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Learn more:
Carilion Clinic's Structural Heart and Valve Center provides specialized treatment, including evaluation, diagnosis and medical management, for patients with heart valve disease. We take a multidisciplinary approach to treatment, with every patient benefiting from the collaborative expertise of a team of experts, including general cardiologists, structural interventional cardiologists, and heart surgeons with a special interest in structural and valvular heart disease. The team meets weekly to discuss each case and identify the best treatment strategy for every patient.
Your heart has four valves which regulate the flow of blood in and out. Heart valves can be defective at birth or can become diseased or weakened over time. Damaged valves may not open properly (stenosis) or may not close adequately (valve regurgitation, insufficiency or incompetence). Depending on how your health and activity level is affected, you may need to have a heart valve repair or replacement. Carilion is honored to be among the first hospitals in the nation and the only hospital in western Virginia able to treat certain patients with severe aortic stenosis with a new procedure called transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).
Valve problems may occur:
- As a birth defect
- As a result of calcium deposits
- After an infection affecting the heart
- Because of medications
Symptoms of heart valve disease may include:
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain or pressure
- Swelling in your legs, ankles or abdomen
- Palpitations
- Sudden, fast weight gain
- Weakness or dizziness
Video: Learn more about Sheree Emore's, N.P., role as the care coordinator of the Structural Heart & Valve Center.
For more information about the Carilion Clinic Heart Valve Center or TAVR, please email our Care Coordinator, Sheree Emore, N.P., at firstname.lastname@example.com or call 540-266-6520.
Carilion Clinic's Structural Heart & Valve Center is a proud partner with HeartValveSurgery.com. As the largest online educational resource and community for patients with heart valve disease, we feel it's a great platform for patients to learn about their disease and treatment options.


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HOUSTON - A formerly condemned man is starting over in Houston.
Anthony Graves, 45, was released from prison in October 2010 after spending 18 years on Texas' Death Row for a sextuple murder he did not commit.
The crime was committed by a man whose testimony helped convict Graves. That man was lying and recanted his testimony just before he was executed.
"Hell. That's what the state of Texas put me through, and that's what they're putting other people through," Graves said.
But Graves said he is not bitter.
"My injustice has been a catalyst for my purpose," he said.
Graves, who just purchased a new home in southwest Houston, was paid more than $1 million in a settlement with the State of Texas last year.
Graves is a professional public speaker who now travels the country railing against the death penalty.
"The inhumanity … we are murdering in the name of our citizens of our state. We're murdering our own kids, our own family members," Graves said.
Graves also works with the attorney who helped vindicate him, St. Thomas University professor and attorney Nicole Casarez.
"I believe in him, and I used every talent I had to make it clear he was innocent to the community, the prosecutors and the world," Casarez said
David Dow, a University of Houston professor, attorney and founder of the Texas Innocence Network assigned Graves' case to Casarez.
"Around 5 percent of the people on death row, I have serious doubts about their guilt. If one out of every 20 airplanes crashed, they would shut down the airline industry," Dow said.
Dow screens potential Innocence Network candidates, people who may have been wrongly convicted, with Graves' help.
"He and I are both committed to fixing the system, not just particular cases, but fixing the system," Dow said.
If you have a news tip or question for KPRC Local 2 Investigates, drop them an e-mail or call their tipline at (713) 223-TIPS (8477). Copyright 2012 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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On Tuesday, May 27, President Barack Obama hosted the 2014 White House Science Fair and celebrated the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. The President hosted the first-ever White House Science Fair in late 2010, fulfilling a commitment he made at the launch of his Educate to Innovate campaign to inspire students to excel in math and science. As the President noted then, "If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you're a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too."
NFTE North Texas students Juan Ramos and Amena Jamali attended the White House Science Fair as result of their award winning business idea – Better Than History. Better Than History is a digitally downloadable game that allows players to select alternate endings to historic events thereby answering the age old question "What if I could change the course of history?"
Both Juan and Amena attended NFTE entrepreneurship training at MacArthur High School and were finalists and award winners in NFTE business plan competitions both in Texas and nationally.
Read Juan and Amena's QA with the White House here, and watch video from the White House Science Fair here.
Amena with Bill Nye the Science Guy
Juan at the Presidential podium


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text: |You must be a registered member to apply for the ARC Salon™. Either log in by pressing the gold "Login" button at the top of the page or create an account and then come back to this page to apply for the Salon. For more information on the ARC Salon you can visit http://www.artrenewal.org/articles/Salon/SalonProspectus.php.


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Heres what wikipedia says about training: relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals
yes, so many benefits to training. id recommend a mix of everything: weight training, some form of cardio, yoga (its great and keeps the body feeling good and limber). and no you wont look like you are on roids if you start weight training. the stronger i am the better i am at paddling and ripping the sh!t out of some waves. jk. but really you will have more power in your surfing. plus what are you going to do when theres no waves or its winter and you have a job and can only surf on the weekends when you have the daylight? not just gonna sit around all week doing nothing are you??? thats the worst thing you could do.
its pretty simple, get into some sort of training routine and when theres waves you surf.... when theres no waves you train. plus you will look and feel better than most of your friends who sit around watching redtube all night after work.
I think this should help sum up the workouts needed to shred 23 footers... dirty jersey style.
Attachment 9182
You mean to tell me all of you guys don't own this? WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?
Attachment 9183
run, swim, stretch, skate
Cross train as much as possible. weight training, cardio, yoga, mental training. swimming including underwater to prep for worst case scenario. If your at the ocean and the waves are flat; go paddle for a few miles. You'll be paddling circles around everyone else who just sit there like a bouy
Can't believe no one's thrown this out: JUST SURF, MAN


