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Corsair Graphite 760T Case Reviewby E. Fylladitakis on 3/27/2014 1:10 PM EST
71 Comments
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rcarlos243 - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - link$189 for a plastic case, really.... Reply
mmrezaie - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkapparently! Reply
chrome_slinky - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkI agree, it is a lot for that. Also, 3 5.25" open to the front? For that kind of money, I'd expect to see at least 4, and preferably 5 or 6. Simply because most don't use removable media doesn't mean that everyone is that way, and besides, there are some two and three bay displays which would severely limit this case in usefulness, were they to be a part of the build. Reply
peterfares - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkFront drive bays is a bit of an odd thing to complain about. 3 is way more than 99% of people will use. There are other case options if you want to make a disc replicating station. Reply
Haravikk - Monday, March 31, 2014 - linkActually I prefer to have cases with as many 5.25" bays as possible, with adapters to transform them into 2.5"/3.5" bays and/or fan mounts. This is dead easy to do (especially for an expensive case, I've bought $40 cases with it) and it gives a much greater degree of flexibility in how you configure the case, plus it gives you as much space as possible for accessories designed to fit 5.25" bays such as fan-controllers, extra I/O panels, hot-swappable hard drive backplanes and so-on.
Don't get me wrong, for smaller cases you should absolutely ditch all things optical to conserve space, but if the case is going to be tower sized anyway, then I prefer flexibility above all. I mean, by the same logic, who needs 6-12 hard drive slots? Most gamers use two; an SSD and an HDD, probably with an external drive for backup since you can plug it into another machine if you need to (so you aren't stuck if your motherboard, CPU, PSU or even GPU, if you have no other video chip, fails on you).
For the price I'd also expect a much less ugly case, and a temperature controlled fan controller, rather than a basic manual one. Reply
7amood - Sunday, April 06, 2014 - linkI need at least 8 hard drive slots. Reply
Earballs - Tuesday, June 10, 2014 - linkIt seems clear to me that the customer should be able to decide. Options are always fun. ;) Reply
Subyman - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkYuck! I'd prefer to not have any. The bays are the ugliest part of this case. I'd like to see a proper fan controller integrated into the case and the front being all intake, perhaps fit a 360 rad there. I have a USB CD drive that I pull out whenever I need it. Reply
Antronman - Sunday, March 30, 2014 - linkThere are people who would like to fit an Asus OC Panel or Front Base along with their fan controller and a DVD/BLR drive. It needs an extra 5.25" Reply
soldier45 - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - linkGo with the times or get left behind. I only use 1 optical drive. Its 2015. Reply
E.Fyll - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkWell, actually, from an engineering point of view, the whole "plastic vs metal" thing is just a silly debate. Plastic is a material that, depending on its composition and density, can have far superior characteristics that even the best of metals. Actually, it can be so much harder and lighter than metal that plastics are being added to both vehicle and personal armor to stop piercing projectiles. The front panel of the 760T is far more rigid than the flimsy metallic panels of cheap cases, for example. Plastic can easily be far more flexible, lighter and damage resistant than SECC steel or even aluminum, it depends on the quality of the plastic used.
As for the appearance/prestige goes, it is a subjective matter and I am with you on this one; I too would probably prefer a cold, minimalistic, all-metal case myself. That is not true for everyone though and it does not mean that the design of the 760T is bad. Reply
nevertell - Saturday, March 29, 2014 - linkYes, but what about the regular desktop case being a Faraday cage ? It's like that for a reason. And having magnetic clamps next to my hard disk drives is just as stupid. Whilst I may sound like I've got a tinfoil hat on, these are real concerns. Reply
Antronman - Sunday, March 30, 2014 - linkNZXT has very successful cases, and they make the body out of plastic. The structure is metal, yes.
In miniatures and models, plastic is considered superior.
It all depends on the quality of the plastic and acrylic. It's a nice switch from Corsair's heavy, full-metal Obsidian cases. Besides, I don't get what the fuss about having metal cases. If the computer falls, it's not like the case will save it. The components inside are going to exhibit damage either way. Reply
soldier45 - Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - linkYep, what do you want, metal and it weigh 60 lbs so pencil necks can't lift it. Reply
ianmills - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkIs this article a paid advertisement by Corsair? Reply
JarredWalton - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkWhy would you say that? It's a case that performs well, it's spacious and generally easy to work with (like most Corsair cases), and depending on your taste it looks nice. Are there less expensive cases? Of course there are! Do they offer the same features, performance, build quality, etc.? Generally speaking, no. I think $189 is a bit much as well, but street prices might be up to $30 lower. We'll have to see when it becomes available. Reply
fri2219 - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkBecause a four page "article" is essentially a collection of meaningless graphs that don't have a single origin or any statistically valid testing on them? The only thing this "review" was missing is using the world "loose" for the word lose. Reply
E.Fyll - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkI would love to hear your suggestions on "statistically valid testing". To the best of my knowledge, everyone else is just "testing" cases by installing a system inside them, a procedure that has zero actual validity for a ridiculous number of reasons. Even if you were to acquire the same exact system, a single part from a different OEM would generate different results. Furthermore, a single system's configuration would favor some case designs over others, leading to misleading results. Using an active load (any kind of) to thermally test anything, especially when comparisons between different designs are going to take place, is far from an improper testing procedure; it does not qualify as testing at all.
As for the graphs, we only have a few reviews right now, so yes, you cannot really compare to many other cases yet. That will change in time. Reply
Black Obsidian - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkE, although I wouldn't call your testing "meaningless graphs" or [lacking] "statistically valid testing," I *would* suggest that your methods are significantly less USEFUL to the readership than the previous testing method based on real-world hardware.
Few of your readers, I would wager, are interested in the results of simulated tests when those simulated tests don't appear to correlate to any kind of system anyone would--or possibly even COULD--actually build (200W CPU? 30W HDDs? 30W RAM?).
I would suggest that the variability between different OEMs' parts is generally so small as to be irrelevant unless we're talking different GPU or CPU cooler designs, and the latter is easily-enough controlled for by testing with one or two of the most popular coolers on the market. Yes, there will be some variation between even a "popular parts" test rig and the specific rigs that your readers might have. But that variation will be a lot smaller--and more easily comprehended--than that between any real rig and the bizarre imaginary configuration above.
I understand the desire for repeatability and scientific rigor in testing. But at the end of the day, you're not a laboratory, you're a case reviewer for a popular website, and surely I am not the only reader who finds these simulated load tests entirely pointless, and thus find myself needing to turn to other sites' reviews for their real-world testing. Reply
E.Fyll - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkActually, you are mistaken. Let me explain why.
As far as thermal testing goes, you do not have to correlate with the power of the test equipment. It is not even possible to reach the power figures of my testing equipment with any real system but, even if you could, the thermal performance of an active system depends on the design of the system itself. Even the orientation of the CPU cooler would affect the results. Our testing displays how each case performs thermally without any kind of support from the system or other variations; you can see which case performs better than another, regardless of the configuration that will be inserted into it. If anyone tells you that they can even guess the exact thermal performance of a system inserted into any case by simply comparing the thermal results of another system inside the same case, even if it is very similar, he has no idea of what he is talking about. If anyone is making comparisons between cases using a system, which an active load, you are being played, simple as that. A different system would yield entirely different results and comparisons are downright obsolete.
The variability between OEM's can be massive. Even a change of a thermal sensor or even the BIOS can cause a great difference on results, let alone a different cooler and or component. A change of motherboard will render all comparisons useless, as not only the sensors are different but also their locations have changed, as well as the locations of other components. Even the same exact same system with a CPU cooler will provide different results depending on the mounted orientation, favoring certain case designs over others. But, even if I consider that the difference between similar components is small, it would mean that a) I expect the reader to have a system similar to mine and b) that comparisons between similar designs, which offer similar thermal performance, are obsolete, as the "small error" still is an unidentified random error of unknown magnitude. Under such an assumption, all similar cases will perform similarly anyway and testing is redundant to begin with.
As I said before, "real-world" testing does not qualify as testing at all. If you try to compare the results of any such tests to those of your system, even if you system is slightly different, you are only making nothing more a random guess. If you are trying to compare the results of such tests to those you expect to receive from an entirely different system, that does not even qualify as guessing. I have many years of professional experience on such matters and I would not even dare to make an educated guess if more than a single part of a system changes in a single case, let alone compare different systems to each other, especially between different cases.
I would rather give you results that you can actually use to compare the thermal performance of different cases between each other before buying one than random numbers that have absolutely no value and would simply mislead you. I could easily add the thermal results of a typical system if I wanted to, it would hardly take me a couple of hours to do so and that would cease all "bashing" from people who want to see "real-world testing"; however, I will not do so because I know that a) it is just plain wrong and b) I will be misleading the readers. Reply
Black Obsidian - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkSo you agree that your thermal load has no meaningful relationship to the object it's supposed to be a proxy for (an active system), but that you see this as in any way advantageous is the part that I'm having difficulty comprehending.
I'm going to cut down a much longer reply by simply bringing us to my ultimate point, which is that you appear to be starting by assuming a spherical cow in a vacuum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spherical_cow for the reference, in case it's too obtuse).
A static thermal load, like a spherical cow in a vacuum, virtually eliminates variables and simplifies the problem, which absolutely meets your stated goal of achieving repeatable results. But in so doing, it fails to emulate real-world situations (your other stated goal), because nobody, to my knowledge, actually HAS vacuum-breathing spherical cows (or static thermal loads in need of computer cases to house them).
If your static thermal load is any easier to translate into the performance of an actual active load than one particular active load is to translate into a different active load, I'm clearly failing to understand how that is so. Reply
E.Fyll - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkI fear that you understood little of what I said. I will consider the "spherical cow" mention as a joke, since it only applies to highly simplified theoretical studies, not laboratory testing. As a matter of fact, the "spherical cow" approach is a much better description of what you refer to as "real-world testing". Since you are referring to the results generated by a single system and you are actually trying to make comparisons with it, you are making half a thousand guesses and assumptions in order to make a guess about how a change of a single component would affect the thermal performance of a single case, let alone the comparisons between different cases or between different systems.
What I said is that my thermal load is not directly comparable to that of an active system. It can however be used to compare the thermal performance of different cases and displays the true performance of a case, unaided by external factors. I cannot tell you how a case will perform with every possible configuration that could be installed inside it; however, I can tell you which case has better stock thermal performance regardless of the configuration that will be installed. On the other hand, testing with an active system creates results that again are not comparable to that of any other system and, as it adds a ton of variables, it also is obsolete for comparisons between different cases. If I were to do something like this, I would only be showing you some numbers that cannot be used to compare cases and cannot be used as a reference for any other system, even if it is almost entirely identical to the test system; it does not get any more useless than that.
By what you are saying, you are suggesting to drop a methodology that can generate repeatable results and display the actual performance of the cases, in order to replace it with a "testing" procedure that will produce results impossible to compare them to other systems and useless for the comparison of different cases; in other words, meaningless and misleading.
Let me try another, far too simple argument. I would need much less time and a fraction of the energy required to perform such testing if I were to simply press the power-on button with the system depicted in the review, run some applications and write down the numbers. Actually, it would reduce the time needed to test a single case from 2-3 days to about...30 minutes. I could essentially double my output (and my income, plus the energy cost). So, unless you actually believe that I am mentally deranged, take my word for it; there is no "real-world" testing that could produce any results meaningful to anyone.
As you said so yourself, I strive for scientific vigor and repeatability. If you still believe that "real-world" testing is in any way better than testing done with lab equipment and by someone who at least understands the basics of the scientific method, then by all means, feel free to discard these results as "pointless" and refer to other sites for "meaningful" testing. Reply
MarcusMo - Sunday, March 30, 2014 - linkAgreed on every point. To those that cringe at the notion of reading the two full answers above, would you agree with the following summary:
- "Real world" testing does not give any real world insight since the variance between individual systems is too great.
- Gaining any absolute knowledge about how your system will perform in a certain case is thus impossible. Let it go people.
- The best we can hope for are accurate comparisons between cases, but that is not going to happen as long as we cling to the flawed "real world" testing methodology. This is the rational for using a synthetic load method in case reviews from now on.
I think part of the acceptance problem lies in the lack in any comparative data at this point. Once you have a couple of relevant test points as a reference I think people will see the upside to your awesome work. Keep it up! Reply
britjh22 - Thursday, April 03, 2014 - link"I cannot tell you how a case will perform with every possible configuration that could be installed inside it; however, I can tell you which case has better stock thermal performance regardless of the configuration that will be installed. "
I understand why the change in methodology was made, but I think part of the issue that people have with this new format is that it is too technical/scientific. I think most of us come to AT to read articles about various hardware because we are interested consumers and possible buyers, not interested engineers.
While the new format is more scientifically rigorous, you yourself indicate above that the data you end up with is not representative of any system that the reader may install, so what use is it to us? Yes, we can see what the stock cooling with a simulated load may be, but is that any less or more helpful then the previous methodology of a fixed system tested across the cases? It may be more valuable from an engineering standpoint, but it may be less useful from a consumer who is comparing cases.
While I understand the desirability for a single test that can be applied to any case regardless of form factor, a tiered system that represents more buyer expectations may be better. This could be something like a standard mATX system, an ITX system, an ATX system with tower cooler, and an ATX system with CLC for the CPU. While I realize this is not as easy to keep on hand for a reviewer, that is what you are "up against" with the other review sites. When a consumer comes to a case review, and sees the AT review with some simulated thermal load, and a competitor review with a system that is a close approximation of what they have or are planning, which do you suppose they are more likely to take to heart?
