text:
MORGANTOWN — He calls it "The Claw," and he'd like to see it used more often. From a seventh-story window of University Place, a new student housing complex in the Sunnyside neighborhood, Ryan Lynch peered down at a block of untouched houses.
"Those are still privately owned," said Lynch, a developer with WV Campus Housing. "I'd love to see those torn down, too. Little by little, this neighborhood is improving."
Sunnyside's change is indicative of a nationwide trend in the college housing market, where students expect their own rooms and ample amenities. Sunnyside, notorious for dilapidated housing and couch fires after big WVU sports wins — and some losses — is undergoing a transformation from a single-family residential neighborhood to a mixed-use, upscale living spot.
The $70 million University Place complex will cost students between $635 and $725 per month for its new appliances and granite countertops. On the street level, a Sheetz grocery store is planned, along with other stores.
Mel Thompson is the principal architect for University Place, with Calverton, Maryland-based Grimm and Parker. He's worked on similar projects at universities in Maryland.
"Most of the kids going to college in this day and age have their own bedroom," Thompson said. He said "breakout spaces," like coffee shops and study lounges, play important roles in student housing.
"We try to stay with those trends on how students want to live, work and learn today," he said.
New construction has sent signals to other local landlords, too, said Corey Farris, WVU's dean of students.
"I think the more new, good, nice housing that comes on line, the more pressure it puts on some landlords who haven't been keeping up their property," Farris said. "Most landlords are just fine, but you've got 5 or 10 percent who aren't keeping up their housing the way they should."
However, new investment also has raised concerns about how affordable it is to live close to campus.
"That's really my main concern with a lot of these new apartments coming in," said Chris Nyden, WVU's student body president. "I think they're improving the quality of living for a lot of students in downtown Morgantown, but you're also increasing the prices."
A study released in June by WVU's Bureau of Business and Economic Research suggests that the cost of living in Morgantown is above the national average, and above that of other college towns.
Although the study didn't measure average rents in town, housing costs in Morgantown are 14.2 percent above the national average, the study showed.
The study measured the cost of living in Ames, Iowa (Iowa State University), Knoxville, Tennessee (University of Tennessee), Lexington, Kentucky (University of Kentucky) and other larger cities. Morgantown was more expensive than all the so-called "college towns" but still less expensive than cities like Denver, Philadelphia and Miami.
Eric Bowen, a WVU research associate who worked on the study, said that although the study didn't take into account average college-town rent, "brand new apartment complexes are bound to cost more than older housing stock.
"The question is how much more and whether the trade-off is worth it for students," Bowen said.
Farris said that what students pay for rent often comes down to the luck of the draw.
"Sometimes, you can get really cheap housing and it's really good, and other times you have to pay a little bit more for a little better housing," he said.
Farris said that although University Place and similar WVU-managed complexes could cost more than traditional Sunnyside housing, students might not notice — at least until they have to pay back their student loans.
Instead of a rent due at the start of each month, the university charges students' accounts, so if a student can't afford rent now, financial aid might be able to cover it.
Sunnyside's future looks bright
On Monday, the excavator's arm came down and smashed one of the old Sunnyside houses with just a few swipes. It grabbed a claw-full of lumber and drywall and tossed it down the hillside and into a dump truck.
Developers are planning a 700-space parking garage in that spot, in place of an entire block of houses.
The houses slated for demolition were stripped of their windows and siding. It's sometimes hard to tell which ones are lived in and which ones are soon to be torn down.
The neighborhood wasn't always such an eyesore, said Frank Scafella, 79, a former Morgantown mayor and current executive director of Sunnyside Up, a private neighborhood development group.
Families once lived in most of the houses in Sunnyside, but, in the 1960s, since the university didn't have enough housing, entrepreneurs bought houses and rented to students.
"In the 1960s, you could buy a house in Morgantown and you could put as many students as you could get into it," Scafella said. "It just became party central."
Garbage service wasn't adequate, so there was trash strewn out along the streets. There wasn't enough parking, so people parked on lawns.
Basically, since students didn't own the houses, "there was no incentive to care," Scafella said. "Before you knew it, the area was blighted."
Couch burning in Sunnyside became a problem that police, with the help of surveillance cameras, have only recently gotten a handle on, city officials say. Burning a couch there now can mean a felony arson charge.
New complexes have put a strain on the neighborhood's infrastructure, as well, Scafella said. Sunnyside Up plans to oversee a $1.8 million project to reconfigure intersections, but he said the group could use a whole lot more money.
Despite short-term challenges, though, Scafella sees long-term improvements ahead for the neighborhood.
University Place will have security guards and cameras. Students will need a key card to get in and underage drinking won't be allowed. Plus, the way rooms are laid out, Scafella said, "You can't get a couch out the door to burn it."
Reach Jack Suntrup at email@example.com or 304-348-5100.


text:
Frankly if the voters weren't stupid Butler would have been ranked about 20 already so the loss wouldn't have looked as bad.
'); var yuipath = 'clientscript/yui'; var yuicombopath = ''; var remoteyui = false; } else // Load Rest of YUI remotely (where possible) { var yuipath = 'http://yui.yahooapis.com/2.9.0/build'; var yuicombopath = 'http://yui.yahooapis.com/combo'; var remoteyui = true; if (!yuicombopath) { document.write('
Frankly if the voters weren't stupid Butler would have been ranked about 20 already so the loss wouldn't have looked as bad.
Down to #6, which is too low, IMO.
Butler's at #19 now.
Such crap UK lost last year to us and only fell to #3
And even accounting for the losses Butler had a better resume than we had last year.
I responded strongly to a classless post gloating over Butler's win. I didn't initiate any criticism of Butler. I only disparaged the school because one of its fans came here and thumped their chest.
Last edited by hoosierguy; 12-17-2012 at 09:22 PM.
How am I being a hypocrite? I originally made a post giving Butler full credit for the win and one of their fans felt the need to gloat and I responded.
You turned a game on a hardwood floor to an attack on the university. Butler's supposed high school environment (which is untrue) was enough to attract IU Cody Zeller as his Top 3. Check yoself before you wreck yoself.
The next legitimate, worthwhile post you make will be you first.
Don't you have a Bob Griffin poster to salivate over?
No, I came here originally and gave Butler full credit for the win but one of their fans felt the need to rub it in and that irritated me.
Look, you have the rep for acting this way ask anyone here. Don't act like this is your first iteration.
In no way is this gloating or rubbing it in or whatever else your hypocritical *** would like to call it hoosierboy. None whatsoever.
You can harp all you want about "class" but you are just plain wrong on this (non) issue.
Last edited by BRushWithDeath; 12-17-2012 at 11:08 PM.
"I had to take her down like Chris Brown."
-Lance Stephenson
Do I even want to read all the posts since Saturday?
Here are my thoughts...
We didn't deserve to win. It was a hell of a game. If the two teams played again, I think IU would win, but it would still be a hard fought game. Anything I can glean from the last 4 pages or best to just move forward?
Also, Stevens is a witch.
Where did I gloat? Find it. Apparently, whatever classes you took at IU didn't emphasize reading.
Not really.
And yeah Stevens is something else for sure
Why do you guys waste your breath on hg? Nobody else in here blows smoke like him. Could you guys just ignore him because it clutters up the thread for us IU fans who aren't mentally unhinged about the basketball team.
Gloating? Thumping their chest? You think saying "it feels so freaking good," is over the top? They just beat the number 1 team in the nation on a "neutral" court. I was there. It was an awesome game, in an awesome atmosphere that was extremely hostile toward their team. I bet it did feel pretty good to see them pull it out. What did you want them to do? Rush the floor, create a permanent memorial display in Hinkle, and give out celebratory rings or something?
Because hoosiergirl is the best. The. Best.
Join Date:Jul 2012
Re: Indiana University Athletics Thread 2012-2013
Such crap UK lost last year to us and only fell to #3
And even accounting for the losses Butler had a better resume than we had last year.
Yes, but UK lost on a last second three and was playing an away game.
The reason why UK only fell to #3 last year was because they had already beat UNC & Kansas and there were less powerful undefeated teams than there are this year.
We are arguing about a lot of really stupid **** in here. My god I am the poorest loser on the planet and even I think this post-Butler reaction is ridiculous.
Don't ever argue with an idiot, they will just drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
No thread is safe
Secretly olblu is bane and Hoosier guy is talia al ghul, meaning I gotta get stabbed to resolve this ****.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
- When:
Add This Event To YourFriday, September 20, 2013 - Saturday, September 21
at 7:30 PM
- Where:
- Theater Building, Haugen Theater
- Contact:
- Jeanne Tangren Hatle
A Gremlin Theatre production presented by St. Olaf College Artist Series and Department of Theater
Written by playwright and science teacher Paul Zindel, the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds was also adapted into an award-winning film. The play revolves around embittered boardinghouse owner Beatrice and her dysfunctional family, which consists of the beautiful but troubled Ruth and the gifted but pathologically shy Tillie. It's an unusual science project -- alluded to in the show's title -- that finally lets Tillie break free of her mother and reveal a shattering truth. -Gremiln Theatre Website
Tickets for this production will be available online or by calling 786-8987.
< Return to main calendar page


text:
La Costeña® Jalapeño Nacho Slices - 100 oz.
by La Costena | Item #: 81127 | Model #: 5101 |
Non-members pay 10% surchargeJoin now!
- Free Pickup
Delivery estimates, taxes, and fees are based on ZIP Code. Club Pickup orders are based on your club's current price and item availability on the day of payment.
About this item
Pickled Jalapeño nacho slices.


text:
Showered With Love
I made this cake for a friend who is having a traditional Indian naming ceremony celebration for her new baby boy. I came up with the concept of "showered with love" and tried to tie in some Indian design elements. The cake is covered in fondant with fondant accents and buttercream dots. The elephant and hearts are fondant as well. Thanks for looking!


