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You'll Never Guess Who Walked In!
By Pat Lee Shipman
Ardi redefines the branch between apes and hominins
Ardi redefines the branch between apes and hominins
The best thing about paleontology is the surprises.
No matter how carefully you have analyzed the fossils, no matter how insightful your understanding of the links between anatomical form and function, Mother Nature always comes up with something totally unpredicted.
Surprises certainly have been sprung by, and on, the international team of paleoanthropologists and paleontologists that looks for fossils in the remote Aramis region of Ethiopia where the Afar people live. The team is co-led by Berhane Asfaw of the Rift Valley Research Service in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Yonas Beyene of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture in Ethiopia;the late J. Desmond Clark, formerly of the University of California, Berkeley; Giday Woldegabriel of the Los Alamos National Laboratory; and Tim White of the University of California, Berkeley. With a nice touch of delicacy, White refers to Clark as "inspiring but no longer making decisions" about the project.
On October 2, 2009, the team published in Science their analyses of a hominin (member of the human lineage) called Ardipithecus ramidus. The best representative of the species is a partial female skeleton nicknamed Ardi; she is 4.4 million years old and is certainly astonishing and noteworthy. There are parts of at least 35 other individuals in the collection, in addition to thousands of specimens of plants, invertebrates, fish and assorted nonprimate mammals from the same location.
Ardi is the oldest partial skeleton in the hominin lineage at present, but she doesn't represent a new species. Ardipithecus ramidus has been known since the first research paper about it was published in Nature in 1994 under what might be considered an "alias": Australopithecus ramidus.
The naming of Ardi has had some singular twists and turns. The genus into which the type specimen of Ardipithecus was initially classified was Australopithecus, meaning "southern ape," a term created in 1925 by Raymond Dart to accommodate a face, jaw and endocast (a natural cast of the braincase) of a young juvenile hominin found in South Africa. The "Taung baby," as it was nicknamed, was the oldest (about 2.5 million years) and first member of the human lineage to be found in Africa at that point. Skepticism from the scientific establishment at the time of discovery was rife. The hoaxed Piltdown skull, with its large brain (variously estimated between 1,000 and 1,500 cubic centimeters) and seeming antiquity, had been announced in 1911–12 and was still believed to be genuine. Thus the small brain (about 340 cubic centimeters) of the Taung baby was so unexpected that many anthropologists dismissed the fossil as merely an immature, if ancient, ape. Surely our large brain was a fundamental human characteristic extending back to the beginning of our lineage! "Surely"—but not in fact.
More than 25 years passed before the anthropological community realized what Dart had recognized from his fossil: Our ancestors had humanlike teeth long before they had a large, humanlike brain. Instead of brain size being the fundamental adaptation that separated our earliest ancestors from the apes, it was our teeth and, later discoveries showed, our bipedal locomotion. How surprising—and disappointing to those who had prided themselves on their big brains.
Since 1925, many different species of Australopithecus have been described and named, including Australopithecus afarensis, the species to which the famous partial skeleton Lucy belongs. All are bipedal hominins, although not necessarily directly ancestral to modern humans. Some apparently ate fruit, whereas others had a more fibrous diet. Some were larger, some smaller, and most species showed a striking difference in body size between males and females (a trait called sexual dimorphism). Some probably made stone tools. They lived in both East and South Africa and may have been more widely spread across the continent between 4.2 and 1.2 million years ago.
When Tim White, Gen Suwa of Tokyo University, and Berhane Asfaw described the fossils now known as Ardipithecus ramidus in 1994, they classified the new specimens as Australopithecus. Because the specimens showed some unusual features that differed from other hominins, they defined a new species, Au. ramidus, derived from the Afar word ramid, meaning root.
In all biological sciences, naming a new species requires that the scientists fully describe the specimens anatomically and then provide a diagnosis, stating clearly in what ways the type specimen (the object to which the name is formally attached) differs from other known species. At the time, all they had were teeth and jaws, two cranial fragments and a few arm bones—but these pieces were enough to indicate that these 4.4 million-year-old remains were something new. Au. ramidus had small canine teeth, like hominins and unlike apes. Small canine teeth that don't project below (or above) the rest of the tooth row are a key feature separating apes from hominins. Relative to the cheek teeth, the canines of Au. ramidus were still large but were not projecting. Tellingly, the first milk molar—the tooth that falls out in humans at about age five—was small, narrow and very similar to that of a chimpanzee.
At the end of the paper, the team made a quiet pronouncement that raised a few eyebrows:
We have taken a conservative position here regarding the placement of …[these] fossils at the family and genus levels. The major anatomical/behavioural threshold between known great apes and the Hominidae is widely recognized to be bipedality and its anatomical correlates…. The anticipated recovery at Aramis of additional postcranial remains, particularly those of the lower limb and hip, may result in reassessment of these fossils at the genus and family level.
All taxonomic assessments are subject to revision if new specimens show features not previously known, so why include such a statement at all? I think that the authors had named a new species—only a new species, not a new genus—because they had limited material, none of which answered the crucial question: How did this creature move? Depending on what the rest of this fossil creature looked like, they anticipated that they might need to shift ramidus onto the ape branch of the evolutionary tree (even though the teeth looked homininlike) or—if its pelvis and legs showed evidence of two-legged locomotion—into a new hominin genus. Perhaps they had one of those nonscientific hunches that the postcranial bones would be downright surprising.
In less than nine months' time, an extraordinary but brief corrigendum appeared in Nature, written by the same authors. The name of the fossils was revised from Australopithecus ramidus to Ardipithecus ramidus (abbreviated as Ar. ramidus to prevent confusion). The new generic name, Ardipithecus, comes from the word for "ground" or "floor" in Afar. I know of no other instance in which the naming of a new genus has been published as a correction to a previous paper. More commonly, a new genus is named as part of a detailed reanalysis of already-known material and/or with a thorough description of additional, new fossils. That was not the case here.
The major distinction between Australopithecus and Ardipithecus mentioned in the corrigendum is that the dentition of the new genus is less dominated by large cheek teeth than the former. The implied explanation for the need to revise the name at all was a bald statement that a partial skeleton, including a jaw full of teeth and many postcranial bones, had been found 50 meters from the type specimen and at the same stratigraphic level. "Analysis of this specimen has begun," the authors deadpanned, "and will provide further features with which to characterize Ardipithecus."
The paleoanthropological community buzzed with excitement at this revision. First of all, the note was slipped into a major scientific journal in an unusual way. Second, the paper was as clever a way of saying "We've just found something amazing—wait until we tell you!" as anyone could imagine.
For nearly 15 years, the Aramis team held their peace and worked fervently on analyzing and understanding their new specimens, which continued to pile up. The most spectacular was the partial skeleton of Ardi. About the only comment made in public about the locomotion of Ardipithecus was a quip made by Tim White at a conference, "If you wanted to find something that moved like these things, you'd have to go to the bar scene in Star Wars."
In October 2009, the team published their work in yet another unconventional way. They took over most of an issue of Science with 11 papers (more than 50 published pages of text and figures) written by 47 coauthors on Ardipithecus' anatomy, inferred behavior, geology, dating, associated animals, plants and invertebrates, and preservation. At least as many pages of additional information appeared only in the supporting online material.
The decision to put all of this work into an issue of Science was influenced by a concern to make the facts accessible. Says White, "With the click of a mouse, Science makes available—to anybody with an Internet connection—a massive amount of material and data. This is effectively monographic treatment, for free, now." A conventional monograph is planned for the future.
In a very real sense, the biggest surprise of all was what Ardipithecus ramidus was like. It was like nothing ever seen before.
Ardipithecus may not be the elusive last common ancestor of chimps and humans, but it is far and away the best known of the oldest species. Another species in the genus, Ar. kadabba, lived at least 5.8 million years ago. Together, these new materials give us stunning insights into what the last common ancestor was like.
Practically every paleoanthropologist in the world has drawn a large Y on the blackboard for a class, labeling the lefthand branch "chimpanzees" and the righthand one "modern humans," and putting an X on the stem just below the divergence and labeling it "last common ancestor." Based on genetic distances between chimps and humans, that last common ancestor probably lived 6 to 7 million years ago.
One of the key points Ardipithecus has revealed is how our thinking has been influenced by the very shape of this common Y diagram. Because we humans have foolishly thought of chimpanzees and other apes as primitive, we have been misled into thinking that the last common ancestor would somehow be a sort of half-chimp and half-human. Some even fell into the trap of thinking that the last common ancestor was basically a chimp, forgetting that chimpanzees have had as long to evolve since that ancestor as we have. (Students who are a bit confused on this point are always asking, "But if we are descended from the apes, why aren't there new humans walking out of the jungle today?")
"We have seen the ancestor," says Tim White succinctly, "and it is not a chimpanzee."
The ancestor also was not Lucy. As the best-known specimen of Australopithecus afarensis—a species that lived between 3.6 and 2.9 million years ago—Lucy became iconic of early hominins. Lucy was an especially petite and diminutive female, standing about 1.1 meters tall, weighing about 29 kilograms, with a reconstructed braincase of about 380 cubic centimeters. When she was discovered in 1974, she seemed incredibly primitive and apelike, so the notion took root in many people's minds that our earliest ancestors ought to be small, like Lucy.
In contrast, Ardi is surprisingly large, which would have had a profound impact on her ecological niche. She stood perhaps 1.2 meters tall, weighed a hefty 50 kilograms, and had a brain size similar to Lucy's, variously estimated between 300 and 350 cubic centimeters. She was no chimpanzee, but she was within the same size range (both bodily and brainily) as modern chimpanzees and bonobos.
Like a chimp, Ardi had long arms, but her fingers were only moderate in length, and her thumbs were intermediate between a chimpanzee's relatively short thumbs and humans' relatively long thumbs. Like a chimp, she had a divergent big toe and long toes that could be used to grasp tree branches during climbing.
The arboreal part of Ardi's locomotion probably closely resembled that of Proconsul, an 18-million-year-old African genus. Proconsul was not a hominin but a primitive or ancestral ape near the divergence between the monkey lineage and the lineage of apes plus humans, and probably an early ancestor of Ardipithecus.
Like Ardi, both Proconsul heseloni and a larger species P. nyanzae are known from several partial skeletons. Both had grasping hands and feet, and fore- and hindlimbs roughly equal in length, features that are very important for an animal that moves quadrupedally in trees. Proconsul did not have any strong adaptations for jumping or leaping, so these animals probably moved slowly in the trees.
Two big differences between Proconsul and Ardi are body size and sexual dimorphism. P. heseloni females weighed about 8 kilograms, with males as heavy as 10.5 kilograms; P. nyanzae ranged from 27 kilograms for females to 40.5 kilograms for males. In contrast, Ardipithecus was larger, about 50 kilograms, with little apparent male-female difference in body size. Both Proconsul species and Ardi show many adaptations for slow clambering and quadrupedal locomotion in the trees, and none for knuckle-walking or brachiating. Proconsul is much older but gives clues about the anatomy from which something like Ardipithecus probably evolved.
Another striking resemblance between Proconsul and Ardipithecus lies in their preservation. Experiments feeding baboon carcasses to cheetahs carried out by C. K. "Bob" Brain, now retired from the Transvaal Museum in South Africa, showed that cheetahs leave a very particular pattern of bones uneaten. Cheetahs leave behind exactly those parts of the skeleton preserved in the Proconsul skeleton—teeth, cranial fragments, arms complete to the hands and legs complete to the feet—because cheetahs' relatively weak jaws cannot break into the stronger and denser bones. Vertebrae, ribs and pelvises are almost completely destroyed. On this basis, Alan Walker of Pennsylvania State University suggested that the Proconsul partial skeletons had been eaten by an extinct carnivore analogous to the living cheetah.
The partial skeleton of Ardi shows the same pattern of preservation seen in cheetah kills and in Proconsul skeletons. Were there cheetahs in Aramis 4.4 million years ago? Not as far as anyone knows. But there were several catlike carnivores in ancient Aramis, including Dinofelis, which is an excellent candidate for Ardi's killer.
Dinofelis is a false sabertoothed cat (its canines were flattened and only moderately long compared to those of true sabertooths) that lived between 5 million and 1.5 million years ago, probably in woodland habitats such as those where Ardipithecus lived. Dinofelis weighed two to three times more than a cheetah, yet its jaws were relatively weak because of the huge gape needed to use its elongated canines effectively. Also, Ardipithecus is about twice as large as a baboon and would have had more substantial bones. Though the research team concluded that most of the hominins and other animals they found were ravaged by hyenas after death, perhaps Ardi herself was attacked by a different carnivore, which accounts for her excellent preservation.
If Ardi was living in woodlands, weighed about as much as a chimp, was about as tall as a chimp, and had arms and legs and hands and feet like a chimp's, why was she not a chimpanzee? Let me count the ways.
First, she doesn't have apelike teeth. She has humanlike teeth, with small canines that barely project beyond the level of the tooth row.
Second, her dental proportions are wrong. In chimps, the front teeth—incisors and canines—dominate the dentition; in humans, the opposite is true. Ardi's teeth lie somewhere in the middle of the two.
Third, the Ardipithecus remains known so far indicate that there is little sexual dimorphism in the species in canine or body size. This is one of the oddest features about Ardipithecus. Strong sexual dimorphism is common among living Old World monkeys and apes, among fossil primates older than Ardipithecus (such as Proconsul), and among hominins in the genus Australopithecus that are more recent than Ardi. If something Proconsul-like evolved into Ardi, and later into Australopithecus, sexual dimorphism was first lost and then regained.
Fourth, although her arms and fingers are long like a chimp's, Ardi's wrists and hands have no adaptations for brachiating branch to branch like a young chimpanzee or for knuckle-walking on the ground like an adult chimp. Ardi walked quadrupedally in the trees, placing her hands palm-down on branches and grasping with her big toes. Because she was relatively large, Ardi was probably a slow and careful climber on large branches much of the time.
Then there is the most surprising and unchimplike feature of all. According to team member C. Owen Lovejoy of Kent State University, Ardi had a pelvis like no other primate known to science. The upper part of the pelvis in humans forms a large bowl—consisting of the short, curving iliac blades—that cradles the viscera. In a chimp, the flat, long and narrow iliac blades lie behind (or dorsal to) the viscera. In humans, muscles attached to the broad iliac blades balance the body weight over a single pivot leg during bipedal walking. These muscles are differently aligned in apes and cannot serve this function, which is why chimps stagger from side to side when they walk bipedally. Ardi's upper pelvis was a primary adaptation to bipedal walking on the ground, much closer in shape to Lucy's pelvis than to a chimp's. Paradoxically, the lower part of Ardi's pelvis is very apelike, which is important in climbing vertical trunks with long arms wrapped around the trunk, like an ape or a telephone lineman.
"Ardi isn't a transitional biped," says Lovejoy. "She's a biped from a species that's going to keep its grasping toe and climbing thigh musculature, thank you very much." He views Ardi's locomotion and anatomy as mosaics of those in living species.
Ardi was clearly not chimp, nor Lucy nor human. Paleoartist Jay Matternes reconstructed her as having fur everywhere but on the center of her face, which protruded more than expected for a hominin. The fur, the long arms and the divergent big toe give Ardi the gestalt of an odd chimp, but that bipedal gait transforms Ardi back into a hominin.
The lasting messages from this tour-de-force analysis are complex, but the most important lesson of all is simple. Studying the behavior and anatomy of living animals provides us with an understanding of how anatomy links form and function. Genetic comparisons reveal the branching patterns that occurred in evolution and how one living species is related to another. Only the fossils really show us the past.
Click "American Scientist" to access home page


