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After the tragic incident last week that killed 16 sherpas climbing the Khumbu Icefall on Mount Everest, attention has turned toward the sherpa community itself. While sherpas have long been seen as trusted guides who protect adventurous climbers, the dangers they face are often forgotten.
Here's a closer look at how tourism has grown in Nepal, how the sherpa community has benefited, and the dangers they face.
The Growth of Tourism
It is estimated that one quarter of the population of Nepal currently lives below the poverty line. As of 2008, the estimated unemployment rate was 46 percent. The average annual income for the country is roughly $600 a year.
Tourism has made a significant difference in Nepal since May 29, 1953, when Sir Edmund Hillary successfully climbed Everest with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. While most Westerners saw this as a challenge to prove their strength, the local community suddenly found itself sitting on a business opportunity.
Despite some bumps and incidents, the number of tourists who travel to Nepal each year has steadily increased. In 1984, there were 176,634 tourists in Nepal who stayed for an average of 10.55 days. In 2012, there were 803,092 tourists who stayed an average of 12.16 days.
In 2012, 78 percent of the permits issued by Nepal's Ministry of Tourism were for Mt. Everest. That same year, 8.2 percent of jobs were directly and indirectly supported by tourism.
As a result, a middle class emerged among sherpas. "Successful sherpas have second homes in Kathmandu to give their kids access to an education," says Ray Rodney, special projects manager at Wilderness Travel, who lived in Nepal for 11 years. "Even as they become more successful economically and become more Westernized, they want their kids to get a good education and get a job beyond serving the tourists."
Frequently, at least one person in each Sherpa family works in tourism. Because the window for climbing Everest is very short, most climbing sherpas also work as trekking and hiking guides, which occurs year round. Other family members often work in lodges and restaurants or as porters.
The Sherpa Community
Sherpas are an ethnic group and sherpas are guides. While many ethnic Sherpas are guides for climbing expeditions, there are also guides from other ethnic groups who are called sherpas.
The sherpa community is very tightly knit, and most familial homes are multigenerational. If families do not live together, they often live right next to one another. Since the area is so geographically compact, sherpas all know each other and gather together at festivals.
The Climbing
Sherpas can make between $3,000 to $5,000 per climb, and the typical season only lasts for the month of May. At this time of year, a reduced jet stream and calmer winds make conditions more favorable for climbing. The pay each sherpa receives depends on the company they are working with, the style of the climb, and the length of the journey.
Depending on each company, the number of sherpas per climber varies. Higher quality companies use more sherpas per climber and choose those with more experience. They also use better equipment, which also raises the costs for clients.
As a guide, one of the primary jobs is stocking the four camps that lead up to Everest's summit. The sherpas begin climbing in late April, before the season begins, and stock the camps with stoves, oxygen tanks, and food. They also fix the lines that climbers clip onto, which make the climbs much safer and easier.
When the sherpas are climbing with an expedition group, they carry most of the weight. They are responsible for food, sleeping bags, tents, gear, and oxygen tanks so that expedition climbers don't have to carry them.
Each sherpa's equipment is given to him by his company. They are each provided with down jackets, crampons, boots, and gear that they are able to keep. Some sherpas use old gear, but they can sell their gear to tourists or lodges that re-sell the clothing after the climb is over. Often climbers coming to Everest don't bring down jackets or other gear and purchase these items once they arrive at base camp.
The danger sherpas face is much more significant than that of the average climber. Outside Magazine recently compiled the number of sherpas who have died on Everest since 2000. In 2012, three sherpas died, and there were four deaths in 2013. The 16 deaths this year make this the worst three years for sherpa deaths in history.
This Accident Has Effected the Entire Community
Since the community is so closely tied, this incident is especially difficult. "People who didn't have an immediate relative who was killed knew someone who was killed," says Rodney. "This incident has cast a pall on the whole community."
"The able-bodied primary supporter of a family is hard to replace," he continues. "Now the sherpas are speaking up in ways that they haven't before. We feel this was a long time coming, and brings to light something that has been there for years, which is the unequal treatment sherpas face."
By Stephanie Ervin for PeterGreenberg.com


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My nephew likes robots. I should add that my nephew goes to Cal Tech and last spring won a robotics competition in his mechanical engineering class.
He and his team spent 5 months designing, proto-typing and building -- on a limited budget -- two robots. Each was required to be hand-crafted by the students.
The object was to collect ping-pong balls from a land-based dispenser using one robot, somehow transfer the balls to a water robot, and have that robot deposit the balls on small "islands" in a pond.
At the same time, another team was doing the same thing and attempting to prevent his team from scoring. Of course, his team was also trying to keep the other team from scoring.
The competition lasted all afternoon. Representatives from various manufacturing companies were there, as well as reporters from various media. Even Stephen Hawking showed up for a while; the whole crowd buzzed when he wheeled up.
My nephew's team won the competition. Besides being proud of him, I left with a sense of hope for the United States.
These students solved some tough problems in creative ways. One team had an amphibious vehicle that was equally powerful on land and water. Another team built a robot that could flip over other robots.
When people say we are losing the technology race to other countries, I think of this robotic competition. These are the people who will be solving tomorrow's problems:
You want a car that uses less gasoline or no gasoline?
You want electricity to travel thousands of miles on super-conducting wires?
You want a refrigerator that uses almost no electricity?
You want to heat your house for half the energy that you use today?
You want food that is healthier and fresher?
You want to identify and cure cancer in your body before it even shows as a tumor?
You want to create fresh water from ocean water?
These students will be designing solutions to problems that we cannot even conceive of today. Whatever the problems of the future are, these people will figure out ways to solve them.
So to those who see the future as dark and dismal, I say, "Piffle."
To those who think our education system is creating a generation of welfare artists and leeches, I say, "Nuts.'
To those who wish for a return to the "good old days" -- whatever they were -- I say, "Ha!"
The best is yet to come.
By the way, last summer my nephew interned at the Jet Propulsion Lab, where he designed a device to collect a sample of a comet.
- - -
The author is a Vacaville resident and member of The Reporter editorial board. E-mail: email@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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Indiana Landmarks has partnered with Historic Urban Neighborhoods of Indianapolis to offer a walking tour of a different historic neighborhood every Thursday in May — Preservation Month. The 90-minute tours start at 6 p.m. and cost $10 per person.
Visitors will learn the history of each area and its revitalization, see the range in house styles, get the scoop on average sale prices, and see the interior of a home. Each tour covers about one mile. At the conclusion of the tour, there will be the option of continuing the conversation at a neighborhood tavern.
Capacity for the tours is limited. Register online or call Indiana Landmarks, (317) 636-5409. The registration site provides the starting point for each tour, and recommendations for after-tour dining and cocktailing.
May 1 ‒ Old Speedway
Speedway contains more than the famous racetrack. The boundaries of the original city of Speedway are now the boundaries of a historic district, containing homes built from the 1920s through the 1940s. The four founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway — James A. Allison, Frank Wheeler, Arthur Newby and Carl Fisher — hired a realtor to purchase the land, plat the area, and sell the lots, making Speedway an early example of a planned residential community. Julia Pratt and Frank van Overmeiren will lead the walking tour, stopping on 14th Street to visit a home being rehabbed by the Speedway Community Development Corp. The boundaries of Old Speedway are Main, 10th, Lyndhurst and Crawfordsville Road.
May 8 ‒ Cottage Home
Cottage Home is a near eastside district bordered on the east by the campus of state-basketball-title-winning Tech High School. The neighborhood takes its name from its housing stock, frame houses built between 1870 and 1900. Many of the cottages feature turned posts and spindles, gingerbread trim porches, brackets, and fishscale shingles. The neighborhood as a whole is a conservation district, with a one-block section listed in the National Register of Historic Places that contains a mansion and five brick doubles, all designed by Vonnegut and Bohn. The area is known for its clever, offbeat, artful residents and events. Joan Hostetler leads the tour, which will visit her restored home on Dorman Street. Cottage Home is bounded by Michigan, Tenth, Oriental, and the CSX Railroad.
May 15 ‒ Meridian Park
This tour highlights an early 20th-century neighborhood of spacious homes in the Arts and Crafts, Tudor, Colonial Revival and American Four-Square styles. The houses reflect the Arts and Crafts emphasis on the use of natural materials such as brick, stucco, tile, stained and leaded glass windows, hardwood floors, and built-in cabinetry. Listed as a historic district in the National Register, Meridian Park is bounded by Pennsylvania Street and Washington Boulevard, 30th and 34th streets. Lorraine Vavul and Chris Gautier will lead the tour, which will visit Bob and JoAnn Giannini's Arts and Crafts-style home that features two Rookwood fireplaces.
May 22 ‒ Lockerbie Square
The city's first locally designated historic district, Lockerbie Square, owes its prominence to its most famous resident — Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley, whose home there is a museum. It is also listed in the National Register. The district of tree-lined streets includes a mix of charming 19th-century cottages and more imposing homes, with compatible modern houses built on formerly vacant lots. Marjorie Kienle and Leah Cody will lead the tour, which will include visits to a cottage and a repurposed factory with views of downtown skyline from its rooftop deck. Located about a half mile from Monument Circle, Lockerbie Square is roughly bounded by East, Davidson, Michigan, and Miami streets.
May 29 ‒ Old Northside
The final walking tour of the month takes place in the Old Northside, a neighborhood of large Victorian houses built in the second half of the 19th century that declined after World War II. In dilapidated condition in the 1960s and 1970s, many of the large homes were torn down. Nationally and locally designated as a historic district in the late 1970s, the area rebounded as people bought and restored the remaining houses and built compatible new designs on vacant lots. Bob Hebbs and Paul Smith will lead the tour, which will visit the Morris-Butler House. Located about a mile north and several blocks east of Monument Circle, the Old Northside boundaries are Pennsylvania and 16th streets, I-65 and the Monon Trail.


