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PPS has a range of shelters including decontamination, inflatable and infection control options. Our product offering has evolved and is known for bespoke and quality design.
PPS is recognised for our specialist isolation units which not only protect the worker but also the patient.
PPS is a world leader in the manufacture of decontamination shelters, notable for ease of transport and swift deployment in the wake of hazmat or emergency incidents.
PPS offers a range of inflatable decontamination units. They are multi purpose and used by first responders, the ambulance service and army.
PPS offers a wide range of accessories for its shelter, decontamination, isolation and inflatable shelter ranges.
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{
"timestamp": "2019-04-21T00:17:17",
"url": "http://www.ppsgb.com/rapidprotect",
"language": "en",
"source": "c4"
}
|
Barring significant progress at the bargaining table, school bus drivers at Autobus DL will walk off the job on April 24, according to Teamsters.
Between 3,000 and 3,500 students at the Eastern Townships School Board and the Commission scolaire du Val-des-Cerfs may find themselves without school bus service. Wages are the main sticking point, said the union.
“The pay increases management is proposing will not allow our members to keep up with the cost of living. School drivers are already the lowest-paid professional drivers in Quebec, earning on average $20,000 a year,” said Jean Chartrand, Teamsters, Local Union 106 president.
On April 10, it was announced that members had voted by a margin of 91 per cent to walk off the job at a moment deemed appropriate by the union. But the latest talks with the company indicate that there is no way forward, said the union.
The collective agreement expired in summer 2018. The union remains open to continue negotiating, but management is not ready to make any new offers and no new meetings between parties have been scheduled at this time, said Teamsters.
On top of low wages, school bus drivers have to deal with split shifts, bad weather, poor roads, students’ behaviour and impatient or aggressive motorists, said the union.
Teamsters represent about 125,000 members in Canada in all industries, including more than 1,000 school bus drivers in Québec alone. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with which Teamsters Canada is affiliated, has 1.4 million members in North America.
|
{
"timestamp": "2019-04-22T08:17:24",
"url": "https://www.labour-reporter.com/article/39837-school-bus-strike-in-quebecs-eastern-townships-set-for-april-24/",
"language": "en",
"source": "c4"
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|
Alvin Ailey, 58, choreographer, dancer and major figure in America`s modern dance movement, Dec. 1.
Fran Allison, 81, the human in the ''Kukla, Fran and Ollie'' team that was one of the biggest hits of early television, June 13.
Harry Andrews, 77, crusty, jut-jawed character actor of stage, film and television (''Dynasty''), March 6.
Jim Backus, 76, best known as the voice of Mister Magoo and as the bombastic shipwrecked millionaire of ''Gilligan`s Island,'' July 3.
Lucille Ball, 77, queen of comedy and pioneer in the art of television, April 26.
Frances Bavier, 86, the beloved ''Aunt Bee'' of television`s long-running ''The Andy Griffith Show,'' Dec. 6.
Donald Barthelme, 58, innovative short story writer and novelist, July 23.
Samuel Beckett, 83, major 20th Century playwright, poet and novelist, whose works inspired the phrase ''theater of the absurd,'' Dec. 22.
Irving Berlin, 101, songwriter extraordinaire, with ''God Bless America'' and ''White Christmas'' among his innumerable credits, Sept. 22.
Thomas Bernhard, 58, enfant terrible of Austrian drama and literature, whose latest play caused a furor due to its harsh criticism of anti-Semitism, Feb. 12.
Amanda Blake, 60, the flaming redhead who, as Miss Kitty, ran Dodge City`s Longbranch Saloon for two decades on ''Gunsmoke,'' Aug. 16.
Mel Blanc, 81, the voice of Warners animation, July 10.
Sterling Allen Brown, 87, the District of Columbia`s poet laureate, whose works explored the diversity of black society and culture in America, Jan. 13. Emerson Buckley, 73, American conductor long affiliated with the Miami and Central City opera companies who toured regularly with tenor Luciano Pavarotti, Nov. 18.
Kenneth C. ''Jethro'' Burns, 68, irreverent country comic and half of the Homer & Jethro team, as well as extraordinary mandolin player, Feb. 4.
John Cassavetes, 59, innovative film director and actor, Feb. 3.
Bruce Chatwin, 48, British travel writer and novelist known for his elegant style and interest in remote corners of the globe, Jan. 17.
George Coulouris, 85, character actor who touched fame with ''Citizen Kane,'' Apr. 25.
Malcolm Cowley, 90, critic, historian, editor, poet and essayist who championed the so-called Lost Generation of post-World War I writers, fostering the likes of Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald, March 27.
Salvador Dali, 84, the surrealist painter known as much for his eccentricities as his art, Jan. 23.
Bette Davis, 81, actress and archetype, Oct. 6.
Steven De Groote, 36, talented South African pianist and first-prizewinner at the 1977 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, May 22.
Anton Dermota, 79, celebrated tenor who achieved prominence in Mozart opera roles in Vienna and Salzburg, June 22.
Terry Drinkwater, 53, a senior correspondent in CBS`s L.A. bureau on the energy/environment beat, and winner of a duPont Award for a series on the rare cancer from which he died, May 31.
Leda Eglevsky, 73, whose Massapequa school was catalyst for many ballet careers and who danced in George Balanchine`s first ballet troupe, Dec. 15.
Roy Eldridge, 78, considered the most vibrantly aggressive trumpet player in jazz history, Feb. 26.
Peter Evans, 38, Broadway actor and player on the television series ''9 to 5,'' yet another casualty of AIDS, May 20.
Sammy Fain, 87, Academy Award-winning songwriter (''Love Is a Many Splendored Thing''), Dec. 6.
Walter Farley, 73, author of the ''Black Stallion'' novels, Oct. 16.
Max Gordon, 86, for 54 years the operator of Manhattan`s Village Vanguard, one of the most influential clubs in jazz history, May 11.
Hans Hartung, 85, German-born artist considered one of the pioneers of abstract gestural painting, Dec. 8.
Arnold Herstand, 64, painter, art dealer, former president of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the San Francisco Art Institute, Nov. 21.
Eddie Heywood Jr., 73, popular jazz pianist and composer of ''Canadian Sunset,'' Jan. 2.
John Hirsch, 59, Hungarian-born, naturalized Canadian director and former director of the Stratford Festival of Canada, dies in Toronto of complications from AIDS, Aug. 1.
Vladimir Horowitz, 86, flamboyant, Russian-born pianist whose electrifying performances made him the most legendary pianist of the 20th Century, Nov. 5.
Joris Ivens, 90, pioneering documentary maker, June 28.
Sidney Janis, 93, New York art dealer known for the museum quality of his modern and contemporary exhibitions, Nov. 23.
Herbert von Karajan, 81, revered, authoritarian conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, a great exponent of the Germanic tradition and one of the supreme podium figures of the postwar era, July 16.
Edward Kaye-Martin, 50, Chicago director, actor and teacher, whose credits at Wisdom Bridge Theatre included ''Awake and Sing'' and ''Faith Healer,'' Aug. 13.
James Kirkwood, 65, novelist and playwright whose works included ''P.S. Your Cat Is Dead'' and ''Legends,'' but most likely to be remembered as coauthor of the book for ''A Chorus Line,'' April 21.
Sergio Leone, 67, Italian director who reinvented the American Western, April 30.
Beatrice Lillie, 94, legendary comedienne of London and Broadway stages, Jan. 20.
Silvana Mangano, 59, Italian actress who starred in films for directors Pier Paolo Pasolini, Vittorio de Sica and Luchino Visconti, among others, Dec. 16.
Robert Mapplethorpe, 42, one of the century`s most controversial photographers, March 9.
Pierre Matisse, 89, internationally known art dealer who championed the work of Miro, Chagall, Dubuffet, Balthus and others in the United States, Aug. 11.