text:
Over the weekend, I spent quite a bit of time digging through a pile of stock of reports and one 13HF filing really stood out. I have interviewed and discussed the folks at PL Capital several times in the past year. The firm engages in bank stock investing with an activist twist and has produced some stellar results. For 2012, its fund was up more than 40% because the portfolio of primarily small regional and community banks paid off for the firm. Since its inception, the fund has better than doubled the overall market return with its unique approach to bank stock investing.
From its 13F filing, I cannot spy out their buying and selling activity, but I can spot its largest positions and highlight some of its focus areas. The firm has a decently sized stake in some of the larger banks as its members apparently believe they are cheap at current levels. They also have stakes in the 2018 warrants for Comerica (CMA), Capital One (COF)and PNC Financial (PNC). I like the warrants especially on market declines, as this not only give you a bet on banks for the next five years, but these will also appreciate if volatility should pick up substantially. PL Capital also has outright positions in the big banks, including Citigroup (C), JPMorgan (JPM), Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC).
One of the fund's largest positions is Intervest Bancshares (IBCA), a New York based bank with a strong presence in Florida. Although the bank's address is listed as Rockefeller Center, it only has one branch in New York and six in Florida. Trading at about 50% of book value, the stock is cheap, but the bank is not without some issues. It is in arrears on some of their debt payments and has not made its TARP dividend payments since February of 2010. The company has seen its capital position improve and the equity-to-asset ratio is now slightly more than 15. Nonperforming assets have improved from their worst levels and still make up more than 4% of total assets. This bank has some fleas and some risks -- but if it works out in the long run, the shares could offer a substantial return.
The firm also has a stake in shares of BankFinancial (BFIN), an Illinois-based community bank with offices in Cook, DuPage, Lake and Will Counties and a little over 1.4 billion in assets. The bank's equity-to-assets ratio is just below 10 and nonperforming assets have fallen dramatically -- to less than 3%. The company has been reworking and disposing of problem assets and has brought the nonperforming assets ratio down from above 6 in the past year. The stock trades at a slight discount to tangible book value and is a decent purchase in a market pullback.
The firm still has a sizable position in HF Financial (HFFC)as well. PL Capital won board seats at the Midwestern Bank is still a substantial owner of the shares. The bank is based in South Dakota and does business in Minnesota as well. The loan portfolio is solid as a rock, with nonperforming assets at just 1.4% of the total asset base. The company has a strong presence in agricultural lending with more than 11% of the loan portfolio invested in the strong farm loan sector. The portfolio has 30% invested in commercial real estate in the comparatively strong upper Midwest market. The equity-to-asset ratio has improved, year-over-year, but at 7.79% of the total, it is still lower than I normally like to see. The shares currently trade at just about tangible book value. I like this Midwestern bank and there are two activists invested in the stock with a commitment to driving the value and price of the bank higher. I think you could buy some shares right now and try to add during a market decline sometime later this year.
I was pleased to note that its portfolio contains many of my trade of the decade names. Among the banks large enough to discuss, the funds owns Key Corp (KEY) and TF Financial (TCB), which are two long-term holdings of mine. We also had shared ownership in about a half dozen smaller banks that appear safe and cheap.
Most of the fund's holdings are very small community banks. Investors with an interest in the "trade of the decade" should spend some time going through this filing, line-by-line, in search of investable Pick.


text:
The frame material, binding plate, and highback all help to determine the flex of a binding. This flex is usually rated on a scale from 1-5. Aim for the comfort and forgiveness of a softer flex if you're a beginner or like a riding park, or the control and support of a stiffer binding if you're strong, experienced, or into riding steep, technical terrain.
Just like boots, bindings come in a variety of sizes. Often, bindings accommodate a range of boot sizes (example: s-m or m-l). It's important that you buy a binding in a size that matches your boot size. Similarly, if you have a board with 4-hole binding mounting pattern or the Burton Channel system, you need a binding that matches this mount type.
Other factors to consider in buying a binding include: adjustability of the highback angle and rotation, amount of cushioning underfoot, canting (angling) of footbed, and strap design. Most bindings feature the traditional two-strap style; a rear-entry step-in design that is easier to get into is also available from some brands.


text:
Hey guys...
OK - so this isn't like the usual way of getting to boundless space which is through samatha but it's definiately boundless and space (not black or anything - just spacial awareness). The suttas say that sariputta attains boundless space by discerning all objects and finding there causes and hence discovering the way out which agrees with this approach.
So here's how I do it (well - done it - you don't need to do the initial stages after you've found the later)...
Firstly I label everything - as many new pieces of sensory information as possible like normal vipassana.
Now - it's natural for when labeling for the mind to label one object, drop out as it passes and label the next. However, I stick with reality as the object passes and follow the movement of focus onto the next object - labelling this.
As you label the flow of focus in between more then the mind detaches from it. It is a wave of focus which contains spacial awareness. It also may contain little nimmita which correspond to the sense (like proto-sense).
Now I switch concentration more and more to the flow of focus and less to the objects it rushes to. I do this until I am continually with the flow of focus (but I still am with the senses).
Now I specify my labelling to just the spacial movement and posistion of the focus. So my labelling is like: "round there", "through there", "over there" etc. etc. This has the effect of switching your attention purely to the focus and and not to nimmita or sense. This allows the focus to escape the senses and as it does so it starts to shoot out miles away. I also label these - like "out there" etc.
You can then do it more sammtha stlye and drop the momentary concentration into a continuous flow or go into a concentration on a point "lightyears" away (hard though - the space needs to be pretty pure to do this.)
With metta,


text:
China: In the past week, Chinese blogs have spread rumors of anti-government action by the supporters of Bo Xilai, the former party secretary for Chongqing who is almost openly a Maoist, instead of a communist-capitalist. Bloomberg reported a jump in credit default swaps (CDS) owing to the coup rumors.
Comment: The rumors arose from unconfirmed reports of gunfire in Beijing since last Thursday. Private citizens may not possess guns in China. Thus bloggers and analysts have strained to provide an explanation for the reported gunfire exchanges, which might not have happened.
What is known is that Bo Xilai has not been seen in public since his summary ouster last Thursday, which is not unusual. Additionally, a large number of Chinese internet users apparently judge reports of gunfire between powerful political factions to be plausible, which is surprising considering Chinese gun controls.
An analysis of the phenomenology of coups d'etat indicates there has been no coup and that it is extremely difficult to overthrow a collective leadership structure by a coup d'etat. There are six essential components of a coup. If any of them are absent, there is no coup.
The six components of all coups, including Musharraf's in Pakistan in 1999; Bainimarama' s in Fiji in 2006; Colonel Vall's coup in Mauritania in 2008; the Ben Ali coup in Tunisia in January 2011 and the Tantawi coup against Mubarak in 2011, are,
• the existence of a gripe--a motive to overthrow the government;
• the formation of an insider opposition group that opposes the government in power;
• that group's access to guns;
• that group's formulation of a plan;
• its access to transportation; and,
• an opportunity-- most often the absence of the head of state from the national capital.
Applying this template to the China rumors, based on open source reporting, two, possibly three, of the six common characteristics are in evidence. These are the existence of a group with a gripe.
The group with the gripe is the followers of Bo Xilai, in Chongqing and beyond. Maoist sympathizers are likely to reside in Beijing and many other cities, but no reporting or behavior indicate they formulated a plan or developed the capability to hold hostage the nine members of the standing committee of the politburo; nor acquired enough guns to hold off a counter move by the forces loyal to the existing political order.
The coup reporting is simply not credible, if only because it is extremely difficult to capture all the members of a collective leadership and to suppress their supporters in other cities.
The fact of the rumors, however, indicates Chinese bloggers are willing to credit reports that are hostile to the leadership, until they are disproven. That signifies that Chinese persons who are knowledgeable and adept in using social media and the internet have little confidence in the stability of their political system.
India: India plans to explore a route from Afghanistan through Pakistan to transport iron ore both by truck and by pipeline, Steel Authority of India Chairman CS Verma said, on 21 March. India has made a commitment to develop the Hajigak mines in Afghanistan and accompanying 6-million-ton steel plant, Verma said. Work will begin in late 2014.
Comment: A contract is to be signed in two months in what will be the biggest foreign investment in Afghanistan's resources sector, at least a $1million more than the $4.4 billion the Chinese are investing in the Aynak copper mine.
A major snag in the program is the requirement to obtain Pakistani cooperation for ore shipments from Afghanistan to India, but across Pakistan. Pakistani cooperation may be bought, but the price could be worthwhile because of the high grade of the iron ore.
Pakistan: A major parliamentary review of relations with the United States opened on 20 March with calls for an end to drone strikes and for an unconditional apology for an American attack that killed Pakistani soldiers last November.
Pakistani media reported that the demands, read to Parliament by the chairman of a cross-party national security committee, set a tough tone for a long-awaited debate over unilateral US drone attacks in Pakistan and the prospects for reopening NATO supply lines through Pakistan.
"The US must review its footprints in Pakistan," according to an official, five-page document, which listed Pakistani requests to the Obama administration to stop the drone attacks. "No overt or covert operations inside Pakistan shall be tolerated."
Comment: Parliamentary action represents a delayed response to the killing of bin Laden last May as well as the attack last November.
Parliamentary intervention provides the Gilani government the cover to walk away from any cooperation agreements made by Musharraf and an opportunity to reset the direction of future cooperation.
Egypt: Update. Spokesmen for the Muslim Brotherhood made two important announcements on 21 March. An unidentified spokesman said the Brotherhood was reconsidering its pledge to not run a Brotherhood candidate in the presidential election on 23 and 24 May 2012. The Brotherhood has not endorsed anyone who has announced his candidacy nor announced its own candidate.
The second announcement is that the Brotherhood wants the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip opened to unrestricted trade.
Comment: Little-by-little every promise the Brotherhood made about staying out of Egyptian politics is failing, invariably for a variety of reasons. The result has been a steady increase in Brotherhood authority, power and respect plus a steady erosion of civilian secular influences in Egyptian politics.
The opening of full border trade has appeared to be a matter of when, not whether, after the Brotherhood achieved an electoral victory in the Egyptian parliament.
Mali: Troops attacked the presidential palace in Bamako hours after staging a mutiny. They exchanged gunfire with soldiers loyal to the government. A defense ministry official said that a coup d'etat was under way. News services reported "heavy" gunfire in Bamako during the day and armored vehicle deployments to protect the presidential palace.
The mutineers charge that the government is not giving them enough arms to battle a rebellion by ethnic Tuaregs. The Tuaregs have forced the army out of several northern towns in recent months. There have been no reports of casualties.
Comment: The mutineers do not appear to have captured the president. However, their accusations of a failure of support appear to be accurate in light of the loss of several northern towns to Tuareg rebels.
Lack of logistics support, however, most likely is the complaint for public consumption. It probably camouflages a much longer list of army complaints, including late or no pay.
Applying the NightWatch coup template, the actions in Bamako thus far confirm the existence of an anti-government group in the army that has a major gripe against the government. It also has access to arms and vehicles and has given some thought to a plan for taking control, by moving against the presidential palace.
The plan is clearly inadequate because the normal target set for a successful overthrow also includes capturing the national leaders plus the national radio and television stations and any other means of outside communication. A move against the presidential palace is necessary, but not sufficient to overthrow the government unless it has inside support that neutralizes the presidential guards and the rest of the army.
The major uncertainties are whether the Presidential Guard remains loyal to the President; the relative capabilities of the pro- and anti-government forces in the Army, and the actions of the political leadership.
All things being equal - which they never are, the faction with the most and most effective guns will win. At this point, the relative capabilities of the opposing forces are not clearly described in open source media. In fact, as described, the action looks less like a coup than like a violent protest, which should be negotiable.
End of NightWatchNightWatch is brought to readers of Townhall Finance by Kforce Government Solutions, Inc. (KGS), a leader in government problem-solving, Data Confidence® and intelligence. Views and opinions expressed in NightWatch are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily represent those of KGS, its management, or affiliates.
A Member of AFCEA International


