text: 'Mountain Stage' at 30: The band By Bill Lynch February 23, 2013 Story Share Chris Dorst Vocalist Julie Adams says when it comes to the songs she performs during "Mountain Stage," she takes suggestions, but ultimately, it's her decision. "I'm the one who has to sing it," she says. Guitarist Michael Lipton (left) says one of the side effects of working with the show is that it's expanded his musical tastes astronomically. Chris Dorst Steve Hill (left) first performed on "Mountain Stage" as a guitarist with Rhino Moon, but later joined the show's band as bassist. Ryan Kennedy (right) was a guest on the show a few times and then filled in for Hill when the bassist was sick. Now, Kennedy plays guitar and, occasionally, bass for the show. Chris Dorst Ryan Kennedy is the most recent addition to the band. He officially came on board two years ago. CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- They never get as much attention as the guests, but without the Mountain Stage band, there wouldn't be a "Mountain Stage."The collection of musicians who make up the radio show's house band are more than just the guys who play the opening theme and lay down the filler music in between guest performances that tell radio stations where they can put their advertisements and announcements.The band helps defray costs for guest performers. They can fill in for absent members of a guest's touring band, saving a little on some costs. The Mountain Stage band can also supplement and enhance the sound of solo artists -- and do all of this without upstaging the guest.The Mountain Stage band performs a song on each show, which sometimes serves as extra material used to help fill in time in the event of a canceled guest, a flat performance or a technical problem."We're also kind of a sorbet," vocalist Julie Adams said. "We cleanse the palate between artists. If the first act is getting a standing ovation, maybe you want to send us in before the next guest.""We're there to help the guests," guitarist and bandleader Ron Sowell added. "We want to make their visit to the show go as smoothly as possible."A much smaller operation"Mountain Stage" is now in its 30th year. Many of the current band members started with the show either during the pilot that was recorded in 1980 or the first official show, which aired on Dec. 11, 1983."I was on the pilot show with John Kessler and Steve Hill in [the band] Rhino Moon," drummer Ammed Solomon said. "So I was there in the beginning, but I didn't actually join the [Mountain Stage] band until 1987."Solomon explained that when "Mountain Stage" was just getting started, it didn't have full seasons and did only a handful of shows.Solomon said, "The band was really kind of scaled down in those days. They originally hired Deni Bonet and Julie Adams as the [Fabulous] Twister Sisters, and then they decided they needed a bass player and hired Jon Kessler. A couple of shows after that, they hired me and then Eric Kitchen to play keyboard."Piano player Bob Thompson also was a guest on the pilot show and would return several times. He didn't actually join the band until Kitchen left in 1991."I thought I was just going to be filling in for a little while," Thompson laughed. "I just stuck around."Sowell played on the pilot and came on board after Kessler."In those early shows, they did a lot of comedy skits," Sowell said. "I wrote three or four skits. Larry [Groce] used them, and I sort of just hung out." Groce, the host of "Mountain Stage," hired Sowell to play harmonica for a show and then to accompany him on guitar while he sang."I did that pretty regularly for three or four months," Sowell said.Finally, one morning as they were shooting photographs before a show, producer Andy Ridenour called him over and said, "Ron, get in the picture.""That's how I knew I was in the band," Sowell said, grinning.Electric guitarist Michael Lipton joined the band in the late 1980s, but said he started as part of the technical crew, working backstage, mixing the house sound."Then they had me sit in very occasionally," he said. "At the time, the show was more acoustic than it's grown to be, but as they added electric artists, there was more of a need for an electric guitarist, and that's where I came in." Bassist Hill replaced Kessler, who moved to Seattle in the mid-1990s."Jon, Ammed and I played together in Rhino Moon," Hill said. "When he left, the job was sort of between me, Chuck Biel and a couple of others."Hill said he won the job not because he was or is the greatest bass player in town but because he fits in with the band.With a musical outfit like "Mountain Stage," consistency is important, but so is a willingness to get along. Guests sometimes bring their own band dramas. It's healthier for the show if the house band is stable.The most recent addition to the show has been guitarist Ryan Kennedy, who at 32 is decades younger than everyone else on the stage.Kennedy was a guest on the show a few times, then was brought in to cover for Hill after a medical issue."I sat in for six shows," Kennedy said. "After that, Larry said he liked what I brought to the show and thought it might be good to keep me around."Incomparable experiencesBeing part of the Mountain Stage band might be considered a dream job by a lot of working musicians. It's a steady, not exactly strenuous gig; "Mountain Stage" records about 26 shows each year. On the day of the show, the band usually puts in about 10 hours of rehearsal and performance. There's a little travel, but nothing nearly as arduous as what most touring bands endure."Most of the time, I can drive from my house to the gig in 10 minutes," Sowell said. "What's not to love about that?"How much the show pays individual members of the band couldn't be obtained. Executive producer Adam Harris was out of the office this past week, and the figures weren't readily available. But being on the show does have other perks, such as meeting some of their heroes.Solomon got to hang out with The Band's Levon Helm, who told him, "We drummers have to stick together. The thing is, we're the foot soldiers of the music business. We're in the trenches, doing all the work and getting none of the credit."Sowell learned to fingerpick guitar while in college and said one of the songs he worked on the most was "Last Thing on My Mind" by Tom Paxton."And here I find myself onstage later, playing this song with Judy Collins and then Tom Paxton," he said. "I tell you, it was like an out-of-body experience."Thompson remembered the show with South African musician Hugh Masakela just days after Nelson Mandela was elected president of the formerly apartheid South Africa."He had a lot of his South African band with him," Thompson said. "They celebrated on that show, and it was just a great thing to be part of that."Lipton said, "One of the things I feel fortunate about is, almost all of the people I've met on the show are really, really nice people."He laughed, adding, "That's not to say everyone who has ever been on the show has been nice."The very bad, no-good dayOne of the most remembered cases of someone not being nice was the late bluesman Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown."This was back when we [broadcast] the show live," Solomon said. "Saturday night, the night before the show, we all get a phone call from Ron."Sowell is in charge of getting music to the band if guests request to have the group perform with them. Brown, as it turned out, had just fired his entire band, and was now requesting the use of the Mountain Stage band to back him.Sowell told him, "Hey, Gatemouth is coming, and we're supposed to play with him. I have no idea what we're going to do." The best Sowell could suggest was for everyone to get some Gatemouth Brown records and listen to them.At that time, "Mountain Stage" was broadcast live at 3 p.m., which meant sound check and rehearsal with guests started early in the morning.Solomon said there were five guests on that show. Several of them used the band that day, but rehearsing with Brown was brutal. They couldn't get through a single song."Gatemouth would stop, look around and start shouting, 'That ain't right. That ain't right.'"It went on and on. Brown was blunt, coarse and difficult."He was almost abusive," Solomon said. "And I remember thinking, 'I don't give a damn who you are, that's no way to treat people, especially people who are trying to make you sound good.'"Solomon acknowledged Brown was a great guitarist and, difficult or not, "Mountain Stage" had him back several times.Not always smooth sailingAlong with some difficult guests, the band said there have been plenty of close calls and every now and again, a legitimate catastrophe. Luckily, the audience seldom remembers them.Sowell had a guitar capo in the wrong place just seconds before the start of Sarah McLachlan's set. If he hadn't realized it seconds before he played the first note, Sowell would have ruined the Canadian star's song.While in Alaska, Thompson went missing during the latter half of the show's first hour."I was downstairs practicing on a piano, and someone came looking for me," he said. "We were recording the show, but we were broadcasting live in Alaska."The problem was, the guest who was supposed to close out the first hour did only two songs, instead of the usual four or five. Suddenly, the band needed to go onstage to do the show's theme that separates the first hour from the second.Thompson said he ran all the way up the stairs, but he was too late."For the first time, we didn't do that theme."Once, Hill just couldn't get the bass line for a Lucy Kaplansky song."It was a song she was really pushing. It was on her new record. She did the song, and I just got lost," Hill said and groaned.The song was ruined.As a special consideration to Kaplansky, a frequent guest on the show, Groce agreed to bring Kaplansky back out with the band while the audience was still there and try the song again."We never do that," Hill said.The plan was to record Kaplansky playing the song with the band in front of the audience. Later, engineer Francis Fisher would insert the new version in place of the one Hill ruined."And I blew it again," Hill moaned.Kaplansky forgave him, though Hill said the next time she came to town, he wore a paper bag over his head when they rehearsed with her.Lipton said they're all professionals. They rehearse as best they can, but mistakes happen from time to time. The toughest part is not letting the mistakes eat you alive.He said, "Maybe as a guitarist, even more so than a drummer or bass player, it's blatantly obvious week after week that there are some incredible players who come onto the show. Not to say that it's not intimidating [now], but it was really intimidating at first."Many of the guitarists who come on the show are flat out better at the guitar than he is. Some of them are better than he ever could be, and Lipton said it took awhile for him to be OK with that."Early on, I really screwed up," he said. "I don't even remember who it was, but I went home thinking I had no business doing this, that somebody else should be. And you know what? The next week rolled around and you realize that life goes on."Why retire?Everyone on the show is getting older, but retirement among the Mountain Stage band is almost unthinkable.Adams said, "Oh sure, I think we've all wondered how much longer can we do this, but it would be such a hard thing to walk away from. It's such an unusual opportunity.""As long as I can keep up," Hill said. "As long as I can keep the rhythm and keep the beat."Sowell can't see the point of retiring. "What am I going to do? Retire so I can spend more time playing music?"Thompson, who turned 70 in December, doesn't see the point of giving it up either. Music is more of a vocation than an occupation. It's what he's done his whole life and what he wants to do as long as he lives.Lipton echoed the sentiment."That's one of the things we tell kids when we go around with the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame. It's one of the great things about being a musician, whether you do it as your job or just do it for pleasure. You can do it until the day you die."Kennedy laughed and said, "I just came on two years ago. Retirement? Really?"But what about Larry?Still, they do wonder about the show's future. They acknowledged the management transition from co-creator Ridenour to Adam Harris, who took over as executive producer about two years ago, was smooth."It's been no real change for us, I think," Solomon said.However, potentially losing Groce is a different matter. Groce has set a loose timeline for how he might start trimming back his duties in about a year and maybe eventually leave the show entirely.Lipton said, "Well, I'm not a person who likes change, but the show has already changed a lot over the past 30 years."The guitarist thought they would weather the change, adapt, as they always have.Sowell shook his head and laughed."Larry has been talking about retiring for 20 years.""Mountain Stage" can be heard on West Virginia Public Radio at 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays.Reach Bill Lynch at firstname.lastname@example.com or 304-348-5195. Story Share Story Share Trending Now 1 Facebook founder visits Cabin Creek Health Systems 2 Chuck McGill: Barry Switzer takes a special interest in former George Washington star 3 SBA board OKs canceling Logan's construction management contract 4 Parole board seeks report on Lavigne for possible release from prison 5 Congressional opioid investigation targets drug wholesaler Miami-Luken Bugs and beads Previous Story Garden Notes: Feb. 24, 2013 Next Story