Daphne du Maurier, 81, one of the century`s most popular writers by mixing romance and the supernatural in ''Rebecca'' and other novels, April 19. Mary McCarthy, 77, witty and bold American intellectual and literary lion, Oct. 25.
Zinka Milanov, 88, lustrous-voiced singer who succeeded Rosa Ponselle as the leading dramatic soprano of her time, a distinction she held for nearly three decades until her retirement in 1966, May 30.
Herbert Mills, 77, who sang hits like ''Tiger Rag'' and ''Paper Doll'' as a member of the Mills Brothers, April 12.
John Ogdon, 52, gifted British pianist and composer who particularly excelled in the big virtuoso works of Liszt, Busoni and Rachmaninoff, Aug. 1. Laurence Olivier, 82, premiere 20th Century classical actor, the first to successfully bring Shakespeare to film, July 11.
''Miracle on 34th Street,'' Dec. 6.
Giuseppe Patane, 57, experienced Italian conductor noted for his idiomatic, rhythmically vital opera performances, May 30.
John Pritchard, 68, eminent British conductor and music director of the San Francisco Opera who was widely praised as an interpreter of Mozart, Rossini and English contemporary composers, Dec. 5.
Anthony Quayle, 76, versatile stage and film actor, whose credits include ''Lawrence of Arabia'' and ''Anne of a Thousand Days,'' Oct. 20.
''Saturday Night Live'' gang, May 20.
Barry Sadler, 49, singer-songwriter who recorded the 1966 hit ''Ballad of the Green Berets,'' Nov. 5.
Henri Sauguet, 88, sophisticated French composer of outwardly simple music, June 22.
Rebecca Schaeffer, 21, younger sister to Pam Dawber on ''My Sister Sam,'' killed by ''an obsessive fan,'' July 18.
Franklin J. Schaffner, 69, polished director of ''Patton'' and other movies, July 2.
Woody Herman Shaw, 44, leading jazz trumpeter, May 9.
Georges Simenon, 86, creator of fictional French detective Inspector Maigret, Sept. 4.
Irving Stone, 86, whose prolific career included biographical novels about such figures as Michelangelo (''The Agony and the Ecstasy'') and Vincent Van Gogh (''Lust for Life''), Aug. 26.
Martti Talvela, 54, hulking Finnish opera singer who was one of the world`s foremost basses, July 22.
Virgil Thomson, 92, distinguished American composer and critic who was one of the most influential, sharply observant figures in our nation`s musical life for more than 50 years, Sept. 30.
Barbara Tuchman, 77, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian whose scholarly bestsellers included ''The Guns of August'' (on World War I) and ''A Distant Mirror'' (on the 14th Century), Feb. 6.
Lee Van Cleef, 64, imposing Hollywood villain, usually in Westerns and most notably in the classic ''High Noon,'' Dec. 16.
Donald Voorhees, 85, for 28 years conductor of the ''Bell Telephone Hour,'' one of the most popular musical programs in broadcast history, Jan. 10.
Jay Ward, 69, cartoonist whose creations Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Bullwinkle Moose endure as sophisticated icons of television animation, Oct. 12.
Robert Penn Warren, 84, novelist, playwright, the nation`s first poet laureate and preeminent man of letters, Sept. 15.
Keith Whitley, 33, country music singer known for wrenching, honky-tonk ballads, of an overdose of alcohol, May 9.
Ron Whyte, 47, Joseph Jefferson Award-winning playwright for ''Funeral March for a One-Man Band,'' and advocate for the disabled, Sept. 13.
Cornel Wilde, 74, swashbuckling actor and director, Oct. 16.
Nicholas Wilder, 51, contemporary art dealer-turned-painter, May 12.
Guy Williams, 65, the handsome actor who was a wonderfully heroic television ''Zorro'' before taking off in ''Lost in Space,'' May 6.
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Home Tags Posts tagged with "IT Service Management"
“Service” is such a frequently and widely used term in the IT industry that it can be confusing. What do people actually mean when they say “service”? Fortunately, help is at hand. It’s called “service science”.
ITIL Certification has become the IT industry's de-facto professional qualification in the field of IT Service Management which is why ITIL Certified managers can earn up to 20% more than thier non-certified counterparts!
When it comes to passing your ITIL foundation exam, many learners are unsure of what to expect. Be sure to follow these 5 top tips for the best possible chance of success first-time.
|
{
"timestamp": "2019-04-18T19:17:47",
"url": "http://blog.goodelearning.com/tag/it-service-management/",
"language": "en",
"source": "c4"
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|
What is Driving Women’s Financial Inclusion Across Countries?
Using a broad set of macroeconomic country characteristics to supplement a new and comprehensive micro-level dataset for 140 countries, we identify structural factors, policies, and individual characteristics that are associated with financial inclusion—in general, and for women in particular. We find that structural country characteristics, such as resource-richness and level of development, and policies, such as stronger institutions, and financial development are significantly related to financial inclusion. We find a robust negative relationship between being female and financial inclusion as in previous studies, and our analysis points to legal discrimination, lack of protection from harassment, including at the work place, and more diffuse gender norms as possible explanatory factors.
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{
"timestamp": "2019-04-19T16:50:43",
"url": "https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2018/03/05/What-is-Driving-Womens-Financial-Inclusion-Across-Countries-45670",
"language": "en",
"source": "c4"
}
|
What's the way to any woman's heart? Diamonds! Bright and elegant, this diamond-accented, open heart necklace is crafted out of 10K rose gold with a rope-link chain that completes the sentimental gift.
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{
"timestamp": "2019-04-18T13:48:44",
"url": "https://www.hsn.com/products/10k-rose-gold-diamond-accented-heart-drop-necklace/9082946",
"language": "en",
"source": "c4"
}
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20 Useful Keyboard Shortcuts You Need to Know (Windows)’ has been added to our website after successful testing, this tool will work for you as described and wont let you down.
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20 Useful Keyboard Shortcuts You Need to Know (Windows)’ works on Windows, MAC, iOS and ANDROID platforms, they all has been tested before published to our website.
Enjoy 20 Useful Keyboard Shortcuts You Need to Know (Windows).
All files are uploaded by users like you, we can’t guarantee that 20 Useful Keyboard Shortcuts You Need to Know (Windows) are up to date.
We are not responsible for any illegal actions you do with theses files. Download and use 20 Useful Keyboard Shortcuts You Need to Know (Windows) on your own responsibility.
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{
"timestamp": "2019-04-22T08:35:13",
"url": "http://badsquad.net/20-useful-keyboard-shortcuts-you-need-to-know-windows/",
"language": "en",
"source": "c4"
}
|
A highlight of any trip to Rome is a visit to the Vatican Museum. As one of the largest and most precious collections of art and sacred objects in the world, the Vatican Museum offers the pilgrim a special opportunity to experience the glorious history of Rome and the Church in a special way.
In order to avoid the long lines for entrance to the museum, it is highly recommended to buy tickets online prior to your visit. Purchase tickets for the Vatican Museum.
With the incredible vastness of the Vatican Museum, a guided tour is a great way to experience all that the museum has to offer. Please visit Vatican Museum Guided Tour for information.
Please note that tours of the Vatican Gardens are available as well. The tour of the gardens brings the pilgrim behind the walls of Vatican City and provides an intimate look at its beauty.
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{
"timestamp": "2019-04-18T10:56:30",
"url": "https://www.irishcollege.org/college/pilgrim-information/vatican-museum/",
"language": "en",
"source": "c4"
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Our take on the classic diamond tennis bracelet.
Connect as many colours as you like to the round and square linked bricks, Each individually cast. It's a labour of love, but dang is it a show stopper.
Hand carved and cast in sterling silver, every Connection Collection piece comes with a fun starter pack of Legos!
