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Patch 6.0 is Live: New Pets and Accuracy Changes

October 14, 2014
Patch 6.0
The pre-expansion patch is here — "The Iron Tide" introduces a few new pets and accuracy changes to Pet Battles. It's just a small taste of what's to come in Warlords of Draenor! [source]

Patch 6.0 Pets and More
The Iron Starlette is a reward from a quest chain. Players will need to fight back the Iron Horde that have taken over a revamped, level 90 version of Blasted Lands. At the very end of the short adventure, the final quest Report to the King (Alliance) and Warning the Warchief (Horde) will reward the pet.

While battling the Iron Horde in Blasted Lands, keep your eyes open for a special drop off of the Ironmarch orcs. There's a chance you'll loot a Time-Locked Box which teaches the Bronze Whelpling.

According to Jonathan LeCraft, Senior Game Designer, the Bronze Whelpling will still drop from mobs after "The Iron Tide" event is over. This pet is also cageable so if you're not interested in killing orcs, the Auction House might have a Bronze Whelpling with your name on it!

Bronze Whelpling
Another new pet that you'll be able to start working towards (if you don't meet the requirements already) is Stormwing (pictured right). Completing the achievement So. Many. Pets. (collect 600 unique battle pets) rewards this beautiful blue bird.

Last but not least, Sky-bo is a new pet that seems to have snuck into Blingtron 4000's daily gift package. Be sure to speak with him for a chance at your very own miniature version of a Sky Golem!

There are more pets that might become available in the weeks prior to WoD's release, but we'll have to wait and see if these in-game events are updated with the new holiday content.

Although there are only a few new pets to collect in Patch 6.0, the Pet Journal has previews of upcoming WoD pets. These pets cannot be collected at this time, but we've added them to the database for your viewing pleasure.

Over 90 new pets added!

Accuracy Changes and Damage Ranges
A few months ago, we covered the changes to hit and critical strike in Pet Battles. These updates are now live with Patch 6.0.

Accuracy and damage changes to Alpha Strike
Many abilities have had their values changed and now have 100% base hit (example right, tooltips courtesy of Wowhead).

A damage variance was also implemented for some attacks, such as Crush and Dive.

Keep in mind that the accuracy change mainly applies to pet abilities that were already very close to 100% base hit (90-95%). Attacks with low base hit, such as Demolish, remain largely unchanged.

With these accuracy updates, miss-streaks should occur less often. However, it is still possible to miss, especially if a pet is under the effects of an ability that reduces hit. And even though your pets may hit more often than miss, these changes mean trainer pets will also have a better chance at landing an attack.
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1-8 of 8
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@Aerozia, I got my Sky-Bo from my Blingtron 4000.

Nov 29, 2014 at 5:18pm | Edits: 0 | Mal'Ganis-US | Pets: 0 Compare collections | Score: 0
Rating: +1   [Report]

Is anyone else having the problem of when a pet levels up, it's health doesn't return to 100%?

Oct 25, 2014 at 5:21pm | Edits: 0 | Draka-US | Pets: 614 Compare collections | Score: 3139
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Has anyone noticed, since the patch, a lack of rare pets coming up when battling wild pets, and when fighting pets who are only available as the top pet, the groups aren't so random? The levels will change, but it's the same 2nd and 3rd pets every time, and they're always the same quality. I reported it as a possible bug, but even so, I'm still wondering if it is a bug or just my luck...

Oct 19, 2014 at 5:58pm | Edits: 0 | Shadow Council-US | Pets: 539 Compare collections | Score: 2620
Rating: 0   [Report]

Oh, awesome. i was going on the tooltip ingame.

Oct 16, 2014 at 6:06pm | Edits: 0 | Skullcrusher-US | Pets: 724 Compare collections | Score: 3717
Site MVPBalrizangor
Rating: +3   [Report]

Either one is fine, just a possible better chance out of the Bling 5k ....

Oct 16, 2014 at 9:46am | Edits: 1 | Illidan-US | Pets: 948 Compare collections | Score: 5670
Rating: -2   [Report]

Um, sky-bo drops from blingtron 5000 not 4000...

Oct 16, 2014 at 2:33am | Edits: 0 | Skullcrusher-US | Pets: 724 Compare collections | Score: 3717
Rating: -1   [Report]

techinqly theres a 5th pet during the patch, from what Ive heard. a new cat from halloween.

Oct 15, 2014 at 8:12pm | Edits: 0 | Madoran-US | Pets: 926 Compare collections | Score: 5536
Rating: 0   [Report]

Noticed the changes with my Anub. Idol- more of a close-run fight than it used to be.

Oct 15, 2014 at 3:58pm | Edits: 1 | Runetotem-US | Pets: 825 Compare collections | Score: 4706
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Neil J. Welch, a top candidate last year to become director of the FBI, was named yesterday to take over as head of the New York office, the bureau's largest.

He replaces J. Wallace LaPrade, who was fired last month by Attorney General Griffin B. Bell, for allegedly lying to prosecutors investigating illegal FBI break-ins. LaPrade is appealing the dismissal.

The 51-year-old Welch gained a reputation while special agent in charge of the Buffalo, Detroit and Philadelphia offices over the last 12 years as an innovative executive who maintained some independence from headquarters during the J. Edgar Hoover era.

He also is known as an agent who emphasizes pursuit of political corruption and organized crime, with little interest in surveillance of political dissidents.

Welch was one of five candidates selected as possible successors to FBI Director Clarence Kelley by a presidential commission. Bell bypassed the recommendations and picked U.S. District Court Judge Frank Johnson of Alabama for the post.

An illness forced Johnson to withdraw and Bell then tapped current Director William H. Webster, another federal judge, for the post.

As head of the FBI's Philadelphia office, Welch was in the news earlier this year during the controversy over the Carter administration's firing of Republican U.S. attorney David W. Marston. At the time, Welch urged that Marston be kept on to finish politically sensitive investigations of two Democratic congressmen.

Since Marston's dismissal - he later ran unsuccessfully in the GOP primary for governor - Welch's office has continued probing the allegations that Reps. Daniel J. Flood and Joshua Eilberg profited illegally from construction of a Philadelphia hospital.

As head of the New York office Welch will command more than 800 FBI agents and also hold the title of assistant director, one of the bureau's top dozen positions.


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Claude Lemieux, who said he was inspired by his paralyzed brother, scored 5:55 into overtime to send the Montreal Canadiens to the Stanley Cup semifinals with a 2-1 victory over the Hartford Whalers in Game 7 of their Adams Division playoff series last night in Montreal.

The Canadiens will play the New York Rangers in a best-of-seven series for the Wales Conference title beginning in Montreal Thursday night.

Lemieux, promoted from Sherbrooke of the AHL just before the playoffs, settled a classic goaltenders duel between Montreal rookie Patrick Roy, the game's No. 1 star, and Hartford's Mike Liut, the No. 2 star.

Lemieux, the No. 3 star, dug the puck out from behind the net and swept around to slap a shot past Liut's short side, starting a deafening celebration among 17,546 fans at the Forum.

"I was dreaming about that tonight," Lemieux, a French-Canadian said in heavily accented English. "I was in the room, I went in the corner and thought about it.

"I got to say I have a brother. He doesn't walk. He doesn't talk. He doesn't do anything. He is paralyzed. I talk to him when I need confidence. That's Serge; he's 20 years old and he's never lived with my family. He's always been staying in the hospital since his birth. When I think he's never seen me play, he's never been to the Forum, I should be able to go out with confidence, and think that I can do this."

His goal came on Montreal's second shot in the extra session. Hartford had none.

Hartford's Dave Babych tied the score with 2:48 left in regulation.

With 48 seconds remaining in regulation, Stephane Richer of the Canadiens was taken off on a stretcher. Babych had checked him off the puck. The injury was not believed to be serious.


