Category: News

  • Seil & Marschall Backpacks

    There’s something to be said about a company that has spanned four generations. Seil & Marschall is such a company. It’s family owned and is located in Southern Germany where traditional and handcrafted methods of the region has been practiced by the brand. Specializing in outdoor accessories, Seil & Marschall pride themselves in building things that will last you for a very long time. Included in their long line of products are these climbers, woodsman, and canvas backpacks. They come in three different distinct colors and are sure to aid you in your daily travels. Available now at Oi Polloi.










  • It’s Not Just Germany: France’s Sarkozy Joins The Call For Euro-Wide Austerity

    sarkozyap022709

    Broadcasting his commitment to austerity, Sarkozy called today for a constitutional amendment to limit austerity, according to France 24. Germany already has a similar clause on the books.

    Sarkozy would force every French government to publish a five-year trajectory for balancing its budget.

    Of course that means balancing his own 8% deficit. Sarkozy plans to hack away 10% France’s budget by 2013. The president will do this by initiating a spending freeze and other major austerity measures:

    France 24:

    Sarkozy said he would save five billion euros (6.16 billion dollars) per year by closing tax loopholes, and reduce government running costs and subsidies by ten percent by the end of 2013.

    “We will continue to only replace one public employee for every two that retire,” he said, predicting that this will mean the saving of 34,000 public sector salaries per year on average.

    “And from 2011 we will strictly reinforce our control on spending. We will reject general tax rises and we will proceed at the pace of the recovery to pursue reforms that will strengthen our growth.”

    See also: Nightmare! What Spain’s Brutal Austerity Budget Would Look Like Here

    Join the conversation about this story »

  • Lames: Dan Haren, snake bitten in the desert


    Want to slam the Noise for his Clayton Kershaw(notes)
    analysis or misguided projections? Humiliate him in 140 characters or
    less on Twitter. And click
    here to follow
    Roto Arcade on Facebook
    .

    When
    compared to other major sports, baseball is more individualistic. Even the most
    casual fans are obsessed with specific player achievement. Cursory questions around
    office water coolers typify this common perception:

    Did A-Rod go yard today? How many Ks
    did Tim Lincecum(notes) rack last night? Milton Bradley(notes) dropped how many F-bombs?

    However,
    when it comes to pitchers, the game, similar to the rest of the Big Four, is
    unmistakably team oriented. Often times, a starter is only as good as the sum
    of all parts.

    Arizona’s Dan Haren(notes) knows the feeling.

    The popular
    early round choice, who historically has been one of virtual baseball’s most
    dependable April/May performers, has struggled mightily out of the gates.
    Though his K/9, which has steadily risen in seven consecutive seasons,
    currently stands at a career-best 9.35, his walks and HR/FB percentage are up
    significantly. The upswings in those critical areas have inflated his ERA to an
    unsavory 4.83.

    As with any
    pitcher, Haren is responsible for specific statistical outcomes. But Arizona’s historically
    bad bullpen is beginning to take a psychological toll on the three-time All-Star.

    If the
    righty logged long sessions on Freud’s couch, he would likely admit to haunting
    nightmares involving late-inning implosions. Chad Qualls(notes) (7.07 ERA) and Juan Gutierrez(notes)
    (8.62), among others, are real-life bogeymen. Only cackling circus clowns
    riding Great White Sharks are more frightening.

    Arizona’s fangless ‘pen is on pace to be one
    of the worst in baseball history. Over 109.1 innings, the despicable unit has
    posted a 7.90 ERA. That’s over 1.70 average runs allowed more than the
    second-worst backend staff in the league, Milwaukee.
    If the D-Backs continue at that level of generosity, they will be the first
    team since 1930 to finish a season with a bullpen ERA above 7.00. Torched by
    the long-ball, walks and wildness, the Snakes, suffice it to say, are Shawn
    Kemp slutty.

