US Drug Watchdog Now Fears Thousands Of Transvaginal Mesh, Tape Product Failure Victims Are Being Misinformed By Their Doctors-Erosion Is Not A Normal Outcome

The US Drug Watchdog is urging victims of a tranvaginal mesh, tape, or sling failure to seek a second opinion if their doctor is being dismissive about severe medical complications related to one of these devices, and because the damages are of such a personal nature the group is offering to help all women victims get to the best possible attorneys, who are also women for a legal review. For more information victims of a transvaginal mesh, tape or bladder sling failure are urged to contact the US Drug Watchdog anytime at 866-714-6466. http://USDrugWatchdog.Com

(PRWEB) January 08, 2013
Based on hundreds of phone calls from victims of a transvaginal mesh, tape, or bladder sling failure the US Drug Watchdog now believes failures related to these types of medical products are much more severe, and numerous than they ever thought possible. The US Drug Watchdog says, "We have talked to scores of women in the last two months who have been told by their surgeon that quote, erosion is normal. Erosion is a medical term that refers to transvaginal mesh protruding out of the vaginal wall, and into the vagina. This is not a normal medical condition, it is a severe medical condition involving damages, and we want to make certain victims of a transvaginal mesh, tape, or sling failure get to the best possible attorneys, who are all also women." According to court records a transvaginal mesh failure occurs when the mesh fails to bind to a woman's pelvic tissues. As a consequence of this, the body rejects the mesh that has been sewn into it. As a result, the transvaginal mesh may start to poke its way through the vaginal wall and protrude out of the vaginal tissue. This complication is more commonly referred to as "erosion." The US Drug Watchdog has begun a very aggressive initiative designed to assist women in the United States, who are victims of a transvaginal mesh, tape, or bladder sling failure. The group is urging any woman, who has had the transvaginal mesh surgical procedure done, and now has developed severe complications to call them anytime at 866-714-6466. http://USDrugWatchdog.Com
The US Drug Watchdog is indicating symptoms of a transvaginal mesh, tape, or sling implant failure may include:

Pain during sexual intercourse caused by erosion.
Mesh erosion through the vagina (the mesh is actually protruding out of the vaginal wall)
Vaginal Bleeding
Vaginal Infection
Urinary problems
Organ perforation
The US Drug Watchdog says, "One of the biggest problems we have with respect to our failed medical device or recalled drug initiative work is the average US consumer never hears about a drug recall or failures involving medical devices like a transvaginal mesh, tape, or a bladder sling. If you have a friend, or loved one who is a recipient of a transvaginal mesh, tape, or bladder sling that has already failed or is showing symptoms of a failure, please have them call us at 866-714-6466. We want to make certain all transvaginal mesh, tape, or bladder sling failure victims get to the best possible attorneys, to ensure they get the best possible compensation for their ordeal, and we will do our absolute best to make certain all of the attorneys are women.

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Electronic Medical Record Saves Physical Therapists’ Time and Money According to Practice Marketing Expert, Nitin Chhoda

Using EMR as the latest PT documentation software actually saves therapist’s time and money as Nitin Chhoda, a marketing expert said. As a licensed physical therapist, he shares more information about this latest software in his website called emrnews.com.

