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WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. - A registered sex offender from Westchester County is facing felony charges after allegedly coercing a teenage girl through social media to engage in sexually explicit activity.
Joon Kim, the acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York said on Tuesday that 36-year-old David Ohnmacht was facing charges for allegedly persuading a 14-year-old to engage in sexual activity, videotape it and transmit it to him via Instagram, despite his status as a registered sex offender stemming back to a 2003 conviction for sexually abusing several teens.
Beginning in November last year and extending through last month, Kim said that the Katonah resident who works in New Rochelle, communicated online with his victim utilizing the screen names "Dannyw290" and "little.kitty.love." During those illegal communications, Ohnmacht threatened to expose prior videos to her friends on Instagram if she didn't continue the activity.
"David Ohnmacht allegedly convinced a 14-year-old girl to send him sexually explicit videos of herself and threatened to release it to her friends if she did not send more." Kim said in a statement. "It is one of law enforcement's most important missions to protect children from this type of allegedly predatory conduct."
According to Kim, Ohnmacht was convicted originally on Aug. 19, 2003 in Westchester County Court for multiple sexual abuse and assault charges that included possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child, first-degree rape, use of a child less than 17 years of age in a sexual performance, possessing a sexual performance by a child, sodomy, intercourse and forcible compulsion.
Ohnmacht was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of between 40 months and 10 years. Kim said he served approximately nine years in prison before being released in 2011. He then began a mandatory five-year term of post-release supervision that ended the same month he began communicating with his victim. His prior conviction involved four different victims between the ages of 13 and 15.
Police arrested Ohnmacht in Katonah on Monday. He is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 35 years or a maximum of 50 years in state prison.
"Our job as law enforcement is to protect people from criminals, but our job gets harder as more predators approach children and take advantage of them," FBI Assistant Director William Sweeney, Jr. said. "Those alleged predators have more access in this digital age than they've ever had before, but as parents we have to be the first line of defense by talking with them and making sure they know the dangers that lurk online.
"The alleged subject in this case is what parents fear the most, a known sexual predator making contact with their child. Our jobs may get harder, but that won't stop us from going after and stopping criminals from preying on our children."
Kim said the investigation is ongoing. Anyone who may have encountered someone using the user name "Dannyw290" or "little.kitty.love" can contact the FBI at (914) 925-3700.
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Cal State San Bernardino graduate Micah Burke is faring well at the 98th annual California State Amateur Golf Championship at Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City.
Burke tied for 12th in a field of 156 golfers through two 18-hole rounds. He then posted a 3 and 1 win over Al Geiberger Jr. of Palm Desert in the round of 32 match play on Wednesday.
San Bernardino resident Scott Clayton, who led after the first round and qualified for match play in fifth, suffered a 1-up loss to Steve Woods of Cupertino.
Burke, a 23-year-old Los Angeles resident playing out of Empire Lakes Golf Club in Rancho Cucamonga, will face Nick Delio of Valencia in the Round of 16 on Thursday. The two will tee off at 8:10 a.m.
Burke, who earned third-team NCAA Division II All-America honors after finishing ninth in the Division II national championship tournament last month, went 2-up on Geiberger Jr., the son of former PGA tour veteran Al Geiberger Sr., in the first two holes of the match, gave a hole back at No. 3, then regained his 2-up advantage at No. 4.
The two halved the next seven holes until Geiberger Jr. birdied the par-3, 196-yard 12th hole to cut the lead in half again.
However, Burke reclaimed his 2-up advantage with a birdie three at the par-4, 376-yard 13th hole. Burke then went 3-up with an eagle three at the par-5, 496-yard 14th hole.
Burke qualified for the State Amateur Championship by shooting a 70 on May 11 at the qualifier conducted at the SCGA (Southern California Golf Association) course in Temecula to tie for seventh spot.
Clayon, a senior at UC Riverside who won the San Bernardino County Amateur last month, lost a close match later in the day. He was even with Woods until his opponent birdied a short par-4 No. 16 hole.
Both players made par at the 17th and the 18th, leaving Clayton one stroke short.

subset: commoncrawl


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OMG I Fucked My Daughter's BFFFavorites [+]
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Source: Aebn
If you're a guy, there are certain tell-tale signs that you've officially become "old." They include: sleep injuries, having more hair in your nose and ears than on your head, and a sudden, strange compulsion to wear dress socks with sandals.
Here's another way to determine if you're old. Quick: what do the acronyms FBI, CIA and NCAA stand for?
Okay, now what do the acronyms *$, LH6 and BHIMBGO stand for?
If you didn't have any idea about that second list, you are old. Even more ironic, is that BHIMBGO is text talk for "Bloody Hell, I Must Be Getting Old." In other words, it's a shorthand term a young person uses when joking that he or she is getting old, which makes you really old.
Anyway, getting old is quite alright, guys. It happens to everyone... even the dudes in the Devil's Film release OMG I Fucked My Daughter's BFF. But, hey, it didn't stop them from chasing some hot-ass tail belonging to their daughter's best friends forever, so why should it stop you?!
First up is Memphis Joy. Now, we've touched on this before in other reviews and we'll say it again: some girls just have "it." Whatever "it" is, it does not always have to do purely with looks. That's not to suggest Memphis is unattractive, but most would probably look past her in a line-up of today's hottest XXX stars. As you'll see, however, in her cock-sucking ability, she may have more sex appeal per square inch of her body than anyone you'll see on film. Translation: she has "it."
In her scene, Memphis has to get a dress for her pal, Ashlynn. The problem is it's in her dad's room, not her own. Another problem, you'll note, is her dad is still in said room sleeping. The final problem is that, instead of slipping into his room to get the dress and leave, she lingers to take pictures of the sleeping giant, who happens to slumber in the buff. Of course, he wakes up. She can't help but wonder out loud what he was dreaming about as his cock was rock hard. Whatever it was, from now on he'll be dreaming about Memphis choking herself with his giant member. Man, can she deep throat! She takes him about half a dozen times down to his balls, initiating her gag reflex each time. You fully expect his stiff rod to poke out the back of her neck at any point, though it doesn't. And how she keeps the contents of her breakfast from escaping to daylight is beyond us. She is soon out of her clothes and on her back, letting Jay Crew lick her pussy and plug her asshole with his index finger. After begging for his penis (yes, she calls it a penis, which is so cute), he pops her pussy in mish. She gets on top of him and rides his cock while treating her own asshole to the second knuckle of her middle finger like she's searching for the right bowling ball. She gets a strike, cumming incredibly hard on his cock. She musters up enough energy to bounce on his cock in RCG and then returns to the deep throating once again. After taking him in doggie, she drinks every drop of his cum.
Kaylee Hilton, in the second scene, is exactly the type of girl you envision speaking in acronyms. This reviewer hasn't seen enough of her in action to determine if her disposition in this film is really the way she is or if she just happens to be one of the best method actors of our time. Regardless, she absolutely nails the carefree, ditzy blonde stereotype. Oh, she also nails Mark Wood. He comes looking for his daughter, Jennifer, who will brb (be right back) as she's gone to grab a sandwich (maybe a BLT?) Kaylee gets embarrassed when she inadvertently makes a cock jacking motion with her hands. Mark calls her out, but gets turned on at the same time. Meanwhile, Kaylee observes "Mr. Wood's wood" growing in size by the second and she's not shy about wanting to see more. She grips his shaft with one hand and drops her mouth over the head, which if nothing else, muffles the valley girl act for a spell. Her pink tank comes off and you realize this skinny girl has been smuggling one huge pair of lovely tits the whole time. She fucks him in CG and he returns the favor in doggie. RCG and mish follow, giving you prime viewing of her clit and the shiny, metal stud running through it. In the end, her face gets plastered with cum and a vapid smile as she takes his entire load.
When dad comes to wake up his daughter, Libby, in the next scene, he is in for a rude awakening. It's an ironic twist since she was the one scheduled for the rude awakening. After getting no response despite his raised voice, he pulls back the covers to reveal Rylie Richman in her place, topless and in a pair of panties. It turns out she's covering for Libby who went to an all-night party with her new boyfriend. Because Rylie told her BFF she'd take care of her dad, she stays true to her word, sucking his cock. Continuing to "take one for the team," she lets him 69 her, fuck her in RCG, CG and even lick her asshole. All along you get some nice shots of her shaved twat and natural tits. Some doggie fucking precedes a vigorous finger fuck and some mish, before Rylie deep throats the cum to the tip of his cock. Taking over from there, daddy jacks it onto her face and tits.
In the last scene, Alyssa Branch is out by the pool sunning and texting, texting and sunning when Talon comes by looking for his daughter, Carly. Unfortunately, she is not there as she went to get a replacement bathing suit. Hers had a tear in it. Talon's a little put off, but he had a rough day, so he decides to join her by his pool. When she decides to get up to get a drink, his hand "accidentally" gets tangled up in her bikini string. Her bottoms slip off and she is momentarily embarrassed, but out of her suit faster than you can say "statutory." She plies her mouth to his stiff cock, fucking him then in RCG, doggie, CG and mish on the stone retaining wall that surrounds the upper crust swimming hole. In lieu of a refrigerated beverage, she drinks instead his warm, sticky cum, which hopefully has a fairly high SPF. The sun can be rather unforgiving, you know.
OMG is solid and the girls do a wonderful job of selling the fantasy. And for the guys out there in XXX-watching land, remember: age is only a number; it isn't how you look, but how you feel that really matters. They say with age comes wisdom; we say with age comes you... all over some BFF's hot ass.
Now, go get 'em, Tiger!


