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Three Wildcats Named All-Big 12
Three Wildcats Named All-Big 12
Nov. 26, 2012
Big 12 Conference Release
MANHATTAN, Kan. – With the K-State volleyball finishing the regular season 21-8 overall and 8-8 in conference play, three Wildcats were recognized on Monday for their efforts on the court by being named to the All-Big 12 Conference Team. Senior setter Caitlyn Donahue and junior middle blocker Kaitlynn Pelger were voted to the first team by the league's coaches and senior middle blocker Alex Muff was named honorable mention.
Donahue ranked second in the Big 12 this season in assists per set at 11.73 overall and 11.79 in league play. In conference matches she trailed Iowa State's Allison Landwehr by just .14 per set with Landwehr earning the first-ever Big 12 Setter of the Year honor. Donahue posted nine double-doubles during the season as she also averaged 2.44 digs per set in Big 12 play.
This is Donahue's first All-Big 12 award and is the first setter to be named to the team since Stacey Spiegelberg earned honorable mention in 2007.She is the first setter to make the first team since Gabby Guerre in 2003 when K-State won the Big 12.
Pelger earned All-Big 12 first team honors for the second straight year and was a unanimous selection by the coaches. All season Pelger ranked near the top of the league in kills per set and finished third behind only Haley Eckerman and Bailey Webster of Texas. Eckerman was named Big 12 Player of the Year.
In conference matches this year, Pelger ranked third in kills and points and for much of the season was one of only two players to rank in the top 10 hitting percentage and blocks as well. She is the first Wildcat to earn back-to-back first team status since Nataly Korobkova did so in 2007 and 2008.
Muff receives her first All-Big 12 honor in her final year at K-State. She was among the best blockers in the league again as she finished with an average of 1.32 per set in league action to rank second behind Khat Bell of Texas. Muff also ranked ninth in hitting percentage with a clip of .312. Muff ranks 22nd in the nation in blocks overall with a 1.41 average. She closed the regular season with her first career double-double against Oklahoma with 11 kills and 10 blocks on Saturday.
With Muff and Pelger both being named All-Big 12 it marks the first time since 2003 the Wildcats have had two middle blockers on the list. Lauren Goehring was named first team and player of the year in 2003 and Lisa Martin earn honorable mention.
The Wildcats will play in their 14th NCAA Tournament this week when they take on the Northern Iowa Panthers at 4:30 p.m. Thursday from Lincoln, Neb., in first round action. The match can be heard on 1350 KMAN with Rob Voelker calling the action or it can be seen online at ncaa.com with all matches in the first two rounds available for free online viewing.


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(BPT) – You're all too familiar with that one, dreaded moment when the festivities end. It hits you every year like a bad hangover. You promise yourself that once the last sip of eggnog has been guzzled and the cookie jar has been emptied, you'll get healthy.
But what does healthy mean? We're bombarded with visions of steel abdominal muscles and gazelle-like limbs. For most people, however, achieving health can't be reduced to a lower health club membership deal or a dieting pill. Rather, the road to health is a lifelong journey encompassing mind, body and spirit.
That said, there are manageable steps you can take in your daily life to experience and sustain a healthier, balanced lifestyle. Popcorn, low in calories and high in fiber, whole grains and antioxidants, can help. One of the oldest and most beloved snacks for any age, popcorn is also a treat to lift the spirit.
"Popcorn is a classic American symbol of families joining together," says Garrett Smith, president of Jolly Time Pop Corn. "We've been a family owned business for nearly 100 years, and as dieting trends go in and out, we've remained true to our wholesome values and wishing our consumers the entire equation: family, fun and moderation."
Earlier this year, Jolly Time Pop Corn conducted a campaign asking fans for advice on maintaining a healthy lifestyle in celebration of its new popcorn made with the Smart Balance blend of oils, which contains zero grams of trans fat naturally and no hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. Here are the most popular tips submitted:
* Everything in moderation – Rather than swing between extremes, try to get into an easy routine and listen to your body. Be active, but also know when to rest. Eat healthy foods, but allow yourself the occasional indulgence.
* Walk daily – Walking burns calories without putting strain on joints. A nice long walk also allows for some quiet time to process your emotions and events of the day.
* Floss your teeth – Flossing your teeth prevents plague, which creates a toxin that your body has to work hard to fight, ultimately freeing up your immune system to fight other ailments.
* Eat a variety of fruits and veggies – Fruits and veggies provide essential vitamins, antioxidants and other nutrients to keep people healthy. Studies have also linked eating more produce with improved mood.
* Drink water – You should drink eight glasses of water per day to stay hydrated, keeping the gears of your body detoxified and in motion.
* Whole grains – Dietary fiber from whole grains or other foods may help reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower risk of heart disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes. And whole grain foods such as popcorn, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta and cereals help provide a feeling of fullness with fewer calories.
"While it's very important to eat well and exercise, being healthy doesn't have to mean pushing ourselves to physical extremes," says Amy Fischl, a registered dietitian at the University of Chicago Kovler Diabetes Center. "There are simple, moderate things we can do to engage our mind, body and spirit, and improve overall health."
Start your day with this balanced whole-grain toasted berry granola recipe from Jolly Time Pop Corn that is good for both your body and your soul.
Whole-grain Toasted Berry Granola
Makes about 11 cups
10 cups popped JOLLY TIME Butter Light Microwave Pop Corn made with the Smart Balance unique blend of oils
2 cups barley flakes
1/4 cup oat bran
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup honey
3 tablespoons light olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger or cardamom
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup dried blueberries
1/3 cup dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 250 F. Line a large-rimmed baking sheet with foil. Mix popcorn (remove any unpopped kernels), barley flakes, oat bran and wheat germ in a large bowl. Mix honey, oil, spices, vanilla and salt in a glass measuring cup until well blended. Pour over popcorn mixture; toss to coat. Pour mixture onto baking sheet in an even layer. Bake about 40 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally. Stir in blueberries and cranberries. Cool completely; store in airtight container.
To learn more about healthy, satisfying snacking with popcorn during the holidays, and to access exclusive recipes and features, visit www.jollytime.com.


