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Finished bows hang from a wall in Peter Laffin’s workshop in Eureka on Sept. 26.
Peter Laffin works on a bow in his workshop.
Finished bows hang from a wall in Peter Laffin’s workshop.
Peter Laffin was sure about one thing: he didn’t want to stop archery hunting.
The Eureka man wanted to simplify his hunting, and he had to acknowledge that his body wasn’t allowing him to do what he pleased with a compound bow — namely, pull it at a draw weight that would allow him to release an arrow with enough velocity to make a killing shot on a deer or elk.
Laffin said his desire for simplicity and the need for a bow he could pull at an adequate weight led him to use traditional bows, and then, eventually, to build them. He embarked on his journey to build his own perfect bow a little more than a year ago.
Laffin, originally from Vermont, is a former builder who constructed homes for the affluent.
“One of the things that came out of that was when I took on a project I didn’t always realize how hard it was going to be and after I had to figure some things out, it helped me pass through my limitations, and I ended up doing some really crazy houses that were a lot of fun to build,” he said.
Laffin applied his lessons from building homes to building bows — he wasn’t accepting any rules.
“It’s interesting what that allows,” he said.
Laffin had never built a bow before and didn’t spend too much time considering how others were building them.
“I’m not an expert, not an authority, but I just tried some things,” he said.
When Laffin started building his fiberglass long bows, he broke several as he experimented.
Missoula’s Jim Rempp, a traditional bowmaker who has built more than 1,000 bows in the last 40 years, praised Laffin’s work.
“I don’t have a lot of experience with his bows, but I did shoot them when we met at a show and they are pretty nice for a beginner,” Rempp said. “I’ve seen many, many different bows, but his are unique.
“The limb design, the way they are tapered and angled, he definitely has something going. And they are good shooters and they seem quite fast,” Rempp said.
Laffin said he has also started building, with help from Rempp, bows that are made from a single piece of wood, also known as self bows.
Andy Kvasnak has been friends with Laffin for 40 years, after they attended college together in Vermont. He has used both traditional and compound bows for hunting for 50 years.
But by 1990, another friend, who was a carpenter, made him a long bow. Kvasnak played around with it before using it for hunting.
“Once I did, I fell in love with it. I felt like Robin Hood,” Kvasnak said.
After his wife died and his kids were in college, Kvasnak decided to move to Colorado. Laffin was living in Durango at the time, so they started elk hunting together using recurve bows.
Laffin then moved to the Eureka area. Kvasnak followed a few years later.
“Peter talked me into building a bow and we worked on it together,” Kvasnak said. “We built a 42-pound bow and it’s pretty fast. I think when Peter came up with his design, he surprised himself.
“The craftmanship is outstanding on his bows. The lines are simple and functional, but elegant,” Kvasnak said. “And the bows are very durable, I leave mine strung all the time so I can just shoot whenever I feel like it.
Laffin doesn’t make a lot of bows, but he has sold 14 and is selling others.
“I didn’t get into this for a business, but it doesn’t hurt for me to sell a few and help pay for a few things,” he said. “When I’m building them, I do the most fun thing first and then I do the second-most fun thing next.
Laffin may be contacted at 406-882-4780 or at [email protected].
The Register sat down with Iowa assistant coach Andrew Francis on Thursday to discuss all things recruiting — the 2019 signees, swings-and-misses, plans for 2020 and thoughts on much more.
IOWA CITY, Ia. — The Register sat down with Iowa assistant coach Andrew Francis to discuss all things recruiting — 2019 signees, swings-and-misses, plans for 2020 and thoughts on much more.
We opened things with Patrick McCaffery, one of two 2019 Hawkeye signees and the son of head coach Fran McCaffery.
"Well, you know what? We had to work really hard to get Patrick here," Francis joked with the deadpan of a stand-up comic.
Fans have been waiting for McCaffery to wear a Hawkeye jersey for a long time. He's a 6-foot-9 athlete with 3-point range, and he's seen as a potential all-Big Ten player who could lead the program to sustained prominence within the conference again.
