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You'd think, in the eighth year of the Houston Press Turkey of the Year awards, that we'd be running out of candidates.
Luckily, this is Texas. Not only that — it has been Texas in an election year, with a (black) Democrat in the White House. Turkey madness!!
Rush Limbaugh honored as an Honorary Texan. Glenn Beck rallying the Tea Partiers at the Alamo. The governor of the state dropping hints about seceding from America because...he loves it?
� Turkeys Of The Year: A History, In Chart Form
� Runner-Up Turkey Of The Year: Rick Perry
� Runner-Up Turkey of the Year: Debbie Riddle
� Runner-Up Turkey of the Year: Michael Brown
� Runner-Up Turkey of the Year: Gary Kubiak
� Turkey Pardon: Yao Ming's Tender Left Foot
� 2009
� 2008
� 2007
� 2006
� 2005
� 2004
� 2003
� Train Wreck: How Metro and its president Frank Wilson got so far off track � Frank Wilson Survival Watch: Down Goes Wilson!!! Down Goes Wilson!!
� Frank Wilson Survival Watch: Fat Lady's Warming Up
� Metro's Frank Wilson Is Gone, But Troubles Remain
� Archives
But all the Turkeyness was not restricted to the political arena. Sports came through as always, as did entertainment and government bureaucracies.
But, hey, let's end the suspense and get right down to it.
Turkey of the Year: Frank Wilson
Frank Wilson rumbled in from New Jersey to run Metro, and he brought with him a management style straight from The Sopranos: Cut a few corners here and there, maybe, but whatever you do, don't talk about the family business.
Wilson loved to talk about "transparency" at Metro, but apparently the New Jersey definition of "transparency" is "Who da fuck are you to be asking me questions?"
As a result, just what Wilson had been doing at Metro didn't become clear until he left this year, shortly after discovering the new mayor actually cared about being a watchdog over the agency. She replaced Wilson with longtime good-government guy George Greanias, and it was only when the howls of aghast horror were heard from Greanias's office as he reviewed operations that the actual picture became clear.
Greanias immediately went on a goodwill tour of constituency groups and media, listening in disbelief at the horror stories he heard about how the agency was perceived and how it interacted with outsiders.
Whether he can turn it around and build a light-rail system in tough economic times remains a question, but he will be spending his tenure cleaning up after the gigantic mess left by Frank Wilson.
How does one become a Turkey of the Year? One way is to run a massive transit agency so badly that it becomes the subject of gubernatorial-race political ads airing in Austin, El Paso and Lubbock.
Not everyone can pull off such a feat, but Frank Wilson could.
We asked our Metro beat writer, Paul Knight, to offer the five greatest jaw-dropping moments of Wilson's tenure. His take:
Frank Wilson's Five Worst Moments
Frank Wilson was hired at Metro to do one thing: Expand Houston's light-rail system at any cost. He resigned this year without building an inch of rail during his tenure, leaving the agency with mountains of debt and in the middle of a federal investigation that resulted in the light-rail program grinding to a halt. Counting down to the worst moment of all:
5. The Secretive Parsons Contract. The first step in Wilson's light rail plan was finding a company to actually build the thing. Wilson's Metro negotiated with one transit company for two years before that company unexpectedly backed out. In March of 2009, Wilson and the Metro board were set to vote on a $1.46 billion contract with a new company, Parsons Transportation Group.
The trouble started when the public wanted details of the contract — paid for with tax dollars — before Metro voted on it. Wilson and Metro held firm, and wouldn't make anything about the contract public until after it was approved. The worst part was that Metro, at the time of the contract's approval, wasn't sure how it would be paid for, and Wilson simply assured everyone that Metro would surely be getting a lot of federal money in no time.
4. The Trip to Spain. Along with the Parsons contract, Wilson had to hire a rail-car manufacturer to build new rail cars for the planned rail lines. Wilson settled on CAF, a company headquartered in Spain, and after the contract was signed, Wilson, along with his alleged girlfriend, Joanne Wright, traveled to Spain for "business." The trip ultimately resulted in a couple lawsuits and local and federal investigations. Metro hired an outside firm, at $310 an hour, to investigate Wilson's business expenses, and in that firm's final report, Wilson was cleared of any wrongdoing. Of course, the investigation only looked at what Wilson charged to Metro, and Wilson's and Wright's airfare to Spain was not included in the report.
3. Metro Shredding. After attorney and former city controller Lloyd Kelley requested documents from Metro in January of this year but didn't get what he wanted, he sued the agency with the belief that public documents were illegally being destroyed. Turns out Metro was shredding documents, but agency officials contended that the shredding had nothing to do with the documents requested by Kelley.
But a judge issued a restraining order against Metro, ordering it to stop destroying documents. The Harris County District Attorney, with help from the FBI, launched an investigation and "raided" Metro's offices for documents. The whole thing also revealed that Metro didn't have an official policy for document retention. Pauline Higgins, the head of Metro's legal department, was fired. Wilson and Metro publicly smeared Higgins, saying that she was fired because she was a bad manager and bad employee. E-mails later revealed that Higgins was questioning Metro's practice of destroying documents, and Higgins filed a lawsuit against Metro. The Kelley suit was settled by Metro, the DA dropped its investigation and Metro was cleared of any wrongdoing. Higgins's case is still active.
2. Wilson's Pyramid Scheme. Part of Metro's public funding, as set by Houston voters, is a General Mobility Fund that sends part of Metro's sales tax revenues to the city and county to fill potholes and repair bridges and things like that. If the city repaved a road, for example, it could send the bill to Metro to cover the costs. Wilson, however, operated Metro on such a cash shortage that when the city asked for a General Mobility payment, Metro would take out a loan to cover the payment. For that specific business practice, Wilson racked up $167 million in debt. George Greanias, Metro's new president, has said that he doesn't have a solid plan to repay those loans.
1. The FTA lowers the ax on Wilson's Metro. After Wilson moved forward with plans to have CAF build test cars in Spain, despite the Federal Transit Administration's instructions against that, the FTA launched an investigation to determine if Metro violated federal "Buy American" rules. The investigation quickly expanded into Metro's entire procurement process and, really, Wilson's business practices.
The final report, issued in September, was damning. According to the FTA, Metro, because it had violated federal guidelines, would have to re-bid the rail-car contract, and $900 million in federal funds, the key to Metro's light-rail expansion, was all but gone. Metro had already paid CAF more than $40 million, and will likely face litigation from CAF because of the canceled contract. Light-rail construction had already started in parts of the city, but, because Metro won't be getting the federal cash, those projects have pretty much been abandoned. Greanias slashed Metro's budget this year by about $430 million. Wilson, of course, resigned a few months before the FTA's announcement, and, because of his contract, walked away from Metro, despite driving the agency into the ground, with a fat severance payday.