    Cerebrally,
    Haren is a train-wreck right now. Outward looks of pain and anguish have become
    commonplace. After his last start, definitely one of the worst of his desert
    career (4.1 IP, 6 ER at Atl), dejection replaced confidence. From MLB.com:

    "That’s as bad as I’ve been as a Diamondback probably,"
    Haren said. "I didn’t have it. Nothing behind the ball. I was in trouble
    early, couldn’t put anyone away. I was really pitching with the cutter. That
    was the only thing I really had. Struggled to throw strikes. I guess it was
    just one of those days. It definitely didn’t feel good."

    "Warming up in the bullpen, I didn’t feel great, but a
    lot of times you go out there and figure it out," Haren said. "I was
    really fighting myself. I was looking for stuff that wasn’t there."

    Plagued by
    plain bad luck (.357 BABIP) and poor end-game support, his overall worth should
    be substantially higher. According to Baseball Monster, he’s currently the
    67th-best starter in fantasy. Still, the consummate teammate isn’t pointing
    fingers at the deserving. Instead, he’s placing blame on himself. From Fox
    Sports Arizona
    :

    "I haven’t
    pitched well enough. I’ve had my struggles. I’ve given up a lot of hits, more
    than I am accustomed to. I’m frustrated. I need to get better," he said.

    Team-wide
    inconsistencies are obviously battering Haren mentally. Outside two ERA-bashing
    starts, he’s pitched extraordinarily well. His increased reliance on cutters
    and splitters outside the zone has routinely perplexed hitters. As his 3.56 FIP
    implies, a positive ERA correction is imminent, especially toeing the rubber
    often against other NL West members. A turnaround should be expected, but keep
    in mind the righty has historically stumbled down the stretch. After the break,
    he’s notched a career 4.21 ERA and 1.32 WHIP (3.23, 1.08 Pre). Regardless of the
    track-record, opportunistic owners should pounce.

    Yogi Berra
    once said, "Ninety percent of the game is half mental." Unless Saul
    Rivera
    (notes),
    Carlos Rosa(notes) and Cesar Valdez(notes) miraculously reverse the bullpen’s
    misfortunes, Haren’s value, specifically in wins, could remain in a straight jacket.

    Fearless Forecast (rest of season):
    168.1 IP, 9 W, 3.34 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 161 K

    CATEGORY KILLER
    Vampiristic commodity sucking
    the life out of your team owned in a majority of Yahoo! leagues
    .

    Gordon Beckham(notes), ChW,
    2B/3B (51-percent owned)
    : Do you believe in sophomore slumps? Beckham has
    destroyed more franchises than Megan Fox’s "acting" ability. The multi-positional
    infielder has recorded just five two-plus hit games this year. He also has the
    same number of extra-base knocks as marooned first baseman Chris Davis(notes). An
    increase in strikeout percentage (23.1) and reversal in GB/FB (1.29) are to
    blame statistically for Beckham’s swoon. Though he sat the past two games in
    favor of mummified veteran Omar Vizquel(notes), Ozzie Guillen remains loyal to the youngster as
    his everyday second baseman. Due to his sluggish start, he won’t be able to
    meet the lofty year-two expectations pundits placed preseason, but he’s far too talented not to rebound.

    3…2…1…IMPLOSION!
    Widely owned starter
    who will soon maim an innocent Gatorade cooler

    Yovani Gallardo(notes), Mil
    (5/22 at Min, 98 percent-owned):
    Gallardo will likely become the 16th
    pitcher in big league history to toss a perfect game. As the peanut gallery
    screamed last week, our negative commentary on Ricky Romero(notes) spurred the Jays
    starter to the greatest start of his young career. Still, El Chupacabra’s
    matchup is unfavorable. The Twins have played brilliantly at home indicative in
    their 12-6 record. Ten times they’ve reached the five run mark at Target Field.
    Gallardo has walked a tightrope for much of the season, indicative in his
    unsettling 4.92 BB/9 and 25.6 line-drive rate. Eventually the free
    passes/hard contact combination will come back to haunt him. Though he’s been almost
    untouchable on the road (1.86 ERA, 41 K in 29 IP), the peripheries suggest a
    rough outing or two are ahead.

