text:
CAF signs four year partnership with Visa
November 20, 2018 Health
Accra, The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced a four year partnership deal with Visa, global leader in payments on Monday November 19 in Accra.
The partnership would see Visa bring its global brand and technology to African football as a sponsor of the Total Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in 2019 and 2021.
The sponsorship deal, would make the payments giant the exclusive payment services provider at all venues during the Total AFCON tournaments in 2019 and 2021 and will be the preferred payment option for tickets bought both in-person and online.
Visa would also be the official partner of the player escort program, giving over 1,100 children the opportunity to lead their football heroes out at the Total AFCON matches.
Mr. Ahmad Ahmad, President of CAF said this was another landmark achievement in the history of the Federation.
He said the partnership would be beneficial to both parties and for their part as CAF, would take advantage of the partnership to develop the game.
The benefits of investing in African football are clear to see, and with football being the number one passion of consumers across the continent we're delighted to welcome Visa as a sponsor of the Total AFCON tournament.
"Through this partnership with CAF, Visa will be able to connect further with its customers and leverage CAF as an innovative marketing platform. Africa is now more connected than ever before, and Visa's payment network will play a vital role in reaching and rewarding fans across the region.
"I'm certain that together we would take African football to the next level," he said.
Mr. Andrew Torre, Regional President, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA), for Visa said, Visa was proud to have reached a conclusion with CAF as a sponsor.
Football is the most popular sport in the world with an estimated four billion fans and the sport intrinsically aligns with Visa's values of acceptance and inclusion. The Total Africa Cup of Nations tournament is arguably the most important football event in our region where the best of African football comes together. We are very proud to begin our association with CAF, LagardAre Sports and the Total AFCON tournament to support the growth of football in our key markets, he said.
Being the exclusive payment service partner at some of the biggest global sporting properties in the world, has enabled us to showcase the latest in payment innovation on a global stage and has had a demonstrable impact on the fan experience and local merchant environment.
"We are looking forward to a very big summer in 2019, where through our sponsorship of two of the largest football tournaments in the world, we can connect football's most passionate and engaged audiences through our powerful, reliable and secure payment network and create unique and unforgettable experiences for global football fans, cardholders and clients alike."
Visa has a long and proud history of supporting football, having been a sponsor of the FIFA World Cup since 2007. Coming off the back of a successful 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign in Russia and with preparations underway for the upcoming FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019, this association builds on Visa's strategy to bring the best of their sponsorship experience on the global stage to regional tournaments.
With every global sponsorship, Visa has focused on supporting host markets by connecting more local merchants to Visa's payment network so that the influx of global fans traveling to the sporting venues can make safe and convenient payments. Visa has also historically enabled cardholders to win the chance to attend matches, and while there, having the chance to experience new payment experiences that improve their onsite experience. Most recently at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, fans and merchants were able to enjoy and experience secure contactless payment technology that was rolled out at the 12 FIFA World Cup Russia stadiums.
Visa said it aims to leverage the Total AFCON platform to continue to deliver exceptional benefits to its local communities, clients, partners and fans as they come together to support the best of African football.
This landmark partnership was brokered by LagardAre Sports.


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Lab mysteries: Identifying bacterial contamination in WGS data
Yossi Farjoun
Yossi Farjoun is a Senior Biostatistician at the Richards Lab of the Lady Davis Institute in Montreal. He previously worked in the Data Sciences Platform at the Broad Institute, where he led a "special projects" team that was occasionally tapped to help the Broad's Genomics Platform lab diagnose strange issues. In this guest blog post, Yossi shares a particularly intriguing story about how he was able to quickly identify the cause of mysteriously low sequencing alignment rates in a sequencing project, with step-by-step descriptions for recapitulating the work in Terra.
It all started when a project manager in the sequencing lab told me that they were seeing low alignment rates on multiple samples from the same project, and asked if I could help. We would normally see alignment rates (as reported from Picard's CollectAlignmentSummaryMetrics) above 99%, but this cohort of samples was producing rates between 60% and 95%, requiring the lab to sequence more material in order to reach the contractual target coverage for the project (which doesn't include unaligned reads, of course).
I suspected bacterial contamination since, by manual inspection, the unaligned reads did not seem to be artifactual. For example, they all had pretty random-seeming sequences, as opposed to being all the same. To investigate the problem, I decided to use GATK PathSeq, a computational pathogen discovery pipeline that is included in the Genome Analysis Toolkit (GATK) for detecting microbial organisms from short-read deep sequencing of a host organism.
In this blog post, I'll walk you through how I used PathSeq to quickly identify that the unaligned reads all belonged to a single bacterial genus, Burkholderia. The two main steps were running the PathSeq pipeline then analyzing the results in Python in a Jupyter Notebook. At the time I did the work, I used FireCloud — an early version of the Terra platform that was primarily intended for cancer research — but I've updated the walkthrough to refer to Terra for simplicity since it's the same platform under the hood, and everything I describe is entirely runnable in Terra today.
Why PathSeq?
The PathSeq method was originally developed to discover and characterize pathogens infecting a host organism (such as a human) in an unbiased manner, taking advantage of the advances made in whole genome sequencing (Kostic et al., 2011). Instead of looking for specific pathogens based on known sequence, as was traditionally done before, investigators could now sequence a biological sample from the host, subtract all reads that align to the host genome, and identify pathogens by running searches using the remaining non-host reads against a database of microbial references. The search results can then be used to produce a table of the microbial organisms detected in the host sample.
It's interesting to note that in that use case for PathSeq, the human genome sequence was a by-product of the process, and was promptly thrown out in order to focus on the pathogens. In my use case, what the lab ultimately wanted was to produce high-quality human genome data, not study pathogens! Yet, to help them do that, I needed to figure out two things: (1) was the issue indeed due to microbial contamination, and if so (2) what kind of microbes were they — which would help identify where the contamination was coming from. PathSeq promised to give me answers to both questions.
As it happens, one of my colleagues at the Broad Institute, Mark Walker, had implemented a new version of the PathSeq method in GATK that improves on the previous one by incorporating faster computational approaches, broadening the use cases that the pipeline can support, and leveraging the Spark framework available in GATK4 to enable parallelized data processing (Walker et al., 2018).
And so I set out to apply Mark's GATK PathSeq pipeline to the problem dataset.
Running PathSeq in Terra
Conveniently, the GATK team make a lot of their pipelines available in public workspaces in Terra, where the workflows are already configured to run according to the relevant best practices, with example data to show how the inputs need to be set up, how the files should be formatted and so on.
So I started by cloning the PathSeq workspace, familiarizing myself with how the pipeline is set up, and referring to the paper and the accompanying how-to tutorial to understand specific details.
I found that to run the pipeline, I was going to need to go through 3 main steps: (1) setting up the data to use Terra's system of data tables for data management, (2) tweak the preloaded workflow configuration to run on my data, and (3) launch the pipeline on the data.
1. Setting up the data
Terra uses a system of data tables that helps you manage data and outputs in a scalable way. You can learn more about that in this introduction to Terra data tables; I'm just going to describe how to use the system to replicate what I did.
The workspace has some example data tables already set up, but you don't need them (they are for a somewhat different use case as we'll see shortly) so you can start by deleting them to reduce clutter.
You then create a load file (basically a data manifest) listing the sample IDs, with relevant sample metadata and file paths in a "sample" table. The load file is in "tab-separated values" format, aka TSV.
Here is a dummy example to show what the load file should look like (with simplified paths):
Sample TSV
entity:sample_id percent_aligned WGS_bam_path
sample1 68 gs://bucket/directory/file1.unmapped.bam
The column labeled percent_aligned contains the percent of aligned reads as reported by the preceding data processing pipeline. This column isn't needed for running the PathSeq pipeline but will be used in the Python Notebook.
At the time I did this work, you also had to define a sample set (the list of samples you want to run a pipeline on for batch processing) using another load file, but nowadays you can do that on the fly in Terra.
Once your load file is ready, you upload it in the DATA tab of your workspace, and the system turns it into a table as shown below.
Note that my data files were already on the cloud, so I just had to list their locations. If you have data elsewhere you need to put them in cloud storage; either in a bucket you manage yourself (outside of Terra) or in the storage bucket attached to your Terra workspace.
2. Tweaking the workflow configuration
The PathSeq workspace actually contains multiple accessory workflows in addition to the main PathSeq workflow, all of which you can find in the aptly-named "WORKFLOWS" tab.
To replicate my analysis you just need the one called "03-pathseq-pipeline-WGS-meats".
That name? Funny thing, the workspace was made to showcase a particular use case for PathSeq that's a little different than mine: it's an analysis that shows how to detect contaminating DNA from various animals that humans consume as food. Because when people give a saliva sample or buccal (cheek) swab for sequencing, sometimes the sequencing picks up what they had for lunch! If there's enough animal DNA in there that is close enough to human DNA to get mapped to the human genome reference, it can introduce a lot of noise into downstream analyses. Which makes you wonder: Do vegetarians get cleaner sequencing results? Perhaps the takeaway could be that we should all brush our teeth before taking a saliva/buccal swab for sequencing….
Anyway, when you click on the workflow you want, Terra takes you to the corresponding configuration page, which displays summary information and some selectors for determining what data the workflow will run on.
Since you have your samples neatly organized in a table, you can simply point the system to the sample table and select all the samples you want to process, using the selectors shown above.
Once that's done, scroll down to the INPUTS form lower down on the same page (shown in part below). This form allows you to specify inputs and parameters for each of the workflow variables.
Here, you need to check the name of the data table column that the main input variable ("input_bam") points to. In the example I gave above, I named the column with the bam file paths differently compared to the example data. Theirs was called "contaminated_human_bam", whereas mine is called "WGS_bam_path". So I would change "this.contaminated_human_bam" to "this.WGS_bam_path".
If you're looking to identify microbial contaminants, like I was, you also have to change the reference resources that are set up in the INPUTS form. The default configuration points to animal reference materials, which are set up as key-value pairs under "Workspace Data" in the DATA tab. You can either set up your own key-value pairs to point to the relevant resources or just replace the "workspace.<key>" by the relevant cloud storage paths. You can find paths to microbial resource files in the PathSeq section of the GATK Best Practices bucket, or you can generate your own based on more recent data. If you get confused as to which file to plug into which input variable, you can ask for help in the GATK forum.
Make sure to hit the "SAVE" button when you're done editing out the INPUTS form (and frankly, consider doing it several times while you're working, if you have a lot to tweak).
3. Launching the workflow
Step 2 was a lot but step 3 is the easy part. Once you have the input form filled out, all you need to do is hit the "Run Analysis" button, which brings up a confirmation dialog that restates how many workflows will be launched — one per sample in your sample list, if everything is set up correctly. This is a good time to check that you're not about to launch ten thousand workflows by accident.
For what it's worth, when I'm trying a new pipeline, I like to run a single sample first and wait until it completes before I run on the rest of the samples. That allows me to assess whether everything is behaving as expected, how long it takes to run and how much money it costs. That way I can estimate how much it will cost me to run the full cohort before I kick off anything big.
If the number looks reasonable, hit "Launch" and go take a break while the system starts executing the work behind the scenes. The system will automatically open the monitoring page where you can find the list of your workflow executions organized by submission batch.
Results of the PathSeq pipeline: Yep, there's bacteria in there
So, where are the results? This is rather cool, actually. When you use the data tables system to manage data inputs, the results output by the workflow will get listed in a column (specified in the OUTPUTS form) in the relevant data table. That means you don't have to go digging in output directories to find your output files (which are written to the workspace's dedicated cloud storage bucket), and you're able to launch other workflows on those new files without having to add them manually to a table.
The main results that are produced by the GATK PathSeq workflow are text files containing microbial identifiers, abundance scores and other related metrics. They clearly indicated the presence of microbial contaminants, but were not very user-friendly to interpret in their raw state, so for my investigation, I needed to analyze them further.
Characterizing the contamination in a Jupyter Notebook
My main objective was to see what was the top contaminating genus, and how it related to the "Aligned" value that we had for each sample. I decided to do this in Python in a Jupyter Notebook, which at the time was a beta feature in FireCloud. Now it's a fully supported feature in Terra; you can learn more about it by following the Notebooks Quickstart tutorial.
Have a look at the HTML-rendered version of the completed Jupyter Notebook if you'd like to see the exact code I used and examine my findings for yourself.
First, I used Python functions to retrieve the metrics produced by the PathSeq workflow, extracting the vital information from metrics, then creating a sorted table with the extracted data to show a clear picture of what PathSeq found. The first major finding was that the top microbial genus present overall was a genus of proteobacteria called Burkholderia.
I then generated a scatter plot using the percent of alignment from the original reads on the X axis, and percent of these samples having reads aligned to the top contaminating genus on the Y axis, as shown below.
The downward slope you see in this plot shows that the samples with fewer reads aligned to the human reference had more reads aligned to the top microbial genus identified by PathSeq.
Separately, I also looked up how many of the samples were contaminated by the top-scoring genus, and found that all 78 problem samples were affected by Burkholderia contamination.
With these results in hand, I went back to the collaborator to discuss how PathSeq identified Burkholderia as the likely contaminant. Given other key details such as the location where the samples were collected (which had not been conveyed to me in advance), it made sense to the project manager that this proteobacteria would be detected as the contaminant. As a result, the collaborator has since identified some problems in their sample-collection protocols and have taken action to improve them.
I've encountered all sorts of weird quality issues in sequencing data over the years, and it can be quite fun to tackle them as a mystery to solve through careful analysis. I hope you found this story interesting, and possibly even helpful for your own work.
Feel free to try out any of the resources I mentioned for yourself, especially the public PathSeq workspace. The "meat contamination" use case is a rather interesting story in itself, and that project led to the creation of workflows to generate synthetic hybrid meat products for testing purposes (strictly virtual!) which could be reused for all sorts of interesting purposes.
You might also be interested in another Terra blog post involving PathSeq being used to identify viral insertions in the human genome. That one has IGV screenshots, which is always a sign of a good time.
So have fun and if you end up doing something with any of this, I would love to hear about it.
This story previously appeared in an earlier form on the GATK blog.
GATK PathSeq workspace
GATK PathSeq tutorial
GATK blog about Terra workspaces
GATK Best Practices resources
PathSeq paper citation
Mark A Walker, Chandra Sekhar Pedamallu, Akinyemi I Ojesina, Susan Bullman, Ted Sharpe, Christopher W Whelan, Matthew Meyerson (2018) GATK PathSeq: a customizable computational tool for the discovery and identification of microbial sequences in libraries from eukaryotic hosts, Bioinformatics, bty501, https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/bty501
Analysis, Genomics, Guest Author, Most Recent, Notebooks, Workflows, Workspaces

