Our no. 1 sneaker of 2014 just got a serious upgrade in the form of the adidas Pure Boost ZG Prime.
We first previewed this sneaker in January, and now the next-gen of Pure Boost has arrived. This model mixes a full-length Boost midsole with a layer of EVA on the outsole to produce what adidas calls a "floating sensation," hence the 'Zero Gravity' (ZG) part of its name.
That's not the only key feature here, as this version of the Pure Boost ZG also features a Primeknit upper for a cozy and adaptive sock-like fit. It's then finished off with leather tabs at the tongue and heel, adding a premium touch to an otherwise sporty silhouette.
If for some reason this Primeknit variation isn't quite your cup of tea—or out of your budget—there's also a less expensive mesh-based version dropping this summer.
The adidas Pure Boost ZG Prime is now available in black, black/red, and blue from adidas.com for $140 apiece.


Facebook has disabled the Arizona Educators Rank and File Committee group, which was initiated by the WSWS Teacher Newsletter to provide a forum for teachers in Arizona and other states to communicate and oppose the betrayal of their struggles by the unions.
These claims are unsubstantiated and patently false. Scores of teachers joined the rank-and-file social media group after the Arizona Education Association (AEA) and its front group, Arizona Educators United (AEU), abruptly announced they were shutting down the strike and accepting the Republican governor’s pay and school funding plan, which teachers just a week previously had overwhelmingly rejected.
Teachers joined the rank-and-file group after the ostensibly “grassroots” AEU began scrubbing any critical comments of teachers from its Facebook page. This followed the AEU’s decision to censor any postings from the World Socialist Web Site and WSWS articles shared by teachers.
The rank-and-file group is currently disabled and under review after group administrators challenged the decision. According to Facebook, groups are only allowed to request a review once. If the company finds the groups still does not meet its “Community Standards,” it will be permanently deleted.
In a letter of protest to Facebook, the WSWS wrote: “We have reviewed your community standards and we are not in violation of any of them. We demand to know in detail what specific standards you alleged we have violated.
“The Arizona Educators Rank and File Committee includes more than 100 members and has provided teachers in Arizona and other states a forum to discuss their fight to defend public education. On what grounds has our Facebook group been flagged and by whom? In particular, was Facebook contacted by the Arizona Education Association and/or the Arizona Educators United Facebook group and told the Arizona Educators Rank and File Committee was guilty of ‘spamming,’ ‘misrepresentation’ or disseminating ‘false news’?
“You have not substantiated any of the charges against us. That is because the most likely explanation for your actions is you were contacted by the unions, which feel threatened by the growing movement of teachers. Facebook has no right to arbitrate on behalf of the unions to decide who is the ‘authentic representative’ of educators. Nor do you have the right to censor the voices of teachers who are critical of the unions’ capitulation to Governor Doug Ducey.
Denouncing the threat to permanently delete the Arizona Educators Rank and File Committee group, a teacher from Phoenix, said, “As an international mode of free expression for individuals, groups, and communities, Facebook should not decide what is acceptable for communication, since we live in a country that values all points of view and where it is acceptable and encouraged to voice all opinions and biases. To do otherwise is a form of oppression which should not be tolerated in a democracy that protects free speech.
In the name of fighting “fake news,” “Russian meddling” and “divisiveness,” Facebook, Google and other technology monopolies, along with the Democratic Party and the military-intelligence apparatus, are engaging a sweeping attack on free speech on the Internet.
The WSWS has been a particular target because it has increasingly become the center of working-class opposition among autoworkers, teachers and other sections of the working class in the US and internationally. Teachers, all workers and all those opposed to this attack on democratic rights must demand that Facebook reverse its decision and stop its censorship.


Move over Tim Hortons, Montreal's "King of the Food Court" Stanley Ma is swallowing Ontario's second largest coffee and doughnut chain.
Through a subsidiary of his company, MTY Food Group Inc., Ma is buying Country Style Food Services Inc., owners of 490 Country Style and Buns Master locations.
The move fulfills the mainly Asian-style fast-food operator's goal of entering the coffee market, pitting it against far larger rivals Tim Hortons and Starbucks.
Before the purchase, which closes May 1, MTY owned 24 fast-food chains, including Tiki-Ming, Sushi Shop and Sukiyaki.
Buying Country Style dramatically boosts the number of locations MTY owns to nearly 1,500, up from 1,000.
It also gives the company a far bigger presence in Ontario, where it also owns Yogen Fruz and Cultures.
The purchase price will be disclosed when the deal closes May 1, a spokesperson for MTY said. MTY is expected to pay cash, the spokesperson added.
MTY has no immediate plans to change Country Style, said Rick Martens, who is staying on as president and chief financial officer of the coffee and doughnut chain.
"My role will remain the same," Martens said. "There are no plans to change anything."
In its previous acquisitions, Martens said, MTY has kept the management and infrastructure in place and operated the new chains as independent brands.
The seller is CAI Capital Partners, a Montreal-based private equity firm, Martens said.
Martens, who joined Country Style as it was emerging from bankruptcy protection seven years ago, has been making over the brand.
A new "bistro deli" look, new menu, and new prices all aim to capture more women and more health-conscious consumers by emphasizing bagels, soups and salads over the more traditional doughnut fare. But competition between coffee chains is bound to intensify as consumers look for ways to scale back spending.
While Country Style appears to be trying to emulate Tim Hortons in look and feel, Tim's remains the far larger player with more than 3,000 outlets across Canada and the U.S.
Still, Country Style will boost MTY's buying power with suppliers and also bring cross-promotion opportunities between its brands.
That could mean selling Country Style coffee through other MTY-owned brands, or moving some mall-based MTY outlets into Country's Style standalone stores, much as Tim Hortons teamed up with Wendy's.
Ma founded MTY 25 years ago with one restaurant he financed himself. An immigrant from Hong Kong, he came to Canada with his family in his teens. The company has grown both through acquisitions and by developing its own brands.
It went public in 1996. Yesterday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, MTY shares closed down 10 cents at $7.40, down from its 52-week high last May of $10.01, but above November's low of $6.02.


INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Indiana’s private plan placed top in the state and its Medicaid plan shared the top ranking in the recently released National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Health Insurance Plan Ratings 2018-2019.
The annual report rates more than 1,000 commercial, Medicaid and Medicare plans based on consumer satisfaction, prevention and treatment.
In recognizing Anthem, the NCQA evaluated the plan’s performance based on three areas -- consumer satisfaction, prevention and treatment. Anthem’s commercial and Medicaid plans in Indiana both received overall scores of 3.5 out of 5.
The consumer satisfaction scores come from what members say about their health plans in surveys, including feedback about claims processing, their doctors and getting needed care quickly. Prevention measures assess the proportion of eligible members who received preventive services, like prenatal and postpartum care, immunizations and cancer screenings. Treatment measures assess the proportion of eligible members who received the recommended care for conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and depression.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc., an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Additional information about Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Indiana is available at www.anthem.com. Also, follow us on Twitter @AnthemBCBS_News and @AnthemBCBS or find us on Facebook.
National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations and recognizes clinicians in key clinical areas. NCQA's HEDIS® is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA's Web site (www.ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.


City Comptroller John Liu is losing another key adviser.
George Arzt, who has been spokesman for Liu’s mayoral campaign, announced yesterday that he’s leaving.
Liu’s campaign finances are under investigation by federal prosecutors.


This Saturday June 16th is the return of the annual Whimsical Day of Fairies and Flowers at Hershey Gardens! Children can come dressed as fairies and enjoy a magical day of fairy crafts and games, as well as meet the Hershey Gardens Rose Fairy. This event runs from 1-4 PM, and admission is $8 per child plus regular admission rates. Registration is required and tickets are limited; advance tickets can be purchased here.


A player's rating indicates his percentile rank in CAPS. Nkalakatta is outperforming 42.59% of all CAPS players. A player's score is the total percentage return of all his picks subtracting out the S&P. A player's accuracy is how often that player has made correct predictions.
Nkalakatta appears to be stuck for things to say. Maybe tomorrow?


An event which encourages people to get involved with community growing is to take place in Aberdeen next month.
It is suitable for anyone with green fingers who is interested or looking to set up such an area in Aberdeen, with workshops on offer about different aspects of the scheme.
It will take place at the Powis Community Centre on March 12 from 9.45am until 3.30pm.


Tyler Bertram, a 2019 recruit, will visit the Dayton Flyers this week, according to a report by ESPN’s Adam Finkelstein.
Bertram, a 6-4 guard, received a scholarship offer from Dayton in March. He’s also visiting Michigan and Loyola this week, according to the report. All three are unofficial visits.
» UD COVERAGE: Grant experiences 92-point win with Team USA | Mike Hartsock talks to Chris Wright | Will Antetokounmpo get drafted?
Bertram will be a senior at Vermont Academy, a private boarding school in Saxtons River, Vt. He ranks 322nd in the class of 2019, according to 247Sports.com.
Bertram is originally from Cooperstown, N.Y., the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He scored 1,879 points in three seasons at Cooperstown High School, setting the school record for career points before transferring to Vermont Academy and changing his graduation date from 2018 to 2019.
Dayton has two scholarships open for 2018 and could have as many as three in 2019 if it doesn’t fill the 2018 scholarships.