text:
Mets name Natera as assistant to Hudgens
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The Mets on Monday joined the growing ranks of big league teams employing assistant hitting coaches, naming Luis Natera to that position under fourth-year hitting coach Dave Hudgens.
Natera, who spent the past seven years as the hitting coach at Double-A Binghamton, is in his 24th season in the Mets' organization. He has served as a hitting coach at every level of the organization -- from Rookie ball to Triple-A -- and has also worked as the coordinator of the Mets' Dominican Academy and managed their Dominican Summer League team.
Mets manager Terry Collins said that with almost every big league ballpark now boasting an indoor batting cage, he wanted a coach available to tutor hitters during games, when Hudgens is busy on the bench.
"With all that action going on in there, I thought it was important to have someone who can actually perhaps get somebody better prepared to come into a game to hit," Collins said. "If there's things that guys are working on -- there are guys that even during a game will have an at-bat and the next inning will go into the cage, take some swings, and we need somebody in there to help them."
Anthony DiComo is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @AnthonyDicomo. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
Synonym Safari 2Language brain teasers are those that involve the English language. You need to think about and manipulate words and letters.
Replace each word or words in parentheses with a one-word synonym to decipher a common phrase.
1. (Performances) (converse) (noisier) than (terms).
2. (More superior) (delayed) than (not at all).
3. (Sublime) (mental abilities) (contemplate) (similarly).
Answer1. Actions speak louder than words.
2. Better late than never.
3. Great minds think alike.
What Next?
See another brain teaser just like this one...
Or, just get a random brain teaser
If you become a registered user you can vote on this brain teaser, keep track of
which ones you have seen, and even make your own.
Back to Top


text:
DMGT announced yesterday that it had sold Northcliffe Media to Local World, an entity that will combine the Northcliffe regional titles with those of Iliffe News & Media Limited. Trinity Mirror is also an investor in the new business. The deal is likely to be finalised in early January 2013.
David Montgomery, previously chief executive of the pan-European newspaper group Mecom, will be chairman of the new group.
Auckland has newspapers in his blood, having run free title Metro, the defunct title LondonLite, and Northcliffe Media before it was sold off.
Speaking to Media Week, Auckland said the new business, which will likely be in operation from "early January", was not a cost-cutting exercise, although the merger of Northcliffe's and Iliffe News & Media's operations would result in back-office redundancies.
He said: "You can always take more out of a business. I think when we integrate the two companies there will be back office costs [we can reduce].
As a consequence of cost-cutting and a reorganisation of Northcliffe "75% of managing directors and 50% of editors are newly posted and because of that we've got fresh thinking", he said. "We can't afford to lose people on the frontline. If we're going to lose any staff, it'll be back office rather than frontline troops."
Local World deems digital as one of its core areas for driving revenue, with an earmarked investment of £10m into digital development and training.
Auckland said: "Digital is where the big play is. I believe we've got a nice new model that we can roll out. A lot of that is built on content in each of the areas we publish in and on top of that, building directory services around it.
Although he admitted that the business would look at transforming some of its daily titles into weeklies, he said the development of its digital offering would not come at the expense of print.
"For us," he said, "the key thing is that it should transform regional media. And that's what it's all about. We've got a very lean team – we're not like the big players with debt and pension issues, we're pretty nimble and can move fast."
He acknowledged that the coming together of Northcliffe and Iliffe presaged greater consolidation in the regional market, and he hinted that Local World's mid-term ambitions were acquisitive.
He said: "Our view is that in the first stage we need to integrate the two businesses. Once that transformation is in place and we see the results it will make it more advantageous to look at other companies to work with. Let's get things underway and after that, we can consider consolidation."
Given Auckland's experience with freesheets London Lite and Metro, industry observers could be forgiven for speculating that Local World might adopt the free model on some of its papers.
Auckland admitted: "I've always got an open mind on these things. But free regionals tends not to work. Metro is such a great commuter title, a great disposable product. But regional papers have a lot more value than freesheets and I've found you can't generate the ad revenue." He said that Metro generates so much money because it is in effect a national title.
Finally, asked whether he felt that the advent of local TV would pose an opportunity or a threat to regional papers, he reckoned neither. "Our regional businesses have got to focus and concentrate a bit more. Are we a big believer in [local TV]? No. I don't think it will be a fantastic success."
DMGT has sold the Northcliffe titles – which include the Hull Daily Mail, Leicester Mercury and Bristol Evening Post – for £52.5m in cash, along with a 38.7% stake in the new business.
Local World will house more than 100 local newspapers in all.