    SABER SLEUTH
    Uncovering fantasy’s
    lucky bastards one decimal place at a time

    Alfonso Soriano(notes), ChC,
    OF (89-percent owned)
    : Thus far, the Noise has been very wrong about Fonzy.
    As an adoring Cubs fan, we’re pleased the reverse psychology has worked.
    Swinging the bat with renewed vigor, he’s notched a .320 BA with seven homers
    and 23 RBI. Still, Soriano has benefited from Lady Luck. His .370 BABIP and
    25.3 line-drive percentage are unsustainable. Striking out at a similar clip as
    last season and pulling the ball more (0.48 GB/FB), a BA regression to the
    .275-.285 range is likely. You have to like his improvement with sliders over
    the outer portion, but Soriano isn’t going to establish new career benchmarks
    in hits and BA at 34. When it’s all said and done, the difference between him
    and Jonny Gomes(notes) might be closer than you think.

    Image courtesy of the AP

  • Casey James is Voted off from the American Idol

    Who will be the next American Idol of 2010? From three, we narrowed our finalists to two as James Casey was eliminated from the May 19th episode.

    The American Idol episode last night was about the Idols’ visits to their home as well as performances by two new singers: Justin Bieber, who rendered us the songs “U Smile” and “Baby”, and another singer Travis Garland who preformed “Believe”. As they say, this episode provided an opportunity for the three of them to be in the place they grew up and people they grew up with so as to reminisce who they had been in the recent past before they became performers for the American Idol. Focusing on Casey as he was the one who just bid goodbye, his story in relation to his music career had not been very smooth. At 21 years of age, he incurred a serious injury from a motorcycle accident wherein the affectations involved his extremities not being able to play guitar anymore. It can be seen through his actions and words how grateful he was to the hospital personnel and staff, the doctors and nurses who took care of him althroughout his therapy when he visited the hospital in his hometown in Texas.

    Related posts:

    1. Siobhan Magnus Is Eliminated In American Idol
    2. American Idol 2010: Goodbye Casey James
    3. Lee DeWyze succeeded with Hallelujah on American Idol 2010, Goodbye Casey James.

  • Voice Over Revision A to power Verizon Wireless’ iPhone?

    Will the iPhone come out for Verizon Wireless? It’s the question that so many of the service’s subscribers would like to see answered definitively. This news story, unfortunately, won’t do that. What it will do, however, is fan the flames of the rumor fire. The latest is that the phone would work with Voice Over Revision A. In English that means the phone would be able to handle both voice and data connections simultaneously.

    As you know, CDMA phones cannot handle both at the same time—if you’re browsing the Web on your Droid or Incredible and a call comes in, your data connection drops off in order to accommodate the incoming voice. GSM has no such issues.

    This could sorta be seen as a stopgap move, in between the current vanilla CDMA implementation and LTE, or Voice Over LTE more specifically.

    Of course, the big rumor is still that CDMA iPhones will be massed produced beginning in August in September.

    The very moment, if it ever happens, that Verizon Wireless announces availability of the iPhone, be sure to check AT&T stock. That should be fun (unless you’re a shareholder).

    Flickr’d


  • France authorities arrest suspected Basque separatist leader

    Photo source or description

    [JURIST] Four suspected members of armed Basque separatist group ETA [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] were arrested [press release, in Spanish] Thursday in France, including suspected ETA leader Mikel Kabikoitz Carrera Sarobe. The officers raided a residential block of the French city of Bayonne and arrested Sarobe along with two Spanish accomplices. Sarobe, a Spanish national, is alleged to be the military commander of the ETA and is the most wanted criminal in Spain, according to the Department of Interior [official website, in Spanish]. One detained accomplice was identified as Arkaitz Aguirregabiria del Barrio, who is deemed to be ETA’s second in command and is wanted in France for the shooting of a police officer in March. ETA is listed as a banned terrorist group by the European Union and has been held responsible for more than 800 deaths over the past 40 years.

