee, who make recommendations thereon to the Board. Current Handicapping Sub-Committee members are: Rob Lawson (Chair), Allan Brown, Ken Barron, John Green, Brian Rabbitt, Kevin Smith, Jason Broad and Andrew Morris. This is a group of experienced racing people with a broad knowledge of the industry. As an industry we can have confidence that good strategic and analytical thought (with plenty of robust discussion) is applied to consider solutions that are best for the overall industry. From its recent meetings, the Sub-Committee has come to the conclusion that with the changing nature of our industry dynamics, the current system was not catering to the horse population as well as possible, particularly in creating opprtunities for horses at the the lower end of the system. The Sub-Committee believes there is an appetite for change in the industry and that there is merit in trialling a points system in the North Island, prior to a possible national application at a later date. Accordingly from 1 August 2016, a points-based handicpping system will be trialled for at least three months in the North Island. While the finer details for this are currently being finalised, the draft details of this as developed by the Sub-Committee on 3 June are as follows: Proposed Guidelines and Principles: • All horses start with a rating of 50 points • Lowest possible rating is 35 points • Maximum possible rating is 130 points • Winners of races < $9K will receive 8 points • Winners of races >= $9K will receive 10 points • Winners of premier races ($20K minimum) will receive between 10 - 12 points • Winners of Group/Listed races will receive between 10-15 points • Handicapper discretion to vary any winner's points allocation • Placed (2nd, 3rd, 4th) horses receive 0 points - though discretion for Handicapper to vary rating up or down if warranted • Unplaced horses (5th to last) will lose at least 1 point • Handicapper discretion to decrease losing horses up to 3 points if warranted • Winners of junior or invited drivers races receive half points - minimum of 4 points • A horse can win one such drivers' race in its career at half points • 2YO's racing their own age group in races up to $15K receive half points - minimum of 4 points • 2YO's will still be eligible for this concession if nominated for a 2YO race and transferred to another race • 3YO's will receive half points for every second win in races for stakes under $15K - minimum of 4 points • Fillies and Mares racing their own sex in races up to $15K receive half points - minimum of 4 points • Claimers racing in Claimers only races receive no points - up or down • Claimers can start in any race within their own rating band if in the conditions of the said race • Special drivers' series races (World Drivers Championship) can be exempt for points at HRNZ Board discretion • Any owner/trainer unhappy with the Handicapper's points allocation following a race can appeal in writing to HRNZ's Chief Executive who will co-ordinate a review by the Northern Handicapping Review Group (Rob Lawson, John Green, Darrin Williams) Reassessment of the Current Horse Population: • All non-exported horses that have raced in the North Island in the 2015/16 season will be reassessed by the end of June 2016 • To be undertaken by Andrew Morris and Kevin Smith - peer reviewed by the Northern Handicapping Review Group as per above • Horses given a points rating from their last win or reassessment - equating C0 with 50 points, C1 with 58 points, C2 with 66 points, C3 with 74 points, C4 with 82 points and so on • Any South Island horse looking to travel to North Island can contact HRNZ at any time to get their assessed points rating • List of all horses' points to be maintained on HRNZ website - pending full development (automation) within HRNZ Infohorse system • During North Island trial, HRNZ Infohorse will effectively maintain concurrently horses' assessments per the current Handicapping system HRNZ System Changes HRNZ staff are working through how it will service this from an administration perspective. Any changes to the Handicapping system require significant computer coding and testing that will take time. HRNZ will however implement the best "band aid" solutions it can cobble together in a very short timeframe to service the system changes for the trial. While these will not be perfect, the advantages and desire to trial this as soon as possible in the North Island were compelling. Non-integrated spreadsheets and other less automated processes will be utilised during this time. With the lesser pool of horses in the North Island HRNZ will be able to do this, whereas for a wider national application full integration into the Infohorse systems will be required. While the trial is being conducted, HRNZ will need to maintain details for the current system concurrently within its database. The patience, support and help of industry participants as HRNZ goes through this process would be appreciated. It won't be perfect however HRNZ is confident that with the best IT staff and systems in the industry, it will get there and workable solutions will be implemented. The Sub-Committee felt the merits of undertaking the trial despite these shortcomings were worthwhile and from preliminary consultation with horsemen in the region to date, they have fully supported this change. More information will be released to the industry as the detail around this trial is developed, including further consultation with industry participants. HRNZ
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ (June 1, 2016) - In its continuing effort to attract younger harness racing fans to the racetrack and engage them in playing the races, the Meadowlands Racetrack is offering a free handicapping contest exclusively for fans age 30 and under. The contest will take place Friday, June 3 and offers a $5,000 total prize pool, sponsored by Jeff and Paula Gural's Allerage Farms. Last year's inaugural 30-and-under contest featured a field of 52 competitors. "It is essential that we reach out to a younger audience in the harness racing industry," said Meadowlands Chairman Jeff Gural. "The average age of our customers as a whole continues to grow older. That is a big problem. At The Meadowlands we are in the unique position of attracting a younger audience with many of the amenities we offer including our rooftop terrace, Victory Sports Bar, and our full schedule of special events." Fans may register up until 7:00 p.m. on the night of the contest. There is no entry fee. The contest format requires players to make a mythical $2 "across the board" wager on one horse in races 2 - 11 at the Meadowlands. The winner is determined by the player that amasses the largest mythical bankroll from their selections. All contest participants will also be treated to free hot dogs, hamburgers and other grill items plus soft drinks and water on Victory Terrace, the popular rooftop area at the Meadowlands. Complete contest rules and information can be found by visiting www.playmeadowlands.com. Justin Horowitz
New Zealand harness racing's handicapping system looks set to be in for an overhaul. Following on a from a meeting of the Harness Racing New Zealand Handicapping Sub-Committee last month, the wheels have been set in motion for a new look system to be further developed and potentially introduced in the near future. The committee found it was in full support of the development, and further review of a points based handicapping system, a decision which is certain to be welcomed across the industry. The committee was also supportive that change is required and that there was a strong appetite for such a change within the wider harness racing industry. With a declining horse population across the board, the committee felt that a points based system may be the best way to counteract the issue and to make better use of the current pool of horses available. After calling for submissions from clubs and kindred bodies around the country, the Sub-Committee met on April 28 to decide its next move and after strong discussions it was decided that the preferred points based model should be further developed and then considered at the next meeting in June. That will be analysed with a view to a possible trial in the northern region in the new season, if supported. This may result in national implementation at a later date, following dull industry consultation and amendment of Harness Racing New Zealand computer systems to accommodate the agreed chances. HRNZ
Post Time with Mike and Mike presented by Bet America will be giving away one free entry into the Bet America Harness Racing Handicapping Contest on it's show coming up Thursday Night at 7:00 PM. The Handicapping contest has a guaranteed pool of $10,000, and is limited to 100 entrants. It will take place on Saturday Night, May 7th, 2016. To be eligible for the free entry, visit posttimewithmikeandmike,com, and click on contest information. You have until Thursday, May 5th, at 6:00 PM Eastern to register for the free entry. For more information on the Handicapping contest itself, visit https://www.betamerica.com/extra/handicapping-contests/10000-harness-game/
Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment is pleased to announce the hiring of veteran racing journalist Dave Little as the harness racing track's new morning-line oddsmaker and track handicapper. Little comes to the Meadowlands with four decades of experience as a racing writer, announcer, and handicapper, most recently working as the racing editor at The New York Daily News. Little's main responsibility will be to create the track's morning-line odds and write the handicapping comments that appear in the racing program and on the Meadowlands website. Little will also appear on the Meadowlands television broadcast and fill in as the on-site host on TVG Network in addition to writing news releases and features for the media relations staff. "I enjoyed my many years in the newspaper industry, but was looking for a change," said Little. "To get the chance to work at the Meadowlands, and take on the challenge that comes with morning-line odds making, is something I am looking forward to." "Adding a talent at the Meadowlands the likes of Dave Little is a huge benefit," said Meadowlands CEO/GM Jason M. Settlemoir. "Dave has been around harness racing forever and adding his level of expertise will only enhance our already strong racing product. Little will begin making the morning line and writing the handicapping comments for this weekend's racing programs. Live racing takes place Friday and Saturday nights with a 7:15 p.m. post time. For more information, visit www.playmeadowlands.com. Justin Horowitz