text:
Many people have been waiting for Blu-ray players to hit the magic price point of $200, where people think mass adoption will start to take place and it will slowly overtake DVD as the dominant home video format. However, there's also another range of players that are starting to come out now, those of reference quality designs with virtually no expense spared. The BDP-09FD from Pioneer is their entry into that arena. Featuring a top of the line analog section, full compatibility with all areas of Profile 2.0, and high quality internal and external parts, how would it compare to a standard Blu-ray player?
- Design: Blu-ray Player
- Supported Formats: BD-Rom, DVD-ROM, DVD-R DVD+R, CD, CD-R/RW.
- Codecs: Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio (Internal as well as Bitstream)
- Supported Video Resolutions from HDMI: 480i, 480p, 1080i, 1080p60, 1080p24
- Dimensions: 5.9″ H x 16.5†W x 14.2†D
- Weight: 30.5 Pounds
- Pioneer
(Check out the video tour of the player's features at the bottom of Page 2.)
(Check out the video tour of the player's features at the bottom of this page.)
If I hadn't known how well built the Pioneer was going to be, my first clue would have been when the UPS driver had to use the hand truck and elevator to deliver it to my condo instead of just carrying it up the stairs as they will do with most deliveries I get. Opening the box, the Pioneer was packed decently in a couple of Styrofoam cutouts and it was in perfect shape, though I had expected that they might pack it in something a bit more secure and reusable, as that type of packing tends to break down or break into pieces after a few uses.
Also contained in the box was a remote (identical in layout to the other Pioneer BluRay players, but with metal construction instead of plastic and glow-in-the-dark buttons), manual, Ethernet cable, BNC to RCA adapters for the component video jacks, and standard RCA audio and video cables. Unfortunately, Pioneer still doesn't see fit to include an HDMI cable inside the box of their Blu-ray players, but includes a standard composite video cable that will almost certainly never be used by someone purchasing this player. The remote, which has a design that I am not a fan of, was designed so if you have other Pioneer components (Plasma display or Receiver), the remote layout will be familiar and you can use it easily, but if you don't have these other components, then the layout is just not that well designed. Anyone that is buying this player will almost certainly have a universal remote solution I would imagine though.
The Pioneer BDP-09FD is constructed unlike any other BluRay player, or other AV component, that I have had the opportunity to use. Weighing over 30 lbs, the BDP-09FD is constructed with gold plated outputs, a solid steel base plate, internal crossbar supports, and separate power supplies for the audio and video sections of the player. The player also features a Blu-ray recorder drive mechanism, which has stricter tolerances than the standard Blu-ray drive mechanism, and a very attractive glossy finish that made getting a photograph without my reflection for this review a challenge, but didn't distract when it was in my AV rack.
The back panel of the Pioneer features a full complement of outputs, notably including dual HDMI outputs, allowing you to run one to your display and one to a receiver/processor, or one to a projector and one to another display or your receiver/processor. I hooked them up in the display/receiver setup to make sure that nothing would cause any loss of quality in the video section, while still allowing me to send all the audio over HDMI.
However, sending audio over HDMI from this player would negate one of the major advantages of it: a full complement of 8 Wolfson 8740 DACs operating in Dual mode, one of every channel, which allows you to control all of the audio settings in the player: Speaker distances, size and crossover, and level adjustment while using the high quality DAC's which are used in Pioneer's Elite SC-05 and SC-07 receivers, as well as many other high end audio products. Since the Pioneer can internally decode all of the new audio formats (Dolby TrueHD, DTS Master Audio) and perform all of these speaker level adjustments over the multi-channel outputs, and has higher quality DACs than most receivers and processors, I did most of my evaluation using the analog audio connections instead of the single HDMI cable, but the HDMI outputs were tested for audio as well.
Additional features found on the BDP-09FD are an Ethernet jack for BD Live capability and firmware updates, a feature that was sorely missing on the BDP-51FD that I recently reviewed. Unfortunately, while their previous Elite Blu-ray players could use the Ethernet port to play media from DLNA servers on your home network, the new Renesis chipset that Pioneer is using for this player lacks that feature and so the Ethernet port can only be used for BD Live and Firmware updates. Also included are Composite, S-Video and Component outputs for video (since I wondered about this, Pioneer assured me that keeping legacy Composite and S-Video jacks on the panel doesn't affect the design in any negative way, since those capabilities are built into the chipset they use for the player), and Coaxial and Optical outputs for audio.
For BD Live support, the BDP-09FD features 4 GB of memory on the board in the form of an SD HC card for downloaded content. As most movies typically only require around 4 MB of space, you should be able to hold the downloadable content for close to 1,000 discs before you run out of room. I was unable to test what happens if you fill this memory up but was told that you would need to manually delete data to make room from the Setup menu, which unfortunately required you to delete all of the movie information in memory, not individual titles as the PS3 allows you to do. This means if you do manage to fill this memory up in the future, you would have to completely empty it out before you could access the content of a new disc, so hopefully they will allow you to delete individual titles from memory in the future.
One final feature that I was unable to test, but was very interested in, was Pioneer's Precision Quartz Lock System for playing audio CD's. If you have a compatible Pioneer receiver (the SC-05 and SC-07 both work) and have the player connected over HDMI, for CD playback the machine will use the higher quality clock signal inside of the receiver instead of the poorer quality video clock inside of the BDP-09FD. This works to eliminate jitter from the disc to the point that Pioneer can claim that the signal is actually jitter free, which should produce an audible increase in audio quality. Pioneer has also said that this is an open standard that other manufacturers are welcome to adopt in the future, and in the future they plan to support this jitter reduction for video playback as well with new products, so hopefully this feature will become something that other manufacturers adopt.
If you would like to take a video tour of the player's features, click on the photo below which will download the *.wmv file that will play on your Windows Media Player.
My previous Blu-ray player had reminded me how wonderful it was to setup new components now that HDMI is a standard. I simply removed my current DVD player, inserted the new BluRay player, attached a single HDMI cable and power cord, and everything was working. With the BDP-09FD I had a lot more work to do in able to get all of the extra performance out of it, hooking up 5.1 analog outputs, dual HDMI outputs (one straight to my display, and one to my receiver for bitstreaming audio), and an Ethernet cable.
Pioneer has built a nice setup menu that guides you though the configuration of the BDP-09FD in order and will grey out selections that don't matter for your setup based on previous selections. After choosing a 16×9 aspect ratio, I decided to go with multichannel analog outputs, which opened up another list of choices for me. First choosing which speakers I had hooked up, whether they were large or small, and what crossover I would prefer for routing bass to the subwoofer (unfortunately a single global crossover and not an individual channel selection), then onto how far each speaker was from my primary listening location, down to inches and not the more typical half foot increments, and finally individual channel level settings. As many receivers and processors will bypass all internal crossover and level settings when you use a multichannel input, it's very important that Pioneer builds this functionality into the player for those that will use the multichannel outputs.
Next I'd configure my video settings, including what I wanted to do with my secondary HDMI output, if I had support for Deep Color or Control over HDMI, which Color Space I wanted to use for output, and some additional options for if I was using a Kuro display or Pioneer receiver. Finally, one nice option that Pioneer has is the ability to test your Network Connection without having to download an update. With some previous players I have used, the only way to make sure that you are online correctly is to try to update the software, which can then take a long time, but the Pioneer lets you simply test to make sure it's working correctly.
Outside of the Initial Setup menu, there is a separate Video Adjustments menu. It contains some presets for certain display types (LCD, Plasma, Pioneer Plasma, Projector) as well as three custom types that you can configure. These will let you easily change certain settings (Black Level, Pure Cinema Mode, Block and Mosquito noise reduction, Gamma Correction) to fine tune the output of the player based on the source material and your display.
As many of us are routing all of our components through a receiver or processor into a single input on our display, we can't easily calibrate that input to be exact for all of our sources, but using the settings on the Pioneer we could adjust the Pioneer internally to make those small adjustments that it might need. You could also use the memory settings based on if you are watching a Blu-ray movie (which would typically have a much lower level of blocking and noise due to more advanced codecs and space) or a DVD, which might need more block noise reduction due to the lower quality MPEG-2 compression used.
Selecting your output resolution can be done while you are watching video, in addition to your initial settings. The Pioneer features all of the common output formats (1080p at both 60 and 24 fps, 720p60, 1080i60, 480p and 480i), but also features Auto, where the player chooses based on what the display tells it over HDMI, and Source Direct, which will output the media at whatever format it was recorded at. This is an option for those using an external video processor or scaler , but I chose to stick with 1080p60 as my display will not support 1080p24. The Pioneer always detected my display as 1080i60 for some reason, no matter if I was using the HDMI through my receiver or connected directly to the display, but that was simple to fix. While the BDP-09FD took a bit longer to setup than most players due to its plethora of features, the setup process was very intuitive and it didn't have me jumping back and forth between different menus as some equipment can.
Performance – Music
As soon as I had the Pioneer hooked up in my system, the first thing that I wanted to test was its audio performance. The Wolfson DAC's have been used in many other highly regarded, dedicated CD players and I wanted to hear how they would sound. Listening to "Kid A†from Radiohead, the Pioneer offered up a very refined, relaxed presentation and I listened to the whole disc without any fatigue, completely enjoying the experience. Moving forward or back a track was a little slow compared to my Oppo player, but I never had any issues beyond that. After listening to a few more albums on the Pioneer over the week, I wanted to evaluate it head-to-head with the Oppo, which is a very nice budget CD player in addition to being a fine DVD player, and see how it compared.
Taking some time to make sure all of the settings on the receiver and the players were setup correctly and that the receiver wasn't introducing anything additional into the signal, I setup some albums to play at the same time so I could easily switch back and forth between them. Additionally, I found that using the Pioneer in Pure Audio Mode 1 (no video signals at all) produced a noticeable increase in sound quality during CD playback, so I left that enabled while I performed these listening tests as well. To my ears, the Oppo provided me a bit more high-end detail and a bit of a wider soundstage, whereas the Pioneer provided some extra weight behind the voices and instruments. Listening to just a human voice, the Oppo would let me hear a little bit of extra detail at the top end, but the Pioneer would express the power that they were putting behind their singing.
The presentation of the Oppo was more forward as well, putting the vocals in front in the speakers, where the Pioneer seemed to pull them back behind the speakers a bit and stay more relaxed. With Pure Audio disabled, I was able to easily tell the players apart and felt that the soundstage of the Pioneer shrunk, and the instruments and vocals sounded like they were hiding behind a curtain, losing a good bit of detail. In the end, while I liked the extra detail that the Oppo added, some might find that it's more fatiguing to listen for a long period of time, or prefer the extra weight that the Pioneer can put behind the music. Given that the Oppo player has been a consistently well regarded CD player, I think Pioneer can be happy with how the BDP-09FD sounded.
For playing back music from non-CD sources, the Pioneer supports very few extra codecs (most bitrate mp3s and lower bitrate WMA's), but no lossless formats such as FLAC, and no support for WAV files beyond 16-bit and 44.1 KHz sampling rates. The new chipset that Pioneer used for this player was chosen for pure performance on Blu-ray, DVD, and CD playback and support for more advanced media codecs wasn't important in comparison to that. It did manage to playback the mp3's that I tested it with, but I would doubt that many people are going to purchase a player like this and used it to play back lossy, compressed audio files.
I did have one big fault with the Pure Audio setting, however. The load times on the Pioneer are not exceptionally fast, in part due to its use of a recorder transport that is more accurate but not as speedy as the typically disc transport, and while it is loading you are not able to stop it until it's read the contents of a CD, or gotten to the menu of a movie. Unfortunately, Pure Audio does not have a setting where you can have it be automatically enabled for CD playback and then disabled for BluRay or DVD playback, and to disable it you need to stop the disc and physically press a button on the player as there is no button on the remote. A couple of times I would go start a movie, forgetting that I had listened to a CD the day before, and be treated to a black screen as the disc loaded, since Pure Audio was disabling the video output of the player. I would have to wait a couple of minutes for the BluRay disc to get to the main menu, then stop it, walk up to the player, switch off Pure Audio, then start the disc up again and wait a couple more minutes for it to load once again. If Pioneer could add a menu setting for this based on media type, or at least a way to disable it from the remote, that would be nice.
Performance – Video
I had been very happy with the performance of the Pioneer BDP-51FD previously, and I must say that they did a fantastic job with Blu-ray playback once again. Watching a variety of movies, from the better-than-expected "Kung Fu Pandaâ€, to The "Dark Knight†and "Band of Brothersâ€, the Pioneer played back everything and looked fantastic doing it. Looking at test patterns I would see that it could pass BTB and WTW signals allowing for an easy calibration to make sure I was getting the most out of it.
Unfortunately, Blu-ray discs were still a bit slower to load compared to my PlayStation3 console. Watching "Kung Fu Pandaâ€, I could get to the main menu in 1:30 on the PS3, but it took 2:17 on the Pioneer. That didn't bother me too much as every player takes a while to start on a Blu-ray disc it seems, but I wish the Pioneer could eject a disc from being powered off quicker than the 40 seconds it takes right now.
With a recent Firmware update, the Pioneer has added support for DTS-MA decoding inside the player, so now all of the audio formats can be decoded and sent over the 7.1 analog outputs. Sound quality from movies was nothing short of spectacular. Band of Brothers continued to draw me in, and the sound of the bullets flying everywhere in the battle scenes was fantastic. Listening to "Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds: Live at Radio Cityâ€, I wanted to turn it up as loud as I could to hear all the detail from their guitars. A few years ago I had grown tired of Dave Matthews, but that disc on a good player sounds so fantastic that I can keep going back to it over and over now, and the Pioneer brought out all of the detail in it.
The Pioneer also did a good job of standard DVD playback. Scaling to 1080p I didn't detect any motion artifacts, encountered no lip-sync issues even on some titles that people have had issues with on other upscaling players, and generally made a DVD look as good as possible. I would never mistake the upconverted picture for a true Blu-ray disc, but it did as good a job as any player that I have seen and that is what I am looking for.
With their recent firmware, Pioneer has also finally added support for BD Live using the players Ethernet port and 4 GB of storage. Discs that I had tested connected quickly and worked great, supporting all of the extra online features that discs now offer, except for the one Disney title that I was able to test (WALL-E). Since this was an early release of the firmware before it has gone through the entire QA process, I've made Pioneer aware of the issue and they should have this resolved before it is released to the general public, currently planned for late April. With DTS-MA decoding and BD Live support, the Pioneer BDP-09FD should now support all features available on BluRay discs at this time.
Unfortunately, one feature that I was unable to test was the bit-depth conversion that the Pioneer can perform internally. Color data on DVD and BluRay discs is stored in an 8 bit format, so when you scale the picture to a different resolution, or perform any extra processing on the image (noise reduction, gamma correction), you can easily introduce errors that can be seen as unsmooth gradients of color, or blotchy areas of an image, since you're only using those 8 bits per color. The Pioneer converts everything to 16 bits internally, and does all of the processing at 16 bits, only going back to 8 bits at the very end of the output stage. This allows for smoother gradients, and could allow for a better looking upconversion for DVD sources. Unfortunately, to output this extra detail you would need an HDMI 1.3 compatible display (so it can display Deep Color) and my display does not support that unfortunately. However, since I didn't see any of these issues when I was testing the player, those with HDMI 1.3 displays might see some extra detail that I could not.
Video Performance (Benchmark)
The BDP-09FD performed very well across the board on all of our benchmark tests. Measurements with the Tektronix Oscilloscope were taken from the component analog video outputs measured at 1080i resolution. The BDP-09FD showed strong performance in our core video tests passing all of the tests that check for chroma upsampling error test, having no problems with Y/C delay, and displaying a white level that is spot on at 100 IRE. In addition the BDP-09FD retains the full screen image and zero pixels were cropped. The frequency response from the analog outputs, as shown in the graph, is very smooth throughout the spectrum with a slight tapering off in the highest frequencies which translates to excellent picture quality.
In our HD section of the Blu-ray benchmark the BDP-09FD performed equally well passing our tests for banding, and 1920×1080 pixel cropping. As a motion adaptive player, the Pioneer was able to apply diagonal filtering to material, thereby enhancing the image when there are a lot of jagged or diagonal lines present. Proper 1080 i/p conversion is a must for a reference player and the BDP-09FD was able to convert material with 2:2 and 3:2 cadences properly so even concert footage or documentaries will play properly without any loss of resolution. Since Blu-ray players have hit the market there haven't been that many that have really good digital noise reduction. The Pioneer BDP-09FD on the other hand, has excellent digital noise reduction and has the most robust menu I have seen to date with individual adjustments for mosquito, luma, and chroma noise reduction. The end result is the ability to fine tune the picture very precisely.
Standard DVD Performance
Not many Blu-ray players to date also have offered good standard DVD performance as well as solid Blu-ray playback. That isn't true of the BDP-09FD however. On our de-interlacing tests the BDP-09FD passed most of the tests with flying colors and only showed some hiccups on material that is encoded with bad edits or incorrect progressive flags. Hopefully Pioneer will address these issues in a future firmware update.
On video based material the BDP-09FD had excellent performance. The player is motion adaptive and has excellent recovery time switching back and forth between film and video modes with minimal delay. The player had superb playback of high detail material as tested in our Super Speedway clip and also showed impeccable performance on the more difficult Coliseum flyover scene from Gladiator.
The only area the BDP-09FD didn't shine was in the usability section of our benchmark. The player only had average performance when it comes to response, and clocked in at a good but not great 1.1 seconds for layer changes.
Audio Performance (On the Bench)
Distortion measurements were made within an 80 kHz bandwidth.
At 1 kHz, recorded at – 5 dB, THD+N was only 0.007%.
IMD was also very low, at 0.009%.
The frequency response was flat at 20 Hz and down 0.2 dB at 20 kHz.
Overall, the Pioneer BDP-09FD shows reference quality audio performance.
The Pioneer BDP-09FD is a player that aims to be reference quality, and performs exactly that way on the bench with solid standard DVD, and Blu-ray playback, and reference quality analog audio performance. The menu system that is included is excellent and movie playback was perfect for both audio and video. I would be quite fine to have it as my only CD transport as well. By adding support for BD Live and DTS-MA, the BDP-09FD is no longer missing any features that I feel I would need to enjoy Blu-ray movies. There are certain features that could be improved upon such as the remote control, load times, a fix for Pure Audio when watching movies, and FLAC streaming from DNLA; however none of these affect the experience once the movie has started. In addition, this player is impeccably built and looks fantastic. It might not be priced for everyone, but there are many people with reference quality audio systems that don't have HDMI inputs and need the high end analog outputs, or need dual HDMI connections, or just want the best built player out there. The BDP-09FD delivers in spades and should probably be on the very top of your short list.