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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Four tickets matched all five Fantasy 5 numbers, and all winners will collect $53,584.35.
The Florida Lottery said Saturday that the winning tickets were bought in Gainesville, Medley, Riverview and Lake Park.
The 239 tickets matching four numbers won $144.50 each. Another 8,026 tickets matching three numbers won $12 each, and 85,945 tickets won a Quick Pick ticket for picking two numbers.
The numbers drawn Friday night were 16-17-20-25-31.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Computex 2013: Kabini in a BRIX, Haswell Tooby Ian Cutress on 6/3/2013 2:29 AM EST
- Posted in
- Haswell
- Trade Shows
- Kabini
- Computex 2013
23 Comments
Back to Article
Kevin G - Monday, June 03, 2013 - linkGot any shots of what the internals look like?
Also standard 12V power? Reply
ZeDestructor - Monday, June 03, 2013 - linkMore likely 19V (or somewhere in the 18-20V range) thanks to the laptop heritage of the power circuitry. Reply
IanCutress - Monday, June 03, 2013 - linkOn the rear it stated 65W at ~19V. Shots of the internals will come soon... Reply
ZeDestructor - Tuesday, June 04, 2013 - linkWhy can't everyone just move to 12V for everything that needs DC power... Reply
jb14 - Monday, June 03, 2013 - linkLoving the headphone output, mini DP and fingers crossed for a GT3e/Crystallwell park.
For me would equal an instant buy. Reply
fteoath64 - Monday, June 03, 2013 - link"crossed for a GT3e/Crystallwell park." Not likely unless you want to pay $700 for the box!. The cpu part for GT3e chip is already $465!. Such a box should be $350 to 500 with 4GB DDR3 ram and without disk. Reply
Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer - Monday, June 03, 2013 - linkA tiny Linux box with open-source driver support for honest-to-goodness decent graphics? I'd seriously consider paying $700 for that. It wouldn't have to be THIS small (personally I'd want room for a 2.5" SSD and a 3.5" HDD), but yeah. Reply
HisDivineOrder - Monday, June 03, 2013 - linkDepends on who you are, why you need it, and what you're willing to pay for it. Lots of users have paid more than they should have on iPad's ($900+ for an iPad?) on a yearly basis.
Paying $700 for a tiny box that has a decent gaming box in it that you can throw in your bag might be worth a laugh to those. The fact that the GT3e-quipped chip itself is going to be niche shouldn't be a stopper since... it's a niche product in and of itself.
Why is it a niche? Because Intel makes it so. Clearly, they aren't making many of them, which is why the GT3e is so rare in the lineup. This is their test run for next year when that cache will explode across all the lines, which is also why Intel is being rumored so heavily to be skipping LGA with next year's update (which may well end up making this year's update look incredible if we all thought this year's update was bad for the desktop).
So really, there's no reason to keep the niche product from the niche product. Asus's version looks like it might suit me more if it really takes 3.5" drives though... Reply
kyuu - Monday, June 03, 2013 - linkDefinitely more interested in the Kabini variant. Kabini should be more than adequate for HTPC use, and it should be quite affordable. While a Haswell/Crystalwell part would be swell for performance, that'd jack up the price to an unreasonable level, as far as I'm concerned.
Please do update with price/availability when you find out, Ian. Reply
XBit - Monday, June 03, 2013 - linkCould you add some photos of the power brick? Thanks in advance.
For me, this would be more interesting without a power brick. Reply
psychobriggsy - Monday, June 03, 2013 - link"Clearly the ideal chip in this form factor would be a GT3e/Crystallwell part. "
Oh, those $400 to $600 chips? Yeah, perfect in a low cost computing box.
What I dislike about these systems is the external power brick. Reply
jb14 - Monday, June 03, 2013 - linkI should quantify my statement to be more about the 28W dual-core Haswell part with GT3 graphics, the Iris 5100, as listed by the announced ASUS Zenbook infinity. 28W will keep the heat down and the GT3 graphics will help as well. I didn't realise the high prices of the GT3e parts though. I'm coming from using a Lenovo Q180 mini PC with 4GB as my work PC, (initially was my HTPC), which uses the older Atom. I am not interested in the Kabini as I understand it has the same performance as the old atom except at half the wattage. My atom is truly dreadful as my work pc, so I suspect the kabini will be too (although great as an HTPC).
Anyway I'm looking at this as a small work PC attached to the 24inch monitor, rather than as an HTPC, so more understanding of higher prices. Reply
D64mn! - Monday, June 03, 2013 - linkWith the slight difference that a Kabini is on the level of a former Core 2, but at a fraction of the power draw.
is on the level of a Core 2 Reply
jb14 - Monday, June 03, 2013 - linkNot sure why you are linking to that Anand report? Kabini's compute is 0.39 compared to a pentium IB at 1.0, no mention of an old Core 2? I agree that the GPU side of things is equal if not better for the kabini.
It quotes " As a result, Kabini doesn't really gain any ground here. In my own use, I can feel a performance difference between the 2020M and the A4-5000 in tasks like installing/launching applications, as well as bigger CPU bound activities." 202M is an IB part as it states. Core 2 was 5ys+ ago. Is it possible to compare a core 2 with Kabini on a CPU comparison website? I would be surprised if Kabini's compute is a good as an old core 2, even one that is 5yrs old, but I freely admit to not knowing for sure. Reply
atmartens - Monday, June 03, 2013 - linkAMD's "netbook" chips are consistently ahead of Atom in performance. Honestly, for most people a Kabini BRIX would be all the desktop computer they need for the next few years. Reply
Death666Angel - Monday, June 03, 2013 - link"I am not interested in the Kabini as I understand it has the same performance as the old atom except at half the wattage."
You may be thinking of the Temash implementation of the Jaguar cores. That is the one that is supposed to go into very thin and light notebooks and tablets and has between 4 and 9W TDP. Kabini is one step up from that with a TDP between 9 and 25W. Take a look at the AnandTech review of the A4-5000 and you see it has more than double the single threaded performance of the Atom in Cinebench (.39 vs .17) and nearly triple the multi threaded performance of it (1.5 vs .52). Furthermore Computerbase.de has comparisons to the Celeron 847 (Sandy Bridge) and I'm sure you can find some between the Celeron and previous Core architectures. :) Reply
jb14 - Monday, June 03, 2013 - linkAh yes you are right I am getting the two confused. That certainly makes the kabini more interesting to me. I will have a look and see how the HD4600 compares to the kabini. I think I have been scarred by the atom performance and do not want to risk too low compute performance again. I like the icores as you know what sort of compute performance you are getting, but my experience of amd APUs, outside of dGPUs, is limited. The final prices of these two systems will be interesting. Ian if you've had this guided tour let us in on the info! Thanks Reply
jeffkibuule - Monday, June 03, 2013 - linkIt's pretty amazing what you can fit in such a small chassis, the traditional desktop is indeed dead for most people. Reply
kevinf28 - Monday, June 03, 2013 - linkI definitely need some eSata ports. Hope there is a spare one on the inside I can hack :S Can't wait for the pictures of the internals.
I love the little 'SPDIF' text under the headphone jack.. Mini-optical toslink for sound for an HTPC sounds delightful. Reply
chizow - Monday, June 03, 2013 - linkI'd like one of these for ~$120, add a mSATA for $80, some DDR3 Sodimm for $40 to get a Windows Media Center box for my TVs. CableCard TV and streaming recorded TV from a NAS is the goal here, although now I am starting to consider an Xbox One to do this if it's $400-$500. Mainly because the Xbox One will offer decent gaming where a NUC or BRIX certainly will not. Reply
HisDivineOrder - Monday, June 03, 2013 - link"Clearly the ideal chip in this form factor would be a GT3e/Crystallwell part."
The understatement of the year. Reply
HisDivineOrder - Monday, June 03, 2013 - linkNow nVidia needs to take Maxwell with its built-in ARM CPU and make its own version of these with another box with a Thunderbolt connection.
Then you should be able to connect one to the other and make a system of two boxes with an Intel CPU that defers to the nVidia GPU to do graphics work. Attach a second GPU box, a USB3 hub, and a usb sound card.
Just be sure you have enough power sockets. Reply
knirfie - Tuesday, June 04, 2013 - linkSeems to me like these things would make a really nice HTPC. Would love to see a Kabini vs Haswell i3 comparison for HTPC purposes. Reply


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A Saucy Wench
That foolishness is finally erased from my graph. It's like it never happened.
I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets
"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7
12 Monkeys
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
Only 11 short months until it reappears
Today is December 19, 2012 | The marathon is November 24, 2013 at 8 am | 48 weeks, 4 days to go
The King of Beasts
I can't wait.
"As a dreamer of dreams and a travelin' man I have chalked up many a mile. Read dozens of books about heroes and crooks, And I've learned much from both of their styles." ~ Jimmy Buffett
"I don't see much sense in that," said Rabbit. "No," said Pooh humbly, "there isn't. But there was going to be when I began it. It's just that something happened to it along the way.""
I'm running somewhere in 48 weeks, 4 days. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
This is like the Snopp Dogg version of MTV isn't it.
So I have 48 weeks, 4 days to 1) Bribe the RD with beer for entry 2) Convince my legs this is a "good" idea and 3) Convince DH that this is a perfectly reasonable idea.
I don't half-ass anything
"I have several close friends who have run marathons, a word that is actually derived from two Swahili words: mara, which means 'to die a horrible death' and thon, which means 'for a stupid T-shirt.' Look it up." - Celia Rivenbark, You Can't Drink All Day if You Don't Start in the Morning
So I have 48 weeks, 4 days to drink beer.
So I have 48 weeks, 4 days to drink beer.
And in the end...
Fairly certain I have something else going on that day... <clears throat - darts eyes - disappears leaving a cloudburst of dust>
Fuck it. I'm gonna PR this fall. Let's do this.


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I've just pressed the last click on my Kindle (hmmm, it's not got quite the same ring as 'turned the last page', has it?) and finished 'Something Dangerous' by Penny Vincenzi. It's a fabulous book. A proper family saga, that stretches from 1928 until after the Second World War. There's a vivid host of characters and I got completely swept up in it – again, doing rather more reading than writing. I was intrigued to read a Vincenzi book, partly because she's the mother of a friend of mine (Sophie Cornish, with whom I wrote the 'Build A Business From Your Kitchen Table' book) but also because she's a successful – very – novelist, former journalist, and I think one sometimes hopes to be able to detect the magic formula that made it work for her.
One can't, of course. Each writer is different, each reader is different. But there were lots of things about her book that I thought really worked (and, reader, if you think I'm gushing because of the connection, I'll tell you now, if I thought it was rubbish, you wouldn't even know I'd read it). The rich variety of characters, for one, and the way she slipped from writing from all their different points of view. This is VERY hard to do – to have all the different voices, and yet keep the book consistent and keep the reader attached. But she made it very fluid – I found it, oddly, much less disruptive than the current fashion for having alternate chapters for two central characters.
The attention to historical detail was brilliant – just a smattering, just enough for you to know she knew what she was talking about. The names of the fashionable designers, then, or the Society names (she had two Fellowes's in there – Mrs Reginald Fellowes, a well-known hostess and Daisy Fellowes, a beauty), the clubs they went to, the details of the big events being played out on the world stage and how they infiltrated and infected the smallest of domestic concerns. Sensing how reliable this knowledge is, makes one very comfortable with the rest and gives the right context – a made-up successful author is very quickly believable when set alongside casual mention of Hemingway and Dorothy Parker, for example.
She uses a lot of dialogue, without doing huge tracts of 'he said', 'she said'. These exchanges took me longer to get comfortable with, just because of the use of the period colloquialisms (a bit like reading dialect, which I personally always find difficult). But it was still the right thing for her to do, and it got one into the characters, and helped you recognise them as got further into the book, to feel almost intimately familiar with them. But they also became a brilliant plot device, as conversations would start and you wouldn't immediately know what it was referring to and you have an enjoyable guessing game.
Vincenzi is an absolute master of setting up tension. I've not been on tenterhooks so many times within one book. Two characters will be racing against time in one way or another and because it's such a big saga, with so many people, there's just no telling how it will turn out. So many times I either sighed with relief; others, I wept.
And for me, this was a great book because it absolutely tackled a fascinating time in history. A time when women who lost their lovers and brothers to the horrors of the First World War, then found they had to send their sons to the same in the Second World War. I've read less around the subject of the latter war, and I was very moved by the descriptions of the bombings in London, the emotional tiredness everyone suffered just to keep going, the people who abhorred the war, the ones who loved it.
Oh, and terrific sex scenes, too.
I'm rather bereft it's over now. But very exited because 1) there are two more books in the trilogy to read (idiotically, I've only just realised this) and 2) I've decided I'm going to ask her out to lunch and try to find out more about how she did it. I'll keep you posted.
If you want to buy the book yourself, go here: Amazon.co.uk
Although you should probably not do as I did, and start with the first of the trilogy – No Angel.


