text:
The solution to a veterinarian shortage
So, let's see if I have this straight. According to the June 2010 issue of DVM Newsmagazine, there is an ongoing critical rural veterinarian shortage; more males than females reported an interest in rural practice; more males cited real-life experience in family farming as part of their motivational interest in rural practice; more females cited James Herriot's romanticized tales of veterinary medicine as part of their rural practice attraction. (Rural veterinary shortage caused by retention issues, not attraction.)
Seems to me we're looking for well-grounded male vet students to fix this problem, but since "there was not a significant difference between the numbers of men and women who left rural practice," there must be factors other than gender involved in the problem.
Many vets who graduated in the last 10 years were born in the late 1970s and the 1980s (Trophy Kids or Generation Y). Some consider members of the Gen Y group to have an unusually strong sense of entitlement, with expectations for employers to make accommodations for their lifestyles."They really do seem to want everything," says Derrick Bolton, assistant dean and MBA admissions director at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. "They want to be CEO, for example, but they say they don't want to give up time with their families.
"Although they have high expectations about what their employers should provide, companies shouldn't expect much loyalty in return. If a job doesn't prove fulfilling, they will forsake it in a flash. Many employers say it's retention that worries them most."
In contrast, Baby Boomers (my generation) are often considered self-sacrificing workaholics motivated by position, perks and prestige. Baby Boomers relish long work weeks, and are said to be confident, independent, self-reliant, loyal, achievement-oriented, dedicated and career-focused.
In one article ("Veterinary schools post 3 percent increase in numbers of 2010 graduates") the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine reports graduating a whopping 141 new vets, of whom 81 percent were female; OSU does not track its graduates post-college career paths so they have no idea if they have had any positive impact at all on the large-animal veterinarian shortage. Many other veterinary colleges are admitting and graduating more vets than ever while the shortage stubbornly continues to worsen.
Assuming they are interested in correcting the problem, and with no regard for being politically correct, I suggest that veterinary college admission committees have been so concerned with filling seats that they have been admitting too many people to vet school who will not contribute to the rural practice manpower-shortage solution. The applicants you folks should be fast-tracking and subsidizing are males with significant real life experience in family farming and livestock management who have never read All Creatures Great and Small (sorry James) and hold Baby Boomer beliefs and values.


