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The Game Mechanics of Customer Loyalty
Most of the interest in gamification and user engagement for startups centers on customer acquisition. This is partly because of the short time around startup planning, but also the strong need to show and grow traction as quickly as possible. With startups like Foursquare, Codecademy and StackOverflow using gamification to build unprecedented early customer engagement, it's no wonder so many founders want to talk about virality.
But while some startups exit within 12 to 18 months without having to prove revenue models or market opportunity, many other breakthrough entrepreneurs are still running their companies after three or four years in increasingly crowded markets. These organizations must get serious about marketing, especially when subscription drives their revenue. And nothing is more important to serious marketers than loyalty — or its new-school proxy, engagement.
By definition, loyalty is expressed when a consumer chooses your product/service when other options are mostly equal. It's a form of incremental affection whose balance can be easily disturbed. A new way of thinking about loyalty is in the framework of gamification. After all, if loyalty is about driving incremental user action in a crowded environment, gamification is able to do that and deliver viral user growth, improved satisfaction, and revenue. Here are five ways to develop loyalty, based on some of the principles of gamification.
Define the Grind
Choose a clear and easy-to-understand action as the core of your product and loyalty effort. Think checking in or tweeting. Repeating this activity regularly is called a "grind", though it need not feel negative at all. Sometimes your experience may have multiple grinds, like posting a photo and commenting (Think Instagram or Pixable) but it's important to think of the smallest unit of energy for users and make that as commonplace as possible. Once users are doing the grind regularly, you can begin to build other, more complex behaviors on top.
Lay Down an XP System
Next, you'll need a point system to understand the behavior of your users. Start with what's called XP or experience points. This is an incremental point system that tracks the behavior and knowledge of your users over time. Start by assigning each grind activity one point in your XP system.
Create Five Social Actions
Think of the top five social actions you want your users to take, and use verbs to describe them. Don't use "buy" or "subscribe" because those are outgrowths of good engagement rather than ends in and of themselves. Concepts such as "like," "comment," "argue," or "challenge" are good examples. It's critical to think of them as social actions because they will also help you attract new users. Now, assign XP point values to each of those social actions. Consider what the relative values should be. Is creating a profile worth 10 times the commenting, or just five times. Remember this initial table of values is just a starting point and will change as you test your system.
Develop a Social Loop With Appointment Mechanics
Consider the actions you just described. How do they fit into a social loop that includes a place for emotion, expression, positive feedback and return? If they don't contribute to this social loop, you can use this moment to try and expand or revise your design. Now, include an appointment mechanic that has users make a commitment to check in or come back on a regular basis, preferably every day (consider the power of Gilt Groupe's noon release schedule). Because of the signal-to-noise ratio in the market, appointment mechanics can be extraordinarily powerful, and you should build notifications into your product as soon as it's practical.
Have a Reward System Based on SAPS
Beyond the intrinsic rewards of your experience, users will expect to receive a tangible benefit for their good behavior. Now's a good time to start thinking about what that looks like, but turn the model on its head. Use SAPS: Status, Access, Power and Stuff to drive your design. This list is in order of stickiness and cost-effectiveness as tools for behavior change.
Tangible rewards like merchandise, discounts, and cash equivalents are a default concept in loyalty program design but are increasingly becoming less relevant in the gamified world. Offer your users emotionally meaningful rewards. Think of experiences like Nike Plus and StackOverflow as good examples of stuff-free reward models. Obviously, many concepts that are critical to good gamified engagement aren't included in this discussion, including the importance of a redeemable point system (potentially used to redeem for rewards in SAPS models), monetizing loyalty itself (by selling virtual items or points to third parties) and demonstrable status items - e.g. physical loyalty cards. But as with all elements of good startup design, the first step is to get the core design and iterate in an agile fashion. With Gamification, startups can give major loyalty programs a run for their money, focusing on great design, user engagement and scalable, non-cash rewards.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, hocus-focus


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Suppose class A has many subclasses B, C, D,... (the names can be very irregular).
Is there a way to implement a mathod
public static newInstance(String xml)
in class A such that when I say
B.newInstance(anXml), the method in A will be invoked and returns an object of type B,
while C.newInstance(aValue) will invoke the same method but returns an object of type C?
Thanks for your help

subset: commoncrawl


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Item #3090
85 days from transplanting. Indeterminate.
A cross between Antique Roman and Banana Legs, this unique roma will wow you with orange and yellow stripes! It not only looks extraordinary, it's a first-rate performer in the garden and in the kitchen. Speckled Roman is a prolific producer; fruits have meaty flesh and few seeds, perfect for sauces. Vigorous vines reach 6' or more. This packet yields approximately 24 plants when started indoors.
Seedling Image
Days to Emerge:
Seed Depth:
Seed Spacing:
Row Spacing:
When to sow outside: For mild climates only: 1 to 2 weeks before average last frost, and when soil temperature is at least 60°F.
When to start inside: RECOMMENDED. 4 to 6 weeks before transplanting. Transplant when air temperature is 45°F or warmer, usually 1 to 2 weeks after the last average frost date. Ideal soil temperature for germination is 70°?90°F.
Harvesting: Speckled Roman tomatoes are at the peak of sun-ripened deliciousness when red with orange stripes/speckles, and have a slight give when gently squeezed. Tomatoes may also be picked at the "first blush" stage, when colors just begin to change, and ripened at room temperature without decreasing flavor or nutrition. Picking often and early increases yield, and decreases the risk of cracking and pest damage.
At the end of the season, about 1 month before the average first fall frost, clip all blossoms and any undersized fruit off the plant. This will steer all the plant's remaining energy into ripening what's left. If you have a lot of unripe tomatoes near the end of the season and a frost is approaching, pick them and store them indoors in a single layer away from direct sunlight to ripen.
Artist: Marjorie Leggitt
Item #3090
30 seeds


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INART Furniture - INART Furniture Sdn. Bhd. a registered company in Malaysia, is the subsidiary of Inart Korea, who has penetrated into Korea market since 1996.
Home collection series
» Dining series
» Home office
» Living series
» Bedroom series
» Junior room series
T series
» Small Space Furniture
View All
7 Drawers Chest
L900 x W500 x H1345 XT30 mm
0.5463m3 / 19.291ft3
1pc / ctn
Copyrights © INART Furniture Sdn. Bhd. All Rights Reserved.
Custom web design by syscomm


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New York City
May 6, 2013
For Immediate Release:
The future, for those who can imagine it, is here. After too many weeks of running in place, allowing political posturing to take the place of empathy and self-appeasement (instead of self-reflection)—well, sometimes you just have to take the wheel and drive. And so it is that Cutler Gleason and Chauagh and Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce are now, for now, an unnamed titan taking the first step onto this new world's stage—or, should we say, climbing into a Chevy and flooring the gas pedal.
We can talk about travel: about how an airport lounge can be a site for industrial espionage; how navigating a flight of stairs can prove disastrous to one's ankles, public face, and force of character; how the grim romance of a starter apartment provokes flights of fantasy into the arms of other men; or even how the distance one must traverse to turn into one's mother can be sometimes crossed just by sinking to one's knees. But how about let's just keep moving forward, shall we? Hop in.
While we first see Roger acting the lonely Lothario, ready and willing to use his mother's recent passing as a reason for some Mother's Day tenderness with a TWA stewardess, his too-long-dormant rapscallion business-sense, at last, resurfaces, securing his place at SCDPCGC and the downfall of his loathed rival, Pete Campbell. He literally wrote the book on this, and though few bought it, no one's better at it.
While Trudy prepares for some kind of charming spin-off show—Oh, That Trudy!—poor Pete remains captured in her fuchsia nightgown, aching to resume marital relations with her, if not a real partnership. For how can he trust her, or anyone, when every person with power over him eventually betrays him, from his father-in-law pulling the pharmaceutical account to Don blowing the public offering to his total irrelevance in his company's merger with CGC. (Not to mention that his newfound appreciation for the civil rights movement didn't keep him from pointedly spitting out the race of his father-in-law's lady companion, each time he got the chance.) Pete fell down the stairs early in this episode and stayed as pale and ugly as his kitchen wallpaper. Things don't look good for Mr. Campbell.
The lovely Mrs. Draper, however, has never looked more radiant than when signing autographs in front of her drag queen of a mother. She can turn sexpot on a dime—Megan, after all is a successful actress—but behind the glitter we sense something souring. Are there dolls, or divorce, or pregnancy on the horizon? Or can powerful Daddy Don keep her satisfied through this next cycle of life?
Another of the women subject to Don's advances and retreats—professionally, at least—Peggy came out a winner this week, with even her dreamy boss Ted professing envy. The men in her life seem to be having electrical problems (Abe's outlet snafu, Ted's static screen) but Peggy's star is burning brighter than ever. Best of all, she's actually, finally, literally writing the narrative of her life. Men will soon be fighting over her, we have no doubt.
Keeper of impeccable accounting. Wrangler of peacocking men. Mother of a baby we haven't seen in awhile. Joan remains the kind of woman who's the best woman in the world, especially after a drink or two. And yet. This week her ostentatious charm bracelet rattled like chains, as she learned just how tied she is to Don's fortunes. She can read him to filth—and she does—but she can't change the power structure. Not yet, at least.
And the giant awakens. Just when it seemed he was lost forever in the mirage of his own ennui, a great white whale of a Chevy zooms toward him — and he pursues it with zeal. When he suspects Chevy just wants to buy his brain and puts it in a jar, Don packages the product up (after pickling it a little) and Chevy buys it then and there. When Don stands up, the world reorganizes itself around him; it always has. If he weren't slumped over drunk so often, it wouldn't be such a delicious surprise each time it happens.
We have a million questions, from the fate of Harry Crane to whether Betty's still a brunette. But those futures can wait. For now, let's tool around this new terrain a bit and savor the view. We've been going in circles, for house. What a thrill to be on the road again, at last.


