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The Liberty women's soccer team captured its fourth Big South Championship in program history and first since 2005, Sunday afternoon.
The Liberty women's soccer team captured its fourth Big South Championship in record-setting fashion, defeating No. 1 seed Radford, 5-0, Sunday afternoon at CCU Soccer Field. The Lady Flames will now await their opponent in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, with the selection show airing live on NCAA.com, Monday, at 4:30 p.m. Liberty's five-goal performance marks a tournament record for the most tallies in a finals matchup. With the fifth straight victory, the Lady Flames improve to 16-5-1, surpassing the 2000 Big South championship-winning squad for the most single-season wins in program history. Geena Swentik led the Lady Flames with two goals, followed by Brittany Aanderud, Rebecca Smith and Julia Delgatti, who each had one. Aanderud and Alanna Dunkle also had two assists, apiece, on the afternoon. Aanderud's helpers give her a school-record 10 assists on the season. She remains No. 3 on Liberty's all-time list with 15 career assists. For her performance throughout the tournament (one goal, five assists), Aanderud was crowned Big South Tournament MVP, while Dunkle, Swentik and senior captain Casey Norris were also named to the all-tournament team. Goalkeeper Holly Van Noord collected her 14th shutout, breaking Radford netminder Che' Brown's (2012, 13 shutouts) single-season conference record. Van Noord concluded the contest with six saves. Brown played nearly 82 minutes in between the pipes, making eight stops. Lauren Markey stepped in during the remaining 8:27 for the Highlanders, collecting one save. Liberty outshot the Highlanders, 19-14, and held a 4-2 advantage on corner kicks. The Lady Flames played with high energy throughout the matchup, displaying relentless offensive pressure. Aanderud put the Lady Flames on the board with her sixth goal of the season in the 15th minute. After the ball took an odd bounce in front of the Radford defense, the sophomore collected it just outside the 18-yard box. Aanderud took a few quick dribbles and ripped a low shot from the top of the key, sending it into the lower left corner for the early 1-0 lead. Just over four minutes later, the Lady Flames ignited the scoreboard again. With the ball on the left side of the goal line, Dunkle slid a crossing pass to Swentik, who was positioned in front of the goal frame. The junior one-timed the pass, tapping it into the lower right corner for the 2-0 advantage. In the second period, Liberty picked up where it left off in the first, netting three more goals in the stanza. The tandem of Dunkle and Swentik joined forces again in the 54th minute, receiving some help from Aanderud to make it 3-0. With the Lady Flames' attack charging down field, Aanderud dished the ball to Dunkle, who quickly crossed it to Swentik. The junior was once again positioned in front of the goal frame, tapping it off the back of her foot into the left corner. Liberty's fourth goal came just at the start of the 74th minute. Aanderud took the corner kick, sending it into the left side of the 18-yard box. Elmers then flicked a pass up to Smith, who popped it off her foot and swiped it into the right side of the net, increasing the Lady Flames' lead to four. Smith's marker was her fifth of the season. Delgatti capped off Liberty's scoring on the afternoon, netting her second goal of the season at the top of the 86th minute. The freshman managed to pick a loose ball off a ricochet and sent it into the right side of the net, setting up the 5-0 final and the first Big South title since 2005. Liberty Head Coach Jessica Hain "I would like to congratulate Radford on a great season and a great run in the tournament. I thought we executed our game plan and fought really hard. We defended very well and I feel that was the key to today's game."
Radford Head Coach Ben Sohrabi "All the credit goes to Liberty and its coaching staff. They played an great game and were well prepared to play for a championship. This does not define our season or our seniors. This group broke a lot of records and they have had a great career. We love them and wish them well."
All-Tournament Team Brittany Aanderud, Liberty (MVP) Alanna Dunkle, Liberty Geena Swentik, Liberty Casey Norris, Liberty Stephanie Herb, Radford Sydney Golden, Radford Julie Ruh'e, Radford Taylor Parker, High Point Jenny Marshall, High Point Megan Pritts, Winthrop Okina Crawley, Winthrop Sydney Fontenot, Presbyterian College Rylie Johnson, Coastal Carolina Kelsey Pardue, Longwood Allie Lewis, Charleston Southern


