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1. Re: How to draw a (or two) million lines fast?MiPa Feb 21, 2013 8:10 AM (in response to 992315)In your case it might be a good idea to stick with Java2D and draw into a buffered image which you can then display in JavaFX. The problem with JavaFX is, that it does not provide any real immediate mode API but instead is always building up large buffers before anything is actually drawn. At first glance the canvas API looks like an immediate mode API but actually it isn't.
2. Re: How to draw a (or two) million lines fast?992315 Feb 21, 2013 6:51 PM (in response to 992315)MiPa,
I have many signals with dynamic data that requires interactive editing. For example, I may have 100 signals (hence a lot of lines on the screen, hence the 1 million test) and zoom into a time slice for all the selected signals and then edit the signals. Would drawing a static image (for all the signals selected) that gets recreated again and again be efficient for this?
Can you point me to an example of writing into an ImageBuffer and then putting it into an JavaFX Image control? Would it require using Swing utilities or is there a way to interact with Java2D directly from JavaFX app? If it requires Swing interoperability would I then have 2 threads - EDT and JavaFX app? Would I have a Swing app with JavaFX controls?
Thanks for your help.
3. Re: How to draw a (or two) million lines fast?jsmith Feb 21, 2013 10:30 PM (in response to 992315)I took the original sample and wrapped it up in an AnimationTimer to time it.
I set up my test to split the line drawing up into chunks.
The outcome of my tests showed:
1. You have to execute your loops more than once if you want the JIT to optimize them.
2. You want the JIT to optimize your loops because the speed gains are phenomenal.
3. The very first time you run a loop to draw more than one hundred thousand objects in a canvas, that loop can take a long time to execute.
4. Subsequent executions of a loop to draw more than one hundred thousand objects in a canvas are hundreds of times quicker.
5. My machine can get smooth animation performance with one hundred thousand lines on a canvas.
6. With one million lines being drawn to a canvas each frame, performance will drop to about two frames per second.
7. Once you have run a couple of animation loops, most of the time is spent by the JavaFX system (probably rendering the stroke commands to canvas).
What may be happening here is that there are optimizations made by Hotspot JVM JIT compiler. On first execution of the line stroking loop, the JVM does not recognize a need to optimize and just runs in a (relatively expensive) interpreted mode. On subsequent executions, the need to optimize is recognized and the JVM performs a (better late than never) just in time compilation and everything starts to run very quickly. (That's just a guess though).
For the first test below, I draw 1 million lines in chunks of one hundred thousand over the course of 10 animation pulses (one chunk per pulse).
I also set it up so that the first chunk of lines is plotted twice.
The stroke time is the time our application spends issuing the stroke commands to the canvas.
The frame time is the time elapsed between display of each fully rendered frame and determines the FPS of the application.
When the stroke time is low and the frame time is high, most of the time elapses within the JavaFX rendering system and not our application code.
The first chunk plotted takes 800ms, then to plot the exact same set of lines on the canvas again takes 11ms and subsequent plots of chunks take only 4ms to 5ms (i.e. ~200 times faster). Here we can see also that time to render a frame settles down to about 50ms or 20fps which is sufficient for smooth animation for most applications.
Output of the program is:
If I increase the chunk size to one million lines (i.e. a single chunk for all lines), then keep plotting a new chunk of one million lines on each animation frame, I get output as below.
Stroke Time: 0 to 100000 took 800ms for 99999 strokes Frame Time: 822ms, 1.217fps Stroke Time: 0 to 100000 took 11ms for 99999 strokes Frame Time: 313ms, 3.195fps Stroke Time: 100000 to 200000 took 5ms for 99999 strokes Frame Time: 71ms, 14.085fps Stroke Time: 200000 to 300000 took 4ms for 99999 strokes Frame Time: 47ms, 21.277fps Stroke Time: 300000 to 400000 took 5ms for 99999 strokes Frame Time: 48ms, 20.833fps
The first chunk plotted takes 68 seconds, then to plot the exact same set of lines on the canvas again takes 55ms and subsequent plots of chunks take only 43ms (i.e. ~1500 times faster). Note that although the time to stroke to the canvas drops to 43ms which would give a draw rate of about 22fps, the actual fps drops to about 2fps (presumably because canvas in just buffering the stroke commands and then performing the actual stroke at a later time before the canvas is rendered to the screen). So you won't get a smooth animation.
Tests were run with jdk8b77 (64 bit), win7, ati hd4600, 2.83ghz quad core pentium Q9505.