Frank Wilson: We wish we could say, "We hardly knew ye," but we're not that lucky. But congratulations on winning such a highly deserved honor. We can only take comfort in the knowledge that unlike Tom DeLay, you cannot be a repeat winner.
Musical Turkeys of the Year:
Trae the Truth and 97.9 The Box
Trae the Truth is a well-known Houston rapper who puts on a Trae Day celebration each year, often without accompanying gunfire.
The 2009 event wasn't one of those gunless ones, though. And the fireworks were only starting.
Trae and a DJ from The Box called Nnete got into an on-air tiff after Nnete criticized the crowds that go to the rapper's shows.
Trae responded with eloquence, in the song "Uptown."
Look at you with your bad-built ass, you're trash...
I guess it's understood while I'm rolling on glass
And the world hating on me like Nnete fat ass
The Box didn't take too kindly to this, and somehow all Trae songs disappeared from its playlists. DJs who played his songs at outside events also got in trouble.
Ho hum, another rapper feud, right? No. For this dispute between an overly sensitive radio station and an overly sensitive rapper was about to go to court, where Trae would attempt to create the legal precedent of forcing a radio station to play an artist's songs.
Cheering madly on the sidelines, no doubt, was Every Group Ever who had fallen victim to radio programming directors who could not appreciate true genius.
We're not sure what the suit looked like, but we assume it was pretty much like this.
Trae the Truth
The Box
1) Trae is a gifted, insightful rapper.
The Box plays rap music.
Recently, The Box has stopped playing Trae's music.
1) In bringing this action, Trae acknowledges that his music is so fan-fucking-tastic that the only reason it might not be played on the radio is because The Box is run by a bunch of whiny-ass bitches. (Note: Whiny-ass bitches are different from bad-built asses, although they are not mutually exclusive.)
Even assuming arguendo that The Box might find Trae's music not good enough, plaintiff would argue that there's no way they could do that because his music is so fucking tight.
Okay, assume — big, big, big assumption — that The Box doesn't like the latest from Trae. Case law is clear that quality does not matter. To wit:
a) The Box's action is undeniably in violation of such rulings as Metallica Fans v. St. Anger and Mick Jagger's Solo Career v. Rolling Stone Magazine. In the former case, Metallica fans sued over being forced to buy the St. Anger album, which is universally regarded as "a piece of crap" (See U.S. Supreme Court, Critics v. Hetfield, et al.); the court ruled the suit to be moot, seeing as the plaintiffs were Metallica fans and nothing could stop them from buying it anyway.
In the latter case, Mick Jagger's Solo Career (MJSC) sued Rolling Stone magazine, demanding that the magazine "take seriously" MJSC. The magazine argued that MJSC "had to be kidding" and "Have you actually listened to this mannered crap?" to no avail. The court ruled that the magazine's ludicrously over-the-top critical praise of late-era Stones albums extended by default to MJSC, which was awarded a cover and an exclusive interview billed as "Mick Jagger Finally Opens Up" or some such thing.
b) Plaintiff Trae would also direct the court's attention to mainstream country radio, which plays awful music 24-7.
THEREFORE, the plaintiff wishes the court to issue a summary judgment declaring:
a) The Box is full of shit;
b) Nnete's ass is big.
The actual lawsuit never quite made it to trial — after an initial hearing in which a bemused judge wondered just what he was supposed to be ruling on, the two sides settled.
All is more or less right in the Houston rap world again, and a rapper and a radio station have proven themselves more than worthy of being named Turkeys.
Sports Turkey of the Year: UT's Mack Brown
We know what you Texans fans are thinking: UT Head Coach Mack Brown? Yet another case of the Texans' Gary Kubiak grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory. Kubiak came close to winning this, but in the end he couldn't compete with the total, hilarious collapse of the befuddled Brown.
The Longhorns came into the season as they always do — ranked in the top ten, sitting on four or five years worth of highly rated recruiting classes.
It's pretty difficult to overstate what a disaster this season has been: home losses to UCLA, Oklahoma State, Baylor (!) and Iowa State (!!!). A loss to Oklahoma. And complete domination by Kansas State.
Brown laid the blame exactly where he thought it should go: On everyone but him.
He blamed the players: "We stood around and got beat," he said after the Iowa State game. "I don't think it's talent. I think it's attitude."
He blamed his coaches: "If you're coaching a position, and your position's not playing well every week, I can't trust that you're doing a good job of coaching," Brown said, relaying what he said he had told his staff. "If one of your guys is playing bad, I can change him. If three of your guys are playing bad, I've got to change you."
If everyone's playing bad? Don't blame Brown.
Back in the glory days of Vince Young, Brown made a big deal out of how the youngsters had loaded up his iPod with rap, and he liked it. We didn't believe it then, we don't now, but we wonder if these tunes are on shuffle:
Public Enemy, "Welcome to the Terrordome"
Check the record
And reckon an intentional wreck
Played off as some intellect
Made the call, took the fall
Broke the laws
Not my fault that they're falling off
Known as fair square
Throughout my years
So I growl at the living foul
Black to the bone my home is your home
So welcome to the Terrordome
Or maybe
Eminem, "Who Knew"
But don't blame me when lil' Eric jumps off of the terrace
You shoulda been watchin him — apparently you ain't parents
So who's bringin the guns in this country? (Hmm?)
I couldn't sneak a plastic pellet gun through customs over in London
And last week, I seen a Schwarzenegger movie
where he's shootin all sorts of these motherfuckers with a uzi
I sees three little kids, up in the front row,
screamin "Go," with their 17-year-old Uncle
I'm like, "Guidance — ain't they got the same moms and dads
who got mad when I asked if they liked violence?"
And told me that my tape taught 'em to swear
What about the make-up you allow your 12-year-old daughter to wear?
(Hmm?) So tell me that your son doesn't know any cuss words
when his bus driver's screamin at him, fuckin him up worse
Mia X, "Don't Blame Me"
Don't blame me for the pain the world has caused
Don't blame me for your own imperfectionate flaws
If every individual were to accept his own blame
I think the world would be a better change
A better change
But we bet instead he's still listening to country. Like, maybe, Dwight Yoakam.
Dwight Yoakam, "Blame the Vain"
I blame the vain for what we wear,
And I blame the blind when we can't see.
I blame it all on someone else...
Political Turkeys of the Year: The State Board of Education
Texas adopted new standards this year for social studies in its schools, and since the State Board of Education was dominated by hardcore social conservatives, things got horrifying and/or entertaining in a hurry.
