"Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Father?" "Thank God you're here." "I came as quickly as I could." "My condolences, Mrs. McKinley." "For...?" "Your message said it was urgent." "I assumed someone was in need of last rites?" "It's too late for that, Father." "What I need is an exorcism." "I'm serious." "This house..." "is haunted." "The noises you could explain away, but then..." "things started moving." "I'm sure there's a rational explanation." "Elspeth." "Your sister?" "She wants to tell us something." "She's not resting easy." "We don't know if she's dead..." "When she disappeared, they said she'd be back in a few days." "It's been nine years." "That still doesn't mean she's dead." "And it certainly doesn't mean that she's haunting you." "We just need this to stop." "Please, Father, help us." "We need an exorcism." "Nonsense." "I'll give your house a blessing." "But there are no such things as ghosts!" "Father Brown Season 2" " Episode 01" "Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd Sync:" "Marocas62" "That's really the earliest you can do?" "I'm afraid so." "Then tonight it is." "Yes." "Darling?" ""The Ghost in the Machine"" "Selina!" "Bye." "Do you remember Elspeth Grainger going missing?" "I most certainly do." "I always thought if you hadn't been off on the pilgrimage to Lourdes for the duration, he'd never have got away with it." "Who?" "Victor McKinley." "Charlotte's husband?" "What was he accused of?" "Abduction?" "Murder." "But they had to let him go." "No body, no evidence." "That does tend to put the kibosh on an investigation." "She just vanished off the face of the earth." "If ever a house were haunted, Cudeley Manor would be it." "Cobblers... to borrow from the vernacular." "She didn't get that from me." "Go offer the McKinleys a lift, would you?" "Next time you want to gossip, Mrs. McCarthy, run it by me first." "Elspeth eloped, to get away from that domineering father of theirs." "Everybody knows that." ""God arises, His enemies are scattered," ""and those who hate Him flee before Him." "This is ridiculous." ""As smoke is driven away, so are they driven." ""As wax melts before the fire," ""so the wicked perish before God." "It's not going to help." ""See the cross of the Lord." "Be gone, you hostile powers!" "And then there was light!" "It's a sign!" "It's the electrics." "They keep cutting in and out." "Looks like mice ate the cable." "It's fixed, for now." "What's all this?" "We're setting my sister's spirit free." "Mr. Wake's doing our renovation work." "If you'd like to join us?" "This is sick." "Invoice." "Another one?" "Your estimate said..." "That's for the overtime." "I still haven't been paid for that last one yet." "See to it." "Shall we continue?" """ "From the snares of the devil..." "Lord, deliver us." ""That you help your Church to serve you in security and freedom."" ""We beg you to hear us." ""That you humble the enemies of the holy Church."" ""We beg you to hear us."" "Amen." "Is that it?" "It's done." "Finally!" "Can I go, then?" "Isn't there supposed to be some kind of a sign?" "A clap of thunder, lightning, something that tells us that she's actually gone?" "Believe me, if your sister is dead, she rests in peace." "There's nothing here now." "Guess who?" "You're going to have to help me out." "It's me..." "Selina." "I know you've noticed me." "You're a bit young for this, aren't you?" "Old enough to marry." "Old enough to elope." "It's not possible!" "It's Elspeth." "It's not possible!" "Please, breathe." "It's only a painting." "It flew at me." "She's still here!" "Cord's still intact." "It didn't work!" "I've got to get out." "No, Victor, please!" "I have to go!" "Father, please, help us!" "I think we should revisit this in the cold light of day." "We can't be alone here overnight." "Not now." "What about Mr. McKinley?" "Isn't he coming back?" "Father, you can't stay." "You're expected at the Bishop's for matins." "Sid, can you stay?" "No, no, I have to..." "return the car to Lady F." "He's scared." "I am not scared." "Good." "Mrs. McCarthy and I will take the car back, and we'll see you in the morning." "Sure, I never knew you could drive." "How hard can it be?" "That Mr. McKinley's a rum one." "So?" "I heard he was struck off and that's why they're back in town." "Probably killed a patient." "Maybe that's who's haunting them." "No-one's haunting them." "I'm not interested in gossip." "I'm more interested in who's trying to fake Elspeth's ghost." "Well, why did you say the prayers if you don't believe in ghosts?" "It's all in the mind." "I thought that telling Charlotte that the ghost was gone was what she needed to hear." "And now?" "Now we walk home." "Do you want to wake up the whole house?" "!" "I was about to say the same to you." "Isn't it past your bedtime?" "You're from London, aren't you?" "Used to be." "Why stick around here?" "I've never been anywhere more boring." "You'd be surprised." "Run away with me." "This is intimate." "What was that?" "It's the ghost." "It's a cat!" "I hate cats!" "You...!" ""I'm not scared!"" "Mum?" "Mrs. McKinley?" "I don't understand." "We saw her come in here." "I've been outside the whole time." "She did not come past me." "She's vanished." "Mum?" "!" "Come on, let's search the house." "Mum?" "!" "Is that you?" "Mum?" "You should be in bed." "Dad, thank God you're back!" "Selina?" "Selina?" "You all right?" "What's he doing here?" "It's Mum..." "She's vanished." "You can't explain it, can you, Father?" "What?" "The "ghost", or the disappearance?" "Either." "Maybe they're connected." "Maybe Elspeth's spirit is taking its revenge." "What was Lady Felicia's term?" "Yes..." ""cobblers"." "A clue?" "This has been out of print for years!" "Father!" "You're not going to steal it?" "!" "I'll give it back." "She's hardly going to be reading it, is she?" "Not in the short term." "Father?" "You'd better hurry up." "Valentine's here." "That'll do for now." "And don't leave town." "Inspector..." "What?" "This is a big operation for someone who's only been missing for a few hours." "It's a potential murder