You did make the point that there are significant differences between OEM's for similar items, and with different sensor points, etc. However, you provide no actual evidence of this, while stressing your knowledge, education, and that apparently, unlike your readers, you "at least understands the basics of the scientific method", which just make you look arrogant. I think a great article, to support this new testing methodology, would be to show just how much of a difference switching just a motherboard with different/differently placed sensors makes.
Additionally, to help shore up the consumer value of these articles, I think more space/effort needs to be paid to how the case is while building. There are basic statements like "Building a system inside the Graphite 760T is a seamless procedure, aided by the large size of the case. Most of the time required to build a system inside this case will most likely be for the routing of the cables", but it doesn't seem to ring true with any personal experience or flair, something that Dustin did quite well that I would guess readers are missing, myself included. Reply
creed3020 - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkWholeheartedly agree with the above, especially the last paragraph. Scientific value and rigor have been added to the reviews but real-world, comparable metrics are arguably absent.
I also don't see how results from one review are going to be compared to another with the style of these graphs. Obviously we don't know exactly what the graphs/charts/data grids will look like in advance but the Thermal Load graph for instance already has 4 different series worth of data. Overlaying another 4 series for just one other case is going to look very messy, never mind what it would look like with 10 others. Reply
JarredWalton - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkI'd suggest that if you look at the final CPU/GPU/etc. temperature at the end of the test sequence, that's an easy figure to compare with other test systems. "System A has 55C on the CPU, system B has 60C on the CPU -- A is better." Hopefully we'll have enough cases to work from in the next week or two so that we can start showing additional (useful) charts. Reply
BlakKW - Saturday, March 29, 2014 - linkOk, I guess you've convinced me that you know what you're talking about, and will try to stay open-minded as more results are compiled. But one thing that bothers me is after all your efforts to create uniform methods, why not use a nice set of the same fans in every case?
Doesn't using stock (supplied) fans introduce a huge variable from case to case, both in thermal and acoustic testing? I would rather know how the case itself performs, as opposed to the possibly cheap fans that are included... Reply
Aikouka - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkI skimmed a bit of it, but this sentence stuck out at me...
"Corsair provides ample clearance behind the motherboard tray for the routing of cables."
If I had to give just one rule in regard to technical writing, then it would be to avoid subjective analysis. In other words, how do I know that his idea of what's "ample" is the same as mine? An actual measurement would be best, and possibly a comparison of that value to competing cases.
Also, I miss the ability to compare cases to each other. Heat and noise are huge factors to me when considering cases, which is one reason why the lack of a side fan-mount is a no-go for me. However, we only get heat values for the current case in the reviews. Reply
E.Fyll - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkI am not really sure if I should take that as a compliment. I am usually getting bashing because my writing is "too technical". :)
You are right. The clearance however is not even across the entire section and people hardly care about a few mm's difference, for which reasons I believed that a qualitative evaluation would suffice. It is 21.6 mm between the panel and the motherboard tray, which falls down to 15.2 mm at the rising sections near the openings and goes up to 27.9 mm behind the 5.25" bays. It also is practically zero where the 2.5" slots are mounted.
I will consider adding precise measurements in my future reviews. Reply
Aikouka - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkI probably wouldn't worry too much about reporting varying differences unless said difference causes a problem. I think most users know the offending cable is typically the ATX power cable. The reason why I'm so picky about space is because of another Corsair case: the Obsidian 800D. The 800D was a decent case with a lot of interesting design choices, but a not-so-good one was the lack of clearance in the back. I used a Corsair HX750 with it, and the bulky ATX power cable caused the solid side panel to bow out as there just wasn't enough room to accommodate it. In my 900D, I actually use the same cabling kit that you are.
Although, another issue is usually power cables connecting to hard drives. That's where this cable comes in handy: http://amzn.com/B0086OGN9E . Those plugs can be moved on the wire, which means you can get them exactly where you need them without trying to contort your poor power cables and stuff them in between drives. Reply
Whitereflection - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkOh there are plenty $189 cases that have more features, performance, and build quality. Did you forget about NZXT Phantom 630, Switch 810, Rosewill Thor etc.... Reply
anonymous_user - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkIn fact those three cases can be had for $149.99 on Newegg right now. $169.99 if you want the windowed Phantom 630. Reply
JarredWalton - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkAre they better, though? Have you personally handled the 760T? No, you haven't, because it isn't out yet. Looks are almost totally subjective, and being all metal isn't inherently better. I don't think E. will be going back to retest old cases, but I suspect we'll have updated versions of the cases you mention in for testing at some point. Only then can anyone truly say how well they each perform, but if E. thinks the 760T performs better than average, I'm going to guess that he has tested enough cases over the years to have a reasonable idea of what to expect. Reply
eanazag - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkI think that question lacks basis. There is plenty of criticism in the article. What the article lacks is cooling and feature comparison graphs/tables. There needs to be an ideal case or a couple of cases in this form factor to compare it to that. There is a case bench on this site and I don't see how this translates into that.
I think the article is good, but case after case there will be something lacking if I have to re-read articles every time a new review is posted for comparison purposes. Reply
JarredWalton - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkWe switched case reviewers and testing methodology, so right now we only have two cases we could even put in charts. Give it some time and we'll get additional charts in place showing more than a single case. Reply
mwildtech - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkThank you for a proper review. I just watched the Linus tech tips video review and I think George from Corsair needs to punch that guy in the balls.. Reply
lazarpandar - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkI can't be the only one that thinks that this computer is butt ugly. Reply
sweenish - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkI'm not aesthetically impressed. Reply
DFA-Havoc - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkI have to agree, especially as the 'successor' to the 600T, which is downright gorgeous. This thing looks hideous by comparison. Reply
Whitereflection - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkWell to be honest 600T sucked. A fan switch that doesn't change fan speed, mediocre performance, No dust filters, No space to mount two radiators, USB 3.0 pass through cables, And lots of flimsy plastic. Reply
TEAMSWITCHER - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkThe 600T is a great case. USB 3.0 is pointless for desktops, I never even bothered to connect the USB 3.0 port on my 600T. I agree with the original post - this thing is ugly. Reply
inighthawki - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkAfter looking it up, I have to say the 600T looks WAY uglier in my opinion. I'd have to see both in person to really tell. Reply
Subyman - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkI agree, the 600T is butt ugly compared to this case. Reply
LordOfTheBoired - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkI disagree. The 600 is sexy as hell. This case is butt-ugly. Except for that side panel. Reply
inighthawki - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkThat's why it's an opinion ;) Mine is that the 600T is anything but "sexy." I don't really like either of these cases, but if I had to choose one the 760T looks way better to me. Reply
JDG1980 - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkFirst off, this is an ugly case - the white and black highlights clash pretty badly, and the front mesh panel doesn't go very well with the rest of the design.
Secondly, I don't understand why more manufacturers don't follow Silverstone's lead (FT04) and flip the motherboard upside down so that the intake fans can blow directly over it. How hard can that be? It shouldn't add to the design or manufacturing costs, and it dramatically improves CPU cooling. The Corsair Air 540 (which accomplished the same effect using a dual-chamber design) was a step in the right direction. This is just another mediocre traditional ATX case. Reply
Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkSilverStone actually has a patent on that, that's why nobody else has that kind of design. Reply
JDG1980 - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkI thought they only had a patent on the 90-degree rotated motherboard. Didn't a lot of older ATX cases have the motherboard at the bottom and the PSU at the top - wouldn't there be prior art for that? Reply
LordOfTheBoired - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkWHAT?!?! How the HELL did Silverstone patent the BTX case(let's not mince words here, that's what it is)? I KNOW there's prior art there even if "we mounted the mobo on the left instead of the right" is actually an invention of note in the first place. Who approved that patent?!?!
*deep breath*
I swear... the entire frickin' patent system is broken beyond belief, and patent trolling is apparently standard business practice for EVERYONE nowadays. Seriously, WHO APPROVES THESE THINGS?!?!?!
Sorry. I thought I'd ran out of capslock, but I had one more good yell in me. Reply
pierrot - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkToo big, expensive, ugly imo Reply
spidey81 - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkWow! Such harsh words and negativity. First off, aesthetics is a very individual thing. Not everyone will like the look of the case. Secondly, I wish Corsair would take a stab at a case without 5.25 bays. NZXT did it and made a case that was absolutely stunning. Third, I don't mind the choice of plastic for the majority of the non-structural components. It however take away some of the rigidity of the case. I had hoped for a glass side panel honestly.
Personally, I think the case looks fantastic and can't wait for other color schemes. I can see a lot of enthusiasts modding the front panel to remove the 5.25 altogether for a triple radiator or cleaner internals. Maybe adding risers to the top panel cover to achieve a clean look while allowing some airflow. It's not perfect, but it will have a good following I believe. Reply
Cellar Door - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkGuys, I think it's time Anandtech got a new gallery. This new-window pop up is ancient, it does not support hover zoom. It is by far the least appealing feature of the site at the moment. Reply
zlandar - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkReminds me of my 500R with similar dimensions. I don't see why this is worth $50 more retail than the 500R. Reply
Panzerknacker - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkWhy don't they mention lack of sturdiness because I see videos on youtube of people bending the case as a whole. Reply
etamin - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - link$189...Corsair is out of their mind. I'd be hard pressed to pay $100 for this garbage. From what I've been seeing on forums lately, Corsair's products have really dropped in quality and they're just milking their existing fanbase and riding the momentum fanboys are making. Outside their AX PSU's, Dominator RAM, and perhaps their dual rad AIO's, everything is run-of-the-mill crap nowadays. Reply
khanov - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - linkWow it is so ugly you could mistake it for a new Thermaltake case. Reply
hp79 - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkLooks nice and all, but I would never buy this case. Priced like as if it's made of special luxury material or something. I think I paid about $60 for my LianLi Q11, and thought it's a lot of money but spent it because cases usually last a very long time. I would think about it if the price was about $50 after rebate, but at this price, it's just lol. Reply
Ubercake - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkI really like this case. The design is well thought out. Removable drive cages are great because most people don't need all of the slots. Removing unnecessary drive cages opens up airflow for the system. This is a huge deal since many cases still plop non-removable drive cages directly into the path of your intake fans with no option to remove them.
This case accommodates large motherboards and three two slot GPU configurations easily. There's enough clearance between the top of the motherboard and the top of the case to easily fit a thick rad with push/pull fan configs. There's a lot of room for cable management. The 5.25" drive is going by the way of the dinosaur so 3x5.25 drive bays are more than enough for anyone not looking to create a burn station. I also like the full acrylic window displaying all of the system's components. This is pretty cool.
I haven't seen interior design this good on any models by any manufacturer with the exception of NZXT. Most NZXTs above the $100 mark incorporate a lot of these features plus SSD mounts on the back side of the motherboard tray (but velcro works if the mounts aren't there), and fan hubs with up to 10 fan power connections with a 3-way switch.
I really think this case is a step in the right direction for Corsair. Most of the features I mentioned on the case make building a cool-looking cool-temperature system a dream. Reply
TheUsual - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkPlease publish the weights of the cases in your reviews. Reply
E.Fyll - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkMy apologies; I am actually waiting on a proper scale for this specific purpose. I cannot accurately weigh a case with the small precision scales that I have right now and their weight frequently is undisclosed before the NDA date. Reply
Larry Endomorph - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkYou're doing it wrong!
Those line charts are useless for us color blind readers. Reply
E.Fyll - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkUh, um, I am sorry about that?
I cannot use any other type of chart to display several dozens of data points though and I cannot go with black/white line charts either; these would be great for a scientific paper but extremely out of place in an online editorial. However, I am open to suggestions. Reply
scook9 - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkI would think that in a world where the cheaper and better looking 750d exists this case is 110% unnecessary.....they are the functional equivalent this one is just uglier....and more expensive.... Reply
Burticus - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkPricey! Venturing into Antec P183 pricing here, and I wouldn't put them in the same quality boat. This looks like a $99 case, tops. Reply
PEJUman - Friday, March 28, 2014 - linkIt's a great idea to run a constant load for the thermal testing. I wonder why it took this long for someone to do it this way. I would also be interested at 1000W load for triple/Quad GPU & dual processors for cases that big enough for it. Although for most cases, 800-400W range is perfect.
Some comments:
Can you post the test setup pictures for visualization? maybe schematic of the thermal loads location & temperature measurements.
The gravy on top would be total airflow thru the test, although I understand this one would be quite hard to capture since you would need some single inlet/outlet enclosure big enough to contain the case & some means to measure very low airflow around it (I don't think LFE will be able to measure flow rate this low, and other solutions are quite a bit more money, one can dream I guess...). This would allow some us to roughly scale the case performance with more/less fan(s) if we were to buy and build the said case. Reply
Larry Endomorph - Saturday, March 29, 2014 - linkAdd tick marks to the lines. Something like this:
http://www.excel-easy.com/examples/images/line-cha... Reply
SkyBum - Saturday, March 29, 2014 - linkIn the first screenshot in the article, you can see a rainbow hue in the window panel. My 600T window had the exact same defect, making a large part of my motherboard look quite blurry. Most of the text on the motherboard is impossible to read through the defect. It's like it's blurred into triplicate.
I sent screenshots to Corsair and left messages on one of their "support" forums but they never bothered to even reply. Reply
SkyBum - Saturday, March 29, 2014 - linkOops, first screenshot on the second page was what I meant to say... Reply
paul878 - Saturday, March 29, 2014 - linkThat's a pretty expensive ugly case. Reply
nepenthes - Wednesday, April 02, 2014 - linkWhen I first saw this case, I thought "Damn, this looks beautiful." Large, see-through (to a degree) side panel that fully opens on a hinge? B&W colour scheme? Convenient, easy to clean dust filters? Space for large radiator setups? Other than the drive bays at the front, which I'm not too keen on, I think it's pretty much the next case I'll be using for my next build.
Shame about the price though, there are a lot of cases around that price range it's competing against. Reply
Akrovah - Wednesday, April 16, 2014 - linkI want that PSU with the red cables and whiel SATA cables. I'm still prefectly happy with my 600T but those red and white cables inside the black interior look awesome. Reply