text:
BECOME A PREFERRED SUBSCRIBER+ Get 15% off Your Next Order
The BEST deals come to your inbox. Sign up for GEMPLER'S emails to get exclusive offers and first dibs on hot new products!
Steel Hand Trucks - Continuous-frame Flow Back Handle
Your job needs a specific hand truck – and we've got it!
Offers a variety of handle styles, load capacities, wheel types and accessories to give you a steel hand truck customized to your specific application. Excellent for shops, schools and warehouses. Feature a red powder-coated finish for durability and a professional appearance plus steel-hubbed wheels with steel ball bearings. 1,000-lb. capacity trucks have a 14"Wx10"D noseplate. Continuous-frame Flow Back Handle Wide grip allows a variety of hand positions and minimizes pinch points. For one- or two-handed use.


text:
Pear trees were once the symbol of Ukiah, with their blossoms flowering in almost every corner of the valley since the 1840s. Thousands of acres were devoted to growing pears, until a major decline in the '80s and '90s forced many farmers out of business. After a difficult trial, the remaining farmers find themselves in a somewhat steady market.
"Currently the pear industry is stable. The pear farmers still in business are a hardy bunch. It really says a lot about the stick-to-it-iveness of farmers. They are survivors," says Chuck Morse, commissioner for Mendocino County Department of Agriculture.
The fertile, sunny valley of Ukiah has a long history of producing many successful crops -- hops, grapes, pears and feed crops. Pears were especially widespread due to their ability to tolerate the heavy, wet soil in low level areas. Their popularity was also helped thanks to the support of a strong pear economy statewide.
At one time there were more than 300 pear farms in California, according to the California Pear Advisory Board. Then in the '80s and '90s, the pear industry suffered a substantial decline due to competition abroad and the subsequent decline of the canning industry, coupled with rising production costs. There are now only 60 pear farms remaining in California.
Globalization has made it possible to import fresh fruit year-round from Mexico and South America. Consumers were happy because there was no longer an off-season for produce, and with increased competition, prices dropped significantly. California pear growers found themselves trying to compete with foreign prices and many weren't able to.
The ability to buy fresh pears in the supermarket year-round also caused canned fruit sales to decline. As a result, the canning industry that once thrived in California waned dramatically. With the closing of the last local canning shed -- by Del Monte -- the nearest canning facility is now in Oregon. For local farmers, the added cost of having to transport out of state makes canning pears barely profitable.
Alex R. Thomas Co., a company which owned hundreds of acres of pear orchards in the area and ran a packing shed in Ukiah, announced it would be closing on Dec. 1, 2008. The closure of the packing shed had a major effect on the local pear industry and was felt keenly by many farmers. "Their packing shed was an anchor for Ukiah growers," says Morse.
In addition to the decline in demand and therefore prices of pears, farmers also were suffering from highly increased production costs for necessities such as fuel, equipment, labor and pesticides.
Consequently, in the late '80s and early '90s many pear farmers went out of business. Morse explains that some were able to sell their land, while many defaulted on their loans and went bankrupt. In either case, a good majority of the pear orchards were converted to grape vineyards. One reason was that there was no longer a thriving pear market and the switch needed to be made. The other reason was because the reclaimed pear trees were often untended for a year or two and as a result, were infested with pests. In this case, the Agriculture Commission was required to abate and destroy the infected orchards to protect neighboring orchards. Most of the hundreds of acres reclaimed from Alex R. Thomas Co. had this unfortunate ending.
Some pear farmers, who weren't bankrupt already, chose to try another crop. Grapes, with high start-up costs, were an unrealistic switch for most. Hay and grain -- which can be harvested multiple times a year and have a local market -- are the most popular switch-over crops for farmers who were able to stay in business.
For Ukiah pear farmers who survived the decline, Bartlett is still the standard variety. A small percentage grows Bosc and Red Pears. Unfortunately, there are only a couple of organic pear farmers in Mendocino County. "It is very difficult to grow organic pears," explains Morse. "Most farmers try to stay away from harsh phosphates though. They are trying to use more natural ways to fight pests. For example, there's been great success using a pheromone inhibitor that prevents Codling moths from mating. Some pesticides are still used, but much less than 10 to 20 years ago, and pesticide levels are tested frequently to make sure the environment is not being polluted."
For now, the number of pear acres remaining in the Ukiah Valley is stable. Mendocino, along with Lake and El Dorado counties, (aka the "Mountain Pears" district) produces approximately 50,000 tons of pears annually, according to the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom. But farmers know that the market is never stable. Prices are still subject to change. Every year there is still the threat of blight, harsh weather and shifts in economy or labor. "2011 was a fairly decent return year. The data for 2012 has not come in yet. There were some localized hail storms in the Ukiah Valley, but overall it was a good year," Morse concludes.