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Neal's Blog: Malham - invasion of the 'Peakies'!
Malham - invasion of the 'Peakies'!
Malham as you walk in - a pretty inspiring and random piece of rock!
The 'Peakies' term is how anyone known from the Sheffield/Peak District area is known, and considering I recogized over a third of the people at the crag on Saturday, it pretty much said it all! (Malham is a 2-hour drive from Sheffield).
Myself, Dave (not the usual Dave)and Judith hit up Malham for our first trip of the year. It'd been a few years since I was last there - link to TGU post here. My memories were hard to read limestone (as it's all largely white), slightly steep and super technical and crimpy. Not much had changed in the intervening years as it felt much the same! We warmed up on the 'easiest' route on the crag, a short 12metre 6b+ which was fun and pumpy for the grade. Myself and Dave then set up camp on one of the local 7c's, not out of preference but mainly as there were so many other people there that we were limited for choice! The image below doesn't really do it justice, but I'd guess that every 2nd or 3rd route was taken.
Anyway, I got a refresh of one of the important tools of UK climbing, the clipstick. I know you can use them anywhere but the only place I ever really see them in use is here - I guess it's because the rock is so technical to climb, and the holds are usually tiny. With the routes being so short, it means that all routes feel intense so working out moves while placing the quickdraws can be massive effort - it seems common to place all bolts using the clipstick as you pull up the rope, then top-rope the route until you've got all the moves largely dialled. Do I agree with the practice? Not 100% just yet, I still have a thing for going up and working out the moves on lead, but I also see the benefits - it saves a bit of time, and also probably some reduction of damage to the rope as you're not just wearing the point near you as you fall continously on the bolt.
Anyway, Dave hiked the route on his first lead attempt, and I'll send it next go. I'm super-psyched to get on Raindogs (8a - which I touched the moves on previously) now, it's less steep and I'm climbing really well on that angle at present. Stay tuned, I've got my eyes on a few of the 8a+'s also.
Amazing moment of the day? A common practice at Malham is to finish a route by grabbing the chains, something that is seriously not kosher anywhere else. It's accepted practice here - Raindogs finishes with this exact setup. Anyway, a climber from Sheffield, redpointing his first 8c, climbed all the 25-odd metres of the route, put his fingers through the chains.....and then fell off pumped!!! how close can you get! Still though, positive news is that he returned on Sunday and sent it. Sick.
Oh yeah, Happy St. Patricks Day!
Malham tools - the new addition is the clipstick!
Times change we used to only stick clip the first bolt then lead through each other section. I LOVE Malham so jealous. My folkes gaff is less than an hour away.
Good luck in the comp at the weekend.
Cheers about comp, I'm sure it'll be a laugh. not expecting much, I'm not enough of a boulderer to do well but can only learn from it! plans yourself?


text:
Q: Robolectric Cannot invoke setValue on a background thread I am testing an AsyncTask that onPostExecute calls setValue of a LiveData instance. Since I am invoking setValue from onPostExecute no issues were expected regarding the invocation being done by the UI thread.
Yet running this in a Robolectric unit test I got: java.lang.IllegalStateException: Cannot invoke setValue on a background thread
To make this unit test wait for background and foreground tasks completion I take advantage of awaitility tool in the following way:
var cf = new CompletableFuture<T>();
livedata.observe(ctrl.get(), it -> cf.complete(it));
// ... perform the AsyncTask that will update livedata in onPostExecute
await().until(() -> {
    flushBackgroundThreadScheduler()
    flushForegroundThreadScheduler()
    cf.isDone
});

This is throwing an IllegalStateException: Cannot invoke setValue on a background thread on flushForegroundThreadScheduler() call!!!!
Why I am getting this exception? And how can I have the onPostExecute being performed like in the UI thread?
UPDATE
Logging threads it seems that both flushBackgroundThreadScheduler() and flushForegroundThreadScheduler() are executed synchronously inline. I can observe:
LiveData created on thread 763324286
Background thread 1519527121
LiveData updated on thread 1519527121

Since the lambda passed to await.until runs on another thread, then both flushBackgroundThreadScheduler() and flushForegroundThreadScheduler() are performed on that thread 1519527121.
Thus, I can solve my problem with the following workaround running in the test thread corresponding to UI Thread. Yet, I need that Thread.sleep() to succeed and I don't like it.
Thread.sleep(1000)
flushBackgroundThreadScheduler()
flushForegroundThreadScheduler()
cf.isDone

A: We must have the following considerations into account regarding:

*

*Robolectric: flushForegroundThreadScheduler() is executed synchronously inline.

*Awaitility: await.until(<Callable>) evaluates the until condition in a background thread.

From these two statements we observe that invoking flushForegroundThreadScheduler() from the Callable passed to await.until(<Callable>) results in the invocation of scheduled foreground tasks in a background thread, which answers the first OP question: Why I am getting this exception?
Answering the second OP question:

how can I have the onPostExecute being performed like in the UI thread?