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Galaxy Quest (US - BD)
By Grabthar's Hammer Gabe swears to never give up, and never surrender...
Seventeen years after its cancellation the 'Galaxy Quest' Sci-Fi television show still has legions of die-hard fans, who regularly sell out series conventions, all the chagrin of the exhausted cast. During one of these particularly depressing fan gatherings actor Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen), who played the show's captain, is approached by a group of particularly strange fans calling themselves the 'Thermians', that beg him to help them during negotiations with their mortal enemy General Roth'h'ar Sarris, and insect like warlord that has driven the Thermian race to near extinction. Assuming their request is just a well advertised acting gig, Nesmith accepts, and proceeds to sleep through the rest of their 'pitch'. It turns out that the Thermians are real aliens that have built their society upon episodes of 'Galaxy Quest', which in their naïveté have mistaken for 'historical documents'. Nesmith botches the negotiations, and returns to Earth. The next day the Thermians return looking for more assistance and Nesmith gathers the rest of his crew (Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell and Daryl Mitchell) to help.
Galaxy Quest works where other spoofs fail because it's concerned with storytelling on top of fun-poking. The film also has genuine affection for the source of its satire, unlike more 'pure' spoof films like Airplane or Scary Movie, which usual (and normally fairly) treat their spoofed subject matter with some contempt. The basic concept of a tribe or culture mistaking actors for real-deal heroes is far from an original piece of filmic plotting (see Three Amigos, A Bug's Life, and My Name is Bruce), that largely owes its existence to Akira Kurosawa's oft-adapted Seven Samurai, but Galaxy Quest owns its tropes gracefully, likely due to the fact that so many of the most popular modern tropes started with Star Trek. Yet the film feels so authentic that it's often hard to remember that there never was a Galaxy Quest television series, which makes for a genuinely rich atmosphere and believable back-story. Beyond all the things that make the film a clever spoof, Galaxy Quest works best as a warm bath of buoyant satisfaction. It's sweet with just enough sour to keep your teeth from rotting or your stomach from turning.
The film features pretty spectacular effects, especially for a relatively modestly budgeted, ten year old film, and the story is extremely clever, but most audiences remember the film for its characters and some impossibly quotable dialogue. The characters are written to recall classic specifications, and would probably feel fully formed even in the hands of lesser actors thanks to the efforts of all of the films and TV shows Galaxy Quest satires. But the actors are fantastic, which pushes things up a notch to 'significant'. The ensemble cast is filled in with a supporting cast that now find themselves on the A-List, including Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Justin Long and Rainn Wilson. Everyone is pretty top form (it's pretty clearly Tim Allen's best film), but there are some definite standouts. Shalhoub chews the scenery without breaking a sweat by remaining as nonchalant about the whole situation as humanly possible, and Rickman is a monster of deadpan fury, but I'm particularly fond of Rockwell's fearful 'red shirt'. A self aware piece of cannon fodder is a particularly clever bit of meta-humour ('Don't open that! It's an alien planet! Is there air? You don't know!').
Galaxy Quest makes its first appearance in hi-def, and the results are a bit middling. This is an improvement on the DVD release, but not such a dramatic one that fans with smaller sets will want to bother with the upgrade. The print is a bit grainier than I'd expect from a ten year old movie, but for the most part the grain and noise subsides a bit in more stylized lighting. The problem is at its most obvious against otherwise clean greys and whites, but once the film gets off Earth and into space, and the colours get a little more wild things clean up quite a bit. The greens of the bad guy craft and the yellows of the mining planet are much brighter here than they were on the old DVD. Details are a bit hit-and-miss, but there are some prime samples of stuff standard definition cannot manage, specifically the bits of the evil alien costumes. The digital effects stand up better than expected, especially the space stuff (some of the creatures are a bit too smooth). There are some noticeable flecks of white, black scratches, and a few other artefacts smeared over the print, but you're going to have to look for them to be bothered by them. The bigger problem is inconsistency in image quality. Though the overall transfer is solid there are obviously bad moments. Examples include a close-up of Rickman inspecting a bug on his spoon, and a few wide shots on the miner planet, which are a bit muddy. DNR and edge-enhancement is a minor issue throughout the wider shots.
The new Blu-ray comes fitted with a new Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track. The track isn't the most dynamic thing you'll ever hear, but it's clearly the ideal way to experience the film. The overall sound design features a somewhat original voice, but is overall clearly meant to evoke the films and series Galaxy Quest apes and pays homage too. As in all the various incarnations of Star Trek, the scenes that take place aboard the Thermians space ship feature an undercurrent of hum and bass, and the space battles are feature a nice mix of zippy silliness, and realist destruction. I found the LFE a little too thin overall (I watched the disc back to back with the nearly perfect Star Trek reboot), but the overall surround and directional output is quite impressive for a ten year old comedy. The dialogue track is perfectly centred, and clear, but there are a few bad bits of lip-sync (beyond the very obviously re-dubbed f-bombs). Composer David Newman is firmly set in his comfort zone with this score, which is referential, but also infectiously hummable in its own right. The music is mostly represented in the stereo channels, with a minor rear channel echo. Again, the whole thing could do with a punchy LFE boost, but overall the music is warm and well integrated into the occasionally busy track.
If Galaxy Quest is going to spoof one of Paramount's most sought-after franchises, the Blu-ray extras might as well spoof those Star Trek re-release extras a bit. In that spirit, the extras begin with a 'Galactopedia' option to watch the film with pop-up factoids concerning attributes of the fake Galaxy Quest TV series, including the actors, behind-the-scenes, characters, episodes, fandom, planets and aliens, pop-culture, and science and technology. This is pretty much the same thing as the 'Library Computer' option that comes with every one of Paramount's Star Trek Blu-ray film releases.
New featurettes, which are also available on the 'Deluxe Edition' DVD, start with 'Historical Documents: The Story of Galaxy Quest' (18:10, SD) which covers the basic's of the making of the film in retrospect, from inception, scripting, the facts of Trekkies, real Star Trek conventions, tropes, and the film's rough reception. Besides major members of the cast and crew, other interview subjects include Wrath of Khan and Undiscovered Country director Nicholas Myer. A fluffy but joyful little featurette. 'Never Give Up, Never Surrender: The Intrepid Crew of the NSEA Protector' (23:30, SD) covers the intricacies of casting the film, and crafting the characters. It's fun to know that Justin Long partially based his performance on the real life geeks of Trekkies. 'By Grabthar's Hammer, What Amazing Effects' (07:00, SD) covers the film's digital and practical effects work, and set pieces which are, as mentioned, pretty impressive based on the film's comparative budget and age. The looks at Stan Winston's make-up and monster effects are the most interesting bits. 'Alien School: Creating the Thermian Race' (05:20, SD) briefly covers the creation of the film's good-guy alien race, which was apparently mostly inspired by Enrico Colantoni's casting tapes. 'Actors in Space' (06:10, SD) finishes the new stuff off with a look at actors dealing with sending themselves and their contemporaries up in the film. Oh, and there's a brief bit of Sigourney Weaver and a few cast members rapping for Weaver's agent's birthday (02:00, SD). Silly.
The disc is completed with eight deleted scenes, one with an optional introduction (10:10, SD), a Thermian audio track (which is cute for about two minutes, then really annoying), and the trailer.
Though it's obviously not a Star Trek film, Galaxy Quest was really the closest thing we had to a good Star Trek film for a very long time, and it really deserves its cult following. It's definitely a satire, but it's also a standalone feature with a story, characters, and very memorable dialogue. It's never too heavy, but there is some emotional weight that grounds the comedy. This inaugural Blu-ray release sounds great, and features a handful of new, retrospective extras, but some fans might find the new high definition transfer a bit lacking. The disc looks good, better than the old DVD, but it's not perfect, so the choice is yours.
Now, let's get out of here, before someone kills Guy.
* Note: The images on this page are not representative of the Blu-ray release.
Review by Gabriel Powers
Chris Gould Editor Join Date: May 2001 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 7,171
Does the aspect ratio alter like it did in cinemas (Academy, flat, then scope)?
Skunk Monk Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 14
Also, can you tell us if this is finally the uncut version - with Sigourney's "F**k That!" line re-instated rather than the terrible PG-friendly overdub, along with the missing scene with Sam Rockwell smoking weed with the aliens?
The ratio doesn't change, there's just some black at the sides, if that's what you're asking Chris. It's not like the Dark Knight disc. And the rating is still PG (I actually mentioned the dubbed over F-bomb in the audio section).
Bouncy X Member Join Date: March 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 1,931
Gabe Powers wrote: The ratio doesn't change, there's just some black at the sides, if that's what you're asking Chris. It's not like the Dark Knight disc.
so its pretty much like the Simpsons Movie, when we go from the opening theater segment to the movie's title. it changes aspect ratios visually, as in there's black bars at firs that go away but its not an actual change in the technological sense.
if that made any sense. lol
so its pretty much like the Simpsons Movie, when we go from the opening theater segment to the movie's title. it changes aspect ratios visually, as in there's black bars at firs that go away but its not an actual change in the technological sense.
if that made any sense. lol
Pixarfan517 Member Join Date: August 2006 Location: United States Posts: 1,478
It's on my Netflix.
Chris Gould Editor Join Date: May 2001 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 7,171
Gabe Powers wrote: The ratio doesn't change, there's just some black at the sides, if that's what you're asking Chris.
Aye, that's what I meant. I was curious if it went from Academy to 1.85 before going to 2.35.
Aye, that's what I meant. I was curious if it went from Academy to 1.85 before going to 2.35.
Ray Waterway Member Join Date: September 2004 Location: United States Posts: 462
It's only in 1.33:1 for the opening, while they're watching the television show. It does not go from there to 1.85:1 to 2.35:1. I really wish a version would be released with these transitions... loved watching it in the theater.
JackJackMN Member Join Date: January 2006 Location: United States Posts: 629
I think the video quality of the Bluray is a 100 times better then the old dvd. I was very impressed.
How big is your TV JackJack? I figure it makes the difference.
Osiris3657 Member Join Date: October 2008 Location: United States Posts: 50
Gabe I have a couple questions for you, neither regarding Qalaxy Quest haha. Good review though. What kind of set up do you have?
Also, is the jump from 720p to 1080p blu-ray drastic, or would noobs like me even notice? I ask this partly because my roommate and I both have HD TV's with HD programming. His is a 50" LCD 1080p, mine a 37" LCD 720p, yet the picture when watching HD feeds on my TV is sharper and more crisp than his(we both have Toshibas). What gives?
Also, is the jump from 720p to 1080p blu-ray drastic, or would noobs like me even notice? I ask this partly because my roommate and I both have HD TV's with HD programming. His is a 50" LCD 1080p, mine a 37" LCD 720p, yet the picture when watching HD feeds on my TV is sharper and more crisp than his(we both have Toshibas). What gives?
JackJackMN Member Join Date: January 2006 Location: United States Posts: 629
Gabe Powers wrote: How big is your TV JackJack? I figure it makes the difference.
I'm watching on a 47" 1080p LCD. I'm guessing most people won't be able to tell the difference between the Galaxy Quest BR and DVD on anything smaller than 40", but the differences are likely magnified enough by something as big as a 50". I was mostly surprised by this transfers print artifacts, rather than a lack of sharpness.
Some material may not be suitable for children
Disc Details
Release Date: 17th November 2009
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 2.35:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish, Dolby Surround 2.0 Thermian
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese
Extras: Galactopedia, Historical Documents: The Story of Galaxy Quest, Never Give Up, Never Surrender, By Grabthar's Hammer, What Amazing Effects, Alien School, Actors in Space, Sigourney Weaver Raps, Deleted Scenes, Trailer
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Dean Parisot
Cast: Tim Allen, Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Enrico Colantoni, Justin Long and Rainn Wilson
Genre: Action, Adventure and Comedy
Length: 101 minutes
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Reporter ends up covering her own marriage proposal
WELLAND, Ont. — As a reporter, I pride myself on being able to get to the bottom of things.
I like a good mystery, and I like it even more when I can solve it before anyone else.
But for once, I'm glad the secret was kept.
At the end of April, when signs began popping up all over Welland with big pink hearts on them, I started asking everyone I knew what they were for.
They were bright. They contained no message. They were everywhere.
My curiosity was piqued.
The signs quickly became the talk of the town, and I wrote a story about how no one was coming forward to claim them.
Now I know why.
About a week ago, new signs began appearing next to the existing ones, indicating something was going to happen at Chippawa Park on Sunday at 3 p.m.
As luck would have it, or so I thought, it was my weekend to work. I'd get to find out exactly what the creator of the mystery hearts had been planning all along.
I arrived at the park, slung my camera bag over my shoulder and headed over to a pop-up tent set up near one of the park's pavilions.
Despite the rain, dozens of people came out with umbrellas in hand, all eager to satisfy the same curiosity that had been eating away at me for weeks.
Inside the tent was a man dressed in a suit with a box over his head.
A box, you ask? Yes. Complete with a signature pink heart painted on it.
He was handing out flowers to onlookers with what I can only imagine was a smile behind his cardboard disguise.
He handed one to me — a sweet, but familiar gesture — then continued passing them out to others. Then he gathered up the remaining flowers into a bouquet, and he turned to me.
He removed the disguise.
This was the man who I've loved for the past eight years. Who I've built a life with.
This was all for me.
Ryan got down on one knee, and as I tried but failed to hold back tears, he asked me to spend the rest of my life with him.
No pressure, right?
Of course I was ecstatic. Shaking. Crying. Of course I said, Yes!
I was surrounded by strangers taking photos and video of our moment, but in an instant they all felt like family. Ryan had even invited my parents and his, sworn to secrecy, to witness our special day.
The congratulations poured in from familiar faces and ones I've never seen before.
When rumours of the signs' intentions first began swirling, many said it was a person looking to spread love through the community. In the end, it may have been geared toward one individual, but the love flowed through that park Sunday afternoon.
It wasn't until everyone began clearing out that I realized I hadn't taken any pictures. I hadn't even taken out my notepad.
Sure is hard to cover a story when it turns out the news is you.
While trying to take in everything that was happening, I knew there was an important phone call I had to make.
My editor was expecting a story. There was a newspaper to put out.
It's usually hard to catch a journalist off guard, but I'd say that was accomplished as both myself and managing editor Dan Dakin were left a little bewildered.
"I'm blown away that this is what the hearts meant. It's the most impressive engagement plot I've ever heard of," he said after the news broke.
"So many people from the community were questioning what the hearts meant, so to have this turn out the way it did is incredible.
"I'm sure Maryanne's fiance has just left many women jealous and made many men go back to the drawing board for their own engagement plans."
It all boils down to the fact that Ryan St. Denis knows me better than I know myself.
He knew I'd see the signs. He knew I'd be curious. And he knew my nose for news would drive me to unearth the secret.
How he kept it from me all this time, I'll never know.
What I do know is that I am one lucky girl and I owe a heartfelt thank you to everyone, especially the man in the box who made this the most memorable day of my life.