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Forgive me for being cynical, but I have a hard time believing that the White House and Michelle Obama are really all that upset by the portrayal of the first lady that emerges in Jodi Kantor’s new look at the president’s marital union, “The Obamas.” In the annals of irregularities that first ladies have been justly or unjustly accused of, sparring with a chief of staff, particularly one as combative as Rahm Emanuel, hardly registers as shocking or unexpected.

Dancing on a Cabinet Room conference table (though, of course, people loved that in Betty Ford), firing longtime White House staffers, consulting an astrologer about the presidential schedule, tolerating marital affairs, winging a book at a Secret Service agent, succumbing to substance abuse, engaging in a same-sex relationship, suffering from mental illness, secretly running the country after the president was felled by a stroke — now those are salacious tidbits and charges, some of them fictional, maybe, but many of them moments of real, even operatic drama in the narrative of presidential marriages.

This one? Michelle Obama should be congratulating herself on her good fortune.

Reading Kantor’s book, I found myself reflecting on something other than the burning question of whether the inevitable standoff between Loyal First Lady and Trusted Professional Staff did or did not (but probably did) occur. I found myself thinking about how atavistic and constricting and bizarre the office of first lady is, what an impossible position these women are put in, and how it will be a good thing for all of us if and when a first lady is permitted to get a part-time job, maybe telecommuting from the East Wing — okay, probably not blogging or anything, but somehow finding a separate domain into which to direct all that productive energy.

I found myself thinking about marriage — the real topic of Kantor’s book — and how the Obamas embody the latest trends, yet the White House imposes an outdated marriage model, almost Victorian, really, which is why we always come back to this conversation about meddling. What other choice does a first lady have but to meddle, since she really can’t do anything else?

’The Obamas’ by Jodi Kantor. (Credit: Little, Brown and Company) (Little, Brown and Company)

When Barack and Michelle Obama married in 1992, they reflected the evolution of marriage in the United States. At that time, the postwar model — in which a woman married up, if she could, to a man who had more education and more earning potential — was giving way to a model in which men and women married, if they could, a spouse with the same level of educational achievement. Nowadays, as sociologists have shown, what men and women want is to marry somebody with the same degree set. This was true of the Clintons, and the Obamas are also a perfect example: both Ivy League grads, both Harvard law degree holders, both ambitious and full of potential.

But after her husband’s big convention speech and successful Senate campaign in 2004, segueing quickly into his presidential bid, Michelle found herself teleported back to a 1950s kind of marriage: a model in which a woman with intelligence, education and an overabundance of administrative energy was obliged to content herself with living through her husband and devoting herself to his advancement.

This is what we saw as Michelle cut down her work days, eventually leaving her job with the University of Chicago Medical Center and jumping into the campaign fray, figuring that if she was going to do this thing, she might as well do it — becoming a confident public speaker and a brand-name fundraiser in her own right.

Then, just as she had learned to live with the feminine-mystique model of wifedom, she landed in the White House and was transported further back in time, to an almost 19th-century version in which the wife is supposed to be the happy helpmeet to her husband, a reservoir of domestic replenishment. What the president’s aides wanted, Kantor writes, was for her to be a partner who welcomed tour groups and “buoyed the president’s spirits.” What you see in Kantor’s narrative is the extent to which husbands and wives in the White House are obliged to inhabit separate spheres, in which the world of work belongs to the man, and home and hearth to the woman.

In the White House, there is a special retreat, a sitting room where first ladies can gaze at the exterior of the Oval Office, wondering what in the world their husbands are doing. Laura Bush showed it to Michelle, having been shown it by Hillary Clinton. Catapulted into this separate-spheres version of marriage, it’s hardly any wonder that Michelle struggled with questions: What is my role? Can I have any sort of broader impact?

“She was a strong asset, she felt; she wanted to help, and the male advisers at the other end of the building just didn’t see it,” Kantor writes.

She wasn’t qualified to weigh in on things like foreign policy, but there was a relevant area in which she did have expertise: health care. Familiar with the travails of a previous Democratic president’s wife, she never intended a Hillary Clinton level of involvement, Kantor says, but she did ask the president’s team to figure out how to “use me effectively.” They didn’t; ironically enough, she had made herself so popular, working out and mom in chiefing, that to be associated with the president’s health-care program might bring down her poll numbers and thereby hurt him. She was damned if she did and driven crazy if she didn’t.

All of which is not to say that Kantor’s portrait of Michelle is sympathetic; if the first lady is unhappy, maybe it’s because she emerges as She Who Must Be Appeased, a wife who never wanted this gig to begin with (again, nothing new here: Zachary Taylor’s wife is said to have prayed for his defeat) and must be placated by a president who “felt perpetually guilty about what his wife had given up for him.” Kantor does not portray her as an angry black woman, as Michelle has claimed, but she does come off as an occasionally irritated first helpmeet.

She has faults, according to Kantor: She is materialistic and forceful in her displeasure. Hypocrisy seems a fair charge. She lectures congressional spouses about the virtues of volunteerism but works at a food bank wearing Lanvin sneakers that cost more than $500.

To me, one thing that was surprising was the extent to which Michelle orchestrated the transformation of her public image. I’d always assumed that her evolution from professional woman to fashion icon was something the president’s campaign staff forced upon her, and was intrigued by the implication that she engineered it herself. In one instance, she is quoted as saying that if she has to accompany the president to a political event, “I’m getting a new dress out of it.”

With her sarcastic humor, who can know whether she was being ironic, serious or — probably — both? Like Sarah Palin, she did seem to need a lot of new outfits, and that got her into trouble. But in part this is because women tend to disagree with Thoreau’s advice to beware of any endeavor requiring new clothes. I think many of us take the opposite view: If I get some new shoes for this job interview, and I don’t get the job, at least I’ll have the shoes, and that’s some consolation.

The challenge for anybody who writes about the Obamas is that they are hard-working, disciplined people with highly effective habits who have purged their White House and marriage of obvious drama. Like many working parents, at the end of the day, they like to have dinner with their kids, and they don’t do much in the way of lively socializing or riotous drinking. This is not the generation of parents who end a party wearing lampshades on their heads. In that respect, they are boring. So are their friends. Up to now, I thought the Obamas surrounded themselves with people who had so much self-control that they refrained from saying anything profound or arresting, but increasingly I think that the people they are friends with aren’t that introspective.

In this book, what we also see is that anybody with a flair for drama or self-promotion — paging Desiree Rogers — fell out of favor. There is none of the Southern Gothic, living-large Clinton White House, none of the excesses of the younger Bush.

At the same time, I would have liked this book to give a fuller sense of what kind of moral impact Michelle has had. For example, when the Harvard academic Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested by a white police officer, and the president was quick to criticize the police, what role did Michelle play in influencing his reaction? What sort of conversation did they have? These two lawyers — the wife with a hard-won understanding of race in America, having grown up in a Chicago South Side neighborhood transformed by white flight, the husband with a more cosmopolitan upbringing but a man’s sense of what black men, in particular, go through when they hail a cab — what did they say to each other? In what way did she shape his later, more temperate response? And how has she shaped other debates, aside from confirming his focus on health care as well as his exalted sense of himself?

I came out of the book looking forward to the day, if it ever comes, when the office of first lady is handed over to staffers and the spouse of the president is allowed to find a real channel for her energies. To me, Jill Biden has always been a more transformational figure: Without fanfare, the second lady has been able to continue teaching at a local community college, in her spare time doing her official duties — often, people who see her say, toting a bag of papers to be graded. Of course, this is easier for Biden because she doesn’t have young children on top of everything else, but I’ve wondered if a first lady could follow the same model. Until this is permitted, we’ll continue having the meddling conversation. It may take a first husband for us to envision a truly new mold. And you know what? That would be okay, too.