Responding to widespread anger about spinning off its DVD business, Netflix has dumped Qwikster before it was even out of the gate. Based on the news, The New York Times says Netflix’s stock price has moved in a positive direction and Wired has published the image at left. Huzzah!
Subscribers came out in full force when the plan to split the DVD and streaming service was announced just a few weeks ago, with many dropping the service. A blog post (that has comments calling for CEO Reed Hastings’s ouster) has posted and subscribers got an email with the new plan.
“Dear Tonya,” the email reads, “It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs.” Price changes will stay the same, but streaming selection will improve, the company says.
The Wall Street Journal calls it Netflix’s “New Coke” moment. And while it doesn’t do a company any good to rile up its customers, listening to them and dumping a bad idea is a smart step.
Quoting its coverage of the Coke reversal in 1985, the paper writes, “The move was lauded by industry observers as a fast response to market signals.” While Netflix may have “moved too quickly” to introduce this new plan, as Hastings previous blog post supposed, a speedy decision was now necessary. Other home entertainment companies began lining up to take disgruntled customers away from Netflix.
Well, you can do all of these things, but then you have to suffer the consequences, both to your finances and your reputation.
Update: After a jump in stock price, Netflix closes down for the day.


Updated Jan. 15, 2019 at 5:15 p.m.: To include newly elected lawmakers.
If you’re a North Texas resident looking for ways to contact your elected officials in Austin, The Dallas Morning News has you covered.
Here are the office addresses, phone numbers and links to the Twitter accounts of the major statewide officeholders and your North Texas representatives and senators. Many of the new lawmakers are still setting up district offices, which is common while they're in Austin for their first legislative session.
And if you need contact information for Texas lawmakers in Washington, D.C., you can find that here.
317 S. Galloway, Suite B.


Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan yesterday bangs his gavel in the Legislative Yuan in Taipei to mark the passage of amendments to the Referendum Act.
Lawmakers yesterday approved amendments to the Referendum Act (公民投票法) to lower the legal voting age and slash the thresholds for initiating, seconding and passing referendums.
The Legislative Yuan yesterday reviewed several motions concerning seven disputed draft amendments.
A proposed amendment to Article 2, which states that issues stipulated in the Constitution — such as the nation’s official title and territory — are not to be decided through referendums, was passed with the support of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party caucuses.
The New Power Party’s (NPP) motion to extend the scope of the act to cover the Constitution’s contents and to allow a new Constitution to be written was struck down.
The amended Article 2 also grants people the right to propose — through a referendum — laws to be considered by city or county councils, and to amend or abolish local government-level autonomous acts.
This is a step up from the former rule, which granted people the right to amend or abolish lower-level autonomous regulations, which do not need approval from city or county councils.
All four caucuses lent their support to a draft amendment of Article 7, which lowers the legal voting age for referendums from 20 to 18, allowing it to advance to the third reading without a vote.
The threshold for initiation of national and regional referendums has been lowered from 0.005 percent of the electorate in the most recent presidential election, or about 90,000, to 0.0001 percent, or about 1,800.
The number of signatures required for a proposed referendum to pass its second stage — 5 percent of all eligible voters in the most recent president election, or about 900,000 — has been reduced to 1.5 percent, or about 280,000.
For a referendum to pass, 25 percent of the eligible voters must vote "yes."
A motion tabled by the KMT on Monday, which set the threshold at 20 percent, was vetoed.
A DPP motion to amend Article 13 to grant the Executive Yuan the right to propose referendums on major policies, proposing or vetoing a law was passed.
The amended act includes a new provision that allows signature drives, which are necessary for a referendum, to be conducted online.
According to the provision, the lead initiator of a referendum should request an authentication code when filing a request for an online signature drive with the Central Election Commission.
A KMT motion to implement absentee voting for referendums failed to obtain a majority vote.
A draft amendment by the NPP that seeks to have the president propose topics of “political negotiations” with Beijing as topics to be voted on in referendums before such negotiations are conducted was vetoed.
The DPP and the KMT said that such a regulatory measure should be stipulated in the proposed act on supervising cross-strait agreements, which the DPP has put on the back-burner to avoid worsening cross-strait ties.
NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) criticized the DPP over the outcome, saying its decision had forced President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to renege on a promise she made in 2011 during her first presidential election campaign to form a law on monitoring cross-strait political negotiations.
In response to the NPP’s proposals that the amendment should allow the public to vote on issues such as territorial changes and cross-strait negotiations, DPP spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said those issues should be handled within the framework of the Constitution or a draft act on the cross-strait oversight mechanism.
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MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold Syria talks in Moscow on Wednesday, with Turkey saying they will focus on Ankara’s so-called “security zone” in northern Syria.
The two leaders are on opposite sides of the conflict: Russia provides critical support to the Syrian government, while Turkey has backed rebel groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
Moscow, a long time supporter of Assad, is likely to oppose the plan, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week saying Damascus must take control of the country’s north.
Nearly eight years into Syria’s deadly conflict, the US pullout has led to another key step in Assad’s Russian-backed drive to reassert control over the country.


"It’s a regional thing. People in the Midwest call it ‘pop.’ People down South call it ‘coke.’ But where I grew up, we don’t have a word for it. We just refer to it by frantically gnashing and chattering our teeth."
"Anyone who questions my knowledge needs to remember that I got the job the same way everyone at ESPN gets the job: by wearing a blindfold and identifying Joe Namath by the feel of his calves."
"The car companies need to start printing the full names on the gear shifter, because I bet a lot of people assume R stands for ‘Roar Forward’ and D stands for ‘Dash Backward,’ which is dangerous. Also, let’s get rid of N all together, because I assume it stands for ‘Nada.’"


John Ewing was born and raised in Omaha, Neb., where he still resides. He attended the University of Nebraska-Omaha, earning a bachelor's degree in business administration and criminal justice and a master's in urban studies.
In 1982, Ewing became an Omaha police officer, serving for 24 years and receiving the department's Distinguished Service Medal in 2000. Ewing rose to the rank of deputy police chief before retiring in 2006, the same year he was elected Douglas County treasurer.
In 2010, he received the NAACP Living Legend Award and was inducted into the Omaha Northwest High School Hall of Fame.
Ewing is also an associate minister at the Salem Baptist Church in Omaha and has worked as an adjunct professor in leadership and ethics at the University of Nebraska-Omaha's School of Public Administration.
Ewing and his wife, Dr. Viv Irving, have two daughters.
John Ewing knows that in 2012 history is not on his side.
The Democrat is the latest in a string of candidates over the last 14 years who have challenged Republican Rep. Lee Terry for Nebraska's 2nd District U.S. House seat.
But Ewing also believes he has a chance in the November 2012 general election to win over voters tired of partisan gridlock in Congress and ready for new faces in Washington.
"I'm running for Congress because for too long Washington and Lee Terry have ignored Nebraska taxpayers and the middle class," Ewing said. "We need to cut wasteful spending and significantly reduce our national debt, but Congressman Terry has chosen instead to protect the special interests."
Ewing accused Terry, who is seeking his 8th term in Congress, of voting "for two budgets that make seniors pay $6,000 more a year for their Medicare benefits, and uses that money to pay for even more tax breaks for multimillionaires."
Terry has seen more stringent competition in recent elections, coming within 4 percentage points of losing to Democrat Jim Esch in 2008. Ewing supporters note that, like that election, the 2012 presidential election will likely bring with it campaign money from President Barack Obama seeking to again win the electoral vote tied to Nebraska's 2nd District, which consists of Omaha and its suburbs.
But unlike in the 2008 race, Obama in 2012 doesn't inspire the same enthusiasm with voters who have struggled with a sour economy for four years while watching the prices of food and gas rise. Also, redistricting after the 2010 U.S. Census has made the district friendlier to GOP candidates.
Unlike previous Democratic challengers, Ewing does have the advantage of name recognition in Omaha. Born and raised in Nebraska's largest city, Ewing was a police officer for 24 years, the last six spent as deputy police chief. In 2006, he was elected Douglas County treasurer, becoming the first African-American elected to countywide office in Nebraska's history.
"Anybody who's gotten a license plate renewed or paid property taxes knows who John Ewing is," said Randall Adkins, political science professor at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
Even Terry knows Ewing _ the two attended high school together in the 1970s. Within hours of their respective nominations in the May 2012 primary, the pair had resurrected a high school dustup.
Terry took issue with Ewing referring to him in a fundraising email as "the water boy." Terry hinted that the term harkened to verbal bullying he endured from Ewing in high school, saying "water boy" was a name Ewing called him when Terry was the school football equipment manager and Ewing, a year older, was a starting tight end.
Ewing vehemently denied ever harassing Terry, saying, "Oh, that's not true. I didn't even know Lee Terry well enough to even have conversations with him when we were in high school."
The two have since avoided making the dispute an issue in their campaigns, but it could foreshadow what might be a contentious race.


WASHINGTON – The cost of the new Capitol Visitor Center (search) could run as high as $559 million, more than double the estimated cost when the construction project broke ground in 2000.
The Government Accountability Office (search), the investigative office of Congress, also predicted in an analysis that the opening for the three-floor underground facility, originally scheduled for the end of 2005, would be further delayed. It said current plans to open in the summer of 2006 were optimistic.
The GAO analysis is the latest of several assessments to drive up the price tag of what is the most ambitious and expensive construction project in the history of the Capitol -- larger than the addition of the House and Senate wings in the 1850s.
In concluding that the real costs could be as much as $100 million above the $454 million currently budgeted, the analysis cited management problems for the project, which is being overseen by the architect of the Capitol, and low bid estimates.
Jennifer Hing, spokeswoman for Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., who heads the Appropriations subcommittee responsible for the project's budget, said both Kingston and Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., the top Democrat on the panel, "are very concerned" about the latest analysis "and plan to take a long hard look at it."
She said they plan hearings on the cost overruns and delays when the new Congress convenes next year.
The original project envisions a three-story underground facility on the east front of the Capitol where tourists could go through security and visit informational galleries before entering the Capitol building. It is to have a great hall where visitors can look up on the Capitol Dome (search) through skylights, a dining area with a capacity for 600, exhibition galleries, two theaters and gift shops.
Since the project began, $70 million has been added for underground House and Senate office space, $38.5 million for security after Sept. 11, and $48 million to pay for weather-related and other delays and higher-than-expected bids. A filtration system that was added will cost another $33 million.
The GAO recommended that Congress quickly address the funding gap of $60.7 million for what it considered to be specific cost overruns and set up a reserve account of $43.5 million to take care of risks and uncertainties that could drive the total additional cost above $100 million.


