The SpaceX Moon mission extends Elon Musk's ambitions

Elon Musk, it seems, loves nothing more than to spin plates. When most of us might be looking to lighten the load, he's piling on the ambition.

The serial entrepreneur's latest gambit is to fly people around the Moon. Two wealthy individuals have apparently lodged significant deposits with his SpaceX company to make this journey.
We have no idea who they are, just that these space tourists include "nobody from Hollywood".
That Mr Musk should announce his intention to carry out an Apollo 8-like Moon loop should not really be a surprise; such a venture is on the natural path to deep-space exploration and colonisation - his stated end goals.
What does take the breath away is the timeline.
He's talking about doing this journey in late 2018, in hardware that has not yet even flown. That's Elon for you. 

For sure, his Falcon rockets have been working for some time now and the Dragon capsule has become something of an old hand at shuttling back and forth to the International Space Station (ISS). But the circumlunar project is another step on from robotic cargo runs to low-Earth orbit.
The Falcon Heavy, the much bigger rocket that will be needed, should make its debut this summer.
The crew version of Dragon, with its all-important life-support equipment, is targeted to make its maiden voyage at the end of 2017.
This will be an unmanned test outing; the first flight to the ISS with people aboard is slated for the spring of 2018.
That does not leave much time to configure and adapt systems for the longer, more arduous Moon mission.

The Dragon will need some sort of propulsion and service module (with extra propellants, oxygen, water, etc) to help sustain the required trajectory and the tourists for what will be at minimum a 6-to-7-day journey.
"Back in the Apollo days the outbound journey would usually take between two and three days and the same for the return journey, maybe about a one-week round trip once they leave the Earth," commented Jason Davis from the space advocacy group the Planetary Society.
"It is a little bit different than say putting an astronaut in low-Earth orbit on the International Space Station because your quick return to Earth is no longer an option.
"Once you fire that rocket and head towards the Moon, you can't turn around and go home so you are really kind of on your own for about a week with no-one to come and save you if there is a problem."
Mr Musk says his tourists understand the risks, and that they will receive "extensive training before going on the mission."
The entrepreneur hasn't yet confirmed it, but it's hard to imagine the ticketed passengers would fly without also being accompanied by an astronaut of experience. If there is a problem, having someone aboard with intimate knowledge of the Dragon's workings could make all the difference.

Of course, history tells us that everything in space "moves to the right". Timelines are rarely fixed. And SpaceX is not immune in this respect.
The Falcon Heavy is behind on its original schedule; like Musk, we all thought he’d be flying people to the ISS regularly by now; and his recently promised robotic Mars landing has just been pushed back two years. And don't forget the long list of satellite operators who've seen their launches delayed in the aftermath of two Falcon mishaps.
So, don't be surprised if this Moon loop also extends into the future. The really interesting sub-plot, however, is what this all means for the US space agency (Nasa).
It can be no coincidence that its leadership has announced that it will be looking to put people on the maiden flight of the agency’s huge new rocket, the Space Launch System, and its associated crew capsule, Orion.
These systems are currently due to fly in an unmanned test configuration late next year. A Nasa inquiry could now see a way to slip the mission to 2019 and make it a manned outing instead.
This would make for an intriguing comparison. You would have two missions launching almost at the same time, to do essentially the same mission profile around the Moon, except one (SLS/Orion) would have cost billions to get to the launch pad while the other (Falcon Heavy/Dragon) would have cost in the hundreds of millions. Certainly there would be an order of magnitude difference in price.

It is said that President Trump is looking very hard at how to expand commercial space activity during his administration. The Moon missions would give him considerable food for thought.
Publicly, both Musk and Nasa are on the same page. The agency, which has invested considerable sums in SpaceX, released a statement late on Monday saying that it commended "its industry partners for reaching higher".
Musk tweeted: “SpaceX could not do this without Nasa. Can't express enough appreciation”.
But the comparisons are inescapable. And this is a wave we are witnessing.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has been quietly acquiring space credentials through his impressive Blue Origin company. He is building a rocket to rival the Falcon Heavy that he calls New Glenn. He’s even got one on the drawing board that’s bigger still called New Armstrong.
The ambition is the same as SpaceX. So is the cost model. That is, to create something that is considerably cheaper than the public sector can deliver with its burdensome oversight and its (politically driven) distributed manufacturing methods.
After all, it is in part the cost of access to space that has slowed the pace of exploration since the Apollo era.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-39115201