text:
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|12th December 2004, 05:59 AM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Guelph, Ontario
Two new widerange drivers at madisound
Check them out:
The Aura looks interesting to me, similar specs and price to the TB871... could it unseat the 871 as budget WR favourite?
|13th December 2004, 08:21 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Vancouver
Looks very similar to the TB drivers (cone, surround, and phase plug). The specs are also close to the 871 or 926.The price is good as well, better than TB.
Could be a great driver.
edit: looks like you said the same stuff in another post
|20th December 2004, 08:44 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Ohio
I accepted a commission to test the NS3-194-8E driver (and possibly even modify it). For the money offered, I would not normally accept such a commission, but a story was told about a bet in the balance as to whether the NS3-194-8E would "shriek" or not. If the patron who underwrote the acquisition of the drivers wishes to be known I will allow them to identify themselves in the thread.
Anyway, the testing on three unit driver sample is completed. The test results will be attached to this post.
First, about the driver. I do not know if the driver is made by Tang Band or not. Most Asian loudspeaker companies are not vertically integrated. They follow an outsorcing business model. As a result, you can sometimes see identical parts in offerings from different companies. In the case of this Aura driver I have seen every part in a Tang Band driver except for the neodymium magnet assembly. This is the part that is new to the driver. It is also a part not designed for this driver. While it is of the "U-iron" magnet design, it features a vented pole piece. A vented pole piece serves no purpose in a driver with a phase plug. The phase plug blocks the pole piece vent as effectively as a solid pole piece.
Since the "U-iron" magnet design features the magnet as part of the pole piece, venting will reduce magnet mass. This is only a small reduction in magnet strength, but it is still a small reduction. Either the magnet will have to be in some other dimension larger, of a stronger neodymium mix or, the motor is going to be slightly less powerful. This may be important for how the driver performs in comparison to other neodymium "U-iron" magnet designs.
Beyond the vented pole piece, this design has a larger and more massive "U-iron" assembly. The magnet is larger and slightly heavier than the familiar "U-iron" design.
I will let the first set of graphs documenting the stock performance of the N3 driver speak for themselves.
I have also worked out a modification for the driver and will post modification details in addition posts in this thread.
Good designing and good building,
|20th December 2004, 10:50 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Vancouver
Thanks Mark for that info.
The stock performance is not that great, right?
But maybe alright after your modifications
|20th December 2004, 10:52 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Guelph, Ontario
Thank you very much Mark for posting your thoughts and measurements. I have to say it does not look that encouraging. I look forward to seeing what you are able to make of them with some tinkering!
|21st December 2004, 06:20 PM
diyAudio Member
just for aestetical reason, the gem tak ring can be done in the back side of the cone?
This can be complicated compared with your suggestion but there is any teorical reason that makes any difference about the side of the cone where the rings are performed?
|21st December 2004, 07:11 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Ohio
The glue ring modifications are for polypropylene cone drivers. Glue rings will not work on paper or metal. The heart of the modification for this paper cone is a ring, but not made of glue.
For the polypropylene cones, the glue rings may be applied to either side of the cone. Underside is just much harder to do.
|21st December 2004, 07:38 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Ohio
The modification for this driver consists of a combination of passive electrical prefiltering and one mechanical modification to the cone. The combination of the two will bring the performance to barely within plus or minus 3-db. There is also some degree of variability in the modified drivers.
The attached graphs show the improved transient response of the modified driver and the range of variability in the modified drivers.
This posting is about the mechanical modification to the cone. The cone suffers from a number of vibration modes, but the two worse ones are tightly coupled and the trigger points for them are in close proximity on the cone. One cone treatment will impact both targeted vibration modes.
As I have stated several times before, paper is hard to work with and hard to fabricate mechanical corrections that are effective. The selection of the following technique is based upon the possibility of the average diyer implementing it successfully and easy availability of the part.
The part is a square rubber drive belt. The belt has an inside diameter of 10.2 centimeters (does not have to be exact but should be close) and is 1.19 mm in cross section. You attach the belt to the cone using a high tack, spray on adhesive. Spray the belt, and then apply the belt to the cone. Try to adhere the belt as a concentric circle between the inside edge of the surround and the voice coil former.
It is important to use a square belt of this cross section. A square belt will not sit flat on the inside of a cone. Any mechanical vibration mode is a second order oscillator. If you want to change the characteristics of a second order oscillator you change either the mass or the spring rate or both. Both glue line and belt application modifications change both the mass and spring rate of an isolated vibration mode within the larger cone structure.
In this modification we are changing the mass and the spring rate. We are changing the spring rate in two ways. First, we change the spring rate by laminating another material with a different mechanical impedance. In addition, we are tensioning the cone across the diameter of the belt. We do this by torquing the belt with one face flat against the cone and holding it under tension with the adhesive.
To achieve the results shown in the attached graphs, you have to torque the belt and tension this small area of the paper cone.
These small driver belts are used in a variety of consumer equipment and should be available worldwide. The high tack spray on adhesive is commonly used in automobiles. It should be available in any car supply store.
The remainder of the modification consists of a seven component prefilter network. I will describe that network in the next posting. This network does much the same thing as Pass is doing with his current source amplifiers. It is adjusting the frequency dependent voltage potential at the voice coil. It is just that you do not need the current source amplifier.
Good designing and good building,
|22nd December 2004, 09:26 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Ohio
This is the last post in the modification series. The attachment to this post includes the schematic of the prefilter. It also includes a graph showing the comparision at various points in the modification sequence and an extended version of the lower frequency response.
First, the comparison graphs. This goes back to a long term concern of mine about sensitivity ratings for drivers with large variences in frequency response. With the driver's output varying by 12 or more db over it stated bandwidth, what does a single number sensitivity rating mean.
In the case of this driver, there were indications that its natural sensitivity was somewhere near the bottom of the 4 kHz dip (see first attached graphs). In addition, all the prefiltering has taken off an additional 2 to 3 db of sensitivity.
This graph also shows the impact of the belt application and prefilter parts of the modification. The spectrum drawn in green shows the response with just the prefilter. The spectrum drawn in blue shows the response of the prefilter and with the rubber belt modification applied.
The second graph is an extended resolution graph of just the lowest two KHz of response. There is a general belief that log graphs have greater resolution in the lowest octaves. While a log format does spread the low frequency data out and compress the higher frequency data, there is actually no increase in resolution. In the case of this graph I lower the A/D sampling rate in addition to spreading out the graph. There is a little over 10 times as much resolution in this two kHz slice than in the 0 to 25 kHz graph. There is, however, no more to see. The lower limit is still 140 Hz (no valid data below this frequency) and there is nothing more revealed than can be seen in the 0-25 kHz graph.
Last, is the prefilter schematic. I suggest using air core inductors and polypropylene capacitors. Super quality of either, however, will only produce very subtle improvements in sound.
In sum, even with the modification, this driver is not as good a performer as the modified TB W3-881S. It is, however, a huge improvement over the stock version.
Good designing and good building,
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Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney is not excited about Viacom's purchase of a majority stake in Bellator — he's ecstatic about it. Rebney responded with the zeal of a TV pitchman when I asked him what the future held for Bellator as it began its new relationship with Viacom and Spike. Bellator, it seems, is seeking to achieve the same success the UFC did when the company debuted The Ultimate Fighter on Spike in 2005.
"Viacom is the owner of Spike, who basically wrote the book on mixed martial arts. If it weren't for Spike network, you and I wouldn't be on the phone right now. The crossover of MMA into the general market, the fact that mixed martial arts is oftentimes on the cover of the Sports section of USA Today or mentioned on the ticker of ESPN, that's due to Spike. And that's due to the fact that Spike took a chance in '05 with a brand new property and got vested in this sport and developed it.
"So the Viacom family, and Spike in particular, has better knowledge and understanding of the production, the marketing, the promotion, and the advertising of mixed martial arts than anyone in history. And the numbers speak to it, you know. Ratings don't lie. What they were able to do with The Ultimate Fighter as a program … They knows the stakes, and they know them well. And Spike is the network where MMA fans live.
"You've got one of the three largest entertainment companies on the face of the Earth heavily vested in mixed martial arts, owning a substantial stake in the world's second largest mixed martial arts company, and focusing their efforts, their energy, their creativity on building this organization into a worldwide brand. So it's hard to even verbalize the impact that a partnership like that will have for a brand like ours.
"[Spike] gave birth to the sport and is responsible for its crossover into the general market. Viacom reaches 600 million consumers around the world. They control, run, orchestrate brands like MTV, MTV2, Spike network, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures … brand after brand after brand that you and I and consumers across the globe are intimately familiar with. The potential is, really, unlimited."
Being a student of history — or more accurately, a fan of pro wrestling — I was curious whether Rebney ever worried that Viacom's purchase of a majority stake in Bellator would diminish his own power within the company. More specifically, I asked if AOL/Time Warner's mishandling of World Championship Wrestling ever crossed his mind.
"No it didn't. I do a lot of study of history, and history has a remarkable way of repeating itself. So I looked at the history and the track record of Viacom as it related to mixed martial arts.
"Look, if you and I were trying to improve our basketball game, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea for you and I to go spend four or five months living with Michael Jordan. If we wanted to get really good at hockey, it would probably serve us well to go spend some time with Wayne Gretzky. Lance Armstrong if we wanted to learn how to ride bikes.
"If you want to build a brand into a prolific international powerhouse in the mixed martial arts space, there's one place you go, and that would be Viacom and Spike. It's just, their track record was so strong.
"I know the WCW story and I'm kind of a student of it as well in terms of what happened, its growth, the acquisition that Vince [McMahon] made, etc., but I think these are very different situations because of who Viacom and Spike are, what they've built, what they've done in this space and how vested they are in this company. From an ownership position, they're not renters — they're owners. It's a really positive dynamic."
With all this talk about Spike and The Ultimate Fighter, I wanted to know more about Bellator's upcoming, as-of-yet-unnamed reality show. Would it be, for lack of a better word, a TUF knock off? What would differentiate it from TUF?
"It will have a lot of points of difference [compared to The Ultimate Fighter]. Our interest was not in duplicating what has been done previously. That's why we went out and secured a partnership with Bertram van Munster, who's done 'The Amazing Race' with such a high level of success for so many years. He's literally the most accomplished producer in the history of reality programming.
"And one of the things that Bertram does very well is that his programs are very character-driven. He's not one to put a bunch of folks in a house and see what kind of wacky antics ensue. He's a different breed of producer and he's had amazing success. At last count, nine Emmy awards for the reality programming that he's done.
"And I think that we will have a very Bellator-centric spin on what we do from a reality perspective. Our tagline is one that really, legitimately holds water, you know? It is 'Where title shots are earned, not given.' And I think you'll see a lot of that velocity come through in the reality show as well. You know, it's an exciting time. It's the next stage, from an evolutionary perspective, in terms of what we do on TV."
No discussion of Bellator is complete without talking about the company's tournament format. I asked Rebney what the pros and cons of the format were, and if he ever saw Bellator moving away from it.
"I don't see us moving away from it. And I think the pros of the tournament format are that it's real sports competition. It is the way that sports is supposed to work. Sports is about competition. Sports is about everyone having an equal chance to compete. And ultimately the determining factor on who becomes champion is who wins, and all the other factors become superfluous. How you look, how many people might pay $50 to see you, who you're dating, whether you were on a reality show — all those become irrelevant.
"Inside the Bellator cage, the results are exactly like the results in Major League Baseball, in the National Football League, in soccer's World Cup, in March Madness. You start out with a given group, and at the end of nothing other than competition, one man or one woman reigns supreme, is crowned tournament champion and earns the right to fight for a world title.
"I've always been a fan of real sports competition. I've always felt that, ever since I started watching boxing … it never sat right with me, and it always seemed that there was a monster disconnect, that there was a guy in a shiny suit sitting behind a desk deciding who fights who, for what, and when. It always seemed to me that that was disingenuous and theatrical in nature, the fact that somebody gets to make a decision as to who gets to fight for a world title.
"If somebody tried that in the NFL or NBA, they would be laughed out of the corporate offices in shackles. If Roger Goodell stood up and said, 'You know, from a ratings perspective, Miami's a big market for us, and New York's a big market for us. So next year's Superbowl is the Dolphins versus the Giants, ladies and gentlemen!' He would be out of a job in the next 25 minutes.
"Yet in the fighting sports arena — in boxing and in the vast majority of MMA, other than Bellator — we as fans accept that. The origin of Bellator was to provide a seamless connection between real sports competition and the sport I love so much and think is the greatest sport in the world, mixed martial arts. And I think that's what we've done."
One of the drawbacks of the tournament format, in my mind, is that you're setting up many of your best fighters to lose. Obviously, tournaments have only one winner, and everyone else gets losses on their record, which can set fighters back tremendously in the world of MMA. I asked Rebney what his response was to this consequence of the tournament format.
"So be it. Look at Pat Curran, who won our first lightweight tournament, went in against Eddie Alvarez, stood for five rounds against Eddie Alvarez, got an L, and was able to come off of that L, was able to come off of that loss and literally over a seven month period establish himself as one of the top 145 lbs. fighters on the face of the Earth.
"If you look back over the landscape of mixed martial arts, some of the older, classic names jump out at us, like Randy Couture. If you look at Randy's record, you look at it and you say to yourself 'Wow, that record looks like the record of an opponent.' And yet it's Randy's. And the reason that record looks like an opponent's record is because he fought some of the best in the world.
"If Mike Chandler loses a fight, he's gonna lose a fight against one of the greatest 155 lbs. fighters on the face of the Earth. If Ben Askren's undefeated record becomes blemished, it's gonna be because somebody has finally figured out the amazing riddle that is Ben Askren. And they're gonna beat him. And there's no shame in that because it's not gonna come vis-à-vis a fluke. It's gonna come because somebody has established themselves as one of the best fighters in the world. If somebody beats Eduardo Dantas inside of our cage, he's gonna beat one of the greatest 135 lbs. fighters that our sport has.
"So I think there's a faux realization in fighting sports where you've gotta be built up and you've got to have this huge undefeated record. You don't. You just need to — at the highest level of competition — do everything you can to win. So, that whole old school fight promotion mentality, where a guy's got to be 18-0 to be taken seriously, is in my mind ridiculous. What it means is, in a rare instance it means that he's amazing. And in most instances it means that he's been put in against [tomato] cans."
Fight promotions have tomato cans on one end of the spectrum and elite fighters on the other. I wanted to know who Rebney believed were the greatest fighters competing in Bellator right now.
"We have a lot of tremendous fighters. Some of our champions stick out to me as some of the biggest names in the organization. I think Eduardo Dantas is just an absolute phenom at 135 lbs. I would take him in a bet against any 135 pounder on Earth. I think Pat Curran is just absolutely spectacular, has been highlight knockout after highlight knockout after highlight knockout for us at featherweight. I think, honestly, if every 145 lbs. man on Earth started to fight, I think Jose Aldo and Pat Curran would be the last two guys standing.
"At 155, Mike Chandler; I think he's just an absolute, unbelievably talented fighter across multiple fronts. I think last year, there's no question in my mind, after watching everything that is MMA, I think he had the fight of the year with his submission victory to take the title from Eddie Alvarez. I think he's just an absolute star, a terrific kid who's doing all the right things in his career, standing up for the right things, saying the right things, representing our sport in a beautiful way.
"Askren, at 170 lbs. for us, is a complete phenom. Say what you will about his style — you can love or dislike his style — but you have to admit that from a grappler's perspective, in terms of his ground control and his ground game, it's something that you're not gonna be able to see many times in the life cycle of a mixed martial artist. He's just a spectacularly talented fighter on the ground.
"As a fan of MMA, I appreciate his style to no end, because he's absolutely, completely dominant on the ground. And we rarely see that. We saw it early in the UFC, with Royce [Gracie] and some of the other Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners before anybody knew what they were doing. But to watch a guy like Askren be that dominant, it's just shocking to me, when you're talking about world-class, top-ten-level talent. I just think we've got a lot of really talented fighters.
"Obviously the addition of [Muhammed] 'King Mo' Lawal has been spectacular for the organization. We've got some wickedly talented 185ers. You know, the Maiquel Falcao vs. Alexander Shlemenko fight is a world title fight I cannot wait to see. The Pitbull brothers are just a highlight reel. They're two brothers, and both of them are complete highlight reels. So I'm happy with a lot of the fighters we're very fortunate to have under this banner."
One of the biggest names to come out of Bellator has been Hector Lombard. I asked Rebney for his thoughts on losing Lombard to the UFC.
"One of the reasons that we have been successful where the vast majority of companies in this space, other than the UFC, have failed is because we make business decisions based on real data. We don't make overtly emotional decisions. We make decisions based on real numbers. And the UFC model is one that's based on pay-per-view. They have a pay-per-view business model. And Hector Lombard's signing with the UFC is a signing that they will have to monetize via pay-per-view. Pay-per-view doesn't play a role with Bellator right now; it may in the future. But we're a free-to-air model, as we speak right now. And the model of Bellator is to put great fights on Spike network, as we progress to Spike and, for free, give you the best fights out there.
"I am extremely confident that Hector Lombard will win the UFC middleweight title. I am extremely confident that we, as fans, will see that fight on pay-per-view, because I was privy to the numbers and realize that it has to be monetized vis-à-vis pay-per-view. And Hector was great for this organization. I said for many years I thought he was the best middleweight on Earth. I think [UFC Middleweight Champion] Anderson Silva has rightfully had the title of best middleweight on Earth. And I think Hector will be able to prove, in relatively short order, that I was right in my assumption that he was the best middleweight on Earth when he was fighting here. I think he'll be the best middleweight on Earth fighting there.
"And he was always a complete, stand-up, wonderful dude. I've got nothing but good things to say about Hector Lombard. He was the essence of class. He was a pleasure to work with. He's a personal friend of mine. I hope he does incredibly well and makes a fortune over there, which I can tell you by having reviewed his contract, he will. So he deserves it. He's a very, very good guy. And in the future, if our model becomes one of pay-per-view, maybe that circumstance would've been different. But for the time being, for where we are right now … I wish him nothing but the best."
With all this talk about Bellator's best fighters, I wanted to know what Rebney thought was the greatest match in Bellator history.
"There've been a lot of them I think. You'd be hard pressed to find one over the past couple of years that was more dramatic, more spectacular than Michael Chandler's capturing the lightweight world title by submitting Eddie Alvarez in a spectacular back-and-forth battle. If you were scripting that fight, I don't know that you could've scripted it better. I've been watching MMA fights for a long, long time, and I don't know that I've ever seen a better back-and-forth battle. I mean, that was one of the better fights I've ever seen in the history of watching MMA, back to Japan, watching Rickson Gracie fight in front of 45,000 people in the Tokyo Dome. Very few fights stack up to that one."
Bellator also features female fighters on its roster. I asked Rebney what advantage this gave Bellator over companies that don't feature female contests.
"There are some incredibly talented female fighters in the world of mixed martial arts today. And we're fortunate enough to have a lot of them fighting underneath our banner. You saw a great fight [last month] at 115 lbs. between the world's #1 and the world's #2, Megumi Fujii vs. Jessica Aguilar. There are incredibly talented ladies competing in mixed martial arts today, and I think they deserve a forum. I think they put on some great fights. And there sure is a fan base out there of people who are interested in watching those fights. So I just think that it makes sense to continue doing it. And we will continue to do it."
Another approach Bellator takes is featuring its live events in small- and mid-tier markets, such as Lake Charles, La., and Hollywood, Fla. Living close to Lake Charles myself, I wanted to know what made this an enticing approach for Bellator.
"[We have] absolutely spectacular casino alliances, great alliances with the people at Pinnacle who run the Lake Charles L'Auberge casino, which is gorgeous, and the people at the Hard Rock down in Florida, who run the spectacular facility in Hollywood, and the people at Caesars Entertainment, we do events with them all over the country, and [the people] in Hammond, Indiana, and the like.
"We have casino alliances with people who understand fighting sports, how to promote it, how to market it, how to draw great crowds. [It's about] just fostering those alliances. The more people you can touch with a live event, the more areas you can go to, the more you're gonna be able to expand the reach of your brand. That's something we've tried aggressively to do, with 25-30 fights per year. You've got an opportunity to touch a lot of people in a lot of different markets, and that's something we've been working on."
Finally, I wanted to get Rebney's take on Jonathan Brookins, who fought at Bellator 1 and subsequently won TUF 12. Just what was the status of his contract, which Bellator and the UFC had been embroiled in litigation over?
"It's an interesting legal question. We had Jonathan signed to an exclusive, long-term, worldwide promotional agreement. And then, to our great shock, he ended up showing up on TUF and ultimately winning the series. So that is a matter that is currently still in litigation, and we will see how it plays itself out. Jonathan had signed a long-term, multi-year promotional agreement with Bellator and then, you know … circumstances as they were, he ended up on The Ultimate Fighter. We'll see how that all works itself out legally."
The landscape of the mixed martial arts world, too, is still working itself out. And no matter how things turn out, one thing's for certain, Bjorn Rebney is up to the challenge.
Read more: Bellator (News), Bjorn Rebney (News)Tags: Bellator, Ben Askren, Bjorn Rebney, Eddie Alvarez, Eduardo Dantas, Exclusive Interviews, featured, Hector Lombard, MMA NEWS, Pat Curran, ufc, ufc news