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Wishin' and hopin': How Santa can make sports fans happy
If you haven't sent your letter to Santa yet, you'd better get on the ball. Christmas is just a few weeks away, and time is running short. I have informally polled sports fans and have compiled the first annual Sports Doctor's Christmas Wish List.
1. Never to hear Andrew Luck's name again
Heard of the "Suck for Luck" campaign? According to CNN, Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck is "probably the best (quarterback) to come out of college since Peyton Manning in 1998" and has single-handedly turned the NFL on its head by changing many a team's strategy from winning to losing. In his junior year, Luck completed 70.7 percent of his passes for 3,338 yards, 32 touchdowns, and had just eight interceptions. Is it any wonder the "Suck for Luck" movement is almost as big as Occupy Wall Street? With fans of the Dolphins, Redskins, Colts, Vikings, and Rams all hoping to nab year 22-year-old, it's a cinch we'll hear his name much more and more. Ugh.
2. Pacquiao-Mayweather
A kid can dream, right?
3. Never to hear Tim Tebow's name again.
As far back as 2007, there were websites devoted to how the sound of Tebow's name made people sick, and nothing has changed. Today Tebow is, according almost anyone with an opinion, the most polarizing player in the NFL. Does he regularly and frequently profess his faith on and off the field? You bet. Has he lived up to the hype surrounding his draft? Absolutely not. The combination of profound faith and substandard play means everyone has an opinion about him, but can't the media take pity and not express so many opinions so often?
4. That the Redskins will get rid of Rex Grossman, John Beck, Ryan Torain, Santana Moss, Anthony Armstrong, Brandon Banks, Jabar Gaffney, Fred Davis, and the entire offensive line. They can keep Roy Helu, though.
So much for two reasonable performances; in their recent game against the New York Jets, the Redskins offense proved what everyone has known for a long time: it's woefully inept and incompetent. CSNWashington offered these distressingly typical observations. "Rex Grossman had by far his poorest game of the season; it was surprising to see Jabar Gaffney involved as little as he was; the Redskins had a golden chance to take a 17-10 half-time lead…(b)ut then came a needless delay of game…and two Grossman incompletions; the Redskins squandered good field position to start the second half; the third quarter was a return to the bad old days of the Redskins offense."
Andrew Luck, anyone?
5. That Tiger would win a major or do something great so I can be proved right about his comeback
When Tiger Woods won the Chevron World Challenge on December 4, he hadn't won a tournament in 749 days. The golf world is so anxious to get the old Tiger back that a single win in a tournament Woods himself hosts was all it took for CBS Sports to claim, "It looks clear that Woods is on an upward path." Wasn't it just a month ago Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker tied for the worst loss in Presidents Cup history? The pair didn't have one birdie and bogeyed three. If that's an upward path, I know a lot of world-class golfers.
6. That I would beat (fill in the blank) at fantasy football
You're a day late and a dollar short on that one.
Oh, well. You know what they say: If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
Juanita lives on a farm in Charlotte County with her husband, son, and many dogs.
10 comments
Tim Tebow, hate him all you want, is leading Denver to the playoffs. Bad draft? WRONG
fatty air it out Rex is playing a lot better, the Jets game, YESTERDAY, not "recently" is not on his shoulders.
@Pete: I made the decision to upload this column early as a treat for readers, so don't scold Juanita because the word "recently" coulda been more specific; scold me.--hawes spencer
Treat for readers!!?? That's rich. Consider yourself scolded for capriciously deleting my earlier post. And for continuing to offer Juanita Giles a platform for her bad writing.
When that road was open, I used it three times: the first was at night and it was deserted, and I saw a fox run by; the second was at about 10:30 a.m. and I saw the fox again--run over and dead now; the 3rd time was at 5:30pm and there were 20-30 (no exageration) cars heading south on the roar all backed up at Melbourne, all hoping to turn left. Draw your own conclusions.
for unknown reasons this got posted in the wronglace. It is a description of the futility of opening the Rio-melbourne connector.
No more Sports Doctor. No more. It's just awful.
Tim Tebow da truth mane. Juanita Giles not mane
Hawes: Glad you're trying to do sports in The Hook. The Hook is better than this, though. A lot better.
The Sports Doctor is terrible.
All I want for Xmas is for the sports Dr to go away. Or maybe she could actually get a press pass, or even buy a ticket and attend the contests she writes about. Going to a game once in a while might actually make your horrid column more tolerable...
When was the last time you watched real sports in person Giles?


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Missing man remains a mystery
NEWTOWN -- Lori Hoagland returned from a 17-day trip to Turkey early July 29, landing at JFK Airport in New York City expecting to be greeted in the terminal by her husband, Robert, only to find he had either forgotten or been delayed.
She called him numerous times and texted him, but got no answer.
At first, she said, she was not too worried. She figured he was busy and simply had a mix-up about her itinerary. Once home, though, the culinary teacher at Newtown High School started to become more frantic.
Robert Hoagland, 50, had not shown up for his job at a Bridgeport law firm.
Lori Hoagland's Mini Cooper, the car he'd been driving, was at their Glen Road home. So were his cellphone, his wallet and even the shoes he usually wore, she said.
He was nowhere to be found.
From the police investigation and conversations with 23-year-old Max, one of their three children, Hoagland was able to ascertain her husband stopped at the Mobil gas station on Church Hill Road about 6:45 a.m. July 28.
He bought bagels that he took home for breakfast with Max, then played three games of computer Scrabble before heading outside between 10 and 11 a.m. to mow the lawn.
A neighbor stopped by with a new puppy and saw Robert Hoagland stop the mower to speak to Max, who left shortly thereafter in another family car, a Volkswagen Golf.
Police confirmed Monday they are investigating this as a missing person's case, but have been able to gather no information on Robert Hoagland's whereabouts. The last known sighting was at the Mobil station, where a surveillance camera shows a smiling Robert Hoagland approaching the counter.
He is described as a white male, about 6 feet tall and 175 pounds, last seen wearing khaki shorts and a white T-shirt.
About her husband's state of mind, Lori Hoagland said the couple emailed regularly while she was out of the country, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She said she knew her husband had worries about some private family matters, but nothing that would lead her to suspect he might disappear.
"He was a man doing ordinary life things on a Sunday, preparing for his wife to come home," Lori Hoagland said Tuesday, noting she spoke to him two days before her return.
"And he disappeared. ... It's a total, total mystery.''
Lori Hoagland said she and their friends are desperate to hear from her husband or anyone who might know of his whereabouts.
Anyone with information is asked to call police detectives at 203-426-5841.


text:
Over our 30 years of participating in the Taste of Chicago, Eli's Cheesecake has had over 2,500 associates working our Booth at Taste. One of our most notable alumni is Lisa Madigan, the Attorney General of Illinois. We have admired Lisa for her community achievements including serving as a Dean at Wright College and since 2003 as Illinois' Chief Legal Officer.
One of our great traditions with Lisa is giving each guest at her Summer Reception their own ceremonial birthday cake to take home with them.
Thanks Lisa for your service to Illinois!


text:
SAN JOSE — A man died early Friday after being stabbed at an office party in North San Jose, marking the city's 45th homicide of the year.
Police spent the morning examining the crime scene, an office at a large business complex in the 1600 block of Oakland Road, near Brokaw Road. The victim was stabbed during a party being held at an office called The Agency, police said.
Police do not believe the killing is gang-related, said Officer Albert Morales, a department spokesman.
The victim was found just before 3 a.m. after police responded to a report of stabbing in the office located in the PS Business Parks complex, Morales said.
Officers found the man suffering from at least one stab wound. He was taken to Regional Medical Center of San Jose, where he was pronounced dead at 3:38 a.m.
No suspects have been identified, and the motive behind the homicide is under investigation. The man's identity is being withheld until the Santa Clara County Coroner's Office can notify his family.
The death adds to a homicide tally that is the highest since San Jose recorded 53 in 1991, and comes on the heels of a two-year spike: 40 homicides occurred last year, doubling a 2010 count that was a 20-year low.
Contact Mark Gomez at 408-920-5869. Follow him on Twitter @markmgomez.


text:
Military Discussing Technology Release
|In the spririt of July I wanted to give you a heads up on the hottest gift this summer...
It's The UltraBeam Tactical Laser..!
Over 30,000 units have been sold already this month and they are flying off the shelf,
This picture does more justice for the laser than any words I can put down on paper!
(see image below)
There are only limited supplies which is the reason for the e-mail.
Last year - they sold their entire stock in 2 days!
Don't miss out on this rare opportunity!
Click here to claim your UltraBeam Laser!
PS. If you order today they are giving away a FREE waterproof case with every order
(see below picture)
They have limited amounts so...
Grab your UltraBeam Tactical Laser - You'll Love It
If you'd prefer not to receive future emails, Unsubscribe Here
1780 w 9000 so suite 111 West Jordan UT 84088.
music /wohl /reasonable /keyser /construction /photograph /mega /Hosted /jogo groet /beantwortet /daily Darin /thought /mail /lovemoney /connections /J /manage /definir /fragments tim /foo /Sin /prohibir /Blank /herself /acqui /pragmatisms /medica /noter /unter sainsbury /administers /routes /crain Submissions /1211 /reactions /recreation /owners /gudrun /tie /email /editor boards /tafe /footerlink /assim /acqui /palynology /ourl /prohibir /cabin /reside hoz /fruity /unter /thumbs /cropping /nkung /starchitects /treme /sz /right 2717 /explained /german /UI /novel /austerity /message /Plano /clients /altere /picks F /on /liz /thessaloniki /ship /Courses /housing /cloth /gerade /secretaris warriors /trouble /recevrez /posted /discerns /dein /presse /issn /table /zeit browser /superar /fillers /evitare /functon /novel fenton /strangely /kuvat /jogo /dunked /darin /editor /wanted irene /12pt /disputes /6 /have /booze /jun /kunde /areas /uitgebracht /Rhine