Denville, NJ (PRWEB) January 08, 2013
“EMR or electronic medical record is the latest documentation system used by physical therapy practices across the nation. As all health professionals know, electronic records are the future. Not only do they allow a more accurate recording of patient data, but they also cut time and save money,” Nitin Chhoda said.
Given the positive impact from updating an old documentation system to EMR can have on a practice, it isn't any wonder why so many therapists across the United States are switching over to this special physical therapy management software.
Chhoda added that like in any other businesses, medical practices understand that time is equal to money. Every minute that is spent in documenting each visit and recording patient data is a time lost which could've otherwise been billed. He said, “As of the moment, it takes an average of fifteen to twenty minutes to document a patient visit. For large practices, the amount of excess time lost during this period can add up to several hundreds or thousands of dollars in potentially billable hours each year.”
Fortunately, EMR allows practices to develop highly efficient procedures for documenting visits. This helps cut down on excessive time, saving the practice money on additional staff which may be required to handle larger patient loads. Moreover, physical therapists use the abundance of free time which results from this new improved efficiency to see more patients. They are able to make more money while still offering the same level of professional care.
The EMR for physical therapy services reduces documentation time by empowering therapists to easily record information by utilizing technological advances. The use of tablets and voice recognition software can reduce minutes of documentation. This software and the technological devices are designed to be intuitive, allowing therapist and staff to easily learn the system after just a few minutes of practice.
As a healthcare professional, therapists’ first priority is patient care. The more time wasted on bureaucratic requirements can be better spent seeing more patients or improving the care of the current ones. Practitioners will have the opportunity to increase profit, which means that they can have more money for expansion of services and upgrades.
Chhoda’s office can be reached by phone at 201-535-4475. For more information, visit the website at http://www.emrnews.com.
ABOUT NITIN CHHODA

Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT is a licensed physical therapist, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and an entrepreneur. He is the author of "Physical Therapy Marketing For The New Economy" and “Marketing for Physical Therapy Clinics” and is a prolific speaker, writer and creator of products and systems to streamline medical billing and coding, electronic medical records, health care practice management and marketing to increase referrals. He has been featured in numerous industry magazines, major radio and broadcast media, and is the founder of Referral Ignition training systems and the annual Private Practice Summit. Chhoda speaks extensively throughout the U.S., Canada and Asia. He is also the creator of the Therapy Newsletter and Clinical Contact, both web-based services to help private practices improve communication with patients, delivery better quality of care and boost patient retention.

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Route 66 Dental Implants and Periodontics by Dr. David Wong D.D.S., P.C. Opens New Location in Tulsa, OK.

Dr. David Wong, D.D.S., P.C. has opened Route 66 Dental Implants and Periodontics, at his new location at 4545 S. Harvard in Tulsa, OK.

Tulsa, OK (PRWEB) January 08, 2013
Doctor David Wong and his staff have been serving Tulsa since 2003 at their location on south Harvard Ave. They have recently opened a new office across the street at 4545 S. Harvard as Route 66 Dental Implants and Periodontics.
The new office is over 4,000 square feet, and conveniently located just one half mile north of Interstate 44 at the Harvard Ave. exit.
“Despite the new amenities, our office is all about patient care,” said David Wong, D.D.S., P.C. “In addition to our portable x-ray unit, our patients have access to the best technology for periodontal care. Our Periolase laser makes treating gum disease as quick, painless, and inexpensive as possible,” said Wong.
The Route 66 Dental Implants and Periodontics web site has a variety of articles and videos about laser gum surgery, gum graft alternatives, and full mouth implants and restoration.
For more information about Doctor David Wong and Route 66 Dental Implants and Periodontics, please visit http://route66implants.com
About Route 66 Dental Implants & Periodontics
Started by Dr. David Wong in 2003, Route 66 Dental Implants & Periodontics has become one of the most trusted names in Oklahoma.
About Doctor David Wong D.D.S., P.C.
Tulsa Periodontist, Dr. David Wong is a native Oklahoman who completed his dental degree at the University of Oklahoma. His advanced training in periodontics was accomplished at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where he served as chief resident and scored a perfect 100% on his in-service examination. Dr. Wong also completed advanced implant and oral plastic surgery training from Temple University as well as from such world renowned institutions as the Misch International Implant Institute and the Dental Implant Institute of Las Vegas.
Since entering into private practice in 2003, Dr. Wong has published articles in the field of oral plastic surgery, and he has also been a guest lecturer at the Oklahoma Dental Association, Oklahoma Dental Hygiene Association, Tulsa Community College, among others. Wong recently received his Fellowship in the International Congress of Oral Implantologists, the only periodontist in Oklahoma to reach this achievement. In addition, in 2005, Dr. Wong became the first Tulsa periodontist since 1969 to be board certified by the American Board of Periodontologists. Dr. David Wong is a member of PRprofile, a website dedicated to helping businesses build a publicity presence online.