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Crazy Japanese Banana Commercial [Video]
We've talked about advertising before. You know I have a soft spot in my heart and in my head for great commercials. I am not sure exactly what to think about this commercial from Japan. It is obviously a commercial for Dole bananas. Now there have been some great Dole banana commercials here in the United States but I don't think we've had one go quite this far.
If you watch this commercial with the sound down does it make you want to get a banana or does it make you want to run away from every banana you see? Personally a guy shooting bananas out of his body like torpedoes from a submarine does not make me hungry at all. Meet Banana Man!
Subscribe to 97.3 The Dawg on


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Very High Research Universities is the Carnegie Class for a very specific type of research university. Generally, a research university is a university that awards at least 20 research doctorates each year. If the research university also spends a very large amount of money on research in comparison to other research universities, Carnegie calls the university a Very High Research University.
Michigan State University, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and Wayne State University each spend a very high dollar amount on research, and award at least 20 research doctorates making them Very High Research Universities.
The dashboard uses four categories of metrics, listed below.
Click on one of these categories, or scroll down the page, to see the metrics (charts and tables) for the category. These metrics compare Michigan public universities with their public peers (universities from the same Carnegie Class) across the nation.
Click on a chart or table to enlarge it, or click "download PDF" to download a PDF for the category. For a PDF of all categories within this Carnegie Class, click "download PDF" directly below. To download the original data used to generate these charts and tables, click "download spreadsheet" directly below.