When Michael Fitzgerald first came to New York 21 years ago, he didn’t give the Big Apple much of a chance.
“I had studied jewellery design at NCAD and ran a successful business with a couple of other jewellers on George’s Street while throwing myself into Dublin’s nightlife with great enthusiasm,” he recalls.
“It was 1996 and Dublin was an amazing place. But I thought I’d extend my horizons and try New York on a six month holiday visa. I had been to the World Cup in 1994 and loved NYC,” he says.
Where better than New York to kick start a career in this industry?
New York was just recovering from the ravages of a crack epidemic, which was rampant during the 1980s, so there were cheap rental opportunities across the city.
It was here that he met his wife, also a jewellery maker, with whom he now runs his business. Fitzgerald Jewelry was founded by Fitzgerald and his wife Hiroyo, originally from Japan, as a small studio and workshop in 2001.
The couple generated a buzz around their unique rings early on, propelled by an endorsement from New York magazine which said they offered the best wedding and engagement ring jewellery for any budget.
“I also opened a school as part of the business where I taught ring making, stone setting and casting,” he says.
“We started to employ people and, in 2009, we opened our first ground floor space in Williamsburg, converting an old button factory into a workshop and gallery combined.” The gallery quickly established itself and grew so big, that a larger venue was required in 2015.
Fitzgerald says he works six days a week, but also finds the time to hang out with his 14-year-old daughter.
However, he says, life is expensive and he can’t afford to stand still.
Rents on the Lower East Side start from €2,000-€2,500 a month for a studio, he says, while in Brooklyn you pay around €800 upwards for a room in a shared house. “In certain parts, you can get a two-bed flat for €1,800 if you’re lucky which, as it turns out, is not much more expensive than Dublin.
“Like any other city, New York has been gentrified and has lost its edge, but in return it’s a much safer, albeit more expensive place.
“If anyone is thinking of coming to live in New York and work in jewellery design, do. The luxury goods market is doing extremely well, so there’s lots of work within the industry and you will find opportunities,” Fitzgerald says.
He adds that his company is also very open to hiring Irish people for paid internships.
The worst part of being away is missing family and friends in Ireland, Fitzgerald says.


Denver point guard Isaiah Thomas will return to the court and make his debut with the Nuggets against the Sacramento Kings after missing nearly a year.
Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert broke down in tears when speaking to the media about his snub from the 2019 NBA All-Star Game.
CHARLOTTE -- The Charlotte Hornets will look for their first win over a Western Conference club this season against a team that hasn't lost in a while when they host the streaking Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
Michael Malone has a contract extension, Nikola Jokic inked a max deal in the offseason and Paul Millsap is healthy.
A surgeon told UPI that Isaiah Thomas could have lingering issues with his hip, despite undergoing surgery in March.
Veteran center Channing Frye has agreed to rejoin the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Free agent guard Isaiah Thomas has agreed to a one-year contract with the Denver Nuggets.
BOSTON -- All season long, the Houston Rockets and NBA champion Golden State Warriors ran 1-2 in the Western Conference, eventually ending up in the conference finals with little resistance.
Singer Jordin Sparks confirmed on Instagram she has given birth to her first child, a son.
Only seven games remain for the Milwaukee Bucks, but there is still plenty of time to improve their playoff positioning.
Now that the Los Angeles Lakers are officially eliminated from postseason play, they'll try to wrap up the final two weeks on a positive note.
With Kyrie Irving expected to miss at least three weeks, Boston needed someone to step up.
Isaiah Thomas (January 8, 1749 - April 4, 1831), was an American newspaper publisher and author. He performed the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Worcester, Massachusetts and reported the first account of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. He was the founder of the American Antiquarian Society.
Thomas was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was apprenticed on July 7, 1756 to Zechariah Fowle, a Boston printer, with whom, after working as a printer in Halifax, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Charleston, South Carolina, he formed a partnership in 1770.
In Boston, in 1774, Thomas published the Royal American Magazine, which was continued for a short time by Joseph Greenleaf, and which contained many engravings by Paul Revere.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Isaiah Thomas."


It's another historic day for consumer SSDs. Today Intel begins selling the first consumer NVMe SSD with 4-bit per cell flash technology (QLC).
Like 3-bit per cell (TLC) before it, there is a lot of fear surrounding QLC. Will the technology provide enough write endurance, how long will data last on the memory, and the area that terrifies many the most, how much latency will the extra bit add?
We can't answer some of those questions today, but so far the Intel 660p looks really good. It's not a complete game changer, but it's a helluva lot better than we expected. Intel's 64-layer QLC memory uses a slightly faster IO bus speed compared to 64-layer TLC memory. Intel paired the memory with a Silicon Motion, Inc. (SMI) SM2263 controller that is similar to the SM2262, so the application performance is exceptional.
4-bit per cell from Intel stores 33% more data per die over 3-bit per cell media. The technology enables SSD manufacturers to meet aggressive price points. The 1TB Intel SSD 660p with QLC costs $174 less than the 1TB SSD 760p and moves NVMe into the same price verticals as SATA SSDs shipping today.
Let's look at the numbers first and then dive into how Intel got there with the hardware details and feature set for this series. The 660p comes to market in three capacities, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB. The 1-Terabit die size is not effective for smaller sizes like 128GB and 256GB, a detail we'll look at later in this review.
The 660p features symmetric for all three sizes. The series offers users up to 1,800 MB/s sequential read and write performance. The random performance reaches as high as 220,000 IOPS, also for both reads and writes.
Intel utilized the lower cost SMI SM2263 for the 660p. The SM2263 is the 4-channel version of the SM2262 (8-channel) used in the SSD 760p.
The Intel 660p with QLC memory delivers 200 MB/s more sequential write performance than the SSD760p with TLC memory. Intel-enabled SMI's Intelligent Dynamic SLC-Caching technology on this series. The technology makes drives like the HP EX920, Adata SX8200, and Mushkin Pilot the gamer's choice for flash-based storage today.
The SLC cache expands and contracts, depending on the amount of data stored on the flash. Intel is the first company to disclose the size of the flash and the incremental shrink as users store more data.
For my personal use, I use the size of a Blu-Ray ISO file, around 50-gigabytes, for the cache size target and a 10-gigabit ethernet network speed, it's around 1,000 MB/s for sequential writes. I want an SSD capable of writing 50GB at close to 1,000 MB/s to personal PC over a network.
The capacity of your SSDs matters. The Intel SSD 660p 2TB surpasses my personal needs all the way up to 75% fill, the amount of data already stored on the drive. That backs down to 65% for the 1TB model and 45% on the 512GB model.
Writes outside of the SLC cache fall to native QLC write speeds. In our 128KB sequential write test on a 1TB 660p, the native QLC write speed is right around 85 MB/s. The performance is right around what we measured with planar TLC technology using a 512GB drive that was popular in 2015. 3D TLC's native write performance after the SLC buffer is considerably faster, around 250 MB/s using the same workload. Most users will never see native QLC speeds under normal workloads unless you transfer large files, like Blu-Ray ISOs.
The SSD 660p is Intel's successor to the 600p. Most companies categorize these at "mainstream NVMe". At one time we called these products entry-level NVMe, but with DRAMless NVMe products coming to market like the Toshiba RC100, there is a clear divide between the two classifications.
The Intel 660p ships with features we rarely see on mainstream NVMe products. The series supports user AES-256 encryption with Pyrite 1.0 and 2.0. The series also comes with a 5-year warranty in a world where most mainstream SSDs only carry a 2- or 3-year warranty.
The series starts out at $99 for the SSD 660p 512GB. The price is less than Samsung's 860 EVO 500GB SATA SSD. The SSD 660p doubles the price to $199, also lower than a similar capacity 860 EVO. We don't have pricing for the SSD 660p 2TB but suspect it will sell between $380 and $400.
Intel covers the series with a full 5-year warranty but this isn't the SSD you want to use to download Torrent files. Endurance is the weak spot right now. Intel has been on the conservative side with TLC and we hope the QLC ratings are also conservative. What makes Intel different from other manufacturers is how the products react to reaching the limits of guaranteed coverage. The Intel consumer SSDs will move into a read only state making booting from the drives impossible. Other company's consumer SSDs will warn users through Windows, but not build a brick wall that limits usability.
Intel gives users 100 TBW for every 512GB. The 1TB 660p includes 200 TBW coverage and the 2TB gives users 400 terabytes of data writes.
The SSD 660p uses a custom SMI SM2263 4-channel controller. The very large die density means the 1TB drive uses just two flash packages with four die in each. We suspect the 512GB model also uses two packages with two die per package. The 2TB should uses four die packages but increase the package count to four.
This also means Intel could eventually build eight die flash packages with four packages to reach 4TB overall capacity, but such a product would significantly require more DRAM.


Extra Butter x Reebok Pump AXT "AHCHOO"
Remember Dave Chappelle's character "Ahchoo" from Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men in Tights? Well, as only they could, New York's premier sneaker boutique, Extra Butter, has taken this unlikely inspiration for something epic in their first ever collaborative effort with Reebok. Utilizing the oft-forgotten Reebok Pump AXT, EB employs majestic hues of deep burgundies and purples with hints of light hazel, all laying upon premium plush micro-suede, pigskin, and leather. Just as Dave Chappelle's early role in Men in Tights led to him to legendary status, this inaugural collab is sure to help Extra Butter achieve the very same success. Check back here, as more information on their release comes available.