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Global audience attends Technology Institute on Violence Against Women in the Digital Age
Category: Safety Net Project
February 27, 2012
As part of the 2nd World Conference of Women's Shelters, NNEDV's Safety Net Project hosted a full day Institute on Technology: Violence Against Women in the Digital Age. Presenters illustrated ways that women's shelters and victims can use technology more safely and effectively. Participants from the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and the Middle East learned ways that technology is misused as a tactic of abuse, ways technology can be effective in intervention and prevention work, and, how technology impacts confidentiality and privacy for victims.
Session 1: Welcome and Overview: The Intersection Between Technology and Anti-Violence Work
Presenter: Cindy Southworth, NNEDV
Why technology? This question is answered by discussing a brief history and overview of the U.S. National Network to End Domestic Violence's Safety Net Technology Project and examples of the intersection of technology and anti-violence work in other countries.
Session 2: Technology Safety in a Digital World: Safety Planning Around Technology Misuse
Presenters: Kim Wiley, Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Erica Olsen, NNEDV
Drawing from the experiences of survivors and advocates, this section highlights ways that abusers and stalkers misuse technology and provides safety strategies that survivors can use to maintain their safety and privacy.
Session 3: Organizational Use: How Agencies Can Safely & Effectively Use Technology
Presenters: Cindy Southworth & Cynthia Fraser, NNEDV; Karen Bentley, Women's Services Network Australia (WESNET)
The way our agencies use technology can impact the confidentiality and safety of survivors. This section addresses how we manage survivor's personal information, safeguard the equipment and devices within our spaces, and communicate and provide services to survivors through technology.
Session 4: Harnessing the Power of Technology to Create Social Change: Using Social Media and Multimedia Platforms
Presenters: Heidi Overbeck, Fenton; Amy Hill, The Center for Digital Storytelling; Kaofeng Lee, NNEDV
Social media has dramatically changed how we create, consume, and share information. Heidi will present an effective method for planning social media campaigns and Amy will provide the history and ethics of digital storytelling as a unique form of participatory media for prevention and intervention. Presenters unfold case study examples, show the power of personal narratives within social media, and provide tips on ensuring safety and privacy.
Many thanks to the Verizon Wireless Foundation for its continued support of the NNEDV Safety Net Project's work including this international training institute.

subset: commoncrawl


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Today's post comes from Alyshia Olsen, the program manager on the Publisher team responsible for improving our experience around inserting and swapping pictures in the new Publisher.
Creating and modifying pages with many rich graphical elements, such as photos, has always been something Publisher is great at. In the new Office, we did a lot of work to make working with pictures even easier, and help you keep all the photos you're working with organized from start to finish, making it easier to get the exact page layout you want.
Inserting Pictures
Now you can quickly add all the images you need into your workspace.
The new Publisher lets you add online images right from your publication. On the Insert Tab, the Online Pictures command will open up a dialog that lets you search for clip-art or do a web-search for the images you need without needing to switch to a browser. If you have a Flickr or SkyDrive account, you can add those too!
Additionally, when you insert a group of pictures all at once, such as by selecting multiple online pictures, multi-selecting several pictures from the same folder, dragging and dropping multiple pictures onto the window, we now automatically tile them in the scratch area next to the page for you, instead of putting them on top of each other.
This means that you can insert an entire folder or set of pictures you're thinking about using in your publication all at once, while still keeping your workspace organized. Pictures and other page elements in the scratch area are available for you to use no matter what page you're working on.
Organizing Pictures
If you end up finding your workspace getting disorganized as you work, the "Arrange Thumbnails" command helps clean things up for you. Just select the pictures you want to organize and click the button on the Picture Tools tab, or in the right-click context menu, and we'll arrange everything into a tidy grid in the scratch area. Take a look at the before/after screenshots below:
Swapping Pictures
Swapping pictures to quickly preview and change the location of the pictures on the page is easier now too.
When you download a template you like, it often contains placeholder pictures that you want to replace with your own photos or images. When you select a picture in the new Publisher, a swap picture icon appears at its center that you can use to drag your image over another image or placeholder to preview or swap the images. Formatting applied to the object, such as borders, shadows, or other picture effects, will stay right where you put it, but the images will swap places. This makes it easy to work with picture rich templates, or to get the setup for your publication just right, and then easily swap pictures around the page to find the arrangement that works best. The before/after screenshots below show you what we mean:
Try it out
That covers the improvements we've made around inserting, swapping, and arranging pictures, so go try it out yourself! We hope these improvements help make it even easier for you to work with publications. All of these features were brought to you by the Swap Improvements and the Insert Picture Improvements Feature Crews.


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It can be said that the team that enjoyed itself the most won the competition. But without taking much away from the West Indies, it can also be said that they won the 2012 World T20 final, not so much by annihilating Sri Lanka, but because of the mistakes made by Mahela Jayawardene and his boys. The bigger question is whether the West Indies will go back to being world beaters, memories of which have been beautifully brought back, thanks to the 'Fire in Babylon'. Or will the men-in-maroon maroon themselves on the island of this recent success?
Is it wrong to find fault with a team for winning a competition? Yes and No. Whether luck played a role in their victory is not exactly conjecture. The super over doesn't help you choose the better team in a match, but since the T20 format is endorsed by Madame Lady Luck herself, it can be fair to say that the luck of the draw favoured the Windies. For the simple reason, that they earned it. They lost to Australia and Sri Lanka in the group stages, but beat them in the semi-final and the final respectively. When life gave them a second chance, they caught it with both hands.
Winning the World T20 couldn't have come at a better time for the West Indies. They love their cricket, and people love watching the eleven of them succeed together on the twenty two yards. However, this win must be used to generate success across formats, and the intensity will have to be retained for better pitches and opposition. Playing against an Australian side led by George Bailey is not the same as, when Michael Clarke is in charge.
But with the Windies, it is all the more important that they also treat this victory as a wake-up call. For when the euphoria over their win dies down, their every move on the cricket field will be analysed. One loss and trigger-happy critics will be happy to call the World T20 win a fluke, using their flutes to blow the wind out of the Caribbean sails.
At the same time one must be realistic. The problem with fans, is that they love to quote from West Indian cricket's glorious past, comparing the present lot with the stalwarts who stunned the world with their swaggered displays of talent. Gayle is not Greenidge, Samuels is not Sobers, Rampaul is not Holding, and Sammy certainly isn't Lloyd. Their future cannot be written with the help of a history book.
The party has just started for the West Indies, but where are the bouncers? That Sunil Narine is the best bowler to have emerged from the Caribbean in recent times, is as good as saying that tofu is the best thing to eat on a trip to India. No disrespect to the man with the mohawk, but the Windies need to bring in bowlers who give the batsmen goosebumps. They need to find the pace that lasts five days, for the high fives to last.
It is what they do from now on that will matter, which depends on the kind of players that come in, and the kind of match winners they turn into. Importantly, they should not answer to the roll call of Christopher Henry Gayle, who is 33 already. The Gangnam style-celebration brought a smile to everyone who was watching, adding comic relief to an otherwise stiff sport, where flair is rare, given the linear movement of its players. They looked sound enough. But do they have the horse power to last the full course?
Beamer: The West Indians showed us their PSYchological moves. But wasn't reggae their thing?
Was the author write or wrong? Do tell him what you think on Twitter.
Also See:
West Indies rule the world again
SL vs WI – Action In Images | Scores | All Results
Revealed: Samuels' lucky charm
Title will revive West Indies: Sammy
Mahela steps down as T20 captain
SL not ruthless enough: Mahela
Watson named player of the tournament
For the first time since Lloyd...
Full Coverage: World T20 2012