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Direct contact for Lindab products and system in your country (local languages).
The silent duct type SDO consists of an outer pipe, a perforated inner pipe, a lining to prevent fibers from polluting the air, two special end plates and an intermediate sound-absorbing material 25 mm or 50 mm thick.A narrower, but longer silencer compensates for the reduced thickness of insulation compared with traditional silencers that have thicker insulation. In certain cases it can be an advantage to use the length of the duct system instead of the width to achieve the desired attenuating effect. This is the idea behind Silent Duct.Silent Duct is especially suited for buildings with visible ducts. Where the duct system and the silencers are visible and form part of the room, the SDO is a perfect choice. By connecting the duct on the outer diameter of the Silent Duct you can ensure uniform dimensions of the duct system, and thus achieve a harmonious appearance within the room.SDO is also very well suited when it comes to efficient attenuation of noise from room to room.SDO is available in dimensions from ødy=160 to ødy=630 (outer diameter) and in standard lengths of 3 m and 6 m.
Tested according to ISO 7235 standard.
Special materials and sizes, please contact Lindab sales.
CADvent Enabler is a software that allows users to open dwg drawing files, created with CADvent in AutoCAD.
Based on the specified requirements DIMsilencer provides quick, professional sound calculation as well as simple product selection combined with a high degree of user-friendliness.

subset: commoncrawl


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COPENHAGEN/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Scandinavian airline SAS (SAS.ST) on Monday sought a deal with the last union opposing its plans for severe cost cuts aimed at avoiding bankruptcy and securing the airline's long-term future.
SAS, half owned by the governments of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, said it had secured a deal with seven of eight unions on wage cuts, working schedule changes and pensions and had only the cabin crew union of Denmark to go.
The airline, hit by competition from lower-price rivals, last week announced plans to cut some salaries by up to 17 percent and lower overall staff to about 9,000 from 15,000 as it shrinks its business. That prompted media speculation SAS faced bankruptcy if it failed to get unions to agree to the cuts.
But even if a deal is reached, analysts have questioned whether the airline can survive on its own in the long term as it faces competition from Ryanair (RYA.I) and regional rival Norwegian Air Shuttle (NWC.OL), both of which have lower operating costs.
"We have successfully negotiated seven of eight collective (union) agreements, which is gratifying," SAS Chief Executive Rickard Gustafson told journalists during talks with unions at the main airport in the Danish capital Copenhagen.
"But there remains one union and we must have it on board too. That is a condition for carrying out our plan."
The airline needs to get agreement from all eight unions as a condition of a 3.5 billion Swedish crown ($515 million) loan from the governments and six banks.
Progress in the talks sent SAS shares soaring.
By 1024 GMT, the stock was up 25 percent at 6.95 Swedish crowns. Since the start of 2011, the stock has lost 69 percent of its value to be worth under 2 billion Swedish crowns.
Gustafson said management aimed to conclude negotiations as soon as possible.
Although the airline had set a deadline of Sunday for an agreement, talks continued all night and into Monday.
SAS has reached deals with unions for pilots from Norway, Denmark and Sweden plus unions for cabin staff in Sweden and Norway.
"It has been a very gruelling process," said Espen Pettersen, deputy leader of the main Norwegian cabin union.
"We have made big concessions in this agreement. We are not very happy, but we felt we had no other choice but to sign to secure the jobs and the company," he added.
Raising fears of a possible bankruptcy, SAS told crews on Sunday to ensure airplanes were fully fuelled to be able to return home if needed.
The airline was also giving cash to flying staff to ensure they could get access to hotels.
SAS has declined to say how long its cash would last if it failed to secure a loan.
The airline aims to reduce costs by about 3 billion Swedish crowns ($441.05 million) a year. In January-September it had combined payroll and other operating costs of about 30 billion crowns.
Asset sales would strengthen the balance sheet another by 3 billion crowns.
Reporting by Johan Ahlander, Anna Ringstrom; additional reporting by Niklas Pollard in Stockholm, Victoria Klesty in Oslo and Mette Fraende in Copenhagen; writing by Patrick Lannin and Niklas Pollard; Editing by Erica Billingham