text:
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
In what's become a tradition here at the office, the development team holds a speed run competition near the launch time. With Fallout 3 readying for release in October, the Fallout 3 Speed Run final was held on Friday, September 5th. To the winner: a pie of their choosing.
Back at E3, Todd talked some game — claiming that when it came for the speed run, he'd be the one coming out victorious. Umm…not quite. The finals came down to level designer Jeff "Live the Dream" Browne and QA Tester (and the most recent cover boy for Inside the Vault) Sam"I Am" Bernstein.
The final showdown began at 11am with both guys starting from the exact same point. The winner would be determined by who gets to the game ending first.
Early on, Sam coasted through the character generation process — providing him a 1-2 minute cushion that lasted throughout most of the run. You would have thought he was leading by a lot more, as he casually bopped his head to music (more on that later).
It wasn't until about 70 minutes into the competition that Jeff made his move. After the match, he explained, "I honestly thought Sam knew of the one trick I used to catch up to him at the end, but once I starting hearing the roar of the crowd behind me, I knew he didn't and that there was still a chance I could pull off a victory. Unfortunately, I buckled under the pressure at the end and messed up my 'trick' three times in a row, costing me the game."
In the end, Jeff's trick became Sam's delicious treat (a strawberry rhubarb pie to be exact). With a time of about 75 minutes — Sam bested Jeff by a matter of seconds. Coincidentally, the victory time was nearly identical to the winning time of the Oblivion champion, Chris Krietz.
If you'd like become a Fallout 3 speed run champion yourself, here's the playlist Sam listened to during his speed run.
- The Rocky Theme Song – Rocky Soundtrack
- Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
- Germany to Germany – Ratatat
- The District Sleeps Alone Tonight [DJ Downfall Remix] – The Postal Service
- Lex – Ratatat
- Piano Black – Cowboy Bebop
- Mushaboom [Postal Service Remix] – Feist
- Heat Wave – Bionic Commando Rearmed Soundtrack
- Tank! [Luke Vibert Remix] – Cowboy Bebop
- Mirando – Ratatat
- Still More Fighting – Final Fantasy VII Soundtrack
- Such Great Heights [Ben Folds Version] – The Postal Service
- Power Plant – Bionic Commando Rearmed Soundtrack
- Do You Realize?? [The Postal Service Remix] – The Flaming Lips
- Intermission – The Offspring
- Rush – Cowboy Bebop
- In The Tunnels – The Rock Soundtrack
- The Countdown Begins – Final Fantasy VII Soundtrack
- The Final Countdown – Europe
- Victory Fanfare – Final Fantasy VII Soundtrack
- The Throne Room/End Title – Star Wars Episode IV Soundtrack
Now you can see why he won…great playlist!
The thrill of victory!