December 1, 2015 - The marathon we lovingly call the 2015 HANA Harness Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge has concluded with Sally Hinckley running away with the title, finishing 570 points ahead of her nearest competitor. We graciously thank the Bellino Stables, DRF Harness, Green Acquisition Corporation, Hambletonian Society, Isle of Capri Pompano Park, Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, Northfield Park, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs for being Gold Sponsors of this event. This year's Grand Circuit journey started on April 24th at The Meadows and concluded Monday November 30th at Dover Downs. It was fitting that Wiggle It Jiggleit won the finale in the same dominating way that Sally Hinckley dominated the HANA tour! Once they were out of the gate and settled down they both moved to the front and were never headed again. The HANA Harness Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge was no pushover of a race. The field consisted of many of the top handicappers and movers and shakers in the harness racing world. Sally's credentials are very strong as she is a well-known horsewoman from Maine. She is a member and the Secretary of the Maine Harness Racing Promotional Board. Many of you have seen her work without realizing it. Sally out started as Lady Lewiston in the Lewiston Sun Journal. Sally has also been the regular line maker at Scarborough Downs for quite some time. More importantly, for our cause, areArmbro Brando and Stelerbraration. Both of these retired gladiators make their forever home with Sally and her family. Thank you Sally! When contacted about her win Sally was very gracious and first wanted to thank contest coordinator Allan Schott and the whole group of top North American Handicappers who made the whole event so much fun. When asked about her strategy in the new format she talked about trying get a high win rate for the multiplier while also looking for a good longshot or two each week. Sally explained how it clicked for her. "While stuck in the middle of pack, my choice of Annedrovette at 36-1 propelled me to a top position. Then began a strategy of defense. Trying to minimize other players gain by having many of the same picks, but mostly I lived by the old adage that 'the race isn't always to the swiftest but that's the way to bet it.' I also got on some great bandwagons, for instance Divine Caroline. I was very glad to find the wire because any of the other players could have a huge night at any time!" Regarding our cause, Sally went on to say, "All the rescue groups are worthy and it is a special pleasure to bring the win home to the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals, Their efforts help the abused and neglected horses who have been seized by the state to find safety and comfort at their facility. Many thanks to the generous sponsors, Allan Schott for his work and expertise in running this contest the past seven months and my fellow handicappers who are now my friends." For winning the handicapping challenge, Hinckley's selected rescue, the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals, an organization dedicated to equine welfare, will receive $2,950 for use towards their Standardbred program thanks to all our sponsors the Bellino Stables, DRF Harness, Green Acquisition Corporation, Hambletonian Society, Harness Racing Update, Isle of Capri at Pompano Park, Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, Northfield Park, Scioto Downs, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs. In addition to this donation, $500 will be donated to Canadian rescues by our Canadian partners, Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at Charlottetown Driving Park and Western Fair Raceway. A $200 donation was made by an anonymous sponsor. Second place finisher, Dennis O'Hara, will see his rescue, Standardbred Retirement Foundation receive a donation of $1,575. Third place finisher Anne Stepien will see her rescue, Heading for Home earn approximately $675 for her efforts. Standings as of November 30, 2015 - Leg 65 Final Standings Pos Handicapper Total Points Prior Week Points Earned This Week Overall Total Points Position Last Week Points Back 1st Sally Hinckley 5,048.60 12.70 5,061.30 1st - 2nd Dennis O'Hara 4,481.00 10.10 4,491.10 2nd 570.20 3rd Anne Stepien 4,343.30 4.30 4,347.60 3rd 713.70 4th Gordon Waterstone 4,238.70 10.10 4,248.80 4th 812.50 5th Mark McKelvie 4,228.80 0.00 4,228.80 5th 832.50 6th Josi Verlingieri 4,107.50 4.30 4,111.80 6th 949.50 7th Rusty Nash 3,874.50 5.80 3,880.30 7th 1,181.00 8th Derick Giwner 3,770.00 10.10 3,780.10 9th 1,281.20 9th Bob Zanakis 3,753.10 0.00 3,753.10 8th 1,308.20 10th Earl Paulson 3,658.20 8.40 3,666.60 10th 1,394.70 11th Bryan Owen 3,553.20 0.00 3,553.20 11th 1,508.10 12th Mark Dezii 3,408.90 3.00 3,411.90 12th 1,649.40 13th Jay Hochstetler 3,390.40 0.00 3,390.40 13th 1,670.90 14th Ray Garnett 3,214.90 5.80 3,220.70 14th 1,840.60 15th Garnet Barnsdale 2,690.50 0.00 2,690.50 15th 2,370.80 16th Michael Carter 2,676.90 3.00 2,679.90 16th 2,381.40 17th Ray Cotolo 2,128.70 4.30 2,133.00 17th 2,928.30 18th Brandon Valvo 1,936.00 4.30 1,940.30 18th 3,121.00 19th Mark Deutsch 1,197.10 0.00 1,197.10 19th 3,864.20 HANA Harness thanks all of our generous sponsors who allow this handicapping contest to be an annual event since 2012. Plans are already underway for next year's competition. Anyone connected with the Standardbred industry who may be interested in sponsorship of next year's event may email@example.com for information. by Rusty Nash for HANA Harness
November 10, 2015 - The first week of the Matron from Dover and the American National at Balmoral are in the books for the 2015 HANA Harness Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge presented by the Bellino Stables, DRF Harness, Green Acquisition Corporation, Hambletonian Society, Isle of Capri Pompano Park, Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, Northfield Park, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs. The HANA handicappers had two opportunities to catch contest leader Sally Hinckley with plenty of action on both nights. On Thursday evening the results were not kind to those trailing the top tier. The results were all chalk or missed longshot plays. Mark Dezii and Gordon Waterstone had the best chalk boards with three winners each for 83 and 68 points respectively. Bob Zanakis, JoniJose Verlingieri, and Dennis O'Hara completed the nightly pentafecta with scores in the forties. Everyone else was licking their wounds. Saturday evening at Balmoral Sally Hinckley, Dennis O'Hara and Jay Hochstetler each picked six of seven winning favorites. The tie breaker went to our cast's "leading lady" Sally Hinckley (237) when her seventh horse, Bright Baby Blues, finished second (237) and Dennis and Jay's horse, Muscle Baby Doll, finished third. Mark Dezii and yours truly finish fourth and fifth when the prices we took shot a with missed. Dennis O'Hara had the best two day total of 275 points. He won the photo over Sally Hinckley's 259.5 and Jay Hochstetler at 259.30. Mark Dezii was a close fourth with 237 and yours truly was a well beaten fifth at 168. Sally Hinckley not only retains her lead but let it out a notch or two and extended her advantage to almost 400 points. Dennis O'Hara and Mark McKelvie swapped positions with Dennis taking second and Mark slipping to fourth. Anne Stepien retained her third place spot and Gordon Waterstone kept a solid fifth position as Rusty Nash was again not able to apply any pressure. Standings as of November 7, 2015 - Leg 58 Pos Handicapper Total Points Prior Week Points Earned This Week Overall Total Points Position Last Week Points Back 1st Sally Hinckley 4,417.20 259.50 4,676.70 1st - 2nd Dennis O'Hara 4,029.60 275.80 4,305.40 4th 371.30 3rd Anne Stepien 4,071.30 110.50 4,181.80 3rd 494.90 4th Mark McKelvie 4,108.50 28.70 4,137.20 2nd 539.50 5th Gordon Waterstone 3,903.40 166.00 4,069.40 5th 607.30 6th Rusty Nash 3,565.30 168.00 3,733.30 6th 943.40 7th Josi Verlingieri 3,474.60 150.60 3,625.20 8th 1,051.50 8th Bob Zanakis 3,505.50 108.90 3,614.40 7th 1,062.30 9th Derick Giwner 3,454.10 91.70 3,545.80 9th 1,130.90 10th Bryan Owen 3,445.60 44.50 3,490.10 10th 1,186.60 11th Earl Paulson 3,299.80 138.60 3,438.40 11th 1,238.30 12th Jay Hochstetler 2,977.10 259.30 3,236.40 13th 1,440.30 13th Ray Garnett 3,016.50 69.30 3,085.80 12th 1,590.90 14th Mark Dezii 2,538.10 237.50 2,775.60 16th 1,901.10 15th Garnet Barnsdale 2,687.30 3.20 2,690.50 14th 1,986.20 16th Michael Carter 2,676.90 0.00 2,676.90 15th 1,999.80 17th Ray Cotolo 2,033.70 95.00 2,128.70 17th 2,548.00 18th Brandon Valvo 1,834.40 21.10 1,855.50 18th 2,821.20 19th Mark Deutsch 1,197.10 0.00 1,197.10 19th 3,479.60 The HANA handicappers will be back in action with three exciting days of competition this coming week. We are back at Dover for the Matron on Thursday. A total of six HANA legs to be raced. That is followed with both Friday and Saturday evening action at The New Meadowlands. There are two eliminations of the TVG Open Mares on Friday and TVG FFA on Saturday. by Rusty Nash for HANA Harness
September 28, 2015 – The Little Brown Jug Week results are now in for the 2015 HANA Harness Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge presented by the Bellino Stables, DRF Harness, Green Acquisition Corporation, Hambletonian Society, Isle of Capri Pompano Park, Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, Northfield Park, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs. The week kicked off with two days of great fair racing from Delaware Ohio. Day one featured the Jugette and day two was the Little Brown Jug. Ray Cotolo jumped out to the early lead selecting two winners on Wednesday. He scored with Bettor N Better and Classical Anne for 87 HANA points. Ray was the only handicapper to select two winners on a day where the front end was collapsing for most of the day. Ray Garnett was a solid second when he landed Speak To Me for 43 HANA points. The $29 win price was the best of the day. Mark McKelvie earned third without a winner. That is certainly a rarity but the 19 HANA points earned when Bedroomconfessions and Smexi both finished second stood up to be third best on the day. On Little Brown Jug day we had four handicappers successfully select three winners. Gordon Waterstone and Earl "Super Computer" Paulson each won with French Laundry, Lost For Words and Wiggle It Jiggleit. They also ran second with Classic Martine to earn a top score of 76 HANA points. Dennis O'Hara clicked with the same three winners. Dennis had Rocking With Dewey in the fourth race to collect show money and earn 73 HANA points. Coming off a strong performance last week, the voice of Buffalo Raceway Michael Carter was a very close fourth with the same three winners but missed in the final tie breaker race. With eight races down and seven to go after a day off, Ray Cotolo had elbowed his way to the front in our weekly friendly competition. After a needed day off all the handicappers reassembled to battle it out in six races from Hoosier plus the Milton from Mohawk. Anne Stepien earned the win and the honors as the only one to select 4 winners. There were two races on the evening where only two handicappers came up with the winner. In both cases Anne was one of those two. First was Anne's selecting Sunset Glider to win the Kentucky Stallion Management 2 year old filly trot with Sunset Glider. Anne followed that up with American Passport in The Elevation 2yoCG pace. Anne's four winners earned her 219 HANA points on the evening and propelled her to the nightly win by more than 100 points! The top five handicappers were all able to hold onto their positions this week. Sally Hinckley still has her two hundred plus point lead over Mark McKelvie. Anne Stepien remains third but she is much closer now to both Mark and Sally. Bob Zanakis and Earl Paulson were not put under any pressure this week and retained their fourth and fifth place positions. Standings as of September 26, 2015 - Leg 43 Total Points Points Earned Overall Position Pos Handicapper Prior Week This Week Total Points Last Week Points Back 1st Sally Hinckley 3,019.10 139.30 3,158.40 1st 2nd Mark McKelvie 2,796.20 131.40 2,927.60 2nd 230.8 3rd Anne Stepien 2,529.10 256.10 2,785.20 3rd 373.2 4th Bob Zanakis 2,418.10 50.80 2,468.90 4th 689.5 5th Earl Paulson 2,293.70 119.80 2,413.50 5th 744.9 6th Gordon Waterstone 2,285.20 107.80 2,393.00 6th 765.4 7th Dennis O'Hara 2,130.00 134.20 2,264.20 7th 894.2 8th Josi Verlingieri 1,975.50 114.60 2,090.10 10th 1,068.3 9th Bryan Owen 2,018.50 64.90 2,083.40 8th 1,075.0 10th Rusty Nash 1,997.40 67.70 2,065.10 9th 1,093.3 11th Michael Carter 1,818.10 78.50 1,896.60 11th 1,261.8 12th Derick Giwner 1,671.00 152.10 1,823.10 13th 1,335.3 13th Ray Garnett 1,678.30 100.20 1,778.50 12th 1,379.9 14th Mark Dezii 1,665.40 109.40 1,774.80 14th 1,383.6 15th Garnet Barnsdale 1,657.30 51.80 1,709.10 15th 1,449.3 16th Jay Hochstetler 1,542.40 62.30 1,604.70 16th 1,553.7 17th Ray Cotolo 1,207.50 134.70 1,342.20 18th 1,816.2 18th Brandon Valvo 1,261.20 38.00 1,299.20 17th 1,859.2 19th Mark Deutsch 819.20 91.50 910.70 19th 2,247.7 With Jug week over we turn to the anticipated final two weeks of action from The Red Mile. Wednesday through Saturday will hold eight different sets of Bluegrass divisions. In addition we will also be making a rare but enjoyable visit to Dayton Raceway for the Dayton Pacing Derby and the Dayton Trotting Derby. by Rusty Nash for HANA Harness