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Young Startup Summly to get Acquired by Yahoo
Young Startup Summly to get Acquired by Yahoo
Barely a week after Yahoo is said to be acquiring Dailymotion, Yahoo has announced that it will be acquiring Summly for an estimated US$30 million in cash (90%) and stocks (10%). Summly is an iPhone-only app that delivers summarized news in bite-sized proportions for easy consumption. The company that makes the app is mobile oriented and based in London. It was founded two years ago by young entrepreneur Nick A'Aloisio when he was 15 years-old.
According to an analysis by All Things D, the acquisition is part of an ongoing plan to get consumers to see Yahoo as a mobile-first company. The real target however, is said to be Summly's young founder who, according to a person close to the situation, "will make Mayer and Yahoo look cutting edge."
Yahoo hasn't released any additional details, but some sources from All Things D said that D'Aloisio will continue to work from London, and will be under a contract to stay at Yahoo for at least 18 months after the acquisition. Sadly though, the Summly app itself, which has less than a million users and no monetization plan, will be killed off once the acquisition goes through.
Source: Yahoo Corporate Blog, via All Things D


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Dec. 6, 2012 — Widely used UV nail lamps are highly unlikely to cause skin cancer, even if used weekly for 250 years, a new study suggests.
The finding contradicts the feeling of many dermatologists that the devices are as harmful as tanning beds. That feeling is largely based on a 2009 report of skin cancer on the hands of two women with no other obvious skin-cancer risks.
But the new study actually measured radiation from typical nail lamps. The measurements then were used to calculate nail lamps' "carcinogenic effectiveness" by the same method used to establish the safety of medical devices.
"Nail lamps are safe for over 250 years of weekly manicures, and even then there would be a low risk of skin cancer," says study researcher Alina Markova, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital. "Not 'no risk,' but 'low risk.'"
Emory University dermatologist Jamie MacKelfresh, MD, praises the Markova study for its scientific approach.
"This makes me rethink the issue of nail lamp safety," MacKelfresh says. "I'm not ready to say these devices are safe — we dermatologists want people to avoid UV radiation as much as possible — but this seems to be low risk, especially if used infrequently."
Nail Lamps' UV Radiation
The study looked at three models of UV nail lamps similar to about 90% of the hundreds of such products available for salon and home use:
- Device A, with four 9-watt UV fluorescent bulbs.
- Device B, with one 9-watt UV fluorescent bulb.
- Device C, with six 1-watt LED lights.
Markova and colleague Martin A. Weinstock, MD, professor of dermatology at Brown University, measured the radiation from a 10-minute session under the lamps, which is more than people typically get in a nail salon.
They compared the cancer-causing potential of each device to a course of treatment with the FDA-approved UV phototherapy devices commonly used by dermatologists. These treatments carry a low cancer risk.
"Over 13,000 Device A or B and more than 40,000 Device C sessions lasting for 10 minutes would be required to be received at the nail salon to equal the UV dose received during one [phototherapy] course," Markova and Weinstock calculate.
Gel nails, which usually must be set under a UV nail lamp, require three 3-minute exposures per salon visit. That's much longer than the typical time normal nail polish takes to dry under the lamps.
In the 2009 report linking two women's skin cancers to nail lamps, researchers calculated that nail lamps expose people to as much radiation as tanning beds. But Markova says that study used the wrong method to calculate actual radiation exposure from the lamps.
She also notes that a 2010 industry study defending nail lamps used "incorrect" methods.
MacKelfresh says she's "impressed by the science" behind the Markova study.
"This at least opens the door to talking about the level of risk these units give to a person," she says. "It seems to put some science behind the claim that the dose of UV radiation you are receiving is quite low. But I'd like to see more research down the line."
The Markova study appears in an advance online publication by the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.


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To thwart those hoping to call me a hypocrite, I'll cut straight to the chase. Matt Lentzner, in his most recent Baseball ProGUESTus column, wastes several hundred words and a whole article to express what I can do in 26: Sample size is important; please include it. And wouldn't it be cool to have the sample size this stat stabilizes at (according to Pizza Cutter), too?
Wait, I know I can do better. sample size rulez. context iz cool 2. That's seven words and only 38 characters, leaving plenty of room for sweet hashtags, #imisspizzacutter. If this is your topic for a column on likely the biggest stage in sabermetrics, just sit on it and try for something more interesting and original.
As always, the BP commenters were right on point. skyojohnny chimed in first:
This is one of the most important articles I have ever read in BP and I bet that it will also be one of the most overlooked.
By the way, it's bad enough BP couldn't come up anything more clever than "Proguestus" for their guest writers' column. That has to be literally the first idea they came up with. To spend time brainstorming names and ending up with something so banal would make me sad. But to capitalize the "guest" is insulting. Because I'm so dumb, I wouldn't get it otherwise. Thanks, guys.


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History of the bow tie
The origin of bow ties is just like the regular necktie with inspiration from the Croatian mercenaries in the French army during the Thirty Year's War. Unlike the tie, the bow tie became more formal than military in its usage.
The reason for this is clearly Pierre Lorillard, who helped create the bow tie's formal statue with his "Black Tie" events, where the dress code demanded men to wear a black bow tie.
The bow tie has become a more regular feature in the everyday wear and can give more style and personality to a casual look, without looking like James Bond entering a casino. You don't have to be restricted to only a black bow tie like at Lorillard's parties, but try using a striped or pattern bow tie to avoid the more formal look.
Bow ties come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but the most common shapes are pointed, batwing or hourglass. Most people use a pre-tied bow tie, because they are scared of a self-tie bow tie. Some people think it's only acceptable to wear self-tied bow tie, but as long as it looks good, we don't care if it's a pre-tied bow tie.
If you want to learn how to tie your own bow tie, you can see how to tie it here.


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North American Monsoon
Not to be confused with its counterpart in India, the North American Monsoon is a vitally important source of rain during the summer season over many areas of the Desert Southwest, the central and southern Rockies and portions of western southern Plains.
The North American Monsoon is the main reason for the very busy pattern of late day and evening thunderstorm activity that usually develops in late June, July and August across the southwestern United States and into the Rockies. Sometimes, the impacts of the North American Monsoon can extend all the way into September. The intensity of the North American Monsoon can make or break it for cattle producers in some portions of the west. The very heavy and sometimes frequent rains from the North American Monsoon can bring the type of rainfall amounts that can refresh rangeland conditions in a matter of weeks.
What drives the North American Monsoon? Simply put it is the heat of summer and the complex terrain of Mexico and the western United States. During the development of the North American Monsoon, there is a shift in wind patterns in early summer which occurs as Mexico and the southwest U.S. become very warm under intense solar heating during June and July. The deserts get hot and dry and this causes a natural area of low pressure to form over Mexico and the Desert Southwest. Air naturally moves from high pressure to low pressure. High pressure is located over the eastern Pacific to the west of Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico to the east. Therefore, air over the oceans (high pressure) begins to move to the land (low pressure) during the heat of summer. The prevailing winds start to flow from moist ocean areas into dry land areas. This is illustrated in the graphic below.
With higher humidity air over the landmasses, the combination of daytime heating along with the natural lift of air along the slopes of the mountainous terrain makes it very easy for thunderstorms to form in the moisture rich air mass that is overhead during the North American Monsoon. The end result is heavy rain producing thunderstorms.
The monsoon begins in late May to early June in southern Mexico and quickly spreads along the western slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental, reaching Arizona and New Mexico in early July. If upper level wind conditions are favorable, the monsoon will spread north into Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and the Four Corners region. Sometimes the monsoon moisture will enhance rains as far north as Montana and South Dakota and as far east as western Nebraska and western Kansas.
Tropical storm or hurricane activity moving in from the Pacific from the west or from the Gulf of Mexico to the east can also enhance the North American Monsoon by feeding even more moisture into Mexico.
Monsoons play a vital role in managing wildfire threat by providing moisture at higher elevations. With the wildfire season already going strong in New Mexico and Colorado this season, a strong North American Monsoon season will be critical to aid fire-fighting.
Flash flooding is a serious danger during the monsoon season. Dry washes can become raging rivers in an instant, even when no storms are visible as a storm can cause a flash flood tens of miles away. In fact, of the biggest and deadliest flash floods in the west happen during the North American Monsoon. The Big Thompson Flood in Colorado on July 31, 1976, the Cheyenne, Wyo., flood of Aug. 1, 1985 and the Fort Collins, Colo., flood of July 28, 1997 are good examples.
In addition to the very moist air that feeds the thunderstorms during the monsoon season, the jet stream winds aloft are very weak. Weak winds aloft mean that the thunderstorms will move very slowly or even stall over an area, leading to possible flash flooding.
All indications suggest that the North American Monsoon is going to be kicking into gear over the next two weeks. Badly needed rainfall will be possible in the Desert Southwest, New Mexico and into portions of Colorado during the first two weeks of July.


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WASHINGTON - The Pentagon says that shortly after two U.S. soldiers were gunned down by two men wearing Afghan army uniforms in eastern Afghanistan, Taliban insurgents attacked the district center where the Americans had been operating.
The Pentagon identified the soldiers as 22-year-old Spc. John A. Pelham of Portland, Ore., and 41-year-old Sgt. 1st Class Roberto C. Skelt of York, Fla.
The scenario as described Friday by a Pentagon spokesman, Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, appeared to leave open the possibility that the machine-gun attack that killed the two Army Special Forces soldiers Wednesday was coordinated with the Taliban.
Kirby said he would not speculate on whether the two events were connected. The matter is being investigated jointly by American and Afghan officials.
Pelham's father, Wendall Pelham of Beaverton, Ore., told KGW-TV in Portland that his son was an intelligence analyst on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan.
The younger Pelham was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, N.C.