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Pakistan says 1 dead in border clash with India

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan and India traded accusations Sunday of violating the cease-fire in the disputed northern region of Kashmir, with Islamabad accusing Indian troops of a cross-border raid that killed one of its soldiers and India charging that Pakistani shelling destroyed a home on its side.
The accusation of a border crossing resulting in military deaths is unusual in Kashmir, where a cease-fire has held between these two wary, nuclear-armed rivals for a decade. Tensions over the disputed region are never far from the surface, however, as the countries have fought two full-scale wars over it.
Pakistan and India have been in the midst of a tentative rapprochement in recent months that could be upset by the cross-border raid. Just last month, the two countries announced a new visa regime designed to make cross-border travel easier. And they have been taking steps to facilitate economic trade as well. Neither action would have been possible without the backing of Pakistan's powerful military.
The developments show how tensions have eased a great deal since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, in which 10 Pakistani terrorists killed 166 people. India claims the terrorists had ties to Pakistani intelligence officials, which Islamabad denies.
The Pakistani military's public relations office said in a statement that a Pakistani soldier was also critically wounded in the incident. It said troops exchanged gunfire after Indian forces crossed the "line of control" dividing the Indian and Pakistani sides of Kashmir in the Haji Pir sector and raided a post called Sawan Patra.
The remote area where the incident occurred is up in the Himalayan mountain peaks. The closest town of Bagh, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) away, is itself about 260 kilometers (160 miles) from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
Col. Brijesh Pandey, a spokesman for the Indian army in Kashmir, called the allegations that Indian troops crossed the border "baseless." Instead, he said that Pakistani troops "initiated unprovoked firing" and fired mortars and automatic weapons at Indian posts early Sunday morning. He said Pakistani shelling had destroyed a civilian home on the Indian side.
"We retaliated only using small arms. We believe it was clearly an attempt on their part to facilitate infiltration of militants," Pandey said
India often accuses Pakistan of sending militants into the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, often under cover of these types of skirmishes.
The mostly-Muslim mountainous Kashmir region has been a flashpoint of violence between these two neighbors for decades. Both claim the entire region as their own, and the countries fought two full-scale wars over control of Kashmir and some minor skirmishes.
On Saturday, leaders of a Pakistan-based militant coalition held a rally in the city of Muzaffarabad near Kashmir, in which they pledged to continue the fight to gain control of the entire region.
The United Jihad Council is a coalition of 12 anti-India militant groups. Many of the groups were started with the support of the Pakistani government in the 1980s and 1990s to fight India for control of Kashmir. The rally was held to mark the Jan. 5, 1949 call by the United Nations for a referendum on Kashmir's fate.
A 2003 cease-fire ended the most recent round of fighting. Each side occasionally accuses the other of violating it by lobbing mortars or shooting across the LOC.
A number of Pakistani civilians were wounded in November due to Indian shelling, and in October the Indian army said Pakistani troops fired across the disputed frontier, killing three civilians.
But accusations that one side's ground forces actually crossed the LOC are rarer.

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Suicide bombers kill 5 at Afghan district compound

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Two suicide bombers penetrated a government compound in the country's south Sunday, killing five people, Afghan officials said. There were no reports of foreign troops or civilians at the site.
In neighboring Helmand province, a bomb planted at a bus station killed one policeman and wounded another person, a provincial official said.
The suicide attack was in the district of Spin Boldak in Kandahar province in one of the nation's most violent areas. The district is a major infiltration corridor for Taliban fighters from Pakistan as well as a smuggling route for weapons and narcotics.
A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said the group was responsible for the Spin Boldak attack. He said the Taliban did not orchestrate the bombing in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand.
Mohammad Hashim, district chief of Spin Boldak, said the two militants were targeting a meeting of local officials at a compound in the district of Kandahar province near the Pakistani border. Hashim said the two attackers arrived in a car, killed a guard and entered the facility firing weapons before blowing themselves up along with their vehicle. The compound houses offices of the district chief and district council as well as other government buildings.
The head of the provincial council, Hafiz Abdul Haleem, said five people died including one policeman and four civilians. Fifteen were wounded.

