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Shortly before nine in the evening, with just a trace of light left in the sky, several Adarand Constructors trucks stand in the left lane of Interstate 25 north of Monument Hill. A dozen workers -- evenly split between whites and Hispanics, and all wearing safety vests, goggles, hardhats and boots -- set up their floodlights, which illuminate a quarter-mile stretch of road with the intensity found at a sports stadium.
Moments later, Adarand owner Randy Pech -- a 47-year-old in khakis, a burgundy polo shirt and loafers -- arrives to visit the troops. Although his foreman will oversee the actual labor, Pech shakes hands with the men. He then consults with the crew boss, who tells Pech that one guy brought his cell phone. "They're here to work, not talk to their girlfriends," Pech says, ordering his foreman to pass the message along.
Over the next month, the Adarand crews will install a 20,000-foot stretch of guardrail along this portion of the highway, where a wide, shallow grass ditch separates the northbound and southbound lanes and drivers often make ill-advised U-turns. On a good night, the team can install 1,000 feet of steel. They rely on a post-driver -- a giant hammering machine mounted on the back of a truck -- that starts with a whine and a billow of smoke. Workers lay out the posts in six-foot, three-inch intervals, and then an operator positions the pile-driver over one six-foot steel shaft after another. The clanging hammer sinks each post into the ground with four or five blows. Once the posts are in place, workers fasten small wood blocks to either side, then bolt the guardrails to the uprights with heavy pneumatic air wrenches. Afterward, the post-driver operator will check out the newly installed guardrail to make sure it's properly aligned.
Pech used to be at the helm of the big post-pounding machine, working into the early hours as deafening traffic roared by. But now, after fifteen minutes on the job site, he's satisfied and heads his Pontiac Bonneville back home toward Colorado Springs. He doesn't miss the work, he says, "not in the slightest."
Though low-key in appearance, Pech is a successful businessman. The 25-year-old Adarand has done nearly $26 million in guardrail business in the state since 1991, more than any other Colorado guardrail company during the same period. Yet Pech sees himself as a victim of discrimination by the federal and state governments, and for over a decade he's been seeking to overturn affirmative- action programs.
His crusade began in 1989, after his low bid on a federal contract was rejected in favor of one from another company, Gonzales Construction of Dolores. Gonzales, a Hispanic-owned firm, was awarded the job under an affirmative-action program overseen by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Pech, who is white, sued the federal transportation department in 1990, claiming the program was unconstitutional. This fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider Pech's complaint for the third -- and probably the last -- time.
If the justices rule in his favor, they could upset more than a generation of governmental attempts to reverse the effects of discrimination.
When George Pech, an ex-welder, called his son one day in 1976 and asked if he wanted to help start a guardrail company, the timing was perfect. The younger Pech had reached a crossroads at the University of Northern Colorado, where he was studying to become a gym teacher; he was ambivalent about being in front of a class full of kids, a senior-year requirement. So Pech, who had never before thought about building guardrails, told his father he was in. "It sounded good to me," he says.
Pech dropped out of UNC and went home to Colorado Springs to help with Adarand Constructors. (The name was a play on the younger Pech's first name and the last name of another founder, Tom Adams.) George Pech put up his retirement savings as collateral. Four banks turned down the fledgling company's requests for a loan -- even though a friend served on one bank board -- before a fifth loaned the Pechs $50,000.
The elder Pech soon turned the reins over to his son, and after Adams left, Adarand became a one-man show. Randy Pech struggled to learn the ins and outs of his new profession as he bid on jobs at night and ran them during the day, employing a single crew. At the time, Adarand had one pickup, one trailer and one post-driver. The novice businessman almost went broke on his first job, installing rail along the road leading into Golden Gate Canyon State Park. The work, projected for three weeks, took three months, because Pech was using a machine that moved dirt -- and up in the high country, the surface was all rock. It also took him weeks to discover that he lacked an essential tool of the business, the 1 1/4-inch wrench. It was like playing tennis without a racquet.
Still, by the early '80s, Adarand had become a competitor in a small segment of the state's lucrative highway construction industry. But within a few years, Pech noticed that he was losing contracts to disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs), companies that were majority-owned by women or minorities and therefore presumed to be at a disadvantage in competing for government contracts.
That presumption was underscored by the Tenth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, which as recently as last year noted that discrimination by prime contractors, unions and lenders had "woefully impeded" the formation of qualified minority business subcontractors across the nation. Under a wide variety of state and federal programs, DBEs were targeted for government assistance to help counteract discrimination.
But while this benefited DBEs, the programs had a negative impact on other businesses. Adarand, for example, usually bid on about 250 jobs a year and received 30 to 50 percent of the work, according to Pech. By the mid-'80s, however, the company was losing about ten jobs a year that it would otherwise have received as the low bidder -- and that added up to as much as $1 million of lost revenue annually.
Pech didn't care for these DBE programs, but he figured there was no way they would last. Some politician would recognize what was going on and stop them, he thought. Somebody would raise a fuss. He never thought the task would fall to him. Finally, in 1987, at the urging of his wife, Val, he testified before the state transportation department, which had begun holding public hearings about its disadvantaged business program. The Pechs were among a handful of critics in a room full of affirmative-action boosters. Randy Pech remembers, "You kind of come out of there saying, 'Are we missing something, or are we so backward that 95 percent of the people are against this?'"
The Pechs continued to attend hearings every six months or so, and although they rarely found anyone who agreed with them, they didn't give up. "The alternative was to not do anything," says Randy.
"If not us," asks Val, "who?"
So the Pechs contacted state legislators, who they say agreed that the affirmative action programs were wrong, but they were not prepared to take a public stand against them. The only concrete suggestion they could give the Pechs was to adopt a common, rule-bending scam: Randy could simply transfer ownership of Adarand to Val, and then it would qualify as a disadvantaged business. The Pechs refused. "It's fraudulent," says Val. "That to us was absolutely fraudulent."
The Pechs acknowledged that DBE programs probably had been started with good intentions, but they believed the issue had swerved out of control. So the couple approached the Mountain States Legal Foundation, a nonprofit, public-interest law firm dedicated to free enterprise. Mountain States told the Pechs they needed to wait for the right time to take action: If Adarand lost a contract funded entirely by the state or the feds, and not a mixture of the two, the foundation could pinpoint a legal attack.
In 1989, the Pechs saw their opportunity.
The term "affirmative action" was first used by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, as part of his call for greater integration of workforces for projects financed with federal money. Many modern affirmative-action programs were set in motion following the passage of the federal Public Works and Employment Act of 1977, which authorized $4 billion to be awarded to state and local governments for public-works projects. One provision of the act required that at least 10 percent of each grant go to minority business enterprises, or MBEs (later renamed DBEs).
A common feature in federal affirmative-action programs in the construction arena was a Subcontracting Compensation Clause. Under an SCC, the U.S. Department of Transportation and its subsidiary agencies awarded a bonus worth 10 percent of the value of the work to be subcontracted to the prime contractor if it used a DBE. This enabled a contractor to lower its bid by 10 percent, because it could count on the feds making up the difference.
The Central Federal Lands Highway Division, a division of the federal transportation department, adopted the SCC program in 1979. Ten years later, the CFLHD initiated a contract for the Dolores River Project, a highway project along the San Juan National Forest in southwestern Colorado. The primary contract went to a company called Mountain Gravel, which in turn solicited bids for a variety of subcontractor work, including guardrail construction.
The 4.7-mile job would be a nice one for Adarand, and the company bid $104,000 for the work. Dolores-based Gonzales Construction, a disadvantaged business, bid $106,000 -- and got the job. Officials at Mountain Gravel later told Pech that if it hadn't been for the SCC, Adarand would have won the contract. At Pech's request, they agreed to put that in writing.
Pech took the documentation to Mountain States. This was a case the foundation could work with, because the contract was entirely a federal project. Mountain States agreed to take the case pro bono, which it has continued to do throughout the years of litigation, and it filed suit against the U.S. Department of Transportation, claiming the federal program was unconstitutional.
Other legal challenges to affirmative action were already being made. Croson v. Richmond was filed after the city of Richmond, Virginia, which had a long and abominable record of discrimination, set a minority contracting goal of 30 percent. At the time, 50 percent of the city's population was black, but less than 1 percent of construction contracts were going to minority contractors. The plaintiff in the case, a non-DBE contractor, had been the sole bidder for a job, yet his company wasn't selected. In 1989, he filed suit under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Supreme Court eventually scuttled the Richmond program, and in doing so it created a tough standard, known as "strict scrutiny," that future state and local programs would have to meet.
For programs to comply with strict scrutiny, the government must show that they meet a compelling state interest. Anecdotal accounts of discrimination can satisfy that standard, but the City of Richmond was unable to demonstrate that it had discriminated against minority contractors in awarding contracts. Strict scrutiny also requires that the program in question be narrowly tailored to address only those individuals harmed by past discrimination. The court found that Richmond's 30 percent requirement was too broadly focused.
A pivotal factor involved the total number of qualified DBEs in a particular industry versus the number getting work: The more those numbers differed, the easier it was to prove that a disparity existed. But according to Anthony Robinson, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Minority Business Enterprise Legal Defense and Education Fund, relying on the number of qualified firms as a baseline figure doesn't acknowledge discrimination's effects on a firm's ability to become qualified. "If your premise is you have fewer firms because of discrimination," he says, "then you lock them into that depressed number."
Croson's impact on Adarand's case wasn't felt immediately, though. In 1992, the U.S. District Court for Colorado ruled against Adarand, determining that federal DBE programs were constitutional. On appeal, the Tenth Circuit Court addressed the SCC program specifically and still upheld the district court's ruling. The Pechs appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1995, six years after the initial contract had been bid, Adarand's fortunes shifted dramatically. In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the lower courts' rulings and declared, 5-4, that federal affirmative-action programs must meet the same "strict scrutiny" standard required of state programs.
Opponents of "strict scrutiny" thought the courts should continue to give the federal government greater leeway in remedial programs. Proponents argued that subjecting a program to strict scrutiny was the only way to make sure it was constitutional. In practical terms, however, even after the 1995 Adarand ruling, the Clinton Administration tried to change federal affirmative action programs as little as possible. "Mend it, don't end it," was the administration's slogan.
Attorney Rob Corry, who's behind a movement to place an anti-affirmative action measure before Colorado voters, says Clinton's "slogan was probably better stated as 'Defend it, don't mend it.' It was really just business as usual."
Adarand's case was sent back to the U.S. District Court to be considered under this new standard. "I was told we won, but we were going back to court," Randy Pech recalls. "I was absolutely as baffled as I could get."
Things would get even more baffling.
Of the five major guardrail companies in Colorado, four have spent long periods classified as disadvantaged. C&K of Fountain and Gonzales Construction are currently on the list. Cruz Construction and Ideal Fencing dropped off in recent years when their eligibility ended. All of these companies have been in business for at least fifteen years. All are unimpressed with Adarand's legal fight.
"The difference between me and Adarand," says Ken Lacey, who owns C&K, "is I am not trying to feather my nest."
Last summer, Lacey claims, Adarand tried to underbid him after he had already signed a contract to install guardrail for the state transportation department. Sometimes Colorado contracts are expanded while they're being completed, and another bid request is put out for the new work. Adarand "had the gall to step in during an ongoing contract," Lacey says. Adarand's after-the-fact lower bid cast doubt on C&K's original bid, he claims.
Pech points out that C&K's bid for the same work was twice as high as Adarand's. And while he says he doesn't blame Lacey for being angry, he notes that C&K eventually got the second contract -- even though its bid was still 25 percent higher than Adarand's. Because C&K was a DBE, says Pech, the state "didn't want to ruffle his feathers."
Joe Cruz, president of Cruz Construction, is also unhappy with Pech. The same week in 1995 that the Supreme Court ruled in Adarand's favor, Cruz bid for a subcontractor job in Gunnison County. After learning that Elam Construction was the low prime contractor, Cruz called Elam and asked what subcontractors had been selected. Elam told Cruz that Adarand had submitted the lowest bid. Yet other contractors who'd lost the prime bid later told Cruz that his bid was lowest, by exactly $912.50. When Cruz confronted Elam, he says he was told that Adarand had been selected because Elam owed Pech's company a favor: Adarand had once bailed out a DBE that couldn't finish a job in Eagle County.
"If that's not being prejudiced, what the hell is it?" Cruz asks. "That's the same thing Adarand went to court for."
There's a difference, Pech insists: Working relationships, familiarity with a company -- these are acceptable ways to choose a subcontractor, even when it doesn't submit the low bid. The absolutes of race and gender, on the other hand, are unacceptable, he says.