investigation." "You think she's been killed?" "He's done it before." "And got away with it." "I'm not going to let it happen again." "You're saying..." "Victor McKinley might have killed both of them?" "Victor was struck off for mis-prescribing strong sedatives, and all indications are that Mrs. McKinley was drugged or Carter and her daughter would've heard her being abducted." "She could have left the house of her own accord." "No, she couldn't." "Not alone, anyway." "The only other exit is by the windows." "But there's only two sets of keys, and Charlotte didn't have either of them." "Who did?" "Finally, you're asking the right questions." "The builder, Seth Wake, had one." "And the other..." "What possible reason would Victor have for abducting his own wife?" "I didn't know who else to call." "Well, I'm glad you picked me." "Anything I can do, anything at all..." "I need an alibi." "Sorry?" "They'll try to pin this on me." "After what happened with Elspeth, the Inspector will have a field day!" "You want me to lie for you?" "If not for my sake, for my daughter's." "She doesn't deserve to go through that again." "If I say I was with you, alone, all evening... you know what this means for my reputation." "What reputation?" "Insults are not the way to convince a lady to do you a favour." "It's not that, is it?" "You think I might've done it." "No." "Mr. McKinley, I need you to come down the station." "I'm not going anywhere with you." "Your wife called the station last night, minutes before she disappeared." "Her last words before she was cut off were," ""I know what happened to Elspeth."" "What?" "How many times?" "Elspeth ran away." "She had some..." "secret boyfriend." "She wanted Charlotte to start caring for their father so she could marry him." "Charlotte said no." "So, when her father went into hospital, she ran off with her lover and left us in it." "Leaving her packed bags waiting on the bed?" "If Elspeth had run off with a lover, wouldn't he be missing, too?" "Yet no-one for miles around left at the same time." "You were her lover, Victor, and when she threatened to tell her sister what you were up to," "you killed her." "Not this again." "The house was bolted from the inside." "By your own testimony, you, your wife, and your eight-year-old daughter were the only other people there." "If Elspeth left of her own accord," "who bolted the door?" "I don't know!" "Marmite, I'm sorry, you must be starving." "Selina?" "Listen..." "Lady Felicia's told me to come and get you." "All right?" "She doesn't want you on your own." "We don't even know when your dad's going to get back." "He didn't do it!" "He didn't hurt Mum, and he didn't hurt Auntie Elspeth." "How do you know that?" "He's my dad!" "They can't put him through this again." "I know I was only little, but I saw what happened when Auntie Elspeth went missing." "He fell apart!" "There must be someone else who had a reason to kill her." "Inspector, about Victor McKinley's arrest..." "Victor's out." "Lady Felicia's given him an alibi." "Lady Felicia?" "I'm amazed you didn't know." "They were sweethearts years ago." "Apparently, they've rekindled their affair." "God knows where I go from here." "What's that?" "Oi!" "What do you think you're doing?" "Heavy rain overnight." "The bank of one of the foundations collapsed." "So?" "Who knows when work will start again on this lot." "It's safer to fill it in and then re-dig later, if need be." "Unless you want somebody else to disappear?" "All right." "I take your point." "As you were." "What's that?" "Sergeant!" "Sir?" "Get Dr. Miller." "He's going to want to certify this." "We've got a body." "No!" "Please, no!" "It's all right." "It's not your mother." "How do you know?" "Whoever that is, they're long dead." "Dear God." "A skeleton!" "You know what this means, Father?" "I'm sure you're going to tell me." "They've finally found Elspeth." "And if Elspeth's dead, and Charlotte went missing in exactly the same way they have to be linked!" "Two murders." "It's Victor McKinley, you mark my words." "But Victor's got an alibi." "Gotcha." "It's a woman." "They know already?" "Awaiting official confirmation, but she was wearing some kind of bracelet or necklace." "They found beads with the body." "I'll call HQ with the news." "If I solve two murders this week, the Chief Constable will practically be buying me... flowers." "Can I help you, Father?" "Yes, I'm here in my professional capacity, about the body." "I wondered when we might be able to give her or him a Christian burial?" "It'll be a while." "The coroner's going to have a job with this one." "If that's everything?" "Sid?" "I don't often see you here voluntarily." "I need to talk to you." "About the case?" "Yeah, there's something you don't know." "Elspeth had a lover." "It was all very hush-hush, her father wouldn't have approved." "So, they needed a go-between, and I needed a sixpence." "Why didn't you come forward then?" "I was a kid." "Do you really think His Nibs would've listened to me?" "Anyway, I liked him." "And now?" "I don't like him." "I've been watching him." "There's something... off." "Carter... what are you doing here?" "Sid, the Inspector needs to know this." "I don't want you getting involved with this case at the McKinleys'." "If I wanted to be told what to do, I'd be at home with my husband." "Not in a cheap hotel with you." "Why'd you marry him?" "You didn't look at me twice." "You were born to be lady of the manor." "Out of my league." "Feeble excuse." "Suppose I'd already had my fingers burnt." "Who?" "I meant it." "About Victor McKinley." "The police catch you, you'll be in trouble." "What's to catch?" "After all, I really did have a room booked that night." "Police!" "Seth Wake, open up!" "We know you're in there!" "You can't afford to get caught in here." "Yeah?" "Yeah?" "Seth Wake," "I am arresting you on suspicion of the murders" "of Elspeth and Charlotte McKinley." "What?" "!" "If your bit of stuff in the bathroom wants to keep her anonymity," "I suggest you come quietly." "I didn't kill Elspeth!" "I didn't kill either of them!" "But