Jurassic World's sketchy science: How impossible would it be to splice dinosaur DNA with other animals'?
How Impossible, Actually, Is the Dinosaur DNA Splicing in Jurassic World?
The Indominus rex is part raptor, part cuttlefish, part God knows what else.
So now what? To restore a sense of wonder to the jaded masses, we’re going to need something bigger, better, and altogether grander: a dinosaur that can transcend the pesky laws of nature. Armed with test tubes and hubris, scientists set out to design their own, tricking out the T-Rex genome with strands of cuttlefish and tree frog DNA to create a custom-made methuselah: the Indominus rex. After all, why mimic Mother Nature when you can outdo her?
Clearly, there’s a lot here to set off your scientific BS radar. But just how implausible is it to think that we could engineer a mega-creature out of a patchwork of different animals’ DNA?
First off, the idea of designing a dino is hardly as far-fetched as it once was. In the two decades that have elapsed since Jurassic Park came out in 1993, we’ve made massive breakthroughs in dino genetics and developmental biology. Some scientists—namely Jack Horner, the paleontologist who inspired Jurassic Park’s Alan Grant and dino advisor on Jurassic World—are even talking about reverse-evolving a chicken back into a dinosaur. Theoretically, we could “turn back the evolutionary clock” by breeding a chicken backward to unlock ancient genes that control dinosaur characteristics like teeth, scales, and talons. And ta-da: a chickenosaurus!
In fact, the technology for combining unlike genomes isn’t just a dream. We’ve been making mutant hybrids for years: They’re called GMOs. Scientists have created strawberries augmented with antifreeze genes from Arctic flounder fish and oranges injected with disease-fighting genes cultivated from pigs.* Outside of crops, scientists have been tinting zebra fish and leopard gecko embryos with green fluorescent proteins from jellyfish and corals so they can watch them develop for decades now. So where are the rhinosauruses? Or the Clairodactyl, that rare hybrid that can fly long distances in heels?
Well, there’s just one problem: Dinos are not like strawberries. In the case of GMO crops, we’re talking about isolating one gene that codes for one specific trait. In the case of Jurassic World, we’re talking about traits that involve hundreds of genes. Take camouflage, the trait that (spoiler alert!) so surprises the Indominus rex’s trainers. Blending in with your surroundings requires tweaks to neural genes, skin genes, hormonal genes, and temperature sensitivity genes. “It’s likely a whole suite of genes,” says Beth Shapiro, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California at Santa Cruz and author of How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction.
So Jurassic World is right: In reality, injecting a complex trait into a foreign genome would be like trying to transplant a nonnative species into a delicate island ecosystem. (Which, it turns out, is exactly the plot of Jurassic Park.) No matter how careful you are, you can never predict the complex chain of interactions that will occur. The only thing you can predict is that you’re probably going to break the entire system—and make a pretty dramatic movie while you’re at it.
But Jurassic Park was never about deconstructing the science of de-extinction. It was about entertaining the impossible. To watch Jurassic World is to experience the same chills of possibility you feel when Frankenstein’s monster comes to life, or when H.G. Wells’ time traveler turns on his machine for the first time. For a moment, man is larger than himself, surveying the whole of creation, his spirit as indomitable as … well, as the Indominus rex.
Then, of course, he gets eaten.
Read more in Slate about the Jurassic Park movies.
*Correction, June 19, 2015: This article originally misstated that most of us eat GMO strawberries and oranges. These GMOs are not yet on the market.


LITTLE ROCK — The amounts of lottery-funded scholarships would increase as students advance through college under a bill that cleared a House committee Wednesday.
The House Rules Committee endorsed House Bill 1295 by Rep. Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia, and Sen. Johnny Key, R-Mountain Home.
Under the bill, the Academic Challenge Scholarship for students attending four-year schools would be awarded in the following amounts: $2,000 for freshmen, $3,000 for sophomores, $4,000 for juniors and $5,000 for seniors.
Students attending two-year schools would receive $2,000 per year.
Currently, students receive $4,500 each year to attend a four-year school and $2,250 each year to attend a two-year school. Under HB 1295, students already in the program would continue to receive those amounts but students entering the program in the 2013-14 school year would receive the tiered amounts.
The measure also would increase the amount of funding available for scholarships for nontraditional students from $12 million to $16 million, under an amendment Gillam presented Wednesday.
Gillam said that if scholarship amounts are not changed and lottery revenue stays at its current level, the program will be unable to meet all its obligations next fiscal year. He said his bill would keep the program solvent.
Rep. Darrin Williams, D-Little Rock, said the lottery was sold to voters as a way to increase the percentage of Arkansans holding degrees from four-year schools — a statistic in which the state generally ranks at or near the bottom nationally.
"It appears that the hit here is being felt much more deeply by our four-year institutions," Williams said.
Gillam replied that more than 90 percent of students attending four-year institutions in Arkansas on a lottery scholarship also receive a significant amount of other financial aid.
"I do not think that this is going to be that significant a deterrent to go to universities," he said.
Rep. John Burris, R-Harrison, praised the bill and said he hoped the tiered approach would give students a new incentive to retain their scholarships.
The committee endorsed the measure in a voice vote. No "no" votes were heard. The bill advances to the House.
Shane Broadway, interim director of the state Department of Higher Education, told reporters later that the department has not taken a position on the bill but said he believed it would prevent the program from running out of funds next year.
The Legislative Oversight Committee on the lottery last year considered a proposal by Key to create a tiered scholarship system but voted instead to recommend lowering scholarship amounts to $3,300 per year for four-year schools and $1,650 per year for two-year schools. To date, no bill containing that proposal has been filed.
Also Wednesday, the House Rules Committee endorsed HB 1275 by Rep. Jeff Wardlaw, D-Warren, which would require a business applying for an alcohol permit to publish a notice of the application in a newspaper located in the same county where the business is located if there is one, or in the newspaper with the nearest physical address if there is not.
Current law merely requires that the notice appear in a newspaper that is circulated locally.
Testifying in support of the bill, Michael Langley, director of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Division, said legal notices are more likely to be read by a business’ neighbors in the local paper than in the statewide paper.
The bill goes to the House.
The panel also endorsed HB 1280 by Rep. David Kizzia, D-Malvern, which would add gas grill lighters to a state law banning the sale of cigarette, cigar and pipe lighters shaped like objects that would appeal to children.
Kizzia showed the committee a gas grill lighter shaped like a duck to demonstrate the type of device his bill would target.


MIAMI — How do you measure a disaster like Florence? In sum, the storm is turning out to be every bit as devastating as forecasters expected, and it's far from done, with trillions of gallons of rain in the forecast, hundreds of people needing rescue, nearly a million power outages and several deaths. Thousands of people have been told they still faced "imminent danger" from flooding. The economic toll remains to be tallied.
In North Carolina, a mother and infant died when a tree fell on their house, a 78-year-old man was electrocuted while plugging in a generator in the rain, a 77-year-old man died after being blown to the ground while checking on his hunting dogs, and a sheriff's office said three people died because of "flash flooding and swift water on roadways.". In South Carolina , a 61-year-old woman was killed when her vehicle hit a tree that had fallen across a highway.
Thousands of people living within a mile (1.5 kilometers) of the banks of North Carolina's Cape Fear River and Little River were ordered Saturday to evacuate because they faced "imminent danger" from flooding as river basins filled beyond their capacity. The evacuation zone included part of the city of Fayetteville, with a population of 200,000.
Florence is testing the faith of people in the Bible Belt town of Lumberton, South Carolina , where people had to be rescued from rooftops after flooding caused by Hurricane Matthew two years ago. Lumberton's manufacturing-based economy was withering for years before that, and local newspaper editor Donnie Douglas says he doesn't know how much more suffering the traumatized residents can take.
Long before President Donald Trump tossed paper towels to storm-stricken Puerto Ricans and denied Hurricane Maria's reported death toll, his predecessors sometimes struggled to steer the nation through life-and-death emergencies. The Associated Press has fact checked some of the claims Trump made about Maria and the economy this week. Trump will travel next week to areas hit by Florence.
Reporters for The Associated Press, the news site Quartz and Puerto Rico's Center for Investigative Journalism have compiled the most detailed portrait yet of the agonizing final days of victims of Hurricane Maria , interviewing 204 families of the dead and reviewing accounts of 283 more to tell the stories of heretofore anonymous victims.
Torrential rains from Florence will test South Carolina's infrastructure , which failed under nearly 2 feet (60 centimeters) of rain in 2015. A year later, flooding from Hurricane Matthew caused about 25 dams to fail. More than 3,000 maintenance workers are on standby statewide to fix broken traffic signals, barricade problem areas and make roads safe again.
Basketball great Michael Jordan, who grew up in North Carolina and owns the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, and new Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper are providing relief to those affected by Florence. Jordan said it's "devastating" to see the damage, and his organization and the NBA are "here to help." In a tweet , Tepper said the Panthers are working with charities to develop a response plan.
Typhoon Mangkhut set off landslides and destroyed homes in the Philippines, killing at least 12 people and prompting more evacuations as it turned toward southern China. Determining the role climate change plays in storms like Florence and Mangkhut is complicated, experts tell the AP. In the Atlantic Ocean, the Azores could get gusty winds and heavy rains from Tropical Storm Helene, and Ireland and the United Kingdom could get hit with the storm's remnants early next week.