Since Robolectric shares a single thread for both UI operations and Test code, then we must use pollInSameThread to instruct that the until condition should be evaluated on the same thread as the test case that starts Awaitility. The OP sample code should be fixed to:
await().pollInSameThread().until(() -> {
    flushBackgroundThreadScheduler()
    flushForegroundThreadScheduler()
    cf.isDone
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The opening of the I-495 express lanes gave those traveling to and from Fairfax County, Virginia new, convenient transportation choices. As part of the Fairfax Connector service, three new express busses were created to carry commuters from parts of the County that didn't previously have bus service to Tysons Corner. The 495 express lanes also expanded options for carpoolers and vanpoolers, contributing to a less congested Northern Virginia region.
For the County to reap the benefits, residents and visitors to Fairfax and the greater Washington DC metropolitan area needed to hear about, understand, and take advantage of these options. To achieve the program goals, a marketing campaign would introduce the new transportation choices. For the campaign to be success, it would need to distill the benefits of a seemingly complex system into easy to understand, relevant and engaging public education campaigns.
Fairfax County called on Wells + Associates' TDM consultants to conduct essential commuter market research that would make this marketing campaign a success.
W+A organized and used formal interviews with FCDOT staff; stakeholders such as the local Transportation Management Associations: Dulles Area Transportation Association (DATA) and the Tysons TYTRAN; major Tysons employers such as Capital One and SAIC; and commuters. The objective was to better understand the landscape of existing programs and services so we could identify specific messages and communications products that would resonate with commuters. W+A identified appropriate interview subjects and scripted the interviews.
For each focus group, we recruited participants, developed a moderator's guide, provided participants with pertinent background information in advance, coordinated invitations to participate, and managed the logistics of the meetings. Our professional and experienced focus group moderators were effective at putting participants at ease and eliciting honest and helpful responses.
At the conclusion of each focus group, W+A developed a summary report that included data analysis and recommendations for messages and marketing strategies. In addition, we prepared a PowerPoint presentation of the main findings and recommendations for the client to present and discuss at a gathering of their key stakeholders.
W+A developed promotions and communications plans to help deploy the survey effectively at employer sites throughout Tysons Corner. To maximize response, W+A worked with FCDOT's Employer Services program to determine which employers would provide the strongest response rates and data quality. W+A presented the full results and analysis to FCDOT.
For a successful and well-received bus service launch, Fairfax County needed to solicit public input. W+A helped organize and staff forums at employer sites and in the communities where busses originate.


This is a quick one. The autism media channel has posted a short video in which the whistleblower is named: William W. Thompson, PhD.
He was in fact one of the authors of the 2004 De Stefano study that has been accused of hiding true data linking the MMR vaccine to autism.
Thompson once worked for Merck.
Questions abound. Does Thompson know his name has been released? Was it done with his permission? Is he going come forward and make a statement?
via CDC whistleblower revealed: William Thompson « Jon Rappoport's Blog.


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Houston Rockets Daily Rocket Science: Would acquiring Rudy Gay be worth it?
By Ben Casey
Nov 6, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay (8) goes up for a layup between Houston Rockets guard Marcus Thornton (10), forward Trevor Ariza (1), guard James Harden (13) and center Clint Capela (15) during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Houston Rockets defeated the Sacramento Kings 116-110. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
Rudy Gay is still supposedly on the Rockets' radar, but would he be worth the cost?
The issue with acquiring Rudy Gay, in my opinion, would not be whether or not he would fit well with the Houston Rockets. Rather, it'd be about if he would be likely to stay in Houston for a few years or not. It's nice that he would come at a cheap price due to the one year left on his contract, but that means the Rockets could end up trading away permanent pieces for a one-year rental.
There have been no developments to the story since it was reported that the Rockets were interested in a deal with the Sacramento Kings, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the deal has fallen through.
Houston Rockets news and notes from around the web
Danial Zepeda of Space City Scoop wrote a piece arguing that trading for Gay would be a smart move on Houston's part, citing his ability to play both ways, giving the Rockets a much needed focus on defense. He also has varied offensive skill set, allowing him to run the break or finish on the break.
"With Rudy Gay coming off the bench, the Rockets could bring in one of the best second units in the league that closely matches the offensive power of the starters. D'Anotni would have Gordon at the three-point line waiting to knock down treys, on the inside with the ability to make a post move or knock down a mid-range jumper and Rudy Gay in charge of it all as a point-forward. Nene Hilario"
Adding Gay would bolster the Rockets bench, which is already poised to be one of the best in the league. After an eventful offseason, Houston's second unit could have the scoring potential of some teams' starters. GM Daryl Morey sat down with Kevin Arnovitz of TrueHoop Podcast to discuss his team's moves this offseason and how they will bring value to the organization.
Why Tad Brown is the Rockets' biggest loss to date
Rockets legend in awe over Stephen Curry's level of play
Rockets fiasco shows importance of Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook
Houston Rockets: Evan Mobley worth a look at No. 2 in NBA Draft
Houston Rockets: Ranking the top-five 2021 NBA draft prospects
To wrap up on a non-trade related subject, Victoria Nguyen of The Score wrote that James Harden has been working hard this summer with his endorsement companies. He most recently suited up as a BodyArmor employee for the day. He showed up at a Kroger and a recreation center to pass out samples, much to the delight of unsuspecting shoppers and local hoopers. If the Beard has worked on his game as much as he's worked on his endorsements, the Rockets should be in good shape for this season.
Stay tuned to Space City Scoop for updates on what company Harden works at next as well as on what the team ends up doing with the Rudy Gay situation.
Send our editor any Rockets-related article/video/tweet/gram/vine that we may have missed via Twitter direct message to @TTOTambz.
Next: ESPN Ranks Rockets' Schedule 11th Easiest in NBA
Space City Scoop is always looking to add new talent to our writing team. Currently we're looking for individuals with a specialized focus. The first area of focus is perfect for someone who is constantly surfing the web for breaking news on injuries, trades, insider info. This individual would select the top news items and provide timely quick hits to keep SCS readers in the loop.
The other writer would be someone with a strong social media background who likes to interact with Clutch City Fans. You'll promote SCS team content on Facebook and Twitter. A successful candidate will make sure to promote the best content coming from H-Town fans. If you're a budding writer who possesses these qualities, SCS encourages you to check out the SCS link, and fill out an application.


Welcome to the home page of the scientific data plotting software DISLIN.
DISLIN is intended to be a powerful and easy to use software package for scientists and programmers. There are only a few graphics routines with a short parameter list needed to display the desired graphical output. A large variety of parameter setting routines can then be called to create individually customized graphics.
The software is available for several C, Fortran 77 and Fortran 90/95 compilers on the operating systems UNIX, Linux, FreeBSD, OpenVMS, Windows, Mac OSX and MS-DOS. DISLIN programs are very system-independent, they can be ported from one operating system to another without any changes.
For some operating systems, the programming languages Perl, Python, Java, Ruby and the C/C++ interpreter Ch are also supported by DISLIN. The DISLIN interpreter DISGCL is availble for all supported operating systems. See a complete list of the supported operating systems and compilers.
A short description of the DISLIN features is given in Overview while a detailed description is available in the online manual and in the alphabetical list of all DISLIN routines. The online manual can also be downloaded in HTML format as a compressed tar file. A printed book of DISLIN can be ordered here, or directly from the author. Last but not least a PowerPoint presentation of DISLIN is available in the file dislin.ppt.
DISLIN is free for non-commercial use. Licenses for commercial use, or for just supporting DISLIN, are available from this site.
The DISLIN software and manuals can be downloaded via HTML and from FTP servers.


This clever unit automatically warns you every time a person or vehicle comes up your drive. Simply put the waterproof detector near your property entrance and mount the wireless receiver up to 100ft away in your house. Receiver requires 3 x AA batteries (order code BT0012). Full user instructions. 433.9 Mhz.
A door video intercom system with a monochrome monitor and electronic chime ideal for flats, apartments and offices. The system is simple to install and comes complete with full instructions and all cables. Infra-red LED illumination means you can easily identify callers at any time of the day or night.