you and Elspeth were lovers?" "You were due at the scene the night she disappeared." "No!" "And the day Charlotte McKinley went missing, you realised she'd worked out the truth about you and Elspeth." "You came back that night." "No!" "Do you have an alibi?" "Question the woman, too." "Sorry, Guv." "She's gone." "What?" "!" "You heard they arrested Seth?" "Don't give up hope." "I don't think he'd hurt her." "Especially when these aren't even his." "What did you do to her, Dad?" "No, no, you don't understand..." "They'll hang Seth!" "You know that, right?" "I didn't drug her." "So what are these?" "Sweeties?" "Are they tasty?" "Stop that!" "Put them down." "If they're not dangerous, there's no problem, is there?" "Is this what you did to Mum?" "Is this how you stopped her finishing that call?" "Put them down!" "Yeah." "Yeah, that's what I thought." "Selina!" "Father!" "Is something amiss, Mrs. M?" "Have you... have you heard anything in the church?" "You mean like the rattling of ancient chains?" "Exactly!" "No." "Nothing like that." "Father, you're making mock." "I think St Mary's is haunted!" "What's this?" "Pear drops." "Blood sugar, that's what you need." "Am I disturbing you?" "Not at all." "What's the riddle?" "These numbers and letters in the dust wrapper of Charlotte's book." "Lots of them are crossed out, but this set isn't." "I thought it might give us a clue." "I thought, "nine across, seven up." A location, maybe." "Or the last two clues of a crossword." "Or a chess move." "Check... mate." "That was..." "I was in the middle of that." "Now that you've finished "helping me", what can I do for you?" "What have they got on Seth?" "They think he's responsible for Elspeth's disappearance." "Seth Wake was her lover, that much he admits." "He says they were planning to run away together." "He waited outside, she didn't turn up." "He can't have done it." "The supposition is that Elspeth changed her mind, told him she wasn't coming, they argued, he killed her." "I don't believe he did anything to Elspeth." "But I know he didn't do anything to Charlotte." "He doesn't have an alibi." "Yes, he does." "Please, don't stand on ceremony!" "I need to change my testimony." "I'm sorry?" "Seth Wake." "He has an alibi for the night Charlotte went missing." "He was with me, in my hotel room." "Forgive me, Lady Felicia, but are you planning on giving an alibi to every man I interview?" "How many of you were there in that hotel room, exactly?" "How incredibly impertinent!" "When you provided a witness statement, you signed a declaration your statement was true." "Are you saying you were lying?" "I was..." "confused." "I got the wrong night." "Well, Lady Felicia, how many men are you seeing?" "Your statement stands." "Now, stop wasting my time." "Guv'nor?" "What is it, Inspector?" "The coroner's report on the skeleton..." "What does it say?" "Apparently, the body was male." "So, not Elspeth?" "Top marks for deduction, Father." "I thought it was wearing jewellery?" "It was." "A bracelet, necklace, beads, wasn't it?" "Heavens' sake, Father." "What does it matter?" "As long as Seth's in the clear?" "There's no chance of that, I'm afraid." "Since his arrest, we've searched his cottage." "We found notes to him from Elspeth." ""Please, don't do anything stupid."" ""I don't know if I can go through with this."" ""I'm sorry."" "She was breaking up with him." "She was afraid of him." "But without the other side of the conversation," "those notes are meaningless." "We're pressing charges... bodies or no." "Help!" "Help!" "Somebody!" "Let me out!" "Let me out!" "Let me out!" "I thought you might want to make a confession." "It was you who made the chandelier fall, wasn't it?" "You created the ghost at the house?" "I just wanted Mum to move us back to London." "I didn't know it would end up like this." "You haven't caused any of this." "It'll be all right, Selina." "What's this?" "St Anthony." "Patron saint of lost things and missing persons." "So I thought he might help you." "Thank you." "That body they found in the garden, he was wearing a necklace, wasn't he?" "So the police said." "Maybe it was one of these." "Maybe that's why you found him." "It wasn't a chain." "It was beads." "The body was wearing a rosary!" "During the Reformation, the Catholics were persecuted." "They built themselves hiding places, priest holes for their holy men, and their books and their relics." "So, you think that skeleton was a priest who got caught?" "Who didn't make it to the priest hole in time." "What priest hole?" "So she sat here, reading." "Yes..." "Nine across, seven up." "No." "Maybe your mother's notes just mean something else entirely." "That's not Mum's handwriting." "Pray Father, give your blessing, for I have sinned." "It's been ten years since my last confession." "This had better be good." "You and Elspeth..." "Were eloping." "Were lovers." "Yes, I've been through this." "Were you searching for something in the house?" "There was a family legend, an old wives' tale, a hidden hoard, somewhere in the Manor." "We thought if we found it, we...could get married." "Leave." "Her father couldn't control our lives." "What happened that night?" "We were going to run away." "We were due to meet at the pond at six." "I waited all night." "What do you think became of her?" "I think she found whatever was hidden in that house." "Gold... jewels... then just took it." "What other explanation can there be?" "Is this Elspeth's handwriting?" "That's right." "Her ones always looked like sevens." "Why, what does it say?" "It says, "Never give up hope."" "Sergeant?" "Sir?" "What's this?" "Search me." ""Come to McKinley house as soon as you get this."" "When's he going to learn?" "I don't take orders from a priest." "Of course not, sir." "Hello?" "Dad!" ""I'm sorry."" "Help!" "Somebody, help me!" "Selina?" "Father?" "Help!" "It's my dad - he's done something awful." "He's still breathing." "Stay here, I'll call a doctor." "Please." "As fast as you can." "Nine across, one up, not seven." "Charlotte?" "Charlotte!" "Father, water!" "Please!" "Don't worry, I'm