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In February, Sean ("Chone") Smith applied his TotalZone defensive metric to the last few years of minor league data. The resulting numbers confirmed some opinions, questioned some conventional wisdom, and helped us better understand the relationship between fielding at various levels of professional baseball. Sean or I will probably go further in depth when the 2009 season is in the books, but while we wait, we've run TZ for the full-season minors through games of July 31. Read on for some of the highlights. … Notable to my eye, though with extra sample-size caveats, is Gordon Beckham (yes, at shortstop), who comes in at +6 in very limited time at the position. It's encouraging to see him there, since my own college fielding algorithm rated Beckham one of the best defenders in the college game in 2007-08. And—lookee here!—just above Beckham on the 2007-08 college list is…Brandon Crawford! For all the warnings we have to throw around with defensive stats, it's great to see different systems supporting each other.
For more players go to minorleaguesplits.com. Here's Tyler Flowers ; Click "Defense." And Jordan Danks. And Dayan Viciedo. And Jared Mitchell.


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Jamie, I'm sorry for all the things i said to you in the past. I've met you now and i can see that you are truley awsome. I've been blind. forgive me.
this face looks like me. As ass for being so wrong.
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Pac-12 M5: 11.07.13 EditionPosted by Connor Pelton (@ConnorPelton28) on November 7th, 2013
- Big news out of Eugene broke late Tuesday when Campus Insiders reported that two Oregon starters, Dominic Artis and Ben Carter, were suspended by the NCAA for selling team shoes provided to them by the university. The pair could miss anywhere from nine to 12 games for the self-reported violation, but expect the final decision to be nine since former Duck Willie Moore (who was also caught selling his custom Nike shoes along with former players Carlos Emory and Fred Richardson), was benched for Miami's (OH) first nine games by the NCAA last night. Looking ahead, that means the point guard and center will be out for notable neutral site games against Georgetown and Illinois, a home meeting with San Francisco, and a road game at Mississippi. Oregon learned of the violation in early October, at which time both it and the NCAA began investigating. Both players will have to pay back the money made from selling the shoes to a charity, with a payment plan set up to ease the process. Senior Johnathan Loyd will take over at the one while Artis is out, and while you never want to lose a player of his caliber, Loyd gained valuable experience last winter when Artis missed significant time with a foot injury. Carter's absence could be much more problematic as head coach Dana Altman loses a capable scorer who balances out the team on the offensive end of the floor.
- Things didn't go much better down the road in Corvallis on Tuesday night either. Oregon State trailed NAIA opponent Concordia by eight with 16 minutes remaining before the Beavers finally began to rebound and convert offensively. Oregon State ended up pulling ahead to win the game, 104-94, but neither team left Gill Coliseum feeling great after a sloppy, foul-filled final five and a half minutes that uglied up the game.
- The biggest surprise in Arizona's lone exhibition game, an 84-52 victory over Augustana, was sophomore Gabe York's 14-point outburst. York only played 5.8 MPG during his freshman season, so a year spent observing and gaining weight has given Sean Miller another viable option in the backcourt. York will see most of his action when the Cats go big, which will open up the perimeter for him to find shots. He is now a confident and reliable shooter who could play big minutes for the Cats late in games. Arizona enters the season ranked sixth in the AP and fifth in the USA Today polls. It opens the season Friday against Cal Poly at the McKale Center.
- USC unveiled its two new basketball mascots yesterday, and they are, um, interesting. Tommy, the new men's mascot, appears to be an updated version of a Trojan from biblical times. And Traveler, the women's version, looks like a fictitious horse-like animal created by PBS. We'll see how Trojan fans react at the team's home opener next week, but it doesn't sound like the reaction will be great.
- Last week Drew dominated our weekly pick'em contest, sweeping the four games against my 2-2 record. That puts me at 54-14 on the season, with Drew one game back at a 53-15 clip. This week we come to you on a Thursday morning since the national game of the week will be played tonight on the Farm, pitting undefeated and third-ranked Oregon against a one-loss Stanford team that still has a shot at the North division title. Elsewhere around the league, UCLA visits Arizona in a pivotal South division game, and Arizona State travels to Utah. Our picks are below, with a score provided for Oregon-Stanford.
Game Connor's Pick Drew's Pick Oregon at Stanford Oregon 41, Stanford 38 Oregon 38, Stanford 20 USC at California USC USC Arizona State at Utah Arizona State Utah Colorado at Washington Washington Washington UCLA at Arizona Arizona UCLA


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Valletta – One city, two faces
German students go to Malta to tan, swim and brush up their English in language courses during the school break. But the capital, Valletta, which is soon to be European Capital of Culture, also has lots of historic buildings to explore. We show you both sides.
Historic stronghold
Defensive walls, bastions, battlements: Valletta, one of the world's best-fortified cities, was founded in the 16th century by the Order of Malta.
Popular backdrop
Malta's fortifications are popular with filmmakers, too. Fans will enjoy a guided tour of the locations used for filming the fantasy TV series "Game of Thrones."
Culture wars
Back in the day, people used to exchange rhymed couplets while they worked. These days, traditional Għanaian musicians battle it out on stage in poetry slams.
Raptor watching
Malta has been known for its peregrine falcons since the Middle Ages. Today, you can observe falcons, eagles and vultures at the Malta Falconry Center.
Ancient craft
Maltese artisans are exceptionally skilled in the age-old craft of weaving gold and silver threads into delicate, intricately patterned works of art.
Pamper yourself
The Baia Beach Club on Malta's northeast coast is a very elegant place to unwind. It boasts great cocktails, excellent food, yoga classes and spa treatments.
Build it yourself
There are many old castles on Malta, but the best place to build your own (sand)castle is in Golden Bay, on what is probably Malta's most beautiful beach.
Underwater attraction
Malta and its neighboring islands are very popular with divers, thanks in part to the large statue of Christ that was lowered onto the seabed there in 1990.
Fast and fun
The best way to visit Valletta's neighboring cities, Vittoriosa and Senglea, is by water taxi, a traditional Maltese boat that looks much like a motorized Venetian gondola.
Nostalgic nights
The flame in Delimara Lighthouse has been extinguished, but the venerable building with its sweeping view of the sea now boasts two apartments for overnight guests.


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Quote: I want to be skilled like a gymnast. I want to know that I am the best I can be.
Quote:Watch people in training. Look at how they act and how they behave. A tiger can be like a little kitty, but dangerous even though he is friendly. They are quiet and watch everything. Thry listen and watch. They know who they are and they have nothing to prove. They are at peace.
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Coupling greases, unlike bearing or general purpose grease, must withstand the centrifugal forces created by a rotating coupling. These greases – KSG and KHP – are specifically formulated to resist the heavy centrifugal forces associated with all applications. These forces can cause the all-important base oil to separate from the soap thickeners and additives. Unlike greases with lithium-based thickeners, KSG and KHP greases use polyethylene thickeners, with a density closer to that of the base oil, and therefore much less susceptible to separation.
KSG grease is intended for speeds up to 3 600 r/min and KHP is best suited for speeds above 3 600 r/min.
KSG standard coupling grease
KSG is an NLGI Grade 1 coupling grease with EP additives for use in any grease-packed coupling, such as gear, grid and chain-type couplings, in standard industrial service. Superior to commonly available greases adapted to coupling use, KSG was developed specifically as a coupling lubricant.
KHP high performance coupling grease
KHP is an NLGI Grade 1 grease with EP additives which exceeds the design requirements needed for extended operating and relubrication intervals. KHP grease is recommended for high-speed grease lubricated gear couplings in petrochemical, process, and utility industries.
Minimum requirements for other greases:
- NLGI 1 (speeds below 300 r/min, NLGI 0 or 00)
- max 13% soap
- min base oil viscosity 600 mm2/s at 40 °C
- the soap in the grease must not separate from the base oil due to centrifugal forces


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PORTSMOUTH — The first public meeting to hear comments on draft recommendations for the future of New Hampshire's rail system is scheduled for Wednesday, February 29 from 6-8 pm at Portsmouth City Hall Chambers.
The meeting is an opportunity to learn more about potential plans for the state rail system and comment on these recommendations.
Kit Morgan, Administrator of the Rail and Transit Bureau at the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT), is hoping for a good turnout. "The study has shown that rail does have an economic impact in New Hampshire. As we consider how to move forward, it will be very important for us to hear the public's reactions to and opinions on these recommendations."
The public meeting will encourage questions from the public and active discussion on the draft recommendations. The updated Rail Plan will identify rail's role in the regional transportation network and its effect on New Hampshire's current and future economy. The updated Rail Plan will include both freight and passenger rail initiatives.
The NHDOT is updating the New Hampshire State Rail Plan in order to examine existing strengths and weaknesses of the state's rail system and make recommendations for the future. Based on meetings with railroads, shippers and other stakeholders, along with and research on rail freight shipping, the NHDOT's consultants have identified a set of specific recommendations that would improve New Hampshire's rail network and support its economic contributions to the state. Comments from the public can also be made by going to www.nh.gov/dot/org/aerorailtransit/railandtransit/rail-plan.htm.
Material developed to date, including presentations and meeting reports, can be viewed at www.nh.gov/dot/org/aerorailtransit/railandtransit/rail-plan.htm. Questions regarding the meetings and their purpose can be directed to Carol Morris, Rail Plan Public Outreach, at 207-329-6502 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
Portsmouth-area residents will be first to comment on new rail plan
PORTSMOUTH — The first public meeting to hear comments on draft recommendations for the future of New Hampshire's rail system is scheduled for Wednesday, February 29 from 6-8 pm at Portsmouth City Hall Chambers.