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Philippine army, police kill 13 suspects in clash

ATIMONAN, Philippines (AP) — Philippine army special forces and police killed 13 suspected criminals in a fierce gunbattle in a northeastern province in the latest recent violence in the country.
A police officer was wounded in Sunday's shootout, which raged for about 20 minutes in the coastal town of Atimonan in Quezon province, about 140 kilometers (90 miles) southeast of Manila, the capital, according to the police and the army.
The gunmen, who were riding in two black SUVs, opened fire on more than 50 army soldiers and police when they were flagged down at a highway checkpoint, sparking the firefight, said Lt. Col. Monico Abang, who led the army platoon in the clash. More gunmen fired from a third vehicle, which turned around and fled, he said.
Two gunmen jumped out of one of the SUVs and fired from a roadside canal. The rest stayed in the two vehicles, which were raked by gunfire from troops in a sparsely-populated stretch of the highway, Abang said. The area was closed off to traffic and then reopened late Sunday, with the two bullet-riddled SUVS still partially blocking the dark highway.
Quezon provincial police chief Valeriano de Leon said 11 gunmen died at the scene of the clash. Two others died while being brought to a hospital, he said, adding that government forces recovered two assault rifles and 12 pistols used by the gunmen.
"They rolled down their windows and started firing, so we had to retaliate," Abang said by cellphone from the scene of the clash. "They were clearly outnumbered and outgunned."
A police colonel was shot in the hand and foot and taken to a hospital, de Leon said.
Abang said the army and police had set up the checkpoint after an informant told police that gunmen involved in illegal drugs, gambling and kidnapping for ransom would pass through Atimonan in mountainous Quezon, where communist guerrillas have a presence.
An initial investigation showed that the gunmen were likely members of a gun-for-hire group operating in provinces south of Manila, Abang said. One dead gunman had a police identification card and investigators were trying to confirm his identity, he said.
The shootout followed two other deadly shootings that have revived calls for tighter gun control in the Philippines, where there are more than half a million unlicensed firearms, according to police estimates.
A man who reportedly was drunk and high on drugs killed eight people before being gunned down by police on Friday in Kawit town in Cavite province, 16 kilometers (10 miles) south of Manila.
A 7-year-old girl died a day after being hit in the head by a stray bullet while watching fireworks with her family on New Year's Eve outside their home in Caloocan city, near Manila, despite a high-profile government campaign against powerful firecrackers and celebratory gunfire by Filipinos to welcome 2013.
Earlier Sunday, before the shootout, presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte told reporters that President Benigno Aquino III, a known gun enthusiast, would study gun-control proposals with other officials. Among the proposals is a call by anti-gun groups to ban the carrying of firearms by civilians outside their homes.
The proliferation of firearms has long fueled crime, political violence and Muslim and communist rebellions that have raged for decades in parts of the Philippines. Previous attempts by authorities to clamp down on unregistered weapons have yielded few results in a country where several politically powerful clans and families control private armed groups in provincial strongholds outside Manila.

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ADVISORY-Reuters yearenders to move from 0200 GMT

Dec 27 (Reuters) - Reuters will repeat a series of sports yearenders from earlier this month at 0200 GMT on Friday.
Overall yearender
American professional sport
Asian review
Best quotes of the year
Timeline
London Olympics
Soccer
Tennis
Golf
Cricket
Rugby
Cycling
Motor racing
Major league baseball
Basketball
NFL
Ice Hockey

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YEARENDER-Olympics sparkle at height of magical British summer