Liza Mundy, a Washington Post staff writer on leave, is a fellow at the New America Foundation. She is the author of “Michelle: A Biography,” and “The Richer Sex: How the New Majority of Female Breadwinners Is Transforming Sex, Love and Family,” which will be published in March.

By Jodi Kantor

Little, Brown. 359 pp. $29.99


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The NCAA tournament won’t be underway for a few more days, but March Madness has already started in earnest. The conference tournaments have provided plenty of mouthwatering appetizers to the main course this week, fresh with buzzer-beaters, the dunk of the year, and of course, Duke’s Grayson Allen committing yet another controversial foul, this time with a hip-check on a North Carolina player in the ACC semifinals on Friday night. Here’s a rundown of the drama from the past few days:

UMBC stuns Vermont on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Jairus Lyles. The Retrievers are headed to the NCAA tournament after the DeMatha product pulled up and nailed the game-winner with 0.6 seconds left the beat the Catamounts, 65-62, in the America East finals on Saturday.

Radford’s Carlik Jones wins the Big South tournament with a buzzer-beater. Lyles wasn’t the first one to pull up from deep to send his team dancing this week — Jones had already done it last Sunday in the Big South championship, nailing a three-pointer at the buzzer to beat Liberty, 55-52.

Memphis keeps its season alive with a leaping, one-handed buzzer beater. The Tigers bowed out of the American Athletic Conference semifinals with a loss to Cincinnati on Saturday, and Coach Tubby Smith could be on his way out. But all of that was put on hold thanks to one of the wildest plays of the week, as the Tigers beat Tulsa on a teardrop three-pointer by Kareem Brewton in the quarterfinals.

Alabama’s Collin Sexton saves his team’s season with a coast-to-coast game-winner. Sexton has emerged as one of the top stories in all of college basketball this week, in large part because he kept his team’s NCAA tournament hopes alive with a game-winning layup to beat Texas A&M in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.

Auburn Coach Bruce Pearl exchanges words with an Alabama staffer after loss. After Sexton dropped 31 points to upset the Tigers in the quarterfinals, Pearl added to the drama after reportedly getting in a heated exchange with Alabama’s strength and conditioning coach.

Northern Colorado’s Jordan Davis provides the dunk of the year. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more devastating slam in college basketball this season than Davis’s against Montana in the Big Sky tournament semifinals on Friday night.

Here’s Davis’s victim, Montana’s Fabijan Krslovic, responding to the play after the Griz rallied for the win:

Duke’s Grayson Allen adds to feud with North Carolina after flagrant foul. College basketball’s biggest villain has a history of tripping opponents, but he used his hip to intentionally check a North Carolina player in a loss in the ACC semifinals on Friday night.

Allen was called for a flagrant-one foul and added yet another controversial layer to both his career and a dramatic postseason that has only just begun.

Read more:

Jenkins: To outlast Duke’s youthful exuberance, North Carolina needed senior moments

Harvard is a step away from NCAA tournament with a star player who quotes Emerson

Jeff Dowtin Jr. has the look of a hometown hero for Rhode Island

Is the FBI cleaning up college basketball, or wasting its time?


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Robert Kraft is perturbed circumstantial evidence led to DeflateGate punishments. (Mark Humphrey/Associated Press)

Late Monday evening, a few hours after the NFL announced punishments for the New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady stemming from allegations of improperly deflated footballs, team owner Robert Kraft issued a statement criticizing commissioner Roger Goodell’s decision to suspend Brady, fine the club, and take away draft picks.

The punishment, Kraft complained, “was based completely on circumstantial rather than hard or conclusive evidence.”

Kraft’s legalistic defense echoed previous attacks of Ted Wells’s report for its lack of direct evidence, and the criticism apparently stung the author. In a Tuesday afternoon conference call, Wells, the lawyer the league hired to investigate DeflateGate, disagreed with Kraft, and said incriminating text messages between two Pats employees constitute direct evidence of a conspiracy to let the air out of balls so they’d be more to Brady’s liking.

[RELATED: Brady, Patriots can only blame themselves for punishments]

The underlying premise of this argument between Kraft and Wells is that circumstantial evidence is too weak to support penalties like suspensions, fines and docked draft picks. Legally, this premise is kind of ridiculous. Much harsher punishments than what Brady and the Patriots face — like prison sentences — are often decided solely on circumstantial evidence. Kraft needn’t look far for an example; he testified recently in a murder trial that ended with a conviction, and all of the evidence against former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was circumstantial.

“People are punished all the time based on circumstantial evidence,” said Brad Snyder, a visiting professor at Georgetown Law School. “It just depends on how reliable that evidence is.”

Direct evidence — something which, if true, supports a claim without requiring inference or reasoning — is the rarest kind. Confessions and eyewitness accounts are considered direct evidence. Mostly all other kinds of evidence — even forensic evidence like DNA and fingerprints — is considered circumstantial, because it requires interpretation to reach a conclusion.

Unless Wells obtained a confession from Brady, got an employee to testify against the best and most beloved player in franchise history, or stumbled upon a recording of Brady ordering balls deflated, his investigation was always destined to hinge on circumstantial evidence. This doesn’t mean the investigation was destined to fail. Direct evidence is not, by definition, irrefutable.

Kraft is far from alone in doubting the value of circumstantial evidence. A 2006 paper in the Michigan Law Review noted “jurors simply do not understand circumstantial evidence and thus routinely underestimate its effect on the objective probability of the defendant’s guilt.”

Kraft’s real gripe is with the conclusions Goodell made from the circumstantial evidence Wells uncovered. Luckily for Kraft and Brady, recent history shows they could get at least one, and possibly multiple opportunities to appeal to someone else to review the evidence and decide if Goodell made a mistake. The league’s punishments have repeatedly been overturned by outside arbitrators.

“This is far from over,” said Snyder. “This is probably just round one in what could be a two or three-round fight.”


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- Associated Press - Tuesday, August 16, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) - Granted, it’s the summer rerun season. But the performance of NBC’s comedies on Thursday _ the night once proclaimed must-see TV _ illustrates the hard climb back to prominence the network faces.

“Community” and “30 Rock” were each seen by 1.7 million people last week, the Nielsen Co. said. “Parks and Recreation” had 1.5 million viewers and “The Office” had 2.1 million.

Each of these shows is critically praised and will be back with the new season, although “30 Rock” will be delayed until the winter because of star Tina Fey’s pregnancy and “The Office” will lose headliner Steve Carell.

What else did people watch besides NBC that night? The novela “Teresa” on Univision had 4.1 million viewers, Nielsen said. MTV’s “Jersey Shore” had 7.3 million. The “Big Brother” house on CBS drew 7.1 million voyeurs. More than 5 million people watched Republican presidential candidates square off on Fox News Channel. “Burn Notice” had 4.7 million viewers on USA. Just over 5 million people watched contestants plunge into pools on ABC’s “Wipeout.” An exhibition football game on ESPN was seen by 4.4 million.

It follows a trend hurting reruns on broadcast networks, particularly with fresh material plentiful elsewhere. NBC also points out that its Thursday comedies have a younger, wealthier and more male audience than many other shows, and advertisers actively seek these viewers.

“It has to do with the quality of the audience and not the quantity,” said Brad Adgate, an analyst for Horizon Media.

Still, he said, “how low can you go?”

Back in 1998-99, NBC ran the comedy “Veronica’s Closet” on Thursday night and moved it to Mondays because executives were dissatisfied with the ratings _ and it averaged 19.3 million viewers.

While it’s hard to draw too many conclusions from rerun season, generally if a show’s repeats are down in the ratings it doesn’t bode well for when fresh episodes come back in the fall, said media analyst Steve Sternberg. A year ago during the same week, the NBC comedies reached nearly 3 million viewers.

NBC did have last week’s most popular program in “America’s Got Talent.” CBS, where the reruns generally perform better than on other networks, easily won the week.