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Rooftop Greens
Some 23 000 kilos of vegetables and herbs grow out of sight, high above the streets of New York. These luscious crops are carefully tended by Brooklyn Grange, the leading U.S. urban farm and the world's biggest producer of seeds from plants not grown in the ground. The company welcomes visitors interested in rooftop gardens and offers guided tours and workshops.


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Resident Poet Earns Second Utah Arts Council First Place Nod
Published: February 21, 2012 | Category: AcademicsSouthern Utah University's Danielle Dubrasky has once again impressed judges at the Utah Arts Council (UAC) as a now two-time first place author in the poetry division of the UAC's annual writing competition.
Dubrasky's winning collection of poems, "The Sand Man," describes the journey of a brother and sister in a small and desolate desert town. In telling their story, Dubrasky uses imagery inspired by the Southwest desert landscape, interweaving the Night-Blooming Cereus or "Queen of the Desert," with the legend of the sand man.
The collection is broken into ten sections, each vividly depicting the pair's encounters with a malevolent sand man and other strange objects flying through the desert wind.
"It's a poem of understated eloquence, written in a voice like no other I know," said Wyn Cooper, published writer and poet who selected Dubrasky's work as the poetry division's best. "I was captivated from the first reading and each reading took me deeper into the elegant mystery of these brightly lit scenes from the desert and the story they tell."
Dubrasky's inspiration for "The Sand Man" began on a lonely highway in Arizona while returning from a poetics conference. "I began to see the image of a brother and sister… railroad tracks … a desolate desert town," she said. A visit to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix inspired the use of the mysterious Night-Blooming Cereus, an important and symbolic character in the story.
Most impressive to judge Cooper was the collection's eighth section, which simply reads, "Tiny fronds pressed around the cereus stamen push the outer petals to open in her heart's chambers". Cooper believes these two lines, "encapsulate what the poem is doing on a larger scale: what happens when one person pushes against another or when the past pushes into the present".
An Associate Professor in SUU's Department of English since 1990, Dubrasky teaches courses in creative writing and poetry. Well-seasoned in the field of creative arts and writing, her poetry has been published in ECOllective, Tar River Poetry, Weber Studies, Petroglyph and Dialogue.
Dubrasky was awarded first place in the Utah Arts Council's 2006 competition for her book-length collection of poems, "To Live Elsewhere."
In April, Dubrasky will serve her second residency fellowship at the Virginia Center of Creative Arts where, for two weeks, she will work to complete a new collection of poems, titled "Ruin and Light".
Though pen and page are her most common medium, Dubrasky has collaborated with choreographers, composers and visual artists in bringing her poetry to life on stage. Her poem "The Tree Spirits of Takasago" was performed at SUU's annual faculty dance show.
Dubrasky holds a PhD in creative writing from the University of Utah and earned her Master's degree in English from Stanford University.
Since 1958, the Utah Arts Council has invited writers from across the state to submit their unpublished works for consideration in the annual competition. Entries range from fiction and nonfiction to essays, short stories, poems and manuscripts.


