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Day One, Another Perspective
Day One, Roy Smith (Dodger Vice President, Scouting and Player Development)
The first day of Spring Training is like the first day of school—you have a mix of nervousness and anticipation. When I played it was nervousness about being ready and making the team. I have found that my feelings as a front office person are similar. Now I am anxious to see our new players and how they interact with the new coaching staff.
Another common feeling that's shared between players and front office people is optimism. Every year in your mind, you believe this is going to be the best season you've ever had. Now I'm hoping that all our moves pay dividends and that our winter of hard work will culminate in a championship.
Yesterday the theoretical became reality and you just don't know how it will look until you see it. I hope I never lose any of these feelings .
238 Comments
Can you give us any information on Miller and Billingsley? Do either look like they could make the club this year? Also, what does the addition of Baez mean for Brazoban?
As an avid Dodger fan, I can say that I am really excited and anxious for the season. It is so awesome to have all these great prospects and I hope to see them on the major league team soon. I want to congratulate you and the rest of the player development dept. on rebuilding this farm system the way you have.
Just want some input from the fans and experts. Anyone know if Colletti is even remotely thinking about bringing Sosa on board? He'd answer the upgrade as a power corner outfielder, come in on the "cheap" (possibly 1-2 million?), and really add some thunder and take it away from the Giants and Angels. I would think he's been humbled by the off season of no action, and just 3 years ago, he was one of the best power hitters. I don't know if he could do left field, and how much is left in the tank, but I think it's a HUGE improvement over Cruz/Repko/Ledee/Werth. I think the positives totally outweigh any negatives. Plus I think with Coletti and Grady's people skills, I think they could pull it off and keep him in check. What do you think?!?
Anyone out there get the feeling that Colletti is probably not done with the roster yet? We have a logjam of back-up middle infielders vying for 1 roster spot. We have a surplus of middle-relievers, and some dead weight like Choi. We seem to be in need of one more reliable-power bat for the outfield, especially in light of Drew's and Werth's fragile natures. So, I can envision a trade (probably like a 3 for 1) coming toward the end of spring training to bring in that power bat and eliminate some players who deserve to be on the 25-man roster but would likely have to be cut. I'm just wondering who Colletti may be eyeing.
Todays lineup:
•Tony Gwynn Jr., LF
•Rafael Furcal, SS
•Andre Ethier, RF
•Matt Kemp, CF
•James Loney, 1B
•Juan Uribe, 3B
•Dioner Navarro, C
•Jamey Carroll, 2B
•Rubby De La Rosa, P
I guess I can see why the Phillies-Braves would be a much better national game. Two real teams as opposed to a couple of piles of cellar caliber crap.
Good afternoon gang.
The local station has the Braves-Phillies on, so here I am.
I hope Rubby gets the win today. With Lilly on the bump tomorrow, it's a given they will lose. He always gets lit up pitching day games.
Hi'Ya VL. Yep, Lilly tomorrow doesn't give one an optimistic feeling.
Great AB from Dre there! Make him work!
So, how many protesters are there? Any McCourt dolls hanging from nooses?
Nice heat!
URIBE for the most pathetic overpaid player of the year award.
Special recognition for Ned for signing him. Ned's had a lot of those awards in his relatively few years.
Way too many Bear. Heard that Frank isn't real happy with his signings of Lilly and Uribe. Geez, he should have been gone after the Phew and Cow debacles, if not the Schidt mess. Frank is too broke to fire him.
Well, he is one of the few players that we could actually get something for. I would like to see Carroll go to a contender(except the VaGiants or Cardinals) where he can get a shot at a ring. He deserves better than this crap.
I wish the Dodgers would just cut the bullshit facade and admit this season is toast. Get what you can get and unload some bad contracts if you can. If you look at the numbers, this team has been done for at least a month. A little hot streak going into the AS break and coming out of it isn't going to change that. We need to play .600 ball the rest of the way just to get back to .500. Beside the fact that there is not a player available that is going to make a significant difference. And that is supposing that we only need one player. Which is ludicrous. We need 3 or 4.
No matter where we finish in the standings, my hopes for this season are that we finally are freed of the McCourt ownership, and we get a real legitimate owner.