CBS averaged 6.3 million viewers in prime time (4.1 rating, 7 share). ABC averaged 4.71 million viewers (2.9, 5), Fox had 4.68 million (2.8, 5) and NBC had 4.61 million (2.9, 5). ION Television averaged 1.1 million (0.7, 1) and the CW had 770,000 (0.5, 1).

Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision led with a 3.4 million average (1.8, 3), Telemundo had 970,000 (0.6, 1), TeleFutura had 370,000 (0.2, 0), Azteca had 210,000 and Estrella 200,000 (both 0.1, 0).

NBC’s “Nightly News” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 7.7 million viewers (5.1, 11). ABC’s “World News” was second with 7.3 million (4.9, 10) and the “CBS Evening News” had 5.3 million viewers (3.6, 7).

A ratings point represents 1,147,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation’s estimated 114.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

For the week of Aug. 8-14, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: “America’s Got Talent” (Tuesday), NBC, 11.46 million; “NCIS,” CBS, 10.34 million; “America’s Got Talent” (Wednesday), NBC, 9.73 million; “60 Minutes,” CBS, 8.55 million; “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 8.23 million; “Big Brother 13” (Sunday), CBS, 7.6 million; “Big Brother 13” (Wednesday), CBS, 7.39 million; “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” CBS, 7.36 million; “Big Brother 13” (Thursday), CBS, 7.12 million; “CMA Music Festival,” ABC, 7.03 million.

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS is owned by CBS Corp. CW is a joint venture of Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corp. Fox and My Network TV are units of News Corp. NBC and Telemundo are owned by Comcast Corp. ION Television is owned by ION Media Networks. TeleFutura is a division of Univision. Azteca America is a wholly owned subsidiary of TV Azteca S.A. de C.V.

Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC.

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- The Washington Times - Monday, May 16, 2011

If the federal government gets its way, critics are warning, school lunches will be more expensive and less appetizing and ultimately will leave school districts footing the bill for costly food going down the garbage disposal.

Under regulations proposed this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture would have the final say on what students eat. Educators fear the guidelines, trumpeted by first lady Michelle Obama and others as a key to curbing childhood obesity, will take a huge bite out of school budgets while resulting in “healthier” meals that make youngsters turn up their noses.

“Under the proposed rule, school meals would become so restrictive they would be unpalatable to many students,” said Karen Castaneda, director of food service at Pennridge School District in Perkasie, Pa.

For example, Ms. Castaneda said, the proposed sodium restrictions for student lunches resemble diets previously reserved for those battling serious illnesses such as kidney disease. The rules also would require students to eat more fruits and vegetables, forcing schools to serve extra apples and broccoli even if experience shows that children can’t - or won’t - eat them.

Breakfast programs are especially worrisome.

“The proposal will double the fruit serving … [and] would add a required meat serving daily,” said Sally Spero, food planning supervisor for the San Diego Unified School District. “Nothing is achieved when money is spent on food that children won’t even be able to consume and nothing is more disheartening … than to see perfectly good and perfectly untouched food thrown into the trash.”

The regulations would also require schools to spend more money for fresh fruits and vegetables. Many districts now serve cheaper canned fruits or frozen vegetables.

Administration officials say they have no interest in becoming what one called “the cupcake police,” and noted that educators, parents and the general public had been given time to comment and suggest changes. The public comment period ended April 13, and all suggestions will be analyzed and possibly incorporated into the final version, the Agriculture Department said in a statement Friday to The Washington Times.

The department also noted that the proposed rules are meant solely to “align school meals with the dietary guidelines as recommended by National Academies’ Institute of Medicine.”

What the government sees as a drive for more nutritious meals, some in the states see as an unfunded mandate from Washington.

Ms. Castaneda said her district’s food budget, including breakfast and lunch programs, would increase by $111,234 under the guidelines taking shape. Federal school lunch program reimbursements would cover $32,460, leaving the Pennridge district little choice but to raise lunch prices to come up with the remaining $78,774.

“Our concern is that the proposed regulation may result in having the opposite effect to that which it desires, driving up costs and driving children … out of the program,” said Barry Sackin, owner of B. Sackin and Associates, a consulting firm specializing in school nutrition.

Many of those issues received an airing at a House subcommittee hearing last week at which Mr. Sackin, Ms. Castaneda and Ms. Spero all testified. Some House Republicans have raised questions over whether the Obama administration has overstepped its authority in trying to dictate nutritional and other values for local school lunch programs.

After President Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act last year, Agriculture Department officials began crafting the new dietary rules, which remain under internal review.

While supporting healthy food for students, Mr. Sackin said, the proposed rule strives for perfection by sacrificing the “very good.”

“Unfortunately, there is a perception that if we fix school meals we can fix childhood obesity. But the reality is that school meals are already the healthiest meals that many children eat,” he told lawmakers. “The fact that too many children start school already overweight certainly suggests that schools aren’t the cause.”

The American Association of School Administrators has called the plan a “direct unfunded mandate” imposed on school districts. The National School Boards Association on Friday released a statement saying it is “gravely concerned about the financial impact the law could have on school districts at a time when many are in dire economic straits.”

“Two years after implementation, the cost of a school breakfast may increase by more than 25 cents. The cost of a school lunch will have increased by more than 7 cents,” said Rep. Duncan Hunter, the California Republican who chairs the House subcommittee focusing on primary and secondary education issues. “The total compliance costs will reach $6.8 billion by 2016, costs that will fall heavily on states and schools.”

Mr. Hunter obtained his figures from the Agriculture Department’s analysis of the proposed rules.

“Let me be clear: We all want to combat child hunger and improve the health and well-being of low-income families,” Mr. Hunter said. “However, we should reject the false choice between our support of child nutrition and the critical need to rein in the size and cost of the federal government.”

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- The Washington Times - Sunday, November 13, 2011

The grunt came from the back as a question was posed after Georgetown’s season-opening victory against Savannah State. Big John Thompson took umbrage at a reporter’s choice of words to describe Monday’s game, the last contest before Georgetown heads to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational.

“Tune-up?” former coach Thompson harrumphed, as the Hoyas’ current coach, John Thompson III, smirked in agreement. Guard Jason Clark was standing on the podium, and he gently corrected the reporter: “We have another game.”

That’s the proper approach, and it’s obviously been passed down with care, from Thompson the Elder to JT3 to the Hoyas’ senior captain. Still, unless UNC Greensboro unexpectedly offers more resistance than Savannah State provided in an 83-54 rout, Monday’s game indeed will be tantamount to a workout. Kansas next week will give us a better indication of where the young Hoyas stand.

Although first impressions aren’t always reliable for making long-term prognoses, there were several encouraging signs.

The most unexpected was senior center Henry Sims, who scored a career-high 19 points and tied career-highs with five assists and three blocks. That outburst caught Tigers coach Horace Broadnax off-guard, as Sims entered the season averaging 2.4 points and wasn’t part of Savannah State’s defensive game plan.

“I guess I went against what I try to tell my kids,” said Broadnax, a member of Georgetown’s 1984 championship team. “The past doesn’t dictate the future. I kind of relied on the past based on what he did and not playing. But he’s a senior, and he has to step up.”

Sims averaged 14 minutes per game last season and started for the first and only time in his career (against Tulane). He logged 24 minutes Saturday, and Georgetown improved to 2-0 in games when he starts.

“I’ve been telling him this, sooner or later he’s going to buy into it and accept it, do it,” Thompson said. “Henry just needs to just make hustle plays. The effort he gave today, going after rebounds and a couple of blocked shots. His points came off effort plays as opposed to worrying about shots.”

No one envisioned such productivity out of Sims, who shot 9-of-11 from the floor. While that made him a pleasant surprise, the touted freshmen were just a pleasant outcome. They had no benchmarks to exceed or miss.

But as far as blank canvases go, the first few brush strokes look pretty good.