text:
Our brand
The guidelines that follow will help you correctly make use of our brand
By using our brand assets, you indicate your acceptance of our Trademark Usage Guidelines and you understand that a violation of these guidelines will result in the termination of your license and/or permission to use our brand assets.
Our logo
This is the logo that should always be used. There are two versions to ensure optimum legibility.
This is the main Shopify logo. It should be used in this form whenever possible.
Inverted logo
This version with the white wordmark works well on dark and busy backgrounds.
It's our logo stripped of its wordmark. Use it only when and where space is limited.
The main logo always comes first
However, in certain situations where space is very tight, for instance when the logo has to be within a square or circle shape, the use of the glyph is allowed.
Monotone logos
We love our main logo, so that should always be used if possible. These can be used as a substitute, only when absolutely necessary.
Monotone black
Monotone white
When can I use the monotone logos?
- When color is not an option or is too expensive to print
- Embroidered labels on apparel (branded merch)
- On top of busy photography when the full-color logo simply doesn't work
- When you have a bunch of logos bundled up together and want a clean monotone look
Spacing rules
Our logo works best when it has enough room to breathe. Follow these simple rules to make sure it's shown in its best light.
Logo spacing
For this one to show its full potential, leave at least one glyph worth of space around it.
Glyph spacing
It's best to have at least one glyph at 25% the size around it.
Minimum size
Preserving legibility in both print and digital formats is crucial.
Our logo shouldn't be smaller than 100px in width.
Printed, our logo shouldn't be smaller than 0.75" in width.
Best practices
Here's a few examples of what we should absolutely avoid when using the logo.
Trademark Usage Guidelines
These guidelines explain how you must use and visually present our brand assets at all times. Your use of our brand assets indicates your acceptance of these guidelines, and you understand that your use of our brand assets in violation of these guidelines will result in automatic termination of your license and/or permission to use our brand assets.
- Use of our brand assets must be expressly authorized in writing.
- Your use must not mislead consumers as to our sponsorship of, affiliation with or endorsement of your company or your products or services.
- Our brand assets are our exclusive property. All goodwill that results from your use of our brand assets will be solely to our benefit. You will not take any action that is at odds with our rights or ownership of our brand assets. Where used on a web page, our brand assets, as well as the mention of our name, should include embedded hyperlinks to our homepage: www.shopify.com.
- Our brand assets must be used in a respectful manner. Our brand assets may not be used in a way that harms us, our products or services, or in a manner which, in our opinion, lessens or otherwise damages our reputation or the goodwill in our brand assets. In other words, please do not associate our brand assets with any illicit or illegal activities or use them in a way that is deceptive or harmful.


text:
Channing Tatum finalises deal to star as Gambit in X-Men spin-off It seems Channing Tatum will be starring in the highly-anticipated Gambit movie after all. The 35-year-old hunk was allegedly set to walk away from talks to play the card-flinging mutant thief-turned-crime fighter in an upcoming X-Men spin-off. However, it appears negotiations have been rescued and the Magic Mike star has reached a deal to star in the film, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Scroll down for video Big fan: Tatum speaks with former head of Marvel Stan Lee, who created many of the company's iconic characters, after their X-Men panel at Comic-Con on July 11 Earlier this week,TheWrap reported the beefcake actor's reps were still in discussions, but added that 'something is up'. The 22 Jump Street star reportedly hit a snag during negotiations with 20th Century Fox studio over his compensation and the extent of his involvement in any future X-Men or Gambit films. The studio sees Gambit as a character that could spawn a number of hit movies, similar to Hugh Jackman's Wolverine films, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Looking good: Tatum attends the West End premiere of Magic Mike XXL on June 30. The star has just signed on to play Gambit in a new X-Men spin-off Tatum has long been attached to the Gambit project as a producer and made a surprise appearance at Fox's X-Men panel at Comic-Con in July. The Southern-born actor is said to be keen to play the Cajun comic book character. Gambit, whose real name is Remy LeBeau, is a thief and a ladies man.pre bonded hair What's the deal? Gambit, whose real name is Remy LeBeau, is one of the original X-Men. He can charge objects with kinetic energy and uses this ability to turn playing cards into deadly explosives He possesses the power to charge objects with kinetic energy, which somehow causes them to become explosive. His trademark move is to do this with playing cards, which he then throws at enemies with deadly accuracy. The character was played by former Friday Night Lights actor Taylor Kitsch - who was once tipped to reprise the role - in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine opposite Hugh Jackman.
That film was also Ryan Reynolds' debut as Deadpool. Quite the characters: Tatum hangs out with Ryan Reynolds, who stars in the upcoming Deadpool movie, at Comic-Con in July Both Remy and Channing come from America's Deep South. Remy is from New Orleans, Louisiana, while Channing was born in Alabama before moving to Mississippi. Besides his glowing pink playing cards, long trench coat, bo-staff, finger-less gloves and on/off relationship with Rogue, Gambit's most recognizeable trait is his thick Cajun accent, a long-time point of amusement among comic fans when his speech is written out phonetically. Tatum confirmed he was set to play the X-man - as well as the impending release date - on Twitter in January when he posted: 'How do you say October 7, 2016 in Cajun?' The actor told Empire last year that the character was his favourite superhero, adding he was confident he could pull off the OTT accent. No longer on the cards: The character was played by Taylor Kitsch in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and he was at one stage tipped to reprise the role 'I would like to play Gambit. Gambit's my favorite,' he said. 'I'm from New Orleans, around that area. My dad's from New Orleans, and I like to do a Cajun accent. I could do it for real.' 'No knock on Taylor Kitsch, though, 'cause I actually like his Gambit,' he added. But I've always lived around Cajun people. 'Gambit was always like the woman-loving, cigarette-smoking, drinking guy. He was the punk rock of all the superheroes. He's a thief. He kind of rode the line.' In the same mag, X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner said she was 'dying' to do a Gambit movie with Channing Tatum.remy hair extensions 'That doesn't have to be a great big movie. It's a thief in New Orleans, it's a whole different story,' she said. 'He's on board, and I have to get the studio on board. How can anyone resist Channing? He's such a sweetheart.' But now that iteration of the film - as well as Channing's rumoured cameo in May's X-Men Apocalypse - looks to be in danger of not happening. Chere: Gambit's most recognisable trait is his thick Cajun accent, a long-time point of amusement among comic fans when his speech is written out phonetically - and one which Chaning was confident of replicating
Chris Rock's 33-year-old girlfriend Megalyn Echikunwoke flashed a diamond ring on her wedding finger on Saturday evening while at the Apollo in the Hamptons 2016 party in New York City. The timing is interesting as the next day the comedian finalized his divorce from wife of 20 years, Malaak Compton-Rock. The ring - a yellow gold double band with a small diamond - could be an engagement ring. As PageSix revealed on Thursday, a friend shared a clear image of the ring and added it was time to celebrate 'new beginnings,' strongly suggesting the standup could be on his way to another marriage. Bling it on! Chris Rock's girlfriend Megalyn Echikunwoke flashed diamond ring on wedding finger on Sunday the night before his divorce was finalized from wife of 10 years Malaak 'Last night we celebrated new beginnings . . . #lovewins,' the unidentified friend wrote in the caption.perruques cheveux naturels The site pointed out Echikunwoke seemed to take a dig at Malaak when she replied 'Bye, Felicia,' which is a catchphrase that pretty much translates to 'don't let the door hit you on the way out,' only not as polite. A friend added crying-laughter emojis. They look good together: The standup and Echikunwoke at the Governor's Ball at the 88th Academy Awards back in February; she does not appear to have the ring on here The post was then taken down.
The beauty glowed as she held onto Rock, who was also in great spirits. She had on a lovely floral-print dress with spaghetti straps and her hair was worn down over her bare shoulders. A source told PageSix, 'she always wears that ring,' which appears to be true as she has had it on several times in the past six months. They have been dating for one year and she lives at his New Jersey home. The last one: Rock and Malaak back in 2014; they have two daughters together and have raised an adopted daughter as well His rep then said Chris was '100 percent' not engaged. On Monday Chris and Malaak both appeared in a New Jersey courtroom to finalise the split, reported TMZ. The 51-year-old comic actor and his wife - who have been separated since 2014 -have two daughters Lola Simone, 14 and Zahra Savanna, 12. Chris and Malaak Compton-Rock also appear to have been raising eight-year-old Ntombi, who first came to live with them from South Africa when she was six months old, according to the website, although details are unclear. In divorce papers, Malaak listed Ntombi-futhi Samantha as a dependent along with the Rocks' two biological daughters. The kids: Chris with Malaak and children Lola, Zahra Savanna and Ntombi at the Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted premiere in NYC in 2012 She stated that in addition to their two children, there is a child 'who has resided with the parties since before her first birthday.' But rather mysteriously, a spokesman for Chris told TMZ he does not have an adopted child.perruques cheveux TMZ previously reported that back in 2008, the family took in Ntombi who remained in their house and was subsequently enrolled in a local school. She mingles with the big guns: Chris and Megalyn with Harvey Weinstein at the Apollo party The site added that the girl's parents were thought to be unemployed and from South Africa, although it is not known why she was living with the Rock family. They add that when Chris and Malaak began divorce proceedings, Chris maintained contact with his two biological daughters. However their divorce case is sealed so it is not known what settlement was reached. Meanwhile, Chris began dating actress Megalyn earlier this year. Megalyn, who has had recurring roles in 24, ER, CSI Miami, The 4400, 90210 and Damien, was most recently featured as the animal-powered Vixen in the TV series Arrow.
Madonna surprised fans with an unexpected appearance at a 25th anniversary screening of her documentary Truth Or Dare on Wednesday. The superstar showed up at the event held at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan to the delight of the 400 or so in the audience. The 58-year-old pop culture icon shared a couple of photos on her Instagram showing her standing between two on-screen images of herself from her Blond Ambition tour of 1990. 'Surreal moment!' she wrote alongside the picture.lace front wigs Scroll down for video 'Surreal moment!' Madonna surprised fans at a 25th anniversary screening of documentary Truth Or Dare and posed next to images of herself from the 1990 Blond Ambition Tour Madonna: Truth Or Dare was first released in May 1991 and followed the Material Girl on tour and showed her behind-the-scenes with then-boyfriend Warren Beatty, praying with her backup dancers and facing arrest for public indecency at her concert in Toronto, Canada. 'So many freedoms we take for granted that we did not have then. Thank you Alek Keshishian. We changed history with this film.!' Madonna wrote.
Keshishian directed the film that was shot in black and white. Who's that girl? The pop icon, who just turned 58, delighted the 400 or so fans gathered to watch the film at the museum Of Modern Art in Manhattan on Wednesday Demure: Madonna wore an off-he-shoulder red dress with white floral detailing and cinched at the waist with a black band for her surprise appearance Sharing 'a kiki': She was accompanied by her daughter Lourdes 'Lola' Leon, 19 In a second photo shared via her Instagram, she's seen sharing 'a kiki' with daughter Lourdes Leon or Lola as she calls her. Madonna wore a red off-the-shoulder dress with a flounce neckline and black spaghetti straps.cosplay wigs The frock features white floral detailing, half-sleeves and was cinched under the bust with a black band. She added a matching black and white floral patterned purse and wore her signature blonde hair styled in loose waves to her shoulders. Madonna had just returned from a birthday trip to Cuba with Lola, 19, and adopted children, 10-year-olds David and Mercy. Truth Or Dare AKA In Bed With Madonna showed behind-the-scenes footage of the singer including candid moments with then-boyfriend Warren Beatty and prayer circles with her dancers Getaway: Madonna recently celebrated her 58th birthday with a trip to Cuba accompanied by daughter Lola, 19, and her adopted children David and Mercy, both 10