    Spain and France have both made great strides recently in its attempts to limit ETA influence. In March, French prosecutors filed preliminary terrorism charges [JURIST report] against a suspected former leader of the ETA, along with two other people who are believed to be senior members of the group. A judicial source said that the charges against the alleged ETA members stem from preparations to commit a terrorist act, including theft, forgery, and illegal arms charges. That same month, the Spanish National Court sentenced [JURIST report] former Basque separatist party leader Arnaldo Otegi to two years in prison for promoting terrorism in a speech he gave. In January, Spanish judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska ruled [JURIST report] that ETA had tried three times to assassinate former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar in 2001 but had failed. Grande-Marlaska detailed the three assassination attempts [El Pais report, in Spanish] as part of a description of the alleged crimes of ETA leader Pedro Maria Olano Zabala, who was arrested in the Basque region earlier that month.

  • Floyd Landis Fingers Lance Armstrong In Performancing-Enhancing Drug Scandal

    Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after he was caught using performance-enhancing drugs, has admitted to doping and claims revered cycling legend Lance Armstrong did it too.

    Floyd finally confessed to doping, steroid use, EPO, and blood transfusions in a series of emails earlier this month. Now that his name is mud on the cycling circuit, Landis has made sure to try to take down every other cyclist in the sport as well, including Lance.

    The Wall Street Journal writes: “In one of the emails, dated April 30 and addressed to Stephen Johnson, the president of USA Cycling, Mr. Landis said that Mr. Armstrong’s longtime coach, Johan Bruyneel, introduced Mr. Landis to the use of steroid patches, blood doping and human growth hormone in 2002 and 2003, his first two years on the U.S. Postal Service team. He alleged Mr. Armstrong helped him understand the way the drugs worked. ‘He and I had lengthy discussions about it on our training rides during which time he also explained to me the evolution of EPO testing and how transfusions were now necessary due to the inconvenience of the new test,’ Mr. Landis claimed in the email. He claimed he was instructed by Mr. Bruyneel how to use synthetic EPO and steroids and how to carry out blood transfusions that doping officials wouldn’t be able to detect. Mr. Bruyneel and Mr. Johnson could not be reached for comment.”

    The International Cycling Union doesn’t buy Landis’ story. In fact, foundation president Pat McQuaid brands Floyd a bitter f-up manipulating the system to shame his former rivals.

    “These guys coming out now with things like this from the past is only damaging the sport. If they’ve any love for the sport they wouldn’t do it. What’s his agenda? The guy is seeking revenge. It’s sad, it’s sad for cycling. It’s obvious he does hold a grudge. He already made those accusations in the past. Armstrong has been accused many times in the past but nothing has been proved against him. And in this case, I have to question the guy’s credibility. There is no proof of what he says. We are speaking about a guy who has been condemned for doping before a court.”


  • Top climate highlights plus NAS video

    On E2, Reid says he’s serious about energy and is planning to convene a Democratic caucus next month to

    “discuss how to proceed on energy and climate change legislation.”

    On Grist, David Roberts applauds Thomas Friedman on his New York Times op-ed in which Friedman worries that Obama won’t make a strong push for climate legislation in the wake of the Gulf oil disaster and compares it to George W. Bush’s lack of vision when dealing with the public outcries and aftermath of 9/11. Friedman explains:

    “No, the gulf oil spill is not Obama’s Katrina. It’s his 9/11 — and it is disappointing to see him making the same mistake George W. Bush made with his 9/11. Sept. 11, 2001, was one of those rare seismic events that create the possibility to energize the country to do something really important and lasting that is too hard to do in normal times. President Bush’s greatest failure was not Iraq, Afghanistan or Katrina. It was his failure of imagination after 9/11 to mobilize the country to get behind a really big initiative for nation-building in America.”

    Green focuses on the three new studies released by the National Research Council, part of the National Academy of Sciences, calling for action on climate change.

    The report states that the most efficient way to reduce carbon dioxide pollution is to put a predictable and rising price on it.”

    Dot earth also has the story which includes an interesting video which explains the significance of the three reports in the wider climate policy debate.