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{
"timestamp": "2019-04-19T21:16:54",
"url": "https://evendesign.ca/collections/connection/products/brick-bracelet",
"language": "en",
"source": "c4"
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Earational is an annual festival for current electronic music and audioart taking place in the Dutch city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Between 24th and 28th April 2004 I was given 4 days in which to travel through the town, look, listen and fill a space – the Grafisch Atelier – with traces of what I had found, depositing my impressions of people encountered and spaces discovered.
I began by walking through Den Bosch, recording my impressions through photography. Images were then transformed into audio and composed into a 6-channel audio installation. During this process I kept an open studio, inviting visitors to be part of the work as it prgressed.
On the final day of the festival I gave a talk and demonstation about Spoor, documenting my trail through the town and the festival, an unveiling the final piece with a closing performance.
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{
"timestamp": "2019-04-21T09:01:22",
"url": "http://irisgarrelfs.com/spoor",
"language": "en",
"source": "c4"
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This week I finished Obduction, an original title from Cyan Worlds. Playing it highlighted for me what makes the creators of MYST and Riven stand out in the world of games developers — a rigorous dedication to worldbuilding in which almost every element of the game adds to the sense of place experienced by the player. I want to capture what I think is laudable about Cyan’s approach, because its a part of why I love their work and its a big inspiration to me as a designer.
By “worldbuilding”, I mean the process of creating an environment in a game that conveys a sense of narrative depth beyond simply the visual and auditory assets. Done well, it’s something of a magic act; the developers convince the player that the collection of polygons, billboards, and skyboxes are a place, that events have transpired within it, that the setting occupied by the player is a part of a larger world, and that elsewhere, beyond anything that has been rendered by an artist, something exists, entirely within the mind of the player. In a world effectively established, a hollow mesh tower could well be imagined filled with all manner of inhabitants and equipment. A city in the distance could be filled with people, politics, and civil structures. An entire world undrawn by any artist could lie just beyond the bounds of the level occupied by the player.
What’s interesting about Cyan Worlds is that approaches the craft differently from many others. Team ICO is minimalist in their method; the world is defined by architecture, an empty plain, and a few vague lines of exposition. On the other end of the spectrum, teams like Bioware create vibrant universe articulated by verbose denizens, lengthy cutscenes, expansive dialog trees, and (bless them) page upon page of lore conveyed through a menu-accessible codex. There are many ways to do the deed, and any of them could work, depending on the story or the emotional tenor the sought by by the designer.
The creators of Obduction seem to have found a comfortable middle ground between minimalism and the word firehose, and they seek to create a world through carefully selected, minimalist dialog, discovered texts, and, significantly, the puzzles of the world.
Spoken dialog in Obduction is rare — I’d estimate that there’s less than 15 minutes of it in the whole game — and what there is of this is used to provide some basic exposition and set the player’s next goal. The vast majority of language the player encounters is text form. Scraps of paper on a work table, a journal in a hidden vault, a notepad in a scattered community center. In an industry largely convinced that gamers won’t read, Obduction is comfortable forcing it, placing solutions to puzzles and crucial exposition deep within the pages of in-game literature. That’s refreshing, in and of itself.
But it’s the way the written word and the interactive world connect that I think illustrates what makes Cyan good at its craft. The text deepens the sense that the environment is real and possessing of history. A notebook in a junkyard lists in detail each item, revealing that the yard was carefully documented by a people with limited supplies and materials. A journal references in passing a race carving temples in stone out of respect for another — and later, in the game, when the temple is encountered, that piece of knowledge infuses the setting with a sense of history. This technique helps to make environments more than simply a collection of 3d assets or provide a visual “theme” to the puzzles encountered by the player. It helps to make the environment a place, and to have the player feel as if they truly are exploring another world.
Can I also just say that the art in Obduction is superb? I remember when playing MYST and Riven thinking that the creative directors were right to stick to pre-rendered images instead of a live CG world, because the level of detail in the former would always be so much greater. We’ve come a long way since 1997, when Riven was released, and it is great to see the design philosophy and attention to detail of the Cyan team in a fully explorable space now that the technology supports it. The worlds are rich, and unique, and varied, and jaw-dropping in their emotional tenor.
Puzzles, too, are an inherent part of Cyan’s worldbuilding process. Depending on the angle you use to look at them, Obduction’s puzzles are both laudable and frustrating.
Frustrating, because many of the puzzles require a large amount of time to complete. Often it is not time spent actively interacting with a logical challenge, making choices and seeing how those choices play out. Because of a central mechanic of a game involves “swapping” — lifting a spherical chunk out of one world and exchanging it with another, bringing the player along with it — addressing any puzzle inevitably involves going through an (admittedly gorgeous) teleportation loading sequence, running across one level to find a way to get back, and then backtracking to the location of your original swap. This in some cases results in minutes between making a decision and seeing the impact of this decision, which can seriously interrupt play flow if the player needs to do this multiple times.
It really is a double edged sword. On the one hand, you have lengthy puzzle solving sequences where a large portion of the player’s time is spent simply getting back to view the puzzle. On the other hand, you have a unique mental challenge that asks the player to hold two environments in their head and imagine how they fit together. I remember being thrilled to discover that a spherical artifact I encountered early in the game with seemingly no purpose could be rotated and swapped into another world to enable me to explore further, only to be frustrated as for an hour I employed trial and error (and five minutes of running at a time) to learn a crucial rule in how swapping worked.
But looked at another way, the puzzles are laudable in the sense that they are highly integrated into the world and its narrative. Many other puzzle games (including the first MYST itself) have struggled to link puzzles — which often employ very different style of gameplay from the rest of the game — to the world that they occupy. Some, like Jonathan Blow’s The Witness, make little attempt to link the puzzles to the world in a narrative sense; the game is first about the puzzles and second about the environment that seeks to serve it. Other games make the puzzle an element of challenge necessary to complete another action — I’m thinking of the original BioShock’s hacking mechanic as a way to add challenge to the combat tactic of taking control of machines. Obduction goes out of its way to try to link the puzzles to the narrative and the environment of the world, sometimes explaining through text how a puzzle device impacted events prior to the player’s arrival, or explaining how various interfaces have their origin in the world’s history. It is nothing short of amazing that the developers developed a base four visual counting system for one of the races in the game that, once mastered, enables the player to interact with that race’s technology.
A control panel for teaching yourself a base-four number system.
The linkage isn’t perfect by any means. Some of explanations for obstacles placed in the path of the player stretch credulity — e.g., a super advanced race has developed bridges that would require the user to perform math every time they use them? — but by and large the effort succeeds in driving what is clearly Cyan’s driving mission — to create immersive worlds. The puzzles enrich Obduction’s sense of place rather than distract from it.
As someone looking forward to the time in my life when I again have hours of time and mental/creative energy to dedicate to game development, I relished Obduction as a chance to see worldbuilding at its finest. I had major issues with other elements of the game (I got the “bad” ending of the game because I failed to interpret somewhat vague signals from a journal buried in an optional room, and several times I needed help from an outside guide over a particularly obtuse puzzle) but the sense of place the game conveyed was an absolute pleasure to experience. I found myself wandering the environment and filling in the historical gaps inside my head, wondering about the social dynamics of the communities I discovered inside this world. If one of the appeals of games is exploration, and the transportation of the player to another world, then Obduction is a textbook example of the way it can be done.
|
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"timestamp": "2019-04-23T15:59:35",
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Rado Logistics, Inc.'s owner has been in the logistics business for over 35 years. We are expanding the services and professionalism to cover the USA and International markets. We are now helping other customers with their export and import needs, and offer reliable, and cost efficient services. We handle freehand, DDU, DDP, and more. Our staff is fluent in English, Creole, Spanish And Chinese.
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{
"timestamp": "2019-04-23T22:04:46",
"url": "https://www.wcaworld.com/directory/members/70481",
"language": "en",
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Take the grand Central parkway west ramp towards Manhattan/parkway west. Merge on grand central parkway west.