Ned, Conte, Honeycutt, and Dildon are thrown out with the bath water. We unload some crap contracts and possibly get some prospects.
The young kids are brought up to see what we've got going forward.
And, we have a hand in the VaGiants not winning the division.
Well, the good part is, Nobatro is probably playing his way off the roster when Badajass comes back. Although Badajass is not really much better. Of course, Neddy won't see it that way since Ellis has options left.
~~Grrrrear~~ warming up. It must be your day Trumom. LOL!!
Nice job Rubby. He's at 98 pitches. I think I would let him go back out in the 7th.
Velez pinch hitting. How's that for a wasted AB.
Fucking Pathetic, Geez!!!!
Wasting away again in Juan Uribeville!!!
Says alot when they walk a .270 hitting, slow, no power hitter to get to you.
Urectum is pathetic!
Aaaand so is Nobatro!
Yep, he's such a rancid turd, he doesn't even draw flies.
Daaamn! That's pretty foul! LOL
A no hitter would be apropos for this buncha crap.
BTW, if someone would take Carroll, I'd trade him in a heartbeat.
You would be doing him a favor.
For some reason, I've never taken a cotton to him.
I'll take Carroll over Fecal any day.
Damn! Even Charlie on the radil broadcast mentions "The way the Dodgers have been playing lately, a leadoff walk constitutes a rally."
Phew. NH still intact.
The ineptitude on this team is only surpassed by its inability.
I think you just hit on the true story of this team. Inability!!!
But on the bright side, they ALL wanted to be Dodgers.
Because no one else wanted them or was dumb enough to sign them.
Ned is trying to get nectar from turds!!
Prune juice, prune juice and prune juice. I call it Ned's Same Old Shit.
Oooh! The agony!!!
Ohhhhhh the humanity!!! This team can't even go down in flames. Just sink to the bottom of the bowl. I hope the new owner remembers to flush and put the seat down.
But hey, they're grinding. Grinding to a halt!!!
I've hated that term since JoJo the Clown started saying it. Instead of friggin grinders, why don't they go out and get a few REAL ballplayers.
I bet you do!!
I hear Jamie is quite a grinder.
Wouldn't it be ironic if Urine and Nobatro won this freaking game.
Holy shit!
Wow Uribe and Navarro who would've throught that?
The bullpen did a nice job today.
Rubby and the bullpen.
Hey Tru, did they announce the attendance? How many did it look like were actually there?
Criminies, my internet cuts out on me and by the time I get it back up, the game's over. How in the hell did those two ever manage to do anything?
Heh, heh, heh……. Well tomorrow is actually a battle for the cellar. Nice win but probably insures that we are stuck with Nobatro and Ned will now switch to buyers mode.
Hope these guys aren't actually getting their hopes up though after this team meeting thing. Afterall, it is only the Mets and Puds.
Hey, we're back in this thing. Get Pathednik on the phone.
To bad the Padres would score runs off of Lilly tomorrow.
Dodgers win! Navarro walk off hit gives team three straight shutouts for the first time since July 25-27, 1991!
Look like Braun is out and McCutchen in.
I like Ryan Braun, but I am very happy for McCutchen. Very deserving!!!!
Look like Jones is out for Rolen didn't see this one at all.
Joe Buck would 'happily step aside' for Vin Scully in World Series
Amazing. Twelve MLB teams are on the plus side, attendance-wise in 2011 vs 2010. Eighteen are down, including the Boston Red Sox, who are down an average of 9 fans per game.
MLB on the whole is down 268,474. If the Dodgers were even (using yesterday's numbers), MLB would be up 126,387.
We've passed the 400,000 mark today.