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Chenbro Xpider IIby Purav Sanghani on August 10, 2004 6:00 PM EST
- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
|Quick Look
|Chenbro Xpider II
|The Good
|+ One 120mm LED case fan, one 92mm
+ 350W Power Supply
+ Removable 3-1/2" drive bay
+ Tool-less side and front panel
|The Bad
|- No removable motherboard tray
- Not completely tool-less design
- Limited HDD bays
Chenbro is a 20-year-old name in the computer case industry. It has been manufacturing PC, server and rackmount cases since then and has a few other things on its list of achievements. Chenbro was the first to bring the tower case design to the market and they also claim to have implemented the first removable motherboard tray.
Along with those great feats, Chenbro has many other things under its belt such as about 180 mechanical design patents, and with over 700 employees across the world, Chenbro is one of the biggest manufacturing companies in the world.
With 20 years of experience, we thought Chenbro had plenty of time to realize the best and worst in PC case design. They have released a few gaming chassis in the past few years, which we have not had the pleasure to look at until now.
Chenbro was kind enough to send us a sample of their Xpider II, which has been out on the market for a while now. With all cases, we took the Xpider II apart to see what makes it stand out from the rest. Take a look at what we found.
More information is available on the Xpider II at Chenbro's website.
33 Comments
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Bladen - Thursday, August 19, 2004 - linkIf you want a gaming case, look out for the Gaming Bomb II.
I have a Gaming Bomb I and it is great.
However the Gaming Bomb II is a bit on the expensive side (first time Chenbro made Al case so the machines had to be retooled).
I think the Xpider II isn't that hot, but I have heard it doesn't look that bad in real view, but Iiiiii'd rather get a GB2.
Head over too http://www.chenbro.com.tw/PR/GBII.jsp and have a looksee. Reply
hdavis01 - Thursday, August 12, 2004 - linkCall me old school but I would take a simple looking, basic, black/white case with sturdy construction over anything with thrills and frills surface features. I won't flame you guys for reviewing these "flashy" type boxes but please review some of the quality cases with less outside eye candy and focus on ones with more internal detail and functionalities.
More cases like the Ahanix X195 Knight reviewed back on 3/04 would be nice.
I believe that your more informed hardcore readers are much more interested in cases that are functional, quality driven structures that hold all our precious, expensive peripheral component pieces tightly and securely in place and cooled to the best possible levels.
yelo333 - Thursday, August 12, 2004 - linkUmm...that $80 price tag is because of the actually usable power supply...Assuming you liked that look(I definitely DON'T), it doesn't look like it's THAT bad a deal, as you mentioned on the end of the last page.
CrimsonDeath - Thursday, August 12, 2004 - linkIf i was 10 and was crazy about spidey, then this &$^$%^ might have been my case. Other than that the desing is really mediocre and FUGLY if i may say so myself :) . C'mon show us some serious cases ppl. Reply
AnnoyedGrunt - Thursday, August 12, 2004 - linkI think you guys should add some additional criteria to your review. Things that come to mind are:
1. How well do the USB and firewire port cables interface with the MoBo.
2. Does the firewire cable have a header for MoBo mounting or does it need to pass thru to the rear firewire port of the MoBo
3. Give extra points for rubber HDD isolators (to me this is a very nice feature that seems so simple yet is missing from many cases)
4. This case only has one removeable cover, which severly limits access to cable routing, I think that should be considered a negative.
5. Agree with the PSU points. At the minimum add a test with the standard PSU so the sound and capability of the stock case is known.
6. This last one may be more controversial, but to me the whole "tooless" trend is usually poorly implemented and makes things wose than cases with simple screws. In particular, drive rails that first attach to the drive and then snap in to the case seem pointless, and the PCI card snaps often don't work nearly as well as a screw. Personally, I would like to see more cases go with thumbscrews and I think you should make more mention of it in your review. It seems like the mechanical build up of a computer is quite small compared to the software installation and setup, and therefore I would like to see less emphasis placed on the build time and more emphasis placed on the ease of access and sturdiness once components are installed.
7. The looks of that case are....well, lets just say that if I had a 5 year old I think the kid would like it. Most others I think would find the looks "controversial" and I don't think anyone believes it has "gaming written all over it". Just IMO of course.
Anyway, nice review overall, but could use more details and I think stronger reaction towards some of the negatives of the case.
-D'oh! Reply
AtaStrumf - Wednesday, August 11, 2004 - linkI build a bunch of PCs with chembro's gaming bomb, which uses the exact same design, but has a much more digestible front bezel:
It actually looks better in person, especially without the window in the side panel, so if you can't stand the spider-man bezel, you can allways go with the "gaming bomb".
Unlike some other cases we usually use, I really liked this one, my only gripe would be with the add-in cards holding mechanism, with feels a bit too flimsy. Reply
ciwell - Wednesday, August 11, 2004 - linkThat has to be one of the most visually offensive pieces of scrap metal I have had the displeasure of laying my eyes on. Reply
nessus - Wednesday, August 11, 2004 - linkWell, pretty much everything has been said. I just wish Anandtech would be honest with their opinions and not try to make the review as long as possible with rubbish. Do you guys ever look at the other review sites?? For instance take a peek at Dansdata. He doesn't have a very pretty site but I think it works and he's very honest about products he reviews...but that is only my oppinion. Reply
brian_riendeau - Wednesday, August 11, 2004 - link"They have released a few gaming chassis in the past few years, which we have not had the pleasure to look at until now."
"The front of the case is made up of a custom molded bezel, which gives it a look that says gaming all over it."
I think these two lines pretty much sum up the entire problem... AT is becoming totally disconnected from the users who come to this site.
Nazgoth - Wednesday, August 11, 2004 - linkIs it me or are new cases getting uglier and ulgier :/ Reply


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Several clubs hoping to figure prominently in this season's Europa League will not even feature in Friday's group-stage draw after suffering shock play-off round defeats on Thursday.
Heading the list of victims on Thursday were Italian side Udinese, who failed to overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit against Slovan Liberec, drawing 1-1 in the Czech Republic, despite fielding a strong team, to bow out of Europe before the end of August.
Elsewhere, Bundesliga club Stuttgart – who last weekend sacked coach Bruno Labbadia and replaced him with youth coach Thomas Schneider – drew 2-2 at hone to Rijeka of Croatia to exit the competition 4-3 on aggregate.
The Germans conceded the decisive goal in the fourth minute of injury time.
Former European champions Feyenoord were eliminated by Kuban Krasnodar, while Spartak Moscow were surprisingly ousted by modest Swiss club St Gallen, and it was a shocking night for French clubs as Saint-Etienne and Nice were knocked out by Esbjerg of Denmark and Apollon Limassol of Cyprus respectively.
That completed a miserable week for French sides in general after Lyon lost to Real Sociedad of Spain in the Champions League play-offs on Wednesday.
In contrast, Premier League clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City had few problems coming through their ties and take their place in Friday's group-stage draw in Monaco.
Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas fielded a fringe team that remained more than strong enough to beat Georgia's Dinamo Tbilisi 3-0 on the night and 8-0 on aggregate.
Jermain Defoe scored twice at White Hart Lane, while Lewis Holtby was also on target.
Swansea, meanwhile, lost to 2-1 to Petrolul in Romania, but had already done the hard part by winning 5-1 in the first leg in Wales.
Roland Lamah scored Swansea's goal, while Michael Laudrup's team had captain Leon Britton sent-off late on.
Other leading names to progress on Thursday were Spain's Sevilla and their city neighbours Betis, Eintracht Frankfurt and Dynamo Kiev. Fiorentina of Italy also advanced, although only on away goals after losing 1-0 at home to Grasshoppers Zurich.
Thursday's winners will be joined in the group-stage draw by the losers from the Champions League play-offs and the seven clubs to qualify automatically, including English FA Cup holders Wigan Athletic, Coppa Italia winners Lazio, Valencia of Spain, Freiburg of Germany and French Cup holders Bordeaux.
The final place – left open following Fenerbahce's two-year ban from European competition – will be taken by one of the play-off round losers, with UEFA pulling one of the lucky losers out of a hat on Friday morning.
Europa League play-off second-leg results:
Spartak Moscow (RUS) 2 St Gallen (SUI) 4
(St Gallen win 5-3 on aggregate)
Rubin Kazan (RUS) 3 Molde (NOR) 0
(Rubin win 5-0 on aggregate)
VfB Stuttgart (GER) 2 Rijeka (CRO) 2
(Rijeka win 4-3 on aggregate)
Nordsjaelland (DEN) 0 Elfsborg (SWE) 1
(Elfsborg win 2-1 on aggregate)
Astra (ROM) 1 Maccabi Haifa (ISR) 1
(Maccabi Haifa win 3-1 on aggregate)
Dila Gori (GEO) 0 Rapid Vienna (AUT) 3
(Rapid win 4-0 on aggregate)
Dynamo Kiev (UKR) 5 Aktobe (KAZ) 1
(Dynamo win 8-3 on aggregate)
Trabzonspor (TUR) 3 Kukes (ALB) 1
(Trabzonspor win 5-1 on aggregate)
Saint-Etienne (FRA) 0 Esbjerg (DEN) 1
(Esbjerg win 5-3 on aggregate)
Sheriff Tiraspol (MDA) 2 Vojvodina (SRB) 1
(Sheriff win 3-2 on aggregate)
AZ Alkmaar (NED) 0 Atromitos (GRE) 1
(Match abandoned with AZ leading 3-2 on aggregate)
Slovan Liberec (CZE) 1 Udinese (ITA) 1
(Liberec win 4-2 on aggregate)
APOEL (CYP) 1 Zulte Waregem (BEL) 2
(Zulte Waregem win 3-2 on aggregate)
Petrolul (ROM) 2 Swansea City (ENG) 1
(Swansea win 6-3 on aggregate)
Besiktas (TUR) 2 Tromso (NOR) 0
(Besiktas win 3-2 on aggregate)
Nice (FRA) 1 Apollon Limassol (CYP) 0
(Apollon win 2-1 on aggregate)
Thun (SUI) 3 Partizan Belgrade (SRB) 0
(Thun win 3-1 on aggregate)
Genk (BEL) 5 FH Hafnarfjoerdur (ISL) 2
(Genk win 7-2 on aggregate)
Skenderbeu (ALB) 1 Chornomorets Odessa (UKR) 0
(1-1 on aggregate, Chornomorets win 7-6 on penalties)
Zalgiris (LTU) 0 Salzburg (AUT) 2
(Salzburg win 7-0 on aggregate)
Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) 2 Qarabag (AZE) 1
(Eintracht Frankfurt win 4-1 on aggregate)
Standard Liege (BEL) 3 Minsk (BLR) 1
(Standard win 5-1 on aggregate)
Pasching (AUT) 1 Estoril (POR) 2
(Estoril win 4-1 on aggregate)
Dnipro (UKR) 2 Kalju Nomme (EST) 0
(Dnipro win 5-1 on aggregate)
Slask Wroclaw (POL) 0 Sevilla (ESP) 5
(Sevilla win 9-1 on aggregate)
Fiorentina (ITA) 0 Grasshoppers Zurich (SUI) 1
(2-2 on aggregate, Fiorentina win on away goals)
Feyenoord (NED) 1 Kuban Krasnodar (RUS) 2
(Kuban win 3-2 on aggregate)
Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) 3 Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) 0
(Tottenham win 8-0 on aggregate)
Betis (ESP) 6 Jablonec (CZE) 0
(Betis win 8-1 on aggregate)
Braga (POR) 0 Pandurii Targu-Jiu (ROM) 2
(After extra time. Score at 90 minutes 0-1. Pandurli win 2-1 on aggregate)
Source AFP