Pech worries about unfairly being labeled as a racist. But that's not the word his critics use: They say he's greedy. According to the state transportation department, Colorado's five major guardrail companies have earned $84 million in state contracts since 1991, awarded either directly as prime contracts or indirectly as subcontracts. Adarand has received 30 percent of that business, or just under $26 million. Ideal and C& K have each received a little more than $20 million. Cruz, however, has received only $7.4 million. And Gonzales, whose bid inspired Adarand's suit, has earned only $3.9 million. (Gonzales president Frankie Gonzales declined to speak with Westword.)
Pech has a "vision of doing all the guardrail work in the state of Colorado," Lacey says. "He can't do it. He does not appreciate good, honest competition."
Of the last ten guardrail jobs the state bid on in 2000, Adarand received eight of them, Cruz says. Through May of this year, Adarand has been awarded $2.4 million in subcontracts; Ideal has received just over $1 million. Gonzales has earned a paltry $2,300, but that's still better than Cruz and C&K, who have gotten nothing. (Four of the guardrail companies received no prime contracts as of the end of May; Gonzales, the exception, won $133,000 worth of work.)
In short, Pech's competitors say, Adarand is already at the top of the heap. "Do you want to ask if the man is greedy?" says Cruz. "Yes, he is."
"That's what gets me about cases like this," comments Roberto Corrada, a law professor at the University of Denver. "It's just pure greed."
But Val Pech says she and her husband are just ordinary working people trying to make a living the same as everyone else. Their battle is not about money, the Pechs say, pointing out that they haven't sought financial damages. To them, it's simply a matter of right and wrong.
"We will never give up as long as our government is making determining decisions based on race," says Val, adding that their case "is about the core values of what it means to be an American."
Those sentiments haven't won over the skeptics, though.
"He never lost a job to me because of affirmative action," Lacey says of Pech. "I think Adarand is just out there beating their drum on the corner because they wanted the attention."
In June 1997, the U.S. District Court for Colorado again ruled on the Adarand case, this time determining that the SCC program was unconstitutional, because it was not narrowly tailored. U.S. District Court Judge John Kane said that the federal standards to become a DBE were both overinclusive and underinclusive, rewarding minorities who were not disadvantaged and penalizing whites who were.
Fresh from this triumph, Adarand sued the State of Colorado, which had used affirmative-action programs to award transportation contracts for two decades. According to MGT of America, a national management research and consulting firm that conducted disparity studies for the State of Colorado and the state transportation department, the department had operated a voluntary DBE program between 1971 and 1974, when only .3 to .9 percent of construction funds went to disadvantaged firms. In 1980, the Colorado Highway Commission, the Colorado Contractors Association and the Minority Contractors Association had agreed to a program for minority-business contracting. By 1989, the department had established a DBE goal of 10 percent for all Colorado highway work, both state and federally funded. Studies conducted in Denver and throughout Colorado during the '80s had all established that there was discrimination in the state-highway and construction industries.
Debra Gallegos, who manages the Center for Equal Opportunity at the state transportation department, is rankled at the suggestion that Colorado uses set-aside programs to boost minority participation. The DBE program the state follows is goal-oriented, she says. Unlike the federal SCCs, Colorado's program has never offered incentives for prime contractors to meet DBE goals, she explains. The state simply required prime contractors to make a good-faith effort to include minorities and women. If low-bidding contractors failed to use DBEs or were unable to prove they had made an honest effort to locate them, the state could rebid a contract.
Nevertheless, with the Adarand suit looming, state transportation department officials revamped the DBE program to head off litigation. "They broadened the definition of disadvantaged business," says law professor Corrada.
The first change simply required that all DBE applicants sign a statement saying they had been discriminated against in the past -- no need to provide any details. According to the state, this move eliminated the presumption that minorities and women were disadvantaged and that whites were not. The second was to cap the size of participating DBE businesses: An owner's net worth could not exceed $750,000.
Once these new changes were in place, the number of recognized DBEs dropped from about 350 to 280. (It has since risen to around 320.) Some contractors couldn't honestly claim past discrimination; some owners' personal net worth was too high (as in the case of Cruz Construction); still others didn't want to reveal their finances.
Judge Kane was also appointed to preside over the state case. Under the new rules, he determined that Adarand itself could possibly be a disadvantaged business.
So Pech decided to apply and see if he could destroy the DBE program from within.
Adarand was indeed certified as a DBE in June, 1998, and for just a few months all five guardrail subcontractors in Colorado qualified as disadvantaged businesses. As a result of its DBE status, Adarand got work -- especially when its bid was a few percentage points lower than the others' -- that it wouldn't have gotten before, Pech says. "Since all of us were DBEs, it was the same as none of us being DBEs," he notes.
"That was bullshit," says Cruz. "What else can I say? To me that was stooping pretty low. I'm not a minority by choice. For me to try and change my status just to benefit from something is pretty low."
But the plan almost backfired on Pech. In March 1999, the Tenth Circuit Court concluded that since Adarand was now a disadvantaged business, its case against the state's DBE program was moot. The judges also vacated Kane's 1997 U.S. District Court ruling.
Pech appealed a second time to the U.S. Supreme Court, which again overturned the Tenth Circuit Court, ruling in January 2000 that Adarand's status as a disadvantaged business did not invalidate its earlier claims. The guardrail company still had standing, the court determined, because it was not clear that the U.S. Department of Transportation wouldn't revoke Adarand's DBE status, and it also wasn't clear that the "alleged wrongful behavior" of the government would not continue.
In an attempt to find legal clarity, the high court returned the dispute to the Tenth Circuit, where judges would rule on the merits of the SCC program using the strict-scrutiny standard. The Tenth Circuit found that changes to the SCC program, instituted in November 1997, made it more flexible; the court concluded that even when evaluated by the strict-scrutiny standard, the program was constitutional.
But the legal fight wasn't over yet. Lawyers at the Mountain States Legal Foundation now argued that the SCC program had not been sufficiently changed to be considered narrowly tailored and again appealed Pech's case. And the Supreme Court again agreed to hear it.
This time, legal observers think the decision of the judges on the Tenth Circuit will likely be overturned. "They applied the standard, but not in the way the Supreme Court would," says Corrada. "They used all the right language but took a broader approach."
The Tenth Circuit applied strict scrutiny "with a wink or a nod," says Mike Kennedy, an attorney for the D.C.-based Association of General Contractors, "and reached conclusions that the evidence didn't seem to support."
"It's extremely rare for the court to take a case three times," he adds. "People tell me the court has never taken a case a fourth time."
Affirmative action is a difficult, and likely tiring, subject for Rosemary Breiner, owner of Breiner Construction and president of the Hispanic Contractors of Colorado. "I can't tell you the number of meetings and task forces I've been to," she says.
Breiner doesn't think the government has been willing to sit down with the construction industry and collaborate on better programs. "It's always been at the level of lawmakers who say, 'This is the way you're going to do this,'" she says. "Many times what's been passed runs contrary to how the industry works."
Some people take unfair advantage of the programs, she acknowledges. "I can understand why someone like Adarand gets upset," Breiner says. "On the other hand, knowing that when you have tried over the years to get your foot in the door with corporations that spend big dollars on construction and they have their select list and you can't ever get into that, I say something needs to be done. These programs need to be out there. It takes a lot of money to get into this industry. You need that help from somewhere."
DBE programs never really helped Cruz Construction, Cruz insists. As a prime contractor, he says, "as far as I'm concerned, I still have to be the low bidder."
Ideal Fencing used to be owned by a woman, but is now run by her brother-in-law and is no longer certified by the state as a DBE. "We don't see any real difference in the amount of work we get, with the program or without it," says Ideal's new owner, Jim Bockelmann. "Back when we were eligible to participate, it still seemed that the bid process prevailed." Since its ownership change, Ideal has been holding steady, he adds.
"I'm not all for it," Bockelmann continues. "I'm all for programs to help companies get started, get their feet wet." Even when he was working for his sister-in-law, he had second thoughts about the program. He remembers thinking, "Is it fair? How do they really come up with this stuff?"
C&K says it has lost prime contracting bids even though it met the DBE goals. "They don't meet their goals, but they still get awarded," Lacey complains of larger, non-DBE companies.
"All that a prime contractor has to do is demonstrate he made an effort to contact DBEs," Cruz adds. "He does not have to use that DBE."
"It nullifies the program," agrees Lacey.
The biggest beneficiaries of disadvantaged business programs may not be minority-owned businesses, but women-owned businesses, particularly traffic-control ventures -- the businesses that direct traffic at construction sites. "I think it's helped some," says Cruz. "I think it's probably helped women a lot."
As part of its own efforts to meet strict scrutiny, in 1998 the State of Colorado performed a disparity study of all its agencies to gauge how DBEs were doing. "It was clear we had to narrowly tailor the program," says Gallegos. The study found that between 1990 and 1996, Hispanic- and women-owned subcontracting businesses had been overutilized in highway-construction jobs, while African-American, Asian and Native-American businesses, as well as those owned by white men, were underutilized.
So in October 1998, the state took Hispanic- and women-owned businesses off its goals list. No longer would it make an effort to use those businesses more. The impact on those businesses was huge. "How can they tell me I'm not a minority?" asks Doris Quintana of DQ Construction, who's upset that other groups are still included on the disadvantaged list. As for the guardrail companies, all five were removed from the goals list.
"If you make the [state] disadvantaged enterprise goal, it shouldn't matter what your gender is or race is," says Laurie Gallegos, co-manager of Cone Zone, a Greeley-based traffic-control company. The DBE program helped Cone Zone get started in 1998, but the company's sales diminished in 2000.
In fiscal year 1997, $35.1 million was awarded to DBE prime- and subcontractors, out of an available total of $374 million -- about 9 percent. In 2000, DBEs received $31.2 million out of a possible $598 million, only 5 percent of the total available. (Through May of this year, DBEs have received 6.8 percent.)
A second disparity study, completed this past April, covered DBE participation from October 1, 1996, to March 30, 2000, a period during which $1.9 billion in state transportation work was put out to bid. The study determined that women- and Hispanic-owned businesses were now being underutilized, along with those companies owned by other minority groups. Construction businesses owned by white men were being overutilized.
"In the two years since they changed that," says attorney Jean Dubofsky, who represented the state in its suit against Adarand, "the numbers have dropped precipitously."
From now on, the state will be monitoring DBE progress on a quarterly basis. And just last month, Hispanic- and women-owned groups were returned to the state's goals list. This year's target for DBEs is 10.39 percent participation -- which is almost identical to the 10 percent goal set by the Public Works Act nearly 25 years and many court cases ago.
Cruz received three big state jobs in 2000 (his DBE status was not responsible for any of them, he insists), which have kept his coffers full. But this year he hasn't gotten any state work, nor has C&K.
Ideal has pulled in $1 million in subcontracting jobs but nothing in prime bids. "We're getting beat," says Bockelmann. "Cruz beat us, Adarand beat them. There were a couple of jobs over by Gonzales, they got them."
"If you're gonna get guardrail, you have to get tough," he adds. "The margins are pretty thin."
This past January, the Pechs got a call from Rob Corry, an attorney they'd met when they testified before the U.S. Senate in 1997. Corry was creating a Colorado ballot initiative that would be similar to California's Proposition 206, the 1996 measure that outlawed affirmative-action programs in that state. Corry invited the Pechs to a meeting in Denver.
From that meeting came the start of a new group: Unite Colorado. Val Pech was asked to be co-chair, and she collected the business cards of the meeting's other participants and researched them. "I didn't want to be involved with anyone who was racist or bigoted," she says. "I wanted to make sure they had the right reasons for doing this. Everybody checked out."
In April the group approached State Representative Shawn Mitchell, an Adams County Republican, who agreed to sponsor a bill that would end racial and gender preferences in government contracts and eliminate race and gender as factors in college admissions.
Her colleagues at first wanted to leave gender out of the language, Val Pech remembers, but she balked. She didn't know how she could take a public stand against affirmative action while being "this little white girl," she says, "and I need preference." The others eventually relented.
The group wanted the legislature to approve the measure for the 2002 ballot. The proposal passed the House State Veterans and Military Affairs Committee but died in the House itself. So Unite Colorado is now working on a new initiative that it plans to petitition onto the ballot.
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What the Supreme Court decides this fall could make a big difference. "I think they've been trying to take a case to get rid of affirmative action for some time," says Dubofsky. "Maybe this case is it."
The judges' ruling could affect hundreds of programs across the country. Over the last generation, people of color and women have become stakeholders in businesses that deal with the government. Now "those policies are at risk," Robinson says. "When you don't have a public-policy mandate to create opportunities for ethnic minorities and women, those opportunities cease to exist."
"The problem the government has is that the program has been in place for a generation," counters Kennedy. "At some point a remedial program serves its purpose or demonstrates it is ineffective. If it's served its purpose, the government can't justify continuing. If it is ineffective, the government can't justify its use."
In a perfect world, the Supreme Court would say that what happened to his company was "no different from discrimination," Randy Pech says. "And this not allowed under any circumstances. Period."