Take the -i-278 west- Brooklyn-queens expressway exit towards Verrazano narrows Bridge -exit 4. Continue on Brooklyn-Queens expressway east Ramp. Merge on the highway. Take the Long Island Expressway 495 west exit toured Mid Town Tunnel. Exit the Midtown Tunnel and bear right onto 3rd Avenue and proceed to 57th Street. Turn left onto 57th Street and then make a right onto 8th Avenue.Turn right onto 58th Street and proceed to the hotel, which is located between 6th and 7th Avenues.
Take the New Jersey Turnpike to the Lincoln Tunnel. Exit the tunnel, bearing to the left. At the first light (40th Street) make a right turn. Then make a left onto 8th Avenue and a right onto 58th Street. The hotel will be on the right.
Take Interstate 95 South and cross the George Washington Bridge. Bear right towards exit 9A, Henry Hudson Parkway South. Exit at 56th Street and make a left onto 8th Avenue. Make a right onto 58th Street and proceed to the hotel, which is located between 6th and 7th Avenues.
Take the Van Wyck Expressway to Grand Central Parkway and proceed to the Triboro Bridge. Bear right onto FDR Drive. Continue south to 63rd Street and make a left onto 2nd Avenue. Turn right onto 57th Street and make another right onto 8th Avenue. Turn right onto 58th Street and proceed to the hotel.
Exit the Midtown Tunnel and bear right onto 3rd Avenue and proceed to 57th Street. Turn left onto 57th Street and then make a right onto 8th Avenue. Turn right onto 58th Street and proceed to the hotel, which is located between 6th and 7th Avenues.
For website technical inquiries/comments please click here.
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{
"timestamp": "2019-04-25T22:09:49",
"url": "https://parksavoyny.com/Directions-Attractions",
"language": "en",
"source": "c4"
}
|
This handmade leather bag is made with selected materials. The properties of genuine excellent cow leather and Vintage design make this item unique. A truly one of a kind item.
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{
"timestamp": "2019-04-24T04:09:51",
"url": "http://neoleatherbags.com/product/handmade-leather-briefcase-leather-messenger-bag-13-15-macbook-13-14-laptop-bag-n367",
"language": "en",
"source": "c4"
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|
The European Commission and Europa Nostra have unveiled the winners of the 2016 European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards, Europe’s highest honour in the heritage field, which is supported by Creative Europe.
Independent expert juries assessed 187 applications and 28 laureates from 16 countries were chosen for their exemplary achievements in conservation, research, dedicated service, and education, training and awareness-raising. The projects selected by the juries, which included four from the UK, are oustanding examples of creativity, innovation, sustainable development and social participation in the heritage field throughout Europe.
“I warmly congratulate the winners and their teams for their exceptional work. Thanks to their talent and commitment, numerous European cultural heritage treasures have been safeguarded and revitalised for the benefit of present and future generations … Cultural heritage unites people, builds bridges between the past, the present and the future. At the same time, it generates economic growth, promotes sustainable development and fosters social participation and inclusion - which is today more vital than ever.” said Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport.
Take a look through the 28 winning projects from across Europe and vote online for the Public Choice Award.
Photos: (clockwise from top left) Heritage Schools, Bristol, photo credit: Historic England; Wimpole Hall’s Gothic Tower, Cambridgeshire, photo credit: Chris Rowlin, Rights Manager, National Trust; Prehistoric Picture Project. Pitoti: Digital Rock-Art, Cambridge, photo credit: Hamish Park, 2011; The Knockando Woolmill in Aberlour, Moray.
|
{
"timestamp": "2019-04-20T20:20:30",
"url": "http://www.creativeeuropeuk.eu/news/four-uk-projects-awarded-eu-prize-cultural-heritage",
"language": "en",
"source": "c4"
}
|
Is EPA-approved insecticide (clothianidin) responsible for killing off bees?
A recent article in NaturalNews claims that last year there were leaked documents exposing that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) illegitimately approved toxic pesticide clothianidin for use, while being aware it might kill bees.
Now, the article says, there’s a new study by Purdue University that confirms that clothianidin is actually killing off bees, and that it’s spread has become systematic in the entire food chain.
Without bees, which are now dying off at an alarming rate due to exposure to clothianidin and various other insecticides and fungicides, one third or more of the food supply will be destroyed, including at least 100 varieties of fruits and vegetables that rely on bees for pollination.
The claim is that if people in US don’t do something to stop the bees from dying, at least one third of the food supply (in the US) will be destroyed. Because bees are dying. Which is the caused mainly by clothianidin. Which is in use because of EPA’s failure or corruption.
Is this information accurate? Or does the article misrepresent the situation somehow? Is the study legitimate?
Clothianidin is similar to imidacloprid, being of the same chemical group of insecticides and both being linked to bee population decline (Colony Collapse Disorder – CCD).
There is controversy over the role of neonicotinoids in relation to pesticide toxicity to bees and imidacloprid effects on bee population. Neonicotinoid use has been strictly limited in France since the 1990s, when neonicotinoids were implicated in a mass die-off of the bee population. It is believed by some to account for worker bees’ neglecting to provide food for eggs and larvae, and for a breakdown of the bees’ navigational abilities, possibly leading to what has become generally known as Colony Collapse Disorder.
Low concentrations of imidicloprid and clothianidin have impacts upon bees’ ability to forage and return to the hive.
The results show that almost all the control honey bees returned to the hive, and started again visiting the feeder between 2 to 5 hours after the release. Honey bees fed with the concentration of 100 ppb also returned to the hive, but they returned to visit the feeder only 24 hours after the release. Honey bees fed with 500 ppb and 1000 ppb completely disappeared after the release, and they were not seen during the following 24 hours, neither at the hive nor at the feeding site.
But neonicotinoid insecticides are only one of of many things impacting upon bees, and most research indicates that it is a combination of factors that is behind CCD.
So this issue is much larger than any one chemical group and is about environmental management and pesticide usage in general. Most insecticides will kill bees, especially with direct contact. Bees are only one of several pollination vectors in the world, so while they are important, this scare campaign is misguided. What is actually needed is further understanding of CCD, bee breeding programs and management strategies that will actually deal with this issue.
Also, as a general rule of thumb, just about anything that appears on Natural News is likely to be wrong.
Our results show that beekeepers need to consider not only pesticide regimens of the fields in which they are placing their bees, but also spray programs near those fields that may contribute to pesticide drift onto weeds. The bees in our study collected pollen from diverse sources, often failing to collect any pollen from the target crop (Fig. 1). All of the non-target pollen that we were able to identify to genus or species was from wildflowers (Table S1), suggesting the honey bees were collecting significant amounts of pollen from weeds surrounding our focal fields.
This indicates that beekeepers and horticultural farmers don’t appear to be respecting withholding periods for agricultural sprays the way they should. Partly because the bees are foraging where they don’t expect them to and partly because they haven’t correctly planned sprays and pollination. It will be interesting to see if these results are backed up by more causative work, although I’m not sure it will apply to broadacre farming (does that mean CCD is mainly a horticulture and small hectare farming issue?).
Next Next post: Is GM corn toxic?
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"timestamp": "2019-04-21T04:47:54",
"url": "https://tysonadams.com/2014/01/24/is-epa-approved-insecticide-clothianidin-responsible-for-killing-off-bees/",
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"source": "c4"
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Connectivity is one of the key aspects when building mobile games. Typically, mobile games communicate over the internet with various different entities; app markets (e.g. Google Play), directly with other players and their devices, or your own back-end servers. When it comes to mobile game development, both indies and major game studios are struggling to make an ideal environment for testing massive multiplayer setup. This is one of the areas where test automation can provide you with significant benefits.
We discussed a couple of weeks ago how test automation can provide significant benefits to mobile game testing with help of image recognition/comparison sort of features. In fact, test automation can also help when it comes to multiplayer testing, cross-platform testing, and general connectivity testing. Not only spotting out those bugs and issues, but also significantly reduces the cost of failure, saves time through its repeatability and earlier verification, and leverages resource productivity. Using test automation for mobile game testing already in the earliest phase of development is a good way to gain those benefits and effectively use resources.