Mostly horrifying, but undeniably entertaining, especially when entities like The Daily Show took on the subject.
How bad did things get? So bad that Republican voters revolted. They replaced the extremists with people who, while still staunchly conservative, at least promised to not go off the deep end.
Relive the fabulous year of 2010 with your elected State Board of Education with this multiple-choice quiz. We've been teaching to this test all year, so you should do well.
1. Which of these did NOT attend a SBOE board meeting in order to protest how conservatives wanted to portray slavery?
a) The head of the NAACP
b) A former U.S. Secretary of Education, also the former head of Texas's largest school district
c) The committee that wrote the draft guidelines on the subject
d) Trick question: They all protested
2. Instead of referring to "America's slave trade," what term did SBOE conservatives prefer?
a) The "Atlantic Triangular Trade"
b) "An immigration policy that was actually effective"
c) "The awful beginning of the road to 'rap'"
d) "The 'Land o' Opportunity Program'"
3. What did the conservatives hope students would learn about affirmative action?
a) How it helped kids from the lower socioeconomic rungs of society achieve success in college
b) How it helped people like George W. Bush get into Yale as a "legacy"
c) Its "unintended consequences"
d) That it may sound all well and good, but next thing you know you've got a radical Marxist Muslim as president
4. The conservatives wanted to de-emphasize Thomas Jefferson and emphasize Phyllis Schlafly. Why?
a) Just for shits and gigs, to see if anyone was paying attention
b) Because really, what did Thomas Jefferson ever do when compared with Phyllis Schlafly?
c) Because ol' TJ coined the phrase "separation of church and state," forever displeasing God
d) To fight the hegemony of the Dead White Guy in history in favor of women and minorities
5. In addition to the nonviolent philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr., Texas students studying the Civil Rights Era will now also have to study:
a) The pro-violence philosophy of the Black Panthers, in case they get the wrong idea from MLK about blacks and how uppity they can get
b) The pro-violence philosophy of the Black Panthers, because the Black Panthers have proven to be so much more influential in history than Martin Luther King
c) The Mau Mau Uprising in Africa in the 1950s
d) The degree to which blacks were ungrateful for the "Land o' Opportunity Program"
6. When conservatives wanted to take out any mention of César Chávez, a Hispanic state representative protested that "We're in the 21st Century, and we're writing textbooks like it's ____." Fill in the blank.
a) " the 1950s."
b) "the 21st Century — in Texas."
c) "a time when some elected officials actually think Glenn Beck makes sense. Oh, never mind."
d) "1999" (with Prince blasting in the background)
7. Textbooks on the Civil Rights Era will mention that Republicans supported the law. Why?
a) Because "Republicans need a little credit for that," a board member said
b) Because today's Republican conservatives would ABSOLUTELY be on the side of civil-rights protests if they were happening today
c) Because any Republican who supported the Civil Rights Act would not be denounced as a "RINO" (Republican In Name Only; i.e., communist) if the vote happened today
d) Because the section will also include the sentence "Of course, kids, back then there was actually such a thing as a moderate Republican."
8. The conservatives wanted to replace the word "capitalism" with "free enterprise system." Why?
a) God said to
b) Because capitalism ends with the same three letters as communism, socialism and fascism
c) "Capitalism" has gotten a bad connotation
d) Because "free enterprise system" also means freedom from government overregulation that would try to tell a business owner just how much he could pollute the air
9. Which of these were pushed by conservative SBOE members?
a) Noting that Germans and Italians were interred in World War II just as Japanese were, so that America would not seem racist
b) Noting that several white people lost their property in one way or another in the 19th Century, so that shoving Native Americans off their land would not seem racist
c) Noting that white people who couldn't pass a quiz asking who Millard Fillmore's vice-president was also would not have been allowed to vote in Alabama in the 1960s, if that test had been given to white people, so that the Jim Crow South would not seem racist
d) Noting that Real "Build the Dang Fence" Americans don't want any French, Belgians or Lithuanians crossing the Rio Grande illegally, so that Real "Build the Dang Fence" Americans don't seem racist
10. The conservatives pushed for students to "evaluate efforts by global organizations such as the United Nations to undermine U.S. sovereignty." This will include studying
a) All those black helicopters
b) The FEMA concentration camps Glenn Beck exposed
c) Those bastards at UNICEF
d) Delusional paranoia on the part of right-wing extremists
(Answers: 1-d, 2-a, 3-c, 4-a, 5-a, 6-a, 7-a, 8-c, 9-a, 10-d)
Educational Turkey of the Year:
Rice President David Leebron
You run a prestigious school where many people on all levels take themselves very, very seriously. Your school's not exactly strapped for cash, but like every college president, you say it is.
Ah-ha! You have in your control a valuable asset, worth millions. It's a 50,000-watt radio station that everyone pretends to listen to but no one does. The public university across town wants to buy it.
Now all you have to do is make sure you and your administration pull off the deal in the worst way possible, so you look bad, your students and alumni are pissed, and everyone involved, including the city's main newspaper, looks bad.
Rice President David Leebron might not have gotten himself involved in every last little nitty-gritty detail of the sale of KTRU-FM to the University of Houston, but his administration did. And if there was a wrong move to make along the way, they jumped at it with both hands, turning what could have been a win for everyone into a public-relations disaster.
We imagine the memo a consultant would have written beforehand.
To: Rice
From: Your high-priced consultants
Re: The KTRU sale
Everyone: Thanks for the briefing on what you're planning to do with UH.
It's clear to us that there are two options. We'll call the first one the Obvious, Smart Choice and the second the Really, Really Dumb Choice.
Option One: The Smart, Completely-Obvious-to-Anyone-Breathing Route to Take
The key to this option is always keeping in mind that the vast majority of people don't really care about KTRU. They may like the idea of it, perhaps even nostalgically recall when it was the first to play the Ramones or Soundgarden or Strawberry Alarm Clock or whatever, but no one's listened to it in years. It's kinda like The Simpsons.
So what do you do? Easy: Have lots and lots of "town hall meetings" with "stockholders" and anyone who "has skin in the game." Present dire options.
First, the meeting with the radio staff. This will be the most intense, so get someone who can take a lot of flak and a) nod sympathetically, b) promise to take the ideas she/he is hearing right up to the highest levels and c) (most important) keep a straight face. This last part can be difficult, obviously, especially as show hosts make dramatic threats to rouse up student demonstrations.
After that, it's gravy. Post flyers all over the dorms announcing a session on KTRU. At the session, which will be sparsely attended, emphasize that the station will still be available on the net. Watch attendees leave, bored.
