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Hello all from Milwaukee! I left on Saturday at 5 after waking up at 4 in the morning and working until noon. I got home, got my stuff together, ran some errands and then headed out. The drive actually wasn't too bad and good music certainly helps!
Yesterday ended up being a bit different than expected.
Before we headed out for the day, we had to barracade Boyfriend's pup Roscoe in. Roscoe was less than thrilled and tried to escape. I am convinced we'd win money if we sent the following into Funniest Home Videos:
Untitled from Krysten Hartenstein on Vimeo.
I wasn't planning on meeting any of the Boyfriend's family till today. However one of his brothers pretty much stuck around in town to meet me so we headed over, only to meet not only his brother but a few of his aunts too. After that Boyfriend figured we had to go see his mom or she'd feel left out. His family seems pretty awesome... and from what I've heard they like me so yay to that!
After that we headed to one of the local coffeeshops, ALTERRA, for coffee and a late breakfast. AND THEN it was onward to The Hunger Games!
I actually really loved the movie... its been awhile since I finished the trilogy and I actually think that's good because I didn't sit through the movie saying, "Wait, that isn't right!" and "Hey they left that out!" I thoroughly enjoyed it, I love how powerful Katniss is, I loved Peeta and I especially adored Cinna (Lenny Kravitz was awesome). Not to mention Rue and I LOVED Stanley Tucci as Caesar. I could go on and on but I will say this, if you haven't seen it yet and if you haven't read the books you really should. Yes they are YA fiction BUT they are so different from the typical teenage angst love triangle. There is a lot of meaning behind them. Do it!
ANYWAY, today I am off to breakfast with Boyfriend, lunch at his mom's and then who knows from there? Have a wonderful Monday all!


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May 9, 2008
Picasa's Hello Discontinued
Hello, Picasa's obscure instant messenger, has been discontinued and will be completely shut down on May 15th. Hello's last major update was released in January 2005, six months after Picasa was acquired by Google.
According to its site, "Hello is a program that lets you connect directly with your friends to share your digital pictures. (...) With Hello, you just pick what pictures you want to show off, and click Send. That's it. Hello takes care of all the hard work. And you and your friends can download full resolution, print-quality pictures from each other, while you're doing more important things, like talking about your pictures. (...) With Hello's file sharing technology, [your friends] only have to download high quality versions of the [pictures] they really like. Everything else comes in at a smaller size, optimized for viewing on-screen."
"Hello enables users to instantly share images securely over a peer-to-peer network and chat about them. Hello currently has more than 250,000 users and can be used with or without Picasa, the company's flagship digital photo organizing software," mentioned Picasa in a press release from May 2004. It would be interesting to know the number of active users as of today, but it's probably much lower than 250,000.
The instant messenger was integrated with Picasa, so you could select the photos from Picasa and send them to Hello, but also view in Picasa the pictures you receive. Like Picasa, Hello was easy to use and shared the same clean interface. Despite its usefulness, Hello should have been a feature in a more powerful IM client, not a stand-alone application.
If you haven't tried Hello, you can still download the application from http://updates.picasa.com/hello/651/Hello651.exe. You and all your contacts need to have Picasa accounts. According to hello.com, you can still use the application one more week.
Here's Hello's goodbye:
"We originally embarked on a mission to make photo sharing easier and more fun with Hello. We plan to keep carrying that torch in new projects to come. We hope that you continue to enjoy the other sharing products Google offers including Picasa, Picasa Web Albums and Google Talk."
and here are some reactions:
"I live on Hello because it allows me as a designer to show my clients the screen I am working on real time. It also allows me to communicate with other designers who work for my business and mentor them through the design process, or get myself some mentoring!"
"i credit hello for leading to some very good friendships of mine all over the US, and i credit hello for my transition from crafter to artist. i do not want to lose this program."
"PLEASE reconsider the decision to shut down Hello. It is an invaluable tool for the digital scrapbook community, especially the designers. I can't imagine what I would do without the ease Hello provides to show off screen shots and get critique on my Designs."
"I use Hello daily in conversation and to share photos with family members out of state. It has also been very useful in learning and teaching applications by using real time screen shots. There just isn't anything else that compares that is so easy to use!"
"My mother who has no idea what IM even stands for, uses Hello everyday. We send her pictures of her grandkids, she shows us pictures she's taken, its awesome! She only uses it because it is simple and user friendly. IM programs like Google Talk, Yahoo, MSN or Goober are way too complex for her to figure out and I doubt she is the only one in this situation."
{ via Google Blogoscoped }
This blog is not affiliated with Google.


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Sports Media
Covering the people who cover sports.
Posts filtered on Tag
What We're Watching: 3D Football! Coming at ya! At a store near you!
Do you wonder what football looks like in 3D TV? Also, are you stuck, er, blessed to be shopping with your significant other today?
If you answered yes to those questions, then today is your lucky day.[Read More]


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i had a lower ordered from a company i have been tradeing with for some time. and they have been very reliable. BUT my back ordered lower that was supposed to arrive in feb is now a NO ETA item. when i called them on the phone they said --with any luck MAYBE Christmas 09!!
i ordered a cav arms polymer lower that was in stock--now the bad thing is all they had was green or tan--no black!!! got a decent price on it by current standards. not great because these things sold for $90 just last year!!! i suppose i could have bought one of the high end lowers like a RRA for $170 or the saber --but the price just chaps my hide! gosh-darn i was buying mega's for $80 not that long ago!! now days any lower is going to run AT LEAST $120+ shipping IF you can find one!!
but the lower is a small problem. i have a bolt and a barrel that has been back ordered -- i am hoping one MORE month on them--but who knows these days???