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Results 1 to 20 of 77
Is There Any Game Publishers / Developers "Too Big To Fail"?
Reading the report concerning resignation of Mr. John Riccitiello as EA's CEO suddenly made me realize one thing: there is currently almost no western publishers / developers being "Too Big To Fail" for gamers, not even publishers as big as EA.
Of course, EA's problem is that it will probably fail to meet its targeted profitability, and for a CEO of a publicly listed corporation, this is a failure publishable by termination. But EA's recent trouble inspire me to think of one thing.
By "Too Big To Fail" here I am referring the publishers / developers of which downfall would be a great loss to gamers. Consider this, which western publishers' / developers' are bring on developments of franchises with great value to us? I regret to say that there is none, at least for myself. Of course, they have been generated tons of great works. However, once a piece of great work is in the market, technically it's no longer owned by the publishers. As an intellectual work, it is owned collectively by the whole gaming work. (We have to thank warez groups for this, no publishers can retain absolute control of intellectual works with nasty DRM.) It's not the individual work, but the franchises that the publishers/developers own. Franchise IPs can be transferred, but work by a different IP owner will be completely different thing.
And there is NO western developers with franchises which I consider to have great value to carry on. EA's case is the worst. Gamers here give EA a nickname: franchise terminator.
In contrast, Japan has many great publishers with great value to us. Sega, Konami, Capcom...... you name it. (And Namco, Bandai better be careful not to screw it up.) There is one thing western publishers need to learn from Japan's game industry: to Japanese, a game franchise should not be just about games. One always seek to expand it to other fields of entertainment. Real-action movies, action figures, plastic models (Mobile Suit!!), animation, and so on. It's true that Japan is relatively backward in game technology, but they are catching up. We all appreciate how gorgeous Square's last Final Fantasy trailer is.
Plus one thing, while old nemesis, South Korea, is still struggling in its dying online game industry (stop resorting to sex contents, you idiot, bring something creative!!), Japan is very aggressive in mobile gaming. There many smart phone games from Japan, and they are very good at marketing of those games. I don't know, how many years of progress would be hindered if for now Japanese developers like Sega suddenly pull out of mobile game developments?
The only western developers "Too Big To Fail" I can think of as now would be Epic Games. I don't know if termination of development of new Unreal Engine would drive up development cost of the whole industry, in effect crowd out how many possible great games.
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Epic are hardly developers, they make something like four games in their engine. I don't even think their fall would significantly hurt the games industry, as it seems like a few of publishers are looking to make their games in in-house engines (like EA). If they fell someone would replace them (maybe a nicer version of Unity), and it might even have Linux support.
Also, with Kickstarter the importance of publishers is slowly decreasing.
I do however get your point though, if Sega had been a western publisher it would have died completely when the Dreamcast failed but they managed to stay alive. I guess the western equivalent is Atari, which rather than having a resurgence had the brand bought be successive owners resulting in brand dilution and a drawn out death, which was sad to see.
I think the other obvious to big to fail entity (which will no doubt have already been mentioned by the time I finish typing this) is Valve, but that's more due to their distribution stranglehold that their status as a developer.
If EA fell who would make all the sports games!?
(2K games would make all the sports games and they'd be bloody better.)"Halo is designed to make the player think "I look like that, I am macho sitting in my undies with my xbox""
Steam ID
Valve, privately owned, own the biggest walled garden on an open platform.
Even if Half life 3 was a turd "Steam" would live on and Valve would keep trying to make "walled garden" exclusive games.I am once again writing a blog, vaguely about playing games the wrong way
XCØM2 LØNG WAR CØØP Campaign Long War novices Welcome, now with 100% more laser guns!
In case of forum degradation pull cord.
Actually, I think if any publisher IS "too big to fail" it would be EA.
Casual Gamers: The Sims, potentially Sim City, lots of mobile games
"Bro" Gamers: Basically every single sports game on the market
Shooter fans: Battlefield series
RPGs: Like it or not, Bioware is still the gold standard of the industry (which makes CD Projekt Red solid platinum or something)
No other publisher appeals to that many demographics. No other publisher has games that are that warmly received by each of those demographics (even if people still hate EA).
The problem is though: Gamers are stupid. Simple as that. The average gamer would rather laugh at a company failing and people losing jobs than think about the rammifications.
If/when EA goes the way of THQ, a LOT of people are going to be out of jobs and there are going to be some pretty big vacuums all across the board
Also: I strongly disagree with you regarding Japan. I'll give you Sega, but Konami is basically "Metal Gear and a few other franchises". And Capcom have been killing their own franchises over the years to the point that they are the Resident Evil and Street Fighter store. As for their obscene merchandising angle: Thanks, but no thanks. I don't really need to watch teenage girls power gundams by kissing their heart pad or whatever the hell that was.Steam: Gundato
PSN: Gundato
If you want me on either service, I suggest PMing me here first to let me know who you are.
Shh, people don't like mentioning The Sims or the EA sports series because both those series sell by the bucket load."Halo is designed to make the player think "I look like that, I am macho sitting in my undies with my xbox""
Steam ID
19-03-2013, 01:05 PM #9Is There Any Game Publishers / Developers "Too Big To Fail"?
(Any of the ones that I might think of as "too good to fail" also happen to be relatively small).
This plague... The importance of Kickstarter is intensifying to a point where we may not be able to contain it.The Secret of Gargoyle Manor, a browser point-and-click adventure about retrieving your lost hat whatever the cost, is something you could play!
19-03-2013, 01:29 PM #10Steam: Gundato
PSN: Gundato
If you want me on either service, I suggest PMing me here first to let me know who you are.
19-03-2013, 01:31 PM #11Because it isn't particularly indicative of the actual impact of KS and will only lead to heartbreak when the people who blindly support projects without researching it realize why four kids in a basement can't make Battlefield 5?The Secret of Gargoyle Manor, a browser point-and-click adventure about retrieving your lost hat whatever the cost, is something you could play!
19-03-2013, 01:35 PM #13The Secret of Gargoyle Manor, a browser point-and-click adventure about retrieving your lost hat whatever the cost, is something you could play!
19-03-2013, 01:35 PM #14"Halo is designed to make the player think "I look like that, I am macho sitting in my undies with my xbox""
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Last edited by Kadayi; 19-03-2013 at 01:50 PM.
19-03-2013, 01:56 PM #17I am once again writing a blog, vaguely about playing games the wrong way
XCØM2 LØNG WAR CØØP Campaign Long War novices Welcome, now with 100% more laser guns!
In case of forum degradation pull cord.
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I have to reiterate what has been said before, too big to fail was coined as a phrase to describe economic effects of shutting down a business that would plunge the world into depression. You can debate the merits of that phrase, but political conspiracy theories are probably less relevant than the grey and fuzzy world of economics.
In any case, it really doesn't apply to gaming. If publishers failed entirely, there would still be ways for people to spend their extra cash and be entertained. Really not at all the same thing as crashing national major economies and creating unemployment that affects hundreds of millions of people.
If on the other hand we interpret the phrase used here as a crash of the games industry where the fall of a major publisher meant the death of AAA level games. . . Well that is something worth wasting time discussing on a forum.
Maybe try answering this question:
If EA were to stop producing games, would the next generation of consoles still be profitable enough to be worth building? If the next gen of consoles isn't worth building and selling, are AAA games worth making at their current development costs?
That is a tougher question and requires quite a lot of speculation. I think most of us would agree though that Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo would pick up considerable publishing slack if EA fell. Sony and Microsoft are probably the only real too big to fails in gaming in the sense that BOTH of them collapsing would kill the AAA market, but that is likely due to their hardware influence as well.
Last edited by Misnomer; 19-03-2013 at 02:18 PM.
This is a highly subjective topic, at least in the way I read the OP. So you like Japanese publishers. Whoop-de-frickin'-doo. Saying that no Western publishers are too big to fail because you don't really enjoy their games is a tad myopic, no? And what's so special about Sega, Konami and Capcom? Neither of those have any special significance to me. Sure, the Total War series is awesome, but it's not like that would disappear if Sega vanished. Paradox, on the other hand, is a developer/publisher that makes games I love, most of which would probably go down with the ship.
And for crying out loud, merchandising? No thanks, please don't. Different cultures are different.


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FamousWhy.com is your daily source for keeping your computer up-to-date with the most recent drivers and software. We strongly recommend you to stay updated to avoid a lot of problems like system crashes and others.
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Theatre minor requirements
Theatre and Dance Studies minor worksheet
The theatre and dance studies minor consists of at least five interrelated courses, at least one of which normally shall be at the 300 level. The minor includes THEA 103, /THEA 471 and three other courses approved by the department chair in one or more of the following areas of specialization: acting/directing, theatre design, theatre history, dance, dramatic literature, playwriting and film theory. In special circumstances and with approval from all department faculty, minors may substitute independent projects for /THEA 471.
Dance minor requirements
The minor consists of a minimum of five courses.
Required courses
THEA 110 Jazz Dance and THEA 140 Ballet
One of the following courses:
MUSC 262 Vernacular Dance in America
MUSC 292 Broadway Bound: American Musical Theatre
One of the following courses:
MUSC 211 World Music: Eurasia
MUSC 212 World Music: Africa and the Americas
MUSC 221 Music and Dance of South Asia
THEA 276 World Theatre: Global Perspectives
At least one 300-level course.
Two semesters of THEA 320, which is a half-credit course for each semester, or an independent study THEA 399 with approval of the coordinator, .


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Venezuelan people excited for Classic
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Over the winter, Luis Sojo's team won the Venezuelan Winter League championship.
But fans didn't want to talk about the victory. They asked him who would be playing for Team Venezuela during March's World Baseball Classic.
"It's crazy," Sojo said. "People are just talking about [the Classic] day in and day out. It's amazing how people love this game."
Right-hander Francisco Rodriguez said it's added pressure at "another level" playing for a country, because it's considered a responsibility.
With recent news of president Hugo Chavez's death, Rodriguez hopes the team can provide positive energy to his country over the upcoming weeks.
"Right now, I would say probably 30 million people will be watching this tournament, so we'll do our best to not let them down," Rodriguez said. "I believe the best thing we can give them is just be able to put on a good show for them."
Christina De Nicola is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Somers Point Foot and Ankle Testimonials
Happy feet makes for Happy Patients! Read testimonials of satisfied Somers Point Foot and Ankle customers:
"From the first moment when I contacted your office by phone, and then when my wife and I entered your waiting room, we appreciated this pleasant and friendly atmosphere, for which, no doubt, YOU are responsible. I realized often enough that when the chief is grumpy, the personnel are too. We are happy this is different in your office. We certainly look forward to coming back." ~ H and RS
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I just ate at Billy Bob's Beach Barbecue in Gulf Breeze, Florida. It is located on Hwy 98, right at the exit for Pensacola Beach. Actually, I am still sitting in the booth enjoying a nice cold Bud and I am posting this from my blackberry.
I had the pulled pork. It was served Carolina style, Eastern that is, in a light, clear vinegar sauce. They had a mild and hot ketchup-based sauces they served on the side. They also had straight apple cider vinegar on the side.
The pork was very good. Not all that smokey, but very flavorful. Sauces on the side were good, but not spectacular.
Menu was very inclusive. Covered all basics, including pork, chicken, beef, brisket, sausage and turkey. Also included grilled salmon, and fried shrimp. They also had ribs which, if you believe the picture, are seared meat-side down. However, I did not personally see them.
All traditional sides were included. They had vinegar and creamy cole slaw. I prefer vinegar, so I ordered that as my side. Frankly, it could have used more dressing. It was accompanied by a yeasty dinner roll.
They also had a good selection of "dawgs." They served them with chili and slaw. A picture of the chili dog is a typical part of the decor.
In all it was good. Judging by the number of vans parked in back they do a good catering service.
On edit: Sorry for typo/grammar problems. It is hard on a blackberry. I will clean up when I return home.


text: 2653. ADAM RICHMOND 7 (Preserved 6, Adam 5, Stephen 4, John 3, Edward 2, John 1) was born on the "Royal Grant," R.I., June 18, 1793, and died at Greenbush, Clinton County, Mich., January 23, 1874. He married Mrs. Sally (Farley) Stiles, who was born October 4, 1790, and died August 14, 1864, at Greenbush. He enlisted in the War of 1812, with his brother Ezra, and they were the first of the ill-fated volunteers who crossed into Canada. They were under Gen. Dans [Daniel Davis] of Leroy, N.Y. "He was a straight-forward, energetic, industrious farmer, of good moral character, and strictly temperate in all things." They lived at Greenbush, Mich.