September 22, 2015 - Mark McKelvie picked up some ground on Sally Hinckley this week in the 2015 HANA Harness Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge presented by the Bellino Stables, DRF Harness, Green Acquisition Corporation, Hambletonian Society, Isle of Capri Pompano Park, Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, Northfield Park, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs. The week opened at The Meadows where the Nadia Lobell was won by Safe From Terror. Mark Deutsch was able to select the winner and he took the daily honors with 22.8 points. We needed the decimal point because Bryan Owen just missed with longshot The Show Returns. The place and show prices returned 22.6 points. One fifth of a point separated the early weekly leaders. Divine Caroline finished third and that caused a four way dead heat for the show spot between Sally Hinckley, Anne Stepien, Derick Giwner and Ray Cotolo. Saturday evening the HANA Grand Circuit Handicapping team visited Mohawk for another big night of racing. On this evening we witnessed perfection! There is a good reason that Mark McKelvie has been positioned near the top of the standing for so long. He correctly selected all five winners! Mark scored with Southwind Frank, Caprice Hill, Bee A Magician, Mission Brief and Pinkman. The 5X multiplier earned Mark all 196 points that were available. Three other handicappers had four winners each. They each had a different combination of winners and earned different scores. The place honors went to Buffalo's own Michael "Horsy Boy" Carter with 122 points. Bee A Magician was the key to his second place finish. Josi Verlingieri took the show spot with 114 points and Earl Paulson was fourth with 109 points. The final accent on this racing week was the Bobby Quillen Memorial at Harrington Raceway where Foiled Again was the featured headliner. Mach It So edged by him at the top of the lane and while the old boy fought back with everything he had Mach It So held on for the short neck win. Mach It So, off at 8-1, returned 25 HANA contest points for a quartet of very sharp handicappers. Successfully beating the chalk were Ray Garnett, Jay Hochstetler, Earl Paulson and Anne Stepien. The rest of the HANA handicappers were grateful that there was no bonus multiplier available with the $18 winner! Mark McKelvie easily took the weekly honors with a total of 198 points. Earl Paulson was second best with 135 and Michael Carter was third with 124. Rounding out the super and the penta were Josi Verlingieri and Bryan Owen. There was one change to the overall contest pentafecta. With Mach It So winning the Quillen, Earl Paulson just edged out Gordon Waterstone for the fifth spot by a mere 8.5 points. Sally Hinckley continues to lead with Mark McKelvie slowly closing the gap. Ann Stepien remains in third and Bob Zanakis maintained his fourth place position. Things are sure to change next week with more than a dozen races lined up. Standings as of September 21, 2015 - Leg 41 Total Points Points Earned Overall Position Pos Handicapper Prior Week This Week Total Points Last Week Points Back 1st Sally Hinckley 2,982.80 36.30 3,019.10 1st 2nd Mark McKelvie 2,598.10 198.10 2,796.20 2nd 222.9 3rd Anne Stepien 2,440.90 88.20 2,529.10 3rd 490.0 4th Bob Zanakis 2,354.30 63.80 2,418.10 4th 601.0 5th Earl Paulson 2,158.70 135.00 2,293.70 6th 725.4 6th Gordon Waterstone 2,218.40 66.80 2,285.20 5th 733.9 7th Dennis O'Hara 2,068.30 61.70 2,130.00 7th 889.1 8th Bryan Owen 1,929.40 89.10 2,018.50 9th 1,000.6 9th Rusty Nash 1,938.60 58.80 1,997.40 8th 1,021.7 10th Josi Verlingieri 1,860.90 114.60 1,975.50 10th 1,043.6 11th Michael Carter 1,693.20 124.90 1,818.10 11th 1,201.0 12th Ray Garnett 1,644.90 33.40 1,678.30 13th 1,340.8 13th Derick Giwner 1,604.00 67.00 1,671.00 14th 1,348.1 14th Mark Dezii 1,597.60 67.80 1,665.40 15th 1,353.7 15th Garnet Barnsdale 1,651.60 5.70 1,657.30 12th 1,361.8 16th Jay Hochstetler 1,517.00 25.40 1,542.40 16th 1,476.7 17th Brandon Valvo 1,234.80 26.40 1,261.20 17th 1,757.9 18th Ray Cotolo 1,124.00 83.50 1,207.50 18th 1,811.6 19th Mark Deutsch 751.80 67.40 819.20 19th 2,199.9 Jug week is upon us and we will have plenty of HANA Grand Circuit Handicapping action starting on Wednesday from Delaware Ohio. The week kicks off with the Jugette, Buckette, Little Brown Jug, Old Oaken Bucket and the Miss Versatility. Saturday features the Milton from Mohawk and a nice set of stakes from Hoosier Park. For contest selections and further information, visit the contest website at http://hanaharnesscontest.blogspot.com. Allan Schott HANA Harness Racing Coordinator Follow the HANA Harness Handicapping Contest
August 24, 2015 - It was a busy triple header for the field of the 2015 HANA Harness Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge presented by the Bellino Stables, DRF Harness, Hambletonian Society, Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, Northfield Park, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs. Friday night kicked off with four races. One from The Meadows and three from Vernon Downs (one of our contest sponsors). Four handicappers were able to select three of the four winners. Michael Carter took the early weekend lead with the better priced trio at 144 points. Anne Stepien, Sally Hinckley and Bryan Owen were close behind with 125 points. At the end of night one Sally easily remained the leader of the pack. Saturday was a marathon event with five from Mohawk and most of the Pocono Downs card on the playlist. It was close to a "no contest" as Anne Stepien simply crushed the field with an amazing performance of 892 points. With eight winners she scored almost double the next best handicapper. If Anne was Wiggle It Jiggleit she would have won by the length of the stretch in 1:46 with Montrell enjoying a soft drink and a good read. With seven winners each tour leader Sally Hinckley and Gordon Waterstone were both a very respectable "best of the rest" on what proved to be a very difficult Saturday evening for many of the players. Sally added 497 points to her contest leading total and Gordon added 473. The Saturday night rain out of the Cup and Saucer at Charlottetown's Red Shores Racetrack and Casino (one of our contest sponsors) saw that event added to the Sunday line up of the Prix D'Ete and the Roll With Joe. Dennis O'Hara and Gordon Waterstone both went a perfect three for three and earned the maximum possible 87 points. Big movers on the weekend, in addition to Anne, were Gordon Waterstone and Bryan Owen. Gordon moved up to fourth and Bryan brushed from fifteenth to eighth. The continued excellence of Sally Hinckley earned her runner up spot on the weekend to Anne Stepien. With a cushion of more than three hundred points Sally is still wearing the colors of our tour leader. Standings as of August 23, 2015 - Leg 30 Total Points Points Earned Overall Position Pos Handicapper Prior Week This Week Total Points Last Week 1st Sally Hinckley 1,970.90 629.90 2,600.80 1st 2nd Anne Stepien 1,217.50 1,046.50 2,264.00 9th 3rd Mark McKelvie 1,929.70 268.30 2,198.00 2nd 4th Gordon Waterstone 1,378.90 568.90 1,947.80 6th 5th Bob Zanakis 1,595.80 295.30 1,891.10 3rd 6th Dennis O'Hara 1,462.00 358.50 1,820.50 5th 7th Earl Paulson 1,536.50 263.70 1,800.20 4th 8th Bryan Owen 1,054.40 547.80 1,602.20 15th 9th Michael Carter 1,248.50 324.40 1,572.90 8th 10th Josi Verlingieri 1,262.50 219.30 1,481.80 7th 11th Mark Dezii 1,135.60 283.40 1,419.00 13th 12th Ray Garnett 969.20 447.90 1,417.10 17th 13th Rusty Nash 1,171.40 185.10 1,356.50 12th 14th Garnet Barnsdale 1,043.80 282.60 1,326.40 16th 15th Jay Hochstetler 1,173.10 137.40 1,310.50 11th 16th Derick Giwner 1,079.00 144.60 1,223.60 14th 17th Brandon Valvo 1,176.20 15.10 1,191.30 10th 18th Ray Cotolo 757.30 93.50 850.80 18th 19th Mark Deutsch 531.40 0.00 531.40 19th Next week there are only two Grand Circuit events on tap and both are at Yonkers. In all likelihood the ladies will again be leading the pack at the conclusion of next week's contests. Quite fittingly the two races are the Lady Maud and the Hudson Filly. By Rusty Nash for HANA Harness Follow the HANA Harness Handicapping Contest
As the Grand Circuit roars into The Big M, The Meadows and Balmoral on Saturday, the new month begins an extraordinary effort by the USTA and Strategic Wagering to entice new players into the game and veteran players back in the game. You could say there are a million reasons to wager on harness racing but the reality is that in the month of August, there will be two million reasons. Strategic Wagering began four years ago during a month long break at The Meadowlands. The idea was to provide players with solid wagering opportunities during the brief absence of the flagship track. Guaranteed pools of $400,000 were offered in April 2011 at Yonkers Raceway, Northfield Park and Balmoral Park kicking off the Strategic Wagering initiative. Fast forward four years to this coming Saturday August 1st. The USTA, Strategic Wagering will offer at least one guaranteed trifecta pool, Pick Four pool and High Five pool every night for 31 straight days. This is completely unprecedented in all of horse racing. With the addition of the trifecta pools, the month of August will see the USTA and Strategic Wagering offer guaranteed pools in excess of $2,000,000. We certainly hope that the guaranteed trifecta pools will have the same effect as the guaranteed High Five pools that began in July. The low ten or twenty cent Guaranteed High Five has proven to be more popular than the fifty cent or one dollar denomination wager that the major thoroughbred tracks now employ. The low minimum allows the small player to be a part of the game. It is incredible to note that Del Mar, with an opening day handle of $15,000,000, is the only thoroughbred track whose High Five pools average more than the Strategic Wagering guaranteed pools. With that lone exception, our guaranteed High Five pools dwarf the thoroughbred High Five pools that are currently offered The pilot program will kick off with three tracks, Balmoral Park, Northfield Park and Maywood