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Ash's Pikachu is the first Pokémon Ash ever had and is always by Ash's side, except for times Team Rocket captures him, but Ash gets him back always after.
[hide] *1 Biography
Biography EditEditEdit
[1]Pikachu's Poké Ball with a lightning design.Pikachu was Ash's Starter Pokémon, given to him by Professor Oak. Ash showed up late to pick his first Pokémon so he got stuck with Pikachu. Though he didn't like Ash at first, Ash demonstrated willingness to sacrifice himself for Pikachu, and they quickly became friends. Pikachu, who is rather independent in general, believes that he is strong enough without evolving and refuses to evolve into a Raichu even when he was easily beaten by Lt. Surge's Raichu. Later in Ash's adventure in the Sinnoh region, Pikachu was given another chance to evolve after being seriously injured by another Raichu but once again he refused.
Early in the series, Pikachu was given an operation to increase the strength of the electric sacs in his cheeks in order to beat the first Gym Leader, Brock. Despite of this, Pikachu can also get a cold and go out of control when he cannot release his electricity. Most notably, exposure to a magnetic field will cause Pikachu to get a cold. This has been done to him three times in the series, two times by Team Rocket and one time by Zekrom: the first time, Pikachu was cured when the extra electricity was used in attacks against a group of Grimer and Muk, and in the second time was inadvertently cured by one of Team Rocket's battery robots, which subsequently overloaded and exploded. The last time is when Professor Juniper heals him after Ash's battle with Trip in Unova.
Many of the Pokémon animated shorts with all-Pokémon dialogue have featured Pikachu as the main character, and as the main voice of reason. As such, Pikachu is often a leader, helping to break up conflicts among other Pokémon.
Pikachu is one of Ash's most powerful Pokémon being able to defeat pseudo-legendary Pokémon such as Metagross and Dragonite and even actual legendary Pokémon such as Regice. He was also capable of fighting Tobias' powerful Latios to a draw, despite the fact that Electric type moves are not very effective against Dragontypes. Pikachu was used in many of Ash's Gym Battle Frontier and League battles, being able to defeat Juan's Milotic, Lt. Surge's Raichu (although this was during their rematch), Clair's Gyarados, Crasher Wake's Gyarados,Volkner's Electivire, Roxanne's Nosepass and her Geodude, Brock's Geodude and Onix, Roark's Onix, Brandon's Regice and countless other opponents.
However there are times when Pikachu gets beaten fairly easily. For example he was easily defeated by Lt. Surge's Raichu during their first battle, was no match for Sabrina's Kadabra, got knocked out by a single Night Shade from Morty's Gastly, which was Morty's weakest Pokémon, was overwhelmed by Fantina's Drifblim despite his type advantage, lost against Norman's Vigoroth in their first battle, landing only one blow in the process and was defeated in many other battles during his journey with Ash. Despite these defeats Pikachu was considered to be one of Ash's most powerful Pokémon, alongside Charizard, Sceptile, Infernape and Snorlax.
Pikachu's high level of electrical power has even allowed him to defeat Ground types more than once by using Electric attacks, which normally would do no damage at all. This is notably impossible in the games, where Ground-types take no damage from Electric-type moves under any circumstances, no matter how powerful they are. Whilst travelling through Hoenn, Pikachu learned how to use Iron Tail, which has become one of his signature moves, granting him a technique that will hurt a Ground-type normally, especially if they are also part Rock-type, as many Ground-types are.
In BW005: Triple Leaders, Team Threats, Pikachu was used in a Gym Battle against Cress' Panpour. Despite the type advantage, he got defeated.
In BW020: Dancing With the Ducklett Trio!, a group of Ducklett dropped an umbrella on Pikachu as he was about to use Thunderbolt, which affected his electric attacks as a result. Soon after, Pikachu learned Electro Ball and defeated the Ducklett with this move. He then battled the Sunglasses Sandile. During the battle, Sandile evolved into Krokorok and fired a Stone Edge at Pikachu, who used Electro Ball and sent the move back at Krokorok, blasting it off in the process.
In BW044: The Club Battle Finale: A Heroes Outcome!, he was used to battle Iris' Excadrill during the final round in the Don Battle Tournament at Nimbasa City. Because of a weakness to Ground-types, he was unable to defeat theSubterranean Pokémon and lost.
In BW052: Dazzling the Nimbasa Gym!, he was used in Ash's fourth Gym Battle against Elesa's Emolga (however, he had to use Thunderbolt on Ash beforehand to get his attention to use him, in frustration, as Ash did not even reconsider using Pikachu just once). For this matter, Ash lets Pikachu back in the battle and become friends once again as he leaves all of his plans behind him. Pikachu countered Emolga's Electro Ball with his own and defeated it with Quick Attack. Against her Tynamo, Pikachu suffered many direct hits of Tackle, due to Tynamo's amazing speed, until Ash commanded him to use Thunderbolt to alter the battlefield (this way Tynamo would be forced to Tackle Pikachu head on only). Ash's tactics work and Pikachu used a powerful Iron Tail to land a direct hit on Tynamo as it crashed onto the wall as a result to be knocked out, earning Ash the Bolt Badge.
In BW067: Battling the Bully!, the Sunglasses Krokorok returns to confront Pikachu to a battle (after he followed them all the way from Nimbasa Town, Nimbasa City, Driftveil City, and Chargestone Cave). However, this battle caused them to get blown away in separate directions after the interception of Pikachu's Electro Ball and Krokorok's Stone Edge. However he was found by a boy named Mick who was mistaking him as a pre-evolved form of Zekrom as he show him to his friends Glen and Shaun (who eventually knows this Pokémon from the Kanto region he went to). Now that Mick doesn't know how to battle with Pikachu, he goes away for a while to ask Pikachu some questions alone but was found by Ash and co. including Krokorok. Although Mick persuades Ash to let him borrow his Pikachu so he could battle with Glen and Shaun when Glen says the word "Let's Battle". Since Ash won't leave a kid like Mick in trouble like this, he agrees to as they do some training while Ash use Krokorok as an example for Mick to learn about type advantage and type disadvantage with Pikachu. However Pikachu's move of Iron Tail that Mick used cause Krokorok to lose his sunglasses but eventually found it and puts back on and gets angered to get him to pay Pikachu back but stopped by Ash. After training, Glen found Mick with Ash's friends as Mick put this Pokemon battle to a test with Pikachu but in one condition: this battle requires a double battle as Krokorok teams up with Pikachu just to help him out to battle Scolipede and Seismitoad and win this by brains and skills. Pikachu's teamwork with Krokorok was great as Glen learns his lesson that winning isn't for everything and make it up to Shaun and Mick once more. But then there's a score to settle when Krokorok wanted to has this battle with Pikachu as Ash agrees him to and made a type disadvantage to a win as a result to defeat Krokorok. In the end, the Sunglasses Krokorok felt bad when he lost to Pikachu. Which Ash made the decision to let Krokorok come with him and Pikachu making him his sidekick and a friend indeed. In BW070: An Amazing Aerial Battle!, Pikachu was used in a Gym Battle against Skyla's Unfezant and defeated it with Electro Ball. He stayed in the battle to fight Skyla's last Pokémon, Swanna. Pikachu's Thunderbolt and Electro Ball were blocked by Swanna's Aqua Ring, defending against the type advantage Pikachu held over it. However, using the hoops that Skyla had used in her pre-battle show, Pikachu was able to jump with Quick Attack to hit Swanna. Eventually, Swanna was able to hit Pikachu with a powerful combination Hurricane and a brutal Brave Bird, after which Ash deemed Pikachu unable to battle, although he didn't faint and he tried to continue.
In BW086: Rocking the Virbank Gym! (Part 2), Pikachu was the final Pokémon to go up against Garbodor. It was going to use DoubleSlap but Pikachu evades it and hits with Quick Attack and then Thunderbolt. When Pikachu tried to use Iron Tail, Garbodor swung its arms upwards, repelling Pikachu and untying the arms. After Pikachu dodges Gunk Shot twice, Garbodor grabbed him and used DoubleSlap hitting Pikachu repeatedly. After this, Garbodor fired another Gunk Shot, this time it hits and also poisoned Pikachu. To Ash's luck, Pikachu's Static ability got activated and paralyzed Garbodor after making physical contact with Pikachu. Despite still being able to withstand a Thunderbolt, the Trash Heap Pokémon was unable to take a hit from the following Electro Ball, and was knocked out, making Ash the winner and earning him his eighth and final Unova Badge, the Toxic Badge.
Pikachu is voiced by Ikue Ōtani in all versions of the anime, except in early episodes of the English-dubbed series, in which Rachael Lillis provided the voice in cases where another character's voice overlaps his. A running gag is how he burns all of main female character's bike with Thunderbolt, which, in turn results in that girl following Ash, except for Iris following Ash after she and Ash bumped into each other. Pikachu also has a fondness for ketchup, which is seen multiple times in the anime. It also battled Cameron's Lucario and lost.
Known movesEditEditEditEdit
|Pokémon, I Choose You!
|Thunderbolt +
|Showdown in Pewter City
|Electric Shock Showdown
|Quick Attack +
|Electric Shock Showdown
|Showdown at Dark City
|Double Edge
|Friend and Foe Alike
|Tackle -
|The Double Trouble Header
|Leer -
|Hour of the Houndour
|Iron Tail +
|All Things Bright and Beautifly
|Volt Tackle
|May's Egg-Cellent Adventure!
|Electro Ball +
|Dancing With the Ducklett Trio
+ indicates this Pokémon used this move recently.* - indicates this Pokémon normally can't use this move.
Trivia EditEditEditEdit
- When Ash received Pikachu from Professor Oak, his Poké Ball had a lightning bolt on the top part.
- Because Pikachu doesn't like being inside his Poké Ball, it has only been seen a few times since the first episode. The first was against Brock when Pikachu was being attacked brutally by Onix and the second was in the episode Snow way out when Ash becomes worried about the safety of his Pokémon in the cave's freezing conditions. Both times Ash's attempted return of Pikachu was blocked, by Onix the first time and by Pikachu the second.
- Ash attempted to evolve Pikachu with the Thunder Stone after he lost to Lt. Surge's Raichu, but Pikachu chose not to evolve because he wanted to prove that he can defeat stronger Pokémon without evolving.
- Pikachu occasionally has acted as a responsible leader of the main cast's Pokémon, mainly Ash's Pokémon.
- In the season one episode "Showdown at Dark City", Pikachu displayed a strong fondness for ketchup. In fact, when the ketchup bottle he was carrying was smashed, Pikachu was seen crying over the smashed ketchup bottle. This could be an indication on how close Pikachu's relationship with Ash is, since his last name is phonetically similar to ketchup.[2]Ash's Pikachu shows its love of ketchup.
- In the Season One episode "Ash Catches a Pokémon", whenTeam Rocket was trying to steal Pikachu, Meowth accidently says that Ash's Pikachu's power exceeds the power level he would possess as a Raichu.
- In Climbing the Tower of Success, a Thunder Stone was tossed to Ash, thus it almost landed on Pikachu which would cause him to evolve. However, Ash was scared about Pikachu evolving, so he prevented this, which contradicts to the time he offered Pikachu a Thunder Stone to evolve. The most likely reason is that Ash now knows Pikachu doesn't want to evolve (and likes keeping him the way he is and respects his wishes), which is supported in the Diamond and Pearl generation episode Pika and Goliath.
- Both Ash's Pikachu and Snorlax are evolved baby Pokémon but in that generation they are the first forms.
- Pikachu had a special event for the 4th Generation of Pokémon Games knowing the moves Pikachu had in Sinnoh League Victors.
- Ash's Pikachu is finally confirmed male in Where no Togepi Has Gone Before after being hit by Togepi's Attract. This is also when Jessie's Yanmega was confirmed female.
- Pikachu seems to have a great dislike, or even hatred, against Team Rocket's Meowth. As after Meowth and his team got away from the failed railroad mission in Unova, Pikachu still exerted a lot of anger and Ash had to hold him down. While Meowth was in Ash's group, Pikachu was the one to always be suspicious of Meowth's loyalty. This could stem from the fact that everytime Pikachu started to trust Meowth, Meowth then betrayed that same trust.
- Ash's Pikachu is the most recognizable Pokémon, therefore being the face of Pokémon.
- Some how for every region Ash has traveled through with Pikachu he has always been for the most part surpassed in power by another Pokémon that Ash catches and trains until they fully evolve or learn new moves.
- Beginning from Hoenn onward, every time Ash and Pikachu enter a new region, Pikachu has been exposed to high levels of electricity or magnetism, before or after arrival, and loses control of its own electricity, becomes confused, and runs away, forcing Ash to chase after it.
- This could explain why Pikachu's strength is "reset" each time they start a new reigon.
- Pikachu has had many moves over the seasons, but the amount it now actively uses has been lowered to only four.
- Pikachu is very fond of battling and takes part in almost all of Ash's Gym Battles. Pikachu has a great willingness of continuing to fight till the end, even if he's getting tired to continue.
- Despite Pikachu's absence from the Unova Dex and not being native to the Unova region, a Trainer's Pikachu can be seen in Castelia City, and another Pikachu is depicted on a billboard. Also, there are several Pikachu-shaped hedges in Striaton City.
- Pikachu is the only Electric-type Pokémon of Ash's.
- Pikachu's hatred of being in a Pokeball made him the last and hardest to be captured by Mewtwo.
- Pikachu is the only Pokemon in the anime to defeat two Legendary Pokemon without being a Legendary Pokemon himself. His first victory against a Legendary Pokemon was when he defeated Brandon's Regice and the second was when he knocked out Tobias' Latios, although the battle against Latios ended as a draw rather than a victory.
- Pikachu was also the first of Ash's Pokemon to habitually disobey him. Primeape and Charizard would also follow suit and are better remembered for their disobedience than Pikachu.


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It'll cost you more than a return trip to a coffee plantation in Columbia, but can the all-singing Star Trek inspiring Siemens deliver a truly memorable macchiato?
With its blue neon LEDs and piano black finish it would be a cold heart that didn't lust after the EQ.7. Its stunning looks are more top-end tech than kitchen appliance - which is just as well, because at 30cm wide it's going to take pride of place wherever you put it in the kitchen.
Turn it on and a host of neon blue LEDs light up the machine like it's the Tate Modern. Sounds cheesy but trust us, it looks fantastic and while it has no bearing on the quality of the coffee, this reviewer doesn't mind a bit of a show … especially for £1300.
The crisp LCD screen and simple horizontal scrolling menu holds your hand and guides you through set-up. It prompts to fill with water, beans or coffee grounds before automatically rinsing the system and offering a choice of espresso, white coffee, macchiato, cappuccino, hot water, hot milk and your own pre-programmable choice.
For black coffee the dispenser arm stays central, while for milky drinks it cleverly flips 180º to the right so both coffee and milk can be poured into the same cup. Both milk and coffee arms also slide up and down to accommodate different sized cups.
As you'd expect from a top of the range machine the espresso was rich, smooth and came with a luscious crema. The grinder does a fantastic job as we didn't notice a huge difference between beans and pre-ground coffee … apart from the extra noise.
We've tried dozens of milk frothers, and almost all have been fiddly or disappointing. Not so the EQ.7. It comes with a separate insulated milk container (keep it in the fridge until you need it) and two tubes connecting it all together. Choose a cappuccino and the pump will suck up milk, blast with steam, froth, heat and dispense in less than 20 seconds. Fancy a white coffee, then the machine will give you a splash of piping hot milk before filling with espresso and hot water.
There's always a danger with fully automatic machines that the coffee tastes like it's straight from a vending machine. Thankfully the EQ.7 produces top notch froth that keeps its shape right to the bottom of the cup and makes the very best of the espresso.
If you've not guessed, we love this coffee machine … but it isn't perfect. We appreciate the automatic cleaning system, but by squirting water through the system every time you use it the drip tray fills up extremely quickly. And it isn't the easiest thing to remove - you have to take the whole base of the machine out and it's pretty cumbersome to clean in the sink.
With its piano black lacquer and blue LEDs the EQ.7 is a thing of beauty and a class above the rest. It's beautifully made, comes packed with innovative idiot proof extras and looks stunning on the sideboard. While many coffee makers boast the "fully-automatic" label, the Siemens takes it to another level; we wouldn't be surprised if it didn't polish itself while we were asleep.
The results are sublime, with rich espressos, cappuccinos and, thanks to the programmable options, anything in between. The milk dispenser works brilliantly and takes zero skill and if it was £500 we'd be seriously tempted to splash the cash. But it's £1300 and no matter how good the coffee we can't justify the outlay.
If you can afford it, buy it! And invite us over for coffee.