Doris Roberts of 'Raymond's' has died

April 18, 2016

Doris Roberts, celebrated for her portrayal of a loving but meddling mom on Everybody Loves Raymond, died Sunday.
Roberts' son, Michael Cannata, confirmed the news in a statement issued Monday that says his mother "died peacefully in her sleep of natural causes."
The 90-year-old actress, whose celebrated career spanned six decades, won four Emmys for her portrayal of Marie Barone on the top-rated, long-running CBS comedy series (1996-2005). She won an Emmy earlier in her career for supporting actress for her role on NBC's medical drama St. Elsewhere.
Raymond star Ray Romano remembered the actress who played his title character's mother in a statement: "Doris Roberts had an energy and a spirit that amazed me. She never stopped. Whether working professionally or with her many charities, or just nurturing and mentoring a young, green comic trying to make it as an actor, she did it all with such a grand love for life and people and I will miss her dearly."

On Raymond, Roberts' Marie was a loving, sometimes smothering and often all-knowing (at least in her own mind) presence in the home of son Raymond and his wife, Debra (Patricia Heaton), who did not always appreciate Marie's interference. The late Peter Boyle played Marie's husband, Frank, and Brad Garrett played Raymond's brother, Robert, who always felt that he played second fiddle to the coddled Raymond.
Roberts, who was born in St. Louis and grew up in New York, was a veteran of Broadway before starring in various films and TV series during an illustrious acting career that began in the 1950s. Her stage credits include The Desk Set, The Last of the Red Hot Lovers and Bad Habits, for which she won an Outer Critics Circle Award.

Besides Raymond, Roberts had memorable roles in other TV series, including Remington Steele and Angie. Early in her career, she appeared on such classic shows as The Naked City and Ben Casey and more recently she was featured in ABC's Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and The Middle, which stars Heaton.
Roberts' feature film roles include Barefoot in the Park (1967), The Heartbreak Kid (1972) and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) and Madea's Witness Protection (2012).
Roberts' passion for cooking was reflected in her 2005 book, Are You Hungry, Dear? Life, Laughs and Lasagna, which she co-wrote with Danielle Morton.
In addition to son Michael, Roberts is survived by her daughter-in-law, Jane, and three grandchildren: Kelsey, Andrew and Devon Cannata.

Hope Solo arrested on domestic violence allegations involving sister, nephew

Hope Solo

Hope Solo, the goalkeeper on the U.S. women’s soccer team, was arrested for allegedly assaulting two of her relatives after a dispute broke out early Saturday morning during a party at her suburban Seattle home.

Police answered a 911 call from the Kirkland, Wash., home Solo shares with her husband Jerramy Stevens and arrested her for allegedly striking her sister and teenage nephew. Solo, according to police, appeared “intoxicated and upset” and her nephew, 17, and adult sister had visible injuries. “There was a big party going on at her house. It was an out-of-control situation,” Kirkland police Lt. Mike Murray told the Seattle Times. Solo, 32, was being held without bail in South King County Jail on two charges of domestic violence assault in the fourth degree. Listed under her married name, Hope Amelia Stevens, she is to appear Monday in Kirkland Municipal Court.

Solo married Stevens, a former NFL player for the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in November 2012, shortly after he was arrested on suspicion of assaulting Solo, but charges were never brought because there was insufficient evidence. Solo, who has played on two Olympic gold-medal winning teams, appeared as a contestant on ABC television’s “Dancing with the Stars” in 2011.

Kirkland police released details of her arrest (via the Times):

    On June 21st 2014 and just before 1:00 am, Kirkland Police Department Patrol Units responded to a 911 call of a disturbance in the 10600 block of 124th AVE NE. The male caller stated that a female at the residence was “hitting people” and they could not get her to stop or to leave the house. Officer arrived and immediately heard the sounds of the disturbance inside the residence.