One of the two aggressor squadrons at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, has deactivated.
The 65th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis, which flew F-15s, was deactivated Sept. 26, according to the Air Force. This means that Nellis will only have one squadron, the 64th Aggressor Squadron, to serve as adversaries during the large-scale Red Flag exercises at the base, along with Weapons School training. The squadron helped train pilots in F-22s, F-35s, F-15s, F-16s and F/A-18s.
“It’s been a great asset for the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center to be able to have the F-15 Eagles here as an aggressor squadron for almost a decade now,” said Lt. Col. Gregory Wintill, commander of the 65th Aggressor Squadron, in a news release.
The squadron’s F-15s will be assigned to other squadrons throughout the Air Force. Pilots in the 65th will continue their work in F-15s until March 2015, but could be reassigned.
The remaining 64th Aggressor Squadron primarily flies F-16s.
“Fiscal times are tough for the country as a whole, and when you find yourself in that situation you have to make sacrifices and you have to look closely at priorities and make tough decisions,” said Capt. Jeremy Allen, the chief of safety of the 65th AGRS.


Discussion in 'Dieting / Supplement Discussion' started by RedRover, May 15, 2014.
I'm about wrapped up with my first real disciplined effort with a diet. I'm 28 and thought myself to be a fit guy for a long time but working out regularly wasn't enough, so I went to a friend for advice and he recommended carb back loading as something i should try.
I peaked 209# body weight at 6' around Christmas time(near 20% body fat). The highest I had been in my life was 7 years ago when I was in a World of Warcraft body type, 207# and est. 25% bodyfat, and going over that number knowing it wasn't mostly muscle really bugged me.
I started working out more regularly and I joined a yoga studio because I had stopped training MMA summer of 13(local club closed) and needed a group activity to fill that hole. That got me down a couple pounds but something was missing; a diet. I really wanted to get lean, my lifetime low was around 12.5% back when I was 23 and working out with friends during the summer regularly.
I went from eating 5000-6000 calories a day with many of those calories coming from gas station food or fast food regularly, to roughly 3000-3500 calories a day, very high in fat/protein, and very low in carbs/sugar.
This is all great, I'm thrilled (It's not bad news to get lean and maintain your strength) to successfully hit my goals (only .3% to go in 1 week, no problem). However, there is some things that aren't turning out like I had hoped/planned.
I "expected" I would have abs showing at around 10%. I don't. I expected a lot of things, I expected my muscles to have a lot more "pop" than they do. I have been watching videos of bodybuilding as motivation for my resistance training sessions and perhaps my expectations weren't properly managed.
In reality, the fat has melted quite a bit, in my chin and neck, around my midsection, my love handles, had to drill 2 more holes in my belts, my pants don't fit properly.
My body generally speaking looks pretty average. I have some decent arms, and my overall shape is fairly balanced and symmetrical but I am very disappointed how not muscular I am, compared to my expectations of trimming the fat. For whatever reason I thought there was a UFC fighter physique underneath my 18% bodyfat, and there certainly is not. As I lost each %, I thought wow, this is awesome, but now that I realize 10% is basically achieved (even if i'm 12 with a margin of error) and I'm no where near what I thought I would see.
I am not the only one guilty of this. I have a lot of friends and acquaintances who were formally in shape and athletic and are now overweight. All of them have the impression that if they just got disciplined and ate well for a few weeks that they would look like the guys we watch in the cage. I was this delusional as well. I really thought I would look close to a carlos condit or a rory macdonald if i could cut the fat and keep my muscle. As you can see from the pic; this is not the case.
Am I the only delusional mofo out there that thought/thinks leaning out reveals a bodybuilder underneath in each of us?
What suppliments are you taking?
3500 calories? There is no way you need that many. That's your problem right there.
Drop your calories to 2k.
Further cut back on all carbs sugars.
Take at least 1g Vitamin C a day.
Switch your workout to many reps vs weightlifting.
Do not eat huge meals. Only eat when you are starving.
The fat will not come off if you are at a caloric surplus.
This means you will be hungry unless you go Keto.
That should activate your fat burning if you work out regularily. Basically a mild keto diet.
What does your strength training routine look like?
I am a keto sympathizer, but its just not for everyone. You can also eat a lot of veggies and not be hungry all the time. Simply eating clean while being in caloric deficit might be enough in most cases. I am losing weight now without being hungry at all - and my macros are actually around 60% Carbs, 25% protein 15% fat.
Everyone's metabolism and activity level is different. I just threw that up as a sure fire way to skin the fat off him.
Most of this is generally terrible advice.
First: Gauging from the picture you are not at 10% bodyfat. Probably +15%. Don't trust skinfold measurements, they are a good gauge of progress but they are not an amazingly reliable indicator of body composition.
Second: Look at the reality of the situation. You lost ~17lbs in 12 weeks. That is essentially on point - completely normal rate of weight loss. You did great. For a guy eating 3000kcal/day, that is exceptional. You should be patting yourself on the back. Nice work buddy.
Third: Manage your expectations. The longest part of the journey is ahead of you. You do not get a rippling six pack in 12 weeks unless you're starting from a very good point and likely in a sizeable calorie deficit. You get that after a long time of being disciplined, being smart, eating well, and training hard. You need to put on more muscle and lose more fat, and this means many more weeks of work. Actually, don't even look at it like work - this is your new normal if that's what you want.
What part of it is bad advice? From the looks of the picture he has some skin fat which is usually really stubborn to lose.
By cutting his caloric intake it will deplete his glycogen faster and force the body to use fat metabolization.
That cellular machinery only develops when the body runs out of Glycogen.
Carnitine is responsible for transporting fat.
Vitamin C is a precursor for turning Lysine into Carnitine.
Those together will help your body burn fat.
So what exactly was the bad advice I gave? I lost 20lb in one month while gaining muscle.
What SD said. The main thing that's 'wrong' here is that your current body fat percentage is higher than you think it is. I'm confident as you get closer to 10% you'll be happier with what you see in the mirror.
You've made excellent progress. Longer term you'll want to put on a bit more muscle but I think you should just keep going for a while longer, 'tweaking' things as fat loss inevitably slows.
Everyone's metabolism and activity level is different.
He's losing weight at a really healthy rate doing what he's doing? The only 'problem' at the moment is one of perception; he's not as far along as he's been lead to believe. At some stage the OP may need to reduce his calories a little but IMO, there's no need to change anything until he stalls. I appreciate you've had a really positive experience with keto which is great but at the moment your recommendation is coming across as a "You could have a Lionel Blair cut, like mine".
My 2nd post was responding solely to SD.
As far as calories go take a look at this list for calories burned.
Unless he is burning himself out every day which from his physique is highly unlikely he does not need 3500 or even 3000 calories a day.
He is clearly concerned about the rate of fat loss so I gave some tips to speed it up while maintaining muscle mass. I don't really care how I come across. I do a lot of research and try to help people the best I can. I am happy to provide links for the things I post and am equally happy to be proven wrong.
I don't subscribe to "if it's not broken" mindset. There are always things that could be improved.
It's better to help people with their goals rather than just give generic support and opinions.
The one responding to Sarumyan?
Anyway, appreciate you mean well but it appears to me like you're interpreting the OP's thread in such a way as to give your stock recommendation of a keto diet.
Your answer: You sir, should go keto.
I guess I am. IMO use it to cut the weight first then switch to a more conventional workout diet. It sounds like he is pretty close to a keto diet already. Just too many calories, and mabye not watching the hidden crap in foods closely enough. Upping his Carnitine levels and taking VC would help a lot though.
The more I learn about Keto the more sense it makes in more situations. Personally it has cured my ADD, my depression, my IBS, my energy levels, my fibromyalgia. I can think more clearly. I need less sleep. I gain muscle easier. Almost never hungry. No more back pain. My cysts are shrinking.
You can be forgiven for being a little evangelical about something that's benefited you so profoundly. I'm sure keto is a great fit in some circumstances.
Listen, you've done really well kid.
But you don't have a diet problem, you have a lifting problem.
You've provided all of these details on your diet, yet skimmed over the training with "I exercise more and do yoga." Ever see a yogi with the physique that you want?
If you want to put on muscle, you're going to have to start lifting very intensely, heavily and eat a lot. Then go back on another cut to see what kind of gains you've made.
"Excercising" is not at all the same as lifting with intent. Despite what people on this board will tell you, when it comes to building muscle, the training accounts for a much greater percentage of gains than diet.
First, thanks for all the meaningful replies.
As for the keto: The diet I am doing is very much keto. I only have carbs (with the exceptions of under 30g throughout the day) up to 2 hours PWO. I try to have bigger back loads when I know I'm working out big the next day; smaller carb meals when the next day is a lighter day, and if I'm disciplined enough no carbs if the next day is a rest day.
Work/ Activity Level: My avatar is a tractor, guess what I do for a living? I farm. My daily work load at my job is fairly inconsistent. Some days I am somewhat sedentary (spend a lot of time behind a steering wheel or in meetings) but some days I am assembling a new piece of equipment and i might lift things and run wrenches for 10 hours that day pretty much without breaks. This makes my training difficult as you can imagine following one of these days. On average I am on my feet usually about half the day, with moderate to high physical activity (I run around a lot similar to a waitress, but I pick up things that are heavy much more often).
Workouts: For the last few years I have lifted weights in my basement(Home gym 400# oly set, dumbells, pullup bars, cable machine etc) with regularity. I have dropped to as low as 1-2x / week frequency in the past but I've always done something above and beyond my normal job. I used to keep a log on here in the S&C but I faded away from it mostly because it was annoying typing for 30m after each workout.
This was a weak phase, and my body weight peaked during this time.
I started to notice i looked fat in the mirror so I increased my activity level.
Diet Start: (Feb 27): I was only eating carbs PWO and i had huge cravings for them so i would work out nearly every day sometimes half assed though just for an excuse to eat.
Reformed, Last few weeks: (Mid April - current): My friend who is a "diet expert" told me I should only be doing back loads after a big resistance training day, not after yoga or hiit.
I know you all will want to know what program I am doing and this will sound pretty rookie but I am doing a split that takes elements of Starting Strength and a few Bodybuilding programs I have done in the past.
-I ALWAYS do a big compound lift for each workout (typically bench, deadlift, squat). I alternate between ~3x12 for about 2-3 weeks, and 5x5 for about 2-3 weeks with this big movement. Sometimes I only get 3 reps on a set on strength days but you get the idea.
-I usually add in 1-3 isolation type exercises (concentration curls, rope pull downs, arnold press, calf raise, lateral dumb bell raises, etc) and i do them also for 3 sets of 5-15.
-I Journal EVERYTHING in a notebook, every set, how many reps i did, how i felt if i didn't complete the reps, etc.
-Over the last few weeks I have been putting in much longer lifting sessions, usually do about 7 "things" which takes me 2-2.5 hours. I have somewhat long rest periods when I'm going heavy in the compound lifts sometimes up to 5 minutes so my workouts take a long time.
-Training to failure; I try to limit my failed reps to 1 or 2 per week. I listen to my body and instead of doing burn outs every single session where I can't lift my arms I save it for an isolation movement usually or if it happens unintentionally I try to avoid over-doing it.
I had never done it before 5 months ago but I really like how it makes me feel, not juts the physical but the mental side as well. We do a lot of static stretches but also there are a lot of poses where you hold difficult positions balancing on one foot for example. You also get some upper body stimulation with push up like movements and balancing on one hand. You hold a lot of positions and the core really gets taxed and strained to maintain the position. Some of the classes (they are structured differently from Power 1, Power 1.5, Power 2, Power Sculpt, Power Bar) have items you use to assist you like foam blocks, dumbbells, balls, and a bar along the wall. For example I just did a Power Bar yoga session 2 days ago and we did about 200 variations of body weight squats. My legs hurt worse from this than my lower body day. It is common to do sit up like movements until complete exhaustion (it's normal for people in the classes to stop completely because of the difficulty).
I hope i answered at least the first wave of questions. I was kind of planning on stopping my keto diet in favor of convenience. It's frustrating to often turn down people when they offer food to me because "I'm on a diet I can't have carbs". Maybe I should re-consider though if I want to keep progressing.
Lunch time, salad with no carbs.
I don't doubt that you could between 10 and 12% body fat, but what's your lean muscle mass? Abs show differently for everybody, some have them show well at 10% while others have to get down to 8%.
That is pretty much Keto.
The Ketones will act as fuel and stimulant.
Casein is the wrong protein for Keto. It has a very long digestion time and has the wrong amino acid balance. It converts mainly to sugar long after you finish working out.
Double up on Whey and take it with an enzyme.
Caffeine is a vasoconstrictor. It constricts arteries and is actually detrimental in a workout routine. Taking 1/2 an asthma pill (Ephedrine HCI, available behind the counter) 6.25MG would fill that role without any side effects. Ephedrine is safe till 100MG in the body so that much is nothing. The Guifenesin is pretty much GRAS and opens up airways in conjunction with the Eph hci.
The after workout high carb meal stops fat burning in its tracks for days possibly.
IMO if that is your regular routine it could be detrimental. Mabye switch it up for a heaping of veggies and meat.
You might try daily workouts with less weight. Enough that you get tired but can still work out the next day. Definition comes with density not from tearing up the muscle.
Those burn out style workouts are only useful for literally making the muscle bigger, and won't be useful till density is maxed out.
Daily moderate workouts are much better for fat burning and increasing density.
If you want to jump into a Keto style diet taking some Olive Oil/water shots can fill in calorie requirements. You said your diet is high fat and the fact that you didn't gain weight means you shouldn't get keto flu.
Taking a couple tsp of mct/CO oil/OO shot will curb hunger drastically.
*Disclaimer* This is from a Keto viewpoint. It is not for everyone. It is only my opinion based on what I think I know. None of it is absolute and can be taken piecemeal.
You could look into doing Boring But Big. If hypertrophy is your main goal it allows you to do that while maintaining your strength levels.