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Using data from coral reef systems across the western Indian Ocean, MacArthur grantee Wildlife Conservation Society and others have identified how overfishing creates a series of big changes on reefs that precipitate a final collapse. This information can now help managers gauge the true health of a reef — even those that appear healthy — and tell them when to restrict fishing in order to avoid a collapse of the ecosystem and fishery. Read the report.
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Tipitina's – Where Live Music Meets History
This week, Tipitina's (501 Napoleon Ave, Uptown) celebrates 35 years serving up some of the best live music the city has to offer. On the 6th, they hosted a Super Fais Do Do with Bruce Daigrepont. On the 11th, they … Continue reading


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Very bad
To many follow calls, mails and sms is very disturbing.. Else this is a good service from you
It's very rush but k
Wow superb..
Not Respond booking with docter c SPL patancheru branch centre
No proper sanitation, no mask and gloves was worn unless asked.
I will give zero. I came hear 11:30. Still I'm still hear 1:10 the service and the process it is very slow dont know y.
Very good experience.. I had with you
Very good
Very bad this time. First of all, they are least bothered after billing. They suppose to coordinate with the patient and guide accordingly. We were sitting like a fool for about 20 minutes then still no one approach. Finally, when i ask them how long do i have to wait for CT Scan. At that time they told us to go left then right. We proceed. Actually i bring an international patient for CT Scan. After some time, the patient came outside without having his CT Scan. They advise us to go to their other branch in Chanda Nagar. We have to go again today. I work in HEGDE HOSPITAL as an International Operations Manager. This is my 4 th patient since i recognised Doctor C.
Staff are friendly.
Very nice and fast action , nice experience with Tesla daignostics , chinta br . Thankyou...
Good response and got discount from Doctor C within 5 minutes.
Awesome job
Awesome experience I had with Doctor C and mainly I had less work and good benefits.
Nice staff.
No proper steps for patients and lift is not available..
Best online search website for diagnostic test with low price
Time management is not there.
Excellent Support @Doctor C
It's reasonable hood. But communication between the department s need to be improved.
Thaq for helping us in taking test at likitha Diagnostic center by DR. C. Thaq for providing Discounts at Likitha Diagnostic Centre.
Very good, Special thanks to Doctor C
Very poor service by the management. Bad behaviour as if its a trust diagnostic centre.
It wasn't good and they r taking too much time
Cheating people.
Reports are giving late and no sanitiser giving. In bill counter notvwear mask rest of good
Reports are not yet sended to mail I'd .... Said that it'll b sended till evening but dint received yet .... Rest all is Okay ☺
Long waiting time at the counter to confirm the online payment.
Very good , even i talk to person they told me clear to me .
Good information
Reports to much delay
There is a confusion on payment. Once the order number is given they automatically know the payment status as well. You may implemented in future.
Waiting for long time, went for lunch by technician
All good, but tey are expecting the their doctor consulting rather than our own doctor prescription for diahnlnodis tests. It took some time for me to convince them
Awesome, thankyou refer
Waiting time is more and no proper care regarding corona virus time no stanitizer
Early is the fast service .. Good I liked it..
Even if you don't no how to speak the person also,,?
Cooperative staff
Good response
All private labs sending reports to mails but your not doing properly I have to go again to collect report
Vikas from doctorC was very helpful and proactive
Doctor was late
Good work
Great Service
Not good
Good service 👍👍👍
Very nice and thank u for this sarvice..*
Not helpful staff
Goodjob satisfied
Thank you doctorc
Thank very nice
Card payments r getting declined.. add phone pay or google pay for easy transactions
Better Service by Doctor C and Lucid is best Diagnostics given good service.
Still waiting for ultra sound scan i thought they would treat emergency patieint first i was suffering from severe stomach pain from morning, Thanks for referring
misleading people booked through doctor C it clearly says my appointment is at kompally but that location is only for blood collection all other test will be done at different location which is far from my residence.thats totally leading am not happy with lucid service talked to zone manager guess name anil was very rude totally not professional 9704184042 my mobile #
Since I approached them through you,
Good service, u r employee venkat is good support, Thq u venkat
This guy does not lift once the test is done. He does not give good information about the delivery of the reports. The Lucid people does not lift the phones.


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The week in review
Best decision for consenting adults: The Supreme Court on June 26 overturns a Texas law banning sodomy– a decision that extends to Virginia's sodomy laws.
Best news for borrowers: The Federal Reserve drops already low interest rates to 1 percent, the lowest rate in 45 years.
Worst reason for dropping interest rates further: Economists fear deflation looms on the horizon.
Worst trend: More unemployment claims in Virginia are being denied. Also, more people are unemployed for more than a year, which means they're no longer counted as unemployed.
Best option for people who don't like telemarketing calls during dinner: The FTC launches a national do-not-call registry.
Worst conundrum for Hollymead Town Center: The Albemarle County Planning Commission agrees to rezone one part of the development– but not another.
Best West Nile indicator: Two dead crows found on U.S. 29 north of the city limits June 23 and 24 test positive for the virus.
Worst case of the early bird not catching the worm: Of the five Charlottesville School Board candidates who filed their applications before the original June 2 deadline, only the two incumbents are reappointed– along with latecomer Byron Brown. Council had come under fire for extending the application deadline.
Best graceful exit: The owners of South Street's C-Ville building agree to sell it to The Hook's editor.
Worst trash news: Over objections from cash-strapped citizens, Charlottesville caves to a cost-benefit analysis and doubles the price of trash pickup July 1.
Worst recycling news: Over objections from conservation-minded citizens, Albemarle County caves to a cost-benefit analysis and dumps its curbside recycling program July 1.
Worst threat to raw oyster eaters: Vibrio bacteria, which has sickened three Virginians and killed one. It's more of a threat during warm months, hence the traditional guideline about eating oysters only in months that contain an "R".
Worst reasons to send elected representatives to the General Assembly: To approve 32 special license plates– like the 30th anniversary of Secretariat winning the Triple Crown– in a state that already has over 200 special plates.
Best way– besides fireworks– to celebrate the 4th: The naturalization ceremony at Monticello, where 77 people will take the oath of U.S. citizenship.
Best place to buy TJ letters: Sotheby's on June 20, where eight Thomas Jefferson originals are offered. Not all sell, but the ones that do go for $2,700 to $48,000– a bargain compared to one that sold for $1,439,500 in December 2002.
Best cash for Montpelier: $1,080,000 of the federal kind heads for James Madison's former digs for a new bridge and entrance road.
Worst penalty for holding up the Wood Grill Buffet with a BB gun: 13 years, the sentence Dansko-wearing Vance Brown receives for the April 2002 robbery.
Worst escape attempt: Fugitive James Hope Turner tries to elude police by hopping on a tiny pink bike and pedaling about 30 feet before he's nabbed, according to a Reed Williams story in the Daily Progress.
Worst arrest reaction: A woman wets herself when her two companions are arrested at a Royal Inn Motel bust June 30, the Progress reports.
Seventh best nationwide ranking: Albemarle County, for its information technology services, according to the 2003 Digital Counties Survey.
Worst shameless self promoting: At this year's regional American Marketing Association awards, The Hook wins the Gold Award for print advertising for its Meriweather Mowing Service ad.