The first two subs off the bench for Georgetown were Otto Porter and Greg Whittington, a pair of 6-foot-8 freshmen who entered the game simultaneously while Sims and point guard Markel Starks sat. That left Clark on the court with four forwards (including Hollis Thompson and Nate Lubick), giving the Hoyas a long, lanky lineup that will present matchup problems for future opponents.

Porter was the most impressive freshman, stuffing his stat line with nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks while displaying the poise of a fifth-year senior. His all-around game and basketball IQ will make him invaluable to the Hoyas’ success, much of which rests on the freshman class. Whittington (eight points) and 6-foot-9 forward Mikael Hopkins showed flashes, while 6-foot-9 center Tyler Adams sat out with a sprained ankle.

Forgive Thompson if he drools when contemplating the various combinations at his disposal. Multiple players can play different positions without causing the team to suffer on offense or defense. Losing point guard Chris Wright and his backcourt mate, Austin Freeman, would hurt any program, but the Hoyas arguably are deeper and more versatile than last season.

“I thought they did very, very well, Thompson said of his freshmen’s debut. “Greg has to get more rebounds [he had one], but they all do things. They all defend. All can make shots. They give you different things, not about just putting the ball in the basket. I thought both Otto and Greg were very good today.”

Another encouraging sign came from junior captain Hollis Thompson, who withdrew from the NBA draft at the last minute, but apparently not before benefiting from pre-draft workouts. The athletic forward remains silky smooth but looks bigger and stronger. He finished with 13 points four rebounds and four assists, including a sweet no-look for a Sims dunk.

Beating Savannah State made Georgetown 51-0 against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponents, so a lot of questions remain. But the team has a number of potential answers to choose from.

Watching the Hoyas figure things out could make for an entertaining season, if not a super successful one.

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- The Washington Times - Friday, December 20, 2013
In one of the most socially conservative states in the country, a federal judge in Utah on Friday struck down a voter-passed ban on gay marriage, saying it was unconstitutional.
An appeal is expected in the case, which is the first of many that challenge the marriage amendments passed by the states in the 1990s and 2000s. The decision comes after the Supreme Court this summer struck down the federal law banning recognition of state gay marriage laws.

U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby said he could not find a compelling reason to permit Utah’s Amendment 3, passed by 66 percent of voters in 2004, to stand.
“The state’s current laws deny its gay and lesbian citizens their fundamental right to marry and, in so doing, demean the dignity of these same-sex couples for no rational reason,” wrote Judge Shelby. “Accordingly, the court finds that these laws are unconstitutional.”
Judge Shelby also said the state failed to show that allowing same-sex marriage would harm traditional marriages, and the state’s fears and speculations were unsupported and insufficient to justify denying gay couples the right to marry.
Utah voters approved Amendment 3 to make it clear in the state constitution that marriage meant the legal union of one man and one woman.
Voters in some 30 other states have passed similar amendments.
In Utah, three same-sex couples challenged Amendment 3. The couples, represented by Peggy A. Tomsic and James E. Magleby, included two couples who want to marry in Utah and another pair who married elsewhere and want their union recognized in Utah.
State officials defended the amendment, saying man-woman marriage is held in particular regard by government because such couples naturally create children, and a mother-father home is “optimal” for raising children.
State officials also argued that it is a state’s right to decide its marriage laws, a legal position upheld by the Supreme Court in its summer decision, which overturned part of the Defense of Marriage Act.
However, Judge Shelby rejected the line of reasoning about “procreation” as a reason to preserve marriage for heterosexual couples, especially when it violates the 14th Amendment rights of gay couples.
Friday’s ruling in Utah comes on the heels of a ruling legalizing gay marriage from the New Mexico Supreme Court.

New Mexico became the 17th state to permit same-sex couples to marry. Gay rights activists want to see more than half the nation’s population living in a “marriage equality” state by 2016.

Many gay-marriage court challenges are pending in other states, but Utah’s has been closely watched because of the state’s history of staunch opposition to gay marriage as the home of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This story is based in part on wire service reports.

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2017-2018 EOG Testing Dates

  • DPI sets the last ten days of each track's school year as the EOG window. PLEASE plan on having your child in attendance for those days. Thank you.

    We request that you do not schedule any trips until after your student's last day of school.  They will not only miss out on EOG's they will also miss the end of year activities.  Track 1's last day is June 7, 2018 and Track 2, 3 and 4's last day is June 29, 2018.


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About the project

This is the text as image because we don't have a textual version

Smart Grids – the vision of the electricity networks of the future

The countries of the European Community strongly support the growth of renewable energy sources for better environmental protection, for sustainable energy supply through saving fossil primary energy and to lower the dependency on imports of primary energy. In the next years more and more Gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar energy will be fed into the electricity networks. Today's networks are not dimensioned for this. Furthermore, a large number of small power producers in the household and the charging of millions of electro-mobiles pose new challenges for the electricity networks.

All these challenges can only be met by Smart Grids. The problem is that each consumer can demand electricity whenever it is desired. In this way a permanent change of demand happens with a peak in Germany of about 80 GW in day time and a weak load of about 30 GW in the night. At each moment, electricity should be produced in accordance with the demand. But wind and solar power plants feed in accordingly their availability. They cannot be controlled like a traditional power station. To solve these problems a Smart Grid is defined as follows (see www.smartgrids.eu ):

A SmartGrid is an electricity network that can intelligently integrate the actions of all users connected to it - generators, consumers and those that do both - in order to efficiently deliver sustainable, economic and secure electricity supplies.

Smart Grids require a broad linking of its users via advanced information and communication technologies to achieve an intelligent coordination and market participation. In the distribution level through such linking can be achieved:

  • Offering variable tariffs following the energy prices on the market. Energy prices are high at times of heavy demand and they are lower in weak load time. The consumer can monitor his demand and the related costs. This gives him an incentive to move the heavy demand of non-time critical functions like washer, dryer or air conditioner into the time with lower tariff – maybe by using the home automation technologies. Consequently, the consumer participates in the energy market and he can help to decrease the peak load.

  • A large number of small power producers, storage and controllable loads (industry) can be coordinated in such a way that their overall generation will follow a schedule, that fluctuations of wind power may be compensated and that a virtual power plant is build which operates with behaviors like a traditional power plant.

  • Through automation and remote control it will be possible to remotely switch MV (medium voltage) terminals in the case of disturbances with supply interruption within minutes for supply recovery. The former manual switching took in the average 1 hour. In this way the possible supply interruptions can be shorted significantly.

Smart Grids are needed to meet the challenges of the future. However, they offer benefits for all grid users like consumers, producers, network operators and traders as well.


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Terms and Conditions

Acceptance Of This Agreement

Your access to and use of this website (“the Website”) is subject exclusively to these Terms and Conditions. You will not use the Website for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms and Conditions. By using the Website you are fully accepting the terms, conditions and disclaimers contained in this notice. If you do not accept these Terms and Conditions you must immediately stop using the Website.

The contents of the Website do not constitute advice and should not be relied upon in making or refraining from making, any decision.

Changes to Website, Software, and Services

Wellness Sidekick, LLC reserves the right to;

  1. change or remove (temporarily or permanently) the Website or any part of it without notice and you confirm that Wellness Sidekick, LLC shall not be liable to you for any such change or removal.
  2. change, remove, or discontinue any software, service, or promotion (including but not limited to any previsions, parts thereof, licensing, pricing) as advertised on this website at any time without notice and you confirm that Wellness Sidekick, LLC shall not be liable for any such change or removal.
  3. change or discontinue any promotional discount vouchers or coupon codes at anytime with notice and you confirm that Wellness Sidekick, LLC shall not be liable for any such change or removal.
  4. change this Agreement at any time, and your continued use of the Website following any changes shall be deemed to be your acceptance of such change.