Newly appointed Deputy Treasurer of Housing and Economic Development, Jovan Agee (right) with LA County Board of Supervisors member Mark Ridley-Thomas.
On Monday, January 17th, Fiona Ma assumed office as California’s State Treasurer and she also announced her top staff appointments.
Treasurer Ma’s appointments are as follows: Genevieve V. Jopanda as Chief of Staff, Kasey O’Connor as Legislative Director, Mark DeSio as Communications Director, Frank Ruffino as Pension and Benefits Director, Kathryn Asprey as Director of Constituent Affairs, Gloria Li as State Director of External Affairs, Tim Schaefer as Deputy Treasurer of Public Finance, Audrey Noda as Deputy Treasurer of Health and Education, and Jovan Agee as Deputy Treasurer of Housing and Economic Development.
Jovan Agee was previously appointed in March 2018, as the Deputy Treasurer for Legislative Affairs under State Treasurer John Chiang. Agee is solutions-oriented and passionate about commercial and residential development, community revitalization and wealth building.
Agee has held positions as a veteran legislative advocate, strategic coalition builder and community relations professional. He has more than 15 years of government affairs experience and served as Capitol Director for Los Angeles Democrat, former Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas. In this position, he established the assembly member’s legislative agenda and oversaw the staff.
From 2015 to 2016, Jovan held the position as senior advisor to former Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and worked on initiatives that would increase the funding allocated to the businesses of Black people and people of color. In 2018, Sacramento Business Journal named him to the ’40 Under 40’ list of regional achievers.
Agee graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Government from California State University Sacramento. In his early career, Agee was the political and legislative director at the United Domestic Workers Union, Local 3930 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. His role was to build a political and legislative department which grew from one to 11 employees and he oversaw the budget increase from $400,000 to $2.4 million in his time there.
In addition, he took lead on the initiatives to make sure that California home care workers could receive direct deposit, was a constituent of the team that raised California’s minimum wage, and serves as a strategic advisor and board member for multiple non-profit organizations throughout the state.


Britain's Got Talent Golden Buzzer act Kojo Anim has vowed to become a solo star after 20 years helping other comedians.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, the London comic, 39, admitted he was 'emotional' after Simon Cowell pressed that famous buzzer to send him through to the semi-finals, as he wowed viewers on Saturday with his hilarious routine.
Kojo also admitted he decided to audition after decades working as a comedian at his London club, which is famed for kick-starting the career of Hollywood superstar Kevin Hart.
When asked how he felt when Simon pressed that Golden Buzzer, Kojo told MailOnline: 'Emotional! My career flew in front of my eyes. It was a huge risk, I was afraid of being judged.
'I didn’t even dream what would happen, happened. It was Tiffany, my fiancee, who encouraged me to audition. She reminds me of that!
Kojo went onto speak about how he felt in the moments leading up to his audition, saying: 'Before my audition I was anxious, it’s a massive show. But I love performing live. I don’t want to just put my comedy routines up online - I want to be on stage.
'BGT gives me the opportunity to do what I do to a wide audience. And I am a dad now, I want to provide for my son and give him the best opportunities in life.
Before his BGT breakthrough, Kojo had opened for acts such as Kevin Hart and Chris Rock, and has helped numerous others break onto the scene through his club Kojo’s Comedy Fun House.
As he took to the stage on Saturday, both viewers and the judges were left in hysterics by his stellar audition, as he joked about his African heritage, extortionate black taxi fares and waiting in line at a bank.
As the panel praised his performance, Simon confessed that while he did not generally enjoy watching comedians, before pushing the Golden Buzzer in a heartwarming moment.
Britain's Got Talent continues on Saturday 20th April at 8pm on ITV.


One need only look at the average train or Luas carriage on a work morning to see the extent of mobile device usage. However, when it comes to implementation of management systems, content controls and all the other supports and resources, just how far have Irish organisations progressed?
To get a picture of the Irish situation, TechBeat, in association with Three Ireland, surveyed Irish IT professionals to see what is in use, what is being used to control it, and for perceptions and impressions of how the combined stack of technologies impacts their lives. The results are illuminating to say the least.
Which device is your main work tool?
Firstly, the 139 respondents reported that, despite a recent IDC study showing that the humble desktop PC is still the primary device for most workers in Europe, laptops take that honour in Ireland. Almost half (49%) reported that the laptop was the number one device, followed by the desktop PC (42%), with tablets and smart phones each seeing just 4% as a primary work device. Given that the sample is IT professionals, this may be unsurprising, but one might have expected the all-in-one tablet format to have perhaps pushed the tablet portion a little higher.
The respondents were asked about the effect of smart phone usage on the use of a PC, including laptops. Almost half (45%) said that it had no effect, but slightly more (47%) said that their PC usage had decreased as a result of using smart phones. Just 7% said PC usage had increased due to smart phone usage and may reflect special cases where certain apps or functions require regular synchronising with a PC.
The mobile phone spread was an interesting result. Unsurprisingly, the iPhone is the largest section, specified by 73% of companies, followed by 47% for Samsung phones. Blackberry came in at just 9%. However, in the Other category (32%), the combined spread of Nokia/Windows Phone responses amounted to 13%. This contrasts sharply with general Windows Phone market share of around 3% as of late 2014, according to IDC figures from February of this year.
When asked to specify whether they had one phone for both work and leisure, more than three quarters (76%) said they did, with the balance indicating two devices for the discrete purposes. Perhaps a little surprisingly from this sample, no one specified using more than two devices.
What mobile phones does your company use?
With the undoubted impact on all aspects of working life of mobile devices, enabled by near ubiquitous connectivity, respondents were asked if they left the devices on constantly. Nearly half (45%) said they did, as they needed to be constantly available. More than one in 10 (11%) said they did but only answered work calls in work hours. More than a third (38%) said they did but only answered important calls outside of office hours. Only 6% said they switched off their phone outside of office hours.
The next question asked about the perceived impact of mobile working on social/private or personal time. Nearly half (49%) said that mobile working did limit social or personal time, but this was balanced by 48% that said it did not. Just 3% did not know if it had an impact.
Allied to this was a question on the impact of mobile resources at the disposal of respondents on personal productivity. The vast majority (85%) said that mobile resources increased their productivity, with 13% saying it had no effect. A worrying 2% said that mobile resources negatively affected their productivity. While that 2% may be something of an anomaly, the 85% who indicated a positive impact does reflect the increased accessibility, flexibility and availability of enterprise resources achievable with mobile technologies. While again it would be expected that the use of such technologies would be more widespread among IT professionals, the results are reflective of the wider adoption of mobility in enterprise and its positive effects.