getting you out now." "Hello?" "I thought I told you to stay with your father." "Mum!" "Please tell me that you didn't move the umbrella!" "Father?" "I knew it was a wild goose chase." "Which number, please?" "The presbytery, please." "Just putting you through." "Sir." "Morning." "Father Brown's residence." "Mrs. McCarthy speaking." "Mrs. McCarthy, tell the Father," "I'm bringing charges for wasting police time." "But, sir!" "Victor McKinley's upstairs." "Out cold." "Looks like suicide." "Why can't they hear us?" "This place was built to be soundproof." "The priests hiding down here were only safe if they couldn't be heard." "And how did they get out?" "They didn't!" "Until a sympathiser who knew the coast was clear let them out." "It had to be utterly secret, so unless you were in on it, you wouldn't even know it was here." "Then how did Mum find this one?" "The book." "She was reading your Auntie Elspeth's book about historic Gloucestershire houses, trying to find out what, or who was haunting you." "The marks inside were Elspeth's." "I imagine no-one has even opened that book since the night she disappeared." "The police station, please." "Hello?" "This is Charlotte McKinley." "You have to tell the inspector, I know what happened to Elspeth." "But if Auntie Elspeth found it first, why didn't she..." "No, she can't be." "What's that box?" "The mythical family treasure." "Looks like Elspeth found it after all." "Much good it did her." "How could you let Selina follow you?" "I'd come to terms with this, for me." "She's 17." "There are three of us down here now, making noise." "Someone will hear us!" "We're all going to die down here." "It just says "sorry"." "Not a confession per se, but perhaps the alibi Lady Felicia gave the builder was true," "after all." "The penny drops!" "Is Victor going to be all right?" "The doctor thinks he got here just in time." "What are you all doing here, anyway?" "Well, it's hardly my fault if you insist on talking police business whilst on the telephone to me." "I'm amazed Father Brown isn't here" "to gloat, too." "Where is he, then?" "And what about Selina?" "Where is she?" "Don't look at me!" "That's another two people missing." "I'll get the men searching the woods." "If you want to help, you can join them." "Charlotte?" "Charlotte!" "Where does this tunnel lead?" "I went all the way down there." "It felt like miles." "I tried banging and shouting, but..." "It's just a dead end." "Or really sound-proofed, like down here." "What does it matter, anyway?" "We know no-one heard you, or they'd have helped." "Unless they thought your mother was a ghost." "Father Brown?" "Damnation!" "Sorry." "Listen..." "I don't do this praying thing often." "Fair cop, ever." "But I've got a bit of a situation." "Three people have gone missing." "Four, if you count Elspeth." "If you do exist, maybe you could see your way to sending me a sign?" "Father?" "Hello?" "Do you come here often?" "Inspector..." "I have never been so pleased to see you!" "I'm sorry." "I don't understand." "I thought morphine was for coughs, and toothache." "But if you have enough, it's really..." "calming." "And addictive." "When your aunt went missing, I badly needed to be calm." "No-one believed it wasn't me." "I believed you." "And the morphine... that's why they struck you off?" "Who told you about that?" "I'm not a child, Dad." "I know more than you think I do." "We should never had dragged you out here without telling you why." "When your father..." "lost his job we just couldn't afford to live that life." "But everything's changed now." "The jewels you found, they're hugely valuable." "We can walk away, move back to London." "If that's what you want?" "Anima eius et animae omnium fidelium defunctorum per misericordiam Dei requiescant in pace." "Ite in pace." "Amen." "Go in the peace of Christ." "Thanks be to God." "I heard there was a note for you with her body." "I shouldn't have stopped looking." "I should never have believed..." "There's nothing you could've done." "You shouldn't punish yourself forever." "I think I'll punish myself for a while longer yet." "You still won't elope with me?" "Even now I'm an heiress?" "Trust me, I am tempted." "But even?" "10,000 doesn't make you five years older." "Come find me in five years, then." "Father?" "Can I ask you a question?" "The ghost  how did you know it was me?" "I didn't." "But when the painting came off the wall," "I knew someone was pushing the lath and plaster from the other side." "Seth had left the house and you were the only one not in sight." "I did everything else." "Hands up to that, but the painting, I was with Sid." "Ask him!" "Come on!" "Father," "I swear on my mother's life..." "It wasn't me." "And of course, we all know ghosts don't exist." "Father Brown." "Father Brown." "I've heard so much about you." "All good, I hope?" "Are you a relative of the deceased, or..." "I hear you got yourself stuck in a tunnel." "Inspector Valentine had to save you." "Well, I suppose I did, yes." "Meddling." "It's a dangerous business." "I'm sorry - who are you?" "You two have met." "Do you mind if I borrow the Father for a second?" "Father, I don't think I've thanked you properly." "Two cases closed." "Make it three." "The skeleton you dug up in the garden." "I've been doing some digging of my own in the parish records." "There are references that the disappearance of a travelling priest..." "And I appreciate you keeping your investigative involvement on the QT." "Yes, well, my boss isn't that interested in detective work so I'm happy to let you have the credit." "You have no idea what it means to me." "Maybe we can work together in the future." "I see." "You haven't heard." "I'm London-bound." "DCI, Metropolitan Police." "So you see, I really do mean it." "Thank you." "Inspector Sullivan will be taking over as the new DI of Kembleford." "So, no more meddling, eh?" "I don't want to be picking up the pieces." "You know," "I almost think I'll miss you, Father." "The feeling might be mutual." "Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd Sync:" "Marocas62"


