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Billy Gardner

Knitted Down there, Sewn to the boundless black stitches In our white spotted blanket. Creatures, Atop brown threads Puncturing the blue. The knots inside their tops Can't unravel what's true.

CIAA receives 120g's from Nationwide Insurance

they’re on your side

Nationwide Insurance announced today a $120,000 donation to Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) scholarship fund today.

Nationwide has remained the official insurance provider of the CIAA, they write on their website, “The CIAA is the oldest African American athletic conference in the nation and is committed to the development of future leaders. To support this endeavor, Nationwide has provided over $600,000 in scholarships to student athletes in the last five years.”

“We are proud to contribute $120,000 to the CIAA scholarship fund that helps students pursue the education that is crucial to their future,” said Lee Morton, the regional vice president for Nationwide Insurance.

The Nationwide sponsorship has continued to support recruitment efforts, such as providing students with summer corporate internships at Nationwide along with on site job fairs, and have offered sponsorship to the many sports events through the CIAA. 

With the CIAA basketball tournament in full swing, Nationwide is proud to enhance the experience. There are a wide range of activities during this years tournament that fans can get involved in- networking with business, spirited shows, concerts, reunions, expos, and other celebrations- that 175,000 people are expected to attend.

Nationwide is on your side, and they are on the side of the CIAA.

Nationwide, along with Allied insurance released reports responding to the Midwest storm and both are doing everything possible to expedite any processes with representatives available 24/7 in the need of an insurance claim. 

T. Rex bite the most ferocious in history

like an elephant sitting on you

New research suggests that a T. Rex bite has much more force than originally anticipated. The study goes on to say that the Tyrannosaurus rex had the most powerful bite of any land mammal this planet has seen. 

Karl Bates at the University of Liverpool said in a statement, “Our results show that the T. rex had an extremely powerful bite, making it one of the most dangerous predators to have roamed our planet.”

The reason the information has changed is because in the past scientists relied on the indent exposures of a T. Rex bite, in which they pressed down the skull and jaw of the dinosaur to compare it to a bite in a fossil. Now researchers have created a computer model that scanned the skull of a T. Rex, a juvenile T. Rex, an alligator and an adult human.

The computer model was then able to produce a bite that could measure the speed and force of the bite. The result estimated that the force of a bite from the back teeth of a T. Rex would be between 7,868 and 12,814, which would be equivalent to having middle sized elephant sit on you. 

The study also suggests that as the T. Rex aged, its diet would change as well. The juvenile T. Rex did not have near the ferocity of bite and would therefore be forced to prey on smaller animals. This would suggest that a juvenile would not be in competition for food against an adult T. Rex, allowing it to hone its skills as one of the most profound killing machines this world has ever seen.

Rajon Rondo a headache for Boston

trade talks arise before the deadline

With the NBA trade deadline of March 15 approaching quickly, the Boston Celtics are trying to get rid of Rajon Rondo quick. That’s right, Boston’s fourth leading scorer and one of the NBA’s top point guards is not worth the headache.

The Boston Celtics are having one of there worse seasons in a long time with a record of 17-17 and currently hold the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. How will the Big 3 carry on without Rajon Rondo?

ESPN.com released a statement as to reason behind the Rajon Rondo trade talks, “His attitude and personality have become too burdensome for the organization.” It has also been speculated that Boston coach Doc Rivers and Rajon Rondo have butted heads in the past.

There has been speculation of trading Rondo since the beginning of this season, in December, the Celtic’s were in conversation with the Golden State Warriors on a possible Stephen Curry for Rajon Rondo trade, but in the end Golden State backed out of the deal.

Rajon Rondo has played only 22 games the first half of the season, one reason was because of an injured right wrist and the other being a suspension. Rondo was suspended in February for throwing a ball at an official that hit him in the chest during a game against the Detroit Pistons.

Attitude aside though, Rondo is a 3-time NBA All-Star who is averaging a career high 14.1 points a game and has nearly 10 assists per game to go along with that. That must be one big headache he is causing there in Boston.

Rondo has three years and $36 million left on his contract at this season’s end.

Andrew Breitbart dead at 43

He is survived through his wife and four children

Andrew Breitbart, the conservative journalist, blogger and author died this morning at age 43.

Breitbart launched his own political websites, and is most well known for revealing Twitter photos of U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner that led to his scandal and resignation.

Breitbart was an abrasive Twitter user and often lashed out against democrats, liberals and mainstream journalist, “I’m committed to the destruction of the old media guard,” he once said. “And it’s a very good business model.”