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Home sales rose 24 percent in the eight-parish Baton Rouge area, with Realtors selling 650 homes in October compared to 525 that month last year.
Dollar volume rose 20 percent to $121.1 million, according to the figures compiled by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors.
For the year, home sales are up 15 percent to 6,486 homes sold. Volume is up 12 percent to $1.24 billion.
Sandy Daly, of C.J. Brown, said she just returned from the National Association of Realtors convention, where the organization's chief economist talked about improvements in residential real estate nationwide. While Baton Rouge never had as deep a slump as the national average and has been up all year, Daly said an improving national picture can only help the local market.
"If for nothing else, the housing news will change and it will be very positive," she said, noting mortgage rates continue to be historically low.
The only potential blip on the radar, she noted, is the standoff over the federal budget.
"I think the outlook for residential real estate is quite rosy," she said.
Daly noted falling inventory, which is down to 6.5 months of homes at the current sales rate compared to 9.3 months worth a year ago, is sign of a strengthening market and indicates real estate is still an attractive investment.
In the three major parishes within the local market:
East Baton Rouge Parish saw October home sales rise 26 percent to 363, with a dollar volume of $72.3 million. For the year, home sales are up 15 percent to 3,538 homes sold.
In Ascension Parish, home sales were down in October, falling slightly to 112 homes sold from 118 a year ago. Volume was $21.3 million. For the year, home sales in Ascension are up 13 percent to 1,246 home sold.
In Livingston Parish, October home sales were up 47 percent to 110 homes sold, with a dollar volume of $16.2 million. For the year, home sales in Livingston are up 13 percent at 1,093 homes sold.


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Norwegian public sector organisations will be banned from using Google Apps after the Norwegian data protection authorities ruled that the service could put citizens' personal data at risk.
The data protection authority said Google Apps did not comply with Norwegian privacy laws because there was insufficient information about where data was being kept. The decision came from a test case in Narvik, where the local council had chosen to use Google Apps for their email. Read more


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We are a group of faculty and students who joined together in the Fall of 2008 to help Iowa Central Community College and the Fort Dodge area become more environmentally friendly. We welcome any students who are interested in the following: making our campus more "green," participating in outdoor activities, providing environmental education, finding ways to use sustainable energy, and other environmental activities.
Ideas generated to make our campus "green":
Ideas of ways to raise money for I.C. Green:
Ideas for upcoming outdoor events:
Through promoting education and awareness, advocating sustainable development, and introducing students to outdoor activities, the I.C. Green Club seeks to establish Iowa Central Community College as an environmentally positive example for the benefit of the college itself, the greater Fort Dodge community, and the world at large.
Interested in joining us? Looking for more information? Have questions or comments?
Beth Collins
Office SCI-110H


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IN-FORM Scott Mitchell secured more silverware over the weekend after lifting the men's pairs title with Richie George at the prestigious Dutch Open.
The duo emerged victorious from a field of more than 1,000 teams to trump outsiders Jamie Hughes from the West Midlands and his Dutch partner Willem Mandigers 5-2 in Friday's final.
'The Dog' checked out with a 56 to scoop the prize alongside George – son of one of the game's biggest characters Bobby George – and was quick to praise his regular right-hand man for his part in his latest success.
"You can't have one of you hitting your doubles and the other not because it can affect your partner if they feel like they're being held back," said Mitchell.
"Luckily, we were both on it and only lost six legs all day. A couple of times we checked out 701 with just 15 darts which was pretty clever form from both of us.
"In a funny way there is more pressure on Richie to live up to his (family) name at these events but, fortunately, he is the sort of lad to just play through all that."
"They (Hughes and Mandigers) had knocked out Scott Waites and Martin Atkins along the way and it was a surprise to face them in the final.
"You're expecting a tough route but when there are surprises like that you have to step in and take full advantage which we did."
Mitchell continued his quest in the singles and came through a series of matches on Saturday to make the last-64.
Johan van Onna was beaten on Sunday but there was a surprise in store for the Dorset darts talisman as unknown local Davy van der Zande ousted Mitchell in the last-32.
However, Mitchell declared himself pleased with his performance in Assen which saw him pick up valuable ranking points for next year's Lakeside World Championship.
"It was a game I probably should have won but the local guy played really well," he added. "At that stage of a competition you're not going to be up against anyone that can't play a bit.
"I missed four or five doubles and even lost a leg where I had got down to 11 after nine darts. The difference was those doubles because every time I missed one he took full advantage.
"The Dutch Open is the biggest event on the circuit in terms of the number of people taking part. There were about 2,600 people at the start so the matches come thick and fast and for it to take three days for someone to beat me is quite pleasing."