But you also need good infrastructure for doing efficient testing for connectivity of your game. Naturally, there are plenty of options where and how testing will be conducted, but let’s take two the most common ones as an example – in-house environment and cloud-based setups. For setting up an in-house test environment, you will need servers, USB hubs, plenty of real mobile devices (phones, tablets etc. whatever you plan to support with your game), appropriate speed WiFi, and so on. Here are a good tip and check-list what you need if you built this internally.
Using a cloud-based setup is easy and effortless, and you can use various different techniques to test the connectivity aspects of your game. For example, different types of performance tests can be used. However, the most important thing in cloud-based testing is that you have plenty of devices in use – as a versatile set of different OS versions, chipsets, display sizes, memory, and other form factors. This enables the simultaneous smoke and compatibility testing when you do connectivity and performance testing for your game.
Whether deciding to go with either of these options, WiFi infrastructure is another very important infrastructure area that is often overlooked when creating large scale mobile test automation environments. You can get to about 10 maybe even 15 devices with any WiFi infrastructure without any problems but as the number of devices in your WiFi network adds up, so do the challenges. Those issues will start appearing when data is transferred. This gives the game developer an excellent way to optimize the data passing, infrastructure software and decide what data should be passed between servers and clients. Not everything needs to be communicated/sent back and forth. In general, it is a good rule of thumb that if WiFi cannot handle 15 devices sending all data between server and client (your game), you should seriously consider optimizing the data passing.
1. Optimize the data communication between servers and clients. You can set your mobile game to fetch or pull a large amount of data from your back-end server. Especially if you plan to build an MMO game you need to optimize every piece of your data communication. Despite unlimited data plans are pretty common nowadays, you should still for sake of user experience try to optimize all possible data passing.
2. Test simultaneously on several devices. This is only possible by using real devices to see if the game states are properly synchronized on all devices and all device resources (players/users in real life) have equal access to all game resources and that there are no lags in-game response, inputs or outputs, for all players. Test automation can be a huge help with this as test scripts can be made ‘intelligent’ and play against each other. For example, with image recognition feature you can put game playing against another instance, on other devices.
3. How does game behave when online and offline. When the internet is available, the game might work fine. If your game is designed to work online all the time, you should plan how to fall back when the device goes offline. This can be easily ‘simulated’ on a real environment with real devices, for example, cutting down the WiFi or stop communicating with the back-end server. Typically today’s mobile games can be played offline and later on game status with all details are synchronized with the game centers, servers and so on.
4. Check for interruptions. In addition to online/offline gameplay, there are many other interruptions for games that can happen while the game is played. For example, incoming calls, device or server running out of memory, the bugs/failures in the game itself causing a state where gameplay doesn’t advance. Actually, all these are related to connectivity testing as for example network connection can switch (WiFi <-> Cellular) and cause an interruption.
5. Test for cross-platform compatibility and possible differences. If your mobile game is a cross-platform one (e.g. you have identical game for Android and iOS) naturally the use of cross-platform test automation frameworks is great news for you. Regardless, if there are small differences, you can still use these frameworks.
6. Test for location-based details. If your game is using location-based services (e.g. just pulling out the info in which country you are in), you should test for this feature. With test automation, you can quickly set up a device with a specific language/country settings to match the localized device/environment/user.
7. Combine different forms of testing. While you are doing connectivity testing, you can also do the instant smoke testing how your game works across different devices. Again, with test automation, this is easy, effortless and provides you instant results on how the game performs.
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"timestamp": "2019-04-21T11:14:25",
"url": "https://bitbar.com/blog/mobile-game-testing-part-4-test-for-connectivity/",
"language": "en",
"source": "c4"
}
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To paraphrase the immortal Boyz II Men, it's so hard to say goodbye to the NBA regular season.
It's a good thing, then, that we don't have to do that just yet. There are still a handful of days left in a 2014-15 campaign that's been equal parts thrilling, heartbreaking, unpredictable and unbelievable.
Not to mention the remaining gamut of emotions that the last five-and-a-half months have evoked.
We've laughed, cried, cheered and jeered—and that was just during Bulls vs. Heat on Thursday.
But before we start waxing nostalgic about a season that's not yet through, let's do our weekly dance around the Association by way of power rankings. Here's what the league looks like now, with teams ordered according to recent performance and available personnel.
For those New York Knicks fans out there who are worried that James Dolan will take this dismal season as a sign that he should meddle in the franchise's basketball affairs again, let the owner put you at ease. During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter's Matthew Belloni, Dolan insisted that he still has full faith and confidence in Phil Jackson's ability to turn things around from the front office.
You're paying Phil Jackson $12 million a year for five years. Still worth it?
You got to believe, baby! I believe, I believe!
Jackson has said he was assured by you that there wouldn't be any interference. But at what point does the leash get tugged?
I don't see it happening. Phil is a brilliant basketball guy, and he and Steve [Mills] are working together great.
No, I enjoy being out of the limelight. I enjoy having two experts in there that I trust. I barely have to do a thing. It can stay like that for me forever. As long as we continue to make progress—and I'm sure we will. I believe!
The question is, does anyone believe J.D. is, indeed, shooting straight? And if not, how long might it be before the Zen Master joins Donnie Walsh among those who've been undercut by the billionaire heir?
Listen, folks: I understand the temptation to flirt with Nikola Mirotic, Nerlens Noel and Elfrid Payton as Rookie of the Year candidates. But those newbies, tremendous though their recent play has been, are still Johnny-come-latelies when compared to Andrew Wiggins.
And it's not as though Wiggins has slowed much (if at all) from his earlier pace. Over his last four games, the future of the Minnesota Timberwolves averaged 25.5 points, five rebounds and three assists in a whopping 40.3 minutes.
In other words, the kid is not coasting to the award. He's putting in the work, even as the T-Wolves' current skid stretches to eight games.
While watching the (relative) successes that Steve Kerr and Brad Stevens have enjoyed in Golden State and Boston, respectively, it's easy to forget that, when it comes to new entrants into the NBA head coaching ranks, they're much closer to the exception than the norm. A quick glance at Brett Brown's situation with the Philadelphia 76ers serves as a reminder in that regard.
Granted, Brown's circumstances are atypical in their own right. His Sixers have been a revolving door of bargain-basement players the likes of which the league has never seen. At the very least, that extreme degree of instability is a far cry from the historic consistency with which the San Antonio Spurs thrived while Brown was on Gregg Popovich's staff.
"I knew what I was getting into when I left Disneyland," Brown told The New York Times' Michael Sokolove. "What we're doing here is we're looking to become great. We're trying to figure out how to build this thing, and it's a process."
For now, the process remains plenty painful. The Sixers have lost their last seven in a row—their second-longest skid of the 2014-15 season.
On the bright side, the misery will soon be over. Come April 15, Philly's second-straight sorry campaign will be a thing of the past.
To folks who aren't familiar with L.A.'s sports history, the Lakers' back-to-back losses to the Clippers this past week—and the five in a row by the former to the latter prior to those—might make it seem as though a true changing of the guard is afoot. Talk to anyone closely affiliated with the two teams, though, and you'll hear a very different story.
"No, only in the standings. Never in the heart of L.A.," Lakers broadcaster Mychal Thompson, who played on some of the famous Showtime teams, told Bleacher Report. "In the standings, definitely. But this will always be a Laker town."
Think Thompson is too partisan? How about Ralph Lawler, who's seen more Clippers basketball than anyone?
"It's going to take several lifetimes to overcome the Lakers, how inbred they are in the fans in this town because you're not just talking about fathers and sons, mothers and daughters," Lawler told Bleacher Report. "You're talking about grandparents and great grandparents who have been fans of this franchise since the 1960s, when they debuted with the likes of Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, for crying out loud."