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The Habit Burger Tempe Offers Fresh Atmosphere, Tasty Burgers
June 16, 2011 by in Business News | Dining
A guilty fan of In & Out Burger, Five Guys, Smashburger and any other above-average-fast-food burger joint, I went into Habit Burger expecting to thoroughly enjoy a familiar burger in a familiar setting. Little did I know I would find a unique atmosphere with a burger that surpasses its competition in both taste and presentation. The… Read More →


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Eat Dessert First and 18 More Tips to Replenish Your Emotional Energy
Stressed out? It's time to hit the "reset" button. Author Vickie Milazzo gives us tips and tricks on how to de-stress and relax.
-PJ Gach
We're all stressed to the max. I like to use the scientific phrase "Cray-cray" to describe the feeling of being constantly overwhelmed. There are so many different things that you have to do in one day, you feel like you're running in heels on a treadmill.
Vicki Milazzo, author of the New York Times bestseller, Wicked Success Is Inside Every Woman ($21.95, WickedSuccess.com) says, "Today's woman has taken on an extreme life crammed to overflowing with commitments and responsibility. It's not possible to stretch yourself to the breaking point every day and not break."
"You wouldn't expect a battery to keep going forever without recharging it, and you shouldn't expect it of yourself either," she adds. "Women need to learn to revitalize their minds, bodies, emotions, and spirits frequently, so that they'll have abundant energy whenever they need it."
Read Three Ways to Be Happier at Work
Rather than losing it and attacking people with the pointy end of a high heel, read Vickie's 19 tips on how to recharge your inner self, calm down and de-stress.
1. Get away.
Take one day off with no responsibilities like Melissa, who assigns Saturday child-care duty to her husband, sends him and the kids to the zoo or park, and enjoys a renewal day.
2. Take a virtual vacation.
Women are sensual creatures. We enjoy rich fabrics, exotic fragrances, music, dance, and art. Yet, as we reach for wicked success and attainment, sometimes we leave these restorative sensory pleasures behind. Indulging in the occasional sensory banquet is second only to an actual getaway. Blanche enjoys vacations in her bathtub with candles, bath oil, a glass of wine, and her favorite CD. Maybe you'd prefer to lounge in your backyard or hammock with a favorite beverage or to curl up in bed with a deliciously light book.
3. Hug a tree…or an iceberg!
Getting off the grid is not always an easy thing to do. (You don't just hop onto the 5:15 train to Bhutan.) Still, make it a goal at least once a year to get far away, into something so different that it forces you out of your regular relaxation routine into one that entirely disconnects you from day-to-day life. Many people find that nature and wildlife provide two of the most powerful tools for relaxation in the world.
How music, friends and more can effect your moods and more up next!


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Romero, bullpen unable to contain Rays' bats
Lefty allows three runs in one-third of inning; next start unknown
ST. PETERSBURG -- Ricky Romero's second go-around in the Major Leagues is off to a rough start as the former ace continues to search for reasons behind his prolonged struggles.
Toronto's left-hander made his second outing of the season on Wednesday night, but instead of taking one step forward, he took two steps back and while doing so, wasn't exactly given a lot of freedom by manager John Gibbons.
Romero surrendered three runs and was pulled with the bases loaded and one out in the first inning en route to a 10-4 loss to Tampa Bay as the Blue Jays' season-high three-game winning streak came to an end at Tropicana Field.
"Obviously you're in front of a lot of people and everyone expects so much out of you, and so do I," a visibly disappointed Romero said.
"I'm a competitor, I work hard and I put so much effort, so much work into everything that I've done and I don't see it as a step back, but obviously the statistics don't show that. But you hold your head high and continue to work."
Romero's final pitching line was ugly, and things got out of hand in a hurry, but the outcome could have been a lot better under different circumstances. He surrendered four hits, but none were particularly well hit and a couple likely could have been turned into double plays if not for being well placed around the infield.
The problem is that all of the balls seemed to find holes and Romero didn't do himself any favors by adding to the baserunners with a pair of walks. It was a disappointing outcome and once again Romero's confidence will come into question because of the quick hook.
Gibbons went to the bullpen just seven batters into the game. The move came just two days after the Blue Jays allowed left-hander Mark Buehrle to remain in the game despite surrendering seven runs in the second inning of his start.
"You consider all of that stuff," Gibbons said when asked if the quick hook could have an impact on Romero's confidence. "But I've got a responsibility to 25 guys on that field. They're trying to win the game."
The one-third of an inning marked the shortest outing of Romero's career. His previous low came on Sept. 2, 2012, when he allowed seven runs on eight hits and a walk in one inning against the Rays. Romero has lost 15 of his past 16 decisions dating back to 2012 and owns a 7.60 ERA over that span.
The poor start likely will generate some criticism of the Blue Jays' front office after the club decided to bring Romero back despite making just one start in the Minors. Romero spent most of April working on his new mechanics at extended spring camp, and his lone appearance in a real game came during a seven-inning performance with Class A Dunedin.
Critics will suggest that the Blue Jays acted prematurely, but the native of East Los Angeles has made a point of saying that he never really belonged in the Minors in the first place.
"This is where I belong and I'll continue to say that," said Romero, who has a career mark of 51-45 with a 4.14 ERA. "I couldn't care less what anyone thinks. I can't forget what I've done.
"My track record isn't very big, but I can't forget what I've done the past four years, either. It's just one of those things you wish you had the answer to, but you have to just keep going out there and learning about yourself."
Right-hander Edgar Gonzalez entered after Romero and managed to get out of the first without any further damage, but the rest of his outing was subpar. He surrendered homers to Evan Longoria and Kelly Johnson and was charged with five runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Despite the lopsided final score, Toronto actually jumped out to a lead in the top of the first when Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-run homer off Rays starter Matt Moore. Encarnacion sent a 2-2 offering over the wall in center field for his team-leading 10th home run of the season and his 23rd RBI.
Moore settled down despite some erratic control. He allowed just the two runs on six hits over five innings and improved to 6-0.
"The record looks pretty, but if you go back and look at this game it wasn't pretty," said Moore, who has a 2.14 ERA. "There was maybe two back-to-back hitters that I put some nice sequences together, but I just felt like from hitter to hitter, it was changing. I was fighting a lot of different things tonight, mostly myself."
The three-game winning streak is over. but Toronto still has an opportunity to win just its second series of the season when the four-game set versus Tampa Bay comes to a close Thursday night. Reigning Cy Young Award winners R.A. Dickey and David Price will square off at Tropicana Field.
Romero -- who threw only 29 pitches Wednesday -- already has volunteered to pitch out of the bullpen if needed. After that, it's back to the mound where he'll continue working toward his next start, which has yet to be officially scheduled by the club.
Gregor Chisholm is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, North of the Border, and follow him on Twitter @gregorMLB. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Hello, I have a .CSV file which contains comments, my problem is that a single comment is separated into several lines with a random number of empty cells between (no more than 20). What I would like to do is append each block of comments into a single line. What I have done so far is replace all empty cells with "null" so that they can be skipped based on containing "null" (no desirable text contains the word null). I am a total python noob and have been trying to do this in excel, but I have a friend who is experienced with python willing to help me run the code if I can figure out what needs to be done. Your help is much appreciated.
An example of what I have is:
Comment 1
Comment 2(a)
Comment 2(b)
Comment 2(c)
Comment 3
What I need to have is
Comment 1
Comment 2(a) comment 2(b) comment 2(c)
Comment 3


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Mean Betty Ponders Eden Wood's Move from Pageant Queen to Movie Star
A little bird told Meanie that Eden Wood has landed the role of Darla in the new 'Little Rascals' remake. But is it really a good thing for her?
-Mean Betty
Kittens, what comes to mind when you think of Our Gang and The Little Rascals? Do you think of adorable wee ones with questionable sartorial choices (just how DID Alfalfa get his hair to do that, anyway?), running about their neighborhood, getting into scraps, and having all sorts of adventures? Or do you think of… glitz? Glamour? Dare Meanie say it… Toddlers and Tiaras?
Meanie is going to guess that your fond memories of Spanky, Buckwheat, Porky, and the rest of the gang DON'T include any of the hallmarks of TLC's child beauty pageant show. But whether you like it or not, kittens, a touch of the tiara is coming to The Little Rascals: Universal Studios Home Entertainment announced last week that former Toddlers and Tiaras star Eden Wood has been cast as Darla, the apple-cheeked object of Alfalfa's affections, in an upcoming, big screen remake of the classic series.
Does this little tidbit of news strike anyone else as terribly, terribly wrong?
Allow Meanie to explain (although give her a moment to fortify herself. Butler, dear? A Bloody Mary this morning, Meanie thinks…):
Meanie would never lambast a child—not even one like Little Miss Eden. But at the same time, Meanie can't help but wonder: If it hadn't been for the national exposure she gained on Toddlers and Tiaras, would Eden have still quit the pageant circuit at the ripe old age of six in an attempt to branch out to bigger, better things? Or would she have stayed within the pageant world instead, working her way up until she either won Miss Universe or got sick of the whole to-do?
The fault here lies not with the child, but with the adults around her. Kittens, have any of you ever subject yourselves to the Logo show Eden's World? It followed Little Miss E as she attempted to break into showbiz in New York—and yes, it was as painful to watch as you might imagine. Meanie's good friends at Crushable made some rather astute observations about it, which Meanie shall share with you here:
"As we all know, Eden Wood doesn't actually have skills. 'Cutie Patootie' isn't a good song and Eden Wood doesn't have a good voice. She's 7, so that's completely okay. She has plenty of time to figure out what she is good at in life and pursue that with a passion."
Read Mean Betty: Anna Dello Russo's H&M Collection Is Going for HOW Much on eBay?!
All of this is perfectly accurate. But Crushable went on to note that in spite of all this, Eden is right now being told by trusted grown-ups that she's a talented singer, which leads to embarrassing incidents like this: During a meeting with a music executive (set up by her mother, of course), she jumps up on the table and "with some kind of air humping," proceeds to sing "Cutie Patootie." Write the ladies at Crushable, "It's a cringe-inducing spectacle and you see the disgust in the music executive's face. Eden Wood is not a child prodigy. She's a 7-year-old being egged on by her mother and managers to become famous. Air grinding might be a hit on the stages at Toddlers and Tiaras, but it's certainly not one in the real music world."
Eden has been led to believe by the adults around her—her mother, her managers, and so on—that she's an extraordinarily talented little girl, when really, she has become more infamous than famous—and infamy, as we all know, is no way to build a career (just ask Lindsay Lohan). And it seems to be getting worse as time goes on: Since Eden apparently failed to take off in the music world, she has now moved on—or perhaps more accurately, BEEN moved on by her handlers—to Hollywood. And Meanie can't help but feel that it's a recipe for disaster.
Eden Wood, Honey Boo Boo… occasionally Meanie wonders how much therapy these poor girls will need when they're older. How healthy is it to this exposed at such an early age? We might draw parallels between girls such as them and former child stars like Shirley Temple… but even Shirley had exited the performance arena by the time she was in her early 20s. She went on to some wonderful things, but somehow, Meanie can't see Eden or Honey Boo Boo going on to become a Representative to the United Nations General Assembly or Ambassador to Ghana.
Meanie supposes that all we can do is wait for the train wreck to happen… and then hope that we respond appropriately when it does.
Mean Betty