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Editor's note: Part II of a bovine pain series.
The need to study pain is multifactorial. Societal concerns for the humane care of food-production animals and the need to maintain consumer confidence that meat is being produced in a manner not injurious to the animals are of high importance. "Regulatory agencies' concerns are that methods and procedures done on-the-farm and often without the input of a veterinarian are done with regard to the welfare of the animals," says David Anderson, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, Kansas State University.
"Livestock producers' needs are to maintain a safe, wholesome product in a viable and sustainable marketplace without adversely affecting the business plan for the operation."
Animal welfare activist groups are putting pressure on the livestock industry to change practices. "The livestock industry needs to actively monitor these groups' activities, passionately participate in debate regarding regulation to ensure that only those that are truly beneficial are enacted, and promote the accurate image of farmers and ranchers as dedicated tenants of the land and guardians of the well-being of the animals under their stewardship," says Anderson.
Animal rights groups have recently claimed a significant victory in the New Jersey supreme court, adds Hans Coetzee, BVSc, Cert CHP, PhD, Dipl. ACVCP, Kansas State University. "This decision has widespread implications for our profession, most notably, that castration in New Jersey cannot be considered humane without specific requirements to prevent pain and suffering," Coetzee says. The Court reportedly made clear that the decision to permit these practices as long as they are done by a "knowledgeable person" and in a way to "minimize pain" could not "pass muster."
While legislation in New Jersey does not affect most of the major livestock-producing states, it does indicate that "routine husbandry practices" are on the list of targets for animal rights groups. "It also suggests that our position as custodians of animal health and well-being is being eroded by those with an animal rights agenda," Coetzee notes. "The veterinary profession has a considerable amount of credibility among consumers. We should therefore be at the forefront of this discussion by proactively and scientifically addressing potential welfare concerns rather than become a victim of agenda-driven or well-meaning but ill-conceived legislation."
Assessment of production parameters is critical if animal well-being research is to have relevance to livestock producers, Coetzee says. "These assessments may take the form of a cost-benefit analysis or a measure of animal performance. It is also recognized that processing calves on arrival with protocols that involve dehorning and castration negatively influences the health and performance of stocker cattle. Most of these effects have only been studied over a relatively short duration."
Castration — pain and performance
The National Animal Health Monitoring System Beef 2007–2008 study indicates that almost 41% of cow-calf operations do not castrate calves prior to selling them. For operations that castrated bull calves, the percentage of operations using surgical castration was 49%, clamp/Burdizzo 3.5%, rubber band or tubing at less than 3 months of age 39.5%, and rubber band or tubing at more than 3 months of age 7.8%.
All methods of castration of cattle are considered to reduce performance on beef cattle. "Some authors believe that this can be attributed to removing the source of testosterone while others consider that this is associated with pain and inflammation associated with castration," Coetzee explains "This effect may also be mitigated by the use of implants. It is generally accepted that castration in younger calves has less of a negative performance effect than older calves." This could be attributed to the fact that the testicles in older calves are better developed, heavier and more vascularized which may be associated with more pain and inflammation following castration.
Previous research by Thomson et al determined that surgical castration in heavyweight cattle had less of an effect on long-term performance in calves than banding. Furthermore, they did not see any performance benefit associated with lidocaine administration in the spermatic cord and scrotum prior to surgical castration.
Production parameters are often too imprecise to reflect the pain experienced by animals following castration. "Using weight gain as an indicator of distress following castration may be confounded by a decrease in testosterone following removal of the testes," Coetzee explains.
Many people intuitively believe that surgical castration causes sharp pain of short duration (minutes to hours) as compared to banding or Burdizzo which are thought to be associated with acute, followed by dull pain of long duration (hours to days), explains Anderson. "Much of this concern is based in anthropomorphizing rather than science. Research has been contradictory with some showing non-surgical castration and some showing surgical castration as having less profound impact on the calves. Our research is aimed at developing objective assessment algorithms that will remove the inherent biases that may explain some of the contradictory findings in the past."
What's normal?
Before Kansas State University researchers could assess the effects of castration, they had to first find out what was "normal" activity for the study calves. "Establishing 'normal' is a critical centerpiece for our research," says Anderson. Much of the literature is difficult to compare directly because of varying environmental, management and breed variation. In the past, research interventions have caused variability that is difficult to filter out in the final analysis. "One of our goals is to implement new technology that allows us to remove these extraneous variables or to validate bio-markers that are robust and not susceptible to variations associated with these variables."
Brad White, DVM, MS, Kansas State University, says they have found by using accelerometers to determine behavior, that a "normal" pattern may vary quite a bit between calves. "Our previous research has shown that some apparently healthy calves may spend 30% of their time lying while others spend up to 75% of their time lying," White says. "This individual variation led us to conduct this research in a manner that allowed us to determine potential changes in behavior patterns by documenting behavior for that calf prior to the procedure, then evaluating potential changes after castration. Using these methods allowed us to find differences related to castration rather than focus on individual variability between calves."
It is difficult to find a good definition of what "normal" behavior is because cattle show considerable inter-individual variation, Coetzee notes. He says during the "control" period the animal's behavior is determined prior to castration. "During this time animals are subjected to all the procedures we will be performing during the study but no pain is inflicted," he explains. "This may still not be 'normal' because animals are being housed separately, however, it does provide us with a frame of reference to compare each animal with itself."
This type of research is a lot more powerful because each animal is its own control. "This will allow us to make specific inferences regarding animal behavioral changes relative to castration and dehorning," Coetzee says. "The down side to this is that these studies are a lot more expensive and we are indebted to the USDA for funding this research."
Activity post-castration
One of the clinical tools that has been used to assess post-surgical pain in cattle has been looking for decreased activity and increased lying time. "We are finding out that this is not true in many cases and probably has lead to some erroneous assumptions in the past," Anderson says.
The K-State researchers were therefore surprised to find that the opposite appears to be the case for castrated calves. "One reason may be that castration produces an open incision that may be sensitive to the abrasive effects of bedding when the calves lie down," surmises Coetzee. "It may also be that calves are trying to 'walk off' the dull inflammatory pain associated with castration."
White says they expected some depression and lethargy following the procedure and were surprised at the standing and walking activity. "In this study we only followed the calves for 24 hours post castration; therefore, the behavior may have changed long-term. Also of interest was the fact that the disparity between pre- and post- castration time spent standing was most notable during the middle of the night when cattle typically spend much of their time lying."
Pain can have other effects as well. Coetzee says it is well established that castration produces a cortisol response that peaks within 30 to 90 minutes of castration. Cortisol has immune suppressive effects although the relationship between this peak and long-term immune suppression is not well described. "Irish researchers have demonstrated that Bur-dizzo castration increased plasma cortisol and acute-phase proteins, and suppressed immune function and growth rates," explains Coetzee. "This group also found that surgical castration decreased IFN-gamma production, ADG and increased haptoglobin and fibrinogen independent of plasma cortisol concentrations."
Analgesia at castration
It has been suggested that a surgical stimulus such as castration in calves is so brief that little difference can be observed or measured between animals having or not having local anesthetic applied. However, some studies have shown that alleviating pain associated with surgical castration increases weight gain in cattle for 35 days following castration.
"We have demonstrated a similar effect," Coetzee says. "This suggests that alleviating acute pain at the time of castration may have economic bene-fit." Ketoprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesic not approved for use in cattle in the U.S., has been shown to reduce acute plasma cortisol response in cattle following administration at the time of castration. "We have demonstrated a similar effect with IV sodium salicylate," he adds. "Giving both a local anesthetic and intravenous ketoprofen before surgical castration was found to virtually abolish the post-surgery cortisol response. Ketoprofen given alone was also found to reduce the plasma cortisol response to Burdizzo castration more effectively than a local anesthetic or an epidural."
Too often people focus on the immediate pain of the procedure without regard to the pain that may occur after that analgesic has worn off. "Existing literature would suggest that elimination of the acute, sharp pain associated with the procedure is the least offensive to the animal," adds Anderson. "In our research, we hope to be able to determine what the variable benefits, or lack there of, of sustained analgesia are."
What's our perfect drug?
If Coetzee could choose, the perfect analgesic drug for cattle would have a convenient route of administration, a very rapid onset of activity, an extended duration of effect, a short withhold period, a wide margin of safety with a low toxicity or abuse potential, and would also be cost-effective to use.
"Unfortunately, many of these requirements are mutually exclusive," Coetzee says. "For example if we do not give a drug intravenously, there will most likely be a delay in onset of activity due to absorption from the site of administration. Also, if a drug has a long duration of activity, it usually has a longer withdrawal time and persistent plasma concentrations may be associated with increased toxicity. We need to identify which are the critical components of an analgesic drug regimen that will provide maximum benefit for the animal and will also be convenient and cost-effective for the producer to use."
This may, in fact, be a combination of drugs and not a single agent. "This is the concept of multimodal analgesia where we 'attack' pain perception at several points along the pathway from tissue damage through transduction, transmission and perception," Coetzee explains. "Our research goal is to identify these therapies and design effective analgesic remedies that are cost-effective and convenient for producers to use routinely."
"One of the most exciting things about research is the ability to look at parameters once held as dogma and finding out that we may have been misinterpreting the signals," Anderson adds.
Where are the drugs?
The American Veterinary Medical Association "supports the use of procedures that reduce or eliminate the pain of dehorning and castrating of cattle" and proposes that "available methods of minimizing pain and stress include application of local anesthesia and the administration of analgesics." But a recent survey of 184 bovine veterinarians conducted by Kansas State University found that only 1 in 5 U.S veterinarians use anesthesia or analgesics at the time of castration.
"Administration of local anesthesia prior to castration and dehorning is legislated in several European countries, but there are currently no analgesic drugs specifically approved for pain relief in livestock by the U.S Food and Drug Administration," says Hans Coetzee, BVSc, Cert CHP, PhD, Dipl. ACVCP. FDA Guidance Document 123 for the development of effectiveness data for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) states that "validated methods of pain assessment must be used in order for a drug to be indicated for pain relief in the target species." "It is this requirement that our group hopes to address with our research," Coetzee adds.
Currently, flunixin meglumine is the only NSAID formally approved for use in cattle in the United States, and is indicated for the control of pyrexia associated with bovine respiratory disease, endotoxemia and acute bovine mastitis. It is not formally approved for pain relief, although this class is recognized as having analgesic properties.
Salicylic acid derivatives including sodium salicylate and acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) are still widely used as analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory agents. Veterinary forms of aspirin are marketed with label indications for pain relief, fever and inflammation, but the drug has never been formally approved by the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine for these purposes. A dose of 50–100 mg aspirin/kg bodyweight is commonly used for analgesia in cattle although the efficacy of this dose has not been conclusively demonstrated in peer-reviewed studies. Coetzee's studies have found that maintaining plasma salicylate concentration above 30 micrograms/mL significantly attenuates plasma cortisol response following castration. "However, we have shown that oral aspirin formalizations typically have a very low bioavailability in ruminants and it is difficult to attain this concentration at the currently recommended doses."
Salicylate also has a very short half-life in cattle, typically 30 to 45 minutes. This means that the drug has to be dosed more frequently to provide effective analgesia. "We currently do not recommend that veterinarians use oral aspirin to provide analgesia to cattle because of these factors," Coetzee states.
In a recent study, 22 beef cattle were assigned to groups of uncastrated, untreated controls; castrated, placebo treated controls; castrated, IV xylazine (0.05 mg/ kg) and ketamine (0.1 mg/kg); and castrated, IV xylaxine (0.05 mg/ kg). Calves were castrated with a Henderson castration tool and blood samples were collected. Plasma ketamine, norketamine and xylaxine concentrations were associated with mitigation of plasma cortisol response. However, when the drug concentration decreased below the limit of detection, cortisol concentrations rebounded in the drug treated groups. "This suggests that although this drug combination was a very effective sedative-analgesic, it did not provide long-term analgesia," Coetzee says.
Castration and performance studies
Work done by Kansas State University researchers found that castrating cattle decreases performance of feeder calves in the immediate post-castration period (35 days) in a study where implants were not administered. Calves surgically castrated had improved average daily gain (ADG) and gain efficiency (GE) relative to calves castrated by banding. Local anesthesia with lidocaine had no effect on performance, post-castration behavior or vocalization during castration.
Cattle with larger scrotums had higher vocalization scores during castration than cattle with smaller scrotal circumference. Castrating cattle at younger ages could result in less stress associated with event. "This research indicates that cattle needing castration on arrival at a stocker or feeding operation should be discounted for lost production associated with healing of castration sites," notes Hans Coetzee, BVSc, Cert CHP, PhD, Dipl. ACVCP. "In these data, calves that were surgically castrated demonstrated improved performance relative to calves castrated with a banding method. These data do not support a production benefit associated with the use of local anesthesia with lidocaine prior to castration of bull calves."
Coetzee notes in other studies Burdizzo or surgical castration had no effect on ADG over a three-month period following castration. The ADG of 7-week-old calves during the five weeks following castration using rubber rings, clamp or surgery have been reported to be lower than non-castrated calves but similar between the different castration methods. Rubber ring and surgical castration were reported to cause a decrease in ADG of 50% and 70% respectively in cattle aged 8 to 9 months. "When 8, 9 and 14-month old cattle were castrated surgically or using latex bands, cattle castrated later had poorer growth rates than those castrated at weaning," he explains. "Cattle castrated with latex bands also had lower growth rates than those castrated surgically during the following four to eight weeks."
In an Oklahoma State University study, 162 bull calves were used to determine the effects of latex banding of the scrotum or surgical castration on growth rate. Bulls that were banded at weaning gained less weight than bulls that were banded or surgically castrated at 2 to 3 months of age. In a second study, 368 bull calves were used in two separate experiments to examine the effect of method of castration on receiving health and performance.
"In the first experiment, latex banding intact males shortly after arrival was found to decrease daily gain by 19% compared with purchasing steers, and by 14.9% compared with surgically castrating intact males shortly after arrival," Coetzee says. "In the second experiment, purchased, castrated males gained 0.58 lbs more and consumed 1.26 lbs more feed per day than intact males surgically castrated shortly after arrival.