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BOSTON -- Officials in the U.S. Attorney's office on Monday agreed to drop a few racketeering charges that three former state probation department officials were facing and the judge in the criminal trial nixed a prosecution theory, which lopped off a portion of the prosecution's case.
The majority of the federal job-rigging criminal case will go to the jury Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning.
Judge William Young nixed the argument that fraudulent hires could be considered bribery from probation officials in exchange for better treatment of the department from the Legislature.
The hiring of individuals recommended by lawmakers for electronic monitoring positions, which allegedly went through Rep. Robert DeLeo's office, remains part of the racketeering case as alleged bribery. Speaker of the House since 2009, DeLeo is not charged in the case and in recent days has lashed out at federal prosecutors.
"I believe my indignation has been well-placed and to remain silent, in the face of false accusations, would damage the office of the Speaker and the entire Legislature," DeLeo concluded in a 628-word statement issued Monday, his third statement on the case in less than a week. "The United States Attorney has chosen to try me in the press because they lack the evidence to do so in a court of law. That is simply unconscionable and unfair."
While touting his role in helping to pass hiring reforms intended to guard against patronage, a law spurred by investigations into probation department hiring, DeLeo disputed the unindicted co-conspirator label attached to him and others in the case.
"Today the United States Attorney alleged that I engaged in a criminal conspiracy," the Winthrop Democrat said. "Since a conspiracy is an agreement to do an illegal act, the question must be asked: With whom did I conspire? When did I so conspire? And what evidence is there linking me to such a conspiracy? The government cannot answer these most basic questions. This allegation is nothing more than desperate legal strategy to allow the government to admit hearsay evidence from an unreliable source."
Prosecutor Fred Wyshak agreed with defense attorneys not to push the jury to find proof that fraud was committed in the promotion of Elzy Tubbs in Barnstable and the hiring of Christopher Hoffman in Northampton.
In order for the racketeering charge to stick against former Commissioner John O'Brien or his former first deputy Elizabeth Tavares, the jury will have to find at least two of the racketeering acts were proved beyond a reasonable doubt, and were part of a pattern of crime in furtherance of a criminal enterprise.
There is only one racketeering count for both O'Brien and Tavares, and multiple racketeering acts that make up that count. The alleged racketeering acts are bribery and fraud, and only O'Brien is accused of bribery in relation to the electronic monitoring program hiring.
Young reduced the scope of the case somewhat when he determined the alleged boosting of candidates with political backing in exchange for loosely defined "favor" from the Legislature cannot be considered bribery.
"We need a verdict that will stand up here," Young said.
After Young's ruling the racketeering acts that will go to the jury were in the mid-20s as opposed to roughly 60 beforehand.
William Burke III, a former deputy commissioner who oversaw the western part of the state, faces the charge of conspiracy to commit racketeering.
Prosecutors say his involvement in the actual racketeering was outside the statute of limitations.
Though Burke is not facing any individual charges of mail fraud, he is charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
Young removed Tavares from the allegation that she was part of the scheme to fraudulently give a job to Kathleen Petrolati, the wife of Rep. Tom Petrolati, as an illegal gratuity. She had not yet risen to her high rank in the department at the time of that early 2001 hire.
Tavares is charged with aiding and abetting the mail frauds allegedly committed by O'Brien.
Judge narrows charges at probation trial
BOSTON -- Officials in the U.S. Attorney's office on Monday agreed to drop a few racketeering charges that three former state probation department officials were facing and the judge in the criminal trial nixed a prosecution theory, which lopped off a portion of the prosecution's case.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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Road Tax is based upon the CO2 emissions of the vehicle and is split into 13 bands from A to M. The higher the letter the greater the cost of tax paid to drive the vehicle on public roads. In addition to the road tax detailed below, any vehicle that had a manufacturers retail price in excess of £40,000 when first sold, attracts a road tax supplement of an additional £320 per year. This is charged until the vehicle is 6 years old.
Ten Second Review
Supermini buyers who might have overlooked Hyundai's i20 are being targeted by this revised second generation model. It gets smarter looks, a 7-speed dual clutch auto gearbox option, upgraded safety and extra media connectivity. Plus it remains one of the more affordable class players.
We're used to hearing success stories from Hyundai, but in recent years, there's one important market segment this Korean company has found something of a struggle: that for superminis. The company's i20 model, first introduced in 2008, has always aimed to rectify that oversight, but the MK1 version had limited success in this regard. This second generation design has done better but in recent times had slipped a little on the technological front in comparison to the best of its class rivals. Hence the need for this revised version. It's still made at a state-of-the-art plant in Turkey and has been developed following a German-based product development programme and a demanding testing schedule on roads right across the Euro zone. This one, in other words, really is designed precisely for us.
Driving Experience
The only really significant news on the engineering front with this improved i20 is the addition of a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox option for the 100PS version of the three cylinder 1.0-litre T-GDI turbo petrol engine that most i20 buyers aspire to. This unit is also available in an uprated 120PS guise. Those customers who can't stretch to it are served with the brand's much older 1.2-litre petrol powerplant, available with either 75PS or 84PS. The i20 has always made great play of being designed by Europeans, in Europe for European conditions, so it's no surprise that we've always liked the way the car drives. The steering system is a brushless a/c electric motor-driven steering system that requires 2.7 turns lock-to-lock for a tiny 5.1-metre turning radius - making the car easy to navigate in town. Excellent forward visibility is enabled by the slim front A-pillars. It also helps in an urban environment that the steering is light and direct, the wheel-at-each-corner design makes each extremity of the car easy to position and it's simplicity itself to park. Just as a supermini should be.
Design and Build
Of all the cars in its line-up, the i20 has traditionally been Hyundai's most conservatively-styled thing, but the looks of this improved MK2 model are slightly more eye-catching. The front of the five-door variant now features redesigned front bumpers including the 'Cascading Grille' recently seen on the brand's other cars. The rear of the i20 five-door also has updated bumpers and rear combination lamps and the tailgate has been reworked to integrate the license plate. There are smarter 15"- and 16"-alloy wheel designs too. As before, there's also a 3 Door bodystyle option. The interior remains quite smart, with the design maturity of a much bigger car. Previously, a major omission on lower-order variants was the kind of centre-dash infotainment screen that buyers expect from virtually every modern car these days. To put that right, the 7-inch monitor that was previously limited to the priciest derivatives is now fitted across the range and features 'Apple CarPlay' / 'Android Auto' smart-phone mirroring. At the top of the range, this monitor supports a built-in navigation system. As for practicality, well the back seat remains quite spacious by supermini standards and there's a decently sized 326-litre boot. The rear bench folds flat, meaning capacity is boosted to 1042-litres with the rear seats folded.
Market and Model
As before, prices sit in the £14,000 to £19,000 bracket and there's the choice of either a five-door hatchback or a three-door hatch variant. Spec changes with this revised model include the addition of a centre-dash 7-inch infotainment screen on lower-order models. As before, the infotainment system has USB and auxiliary connectivity fitted as standard and can be specified with an integrated My Music function, along with Bluetooth hands free, where up to 1GB of music can be stored and played. Plus you can specify 'big car' features like a panoramic sunroof, automatic folding door mirrors, a heated steering wheel and a special automatic windscreen defog system. A key new option available across the range is a Phantom Black two-tone roof. There's also now a lot more camera-driven safety kit on offer, including the latest Hyundai SmartSense active safety and drivers assistance systems. These include Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS), Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS), Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) city and interurban, Driver Attention Alert (DAA) and High Beam Assist (HBA).
Cost of Ownership
Hyundai has gone to some length to improve the efficiency of the latest i20, as a part of making sure that all engines now meet the now more stringent Euro 6d emission regulations. The company's Idle Stop and Go engine stop/start system is now a standard feature across the range. And the popular 1.0 T-GDI turbo three cylinder petrol engine is now equipped with a built-in particulate filter to enhance environmental performance. This i20's relatively low weight also helps, achieved through the use of lightweight, high-strength steel. As does efficient electrically-assisted steering and the slippery 0.30Cd drag co-efficient. The five year unlimited-mile warranty is still a huge drawcard car this car. Imagine you bought a Hyundai i20 and your neighbour bought a Fiesta and you both sell your cars after three years. Anyone buying the Ford would be on their own, whereas the Hyundai buyer would be able to transfer the residual two years of the warranty. That's a huge drawcard. As well as the warranty, Hyundai also offers annual health checks on the i20 for five years - and five years worth of roadside assistance. There's an additional ten year anti-perforation warranty for the bodywork. You can also choose a three or five year fixed price servicing plan if you really want to take the nasty surprises out of ownership.
By Jonathan Crouch
If you're looking for a new Hyundai i20 1.2 MPi Premium Nav 5dr Petrol Hatchback for sale, you've come to the right place. At Bristol Street Motors we don't just have the best Hyundai i20 1.2 MPi Premium Nav 5dr Petrol Hatchback deals, we also offer friendly advice and help with all your enquiries to ensure your buying experience is a happy experience.
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Key Standard Features*
- Solid - Polar white
- Solid - Tomato red
- Solid paint
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|Body Glass
|Electric front windows
|Electric rear windows
|Rear wiper
|Drivers one touch up/down with anti-trap
|Rain sensor windscreen wipers
|Tinted windows
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|Adjustable intermittent wipers
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|Automatic defog system
|HBA (Hydraulic Brake Assist)
|Hill start assist control (HAC)
|Vehicle Stability Control (VSC)
|Bluetooth connectivity with voice control
|Apple car play/Android Auto
|Driver Aids
|Cruise control + speed limiter
|Rear view camera
|Lane departure warning system
|Front parking sensor
|Rear parking sensor
|Driver alert system
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|Engine start/stop button
|Driver Information
|Trip computer
|Service interval indicator
|Digital clock
|7" Touch screen navigation
|Supervision cluster
|Driving Mirrors
|Electric folding door mirrors
|Body colour door mirrors
|Auto dimming rear view mirror
|Electric adjustable heated door mirrors
|Diesel particulate filter
|6 speakers
|Rear door speakers
|Steering wheel mounted audio/telephone controls
|Stereo radio
|DAB Digital radio
|USB Connection
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|RDS stereo radio/MP3/WMA with single CD
|4 speakers
|Exterior Body Features
|Body colour door handles
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|Exterior Lights
|Front fog lights
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|Climate control
|Interior Features
|Leather steering wheel
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|Cloth upholstery
|Front door pockets
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|Front cupholders
|Height/reach adjustable steering column
|Chrome interior door handles
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|Active front headrests
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|Rear headrests
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|Isofix rear child seat preparation
|60/40 split folding rear seat
|Front seat back storage pockets
|Locking wheel nuts
|Remote central locking
|Door auto unlock safety system
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|Vanity Mirrors
|Driver/passenger sunvisors and illuminated vanity mirrors
|Wheels - Alloy
|16" alloy wheels
|Wheels - Spare
|Temporary spare wheel
|0 to 60 mph (secs)
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Andrew Cashner and Carlos Quentin took positive steps Tuesday toward manning spots on the Opening Day roster.
But Logan Forsythe appears to be headed for the disabled list rather than subbing for Chase Headley at the start of the season.
The plantar fasciitis in Forsythe's right foot flared up during a 3 ½-inning outing against San Francisco in an exhibition won 4-2 by the Giants.
"It's not so good," Padres manager Bud Black said when asked about Forsythe, who was playing in his first major league exhibition since the diagnosis of plantar fasciitis was made on March 7.
"He's not going to be able to play in a couple days, no way," said Black. When asked about the disabled list, the manager said: "I suspect with the amount of pain he is in, we're headed in that direction."
Forsythe was 0-for-3 and twice drove the ball to the outfield. He made one play on a grounder during three innings in the field.
"But the pain got worse the more he was on his feet," said Black. "It's not looking too good in the short term."
Forsythe said earlier this week that he wanted to give the plantar fasciitis "a solid test this week." But he said if the pain worsened, he would likely have to have a second injection in his right foot then have the foot placed back in the protective boot "for a longer period of time."
If Forsythe goes on the disabled list, rookie Jedd Gyorko will move from second to third to fill the void left by Headley, who will miss the first two weeks to a month of the season with a fracture to the tip of his left thumb. Alexi Amarista (who was 2-for-4 Tuesday and scored after a game-opening triple) will take over at second with Cody Ransom probably making the Opening Day roster as the reserve infielder.
Meantime, Cashner moved closer to making the Opening Day roster as either a starter or a reliever while Quentin came out of his first official major league exhibition of the spring encouraged."
Cashner allowed one run on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts in four innings plus a hitter. He threw 72 pitches with his velocity reaching 94-97 mph. Quentin was 0-for-3 and played four innings plus a hitter in left. He didn't have a play, but chased a ball to the gap in left center.
"I thought he swung the bat well and was moving pretty good," said Black.
Quentin, who had appeared in five minor league games in a span of nine days before Tuesday, saw positive signs.
"I felt good, I moved around fine," said Quentin. "It went the way I wanted it to. The pain was minimal and I was able to manage it. I hit some balls good. I take it all as positive. The plan is to be out there again tomorrow.
"I think every day, I'm a little bit stronger. My endurance is a little better. I feel more every day like I am getting like a player who can be counted on every day."
As for Cashner, Black said: "We like the fact he is healthy. The thumb is not an issue. He is throwing the ball well. He could be in the rotation or the pen, but the long-term plan is as a starter. The velocity was good today, the changeup was good."
The Padres received two other scares Tuesday as Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt hit outfielder Will Venable and first baseman Yonder Alonso on the hand with pitches. Alonso's hand was swollen, but he said he could grip the bat.


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2013 Dec. 5
McGowan, J. G.
Amherst (Mass.) - Interview with Jon McGowan, early member of the Wind Energy Center at UMass: arrived at UMass in 1967 after working at Dupont. Early impressions of UMass in rapid growth. Interest in thermodynamics and energy conversion; introduction to Bill Heronemus and renewable energy. Early grants for ocean thermal energy and wind energy and creation of the "Solar house," putting ... more


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Fox News Hypes Fringe Petition Calling Global Warming A "Hoax"
Fox News is hyping a petition that calls for Congress to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate greenhouse gases, on the grounds that global warming is a "hoax." But while hyping 15,000 signatures gathered by a group that is in the business of misleading the public on climate science, Fox ignored that over 3 million comments have been submitted in favor of EPA's greenhouse gas regulations.
Fox News uncritically repeated the conservative Heartland Institute's declaration that the extensive science behind manmade climate change is just a "hoax." The group's petition, which is being promoted by Republican Senator James Inhofe, tries to cast doubt on everything from the basic physics of the greenhouse effect to the fact that Arctic sea ice has hit record lows and sea levels are rising. Based on that misinformation, the petition argues that the EPA should allow businesses to continue spewing huge amounts of greenhouse gases into the air at no cost to the polluters.
Fox News did not give any background on the Heartland Institute, which has received significant industry funding and came under fire earlier this year for a billboard campaign associating acceptance of climate science with murderers. Heartland took down the billboard, but refused to apologize for its "experiment."
The segment, on Fox News' Happening Now, also devoted uncritical airtime to several questionable claims about the impact of greenhouse gas regulations without speaking to the regulations' proponents. For instance, while Fox opened its report by saying that critics charge the rules would lead to higher gasoline prices, Politifact reported that greenhouse gas regulations would not necessarily lead to higher gasoline prices.
This unbalanced coverage is consistent with a previous Media Matters analysis, which found that Fox News hosted vastly more opponents of greenhouse gas regulations than proponents from December 2009 to April 2011:


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Worthy of framing: Getting strikes an art form
Catcher's skill at persuasion with glove difficult to figure, but it makes a big difference
The count was 1-1, and Max Scherzer's slider dipped just below the bottom edge of Billy Butler's strike zone before landing in Alex Avila's glove.
Avila, though, slightly tipped his glove in such a way as to make the pitch appear higher than it was.
"Strike!" yelled home-plate umpire Paul Emmel.
Butler, clearly confounded by the call, stood there for a beat, giving Emmel a short, scrutinizing stare. There is a substantial difference in the outcomes of at-bats that reach a 1-2 count as opposed to a 2-1 count -- about 75 points worth of batting average -- and Butler, in his third at-bat of the game, was about to illustrate a typical outcome on a 1-2 count.
He grounded out to short.
That's what those watching saw. But Scherzer saw something else. That small but consequential strike, he would say later, was due directly to Avila.
"He got me that strike," Scherzer said. "That was a good job by Alex framing the pitch. That's important, and we pitchers know it. The more data we get about it, we're seeing how much better certain catchers are at it."
Pitch-framing has become an increasingly popular concept in the statistical community, even as some tangle with that specific terminology.
Let's let Avila provide a decent definition:
"I wouldn't call it framing," he said. "I'd call it presenting. You want to catch the ball cleanly, and you don't want to make it look like you're redirecting the ball. There are a lot of catchers now that will catch it and literally move their glove six, seven, eight inches. That's obvious, and in my opinion you're showing up the umpire. The whole thing is with borderline pitches. You want to catch them cleanly to where you're not making it look like it's a difficult pitch."
In the past decade, the availability of PITCHF/x data in every Major League park has provided a better idea of which catchers are mechanically sound enough in receiving pitches to get calls in their favor, as the attached chart demonstrates.
Extra StrikesCatchers received the most "extra strikes" in 2013 cccording to Baseball Prospectus,
|Extra strikes
|Jonathan Lucroy
|Jose Molina
|Chris Stewart
|Russell Martin
|Hank Conger
|Yadier Molina
|Yan Gomes
|Buster Posey
|Mike Zunino
|Martin Maldonado
And so when, say, the Rays trade for Ryan Hanigan to share their catching duties, we have a better statistical understanding of the reason for the acquisition and how Hanigan's and Molina's pitch-framing skills help offset their challenged offense. Baseball Prospectus did a study of the 2008-13 seasons and found that Molina ranked first and Hanigan eighth among all catchers in something called the "Regressed Probabilistic Model" of framing -- or, in layman's terms, the ability to get strike calls and, ergo, save runs.
By that measure, the Rays' duo looks to be a framing force to be reckoned with.
But how much value do these pitch-framing numbers truly provide? How much meaning should be attached to the metrics?
People within the game are asking those questions. Pitch-framing isn't a new concept, but the attention it's been receiving is definitely a recent development. And while the statistical data is helpful in differentiating the good framers from the not-so-good, it is but one element of defensive evaluation, alongside blocking pitches, game-calling and arm strength and accuracy, it's subject to personal judgment and human error.
"Like a lot of statistics, it's subjective," said Don Wakamatsu, the Royals' bench coach and catching coordinator. "I'll give you an example: If you have a young catcher, like Yan Gomes, and you have Jose Molina in the same game, who is the umpire going to listen to more? Jose is really good at manipulation. He has that credibility. So if he turns around and says, 'I think that was a pretty good pitch,' he's going to get that next one. That's the dialogue that goes on, and a lot of it comes down to persuasion."
Gomes, the Indians catcher who has started just 96 games behind the plate in the Major Leagues, agreed.
"I'm still learning who I can talk to like that," he said. "I'm not trying to step on anybody's toes there or anything. I'm just trying to get as comfortable as you should be and build something that's going to last my whole career."
Like many catchers, Gomes takes a great deal of pride in the preparation he puts into his receiving duties. Before games, he'll squat in front of a pitching machine that will shoot breaking balls and sinkers in a variety of directions as a means of getting mentally prepared for the real thing.
Ultimately, though, Gomes is at the mercy of his pitcher.
"Umpires scout pitchers who are outside the zone a lot," said Indians coach Sandy Alomar Jr., who works closely with Gomes. "It's very difficult for an umpire to call balls and strikes when a guy is not consistent with his command. That's why Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine got a lot of called strikes. They were consistent with their command."
The most that can be asked of a catcher, then, is to be soft enough with his hands so that he doesn't look as though he's making a great deal of movement to receive the pitch and to be positioned in such a way as to give the ump a clean look.
"A lot of umpires go by how much you move," said Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal. "It always goes back to the vision. If they can't see it, they're going to think it's a ball. Give them nice vision, and they're going to give you the strike. I talk to a lot of umpires and ex-catchers and ex-pitchers, and that's the No. 1 thing they want to see from a catcher -- a nice, big target and stay still."
There is little doubt that proper pitch-framing -- or "presenting," as Avila would insist -- can impact outcomes, as the aforementioned Butler at-bat demonstrated. And there is equally little doubt that some advanced mathematical minds are doing great work in compiling data illustrating that impact.
But to those in the game, the practice is still viewed as an art that's difficult to tabulate.
"As a catcher," said Avila, "there are a lot of things you want to do behind the plate that go unnoticed. When they go unnoticed, that means you're doing your job."


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The salary cap strapped Red Bulls dealt away leading scorer Kenny Cooper to FC Dallas for allocation money, in essence trading away production for potential and much-needed flexibility.
"Due to salary cap restrictions and in order to balance our squad now and in the future, we have very reluctantly traded Kenny,'' said sporting director Andy Roxburgh. "The allocation money combined with the salary cap relief that we obtained will be vital for us to strengthen the squad in specific areas.''
Cooper had poured in a team-high 18 goals in his only season with the club, having been acquired on Jan. 12, 2012 – draft day – from the Portland Timbers. His total matched a career-high and was the second-best total in MLS, but he would have cost the Red Bulls $375,000 against the salary cap.
The Red Bulls tried every avenue to keep him, but doing so would have precluded any other move the rest of the season, even the most minor ones, much less adding a third Designated Player this summer. There have also been questions as to how he meshes with captain Thierry Henry on the field.
Now, Cooper goes back to an FC Dallas club for which he played from 2006-09. Meanwhile, the Red Bulls are left with Henry and former Real Salt Lake standout Fabian Espindola as veteran options up front. Tim Cahill can play up front as well, although will likely be needed in midfield, and Josue Martinez and Amando Moreno are young and untested. They have young Marius Obekop on trial, and it's possible he could play up front or in the midfield, and they've been linked with French striker Peguy Luyindula as well.
"Kenny, who is a great professional as well as an excellent person to work with, has been a very good member of our roster and we wish him every success with the next phase of his playing career,'' said Roxburgh. "Kenny and MLS have been very supportive during this difficult process."


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Explore Artisans by Country
Located on the Pacific coast, Peru is the place to go for biodiversity. Coastal deserts, rainforests, and the Amazon Basin make Peru a hot spot for tourists and scholars. Peru was once the site of the Incan civilization and the country retains parts of this heritage today. Forty-five percent of the people are indigenous. Indigenous Peruvians who live in the high Andes largely speak Quechua, an ancient language that predates the Inca.
Today Peru is a nation recovering from poverty and political strife. Coups in the 1970's and 1980's have shifted government control from civilians to the military and back again.
Manos Amigas
Manos Amigas is a fair trade organization dedication to the export of handicrafts and to alternative tourism. Manos Amigas, which means...Their Story and Handcrafted Products
Allpa is named for a Quechua Indian word that means "earth." Allpa is a Peruvian craft trading company providing marketing assistance to...Their Story and Handcrafted Products
Intercrafts Peru
Intercrafts Peru is a nonprofit civic association promoting export sales of Peruvian handicrafts. A democratic cooperative of artisan...Their Story and Handcrafted Products


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The LensCoat Lens Cover for the Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS lens protects the lens with a 100% closed-cell neoprene coat, offering your valuable equipment some resilience to bumps, jars, scrapes and nicks. Easy to install and remove, leaving no residue on the lens, LensCoat Lens Covers are ideal for nature and outdoor photographers, where the Forest Green Camo pattern helps break up the shape of your lens, making it less noticeable to wildlife and allowing you to blend in with your surroundings. Lens Covers are also suited to sports shooters and photojournalists as the neoprene provides a thermal barrier, protecting your hands from cold lenses in lower temperatures. The LensCoat Lens Cover features clear plastic windows over the main lens dials and controls to ensure that using and mounting the lens isn't hindered in any way by having the Lens Cover attached.
Bargain Deal: £64.99
|Click for Deal