Links to Third Party Website’s

The Website may include links to third party website’s that are controlled and maintained by others. Any link to other website’s is not an endorsement of such website’s and you acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible for the content or availability of any such sites.

The Intellectual Property Rights in this website and the materials on or accessible via it belong to ‘Wellness Sidekick, LLC’ or its licensors. This website and the materials on or accessible via it and the Intellectual Property Rights therein may not be copied, distributed, published, licensed, used or reproduced in any way (save to the extent strictly necessary for, and for the purposes of, accessing and using this website). ‘Wellness Sidekick, LLC’ and the Wellness Sidekick, LLC Logo are trade marks which belong to ‘Wellness Sidekick, LLC’ and they may not be used, copied or reproduced in any way without written consent from ‘Wellness Sidekick, LLC’.For these purposes “Intellectual Property Rights” includes the following (wherever and when ever arising and for the full term of each of them): any patent, trade mark, trade name, service mark, service name, design, design right, copyright, database right, moral rights, know how, trade secret and other confidential information, rights in the nature of any of these items in any country, rights in the nature of unfair competition rights and rights to sue for passing off or other similar intellectual or commercial right (in each case whether or not registered or registrable) and registrations of and applications to register any of them.

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The Website is provided on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis without any representation or endorsement made and without warranty of any kind whether express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, compatibility, security and accuracy.To the extent permitted by law, Wellness Sidekick, LLC will not be liable for any indirect or consequential loss or damage whatever (including without limitation loss of business, opportunity, data, profits) arising out of or in connection with the use of the Website. Wellness Sidekick, LLC makes no warranty that the functionality of the Website will be uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected or that the Website or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or anything else which may be harmful or destructive.

Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall be construed so as to exclude or limit the liability of Wellness Sidekick, LLC for death or personal injury as a result of the negligence of Wellness Sidekick, LLC or that of its employees or agents.

You agree to indemnify and hold Wellness Sidekick, LLC and its employees and agents harmless from and against all liabilities, legal fees, damages, losses, costs and other expenses in relation to any claims or actions brought against Wellness Sidekick, LLC arising out of any breach by you of these Terms and Conditions or other liabilities arising out of your use of this Website.

In the event that any provision of this Agreement is declared by any judicial or other competent authority to be void, voidable, illegal or otherwise unenforceable or indications of the same are received by either you or us from any relevant competent authority, we shall amend that provision in such reasonable manner as achieves the intention of the parties without illegality or, at our discretion, such provision may be severed from this Agreement and the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.

Applicable Law and Dispute

This Agreement and all matters arising from it are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Chester County Pennsylvania whose courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all disputes arising in connection with this Agreement and the place of performance of this Agreement is agreed by you to be Pennsylvania.

Headings are included in this Agreement for convenience only and shall not affect the construction or interpretation of this Agreement.

Entire Agreement

These terms and conditions together with any documents expressly referred to in them, contain the entire Agreement between us relating to the subject matter covered and supersede any previous Agreements, arrangements, undertakings or proposals, written or oral: between us in relation to such matters. No oral explanation or oral information given by any party shall alter the interpretation of these terms and conditions. In agreeing to these terms and conditions, you have not relied on any representation other than those expressly stated in these terms and conditions and you agree that you shall have no remedy in respect of any misrepresentation which has not been made expressly in this Agreement.


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Bruce Morcombe: Tonight is for reflection, not celebration

BRUCE Morcombe said tonight would be a time for reflection, not celebration, as he welcomed the appeal dismissal in his son's case.

He said he had mixed emotions about the outcome but it was "in the realms of our expectations so we're very comfortable with the judgment".

It's been a long process," he said outside the supreme court complex in Brisbane.

"Eleven and a half year ago was the last time Denise and I, and the family, saw Daniel.

"We don't forget.

"Today we hope Mr Cowan doesn't forget his actions

"It resulted in him spending a minimum 20 years in jail and we hope they're tough."

Mr Morcombe said it was not automatic that the High Court would hear the case, saying it would be based upon merit.

"We don't have to worry about Mr Cowan, he's locked up, probably for the rest of his life, and truly we hope it is the entirety of his life," he said.

"I'll be talking to our boys and Denise very shortly but it's not a moment of celebration, reflection for sure."

Topics:  brett peter cowan bruce morcombe daniel morcombe editors picks

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Thai guest to share her story with Roma

MOTIVATIONAL: Guest speaker from Thailand, Maneennoot Themjai, will be talking in Roma this weekend about growing up in poverty and being a sponsor child.

Maneennoot "Noot” Themjai is coming to speak in Roma on the weekend.

Briefs from around the region

Police crime scene

A helicopter crash has left a man in a critical condition.

Motor exhibition opens Saturday

CATTLE AND CARS: Rob and Edith Burton are working on the finishing touches to the garage, due to open tomorrow.

Rob and Edith Burton are opening their garage exhibition.

Local Partners


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Decorative Items | Neo Classical | Paintings and Tapestries | Stock No: 7082

Antique Oil Painting by German Artist Johann Heinrich Tischbein Elder

Stock No.7082

Johann Heinrich Tischbein the elder, a studio portrait of a lady, half-length, wearing a green and pink lace-trimmed dress, seated at a table holding a music score.
German, mid 18th century.

Notes: Johann Heinrich Tischbein the Elder, called the Kasseler, (October 3, 1722 in Haina – August 22, 1789 in Kassel), was one of the most respected European painters in the 18th century and an important member of the Tischbein dynasty of German painters, which spanned four generations. His work consisted primarily of portraits of the nobility, mythology scenes, and historical paintings. For his mythology paintings he mostly resorted to models from the highest aristocracy.

Listed Price: £12,500 ( + vat in EU zone )

Width Height Depth
Painting 31 1116"
80.6 cms
38 12"
97.8 cms
7.5 cms
Frame 40"
101.5 cms
119.5 cms

Link to: antique wall tapestries, panels and paintings

You can contact us by email, phone or just by completing the enquiry form below:

Items marked with an '*' are required.

16 Reviews on google

Tel: +44 (0)207 739 8094 | Fax: +44 (0)207 729 3620 | Email:

Copyright © Westland London 1969 - 2018. Images and text all rights reserved.


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Ripley show star to play with Wiggo

Steve Cropper with The Animals.
Steve Cropper with The Animals.

One of the stars of a forthcoming show at Ripley Town Hall is to record a single with Sir Bradley Wiggins.

Newspaper reports at the weekend said that guitar legend Steve Cropper, who is to appear with The Animals for promoters RipleyBlues on February 8, will record with the music-loving Tour de France winner next month.

The track, Window Shopping, which will also feature former members of The Jam, Paul Weller and Bruce Foxton, first appeared on Foxton’s solo album last year which saw the former Jam colleagues make up after years of rancour.

Cropper is used to being part of supergroups. Following the demise of Booker T & The MGs, he formed The Blues Brothers with actors John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd for the blockbuster film of the same name.

In the 1960s, Cropper backed artists such as Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas and Johnnie Taylor, also acting as producer on many of their records.

He will be performing many of his Stax soul classics with The Animals at Ripley Town Hall in a night packed with 60s hits.

2007 marked the 50th year of performing for The Animals’ founder member John Steel. Back in 1957 he and The Animals co-founder Eric Burdon began plying their trade in and around their native Tyneside with not the slightest inking that they would - in a very few years – find themselves part of a group that would be forever bracketed with the very best of British music – The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds – and respected all over the world.

The Animals were also be the second British band after The Beatles to top the American charts with their multi-million selling anthem, House of The Rising Sun.

It’s a return gig for The Animals after a visit in 2007 recieved a rapturous welcome.

Looking ahead to another RipleyBlues presentation, on Saturdau, January 26 Australian guitar meastro Derrin Nauendorf will appear at Ripley Blues Club upstairs in Ripley Town Hall.