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An online discussion on European Value Chains (EVCs) following up from Interreg Europe community's preference poll to respond to COVID-19 emergency.
On 16 July, the Policy Learning Platform organised an online discussion on the topic Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health.
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Finding information, partners and solutions – Platforms to help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.
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Read about the priorities set out for the German presidency of the council of the European Union at this crucial time for the EU.
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Would you like to work in an environment that's engaging, positive, and feels like a second home?
Are you looking for opportunities to learn and grow?
If you answered yes, then we might be the clinic for you.
We are a small animal veterinary practice in the Carrollwood area of Tampa. We have been a staple in the community for over 30 years. We are a thriving practice that strives on preventative care, client education, and pet wellness. We have a family like atmosphere focused on positivity, growth, and quality of care. We are seeking an energetic, dynamic veterinarian who is passionate about medicine and the human/animal bond. We desire someone who enjoys engaging clients and staff, while exhibiting strong leadership skills.
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It is the policy of the company to afford equal opportunities to all applicants and employees regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, non-disqualifying disability or status as a disabled or Vietnam era veteran.


text: adidas has been in skateboarding for a lot longer than you might realize. Gonz has been down with the three stripe since the late 90's, skateboarding's golden era. These days, with him on the team along with top pros like Dennis Busenitz, adidas remains one of our favorite shoe brands at The Boardr. We also have the pleasure of working closely with adidas on other things in skateboarding like adidas Skate Copa and their other projects in skateboarding.Shop adidas


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After the hot, droughty summer, peanuts in North Carolina and Virginia developed a serious problem with spider mites in August and into September.
"Spider mites have been a real problem here," says David Jordan, North Carolina State University Extension peanut specialist. "We expect them in dry weather, and they have been pretty widespread. They feed on foliage and can cause leaves to shed off."
Farmers have turned to chemical control, but it is not a quick fix. "You don't get 100 percent control since spider mites are down in the canopy and sometimes underneath the leaf itself," says Jordan. "Also, it is relatively expensive."
This year, there were also some difficulties because distributors don't keep on hand a lot of the two chemicals — Danitol and Comite. "It was a bit of a challenge getting the chemicals where they needed to be, but I think the farmers that wanted it were able to obtain it."
Farmers had to ask themselves whether or not a particular field would still make a crop if it got some adequate rainfall soon, says Rick Brandenburg, Extension entomologist. "If the answer was 'not very likely,' then the value of a spider mite spray may be in question. If the field still had potential and there was some rain in sight, then it may be worth the investment."
Controlling mites usually requires two applications about three to five days apart, he says. "Treating one time often will not stop a spider mite problem because Comite or Danitol will not kill the eggs. Unless it rains, mites almost certainly will come back with a vengeance in a couple of weeks."
In a two-spray strategy, the first gets the mites, and the second gets all the mites that have hatched from the eggs present during the first spray, he says.
"Mites love hot and dry weather, and they have had a summer to remember," says Brandenburg.
The Tar Heel peanut crop doesn't look very good, Jordan says. "It's been such a dry year. The crop is really spotty. Much of it has been dry the last couple of weeks (to Sept. 7), and the foreseeable future doesn't look real good."
The growth and maturity have been held back, he says. "This crop will probably mature later, but farmers who don't have many nuts on the vine may decide there is not much reason to wait on harvesting."
Jordan estimated that the statewide yield would be about 2,700 pounds per acre, down from 3,100 pounds the year before. A yield that low would mark the end of a good run. "For several years, we have been averaging over 3,000 pounds per acre."
One odd note about this season: "We haven't seen a tremendous amount of incidences of symptoms of tomato spotted wilt," says Jordan. "But it may be there and disguised by the effects of the drought."
Bob Sutter, chief executive officer of the North Carolina Peanut Growers Association, thinks the crop will be average to below average in North Carolina, with a yield close to 2,800 pounds.
The crop varied widely with some farmers looking at good crops and some at poor ones, he said.
There was some relief from the drought late in August, when quite a few farmers got some rain and their peanuts started growing again. That means some cooperation will be needed from the weather in the fall.
"If you got rain, you are hoping now that the first frost will be late this fall so your crop will have a chance to get set and matured," says Sutter. "If we can get through October without a frost, most of our growers probably will be okay."
There seemed to be no rain in sight at the beginning of September and the better crops were going down fast.
There should nevertheless be sufficient supply to meet the demand for North Carolina peanuts, Sutter says. "The buyers will have the opportunity to find what they need, but not necessarily from the farmers they contracted with."
In Virginia at the beginning of September, peanut plants were finally closing most of the rows and were adding a late crop, says Joel Faircloth, Virginia Tech Extension cotton and peanut specialist.
That was good news, he says, because the drought took care of the early crop. "What we make will be the late part. That being said, the rain has ceased again for the past 10 days and peanuts are again showing signs of drought stress. Digging will start in the third week of September, as things look right now, and maybe a little earlier in places."
A lot of the diseases normally expected had not shown up by early September. "We haven't seen sclerotinia except in the cool snaps," Faircloth says. "That is good because it is frequently a very expensive disease to control.
"Also, we haven't seen much CBR, but it could still come in. We don't have much to control it with."
The peanut- and cotton-growing areas of southeastern Virginia got some much-needed rains late in August.
"Peanuts probably benefited more from the August rains than the cotton since it only takes 25 days to put on a peanut pod," Faircloth says. "I am not sure what the yield will be but it will probably start with a two. I am hoping we reach 2,700 pounds per acre. There is very little of the crop that I would characterize as excellent."


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2019 Japanese CD reissue.
Astounding sound quality - almost SACD level. With the bonus that you don't need a SACD player.
In an unusual setting for a groove/soul jazz setting, B3 organist extraordinaire big John Patton creates a band around himself that includes Grant Green, drummer Otis Finch, and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. It's truly weird to think of vibes on a groove date, but the way Patton's understated playing works, and the way Green is literally all things to all players, Hutcherson's role is not only a clearly defined one, but adds immeasurably to both depth and texture on this date. What also makes this possible is the symbiotic relationship between Patton and Green.
There is a double groove conscious swing happening on every track here, from the bluesed-out slip and slide of the title track which opens the record to a killer version of Hank Mobley's "The Turnaround," which expands the blues vibe into solid soul territory because of Hutcherson's ability to play pianistically and slip into the funk groove whenever necessary. Green's deadly in his solo on the track, shimmering arpeggios through Patton's big fat chords and chunky hammering runs.
Also notable are Patton's own tunes, the most beautiful of which is "Latona," a floating Latin number with a killer salsa rhythm in 6/8. As Patton vamps through the chorus, Green slips in one of his gnarliest solos ever. It begins with a groove like run in the hard bop blues and then shoves itself into overdrive, capturing the cold sweat of a Bola Sete or Wes Montgomery in his groove years. But when Green goes for the harmonic edges, all bets are off: Hutcherson lays out, and he and Patton go running to the bridge and bring the melody back just in time to take it out. This is one of the least appreciated of Patton's records, and there's no reason for it; it is great.
Thom Jurek ~ AllMusicGuide
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Your Complete Guide to the Best Back-to-School Nails
You've heard of updating your wardrobe for back-to-school, but what about your nail polish collection? Just like clothing, lacquer trends are revamped for the runway every season, and we've worked out your fall cheat sheet to get you up to speed. This year there are five overarching themes to play with—but use them as a guide, not a rule book! Mix trends together, add some impromptu nail art, pair surprising shades...whatever makes your look unique. But let's start off with something super chic, shall we?
Sharpen those #2 pencils, give your new varnish a vigorous shake, and get ready for your total mani update.