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Learn how to contact each ARDA department.
Click here to view ARDA's staff by name.
ARDA World is quickly approaching, and with so many great
opportunities and experiences offered it is time to decide which of these are
the "can't miss" events. One of the most
popular sessions from previous years, the CEO Session, will be making its
highly anticipated return again this year.
In this session our CEO panel will be addressing topical industry issues
ranging from the impact of industry consolidation, the secondary market and
generational demographics on our business through a robust discussion regarding
managing and enhancing digital relationships.
Let's meet this year's panel:
Fredricks has been the President of
the Welk Resort Group since 1999 and CEO since 2014. The company has more than 1,600 employees and
1,077 vacation units across its portfolio. Fredricks has led the award-winning
hospitality company during its greatest period of growth and expansion.
As President and Chief Executive
Officer of Wyndham Vacation Ownership, He is responsible for the world's
largest developer and marketer of flexible, points-based vacation ownership
products. He oversees all management,
operations, strategic planning and growth initiatives, and leads a worldwide
staff of more than 17,000 employees.
Harrill has been Chief Executive Officer
of Holiday Inn Club Vacations since 2005, leading the organization to years of
consecutive record growth and becoming a key voice within the timeshare
industry. Don arrived to Holiday Inn Club Vacations with more than three
decades of experience in the hospitality industry, eight of those at the helm
of industry-leading timeshare organizations Trendwest Resorts and Hilton Grand
Vacations Company.
Potrock began his career with Disney
as VP of Marketing for Disney Cruise Lines in 1995 and has taken on various
roles in the company since. He is currently Senior Vice President and General
Manager of Disney Vacation Club & Adventures by Disney since 2013.
Wang is President of Hilton Grand
Vacations. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Wang co-founded PAHIO Resorts in
Hawaii and served as its president for six years. He later formed Grand
Ownership Resorts, Ltd., a consulting company that developed a successful
vacation ownership program at The Bay Club on the Big Island of Hawaii, a
resort now managed by Hilton Grand Vacations.
With this great group of leaders, you do not want to miss
this session! Be sure to put it in your
schedule of events for 4:00-5:00 pm on Tuesday, May 3rd.
As you probably know, ARDA's annual
convention is quickly approaching. This
year we have a great mix of informative sessions with fun activities, like the
annual golf tournament. It is important to partake in some of the
extracurricular activities, but one of the main reasons you are coming is for
the informative, educational sessions.
The Educational Sessions offer a
large range of information on industry and business topics. They begin on Monday and then run in waves
through Tuesday and Wednesday. There are
a lot of options to choose from. Here's
a sampling of a few you may want to check out:
With 35 different Educational
sessions, it is important to find and plan which ones are best for you. Check out the full schedule here.
This year we
have two exciting and educational speakers, Jonathan Perelman and Curt Cronin. They come from different backgrounds but both
have helpful insights for our industry.
Perelman will be the keynote speaker for the opening general session taking
place Tuesday, May 3rd between 10:30 am – 12 pm, while Curt Cronin
will be speaking at the Breakfast of Champions Thursday, May 5th
beginning at 8 am. You won't want to
miss them!
Perelman was
Former Vice President of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures and Former Global Lead for
Industry Relations at Google. Currently,
he is the head of digital initiatives at ICM Partners. He knows how to stand out, rise above the
noise, and get your organization's voice heard online. Pulling from his extensive experience at some
of the world's most successful and influential brands, he shows audiences how
to tell their story in a genuine, authentic, and meaningful way that generates
word of mouth marketing at Internet scale.
With great energy and stage presence, he breaks down the tactics and
mindset that propelled Buzzfeed from a small blog to a cultural phenomenon read
by millions of people. Read more about
Jonathan Perelman here
Cronin spent
over 16 years as a Navy SEAL where he was deployed thirteen times and spent more
than four years overseas. In that time,
living and working in an environment where milliseconds made the difference
between life and death and winning and losing, he honed his talent as a
catalyst for transformation and rose to lead the nation's premier SEAL assault
force. Curt's experiences as a SEAL reinforced his fundamental belief that the
competitive edge for any organization in the information age is neither
technology nor information, but the unparalleled power of an aligned team.
passion is to engage each person, team, or organization's highest aspirations,
and help them connect to the "hero within." He has counseled organizations
including AIG, Disney, HP, and the Miami Dolphins, and is an expert at
maximizing human potential and synthesizing the strengths of a team to create
unprecedented results in any context.
This is a ticketed event so make sure to get your tickets ahead of time,
and you can read more about Curt Cronin here.
partnership with Phocuswright, ARDA presents:
Interactive 'Digital Meets Travel' Pitch Competition
May 4, 2016 from 9:30-11 am
Grand Ballroom, The Diplomat HotelOpen to all ARDA World attendees.
This year, ARDA is bringing a
new, exciting and interactive pitch competition to its general session!
Modeled after Shark Tank, you'll watch as a select group of bold start-ups
present their digital innovations and business plans to our panel of judges—the
Lions of the timeshare industry—including three high profile CEOs and
executives of Disney, Marriott and Wyndham.
Our brave contestants include:
Our judges will evaluate the
companies and, following a live audience vote, a winner will be announced!
They'll gain massive exposure to members of the timeshare industry, feedback on
their innovations, and it's all happening live at ARDA World 2016!
Join us and cast your vote live alongside the
lodging is still available, reserve your hotel room before the group rate ends
on April 11th.
We hope
to see you there!
Copyright 2014. American Resort Development Assoc. All rights reserved.


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Alex Overhardt, son of Denver-based NHL player agent, heading to WHL's Portland Winterhawks
Kurt Overhardt is the founder and CEO of Denver-based KO Sports, which represents NHL players such as goalies Mike Smith (PHO) and Brian Elliott (STL), defensemen Nate Guenin of the Avalanche, Kevin Bieksa (VAN), Jacob Trouba (WPG) and Andrew Ferrence (EDM), and forwards Ben Street, a recent Colorado minor-league signee, Ryan Kesler (ANA), Kyle Turris (OTT) and Ryan Johansen (CLB). Overhardt's 17-year-old son, Alex, could also become a client.
Alex Overhardt captained coach Angelo Ricci's U16 Colorado Thunderbirds to a runnerup finish at USA Hockey's Tier I (triple-A) national championships last season, losing to Team Wisconsin in an epic 2-1 four OT thriller. Overhardt finished tied for second in Tbirds Elite League scoring with 30 points (15 goals) in 37 league games. DU recruit Troy Terry had a team-high 41 points (16 goals).
Read more…


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The 18th Century Market Boards allows Supporting Members to enact commerce in the 18th Century period.
There are currently 3 18th Century market boards.
Enter the term you want to find in a message, and press Search.
Back to Top of Directory
91,581 hits since 13 May 2004©1994-2020 Bill Armintrout
Comments or corrections?


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Chinese New Year is around the corner.It's time we start making CNY's cookies and cake,right? Well,living outside Chinese community or other then Asia countries we Chinese have plenty of disadvantage in term of celebration .First of all, all the school system in US and A or federal or state or city level doesn't recognize Chinese New Year is a public holiday.Secondly,if we don't live in Chinese speaking community like Chinatown ,we don't feel like Chinese New Year at all even it's Chinese New Year!! You may wonder why,right? For example,my neighbourhood are predominately white or etc but none Chinese at all!! Some of them don't even know when or how Chinese celebrate their new year..Yea..that sad,right? The worst part is this year Chinese New Year fall on weekday,that mean my Mishu have to go to school.If not we can go to Chinatown in NYC to celebrate by watching lion dance,eating meaningful Chinese dinner and shopping for CNY goodies!
As usual I don't make lots of Chinese New Year cookies for myself..The reason why I make CNY's cookies is for me to bring as gift when visiting friends before or during Chinese New Year.I think friends will appreciated my own hand make cookies then the ready make from supermarket shelf,right? Anyway,yesterday I started work on my 1st Chinese New Year goodies or cookies.That is Pineapple Tart filling!! This is my 3 times making Pineapple Tart for CNY. Here is the 1st and 2nd time post !!Below are the step to step photos...Let me post all the pictures to explain the simple process bcos picture speak thousand words,right?
bought 2 fresh medium size ripe pineapple to make the filling..too bad I can't find a bigger size pineapple .If you can't find fresh pineapple or refuse to cut this bitchy fruit,Canned pineapple is OK..
Then removed the stump both end top and bottom,follow by the spiky skin.Make sure all the green are removed.Cut each pineapple into 4 sections before remove all the brown "eyes"..If you don't understand ,please refer to my video below
my video instruction is slightly different from what I wrote here bcos this video is an old vid, anyway cut the fruit into 4 sections first for easy cutting..enjoy and have fun!
then cut the core,discard
this fresh pineapple is so sweet!! wish I bought extra to eat as it's!!
cut the clean pineapple into chunk for easy blend in food processor
Blend or pulse all the pineapple chunk until fine,then pour into medium large stock pot to cook .Add in sugar.
2 drop of pineapple essence