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Global Warming and Hurricanes
An Overview of Current Research Results
Last Revised: Aug. 30, 2017
1. Summary Statement
Two frequently asked questions on global warming and hurricanes are the following:
- Have humans already caused a detectable increase in Atlantic hurricane activity or global tropical cyclone activity?
- What changes in hurricane activity are expected for the late 21st century, given the pronounced global warming scenarios from current IPCC models?
In this review, we address these questions in the context of published research findings. We will first present the main conclusions and then follow with some background discussion of the research that leads to these conclusions. The main conclusions are:
- It is premature to conclude that human activities–and particularly greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming–have already had a detectable impact on Atlantic hurricane or global tropical cyclone activity. That said, human activities may have already caused changes that are not yet detectable due to the small magnitude of the changes or observational limitations, or are not yet confidently modeled (e.g., aerosol effects on regional climate).
- Anthropogenic warming by the end of the 21st century will likely cause tropical cyclones globally to be more intense on average (by 2 to 11% according to model projections for an IPCC A1B scenario). This change would imply an even larger percentage increase in the destructive potential per storm, assuming no reduction in storm size.
- There are better than even odds that anthropogenic warming over the next century will lead to an increase in the occurrence of very intense tropical cyclone in some basins–an increase that would be substantially larger in percentage terms than the 2-11% increase in the average storm intensity. This increase in intense storm occurrence is projected despite a likely decrease (or little change) in the global numbers of all tropical cyclones.
- Anthropogenic warming by the end of the 21st century will likely cause tropical cyclones to have substantially higher rainfall rates than present-day ones, with a model-projected increase of about 10-15% for rainfall rates averaged within about 100 km of the storm center.
2. Global Warming and Atlantic Hurricanes
A. Statistical relationships between SSTs and hurricanes
Observed records of Atlantic hurricane activity show some correlation, on multi-year time-scales, between local tropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and the Power Dissipation Index (PDI) —see for example Fig. 3 on this EPA Climate Indicators site. PDI is an aggregate measure of Atlantic hurricane activity, combining frequency, intensity, and duration of hurricanes in a single index. Both Atlantic SSTs and PDI have risen sharply since the 1970s, and there is some evidence that PDI levels in recent years are higher than in the previous active Atlantic hurricane era in the 1950s and 60s.
Model-based climate change detection/attribution studies have linked increasing tropical Atlantic SSTs to increasing greenhouse gases, but the link between increasing greenhouse gases and hurricane PDI or frequency has been based on statistical correlations. The statistical linkage of Atlantic hurricane PDI to and Atlantic SST suggests at least the possibility of a large anthropogenic influence on Atlantic hurricanes. If the correlation between tropical Atlantic SSTs and hurricane activity is used to infer future changes in Atlantic hurricane activity, the implications are sobering: the large increases in tropical Atlantic SSTs projected for the late 21st century would imply very substantial increases in hurricane destructive potential–roughly a 300% increase in the PDI by 2100 (Figure 1a).
On the other hand, Swanson (2008) and others have noted that Atlantic hurricane power dissipation is also well-correlated with other SST indices besides tropical Atlantic SST alone, and in particular with indices of Atlantic SST relative to tropical mean SST (e.g., Figure 1b from Vecchi et al. 2008). This is in fact a crucial distinction, because the statistical relationship between Atlantic hurricanes and local Atlantic SST shown in the upper panel of Figure 1 would imply a very large increases in Atlantic hurricane activity (PDI) due to 21st century greenhouse warming, while the statistical relationship between the PDI and the alternative relative SST measure shown in the lower panel of Figure 1 would imply only modest changes of Atlantic hurricane activity (PDI) with greenhouse warming. In the latter case, the alternative relative SST measure in the lower panel does not change very much over the 21st century in global warming projections from climate models, because the warming projected for the tropical Atlantic in the models is not very different from that projected for the tropics as a whole.
A key question then is: Which of the two future Atlantic hurricane scenarios inferred from the statistical relations in Figure 1 is more likely? To try to gain insight on this question, we have first attempted to go beyond the ~50 year historical record of Atlantic hurricanes and SST to examine even longer records of Atlantic tropical storm activity and second to examine dynamical models of Atlantic hurricane activity under global warming conditions. These separate approaches are discussed below.
B. Analysis of century-scale Atlantic tropical storm and hurricane records
To gain more insight on this problem, we have attempted to analyze much longer (> 100 yr) records of Atlantic hurricane activity. If greenhouse warming causes a substantial increase in Atlantic hurricane activity, then the century scale increase in tropical Atlantic SSTs since the late 1800s should have produced a long-term rise in measures of Atlantic hurricanes activity.
Existing records of past Atlantic tropical storm or hurricane numbers (1878 to present) in fact do show a pronounced upward trend, which is also correlated with rising SSTs (e.g., see blue curve in Fig. 4 or Vecchi and Knutson 2008). However, the density of reporting ship traffic over the Atlantic was relatively sparse during the early decades of this record, such that if storms from the modern era (post 1965) had hypothetically occurred during those earlier decades, a substantial number would likely not have been directly observed by the ship-based "observing network of opportunity." We find that, after adjusting for such an estimated number of missing storms, there is a small nominally positive upward trend in tropical storm occurrence from 1878-2006. But statistical tests reveal that this trend is so small, relative to the variability in the series, that it is not significantly distinguishable from zero (Figure 2). In addition, Landsea et al. (2010) note that the rising trend in Atlantic tropical storm counts is almost entirely due to increases in short-duration (<2 day) storms alone. Such short-lived storms were particularly likely to have been overlooked in the earlier parts of the record, as they would have had less opportunity for chance encounters with ship traffic.
If we instead consider Atlantic basin hurricanes, rather than all Atlantic tropical storms, the result is similar: the reported numbers of hurricanes were sufficiently high during the 1860s-1880s that again there is no significant positive trend in numbers beginning from that era (Figure 3, black curve, from CCSP 3.3 (2008)). This is without any adjustment for "missing hurricanes".
The evidence for an upward trend is even weaker if we look at U.S. landfalling hurricanes, which even show a slight negative trend beginning from 1900 or from the late 1800s (Figure 3, blue curve). Hurricane landfalling frequency is much less common than basin-wide occurrence, meaning that the U.S. landfalling hurricane record, while more reliable than the basin-wide record, suffers from degraded signal-to-noise characteristics for assessing trends.
While major hurricanes (Figure 3, red curve) show more evidence of a rising trend from the late 1800s, the major hurricane data are considered even less reliable than the other two records in the early parts of the record. Category 4-5 hurricanes show a pronounced increase since the mid-1940s (Bender et al., 2010) but again, we consider that these data need to be carefully assessed for data inhomogeneity problems before such trends can be accepted as reliable.
The situation for Atlantic hurricane long-term records is summarized in Figure 4. While global mean temperature and tropical Atlantic SSTs show pronounced and statistically significant warming trends (green curves), the U.S. landfalling hurricane record (orange curve) shows no significant increase or decrease. The unadjusted hurricane count record (blue curve) shows a significant increase in Atlantic hurricanes since the early 1900s. However, when adjusted with an estimate of storms that stayed at sea and were likely "missed" in the pre-satellite era, there is no significant increase in Atlantic hurricanes since the late 1800s (red curve). While there have been increases in U.S. landfalling hurricanes and basin-wide hurricane counts since the since the early 1970s, Figure 4 shows that these increases are not representative of the behavior seen in the century long records. In short, the historical Atlantic hurricane record does not provide compelling evidence for a substantial greenhouse warming-induced long-term increase.
C. Model simulations of greenhouse warming influence on Atlantic hurricanes
Direct model simulations of hurricane activity under climate change scenarios offer another perspective on the problem. We have developed a regional dynamical downscaling model for Atlantic hurricanes and tested it by comparing with observed hurricane activity since 1980. This model, when forced with observed sea surface temperatures and atmospheric conditions, can reproduce the observed rise in hurricane counts between 1980 and 2012, along with much of the interannual variability (Figure 5). Animations showing the development and evolution of hurricane activity in the model are available here.
Turning to future climate projections, current climate models suggest that tropical Atlantic SSTs will warm dramatically during the 21st century, and that upper tropospheric temperatures will warm even more than SSTs. Furthermore, most of the models project increasing levels of vertical wind shear over parts of the western tropical Atlantic (see Vecchi and Soden 2007). Both the increased warming of the upper troposphere relative to the surface and the increased vertical wind shear are detrimental factors for hurricane development and intensification, while warmer SSTs favor development and intensitification. To explore which effect of these effects might "win out", we can run experiments with our regional downscaling model.