Uranus is unique among all the planets of the solar system because it essentially orbits on its side, with its axis tilted nearly perpendicular to the Sun. Now astronomers have finally solved the mystery of why Uranus looks so strange.

Uranus's spin axis lies 98 degrees off of its orbital plane with the Sun. No other planet is tilted more than 30 degrees off its axis, with the Earth rotating at 23 degrees, Jupiter at just 3 degrees, and Saturn and Neptune both at 29 degrees. Venus is technically even more tilted, because it rotates clockwise when all other planets rotate counterclockwise, meaning it's essentially been turned upside-down. But it's still more or less on the orbital plane, while Uranus is anything but.

Figuring out just how Uranus got like this has proven tricky. Astronomers once assumed that a giant planet several times Earth's size smashed into Uranus in the early solar system, flipping it into this new axis. The problem with that idea is that it would have left all Uranus's moons in the original orbital plane, but they're also tilted 98 degrees. A research team led by Alessandro Morbidelli ran a series of simulations to explain this mystery.

They found that the current positions of Uranus's moons could be explained if the planet was struck when it was still surrounded by a protoplanetary disk, which is the band of material from which the moons ultimately formed. The collision would have destroyed the disk, which would then have been able to reform around Uranus's new tilted equator.

But that still doesn't work - according to the simulations, the moons that would have formed from that process would have to orbit Uranus in the opposite direction of what we observe. A single collision couldn't create the current Uranus system, so instead the astronomers revised the simulation to see what would happen if at least two collisions occurred. It turns out that a series of collisions could indeed make Uranus's moons orbit in the right order.

That, however, just opens up a more basic quandary. As Morbidelli explains, the notion of Uranus suffering multiple giant collisions flies in the face of our current theories of planetary formation:

"The standard planet formation theory assumes that Uranus, Neptune and the cores of Jupiter and Saturn formed by accreting only small objects in the protoplanetary disk. They should have suffered no giant collisions. The fact that Uranus was hit at least twice suggests that significant impacts were typical in the formation of giant planets. So, the standard theory has to be revised."

So then, one mystery solved, an even bigger one created. This is the trouble that so often comes from examining Uranus. But, on the bright side, I at least got to use some truly terrible Uranus puns, so I can walk away happy.

Via Europlanet Media Centre. Image by Lawrence Sromovsky, (Univ. Wisconsin-Madison), Keck Observatory.


Down East Wood Ducks / Grainger Stadium

Over the years, Grainger Stadium has retained its status as a classic ballpark while simultaneously offering a comfortable experience for today’s fans. This trait has been evident over its history, and is as apparent as ever after the arrival of the Down East Wood Ducks (High A; Carolina League).

Grainger Stadium has a distinct history. First opening in 1949, the facility is perhaps most associated with the stretch in Kinston’s baseball heritage that spanned from 1978-2011. Over that period, the High-A Carolina League franchise that began play as the Eagles—before being renamed the Blue Jays in 1982, reverting to Eagles in 1986, and becoming the Indians in 1987—played at the ballpark.