Parents who have sued the Bossier district alleging unconstitutional promotion of Christianity say they fear for their safety.
Seven Bossier Parish Schools parents involved in a religious lawsuit against the district want to remain anonymous during future legal proceedings, citing fear of harassment and violent threats on social media toward them or their children.
The plaintiffs made their request in a court document filed March 1. The motion to remain anonymous is not opposed by the defendants, the Bossier Parish School Board or Superintendent Scott Smith, according to the court document.
The parents say they fear that community members or school employees who have contact with the children may cause problems.
The suit, which accuses Bossier Parish Schools of unwanted and unconstitutional Christian messages and indoctrination, was filed with help from Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Among other things, the lawsuit alleges that teachers and administrators in elementary, middle and high schools promote Christianity and in some cases call out students who do not attend church or are not Christian.
"It's really a case about the school district's conduct that is affecting many families and we're appreciative that the school district agrees with us" on permitting the plaintiffs to remain anonymous, said Eric Rothschild, senior litigation counsel with Americans United.
The lawsuit was filed Feb. 7 on behalf of four parents. Three joined after the initial filing. Each plaintiff is the parent of at least one child who has attended a Bossier Parish school since at least 2015.
The court filing requesting continued anonymity for the plaintiffs says lawsuits such as theirs "often lead to powerful emotional reactions and backlash in the affected community." Parents who speak up or sue often become "victims of harassment, social ostracism, economic injury, and even physical violence," it says.
"Plaintiffs have strong reason to fear that they and their families, including their minor children — whose identities would inevitably be revealed if Plaintiffs’ identities were revealed — will suffer grave harms if they are not allowed to proceed using pseudonyms," the plaintiffs' request asserts.
The document cites as grounds for anonymity the comments made by social media users and the events that transpired in Webster Parish after a lawsuit was filed accusing that district of promoting Christianity.
Facebook users commented on a northwest Louisiana news channel's posts and made violent threats hours after the original complaint was filed, the court document claims.
"Time to put these non-believers in a dirt nap," reads one social media comment cited by the lawsuit.
Those threats made online could transition into the real world, the plaintiffs argue. The document cites the backlash a Webster Parish mom, Christy Cole, and her daughter Kaylee, a student at Lakeside Junior/Senior High in Sibley, received after filing a suit accusing the district of unconstitutionally promoting Christianity.
Cole, with help from the ACLU, filed her suit in December.
Americans United claims that Kaylee was afraid to walk the halls her first day back after the suit was filed and that community members threatened the Coles.
"The Coles have been publicly urged to leave Webster Parish because of their objections to prayer in public schools," according to the court filing.
The filing says that hostility in Bossier and Webster parish "are, sadly, all too common" in cases asserting violations of the First Amendment prohibition against government establishing an official religion.
"There is an alarming history of violence and threats of violence against plaintiffs in cases like this one, giving further weight to Plaintiffs’ reasonable fear here of severe retaliatory harm to their families if their identities were revealed," the plaintiff's assert.
The parents provided statements to the court explaining in their own words why they wanted to remain anonymous. Some fear that their child or family will be ostracized. Others feared worse.
"Since this case was filed, I have seen more negative comments on social media," Doe 3 said in a statement accompanying the court filing. "Some of these comments have expressed an interest in discovering my identity in order to drive me and my family out of town or cause me and my family physical harm. I’ve seen at least one commenter threaten to kill me and my family because of this lawsuit. These comments have disturbed and frightened me."
The Bossier Parish School Board announced in a statement late February that it would change policies and train all administrators, teachers and coaches in response to the anonymous parents' lawsuit.
"We trust these affirmative steps will resolve the current federal court matter in short order so that precious taxpayer funds can be spent on continuing to improve the quality of educational services to students rather than on potentially expensive litigation," the statement reads. "Bossier Schools will always carefully respect and preserve the fundamental rights of all students, including their cherished First Amendment right to freedom of religion."
Because the matter is in litigation, Bossier Schools would have no further comment, district spokesperson Sonja Bailes said in a February email.
Political officials and religious figures in the parish have rallied around the district in the wake of the suit. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry applauded the parish's superintendent and school board for training staff and changing policy to make all aware of their constitutional rights. He argued the changes weren't in response to the lawsuit. He then called the parents' lawsuit moot.
A group of Bossier pastors has organized events and a social media campaign to encourage and empower students to "live out their faith," according to organizers.
An event hosted by the pastors, the Freedom Student Summit, will be held at 6 p.m. April 8 at Bossier Parish Community College. U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, and Landry are expected to attend.
The following day, April 9, supporters are asked to draw a blue line on their hands and post pictures on social media with the hashtag #STANDUPBOSSIER.
A student-led movement, Protect Prayer, also has cropped up in response to the suit. The group's goal is to "share the hope we have in Christ with those around us," according to the group's Facebook page.
The page includes testimonials from students in Webster and Bossier parishes. A student rally is planned for 6-7:30 p.m. March 22 at 2195 Swan Lake Road in Bossier City.
"When I read the lawsuit filed against the Bossier Parish School Board, I was both saddened and overjoyed. It breaks my heart that people feel hurt by Christianity, but I am also excited because God’s Word tells us to expect opposition when we are walking in His Will," wrote Katherine Gatti, Airline High School's senior class president. "Because our schools are under attack, it needs to be students standing up for our faith. I am inviting all students to come to a leadership rally where we can share ideas for how to work together and also show where we have already been successful."
State Sen. Ryan Gatti, a Republican and also an Airline High graduate, lists a daughter, Katherine, in his Senate biography. Calls to Sen. Gatti were not returned before publication.
Correction: This story originally misspelled the name of the senior litigation counsel with Americans United. His name is Eric Rothschild.


Late last week President Trump blasted Montana’s senior U.S. Sen. Jon Tester for releasing damaging information on Ronnie Jackson, Trump’s personal physician and his nominee to head the massive Veterans Administration. Jon Tester might lose his bid for re-election, just like any other politician, but it will not be because Montana’s veterans turn on the man who has done as much or more for vets than any person Montanans ever sent to Congress.
As the ranking Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Tester has been an absolute bulldog on dealing with the problems at the Veterans Administration. Considering the VA has about 378,000 employees and a $180 billion budget, Tester’s concern with vetting Trump’s nominee is exactly what a senator should do.
For one thing, Congress is a separate branch of government, which Trump doesn’t seem to understand. The function of Congress, besides making law and appropriating funds to run the government, is to provide the checks and balances on the executive and judicial branches of government. It’s very unfortunate that we have a president who has no idea about why our Constitution ensures “separate but equal” branches of government, but Congress is not and never was expected to be a rubber stamp for whatever a president wants to do.
Given the content of the material Tester released about Jackson, it’s no wonder he was concerned. Although they preferred to remain anonymous because they feared the vindictive retribution so common in the Trump administration for those who don’t go along with whatever dictates spill from the dysfunctional Oval Office, the revelations about Jackson from service members were damning.
Although Trump threatened Tester that he “has a big price to pay,” remember that Trump knows as much about Montana and Montanans as he knows about the Constitution, which is virtually nothing.
Unlike Trump, Tester has actually accomplished a great deal for veterans, including allowing vets to see local doctors instead of having to travel long distances across our huge state to access VA facilities. Speaking of which, you can bet Montana’s vets appreciate Tester’s successful effort to obtain $8 million to build the long-sought Butte veterans’ facility.
As his scandal-ridden presidency continues to unravel, the one who may actually have the biggest “price to pay” come November will be Trump when he loses the compliant Republican majorities in the Senate and/or House.


Only Donald Trump could screw up a speech to the Boy Scouts -- and then keep the debacle going for days and days.
Poll: Should the Scouts change their policy?
Quiz: What BSA prompted Disney break?