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Lewis D Bunce Patent
I recently learned from my cousin, Carol, that my 2nd Great Grandfather, Lewis DeMott Bunce (1827-1894), received a patent for improvements to the butter churn.
Inventor: Lewis D Bunce
Invention: Churn (improvements)
Patent No.: 337, 238
Patented: Mar. 2, 1886
Short extract from the patent:
My invention relates to the improvement in churns, the object of the same being to provide a churn in which the dasher and dasher-operating mechanism, either or both, can be readily removed from the churn body when it is desired to cleanse the parts or remove the butter.
A further object is to provide a churn in which the motion of the cream while being agitated will be steady and regular, which will permit a section of the cover to be left off while churning without danger of throwing a portion of cream out of the churn.
A further object is to provide a churn with side wings and dasher adapted to be adjusted vertically to accommodate them to varying quantities of cream in the churn.
It is exciting to see that one of my ancestors was an inventor.
Let me know if you have an ancestor that was an inventor or received a patent.


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Battle over merit pay, teacher evaluations not just in Florida
Sure, Florida's fight over schoolteacher contracts and the like caused a huge ruckus in state education circles that resonated into politics as we know it. Floridians might like to think their battle is one for the books.
But as the Wall Street Journal clearly notes, the Race to the Top competition has put Florida alongside Indiana, Minnesota, Colorado and Ohio in heated union push back against ideas that teacher representatives can't seem to stomach.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told the WSJ "he welcomed the friction between union and state officials but warned against states weakening their overhaul plans simply to win buy-ins from unions. 'Watered-down proposals with lots of consensus won't win,' he said. 'And proposals that drive real reform will win.' "
Gov. Charlie Crist's RTTT advisory group meets Wednesday to see how much compromise they can get in trying to secure about $700 million for the state. Crist has stressed the need to have stakeholder support -- especially after the teachers helped kill SB 6. But as the WSJ noted, agreement might not be all Crist has cracked it up to be:
"Most of the 16 state finalists lost far more points on reform efforts than on a lack of union backing. Florida and Illinois had among the weakest union support but still placed fourth and fifth."


text:
- Download:
- mcgath0603
Gary McGath, a software engineer and freelance writer, is a former editor of the Thomas Paine Review.
In children's stories a problem can often be solved just by uttering the right magic words. Cinderella can become a glamorous debutante with a "Bibbidi bobbidi-boo." Harry Potter's friends can get past a locked door with an "Alohomora." Real life is quite a different matter, though, even when Congress thinks a magic word can protect children from danger.
The magic word in this case is "dot-kids." Members of Congress have supposed that children can be protected from predators and harmful influences on the Internet by creating a top-level domain (TLD) exclusively for children. Just what sort of protection this can offer has never been made clear.
The original bill proposed was the Dot Kids Domain Name Act of 2001 (HR 2417), which would have ordered ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, to create a new TLD, .kids, on a par with .com, .gov, and the various national domains. ICANN would have had 30 days to carry out the mandate and would have been forbidden to establish any other TLDs until it had done so. It didn't quite work out the way the bill's sponsors expected.
There are two types of top-level domains, those that apply to a particular country and those that apply worldwide. The .com and .net TLD's are worldwide; anyone anywhere can register a domain under them. The same would have been true for .kids, but its content would have been under the control of the U.S. government. Registry would be permitted only through a California corporation called .KIDS Domains.
The existence of a .kids domain would not in itself prevent children from accessing other domains. It would not keep anyone from contacting children by e-mail or online chat. But it would allow the U.S. government's designated domain administrators to specify acceptable content for domains registered under .kids. On what basis would the U.S. government set standards for children worldwide? What is acceptable in parts of Europe could be shocking in much of the United States. What is deemed harmless in the United States might be considered utterly indecent in Saudi Arabia. ICANN describes itself as "a coalition of the Internet's business, technical, non-commercial, and academic communities," and specifically as a "private sector (that is, non-governmental) policymaking body."1
For the government to dictate policy to ICANN simply because it happens to be headquartered in the United States would have dealt a crushing blow to its independence. Fortunately, ICANN had the courage to reject the .kids TLD, and the 2001 bill died in committee.
The next year, though, Congress came back with a more limited plan to create a children's subdomain to the .us TLD: kids.us. And so President Bush signed into law the Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002.
The .us TLD is administered by NeuStar, a private company under contract to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in the Department of Commerce. In return for taking on the difficult task of making the new domain work, NeuStar was given a two-year extension on its contract to run the .us TLD.
The new law doesn't have the same implications for international hegemony and control over private-sector activity as the earlier proposal. However, it is equally useless and still troubling in its implications for free speech. A letter from the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) to Senators Ron Wyden and George Allen raised this issue: "How will the NTIA decide whether the content in .us is in its view 'suitable for minors'? . . . A parent in Manhattan may allow their 10-year-old to view material that a parent in Minneapolis may not."2
Representative John Shimkus, the lead sponsor of the bill, justified it by asking, "I have repeatedly said that libraries have children's book sections, why can't the Internet have the same type of section devoted to children's interests?"3 The analogy to the children's section of a library is found in the text of the bill itself. One might reply that the fact that governments have authority over the organization of public libraries doesn't imply they should have authority over the structure of the Internet.
No Cure-All
To begin carrying out its mandate, NeuStar has issued a document raising issues and seeking ideas on how to manage the domain. It is candid about the limits on what it can do: "From the start, it is important to be clear that the kids.us domain is not intended to be a cure-all solution to the many problems and dangers associated with children's use of the Internet. . . . Given the technical and legal limitations that plague any Internet domain, a space dedicated to children can be targeted by bad actors or subject to technical problems. These facts demonstrate that there can be no truly safe place or 'haven' for children."4
Most of the document is tentative. The proposed guidelines, though, show that the plan behind the domain goes beyond excluding what is "harmful" to children and aims at imposing positive content requirements. One proposal is that all content registrars in the kids.us domain must "commit to have some component of educational and informational content for children on their respective domains." Pure entertainment sites would be excluded by this requirement, however child-safe they might be. In practice, sites would probably meet the requirement by having "educational" pages that few would bother to read.
The question of how, and to what extent, to enforce content regulations is wide open. NeuStar's document deals with the question only by asking for suggestions on enforcement and monitoring procedures, and specifically asking that any comments discuss "the potential expenses and allocation of costs." If sites are going to be regularly monitored by human beings, the job will be labor-intensive, expensive, and subject to the varying judgments of the reviewers. If software does the monitoring, looking for telltale words and phrases, it will be unreliable, frequently flagging innocent content while missing offensive material. Either way, the more aggressive the monitoring, the more content providers will restrict themselves to completely uncontroversial material, avoiding anything that might give a censor an excuse to apply sanctions.
Another disturbing proposal is to prohibit links from kids.us websites to unapproved domains. The NeuStar document presents this as an open question, but the text of the bill appears to require it.5 This would extend the reach of the reviewers to all websites, not just those that choose to use kids.us. That would not stop children from accessing other websites directly, but it would deny sites within the domain the freedom to point at huge amounts of valuable resources, including any domain based outside the United States. Some of the larger sites would undoubtedly create special editions for kids.us, but the large majority would not have the resources to duplicate their material in a government-approved package.
There have been scattered claims in the news media that parents would be able to set up web browsers so that their children could access only the kids.us domain. No existing browsers, as far as I can determine, have this capability, but in its most basic and restrictive form it wouldn't be hard to implement. However, unless their children have their own computers, their parents would find themselves constantly having to turn the block on and off. People with older computers might not be able to upgrade their browsers. Also, such a block would be effective only if the domain strictly excludes not just links but gateway sites and search engines that allow indirect access to the rest of the Internet.
Specific prohibitions that NeuStar proposes include "content that displays, sells, or advocates the use of weapons," "advocates or contemplates alcohol consumption," "demonstrates explicit violence against people or animals," or "features smoking or use of other tobacco products." Another proposed prohibition concerns the famous seven dirty words. These proposals clearly go beyond protecting children to inculcating a particular political view, one which holds that merely seeing guns, drinking, or smoking is somehow harmful to children.
In the kids' web wonderland there will be no wars, no scatological language, no one beaten up, no one even talking about having a drink, and no one smoking. Even Disney would have to edit its G-rated cartoon trailers carefully. Lord of the Rings, with its drinking songs, pipeweed, and wars, wouldn't stand a chance of being approved. Neither, for that matter, would an unexpurgated edition of the Bible.
Ominous Loophole
A loophole in the NeuStar document gives still more opportunity for selective content control: "[W]e envision that content would be reviewed by the Content Manager(s) on the whole. If such content is deemed by the Content Manager(s) as having serious educational, informational, intellectual, literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors we believe that exceptions can be made to allow this content to appear in the kids.us domain." But first a site manager has to get the attention of the Content Manager. As for those who don't have the connections and persistence to get a live human being to grant an exception, they can go back to their .com domain.
But so can children, when they realize that there is nothing but safe, sanitized, utterly boring material in kids.us and a great deal of useful or entertaining material that can't be reached from there. The huge amount of useful and interesting content locked away from them will give children ample motivation to discover how to get around the domain block, assuming parents can stand to keep the block turned on in spite of all the complaints they'll hear.
Congress has done only what any private company in America could have done; it has established a subdomain of the national TLD and set conditions on how it can be used. But a private company would be wasting only its own money and reputation. By having federally designated monitors decide what is "suitable for children," Congress is stepping into an area where it does not belong.
The kids.us domain will do nearly nothing to protect children, while giving the government an opportunity to engage in content regulation. The best scenario is that the domain will languish in obscurity and everyone will forget about it. The worst scenario is that it will languish in obscurity, but politicians will insist that its failure proves the need for wider powers. We will soon know which happens.
- "Background," ICANN, July 1999, www.icann.org/general/background.htm; emphasis in original.
- Letter from Center for Democracy and Technology, September 12, 2002, www.cdt.org/dns/020912dotkids.shtml.
- Jim Wagner, ".Kids Finally Finds a Home in the House," internetnews.com, May 21, 2002, www.internetnews.com/xSP/article.php/1142151.
- "Proposal for Guidelines and Requirements for the kids.us Second Level Domain," NeuStar, Inc., August 2002.
- Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002 (Enrolled as Agreed to or Passed by Both House and Senate), HR3833, 107th Congress, Sec. 157(c)(11).