text:
ERIE, Pa. (AP) -- Police say the investigation into a body found at a northwestern Pennsylvania hotel led to the arrest of two people suspected in a series of bank robberies.
Investigators say they were called to the downtown Erie hotel Sunday by someone concerned about the man's welfare, saying heroin may be involved. Erie police say they arrested the pair after identifying them as acquaintances of the dead man.
Police tell the Erie Times-News (http://bit.ly/TA3vZt ) 34-year-old Anthony Herrmann admitted two robberies and 27-year-old Erin Anderson admitted one in interviews with detectives.
Investigators are looking at Herrmann and Anderson in several other bank robberies, including two in New York and one in Ohio.
It wasn't clear if Herrmann and Anderson had attorneys. They remain jailed.
The dead man's identity hasn't been released.
Information from: Erie Times-News, http://www.goerie.com


text:
Many commercial and commercial programs require the use of elements that withstand very high conditions. Metals and ceramics have actually mostly filled this need with matrix composites capable of withstanding up to a number of thousand degrees Celsius. High-temperature polymeric composites would allow programs to take advantage of their lighter fat, much better exhaustion properties and ductility. Such materials could have significant effect on the weight and subsequent fuel usage and emissions associated with air transportation. A brand new task expects to deliver durable polymers and composites together using the required large-scale production technologies. The materials and procedures will probably be key enablers for development of tomorrow's eco-friendly aero engines and, in particular, turbofan engines. Scientists have concentrated on development of a cost-effective organic matrix resin that performs at 360 levels Celsius and can be effectively processed into carbon fibre-reinforced organic matrix composite components. Now at its midpoint, the project has almost reached that goal. The team developed a brand new polymeric resin system with demonstrated thermal security under the target conditions. More, the considerable characterisation confirms that the materials should be well-suited to the selected composites manufacturing procedures. During the second and last year, scientists plan to demonstrate the high-temperature polymer composites and related production technologies required to support the EU's objectives for lightweight and eco-friendly aircraft.
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text:
Pau Gasol was diagnosed with vertigo after spending Sunday night in a hospital, and he's listed as doubtful to play vs. the Knicks on Tuesday.
The Celtics reportedly had "significant concerns" regarding Isaiah Thomas' hip injury, and that factored into Boston's willingness to trade him for Kyrie Irving.
Joel Embiid (knee surgery) has still not been fully cleared for basketball activities.
Jae Crowder has been traded to the Cavaliers as part of a package for Kyrie Irving.
Kyrie Irving has been traded to the Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and Brooklyn's 2018 first-round pick.
Ben Simmons (foot) has been "cleared to resume full basketball activity for some time," according to 76ers' beat reporter Tom Moore.
The Pacers have filed tampering charges against the Lakers over Paul George, and the league has launched an independent investigation into the allegations.
Marshall Plumlee has agreed to a partially-guaranteed deal with the Clippers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) announced on his Facebook page that he is currently unable to practice and will not play for Greece at Eurobasket.
Jeff Withey agreed to a one-year deal with the Mavs.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Kristaps Porzingis has emerged as a "primary target" for Cleveland as they consider possible trade scenarios involving Kyrie Irving.
According to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Zach Randolph could be banned from the NBA like former teammate O.J. Mayo if convicted of a felony marijuana charge.


text:
Poles in 'call up' to join Cradley
10:40am Thursday 13th February 2014
10:40am Thursday 13th February 2014
POLISH league pairing Jaroslaw Cyran and Patryk Sikora have been drafted in to the Cradley Town squad for what promises to be a hectic end to the West Midland Regional League season.
Last night's trip to Bustleholme was yet another game to fall foul of the incessant rain which has seen Cradley play just once this year.
Cyran is a tough-tackling defender who is expected to feature in his favoured position of centre half as Town look ahead to a trip to Malvern Town on Saturday, although boss Nigel Birch says the likelihood of that game beating the weather is remote.
"We going to have a lot of games to play in April and the two lads were at Alvechurch and were recommended to me by Ross Thorpe who was coach when I was at Hednesford.
"They weren't getting games there so we've taken them on loan but it's been frustrating for them, with Patryk gettying just one start so far because of the postponements."
Dominic Oliver, a central midfielder who recently featured for Redditch United and Boldmere, has also joined the fold.
"I remember Dom from being at Aston Villa when he was released as a 16-year-old and he too has been struggling to get games under his belt.
"The issue now for us is to look at next season – we won't go up and we won't be relegated – and we will have a lot of games to fit in between now and when the season finishes.
"It's been a difficult time for us financially."
© Copyright 2001-2017 Newsquest Media Group


text:
Tuesday - Friday 12:00pm – 6:00 p.m.
Saturday 12:00pm - 4:00 p.m.
To be considered a potential adopter you must
1. Be 18 years of age or older;
2. Have identification showing your present address;
3. Have the knowledge and consent of your landlord;
4. Be able and willing to spend the time and money necessary to provide vaccinations, medical
treatment, training, and proper care for a pet;
5. Not be adopting an animal for a gift;
6. Not have had an animal who has died of a contagious disease within the last six weeks;
7. Complete this form in its entirety;
8. Be willing to undergo and consent to a background check;
9. Be willing to undergo and consent to a home inspection;
10. Not use or plan to use the animal in a cruel or inhumane manner, including fighting;
11. Abide by State statutes and local ordinances regarding animals;
12. Pay the adoption fees;
13. Spay/neuter the animal, if it has not already been completed, within thirty (30) days of adoption;
14. Provide proof of rabies vaccine for the adopted animal within thirty (30) days of adoption;
15. Provide the animal with the care necessary to give it the best chance at a happy and healthy life;
this care includes annual exams, vaccinations, dental care, and additional veterinary care in the
event of illness or injury;
16. Agree the City of Bryan is not responsible for veterinarian bills/medication/etc. that occur
after this adoption.; and,
17. Agree animals can cause damage and the City of Bryan is not responsible for damage caused by
adopted animals.
Thank You!
Your message has been sent to Bryan Animal Center.
You'll receive a copy, too, at to help you keep track of which pets you've inquired about, and which shelters and rescues you've emailed.
NOTE: Some shelters have physical locations you can visit; some of these shelters may only have pets for a limited time, so please do not wait for a reply—just go visit the shelter! Other organizations are rescue groups run by busy volunteers who may take a while to reply. You can find information about the shelter or rescue group caring for this pet, and their adoption procedures, on the pet's details page on Adopt-a-Pet.com.