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Caring for and protecting wildlife
The Save Me Trust exists to give wild animals a voice. It was created by Dr. Brian May and Anne Brummer to speak out about the cruel minority in our society, that persecute and torture wildlife for 'sport'. Save Me has become a leading voice in opposing the government's unscientific badger culls whilst fighting against animal cruelty and injustice.
Save Me arrived on the scene in 2009. We were shocked to see that if the Conservatives became elected they would try to bring back fox hunting by repealing the act. It was an issue firmly in their manifesto. The Conservative government didn't get an outright majority and a new coalition government was formed.
The badger cull was introduced by the coalition in spite of all the credible science stating that it would not work. They cancelled five of the six vaccination projects that were underway and regretted that later. In an EFRA select committee meeting on bTB, they recognised it as a "missed opportunity".
The coalition forged ahead with the cull; we have now seen 4 years of culling. In September 2017, 11 zones were added to the 10 existing zones. It is ineffective, unsustainable and inhumane. The government has produced no credible evidence that this policy is working. It is one of our key issues.
We organised a very successful symposium to increase the communication on all sides in March 2017 – along with Defra – and continue to work to find a solution that will help farmers, badgers and the public purse. We will continue to take legal action to bring the government to account on this issue.
The repeal of the Hunting Act was not as simple as the party had hoped for. It was not sought during their time in office (2010-2015) and was prevented by others within the coalition.
On May 7th 2015, the Conservative Party formed a majority government and, with their manifesto promise, seemed likely to hold a free vote on repeal.
Times have changed and the myth of failing rural economies, the myth of loss of tradition and the false claim of population control have seen MPs change their views. The public are against repeal and many Conservative MPs found that this issue affected their votes. We have a new group of MPs and the foxes have three ministers on their side, plus many Conservative MPs. Labour still support the ban along with SNP, and so the proposed free vote should see the House retain the act.
This is by no means a given and we will continue to fight to prevent a repeal. The repeal of the act still remains a threat and we will stay vigilant to prevent it from becoming a reality.
Save Me spends much of its time in Parliament lobbying MPs and trying to find a solution to the badger cull and to prevent the repeal of the fox Hunting Act.
We launched Amazing Grace in Parliament – a campaign to halt the dramatic decline in hedgehog numbers – and have secured the first Hedgehog friendly village in our home village of Windlesham. We are now supporting our local borough to become hedgehog friendly. Through Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue we are establishing soft release programs for hedgehogs in suitable locations and this is proving very successful.
Our campaigns extend to the halting the ivory trade, removing Orcas and dolphins from captivity and stopping driven grouse shooting . We oppose trophy hunting , the wearing wild animals and want to end the awful practice of wild animals performing in circuses. We object to puppy farming.
We rejuvenate woodlands and enhance and protect them for wildlife.
The Save Me Trust will continue to fight for wildlife injustices and, in short, Save Me will always give wildlife a voice.
Please join us and help us to speak louder.
Become a friend of Save Me Here.
"Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace." Albert Schweitzer


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The Crystals Of Orinoco
COOP Build
Hi RPG players !
Today i'm proud to present to you a new ccop build for Trackmania Stadium RPG TitlePack : The Crystals Of Orinoco.
The Story
Ages ago, explorer were trying to find the City of Orinoco. Legends say that the city is powered with a huge amount of energy. And some people were saying that Crystals was powering it.
When it got discover, every explorer were trying to put the power back to this city. But people say that they never came back after entering the Temple.
You ( the driver ) will try to put the power back to this city. 6 Crystals are needed. Will you find them all ?
Building Part
You have to be a RPG builder if you want to be part of it.
Has the story say, we need to power 6 Crystals, so 6 ways, so 6 builder ( including me ). This project could be one of the most beautiful and creative RPG track. But i need your help. This project has been create to show what people can do when they work together.
Builder needed : ( look the image below if you want to see witch way you want to build )
Crystals of.....
Nature : (empty)
Water : (empty)
Air : (empty)
Fire : (empty)
Light : (empty)
Physics : (empty)
I will take the last choice, so you guys can choose.
Well here is the project. Hope you guys will be part of it and the map creative and beautiful.
Screenshot :
First Room
Nature Crystal
Water Crystal
Air Crystal
Fire Crystal
Light Crystal
Physics Crystal
PS : If you think the First room could be better, PM me and we talk about it


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Fetching something over the network is both slow and expensive. Large responses require many roundtrips between the client and server, which delays when they are available and when the browser can process them, and also incurs data costs for the visitor. As a result, the ability to cache and reuse previously fetched resources is a critical aspect of optimizing for performance.
The good news is that every browser ships with an implementation of an HTTP cache. All you need to do is ensure that each server response provides the correct HTTP header directives to instruct the browser on when and for how long the browser can cache the response.
When the server returns a response, it also emits a collection of HTTP headers, describing its content-type, length, caching directives, validation token, and more. For example, in the above exchange, the server returns a 1024-byte response, instructs the client to cache it for up to 120 seconds, and provides a validation token ("x234dff") that can be used after the response has expired to check if the resource has been modified.
Validating cached responses with ETags
- The server uses the ETag HTTP header to communicate a validation token.
- The validation token enables efficient resource update checks: no data is transferred if the resource has not changed.
Assume that 120 seconds have passed since the initial fetch and the browser has initiated a new request for the same resource. First, the browser checks the local cache and finds the previous response. Unfortunately, the browser can't use the previous response because the response has now expired. At this point, the browser could dispatch a new request and fetch the new full response. However, that's inefficient because if the resource hasn't changed, then there's no reason to download the same information that's already in cache!
That's the problem that validation tokens, as specified in the ETag header, are designed to solve. The server generates and returns an arbitrary token, which is typically a hash or some other fingerprint of the contents of the file. The client doesn't need to know how the fingerprint is generated; it only needs to send it to the server on the next request. If the fingerprint is still the same, then the resource hasn't changed and you can skip the download.
In the preceding example, the client automatically provides the ETag token in the "If-None-Match" HTTP request header. The server checks the token against the current resource. If the token hasn't changed, the server returns a "304 Not Modified" response, which tells the browser that the response it has in cache hasn't changed and can be renewed for another 120 seconds. Note that you don't have to download the response again, which saves time and bandwidth.
As a web developer, how do you take advantage of efficient revalidation? The browser does all the work on our behalf. The browser automatically detects if a validation token has been previously specified, it appends the validation token to an outgoing request, and it updates the cache timestamps as necessary based on the received response from the server. The only thing left to do is to ensure that the server is providing the necessary ETag tokens. Check your server documentation for the necessary configuration flags.
- Each resource can define its caching policy via the Cache-Control HTTP header.
- Cache-Control directives control who can cache the response, under which conditions, and for how long.
From a performance optimization perspective, the best request is a request that doesn't need to communicate with the server: a local copy of the response allows you to eliminate all network latency and avoid data charges for the data transfer. To achieve this, the HTTP specification allows the server to return Cache-Control directives that control how, and for how long, the browser and other intermediate caches can cache the individual response.
"no-cache" and "no-store"
"no-cache" indicates that the returned response can't be used to satisfy a subsequent request to the same URL without first checking with the server if the response has changed. As a result, if a proper validation token (ETag) is present, no-cache incurs a roundtrip to validate the cached response, but can eliminate the download if the resource has not changed.
By contrast, "no-store" is much simpler. It simply disallows the browser and all intermediate caches from storing any version of the returned response—for example, one containing private personal or banking data. Every time the user requests this asset, a request is sent to the server and a full response is downloaded.
"public" vs. "private"
If the response is marked as "public", then it can be cached, even if it has HTTP authentication associated with it, and even when the response status code isn't normally cacheable. Most of the time, "public" isn't necessary, because explicit caching information (like "max-age") indicates that the response is cacheable anyway.
By contrast, the browser can cache "private" responses. However, these responses are typically intended for a single user, so an intermediate cache is not allowed to cache them. For example, a user's browser can cache an HTML page with private user information, but a CDN can't cache the page.
This directive specifies the maximum time in seconds that the fetched response is allowed to be reused from the time of the request. For example, "max-age=60" indicates that the response can be cached and reused for the next 60 seconds.
Defining optimal Cache-Control policy
Follow the decision tree above to determine the optimal caching policy for a particular resource, or a set of resources, that your application uses. Ideally, you should aim to cache as many responses as possible on the client for the longest possible period, and provide validation tokens for each response to enable efficient revalidation.
|Cache-Control directives & Explanation
|Response can be cached by browser and any intermediary caches (that is, it's "public") for up to 1 day (60 seconds x 60 minutes x 24 hours).
|private, max-age=600
|Response can be cached by the client's browser only for up to 10 minutes (60 seconds x 10 minutes).
|Response is not allowed to be cached and must be fetched in full on every request.
According to HTTP Archive, among the top 300,000 sites (by Alexa rank), the browser can cache nearly half of all the downloaded responses, which is a huge savings for repeat pageviews and visits. Of course, that doesn't mean that your particular application can cache 50% of the resources. Some sites can cache more than 90% of their resources, while other sites might have a lot of private or time-sensitive data that can't be cached at all.
Audit your pages to identify which resources can be cached and ensure that they return appropriate Cache-Control and ETag headers.
Invalidating and updating cached responses
- Locally cached responses are used until the resource "expires."
- Embedding a file content fingerprint in the URL enables you to force the client to update to a new version of the response.
- Each application needs to define its own cache hierarchy for optimal performance.
All HTTP requests that the browser makes are first routed to the browser cache to check whether there is a valid cached response that can be used to fulfill the request. If there's a match, the response is read from the cache, which eliminates both the network latency and the data costs that the transfer incurs.
However, what if you want to update or invalidate a cached response? For example, suppose you've told your visitors to cache a CSS stylesheet for up to 24 hours (max-age=86400), but your designer has just committed an update that you'd like to make available to all users. How do you notify all the visitors who have what is now a "stale" cached copy of your CSS to update their caches? You can't, at least not without changing the URL of the resource.
After the browser caches the response, the cached version is used until it's no longer fresh, as determined by max-age or expires, or until it is evicted from cache for some other reason— for example, the user clearing their browser cache. As a result, different users might end up using different versions of the file when the page is constructed: users who just fetched the resource use the new version, while users who cached an earlier (but still valid) copy use an older version of its response.
How do you get the best of both worlds: client-side caching and quick updates? You change the URL of the resource and force the user to download the new response whenever its content changes. Typically, you do this by embedding a fingerprint of the file, or a version number, in its filename—for example, style.x234dff.css.
The ability to define per-resource caching policies allows you to define "cache hierarchies" that allow you to control not only how long each is cached for, but also how quickly visitors see new versions. To illustrate this, analyze the above example:
- The CSS is allowed to be cached by browsers and intermediate caches (for example, a CDN), and is set to expire in 1 year. Note that you can use the "far future expires" of 1 year safely because you embed the file fingerprint in its filename: if the CSS is updated, the URL changes as well.
- The JavaScript is also set to expire in 1 year, but is marked as private, perhaps because it contains some private user data that the CDN shouldn't cache.
- The image is cached without a version or unique fingerprint and is set to expire in 1 day.
The combination of ETag, Cache-Control, and unique URLs allows you to deliver the best of all worlds: long-lived expiration times, control over where the response can be cached, and on-demand updates.
Caching checklist
There's no one best cache policy. Depending on your traffic patterns, type of data served, and application-specific requirements for data freshness, you must define and configure the appropriate per-resource settings, as well as the overall "caching hierarchy."
Some tips and techniques to keep in mind as you work on caching strategy:
- Use consistent URLs: if you serve the same content on different URLs, then that content will be fetched and stored multiple times. Tip: note that URLs are case sensitive.
- Ensure that the server provides a validation token (ETag): validation tokens eliminate the need to transfer the same bytes when a resource has not changed on the server.
- Identify which resources can be cached by intermediaries: those with responses that are identical for all users are great candidates to be cached by a CDN and other intermediaries.
- Determine the optimal cache lifetime for each resource: different resources may have different freshness requirements. Audit and determine the appropriate max-age for each one.
- Determine the best cache hierarchy for your site: the combination of resource URLs with content fingerprints and short or no-cache lifetimes for HTML documents allows you to control how quickly the client picks up updates.
- Minimize churn: some resources are updated more frequently than others. If there is a particular part of a resource (for example, a JavaScript function or a set of CSS styles) that is often updated, consider delivering that code as a separate file. Doing so allows the remainder of the content (for example, library code that doesn't change very often), to be fetched from cache and minimizes the amount of downloaded content whenever an update is fetched.