The Indians moved after the 2011 season to take the place of the Carolina Mudcats (Class AA; Southern League) after they relocated to Pensacola. This left a void in Kinston that lasted several years until the Texas Rangers—as the result of the Carolina/California League realignment—established their own franchise at Grainger Stadium.

The result is the Wood Ducks, one of two Carolina League franchises—along with the Buies Creek Astros—to begin play in the 2017 season. As they settle into the ballpark, it is clear that the Wood Ducks have found a way to build on the strengths of Grainger Stadium while making it a facility of their own.

The look and feel of Grainger Stadium is that of a classic, no-frills ballpark. This is perhaps best characterized by its grandstand, a covered structure that features much of Grainger Stadium’s seating and offers good sightlines of the action. There are also some smaller and more recent touches that are in keeping with a more classic look, including an area down the right field line featuring a concession and restroom building, seating, and a kid’s zone.

To the credit of the Wood Ducks, they have found a way to use their branding to play up the strengths of Grainger Stadium. The placement of the team’s logo throughout the facility reminds fans that this is indeed a new era of Kinston baseball, but does so in a way that does not usurp some of the more unique features of Grainger Stadium.

Along with placing their logo in standard areas—such as exterior ballpark signs or section markers—the Wood Ducks have also incorporated their identity in a few unique locations. For instance, the concourse features the Wood Ducks logo on concrete in several locations. Along the concourse wall, fans can find fan facts about the wood duck species, and an area behind the right-centerfield wall that once featured the K-Tribe logo now sports the Wood Ducks’ branding. A water tower that looms down the left field line also features a Wood Ducks’ logo.

While the Wood Ducks’ branding has its place at the ballpark, a few other features help to modernize the facility. A new concession stand was constructed down the third base line before the 2017 season, and the addition of padding on the outfield wall also goes a long way in sprucing up the facility’s appearance.

The good news, in all of this, is that baseball is back in Kinston. The Wood Ducks may be introducing a new era of baseball and putting their own spin on the fan experience, but Grainger Stadium remains as classic as ever.

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About Zach Spedden

Zach Spedden is the managing editor of the August Publications sports sites. He graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in February 2014, and a Master of Arts in Emerging Media from the University of Loyola Maryland's in September 2015. Zach resides in Baltimore.

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Description: Barely Legal Little Autumn Winters showed up at Dirty D's house with the attitude that she wasn't leaving until EVERYONE was satisfied!! Dirty D always takes "Big Statements" like that with a grain of salt...But in Autumn's case she definitely brought her


West Highland Way, everything ready.

Tomorrow I’ll be flying to the land of Braveheart and Rob Roy, to experience the Highlands of Scotland. West Highland Way will be my path to take this time. I’m excited though the weather looks wet and cold for the coming week. Funny, I heard UK is facing some kind of a drought? Seems not to reach that far up to Scotland… but I’ve been telling myself that the weather forecast could be much much worse:)

Last sunday I did my last training and walked some 27 km, from Tikkurila to Leppävaara, with full backpack and faced no problems. So everything looks promising and I’m looking forward to spend my first night in the Power Lizard!

Hiker profile

Hi people!
I'm Antti Rantanen, 30 year old Finnish hiker and writer of this blog. I'm currently living in southern Finland where no mountains exist so this page is, together with long distance hiking topics, about dreaming and getting ready to tackle some!


PORTLAND — Florida coach Mike White was huddling with his father, Duke athletic director Kevin White, in a Moda Center hallway on Sunday night when Mike Krzyzewski walked by. Krzyzewski stopped, put an arm around his coaching counterpart and leaned in toward White’s ear. “Don’t change a (bleeping) thing,” Krzyzewski said. “You guys are great. We were lucky.”

Words like that from the all-time wins leader in men’s college basketball history had to be encouraging. But they could not erase the sting for White and his Gators, who let a golden opportunity slip by in an 87-84 loss to Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils in the PK80 Motion Bracket final. Florida squandered a 17-point second-half lead and a chance to beat the top-ranked team in the regular season for the first time in school history, a result that would have resonated all the way to Selection Sunday.

The consolation prize came in what the Gators gained during this tournament: respect and most likely more fans, at least among the Left Coasters, insomniacs and straight-up basketball junkies who stayed awake to watch their late-night tips. They played fast and fearless, spreading the floor with four guys who could shoot, penetrate and punch above their weight. They proved they’re an elite team that belongs in any discussion of national title contenders with one of the most devastating offensive attacks around. Right up until it sputtered to an untimely halt.

Duke had rallied from 16 points down to beat Texas in overtime on Friday, but Florida – with its veteran guards and relentless scoring ability — didn’t seem likely to fall prey to a similar comeback. However, a team that hit 32 3-pointers in its first two PK80 games and was connecting on 47 percent from behind the arc coming into the game would make only one shot from distance in the second half. Two uncharacteristic turnovers in the final 1:15 led to Duke free throws. Jalen Hudson, an 81 percent free-throw shooter, missed the front end of a key one-and-one. The Gators failed to score in the final 2:38.

