Kuopio is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of 118,667, which makes it the ninth-most populous city in Finland and the most populous city in Eastern Finland Province. Kuopio has a total area of 4,326.35 square kilometres, of which 719.85 km2 is water and half is forest. Though the city's population is a spread-out 74/km2, the city's urban areas are populated comparably densely, making Kuopio Finland's second-most densely populated city. Since 1969 Kuopio has grown extensively through municipality mergers. Kuopio's population surpassed 100,000 when the town of Nilsiä joined the city at the beginning of 2013. Several explanations are behind the name Kuopio; the first is that in the 16th century, a certain influential person named Kauhanen in Tavinsalmi changed his name to Skopa and the people's pronunciation was Coopia and Cuopio. The second explanation is that it comes from the verb kuopia, meaning "paw", as when a horse paws the ground with its hoof.

A third explanation is that it came from a certain Karelian man's name Prokopij, from Ruokolahti in the Middle Ages. This explanation is the most and is supported by the Research Institute for the Languages of Finland. In the 1550s, under the influence of Mikael Agricola, a church and a parish were founded in Kuopionniemi. Governor Peter Brahe founded the city of Kuopio in 1653, but the official date is recognized as 17 November 1775, when King Gustav III of Sweden ordered the formal establishment of the city; the period of Russian rule brought notable transportation development within Eastern Finland. The Saimaa Canal opened up a summer route towards the Baltic Sea, the Savo railroad improved transport in winter; the municipality of Maaninka joined the city of Kuopio in 2015, the town of Nilsiä in 2013, Karttula in 2011, as did Vehmersalmi in 2005, Riistavesi in 1973, Kuopion maalaiskunta in 1969. The city is surrounded by Lake Kallavesi, several parts of it are built on islands. Kuopio's ample waterfronts and islands are used in the Saaristokaupunki -project, the biggest residential area being built in Finland.

Saaristokaupunki will accommodate a total of 14,000 inhabitants in 2015. All houses will be situated no more than 500 metres from the nearest lakeshore. Kuopio falls in the subarctic climate zone bordering on continental due to its warm summers. Winters are long and cold, with average highs staying below freezing from November until March, summers are short and mild. Most precipitation occurs in early fall; the summers are warm for its latitude the lows. This is due to influence from the lake, making it much warmer on summer nights than in areas away from water. In winter, maritime moderation is eliminated; the city has a nationally unique feature in its street network, where every other street is reserved for pedestrian and cycle traffic, so-called "rännikatu". These streets provide pedestrians a calm environment away from vehicular traffic; this setup dates back to Kuopio's first town plan by Pehr Kjellman in 1776. Rännikadut were created as a fire barrier to prevent a possible fire escalating in a wood-constructed city.

The Blue Highway passes through Kuopio. It is an international tourist route from Mo i Rana, Norway to Pudozh, Russia via Sweden and Finland. Long-distance transport connections from Kuopio include Pendolino and InterCity trains from Kuopio railway station to several destinations around Finland, operated by VR, as well as multiple daily departures from Kuopio Airport on Finnair to Helsinki. Kuopio has always been a city of education; some of the first schools offering education in Finnish were established in Kuopio. The most important institutions are the University of Eastern Finland, the Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Vocational College of Northern Savonia and the Kuopio department of the Sibelius Academy. Kuopio is known as a strong center of health, environment, food & nutrition and welfare professions, as the major organisations University of Kuopio, Savonia University of Applied Sciences and Technopolis Kuopio are oriented to those areas. There are about 4,200 enterprises in Kuopio, of which 180 are export companies.

These provide about 45,000 jobs. Kuopio is known as the cultural center of Eastern Finland. One of the Kuopio's most important cultural venues are the Kuopio Museum and the Kuopio City Theatre in the city center. A wide range of musical and dance education is available and the cultural life is active. Notable events include ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival, Kuopio Dance Festival, Kuopio Rockcock, Kuopio Wine Festival, Kuopio Marathon and Finland Ice Marathon in winter. A notable place, however, to enjoy the local flavor of Kuopio life and food is Sampo, a fish restaurant loved by locals and tourists as well. Kuopio is known for its association with a national delicacy, Finnish fish pastry, the dialect of Savo, as well as the hill of Puijo and the Puijo tower. Besides being a popular outdoor recreation area, Puijo serves as a stage

Splints is an ailment of the horse or pony, characterized by a hard, bony swelling on the inside of a front leg, lying between the splint and cannon bone or on the splint bone itself. It may be "hot," meaning that it occurred and is still painful. Bucked shins are sometimes called'shin splints,' which involve small stress fractures of the dorsal cannon bone seen in race training, discussed elsewhere; the splint bones, which are remnants of two of the five toes of prehistoric horses, run down either side of the cannon bone. They narrow as they go from the carpal or tarsal joint down, form a "button" at the bottom or their length, a few inches above the fetlock. Splint bones are attached to the cannon by the interosseous ligament, providing some mobility in the young horse; as the horse ages, the interosseous ligament is replaced by bone. In some older horses, the cannon and splint bones may become fused. Direct trauma, such as from an interference injury or a kick from another horse, is a common causes of splints.