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Matthew Broderick was snapped as he walked son James, 9, to school this morning (November 1). Both are bundled up against the cold New York City weather.
Father and son look like a little tired – must be that Halloween hangover. Eating too many Snickers will take its toll on you.
Looks like Matthew's about to get really busy – he's reportedly just signed on to join the cast of Tower Heist, a new Brett Ratner-directed robbery comedy. The star-studded cast includes Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Alan Alda, Gabourey Sidibe, and Téa Leoni.


text:
Nielsen Media Research says the "Late Show With David Letterman" beat the "Tonight Show" last week – the first time in more than three years.
Letterman scored a weeklong average of 3.46 million viewers, edging out the 3.32 million viewers who watched NBC's "Tonight Show," hosted by Conan O'Brien.
It was Letterman's first win during a full week of all-new broadcasts since December 2005, when Oprah Winfrey was his guest on the CBS late-night show. Letterman was perhaps given a ratings boost from lingering controversy over a wisecrack that targeted the family of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
O'Brien took over "Tonight" from longtime host Jay Leno earlier this month.
NBC is owned by General Electric Co. CBS is a division of CBS Corp.
On the Net:


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Rite Aid deals this week include Dentyne, Extra, Coke, Arm & Hammer, Arrid, a prescription transfer coupon, gift card offers for Bass Pro Shops, Bed Bath & Beyond, Claire's and more!
The Rite Aid coupon policy can be found on their website. More details on their coupon policy and rewards programs are located at the bottom of this page.
These deals are valid August 21 – August 27, 2016.
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Church Activities
Eric at "A Pilgrim's Progress" has come to the same conclusion as me in his post "The Church's Primary Activity."
What is that conclusion?
The conclusion is that the particular activity (activities) undertaken when the church meets is less important than the goal (or outcome) of that activity (those activities). That is, whatever we do when we get together with other Christians (activities) should have the goal / outcome of building up one another in maturity in Christ.
Eric gives a good summary:
This indicates that content of gatherings is not nearly as important as the attitude and motivation of those present. If the goal is edification and church people strive for this, then any of a wide variety of things could happen – maybe preaching, maybe teaching, maybe scripture reading, maybe testimony, maybe prophecy, maybe speaking in tongues, maybe the sharing of the Lord's Supper, etc. However, if edification and the sirring up to love and good works is not the goal, then it doesn't matter what we do because it won't be biblical.
A good scriptural example of this can be found in 1 Corinthians 11:17-22 (actually 11:17-34, since the whole section is about the same topic). In this passage, Paul points out that the Corinthians are doing the activity (eating and drinking), but that the result is not the Lord's Supper because they are not concerned with one another. (Note, there is no "doctrinal" issue involved in Paul's admonition, only relational issues.)
What is the church's primary activity? Whatever leads to mutual edification. And, yes, as a commenter pointed out, mutuality is necessary for maturity.
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Comments are closed. If you would like to discuss this post, send an email to alan [at] alanknox [dot] net.
Last week, our fellowship met at a someone's house where we sat around and had snacks and drinks. As the evening went on, we got to know each other better, and encouraged each other as we heard the stories. A number of us have remarked about how we "had church" that night, even though there was no formal "spiritual" activity.
I come from traditions where that type of thing would be called a "small group," or just a bunch of people hanging out, so this has been a new experience for me. I'm seeing how that is closer to what Jesus had in mind than most of what went on in the churches I was in before.
I think it's good to distinguish between two fundamentally different types of gatherings. What my group and I realized after a few informal meetings is that we naturally gravitated towards telling each other what we're feeling, sharing the events of our day, etc. This is great, of course; it amounts to relationship building, which is absent in so many churches today (show up, sing some songs, listen to a sermon, go home). And we usually prayed to close us out. But we realized what we were missing was a substantial worship time – praising and thanking God, bathing in his word, singing to him, remembering his death through Communion. We called this a "vertical" gathering – the primary direction of activity is from us to God and from God to us. The other – the relationship building/sharing time – we called a "horizontal" gathering, where the primary communication is from one human being to another.
Actually we did combine them the first time – we ate dinner together, shared and caught up from the past week. Then we moved to the living room and finished the evening with a rhythm of Scripture readings, songs, and prayer. So it was back to back. I read your post about your gathering, where it's more like weaving the two together from one activity to the next. Maybe we can try that, but off-hand I think I like "moving into" a pure worship time where there is an extended focus on God. The only reason we may split them into different days is our time constraints/schedules. This last meeting was over 3 hours. So we're thinking of having dinner/relational/informal gatherings on Wednesday evenings and pure worship time on Sundays.
I am curious about this concept of "pure worship." I am wondering about how Father views our worship.
I'm thinking "pureness" has to do with the state of our hearts (we are only "pure" through the blood of Jesus; and "pureness" as we worship Him rather than worshiping our performance – which ends up being self-worship…)
I'm pondering: how much does "pure worship" have to do with the form of activity? And, are we not to live lives of worship? Isn't everything we do supposed to focus on and praise and glorify Him?
Even (maybe even especially) in "focused worship time" I think we can get hung up on the "form" (am I praying "better" on my knees with my hands folded, eyes closed, and head covered? am I praising better with my arms raised, or with instruments, or eyes closed?).
This is not a criticism, Chris. I'm really just wondering how we can separate "pure worship" from (less pure? less focused? less ___?) worship?
Thanks for the thoughts, Norma. My phrase "pure worship" is probably misleading. I didn't mean to suggest this was a better (more pure) kind of worship than other forms. I just meant to describe the kind of worship where a group of believers directly addresses God and lets him address us. It's a rhythm of prayer, song, and Word that we enact as a body. For an extended period of time we corporately cast our gaze heavenward.
This is in contrast to a Bible study or sharing time when we are focused on talking to each other. This is good, but it's not the same. My group simply realized that we are really good at studying and sharing – addressing each other – as a group, and not so good at addressing God as a group. I think in a lot of ways we contemporary Protestants have lost the art of corporate worship. So we're trying to regain it.
I'm not sure what you mean by a "form" getting in the way and becoming an object of worship. We don't have much of a form the way you describe it, just a rhythm, or order of activities. And they are all coming from the heart.
Sure, but that's indirect. Think of it this way: I don't know if you're a father but imagine for a moment that your kids are sitting in your living room. From somewhere else in the house you overhear them talking about an article you wrote and how it has helped their understanding, how it helps them overcome certain struggles, how it may help them help others as well. They also ask each other about their day, how everything is going, how they can work together to get some necessary things done.
Of course you would be very pleased to hear this. But what if then you walked into the living room and they all jumped up and came to you, hugged you, asked you about your day, what you thought of their plans, how you might clarify some things in your article, and expressed their appreciation for how you've helped and cared for them in the past.
These are very different, no? Both are good, but the first is an indirect way of honoring you as their father (just by doing something with each other that pleases you) and the second is a direct, relational way of honoring you – which is necessary for any real relationship.
I think Father God is the same – he wants his children to gather and have a nice long conversation with him, thank and praise him, give him hugs.
- Mutuality: Just to Reiterate | The Assembling of the Church - [...] my previous post ("Church Activities"), I briefly stated that mutuality is necessary for [...]


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Object Details
A Fox with a Chicken
Meissen Porcelain Manufactory (German, active 1710 - present)
Model by Johann Gottlieb Kirchner (German, born 1706)
Meissen, Germany (Place created)
Hard-paste porcelain with traces of oil paint
46 × 34 × 20 cm (18 1/8 × 13 3/8 × 7 7/8 in.)
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Johann Gottlieb Kirchner produced the model for this life-size porcelain sculpture of a fox-looking a little guiltily around the chicken it is about to devour-as part of an extraordinary commission from Augustus the Strong, elector of Saxony and king of Poland, who envisioned a life-size porcelain menagerie for his Japanese Palace in Dresden. The Meissen Porcelain Manufactory had been operating for only twenty years when Augustus commissioned this series of porcelain animals to be rendered "in their natural sizes and colors." The production of porcelain models of this size had never been attempted before in Europe.
Some of the technical difficulties Kirchner encountered in fulfilling this commission are evident on this figure of a fox with a chicken. First, the large scale of the figure required a number of highly visible vent holes to prevent explosions in the kiln. Second, shrinkage during the firing process and strong downward pressure from the objects' own weight caused cracks of varying severity. Meissen craftsmen tried numerous ways to reduce cracking; though they were certainly very inventive, few methods worked. The cracks made a final firing with enamel colors impossible, since this would have shattered the already cracked figures. Some were painted in oil colors, which became dull and discolored. In most cases the paint was removed at a later date. Traces of paint can be seen inside the pricked ears of this fox. In many ways, the successful creation of this life-size fox with a chicken attests to the Meissen manufactory's diligent attempt to satisfy one of the richest and most powerful men of the time.