Although he's as excited as anyone for McCaffery, Francis said it's too early to expect so much.
"To say that we expect more than (normal expectations for freshmen) without him playing a collegiate basketball game or even having a workout is a little premature," Francis said. "He obviously has a ton of talent. He’s skilled. He’s intelligent. Great basketball IQ. Can shoot the basketball, can handle, can pass.
"The expectation of the immediate impact is that he’s going to come in, work as hard as he can in the strength and conditioning program, work as hard as he can at skill development, continue to compete and battle for time and put himself in the best position to be out there playing."
Francis doesn't want to saddle McCaffery with a position, either.
"The whole goal is to be a basketball player. Forget about positions," he said. "Forget about what people think you should play. How do you impact the game? And I think (McCaffery) does a great job of impacting the game in multiple ways."
Francis said he likes to watch prospects early, and then re-evaluate six to eight months later to gauge development.
That's what happened with Toussaint.
He first watched the New York point guard after his sophomore year. Then, Francis watched him again this past offseason.
"I saw tremendous growth in him from when I saw him the previous season," Francis said. "And I had a good relationship with the AAU guys that he played for. We spoke. I made sure coach (McCaffery) got a chance to watch him. He liked him, and the process was rolling — even before that."
After missing on Bettendorf lefty D.J. Carton, Iowa wasn't going to offer a point guard just to get one. Coaches would only pursue a prospect if he could move the needle.
So, what about Toussaint moved the needle?
"He plays the game by looking two, three plays ahead," Francis said. "But the quickness factor, obviously, was something that we felt was going to move the needle for us. The quickness factor and being able to impact the ball on both ends — I think that was something we looked at and saw, 'OK, this guy can really come in and be a force, because he’s unique when you look at our team dynamic.' We don’t have anybody at the guard spot with that kind of quickness."
Is Iowa done recruiting for 2019?
All signs point to Tyler Cook leaving for the NBA after this season, which would open a 2019 scholarship if Iowa chooses to use it.
"You want to be prepared in case things change," Francis said.
"You have guys that you have an eye on. You have guys that you stay connected to," Francis said. "I try to be very honest with guys and tell them exactly where we are, and I want to honestly know where they are and what they’re looking to do. So, if a kid tells me, 'You know what, Coach, I’m going to look to sign late. I’m going to see how the season goes. If you guys are still interested late (let me know).' And I tell him, 'Absolutely. I’d love to support you and track you and see where we are in the spring.' With recruiting, you just never know."
Before this season, Iowa's 2020 class projected to have six open slots.
Francis said C.J. Fredrick and Jack Nunge redshirting, and Cordell Pemsl likely receiving a medical redshirt, eases a bit of the pressure in filling the 2020 group.
Still, he said it will be an important class. These recruits will fill the spots taken by Jordan Bohannon, Maishe Dailey, Isaiah Moss, Ryan Kriener and Tyler Cook (if his slot isn't filled in 2019).
"We’re entering 2020 like we entered 2019," Francis said. "It’s a big class, in the sense that we want to make sure we get some guys that can be impactful guys — guys that obviously can continue to push our program forward in the right direction. We’ll be losing some key guys, obviously."
How will Iowa try to retain elite in-state talent?
This state's next two mega-recruits are 2020 Oskaloosa forward Xavier Foster and 2022 Ames point guard Tamin Lipsey. There's some promising talent in the 2021 class, too.
Coaches can't publicly comment on high school prospects until they've signed their National Letter of Intent. But Francis did talk about Iowa's approach with elite in-state talent.
"The approach is to consistently be who we are," he said. "Formulate those relationships early on. I think the in-state guys have come to know us and continue to get to know us, have been on campus before and I think they see the quality of who we are as people, first and foremost. I think the quality of the university speaks for itself.
"And the basketball program, despite having a year that we didn't expect last year, we own it, we move forward. We got stronger from it."