LONDON, Dec 28 (Reuters) - London defied Britain's wettest summer for 100 years, potential transport and security chaos and a depressed economy to stage a marvellous 2012 Olympics during a magical year for British sport.
Over the past century Britons have become resigned to watching the rest of the world beat them at games they had either invented or codified at the height of the island nation's imperial splendour.
This year, to their fans' surprise and delight, British teams and athletes surpassed themselves across a range of sports, including third place in the Olympic medals' table behind the world's two great economic powers the United States and China.
Englishman Bradley Wiggins, who looks like a throwback to the English beat groups of the swinging sixties with his mop of hair and straggling sideburns, became the first Briton to win the Tour de France prior to taking a fourth Olympic gold medal.
After finishing runner-up in four grand slam finals during a vintage era for men's tennis, Scotland's Andy Murray finally made the breakthrough as the first British male in 76 years to win one of the big four titles with victory over Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open.
And Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, winner of four PGA titles including the PGA championship by a record eight strokes, was awarded the annual Jack Nicklaus award for player-of-the-year. At the age of 23 he was the youngest recipient since Tiger Woods in 1997.
At the heart of the year's sporting action, London staged the summer Olympics for the third time to unanimous acclaim throughout the world.
Under the assured stewardship of organising committee chairman Seb Coe, as adroit in the convoluted realm of sports politics as he had been on the track while winning two Olympic 1,500 metres titles, the London organisation was impeccable.
Transport, one of the biggest worries in a cramped and crowded city, worked smoothly with enthusiastic and knowledgeable crowds flocking to venues sprinkled among some of London's more celebrated landmarks.
Rain fell nearly every day during the early part of a gloomy summer before an overdue burst of hot sunshine in the week leading up to the Games in late July. Thereafter the weather reverted to a more familiar English blend of the good, the bad and the indifferent without causing any serious disruptions.
Even the admission by a private security firm a fortnight before the 16-day festival that it could not supply enough guards proved an unexpected bonus.
Thousands of soldiers, sailors and airmen stepped into the breach and their disciplined professionalism and unfailing good humour further boosted the feel good factor.
The day after a quirky but compelling opening ceremony fusing historical and cultural glories with quintessentially British eccentricity, Michael Phelps took to the pool.
Winner of a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, Phelps faltered initially, finishing fourth in the 400 metres individual medley behind fellow-American Ryan Lochte.
By the end of the opening week, the American through sheer willpower was back to his best, finishing his competitive career with 18 gold medals from four Games. They included four golds in London and 22 medals overall to make him the most-decorated athlete in Olympic history ahead of former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, who collected 18.
FINEST HOUR
While Phelps was gracing an Olympic pool for the last time on the middle Saturday of the Games, the nearby Olympic stadium erupted during Britain's finest Olympic hour.
Reflecting the face of modern multi-cultural Britain, Somali immigrant Mo Farah won the 10,000 metres and the daughter of a Jamaican father and English mother Jessica Ennis finished first in the heptathlon. Greg Rutherford, the great-grandson of an England soccer international, won the long jump.
Usain Bolt, who had made a mockery of the world 100 and 200 metres records in Beijing, shrugged off doubts about his form, fitness and the threat of training partner Yohan Blake, who had beaten him twice at the Jamaican trials, to become the first man to retain both Olympic titles.
Jamaica swept the 200 medals and Bolt finished a triumphant week for his tiny Caribbean nation by anchoring the 4x100 relay team to a world record and establish beyond any doubt that he is the greatest sprinter to step on to a track.
Kenya's David Rudisha provided the most spectacular individual performance on the track, spread-eagling the field to break his own world 800 metres record without the benefit of pacemakers.
Chelsea kicked off the British sporting summer with an unexpected triumph in the Champions League final, defeating Bayern Munich on penalties at the Allianz Arena to win the European club title for the first time.
After the west London club had eliminated favourites Barcelona in the semi-finals with a scrupulously disciplined defensive display, Didier Drogba levelled the scores in the 88th minute of the final with a header before converting the final spot kick in the penalty shootout.
ARMSTRONG SCANDAL