text:
|Far Out
electronic charts take navigation way beyond the realm of mere cartography.
By Capt. Bill Pike — March 2001
onto your captain's cap. The world according to electronic cartography
is getting way wilder than most people can imagine, and it promises to
get even wilder still. Not that nautical charts and the various electronic
presentations thereof have changed that much in the last year or so, although
vector-based electronic cartography seems to be growing steadily in relation
to raster-type charts, which in some ways are less versatile. But the variety of add-on features packaged
with either vector or raster cartography is both stunning and indicative
of future developments likely to bring not only sweeping changes, but
significant improvements to the realm of cartography and navigation at
This article originally appeared in the January 2003 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.


text:
Stay at home mothers (SAHM)that don't stay home and can be pinpointed at numerous children's activities around town on an extra customary basis.
Two stay at home mums SAHM who scouer the papers and venue guides to allocate children's activities being held during school hours to entertain the preschool siblings, Activi-tarts usually commence the journey to their destination with a coffee and morning tea and finish the day with a quick bite to eat lunch. They attended library centres museums, science programes and any pre school activities around the city in lieu of staying at home to solely entertain the child
by SAHM-NP January 17, 2014
The Urban Dictionary Mug
One side has the word, one side has the definition. Microwave and dishwasher safe. Lotsa space for your liquids.Buy the mug


text:
The following TV brackets are suitable for your:
LUXOR - 16 inch TV
LUXOR - 16 inch TV
Back to Bracket Select
Posted on 23-05-2017
To add to our stock of quality Sareer mattresses we have introduced the European sizes to these mode ...
Posted on 18-05-2017
Organise your living room AV setup with this Mason & Bailey Entertainment Unit range. This highl ...
Posted on 28-04-2017
One of our most popular brands have just released a new range of TV stands. Featuring a selection of ...


text:
At the end of the 2009/2010 campaign, young striker Jake Hyde left Barnet. It was a season which had yielded seven goals for the 19-year-old and a 21st-place finish in League Two for the Bees.
After a spell in Scotland with Dundee, Hyde returned to Underhill in the summer and, despite the club's poor start, believes there are "better players" at the Bees this time around.
Hyde has made 19 appearances this season, scoring five goals and like his first spell at Barnet, the club are currently battling at the bottom of the table.
However, the 22-year-old believes the Bees squad is strong enough to push up the division under Mark Robson and Edgar Davids.
He said: "When I was here last time I was a lot younger and I was just happy to be involved.
"We had a more experienced team but now I feel we have got a younger side but better players.
"Everyone is really hungry here and I feel we have a good chance of doing something this season.
"Obviously we have had a poor start but the squad we have is a big one and I honestly believe we can go forward and have a good season."
Hyde has featured as a lone striker for the majority of the campaign – a role he admits can be difficult and lonely.
But the frontman feels his time in Scotland and the opportunity to play first-team football has improved his game.
Hyde explained: "I've developed massively and have got a lot more experience. You only get that from playing games and you learn your position more.
"I have grown physically as well and filled out because when I was here last time I was only 19 years old.
"So the experience of playing games is important and I now I feel that I am an age where I can bring more to the team than I did back last time I was here."
Hyde's five goals for the Bees this season makes him the club's top scorer. When asked if he had set himself a target, he answered: "I haven't set myself a fixed number, I want to just score as many goals as I can.
"Whether that is playing up front on my own or as part of a front two then I just want to take the chances that come to me.
"So I haven't set myself a total that I want to hit because I just want to get as many as I can."


text:
On the Sitepoint.com home page today, I can see an Adobe CS6 icon that flips. Clicking on it does not take me anywhere. Was there supposed to be a link? I would think so.
Yes, it does seem to want you to click on it, but then nothing happens.
The web page flashes this message briefly before the page is redirected:
Adobe Beta CS6 has expired
Original page: http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/photoshopcs6.html
Redirected page:http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html
If you wait for a few seconds the image spins and becomes a link.
Yes, it works fine for me. Takes me to an Adobe page when I click it, with no message.
It looks like a antique-animated GIF from the 90s, it doesn't actually alter form for me, as I have scripted selectivity blocked but it does link to a redirect to a products page upon the image click I'll have to get around to blocking them too.


text:
TITUSVILLE, Fla. – The Saint Leo men's and women's cross country teams out-performed their competition on Friday evening, claiming first place in not only the individual standings, but overall team competition at the 2013 FLRunners.com Invitational.
Carl Dunne and Jelena Tancic both took home first place in the individual standings. The duo's top times helped secure first place finishes for both teams in the Non-DI divisions at Friday afternoon's meet. The men claimed first with a total score of 15, while the women took home the top spot with a score of 21.
Tancic crossed the line with a 5k time of 18:55:10, taking home the top slot in the non-DI division out of a total of 54 individuals. Andrea Maxwell crossed the tape in 19:23.10, good for fourth overall, while Anet Milian and Ronja Jaeger finished in 20:02.90 and 20:07.00 as four of the top six times were held by Saint Leo.
Natalie McCormick and Kylie Fagan were close behind, claiming ninth and 10th, respectively, with times of 20:20.20 and 20:34.90. Grace Lederer was two spots back, earning 12th with a course completion of 20:55.40.
Lee Ann Antuna, Shelby Adams, and Elizabeth Bruty finished with marks of 21:27.20, 21:30.90, and 21:33.60, followed by Elyse Snyder with a finish of 22:28.40. Allison Knipe rounded out the squad with a finish of 23:29.00.
On the men's side, the Lions were led by Dunne, who claimed first overall with a 5k time of 15:18.50 while besting a field of 65.
Rafal Matuszczak, Niclas Bez, Christopher Westfall, Valentin Lenz, and James Mullin finished in third through seventh, respectively. Matuszczak crossed the line with a time of 16:00.20, followed by Bez with a mark of 16:14.19. Westfall came in fifth with an overall course time of 16:14.90, while Lenz and Mullin crossed the tape in 16:27.20, and 16:33.00.
Brian Haynes, Adam Krstec, and David Hill finished 11th, 12th, and 13th, earning course times of 16:47.90, 16:51.80, and 17:04.90. Patrick Hill earned a time of 17:21.90, followed by Adam Urbaniak, who completed the course in 17:29.10.
Kyle VanBuren finished at the 17:41.70 mark, followed by David Gardner for the Lions at 17:47.70 and Kevin Papac at 17:56.70.
Steven Brown and Matt Basin crossed the finish line at 18:07.40, and 18:43.00, respectively.
The Lions return to action on Friday, October 11, when they travel to Florida State University to run in the Florida State Invitational.
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo cross country teams, be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.


text:
I was really excited to see the tweet a couple minutes ago. I hope they'll just release it at 12am est if possible.
I'm just wondering which time zone are they at, as almost half the world is at monday already.
They just updated their website to 91%.
Guys... final testing JUST started. I doubt it will be out at midnight.
Final Testing of evasi0n Begins
Patience is a virtue.