text:
Surviving the Shipwreck: Christian Petzold and Nina Hoss on "Phoenix"
Patrick Z. McGavin August 03, 2015
Christian Petzold's brilliant and fascinating new Holocaust drama "Phoenix" marks his sixth collaboration with the superb actress Nina Hoss. She plays the Auschwitz survivor Nelly, a Jewish singer who endured unspeakable emotional and physical terror. Repatriated to a ruined postwar Berlin, her face badly disfigured by complications of a bullet wound, Nelly is given the chance at a new identity following her facial reconstruction.
"I want to look like I used to," she demands. As incarnated by Hoss with a soulful intensity, Nelly is a solitary figure whose desire to reclaim her past makes possible the movie's eerie mad scientist-inflected scenario. A gifted chanteuse who evaded the Gestapo until late in the war, Nelly has discovered her entire family was liquidated in the death camps. The story kicks in after Nelly is reunited with her husband, the cold opportunist Johnny (Ronald Zehrfeld, who played opposite Hoss in Petzold's excellent 2012 "Barbara").
A German pianist turned small-time operator at the eponymous nightclub in the American sector, Johnny does not recognize Nelly as his wife though believes she is a passable double. He convinces Nelly to appropriate the identity of the falsely assumed dead woman in order to claim her inheritance. He conditions her to essentially inhabit her own skin, fastidiously instructing her on how to walk, talk and even write her name.
The movie is freely adapted from a novel by French writer Hubert Monteilhet that previously served as the basis of the 1965 J. Lee Thompson thriller, "Return from the Ashes." Steeped in Greek tragedy, the movie is also a fever dream that riffs on Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" and Georges Franju's "Eyes Without a Face." The psychological tension turns on whether Nelly is a traumatized dupe whose obsessive, unquestioned love for Johnny underlines a deeper pathology or a free-thinker whose complicity in the plot is a chance for her to uncover the details of her husband's actions leading to her arrest.
The film has generated rapturous critical praise and highly promising early audience response that suggests a long-overdue breakout for the German filmmaking team. On the eve of the film's national expansion, I spoke to Petzold and Hoss separately. I have woven together the two strands for the following conversation.
One of the fascinating qualities of "Phoenix" is how it functions as a corollary or continuation of your previous film, "Barbara," not just because of the same two lead actors, but how both films meditate on history and memory.
Christian Petzold: Ten years ago I told [filmmaker and screenwriter] Harun Farocki, "I never want to make a period film. I hate it. I hate costumes. I hate stagecoaches." I want to make movies about our times. He gave me a quotation about [theoretical sociologist Theodor] Adorno, who said: "It's not a question of what the old times will say to us. It's a question of what we can say to the old times." We started working on two period pictures. When Harun and I were sitting at the editing table and I showed him the final cut of "Barbara," he said: "First we had the love couple, and now you can show the destruction of the love, and you have to use the same actors."
Nina Hoss: I always have the feeling with Christian that his movies are really about German identity, or about individuals in search of their own identity. Someone like Barbara, she makes up her mind of who she is and what she stands for and what she is not going to go along with, and that makes her who she is and what she becomes. Within the social environment, you watch how that forms a personality or an individual. It's the same with "Phoenix." These characters are in situations they have to go through or experience things. As they begin to understand more about life, of who they want to be or what their strengths are, everything they hold up becomes a mirror. You don't want to be the picture that they want to see.
I was very interested in your friendship with Harun Farocki. He was a great filmmaker, but he made these almost unclassifiable essay films, like "How to Live in the Federal Republic of Germany," that were so different from your films. I was very curious about your friendship and your working methods.
Christian Petzold: He was the editor of a film magazine called Filmkritik—like Rolling Stone for the movies. His name was always attached to the best articles. And then we met at a football [soccer] match. In our work together, everybody thought that Harun was the cold-blooded intellectual and I was the warm-blooded, emotional guy. It was totally the other way around. I'm the constructor in the stories, and Harun was always on the side of emotion. I was a little bit like the engineer. I think he liked that because with his own documentaries, he's the engineer.
We are walking through Berlin together, for 25 years, twice a week, looking at houses, talking about stories, historical or contemporary stories, talking about books, and sometimes we had an idea. I'd write the script and send it to him, and then we'd go out for a new walk and talk about the things I had written. This was our collaboration. In 1978, he was the editor of a long interview with Paul Schrader. Harun loved this very much, because Paul Schrader said: "You have to talk the idea of a story to everybody you know."
The whole film's existence is predicated on a supreme dramatic risk about Johnny not being able to identify his actual wife. The more literal minded are likely to be resistant to the very structure.
Christian Petzold: We read three or four books by [Austrian essayist] Jean Amery. After he survived Auschwitz, he wrote in one essay, about being in a camp for displaced persons, and how after he came back to Germany, he thought the people there would embrace him and show their interest in forming a new society. He came back and nobody looked at him. Friends didn't recognize him. His friends had cut him not only of their memories but also out of their senses. He said, "I'm like a ghost." At this moment, the idea was borne to Harun and I, and we came up with the idea that Johnny can't recognize her. His body recognizes her a little bit. He wants to touch her, a glance in his eyes, for a little moment, but in his soul, she does not exist anymore.
Farocki was also very influenced by Bertolt Brecht. There is a Brechtian quality to your role, because of the circumstances of the story, a woman pretending to be her actual self. For you, is the whole film a meditation on acting and performance?
Nina Hoss: I didn't think about any of this. I think about it now. I see that now. While I was working on it, I was really trying to create this character and understand why she would go along with [the plot], and find out how damaged this person is, so that something like this story could be possible. She believes he doesn't recognize her, because she doesn't know herself who she is. These are very damaged people, and things are not normal. That was more of what I was thinking of, about how deeply emotional the experience was. I was very aware of these questions, about representation and identity, but I didn't allow myself to go down that [path] because it's an analytical point of view. I wanted to dive [into the character] without thinking about that.
Were the dynamics different for you playing against Ronald Zehrfeld this time?
Nina Hoss: He was struggling a little bit. We loved so much this couple in "Barbara," because it ended kind of hopeful. You felt they were in love, and no matter how the story ends they're going to be strong together. You try it and you give love a chance. We had quite a tough time to let go of this idea. In "Phoenix," this couple might have the same feeling at the end, because I think all of us, we maybe had the hope and the [further] the story goes, you realize it is not possible, and that it probably will not go well. The beauty of working again is you can go through stages and talk about it and rekindle it. There was a lot of trust in the air.
Betrayal is a theme that threads through many of your films, and it takes on different forms, the political or sexual.
Christian Petzold: I'm always interested in people who have their stories behind them, the shipwreck for example and the people who are on the surface of the ocean who are survivors. They try to make their way through the wreckage of the ship and they try to make a new ship. I like this kind of work, of people who have a destroyed love affair and how they can reconstruct that part of their lives, or people on the outside without money and they want to come back into society. This is the work for me. The work is not to invent something very new; the work is to do something with things you are surrounded by.
"Phoenix" conflates aspects of noir, melodrama, even the musical. I am struck by the science fiction quality to the material, this idea of the movie as a variant of the amnesia plot, except here in reverse, because it is the people around Nelly who either cannot or refuse to remember her past.
Christian Petzold: At first I didn't want to make "Phoenix" because "Vertigo" exists. Harun said the same thing. It's a fantastic movie but we hate it a little bit, too. We changed perspective to a female perspective. At the beginning she is bandaged and you think she is a victim, like all of the survivors' victims. But at this moment, when she is in the basement, she starts to be the director of the movie and the director of the love affair. She was bringing back his memories. This is the turning point I like so much. As the director, when I look at the scene and see what she's doing to him, I always think of her as an actress who doesn't need [direction] anymore.
One thing that is very distinctive about you is you are very tall, almost six-feet. You have often used your height to shape the expressiveness of your characters. Was there a way with Nelly you wanted to go against that, to suggest how broken and damaged she was?
Nina Hoss: I thought very much about how I could express her journey in her body. When you see the pictures of the people who were at Auschwitz or the other concentration camps, they are so thin and in a way not really there. They look like they don't want to be seen, so they don't get into trouble. That's what I was working on, the fear. I also wanted to show how [Nelly] grows slowly over time, like a flower. Her head goes up and she can remember what it is like to be in the body again. I wanted to embrace that and play with that and feel what it is.
This is your sixth film you have made together. How has the artistic relationship evolved in that time?
Christian Petzold: I said it once to her. I never could imagine she could play a mother with a child on her arms or an ordinary girl who's going out on a Friday night. She's a little bit of a stranger, or an exile. She's a refugee born into another country and she wants to be part of our country or society. I always think of her as somebody out of this world and she has to stay here and she wants to be a part of it. Her self-confidence is great.
Nina Hoss: There's a lot of respect for each other's work, and a natural curiosity about what the other one would come up with. There's a strong feeling and trust in the other's judgment and ability and that makes it work. It's not always easy. But you don't lose interest, and as long as that doesn't happen, you can tell stories together. Sometimes in between films we've had a three-year break and that's been great.
I had done two movies before we met. My world was the theater. That's what I knew the most about. The act of filmmaking was something he definitely introduced me to. There are not that many [filmmakers], for one, and still now, he is our strongest representative. Christian introduced me to [filmmaking] and helped me understand it's a process and you have to find your own way. Now, it's just great, and I have the feeling, like in "Phoenix," that I deeply understood the characters and I understand them without us having to explain it to each other. Now that we all know what and how we want to tell stories, let's push it a bit further. That is only possible among friends or by people who trust each other.
"Phoenix" is filled with references to other films, like "Vertigo," "Eyes Without a Face" and certain Rainer Werner Fassbinder films. Did you watch any of them as part of your preparation?
Nina Hoss: Some of them I had seen, but years ago, so I had a vague remembrance, of moments and gestures. We watched "Out of the Past," and also the [Jacques] Demy film, "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg." These films don't really have anything to do with our story, but Christian said it was a way of remembering or talking about political actions that are going on in your country at a particular time. I didn't read the novel before we made the film. I did it afterwards. I need to have my own take on things and develop it myself. These characters, they come from a different time and they have another way about them.
You are one of the few major filmmakers still shooting in 35mm. In "Phoenix," there's an archival quality to the imagery, the color seems very muted and faded, part of this idea of an irretrievable past.
Christian Petzold: In the early '30s the Germans had made all of these great films, like "People on Sunday," the Billy Wilder, [Edgar G.] Ulmer and [Robert] Siodmak film. These movies were full of life. All of these great Jewish directors had to leave Germany and they made film noir: "Lost Weekend," "Detour," "The Killers." They changed their positive light into the dark light of the night. I said to the cinematographer [Hans Fromm] that we need color, because we have to have the natural and beautiful qualities of the world, but also the noir and the realistic. We have to use 35-millimeter. I like to shoot on 35-mm because I don't have the [playback] monitor. There's one camera and you can't see the rushes until two days later. You have to trust the things of what you saw. What's fantastic about 35-mm is that two days later, as the rushes are coming, you see them projected at a screening and it's not your movie. It feels a little bit strange. It's done. I like that very much. There's a great respect for the material.
A two-part question: As an artist who spent the first half of your life in a divided country, what was the response to the film in Germany? In the quarter of a century since the fall of the Berlin Wall, has there been a national reckoning about the Third Reich, World War II and the Holocaust.
Christian Petzold: It was not as enthusiastic as it was to "Barbara." I think "Phoenix" has its own neighborhood. "Barbara" is about living in a communistic part of Germany. We had movies about survivors, about people coming back from the war, one with Peter Lorre, but the movie was a little bit lonely. It was not a failure, but it was lonelier than "Barbara."
In the West part of Germany, we had '68, student rebellion and social protest and from this moment, we talked about guilt and Nazis, but not before. It actually started in '63, but we call it '68. In the German Democratic Republic, they are more nationalistic, but they never talk about guilt, because the guilt is on the West side.
Patrick Z. McGavin
Patrick Z. McGavin is a Chicago-based writer and critic. His film writing has appeared in the British magazine Empire, Stop Smiling, Time Out Chicago, Cineaste and LA Weekly. He also maintains the film blog, http://lightsensitive.typepad.com/light-sensitive.


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Tata Motors gained 0.4 percent to Rs 591.85 on BSE after the company said it has secured orders for supply of over 5,000 buses from 25 state/city transport undertakings across the country.


Now that the release date of Bharath Ane Nenu is nearing soon, the makers are in full swing promoting their film all over. The latest we hear is that the makers have spent close to three crores just on the promotions itself.
Close to 300 hoardings have been erected in just the city of Hyderabad alone. Be it the digital or offline promotions, the makers have made sure that this film becomes the most talked about movie in the recent times.
An example of it was the massive audio launch which was held in a never before seen manner in Tollywood. Koratala Shiva directs this film which has Kiara Advani as the female lead.