Wiggins, who had survived the worst life could throw at him, triumphed in the most brutal and demanding of the European road cycling classics.
Abandoned at the age of two by his alcoholic Australian father, himself a professional cyclist who was found dead of head injuries on a street in 2008, Wiggins fought his way out of a council estate with gritty determination and drive.
His victory in the Tour, possibly the greatest individual British sporting achievement of the year and followed by a fourth Olympic gold, was accompanied by unwelcome if not unexpected baggage.
Given the sport in general and the Tour in particular are notoriously drug-tainted, Wiggins was forced to endure a barrage of questions about doping during and after the race.
"If I doped I would potentially stand to lose everything," he responded. "My reputation, my livelihood, my marriage, my family, my house... my Olympic titles, my world titles."
The questions, to Wiggins and his rivals, will not go away soon.
Later in the year, American Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency published a report accusing him of being involved in the "most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen". Armstrong continued to deny ever taking drugs but elected not to contest the charges, which the sporting authorities took as an effective admission of guilt.
Murray's breakthrough came after he avenged his Wimbledon final defeat to Roger Federer to beat the Swiss master in the Olympic final.
Serena Williams collected gold in the singles and doubles during a winning streak when she added the Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles to her trophy cabinet.
POULTER LEADS FIGHTBACK
McIlroy also played a full part in the year's most remarkable comeback. After confusion over a tee time, he needed a police escort in his haste to reach the Medinah course on the final day of the biennial Ryder Cup between Europe and the United States when the hosts needed only 4-1/2 points from 12 singles matches to win.
Instead, the Americans conceded 8-1/2 points to the Europeans who won 14-1/2 to 13-1/2. McIlroy prevailed over the previously undefeated Keegan Bradley and German Martin Kaymer sank a five-foot putt on the 18th green to secure the 14 points Europe needed to retain the trophy.
Englishman Ian Poulter, who like the late Seve Ballesteros and Colin Montgomerie before him reserves his best for the Ryder Cup, turned around Europe's fortunes by earning one of two points in the fourballs on Saturday. Poulter, possessor of one of the more startling wardrobes in a sport not noted for sartorial restraint, was one of eight players to win on Sunday to finish with a 4-0 record overall.
Although another Briton, Jenson Button, won the final Grand Prix of the season in Sao Paulo nobody could deny Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who at the age of 25 became Formula One's youngest triple world champion.
The German was last on the opening lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix but fought back in a damaged car to finish sixth.
One arena where a British national team performed much as it always does at major tournaments was in the national game of soccer.
For once, under a new coach Roy Hodgson, expectations were not exaggeratedly high for England before the European championships jointly hosted by Ukraine and Poland and losing on penalties to Italy in the quarter-finals was greeted with a resigned shrug rather than outraged indignation.
Spain, the country who took 44 years to win a major tournament, became the first to win three in a row, retaining the European title after triumphing in the 2010 World Cup.
They destroyed Italy 4-0 in the final and their endlessly inventive midfielder Andres Iniesta was named player of the tournament.
Iniesta's Barcelona team mate Lionel Messi was carried off in a stretcher with what appeared to be a serious knee injury after colliding with Benfica goalkeeper in a Champions League group match on Dec. 5.
Four days later the Argentine scored both goals in a 2-1 La Liga win over Real Betis to overhaul German Gerd Mueller's previous record of 85 goals in a calendar year set in 1972. Both goals were set up by Iniesta.
Pele's record of 75 scored in 1958 was already well behind him and, at the age of 25, Messi is in exalted company.
"Leo is supernatural. He doesn't have limits," marvelled Barcelona defender Gerard Pique.
Britain's golden year lingered into December, with yet further cause for celebration through sports developed in Victorian public schools whose passion for organised games inspired Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics.
England, 12/1 outsiders before the match, thrashed world rugby union champions New Zealand 38-21 at Twickenham to bring an abrupt halt to increasingly fevered speculation that the current All Blacks team are the best side ever to play the game.
Then the England cricket side, humiliated in the first test of a four-match series in India, bounced back with captain Alastair Cook leading by example to win the next two by convincing margins.