Our regional model projects that Atlantic hurricane and tropical storms are substantially reduced in number, for the average 21st century climate change projected by current models, but have higher rainfall rates, particularly near the storm center. The average intensity of the storms that do occur increases by a few percent (Figure 6), in general agreement with previous studies using other relatively high resolution models, as well as with hurricane potential intensity theory (Emanuel 1987).
Knutson and Tuleya (2004) estimated the rough order of magnitude of the sensitivity of hurricanes to climate warming to be about 4% per deg C SST warming for maximum intensities and about 12% per deg C for near-storm (100 km radius) rainfall rates (see also Knutson and Tuleya (2008) abstract here). Such sensitivity estimates have considerable uncertainty, as a subsequent assessment of multiple studies (Knutson et al. 2010) projected total increases by 2100 of about 2-11% for tropical cyclone intensity, and roughly 20% for near-storm rainfall rates. Our updated late 21st century projections of hurricane activity continue to support the notion of increased intensity (~ 4%) and near-storm rainfall rates (~ 10 to 15%) for the Atlantic basin Knutson et al. 2013 as well as for most other tropical cyclone basins Knutson et al. 2015. An analysis showing model-projected increases in rainfall for U.S. landfalling tropical cyclones is provided in Wright et al. 2015.
A review of existing studies, including the ones cited above, lead us to conclude that it is likely that greenhouse warming will cause hurricanes in the coming century to be more intense globally and have higher rainfall rates than present-day hurricanes.
Turning now to the important question of the frequency of very intense hurricanes, the regional model of Knutson et al. (2008) has an important limitation in that it does not simulate such very intense hurricanes. For example, the maximum surface wind in the simulated hurricanes from that model is less than 50 m/s (which is borderline category 3 hurricane intensity). Furthermore, the idealized study of Knutson and Tuleya (2004) assumed the existence of hurricanes and then simulated how intense they would become. Thus, that study could not address the important question of the frequency of intense hurricanes.
In our latest Atlantic basin dynamical downscaling studies (Bender et al. 2010; Knutson et al. 2013), we have tried to address both of these limitations by letting the Atlantic basin regional model of Knutson et al. (2008) provide the overall storm frequency information, and then downscaling each individual storm from the regional model study into the GFDL hurricane prediction system. The GFDL hurricane model (with a grid spacing as fine as 9 km) is able to simulate the frequency, intensity, and structure of the more intense hurricanes, such as category 3-5 storms, much more realistically than the regional (18 km grid) model.
Using this additional downscaling step, the GFDL hurricane model reproduces some important historical characteristics of very intense Atlantic hurricanes, including the wind speed distribution and the change of this distribution between active and inactive decadal periods of hurricane activity (Fig. 1 of Bender et al. 2010). The model also supports the notion of a substantial decrease (~25%) in the overall number of Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storms with projected 21st century climate warming. However, using the CMIP3 and CMIP5 multi-model climate projections, the hurricane model also projects that the lifetime maximum intensity of Atlantic hurricanes will increase by about 5% during the 21st century in general agreement with previous studies. The hurricane model further projects a significant increase (+90%) in the frequency of very intense (category 4 and 5) hurricanes using the CMIP3/A1B 18-model average climate change projection (Fig. 7). Downscaled projections using CMIP5 multi-model scenarios (RCP4.5) as input (Knutson et al. 2013) still show increases in category 4 and 5 storm frequency, but these are only marginally significant for the early 21st century (+45%) or the late 21st century (+40%) CMIP5 scenarios. Downscaling individual CMIP3 model projections instead of the multi-model ensemble, we find that three of ten models produced a significant increase in category 4 and 5 storms, while the other seven produced no significant change. While multi-model ensemble results are probably more reliable than individual model results, each of the individual model results can be viewed as at least plausible at this time.
Returning to the issue of future projections of aggregate activity (PDI, as in Fig. 1), while there remains a lack of consensus among various studies on how Atlantic hurricane PDI will change, no model we have analyzed shows a sensitivity of Atlantic hurricane PDI to greenhouse warming as large as that implied by the observed Atlantic PDI/local SST relationship shown in Figures 1 (top panel). In other words, there is little evidence from current dynamical models that 21st century climate warming will lead to large (~300%) increases in tropical storm numbers, hurricane numbers, or PDI in the Atlantic. As noted above, there is some indication from high resolution models of substantial increases in the numbers of the most intense hurricanes even if the overall number of tropical storms or hurricanes decreases. In the Bender et al. 2010 study, we estimate that the effect of increasing category 4-5 storms outweighs the reduction in overall hurricane numbers such that we project (very roughly) a 30% increase in potential damage in the Atlantic basin by 2100. This estimate does not include the influence of future sea level rise or other important factors such as coastal development or changes in building practices.
Finally, one can ask whether the change in Category 4-5 hurricanes projected by our model is already detectable in the Atlantic hurricane records. Owing to the large interannual to decadal variability of SST and hurricane activity in the basin, Bender et al (2010) estimate that detection of this projected anthropogenic influence on hurricanes should not be expected for a number of decades. While there is a large rising trend since the mid 1940's in category 4-5 numbers in the Atlantic, our view is that these data are not reliable for trend calculations, until they have been further assessed for data homogeneity problems, such as those due to changing observing practices.
D. Other possible human influences on Atlantic hurricane climate
Apart from greenhouse warming, other human influences conceivably could have contributed to recent observed increases in Atlantic hurricanes. For example, Mann and Emanuel (2006) hypothesize that a reduction in aerosol-induced cooling over the Atlantic in recent decades may have contributed to the enhanced warming of the tropical North Atlantic, relative to global mean temperature. However, the cause or causes of the recent enhanced warming of the Atlantic, relative to other tropical basins, and its effect on Atlantic tropical cyclones, remains highly uncertain (e.g., Booth et al. 2012; Zhang et al. 2013;Dunstone et al. 2013; Villarini and Vecchi 2013). A number of anthropogenic and natural factors (e.g., aerosols, greenhouse gases, volcanic activity, solar variability, and internal climate variability) must be considered as potential contributors, and the science remains highly uncertain in these areas. Finally recent work (Kossin et al. 2014; see GFDL Research Highlight) indicates that the latitude at which the maximum intensity of tropical cyclones occurs has expanded poleward globally in recent decades, although the causes for this have not been firmly established and a significant change was not seen in the Atlantic basin statistics.
Sea level rise must also be considered as a way in which human-caused climate change can impact Atlantic hurricane climate–or at least the impacts of the hurricanes at the coast. The vulnerability of coastal regions to storm-surge flooding is expected to increase with future sea-level rise and coastal development, although this vulnerability will also depend upon future storm characteristics, as discussed above. There are large ranges in the 21st Century projections for both Atlantic hurricane characteristics and for the magnitude of regional sea level rise along the U.S. coastlines. However, according to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the average rate of global sea level rise over the 21st Century will very likely exceed that observed during 1971-2010 for a range of future emission scenarios.
E. Summary for Atlantic Hurricanes and Global Warming
In summary, neither our model projections for the 21st century nor our analyses of trends in Atlantic hurricane and tropical storm counts over the past 120+ yr support the notion that greenhouse gas-induced warming leads to large increases in either tropical storm or overall hurricane numbers in the Atlantic. One modeling study projects a large (~100%) increase in Atlantic category 4-5 hurricanes over the 21st century, but we estimate that this increase may not be detectable until the latter half of the century.
Therefore, we conclude that despite statistical correlations between SST and Atlantic hurricane activity in recent decades, it is premature to conclude that human activity–and particularly greenhouse warming–has already caused a detectable change in Atlantic hurricane activity. ("Detectable" here means the change is large enough to be distinguishable from the variability due to natural causes.) However, human activity may have already caused some some changes that are not yet detectable due to the small magnitude of the changes or observation limitations, or are not yet confidently modeled (e.g., aerosol effects on regional climate).
We also conclude that it is likely that climate warming will cause hurricanes in the coming century to be more intense globally and to have higher rainfall rates than present-day hurricanes. In our view, there are better than even odds that the numbers of very intense (category 4 and 5) hurricanes will increase by a substantial fraction in some basins, while it is likely that the annual number of tropical storms globally will either decrease or remain essentially unchanged. These assessment statements are intended to apply to climate warming of the type projected for the 21st century by IPCC AR4 scenarios, such as A1B.