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Amber Alert for 2-year-old from Dorchester County
Thu, 19 Jul 2012 15:05:01 GMT —
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division issued an Amber Alert Thursday morning for a 2-year-old Dorchester County girl.
The say Haley Renea Briggs was last seen at 122 High Bridge Road in Summerville at 1 a.m. Thursday.
Haley is 33 pounds with brown, curly hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a USA shirt and red pajama pants.
SLED believes she is with Megan Marie Briggs, 19. Briggs is 5'4", weighs about 140 pounds, has brown hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a black shirt and white pants.
They may be traveling in a 2003 gold Buick Centurty with SC tag number EQG113. The front license plate says Carolina Girl in a Sharpneck Auto Sales License frame.
If you've seen them, call 911.


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London is the European city the world's billionaires like to call home, according to research published by Beauchamp Estates and Dataloft.
There are 67 billionaires living in the U.K. capital, and the city tops the ranks for Western Europe ahead of Paris (25 billionaires) and Geneva (18 billionaires).
The survey by Beauchamp Estates and Dataloft looks at ultra-prime property values, billionaire lifestyles and billionaire property assets across Western Europe.
London's wealthiest reside in the so-called "platinum triangle" that includes the upmarket districts of Mayfair, Knightsbridge and Belgravia. Leafy St. John's Woods and Regent's Park are also favorites.
Billionaires typically pay around £21.7 million ($36.1 million) for a Mayfair mansion, while similar properties in St. John's Wood and Regent's Park go for around £22.3 million ($37.2 million).
They tend to own four homes worldwide, and on average, this includes a £22.3 million mansion in London; an £18.6 million holiday home on the French Riviera; and a £12.1 million Tuscany estate.
And when it comes to choosing a mansion, a billionaire is most likely to be swayed by a property's location, size, outside space, security and design.
The French Riviera is the favorite for billionaire beach-side mansions and has around 39 such homes. The social calendar of a typical billionaire also lends itself to the location as it is in close proximity of the Grand Prix and Cannes Film Festival.
Other popular sunny spots include Tel Aviv/Israel (39), Tuscany (14) and Greece and the Greek islands (9).


text: BYU's 2013, 2014 and 2015 football schedules came into clearer focus on Thursday with several scheduling announcements from around the country, including one from the Cougars themselves. As you can read here, BYU and UNLV have agreed to a home-and-home football series that will begin in 2014 in Provo (Nov. 15) and conclude in 2015 in Las Vegas (Nov. 14). To my recollection, it is the first scheduling agreement between BYU and a Mountain West Conference school since the Cougars announced they were leaving the league back in 2010. It appears that relations between BYU and some of its former conference foes are thawing a bit. I'll call it an outright warming when Wyoming agrees to play BYU again. Don't count on that. Also today, the University of Utah announced its 2013 nonconference football schedule, and the Utes are saying that they will play at BYU on Sept. 21, 2013. It was originally assumed that the Utes and Cougars would play on either Sept. 14 or Sept. 28, so the announcement was somewhat of a surprise. As of now, BYU doesn't have a game on Sept. 14 (the week before the Utah game). It will be interesting to see if BYU fills that date (with an FCS opponent, most likely) or leaves it open to give itself two weeks to prepare for the Utes. I had ticketed BYU to host Boise State on Sept. 21, but obviously that won't happen now. Brian Murphy of the Idaho Statesman, responding to a question on his Twitter account, said the BYU-Boise State game will be played on Oct. 26, 2013, in Provo. Also Thursday, Middle Tennessee State's athletic director, Chris Massaro, noted via Twitter that MTSU will play at BYU on Nov. 16, 2013 and will play host to BYU on Nov. 1, 2014. "Dates could change, though," Massaro wrote.With all that in mind, here we go. Here's how the 2013, 2014 and 2015 schedules stack up, as far as I know. Shoot me an email if you know something I don't.2013Aug. 31 at Virginia Sept. 7 Texas Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Utah Sept. 28 Oct. 4 at Utah StateOct. 12 Georgia TechOct. 19 at HoustonOct. 26 Boise StateNov. 2 Nov. 9 at WisconsinNov. 16 Middle Tennessee StateNov. 23 at Notre DameNov. 30 Dec. 7 at HawaiiBOWL: Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco vs. Pac-12 #6


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"Lie to Me" initially seemed like it was going to be just another crime procedural in a primetime landscape dotted with them. But Sam Baum argued at the start that the show would be a lot more versatile than that, and Shawn Ryan has helped him back up that statement this year. Because there are questions about truth and lies in every walk of life, because Cal Lightman's services are obviously much in demand, and because the government likes what he does, there is really no professional setting - or, in this case, geographic setting - the show can't plausibly visit. There will always be some kind of mystery at the center of things, but the mystery can range from a murder, to who caused a Black Friday riot, to the location of two captured Marines in Afghanistan.
This story was obviously familiar territory for Ryan and the people he brought over from "The Unit," and I liked that we spent very little time on the Jason Gedrick(*) character distrusting Lightman's methods. It's way too easy to try to set up your guy as a genius by putting him together with strawman characters who loudly question his genius and can therefore be easily proven wrong. Gedrick was right to be at least a little suspicious, and he quickly got on board as much as he could under these harrowing circumstances.
(*) Gedrick takes a lot of heat as one of the pre-eminent showkillers of our age (look at his resume and you'll see why), but I've always had a soft spot for the guy. Not only did he star in one of my favorite Brilliant But Canceled shows ever, "EZ Streets," but I spent way, way too many hours in my youth watching scenes like this one from "Iron Eagle" on HBO. (Look closely and you'll spot a young Melora Hardin - Jan from "The Office" - as Gedrick's worried girlfriend.) One of the best moments of my early career was at a CBS press tour event in 1997. Gedrick was there for "EZ Streets" (which wasn't quite dead yet), and Lou Gossett Jr. was there for some TV-movie. I was talking with Gossett and asked if he realized Gedrick was in the building; Gossett's eyes got really wide with delight and he ordered me to lead him to the "EZ Streets" people, where he gave his old "Iron Eagle" co-star the bear hug to end all bear hugs. Later, Gedrick talked to me for a while about how Gossett more or less taught him how to act, because he was pretty terrible at the time (as you can see in the clip). It made all those hours wasted on the movie feel really, really worth it.
The ticking clock intensity of the assignment brought out the best in Tim Roth. And I love the way the writing staff has managed to take a character who should, because of his talents, be the world's biggest cynic, but instead remains oddly, endearingly hopeful about other people's capacity to be true to both themselves and the world at large. The relationship with his daughter helps, and I was relieved that Emily getting to witness the video feed neither hindered nor helped the case; it was just another complication between father and daughter.
We have one more episode next week, and then there will be four left over from this initial order of 13. Fox didn't order more in the spring because they have a lot of mid-season inventory ("24," "Human Target," "Past Life"); at this point, they might still be able to order more episodes for this season, but the more likely scenarios seem to be either renewing the show for next fall (and dealing with the four leftovers somewhere down the road) or not renewing it at all.
I'll be very disappointed if the latter happens. Not that it was ever a bad show, but "Lie to Me" has been much improved this year, and it deserves a longer chance to stick around.
What did everybody else think?