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Nate Berg
Nate Berg is a freelance reporter and a former staff writer for CityLab. He lives in Los Angeles.
One need not look far to find a passionate argument that the compact city is the green city. Having more people in a smaller area results in less energy use for transportation purposes, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and greater efficiencies in the use of various resources. Cramming more people into a smaller space makes our cities more sustainable. Or does it? New research published in the spring issue of the Journal of the American Planning Association finds that – unlike today's dominant narrative of the green city – urban form may actually have very little impact on energy use and other measures of sustainability.
Researchers from the universities of Cambridge, Newcastle, and Leeds looked at three English metropolitan areas of various sizes and ran them through computer models that imposed three different urban forms over the course of 30 years. Each area was modeled as a hyper-dense city with tight restrictions on land use, an urban growth boundary and prioritized transit development, a sprawling, market-driven urban form that had few restrictions on land use, and a middle ground based on English new towns, or those planned suburban-style developments on the outskirts of larger cities. Each urban form – compaction, dispersal, expansion – was modeled on the three areas between the years 2001 and 2031 and evaluated on the basis on 26 different measures of sustainability – from pollution levels to degradation of water systems to the energy consumption of buildings and people. The models showed only very slight differences between the three urban forms.
"To our surprise, if you compare the compact form versus the current trend, the difference in reduced transport by automobile is very minor. And if you allow the city to expand, the increase in the use of the car is only marginal," says Marcial Echenique, a professor at the University of Cambridge Department of Architecture and one of the authors of the report. "If you make the city more compact, it doesn't mean that people will abandon their car. Only 5 percent of people abandon the use of the car. Ninety-five percent carries on using the car, which means there are more cars on the same streets, therefore there is much more congestion and therefore there is much more pollution and no great increase in the reduction of energy."
Echenique says he and his team have been working on this research for about 4 or 5 years, and continued modeling and analysis has only backed up their findings.
"We are not very convinced of the idea that compacting cities will make very much difference in terms of environmental quality. But it will have severe consequences in terms of economics and social issues," Echenique says.
Of particular concern for these researchers is that restricting development to only high-density, urban locations could greatly increase the cost of land and housing, causing both the cost of living and the cost of doing businesses to skyrocket. Echenique worries this will cause cities to become less competitive over the long term.
In terms of reducing the environmental impacts of human development and lifestyle, Echenique says his numbers indicate that we might be better off focusing our effort on improving technology and energy efficiency. He says we'll have a much better chance of reducing the negative impacts of modern living by focusing on automobile technology and reduced energy usage in buildings. He and his team are currently working on research on the effectiveness of focusing on the technology side. Results are expected to publish later this year.
"We believe that we can reduce by 50 percent or more the use of energy in a fairly short time, within the next 20 years or so," he says. "It's much more effective than compacting or dispersing cities, because there's only a five percent difference either way."
Echenique argues and his research indicates that greater gains can be achieved by making more efficient cars or better insulation for buildings than by trying to reshape the urban landscape.
"Technology offers a much better future than trying to constrain behavior of the market," he says.
The result of this work will likely be somewhat frustrating for urban boosters arguing for an increased emphasis on density and city living. Echenique recognizes that urbanization is underway, especially in developing countries, and that density will likely be the development paradigm in many of these places. But he also observes that urbanization is happening on a metropolitan scale, and that means development is occurring at a variety of densities within a region. Valuing one over the others as the sustainable model is unwise, he argues. He says this research shows that creating sustainable places has little to do with what they look like and far more to do with their energy use.
Top image: A man carries a baby as he walks to his house in an area where old residential buildings are being demolished to make room for new skyscrapers in downtown Shanghai. Credit: Aly Song / Reuters
Because of coronavirus, millions of tenants won't be able to write rent checks. But calls for a rent holiday often ignore the longer-term economic effects.
Will COVID-19 change how cities are designed? Michele Acuto of the Connected Cities Lab talks about density, urbanization and pandemic preparation.
To help flatten the curve in the Covid-19 outbreak, officials at all levels of government are asking people to stay home. Here's what's worked, and what hasn't.
Some renters and homeowners are getting financial assistance during the economic disruption from the coronavirus pandemic. What about landlords?
There's a fatal history behind the claim that African Americans are more resistant to diseases like Covid-19 or yellow fever.


text:
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This truly luxurious woven silk tie is made from 100% silk, and it is hand-woven by master craftsmen. The perfect way to add a touch of colour to any outfit, this tie has a vibrant and playful snail design.
size & fit
Blade with: 9 cm approx.
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text:
You Can Help Your Twentysomething Teammates In A Music Quiz
It was enough to strike fear in the heart of any fortysomething.
It was a work night out.
But this time, I was game. Because this work night out was a pub quiz.
Like any normal person, I enjoy pub quizzes. And like any normal person, I never organise myself or others enough to actually go to any pub quizzes. So while enforced fun – a work night out – is, in some ways, this fortysomething British person's idea of hell, I don't mind it if the fun being enforced is something which I am too lazy to enforce upon myself.
So there we were: my colleagues and I, about 35 of us in total, in a basement bar off Oxford Street hired for our exclusive use that night. There we sat, with our free drinks and free sharing plates – two things designed to make us talk and mingle with That Person Who Works In That Other Department Doing That Job Which You Don't Fully Understand (which they did – I found myself reaching for cheesy nachos at the same time as That Nice Chap Who Does Design Stuff) – while the quiz masters quizzed us. Masterfully.
As far as I'm concerned, the only thing better than a pub quiz is the music round of a pub quiz – so imagine my delight when it turned out that this pub quiz was devoted entirely to music. Every round was a case of Name That Tune, if Name That Tune involved playing a song long enough for you to hear the chorus (and therefore usually the title), and didn't involve people buzzing in when they could, in fact, name that tune.
Which probably makes it sound easier than it was.
I didn't find the Noughties or the Nineties rounds that easy. But fortunately, four out of my five teammates were in their twenties, so they did. When it comes to Noughties music especially, I realise that it's simply a case of me either not being familiar with the song in question, or being vaguely familiar with it, in the sense that I heard it once when I was walking around Primark but couldn't tell you the title or the artist. (Similarly, I know the names of plenty of current pop stars and bands, but couldn't name or sing a single tune by them – but I suspect that's a subject for another You Know You're Over 40 When… post).
But I knew I would come into my own. And that it would be during the Seventies and Eighties music rounds.
And sure enough, when those came along, my fellow fortysomething teammate David/Dave and I metaphorically rolled up our sleeves, took the pen and answer sheets, and prepared to do our worst. And by worst, I do of course mean best. Because a) we didn't want to let our teammates down and b) as two of the oldest people in the room (my colleagues are, to a – young – man, in their 20s and 30s), I'm sure that we subconsciously wanted to show The Kids that old people do have a use, even if that use is only Seventies and Eighties music rounds in pub quizzes. Of course, I say 'we' but I can't speak for David/Dave. Hell, I don't even know what to call him. We're pretty pally and he's a nice bloke in his forties, so both of these things would indicate that he's a 'Dave'. And yet we're not friends, as such, and he uses David in his work email address – both things which would make one err towards calling him 'David'. As a result, I am permanently slightly terrified that if I call him 'Dave' I have overstepped a line of over-familiarity; but if I use 'David' I am being overly formal. Naturally, being British, I am most terrified of the former. I would rather David/Dave thought 'Why doesn't Andrea called me Dave?' than 'I wish Andrea would stop calling me Dave'.
But back to the pub quiz. Where, having played our joker on the Nineties music round, our team are comfortably, nay, smugly ahead; and where the Seventies and Eighties – aka the Fortysomething's Specialist Music Rounds – are about to take place, and thus music-lovers David/Dave and I are about to be carried aloft on the shoulders of our younger colleagues.
The Seventies round included tracks by Bob Dylan, Bob Marley and other people not called Bob, such as Buggles. The Eighties one saw the likes of A-ha, The Human League and Bon Jovi – and the fact that the quiz masters played each song for so long was an utter delight, as our table sang and half-danced along to every track, easily the loudest and seemingly most joyous team, partly because we were comfortably in the lead, and partly because we were drunk. The fact that David/Dave is slightly older than me, and thus has older/darker/maler music tastes than me, meant that we complimented each other perfectly – him leaping on The Jam, me leaping up on hearing Flashdance.
But while the beers and questions flowed, the night was to hold two unfortunate surprises.
One: we didn't win. Despite having been ahead – and despite David/Dave and I being utterly confident in our answers – somewhere in between the second gin and tonic and fourth beer, somewhere in between the sharing plate of pitta with hummous and the sharing plate of nachos with cheese, something went wrong. We have no idea what. It would unfortunately appear that despite being over 40, I can still be guilty of an over-confidence one would associate with the young. That said, being over 40, I managed to console myself pretty quickly because I no longer sweat the small stuff in quite the way that I used to. Plus I'd had free nachos.
Two: the quiz masters named the Fifties/Sixties round the 'Grandma and Grandpa's Music round'. Yes, any pop music quiz which has rounds devoted to decades is bound to make any fortysomething with almost universally twenty- and thirty-something colleagues acutely aware of their age (and not necessarily in a bad way – we'd had a blast and our knowledge was definitely appreciated). But the assumption that the music of the Fifties and Sixties is what your grandparents listened to makes you acutely aware not just of your age but that you are living in a world where, rather like the one in The Truman Show, everything may look just as it always has, but occasionally you'll notice that things have slightly shifted; that things aren't quite as you feel they should be – because they've changed, despite you feeling unchanged.
Or to put it another way: you know you're over 40 when the pub quiz masters are clearly much, much younger than you.