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I hate to bore you all with my intro of how I am a professional photographer who also tests and reviews cameras for my camera club as I am sure most of you have heard it all before but I do still get messages asking me how come I have so many cameras, so just to be clear I test them, sometimes for the companies that produce them and sometimes for my camera club itself.
I have recently been testing as many cameras as ever but not writing as many reviews mainly because I am just so busy at this time of the year but with all the snow we have had I have had a bit of time on my hands to do some writing and I will now be posting some camera reviews again just in time for your Christmas shopping so if it is a camera you are looking to buy for someone then watch out for my reviews.
This particular review is on the Sanyo VPC-S122, a camera which interested my camera club and me myself due to it being a very light weight unit, this camera weighs less than 100gms making it one of the lightest compact cameras around which might be a great selling point for some people but did it have anything else going for it I wondered and so I set about finding out.
Looks wise the camera is typically Sanyo if I can say such a thing, Sanyo are not known for their stunning looking cameras and this one follows in that pattern. It is much wider at one end than the other giving the appearance of an old film type camera rather than a modern digital and although the one I was using was silver in colour the lens was black and really looked a bit odd.
One thing I really liked about the look of the camera though was the large chrome ring around the lens and this also meant that the flash was a bit of a distance from the lens rather than right on top of it as most compacts are, this allowed for a slightly less troublesome red eye effect when using the camera with flash.
The camera is a 12.1 megapixel unit and although I have gone into great length before about how this matters little as compact cameras cannot make the best of this anyway as their lenses and sensors are not good enough, the lens and sensor in this little camera are actually very impressive and allow you to get most of what the megapixels can offer.
I found the images taken in good light using this camera were very sharp and offered good colour reproduction, there was little or no chromatic aberration and very little digital noise present either. Sadly this changed if you were shooting in lower light, the noise levels were quite bad if you went higher than 200 ISO and when you consider this unit allows you to shoot at 6400 ISO this isn't great.
If a camera offers such a high ISO then it should be able to cope with removing digital noise at that level otherwise it is worthless. The camera has a digital image stabiliser but really this isn't needed as the camera struggles to shoot in poor lighting conditions and only has a 3X optical zoom so the need to use stabilisation is limited anyway unless you have a particularly shaky hand.
The camera offers you the ability to adjust your shutter speed and aperture as well as your ISO and white balance so there are plenty manual options to get to grips with as well as the option to just go automatic and allow the camera to set up itself for what it sees through the lens, I have to say that the camera coped well enough with setting itself up for most shots but in bright sunshine it went haywire and the shots were all badly overexposed.
As with most compacts there is the option to shoot video with this unit but sadly as with most compacts the video footage is only any use if you are shooting in bright light, as soon as the light conditions are anything less than bright daylight the image quality of the video footage becomes very grainy and just simply not good enough.
The camera comes equipped with settings such as face detection and smile shutter which these days seems to be a must but for me they are a bit gimmicky and to be honest unless you are grinning like a Cheshire cat then the smile shutter on this just doesn't work.
The camera has a 2.7 inch LCD screen on the rear which is bright and clear enough to give you a very good idea of the exposure of the image you have taken but sadly the colour limitations of the screen do not allow you to get a true idea of the white balance settings and whether or not you have them right.
The camera is powered by two AA batteries which I dislike in this day and age I feel that a lithium Ion rechargeable is the better option but I do know that others like the idea of being able to buy a couple of AA`s if you have forgot to charge the camera before leaving home so that is each to their own preference I guess.
Dimensions (WxDxH): 9.1 cm x 2.7 cm x 6 cm
Weight: 99 g
Colour: Silver
Webcam Capability: Yes
Supported Flash Memory: SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card
Integrated Memory: 50 MB
Sensor Resolution: 12.1 Megapixel
Shooting Modes: Frame movie mode
Max Video Resolution: 640 x 480
Lens System: 3 x zoom lens - 6.3 mm - 18.9 mm - f/3.1-5.9
Focus Adjustment: Automatic, manual
Min Focus Range: 10 cm
Digital Zoom: 4 x
Image Stabiliser: Electronic
Camera Flash: Built-in flash
Red Eye Reduction: Built-in
Microphone: Microphone - built-in - electret condenser - mono
Display: LCD display - TFT active matrix - 2.7" - colour
Supported Battery: 2 x AA alkaline battery
This camera has some limitations as I have said but what I haven't mentioned yet is the price, costing only around the £50 mark this camera does offer good value for money and if you are just a snapper then this will allow you to get some good family album snaps, if however you are looking to take photography a bit more serious then the limitations will effect what you get from this unit.
Other things worth mentioning are that this unit takes an SD memory card which is the best option for compact cameras, it is small enough to be carried in a pocket and although not the most attractive camera around it isn't an ugly looker either, I think there is definitely a place in the market for this camera and it certainly out performs some Vivitar and Panasonics in the same price range.
Thanks for reading.
© thebigc1690