Now, the alumni or local residents. Don't hit too hard on the advertising on this one (not because alumni will show up — Lord knows they will find much, much better things to do), but you never know what kind of local lunatics will show up to harangue you about squelching free speech, the corporatization of Amerikkka, whatever. It's too much to ask anyone to bear. Just do enough in the way of announcing the meetings to get away with saying there were plenty of chances for public input and no one really showed up.
Then, after you've seen the KTRU staff try in vain to get anyone to care, possibly having to put up with some glorified "We're Not Leaving!!" lock-themselves-in-the-studio drama, you present a report on how you've listened to everyone and feel confident in moving forward.
Cost: A couple of hours of an intern sitting around looking at Facebook on her BlackBerry while pretending to be listening to losers gripe.
Option Two: The Really, Really Dumb Way to Go
The key to this option is keeping in mind that the core KTRU constituency, such as it is, is made up of old hippies, young proto-anarchists and anyone who loves to wallow in fights against The Man, in whatever corporate form he takes.
So to fully understand the dumbness of this proposed method, you have to understand that it will reinforce every suspicion, bad feeling and resentment in anyone who feels even fleetingly some small connection with that constituency.
So what do you do? Easy: Keep everything secret. "Why?" you say. "We're selling an asset, how could publicity hurt?"
You're missing the point. You need to take great pains to keep things secret — in fact, write memos about how you've made an embargo deal with the Houston Chronicle so you can have "a quiet weekend" before the vote on the sale. If you want to go really nuts, feel free to write another e-mail saying how you are deceiving the Houston Press so they won't publish the story "prematurely."
The point is, make yourself, and the sale, look as evil and manipulative as possible.
You'll stir up resentment, give legitimacy to the previously marginalized KTRU people and possibly engender court costs from a lawsuit.
Like we say, there's a reason we named this option what we did.
But, hey, it's your choice. We're sure you'll choose wisely.
Or, on the other hand, Rice and its administration could choose to nominate themselves for a Turkey award. It's clear what option they chose.
The Coulda-Beens
The runners-up to this year's slate of Turkeys of the Year all deserve, at the very least, a participation medal. They gave their all, no one can gainsay that, but in the end they all just lacked that one little piece of true Turkeyness to put them over the top. Or, more likely, they had someone completely Turkified they were trying to compete with. (Hey, you try to out-nut the State Board of Education.)
The silver and bronze medalists:
Bill White might have been a shoo-in any other year for Political Turkey. Running as a Democrat for statewide office in Texas, on the program of being a big-city mayor? In a city that has minorities in it who are dealt with as legitimate constituents? Not in this Tea Party cycle. Still, he gave it all he had. Very, very earnestly. We're sure he still goes to bed dreaming of how he'd kick Perry's ass in a debate.
Gary Kubiak, as we indicated above, came oh-so-close to winning Sports Turkey. He came as close as, say, a missed Kris Brown kick, a Sage Rosenfels helicopter fumble, a Hail Mary for the all-time highlight reel. We'd say, as Texan fans have long grown used to saying, that there's always next year, but we're not sure Kubiak will be around to try.
Michael Brown, star of the once-ubiquitous Hand Center ads, managed to get himself arrested on yet another domestic-violence charge. This is despite his wholesome, infant-dandling commercials, and his prominence in the Houston Chronicle society pages. He coulda been a Society Turkey contender, he coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what he is. Only because we didn't have that category this year.
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State Representative Debbie Riddle made a serious run for overall Turkey of the Year with a maniacally dedicated obsession with un-whitish Texas residents. So eager was she to file a clone of Arizona's "show me your papers" bill in the upcoming legislative session that she camped out to be first on line when pre-filing began, like some Who fan trying for tickets in the '70s. Unlike Gary Kubiak, we feel safe in saying, "Wait till next year!" to Representative Riddle.
Finally, since it was an election year, the potential picks were heavy on the politicos. And Rick Perry tried his damnedest to do what no one since Tom DeLay has done. And by that we don't mean spout inane Limbaugh-echoing rhetoric (he did do that, to be sure). No, we mean becoming a two-time Turkey of the Year winner. Much like the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins always open the champagne whenever the last unbeaten NFL team goes down each season, DeLay can now crack open the Dom, put on some sequined jumpsuits and go dancing with his own stars.
Celebrate good times, Hammer.


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Consider it a preemptive strike on the next-generation iPhone. The Evo 4G packs practically everything a geek could dream of in a mobile device. Want fast data? This phone has 4G inside, boasting nearly five times the speed of 3G networks (where coverage is available). Wish you had a bigger screen for surfing the web and watching movies? This one is a mammoth 4.3 inches. Hate the crappy video quality of smart phone cameras? The Evo 4G can record 720p footage and even make two-way video calls.
However, this $199 superphone comes with some caveats. Sprint forces you to spend an extra $10 on the data plan, regardless of whether you live in a 4G zone. And if you want to turn the device into a mobile hotspot, you'll need to spend $30 more per month. We also wish the keyboard was more accurate and that the battery lasted longer on a charge. But is the Evo 4G worthy of all the hype? Yup.
A slim and sturdy slate, the Evo 4G cuts an imposing figure but looks classier and is more thoughtfully designed than the HD2. It ditches physical buttons beneath the screen in favor of backlit capacitive touch buttons (Home, Menu, Back, Search), and it moves the narrow volume controls from the left to the right side, so you don't have to reach around the device. However, the Evo 4G weighs more than the HD2 (6 vs. 5.5 ounces), which makes sense given Sprint's device packs in a 4G radio. The HTC Incredible, which sports a brighter but smaller 3.7-inch screen, weighs only 4.6 ounces. The 3.7-inch Motorola Droid weighs 6 ounces, but that device has a slide-out keyboard.
Some may find the Evo 4G a bit large for holding up to your head to make calls, but we didn't mind its size. Plus, the 4.8 x 2.6 footprint made it easy for us to make phone calls with the phone sandwiched between our shoulder and cheek, which is nice when you need both hands free. The 0.5-inch profile made it easy to slip the Evo 4G in a pocket, but you definitely know it's in there.
Click to enlarge
Above the screen next to the Sprint logo you'll find a tiny front-facing, 1.3-megapixel camera that can be used for two-way video calls, and above that is a narrow silver strip for the earpiece. The right side houses two slim volume buttons; the power button and a 3.5mm jack line the top; and a micro-USB slot and HDMI output are on the bottom (the HDMI cable is sold separately).
Click to enlarge
The gunmetal gray back of the Evo 4G features an 8-MP camera with dual LED flash, a speaker, and a nifty brushed metal kickstand. The kickstand not only came in handy for watching videos, but for using the phone as an alarm clock and for skipping tracks in Pandora without having to pick up the device.