Park. During the month of August, Balmoral will offer $70,000 in nightly guarantees comprised of a guaranteed Pick Four pool, a High Five pool and a Trifecta pool every Saturday and Sunday. Northfield Park will offer the same three guaranteed pools every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Maywood Park will follow with three guaranteed pools each Thursday and Friday. There is an enormous audience of potential players out there looking for pools that support $50 and $100 trifectas. The industry must create larger pools so that these valuable players are willing to invest hundreds and possibly thousands of dollars on a number of wagers that now offer value. The current model at many tracks offers an excessive amount of wagers each race, thus resulting in diluted pools, diminished returns and minimal participation. A good racing product cannot overcome a bad wagering product. In creating a better wagering product, the potential for former harness players that have since moved on to the larger thoroughbred pools, to come back home is possible. You will continue to see thoroughbred players cross over into our High Five pools as their popularity increases. Poker players, sports bettors and fantasy junkies will start playing because they like the fast paced action of three guaranteed pools in a little more than an hour. In conclusion, the Meadowlands will present their sensational Hambletonian program next week, featuring the greatest stars in our sport. Hambletonian day closes out the Meadowlands meet with six digit pools and the biggest harness handle of the year. One of the main objectives of the USTA and Strategic Wagering is to keep the serious Meadowlands players in the game. Free deluxe twelve line program pages for all guaranteed pools are available courtesy of Track Master at www.ustrotting.com. The entire August calendar will be available on the same USTA website Saturday. Michael Antoniades USTA Strategic Wagering Committee
Before he was a teenager Anthony Essex was considering a career in harness racing. He fondly recalls going to Albion Park trots as a 'little tacker', with his father Rob, now a greyhound trainer, sparking his interest further when he started racing standardbreds. When those horses had success Anthony confesses he was hooked on the sport of racing. Anthony is Racing Queensland's newest operations employee, winning selection for the harness racing handicappers job after a national search for the position. Anthony started in his new role on Monday, replacing handicapper Darren Clayton who left RQ to travel overseas. The handicapping role is a new challenge for Anthony after working in casual roles at RQ in greyhound racing administration and integrity as well as formerly managing the Capalaba Greyhound Racing Club. The 42-year-old is well versed in procedures at the Deagon racing office and with the rules of racing. "My previous roles at RQ have been a great step towards my future within the racing industry and I'm now keen to expand my knowledge and skills within the harness racing industry," Anthony said. "I'm sure the handicapping role will be a steep learning curve but I am certain I will enjoy the challenge and I'm eager to learn the craft from (chief handicapper) Brett Rail. I'm really looking forward to being a member of the team" Anthony believes that he has had a good foundation for the handicapper job and says his family history in the sport has given him a good insight. "Going to the trots was a normal thing for me to do when I was younger, I loved to watch the races and I reckon harness racing is the most exciting racing to watch," Anthony said. "Rob (Dad) raced successful pacers Badge Of Honour; Dinnygone; Group 1 winner Maywyn Jasper and Maywyn Tonz, a dual Group 2 race winner so there is plenty of fond memories there as well,". Multi-skilled, entrepreneurial, with an artistic flair Anthony had other options for his career path but he firmly believes that he has made the right choice and that there has never been a better time to be involved in harness racing. "Harness racing in Queensland has increased prizemoney and new industry initiatives, it's pretty positive at the moment," Anthony said "I am really looking forward to seeing and handicapping the quality races with our top locals taking on the might of the southern states and New Zealand during Queensland Winter Racing Carnival. Let's hope there is fantastic racing with close finishes that can excite everyone on and off the track." by David Aldred
(April 20, 2015) - The sponsors have stepped up and the handicappers selected for the 2015 HANA Harness Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge presented by the Bellino Stables, DRF Harness, Hambletonian Society, Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, Northfield Park, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs. With the handicappers chomping on the bit, the contest finally gets underway with The Meadows Maturity on Friday afternoon, April 24, 2015, followed the next evening with racing action at Yonkers Raceway where the Blue Chip Matchmaker and George Morton Levy Memorial series finals will be contested. This year the sponsors have allowed the handicapping challenge to secure a record $5,250 in prize funds to be divided between the standardbred rescues of the top three handicappers at the conclusion of the contest. In addition to the presenting sponsors, additional sponsors are Green Acquisition Corporation, Harness Racing Update, Isle of Capri Pompano Park, The Raceway at Western Fair District, and Scioto Downs Racino. HANA thanks all the sponsors for stepping up to support the contest and standardbred rescue. Handicapper selections will be available on the contest website the morning of each day's events. Race fans and horseplayers may find those selections and additional contest information at the contest website http://hanaharnesscontest.blogspot.com . In addition, fans may follow the contest on social media by searching for the hash tag #hanagc2015. Allan Schott
(April 12, 2015) - HANA Harness welcomes the Bellino Stable as a Gold Sponsor and The Raceway at Western Fair District as a Silver sponsor in the 2015 HANA Harness Grand Circuit Handicapping Contest sponsored by the Hambletonian Society, Bellino Stable, DRF Harness, Meadowlands Harness Racing and Entertainment, Northfield Park, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs. With less than two weeks prior to the commencement of the contest on April 24, it is Last Call for becoming a sponsor. While naming rights for the handicapping contest have been sold out, affordable sponsorship opportunities remain, starting with our Bronze Level ($100), Silver Level ($250) and topping out at $500 for the Gold Level. If you are a racetrack, horsemen association, racing stable, or a vendor who does business in the harness racing industry, sponsorship is a perfect way to get your name out within the industry as supporters of standardbred rescue. The deadline for becoming a sponsor is Friday, April 17. To become a sponsor or for further information, you may contact email@example.com. For further information on the 2015 HANA Harness Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge, visit the contest website here. Allan Schott HANA Harness Coordinator Check out our contest site for the 2015 Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge. Check out HANA Harness' Blog.
(March 13, 2015) - The field has been set, the races picked, and the rescues selected for the 2015 HANA Harness Racing Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge sponsored by the Hambletonian Society, DRF Harness, Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, Northfield Park, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs, all sponsors who have renewed their support for standardbred rescue with their sponsorship (additional sponsors are anticipated). As for handicappers, one old friend and two new faces join the returning roster of handicappers. Richard Scott returns to the contest after a one year hiatus. Scott was the winner of the 2013 handicapping contest and looks to attempt to reclaim his title. Scott is a former trainer who worked for the Bessinger, Silverman, and David Elliot stables in his career. Making their debut to the contest this year are Michael Carter, the current track announcer at Buffalo Raceway, and Mark Dezii, a racing fan who is a musician who hails from Philadelphia, PA. The complete roster, last year's placing, and selected rescues for the 2015 Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge is: Garnet Barnsdale - Harness Racing Writer, WEG Handicapper for DRF Harness; (1st); TROTR; Therapeutic Riding and Off-Track Rehabilitation) Michael Carter - Track Announcer at Buffalo Raceway; (Did Not Compete); Central Virginia Horse Rescue Ray Cotolo - Internet Harness Racing Analyst and Writer; (15th); Sunshine Horse Rescue. Mark Dezii - Race Fan and Musician; (DNC); Horse Lovers United Ray Garnett -Handicapper; (14th); Rockin T Equine Rescue Derick Giwner - Editor, DRF Harness; (8th); New Vocations Sally Hinckley - On-air Handicapping Personality; (12th); Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals Brian McEvoy - Works for Harnesslink, (3rd); Helping Hearts Equine Rescue Mark McKelvie - Communications Coordinator for WEG; (2nd); Horse Rescue United Rusty Nash - Trackmaster Handicapper; (9th); Rainhill Sanctuary. Bryan Owen - Former Owner and Handicapper;(DNC); Standardbred Retirement Foundation Dennis O'Hara - Handicapper, Former Asst Race Secretary; (11th); Standardbred Retirement Foundation Earl Paulson - Handicapper, Yahoo Harness Racing Forum Director; (5th); Racer Placers Richard Scott - Handicapper/Former Trainer, (DNC; 1st in 2013); Rainhill Sanctuary. Anne Stepien - Handicapper, Former Trainer; (13th); Heading for Home Brandon Valvo - Handicapper, Writer for Harness Racing America; (6th); Horse Lovers United Josi Verlingieri - Handicapper; (7th); Heart of Phoenix Gordon Waterstone - Associate Editor, Horseman and Fair World; (10th); Changing Fates Equine Rescue A new scoring system has been implemented for this year's contest with handicappers focusing on the horse who will win the race, bringing a mix of quantity and value to the handicappers' plans this year. For those who wish details on how the scoring will be done, the rules page explains. The competition begins on April 24 with the inaugural Meadows Futurity Trot and concludes on November 29 with the Progress Stake at Dover Downs. Handicappers and fans may follow the contest by visiting the contest website at http://hanaharnesscontest.blogspot.com. HANA Harness is the Harness Racing division of Horseplayers Association of North America (HANA), a group which since 2008 represents over 3,000 horseplayers in dealings with the racing industry. Since HANA Harness began sponsoring handicapping contests, over $10,000 has been donated to standardbred recues. All horseplayers, regardless of breed are invited to join HANA for free. For further information regarding HANA, please visit the HANA website at http://horseplayersassociation.org/. For further information on joining the current sponsors by becoming a sponsor at the Gold, Silver, or Bronze level, click here.. Allan Schott HANA Harness Coordinator firstname.lastname@example.com Check out our contest site for the 2015 Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge. Check out HANA Harness' Blog.