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A SlingShot in the park

Sometimes the stars and planets align, coincidences occur and things just all fall into place. With less than a week until I was due to take my children to Disneyland Paris, I still hadn't sorted out how I was going to carry my camera gear. My Lowepro Toploader Zoom 55 AW will hold my camera and lens, but very little else, and my DryZone 100 would be overkill for a long weekend in a theme park. As such, I was in a bit of a quandary. Then, as if conjured up by magic, an email arrived in my inbox asking if I'd review the Lowepro SlingShot 302 AW. Eureka! Two birds, one SlingShot.

The bag

Once upon a time if you wanted a camera bag you had to choose which type suited you best; a rucksack or a shoulder bag? A rucksack may be more comfortable to carry, but needs to be removed to access your gear. A traditional gadget bag allows you to add and remove your equipment on the go, but can be a real weight around your shoulder after a day’s shooting. Decisions, decisions.

Then, sling-bags came along that offered the benefits of both. They can be worn on your back like a rucksack, making them comfortable to carry over long periods when full of gear. But the genius is that, with a clip and a swish, they can be swung round to the front allowing instant access to your camera for those shots that just appear out of nowhere. The process looks something like this:

Moving a sling-bag from the back to the front - I call it 'Doing the SlingShot'.

The 302 is one of the largest of Lowepro’s SlingShot bags (only the 350 AW is currently bigger) and will hold a Pro DSLR (or a standard DSLR complete with battery grip) with attached zoom lens (up to 70-200mm f2.8), 4-6 additional lenses or flash units and accessories, a compact tripod or monopod and personal items. I had no intention of taking that much photo gear, but by the time I’d packed my camera and lens, small flashgun, compact camera, associated chargers plus personal gear, the bag was reasonably full. I didn’t take a tripod or a monopod, but had I needed to one can be attached down the side of the bag.

The 302 AW with gear - sadly, not mine.
The SlingShot plus three-legged friend.

So with the Lowepro and cases packed and the kids sedated – sorry, I mean settled - in the back of the car for the journey to the airport, it was time to see if the SlingShot, and I, could cope with Disneyland.

The Ups...

As with most things Lowepro, the SlingShot 302 AW feels well made and well designed. Although I didn’t fill it to capacity, the customisable layout of the interior dividers meant that I was able to stow my camera gear safely and securely. Because I would be travelling with the bag, I opted not to use the exterior pockets, choosing instead to keep my phone and wallet within the main compartment of the bag. The only exception to this was a rolled-up waterproof jacket which was stowed in the top compartment of the bag which is meant for personal rather than camera related accessories.

The single shoulder strap, waist-belt and back-panel are reassuringly padded. With the straps properly adjusted, the SlingShot is an extremely comfortable bag to carry. The plastic buckles that snap the shoulder strap into the body of the bag and that join the front of the waist-belt also feel solid and are large enough to inspire confidence that they won’t accidentally come undone.

The back (or is it the front?) of the Lowepro SlingShot 302 AW.

The Lowepro SlingShot 302 AW comfortably fits into the hand-luggage basket you find at airports and that dictates what can and can’t be taken on board the plane with you. I’m not sure that a metal tripod or monopod would be allowed on at all, regardless of size, so for air travel you would need to bear this in mind. The SlingShot also fitted easily into the overhead storage lockers and is robust and padded enough that I didn’t worry about any uncomfortable squishing as other, much larger hand-luggage was wedged in next to it.

The bus that shuttled us between our hotel and Disneyland itself was a little cramped to say the least; just when you thought it wasn’t physically possible to cram another human being into a bendy-bus, we would pull up outside another hotel and somehow manage to squeeze yet another flock of excited children and considerably less excited parents in too. Despite being a decent sized bag, the SlingShot rarely seemed to get in the way on my back, but when it did I simply unclipped the waist-belt and slid the Lowepro round to my front.

If this feature of the SlingShot was useful on the bus, it really came into its own in the park. Disneyland, it turns out, is quite big. As such, there was a fair amount of walking involved. When the kids spotted a ride they wanted to go on, or a Disney character signing autographs, there was also a fair amount of running. It also transpired that in France queuing is regarded as a competitive contact sport, so there was also a fair amount of pushing and shoving. As a result, the Lowepro SlingShot 302 AW spent most of each day strapped to my back, quietly and unobtrusively getting on with the job of carrying my gear. Then, on the odd occasion where we would suddenly round a corner to find a genuine Disney celebrity walking towards us, or the children had managed to force their way to the front on the autograph scrum (“Knees and elbows, kids, knees and elbows”) I could unclip the waist belt and swing the bag round to grab my gear and shoot away, paparazzi style.

Papping the celebs was made easy with the SlingShot.

The main compartment of the Lowepro is opened via a large zipped flap which covers most of the front and one side of the bag. This allows full and easy access to the main storage area, making loading and arranging your camera gear straightforward. However, in use the flap is prevented from opening fully by 2 buckles which, with the bag swung round to the front, are at the top-front edge of the SlingShot 302 AW. With these in place only the side section of the flap can be opened, allowing you to quickly grab your camera and attached lens without the risk of spilling the remaining contents onto the floor. A neat little addition to this access system is the inclusion of a soft cloth on one side of the opening. This can be used to cover and protect your camera’s screen when stored in the bag, and ensures you always have a lens cleaning cloth to hand should somebody’s sticky ice-cream covered fingers get a little too close.

The quick access opening also has a protective and useful cleaning cloth.

Another handy feature which is found on many of Lowepro’s camera bags is the All Weather cover. This handy raincoat is what gives the SlingShot 302 its AW suffix. When not in use, this waterproof cover lives in a thin flap at the very bottom of the bag. Although the main material of the SlingShot is weather resistant, there may be times when the amount of rain or proximity to a water-based ride (both were issues during our time in Disneyland) require some additional protection. In these circumstances the cover can be pulled out and stretched over the bag, covering every side apart from the back-panel.

The All Weather cover - there's rain on them thar hills...

Other AW covers I have used, including the one on my Toploader 55 AW, require the carrying strap to be removed to fit the cover, and then reattached via slits in the waterproof material. Although the AW cover is useful, that arrangement has always annoyed me slightly. However, the SlingShot 302 AW is the first Lowepro bag I have used that doesn’t require this strap removal when fitting the cover. Instead, the AW raincoat has a couple of Velcro taps that simply wrap around the top of the shoulder strap, keeping the cover in place without the faff (a technical term meaning a small but disproportionately inconvenient process) of having to remove and then reattach straps.

All in all, then, a good, solid performance from the SlingShot 302 AW. As I would expect from Lowepro, the bag is functional and well designed, with a few extra tweaks that I wasn’t expecting but that make perfect sense and have impressed me. Still, if there’s one thing that a few days of Disneyland roller-coasters have taught me, it’s that the ups are only part of the story.

The Downs…

The first slight negative reared its head when packing the SlingShot ready for the trip. To quote Lowepro themselves:

Our newest, fast-access SlingShot AW series builds on the inventive design of the original and incorporates what many photographers are looking for: faster access, extra space for personal items, improved organization, and the ability to add a tripod.

The bit I’m particularly interested in is the “extra space for personal items”. The SlingShot 302 AW’s top compartment is the space designated for personal accessories, yet with my waterproof jacket (a particularly compact and lightweight model) rolled up tight in there I had very little room for anything else. The Saturday we were in Disneyland was particularly sunny, so I left the waterproof in the hotel room and just took a thick jumper in case it got colder later on. This only just fitted into the top compartment and required some wedging and a little straining of the zip. I know that the SlingShot 302 AW isn’t marketed as a day-pack type bag, but if you’re going to make space for personal accessories, at least make it a worthwhile usable space. If, as Lowepro say, this new SlingShot series offers extra space, then I can only assume that the original series must have barely provided enough room for your car keys.

Ok, it's a thick jumper, but still...