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Elizabeth Arden
Elizabeth Arden
Unusual volume flow could mean a spike in volatility. Here's a technical look at how to trade six stocks, including Smucker's and Merck.
George Soros has no qualms about dipping his toes into the technology arena, though he has admitted to having some rather non-technical approaches to the markets in the past.
Here's a technical look at how to trade several stocks rising on unusual volume recently.
These tech stocks rising on unusual volume are within range of triggering breakout trades.
Chipmos Technologies (IMOS) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from Hold to Buy with a ratings score of B-.


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Her Family
Ca, OK, Indiana
Sharon was the mother of two children that were given up for adoption. Glenn Michael Brys and Patricia Lynn Brys. AKA Evan Rosenthal and Tricia Wallack.
She had two brothers George Cline, and Bruce Cline along with a sister whom I am unsure of her name. Her sister had a daughter named Dawn, and Bruce had a son named Bruce Cline Jr.
Sharon is the grandmother to 8 Logan Rosenthal Bradley Rosenthal.. and Jessica Brown, Cassidy Brown, william Brown jr. Zachary Brown, Jacob Lilly and Matthew Lilly. She also had one great grandchild named Aiden Errickson son of William Brown Jr.
Sharon was a loving and caring person who lived her life with dreams. We will always miss her.


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With the Flex SDK Gumbo alpha release almost ready, I wanted to blog about the new advanced CSS selector capabilities.
We've added support for descendant selectors, class conditions for type selectors (previously class conditions were only registerd by themselves at the top level, i.e. "globally" instead of on a type by type basis), and id conditions for both type selectors as well as globally. These selectors were chosen as they were seen as the most requested by the community.
A few known issues that will be fixed shortly after alpha include allowing combinations of conditions at the top level (e.g. a top level id and class selector together in a selector chain, ".specialButton#button12");


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Southern California High Tech Event Calendar
|View By:
|View By:
|A Night of Innovators
|Date: January 30, 2013
|Location:Santa Monica
|"A Night of Innovators" Hosted by CSQ, StartEngine, and Sky Dayton, founder of EarthLink and Boingo. The winter edition of C-Suite Quarterly profiles and interviews dozens of Los Angeles' most prominent innovators and revolutionary entrepreneurs. Our cover feature Sky Dayton, creator of both EarthLink and Boingo, follows a precedent for the caliber of leaders we engage to share their insight and stories of success with our audience. Along with the tenured LA innovators that made our top 10, we also highlight our NextGen10: These "techno-preneurs" already have achieved some measure of success, and their continued upward trajectory is worth noting. All of those profiled and interviewed in the issue have been invited, and many have already committed to attend. Howard Marks, co-founder of Activision and co-chair of StartEngine (LA's largest incubator), served as guest editor for the 2012-2013 edition of our annual Innovation issue, and he subsequently embraced our event by offering to serve as co-host. He has invited his network of venture capitalists, successful entrepreneurs, and C-level executives from the region's most significant tech-based organizations. See http://www.csq.com
|More information: http://www.csq.com
|Download to Calendar


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A Wirral primary school is one of only 12 in the country to be recognised for its outstanding commitment to environmental issues.
Heswall Primary has been named an "Eco School Ambassador" - an honour it will hold for the next two years in acknowledgment of its unstinting dedication to the ecology cause.
The Eco-Schools website says Heswall Primary has "demonstrated exceptional levels of pupil leadership and whole school support and sustainability issues have been embedded into the school's curriculum."
Headteacher John Roberts said: "We are very proud of our achievements to date but it has never been about winning awards.
"Our long-term vision has been to develop sustainable practices and for our pupils, parents and staff to consider the impact that their actions have on the environment.
"Our pupils take great pride in their school environment and enjoy outdoor activity sessions.
"We look forward to supporting other schools in the Northwest region with their own eco-schools projects over the next two years."
Lynn Struve, Wirral's eco-schools officer, said: "It is fantastic to have such an inspirational school in Wirral that can showcase its eco work to other schools across the Northwest."


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THE YORK pub landlord arrested as part of the Claudia Lawrence investigation has told how his life was dramatically turned upside down.
Paul Harris, 46, who runs The Acomb in Kingsway West, was arrested on Wednesday and detectives spent most of the day at his pub.
Forensic experts and dog teams searched the building, removing items and digging up a section of the cellar.
Mr Harris was arrested at home on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and had to shout to his wife, who was still in bed, to explain what was happening. He was released on bail later that evening, but only after speculation on social media sites about the reason for his arrest.
He said: "They have given me no inventory of what was taken, left my pub with holes in the cellar floor and no information about how it's going to be repaired.
"They dug up six inches of concrete, three foot by three foot. This was more than 20 years old, at least. If they can't determine the difference between new and old concrete, maybe they shouldn't be detectives.
"They have realised it was only a repair from 20 years ago and left it alone."
Mr Harris said Claudia had been in The Acomb with a friend some weeks before her disappearance, and he remembered speaking briefly to her that night.
Mr Harris was one of many people around York who were questioned by police during the initial investigation into Claudia's disappearance in 2009, and said he voluntarily gave over his phone and a DNA sample to police at the time.
He said the closure of the pub on one of the hottest days of the year would have lost him upwards of £1,500 in trade, but he was more concerned about the effects on his children, aged 13 and 15, who he said had been left distraught by the searches and media attention.
He said: "The worst thing about it was my kids were in tears yesterday and social media site trolls are crucifying me.
"People are saying horrible things about me on social media and I know it will leave me, my reputation and my pub tainted.
"The children have taken it very badly.
"They were both in tears, they've got friends texting them asking 'did your dad kill Claudia Lawrence'?"
In May, police arrested a 59-year-old man on suspicion of Claudia's murder, and searched a house in Burnholme in connection with the investigation. He remains on bail.
Mr Harris said: "I don't condemn them for bringing me in for questioning at all, but it's the way they have gone about it.
" I'm absolutely positive there will be no charges brought."
North Yorkshire Police said they would not comment on the matter.


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520 Broadway Street, Kincardine, ON N2Z 2E8
+ taxes & licensing
This vehicle is Safety Certified and E-Tested.
You Won;t be disappointed! Rowe Motors is a family-owned business located in the picturesque lakeside community of Kincardine, Ontario. Price + HST and License. Safety Inspection Certification and e-Testing are all included. (NO HIDDEN FEES). Our Live Market Prices are Pre-Discounted with our Best Price Up-Front. We have recent sales to St. Catherines, GTA, Toronto, Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, London, Mississauga, Hamilton, Brampton, Markham, Welland, Burlington, Oakville, New Market, Brantford, Brampton, North York, Ajax, Whitby, Durham, Cobourg, Belleville, Kingston, Pickering, Ajax, Ottawa, Peterborough, Etobicoke, Aurora and Oshawa. We will work hard to earn your business!
View our extensive used cars and trucks for sale featuring all makes and models including Acura, Audi, BMW, Buick, Chrysler, Dodge, Chevrolet, Fiat, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Ininiti, Jeep, kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Pontiac, Porsche, Mazda, Ram, Subaru, Volkswagen, Volv and Toyota. Used Cars, Used Trucks, and Used Suv to choose from.
Rowe Motors is a dynamic automotive center with services that include 24-hour towing/roadside assistance, collision repair, complete automotive servicing, car rentals, automotive parts sales, industrial supply sales, and new/used vehicle sales. From start to finish Rowe Motors will handle all your automotive needs! *Pricing does include admin costs. Rowe Motors 520 BROADWAY ST Kincardine, ON 1-888-449-0497
Please contact the seller to confirm pricing, features, odometer, and availability of this vehicle.
See the Carpages.ca Terms & Conditions for more details.