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With the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test right around the corner, one third grade teacher wanted her students to realize they were ready for the FCAT! So she decorated one of her bulletin boards with the face of a "cat" with these words above it: "We're not afraid of a little ole kitty!"
Then the students drew their own faces which came with their own "talking bubble" wherein they could write phrases that expressed their level of confidence: "Bring it on!" and "It's just like a little quiz."
The Williston Lions, Harmony Holistic Healing Center and the Levy County Flea Market would like to thank the community and press for their support of our first market. The turnout, especially from the local community, was overwhelming! Thank you all.
PALATKA - There may be a lesson here - don't make Williston's baseball team wait around for a game that was supposed to start more than an hour earlier. It only serves to get the Red Devils fired up.
Williston paid a visit to St. Johns River Community College Saturday afternoon to play Putnam County school Crescent City, but the earlier junior college game, while a thriller that was ended in the bottom of the ninth with an SJRCC grand slam, made the two high school teams sit around.
The Levy County Raiders traveled to Belleview to face off against Scala Horsemen, ranked 20th in the nation. The last time the teams met, it was a slugfest that ended in the Raiders winning 18-0. This game turned out a lot closer than expected, with the Raiders winning 21-14.
Belleview held the number one-ranked Raiders (ranking from www.minorleaguefootballnews.com) to one first-half touchdown, scored by the defense. Pat Weeks scooped up an Ocala fumble and took it the distance, and the two-point conversion was good.
On Saturday, May 2, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the GFWC Woman's Clubs of Williston will present the second annual Williston Regional Art Promotion (WRAP). Formerly known as the Williston Arts and Crafts Festival, the 29-year-old show has undergone major changes.
The goal of the clubs is to bring art to our community; ready to be displayed in homes and businesses and at affordable prices.
Debra Jones was elected to another term on the Williston City Council on Tuesday.
Danny Stevens, county commissioner and a member of the canvassing board, announced the results to the council and interested onlookers at just after eight o'clock.
Jones garnered 123 votes to Jerry Robinson's 89 votes. Although Robinson was not in the room for the reading of the final tally, Jones thanked him for running a clean campaign. She said that when she'd talked to him during the day, they'd had a very cordial discussion and she appreciated that.
TALLAHASSEE - Governor Charlie Crist Friday announced the appointment of Marsha Drew to serve on the Levy County Board of Commissioners. Drew will fill the vacancy created by the suspension of William Samuel Yearty and will serve during his suspension.
The seat vacated by Tony Parker, who was suspended at the same time as Yearty, remains vacant.
In addition, Crist appointed Cameron Asbell to the Levy County School Board. Asbell replaces Billy Morrison, who resigned after he was arrested in Gainesville.
Williston's election for City Council will be held on Tuesday, March 3. Voting will be held at the Community Center in the City Hall complex from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The votes will be counted and certified after the polls close.
Three council seats were to be contested this year, but in two cases the incumbents, Steve Holcomb and Marc Nussel, were not challenged and thereby are automatically re-elected.
Thus, the only seat being contended is that currently held by Debra French Jones; her opponent is Jerry Robinson.
State Representative Leonard Bembry (D-Greenville) is pleased to announce the opening of a satellite office in House District 10.
The district office is located at 23 Southeast 2nd Avenue in Chiefland at the old Train Depot. The office is staffed by Teresa Watson as a full time District Secretary who will assist constituents in Dixie, Levy, Alachua, and Columbia counties.
Saturday, February 28
* Angel House Thrift store is open on Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Located at Holy Family Parish, 17353 NE 27A, Williston.
Monday, March 2
* Lions Club 7:30 p.m., Lions Club 401 S.E. Sixth Ave.
* Levy Veterans Support Group, 7 p.m., Williston City Hall.
* AA Meeting, 7:30 p.m., Thompson Hall at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church.
* CRA, 5:15 p.m. City Hall.
* Williston Senior Singles, Billy Jacks Restaurant at 6:30 p.m. Alan Levine 226-2466 or Virginia Corbin 528-5407.
Tuesday, March 3
Copyright © 2017
The Williston Pioneer is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Levy County and Williston, Fl, and the surrounding area.


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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/7/2013 (1493 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Buck Pierce might not play next Friday at home against the Calgary Stampeders, but he remains the starting quarterback of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Bombers head coach Tim Burke said Saturday that an abdominal injury Pierce sustained when he took a helmet to the stomach in a 35-19 loss Friday night to the Toronto Argonauts continued to bother the veteran QB on Saturday.
"He's got abdominal pain so right now we'd have to say he's questionable for this (coming) week," Burke told reporters during an availability at Investors Group Field Saturday afternoon.
"We'll at least go into the week not knowing who the starting quarterback will be. And then we'll just have to see -- can we make a decision by (Tuesday)? I'd rather not have to go all the way to (Wednesday) before making that decision."
If Pierce cannot go, the Bombers will start backup Justin Goltz, who showed some promise in taking over for Pierce in Friday night's second-half. Goltz was 13-15 for 170 yards.
But while Pierce is questionable for this coming week, Burke poured cold water on any budding quarterback controversy by saying several times that the fourth-year Bombers QB remains the club's starting pivot even as many fans frustrated by the club's 1-3 season record clamour to have Goltz take over the reins.
"You know what? Everybody clamours for the backup quarterback," said Burke.
Asked if he still felt Pierce gives his team the best chance to win, Burke replied: "At this point, yes."
Burke said he felt Pierce started Friday night's game well, but came apart after a second-quarter interception that Burke says came on a ball Pierce never should have thrown.
"He's just got to try not to win the game all himself. And I think when he threw that intercept, that was trying to do too much, instead of just throwing the ball underneath or throw it out of bounds or just run it," said Burke.
"He was in a good rhythmn. And I just think if he can keep doing that, then he's the guy to be playing."
Burke said Pierce will see doctors on Monday.
Burke also updated the club's extensive injury situation. Nickelback Johnnie Sears, who hurt his foot Friday night in his first game back since a knee injury last season, will not play against Calgary.
Defensive tackle Bryant Turner, who's missed two games already with strained chest ligaments, is questionable again for next week. "I thought he was going to be ready," said Burke, "but now it's questionable."
Receiver Chris Matthews is also listed as questionable for the coming week.
Defensive tackle JT Gilmore is also likely to miss at least another week, as will slotback Cory Watson, who could be out as much as a month after pulling a hamstring last Wedensday. Nickelback Desia Dunn and longsnapper Chris Cvetokovic will also not play versus Calgary, said Burke.
On the upside, all-star receiver Terrence Edwards is likely to be back for the Calgary game, while receiver Kito Poblah is finally expected to begin practising again this coming week.


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CRADLEY favourite Tom Perry is hoping to be back on a bike at the end of this week for a fitness test.
If he comes through it he will be facing the daunting prospect of two meetings in one night at Monmore Green next Tuesday.
Heathens face Mildenhall in the return leg of their Knockout Cup tie with a 10-point lead to defend – and this is followed immediately by Scunthorpe in a National League clash.
Perry suffered a broken collarbone when making a guest Premier League appearance for Ipswich three weeks ago and admits he is desperate to get back racing again.
He said: ": "I'm planning to have a practice at the end of the week before making a decision, both for Cradley and for my Elite League club Leicester.
"I've got good movement in the shoulder, I'm feeling pretty good about it all and I'm hoping I can be back next week.
"I know I've got to be careful, though, because I can't risk further damage. That said, I'm just desperate to get back out there and ride my bike.
"I took delivery of some new stuff last week and did a lot of work on it, so I'm really prepared for the comeback. I just want to get back riding for both Cradley and Leicester.
"It's ironic Leicester are at Wolverhampton on Monday and then the following night we have a double header for Cradley against both Scunthorpe and Mildenhall."
The action will start at the earlier time of 7.15pm next Tuesday with the Mildenhall meeting first and Scunthorpe following immediately afterwards.
Boss Will Pottinger said: "It will be a feast of racing and we are looking forward to it. We have some catching up to do with our fixtures.
"It would be good to have Tom Perry back but he knows he needs to be sure he is 100 per cent ready for his return. I wouldn't want him to risk any further damage.
"Next Tuesday will be four weeks since his crash."
Cradley have set admission prices at £14 adults, £10 concessions and the normal £2 children for next Tuesday.
The Heathens were due to face Kent at Monmore Green last night.