text:
Candidates for the 15-seat Regional Transportation District board of directors say they will make big changes to a body that was lashed repeatedly in 2012 for delaying portions of the FasTracks project by decades.
Especially critical were residents and public officials from Denver's northern suburbs, which were told this year that without a significant boost in revenue, they may not see any light rail until 2044 — this, in spite of the fact that since 2005 residents of Boulder, Adams and Broomfield counties have contributed $243 million of the roughly $1 billion in tax receipts going to RTD for commuter rail service.
The perceived inequities in service from RTD is a dominant theme, especially for those candidates vying to represent the northern parts of the tax-collecting district.
"Promises have not been kept," said Jan Pawlowski, the former mayor of Brighton and one of four candidates running for the District K seat, which covers much of Adams County.
In all, nine seats are up for grabs on the board with 19 candidates in the mix. Incumbents Bill James, Jeff Walker and Tom Tobiassen are running unopposed.
Current board chairman Lee Kemp is running for the state senate. He represented District I on the board, which includes eastern Boulder County, all of Broomfield County and parts of Weld and Adams counties.
The election is non-partisan. Following is a brief breakdown of the contested races and the candidates.
District E includes parts of Denver, Aurora, Greenwood Village and Centennial. It is currently being represented by William McMullen, who is term-limited.
Claudia Folska wants to make small, common-sense changes to make RTD facilities more accessible for the physically impaired.
Folska is blind. She used RTD buses to travel to classes to earn a dual doctorate at the University of Colorado.
She says she will also push to finish the entire FasTracks project by 2020. "FasTracks is very important to me and I want everyone to get the full benefit of commuter rail," she said.
Mortgage banker Jeff Bjorlin said he will bring fiscal responsibility and "transparency to RTD" and make it easier for low-income riders to afford the service while still balancing the RTD budget.
Former Jefferson County School Board member Vince Chowdhury said RTD must finish the I-225 corridor and other lines scheduled for completion. "It is the board's responsibility to establish that RTD is on the path of being good stewards of taxpayer's money and more proactive about all projects at hand," Chowdhury said.
Libertarian blogger David Williams said he is running for the RTD board because he is "concerned about the ridiculous overpromising and under-delivering by RTD in the past decade." He also worries about eminent domain abuse.
District G includes the cities of Centennial and Lone Tree and is represented by Jack O'Boyle.
O'Boyle said he has worked with business and other agencies to build a "more fiscally sustainable model for RTD to follow. These include cost controls, revenue enhancement without a tax increase and a measured approach to service expansion."
Challenger Gary Lasater, a former Parker mayor, said he feels his part of the metro area is not being well represented. "Our services are continually threatened with cuts, (and) the ratio of taxes paid to services received seems to have a huge inequity," Lasater said.
District H includes Greenwood Village, Cherry Hills Village, Highlands Ranch and parts of Centennial and is represented by incumbent Kent Bagley.
Bagley said he wants to continue to provide good stewardship for a $400 million operating budget and $4.7 billion capital construction under FasTracks. He said he wants to continue to work together with a variety of groups to finish uncompleted portions of FasTracks, including the northern tier.
Challenger Ken Mihalik, who works in the aerospace industry, said there is a growing credibility gap between the RTD board and taxpayers. "Timely is not a word often associated with FasTracks," Mihalik said.
Tom Grushka, a college student and small business owner, said he is the only candidate that relies on mass transit everyday and he sees its flaws. "Over the past four years, RTD has cut services to our district numerous times and IS shipping our money elsewhere," Grushka said.
Jeff Ilseman, a fixture on Longmont's Transportation Advisory Board and other transportation- related bodies, said RTD's entire northwest Rail line plan needs to be re-evaluated. The diesel-powered heavy commuter trains will stop traffic 2,310 times every day and will not reduce pollution or save travel time.Seth Patterson said his 38 years experience in financial and operating management will help him reach creative solutions for the FasTracks project in the north. "Some of the FasTracks plans for the north end are unrealistic and do not provide adequate service in a reasonable time frame," Patterson said.
Cheryl Hauger said her work on the Erie Board of Trustees gives her unique insight into transportation issues. Hauger wants RTD to switch Longmont to the North Rail Line, which goes through Adams County, rather than be part of the Northwest section, which goes through Boulder. "There are always a myriad of funding opportunities for transit and I am committed to aggressively pursuing those opportunities," she said.
Judy Lubow, a retired government attorney who worked for the EPA, said she learned to work effectively within bureaucracies and in getting things done. Lubow said to get FasTracks finished in the northern tier, cities may have to look to new partnerships.
District K is currently being represented by Barry Gore, who was appointed by the Adams County Commissioners after the resignation of Kathi Williams. Gore is not running for the seat.
Pawlowski said she was asked to run by several area mayors. The body needs to return to a "balanced" approach to building out FasTracks and that will likely mean working with other agencies, like the Colorado Department of Transportation, for a viable rail plan. "Steps need to be taken to bridge the 'confidence gap' (between residents and RTD) — not just by the Directors, but the staff as well," she said.
Richard Himmel, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, said the board has lost track of the expectations many people in District K have for RTD — a rail system sooner than 2044. "I am prepared for my constituents to vent all over me," said Himmel. "But at the same time, I'll try and convince them that is (commuter rail) is a really good thing for them, economically and for their quality of life."
Paul Solano, an information specialist, said commuter rail is needed to help low-income residents get to jobs and to better themselves. However, Solano said he is not in favor of a tax increase to build a system. "The money needs to come for other sources."
A fourth candidate, David Elliott, couldn't be reached for comment.
District M consists of much of Jefferson County. It is represented by Matt Cohen, who says much needs to be done to complete the entire FasTracks project.
"Timely to me means long before 2044," Cohen said. He said once consensus has been reached on what the northern suburbs need as far as mass transit, RTD needs to get additional funding to complete it.
Cohen's opponent, Natalie Menten, is a frequent critic of RTD's dealings with property owners. If elected, Menten said she would put RTD's spending records and contracts online for everyone to view. She would also carefully review the board's spending decisions . "I don't rubber-stamp anything," she said.
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907, email@example.com or twitter.com/montewhaley


text:
A BRAVE woman fought off a robber by squirting him in the face with hair spray as he tried to steal her mobile phone.
The 21-year-old was hit in the face during the altercation after she was followed by the would-be thief in Church.
Police believe the incident may be linked to another attempted robbery in Accrington which happened less than 24 hours later.
In that incident a 38-year-old was attacked in an alley off Pembroke Street and threatened with a knife.
She got away by kicking her attacker in the shins.
Police said the first incident took place in Church Hall, at 9pm on Wednesday.
The victim was approached by a man as she locked up a property and threatened her.
The man demanded her phone and when she refused, he hit her. After using the hair spray the man ran from the scene.
Detective Sergeant Julie Cross said: "Fortunately, the woman was only left with minor injuries but this was an extremely distressing experience for her and has left her understandably shaken.
"I would appeal to anyone who may have been in the area around the time to come forward and contact us if they witnessed anything."
In a second incident, the victim was attacked near Avenue Parade at about 6pm on Thursday.
The 38-year-old had left the chip shop and walked into Pembroke Street where she was pushed down an alley and threatened with a knife.
DS Ian Procter said: "She had noticed an Asian man as she left the chip shop and he followed her.
"Thankfully, she was able to kick him in the shins and he ran away.
"I am looking for assistance from anyone who may have information on this incident.
"We are not ruling out that the two incidents could be linked."
The man in both attacks was described as Asian. The Church attacker was about five feet eleven inches tall, of muscular build and was wearing a tracksuit top and bottoms and had a dark scarf covering his face.
In Avenue Parade, the man was described as five feet four, of slim build and wearing dark clothing.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Accrington CID on 01254 353741 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.


text:
Last night at dinner, my wife and I were discussing the prospect of Theo Epstein going to the Cubs, and what precisely the value of a General Manager is. (She is as great as she sounds.) As my wife put it, "It's just like putting money into player development, no?"
Well, this morning over at Fangraphs, Dave Cameron had a follow-up piece to what my wife said, but he came to a different conclusion than the two of us did. Writes Cameron:
"To a large degree, the price of a thing is set by how hard it is to get a similar thing somewhere else. While water may be the single most important resource on earth, in that we all need it to survive, it's also remarkably cheap for most people in developed countries because we have access to an awful lot of it. In order to justify spending a lot of money luring Epstein to Boston – and compensating the Red Sox for letting him out of his contract – the bar wouldn't just be initiating cost savings for the Cubs and improving the organizational efficiency of their baseball operations department, but it would be doing so at a level significantly beyond what the Cubs could have gotten by hiring any one of a number of whip-smart folks across the game."
The whole Cameron piece is worth a read, and it isn't so much that I disagree with his point (lots of people could take a similar approach to Theo Epstein's) as much as I think he's missing a human element here.
Simply put: Theo Epstein's approach is worth a fair amount of money, but perhaps others would run a team similarly. What is worth a great deal of money is the amount of rope Theo Epstein would have upon getting hired.
With two championships on his resume, and a commensurate contract, the Cubs wouldn't be likely to give him just two years, the way the Dodgers did with Paul DePodesta. And make no mistake, any Moneyball-inspired GM is still facing an anti-stats clique in the media that is significant- precisely what helped to bring DePodesta down. To the extent that any owner hires said Moneyball GM without a full understanding or belief in the methods, on-field results can change his mind. A single season isn't nearly enough time to change a franchise, but 162 games can seem like an eternity just the same.
Unlike the Red Sox team he took over in 2002, the Cubs have far less for Epstein to work with. He, or any other GM, needs some time, just as surely as Sandy Alderson needs more than a year to get the Mets into contention. (Imagine if the Alderson approach had just one more year to run! The horror.) But like Epstein, Alderson has a track record, a four-year contract, and the latitude to institute long-term changes in how the Mets operate.
And that's the other part missing from Cameron's piece, I think. Yes, by not hiring Epstein, and buying instead the generic drug equivalent of Epstein, a team can save money. However, given the precarious place an Epstein approach still holds within baseball, along with the often illogical capriciousness of ownership around the game, a high-priced, long-term contract for the GM isn't wasted money. It's insurance.