    They entered and contacted several persons; one being Hope A Stevens (Solo) who appeared intoxicated and upset. As officers made contact, they observed visible injuries on Solo’s 17-year-old nephew and on Solo’s sister. After receiving statements of the persons involved, Officers determined that Solo was the primary aggressor and had instigated the assault.

    Solo was arrested on 2 counts of Domestic Violence Assault 4th Degree and booked into the south King County detention facility (SCORE). Solo will have a mandatory court appearance Monday June 23rd at the Kirkland Municipal Court, with the time yet to be determined.

The Seattle Reign, for whom Solo plays, said in a statement: “We are aware of the situation regarding Hope Solo and are currently gathering information. We have no further comments at this time.”

Jeremy Meeks: Alleged Felon’s Mug Shot Goes Viral On Facebook

Jeremy Meeks, 30, could’ve never guessed that thousands of women would share, like and comment on his mugshot on the Stockton PD’s Facebook page — but that’s exactly what happened after he was arrested! In one of the weirdest stories so far this summer, Jeremy — teardrop tattoo and all — has become a well-known face overnight.



In the Stockton PD’s Facebook post, they detailed Jeremy as one of their day’s arrests: “Jeremy Meeks, a 30 year old man, convicted felon, arrested for felony weapon charges,” part of the post attached to Jeremy’s photo read.
The Stockton Police caught Jeremy as part of their Operation Ceasefire enforcement mission. The criminal sweep was a multi-agency task force that included the Stockton PD Gang Violence Suppression Unit, Community Response Team, County Wide Gang Task Force and nine other organizations, including the FBI, according to the department’s Facebook page.
While the fact that Jeremy was arrested by the hard-working police department for an alleged crime is VERY serious, the comments on his Facebook mug shot are simply hilarious.

Jeremy Meeks’ is the guy that women have been swooning over ever since his mugshot went viral on June 18. Here are five things you must know about this sexy felon.

Well, he is quite a hunk! Jeremy Meeks, 30, and his model face went viral overnight when his mugshot caught the attention of ladies around the world. HollywoodLife.com has rounded up 5 things you must know about Jeremy, the man whose gorgeous mugshot went viral! Note of caution, ladies: he’s a convicted felon, so he’s not exactly date material!

Jeremy Meeks: 5 Things To Know About The Guy Whose Mugshot Went Viral

1. He was arrested for felony weapons charges.

Jeremy was arrested on felony weapons charges on June 18 along with three other men. The police believe Jeremy was a part of an active group that is allegedly responsible for many shootings and robberies in the area, according to the Stockton Police Department Facebook page. He has also been convicted of a crime in the past.

2. He has a son, according to Facebook.

On a community Facebook page created about Jeremy, pictures surfaced of Jeremy with what seems to be his son. His mother also posted pictures of Jeremy with his on her GoFundMe page. Like Jeremy, his son is a cutie.

In a new interview, Jeremy revealed that he also has a wife.

3. His mother has started a GoFundMe page to “Free Jeremy.”

His mother, Katherine Angier, started a GoFundMe page to raise money to “Free Jeremy.” On the page, Katherine pleaded with people to donate to get him released. “Please help,” she wrote. “My son was taken into custody on his way to work. He is a working man with a son. He is being stereotyped due to old tatoos.”

4. His mother believes he’s been stereotyped because of his tattoos.

His mother also believes he’s been singled out because of his significant tattoos. “He has a job and … He was on his way to work,” she also wrote. “With no gang affiliations as per two of the charges. He has old tattoos..which causes him to be sterotyped. He’s my son and he is so sweet. Please help him to get a fair trial or else he’ll be railroaded.”

5. His picture on the Facebook page has been liked over 45,000 times!

Yes, you read that right. The picture that the Stockton Police Department posted after the arrests, and the one that’s gone viral, has been liked over 45,000 times and counting! The ladies seem to have a thing for this bad boy.

Ada Lovelace's 197th birthday on Google Doodle: First Programmer and Math Enchantress

Ada Lovelace, who has been called the world's first computer programmer and the "enchantress of numbers," was honored by Google on Monday with a Google Doodle marking her 197th birthday.
If you've never heard of this mathematical pioneer, you are not alone. Megan Smith, a vice president at Google, and Lynette Webb, senior manager of external relations, write that as of last year, most people at Google hadn't heard of her either.
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace was born on December 10, 1815 in London--the daughter of Anne Isabelle Millbanke, and George Gordon Noel Byron--better known as Lord Byron, the poet.