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Home World Africa UN Pledges to Help Zimbabwe Achieve SDGs
UN Pledges to Help Zimbabwe Achieve SDGs
The United Nations (UN) yesterday pledged to provide human, technical and financial resources to enable Zimbabwe to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In a joint steering meeting on the Zimbabwe Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (ZUNSDCF), UN resident coordinator Edward Kallon promised to assist Zimbabwe to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Let me take this opportunity to reassure the government that as the UN we collectively remain committed to achieving the aspirations of the cooperation framework through the deployment of human, technical and financial resources in the most effective and efficient manner towards delivering on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development including the transformative recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic," Kallin said.
Chief Secretary of the president and Cabinet, Misheck Chitambara who also attended the joint meeting also mentioned broader collaboration with development partners and the Private sector is necessary to achieve the 17 SDGs.
"All having been said and done, to achieve the 17 SDGs requires significant scaling up of SDG-aligned investment and more than what government alone can provide and thus for broader collaboration with development partners and the private sector, alongside the public sector," he said
"The partnership with UN and development partners and the private sector, therefore, is vital in a corporation towards accelerated SDG delivery as well as our national economic growth and development." he also added.
Meanwhile, the government had inadequate resources to implement SDGs and monitor their progress. "There is insufficient time and disaggregated data for most indicators, making it difficult to track and monitor progress," Chitambara said last week while addressing a FACET workshop in Harare.
ZUNSDCF
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Kimberly Joy Magbanua has always had a talent for drawing and painting, but never received any formal art training. Instead, she started working as a nurse, not knowing that she would one day be able to combine her profession and passion for the arts in a completely new art form – syringe painting.
The 24-year-old nurse from Valladolid, Philippines, says that she got the idea to use syringes instead of paintbrushes about a year ago, as she was getting ready to give a patient an injection. They were a familiar tool, and despite being completely unrelated to painting, they just made sense to Kimberly, because they allowed her to scribble paint on a canvas. She had been scribbling with pens and pencils for a while, but she always wanted to try it on an actual canvas, and syringes just felt like the perfect tool to do it.
Through a lot of trial and error, Kimberly Joy Magbanua managed to perfect her syringe painting technique, and even though she continues to work as a nurse, she is now a celebrated artist as well. Her scribbled paintings have been featured on some of the biggest websites in the Philippines recently, and I'm willing to bet you'll start seeing a lot more of her work in the coming days.
Kimberly starts her artistic process by drawing an outline of her subject on the canvas, using a pencil. She then colors the entire background black for an enhanced visual effect, before using several syringes filled with colored paints to scribble her design. It usually takes her between 3 and 5 hours to complete a painting, during which time she replaces the needles several times because they get clogged up with paint.
24-year-old Magbanua claims that the process of painting with syringes is not as straightforward as some people may think. Apart from controlling her movements while scribbling, she also has to apply just the right pressure on the syringe plunger to release the right amount of paint, or risk having the needle pop off, ruining the whole painting.
Kimberly's stunning paintings and the unusual medium she uses to create them have attracted a lot of attention on social media. She already has tens of thousands of people following her on Facebook and Instagram, and she's only been posting her art for a year.


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Q: Android RadioButton icon disappears when singleline set to true and text gravity set to right I found a weird situation on Android RadioButton, when I set singleline to true and setGravity to right, the radio icon disappears. Anyone know what causes this problem and how to make it shows the icon normally while setting singleline to true and gravity to right? The xml file:
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:orientation="vertical" >

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        android:id="@+id/radio1"
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="40dp"
        android:clickable="false"
        android:focusable="false"
        android:focusableInTouchMode="false"
        android:gravity="right|center_vertical"
        android:background="#ff0000"
        android:text="hello"
        android:singleLine="true"
        />

    <RadioButton
        android:id="@+id/radio2"
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="40dp"
        android:clickable="false"
        android:focusable="false"
        android:focusableInTouchMode="false"
        android:gravity="right|center_vertical"
        android:background="#00ff00"
        android:text="hello2"
        />

</LinearLayout>

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Notice the first radiobutton, the icon is gone.


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The Internet Has Not Been Kind To The Sonic Movie Trailer
by : Ewan Moore on : 01 May 2019 11:34
By now you've probably seen the cursed two minutes and 46 seconds of footage that make up the first trailer for the live action Sonic The Hedgehog movie. It really is quite a ride.
SEGA and Paramount Pictures announced their intentions to release a feature film starring the blue blur a few years ago, and now we've all seen the horrifying reality, I'm not at all convinced it's going to buck the "video game movies are naff" trend that Detective Pikachu apparently manages to avoid.
If you haven't seen the trailer yet, I'd recommend watching it below just to get up to speed with the rest of us. That dull sensation in the pit of your stomach is perfectly normal, don't worry.
Would you believe that the internet has opinions on the Sonic trailer, and that they are not good ones? I know, I was shocked too. For a few hours, I thought it was just my Twitter bubble that were going in on Sonic's latest adventure, but a quick glance at the trailer uploaded to Paramount's official YouTube channel confirmed my worst fears.
At the time of writing, the Sonic trailer has nearly 12 million views, with 166K likes to 254K dislikes. It's by no means the most disliked video to ever have graced YouTube, but it's not a great sign for a first trailer, is it?
Comments under the video complain of Sonic's weirdly lifelike, charmless, muscular design, the fact that nobody involved with the film seems to have learned anything from past video game movies, and the trailer's use of Gangsta's Paradise.
There was at least some praise for Jim Carrey's Dr "Eggman" Robotnik, who looks like a genuinely fun addition to the movie, and the most "Jim Carrey" Jim Carrey has been in years.
But what did Twitter have to say? Brace yourselves…
Others meanwhile, simply offered suggestions as to how SEGA and Paramount could (and probably should) have rendered Sonic. Nobody wants the frightened muscular toddler in a onesie that we've ended up with, after all.
Sonic The Hedgehog hits cinemas on November 8. While SEGA has clearly made a horrible first impression here, I don't want to completely rule out the film being awful based on the brief look we've had so far.
If nothing else, I reckon it'll be a box office smash based on the amount of people who show up just to experience what a train wreck it could potentially be.
Ewan Moore
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn't gotten out of his mid 00's emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.
Topics: Film and TV, Movie, paramount pictures, Release Date, Sega, Sonic the Hedgehog


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Rick Nixon | NCAA.com | January 15, 2019
Women's basketball: Two ranked road wins help Clemson earn Team of the Week honors
Andy Katz calls for a Notre Dame repeat as national champs in women's hoops
Clemson earned NCAA Women's Basketball Team of the Week honors after making history over the past week with a pair of road wins over ranked opponents for the first time in program history, while improving to 3-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play for the first time in 21 years.
AP Top 25 #ncaaW Poll - Jan. 14
1⃣ @ndwbb
T-2⃣ @UConnWBB
T-2⃣ @BaylorWBB
4⃣ @UofLWBB
5⃣ @OregonWBB
6⃣-2⃣5⃣:https://t.co/KH9ojrYEna pic.twitter.com/IiOTNxAne0
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) January 14, 2019
The Tigers, 12-5 overall, started the week with a 76-67 come-from-behind win at No. 23 Miami (Fla.) on Jan. 10 in what was Clemson's first victory over a ranked opponent in seven years. The Tigers outscored the Hurricanes 30-18 in the fourth quarter to escape with the win. Eclipsing the 20-point mark for the second straight game, Clemson shooting guard Simone Westbrook was the leading scorer for the Tigers with 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Forward Kobi Thornton was a pivotal presence down the stretch for the Tigers, pouring in 20 points of her own to go along with nine boards.
RELATED: Women's Basketball Hall of Fame announces 12 finalists for the Class of 2019
Clemson followed up that win with another statement victory, a 57-45 win over No. 22 Florida State, on Sunday afternoon at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Fla. The Tigers benefited from a solid bench performance and an overall imposing defensive effort that led to the win. Clemson's defensive pressure set the tone in the contest with Florida State committing 23 turnovers, opportunities that the Tigers capitalized on with 20 points off turnovers. Thornton led all scorers with 19 points on 9-of-17 shooting to go along with her 10 rebounds. Aliyah Collier added 11 points and six rebounds.
🎥 Check out the highlights from our win over #22/18 Florida State pic.twitter.com/wunIUUtPpX
— Clemson Women's Basketball (@ClemsonWBB) January 13, 2019
Boasting a three-game win streak in conference action, Clemson will look to carry the momentum into its next contest at home against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (12-4, 2-1) on Jan. 17.
RELATED: Division I NCAA Women's basketball records
Teams with the most College Football Playoff wins and appearances
These are the college football programs with the most College Football Playoff wins and appearances since the format began in 2014.
These are the best father-son, junior-senior duos in college basketball
Many current college basketball players have fathers who played college basketball, so we asked which duos would make the best team in a hypothetical 2-on-2 tournament.


Waveney District Council's Community Enabling Fund offers groups the chance to apply for up to £2,500.
There is £26,049 for the year, with application advice saying to focus on promoting health and wellbeing, with increased access to leisure, arts and cultural facilities.
Projects must start from August 1, 2018 and finish by July 31, 2019.
Visit www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk/waveney-community-enabling-fund or call 01502 523334 or email grants@eastsuffolk.gov.uk.


You can never go wrong with western apparel from Cowboy Hardware! Their quality shirts seamlessly blend classic western details with modern touches. This handsome shirt is no exception with its stylish print, snap details and western yokes and pockets. Piping along the front and back yokes really makes this style pop. Pair with jeans and boots for a look you're sure to love!