White’s players clearly lacked something down the stretch, less than 48 hours after a 111-105 double-overtime win over Gonzaga. Point guard Chris Chiozza, who logged 46 minutes in that game and was dealing with an assortment of minor injuries including a bruised rib, admitted that he and his teammates had emptied the tank. “We tried the best we could to get a lot of rest (on Saturday),” Chiozza said. “You could tell in the second half we didn’t have enough gas to finish it off. We missed shots we normally make, probably because we didn’t have any legs left.”

White didn’t like hearing Chiozza’s comments, because he didn’t want to make any excuses. He pointed out that Duke played an overtime game on Friday as well, though it came several hours earlier in the day. Yet he wondered aloud if his team would have been better served by walking the ball up and milking the shot clock more when it had the big lead in the second half.

That’s not the way his guys play, however. They attack. A perfect example of that came earlier in the half. Two Gators got tangled up going for a defensive rebound and hadn’t crossed halfcourt when Hudson launched from two feet inside the 3-point line. For most teams except maybe Alabama, that three-against-five long jumper was the textbook example of a bad shot. It went in.

“That’s what we do,” White said. “I want to stay aggressive and play the way we play.”

When things are clicking, that style can be devastating. Chiozza is one of the smartest distributors in the country, and closing out on shooters like Hudson and KeVaughn Allen only opens the lane for penetration. Florida scored 1.37 points per possession on Thursday night versus Stanford, 1.23 against Gonzaga and was on pace for that kind of number against Duke before the late lull.

There’s also a downside to starting four guards and the 6-foot-8 Keith Stone, and it rears its head down low. Gonzaga big man Johnathan Williams burned the Gators for 39 points and 12 rebounds on Friday. Then came Marvin Bagley III on Sunday. Florida simply had no answer for the sensational freshman, who finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds. In the second half, White used 6-foot-5 guard Egor Koulechov as the primary defender against Bagley. It’s safe to say that Koulechov never faced that kind of defensive assignment while playing the last two years at Rice.

Some inside help could arrive in January, when 6-foot-11 senior John Egbunu is expected back from a torn ACL. But teams like Texas A&M and Kentucky will pose the same kind of length problems in the SEC.

“It’s a big concern for us,” White said. “We’ve got to figure something out. Whether it’s man-to-man or if we need to be more creative, we’ve got to figure some stuff out.”

One way to counter the lack of size is simply to outshoot the opponent, to trade 3s for their 2s. It eventually worked against Gonzaga and nearly did versus Duke, which switched between zone and man-to-man defenses in an attempt to disrupt Florida’s spacing and shooting. With apologies to Steve Spurrier, these are the new Fun-N-Gun Gators. But being so perimeter-oriented can also create lots of runs. They went through dry spells in the Gonzaga game and turned a 14-point first-half advantage on Sunday into a seven-point deficit before storming back to lead again at halftime.

That’s a dizzying way to live, but when Florida’s guys were going full steam early against Duke, they were swarming passing lanes and crashing the glass in waves.

“We just showed that we’ve got some toughness in us,” said Chiozza, who all but waddled into the postgame news conference on his drained legs. “That was the question coming into this tournament. I think we showed that we’re one of the toughest teams in the country.”

Krzyzewski seemed to agree. He told reporters that Florida is “as good a team as we’ll play, I think.” There are plenty of reasons for the Gators to be encouraged by what happened in Portland, even if White would still like to change a few things.

(Top photo: Brian Murphy/Associated Press)


/*
 * Copyright (c) The Shogun Machine Learning Toolbox
 * Written (w) 2012 - 2013 Heiko Strathmann
 * Written (w) 2014 - 2017 Soumyajit De
 * All rights reserved.
 *
 * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
 * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
 *
 * 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this
 *    list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
 * 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
 *    this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
 *    and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
 *
 * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND
 * ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
 * WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
 * DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR
 * ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
 * (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
 * LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND
 * ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
 * (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
 * SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
 *
 * The views and conclusions contained in the software and documentation are those
 * of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing official policies,
 * either expressed or implied, of the Shogun Development Team.
 */

#include <algorithm>
#include <numeric>
#include <shogun/lib/SGVector.h>
#include <shogun/lib/SGMatrix.h>
#include <shogun/kernel/Kernel.h>
#include <shogun/distance/Distance.h>
#include <shogun/distance/CustomDistance.h>
#include <shogun/statistical_testing/TestEnums.h>
#include <shogun/statistical_testing/MMD.h>
#include <shogun/statistical_testing/QuadraticTimeMMD.h>
#include <shogun/statistical_testing/internals/KernelManager.h>
#include <shogun/statistical_testing/internals/DataManager.h>
#include <shogun/statistical_testing/internals/NextSamples.h>
#include <shogun/statistical_testing/internals/mmd/CrossValidationMMD.h>
#include <shogun/statistical_testing/kernelselection/internals/MaxCrossValidation.h>

using namespace shogun;
using namespace internal;
using namespace mmd;