subset: commoncrawl


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My Nonprofit Reviews
Rabindranath Bhutto
228 profile views
1 reviews
Review for WhyHunger, New York, NY, USA
Year after year, World Hunger Year helps fill in the cracks people fall through every hungry day. Every circumstance, every problem, every hungry person is unique, which is why WHY hears unique new ideas and implements them and passes them on for others to learn from, day after day. They're amazing. I've been doing charity concerts for them for 25 years. They make good ideas sing.
More Feedback
If this organization had 10 million bucks, it could...
feed a hemisphere.
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every six months
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
Role: Volunteer & fundraiser and awareness-lifting concerts.


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I'm thinking of planting some punting pole and timber bamboo, even though they're clumping is there an easy way to keep it from spreading in one direction? I don't want it to spread into my neighbors yard so I'm wondering if you can put in a simply barrier? I know with running bamboo you have to put in a 3-4 ft barrier under ground or use a 3-4 ft raised bed. Where it's going to be, it will be hard to get behind it every year to trim up new growth.
Controlling clumping bamboo
You may have to use the same type barrier, only be sure it is very sturdy, as some Bambusas are very tough and can crack thin barriers.
I thought the clumping bamboo stayed very close to the surface when it spreads? For that matter the clumping shouldn't spread very far or very quick. I don't want to end up every year going out with a shovel digging around to stop new growth.
It spreads slowly, relative to running, but it spreads, and it is very strong- spreads with much more force than most running bamboos, sort of relative to the thickness of the culms and rhizomes... a large bamboo like Bambusa oldhamii tends to push its way through wimpy rhizome barriers almost like they're not there. A running bamboo tends to have a thinner, more agile rhizome, and is more apt to turn and 'look' for another direction to grow when hitting a barrier, while a clumper has less options and will just bust the wall down.
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Arundinaria gigantea tecta in southeast VAstarted by Rickwebb
last post by RickwebbMar 18, 20170Mar 18, 2017


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Scientism is the belief that science can and will discover the answers to all questions, that there are no inherent limits to the ability of science to solve all problems. In my experience it is a trait rarely seen in working scientists, but often accused as a way of dismissing scientific criticism.
A recent editorial in the Vancouver Sun (sent to me by listener Vinay Punwani) by Doublas Todd misinterprets scientism all together to create a straw man argument against defenders of evolution. Todd writes:
Those who unknowingly fall into the trap of scientism act as if hard science is the only way of knowing reality. If something can't be "proved" through the scientific method, through observable and measurable evidence, they say it's irrelevant.
Scientism is terribly limiting of human understanding. It leaves little or no place for the insights of the arts, philosophy, psychology, literature, mythology, dreams, music, the emotions or spirituality.
Todd has made the logical fallacy of assuming the inverse of scientism as an extension of the definition. In other words – scientism is the belief that science will discover all knowledge, the inverse of scientism is that something that is not science cannot discover any knowledge. So Todd is attacking the inverse of scientism, not scientism itself.
Todd makes a far more egregious mistake in not properly defining "understanding." This is a very vague term – using ambiguous terminology and then exploiting that ambiguity to create a misconception is a common tactic of debate, but is fallacious reasoning.
As soon as we try to define terms precisely, Todd's argument evaporates. What scientists argue is that the methods of science are the only way to generate scientific knowledge of the universe. Yes – that statement is self-referential, because science is a system and only claims knowledge within its system. Science does not claim objective ultimate metaphysical truth of reality – only that: 1) its methods, when properly employed, give results that are internally consistent, 2) these results are useful and powerful because they make predictions about how the world will behave.
Insights from the arts, literature, mytholody, dreams, music are legitimate for what they are – they are just not science. Philosophy is different, because part of philosophy is logic, which is a necessary tool of science. Psychology is a scientific discipline, so its inclusion in the list is not appropriate.
Todd argues that scientists feel insights from these other disciplines are "irrelevant" – but he misses the point, that they are irrelevant to science. Science is a collection of methods to empirically test ideas about how the world works through observation and experimentation. Other intellectual activity, like aesthetics and value judgments, are simply not part of science, even though they may provide other kinds of insights and wisdom.
Todd's argument is therefore a mess of confused definitions and logic. But it gets worse. He also writes:
In general, scientism leaves little or no place for the imagination, which Albert Einstein, after all, said is "everything."
What? Imagination is a very important part of science. Excluding non-scientific intellectual activity from science (which is appropriate and necessary) is no scientism, and doing so does not eject imagination from the scientific process.
He develops his fallacious arguments specifically to apply to evolution. He says:
In other words, Walden, whose viewpoint represents that of many scientists, appears to believe that any discussion of evolution that does not uphold chance as the only driving force is ridiculous.
This is blinkered.
It defaults to atheism. And it assumes incorrectly that what we believe, and the way we live, is always based on provable "facts," which do not include conjecture, speculation or imagination.
So now we see why Todd set up his bizarre position about science and scientism – it get's back to the old intelligent design claim that "Darwinism" is atheism, because it will not consider anything other than chance as a mechanism. What rubbish. Todd is further trying to argue this is equivalent to ejecting "conjecture, speculation, or imagination" from science, which is bizarre and ridiculous.
Todd is also making the common straw man argument that rejecting a proposition based upon logic and evidence is equivalent to rejecting it out of hand, or clinging dogmatically to the current consensus. Scientists will consider any proposition which is coherent. Rejecting a proposition based upon the current evidence, or on logical grounds, is considering it.
With regard to purpose in evolution – this is the old ID tactic of arguing that evolutionists will not consider purpose because evolution is inherently atheistic. Wrong and wrong. Science and evolution are not atheistic – science is agnostic toward any proposition which is outside the realm of science. If an idea cannot be tested scientifically, it is not science, and science is agnostic toward it.
The challenge to those who believe there is some purpose or direction in the mechanisms of evolution is to develop a coherent and testable scientific theory. So far, no one has been able to do this.
Further, it is not as if scientists assume evolution is random. In fact, early ideas of evolution is that it was directional and purposeful. Observation of the natural world led to the conclusion that evolutionary change results only in adapation to the local environment. There is no data to suggest that there is any direction or purpose to evolutionary change. There is no known mechanism by which such purpose would exist. Mutations and recombination appear to be random. Variation and natural selection, as a theory for the mechanism of evolution, are doing just fine.
Todd brings up Lynn Margulis as a scientist with an alternate view of evolution that includes purpose. But I think he is misintepreting her work – although this is a topic for another post. And, in any case, this would just contradict Todd's point – if Margulis has an alternate theory of the mechanism and mode of evolution then great. It is up to her to formulate her theory is a testable way, then scientific methods can be used to see if it has any merit. If it does, and the evidence supports her view, it will win out over time.
In the end Todd's article is one long and fallacious argument for admitting non-scientific arguments into science. This is, of course, exactly what Intelligent Design proponents want to do. Their ideas have lost the battle within science long ago, so now they are trying to change the rules.