Stroke Time: 0 to 1000000 took 68030ms for 999999 strokes Frame Time: 68051ms, 0.015fps Stroke Time: 0 to 1000000 took 55ms for 999999 strokes Frame Time: 721ms, 1.387fps Stroke Time: 0 to 1000000 took 43ms for 999999 strokes Frame Time: 475ms, 2.105fps Stroke Time: 0 to 1000000 took 43ms for 999999 strokes Frame Time: 456ms, 2.193fps Stroke Time: 0 to 1000000 took 44ms for 999999 strokes Frame Time: 472ms, 2.119fps
import javafx.animation.AnimationTimer; import javafx.application.Application; import javafx.beans.property.*; import javafx.scene.*; import javafx.scene.canvas.*; import javafx.scene.paint.Color; import javafx.stage.Stage; public class WavePlotter extends Application { final Canvas canvas = new Canvas(1200, 100); final int TOTAL_LENGTH = 1000000; final int NUM_CHUNKS = 10; final int CHUNK_LENGTH = TOTAL_LENGTH / NUM_CHUNKS; private byte[] signal = new byte[TOTAL_LENGTH]; private String[] colors = { "blue", "blueviolet", "brown", "burlywood", "cadetblue", "chartreuse", "chocolate", "coral", "cornflowerblue", "crimson" }; @Override public void init() { for(int i = 1; i < signal.length-1; i+=2) { signal[i] = 100; } } @Override public void start(Stage stage) { stage.setScene(new Scene(new Group(canvas))); stage.show(); final BooleanProperty firstPulse = new SimpleBooleanProperty(true); final IntegerProperty currentChunk = new SimpleIntegerProperty(0); final AnimationTimer timer = new AnimationTimer() { @Override public void handle(long l) { if (!firstPulse.get()) { drawWaveform( canvas.getGraphicsContext2D(), currentChunk.get() * CHUNK_LENGTH, CHUNK_LENGTH, Color.web(colors[currentChunk.get() % colors.length]) ); if (currentChunk.get() < NUM_CHUNKS - 1) { currentChunk.set((currentChunk.get() + 1) % NUM_CHUNKS); } else { stop(); } } else { drawWaveform( canvas.getGraphicsContext2D(), 0, CHUNK_LENGTH, Color.FIREBRICK ); firstPulse.set(false); } } }; timer.start(); } private void drawWaveform(GraphicsContext gc, int startIdx, int chunkLength, Color color) { //gc.clearRect(0, 0, canvas.getWidth(), canvas.getHeight()); gc.setStroke(color); int factor; int totalLength = signal.length; int scalefactor = 1200; long start = getTime(); int nStrokes = 0; for(int j = startIdx + 1; j < startIdx + chunkLength; j++) { factor = scalefactor*(j-1)/totalLength; gc.strokeLine(factor, signal[j-1], factor, signal[j]); nStrokes++; } long end = getTime(); System.out.println( "Stroke Time: " + startIdx + " to " + (startIdx + chunkLength) + " took " + (end - start) + "ms for " + nStrokes + " strokes" ); } private long getTime() { return System.nanoTime() / 1000000; } public static void main(String[] args) { launch(args); } }
4. Re: How to draw a (or two) million lines fast?992315 Feb 25, 2013 7:38 PM (in response to 992315)Hello,
Thanks for the benchmarking. Even though the JIT is optimizing on the second loop or in chunks, the memory is still large. So I decided to implement it as a Java2D BufferedImage and convert that into a JavaFX image. I think I ran into a possible BUG (see below). The version that runs is now for 2 million lines, less than 5 seconds and about 1GB of memory.
Are there any suggestions on getting it faster with less memory???
private ImageView drawWaveform4 ( byte[] signal ) {
BufferedImage bufferedImage = new BufferedImage(signal.length, 100, BufferedImage.TYPE_BYTE_BINARY);
Graphics2D g2d = bufferedImage.createGraphics();
int factor, factor2;
int length = signal.length;
int scalefactor = 1200;
for(int j = 1; j < length; j++) {
factor = scalefactor*(j-1)/length;
if (j == length-1) { System.out.println("factor is " + factor); }
factor2 = (scalefactor*j)/length;
g2d.drawLine(factor, (int)signal[j-1], factor, (int)signal[j]);
g2d.drawLine(factor, (int)signal[j], factor2, (int)signal[j]);
/* I had to convert to JavaFX image pixel by pixel since SwingFXUtils dies with 'out of memory on the java heap'. If you comment out these lines and uncomment out the ones below you can recreate that problem. in Summary why is SwingFXUtils.toFXimage EVEN calling the constructor for bufferedImage?? and then when it does why does it ignore how it was created and make a copy filled with INTs which rightly runs out of memory??? */
// start working block
WritableImage wr = null;
if (bufferedImage != null) {
wr = new WritableImage(bufferedImage.getWidth(), bufferedImage.getHeight());
PixelWriter pw = wr.getPixelWriter();
for (int x = 0; x < bufferedImage.getWidth(); x++) {
for (int y = 0; y < bufferedImage.getHeight(); y++) {
pw.setColor(x,y, Color.BLUE);
// end working block
// uncomment after here (and comment out the above that converts to JavaFX image pixel by pixel) to see the SwingFXutils blow up in size
/* WritableImage wr = null;
SwingFXUtils.toFXImage(bufferedImage, wr);
// also tried
// Image img = SwingFXUtils.toFXImage(bufferedImage, null);
// Image img = SwingFXUtils.toFXImage(bufferedImage, wr);
// with no success
ImageView imageView = new ImageView();
return imageView;
Thanks for more comments.. I would like it to be in the 2-3 second range so any help getting there is much appreciated and valued...