Putting the Lowepro SlingShot 302 AW on and off also presented a bit of an issue. Because of the way the strap goes diagonally across the body, it has to go over your head, and there’s not a lot of room. As such, it easier to unbuckle the shoulder strap, put the bag in place, and then re-buckle it. The problem is that this is easier said than done when the bag contains reasonably heavy camera gear. More to the point, you have to make sure you’ve got a firm hold on the bag before unbuckling to take it off or the SlingShot will slide backwards and to the floor as soon as you unclip the strap. Yes, I speak from experience.

Hold tight before unbuckling.

There is a final downside worth mentioning. It wasn’t an issue for me, but I have raised it when looking at other bags, so it’s only fair to point out that the SlingShot 302 AW is lacking anywhere to put a laptop. I rarely take mine with me, but many photographers do and that’s simply not an option with this bag. It seems a bit harsh to list this as a particular downside of the SlingShot, so perhaps it’s fairer to just say that if you absolutely have to carry your laptop with you, you’ll need to look at a different bag.

The Round and Rounds…

Ok, so that title makes no sense and there are no round and rounds – I just liked the roller-coaster theme. And speaking of roller coasters, the Lowepro SlingShot 302 AW came on all of the rides with me. Yep, all of them. It would either be on the seat next to me or wedged in by my feet, but every twist, turn and loop-the loop that I did, the SlingShot did it too. On one occasion, I even considered using the AW cover for a far less appropriate purpose (sick-bags are not provided on simulators) but luckily it didn't come to that.

I think that says a lot in itself (the fact it came with me - not the sick-bag issue). There was never a time where I thought "I'll leave the camera gear in the hotel today" or asked someone to hold it while I went on a ride. I've said it before and I'll say it again now - the best thing a bag can do is protect and look after your equipment without you having to give it a second thought. The Lowepro SlingShot 302 AW does just that. Sure, the personal space could be greater, but not without making the whole bag larger, and the strap system does require some thought, particularly when removing the bag, but that's a worthwhile price to pay for the convenience it offers.

100% tourist

So would I buy one myself? Well, that’s a difficult question. I’m not sure I can justify a third bag for the odd occasion when the Toploader is too little and the DryZone too much. That said, I could buy another 5 bags and still not match my other half’s collection of hand bags. Gratuitous sexism aside, I’ll probably stick with what I’ve got and aim to beg or borrow another SlingShot as and when I need to.

That said, if I was in the market for my first bag, or already owned one but needed a second, the Lowepro SlingShot 302 AW would be right at the top of my list. This was my first interaction with a sling bag, and I’m a convert – the system works. And, speaking personally, carrying a backpack with both straps is slightly un-cool – we used to call those people “two-strappers” when I was at school. Yes, I should have probably grown up by now, but I stand by the fact that the SlingShot looks far less geeky when being carried than a traditional camera rucksack, and although it doesn’t manage to completely disguise what it is, it doesn’t shout CAMERA BAG anywhere near as loudly as some.

The Lowepro SlingShot 302 AW, then – plane proof, Disney proof, and French-queue proof. Très bien.

Build quality 9/10 Typically Lowepro - solid and trustworthy
Design 8/10 Clever, clever sling bag - just watch those buckles
Capacity 7/10 Could just do with a bit more non-camera space
Style 8/10 It's still a camera bag, but considerably smarter than many

Overall score:


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Tracheal Shave Philippines

All 23 Tracheal Shave Clinics in Philippines

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We have all the information you need about public and private Plastic Surgery Clinics that provide tracheal shave in Philippines. Compare all the plastic surgery clinics and contact the plastic surgeon in Philippines who's right for you.

Looking for Tracheal Shave? Choose from 23 Tracheal Shave Clinics in Philippines. Compare prices, read reviews and get quotes.

2.8 / 5  Satisfactory
from 1,996 users
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Beverly Hills 6750

3rd Floor Joya Lofts and Towers, Commercial Podium, Joya Drive, Rockwell Center, 49 Timog Avenue, South Triangle, Makati City, 1211
Beverly Hills 6750 (BH6750) Multi-Specialty Aesthetic Institute aims to be a world-renowned aesthetic center by providing world-class, client-centered services towards being a major driving force behind the medical tourism industry.  With the above-mentioned corporate vision in mind, Beverly Hills 6750 Multi-Specialty Aesthetic Institute has focused on strategically partnering with major stakeholders in the medical tourism business, both locally and internationally. These affiliations provide Beverly Hills 6750 with a platform for exchange of information, experiences, and a strong referral base of clients. Beverly Hills 6750’s local stakeholder partners in this business include the Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Health (DOH), Philippine Travel Agents Association (PTAA), Philippine Tour Operators Association (PHILTOA), National Association of Independent Travel Agencies - Philippines (NAITAS) and the Philippine IATA Travel Agents Association (PIATA).  Meanwhile, international partners include private business interests in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Being a multi-specialty aesthetic institute, Beverly Hills 6750’s services includes: aesthetic plastic/ cosmetic surgery, skin care and rejuvenation, general and cosmetic dentistry, cosmetic gynecology, weight loss management and surgery, endovenous laser varicose veins treatment, hair re-growth and hair implant, and stem cell regenerative and aesthetic treatment. The instit
Trachea Shave
3.1 / 5  Good
from 1,134 users
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CDAC Sexual Reassignment Surgery Clinic

3F Mancor Corporate Center, 32nd Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, 1634
Tracheal Shave
3.6 / 5  Very Good
from 1,021 users
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The Medical City - Pasig

Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City, 1605
Trachea Shave
15 other locations in Philippines for The Medical City - Pasig.

The Medical City - SM Marikina

G/F, SM City Marikina, Marcos Hi-Way, Ca

The Medical City - Iloilo City

Locsin St., Brgy. Tap-Oc, Molo, Iloilo C

The Medical City - Antipolo City

Antipolo Triangle Mall, San Lorenzo Sumu

The Medical City - Waltermart Muñoz

G/F, Waltermart North Edsa Veterans Vill
3.6 / 5  Very Good
from 2,141 users
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Cosmetic Surgery Philippines - Dr. Enrico Valera

Rm. 911 North Tower CHBC, St. Luke’s Medical Center, Quezon City, 1102
Trachea Shave
3.1 / 5  Good
from 1,631 users
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Cosmedics Dermaster Aesthetic Center

3F Mancor Corporate Center, 32nd Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Rating from 2 Reviews Really good and very professionalMel, Las Piñas, 17 Oct 14

Their clinic looks expensive, but the price is very competitive. I had been to clinics in Medical Plaza and I prefer Cosmedics. They equally have great receptionist, both have license and trained doctors. But when it comes to non surgical treatment that is not performed by a Doctor, I prefer Cosmedics. The nurse who is giving me the RF Face treatment and Derma Clear is really good and very professional. She always checks with me and verify if I’m satisfied while proceeding with the treatment. I like it very much. I don’t have pictures while doing the treatment because I always fall asleep during the process and I don’t like being photographed sleeping :) If you’re not into make up like me and prefer it bare, like baby powder bare, try Cosmedics. Less cosmetics, go to Cosmedics :)

Trachea Shave
3.7 / 5  Very Good
from 2,008 users
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Dr. Marvin Tañag

5th Level The Block, SM-North, EDSA, Quezon City
Trachea Shave
3.2 / 5  Good
from 303 users
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Medlite Face and Body Center

26-A Gil Fernando Avenue, San Roque, Marikina City
Medlite Face and Body Center is a Plastic Surgeon in Marikina City. To contact them for additional information simply fill out the contact form.
Adam's Apple Shaving
3.6 / 5  Very Good
from 7,852 users
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Newlife Plastic Surgery Center

Suite 708, 7th Floor Centuria Medical Plaza, Barangay Poblacion, Makati City, 1210
Trachea Shave
Trachea Shave is a procedure to correct prominent Adams apples to make the profile more feminine.
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