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Glaciochemical and accumulation rate records developed from four ice cores in central West Antarctica are used to reconstruct former atmospheric circulation patterns in this region for the last 40 years with extended records (150-250 years) at two sites. The sites lie on a 200 km traverse from 82 degrees 22 minutes south, 119 degrees 17 minutes west to 81 degrees 22 minutes south, 107 degrees 17 minutes west, gaining elevation from 950 to 1930 m. The glaciochemical records represent the major ionic species present in Antarctic snow: sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, nitrate, and sulfate.
Get Data
Data can be downloaded through a Web browser or command line via FTP. When using a Web browser, the FTP link first directs you to an Optional Registration Form that if filled out, will allow you to receive notifications about updates or processing changes related to that specific data set. After completing the Optional Registration Form, the FTP directory becomes available. For additional help downloading data through an FTP client, go to the How to access data using an FTP client support page.
Central West Antarctic Glaciochemistry from Ice Cores, Version 1
Geographic Coverage
|Spatial Coverage:
|Spatial Resolution:
|Not Specified
|Temporal Coverage:
|Temporal Resolution:
|Not specified
|Data Format(s):
|Data Contributor(s):
|David Reusch
|Metadata XML:
|View Metadata Record
As a condition of using these data, you must cite the use of this data set using the following citation. For more information, see our Use and Copyright Web page.Reusch, D. 2003. Central West Antarctic Glaciochemistry from Ice Cores, Version 1. [Indicate subset used]. Boulder, Colorado USA. NSIDC: National Snow and Ice Data Center. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7265/N5959FHQ. [Date Accessed].
Detailed Data Description
Central West Antarctic Glaciochemistry from Ice Cores
The glaciochemical records represent the major ionic species present in Antarctic snow: Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-, NO3- and SO42-.
|Column 1
|Top Depth (in meters)
|Column 2
|Bottom Depth (in meters)
|Column 3
|Top Time (in years before 2000 A.D.)
|Column 4
|Bottom Time (in years before 2000 A.D.)
|Column 5
|Mid Year (decimal year of midpoint of the specific section of core)
|Column 6
|Na+ Sodium (ppb - parts per billion)
|Column 7
|K+ Potassium (ppb)
|Column 8
|Mg2+ Magnesium (ppb)
|Column 9
|Ca2+ Calcium (ppb)
|Column 10
|Cl- Chloride (ppb)
|Column 11
|NO3- Nitrate (ppb)
|Column 12
|SO42- Sulfate (ppb)
Figure 1 describes the approximate locations of ice cores plotted on a contour map covering the region 80-85 S latitude by 105-120 W longitude.
References and Related Publications
NSIDC User Services
Phone: 1 303 492-6199
Email: email@example.com


text:
Don't miss out on a lower price on this hotel
Get an overview of this hotel3-star Paris hotel in 9th Arrondissement, walk to Moulin Rouge
Popular property highlights
Located in 9th Arrondissement, this hotel is within a 10-minute walk of Theatre Mogador and Moulin Rouge. Galeries Lafayette and Paris Opera are also within 15 minutes.
Hotel Features
Along with free newspapers, this smoke-free hotel has a front-desk safe and free WiFi in public areas.
Room Amenities
All 42 rooms offer free WiFi, private yards, and LCD TVs with cable channels. Free bottled water, hair dryers, and showers are among the other amenities that guests will find.Information missing or incorrect? Tell us!Opens in a new window
New Hotel Opera
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
New Hotel Opera features complimentary newspapers in the lobby, a safe deposit box at the front desk, and an elevator (lift). Wireless Internet access is complimentary.
New Hotel Opera is a smoke-free property.
- Safe-deposit box at front desk
- Total number of rooms - 42
- Number of floors - 7
- Free WiFi
- Number of buildings/towers - 1
- Elevator/lift
- Breakfast available (surcharge)
- Smoke-free property
- Free newspapers in lobby
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Room Amenities
- Air conditioning
- Phone
- Free bottled water
- Shower only
- Free toiletries
- Hair dryer
- Iron/ironing board (on request)
- Cable TV service
- Free WiFi
- Partially open bathroom
- Yard
Where to Eat
Continental breakfasts are available for a surcharge and are served each morning between 7 AM and noon.
If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please note them at check-out when you book your room.
- In-room accessibility
Hotel Policies
Check-in time starts at 1:30 PM
Check-in time ends at midnight
Check-out time is noon
Payment types
Children and extra beds
- Children are welcome.
- Rollaway/extra beds are not available.
- Cribs (infant beds) are not available.
- Pets not allowed
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy.
- No onsite parking is available.
- A tax is imposed by the city: EUR 1.65 per person, per night
Optional extras
- Fee for continental breakfast: EUR 13 per person (approximately)
Hotel Name
- New Hotel Opera
- Opera Hotel
- New Hotel Opera Paris
- New Opera Paris
- New Opera
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This property has received its official star rating from the French Tourism Development Agency, ATOUT France.
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text:
Water is poured form the faucet into kitchen sink, into a plastic tub.
Recorded on a Zoom H4n.
Note: You are free to use this recording in any way deemed fit for both personal and commercial use, provided that you expressly credit the sample with the following author in your published material: Andi Roselund (Sangwha Comm). Of course, I'm curious to hear where it is being used, many thanks!
I used this and your "Door opens and closes" -sound effect in my Ren'Py kinetic novel: http://caserazor.tumblr.com Though I credited you only using your username and link to freesound. Is that sufficient?
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text:
Boshart Named 2013 Illinois Professor of the Year
Eastern Illinois University's (EIU) Jeffrey Boshart has been named the 2013 Illinois Professor of the Year by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
The professor of the year program salutes the most outstanding undergraduate instructors in the country — those who excel in teaching and positively influence the lives and careers of students. Boshart was selected from 350 top professors in the United States.
"I have spent my career striving to become a better teacher, mentor and student-centered activist, asking myself, 'How can I help my students engage their profession, achieve better results and find success in their chosen field sooner?'"
Boshart joined the EIU Department of Art in 1988. He is primarily a sculptor, and he also engages in drawing, watercolor, photography, and various other forms of art as situations dictate.


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A tough lesson learned
It was probably only a matter of time, but a guard company providing services to a hospital in Sudbury, Ont., has learned the hard way that you had better make sure your guards' licences are up-to-date or risk serious damages.An OPP investigation of the Federal Security Agency Corp., contracted by Sudbury Regional Hospital to provide security services has resulted in several charges. On Feb. 1, the OPP's Anti-Rackets Branch investigated complaints under the Private Security Investigations Services Act. The information the OPP had was that the Federal Security Agency (FedSec), had a guard working without a licence.The OPP conducted a check of the guards at the hospital, and charged one guard with working while unlicensed and one with a uniform violation. Both the employee and the company were issued court summons.Fines of up to $25,000 can be imposed by the courts on unlicensed security guards and fines of up to $250,000 on companies employing unlicensed security guards.Smart guard companies, who don't want to chance such a negative splash of attention in the media, or worse with their client, keep tabs on the status of their guards' licences, even issuing memos or reminder messages when the expiration date is coming up. This is something they do with the best interest of all parties involved — company, guard and client. It's something guard companies were afraid would happen when the province of Ontario gave guards the power to own their own licences. Any company concerned with keeping its reputation and avoiding serious fines and negative press is going to do the same. Who wants an unnecessary scenario like the Sudbury situation? For the sake of an $80 licence renewal the damage done is huge.As a result of the OPP investigations, hospital officials now require that all of guards employed by FedSec show proof of their licensing before working on hospital property. But shouldn't FedSec provide those assurances to its client upfront? The hospital has now assumed a task to its responsibilities. It know feels it has to double-check what its provider has promised to deliver. As the client I would be thinking that's one thing I shouldn't have to worry about with a contract service.It may sound like babysitting, but reputable guard companies monitor the status of their guard's licences and some send out reminders at the 60- and 30-day points. Some even have it built into their scheduling system that they can't schedule a guard for a shift if the licence expiry date has passed. Unfortunately, there are still some guards out there who clearly fail to realize the licence is not only their bread and butter, but also fail to see that the province's legislation does in fact of teeth. Even if this proves to be a case of a guard licence being bogged down in paperwork at the registrar's office, FedSec should have pulled the employee until proper documentation was available, proving they are licenced to work. FedSec was reportedly the lowest bid in the competitive process that took place for Sudbury Regional Hospital last year. As I'm sure many will agree, this hints at what we've always known — you get what you pay for and there are customers out there still not willing to consider that when choosing a contract guard company. What's shocking ito me is that a hospital would not ask more questions about what they get for their contract service dollar.
+1 #1 2011-04-27 13:18
Then you get the security officers that do everything right, pass their test, send in their renewal. Well that was 35 days ago and I have yet to see my new license.
That is 35 days without work. 35 days without paying my bills.
I understand this licence is my bread and butter but now the government needs to realize it's people's bread and butter as well.
I have cut off my phone, my internet, and my car insurance because I'm still waiting on this licence and cant afford to live cause I've gone 35 days without it.
I would work without a license but I can't afford a charge either.
That is 35 days without work. 35 days without paying my bills.
I understand this licence is my bread and butter but now the government needs to realize it's people's bread and butter as well.
I have cut off my phone, my internet, and my car insurance because I'm still waiting on this licence and cant afford to live cause I've gone 35 days without it.
I would work without a license but I can't afford a charge either.
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My mom & dad are comming up at the end of july for her 90th B'Day. It is on a Tuesday. There will be 9 of us(7 adults 2 kids) . We were originally looking at The Mill in Spring Lake but the feedback from here wasn't too good.
We want to stay in the Neptune, Spring Lake Area as some people live a bit further away. So far we are looking at The Breakers in Spring Lake and Mr C's in Allenhurst., don't really want anything further north than that if we can help it. Has anyone been to either of them recently?
Any other suggestions. My dad was in the business and he is of the age where he complains if things aren't just right, so we need some place nice. LOL But not too noisy they both have hearing aids, Thanks for any help.