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Showing 1-24 of 284 items found in Arts & Culture
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Zanies Comedy Club at Pheasant Run Resort
This "sister" of the legendary downtown Zanies has been making the Western suburbs laugh with the same great talent! Great for group outings and motor coaches!
CITY:St. Charles
Zanies Comedy Club - St. Charles
Popular comedians perform at Zanies, providing an evening of laughter and fun. The "sister" of the legendary downtown Zanies has been making the western suburbs laugh with the same great talent for over 20 years.
CITY:St. Charles
York Theatre
Enjoy first run films in a renovated 1924 Spanish-style movie theater with five auditoriums all equipped with Dolby digital sound. Baby Barton Pipe Organ is played on Friday and Saturday nights.
Yesterday's Farm Museum
A historic 1800s family farm that is maintained in its original location. Programs depict settlers' lives with period accuracy.
CITY:Wood Dale
Writers' Theatre
Over the past twenty seasons, Writers' Theatre has become a major Chicagoland cultural destination with a national reputation for excellence. The company – known for the finest interpretations of classic and contemporary theatre – has garnered critical praise for the consistent high quality and intimacy of its artistry. Throughout the season Writers' will be offering post-show discussions on select Wednesday evenings following the performance in our Tudor Court space. In the Books on Vernon space they will be offering post-show discussions every other Wednesday evening.
Woodstock Opera House
Built in 1889 as City Hall, the Woodstock Opera House has long been one of the top performing arts centers in the Midwest. Its illustrious history also includes a cameo in Groundhog Day.
Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology
The goals of the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology are to collect and preserve literature and equipment pertaining to anesthesiology and to make available to the anesthesiology community, others in the medical profession and the public the most comprehensive educational, scientific and archival resources in anesthesiology.
Wonder Works
Wonder Works is 6,400 square feet of fun, a place of creative play for kids birth to age eight. Located in Oak Park, Illinois at 6445 West North Avenue, the children's museum helps kids, their parents and caregivers unleash their imaginations through art, performance, design, building and more.
CITY:Oak Park
Wire is located on Roosevelt Road in Berwyn. Just west of Chicago, something is growing... a facility for music production, performance, education and distribution unlike any other. Come experience this first class venue, boasting top notch audio equipment, as well as full service modern lighting and video production. A place every artist will want to play and every fan will want to see. This very modern venue is available to rent for your especially unique event. A must see!
Winnetka Community House
The Winnetka Community House enriches the lives of the North Shore residents, their families, visitors and friends by providing diverse educational, cultural, social and recreational opportunities for people of all ages.
Wildlife Discovery Center
The Wildlife Discovery Center is a special place offering programs for people of all ages who have an interest in wildlife and their habitat. Children's classes, adult programs, and school field trips focus on wildlife conservation, field biology, and ecology. The Center also offers self-guided nature hikes, workshops, eco-based summer camps, wildlife ecology trips, group presentations, traveling animal exhibits and exciting volunteer opportunities. You can visit eye-to-eye with over 150 animals including a bobcat, raptors, Kookaburras, and an assortment of venomous and non-venomous reptiles like crocodilians, snakes, turtles and tortoises. The Wildlife Discovery Center is home to one of the largest public exhibits of rattlesnakes in North America, including four species that are native to Illinois. Indoor exhibits hours are Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00am to 4:00pm. The outdoor exhibits and walking trails are open year round.
CITY:Lake Forest
West Chicago City Museum
DuPage County, Chicago's Western Suburbs - Housed in historic Turner Town Hall (National Register site), the museum features community history exhibits and a research collection including local history and railroad materials. The Kid Zone Gallery offers changing hands-on displays for all ages.
CITY:West Chicago
Welcome Stitchery, Inc.
Specializing in Counted Cross Stitch and Custom Framing. We have the largest showcase of fabrics, fibers, patterns, kits and accessories in the Midwest.
CITY:Crystal Lake
Weird Science - Northbrook Court, 2290 Northbrook Court, Northbrook
Two teenage nerds, unpopular and unable to meet girls on their own, use their computer to design the perfect woman - beautiful with a genius IQ. When this woman turns "real", she helps transforms the boys from nerds to cool through a series of wacky and bizarre adventures. Set in the fictional "Shermer, Illinois", the movie is filmed in several northern suburbs of Chicago - Highland Park, Northbrook and Skokie.
Weird Science - Niles East High School, 7700 Lincoln Ave., Skokie
Two teenage nerds, unpopular and unable to meet girls on their own, use their computer to design the perfect woman - beautiful with a genius IQ. When this woman turns "real", she helps transforms the boys from nerds to cool through a series of wacky and bizarre adventures. Set in the fictional "Shermer, Illinois", the movie is filmed in several northern suburbs of Chicago - Highland Park, Northbrook and Skokie.
Weird Science - Central St., Highland Park
Two teenage nerds, unpopular and unable to meet girls on their own, use their computer to design the perfect woman - beautiful with a genius IQ. When this woman turns "real", she helps transforms the boys from nerds to cool through a series of wacky and bizarre adventures. Set in the fictional "Shermer, Illinois", the movie is filmed in several northern suburbs of Chicago - Highland Park, Northbrook and Skokie.
CITY:Highland Park
Wayne's World - Downtown Aurora
This excellent comedy follows the pursuits of a pair of suburban Aurora slacker friends who have a public access cable show and a penchant for '70s rock. The movie was filmed on location in Aurora and Chicago. One of the notable Chicago sites includes a kitschy gift shop with a large Indian statue on its roof.
Volo Auto Museum
The most under priced attraction in the area! 36 acres of family fun. See 300 classic, antique and muscle cars, including the country's largest display of Hollywood TV and movie cars! Experience the Military Combat Zone, a life-like battle scene with rare military vehicles and weapons. Shop 5 Antique Malls. Take a Haunted Trolley Tour. Enjoy great food in a Betty Boop themed diner and more. All in one location!
Village of Greyslake Heritage Center and Museum
The Grayslake Historical Society was founded in 1976 and is dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of the greater Grayslake area. The Historical Society stages regular programs, works with the Executive Director on engaging exhibitions, conducts tours and keeps residents and visitors connected with Grayslake's rich past. For more information, visit the Grayslake Historical Society's website at www.grayslakehistory.org.
Victorian Cottage Museum
DuPage County, Chicago's Western Suburbs - This Victorian home features rooms furnished with artifacts exemplifying the lifestyle of the emerging middle-class during the 1870s. Group tours welcome seven days a week with advanced reservations. Walk-in hours Wednesdays & Sundays. Free admission.
Vernon Hills Park District Sullivan Community Center
Overlooking park land, the Community Room, equipped with a stage and kitchen, can serve 260 dinner guests or 400 people theater seating. Smaller meeting rooms with a capacity of 10-140 people including a gymnasium rental are also available.
CITY:Vernon Hills
Velvet Rope Ultra Lounge
This gay and lesbian Oak Park lounge features a dance floor, martini bar and a menu of small plates. Catch live DJs, drag shows and dancers on the weekends.
CITY:Oak Park
Uncle Buck - New Trier High School, 7 Happ Rd., Northfield
n this sweet comedy, irresponsible Uncle Buck is left to baby-sit his rebellious niece and her two siblings when their parents leave to visit a sick relative. The movie was filmed in several towns along the North Shore. Sites include New Trier High School in Winnetka, one of the most prestigious high schools in the Chicago area.
Two Brothers Roundhouse
Originally constructed in 1855-1865, the roundhouse was renovated and now houses Illinois' largest microbrewery and brewpub. Passion for beer, love of food, and appreciation for great architecture flourishes in the walls of this historic 70,000 square foot facility. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Two Brothers Roundhouse is the oldest limestone roundhouse in the United States. As they bring new life to this 155 year old building, enjoy a casual atmosphere in the main dining room gastropub, our sports tavern and music venue or our new cafe and bakery. There is more to do than dinner at the Roundhouse. As with the beer and food, the live entertainment has a local flair. Whether it be a wedding, reunion or corporate event, they have a variety of spaces for friends and family to gather. Cheers!


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En Español (Spanish Version)
| Causes
| Risk Factors
| Symptoms
| Diagnosis
| Treatment
| Prevention
Peripheral neuropathy is damage to the peripheral nerves. These are the nerves that connect your spinal cord to the rest of your body.
Copyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.
Many health conditions can cause peripheral neuropathy. The damage may occur due to:
Health conditions that can damage peripheral nerves include:
Having certain health conditions may increase your chance of getting peripheral neuropathy.
Damage to the peripheral nerves often results in sensory and motor symptoms in the:
Other parts of the body can also be affected. Symptoms depend on which nerves are involved. They can range from mild to severe and may seem worse at night. Sensations and pain may occur in the upper or lower limbs and move toward the trunk, such as from the feet to the calves.
Peripheral neuropathy may cause:
If untreated, peripheral neuropathy can lead to:
If you have motor or sensory neuropathy, you may also have autonomic neuropathy. This is associated with symptoms such as:
The doctor will ask about your symptoms and medical history. A physical exam will be done. It may include examining:
Additional tests may also include:
Talk with your doctor about the best treatment plan for you. Options may include:
Treating the underlying illness can decrease symptoms or make them go away. For instance, if it is caused by diabetes, controlling blood sugar levels may help. In some cases, neuropathy caused by medications or toxins is completely reversed when these substances are stopped or avoided. Correction of vitamin B12 deficiency often improves symptoms.
Certain exercises may help stretch shortened or contracted muscles and increase joint flexibility. In long-standing cases, splinting the joint may be required to protect and rest it, while maintaining proper alignment.
Orthotics, such as supports and braces, may help with:
Maintaining physical activity is also important.
Prescription and over-the-counter pain medications are often used to ease discomfort.
Medications used to treat
and prevent convulsions can
relieve neuropathy symptoms.
For severe and potentially life-threatening cases, such as
Guillain-Barre syndrome
, treatment includes:
These therapies are aimed at reducing symptoms:
Surgery can relieve the pressure on nerves. For example, surgeons commonly release fibrous bands in the wrist to treat
carpal tunnel syndrome
To help reduce your chance of peripheral neuropathy:
Last reviewed May 2014 by Rimas Lukas, MD
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This content is reviewed regularly and is updated when new and relevant evidence is made available. This information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with questions regarding a medical condition.
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Submission + - How long do hard drives actually live for?->
MrSeb writes: For more than 30 years, the realm of computing has been intrinsically linked to the humble hard drive. It has been a complex and sometimes torturous relationship, but there's no denying the huge role that hard drives have played in the growth and popularization of PCs, and more recently in the rapid expansion of online and cloud storage. Given our exceedingly heavy reliance on hard drives, it's very, very weird that one piece of vital information still eludes us: How long does a hard drive last? According to some new data, gathered from 25,000 hard drives that have been spinning for four years, it turns out that hard drives actually have a surprisingly low failure rate.
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source


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CONCORD, N.C. – WKA officials are pleased to announce the 2014 Mazda / Bridgestone Manufacturers Cup Series schedule, a five-race national 2-cycle sprint tour that travels to many of the best sprint tracks in the eastern half of the United States.
The series will open December 27-30 with the annual Daytona KartWeek event at Daytona International Speedway. The Man Cup's Sprint Championships are apart of the three-series show, which also features the WKA Speedway Dirt World Championships and the WKA Road Race Championships, all held at the World Center of Racing between Christmas and New Years.
Click here for the Daytona Sprint Championships entry form.
Round two of the Man Cup Series will see the tour return to Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, S.C., a 0.7-mile sprint course located about an hour south of Charlotte, N.C. The CMP Man Cup event will take place April 4-6 and will include the WKA National Road Racing Series on the CMP road course. The Kershaw event will mark the only Man Cup / Road Racing doubleheader of the 2014 season.
The Man Cup will travel to western Pennsylvania for round three, a June 27-29 date at Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, Pa. The 2014 season will mark the fourth straight year the Manufacturers Cup has run Pittsburgh, and the sixth time in history.
Round four of the Man Cup has the series traveling back to JET Karting at Michiana near South Bend, Indiana, August 8-10.
The fifth round of the Manufacturers Cup Series will be at a TBA location in September. Date and location will be announced as soon as they are finalized, likely in the next several business days.
Highlights for the 2014 Man Cup Series include the new IAME-backed Parilla Junior class for 12- to 15-year-old racers, the first time WKA has ever offered a junior TaG division on a national level.
The Parilla Junior class, which is open to Parilla Leopard and X30 powerplants, has already received a great amount of interest, and now provides Junior racers with three premier categories to enter at Man Cup nationals, including Yamaha Junior and Komet (KPV) Junior.
Another first for the Man Cup is the addition of a national Kid Kart division, which for the first time will run as a national points class in 2014. The Kid Kart class will make its debut at round two of the series at Kershaw, S.C., and will run a best six out of eight races toward the inaugural Kid Kart Man Cup national championship.
All other classes will run a best seven out of 10 races toward the national championship. Racers will be able to miss one complete national event, and still have a viable chance at a national title with a third drop available. This happened as recently as this past season in the Gold Cup Series, a best seven-of-10 series in 2013, where Dylan Zobkiw missed a full Gold Cup weekend and came back to win the highly contested Senior Pro Gas Animal national championship.
Manufacturers Cup 2014 national classes are Kid Karts, Yamaha Rookie, Yamaha Sportsman, Komet Sportsman, Cadet Sportsman, Parilla Junior, Yamaha Junior, Komet Junior, TaG Senior, Parilla Senior, Senior Piston Port (Yamaha and KPV) and TaG Masters.
WKA is currently taking number reservations for the 2014 season. Click here to download the 2014 Reserved Number Form.