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You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'tax optimization' tag.
The steady march of technology's ability to handle ever more complicated tasks has been a constant since the beginning of the information age in the 1950s. Initially, computers in business were used to automate simple clerical functions, but as systems have become more capable, information technology has been able to substitute for increasingly higher levels of human skill and experience. A turning point of sorts was reached in the 1990s when ERP, business intelligence and business process automation software reduced the need for middle managers. Increasingly, organizations used software to coordinate activities as well as communicate results and requirements up and down the organizational chart. Both were once the exclusive role of the middle manager. Consequently, almost every for-profit organization eliminated management layers so that today corporate structures are flatter than they once were. Technology automation also eliminated the need for administrative staff to perform routine reporting and analysis. Meanwhile, over the course of the 1990s, the cost of running the finance department measured as a percentage of sales was cut almost in half as a result of eliminating staff and because automation enabled companies to scale without adding headcount. During the last recession, companies in North America and Europe once again made deep reductions to their administrative staffs, relying on information technology to pick up the slack.
Given this history, the best career choice that an individual can make today is to stay ahead of the trend. Information technologies, especially cognitive computing, will continue to eliminate relatively high-paying white-collar jobs in corporate life, especially in the finance and accounting function. Executives and others working in tax departments in particular should recognize that a major shift is under way in their field. Automation will transform their work over the next five years, driving a fundamental change in what they do. To succeed (or even survive), they will have to embrace automation.
Spreadsheets are a major impediment to making the tax function more strategic for a company and more remunerative for those working in the department, as I have noted. Our Office of Finance benchmark research finds that half (52%) of tax departments use spreadsheets only for tax provisioning and another 38 percent mainly use spreadsheets; just one in 10 utilize a third-party tax application. One well-known issue with spreadsheets is that they are error-prone – not a risk that tax professionals can be comfortable with. To be certain that the tax provision and other tax-related calculations are correct, individuals must double- and even triple-check the numbers. This overlaps with a second major issue with spreadsheets: They are time-consuming. Our spreadsheet research finds that those working heavily with spreadsheets on average spend 18 hours a month (equivalent to more than two full workdays) just maintaining their most important spreadsheet. Spreadsheets as so time-consuming that they prevent individuals from doing more valuable work, in this case tax analysis and planning.
Another related issue is that using spreadsheets for the tax function diminishes visibility into a company's tax provision in at least two respects. First, using them takes so long that executives get to the numbers late in the financial close process. This matters because of the impact that tax expense has on a company's profits. Second, spreadsheets are black boxes: That is, they are difficult to control, and it's difficult for anyone other than the spreadsheet's owner to understand their construction. Often, assumptions are buried in formulas and therefore hard to uncover. If these formulas are inconsistent or wrong, it's not easy to spot them. (This was an important factor behind J.P. Morgan's multibillion dollar trading loss, which I discussed.) When a spreadsheet is constructed with a given formula repeated in multiple cells, each of these must be updated when circumstances change, and it's difficult to be certain that all of the changes have been made. Even with advanced techniques designed to make updates consistent, it's hard to be sure that some cell wasn't overwritten with another number.
Some people who work intensively with spreadsheets still view them as a form of job security because of their opacity. They think they're indispensable because they are the only one who understands how their spreadsheet works. This is one of several reasons why their use persists in functions where they constitute more of a problem than a solution. However, these spreadsheet jockeys should recognize that their tools' inherent inefficiency, lack of visibility and proneness to error make them vulnerable to being replaced by better technology. The real value of tax professionals is not their ability to overcome spreadsheet limitations. It's in their training in understanding income taxes. Once freed from the drudgery of performing computations, massaging data and checking (two or three times) for errors, tax professionals can turn their attention to performing analytical work aimed at optimizing a company's tax spend – and thus ensuring their value as employees.
Midsize and larger organizations, especially those that operate in multiple direct (income) tax jurisdictions and that have an even moderately complex legal entity structure, must use dedicated software to automate their income tax provision and analysis functions. They must manage their tax-sensitized data using what I call a tax data warehouse of record. Tax departments must be able to tightly control the end-to-end process of taking numbers from source systems, constructing tax financial statements, calculating taxes owed and keeping track of cumulative amounts and other balance sheet items related to taxes. Transparency is the natural result of a having controlled process that uses a unified set of all relevant tax data. An authoritative data set makes tax department operations more efficient. As noted, reducing the time and effort to execute the tax department's core functions frees up the time of tax professionals for more useful analysis. Having tax data and tax calculations that are immediately traceable, reproducible and permanently accessible provides company executives with greater certainty and reduces the risk of noncompliance and the attendant costs and reputation issues. Having an accurate and consistent tax data warehouse of record enables corporations and their tax departments to better execute tax planning, provisioning and compliance. Using dedicated software today rather than relying on spreadsheets helps the tax department, and those working in it, increase their strategic value today so they won't be obsolete tomorrow.
Robert Kugel – SVP Research
One of the issues in handling the tax function in business, especially where it involves direct (income) taxes, is the technical expertise required. At the more senior levels, practitioners must be knowledgeable about accounting and tax law. In multinational corporations, understanding differences between accounting and legal structures in various localities and their effects on tax liabilities requires more knowledge. Yet when I began to study the structures of corporate tax departments, I was struck by the scarcity of senior-level titles in them. This may reflect the low profile of the department in most companies and the tactical nature of the work it has performed. Advances in information technology have the potential to automate most of the manual tasks tax professionals perform. This increase in efficiency will enable tax departments to fill a more strategic, important role in the companies they serve.
In the past (and still in many organizations today) there was a sharp pyramid of value-added work in the tax function, with tax attorneys at the top, corporate counsel in the middle and tax practitioners at the bottom. The tax attorney, versed in the intricacies of laws and their applications – especially in cross-border situations – typically has had the greatest ability to minimize tax expenditures. The role requires a combination of inspiration and art to see the underlying logic of tax laws and legal structures to be able to apply creative interpretations to black-letter statutes and has been rewarded accordingly. Senior corporate counsel has weighty responsibilities and therefore merited elevated titles. But the role of tax preparation has been oriented toward functional execution. It typically is done hard-working experts who have limited impact on policy and decision-making. Because the workings of this group are particularly sensitive, it also has a culture that attracts people who tend to be tight-lipped and not given to self-promotion. This hierarchy has helped to keep tax matters outside of the mainstream activities of the corporation, as I have discussed.
Today, information technology can flatten the value-added pyramid by automating routine work. Doing this can give skilled practitioners in the tax department more time to spend on value-adding analysis and contingency planning because they spend less time on data gathering, data transformation and calculations. Increased productivity creates more time to find tax or cash flow savings, as well as to provide better-informed guidance on alternative strategies. To accomplish this, corporations must automate their tax provisioning process; most will benefit from having a tax data warehouse, which I have written about. However, our recent Office of Finance research finds that this is not widely done. Instead almost all midsize and larger companies (90%) use spreadsheets exclusively or mainly to manage their tax provisioning process, including calculations and analysis, and this demands manual effort.
Desktop spreadsheets are not well suited to any repetitive collaborative enterprise task or as a corporate data store. They are a poor choice for managing taxes because they are error-prone, lack transparency, are difficult to use for data aggregation, lack controls and have a limited ability to handle more than a few dimensions at a time. Data from corporate sources, such as ERP systems, may have to be adjusted and transformed to put this information into its proper tax context, such as performing allocations or transforming the data so that it reflects the tax-relevant legal entity structure rather than corporate management structure. Moreover, in desktop spreadsheets it is difficult to parse even moderately complex nested formulas or spot errors and inconsistencies. Pivot tables have only a limited ability to manage key dimensions (such as time, location, business unit and legal entity) in performing analyses and reporting. As a data store, spreadsheets may be inaccessible to others in the organization if they are kept on an individual's hard drive. Spreadsheets are rarely documented well, so it is difficult for anyone other than the creator to understand their structure and formulas or their underlying assumptions. The provenance of the data in the spreadsheets may be unclear, making it difficult to understand the source of discrepancies between individual spreadsheets as well as making audits difficult. Companies are able to deal with spreadsheets' inherent shortcomings only by spending more time than they should assembling data, making calculations, checking for errors and creating reports.
On the other hand, a tax data warehouse addresses spreadsheet issues. It is a central, dedicated repository of all of the data used in the tax provisioning process, including the minutiae of adjustments, reconciliations and true-ups. As the authoritative source, it ensures that data and formulas used for provisioning are consistent and easily audited. Since it preserves all of the data, formulas and legal entity structures exactly as they were in the tax period, it's far easier to handle a subsequent tax audit, even several years later. In this respect a dedicated tax data warehouse has an advantage over corporate or finance department data warehouses, which are designed for general use and often are modified from one year to the next as a result of divestitures or reorganizations.
Another benefit of automating provisioning and having a tax data warehouse is that this approach provides greater visibility and transparency (at least internally) into tax-related decisions. This gives senior executives greater certainty about and control over tax matters and allows them to engage more in tax-related decisions. In companies where executives are more engaged in tax, the tax department gains visibility. Also, because automation enables better process and data control, external auditors spend less time examining the process and tax-related calculations in financial filings, and it cuts the time the tax department might need to spend in audit defense with tax authorities. Process automation enables tax departments to increase their efficiency and give members more time to apply their tax expertise to increase the business value of their work, thereby flattening the value-added pyramid.
The scope of the value that tax practitioners can add is broadening because having greater visibility into the methods used in direct tax provisioning will be increasingly important. I have noted that companies that have significant operations in multiple tax jurisdictions are likely to face a more challenging future. While I'm skeptical that there will be a massive change in how tax authorities manage cross-border tax information soon (which is more a reflection of the competence of the taxing authorities than their motivation), it's worth assuming that it will grow at least gradually and therefore companies must be prepared to deal with increasingly better-informed tax officials. Transparency also fosters consistency in tax treatments and the ability to manage the degree of risk that CEOs, CFOs and their board are willing to take on in weighing how conservative or aggressive a corporation would like to be in how it handles taxes. This is another way for tax practitioners to increase their value and visibility in their corporation.
Forward-looking companies have been making the transition to automating their direct tax provisioning process, redefining their approach to managing taxes and giving their tax departments greater visibility. It's unlikely that these companies are using desktop spreadsheets to any meaningful degree. It's not clear when the mainstreaming of the tax department will be common, but it's probably at least several years away. Evidence that a fundamental shift has occurred in how corporations manage their income tax exposure will exist when a majority of midsize and larger companies use dedicated software rather than spreadsheets for this function. That's also likely to be when Senior Vice President – Tax becomes a common title. This promotion won't be the result of title inflation. It will happen because the tax department's role will be important, making a bigger, more visible contribution to the company as practitioners focus more on analyses that optimize tax decisions and far less on the calculations and other repetitive mechanical processes that consume time but produce little value.
I recommend that every CFO of a company operating in multiple tax jurisdictions with even a slightly complex legal structure consider automating tax provisioning and deploying a third-party (rather than a custom-built) tax data warehouse.
Robert Kugel – SVP Research