5. Re: How to draw a (or two) million lines fast?MiPa Feb 26, 2013 8:09 AM (in response to 992315)There are far more efficient ways to get your pixels on the screen. Maybe this thread
can give you an idea. With the correct pixel format this is a really fast solution.
Canvas performance
6. Re: How to draw a (or two) million lines fast?992315 Mar 4, 2013 4:48 PM (in response to MiPa)So I memory profiled your WavePlotter code and it is ~350M; I chunked the data differently, in 1000 byte chunks, and it is now acceptable in the 1M range but it flickers...how do I get a double buffer to draw to the canvas without flicker keeping the memory in an acceptable range (around a couple meg)
7. Re: How to draw a (or two) million lines fast?992315 Mar 5, 2013 1:03 AM (in response to 992315)It seems to me that your Animation Timer loop executed blazingly fast (total timeis maybe < 50ms) but the memory is quite large (350Mb). I found a "sweet spot" between memory usage and timing that chunked the data in 1000 byte chunks (NUM_CHUNKS= 1000)
However, when I am not writing a game but an interactive desktop app with a lot of data. I would like to draw a million lines "statically" to the screen at the speed your animation does it -- <50ms but with a small amount of memory, ~1Mb or less. The I will interact with the waveform and redraw it.
what I tried : I put drawWaveform in a for loop 0-Num_CHUNKS and it takes 57000 ms again and the memory blows up again so it seems the handle method is doing something special to be so fast - how can iI do that without animating my scene?
Do you understand what I am asking?


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James Corner Field Operations (JCFO) has been selected to design the National Building Museums Summer Block Party 2016 installation. The National Building Museum selected JCFO after the success of 2015s The BEACH, an installation designed by Snarkitecture that allowed 180,000 Washington... View full entry
Whenever one of the millions of buildings under construction flanking the High Line hit a certain height, the developer is required to put up a shed over the park [...] except, it seems, when it's for a building by [...] Zaha Hadid. Then it's not just a shed protecting passersby, it's a 112-foot long sculptural installation—in this case entitled Allongé—designed by Hadid to give a sneak preview of the swooping forms of her building, which has just hit High Line level [...]. — ny.curbed.com
Photos of ZHAs Allongé scaffolding/canopy by Scott Lynch. Head over to Curbed NY to see more images.The initial announcement of Hadids High Line condo building on Archinect in 2013 was a topic not without much commentary. View full entry
The New York-based World Monuments Fund announced [...] that Joshua David, the co-founder of New York's High Line—a major urban regeneration project that has inspired similar initiatives in places such as Paris and Philadelphia—will succeed Bonnie Burnham as president of the non-profit heritage preservation organisation. Burnham is to retire in November after 30 years in the post. [...]
David announced in late January that he was stepping down as president of the Friends of the High Line. — The Art Newspaper
...The Collectivity Project is about more than just play. Eliasson conceived of the project as a way to bring people together and allow them to create a utopian society, if only in miniature form. The idea, which is up until September 30, is at home at the 10th Avenue and West 30th Street section of the High Line, where the sounds of construction buzz in the background. — Art Net
The project, which has previously had iterations in Norway and Albania, comprises a station set up on the High Line with piles of white lego pieces. The public is invited to collaborate on creating a miniature city. To kick off the fun, the High Line invited ten of the citys best-known firms –... View full entry
The High Line is...a perfect example of "environmental gentrification" – the growing phenomenon of rising property values in the wake of a large-scale urban greening project... While intended to serve existing residents, in reality it tends to increase land values to the point that those who live there are forced to leave. This exodus in turn transforms the sociological contours of the area and, by extension, the spatial segregation of the entire city. — the Guardian
Gimme Shelter has learned exclusively that developer The Related Companies has hired Rem Koolhaas to design their new High Line project on W. 18th St. — nypost.com
Thirty-seven years after Delirious New York, Koolhaas may finally have a building in New York City. While OMA has worked on a variety of commercial interiors in NYC before, as well as being a part of HUDs Rebuilding by Design, the High Line residence will be the firms first ground-up building... View full entry
Perhaps no part of Manhattan has changed as dramatically since the 1980s as the Meatpacking District. Located on the Lower West Side, the district has gone from a blue-collar warehouse district with a seedy side into a hyper-luxurious, bustling neighborhood.
From the High Line to the expensive shops and restaurants along the old cobblestone streets, everything looks quite different from when Brian Rose first brought his camera to the Meatpacking District. — citylab.com
There are some deft variations on the design themes of the two older sections, and they show some gentle wit, a quality that was absent in 2009 and 2011, when these earlier portions, which run from Little West 12th Street to West 30th Street, were completed.
Now, for example, you can actually walk on old train tracks, rather than look wistfully at the remnants of the tracks poking up amid the plantings. — vanityfair.com
The facades of his 515 Highline, a 12-unit condo at 515 West 29th Street in West Chelsea that will almost touch the elevated park, will be rippled like the surface of a sea.