text:
TWO lecturers from Burnley College Sixth Form Centre had a mind-blowing tour of the world's most advanced and largest particle accelerator.
A-level computer science lecturer Simon Rowan and Richard Newby, lecturer of physics, visited the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland to learn about the Large Hadron Collider.
They will pass on their findings from the trip to Burnley College's students to inspire them in pursuing academic excellence in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)subjects.
Richard Newby said that their trip will benefit the college and they plan on returning in November with a group of students.
He said: "This trip will help me to gain a better understanding of the complex work done at CERN which in turn will allow me to create exciting, current and informative lessons for my students.
" I am hoping to use any funds remaining from the bursary to subsidise a return trip with a group of students next year."
The Large Hadron Collider was tasked with discovering the Higgs Boson, also known as the God Particle, by recreating the conditions of the Big Bang in a controlled environment.
The Higgs Boson will allow scientists to further understand the principles of mass formation and may reveal clues into how the universe was formed.
Peter Higgs, the British scientist who helped to theorise the existence of the particle, was awarded the Nobel Prize last year.
Lecturer Simon Rowan said: "The opportunity to visit CERN and attend lectures from some of CERN's top researchers, is a real privilege and honour."
The trip was funded by a bursary from the National Science Centre.


text:
Trial record 9 of 239 for: Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease
Development of Charcot Marie Tooth Disease (CMT) Pediatric Scale for Children With CMT (INC-6603)
This study is currently recruiting participants.
Verified September 2017 by Michael Shy, University of Iowa
University of Iowa
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Muscular Dystrophy Association
University of Rochester
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
University College London Hospitals
Fondazione I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta
Sydney Children's Network
Nemours Children's Clinic
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
Michael Shy, University of Iowa
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: August 9, 2010
Last updated: September 12, 2017
Last verified: September 2017
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Detailed Description:
The primary goal of this project is to develop and test a Charcot Marie Tooth disease (CMT) Pediatric Scale for use in evaluation in natural history CMT study.
|Charcot Marie Tooth Disease
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Observational Model: Case-Only
Time Perspective: Prospective
|Official Title:
|Development and Validation of CMT Pediatric Scale for Children With Charcot Marie Tooth
Resource links provided by NLM:
Genetics Home Reference related topics: Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies
MedlinePlus related topics: Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease Tooth Disorders
Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center resources: Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease Hereditary Neuropathy With Liability to Pressure Palsy Roussy Levy SyndromeU.S. FDA Resources
Further study details as provided by Michael Shy, University of Iowa:
Primary Outcome Measures:
- CMT Peds Scale Part 1: Symptoms [ Time Frame: 1 year ]The CMT Peds Scale Symptoms include foot and hand symptoms.
- CMT Peds Score Part 2: Foot and Ankle Involvement [ Time Frame: 1 year ]Foot and ankle involvement includes foot posture index, range of ankle dorsiflexion, foot drop present/absent, and whether or not difficulty heel/toe walking.
- CMT Peds Scale Part 3: Hand dexterity [ Time Frame: 1 year ]Hand dexterity involves hand dexterity testing and the nine-hole peg test.
- CMT Peds Scale Part 4: Hand strength [ Time Frame: 1 year ]Hand strength includes grip strength, thumb-index pinch, and three point pinch.
- CMT Peds Scale Part 5: Foot Strength [ Time Frame: 1 year ]Foot strength includes the strength of plantar- and dorsi-flexion, eversion, and inversion.
- CMT Peds Score Part 6: Sensation [ Time Frame: 1 year ]Sensation includes pinprick and vibration sensations.
- CMT Peds Scale Part 7: Balance [ Time Frame: 1 year ]Balance is assessed by the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, 2nd Edition (BOT-2).
- CMT Peds Scale Part 8: Motor Function [ Time Frame: 1 year ]Motor function assessment includes long jump, 10 meter run/walk, stair climb, stair descend, and 6 minute walk test.
Secondary Outcome Measures:
- Evaluate CMT Pediatric Scale (CMT Peds Scale) in CMT natural history study [ Time Frame: 6 months to 1 year ]The sections of the CMT Peds Scale which are found to be clinically/functionally useful after one year of analysis will be carried forward for all pediatric patients every 6 months to one year.
|Estimated Enrollment:
|Actual Study Start Date:
|April 2010
|Estimated Study Completion Date:
|December 2019
|Estimated Primary Completion Date:
|December 2019 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
Pediatric patients
All patients 21 years of age and under who are enrolled in the 6601 study and have undergone the pediatric scale tests.
Detailed Description:
This project is to develop a new CMT Pediatric Scale (CMTPeds) for Children with CMT. Although there is a validated score (the CMTNS) which measures disease severity for CMT, it is not always applicable to children due to their limited ability to relay information about their symptoms. The CMTPeds scale is being developed and validated in order to measure disease severity in children and have outcome measures available for future clinical trials. Children (defined as 21 and under) being evaluated will be asked to perform functional tasks such as using stairs, walking in a hallway, and performing hand function tests. This information will be used to validate the CMTPeds score. It is important to have validated instruments to measure disease severity in childhood so these can be used with clinical treatment trials are available.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|up to 21 Years (Child, Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
|Sampling Method:
|Non-Probability Sample
Study Population
Patients who are 21 years of age and under who are also enrolled in the 6601 study and have performed all tasks to complete the CMT Peds Scale will be recruited for participation. Participation entails allow the information collected in the 6601 study be used for validation in the current study.
Inclusion Criteria:
All patients MUST be seen in person at one of the participating centers for enrollment in this study.
- Children (< 21 years of age)
- Known or probable inherited neuropathies classified as CMT1, CMT2, or CMT4
Exclusion Criteria:
- Known diagnoses of acquired neuropathy including toxic (e. g. medication related neuropathies); metabolic (e.g. diabetic), immune mediated or inflammatory [acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP) or chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP)] polyneuropathies; neuropathy related to leukodystrophy, congenital muscular dystrophy; and patients with severe general medical conditions.
- Entirely normal conduction velocities of upper and lower limbs as this suggests that the subject may not have a neuropathy.
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: NCT01203085
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01203085
|Contact: Shawna M Feely, MS
|Contact: Tiffany Grider, MS
|United States, California
|Stanford University
|Palo Alto, California, United States, 94305
|Contact: Carly Siskind, MS, LCGC 650-721-5588 firstname.lastname@example.com
|Principal Investigator: John Day, MD
|United States, Connecticut
|University of Connecticut
|Hartford, Connecticut, United States, 06106
|Contact: Gyula Acsadi, MD 860-837-7500 firstname.lastname@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Gyula Acsadi, MD
|United States, Florida
|Nemours Children's Clinic
|Orlando, Florida, United States
|Contact: Shannon Henry, MA 407-650-7604 firstname.lastname@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Richard Finkel, MD
|United States, Iowa
|University of Iowa
|Iowa City, Iowa, United States, 52242
|Contact: Shawna M Feely, MS 319-384-6362 email@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Michael E Shy, MD
|United States, Michigan
|University of Michigan
|Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109
|Contact: Lauren Bogue, MS, CGC 734-647-9224 firstname.lastname@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Sindhu Ramchandren, MS, CGC
|United States, New York
|University of Rochester
|Rochester, New York, United States, 14642
|Contact: Janet Sowden 585-275-1267 email@example.com
|Principal Investigator: David Herrmann, MD
|United States, Pennsylvania
|Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
|Contact: Sabrina Yum, MD 215-590-1719 firstname.lastname@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Sabrina Yum, MD
|Australia, New South Wales
|Children's Hospital of Westmead
|Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 2145
|Contact: Natalie Gabrael +61 2 9845 1904 firstname.lastname@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Joshua Burns, PhD
|C. Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta
|Milan, Italy
|Contact: Davide Pareyson, MD (+39)02-23943001 firstname.lastname@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Davide Pareyson, MD
|United Kingdom
|National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery
|London, England, United Kingdom, WC1N 3BG
|Contact: Jacky Molyneaux +44 207 380 6852 email@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Mary Reilly, MD
|Dubowitz Neuromuscular Centre
|London, UK, United Kingdom
|Contact: Hinal Patel 44 02079052608 firstname.lastname@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Francesco Muntoni, MD
Sponsors and Collaborators
University of Iowa
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Muscular Dystrophy Association
University of Rochester
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
University College London Hospitals
Fondazione I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta
Sydney Children's Network
Nemours Children's Clinic
|Principal Investigator:
|Michael E Shy, MD
|University of Iowa
More Information
Additional Information:
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017
Additional Information:
|Responsible Party:
|Michael Shy, Professor, University of Iowa
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01203085 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
1U54NS065712-01 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
|Study First Received:
|August 9, 2010
|Last Updated:
|September 12, 2017
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Tooth Diseases
Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease
Nerve Compression Syndromes
Hereditary Sensory and Motor Neuropathy
Stomatognathic Diseases
Nervous System Diseases
Heredodegenerative Disorders, Nervous System
Neurodegenerative Diseases
Peripheral Nervous System Diseases
Neuromuscular Diseases
Genetic Diseases, Inborn
Nervous System Malformations
Congenital Abnormalities
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017