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Chapter 10: The Translator's Fun House
Yuffie was pacing around Nibelheim's town square, still taking in what Cloud had said to her earlier.
"I need to find a date!" she muttered to herself. "I need to find a date!" She paused. "But what guys do I know that are not already taken?"
She pulled out her cell phone and went straight to her contacts. She came upon one Haru Tanaka, who lived across the street from her in Wutai. Realizing that she indeed knew him that well, it was worth a shot. She quickly pressed the call button.
"Hello?" answered Haru after three rings.
"Haru!" greeted Yuffie. "Hi!"
"Who's this?" he asked in a neutral tone of voice.
Yuffie frowned; he had deleted her number.
"It's Yuffie," she replied, still attempting to sound upbeat.
"Yuffie who?" he asked.
"Kisaragi," she replied.
"Oh," he said, still in a neutral tone of voice. "The same Yuffie Kisaragi who stole my tablet last year?"
"I didn't steal it!" Yuffie insisted. "I just borrowed it for a long time!"
"Without asking," Haru reminded her. "Anyways, did you need something?"
"I have something to ask you," she said, even though she was grossly skeptical at this point.
"What's up?" he asked.
She took a deep breath.
"Will you go to Cloud and Tifa's wedding with me?"
There was a bothersome silence before Haru finally answered.
"I wouldn't go with you if I was dirt poor," he replied.
With that, he hung up on her.
"Ouch," Yuffie muttered.
Seven people were standing at the gate that separated them from the front lawn of the Translator's house. All had relieved themselves of all weapons, and were now waiting for the gate to open. All had thumb drives in their pockets, and all were there in hopes of having their codes cracked. All were aware that only those who made it to the Translator's office would have their codes cracked, and that not everyone standing at the gate would live to see the sun set.
There was Quinn, who wanted to see if his company was preparing to fire him.
There was Sana, who had hacked into her boyfriend's computer to see if he had been cheating on her.
There was Jackson, a high school student who wanted to know how to change his grades.
There was Egbert, who was there for the fame.
There was Reka, who was there for the thrill.
There was Cloud, who only wanted to support his fiancee.
There was Tifa, who only wanted to find her father.
There was a sign to the left of the gate that was more or less self-explanatory: THE TRANSLATOR'S HOUSE-ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK. Beyond the sign, there was a fenced in yard in which the Translator's house occupied. From the outside, it did not appear to be anything more than a typical two story house. The interior would be another matter.
At that moment, the gate opened, allowing the seven to test their fate. Instinctively, they all made their way to the front door.
Jackson mounted the stoop and proceeded to open the door. It was locked. He then rang the doorbell. There was no response. Finally, he slammed his body into the door. Nothing happened.
"Shit," he muttered.
"This might not be the only way in," Quinn suggested.
"What do you mean?" asked Jackson.
"Let's check for any windows we can open from the outside," Reka suggested.
The seven of them browsed the front of the house. There were three on the left side and two on the right, but none of them could be opened externally. The west side of the house had the same kind of windows. the east side had no windows at all. That simply left the back as the only possible entrance.
Out back, there were four more windows that could only be opened from the inside, along with a patio that was locked rather well.
"This is hopeless!" sighed Sana.
"Hold on," Quinn said as he pointed to the ground. "Look!"
Near the ground, there were two pits, each about two feet deep. Each pit had a window that was not like the others.
"Can we get in through there?" asked Reka.
"One way to find out!" replied Quinn as he hopped into the pit. Moments later, he pressed against the window, and it opened.
"So that's it," Sana observed.
"We start in the basement," Jackson added.
One by one, the seven of them climbed through the window, and slid down the slide that had been conveniently waiting for them.
The basement below seemed to be the size of two-thirds of the house. It was lit by two simple lights, and had shelves and tiles, but was otherwise unfurnished.
At the end of the shelves was a metal device that appeared to be a heat pump. As the seven of them walked by, they noticed a window in the device, where a black snake-like pipe extended from the ground and curved to the left.
Soon, Reka reached the other end of the basement, followed by Egbert, Jackson, Tifa, Cloud, and Sana. Each of them turned, and a troubling sight greeted their eyes.
Quinn was standing in the middle of the basement, his eyes fixated on the curved, black pipe. He seemed unable to move.
"What's wrong?" asked Reka.
"I need help," Quinn said.
Moments later, within a split second, Quinn's body appeared to stretch grossly out of proportion before disappearing into the pipe.
"Quinn?" shouted Egbert. "Quinn!"
"That thing sucked him up!" exclaimed Sana.
"Well," shouted Egbert, "where the fuck is he?!"
"He's dead," Sana replied.
"What do you mean, 'he's dead?!'" demanded Cloud.
"It's called the matter pump," Sana explained. "It sucks you up and disintegrates you, atom by atom."
"Ouch," commented Reka.
"Let's get out of this basement!" Egbert insisted.
To the right of them was an orange curtain where a wall should be; it's left side touched the metal heat pump-like device. To the right of that were stairs that led to the ground level. Slowly, unsure of what to expect, the six survivors made their way over.
And then, a black snake-like object appeared from behind the curtain.
"It's the pump!" Reka and Sana shouted in unison.
"I say we all get our asses out of the basement!" Cloud declared.
"Second!" shouted Sana.
Tifa was the first to grab the wooden bannister and make her way up the wooden basement stairs. And then, she felt an electric shock on her hip. She quickly turned to see where it was coming from; one of the brackets that was holding up the bannister.
"Shit!" she exclaimed as she darted past the bracket. "Cloud, be careful! Those brackets shock you!"
Cloud followed Tifa up, only to be shocked by the same bracket.
"Everybody," Tifa began, "run!"
The six of them darted up the stairs as fast as they could. The three brackets holding the bannister up seemed to be having a field day, shocking each and every person who ran by.
Moments later, it was over. The six survivors stood in the kitchen
"I can't take this anymore!" Sana sobbed as she immediately made her way to the kitchen table and sat down, straddling the chair and resting her head on the back of it. She was facing the front door, and an ominous feeling began to pulse through her body.
And then, the front door creaked open. In came seven animatronic animals, marching in single file toward Sana. Five of them were horses, colored in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. A pink pig led them all.
And they all chanted in unison: "Ha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-hit!"
The moment the "hit!" was called, the pig hit Sana and came to a stop.
Reka immediately came over to check. On closer inspection, Sana was dead; the pig had pierced her heart with a blade. Reka immediately shuddered away.
"I want to get out of here!" Reka stammered in a shaky voice.
"We'll get through this," Tifa assured her.
The kitchen was bordered by a dining room to the west and a family room to the east. The five survivors entered the dining room first; there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary. The room was decorated with a table and chairs, along with a hutch and drysink.
"God only knows what's in here," Egbert muttered.
Almost as if in response, the drysink began to rumble.
"IN HERE," it repeated, in a low, robotic voice.
It then started rumbling, hobbling in Egbert's direction.
The five of them quickly ran to the south through the living room, the east through the foyer with the stairs to the second floor, and finally into the family room.
Egbert strayed the furthest from the group, stopping at the north side of the family room. He looked into the kitchen and then toward the foyer. To the east was a laundry room, with a menacing looking closet at the end.
"I think it gave up," he sighed.
That would prove to be a fatal mistake. A moment later, the closet door opened, and out came an upright vacuum, immediately pursuing Egbert.
"Here comes sweeper!" it announced. "Here comes sweeper!"
Before Egbert had time to react, the vacuum bumped into his feet. A moment later, Egbert disappeared below the vacuum, atom by atom.
"Shit!" shouted Cloud. "Upstairs, now!"
The four survivors quickly ran up the stairs to the second floor. Tifa suddenly felt a shock on her left hip, and realized that there were more brackets holding the bannister up.
"Go up!" Cloud shouted.
Tifa, Cloud, Jackson, and Reka quickly charged up the stairs, each taking shocks along the way.
At the top of the stairs, there were four closed doors in a long hallway.
"I think it's safe to say the Translator's behind one of those doors," Jackson suggested.
"But which one?" asked Cloud.
"One way to find out," Tifa said.
"I'll bet on that one," said Cloud, pointing to the far west, at the other end of the hall.
"What makes you say that?" asked Reka.
"Because it's the farthest from here," Cloud replied as he walked to the door and opened it.
Inside, there was a dresser and a twin bed; this appeared to be a child's room.
And then, the dresser suddenly began hobbling towards Cloud, producing a repetitive low tone as it did so.
Cloud quickly shut the door.
"I guess not," he sighed.
Jackson, meanwhile, was standing near the northern hallway door.
"Maybe this one?" he suggested as he opened the door.
Inside, there was a crib and a fabric rocking chair with buttons that almost looked like a face; this was obviously a baby room.
Jackson took a few steps in and scanned the room.
"He's not here," he muttered.
"NOT HERE," repeated the rocking chair in a low robotic voice as it immediatly came after Jackson, making the same noise as the dresser did in the other room. Jackson turned to run, but the rocking chair quickly hit him from behind. Jackson fell backward, and quickly jerked for a few moments before toppling over dead. The rocking chair had electrocuted him.
Reka quickly closed the door and covered her mouth in horror. She fell to her knees and began to cry.
"I-I just want to go home!" she sobbed.
Tifa knelt down next to her.
"There's just two rooms left," she began calmly. "And he's in one of them. It's almost over, I promise."
With that, Tifa helped Reka to her feet.
"Wait a minute," Reka pointed out. "You're Tifa Lockheart!"
"That's me," she replied.
"And you're Cloud Strife!" she added. "I was always hoping to meet you. I just didn't recognize you because I was expecting a crop top."
"Yeah, about that," Tifa replied, "I've had a wardrobe change. Not everyone liked it."
"Well, I liked it," Reka said. "I even started wearing them because of you." She then scanned the pants Tifa was wearing. "Cute jeans, though."
The three of them stood silently for a moment.
"Okay, I think I'm ready," Reka continued.
She then turned her attention to the southern door. Cautiously, she opened it.
Inside, there was a queen-sized bed, a dresser, a chest, a highboy, and a night table. This was the master bedroom.
Reka was the first to cautiously enter. She turned to look at Cloud and Tifa as if to say, "nobody say a thing!"
She scanned the room, finding no sign of the Translator.
She turned around to leave the room.
And then, she caused the floor to creak.
It was the highboy that came after her. Before anyone could react, it charged toward Reka and intentionally fell on top of her, crushing her to death.
Cloud quickly closed the door.
Tifa needed to gather herself for a moment. Once she had, she directed her attention to the eastern door. She slowly walked over to it.
"The process of elimination places him in here," she said.
"Alright," Cloud agreed. "Lets get this over with."
Preparing for anything, Tifa opened the door.
Beyond the door was a room that appeared to be some sort of office. There was a desk and computer, along with shelves full of books across one of the walls. At the desk was seated a man who appeared to be in his early forties. He looked at Cloud and Tifa, and smiled.
"Welcome," the Translator greeted.
"Tobias Ryan?" Tifa gasped.
"That's me," he replied.
Tifa sighed in relief as Cloud quickly shut the door behind him, sealing the three of them from all of the household horrors.
"It looks like you went through a lot of trouble to find me," the Translator pointed out.
"That would be an understatement," Cloud said.
"What brings you here, anyway?" the Translator then asked.
Tifa decided to get to the point.
"I'm looking for my father," she replied.
"I must say, this is a rather interesting place to look for your father," the Translator replied. "All I can say is that it's not me. We don't look much alike."
"I know who my father is," Tifa said. "It's his whereabouts I'm trying to find." She then pulled the thumb drive from her jeans pocket. "I've obtained a Shinra code I haven't been able to decipher."
"Well," said the Translator, "you've come to the right place."
Tifa handed the Translator the thumb drive, and he inserted it into the port.
"So where are you two from?" he asked as he typed on the keyboard.
"Nibelheim," Cloud replied.
The Translator briefly stopped typing, and made eye contact with them.
"Wait a minute," he said. "You're Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockheart, aren't you?"
"That would be us," Tifa replied.
"Wow," the Translator said as he resumed his typing. "Thanks for saving us all."
"Don't mention it," Tifa said.
"Maybe I can...uh-oh..."
The Translator stopped typing, and stared into the computer screen.
Tifa clutched Cloud's hand; she knew by now that this was never a good sign.
"It's not showing where my father is, is it?" she asked.
The Translator shook his head.
"No, it's showing where he is. But it isn't good."
Tifa's heart fluttered; despite what he had said, it was the best news in days. Her father had finally been located.
"W-where is he?" she asked.
Tell me, she thought, and I'll go get him today!
"They took him to Facility Number Six," the Translator informed her, his eyes still glued to the computer screen.
"Facility Number Six?" Tifa asked; she had never heard of it before.
"Ever hear of that place?" the Translator asked.
Both Cloud and Tifa shook their heads in unison.
"Is he still there?" she asked him.
"There's no more transfer records," the Translator replied. "There's no death records either. He's alive, and he's there."
Tifa let out a very audible sigh of relief and clapped her hands together before turning to Cloud.
"Let's get him!" she commanded enthusiastically.
"Facility Number Six?!" exclaimed the Translator. "A. K. A. the Island Gulag?! You're better off going back through my funhouse and getting yourself killed! It's quicker and less painful!"
"They have live dressers and vacuums, too?" Tifa asked skeptically.
"That would be nice," the Translator replied sarcastically. "Ever hear of a makonoid?"
"We fought twelve and survived," Tifa answered.
"Well," continued the Translator, "I suppose you're wondering where they came from?"
"Let me guess," Tifa said. "Facility Number Six?"
"Bingo," answered the Translator. "Do you two have any idea what goes on over there?"
Tifa displayed a nervous look on her face.
"They do experiments on people there," the Translator informed them. "They turn human beings into...things."
Tifa's face suddenly turned red with anger.
"Did they...do something to him?!" she demanded.
"I doubt it," the Translator replied. "According to the records, no."
"So where is it?" Tifa asked.
"I dunno," the Translater replied. "It's well hidden.
"Well hidden?" asked Tifa.
"You won't even find that info in any Shinra files," the Translator continued. "Only certain Shinra executives knew where that is."
"And they're all dead," Tifa sighed.
"With the Shinra gone," the Translator added, "the facility probably fell into the new government's hands."
Tifa's eyes widened.
"Ever since I started looking for my father," she continued, "I've been attacked every day. It seems like the Continental Governor is behind it."
"Really?" asked the Translator. "If that's the case, then the facility has to be somewhere on the Western Continent. Or at least in their jurisdiction."
And then, it hit Tifa like a kick in the head.
"That's why we got attacked!" she exclaimed. "They don't want us finding out where the Island Gulag is!"
"You got it," the Translator said. "It probably generates a lot of revenue."
"It all makes sense now," Tifa continued. "If we find the Island Gulag, it gets shut down, and Bismark loses money."
"I see it looks like we've come to a big lead," the Translator said.
"Agreed," said Tifa. "Thanks for all your help."
"My pleasure," the Translator said.
He then pressed a button, causing a bookshelf to rotate ninety degrees and revealing their means of exit.
"A slide?" Tifa asked skeptically.
"Unless you want to go back through the house," the Translator warned.
"I'd rather not," dismissed Tifa.
Moments later, Cloud and Tifa took the slide, landing outside the fence.
The slide then retracted.
Cloud sighed as they began to walk away.
"I'd rather take a stick in the eye than go anywhere near that house again!" he replied.
Tifa gave a "me, too" hand signal.
With one more glimpse, she could see more people lined up at the gate.