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY94AB6o-D8

  • Google Is Activating 100,000 Androids A Day; Unveiled Tethering, Flash


    HTC Evo 4G

    At Google’s developer conference in San Francisco today, it provided rock-solid evidence of Android’s gaining momentum and outlined where the platform was headed, including new features that make the platform more competitive, and in some cases, leap-frogs the iPhone.

    The entire presentation, given by Vic Gundotra, the VP of Engineering in charge of mobile applications, and was sprinkled with back-handed jabs at Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), and stressed how being open means being inclusive. “Thank you for supporting Android and for voting on the side of open,” he said. Today’s announcements included incremental updates to Android, such as new features like tethering. Google (NSDQ: GOOG) also demonstrated future versions of its app store, and showed off new ad formats that mock Apple’s iAds. As is typical with these kinds of Google events, everyone in the audience walked away with Sprint’s HTC EVO 4G, which comes out June 4.

    Some of the impressive figures shared today:

    —Google is now activating 100,000 mobile phones a day, up from 60,000 a day in February.
    —In the first six months of offering free turn-by-turn navigation, it has mapped 1 billion miles.
    —Google searches on mobile have grown five times in the past two years across all phones.
    —The Android Market now has 50,000 applications, and 180,000 registered developers.

    Google’s announcements can be broken down into four parts:

    Froyo: Google unveiled Android 2.2, which is code-named Froyo for Frozen Yogurt. The platform, which will be released to hardware compatible phones over time, will be two to five times faster than running Eclair. That will improve the entire experience on the phone, but also the performance of games. New enterprise features for Froyo includes integrating Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Exchange and enabling an IT department to remote wipe a device if necessary. Cool new features from Froyo consists of tethering, so you can internet-enable your laptop, or create a WiFi hotspot with your phone. One necessary chagne that Froyo has is to allow users to save large applications to the SD card, rather than the phone’s memory. This task will now be done automatically for the user. It will also have Adobe’s Flash, clearly something the iPhone won’t be supporting. In one of his jabs at Apple, Gundotra, said: “A special thanks to Adobe (NSDQ: ADBE) for wanting to engage with us. It’s much nicer [for Google to be inclusive] than just saying no.”

    New developer updates: A few new features were added to the developer SDK. One of the more impressive demonstrations was of how the Chrome browser on the PC was tied to the phone. If you find directions on the computer, and send them to the phone, it immediately launches the maps application.

    Android Market updates: Google provided a sneak peak of upcoming Android Market updates. A user can now access the application catalog from the browser, and then can send applications right to the phone, without having to tether the device to the PC. Google is also making easy to slide over all your non-DRM music to the Android device. It also demonstrated how to buy songs or albums in the market, which Gundotra said is not just for apps, signaling that Google will be getting into more content sales.

    Advertising: One area they are facing stiff competition from Apple is advertising. While Apple moves forward with its iAd service, Google is still waiting to hear from the FTC about its purchase of AdMob. Gundotra: “We aren’t new at this game, we aren’t charging people $1 million to be part of our program. Advertisers and publishers have all different kinds of needs, local, direct response, and brand, and you need formats that meet the needs. We have those formats.” Today, Google announced they are releasing “expandable ads,” which allow a banner to become bigger within an application when someone clicks on it. The ad format is part of Google’s Adsense for Mobile Apps which is in Beta. From the expandable ad, people will be about to see a map, or click to call and watch movie trailers.


  • Un futuro de aplicaciones descargables para los Audi

    audi-a8-navegacion.jpg

    Así como en la época actual podemos descargar parches, aplicaciones y mejoras para nuestros ordenadores y portátiles, en el futuro se podrían descargar las mismas utilidades, pero para los coches. Y la primera novedad viene de la mano de Audi, que ha anunciado dicha posibilidad, antes de que termine esta década.

    De acuerdo a Peter Schwarzenbauer, jefe de comercialización y ventas de Audi, la posibilidad no muy lejana de que casi todos los coches cuenten con conexión propia a Internet, hará las cosas más fáciles para la descarga de aplicaciones especiales que mejoren las características de tu coche. Para ello, los vehículos tendrían que estar dotados de fábrica con el hardware apropiado para que se pueda activar en el momento oportuno, con la descarga de las aplicaciones.