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Gators travel to Tallahassee to complete series with FSU
Published: Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, April 8, 2013 at 11:39 p.m.
Who: Florida (15-18) vs. Florida State (27-5)
When: 6 p.m., Tuesday
Where: Dick Howser Stadium, Tallahassee
Radio: 103.7 FM
Of note: It's the final of the three-game set. FSU won the two previous meetings, 4-1 in Gainesville on March 12 and 2-1 at the Baseball Grounds in Jacksonville on March 26. ...Richie Martin returned to the starting lineup going 2-for-5 on Sunday as UF's center fielder. ... UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan is 8-13 against FSU over his career.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


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Rockies unable to shake off road woes in Detroit
Morales opens start strong, but Tigers pull ahead for good in fifth
DETROIT -- On Colorado Day, the state's 138th anniversary, there was no place else the Rockies would rather have been.
Their road woes continued as the offense again came up short in a 4-2 loss to the Tigers on Friday night in the series opener at Comerica Park.
For four innings, Franklin Morales matched Justin Verlander pitch for pitch, but the game got away from him in the fifth. Detroit notched three runs that inning and Colorado had little response.
The Rockies are averaging just 2.6 runs per game through the first five games of their current road trip.
The best example of how things have been going for the offense lately came when the team was on defense.
In the fifth inning, with runners on second and third, the Colorado defense was playing in, hoping to keep the Tigers off the board. Manager Walt Weiss knew that his team was not in a position to concede a run and hope to make it up later.
"We can't play it safe," he said. "We're going to roll the dice."
Detroit's Rajai Davis found a hole up the middle for a single that scored two of the Tigers' three runs that frame. Still, Weiss said, "I'd do it again, every time."
In the fourth, it appeared Morales was in for a rough inning when he allowed a single to Miguel Cabrera and a walk to Victor Martinez to open the inning. But he got Torii Hunter to strike out on a curveball in the dirt, then induced a double-play ball off the bat of J.D. Martinez to end the threat.
The game stayed scoreless until the Tigers' next at-bat, which is when things fell apart for Morales. Four straight hits plated three runs, which was enough against the struggling Rockies.
"In the fifth inning, I tried to make good pitches to get ground balls, and I didn't have any luck," Morales said.
The damage might have been worse, but Carlos Gonzalez managed an incredible sliding catch on a foul ball down the right-field line to put an end to the inning. However, Gonzalez injured his right ankle on the play and is listed as day to day.
Brandon Barnes replaced Gonzalez, who not even a week ago injured his right ankle, in right field.
For the third straight inning, Morales pitched himself into trouble in the sixth by walking two straight batters to start the frame. He escaped courtesy of another inning-ending double play, putting an end to his night after six innings of three-run ball.
"I thought [Morales] did a nice job," Weiss said. "I thought he handled a really good lineup pretty well."
The offense awoke from its slumber in the seventh, but it wasn't enough. Wilin Rosario scored Justin Morneau with a single, and Barnes crossed the plate when Tigers third baseman Nick Castellanos threw home with one out instead of getting the sure out at first. His throw wasn't in time, and the lead was cut to one run.
Verlander responded with strikeouts of DJ LeMahieu and Charlie Blackmon, the latter on a 95-mph fastball.
Designated hitter Corey Dickerson said Verlander did a good job of keeping enough gas in the tank to dial it up like that in the later innings. The 2011 American League Cy Young Award winner, who hasn't displayed that dominant form this season, kept his fastball in the low 90s in the first few innings. The Rockies couldn't catch up when he added a little more zip later, like on the strikeout of Blackmon.
"I felt like we had a pretty good approach against him," Weiss said of Verlander. "You can see him elevate his game when he gets in a tough spot. He's always been able to do that."
The Rockies put two men on in the ninth off Detroit closer Joe Nathan, but Blackmon flew out to center field to end the game.
Colorado has now lost 16 of its last 18 away from Coors Field.
Matt Slovin is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Baseball Digest Magazine by Century Sports
Sports Illustrated, ESPN magazine and the sport section of your daily paper provide sneak peaks at the latest developments in baseball, but generally only at the onset of spring training or during the regular season. For year-round, in-depth and historical insight, Baseball Digest delivers the juicy goods: stats, rules, predictions, player profiles and trivia. And those who are faithful readers may already know that rookie pitcher Jeremy Hellickson now waits in the wings for the Tampa Bay Rays.


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NO: Gluten, wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish, shellfish. Also made without casein, potato, sesame and sulfites. Vegan Certified Gluten Free symbol on each box.
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Made in a dedicated nut and gluten-free bakery. Allergy friendly, free of the 8 common allergens.
Shelf Life: 12 months
Ingredients: tapioca syrup, evaporated cane juice, vegetable glycerin, chocolate chips (cane sugar, chocolate liquor [non-alcoholic], non-dairy cocoa butter), white rice flour, natural process cocoa powder, date paste, expeller pressed vegetable oil (safflower oil and/or sunflower oil), brown pure cane sugar, sunflower seed butter (roasted sunflower kernel, evaporated cane juice, salt), light buckwheat flour, golden flaxseed, rice starch, millet flour, natural chocolate flavor, baking soda, vanilla, xathan gum, gum arabic, salt, vitamins and minerals (vitamin B3, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin B1, folic acid, calcium)
Product of United States
Nutrition FactsServing Size Volume 1 EaServing Size Weight 28 GServings Per Package 5Calories 120Calories From Fat 35Total Fat 4 G - 6%Saturated Fat 1 G - 5%Trans Fat 0 GCholesterol 0 MgSodium 60 Mg - 3%Total Carbohydrates 19 G - 6%Dietary Fiber 2 G - 8%Sugars 8 GProtein 2 GVitamin A - 0%Vitamin C - 0%Calcium - 2%Iron - 6%Thiamin - 30%Niacin - 30%Folate - 30%Riboflavin - 30%Vitamin B6 - 25%Magnesium - 6%


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1) It's funny how we critique these games sometimes, that we pick at how well or poorly played they might be, and always with the caveat that "it's the Islanders." I think John Tortorella said it right last night, that when the Rangers and Islanders play, it's always a "screwed-up" game. So take your four points and move on. The Rangers probably played better against Pittsburgh on Monday than they did on Long Island on Thursday. Which result would you rather have had? And how bad a loss would that have been Thursday at Nassau if they played that way and didn't win?
2) Some guys who played much better Friday: Anisimov, Frolov (whom Butch Goring was calling "Frolik" on the Islanders broadcast) — maybe there is something to that fourth-line sparkplug — definitely Staal and Girardi, Dubinsky, Stepan.
3) Some guys who were darn solid right through the home-and-home: Del Zotto and Rozsival, Gaborik and Avery, Callahan, Prust, Boyle.
4) If you're an Avery fan, you have to like that the newer, kinder, gentler John Tortorella got his back up when it was suggested by a reporter that Avery had fallen off the discipline wagon. This is what Avery is, and if you're going to punish him for what he did last night, then you're going to lose him. You will get the 2009-10 Avery, and you don't want that. I do think that Avery didn't need to take that misconduct. That's where he needs to zip it, especially when he's playing first-line minutes. Those minors he took, and all the aggravating he did, you accept that whole package.
5) Boy, do we spend a lot of time talking about this one guy, No. 16.
6) The Rangers have established this down-low style, and it works for them. But two things. First, they need to learn, and are learning, that the puck eventually has to come back to the front of the net to create offense. Second, it looks sometimes that the power play is trying to play the same game, when the puck should be moved much more so out in front of the goal line. You don't want to kill the two minutes cycling.
7) And maybe this should have been No. 1, Marc Staal has really shown late last season, during the preseason, and so far through this season, that he's got very good hand skills in close, that he's got a good shot from the point, that he can go back-hand. Look at the four goals he scored and, if I recall correctly, the beauty he got in the preseason. There is no reason this guy shouldn't be able to be an offensive force, too, and no reason why he shouldn't be able to play on the power play and be the No. 1 D-man everybody expects him to be. And I think he will be all of that. Maybe that's starting to come.
8) Besides, the Rangers sure are desperate for PP point men after Del Zotto (who is struggling there a bit). I think the move to Stepan there has been fine. I think Staal should get more and more looks there. The one thing I don't like is Gaborik on the point. He's too important by the hashmarks, too dangerous there, to waste up high. But he's good on the point, too.
AP Photo, above.