text:
Hollowell is a cool guy in a fire sport, and that will not work in coach Tom Crean's full-throttle approach. The talent, however, is unmistakable.
"Jeremy will peak if his emotional level doesn't continue to rise like it needs to," Crean says, "but we knew that when we recruited him. He knew we knew that when we recruited him. He knows we're going to keep pulling it out of him until it's there."
There are worse basketball sins than to be laid back, to lack Victor Oladipo outward passion and intensity. Hollowell has the gift of height (6-8) and size (217 pounds) and an ability to score, rebound and defend. He is, in many ways, a younger version of senior Christian Watford. After point guard Yogi Ferrell, he's likely the best freshman in a Hoosier class loaded with them.
And yet …
"He's got to continue to bring that emotional level to the game," Crean says, "or he will get neutralized."
Hollowell's college debut produced 12 points, two rebounds, a block and a steal in 17 minutes against Bryant. He followed that up with 14 points and two rebounds in 19 minutes against North Dakota State, while cutting his turnovers from three to zero. He added four points and six rebounds in 15 minutes against Sam Houston State.
For the season Hollowell is fourth on the team in scoring (10.0) and rebounding (3.3). He shoots 45 percent from the field, which is good. He shoots 12.5 percent on three-pointers, which is not so good. He has four turnovers and no assists, which needs work.
"It's always tough going from high school to college," forward Cody Zeller says. "Jeremy worked hard over the summer and that's carried over to the season.
"He's very skilled. He can go inside and outside. You want to play with guys like that. It makes it a lot easier for everyone. He should be big for us this year."
Hollowell was a dominating starter in high school (Indianapolis Lawrence Central) and travel ball. Now he's a reserve on the nation's No. 1 team. He ranks seventh in minutes per game (17.0).
"On this team, with all the talent we have, you have to find your role," he says. "I don't have a problem with it. I try to maximize my minutes, play to my strengths and provide energy. Go hard and be physical."
His next chance comes tonight in Legends Classic semifinal action against Georgia (1-2). Can Hollowell continue the progress? With Crean as his coach, he has no choice. You either work and develop, or you sit.
"We can do a lot of things with him," Crean says. "He's very, very smart. He can stuff that stat sheet. He's always been able to do that, but he's got to impact winning on both sides of the floor."
IU (3-0) has crushed its first three opponents by an average victory margin of 41 points. It forces 17.7 turnovers a game and holds teams to 34.5 percent shooting, 22.7 percent from three-point range.
But that was at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers will try to duplicate that dominance at Brooklyn's Barclays Center against a struggling Georgia team coming off last week's losses to Youngstown State and Southern Mississippi. That followed last season's 15-17 record.
The Bulldogs are led by guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (20.3 points, 6.0 rebounds).
"We've started a little slower than we anticipated," coach Mark Fox says. "We have a young team with nine freshmen and sophomores. We have not been as complete as we want to be. We've had some bright moments and made some mistakes that need corrections. We need to play well to compete with Indiana."
In tonight's other game, No. 13 UCLA (3-0) will play Georgetown (2-0). UCLA will have heralded freshman point guard Shabazz Muhammad, who missed the first three games because of eligibility issues involving benefits during unofficial recruiting trips to Duke and North Carolina.
Winners and losers will play Tuesday night. Former coach Bob Knight will be a game analyst with ESPNU.
As for Hollowell, he won't start, but he will contribute.
"I'm getting a feel for the game, getting more comfortable," he says. "I have to stay within myself, come off the bench and provide a spark."
For that, no absolution is required.
More Information
Up nextTipoff: Indiana vs. Georgia, 5:30 p.m. tonight
Online: For more on Indiana athletics, follow Pete DiPrimio via Twitter at pdiprimio.


text:
CIT Role-Play Training
1 p.m.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
South Florida State Hospital
800 E. Cypress Dr., Pembroke Pines
When a deputy is dealing with a person in crisis, what is the most powerful weapon he has? Often, it's knowledge. Broward Sheriff Scott Israel has put a priority on giving BSO deputies the specialized training required to effectively handle situations involving the mentally ill or developmentally disabled.
Twelve BSO deputies are attending the 40-hour training this week at the South Florida State Hospital in Pembroke Pines. The training is organized by CIT of Broward.
"The last thing we want to do is arrest someone for being mentally ill or homeless," Sheriff Israel said. "The goal of Crisis Intervention Team training is to provide more efficient service to the community when responding to calls where a mentally ill person is in crisis, and to ensure the safety of both the deputy and the consumer of mental health services."
Officers from Hollywood, Coral Springs, Plantation, Miramar, Seminole, Pembroke Pines and the Broward County School District also attended the semi-annual training. The instructors are mostly mental health professionals who volunteer to teach law enforcement officers. In addition to teaching attendees about mental illness, the instructors will provide guidance about how to link consumers to the available mental health resources in Broward County.
During the course that started Monday, trainees are learning about psychotropic medications, alcohol and drug use, the Baker and Marchman acts, the special needs of the elderly, post traumatic stress disorder, the homeless, children's mental health, suicide awareness, crisis intervention and developmental disabilities.
BSO has just over 200 CIT trained deputies. Sheriff Israel hopes to expand that number to include all school resource deputies, field training officers and crisis negotiators.
This report by:
Dani Moschella/PIO
Media note: Thursday afternoon's training will involve role-playing scenarios that begin at 1 p.m. and end at 5 p.m. with a short break at 3.
Posted At: 02/27/2013 03:57 PM
Translate This Page:


text:
Ukiah Daily Journal
County employees and the public should this week be able to return to the offices on South Dora Street for the services of the Mendocino County Health and Human Services Agency's Behavioral Health & Recovery Services and Public Health divisions, according to a press release from the HHSA.
County employees for the two divisions are spending the upcoming week returning to the offices, located at 1120 S. Dora St. in Ukiah, where they were housed before a Martin Luther King Jr. Day flood inside the building displaced them while crews worked to clean and renovate the space.
In January, a broken water pipe caused an indoor flood that displaced many offices within the building, according to the HHSA.
The agency reported previously that about 25 mental health and public health workers were displaced because of the burst pipe, which left a large hole in the ceiling and about two inches of standing water throughout about half of the building.
Those employees and offices were temporarily housed at the Yokayo Social Services office complex at 727, 737 and 747 S. State St., and three employees are housed at a county office in Willits at 221 S. Lenore St.
The restoration project at 1120 S. Dora St. is done, the HHSA reported Monday, and its staff have begun the process of moving back to their original spaces. The move is expected to be complete this week. The public will once again have three lobby entrances into the building, one for Public Health services, one for Behavioral Health services and one for Recovery services.


text:
slip beneath the/(someone's) radar(redirected from slipping beneath one's radar)
slip beneath the/(someone's) radar
To go unnoticed or undetected (by someone). With so many different amendments to the bill being made, the Democrats were able to slip some healthcare funding beneath the radar. As the manager of this office, it's inexcusable that you allowed embezzlement by an employee to slip beneath your radar.


text:
PG for 3 point shootout
'); var yuipath = 'clientscript/yui'; var yuicombopath = ''; var remoteyui = false; } else // Load Rest of YUI remotely (where possible) { var yuipath = 'http://yui.yahooapis.com/2.9.0/build'; var yuicombopath = 'http://yui.yahooapis.com/combo'; var remoteyui = true; if (!yuicombopath) { document.write('
PG for 3 point shootout
Lance is the least ref-respected Pacer.
Ian's up there too
The poor officiating continues.
Really don't want ticky tack fouls on the best free throw shooting team in the league.
NICE ball movement on last possession...
Especially with our free throw defense being so poor.
Your profile should have a pin for free throw defense awareness.
I hate Perkins.
Good Help Defense by Hibbert on Durant.
Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.
Hibbert got one of the calls that Martin gets.
Get your weight up Hibbert!!!
Impossible Is Nothing
wtf george?????????????
Impossible Is Nothing
PG gettin cute again
Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.
PG's missed bunny cost us a 4 point swing
Lance is still hesitating.....that hesitation cost him from getting some good footing on that shot.
Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.
Don't know how that is the right call he fell down on his own accord.
man pg has to stay focused, he's so complacent at times , its like he doesnt want it bad enough
Impossible Is Nothing
Paul George you should dunk that **** and not be afraid of being blocked or whatever.
hibbert is terrible.. just turn throw it up and hope for the best
Impossible Is Nothing
Too much time to think.
Hill should have not hesitated on this 3
Westbrook's pull up jumpers would drive me nuts if I were a Thunder fan


text:
Judith oakes timeline
Aug. 7, 2013: Rialto Unified Nutritional Services accountant Judith Oakes arrested by Rialto Police, charged with grand theft, embezzlement and burglary.
Aug. 8, 2013: Oakes freed on bail, resigns from Rialto Unified, where she's worked since 1997. It's her 49th birthday.
Aug. 14, 2013: Rialto Unified Superintendent Harold Cebrun denies any wrongdoing at a contentious school board meeting.
Sept. 11, 2013: Cebrun and deputy superintendent James Wallace placed on administrative leave.
Sept. 25, 2013: A private investigator tells Rialto Unified school board that Oakes may have embezzled $3.1 million over 14 years.
Oct. 2, 2013: School board president Joe Ayala defends Cebrun after a board meeting, saying Cebrun "fell into a web, (one) that many of us men fall into."
Oct. 4, 2013: Cebrun, through his lawyer, denies any romantic relationship with Oakes.
Oct. 4, 2013: Police and this newspaper obtain a letter supposedly written by Oakes to the school board. The letter declares that she's guilty of the crime and that she acted alone — and that Cebrun had nothing to do with her crime.
Oct. 4, 2013: Rialto Police announce that Cebrun is not a suspect in any crime involving Oakes at this time.
Oct. 8, 2013: Oakes is charged with eight counts of embezzlement by a public or private officer and eight counts of a public officer crime. If convicted of all charges, she faces up to 11 years in state prison.