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This product is covered by a 3 Year Warranty. If, for some reason, your product fails within 3 years of the invoice date, we will replace it free of charge. Terms and Conditions apply, click here for more info.
Need to return an item? No Problem. Here at Computer Cable Store we want to make sure you are completely satisified with your purchase which is why we offer a no-hassle 120 Day Return Policy with NO restocking fee. Get started on the easy return process by loggin into the orders section of your account. We are here to help so feel free to contact us or us the live help for quicky answers.
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All shipped orders get updated daily with tracking information along with an email notifying you of the updates. You can always check the tracking information in the ORDERS section of MY ACCOUNT. We are always standing by so feel free to CONTACT US or use the LIVE HELP for quick answers.
Here at Computer Cable Store we believe in our products. We want YOU to believe in our products too. This is why we offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee! If, for any reason, you are not happy with your purchase simply request an RMA within 120 Days of Delivery and we'll get you started on the no-hassle return process.
Get the most out of your network equipment with these Cisco Equivalent SFP Fiber Modules from Networx. SFP or Small Form Pluggable Optical Modules are compact, hot-swappable media connectors that allow for quick and easy network connectivity for a wide variety of networking equipment. These SFP modules can be installed in any Cisco or MSA SFF-8472 compliant port making them a great choice for network repairs or upgrades. The creation and standardization of the SFP allows for a single product to extremely flexible and allow for the reduction of excess units and surplus fiber often required for fixed installations.


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|Trad, 1 pitch, 80'
|YDS: 5.10c French: 6b Ewbanks: 20 UIAA: VII ZA: 20 British: E2 5b R [details]
|Charles Cole and Gib Lewis, 1983
|Page Views:
|Submitted By:
|C Miller on Jan 1, 2005
|Comments on Band Saw
|Add Comment
|Show which comments —
By M. Morley
From: Sacramento, CA
Oct 26, 2004
|The bolts have been replaced with modern hardware. A fall, however, before clipping the first bolt would likely result in a visit to the hospital. There is currently a bolt hole right off the deck that *might* offer some protection using a removable bolt. The moves in reaching the first bolt are definitely solid 5.10.
By Ryan Watts
From: Bishop, CA
Feb 13, 2014
How many people have actually onsight lead this route? Sure the bottom is "only" 5.10 but it's pretty thin and sequential.
The only way I could see it being reasonable to lead is if you had the moves to the first bolt totally wired. Maybe I'm just chicken...
By Bob Gaines
Feb 13, 2014
rating: 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b R
Led it onsight back in the day (1980's). I remember the scariest part was a cruel surprise when I got to the last bolt, a 1/4 inch spinner protruding way out of it's hole, and I wasn't sure how hard the rest of the grainy slab was.
After we put up Sexy Grandma the route became very popular to TR off the Sexy Grandma anchor, and the graininess is gone. Even though now I have it ruthlessly wired, don't think I'll be leading this one unless someone retros a bolt for the start. Maybe ask permission from Charles Cole?
I think someone added a bolt, it got chopped, but the hole remained. For a while there was a fixed removeable bolt (swaged cable and all) hanging out of the hole, but it's long gone.
By Brad J
Apr 15, 2015
rating: 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b R
|Lead this thing several times but with traffic this route is changing. Like Bob said "graininess is gone". Last time was a few years back, when I turned 60. I was very happy to have a removable bolt with me. Holds getting to the first bolt are a little more sketchy than they used to be. Either because of all the top roping or me getting old and scared. Probably both. By the way, the bolt that got chopped was Bridwell's. In Jtree not even the legends can add a bolt :-)


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Hi, my name is Danni and I'm a self confessed "Constant Checker"!
Now I know that I can't be the only person who wakes up and the first thing you do is log into Facebook and Twitter, even before brushing your teeth! I will lie in bed just scrolling through my news feed and checking my notifications for about 5 minutes. Many of you will think I must lead a very sad life for doing this, but the truth is, I won't be able to function if I don't have a nosey at what my friends are up to or to see if I've been popular enough for a mate to write a post on my wall.
I don't think I could cope without constantly checking my accounts on social media platforms, in fact, I think I would probably break down and cry. And if I were to be asked how much time in a day I spend on these sites, I honestly wouldn't be able to tell you. I would probably say a good hour of my day is spent being a nosey bugger and checking up on so called enemies.
This is where I begin to wonder if I actually have an addiction to social media, because I feel I do get withdrawal symptoms if my phone battery dies and I won't get home until a few hours later before I can check my news feed again. If someone actually said they would pay me a million pounds to not check my Facebook or Twitter for a whole month, I think I would actually go insane and pull my hair out. I would become a total recluse and sit in a corner in my room, rocking my self back and forth.
Now guys, I want you to be totally honest with yourselves, do you feel that you have a bit of an addiction to social media sites? Do you get that funny feeling in your stomach when no one has 'liked' your status or 're-tweeted' a comment that you thought was actually amazing? I bet you are all pretending that I must be completely bonkers at my honesty but I can tell you will be nodding your heads in agreement.
There are over a dozen types of social media addicts, so it won't be hard to diagnose whether you are an 'Alert Lover' or a ' Freak out-er'. Either way, I'm pretty sure that you will find one that suits you!
So what kind of addict are you?


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Press75 – Acquisto Theme – cheatin' uh error message when uploading images
I am in the middle of rebuilding my website when I updated to 3.4. I am using the Acquisto theme from Press75.com.
I am encountering the same problem that so many others describe. I understand wordpress.org claims it is not a problem on their end, so I brought it to the developer's attention, Jason Schuller.
After he was unable to replicate the error on his own, the theme and 3.4 apparently works just fine for him, I gave him access to the backend of my website and he took a look to no avail. He was unable to resolve the problem and told me after looking around in the wordpress.org forums it appears to be an issue with the user role definitions.
He offered no solution or fix though. Needless to say I am VERY disappointed and have already asked for a refund. Not only am I going to have to start from scratch on the rebuild of my website, but I am now going to be hard press to finish the job by the end of July deadline. Awesome.
Before I scrap this theme I was wondering if anyone out there can suggest a fix to this issue. I know it's not a wordpress.org problem, but my developer is apparently not offering up any solutions so I am making a last ditch effort here. Please help, anyone. I am going to be bald very soon at this rate of frustration. Thanks.
- The topic 'Press75 – Acquisto Theme – cheatin' uh error message when uploading images' is closed to new replies.


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Governor Maggie Hassan released the following statement today on passage by the House of Representatives of their FY 14/15 budget:
"Today's passage of the House budget plan is another step forward in the legislature's budget process. I appreciate the hard work by members of the House to develop their plan, and in many cases their funding priorities align with those in our balanced budget proposal, especially in taking steps to address our strained mental health system and to restore investments in New Hampshire's community colleges.
"However, significant work remains in order to finalize a responsible, balanced budget that reinvests in the priorities needed for job creation and innovative economic growth. The House budget as it stands falls short of our balanced budget proposal in key areas that are critical for strengthening our economy and improving the health and well-being of our people.
"The cuts made to our restoration of university system funding put at risk the proposed tuition freeze at our public universities, making it more difficult for our young people to afford a higher education in New Hampshire.
"A top priority of our budget proposal was to begin to reverse the last legislature's tax increase on hospitals, which is straining their operations and hindering our ability to move forward with strengthening our health care system. Unfortunately, the House budget goes in the opposite direction, relying more heavily on hospital taxes to pay for the general fund.
"I also have concerns that the back-of-the-budget cuts to Health and Human Services, combined with optimistic caseload levels, will force cuts to critical services. And cuts to school building aid will hurt the ability of our local school districts to provide the educational facilities our children need.
"The House budget recognizes that a number of these changes from our budget proposal are problematic, which is why it includes language calling for restoration of these funds if SB 152 is passed. We can address the challenges of the House budget by moving forward with a plan to license one high-end, highly regulated casino that will help us invest in our priorities. I look forward to continuing the dialogue with members of the House as they consider SB 152, and to working with both chambers to ensure that the next budget responsibly lays the foundation to build a stronger, more innovative New Hampshire."
Source: http://www.governor.nh.gov/media/news/2013/pr-2013-04-03-house-budget-statement.htm


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We introduce a new six-degrees-of-freedom alignment technique that enables the precise alignment of two optical device planes. The method combines linear diffraction gratings and cylindrical Fresnel lenses that allow the diagnosis of misalignment in each degree of freedom independently. The technique was used to align two 20 mm × 20 mm fused-silica substrates separated by 17 mm. The worst-case alignment precision was found to be better than ±5 μm laterally, ±20 μm longitudinally, ±0.036° rotationally, and ±0.007° in tilt.
© 2004 Optical Society of AmericaFull Article | PDF Article


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There's something special about working a guys cock with your mouth to a point where he just can't do anything but pop his load. Love it. No problem taking a mouthful when the need arises. Mind if a guy gets me going, keeps me happy I'm happy for him to use my mouth how he see's fit, fuck it and deposit his cum there. Naughty eh?
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text:
Which America's Next Top Model Was the Fiercest Warrior?
Which America's Next Top Model Was the Fiercest Warrior?
Last night's episode of America's Next Top Model was aptly named "We are Spartans!" The remaining five girls — Fatima, Dominique, Katarzyna, Anya, and Whitney — channeled their inner warriors, first by getting gladiator-fighting lessons, and then by dressing the part. I quickly learned that there's a vast difference between how authentic of a warrior they looked and how they actually performed. Like, Fatima appeared a pretty warrior princess, but fought like a stiff, old man. Dominique looked hard but posed too delicately. Anya nailed both the look and the act. She looked good and used all the gladiator moves she had been taught. Which ANTM do you think was the fiercest warrior?
Photos courtesy of the CW


text: TORONTO, Oct. 31 /CNW/ - PDM Royalties Income Fund (the "Fund") (TSX: PDM.UN) and Pizza Delight Corporation Ltd. are very pleased to announce that Toby Singlehurst has joined the Company as Chief Development Officer. Toby has spent twenty years in the foodservice industry, most recently as the Vice President of Real Estate and Development with Cara Operations Limited. His background also includes growing and developing Kelsey's Restaurants, the casual dining chain. Toby welcomes the opportunity to replicate his past success in his new role as Chief Development Officer for Pizza Delight Corporation Ltd. Pizza Delight, Mikes, and Scores restaurants are known for providing good food and excellent value to their customers, which make them a favourite among many Canadians. Having recently completed Strategic Planning sessions for Mikes and Pizza Delight, the Company is preparing to open a new office in Ontario where Toby will be based and lead the growth of the three brands. The Fund is a limited purpose open-ended trust established under the laws of Ontario. The Fund will make monthly distributions of its available cash to holders of units. The Fund indirectly owns the trade marks and intellectual property for the Pizza Delight, Mikes, and Scores brands and has licensed them to Pizza Delight in consideration for a royalty equal to 4% percent of system sales, and in the case of Scores, the royalty rate is 6%. Pizza Delight is a privately owned corporation, headquartered in Moncton, New Brunswick. It operates franchised and corporate restaurants under the brand names Pizza Delight(R), Mikes(R), and Scores(R) restaurants. Pizza Delight(R) operates primarily in Atlantic Canada, where it dominates the family/mid-scale segment. Mikes(R) and Scores(R) restaurants operate primarily in Quebec in the family and casual dining segments and the take-out and delivery segments. %SEDAR: 00018600E