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Wake Up the World
We can change the world by changing our breakfast. It's as easy as a cup of coffee and a banana. In honor of World Fair Trade Day, join supporters around the world in a Fair Trade Breakfast to help raise awareness about the importance of social, economic and environmental sustainability in global supply chains. Every purchase matters, and every action that you take in support of Fair Trade make a big difference in the lives of farmers and farm workers throughout the world.
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I sit in the middle of the two arguments. Even if he ends up living up to the hype youre looking at the next juan pierre. Great ball player but not earth shattering.
I sit in the middle of the two arguments. Even if he ends up living up to the hype youre looking at the next juan pierre. Great ball player but not earth shattering.
Last edited by Salukifan2; 01-23-2013 at 01:38 AM.
I see Hamilton more as a Luis Castillo-type. A switch-hitter with speed and plate discipline. He doesn't have quite the contact skills that Castillo had, but he more than offsets that with better gap power. He might not hit many balls over the fence, but he has shown the ability to put himself in scoring position about 40 times a year without the benefit of a SB.
Ive never seen a scouting report on hamilton that says he has a legit ss arm. Most say his arm isnt even close. And idk how you think he gets in scoring position like that, he had 38 xbh this season. That is nothing to write home about, even stubbs can do that
Last edited by Salukifan2; 01-23-2013 at 11:49 AM.
I've always read his arm is good enough, but his footwork isn't.
As far as getting himself into scoring position from the dish, I don't think the difference between 38 XBH and 40 XBH is all that outrageous. I rounded up. Big deal.
As far as comparing him to Stubbs, I hope you realize you actually paid Billy a compliment. Stubbs was always perceived as a guy with solid power when he was a prospect and slugged in the mid-400s in the majors before his contact skills eroded to the point where he was useless. If Hamilton, a guy who is purported to have '20' power on the scouting scale, can hit with as much pop as Drew Stubbs, I will be ecstatic.
Those are 3 scouting reports that say his arm is mediocre at best.
And i was comparing him to stubbs in the way that stubbs was your last leadoff man and he didn't get very many xbh.
and since people like fangraphs on here alot here is another one that say his arm leaves something to be desired
Last edited by Salukifan2; 01-23-2013 at 12:34 PM.
Thank you Walt and Bob for bringing winning baseball back to Cincy -- it was nice while it lasted..
Nov. 13, 2007: One of the greatest days in Reds history: John Allen gets the boot!
Id like to believe Hamilton will be a stud. His defense shouldnt be a problem even if he is changing positions. He is athletic and as we all know fast. If he can manage to have great plate discipline enabling him to work the count and get on base, then everything else will fall into place. Meaning lots and lots of runs and hopefully championships
Hamilton will be, as M2 so astutely pointed out in another thread, doubted until he performs well at the major league level. Moreso than most, he's the type of player that many sabermetricians tend to struggle with-- he's fast but has little over the fence power and his SBs are hard to gauge. There's a bias there, for many.
"You can learn little from victory. You can learn everything from defeat."
-- Christy Matthewson
"Show me a good loser and I'll show you an idiot."
-- Leo Durocher
Back to the beginning of this. I believe that hamilton will be like pierre in that he will be a singles hitting outfielder that teams like to run on. Thats all. Also those scouting sites gave him a bad grade on arm strength. Most said it wasnt good enough to play short.
Everyone in the afl had just played a long season. And he was AWFUL. Yes its only 20 games but that doesnt change the fact that he played poorly against better compettition. Look at hos slash line. Its alot worse than trouts
Last edited by Salukifan2; 01-23-2013 at 03:22 PM.
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please.


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London Fashion Week Interview: Jonathan Saunders
Zac Bayly attempts to troll Serious Fashion Journalists backstage at LFW.
Jonathan Saunders' London Fashion Week show was awesome (my favourite of the week, so far) and so is he. Don't believe me? Look at these pictures. Need convincing? Read the following interview, in which I battle it out backstage with two (serious fashion) journalists for exclusive quotes. They tried to get the best quotes about the collection in the shortest amount of time; I attempted to leave them with the most unusable ones. Fash-On, mo-fuckers! This is my town!
Serious Fashion Journalist #1: What was the concept for the collection?
Jonathan Saunders: I was going for a more sexy attitude. For me personally, I wanted to make more tactile designs — there were laminated fabrics and textured foils. I was trying to enhance the texture of the clothes. [Jonathan Saunders says something in his Scottish accent that I can't hear well enough to transcribe accurately] That's kind of where it came from. And I've always wanted to show here, at the Tate Modern; that's been a dream of mine for a while. So, every time I imagined this show, I was thinking of all those references that I'd always loved.
Serious Fashion Journalist #2: The collection felt very 60s/70s to me. What were the references?
Disco! The seventies! Exactly... I was looking at that period.
Zac Bayly: If this collection had a star sign, what would it be?
Scorpio, obviously.
Because I am, firstly, and, also, the collection was about sex.
Can I ask one more question?
If this collection were a woman in a film—
Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface.
—to be played by a man, which actor would you pick?
Erm... Geez... [He laughs] I have no idea.
Photos by Alessandro Garofalo (GoRunway.com) via Style.com
Zac Bayly


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Hi there,
I need to encrypt something but I do not want any special character in the encryption output. Only letters and numbers. Is there any cipher that can achieve this?
Is there a reason why you're looking to change the encryption method rather than your approach? It's so pointless to put encryption and charset in the same sentence, think about your reasoning about this request.Hint: if it's a database insert problem, take a look at PDO.
hex value perhaps?
urlencode the output of cipherand when receivedurldecode url parameter and then decrypt
Well I have some URL parameters that I do not want to be too obvious to the users, and to make the URL a bit more clean than having a lot of special characters up there.
Yes, yes, I do know that it would work without any problems. But I do like to get something a bit cleaner than for example%08%85%2F%89R%91%7F%0A
in the URL.
That's pretty clever.
Though is there any way that I can encrypt via cipher, take take the hex value of that. And then decrypt that again?
Using bin2hex and hexdec doesn't work.
You need bin2hex, there is no built in hex2bin though - so you use:$binary_representation = pack('H*', $hexvalue);
awesome! thanks a lot mate!
1.) It's a bad idea to use GET method to propagate (larger set of) data.2.) GET method has a limit on amount of data you can send, use POST.3.) Hexing something inflates the data by the factor of 2, you'll hit the limit of the GET method extremely fast and you'll wonder how your thing won't decrypt.4.) Using hexed data to obfuscate something is generally bad idea because it's extremely easy to notice it.
Hi, Blue!I agree with first three statements. The last one I think does not apply here, since he passes output of cipher - hexing serves here merely as an encoding not obfuscation.
Thanks for the responses.
As I'm only encrypting numbers, and a number like 12345678910111212345678910111212389172398716273091238091 returns: 58e03717907c3cdc13df1d619e0422949c5b70ea189ecf78
and that's a number I really don't expect to get up to, and I think that I should be able to use the GET method in this case.
I'm assuming you're passing some sort of an ID trough the URL and you don't want users to guess numbers by changing the query string.Well, don't you think that encrypting / decrypting or/and hexing the number is a little too extreme? As I said, change of approach to your problem might be a better solution.
base64_encode() may be faster if all u need is just to get rid of 'special character in the encryption output'


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Oh Mighty Wing
what stat's are these anyway???
Buy my wife's sea catchers
TT Man
Yeah, I just noticed. That's not an option in my reports.
Thunder smash!
Sure it is. Just go to reports and enter a specific date range. I used the dates for the last year. You can run a report on anything you like.
And I start Monkey Training on Monday so mileage will be rising after that!
Training? For the Monkey?
Aw. That's cute. You're adorable.
I'm touching your pants.
Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." - Joe Henderson


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Forrester Study on Future of Collaboration
A new study on the Future of Collaboration was released today. I recorded a short Lori's Corner episode which outlines some of the major points identified in the report. In addition to my comments, Sheri McLeish, of Forrester Consulting, speaks about the findings and her recommendations. I was encouraged to hear and read that knowledge workers want higher quality and more persuasive communications.
The introduction of PDF Portfolios and inclusion of Adobe Flash in Acrobat 9 will allow for the creating of branded and visually compelling materials.
If you're interested in learning how to create a PDF Portfolio these short tutorials are great. If you're interested in experiencing PDF Portfolios, the PDF Portfolio Gallery on AcrobatUsers.com has quite a collection.
Also – be sure to visit Ali's blog posting on this study where he talks about the collaboration aspect, and Joel's blog posting on this study where he outlines what it means to IT professionals.
Next Steps


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Customer feedback spurred Macro Plastics and Calpine Containers officials to develop two new produce totes.
Initially designed with grape growers in mind, the Macro Tote 5-FV and 6-FV containers can be used for any fresh produce commodity, the manufacturers said in a news release. One was designed to increase shipping efficiency and the other was created to protect produce, ease handling and increase storage capacity.
The Macro Tote 5-FV is made with an injection-mold process and is collapsible. It has ergonomic handles for easy field handling and weighs just over 1 1/3 pounds when empty. The 5-FV has a peak depth of 6.3 inches and can hold 36 pounds of produce, the news release said.
A flip-style latch and hinged edges make the 5-FV collapsible, allowing it to fold down to a flat 1.34 inches tall. Customers report the 5-FV is saving them money because of improved packout and minimized freight costs, especially for one-way shipments, said Peter Piccioli, vice president of agriculture sales for Macro Plastics, Fairfield, Calif.
The Macro Tote 6-FV is designed to protect fresh produce, the release said, with rounded corners and smooth surfaces. Grips on the bottom of the tote allow workers to easily handle the 6-FV during harvest. The totes have more than 400 air vents, which speeds pre-cooling and extends shelf life, the release said.
Although lightweight, the 6-FV totes have a load capacity of 28 pounds and can be stacked three pallets high. They have a maximum stack weight of about 1,200 pounds, which allows users to maximize use of storage space, said Calpine containers marketing director Eva Hammond in the news release.


