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More Fights Added to Glory 2 Show in Brussels
GLORY just announced some more fights for their October 6 show, titled "GLORY 2 Brussels," which takes place in Brussels, Belgium. The main event, pitting Remy Bonjasky against Anderson "Braddock" Silva had already been announced as well a bunch of names that would be on the card.
Gokhan Saki will return in his first fight since May as he takes on Mourad Bouzidi. Saki still remains one of the top heavyweights in the world, and now is really a full blown heavyweight, weighing in at 108kg/238lbs for his fight against Carter Williams in May. Bouzidi is in a spot that Saki is all too familiar with, as he is on the smaller end of heavyweight. Bouzidi last fought on June 30, defeating Rustei Kreshnik by KO from a knee at It's Showtime.
At 79kg/175lbs, Murthel Groenhart faces Belgium's Marc de Bonte, one of the more unheralded fighters at this weight. de Bonte is a solid fighter with good boxing that he showcased in the MPL when he defeated Jiri Zak. He also recently went to Germany and showcased himself to Team Sauerland, a powerhouse in boxing over there.
Nieky Holzken continues to go up in weight as he faces Murat Direkci at 78kg/172lbs. Direkci last fought in January at It's Showtime where many thought he should've gotten the decision over Robin van Roosmalen. He said that that was his last fight but it appears now that it wasn't. Direkci has been a 70kg fighter for most of his career but the word out of the kickboxing scene in Holland was that he didn't want to make the weight anymore. As for Holzken, he comes off a win via body shots over Alex Harris at GLORY's last show in May in Stockholm, Sweden.
Another fighter who was going to retire, Mohamed Khamal, is now back and he faces Marat Grigorian at 71kg. GLORY convinced him to come back and that's great because Khamal is still one of the best fighters, whether it be at 70kg or lower in weight.
Heavyweight up and comer Jamal Ben Saddik fights Jahffar Wilnis, and as previously posted on LiverKick, It's Showtime 95MAX World Champion Danyo Ilunga fights Ali Cenik at 97kg. Read the full press release from GLORY here.
Here is the fight card so far:
HW: Remy Bonjasky vs. Anderson "Braddock" Silva
HW: Gokhan Saki vs. Mourad Bouzidi
79kg: Murthel Groenhart vs. Marc de Bonte
78kg: Nieky Holzken vs. Murat Direkci
71kg: Mohamed Khamal vs. Marat Grigorian
HW: Jamal Ben Saddik vs. Jahfarr Wilnis
97kg: Danyo Ilunga vs. Ali Cenik
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Related informationGlory 2 Brussels
Glory 2 Brussels (Oct. 6th) Final Fightcard


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A Nigerian Easter in the Midwest
From the front door she calls, "He has risen!" Her children respond, "He has risen indeed. Let's eat!"
I dodged church Easter Sunday this year. My mother Gbeme, however, worshipped at the Baptist church she's been attending twice weekly for the past 20 years.
Raised Catholic in Nigeria, my mother's Easter begins the seasonal swap from heavy wools to floral prints and pastels. She wears a beautifully vibrant gele — an intricately fashioned tie around the head worn by Yoruba women — and iro and buba — the matching outfit traditionally worn by Yoruba women — to church. She exchanges compliments with the other congregants about their upbeat clothes and steady health. For two hours the pews fill, the choir sings, and for the larger Easter crowd, the young new pastor delivers an especially rousing sermon. Soon thereafter, church dismisses. Time to eat.
For many Americans, Easter is synonymous with the egg. But in my bicultural household, creamy frejon is the signature Easter week delicacy. The bean soup is made of smoothly blended brown beans called ewa ibeji and steeped coconut, then sweetened with cane sugar to taste.
In the mid-1980s, my mother left metropolitan Lagos to attend college in rural Wisconsin — and made necessary modifications to the original frejon recipe. Back then international foods weren't as integrated. In lieu of traditional Nigerian dishes, my mother observed her first few Easters amid sweet friends, sweet rolls, egg salad, and hearty Midwestern casseroles. After she graduated, she moved from Wisconsin to Minnesota, reuniting her with city dwelling, a dense Nigerian immigrant community, specialty grocers, and Easter frejon.
Catholic Yoruba traditionally eat frejon with fresh fish stew at the noon meal on Good Friday to mark the end of Lenten fasting. Contrary to the egg, the bean is not holiday satire and I speculate this is due to frejon's convoluted history. Frejon is not indigenous to Nigeria. Emancipated slaves returning from Brazil at the end of the transatlantic slave trade introduced the dish to the region. The freed slaves settled in southwest Nigeria (historically populated by the Yoruba) and founded what's called the "Brazilian Quarters." The ex-slaves too brought Catholicism from Brazil. Colonialist, tribal, and religious nuances intersected to form a staple that Yoruba throughout the diaspora still consider sacred to our Easter tradition.
For years my mother has done less of the holiday cooking since her children have assumed much of the duty. This Easter I repeated the recipe just as she'd demonstrated it to me years ago. Instead of hardly available ewa ibeji, we substituted black-eyed peas. And the coconut milk came tapped from the can instead of the freshly fallen fruit. The good news here: the most laborious work is happily averted.
I began preparing the beans the previous Thursday. I cook one cup of dry beans to three parts water in a pot over medium heat for two hours. By Good Friday morning, the beans are cool. I blend them smooth, add equal parts coconut crème and a generous amount of sugar, and return the pot to low-medium heat for two additional hours. I stir incessantly.
When my mother awakes, she shuffles to the kitchen to assess my progress — and knowingly confiscates my wooden stirring spoon. The frejon gently boils, and by noon the family assembles around me to sample the first helpings. And we eat.
We welcome your reflections, essays, videos, or news items for possible publication on the On Being Blog. Send us your submission.

subset: commoncrawl


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Return to Index
Colles' Fracture
(Fracture, Distal Radius; Distal Radius Fracture; Transverse Wrist Fracture; Dinner-Fork Deformity of the Wrist)
A Colle's fracture is a break in the distal part of the radius bone. The radius is one of the bones of the forearm. The distal end of the bone is considered part of the wrist. Distal radius fractures are categorized by type:
- Open fracture—a broken bone that breaks through the skin
- Comminuted fracture—a bone that breaks into more than two pieces
- Intra-articular fracture—a broken bone within a joint
- Extra-articular fracture—a broken bone that does not involve the joint
|Intra-articular Colle's Fracture
|Copyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.
This sheet focuses on fracture of the distal radius. Fractures of other wrist bones can be found on a separate sheet.
A distal radius fracture can be caused by:
- A fall on an outstretched hand
- A direct blow to the wrist
Risk Factors
Factors that can increase your risk of breaking your radius bone include:
- Severe trauma:
- Osteoporosis
- Poor nutrition
Conditions that increase the risk of falling include:
- Snow
- Ice
- Loss of agility or muscle strength
- Certain sports
- Increased age
- Postmenopause
- Decreased muscle mass
Symptoms may include:
- Arm or wrist pain
- Bruising
- Swelling
- Tenderness
- Severe pain with movement
- Trouble moving your wrist or arm
- Wrist appears out of line
You will be asked about your symptoms and medical history. A physical exam will be done.
Images will usually be taken of your wrist or arm. This can be done with an x-ray.
After you are diagnosed, you may be referred to a specialist. An orthopedist focuses on bones.
It takes 6-10 weeks for a fracture of the radius at the wrist to heal. The type of treatment you receive depends on where your bone is broken and how serious the break is.
Some fractures require a reduction. This means the doctor realigns the bones before healing begins. Reductions can be done by the doctor putting your bone fragments into position by moving your arm or through surgery.
Your doctor may choose to treat the fracture using a cast. Your cast may be removed after a few weeks and replaced if it loosens. Most casts are removed at about six weeks.
In other cases, a splint or a soft bandage may be used instead of a cast. Talk with your doctor about the best plan for you.
Your doctor may prescribe a pain medication or suggest an over-the-counter pain reliever.
A distal radius fracture sometimes requires surgery. The surgeon first realigns the bones during an operation. Then, any of the following may be used to hold the bones together as they heal:
- A plate and screws
- Pins
- An external device that holds the inside pins together
You may be given a splint to wear after surgery to keep your arm from moving too much.
Physical Therapy
You may be referred to a physical therapist. Exercises will help you regain range of motion and strength.
To help reduce your chance of fracturing your radius bone:
- Consider wearing a wrist guard when you play sports that put you at risk, such as in-line skating.
- Keep your muscles strong to prevent falls.
Family Doctor—American Academy of Family Physicians
Ortho Info—American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
The Canadian Orthopaedic Association
When it Hurts to Move—Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation
Distal radius fracture. Ortho Info—American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons website. Available at: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00412. Updated March 2013. Accessed September 23, 2014.
Distal radius fracture-emergency management. EBSCO DynaMed Plus website. Available at: http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T902859/Distal-radius-fracture-emergency-management. Updated Accessed September 29, 2016.
5/6/2010 DynaMed Plus Systematic Literature Surveillance http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T902859/Distal-radius-fracture-emergency-management: Kropman RH, Bemelman M, Segers MJ, Hammacher ER. Treatment of impacted greenstick forearm fractures in children using bandage or cast therapy: a prospective randomized trial. J Trauma. 2010;68(2):425-428.
Revision Information
- Reviewer: Michael Woods, MD
- Review Date: 09/2016
- Update Date: 09/23/2014