Display and Audio
At 800 x 480 pixels, the resolution on the Evo 4G is the same as the 3.7-inch HTC Droid Incredible and Motorola Droid, so you're getting the same amount of pixels per inch in a bigger space. The Incredible also has the advantage of an AMOLED panel for increased brightness, better contrast, and wide viewing angles. Still, the Evo 4G's screen was plenty bright and crisp. A high-quality YouTube trailer of the upcoming Karate Kid remake exhibited plenty of detail and very good color saturation.
The speaker on the Evo 4G delivered impressive volume when we streamed some of our favorite Pandora stations, and it delivered loud and clear directions when using the phone as a GPS navigator.
User Interface
Click to enlarge
Running Android 2.1, the Evo 4G benefits from HTC's Sense experience. By default you get seven home screens. Swipe to the right once and you'll find a Sprint screen with shortcuts to things like Sprint Navigator and Sprint TV; then a web bookmarks screen; and then Friend Stream (a flow of updates from Facebook and Twitter).
To the left of the main screen you'll see a Favorites widget for quickly contacting your favorite people, as well as shortcuts for toggling the 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS radios. Another swipe to the left launches your calendar, and yet another brings up a Google Search bar.
You can move any of these elements around or remove them altogether to make room for shortcuts or other widgets. Or you can experiment with Scenes, which personalize the Evo 4G with a wide range of themes. The Play scene, for instance, puts your photo album to the left of the main screen and the media player to the right.
Like other Sense-enabled Android phones, the Evo 4G features a Leap thumbnail view for easily switching between panels. To activate this view, just use a pinch gesture or press the Home button to shrink the seven home screens, then press the one you want to select.
Click to enlarge
How much you like the Evo 4G's keyboard may come down to how fast you type. We like how large the layout is, especially in landscape mode, and appreciate that the haptic feedback is subtle. You can even get by thumb typing in portrait mode, so long as you stay within a moderate pace. When we typed quickly, however, we noticed that the Evo 4G produced more errors than the iPhone 3GS. When we typed the same phrase repeatedly using both devices, we noticed that many of the Evo 4G's words were stuck together, which means the space bar didn't register. (And this was after we used the keyboard calibration utility.) So the Evo 4G's keyboard works fairly well, but speed typists might want to look elsewhere.
Specs and Performance
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The Evo 4G almost gives netbooks a run for their money. Not only does it have a 1-GHz Snapdragon processor under the hood, it comes with 1GB of ROM and 512MB of RAM. Nearly everything action we performed happened instantly, whether it was launching our inbox or firing up the camera. When using Google Maps, the Evo 4G pinpointed our location and rendered a map of midtown Manhattan in less than 5 seconds. When we fired up a racing game, Raging Thunder Lite, the Evo 4G rendered the track with good detail and had no trouble keeping up with the fast-moving animation (even if we had trouble avoiding the wall). Sprint includes an 8GB microSD Card located underneath the battery, which you can upgrade to 32GB.
Web and 4G
The customized browser for the Evo 4G rendered pages quickly and offers pinch-to-zoom gestures. We also like the address bar on the top of the screen; you don't have to tap the menu just to enter a new address. In general, Sprint's 4G network supercharges the Evo 4G when you're in one of the available markets (32 now but over 80 by the end of the year, covering over 120 million people). We were fortunate enough to do some testing in Chicago, which had very strong 4G coverage all the way from the airport to our downtown hotel.
Using the Speedtest.net app, we experienced download speeds ranging from 3.8 to 4.3 Mbps and uploads ranging from 988 Kbps to 1.1 Mbps. Compare those numbers to Sprint's 3G network on this phone, which averaged 917.5 Kbps on the downlink and 435 Kbps on the uplink. So the Evo 4G is about 4.5 times faster when you're in a 4G area. In real-world terms, the Evo 4G loaded the mobile version of the New York Times website in just 3 seconds, versus 11 seconds over 3G. We also uploaded a photo to Flickr using the 8-MP camera. Over 4G it took 50 seconds, and over 3G the time increased to 1:20.
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Too bad 4G coverage isn't great as you go further indoors. As we moved away from the entrance to our Chicago hotel, the 4G signal strength indicator dropped from 3 to 2 bars, and 4G dropped out completely when we went down one floor to a meeting room.
It's not that the 3G speeds are bad--quite the contrary--it's just that you get spoiled with 4G and want to be able to use it everywhere. There's another benefit to using the Evo 4G in a 4G area: you get simultaneous voice and data, so you can be on a call while surfing the web or looking up a place to eat on Yelp. This capability is also available when you're connected via Wi-Fi, but you obviously have a much shorter leash.
Although the Evo 4G has Flash Lite 4.0 support, it didn't work well for videos or games. As expected, Hulu didn't work (it's most likely blocked for business reasons), but clips on other sites that did play looked like slideshows. We also noticed that sites with Flash ads loaded more slowly than other sites. The good news is that the much better Flash Player 10.1 should be coming to the Evo 4G, which promises improved performance. The bad news is that Sprint couldn't give us a timetable for this upgrade.
Mobile Hotspot
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For an additional $29 per month, you can use the Evo 4G as a mini Wi-Fi router. The Sprint Mobile Hotspot app lets you connect up to 8 Wi-Fi devices at one time, whether it's an iPad, notebook, or digital camera with a Wi-Fi card. When in 4G range, the Evo 4G didn't exactly wow us. We saw a top speed on our Lenovo ThinkPad X200s of 2 Mbps, but the average was 972 Kbps. Uploads averaged just 328 Kbps. Over 3G, downloads and uploads dipped to a tolerable 746 Kbps and 320 Kbps, respectively, during a bus ride from New York to New Jersey.
Although you can't make calls while the Sprint Mobile Hotspot feature is active in 3G mode, if you get a call you'll be prompted to end your session if you decide to take it. Once we hung up, our notebook automatically reconnected to the Evo 4G, which is pretty cool.Still, the mobile hotspot service is worth the extra 30 bucks because it's half the cost of what you'd pay for a dedicated connection card or mobile hotspot device like the MiFi. Just be sure to bring the charger (more on that later).
E-mail and Messaging
Setting up our Gmail account on this Google phone was a breeze (as it should be), as was configuring a separate Yahoo account. You also get Exchange support. We especially like how quick and easy it is to search your inbox. We just wish that the notification drawer showed you the icon for your e-mail provider, as it's easy to confuse your accounts at a glance. The SMS app worked well, as did Google Talk.
Camera and Camcorder
The Evo 4G's 8-MP camera captured sharp images indoors and out, provided there was a fair amount of ambient light. When we took pictures side by side with an iPhone 3GS, we noticed that the Evo 4G not only delivered more detail (which is to be expected, given the iPhone's paltry 3-MP camera), but that the photo was brighter. The Evo 4G also put us closer to our subject without having to zoom in. The dual LED flash worked well in low-light, but tended to blow out subjects a bit.