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DOE Releases Manhattan District History and Oppenheimer Personnel Hearing Transcript via OSTI-Hosted OpenNet
The Department of Energy (DOE) recently completed two significant declassification efforts and has made the newly released documents publicly available on the OpenNet database, which DOE launched 20 years ago to improve public access to declassified documents. The website is supported by the DOE Office of Classification and hosted by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) on a cost-reimbursable basis.
Over a 12-month period concluding in July 2014, DOE released to the public the Manhattan District History, a multi-volume classified history of the Manhattan Project.
Deep within the caverns of Lead, South Dakota is one of the nation's preeminent underground laboratories. The site of the former Homestake Mine was once one of the largest and deepest gold mines in North America. This famous mine was discovered during the 1876 Black Hills gold rush and maintained a rich and colorful mining history for the next 125 years. When the mine became unprofitable it closed in 2003, having produced more than 40 million ounces of gold over its lifetime.
Thanks to microfluidics, you may soon be able to easily and continually monitor your health with the help of Northwestern University's new wearable, stretchable monitors. Yonggang Huang, a Northwestern University professor, and John A. Rogers, a University of Illinois professor, have designed thin, soft, stick-on patches that stretch and move with the skin and incorporate commercial, off-the-shelf chip-based electronics for sophisticated wireless health monitoring. These microfluidic devices can be laminated onto the skin to track everyday health and wirelessly send updates to your cellphone, computer, or doctor's office.
Click here (www.osti.gov/pages/) to view the future of public access to scientific publications.
As of August 4, 2014, and for the first time ever, the Department of Energy (DOE) will provide a portal (see above) allowing anyone to read, download, and analyze in digital form final peer-reviewed manuscripts or final published articles of work sponsored by the Department. You can read the entire DOE public access plan here.


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Life, Death, and SilenceWhy the media elites won't tell the full story on Terri's prognosis and Michael Schiavo.
The Daily Standard
October 31, 2003
FOR MONTHS, as the Terri Schiavo case roiled much of the country, the establishment media all but ignored the story. But then, in the midst of her dying by dehydration, the Florida Legislature passed "Terri's Law," authorizing Governor Jeb Bush to place a moratorium on the dehydration deaths of certain cognitively disabled patients, including Terri. When that happened, the media blackout transformed into media frenzy.
It soon became quite clear, however, that increased media attention was not synonymous with increased dissemination of relevant facts. For despite carpet coverage of the controversy in establishment outlets, the full story still isn't being told for the simple reason that most media refuse to report it.
What are these ignored facts?
(1) Michael Schiavo has lived with his fiancé for nearly eight years and has sired two children by her. In the years since Terri's devastating disability, Schiavo has gone on with his life, fallen in love with another woman, and started a family. Few would hold this against him--if he would turn Terri's care over to her parents. Instead, Schiavo insists that he should retain all the rights of a husband--including inheritance and retention of marital property--as he simultaneously enjoys connubial bliss and sweet domesticity with his fiancé.
By siring two children with another woman, Michael effectively estranged himself from his marriage. Surely, thinking people would want to know this fact. Yet Schiavo's new family is consistently unmentioned. Instead, he is almost always depicted simply as a "husband" struggling in-laws and right-to-lifers to fulfill his wife's stated desire to die.
The entire episode is beginning to take on the feel of a conspiracy of silence. Consider the following very partial list:
Newsweek's extensive report on the story ("Who Has the Right to Die" by Arian Campo-Flores, November 3, 2003) laudably mentioned both sides of many of the controversies in the case--indeed more than most other stories--but significantly omitted Schiavo's new family.
Similarly, in the New York Times's many recent articles, opinion columns, and in its editorial against Terri's Law, Schiavo's extracurricular activities were completely ignored. It's October 23 editorial merely stated:
Michael Schiavo, her husband and legal guardian, went to court seeking to cut off the feeding tube that was keeping her alive. He testified that Ms. Schiavo, who did not have a living will, would not have wanted the feeding to continue.
Sounds reasonable. But imagine how different readers' impression of the case would be if the editorial had included the total context, by stating, "Michael Schiavo, who remains legally married to Ms. Schiavo but has sired two children with his fiancé, went to court seeking to cut off the feeding tube."
The Christian Science Monitor editorialized on October 29 that challenges to spousal decisions in these matters by other family members "could lead to chaos." Would the editors have been able to express that opinion with a straight face if they had included the facts about Schiavo's new life?
Could it be that the reporters and editors who are writing and editing these pieces don't know Schiavo has established a new family? That's hard to believe. Indeed, in at least in one case I know the reporter knew the story because I told it to him and he still failed to report it (or perhaps, the editor removed it from his final copy).
Manuel Roig-Franzia interviewed me for a story on Jeb Bush's ordering Terri's food and water restored. We spoke at some length during which I made a point of emphasizing Schiavo's current domestic circumstances. Yet, when his front page story appeared (including a brief quote from me), there was no mention of these facts, despite their clear relevance to the following assertion:
Terri Schiavo left no written instructions, but her husband testified that she told him she would not want to live in a vegetative state. The courts have been clear, legal experts said, that spouses have the authority to make decisions in such cases.
But the real issue is whether estranged spouses have the authority. In this case, shouldn't that be the pertinent point?
(2) Many medical experts believe Terri can be improved. Most media reports depict the medical prognosis for Terri as being settled fact. Thus, stories have described her as "comatose," which she is not, and vegetative, which remains a matter of dispute despite courts ruling otherwise.
But it is a matter of court record that many doctors and medical therapists who specialize in rehabilitating people with profound cognitive disabilities have testified that Terri's condition can possibly be improved. This includes board certified neurologists and reputable speech therapists, such as Sarah Green Mele from the world-renowned Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Indeed, Mele stated in an affidavit that Terri would, "within a reasonable degree of clinical probability, be able to improve her ability to interact with her environment, communicate with others, and control her environment if she were given appropriate therapy and training . . ."
But since the judge sided with Schiavo's experts, the media has acted as if that settles the matter. But this isn't akin to a situation of "he said / she said." We don't have to believe one side over the other. There is a simple way to find out for sure whether Terri can be improved: allow her to receive therapy for six months and then take another look. Too bad the media generally refuses to report that Judge George Greer of the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court in Clearwater, Florida, won't permit that.
(3) Many opponents of dehydrating Terri are not "pro-life religious fundamentalists." The establishment media's consensus view is that the Schiavo controversy is being driven by religious, pro-life fundamentalists who have insinuated themselves into a family tragedy in order to further their own narrow sectarian purposes. Thus, when Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry briefly surfaced as a defender of Terri's life, the New York Times happily splashed the story all over its front page warning darkly that religious conservatives intend to parlay the public interest generated by Terri's case as a wedge to "chip away at court rulings allowing abortion and banning organized prayer in schools and the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools, among other issues." (The article was titled "Victory in Florida Feeding Case Emboldens the Religious Right.")
It is true, of course, that many Christians--most of them conservative--have joined the fray, and good for them. But so too has Joe Lieberman, a top tier candidate for the Democrat presidential nomination. Lieberman, who is not Christian, not conservative, and not pro-life, courageously supported Jeb Bush's efforts to save Terri's life, telling the Associated Press, "where there is not a living will . . . we ought not to create a system where people are being deprived of nutrition and hydration in a way that ends their lives."
The politically liberal disability rights movement has also committed itself to saving Terri's life. Indeed, activists almost unanimously declare that dehydrating Terri would be an act of bigotry against her because of her cognitive disability. There was even an effort in Canada to obtain asylum for on this score. This is why more than a dozen national disability rights groups signed the National Disability Groups Joint Statement in Support of Terri Schiavo, which reads in part:
In this matter of living as a disabled person, those of us who live with a disability are the experts--not husbands, not parents, not doctors, not ethicists. We know that life with a disability is worth living, and we know something we find appalling is the attitude of "better off dead"--an opinion that drives much of the thinking surrounding people like Terri-Schindler-Schiavo.
SO WHY IS THE ESTABLISHMENT MEDIA covering the Schiavo story as if it wants Michael to succeed in his campaign to end Terri's life?
The establishment media usually reflects the attitudes of society's elites, who do generally believe that people like Terri are better off dead. On the other hand, talk-radio and the Internet--what I call dissident media--generated the unprecedented outpouring of support for Terri's life that culminated in Terri's Law. Members of the establishment disdain dissident media and perceive it to be a threat.
Thus, the Schiavo case has, for the mainstream media, become a potent symbol both of the culture wars--pro-life versus pro-choice--and an acute challenge by dissident media to its hegemony over news dissemination.
Too bad for Bob and Mary Schindler, Terri's folks: They aren't trying to lead a crusade. They don't want to undercut the cultural and media status quo. They just want to save their dear daughter's life.
Wesley J. Smith is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute and an attorney and consultant for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. He is the author of "Forced Exit: The Slippery Slope from Assisted Suicide to Legalized Murder."