A statement was release on Andrew Breitbart’s website biggovernment.com:

“Andrew passed away unexpectedly from natural causes shortly after midnight this morning in Los Angeles.
We have lost a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a dear friend, a patriot and a happy warrior.
Andrew lived boldly, so that we more timid souls would dare to live freely and fully, and fight for the fragile liberty he showed us how to love.
Andrew recently wrote a new conclusion to his book, Righteous Indignation:
‘I love my job. I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it. I love reporting stories that the Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and — famously — I enjoy making enemies.
‘Three years ago, I was mostly a behind-the-scenes guy who linked to stuff on a very popular website. I always wondered what it would be like to enter the public realm to fight for what I believe in. I’ve lost friends, perhaps dozens. But I’ve gained hundreds, thousands — who knows? — of allies. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror, and I sleep very well at night.’
Andrew is at rest, yet the happy warrior lives on, in each of us.”

Even GOP presidential frontrunners have displayed their condolences on Andrew Breitbart’s death. Rick Santorum said, “He will be what a huge loss … for our country and certainly for the conservative movement and my prayers go out to his family,” and Mitt Romney posted on Twitter, “Ann and I are deeply saddened by the passing of (at)AndrewBreitbart: brilliant entrepreneur, fearless conservative, loving husband and father.”
 

Rush Limbaugh calls Fluke 'a slut'

and a prostitute

Representative Carolyn Maloney stormed out of a congressional hearing on the congressional contraception rule last month because the Democrat’s female witness, Sandra Fluke, Maloney believed, was unqualified.

Rush Limbaugh had his own comments about the Georgetown University student Fluke on his show, “What does it say about the college co-ed Susan Fluke who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex — what does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She’s having so much sex she can’t afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex.”

The comments led House Democrats Pelosi and Mahoney in a joint statement, “We call upon the Republican leaders in the House to condemn these vicious attacks on Ms. Fluke, which are in response to her testimony to the Congress.  Democrats will always stand up for women’s health and women’s voices.”

Maloney went on to say these comments should serve as a “wake up call” for the woman’s rights movement, “I believe these efforts are sinking in,” she said. “Women have to stand up and say stop. We have to get out and get out strong to let women know around the country that they can speak out against this abuse. The right to space and time our children for our own health and the ability to manage our lives — this is a basic right, and they’re going after it.”

Toward the end of his show, Limbaugh did change his tone toward the young college co-ed, saying “So, she’s not a slut. She’s round-heeled. I take it back. “Round-heeled, though, is a euphemism for the same thing, an old-fashioned term for a ‘promiscuous woman.’”

US soccer team ousts Italians on their own turf

1 nil

The first win in 11 games, spanning the last 78 years, came for the United States soccer team over Italy. The US soccer team had been outscored 32-4 by the Italians before last night’s game.

Clint Dempsey was the hero scoring the only goal in minute 55. “It’s just a confidence builder,” said Dempsey. “We’re just trying to move in the right direction and trying to get as sharp as we can for the summer and the World Cup qualifying games because the goal is to qualify for the World Cup. It’s important to come to places like this and play big teams on their own soil and get results. At times it wasn’t pretty, but we grounded out the result tonight.”

Not only is this the United States first win in almost 8 decades, it came in Genoa. Jurgen Klinsmann replaced the fired Bob Bradley as coach for the US national team and had his biggest win last night, “If you beat Italy on their own soil then that means a lot. Obviously as a coach you’re pleased because you see them progressing, you see young players stepping up and playing against these amazing, experienced Italian players who have won the World Cup and played big tournaments year in and year out. Obviously it was a big step for us.”

The US soccer team is gaining popularity and rightfully so. It was 40 years before 1990
that the team appeared in a World Cup. Although the team has had their struggles in second round matches against Ghana of late, the US soccer team made it to the quarterfinals in 2002 and are showing promise for the upcoming cup in Rio. This last win against Italy will surely be a confidence boost.

Catch Clint Dempsey’s goal below:

Alzheimer's disease study show promise in mice

What does this mean for humans?

New research in mice suggests that mitochondria are dysfunctional early on in Alzheimer’s disease. It has been discovered that Alzheimer’s disease triggers a protein that contributes to the breakdown of the brain causing memory loss.

Researchers have managed to reduce the protein substance in mice with drugs.   Johannes Graff, a postdoctoral researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology said, “We can show that this is potentially reversible.”

Although a human trial is far down the road, the success with Alzheimer’s disease in mice is promising. Graff went on to comment though, that the drug, should it be developed, would simply treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease but not attack the root cause.

The new research suggests that the protein HDAC2 becomes triggered by Alzheimer’s, the brains memory become affected. The trials were a success in preventing the buildup of HDAC2 in mice and preventing memory loss. What could this mean for humans?