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yummy moms!!
Its really dark, yet bright as fuck outside...wtf?
i am vare happy
boy..it is REALLY dark in that house....kind of hard to even see the video!
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text:
After a statement of protest by the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, 7-Eleven stores in Taiwan have stopped selling items featuring a character said to look like Adolf Hitler, Haaretz reports.
Key rings, USB sticks and magnets featuring a cartoon vampire with a recognizable mustache were taken off shelves on Tuesday, after three years of sales.
The cartoon images of a man with a toothbrush moustache were not meant to look like Hitler, said the convenience store chain and a post on the blog run by the cartoon's Taiwanese creator. But 7-Eleven, which runs more than 4,400 stores in Taiwan, acknowledged suspicions.
"Because there are people with doubts, we've stopped selling the products for now," a 7-Eleven representative told Haaretz. The representative said other stores in the country sell items with the cartoon.
The paper reports that some academics on the island say that, because of a lack of world history education, some Taiwanese people think of Nazis favorably without being anti-Semitic.
According to CNN, 7-Eleven officials in Taiwan originally denied that the cartoon was meant to depict Hitler, "first calling the black square on the figure's face a tooth, then a nose, rather than a mustache."
Because China does not allow diplomatic allies to have ties to Taiwan, the Israel Economic and Cultural Office functions as Israel's de facto embassy on the island, CNN reports.
"We were appalled to see the Hitler lookalike image being used, again, as a marketing aid and sold in Taiwan's 7-Eleven stores," Israel Economic and Cultural Office representative Simona Halperin said in a statement Tuesday. "I find it tragic that once again people down the chain of marketing and promotion fail to recognize the meaning of the Dark Age in human history that the Nazi dictator represents."


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Well, I'm totally in love with my Vizsla, Rowdy. If you didn't know that already, it's probably because you don't follow me on Facebook or Twitter. If you love Vizslas too, you should connect with Rowdy on Facebook or Twitter, or with me on Instagram–I try to do all my dog-related sharing in those places for my non-dog-people friends; I used to be one myself, so I understand that that sort of post can get annoying.
So anyway, I will occasionally post pictures of her here, but I promise they'll only be really cute, really funny, or with a good story behind them.
A Vizsla, Posed
This picture was taken by my best friend, Beth, when Rowdy was almost 5 months old. It falls in the "really cute" category.


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The Jets proved it doesn't matter who their starting quarterback is.
For all the self-created drama involving their three signal-callers, the truth of the matter is the Jets simply are subpar in every facet.
In Greg McElroy's first NFL start, the Jets' offensive line tied a team record with 11 sacks allowed and the defense gave up two third-quarter touchdown passes in a 27-17 loss to the Chargers Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
The Jets (6-9) dropped their home finale to ensure their first losing season since 2007.
"It's just embarrassing," cornerback Antonio Cromartie said as he walked through the locker room afterward.
Rex Ryan and his players had promised they'd finish the final two games on a high note. But in a half-empty stadium Sunday, the Jets showed little fight in the second half.
McElroy was 14-for-24 for 185 yards with no touchdown passes, an interception and a fumble. He ran four times for 25 yards.
"Offensively, you're not beating anybody when you play like that," Ryan said. "It's just hard to put into words. You get sacked 11 times. It's extremely frustrating. I expected a lot better, but that never happened."
"At the end of the day, we're human," Braylon Edwards said. "We know we're not going to the playoffs. Guys are probably thinking about a million and one things, as well as the last game. This is where true professionals step up to the forefront and they can block out the distractions for that last game."
The highlight of the afternoon was Jeremy Kerley's 42-yard Wildcat pass to Clyde Gates, a surprise play that caught the Chargers (6-9) off guard. It helped set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Shonn Greene that tied it at 7 with 9:20 to go in the first quarter.
But the near-perfect execution of the Wildcat early in the game raised the same head-scratching question: Why is Tim Tebow even here?
In a surprising move, Ryan chose to dress all three quarterbacks, but neither Mark Sanchez (who was benched Tuesday in favor of McElroy) nor Tebow ever saw the field. Even stranger, the team's game-day flip card made no distinction between Sanchez and Tebow, listing each as the No. 2 quarterback.
But after 15 weeks of absolutely no method to Tony Sparano's offensive madness, the Jets' offensive coordinator showed he can be creative when he wants to be. The question: Why hasn't Tebow been used the same way?
Ryan said it was his decision to use Kerley in the Wildcat. And when Tebow was asked who told him he wouldn't be used in the formation, he replied: "It just kind of happens."
But according to a report from ESPNNewYork.com, Tebow was so upset about being passed over for McElroy this week that he told coaches he didn't want to be used in the Wildcat against San Diego. The report, which cited "multiple Jets sources," came out after the players' media availability.
Greene, who entered the game 49 rushing yards shy of reaching 1,000 yards for the second straight season, ran for 38 yards. His two 1-yard TDs gave the Jets a 14-7 lead, but the offense stalled from there.
This time Ryan didn't need to confer with the front office or his coaching staff about who should start the next game. McElroy will get the nod again.
"When he wasn't on his back, I thought he did some good things," the visibly upset coach said. "I'm going to give him another opportunity against Buffalo and we'll go from there."
McElroy's first NFL start began painfully. He was sacked for a loss of 9 yards on his third play of the game and the Jets allowed Michael Spurlock to return a punt 63 yards for a touchdown just 1:59 into the game.
The Jets' defense later squandered a 14-10 lead, as Philip Rivers threw TD passes of 37 yards to Danario Alexander and 34 yards to Antonio Gates in the third quarter.
"It was a plethora of things," linebacker Bryan Thomas said, trying to explain what went wrong. "You can't pinpoint one thing. Special teams, offense and defense wasn't good at all -- plain and simple."


text:
Crossroads Pipeline Company
First Revised Volume No. 1
Contents / Previous / Next / Main Tariff Index
Effective Date: 11/01/2001, Docket: RP02- 14-000, Status: Effective
Original Sheet No. 125 Original Sheet No. 125 : Effective
10.4 Suspension or Termination for Nonpayment. If Shipper under any Rate Schedule becomes delinquent by
10 days in the payment of any invoice, then such Shipper shall provide adequate assurance of payment to
Transporter within 10 days of the date of Transporter's written notice of such delinquency. If Shipper does
not, within such 10 day period, pay the invoice together with accrued interest, or does not provide adequate
assurance of payment in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 (Requests for Service) of the General
Terms and Conditions, Transporter, in addition to any other remedies it may have, may commence suspension of
service procedures by: (a) sending a first written notice to Shipper informing Shipper that its service
will be suspended and its Service Agreement with Transporter will be terminated in 30 days ("suspension
date") if payment is not received; and (b) sending a second written notice to Shipper and the Commission 10
days before the suspension date informing Shipper that its service will be suspended and its Service
Agreement with Transporter will be terminated on the suspension date if payment is not received before that
date. Shipper's service will be suspended and its Service Agreement terminated if full payment is not
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any existing undertender(s) of gas on any of Shipper's Service Agreement(s).


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D-II boys soccer
Tight games in fashion on first day
By GREGORY BROOME | STARS AND STRIPES Published: May 19, 2014
REICHENBACH-STEEGEN, Germany -- The postseason is a time to separate the elite from the rest of the pack.
But on Monday, the first day of the 2014 DODDS-Europe Division II boys soccer tournament, there just wasn't much separation.
The opening-day slate of 15 games produced three ties and five one-goal decisions, leaving the field in DODDS-Europe's largest division nearly as jumbled as it was coming in. Even two-time defending champion Marymount was challenged by the nominal bottom half of the bracket, edging 11th-seeded Rota 1-0 before handling 10th-seeded Ansbach 3-0.
Marymount was joined in the ranks of the unbeaten by No. 6 Black Forest Academy and No. 3 Naples. Every other team among the field of 15 either lost or tied on Monday.
American Overseas School of Rome 1, SHAPE 1: An evenly-matched game without a clear favorite ended in an appropriate no-decision.
The fourth-seeded Spartans and seventh-seeded Falcons both entered the tournament with hopes of ending Marymount's two-year reign atop Division II. On Monday, both learned how hard it will be to even set up that opportunity.
Senior Francesco Dinmore scored a late second-half goal to give AOSR, which lost to Marymount in last year's final game, its only score. Dinmore sliced in from the top left of the box, cut across to the right side and put his head on a well-placed corner kick by fellow midfielder Maximilien Suschetet.
"I saw nobody was on me," Dinmore said. "I'm usually there for the headers. I'm very confident with that."
AOSR and SHAPE both still have reason to be confident as the tournament enters its second day. Both teams got into the win column with earlier wins over Baumholder.
The 1-1 tie was one of three on the day; Ansbach and Rota also played to a 1-1 draw, while ninth-seeded Bitburg played to a 2-2 tie with No. 2 AFNORTH.
Black Forest Academy 3, Aviano 2: The tournament's No. 5 and No. 6 seeds also played right down to the wire.
The sixth-seeded Falcons scored all three of their goals in the second half to pull out a narrow win over the Saints and clinch a perfect first day. BFA beat 15th-seeded Alconbury 3-1 in their early game.
A successful penalty kick by Jordan Stemple woke up the dormant Falcon offense, setting off a second-half run that overwhelmed the stunned Saints.
"I think that kind of sparked something," Stemple said. "It picked up our intensity for us."
Dylan Sosso and Jason Kragt scored conventional goals to consummate the rally.
Though it escaped Monday, BFA won't survive many more lulls as this intensely competitive tournament moves into its elimination phase Tuesday.
"This is a really tough tournament. There are a lot of teams that are evenly-matched," Stemple said. "We just have to keep playing how we're playing and doing what we're doing."
Bahrain 1, Hohenfels 0: Far removed from its DODDS-Europe peers, Bahrain enters each year's tournament as an unknown quantity.
And while the team didn't know exactly where it stood among its Division II peers, it did know this: it was better than the 13th seed it was assigned in the bracket.
"Embarrassing" is how forward Adeeb Qaisi described the ranking, declaring a desire to play "way above" that humble seeding.
That's exactly what his team did Monday.
Bahrain earned a 1-1 record despite one of the day's toughest schedule. They edged eighth-seeded Hohenfels to start their tournament, and threw a scare into third seed Naples before taking a 2-1 loss.
Qaisi scored against Naples, while Yazen Saleh scored the decisive goal against Hohenfels.
Qaisi said Bahrain plays a style of soccer that gives it a chance against anyone in the tournament.
"We played wide, and we took some good shots," Qaisi said.
At this tournament, a good shot is all a team can ask for.
Twitter: @broomestripes
Bahrain's Adeeb Qaisi and Nathan Cairnes of Naples collide during their opening day Division II match at the DODDS-Europe soccer championships in Reichenbach, Germany, Monday, May 19, 2014. Naples won 2-1.