Did a disappointing 2018 season affect 2019 recruiting?
Francis said losing obviously doesn't help recruiting, and success — especially on a national stage — obviously helps it.
"What’s driving a lot of high-profile guys is the NBA. And when you look at the stage that a lot of guys want to play on, it’s that stage in March. So it all kind of goes hand-in-hand," he said. "People want to be attached to and associated with winning. So, when you lose, people don’t want to be attached to that. But I think, overall, I think people saw the value in who we are. And I think we built up some equity with recruits. We lost on a couple high-profile guys, obviously. But we’re going to keep swinging away."
Francis was the point man with Carton's recruitment. He said the five-star point guard, who has signed his NLI with Ohio State, is a tremendous talent and a good kid.
He thinks Carton simply made the decision that was best for him.
"What we tried to do was make it very clear what we thought about him, where we viewed him and where he stood in our eyes when it comes to his value to our program and us," Francis said. "He was respectful. Great family, good people. And he went through the process and he walked his path, and I respect him for it."
While recruiting Carton, Iowa had to balance showing him he was a priority ... while also keeping an eye on other point guards in case Carton committed elsewhere.
"You try to be honest with guys," Francis. "You show them that respect and you hope to get the same thing in return."
"I’ve just got to see how that unfolds, man. It’s hard to say right now. You just don't know," Francis said. "It’s experimental because it hasn't been done before. Cutting back on some days in July and having those weekends in June (at non-AAU events) — I’m just going to be curious to see how it all goes down. It’s going to be the trial run. You’ve got to do your work throughout the year — make sure you get to games, make sure you get to practices."
What is Francis' favorite part of recruiting?
"The relationships that you build with guys," he said. "The relationships that you build with the families, with the parents, with really good AAU guys that understand what it’s about and really go about their business in a very matter-of-fact, direct, humbled way. Those are the things that fuel what we do, because this is a people business. It’s a relationship business. You’ve got to value that stuff, man. And I value it."
NBC News‘ fourth hour of “Today,” hosted by Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, celebrated 10 years Friday, April 6, 2018, with a show with a live studio audience, special graphics and the debut of a new song.
For Friday’s edition, the fourth hour of “Today” originated from Studio 6A, home of “Megyn Kelly Today,” in a setup similar to when it used the space during NBC’s coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The show’s animated open was changed up a bit for the occasion — with animated gold confetti and a sparkly gold background frame replacing the normal look.
Meanwhile, the background behind Kotb and Gifford featured a view of Rockefeller Plaza with faux windows and shelves over it.
A similar look has been used since the show relocated to the first floor of Studio 1A after its February overhaul as well as during the Olympics in 6A.
To mark the occasion, the image on the faux frosted glass panel camera center was changed to a “Toast to 10” image.
In addition to all of these changes, the show also debuted a new, original song by Megan Trainor, entitled “Wake Up to Kathie Lee and Hoda,” which the show used during its Monday, April 9, 2018 edition.
The fourth hour of “Today” originated from its former second floor studio Thursday, April 5, 2018.
The Indian selectors will announce the 15-member World Cup squad on April 15 in Mumbai and while many players pick themselves in the line-up, there could be few surprising inclusions in the squad. Captain Virat Kohli has already said that they are pretty much decided on the players and their spots and that there are just one or two spots up for grabs.
Also, both the captain and the chairman of selectors MSK Prasad believe that IPL performances should not influence the squad since the formats are different. Here, we try to predict the 15-member squad which could be named on April 15.
There is little doubt that India’s chance in the World Cup will be hugely dependent on the top order and Rohit Sharma is an important member of this Indian side. His record in England is quite good as he enjoys playing on the true surfaces offered in the country.
The left-hander finally struck form in the IPL, but he was a sure starter for India in their first match against South Africa. Dhawan loves ICC tournaments and his partnership with Rohit Sharma will be massive for India.