And Soori High Line, a 27-unit condo across the street at 522 West 29th, will have not only rooftop pools [...]. More than a dozen lower-floor apartments will also come with private pools to allow residents to float above it all while contemplating the brash buildings that increasingly populate the surrounding blocks. — nytimes.com
Zaha Hadid's swooping, spaceship-like condo building along the High Line is just about the most exciting of the many buildings on the rise in West Chelsea and the dozens of projects designed by starchitects in New York City. Mind-boggling renderings of the wavy exterior? Check. Some voluptuous floorplans, plus pricing? Check. Here now, the first look inside the West 28th Street condos, with two unreleased renderings snagged by a tipster. — ny.curbed.com
Previously: Zaha Hadid Architects commissioned to design High Line condo, to be first Hadid project in NYC View full entry
If there is any one lesson that I have learned in my life as a city planner, it is that public spaces have power. It's not just the number of people using them, it's the even greater number of people who feel better about their city just knowing that they are there.
Public space can change how you live in a city, how you feel about a city, whether you choose one city over another, and public space is one of the most important reasons why you stay in a city. — TED
Amanda Burden served as New York Citys chief planner under Mayor Bloomberg, leading such revitalization projects as the High Line and Brooklyns waterfront. You can watch the full TED talk below, or read the complete transcript here. View full entry
One obvious answer to these conundrums is increased focus on "sustainability", along with the questionable notion that because something has a lot of vegetation on it, it must be good for the environment. Accordingly, urban farms are part of this peculiar trend. As early as the mid-1980s, Prince Charles advocated turning the depopulated streets of central Liverpool into farmland, something which seemed connected to his war against modern architecture around the same time... — theguardian.com
Photographer Jennifer Williams' upcoming "The High Line Effect" exhibition at the Robert Mann Gallery in New York presents the recently constructed High Line with a Dada-esque collage aesthetic, adding a twist — so to speak — to architectural photography. This latest exhibition from Williams uniquely critiques construction, while also giving commentary on real estate development, zoning laws, habitation patterns, and other urban-living and architectural issues. — bustler.net
With an interest in the growth of new luxury buildings, other current projects of Williams include Renzo Piano's new Whitney Museum and Zaha Hadid's proposed condominium. The opening reception will be on Oct. 24, 6-8 p.m. The exhibition can also be viewed online starting that day. View full entry
The National Building Museum has awarded Joshua David and Robert Hammond the fifteenth Vincent Scully Prize for their New York City urban revitalization project, High Line. After the first section of the High Line opened in 2009, it became a catalyst for the renewal and investment of Manhattan's West Side. The project is viewed as an inspirational model for other repurpose projects and community activism worldwide. — bustler.net
Click here to see more High Line news on Archinect. View full entry
The 11-story development will feature approximately 37 residences of up to 5,500 square feet, focusing on expansive, gracious layouts with 11-foot ceilings, thoughtful technological integration and state-of-the-art finishes and features. Designed with multiple elevator cores, a majority of the residences will have a private vestibule and entrance that adds to the intimacy of the building. — prnewswire.com
Related Companies, New Yorks premier residential developer, today announced that it has commissioned world renowned Zaha Hadid Architects to design a boutique condominium adjacent to the High Line at 520 West 28th Street in Chelsea just south of Hudson Yards. The 11-story residential development... View full entry
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Chip Ammerman Social Services Director
Mission Statement:Cass County Social Services provides services to individuals and families who are vulnerable to meet basic needs and to promote self-sufficiency.Values:*All people are treated with dignity and respect.*High quality service is the goal of all programs.*Promote a strong partnership with individual clients and families.*Promote leadership and collaboration on community-wide needs.*The agency will be responsible and efficient stewards of all resources.


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Each week, we seek out expert advice to help a small or medium-sized company overcome a key issue.
Dev Basu is proud of the culture he has created at the digital marketing agency he founded in 2009, and he wants to preserve it.
At Toronto-based Powered by Search Inc., there's "not a lot of hierarchy" and "almost no bureaucracy," says its president and chief executive officer.
"We like having fun with the work that we do, and not taking ourselves too seriously. We hire people that we would like to be friends with as well."
In many ways, Powered by Search's culture is shaped by the age of its employees: Mr. Basu is 24, and he says that the median age of his nine employees is 25. "So it's very young, and very vibrant."
But, as the company – whose 2012 revenue was above $1-million, with "double-digit" growth from the year before – continues to grow, "we're noticing that our clients are getting more and more mature. We're focusing on mid- to large-sized businesses. And that obviously requires a different level of marketing and business acumen."
To gain that acumen, Mr. Basu wants to hire a dedicated business development manager. But after reaching out to his own professional network, he says he's found that "there's not a whole lot of very qualified salespeople that are in the same age bracket as the median age for our employees ...We just haven't seen that combination of being very young, and [being] very good at sales."
To find the experience he desires, Mr. Basu believes he'll need to hire someone at least a couple of, and maybe several, years older than the company's current roster of employees. He worries, however, that age may become a challenge in finding the right cultural fit.
"I think there's an overlap between finding the right person [and] the right set of skills and history or experience," he says. "If the person is used to a more structured environment, where they've got very definitive goals and a more traditional way of approaching business development and sales, that might not meet the cultural requirement we're looking for."