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Yesterday, took grandma to Sizzler, so I had a cheeseburger and salad. Sizzler's burgers are fairly decent, but man their salad bar has nose-dived lately.
Today is a mystery.
Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.
"In Brooklyn, a castle, is where dwell I"
The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.
I microwaved two slices of leftover pizza that's been sitting in the fridge since last weekend.
Weird War Tales: Featuring the Creature Commandos #105 November 1981 (DC Comics)
Carl's Jr. Famous Star (BOGOF coupon) and a few fries, water.
"I went to Star Wars Celebration VII in Anaheim, and I didn't get even a lousy t-shirt."
Chicken and Rice a Roni leftovers with some cherries on the side.
thanks Chux Turbo LBC Bobafrett Mtriv73 Rjarvis JF96 JT JMG FB Rogue2 Tycho Slicker Deoxy Caesar JontheJedi JJReason Brandon Solo JMS UK for great deals.
SSG Pro Football Pick em and Bowl Pick em Champ 2006. 2007 NCAA Bracket Champ
#24 - Gone but not forgotten
I just finished a chicken on whole wheat with mayo and cheese sandwich with Lays Stax (sour cream and onion) and an oatmeal cream pie.
May the force be with you.


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Contrast Stripe Power Knit Dress
Style # 214871
Graphic white-and-black stripes and a sexy cut make this bebe dress a hot way to give the new season true statement. Partner yours with a pair of bold-hued pumps and ornate earrings.
- 90% nylon, 10% spandex
- Center back to hem: 32" (81 cm)
- Fully lined
- Invisible zipper
- Dry clean
- Imported
- Model is 5'9" and is wearing a US size S
Rated 5 out of 5�by 3 reviewers.
Rated 5 out of 5�by classylady5757 NICE DRESS I bought this dress in a small. I had to have it taken in a little. Great material. Love the length. Room to move and I will pair it with a yellow or blue jacket from bebe for some color. October 4, 2013
Rated 5 out of 5�by michelle11226 LOVE LOVE LOVED IT MY ENTIRE FAMILY AND FRIENDS LOVED ME IN THIS WITH A TOUCH OR YELLOW IT WAS MARVELOUS, MATERIAL EXCELLENT August 10, 2013
Rated 5 out of 5�by Annie77 i love it!! This dress fits amazing! It is curve hugging and super soft. i'm 5'1 116 lbs and took the xs, it's just little long for me, but i am very happy with this dress!!! June 30, 2013
1-3 of 3


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Click Here to Watch the Whole Video in HD at Jizz Addiction
The premier destination for horny young skaters, surfers, jocks, and college studs playing with their jizz! Sticky facials, self-sucking, cum-eating and intense hardcore action!
Cain & Gabriel are best buds that grew up together, work together and sometimes cum together. After a hot long day at the construction site, there's nothing Gabe would rather do than get a drink from Cain's fountain of youth! This gives new meaning to the phrase
Pixels: 320X240 | Bitrate: 350K
Pixels: 640X480 | Bitrate: 700K
[email protected] opps
Cain never fails to get me off when I view him anything that he does.
Wow, I would swallow both of these guys boy milk!


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Sun-Thur 11am-7pm | Fri-Sat 11am-8pm
She Bop is a women-owned sex toy boutique in Portland, Oregon specializing in body safe products and education. Our mission is to promote healthy and safe sexuality by offering quality products and educational workshops in a fun and comfortable environment. She Bop welcomes people of all genders and sexual appetites.
May 24, 2015Shine Louise Houston's latest queer venture
April 30, 2015The academic study of porn
August 06, 2015Beyond Monogamy
August 12, 2015Modern Dating: a Safe, Practical, and Fun Approach
Enter your email to receive our monthly newsletter and stay informed about upcoming classes and new products.
Your privacy is very important to us; we promise never to share, sell, or rent your information to anyone.


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Age Range < 18 18 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 44 45 - 54 55+
Eye Color Amber Blue Brown Gray Green Hazel Violet
Hair Color Auburn Black Blonde Brown Chestnut Gray Red White Other - Colored
Hair Type Straight Curly Wavy Kinky Relaxed
Hair Texture Coarse Fine Dry Thick Oily Frizzy Dyed
Skin Tone Fairest Fair Light Light-Medium Medium Medium-Tan Tan Dark Tan Deep Dark
Skin Type Very Dry Dry Normal-to-Dry Normal Normal-to-Oily Oily Very Oily Combination
Undertone Pink Yellow Olive Neutral Red
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Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
Chanel Sari d'Eau (44) Rouge Coco Shine ($32.00 for 0.10 oz.) is a semi-opaque orange with tangerine-gold shimmer and a glossy shine. It reads like a darker version of Sari Dore Rouge Coco.
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Satellite View Selection
11:30 AEST on Saturday 1 August 2015 | Cloud/surface composite, Australia
Images from Japan Meteorological Agency satellite MTSAT via Bureau of Meteorology.
IDY28000 Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology Bureau National Operations Centre Satellite Notes for the 0000UTC chart on 1 August 2015 Issued at 11:35 am EST Saturday on 01 August 2015 A band of middle and high level cloud extends from the southern districts of Western Australia, through coastal South Australia and across Victoria and New South Wales. This cloud is due to a surface low pressure trough. A cold front now lies to the east of Tasmania, with a band of cloud extending southeastwards across the Tasman Sea from the cloud area over Victoria. Cold air behind the front is represented by the spotty convective activity over southern Tasmania and waters further south, producing showers and small hail. Patchy low cloud over the Queensland's east coast is the result of the southeast trade wind flow. An extensive area of low cloud is seen over waters to the southwest of WA and is trapped under ridge of high pressure. The remainder of the country is mostly clear due to another ridge of high pressure.


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Ubuntu : Intel® Q6600® quad-core
Each table row shows performance measurements for this Pascal Free Pascal program with a particular command-line input value N.
|CPU secs
|Elapsed secs
|Memory KB
|Code B
|≈ CPU Load
Read the ↓ make, command line, and program output logs to see how this program was run.
Read chameneos-redux benchmark to see what this program should do.
Free Pascal Compiler version 2.6.4 [2014/03/03] for i386


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How to cope with seasonal allergies, asthma
By Erika, Pure Matters
I've suffered from allergies and asthma since I was a child -- I remember waking up in the middle of the night wheezing and attempting to yell for my mom. Over the years, I've learned to deal with the shortness of breath, tightening of lungs, sneezing, itchy throat, running nose, red eyes, and all the other delightful symptoms that come along with having asthma and allergies. My friends tease me because I ALWAYS carry tissues in my purse.
Yeah, I'm that girl.
I go through phases where I'm taking my allergy and asthma medicine regularly, along with a multivitamin supplement, and I feel like a normal human being. When I'm exercising regularly, my lungs feel even better. But then I have my lapses, where a little voice in my head says, "I feel so great that my asthma and allergies must be gone and I can stop taking all of my medication! Hooray! Back to all natural!" And I stop taking my meds and soon the asthma and allergies come back full force (plus I get an extra long lecture from my allergist).
Of course, spring is the peak of the allergy season. The weather begins to warm (that seems to happen earlier and earlier these days), buds appear on the trees, and the color green spreads across the ground. I'm allergic to pretty much everything that grows and looks pretty during the spring, even if I'm religiously using my two inhalers twice a day and once-a-day allergy pill, but I refuse to let that keep me inside when the weather is so comfortable.
Here's my list of five tips for making the spring more bearable for us allergy and asthma victims:
- Don't stop taking your allergy or asthma medication without talking to your doctor first. (Duh, Erika!!). If you aren't currently taking allergy medication, try a natural alternative like Pure Matters Allergy Formula, or an over-the-counter medication like Zyrtec or Allegra. Or see your doctor for prescription options.
- Keep your car windows shut while driving. As tempting as it is to feel the spring air blowing through your car, you're basically inviting allergens to share a confined space with you. Close the windows and look forward to enjoying the spring air once you arrive at your destination.
- Take your shoes off at the door. Yes, even the Jimmy Choos! When you get home, take your shoes off. If you walk around your living space with dander, dust, or allergens on your shoes, don't be surprised if they trigger an allergic attack.
- Wash yourself! The first thing my husband does when he comes home is wash his hands and face. Pollen or dander can stick to you throughout the day and join you on your way home. Get rid of it! If you have time, take a quick shower when you get home or before you go to bed to wash away all those pesky allergens.
- Keep your home clean. Vacuuming twice a week is ideal to control indoor allergens, especially if you have pets. I've had to tell my allergist more than once that I refuse to give my cats away!
If you suffer from allergies and asthma, how do you manage your symptoms? If you have any special tips or tricks, I'd love to hear about them.
Source: http://blog.purematters.com/healthy-body/five-ways-to-cope-with-spring-allergies-and-asthma#more-1015
Copyright 2015 by KSAT - All rights reserved.