    Uno de los ejemplos que Schwarzenbauer mencionó, sería la descarga de la característica de asientos calefactables, o de nuevas características que mejoren el navegador, o mejoras para el sistema de sonido, por ejemplo. También sería de uso por los concesionarios quienes podrían seleccionar y descargar todos los opcionales del coche al momento de la compra.

    Si estas descargas se generalizan, el paso inmediato es evidente: mejoras “no oficiales” en la gestión del motor, más entrega de potencia, desbloqueo de limitadores electrónicos y consumos más eficientes aún que los homologados de fábrica, entre otras cosas.

    Vía | Autocar



  • Google I/O 2010: Google App Engine for Business and VMware Partnership

    The first day of the Google I/O 2010 developer conference was packed with announcements, but much of the two-hour or so keynote speech was dedicated to the enterprise sector. Though Google has been putting a lot of effort into its business services, it looks like the company is now ready for a full frontal assault. Google unv… (read more)

  • Perhaps The Weirdest Craigslist Room Rental Ad Ever

    Ok, we’re sure it isn’t technically the weirdest one ever, but the abruptness with which the weirdness takes over at the end of the ad is noteworthy.

    5-20-2010 1-29-38 PM.jpg

    Everything seemed normal until I got to the end [Reddit]
    $850 Looking for new Roommate [Craigslist]

  • Lawmakers to return to Capitol next week to work on budget

    Posted by Monique Garcia at 12:35 p.m.

    Lawmakers plan to return to Springfield early next week to take up the task of finishing the state budget.



    House members were sent a memo today saying they should return to Springfield Monday afternoon and plan to stay through Wednesday. Senators also are likely to return during that time.

    Unresolved is a spending plan for the upcoming budget year. Negotiations came to a halt earlier this month when Democratic lawmakers who control the General Assembly couldn’t reach an agreement. On the table are a host of unpalatable ideas for lawmakers facing election later this year, including skipping this year’s nearly $4 billion pension payment, increasing the cigarette tax by $1 a pack and making massive cuts elsewhere.


    Democrats want to send a budget to Gov. Pat Quinn by May 31. Going past the deadline means Republicans gain a say in budget negotiations.

  • Trius Gets $29.5M Defense Contract

    Bruce V. Bigelow wrote:

    The Defense Threat Reduction Agency has awarded a contract that could be worth as much as $29.5 million through 2015 to San Diego’s Trius Therapeutics to develop novel antibiotics for gram-negative bacterial pathogens. In a statement, Trius says it will use its proprietary Focused Antisense Screening Technology and expertise in structure-based drug design to optimize promising antibacterial compounds for a variety of microbes, including germs that cause Bubonic plague, rabbit fever (tularemia), and Melioidosis.

    UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS



























  • The Importance of Shoulder Mobility and Scapular Stability

    shoulderIf you’ve been following my series on joint mobility you’ll know that I’ve already covered how to improve and maintain joint mobility for the hips, thoracic spine, and ankles and wrists. Today and tomorrow I’ll be going over the shoulder. The shoulder is a tricky joint because it has to provide adequate stability while maintaining full mobility to prevent injury and maximize function and performance. If you look at yourself in the mirror and wave your arms around, you’ll see what I mean. If that doesn’t work, watch a swimmer, preferably one doing the IM, and watch the incredible range of motion in those shoulders. That’s what the human body is capable of.

    Know what you’re looking for and you should be able to count ten different types of shoulder articulations. Ten! Contrast that with the hips (eight), the ankles (two), the wrists (four), or the spine (five), and the shoulder is clearly the most complicated joint with the greatest range of motion. Because “with great power comes great responsibility,” the shoulder is also perhaps the joint most vulnerable to injury. You can do a whole lot with a well-functioning shoulder joint, but you can also really mess yourself up and curtail your activity level for a long time if you get haphazard with its maintenance. Take it from a guy who messed his shoulder up more than once: shoulder health is absolutely required for an active, enriched life. And if you plan on attaining any sort of athletic competency on any level, you need good shoulders.