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Each year we have a few
students who become involved in inappropriate behavior that can be disruptive
in nature. Disruptive behavior may be a series of actions that grow over
several weeks, or a one-time incident. Inappropriate behavior may include but
not be limited to: overly argumentative, yelling, inappropriate language, or
making it difficult for other students to learn. The disruption may be directed
at the instructor, or another student.
Instructors should be
clear about expectations for classroom behavior. This includes writing
expectations for student behavior in to the syllabus.
Give students a verbal
overview of your expectations, and ask the class if they have any expectations
of each other.
Confront little
disruptions right away to demonstrate to the class you are holding them to your
Starting the semester
with a brief discussion of appropriate classroom behavior (e.g. use of cell phones)
sets expectations for your particular class right from the beginning.
o Inform the student that the displayed behavior
is disruptive and request the behavior to cease.
o If the behavior continues, request the student
to leave the classroom.
o If he or she refuses to leave, Protective
Services should be called to remove the student (x3456).
o For cases of repeated, blatant and clearly
irresolvable disruptive behaviors, instructors should document the situation
and contact the Dean of Students Office (715-346-2611). The Dean of Student
staff will consult with appropriate staff, the instructor, and the Academic
Dean's Office in determining an appropriate response, which may include
initiating disciplinary proceedings.


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While cruising CBC.ca and reading up on the sad passing of Stompin' Tom Connors, I saw this headline as well: Brain 'pacemakers' promising for anorexia treatment. Intrigued I read on and what I read makes me hopeful.
For the worst sufferers of anorexia, those with many relapses and hospital visits who are unable to return to a healthy body weight or relationship to food, these brain pacemakers may be the key. The study was very small and not meant to test the effectiveness of the treatment, only the safety of it, but in three of the six participants there was a huge improvement and they were able to maintain a greater body weight than before.
Alanis Morisette is a Canadian singer/songwriter who has recovered from anorexia.
From The Lancet (the whole study is behind a pay-wall, unfortunately): DBS was associated with improvements in mood, anxiety, affective regulation, and anorexia nervosa-related obsessions and compulsions in four patients and with improvements in quality of life in three patients after 6 months of stimulation.
This is all great news, as anorexia will actually kill you if left untreated, unlike say, being fat. I'll be keeping my eyes out for more deep brain stimulation news and let you know what comes up!


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power breakfast from Camille Styles
Let me first say that I love food. Like, I really love food and I think it's the sweetest gift from God to have delicious things to eat and enjoy. Here's the problem though... all things are good in moderation, it's when they overflow their boundaries that your body is like, "dude, make it stop." I think what happens to me is that I sit behind a computer a lot and I work a lot and then it's like time to eat so I just cram whatever I can find in my mouth or a bag of popcorn beside my computer (please tell me I'm not alone!). A couple of weeks ago I felt like total crap and I just said, "Enough." No one but me, myself and I dictates what I consume. This is slightly terrifying but also really liberating. Exercising self control is actually very empowering!
I decided two weeks ago to cold turkey cut: sugar, grains, alcohol and even natural sugars (fruit, etc) for two weeks to reset my body and get things under control (even stuck to it on a holiday weekend!!). I stuck with around 20-25 carbs per day, eating high fat, organic meals (some cheese, vegetables, meat) and forcing my body into ketosis (following the keto diet! LOVE this blog) to kick my metabolism back in to gear. I feel amazing, have lost 6 lbs and I'm now adding back HEALTHY carbs like berries for breakfast.
Sam and I did this 6 years ago and it has been the only nutrition plan that has ever worked for me. After two weeks you start adding in 5 grams of good carbs back in every two weeks until you reach your maximum carb intake (where you are maintaining your desired weight). You also get a free meal a week which for me is all I need to live a balanced and healthy life. You have one hour to have whatever you want. Work on making it a fun night out!
Tools for doing this:
My Fitness Pal: amazing app for plugging in your daily nutrition and you can see your macros each day. I wasn't concerned with calories, just sugar/carb intake.
Meal prep! Sam grills chicken, burgers and we chop veggies and pre-make at least one meal (large sunday dinner) to float us to Monday night.
Bubbles. When at parties or get togethers, bring your own appetizers (guac + cucumbers = current obsession) and FUN bubbly drinks like La Croix or I love Zevia and Kevita (Lemon + Cayenne!).
Healthy snacks like cucumbers and guacamole, roasted almonds with Real Salt, Organic string cheese, etc.
Exercise. I am shooting for an hour 5 days a week and following the Tone It Up weekly workout (love them!).
Supplements: Young Living's Super B, Master Formula and Omegagize (available here)
Private pin board. In the morning after my quiet time I spend some time pinning inspiring images, quotes, fitspo ;) and recipes to my "daily inspiration" board.
Let me know if you have any questions! Taking charge to make changes can feel overwhelming but staying stuck is just miserable. I've had such a toxic relationship with food that if I could help one person make a change I would be SO happy!
disclaimer: i'm not a doctor :) do your own research and talk to a doctor if you feel like this may put you at a health risk.
twitter/ facebook/ pinterest/ instagram/ bloglovin'


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This product is no longer available.
You can try these similar gifts instead.
White Castle Burger Scented Candle
Do they have a Pavlovian reaction to the word "White" followed by the word "Castle?" Then they'll love the scent of this candle. Do they have a wacky sense of humor? Then they'll think this is laugh-out-loud funny.


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Hello pretty Echo, happy DOTD to you !
Your breed is SO much like the Old English and Yorkshire, and many people don't understand the importance of allowing all that beautiful long hair to remain in front of your eyes. Your eyes are quite sensitive to light, and the long hair protects them when you're moving through brush and or encounter things which may cause damage, and you can see through the hair VERY well ! Remind your Providers how important it is to you.


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(Page 2 of 2)
stave off Alzheimer's disease, he says.
Under the agreement with Evotec, J&J will have the chance to select disease mechanisms and drug candidates identified through the collaboration, and move them into pre-clinical and clinical testing. The drug giant will reimburse Evotec for as much as $10 million in research costs over a period of at least three years. Evotec would also stand to gain as much as $125 million to $145 million for each drug development program that meets specified milestones.
Seabrook says J&J would prefer to develop small molecule drugs, but the company doesn't rule out the development of biologic drugs such as antibodies if they would work best against certain disease targets.
Though it may take decades of work, Seabrook says, the ideal outcome of research in Alzheimer's disease would be to develop early treatments to head off the disorder, as well as early diagnostic tests to identify the patients who need those drugs.
"It would be fantastic if we could accomplish that," Seabrook says.
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Heads heads heads galore. You wanna learn? Learn this.
by nightwish_wolf | 9 years ago | Comments | Novice
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!


text:
Can we purchase Skyfall on Apple TV?
What's the quickest and easiest way for us to watch Skyfall? We have an AppleTV set-up.
- Asked by Roy M from Rockville
1 Answer from the Community
Rent it in the apple store via Apple TV
- Answered by Simon R
- 01-Mar-2013


text:
First Filipino Ministries Leader's Conference 2017
October 16-18, 2017
Los Angeles First Church of the Nazarene
3401 W. 3rd Street Los Angeles, CA 90020
Rev. Rodrigo Quema, Filipino Ministries Facilitator
Filipino Ministries Strategic Readiness Committee
Rev. Rodrigo Quema, the Filipino Ministries Facilitator is accountable to the Multicultural ministries USA/Canada regional office and his primary function is to implement the agreed-upon policies and strategies for evangelism and strengthening of existing structures on the various districts of the Church of the Nazarene. Click here to see how this is accomplished.
BALIKATAN (Shoulder to Shoulder): A Vision for the Next Quadrennium from the Filipino Ministries Committee The vision of the Filipino Ministries of USA/Canada for the next Quadrennium so that we can encourage open communication and mutual assistance. In the Philippines, we use the word, "Balikatan", which means "shoulder to shoulder" to communicate the idea of cooperation in order to meet common goals. The relationships built during this time of fellowship can help greatly in establishing this vision. Filipino Ministries Unique Mission.
Short Term: Our Vision is that each existing Filipino church will start one new "church" in the next quadrennial. Long Term: That we plant churches in the following cities of USA and Canada by the year 2020. (Seattle, Las Vegas, Houston, Virginia Beach, Chicago, Honolulu, Vancouver, Calgary) Definition of church - A church is a group of people who meets regularly for Biblical worship, Biblical learning and Biblical mission. (Bill Wiesman) Click here to view the complete Plan of Action
Find a Filipino Church
Cultural Group Reports 2006-2016
Census Foreign Born Population
Wesleyan Holiness Library
To order at Gospel Tracts in English or additional languages contact email@example.com.
Introduction to Lifelong Learning Registry in English


text:
Larry David's a nun who gets an eye gouge, "Will & Grace" alum Sean Hayes is initially unrecognizable as Larry and "Jersey Shore" star Snooki plays herself in the first official trailer for Bobby and Peter Farrelly's "The Three Stooges" movie.
The film, set for release in April, also features "MADtv" and "$#*! My Dad Says" alum Will Sasso as Curly and "The Starter Wife" star Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe. The trio try to save their childhood orphanage and end up in a murder mystery and starring on a reality TV show.
Read more: Johnny Knoxville Says 'No' to Moe
Check out the trailer below to see other "Stooges" co-stars — including Jane Lynch, Sofia Vergara, and Jennifer Hudson — and a tender moment between Moe and Snooki:


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Janelle and Ashlea are the two I want gone in a hurry. They think they are better than everyone else and are such racist. Don't like Eric because he is Jewish, don't like Kaysar because his skin is too dark. Don't like Ivette, made a comment about her being Cuban and her mother scrubbing their floors. Said that no one else in the house was up to their standards. Goodbye and I hope the door does hit you on the way out.
I was shocked what Eric said about Janelle tho.. "Everytime that B***h opens that C***hole she calls a mouth" and I think he finished with its like nails on a chalkboard. My eyes popped out on that one. Don't think that will make it on air.