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YEARENDER-The 2012 sporting year in quotes

Dec 28 (Reuters) - Sporting quotes from 2012:
OLYMPICS
"These were happy and glorious Games," - IOC president Jacques Rogge at the closing ceremony.
"I did everything I wanted to. I finished my career the way I wanted to," - American swimmer Michael Phelps after retiring with 18 gold medals.
"I hope that this medal inspires the kids at home to put down guns and knives and pick up a pair of trainers instead," - Erick Barrondo, winner of Guatemala's first-ever Olympic medal with silver in the men's 20-kilometre race walk.
"I'm now a legend. I'm also the greatest athlete to live," - Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt after retaining his 100 and 200 metre titles.
"Bolt was good but Rudisha was magnificent - it was the performance of the Games, not just track and field," - London 2012 head Sebastian Coe about Kenyan David Rudisha's world record win in the 800 metres.
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SOCCER
"I am more worried about being a good person than being the best football player in the world. When all this is over, what are you left with?" - Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi.
"We're talking about a great generation of footballers. This is a great era for Spanish football," - Spain coach Vicente del Bosque after his team won the European championship.
- - -
TENNIS
"I'm sure he's smiling from up there that someone has finally managed to do it from Britain. I just hope I can see another British player in my lifetime win a Grand Slam," - Andy Murray after becoming the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the U.S. Open.
"I really think a champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall. I have fallen several times. Each time I just get up and I dust myself off and I pray and I'm able to do better," - Serena Williams after coming back from a life-threatening illness to win the Wimbledon, Olympic and U.S. Open titles.
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GOLF
"I never got this far in my dreams," - Bubba Watson after winning the Masters in a dramatic playoff with Louis Oosthuizen.
"He's got all the talent in the world to do what he's doing. And this is the way that Rory can play," - Tiger Woods about Rory McIlroy after the Northern Irishman won the PGA Championship by eight shots.
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AMERICAN FOOTBALL
"This isn't about bragging rights. This is a lot bigger. This is about a team, an organization being named world champions," - New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning after winning his second Super Bowl, one more than his older brother Peyton.
"It is our responsibility to protect player safety and the integrity of our game and this kind of conduct will not be tolerated," - NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after announcing a range of penalties following revelations of the New Orleans Saints cash-for-hits scheme.
- - -
BASKETBALL
"It's about damn time," - Miami Heat forward LeBron James after winning his first NBA title.
"We're all so proud of LeBron. When you get to know LeBron, you don't understand why he was such a lightning rod for the criticism," - Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.
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CYCLING
"It sounds cheesy, but your whole life is for this and the reason I got into cycling as a kid was today," - Bradley Wiggins after becoming the first Briton to win the Tour de France.
"There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, 'Enough is enough.' For me, that time is now," - Lance Armstrong, announcing he would not contest the doping charges against him and his former team.
"The evidence shows beyond any doubt that the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen," - statement from U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Travis Tygart.
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MOTOR RACING
"People were not even mentioning us when they were talking about the championship, but I think the most important thing was that we always kept believing," - Sebastian Vettel after winning his third successive Formula One world title at age 25.
"If the sword breaks, attack with the hands. If they cut off your hands, push the enemy with your shoulders, even with your teeth," - Championship runner-up Fernando Alonso about his battles with Vettel.
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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
"It's amazing what a group of guys who play like a team can accomplish. I'm numb that we have won two World Series in the last three years," - San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy after the Giants swept the Detroit Tigers 4-0 to win the Fall Classic.
"I'm a little bit flabbergasted to be honest with you. I never would have thought that we would have swept the New York Yankees (to reach the World Series) and I never would have thought that the Giants would have swept us but it happened," - Detroit manager Jim Leyland.
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ICE HOCKEY
"This is something everyone's dreamed of for their whole lives and this city's dreamed of for 45 years," - Los Angeles captain Dustin Brown after the Kings won the Stanley Cup for the first time.
"We are not prepared to open another season until we have a new collective bargaining agreement," - NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman signaling the start of another player lockout.
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CRICKET
"Where else in the world do you get the opportunity to basically kill someone with two bouncers an over? Or try, legally," - South African fast bowler Dale Steyn.
"Cricket is not like a government job where retirement age is fixed at 60. A cricketer can retire at 30 or 60; it's up to the player," - India's evergreen batsman Virender Sehwag.