For all his troubles and inconsistencies, there is a lot to like about KL Rahul. The selectors can pick him as the back-up opener in India’s squad. He is in great form in the ongoing IPL and this is when, he should get a game in the playing XI, either in the top order or in that contentious number 4 position.
There were murmurs about Virat Kohli slipping down to number 4 in order to provide more solidity to the batting order, but any such temptations should be shunted away. Kohli at number 3 is a world beater and it should remain so, irrespective of the situation.
The right-hander has found vocal support in Virat Kohli to take up the mantle at number 4, but after brief moments of brilliance, he has not been able to perform consistently. However, the selectors should still stick with him and give him a go at the number 4 position when India take on South Africa for their first match of the tournament.
Kedar Jadhav has the game to adapt and adjust to different situations and while he can be vulnerable when the ball seams and swings around, in English conditions, where the ball generally comes on to the bat in ODI cricket, he can be a good bet in the middle and lower middle order.
Also, he can chip in with the ball, which makes Virat Kohli’s job easier to manipulate his bowlers and keep attacking the opposition in the middle overs.
The veteran will be key for Virat Kohli, both as a player and as an aide from behind the stumps. This year has been a good one for Dhoni so far and now, in what can be his final appearance for India in a World tournament, he would want to bow out with a bang.
The young man has made a stellar beginning to his Test career, but needs to fine tune his game in order to take the side over the line in limited overs cricket. He will be in the squad as a backup wicket-keeper, but the Indian management can use him as a specialist batsman too, and hence, his performances need to be more consistent.
Although, IPL performances might not dictate the squad picked for the World Cup,the selectors and the Indian management will be mighty pleased with the form of Hardik Pandya. In the IPL season so far, Hardik has displayed tremendous hitting form which is just what this Indian side needs in ODI cricket. However, he has to also fine tune his bowling, which will be a critical element to Virat Kohli’s planning.
The IPL has not been a bumper one for Kuldeep, but there is little doubt over his ability, especially in limited overs cricket. He is Kohli’s wicket-taker in the middle overs and his wrist spin is a huge boon for the Indian side.
Chahal has been consistent for Royal Challengers Bangalore this season and come the World Cup, Kohli will use Kuldeep and Chahal in tandem to not only control but also pick up wickets in the middle overs. On flat surfaces, the importance of wrist spinners will be huge and India should use these two to their advantage.
The Indian seamers will be important in England and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, with all his experience, has to take the lead. Early strikes with the new ball become imperative and this is where the right-arm seamer will have to step up.
Another X-factor for Virat Kohli - Jasprit Bumrah could be the ace for this Indian team in England. Bumrah will take the new ball, but his biggest impact will be towards the death overs where his wicket-taking prowess will influence the game.
Virat Kohli has always backed Mohammed Shami and finally, the fast bowler has started to be as effective with the white ball, as he is with the red ball. His form in Australia and New Zealand has continued in the IPL so far and along with Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah, he can from a lethal combination in England.
Young Deepak Chahar could well be the surprise pick by the selectors as he has been mighty impressive for the Chennai Super Kings this season. He has the trust of Dhoni and has shown good temperament, which might force the selectors to pick him as the fourth seamer for the marquee tournament.
MUMBAI: Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was a brilliant student and wanted to pursue her career in architecture before entering in showbiz.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan before joining film industry, she was working as a successful model.
She won the Miss World Cup title in 1994 and become famous in India and the entire world. She continues with her modeling projects till 1997. She made her debut in the film Iruvar of Mani Ratnam.
Through her successful acting career, she has established herself as one of the most popular and influential celebrities in India. Rai has received numerous accolades, including two Filmfare Awards from eleven nominations, and she was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France in 2012.
She has often been cited in the media as "the most beautiful woman in the world.
Bachchan trained in classical dance and music for five years during her teens. Her favourite subject was zoology, so she initially considered a career in medicine. Then with plans to become an architect, she enrolled at Rachana Sansad Academy of Architecture, but later gave up her education to pursue a career in modelling.