The relatively conservative confidence levels attached to these projections, and the lack of a claim of detectable anthropogenic influence at this time contrasts with the situation for other climate metrics, such as global mean temperature. In the case of global mean surface temperature, the IPCC 5th Assessment Report (2013) presents a strong body of scientific evidence that most of the global warming observed over the past half century is very likely due to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Global Tropical Cyclone Activity and Climate Warming
The main focus of this web page is on Atlantic hurricane activity and global warming. However, an important question concerns whether global warming has or will substantially affect tropical cyclone activity in other basins.
In terms of historical tropical cyclone activity, a 2010 WMO assessment of tropical cyclones and climate change concluded that "it remains uncertain whether past changes in tropical cyclone activity have exceeded the variability expected from natural causes." This conclusion applied to all basins around the globe.
For future projections, GFDL atmospheric modelers have developed global models capable of simulating many aspects of the seasonal and year-to-year variability of tropical cyclone frequency in a number of basins, using only historical sea surface temperatures as input. Examples of the performance of this model on historical data are provided on this web page.
Our latest study examines the impact of 21st-century projected climate changes (CMIP5, RCP4.5 scenario) on a number of tropical cyclone metrics, using the GFDL hurricane model to downscale storms from a lower resolution global atmospheric model. Key findings from these experiments include: fewer tropical cyclones globally in a warmer late-twenty-first-century climate (Figure 8), but also an increase in average cyclone intensity, the number and occurrence days of very intense category 4 and 5 storms in most basins (Figure 9) and in tropical cyclone precipitation rates (Figure 10). These global changes are similar to the consensus findings from a review of earlier studies in the 2010 WMO assessment. These changes do not necessarily occur in all basins. For example, there is a projected increase in tropical storm frequency in the Northeast Pacific and near Hawaii, and a projected decreases in category 4-5 storm days over much of the southern hemisphere basins and parts of the northwest Pacific basin. These differences in responses between basins seem to be linked to how much SSTs increase in a given region compared to the tropical mean increase in SST. Basins that warm more than the tropical average tend to show larger increases in tropical cyclone activity for a number of metrics. Our simulations show little projected change in the median size of tropical cyclone projected globally; the model framework does show some skill at simulating the differences in average storm size between various basins in the present-day climate.
4. Recent Relevant GFDL Papers and Animations
- Global Projections of Intense Tropical Cyclone Activity for the Late Twenty-First Century from Dynamical Downscaling of CMIP5/RCP4.5 Scenarios (J. Climate, Sept. 2015).
- Regional climate model projections of rainfall from U.S. landfalling tropical cyclones. (Wright, Knutson, and Smith, Climate Dynamics, December 2015.
- The poleward migration of the location of tropical cyclone maximum intensity, (Kossin, Emanuel, and Vecchi; Nature 2014). (see GFDL Research Highlight)
- Dynamical Downscaling Projections of Twenty-First-Century Atlantic Hurricane Activity: CMIP3 and CMIP5 Model-Based Scenarios, J. Climate 2013.
- TC-permitting GCM simulations of hurricane frequency response to sea surface temperature anomalies projected for the late 21st century. J. Climate 2012.
- Modeled Impact of Anthropogenic Warming on the Frequency of Intense Atlantic Hurricanes. Science 2010
- FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) on our recent Science paper (updated Jan. 25, 2010)
- How well do we know past Atlantic hurricane activity? A web site on adjusting for "missing storms" in the past Atlantic hurricane data.
- Simulations of global hurricane climatology, interannual variability, and response to global warming using a 50km resolution GCM. J. Climate, 2009.
- Simulated reduction in Atlantic hurricane frequency under twenty-first-century warming conditions, Nature Geoscience, doi:10.1038/ngeo202(Published online May 2008)
- FAQ (Frequency Asked Questions) on our recent Nature Geoscience study (Posted June 11, 2008)
- On Estimates of Historical North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Activity — J. Climate (July 15, 2008 issue)
- Simulation of the recent multidecadal increase of Atlantic hurricane activity — BAMS (October 2007 issue)
- Simulated Hurricane Animations Web Page
5. WMO Expert Team 2010 Assessment of Tropical Cyclones and Climate Change
"Tropical Cyclones and Climate Change", an assessment by a World Meteorological Organization Expert Team on Climate Change Impacts on Tropical Cyclones is now available. This assessment was published in Nature Geoscience (March 2010). For more information on the expert team, see this WMO web page.
This report assesses published research on "Tropical Cyclones and Climate Change" from the international scientific literature.
6. Early GFDL Research on Global Warming and Hurricanes
The strongest hurricanes in the present climate may be upstaged by even more intense hurricanes over the next century as the earth's climate is warmed by increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Although we cannot say at present whether more or fewer hurricanes will occur in the future with global warming, the hurricanes that do occur near the end of the 21st century are expected to be stronger and have significantly more intense rainfall than under present day climate conditions. This expectation (Figure 11) is based on an anticipated enhancement of energy available to the storms due to higher tropical sea surface temperatures.
The results shown in Figure 11 are based on a simulation study carried out by Thomas R. Knutson and Robert E. Tuleya at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL). In this study hurricanes were simulated for a climate warming as projected to occur with a substantial build-up of atmospheric CO2. An increase of intensity of about one-half category on the Saffir-Simpson scale was simulated for an 80 year build-up of atmospheric CO2 at 1%/yr (compounded). For hurricane wind speeds, our model shows a sensitivity of about 4% per degree Celsius increase in tropical sea surface temperatures, with a larger percentage increase in near-storm rainfall.
Early Studies on Global Warming and Hurricanes
An increase in the upper-limit intensity of hurricanes with global warming was suggested on theoretical grounds by M.I.T. Professor Kerry Emanuel in 1987. In the late 1990s, Knutson, Tuleya, and Kurihara at GFDL/NOAA began simulating samples of hurricanes from both the present-day climate and from a greenhouse-gas warmed climate. This was done by "telescoping-in" on coarsely resolved tropical storms in GFDL's global climate model using the high-resolution GFDL hurricane prediction model (Figure 12). A research report describing this work was published in Science (1998), with a more detailed paper in Climate Dynamics (1999, vol. 15). All of these studies, as well as our more recent ones, include the moderating effect of atmospheric stabilization aloft under high CO2 conditions, rather than simply increasing the sea surface temperature alone.
In a follow-up study, which appeared in the Journal of Climate(2001), NOAA scientists Knutson and Tuleya teamed up with Isaac Ginis and Weixing Shen of the University of Rhode Island to explore the climate warming/ hurricane intensity issue using hurricane model coupled to a full ocean model. The coupled model was used to simulate the "cool SST wake" generated by the hurricanes as they moved over the simulated ocean (Figure 13). The model simulations including this additional feedback still showed a similar percentage increase of hurricane intensity under warm climate conditions as the original model without ocean coupling.
A comprehensive idealized hurricane intensity modeling study by Knutson and Tuleya, published in Journal of Climate (2004), confirms the general conclusions of previous studies but makes them more robust by using future climate projections from nine different global climate models and four different versions of the GFDL hurricane model. The GFDL hurricane model used for the study is an enhanced resolution version of the model used to predict hurricanes operationally at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction. According to this latest study, an 80 year build-up of atmospheric CO2 at 1%/yr (compounded) leads to roughly a one-half category increase in potential hurricane intensity on the Saffir-Simpson scale and an 18% increase in precipitation near the hurricane core. A 1%/yr CO2 increase is an idealized scenario of future climate forcing. As noted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there is considerable uncertainty in projections of future radiative forcing of earth's climate. A criticism of our paper by Michaels et al. is responded to here.
An implication of the GFDL studies is that if the frequency of tropical cyclones remains the same over the coming century, a greenhouse-gas induced warming may lead to an increasing risk globally in the occurrence of highly destructive category-5 storms.
Related Links:
For more information and related research see:
- "Tropical Cyclones and Climate Change", an assessment by a World Meteorological Organization Expert Team on Climate Change Impacts on Tropical Cyclones. For more information on the expert team, see this WMO web page.
- Future projections of global tropical cyclone activity (J. Climate 2015).
- Future projections of intense Atlantic hurricanes (J. Climate 2013).
- Global models of hurricane frequency developed at GFDL.
- Historical changes in Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storms.
- GFDL's Hurricane Portal
- GFDL Hurricane simulations– animations
- GFDL Climate Research Highlights web page.
- Hurricanes: Science and Society web page
- NOAA State of the Science Fact Sheet on "Atlantic Hurricanes, Climate Variability, and Global Warming" (May 2012)