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Leader to Leader (L2L) Series
Colm Heffernan: Sr. Director, Global Service Operations based in Dublin, Ireland.
This interview with Colm Heffernan was conducted and condensed by Melissa Daimler, Head of Global Learning.
Highlights from the interview:
• Hire the smartest people you can. Then give a clear sense of purpose in terms of the results that you're looking for.
• The most important thing in development isn't training… its experience. So how do you create opportunities for people to get new experiences?
• Look for the employees to take a lot of ownership in terms of where they want to go, what they want to achieve, and how to get there.
Melissa: Hi Colm. We're being recorded now.
Colm: Are you sure this thing can interpret an Irish accent?
Melissa: How long have you been at Adobe now?
Colm: Ten years. I joined Adobe as part of the Accelio acquisition, which was actually 2002.
Melissa: You've been managing all throughout your career at Adobe, right?
Colm: I joined Accelio managing the EMEA Professional Services team and over the intervening years have managed some or all of the services functions in EMEA. Recently I've moved into this new role where I'm running global service operations. My role is really to manage operations for the combined global services organization through a shared services model.
Melissa: How many people are on your team, total?
Colm: Globally, it's 180 with some employees in NA, EMEA and then 130 people in India that report to me but operate very much as a shared service with matrix reporting into our Enterprise and Desktop Support businesses.
Melissa: And what are some of your best practices on managing remotely?
Colm: I've always been managing remote teams. On the one hand, it's about making that extra effort to make one-to-one direct contact, and find ways to get with people and let them get to know you, and you get to know them.
But it's especially about being very specific about putting in place the process – the communications process, be it one-on-ones, team meetings, and really being very prescriptive about making sure that you have a structured way of communicating.
Melissa: That explains you being on the road a lot. So what is one word that describes your leadership style?
Colm: I'd say it's collaborative.
Melissa: Can you say more about that?
Colm: I thought you just wanted one word. [Laughter].
Melissa: Now share why it's that one word. [Laughter].
Colm: Hire the smartest people you can. Then give a clear sense of purpose in terms of the results that you're looking for people to deliver, and what they're accountable for, and then just get out of the way and let people get on with it.
Melissa: I love that. So you're collaborative with the team, but you also encourage collaboration across the team?
Colm: Yes. First and foremost I expect leaders to engage with, and participate in discussions around the complete business and not just their own area of responsibility. They must be committed to the success of the entire team, not just their "silo". Also, a behavior I always will discourage is if I have some member of the team coming to me with an issue about somebody else. It's like you have to go and solve – I'm not your parent, you know, you have to go and be mature and solve that between yourselves. And for sure, there's some obstacles in the way that I need to help to overcome that's outside the ability, the scope, of the two people to solve, for sure, that's my role to get that out of the way, but it's really about making sure that people understand that I expect collaboration.
Melissa: So how does that show up in terms of development?
Colm: The most important thing is development, isn't training, some think it's training, but it's not training, it's experience. So its how do you create opportunities for people to get new experiences?
So for sure, the collaboration thing does help with that because you help people to broaden their perspective to understand what the other people in the team, you know, what their objectives are, what their challenges are, what it is that they're trying to achieve.
I think the best way to develop people is to give them exposure to different parts of the business, or to different stakeholders that they normally haven't gotten exposure to.
Melissa: So can you talk about one of those examples? I love what you said about the experiential piece because I agree, that's what we're trying to help managers get across that it's not about "the list" of trainings. It's about how do you develop your skill even within your current job.
Colm: We've had examples of individuals moving from consulting into technical sales. One particular example is an employee who particularly enjoyed the opportunity to evangelize to customers, and they were a perfect fit into technical sales. And so we facilitated that person into technical sales, where they've had a huge impact. We've also recently had employees move from Support into Consulting. And finally we are always looking for opportunities to give employees opportunities to get involved in initiatives that bring them outside of their normal experiences – be that collaborating with the BUs, defining new business models, or whatever.
Melissa: What would you say to managers who say they don't have time to develop employees like this or they don't want to put one more thing on their employees' list of deliverables?
Colm: Well, it's always difficult to balance it, right, it's not as if that isn't an issue, it is an issue. But I think first and foremost we have to plan for this kind of development, it's not something that can be done as a short term fix. We have to be thinking about this as part of the annual planning process and creating a link between what business objectives we need to achieve and the employee development panning that we do, particularly for our high impact employees. And we have to realize that if we don't do these things, then we lose our employees.
Melissa: What are some of the elements of those development discussions that you focus on, specifically, with your employees?
Colm: In general I see the annual review as being just one part of the process. My role is to ensure that I'm having those discussions, providing clear feedback, and then to give a certain amount and guidance in terms of how to address whatever it is we highlight in the feedback. And then I look for the employees to take a lot of ownership in terms of where it is they want to go, what it is that they want to achieve, and then understanding how to get there.
Melissa: What is the best development advice that you've ever gotten or opportunity?
Colm: Challenge me to get out of the comfort zone, and take some risks. And then I was provided with a coaching opportunity around that, which really, over a six months period, made a huge difference to me.
Melissa: That's great. So how would you describe an effective manager at Adobe?
Colm: I think there are probably three major components for me. 1) An effective manager has to be somebody who can provide total leadership. You do need to be credible to your team with a strong understanding of the business so that you are able to provide the vision and strategy that people can rally around; 2) You need to have a very clear operational focus, so that you can define specific goal and create clear accountability for people, helping them to understand what the expectation of them are, and then just get out of the way and let them perform; 3) Team development—focusing on how you hire and retain talent and develop employees in a very thoughtful and consistent manner.
Melissa: Okay, so what other advice would you give to newer managers here?
Colm: Understand that they have to make that transition from being this high-performing individual contributor to the person who's now manager. They have to get themselves out of the way of being the bottleneck, stand to the side and coach others to be effective, and that's a really hard thing to do.
Also, identify as least one or two peers that you can bounce ideas off. I think it's great to have somebody who could be a mentor who's more a seasoned manager, but, actually, often times, somebody who is at the same level as you, can be much more useful.
Melissa: So, you're talking about peer coaching. What are the resources you used, or tools, throughout your career to develop yourself and, specifically, as a manager?
Colm: First and foremost I think I've learned from experience and making mistakes along the way. I've also always tried to learn from observing what good managers around me do. And then I have definitely found things like the ABL and ALE programs to be extremely helpful – great practical learning and great opportunities to meet peers from across the company. And I guess finally I have found some very specific skills training such as some presentations skills courses to be helpful.
But I think more than anything else, it's the opportunities I've had to take on different assignments, so the experiential thing.
Melissa: What else can we do just from a learning standpoint to continue to build management capability?
Colm: I think we got something really interesting going on now in CSO. Liz Quinn has led for us over the last year on this career pathing project. We have made a specific investment around defining all of the roles in CSO and then mapped potential career paths across the different roles. This is then made available to employees through an online tool. Employees are then empowered to map themselves to their current role and then leverage the tool to identify what career options are available to them, what skills gaps they may need to address in order to be ready for the next step and then to take this into their development discussions with their managers. This is live now in CSO and is also going to be extended to include other parts of Adobe such as Client Services.
Melissa: What would you say to employees who say, "Why should I fill out this profile if I don't really have an idea of how it's going to be used and if our recruiters are even leveraging it?" What would you say to that?
Colm: You know, for me, it comes back to the fact that it's not used by me; it's used by our employees. We had 100 percent completion of the talent profiles in TSO last year. Do we have 100 percent adoption and usage of the information that was captured? No. It's not something that happens overnight. It has to be about the manager and the employee learning how to have a better development conversation. But ultimately it has to be about the employee taking ownership, first. The employee's talent profile, it's their development plan that comes out it, and it's all about what they do with it.
Melissa: Okay, we're good. We can call that a wrap.


text:
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Report: Stuxnet Cyberweapon Older than Believed
LONDON (AP) — An anti-virus firm says the cyberweapon that targeted an Iranian nuclear plant is older than previously believed, a finding that may shed more light on a mysterious series of attacks attributed by security experts to U.S. and Israeli intelligence.
The Stuxnet worm, which experts believe damaged or destroyed centrifuges at Iran's Natanz plant in about 2009, revolutionized the cybersecurity field because it was the first known computer attack specifically tailored to cause real-world damage.
Previously the earliest samples of Stuxnet dated from 2009, but Symantec's findings push the timeline back.
The company said late Tuesday it found a primitive version of the worm dating back to November 2007 and that one element of the program dates to late 2005.
U.S. and Israeli officials have declined to comment on the attacks.