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NVIDIA professional graphics deliver unprecedented performance and innovative capabilities to boost your success. Whether you're creating revolutionary products, designing groundbreaking architecture, reviewing the fine details in a CT/MRI scan, or telling spectacularly vivid visual stories, NVIDIA professional solutions let you do it better and faster.
DevTech Proviz News
New Samples on Github
Devtech Proviz team started a new initiative: a new set of open-source samples available in Github. This repository is a work in progress and is meant to grow. But you can already check out few samples here: https://github.com/nvpro-samples
More details in the ou Devtech Proviz sample page https://developer.nvidia.com/samples (accessible via the menu: Technologies >> Samples)
Command-List OpenGL extension
NVIDIA released a new proprietary extension, called nv-command-list, allowing developers to address the driver in such an efficient way that its overhead reaches near zero, revealing the full strength of NVIDIA Graphic chips.
GTC 2015 will reveal even more on this new feature:
NVIDIA GPU Blur Plug-in for Adobe After Effects
The NVIDIA GPU Blur Plug-in performs fast blur for video editing in After Effects using CUDA. The plug-in is based on the CUDA Toolkit sample Box Filter, adapted to perform multiple iterations for high quality, and providing both a GPU pathway and CPU fallback. The sample also demonstrates how to do self-profiling, displaying a console window to give CPU and GPU timings. Performance is 12x faster that the single core CPU fallback. This sample provides a basis for developing additional plug-ins for After Effects using CUDA.
Check out the sample here
NVIDIA GPU Technology Conference 2015
GTC is the world's largest, most important GPU developer conference and took take place March 17-20.
All the recorded sessions should be soon available on : http://www.gputechconf.com/


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The Wolves 19th home opener, presented by LifeSource, will be an Illinois Lottery Cup game against the Rockford IceHogs at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Allstate Arena. Twenty-four of the 38 regular-season home contests will be played on weekends, including 14 Saturday matchups and 10 Sunday matinees.
Fans can purchase individual tickets by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000; visiting any Ticketmaster outlet or the Allstate Arena box office; or online at chicagowolves.com or ticketmaster.com.
For information on individual, season or group tickets, call 1-800-THE-WOLVES, or visit chicagowolves.com.


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|Holliston, Mass.
|High School:
|Newton Country Day
View Roy's Complete Biography in PDF Format
Qualified for the 2011 Women's National Team Pre-Elite
Camp at Syracuse University, as one of 18 rowers to be
selected…attended the U.S. National Team Freshman Camp at
the University of Iowa in the summer of 2010, as one of 16 rowers
2010-2011: Rowed for the Holy Cross "B" boat in the pair race and was a member of the open heavy championship eight boat at the 40th Schuylkill Regatta (Oct. 30) as the team tied for first out of 39 teams for the points trophy…member of the varsity eight for all 10 spring regattas…rowed for the varsity eight that defeated Simmons (April 3) in a dual-race, placed first against Boston College and Connecticut to win the Irving-Christensen Cup (April 17), defeated UMass (April 23) in a dual-race, placed fourth at the Patriot League Championship (April 24) and finished fifth at the New England Championship (April 30)…named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.
2009-2010: Rowed for the varsity eight in all 14 varsity races…helped varsity eight to wins against Coast Guard, Mount Holyoke and Wesleyan (March 27), and against Simmons and Smith (March 28)…rowed in varsity eight which placed fifth at the Patriot League Championship (April 25) and the New England Championship (May 1), and won the petite finals at the ECAC National Invitational (May 9).
Before Holy Cross: Rowed for Community Rowing Inc. for coach Ethan Curren...team won the 2009 U.S. Club Nationals Point Trophy and the 2009 Lowell Invitational Point Trophy...a member of a varsity four crew that placed first in four out of the six races in the spring of 2009...competed at both the 2008 and 2009 U.S. Club Nationals and Canadian Henley...placed first in the junior eight and junior four at the 2009 U.S. Club Nationals...rowed for the varsity four crew that competed at the 2008 Head of the Charles Regatta...part of the varsity four crew that qualified for the Junior National Championships and placed 10th overall in the spring of 2009...placed second in the intermediate eight at 2009 U.S. Club Nationals...also a two-year member of the varsity basketball team at Newton Country Day...member of the Service Committee and Amnesty International.
Personal: Daughter of Gerry Roy and Diane McDermott Roy...has one brother (Chris) and two sisters (Caroline and Victoria)...brother, Chris (Class of 2015), is a member of the Holy Cross men's rowing team...a Chemistry major.