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As one of the first smart phones to record 720p video, the Evo 4G could undoubtedly stand in for a Flip camcorder when shooting outdoors. When we viewed footage of a busy street in midtown Manhattan, we could easily make out reflections in passing cars, and there was virtually no motion blur or pixelation. Indoors, the Evo 4G struggled; videos looked fuzzier even when we recorded near a window.
The Evo 4G offers a wide range of sharing options, including Facebook, e-mail, Picasa, Twitter, and YouTube.
Qik and Two-Way Video Chat
The built-in Qik app gives the Evo 4G the ability to stream the world around you and broadcast it to the web live. Well, sort of live; over 3G the feed on our desktop was a good two minutes behind the feed on the device. What makes this phone unique is that you can have mobile chats with other Evo 4G owners using the front-facing 1.3-MP camera. (We're presuming the latest Qik app will make its way to other upcoming superphones with front-facing cameras, such as the Dell Streak and next-gen iPhone.) Note that you can't make two-way mobile-to-PC calls.
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Unfortunately, Sprint had not yet activated this feature during our testing, so we will have to update this review once it's up and running. However, we did see a demo of Qik video chat in action earlier, and were impressed with the smoothness of the video. We also like that you could see yourself in a smaller on-screen window. Sprint had not confirmed if this feature will cost extra, but we're expecting that it will since they're calling it a "premium app."
In addition to Sprint TV (pictured), the carrier bundles a few of its other apps. Nascar Sprint Cup Mobile lets you follow your favorite drivers, and there's Sprint Football Live for checking out your favorite team. You also get Sprint Navigation. In addition, the Evo 4G comes with Qik, a Desk Clock app, Peep (a Twitter app), QuickOffice (for viewing MS Office files), and HTC's weather and stock widgets.
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The Android market now stocks well over 38,000 apps in a wide range of categories. All of the apps we tried worked fine, including Facebook, Pandora, TripIt, and Yelp. However, the market doesn't stock many good 3D games (although Need for Speed Shift is coming June 4). Our biggest issue with the market is that it doesn't support carrier billing, so you have to set up a separate Google account to download premium apps.
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While we like Google's free GPS app, we prefer Sprint Navigation on the Evo 4G for driving. It's also free, and we like its friendlier interface and included traffic information. It took just under 15 seconds for the phone to calculate a route from New York City to central New Jersey. The female voice was also more natural-sounding than the one in Google Maps Navigation Beta. You can share your location and look up local businesses, but we prefer Google for these tasks.
Music and Video
Like all Android phones, the Evo 4G lets you download tracks or whole albums from Amazon MP3. The music player has a CoverFlow-like interface that displays album art but strangely limits you to portrait mode. If you touch the menu button you'll see a range of options that you can slide through along the bottom of the screen, including genres, songs, and playlists. Those looking for old-school FM radio can get it by plugging in a headset. Reception was fairly clear in New York City, and the app was quick to jump to new stations when scanning.
Looking for high-quality video? Sprint has that covered with YouTube HQ. Movie trailers like The Karate Kid looked ten times better on this device than the iPhone 3GS. However, you won't find an iTunes equivalent on the Evo 4G (or any other Android phone) for downloading premium movies and TV shows. Sprint fills the void somewhat with its Sprint TV service, which is included with the data plan. After some initial blurring, an episode of The Office looked decent. Strangely, this feature doesn't work over a Wi-Fi connection.
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Sprint will offer more details at launch regarding Evo 4G accessories, but we do know that the carrier will offer a car mount, and there are rumors that it will sell a video dock with HDMI output that also charges the device. You'll also be able to buy protective covers. What we'd like to see is a case that doubles as a charger.
Call Quality and Battery Life
Over Sprint's network the Evo 4G delivered good but not great voice quality in Chicago and New York. We noticed some fuzziness on our end of the line, but the volume was fairly loud.
After unplugging the Evo 4G at 9 a.m. and then using the device infrequently throughout most of a day over 3G (web surfing, e-mail, Sprint TV, camcorder) we had less than 10 percent battery life by 5 p.m. So if you're looking for a phone that you can use into the evening without finding an outlet, this isn't it.
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The battery drained more quickly over 4G. The meter moved from the halfway point to less than 25 percent in about an hour. So when you're within 4G coverage you'll want to think twice about having this radio on when you don't need the extra speed.
Pricing and Value
The Evo 4G costs $199 with a two-year contract (after a mail-in rebate). Don't want to bother with the rebate? Buy the handset through retail partners like Radio Shack or Best Buy. A Simply Everything plan that starts at $69.99 includes 450 voice minutes plus unlimited web, texting, and use of services like Sprint TV and Sprint Navigation. However, you'll also need to pay an additional $10 Premium Data add-on fee for this device, which presumably takes into account that you'll be using services like two-way video calling and 4G (where available). Still, that $80 total is reasonable given that equivalent packages from AT&T and Verizon Wireless cost $10 more.
So what about that Mobile Hotspot service charge of $30? We think it's fair given that Verizon Wireless was charging $40 for the same service before it decided to give it away on the slow-selling Palm Pre Plus.
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The HTC Evo 4G is undoubtedly Sprint's best smart phone to date, delivering nearly all the specs power users could possibly hope for in a well-crafted design. Though it may simply be too large for some, in many ways the Evo 4G is also the best Android phone yet, beating out the Droid Incredible because of its 720p video recording and 4G capability. Even if 4G hasn't yet reached your neck of the woods, the Evo 4G is a killer device thanks to its zippy processor, huge display, and an interface that makes Android more intuitive and user-friendly. While the keyboard could be better and the battery life longer, the Evo 4G richly deserves our Editors' Choice award. It's a no-brainer for Sprint customers, and a tempting choice for those on other carriers. We just wish the device ran Android 2.2 now instead of later so you could enjoy Flash Player 10.1 out of the box. Although the next-gen iPhone is expected to boast a higher-res screen and match many of the Evo 4G's features, based on what we (think we) know HTC's superphone should have the goods to give Apple's a run for its money.

subset: commoncrawl


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The early morning attack was an audacious assault on the fortified Syrian capital. On Wednesday morning, Damascus saw a double bombing outside a key Syrian military headquarters in the heart of city. According to the Syrian state news agency, the incident left four guards dead and some 14 people wounded.