The Lakers' glorious past can only do so much to soothe the pain of the present. But as far as the future is concerned, the Lakers can take heart in the knowledge that a relatively expedient turnaround will bring their legions of loyal fans back out of the woodwork in short order.
Same stuff, different week for the Sacramento Kings.
On the court, the team has lost six of its last seven, with DeMarcus Cousins sitting out the past two games (and possibly more) while seeking solutions to the soreness in his right foot.
The future of D'Alessandro in Sacramento, especially after the departure of his closest ally in the organization in [Chris] Mullin, is unclear. Sources say, however, that the Kings have already launched a search to add another front-line basketball executive to work alongside Divac whether D'Alessandro stays or departs.
It's only fitting that a team in California's capital would be subject to so much political drama. Kings fans can only hope that the latest shake-up will yield some semblance of stability in the years to come.
All you amateur capologists out there would do well to study the moves the down-and-out Denver Nuggets just made.
The Nuggets won Shavlik Randolph's rights on a waiver claim this past week. The team, though, doesn't plan to employ Randolph. Rather, the idea is to bring him in just long enough to boost the Nuggets' total player expenditures closer to the league-wide salary floor and then release him, with the hope of opening up some roster flexibility.
If he clears waivers, then the Nuggets have the benefit of keeping the cap hit—and thus their current proximity to the salary floor—while still having a roster spot with which to sign a prospective player, if they choose to do that.
In that scenario, the Nuggets could take the prorated salary they would have paid to Randolph for the final week of the season and apply that to whomever they acquire for the remainder of the regular season, which is down to four games. Then, they would have that player on their roster for the summer and into training camp in order to get a good look at him.
If that all of this comes to pass, in real dollars the Nuggets would save approximately $1.2 million because the majority of Randolph's salary is being taken care of by Phoenix and Boston, two teams he played for this season.
Confused? Bored? Don't care? Then maybe this whole capology thing isn't for you.
The Orlando Magic have strung together their first three-game winning streak since February, with plenty of help from Nikola Vucevic. The Montenegrin big man has averaged 26.3 points and 10.3 rebounds during this spurt, but it's his defense and passing that have made the strongest impressions therein.
"Defensively, he has gotten much better," Magic coach James Borrego said, per the Orlando Sentinel's Josh Robbins. "He is challenging more shots. He's a little more physical inside than what we've seen in the past. His challenge is to do that more consistently throughout a game. Offensively, we're seeing a much more confident player."
The more of that player the Magic see next season, the closer they'll come to finally ditching their post-Dwight Howard doldrums.
Few enduring relationships are forged without growing pains along the way. If Stan Van Gundy and Andre Drummond become two peas in a professional pod for the Detroit Pistons, they may be able to point to a tiff during Wednesday's loss to the Boston Celtics as a watershed moment.
In the third quarter, Van Gundy yanked Drummond from the game after the 21-year-old center failed to get back on defense. Drummond was displeased with the move and sat down at the end of the bench before Van Gundy dragged him back into the middle of the sideline pack.
I just brought him back in from the end of the bench, into the team. I don't have a problem when guys are pissed off at me. I don't. But they can't check out on their teammates because they're pissed off at me, and I think he understood that and came back and was fine. Good guy. He's a good guy. I was upset at what he did and he understood that—might not have liked it. I understood why he was upset.
Both player and coach claimed after the game that this disagreement was already water under the bridge by the time the final buzzer had sounded. If that's truly the case, the Pistons have to be pleased with the way things are coming along between Van Gundy and his most important pupil.
The Charlotte Hornets have been all but eliminated from playoff contention. As of Thursday, they sat three games back of the East's No. 8 seed, with games against the Hawks, Pistons, Rockets and Raptors still to be decided.
Assuming that final nail finds its way into the proverbial coffin, Charlotte can start to turn its attention toward an important summer. Chief among the Hornets' concerns will be their relationship with Al Jefferson, who, as Grantland's Zach Lowe wrote, has a pivotal decision ahead of him: "Jefferson faces an interesting choice this summer; he holds a $13.5 million player option for next season, and if he declines it to enter free agency, the Hornets will have to decide whether to commit big bucks to a slow-footed 30-year-old with bad wheels."
All the more reason, then, for the Hornets to use what remains of the 2014-15 campaign to evaluate the viability of rookie Noah Vonleh as a long-term replacement for Big Al should Jefferson opt out.
Where there's smoke, there's usually fire. Assuming that old saying is true, the Phoenix Suns might want to keep an extinguisher handy.
The Suns were officially eliminated from playoff contention Wednesday—the result of a 107-104 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. There's no shortage of scapegoats for Phoenix's failure to build on last season's 48-34 surprise, but Gerald Green appears to be the latest one to shoulder blame.
"[Green] never really seemed to get it going and then it comes to the point where, if you're not scoring and if your defense isn't picking up, it's hard to stay in the game," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said, per AZCentral Sports' Paul Coro. "The next guy is going, 'I needed help here and the guy wasn't here.' We're trying to develop something for the future, not just being out here for everybody to play in the game. We want to get to a top-notch winning level, and you've got to do it on both sides."
Green's agent, Kevin Bradbury of BDA Sports, didn't take too kindly to Hornacek's harsh assessment of his client's contributions.
"It's unfortunate because the team isn't where some people thought it would or should be at this point in the season," Bradbury told Sporting News' Sean Deveney. "I'm not sure why that falls on one guy all of a sudden, especially when they have known all along what they have with Gerald. He can score, and can score a lot quickly, when you give him the minutes. He brings it on the defensive end, consistent with what the team brings as a unit.
"But when you hear the coach saying he is so bad that he can't be on the floor? That's nonsense. You have to wonder where that comes from and why."
Perhaps from the front office? Between the team's protracted (and contentious) contract negotiations with Eric Bledsoe over the summer, the way things ended with Goran Dragic and now Green's situation, the Suns' decision-makers aren't looking so hot these days.
Or maybe they are, but in a smoke-and-fire sort of way.
Everything was looking just peachy for the Miami Heat. They had a 19-point halftime lead over a tired Chicago Bulls squad, fueled by a surprising 13 points off the bench by Michael Beasley. Hold that lead, and Miami would finish the day just a half-game back of a playoff spot in the East.
Alas, that advantage wasn't meant to be. The Heat managed just 27 points after the break—none from Beasley—as the Bulls bullied their way to an 89-78 win.
As a result, Miami will go into its final three games of the 2014-15 campaign with a game-and-a-half to make up in the standings. Fortunately for the Heat, their remaining schedule (home against Toronto and Orlando, at Philadelphia) is more forgiving than Chicago would ever be.
It was surprising enough to see the Milwaukee Bucks come as close to upending the Cleveland Cavaliers as they did in what turned out to be a 104-99 defeat for the East's sixth seed.
More shocking still was Giannis Antetokounmpo's absence from the affair. Head coach Jason Kidd chose Jared Dudley to start in Antetokounmpo's stead but opted against offering any explanation for sitting the Greek Freak, who apparently wasn't injured.
"Coach's decision," Kidd told the media, after being asked more than once why Antetokounmpo didn't play, per the Journal Sentinel's Matt Velazquez. "It was a coach's decision. I don't know what, you guys can't hear? ...You guys are smart. How about the game?"
Antetokounmpo, for his part, wasn't sure what led to his DNP.
"I don't know," Antetokounmpo said after the game. "It was coach's decision—I don't know—for me not to play today."
Is this something about which Bucks fans should fret? Probably not, assuming Antetokounmpo gets some run against the Knicks and Nets this weekend.
The stabbing Chris Copeland suffered outside of 1 OAK in New York City on Wednesday morning put a damper on what's otherwise been a positive week for the Indiana Pacers. Later that day, the Pacers pounded the Knicks for their third straight win, 102-86.