text:
A multimedia signal processing system utilizes an easily manipulated, low-cost storage and display system that allows the user to view a television program and instantly review previous scenes within the program. The invention also allows the user to store selected programs while simultaneously watching or reviewing another. A versatile system architecture enables providing the invention in multiple configurations, each adapted to receive input signals from a different source. At the highest level, the system includes an input section and an output section. Across all configurations, the output section remains substantially the same, while the input section varies according to the signal type and the source. Thus, several configurations are provided, each one requiring only minor system board modifications. The system architecture thus simplifies the design and manufacturing challenge presented by producing units to serve different markets, such as digital satellite, digital cable and analog cable.
1. A system for the simultaneous storage and playback of multimedia data, comprising:
an input section for acquiring an input signal;
an output section, wherein said input signal is passed to said output section as a transport stream; said output section including:
a processor;
a decoder subsystem that decodes said transport stream, said decoder subsystem connected to said processor by a first data bus; and
a media switch connected to said decoder subsystem by a second data bus, said media switch operative to interface a plurality of system components and operates asynchronously from said processor, wherein said media switch comprises a media manager, said media manager including:
a host controller:
a DMA controller:
a bus arbiter; and
a multimedia data stream processor; and
a storage subsystem connected to said media switch, wherein multimedia data are stored on said storage subsystem and retrieved from said storage subsystem essentially simultaneously.
2. The system of
3. The system of
4. The system of
a tuner for selecting a desired channel;
a decoder for digitizing a video component of said input signal;
a sound processor for processing an audio component of said input signal into a digitized audio component;
an encoder, wherein said encoder receives digitized video and audio components, whereupon said digitized video and audio components are encoded and multiplexed into a transport stream.
5. The system of
6. The system of
7. The system of
8. The system of
at least one satellite tuner; and
at least one demodulating element to demodulate the digital satellite signal to a transport stream.
9. The system of
10. The system of
at least one tuner for selecting a desired channel;
at least one decoder for digitizing a video component of said input signal;
at least one sound processor for processing an audio component of said input signal into a digitized audio component;
an encoder having multi-stream encode capability, wherein said encoder receives said digitized video and audio components, whereupon said digitized video and audio components are encoded and multiplexed into a transport stream.
11. The system of
12. The system of
13. The system of
14. The system of
a host bridge;
a memory controller;
an MPEG-2 transport demultiplexer;
an MPEG-2 decoder;
an audio/video decoder;
a graphics processor;
a bus bridge; or
a bus controller.
15. The system of
16. The system of
17. The system of
SPDIR (Stereo Paired Digital Interface); or
CVBS (Composite Video Baseband Signal).
18. The system of
19. The system of
20. The system of
21. The system of
22. The system of
23. The system of
24. The system of
25. The system of
26. The system of
27. The system of
28. The system of
29. The system of
30. The system of
31. The system of
32. The system of
33. The system of
34. The system of
35. The system of
36. The system of
37. The system of
This application is a Continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/827,029, filed on Apr. 5, 2001, and claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/226,856, filed on Aug. 22, 2000. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/827,029 is a Continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 6,233,389, filed on Jul. 30, 1998.
1. Technical Field
The invention relates to the time shifting of television broadcast signals. More particularly, the invention relates to the real time capture, storage, and display of television broadcast signals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) has changed the lives of television (TV) viewers throughout the world. The VCR has offered viewers the flexibility to time-shift TV programs to match their lifestyles.
The viewer stores TV programs onto magnetic tape using the VCR. The VCR gives the viewer the ability to play, rewind, fast-forward and pause the stored program material. These functions enable the viewer to pause the program playback whenever he desires, fast forward through unwanted program material or commercials, and to replay favorite scenes. However, a VCR cannot both capture and play back information at the same time.
One approach to solving this problem is to use several VCRs. For example, if two video tape recorders are available, it might be possible to Ping-Pong between the two. In this case, the first recorder is started at the beginning of the program of interest. If the viewer wishes to rewind the broadcast, the second recorder begins recording, while the first recorder is halted, rewound to the appropriate place, and playback initiated. However, at least a third video tape recorder is required if the viewer wishes to fast forward to some point in time after the initial rewind was requested. In this case, the third recorder starts recording the broadcast stream while the second is halted and rewound to the appropriate position. Continuing this exercise, one can quickly see that the equipment becomes unwieldy, unreliable, expensive, and hard to operate, while never supporting all desired functions. In addition, tapes are of finite length, and may potentially end at inconvenient times, drastically lowering the value of the solution.
The use of digital computer systems to solve this problem has been suggested. U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,551 issued to Logan et al., on Dec. 6, 1994, teaches a method for concurrent video recording and playback. It presents a microprocessor controlled broadcast and playback device. Said device compresses and stores video data onto a hard disk. However, this approach is difficult to implement because the processor requirements for keeping up with the high video rates makes the device expensive and problematic. The microprocessor must be extremely fast to keep up with the incoming and outgoing video data.
It would be advantageous to provide a multimedia signal processing system that gives the user the ability to simultaneously record and play back TV broadcast programs. It would further be advantageous to provide a multimedia signal processing system that utilizes an approach that decouples the microprocessor from the high video data rates, thereby reducing the microprocessor and system requirements, which are at a premium.
The invention provides a multimedia signal processing system. The invention utilizes an easily manipulated, low cost multimedia storage and display system that allows the user to view a television broadcast program with the option of instantly reviewing previous scenes within the program. In addition, the invention allows the user to store selected television broadcast programs while the user is simultaneously watching or reviewing another program.
A preferred embodiment of the invention accepts television (TV) input streams in a multitude of forms, for example, analog forms such as National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) or PAL broadcast, and digital forms such as Digital Satellite System (DSS), Digital Broadcast Services (DBS), or Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC). Analog TV streams are converted to an Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) formatted stream for internal transfer and manipulation, while pre-formatted MPEG streams are extracted from the digital TV signal and presented in a similar format to encoded analog streams.
The invention parses the resulting MPEG stream and separates it into its video and audio components. It then stores the components into temporary buffers. Events are recorded that indicate the type of component that has been found, where it is located, and when it occurred. The program logic is notified that an event has occurred and the data is extracted from the buffers.
The parser and event buffer decouple the CPU from having to parse the MPEG stream and from the real time nature of the data streams. This decoupling allows for slower CPU and bus speeds, which translates to lower system costs.
The video and audio components are stored on a storage device. When the program is requested for display, the video and audio components are extracted from the storage device and reassembled into an MPEG stream. The MPEG stream is sent to a decoder. The decoder converts the MPEG stream into TV output signals and delivers the TV output signals to a TV receiver.
User control commands are accepted and sent through the system. These commands affect the flow of said MPEG stream and allow the user to view stored programs with at least the following functions: reverse, fast forward, play, pause, index, fast/slow reverse play, and fast/slow play.
Furthermore, the invention incorporates a versatile system architecture that makes it possible to provide the invention in a variety of configurations, each adapted to receive input signals from a different source. At the highest level, the system board comprises an input section and an output section, in which the output section includes the core functional components. Across all configurations, the output section remains substantially the same, incorporating the three core components either as three discrete chips or as a chipset, while the input section varies according to the signal type and the source. In this way, several configurations are provided, each one requiring only minor modifications to the system board. The system architecture thus simplifies the design and manufacturing challenge presented by producing units to serve different markets, such as digital satellite, digital cable and analog cable.
The core components of the output section of the invention include: a CPU having the primary function of initializing and controlling the remaining system hardware components, an MPEG-2 decoder/graphics subsystem, in communication with the CPU, primarily responsible for decoding transport streams delivered from the input section, and a media manager, in communication with the MPEG-2 decoder/graphics subsystem, having a variety of functions, including media processing, high-speed transport output and miscellaneous I/O functionality. The invention further includes a transport stream interface between the input section and output sections, several memory components, one or more mass storage devices for storage of the separate audio and video components of the input signal, and a system bus for the transfer of data between the various system components of the invention. Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description in combination with the accompanying drawings, illustrating, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
The invention is embodied in a multimedia signal processing system. A system according to the invention provides a multimedia storage and display system that allows the user to view a television broadcast program with the option of instantly reviewing previous scenes within the program. The invention additionally provides the user with the ability to store selected television broadcast programs while simultaneously watching or reviewing another program and to view stored programs with at least the following functions: reverse, fast forward, play, pause, index, fast/slow reverse play, and fast/slow play.
Referring to
The Media Switch 102 mediates between a microprocessor CPU 106, hard disk or storage device 105, and memory 104. Input streams are converted to an MPEG stream and sent to the Media Switch 102. The Media Switch 102 buffers the MPEG stream into memory. It then performs two operations if the user is watching real time TV: the stream is sent to the Output Section 103 and it is written simultaneously to the hard disk or storage device 105.
The Output Section 103 takes MPEG streams as input and produces an analog TV signal according to the NTSC, PAL, or other required TV standards. The Output Section 103 contains an MPEG decoder, On-Screen Display (OSD) generator, analog TV encoder and audio logic. The OSD generator allows the program logic to supply images which will be overlayed on top of the resulting analog TV signal. Additionally, the Output Section can modulate information supplied by the program logic onto the VBI of the output signal in a number of standard formats, including NABTS, CC and EDS.
With respect to
Referring to
The Media Switch enables the program logic to associate proper time sequence information with each segment, possibly embedding it directly into the stream. The time sequence information for each segment is called a time stamp. These time stamps are monotonically increasing and start at zero each time the system boots up. This allows the invention to find any particular spot in any particular video segment. For example, if the system needs to read five seconds into an incoming contiguous video stream that is being cached, the system simply has to start reading forward into the stream and look for the appropriate time stamp.