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Dog-friendly Lymington, 6 People & Car Parking
This superb, detached, 16th-century holiday property enjoys a truly beautiful location. Peacefully located along a quiet lane and nestled within gently sloping lawned gardens, with rose lined pathways, a meandering shallow stream and views at the rear over the countryside. Steeped in history, this delightful home…
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Your browser does not support iframes.
Chiefland Elementary School is now accepting the kindergarten enrollment packets for the 2013-2014 school year.
Summer office hours at the school are Monday-Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
A Teen Driver Improvement Program is being offered to all Levy County students who have a license or learners permit or who are about to get their learners permit by the Levy County Sheriff's Office, Community Relations Division.
The College of Central Florida Levy Center and Chiefland High School hold commencement ceremonies tonight and Friday to hand out high school diplomas. Bronson High School's graduation is next week.
The College of Central Florida Levy Center will host Finish Up! Levy, information sessions on Wednesday, May 29, at Levy County Public Libraries for upcoming General Education Development boot camp classes.
Central Florida College Levy Center Provost Marilyn Ladner says she is saddened and disappointed by Gov. Rick Scott's veto of $4.25 million to get the Chiefland campus started.
Kay Gordon and Janet Hinote are members of the Chiefland Elementary 'Kids for a Cure' Relay for Life Team.
The Levy County Public Library system is upgrading computers at the Chiefland, Williston and Bronson locations, and it won't cost a dime — but it will also save the department $17,000.
Local cowboys and cowgirls will be joining the Flying "G" Rodeo Company on Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. to put on a show at Brookins Arena at Lotoma Ranch to raise money for the Chiefland FFA Alumni Chapter.
Despite "hurt feelings" and a unanimous vote by Bronson Town Council members April 1 to forego any more dealings with the Levy County School Board on the use or purchase of the Old Bronson High School Gym, a deal now seems to be in the works.
The results are in for Florida FFA competitions and the Levy County Fair competition and the news is good for teams from Levy County.
The CHS Senior FFA livestock judging team, made up of Harold Tillis, Payton Parnell, Kinsey Denee' Ward and Emily Diane Smith, came in second in the 2013 Livestock CDE State Finals. Williston High School came in an No. 8 and Bronson rounded out the Top 10 performances by coming in No. 10.
The CHS Senior FFA also placed 10th in the 2013 State Poultry CDE.
Copyright © 2017
The Chiefland Citizen is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Levy County and Chiefland Florida, and the surrounding area.


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One in three Americans believes aliens have landed on Earth and are dwelling among us. There are quite a lot of things they do not believe in, however, including the importance of the fluffy stuff in investment.
Parallel reports from the European and US social investment forums on the perception of environmental, social and governance issues among investment consultants seem to show American consultants are much less comfortable with the concepts and less inclined to see them as a natural part of investment consultancy. This despite a general belief (expressed by 88 per cent of respondents) that client interest in these matters will increase in the next few years.


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Enter full name. We'll ask for delivery information at checkout.
* There are 10 space-oriented patches on the front, back and both sleeves.
* Features a shiny space shuttle zipper pull, two side pockets and a zippered shoulder pocket.
* Sleeves and waistband are cinched with elastic for a better fit.
* The jacket is made with a high tech nylon fabric with a grid pattern. It is water-repellent and washable.


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RYEDALE is again staging the very popular annual Pickering Traction Engine rally.
Now in its 62nd year, the event is billed as the north's biggest steam event and will also include over 1000 vintage and classic cars and motorcycles.
Running to Sunday , other attractions include over 400 vintage tractors, the Royal Signals Motorcycle display team, steam ploughing and a funfair.
A spectacular firework display is promised on Saturday night.
For more information, visit pickeringsteam.com


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Note: This item is more than three years old. Please take the publication date into consideration for any date references.
Print – Plain Text – Permalink
News Release
Media Contact: TPWD News, email@example.com, 512-389-8030
Sept. 19, 2013
Ray Roberts Lake State Park to Host 2nd Annual GreenFest on the Greenbelt
DENTON — Ray Roberts Lake State Park, Greenbelt Alliance and the City of Denton will host the 2nd Annual GreenFest on Greenbelt from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 28 at Ray Roberts Lake State Park – Greenbelt Park on FM 455.
The family-focused event will celebrate the Greenbelt Park at Ray Roberts Lake State Park through fun experiential outdoor activities, live music and food. The primary focus of this event is to highlight activities that can be experienced at Ray Roberts Lake State Park and other Texas State Parks.
Highlighted events will include archery, rock climbing, kayaking, biking and geocaching. Bicycles will be provided for attendees to explore the greenbelt. Grammy Award-winning band Brave Combo will be performing from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Other musical entertainment will be provided by Mi Son, Mi Son, Mi Son and AM Ramblers. Demonstrations and other entertainment will include: historians and artisans of the Cross Timbers eco-region, reptile exhibits, pony rides and a kid-sized inflatable obstacle course and slide. The Blackland Prairie Raptor Center will feature birds of prey. Dogs are welcome, but must be leashed at all times.
"The second annual GreenFest on the Greenbelt is a great opportunity for families to come out and enjoy a fun day outdoors together, says Chris True, Ray Roberts Lake State Park superintendent. "The wide range of activities will ensure that we have something fun for everyone to enjoy."
Event proceeds will benefit Greenbelt Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of Ray Roberts Lake State Park — Greenbelt Park. The Greenbelt Park, a 20 mile multi-use trail (equestrian, hike and bike use), is rich in cultural and natural resources, including old growth forests, native flora and fauna and the Elm Fork Branch of the Trinity River. Funds will be used for continuing and future projects that help to achieve Texas Parks and Wildlife Department goals of conserving Texas' natural and cultural resources, along with providing outdoor recreational opportunities for current and future generations of Texas.
Tickets are $5 per person if purchased in advance at www.friendsofthegreenbelt.org or $7 per person if purchased at the event. Children under six years of age get in free. State park entrance fees will be waived for event attendees. For more information, please visit www.friendsofthegreenbelt.org or call the state park at (940) 686-2148.
Publication — Permission is granted to publish, in whole or in part, any news releases on this page.
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(5.4.16 i)


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Central pontine myelinolysis
Primary tabs
Central pontine myelinolysis is brain cell dysfunction caused by the destruction of the layer (myelin sheath) covering nerve cells in the middle of the brainstem (pons).
Alternative Names
Osmotic demyelination syndrome
The destruction of the myelin sheath that covers nerve cells prevents signals from being properly transmitted from one nerve to another.
The most common cause of central pontine myelinolysis is a quick change in the body's sodium levels. This most often occurs when someone is being treated for low blood levels of sodium (hyponatremia) and the sodium is replaced too fast. It also can occasionally occur when high levels of sodium in the body (hypernatremia) are corrected too quickly.
This condition does not usually occur on its own. It is typically a complication of treatment for other conditions, or from the other conditions themselves.
Risks include:
- Liver disease
- Malnutrition from serious illnesses
- Confusion, delirium
- Balance problems
- Difficulty swallowing
- Hallucinations
- Reduced alertness, drowsiness or sleepiness, lethargy, poor responses
- Speech changes, poor enunciation
- Tremor
- Weakness in the face, arms, or legs, usually affecting both sides of the body
Exams and Tests
An examination may show:
- Abnormal reflexes
- Confusion
- Involvement of all four arms and legs (spastic quadriplegia)
- Weakness of the face, arms, and legs (upper motor neuron syndromes)
A head MRI scan may reveal a problem in the brainstem (pons). This is the main diagnostic test.
Other tests may include:
- Blood sodium levels and other blood tests
- Brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER)
This is an emergency disorder. You will need to go to a hospital for diagnosis and treatment. However, most people with this condition are already in the hospital for another condition.
There is no known cure for central pontine myelinolysis. Treatment is focused on relieving symptoms.
Physical therapy may help maintain muscle strength, mobility, and function in weakened arms and legs.
Outlook (Prognosis)
The nerve damage caused by central pontine myelinolysis is usually long-lasting. The disorder can cause serious long-term (chronic) disability.
Possible Complications
- Decreased ability to interact with others
- Decreased ability to work or care for self
- Inability to move, other than to blink eyes ("locked in" syndrome)
- Permanent nervous system damage
When to Contact a Medical Professional
There is no real guideline on when to seek medical attention, because this condition is rare in the general community.
Gradual, controlled treatment of low sodium levels may reduce the risk of nerve damage in the pons. Being aware of how some medications can change sodium levels can prevent these levels from changing too quickly.
Rosenberg GA. Brain edema and disorders of cerebrospinal fluid circulation. In: Daroff RB, Fenichel GM, Jankovic J, Mazziotta JC, eds. Bradley's Neurology in Clinical Practice. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2012:chap 59.
Skorecki K, Ausiello D. Disorders of sodium and water homeostasis. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman's Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2011:chap 118.