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Ava Anderson can't run — not yet anyway. And the only iron she pumps comes via her tiny spoon. Then again, she's just 13 months old.
But Ava was born with a genetic blend that will infuse her body with the explosive bursts of a power athlete and the steady engine of marathoner. Someday, this baby may blossom into a multisport, cross-training double threat. That's not parental conjecture. That's her DNA profile.
Her mom and dad had her tested.
Like more than 200 other parents to date, Hilary and Aaron Anderson paid $149 to Atlas Sports Genetics — a Boulder, Colo. company — for a sneak peek at their kid's athletic horizons.
The Andersons received a home-analysis kit to check whether Ava has the inborn knack for strength sports (like sprinting) or endurance sports (like cycling). Then, to get the genetic scoop, they simply brushed the inside of Ava's cheek with two cotton swabs, sealed the samples in a baggie and mailed them to an Australian lab used by Atlas. Although there are 20,000 strands of human DNA, the lab hunts for variations of just one: ACTN3, which can predict certain athletic skills, some experts believe. Five weeks later, the Andersons heard the verdict.
"She's a mix," said Hilary Anderson, who wasn't surprised by the results given that she is tall and lean and that her husband once trained for the U.S. Olympic weightlifting team. "If she came back all endurance, we'd probably focus more on the long-distance type things. Likewise, if she was all strength, we would direct her toward power sports. This will let her try all sorts of things."
Added pressure?
But the Andersons also understand one more thing about the test: It is drawing fire from scattered coaches, therapists and genetic experts who worry some parents will misuse the data and that the young science will inject even more pressure and politics into childhood games.
"It is simply dangerous," said Casey Cooper, a sports psychologist who hosts a radio show on KLAA-830 AM in Anaheim, Calif., and mother of a 5-year-old. "The more we professionalize sports younger and younger, the more we contribute to the youth drop-out rate for sports. My reaction: Save your money because to (genetically) type your child like this is only going to land them in my office later. And I charge $150 [per session]."
At the same time, some coaches say locker-room chemistry could be shattered if roster cuts or playing time are influenced by the knowledge that one player is genetically gifted — or not.
"Wow, I just think you're opening a Pandora's Box with team dynamics," said Chad Onken, an assistant coach of the swim team at the YMCA of the Triangle in Raleigh, N.C. The youthful squad has won six national titles. "You're talking about a small problem that could blow up to something pretty huge. "
"So many parents thought their kid was going to be the next Bo Jackson (a former pro football and baseball star). There are going to be those parents, unfortunately, who push their kids, who live through their kids," said Hilary, a personal trainer who played college volleyball. "For us, this was just a little side thing to help make it be fun. If Ava would rather do music or dance, that's fine."
Atlas president and co-owner Kevin Reilly acknowledges being uneasy about clients who receive DNA results that dampen the sports dreams they hold for their kids — for example, if they learn their little boy is not genetically apt to excel at a power sport such as football.
"I think this may be a gut check for parents to look at their motives as well: What's in the best interest for my child, (to ask themselves) what do I want them to be and what do they want to be," Reilly said.
What's more, the test can't predict a future NFL star, Reilly said. It merely reveals if a child has the genetic markers common to people who succeed in either power or endurance events. In short, Reilly is selling the product as a parental "tool," a DNA roadmap, a device to eventually expose children to the sports they were born to play.
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The sports-DNA test has one gaping blind spot as well, YMCA coach Onken said. It can't measure an athlete's desire, while natural talent doesn't always translate into a winner. The YMCA of the Triangle, which includes 350 kids from ages 7 to 18, has produced Olympic hopefuls and college-scholarship swimmers. Some of those, Onken said, excelled purely on heart and hard work. He compared them to the tiny-but-driven Notre Dame football player profiled in the 1993 movie "Rudy."
"I can think of too many 'Rudy' types who overachieved here," Onken said. "And I can think of too many playground basketball legends who could jump over a backboard but never made it off the playground."
Science in question
The science, however, has doubters.
This much is known: We all have the ACTN3 gene; we get one copy from each parent. As with many genes, though, ACTN3 can take different twists. One version of the gene — the R variant — steers the body to produce a protein that builds more fast-twitch muscles, used for potent surges of energy. The X variant, meanwhile, blocks that protein. People who inherit two sets of the R variant may be naturally engineered for power sports. Those who carry two X variant copies may have better stamina.
The "mixed pattern" people — like Ava Anderson — "may be equally suited for both endurance and sprint/power events," says the Atlas Web site.
But Carl Foster, who co-authored an ACTN3 study and who heads the human performance lab at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, points out that multiple genes fuel athleticism, and scientists are just beginning to learn which are most vital.
"So why do you want to spend money looking for one gene?" Foster asked. "You want parents to be supportive of their kids' endeavors. You don't want them to try and program their kid. And the kinds of people with disposable income are probably the kinds of people where that's always a trap for them. They're accomplishment-oriented.
"They say, 'Well, I want my kid to be the best he can be.' Of course. It's God, mother and apple pie. You can't vote against it. But at some point you'd like to say: Maybe just go to the Y and put your kid in a sports class and just see if they like it."
© 2013 msnbc.com. Reprints