text:
Guest Since 1967
For the longest time, we have fondly called the little cove within Paradise Point "Bush's Bay". This goes back to the late sixties. One summer, my family could not afford to go on a real vacation, so every day my dad and I would drive to Paradise Point. My dad would swim in the cove and when he got to the middle he would roll over on his back and just float. You could look out and see his big belly sticking up; he could float for hours. While he did this, I would wander the shores all around the resort. This tradition continued when I met the woman who would become my wife. Although a native San Diegan, she was unaware of this treasure spot. We would go regularly with our two kids and have the greatest of times. The kids always begged to climb the tower, and we would always give in.
We always admired the bungalows that surrounded the cove and vowed that someday we would rent one. After 30 years of marriage, we finally got that opportunity. We love to stroll throughout the resort and admire the lush landscaping which creates that tropical feel. To us, it's like experiencing a tropical paradise in your own backyard. We love to have brunch at the Barefoot Bar & Grill while taking in our favorite libations. This love-affair with Paradise Point has been going strong now for more than 30 years. Paradise Point is a Southern California gem and we have always recommended it others.


text:
Detroit's Al Alburquerque walks off the field after his balk in the 13th inning with Ryan Raburn at the plate gave Cleveland the victory. ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLEVELAND — As the wildest game of their season hurtled past the five-hour mark Wednesday afternoon, there was only one way the Indians and Tigers could decide the winner.
"It was going to end strange," Cleveland starter-turned-emergency-reliever Josh Tomlin said.
Forgive the understatement.
PHOTO GALLERY: Click here to view more photos
On a day that made side notes of the ejections of Detroit manager Brad Ausmus and star Miguel Cabrera, the near-historically quirky start of reigning Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, and countless climactic twists, the Indians won 11-10 in 13 innings on a bases-loaded walk-off balk.
By then, nothing could surprise the few thousand fans that remained. Not after Scherzer allowed seven runs in his first two-plus innings — and nearly earned the win. Or David Murphy hit a game-tying two-run homer off Tigers closer Joe Nathan in the ninth. Or Rajai Davis extended the game in the 10th with a one-hop dart from shallow left field that cut down Cleveland's Lonnie Chisenhall at the plate. Or Alex Avila seemed to finally tuck this day in with a two-out solo homer in the top of the 13th.
Trailing 10-9, Michael Brantley's one-out single against Phil Coke drove in the tying run and the game ended moments later on account of nerves.
With two outs and the bases loaded, reliever Al Alburquerque faced pinch-hitter Ryan Raburn, his second batter of the game. Working out of the stretch, he began the 1-0 delivery, only to pause. Ausmus and Indians manager Terry Francona later said it was a clear balk.
Plate umpire Tim Timmons made the call, Raburn flipped his bat and threw up his arms — "Do I get an RBI?" he cracked — and 'Cleveland Rocks,' began to blare from the speakers.
Six days after the Mud Hens won in the same fashion, the major leagues had its first walk-off balk since July, 2011. Last-place Cleveland celebrated its three-game sweep while the Tigers, who came to town with the best record in baseball, went home with their first three-game losing streak of the season.
"I don't even know where to begin," Murphy said. "I don't know if that was a baseball game or a marathon combined with a circus."
Francona called it "one of the most fun games I've been a part of."
It was a romp from the start.
For once, Scherzer's $144 million offseason gamble yielded a win for the dealer. In a year that has only surpassed last season, he endured his worst outing since April, 2012.
A game that appeared as good as over when the Tigers bruised Indians starter Zach McAllister for four runs in the first inning was only beginning. The Indians batted around in the second and smacked Scherzer for seven runs over the first two-plus innings — one more than he had allowed in his 40 previous innings combined. Yet nothing made sense Wednesday, and that included what followed.
After Chisenhall led off the third with a homer, Scherzer held Cleveland scoreless over his final five innings.
Yet the game had other designs, ultimately carrying on for 5 hours, 16 minutes — the longest at Progressive Field since the Tigers needed 5 hours, 33 minutes to thump the Indians 14-12 on July 30, 2008.
It felt longer for no one more than Ausmus and Cabrera, who were both tossed in the top of the sixth inning.
Their frustration had carried over from the previous at-bat, when Timmons called Ian Kinsler out on a checked-swing third strike. Though replays showed Kinsler's bat did not cross the plate, Timmons ruled it was a swing without appealing to the first-base umpire for help — as is the usual protocol. Kinsler silently remained frozen in place while the dugout squawked.
"Clearly, he didn't swing," Ausmus said. "He didn't come close. That's why the first-base umpire is there. If he had checked with the umpire, absolutely it would not have been a strike called."
Then, as if pining for a confrontation, Cabrera checked his swing on the very next pitch. When Timmons ruled he went around — the correct call, this time — and again did not ask for assistance, Cabrera spun and approached the ump. He was promptly tossed, sending Ausmus tearing out of the first-base dugout. The usually placid manager gyrated wildly as he berated Timmons, earning his first career ejection.
NOTES: Evan Reed declined comment Wednesday after prosecutors in Detroit announced they plan to review a warrant request accusing the 28-year-old Tigers reliever of sexual assault. Reed allegedly assaulted a 45-year-old woman on March 30 at the MotorCity Casino Hotel. "A thorough review of all of the evidence must be conducted before a decision can be made," the prosecutor's office said in a statement. ... One of the Tigers' top prospects is headed to Toledo. Shortstop Eugenio Suarez has been promoted from Double-A Erie to the Mud Hens. The 22-year-old Suarez hit .273 with six homers, 26 RBIs, and seven steals for Erie this season.
Contact David Briggs at: email@example.com, 419-724-6084 or on Twitter @DBriggsBlade.
Tag(s): Pro Indians Tigers David Briggs


text:
Anti-personnel mines
Wars should end when the fighting stops. Yet anti-personnel mines kill and maim long after conflicts are over. Anti-personnel mines cannot distinguish between civilians and soldiers. They continue to kill and maim civilians long after the fighting has ceased. Vast areas of valuable land are put out of use, destroying livelihoods. Communities can be affected for decades after the end of an armed conflict.
This is why the international community adopted the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention completely banning these weapons.
The campaign to ban anti-personnel mines was one of the major humanitarian initiatives of the last three decades. The ICRC along with governments, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and the United Nations argued for a comprehensive prohibition on their use, stockpiling, production and transfer. States responded by adopting the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention - but that was just the beginning. The Convention had to be implemented.
Fifteen years after the Convention's adoption, substantial progress has been made but great challenges remain, especially in removing remaining mines and relieving the suffering of the injured and their families.
More than three-quarters of the world's countries have so far joined the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. Annual casualty rates have dropped dramatically as a result. Nevertheless, in over 60 mine-affected states and areas, the legacy of the past, as well as ongoing internal conflicts, still result in thousands of casualties each year, especially in the more seriously affected States such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Colombia and Myanmar.
People injured by landmines and other explosive remnants of war usually require life-long care. The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention committed States to help the hundreds of thousands of mine victims – most in countries with very limited heath and rehabilitation facilities. While the inclusion of victim assistance obligations in the Convention was a major achievement, progress in this area has been difficult to achieve and measure. Most survivors have yet to see a substantial improvement in their lives and in access to medical care, physical rehabilitation, psychological support, social services, education and employment.
Mine clearance has also presented a particular problem because the task was so vast. The Convention set clear targets, giving each country 10 years to de-mine its territory. While a growing number of States Parties have officially reported completion of their clearance obligations, a very large proportion of States have had to seek an extension of their clearance deadline and many still do not know the extent of contamination. Compliance with this obligation is therefore a key challenge to implementation of the Convention.
States Parties are also required to destroy their stockpiles of Anti-Personnel Mines. Before the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention was adopted, more than 130 states possessed anti-personnel mines. Since then, States Parties have now reported the destruction of more than 46 million anti-personnel mines and today, it is estimated that only about 40 States still stockpile anti-personnel mines. Three States that still have stockpiles that must be destroyed, have all missed their non-extendable deadlines (Belarus and Greece since 2008 and the Ukraine since 2010). Together, these three States hold more than 10 million anti-personnel mines.
Despite the remaining challenges, the Second Review Conference, held in Cartagena, Colombia in December 2009 demonstrated the dynamic and results-oriented culture of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. The Conference addressed the key challenges now being faced by the Convention and adopted the Cartagena Action Plan, which contains strong commitments to improve work in the fields of victim assistance, stockpile destruction and mine clearance. As States Parties head towards the Third Review Conference in 2014, it is important to take stock of progress in fulfilling these commitments and to continue working towards implementation of the Convention.
The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention has had a remarkable impact on the destruction of stockpiles, mine clearance and in reducing casualties. The success of the Convention has also focused attention on the post-conflict consequences of other weapons, in particular on explosive remnants of war, including cluster munitions. Ongoing work and commitment, however, remain necessary to fulfil the Convention's promises in the coming years.