template <typename PRNG>
MaxCrossValidation<PRNG>::MaxCrossValidation(
    KernelManager& km, std::shared_ptr<MMD> est, const index_t& M, const index_t& K,
    const float64_t& alp, PRNG& _prng)
    : KernelSelection(km, est), num_runs(M), num_folds(K), alpha(alp),
      prng(_prng)
{
	require(num_runs>0, "Number of runs ({}) must be positive!", num_runs);
	require(num_folds>0, "Number of folds ({}) must be positive!", num_folds);
	require(alpha>=0.0 && alpha<=1.0, "Threshold ({}) has to be in [0, 1]!", alpha);
}

template <typename PRNG>
MaxCrossValidation<PRNG>::~MaxCrossValidation()
{
}

template <typename PRNG>
SGVector<float64_t> MaxCrossValidation<PRNG>::get_measure_vector()
{
	return measures;
}

template <typename PRNG>
SGMatrix<float64_t> MaxCrossValidation<PRNG>::get_measure_matrix()
{
	return rejections;
}

template <typename PRNG>
void MaxCrossValidation<PRNG>::init_measures()
{
	const index_t num_kernels=kernel_mgr.num_kernels();
	if (rejections.num_rows!=num_folds*num_runs || rejections.num_cols!=num_kernels)
		rejections=SGMatrix<float64_t>(num_folds*num_runs, num_kernels);
	std::fill(rejections.data(), rejections.data()+rejections.size(), 0);
	if (measures.size()!=num_kernels)
		measures=SGVector<float64_t>(num_kernels);
	std::fill(measures.data(), measures.data()+measures.size(), 0);
}

template <typename PRNG>
void MaxCrossValidation<PRNG>::compute_measures()
{
	SG_DEBUG("Performing {} fold cross-validattion!", num_folds);
	const auto num_kernels=kernel_mgr.num_kernels();

	auto quadratic_time_mmd=std::dynamic_pointer_cast<QuadraticTimeMMD>(estimator);
	if (quadratic_time_mmd)
	{
		require(estimator->get_null_approximation_method()==NAM_PERMUTATION,
			"Only supported with PERMUTATION method for null distribution approximation!");

		auto Nx=estimator->get_num_samples_p();
		auto Ny=estimator->get_num_samples_q();
		auto num_null_samples=estimator->get_num_null_samples();
		auto stype=estimator->get_statistic_type();
		CrossValidationMMD compute(Nx, Ny, num_folds, num_null_samples, prng);
		compute.m_stype=stype;
		compute.m_alpha=alpha;
		compute.m_num_runs=num_runs;
		compute.m_rejections=rejections;

		if (kernel_mgr.same_distance_type())
		{
			std::shared_ptr<Distance> distance=kernel_mgr.get_distance_instance();
			auto precomputed_distance=estimator->compute_joint_distance(distance);
			kernel_mgr.set_precomputed_distance(precomputed_distance);
			compute(kernel_mgr, prng);
			kernel_mgr.unset_precomputed_distance();

		}
		else
		{
			auto samples_p_and_q=quadratic_time_mmd->get_p_and_q();

			for (auto k=0; k<num_kernels; ++k)
			{
				std::shared_ptr<shogun::Kernel> kernel=kernel_mgr.kernel_at(k);
				kernel->init(samples_p_and_q, samples_p_and_q);
			}

			compute(kernel_mgr, prng);

			for (auto k=0; k<num_kernels; ++k)
			{
				std::shared_ptr<shogun::Kernel> kernel=kernel_mgr.kernel_at(k);
				kernel->remove_lhs_and_rhs();
			}

		}
	}
	else // TODO put check, this one assumes infinite data
	{
		auto existing_kernel=estimator->get_kernel();
		for (auto i=0; i<num_runs; ++i)
		{
			for (auto j=0; j<num_folds; ++j)
			{
				SG_DEBUG("Running fold {}", j);
				for (auto k=0; k<num_kernels; ++k)
				{
					auto kernel=kernel_mgr.kernel_at(k);
					estimator->set_kernel(kernel);
					auto statistic=estimator->compute_statistic();
					rejections(i*num_folds+j, k)=estimator->compute_p_value(statistic)<alpha;
					estimator->cleanup();
				}
			}
		}
		if (existing_kernel)
			estimator->set_kernel(existing_kernel);
	}

	for (auto j=0; j<rejections.num_cols; ++j)
	{
		auto begin=rejections.get_column_vector(j);
		auto size=rejections.num_rows;
		measures[j]=std::accumulate(begin, begin+size, 0.0)/size;
	}
}

template <typename PRNG>
std::shared_ptr<shogun::Kernel> MaxCrossValidation<PRNG>::select_kernel()
{
	init_measures();
	compute_measures();
	auto max_element=std::max_element(measures.vector, measures.vector+measures.vlen);
	auto max_idx=std::distance(measures.vector, max_element);
	SG_DEBUG("Selected kernel at {} position!", max_idx);
	return kernel_mgr.kernel_at(max_idx);
}

template class shogun::internal::MaxCrossValidation<std::mt19937_64>;