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ASCO Annual Meeting
May 15, 2013
Results from an early, ongoing study suggest that pairing the drug ipilimumab (Yervoy) with a new drug called nivolumab works better to shrink advanced melanoma. Currently, ipilimumab is a standard treatment option for advanced melanoma in many countries. Nivolumab, when used by itself, has been shown to effectively treat melanoma, as well as other cancers, in previous studies. Both nivolumab and ipilimumab are types of immunotherapy, a treatment designed to boost the body's natural defenses to fight the cancer. It uses materials either made by the body or in a laboratory to improve, target, or restore immune system function. Specifically, nivolumab targets PD-1 and ipilimumab targets CTLA-4, which are both found on the surface of tumor cells and keep the immune system from destroying the cancer. These drugs stop PD-1 and CTLA-4 from working so the immune system can get rid of the cancer.
This study included patients with stage III and stage IV (cancer that has spread) melanoma that could not be removed with surgery. Before participating in this study, all of the patients had already received up to three different treatments that had stopped working. The results discussed here are from 37 patients who all received the same dose of ipilimumab, but three different doses of nivolumab, although there were more patients participating in the study.
Researchers found that 21% of the patients (3 out of 14 patients) who received the lowest dose of nivolumab and 50% of patients (3 out of 6 patients) who received the highest dose of nivolumab had their tumor shrink. In addition, these drugs started to shrink the tumors quickly, with three out of four patients having their tumors shrink within three months of starting treatment. Overall, one-third of the patients had their tumor shrink by more than 80%.
What this means for patients
"Melanoma researchers have been hopeful that combining treatments would increase the effectiveness of immunotherapies, and now we have confirmation that such an approach could work," said Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Ipilimumab is currently used to treat melanoma. However, nivolumab is still being studied and this drug combination is only available through clinical trials. If you are interested in participating in a clinical trial, talk with your doctor for more information.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
- What stage of melanoma do I have? What does this mean?
- What are my treatment options?
- What clinical trials are open to me?
For More Information