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A two-day Arab economic summit [2] that opens in Riyadh on Jan. 21 must break with tradition and tackle people's aspirations in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings [3], Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said on Saturday.
"Our meeting should not be mired in routine," Prince Saud said while presiding over a meeting to prepare for the third Arab Economic and Social Development Summit.
Prince Saud also said that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah will unveil a specific strategy for regional growth at the third Arab Economic [4] and Social Development Summit in Riyadh tomorrow.
The minister stressed that the summit must tackle "the problems and issues that concern the lives of our people. We must meet the aspirations of the people." A recent economic report noted that unemployment in 2011 stood at 16 percent in Arab countries where 17 million people out of 300 million are jobless. At the same time inter-Arab investments stood at a mere $ 25 billion across the region.
The summit is expected to discuss the amendment of an Arab convention on investments in a bid to bolster the role of the private sector, the minister said.
The meeting would also examine means of drawing up new financial resources to support impoverished Arab states, he added.
Tomorrow's summit will follow up on decisions adopted at the previous two summits, in Kuwait in 2009 and Sharm El-Sheikh in 2011.
Prince Saud took over as chairperson of the summit from Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamil Amr at the meeting attended by finance and foreign ministers of 21 Arab states. Amr delivered the opening speech before handing over the position to the host country.
Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil El-Araby also spoke at the opening session of the preparatory meeting which was followed by a closed-door discussion.
Prince Saud said the Arab region has the optimal geographic, climatic and economic factors for the development of a local and sustainable industry in the field of renewable energy.
He said that the exploitation of available renewable energy resources can be undertaken after the transfer of technology to Arab countries. This is a strategic option for the Arab region. Such measures would ensure the provision and diversification of energy sources to attract local and global customers.
"The Arab strategy [5] for the development of renewable energy which will be proposed at the Monday summit promises a new horizon for the Arab world, to meet the aspirations of its citizens." The prince pointed out that the strategy includes plans to involve the private sector more effectively in investment in renewable energy projects and to propose appropriate sources of funding that contribute to building an Arab market [6].
He pointed out that noncommunicable diseases — cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases — form a significant burden on the economies and health systems in Arab countries.
Prince Saud pointed out that the World Health Organization (WHO) statistics for 2010 showed that deaths from noncommunicable diseases in Arab countries were between 27 percent and 84 percent of total deaths.
The draft resolution of the Riyadh Declaration, issued by the international conference for healthy lifestyles and noncommunicable diseases in the Arab world, was tabled yesterday by the minister for discussion.
The draft recommended a technical secretariat of the Council of Arab Ministers of Health to follow up on the implementation of the recommendations of the declaration.
Prince Saud added that it was important to involve government and nongovernmental institutions and academic institutions in national efforts to curb the spread of noncommunicable diseases in the Arab world and to reduce the hazards leading to these diseases.
He said the meeting must address the "most important topics and key issues that touch the lives of our peoples." "The Arab world has witnessed a number of changes and challenges over the past two years. Although they have taken apparent political forms, we should not overlook their real causes. We cannot ignore developmental aspects or aspirations." He also stressed the need for joint Arab action for a Greater Arab Free Trade Zone and setting up of the Customs Union by 2015.
Prince Saud pointed out that the Arab world was blessed with natural, human and financial resources, and was a strategic location that can attract foreign investments and build inter-Arab trade.
He also called on the summit to adopt an amended unified agreement for pan-Arab investment, to strengthen the role of the private sector as a key partner in Arab economic and social development.
He also stressed the need to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and focus on additional resources to support the efforts of the least developed Arab countries.
[1] http://www.syndigate.info
[2] http://arabeconomicsummit.org/
[3] http://www.albawaba.com/business/arab-spring-economy-452419
[4] http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_01_11/Post-Arab-Spring-economies-any-sign-of-rebounding/
[5] http://www.albawaba.com/business/what-future-post-arab-spring-economies-445307
[6] http://www.albawaba.com/business/arab-spring-market-economies-448749
[7] http://arabnews.com/


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Did you know?
Rustenburg is home to the 2 largest platinum mines in the world.
Mention the name of Rustenburg to locals and they'll think of Sun City, platinum mining and farming. They probably won't think of birdwatching in Rustenburg.
But Rustenburg is encircled by some of South Africa's best birding destinations: from Kgaswane Mountain Reserve and the huge Pilanesburg and Madikwe Game Reserves to Vaalkop Dam Nature Reserve and Barberspan Bird Sanctuary. That's why birding in Rustenburg is so richly rewarding.
The 4 000ha Vaalkop Dam Nature Reserve northeast of Rustenburg is a great attraction for birders. Over 340 bird species have been recorded here, and if it's water birds you're after, then this is the place to spot them. Look out for waders of all kinds, storks, ducks, geese and grebes. There's also a special 800ha bird sanctuary here, but if you want to visit this you must book in advance.
The RAMSAR-accredited Barberspan Bird Sanctuary, a huge 2 000ha body of water between Delareyville and Sannieshof, is one of South Africa's largest sanctuaries for waterfowl and migratory birds and is a pioneer in ornithological research.
At Kgaswane Mountain Reserve, famous for its breeding herd of sable antelope, look for nesting pairs of martial and Verreaux eagles, and a breeding colony of Cape vultures.
Pilanesburg Game Reserve is excellent for bush birds, including the dazzling crimson-breasted shrike. At Madikwe Game Reserve there are up to 300 resident and migrant bird species, including ostrich and secretarybirds, three kinds of vultures and the highly sought-after African finfoot.
A good central place to stay for birding in Rustenburg is Kedar Country Hotel Conference Centre and Spa located on Paul Kruger's historic farm of Boekenhoutfontein. A National Monument, it covers 1 200 acres of bushveld with plentiful game and birds galore.
Travel tips & Planning info
Who to contact
North West Parks Board
Tel: +27 (0) 14 555 5351/2/3/4
Kedar Country Hotel, Conference Centre & Spa
Phone: +27 (0) 14 573 3218
Email: email@example.com
How to get here
From Pretoria or Johannesburg take the N4 north until you reach Rustenburg. This will take about three hours.
Best time to visit
Summer is best because all the migratory birds are back.
Tours to do
If you need a break from feathers, take a tour to glitzy Sun City.
Get around
Birding is always best done on foot, but in game reserves, you'll have to make do with a car.
What to pack
Binoculars, camera, sunscreen, hat, comfortable walking shoes/boots, bird field guide.
Where to stay
The Kedar Country Hotel, Conference Centre and Spa.