Lovelace never had a relationship with her father. He and her mother separated when she was still an infant. Her mother, who was a mathematician herself, insisted her daughter be tutored in math and music in the hopes that Lovelace would not follow in her father's amoral footsteps.
Lovelace showed an aptitude early on for mathematics, and when she was 17, she met and befriended Charles Babbage, who is now considered the "father of the computer." She was fascinated by a contraption he was building -- the Difference Engine, one of the earliest attempts to create a machine that could calculate a series of values automatically.
Babbage never finished the Difference Engine. Before it was completed he started work on the Analytical Engine, which could be programmed using punched cards. In 1843 Babbage asked Lovelace to translate a French article about the Analytical Engine by an Italian engineer named Luigi Manabrea. While translating the article, Lovelace added copious notes of her own -- including the first step-by-step sequences of operations for solving certain mathematical problems. It was these sets of instructions that have led to her be called the first computer programmer.
Lovelace also saw potential in Babbage's machines that he may not have seen himself. As Smith and Webb write on Google's official blog, "While Babbage saw [the analytical engine] as a mathematical calculator, Ada understood it had much more potential. She realized it was, in essence, a machine that could manipulate symbols in accordance with defined rules, and -- crucially -- that there was no reason the symbols had to represent only numbers and equations. ... This was an astounding conceptual leap from calculation to computing."
"The Analytical Engine weaves algebraic patterns just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leaves," she wrote in 1843 in a lovely synthesis of mathematics and poetry.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-ada-lovelace-google-doodle-20121210,0,1375011.story

Pacquiao vs Marquez 4: Manny Defeated in Round Six

Pacquiao vs. Marquez 4 Contract: Details on Prize Fight Money and Purse

Nevermind the result of Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez 4; both sides will walk away happy. After all, their contracts ensure they'll be doing so with millions.

And in Pacquiao's case, it could be up to $30 million.

The fight, won by Marquez on a sixth-round KO, took place at MGM Grand Garden in Nevada and was expected to draw a heavy pay-per-view audience.

Pacquiao's contract with the Nevada Athletic Commission for this fight is $8.595 million. Marquez's contract is quite a bit smaller, but he's still taking away a guaranteed $3 million.

But that's just the beginning. The eventual purse for both fighters could be much, much larger.
This event was broadcast on HBO pay-per-view and was projected to garner over one million buys. The last Pacquiao-Marquez fight earned 1.3 million buys.

Pacquiao is perhaps the biggest draw in the sport, and the views reflect that.
A large chunk of Pacquiao's sum will come from his upside of the pay-per-view sales. And if it does well, Pacquiao will earn multiple millions from HBO.

Add that to his potential earning from the international broadcast of the fight and Pacquiao is easily projected to clear the $25-million barrier. Marquez is also expected to receive a significant sum from pay-per-view sales.




Saturday, December 8th was the Pacquiao vs Marquez 4 fight, broadcast on HBO's Pay-Per-View service, so obviously, not everyone got a chance to watch the event. The fight happened at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Manny Pacquaio had won the two most recent meetings with Juan Manuel Marquez, and this was their fourth time facing off.

This fourth match-up of two great fighters is an exciting one for fans, and in the day of modern, instant technology people are able to watch it live via pay-per-view as it happens, if they are not able to get tickets or make a trip to Las Vegas. But HBO is charging ridiculous rates for these fights (around $50), which could be considered a fair price for actual seats in the arena at the MGM Grand.
The fight results were a surprise to many, with Pacquaio being knocked out in the sixth round at 2:59. Below is a link to the video highlights of the fight, as well as a recap of the event, round-by-round.