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Position paper on deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure
This paper describes Transport & Environment's (T&E's) views on the Commission's proposals. Whilst we support technology neutral policy we also recognise that emerging technologies require support to compete with the use of oil for transport. T&E therefore welcomes the Commission's initiative, but believes that the detailed proposal has shortcomings. This paper addresses the key limitations and presents solutions to facilitate a sustainable shift to e-mobility


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Lot # 188 (of 1743) < Previous Lot | Next Lot >
1909 E95 Philadelphia Caramel Sam Crawford
Starting Bid - $300, Sold For - $705
Graded EX 5 by PSA. One of only seven examples graded at this level. High-grade example of Hall of Famer Sam Crawford in a batting pose from the highly desirable E95 Philadelphia Caramel series. For a caramel card, PSA EX 5 is an impressive grade. Due to the thin stock on which they are printed, and their method of issue, these cards are rarely found in high grade. Bright and clean, both front and back, with virtually flawless registration, a hint of light, even wear to the corners, and a perfectly clean surface with particularly bold colors. The printing of the checklist on the back is bright and bold. The designs used in E95 are particularly noted for their beauty and are of all the more note as they are unique to the set. This is an exceptional high-grade E95 example and one of Hall of Famer Sam Crawford's most attractive cards. SMR value is $1,100. Reserve $300. Estimate $500/$1,000. SOLD FOR $705
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Expedia-Verified Reviews
Don't miss out on a lower price on this property
Get an overview of this hotelAll-inclusive resort on Bavaro beach
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Guests say they love
- Family-friendly amenities
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Soft sea breezes
Located on a white-sand Caribbean beach with calm and clear waters, this resort is set amid lush tropical gardens. Going to Punta Cana Golf Club is a 5 min ride and the airport is just 13 miles (21 kilometers) away.
All-inclusive resort
Food and domestic drinks at all restaurants, snack spots, and bars are included in the room rate. The resort features many water sports such as snorkeling and windsurfing and also nightly live entertainment.
Private balconies
After a day of swimming in the two large lake-style outdoor pools, guests can retreat to spacious guestrooms, which include private balconies, garden, pool, or ocean views, satellite TV, and oval jetted tubs.
Languages Spoken
- English
Grand Bahia Principe Punta Cana - All Inclusive
Resort Amenities
All-Inclusive Details
This resort is all-inclusive. Onsite food and beverages are included in the room price (some restrictions may apply).
Gratuities and taxes
Gratuities and taxes are included.
Food and beverages
- Buffet and à la carte meals, snacks, and local beverages included
- Limited gourmet or à la carte dining
Activities and facilities/equipment
Water activities
- Kayaking
- Snorkeling
- Surfing/boogie boarding
- Windsurfing
Land activities
- Bicycling
- Fitness facilities
- Soccer
- Tennis
- Volleyball
- Aerobics
- Dancing
Kids' club
- Supervised activities for children between 4 and 12 years old
- Onsite entertainment and activities
- Access to onsite clubs
- Onsite live performances
Not included
- Golf green fees
- Use of golf cart
- Use of golf equipment
- Motorized water sports
- Scuba-diving certification
- Scuba-diving excursions
- Snorkeling excursions
- Premium food items
- Premium and/or non-domestic beverages
- Airport transfers
- Childcare
- Laundry/dry cleaning services
- Spa/beauty facilities and services
- Wireless Internet access
- Activities and services offered by independent operators
- Offsite tours
- Transportation to offsite activities
Resort Amenities
Located on one of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean-Playa Bávaro-on the east coast of the Dominican Republic, 20 km from the Punta Cana airport (30 min by car), 70 km from La Romana airport (90 min by car), and 50 min from Higuey town, in the province of Altagracia. The hotel is situated on a white sand beach, of about 500 mt. It has numerous tropical gardens that serve as a frame to small streets in which our guests can take a stroll and at the same time feel the ocean breeze and the coolness of the natural surroundings. The majority of amenities, activities, and gratuities at the the Grand Bahia Principe Punta Cana All Inclusive are included in the room rate; guests will not be charged extra for these amenities and activities (scroll up to the All-Inclusive Details section for more information). Guests at the Grand Bahia Principe Punta Cana All-Inclusive enjoy abundant amenities, white-sand beach, freeform outdoor pools, tennis courts, miniature golf, an aquatic-activity center, spa and a sub-aqua center. The resort's professional spa offers body and facial treatments, manicures and pedicures, massages, massages on the beach. (Advanced reservations are required for all massages and spa treatments.) The two freeform pools include children's sections. The property includes solariums and gardens with sunshades and lounge chairs. The private shopping center offers a discotheque, casino, multiple bars, gift shops, and sundry stores. The hotel also runs a 24 hours medical service (with charges) to ensure the security of all its guests.
- Free use of nearby fitness center
- Number of outdoor pools - 2
- Babysitting or childcare
- Fitness facilities
- Children's club
- 24-hour front desk
- Porter/bellhop
- Free self parking
- Dry cleaning/laundry service
- Terrace
- Hair salon
- ATM/banking
- Concierge services
- Gift shops or newsstand
- Shopping on site
- Pool umbrellas
- Total number of rooms - 756
- One meeting room
- Number of floors - 3
- Tennis on site
- Number of bars/lounges - 7
- Number of poolside bars - 2
- Full-service spa
- Number of beach bars - 3
- Swim-up bar
- Beach umbrellas
- Conference space
- Free breakfast
- Tours/ticket assistance
- Year Built 2004
- Pool sun loungers
- Sauna
- WiFi (surcharge)
- Babysitting or childcare (surcharge)
- Children's club (free)
- Smoke-free property
- Nightclub
- Supervised childcare/activities (surcharge)
- Children's pool
- Spa services on site
- Number of restaurants - 5
- Laundry facilities
- Spa tub
- Beach towels
- Arcade/game room
- Wedding services
- Garden
- Multilingual staff
- Free newspapers in lobby
Family Friendly Amenities
- Family Hotel
- Outdoor pools
- Children's pool
- Children's club (free)
- Laundry facilities
- Babysitting or childcare (surcharge)
- Arcade/game room
- Playground on site
- Miniature golf on site
- Sofa bed
- Cribs/infant beds (complimentary)
Available in all rooms: Wireless internet access ( USD 15 per day )
Available in some public areas: Wireless internet access ( USD 14.00 per day )
Languages Spoken
- English
- French
- German
- Spanish
Free self parking
Room Amenities
- Separate sitting area
- Balcony
- Ceiling fan
- Air conditioning
- Free bottled water
- Minibar (stocked, free items)
- Daily housekeeping
- Turndown service
- Private bathroom
- Free toiletries
- Hair dryer
- Jetted bathtub
- Separate bathtub and shower
- Pillowtop mattress
- Desk
- In-room safe
- In-room safe (surcharge)
- Sofa bed
- Satellite TV service
- WiFi (surcharge)
- Number of bathrooms -
- Free cribs/infant beds
- Iron/ironing board
Where to Eat
In the complex you'll find a wide variety of specialities, theme cuisine and restaurants. We want you to feel like you're in culinary paradise; executive chef Alex Rodríguez and Faustino Rodríguez, director of food and drinks, with vast restaurant experience, direct the team of chefs throughout the resort. We offer a dining experience of 6 theme restaurants which offer a wide range of cuisine (gourmet, Japanese, Italian, seafood, Tex-Mex, grill and meat).
Orquídea Restaurant, international cuisine buffet (main restaurant): breakfast, lunch and buffet dinner with traditional dishes from international cuisine. Theme dining nights by country. Smoking is not permitted.
"Le Gourmet" gourmet Restaurant: à la carte restaurant where you can taste French gourmet cuisine, so you can enjoy the cradle of nouvelle cuisine....
Mikado Japanese Restaurant: à la carte restaurant with traditional Japanese cuisine served to your taste with chopsticks for a total immersion, or if you don't dare you can go back to typical silverware. sushi, teka maki,...
"Santa Fe" Tex-Mex Restaurant: à la carte restaurant where you can enjoy authentic Tex-Mex cuisine. beans, fajitas…...
"Garden Grill" Restaurant: à la carte restaurant where you'll find the authentic flavour of grilled meats with their original seasonings. Yeehaw!...
"El Pescador" Restaurant: à la carte restaurant with conventional seafood cuisine, the sea as an essential culinary source....
All reservations include 3 free dinners, per week of stay, in any of the à la carte theme restaurants. With advanced booking and formal dress, long trousers for men.
The complex has 16 bars, 3 located along the beach, two lobby bars, one theatre bar, 3 bars at the pool, 2 Snack Bars, a Merengue bar, a Disco bar, a terrace bar, a karaoke piano bar, sports bar and a Congas Bachata discotheque.
Guests will find 7 restaurants on-site:
Mikado: A la carte restaurant serving Japanese specialities. Reservations required. Diner only.
Orquidea: Buffet-style restaurant serving International specialities. Breakfast, lunch and diner.
Santa Fe: A la carte restaurant serving Mexican specialities. Reservations required. Diner only.
Piscis: Snack bar restaurant serving fast food. Lunch only. Opened from 10.30am to 5m.
Snack noche: Snack bar restaurant serving fast food. Opened from 11pm to 7am.
Garden Grill: A la carte restaurant serving steack house specialities. Reservations required.Diner only.
El Pescador: A la carte restaurant serving Mediterranean specialities. Reservations required. Dine only.
Junior suite Club Golden include a 24hours Room Service.
Steakhouse - This restaurant serves an à la carte menu. Reservations required.
El Charro Mexican Restaurant - Serving à la carte Mexican cuisine. Reservations required.
The resort also offers a swim-up bar, beach bar, karaoke/piano bar, and 24-hour snack bar.
Room service is available only for the Club Golden section.
Nearby Things to Do
There are sports and activities at all hours of the day, to enjoy the sun, the sea or the beach, so you won't stop even for a second. Learn to sail with a catamaran, the wind arts of windsurfing and even the banana boat with your friends. Each and every one of your activities and favourite sports are here. Find yours. The country's top golf destination is here, in one of the best spots in the Caribbean. Golf lovers will find, only 5 minutes from the resort complex, the fantastic course designed by Nick Price in the Dominican Republic, at the Punta Blanca Gold Club. Holes: 18. Also the course at White Sands Golf, with 9 spectacular holes. Known for its big lakes and coves. 15 minutes from the hotel. Bávaro Golf: 20 minutes from the complex, holes: 18, par 72. La Cana Golf Club: at just over 30 minutes from the hotel, holes 18, yards 7,152. Cocotal Golf & Country Club: holes 27, par 72. 20 minutes from the hotel.
Sports for every taste, Traditional : bocce, mini-golf, darts, sports - soccer, basketball, volleyball, gym, stretching, aerobics, yoga, tennis, paddle tennis, ping-pong.
Non-motor water activities (one hour free per day): snorkelling, kayaks, sailing, catamaran, boogie boards, catamaran outings, windsurfing and sailing classes, scuba diving class (Padi), aguagym.
Motorised (with charge): fishing boat and tour, banana boat, jet skis.
Classes and lessons include tennis, volleyball, muscle building, aerobics, and Merengue dancing. Located at the neighboring resort, the Nick Price-designed Punta Blanca Golf. In the evening guests will find a vibrant daily international program, with live music and a wide variety of shows in the hotel's amphitheater. In Pueblo Príncipe, a Dominican-style shopping center, they will find shops selling crafts, clothes, CDs and photos to bring home the best souvenir of their stay in Dominican Republic. The excitement continues at night in the karaoke piano bar, at the casino and discotheque. The recreational activities listed below are on site; fees may apply.
- Snorkeling on site
- Miniature golf on site
- Golfing nearby
- Surfing/boogie boarding on site
- Volleyball on site
- Kayaking on site
- Windsurfing on site
- Playground on site
- Bicycle rentals nearby
- Fitness classes on site
- Sailing on site
- Basketball on site
- Scuba diving on site
- Hiking/biking trails nearby
- Personal motorized watercraft on site
- Scooter/moped rentals nearby
Spa Services
The Grand Bahia Principe Punta Cana's Spa has magnificent facilities and offers the most exotic Caribbean treatments. It's easy to relax and drift away in this luxurious Spa, in matchless surroundings with a beach with some of the whitest and finest sand in the world at your disposal. This Spa has many massage gazebos right on the magnificent beach. You have, among other treatments, a spectacular hydrotherapy area (water circuit) to beat stress, where you'll find 3 different kinds of saunas, therapeutic sensation showers, bathtubs, Vichy shower, Scottish shower, bubble beds, cervical jets and 2 splendid dynamic pools. Couples can also enjoy exotic VIP Cabins with private Jacuzzi. Highlighted treatment - Caribbean massages: Take care of your body and spirit with this fabulous massage based in a traditional technique, the results included better circulation, deep relaxation, and stress reduction. Exotic and uniques massages from the Caribbean culture.
- Massages on beach
- Manicures and pedicures
- Body treatments
- Body scrubs
- Facial treatments
- Hydrotherapy treatments
- Hot stone massage
- Deep tissue massage
- Sauna in spa
- Spa tub in spa
- Steam room in spa
- Reflexology
- Sports massage
- Massages
If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please note them at check-out when you book your room.
- Accessible bathroom
- In-room accessibility
Resort Policies
Check-in time starts at 3 PM
Minimum check-in age is 18
Check-out time is noon
Payment types
Children and extra beds
- Children are welcome.
- Rollaway/extra beds are not available.
- Free cribs (infant beds)!
- Pets not allowed
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy.
Optional extras
- Fee for in-room wireless Internet: USD 15 per day (rates may vary)
- Fee for wireless Internet in public areas: USD 14.00 per day (rates may vary)
- In-room safe fee: USD 4 per day
Resort Name
- All Inclusive Bahia
- All Inclusive Bahia Principe
- Bahia All Inclusive
- Bahia Principe All Inclusive
- Grand Bahia Principe All Inclusive
- Grand Bahia Principe Punta Cana
- Grand Bahia Principe Punta Cana All Inclusive
- Punta Cana Grand Bahia
We should mention
Reservations are required for massage services and spa treatments. Reservations can be made by contacting the resort prior to arrival, using the contact information on the booking confirmation.