The Challenge: How can the company attract more experienced business development talent while preserving its young startup culture?
Peter Cappelli, co-author of Managing the Older Worker: How to Prepare for the New Organizational Order and director of the Center for Human Resources at The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania
The answer begins with being clear about what your culture really is. Culture is about norms and values. "Young" isn't a statement about culture. If the culture is one where people like to have fun at work and who don't take themselves too seriously, there are plenty of people who are not young who want that as well. The key is just to find them. You do that by being very clear to candidates about how your place works, the good and the bad – and it's not all good.
It's important to be aware that not everything about typical startup operations is functional or good. People lack experience, so they make a lot of mistakes, and it takes them a period of trial and error to get things right. One of the reasons for bringing in people with experience is to change that pattern. Do you really want to bring in – and pay for – someone who has a lot of experience about what practices work, and then not make use of that experience?
More generally, it may be nice to imagine that your small company will still operate the way it does now when it gets bigger, but that is a pipe dream. Rules and procedures become much more necessary when organizations grow. Your young workforce isn't going to stay young forever. Do you want to remain a small, informal place that is fun but not really very efficient or effective? Or do you want to be a bigger, more successful company that is more formal and where you might have to work to make it fun. Think carefully about what you really want.
Keith Sinclair, president and CEO, The Harris Consulting Corp., based in Winnipeg
Age is not as critical as fit. For people to function together effectively, they should share the same values and goals. This is less determined by age than [by] cultural fit and compatibility. Two people of the same age are not necessarily compatible, especially if they have differing personal values, perspectives and/or goals.
An experienced business development manager should be able to relate to a diverse audience and age level, clients and associates alike. She/he can act as a mentor and coach to the wunderkinds as they grow and develop their business.
In determining the selection criteria, take stock of what matters most in terms of values, culture and goals, then gear the hiring process accordingly. [The company] will benefit from someone who prefers a dynamic, entrepreneurial environment, but who also understands corporate protocols that will be invaluable to this young team, together with the credibility, relationships and competence that come with experience.
Dave Hale, CEO of Ottawa-based Soshal Group
I'm a 24-year-old CEO running a quickly growing business whose average age is 27. As we started to recruit more senior talent, we wanted to retain our culture, which we accomplished through the following:
Vision: You must clearly articulate your company's vision to current and potential employees. Doing so will allow prospects to understand your business and where they will fit in. Hiring great people is as much about their fit within your company as your company's fit in their lives.
Culture interviews: Soshal Group has a three-step interview process: résumé review and reference check; culture interview; and formal interview. The culture interview is conducted by two randomly selected members of our team (no executives allowed) to assess the person's fit within our team. If they get the green light, we invite them to the formal interview with executive team.
Respect: We always thought that it would be challenging to manage people twice our age but, in reality, it is much simpler than managing employees that are the same age. Mutual respect is the key to success. Older employees will be more likely to respect you as a young entrepreneur and, in return, you must respect them as a career professional.
Be clear about the company's culture
Make sure any potential hires have a firm grasp of the firm's norms, values and way of doing business. Make culture interviews part of the hiring process.
Realize age does not determine fit
Change your mindset to understand that culture is more about values and goals. Seek someone able to work with diverse colleagues and clients.
Be open to change
If the goal is to benefit from a new hire's previous experience, recognize that he or she may bring better ways of doing business.
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Thanks to this forum I've found another way spend my hard earned money
I've just picked up my first Chinese watch from the Bay from nice00watch. It cost me about A$27 shipped and arrived here in Australia in about a week.
I wanted a type of watch that I wouldn't ususally buy... or spend serious money on. The one I finally chose was an automatic semi-skeleton, model g508a. Yes, it's a bit gaudy.
Just a few observations:
All in all it's a A$27 watch, and for that I'll forgive quite a few things. Would I buy another ultra-cheap Chinese watch? Definitely. I think they're an insanely cheap way of indulging in horology and satisfying the almost constant craving for new watches.
- Fit and finish is... ok. There were a few burrs that I had to break off near the spring bars, but nothing too serious.
- There's a few printing blemishes on the time and date indicies. Hands are well finished however.
- There's a purely decorative secondary date dial across the top half of the watch that doesn't serve a purpose. I've got no issue with that, but on my copy it's half covered.
- The sub-second hand is about 1.5 seconds off from the main second hand. But it's too small to really cause an issue.
- Seems to keep reasonably good time. Haven't had it long enough to check though. Part of the reason is that the power reserve seems really short. I wore it all of the first day I got it, and after taking it off before going to be bed it was dead by the next morning.
- The strap is terrible. It's got threads hanging out. It cracks when you bend it. It's torn a little at the top edges. I'm definitely replacing it. The trick is finding a new strap that costs less than the cost of the watch
- The see-through case back is fun.


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Jay Cutler's absence from the second half of the 2010 NFC Championship game garnered much public scrutiny. Yet after being sacked 52 times last season, 12 more than any other QB, it's surprising the injury didn't come sooner.Whether the criticism of Cutler is fair or not, it's obvious a better front five is needed for him to take the next step. So when it comes time for Jerry Angelo and company to make their first round pick in this year's draft, it would only make sense for them to grab a blocker who can make an immediate impact. Here are five offensive linemen Chicago should be targeting come April 28.