Round One: Pacquiao starts out strong, aggressively taking the fight to Marquez, and lands three lefts and an uppercut for a round end score of 10-9 Pacquiao.
Round Two: Marquez misses a left hook and Pacquiao isn't as aggressive as he was being in the first round. Both are landing punches on the inside. Once again 10-9 Pacquiao.
Round Three: This is where things heat up a little. Marquez tries for a left hook but it is blocked by Pacquiao, who lands a right and a left. Marquez lands a left on the body and then another. Marquez tosses a hard overhand right that throws Pacquiao for a loop. This round 10-8 Marquez.
Round Four: Pacquiao seems to have lost the energy and aggressiveness he came out with in the first round. Marquez seems to be landing the majority of punches but the scoreboard reads 10-9 Pacquaio at the end of the round.
Round Five: Pacquiao lands a great left as the round begins, and knocks down Marquez. Both fighters throw some massive punches and amazingly they are still able to push back, even though the room must be spinning with the power of some of those blows. This round goes to Pacquiao 10-8.
Round Six: Manny Pacquaio lands a flurry of punches which Marquez survives, but then Manny has him on the ropes with punch combinations. Then, Marquez sees his opportunity and sends out a massive left punch, right after being hit hard. Pacquiao goes down, KO's at 2:59 in Round Six.
Some of the greatest fights in history have happened on HBO's Pay-Per-View service, but if they keep hiking the price up in pursuit of even more millions of dollars in revenue, people may stop watching boxing altogether. The November 13th fight between Pacquiao and Marquez generated nearly a million and a half buy-ins. You'd think with that many people paying to watch the fight, HBO could lower their prices to a reasonable rate.





Source:
http://sports.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981806062

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1438227-pacquiao-vs-marquez-4-contract-details-on-prize-fight-money-and-purse

Victoria Secret: Hottest pics of Sexy Models 2012

Tonight's the night! The annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show airs Tuesday and you'll be able to witness all of the hot models and musical acts on the tube. However, we've got a sneak peek of the action, which actually went down in early November.

 

One of the standout Angels from the show is a seasoned Angel Miranda Kerr. It definitely wasn't her first time on the catwalk for an event like this. She strutted her stuff with big feathers and glittering jewels and the whole nine yards and didn't so much as flinch in her stilettos. Now that's talent!

The brunette wore a variety of sexy ensembles down the runway and we have pictures all of her best looks, plus shots of all the other hot ladies

It's the end of the year and time for what is possibly the sexiest fashion night on television - the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. We would be kidding ourselves if we said this was just a regular fashion show.
Mix fantasy with fashion and a dose of sexiness to come up with leggy runway models/angels showcasing the latest in glittery underwear. For those who wonder what the secret is, Victoria will defnitely be spilling it all tonight.

Tonight's show features gorgeous models, ridiculously expensive underwear featuring diamonds, glitter and wings. Whether or not your daily bedtime routine involves angel wings, diamond bras or six inch heels is not the point. The point is that somewhere tonight, in between the blackberry and the ice cream, women everywhere are going to be subjected to someone's fantasy and another's heightened insecurity - the perfectly oiled, coiffed, lingerie model on the Victoria's Secret fashion runway. Where else do women wear heavy wings, high heels and barely there underwear? If you do this regularly, then don't respond.
Tonight's show features singers, including Bruno Mars, Justin Beiber and Rihanna; and of course, the angels, including Cameron Russell, Mirander Kerr, Candice Swanepoel, Alessandra Ambriosio and many others. With themes from dangerous liasons to the circus and old world Hollywood glam, there is something for everyone; well, maybe not everyone.
Tonight's sexy spectacle promises to be another spectacular night of sexy lingerie fashion. And we will be watching of course. Only Victoria's Secret can make an overdose of glitter and rhinestones make sense on underwear. Someone had too much fun with the glue gun.

 Cara Delevingne attending the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2012 held at the Lexington Armory in New York

 Erin Heatherton attending the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2012 held at the Lexington Armory in New York

 Miranda Kerr attending the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2012 held at the Lexington Armory in New York

 Candice Swanepoel attending the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2012 held at the Lexington Armory in New York

 Doutzen Kroes and Rihanna attending the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2012 held at the Lexington Armory in New York


 




More pics below:

 


 Pictures Courtesy of Zimbio.com
Source:
http://www.zimbio.com/Victoria+Secret+Angels+Names+And+Pictures/articles/BWOgoecOdQw/Victoria+Secret+Models+2012+Hottest+Pictures

Jovan Belcher, Kansas City Chiefs player from Long Island, kills girlfriend and self

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend Saturday morning, and minutes later, holding a gun to his head, thanked his general manager and coach before shooting himself outside the team's practice complex, authorities said.