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Building an AR
I am almost 20 and would like to build an AR. I was wondering how difficult it is and about how much it would cost. Thanks.
the hard part is in the current times finding AR parts is very hard. even harder if you do not want to pay a premium. a year ago you could of built a good AR for 800. now your probly looking at 1500.. if you can find the parts. they are out there just takes alot of searching.
If I were you, I would not attempt to build the upper receiver yourself if you don't already have the tools, a workbench, and a vise but assembling a lower only requires a roll pin punch set and hammer.
I assembled an AR lower for the first time last Friday using a Colt stripped lower and Colt parts kit because I wanted to do it myself so I know how. All I needed to figure out what parts went where was a diagram available on the internet that showed all the lower parts. I substituted a MagPul CTR stock and MagPul MOE grip, but it really was remarkably easy.
I used a Grace roll pin punch set, a bit of duct tape to prevent any marring marks on the lower from the installation of the bolt release roll pin, a piece of Barilla spaghetti to hold the bolt release in place to punch the roll pin through, a small hammer, and a credit card for installation of the captive receiver pins, and locktite for the castle nut.
The front roll pin is annoying to assemble, but the rest of the assembly was easy. It took about 30 minutes at a very leisurely pace.
I have a stock wrench for cranking on castle nuts, but I opted to locktite (use blue not red) my castle nut in place. You'll need a degreaser or chlorinated solvent like GunScrubber to do that. The mil-spec staking job is not necessary for something you're not taking to Afghanistan.
I built AM/FM radios as a child and thought that was relatively simple, but assembling AR components is honestly pretty dummy proof. That said, make sure you read about how to properly torque the barrel extension if you opt to assemble the upper and use a torque wrench.
As far as costs are concerned, AR components are overpriced these days.
Do you have 556 to shoot through it once you assemble your new toy?
Ammo prices are insane.
My build is one of the stickies in the AR-15 subforum. It was really easy and was the first experience I ever had in gunsmithing. It's really easy enough that you can't even call it gunsmithing. It is really just LEGOS.
You're about 4 months late, though, sorry to say. On the list of parts you will have a rough time finding are: a lower parts kit, a bolt and carrier group, maybe even a complete upper.
Perhaps you should just get a list together and start trolling the used sites for parts. Some AR parts are coming out of the woodwork from people with extras who want to make some extra money during this time. You'll able to find parts on the classifieds that you'll have a really hard time finding new on the normal retail websites.
As far as cost...you used to be able to build your own for $800-1000. Not anymore. $1500? Skies the limit, I suppose.
Here is my take on the DIY AR15: It is not for everyone. However if you are slightly technically inclined, you can probably do it. However if you aren't comfortable around tools, don't try.
If you think you are going to save gobs of money, you are wrong. The investment in tooling will make your first build cost more than if you were to buy retail. However if you plan to build more or do alot of tinkering later on, the tools will eventually pay for themselves.
The best reason to build a custom AR is, well, because it;s custom. It's exactly how you want it to be. Almost all of us with the black rifle disease have a parts box of items we took off, swapped out, or upgraded... left over parts. If you start with a custom kit your parts box is usually smaller because you got most of the parts you wanted the first time.
You still can build a custom AR for less than $800 (plus optic) if you can find a lower less than $200. I know places where you can buy complete kits for about $600. Everything you need, except the lower, to build your AR. Not at all custom, but it's a great place for beginners because you are sure you haven't forgotten anything.
Even before Sandy Hook and what happened to prices since, I wouldn't recommend building a custom AR for less than $1k budget. It just wasn't worth the time and effort in my opinion. In my mind the reason for a custom build is to build something nice. Anything less than 1k, pre sandy hook, you could get equal off the shelf for less. But once you start looking at AR rifles $1k plus retail prices, you usually can save some money by building custom. I reread this paragraph and it is a little confusing, so I hope it makes sense. Basically the summary is if you have a big budget, go custom all the way. Otherwise buy something off the shelf.
Design is the biggest factor in my opinion however. What I see happening now because of parts shortages, guys are just buying WHATEVER they can find. This will yield less than optimal results if you ask me. Really have to look at alot when you are designing your build before you even start buying parts. Sure many of us can build complete AR's just from the parts we have in our boxes, and in most cases they will work, just might not work great.
Understand first what you want to build, and why you want to build it. Home defense? 3 gun shooting? hunting? bench rest shooting? Then research which parts are appropriate. Then start scouting out those parts and start placing back orders with reputable retailers, nor opportunistic price gougers. Parts are trickling in slowly. If you have patience you'll get the EXACT AR you want.
As a reminder, because the a stripped lower could be put into the pistol format, you must be 21 to purchase.
If you buy a lower that was registered by the factory when built as a rifle lower, then you have a rifle lower receiver.
If you buy a lower that was registered by the factory when built as a pistol lower, then you have a pistol lower receiver. You are not yet 21, so you can't purchase a pistol from a FFL.
If the lower was transferred at any point in time as a rifle lower receiver or was not originally built and registered as a pistol lower receiver, then you have a rifle lower receiver. If you first put a rifle stock on a pistol lower before putting a pistol stock (or pistol buffer tube) on a lower, then you have a rifle lower receiver. That's pure BATFE firearms magic there, but that's BATFE's opinion on the matter.
From what I understand from what the BATFE Firearms Technology Branch has opined on this matter, having a pistol lower and converting it to a rifle format or from a rifle back to a pistol is legal. It is not legal to convert a rifle lower to a pistol format. You would then be in constructive possession of a short barreled rifle (even if you don't have the parts to convert your pistol back to a rifle). The act of converting a rifle lower to a pistol format is considered making a short barrel rifle.
Additionally, you must keep the pistol AR upper mounted to a pistol AR lower and not have additional AR rifle lowers in your possession with no rifle uppers attached to them. This is considered constructive possession of a short barreled rifle.
If all of that was not convoluted enough, there's no actual statutory or codified law (that I know of) regarding the matter of what constitutes a rifle constructed from a pistol, just whatever BATFE FTB decides is the law.
To regurgitate, a pistol lower is a pistol lower if originally built and registered as a pistol lower. A rifle lower is a rifle lower if originally built and registered as a rifle lower. You can't purchase a pistol or a short barreled rifle (or any other Title II firearm) from a FFL until you are 21.
My advice is to buy an upper and lower parts kit, wait until you are 21 (hopefully prices will return to sane levels by then), and then buy a lower to avoid all possibility of the stripped lower receiver being considered a pistol.
For example, no Colt lower receiver is considered a pistol lower receiver. All lower receivers built by Colt are considered rifle lower receivers, whether stripped of all components or not because they were registered by the factory as rifle lower receivers.
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Friday, Jan. 25 — At his State of the City address Monday night, Mayor Virg Bernero will continue his campaign for a stronger metropolitan region — creating one would help solve the problem of young talent leaving the area, he said.
Last year, Bernero renewed his call for merging Lansing, East Lansing and Lansing Township, which was met with opposition by officials in those neighboring communities. Aside from potential long-term cost savings and the streamlining of governmental services provided, Bernero said a unified metro region could make Lansing a destination.
While Michigan State University, Cooley Law School, Lansing Community College and Davenport University help attract young people, Bernero said, Lansing needs to improve on keeping them here.
"We do very well" at bringing young talent to the area, Bernero said today in an interview. "But we do not keep it. Cities that do kick our butt."
Bernero's speech — his eighth since taking office — is at 7 p.m. at the Grand Trunk Western Railroad depot in REO Town, which was restored as part of the Lansing Board of Water and Light's new $182 million office complex and power plant there. The speech is open to the public.
"To retain young talent, you've got to have a real city — a functioning metro region," he said. "We know we're losing. The numbers don't lie: We are not retaining our young talent."
A third leg of thriving cities, Bernero said, is "educational attainment," which the U.S. Census Bureau defines as "the highest level of education that an individual has completed." He was referring to research by Lou Glazer, president of Michigan Future Inc., that suggests funding higher education and retaining young people are bigger drivers of economic recovery than policies advantageous to business interests.
While Bernero said the city has "a lot to brag about" — citing local manufacturing jobs growth, major redevelopments at the Knapp's Building and the BWL, and the Cadillac ATS (which is built in Lansing) being named North American Car of the Year — "What I worry about is how sustainable it is if we don't address educational attainment and being able to retain our young talent."
"In the near term, I'm going to be able to say the state of the city is good," he said.
In a piece of good news, Bernero said today that the city's projected $11 million budget deficit for the next fiscal year has been reduced to $9 million. He declined to give specifics on how that would be balanced.
"There have been some improvements. But $9 million is not insignificant by any means. There will be pain, unpleasantness and ugliness — it will not be pretty," he said of his budget recommendation that will come out in March.


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Can you teach an old dog new tricks?
Dog owners in America are training and entertaining their pets with digital devices - from creating colourful images to doggie selfies.
It's safe to say the students at the School for Dogs in New York are certainly tech savvy, but how exactly is it done?


text: It's quiet simple. it displays a list of restaurant or pubs or hotels depending on your filter. and lists a maximum of 20 best according to google's prominence factors and then theyre sorted by ratings. Best Restaurants Finder Here in the UK it seems to be doing the job but I am not sure about other countries. Any feedback is welcome


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This Is Not a Game
One of the video games Weisman was supervising at Microsoft was based on the upcoming Steven Spielberg movie Artificial Intelligence: AI. Originally developed by Stanley Kubrick in the 1970s, then taken over by Spielberg after Kubrick's death, the film was meant to be a futuristic retelling of the Pinocchio legend, with an android in place of the wooden puppet that dreamed of becoming an actual boy. Personally, Weisman had his doubts about the appeal of a video game centered on a boy who longed for his mother's love, even if the boy in question was a robot. But he also figured that the kind of deconstructed narrative he wanted to create could be used to establish a context for the game, and for the movie as well.
While overseeing development of the video game, Weisman worked closely with Spielberg and his producer, Kathleen Kennedy. One day he sat in Spielberg's headquarters at Universal Studios, a grandly appointed "bungalow" just down the hill from Jurassic Park—The Ride, and told them he wanted to explore a new way of telling stories.
Much as the theme park ride was designed to give the sensation of being hurled headlong into Jurassic Park, Weisman wanted to create an experience of being plunged into the world of AI. But there the similarities stopped. The Jurassic Park ride was Hollywood's idea of participatory entertainment: a five-and-a-half minute boat trip past some robotic dinosaurs, with a scream-inducing 85-foot drop at the end. It was an expensively produced theme park attraction that sought to match the public's desire for more Jurassic Park entertainment with Universal's desire for more Jurassic Park profits. Weisman's idea was to use the Internet to go beyond the very personal narrative of Spielberg's new film to tell the story of the world the movie was set in.
Weisman is a persuasive guy. At the end of the meeting, Kennedy called the head of marketing at Warner Bros., which was making the picture. As Weisman recalls it, she made an announcement: "I'm sending Jordan over. I want you to write him a very big check. And don't ask what it's for."
"It's good to be king," Weisman remarked when the call was over.
"Yes," she said, "it is."
The experiment began in April 2001, 12 weeks before the release of the movie, when a credit for something called a "sentient machine therapist" appeared among the myriad other credits listed in trailers and posters for the film. The clue was so tiny you could easily miss it, but that was the point. Marketers were already encountering a growing problem: how to reach people so media saturated that they block any attempt to get through. "Your brain filters it out, because otherwise you'd go crazy," Weisman told me. So he opted for the subdural approach: instead of shouting the message, hide it. "I figured that if the audience discovered something, they would share it, because we all need something to talk about."
He was right. Within 24 hours, someone posted the discovery on the movie fan site Ain't It Cool News. Googling the therapist's name, people found a maze of bizarre Web sites about robot rights and a phone number that, when called, played a message from the therapist saying her friend's husband had just died in a suspicious boating accident. Within days, a 24-year-old computer programmer in Oregon had organized an online discussion forum to investigate. More than 150 people joined the forum in its first 48 hours. By the time the movie came out in June, some 3 million people around the planet were involved at one level or another.
Whatever they were experiencing seemed to know no boundaries. Clues were liable to appear anywhere—on Web sites, on TV, in fake newspaper ads. Phone calls, faxes, and emails could come at any time, day or night. Almost the weirdest part was that no one announced or even acknowledged that anything unusual was going on.
One day a Warner Bros. marketing executive asked Elan Lee, who was essentially running the AI game, for a single line of text to go at the end of an AI movie trailer being made for TV. He needed it in 20 minutes. Lee was desperate. He wanted to make people feel good, or at least not silly, about responding to emails from a fictional character. So he came up with the line "This Is Not a Game." It was flashed for a few seconds on TV. This cryptic missive quickly became a mantra among the players, a neat summation of the mystique generated by a game that refused to acknowledge its own existence. It was the closest Lee or Weisman or any of them ever came to speaking publicly about the experience as it was happening.
They made mistakes, of course. When he and Lee were planning the game, Weisman had argued that no puzzle would be too hard, no clue too obscure, because with so many people collaborating online, the players would have access to any conceivable skill that would be needed to solve it. Where he erred was in not following that argument to its logical conclusion.
"Not only do they have every skill set on the planet," he told me, "but they have unlimited resources, unlimited time, and unlimited money. Not only can they solve anything—they can solve anything instantly." He had dubbed his game The Beast because originally it had 666 items of content—Web pages to pore over, obscure puzzles to decipher. These were supposed to keep the players busy for three months; instead, the players burned through them in a single day. With people clamoring for more, the name took on a different connotation: Weisman had created a monster.
It's little wonder that the game's success took Weisman by surprise. Its mix of real-world and online interaction violated every notion of what futuristic digital entertainment was expected to be. For years, science-fiction novels like Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash had conditioned readers to think the future would bring some swirling electronic phantasm so vivid that the real world could never compete. But Weisman didn't do virtual reality; he trafficked in alternate reality. The Beast wasn't about retreating into some digitally synthesized head space. It was about interacting with other humans in response to an alternate sequence of events.
The world in the spring of 2001 might have been trying to cope with the sudden deflation of the Internet bubble, but people caught up in the AI game had to deal not only with that issue but with the furor over civil rights for sentient machines in the year 2142. This was, if anything, more radical, and perhaps ultimately more in sync with the current direction of technology, than the gloves and goggles that kept popping up in the media's breathless reports about virtual reality. "What we're doing is a giant extrapolation of sitting in the kitchen playing Dungeons & Dragons with our friends," Weisman told me as we sat at the table in his guesthouse, gazing out across the placid surface of the lake. "It's just that now, our kitchen table holds three million people."
In commercial terms, however, Weisman was years ahead of his time. Three million people engaging with The Beast was a lot for something that had never been tried before, but by Hollywood standards it was a negligible figure. The film itself was a dud—ticket sales in the US and Canada came to only $79 million, a fraction of the box office take for E.T. or Jurassic Park. Microsoft canceled the AI video game while it was still in development, so no one at his own company paid much attention to what Weisman was doing. Executives in Redmond were fixated on Halo, which quickly became the must-have title that gave traction to the Xbox.
Nonetheless, Weisman wasn't the only person to try his hand at an immersive entertainment experience. Electronic Arts, the San Francisco Bay Area video game giant, had Majestic, an online computer game that likewise attempted to create an alternate reality experience. Developed by a 31-year-old EA production executive named Neil Young, it was introduced in July 2001, not long after the conclusion of The Beast. Players were thrust into a story that was described at the time as "interactive, immersive and invasive." Five minutes into the tutorial, your computer would crash. Then your cell phone would ring with a cryptic missive regarding a fire at Anim-X, the fictional Oregon studio that had purportedly built the game. For $9.99 a month, you could continue to delve into the mystery of Anim-X and the government conspiracy it was said to have uncovered—a mystery that unfolded through an unpredictable sequence of faxes, phone calls, emails, and instant messages. "Whenever your phone rang," Young says now, "I wanted the next thing in your head to be, Oh my God—is that part of the game?"
Even though Majestic had been highly anticipated before its release, it garnered only about 15,000 subscribers. Young sees several reasons why it didn't gain traction. One is the linear structure of the story: "If you got interrupted, it became harder to get back into it. It would have been better to allow the users to consume episodes in any sequence, so they could explore the characters versus exploring the story." There was another structural issue as well: the game designers installed brakes to keep players from running through the game's content the way they had done with The Beast, but players complained about being forced to wait for the next step rather than being allowed to proceed at their own pace. And then there was timing: the game was put on hiatus for several weeks following the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It never recovered. Eleven months after introducing it, EA pulled the plug, calling it "a noble experiment that failed." It would be a long time before anyone tried something like this again.
Rising Appalachia 'Alive' (album stream) (premiere) // Music
Lost Bayou Ramblers "Allons a Lafayette" (video) (premiere) // Music
Jean Caffeine "Winter of Hate" (video) (premiere) // Music
The Moving Pixels Podcast Discusses 'Tales from the Borderlands: Episode 4'
// Moving Pixels
"This week Nick and Eric travel into space and plan an elaborate heist to steal Tales from the Borderlands - Episode 4.READ the article


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'A drug addict in Blackpool, UK, died from an anthrax infection, sparking concerns of a pan-European outbreak of the rare disease.
Medical experts suggested that the death was caused by contaminated heroin, Reuters reported. The incident comes in the wake of similar anthrax outbreaks in Europe. The Blackpool infection is the only fatal case thus far.
Since June, three incidents were recorded in Germany, two in Denmark and one in France. A heroin addict was also hospitalized in Scotland a month ago.'
Read more: Anthrax Drug Death Sparks Fear of Europe-Wide Pandemic