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Serious Cookies: Shuna Fish Lydon's Shortbread Recipe
Shuna Fish Lydon, or her internet nom de plume eggbeater, has been baking sweets in New York and California kitchens for over 15 years. She now resides in London as the pastry chef of Gail's Bread. When asked for a "Serious Cookies" recipe, Lydon responded with the classic buttery biscuit, shortbread. Why? She types from across the pond:
As a restaurant pastry chef I am always looking for highly adaptable repertoire recipes. Components, if you will. I love this shortbread recipe because it has the ability to make any butter, any addition shine. I have used it as a base and a lid, a tiny button of a bite and a wide shape for drama. It will take on and keep any shape you make it and the dough can continue to be rolled until you use it all up. All it asks is that you treat it right.
Be sure and freeze or refrigerate these shortbread cookies before they enter your pre-heated oven, and look for through and through color--not merely color on the edges. Think of shortbread as you would a roast: bake slow and low and you will be rewarded with a tender, buttery cookie whose applications are endless.
I like thinking about shortbread in relation to roasted meats.
What's New On Serious Eats
- 8 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 1/2 ounces sugar
- 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- Dash of vanilla extract
- 9 ounces all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons minced herbs
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice; or 1/2 a vanilla bean, scraped; or 1 tablespoon finely ground toasted hazlenuts; or 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
Cream butter until smooth, add sugar and salt and cream a bit further, but do not beat ferociously as you do not want to incorporate air. Mix in all additions, one at a time, and fold in the flour gently but well.
Wrap dough as a flat disc and refrigerate for 2 hours.
You may do any number of things with this shortbread. I like to roll it out (sheet) between two pieces of parchment so as to get an even cookie without adding any more flour, which will make this cookie tough. If you sheet the dough, you may use any shape cutter. Shortbread can also be re-sheeted this way until you have no more dough.
You may also roll it in a log and chill or freeze log, baking only what you need when inspiration strikes you. If you go the log route, you may want to roll log in raw or turbinado sugar and then slice. Slice rounds no thicker than 1/2 inch.
Preheat oven to 300°F or 150°C.
Place cookies on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. If the bottom of your oven runs hot, double pan to ensure safety of your cookies. Set first timer for 15 minutes, at which time turn pan around to get an even bake. Set second timer for 8 to 12 minutes, but depending on your oven they may need a little more time.
With shortbread it is very important that a low and slow bake takes place and that the cookie is evenly dark golden. Color is flavor here. Think of it this way: In shortbread, your aim is to confit the butter.
Shortbread will keep two days at room temperature, although they are best eaten the day they are baked.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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Scratching - Round 2.1??0 comments Posted by Matt Grover at 3:27 pm
Ok, went out earlier, got the 14 cards
Feeling a little aprehensive... after all, as I mentioned in the previous post, the last 14-card-combo didn't end too happily, although this time it's 14 of the same type.
Well I had to go through 10 sequential cards (the numbers are on the bottom right of the card) before hitting a winner with a value of £2, the only winning card in this lot.
Still in the game tho, let's see where this £2 leads... probably nowhere.
So far, over two rounds of the "game" I've put in a total of £4 and played a total of 61 cards, 58 pig ones and 3 of the £100,000 ones. All the winning ones have been pig ones, so for that card...
58 cards played = 46 lose + 12 win (1 in 4.83??)
Highest winning so far was on the first lot, being £20, and accrued winnings (which doesn't work but hey) of £61.
Labels: getsomehelp
Slashdot.com - Stuff that matters1 comments Posted by Matt Grover at 12:26 pm
Scratching Sensation0 comments Posted by Matt Grover at 7:40 pm
Or minor gambling addiction, you decide. Well don't, because I already know the answer. ;)
It's not an addiction per-say, just too much time on my hands I think, anyway... I decided not to vlog this one, I think you've endured enough of me scratching for now, so here's just the words and pictures, but not together in a magical moving form (unless you blink really quickly and shake your head).
So, at the end of the last installment, I'd been left with a single card winning £1, well that one lost. Damn, so ends the streak and I put it down to the 3 different cards that I took on the last lot. I'm not bitter tho.
That card was part of a mass scratching between myself and three others (Jim, Carrie and Vic), various cards were scratched, mostly the pig ones and a few Indiana Jones ones, there were a couple of wins that got exchanged for more cards and then subsequently lost, but that's the nature of the beast.
So starts a new round. I went to the shop, spent £2 on 2 pig cards and one of them won.
10 more of the same please
So far the only thing I'm rolling in is scratchcards. Moving on, this is the part where you, if you feel the need, can go back and re-watch the middle part of the last video, and imagine that the cards are these new ones, and try and channel some positive energies to me.
The positive energies worked thank you!! Out of these 10 cards 4 of them won..."HOW MUCH?!" I hear you scream in moist anticipation...£14!! True it's not the £8,000 yet but I'm still in the game, this time a combo of 2x £1 (sequential cards btw) a £2 and another £10 pig. Now I should go right out and get some more in the hope that I don't skip any of the cards on the roll, but that ain't gonna happen tonight, so I'll probably get them tomorrow.
My concern is that we're now into the same situ as before, 4 cards winning £14, does this mean I'll only be able to get 11 of pig ones again? Will I miss out on the big win? What of the odd card I saw the shop assistant put to one side before tearing me 10 fresh ones of the roll? Will I ever cash in a card? When will I find something better to do?
Labels: getsomehelp
Scratchcards - More...0 comments Posted by Matt Grover at 10:53 pm
(again if you're on Facebook click "view original post")
Labels: vlog
Scratchcard - The outcome1 comments Posted by Matt Grover at 2:50 pm
Ok, here it is, what did I do with that winning card?
(for people seeing this on Facebook, you'll have to click "view original post" up there, cos there's a video here)
Let me know, comments here, twitter, facebook wall, youtube, email, text, branded guinea pig
Labels: vlog
Showreel update (April 2008)1 comments Posted by Matt Grover at 4:48 pm
Not many additions, but it's been updated with a few bits from the past month.
Not sure about the Twango.com/Ovi encoding, but thought I'd give it a go.
Be sure to check the website, also updated and thouroughly iWebbed until I learn better CSS n stuff.
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Spring photos: Volume 4
With or without Vernon Wells, the show must go on. It's moving day tomorrow for the Jays, who will pack up camp after their morning workout and move shop to Dunedin Stadium. As for today, I spent some time snapping some more photos. Enjoy.
Third baseman Scott Rolen during Monday's workout
Infielder Kevin Millar during Monday's workout
Catcher Rod Barajas during Monday's workout
Third baseman Scott Rolen moving to another practice field
Ace Roy Halladay winding up during a live BP session
Second baseman Aaron Hill during batting practice
Center fielder Vernon Wells (10) talks with Aaron Hill during BP
Ace Roy Halladay delivering a pitch during batting practice
Third baseman Scott Rolen gloves a ground ball during fielding drills
Third baseman Scott Rolen fielding a grounder
Right-hander Jesse Litsch during his live batting practice session
Catcher Michael Barrett during batting practice
Catcher Michael Barrett talking with reporters by the batting cage
Manager Cito Gaston behind the batting cage
Shortstop Marco Scutaro during batting practice
Outfielder Adam Lind during batting practice
Outfielder Adam Lind during batting practice
Third baseman Scott Rolen during batting practice
16 Comments
Congrats on being #11 on the Latest Pro Bloggers Leader's List!
Hey, on the MLB blogs, JB is numero uno, by a long shot, so I'm not sure about this 11th place stuff. Where is this list posted?
By the way is anyone else struggling to get on here sometimes, or is it just me? The log in page hangs almost each time I log on. Did MLB downgrade their servers again? lol
Thanks go to the loyal readers for helping MLBastian rise to 11th. Let's work on getting this blog in the Top 10. I think that says something about the Jays' fan base. Out of 30 beat writer blogs, I believe I currently rank 7th (Of course, it helps that MLBastian has been around since the 06 season). I was hovering between 16-20 among all pro blogs until this latest boost. Maybe being on twitter and taking photos is helping create some traffic. Whatever the case, keep it up guys and gals.
Congrats JB on #11! I'm a new reader, and i've really enjoyed your postings this spring. I look forward to reading this blog as the season goes on!
GS, i've had a hard time logging in as well, but being a new poster, I thought that is how the log-in always was!
I was looking up Michael Barretts stats, and not too long ago this guy was a pretty solid hitter. 2006 he hit .307/.368/.507. I know Rod Barajas is slated to have the starting job, but if Barrett is healthy and can return the offensive threat he used to be, he could take that job from Barajas. Barrett has much better disipline and on a team full of predominatly free swingers I think he would be a welcome addition. Could turn out to be a saavy pick up for all you JP haters out there.
i was pondering jp and cito's recent use of double negatives, in the past few days I've heard "I don't see him not making the team" several times. Thats such a strange way of putting it sounds like a JPism if I ever heard one.
Jorden, can you remind us of the mailbag email address? I couldn't seem to get into the archives to find it. Either that or follow me on Twitter and I can message you.
hey jorden, i was wondering if any of the players ever read your blog? it would be fun to know they do or to get one to post or to come on some night. that might get you some more people, move you into the top 5, which should be our goal.
JB, is the ranking based on number of posts or how do they base it?
If it's on number of posts then come on guys and gals, lets get JB to number one which is where he belongs.
Hard to tell with Barrett. I assume he will be a reasonable back up, but my preference is still to bring up Arrencibia instead. Although, Arrencibia is only 23, he's the first guy and only one of two in the entire Jays organization to drive in 100+ rbi's last year along with 27 hr's.
The reason I want him here is I think he'd learn faster under Cito/Tennace than any coaching we have in AAA-no offense to them, but Cito is one of the best batting coaches in the MLB as far as I'm concerned and he brings young players along better and faster than anyone in the game.
If we're going to try to content in 2010, I think we need to get guys like him up here and accimatized and ready to go for next year. It also would put us into a positon to trade Barajas at the deadline.
A federal investigation into the skimming of signing bonuses given to baseball prospects from Latin America is looking at Washington Nationals general manager Jim Bowden as far back as 1994, when he was GM of the Cincinnati Reds, according to a baseball executive familiar with the investigation.
Two sources inside baseball say that a long-time scout in Latin America, Jorge Oquendo, 47, is the man who links the FBI's investigations of Bowden and his special assistant Jose Rijo to that of former Chicago White Sox senior director of player personnel David Wilder.
Last May the White Sox fired Wilder and two Dominican-based scouts after allegations surfaced that they had pocketed money earmarked for player signing bonuses. Oquendo worked for Wilder in 2006 and 2007, as well as for Bowden with the Reds in 1994 and again with the Reds from 2000 through 2003. Oquendo left Cincinnati in 2005, two years after Bowden was fired. (Bowden became Nationals GM in 2004.)
If the feds lay charges here, I'd expect a full blown investigation into each and every club's Latin and other offshore operations and signings. Combined with all the drug scandals hitting now and over time, MLB is going to have a serious credibility problem if they don't start cleaning this muck up. They are risking killing the golden egg if this crap continues.
I don't think the plan for Arencibia is to start the year in the Majors. He has only reached AA and sure he put up good numbers but throwing him at Major League quality arms without proper development could actually slow him down. The best AAA pitchers are comparable to the worst Major League guys. Not disagreeing that this guy will need some time in the show to get ready for next year. But when he finally does get called up they will work him in gradually. Therefore the Jays need a quality catcher to probably catch around 90-100 games this year. I think Barrett has a chance to surprise. I don't know how well Cito and Tenace work with the young guys compared to other teams around the league but saying that they are the best is a pretty bold statement. I think there are alot of other teams out there who have the numbers to back it up might be a bit better. The coaching in the minors is in place to develop players, and get them ready for the big leagues and if the coaching so inadequate that you must call up players before they are ready then you have a major problem on your hands.
Arrencibia has been tested against the very best minor league arms in the AFL this last fall. He was named to the AFL rising star team and the AFL All-prospect team.
I'm not disagreeing Barrett could do an adequate job as back up, I'm just saying why do it when we want to acclimatize Arrencibia for next year anyway. Barrett won't make the difference as to whether we contend or not, but Arrencibia could be here for the next ten years.
Starting him off as back up now is working him in slowly for next year-that's my whole point. Bringing him up in September and having him start one or two games isn't.
I do tend to agree that pitchers shouldn't be called up early, I disagree on position players. I also disagree with your slowing them down comment. Fact is there's an adjustment to be made for the show, regardless of what happens in the minors. In this case, he's already had 7-800 minor league at bats, plus a ton more at the college level, and hes generally hit better at each level. Most guys claim they can see the ball better here than the minors because lighting is better. So who knows.
This is the current rankings for MLB and fan blogs. Note Major League Bastien is # 11 , Brownies Points ( Redsox) is # 21 and Bomber's Beat # 4 . Great job Jordan , we need to get you into the top 10 then to Number 1 , though we believe you are already number 1 .
Mailbag is either firstname.lastname@example.com or firstname.lastname@example.com. I'm due to due an Inbox soon for the site. Probably later this week. Stay tuned. … And the blog rankings are based on page views, I believe.


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Pelosi visits Sacramento, praises state budget
House Minority Leader also applauds Obama's tactics in Iraq
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on a Monday visit to the state capital called for minimal military involvement in Iraq and praised California for passing a timely budget.
The San Francisco Democrat and former House speaker was flanked by Gov. Jerry Brown and other elected leaders to open the California Democratic Party headquarters.
In her remarks, she praised the state Legislature for passing a $108 billion budget on Sunday before the midnight deadline. After the event, Pelosi told reporters it could have included more money for social services.
"We have an endless need for early childhood education and issues like that which I think are really critical to the success of our families as well as our state and our country," Pelosi said, mirroring similar sentiments from liberal advocates who wanted more money to help low-income Californians.
She praised the budget for making ongoing payments to the state's bullet train project using a fund meant to reduce greenhouse tax emissions. Pelosi brushed asides concerns that Kevin McCarthy, the Bakersfield Republican expected to become the new House majority leader and a vocal high-speed rail critic, would dash the prospects of federal funding for the project.
"I know we would have the funding from D.C," Pelosi said. "But one of the excuses they would use is, 'well we don't know if they are going to have any funding from California.' That question has been answered."
Pelosi's visit came hours after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in an interview with Yahoo News that the U.S. has not ruled out military cooperation with Iran in response to rising violence and deteriorating security conditions in Iraq.
Pelosi said she was open to such discussions, though military officials have downplayed the prospect since Kerry's comments.
"When they say military, as long as they don't mean boots on the ground, then we can talk about something if it means providing equipment or some other assist," said Pelosi, who favors President Barack Obama's call for Iraqi leaders rather than the U.S. military to resolve the sectarian violence.
Pelosi also said she would support providing arms to "responsible rebels" in Syria.


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Wonderfully soft & versatile, Tosh Chunky is a plied, chunky weight yarn that is great for everything from accessories to garments. The combination of beautiful stitch definition & saturated color palette will give every knit a special, one of a kind look.
Fiber Content: 100% Superwash Merino Wool
Weight: Chunky/ Bulky
Gauge: 3.5-4 stitches per 1" on US 9-10 (5.5-6mm) needles
Weight/ Yardage: 165 yards
Care: Machine wash, lay flat to dry
Country of Origin: Hand-dyed in Texas from ethically sourced Peruvian wool