Davis criticizes the governor’s plan of using income tax cuts and exemptions to spur job growth as a “failed experiment” that hasn’t met Brownback’s lofty promises of a “shot of adrenaline to the heart” of the state’s economy.
▪ Kansas jobs have risen at a more or less steady pace, between 1 and 2 percent a year, since the recession bottomed out in early 2010, regardless of who’s in the governor’s office.
▪ Kansas saw its highest post-recession percentage of job growth in 2011, the year before Brownback and the state Legislature slashed business taxes in an effort to spur job creation.
▪ The only year since the recession that Kansas job growth beat the national rate was 2010, former Gov. Mark Parkinson’s first and only full year in office.
▪ Kansas has yet to return to its peak private-sector employment of 1,136,400 jobs, which came in March 2008 under then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. In July, the most recent month of final data, the bureau showed Kansas with 1,129,800 jobs, 6,600 jobs south of the 2008 peak.
▪ In comparison to neighboring states, Kansas has consistently beaten Missouri in percentage of job growth, but trailed Oklahoma, Nebraska and Colorado.
To understand job creation, you need to understand that the Bureau of Labor Statistics actually releases results from two job surveys every month, said Malcolm Harris, an economist and professor of finance at Friends University in Wichita.
One is called the Current Population Survey, or Household Survey, which is based on a national sampling of 60,000 households by the Census Bureau and is used to calculate the overall unemployment rate.
The other is called the Current Employment Survey, also known as the Payroll Survey, which gathers data from a sampling of 554,000 business establishments, representing about a third of total nonfarm employment.
According to Harris, there are some significant differences between the two.
The biggest is that the Household Survey is more generous in its definition of a job. It includes people who work on their own farms, unincorporated self-employed people, unpaid relatives who work in a family business and workers who are absent from their jobs without pay.
The Payroll Survey excludes all those groups except for agricultural loggers.
By and large, politicians in campaign mode tend to cite from whichever survey makes them look better.
In the current election, Brownback has used the Payroll Survey for his claim of 55,000 new jobs on his watch, which is what the survey shows. He has used numbers from the Household Survey, which includes unpaid and family workers, to bolster his claim that more Kansans are working than ever before.
While the Payroll Survey showed Kansas employment peaking in 2007, employment figures derived from the Household Survey indicate that state employment was at its highest in May of this year at 1,423,784. From May to July, that number dropped by about 400 workers.
“Wall Street follows the Payroll Survey because it’s less noisy, it doesn’t jump around as much,” Harris said.
Results of the Payroll Survey come in two basic flavors, raw data and seasonally adjusted to smooth out spikes like the Christmas season, when stores hire large numbers of temporary and part-time workers.
The Eagle’s analysis of employment is based on the Payroll Survey of private-sector jobs, seasonally adjusted, the numbers Brownback cites for his job-creation claim.
One thing that the data shows clearly is that Kansas job numbers are tied closely to what happens in the national economy.
The highest rates of job growth in the past 20 years were 1995-97, during a period of national and state prosperity, with Bill Clinton in the White House and Bill Graves in the Kansas governor’s office.
In those three years, Kansas job growth ran at 2.7, 3.3 and 4.8 percent, adding more than 100,000 jobs to the economy in three years before tapering down to more normal levels going into the decade of the 2000s.
At a recent campaign appearance, Brownback’s running mate, Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer, referred to the decade from 2000 to 2010 as “the lost decade” for job growth.
By one measure, it was. About 24,000 fewer people in Kansas were working in January 2010 than in January 2000.
But the data shows that Kansas actually grew jobs in five of those 10 years.
The big declines came almost entirely from two significant national events: the slowdown – particularly in the aviation industry – that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and the Great Recession that began in 2008.
The biggest dive came in 2009, when the state lost almost 56,000 jobs in a single year, the deepest decline in 20 years.
Kansas’ job turnaround actually began in February of 2010 on Parkinson’s watch, the labor statistics show. The state added 13,400 jobs that year for a growth rate of 1.3 percent, barely edging the national rate of 1.2 percent, the data shows.
During Brownback’s three full years in office, the state added 20,500 jobs in 2011 (1.9 percent), 11,700 jobs in 2012 (1.1 percent) and 17,000 (1.5 percent) in 2013. In the first half of this year, the state has added 6,400 jobs.
So far this year, Kansas trails the national job creation rate .6 percent to 1.2 percent.
Since the recession, Kansas has seen, at best, mixed results in job creation compared to neighboring states, the Payroll Survey shows.
▪ Missouri – This state is the bright spot for Kansas. Largely owing to Kansas City-area business migrating over the state line, Kansas has beaten Missouri on percentage job growth for four years straight. The best year for Kansas was 2011 when its jobs increased 1.9 percent to Missouri’s 1.1. This year, Missouri could be making a comeback. The statistics show a 1.4 percent job increase there for the first half of the year, compared to .6 percent in Kansas.
▪ Nebraska – Unique among the neighboring states, Nebraska didn’t lose any jobs during the recession and has been consistently adding jobs at 1.7 to 1.9 percent a year since 1999. Kansas hasn’t beaten Nebraska’s job growth since 2007, but might pull ahead this year based on a downward trend in Nebraska employment for the first half of 2014.
▪ Colorado – The Rocky Mountain state was hit harder than Kansas by the recession but has rebounded much faster, beating Kansas on job numbers since 2010. Its best year was a 3 percent increase in jobs in 2013, compared to 1.5 percent in Kansas.
▪ Oklahoma – Also harder hit by recession, Oklahoma has beaten Kansas in recovering jobs over the past four years. Last year, the Sooner state grew jobs at a 2.3 percent clip compared to Kansas’ 1.5 percent.
Despite the heavy influence of the national economy, state policies do make a difference in job creation, said Martin Perline, a professor of labor economics at Wichita State University.
The centerpiece of Brownback’s job creation effort was eliminating income taxes for owners of limited liability companies, sole proprietorships and corporations organized under Subchapter S of the federal tax code. Profits from those businesses are passed through to the owners, who pay the taxes on their personal income returns.
But after Brownback’s changes to tax policy, those business owners no longer pay state income tax at the business or personal level, the theory being that they’ll pump that extra income into their business and hire more employees, creating more jobs.
Perline said that’s true but only to a degree.
A recent report by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute at the State University of New York showed that Kansas income and sales tax collections, the bulk of the state’s general fund, were down almost 22 percent the second quarter of this year – far and away the biggest drop in the nation.
In a shortfall situation, state government has to either raise other taxes, which negates the effect of cutting income taxes, or cut spending, Perline said.
“If you cut expenditures, you’re going to wind up cutting public jobs,” Perline said.
The Payroll Survey numbers show that government employment in Kansas has dropped by about 6,800 jobs since Brownback took office.
Cutting government jobs means cutting public services, Perline said. That, in turn can lead to private-sector job cuts because business decision-makers demand a standard of living that includes quality schools, highways, parks and other amenities.
Brownback and the economic adviser who guided his plan, former Reagan Administration adviser Arthur Laffer, says that economic growth will eventually offset the initial state revenue shortfalls.
“Tax policy, particularly, tax policy takes time for it to have its impact,” Brownback said. “I think what you have to look at is your long-term trend cycles and your states.
Perline said historical examples show that tax cuts will create jobs, but not enough to cover the lost tax revenue.
Brownback, however, said he remains committed to his plan and believes it will bear fruit.


Denver-based Factory Design Labs has closed after more than two decades in business.
Though the independent agency has not been particularly visible in recent years, it once employed more than 100 and maintained a presence in Colorado, Zurich, Verbier, Shanghai, and, for a brief period, San Francisco.
Factory was founded in 1996 by a group of designers who later became a full-service agency and competed against other shops for new business. The company’s self-description read, in part, “We live to create, we live to design, we live to say what everyone else is afraid to say.” As recently as last February, a PR firm was promoting Factory’s work for HEAD Tennis, and it once included such brands as Callaway Golf, Jim Beam, Oakley, MapQuest, and The North Face among its clients.
This week, however, we learned from a reliable source that the company officially went out of business as of January 1st and that all of its offices have closed. Our tipster’s account of the agency’s demise holds that founder/chairman Jonas Tempel recently transferred leadership of the Denver client roster/internal team to managing director/CP+B veteran Scott Sibley, who left the agency last month to launch a company called Capital Goods in Denver.
Like so many agencies, Factory had a somewhat uneven history. Tempel, who had run the shop for more than a decade before launching his side project BeatPort, stepped aside to become chairman in 2010 as Scott Mellin was promoted to CEO. The latter executive then moved to the position of chief brand officer in 2014 as Tempel reasserted control. The agency most recently got negative press via a Denver Post article in which several area magazines claimed that Factory’s media unit had failed to pay for ad placements. “They have burned a lot of people in the industry,” one publisher said.
Readers must (obviously) take all Glassdoor entries with a massive grain of salt, but posts allegedly written by former Factory employees over the past few months blame leadership and a lack of new business wins for its uncertain financial status.
We have reached out to Tempel and president/DDB veteran Bob Reimer, but their email accounts no longer appear to be active. The agency’s web site is dead, and its listed phone number has been disconnected. The most recent social media posts regarding Factory went live in August and September.
Beyond his advertising career, Tempel is an active EDM DJ whose online dance music store (BeatPort) was acquired by SFX Entertainment in 2013. The parent company went bankrupt last year, and Tempel subsequently wrote an open letter regarding his resignation that scored coverage in Billboard. He later worked for 18 months on Beats By Dre projects before being fired, according to a May 2016 interview with Magnetic Magazine. Tempel also runs a record label, and he spoke of his work advising startups in the Magnetic piece.
This story will be updated as we learn more about the status of the Factory Design Labs organization.


As he openly voiced his support of a party candidate and flaunted his Air India ticket for the flight back home, the video reached online spammer who utilised the PNR details and cancelled the booking -- causing him to lose a whole lot of money.
Even though the man lost a lot of money that did not deter him to come to India for casting his votes.
With the 17th Lok Sabha elections underway, not just voters in the country but also voters living abroad are excited to exercise their franchise. However, for one such excited Indian voter residing in Oman, things turned sour after he fell prey to an online scam. Letting the world know he has booked a ticket to come back to vote during the elections, he made a video clip to display his ticket online. But some miscreants accessed his ticket details through the video and cancelled it!
Yes, the young man, Joystan Lobo, who wanted to come to his native place in Mangaluru from Muscat to be able to cast his vote during the 2019 Lok Sabha election had booked ticket late in March. The ticket, which was booked for March 29 by the Puttur man, then made a video encouraging his friends and others to take part in the polling process in a similar way.
As he openly voiced his support of a party candidate and flaunted his Air India ticket for the flight back home, the video reached online spammer who utilised the PNR details and cancelled the booking — causing him to lose a whole lot of money.
“I was unaware about the cancellation of ticket. Ticket was cancelled on March 30 at around 11:15 am (Oman time). I came to know about the cancellation of the ticket on April 1. I rebooked the ticket on the same day for April 4 and reached India,” Lobo told the news website.
Lobo said he had paid Rs 21,045 for his round-trip tickets and he got a refund of only Rs 9,000. However, the loss didn’t deter the responsible citizen from coming to his home country to cast his vote on time.