text:
Assured for Trying - நீங்கள் இதை முயற்சி செய்யலாம்.
All the variaties below
Masala Idli
2 idlis, cubed
1 cup mixed vegetables of your choice
2 onions, chopped
1 small piece ginger, finely chopped
2 green chilies, chopped
1/2 tsp. red chili powder
1/2 tsp. coriander powder
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
2 cinnamon sticks
2 cloves
2 cardamoms
1 tbsp of fresh coriander and mint leaves (for garnishing)
1.Heat oil in a pan and add the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Then add the chopped onions and stir for few minutes till they turn golden brown.
2.Now add the vegetables and sauté for few minutes. Then add the ginger, salt, chili powder, turmeric and coriander powder.
3.To this add the idlis and stir till contents are thoroughly heated. Transfer into serving dish and garnish with mint and coriander leaves.
4.Tip: Garlic can also be added. Add few tomatoes if desired. The idlis can be made to very small peices using your hands instead of cutting into cubes for this dish. Try out the Masala idli instead of the usual fried rice or biryani for a change.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes


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Welcome to
Faithsong Publications
Download LDS and other Christian poetry and sheet music for choral, solo, or instrumental use. Downloading, copying, and performing are free for noncommercial use. Please contact us for permission for any other use.
We are still building our library and our site, so take a look around and enjoy, but be sure to check back later for updates and new additions.
All sheet music is in .pdf format. This means that you will need Adobe Reader to view the music. It is available for free at Adobe.com. If you have trouble printing, you may need to download the file first and then print. If you can't access a file, please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com so we can help.


text:
Visualizing large data sets with maps is an ongoing concern these days. Just ask the NSA, or note this federal vehicle tracking initiative reported at the LA Times. Or, this SPD mesh network for tracking any MAC address wandering by.
"There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all of the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to."
George Orwell, 1984
On a less intrusive note, large data visualization is also of interest to anyone dealing with BI or just fascinated with massive public data sets such as twitter universe. Web maps are the way to go for public distribution and all web apps face the same set of issues when dealing with large data sets.
1. Latency of data storage queries, typically SQL
2. Latency of services for mediating queries and data between the UI and storage.
3. Latency of the internet
4. Latency of client side rendering
All web map javascript APIs have these same issues whether it's Google, MapQuest, Nokia Here, or Bing Maps. This is a Bing Maps centric perspective on large data mapping, because Bing Maps has been the focus of my experience for the last year or two.
Web Mapping Limitation
Bing Maps Ajax v7 is Microsoft's javascript API for web mapping applications. It offers typical Point (Pushpin), Polyline, and Polygon vector rendering in the client over three tile base map styles, Road, Aerial, and AerialWithLabels. Additional overlay extensions are also available such as traffic. Like all the major web map apis, vector advantages include client side event functions at the shape object level.
Although this is a powerful mapping API rendering performance degrades with the number of vector entities in an overlay. Zoom and pan navigation performs smoothly on a typical client up to a couple of thousand points or a few hundred complex polylines and polygons. Beyond these limits other approaches are needed for visualizing geographic data sets. This client side limit is necessarily fuzzy as there is a wide variety of client hardware out there in user land, from older desktops and mobile phones to powerful gaming rigs.
Large data Visualization Approaches
1) Tile Pyramid – The Bing Maps Ajax v7 API offers a tileLayer resource that handles overlays of tile pyramids using a quadkey nomenclature. Data resources are precompiled into sets of small images called a tile pyramid which can then be used in the client map as a slippy tile overlay. This is the same slippy tile approach used for serving base Road, Aerial, and AerialWithLabels maps, similar to all web map brands.
Pro:· Fast performance
- Server side latency is eliminated by pre-processing tile pyramids
- Internet streaming is reduced to a limited set of png or jpg tile images
- Client side rendering is reduced to a small set of images in the overlay
Con: Static data – tile pyramids are pre-processed
- data cannot be real time
- Permutations limited – storage and time limitations apply to queries that have large numbers of permutations
- Storage capacity – tile pyramids require large storage resources when provided for worldwide extents and full 20 zoom level depth
2) Dynamic tiles – this is a variation of the tile pyramid that creates tiles on demand at the service layer. A common approach is to provide dynamic tile creation with SQL or file based caching. Once a tile has been requested it is then available for subsequent queries directly as an image. This allows lower levels of the tile pyramid to be populated only on demand reducing the amount of storage required.
- Can handle larger number of query permutations
- Server side latency is reduced by caching tile pyramid images (only the first request requires generating the image)
- Internet streaming is reduced to a limited set of png tile images
- Client side rendering is reduced to a small set of images in the overlay
- Static data – dynamic data must still be refreshed in the cache
- Tile creation performance is limited by server capability and can be a problem with public facing high usage websites.
3) Hybrid - This approach splits the zoom level depth into at least two sections. The lowest levels with the largest extent contain the majority of a data set's features and is provided as a static tile pyramid. The higher zoom levels comprising smaller extents with fewer points can utilize the data as vectors. A variation of the hybrid approach is a middle level populated by a dynamic tile service.
- Fast performance – although not as fast as a pure static tile pyramid it offers good performance through the entire zoom depth.
- Allows fully event driven vectors at higher zoom levels on the bottom end of the pyramid.
- Static data at larger extents and lower zoom levels
- Event driven objects are only available at the bottom end of the pyramid
sample site and demo video
4) Heatmap
Heatmaps refer to the use of color gradient or opacity overlays to display data density. The advantage of heat maps is the data reduction in the aggregating algorithm. To determine the color/opacity of a data set at a location the data is first aggregated by either a polygon or a grid cell. The sum of the data in a given grid cell is then applied to the color gradient dot for that cell. If heatmaps are rendered client side they have good performance only up to the latency limits of service side queries, internet bandwidth, and local rendering.
Grid Pyramids – Server side gridding
Hybrid server side gridding offers significant performance advantages when coupled with pre-processed grid cells. One technique of gridding processes a SQL data resource into a quadkey structure. Each grid cell is identified by its unique quadkey and contains the data aggregate at that grid cell. A grid quadkey sort by length identifies all of the grid aggregates at a specific quadtree level. This allows the client to efficiently download the grid data aggregates at each zoom level and render locally on the client in an html5 canvas over the top of a Bing Maps view. Since all grid levels are precompiled, resolution of cells can be adjusted by Zoom Level.
- Efficient display of very large data sets at wide extents
- Can be coupled with vector displays at higher zoom levels for event driven objects
Con: gridding is pre-processed
- real time data cannot be displayed
- storage and time limitations apply to queries that have large numbers of permutations
5) Thematic
Thematic maps use spatial regions such as states or zipcodes to aggregate data into color coded polygons. Data is aggregated for each region and color coded to show value. A hierarchy of polygons allows zoom levels to switch to more detailed regions at closer zooms. An example hierarchy might be Country, State, County, Sales territory, Zipcode, Census Block.
- Large data resources are aggregated into meaningful geographic regions.
- Analysis is often easier using color ranges for symbolizing data variation
- Rendering client side is limited to a few hundred polygons
- Very large data sets require pre-processing data aggregates by region
6) Future trends
Big Data visualization is an important topic as the web continues to generate massive amounts of data useful for analysis. There are a couple of technologies on the horizon that help visualization of very large data resources.
A. Leverage of client side GPU
Here is an example WebGL http://www.web-maps.com/WebGLTest using CanvasLayer. ( only Firefox, chrome, IE11 *** Cannot be viewed in IE10 ***)
This sample shows speed of pan zoom rendering of 30,000 random points which would overwhelm typical js shape rendering. Data performance is good up to about 500,000 points per Brendan Kenny. Complex shapes need to be built up from triangle primitives. Tessellation rates for polygon generation approaches 1,000,000 triangles per 1000ms using libtess. Once tessellated the immediate mode graphic pipeline can navigate at up to 60fps. Sample code is available on github.
This performance is achieved by leveraging the client GPU. Because immediate mode graphics is a powerful animation engine, time animations can be used to uncover data patterns and anomalies as well as making some really impressive dynamic maps like this Uber sample. Unfortunately all the upstream latency remains: collecting the data from storage and sending it across the wire. Since we're talking about larger sets of data this latency is more pronounced. Once data initialization finishes, client side performance is amazing. Just don't go back to the server for new data very often.
- Good client side navigation performance up to about 500,000 points
- requires a webgl enabled browser
- requires GPU on the client hardware
- subject to latency issues of server query and internet streaming
- WebGL tessellation triangle primitives make display of polylines and polygons complex
Note: IE11 added WebGL capability which is a big boost for the web. There are still some glitches, however, and gl_PointSize in shader is broken for simple points like this sample.
B. Leverage of server side GPU
MapD – Todd Mostak has developed a GPU based spatial query system called MapD (Massively Parallel Database)
MapD Synopsis:
MapD is a new database in development at MIT, created by Todd Mostak. MapD stands for "massively parallel database." The system uses graphics processing units (GPUs) to parallelize computations. Some statistical algorithms run 70 times faster compared to CPU-based systems like MapReduce. A MapD server costs around $5,000 and runs on the same power as five light bulbs. MapD runs at between 1.4 and 1.5 teraflops, roughly equal to the fastest supercomputer in 2000. uses SQL to query data. Mostak intends to take the system open source sometime in the next year.
Bing Test: http://onterrawms.blob.core.windows.net/bingmapd/index.htm
Bing Test shows an example of tweet points over Bing Maps and illustrates the performance boost from the MapD query engine. Each zoom or pan results in a GetMap request to the MapD engine that queries millions of tweet point records (81 million tweets Oct 19 – Oct 30), generating a viewport png image for display over Bing Map. The server side query latency is amazing considering the population size of the data. Here are a couple of screen capture videos to give you the idea of the higher fps rates:
Interestingly, IE and FireFox handle cache in such a way that animations up to 100fps are possible. I can set a low play interval of 10ms and the player appears to do nothing. However, 24hr x12 days = 288 images are all being downloaded in just a few seconds. Consequently the next time through the play range the images come from cache and animation is very smooth. Chrome handles local cache differently in Windows 8 and it won't grab from cache the second time. In the demo case the sample runs at 500ms or 2fps which is kind of jumpy but at least it works in Windows 8 Chrome with an ordinary internet download speed of 8Mbps
Demo site for MapD: http://mapd.csail.mit.edu/
- Server side performance up to 70x
- Internet stream latency reduced to just the viewport image overlay
- Client side rendering as a single image overlay is fast
- Source code not released, and there may be proprietary license restrictions
- Most web servers do not include GPU or GPU clusters – especially cloud instances
Note: Amazon AWS offers GPU Clusters but not cheap.
Cluster GPU Quadruple Extra Large 22 GiB memory, 33.5 EC2 Compute Units, 2 x NVIDIA Tesla "Fermi" M2050 GPUs, 1690 GB of local instance storage, 64-bit platform, 10 Gigabit Ethernet( $2.100 per Hour)
NVidia Tesla M2050 – 448 CUDA Cores per GPU and up to 515 Gigaflops of double-precision peak performance in each GPU!
C. Spatial Hadoop – http://spatialhadoop.cs.umn.edu/
Spatial Hadoop applies the parallelism of Hadoop clusters to spatial problems using the MapReduce technique made famous by Google. In the Hadoop world a problem space is distributed across multiple CPUs or servers. Spatial Hadoop adds a nice collection of spatial objects and indices. Although Azure Hadoop supports .NET, there doesn't seem to be a spatial Hadoop in the works for .NET projects. Apparently MapD as open source would leap frog Hadoop clusters at least for performance per dollar.
D. In Memory database (SQL Server 2014 Hekatron in preview release) – Microsoft plans to enhance the next version of SQL Server with in-memory options. SQL server 2014 in-memory options allows high speed queries for very large data sets when deployed to high memory capacity servers.
Current SQL Server In-Memory OLTP CTP2
Creating Tables
Specifying that the table is a memory-optimized table is done using the MEMORY_OPTIMIZED = ON clause. A memory-optimized table can only have columns of these supported datatypes:
- Bit
- All integer types: tinyint, smallint, int, bigint
- All money types: money, smallmoney
- All floating types: float, real
- date/time types: datetime, smalldatetime, datetime2, date, time
- numeric and decimal types
- All non-LOB string types: char(n), varchar(n), nchar(n), nvarchar(n), sysname
- Non-LOB binary types: binary(n), varbinary(n)
- Uniqueidentifier"
Since geometry and geography data types are not supported with the next SQL Server 2014 in-memory release, spatial data queries will be limited to point (lat,lon) float/real data columns. It has been previously noted that for point data, float/real columns have equivalent or even better search performance than points in a geography or geometry form. In-memory optimizations would then apply primarily to spatial point sets rather than polygon sets.
"Natively Compiled Stored Procedures The best execution performance is obtained when using natively compiled stored procedures with memory-optimized tables. However, there are limitations on the Transact-SQL language constructs that are allowed inside a natively compiled stored procedure, compared to the rich feature set available with interpreted code. In addition, natively compiled stored procedures can only access memory-optimized tables and cannot reference disk-based tables."
SQL Server 2014 natively compiled stored procedures will not include any spatial functions. This means optimizations at this level will also be limited to float/real lat,lon column data sets.
For fully spatialized in-memory capability we'll probably have to wait for SQL Server 2015 or 2016.
- Reduce server side latency for spatial queries
- Enhances performance of image based server side techniques
- Dynamic Tile pyramids
- images (similar to MapD)
- Heatmap grid clustering
- Thematic aggregation
- Requires special high memory capacity servers
- It's still unclear what performance enhancements can be expected from spatially enabled tables
D. Hybrids
The trends point to a hybrid solution in the future which addresses the server side query bottleneck as well as client side navigation rendering bottleneck.
Server side –
a. In-Memory spatial DB
b. Or GPU based parallelized queries
Client side – GPU enhanced with some version of WebGL type functionality that can makes use of client GPU
Techniques are available today that can accommodate large date resources in Bing Maps. Trends indicate that near future technology can really increase performance and flexibility. Perhaps the sweet spot for Big Data map visualization over the next few years will look like a MapD or a GPU Hadoop engine on the server communicating to a WebGL UI over 1 gbps fiber internet.
Orwell feared that we would become a captive audience. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance.
Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman
Of course, in America, we have to have the best of both worlds. Here's my small contribution to irrelevance:


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TORONTO - A popular former Toronto day camp director and her husband, who were spending the winter in Florida, were killed in a double homicide, police said Friday.
David Pichosky, 71, and Rochelle Wise, 66, were found dead Thursday evening inside their home in Hallandale Beach, Fla.
Capt. Sonia Quinones of the Hallandale Beach Police Department said the bodies were found by a neighbour who used a spare key to check on the couple after they didn't show up for a planned lunch.
Quinones said the cause of death and motive are still under investigation.
Wise was retired from a career dedicated to children and was remembered Friday as a mentor to many. She was the former director of Crestwood Valley Day Camp in Toronto from 1990 to 2005 and used to be a preschool vice-principal at Bialik Hebrew Day School.
Sonia Shron, Bialik's executive director, said the news has hit the school community very hard.
"At this point it's so surreal," she said, declining to comment further.
The school later issued a statement saying the Bialik family is "distraught" by the loss of Wise and her "beloved husband," who it referred to as Donny.
"Rochelle was an adored member of the community and respected as an outstanding educator and woman of great character and kind spirit," the school's statement said.
"We extend our deepest sympathy to their families and hope they find comfort knowing our thoughts and prayers are with them at this most difficult time."
Wise was also remembered Friday as an "exceptional woman" who touched many lives at Crestwood over the years. Taylor de Sa, who worked with Wise in the office at the camp said she was a parental figure for many counsellors and was able to impart advice and wisdom to teen staffers.
"She has been a mentor and a friend to so many of us and I believe she has influenced more lives than she could have imagined," de Sa said.
"She took an active interest in so many of us that we all feel a special connection to her. She taught us about kindness, leadership and business and in the end, she is a great example of a life well lived. I will always look up to her."
The camp released a statement calling Wise a "selfless individual who took a genuine interest in the lives of everyone she came across."
"Rochelle dedicated herself to the personal growth and development of every child and staff member in her care, and to creating summer memories that would last a lifetime," the camp's statement said.
"With limitless energy, unwavering courage and a passion for children she was an inspiration to a generation of kids, an example to day camp directors across Toronto and an amazing friend to those of us at Crestwood Valley."
Andrea Jones, who worked at Crestwood for nine summers teaching campers pottery, said news of Wise's death brought her to tears.
"She was the kind of boss that you just wanted to do the best job for — you wanted her to be proud of you," Jones said.
"She was very funny, like a real quick wit. I will miss her and think of Crestwood days fondly, but with such a dull ache now. It's just not the same now."
As someone who hired the camp staff she selected many who had no previous experience other than babysitting. Some former Crestwood staff say they feel Wise took a chance on them and believed in them.
David Galpern was 18 when he walked into Wise's office with no idea what he was going to do in the summer after his first year at university.
"She took one look at me and she said, 'I'm going to make you the head of sports,'" he recalled. Galpern did not know much about sports, he said.
"She told me years later that she knew the day I walked in that she didn't know what the hell she wanted me to do, but she knew she wanted to have me there," Galpern said.
"It was that kind of thing that she had with people, the ability to see something in them."
Like many other former employees, Galpern kept in touch with Wise after he moved on from the summer camp world and reached out to her for advice when he was starting his own business.
Wise had an innate ability to manage people and get the best out of them, Galpern said.
"She would push me so hard and I would get so frustrated with her, but it was because she never accepted anything other than your best," he said.
"She was pushy...but in a great way. We all wanted to do our best for her. I didn't want to let her down."
Neighbours told the Miami Herald the couple was "very warm" and friendly. The newspaper said the pair, who married four years ago, was very religious and could be seen walking to temple every Friday night.