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Tom Cruise: 'Jack Reacher' NYC Premiere Postponed Due to School Shooting
Tom Cruise flashes a smile as he arrives at a taping for The Late Show with David Letterman at the Ed Sullivan Theater on Monday (December 17) in New York City.
The 50-year-old actor is in town to promote his flick Jack Reacher. The flick was scheduled to premiere tonight, but was postponed due to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
"Out of respect for the families who lost loved ones in Newtown, Connecticut, we are postponing tonight's event," a statement from the film society read. "We extend our love and condolences to you. Our community grieves with yours."
The Pittsburgh premiere of Jack Reacher, which was scheduled to take place last week, was also postponed in light of the devastating events.


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Shia LaBeouf & Evan Rachel Wood: 'Charlie Countryman' Sundance Premiere!
Shia LaBeouf and Evan Rachel Wood hit the red carpet at the premiere of their new flick The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman during the 2013 Sundance Film Festival on Monday (January 21) at the Eccles Center Theatre in Park City, Utah.
The 25-year-old pregnant actress glowed as she suited up in Ralph Lauren Purple Label for the high-energy event.
"Wow. Sundance has changed since i was here last. There are strippers now!" Evan tweeted. "Premiere of #NDCC tonight at #Sundance2013!!"
Also pictured: Evan arriving at the airport the day before in advance of the premiere.
FYI: Shia is wearing a jacket and pants by Levi's.


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Approaching spring brings hope
To the Editor:
Planet Earth is situated in orbit around the sun in a crescent-shaped elliptical "green zone" that is tapered somewhat widely on one end and narrowly on the other. If too near the wide end, the planet would be too hot to support life as we know it; if too near the narrow end, much too cold to do so. The tilt of the earth's axis and its annual circuit account for the change in seasons.
In the immensity of space, given the vast quantity of sun-like stars and probable earth-like planets, the odds of this happening are actually quite good. Still and all, humanity might wish to thank their lucky star, the sun, for such a confluence if near-miraculous coincidence.
Whether this is by cosmic design or divine intervention — or a bit of each — is a matter of personal decision or belief. Our home on this blue orb at such a fortuitous distance from the sun is nonetheless a thing of wonder, and should bring most of us to the edge of being somewhat humble, if even for a brief moment. It might at least cause one to pause in respect and appreciation of the workings of Mother Nature and Father Time.
The fact that Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, and therefore varies in calendar placement, is also an interesting concept in terms of nature, time and space.
I look forward to relaxing on our little deck overlooking our even smaller patio, in the company of our old dog warming himself on the asphalt driveway, grateful to be able to consider such lofty yet simple matters. There will be the heavy humid scent of green things growing. The bird songs of spring will represent the original "tweet" and "twitter." The empty seed pods of last autumn from whence life had flown will be reborn in the moist snowmelt soil, the wildflowers set to give us a parade of colors over the summer, and the apple blossoms and the lilacs about to bloom.
All of this heaven-sent rebirth in just one yard and garden shall proclaim that everything is well and good, at our special place by my river and the wood. Something wonderful is coming, another welcome northern spring. Happy Easter.
Thomas Ylsabeck