The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards concluded a two-day test at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday afternoon. A total of 43 drivers took time on the 2.5-mile tri-oval over the course of the two days.
Last year's General Tire Pole Award winner Natalie Decker (No. 54 DGR-Crosley Toyota) led the way on Saturday, turning the fastest lap of the day in the morning session at 181.921 miles per hour. Gus Dean (No. 32 Win-Tron Racing Chevrolet) was second fastest at 181.866 miles per hour, Dave Mader III was third at 181.855 miles per hour, Bret Holmes (No. 23 Bret Holmes Racing Chevrolet) fourth at 181.800 miles per hour, and Travis Braden (No. 27 MatrixCare/Consonus Health Care/Liberty Village Ford) rounded out the top five at 181.789 miles per hour.
Andy Seuss (No. 02 Our Motorsports Chevrolet), Codie Rohrbaugh (No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet), Brandon McReynolds (No. 28 KBR Development Chevrolet), Corey Heim (No. 22 Chad Bryant Racing Ford), and Scott Melton (No. 69 Melton-McFaddin Agency Ford) rounded out the top ten on Saturday.
C.J. McLaughlin (No. 09 Our Motorsports Chevrolet) paced Saturday's afternoon session at 180.538 miles per hour, in front of Thad Moffit (No. 46 Empire Racing Chevrolet), Branden Queen (No. 36 Vizion Motorsports Toyota), Sean Corr (No. 43 Empire Racing Chevrolet) and Seuss.
The weekend was dominated by the two female drivers that were entered, with Decker leading the way on Saturday and Leilani Munter (No. 55 What The Health Toyota) turning the fastest lap of the weekend at 184.064 miles per hour on Friday. Munter and her Venturini Motorsports teammates Christian Eckes (No. 15 JBL Audio Toyota), Harrison Burton (No. 20 DEX Imaging Toyota) and defending race winner Michael Self (No. 25 Sinclair Lubricants Toyota) worked together in the draft to set the fastest speeds of the weekend.
Saturday's nine hours of testing ran incident free, with the only stoppages of on-track activity being for routine track inspections. The only incidents of the weekend happened on Friday, when Derrick Lancaster (No. 29 On Point Motorsports Toyota) had a loose oil line and Mader brushed the outside wall off turn two.


text:
University of Lagos now Moshood Abiola University: My Thoughts by Eta Uso Jr
"…After very careful consideration, and in honour of Chief M.K.O. Abiola's accomplishments and heroism, on this Democracy Day, the University of Lagos, is renamed by the Federal Government of Nigeria, Moshood Abiola University, Lagos. The Federal Government will also establish an Institute of Democratic Studies and Governance in the University." – President Goodluck Jonathan.
Yes, University of Lagos is now Moshood Abiola University, Lagos, what next? PROTESTS?
Come to think of it. Correct me if I am wrong. The man being honored here, isn't he the same man we all acclaimed to be the 1993 Nigerian messiah? Isn't he the same man we all refer to as the legend of June 12? Isn't he the same man we all came out en-masse in his support during the 1993 elections? Isn't he the same man for whom we all fought that his mandate be restored? If this is the same man of whom we all fought for and named all names from legendary to messiah, don't we think that naming a school or any entity after him, should be more of an honor to such an entity than a curse?
I am sure the student 'protesters' would have different reasons as to why they all set out to join a protest against this name change. Nonetheless, if we may ask, one would love to know what affinity these students have with the name 'University of Lagos', that they think such a name does not deserve a more supposedly superior name based on the respect and honor we all bestowed on the man of whom this school now bears his name.
I think one should pause for a minute and really ponder on the value of this new name (Moshood Abiola University, Lagos) and the history it represents, rather than express their feelings based on how sweet or un-sweet the new name sounds. I think in this case as in every other case, Value should always be placed above Taste.
These are my honest thoughts.
Eta Uso Jr.
You can follow me on Twitter: @royaltyuso
MAUL Moshood Abiola University Unilag University of Lagos
Bassey 2:47 PM
Wonderfully rendered...Keep up the good work. Get on 4Point Network Today.
Obinna Mgbeahurike 3:08 PM
Nomenclature has little to do with the fact. In my reasoning, apart from all MKO stands for in Nigeria, I think FGN shd concern itself more with the raising of the academic standard in Nigeria than in what names schools bear. For me, and I should believe, for the students, if protest should come, shouldn't be over this change of name. It will be insane to do so. Let us hope not to get any protests though, it is really not a worthwhile venture in the long run
In Dubai With My Thoughts
Gov. Amosun of Ogun State, What Drives Your Ideas?
Is Internet Compulsory On All Devices? Ideas Please.
University of Lagos now Moshood Abiola University:...
Nigeria Is What We've Got: Lets Preserve It


Our first seminar on 15th of August talked about Common issues to take note of for your corporate tax year-end filing!
What are the common errors with PIC claims?
How should Exchange Differences be treated, as Revenue or Capital account?
Capital items – Plant, Equipment, Renovation and Refurbishment or Non-Qualifying items?
How should we be dealing with provisions?
What are the recent changes to Form C and Form C-S?