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During London Collections: Men, we had the opportunity to meet with London-based designer Lee Roach to discuss his upcoming Spring/Summer 2015 collection which combines traditional distinctive menswear elements with a new refined minimalism.
Though no designers at London Collections: Men are exactly identical in their style, there are certainly a few that share several common sartorial denominators. You can tell the fundamental reference points are similar and that they used to go to the same club nights, or watch similar films. Lee Roach, though, is unique — at least in London — when it comes to his dark, protective and slightly futuristic approach to menswear. We're not in the business of generalizing here, but Roach has developed a characteristic love of simple black tailoring over the last few seasons, most of it with his characteristic exclusion of lapels. Using predominately man-made and high-tech fabrics, the Central Saint Martins-educated designer has begun creating his own universe. For good and for bad, Lee Roach is a very tribal designer, his disciples part of a specific club that share his view of not only clothes and music, but life in general.
Roach often takes a dark and minimal approach to his designs, but not in a Jil Sander or Helmut Lang kind of way. Mostly black, but with red and khaki as accent colors for Spring/Summer 2015, Roach has developed a raw and "less is more" look, which is very much visible in his tailoring. With his alternative neck line, the pieces have been scaled back in terms of details. Straps close the jackets instead of buttons. But within its simplicity, the collection can still be heard loud and clear; these are not quiet and shy garments, more like subtle statement pieces.
Hi Lee, do you want to just talk me through the starting point—what was your main inspiration?
With every collection we start with the fabrics. The development of the fabrication is so important, especially as everything I do is unstructured and unlined.
So what were the key fabrics for SS15?
The linens. There's a light-weight Italian linen which is double-faced, so it's a virgin linen-wool mix. I really like the idea of using linen and jersey in the same season — not necessarily within the same look, but within the same collection. It takes away the formality at the traditional expectations of linen…
So you take the fabric and you find a new place for it?
Yes, a new way of using it. A new way to wear it. Using linen in that unstructured way gives it that really nice soft silhouette, but when combining it with things like the zips and the poppers, all of a sudden it's more industrial.
There were linen, yes, but generally speaking, you are more known for using man-made fabrics, no?
This collection is almost 50/50 in the sense that there's a lot of cotton, linen, then you've got nylon and technical jersey, Japanese cotton with the cotton mix. It's very much about mixing those rather than being defined by them.
Can you explain the symbols used in this collection?
They come from the idea of uniforms, whether it be military or sport. The idea of within those you have these very strong graphics, either identify yourself or just to label something. There's always a linear line throughout the collections and it was just kind of about furthering that and then mixing them with these vertical graphics.
If it's branding, it's quite minimal branding…
I think that's important and for me that's the modern way to do it. It comes from the idea of protection; the hoods and jackets are all made from very lightweight fabrics so you're protecting yourself in a very lightweight way. In the city that's what we all wear. I like the idea in using that in the context of summer as well.
Your lapel-less tailoring is very characteristic, can you explain the reasoning behind it?
Yes, I want to reduce everything. From the very beginning it's always been about the idea of reduction and eliminating elements. That's why everything is completely unlined. This season we've taken it that step further where now the interior doesn't even have bindings, it's as pure as it can be. It comes from the cut of the pattern from the very beginning. That in itself is new, it's not just taken from a classic tailoring block, and that's where the idea of doing away with lapels comes from.
Have you got a key collection piece?
For me I wouldn't say there's one, I think there's elements you can clearly see whether it be the simplicity of a hood, or a fastening, or something that introduces you to something more simplistic.
- Photography: Jack Johnstone for Highsnobiety.com


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Recommendations for a book to read aloud to my 12 year old DD(11 Posts)
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Will O.B. parking situation stop Target?
South Beach bar's agreement with Antique Center muddles situation
Julie Stalmer 5:30 p.m., Sept. 22
Neat. Orderly. Quiet but for the intermittent high-rev blasts of black,
plastic-phallused leaf blowers and caws of an exponentially increasing population of crows, Del Mar Heights sits comfortably wedged atop a mesa west of Interstate 5, one mile east of the Pacific Ocean. Any tsunami worthy of the name would have to raze the bistros, boutiques and real estate offices of Del Mar and climb over 300 vertical feet, toppling Torrey Pines and filling Crest Canyon on the way, to even dampen the manicured sod of a single Del Mar Heights home.
Upon Dwight Eisenhower's 1953 inauguration, Robert Lowell wrote the poem with the final line: "...and the Republic summons Ike, the mausoleum in its heart." Tired of the physical, psychological and moral trauma of the Great Depression and World War II, Americans wanted only to be left alone, to rest. And if you happened to be white and among the first wave of the growing middle class, what better place to rest and raise a family than the suburbs, with its streets and homes and turf laid out as neatly as any military cemetery.
And since I've been a Del Mar Heights resident for over a third of my adult life, what does that say about me? Well, besides admitting that I like(d) being one of the comfortable living dead, it may say sour grapes. Laid off two months ago from a moderately low-paying, but mostly enjoyable and "spiritually rewarding" job working with dyslexic kids of mostly successful and ambitious parents, my mind has begun the spiraling, self-accelerating dance of fear of the recently unemployed. Downsizing is the now overused term for having to start living with less of everything, except stress and facing ugly truths about oneself.
After a morning of emailing resumes into the black hole of Craigslist.com, I take a break. Strolling the serenely suburban street east of Crest Canyon, I greet and exchange pleasantries with neighbors, most of whose names I've never bothered to learn. An elderly Taiwanese woman walking her beagle and mini-schnauzer, a middle-aged man with an overweight yellow lab. As I continue my walk, scenes from "Blue Velvet" flash onto my visual cortex. I stop to rub a chartreuse leaf of black sage between thumb and forefinger. Inhaling as deeply as Dennis Hopper's depraved and haunted character from the film, I hope the familiar fragrance will serve as an olfactory meditation, holding me in the timelessness of the moment. But more, I hope to sage away--exorcise--my growing, nearly paralyzing, negativity.
The volatile scent brings a moment of calm. I fill my vision with the muted green leaves and brilliant purple blossoms of the osha yerba bushes. But then the spiked green pod of a clinging, green-tentacled wild cucumber catches my eye, and scenes of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" jumps to mind. One-armed white crucifixes with real estate "For Sale" signs are springing out of front lawns like dandelions. Late model Volvos and Beemers are left parked on Mango by the Vons shopping center with more For Sale signs. Osteoporotic, stooped pensioners are working as bag boys and cashiers. The Federal Reserve (which like the Moral Majority is neither) and its Washington minions have wound up the printing presses to levels that would make the head of the Zimbabwean mint blush, making a dollar literally worth less than two 1912 pennies. But no one shows any emotion, any sense of pain or outrage.
Maybe it's not an invasion of extraterrestrial Body Snatchers, but that of the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry. Between the Paxil, Nutrasweet, Oxycontin, and high fructose corn sweetener, maybe we're incapable of feeling any emotion. But then again, maybe that's for the best. I'd hate to see Del Mar Heights end up like the suburbs of France.
Oh well. Time to go. I promised my wife one last lunch at Le Bambou, and some frozen yogurt at the Golden Spoon. I guess there are a lot of things worse than being a Pod Person in Del Mar Heights.
Del Mar, PB, North Park, you name it, we are all coupled together on the same $o-CAL train and that train is taking us all toward a drastically different future than the one we have left just behind, when we boarded years ago!
The signs are there for all to see, but who is looking?
The disappearing middle class will have a much greater effect upon our lives than reducing our carbon footprint a percentage point, yet who is proposing "Middle Class" Credits?
Our once trusted media has sold itself out and now is little more than a propaganda paper for all big developers and their Ultra Wealthy benefactors; with our local UT being a perfect example.
Our elected Leaders, are grow wealthy yet continue to promote themselves by seeking more and larger donations to "fight against what the others propose to do," while at the same time doing an ever poorer job of working for all of US!
One bank account at a time will continue to run out of money and then it's owners will be forced to seek "temporary" credit to get by one more month, until financial reality hits them. Then they too, will join the masses of folks that must leave $D for less expensive points unknown...
Tomorrows election will be a tipping point for all of US; as we are forced to vote for BAD or WORSE measures and or candidates that have no clue as to how to "FIX" anything but will get paid big bucks to smile and keep doing just what those that are leaving office have been doing!
Among trusted friends, the "new" conversation topic of "if you had to relocate, where would you go" is now being discussed in earnest!
WOW founder ...u scare me...i sure hope ur wrong...
but most likely ur right
i know where i'd relocate to!!
founder wrote
"Our once trusted media has sold itself out and now is little more than a propaganda paper for all big developers and their Ultra Wealthy benefactors; with our local UT being a perfect example."
this has been mostly true of many local newspapers around the country for years
many are looking...but few take action except for voting...which usually does'nt really help
we know the elephant's in the room..but few if any have the where with all or talent to show him the door
Reply #2 & #3 You might like this timely rhyme from me:
Reply #43 Now we're really up a tree
Since the City is now drowning in RED INK And City Hall has started to really $TINK
The most important question now for US is Who to Call Does anyone know someone that will not FUMBLE the ball
We need to find someone that is NOT on the Public Dime Like a Legal Plumber that is used to dealing with $LIME
If they could help US recover just some of what we lost It surely would be well worth it at whatever the cost
I'm sure that there are a few well qualified Lawyers with all the right skills It would take time but I bet the Voters would be happy to pay their bills
As for me I now think it would be worth any cost To recover even part of what we have lost
If I was asked to suggest to them for a great place to start I'd say pick the Guacamole Bowl Stadium DEAL apart
But they probably don't need to ask me what to do Since they already would be experts in how to SUE
Things in our City have now gotten so bad Maybe we all should chip in and run an ad
*from: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/financial-crime-politics/2010/oct/29/september-lead-indicators-of-san-diego-economy-fal/#c76111