text:
The question came up in this thread.
Interviewing is one area that's a real problem for me. I'm never sure how to contact the person I need to contact and not sure what to ask them once I have their consent to be interviewed!
Who can help? Are you a good interviewer and how do you do what you do?
Well, the specifics on the interview process will depend on what type of job you're dealing with. However, there are a few things to keep in mind:
1) Does this person know anything about the company?
Did you give them a web page or something to look at to describe your company? If so, figure out how much they've learned. Not much of a response? Might be a flag of a "safety interview" in case another job offer goes sour.
2) Do you feel like punching them in the face?
Humor aside, a somewhat overly tight person with little regards to humor might create a somewhat agitated work environment. Do they smile at all during the interview? Laugh at jokes? If you've got someone on your time that's kind of agitated all the time, other workers could potentially be spending more time thinking about how much they hate him than the next project's requirements.
3) Working independently
Yes, it's going to be most likely a team environment. However, strong independent thinking is also a plus. Someone who constantly has to tap into the knowledge of others loses time for the project, as well as the other person's time. If it's something that needs a lot of constant attention, well you've got meetings to get as much as possible out of the way.
4) Don't take quitting/2 weeks or fired as an instant throwaway flag
Someone quitting gives an obvious sense of lack of motivation for a job, but first figure out why it occurred. It may be something completely out of their control. If you throw someone perfectly suited for the job out based on this, you could have lost a key player to your team.
5) Do research yourself on the position
Look around at what people are expecting known for the job position. Even look around like you were applying for it yourself. In tech areas, look for standards that they should adhere to and see if they know said standards.
6) Look for buzzwords
As part of 5, figure out what the common acronyms and buzzwords are and how they relate to the position. If someone pulls like HTML, CSS, XML, SOAP, REST, etc. make sure they can actually expand them out and aren't just putting them up for kicks and giggles. Same goes with management or any other type of position.
If you want to throw out what type of position it is, I can look and see if there's anything else I can add.
Fear of the unknown can cost you alot of money, but the unknown can besomething to embrace as well Shy.
When you start your research on your topic you will learn the keywords yourprospective clients are asking the search engines, start there. When you aredoing your interview make sure your subject understands you aren't aseasoned interviewer and you don't want to miss anything important, letthem know its ok to volunteer anything they think needs to be shared on thetopic you are discussing.
When your subject understands that you are not alltogether comfortable withwhat you are doing, it is very disarming to the subject and they will want tohelp make sure that you have covered all your basis.
As far as asking an expert for an interview, understand that your perceptionis your reality. Just because you view someone as an expert doesn't meanthat they will bash you for asking for an interview. It's more likely thatthat person will be flattered and more than willing to let you interview them(after all, people love talking about themselves or what they are passionateabout)
Nothing ventured nothing gained, trust me the first one you do will be somuch fun and profitable it wont be long before you are searching for othersto interview on any number of subjects.
That's what I would do.Aaron
1) Offer a sidebar/plug for their website. Especially effective if you have good traffic.
2) Ask interesting questions, pick interesting topics or story angles. Most interviews are trite, asked-a-thousand-times junk.
3) Offer advanced review of questions and to rework them if needed. You don't want a puff piece, but offering to rework questions for a better article can get an interview subject off the fence. Ask them, for instance, what questions they wished they were being asked -- what misconceptions there are, etc.
If the interview is well written, your subject may link to you and send traffic your way. The only way to do this is to research the topic and whoever you interview to find out the questions to bring out new angles.
Poor: How to you work with clients?
Better: What are three things web design clients would be shocked if they knew you could do for them?
You must word the question to provoke an informative answer while structuring it to produce an answer compelling to readers. Straddling these two perspectives is no easy task. Poor questions are boring to read, and more boring to answer.
A note about buzzwords: Make sure they're words customers search for. One SEO describes keyword research as the "cold shower moment." Where, for instance, web designers search for the buzzword -- not the web design clients you need to sell. Often the buzzwords a company swears by aren't what best customers search with.
When you use buzzwords, make sure you aren't using the interview as an excuse for keyword stuffing. Explain the "hidden secret 'they' don't want you to know about [insert buzzword here]. Give a brief definition or otherwise explain what the word means.
Too often people use the words but don't understand them. I was interviewed -- the employment kind of interview -- by a web design company. I answered the several dozen questions they asked, but they couldn't answer mine:
....What's a tactic, what's a strategy? -- how are they different and give an example.
....Describe how you develop a content driven website?
....What's information and how is it different from data?
...What's content, and how do you "manage content?"
If you want to get an awkward silence, trying interviewing web design agencies about anything other than buzzword compliance. Try asking what the buzzwords mean.
Just by reading this thread, I got inform about interview and how to deal with it...
I think you misunderstood. This is the content forum. My question was how to do an interview for an article, not for a job.
Thanks DCrux and Aaron. Great input from you both. I'm gonna save it for a reference just in case I need to do an interview!
think you misunderstood. This is the content forum. My question was how to do an interview for an article, not for a job.
My Post:
Today, 07:31AM
Medic! Coffee!
I'll be back in a few hours, going to hit up the dark corner to sulk for a bit
I'm an entertainment reporter and I interview celebs and other industry people all of the time. I've been told that people enjoy being interviewed by me because I don't ask the same old questions and - most importantly, I listen!
Listening is really tough when you're new at it because you're worried about your next question and is your tape recorder running and are you running out of time. And worse - nerves often make you talk too much.
My first interviews, when I listen to the tapes, oh my! I talk more than my subject. Bad move. Don't be afraid of silence. Ask your question then shut up. Let them have time to answer.
Listen to the answer and follow up. They say, I almost went to medical school. You follow, really? Why did you change your mind.
Questions -- Don't ask anything you could have (or should have) looked up before the interview. I've heard many reporters ask well known actors "what other movies have you been in?". Do your homework. Know who you're talking to and if you can find a line on a hobby - you're in like Flynn.
One of the most fascinating interviews I've ever done was with A-Team's Dwight Schultz. Seriously. He's a conspiracy buff, UFO's and Los Alamos and all that. I asked him about those subjects and he went on and on and I learned so much more about him and his personality than if I'd asked just about his time on A-Team.
I also like to ask random questions. You learn so much from those. My new favorite. What was your favorite food as a kid and what have you kept from childhood - have both elicited some wonderful responses and twice my subject ended up having a "warm and fuzzy wow" moment. One went to call his mom the minute we were done. The other went to his basement to find a cherished item he'd forgotten about.
Obviously, this is a subject I could go on and on about forever! Hope there are some nuggets there that help.
Please do!
One thing I would like to know from you is about how to do email interviewing .. for those of us who are geographically challenged .. and have never had contact with the person we would like to interview.
Because I'm an expat, and have an expat site, I have had a couple of reporters ask me some questions by email .. but I really didn't like their approach. One of the first things they told me was that my website might be mentioned in the article. Oh wowie!:rolleyes:
Thanks, DCrux .. always a pleasure reading your posts.
An email interview is at the very bottom of my list for the simple reason that it's difficult to follow up on an answer or a thought. Always try for at least a phone interview. With Skype, you can talk country to country for cheap or free if they're on Skype. It makes all the difference.
If you must do it by email, start by saying that you appreciate them taking the time and that they should feel free to elaborate where needed. I say this because many people answer short out of habit, or they don't want to type.
Q: How did you get started in the business?A: A friend hired me.
What can you make of that? Nothing. On the phone you could easily follow up, but here you're stuck sending another email for clarification.
Don't ask yes or no questions - same reason as above.
At the end ask: Is there anything you'd like my readers to know that I have forgotten to ask?
Also, I suggest reminding the subject that they don't have to answer all of the questions or all at one time. You don't want someone so overwhelmed that they blow you off.
Ironically, just after you responded to this post with your question, someone sent ME an email interview request. It was a simple question - whether or not I would allow my teen to buy a controversial album.
The young woman was polite. Her email was direct. Her questions were clear and she wrote as if she assumed I would answer her questions and she thanked me for taking the time.
I answered her right then and there.
Thanks, Cynthiab.
I'm in the process of trying to do some interviews by PM on an expat forum. If successful, the interviews will make up a dozen or more pages of a small section I'm doing about why expats repatriate or switch countries. I use pseudonyms so that flamers cannot connect the dots if they see my website. I also use their words, bad grammar and all, as I feel that adds credibility.
It's a bit awkward since folks don't always volunteer their names and telephone numbers. My first one went fine because the guy really wanted to tell his story.
Re: Phone interviews on Skype. How do you record the interview? Do you have recording software .. or an interface for a recording device?
Hmm, I suppose you could record with skype using something like audacity. You'd probably need two instances running, one to capture the audio out (The person being interviewed) and another to capture audio in (the headset). Then from there it would be a matter of merging the two together into one whole file.
... and right as I finish writing all this, what do you know.. a call recording plugin for skype . Oh well, it sounded pretty cool and technical to me
Exactly.........and you may start from introduction to know more and more about the background, education, experience of the person and if necessary you can also make cross questions.......
Ooooh .. nice! Thanks chris_fuel. Even the best version is affordable.:D
I know what you're talking about re: early versions of interviews. However, in my zeal I went the other way from being under prepared.
My original idea for my site was (going to be) much more about interviews. I vividly remember my first few, like a car crash, they're burned into my mind.
I was asking a guy -- twin PhD degrees -- who wrote a (then) popular book. This was about business so, silly me, I asked what I though were good business questions.
Q: Your book is about some fairly complex ideas for business. If a startup was developing a business plan, what are three or five differences would there be applying your ideas versus a traditional business plan?
A: "You know, that's a good question. I am working on a startup right now and hadn't considered applying the ideas from the book it in that way. ..."
That's how the interview started. The last thing I remember was, after numerous questions he had no good answer for, he said "I think I want to stop talking now."
Keep in mind I wasn't trying to stump anybody, or grill anybody. At the end I was desperately grasping for any question (beyond name and birth date) they interviewee could answer.
After about three or four truly disastrous phone interviews I stopped doing them. Didn't matter if the person was a popular book author or well versed in business, they couldn't answer most of the questions I though were "soft pitches." Forget anything designed to draw out some information.
Moral of the story: Send the questions in advance. I've taken up the interviews since, and had some good success -- but only with email. I'm too dangerous face-to-face as I have a tendency to be like the kid pointing to the emperor's new non-clothes. And I mean it's actually blackly comedic what obvious, simple things people don't think about or never consider.
...A web design firm that doesn't know the difference between the words "tactic" and "strategy" or the words "logo" and "brand" or "message-to-market match."
...A national chain of IT training centers whose CEO has never had a single meeting (in a dozen years) on what information is, or how you teach people to obtain information and not data from computers.
...Programmers who don't know what a user benefit is. ....Web designers who don't have a clear idea of the user they're building a site for.
I think your suggestion to send the questions ahead of time is an excellent one. You might also, at that time, ask your interviewee to jot down anything he/she would like to talk about that you didn't ask.
Another one for the discussion too, try and read up on the person's culture as well. I know it may sound bizzare, but there may be things that you think are okay to say, but might be offensive in their culture. Can't give any concrete examples off the top of my head, but awkward moments make for the worst interviews...
Yes, I use the Pamela software. I had issues setting it up but it ran great until last week where I lost a celeb interview when only my side of the conversation recorded. I still don't know why.
You need to pay for the pro version of the software but it's been a boon.


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SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo women's tennis team (3-1) continued its hot start to the 2012 season as they shutout the Eckerd College Tritons (0-2), 9-0, in a non-conference showdown, Tuesday afternoon from the Saint Leo Tennis Center.
Collecting their second shutout of the year, the Lions saw a dominant performance as they surrendered just 16 points all match. The Lions registered one shutout on the double side, before taking six consecutive singles matches.
In doubles, the Lions No.12-ranked doubles tandem of Laura Kemkes and Emily Singleton dominated their contest as they dusted the Eckerd duo of Stephanie Jenks and Gipson Hawn, 9-0.
Success continued into singles play as the Lions surrendered just 11 points all afternoon. Singleton highlighted the session with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Hawn at No.2 singles.
Kemkes, Jeanette McDonald, and Adrianna Daszkiewicz conceded one point, while Marie Benkirane and Caroline Ebner added consecutive sets wins.
"We continue to play solid tennis," said head coach James Bryce. "We can't be satisfied, however. We need to keep pushing and expect to play better each time out."
The women return to action on Saturday, February 18, when they challenge No.1-ranked Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. First serve is set for 2 p.m. from the Perper Tennis Complex.
For more on the Saint Leo women's tennis team, visit SaintLeoLions.com.


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Burning Coal's Second Stage Series Presents ELLIOT, A SOLDIER'S FUGUE, 1/10-20
ELLIOT, A SOLDIER'S FUGUE by Quiara Alegría Hudes, directed by Josh Benjamin runs at Burning Coal Theatre Company's Wait Til You See This! - Second Stage Series January 10 - 20, 2013 at the Murphey School, 224 Polk Street, Raleigh. All tickets $10 and are available at www.burningcoal.org or at the door. Performances are at 7:30 pm Thursdays through Saturdays at 2 pm on Sundays.
Elliot is the 'prequel' to this year's Pulitzer Prize winning drama Water by the Spoonful. It details the life of a 19 year old Puerto Rican American who returns home after being wounded in Iraq. He learns about his father and grandfather's service in the Vietnam and Korean wars.
And don't forget, C.P. Taylor's World War II drama Good, directed by Ian Finley, opens on Burning Coal's mainstage season January 31 through February 17, 2013. Tickets 919.834.4001 or www.burningcoal.org.


text:
"Game changer" is a term you hear often when people talk about how technology has changed their industry.
Last month, Esurance took the wraps off one of the more unusual promos to come along in the interactive-media age. Recruiting its cartoon spokesperson Erin Esurance (the spandex-clad insurance spy with the pink hair), the Web-based auto insurer invited would-be directors to create a music video riffing off one of 10 dance numbers selected from recent Bollywood films. Launched in partnership with cable TV network IFC—aiming to promote its "Wake Up to Bollywood" film series—the "Esurance Bollywood Casting Call" promised a suitably themed grand prize. The winning homemade video will be turned into a cartoon episode starring Erin herself, and then aired on IFC.

 As a piece of Web-based participatory marketing, the Casting Call had a lot going for it—uniqueness, brand exposure and, of course, a good chance of soliciting clever material.
 But Esurance had a problem: How to reach hard-core Bollywood fans. After all, the popularity of Slumdog Millionaire notwithstanding, not everyone in the U.S. knows the words to "Bas Ek King" from Singh Is Kinng or the dance moves to "Tandoori Nights" from the film Karzzzz. The company needed a way to reach a highly specific audience while also keeping the appeal broad and national in scope.