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Sorry for the confusion, I was talking about smartphones.
Even Android 2.2(Froyo) could support usb host if you can make the driver work:
Android 3.1(Honeycomb) got official usb host support, but this andriod version is used only on tablets, hence I didn't considered it.
Android 4.0(ICS) brings official usb host support and can be used in smartphones too.


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text: Hey guys I can get up, stand, pump and ride a board perfectly fine in mostly all conditions sj throws at us, but I can't snap or throw buckets or cutbacks. I can occasionally buy they never look so good. I was wondering if there is any chance of me even placing in one of there competitions? I'm 14 but I'm 6'3 and I just feel like I'm going to get my ass whooped by a bunch of 12 year olds that surf great. What do you think I should do?


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Monday, September 25, 2017
Sleep Disorders
Could I still have Narcoloepsy?
I am a 44-year-old female. I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder 10 years ago. I take Lamictal, Wellbutrin, Prozac. Have had a bit of hypomania years ago. Main symptom is Depression and extreme tiredness. Sometime still have racing thoughts. I had a sleep study with the daytime sleep study included. The Dr. said I do not have Narcolepsy. He said I had three long REMs during the night. I woke up during the last one.
He said I have idiopathic hypersomnia. He said the drug my Psych. suggested is a good choice, Vyvanse. But the Psych said it could be ADD. I don`t think it is ADD. I also need to mention that I am concerned with my memory, and may have to quit working because of organizational problems and forgetting names. I want to be sure this was an accurate diagnosis. I have what I consider to be microsleeps. I teach young children. While listening to small reading groups, I will sometimes struggle to keep my eyes open. I know I black out breifly, and wake when the child stops reading to get help with a word. They are first graders, so they don`t notice. I have also almost fallen asleep while reading aloud to the class. I had to force myself to stay alert. I feel like I slurred my words for a few seconds. Could this be caused by anything else, drugs, Bipolar, epilepsy, etc.? Should the sleep study have ruled out epilepsy? Maybe they are petite mal sesiures. I was epileptic as a child, with grand mal seizures, my sister too. Would the Lamictal possibly mask this?
Another concern is that I feel like I have bizarre dreams all night. I talk in my sleep, laugh etc. during naps. I have woken up batting spiders that I thought were falling from the ceiling. Once I sat up during a nap and asked my daughter why her hair was bright green. She thought it sounded so convincing she ran to look in the mirror, lol.
Thank you for reading this. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
That's quite a list of issues! Clearly your case is very complicated and it will be difficult to sort this out. A full history and physical examination, as well as a detailed review of your sleep studies would be required to fully answer your questions. Having said, I can try and answer what I can based on the information you have provided.
As far as the sleepiness, this may be caused by any combination of the underlying disorders or medications that you report. Depression and bipolar can certainly cause daytime sleepiness. Both Lamictal and Prozac can worsen the sleepiness. Wellbutrin is less associated with sleepiness than with insomnia. Based on available information, I agree with the assessment that sleepiness may be well explained by the bipolar disorder and the medications. It is very difficult to make the determination that a patient has idiopathic hypersomnia when the patient is already diagnosed with bipolar disorder and taking antidepressants. However, from a treatment standpoint, there is really no significant difference in the treatment. Treatment with stimulants is usually considered in your condition. The Vyvanse you were prescribed is a stimulant in the amphetamine category. There are also other categories of stimulants (such as modafinil and Armodafinil) that are not amphetamines that can be considered for severe sleepiness in the setting of a mood disorder. Adjusting the doses of your medications or varying the time you take them may help slightly.
The episodes you describe as "microsleeps" may be just that: sleep attacks. It seems that you maintain recollection of the sequence of events and you have some situational control on alertness. It seems that these episodes are not associated with dropping objects or loosing muscle control or tone. However, given your strong medical and family history of seizures, I would strongly recommend that you undergo evaluation by a specialized neurologist (epileptolgist). The specialist may recommend prolonged inpatient monitoring to rule out seizures. You are correct, lamictal is an anti-epileptic and it can affect the presentation of seizures. I am not qualified to comment further on this, but I think you have a very good indication for an evaluation by the neurologist.
The cognitive impairment you report as far as the memory and organizational problems can occur when someone has sleepiness. These cognitive skills require alertness to acquire and recall memories. Also organizational skills require a degree of focus and alertness. Again, the medications (especially lamictal, but also wellbutrin) and the underlying bipolar may affect this. It is possible that seizures would be associated with daytime decreased functionality as well. Here again, there may be a role for treatment with stimulants or medication change or adjustment. Neurocognitive testing can help identify the impairment you are reporting, and may distinguish dysfunctions related to decreased alertness or depression from a neuro-degenerative disorder.
You report abnormal behaviors that occur during sleep and may be originating from sleep. I assume alcohol or other substances are not an issue here. If seizures are ruled out, and your sleep study has already ruled out sleep apnea or another intrinsic sleep disordered (such as periodic limb movement of sleep, for which you are a candidate), then this behavior is likely related to a psychotic disorder. This may be related to the bipolar disorder. I did not find an association between your medications and visual hallucinations. However, lamictal and wellbutrin can affect dreams and it is possible you are awakening from a dream. In some cases, patients with underlying psychosis can experience hallucinations mainly at night and during brief awakenings. Your psychiatrist, more so than sleep doctor, can provide an explanation for this.
In summary, I recommend you talk to your doctors about neurologic evaluation for seizures, as the sleep study may not be completely sufficient to rule out seizures. Also, I recommend you discuss your medication regimen and the hallucinations with your psychiatrist. Also, please, bring up the use of stimulant therapy, because your symptoms are affecting your job, and likely your social life. Stimulants are not an easy decision, and they may not be completely effective, but may be worth a try. In the meantime, evaluate your sleep time and sleep hygiene and incorporate aerobic exercise which can contribute somewhat to daytime cognitive function and to the quality of sleep.
Rami N Khayat, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care & Sleep
College of Medicine
The Ohio State University