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"Getting close" to re-opening Smokehouse BBQ, says owner
I chatted this morning with Terry Sept of Smokehouse BBQ, the barbecue restaurant shut down due to a fire back in November. Terry says they are awaiting some final approvals from the city on renovations, but hope to move toward a soft opening sometime after April 15th. Terry is planning a grand opening around May 1st, and a fundraiser to support the burn unit at the University of Alberta hospital.
"We want to do something for the firefighters who saved our bacon, so to speak," says Terry, who owns La Pisana restaurant in Leduc, as well as the Smokehouse BBQ food truck.
When the 140-seat restaurant opens, there will be some new items on the menu by chef Steve Koch.
"One of the blessings of this time off has been a little time for some R and D," says Sept.
Follow the restaurant on Twitter @smokehousebb for more information on when doors open at 10810-124 Street. Check out The Journal's review by Jana Pruden if you need to get your taste buds watering. The photo above of the restaurant's fare was taken by John Lucas.


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Create a vintage polaroid look in Photoshop
The vintage look in Photography has been something very popular lately as the retro look of certain films have definitely made a big comeback. We have done a few walkthroughs on how to create different types of vintage looks in Photoshop before and today I am going to cover how to make a vintage Polaroid look in Photoshop. First if you missed some of our past articles here are a few good ones you might be interested in:
Create a vintage polaroid look in Photoshop
There are many different types of Polaroid films that each have their own characteristics but today I am going to focus on an aged look that you would have with their "Time Zero" film.
We are going to start with just an average outdoor image and in Photoshop give it a weathered summer feel to replicate an vintage polaroid look. Here is the starting image that we will use.
First we will make some adjustments to the curves and the color channels within the curves to adjust the color tone. Open up a adjustment layer and select curves. If you aren't familiar with how to add an adjustment layer you can simply click Layer –> New Adjustment Layer –> Curves. You can experiment a little to get the tone to fit your needs, here is a screenshot of the settings I used.
Next go back and choose the background layer and run a gaussian blur on the background of 2 pixels. Then run another gaussian blur with a 1 pixel amount. Here is what the image looks like so far.
Then make a copy of the background image and in this copy layer run another gaussian blur of 5 pixels. While still on this new layer change the layer mode to overlay and the opacity to 25%.
Now we want to add a little bit of grain to the image. Create a new layer called Grain and have this layer be on top of the 2 background layers you now have. Set the layer mode to screen and fill the layer with white.
In this new white layer add noise (Filter –> Noise –> Add Noise). I used a 10% gaussian, monochromatic noise level and then also ran a gaussian blur on this of 2 pixels to smooth it out.
Click Image –> Adjustments –> Invert (or Command – I) to invert this white grain layer. Since the layer is in Screen mode this will basically make it transparent with some white blotches of grain.
Then while still in this grain level adjust the levels to 0, 1, 115.
Most aged polaroid images have a low contrast range and a little brightness to them. Create a new Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer and set the brightness to +8 and the contrast to -8.
From here you can do a final curve adjustment or color balance adjustment to change the color tone of the image to fit your taste. Here is the final version of the image.
The final touch is to add a border to the image to create that true polaroid look. Check back for a tutorial on how to create a polaroid border coming soon. To make sure you don't miss any of our posts make sure to sign up for our updates via email near to top right of the page.
Also if you love the look of vintage images download our Vintage Lightroom Presets for free.
If you like our articles remember to share them on Facebook, Twitter or +1 them on Google. I appreciate you spreading the word to your photo friends! Also remember to always start a conversation by leaving a Facebook comment at the bottom of the page. I love to hear from you.


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SweetLeaf to Showcase Organic Products & New Water Enhancers at Expo West
By Grocery Headquarters Staff
SweetLeaf Stevia Sweetener, the natural stevia sweetener, will present its full line of organic stevia products and its new naturally flavored water enhancers at Natural Products Expo West 2014, March 7-9 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. The company has invited show attendees to learn about all of the products at Booth #2721, sample the water enhancers and meet James and Carol May of Wisdom Natural Brands, SweetLeaf's parent company. New product packaging will highlight SweetLeaf's accolades on boxes of 35 and 70 packets, the 2-ounce SteviaClear Sweet Drops Liquid Stevia and shaker carton. Attendees interested in SweetLeaf's organic products may also find out more about SugarLeaf, stevia bonded to cane sugar. The brand will also debut its new seasonal Sweet Drops flavors – Pumpkin Spice and Peppermint Mocha – along with SweetLeaf's tab dispenser and water enhancers. SweetLeaf Sweet Drops water enhancers are made with organic stevia extract and plant-based flavors, with zero calories or carbs. The water enhancers come in 1.5-ounce bottles in four flavor combinations: Strawberry Kiwi, Lemon Lime, Peach Mango and Raspberry Lemonade.


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|Trad, Alpine, 5 pitches, Grade II
|YDS: 5.9 French: 5c Ewbanks: 17 UIAA: VI ZA: 17 British: HVS 5a [details]
|Steve Wunsch and Diana Hunter, 1969
|Page Views:
|Submitted By:
|jon jugenheimer on Jul 5, 2012
|Comments on Corkscrew
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|Show which comments —
By Kevin Bradford
Sep 22, 2013
rating: 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
I did this climb recently while camping in the meadows. Super fun, with a variety of techniques involved. Definitely consider leaving packs at the base to make the squeeze chimney a little easier. The approach "trail" branches off a few switchbacks above the caves, at a point that allows a level traverse to the bottom of the tower. We broke it up a bit differently than the description above.
Pitch 1: started on the right side of the arête, beneath some black rock, up to the base of the big golden dihedral. 5.6
Pitch 2: head up and left, into the dihedral, then left onto the slab. End this pitch at the bottom of a nice fist crack, next to a set of rap slings that provide escape in bad weather, or if you get scared. 2 ropes are most likely required to rappel from here. 5.6
Pitch 3: straight up the fun fist crack, two #3 camalots wouldn't hurt here, then up to and left around a roof and the arête, and onto a sloping ledge. This pitch was rad, the exposure around the roof was awesome. 5.7
Pitch 4: crux move right off the deck, with some left-leaning finger cracks and a nice pull to bigger holds above. After this section wrap around to find the west-facing squeeze chimney. Consider short-hauling your pack here if you brought one. Climb the awesome squeeze, with good gear and holds, and once it shits you out, set a belay in the notch behind the pedestal thingy. Another kickass and very memorable pitch. 5.8
Pitch 5: easy scrambling along the right side of the arête, with many possibilities. Pull through a few steeper sections and scramble to where the ridge line flattens out, belay at the end of the rope. 5.6
Gear: one set of nuts and cams from .4 to #2 camalot, with two #3's for the fist crack on pitch 3. A blue tcu or .3 camalot could be used in the finger crack that starts pitch 4, but there were other options as well.
To descend the tower take a 4th class ramp system on the east side of the crest, heading due north. Follow this to a notch, and an easy ledge system wrapping around the west side of the rest of the tower. This ledge leads easily to the scree slopes below on the teepee glacier, near the jhmg base camp.
By Gee Double
Aug 20, 2015
|Recommend finishing with 'Chubby Bunny' 5.10b 2 (or 1 long) pitches directly up center of Watchtower West Face. Shallow left facing 5.7 corner, with fp's. Splitter crack with overhang. Fp's