 The answer was Internet radio. Esurance developed a 30-second spot featuring Erin's voice: "Showcase your acting chops and moves" she pitched. Then, while running a light schedule on broad-appeal channels, Esurance ran the spot heavily on Web streams of East Indian music, which boasted the kind of listeners who can hum a few bars of "Marjaani Marjaani."
 According to the company's media director, Darren Howard, the choice of streaming radio was simple. "We can go to our streaming vendors and find those specific channels that play that type of music and would draw interest in our contest," he says. "It's not something you can do on terrestrial radio."

 Esurance has made streaming a key component of its media mix since November 2006. While TV still gets the bulk of its ad dollars, the company is funneling half its radio budget online this year. And it's hardly the only advertiser sinking its marketing dollars into Internet radio. Web-based companies like LendingTree, Match.com and Orbitz have made the medium part of their marketing mix for several years now. But streaming's popularity with a demographically desirable and ever-widening audience (according to Arbitron/Edison Research, online radio reaches one in five consumers each week in the 25-54 age group) has turned the heads of older and more traditional brands. Walmart, Ace Hardware and Procter & Gamble are among the companies buying streaming time today. According to Priscilla Fladgler, radio supervisor for media agency Mullen, "There's a lot more interest from our non-Web-based accounts."

 Much like the slumdog millionare Jamal, Internet radio has emerged as a young and unlikely success story. But it is not without its challenges. While the medium has proven itself a worthy buy for national campaigns, for example, Webcasters have yet to make significant inroads into the lucrative local marketplace. Agencies also complain that, in a frenzy to deliver sufficient impressions, some Webcasters end up annoying listeners by airing the same spot too frequently, while others mislead clients by padding their advertising proposals with international listeners that are not relevant to the buy. Perhaps most significantly, while Web-radio audiences can be quantified with far more precision than can those of terrestrial radio, advertisers universally complain about a dearth of reliable, comprehensive demographic data.

 The Rushing Stream

 One thing that Web radio does have going for it is momentum. As recently as 2005, only 8 percent of Americans aged 12+ listened to streaming broadcasts each week; today that number is 17 percent—the equivalent of 42 million people [see charts, p. AM3]. Of course, that amount is a mere fraction of the 235 million listeners of terrestrial radio, but the share is growing steadily. According to broadcaster estimates, streaming now accounts for 10-15 percent of total listening for some stations.

 Those broadcasters have two trends to thank for that: People who increasingly listen to Web radio on their office computers and the popularity of handheld digital devices. It's probably no coincidence that a growing audience for streaming has paralleled the increasing popularity of devices like the iPhone. For instance, mobile online radio applications for CBS Radio's platforms (including AOL, Yahoo and Last.fm) have been downloaded more than 6 million times; Clear Channel's iheartradio app has surpassed 1 million downloads, according to the companies.

 As consumers warm to Web radio, ad dollars are following them. In May, Borrell Associates reported that ad revenues from streaming radio had risen 25 percent over last year. Ad agency TargetSpot—one of two titans in the Webcasting space, which claims to deliver 15.3 million unique listeners per month—says it continues to enjoy double-digit growth.

 Still, the sunny horizon of opportunity that Web radio purportedly represents for advertisers turns a little foggy where the numbers are involved. Streaming is still too new to have an industry association to track ad-revenue figures. As a result, estimates of the market's scope vary widely. Eric Ronning, co-president of sales for TargetSpot, pegs the market at $250-300 million, with a roughly 50/50 split between Internet pure plays and terrestrial broadcasters.
 According to the Radio Advertising Bureau, total digital revenue for terrestrial radio shot up 13 percent in this year's first quarter to $101 million (the only sector in the battered industry that didn't register a double-digit decline), but the organization doesn't break out the percentage attributable to streaming. According to Mark Fratrik, vp at financial data provider
 BIA Analysis, "The lion's share [of that money] is display ads, rich video ads, and the whole litany of Internet-based advertising on radio station Web sites."

 Another issue is that, for now at least, streaming radio affords advertisers few opportunities to buy locally—a limitation that owes itself to a combination of small audiences and limited geo-targeting options. Control by behemoth aggregators such as TargetSpot and Katz Online Network has helped make streaming a mostly nationalized space. To a degree, explains MediaVest's director of investment and activation Maribeth Papuga, this is only natural. "It's easier to 'sell it in' to a national buy than a local buy," she explains. "Planners often feel they reach people on a digital spectrum better with one of the national vendors that localizes rather than me going with a local radio station site."

 But according to Melissa Colon, senior activation associate for MediaVest, if streaming radio is to come into its own and reach its full marketing potential, it must offer clients proven ways to zero in locally. "Internet radio started off being national, but now needs to move to where all of their vendors can geo-target; there will be campaigns that require that," she says. "If we're going to include online radio in all of our campaigns, we want to make sure that it can have all the capabilities terrestrial radio has."

 Measuring Up

 These days, no conversation about advertising is possible without talking about measurement. The measurement potential of radio that's consumed via the Internet is obvious, especially because streaming campaigns frequently involve more than just audio.
 There are, for example, synchronized banner ads that encourage listeners to click on an advertiser's link. "Those click-throughs are measurable," enthuses Mullen's Fladgler. "For our Web-based clients, it's a no-brainer. You've got people listening online who are only a click away from information or a sale."

 But the ability to track audience demographics is anything but an exact science, which has made measurement both a source of frustration and a potential opportunity. Until recently, the need for a single measurement standard has kept the streaming industry from moving forward, but Ando Media's Webcast Metrics has promised to change that.

 Webcast Metrics has emerged as the primary measurement provider following Arbitron's decision earlier this year to discontinue its relationship with comScore and exit the sector.
 Confirmation of the new ratings order came on April 8, when Ando announced that TargetSpot (which had formerly used Arbitron and comScore's ratings service) would use it as its exclusive audience-measurement platform. Now that TargetSpot and Katz, the two largest service providers, are finally trading in the same currency, advertising and agency executives are voicing great expectations. "We can show how the different vendors match up to each other," Colon says. "It's really hard to evaluate when they're all on different measurements."

 Ando is able to provide audience quantification through server-side metrics obtained directly from the station or its bandwidth provider, then slice and dice the data by region, station group or station. According to svp Patrick Reynolds, "Our model is to be able to get our arms around, in real time, who is listening to a stream wherever that occurs, through whatever device that occurs."

 Evolution Theories

 But while one standard helps simplify the planning process, it still doesn't provide advertisers everything they need to make the most effective and efficient buy in the nascent medium. For example, one of Ando's biggest shortcomings, according to agency reps, is its inability to precisely track audience demographics. For that, it overlays survey data from media and consumer research providers MRI and Nielsen or from the broadcaster's own research. (AdweekMedia is a unit of the Nielsen Co.) While critics may contend this approach is ad-hoc engineering, Matt Feinberg, president of multi-channel media marketing consulting firm Matt Feinberg Media, doesn't think Ando's demographic measurement deficiencies have put it behind the eight ball. "They will evolve in time to get that number, and they wouldn't be the only measurement tool that doesn't give complete ideal world measurement," he says.

 For now, techniques are evolving. Online radio service Pandora, which creates playlists based on users' favorite tunes and boasts 26 million registered users, requires listeners to provide their gender and birth year when they sign up. This step alone gives Pandora access to more robust demographic information than terrestrial operators who are often reluctant to require registration, fearing it might cause users to click away. Yet even that fear seems to be ebbing. Clear Channel Radio announced last month that it had completed a comprehensive survey conducted with Ando to learn more about the online audiences of its 750 stations. After clicking the Listen Live button, users were given the opportunity at the player level to opt into what CCR senior vp of digital sales Michael Jackel called "a non-intrusive survey that doesn't detract from the listening experience." More than 50 percent of listeners asked to contribute opted into the survey.

 Since Internet radio is not yet considered a stand-alone medium, would-be advertisers say they need a more integrated measurement picture that will allow them to compare how an audience listens to online versus on-air, mobile and satellite. "The industry is looking for the measurement services to treat a person's entire audio day versus having multiple vendor measurement that you can't marry together," Papuga says.

 Ando, which also provides a spot delivery system, has drawn sharp criticism for only including clients in its ratings reports. The company says it provides measurement for 6,400 customers, mostly over-the-air stations, including 45 of the top 50 terrestrial radio groups. Fladgler is one of those voicing the criticism. "You can't be considered an authority on this if you don't provide measurement on everything," she says. Among Ando's most glaring omissions are Live 365 and Virgin Radio, two of the biggest pure-play providers.

 Still, with marketers expecting more from their ad dollars-improved accountability and measurement, ROI and integration of old and new-Internet radio's proponents say that its inherent advantages give it a bright future. "Its ability to guarantee impressions and provide a post within 48 hours after a campaign runs sets it apart from terrestrial radio," says Horizon Media vp, director of national radio Maja Mijatovic. "It's going to lead the whole industry toward that technology."

 Adds Horizon Media senior vp, director of local radio and promotion Lauren Russo: "Expanding on-air campaigns with digital components enhances the dialogue brands have with the consumer. Additionally, online radio benefits include impression guarantees, a wide range of ages, live delivery status and a growing quality audience."

 That includes all the Bollywood fans who submitted videos for the Esurance Bollywood Casting Call, still being tallied at press time. One was a young lady named Aqua, whose solo rendition of "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire is among the most viewed on the site. Too bad she's from the United Arab Emirates, and not eligible to win.

 --Nielsen Business Media


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I believe that his cap hit includes whatever is guaranteed and whatever portion of his signing bonus was spread across his deal. So I would assume it is more like a $10M cap hit instead of $5M, even though I don't know the actual numbers to legitimize his cap figure.
I think Freeney would actually play pretty well in a 3-4 scheme. He and Mathis both rely on speed moreso than brute physicality. I think this transition to the 3-4 will be a good thing for your team, assuming you still throw the majority of downs.