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Creating Biomedical Technologies to Improve Health
In empathy we feel what we believe are the emotions of another, which makes it both affective and cognitive by most psychologists. [7] In this sense, arousal and empathy promote prosocial behavior as we accommodate each other to feel similar emotions. For social beings, negotiating interpersonal decisions is as important to survival as being able to navigate the physical landscape. [38] Emotions motivate individual behavior that aids in solving communal challenges as well as guiding group decisions about social exchange. Additionally, recent research has shown individuals who report regular experiences of gratitude engage more frequently in prosocial behaviors. Positive emotions like empathy or gratitude are linked to a more positive continual state and these people are far more likely to help others than those not experiencing a positive emotional state. [38] Thus, empathy's influence extends beyond relating to other's emotions, it correlates with an increased positive state and likeliness to aid others. Measures of empathy show that mirror neurons are activated during arousal of sympathetic responses and prolonged activation shows increased probability to help others.
Another growing focus of investigation is how empathy manifests in education between teachers and learners.
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Although there is general agreement that empathy is essential in educational settings, research has found that it is difficult to develop empathy in trainee teachers. [40] According to one theory, there are seven components involved in the effectiveness of intercultural communication; empathy was found to be one of the seven. This theory also states that empathy is learnable. However, research also shows that it is more difficult to empathize when there are differences between people including status, culture, religion, language, skin colour, gender, age and so on. [40]
In order to achieve intercultural empathy, psychologists have employed empathy training. One study hypothesized that empathy training would increase the measured level of relational empathy among the individuals in the experimental group when compared to the control group.
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The study also hypothesized that empathy training would increase communication among the experimental group, and that perceived satisfaction with group dialogue would also increase among the experimental group. To test this, the experimenters used the Hogan Empathy Scale, the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory, and questionnaires. Using these measures, the study found that empathy training was not successful in increasing relational empathy. Also, communication and satisfaction among groups did not increase as a result of the empathy training. While there didn't seem to be a clear relationship between empathy and relational empathy training, the study did report that "relational empathy training appeared to foster greater expectations for a deep dialogic process resulting in treatment differences in perceived depth of communication".
Images of EGFP (green) and Hoechst 33,342 (blue) fluorescence were acquired at 40x with an automated widefield microscope (see Materials and methods). Each panel is independently contrast stretched. …
Compounds used.
1.3 µL of a given stock were added to 1000µL, so the final concentrations used are 1/1000 of the concentration listed.
* 2.2 mg of the lysate (from , Sigma-Aldrich) was dissolved in 2.0 mL DMSO to form the stock solution; units indeterminate.
The first round of experiments began by collecting images of all clones for one of the vehicle-only conditions (96 experiments). For analysis and model building, images were represented by numerical features that captured the subcellular localization of the EGFP labeled protein. Data from each experiment were subjected to a quality control procedure established at the outset from the initial data (see Materials and methods).
At the end of each round (including the first), all experiments up to and including that round (that passed quality control) were used to identify phenotypes . We use the term 'phenotype' to refer to a statistically distinguishable localization pattern that may or may not correspond to a previously described or characterized drug effect; see Discussion. Each experiment was represented by a set of feature vectors corresponding to its images. We clustered these sets such that clusters of experiments with similar feature vectors defined phenotypes (see Materials and methods). The number of phenotypes was determined anew from the data every round; which patterns are statistically different may change from round to round as new images might contain entirely new patterns, might be additional examples of a pattern that was previously not considered statistically significant, or might show a pattern that is intermediate between two previous clusters causing them to become joined. The phenotype assignments were then given to the learner to form a model to make predictions about unmeasured experiments (see Materials and methods). The basis of this predictive model was to group together those drugs that had been observed to elicit the same phenotype for at least one clone and had not been observed to elicit different phenotypes for any clone (and similarly by grouping clones). This grouping reduced the complexity of the problem: each group of drugs or clones was assumed to behave the same; of course, later experiments might reveal that some of these groupings were incorrect. The predictions of the model were therefore that drugs in the same group would show the same effect on all clones in future experiments (and that all clones in the same group would be affected similarly). Using this model of correlations of phenotypes among drugs and clones, the active learner chose a new round of 96 new experiments to be performed. The choice of experiments in a round simultaneously prioritized experiments that would test the greatest number of the groupings (i.e., experiments predicted by the largest groups of drugs or clones) while minimizing the number of experiments that could be predicted from each other (i.e., experiments predicted by the same group).
Researchers Zanna Clay and Frans de Waal studied the socio-emotional development of the bonobo chimpanzee. [202] They focused on the interplay of numerous skills such as empathy-related responding, and how different rearing backgrounds of the juvenile bonobo affected their response to stressful events, related to themselves (loss of a fight) and of stressful events of others. It was found that the bonobos sought out body contact as a coping mechanism with one another. A finding of this study was that the bonobos sought out more body contact after watching a distressing event upon the other bonobos rather than their individually experienced stressful event. Mother-reared bonobos as opposed to orphaned bonobos sought out more physical contact after a stressful event happened to another. This finding shows the importance of mother-child attachment and bonding, and how it may be crucial to successful socio-emotional development, such as empathic-like behaviors.
Empathic-like responding has been observed in
in various different aspects of their natural behaviors. For example, chimpanzees are known to spontaneously contribute comforting behaviors to victims of aggressive behavior in natural and unnatural settings, a behavior recognized as consolation. Researchers Teresa Romero and co-workers observed these empathic and sympathetic-like behaviors in chimpanzees at two separate outdoor housed groups.
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The act of consolation was observed in both of the groups of chimpanzees. This behavior is found in humans, and particularly in human infants. Another similarity found between chimpanzees and humans is that empathic-like responding was disproportionately provided to individuals of kin. Although comforting towards non-family chimpanzees was also observed, as with humans, chimpanzees showed the majority of comfort and concern to close/loved ones. Another similarity between chimpanzee and human expression of empathy is that females provided more comfort than males on average. The only exception to this discovery was that high-ranking males showed as much empathy-like behavior as their female counterparts. This is believed to be because of policing-like behavior and the authoritative status of high-ranking male chimpanzees.
It is thought that species that possess a more intricate and developed prefrontal cortex have more of an ability of experiencing empathy. It has however been found that empathic and altruistic responses may also be found in sand dwelling Mediterranean ants. Researcher Hollis studied the
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sand dwelling Mediterranean ant and their rescue behaviors by ensnaring ants from a nest in nylon threads and partially buried beneath the sand.
The ants not ensnared in the nylon thread proceeded to attempt to rescue their nest mates by sand digging, limb pulling, transporting sand away from the trapped ant, and when efforts remained unfruitful, began to attack the nylon thread itself; biting and pulling apart the threads. Similar rescue behavior was found in other sand-dwelling Mediterranean ants, but only
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species of ants showed the same rescue behaviors of transporting sand away from the trapped victim and directing attention towards the nylon thread. It was observed in all ant species that rescue behavior was only directed towards nest mates. Ants of the same species from different nests were treated with aggression and were continually attacked and pursued, which speaks to the depths of ants discriminative abilities. This study brings up the possibility that if ants have the capacity for empathy and/or altruism, these complex processes may be derived from primitive and simpler mechanisms.
David Kastelman, Data Scientist Raghav Ramesh,Machine Learning Engineer
On the Dispatch team at DoorDash, we use simulation, empirical observation, and experimentation to make progress towards our goals; however, given the systemic nature of many of our products, simple A/B tests are often ineffective due to network effects. To be able to experiment in the face of network effects, we use a technique known as switchback testing, where we switch back and forth between treatment and control in particular regions over time. This approach resembles A/B tests in many ways, but requires certain adjustments to the analysis.
The core responsibility of the Dispatch system at DoorDash is to power fulfillment of every delivery in Doordash's three-sided marketplace of Consumers, Dashers and Merchants. To effectively achieve this, we focus on
As we continuously iterate on these problems, we rely heavily on both simulation and experimentation to best serve our audiences on all three sides of the marketplace. Offline simulation is helpful for checking assignment algorithms, and offline evaluation and A/B testing helps us with iteration on prediction algorithms. However, it is no surprise that in dealing with marketplace problems online, often make traditional A/B testing ineffectual. We'll explain that with an example of SOS pricing below.
SOS pricing is a demand shaping strategy used when we have too few dashers compared to the incoming delivery volume. In these scenarios, in order to avoid overwhelming the Dasher fleet with an intractable number of deliveries, thereby increasing Consumer delivery times, we enable SOS pricing, which increases delivery fee. With this increase, demand gets throttled and shifted to later times; meanwhile, dashers are motivated to dash more. When we introduce (or later, modify) the SOS pricing algorithm, we would like to experiment to understand the impact on customer retention and delivery times. If we were to test changes as an A/B experiment on Consumers, 50% of Consumers would see SOS pricing and 50% wouldn't. In this case, the first set of Consumers get only half of the benefit of supply equilibration (by extension, reduced impact on Consumer delivery times), while the other half get the partial benefit without any extra pay, which makes our learning incomplete. The problem here is the network effect — both sets of Consumers share the same Dasher fleet — so adding a Consumer to the treatment group also affects the experience of Consumers in the control group and we can not establish independence between the two groups.