text: Overview By Mayo Clinic Staff Print Cryptosporidium infection (cryptosporidiosis) is an illness caused by tiny, one-celled cryptosporidium parasites. When cryptosporidia (krip-toe-spoe-RID-e-uh) enter your body, they travel to your small intestine and then burrow into the walls of your intestines. Later, cryptosporidia are shed in your feces. In most healthy people, a cryptosporidium infection produces a bout of watery diarrhea and the infection usually goes away within a week or two. If you have a compromised immune system, a cryptosporidium infection can become life-threatening without proper treatment. You can help prevent a cryptosporidium infection by practicing good hygiene and avoiding swallowing water from pools, recreational water parks, lakes and streams. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic Symptoms & causes Nov. 30, 2016 Print Share on: FacebookTwitter References Ray CG, et al. Apicomplexa and microsporidia. In: Sherris Medical Microbiology. 6th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2014. http://www.accessmedicine.com. Accessed Sept. 19, 2016. Longo DL, et al., eds. Protozoal intestinal infections and trichomoniasis. In: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 19th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Education; 2015. http://accessmedicine.com. Accessed Sept. 19, 2016. Leder K, et al. Epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis of cryptosporidiosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed Sept. 19, 2016. Parasites — Cryptosporidium: Prevention & control. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/crypto/prevention-control.html. Accessed Sept. 19, 2016. Levinson W. Intestinal and urogenital — protozoa. In: Review of Medical Microbiology and Immunology. 14th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Education; 2016. http://www.accessmedicine.com. Accessed Sept. 19, 2016. Leder K, et al. Treatment and prevention of cryptosporidiosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed Sept. 19, 2016. RelatedChildren's swimmingLiver function testsUnexplained weight lossDiarrheaNausea and vomiting Cryptosporidium infectionOverviewSymptoms & causesDiagnosis & treatmentDiagnosisTreatmentPreparing for your appointmentSelf-managementMore aboutIn-DepthResourcesNews from Mayo Clinic Advertisement Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. Advertising & Sponsorship Policy Opportunities Ad Choices Mayo Clinic Store Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic. The Last Diet You'll Ever NeedNEW! Mayo Clinic Guide to Integrative MedicineStop Osteoporosis in its TracksMayo Clinic Health LetterThe Mayo Clinic Diet Book Diagnosis & treatmentRequest an AppointmentDiagnosisTreatmentPreparing for your appointment CON-20164036 Patient Care & Health Information Diseases & Conditions Cryptosporidium infection


text:
Anoka has finalized rezoning of nearly 48 acres north of Anoka High School, setting new standards for new development.
The city has created a new B5 Regional Business District, opening this property up for retail and commercial development. Portions of the 48 acres do border the Anoka Nature Preserve, a 200-acre site protected by a conservation easement.
Getting to the point where this city-owned land could be sold and developed has long been a priority for several city council members.
"This is a big step in the right direction, getting this property in a place where it will be at some point developed," said Mayor Phil Rice.
Councilmember Mark Freeburg, who has long been calling on the city to be in a position to market the property, agreed.
"I'm excited to have the dilemma of having somebody wanting to put something there and us actually have to talk about it," said Freeburg. "It will a fun discussion."
Rezoning divides the property into two segments. The south portion could be used for larger developments like a big box retail store, while development on the northern part of the parcel would be restricted to buildings that are 15,000 square feet or less.
This makes way for smaller retail shopper or a corporate campus, said Planning Director Carolyn Braun.
Gas stations, auto sales or auto-related businesses and free standing fast food restaurants would not be allowed.
The rules include a 25-foot setback for buildings or 50 feet for parking from the boundary of the nature preserve, a significant reduction from the 100-foot setback recommended by the city's Planning Commission.
The council reduced the setback in order to create a larger parcel for development.
Several members also advocated that putting a building closer to the trees makes for a more appealing environment.
"Anyone that makes the investment there will be making the investment in the kind of property we want to see there," said Rice after Councilmember Jeff Weaver called for the council to be patient to get the right kind of development on this property.
Weaver also raised a concern about what might happen in the future if a developer comes forward with a use that is not currently allowed.
"What happens someday down the road if this property doesn't sell in 10 years, what happens if there's a different staff, a different planning commission and different council and you have somebody who comes in with a different idea we haven't even thought of," said Weaver.
According to Braun, at that time the city could reconsider its current zoning ordinance.
"We've made it fairly flexible so there are a number of things that could develop, not quite knowing what the market might do," Braun said.
She said there was plenty of discussion on whether or not to allow housing on the 48 acres being rezoned.
According to Braun, the staff and commission instead chose to keep the residential development to the vacant property west of the Rum River Library.
"However if someone came up with a plan that the city embraced the city would then need to change the ordinance to allow for that," said Braun on potential uses of the property.
Freeburg said the city is doing what it thinks is best for developing the land right now.
"You do what you can at the time you can do it," said Freeburg. "If things change and ideas come forward then you change it, you rezone it. Right now we're doing what we think will work and if it doesn't 10 years from now then they will rezone it."
Mandy Moran Froemming is at [email protected]


text:
Teacher Training Classes
With over 30 years of combined yoga, Pilates and dance experience, sisters Kellie and Shannon Lynch have created an invigorating and highly effective Barre certification program. By combining the principles of Pilates, yoga, ballet and anatomical alignment, our program prepares our teachers-in-training to lead an expertly choreographed and captivating class! Our next Barre teacher training TBA
Registration & $250 Deposit Required two weeks in advance of training
Full Tuition: $750 ( includes $250 deposit) / fee includes comprehensive manual
SCHEDULED SESSIONS: Fall 2017:
Tuesdays October 3/10/17/24 & November 7th 6-10pm
PLUS November 4th& 5th Weekend 11-4
Attendance to all sessions required for Certification
Class size minimum 4/ 6 maximum
Training Led by:
Kellie Lynch: Studio Owner & Manager – CYT 200 hr
Areas of Study will include, but not be limited to:
History & inception of the method
Foundation & Function: why and how the method works
Anatomy: 2 hours; method specific
Core Principles: Emphasizing Pilates methodology for barre specific proficiency
Safety: Contraindications and injury prevention
Class Organization: Format and sequencing
Exercise Mastery: Analysis, categorization and study of individual exercises. Proper sequencing & set up for maximum results
Cueing: Verbal, tactile and hands-on assists and adjustments
Motivation: Techniques for impassioning and energizing students, encouraging progression and the deepening of internal connection
Music: How to create mixes to enhance, motivate and direct intensity
Observation: 3 hours class time observation
Assisting: 3 hours active class assisting and adjusting
PRACTICE TEACHING HOURS: 3 hours
Admission Requirements: Applicants should be 18 years of age. All applicants should submit a completed application and picture with a non-refundable fee. All applicants will require an admissions interview. All applicants should have a regular barre practice and be physically fit so they are able to perform all techniques and trainings.
Graduation Requirements: Barre Teacher training requires completion of all schedule sessions. Trainees must assist, teach and observe 3 classes each and complete a written and practical exam.