Authorities did not release a motive for the murder-suicide, though police said that Belcher and his girlfriend, 22-year-old Kasandra M. Perkins, had been arguing recently. The two of them have a 3-month-old girl who was being cared for by family.

Belcher thanked general manager Scott Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel before pulling the trigger, police spokesman Darin Snapp said. Officers had locked down the Chiefs facility by midmorning.

The team said it would play its home game against the Carolina Panthers as scheduled on Sunday at noon local time ''after discussions between the league office, Head Coach Romeo Crennel and Chiefs team captains.''

 

A spokesman for the team told The Associated Press that Crennel plans to coach on Sunday.

Belcher was a 25-year-old native of West Babylon, N.Y., on Long Island, who played college ball at Maine. He signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2009, made the team and stayed with it for four years, moving into the starting lineup. He had played in all 11 games this season.

''The entire Chiefs family is deeply saddened by today's events, and our collective hearts are heavy with sympathy, thoughts and prayers for the families and friends affected by this unthinkable tragedy,'' Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement.

''We sincerely appreciate the expressions of sympathy and support we have received from so many in the Kansas City and NFL communities, and ask for continued prayers for the loved ones of those impacted,'' Hunt said. ''We will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities and work to ensure that the appropriate counseling resources are available to all members of the organization.''

 

The NFL released a statement that also expressed sympathy and said, ''We have connected the Chiefs with our national team of professional counselors to support both the team and the families of those affected. We will continue to provide assistance in any way that we can.''

Authorities reported receiving a call Saturday morning from a woman who said her daughter had been shot multiple times at a residence about five miles from the Arrowhead Stadium complex. The call came from Belcher's mother, who referred to the victim as her daughter, leading to some initial confusion.

''She treated Kasandra like a daughter,'' Snapp said. Belcher's mother, who is from New York, had recently moved in with the couple, ''probably to help out with the baby,'' Snapp said.

Police then received a phone call from the Chiefs' training facility.

''The description matched the suspect description from that other address. We kind of knew what we were dealing with,'' Snapp said. The player was ''holding a gun to his head'' as he stood in front of the front doors of the practice facility.

''And there were Pioli and Crennel and another coach or employee was standing outside and appeared to be talking to him. It appeared they were talking to the suspect,'' Snapp said. ''The suspect began to walk in the opposite direction of the coaches and the officers and that's when they heard the gunshot. It appears he took his own life.''

The coaches told police they never felt in any danger, Snapp said.

''They said the player was actually thanking them for everything they'd done for him,'' he said. ''They were just talking to him and he was thanking them and everything. That's when he walked away and shot himself.''

At the home of Belcher's mother on Long Island, relatives declined to talk to reporters. An SUV in the home's driveway was flying a small Kansas City Chiefs flag.

The somber mood lightened somewhat as darkness fell, with music playing and people drinking from Styrofoam cups. Belcher's family turned the front yard into a shrine, with a large poster of the player, an array of his trophies, and jerseys and jackets from Kansas City, Maine and West Babylon High.

''He was a good, good person ... a family man. A loving guy,'' said family friend Ruben Marshall, 42, who said he coached Belcher in youth football. He was stunned by the shooting and suicide. ''You couldn't be around a better person.''

 

At least 20 people gathered for a large group hug in the driveway.

''I still can't believe it,'' neighbor Roy Brown said. ''I don't believe it.''

Perkin's Facebook page shows the couple smiling and holding the baby.

''His move to the NFL was in keeping with his dreams,'' said Jack Cosgrove, who coached Belcher at Maine. ''This is an indescribably horrible tragedy.''

Dwayne Wilmot, who was Belcher's position coach at Maine and is now an assistant coach at Yale, said, ''He was a tremendous player and all those things, and his accolades speak for themselves, but he lit up when he spoke about his mom, or when he hugged his family after games.

''It's difficult to talk about Jovan in the past tense,'' he told the AP. ''There's going to be unanswered questions, the why's of this tragedy. It'll never be truly known to us.''

Wilmot said he'd stayed in touch with Belcher the past few years through social media.