One way to get around network effects is to introduce the change and observe the impact before and after. For instance, we can compare Consumer delivery times before and after the introduction of SOS pricing. The main problem with this approach is the famous maxim that correlation doesn't imply causation. Without a randomized experiment, we cannot be sure if the results we are seeing after our change are really because of that change, or just coincide with other things changing in the system. DoorDash is a dynamic company with a lot changing every day, so relying on a pre-post comparison is a risky proposition. At a minimum, relying on pre-post analyses would cause a dispatch bottleneck where we could only change one big thing at a time. Even this strategy, however, is insufficient for interpreting correlations as causal because occurrences outside dispatch's control like consumer promotions and weather have a big impact on our normal dispatch metrics and might be the true cause of a pre-post observed difference. To take the most-cited line from the oft-cited Airbnb medium pos t on A/B testing, "the outside world often has a much larger effect on metrics than product changes do."
Due to the limitations of A/B tests and the insufficiency of pre-post comparisons, the Dispatch team recently decided to switch to a new analytic framework for much of its experimentation — 'switchback testing.' Fun fact: switchback testing was originally employed in an agricultural context, specifically for cow lactation experiments .
In switchback testing, the core concept is that we switch back and forth between control and treatment algorithms in a certain region at alternating time periods. For example, in the SOS pricing example, we switch back and forth every 30 minutes between having SOS pricing and not having SOS pricing. We then compare the customer experience and marketplace efficiency between the control time bucket and treatment time bucket metrics corresponding to the decisions made by the algorithm during the two periods.
In implementing switchback experiments, we include two extra pieces of logic:
In many ways, switchback testing is exactly like A/B testing, but instead of randomizing based on something like deliveries, we randomize based on time-region units.
The rest of the section explains the design of the switchback service we use at DoorDash.
The switchback service is responsible for three functions
The most important metadata of an experiment is the "switchback window", i.e., the duration of time for which we persist a variant before switching. Other metadata include names and relative sizes of the bucket variants. Internally, the switchback service stores the following state — 1. The start of the current time window, 2. A map with region id as the key and the current bucket name as its value and 3. A unique identifier for the experiment unit (time + region)
To achieve bucketing and tracking, the switchback service exposes two endpoints
A set of ETL jobs that combine the above tracking events and our metrics tables enable analysis of the experiment results.
In order to use something like a t-test (which is often used to analyze the results of A/B tests) for our switchback experiments, we analyze based on the same units we're randomizing on: namely time-region units. This means we're conducting our statistical tests on the average values of control and treatment time-region units, rather than the individual values of control and treatment deliveries . Therefore, the average value for the treatment and control groups is a simple average of all time-region units rather than a weighted average of those values (weighted by deliveries). This is illustrated with a simple example of 14 deliveries below. While the simple and weighted average of values usually converge over time, if they do not, it is an indication that your intervention has a different impact on units with a lot of deliveries than it does on units with fewer deliveries. In the future, we plan to handle these divergent situations by using multi-level modeling (MLM, also known as hierarchical modeling). MLM also has the advantage of likely being able to reduce the margin of error of our statistical tests.
Sample of 14 deliveries (numeric table in appendix) with illustration of weighted vs. simple average
Moreover, traditional A/B testing has an assumption of independent units, which means that if we know something about the behavior of one unit, it does not tell us anything about the behavior of the second. This assumption is clearly violated in the case of time-region units as the performance of one time-region is highly correlated and can influence the performance of the next. To give a more concrete example, the average time it takes to complete deliveries in one area in one 10-minute chunk of time is related and highly correlated to the average time it takes to complete deliveries in the same area in the next 10-minute chunk of time — much more so than in the case of a single delivery and the next delivery assigned. To account for this lack of independence in our statistical tests, we use an approach robust to a lack of independence called a sandwich estimator of variance (R-snippet of the code we use included in appendix). While strictly speaking this approach (or something similar) is required to avoid violating core assumptions, thus far when running A/A tests (a dummy experiment where there's no actual difference between "treatment" and "control") we've found the sandwich estimator's effect on our variance calculations has been <10%.
In creating our time-region units and determining how granular the geographic units should be and how quickly to switch back and forth, we really have to consider two factors: bias and margin of error.
Bias occurs when your randomization of time-region units is compromised, and the sorts of deliveries that are in treatment and control group are not the same on average. For instance, we might test a certain algorithm which is reluctant to assign deliveries with longer distances between stores and customers. As a result, this treatment algorithm may be observed to have a faster average time to completion even if it is not a better algorithm simply because it is cherry-picking short deliveries and leaving the control group to complete longer deliveries. Bias is more likely to occur if your regions get too small or you switch back too frequently; when we switchback less frequently, it forces the treatment group to complete many more of the longer deliveries and rely less on the control group to clean up its mess. More on health checks to guard against bias and check successful randomization in the footnote.
Margin of error is how much uncertainty exists in our estimate of the impact of an intervention. There are two main factors that influence the uncertainty in our estimate: the natural variation in the data we are observing and the number of units in our dataset. Without getting too technical (refer to sampling distributions for more information), the margin of error in our estimates is proportional to the natural variation in our sample divided by the square root of the number of samples. As time-region buckets get more granular, natural variation in a metric tends to go up, however more granular time-region buckets provide more units in our dataset which drives down uncertainty.
To understand the interplay between natural variation and number of samples, we ran a series of long-term A/A tests. These tests allowed us to look at how margin of error differed for the average value of a certain metric in a time-region unit as we switched back and forth more quickly or more slowly. The results for one metric are summarized in the table below (note, given the small impact of the sandwich estimator in most situations, it is ignored in this table):
We were able to do a similar sort of analysis using different levels of geographic granularity.
Summarizing the following above considerations about bias and margin of error: we do not want time-region units that are too small or we risk introducing bias and failing one of our randomization health checks; on the other hand, we do not want time-region units that are too large or we risk having large margin of errors and taking too long to get our learnings. Based on these analyses, we typically run our tests with 30 minute switchback periods using certain geographic divisions roughly at the city-level.
An extra verification step we are interested in is "are the results from a switchback experiment reflective of reality?". Concretely, if we see an X% increase in a metric in an experiment and we completely move over to the new algorithm, will we actually observe the gains in the metric in the real world? This is particularly important from a business perspective and for making reliable product decisions based on experimental results.
To do this, we observe the changes in metrics prior to and after the launch of the new algorithm. As described earlier, observing changes in a pre/post scenario is challenging for multiple reasons. However, over large time windows after product launches, we can reliably observe the impact on the metrics time series. So, what we look for here is just directional confirmation of the results we observe in the experiment.
As DoorDash tackled this problem, we were able to find some helpful resources like Lyft's 3-part discussion of
colour block platform sole sandals Black Lautre Chose 9zwRKCwsLk
. We felt there were still some questions left to answer and believe we've been able to make some additional observations particularly on the analysis and implementation details, and we hope our observations may help you if you're considering similar issues. That being said, we fully admit we're just getting started on unpacking exciting challenges like the ones discussed above.
See something we did wrong or could do better, please let us know! And if you find these problems interesting,
Womens Soft 5 Trainers Black 5 UK Ecco 8RWdP
R-Snippet for Analysis with Sandwich Variance Estimator
¹ To guard against bias and ensure 'successful randomization', you can check to make sure that factors that are unaffected by your intervention have equal values between the treatment and control group: in our example, a good value to check would be the distance between restaurant and customer. At DoorDash, however, we often find that simply checking to make sure the expected proportion of deliveries are considered by treatment runs and control runs sufficiently guards against most instances of bias. To return to our example of an algorithm that is hesitant to assign long-distance deliveries, this would result in unequal proportion of deliveries being assigned the control group rather than the treatment group and this deviation would indicate the existence of bias.
² For example, average delivery times in a specific 5-minute window at a city level varies more widely than can average delivery times across all of DoorDash's regions in an hour.
³ However, if we notice any bias, we shut down the experiment and start over with coarser time and/or geographic units.
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5 Ways to Promote Your Blog Posts and Get More Readers
Ok, so you've written the worlds best blog post and published it on your blog. Now what? Unless you're already very established and have a huge following you're going to have to do a lot more than just sit around waiting for people to come check it out. In this post I'm going to cover five different things you can be doing after you hit publish to get your post noticed!