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Mint, otro Linux para quienes quieren explorar el mundo fuera de Windows

Una de las grandes virtudes de Linux (un sistema operativo libre para PC y otros dispositivos) es la cantidad innumerable de versiones disponibles. Estas distribuciones, además, son en su enorme mayoría de uso gratis, y representan una buena alternativa para los que no desean invertir en una licencia de Windows o quieren explorar -sin gastar- alternativas para la computadora hogareña.
Hemos recomendado en varias ocasiones opciones sencillas de usar e instalar que tienen herramientas iguales o muy similares a las que pueden encontrarse en Windows, destacando la ductilidad de las distribuciones disponibles y cómo hacer para probarlas sin complicarse demasiado , usando un CD regrabable o un pendrive, para no afectar el Windows instalado en la computadora.
En los últimos años fue Ubuntu el que más hizo para facilitarle el trabajo a los neófitos que venían de Windows, automatizando y simplificando procesos de instalación, creando un sitio amigable, sumando instrucciones de instalación y uso en lenguaje no técnico e incluso haciendo acuerdo para preinstalarlo en equipos de marca , pero la elección de la interfaz de usuario Unity (algo rígida) le hizo perder adeptos.
Una de las alternativas que venía creciendo en popularidad era Linux Mint (gratis), y los últimos números de DistroWatch , un sitio que lista las diferentes distribuciones y su popularidad, lo dan como el rey de 2012. Mint usa a Ubuntu como base, por lo que aprovecha algunas de sus herramientas (como la que permite instalarlo dentro de Windows para poder usarlo sin afectar la instalación original) y viene con una gran cantidad de componentes multimedia preinstalados, para facilitar la reproducción de audio y video, entre otras cosas (las distribuciones más "puras" suelen evitar esto para promover el uso de estándares libres de audio y video).
Hace poco más de un mes Linux Mint liberó su versión más reciente, Nadia 14, que incluye dos entornos de escritorio que resultarán muy agradables para quienes no se sienten cómodos con Unity, porque mantienen el esquema tradicional de Windows y Gnome 2.x: una barra de herramientas en la parte inferior de la pantalla, ventanas con los botones de control a la derecha, etcétera.

Linux Mint 14 tiene dos versiones: MATE (basado en Gnome 2.x, y cuyo nombre está inspirado en la yerba mate) y Cinnamon (canela, en inglés) de aspecto similar pero con algunos detalles visuales más atractivos: menús de notificaciones más sofisticados, escritorios virtuales persistentes, miniaturas en el administrador de ventanas y más.
cómo instalarlo
Cualquiera de ellas se puede meter en un pendrive o disco externo y correr desde allí o, si se quiere, instalarlas en la PC, junto con Windows (es compatible con Windows 8) o en una partición nueva. Alcanza con descargar el archivo ISO de instalación (hay uno para MATE y otro para Cinnamon). Ese archivo (900 MB, aproximadamente) se puede grabar en un DVD con una aplicación para quemar imágenes de disco: en Windows está el freeware CDBurnerXP , por ejemplo. Con el disco en la lectora, al encender al PC debería cargar primero Mint antes que Windows (si no, habrá que cambiar una configuración en el BIOS). Podremos usarlo como si estuviera instalado en la PC y luego, si queremos, instalarlo en el disco rígido de nuestra computadora, cuidando de hacerlo en una partición vacía o dentro de Windows.
Otra opción es instalarlo en una memoria USB (de 2 GB o más de capacidad). Para eso hay que usar la aplicación Image Writer (gratis, hay que cliquear donde dice win32diskimager-binary.zip para descargar el archivo). Luego habrá que cambiar la extensión del archivo de .ISO a .IMG para que Image Writer reconozca el archivo y pueda copiarlo en el pendrive (atención que borrará todo lo que está allí).
Si al prender la PC con el pendrive conectado no lo reconoce, habrá que cambiar el orden de carga de sistemas operativos, una opción que suele aparecer apenas se prende la PC (y que no estará disponible si la computadora es muy vieja) para ordenarle que cargue primero el contenido de la memoria USB.
Para quienes estén pensando en probar una distribución de Linux y buscan reducir el "choque cultural" con una interfaz de usuario que sea parecida -pero no idéntica- a la del Windows tradicional, y que además sea sencillo de usar, tienen en Linux Mint 14 Nadia una opción muy atractiva.

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