''He was someone who took genuine pleasure in bringing happiness to others,'' Wilmot said. ''I was so excited when he became a father, because I knew he'd be a great father.''

Belcher is the latest among several players and NFL retirees to die from self-inflicted gunshot wounds in the past couple of years. The death of the beloved star Junior Seau, who shot himself in the chest at his California home last May, sent shockwaves around the league.

Seau's family, like those of other suicide victims, has donated his brain tissue to determine if head injuries he sustained playing football might be linked to his death.

Belcher did not have an extensive injury history, though the linebacker showed up on the official injury report on Nov. 11, 2009, as being limited in practice with a head injury. Belcher played four days later against the Oakland Raiders.

Earlier this year, the NFL provided a grant to help establish an independently operated phone service that connects players, coaches, team officials and other staff with counselors trained to work through personal and emotional crises. The NFL Life Line is available 24 hours a day.

Kansas City Mayor Sly James said that he spoke to Pioli after the shooting.

''I can tell you that you have absolutely no idea what it's like to see someone kill themselves,'' James said. ''You can take your worst nightmare and put someone you know and love in that situation, and give them a gun and stand three feet away and watch them kill themselves. That's what it's like.

''It's unfathomable.''

The season has been a massive disappointment for the Chiefs, who were expected to contend for the AFC West title. They're just 1-10 and mired in an eight-game losing streak marked by injuries, poor play and fan upheaval, with constant calls the past several weeks for Pioli and Crennel to be fired.

The Twitter account for a fan group known as ''Save Our Chiefs'' recently surpassed 80,000 followers, about 17,000 more than the announced crowd at a recent game. The group was organizing a ''Can Scott Pioli'' food drive for Sunday that has since been canceled.

 SOURCE: http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/jovan-belcher-kansas-city-chiefs-kills-self-suicide-kills-girlfriend-team-facility-120112

Sons Of Anarchy: Death Comes To SAMCRO

Don't read on unless you've seen Season 5, Episode 3 of FX's "Sons of Anarchy," entitled "Laying Pipe."

 