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Thursday, September 21, 2017
Situs Inversus Totalis and Male Infertility
True or false? A male with situs inversus totalis that is NOT the result of Kartagener`s Syndrome should have no problems with fertility (i.e. no problems caused directly by the condition).
Thank you for your time!
Thank you for visiting NetWellness. A question similar to yours has been previously addressed. The link below will connect you to that information. NetWellness may also have some general information available that you can access through our search feature. Feel free to write back if you still have questions or need an explanation.
NetWellness Staff


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Gang-rape case: Three accused remanded, one says 'hang me'
By PTI | Published: 19th December 2012 01:42 PM |
Last Updated: 19th December 2012 05:39 PM | A+A A- |
Three accused arrested for allegedly gang-raping a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus here on Sunday night were today produced before a Delhi court which sent two of them to four-day police custody while the third was sent to 14-day judicial custody.
Vinay Sharma, an assistant gym instructor and Pawan Gupta, a fruit seller have been sent for custodial interrogation while Mukesh, who was allegedly driving the bus when the crime was being committed, has been sent to Tihar Jail in judicial custody after he agreed to undergo test identification parade (TIP).
Mukesh is the brother of another accused Ram Singh, who was yesterday remanded to five-day police custody after he refused to undergo TIP.
Vinay and Pawan, however, have refused to undergo TIP, the criminal procedure in which the alleged offender is brought before witnesses and victims for identification.
After being produced before Metropolitan Magistrate (MM) Namrita Aggarwal, the trio were sent to court of Metropolitan Magistrate Sandeep Garg for following the procedure for conducting the TIP.
When the judge asked whether they would volunteer to undergo TIP and if not why, Vinay said, "he had beaten up the boy but did nothing with the girl" and went on to say "mujhe faansi de do (hang me)", while Pawan told the court, "I do not want to undergo TIP as I have committed a heinous act".
The magistrate after completing the process for the TIP said,"Accused Mukesh has submitted that he wanted to undergo TIP. Police be directed to conduct his TIP on December 20 at 3pm Central Jail, Tihar."
Both the victim, a paramedical student, and her male friend, who had boarded the chartered bus with tinted glass windows from Munirka in south Delhi to Palam around 9.45 PM on Sunday night, were assaulted with an iron rod by the men after the two resisted before they were dumped on the road side near Mahipalpur flyover, police said.
Metropolitan Magistrate Garg also asked the police to move a fresh application for recording the confessional statement of the accused persons saying "what they have said in court is not on oath".
Returning to the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Namrita Aggarwal, the police did not seek custody of Mukesh, but said the custodial interrogation of the other two were necessary for "arresting the two other accused in the case" and for recovery of clothes.
Police said it also has to recover the ATM cards and mobile phones of the victim and her male friend.
"Since the accused persons are required for apprehending the other two accused and for recovery of the ATM cards and mobile phones of the complainants (victim and her male friend), they are remanded to four days police custody. They be produced on December 23," Aggarwal said.
All the accused are facing charges under sections 365 (kidnapping or abducting), 376 (2)(g) (gang rape), 377 (unnatural offences), 394 (hurting in committing robbery) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.
The bus driver Ram Singh, the first person to be arrested in the case, was yesterday remanded to five days in police custody by a Delhi court. He had refused to undergo the TIP.
Out of the six accused, four have already been arrested.


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When Holmes gives up the adventurous life of a consulting detective and retires to the Sussex countryside to raise bees, little does he or his old friend Dr. John Watson realize that their greatest adventures lies ahead - an adventure spanning centuries and extending across the solar system.... For nothing less than human civilization lies at state as Sherlock Holmes finds himself moving inexorably toward the final and most terrible confrontation with his ancient enemy, the time-jumping Napoleon of crime, professor Moriarty!
©2000 David Dvorkin (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
"Delightfully preposterous...a lot of fun!" (The Republic)
"Professor Moriarty, once reported dead, but now rejuventated by the Time Machine which Moriarty has swiped from H.G. Wells' time traveler.... Doyle to H.G. Wells to Dvorkin...nice triple play!" (The New York Times)
Social Scientist and Researcher; mostly retired but conducting longitudinal research into social issues especially the media and social networking. Avid SF and alternative history fan; enjoy a good crime yarn and have become something of an addict for audiobooks.
"Sherlock Holmes will never die."
If you want to buy an argument about the greatest detective in the world, some of the modern updates are highly entertaining and although I approach some with apprehension, by and large those to be found on audible.com are well up to standard. I have thoroughly enjoyed all the alternatives and this is no exception. If you are a traditionalist, as I was once, it may take a little time to reorient but it is time well spent.
Could not finish it -- awful, preposterous
I love pastiches but this was dreadful
Narrator was fine.
"Totally awful, waste of Time"
I really can't think of anyone who'd enjoy this book as it was so bad.
The entire story was poor, the crimes being solved of which there were very few, the manner in which the crimes were solved, the time travelling part was awful and messed up leaving many questions.
The story telling was of a goo standard.
The author, so it would never have been written.
I hope I can return this item, very poorly written and thought out story lines.
Report Inappropriate Content
If you find this review inappropriate and think it should be removed from our site, let us know. This report will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.


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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Politicians and community leaders may want to pay heed to the results of a newly released Jacksonville University poll in which conventional sentiments that the St. Johns River is the area's lifeblood and greatest asset aren't reflected in public attitudes.
Asked to name the most important asset to the region, only 28 percent of metro area respondents named the St. Johns River. Nearly two-thirds put Navy bases at the top. Nearly half didn't see a direct connection between their personal actions and the river's health.
"Most people don't get to use or enjoy the river, and that can affect their attitudes about the river's role as a generator of income and jobs," said Dr. Ray Oldakowski, professor of geography and director of the JU Social Science Research Center, whose students conducted the survey.
The poll released Wednesday is a comprehensive survey asking northeast Florida and central Florida residents their attitudes about the St. Johns River, Oldakowski said.
"Many people drive over the river, but most don't get the opportunity to enjoy it, and that may contribute to these feelings," he said.
That creates obstacles for its future health, said Dr. Quinton White, executive director of JU's Marine Science Research Institute.
"There's a disconnect. If you want people to protect the river, then they have to value it in the first place," he said. "It's a call to action for our government and agencies to do more to help shift attitudes."
The poll was conducted last fall and then analyzed by JU faculty and students. It has a margin of error of +/- 5 percentage points. Findings were broken out between Jacksonville Metropolitan Area residents (Duval, Clay and St. Johns counties) and residents south of the Jacksonville Metropolitan area (Putnam, Volusia, Seminole and Brevard counties).
Among key findings of metro area residents:
- About 70 percent never fish the river, two-thirds don't boat it and 90 percent don't swim in it.
- More than half feel they don't know enough about how to safeguard the river, and 45 percent don't see a direct connection between their personal actions and the river's health.
- Just two percent see protecting the environment as the biggest challenge facing the local community, compared to 58 percent who see job creation as the biggest hurdle, followed by 20 percent who view reducing crime as the biggest problem.
The importance of the river and feelings about how personal behavior affects it were even lower among residents farther south of Jacksonville.
"Our river is so important to this area, but that is not really the perception of the overall public," White said. "They don't think that their actions affect the health of the river. Those kinds of perceptions affect how much they want to support it."
The findings underscore the need to create more awareness of the St. Johns River's health and its value to northeast Florida, White said.
"There's a need for education about the importance of the river ecologically, and how it contributes to the economy as well."
Copyright 2013 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Kansas health officials are warning residents to avoid direct contact with water in two lakes because of high levels of blue-green algae blooms.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued the warnings Thursday for Memorial-Veterans Lake in Great Bend and Old Herington City Lake in Dickinson County.
The agency also issued health advisories for seven lakes where blue-green algae have been detected. Advisories mean boating and fishing may be safe, but direct contact with the water is discouraged for people, pets and livestock.
Those lakes are Cedar Bluff Reservoir, Lovewell Reservoir, Milford Lake, Overland Park South Lake, Logan City Lake, Marion Reservoir and Winfield City Lake.
Blue-green algae can cause allergic reactions, diarrhea, vomiting and death. Animals can die from drinking too much tainted water.


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A once-respected former teacher accused of committing lewd acts on children in what he called "tasting games" pleaded no contest Friday to all the charges against him.
A once-respected former teacher accused of committing lewd acts on children in what he called "tasting games" pleaded no contest Friday to all the charges against him.
Mark Berndt, 62, entered the legal equivalent of guilty pleas to 23 charges at a hearing Friday. The plea agreement calls for the former Miramonte Elementary School teacher to be sentenced to 25 years in prison.
John Manly, an attorney who represents 30 of Berndt's students and their parents, said Thursday that he was notified of the plea by prosecutors, who urged a deal because "they were concerned about re-traumatizing the children at trial."
He called the agreement a victory for his clients.
"He's going to jail essentially for the rest of his life," Manly said. "You can't ask for more than that."
The district attorney's office and Berndt's lawyer declined to comment in advance of the court hearing.
Berndt admitted that he blindfolded students while spoon-feeding them semen-laced cookies and sometimes put huge cockroaches on them.
Sean Rossall, a district spokesman, said 63 lawsuits filed on behalf of victims have been settled for a total of $29.5 million, and 71 more are pending.
He said the district had not seen the plea agreement and wouldn't comment until it's entered in court.
Berndt, who taught for 32 years at the South Los Angeles school, was removed in 2011.
The allegations against him came to light when a drugstore photo technician noticed dozens of odd photos of blindfolded third-graders and reported them to authorities. Investigators said they discovered a plastic spoon in Berndt's classroom trash bin. Tests found traces of semen on it.
The Miramonte case led to a wide-ranging overhaul of how the nation's second-largest school district handles allegations of sexual abuse after it was revealed that previous complaints about Berndt's behavior were ignored. It also showed how slowly state officials act to censure teachers and led to a flurry of allegations of teacher-student sex abuse in the district and in other school systems.
Shortly after Berndt's arrest, the school district temporarily removed all 76 of the school's teachers, along with staff and administrators, putting them on leave and having them report to an empty high school nearby. Six months later, when the new school year began, 43 of them returned to a restructured Miramonte with a new principal. The rest either retired or went to new schools. None was accused of any wrongdoing.
Manly denounced the district for allowing Berndt to continue teaching after complaints in the 1990s.
Another Miramonte teacher, Martin Springer, is charged with lewd acts on a child in a case involving a second-grader that authorities said was fondled in class in 2009. Springer is awaiting trial.


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I try to find out who Ven. Saddhajiva was. Does anybody has a clue?
He wrote the article 'Anguish—the Mark of Man' (publised at Path Press http://pathpress.wordpress.com/2010/09/ ... rk-of-man/) and I am archiving his transcribed copy of Notes on Dhamma - and that is basically all what I know about him.


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- When:
Add This Event To YourFriday, February 21, 2014 - Wednesday, April 2
- Where:
- Dittmann Center, Flaten Museum
- Web Link:
- http://wp.stolaf.edu/flaten/rivers-doctors-taking-the-pulse-of-the-worlds-largest-rivers/
- Contact:
- Jane Becker Nelson
River Doctors: Taking the Pulse of the World's Largest Rivers
Photography by Chris Linder
Assistant curator: John Schade, Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies.
Spring Break (museum closed): March 22 – 30
The Global Rivers Observatory is tracking the health of the Earth's most significant river systems. Rivers provide a link between the land and ocean. So keeping a close watch on the health of global rivers is a good way to keep an eye on what is happening to our world as a whole.
The Global Rivers Observatory is advancing understanding of how climate change, deforestation, and other disturbances are affecting our rivers and oceans. As the human population approaches 9 billion people, this understanding will be essential as, already, the vast numbers of people depending on rivers are struggling to adapt to the rapidly changing conditions.
Chris Linder's Website
My goals in photographing science are: Educate the public about science;
Inspire the next generation of researchers;
Communicate the need to protect wild places
< Return to main calendar page


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Type 56 (top) and AKS-47.The Chinese Type 56 was the standard issue assault rifle of the Chinese military from the late 1950s until the 1980s when it was replaced by the newer Type 81 assault rifle. Some Chinese Reserve and Militia units still use the Type 56 rifle as well as the SKS. During the Cold War period, the Type 56 was exported to communist forces in the Third World. Many of these rifles found their way to battlefields in Africa, South-East Asia, and the Middle East during the Cold War era and were used alongside Kalashnikov rifles from both the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact nations of Eastern Europe.
Chinese support for the Democratic Republic of Vietnam before the mid-1960s meant that the Type 56 was frequently encountered by American soldiers during the Vietnam War, in the hands of either NVA soldiers or Viet Cong guerrillas. In fact, the Type 56 was discovered in enemy hands far more often than Russian-made AK-47s or AKMs. When relations between China and the North Vietnam government declined in the 1970s and the Sino-Vietnamese War began, the Vietnamese government still had large numbers of Type 56 rifles in its arsenals while the People's Liberation Army still used the Type 56 as its standard weapon. Thus, Chinese and Vietnamese forces fought each other using the same Chinese-made Type 56 rifles.
Type 69 RPG and Type 56-2.
A Chinese sailor, armed with a Type 56 assault rifle.During the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, many Chinese Type 56 assault rifles were given to Afghan Mujahideen guerrillas to fight Soviet forces in Afghanistan by both the Chinese and the Americans. The Type 56's use in Afghanistan also continued well into the 1990s and the early 21st century as the standard rifle of the Taliban when Taliban forces seized control of Kabul in 1996. The Taliban's use of the Type 56 was a stark contrast to the weapons of the Afghan Northern Alliance, which were exclusively Russian-made small arms like the AKM and the AK-74. Since the overthrow of the Taliban by US-led Coalition forces in late 2001, the Chinese Type 56 assault rifle is used by the Afghan National Army with many Type 56 rifles being used alongside the Russian AKM and AK-74 rifles.
The Chinese Type 56 assault rifle saw considerable action in the hands of Iranian forces during the Iran–Iraq War of the 1980s with Iran purchasing large quantities of weapons from China for their war against Iraq. During the war, Iraq purchased a small quantity of Type 56 assault rifles from China despite Iraq being a major recipient of Soviet weapons and assistance during the Iran–Iraq War. Consequently, the Iran–Iraq War became another conflict in which both sides used the Type 56, much like the Sino-Vietnamese War.
Since the end of the Cold War, the Type 56 has been used in many conflicts across the world by the military forces of various nations. During the Croatian War of Independence and the Yugoslav Wars, the Type 56 was used by the armed forces of Croatia alongside other small arms and weapons the Croatians possessed. During the late 1990s, the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo were also major users of the Type 56, with the vast majority of the weapons originating from Albania, which received Chinese support during the Cold War.
In recent times, the Type 56 has been used by the Janjaweed in the Darfur region of Sudan with pictures and news footage showing members of the Janjaweed carrying Type 56 rifles (most of them, provided by the Sudanese government). The Type 56 has also been seen regularly in the hands of militants from the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas in the Palestinian territories; these weapons are most likely provided by Iran, which is both a known supporter of Hamas and a major consumer of Chinese weaponry.
In the mid-1980s, Sri Lanka started to replace their old British L1A1 Self-Loading Rifles (SLR) and HK G3s with the Type 56. Currently, they use the fixed stock, under-folding stock and sideways folding stock variants.
In the United States and the United Kingdom, the Type 56 and its' derivatives are frequently used in the filming of movies and television shows, standing in for Russian-made AK-47's due to the rarity of genuine AK-47 rifles, some even being visually modified to resemble other AK-series rifles, such as AK-74 rifles in the James Bond film GoldenEye. As with all firearms used in cinematography, these weapons are adapted to fire blank ammunition.
Source: Wikipedia.com
by Daveyg187 December 06, 2008
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Synthetik is a WordPress theme for creative professionals such as graphic designers, web designer, artists, illustrators and photographers. It also makes for a good personal website as it not only has a filterable gallery but also a blog section. Its other features include a slider on the homepage, Twitter widget, Latest Work widget, Latest Blog Post widget, social media buttons and contact form. Several custom widgets and shortcodes are also included with this theme.
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Originally posted 2013-09-15 07:40:59.


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SHEPHERDSVILLE - A beautiful spring evening met the attendees of the Center for Women and Families "Create a World Without Violence" candlelight vigil at the Bullitt County Courthouse, presented in conjunction with the Bullitt County Domestic Violence Committee.
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Study of Protease Inhibitor Regimen Switch in HIV-1 Infected Patients With Undetectable Viral Load to Prove the Non-inferiority of Once Daily Dose Regimen Versus the Current Twice Daily Regimen to Maintain the Viral Load Under the Limit of Detection. (RADAR)
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Darunavir boosted with ritonavir (darunavir/r) is a powerful protease inhibitor, able to reduce the viral load in patients infected with multi-resistant HIV strains; In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that the induction of resistance mutations in the protease gene is much more difficult with the association darunavir/r compared to the other ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitors (PI/r), testifying of a significantly higher genetic barrier to resistance. Moreover, the tolerance to darunavir is good, and the pharmacologic profile of this molecule allows a once daily administration with a 800/100 mg dose in patients infected with a wild HIV strain or with a slightly resistant to darunavir/r strain.
Thus, we propose to evaluate the efficacy of the darunavir/r association once daily as a substitute to a protease inhibitor regimen administered twice daily in patients with undetectable viral load receiving a tritherapy including a protease inhibitor administered twice daily.
|HIV-1 Infection HIV Infections
|Drug: darunavir
|Phase 3
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary Purpose: Treatment
|Official Title:
|Non-comparative, Opened Study, Evaluating in HIV-1 Infected Patients With Undetectable Viral Load, Treated by an Antiretroviral Combination Including a Protease Inhibitor Boosted With Ritonavir and Administered by Oral Route Twice a Day, the Substitutability of the Current Protease Inhibitor Regimen by the Association Darunavir/Ritonavir 800/100 mg Once a Day to Maintain the Viral Load Under the 50 Copies/ml Limit of Detection After 24 Weeks of Treatment.
- Undetectable viral load ( < 50 copies/ml) [ Time Frame: Week 24 ]
- Proportion of patients with undetectable viral load under 50 copies/ml [ Time Frame: All visits ]
- Proportion of patients in the situation of virologic failure defined as a viral load higher than 50 copies/ml confirmed with a second examen at least two weeks later. [ Time Frame: All visits ]
- CD4 lymphocytes count and evolution [ Time Frame: All visits ]
- Lipids balance evolution [ Time Frame: All visits ]
- Treatment tolerance [ Time Frame: All visits ]
- Measure of the darunavir/r concentrations variability and correlation with the potential adverse events and/or virologic failures. [ Time Frame: All visits ]
- Spermatic viral load (sub-study concerning 15 patients) [ Time Frame: Day 0 and Week 48 ]
- Pharmacologic sub-studies [ Time Frame: All visits ]
|Study Start Date:
|May 2009
|Study Completion Date:
|September 2011
|Primary Completion Date:
|June 2011 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
|Assigned Interventions
|Experimental: Darunavir/r
Drug: darunavir
darunavir/r 800/100 mg once daily by oral route, 48 weeks of treatment
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Senior)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- HIV-1 infected patients
- Treatment with an association of 3 molecules including two Nucleotidic Reverse Trasncriptase Inhibitors and a ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor BID, unchanged for at least one month
- At least two documented undetectable viral loads (under 50 copies/ml) within the last 3 months
- Naiive from darunavir
- Free from any opportunistic infection
- Creatinin < 3N
- Haemoglobin > 7 g/dl
- Platelets > 50 000/mm3
- Negative pregnancy test for women of childbearing potential and use of a mechanic contraceptive during sexual relationships
- Signed informed consent
Exclusion Criteria:
- HIV-2 infected patients
- Treatment different from the association described in the inclusion criteria (2 NRTIs + 1 PI/r BID)
- Patients with a documented problem of treatment compliance within the last 12 months
- Ongoing active treatment against any opportunistic infection or tuberculosis
- Any critic concomitant condition (alcohol consumption, fatigue) that may jeopardize treatment compliance and/olr tolerance, and interfere with the protocol compliance
- Any concomitant treatment that may potentialize or inhibit hepatic cyotchrome-based enzymes
- Patient already treated with darunavir
- Patient treated with tipranavir, enfuvirtide, raltegravir, etravirine, and/or maraviroc
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00849160
|Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Bicêtre - Service de Médecine Interne et Maladies Tropicales
|Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France, 94275
|Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière - Service de Médecine Interne
|Paris, France, 75013
|Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière - Service des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales
|Paris, France, 75013
|Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades - Service des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales
|Paris, France, 75015
|Hôpital Tenon - Service des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales
|Paris, France, 75020
|Principal Investigator:
|Jade Ghosn, MD
|Centre Hsopitalier Universitaire de Bicêtre
|Study Director:
|Christine Katlama, MD
|Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière
|Responsible Party:
|Centre de Recherches et d'Etude sur la Pathologie Tropicale et le Sida
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00849160 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|February 20, 2009
|Last Updated:
|January 21, 2014
Keywords provided by Centre de Recherches et d'Etude sur la Pathologie Tropicale et le Sida:
Treatment Experienced
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Communicable Diseases
HIV Infections
Lentivirus Infections
Retroviridae Infections
RNA Virus Infections
Virus Diseases
Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes
Immune System Diseases
HIV Protease Inhibitors
Protease Inhibitors
Enzyme Inhibitors
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
Anti-HIV Agents
Anti-Retroviral Agents
Antiviral Agents
Anti-Infective Agents
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017


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Last year, the Indiana Pacers won a playoff series for the first time since 2005, and had they not bumped up against the Miami HEAT in the second round they may have ended up going even deeper into the postseason. Despite that particular misfortune, Indiana made great strides in 2011-12, and even bigger things are expected out of them this coming year.
HOOPSWORLD takes a look at the 2012-13 Indiana Pacers:
Five Guys Think
The Indiana Pacers had an interesting offseason. A couple of their moves seemed questionable on the surface, but they all had logic behind them. What matters the most, though, is that they havent taken a step back. In fact, its not out of the question that theyre going to be even better than last year. Is that going to be enough to truly break into contention in the East? We wont know until the playoffs come along. As far as the Central Division goes, it belongs to them since the Chicago Bulls will be without Derrick Rose for the better part of the season.
1st Place Central Division
Yannis Koutroupis
The Pacers continued their slow, steady climb to the top of the Eastern Conference last season, nearly eliminating the Miami HEAT as the highlight of an impressive postseason showing. They brought back Roy Hibbert, gained an energetic backup centers in Ian Mahinmi and Miles Plumlee, added scoring with Gerald Green, and acquired D.J. Augustin to back up George Hill, meaning they will be even deeper and tougher than last season. If Paul George and Hibbert takes the next step in their respective games, the Pacers could be the dark horse to come out of the East. With Derrick Rose out to start the season, they should be able to at least capture the Central Division crown, though that isnt a given.
1st Place Central Division
Bill Ingram
The Chicago Bulls have been the team to beat in the Central Division in recent years, but Derrick Roses injury opens up the door for the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers surprised everyone last season, winning 42 games and giving the Miami HEAT a hard-fought playoff series. Indiana should be able to take the next step this season and make some more noise in the postseason. Theyre bringing back the same core and have added veterans such as D.J. Augustin, Gerald Green and Ian Mahinmi. Indiana enters this season with a lot of confidence and, for the second straight season, they should be able to finish as one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference.
1st Place Central Division
Alex Kennedy
The Pacers have made steady progress for a couple of years now, but this is the season in which theyre really expected to make the leap to the Eastern Conferences elite. Roy Hibbert is a max-contract guy now, and the rest of this team has proven theyre good enough to win a playoff series. With the young core one year older, and with additions like Gerald Green, D.J. Augustin and Sam Young, theyre an ever deeper team than a season ago. The Miami HEAT are the best team in the East this year, obviously, but the Pacers look as good as anybody for #2, especially with Derrick Rose primed to miss most of the season for the Chicago Bulls. Little should stand in Indys way of winning the Central this year, and a trip to the Conference Finals could be in the not-too-distant future, as well.
1st Place Central Division
Joel Brigham
The Indiana Pacers are on the cusp of entering the leagues elite, but the ascension to the next level isnt about adding more external help it is more about their current core needing to take their games to the next level. Roy Hibbert, Paul George, D.J. Augustin, George Hill, Gerald Green and Lance Stephenson need to show growth this season in their respective roles if the Pacers want to build on last seasons success.
1st Place Central Division
Lang Greene
Top Of The List
Top Offensive Player: Despite a slow start last season, Danny Granger really is the most gifted offensive player the Pacers have. Too often he has the four-point night on 2-for-12 shooting, but more often than not hes good for 20+ points a game. It takes a high volume of shots to get those points, but so far the rest of the Pacers have been happy to give him priority with the basketball. Look for this to be a more balanced offensive attack this year, with Granger, David West, Roy Hibbert, and Paul George probably combining for something like 60 ppg between the four of them. Granger, however, is likely to lead the team again in 2012-13.
Top Defensive Player: Roy Hibbert finished last season fifth in the league in blocked shots per game and fourth in total blocks, so theres no questioning that hes the best this teams got as far as defense is concerned. The really scary thing is that he can be even better defensively, but his ability to alter teams plans for attacking the rim is extremely valuable. Having the second-tallest player in the league (the tallest if we dont count Hasheem Thabeet, and lets be honest, nobody really does) is quite a luxury for the Pacers. To be tall and talented is even rarer.
Top Playmaker: Once upon a time, the idea was that Darren Collison would be the young point guard to help facilitate this Indiana offense moving forward, but by the end of last season that role was passed onto George Hill. Collison was traded to Dallas in the offseason, essentially handing over the reins to Hill, who received a fat extension as the teams new go-to point guard. He is, of course, more of a combo guard than a true point, but hell be the guy Indiana relies on to spark the offense this year.
Top Clutch Player: He might not shoot a high percentage, but Granger is still the guy whos going to get the ball when a game is close. With Jeff Foster no longer with the team, Granger is the longest-tenured Pacer, and as the veteran leader of the team he probably should be taking the big shots. There are a lot of good players on this team, but none that are undeniably great. Granger is the closest theyve got, which is why hell be taking the majority of important shots this season.
The Unheralded Player: While he only plays about 24 minutes a night, Tyler Hansbrough is the kind of hard-nosed Indiana ruffian that drives opposing frontcourts insane. Hes annoying and pesky in the best way possible, and the Pacers are hoping that tenacity rubs off on rookie Miles Plumlee, who could end up being a very similar kind of player. Hansbrough, though, is more talented, and his combination of tenacity and occasional statistical outbursts is extremely valuable to this team, even without huge minutes.
The Best New Addition: Once again, the Pacers had some money to throw around this summer, and they did some nice things by digging around the bargain bin. D.J. Augustin will play a significant role on this team as the backup point guard, but other acquisitions like Sam Young, Ian Mahinmi, and Sundiata Gaines should also prove to be nice additions, as well. But its Gerald Green, who broke out in New Jersey last season after a significant hiatus from the league, that could have the biggest impact. Indiana needed depth at the two, and Green should provide that, although a repeat of last seasons 12.9 ppg might be hard to accomplish on a team with so many other offensive options.
Joel Brigham
Who We Like
1. Paul George: George saw his minutes boost up to 30 a game last year, which led to seriously improved numbers across the board for him. Not only is he an early favorite to win the dunk contest this year (should he choose to participate, and hopefully not in glow-in-the-dark neon yellow), but hes also an early favorite to be a breakout star. Danny Granger is still the man in Indiana, but George is creeping up the ranks, too.
2. David West: While West put up his worst numbers in several years his first season as a Pacer, he proved to be a stabilizing veteran presence on a team that was otherwise pretty young and inexperienced. What Indiana needs out of him is toughness on the block, a little bit of rebounding, and 10-15 points a night. Hes more than capable of doing that, as he proved last season (and for several seasons preceding that one). He might not be an All-Star anymore, but hes still a very important part of this team.
3. George Hill: You can make a strong argument that Hill isnt worth the $40 million he got this past summer, and can also argue that thats a lot of money to invest in a point guard who technically isnt even really a true point guard, but what you cant argue with is that the Pacers played their best basketball last year with Hill running the team. He needs to do a better job getting his teammates the rock in order to have any hope as the long-term starter here, but hes a good enough ball player to get that done. Plenty to get excited about with Hill moving forward.
4. Roy Hibbert: Indiana deserved an All-Star last season, and Hibbert was the likely candidate. Hes anything but a shoe-in to do that again, but he should be top three in blocks again this year, and if he can have his big games with consistency hes got a reasonable shot at being the best center in the Eastern Conference now that Dwight Howard is out in L.A. Yes, better than Andrew Bynum, and yes, better than Greg Monroe, Brook Lopez, or Joakim Noah. The talent is there, but its got to show up every night. Hopefully this is the year he finally is able to do that.
5. Frank Vogel: Almost as soon as the Pacers fired Jim OBrien nearly two years ago, the Pacers looked like a team destined for greatness, and Vogel has not disappointed since getting his interim tag removed last offseason. Despite the fact that this is the third season in which hes run the team in some capacity, it will be his first time actually being given the opportunity to run a full training camp his way, and considering the aptitude hes shown early on as an NBA head coach, that should be a good thing for the way his team looks heading into the 2012-2013 season.
Joel Brigham
Despite being so young, the Pacers finished in the top ten in several key team statistical categories last year, and considering theyre bringing back essentially the same core as a year ago, they should only get better with age. On defense, in particular, this is a really tough group. The Pacers finished 10th in the league last year in opponents points per game, and 6th in opponents field goal percentage. They were also fourth in team rebounding, another reason to love them as a defensive unit.
Offensively theyve got some work to do, as they were extremely average shooting the ball from the field, but from behind the arc they were exceptional, shooting 36.8 percent, good for 6th best in the NBA. They also finished third in free-throw percentage and tied for fifth in the fewest turnovers per game.
Joel Brigham
Danny Granger, the teams leading scorer last year, took almost the first third of last season to get his shooting percentage out of the 20s, and that personifies what proved to be a really poor shooting team last season. In fact, they finished 24th in the league in team field goal percentage (.438), which puts into numbers how inconsistent this team proved to be on that end of the floor. The fact that they were second-to-last in team assists, too, further shows this groups limitations. Perhaps having a true point in D.J. Augustin will help with that, but its doubtful. This is just a team that struggles to move and score the ball offensively, but hopefully age and maturity help the Pacers improve on that this upcoming season.
Joel Brigham
What Needs To Be Said On Opening Day .
Its time to continue to build on last season. We have our same core group back and are ready to take the next step. To do that, we need to keep our focus on playing inside-out. We know Roy will be a beast to stop inside. But Roy Can you be more willing to make that pass out when the double teams come? If so, we know there will always be players around you, like Danny, Paul and George, that will knock down shots. We have too many good offensive pieces to not be one of the best teams in the league. With a focus on execution and making the extra pass, we can get there. Lets let our offense be our driving force and see where it takes us.
- Anthony Macri and Brett Koremenos
The Burning Question
Can Donnie Walsh and Kevin Pritchard continue the positive momentum built by departing team president and general manager Larry Bird and David Morway?
Its not often a guy wins Executive of the Year and then calls it quits, but Larry Bird was an exhausted and aching guy who simply couldnt stand up to the rigors of running an NBA team anymore. Before he left, however, Bird and his GM David Morway put together one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, mostly by drafting gems with picks in the teens and purging the roster of burdensome salaries. Walsh and Pritchard have both proven over time that theyre capable of putting together winners, too, but how will they handle this group moving forward?


text:
Murder in a WordRiddles are little poems or phrases that pose a question that needs answering. Riddles frequently rhyme, but this is not a requirement.
A donkey behind another donkey
I'm behind that second donkey
But there is a whole nation behind me
It is a murder you can describe in a word.
AnswerAss ass i nation
What Next?
See another brain teaser just like this one...
Or, just get a random brain teaser
If you become a registered user you can vote on this riddle, keep track of
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Welcome to our Licensed Dragonstar Adventures. Enjoy adventure material created for the wildly popular d20 setting, Dragonstar, by Fantasy Flight Publishing.


text:
Ross can't grasp how he made diving grab
SAN FRANCICO -- Cody Ross still is not sure how he did it.
The D-backs outfielder raced toward the right-field line and made a diving catch of Buster Posey's drive in the sixth inning of Monday's series opener against the Giants at AT&T Park.
It wasn't that he was able to get to the ball, but that he was able to hang onto it given that he caught it with the palm of his glove and the momentum of his dive caused him to slap the glove face down into the ground.
Several different replay angles showed that Ross was somehow able to keep the ball off the ground.
After the game he checked the video just to be sure.
"I watched it," Ross said. "And I still don't know how I hung onto it."
Steve Gilbert is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Inside the D-backs, and follow him on Twitter @SteveGilbertMLB. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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FIREFIGHTERS are tackling a huge blaze at a derelict primary school building in Great Lever.
The former Clarendon Primary School, Clarendon Street, went up in flames just after 6pm tonight.
Emergency fire crews — standing in for striking firefighters — are still trying to bring the fire under control.
Police have cordoned off the surrounding streets and have advised nearby residents to shut their windows and doors.
The roof is believed to contain asbestos, which could be harmful.
Slates are sliding off the burning roof and the gable ends are unstable.
Area manager Warren Pickstone, from the fire service, said: "When we arrived the fire was already well established.
"It is too early to say what caused it but we know it started in the roof.
"We are trying to make the area as safe as we can and contain the fire.
"At the moment there are flying slates and unsecure gable ends.
"It is a dangerous site."
Residents say the large Victorian building has become a target for vandals since it became derelict about five weeks ago.
Fire crews believe the blaze could have been started deliberately.
Danielle Unsworth, aged 20, from Great Lever, said: "We saw the smoke from another area and came over to see what was happening.
"We could see the roof burning and then the roof started to fall down. It was terrible."
Sarah Parkinson, aged 19, from Halliwell, said: "I couldn't believe how much smoke there was.
"All we could see was it collapsing and all of the flames."
One resident, who asked not to be named, added: "It's really scary. I have a family and a baby. We've been told to stay in our house and shut all the windows."
An aerial platform arrived at the scene at about 8pm so firefighters could try to tackle the fire from the roof.
Several streets around the building have been cordoned off.
See all our pictures of the fire here.


text: At Grand Caribe Resort We will make your wedding dreams a reality. We have everything you need to plan your dream wedding From an intimate beach for two, to a full celebrity-style event. Our team of friendly and experienced staff will coordinate with you before you arrive, right through until you return home with great memories of your perfect wedding in Belize.


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5" 2002-2005 Dodge Ram 1500 4WD IFS Lift Kit
This Zone system offers the perfect balance of off road performance and on road comfort. The massive main crossmembers used to relocate the lower A-arms are built to last and provide a solid sub frame. It includes a thick differential skid plate for increased off road protection for those times you may get caught by surprise. This system includes CNC machined steering knuckles to maintain OE geometry, alignment specifications, and handling characteristics. Lift and level your truck with Zone Offroad and you will never be disappointed with the quality, value, and performance of our American made systems.
The 02-05 Dodge 1500 4WD non mega cab has been engineered by Dodge so the shock is the droop stop for the front suspension. This puts a tremendous amount of load on the shock and the way the shock is mounted. The problem with the design is the lower shock mount is just a bolt threaded into the lower control arm. To remedy this and strengthen the shock mount, order a fab_fts93013 Double Shear Bracket Kit. It's a great add-on to any lifted or even stock application.
- CNC Machined Steering Knuckles.
- Differential Skid Plate.
- Massive Front and Rear Crossmembers.
- Custom Valved Shock Absorbers.
Installation Instructions
Additional Information
|Item Number
|Manufacturer Part Number
|Important Notes
|May require front exhaust modification to clear front driveshaft, typically on standard cab models.
Depending on cab configuration, these vehicles vary from 1 inch to 4 inch tail high from the factory.
This system is 5 inch front 3 inch rear so you my need to adjust to acquire your desired stance.
Torsion bar load/unload tool required for installation
|Ram 1500, 1/2 ton Ram
|Year Spans


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Paula Patton shines in Piaget
2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations are announced with the finalists for the Piaget Producers Award
(November 26, 2013 – LOS ANGELES) – Actresses Paula Patton and Octavia Spencer kicked off this year's award season with the announcement of the Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations, held at the W Hollywood. Ms. Patton, who wore Piaget to last year's Vanity Fair party, turned to the Swiss jeweller once again to add sparkle to her all-white look. She chose a pair of Piaget earrings in white gold with pink tourmalines, amethysts and diamonds for the press conference.
Leading the pack for nominations are "12 Years A Slave" with seven nominations and "Nebraska" with six nominations. Contenders for the 7th annual Piaget Producers Award are Toby Halbrooks and James Johnston, Jacob Jaffke, Andrea Roa and Frederick Thornton.
The 29th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards will once again be held on the beach in Santa Monica on Saturday, March 1st, 2014. Piaget, a champion of creativity and independent thinking, has been a long-time title sponsor. The House will host an exclusive backstage VIP lounge where celebrities and guests will enjoy a sneak preview of Piaget newest jewellery and luxury watch collections.
Photo credit: Michael Kovak / Getty Images. All rights reserved.


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Diana D'Achille '14
Published on Tue, December 10, 2013
Hometown: Denville, N.J.
Major: Graphic design with a minor in multimedia
Sport: Cross country
Favorite Marywood Memory
Diana's favorite memory was the excitement and pride she felt when Marywood won the overall CSAC Presidents' Cup for the first time in history. The Presidents' Cup is an annual athletic award presented to the school with the highest competitive percentage rating based on championship finishes. Diana said, "Marywood's women's cross country team was the conference champion, and I was also a player on the lacrosse team, which was a runner-up that particular year. I'll always remember the picture the school took on the turf field that included every athlete, in every sport, proudly showcasing the three trophy cups from the three sports seasons."
Combining Sports with Academics
Diana said, "Cross country is one of the toughest sports, because it's just as much about the mental attitude as it is about the physical fitness." Diana credits cross country with teaching her commitment, prioritization, attitude, and discipline. Diana said, "These ethics carry over to academics and are shared by all my fellow cross country teammates, who usually hold the highest academic records to prove it."
Future Plans
Diana, a senior, enjoys all forms of graphic design in both digital and print. She plans to pursue a career that benefits from both her design and technology skills. In addition to her graphic design major requirements, she has completed a minor in multimedia, several web design courses, and a programming class at Marywood. Diana said she feels "these courses will make me more marketable in such a competitive field."
She is considering graduate school or certification courses so she can specialize in mobile device software development and graphics. Additionally, Diana plans to continue running, along with swimming and biking. Her next goal is to compete in a Half Iron Man. Diana said, "I love setting goals, and this one seems like a great one to pursue."


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Crew bats go quiet in Estrada's wild outing
Brewers unable to escape costly second inning in fifth straight loss
MILWAUKEE -- The Cardinals left no doubt this weekend at Miller Park: They rule the roost in the National League Central.
The Brewers were no match for their division rivals on Sunday, when the Cardinals finished a four-game sweep by scoring six times off Marco Estrada in the second inning and soaring to a 10-1 victory over a streaky Brewers club that has dropped five in a row.
The Brewers have lost six of seven games against the Cardinals this season while being outscored 42-17.
The sweep dropped Milwaukee from 1 1/2 games behind first-place St. Louis to 5 1/2 games back.
"It's the exact opposite of what you want to do coming into that series," said Brewers reliever John Axford, who heard more boos after another poor outing. "We were playing good on the road in San Diego and L.A., the first couple of games at home here against Pittsburgh. Then I personally let the last game against Pittsburgh slip away, and it seemed to kind of carry over a little bit.
"We need to stop that downward momentum and turn it over."
At some point, they will have to figure out a way to beat the Cardinals. Left-hander Jaime Garcia scattered eight hits on Sunday and allowed only one run in eight innings, seven of them spent protecting a big lead.
Cardinals first baseman Allen Craig drove in four runs, three on a bases-clearing double in the decisive second inning. Matt Holliday homered and finished with three RBIs.
"It was a bad series," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "We'll play a bad series. We don't do it too often at home, but we do. We'd been playing good ball, and we played two good games [against the Cardinals], two bad games. But it was a bad series overall."
But it was just another series, said Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy, who downplayed the fact it was a bad series against a heated division rival -- the same rival that denied the Brewers a trip to the 2011 World Series.
"They just outplayed us this series," Lucroy said. "It ticks you off because you hate to lose to anybody. But just because it's the Cardinals doesn't make us any more frustrated."
Estrada looked good in his high socks and 1913 throwback jersey, but he had a dismal day on the mound. He issued a career-high five walks and surrendered nearly as many earned runs (eight) as he recorded outs (10).
Before Sunday, Estrada had never walked more than three batters in a game.
"It was one of the worst outings of my career, I think," Estrada said. "I had no idea where the ball was going. … It's one of those outings where I had no clue what I was doing out there. I felt lost."
The Cardinals did most of their damage in the second inning, sending 10 men to the plate and scoring six runs on three hits, three walks (two with the bases loaded) and a hit batter. The big hit of the inning belonged to Craig, who followed a pair of bases-loaded walks by ripping a three-run double into the left-field corner for a 5-0 lead.
All six St. Louis runs in the inning scored after one particularly puzzling pitch: A curveball in a 3-and-1 count to Shane Robinson, who entered the day batting .192, to force in a run with slugger Holliday on deck.
Estrada said he misinterpreted Lucroy's call. The Brewers changed their signs when a Cardinals runner reached second base, and Estrada simply forgot.
"It's dumb. It's a mental mistake you can't do," Estrada said.
Upset about that mistake, Estrada then walked Holliday to force in another run before Craig broke the game open.
Holliday added a two-run homer in the fourth. Estrada then retired Craig and left the game.
"It drives me nuts, knowing we needed a good outing," Estrada said.
He needed 90 pitches for 3 1/3 innings, including 27 pitches in a scoreless first inning and 38 more in the dismal second. Even in Estrada's only hitless inning, the third, he needed 17 pitches.
After warming up three times in the game's first three-plus innings, Alfredo Figaro finally took over for Estrada in the fourth and pitched well, holding the Cardinals to one run in 2 2/3 innings and even contributing with an RBI infield single -- the first hit and RBI of Figaro's career.
It was the first of three infield hits for the Brewers in the fifth inning against Garcia, who struck out Aramis Ramirez with the bases loaded to end the threat. The Mexican-born lefty won on Cinco de Mayo with his eight-inning gem.
"Real proud of how the guys played," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "It's a lot like a couple of other series we've had where guys came in ready to play this morning and were excited about being here. You can see the passion they have for the game and they went to work, really made the most of the opportunities they had. It was a good day."
The Brewers will try to get back on track when they return from a day off to begin a two-game series with the Rangers on Tuesday.
They'll tangle again with the Cardinals on the next road trip, from May 17-19 at Busch Stadium.
How will the Brewers bounce back?
"You forget about it," Estrada said. "Right now, it's in my head, and I'm sure it's in a lot of guys' heads, that we just got swept in a pretty crucial series. But you try to go out and forget about it. That's the only thing you can do."
Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Brew Beat, and follow him on Twitter at @AdamMcCalvy. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text: I agree, but I'm an old player and beads don't bother me. New players who learned to play in the beadless/big wing era drive Buzzz sales, and there are a whole Hell of a lot more of them than there are people like me.victorb wrote:I think the wasp is the second best midrange that discraft makes, to the comet. If I didn't throw rocs, I'd throw a wasp/comet combo. DX Rocs are exponentially better than D wasps though, in terms of flight patterns and wear cycles.


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Risers and fallers after Sunday's race at Texas, the eighth of 10 Chase for the Sprint Cup races:
The Chase: NASCAR implemented the playoff format nine years ago to spice up the end of the season and ensure a competitive championship race.
It has continued to tweak the system over the years to further enhance the chances of the championship battle going down to the final race.
No matter how you slice it, NASCAR, by most accounts, has gotten it right.
For the third straight year, it has a close, compelling Chase that looks like it will once again come down to the final race.
Brad Keselowski: While Jimmie Johnson won for the second straight week to increase his lead in the Chase standings, it was Keselowski who once again turned heads with his aggressive driving and a gutsy performance.
Keselowski gambled to try to win the race and raced Johnson as hard as possible without wrecking them both. That's the way a driver should go after the Sprint Cup championship.
Though Johnson has the advantage in his quest to win a sixth Cup title, Keselowski sent a message that he's not going down easily.
Danica Patrick: Completed a Sprint Cup race without wrecking. Check.
Completed a Sprint Cup race without wrecking someone else. Check.
Finished on the lead lap for the first time. Check.
Improved her career-best finish. Check.
Patrick even passed teammate and boss Tony Stewart at one point en route to her 24th-place finish at Texas.
While she still finished just 24th, Patrick showed considerable progress in her ninth Sprint Cup start. With new crew chief Tony Gibson at her side, Patrick definitely has something to build on heading into 2013.
Now, if Gibson can just settle on a nickname for her.
Kasey Kahne: Kahne's recent streak of strong performances and good fortune came to halt at Texas, where he cut a tire late in the race and finished 25th.
After hanging around the points race for seven races, Kahne fell 56 points behind leader and teammate Jimmie Johnson, ending his title hopes.
Still, Kahne has won two races and still could finish in the top five in the final standings.
Denny Hamlin: Hamlin expressed his displeasure with Austin Dillon after the Nationwide Series race at Texas by running Dillon's car into the wall.
It's not the first time two angry drivers have run into each other after a race. But claiming that young Dillon got his ride because his grandfather owns Richard Childress Racing was a low blow.
Dillon is the 2011 Truck Series champion. And he has won two Nationwide races this year and is third in the series standings. So he obviously has a bit of driving talent.
Hamlin also made a crack about Dillon's car number—the famous No. 3—which might not set well with long-time fans of RCR and Dale Earnhardt, who made the number famous.
"After the checkered flag, he runs into me—I don't know if he feels entitled by the number on his door to think he's tough," Hamlin said.
Hamlin was clearly frustrated with his finish in the race and likely with the way his season has gone. But such insults toward the popular Dillon won't win him any fans.
Kevin Harvick: Harvick can't buy a break this season. Not only has he struggled on the track and had a disappointing performance in the Chase, but at Texas his car was damaged when a skydiver's parachute hit it prior to the race.
At least Harvick had a sense of humor about the incident, tweeting, "Never good when the day starts with a parachute weight hitting our car. Welcome to 2012."
To their credit, Harvick's crew was able to quickly repair the damage and finish ninth—his first top 10 in the Chase.
Power Rankings
1. Jimmie Johnson (Last week: 1)
2. Brad Keselowski (2)
3. Kyle Busch (5)
4. Clint Bowyer (3)
5. Matt Kenseth (9)
6. Greg Biffle (8)
7. Kasey Kahne (4)
8. Tony Stewart (12)
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (15)
10. Jeff Gordon (6)
11. Ryan Newman (10)
12. Denny Hamlin (7)
13. Kevin Harvick (13)
14. Martin Truex Jr. (11)
15. Aric Almirola (16)
16. Joey Logano (22)
17. Carl Edwards (18)
18. Paul Menard (14)
19. Mark Martin (19)
20. Sam Hornish Jr. (20)
21. Jamie McMurray (23)
22. Kurt Busch (29)
23. Brian Vickers (17)
24. Jeff Burton (27)
25. Casey Mears (30)
26. Bobby Labonte (21)
27. Juan Pablo Montoya (24)
28. Marcos Ambrose (28)
29. Landon Cassill (26)
30. Danica Patrick (NR)


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Note: This item is more than 11 years old. Please take the publication date into consideration for any date references.
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Sept. 18, 2006
New Fish Records Web Site a Feast for Trivia Lovers
ATHENS, Texas — Quick — what is a Hawaiian sling, and for what purpose did Robert Horrigan use one in the San Marcos River on April 10, 1989?
The answer to that question (and many others you never thought of) can be found in the newly revamped fish record pages of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's web site.
"We've replaced the old lists with a searchable database," says Joedy Gray, coordinator of the Angler Recognition Program. "It's now possible to select a lake, river or bay and get all water body records for that location on one page."
Fly fishing records are now listed along with other rod and reel records, but you can still search for fly fishing records only.
To make the site even more user-friendly, links to award categories, submission guidelines, locations of certified scales and selected photos are in a handy sidebar on the search page.
In addition to records by weight by method of take—rod and reel, bowfishing and other legal means—the site also includes a new category, state catch and release records. Fish entered into this category must be released alive after having their length recorded. That leads to a couple of bits of information practically guaranteed to make trivia lovers quiver with delight.
To wit: The catch and release record for largemouth bass, 26.13 inches, ties the length of the fish ranking number 24 by length on the list of top 50 largemouth bass. And the catch and release record for smallmouth bass, 22.75 inches, ties the length of the fish ranking—you guessed it—number 24 by length on the list of top 50 smallmouth bass.
What other obscure fishy facts lurk in the lists? Find out by going to tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/programs/fishrecords and beginning your search. There you'll find all the information you'll need to perhaps add your name to one of the lists.
And what is a Hawaiian sling, and what did Robert Horrigan do with it?
It's a type of spear gun, and he took the state freshwater record American eel with it. It's on the page titled "State Freshwater Records: Other Methods."
Now you know.
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Topic: Question for everyone
Are you a big diet Pepsi or diet Coke drinker? I have been looking into a possible connection between aspartame (artificial sweetener) and cc. Aspartame turns into formaldehyde in the body and affects the bile ducts. I was just wondering. Two of us were big diet cola drinkers and users of aspartame (also in artificial sugar packets). If you, too, drink or drank a lot of diet colas, would you please post it and I will keep count. Thanks. Barbara L.


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I feel compelled to open this post with a disclaimer. I am not posting this in an attempt to start a flame war, incite an argument, or anything even remotely in that vein. Truly, I'm not. I am genuinely curious to hear peoples honest opinions on this topic. Not knee-jerk post game reactions.
Ok, now that's out of the way. Here we go:
LeBron James fouled Paul George at the conclusion of Wednesday night's Pacers loss. I know it, you know it, every single basketball analyst on social media knows it. All the folks who enjoy posting .gifs and sports meme's SURE know it. (See Below)
So here is my question to everyone. Why isn't it ok to assign partial (or significant) blame to botched end-game calls when we are dissecting a loss? It very clearly is a foul. The foul would have resulted in 3 free throws which at that point could have led to the Pacers extending the game into overtime. The exact same situation we faced in Game 1 of the ECF's last season, by the way.
Yet, when a poster on PD, or someone on Twitter or what have you expresses anger over a blown call/no call, they are almost instantly and overwhelmingly inundated by people chastising them with quotes like "We didn't deserve to win", "They NEVER call that", "We should have never allowed it to get to that point", etc. etc. Tonight, I even had the pleasure of some random jerk on twitter writing this gem directed at me. And I quote (somewhat censored): "quit b*tching f*g" - What a lovely specimen of humanity.
The only thing I can think of that makes it "OK" to complain about calls in some cases, but not in others is the context. I'll explain.
In last night's game we were rolling. We had the Heat right where we wanted them. Unfortunately, due to foul trouble (another topic...), lack of offensive and at times defensive execution, and an overall lack of poise down the stretch, the lead dwindled and we eventually relinquished it. (Not to mention LeBron is apparently allowed to step out of bounds directly in Joey Crawford's eyeline)
So perhaps then it is only "OK" to complain about bad late game calls if the team played well ALL the way to the moment the bad call in question happens? Is that the only way we 'deserve' to be the recipient of a call that may change the outcome of the game? What my anecdotal evidence shows me is that many fans fall into the "We didn't deserve to win, therefore we shouldn't have gotten the call" category. This simply baffles me!
Basketball games are 48 minutes long. Last night, the Pacers were the better team for MORE of those minutes than the Heat. About 30-18 or so, by my rough estimate, maybe even a touch more. So, because in the waning minutes of the game we were outplayed, that means that our early efforts to build a 15+ point lead are completely inconsequential? Yes, we did give up that lead, which meant that we found ourselves needing a 3 pointer with time expiring to go into overtime. But because the previous 5-6 minutes hadn't gone our way, we suddenly forfeit the right to fair calls?
I realize that a few of you may see where I am going with this and post in agreement with my sentiments. But I am fully aware many more of you won't, based on previous PD and Twitter reactions to my opinions. (See this thread on a game last year...) I am not trying to sway opinions or preach that my view here is superior. As I said in my disclaimer, I honestly just want to know WHY people who feel the other way, have that opinion.
Call me crazy, but I just feel like if in the final seconds of a game, if you have an opportunity to tie or win, REGARDLESS of the previous circumstances that got you to that point, you deserve the same calls.
The Pacers were robbed of that opportunity Wednesday night. Yes, we gave up a lead. Yes, we played poorly down the stretch. Yes, it should not have gotten to the point where we needed to rely on a proper foul call. But alas, it did. And we didn't get the proper foul call.
And for the life of me, I just cannot fathom why we aren't more upset about it.
Have at it.


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Lizzie Armitstead is hoping to celebrate her contract extension with Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team by winning the prestigious Tour of Flanders race on Sunday.
The Otley rider announced the new deal today, which ties her to the Netherlands-based international outfit until the end of 2016.
And having retained the leader's jersey in the Women's World Cup after finishing second in the de Trofeo Alfredo Binda in Italy last week, Armitstead is hoping to maintain her good form in Belgium at the weekend.
The Tour of Flanders is widely considered the biggest women's one-day race outside the Olympics or World Championships and doubles as the third leg of the World Cup.
Armitstead said: "It's the cobbles, the traditional spring Belgian weather, bad conditions and one of the longest races on the calendar.
"To be able to say you've won the Tour of Flanders? That means you're a hard bike rider.
"It's always the tough girls that win it."
The 25-year-old, who won the first World Cup race in Drenthe two weeks ago, came close to a second victory with another good ride in Italy. The difference with winner Emma Johansson was marginal and both riders were given the same time of 3hrs 05min 24 sec.
Burley-in-Wharfedale rider Scott Thwaites is also due to compete in the Tour of Flanders men's race tomorrow.
He experienced a painful end to his first World Tour outing, needing hospital treatment for a cut arm after crashing in the first of the year's Cobbled Classics at Gent-Wevelgen in Belgium.
Three more of his NetApp-Endura team-mates also hit the ground and Thwaites, who is also set to line up in the Tour of Scheldeprijs on Wednesday, said: "I was really enjoying it and felt good until the crash took me out.
"As a team we were riding really strongly and ideally positioned in the final stages, so it's sad that we didn't get the rewards."
Meanwhile, Keighley's Tom Moses enhanced his reputation with an 18th place finish in the Tour of Normandy.
The 21-year-old not only won the first stage of the Europe Tour event but led the race for three days before he was thwarted by a strong crosswind on the final stage that split the field.
Moses earned praise from his Rapha Condor JLT manager John Herety, who said: "Tom is a big talent and he worked really hard in Australia over the winter, so he has hit the ground running."


text: I'm a single atheist white man, 50, reputedly intelligent, with unusual interests in politics, science, music and dance. I'd like to meet a woman with varied interests, curious about the world, comfortable expressing her likes and dislikes (I hate struggling to guess), delighting in her ability to fascinate a man and in being loved tenderly, who values joy, truth, beauty and justice more than "success"--so we can share bouts of intense, passionately kind awareness of each other, alternating with tolerant warmth while we're absorbed in other aspects of life. My 19-year-old child, the Free Software Movement, occupies most of my life, leaving no room for more children, but I still have room to love a sweetheart. I spend a lot of my time traveling to give speeches, often to Europe, Asia and Latin America; it would be nice if you were free to travel with me some of the time.


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Each ag retailer has the records to show the percentage of income generated per month, but I wouldn't doubt 50 percent of a full year's income by many ag retailers that provide custom application services in the Midwest is generated during a two-month period each spring.
This year, two months of income, or at least the work associated with that income, might have been squeezed into one month. I know that the payments don't come in during one or two months because of pre-pay or invoices with provisions for scheduled payments.
What happens every spring is that employees end up working extremely hard in a short period of time, and squeeze more work into less time, like what occurred this spring. This extra workload squeeze seems kind of impossible based on how application equipment operators and nurse truck operators have described their "normal" spring jobs to me. I recently spoke with an application crew for a co-op near Kansas City. I was told those 16-hour days start taking their toll.
The AGCO Application Equipment Operator of the Year program has been around for eight years as of 2013, and over the years, I've interviewed many of the candidates, and each of them amazes me with their dedication to put in those crazy hours for 20 to 30 years consecutively. The mental fortitude to push through another season has to come from the knowledge that it will be two months out of 12 months, if they are lucky.
The AgProfessional.com website Web Poll in early May asked how ag retailers were going to deal with the short-season spring to provide customers with service. And 47 percent of those answering the question said applicator operators would be working many more hours per week. Twenty-five percent of those answering the poll also noted that their ag retailer operations would be working into the night.
There was no real consideration for adding more seasonal help to meet customer needs as only 6 percent said they were planning to add seasonal help for a condensed spring workload. Probably it's because there really aren't experienced employees available to add for a short time.
Ag retailers report how hard it is to find full-time, year-round employees, let alone seasonal help. Jim Ruen has written about the attempt to graduate more college students pursuing agricultural degrees in an article that starts on page 26. What he wasn't able to answer is how many urban students are willing to live in small-town America where everybody knows each other and each other's "business." Also, are long hours a consideration when comparing jobs and pay?
Farmers are putting in the hours because they own the business, and know the two months of spring can make or break their profit margin for the year. That's why once Midwest farmers were finally able to get into the fields by mid-May in most areas, equipment rolled fast and furious.
An example was the rapid planting of corn in Iowa with only 15 percent of the corn being planted as of May 12, according to the USDA planting report, and 71 percent having been planted by May 19. Illinois' planting proceeded just as fast from 17 percent on May 12 to 74 percent as of May 19. Missouri was the next fastest going from 28 percent to 70 percent during that same one-week period. The rapid planting basically had the percentage of planted corn acres on track with the four-year average by May 19.
So, what looked like the possibility of many corn acres being switched to soybeans became a non-issue. Now, the question becomes how will the weather turn out for growing those bumper crops?


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With California the de facto leader of an eight-state consortium to reduce automotive emissions, the Los Angeles International Auto Show, held the week before Thanksgiving, seemed like the logical place to find out what the future holds for automobile fuel systems.
That's where we were Nov. 20 and 21, and sure enough, the big introductions on the Honda, Toyota and Hyundai stands included vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel-cell systems that they are promising to put into production in the next two years.
The benefit of fuel-cell electronic vehicles is that they produce zero emissions on the road. Bringing its new Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) Concept out from behind a waterfall at the front of the stage, the Honda executives touted the fact that nothing comes out of the tailpipe except pure water vapor.
The fuel-cell vehicles also have an advantage over zero-emissions battery electric vehicles like the Tesla Model S and Nissan Leaf now running around the streets of Los Altos. An FCEV can be fueled to full 300-mile-range capacity in under five minutes.
Fuel-cell systems use electricity – generated from carbon fuels or renewable sources – to separate water into oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen is captured and transported to a filling station before being compressed and pushed into a pressurized tank in the automobile. To power the car, the hydrogen recombines with oxygen in the fuel-cell stack to release the stored-up energy as electricity. The electricity charges an onboard battery that powers the car through electric motors. All of this technology is developed and proven.
There is just one teeny, tiny problem, however: The only place in the Bay Area where a fuel-cell car can get a fill-up is in Emeryville. If you're one of the test customers driving one of the Mercedes-Benz F-Cell cars or Honda Clarity FCEVs in Los Angeles, life is a bit better. There are five stations in greater Los Angeles, so you might have to drive only 10-15 miles for a fill-up. There are no firm plans right now to improve this situation in the Bay Area.
Confused about whether we will or won't see fuel-cell cars in the marketplace, even in California, in our future? We certainly are.
But never fear. With the positive reception Tesla has garnered for its first model – Consumer Reports last month wrote that Tesla owners are more loyal to their vehicles than any other automobile brand in the history of the magazine's surveys – there were battery electric vehicles on several other manufacturers' stages at the auto show. That included the Audi e-tron, the Toyota RAV4 EV, the VW eGolf Hatchback, the Mercedes-Benz Smart and B-Class EV and the Cadillac ELR. Outside the convention center, more than 50 BMW i3 battery electric vehicles were available for test-drives around downtown.
The downside of these vehicles is that the batteries require four to eight hours of charging to drive a range of 80 to 200 miles. The upside is that the batteries can be charged anywhere there is electricity.
But wait, there's more. If you like the idea of refueling your car from a power plug most of the time but want to make sure that you won't run out of juice on the road, there are options. Most automakers, from Toyota to Porsche, displayed new plug-in hybrids on their stands, following the ground-breaking Chevrolet Volt. So perhaps the combination of battery power and an internal-combustion engine will be the answer.
What explains this flood of new zero-emission vehicles with such radically differing technologies?
The reality is that no one believes the free market, operating by itself and acting only out of profit-oriented self-interest, is going to lead us out of the fossil-fueled age of internal combustion. Although only a few years ago we were worried about running out of oil and/or breathable air in our lifetimes, new technologies to produce oil and continuing improvements in emissions and fuel efficiency in internal combustion have pushed the challenges well past the planning horizon of any investor.
This means that the transition to alternative fuels isn't going to happen without the involvement of government agencies at the national and local levels, offering both sticks and carrots to encourage the auto manufacturers and energy companies to develop necessary products.
In California and the seven states following its lead, legislation mandates that at least 15 percent of all cars sold in these states by 2025 must produce zero emissions (battery electric or fuel-cell electric). Manufacturers recently challenged those standards, because little progress has been made toward the long-range goal in any state except California, but they were told the standards would not be relaxed.
Tax incentives are offered now to reduce the cost of battery electric vehicles to consumers, and state and federal governments provide various kinds of support to fund development of both the fueling infrastructure and improvement in the technologies.
The problem is, as we have seen in the past, if the government shifts support from one technology to another – like five years ago when the Department of Energy shifted toward battery development and away from fuel-cell development – the game can change dramatically.
Manufacturers have been given a clear but challenging goal in the next 10 years, one that will require active involvement by government, but they have no assurance which of the two paths that involvement may take. The companies are forced to bet on red and black, promising that there will be either fuel-cell cars or battery electric cars, depending on where the ball drops.
In the meantime, in the main lobby of the convention center, Green Car Journal unveiled its "Green Car of the Year" for 2013. Was it some new gee-whiz technology? Nope. The award this year went to the Honda Accord line of vehicles, offered in standard gasoline and gas-hybrid versions. The publication noted that Honda received recognition for the extent of its contribution to clean air and renewable resources, simply by continuing each year to improve fuel efficiency, reduce emissions and increase reliability in a car that the mainstream automobile consumer can afford.
Progress is being made, but the future remains clouded by the uncertainty of government policy.
Longtime Los Altos residents Gary and Genie Anderson are co-owners of Enthusiast Publications LLC, which edits several car club magazines and contributes articles and columns to automotive magazines and online services.


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The Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin from USDA and the Department of Commerce shows drought persisting, particularly over the western half of the United States and also in Florida. Two winter storms during the week ending March 9 however, provided some needed soil moisture across the Plains and Midwest.
Following a pair of significant storms in late February, last-week's storm dropped over eight inches on Grand Forks, North Dakota, 9.6 inches in Rockford, Illinois and almost 20 inches at Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook map included in the report projects persistent drought through May 31 from California east to Oklahoma and Kansas, and from Texas north across Wyoming and into Montana. The map indicates drought with some improvement across much of the Northern Plans including Nebraska, the Dakotas and the western half of Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri. Eastern Minnesota and Iowa and western Wisconsin show drought likely to improve and impacts easing between now and the end of May.
For the month of February, precipitation totals were above normal across most of the Midwest and Southeast. Georgia set a record for total February precipitation. Most of the Central Plains received precipitation near normal during February while much of the West was below normal or much below normal. Monthly precipitation in portions of the northern Rocky Mountains and Southwest totaled less than 25 percent of normal
February temperatures averaged below normal across much of the Southwest and above normal in parts of the North and Northeast. Most of the country experienced average temperatures near normal during February.
See the Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin from USDA and the Department of Commerce.