When selecting an online wagering platform, you should ask yourself this important question: Does the platform help me maximize my winning potential? For AmWager.com customers, the answer is a resounding "yes." AmWager takes pride in providing its players with the industry's most lucrative rewards program and highest referral commissions. That is why AmWager is raising the stakes, and their players ROI, with the introduction of a Daily 10% Winner's Bonus on gross winning tickets. Additionally, AmWager's wager pad was designed by professional horseplayers and offers multiple sophisticated, yet user-friendly, money management and wagering tools that will benefit veteran players and newcomers alike. It's a terrific combination that elevates AmWager.com above the crowd, and the player feedback has been tremendous. "Masterful, brilliant job accomplished by AmWager.com," says D.Moore, a long-time member. "It's the first on-line pari-mutuel platform that actually delivers a common sense approach that produces an enjoyable wagering experience. Wager pad construction is efficient and simple whether you are making one wager or multiple wagers." "Congratulations to Amwager, they listened to their wagering clients and produced the greatest wagering site I have ever used. Thank you for raising the bar as well as my R.O.I.!!! " And now AmWager has upped the ante by providing their new Winner's Bonus. Forget about signup bonuses. They can be hard to understand and are always short-term. With AmWager's Winner's Bonus, it's simple. On a winning exotic wager, AmWager will deposit the earned additional Winner's Bonus into a member's account the very next day. The Winner's Bonus details: ● Get 10% back on gross winning tickets ● Only exotics wagers are eligible (WPS bets are not eligible) ● All tracks and all breeds ● Bonuses are posted daily to your account ● A maximum daily bonus of $10 The Winner's Bonus helps further demonstrate that AmWager puts the player first. AmWager, which is owned by AmWest Entertainment, believes that giving players daily incentives is vital to supporting the overall health of this sport we all love. "We extend the most generous rewards while striving to deliver the best economics for all players," said AmWest CEO Nelson Clemmens, an experienced Thoroughbred owner and breeder. "We also will ensure that AmWager returns the highest possible revenues to support the sport of racing." Lucrative rewards and referral programs put money back into a player's pocket. And the Daily Winner's Bonus is a powerful finishing kick. While these features are terrific, AmWager's Wager Pad is like Secretariat in the Belmont – the competition is a long way back. AmWager's impressive array of tools help players make smarter bets and capitalize on the new Win Bonus. Among these tools is the Dutching feature, which enables you to maximize your return on investment (ROI) by removing the inefficiencies from the traditional boxed wager. When you use a traditional box you are essentially spending the same dollar amount on each of your selections, even though they likely have different odds. Thus, you stand to make more money if a selection with the longer odds wins over a selection with shorter odds. But, what if you could improve this wager to maximize your ROI regardless of which of your selections crossed the wire first? That's exactly what the mathematics behind the Dutching tool can do! With a few simple clicks the Dutching tool, which is unique to AmWager, takes your total wager amount and divides it between your selections based on their current odds to make the best use of your total wager. Selections with shorter odds will get a larger percentage of the total wager while those with longer odds will get a smaller percentage, so that the potential payout in the end is maximized. You might call it a "Smart Box" in that it helps you to exploit the full potential of your dollar. And that's the very essence of AmWager – maximizing your ROI and ability to win.


text:
Luxury Granite Countertops for Any Project!QUICK CONTACT
Marble Treasure Inc. has been recognized by HomeStars as Best of 2013, 2014 and 2016 Toronto in the countertops category for our exemplary work and service.
Clients are the most important people in our business!
This Company is fantastic. Oleg and his crew were extremely pleasant… I would strongly recommend Marble Treasure for the most challenging jobs… I am so happy I went with them. — Nadia
Think having a beautiful kitchen is too expensive and too involved to consider?
Think Again!
Get free report on how you can turn your kitchen dream into a quick, easy and affordable reality!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Please upgrade your browser for the best Refinery29 experience. Read more.
You have chosen to receive our #NAMED_LISTS# newsletters at #EMAIL_ADDRESS#. You will receive an e-mail shortly confirming your subscription. So excited to have you!
xoxo, Refinery 29
Get the Refinery29 Newsletter
Thanks for signing up!
Christopher Luu
Jan 22, 2017
Mi-Anne Chan
Samantha Sasso
Jan 20, 2017
Trolls: They're not just on social media or in the comment sections of websites. Now the wild-haired, cuter versions of the fabled creatures are coming
Kelsey Castañon
Oct 26, 2016
Lexy Lebsack
Simedar Jackson
Jan 19, 2017
Audrey Noble
It's entirely possible that our recent preoccupation with Harry Potter makeup brushes, heart-shaped highlighter, and literally anything having to do with unicorns is a telltale sign that we've subconsciously decided to skip that whole adulting thing — and we're fine with that. Now, there's a new trend adding fuel
Rachel Krause
Jan 18, 2017
Jennifer Chowdhury


text:
Comments sought on Dana Point post office relocation
Dana Point residents have about two weeks left to weigh in on where to relocate one of the city's post offices.
The U.S. Postal Service is seeking public input on moving the office currently at 24551 Del Prado.
The Postal Service is looking to move to a smaller facility to save money, spokesman Richard Maher said. The current facility is larger than needed and the property is valuable, he said.
"This is something we're looking at nationwide because of our financial situation," he said. "Oftentimes we can lease a smaller facility and sell these larger facilities that we own, which generates some much-needed cash for the Postal Service."
If the agency does decide to relocate the office, the new location will not affect post office box numbers or ZIP codes, Maher said. Hours and services also will remain the same, he said.
You can comment by sending letters to the facilities headquarters in San Francisco through April 24.
Maher said there is no timeline for the proposed relocation.
Most Popular
User Agreement
Comments are encouraged, but you must follow our Privacy Policy Policy & Terms of Use
Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to republish your name and comment in additional Register publications without any notification or payment.


text:
We use cookies to provide you with the best experience on our site. If you continue shopping with us we'll assume that you're happy to receive cookies. Find out more about cookies x
Please note that changing your country whilst shopping will remove all items from your basket.
As you get older your hair starts to show signs of ageing, it gets dry, thin, less manageable. That's when you should reach for Nice 'n Easy Age Defy hair dye. It's a 3-step system that fights 7 signs of ageing hair: stubborn greys, lacklustre colour, coarseness, frizz, unruly hair, dryness and breakage. And with the power of Pantene Pro-V Conditioning Therapy included, your hair looks and feels years younger* for up to 8 weeks.
*Vs untreated hair
Special 3-step system hair colourant that helps to fight 7 signs of ageing hair: stubborn greys, lacklustre colour, coarseness, frizz, unruly hair, dryness and breakage
5 kit contains all you need for 1 application: Age Defy Smoothing Pre-treatment, Colour Crème, Activating Lotion, Pantene Pro-V™ Colourseal™ Conditioning Therapy*, Expert Gloves and Instructional Leaflet.
Age Defy Smoothing Pre-Treatment: Aqua, Propylene Glycol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Quaternium-80, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Parfum, Disodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Glyoxal / Colour Crème: Aqua, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ammonium Hydroxide, Laureth-3, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Decyltetradecanol, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Parfum, Ammonium Sulfate, Sodium Sulfate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Sodium Sulfite, Ascorbic Acid, Disodium EDTA, Resorcinol, Toluene-2,5-Diamine Sulfate, Ethanolamine, 2-Amino-6-Chloro-4-Nitrophenol
Activating Lotion: Aqua, Hydrogen Peroxide, Cetearyl Alcohol, PPG-38-Buteth-37, Petrolatum, Laureth-2, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, Salicylic Acid, Disodium Phosphate, Phosphoric Acid, Etidronic Acid
Pantene Pro-V™ Colourseal™ Conditioning Therapy: Aqua, Bis-Hydroxy/Methoxy Amodimethicone, Stearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Glutamic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Parfum, Panthenyl Ethyl Ether, Citric Acid, EDTA, Hexyl Cinnamal, Sodium Chloride, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Panthenol, Benzyl Salicylate, Magnesium Nitrate, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Magnesium Chloride, Methylisothiazolinone, Ascorbic Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Sulfite
The item can be delivered to all addresses within the UK. Northern Ireland and to BFPO addresses.
Boots.com deliver to British Forces Post Office addresses. The charge for BFPO delivery is £6.00, this includes the cost of delivering your parcel to the BFPO sorting office and the charge applied for delivery to your address.
We can't ship aerosols to BFPO addresses. Aerosols will be intercepted and returned to us.
Please also note that certain areas carry specific weight restrictions and parcels over these weight limits are automatically returned to us.
However you like to shop we've got you covered, from placing an order in-store or by phone to shopping online and through our app.
Discover our first serum clinically proven to reduce the look of wrinkles, firm skin and even skin tone
£6.99 or 699 points
Please use this overlay to check for product availability
Collect in store
Home delivery
Nice'n Easy Age Defy Permanent Hair Colour fights 7 signs of ageing for hair that looks visibly younger
Up to 100% grey coverage
Collect 24 points with this purchase
Copyright © The Boots Company PLC. All rights reserved. Boots.com is a trading name of Boots UK Limited. Registered office: Nottingham NG2 3AA. Registered in England: company number 928555. Registered VAT number 116300129. For details of Boots registered internet pharmacies see Using Our Pharmacy Services page.


text:
To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog:
In response to the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Windsor that restricting the federal definition of marriage to heterosexual marriage is unconstitutional, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service have announced that, effective September 16, 2013, all couples lawfully married in any US state, the District of Columbia or a foreign country will be treated as married for federal tax purposes. Same-sex couples in registered domestic partnerships, civil unions or similar formal relationships will not be treated as married for federal tax purposes.
All employers, including employers in jurisdictions that do not recognize same-sex marriage, should review their employee benefit plans to ensure that all participants in same-sex marriages are treated as married, and that the same-sex spouse of a participant is treated as a spouse, beginning September 16. Employers who currently offer group health coverage to same-sex spouses of employees should cease imputing income to the employee-spouse for the value of the coverage as of September 16.
Under guidance from the Department of the Treasury and IRS effective September 16, same-sex marriages lawfully performed in any US state, the District of Columbia or a foreign country will be recognized for federal tax purposes, regardless of where the couple resides. Same-sex couples in registered domestic partnerships, civil unions or similar formal relationships will not be treated as married for federal tax purposes.
Prior to the issuance of this guidance, an employer who provided group health coverage to the same-sex spouses of an employee was required to impute income to the employee equal to the value of the coverage. This imputation of income is no longer required and employers should cease imputing income to employees for group health coverage provided to same-sex spouses as of September 16.
The IRS has indicated that additional guidance is forthcoming for cafeteria plans. Employers should wait for this guidance to be issued before allowing employees to change existing cafeteria plan elections, such as group health insurance premium payments and contributions to flexible spending arrangements. While it is logical that mid-year changes will be allowed, the requirements for mid-year cafeteria plan election changes are technical and are not necessarily satisfied by the issuance of the Windsor decision and this recent guidance.
Qualified retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans and defined benefit pension plans, must begin treating same-sex spouses as spouses as of September 16. The IRS intends to issue guidance on how qualified retirement plans should apply Windsor and the recent guidance to periods prior to September 16. The future guidance will address the substance and timing of any required plan amendments and any necessary corrections relating to plan operations prior to the issuance of the promised guidance.