The periosteum is damaged by the trauma, the horse's body lays down new bone in the injured area. Splints caused by trauma are more seen lower down the leg than ones caused by strain; the splints hind, in one leg or both. Severe enough trauma can fracture the splint bone. If minimally displaced, in the lower portion, some heal well. Others may need surgical removal of a portion of the damaged splint bone. Concussion is another cause of splints. Concussive forces run from the tarsus into the splint bones. Working a horse on hard surfaces increases the concussion received by the interosseous ligament, which causes tearing. Splints caused by concussion are found on both front legs, most on the inside of the leg a few inches below the knee. Overworking young or unfit horses at speed or in tight circles may cause splints; the uneven loading of the limb in tight circles places excessive force on the medial splint, which can cause it to move excessively relative to the cannon bone, causing tears in the interosseous ligament and periosteal reaction.

Bench-kneed conformation causes excess loading of the medial splint bone. Because the splint bone does have some mobility independent of the cannon bone, it can cause tension and strain on the periosteum of the splint bone where the interosseous ligament attaches; the horse will lay down new bone and the area will become inflamed. "Blind splints" are named because the bony reaction happens on the inside border between the splint bone and cannon bone, where it can not be seen, is not palpable. Besides causing pain as any active splint reaction can, the swelling can impinge on the suspensory ligament; this condition is difficult to diagnose, but ultrasound is diagnostic. MRI and CT show these well. Splints cause mild lameness; the injured area is hot and inflamed with a small bony swelling. However, splints do not always cause lameness once "cold". More severe lameness is sometimes associated with a fractured splint bone, or soft tissue injury adjacent to the splints. "Blind splints" produce mild lameness, difficult to pinpoint because there is no obvious swelling, pain, or bony changes related to the exterior of the splint bone.

At times, bone proliferation on the axial border of the splint bone can be seen radiographically, but ultrasound is much more sensitive for detecting blind splints. The body will absorb some of the bone it placed down in the splint, flattening out the splint over several months and making it disappear. A splint involving the cannon alone is more to disappear than one involving the splint bone itself; the horse should have a reduced workload for 1–3 weeks. If a trainer does not decrease the workload sufficiently, the splint bone continues to receive concussion, the injury is to continue or worsen. Light exercise on soft ground is best for a horse with splints, as work can help encourage the needed bone growth to heal the splint; those trainers concerned with the cosmetic appearance of their horse prefer to hand-walk twice daily and keep the animal stalled until the splint is resolved, eliminating the chance that the splint will accidentally be knocked during work and the swelling increased. Several days of cold therapy, NSAIDs can help a "hot" splint.

NSAIDs can help help the bone growth by doing so. However, none of these treatments are effective; the most important factor is time. Counter-irritants, which increase inflammation, only hinder the formation of bone and can prolong the healing process. Surgery to remove the fractured end of the splint bone in the lower third, is successful. However, surgical removal of the bone growth in large splints, performed by chiseling it away does not produce satisfying results. Bone growth is stimulated by the surgery, the size of the splint is increased. Only about a third of the time is surgery at all successful. Prognosis is excellent in uncomplicated cases; the horse will be able to return to full work once the pain ceases. Although the horse recovers quite horses with "blind splints" may take longer because there may be impingement on the suspensory ligament; the calcification of the splint is a permanent blemish, though over a period of many years, the excess calcification may be reabsorbed to some degree to the point that the sp

"Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers" is a song by the American rock band Primus. It was released as the third single from their 1991 album Sailing the Seas of Cheese. Unlike its preceding singles "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" and "Tommy the Cat", "Tweekers" did not feature an accompanying video; the song opens with Larry LaLonde on guitar and a reserved bassline from Les Claypool, from there alternating between his trademark slap bass and a quiet section for the vocals. The song's narrative describes several different trades that the town's blue collar tweekers engage in, like many of the other story-telling songs in Primus's catalogue, lacks any clear, single meaning and leaves plenty of ambiguity in its lyrics; the song is about "blue-collar workers" using methamphetamines. I was born in a suburb by the East Bay, a rural redneck environment. I grew up on the blue-collar side of town. My father was a mechanic, both my uncles are mechanics, my grandfather was a mechanic; that song is not derogatory at all.

It’s much me. A tweaker is someone, strung out on methyl amphetamines, otherwise known as crank. There’s a reference in there to a guy who hung Sheetrock, that’s how he got through the day. He’d snort up speed to keep up with the younger guys; the band's Woodstock 1994 performance of the song was notable, with Claypool beginning a bass rendition of the Star Spangled Banner in homage to Jimi Hendrix's guitar performance of the national anthem decades before, but apologizing to the crowd by saying "Sorry, I had to do it" and returning to the song. As of 2015, it is Primus's second most-performed song live. A live version of the song appears as an iTunes exclusive bonus track on the band's 2011 album, Green Naugahyde; when played live, they use animated clips from the online animated series Salad Fingers. Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics