text:
I am posting this here because I'm unable to post under the General Web Development forum...
I have a small publishing company. We sell educational programs, and our main product is a patent bar review course.
Our current course is paper books, audio CDs, cardboard flash cards, and one software CD.
I would like to convert the course so that it's all on-line. I am concerned about both getting the project done, and getting support afterwards.
In my mind, the project consists of 2 parts.
The first part should take orders, and charge credit cards using authorize.net's option where the user is sent to their site, the information is entered and card authorized, and then some of the information is sent back. That way we don't have to deal with credit cards, PCI compliance, etc. The user will be able to create a login and password, and access a small subset of the material for free. The user will be able to purchase 2 versions of the course, one having an extra set of introductory videos (for a higher price), and the other without. The user should be granted access for 3 months (sort of like a subscription), with another 3-month term which the user can activate at some time in the future (either right after the first one expires, or later if the user chooses). The user will also be able to purchase additional 3-month terms for a lower price.
The second part will be the presentation of the online course. This will include a series of web pages (probably database-generated) that the user can access, audio and video recordings that the user can play, questions which the user can take (stateless), some kind of flash-card app. It will also need to pass the user name to our current online exam simulator (written in PHP) in a hidden HTML field. There may also be two revisions of the course at once (depending when the user will be taking the exam), so between the free, paid, and premium, with 2 revisions of each, we could have up to a total of 6 versions of the course at once.
It will also need some kind of editing functionality for the HTML content, having about half-a-dozen paragraph types, plus bold, underline, italic, and strikethrough. The content is currently in Adobe Framemaker, which produces fairly clean results when exporting to HTML.
I would like this to all be hosted on a RackSpace CloudSite web hosting account (which have databases available). I could do it on a server (virtual or real) if required, but I've maintained a Debian server in the past and I'd rather not take on that responsibility again.
I got a quote from a company I found on google for $75,000 for the project, and they wanted to implement it in .NET.
A few questions:
Should I use Linux/PHP or Windows/.NET? It's not much more complicated than your average porn site (selling access to content). My friend who does web design says he can do it for a few thousand in PHP, but if it's going to take $75,000 worth of development in Windows, it must be incredibly inefficient (I know nothing about .NET, only Linux)
How much should I try to design myself, vs. give to the programmer(s) writing this? I generally have a pretty low opinion of the design abilities of programmers, judging because most of the software I've ever used, even from big established companies, has many bugs, poor interface design, and doesn't seem like it was designed by someone who truly understood the business they were programming for. And this doesn't even take into account the many software projects that can't be finished.
Should I go with an individual developer or a software company? Do I really get 20 times the value from a company? I could hire an individual programmer for a lot of hours for the money a company wants to charge. And, how do I find a good programmer or company? It's notoriously hard to know how good a programmer is before you've worked with them, and failed software projects are incredibly common.
Hey, I posted this in a different forum. Something is really screwed up here. And my post counter is wildly wrong.
Yes you did.No it's not.No it's not
I explained all in the post you made in general discussion about your posting problems.
Ok, thanks. My friend, who has made thousands of posts here, said it's never happened to him. As I'm always saying, I swear I'm jinxed.
Hey Moose,
You already have my input, though maybe posting so close to Thanksgiving wasn't the best timing now that I think about it. Heh. I'm sure that once it's over though, my other buddies on the Programming team will have something to add. Give it until some time next week to get real feedback.
For that cash I'll do it! :lol:
Ok, ok, I'll be serious. I don't know why you've got such a high quote but it looks to me that's a bit high, in principle. But maybe that company had a good reason to quote like that. Did you compared prices with some other web development company with reputation?
Inefficient what? PHP? or .NET?Each language has its own pros and cons. None of them is inefficient. In my case, I always go for PHP and Linux... not because they're better than Windows and .NET but because I can lower the costs of hosting and maintenance and also it gives me more freedom if I'm migrating. Let me expand on this a bit
Contracting a Linux server is cheaper than a Windows one (although if your company can afford those quotes, probably it is not much problem to you but in the end everything adds up) and while PHP works perfectly in Windows, .NET can have problems if you have a Linux server (basically, many objects and routines created with .NET are built only to work under Windows). And I love to have the freedom to move from one server to another without having to worry about annoying migration issues and have a wide range of options (in case that I want to move, of course). I hate to be limited by the OS.
If I use PHP, I can choose Linux... or Windows without any problem.If I use .NET, it would be rare that I could use a Linux server... it is not that portable (basically for those objects that I talked about earlier)
Linux servers are, in general, more stable and less hacked (if anything because there's more information about Windows and most hackers love to annoy Microsoft). Although I would note here that the security of a server is really related to the skill of the guy that configured it.
Still... why would you choose programming language over the other? Well, because you need to hire someone that can do the job and you can trust, and it will depend on what he knows best. If he knows .NET you will follow that route. If he's better with PHP, then you will have a PHP site.
Of course, maintenance and future growing of the site is important, and how easy is to find someone to do those tasks in each programming language is another point to take into consideration.
Design should be given to a designer, not to a programmer. Still, this designer, ideally, should have experience with interfaces and with web... because the nightmare of a programmer is a designer that doesn't understand that the web .
Ideally you want a team: designer+fron end coder (this could be divided into UX exper, accesibility expert, coder, javascript expert) +back end developer (which again could be divided into database + programmer or more)
Now, most programmers have enough knowledge of databases to do the job and will use a CMS which has already optimsed so you can save yourself the database expert there.
Whatever you're more comfortable with. You need to trust that they're doing a good job and that they will comply with your requirements. A company may offer more guarantees... but they can also fail as a solo programmer can (although he may not be that solo, some of us hire one or other two programmers when we feel that we can't do it on times)
You need to check what they've done before, the way they treat you, how they charge, their experience...
Of course, because this is a major job and you may want to put them to the test, giving them a small job that you may have pending and see how they handle it.
I hope this helps
Thanks for replying Malona. When he asked about how much he should get involved in design, I am not sure he meant visual design, but rather, how much he should be involved in the overall programming (as well as interface design). The main issue here being that he actually knows something about programming and development himself. However, more advanced concepts, such as Domain Driven Design, he has little experience with. As such, a need arises on his part to understand it if the chosen developer is using it. In the past, everything he's had done was primarily in linear PHP, which he knew better, and made tweaks by him easier. However, those were simply one-task items, with little business complexity and no need for scalability. The main thing that has been missing from the equation for the project he mentioned is a good lead, well versed in both development and the business at hand. Communication was a mess, which I'm sure lead to most of the confusion.
Thanks molona.
I guess what I'm proposing is that I be the designer. I have a degree in Computer Science, so I understand the concepts, but I haven't programmed in years. But my big advantage is that I know our products well and have finally banged my head on this enough that I figured out how to represent them online (such as, how interactive each particular part should be, how to organize everything, etc.) I think my biggest problem is that I don't say "no" enough to features and fancy ways of doing things that the programmers I've worked with suggest. I find that the simplest ways of doing things have the least amount of problems, so I have to balance making it simple for the user and simple for the programmer.
I'm just not sure what, exactly, I should furnish to the programmer in terms of a specification. I took a Software Engineering course, but it was very formal and low-level (probably because the prof had worked in aerospace). I want to design on a fairly high level so I need a programmer who has enough ability to go from that to the finished product without having the complexity run away on them.
What you would like to build sounds like a very involved web application. I don't think 75K is unreasonable for a custom web application. You could role the dice with a content management system modified to do what you want. However, any content management will never be as user friendly, scalable or optimized as a fully customized solution for the exact business needs. One important note about a open source CMS is that rarely can the workflow be changed. CMSs have a very specific work flow set forth to fit a generic model. It is that generic model that many times results in a convoluted interface for the end user. However, with a custom solution the work flow, interface, etc can be done in a way that best makes sense to the end user rather than being pigeon-holed into a generic interface.
Design for the web is a bit different than designing for a desktop application. For sure, you may want to be involved in the design phase, know the elements that you want to add and the functionality that each of them will have. You can also guide the designer where you want those elements so they're easy to use and find.
But as for the visuals, unless you're decent, it is better to higher a good designer with experience in the web world. They will create a nice layout with matching colors. I say with experience on the web because some designers are great in graphics, and do think about how the layout will coded, how to use the smallest size for each image, and reduce the number of images as much as possible and yet create an elegant, usable design with lovely colors... and on top of that, they will be aware of things such as color contrast and readibility.
Most programmers can't design and that's not their work to be fair.
As you say, it really depends on needs and specifications but with the current information I'm under the impression that you could use one of the CMSs out there and hack it accordingly.
Can I have some examples of CMSs that you're talking about?
Also, I don't know if it's allowed in this forum, but if it is, can I have specific recommendations for software companies?
Joomla, Drupal, Magento... These are the three that I would start considering for a project like this.
Joomla and Drupal have lots of plug-ins that may offer the extra functionality that you may need. Any of them have the editing ability you mentioned by default.
Or, if you want to follow SitePoint's way (see learnable.com) you can even use WordPress.
Having said that, I assume that the company that quoted that price did have these CMSs in cosideration, and quoted for a new and fully customized solution for some reason.
Unfortunatey, no. If you need I can recommend a designer though. I worked with him and I can assure you that he has good taste, style and understands perfectly hues and saturations and... color contrast!
Something that hasn't been touched on, and was a real problem before, was choice in frameworks and development practices. Assuming a custom solution is chosen, rather than a hack of a current CMS, several things needs to be considered.
1) Whether or not to use linear verses OOP.2) Whether or not to use a framework (MVC, CQRS, etc...).3) Whether or not to use domain/test driven design (in this case, domain being the business domain, not an internet domain).
One of the main issues that arose before was the desire of the client to develop top-down, beginning with UI sketches and discovering what is needed as things were written. While the developer wanted to model the business first in order to determine what actually needed first, such that less revisiting of the code would be required later. Of course this difference of style led to problems. When Flyingmoose asked about 'design process involvement' and 'fancy ways of doing things', this is the area he was referring to, mostly, not UI design per-se, as he was already working with a UI designer for that. And that gave rise to more issues in that the UI designer was unable to properly stub/test because the developer was not yet at the UI (in this case MVC) level, but still in the domain and services layers of a DDD implementation.
It might be a good idea to get a few comments listing what everybody sees as pros and cons of each of the related items above, so that others understand what is at stake better. Scalability and serviceability vs development speed and tweakability, etc...
At this point, I'll admit, I am the 'friend' he speaks of. I've worked with him for over 10 years now. I've redesigned his static site about five times and written several one-shot, stand-alone programs for him over the years. It was a real shock (and tested our relationship) when this particular project began to fall apart. It was I who suggested that he post here in hopes of getting some good non-biased input. The project wasn't all that difficult, the problems laying mostly with communication issues and disparity between what I thought was best for developing the application and what he was used to.
So if there is anything one can say to help clarify (not only for him, but others as well) the issues, their pros and cons, maybe he can make a more educated decision. I know, I for one, would still be willing to work on it, especially considering I've experience with his business model already, but saving the friendship is more important to me right now than a bit of work.
I don't consider myself the best to answer but I will try
You propose tough questions... and I'm not sure that I can give a well written and clear answer.
I'm not sure that DDD is needed for a project like this. It is a complex model and in my personal opinion only worth to use with medium-to-big, diverse groups and long term projects. But then, my experience with this type of approach is limited and I like to keep things as simple as possible (although, up to a point, we all use DDD in a very intuitive way). If anything because problems will arise... they always do... and I don't need the extra complexity.
I've always been a fan of doing the backend first, and then the front, even more in the world of web development where speed and permace of databases and connections are everything... clients don't wait after all! Then, when the basics are working fine and dandy, concentrate on the design. My process being, very roughly, as follows:
My experience is that doing the backend first and the front after is faster than the other way around.
Some customers require that both are done at the same time but I find this a pain because when they get very annoyed (the site is not fully functional so you get lots "This doesn't work yet!" comments) and they keep on changing their mind over and over. You can't concentrate on one thing and therefore the whole project suffers and the quality may not be as high.
1) Whether or not to use linear verses OOP. Linear is easier to understand (especially if you're not that familiar OOP) and to grasp but definately OOP has certain advantages for complex projects and anyway, if you use any framework it is more than likely that you will have to deal with OOP as many of them (if not all) use objects. With OOP you can create a class and then pass on its characteristics to a different class... if only for that, this is a time saver
2) Whether or not to use a framework (MVC, CQRS, etc...). Not too sure how to answer this. A good framework will increase the efficiency and developing will be faster... but I don't use them that much. The reason is that there are so many out there, each of them with its own advantages and disadvantages, that I got fed up with trying to choose which one will be the best.
3) Whether or not to use domain/test driven design (in this case, domain being the business domain, not an internet domain).
1) Whether or not to use linear verses OOP. Linear is easier to understand (especially if you're not that familiar OOP) and to grasp but definately OOP has certain advantages for complex projects and anyway, if you use any framework it is more than likely that you will have to deal with OOP as many of them (if not all) use objects. With OOP you can create a class and then pass on its characteristics to a different class... if only for that, this is a time saver
2) Whether or not to use a framework (MVC, CQRS, etc...). Not too sure how to answer this. A good framework will increase the efficiency and developing will be faster... but I don't use them that much. The reason is that there are so many out there, each of them with its own advantages and disadvantages, that I got fed up with trying to choose which one will be the best.
3) Whether or not to use domain/test driven design (in this case, domain being the business domain, not an internet domain).
In terms of feedback it is great in terms everyone that should be involved (coder, developer or designer is great) and everybody speaks the same language and terms. But I'm not really sure that it helps communication because defining a good model and creating the patterns and everything that DDD can be a real pain... creating the model itself doesn't need to be hard.. but definitions are always hard work. And also you need to make sure that the model is clean (meaning that non-domain concepts should leak into your domain)
Therefore I don't think that DDD is useful in all cases.
Not sure if I made myself clear.
This right here was one of our biggest challenges.
As a developer who mostly worked with large firms in the past, comprising of teams of up to thirty, working on highly complex distributed applications for clients such as the USPS, Estee Lauder, and 911/EMS/Police dispatching for the states of Ohio and California, I am just too used to a certain set of tools and methodologies to affectively apply myself in a smaller situation. I think, perhaps, you're right in that he doesn't need these things. I do agree though that the backend needs to be done first. Well, after the anaylsis phase anyway.
This is interactive? Lots of events triggered by users? Functional ftw.
Honestly, don't most people do whatever style works with the data available and what's to be done with it? If you have data objects, you write object-oriented. When you have (possibly async) events, you write functionally. When you have a chain of "first do this, then do that, then do that" then a procedure probably makes sense.
I agree with oddz that this sounds actually very complicated and because it's trying to replace physical learning tools (which, I dunno... don't people still want to bring flash cards with them when travelling, sitting in the waiting room, etc? No batteries necessary and all that? You can even write on them yourself? Are you really ditching all of the physical stuff?). Learning online (e-learning) to me always seems very tricky and complicated.
I do think that the moment there is something to test on real people, test it. I don't care if it's a cardboard cutout of a proposed web page. Test it. Refine it. Test it more. Heavy interaction makes me think designing and building a whole backend just wouldn't be possible even with the current user data the OP already has from the current products and experience in the industry.
The user-management stuff, though... that could all be done first, because there's little different here from any typical e-commerce really. Maybe this is why Magento was mentioned? (and, ew) Maybe instead of this project consisting of two phases... maybe it will really be two separate parts. One does the commerce. The other does the UI/learning/human junk. Besides sharing data and maybe a colour scheme, I'm not sure these two have to be the same system at all.
It would be really cool if someone from a large e-learning company could pipe up in this thread... like, say, someone from Learnable (hint hint)? Lydia? Udemy? They've all had similar obstacles and are in the same general area of work.
molona and oddz have some very good advice here.
What you are proposing to build is a complex web application and it needs to be viewed as such, and not something that can be hacked together quickly by any developer for a few thousand dollars.
I guess what I'm proposing is that I be the designer. I have a degree in Computer Science, so I understand the concepts, but I haven't programmed in years.
This raises alarm bells for me, I've never seen it work well when the client gets heavily involved in the technical aspects.
You are the client and need to make the best decisions for the business:- Make the right decisions about who to trust to build your application- Make sure they're delivering business value- Make sure they build the right features
If this doesn't sound like something you want to do then you may need to pick up the tools again and build the thing yourself, trust me though it's more complicated and will take more time than you are giving credit. If you don't want to spend 30k or more then building it by yourself might be the only option.
Should I use Linux/PHP or Windows/.NET?..Or Java, Python/Django, Ruby/Rails etc..
I've started judging technology stacks based on their products produced, open-source contributions and time to ship. Honestly, it doesn't matter what tech, as long as it's a good team.
What matters is that you have a knowledgeable team that can turn around a product quickly and there's no hidden gotchas like licensing fees for software and specific hardware requirements. An application like this will always be better if it's built by a highly skilled small team as opposed to a single person. You want a small team of three people that can release features and build the app incrementally. This allows you to see what is being built and guide new features being built without getting in the way. It lets you see how fast things take to build and you can make decisions based on that.
I would highly recommend you read through this book at least three times.http://gettingreal.37signals.com/toc.php
I second both of these statements, based on my own experience working both as a solo contractor and as part of several firms.


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Cubs' clubhouse moves on after blockbuster deal
CINCINNATI -- Cubs manager Rick Renteria was one of many watching Jeff Samardzija's first start with the Athletics on Sunday, and sent the right-hander a congratulatory message after he picked up his first win.
Samardzija and Jason Hammel were in Renteria's rotation until Saturday when both were dealt to the Athletics in exchange for four players, including highly touted prospect, Addison Russell.
On Sunday, Samardzija posted his 13th quality start of the season, giving up one run on four hits over seven innings in the A's 4-2 win over Toronto.
"It was good to see him throw, and he threw very well," Renteria said Monday. "I'm glad to see he did what he did. I texted him to congratulate him. He did good, he did a nice job."
It's still a little strange in the Cubs' clubhouse without Samardzija and Hammel.
"As much as you try not to be affected by it, as a group of guys in the clubhouse, it does [affect you]," pitcher Carlos Villanueva said. "Samardzija has been here for so long, and there were a couple younger guys who followed him around. Even though he didn't want to be a leader, he had that effect on guys.
"There are some guys who might be a little lost the first couple days," Villanueva said, "but we had a little meeting and I spoke to the guys, and said, 'Look, it happens. You have to understand they are going to do what's best for the organization. If you understand that and don't take it personally, you'll be fine.'"
On Sunday, Samardzija was named to the National League All-Star team by the players' vote, and although he can't pitch for the NL team, he is expected to go and be honored at the July 15 game in Minneapolis.
The last player selected to the All-Star team who switched leagues prior to the game was Carlos Beltran, who was traded in late June 2004 from the Royals to the Astros.
Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. She writes a blog, Muskat Ramblings, and you can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Teddy Cahill is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @tedcahill. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

subset: commoncrawl


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Pacers waiting for first real challange
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Monday, May 10
Updated: May 10
Maybe if the Indiana Pacers win 16 playoff games in a row for their first NBA title, we'll try to remember their starting center's name. Maybe if they just win one more playoff game by double-digits to extend their record-breaking streak to seven, then we'll stop making fun of Reggie Miller's tattoo.
Or . . . maybe they can play somebody worthy during the 2004 postseason and we'll start paying attention.
"We didn't play very well," Miller said in the Indianapolis Star after beating the Heat by 13 in Game 1 of their second-round series. "We can play much better. We still haven't put a complete game together (against the Heat). I'd rather us be playing well rather than coming up with a way to win. We've just got to play better. When this team plays well, I'll acknowledge that, but we're not playing very well right now."
This is what he said after the Pacers beat the Heat by 11 in their second game.
"We can play much better," Reggie Miller said in the Palm Beach Post. "I'm not happy yet with the way we've played."
As Miami Herald columnist Dan LeBatard puts it: "Indiana isn't playing very well. And Miami is. And Indiana has, nonetheless, blown Miami out twice. That's what happens when the other guys are better than you. Indiana is deeper, bigger, more experienced and more talented. Other than that, though, Miami is in great shape."
Of course, it's not the Pacers' fault that they're playing the Heat in the second round after playing the Boston Celtics in the first round after playing the watered down Eastern Conference during the regular season.
Jermaine O'Neal better break out of his shooting slump before the Pacers face a real opponent.
But it would be our fault if we didn't point out a few things before heaping too many superlatives on their 6-0 playoff record.
The regular-season record for their playoff opponents thus far is 78-86.
Needless to say, this is easiest bracket in the whole NBA postseason tournament. And it's not even close. Here's how the remaining contenders stand so far.
Sacramento Kings' opponents: 110-54 for 67 percent.
San Antonio Spurs' opponents: 106-58 for 64.6 percent.
Los Angeles Lakers' opponents: 102-62 for 62.1 percent.
Miami Heat's opponents: 102-62 for 62.1 percent.
Minnesota Timberwolves' opponents: 98-66 for 59.7 percent.
New Jersey Nets' opponents: 93-71 for 56.7 percent.
Detroit Pistons' opponents: 88-76 for 53.6 percent.
Indiana Pacers' opponents: 78-86 for 47.5 percent.
Even if the Pacers go on to sweep the Heat and play the top two teams remaining in their bracket (which would be Detroit in the Eastern Conference Championship and Minnesota for the NBA Title), the best their opponents' record will be is 190-138 for 57.9 percent.
Last year, the Spurs won the championship by defeating opponents with a record of 203-125 for 61.8 percent . The New Jersey Nets came in second by playing opponents with a record of 196-132 for 59.7 percent.
In other words, the Pacers have had it easy.
"I don't know how good the teams they played on the road were (all season)," Heat sixthman Rafer Alston said in the Indianapolis Star. "But we're extremely good at home. (This) is a place where our energy is extremely high. Guys shoot the ball from half court and think they're going to make it because we're at home. And we witnessed what (home court can do) by what happened to us against New Orleans. We're playing great basketball in (this) building and we look forward to playing great basketball (tonight)."
He can say this because he knows the Pacers haven't been tested yet.
They played a Celtic team that is on its third head coach in less than a season. They got rid of their second-best player before the season started in Antoine Walker. They released their starting power forward Vin Baker after he had played in only 37 games because of substance abuse. And they lost their starting center in Raef LaFrentz after he played only 17games for them because of injury.
And to top it all off, their best player, Paul Pierce, had his worst shooting season of his career. Their first coach quit. Their second coach was fired. And their third coach, recently named, started the season 1-10 before getting fired by his previous employer this season.
For heavens sake, they finished at 36-46 after losing five of their last six games of the regular season. They were 10 games below .500.
These Celtics finished with only one returning starter from last season. There were only two starters who were even on the Boston team at the beginning of the 2003 season.
This wasn't a team. It was a requirement for an eight-team Eastern Conference field.
And in the second round, the Pacers are facing a Heat squad that played its sixth game of the first round on May 2 in New Orleans. The Heat played their seventh game on May 4 in Miami. Then, they played their first game against the Pacers on May 6 in Indianapolis and second game on May 8.
For those of you keeping track at home, that's four playoff games in three different cities in seven days for a team that never won a road game against a .500 team all regular season.
Of course, the Pacers were going to blast the Celtics by an average of 16.7 points per game. Of course, they were going to hammer the Heat by an average of 12 in their first two games.
But what would have happened of they opened up against the Houston Rockets with 7-foot-6 Yao Ming in the middle instead of 6-foot-9 Brian Grant for the Heat. Or Dallas Mavericks with Dirk Nowitzki at power forward at a playoff-best 26.6 points per game instead of Walter McCarty of the Celtics and his seven points per game.
It is true that the Pacers never lost more than two games in a row during the regular season. But it is also true that they played more then two consecutive opponents with a winning record only three times all season.
And in those 11 games, they were a very average 6-5.
That's right. Tonight will mark only the fourth time all year that they have faced three or more quality opponents in a row.
So it's easy to forget that the Pacers finished with the best regular-season record in the entire NBA. Easy to forget that they have won six playoff games in a row by double-digits. Easy to forget that in the process their best player, Jermaine O'Neal, has gone 10-for-32 from the field for 15 points and eight rebounds per game in the second round.
"I don't know why my shots aren't falling," O'Neal said. "I might be putting too much pressure on myself and causing me to lose part of my touch. I'll continue to work on it to get it corrected so we can continue our run toward the championship."
But you can't help but wonder if he had opened up the second round against Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett or Chris Webber rather than Lamar Odom, who is about to play in the 10th playoff game of his career.
* Heat need an edge on home floor
Sekou Smith / Indianapolis Star
* Heat strong at home; Pacers good on road
Chris Perkins / Palm Beach Post
* Here's the scary part: Heat is playing well
Dan LeBatard / Miami Herald
* A record-breaking pace
Mark Montieth / Indianapolis Star
Are the Spurs and Pistons still in control?
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Send an Email to Chad Ford Monday, May 10
Updated: May 10
Three weeks into the NBA postseason, every remaining team has now, thankfully, played at least two games in the second round.
You've already read countless times that we're viewing the longest playoff season in NBA history -- but now we have proof. Over the course of the last three weeks we've seen Tony Parker grow from superstar and shrink back to aging veteran in the course of the seven games the Spurs have played so far this postseason.
Here's Insider's look at what's going on in the playoffs, with the lottery teams sitting at home and the NBA draft as underclassmen have until midnight to declare.
The Playoffs
# Who's playing the best basketball? Before Sunday's games, it was pretty easy to make the argument that we were looking at a Pistons-Spurs Finals this year. Yes, the Pacers (the only team that hasn't lost) also look great but the Pistons' and Spurs' stifling defenses looked poised to carry them all the way to the Finals this year. Then the Lakers and Nets came out in Game 3 and plastered San Antonio and Detroit and we're all left scratching our heads a little bit.
It's just one playoff game . . . but does home court really make that much of a difference this late in the season? If the answer is yes, then the Timberwolves are screwed and the Pacers are on the verge of their first defeat at the hands of a red-hot Heat team at home.
# The Spurs' Tony Parker has been the story of the playoffs so far. Like Mike Bibby two years ago (who's not having such a bad playoff run himself), Parker has gone from the Spurs' wallflower to the most important player on the court in the playoffs. When he's aggressively pushing the ball, penetrating and hitting his 3s, I don't think there's a team in the league that can beat the Spurs in a seven-game series. Through the first six games, Parker was amazing. So what happened on Sunday? The Lakers finally got smart and physical with France's greatest import.
The key to slowing Tony Parker? Push him around a little bit.
Flash back to the Spurs' first-round scare versus the Suns last season and their tough series versus the Nets in the Finals. Parker struggled when Stephon Marbury and Jason Kidd played very physically with him. Parker's biggest weaknesses are the fact that he's just 21-years-old and, like most European guards, hates contact. The Lakers finally got physical and Parker responded with an eight-point night on 4-for-12 shooting. It was Parker's first bad playoff performance of the year. If the Lakers want it to continue, keep knocking Tony to the floor.
# Speaking of coming-out parties, can anyone credibly argue that Jermaine O'Neal is an MVP candidate when he isn't the most valuable player on his own team? So far in the playoffs, O'Neal is averaging 18 ppg and 8.3 rpg on 41 percent shooting. Those averages are all significantly below what O'Neal did during the regular season when he averaged over 20 ppg and 10 rpg on 44 percent shooting. In the Miami series, his numbers have slipped to 15 ppg and eight rpg on 31 percent shooting -- and the Heat don't have one significant big man to guard him.
Meanwhile, Ron Artest continues to amaze. He's averaging 21.2 ppg, five rpg and 4.4 apg on 43 percent shooting. Those averages are all significantly higher than what he did in the regular season. And here's the kicker: What Artest does offensively is always secondary to what he does defensively for the Pacers. He sets the tone for the team. He has the ability to go out and shut down the most important player on the opposing team. Put that with the great offense and Artest, not O'Neal, should be getting the mention for MVP.
# While we're on the subject of clutch playoff performers, it's good to see Mike Bibby regaining his 2001-02 playoff form. That year Bibby went from averaging 13.7 ppg in the regular season to 20.3 ppg in the playoffs -- a pretty serious jump. He was awful in the playoffs last season, averaging just 12.7 ppg on 42 percent shooting.
This year, after recording a career year for the Kings in the regular season, he's outdone himself so far in the playoffs, averaging 23 ppg on 45 percent shooting. Bibby's already recorded two 30-point games in the playoffs, which is pretty amazing considering that the 36 points he scored against Dallas in Game 5 and his 33 points against Minnesota in Game 1 both surpassed anything he'd done the entire season. Bibby cracked 30 points only twice the entire regular season.
# I love Larry Brown and think he's done a fantastic job for the Pistons this year. But why did he go out of his way to start a controversy with his team up 2-0 in the series by first, ripping Nets head coach Lawrence Frank and second, flirting with the Knicks' job in the New York media?
The Nets looked pretty lifeless in the first two games, but the digging of their coach (who most of the players love) seems to have awakened them. The Knicks' speculation wasn't created by Brown -- he was asked a question by the N.Y. Daily News -- but his answer was a head scratcher. Larry's been in the league long enough to know what a paper like the Daily News was going to do with those comments.
Given his history of quick coaching stints, why even put it in the back of anyone's head? Just to clear up any confusion, Brown, who is in the first year of a five-year, $30 million contract, said that Detroit will be his last coaching gig in the NBA. "That was when I was a young kid," he said of his desire to be the Knicks' coach. "(Knicks legendary coach) Red Holzman helped teach me to play. But I am 63 years old. This is my last coaching stop."
Lottery Land
# Is it just a matter of time before David Stern calls in NATO to put a halt to the mass coaching carnage that is taking place? Toronto's Kevin O'Neill was the first to get kicked to the curb this summer followed by Philly's Chris Ford and Boston's John Carroll. Terry Stotts, who had the most tenure of any coaching in the Eastern Conference, was let go late last week. Tim Floyd got the axe, despite earning a fifth seed in the playoffs without all-star Jamal Mashburn, a day later.
The coaching carnage is likely to continue, and Jeff Bzdelik's name is at the top of the list.
Warriors head coach Eric Musselman is said to be the next coach to hit the curb and speculation still abounds that it's only a matter of time before Jeff Bzdelik, Lenny Wilkens and maybe even Phil Jackson pack their bags. In total, 22 coaches have lost their jobs in the space of just a little over a year. The fact that the number could rise to as many as 26 over the coming weeks has to scaring the hell out of the league.
# Hornets owner George Shinn replaced Floyd because he wants someone with more experience and a proven track record . . . someone like Paul Silas perhaps?
# Now three teams are without a head coach and two of them -- the Hornets and the Raptors -- don't have a GM in place to hire one. That's a problem on a number of fronts. One, it's crazy to hire a coach without the head guy in place. Two, now that two GM gigs and three coaching spots are open, suddenly the Raptors must now compete with other teams for the same people. Case in point. The Raptors had narrowed their GM list down to two scouts (the Nuggets' Jeff Weltman and the Wolves' Rob Babcock) but, according to the Toronto Star, they're not in love with either guy. That means that they may have to open the process back up.
The Star also reported over the weekend that Pistons vice president of basketball operations John Hammond may be back in the picture in Toronto. Hammond withdrew his name from consideration before the first interview was ever conducted, claiming that he was happy in Detroit. According to the report, the Raptors wanted Hammond initially and may come back and sweeten their offer for him. However, Hammond's name is also being mentioned prominently in connection with the Hornets' GM gig.
# Raise your hand if you thought Mark Cuban was going to massacre everyone in the Dallas front office and on the coaching bench after the Mavs' pitiful performance this year both in the regular season and in the playoffs. Folks inside the Mavs were quietly talking to media sources for weeks as they wrung their hands over the their fates.
Why hasn't the ax fallen? In part because Don Nelson has painted Cuban into a bit of a corner. Over the course of the past few years, Nelson has put together a team that only he can really coach? Pat Riley? Please. Riley is a great coach, but he'd want to blow up a team like the Mavs almost immediately. Riley loves players who play defense, and the 15 guys on the Mavs roster are among the league's worst defenders.
While Cuban isn't afraid to wheel and deal, he loves his core three -- Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash and Michael Finley -- and doesn't want to trade them. Considering that none of the three is a great defender . . . I'm not sure who you can get who can coach this collection of players any better than Nelson. Besides, Cuban, who's a very active owner, was behind every personnel decision the Mavs have ever made. Is he going to fire himself?
# Here's a little prediction. The honeymoon between Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge will end before the season even begins. Rivers' little revelation to ESPN's Dr. Jack Ramsay that he was given final say on all personnel moves in Boston was quickly denied by both Rivers and Ainge. Ainge claimed he retains control and Rivers claimed that he was just talking about coaching personnel decisions. Ramsay stands by his story.
Who do you believe? Either Rivers was exaggerating in a moment where he felt like the tape recorders weren't rolling and was caught in a fib. Or, what Rivers said was true, but it wasn't supposed to get out. Or, Dr. Jack misunderstood what Rivers was trying to say. However you read the quotes from Rivers ("Everyone I talked with said that I had to have the authority to approve all personnel deals. So I have it in writing in my contract. Nothing happens without my yea or nay.") it sure doesn't sound like Rivers was talking about hiring assistant coaches. Either way, if you're Ainge, you can't be happy with the rocky start.
Draft Cards
# How bad do the Magic want the No. 1 overall pick in the draft? While many suspect that Emeka Okafor may be the guy who could help give the Magic that blue collar guy they've been missing since Ben Wallace left town -- the Magic may have other ideas.
Antoine Walker
Dallas Mavericks
82 14.0 8.3 4.5 .428 .554
A quickly spreading rumor around the league has the Mavs offering Antoine Walker to the Magic in return for the No. 1 pick and Grant Hill.
Why would the the Magic do something like that? Because Walker is in the last year of his contract and Hill's salary has been a millstone around the team's neck for years. Players want to play in Orlando, but the team hasn't had enough cap room to make a significant offer to anyone decent in the open market. If the Magic were to pull the trigger on that deal, they'd be looking at roughly $15 million in cap room in the summer of 2005 to land a free agent to play alongside T-Mac.
If the Magic told T-Mac that he was free to recruit the teammate of his choice -- would it be enough to convince him not to opt out of his contract next summer? Why would the Mavs do it? Okafor is seen as the perfect fit for what ails the Mavs -- a tough, smart shot blocker who will clean up the glass and give the team a physical presence that they've lacked for years.
# The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft is today and it looks like most of the fence sitters have made up their minds. Over the weekend, Providence's Ryan Gomes put his name in the draft. Several other prominent underclassmen or high school players, including Gonzaga's Ronny Turiaf and high school players Randolph Morris, Glenn Davis and Darius Washington, all look like they are going to college next season.
Mile Ilic
# Add one interesting name to the list of international players in the draft. Serbia forward/center Mile Ilic. Ilic, a 20-year-old, 7-foot-1, 235-pounder playing for BC Reflex, has drawn the attention of several international scouts recently after an impressive game in March against Buducnost. Initially, the plan was for Ilic to stay in Europe one more season before declaring for the draft. However, strong interest by several teams in the mid first round prompted agent Marc Cornstein to put Ilic's name in.
# Another international underclassman to watch? Venezula's Miguel Marriaga has put his name in the draft. Marriaga is a 19-year-old, 6-foot-10, athletic forward who specializes in rebounding and shot blocking. Several international scouts claim that he's an interesting prospect. Like several other international players, he's working out in the U.S. right now in an attempt to help his draft stock.
# Maybe the NBA doesn't need Ivan Chiriaev after all. Russia's Chiriaev, the 7-foot-1, self proclaimed "point guard" playing high school basketball in Canads, torpedoed his draft stock over the weekend with a middling performance in a Canadian high school basketball game. A large contingent of NBA scouts and GMs made the trek to Canada to see Chiriaev play. Most walked away very disappointed. "He was very, very average," one scout old Insider. "He can do some amazing things in workouts, but I still haven't really seen in translate into a game. Unless I'm really missing something, this kid has no business declaring for the NBA draft."
What scouts will say is that watching Chiriaev in practice can be amazing. All year scouts who've made the trip to Canada claim that he's one of the best-shooting, best-ball handling big men they've ever seen. Based on his workout skills, Chiriaev earned a reputation as a possible lottery pick. However, the scouts who actually watched him play in games came away with a very different conclusion. "Lots of guys can hit shots in practice or dribble around cones," the scout told Insider. "The question is . . . can he do it in games? I'm not sure he can right now."
Chiriaev will get another chance to improve his stock in Chicago on May 22nd. His agent, Bill Duffy, has scheduled a workout for all 29 NBA teams -- and Insider has received an invite. This is a situation in which Chiriaev tends to look more impressive. But with the bad buzz coming out of Toronto right now . . . he better look like Toni Kukoc.


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SALINAS, Calif. — Taylor Farms has donated 13 pallets of fresh vegetables and bagged salads, part of a larger haul by transport broker the Allen Lund Co.
The fresh produce benefits Navidad en el Barrio, a nonprofit that serves more than 20,000 Southern California families in need each Christmas season.
The truck stopped for organic romaine hearts, Heritage Blend salads and other items Dec. 11 at a Taylor Farms loading dock. La Canada Flintridge-based Allen Lund provided free pickups there and at three more shippers.
Idaho Falls, Idaho-based Wada Farms Marketing Group LLC donated a half truckload of potatoes. Monterey-based Sunsation Farms Inc. and Fillmore-based Fillmore Piru Citrus Association also donated fresh produce.
It's the seventh year Allen Lund has contributed to Navidad en el Barrio.
"It allows so many to celebrate during these challenging times," Kenny Lund, vice president of support operations, said in a news release. "We are happy to be a small part of a big project to help feed so many and want to especially thank our customers who donate so much to make it all work."


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Ghost Recon: Future Soldier helps lead to profitable Q1 2012-13 sales for Ubisoft
Higher-than expected sales of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier helped Ubisoft earn about $160 million in sales for the first quarter of 2012-13.
According to the sales figures for the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2012, Ubisoft's sales were up 27.2% compared to the $126 million recorded for the same period of 2011-12. These actual earnings were also higher than Ubisoft's original approximation issued during its full-year results for 2011-12.
Aside from the success of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, which was the best-selling console game in the United States for May and June (both in unit and value terms), Ubisoft noted "strong momentum" for the Online segment. Sales were up 112% to 33 million. This was primarily driven by Ubisoft's Free-to-Play titles and by the success of Trials Evolution, which broke first-day sales on XBLA.
Looking forward, the second quarter will see the release of many online and digital titles from Ubisoft, particularly the open beta of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online. With that being said, sales for Q2 2012-13 are expected to be lower than the same period of 2011-12, which saw the release of Driver: San Francisco. Sales are expected to come in at approximately $135 million.
The company also noted a 41% decline in back-log sales, due to industry wide lower retail back-log sales. They did say, however, this was "partly offset" by growth in online back-log sales.
With the numbers in, Ubisoft is standing by its previously announced targets for full-year 2012-13. Ubisoft projects sales of between $1,422 million and $1,471 million.
Moving forward, Ubisoft has a strong lineup which will see the release of Assassin's Creed 3, Far Cry 3, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Blacklist, and Just Dance 4.


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A useful knob, either as a replacement or for new projects.
by TexasLance
on 8/16/2014
Decided to try these for replacement knobs on my Akai MPK49 Midi keyboard. I ordered these with the red indicators. Knobs fit perfectly and the red indicators added a nice touch to the keyboard. I only needed 9 knobs but ordering 10 was cheaper so I did that. I almost purchased some replacement knobs from MPCstuff at $5 each until I saw these at $0.29 each, it was a no brainer. I wish I could post a picture of the keyboard but this is a text only review.
by zoomiefog
on 9/11/2013
These are really nice for the price. Although I think these are listed wrong as they fit 6mm D shafts, not 1/4"
Good job MCM. I'm very pleased with all areas of dealing with MCM. Keep up the good work.


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Dose-Proportionality and Intra-Individual Variability of Intracellular TFV-DP and FTC-TP in Healthy Volunteers (HPTN066)
This study has been completed.
HIV Prevention Trials Network
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
HIV Prevention Trials Network
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: January 12, 2011
Last updated: November 29, 2011
Last verified: November 2011
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Detailed Description:
Describe the dose-proportionality and intra-individual variability of tenofovir diphosphate (TFV-DP) and emtricitabine triphosphate (FTC-TP) at steady-state in healthy human participants taking Truvada® (FTC 200mg/TDF 300 mg) under direct observation.
|Drug: Emtricitabine/tenofovir
|Phase 1
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
|Official Title:
|Dose-Proportionality and Intra-Individual Variability of Intracellular Tenofovir Diphosphate and Emtricitabine Triphosphate In Healthy Volunteers
Resource links provided by NLM:
MedlinePlus related topics: HIV/AIDS
Drug Information available for: Emtricitabine Tenofovir Tenofovir Disoproxil FumarateU.S. FDA Resources
Further study details as provided by HIV Prevention Trials Network:
Primary Outcome Measures:
- Assess dose-proportionality [ Time Frame: 49 days ]Assess dose-proportionality of intracellular TFV-DP and FTC-TP from weekly to daily dosing (Arms 1-4).
- Comparison of intra-individual variability--days 28 and 35 [ Time Frame: Days 28 and 35 ]Describe intra-individual variability in intracellular TFV-DP and FTC-TP concentrations at steady-state (comparison of Day 28 and Day 35).
Secondary Outcome Measures:
- Determine relationship between pre-dose and decaying concentrations [ Time Frame: Days 35 and 49 ]Describe the relationship between pre-dose and decaying concentrations of TFV, FTC, and their phosphorylated derivatives (TFV-DP and FTC-TP) in blood serum, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), CD4+ blood cells, total tissue cells, CD4+ tissue cells, tissue homogenate, semen, and luminal fluid at steady-state (Day 35 [pre-dose] and Day 49 [decaying, greater than one half-life for TFV-DP]).
- Determine differences between men and women [ Time Frame: 49 days ]Describe differences in intracellular TFV-DP and FTC-TP steady-state between men and women.
- Safety profiles [ Time Frame: 49 days ]Characterize the safety profiles of four different TDF/FTC PrEP regimens
|Study Start Date:
|January 2011
|Study Completion Date:
|October 2011
|Primary Completion Date:
|October 2011 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
|Assigned Interventions
Experimental: Arm 1
1 tablet orally weekly
Drug: Emtricitabine/tenofovir
200mg of emtricitabine 300mg of tenofovir
Experimental: Arm 2
One tablet orally twice weekly
Drug: Emtricitabine/tenofovir
200mg of emtricitabine 300mg of tenofovir
Experimental: Arm 3
Two tablets orally twice weekly
Drug: Emtricitabine/tenofovir
200mg of emtricitabine 300mg of tenofovir
Experimental: Arm 4
One tablet orally daily
Drug: Emtricitabine/tenofovir
200mg of emtricitabine 300mg of tenofovir
Detailed Description:
This PK study is designed to establish the dose-proportionality of TFV and FTC (serum and intracellular forms) with daily to weekly dosing. This information is essential to (1) employ drug concentration as an adherence measure in future PrEP studies, and (2) to estimate the anticipated concentration of parent and active moieties of TFV and FTC in intermittent PrEP regimens associated with full adherence to a prescribed regimen. In addition, intra-individual variability will be assessed to improve sample size estimates in future PrEP studies that use drug concentration as an adherence measure or where PK-PD correlations are planned. The dose-proportionality of intra-cellular phosphates of the two components of the study product has not previously been established. Given the complexity of movement of these drugs between body compartments (central compartment, vaginal mucosal tissue, vaginal lumen, gastrointestinal mucosal tissue, gastrointestinal lumen), into cells within these compartments, and intra-cellular phosphorylation, it is possible that non-dose proportional kinetics, such as mixed or zero-order saturable processes may be operating.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 44 Years (Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
Participants who meet all of the following criteria are eligible for inclusion in this study:
- 18 to 44 years of age, inclusive on the date of screening.
- Provides informed consent for the study.
- Non-reactive HIV rapid test results at the screening and enrollment visits.
An estimated calculated creatinine clearance (eCcr) at least 70 mL/min by the Cockcroft-Gault formula where:
- eCcr (female) in mL/min = [(140 - age in years) x (weight in kg) x 0.85] / (72 x serum creatinine in mg/dL).
- eCcr (male) in mL/min = [(140 - age in years) x (weight in kg)] / (72 x serum creatinine in mg/dL).
- Participants are sexually active, defined as at least one sex (vaginal or anal intercourse) act in the 30 days prior to screening.
- Participants must agree to use condoms for all coital events during study participation.
Intensive sampling cohort only:
- Not using spermicide as a means of birth control (in conjunction with a condom or diaphragm)
Women must:
- Be pre-menopausal
- Have regular menstrual cycles with at least 21 days between menses (unless on contraception that causes amenorrhea or irregular menses)
- Have a negative urine pregnancy test at screening and enrollment
- Be utilizing an alternative method of birth control in addition to condoms (hormonal contraceptive, diaphragm or have undergone surgical sterilization) or have a vasectomized exclusive male partner.
Intensive sampling cohort only:
- Have a cervix
- Have documentation of a normal Pap smear within 12 months
Exclusion Criteria:
At screening::
- Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) greater than 1.5 X the site laboratory ULN (upper limit of normal)
- Hemoglobin less than 10.0 g/dL
- Platelet count less than 100,000/mm3
- Serum phosphate level below site laboratory LLN (lower limit of normal)
- INR or aPTT greater than site laboratory ULN
- Other safety tests (bicarbonate (HCO3), potassium (K), chloride (Cl), sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), fasting glucose) with results outside of the laboratories reference range
- 1+ or greater protein on urine dipstick testing
- 1+ or greater glucose on urine dipstick testing
- Culture-confirmed urinary tract infection
- Co-enrollment in any other HIV interventional research study (excluding behavioral only interventions) or prior enrollment in the active arm of a HIV vaccine trial.
- Clinically apparent or patient report of active skin disorders including: rash, pruritus, maculopapular rash, urticaria, vesiculobullous rash, and pustular rash.
- Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- One or more reactive HIV rapid test results at screening or enrollment, even if HIV infection is not confirmed.
- Positive hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) test.
- Excessive use of alcohol (more than 4 drinks a day on a regular basis).
- Interleukin therapy; medications with significant nephrotoxic potential, including but not limited to amphotericin B, aminoglycosides, cidofovir, foscarnet and systemic chemotherapy; and medications that may inhibit or compete for elimination via active renal tubular secretion (including but not limited to probenecid).
- Participants with a history of having a gastrectomy, colostomy, ileostomy, or any other procedure altering the gastrointestinal tract or drug absorption.
Intensive sampling cohort only:
- A positive test for syphilis, gonorrhea, or Chlamydia
- A positive test for HSV-2 (individuals with active lesions only)
- Findings consistent with bacterial vaginosis, vaginal candidiasis, or trichomonas (women only)
- History of STI within 3 months prior to enrollment
- Medications that prolong clotting time (e.g., warfarin, heparin, clopidogrel classes.)
- Abnormalities of the colorectal mucosa, or significant colorectal symptom(s), which in the opinion of the clinician represents a contraindication to biopsy (including but not limited to presence of any unresolved injury, infectious or inflammatory condition of the local mucosa, and presence of symptomatic external hemorrhoids).
- Clinically apparent pelvic exam finding (observed by study staff) of genital lesions, erythema, edema or any other abnormal physical or pelvic exam finding that, in the opinion of the investigator or designee, would contraindicate study participation.
- Women who have had cervical procedures (conization, LEEP procedure, cryosurgery) within the previous 6 months.
- Spermicide as a method for contraception within last 30 days
- Any other reason or condition that in the judgment of the investigator, would make participation in the study unsafe, complicate interpretation of study outcome data, or otherwise interfere with achieving the study objectives.
Contacts and Locations
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below. For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01276600
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01276600
|United States, Maryland
|Johns Hopkins University
|Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21205
|United States, North Carolina
|University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
|Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, 27599
Sponsors and Collaborators
HIV Prevention Trials Network
|Study Chair:
|Craig Hendrix, MD
|Johns Hopkins University
|Study Chair:
|Kristine Patterson, MD
|University of North Carolina
|Study Chair:
|Kenneth Mayer, MD
|Brown University
|Principal Investigator:
|Adriana Andrade, MD, MPH
|Johns Hopkins University
More Information
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017
|Responsible Party:
|HIV Prevention Trials Network
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01276600 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|January 12, 2011
|Last Updated:
|November 29, 2011
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Emtricitabine, Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate Drug Combination
Antiviral Agents
Anti-Infective Agents
Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors
Nucleic Acid Synthesis Inhibitors
Enzyme Inhibitors
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
Anti-Retroviral Agents
Anti-HIV Agents
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017


text:
Kris Letang and Matt Niskanen were reunited Tuesday—at practice.
Letang and Niskanen, each half of the Pittsburgh Penguins' top defensive pairing and each dealing with a lower-body injury, skated together at Consol Energy Center. Niskanen hasn't played since spraining his ankle on Jan. 27; Letang missed the team's weekend games against the New Jersey Devils.
Letang (three goals, six assists in 10 games) is eligible to return Wednesday against the Ottawa Senators. Niskanen is more likely to sit out a bit longer—he was expected to miss 2-4 weeks at the time of his injury—but no word was available on either. Robert Bortuzzo and Dylan Reese have been playing in their absence.
Both players are offensive-minded but defensively responsible and drive possession at even-strength. Letang plays more (25:07 to 18:18) because he's on the Penguins' top power-play unit.
Positive news for #Pens is that Letang is not only out on ice but bouncing around with no apparent issues. #TribHKY— Dejan Kovacevic (@Dejan_Kovacevic) February 12, 2013
After practice, Letang said he felt "pretty good." Coach Dan Bylsma said he practiced with no restrictions.
"We had some contact drills, we had some D-zone, so it was a pretty stressful day on a lower-body injury and he did pretty well," Bylsma told reporters.


text:
Researchers at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary have shown that dogs' brains light up more when they hear human or canine voices than when they hear other noises.
They were able to check out the canine mind with fMRIs (functional magnetic resonance imaging). When blood flow increases in areas of the brain, it's a sign of increased activity.
"The very exciting finding is that in both the human brain and the dog brain, these 'voice areas' are located in very similar places," says Attila Andics, a neuroscientist at the university and lead author of the study in Current Biology. "We think this might be able to explain what makes vocal communication between the two species so effortless and successful."
The coolest part of the study is that when dogs listened to happy sounds (laughter, a dog greeting his master), activity increased in areas of the canine brain consistently. "The more positive the voice, the stronger the response" in the auditory cortex, Andics says.


text:
White wines are important to Lombardy, whose greatest contribution to Italy's infinite range of wines is Franciacorta, a Champagne-method sparkling wine that is arguably the finest made outside Champagne. Valtellina, in the hilly, alpine north of Lombardy near Switzerland, makes a rather austere, high-acid Nebbiolo in a climate that can be too extreme for this variety in some years.
Italy, like France, offers a world of wine styles within a single country: dry Italian white wines ranging from lively and minerally to powerful and full-bodied; cheap and cheerful Italian red wines in both a cooler, northern style and a richer, warmer southern style; structured, powerful reds capable of long aging in bottle; sparkling wines; sweet wines and dessert wines.
Most of Italy enjoys a relatively warm climate, and the southern portion of the country can be particularly hot in the summer months. However, Italy's Apennine mountain chain, which traverses the country from north to south, provides an almost infinite number of soil types and exposures, as well as favored hillside sites in virtually every region, where vines can be cultivated at higher, cooler altitudes. Mountainous terrain has also resulted in the segregation of many small wine regions, enabling dozens of indigenous grape varieties to survive in near isolation. Here, Italy markedly differs from most of the wine world, which is becoming increasingly international in nature.
But Italian wine, as most North Americans know it, is a fairly recent phenomenon. Prior to the 1950s, only a tiny proportion of Italy's wines were even bottled by the farmer who grew the grapes. Most Italian wine was consumed by the local market. The Italian government's DOC system (Denominazione di Origine Controllata), created in the 1960s, imposed more explicit standards and thereby improved Italian wine quality while at the same clarifying the labeling of wines and thus making it far easier for Italian producers to ship their wines abroad. (Today DOCG -- Controllata e Garantita -- is theoretically the highest level in the quality pyramid of Italian wine, with this special status more recently granted to such historically important Italian wine areas as Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello di Montalcino and others: areas that had previously enjoyed DOC status for at least five years.)
Of course, some of the most innovative Italian wine makers quickly began to look for ways to escape the restrictions of this system. They believed that DOC laws actually prevented them from making the best possible wines -- for example, by proscribing the use of certain grape varieties or by requiring them to age their wines in wood barrels longer than they believed was beneficial in some years. Those with a more independent bent essentially opted out of the system, instead producing wines that were simply classified as Vini da Tavola (table wines) but that in a number of cases surpassed the "official" best Italian wines in quality and price. (A new law passed in 1992 created the IGT category, or Indicazione Geografica Tipica, for the innovative Vini da Tavola for which DOCs were not yet created.) These trailblazers have revolutionized Italian wine over a period in which French wines have merely "evolutionized."
The best Chardonnays in the world continue to arrive from the region where the grape first emerged: the chalk, clay, and limestone vineyards of Burgundy and Chablis. While the origins of the grape were disputed for many years, with some speculating that the grape came all the way from the Middle East, DNA researchers at the University of ~California Davis proved in 1999 that Chardonnay actually developed, most likely, in eastern France, as a cross between a member of the "Pinot" family and an ancient, and nearly extinct variety called Gouais Blanc.
Wine lovers who have come to think of Chardonnay as weighty and thick will find Chablis a revelation. When grown in the cool, clay-and-chalk soils around the sleepy town of Chablis, at the northern reach of Burgundy, Chardonnay is transformed into one of the world's most cerebral and distinctive white wines. With its brisk citrus character, floral lift, and incisive minerality, Chablis is at once sharper and more delicate than white Burgundy from the Cote d'Or nearly 100 miles to the southeast -- and potentially at least as long-lived. And Chablis is about as far removed from fruit and oak-driven New World Chardonnay as a white wine can be.
As recently as fifteen years ago, the American market had an unquenchable thirst for Chardonnay, particularly for examples from California. Today, although Chardonnay is still the most widely planted variety in California in terms of acreage, serious wine aficionados rarely talk about Chardonnays other than those from a handful of specialist producers. Even at the level of the mass market, many consumers have tired of overly alcoholic, over-oaked, and clumsy wines, not to mention neutral, technically correct but soulless examples. Many wine drinkers have moved on to fresher, less oak-influenced white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc. This is a shame, as the trend has turned toward brighter, better-balanced Chardonnays from cooler sites, with crisper fruit aromas, more soil character, and less reliance on new barrels for flavor.
Still, it's a two tier market. A relative handful of producers make wonderfully layered, complex Chardonnays that can easily hold their own against more expensive white Burgundies, at least in their early years in bottle. These wines, which can be richer than dry whites have any right to be, are among the most impressive wines made in California today and continue to be hotly pursued by collectors. The rest of California's Chardonnay producers compete for the attention of consumers who are no longer obsessed with this grape.
But there are now many excellent choices available, many from cooler areas. Lower elevations of Napa Valley have virtually been abandoned as appropriate sites for Chardonnay. Now the best wines come from the Russian River Valley and further west in Sonoma County; Carneros, the Anderson Valley to the north; and the Central Coast, especially the windy western portion of Santa Barbara County. Today, there are fewer blowsy, tropical-fruity Chardonnays with the alcohol levels and flavors of a pina colada and many more wines with fresher stone and citrus fruit elements, mineral notes, and restrained oak spice.
While most California Chardonnays should be consumed within two or three years of their release, the top examples can give pleasure for four to eight years, although it is debatable whether these wines gain more in texture and complexity than they lose in early fruitiness.
Just north of California, Chardonnay is by a wide margin Washington's most popular white variety in terms of vineyard acreage, yet the number of truly concentrated and consistently excellent wines is limited. Some of the most interesting Chardonnays come from the cooler Columbia Gorge viticultural area, which spills over into Oregon: the Celio vineyard in particular is the source of some very fresh wines that often show a juicy nectarine component.
On the other side of the world, the export market for Australian Chardonnay was driven in the 1980s by what is called the Show Reserve style -- attention-getting wines made for competitive tastings, usually marked by lavish oak spice, superripe tropical flavors, thick textures due to high alcohol, and sometimes even a bit of residual sugar to seduce early tasters. These wines can be difficult to take, either at the table or on their own. For better or worse, though, this is the style that defines Australian Chardonnay for many North American wine lovers. Fortunately, many producers have adjusted their wine-making regimens to make fresher, more vibrant, and energetic Chardonnays. The most obvious strategy has been to plant Chardonnay in regions and in microclimates better suited to making elegant wines with real flavor intensity than those with brute strength. Western Australia, particularly the Margaret River region, has emerged as a top growing area for Chardonnay, with superb wines also being produced in Victoria and the Adelaide Hills. Tasmania is showing promise as well.
Even if it is the country's second most important variety in terms of production, Chardonnay in New Zealand is of limited interest to international markets. Few sites appear capable of producing truly distinctive Chardonnay wines, and full crop levels and a high percentage of young vines further limit the grower's ability to transmit soil character into the bottle. Some wineries slap a lot of oak on their Chardonnays, with the result that the wines can be more about wood than about the variety. But fresh, unoaked Chardonnays made in a Sauvignon style have attracted a following in North America, especially where prices are reasonable.
2004 had 10 regions scored 95 or above. Sonoma got the highest score, with a 99.
Other regions that scored 95 points or higher were Barolo (Piedmont), Brunello di Montalcino (Tuscany), Napa, Barbaresco (Piedmont), Chianti Classico (Tuscany), Ribera del Duero (Rioja), Rioja, Sicily, and Tuscany.
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The winner of the Tudou Film Festival Award was announced today, it went to the Machinima Film 网隐战争 or War of Internet Addiction. It is a remarkable production, made entirely in the world of World of Warcraft, and took three months and 100 Chinese volunteer gamers to make. It features excellent production values and is […]Read More...
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Friday, September 22, 2017
Regarding Diet
My mom is a TB and acute CKD patient. Her age is about 46yrs. Please kindly give me some suggestions regarding diet and medication. The medication under use is rifampcin 450mg, pyrazinamide 500mg, INH 300mg, benadon 40mg, oflox 200mg, along with these she is having amlogard 10mg, sodamint, folvite, storvas 10mg. I want information particularly on diet because as a TB patient she has to take more of proteins, but due to CKD what type of diet she should take? Thanks.
It is important for your mom to be well-nourished to treat her TB. However, the meds used to treat TB are generally very effective, so the diet is less important. On the other hand, if her kidney disease is at an advanced stage, then dietary restrictions - especially protein, salt, and potassium restriction - are very important for the management of her kidneys. Is she under the care of a kidney doctor, and is dialysis available for her if she should need it? If so, check with her doctor to see how severe her kidney disease is, what diet they recommend, and how close she is to needing dialysis. Also, be aware that if her kidney disease is advanced, the doses of INH and rifampicin may need to be reduced to half the normal dose.
Mildred Lam, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
School of Medicine
Case Western Reserve University


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So .... 3 weeks tomorrow! YAY!!!! I understand staying in Castara, my husband will be treated to much fresh fish, thanks to the local fishermen. However - I hate any kind of fish - but would like to know how to cook it for him. I'll just be buying chicken
A friend suggested I bring some spices with which to marinade some fish in, I have tons from Grenada, all kinds .... I suppose some will be great just BBQ'd or panfried?
Also - he hasn't ever filleted a fish - do the fishermen do it for you, or is it up to the person who buys the fish to do it?
What kinds are usually caught around Castara?
Thanks so much!


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Machu Picchu
3 Dec 2012 at 15:29
Abigail do you think you can climb all those stairs? I think you can! :)
With Abigail
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Wrigley Field is getting a $300 million makeover, reports Jon Greenberg of ESPNChicago.com.
The Commission on Chicago Landmarks on Thursday unanimously approved most of the Chicago Cubs' plan to renovate the stadium.
MORE: Cubs shopping Gregg | Cubs DFA Marmol
Part of the project is still up for negotiation—namely the 6,000-square-foot video board in left field and the 1,000-square-foot sign in right field.
A meeting on the boards will take place July 11 during a regularly scheduled landmarks commission meeting. Thursday's 4 1/2-hour meeting was a special meeting at City Hall.
"We are happy the landmark commission approved our plan (Thursday)," Cubs spokesman Julian Green said. "Obviously we still have more work to do and seeking additional approval for project. We think today is great step for creating momentum for the $500 million investment (the Cubs seek)."
The approved portion of the project, which is said to need five years to complete, includes new exits, a greatly restored stadium exterior, outfield and upper deck patios, a new LED board in left field, a refurbished press box and suite area, expanded dugouts and clubhouses, more restaurants, concession spaces and restrooms and enclosed bullpens.
Tom Tunney, alderman for Chicago's 44th Ward, which includes Wrigley Field, is still concerned about the size of the video board. He wants it and the right-field sign to be smaller.
"We're still negotiating the size, the height and the width and how it impacts the entire community, not just the relationship with the (nearby) rooftops (of buildings where fans watch games)," Tunney said Thursday in the city council chambers. "This is about signs you can see, especially the LED portion, from a mile away. And I can verify that because I live a mile away and I can see the light standards. Six thousand square feet, I'll be able to watch the game from my apartment."
The Cubs are seemingly against reducing the size of either one.
Several owners of buildings with rooftop seats have also spoken out against the added signage. They were present at the hearing.
George Loukas, owner of three rooftop businesses and the popular Cubby Bear bar, represented the rooftop owners and read a letter from former team president Andy MacPhail from 2004, when the team signed a partnership deal with the rooftop owners that gives the Cubs 17 percent of the revenue.
Loukas was asked afterward if he supported the plan. "I'm in favor of having a long and rewarding relationship with the Cubs," he replied.
The team still must get building approval from the city's planning and zoning boards. They are scheduled to meet in late July.


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For weeks I have been writing that rather than try to anticipate a market top, we should wait for some weak price action before becoming more bearish. Today, we finally saw some poor action for the first time this year. There wasn't a major point loss, but the S&P 500 and the Russell 2000 suffered their largest pullbacks of 2013 and the market closed very poorly after a gap-up open.
My message for a while now has been that we shouldn't be anticipatory but rather we should react quickly when there is some actual change in conditions. Today things did change and that means we need to adopt a higher level of caution.
I don't want to be too negative as it is just one day of weakness after a big run. However, if you have been riding this trend, it won't hurt to tighten up and protect recent profits. The market may quickly find its footing and continue on its steady ramp higher but it is cheap insurance to be cautious when there have been some warnings signs.
The good news is that the market needs to reset a bit and many stocks will be healthier if they pull back and consolidate. We are a bit too stretched and a good shake would improve trading.
We are seeing some mixed earnings results after the close, with Facebook (FB) under pressure but bouncing very fast on a $0.02 beat. The headwinds are building and our job now is to make sure we don't give back what the market has given us recently.
Have a good evening. I'll see you tomorrow.


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Summit County: Educators explore developments in bullying prevention research
October 26, 2012
One of the difficulties of identifying and preventing bullying is that it changes. Technology, for example, has opened up doors previously unthought-of, and modified the interactive behaviors of children both in and out of school. Educators in Colorado and around the nation are working to adapt to these changes, and implement effective anti-bullying programs in their schools.
The Bullying Prevention Institute presented an informative seminar in Silverthorne Thursday, with the goal of increasing student achievement by ensuring safe school climates. The event, one in a series related to anti-bullying research and prevention methods, is co-hosted by the Colorado Department of Education, the Colorado Legacy Foundation, the Colorado School Safety Resource Center, One Colorado and the Anti-Defamation League. More than 100 participants from 44 schools, districts and agencies throughout Colorado signed up to attend the event.
Christine Harms, director of the Colorado School Safety Resource Center, opened the event with discussion about the definition of bullying (as opposed to verbal conflict, which is likely to happen among friends), and the importance of a positive school climate on academic achievement and overall comfort of students.
A video from the Colorado Legacy Foundation featured high school students talking about the consequences of bullying. "Grades are not the top priority when you're being bullied," one student said.
The event's keynote speaker was Dorothy L. Espelage, professor of child development and associate chair in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She has been studying social phenomena such as bullying for nearly 20 years, and has published numerous papers and studies nationally.
Espelage's speech focused on realistic bullying prevention strategies. Though she says many programs that are in place aren't updated or adaptive enough to effectively prevent bullying as it occurs today, Espelage said she felt positively about educators' ability to change this.
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"The climate has changed. Life has changed. We can [too], we just need to be more creative about it," she said.
The research done by Espelage and her colleague has begun to show results, which inform that bullying behaviors are linked to behaviors among peer groups. This makes bullying what Espelage calls "a social phenomenon." Knowing the motivations behind bullying will help educators create programs that effectively halt or subvert those types of behaviors.
"Peers socialize each other into this behavior," she said. "Implementation [of programs] is a challenge."
Additionally, the Bullying Prevention Institute provided opportunities for attendees to learn about best practices in bullying prevention, changes in the Colorado law, recent federal guidance and more.
"Colorado is leading the country in the development and implementation of effective bullying prevention strategies," said Leslie Herod, program officer at the Gill Foundation which supported the event. "We are proud to support these organizations as they carry out this important work to ensure that all kids, regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression, feel safe and supported in their school."


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CD-adapco President Steve MacDonald opened the largest ever STAR Global Conference with an observation on how the size of the audience had grown over the years. "It wasn't very long ago, when we struggled to fill a single room, and all of the presentations were from CD-adapco staff," he said. "This year we have 3 day conference, spread across six parallel tracks, with over 130 presentations, from all corners of industry."
The growth in the size of the conference reflects the growth of CD-adapco itself, both in term of revenue and in software capability. MacDonald predicted that by the end of FY2014 CD-adapco will be a $200m business, and return a profit. However, the company's strategy is to plough it's money back into the development of its software products, and in particular flagship simulation tool STAR-CCM+.
During the next 12 months, MacDonald revealed that a significant portion of that development resource will be dedicated to adding a Finite Element capability to the existing Finite Volume solver in STAR-CCM+. Together, these seamlessly integrated capabilities will allow customers to tackle an even wider range of multidisciplinary engineering simulation problems. Depending on the nature of the application, users will be able to couple the different solvers together either "loosely" or "tightly".
"This will allow CD-adapco to deploy our software across entire organizations, no matter how large, and meet all of their simulation needs with a single tool", said MacDonald, before revealing that he expects that the first version of the new FEM enabled software will hopefully available in time for STAR Global Conference 2015.
For all the latest information fron SGC14 you can follow our live Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/CD_adapco #STARGlobal


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Cahill to continue working on form at Triple-A
LOS ANGELES -- D-backs general manager Kevin Towers had trusted aide Bill Gayton in Visalia to watch Trevor Cahill's Class A outing Thursday night.
"Shaky first inning, better second inning," Towers said of the report he received. "They're working on some things mechanically with him with his hands and where he puts his hands. You know he hit two guys with breaking balls and gave up a home run."
Cahill allowed four runs over two innings. He hit two batters and allowed a pair of hits.
"I'm not putting a lot into the results early," Towers said. "I'd be more concerned if there's similar results a month from now. He was erratic, similar to what we've seen. I didn't think just by sending him down all of a sudden he was going to start pounding the zone."
Cahill will start Tuesday for Triple-A Reno. Pitching guru Dave Duncan is expected to spend time with Cahill, and the team had its mental performance coach, Peter Crone, meet with Cahill as well.
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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Framingham, Mass. -- Staples reported Wednesday that profit for the quarter ended Feb. 2 fell 72% to $78.1 million from $283.6 million, impacted by store closings and other charges.
Revenue edged up 3% to $6.57 billion, boosted by an extra week in the period. Results missed Wall Street's expected $6.71 billion in revenue. Same-store sales fell 5%, excluding e-commerce revenue.
For the full year, Staples lost $210.7 million, compared to net income of $984.7 million in the year-ago period. Annual revenue dipped 1% to $24.38 billion.
The office supply retailer has forecast fiscal 2013 revenue of $23.92 billion, behind Wall Street's projected $24.33 billion in revenue.


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TWO Blackburn men who laundered money as part of a stolen car parts ring have been jailed Police said Shoayb Patel, 26, of Crompton Place, and Arif Gorji, 31, of Granville Road, headed the 'highly-organised criminal enterprise', which involved the theft of more than £600,000 worth of cars, and the resale of their parts to innocent buyers through eBay and other sale websites.
Patel was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for money laundering offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act, and Gorji two years and eight months in prison.
Ayas Patel also admitted allowing his personal bank account to be used in the money laundering racket.
He told Manchester Crown Court he did not know it was being used to sell £18,000 worth of stolen car parts on the online auction site eBay.
The 30-year-old, of Derby Street, Bolton, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to do 240 hours of unpaid work.
Two other men, Jose Joaquim, 36, and Helder Santos, 33, both of Willmore Crescent, Leicester, had also been found guilty of money laundering offences follow-ing an earlier trial and sentenced to two years jail.
The court was told in October, 2010, police stopped a Ford Transit van in Wythenshawe. Joaquim and Santos were in the van and were arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle.
Following a police raid at Millbrook Industrial Estate, in Wythenshawe, it bec- ame clear it was being used to store car parts, which were then sold online.
Further searches were carried out by Greater Manchester, Leicestershire and Lancashire Police, at homes and businesses. Car chassis and parts were found. Gorji was arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods. He confirmed his business partner was Shoayb Patel, who was friends with Ayas Patel. In March, 2011, a raid was carried out at an industrial unit in Black-burn and Gorji and Shoayb Patel were found loading a large heavy goods vehicle, bound for Germany, with car parts.
DC Ashley Matthias, from Greater Manchester Police's Organised Crime Unit, said: "They had no regard for those innocent members of the public who were buying stolen parts from them, or for the victims of the burglaries from where the majority of the stolen vehicles originated. We hope operations such as this demonstrate that we will continue to try and make people feel safer in their homes."


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Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn believes last week's first pre-season test in Jerez provided only "a snapshot" of what can be expected come the opening grand prix in Australia next month.
The Swiss-based marque enjoyed a reasonable run in southern Spain, completing 163 laps in total, with only Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Williams ahead of them.
In light of the major regulation changes and the introduction of new power units and energy recovery systems, Kaltenborn has declared herself "satisfied" with how Sauber fared.
Given the C33 was only ready "just in time", Kaltenborn added: "The fact the car functioned from the first day on track is a remarkable achievement by the team.
"The cars are very complex this year because of the new power unit, but, as a matter of fact, we have reached a good level already."
Appreciably there were issues, and as Kaltenborn rightly concedes, there is "room for improvement" given the new systems are in their infancy.
It is why Kaltenborn is refusing to read anything into the lap times posted at Jerez, adding: "It's very difficult to judge because every team ran a different programme, including different fuel loads.
"The tyres were another important factor to consider. Both our drivers struggled to get temperature into them.
"And it certainly didn't help them we only had a provisional aero package with limited downforce on the car.
"However, this didn't come as a surprise to us. We know what to expect.
"It was our top priority to be ready from the first day of testing, to be able to drive and collect as much data as possible."
Sauber are planning on an updated aero package more relevant to the first race in Melbourne for the next test in Bahrain later this month.
But it is the power units that will prove the key differentiator in the first part of the season, with Mercedes appearing to be ahead of Ferrari - who supply Sauber - and Renault.
Despite that, Kaltenborn said: "Again, it is very difficult to judge at this stage.
"The only thing you can place in an order is the number of laps the teams did with the respective engines. Here the order is clear: Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault.
"But to compare the performance is impossible at the moment, also because some might still be playing their cards close to their chests.
"I am sure there will be movement right up to the first race in Melbourne in that regard. At the moment this is just a snapshot. It will remain exciting."


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LINCOLN The Legislatures Health and Human Services and Appropriations committees held an interim study hearing Nov. 27 on the cost efficiency of a Medicaid expansion under so-called Obamacare -- the Affordable Care Act.
Sen. Jeremy Nordquist of Omaha introduced the interim study so the Legislature can decide if Nebraska should participate in Medicaid expansion.
Both upfront and long-term costs are a concern.
Nordquist presented statistics from studies across the country on the potential long-term savings of the expansion.
According to a University of Michigan study, after 10 years there would be $980 million in savings on health care costs. Other studies across the country showed savings from $670 million in Maryland to $6.5 million in Idaho.
States that choose to participate in the expansion would get federal funding for 100 percent of the program for the first three years, [a provision that stemmed from the so-called Cornhusker Kickback Editor].
However, this wouldnt completely cover the administrative and information technology costs. After the first three years, the federal government would slowly cut some funds until reaching 90 percent by 2020.
Various health professionals suggested a problem with determining costs or savings for Nebraskans, because its difficult to determine how many eligible people would participate. Many people eligible for Medicaid now do not participate.
Under the Medicaid expansion, as with the Affordable Care Act itself, the system works better with a higher participation rate. The more people in the pool, the lower the costs will be for everyone. Without predicting how people will decide to opt-in, there arent any clear answers as to costs and savings for Nebraskans.
Jim Stimpson, the director of the Center for Health Policy Analysis at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said that uncompensated care of uninsured people treated at emergency rooms and hospitals is a factor contributing to rising health insurance premium costs. If Nebraska opted into the expansion, Medicaid would cover some of that uncompensated care.
The Legislature will continue to look at the issue when it convenes in 2013.
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Chris Wondolowski won Major League Soccer's most valuable player award Thursday to become the first Earthquake to ever receive the prestigious prize.
But as he had done throughout the season the Danville native credited teammates for his ability to score 27 goals, which tied the MLS single-season record set by Roy Lassiter in 1996.
"It's really a team award," Wondolowski said in a teleconference. "So many guys played an integral part of it."
The striker didn't think he played better this year than the previous two seasons, in which he led MLS in scoring. But had more success because of the way the Quakes worked as a unit.
"We played to a lot of my strengths," Wondolowski said. "Everything came together at the right time."
The 2012 Golden Boot winner was named MVP in a lopsided vote by the clubs, players and media over finalists Thierry Henry of the New York Red Bulls and Graham Zusi of Sporting Kansas City. All three were named to MLS' Best XI team earlier in the week. Wondolowski finished with a weighted total of 259.03 votes, to 14.49 for Henry and 6.64 for Zusi. The Quakes star received 91 percent of the club vote, 97 percent from media and 71 percent from players.
Wondolowski, who doesn't have an agent, expects to get a new contract after his spectacular season. Although nothing has been decided, he said "I'd be very surprised if both sides aren't happy."
Wondolowski, 29, also was a MVP finalist in 2010 when he won his first Golden Boot award as the league's top goal scorer. Jeff Agoos in 2001 and Dwayne De Rosario in 2005 are the only other Earthquakes players to be finalists for the league's top individual award.
Wondolowski, a De La Salle High graduate who was not recruited to play Division 1 college soccer, had one of the greatest offensive seasons in MLS history in 2012. Beyond his 27 goals he also had a career-best seven assists in helping the Quakes win the Supporters' Shield title with a 19-6-9 record.
His favorite moment?
"The one against the L.A. Galaxy at Stanford," Wondolowski said without hesitation.
The forward scored the game winner off a corner kick in the 61st minute in the sold-out match at Stanford Stadium as the Quakes rallied to overcome their chief rival 4-3.
Wondolowski became a bona fide star this year. The one-time journeyman forward is the first player to score more than 60 goals over three consecutive seasons. Wondolowski also is the first player to lead the league in goals three years in a row.
The player has no idea how difficult it will be to chase his own goals' record, but made it clear he is far from satisfied with the 2012 season because the Earthquakes got knocked out of the MLS Cup playoffs in the Western Conference semifinals.
"We don't like having this bitter taste in our mouths," he said. "It will be difficult" to repeat the success but "I still can chase, I'm chasing Roy Lassiter."
The former Chico State star also became the Earthquakes' all-time leading goal scorer (64 goals in 74 appearances) this season. He passed Ronald Cerritos, who had 61 goals in 148 appearances from 1997-2001 and 2005.