C/G Mike Pouncey, Florida
6' 5", 309-pounds
Pouncey is rising on many boards, mainly due to name recognition, as his twin brother made the Pro Bowl last year as a center for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Some mocks have him going as high as 20, while others have him falling into the second round. One has to believe the twin brother of a player who excelled as a rookie last season holds at least some of the same talent.
G/C Mike Pouncey
J. Meric/Getty
Pouncey began his career at Florida as a defensive tackle before moving to the offensive side of the ball his sophomore year, so the athleticism is there. He appeared in every game during his career as a Gator and started 45 consecutive games dating back to 2007. He was a second-team All-SEC selection his senior year and a second-team AP All American in 2009.
He is great with his hands and packs a powerful initial punch, and shows an ability to recover if put out of position by a double move. He's displayed good lateral quickness, which should help him fend off three-technique defensive tackles. He does not always finish blocks well, and can be overpowered by bigger interior linemen.
Yet what he lacks in technique he makes up for with outstanding awareness. Pouncey was great at identifying defenders and blitzes at the line of scrimmage, and was very disciplined against twist moves and interior blitzes. His intelligence makes him an ideal candidate for an NFL center.
Chicago would only consider Pouncey in the first round if it becomes clear before then that Olin Kreutz will not be back next season. If the Bears can't resign him, they may be forced to move Garza inside, which would leave a gaping hole at right guard, where Pouncey played for two seasons. If Kreutz leaves, Pouncey's ability to play any of the three interior line positions makes him a very attractive option in the first round. Yet the draft is guard-heavy, so Angelo could decide to hold off on the position until the later rounds.
T Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin
6' 7", 315-pounds
Every mock draft available has offensive tackles Nate Solder, Tyron Smith and Anthony Castonzo -- the top three tackles in the draft -- being taken before the 29th pick, so we'll leave them out of this discussion. That leaves Carimi, the 2010 Outland Trophy winner -- given to the top offensive lineman in the country -- as possibly falling to Chicago.
T Gabe Carimi
Al Messerschmidt/Getty
Carimi redshirted his freshman year at Wisconsin, then went on to start all but three games the following three seasons. He underwent knee surgery before last season but fully recovered and showed no ill effects from the procedure, so durability should not be an issue. He was also a three-time Big Ten Academic All-American.
Carimi has above-average size for a left tackle. Opposing rushers really have no chance once he locks on. After contact, he uses good footwork to adjust to the defender. His long arms also help keep pass rushers from getting around the edge. In the run game, Carimi plays with much intensity. He uses great angles in the second level and has solid speed for a player of his size.
The knock on Carini is that he plays too high in both the pass and run games. He dos not sink his hips well enough off the line when pass blocking, allowing speed rushers an extra second to get upfield. In the run, he was often out-leveraged by smaller, quicker defensive linemen.
That said, he's outstanding against the blitz and shows great poise in pass protection. He also plays with a mean streak and often finishes off blocks by driving defenders 10 yard downfield. In Big Ten tilts this past season against Iowa and Ohio State, Carimi held his own against Adrian Clayborn and Cameron Heyward, two potential first round picks.
Carimi has the experience, strength and intelligence to come in and start right away in the NFL, something the Bears will desperately need. His agility is somewhat lacking, so he may be better suited on the right side. He has some flaws that need to be fixed, but his size and energy would make him a great fit for Chicago.
T Derek Sherrod, Mississippi State
6' 6", 305-pounds
Sherrod moved up many draft boards with his performance at the Senior Bowl, where he was dominant. He earned All-SEC honors in 2009 and 2010, where he paved the way for a Bulldog rushing attack that finished 9th in the nation. He earned a degree in business with a 3.54 GPA, and was one of 16 players to earn the storied National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame (NFF) award. He also participated in numerous university sponsored charity events and organized a Thanksgiving food drive. Needless to say, his head is on straight.
T Derek Sherrod
Kevin C. Cox/Getty
Sherrod has the largest wingspan of any incoming tackle, which will allow him to easily grasp on to defenders while still keeping his body at a distance. He has great lateral agility and balance. He lacks an explosive punch but uses his hands very well once locked to an opposing rusher. As a run blocker, he is only average, and often comes off the ball to high to get leverage on opposing defenders. He has above-average speed, but struggles sometimes getting to linebackers at the second level. Additionally, he can often be fooled by complexes blitzes.
Sherrod has more work to do from a fundamentals standpoint than many of the other top-tier tackles in the draft, an area where offensive line coach Mike Tice excels. He lacks some size, but shouldn't have a problem gaining a few pounds before the beginning of the season. If all other tackles are off the board, Chicago would be wise to grab one of the last remaining game-ready tackles.
G/T Danny Watkins, Baylor
6' 3", 312-pounds
Watkins is one of the more intriguing prospects in the draft. He will be 27-years-old come April, making him one of the oldest NFL rookies since Chris Weinke. He is a former firefighter who has only been playing football for four years. He was also selected fourth overall in the 2010 CFL draft.