The agency, and the government it serves, predictably blamed "terrorists," its catchall phrase for opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad, for the attack on the army's General Staff Command. An Islamist Free Syrian Army unit, Ansar al-Islam, claimed responsibility, saying five of its fighters including a suicide bomber died in the blasts, according to a statement posted online. "The Jihadist heroes have carried out … a complex suicide operation at 6:55 am against the headquarters of the General Staff of the criminal gang of Assad," it said.
(PHOTOS: Syria's Slow-Motion Civil War)
Explosives were also placed in the third floor of the building, the statement added, saying that the operation was conducted with the help of "honorable" military officers, suggesting the now-common use of sympathizers within loyalist ranks, men who have defected in spirit but not in body in order to feed intelligence to the rebels. The blasts were followed by a sustained hours-long gunfight, according to media reports. Just a day earlier, Ansar al-Islam (along with another Islamist group, the Grandsons of the Prophet) said they had detonated explosives in a school on the fringes of the capital used as a loyalist outpost.
It's too early to tell if Damascus is back in play, months after a rebel operation codenamed the "Damascus Volcano," seemed to quickly fizzle. In mid-July, several senior security officials including Assad's much-feared brother-in-law and the defense minister were killed in another well-planned bombing that rattled the upper echelons of the military establishment but did not result in significant chunks of Damascus falling away from the regime.
Wednesday's attack once again made it clear that some elements of the armed Syrian opposition have the ability to reach deep into Assad's regime and inflict damage. The message to Assad is clear – that nothing is out of bounds in the battle for Syria, not even his fortified capital with its 18 or so security agencies headquartered there. Syrian state media has long vacillated between two seemingly schizophrenic narratives, that "Syria is fine" and that it is under attack from extremist Sunni terrorists. Bombs going off in sensitive military headquarters make it clear that Syria is nowhere near fine.
In that regard, Wednesday's bombing is a psychological boost to the rebels, but what will it translate to on the ground? Is it a precursor to a sustained fight for Damascus? That's unlikely given that Aleppo, Syria's largest city and its commercial hub, is still being fought over—a situation that has lasted for two months now. There, streets, and street corners, continue to regularly change hands, the to-ing and fro-ing eroding the social and material infrastructure of one of the world's oldest cities. Aleppo's battles are very parochial fights, sometimes over a patch of a single street, but they have vast national implications and until a decisive blow is dealt, either to the rebels or the loyalists, it's unlikely that the overstretched rebels will make a sustained push for the capital.
(MORE: Depsite Syria's Bloodbath, a Libya-Style Intervention is Unlikely)
Meanwhile, the double-digit, and frequently triple-digit daily death tolls continue with numbing effect, the sheer volume of blood becoming an almost dull backdrop, an established reality that barely seems to elicit condemnation. U.S. President Barack Obama's recent warning to the Assad regime that the use of chemical weapons was a "red line" was widely interpreted by many Syrians as basically saying that everything else – including attacking neighborhoods with warplanes – was within the limits, not worthy of "red line status." And so, Assad continues to bomb his people from the air while his opponents continue to inflict casualties on his troops.
A viable plan to stem the bloodshed remains elusive. Lakhdar Brahimi, the international mediator on Syria, has consistently downplayed already-low expectations that he can forge some kind of an end to an 18-month conflict that he admits is "extremely bad and getting worse."
"I do not have a full plan for the moment, but I have a few ideas," the veteran Algerian diplomat said on Monday. Qatar's emir seems to have a plan, but not a new one. (He and his foreign minister raised the same idea back in January.) On Tuesday the emir, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, told the United Nations General Assembly that Arab states should form a political and military coalition to intervene in Syria. The force, the emir said, would be akin to the Syrian-led Arab Deterrence Force formed by the Arab League in 1976 which permitted Syria to intervene in Lebanon's civil war. It's an unnerving historical example, to say the least. Those Syrian forces entered Lebanon as a peacekeeping force but soon became a party to the bloody civil conflict, initially siding with Christian parties against leftist, pro-Palestinian groups, then switching allegiances as the Lebanese state fractured along ever-changing lines. Eventually, Lebanon was militarily occupied by Syria.
Damascus' neighbors already fear spillover of the conflict, in addition to the tens of thousands of refugees streaming across their borders. An Arab intervention force will likely draw them further into the Syrian quagmire, rather than the opposite.
And so for now it seems, the international community continues to debate the merits of a no-fly zone and how to arm (or not arm) the Free Syrian Army, including which among the ragtag groups of rebels might be worthy of more effective weapons. Meanwhile, Syrians continue to kill each other and die in horrific numbers.
MORE: Photos: Suffering and Resilience in the Hospitals of Aleppo


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Adding jQuery RESTful calls for using the DELETE verb when deleting items via a JSON REST interface.
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Math Tutor Spartanburg South Carolina
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When a new bill is added to the budget, it can wreak havoc on the finances. Add to that the fact that it does not require putting in a lot of efforts and you have a great opportunity to tap into. It was go time. One mistake that parents make very often is to treat mathematics at grade 1, 2 or 3 as not very important and think that it involves only basic computation. During Internet tutorials, tutors speak using headphones or use a whiteboard and digital pen so that one side can see what the other is writing. There are procedures and training methodologies to master abacus use. Had 1800 been a leap year, his or her birthday would have fallen on Monday. Sometimes a perfectly good student can lapse because of one of these issues, so it's important to teach them the skills they need to conquer these problems. Gioia is a veteran teacher of 15 years an active tutor. He was not able to relate to me, he was unable to build rapport with me, and when I could not pick up on something right away, he would become sarcastic. Besides that, writing and orally expressing the solutions to mathematical problems assist the student to develop his or her concepts into speech and written language. Apart from this, it also studies the relationship between their sides and the angles between these sides. This will help you in knowing the real picture behind the all fa
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Maybe I've been watching too much Glee, but a lot of the songs that seem to stick to my head are either favorites that they show has covered or songs that I've discovered because of Rachel Berry and Co.
An example of the latter is Faithfully by Journey, which I seem to be singing to myself at every occasion. It's one of the last songs performed in the first season, right at the Regionals competition, so it's pretty symbolic. Plus, Glee seemingly have a strong relationship with Journey, choosing the show's signature song to be Don't Stop Believing, one of the band's most popular tracks.
But of course, a great voice needs great lyrics. While Faithfully doesn't have the deepest of words, it's sure enough to touch your heart. The general notion of the lyrics is a music-man singing to his beloved about being apart because he's being forced to tour and how much he misses being with her, and of course being faithful, as the title suggests.
My favorite part of the song is right around the second verse, right before the chorus
And being apart ain't easy
On this love affair
Two strangers learn to fall in love again
I get the joy
Of rediscovering you
Oh girl, you stand by me
I'm forever yours…faithfully
I know several girls who would do anything to have these words dedicated to them, so this song will resonate more with the female crowd. Still, it's a good listen for anyone whose looking for a romantic song.