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Golf Days
Hoebridge Golf Centre is one of the best golf day venues in Surrey. Within easy reach of the M25 and M3 Motorways Hoebridge is very well located. Once you have experienced a golf day at Hoebridge it will not be hard to see why we are becoming the popular choice for corporate and society events.
Golf Day Packages
We offer great value golf day packages for groups of 8
Corporate Golf Days
Our bespoke golf day service is the perfect option for entertaining corporate guests.
Charity Golf Days
Golf is a popular fundraising activity and at Hoebridge we are proud offer some special rates for charity golf days.


text:
Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn has said there is to be a review of the outstanding school child abuse cases.
With assistance of the Attorney General he is seeking further legal advice on the full implications of the Louise O'Keeffe judgment.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled last week that the State was liable for the sexual abuse Ms O'Keeffe suffered while a national school pupil.
In 2009, the State Claims Agency wrote to 135 people with cases pending against the State, advising them to withdraw.
The letters warned that the State would pursue them for costs if they lost.
Today, the minister said the SCA has informed the Department of Education that there are 44 current day school abuse claims on hand.
The minister has asked his department, with the Attorney General's Office and the SCA, to review these cases and any other relevant cases with this in mind.
Mr Quinn also endorsed the apology of the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste to Ms O'Keeffe.
He noted that since 1973, when Ms O'Keeffe suffered sexual abuse, a comprehensive set of child protection measures has been put in place.
He said it is his intention to seek a fair and reasonable outcome for those involved in school child abuse cases, as soon as possible.
The minister also announced that, with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, he has initiated a review of current and planned child protection systems, both generally and in schools, to ensure that they meet best practice standards.
Speaking as he arrived for today's Cabinet meeting, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said: "I can't give reassurances that sexual abuse won't continue.
"It's a horrible thing to have to say, it's an aspect of human nature that's scarred our memory."
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said the immediate priority for Government is "to do the right thing for Louise O'Keeffe".
He would not be drawn on whether a redress scheme would be put in place for other victims, but said the Cabinet would be looking at the ECHR recommendations.


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Daring to dream on the Coalition's costings
The problem with the Coalition needing to find $70 billion in savings is they never found the first $50 billion last year.
Aug 12, 2011
The problem with the Coalition needing to find $70 billion in savings is they never found the first $50 billion last year.
What an expensive indulgence Tony Abbott's unresolved issues about climate change are turning out to be. Doesn't believe in climate change enough to want to address it properly, doesn't want to risk looking like a complete denialist by doing nothing.
The result would be costliest policy reversal in Australian history since, well, the last major Defence procurement project. $24.5 billion paid back to industry for carbon permits — no wonder Andrew Robb is trying to convince business not to buy them — on top of the Coalition's $3.2b direct action plan.
The direct action plan is grossly underfunded if it's to meet a 5% abatement target by 2020, which will require extensive purchasing of overseas permits. The Department of Climate Change estimated it will cost an additional $20 billion over the period to 2020, in addition to the Coalition's estimate of $10.5 billion. The Coalition's response, which at least has the virtue of simplicity, is to say they'll sack the entire Department of Climate Change.
While Greg Hunt insists that the policy is soundly costed, and denies suggesting anything to the contrary it relies heavily on buying biosequestered carbon for under $10 a tonne, when experts say it will cost a minimum of three times that. Even farmers who enthusiastically endorse soil carbon have said it's not costed properly.
Most likely this problem won't be addressed until the Coalition is in government and the penny drops that the policy isn't delivering as Hunt has claimed to shadow Cabinet, or delivering at such expensive levels as to require additional Budget supplementation. Economic recovery by that stage should have made finding several billion dollars a year much easier than currently; certainly admitting now that the policy can't work at current levels of funding would be a poor look for the Coalition. Alternatively, the Coalition can just revert to the Howard-era strategy of talking about doing something about climate change while doing exactly nothing of consequence. Hey, it worked for a decade.
By the same token, an ANAO report on the cost of the "direct action" components of Labor's carbon pricing package — particularly buying dirty coal-fired power generation capacity — should also present some interesting findings.
The problem for the Coalition finding $70 billion in savings is that they still haven't properly accounted for the savings they claimed to have found last year. When Andrew Probyn and then Peter Martin rose at Joe Hockey's National Press Club post-Budget appearance to note major problems with the $50 billion savings package eventually compiled by the Coalition between last year's Budget and the election, Hockey's only response was to attack them and insist the savings were "right at a point in time."
In fact the numbers were never right (even putting aside the bizarre goings-on with WHK Howarth), and the $11 billion worth of problems identified by Treasury and the Department of Finance played a major role in cruelling Tony Abbott's chances of securing the support of Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor.
The response of Andrew Robb and Hockey has been to suggest the $11 billion was an honest difference of opinion between themselves and officials. And on some elements of the $11 billion, they had a point. The problem is, the Budget isn't put together by the Treasurer and Finance Minister, but by Treasury and Finance officials. The Coalition's persistent tactic of insisting that every expert who disagrees with it – climate scientists, economists, ag scientists, accountants – is simply wrong hits a brick wall on this.
Instead, what if the Coalition decided, driven by the need to find $70 billion, to go looking for some serious savings? That might lead them into transfer payments, grown fat as successive governments have pandered to Australians' entitlement mentality. Or into business welfare, where billions still flow to multinational companies that employ a diminishing number of Australians in semi-skilled manufacturing jobs. Or into tax concessions, where one set of concessions costing billions are directed at policy outcomes at which another set of concessions worth billions are aimed at stopping. Or even, most iconoclastically, into the Defence budget.
Of they could scrimp together some savings by axing Labor programs, throw in some double-counting and promise to sell Medibank Private for the fourth, or is it the fifth, election in a row and boldly declare they've reached $70 billion, complete with "audit" involving someone checking the numbers in the end column add up. They wouldn't try that again would they?
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One of my good friends was up in Anchorage Alaska last week and passed a truck on the highway that said "Survivor Alaska" with the Survivor logo. Could the next 16 survivors be camping out up in Alaska this summer?
Anyone up north seen or heard of this?
This would be very cool if its up in the most beautiful state I have ever traveled to!


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Guess who's back, back again. Pens are back, tell a friend. I'm back too, once again I must give a huge shout out to the DOY family for picking up my slack while I deal with shit.
Bruins and Penguins meet up for the 4th and final time tonight. Despite having locked up their playoff spots, both teams have something to play for tonight. Penguins are looking to gain home ice advantage in their near-guaranteed match up against Filthadelphia. Bruins on the other hand are just looking to carry some momentum into the playoffs after a lackluster couple of months. Good to see them return to form recently, you might say that they're BAAAACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIIIIIIIN!!
I apologize for reminding everyone of that, I actually kinda like Aerosmith, but Steven Tyler is a human wasteland.
Boston hasn't fared too well against Pittsburgh the past two games they played, but thankfully that dead weight Sidney Crosby is back in their line up. What the hell could that pouty-lipped bastard possibly contribute after being double-concussed?
Expecting to hear a lot of "Crosby Sucks" talk today, and normally I'm all for needless trolling, but I just can't get into that. At the risk of being kissed by resident Penguins fan Jon….Crosby is good, damn good. Deal with it and come up with another way to mock him.
Speaking of Jon, word is that he was stalking the Penguins last night. If Malkin isn't in the game tonight, I can only assume that he's in wedding dress and tied up in Jon's basement.
After the jump, Bat-Thornton punches a penguin….no really!
The win against the Rangers was probably a huge confidence boost for both the players and the fans as the season nears its end. A hard fought game against the Penguins after that win would be even better. Luckily the Bruins have the luxury of not NEEDING any more wins, they're also looking at some pretty favorable first round match up possibilities, so sit back, relax and lets go Bruins!
Oh, and Washington lost last night, so there's something both Bruins and Penguins fans can be happy about!
Bwahahahah!!! The division is ours bitches!
Puck Drop: 7:30pm EST
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub
Online Feeds: Here
Know Your Enemy ThePensBlog. Who else?
Game Day Video:
Given that it is an election year…
And no, we don't get tired of Batman/The Penguin references.


text:
This book provides a practical treatment of the subject of optimization aimed at a broader audience ranging from college students to scientists, as well as industry professionals.
A set of online MATLAB solutions to the end-of-chapter problems is available by password. In addition, a supplemental set of MATLAB M-files is available for download.
Andreas Antoniou, University of Victoria Canada
Wu-Sheng Lu, University of Victoria Canada
Springer, 2007
Language: English