G/T Danny Watkins
Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty
Watkins played tackle in college, but most scouts agree he's better suited to play guard in the NFL. He moves very well laterally in the trenches, has good balance and is excellent at mirroring defenders. He bends too much at the waist instead of lowering his hips and speed rushers often gave him trouble coming off the edge. A move inside to guard would help make use of his talents as a powerful run blocker. He has the leg strength to move defenders with ease and is outstanding at the second level.
Watkins shows uncanny awareness for a player with so little experience. Under the tutelage of Tice, he could develop into something special. The problem is, for how long?His maturity and his sound fundamentals mean he can come in and produce right away. Yet a raw 27-year-old is a scary concept. If it takes him three years to truly develop into a top-flight lineman, that would make him 30, far too old to just be entering his prime. Watkins is a boom-or-bust pick, which could force Angelo to look elsewhere.
G/T Ben Ijalana, Villanova
6'4", 320-pounds
Projections for Ijalana are all over the board. Some mocks have him falling to the third round, while others have him picked as high as 25th overall. The biggest reason for that discrepancy is the school at which he played. Villanova is an FCS college, where players are not given the hype and publicity as similar players from bigger schools. But one things is obvious: the kid can play. Whether or not he would be a reach for the Bears at 29th overall is debatable, but if Chicago still wants to shore up its line after the other top tackle prospects are gone, they could do worse than Ijalana.
He does not have great size for an offensive tackle, which is why most scouts project him as a guard at the NFL level. He has a violent initial punch, often stunning opposing defenders, and has great strength, long arms and big hands. When he gets his hands inside, he can move any opposing lineman. He was often beat by speed rushers, which shouldn't be a problem if he moves inside, yet was a mauler in the run game -- absolutely dominant at the FCS level.
There are concerns about concentration and conditioning, as he was too often seen standing around late in plays and showed signs of fatigue as games wore on. He is not an outstanding blocker in the secondary, and would definitely need to improve his angles of attack.
If the Bears like what they see out of Ijalana at the combine, they'll surely take a long look at him at 29, as other teams will surely be looking to pluck him out of the early second round. Playing against FCS competition, it's hard to project him at the next level, but he has the talent to be a starter in the NFL. Chicago will need to see a lot out of him this week if he's to move onto their radar, but his raw talent could compel them to take the risk.
Bear Report: The only publication exclusively dedicated to your Chicago Bears


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Divekick producer talks inspiration, balance, and says 30 more characters are designed
How did Divekick go from an inside joke to a heavily nuanced fighter that stands on its own merits? Creator Adam Heart discusses the game with Shacknews and opens up about the game's origins, troubles with balance, its place in the fighting game community, and also answers s...READ MORE >
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Final Fantasy 5 arrives on Vita
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Gran Turismo 6 opening video and Red Bull cars revealed
Gran Turismo 6 arrives on PS3 and a new opening video heralds its arrival. Also, there are three Red Bull cars coming your way, all of which promise to give you wings. METAPHORICAL WINGS!READ MORE >
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PlayStation Network resetting passwords after 'irregular activity'
Sony is having some users reset their PlayStation Network passwords, after noticing "irregular activity."READ MORE >
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In fact Goldman Sachs vice-president Fabrice Tourre, facing charges for allegedly selling toxic mortgage investments, grew up in the nondescript commuter town of Le Plessis-Robinson, south of the capital's centre. Popular with young families because of its good schools and leafy parks, it is twinned with Woking.
"Fabrice is very much a product of suburban Paris," said a former classmate at François Peatrick junior school. "He's from a hard-working family of technocrats — the type who are the backbone of so many successful French companies. As a young boy he was good at maths and sciences, easily the brightest in class.
"Fabrice was lively and fun to be with, but by no means affected."
Tourre studied maths at the prestigious Ecole Centrale Paris, then won a master's degree from Stanford University. "He's very much an Anglophile who loves everything about British and US culture," said another Paris source. "Like most clever Anglo-Saxons he likes making money, not just because he's greedy, but because he sees money as a measure of success. He loves being the best at what he does — whether it's his day job or playing tennis."
Tourre joined Goldman Sachs in 2001 and spent a number of years in New York, where he was known for throwing lavish parties at his £3,000-a-month penthouse. The broker, who earned £1.5 million last year, moved to London in 2008. He used the Fabulous Fab moniker in an email, also boasting to a friend he would be a "survivor of all these complex, highly leveraged, exotic trades."
- More about:
- Fabrice Tourre
- Goldman Sachs
- Investment
- Mortgages


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As the price of life continues to blow past the threshold of bearability, I've noticed some really interesting things going on. For instance, a guy who owns (well, occupies anyway) a home on the "main drag" has started selling refurbished washers and dryers.
There are some really good things coming out of this burgeoning underground economy. For instance, when my water heater finally crapped out, all I had to do was place it by the curb, and viola! It was gone over night. Two things happened there; I was relieved of a no longer needed piece of junk, and the scrap collector who picked it up made a little money. Win win for everybody involved, and no money had to change hands.