A binary search can be performed on a stored file to index into a stream. Each stream is stored as a sequence of fixed-size segments enabling fast binary searches because of the uniform timestamping. If the user wants to start in the middle of the program, the system performs a binary search of the stored segments until it finds the appropriate spot, obtaining the desired results with a minimal amount of information. If the signal were instead stored as an MPEG stream, it would be necessary to linearly parse the stream from the beginning to find the desired location.
With respect to
The input stream flows through a parser 401. The parser 401 parses the stream looking for MPEG distinguished events indicating the start of video, audio or private data segments. For example, when the parser 401 finds a video event, it directs the stream to the video DMA engine 402. The parser 401 buffers up data and DMAs it into the video buffer 410 through the video DMA engine 402. At the same time, the parser 401 directs an event to the event DMA engine 405 which generates an event into the event buffer 413. When the parser 401 sees an audio event, it redirects the byte stream to the audio DMA engine 403 and generates an event into the event buffer 413. Similarly, when the parser 401 sees a private data event, it directs the byte stream to the private data DMA engine 404 and directs an event to the event buffer 413. The Media Switch notifies the program logic via an interrupt mechanism when events are placed in the event buffer.
Referring to
With respect to
The program logic continues collecting logical segments 603 until it reaches the fixed buffer size. When this occurs, the program logic generates a new buffer, called a Packetized Elementary Stream (PES) 605 buffer containing these logical segments 603 in order, plus ancillary control information. Each logical segment points 604 directly to the circular buffer, e.g., the video buffer 613, filled by the Media Switch 601. This new buffer is then passed to other logic components, which may further process the stream in the buffer in some way, such as presenting it for decoding or writing it to the storage media. Thus, the MPEG data is not copied from one location in memory to another by the processor. This results in a more cost effective design since lower memory bandwidth and processor bandwidth is required.
A unique feature of the MPEG stream transformation into PES buffers is that the data associated with logical segments need not be present in the buffer itself, as presented above. When a PES buffer is written to storage, these logical segments are written to the storage medium in the logical order in which they appear. This has the effect of gathering components of the stream, whether they be in the video, audio or private data circular buffers, into a single linear buffer of stream data on the storage medium. The buffer is read back from the storage medium with a single transfer from the storage media, and the logical segment information is updated to correspond with the actual locations in the buffer 606. Higher level program logic is unaware of this transformation, since it handles only the logical segments, thus stream data is easily managed without requiring that the data ever be copied between locations in DRAM by the CPU.
A unique aspect of the Media Switch is the ability to handle high data rates effectively and inexpensively. It performs the functions of taking video and audio data in, sending video and audio data out, sending video and audio data to disk, and extracting video and audio data from the disk on a low cost platform. Generally, the Media Switch runs asynchronously and autonomously with the microprocessor CPU, using its DMA capabilities to move large quantities of information with minimal intervention by the CPU.
Referring to
The parser 705 parses the input data stream from the MPEG encoder 703, audio encoder 704 and VBI decoder 702, or from the transport demultiplexor in the case of a digital TV stream. The parser 705 detects the beginning of all of the important events in a video or audio stream, the start of all of the frames, the start of sequence headers—all of the pieces of information that the program logic needs to know about in order to both properly play back and perform special effects on the stream, e.g. fast forward, reverse, play, pause, fast/slow play, indexing, and fast/slow reverse play.
The parser 705 places tags 707 into the FIFO 706 when it identifies video or audio segments, or is given private data. The DMA 709 controls when these tags are taken out. The tags 707 and the DMA addresses of the segments are placed into the event queue 708. The frame type information, whether it is a start of a video I-frame, video B-frame, video P-frame, video PES, audio PES, a sequence header, an audio frame, or private data packet, is placed into the event queue 708 along with the offset in the related circular buffer where the piece of information was placed. The program logic operating in the CPU 713 examines events in the circular buffer after it is transferred to the DRAM 714.
The Media Switch 701 has a data bus 711 that connects to the CPU 713 and DRAM 714. An address bus 712 is also shared between the Media Switch 701, CPU 713, and DRAM 714. A hard disk or storage device 710 is connected to one of the ports of the Media Switch 701. The Media Switch 701 outputs streams to an MPEG video decoder 715 and a separate audio decoder 717. The audio decoder 717 signals contain audio cues generated by the system in response to the user's commands on a remote control or other internal events. The decoded audio output from the MPEG decoder is digitally mixed 718 with the separate audio signal. The resulting signals contain video, audio, and on-screen displays and are sent to the TV 716.
The Media Switch 701 takes in 8-bit data and sends it to the disk, while at the same time extracts another stream of data off of the disk and sends it to the MPEG decoder 715. All of the DMA engines described above can be working at the same time. The Media Switch 701 can be implemented in hardware using a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), ASIC, or discrete logic.
Rather than having to parse through an immense data stream looking for the start of where each frame would be, the program logic only has to look at the circular event buffer in DRAM 714 and it can tell where the start of each frame is and the frame type. This approach saves a large amount of CPU power, keeping the real time requirements of the CPU 713 small. The CPU 713 does not have to be very fast at any point in time. The Media Switch 701 gives the CPU 713 as much time as possible to complete tasks. The parsing mechanism 705 and event queue 708 decouple the CPU 713 from parsing the audio, video, and buffers and the real time nature of the streams, which allows for lower costs. It also allows the use of a bus structure in a CPU environment that operates at a much lower clock rate with much cheaper memory than would be required otherwise.
The CPU 713 has the ability to queue up one DMA transfer and can set up the next DMA transfer at its leisure. This gives the CPU 713 large time intervals within which it can service the DMA controller 709. The CPU 713 may respond to a DMA interrupt within a larger time window because of the large latency allowed. MPEG streams, whether extracted from an MPEG2 Transport or encoded from an analog TV signal, are typically encoded using a technique called Variable Bit Rate encoding (VBR). This technique varies the amount of data required to represent a sequence of images by the amount of movement between those images. This technique can greatly reduce the required bandwidth for a signal, however sequences with rapid movement (such as a basketball game) may be encoded with much greater bandwidth requirements. For example, the Hughes DirecTV satellite system encodes signals with anywhere from 1 to 10 Mb/s of required bandwidth, varying from frame to frame. It would be difficult for any computer system to keep up with such rapidly varying data rates without this structure.
With respect to
A source 801 accepts data from encoders, e.g., a digital satellite receiver. It acquires buffers for this data from the downstream transform, packages the data into a buffer, then pushes the buffer down the pipeline as described above. The source object 801 does not know anything about the rest of the system. The sink 803 consumes buffers, taking a buffer from the upstream transform, sending the data to the decoder, and then releasing the buffer for reuse.
There are two types of transforms 802 used: spatial and temporal. Spatial transforms are transforms that perform, for example, an image convolution or compression/decompression on the buffered data that is passing through. Temporal transforms are used when there is no time relation that is expressible between buffers going in and buffers coming out of a system. Such a transform writes the buffer to a file 804 on the storage medium. The buffer is pulled out at a later time, sent down the pipeline, and properly sequenced within the stream.
Referring to
The TmkPipeline class 905, 909, 914 is responsible for flow control through the system. The pipelines point to the next pipeline in the flow from source 901 to sink 903. To pause the pipeline, for example, an event called "pause" is sent to the first object in the pipeline. The event is relayed on to the next object and so on down the pipeline. This all happens asynchronously to the data going through the pipeline. Thus, similar to applications such as telephony, control of the flow of MPEG streams is asynchronous and separate from the streams themselves. This allows for a simple logic design that is at the same time powerful enough to support the features described previously, including pause, rewind, fast forward and others. In addition, this structure allows fast and efficient switching between stream sources, since buffered data can be simply discarded and decoders reset using a single event, after which data from the new stream will pass down the pipeline. Such a capability is needed, for example, when switching the channel being captured by the input section, or when switching between a live signal from the input section and a stored stream.
The source object 901 is a TmkSource 906 and the transform object 902 is a TmkXfrm 910. These are intermediate classes that define standard behaviors for the classes in the pipeline. Conceptually, they handshake buffers down the pipeline. The source object 901 takes data out of a physical data source, such as the Media Switch, and places it into a PES buffer. To obtain the buffer, the source object 901 asks the down stream object in his pipeline for a buffer (allocEmptyBuf). The source object 901 is blocked until there is sufficient memory. This means that the pipeline is self-regulating; it has automatic flow control. When the source object 901 has filled up the buffer, it hands it back to the transform 902 through the pushFullBuf function.
The sink 903 is flow controlled as well. It calls nextFullBuf which tells the transform 902 that it is ready for the next filled buffer. This operation can block the sink 903 until a buffer is ready. When the sink 903 is finished with a buffer (i.e., it has consumed the data in the buffer) it calls releaseEmptyBuf. ReleaseEmptyBuf gives the buffer back to the transform 902. The transform 902 can then hand that buffer, for example, back to the source object 901 to fill up again. In addition to the automatic flow-control benefit of this method, it also provides for limiting the amount of memory dedicated to buffers by allowing enforcement of a fixed allocation of buffers by a transform. This is an important feature in achieving a cost-effective limited DRAM environment.
The MediaSwitch class 909 calls the allocEmptyBuf method of the TmkClipCache 912 object and receives a PES buffer from it. It then goes out to the circular buffers in the Media Switch hardware and generates PES buffers. The MediaSwitch class 909 fills the buffer up and pushes it back to the TmkClipCache 912 object.
The TmkClipCache 912 maintains a cache file 918 on a storage medium. It also maintains two pointers into this cache: a push pointer 919 that shows where the next buffer coming from the source 901 is inserted; and a current pointer 920 which points to the current buffer used.
The buffer scheme can be implemented using a memory pool where each buffer is allocated on demand by a memory manager. The buffers are linked together by next buff pointers in a linked list 918. As buffers are released, they a freed back into the memory pool and are available to be allocated to other classes or tasks within the system. The push pointer 919 points to the last buffer in the linked list while the current pointer 920 points to the current buffer used.
The buffer that is pointed to by the current pointer is handed to the Vela decoder class 916. The Vela decoder class 916 talks to the decoder 921 in the hardware. The decoder 921 produces a decoded TV signal that is subsequently encoded into an analog TV signal in NTSC, PAL or other analog format. When the Vela decoder class 916 is finished with the buffer it calls releaseEmptyBuf.