Employers may seek a refund, or claim a credit against future taxes owed, of Social Security and Medicare taxes paid in the past three years (and sometimes earlier) on income of an employee with a same-sex spouse that would have been excluded from income if the employee's marriage had been recognized for federal tax purposes. Employers should take steps now to determine the amount of Social Security and Medicare taxes for which they may seek a refund or claim a credit.
The IRS has indicated that it will establish a special administrative procedure for employers to seek refunds or claim credits for Social Security and Medicare taxes related to same-sex spousal benefits. The IRS will set forth this special administrative procedure in forthcoming guidance. It appears that Form 941-X will be used to seek refunds and claim credits for these amounts. We note that Form 941-X generally requires the cooperation of affected employees: employers filing Form 941-X must request a written statement from each affected employee that the employee has not claimed (or the claim was rejected), and will not claim, a refund or credit for the over-collection of Social Security and Medicare taxes.
See more »
DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
© Choate Hall & Stewart LLP
Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
Sign up to create your digest using LinkedIn*
JD Supra provides users with access to its legal industry publishing services (the "Service") through its website (the "Website") as well as through other sources. Our policies with regard to data collection and use of personal information of users of the Service, regardless of the manner in which users access the Service, and visitors to the Website are set forth in this statement ("Policy"). By using the Service, you signify your acceptance of this Policy.
JD Supra collects users' names, companies, titles, e-mail address and industry. JD Supra also tracks the pages that users visit, logs IP addresses and aggregates non-personally identifiable user data and browser type. This data is gathered using cookies and other technologies.
The information and data collected is used to authenticate users and to send notifications relating to the Service, including email alerts to which users have subscribed; to manage the Service and Website, to improve the Service and to customize the user's experience. This information is also provided to the authors of the content to give them insight into their readership and help them to improve their content, so that it is most useful for our users.
JD Supra does not sell, rent or otherwise provide your details to third parties, other than to the authors of the content on JD Supra.
If you prefer not to enable cookies, you may change your browser settings to disable cookies; however, please note that rejecting cookies while visiting the Website may result in certain parts of the Website not operating correctly or as efficiently as if cookies were allowed.
Users who opt in to receive emails may choose to no longer receive e-mail updates and newsletters by selecting the "opt-out of future email" option in the email they receive from JD Supra or in their JD Supra account management screen.
JD Supra takes reasonable precautions to insure that user information is kept private. We restrict access to user information to those individuals who reasonably need access to perform their job functions, such as our third party email service, customer service personnel and technical staff. However, please note that no method of transmitting or storing data is completely secure and we cannot guarantee the security of user information. Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors may compromise the security of user information at any time.
If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure, you must immediately notify us of the problem by contacting us at email@example.com. In the unlikely event that we believe that the security of your user information in our possession or control may have been compromised, we may seek to notify you of that development and, if so, will endeavor to do so as promptly as practicable under the circumstances.
Except as otherwise described in this privacy statement, JD Supra will not disclose personal information to any third party unless we believe that disclosure is necessary to: (1) comply with applicable laws; (2) respond to governmental inquiries or requests; (3) comply with valid legal process; (4) protect the rights, privacy, safety or property of JD Supra, users of the Service, Website visitors or the public; (5) permit us to pursue available remedies or limit the damages that we may sustain; and (6) enforce our Terms & Conditions of Use.
In the event there is a change in the corporate structure of JD Supra such as, but not limited to, merger, consolidation, sale, liquidation or transfer of substantial assets, JD Supra may, in its sole discretion, transfer, sell or assign information collected on and through the Service to one or more affiliated or unaffiliated third parties.
This Website and the Service may contain links to other websites. The operator of such other websites may collect information about you, including through cookies or other technologies. If you are using the Service through the Website and link to another site, you will leave the Website and this Policy will not apply to your use of and activity on those other sites. We encourage you to read the legal notices posted on those sites, including their privacy policies. We shall have no responsibility or liability for your visitation to, and the data collection and use practices of, such other sites. This Policy applies solely to the information collected in connection with your use of this Website and does not apply to any practices conducted offline or in connection with any other websites.
We reserve the right to change this Policy at any time. Please refer to the date at the top of this page to determine when this Policy was last revised. Any changes to our privacy policy will become effective upon posting of the revised policy on the Website. By continuing to use the Service or Website following such changes, you will be deemed to have agreed to such changes. If you do not agree with the terms of this Policy, as it may be amended from time to time, in whole or part, please do not continue using the Service or the Website.
If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, your dealings with this Web site, or if you would like to change any of the information you have provided to us, please contact us at: email@example.com.
Already signed up? Log in here
Back to Top
Explore 2016 Readers' Choice Awards
Copyright ©


text:
- PressReleasePoint Main
- Submit Press Release
- Free PR Website List
- PR Resources
- Press Releases
- Our Services
- About Us
- Contact Us
Home ›
'Spaghetti Monster' poster banned for being offensive to religion
Secular students at a London university have had a poster featuring a 'flying spaghetti monster' banned by union officials, out of fear it would cause offence to religious students.
The South Bank Atheist Society (SBAS) poster featured the monster in place of God in a mock-up of Michelangelo's famous 'Creation of Adam' fresco from the Sistine Chapel, but it was removed from the freshers' fair last week.
"This incident is just one of a catalogue of attempts to censor our society," South Bank Atheist Society president Cloe Ansari said.
"I never expected to face such blatant censorship and fragile sensibilities at university, I thought this would be an institution where I could challenge beliefs and in turn be challenged.
"All I have seen is religious sensibilities trumping all other rights with no space for argument, challenge or reasoned debate. It is not what I expected when I came to university."
News Source : 'Spaghetti Monster' poster banned for being offensive to religion
Copy this html code to your website/blog to embed this press release.
Post new comment
More like this
This press release is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Read full copyright information here.


text:
A record-number of start-up web advancement business have actually gone into in to the marketplace dreaming of accomplishing considerable success down the future. COMPANY minded youngsters are coming up together in great deals encouraging start-ups and are thirsty to rewrite history themselves rather than working as a worker for other company. However to build a more powerful brand and drive visitors to their brand-new found company can prove to be an up-hill task and site plays a major function in transforming their dreams in to business.
If you are amongst the one who agrees to develop a site for your start-up web advancement services company, then here are a few methods which you can attain success by driving visitors to your start-up website brand.
User Interface needs to be simple
Ensure the website to be as simple as possible, particularly the user-interface. Consist of the features visitors wish the most such as search functionality, logo design and icon for navigation.
A couple of things you should offer more concentrate on includes.
The headlines should be larger and visible because it matters the most to the visitors.
Aim to avoid the sign-up process or anything that results in time-consumption.
Stick on to one or two colours that symbolize your brand.
Take a look at some of the most popular brands such as social networks giant FACEBOOK or Twitter. You can see that their entire site is based up on the shades of a single colour makings it more popular amongst the visitors. Including excessive colours on your website might reveal your inexperience as an expert web designer and can lead to creating confusion and diversion amongst the users. Check out this startup-me.ch for further details about startup.
Fonts need to be consistent.
The start-up web design company has to ensure the consistency of the fonts within their site. This includes the typefaces and the font sizes. It is desirable for any WEB DESIGN SERVICES company to include only one or more font styles for providing the website a cleaner and constant outlook. Otherwise, the content look can end up being a bit messy and annoying for the visitors of your site.
Content needs to be understandable.
Content plays a substantial part in the success of any web design services since visitors come to your site to get info about products or services offered by your start-up company. If the background is darker, then the material has to be lighter sufficient to read. Attempt to classify your content by utilizing headlines, sub-headlines and bullet points etc.
Attempt with several landing pages and dashboard user interface. Give more focus on the main content on the home page and images. Try with various variations with actual users and you will be able to figure out which of the landing page draws in more visitors.
Use Catchy Images.
An image can state it all. Get associated with substantial research concerning the kind of images that has both a psychological along with expert touch amongst the users. Use such an image to turn the visitors into faithful clients.
Create the mobile website first.
This pattern has actually led to the rise of responsive site design business. Possibly, the mobile users could ultimately turn out to be your largest customer base. Provide more priority to the developing and advancement of your mobile website by consulting the best mobile site design company.
Ensure proper Call to Action.
Guarantee that the message in your responsive website is clearly defined and quickly reasonable. Try preventing the usage of terms that can make the user confusing while browsing within the site.
See yourself from the end-user viewpoint.
It is good to invest more time thinking from the user's perspective instead of your perspective. It is a necessity before you produce a website that would impress them. As an initial step, you will need to find out who the target audience is and after that you will need to understand exactly what those users might wish for if you remained in their place. You will get the answer for all your requirements for sure.
Pleasure your audience.
Make sure the users log out happily from your site. The responsive website has to be designed and established in such a method that customers must feel thrilled and pleased instead of disappointment. You will have to understand their interests and aim to execute it on your website so that they keep in mind the experience for a long time.


text:
Great job purrin with the study, it has value and actually your sample size was for the most part suitable. Once you have 30 participants the central limits theorem comes into play and you can assume the population was normally distributed. Just being picky here, but because you had a sample it is actually the standard error of the mean, not the standard deviation which is a population statistic, but I suspect you know that. I really liked that you tried this, and I think designing a more robust study would actually be a great thing. I would love to work on such a study for use as a thesis paper I need to do soon, but it has bearing on my career area so sadly I will have to study something else. Really interesting line of questioning so keep it up if you can.
Recent Images In This Thread
Featured Stories
Topics Discussed
- productAKG K701 Studio Headphonestagged by System, 6/19/12
- productAudeze LCD2 Planar Magnetic Headphonestagged by System, 6/19/12
- productbeyerdynamic Tesla T1tagged by System, 6/19/12
- productGrado RS1tagged by System, 6/19/12
- categoryHeadphonestagged by System, 6/19/12
- productSennheiser HD 650 Headphonestagged by System, 6/19/12
- productSennheiser HD 800 Headphonestagged by System, 6/19/12
- productUltrasone Edition 8tagged by System, 6/19/12
Related Forum Threads
- Headphones sensitivity, impedance, required V/I/P, amplifier gain Last post on 1/25/15 at 9:06am in Sound Science
- Virgin - Needs Advice - Never had a Headphone Last post on 2/8/13 at 9:43am in Headphones (full-size)
- Do I buy Beyerdynamic T1 or Hifiman HE500 as upgrade solution to my current HD650/K701 combo? Last post on 10/26/13 at 2:27am in Headphones (full-size)
- OPEN headphones with the TIGHTEST bass! Last post on 12/30/14 at 1:17am in Introductions, Help and Recommendations
- 5-year Re-Review: Audio-Technica ATH-AD2000 Last post on 3/8/12 at 11:45pm in Headphones (full-size)
Related Articles
Head-Fi Buying Guide (Over-Ear Headphones)
Last edited: 1/11/17
- Head-Fi Buying Guide (Over-Ear Headphones) 2Last edited: 1/3/17
- Comparisons of LCD-2 Rev. 1 and Rev. 2Last edited: 9/19/11
- Headphone ImpedanceLast edited: 8/18/12
- Buying Guide Headphones By Price RangeLast edited: 10/26/12
Recent Reviews
Burson Audio Cable+Reviewed by markbrauerDisclaimer: Bhavneet from Burson Audio offered to send me the Cable+, with no return required, asking me only to post my honest evaluation of its performance when used with the Chromecast...