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Great to See Rocco Back in Rays Blue Again
But it did also had a bit of an eerie feel to the moment as it seems like such a long period since we saw Baldelli roaming the outfields at Tropicana Field. But there he stood this morning just smiling away with great opportunities in front of him and a chance to get healthy and help his former team's next generation..
But even with a..that smile on his face, and his constantly shaking hands with Rays players who also gathered under that awning to see him and wait out this rain shower, Baldelli seemed to have that energized look on his face where he is totally excited to again be with this franchise, and around the game of baseball this season. I shouted over to Baldelli and he waved and then I asked him what number he planned to wear during Spring Training?
Baldelli just smiled and nodded his head and told me "we will all see soon enough". A bit bummed, but then again, he has only been here a few hours and maybe Rays Equipment Manager Chris Westmoreland did not have his jersey done yet. I am guessing Baldelli will sport number 55 this Spring, since no one else in Rays Major League camp has that number, and it is twice as lucky as his old number 5 currently sitting on Rays DH Pat Burrell's back.
But Baldelli was not just standing there waiting for the rain to stop so he could compete again for an outfield slot with the team, or even a part-time Designated Hitter spot, Baldelli accepted a chance today to come back onto the Rays staff as a Special Assistant with the team, and will be assigned to the Rays minor league camp and serve as an instructor during the rest of this year's Spring Training. He will concentrate his efforts as a roving instructor focusing on base running and outfield play with budding minor league players like Desmond Jennings and 2009 Draftee Todd Glaesmann.
Having someone of Baldelli's caliber and skills in this year's minor league camp will be great for a top tier prospect like Jennings so that he has a sounding board with a former top tier prospect who made that quick transition to the Major League level.And the Rays Vice President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman jumped at this great opportunity of having an MLB-caliber player like Baldelli to come into the start of the Rays minor league camp to advise and help mentor the next generation of Rays major league ready players. Plus the " instructor" situation also helps Baldelli by supplying professional level baseball facilities and medical attention as he rehabs from a unspecified shoulder injury Baldelli endured during his 2009 season when he played sparingly with American League East rival, Boston.
And there were a few Rays fans out in the rain with me today wondering why the Rays were civil and open to bringing Baldelli back into the Rays fold after he played for our "arch enemy" last season. And the answer is really quite simple. This situation helps both parties involved, plus it gives Baldelli a chance to realistically see if he might also be open to taking the same Coaching path of former Rays slugger Jared Sandberg and move into the coaching profession after his playing career.
It also is a perfect "win-win" situation for Baldelli as able to provide certain nuances of the game to the Rays developing players, plus he will be able to rehabilitate his shoulder injury with a Rays medical staff that already knows his past injuries and medical history, and could be beneficial in providing top notch rehabilitation care and treatments while Baldelli also works with the Rays minor leaguers and eventually works out on his own to see if playing again is in his future. But this is also a way for Baldelli to keep his head in the game of baseball and stay mentally ready to play too.
Think about it for a second here, you are a Major League baseball player and you suffered through months of pain and anguish to find yourself unwanted by your 2009 team and a free agent seeking a shot to compete somewhere, but people know of your shoulder woes, and pass you by, or tell you to get healthy and then give them a call. Baldelli is in that middle "no-man's land" zone right now between playing, or maybe having to make a difficult career choice in the near future to pursue coaching full-time and mentoring future ballplayers, or getting the chance to regain yourself and your baseball career. How could you not see this opportunity as a positive step to see what you could or maybe pursue after your playing days are over, but also still have your options open to continue with the game.
And the Rays have always been open to inviting former Rays players to work with their teams a ample chance to come back into the Rays organization and be a authority figure, or sports mentor to work with other Rays prospects to hone their craft and make them the best they can be in their baseball maturation process. Baldelli is not the first former Rays player to come back to his former club and provide instruction and mentor players. Ex-Ray and current Baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs came back to the Rays in 2001 and served one season as their Hitting Coach before leaving the team.
Dave Martinez, who got the first hit in Rays history came back several years ago as an outfield instructor and is now sitting every game besides Rays Manager Joe Maddon as his Rays Bench Coach.And who can forget that 2009 Baseball Hall of Fame nominee Fred McGriff has spent several Rays Spring Trainings working as a Special Advisor to the Rays. Add on that scenario of the consistent growth within the Rays Coaching ranks of Sandberg through the Rays system from his first stint with short-season Princeton to his current post as Manager of the Hudson Valley Renegades for the2010 season.
And Sandberg might just be another budding former Rays player turned manager to some day patrol the benches at the Major League level within a few years. This Rays Front Office has always been open to hiring former players who understand the Rays system, and also adhere to their team's mantra. And bringing back Baldelli right now just seems perfectly right to me.
Having Baldelli working out with the next generation of Upton's, Crawford's and maybe even another Baldelli just shows his passion and his drive for the little things about playing this game at it's top level. And it is important to note here that Baldelli is not "retired", but basically weighing his options and between jobs. Baldelli might have to take a step back like ex-Rays catcher Toby Hall did in 2009 when Hall was rehabbing a shoulder injury and get healthy before finally making some difficult decisions on his baseball future. But I personally would not bet against Baldelli not being wearing some team's uniform at some point this season.
There is presently no talk of Baldelli wearing a Rays jersey besides his current Rays gear on his back while he does his job as a roving instructor. But the Rays and Baldelli both have left that door wide open for a future discussion about his plans. And that in itself is almost a mirror-image to the 2009 Spring Training situation where the Rays brought in rehabbing reliever Jason Isringhausen after his 2008 injuries into Spring Training with an eye to get him healthy, then make some personnel decisions.
Isringhausen eventually got healthy and appeared in a Rays uniform in 2009, but Isringhausen went down with a torn elbow ligament and had to undergo Tommy John's surgery . Could Baldelli be this season's "Izzy" and be able to again get back to the Major League level?
Would Baldelli even be open to taking another limited role situation with the Rays similar to his 2008 status with the team, or could there be an eye towards him being a possible in-house alternative/replacement if Rays Designated Hitter Pat Burrell gets injured or off to a weak start in 2009?. All these questions are streaming through my mind, and I know some of you also have those thoughts coursing through your cerebral cortex. But for now, Baldelli is here to heal and help guide and be a source of inspiration and motivation for the next generation of Rays. But that also doesn't rule out the possibilities of Baldelli not being able to don a MLB jersey at some point in 2010.
And there is no guarantee it would even be the Rays classic blue and white, or even a Rays Blue jersey. B ut having Baldelli here is motivation enough for me to feel better about the future of this team. Some web sites have called him the "Prodigal Son". To some of us, Baldelli never went away, he just was on "vacation" away from the Rays. But in the end, is this the kind of guy you want on your team? Is this the type of former player you want teaching your young players "The Rays Way"?
And can the Rays prospects learn and mature hearing of Baldelli's past and develop their own pattern to enrich their game before hitting the Major League level? To all three of these questions, I sound a loud and resounding "Yes". Hopefully in the near future, Rays fans will see Baldelli standing on the side of the field again both his glove and a black bat in each hand, or maybe it will be Baldelli's arms swaying and pointing a shift to one of the Rays minor leaguers to put him into a better fielding position based on the hitter tendencies, either way, it is great to see Baldelli again in a Rays uniform. Blue just seems to be his color!
8 Comments
I always liked Baldelli and I was hoping the Tigers would sign him to compete for one of their OF spots, until they signed Johnny Damon. Whether he ends up on the Rays roster or not, he will be a great addition to their organization this year. Thanks for all the help in planning my upcoming vacation to Madeira Beach by the way, my family and I really appreciate it.
You are very welcome.
And like I have said in the emails, if you need any other local hot spots or things…just let me know.
The weather is starting to look a bit warmer this weekend, so hopefully we are out of the Winter storm patterns and ready for baseball.
Hope the Gulf temperatures get up enough for you to take a daily dip in the waters.
Rays Renegade
It's always good to see familiar faces return, especially when they have the intention of giving back to the future of the club, Baldelli can still be a good option for a player, it seems though MLB is flooded with upcoming outfielders and nowhere to go…
Outside the Phillies Looking In
I just love the name Rocco Baldelli! It just sounds so tought! Don't mess with Rocco Baldelli!
Isn't something how some players just do so well with a particular team? We've had a few with the Dodgers that have done well the first time with the team as well as a second time around.
I'm with Emma…awesome name :O) And it is great to see him get back in Tampa; he has a nice background story and the fans seem to love him I wish him luck!
You are so right.
It is still a wonder to me that Jermaine Dye is out there still, but it has been a bit like the floodgates were open and mostly outfielder fell out this off season.
Always great when an old fan favorite gets a chance, even if it is off the field for now.
Still think the Rays have Baldelli in their backpocket, and that could be a great thing if an injury forces an issue during 2010.
Rays Renegade
I am with you, I like his name too.
Not sure if it the bang his name throws at you, or the fact he is that guy who "fits" his name.
The best thing about Rocco's time in Boston is that they found out there was a slight miscalculation to his fatigue diagnosis, and he was turned another direction and actually looked healthier the two times I saw him in Righfield for the Red Sox at Tropicana Field.
Health is the priority for him right now, then baseball will definitely be in the cards for him again.
Rays Renegade
I remember back in 2008 about the time of the Rays/Phillies World Series I did a post taking Rocco over Rocky.
He does have a great background story both while he was coming up with the Rays, and in his health travel and discoveries.
I also did a blog when the Cleveland Clinic found out he had been a bit mis-diagnosed and was glad he found more ebergy and strived to play more in 2009.
Just want him healthy, and the rest will take care of itself.
Rays Renegade