The structure of the classes makes the system easy to test and debug. Each level can be tested separately to make sure it performs in the appropriate manner, and the classes may be gradually aggregated to achieve the desired functionality while retaining the ability to effectively test each object.
The control object 917 accepts commands from the user and sends events into the pipeline to control what the pipeline is doing. For example, if the user has a remote control and is watching TV, the user presses pause and the control object 917 sends an event to the sink 903, that tells it pause. The sink 903 stops asking for new buffers. The current pointer 920 stays where it is at. The sink 903 starts taking buffers out again when it receives another event that tells it to play. The system is in perfect synchronization; it starts from the frame that it stopped at.
The remote control may also have a fast forward key. When the fast forward key is pressed, the control object 917 sends an event to the transform 902, that tells it to move forward two seconds. The transform 902 finds that the two second time span requires it to move forward three buffers. It then issues a reset event to the downstream pipeline, so that any queued data or state that may be present in the hardware decoders is flushed. This is a critical step, since the structure of MPEG streams requires maintenance of state across multiple frames of data, and that state will be rendered invalid by repositioning the pointer. It then moves the current pointer 920 forward three buffers. The next time the sink 903 calls nextFullBuf it gets the new current buffer. The same method works for fast reverse in that the transform 902 moves the current pointer 920 backwards.
A system clock reference resides in the decoder. The system clock reference is sped up for fast play or slowed down for slow play. The sink simply asks for full buffers faster or slower, depending on the clock speed.
With respect to
Referring to
An important feature of this apparatus is the ease with which it can selectively capture portions of an incoming signal under the control of program logic. Based on information such as the current time, or perhaps a specific time span, or perhaps via a remote control button press by the viewer, a TmkClipWriter 1106 may be switched on to record a portion of the signal, and switched off at some later time. This switching is typically caused by sending a "switch" event to the PushSwitch 1102 object.
An additional method for triggering selective capture is through information modulated into the VBI or placed into an MPEG private data channel. Data decoded from the VBI or private data channel is passed to the program logic. The program logic examines this data to determine if the data indicates that capture of the TV signal into which it was modulated should begin. Similarly, this information may also indicate when recording should end, or another data item may be modulated into the signal indicating when the capture should end. The starting and ending indicators may be explicitly modulated into the signal or other information that is placed into the signal in a standard fashion may be used to encode this information.
With respect to
One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that although a circular buffer is specifically mentioned in areas above, a linked list using a memory pool allocation scheme, also described above, can be substituted in its place.
During stream capture, each word is looked up in a table 1206 which indicates the action to take on recognizing that word. This action may simply change the state of the recognizer state machine 1207, or may cause the state machine 1207 to issue an action request, such as "start capture", "stop capture", "phrase seen", or other similar requests. Indeed, a recognized word or phrase may cause the pipeline to be switched; for example, to overlay a different audio track if undesirable language is used in the program.
Note that the parsing state table 1206 and recognizer state machine 1207 may be modified or changed at any time. For example, a different table and state machine may be provided for each input channel. Alternatively, these elements may be switched depending on the time of day, or because of other events.
Referring to
An ActionClip class provides for sequencing a number of different stored signals in a predictable and controllable manner, possibly with the added control of viewer selection via a remote control. Thus, it appears as a derivative of a TmkXfrm object that accepts a "switch" event for switching to the next stored signal.
This allows the program logic or user to create custom sequences of video output. Any number of video segments can be lined up and combined as if the program logic or user were using a broadcast studio video mixer. TmkClipReaders 1108, 1109, 1110 are allocated and each is hooked into the PullSwitch 1104. The PullSwitch 1104 switches between the TmkClipReaders 1108, 1109, 1110 to combine video and audio clips. Flow control is automatic because of the way the pipeline is constructed. The Push and Pull Switches are the same as video switches in a broadcast studio.
The derived class and resulting objects described here may be combined in an arbitrary way to create a number of different useful configurations for storing, retrieving, switching and viewing of TV streams. For example, if multiple input and output sections are available, one input is viewed while another is stored, and a picture-in-picture window generated by the second output is used to preview previously stored streams. Such configurations represent a unique and novel application of software transformations to achieve the functionality expected of expensive, sophisticated hardware solutions within a single cost-effective device.
With respect to
The VCR 1307 output can also be routed back into the Input Module 1301. In this configuration the VCR acts as a backup system for the Media Switch 1302. Any overflow storage or lower priority programming is sent to the VCR 1307 for later retrieval.
The Input Module 1301 can decode and pass to the remainder of the system information encoded on the Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI). The Output Module 1303 can encode into the output VBI data provided by the remainder of the system. The program logic may arrange to encode identifying information of various kinds into the output signal, which will be recorded onto tape using the VCR 1307. Playing this tape back into the input allows the program logic to read back this identifying information, such that the TV signal recorded on the tape is properly handled. For example, a particular program may be recorded to tape along with information about when It was recorded, the source network, etc. When this program is played back into the Input Module, this information can be used to control storage of the signal, presentation to the viewer, etc.
One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that such a mechanism may be used to introduce various data items to the program logic which are not properly conceived of as television signals. For instance, software updates or other data may be passed to the system. The program logic receiving this data from the television stream may impose controls on how the data is handled, such as requiring certain authentication sequences and/or decrypting the embedded information according to some previously acquired key. Such a method works for normal broadcast signals as well, leading to an efficient means of providing non-TV control information and data to the program logic.
Additionally, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that although a VCR is specifically mentioned above, any multimedia recording device (e.g., a Digital Video Disk-Random Access Memory (DVD-RAM) recorder) is easily substituted in its place.
Turning now to
The output section further includes a media manager 1405. While the media manager provides a number of functions, its major function is that of a bridging element between system components, due to the number and type of I/O functions it incorporates. For example, the media manager includes an IR receiver/transmitter interface to couple with the handheld remote control by which a user operates the invention. Furthermore, the media manager serves an important media processing function. As previously indicated, the transport signal is both routed to the MPEG-2 decoder and saved to the storage device by the media manager. The media manager 1405 communicates with the MPEG-2 transport stream decoder/graphics subsystem 1404 by means of a system bus 1407. A preferred embodiment of the invention uses a PCI bus as the system bus. Advantageously, the output section is partitioned as three discrete chips: the CPU, the MPEG-2 decoder/graphics subsystem and the media manager. The simplicity of this partitioning arrangement enables a substantially reduced per-unit cost by dramatically reducing the time and budget required for initial design and development. Additionally, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the output section may also be provided as a single chip or chipset.
An MPEG-2 decoder/graphics subsystem 1404, such as, for example, the BCM7020, supplied by Broadcom Corporation of Irvine Calif. can be considered the central component of the output section 1402. In fact, the MPEG-2 decoder/graphics subsystem 1404 incorporates a number of important components, including, but not limited to:
As described above, the transport stream generated by the input section 1401 is fed into one of the transport interfaces 1406, whereupon it is demultiplexed into separate audio and video packet elementary streams (PES). These streams are then stored on the hard drive 1505 and played back through the outputs 1504. The transport stream demultiplexer included in the MPEG-2 decoder/graphics subsystem 1404 is responsible for the demultiplexing operation. Prior to being played back, the audio and video packet streams are retrieved from the hard drive and reassembled into a transport stream. The transport stream is then decoded to a video signal. The MPEG-2 transport stream decoder included in the component 1404 is responsible for decoding the MPEG-2 transport stream. The component 1404 also includes a graphics engine for generating high-quality on-screen displays, such as interactive program guides. The output side of the component 1404 provides several outputs; including S-video, audio, SPDIR (Stereo Paired Digital Interface), CVBS (Composite Video Baseband Signal). Additionally, a SMARTCARD interface 1503, and a modem port 1506 is provided to which a modem 1519 is interfaced. The SMARTCARD interface supports up to two SMARTCARD readers. More will be said about the SMARTCARD functionality below.
The output section 1402 further includes a memory element 1501, under the control of the OS kernel. The system software provides a single device driver interface that enables all other device drivers to allocate contiguous memory buffers typically used for DMA (Direct Memory Access). The memory element is preferably SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory), preferably at least 32 MB.
However, other memory configurations are entirely within the spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, as will be described below, the invention may include other memory elements that are not under the control of the OS kernel.
A flash PROM (Programmable Read-only Memory) 1502 contains the boot code that initializes the system board state prior to booting the OS kernel, either from a hard drive or over a TCP/IP network connection. In addition to performing basic system startup tasks such as memory test and POST (Power-On Self Test), the PROM 1502 also serves as a key component in the physical architecture of the system by ensuring that neither the PROM itself nor the OS kernel it is booting have been tampered with. This is accomplished by computing digital signatures over the PROM code as well as the OS kernel image.
As previously indicated, the media manager 1405, connected to the MPEG-2 decoder/graphics subsystem 1404 by means of the PCI bus 1407, performs a bridging or mediating function between many of the hardware components of the system, notably the CPU 1403, the hard disk or storage device 1505, and memory 1501. The media manager 1405 provides this function by virtue of the assortment of interfaces and I/O devices integrated within the media manager. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the media manager is implemented in an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). However, the media manager could also be implemented in a programmable logic device, or it could also be composed of discrete devices. The media manager 1405 integrates at least the following:
As shown in
As previously described, the media manager also mediates the transfer of media streams between the CPU 1403, memory 1501, and the hard drive 1505. This is accomplished through the action of the media stream processor and the high-speed transport output interface mentioned above.