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xThese headphones are much recommended online as a relatively cheap introduction into the world of high fidelity. They are functional and do not excessively grab attention visually. They are...
FiiO E17A very good DAC and headphone AMP for the price. A clear improvement in sound quality from my laptop for headphones, even ones that already sounded good, this gives a much cleaner,clearer and more...
This is my first really good quality Digital Audio Player. I have used a range of Audiophile headphones on it. If you're used to digital Sony Walkmans of days gone by you will recognize the simple,...
AUDIO TECHNICA ATH-MSR7My favorite pair of headphones, and considering I own the Sennheiser HD598s, that is saying something. They look fantastic, very stylish indeed, they are extremely comfortable, infact the ear pads...
Do Objective Headphone Measurements Correlate to the Audiophile's Subjective Experience? - Page 5post #61 of 1906/16/12 at 11:32pm
Gear mentioned in this thread:
post #62 of 1906/16/12 at 11:56pm
- "surprisingly compact, good noise isolation, goat skin travel bag, extension cable, stellar sound, stellar build quality"
- "Smooth Presentation, a linear, stout sound at louder volumes. ""Sensational Excursion Factor , Exquisite Bass Extension , Almost perfect Mid-Range , Classic HE-60/90 Design , Potential Upper Treble Extension "
- Mkubota1
- Trader Feedback: +4
- In the Happy Place
- offline
- 822 Posts. Joined 11/2010
- Location: SF Bay Area, CA
- Select All Posts By This User
I think it's because Purin has put so much effort into these measurements, far beyond that of all except a very few, that people get the impression he is only interested in measurements. The Corvette is known for its LS3 motor, but that's not to say that the suspension doesn't exist.post #63 of 1906/17/12 at 12:04am
- shimmer n roar
- Trader Feedback: 0
- Aka: Mr Spenkelink
- offline
Quote:Originally Posted by rhythmdevils
- 399 Posts. Joined 1/2012
- Select All Posts By This User
Which is why you are very vocal about liking two headphones which have issues showing up on your CSD plots. Because you trust your ears first, and use these graphs as a tool to further understand what you are hearing. LOL that quote actually proved the opposite point as intended...
People want things in such easy, black and white packages. I'm not sure why you are supposed to choose between graphs and ears. This whole thread is about how they relate to each other.
to be serious for a moment, i think you've misconstrued my post. i was quoting purrin in a light-hearted way to show that headphones can seemingly defy bad measurements by sounding good to the guy who is actually taking them. the implication being that purrin ultimately relies on his ears rather than his measurements to judge the merits of a headphone.
Edited by shimmer n roar - 6/17/12 at 1:39ampost #64 of 1906/17/12 at 12:07am
- Asr
- Trader Feedback: +52
- offline
Quote:Originally Posted by purrin
- 8,328 Posts. Joined 4/2004
- Select All Posts By This User
A pool of thirty headphone hobbyists were asked to rate on a five point scale seven headphones. They were not told of the purpose of this study. The headphones in the study were selected because of their popularity in order to increase the likelihood that the hobbyists were familiar with them, and hence could provide a rating. Each hobbyist was asked to rate the headphone as follows without any consideration to price:
I read through the thread so far and nowhere has it been mentioned how you conducted the study, which I think is relevant info. You said there was a pool of 30 hobbyists and that they're all active Head-Fi members, who rated 7 headphones. IMO this begs the question, how did all 30 members listen to all 7 headphones? Were any headphones shipped around from one Head-Fi member to another, or was there any listening done in a micro-meet setting? Were there any instances of people who rated a headphone but didn't currently have it on hand? Because if there were people who gave ratings without having at least a recent listen to a headphone in their own home, I'd consider their rating completely invalid.
Logistically speaking I don't see how this study was achieved without extensive time being put into it and how the feedback given from the 30-member pool has any credibility at the same time.
Also I've seen mentions of "purrin's forum". What forum is this, and can I have a link? Edit: someone sent me a link and I took a quick look at it. No offense but the results from this study now have absolutely 0% credibility to me as I saw how the study was done.
I'll add that I've personally owned 6 out of the 7 headphones as listed in post #14 (haven't heard the Ultrasone Edition 8) and I wouldn't trust myself to rate most of them, with the exception of the HD800 as I currently own one. If I was asked to rate them, I'd reject rating on the principle that I haven't recently heard some of them, not to mention that I absolutely don't believe in assigning any sort of numerical rankings to headphone equipment.
Edited by Asr - 6/17/12 at 12:29ampost #65 of 1906/17/12 at 12:15am
- Focker
- Trader Feedback: +2
- offline
double post
- 4,921 Posts. Joined 11/2011
- Location: North Georgia, USA
- Select All Posts By This User
Edited by Focker - 6/17/12 at 12:26ampost #66 of 1906/17/12 at 12:47am
- stratocaster
- Trader Feedback: +28
- offline
- 455 Posts. Joined 2/2011
- Location: Austria, Europe
- Select All Posts By This User
I think some people misunderstood what this thread was about. Purrin clearly stated in the title that the question to be discussed was if "objective headphone measurements correlate to the audiophile's subjective experience." From my understanding he did not intend to carry out a valid scientific study but give people some input as to how measurements could help them judge the performance of different headphones. I am not under the impression that he is trying to convince people that measurements should be considered the Holy Grail of headphone appreciation. As I understand it, those measurements can be considered valuable, albeit not the only and ultimate, information and input. I do not see any elitist or smart-alecky approach.
I guess, at HF we do indeed see too many posts by people who discuss and judge on headphones and gear in unacceptably subjective ways. Sometimes it gets simply ridiculous when people enthusiastically praise or condemn something without even having listened to the product in question. Too often different people use terminology in a different way, and it is evident that while talking about the same "thing", they do not share the same language, terminology, and do not take into account the different connotations that terms like "warm", "lush", "neutral","natural" etc. entail with the individual reader/listener. So, often people take wrong conclusions based on these misunderstandings and intricacies of language, terminology and connotative diffences.
Personally, I have learned to be skeptical or too enthusiastic "reviews" , and to rely on my own ears and people/reviewers I have found I can trust. Needless to say that I have paid a lot of money for that learning process.
Edited by stratocaster - 6/17/12 at 12:50ampost #67 of 1906/17/12 at 1:07am
- tinyman392
- Trader Feedback: 0
- offline
I've heard plenty of headphones that have sounded exactly like the graph portrayed. On the other hand, I've also heard so many headphones sound nothing like the graph portrayed.
- 6,954 Posts. Joined 4/2011
- Location: Illinois
- Select All Posts By This User
I do think that they both are important to have, more of a checks and balances type of deal. If the subjective agrees with the objective, they are most likely both true. If there is a difference, there is something causing an error somewhere. Where? We'll never know. could be anything from tip/pad Selection all the way down to positioning.
Sent from an iPod touch with TapaTalk... Autocorrect may alter the meaning of this messagepost #68 of 1906/17/12 at 1:16am
- slwiser
- Trader Feedback: +8
- offline
- 6,352 Posts. Joined 6/2001
- Location: Virginia, USA
- Select All Posts By This User
Whether objective or subjective Purrin, your website is going to get a lot more traffic now after this firestorm you started.post #69 of 1906/17/12 at 1:42am
- Anaxilus
- Trader Feedback: +26
- offline
- 12,255 Posts. Joined 3/2010
- Location: Orange County, CA
- Select All Posts By This User
I think it's funny how the usual suspects have taken this 'study' to be something other than what the OP said and intended it to be and applied standards and criteria to it based on comments from other posters who completely missed the point.post #70 of 1906/17/12 at 2:07am
- Focker
- Trader Feedback: +2
- offline
- 4,921 Posts. Joined 11/2011
- Location: North Georgia, USA
- Select All Posts By This User
I think Purrin was pretty clear with regard to what he was attempting to look at with this study...
"The point of this study is as follows:
post #71 of 1906/17/12 at 3:17am
- Is there correlation of certain measurement patterns to headphones which on average are subjectively rated good or bad?
- If there is, could it be possible that measurements are of use?"
- shimmer n roar
- Trader Feedback: 0
- Aka: Mr Spenkelink
- offline
- 399 Posts. Joined 1/2012
- Select All Posts By This User
i'm detecting some very defensive and ill tempered reactions in this thread to intelligent, questioning posts (and i don't count mine amongst them ). the thread topic and opening post has attracted a level of scrutiny that is entirely appropriate given the subject matter, and i'd be surprised if the op wasn't expecting as much.post #72 of 1906/17/12 at 4:00am
- olor1n
- Trader Feedback: +25
- The Man. The Myth
- offline
Headphone reveal (Click to show)Quote:Originally Posted by purrin
- 3,227 Posts. Joined 8/2010
- Location: Van Diemen's Land
- Select All Posts By This User
Ultrasone ED8
Responses: 14
Average Rating: 4.07 (1 = good, 5 = bad)
Standard Deviation 1.14
- glaring, sibilant upper-end. I do like other facets of it
- heard it once at a meet..walked away thinking "people actually paid nearly XX for this?? Maybe they will buy my dog poop for 100 bucks per pound as a statement piece"
- the ED8 was your sacrifice to the Headphone Gods to give you a good YY
As a side note, to illustrate why measurements are important - they keep us honest. A reviewer once said of this headphone:
The XX's are the flattest sounding, most extended headphones I have ever heard. No headphone I know of will equal them from top to bottom for evenness of performance... I have never heard or thought I would hear headphones this extended and flat in both directions in my lifetime, but here they are.
Responses: 28
Average Rating: 1.78 (1 = good, 5 = bad)
Standard Deviation 0.83
- i wanted to love this HP when i owned it years ago, but ultimately found it a bit dull and lifeless.