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SIFF Announces Schedule for the Grand Re-Opening of Seattle's Uptown Theater
When it was announced last year that Seattle's Uptown Theater, which first began showing films in 1926, was going to close, it was a big-time bummer. But this past summer the Seattle International Film Festival told the world it was going to move their main base of operations from McCaw Hall at Seattle Center to the Uptown. That was great news. The multiple screens will give SIFF the capability to screen multiple films simultaneously.
Now the grand opening is upon us, and to celebrate their new digs, SIFF has announced the stellar slate of films set to screen during their initial week. The selections range from critically acclaimed classics of the twentieth-century, like Citizen Kane and The Godfather, to campy cult classics in the vein of Pee Wee's Big Adventure and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. There is even a collection of sing-a-longs for those of you who want to belt out some tunes with your favorite musical. Grease sing-a-long, I've got you circled on my calendar.
Below is the schedule of films for the first week at SIFF's new home. Try to catch some if you can. Think of it as a house-warming party, but with great movies instead of awkward small talk. Welcome back, Uptown, I look forward to visiting you again.
Thursday, October 20
8:00pm – Hedwig and the Angry Inch Sing Along
Friday, October 21
9:30pm – Purple Rain Sing Along
Saturday, October 22
5:00pm – Grease Sing Along
7:00pm – Grease Sing Along
Sunday, October 23
12:00pm – Twentieth Century
1:00pm – West Side Story
2:00pm – Monty Python & the Holy Grail
3:00pm – Singin' in the Rain
5:00pm – West Side Story
6:00pm – Monty Python & the Holy Grail
7:00pm – Singin' in the Rain
Monday, October 24
5:00pm – The Royal Tenenbaums
6:00pm – Pee Wee's Big Adventure
7:00pm – Citizen Kane
8:00pm – Annie Hall
9:00pm – L.A. Confidential
Tuesday, October 25
5:00pm – Annie Hall
6:00pm – Singin' in the Rain
7:00pm – The Godfather
8:00pm – Pee Wee's Big Adventure
9:00pm – Monty Python & the Holy Grail
Wednesday, October 26
5:00pm – Pee Wee's Big Adventure
6:00pm – Twentieth Century
7:00pm – L.A. Confidential
8:00pm – The Royal Tenenbaums
9:00pm – Citizen Kane
Thursday, October 27
6:00pm – West Side Story
7:00pm – The Godfather
8:00pm – Bob and the Monster Film and Concert
Now in its 37th year, SIFF has evolved into an internationally recognized film institution, reaching over 200,000 individuals each year through the Seattle International Film Festival, SIFF Cinema, and FutureWave Education. SIFF's mission is to create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world. It is through the art of cinema that we foster a community that is more informed, aware, and alive.


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A few days ago, I received from my dermatologist a free bottle of SkinMedica TNS Essential Serum (retail price $260, on Amazon for $148). This serum contains human fibroblasts, so I'm basically rubbing foreskins into my face morning and night.
I've been using the serum for a few days, and am intrigued to see how it works. I turn 35 in July and while I don't think my skin needs heavy duty help yet, I have experimented with anti-ageing products since I was a teenager (which couldn't have done me any harm). A few things about this one stand out:
1) It stinks. If you had brothers, do you remember the stench of their sweaty tube socks and overall unclean scent? That's what this product smells like.
2) It comes in an offensively large box. If you're spending that much on packaging, it had better be the kind of thing I can re-use.
3) It comes in a gigantic bottle, so you can't travel with it unless you pack it in checked baggage. Very inconvenient.
4) There are two different liquid components of the serum that come out of two separate pumps at once – or, rather, they're supposed to. The directions advise that you then blend them together on the back of your hand. But the red liquid (which contains the most powerful elements) has a lot of trouble coming out, and sometimes doesn't. I'd read a lot of complaints about this online, and a friend experienced the same hassle. To fix this, I store the bottle upside down, and tap the bottom at least 60 times (not exaggerating) before I press the pump. It then dispenses as it should. I also blend it on my throat, not on the back of my hand – why lose precious product?
5) The directions suggest using one pump for face, throat, neck and décolleté, but (even acknowledging that my head is gigantic) I need two pumps.
I'll report on the outcome of using this product. It's replaced the ZO Skin Health Ossential Growth Serum I'd been using for a few months (after going off ZO Skin Health Radical Night Repair Plus for a while). After having a personal skin assessment by the legendary Dr. Zein Obagi, I feel a bit disloyal for abandoning his serums for this one, even temporarily. That said, they are hideously expensive, so my guilt is limited.


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In today's NFL Notebook, we discuss the quarterback changes in Minnesota and Washington, what's wrong with the New York Jets and the other deadline deals that occurred at yesterday's deadline.
Quarterback Changes in Minnesota and Washington
As correctly suggested by ESPNFlorida.com, the Minnesota Vikings and the Washington Redskins are making changes at quarterback this week. Vikings rookie and former FSU star Christian Ponder will make his first start this Sunday when Minnesota takes on the undefeated, Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, according to NFL.com's Jason LaCanfora.
"You don't want to have to be, week eight or nine, flip-flopping quarterbacks," Frazier said Monday prior to making the decision. "So once the decision is made, if we were to decide to go to Christian, you'd like to be able to decide this is the way to go. But you don't want to be, in my mind, going back and forth."
At 1-5, Minnesota simply had nothing to lose by making the switch and they are hopeful that Ponder can give the team some sort of spark in a game which they appear to be heavily overmatched. Along with a "spark factor," the Vikings will be giving their fans what they want and getting the future started right away.
The bad news for Ponder and the Vikes is that Green Bay seems disappointed and focused despite their fast start.
"We're 6-0," Packers head coach Mike McCarthy, whose Packers have equaled the 12-game win streak by Vince Lombardi's teams in 1961-62 said. "We've put good numbers up, but we have to get better. You have to be running on all cylinders and we're not there, yet. Yes, we put up big numbers, but we're not at the level we feel we can be at."
Meanwhile in Washington Mike Shanahan has decided to switch from the up-and-down, greatness or horrifying styling's of Rex Grossman to the unknown John Beck, according to ESPN.
It was inevitable that Grossman would lose his job following his four interception performance that yielded the Eagles just their second victory of the season. Grossman had the lowest quarterback rating of any starting quarterback in the NFL at 66.5.
So what are the Redskins getting in Beck?
The best thing we can say about John Beck is that he's not Rex Grossman. After being selected in the second round by Miami in 2007, Beck played in just five games as a Dolphin before being waived mostly thanks to a change in regime. After backing up in the Beltway Area in Baltimore and then Washington over the past two seasons, Beck appears ready to take his shot as the starter.
"I feel like this is where I'm supposed to be," Beck said before the season in a Sirius radio interview. "I feel like the opportunity I have to play for Coach Shanahan, to play for the Washington Redskins right now, 2011 season, is the best opportunity I could ask for, regardless of what happened in my past."
With Redskins leading receiver Santana Moss speaking out against Beck and for Rex Grossman earlier this week, Beck will have his hands full. His weapons on the outside inlcude Moss who thinks he shouldn't have the job, rookies Leonard Hankerson and Niles Paul who are yet to catch their first pass, Jabar Gaffney who can be timed with an sundial and Donte Stallworth who has exactly one more DUI Manslaughter conviction than touchdown this season.
Good luck John.
Pounded and Grounded
According to the New York Jets, they are the best team in football. I know this because their coach told me so before the season.
"We are going to go to the Super Bowl and we're going to win it," Jets head coach Rex Ryan said consistently whenever their was a microphone in front of him before the season.
This New York Jets Super Bowl story may end up becoming one of the best of all time because through six games they look nothing like a playoff team. Their signature victory of 2011 came due to a Tony Romo fourth period meltdown in which the currently 2-3 Dallas Cowboys looked like the superior club. The Jets other two victories? Against Jacksonville and Miami who've combined for a 1-10 record.
"Well, I think we can beat a good team. I think Dallas is a good team, Jacksonville clearly has had its struggles. I think Miami is much better than their record. They're 0-5 or whatever, but they have some good players on that team," Ryan stated in his Tuesday conference call.
Where did the physical play go for New York? The "Ground and Pound" philosophy currently features the league's 31st ranked rushing attack averaging just 80.8 yards on the ground per game. Defensively New York is allowing 132 rushing yards per game, good for 28th in the NFL. New York is getting pounded at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football.
"This line has taken us to the AFC Championship game two years in a row, and that's it," Ryan said defiantly. "When you look at this team when we took it over, the big thing was going to be if we can run the ball and protect the quarterback, we'll have an excellent offense, and those are the things we talk about."
At 3-3, the New York Jets are tied for the ninth best record in the AFC. There are still 10 games to play but this team seems to be missing the swagger that it had in years past. The offensive line isn't as good, they can't stop the run, quarterback Mark Sanchez has seemed to regress, one running back is in his 30's and the younger back runs like he's in his 50's and there are wide receivers criticizing the play calling. If New York loses to visiting San Diego this Sunday the Jets will have a very steep climb to getting back into playoff consideration in the AFC.
The Other Deadline Deal
Although the Carson Palmer to Oakland Raiders deal received the bulk of the NFL's attention and rightfully so, that wasn't the only deal to go down on "Deadline Tuesday". The Philadelphia Eagles sent "Dream Team" member, former Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown to the Detroit Lions for running back Jerome Harrison and a seventh-round pick.
The 29-year old back played sparingly in Philadelphia, only toting the rock 13 times for 38 yards in their six games. Detroit, needing a bigger back to go along with the explosive Jahvid Best acquired Brown in the hopes that he can first and foremost stay healthy, and then give them some solid goal line carries.
Brown, formerly the second-overall pick in the 2005 draft has been plagued by injuries his entire career as he missed 20 games over his first five seasons in Miami. Playing in a two-back system along with Ricky Williams, Brown's most productive year came in 2008 when he rushed for 914 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Another minor move included the Miami Dolphins signing journeyman safety Gerald Alexander. The fifth-year pro from Boise State has spent time with the Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers. Alexander is a solid tackler but lacks big play abilities.
Charlie Bernstein is the NFL Insider for ESPNFlorida.com and ESPN 1080 and 1040 in Orlando/Tampa and Editor-in-Chief of Sports Media Interactive, covering multiple teams in the National Football League, NCAA, and National Basketball Association. Charlie covers the Jacksonville Jaguars for FoxSports and has been featured on the NFL Network and Sirius NFL Radio. Charlie is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Charlie on Twitter @nflcharlie