A secure micro controller, such as, for example, an AT90S3232C supplied by ATMEL Corporation of San Jose Calif., 1511 is interfaced with the media manager ASIC 1405 through one of the UART's 1512. Preferably, the micro controller 1511 is one specifically designed for cryptographic applications such as encryption and authentication. In addition to providing a master key for disk encryption as described below, the micro controller also contains a private key unique to each unit that is created randomly during manufacturing. Once written into the component, the key cannot be read out and can only be used to respond to authentication challenges.
As shown, up to two hard drives 1505 are provided for storage of recorded video programming. As described above, the IDE host controller is integrated on the media manager ASIC 1405 and provides a disk encryption feature that can be applied to either disk drive on a per-transfer basis. The micro controller, as described above, generates, encrypts and decrypts a master key for disk encryption purposes.
An RS232 port 1514 interfaces with another of the UART's 1513. A front panel navigation cluster 1516 is interfaced with the media manager ASIC through one of the GPIO's 1515. An IR receiver and transmitter 1518 are interfaced with the media manager ASIC through an IR receiver/transmitter interface 1517. The IR receiver assembly is mounted in the front panel navigation cluster, described in greater detail below, behind a transparent window. It receives a modulated signal from a handheld remote control and outputs the signal as is to the media manager ASIC, which either dispatches it to the CPU for further processing or provides a pass-through path to the IR transmitter 1518.
A real-time clock (not shown) is interfaced with the media manager through one of the I2C ports. Because the invention is intended for use as a personal video recorder, in which the user is able to program the system in advance to record selections at specified times, a real-time clock is a fundamental requirement.
As previously described, the input signal is accepted by an input section 1401 passed to the output section 1402 as an MPEG-2 transport stream. The input section is provided in one of several configurations, according to the type of source originating the signal. By providing an input section 1401 individualized to source type, while keeping the output section the same across all versions, it is possible to produce units in various configurations with only minor modifications to the system board. In this way, the scale of the manufacturing challenge posed by producing units to serve different markets is considerably reduced. Referring now to
In the case of NTSC signals, a tuner/RF demodulator 1601, such as the TMDH-2 supplied by ALPS Electric, of San Jose Calif., sets the signal to the desired channel. Preferably, the tuner assembly incorporates the tuner, an RF demodulator and an RF bypass into the same component. The tuner assembly is controlled over the I2C bus port exposed by the media manager ASIC 1405.
A multi-standard sound processor 1603, such as a MSP4448G, supplied by Micronas Semiconductor of Freiburg, Germany accepts analog audio input from the composite audio connectors or the tuner/RF demodulator 1601. Additionally, it accepts digital audio input over an I2S bus from the media manager ASIC 1405. The resulting audio signal is output to an MPEG encoder 1604 over the I2S bus.
The decoder 1602, an NTSC/PAL/SECAM video decoder, such as, for example a SAA7114H video decoder, supplied by Philips Semiconductor, of Eindhoven, the Netherlands, accepts input from either the tuner/RF demodulator 1601, the composite video inputs or the S-video input and converts it into the CCIR 656 (Comité Consultatif International des Radiocommunications, recommendation 656) digital format for input to an MPEG-2 encoder 1604, such as, for example a BCM7040, supplied by BROADCOM.
The MPEG-2 encoder 1604 accepts input from the NTSC/PAL/SECAM video decoder 1602 and the audio input previously mentioned and produces an MPEG-2 transport stream as the output. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the encoder 1604 is programmed to multiplex the audio and video inputs into a constant bitrate (CBR) MPEG-2 transport stream. However, in order to conserve disk space, it is also possible to program the encoder 1604 to produce a variable bit rate (VBR) stream. Subsequently, the transport stream is delivered to the decoder 1404 over the transport interface 1406 for demultiplexing and further processing. The input section 1401 a further includes a memory element 1605 that is not under the control of the OS kernel.
A variation (not shown) of the analog front end includes a secondary input via an additional set of composite audio/video and/or S-video connectors for content originating from camcorders or VCR's. Additional hardware and software support is necessary in order for the variation to be fully enabled.
Turning now to
Referring to
As previously described, the invention is intended to be used as a PVR (Personal Video Recorder), in which a user may view a selected video stream in real-time, or they may view a recorded video stream, examining the video stream by taking advantage of such features as rewind, pause, play, stop, slow play, fast forward, and the like. Furthermore, controls are provided for selecting programming to be recorded and for specifying additional recording parameters. To that end, the invention includes user control interfaces. Primarily, user interaction with the invention is by way of a battery-powered, handheld IR remote control. Activating the various controls by the user causes a modulated IR beam to be emitted and received by the PVR. The IR receiver/transmitter system and interface have been previously described in detail. However, an alternate embodiment of the invention provides an RF-enabled remote control, receiver/transmitter and interface, either instead of or in addition to the IR driven remote control.
In addition to the remote control, the user may interact with the invention by means of a navigation cluster, comprising buttons or keys, on a front panel of the unit. Advantageously, the navigation cluster substantially duplicates the functions of the remote control. Thus, the navigation cluster permits control of the invention, even if the remote control is lost, or stolen, or needs the batteries replaced. As described above, an interface for the navigation cluster is provided on the media manager ASIC.
As previously indicated, the system board supports SMARTCARD functionality. A SMARTCARD reader is accessible through a slot provided on the front panel of the invention. The SMARTCARD slot is intended for use in commerce applications where user authentication is required for billing purposes, such as pay-per-view programming, music sales, merchandise sales and the like.
The invention is produced using conventional manufacturing techniques well known to those skilled in the art of microelectronics design and manufacturing.
As described above, the media manager ASIC includes a media stream processor. Conventionally, media stream processors have been only able to process a single channel, providing a serious bottleneck to the system's throughput. Related, commonly owned applications have described multi-channel media processors that eliminate this bottleneck. Additionally, conventional media stream processors have had to be in the data path of the stream they are processing. Such a requirement necessitates that the processor be integrated on the system board in a manner that would make it very difficult to upgrade the media stream processor without replacing the system board. It would be a great advantage to provide a system independent device to upgrade a PVR's media stream processor capability from single-channel to multi-channel, which could be flexibly incorporated with existing hardware. To that end; the invention provides a system-independent, multi-channel media stream processor 1000. As
The system interface 2201 serves as a completely passive, slave client on the system bus, not interfering in any way with data transfer, merely observing or "sniffing" the bus. While the remaining components of the invented media stream processor are system-independent, the system interface 2201 may be tailored to a specific system, or it may be adapted to connect to several different systems, either by means of hardwired elements, or through the use of programming switches. In the case of a unique or proprietary system, the system interface can be placed to observe on the memory bus instead, owing to the fact that hardware and protocols on memory buses are nearly universally uniform. The system interface provides a connection by which the media processor may observe the system bus.
System data is sent to the media stream identifier 2202, which distinguishes media streams from other data, in order to identify data that needs to be processed. The media stream identifier uses information such as source and destination addresses, which in most systems are hardwired signals, to identify media streams.
As media streams are identified, the media stream identification generator 2205 tags media stream data objects so that they may be associated with their respective media streams. Following tagging, the media stream data is routed to the media stream processor core 2203, where it is processed in parallel, rather than in a single channel. By processing the media streams in this manner, it is possible to achieve a four to eightfold increase in throughput.
In the case of multiple media streams, the multi-channel state engine 2204 saves the state of the media processor when a different media stream identification is presented, indicating that the media stream has switched. When the original media stream is again presented, the state is reloaded and processing of the original stream is resumed.
The resulting process is saved to a media data structure. Such data structures are commonly known. As each stream is processed, it is sent to system memory as needed.
While the multi-channel media stream processor has been described herein as an upgrade device, it also could be incorporated into a new system as the media processor. It provides the advantage of being easily incorporated into a system architecture without requiring major retooling of the system board.
The multi-channel media stream processor may be implemented using discrete components or in a programmable logic device, using known methods of programming if such devices.
Although the invention has been described herein with reference to certain preferred embodiments, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that other applications may be substituted for those set forth herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the invention should only be limited by the claims included below.
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A staggering story in the Miami New Times today reveals that baseball stars Alex Rodriguez, Gio Gonzalez, Nelson Cruz, Melky Cabrera and Bartolo Colon were clients of a Miami anti-aging clinic that distributed performance enhancing drugs like HGH and IGF-1, both of which are banned by MLB.
The players' names are found in a set of notebooks kept by Anthony Bosch, who ran the clinic. Bosch and his father, Pedro, were formerly accused of supplying the banned substances that led to Manny Ramirez's 2009 suspension. Though investigated by the DEA, neither Bosch was officially charged with a crime.
Today's news implicates some of the league's top talents. Washington Nationals ace Gio Gonzalez was considered one of the favorites for the 2012 NL Cy Young award, and 39-year-old Bartolo Colon had a renaissance season last year, posting his best numbers since 2005. San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera was having an MVP-caliber season prior to his 50-game suspension for PED use in August. Also mentioned in Bosch's notebooks is San Diego Padres rookie catcher Yasmani Grandal, one of the league's most promising young stars.
Of course the biggest name is Rodriguez, who was previously linked to illegal performance enhancers but has adamantly denied using steroids since 2003. The newspaper's investigation finds rather compelling evidence to the contrary:
The mentions of Rodriguez begin in 2009 and continue all the way through last season. Take a page in another notebook, which is labeled "2012″ and looks to have been written last spring. Under the heading "A-Rod/Cacique," Bosch writes, "He is paid through April 30th. He will owe May 1 $4,000… I need to see him between April 13-19, deliver troches, pink cream, and… May meds. Has three weeks of Sub-Q (as of April)."
Elsewhere in his notebooks, Bosch writes that "Sub-Q" refers to his mixture of HGH, IGF-1, and other drugs.
Bosch also reportedly bragged about his close relationship with Rodriguez, and he even told former employees that he was supplying the star third baseman with performance enhancing drugs. None of the implicated players responded to the New Times' requests for comment, but their agents reportedly began leaking information to other news outlets in order to "soften the blow" of today's report.
This latest steroid scandal comes a few weeks after it was revealed that former stars Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were denied first-ballot entry into the MLB Hall of Fame due to links to steroid use. Other deserving players like Craig Biggio and Mike Piazza appeared to be kept out solely because they were dominant players during the tainted time period in baseball's history. Today's news suggests that steroid era is still far from over.
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