"A lot of adversity today," head coach Frank Vogel said afterward, per ESPN.com. "A lot of adversity we've faced all season. We've shown a lot of character, and I'm proud of their performance today."
As a result of that win, Indy sits just one game back of the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers have only four games to close that gap. Doing so therein won't be easy, what with dates against Oklahoma City, Washington and Memphis left on the docket.
They will have one thing going for them, though: Paul George, in the flesh. The All-Star forward scored 13 points off the bench in his return against the Miami Heat and chipped in 10 more at Madison Square Garden.
"Everything that I expected," George said following his return, per ESPN.com. "Welcoming me back into the game was probably the greatest moment that I've had. It was so hard to not get caught up in the moment."
He'll have to remove himself from that moment long enough to help the Pacers scrap their way into the postseason.
The Boston Celtics have more than a puncher's chance of making the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. As of Thursday, they were in a virtual tie with the Brooklyn Nets for seventh place, courtesy of four wins in their last five outings.
Isaiah Thomas has been particularly instrumental in that uptick. Over his last three games, he has averaged 27.3 points on 56.3 percent shooting (42.9 percent from three) with 5.3 assists, thereby bolstering his own Sixth Man of the Year credentials and keeping Boston in the postseason picture.
If Thomas' friendship with Floyd Mayweather Jr. is any indication, he won't let the Celtics go down without a fight.
"We went to a Robin Thicke concert later that night [after Thomas attended one of Mayweather's workouts in Las Vegas five years ago], and since then, we've talked almost every day," Thomas told the Boston Herald's Mark Murphy.
Mayweather got Thomas a brand-new Bentley for the point guard's birthday, though even that would seem to pale in comparison to the individual honors and postseason participation that Thomas is currently seeking.
You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery of the Oklahoma City Thunder's slide into the nebulous regions between the playoffs and the lottery.
For one, the schedule has been brutal of late. Five of the six losses OKC has suffered in its last seven outings have come against Western Conference playoff teams. The other was administered by the resurgent Utah Jazz.
More troublingly, those opponents have made minced meat of the Thunder's (predictable) collapse on defense. According to NBA.com (h/t SB Nation's Satchel Price), OKC's defense has been the league's second-least efficient since March 12 (i.e., the day after Serge Ibaka played his most recent game of the season).
Between the absence of Ibaka (a three-time All-Defensive performer), an increased role for Enes Kanter (a poor defender up front) and more gambling from Russell Westbrook, the Thunder were all but destined to wind up trying to run and gun their way into the playoffs.
As Price put it, "It's possible the team could have better weathered losing Ibaka, [Kevin] Durant or even both to injury. It's possible that leaning on the likes of [Dion] Waiters, [Anthony] Morrow and others would have been fine. Maybe even Kanter could've helped out in the right situation."
However, "Take all of those things together, though, and you get this mess of a defense and a spot in the lottery. The Thunder are a shell of a team on the defensive end, and it may end up costing the team its playoff spot."
Rudy Gobert has been nothing short of a revelation for the Utah Jazz. His presence in the paint has helped to turn Utah's once-moribund defense into the NBA's best since the All-Star break. More recently, Gobert's exploits (13 points on 64.1 percent shooting, 12.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.3 blocks, 1.2 steals over his last six games) have propelled the Jazz to five wins in their last six outings.
And if you think Gobert—one of the leading candidates for Most Improved Player—is good now, just wait until after the summer, when he's had a chance to work with former shot-blocking behemoth Mark Eaton.
"I told him I want to get together some time," Eaton, a four-time shot-blocking king, told the Salt Lake Tribune's Aaron Falk.
Gobert, for his part, is keen to study under Eaton once the 2014-15 campaign comes to a close.
"Of course I would love to work with him," Gobert told The Tribune. "He's someone who has a lot of experience, and he will make me better."
Kyle Lowry spent the first half of the 2014-15 season putting the Toronto Raptors on his back. Now, he's paying for it. Lowry has missed eight of Toronto's last nine games with back spasms.
Fortunately for the Raptors, they've managed to go 4-4 in those eight contests that he's missed. Thanks to the futility of the Atlantic Division, they wrapped up a top-four seed weeks ago and, as a result, are in no rush to bring Lowry back before he's ready.
Good news: Lowry appears to be ready and rearing to play again, per TSN's Josh Lewenberg. His presence will be more than welcome if Toronto hopes to reclaim the No. 3 seed and avoid the Washington Wizards in the first round of the playoffs.
Brook Lopez is playing like a guy who knows he's going to get paid this summer. The former All-Star has claimed back-to-back Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards and could be on his way to a third after racking up 32 points against Portland and another 26 at Atlanta's expense.
Per Grantland's Zach Lowe, Lopez's recent exploits only figure to push him further toward opting out of his current contract and seeking a longer, more lucrative deal this summer. For what it's worth, the Brooklyn Nets seem keen to bring him back.
"We need him," Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov said during a rare stateside appearance this week, according to Nets reporter Lenn Robbins. "I think the Brooklyn Nets, it's his home."
Does head coach Lionel Hollins agree with the man paying his wages?
"Like Lionel told you maybe 20 times, we want him back," Prokhorov said, per the New York Post's Tim Bontemps.
The softening of the schedule has had plenty to do with the Washington Wizards winning four in a row and five of their last six. Of those five wins, four came against teams with losing records, including two over the 76ers and one against the Knicks.
To be sure, John Wall's dime-dishing ways have helped as well. Wall sat out the Wizards' 119-90 win in Philly on Wednesday, but he had averaged a whopping 15.7 assists in the three games prior to that.
As it happens, Wall has an eye on his first assist title, with the Clippers' Chris Paul standing in his way.
"I definitely would love to win the assist title," Wall said, per The Washington Post's Jorge Castillo. "That’s something that gives a lot of credit to my teammates and these guys being in the right situations and making shots for me. But if it doesn’t happen, so be it. That would definitely be a big accomplishment."
To some extent, the Wizards probably wouldn't mind Wall going after that crown. With four games against Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls remaining and home-court advantage in the first round within striking distance, Washington will need all the easy buckets Wall can generate in its pursuit of a top-four seed.
Despite losses to the Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies, the New Orleans Pelicans did enough this past week to inch their way back into the No. 8 seed out West, however tentatively.
The Pelicans were particularly impressive in their 103-100 win over a Golden State Warriors squad that, apparently, didn't take its trip to the Crescent City all that seriously.
"They came out and said it was going to be a scrimmage game," said Anthony Davis, who tallied 29 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and four blocks in the victory, according to ESPN.com's Ethan Sherwood Strauss. "We kind of took that personal."
Those basketball fans who appreciate bellicosity can only hope the Pelicans will not only qualify for the postseason but carry this slight with them. Should New Orleans survive its brutal end-of-season schedule as the last playoff team standing in the Western Conference, it would face a first-round series with Golden State.
More importantly, as Grantland's Ben Detrick wrote, such a standoff would afford the world a long-awaited look at The Brow in the pressure cooker of the playoffs: "A nationally televised series against the best team in basketball (and one with a soaring collective Q rating) is precisely what Davis needs. His condor wingspan must spread wide enough for all to gaze upon its magnificence."
Being stuck in the No. 7 seed out West might work out in the Dallas Mavericks' favor.
For one, whichever team they face in the first round of the playoffs—be it the Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Clippers or San Antonio Spurs—will have fought tooth-and-nail for the Western Conference's second spot. The Mavs, on the other hand, can coast their way into the postseason without worrying about where they wind up.
At this point, Dallas may have no other choice but to rest up and keep its collective fingers crossed. According to ESPNDallas.com's Tim MacMahon, Chandler Parsons has been battling swelling and soreness in his right knee since the end of March and could be sidelined for the remainder of the regular season.
It's a shame, too, since Parsons had been playing some of his best ball as a Maverick. In his last 11 games, he had averaged 17.6 points on 51.8 percent shooting (42.6 percent from three).