text:
Gosselin: Former WHL teammates Brenden Morrow and Todd Robinson have both become hockey stars – on very different levels
ALLEN — They skated together in Portland, Ore. for three years in the 1990s.
One went on to become an NHL all-star, a team captain and an Olympic gold medalist. The other went on to become a legend — albeit a minor league one.
For the first time in 14 years, Brenden Morrow and Todd Robinson were back playing hockey in the same area.
For one week.
Morrow was playing for the NHL Stars, and Robinson arrived in Allen last week to play for the Central Hockey League Americans. But before the two old friends could even meet for lunch, the Stars traded Morrow to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.
Morrow had carved out quite a career for himself in Dallas since his amateur days skating on a line with Robinson in the Western Hockey League.
Morrow was in his seventh season as captain of the Stars and ranked fifth in franchise history in games played and seventh in goals. Only Mike Modano has scored more game-winners in Stars history than Morrow.
Morrow was a first-round draft pick of the Stars in 1997 and spent his entire NHL career in Dallas — until Sunday. Robinson went undrafted out of juniors, and Allen is his 10th team in six leagues over the last 14 years. The NHL was not among those leagues.
"He had one of the best hockey IQs of anyone I've ever played with," Morrow said. "He saw the game differently. He knew he was better than everyone else. He was able to slow it down, a little bit like a [Mike] Ribeiro. He was a playmaker, a scorer.
"He believed in himself and thought he deserved a chance [in the NHL]. All he wanted was an opportunity but never got one."
The fact Robinson does not fly on charter planes to road games and stay in five-star hotels like Morrow does not diminish his abilities. This is one slick hockey player at every level he has played.
Robinson ranks 20th in the history of minor league hockey in points with 1,237. To put that in perspective, he has collected more points than any player at any level of hockey over these last 14 seasons. Joe Thornton has the most NHL points over those 14 years with 1,149. Morrow's former teammate Jaromir Jagr is next with 1,084.
Robinson has scored 321 career goals and set up 916 others. The Trail, British Columbia, native ranks 10th in minor league history in assists.
Robinson has played 887 games and worn the colors of the Idaho Steelheads, Colorado Gold Kings, Chicago Wolves, Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, Hamilton Bulldogs, Muskegon Fury, Grand Rapids Griffins, Muskegon Lumberjacks, Odessa Jackalopes, Evansville Icemen and now the Americans. He also spent one winter playing hockey in Denmark.
The NHL never called, so Robinson had to find his hockey elsewhere.
At Portland, Robinson was a star. His Winterhawks were the best team in the WHL in 1996-97 and Robinson the league's leading scorer. There were 63 players selected from the WHL that June in the NHL draft, including three from Portland. Morrow was one of them — but not Robinson.
"At the time it was heart-breaking," Robinson said. "I had a successful junior career, and I always thought I'd play in the NHL. That was everyone's dream. When they don't come calling, it's devastating.
"But the NHL was a different game back then. Size was important. Since then, the game has changed a lot. Now it's about speed and skill. Back then it was more the bigger guys grinding it out. That was when Eric Lindros was coming into his own and dominating the NHL. That was the way the league was going, and they weren't drafting the smaller guys."
Portland won the Memorial Cup as the best team in junior hockey the following season with Robinson, Morrow and Marian Hossa skating on the top line. Morrow had the size (6-0, 205 pounds) the NHL coveted. Robinson did not at 5-8, 175.
So his lifetime on buses began. Robinson has been an MVP in two leagues and won three scoring titles. He's been a seven-time all-star in three leagues and won three championships. Never once did he draw a six-figure salary during his 14 seasons.
But it was never about the money.
"I love competing and getting the chance to win games," Robinson said. "My job is to create and score goals for my team to win. For most of my career, I think I've done that in a good way. I feel when the puck is on my stick I can make something happen."
Winning games is why Robinson, at 34 years of age, is now in Allen. He was the captain at Evansville and the fifth-leading scorer in the ECHL when he moved to Allen last week. Robinson left a last-place team for a first-place team. He's in Allen for the playoff push. He collected a goal and seven assists in his first week with the Americans.
"I'm getting a little older now and at a point in my career where championships are very important," Robinson said. "I won a few when I was younger, but I haven't won one in a few years. This is a great opportunity with a great organization to do that."
And possibly a fine way to finish out a quietly superb hockey career.
Listen to Rick Gosselin at 10:50 a.m. Tuesdays on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310) with Norm Hitzges.
Follow Rick Gosselin on Twitter at @RickGosselinDMN.
Hidden gems
TODD ROBINSONof the Allen Americans ranks 20th all-time in scoring in minor league hockey history, according to HockeyDB.com. He is one of only 10 players on that list who have never played a game in the NHL. Here's that list:
Player , Years , G , A , Pts
Dick Roberge , 1954-1972 , 756 , 984 , 1,740
Art Jones , 1957-1976 , 589 , 1,029 , 1,618
Hugo Belanger , 1993-2008 , 518 , 949 , 1,467
Jason Firth , 1991-2005 , 449 , 921 , 1,370
Robin Bouchard , 1994-2010 , 687 , 674 , 1,361
Kevin Kerr , 1987-2005 , 667 , 644 , 1,321
Len Thorson , 1952-1969 , 556 , 855 , 1,311
Don Parsons , 1991-2009 , 682 , 627 , 1,309
Todd Robinson , 1999-2013 , 321 , 916 , 1,237
Trevor Jobe , 1988-2005 , 576 , 589 , 1,165


text:
Evaluation of Adding Small Amounts of Oxygen to the CO2 Pneumoperitoneum Upon Pain and Inflammation
This study has been completed.
University Hospital, Gasthuisberg
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
Jasper Verguts, University Hospital, Gasthuisberg
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: May 8, 2008
Last updated: October 25, 2011
Last verified: October 2011
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Show Detailed Description
The study intends to investigate the use of a novel gaz-composition used during laparoscopy upon pain and inflammation in the post-operative period.
|Pain Inflammation
|Procedure: addition of 4% oxygen Procedure: carbon dioxde
|Phase 3
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double (Participant, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary Purpose: Prevention
|Official Title:
|Evaluation of Adding Small Amounts of Oxygen to the CO2 Pneumoperitoneum Upon Pain and Inflammation
Resource links provided by NLM:
MedlinePlus related topics: Oxygen Therapy
Drug Information available for: Carbon dioxideU.S. FDA Resources
Further study details as provided by Jasper Verguts, University Hospital, Gasthuisberg:
Primary Outcome Measures:
- to check if the post-operative pain and inflammatory reaction after laparoscopy decreases when CO2 with the addition of 4% of oxygen is used instead of pure CO2 [ Time Frame: 1 week ]
Secondary Outcome Measures:
- the effects on CO2 resorbtion, pain and inflammation by co-variables: body mass index, length of surgery, painkiller intake and pain before surgery as defined by the Biberoglu and Behrman scale [ Time Frame: 1 week ]
|Estimated Enrollment:
|Study Start Date:
|May 2008
|Study Completion Date:
|August 2010
|Primary Completion Date:
|August 2010 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
|Assigned Interventions
Experimental: 1
addition of 4% oxygen to the carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum
Procedure: addition of 4% oxygen
addition of 4% oxygen to the carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum
Active Comparator: 2
pure carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum
Procedure: carbon dioxde
classic pneumoperitoneum with 100 % carbon dioxide
Show Detailed Description
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Senior)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- The subject has signed a written informed consent to participate in the study and has agreed to follow instructions and complete all required questionnaires
- Females, 18 years of age or older
- She has to undergo a planned laparoscopy for mentioned indications with a duration that exceeds 60 minutes
Exclusion Criteria:
- Pregnancy
- Immunodeficiency
- Refuse or unable to sign informed consent
- Chronic diseases (i.e. COPD, Crohn, cardiac…)
- Mental diseases
Contacts and Locations
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below. For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00678366
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00678366
|UZ Leuven, campus gasthuisberg
|Leuven, Vlaams Brabant, Belgium, 3000
Sponsors and Collaborators
University Hospital, Gasthuisberg
|Principal Investigator:
|Philippe Koninckx, MD, PhD
|UZ Leuven, campus Gasthuisberg
More Information
Keywords provided by Jasper Verguts, University Hospital, Gasthuisberg:
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017
|Responsible Party:
|Jasper Verguts, MD, PhD, University Hospital, Gasthuisberg
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00678366 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|May 8, 2008
|Last Updated:
|October 25, 2011
Keywords provided by Jasper Verguts, University Hospital, Gasthuisberg:
carbon dioxide
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Pathologic Processes
Peritoneal Diseases
Digestive System Diseases
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017


text:
Cal Crutchlow will start from pole position for the second race in a row at the Ricardo Tormo circuit ahead of Carlos Checa, Max Biaggi and Leon Haslam.
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Cal Crutchlow has taken his second consecutive World Superbike pole position in Valencia after successfully defying pre-Superpole predictions to out pace Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi.
The Sterilgarda Yamaha rider was only 15th quickest heading into Superpole, but he cruised through the two knockout phases before his one and only fast lap of 1min 33.615secs during the shootout kept his rivals at bay by a comfortable margin.
Indeed, while it still fell four tenths short of Ben Spies' lap record, set last season, Crutchlow remained two tenths faster than Checa, the man many had tipped as the one to beat heading into Superpole.
With Checa setting the pace in Q1 and Biaggi following suit in Q2, their presence in second and third was less of a surprise than Crutchlow's pole position, the Briton having barely troubled the top ten in the run up to Superpole.
However, with thousandths, rather than tenths, being used to separate the riders, many would be forced to use up their quota of qualifying tyres in an attempt to reach the final phase making predicting the grid order difficult throughout.
Behind the top three, championship leader Leon Haslam endured a somewhat stressful session after only squeezing into S3 with a last gasp lap.
Things were made all the more confusing when the timing screens didn't update and originally showed Haslam as having failed to qualify.
Nonetheless, the error would soon be remedied and when the timesheets did refresh it left some surprise names out of the running, including James Toseland in ninth - having missed out by just one thousandth of a second -, Michel Fabrizio tenth and Noriyuki Haga in 11th.
Instead, Troy Corser delivered BMW their best-ever qualifying position in fifth, while Sylvain Guintoli in sixth represented a surprising upturn in form after a fairly quiet weekend thus far. Jonathan Rea and Lorenzo Lanzi, who fell in the final session, would make up the rest of the shootout participants but would end up seventh and eighth.
Elsewhere, Shane Byrne and Jakub Smrz - third and fourth heading into Superpole - were a disappointing 12th and 14th respectively, while Leon Camier's vow to improve his qualifying performances fell flat in 13th.
Luca Scassa will start 15th on the privateer Supersonic Ducati, ahead of Max Neukirchner, who was left 16th when his Ten Kate Honda expired in spectacular fashion down the home straight.
Prior to SP2, Ruben Xaus was another to be eliminated by a mere thousandth of a second in 17th, with Tom Sykes and Andrew Pitt 18th and 19th, while Sheridan Morais was 20th after failing to set a time when he crashed.