- and despite the HD650's flaws, I still like them quite a bit. Switching to them coming from sterile sounding cans makes music fun to listen to again.
- I think it's not the best headphone in every aspect but still a very capable headphone with a pleasant sound signature.
Responses: 23
Average Rating: 2.00 (1 = good, 5 = bad)
Standard Deviation 0.74
- very airy and clear, wide soundstage,
- It's a damn good-sounding headphone. It's not perfect, but as AA said, EQ works well to correct its flaws.
- I can appreciate it from a technical standpoint but don't really want it near me. Like a professional weightlifter.
Responses: 20
Average Rating: 2.95 (1 = good, 5 = bad)
Standard Deviation 0.94
- love the instrument separation and bass - especially the double bass as i find most recordings or HPs bloat this instrument. requires EQing and/or careful amp matching
- I like the clarity and separation from it, and I'm actually okay with the overall FR. Don't like the weird bump in the mids though, and the tonality is definitely artificial.
- properly amped, this is a good one. I gave it to a good friend when I decided it's not for me, and he's still happy with it, and I wouldn't give bad headphones as presents
Grado RS-1
Responses: 20
Average Rating: 3.20 (1 = good, 5 = bad)
Standard Deviation 0.89
- bad sounding headphone. Pain = bad. I think it's about as simple as that.
- The RS1 is like a beautiful slut with a disease. I know there may very well be repercussions, but I just don't care to think that far ahead. Plus I know I've been bad, and I need to be punished.
- It was my main headphone for years, so I'm quite used to its sound signature.
Beyer T1
Responses: 16
Average Rating: 4.00 (1 = good, 5 = bad)
Standard Deviation 0.89
- I feel they impart a certain body to music, but it's kind of weightless and not planted... kind of like an elephant in zero gravity. Aside from that I found them to be pretty thoroughly "meh."
- I bought these after the usual hype from the likes of YY, ZZ, and a few others kept harping on them. I do not consider them in the same class in the Audeze and HD800. They are thoroughly middling to my ears.
- I've heard several and they were all warm, bright, and metallic. All at the same time. Kinda like when my Dremel's cut off wheel shoots a stream of aluminum particles in my face.
LCD2 revision1
Responses: 17
Average Rating: 1.65 (1 = good, 5 = bad)
Standard Deviation 0.49
- I hate to nitpick this headphone because I found it so appealing. For the price I was expecting an ortho succubus that would be everything I wanted it in headphone.
- I'd buy it for $500-$600
It warms the cockles that the HD650 is so well regarded. Where is this Ark of yours purrin? Sounds like an interesting place with sensible people.post #73 of 1906/17/12 at 9:35amThread Starter
- purrin
- Trader Feedback: +10
- Member of the Trade: Eddie Current
- offline
- 5,534 Posts. Joined 8/2008
- Location: Calabasas, CA
- Select All Posts By This User
The intent from the outset was not to have random participants, but to have participants with already developed tastes. It's been my and many other hobbyists' experience that preferences develop and change over time, but that they will eventually settle. (There are exceptions to this of course.) I specifically wanted to poll this group. This is a constraint and limitation of this informal study.
As I've said, it is what is is, and anyone else is free to conduct their own studies. I can make my measurements available for anyone who wishes them for this purpose.
Perhaps a more apt title should have been:
Do Objective Headphone Measurements Correlate to the Subjective Experience of a Targeted Selection of Experienced Head-Fi Members
@Asr: I don't think it's necessary for most other people who have been around the block to have recently listened to a headphone (and on X or Y gear) to say in general whether they like it or not on 5 point scale. This study was meant to be informal and not get down to precise attributes. The distribution of votes did follow a bell curve in most cases, and in some cases, the distribution was quite wide.post #74 of 1906/17/12 at 11:03am
- RPGWiZaRD
- Trader Feedback: +3
- offline
- 6,154 Posts. Joined 1/2010
- Select All Posts By This User
Obviously preferences play a big role, the problem is the people not being able to admit they have certain preferences and speak about their preferences as they would be the absolute truth and then may even go rambling about how great these are and ultimately the other person may have a bit different preferred sound signature and gets misslead. I've discovered my preferences by now so I know what kind of sound appeals to me, if they'd let me a draw a frequency response graph of how it should look like I'd be able to do that as well but then there's obviously things like soundstage that can't be measured just like that. For example Sennheiser HD800 is very anti-ideal signature to me, it's technically impressive with the sound but it doesn't give me the optimal engaging listening experience I search, I can probably find bunch of 100~$200 that would satisfy me a lot more even if amping was up-to-par. LCD-2/3 then again would be a lot closer but still not quite ideal either.
Edited by RPGWiZaRD - 6/17/12 at 11:10ampost #75 of 1906/17/12 at 1:04pm
- k3oxkjo
- Trader Feedback: +8
- offline
- 661 Posts. Joined 7/2006
- Location: Ewing NJ
- Select All Posts By This User
I find measurements interesting, but ultimately quite inconclusive. For example, there is no real agreement on how a headphone SHOULD measure in order to mimic the experience of hearing an external soundsource, so what factor should combined with the raw measurements to produce a "perceived flat" experience?
Also, since the direct acoustic load on the phone is the ear and every ear is different, the differing load will also change the raw measurements, meaning they are completely relevant only to the dummy ear. In fact , it would be interesting to model various shaped ear/canal structures and measure how the measured response of a variety of phones change with the differing load.Return HomeBack to Forum: Headphones (full-size)
- Do Objective Headphone Measurements Correlate to the Audiophile's Subjective Experience?
Gear mentioned in this thread:
- "surprisingly compact, good noise isolation, goat skin travel bag, extension cable, stellar sound, stellar build quality"
- "Smooth Presentation, a linear, stout sound at louder volumes. ""Sensational Excursion Factor , Exquisite Bass Extension , Almost perfect Mid-Range , Classic HE-60/90 Design , Potential Upper Treble Extension "
Head-Fi.org is proudly sponsored byView our Sponsors ShowcaseHead-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › Do Objective Headphone Measurements Correlate to the Audiophile's Subjective Experience?
- Head-Fi Buying Guide (Over-Ear Headphones) 2
Recent Discussions
- › Schiit Fulla 2 Impressions Thread 15 seconds ago
- › MrSpeakers ETHER Flow and ETHER C Flow -- Inspired by Electrostatic... 37 seconds ago
- › FiiO X7 | DXD | DSD | 384K/64B | ESS9018+ Android | WiFi |... 37 seconds ago
- › Testing audiophile claims and myths 39 seconds ago
- › Chord Electronics - Hugo 2 - The Official Thread 44 seconds ago
- › Recommendations: Superlux vs Samson vs AKG? 54 seconds ago
- › Audio-GD NFB-11.32 & NFB-11 (2014) (Delivery & Impression Thread)!!! 1 minute ago
- › Oppo PM-3 & HA-2 Combo Package Deal...MINT!!! 3 minutes ago
- › Show us your Head-Fi station at it's current state. No old... 3 minutes ago
- › Why the Beats Hate? 4 minutes ago
Recent Reviews
- › Burson Audio Cable+ by markbrauer
- › Audio-Technica ATH-M50x by theminstrel
- › FiiO E17 by theminstrel
- › Sony NWZ-A15 Walkman Video MP3 Player (16GB) - Black by theminstrel
- › AUDIO TECHNICA ATH-MSR7 by theminstrel
- › Shure SRH750 DJ Headphones (Black) by theminstrel
- › Sennheiser HD 449 Headphones by theminstrel
- › RHA Dacamp L1 by FortisFlyer75
- › AXGIO Dash Wireless Earbuds Cordless Running Jogging Bluetooth... by pkshiu
- › iFi Audio micro iDSD by heliosphann
New Articles
- › Head-Fi Buying Guide (Travel Headphones)
- › Head-Fi Buying Guide (CanJams)
- › FiiO X3II DAP firmwares with custom themes
- › Flawless Album Suggestions
- › The Audiophile Scene in a Third World Country...
- › Mad Lust Envy's Headphone Gaming Guide,...
- › Mad Lust Envy's Headphone Gaming Guide,...
- › Mad Lust Envy's Headphone Gaming Guide:...
- › Chord Mojo FAQ
- › Head-Fi Logo Gear
About Head-Fi.org | Join the Community | Advertise
© 2017 Head-Fi.org is powered by Fandom Music | FAQ | Support | Privacy/TOS | Site Map


text:
|Key Info
We have a lovely spacious double bedroom in our home with high ceilings, antique furniture, and a period features. There is a double bed and also wardrobe space if you would like to hang clothing.
The house is on a peaceful tree-lined residential road, mostly with families for neighbors. We can also offer off-road parking on our driveway, and the house has wi-fi.
Within our house there is a newly refurbished lounge with marble flooring, wood burning fire (on throughout the winter!), luxury sofas and flat-screen TV. The lounge opens onto decking overlooking the garden which is fantastic in summer. Please feel free to also use the kitchen which has all the normal facilities (e.g. fridge, freezer, cooker, washing machine etc)
Richmond park is only a 5min stroll away from our front door - and it's easy to see Deer just inside the park. Also we're very close to the world famous Kew Gardens which is about 20min walk or 5min drive. The glasshouses are always superb and there's always something to see there - some of the things we love to do include: the Japanese garden (particularly in Autumn / winter), Magnolias (in April / May), the Forrest (particularly in March) and the kitchen garden (in summer).
The local shops of Richmond and Sheen are also within easy walking distance. There is a Waitrose and Sainsburys about 10min walk away, and plenty of bars and restaurants to choose from as well as upmarket fashion and department store outlets.
The the nearest station to central London is about 5-10mins walk and you can be in central London within 20mins of catching a train.
We look forward to welcoming you and hope you enjoy your stay with us.
|Sleeps up to 2, 1 bedrooms
|1 bedroom, 1 bathrooms of which 1 family bathroom
|Car not necessary
|Nearest travel links
|Nearest airport: Heathrow 15 km, Nearest railway: North Sheen 500 m
|No pets allowed, No smoking at this property
|Fireplace, Internet access, DVD player
|Central heating, TV, Wi-Fi available
|Kettle, Toaster, Iron, Hair dryer
|Cooker, Microwave, Fridge, Freezer, Washing machine
|Double Beds (1), Dining seats for 6, Lounge seats for 4
|Private garden, BBQ
|Parking, Not suitable for wheelchair users
London is in South East UK
This area is South West of London