If Parsons can pick up where he left off in time for the postseason, Dallas could emerge as a threat in the West.
Irony and the Portland Trail Blazers shouldn't consider each other friends right now. Earlier this month, Blazers trainer Geoff Clark won the 2014-15 Joe O'Toole Award, given annually by the NBA Trainer's Association to its most outstanding member.
Since then, Portland has seen its injuries continue to pile up. On April 2, the Blazers lost Dorell Wright to a broken bone in his hand.
They appeared to suffer yet another staggering blow to their wing rotation—after already losing Wesley Matthews to a torn Achilles—when Arron Afflalo left Thursday's loss to the Golden State Warriors with an apparent shoulder injury.
Now would be a good time for Clark to work more of that magic that earned him the top honor in his profession.
If you're wondering why the Memphis Grizzlies have been so unpredictable of late, consider both their schedule and their health.
The Grizzlies have played more back-to-backs since the All-Star break (nine) than any other team in the league. This weekend's swing through Salt Lake City and L.A. (versus the Clippers) will be Memphis' last set of games of consecutive nights this season.
The recent absence of Tony Allen hasn't helped matters either. Allen, the heart and soul of the "Grit-n-Grind" Grizzlies, has missed the team's last five games with a hamstring injury and may not be ready in time for the playoffs.
"I'm trying to do all I can do to get healthy," Allen said Monday, per The Commercial Appeal's Ronald Tillery. "If I was 100 percent I'd be playing. I feel bad that I can't go out there. I feel like I'm energy. I'm a spark plug. My enthusiasm plays a role into us being successful."
Derrick Rose's return looked like it might get off to an 0-2 start for the Chicago Bulls. After losing to the Magic in crunch time Wednesday, Chicago found itself down 19 at the half on Miami on Thursday.
Then, the Bulls put together a 37-8 run that consumed the entire third quarter and the start of the fourth, and voila! Chicago had a double-digit lead on the way to an 89-78 win over the Heat.
Rose wasn't exactly instrumental in the comeback. He chipped in four points in the third quarter and rested during the final frame. The former MVP finished with 12 points (on 5-of-15 shooting) and two assists in 20 minutes, after accounting for nine points (on 3-of-9 shooting) and two assists in his re-debut.
But the fact that Rose is back in the fold could be enough to re-energize a Bulls squad that's spent the 2014-15 season searching for a cogent identity.
"I'm just happy to be playing," Rose said Wednesday, per ESPN.com's Nick Friedell. "It's not one thing. The shots I put up, I felt they were good shots, hard shots, and I'm more concerned with us losing more than anything."
The hits just keep on coming for the Houston Rockets, and not in a good way. A team that's suffered through injury after injury this season will have to handle yet another one, now that Donatas Motiejunas is done for the season on account of a lower back injury.
In a vacuum, Motiejunas' absence wouldn't seem so devastating. The 24-year-old Lithuanian had posted career highs nearly across the board in 71 games (62 starts) prior to his exit. Still, the Rockets are pretty well stocked at power forward, with Terrence Jones and Josh Smith waiting in the wings.
But with Motiejunas joining Patrick Beverley among those Rockets lost to injury, it's easy to wonder whether Houston will have enough in the tank to score its first playoff series victory since 2009.
A lesson for you kids at home: Nothing good ever happens in or around a New York City nightclub in the wee hours of the morning.
Just ask Thabo Sefolosha. According to CNN's Eliott C. McLaughlin, Sefolosha and Atlanta Hawks teammate Pero Antic were arrested outside of New York City's 1 OAK nightclub early Wednesday morning on charges of obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct while at the scene of Pacers forward Chris Copeland's stabbing. Sefolosha is also looking at a charge of resisting arrest.
Per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Chris Vivlamore, Sefolosha's struggle with police resulted in a broken right fibula and damage to the surrounding ligaments—injuries that will sideline him for the remainder of the regular season and the entirety of the Hawks' upcoming playoff run.
To be sure, Sefolosha is far from Atlanta's most irreplaceable player. He averaged just under 19 minutes per game this season and shot a subpar 32.1 percent from three.
But Sefolosha was a difference-maker for the Hawks on the defensive end. As USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt noted on Twitter, the Hawks surrendered a measly 95.3 points per 100 possessions when Sefolosha played and 102.6 points/100 when he sat.
Which brings us back to our original point about nightclubs and wee hours and why you'd do well to steer clear, especially if you're part of an NBA title contender.
It's probably too late for Chris Paul to garner the consideration he needs to be named the NBA's MVP, but that doesn't make him any less deserving. Paul is on pace to lead the league in assists for the fourth time in his career and figures to play in all 82 games for the first time as a pro.
These repeated, impossible decisions for the defense are huge reason why the Clippers, despite their atrocious bench play and creative limitations of their starters beyond Paul and [Blake] Griffin, are an offensive juggernaut.
Paul is extremely efficient at the exact kind of shots defenses normally want to allow, so much so that they cannot allow it. But if they adjust to contest the mid-range area harder, Paul's playmaking finds and exploits wherever the new hole in the defense is opened up.
Thanks to Paul's continued brilliance, the Clippers, winners of four in a row and 11 of their last 12, are within sniffing distance of the West's No. 2 seed.
What LeBron James wants, LeBron James gets.
A triumphant return to the Cleveland Cavaliers? Check.
A trade that gave up two former No. 1 picks for a former All-Star who's yet to find a comfortable fit in Cleveland? Check.
A chance to cast an MVP vote for himself? Check.
Rest during the season's stretch run? Check that too. According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, James will sit out Cleveland's weekend set against Boston.
In James' defense, he's earned that privilege. He averaged an outstanding 21 points, 9.5 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks during a four-game streak that helped the Cavs sew up both the Central Division crown and the No. 2 seed in the East.
For that, James and his cohort can coast their way into the postseason if they so choose.
Another night, another remarkable performance for Stephen Curry.
The Golden State Warriors' MVP favorite took it upon himself to stop his team from suffering its first three-game losing streak of the season. With the Dubs sleepwalking on defense against Portland, Curry exploded for 45 points—19 in the fourth quarter—on 17-of-23 shooting to propel Golden State to a 116-105 home win Thursday.
Even if Curry doesn't claim the NBA's top individual honor at season's end, this game will go down as a historic one. Curry's eight threes (on 13 attempts) helped him break his own record for long-range makes in a single season.
What's more, Curry pulled it off while playing approximately 350 fewer minutes than he did in 2012-13, when he set the mark with 272 treys. With three games left, Curry has an outside chance to nail 300 triples.
It's April and the San Antonio Spurs are on a tear.
The defending champs have won a season-high nine games in a row. More impressive still, they've dominated the opposition along the way. Those victories—all double-digit affairs—have come by an average margin of 19.9 points.
And it's not like the Spurs have been beating up on patsies, either. Six of the nine wins have come against opponents with winning records, including the Warriors, Rockets and Grizzlies.
The streak, of course, has been a team effort for San Antonio, but no single Spur has had a bigger impact on this return to form than Kawhi Leonard. Over the course of this spurt, the San Diego State product has averaged 19.4 points on 58.8 percent shooting (48.1 percent from three) to go along with 5.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.7 steals in 28 minutes.
"It's going to be Kawhi's team anyway," Tony Parker said, per the San Antonio Express-News' Dan McCarney. "Like Timmy [Duncan] transitioned to Manu [Ginobili], Manu transitioned to me, now it's going to be transitioned to Kawhi. I'll try to do my best to stay aggressive and be involved. But Kawhi's going to be the man."
By the look of it, Leonard already is.
|
{
"timestamp": "2019-04-24T20:53:52",
"url": "https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2425629-nba-power-rankings-2015-sizing-up-the-association-ahead-of-seasons-final-week",
"language": "en",
"source": "c4"
}
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