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#GEN2012: Hyperlocal and 'mobile interactive journalism' in Hamburg
An interesting project in local reporting by Abendblatt in Hamburg was outlined by Felix Bellinger, managing director of mobile & apps at Axel Springer, at the News World Summit in Paris today.
The project, called Mein Quartier (My Part of Town) saw on-the-ground reporters – who were freelancers appointed based on their "matching" to the district – filing stories from seven city districts in a bid to increase "local insight and intensify local coverage".
Mein Quartier, which is available to access via an iPhone app, started as a pilot project for Abendblatt, but this year it is being developed into a "large scale district campaign" and an "integral part of news reporting" for the title.
We found the project very successful in terms of hits and feedback and in terms of business.
He added that as well as reaching a new target group the project helped attract no advertisers.
Building up local website and mobile fields means creating new space for advertisers.
The newspaper is now moving into the "next phase", he told the conference, which will see reporting from all 104 districts of Hamburg. And while the pilot project engaged 25 reporters on the ground, the expansion will see the entire editorial staff of Abendblatt reporting from the districts.
The best thing to worship a project is to shift it to editorial and say 'this is everyday life now, not a project anymore'
As a result the district coverage falls within its mainstream regional content, which is paid-for as part of Abendblatt's freemium model. During the pilot the project was free to view.
Development is currently underway to create space on the website for each of the 104 districts. Work is also underway to develop the mobile app to enable it to map each district.
There are also plans to publish a book by the end of this year featuring all the stories that have been published about Hamburg's districts.Tags: #gen2012, Axel Springer, Hamburger Abendblatt, Hyperlocal
Similar posts:
- AP to serve local ads on mobile?
- Guardian recruiting 'beatbloggers' for new local project
- HTFP: Kent County Council to scrap controversial TV channel
- ProPublica launches 'matchmaker' to pair case studies with local journalists
- AOP: What the Washington Post will do next – mobile, Europe and a relaunch in the Spring


text: Genuine cow-hide leather gives the case a luxurious feel. Classic folio-style wallet handcrafted with precise stitching from front to back. Multiple slots are available for ID, credit cards and cash storage. Hidden magnet-closure secures the flaps, keeping all your valuables in place. Built-in premium quality snap-on case gives your phone an all-around protection. Transform the wallet into a media stand by flipping back the front cover to prop up the phone and read hands free. PC cover with precise openings to hold your phone firmly.


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Gangsta Boo! Hip-Hop's 25 Scariest Songs
The Song: "Monster," by Kanye West, featuring Rick Ross, Jay-Z and Nicki Minaj
This song is intentionally designed to sound scary, which makes the Ross, Jay and Kanye verses sound dope, but kind of contrived. But Nicki absolutely spazzes and runs through about sixteen different voices to get her point across during her verse. And the point she makes is that she's downright scary on the mic.


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With the exception of California, the states enacting mandatory recycling of computer monitors and televisions have chosen to make manufacturers pay the bills. But the details vary substantially—Washington state is not Oregon is not Maine. Several electronics manufacturers have launched nationwide recycling programs for their own branded goods. The result has been a patchwork.
An interesting alliance surfaced briefly during the Democratic National Convention in late August. A Denver press conference saluted South Korea's LG Electronics Inc. for starting a U.S. recycling program under which the receiving and processing will be handled mostly by the Recycle America unit of Houston-based Waste Management Inc.
Cooperating in the Denver briefing were retailer Best Buy Co. Inc., the Electronics TakeBack Coalition and the Product Stewardship Institute. The participants described themselves as having agreed on a framework for federal e-scrap legislation and "establishment of a sustainable recycling infrastructure at the federal, state and local level."
The Electronics TakeBack Coalition has begun playing a watchdog role, publicizing which manufacturers it rates as effective recyclers and which ones flunk. South Korean-owned Samsung Electronics America Inc. won a transfer to the list of good guys in September after having been picketed earlier in the year. "Samsung is the third major TV manufacturer, after Sony Electronics and LG Electronics, to offer free, nationwide recycling for its products," the Electronics TakeBack Coalition said in its press release.
Are the manufacturers and advocacy groups that cooperated in Denver moving toward a lobbying alliance? Not yet, according to Barbara Kyle, national coordinator of the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, which is based in San Francisco. "The group that met in Denver definitely does not constitute an organization. I would call it a group of interested parties in the e-waste issue," she said.
"Discussions about federal legislation (on the topic) have been happening for the last eight years within various groups, associations, formal and informal networks," Kyle added.
From 2001 to 2005, the dominant forum for diverse stakeholders to interact was the National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative (Nepsi). Probably the most divisive issue was who would pay for recycling TVs and monitors from manufacturers no longer active.
The Denver grouplet will continue to chat, "but it's unclear if it will lead anywhere or even become an ongoing discussion," Kyle said.
Another alliance that has coalesced around a recycling issue recently is the Coalition Against Copper Theft. It advocates a federal statute setting a nationwide standard for documenting copper scrap transactions. Cash payments of more than $500 for copper at scrapyards would be prohibited.
Based on skirmishes in state legislatures, one would expect such a lobby to be backed by electric utilities, farmers, construction firms and landlords. And, yes, they are indeed involved. But the executive director is a lobbyist for Home Depot Inc., retailer of tools, accessories and supplies for household improvements. Also aboard the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the Food Marketing Institute.
Retailers haven't been complaining in public about disappearing copper; the apparent rationale is to avoid giving useful ideas to potential shoplifters. One gambit, according to Home Channel News, is to buy a bulky but cheap product, remove it from its carton and refill the box with rolls of copper wire before leaving a hardware store.
The Copper Theft Prevention Act (H.R. 6831), introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in August, describes the problem this way "Thefts are on the rise because of the lack of pressure on the scrap and salvage yards that pay for copper and other precious metal without asking questions about where the material came from. Combating the problem will take better communications between metal businesses and law enforcement agencies."
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (September 19, 2008) - Facing one of the top offensive teams in the nation, the ETSU women's soccer team dropped its fourth consecutive match 4-0 Friday, at No. 20 South Carolina. ETSU falls to 2-4 on the season, as the Gamecocks improve to 6-0-2.
This ends ETSU's three-game road trip, which saw the Buccaneers face regionally ranked opponent No. 6 TCU and three-time Sun Belt Conference champion
"I think this three-game road trip was a building block for our team," said head coach Heather Henson. "Each trip we took was against a quality opponent. Hopefully, our girls learned some things that will help us as we head deeper into the season."
The unbeaten Gamecocks jumped on the Bucs early, as senior midfielder Danila Monteiro took a direct pass from sophomore Brook Jacobs, in the eighth minute, beating freshman keeper Megan Masch (Virginia Beach, Va), for the matches first goal.
After junior forward Jordan Monty (
The Gamecocks would add one more insurance goal right before the half ended, as junior defender Blakely Mattern took advantage of a South Caroline corner kick by defender Brittany Rhoades, heading in the fourth and final goal of the match.
"South Carolina's speed was the difference in tonight's match, "said Henson. "They have good depth and outstanding players and I think our defenders had a difficult time adjusting to their pace early in the first half. Carolina's front three offensive players do a great job knowing were the midfielders are going to pass the ball inside the zone. We got out of position on defense and we have to learn you can't do that against a well coached team like them."
ETSU was outshot 19-7 by the Gamecocks, as South Carolina held a 3-0 advantage in corner kicks.
"Now that our nonconference schedule is behind us, we have to focus on league play," said Henson. "When you play in a conference like ours, every weekend is a tough challenge. I believe these games will prepare us in the future. Hopefully this is going to help us when we get in situation like we faced tonight."
ETSU returns to action as they open Atlantic Sun Conference play with a 7:00 p.m., match on September 19th at


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All-Inclusive Resort with Beach Access and European Decor
Grand Oasis Palm Resort is located along a 650-foot stretch of beach at the north entrance of Cancún's Hotel Zone. From here, you're only steps from the pier, where ferryboats set off for the Mayan ruins and laid-back towns of Isla Mujeres. But it's just as enjoyable to stay at the all-inclusive resort, where guests can get all their meals and drinks at any of the 10 onsite restaurants and bars. Load up plates at internationally themed buffets or dine outdoors, with options ranging from the seafood-centric La Bamba to a beachside sushi restaurant. The bars are just as varied—watch a game at the sports bar or indulge yourself at a cocktail lounge.
You don't have to travel far for entertainment. The resort has weekly live shows, a pool with a swim-up bar, and a kids' club with arts-and-crafts activities. You'll also have access to facilities at the adjacent sister hotel, Oasis Cancun Resort, which has a nine-hole golf course.
Guest rooms were designed with families in mind—they can accommodate up to two adults and two kids. All rooms overlook the Caribbean Sea and have European-style decor complete with marble accents throughout.
Cancún: Cool White Sands and Mayan Relics
Located on a barrier island shaped like the number seven, Cancún's Hotel Zone juts into the Caribbean Sea at the northeast tip of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. With the sea on one side and freshwater lagoons on the other, it's a popular spot for sailing and snorkeling. Although the beaches and barrier reefs are a major draw, the geography is equally enticing further inland, where you can dive into an underground river or take a speedboat through a mangrove jungle.
Cancún pulls in millions of visitors each year, so escaping the crowds and the party atmosphere isn't always easy, but a visit to Playa Delfines offers a chance for sunbathing in relative seclusion. Resorts have yet to encroach upon this stretch of sand, and it's especially popular with surfers.
The stone columns of El Rey Ruins, an ancient Mayan site dating back to the second and third centuries BCE, lie within the city's Hotel Zone. Believed to be a royal burial ground, the archaeological site is also home to wild iguanas that lounge in the sun and read Tom Clancy novels. For a Mayan-themed daytrip, take a 1.5-hour drive from Cancún down the coast to Tulum, a pre-Columbian walled city located on a bluff overlooking the sea—one of the Yucatán Peninsula's most visited Mayan ruins. The Mayan city of Chichén Itzá, chosen as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007, is only a 2.5-hour drive from Cancún.