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As Rajon Rondo admitted after a loss to the Sixers Friday night, "it's just chaos" for the Celtics when center Kevin Garnett is not in the game.
With Garnett in the lineup, the Celtics were a plus-nine in points this season heading into last night's game at Milwaukee, but without him they were a minus-29. No wonder their record was only 2-3.
Garnett is 36, so coach Doc Rivers limits him to 30 minutes or less to avoid wearing him down, but any lead that Garnett helps build usually disappears when he heads to the bench. The Celtics also struggled when Garnett rested last season, but the drop-off has become worse this year.
"Right now," Rivers told the media Friday, "if you want to focus on something, that's what you should focus on."
So far, Rivers has not considered Darko Milicic to be the solution. Rivers has gone with smaller lineups while keeping the 7-foot, 275-pound Milicic, the team's largest player, on the bench. Entering last night, Milicic had played in only one of Boston's first five games for a total of 4-1/2 minutes.
After praising Milicic during training camp, Rivers hasn't said much about him lately. When asked Friday if playing Milicic could solve the Celtics' problems without Garnett, Rivers replied, "It could, but he has to earn it."
Apparently, Milicic hasn't produced in practice. Unfortunately, the Celtics have become the latest team to grow disenchanted with him.
While the Celtics lost to the Sixers Friday, two of the biggest disappointments in NBA draft history were on hand. Milicic still is trying to get back in the rotation following a wrist injury and Kwame Brown is nursing a strained left calf for the Sixers.
Detroit made the 7-foot Milicic the second pick of the 2003 NBA draft, directly behind LeBron James and ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.
When Michael Jordan was running the Washington Wizards, he chose the 6-11 Brown with the No. 1 pick in 2001, passing over Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol, Jason Richardson, Joe Johnson and Tony Parker.
"I stopped chasing the dream of being the second pick a long time ago," Milicic said. "To prove people wrong, I would have had to get 100 points and 50 rebounds a game. All I was thinking in my career was to be the best I can be, not being the second pick."
Milicic was only 17 years old when he was drafted and had played only in Serbia. Brown was 19 and had played only in high school in Georgia. But they were drafted high because of their size and potential. Too often, that hasn't turned out to be a good enough combination.
Hasheem Thabeet, the 7-foot-3 former UConn star whom Memphis chose as the No. 2 pick in 2009, rides the Thunder bench and has averaged only 2.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in his career.
Michael Olowokandi, the No. 1 pick in 1998, and Sam Bowie, the No. 3 pick in 1984, weren't complete busts, but their journeyman careers didn't justify their high selections. The Celtics, however, made the most wasted draft pick of all time when they selected Len Bias with the second pick in 1986. Bias died two days later of a heart attack caused by a cocaine overdose.
In their NBA careers, Milicic has averaged only 6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 18.5 minutes while Brown has averaged 6.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 27.5 minutes. The Celtics are Milicic's sixth team and the Sixers are Brown's seventh. They were teammates in Memphis briefly during the 2007-08 season.
Milicic's career numbers aren't far behind those of former Celtic Kendrick Perkins, who has averaged 6.2 points and 6.2 rebounds, but Perk is a far better defender. Perkins was only 18 when he was drafted 27th in 2003, 25 picks after Milicic, but he worked hard to lose weight and develop his defensive skills. Hard work never has been Milicic's strong suit.
Sixers coach Doug Collins also coached Brown in Washington.
"He has an identity now," Collins said. "He can post defend, he can rebound the ball. He's no longer viewed as the No. 1 pick in the draft. I think that's a burden that you carry for a long time and eventually what you have to do when you bring him into your franchise is you sell to people what he does well.
"We feel like when Kwame is healthy, he's a very good low-post defender, he can rebound. I know Boston, I know Doc tried to sign Kwame a couple of years ago."
On the other hand, this is Rivers' first chance to try to bring out the best in Milicic, something no other coach could. Milicic said his wrist is fine and he's ready to play.
"Some games, he might need me and I'll be there," Milicic said. "Some games, I might not be playing but I knew coming here that might happen. I didn't come here expecting to play a lot. I just came here to do whatever they wanted me to do."
Milicic is still only 27, just eight months older than Rondo and three months younger than Greg Stiemsma. When training camp began, Rivers said he merely wanted Milicic to rebound and block shots, but he hasn't given him much of a chance to do either.
The Celtics may have been better off re-signing Stiemsma, who blocked quite a few shots as a rookie last season even though he was too often out of position on defense. Stiemsma had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks in Minnesota's 90-75 victory over Orlando Wednesday.
Milicic's most productive season was with Minnesota in 2010-11, when he started 69 games and averaged 8.8 points, both career highs, and ranked fifth in the NBA with 2.03 blocks per game.
Milicic admitted he had trouble with the coaches on a losing team in Minnesota last year. So the T-wolves amnestied him, eating at least $10 million of his four-year, $20 million contract, to get rid of him. The Celtics signed him as a free agent for one year and $1.2 million in September after they didn't have the salary cap space to match Minnesota's two-year, $5.27 million offer to Stiemsma.
"I did make mistakes in my career," Milicic said, "but it is what it is right now. I'm here right now and I never thought I would be here playing with these guys for a championship. I'll do my best to stay here."
Milicic admitted he was surprised that the Celtics called him. He figured his playing days had ended not only in the NBA, but anywhere. He planned to stay home in Serbia and hunt and fish, not play basketball.
What does he like to hunt? "Anything that's alive," he said.
Milicic has fished carp professionally in Europe.
"I'm not really good right now," he said of fishing, "but I'm still chasing my dreams. Carp fishing is different fishing. You've got to get a good spot."
He'd like to get a spot on the court as well, but as Rivers said, he'll have to earn one.
It's still early, but E'Twaun Moore is outplaying Courtney Lee and Jason Terry.
Moore played little as a rookie with the Celtics last season and was included in the deal last summer with Houston for Lee. Houston waived him, and Orlando general manager Rob Henningan, a Worcester native, made a smart move by signing the 6-foot-4 guard as a free agent.
Moore has averaged 14.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting 57.9 percent from 3-point land. Lee has averaged 6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists while shooting 20 percent from beyond the arc. Terry has averaged 11 points, 0.8 rebounds and 2 assists while shooting 37.5 percent from downtown.
While the Celtics are committed to paying Lee $21.350 million over the next four years and Terry $15.7 million over the next three, Moore has been a bargain so far at $1.65 million over the next two.
While JaJuan Johnson, another Celtics rookie from last season sent to Houston, is no longer in the NBA, Moore has taken advantage of his chance to play regularly in Orlando.
"E'Twaun is playing unbelievable," Rivers said. "He was ahead of JaJuan last year and it had nothing to do with individual talent. It had to do with mental makeup. E'Twaun's a smart kid. He gets it. JaJuan's young. He has to figure it out."
Bill Doyle can be contacted by email at email@example.com.


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I read in another forum about the following info:* Third leg is in Sagada, Mountain Province* There is a Salvage Pass and it was not used to save a team
Do we have this?https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=751296&l=f8e781f599&id=178422045566934
Maybe y'all can figure out where??DominicCrisologoRea @DOMINIC_REA With Amazing Race-Philippines host Derek Ramsay! http://instagr.am/p/LxizPrpKvY/
from: Gu LagA snapshot of The Amazing Race Philippines doing their roadblock challenge in Bontoc, Mountain Province... in Bontoc, Mountain Province.
Can't tell if this is anything or not....Yves Peter Carlo @Yvesp17 Ang gaganda at tatangkad ng mga contestants. 30m Yves Peter Carlo @Yvesp17 Kasama talaga nila mom ko sa hotel cast ng amazing race na iair palang daw in August kaya strict sila. -_-
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Dear editor,
How long are we going to allow our president and his democratic party lie to us?
Everyone is scared to death to call the president a liar, even the media is scared to fact check him for fear they will be labeled as a racist, so we allow obama to continually lie to us, finally someone had the guts to call him a jackass. No it was no one in the USA for they are too scared, it happen to be Putin, the Russian President, had the nerve to call him a jackass, and obama walked out.
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Austin Mahone Reveals He Passed on Ariana Grande's 'Break Free'by Thomas Chau | PopCrush
Ariana Grande's 'Break Free' has been another blockbuster single for the 21-year-old singer, having reached the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
But had things gone differently during the song's production, it very well could have been Austin Mahone receiving the recognition.
In an interview with Tiger Beat, Mahone dropped the surprising story that he actually passed on 'Break Free' when it was first offered to him.
"Actually, Ariana's new song that just came out was supposed to be mine like a year ago," he said. "'Break Free,' like they sent it to me and I was supposed to record it, but I never did."
'Break Free' was written by Savan Kotecha, Zedd and Max Martin. Zedd told KIIS-FM (via KBGO) in May that he always wanted to work with Grande after he heard her vocals for the first time at a label showcase.
"I was backstage and I heard someone sing," he revealed. "And I didn't know who it was, and I just said, 'I want to make a song with whoever is singing right now.' I didn't know who it was, and it turned out being her. And luckily, now there's a song!"
It's probably serendipitous that 'Break Free' ended up on Grande's album, because we can't picture the song being sung now by anyone other than her!
Wild! Watch These 10 Crazy Stage Crashers