I have included the videos to both versions so that you can choose what version is better. I'm personally inclined to the Journey one because of it being the original, however the Glee case sure does a great job at making it sound current.
Journey's Version:
Glee Cast Version (Audio Only):


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This hand woven and beautifully manufactured Forest Green Texas Rope Indoor/Outdoor Doormat or Floor Mat is crafted to be utilized either outside the home as a doormat, porch mat or welcome mat, or you can use it inside your home as a floor mat. The weave design and rugged polyOlefin carpet fibers make for an aggressive scrapping surface when used as a doormat and the groves and gaps trap dirt in the mat keeping it out of your home. In addition the mat is made using a synthetic carpet yarn that is formed into "round ropes" that is soft enough to grant a good standing surface in many places within your home.
Characteristics of this Forest Green Rope Floor Mat include :
The care for your mat is extremely simple, you can find your care instructions here.
This Texas rope doormat comes in two different sizes with our 18" x 30" standard doormat size being our most popular.
|18" x 30"
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Note: Sizes other than the 18" x 30" are made to order and so take 3 - 5 business days to produce and ship.


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Dusit International enhances Summer with Dusit Lifestyle Experiences
Dusit International, one of Asia's leading hotel groups, introduces "Your Dusit Lifestyle - Your Summer Choices" campaign providing guests with five special offers to meet all unique lifestyles including Family Escapade, Romance for Eternity, Spa Escape, Tee Off for Golf, and the Sawasdee Experience. The five packages offer many exclusive privileges as well as a 20 per cent bonus off the package rate paid for the guest's dining pleasure, available at all Dusit International's hotels and resorts across Thailand, Philippines, Dubai, and Cairo, from now until 30 September 2011.
Guests can now enjoy one of many lifestyle experiences Dusit has to offer from the "Your Dusit Lifestyle - Your Summer Choices" including:
Family Escapade – Bonding the family way!
From children's menus to daily activities that everyone in the family can enjoy. Dusit international offers this programme with Best Rate plus 50 per cent discount accorded on room rate for the second room reserved for children upon check-in. Guests also receive complimentary breakfast for a family up to four (two adults and two children under 12 years old), use of Kids Club, soft drinks and selected fruit juices poolside and special bedtime milk and cookies for the children. The package also offers a day care if mum and dad need sometime to refresh their romance.
Romance for Eternity - True love never ends
All couples can celebrate their love by escaping into the Dusit Magic where eternal romance never ends with an exquisite honeymoon suite, a bottle of bubbles, chocolate-coated strawberries and flowers, and breakfast in bed. Choose from lover's dinner or 60 minutes couples aromatherapy treatment (subject to availability of spa facilities) for two per stay.
Spa Escape - Spa Magic for body, mind and soul
With a wide range of spa treatments, the Spa Escape offers 10 per cent discount on all a la carte treatment as well as 10 per cent discount on selected spa retail products. Guests will also receive a special spa giveaway for their turndown service.
Tee Off for Golf – Get into the swing with Dusit
Dusit takes care of the details for all golf lovers with Tee Off for Golf offering Dusit Best Rate and one round of golf (18 holes) per stay, complimentary shuttle transfer to the golf course, complimentary drinks at the hotel's 19th hole (Lobby Lounge) upon returning from the golf game.
Sawasdee Experience – Enjoy true luxury with gracious Thai hospitality
All guests can enjoy a unique Thai experience with the Sawasdee Experience that offers a complimentary Thai set dinner for two, a souvenir photo in Thai silk frame, turndown service with flower garland or Thai style fruit/vegetable carving, and much more.


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Farming students pour in after drought
Universities are expecting a surge in the number of farming students this year after a long dry spell marked by declining enrolments nationally and closures of agriculture courses.
The Australian Council of Deans of Agriculture said the number of school leavers last year who put agriculture degrees as their first preference for study had jumped 15 per cent to 20 per cent in just one year.
"We seem to have stopped a trend that was pretty catastrophic," the council's secretary, Jim Pratley, said.
Professor Pratley, who also heads a NSW government review into education and training in the sector, said he was hopeful the rise in popularity of farming and related courses would translate into students in lecture halls this year.
"What we don't know yet is whether those preferences will be from students who qualify to get in," he said.
Experts say far too few young people have been willing to consider a career in agriculture.
There are widespread labour shortages and, according to the council, there are 4000 graduate-level positions available for about 700 graduates across the country.
An ageing workforce also points to a looming crisis. The Bureau of Statistics reports the median age for farmers was 53 in 2011 compared with 40 in all other occupations.
Last year, the century-old undergraduate agriculture course at the University of Western Sydney's Hawkesbury campus was ditched after applications fell to about one-tenth the level of two decades ago.
Between 1991 and 2011, the uptake of high school 2 unit agriculture in NSW declined by almost one half.
But a report by the Left Right Think-Tank released in November found that students from fields outside agriculture could be drawn to a career on the land. It suggested that students of business, economics and science were prime candidates to fill growing agriculture labour shortages. The think tank is run by people aged under 25.
The report urged the federal government to support an internship program for students so they can experience working life in farming.
Left Right policy fellowship manager Liam Kershaw-Ryan said agriculture had an image problem among young people even though it offered lucrative career prospects.
Internships were common for law and commerce students but less so for those interested in agriculture, he said.
The report highlights figures from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, which showed only 48 per cent of job vacancies were filled in the agriculture industry in 2011-12. Mr Kershaw-Ryan said demand in Asia for Australian meat and produce would only increase in coming years and economics graduates could use their knowledge of "international issues" to their advantage.
"It can take you anywhere and I think that's an important point in attracting young people," he said.
The council president, Iain Young, said starting salaries in the now high-tech agriculture industry could be as high as $100,000.
"It's not just salesmen selling pesticide. It's guys who need to invent the next big thing," Professor Young, the University of New England's head of environmental and rural sciences, said.
"I really believe that the whole world relies on agriculture.
"All the big money is in agriculture."
Source: Sydney Morning Herald http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/farming-students-pour-in-after-drought-20130105-2c9xc.html#ixzz2HEwO53VK


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Money Marketing.
"Derek, as CEO of Panacea has been a voice of reason, clearly articulating industry concerns that might otherwise have gone without notice or representation."
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"Panacea understands the advisory profession. Their community has grown because advisers and paraplanners see the benefits it adds and believe that their voice is being heard."
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Aberdeen Asset Management.
"How many struggling IFAs would have quietly accepted defeat if it hadnt been for the redoubtable Derek Bradley and his faithful crew. "
IFA Magazine.