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Bonavita Electric/Stovetop Kettles & Automatic Coffee Makers
Bonavita is a newcomer to the specialty coffee scene in the U.S., but their products will by no means let them go unnoticed for long. Bonavita's first product offerings fill a much needed gap in affordable specialty coffee brewing gear for the home. It is because of both the quality and affordability of Bonavita's products that we are bringing in two completely new products for our coffee loving customers. The first of these is Prima Coffee Equipment's first ever offered automatic home coffee brewing machine. While there are a couple of brewers on the market that could stand up to our quality standards for a home brewer, they were too expensive. Bonavita's automated coffee brewers offer the same quality of the more expensive brewers at a fraction of the cost. The second unprecedented product offering from Bonavita is their electric pour over brewing kettle. With the indefinite delay of the electric Hario Buono Kettle, the Bonavita Electric Gooseneck Stainless Kettle is the first of its kind. Like the automated coffee brewer, this pour-over kettle is cheaper than other pour-over or electric hot water kettles. We're extremely excited about these new products and look forward to more from Bonavita.


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Letter from the VCBA
Charles A. Maimone
Vice Chancellor
April 6, 2010
Dear Students and Parents,
Given the serious budgetary constraints we are experiencing at UNCW, like other schools in the UNC system, we can no longer justify the increasing cost of merchant card transaction fees. As such, the university has made two significant changes to the student payment process that I would like to bring to your attention so that you can plan accordingly.
- Effective July 1, 2010, individuals choosing to use credit cards to make payments to their student billing account will be assessed a 2.75% convenience fee. This fee will automatically be charged to the credit card and paid as a credit card banking transaction fee.
Effective July 1, 2010 VISA credit cards will no longer be accepted for payments to the student billing account. Unlike other merchant cards, VISA will not allow us to charge a percentage convenience fee. MasterCard will continue to be accepted and the university is working on agreements with American Express and Discover Card. We will keep you informed on our progress and will notify you as soon as possible.
We would like to encourage students and parents to consider one of the following payment options that are not subject to convenience fees:
- Students and Authorized Users may pay using WebCheck through the E-bill system. Funds are transferred from a checking or savings account without a convenience fee.
- Students can sign up for a Sallie Mae Payment Plan. This monthly installment plan program is not a loan and there are no interest charges. There is a nominal enrollment fee which varies according to the monthly payment plan selected. To enroll in a monthly payment plan, please visit tuitionpay.salliemae.com.
- Students and Authorized Users can print a copy of their E-bill Statement and mail in a check as payment along with the copy of their statement.
- Students and Authorized Users can pay with cash, check, or money order at the Cashier's Office located in the Warwick Center.
Please accept my apology for any inconvenience these changes may cause you. If you have any questions or if we can be of any help in working through this change, please contact our student accounts office at (910) 962-4281 or reach us via email at email@example.com.
Charles Maimone
Vice Chancellor Business Services


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Each week during the football season, I write about the Ravens telecasts on my blog and in the Monday paper. And each Monday and Tuesday, network publicists, executives and announcers, directors and producers write or call and say I am being too harsh.
But each Monday and Tuesday, die-hard Ravens fans, who watched the team on TV, also email, call and tweet. And you know what they say? I wasn't being harsh enough. Fans from other markets write, too, with the same message.
So, in an effort to help educate outfits like CBS Sports about how discontented some fans are with their cut-rate telecasts, starting today, I am going to try and do a post with reader comments on the telecasts each week -- usually Monday afternoon or Tuesday 6 a.m. posting at Z on TV.
If you want credit for your critique of the bozos in the booth, add a line to your email or call telling me it is OK to include your name. (Otherwise, I'll steal your best lines and use them next week. I'm kidding, really.)
So, let's start with Rich Gannon and Marv Albert from Sunday's CBS telecast of the Ravens victory over the Miami Dolphins.
After ripping Gannon's analysis during the Ravens-Browns game a couple of weeks ago, I praised him (mildly) for anticipating that Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil could drive the big story line of the game with their withering pass rush against the Dolphins scuffling offensive line. But I criticized Albert for having no feel for the rhythms of the game. Read it here.
Here's what some of the fans had to say:
David, a local attorney, emails: "You are spot on with your analysis of Marv Albert. His sense of rhythm is clunky and disjointed. Worse yet, he actually called the Ravens the Colts during one sequence in the fourth quarter. Multiple times. Well, at least he didn't say the that the Ravens have Bert Jones dropping back to pass...."
Pete, from Kent Island, emails: "How many times did they mention Flaco's 5 interceptions last week? Too many. I hit the mute button and turned on the radio."
George, a longtime NFL fan, emails: "I make it a point to read your critique of the previous game TV announcers. Not only do I agree with you most of the times, but I listen for mistakes as do you.
"Yesterday, in the 4th quarter, Marv Albert was talking about the Ravens defense. Here is what he said. "The Baltimore "COLTS" have 5 sacks in this game." I laughed and told my wife that there are still some people in the country who still associate "COLTS" with Baltimore. As a former season ticket holder of the "COLTS" and one who saw the first game played by the "COLTS" in 1947 against the Brooklyn "DODGERS" of the AAFC, I love it when I hear this.
Keep up the good work. This week, the game is on FOX, so hopefully we will hear some good reporting."
Jeff sent in this email critique, which mentioned the large contingent of Ravens fans who made the trip to Miami: The jerks on tv didn't even mention the ravens fans (unless I missed it) but why am I surprisedIf its not on a sheet of paper for them by Friday it won't be part of the broadcastCBS should lose their contractThey know nothing about the teams, miss basic stuff, do a 3 hour commercial for CBS, miss camera anglesThey are so bad.
Keith focused on the maddening lack of injury reporting in this email: they mentioned Osemelle went out but never a reason why…
left us to thinking he was benched for play, when indeed he had been dealing with back spasms—so he was injured
Marv Albert is good basketball announcer (or was) but adds not much to a football broadcast.
He's over the hill….. not a mention of injured receivers, and Tandon Doss, Torrey Smith picking up the slack…or defense –no discussion of DumerVille pressure,
Which was prevalent--only suggs sacks…
Raven fans were vocal at game –heard them in background loud on third down offensive series for Miami
And when interception thrown by Tannehill— never mentioned Raven fan faithful showing up and loudness….which is good for the NFL!
Broadcasters must be blind by not seeing final kick go wide , but also deaf…
How much does CBS pay for the NFL rights?? Why pay all those millions and put inferior talent to broadcast the game….
People will start listening to the radio instead... I almost did…
Keith, a Browns fan from Sandusky, Ohio, wrote this after the CBS telecast of the Ravens-Browns game with Gannon and Flacco in the booth: "It was interesting to read your take because, as a Browns fan, I dread getting Albert and Gannon because they know nothing about the Browns and this broadcast, I thought, was all about the great Ravens team and that they were playing a generic no name team with nobody on it. The thing about your take is that it shows they didn't know anything about the Ravens either and it wasn't just an attitude of "The Browns? Who cares?"
Andrew writes with what I think is a great suggestion about pro football embeds: I was relieved to read your article in today's Baltimore Sun. I
routinely found myself complaining to my fiancé about the broadcast.
We were talking about ways to improve the CBS broadcast and provide a different product than the Fox broadcast. I know your obligation is to report on the broadcast, not fix it, but
I'm hoping you would provide your opinion on a suggestion I was going
to send CBS... Embed one analyst per team during the season that will know the ins
and outs of that team. On game day, put the two analysts for the
opposing teams in the booth with a play-by-play guy. This would ensure
that the analysts provide quality insights rather than "he was focused
on the bobble head." Sure this would imply greater cost, but they would offer a unique
insight into each team that none of the broadcast networks could come
close to. It would easily catapult CBS to the premier NFL network. I would really appreciate your thoughts on this proposal so that we
don't have to worry about horrible broadcasting, pointless insights,
and more Rich Gannon & Dan Dierdorf.
If the networks seriously cared about the viewing pleasure of the fans, they would consider something like this. Just as the cable news channels and networks embed young, up-and-coming, recent college grads with the presidential campaigns, they could do the same with college grads who served internships and want a paying job in sports. It would certainly be an economical way to do it.
OK, I only scratched the surface, but this is getting long by blog standards.
Again, please share you thoughts Sunday and Monday after next week's game, and tell me it is OK to use your full name if you want credit for it.