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Home > Patients & Visitors > Health Library > Childhood Ependymoma Treatment (PDQ®): Treatment - Patient Information [NCI]
This information is produced and provided by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The information in this topic may have changed since it was written. For the most current information, contact the National Cancer Institute via the Internet web site at http://cancer.gov or call 1-800-4-CANCER.
Childhood ependymoma is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the brain and spinal cord.
The brain controls vital functions such as memory and learning, emotion, and the senses (hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch). The spinal cord is made up of bundles of nerve fibers that connect the brain with nerves in most parts of the body.
Ependymomas form from ependymal cells that line the ventricles and passageways in the brain and the spinal cord. Ependymal cells make cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
This summary is about the treatment of primary brain tumors (tumors that begin in the brain). Treatment of metastatic brain tumors, which are tumors that begin in other parts of the body and spread to the brain, is not discussed in this summary.
There are many different types of brain tumors. Brain tumors can occur in both children and adults. However, treatment for children is different than treatment for adults. See the following PDQ summaries for more information:
There are different types of ependymomas.
The World Health Organization (WHO) groups ependymal tumors into four main subtypes:
The grade of a tumor describes how abnormal the cancer cells look under a microscope and how quickly the tumor is likely to grow and spread. Low-grade (Grade I) cancer cells look more like normal cells than high-grade cancer cells (Grade II and III). They also tend to grow and spread more slowly than Grade II and III cancer cells.
The part of the brain that is affected depends on where the ependymoma forms.
Ependymomas can form anywhere in the fluid -filled ventricles and passageways in the brain and spinal cord. Most ependymomas form in the fourth ventricle and affect the cerebellum and the brain stem. Anatomy of the inside of the brain showing the lateral ventricle, third ventricle, fourth ventricle, and the passageways between the ventricles (with cerebrospinal fluid shown in blue). Other parts of the brain shown include the cerebrum, cerebellum, spinal cord, and brain stem (pons and medulla).
Once an ependymoma forms, areas of the brain that may be affected include:
The cause of most childhood brain tumors is unknown.
The signs and symptoms of childhood ependymoma are not the same in every child.
Signs and symptoms depend on the following:
Signs and symptoms may be caused by childhood ependymoma or by other conditions. Check with your child's doctor if your child has any of the following:
Tests that examine the brain and spinal cord are used to detect (find) childhood ependymoma.
The following tests and procedures may be used:
Childhood ependymoma is diagnosed and removed in surgery.
If the diagnostic tests show there may be a brain tumor, a biopsy is done by removing part of the skull and using a needle to remove a sample of the brain tissue. A pathologist views the tissue under a microscope to look for cancer cells. If cancer cells are found, the doctor will remove as much tumor as safely possible during the same surgery.
Craniotomy: An opening is made in the skull and a piece of the skull is removed to show part of the brain.
The following test may be done on the tissue that was removed:
An MRI is often done after the tumor is removed to find out whether any tumor remains.
Certain factors affect prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options.
The prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options depend on:
Prognosis also depends on the type and dose of radiation therapy that is given.
The area where the tumor is found and the child's age are used in place of a staging system to plan cancer treatment.
Staging is the process used to find out how much cancer there is and if cancer has spread. There is no standard staging system for childhood ependymoma. Treatment is based on where the cancer is in the body and the age of the child.
The information from tests and procedures done to detect (find) childhood ependymoma is used to plan cancer treatment.
Some of the tests used to detect childhood ependymoma are repeated after the tumor is removed by surgery. (See the General Information section.) This is to find out how much tumor remains after surgery.
Recurrent childhood ependymoma is a tumor that has recurred (come back) after it has been treated. Childhood ependymoma commonly recurs, usually at the original cancer site. The tumor may come back as long as 15 years or more after initial treatment.
There are different types of treatment for children with ependymoma.
Different types of treatment are available for children with ependymoma. Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer. When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment.
Because cancer in children is rare, taking part in a clinical trial should be considered. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
Children with ependymoma should have their treatment planned by a team of health care providers who are experts in treating childhood brain tumors.
Treatment will be overseen by a pediatric oncologist, a doctor who specializes in treating children with cancer. The pediatric oncologist works with other pediatric health care providers who are experts in treating children with brain tumors and who specialize in certain areas of medicine. These may include the following specialists:
Childhood brain and spinal cord tumors may cause signs or symptoms that begin before the cancer is diagnosed and continue for months or years.
Childhood brain and spinal cord tumors may cause signs or symptoms that continue for months or years. Signs or symptoms caused by the tumor may begin before diagnosis. Signs or symptoms caused by treatment may begin during or right after treatment.
Some cancer treatments cause side effects months or years after treatment has ended.
These are called late effects. Late effects of cancer treatment may include the following:
Some late effects may be treated or controlled. It is important to talk with your child's doctors about the effects cancer treatment can have on your child. (See the PDQ summary on Late Effects of Treatment for Childhood Cancer for more information).
Four types of standard treatment are used:
If the results of diagnostic tests show there may be a brain tumor, a biopsy is done by removing part of the skull and using a needle to remove a sample of the brain tissue. A pathologist views the tissue under a microscope to check for cancer cells. If cancer cells are found, the doctor will remove as much tumor as safely possible during the same surgery. Craniotomy: An opening is made in the skull and a piece of the skull is removed to show part of the brain.
An MRI is often done after the tumor is removed to find out whether any tumor remains. If tumor remains, a second surgery to remove as much of the remaining tumor as possible may be done.
Even if the doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the surgery, some patients may be given chemotherapy or radiation therapy after surgery to kill any cancer cells that are left. Treatment to lower the risk that the cancer will come back after surgery is called adjuvant therapy.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. There are two types of radiation therapy. External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the cancer. Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer. The way the radiation therapy is given depends on the type of cancer being treated. Childhood ependymoma may be treated with fractionated radiation therapy, which divides the total dose of radiation into several smaller, equal doses delivered over a number of days.
External radiation therapy can be given in different ways:
Children younger than 3 years who receive radiation therapy to the brain have a higher risk of problems with growth and development than older children. 3D conformal radiation therapy and proton-beam therapy are being studied in children younger than 3 years to see if the effects of radiation on growth and development are lessened.
Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy). When chemotherapy is placed directly into the cerebrospinal fluid, an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (regional chemotherapy). The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the type of cancer being treated.
Observation is closely monitoring a patient's condition without giving any treatment until signs or symptoms appear or change. Observation may be used to treat a child with a subependymoma who has no symptoms and whose tumor is found while treating another condition.
New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials.
Information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial.
For some patients, taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice. Clinical trials are part of the cancer research process. Clinical trials are done to find out if new cancer treatments are safe and effective or better than the standard treatment.
Many of today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. Patients who take part in a clinical trial may receive the standard treatment or be among the first to receive a new treatment.
Patients who take part in clinical trials also help improve the way cancer will be treated in the future. Even when clinical trials do not lead to effective new treatments, they often answer important questions and help move research forward.
Patients can enter clinical trials before, during, or after starting their cancer treatment.
Some clinical trials only include patients who have not yet received treatment. Other trials test treatments for patients whose cancer has not gotten better. There are also clinical trials that test new ways to stop cancer from recurring (coming back) or reduce the side effects of cancer treatment.
Clinical trials are taking place in many parts of the country. See the Treatment Options section that follows for links to current treatment clinical trials. These have been retrieved from NCI's listing of clinical trials.
Follow-up tests may be needed.
Some of the tests that were done to diagnose the cancer or to find out the stage of the cancer may be repeated. Some tests will be repeated in order to see how well the treatment is working. Decisions about whether to continue, change, or stop treatment may be based on the results of these tests.
Some of the tests will continue to be done from time to time after treatment has ended. The results of these tests can show if your child's condition has changed or if the cancer has recurred (come back). These tests are sometimes called follow-up tests or check-ups.
Follow-up tests for childhood ependymoma include an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of the brain and spinal cord every 3 months for the first 1 or 2 years after treatment. After 2 years, MRIs may be done every 6 months for the next 3 years.
Newly Diagnosed Childhood Ependymoma
A child with a newly diagnosed ependymoma has not had treatment for the tumor. The child may have had treatment to relieve signs or symptoms caused by the tumor.
Treatment of newly diagnosed subependymoma (WHO Grade I) is:
Myxopapillary ependymoma
Treatment of newly diagnosed myxopapillary ependymoma (WHO Grade I) is:
Childhood ependymoma or anaplastic ependymoma
Treatment of newly diagnosed childhood ependymoma (WHO Grade II) or anaplastic ependymoma (WHO Grade III) is:
After surgery, the plan for further treatment depends on the following:
When the tumor is completely removed and cancer cells have not spread, treatment may include the following:
When part of the tumor remains after surgery, but cancer cells have not spread, treatment may include the following:
When cancer cells have spread within the brain and spinal cord, treatment may include the following:
Treatment for children younger than 3 years of age may include the following:
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with newly diagnosed childhood ependymoma. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. Talk with your child's doctor about clinical trials that may be right for your child. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Recurrent Childhood Ependymoma
Treatment of recurrent childhood ependymoma may include the following:
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with recurrent childhood ependymoma. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. Talk with your child's doctor about clinical trials that may be right for your child. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
For more information about childhood brain tumors, see the following
For more childhood cancer information and other general cancer resources, see the following:
The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above.
Editorial changes were made to this summary.
About PDQ
Physician Data Query (PDQ) is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) comprehensive cancer information database. The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most summaries come in two versions. The health professional versions have detailed information written in technical language. The patient versions are written in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Both versions have cancer information that is accurate and up to date and most versions are also available in Spanish.
PDQ is a service of the NCI. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH is the federal government's center of biomedical research. The PDQ summaries are based on an independent review of the medical literature. They are not policy statements of the NCI or the NIH.
Purpose of This Summary
This PDQ cancer information summary has current information about the treatment of childhood ependymoma. It is meant to inform and help patients, families, and caregivers. It does not give formal guidelines or recommendations for making decisions about health care.
Reviewers and Updates
Editorial Boards write the PDQ cancer information summaries and keep them up to date. These Boards are made up of experts in cancer treatment and other specialties related to cancer. The summaries are reviewed regularly and changes are made when there is new information. The date on each summary ("Date Last Modified") is the date of the most recent change.
The information in this patient summary was taken from the health professional version, which is reviewed regularly and updated as needed, by the PDQ Pediatric Treatment Editorial Board.
Clinical Trial Information
A clinical trial is a study to answer a scientific question, such as whether one treatment is better than another. Trials are based on past studies and what has been learned in the laboratory. Each trial answers certain scientific questions in order to find new and better ways to help cancer patients. During treatment clinical trials, information is collected about the effects of a new treatment and how well it works. If a clinical trial shows that a new treatment is better than one currently being used, the new treatment may become "standard." Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
Clinical trials are listed in PDQ and can be found online at NCI's Web site. Many cancer doctors who take part in clinical trials are also listed in PDQ. For more information, call the Cancer Information Service 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
Permission to Use This Summary
PDQ is a registered trademark. The content of PDQ documents can be used freely as text. It cannot be identified as an NCI PDQ cancer information summary unless the whole summary is shown and it is updated regularly. However, a user would be allowed to write a sentence such as "NCI's PDQ cancer information summary about breast cancer prevention states the risks in the following way: [include excerpt from the summary]."
The best way to cite this PDQ summary is:
National Cancer Institute: PDQ® Childhood Ependymoma Treatment. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Date last modified <MM/DD/YYYY>. Available at: http://www.cancer.gov/types/brain/patient/child-ependymoma-treatment-pdq. Accessed <MM/DD/YYYY>.
Images in this summary are used with permission of the author(s), artist, and/or publisher for use in the PDQ summaries only. If you want to use an image from a PDQ summary and you are not using the whole summary, you must get permission from the owner. It cannot be given by the National Cancer Institute. Information about using the images in this summary, along with many other images related to cancer can be found in Visuals Online. Visuals Online is a collection of more than 2,000 scientific images.
The information in these summaries should not be used to make decisions about insurance reimbursement. More information on insurance coverage is available on Cancer.gov on the Managing Cancer Care page.
Contact Us
More information about contacting us or receiving help with the Cancer.gov Web site can be found on our Contact Us for Help page. Questions can also be submitted to Cancer.gov through the Web site's E-mail Us.
Call 1-800-4-CANCER
For more information, U.S. residents may call the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) Cancer Information Service toll-free at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237) Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time. A trained Cancer Information Specialist is available to answer your questions.
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The NCI's LiveHelp® online chat service provides Internet users with the ability to chat online with an Information Specialist. The service is available from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday. Information Specialists can help Internet users find information on NCI Web sites and answer questions about cancer.
Write to us
For more information from the NCI, please write to this address:
Search the NCI Web site
The NCI Web site provides online access to information on cancer, clinical trials, and other Web sites and organizations that offer support and resources for cancer patients and their families. For a quick search, use the search box in the upper right corner of each Web page. The results for a wide range of search terms will include a list of "Best Bets," editorially chosen Web pages that are most closely related to the search term entered.
There are also many other places to get materials and information about cancer treatment and services. Hospitals in your area may have information about local and regional agencies that have information on finances, getting to and from treatment, receiving care at home, and dealing with problems related to cancer treatment.
Find Publications
The NCI has booklets and other materials for patients, health professionals, and the public. These publications discuss types of cancer, methods of cancer treatment, coping with cancer, and clinical trials. Some publications provide information on tests for cancer, cancer causes and prevention, cancer statistics, and NCI research activities. NCI materials on these and other topics may be ordered online or printed directly from the NCI Publications Locator. These materials can also be ordered by telephone from the Cancer Information Service toll-free at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
Last Revised: 2015-06-25
If you want to know more about cancer and how it is treated, or if you wish to know about clinical trials for your type of cancer, you can call the NCI's Cancer Information Service at 1-800-422-6237, toll free. A trained information specialist can talk with you and answer your questions.
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content.
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GLP Analogs for Diabetes in Wolfram Syndrome Patients
Recruitment status was: Not yet recruiting
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Wolfram syndrome, also referred to as DIDMOAD (diabetes insipidus, diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy and deafness) is a genetic syndrome characterized by beta-cell dysfunction and apoptosis leading to diabetes, neurodegeneration and psychiatric illness. Accumulating evidence indicates that beta-cell failure and neuronal cell dysfunction in Wolfram's syndrome results from a high level of ER stress in affected cells. The current treatment of Wolfram syndrome is insulin, which fails to prevent the progression of beta-cell failure.
Several studies showed that GLP-1 analogs are very effective in protecting beta-cells from ER stress. Herein, the investigators suggest studying the impact of GLP-1 analogs in the treatment of patients with Wolfram syndrome.
The investigators will Study the effects of GLP-1 analog (Exanatide) on beta-cell function and glycemic control of patients with Wolfram syndrome. Evaluation of beta cell function will be done by performing meal test and IVGTT test before starting GLP-1 therapy, and after 3 month of treatment.
|Diabetes Mellitus Associated With Genetic Syndrome Wolfram Syndrome
|Drug: Exenatide
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary Purpose: Treatment
- beta cell function [ Time Frame: 3 months ]IVGTT test and meal test will be performed before starting treatment with Exenetide and after 3 months of treatment.
|Estimated Enrollment:
|Study Start Date:
|March 2011
|Estimated Primary Completion Date:
|March 2013 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
|Assigned Interventions
|Experimental: Exenatide
Drug: Exenatide
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Senior)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Genetic or definitive clinical diagnosis of Wolfram's syndrome including: diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy and at least one additional neurological dysfunction (diabetes insipidus, sensorineural deafness, neurogenic bladder or other type of autonomic or peripheral neuropathy)
- Age >18 years
- Duration of diabetes of <10 years.
Exclusion Criteria:
- pregnant women
- patients who are unable to give inform consent.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01302327
|Contact: Arik Tzukert, DMD
|00 972 2 6776095
|Contact: Hadas Lemberg, PhD
|00 972 2 6777572
|Principal Investigator:
|Gil Leibowitz, MD
|Hadassah Medical Organization
|Responsible Party:
|prof. Gil Lewbowitz, Hadassah medical center
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01302327 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|February 22, 2011
|Last Updated:
|February 23, 2011
Keywords provided by Hadassah Medical Organization:
Wolfram syndrome
Diabetes mellitus
GLP-1 analog
beta cell function
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Diabetes Insipidus
Diabetes Mellitus
Wolfram Syndrome
Pathologic Processes
Glucose Metabolism Disorders
Metabolic Diseases
Endocrine System Diseases
Deaf-Blind Disorders
Hearing Loss
Hearing Disorders
Ear Diseases
Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases
Optic Atrophies, Hereditary
Optic Atrophy
Optic Nerve Diseases
Cranial Nerve Diseases
Nervous System Diseases
Heredodegenerative Disorders, Nervous System
Neurodegenerative Diseases
Sensation Disorders
Neurologic Manifestations
Vision Disorders
Eye Diseases, Hereditary
Eye Diseases
Kidney Diseases
Urologic Diseases
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017


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Hi zavk
What's wrong with "wishing someone well"?
zavk wrote:In light of how much emphasis is given to metta and how much I have felt the positive effects of metta myself, I don't wish to simply reduce it to just another 'good wish'.
If we simply explain metta as a 'good wish', what if someone retorts, 'How is that different from wishful, infantile 'New-Age' thinking?'
We as Buddhists, however, I assume know that "all experience is preceded by mind, led by mind, made by mind". Before speech and action, there is intention. Ideally, right intention. Isn't metta part of right intention, and thereby one step on the eightfold middlepath?
thecap wrote:On the other hand, what do you wish to accomplish by (over-)analyzing it? Do you feel like having to explain yourself as a Buddhist?
Perhaps that is because this is all that can be done, regardless of its efficacy or lack thereof? Also, wouldn't generating these feelings in yourself somehow leave a "positive residue" that subtly shows when next you do have actual communications with the recipient of the directed metta? No matter what, trust your instincts.I have certainly felt the need to 'intervene' in the situation of others by directing metta to them. I 'intervene' out of a certain assumption that my practice would somehow benefit the person in question.
Return to "General Theravāda discussion"
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Woodsford Tradebridge
Woodsford Tradebridge
Woodsford Tradebridge
London, United Kingdom
Recommend to a friend:
Woodsford TradeBridge is a UK based provider of supplier early payment programs who believe that it is time the potential of supply chain finance was 'unlocked' to meet the real needs of mid-tier firms and their small to medium suppliers.
About us
What happens when high street banks shrink their balance sheets and large corporate customers aggressively tighten payment terms? An SME funding crisis develops that is currently estimated at £64 billion. At Woodsford Tradebridge, we believe passionately that Supply Chain Finance programs are part of the solution. The problem is, until now, bank funded programs are only been available to the big boys, like Rolls Royce, GSK and Vodaphone. By leveraging private sources of capital we are able to provide SCF programs to well run 'mid-tier' companies which are often ignored by the mainstream banks. Tradebridge SCF programs are able to provide an important new source of working capital for SME suppliers, at attractive rates, especially in industries that often struggle to attract any finance.
Why are we exciting?
Tradebridge are a well funded start-up, backed by a group of successful investors and proud to be part of the 'fintech revolution' challenging the way business banking is done.


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Former armed forces captain talks to residents about smart meter dangers
Retired Armed Forces captain Jerry Flynn (back right) spoke to about 40 people at the Kinnaird Hall Saturday night in Castlegar about the dangers of smart meters.
Retired Armed Forces captain Jerry Flynn spoke a crowd of about 40 people at Kinnaird Hall in Castlegar Saturday night. Flynn talked about the dangers of smart meters.
The Kelowna resident was a guest of the Castlegar based Citizens for Safe Technology and was introduced by Cliff Paluck, the local chapter's head.
FortisBC has applied to the B.C. Utlities Commission and plans to install smart meters into all households in their service area.
The stop was one of three in the area for Flynn, who also spoke at Trail Saturday afternoon and South Slocan today (Sunday).
We encourage an open exchange of ideas on this story's topic, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. Personal attacks, inappropriate language, and off-topic comments may be removed, and comment privileges revoked, per our Terms of Use. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.


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6 Types Of Movies We Never Want To See Again
Lately, every movie seems to be a sequel or reboot — but it doesn't stop there. Because the movie industry is increasingly dependent on creating franchises, we're seeing some bastardized forms, that are just designed to keep franchises alive. Here are six newfangled types of movies that we're already tired of.


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May 28, 2009
Okay Given To Add Acreage To Lost Maples State Natural Area
AUSTIN, Texas — Lost Maples State Natural Area, known for its spectacular fall foliage and Hill Country scenery, would expand to just over 2,900 acres as a result of action taken Thursday by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission.
Meeting today in Austin, commissioners authorized the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department executive director to complete the acquisition of 732 acres of the former Rex Kelley Ranch abutting the park's northwest boundary that contains the entire Can Creek drainage. The confluence of Can Creek with the Sabinal River inside the state natural area is primarily responsible for creating Lost Maples' dramatic Hill Country topography of canyons, hills and creeks.
The acquisition would add acreage to the current 2,174-acre park named for the bigtooth maples that populate the canyonlands and whose foliage turns brilliant shades of crimson and gold most autumns, drawing thousands of visitors. The new acreage being purchased by TPWD from a willing seller will provide more land for potential hiking trails featuring ridge-top vistas, deep canyons and several perennial springs. The property also includes endangered bird and plant species, including the golden-cheeked warbler.
TPWD natural resource conservation staff told commissioners the state natural area's popularity and the impact of visitors on the Bandera County site's natural resources, especially in the fall, warrant expansion of Lost Maples and would create additional recreational opportunities.
Before opening to the public, the newly acquired property would undergo surveying and thorough investigation by natural and cultural resource specialists.
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October 19, 2012
Playoff Prospectus
NLCS Game 4 Recap: Cardinals 8, Giants 3
Guess the MLB.com headline!
a. EIGHT IS ENOUGH
Answer at the bottom.
In 2009 and 2010, Adam Wainwright finished in the top three in Cy Young voting twice. He struck out 8.3 batters per nine, and he walked 2.4. He allowed 32 home runs. Wainwright's average fastball was 91 mph; he threw a hard slider in the mid 80s, and the occasional change, but the pitch he leaned on was a curveball in the mid-70s. He'd get whiffs on that curveball 17 percent of the time, and when he was ahead 0-2, he'd throw it six out of 10 pitches. He's tall, he weighs 235 pounds, he looks like this:
is what Madison Bumgarner looks like. He weighs 230 pounds, and he's tall. His favorite pitch is a hard slider in the mid-80s; on a full count, there's a better than 50 percent chance that he'll throw it. He also throws an occasional change, a curveball in the mid-70s, and an average fastball of 91 mph. Over the past two years, he has allowed 35 home runs. He has walked 2.3 batters per nine and struck out 8.3.
Wainwright is right-handed and Bumgarner is left-handed, but Wainwright is what the Giants should hope Bumgarner grows up to be. In one sense, he's on a darned good path: Bumgarner is only 23, and by the time Wainwright was 23 he had thrown just two major-league innings. Pitching growth isn't predictable and it isn't linear, so we might be seeing the best Bumgarner ever has in that arm of his. But what he has is tantalizingly close to Wainwright's best.
But here we are, going into Game Five, and Bumgarner has lost his spot in the rotation to Barry Zito. His velocity is down, his mechanics are off, he has thrown two lousy postseason starts and hasn't had an unqualified good start in his last nine tries. Instead of turning to nearly-Wainwright in an elimination game, the Giants will turn to Zito.
Wainwright, meanwhile, put the Giants into the spot that they're in. Some 73 percent of his pitchers were strikes (compared to Tim Lincecum's 56 percent) and he allowed one run, walked nobody and struck out five in seven innings. The lone blemish was a home run to Hunter Pence, but it was a solo shot and probably everybody was happy to see a nice guy like Pence get to be happy for a few minutes. It's been a rough month.
The Cardinals' center-field camera, which is directly behind the mound, made for some great pitching porn, e.g.
I know it's an optical illusion, but even frame by frame the break is disorienting, as it goes from certainly up and in:
to, unpredictably but also predictably, low and outside:
By my favorite curve was actually captured by the slightly off-center behind-the-plate camera.
This isn't an angle that they show very often, but it's the angle that gave me one of my favorite pitch-porn GIFs ever
and it's an angle I wish we'd see a lot more often on replays at least. By the way. Go to the Wainwright pitch. What's Jon Jay doing? Just trying to get a jump based on Pence's body language/the pitch?
Tim Lincecum was pretty bad, which is surprising if you accepted the pitching-from-the-stretch narrative entering the game, but not as surprising if you watched him struggle to throw strikes in his third relief appearance. Against the Cardinals, he struggled to throw strikes, but more than anything he struggled to throw a breaking ball. This is what PITCHf/x recorded for Lincecum, compared to the regular season and his relief appearances (all figures are percentages):
There are two possibilities here. One is that Lincecum didn't have a breaking pitch that he was comfortable with. More troubling is the possibility that he actually was throwing the slider, but it was so flat that PITCHf/x was recording it as a changeup. For instance, this pitch:
is called a changeup, but Tim McCarver thought it was a slider that backed up. Here are some close-ups:
Never miss a chance to include some Doug Thorburn geniusness:
One way or another: lousy.
Overall, Lincecum has now thrown 195 pitches this postseason, all from the stretch. After Thursday, 122 of them were for strikes: 62.5 percent. That's up from 61 percent in the regular season, right around where he was in his pretty-good 2011 season (62 percent), and down a bit from when he was elite (64 percent from 2008 to 2010). It's hard to isolate the effect of the stretch from the fact that he was pitching in shorter relief outings, and it's hard to isolate either from the obviously small sample size (and relatively small margins of difference).
Anyway, just a whole bunch of unconnected dots. It's just probably optimistic to think that pitching from the stretch exclusively is going to be what fixes Lincecum.
Headline answer:
Sam Miller is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @SamMillerBB
4 comments have been left for this article.
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I am partial to "Wain's World, Excellent!" personally. Nice work on the puns today, Sam. I thought MLB's verion was the weakest of the bunch.
Oct 19, 2012 14:19 PM
Not to get all pedantic, but the last headline should be "berth", not "birth", right?
Oct 19, 2012 15:51 PM
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zidovudine (generic name)
It is used with other medicines to treat HIV
(zye DOE vue deen)
Table of Contents
Top Learning Centers(Recursos en Español)
What is this medicine?ZIDOVUDINE, ZDV (zye DOE vue deen) is an antiretroviral medicine. It is used with other medicines to treat HIV. This medicine is not a cure for HIV. It will not stop the spread of HIV to others.
What should I tell my health care provider before I take this medicine?They need to know if you have any of these conditions:
How should I use this medicine?Take this medicine by mouth with a full glass of water. Follow the directions on the prescription label. You may take this medicine with or without food. Use a specially marked spoon or dropper to measure each dose. Ask your pharmacist if you do not have one. Household spoons are not accurate. Take your medicine at regular intervals. Do not take your medicine more often than directed. For your anti-HIV therapy to work as well as possible, take each dose exactly as prescribed. Do not skip doses or stop your medicine even if you feel better. Skipping doses may make the HIV virus resistant to this medicine and other medicines. Do not stop taking except on your doctor's advice.
Talk to your pediatrician regarding the use of this medicine in children. While this drug may be prescribed for children as young as newborns for selected conditions, precautions do apply.
What if I miss a dose?If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you can. If it is almost time for your next dose, take only that dose. Do not take double or extra doses.
What may interact with this medicine?
What should I watch for while using this medicine?Visit your doctor or health care professional for regular check ups. Discuss any new symptoms with your doctor. You will need to have important blood work done while on this medicine.
HIV is spread to others through sexual or blood contact. Talk to your doctor about how to stop the spread of HIV.
What side effects may I notice from receiving this medicine?Side effects that you should report to your doctor or health care professional as soon as possible:
Side effects that usually do not require medical attention (report to your doctor or health care professional if they continue or are bothersome):
Where should I keep my medicine?Keep out of the reach of children.
Store at room temperature between 15 and 25 degrees C (59 and 77 degrees F). Throw away any unused medicine after the expiration date.
Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medication only for the indication prescribed.


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The Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles are the darlings of the 2013 NCAA Tournament as we enter the Sweet 16. To no one's surprise, they were also the talk of social media during their second- and third-round games, according to stats released by Sports on Facebook on Tuesday.
The game between FGCU and San Diego State generated the most mentions of any game during the tournament's third round. Mentions of the phrase "dunk city" also spiked 39,000 percent, according to Facebook.
In order, the next most mentioned games were Wichita State's win vs. Gonzaga, Indiana's escape vs. Temple, Ohio State's buzzer-beater vs. Iowa State and Marquette's win over Butler.
Florida Gulf Coast University was also the most mentioned school during the weekend of teams moving on to the Sweet 16, followed by Wichita State, Ohio State, Indiana and Marquette.
One place Florida Gulf Coast did not reign supreme was in the player mentions. That honor went to Ohio State's Aaron Craft. According to Facebook, he was mentioned more than five times more than the next player -- Marshall Henderson. Mentions about Craft spiked 181,000 percent on Sunday around 2:30 p.m. ET, the moment when the Buckeyes point guard had just picked up a controversial charge and then hit a game-winning shot.
Henderson was the No. 2 player in the list followed by Khalif Wyatt, Sherwood Brown and Jeff Withey. Wyatt had his own monster spike of 172,000 percent at 3:40 p.m. ET when he had poured on 20 points vs. Indiana in the first half.
Check out a full breakdown of where "Likes" for teams left in the Sweet 16 come from on this map, provided by Facebook.


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THE North Wales Fire and Rescue service has urged people to take extra care ahead of tomorrow's strike (Thursday).
The number of staff expected to participate is high, and this will result in a reduction in the resources available when it becomes enforced at 9am, which coincides with the beginning of the World Cup.
A North Wales Fire and Rescue spokesman said: "This strike will mean a reduction in the resources we have at our disposal, and as a consequence the Service will not be able to provide the same high level of response to fires and other emergencies.
"The priority will be to respond to life critical incidents."
Unlike the dispute in 2002/3, support from the military is no longer available to the service and they have stated that safety advice and guidance will be provided via the North Wales Fire and Rescue website, while their social media outlets on Facebook and Twitter will also be on hand to give advice on any situation.
The spokesman said: "If any member of the public needs to call us regarding a non-urgent matter during the period of industrial action then it would be helpful if they considered waiting until strike action ends to make that call."
For more information or fire safety advice visit www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk.


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Paul Semugoma, MD, a gay HIV/AIDS physician from Uganda living in South Africa, will not be deported, The Guardian reports.
Following an outpouring of support for Semugoma by advocates in South Africa and worldwide, immigration officials have dropped their case after detaining him at an airport in Johannesburg when he returned from a meeting in Zimbabwe.
Advocates were seeking his release because they claim Semugoma is wanted in Uganda for his activism regarding LGBT issues. As a result, advocates feared he would be in danger if he returned to Uganda. Immigration officials had continued to hold him even after a court order mandating his release.
Semugoma gave a passionate speech on behalf of LGBT and HIV-positive people during the XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC, in which he also came out as gay. He went to South Africa after the 2012 conference and has not returned to Uganda since then.
He applied for a work permit in South Africa in 2012, but the application was declined twice. Instead, Semugoma was given a receipt for travel by the home affairs department, which he has used for several trips in and out of South Africa without incident.
The Ugandan parliament has passed a bill that would criminalize homosexual acts. People convicted of "aggravated homosexuality"—which includes same-sex acts with children or by anyone who is HIV positive—could face life in prison. Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has signed the bill into law.
To read the Guardian article, click here.
To read our Q&A with Semugoma, click here.
HIV Physician Paul Semugoma Not Deported to Uganda
Paul Semugoma, MD, a gay HIV/AIDS physician from Uganda living in South Africa, will not be deported, The Guardian reports.


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Joe Phelps founded Joseph Phelps Winery in 1973 at the very beginning of Napa's modern wine renaissance. Over the years, it has earned a reputation for consistently producing some of the highest quality, most sought-after wines in the valley, not to mention a range of superb, more moderately-priced offerings.
Phelps became interested in Napa in the late 1960s while his construction firm, Hensel Phelps, was working on the Bay Area Rapid Transit project in San Francisco. During that time, the company received a contract to build the Souverain Winery (now Rutherford Hill). While the winery was under construction, Joe fell in love with the area (and with wine), and in 1973 he bought the Connolly property, a 600-acre cattle ranch on the east side of Napa in Spring Valley. Joe and his team got right to work that year making Cabernet, Riesling, and Pinot Noir at custom crush facilities. In 1974 they completed construction of an on-site winery and made the first wines in it, including the inaugural vintage of Insignia.
Today, the wines are 100% estate-grown, thus giving the team complete control over all farming and vineyard practices. While Joseph Phelps Winery is best known for its presence in Napa Valley, other holdings include outstanding vineyards on the Sonoma Coast and in Spring Valley, Rutherford, Oakville, Stags Leap, Yountville, Oak Knoll, and Carneros.
Thirty-five years after I first visited the property, Phelps continues to amaze me. A brand-new winery and revamped tasting room have ushered in a new era here, and I must say, the future has never looked brighter.
Napa Valley is the most famous wine-growing area in the U.S. It begins at the base of Mount St. Helena in the north and tapers off some 30 miles to the south into the floodplain where the Napa River enters San Francisco Bay. From Mount St. Helena to the city of Napa, the valley is defined by two north-south ridgelines of the Coast Range Mountains.
The bulk of grape growing for Napa wines takes place on the valley floor and on the gentle slopes adjoining the floor, the best-known example probably being the Oakville Grade. The floor ranges from less than a mile in width in the north to about 3 to 4 miles across in the south. The hills to the west of the valley floor are part of the Mayacamas Range; they contain key appellations such as Mount Veeder, Spring Mountain, and Diamond Mountain District. With the exception of Howell Mountain, the hills on the eastern side of the valley are not nearly as important or as well known.
From its earliest days, Napa Valley has been the home of some of California's most famous wine estates. Today, the valley boasts upward of 36,000 acres planted to Napa wine grapes and some 250 wineries, most of which offer high-caliber, often expensive Napa Valley wines. With some notable exceptions, the best California Chardonnays, Cabernets, and Merlots come from Napa; these varieties make up two-thirds of the vines in the region.
Because of its huge size, Napa Valley is home to varied microclimates that support many different kinds of wine grapes. For example, the cool Carneros region by San Francisco Bay yields good Chardonnay and Pinot Noir; and at the other end of the valley, the warmer Calistoga area can produce perfectly ripe Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, and monster Cabernets, but it usually overcooks Pinot Noir and other heat-sensitive varieties. On wine labels, the term ""Napa Valley"" has included all but the most outlying and inhospitable lands of Napa County.
It is remarkable that an industry essentially less than a half-century old could capture the attention of the American wine-buying public to the degree that California has. Powerful consumer interest in California wine is driven by two major factors. The more obvious reason is that California's best wines, which come from grapes grown in a benign climate featuring endless sunshine, very warm summer days, and generally dry harvests, and wonderfully fruity, full, and satisfying, and rarely too austere or tannic to be enjoyed from day one.
California is blessed with an extraordinary range of soils and microclimates, allowing for the successful cultivation of many varieties. In at least three out of four years, the best sites produce healthy, ripe fruits that are the envy of European producers in more marginal climates. The other reason Americans buy so much California wine is that California is the home team. Clearly, a high percentage of domestic wine drinkers are more comfortable buying American wines (and not just wines of California) than imports. Then, too, foreign bottles are generally identified by place name, rather than by the more familiar varieties that American wine drinkers have come to know and enjoy.
Moreover, in much of North America, outside the top 15 or 20 largest metropolitan markets, consumers have limited access to imported wines even if they wanted to buy them.
For many, Napa Valley is California wine, and Cabernet is king in Napa Valley. Meanwhile, the Burgundy varieties Chardonnay and Pinot Noir have gravitated to cooler areas, generally closer to the Pacific, such as the western stretches of Sonoma County, the Anderson Valley in Mendocino County, and the Santa Maria and Santa Ynez valleys within Santa Barbara County. Syrah vines have yielded interesting wines in a range of styles all over the state, in regions as disparate as Mendocino County, the Sonoma coast, Carneros, Paso Robles, and Santa Maria Valley. Very good Zinfandel similarly comes from multiple growing areas, although to date the age-of-vines variable has been almost as important as geography. Zinfandel, though its roots are in Europe, is a true California original and the only California wine imitated abroad. It's also a variety of which there are still significant plantings of very old vines, in some cases dating back to the end of the 19th century.
Cabernet Sauvignon has been the flagship red grape of the California wine industry for decades, and its popularity shows no sign of abating. Napa Valley is the heart of Cabernet Sauvignon production and is clearly an ideal region for creating world-class wines. If any Cabernet-based wine is capable of giving Bordeaux a run for its money, it's Napa Valley's examples. However, due to the extremely high cost of purchasing and developing vineyards in California, and the cachet of Napa Valley on the label, this has largely become a category for the well-heeled wine lover.
At their best, Napa Valley's Cabernets are characterized by fruit notes of cassis, black cherry, and licorice and sweet oak notes of chocolate, mocha, cedar, and tar. Today, most of the best wines are aged entirely or almost completely in French oak barrels, which tend to produce somewhat more refined wines than do most American barrels. (These latter barrels often introduce exotic and pungent suggestions of scotch, bourbon, tar, coconut, and dill.) But the use of expensive French oak is no guarantee of a good bottle: too many wines today, due to high crop levels or insufficiently ripe fruit, do not have the stuffing to support their oakiness and can quickly be dominated or even dried out by their wood component. The best California Cabernets mellow and soften with five to ten years of bottle aging, developing more complex and less fruit-dominated notes of tobacco, leather, and earth, with mellower wood tones. Compared to the top Bordeaux, however, many California Cabernet Sauvignons merely endure in bottle rather than truly become more interesting. There are no shortage of quality producers, even if these wines are rarely values. And it remains to be seen if today's outsized showstoppers, made from superripe grapes and undeniably impressive on release, will reward extended bottle aging or will turn out to have been best suited for drinking in their youth.
Many wines labeled Cabernet Sauvignon contain small percentages of other so-called Bordeaux varieties -- chiefly Merlot and Cabernet Franc but also Petit Verdot and even Malbec (varietally labeled wines in California must contain at least 75% of the variety named).
Cabernet Sauvignon also flourishes in Washington State, Australia and even Chile. In Washington, prices have been creeping up at the high end, with some producers aiming to compete with cult wines from the Napa Valley. Consider Chateau Ste. Michelle and Woodward Canyon. In Australia, look to the Coonawarra and Margaret River regions. Chile can reveal excellent bargains to those who know where to look: Montes makes a strong range of quality bottlings, as does Casa Lapostolle.
As Cabernet Sauvignon is bold and assertive on the palate, it pairs best with foods like grilled red meats. Taken together, the proteins and fats in the food neutralize some of the stronger tannic qualities of the wine, leading to a harmonic combination that enhances both partners.
2012 had 16 regions scored 95 or above. Oregon got the highest score, with a 97.
Other regions that scored 95 points or higher were Anderson Valley (California), Barossa / McLaren Vale, Brunello di Montalcino (Tuscany), Columbia Valley, Napa, Chablis, Champagne, Coonwarra, Côte de Beaune, Côte de Nuits, Germany, Graves, Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, and Washington.
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April 25, 2013
Fantasy Freestyle
Move Along, Nothing to See Here (Probably)
Toward the end of April, something funny starts happening to fantasy baseball owners. After one week, nearly every fantasy player looks at the stats, looks at the sample size, and simply dismisses the numbers as the product of a good or a bad week. After three weeks, this mindset changes considerably.
For reasons I cannot comprehend, after about 20 games, fantasy owners start diving into the numbers and drawing conclusions about whether or not their players are going to have good years or bad ones. The difference between 25 plate appearances and 75 plate appearances isn't significant—yet, in the minds of some, that 50-plat- appearance gap is the difference between an insignificant sample size and a reason to wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat screaming "Giancarlo Stanton, you're killing me!"
As a sport, baseball lends itself to long memories when it comes to the history of the game and the achievements of the men on the field. But when it comes to the fantasy version of the sport, every April we're like poor, addled Leonard in the film Memento: trying in vain to remember what happened last month or any time before that, using a carefully crafted series of tattoos and riddles in the hopes that we can divine what Matt Kemp was like before the dark days when he stopped hitting home runs entirely.
If fantasy players are bad when it comes to forgetting a player's past, they're even worse at remembering that we go through this exercise in absurdity every April. Over a 20-25 game period, some players are going to perform well above their career norms while others are going to perform well below those same benchmarks. This year is no different than any other campaign.
Table 1: Top 10 AL Hitters, April 2012
It could be argued without hyperbole that I follow player valuation more avidly than almost anyone in the world, but with the exception of Hamilton, the only other player from this list I remember having such a fast start is Konerko, and that's only because I had him in one of my leagues. If they had a bar trivia category for fantasy baseball, we'd all struggle to come up with the answer to "Who were the top 10 fantasy hitters in April 2012?" (It would also be a sad world if they had a bar trivia category for fantasy baseball, and I'm glad that's not the world we inhabit.)
To get the most obvious observation out of the way first, we know that the very best hitters on these lists are extremely unlikely to earn $50 or more. Earning over $50 in 5x5 is virtually impossible. Mike Trout's incredible 2012 was good for $47 in AL-only, and that's because he stole bases and hit for power. If you were counting on Hamilton to earn $66, you were a fool, but even if you were expecting a $40 season from him, you probably should have adjusted your expectations down even further. Miguel Cabrera's Triple Crown season was good for $40.
However, the takeaway that is useful here is that a strong start often leads to a profitable season. Nineteen dollars in earnings for Jeter in 2012 seemed fair; his strong April meant that chances were good that he was going to earn more. I never would have pegged Willingham as a $20-plus player in the preseason; his April made me change my mind.
Fantasy owners mistakenly focus on fast or slow starts to zero-in on "buy-low" or "sell-high" candidates. In my opinion, this is generally a waste of time. If you were in a league last year where you could convince someone that Ortiz was going to earn $53, stop reading this: You don't need my help, unless by "my help" you mean the e-mail address of the village idiot you're about to take to the cleaners. On the other hand, knowing that you have "x" amount of stats in the bank from a player is useful in terms of where you thought your team might finish overall. Obviously, Mike Aviles wasn't going to earn $39, but knowing that you had almost half of what you paid for him in the bank was a good sign that Aviles was going to turn a profit for you—and give you more stats from Aviles than you thought you were going to get on Auction Day.
Table 2: Top 10 NL Hitters, April 2012
The NL side of the pool didn't have as many examples of "A good start will lead to profits" but three of these players—Braun, Gonzalez, and Kemp—were paid $40 or more, and it's hard to profit off of a $40 player. Altuve and Freese are the examples of "These guys will do better than I thought based on their April stats." Bryan LaHair is often cast as a failure, but if you paid $11 for him and got $12 back, you should have been okay with that, not unhappy (and you probably had someone fill-in for him at some point in the second half). April skews our perceptions in many different ways.
The above tables are merely one side of the April coin. A better question to ask yourself might be: Based on historical trends, what can or should I expect from this year's slow starters?
Table 3: Ten Most Expensive AL Hitters, April 2012
Few might remember Hamilton's fast 2012 start, but nearly everyone remembers Pujols' April struggles in Anaheim. Ellsbury played in all of seven games until an injury knocked him out of commission and ruined his season. I wouldn't have pegged Cano as a member of the slow-starters club until I ran these charts. With many of these hitters, there is a fair amount of stability. Cabrera, Gonzalez, Pedroia, Fielder, and Granderson (to a lesser extent) all had fairly ordinary Aprils that didn't foretell a fast or a slow start.
Table 4: Ten Most Expensive NL Hitters, April 2012
If you were looking for an exhibit on why you should be patient with your big-ticket investments, Table 4 delivers. With the exception of Tulowitzki, every hitter here earned at least $20, and seven of the 10 earned at least $25 in 2012. You had little reason to be disappointed by McCutchen's April, but instead of putting up a $25 season, he was the second-best player in the National League. Despite slow starts, both Holliday and Stanton rewarded their owners' patience with earnings near in the high-$20s.
However, the drawback is that nearly every hitter in this bracket took losses. Mirroring what I said about the fast-starting hitters, this is the biggest disadvantage of the slow start. If Upton had done last April what he's doing this year, he might have earned the $37 he was paid. Instead, his April led to a big chunk of his fantasy losses. The same holds true for Stanton and Holliday.
The biggest lessons of these charts remains in the adjustments you will need to make in your preseason category estimates based on a slow or fast start. If you have the 2013 version of Giancarlo Stanton, don't give up on him, but do dial back if you were expecting a 40-45 home run season. A slow start won't destroy a player's value, but it does have some influence. Likewise, if you have Justin Upton, it's probably realistic to add a few home runs to your team's preseason projection.
Mike Gianella is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @MikeGianella
6 comments have been left for this article.
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Ok, I had a crazy idea while reading this. Your comment on not being able to be worth more than $50 because all 5 categories cannot come through makes me ask: can you value the dollars by category?
Apr 25, 2013 07:21 AM
"But if there is comfort in the stability these hitters offered, perhaps there is more caution in the bad start of a player like Bautista than I initially thought. Unlike Ellsbury, Bautista was healthy all of April, yet finished with a 634 OPS. Unlike Pujols, the recovery was never complete. Yes, injury played a role, but Bautista also never got fully back on track."
Apr 25, 2013 09:33 AM
Hey Mike ,
Apr 25, 2013 15:03 PM
Hhm, though they might be beasts, that should say best. :)
Apr 25, 2013 15:05 PM
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OK, so I said I would not start the dailies...to help the transition, here is the monday one. Have you ever benefited from frequent flyer-related perks - miles, access to lounge, etc? And what is on schedule today?
Frequent flyer mondaily
QOTD - I got in and out of Gold status with Delta over the last few years, which gives me priority boarding, a few business class upgrades and elite status with Air France on the good years. Which I am benefiting right now, as I am sitting in the Air France VIP lounge with free food and booze. As for miles, I have been a sucker for a long time, and just collected them and did not use them. I ended up using almost all of my miles a couple of months ago to get (almost) free tickets to Hawai'i for the entire family.
WOTD - probably nothing - flying LAX to Paris, will probably crash upon arrival.
WOYD - 5k Santa Monica Classic, pacing my 9-YO boy to a 6 min PR (35:58). He's not fast, but he gives it all, so I appreciated that.
Back when I was an Equity Analyst I was Platinum on both Delta and United. I used free miles for all our vacations including coach fares to Curacao and London, as well as first class to St. Thomas and Hawaii. I had a Delta AMEX that enabled me to enter the lounge and I remember going to the United lounge (is that the red carpet one or crown club?) too, but do not remember why I was afforded that benefit. With those status levels I was upgraded to first class most of the time, which made the grueling schedule a lot less brutal/more comfortable. For me the most important benefit was being able to take the fast track security lines, as I was always running from meeting-to-meeting and city-to-city. Therefore, I was often running a bit late and those fast track lines saved me from missing flights numerous times. In addition to not being able to afford air travel these days, I think I am more into road tripping/stay-cations now due to those 6 years of running from meeting-to-meeting and city-to-city on little sleep and time to eat. I became incredibly burnt out on travel.
I am about to head out for a dark, rainy easy 4 miles with the doggies. Then off to my first day of Nursing school and interestingly I am having by first bout, since starting this endeavor of, what am I doing?, was this all a huge mistake?, and perhaps I am not cut out for this. Should be an interesting day.
run2thehills - congrats to your 9-year old and save and comfortable travels to you!
QOTD: Got upgraded to first class a few times back when I had whatever they called the gold status on American. But that was a long time ago. I have used my Delta frequent flyer miles a few times for free tickets, but it takes me quite a few years to build up enough miles to get those tickets.
WOTD: Nada. Heading off to attempt the MRI again.
Radi - Happy first day of school!
R2TH - Congrats to your son. Have a great trip!
QOTD: I'm Premier Gold on United. Have been since 2006 and now that I've reaped the benefits, I'm addicted to flying 50K per year. Priority boarding, comp upgrades and free bags are a nice benefit domestically - but it also means I'm Star Alliance Gold, so I get into the lounges whenever flying internationally. Big perk. And yet another reason you'll find me traveling to races outside of the US. I do mileage runs at least once per year. This year, I'll be about 15K short, which means I'm looking for either one long mileage run to Melbourne, or a few short ones to the east coast. I did a mileage run a couple of years ago and got detained in customs in the UK. That was fun.
WOTD: power yoga this a.m.
QOTD: In better economic times, I would earn a good amount of miles through monthly credit card spending. I took at least three international business class trips to South Africa and Tanzania for two where my only expenses were the negligible airline taxes. Business class lounges are a beautiful thing, for sure.
Planned for later is an easy 8.75 with 6.25 miles @ 9:05/mile.
13.75 miles over three sessions. 3.10 mile Rose Bowl loop with my DW while pushing my DD in her BOB running stroller. 8.0 treadmill miles @ 7:38/mile. 2.65 hilly miles with my Corgis @ 11:30/mile.
WOTD: 5 easy miles.
SCFoodie: Good luck with the MRI!
QOTD: Back when I first started working, I had to travel a lot from Sac to LA and Sac to Las Vegas. Back then, online booking may have been new and Southwest would give you 4 credits per roundtrip. I raked in the free flights and qualified for a free companion for a while. Now, I don't travel nearly often enough to get anything.
WOTD: Not sure. Rest or a few miles.
Good luck SC Foodie, Nice Job to your son R2TH, Good luck Radi...
QOTD: I drift in and out of United premier status depending on how much business travel I do each year. I think I'm also currently in the tier just above entry level with Virgin Atlantic. Perks aint what they used to be...
WOTD: After going 25 miles last week for the first time in months, I'm taking a running rest day. Stretching, core and weights are planned, also maybe a walk.
R2TH: Bon voyage!
SCF - hope that MRI goes OK.
Radi - good luck - I think we all get first day jitters sometimes, you will be fine...
Rocky: I knew you were expecting, but since I've been an infrequent visitor to these parts over the past few months I didn't know that DD had arrived. Congratulations!
QOTD - No frequent flyer upgrades or clubs as I almost never travel for business. I did get upgraded to first class once on a business trip from Boston to Austin (I used to live in Austin) a long time ago.
WOTD - 8 easy.
QOTD: Nope, rarely fly.
WOTD: Probably some easy running
Radi: Have fun! Just remember you are going into an amazing profession that does so much to help those who need it most.
Muse: Nice week right there. Really, being able to drop pace that much at the end of a long run is solid, especially if you call that not being in "control"!
NC: Sounds like you're fit and ready to go!
Rocky: As already said, if you're doubling your mileage don't at all worry about xtraining. That's already ridiculously impressive.
Thanks Rfl
QOTD: I think at this rate in about 10 years I may get a free ticket on Southwest.
WOTD: 5.1 recovery
R2TH - congrats on your son's race!
QOTD - I don't travel much, but my Europe trip several years back did yield me some points which I was able to redeem for a $100 gift certificate to the Eiffel Tower restaurant in Vegas. Looking forward to using it the next time I'm thre as I generally thumb my nose at high class restaurants and am more of a "Chipotle" kind of guy when it comes to dining.
WOTD - weights
QOTD: don't travel enough. Or I guess I travel a medium amount, but always on a different airline - whichever has the best price and the schedule I want for a given trip. I think I could redeem for a one way fare on southwest by now, but no other perks. I focus more on cash back awards from my credit card.
WOTD: 8.43 miles (9:15 pace) with 5 hill repeats at Fort Mason and rest of the run along the Embarcadero (still in SF until tomorrow for a conveniently scheduled conference).
Good luck Radi ! The doubt is normal and will fade...
R2TH - enjoy the trip - I'd prefer a business trip to Paris!
QOTD: Nope. I guess I don't fly enough to get any benefit from it .
WOTD: I ran today for the first time after taking two weeks off after my last marathon. Wow... What a feeling for the first 30 seconds - that was as high as my runner's high could be . Almost cried . Well... A minute later it all got back together - I understood that it's still not going to be easy . My first 10.4 mi of the new cycle. Going for Chicago, baaaaby...
QOTD: Don't fly on the same airlines consistantly enough to warrant anything free.
WOTD: Kinda in limbo right now, was rear ended on the way to work this am and I'm starting to feel a little stiffness in my back and neck. Was planning to run 8 miles, but I'll see what I can do in a few hours.
QOTD: Before Southwest revamped (ruined) their rapid rewards, I could count on a free flight every year. Now I'm lucky if it's once in a blue moon. Never been in a fancy airport lounge, heck I have only ever flown coach.
WOTD: 5 easy with 5 strides.
Have a good one all.
QOTD: Used to fly a lot for work and got lots of perks. Flew business class to Australia and Japan using miles. Rarely fly now, and don't get any benefits. My wife is also an ex-flight attendant. We often used her travel benefits. They are gone now too. (Although, the cause of her leaving the airline, having children, is way better than any travel benefit)
WOTD: SRD. Went for a walk at lunch.
QOTD: Yes. For several years, my husband used his United credit card to make big purchases related to his business, so he managed to rack up the miles pretty quickly, as many as 250,000 at one point. We mainly use them for the more expensive East-West trips and do our best to book them at the 25,000 per round trip rate whenever possible. I used his miles to purchase this latest trip to the Bay Area.
A little over a year ago I decided to pony up the $90/year for the United Explorer credit card, which allows you to check one bag for free whenever you book your travel using that card. I figure it pays for itself after only two trips, especially if we use his miles but pay for the security fees using my card. I also get free one-time use passes for the United Club. I used it for the first time on this trip, but because it was still morning, the only perks I took advantage of were the free coffee, OJ, and newspapers. Perhaps sometime I will have an opportunity to use it for something a bit more exotic.
WOTD: I went to my old aerobics class in the Bay Area again this morning, which turned out to be a mixed bag. There was a substitute who was having trouble with the sound system, so the first 20 minutes of the class were kind of a mess.
Over the weekend, I ran the Sunrise Half Marathon in Vacaville, which most definitely is a rolling course, with real hills. In spite of my being the second-to-last finisher (with a time of 2:53 or so), I felt pretty good on the hills. My main problem was my lingering allergies. I had to keep blowing my nose, which was pretty uncomfortable.
3 easy miles today.
That would be a no on the frequent flyer miles. I haven't flown since 2003. No real desire to. Spent my early 20's as a frequent flyer on the governments dime in the USAF. Done that. Did some business travel for awhile after I got out. Most memorable flight was Air India from Singapore to Madras. Flew Singapore Air once from Singapore to Korea - what a great airline -best in the world. I'd fly them again just for the experience.


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Professor Tung Rathavy, Director of National Maternal and Child Health Centre
Distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen
It is my great pleasure to join you this morning to say a few words to open this important workshop.
Let me start by thanking the officials of the National Maternal and Child Health Centre and our colleagues from the USAID-funded Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program for making this research possible and organising this important event to share the results. I must also recognize the vital role and contributions of the public sector health providers – doctors, midwives, and all who support them – who work each day to protect the health and safety of Cambodia's mothers and newborns in health facilities across the country.
In my short time in Cambodia I have learned much about the phenomenal progress the country has made in improving maternal and child health. Even before I arrived, I was aware that Ministry officials have been recognized internationally in recent years for Cambodia's success in improving maternal and child health. In fact, Cambodian representatives have been asked to share Cambodia's experience in international conferences so that other countries may learn from its success.
As an example, Professor Keth Lysotha (KET LEE-SOTA) graciously accepted a request to attend an international conference in Johannesburg last year to share Cambodia's success in increasing facility-based deliveries in recent years. Thank you, Professor, for your effort and support, leading this study from beginning to the end.
Cambodia has made substantial progress towards achieving its Millennium Development Goals, including reaching the targets for Goals 4 and 5 years ahead of the target dates. I would like to congratulate the Royal Government of Cambodia, in particular the Ministry of Health, for its leadership in these efforts. The deployment of midwives to all health facilities and the endorsement of the midwifery incentive scheme are recognized as driving forces behind this great success.
In spite of this great success, there remains much to be done. For every 1,000 live births in Cambodia, 27 babies do not survive the first month of life. One of the main contributing factors behind these newborn deaths continues to be premature birth and related complications. But as we will discuss today, we have the tools and the know-how to help prevent pre-term complications and reduce newborn mortality. When applied correctly and consistently, antenatal corticosteroids are one of the interventions proven to reduce newborn mortality by preventing preterm complications.
Today we will share lessons learned from a recent study to improve the utilization of antenatal corticosteroids. The study produced excellent results thanks to a combination of strong technical leadership and participation from health facility staff. Our colleague, Dr. Jeffrey Smith, the Maternal Health Director of MCHIP, will present the specific results of the study today, including recommended actions to be considered for scale-up. These results have tremendous implications for reducing newborn mortality, a major priority for the Ministry of Health, USAID, and all the other stakeholders joining us here today.
We hope today's workshop will be fruitful and productive – resulting in improved practices for application of antenatal corticosteroids and the lives of many babies saved in the near future. USAID stands ready to assist in these efforts.
Thank you.
Related Speeches
- Remarks by Veena Reddy, Deputy Mission Director, USAID Cambodia, EPIC Showcase
- Remarks by Makara Ou, Governance and Rule of Law Team Leader Office of Democracy and Governance, USAID Cambodia, Collaborative Workshop
- Remarks by Polly Dunford, Mission Director, USAID Cambodia, Inauguration of Center of Excellence for Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Nutrition
Last updated: September 15, 2017


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"Proactive compliance is more than simple data collection," says the new white paper "Federal and State Sunshine Act Compliance Readiness," by Alliance Life Sciences. "It is about comprehensively protecting and enabling your business to mitigate risk and address regulatory requirements, while increasing efficiencies and reducing cost." Certainly, advice such as this is applicable across the board, concerning compliance around the Sunshine Act, off-label marketing, and other compliance challenges today.
"Inside the pharmaceutical industry, compliance has grown. Compliance needs to assist the business units in operationalizing the legal and regulatory requirements and still have the business be able to do what it has to do," says John Oroho, executive vice president of Porzio Pharmaceutical Services, a subsidiary of the law firm Porzio, Bromberg, and Newman. Porzio Pharmaceutical Services advises companies on how to comply with current regulations in the industry. "Compliance officers have taken a more significant role in companies, and the compliance departments have gotten bigger because it is necessary for companies not only to understand what the requirements are and to operationalize them, but then you've got to show them that you are adhering to those best practices and adhering to the regulatory requirements," he says.The Sun(shine Act) Will Come Out Tomorrow
By this point, pharma should have all its ducks in a row when it comes to gearing up for the Sunshine Act. However, even though pharma was initially required to begin reporting physician payments as the law stipulates by Jan. 1, there may still be some pitfalls to avoid.
"When the Sunshine Act was proposed, pharma supported it because it was going to give some uniformity to what had been a hodgepodge of different requirements state to state," explains Oroho. This means that as of Jan. 1 pharma would have had to track financial interactions with physicians and teaching hospitals. And on March 31, 2013, the first report of these interactions (anything over $10) will have to be reported by pharma to Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS then has until September 30, 2013, to make that information available to the public in an easy-to-use, searchable website.
Now for the bad news: the specifics on how drug and device makers are supposed to submit info on payments to physicians—specifics that were supposed to be delivered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 1, 2011—were not released until December 15, 2011. The October 2011 deadline would have given pharma companies 90 days to digest the specifics of the regulations before they began tracking spending information on Jan. 1; specifics that, one could argue, are essential to know and understand in order to know exactly what to start keeping track of.
In light of the passing of the October 2011 deadline and the continuing absence of specifics from CMS and HHS, a letter was drafted from BIO, PhRMA, Consumers Union, AdvaMed, Community Catalyst, and Pew Health Group to HHS on October 25, 2011, requesting that the Jan. 1 deadline be extended.
"Delays in establishing procedures for the submission and public reporting of the required information will make it increasingly challenging for manufacturers to know whether they are meeting their statutory obligation as they begin to collect data in 2012. Given that Congress intended that industry have three months to complete implementation based on the government procedures following the October 1, 2011, statutory date to implement the new provisions, we request that a similar time period be permitted following establishment of final procedures for the submission and public reporting of 2012 information for companies to achieve full compliance," the letter reads. "An absence of established procedures could harm both the companies who are trying to comply with the law and the public who stands to benefit from increased transparency of these relationships."
The finally-released guidelines acknowledge the delay in this way: "Due to the timing of the publication of this notice ... a final rule will not be published in time for applicable manufacturers and applicable GPOs to begin collecting the information required ... on Jan. 1, as indicated in the statute. We will not require applicable manufacturers and GPOs to begin collecting the required information until after the publication of the final rule ... We seek comment on the amount of time [needed] following publication of the final rule in order to begin complying with the data collection requirements ... We are considering a preparation period of 90 days, since we believe this was the time period intended by Congress ... and [we] are requesting comments on whether that is a sufficient amount of time." Comments are being accepted through Feb. 17 of this year.
Clearly, Jan. 1 has come and gone, with the promised CMS guidelines turning up only weeks before the new year—and the show must go on. In the absence of timely guidelines, Oroho advises the Jiminy Cricket mentality: Let your conscience be your guide. "What you're trying to do with compliance is influence behavior so that people do it just because it's the right thing," he says. "If people are acting on a values-based proposition, rather than doing it so they don't get caught or penalized, you will have less improper behavior. I look at compliance as being the conscience of a company."


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|Trad, 100'
|YDS: 5.9 French: 5c Ewbanks: 17 UIAA: VI ZA: 17 British: HVS 5a [details]
|Tami Knight, Peter Croft 1978
|Page Views:
|Submitted By:
|ScottH on Sep 9, 2006
|Do not park in the residential neighborhood! Park in the designated lot MORE INFO >>>
|Comments on Up, Up and Away
|Add Comment
|Show which comments —
By Peter Spindloe
From: North Vancouver, BC
Dec 18, 2008
My first exposure to this climb was making the 911 call after someone nuked their ankle falling near the top. It's a fun climb, but place the gear in the upper crack. It's pumpy, but probably better not to run it out if you don't have strength to stick a cam in.
I wish I had had my camera handy once we had the guy on the ground an waiting for the rescue group with the litter. His shoes were "X-Rays" from Five Ten. Having a picture of the swollen, bent ankle, with the word "X-Ray" on the tongue of his shoe would have been priceless.
By Cat Cahoon
From: Seattle, WA
May 30, 2009
|The only part of this climb that is 5.9 is the last vertical section. It can be done by layback or jams. I used a couple of #1 for that section.
By AnthonyM
Jul 27, 2009
I messed up my ankle last June.
Ended up hobbling down the trail to the car-People looked at me as if I were a ghost. Wish I could have gotten a picture of their faces.
The top crack section is a bit harder than it looks.
I put a piece about neck high. It was solid and held but enabled me to deck out. If I would have "Nut-Fished," and taken some time to really place a piece (higher) I probably would not have hit so hard.
Great Climb Though!
By Mark Roberts
From: Vancouver, BC
Feb 12, 2010
rating: 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
|2 out of 3 comments mention injury from this route. It's worth mentioning that the upper section is not really that hard to protect, it accepts gear well it's just a bit pumpy is all. It's not 5.9 R, or even 5.9 PG-13.
By Jon Stein
From: North Vancouver, BC
Sep 3, 2010
rating: 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
|From Penny Lane go left and up to this really appealing 5.9 crack. It just begs to be climbed. Bit of a tricky start makes way for easier climbing up until you get to the last short crack section just before the bolts. This was the only 5.9 section for me and certainly the crux. Very worthy of doing if you are in the area!
By Dan Petty
From: Wheat Ridge, CO
Jul 30, 2011
|The upper crack accepts both medium to large nuts and cams in the .4-.75 camalot range very well.
By AnthonyM
Jan 23, 2013
|Yes Mark its easy to protect... That second deck/flat area is overlooked and is not forgiving. All of the pieces held when I fell... Another part of it was that I had just caught a glimpse of someone who fell and broke their neck. To be fair-I let my head get to me. Point is-this climb will not forgive (especially that top section). Be careful and have fun!
By Mat Brunton
Jul 12, 2015
rating: 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
|Easy until the vertical crack to top out. While significantly harder than the rest of the climb, the crux crack offers excellent protection all the way up. If the grade is within your ability, you should have no problem plugging good pro and avoiding injury (i.e. don't be psyched out by all the injury talk here).


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Caciocavallo Pezzata Rossa
- Producer
- Claudio Di Domenico
- Country
- Italy
- Region
- Abruzzo
- Size
- 5.5 ins diameter, 6 ins long
- Weight
- 2.5 lbs
- Website
- www.marcelliformaggi.com
- Milk
- Cow
- Classification
- Firm
- Rennet
- Animal
- Rind
- Natural
- Style
- Pasta Filata (mozzarella-type)
Caciocavallo Pezzata Rossa is made by Claudio Di Domenico from the raw milk of the rare breed "Red Cow". Claudio is the nephew of famed Abruzzo cheesemaker Gregorio Rotolo, and the family has been making cheese since the 1970's. The Red Cow is a heritage breed, perhaps best known for its high protein and butterfat milk, albeit given in very small quantities. Although it was originally used in the production of Parmigiano Reggiano, by the 1980's this breed was virtually extinct. Claudio, togther with a handful of other local cheesemakers, have consciously committed to using - and thus preserving - these ancient breeds of dairy cattle. Cheesemaking takes place at the family farm called La Grancia di Sant Angelo, which is located in the mountains of Abruzzo. A few producers still practice the ancient tradition of transhumance, whereby their animals are transported on a summer migration to higher mountain slopes to access fresh pasture. However, La Grancia di Sant Angelo comprises a vast amount of acreage that allows the animals - and therefore the cheesemaking - to remain in one place. For production, the milk is first filtered and poured into a wooden tub which, due to its porous nature, acts as a natural starter culture. In addition, the cultures are given a boost by adding a small quantity of the previous day's whey or curd to encourage acidification. The milk is heated to between 96.8-100.4º F (36-38ºC) and rennet added to coagulate the milk. After approximately thirty minutes, the curds are cut by hand and some of the whey is drained off. The curds are then allowed to "rest" in the remaining whey for two hours before being transferred to another vat containing water at 176ºF (80ºC). There, the curds soften, allowing them to be pulled and stretched by hand into the desired shape before being dunked into cold water to harden. Caciocavallo Pezzata Rossa is a "pasta filata" style of cheese, meaning that the curd is stretched. The unusual gourd type shape of the Caciocavallo is a result of the young cheeses being tied with rope to make a "neck" and then suspended over a wooden rod to mature.
Tasting Notes
Cheeses are aged for for a minimum of 90 days before release. Flavors are rich and buttery with hints of grass and caramel and a pleasant balance of salt.


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Nine more days until Christmas. Holiday shoppers are desperately racing against time. Long lines twisting through stores like snakes are common. Malls across the country are blare Christmas music in a not-so-subtle attempt to get people into the spirit of the season.
Many are totally engaged in the holiday season and take advantage of the craziness it offers. For them, magic is in the air. Snow globes decorate homes decked with boughs of holly and images of Santa Claus in his sleigh or going down chimneys.
Small children, always optimistic, believe in Santa Claus until someone older tells them differently. Random acts of kindness. Santa Clauses sit in stores for hours, patiently listening to children's wishes.
Funny jokes. Did you hear the one about the judge and the prisoner?
It was just before Christmas and the judge was in a good mood. He asked the prisoner in the dock, "What are you charged with?"
The prisoner replied, "Doing my Christmas shopping too early."
"That's no crime," said the judge. "Just how early were you doing this shopping?"
"Before the shop opened," answered the prisoner.
Normally, around this time of the year waiting in a long post office line of people with last minute packages to send, is stressful. Still there are funny moments.
I saw a lady in the Post Office the other day buying stamps for her Christmas cards. The clerk asked her, "What denomination?"
"Oh, good grief! Have we come to this?" she asked. "Well, I guess I'll take 50 Methodist and 50 Catholic ones."
The really cute stories always seem to involve children asking Santa to bring them something for Christmas. I've really heard some funny lines. When my three sons were of that age I wish I would have recorded some of their requests. More than one Santa raised his eyes in alarm!
Here's a good story I ran across:
As a little girl climbed onto Santa's lap, Santa asked the usual, "And what would you like for Christmas?"
The child stared at him open-mouthed and horrified for a minute, then gasped: "Didn't you get my E-mail?" Talk about signs of the times.
'Tis the season to be jolly. For many Americans, Christmas is all about the birth of Jesus. Church activities blend seamlessly into the season as celebrations lead up to Christmas Day.
By the way, do you know why Santa Claus always comes down the chimney?
Answer: Because it soots him! It must be true. When I read the "Night Before Christmas" by Clement Clarke Moore to my grandchildren, their favorite part is when he pops out of that chimney with all those toys!
Then there are Christmas miracles. Here's one from last year:
When 5-year-old Helen Berence Reyes Cardenas released two balloons into the sky on Dec. 2 from her Auburn, Wash., yard, she hoped they would catch a breeze and sail straight to the North Pole. With the balloons, Helen released her silent hopes for a better year for her family. It had been a hard year for all of them.
Despite the balloons taking a far more southern course than hoped, one of the two balloons with her Christmas list attached would appear to have made its way into Santa's hands.
In the ranch town of Laytonville, California, Julie Sanders and her son were out on their quad runners when they came across Helen's now-deflated balloon, and the note. "The fact that she asked for a doll, some pants, boots and nothing materialistic," said Sanders to ABC News, told her all she needed to know about Helen and her family, over 700 miles away. "I just knew it was a family in need."
Sanders called the phone number Helen had listed in her note, and discovered the issues leading to the family's financial hardships. A family friend told her that Laytonville was a mill town, and had recently known hard times.
The Sanders traveled over 50 miles to the nearest mall, purchased Helen some special outfits and toys to enjoy, and shipped them "from Santa," just in time for the Reyes family to place them under the Christmas tree.
(This story was originally posted by Steve Woods on Technorati, Dec. 5, 2011.)
As It Stands, Christmas is a time for miracles, like peace and goodwill on earth.
Dave Stancliff is a former newspaper editor and publisher who writes this column for The Times-Standard. Comments can be sent to firstname.lastname@example.com or to www.davesblogcentral.com. Also, visit Dave at http://learni.st/users/dave.stancliff.9


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