    Shoulder Structure

    A person’s shoulder joint is composed of the clavicle (collar bone), the scapula (shoulder blades), and the humerus (upper arm bone), along with two joints – the acromioclavicular, or AC joint; and the glenohumeral joint. AC joints exist between the clavicle and the scapula, whereas the glenohumeral joint is the classic ball-and-socket joint responsible for basic arm rotations and hinging. All these bones and joints are in turn supported by the surrounding musculature.

    Shoulderjoint

    The surrounding musculature is extensive. You’ve got the big boys, like the rear, middle, and anterior deltoids or the trapezius, that get all the credit. They’re the ones that pop out and look great in tank tops. Important? Yes. But there are more important ones, I’d argue. Because for all that mobility and all that muscle mass to work correctly, you need stability. You need a base, something to work from.

    This concept isn’t new, and it’s certainly not unique to the human shoulder joint. The entire body’s continuum of joints is governed by this “law.” Mobility-centric joints, like the hips, thoracic spine, and ankles, are connected to stability-centric joints, like the knees and lumbar spine. Each requires the next in line to function correctly and smoothly.

    For the mobile shoulder joints to stay mobile and healthy, they rely almost entirely on the proper function of the scapula. Yes, the true key to shoulder mobility is scapular stability. You gotta have strong shoulder blades. You need a foundation.

    While doing the bench press, that infamous destroyer of rotator cuffs, a trainee must tighten his scapula to create a “shelf” to lay against the bench. A trainee must also maintain that shelf throughout the set, even (especially) when pressing up. This is scapular retraction, and benching without it – with a loose, rounded back on the press up – will eventually kill your shoulders. It certainly knocked mine out for a good couple of months the most recent (and last) time I tried to max out my bench.

    Any overhead work, whether it’s pressing a barbell, lifting a growing child, or moving luggage into the overhead bin on an airplane, requires scapular elevation to help the acromion clear the rotator cuff. It moves, ideally, smoothly, but if you’ve got poor scapular function (say, from kyphosis, or poor thoracic mobility), the upward rotation is halted, and impingement syndrome can result.

    Back squats work best with a close grip and strong scapular retraction in order to urge the rest of the torso to stiffen and create that “shelf” for the bar to lie on. Try doing back squats with a wide grip and lax shoulder blades to see what I mean. Actually, don’t; it’ll just hurt your shoulders.

    Rowing (machine, boat, or barbell) is all about scapular retraction. You’re not just going to yank on a cable or work a paddle by flailing your arms wildly. Well, you could, but you’d injure yourself. Setting your shoulder blades back and keeping them tight creates a safe, linear path for your primary rowing muscles to travel.

    Pull-ups and chin-ups are all about scapular stability, very similar to the rows.

    The shoulders figure into every upper body exercise. If your arms are moving, that movement is occurring along the joints that comprise the shoulder. Bench presses, dips, overhead presses, and anything else involving your arms depend on healthy shoulders and good scapular function. Tomorrow, I’ll explain more about the scapula, how to target its supporting musculature, and how it all figures into overall shoulder health and mobility.

    Get Free Health Tips, Recipes and Workouts Delivered to Your Inbox

    Related posts:

    1. The Importance of Thoracic Spine Mobility
    2. The Importance of Mobility: The Hips
    3. The Importance of Wrist and Ankle Mobility

  • Paramount bringing Top Gun into PSN

    The highway to the danger zone will soon lead over to the PlayStation Network and the skies will be your playground. In other words, Top Gun is getting another release and it will soon be available for