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Media Contact: TPWD News, email@example.com, 512-389-8030
Nov. 13, 2006
Texas, DU Mark 20 Years of Waterfowl Conservation
SASKATCHEWAN, Canada — On an early Autumn day in September 2003, the sky was a beautiful clear blue above the red-gold landscape and the ducks were calling on a wetland-splashed patch of rolling prairie in central Canada. It's a place that illustrates the connections between Canada and Texas, between good habitat and good hunting, one fruit of a success story fueled by hunter dollars that goes back two decades.
Dave Kostersky of Ducks Unlimited Canada stepped out of his truck into a brisk wind that day and looked out to see hundreds of birds, mostly mallards, milling around, loafing in the mid-day, resting up before heading out to feed in nearby fields. Dave is DU's manager of state grants for Western Canada. Much of the time he's in an office writing funding proposals and reports, but this day he was looking at 640 beautiful acres DU had just bought with funding support from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and numerous other state partners. In a few months, the birds here and millions more like them would be headed to Texas for the winter.
Last week another DU rep stood in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission hearing room in Austin, talking about 20 years of conservation achievements under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) from 1986–2006.
Signed by the United States and Canada in 1986, the plan recognized that loss of habitat, especially on the breeding grounds, was the most serious threat facing North America's waterfowl, and that habitat conservation had to extend beyond protected areas to include vast areas of privately owned and managed lands. Mexico joined the plan in 1994, making it a continental effort.
"Some recent estimates say our country is still losing more than 80,000 acres of wetlands per year," said Ross Melinchuk, director of public policy for DU's southern regional office. "We're still losing habitat in Canada and Texas, so we need to continue what we've been doing and accelerate it if we can. On the positive side, we've accomplished a lot in the 20 years since the waterfowl plan was signed. Texas Parks and Wildlife has been a stalwart partner in this international conservation effort since the get-go."
Melinchuk told commissioners that since 1985, TPWD has anted up $1.4 million in support of Canadian conservation under the NAWMP. This goes to various efforts, all aimed at putting waterfowl habitat on the landscape, everything from buying land like Kostersky's 640 acres to securing easements from farmers to building water control structures to create or sustain wetlands.
All of this Texas funding has come from hunters buying waterfowl stamps (now the new migratory game bird stamp, introduced last season). Texas funds are matched with funds from other state and NGO partners, and with North American Wetland Conservation Act grants to help restore and protect the duck landscape.
Based on bands put on ducks by researchers and reported by hunters, biologists know that about 37 percent of the ducks that winter in Texas come from Saskatchewan, more than any other Canadian province. About 19 percent come from Alberta, and others come from Manitoba, the Dakotas and Iowa. Scientists say this shows it makes sense for Texas to spend money on Canadian habitat conservation.
"Almost every Central Flyway state contributes to this program annually because we all realize this is a wise expenditure so our sportsmen can have liberal and enjoyable seasons and bag limits each year," said Vernon Bevill, TPWD Small Game and Habitat Assessment Program director. "Without the NAWMP put in place over 20 years, we probably wouldn't be bragging about this. We've had several record years of production for waterfowl in Canada. If Mother Nature provides some weather to move some ducks around, we're looking at a pretty good season in Texas."
Waterfowl seasons just started in Texas. The first split of the general duck season in the North and South Zones runs Nov. 4–26 and reopens Dec. 9 through Jan. 28. In the Panhandle's High Plains Mallard Management Unit, duck season is set for Nov. 3 through Jan. 28.
Banding studies show species that breed in Canada in the summer and winter in Texas include mostly mallards, plus significant numbers of blue-winged teal, northern pintails, gadwall, widgeon, and others.
Texas money to conserve northern habitat for these birds is matched and leveraged many times over by other partners. The $100,000 provided by TPWD in 2006 for Saskatchewan conservation was matched with $100,000 from DU and $200,000 in federal funding under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, plus a whopping $1.7 million from other U.S. and Canadian partners, totaling more than $2 million. This means a 2006 Texas dollar spent on Saskatchewan conservation is matched 20 to one by the time it hits the ground.
Here in Texas, DU has provided more than $10 million to conserve 161,330 acres of habitat in partnership with TPWD since the waterfowl plan was created in 1986.
More on the history and importance of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan is on the Web.
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Mr. Assemble, Baron, Cyber and the Barrels Speeder show how to do Micronauts right...
Kaiyodo's Assemble Borg are available exclusively in North America through AssembleBorg.net.
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One of my favorite toy lines growing up as a kid in the '70s was the Micronauts. The sci-fi action figures, vehicles and playsets had everything a young child could want: shiny "chrome" parts, imaginative designs, and best of all, the ability to mix and match for countless toy combinations. About the only thing the Micronauts lacked were cool weapons. Occasionally a higher priced item would throw in a missile launcher, but the large bulbous missiles were a joke. Some figures, like Acroyear, would offer a token sword, but the majority of the line (I'm looking at you Time Traveler, Pharoid and Space Glider) lacked ZERO military might. Perhaps that was always the plan: to release more peaceful toys for more peaceful children. I'm sorry, but they didn't fool this kid. My army of figures needed futuristic firepower for fierce, no-holds-barred carpet combat.
Here we are - over 30 years later - and my childhood is now complete. Japanese toy maker Kaiyodo, together with manga artist Yasuhiro Nightow's company ToyTribe, have unleashed ASSEMBLE BORG, a series of action figures and vehicles that pay a huge tribute to the Micronauts... except this time they got it right. Assemble Borg packs the goods - weapons extreme. Assemble Borg is - and I say this with the most utmost respect - the way the Micronauts SHOULD have been made.
While available in Japan for a couple of years now, Assemble Borg was just recently made available to North American collectors via AssembleBorg.net. This labor of love launched with three figures - the good guys as I call them - consisting of Mr. Assemble, Baron and Cyber. These are priced at $29.99 each (shipping included). In addition, a vehicle called the Barrels Speeder can be had at $39. All together, this makes up Assemble Borg Wave 1.
PACKAGING: Packaging for the Assemble Borg heroes is extremely sharp, each blister card reflecting the high-tech premise of the toy line with clean, futuristic graphics. Bold color contrast hammers home this cybernetic theme with the eye-catching use of neon orange, white and grey. Assemble Borg's packaging "pops" and it's truly a shame these can't be found in your mass market toy aisles. The space on the back is fully utilized to showcase all the figures (and vehicle) in the initial assortment, along with an overload of other handy information. The abundance of accessories included with each Assemble Borg is pictured in the upper right-hand corner, while much of the bottom is used to demonstrate the exciting combinations you can achieve when some or all of the toys are collected. For being primarily in Japanese, the universal language of pictures speaks loud and clear. My only complaint on these otherwise knockout packaging designs is that they are not collector-friendly. Having some place to store your figure and its gear would have been a HUGE plus... though Kaiyodo does have an upcoming solution I'll touch on at the end of this review.
SCULPT: Right out of the pack, Assemble Borg's homage to the Micronauts is clearly evident with the use of colored, often translucent plastics combined with "chromed" parts. All three heroes feature a standard 5-inch tall body, each molded in a unique color. Mr. Assemble is cast in solid black plastic, Baron a smokey translucent, and Cyber a milky white.
Each character is further defined by a unique head sculpt and chestplate. The former is "chromed" internally; the head/helmet can actually be removed to reveal the character's true identity - a thin nub of circuits unique to each character. I'm not sure of the point of all this, but it's fascinating never-the-less.
ACCESSORIES: If we were to stop with the core character design behind Assemble Borg, the figures would be nothing more than updated, reimagined Micronauts; new Acroyears and Time Travelers for the 21st Century. And that would be a good thing, but thankfully that's just the tip of the iceberg of what Assemble Borg is truly all about. The heart of Assemble Borg is accessories; tons and tons of weapons, alternate hands and innovative Revolver Joints. Included with each Assemble Borg is no less than the following:
* Four (4) pairs of interchangable hands: fisted, open, pointing, and weapon grasping.
* Four (4) firearms: machine gun (or laser rifle, your choice), high caliber pistol, compact SMG and a huge honkin' bazooka.
* Two (2) bladed weapons: combat knife and futuristic curved sword.
* Bonus bag of spare Revolver Joints (7 types, 2 each)
All those weapons alone would have made one particular kid growing up in the '70s very, very happy. On top of that, the small arsenal looks killer, each gun starring an amazing sculpt and design courtesy of manga madman Yasuhiro "Trigun" Nightow. These are far from generic looking, flimsy molded weapons, thank you kindly. But wait, there's more...
Already you have everything you need to arm your soldiers for battle (and display), but in addition to the core gear, each Assemble Borg character receives two unique attachments. Mr. Assemble comes with a pair of Jarknoid stompin' mechanical legs, Baron brings the firepower with dual hand canons, and Cyber gets up close and personal with bladed weapons: a slashing sword and bone-crushing saw. Bye bye core character design. With so many great attachments, I don't see any collector sticking with the basic figure. Time to kit 'em up and move 'em out.
ARTICULATION/ INTERCHANGEABILITY: If you are new to Kaiyodo's Revolver Joint system, posing Assemble Borg can at first be tricky. The articulation system, popularized with their Revoltech action figures, consists of a series of pegs, most rachet-jointed, each of multiple sizes. Unlike the fixed ball, swivel and hinge joints of most action figures, Revolver Joints use a simple peg and hole concept that allows for an extremely articulated toy. It also allows the collector to swap out joints. This comes in handy if a joint wears out (Revolver Joints are built extremely tough, but it does happen), and is especially useful for customization. Enter the soul of Assemble Borg: interchangeability.
First a small warning: Building your own unique Assemble Borg creation doesn't come easy (or cheap). In fact, it requires that you purchase at least two Assemble Borg figures and it is highly recommended that you snag the Barrels Speeder vehicle to unlock Assemble Borg's full customizing potential. Getting just one Assemble Borg figure gives you a wide range of options for equipping your figure, but the real fun of the line is in mixing and matching the parts. For example, I fully kitted Baron up with both his hand blasters and with Mr. Assemble's boots, while Mr. Assemble gets medieval on the evil Jarknoids with the massive sword blade packed with the Barrel's Speeder. But those are just simple swaps. My coolest creation is the Combo Borg "Death Machine" - an intimidating robotic mobile weapons platform. Mostly comprised of Barrel Speeder parts, the Zoid-like machine springs to killing life with weapons from Baron and Cyber. As I said, the Barrels Speeder is a key source for components, plus it looks awesome on it's own (or rather with Mr. Assemble behind the wheel).
OVERALL: Kaiyodo/ToyTribe have created something very special with Assemble Borg. While the Micronaut's influence can be seen in the line, Assemble Borg is so much more. A refreshing original concept, Assemble Borg takes Kaiyodo's innovative Revolver Joint system and runs with it. It's a toy line that can be enjoyed individually with each figure purchase, or greatly expanded on with the addition of other toys in the series.
To further enhance the Assemble Borg experience, Kaiyodo will be releasing even more figures and vehicles, as well as supplies and tools. The former moves forward later this year with the release of the Jarknoids, the evil villains of the Assemble Borg universe. I'll have a full advance review of those coming next week. For supplies, Kaiyodo will be offering spare Revolver Joints, polybagged by type, as well as Revopliers and Revocontainers.
The Revopliers are specially made for pulling out and pushing in Revolver Joints, something your fingers will thank you for - occasionally you do encounter a stubborn Revolver Joint. The Revocontainers are Kaiyodo's solution to storage, something I mentioned earlier under packaging. The clear orange containers feature a snap on lid and allow you to store your spare Revolver Joints in them. Personally I found the samples I received a little too small. While great for a handful of joints or spare hands, they didn't solve the problem of what to do with the figure's weapons and limbs when not in use. I'd much rather see Kaiyodo release a large tackle box-like container. It would be ideal for Assemble Borg's storage needs.
With North American distribution out of the way, the only hurdle for Assemble Borg to overcome is recognition and price. $29 each can be a bit intimidating to many U.S. collectors and amassing more than one Assemble Borg to unlock the line's full potential overwhelming and expensive. That said, you do get your money's worth with Assemble Borg. The value is readily apparent when compared to many mass market toys - Assemble Borg are extremely well-constructed and designed toys, each packed with numerous accessories. With the ability to endlessly customize and create, Assemble Borg goes beyond what many toy lines offer. I highly recommend trying one figure out. I think you'll be surprised at how much fun (and addicting) Assemble Borg can be.
Review and Photos by Jeff Saylor
Review Samples Courtesy of IDA