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text:
An American Original, This Music Born of Heartbreak But Full of Joy Is Ultimately Simple Yet Hard to Define
(continued from page 6)
Maybe it's that prettified, no, glamorized older bunch sitting in the middle, or is it the guy by the door in work clothes and the sweet sisters at the other bar dressed casually and looking blasé, while everybody grooves to the blues beat of Gaylord, "The Arkansas Belly Roller."
Actually, it's all that. It's blues, with that magnanimous "back in the day" conviviality that cements the music's first function. That is, to entertain, and not complain--even while we all agree there is plenty to complain about. The blues is the encyclopedia of human frailty, but that is not its raison d'etre.
The blues is about that mesmerizing moment when we know that we are one. That is its first function and the reason why the blues lives.
You see, behind any present manifestation of the time-honored art form--be it a street-corner musician singing for change, or Madison Avenue blues created for mass consumption--the basic truth is that there are only three kinds of people in the world: those that have, those that had and those that are going to get the blues.
While a technical definition can be succinct--familiar chord progression, repeated lyrics, flatted notes in the melody and harmony, insistent beat--the form as a whole is nowhere near that simplistic. The blues is rhythm and dance, fast or slow, voices plaintive, mournful, exuberant and funny. The blues is American poetry set to the music of human emotion. Sophistication and sentimentality, sensuality and blunt braggadocio, rebellion and resignation, desperation and hope are all inside its simple three-line stanza.
Maybe the best way to know the blues is to go out and meet it. Like jazz in New York City, the blues is especially alive today in Chicago, and Riley B. King (better known as B.B.) is one reason. You can hear it when B.B. breaks into "Sweet Little Angel" and the ladies scream on his quintessential Live At The Regal (MCA), recorded in that Chicago performance space in 1964.
In Wheelin' on Beale, the story of WDIA-Memphis, "The Nation's First All-Black Radio Station," (Pharos Books, 1992), Louis Caston, the radio engineer, noted B.B.'s 1948 arrival this way: "There is a general kernel of agreement by those closest to the scene that he actually did come in out of the rain one day with his guitar wrapped in an old newspaper to protect it." The blues brims with folklore.
At 73 and working more than 300 days a year, King attributes his longevity to an honest approach to his music: "I kinda stayed true to what I believed in all the times I couldn't get paid for it and had to do it for less than what it was worth." The blues endures.
B.B. counts jazz musicians--Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Harry James, the Big Band leaders--among his show-business role models. "I stayed with the code I believed in, like uniforms on the stage, using good musicianship on the stage, never using foul language on the stage, and no drinking and smoking on stage," he says. "Play the best you can, treat the people the best you can, and try to make a show--a show." The blues can be uncomplicated.
Chicago blues musician-entrepreneur George "Buddy" Guy is a show business success, but getting there was no cakewalk. Born in Lettsworth, Louisiana, in 1936, the self-taught guitarist and owner of the internationally renowned Chicago blues club Buddy Guy's Legends moved to the Windy City to support his family after his mother had a stroke.
"I came to Chicago in September of 1957 and until the first of the year I was walking up and down the streets of Chicago," Buddy recalls, "no relatives whatsoever, trying to find any type job I could. If I could have found any kind of career-type job, I wouldn't be talking to you now." The blues frequently involves desperation.
He was headed back to Louisiana when a stranger, after hearing Buddy play, took him to the now defunct 708 Club, on Chicago's East Side, and introduced him to the vocalist Otis Rush, who let Buddy do a tune. Whereupon, the club owner said, "Whoever that is, hire him."
"I didn't know that I was hired when I walked off the stage and the fans were asking me: 'Who are you? How come I don't know about you? Where have you been playin?'" I said, 'Man, I'm just hungry,' " Buddy recalls. "Twenty minutes later, I walked outside the club and somebody slapped me upside the head. All I could hear was bells ringing." It was Chicago blues icon Muddy Waters, who'd gotten out of bed to give Buddy the once-over.
"He told me, 'Don't even think about going back to Louisiana.' He said, 'You hungry?' I said, 'Not now. I've met you.' He made me get in the back of a red 1958 Chevrolet station wagon, got me a sandwich and made me eat it, and the next Wednesday I was down at that place. I never did get the stranger's name," he said. "I've tried to find him but I don't know who he is to this day." The blues is a mystery.
Legends was not Guy's first venture. He opened the Checkerboard Lounge in 1972. "In the Sixties they had blues clubs on every corner of the black areas of Chicago and all of them was closing," he recalls. "And I remembered the club where Muddy Waters slapped me and I said, 'Where is the next Buddy Guy going to come to in Chicago, be playin' good and have somebody slap him?' " But running the club wasn't easy. .
"I opened up the Checkerboard in my neighborhood because I wanted to keep the blues down here. I had iron gates, but they had a tool to twist that gate off. I couldn't leave any package goods. I'd leave the cash register drawer open, had to open up the cigarette machine every night, put all the cigarettes in a sack and take them home," Buddy recounts. "They broke in there so much, I put a sign on the front door sayin' Don't tear my door down. Go to the back, it's open."
Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Reed--they all played his joint. Capacity 90 people. When the Rolling Stones, longtime devotees of the Chicago bluesmen, played there, they had such a large entourage and so much security that Buddy recounts, "I only got three fans in there. I always say I had the biggest bands in the world and didn't make a nickel. But, it got a lot of publicity for the club."
Relinquishing control of the Checkerboard in 1985 was an authentic blues moment. "My wife used to look at me at home and tell me, 'You don't look right in the face. Why don't you go get you a banking account and your life savings and open another club?' And I just got up and did it," the four-time Grammy Award winner recalls. He started Buddy Guy's Legends, which has added a humidor featuring Legendary, the Buddy Guy signature cigar, made by Markus International.
Of the impact of the blues, he says: "If you listen to it, you'll hear something that's coming your way. Rich people get divorced and rich people fall in love, so we sing about the separation, the get-together and everything else. You can deny that, you can turn your back on that all you want. But, it's there. Oh, yeah." The blues are universal.
The four-time Grammy Award winner, composer, musician and showman Robert Cray is a master of the blues and a dedicated American intellect who has a deep understanding of and commitment to his art. "Blues is the basis of all American music and the backbone of the rock-and-roll thing," he says unequivocally.
Although his parents dug the blues, Robert didn't appreciate the music immediately. "I was about 16 years old and found a Howlin' Wolf record in the house. It was called "Smoke Stack Lightnin'" and it scared the hell out of me. He was doing his Wolf Moan. After that, I got into listening to other records that I found in the house, like Muddy Waters and B.B. King. Then I tried to learn more about the history of the music and started reading books. I became a fanatic after that," he says. The blues knows no generational boundaries.
"The reason why I like to associate myself with the music is because when you're singing a blues song about a sad situation, it brings it to the forefront and, by sharing it with everybody, makes them feel better," the Georgia-born, Mercury recording artist says.
Born in 1935, Koko Taylor is the reigning "Queen Of The Chicago Blues." The Memphis native grew up listening to B.B. King on the radio. "When I was growing up, there was blues and gospel--that's all there was," she says. "My inspiration and encouragement all came from Muddy Waters, Bessie Smith and Memphis Minnie."
When Koko arrived in Chicago in the '60s, she found a job as a domestic worker for "some rich white people" on the city's North Shore. At night, she and her old man would hang out where the music was. "They started calling me up on stage. And, this was for my own enjoyment. I was having a good time," she says.
The late, great composer-arranger-producer-blues bass-playin' archetype Willie Dixon "took me by the hand" and made Koko see blues as a business. Dixon wrote "Wang Dang Doodle" for Taylor in 1964. She kept her day job "until 'Wang Dang Doodle' went gold and I knew it was time for me to put that mop bucket down. And I hit the road and I been on the road ever since."
The outspoken Alligator Records recording artist, who has played for George Bush and Bill and Hillary Clinton, has one Grammy and nine nominations, 14 W. C. Handy Awards (named for the father of the blues) and is a member of the Blues Hall of Fame, has a beef with black radio stations. "The young people never have a chance to hear the blues, and you can't blame them for that. They only know about what they hear, and if you don't advertise nothing but steak and chicken, how do people know about neck bones and pig ears?" Koko declares.
It's a position she shares with Guy, who says, "You can put out a rock record or a rap record and you can hear it on any radio station. But you can't drive down the street and hear Muddy Waters or the Wolf or John Lee Hooker on those stations. But I don't give up easy, and hopefully, something might happen and this music will never die."
It's always gratifying when one of your musical heroes gets a Grammy. You feel as if you got one, too. After 40 years in show business and nine nominations, Taj Mahal finally won the Grammy for best blues album, in 1997, for his compact disc, Senor Blues, on the Private Music label. The man's whole life has been about music.
"I grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts, listening to the blues," Mahal says. "Back then, people traveled with the music inside them. You weren't dependent on the radio to play what you liked. When you went into the record store John Lee Hooker was up front, Muddy Waters was up front, Jimmy Reed and B.B. King were up front. And when my parents had a party, people would bring their records and you had everything from Count Basie to Wynonie Harris" (a blues shouter who is not related to today's pop singer).
"I like lots of things that have traditional backgrounds," Mahal says. "That's one of the reasons I'm enjoying cigars these days. Because, man, I mean I used to pick tobacco in the Connecticut Valley. When I was a little boy, I used to sit on the curbside and watch the big boys and big girls going off to work on tobacco, talking and laughing. I couldn't wait to go pick tobacco because back then, you could make $900, $1,300 ina summer. I would walk in the house with my chest stuck out and throw two, three hundred dollars on the table for Momma. Back in the '50s that was some serious money. I was a man."
Mahal, who smokes Matacan maduros, started on La Unica 100s and enjoys Dominican and Honduran tobaccos. "I dig Hoyo de Monterrey, Montecruz, Joya de Nicaragua. Robustos. And, if I have time, I smoke big gauges: 52 ring, 8 to 8 1/2 inches," he notes.
His own man, the 56-year-old Taj bridles at the notion that a bluesman must be limited to traditional notions and 12-bar formats. "I'm sorry that I don't meet your criteria of a blues man: that [I don't have] an IQ of minus 1,000, that I've seen [more than just] the butt end of a mule and that I don't look down at my feet every time I stand in front of a white man. Some people think that that's the real blues."
The debate over the meaning of the blues can become comical. "I remember a bunch of Englishmen saying that Taj Mahal is not a proper bluesman. I said, 'What do you do?' One said, 'Well, I happen to be an ethnomusicologist.' I said, 'Excuse me, what the hell is that?'"
Taj Mahal was hardly immune to the allure of Chicago blues. "I was influenced by Chicago blues in many ways. I've been influenced by Muddy Waters," he says. "Muddy Waters was one of the first to put together an electric band with two guitars, bass drums and/or harmonica, saxophone and horns. He is primarily the stamp for rhythm and blues and then the standard for white musicians to play the rock and roll thing. A lot of people picked up from there. I play both electric and acoustic harp, both electric and acoustic guitar with different styles: the Howlin' Wolf style, the Muddy Waters style--those musicians are the ones that excited me in the Chicago style."
Joe Louis Walker, a Verve recording artist and guitarist of the highest order, remains positive about the future of the blues. "The blues is expanding big-time. There's a million blues bands and half a million little blues labels," Walker enthuses. "To me a blues song is just like Shakespeare, and more than the songs, it's the people that play it. You see, the blues is synonymous with credibility. That's why so many rock stars want to be associated with the blues; they want the credibility."
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