  • UK government to reconsider US extradition of alleged hacker

    Photo source or description

    [JURIST] A member of the newly formed UK coalition government indicated Thursday that the extradition of alleged hacker Gary McKinnon [BBC profile; advocacy website] to the US will be delayed. Home Secretary Theresa May [official profile] considered an adjournment request from McKinnon’s legal team and agreed to delay [press release] a scheduled judicial review in order to determine if he is medically fit for extradition. McKinnon was arrested by British police in 2002 and indicted [text, PDF] by US authorities later that year on charges of hacking NASA, Department of Defense, Air Force, Army, and Navy computers in violation of US computer laws [18 USC s. 1030 text]. The British government granted the 2005 US extradition request, but McKinnon’s lawyer appealed, alleging that US authorities had told McKinnon that if he did not plead guilty to the charges, he could be sentenced to life in prison since each of the seven counts against him is punishable by up to 10 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine [indictment press release]. McKinnon, who has Asperger’s syndrome, lost an appeal [JURIST report] to the UK High Court in London last July. May has indicated [Times Online report] she will carefully consider the UK’s extradition treaty with the US as well as McKinnon’s medical history before she determines if the extradition order should stand.

    The UK’s new coalition government has shown a willingness to reexamine existing legislation. On Tuesday, the government announced they will review [JURIST report] the country’s Human Rights Act [BBC backgrounder] after two Pakistani terror suspects successfully avoided deportation by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission [official website] due to concerns for their safety. The Human Rights Act has been a point of contention between liberal and conservative groups in the UK. In 2006, then-prime minister Tony Blair called for an amendment to the act to allow the government greater discretion to protect public safety, while conservative leaders called for the act to be repealed [JURIST reports]. Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] urged the new UK government to continue its support of the act last week in addition to a request for the government to set up a judiciary inquiry [JURIST report] on torture [JURIST news archive] allegations. The rights group claimed that allegations of complicity in the torture of terrorism suspects have badly damaged the nation’s reputation and that steps need to be taken to restore the nation’s reputation as “a nation that respects human rights.”

  • Lindsay Lohan: Stuck in France + Misses a Court Hearing = Arrest Warrant Issued

    Lindsay Lohan, after missing her mandatory court hearing which stemming from her DUI case in 2007, received a warrant of arrest issued by Beverly Hills Superior Court Judge Marsha Revel. Shawn Chapman Holley, Lohan’s lawyer, said that she had a good reason for not showing up to court. The reason was that she was stuck at the Cannes Film Festival where her passport was stolen. “She has filled out police reports in Cannes,” Holley said. “She intends to fly back form Cannes at the earliest time.” However Revel was not receptive to any excuses. “She has a history of, from her prior alcohol program, not attending. Last time she was supposed to report at 8:30, she didn’t come until 10 or 10:30. She should have made sure that she either didn’t go to Cannes or if she went there, that she would be back two days before the hearing. If she wanted to be here, she could have been here. There’s really no valid excuse,” Revel replied.

    The actress Lindsay Lohan, 23 years old, is currently on her third year of probation. She pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of being under the influence of cocaine, no contest to two counts of driving with a blood-alcohol level above 0.08 percent and one count of reckless driving last August 2007. A judge had extended her probation for another year in October, and a prosecutor warned the actress that she will be facing jail time if she violated her probation.

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    3. Lindsay Lohan have a new romantic relationship

  • Ice skating beauty Katarina Witt checks out BMW test center [w/video]

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    Katarina Witt and the BMW Environment Test Center – Click above for high-res image gallery

    BMW has an Environment Test Center (ETC) that can test a car in a variety of environments – sun, ice, snow, rain – all of them indoors. As great as that would be for parties, they appear to put it to actual work, testing the engine and cooling systems in roadsters like the Z4 in 113 degrees Fahrenheit. The facility can also get down to 14 degrees, conjure wind up to 150 miles per hour, and even mix it up with snow and wind and rain.

    Icemistress Katarina Witt dropped by to take a tour, and while they did make a bit of ice and snow for her, they also took a lot of simulated sunny day pics and made a little movie. Follow the jump to watch the video (auf Deutsch), and have a look at the photos in our high-res gallery below.

    [Source: BMW]

    Continue reading Ice skating beauty Katarina Witt checks out BMW test center [w/video]

    Ice skating beauty Katarina Witt checks out BMW test center [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 May 2010 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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