Dr. Brad Dickerson, an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School commented on the success of the study,
“This is a very early basic science study in mice and requires substantial additional investigation in order to determine whether it is worth pursuing in patients,” he continued, “The leap from animal studies to human clinical trials is a big one and always takes many years. Drugs in this class are being studied in various types of cancer, which hopefully will provide an indication of their side effects and other important information about how feasible it would be to give these types of medications to patients with Alzheimer’s disease if further studies support the potential value of this approach.”

It is estimated by the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, who funded the study; that more than 5 million people are suffering from Alzheimer’s in the United States.
 

Rail Gun Prototype: shot heard round the world

The worlds latest super weapon

Navy engineers have successfully fired a prototype for the first industry-built electromagnetic rail gun. This is an important stepping stone toward developing a future tactical weapon for ships and brings science fiction to reality.

The high tech gun is capable of shooting rounds 100 miles away at a speed of 5,600 miles per hour. This would allow United States navel ships to extend shell ranges when defending against surfacing enemy vessel, cruise and ballistic missiles fired from the air but would also extend the assault range on ground targets.

The current 5-inch gun equipped on navy vessels has a range of 13 miles. The rail gun would be much more versatile says Roger Ellis, program manager for the rail gun at the Office of Naval Research, “There is potential to replace the 5-inch gun, but it would do far more.”

The rail gun fires projectiles using electricity rather than chemical propellants. The gun is still a prototype but the next phase for the gun is to increase the firing rate, “The next phase of the development effort is to demonstrate the ability to operate at a firing rate of significant military utility,” said Ellis. The Navy ultimately hopes for a rail gun that could fire 10 projectiles at minute at targets up to 100 miles away.

This specific prototype was built by BAE systems but will soon face competition when a second rail gun, built by General Atomics, is set to debut in April. Having two separate companies develop the rail gun allows the Navy a choice, if it in fact decides to deploy this high-tech weapon.

Great Pacific Garbage Patch set to add Japanese Tsunami debris

Plastic attacks the pacific

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is gaining popularity recently in the media, especially when debris from the Japanese Tsunami in March is set to settle there.

A little context on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch: that should actually say “garbage patches,” yes that’s right there are two, and both of them are the size of Texas. Yes, that’s right too, Texas. Due to the circulation of the ocean, debris, mainly plastic, is accumulating in two particular places in the Pacific Ocean. One of the six major oceanic gyres, the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, mainly comprised of the ocean waters between Japan and California, is where the trash is collecting.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on Tuesday the first pieces from the Japanese tsunami debris are estimated to hit small atolls northwest of the main Hawaiian Islands. Huge tsunami’s, not surprisingly, pull great amounts of debris into the ocean. None of this waste is contaminated by radiation from the Fukushima power plant, but one can not help but wonder, has the tsunami in Japan brought more light to the ever increasing Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

Plastic is believed to constitute 90 percent of the trash in the ocean. There was an estimated 31 million tons of plastic waste generated in the world in 2010, half of which was from the United States. The problem remains that only 8 percent of that plastic was successfully recycled, much of which is ending up in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. 

The environmental impacts of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch are astounding, wildlife are killed, debris is damaging boats and submarines, beaches are being littered, commercial and local fishing is being interrupted. The problem has grown so large that it is impossible to know the wide range of affects the Great Pacific Garbage Patch has on the rest of the world.

Check out the video below to see some of the damage:

Davy Jones found dead

Lead singer for The Monkees

Davy Jones found dead. The lead singer of the Monkees died in his sleep after recently suffering a hard attack. Martin Memorial Hospital reported to TMZ that Davys had in fact passed away.

Davy’s was found by a ranch hand near his Florida home. It seems that Jones had begun experiencing trouble breathing. Paramedics were called to the site, and Jones was taken to a nearby hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Authorities have reported they have no reason to believe there is foul play or suspicion around Davy’s death.

Davy Jones band mates have expressed their sorrow. Drummer Mickey Dolenz commented saying, “Can’t believe it…Still in shock…had bad dreams all night long.  Bassist Peter Tork released a statement as well, “It is with great sadness that I reflect on the sudden passing of my long-time friend and fellow-adventurer, David Jones.” The last member to be added to the Monkees, Michael Nesmith, also commented, “I will miss him, but I won’t abandon him to mortality. I will think of him as existing within the animating life that insures existence.”

Davy Jones is survived through his four daughters, Talia Elizabeth, 43, and Sarah Lee, 40, from his marriage to Linda Hains and also Jessica Lillian, 30, and 23 year old Annabel Charlotte from his other marriage to Anita Pollinger.

The Monkees planned a 45 year anniversary tour last year.  The group began to cancel some dates due to what was believed at the time to be fallout between band members. Davy Jones released a statement about the tour via Facebook: “’Dear Fans and Friends, The Monkee Tour has, indeed, been cancelled but for reasons that I cannot discuss at this time.”