I hadn't planned on writing weekly review of any show this fall -- it's just too busy for me to commit to that -- but my hope is to write about individual episodes of various shows that stand out in one way or another, and "Laying Pipe" qualifies.
The title is another example of "Sons of Anarchy's" pitch-black humor at work: Opie was, of course, killed with a length of pipe, but the term also refers to the ways in which TV shows sets up future plots and machinations. No doubt what happened in this week's hour will resonate down the line, perhaps with more deaths down the road. (What, am I stupid? Of course there will be more deaths to come, and without question the prison guard will be one of them.)
But the future's already here, in a way: We saw the effects of Opie's death in this hour. We saw Jax die a little more, we saw the light go out in his eyes even more. We saw his hardness and his misery grow until they were fused into one driven mass of pain and determination.
I was very, very hard on "Sons of Anarchy" in my Season 5 review, and I stand by what I wrote in it, but the Opie-Jax storyline in "Laying Pipe" is the kind of thing that both gives me hope and makes me crazy. It gives me hope that "SOA" is still capable of telling stories that are not so bedazzled with external manipulations and nonsensical plot gyrations that the characters seem like innocent bystanders in the middle of an overcaffeinated snarl of story threads.
My God, in that cell, Charlie Hunnam did such a fine job of selling the Rico-Ireland-cartel nonsense that I almost bought it myself. And overall, in "Laying Pipe," it really helped that the Jax-Opie-Tig-Chibs storyline was economical and focused. There was a clarity of purpose to the story that the first two episodes -- concerned as they were with re-establishing the old stories, jamming in new ones and adding moments of ultraviolence -- lacked.
But in "Laying Pipe," we had Jax and Opie, two friends who have been through so much together, losing each other in the most painful and yet the most noble way possible. Hunnam and Ryan Hurst have always been great together, and the loss of Hurst is going to be a great blow to the show. Of course, I'm not arguing that the show shouldn't kill off key characters -- Season 4 was ultimately such a misfire because it gave us a bunch of reasons that Clay should die, then the show didn't kill him off. (I'm glad Opie and I are in agreement about that.)
But this is Jax's journey, and who is Jax without Opie -- even an angry, bitter Opie -- by his side?
And what makes me crazy? The show has turned Gemma into a cartoon character, and that makes me sad, because Katey Sagal is a capable of so much more than the kind of material that she's being given these days. "SOA's" female characters don't really have arcs; their stories -- such as they are -- fit in around those of the men. The women are who the show needs them to be that season or that week, and thus their personalities go through inexplicable shifts almost week to week. Quite often "SOA" doesn't even know what to do with them, so it gives them terrible stories like Tara's abduction in Season 3 or Gemma's general tendency to keep secrets and start trouble ... well, just because.
These days, Gemma exists to stir up sh*t in the "SOA" universe, and that's about it. The stuff with Jax's kids, the stuff with Clay's prostitute (hello, Ashley Tisdale!) -- I mean, she's just a hair-pulling, one-note character these days, and Stern Tara isn't much better. It's a testament to both these actresses that they made their characters work as long as they did, but I've just grown increasingly tired of their repetitive fights and shrill shenanigans. Isn't it interesting to contemplate the fact that the show's finest season gave Gemma a prominent and well-conceived storyline? Ah, Season 2, those were the days.
But back to Opie, who was the real focus here. Here's a possibly interesting fact: Before I watched the episode, I knew that someone was going to die in "Laying Pipe," and I knew it was going to be Opie. But it didn't matter. His death still had an impact, thanks to great performances and thanks to the kind of restraint that "SOA" can still pull off: The second most memorable moment in the episode was Jax turning away from the window where Opie was being beaten, as total silence descended. There were no words or music that could convey the pain of that moment.
I'm actually glad I knew that Opie was going to be the one who died; it made me appreciate Hurst's performance all the more. I think Opie decided early on in that episode, around the time of his confrontation in the cell with Jax, that he would be the one to sacrifice himself. He had nothing left to live for -- what kind of father would he be to his kids, as broken as he was by this point -- and this death would give two people (Opie and Jax) some kind of awful relief.
The most memorable moment, of course, was Opie, smiling-grimacing at Jax just before the end. Opie chose his death. Well, "SOA" chose his death, because there was really no way that Clay, Opie and Jax could sit around that table this season.

Bank of America website downtime issue prolonged

 

Bank of America

Bank of America's website

was sluggish and intermittently unavailable for many users on Tuesday, in an outage that the bank hadn't explained by the end of the day.
Bank of America spokesman Mark Pipitone said the company is "working to ensure full availability," and that online banking is available "although some customers may experience occasional slowness."

The majority of Bank of America's customers were able to access the site, which remained online throughout the day, Pipitone said. Still, many customers were unable to connect because of the site's slowness.
Data from Keynote, a testing and monitoring company, showed that the problems began around 10 a.m. ET and were still ongoing as of 6:10 p.m.

"It's possible that something Bank of America has done on its end, some kind of change, caused the problem," said Aaron Rudger, Keynote's senior marketing manager of Web performance. The bank's homepage looked different before the trouble began, he said.

As of about 6 p.m. Tuesday, Rudger said, a "small percentage" of website requests were being fulfilled successfully, but the majority were still met with errors.

On Wednesday morning, Rudger said that the bank appeared to have "rolled out some change that improved the situation and modestly reduced the long time-out failures" on Tuesday night. By mid-morning on Wednesday, Keynote's data showed the site's performance had stabilized.

If the problem is indeed due to system updates that Bank of America rolled out, it wouldn't be the first time. The bank experienced nearly a full week of outages in October 2011, and later explained that the problems stemmed from a combination of technical difficulties and heavier than normal traffic. The bank had been migrating its online banking to a new platform and deploying new tools for customers when the problems began.

On blogs and Twitter, some hacker groups were claiming responsibility for the outage. But there was no evidence to support those claims, and several recent ones turned out to be hoaxes.

Earlier this month, a person affiliated with the hacktivist collective Anonymous said the group took down the web hosting service GoDaddy, and in June the group UGNazi claimed responsibility for downing Twitter. Both outages were later revealed to be technical issues.

"I can assure you we continuously take proactive measures to secure our systems," Bank of America's spokesman said in response to a question about whether the company had seen any signs on Tuesday of a cyberattack.