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IL-2 "SELECT" Tissue Collection Protocol in Patients With Advanced Melanoma
This study is ongoing, but not recruiting participants.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
David F. McDermott, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: February 1, 2011
Last updated: August 29, 2016
Last verified: August 2016
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Biospecimen Retention: Samples With DNA
Detailed Description:
The purpose of this study is to determine which participants with melanoma have a better response to IL-2 and to identify markers that may predict response to IL-2 by collecting participant information (for example; cancer diagnosis and history, prior treatments for cancer, etc.) blood and tumor samples prior to treatment and tumor measurements after treatment.
|Malignant Melanoma
|Drug: IL-2
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Observational Model: Case-Only
Time Perspective: Prospective
|Official Title:
|The High-Dose Aldesleukin (IL-2) "SELECT" Trial: A Prospective Tissue Collection Protocol to Investigate Predictive Models of Response to High-Dose IL-2 Treatments in Patients With Advance Melanoma
Resource links provided by NLM:
MedlinePlus related topics: Melanoma
Drug Information available for: AldesleukinU.S. FDA Resources
Further study details as provided by David F. McDermott, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute:
Primary Outcome Measures:
- To determine if DASL subclassification can identify a group of patients with advanced melanoma who are significantly more likely to respond to high dose IL-2 based on therapy than the historical 16% response rate in an unselected patient population [ Time Frame: 2 years ]
Secondary Outcome Measures:
- To validate the usefulness of serum fibronectin and VEGF levels as negative predictors of response [ Time Frame: 2 years ]
- To explore the predictive value of several genetic polymorphisms associated with immune function [ Time Frame: 2 years ]
- To explore the predictive value of BRAF^V600E mutational status as a predictor of response and benefit to high dose IL-2 [ Time Frame: 2 years ]
- To explore the relationship of serum fibronectin and VEGF levels with the molecular signature of immune responsiveness in patients with advanced melanoma receiving high-dose IL-2 in order to identify specific cohorts with dramatic differences in response [ Time Frame: 2 years ]
- To identify new proteins or patterns of gene expression that might be associated with high-dose IL-2 responsiveness in order to further narrow the application of IL-2 therapy to those who will benefit the most [ Time Frame: 2 years ]
Biospecimen Retention: Samples With DNA
tumor tissue, blood
|Estimated Enrollment:
|Study Start Date:
|February 2010
|Estimated Study Completion Date:
|February 2018
|Estimated Primary Completion Date:
|June 2017 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
|Assigned Interventions
IL-2 subjects
Subjects receiving IL-2 for advanced melanoma
Drug: IL-2
Observation only
Other Name: aldesleukin
Detailed Description:
Original tumor slides will be collected to identify tumor markers that may predict responses to treatment. Blood samples will be obtained prior to treatment with IL-2.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Senior)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
|Sampling Method:
|Non-Probability Sample
Study Population
Subjects enrolled on DF/HCC Protocol 06-149
Inclusion Criteria:
- Malignant melanoma that is metastatic or unresectable
- Eligible to receive high-dose IL-2
- Tissue block available with adequate tumor to perform RNA extraction and DASL analysis
Exclusion Criteria:
- Prior immunotherapy for unresectable or metastatic disease
- Untreated brain metastases, leptomeningeal disease, or seizure disorder
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: NCT01288963
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01288963
|United States, Massachusetts
|Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
|Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
Sponsors and Collaborators
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
|Principal Investigator:
|David McDermott, MD
|Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
More Information
Keywords provided by David F. McDermott, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute:
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017
|Responsible Party:
|David F. McDermott, MD, Principal Investigator, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01288963 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|February 1, 2011
|Last Updated:
|August 29, 2016
Keywords provided by David F. McDermott, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute:
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Neuroendocrine Tumors
Neuroectodermal Tumors
Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal
Neoplasms by Histologic Type
Neoplasms, Nerve Tissue
Nevi and Melanomas
Antineoplastic Agents
Analgesics, Non-Narcotic
Sensory System Agents
Peripheral Nervous System Agents
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Anti-HIV Agents
Anti-Retroviral Agents
Antiviral Agents
Anti-Infective Agents
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017


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Caltrans: Hwy 178 could be closed until Thursday after mudslide
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) Rain-caused rock slides through the Kern River Canyon on Monday night forced the closure Highway 178. Tuesday afternoon, Caltrans advised that it expects the highway to remain closed until at least Thursday.
Rocks and mud began spilling onto the roadway around 5 p.m. Monday, the California Highway Patrol said. By about 6, several vehicles became stuck behind large boulders and mud, prompting the closure.
Officials recommend commuters take the alternate route of Highway 155 or Mountain Road 99 to get around the closure. Highway 58 up through Walker Basin/Caliente to Havilah remains open.
Lightning-caused wildfires continue to burn hundreds of acres and threaten structures in the area, despite the heavy rainfall.
Other closures include Caliente-Bodfish Road, which was washed out from flood waters Monday, Alder Creek Road and campground, Rancheria Road, Evans Flat Campground and Oak Flat Lookout.


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FOX Sports to televise 142 Royals games
The schedule will begin on Monday, March 25, when the Royals play the Los Angeles Dodgers at 8:05 p.m. CT at Surprise Stadium. The second Spring Training game shown will be on Wednesday, March 27, against the Chicago Cubs, also at 8:05 from Surprise.
The first of 67 regular-season road games will be on Opening Day, Monday, April 1, against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. The home opener a week later against Minnesota Twins is on the schedule of 73 games from Kauffman Stadium.
In the regular season, Ryan Lefebvre will call 90 games and Steve Physioc will do the other 50. Rex Hudler will return for his second season as analyst. Joel Goldberg will be host and Jeff Montgomery the analyst on the "Royals Live" pre- and postgame shows.
In other TV news, the Royals' Salvador Perez will be featured on MLB Network's "Top 10 Right Now: Catchers" program at 9 p.m. CT on Friday.


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If the couples around you flaunt their love in what you're sure is overcompensation of the highest degree and your love of Gin Blossoms explodes into a full-on obsession, it can only mean one thing—Valentine's Day.
How can you possibly cope alone on the holiday that inspired that particularly insidious Gary Marshall movie of the same name? Music, that's how.
We all know the stuff has the power to heal the hurt, and you're going to need something to do while you get drunk enough to deal with that 2 am last call desperation rodeo.
Start 12 hours earlier with the works of Chopin and Debussy at St. John's College (1160 Camino Cruz Blanca). If you're nurturing a sad mood, "Claire de Lune" is there to help. You can start drinking around 5 pm at the Cowgirl's (319 S Guadalupe St.) Happy Hours with singer/songwriter Michael Kirkpatrick… we won't tell anyone.
Around 7 pm at a performance from Anthony Leon and Joe West at Duel Brewing (1228 Parkway Drive Unit D) kicks into gear. Both these country/rock dudes slay, so this is like the peanut butter cups of jamz. Or, if you want to feel awesome about yourself, swing by The Lodge (750 N St. Francis Drive) for one-woman musical, Give it All Away. It's probably exactly what you think it's like, and Pachanga hosts a Latin dance party immediately afterwards in case you want to stay put.
Jimmy Stadler rips it up with blues and rock at La Fonda (100 E San Francisco St.) and there are rooms right upstairs at this place in case you meet that special someone. A trek up to El Farol (800 Canyon Road) around 9 pm will result in some good old-fashioned rock from Little Leroy or, if you wanna stay near the Plaza, The Sean Healen Band gets folksy at The Palace (142 W Palace Ave.) at 10 pm.
Want to set the mood a couple of days earlier, you Casanova? SFR's Valentine's extravaganza is back and it takes over the Inn at Loretto on Wednesday, Feb. 12 from 7 to 10 pm. You know, in case any lonely hearts out there want to party with a bunch of super geniuses.
Whatever you choose to do, just do it safely. Oh, and for those of you who are totally in love? You're all jerks.


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found a new home!
Plenty of my friends are looking
for one too. Find a pet to adopt.
I am good with kids and good with small animals.
Monte, a Brooklyn Park Guinea Pig was adopted! Here's how you can benefit by looking at adoption as an option to buying a Guinea Pig for sale in Brooklyn Park, or seeking a Guinea Pig from a breeder in Brooklyn Park.


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Gramercy Glasses
Color: please select a color
Size: please select a size
Style # ELIJA41007
Need Assistance? Contact Us Now
Elizabeth and James mixes materials on cat-eye glasses, giving the retro shape a modern point of view. Clear plastic gives the illusion of semi-rimless lenses, and polished metal shines from the temples and bridge. Case and cleaning cloth included.
Imported, China.
Width: 5.5in / 14cm
Height: 1.75in / 4.5cm
Lens width: 40mm
Imported, China.
Width: 5.5in / 14cm
Height: 1.75in / 4.5cm
Lens width: 40mm
In 2007, style makers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen collaborated to create Elizabeth and James. This line merges downtown cool with uptown class, and mixes pieces that possess soft, feminine detail with others offering a more tailored, masculine edge. Impeccable construction and vintage inspiration are hallmarks of their fashion-forward label, which includes newly introduced lines of jewelry and shoes, not to mention clothing that runs the gamut from classic blazers to au courant jumpsuits and rompers. See all Elizabeth and James reviews
Shipping & Returns
Free Shipping Worldwide: No matter where you are sending your order, we offer free express shipping across the globe. Shipping Details
Easy Returns: Because we understand that not every purchase is exactly right, we've made returns easy. With the return form and return shipping label included with every order, customer service calls aren't necessary. And if you're in the USA, returns are free. Return Details
Shipping Available: Shipping Within USA Only: For Amazon Prime members, free two-day shipping is available for all Shopbop & East Dane products.


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Phils acquire 2B prospect as part of Hernandez deal
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Phillies announced Saturday evening they acquired Class A second baseman Jesmuel Valentin from the Dodgers as the first of two players to be named in the Roberto Hernandez trade.
MLB.com ranked Valentin as the No. 13 prospect in the Dodgers' organization.
Selected 51st overall as a supplement pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft, Valentin was hitting .282 with 22 doubles, nine triples, seven home runs, 47 RBIs and a .785 OPS in 107 games with Great Lakes.
He struggled in 33 games with Great Lakes last season, posting a .618 OPS, but has improved at the plate this year.
Valentin will report to Class A Clearwater.
Todd Zolecki is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.