text:
1999 GRAMMY NOMINEES
Lauryn Hill tops 99 list of nominees...
BRANDY & MONICA, 'The Boy Is Mine' (produced by Dallas Austin, Brandy & Rodney Jerkins) CELINE DION, 'My Heart Will Go On' (produced by Walter Afanasieff & James Horner) GOO GOO DOLLS, 'Iris' (Rob Cavallo & Goo Goo Dolls, producers) MADONNA, 'Ray Of Light' (produced by Madonna & William Orbit) SHANIA TWAIN, 'You're Still The One' (produced by Robert John 'Mutt' Lange)
AEROSMITH, 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing' (by Diane Warren) GOO GOO DOLLS, 'Iris' (by John Rzeznik) KIRK FRANKLIN, 'Lean On Me' (by Kirk Franklin) CELINE DION, 'My Heart Will Go On' (by James Horner & Will Jennings) SHANIA TWAIN, 'You're Still The One' (by Robert John 'Mutt' Lange & Shania Twain)
SHERYL CROW, 'The Globe Sessions' (produced by Sheryl Crow) GARBAGE, 'Version 2.0' (produced by Garbage) LAURYN HILL, 'The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill' (produced by Lauryn Hill) MADONNA, 'Ray Of Light' (produced by Marius De Vries, Patrick Leonard, Madonna & William Orbit) SHANIA TWAIN, 'You're Still The One' (produced by Robert John 'Mutt' Lange)
BACKSTREET BOYS, ANDREA BOCELLI, DIXIE CHICKS, LAURYN HILL, NATALIE IMBRUGLIA Best Rap Album
BIG PUNISHER, 'Capital Punishment' JERMAINE DUPRI, 'Life In 1472 – The Original Soundtrack' JAY-Z, 'Vol. 2…Hard Knock Life' MASE, 'Harlem World' A TRIBE CALLED QUEST, 'The Love Movement'
Best Rap Solo Performance
BUSTA RHYMES, 'Dangerous' LAURYN HILL, 'Lost Ones' JAY-Z, 'Hard Knock Life' WYCLEF JEAN, 'Gone Till November' WILL SMITH, 'Gettin' Jiggy Wit It'
Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group
BEASTIE BOYS, 'Intergalactic' JERMAINE DUPRI FEATURING JAY-Z, 'Money Ain't A Thang' LORD TARIQ & PETER GUNZ, 'Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)' OUTKAST, 'Rosa Parks' PRAS MICHEL FEATURING OL' DIRTY BASTARD AND MYA, 'Ghetto Supastar' Best Alternative Music Performance
TORI AMOS, 'From The Choirgirl Hotel' BEASTIE BOYS, 'Hello Nasty' PJ HARVEY, 'Is This Desire?' RADIOHEAD, 'Airbag/How Am I Driving?' SMASHING PUMPKINS, 'Adore'
Best Female Rock Vocal Performance
TORI AMOS, 'Raspberry Swirl' SHERYL CROW, 'There Goes The Neighborhood' ANI DIFRANCO, 'Glass House' ALANIS MORISSETTE, 'Uninvited' LUCINDA WILLIAMS, 'Can't Let Go'
Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal
AEROSMITH, 'Pink' FASTBALL, 'The Way' HOLE, 'Celebrity Skin' THE VERVE, 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' The Wallflowers, 'Heroes'
Best Male Rock Vocal Performance
JEFF BUCKLEY, 'Everybody Here Wants You' JOHN FOGERTY, 'Almost Saturday Night' JOHN HIATT, 'Have A Little Faith In Me' LENNY KRAVITZ, 'Fly Away' JOHN MELLENCAMP, 'Your Life Is Now'
Best Hard Rock Performance
KISS, 'Psycho Circus' MARILYN MANSON, 'The Dope Show' METALLICA, 'Fuel' JIMMY PAGE & ROBERT PLANE, 'Most High' PEARL JAM, 'Do The Evolution'
Best Metal Performance
JUDAS PRIEST, 'Bullet Train' METALLICA, 'Better Than You' NASHVILLE PUSSY, 'Fried Chicken And Coffee' RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, 'No Shelter' RAMMSTEIN, 'Du Hast'
Best Rock Song
THE VERVE, 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' (by Richard Ashcroft, Mick Jagger & Keith Richards) HOLE, 'Celebrity Skin' (by Billy Corgan, Eric Erlandson & Courtney Love) SEMISONIC, 'Closing Time' (by Dan Wilson) JOHN HIATT, 'Have A Little Faith In Me' (by John Hiatt) ALANIS MORISSETTE, 'Uninvited' (by Alanis Morissette)
Best Rock Album
SHERYL CROW, 'The Globe Sessions' (produced by Sheryl Crow) JOHN FOGERTY, 'Premonition' (produced by John Fogerty & Elliot Scheiner) GARBAGE, 'Version 2.0' (produced by Garbage) HOLE, 'Celebrity Skin' (produced by Michael Beinhorn) DAVE MATTHEWS BAND, 'Before These Crowded Streets' (produced by Steve Lillywhite)
Best Pop Album
ERIC CLAPTON, 'Pilgrim' (produced by Eric Clapton & Simon Climie) CELINE DION, 'Let's Talk About Love' NATALIE IMBRUGLIA, 'Left Of The Middle' MADONNA, 'Ray Of Light' (produced by Madonna & William Orbit) THE BRIAN SETZER ORCHESTRA, 'The Dirty Boogie' (produced by Peter Collins)
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
SHERYL CROW, 'My Favorite Mistake' CELINE DION, 'My Heart Will Go On' LAURYN HILL, 'Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You' NATALIE IMBRUGLIA, 'Torn' SARAH MCLACHLAN, 'Adia'
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
EAGLE-EYE CHERRY, 'Save Tonight' ERIC CLAPTON, 'My Father's Eyes' BRIAN MCKNIGHT, 'Anytime' SHAWN MULLINS, 'Lullaby' STING, 'You Were Meant For Me'
Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal
AEROSMITH, 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing' BARENAKED LADIES, 'One Week' GOO GOO DOLLS, 'Iris' DAVE MATTHEWS BAND, 'Crush' THE BRIAN SETZER ORCHESTRA, 'Jump Jive An' Wail'
Best Dance Recording
BOY GEORGE, 'When Will You Learn' DAFT PUNK, 'Around The World' GLORIA ESTEFAN, 'Heaven's What I Feel' CYNDI LAUPER, 'Disco Inferno' MADONNA, 'Ray Of Light'
Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal
BRANDY & MONICA, 'The Boy Is Mine' KIRK FRANKLIN WITH MARY J. BLIGE, R. KELLY, BONO, CRYSTAL LEWIS & THE FAMILY, 'Lean On Me' LAURYN HILL & D'ANGELO, 'Nothing Even Matters' K-CI & JOJO, 'All My Life' THE TEMPTATIONS, 'Stay'
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
AALIYAH, 'Are You That Somebody?' ERYKAH BADU, 'Tyrone' ARETHA FRANKLIN, 'A Rose Is Still A Rose' LAURYN HILL, 'Doo Wop (That Thing)' JANET JACKSON, 'I Get Lonely'
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
MAXWELL, 'Matrimony: Maybe You' BRIAN MCKNIGHT, 'The Only One For Me' USHER, 'My Way' LUTHER VANDROSS, 'I Know' STEVIE WONDER, 'St. Louis Blues'
Best R&B Song
K-CI & JOJO, 'All My Life' (by Rory Bennett & JoJo Hailey) BRANDY & MONICA, 'The Boy Is Mine' (by Brandy, Lashawn Daniels, Fred Jerkins III, Rodney Jerkins & Japhe Tejeda) LAURYN HILL, 'Doo Wop (That Thing)' (by Lauryn Hill) KIRK FRANKLIN WITH MARY J. BLIGE, R. KELLY, BONO, CRYSTAL LEWIS & THE FAMILY, 'Lean On Me' (by Kirk Franklin) ARETHA FRANKLIN, 'A Rose Is Still A Rose' (by Lauryn Hill) Best R&B Album
Erykah Badu, 'Live' (produced by Erykah Badu & Norman 'Keys' Hurt) BRANDY, 'Never Say Never ' (produced by Rodney Jerkins) ARETHA FRANKLIN, 'A Rose Is Still A Rose' LAURYN HILL, 'The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill' (produced by Lauryn Hill) MAXWELL, 'Embrya' (produced by Musze)
Best Latin Pop Performance
CHAYANNE, 'Atado A Tu Amor' JOSE FELICIANO, 'Senor Bolero' JUAN GABRIEL, 'Celebrando 25 Anos De Juan Gabriel: En Concierto En El Palacio De Bellas Artes' ENRIQUE IGLESIAS, 'Cosas Del Amor' RICKY MARTIN, 'Vuelve'
Best Latin Rock/Alternative Performance
ATERCIOPELADOS, 'Caribe Atomico' EL TRI, 'Fin De Siglo' ENANITOS VERDES, 'Traccion Acustica' MANA, 'Suenos Liquidos' SHAKIRA, 'Donde Estan Los Ladrones?'
Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
MICHAEL BEINHORN, TCHAD BLAKE, ROB CAVALLO, SHERYL CROW, LAURYN HILL
Remixer of the Year, Non-Classical
STEVE 'SILK' HURLEY, FRANKIE KNUCKLES, MASTERS AT WORK, DAVID MORALES, ROGER SANCHEZ Best Short Form Music Video
AEROSMITH, 'Pink' (directed by Doug Nichol) BJVouml;RK, 'Bachelorette' (directed by Michel Gondry) MADONNA, 'Ray Of Light' (directed by Jonas Akerlund) OASIS, 'All Around The World' (directed by Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris) PEARL JAM, 'Do The Evolution' (directed by Kevin Altieri & Todd McFarlane)


text:
Boy, 15, charged with murdering family
A couple and two of their sons were found dead inside this home in Cockeysville, Md., on Saturday. The couple's oldest son was charged with murdering his family.Steve Ruark / AP
Feb. 3, 2008, 6:09 PM UTC / Source: The Associated Press
A 15-year-old boy was charged with murder Sunday in the shooting deaths of his parents and two younger brothers in their home in a Baltimore suburb.
Nicholas Waggoner Browning was charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the slayings of his father, John Browning, 45; his mother Tamara, 44; and his brothers Gregory, 13, and Benjamin, 11. He was charged as an adult.
Browning was arrested at 1:05 a.m. Sunday after he admitted to the killings, Baltimore County Police spokesman Bill Toohey said.
The teen had a disagreement with his father and used his father's handgun to kill his family Friday night, Toohey said. After the slayings he threw the gun away in bushes near his house.
Browning then spent Friday night and all day Saturday with friends, Toohey said. When the friends took him back to his house at 5 p.m. Saturday, Browning went into the house and came back out to say that his father was dead.
Browning was denied bail Sunday morning; bail review will be conducted Monday. He was being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center in a special section for juveniles.
The grounds of the two-story home were neat and neighbor Mike Thomas said the Brownings would even pick up trash along the street.
"These people would do anything in the world for you — just incredible people," Thomas said.
Neighbors called each other throughout the night to discuss the killings, Thomas said.
He said one of his sons had been in Boy Scouts with one of the Brownings' sons and was devastated when he learned of the deaths. Thomas said he recently sold Browning a trailer that Browning planned to use for Boy Scout outings, and it was still parked in the Brownings' driveway Sunday.