Myself, I was engaged in a "side business" after I lost my "big money" job, strictly cash or barter. I repaired boats. I also charged extremely reasonable rates, charged no tax, and paid no tax. "Regular" shop rates were running $75 an hour and up, I charged $35. I didn't have enough work to make a career out of it, but I earned some beer money and kept myself outta trouble.
Besides, I enjoyed doing it. I still do some boat work, mostly for my neighbors, but the economy has pretty much wiped out the business as most folks' boats sit idle in the driveway, many with futile "for sale" signs on them. Oh well, I had a good run, and now it's time to come up with a new plan. Adaptability is the key.
There are many, many "home grown" businesses popping up, with advertisements on websites like Craigslist, and in local classifieds like Ad Sack, and Pennysaver. They run the gamut from tree trimmers, to gun smiths, to plumbers….. I've seen many ads for seamstresses, day care, mechanics, handymen, or virtually anything else you can think of. Even for many proffessional craftsmen and service people, there is an "after hours" price…….. That's the beauty of free markets, and a free society. When something isn't working any more, crafty folks will come up with new solutions.
And this is where we are headed folks. Those days of people getting paid exhorbitant amounts of money to cook the books, shuffle paper, etc…. are quickly coming to a close. Better get yerself a skill, or learn how to produce something of value. When the dollar is worth zero, or nearly zero, you'll need something to fall back on.
Nobody (except for Bill Gates) can put up enough food and supplies to last their lifetime. You'll need something to trade. And on that note, here's a website y'all might wanna take a look at, barter.net. Things like this are popping up left and right!
Just for grins, here's an idea for a niche business I thought of: Us Texans love our trucks, and most of us actually use 'em as trucks, not "cowboy cadillacs". With gas prices being what they are, many folks are having to give up their trucks for something more economical. That being the case, small pickups have really shot up in price.
Now nobody wants to haul hay, a greasy old engine, sacks of feed, fire wood, etc. in the trunk of their car, or inside a smaller SUV. So what to do? Well one creative feller I saw just recently took a sawsall to the back half of a little economy car and made himself a pickup! He added some air shocks to the rear end so it would handle a little bit more load, and viola! Economy pickup truck! Just close in the "cab" with something, sheet metal, plywood, plexiglass……. Seal it up, and there ya go. Heh heh. Just an idea anyways…….
Do you have any workable underground economy examples, if so please share those in the comments below. Thank you.


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Authors: V. Christianto, F. Smarandache
In the present article we would like to make a few comments on a recent paper by A. Yefremov in this journal [1]. It is interesting to note here that he concludes his analysis by pointing out that using full machinery of Quaternion Relativity it is possible to explain Pioneer XI anomaly with excellent agreement compared with observed data, and explain around 45% of Pioneer X anomalous acceleration. We argue that perhaps it will be necessary to consider extension of Lorentz transformation to H4 of Finsler-Berwald metric, as discussed by a number of authors in the past few years. In this regard, it would be interesting to see if the use of extended Lorentz transformation could also elucidate the long-lasting problem known as Ehrenfest paradox. Further observation is of course recommended in order to refute or verify this proposition.
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UCLA's Muhammad ruled ineligible
Associated Press | Last updated November 09, 2012
No. 13 UCLA took a big loss before its season even began on Friday night. The NCAA ruled freshman Shabazz Muhammad is ineligible to play basketball after violating amateurism rules, leaving the Bruins without their highly touted recruit to start the season. The school announced the NCAA's ruling in a statement from athletic director Dan Guerrero about 80 minutes before the Bruins' season opener against Indiana State on Friday night, which was expected to be a celebration of the reopening of newly renovated Pauley Pavilion. ''The NCAA has finally determined that a violation of the NCAA amateurism rules has occurred involving UCLA freshman guard Shabazz Muhammad and his family,'' Guerrero said. ''As a result, he is ineligible for competition at this time. We are extremely disappointed that the NCAA has made this determination.'' Guerrero said UCLA believes ''the decision is incorrect and unjust to Shabazz.'' He said the school will pursue its options to challenge the NCAA ruling. No further details on the violation were immediately given. The NCAA had been investigating Muhammad for months involving alleged improper benefits he received in his recruitment from boosters of his Las Vegas AAU program and the alleged improper acceptance of airline flights for some of his recruiting visits. He chose UCLA over Kentucky and Duke. Muhammad had been practicing with the Bruins until he strained his right shoulder on Oct. 25. Coach Ben Howland said this week that Muhammad was ''real close'' to being able to play, pending the outcome of the NCAA probe. ''The guy is 18 and he just wants to play,'' center Joshua Smith said this week. ''He's waiting and waiting and waiting to hear something. He's at every practice watching or on the sideline getting ready.'' Howland said last week that he was ''very confident'' about Muhammad being cleared to play. Freshman Kyle Anderson was cleared to play by the NCAA last week after being investigated for potential recruiting violations. The NCAA said it found no evidence to substantiate such claims. The forward from Jersey City, N.J., was among the nation's top recruits last spring and was projected to start Friday night's game at Pauley.
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