Game 49 attendance (2010): 45,151
Today's attendance courtesy of trumom: 29,744
Greater than last year = 8 / Less than last year = 40
2nd straight game of negative attendance
Games less than 30,000 this season – 7
Games less than 30,000 in 2005 – 2010: none
Last game was 9/14/2004 – 29,704
Lowest attended game of the year: Game 8 – 27,439
Largest single game drop: Game 18 (55,662 – 28,419 = 27,243)
2010 attendance (49 games) – 2,205,498 (45,010 average)
2011 attendance (49 games) – 1,795,230 (36,637 average) #9 in MLB
Drop of 410,268 total
Average drop of 8373
Extrapolated for 81 games – 678,198
Projected 2011 final attendance – 2,967,625
2010's final attendance – 3,562,318 (#3 in MLB)
Next game's (50) attendance in 2010 – 42,299
Crowds less than 30,000 in 2010: none. 2011: 7
Crowds 30,000 – 39,999 in 2010: 10. 2011: 29
Crowds 40,000 – 49,999 in 2010: 28. 2011: 9
Crowds 50,000 – 55,999 in 2010: 7. 2011: 1
Sellouts (56,000) in 2010: 4. 2011: 3
Just for fun, here's MLB's figures through yesterday's games:
It's great to see Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and even the A's up in attendance. Surprised not to see Baltimore up, and sad, but much needed, to see LAD dead last.
So, did you make it to the protest today?
How can the Red Sox be down? Is not like they have a 40,000+ stadium.
GREENLAWN, N.Y. (AP) — Police on New York's Long Island are investigating the death of a 2-year-old girl who was choked by the electrical cord of an air conditioner.
Malana Ingram was rushed to a hospital where she was pronounced dead just before 1 p.m. Saturday.
Police say the child got entangled in the cord, which was attached to an air conditioner installed in a wall about 6 feet off the floor at her home in Greenlawn, about 35 miles east of New York City. She was found by a family member.
Both family members and police performed CPR on the child before she taken to the hospital.
How in the hell do you let this happen?
Good question Shad!!! I am sure there is more to that story like where in the hell was the supervision. Not that anything will happen to the parent (or responsible party) anyway. At least it didn't take 31 days to find the child.
(apologies to "Field of Dreams")
People won't come, Frank.
They'll stay away in droves for reasons you can't even fathom. Your parking lots remain empty, and you're still not sure why they're doing it. Your ankle-biting tantrums have taken the innocence from fans looking to connect to the past. "Dodger Dogs are only a dollar today," you say. "Parking's only 15 dollars a car". They'll pass on you without even thinking about it, for it's ethics and fortitude you lack.
And you'll see empty bleachers, the stadium quiet on a perfect afternoon. A sea of reserved seats along the baselines, which Los Angeles filled from the time they were children and cheered their heroes. And they watch the game from home, and know, today, that the magic is gone. The memories so thick, they have to brush the tears from their faces.
People won't come, Frank.
The one constant in L.A. through the summers had been baseball. Then you rolled in with your army of litigating steamrollers. Dodger tradition under you has been erased like a blackboard, clumsily redrawn, and erased again.
But the fans mark the time. This field, this team, is a part of OUR past, Frank, a past you never could understand. It reminds us of all that once was good, and, once you're gone, all that will be good again.
On that day, the people will come, Frank.
People will MOST DEFINITELY come.
Northstateblues – THAT was pure awesomeness!!!
Thanks Nelly. Boredom has its benefits, heh
Mainly, it was just the feeling of reading THAT rumor again (you know the one). It just irks me that the 3 people that thought they were "in control" of the situation (Frank, Jamie and Bud) shouldn't even be left in control of a $$@$# Chia Pet.
It's the feeling that, whatever it was that brought the team to L.A., whatever it was that endeared the team to the city in the days before the Lakers started winning championships the Dodgers couldn't answer, whatever it was, it might be gone. Once Pandora's Box scatters, you can't pick up the pieces again. And whatever the reasons for the boycott, they have an effect like Chemotherapy. Sure, you're fighting the cancer, but all the cells close to it too, and the whole body ends up feeling like crap, and you have to wait a length of time to know whether it even had the desired effect.
Amid the flotsam, we have players on this team that are as good as anybody in franchise history. And they're young, if the days of Dodger Tradition seem far away to us, imagine if those days even enter the consciousness of players in their early-to-mid 20's who grew up in the heartland of the nation.
It's scary the fire that we're playing with. And I don't have enough faith in Bud Selig to know for sure that this clown won't still be in control of the team once all is said and done.
Well, folks, today we have the "Battle for the Basement"! Are we ready to rrrrummmmmmbllllle?
Congrats to the U.S. Women's Soccer Team!!!
Playing against a 'stacked deck,' being short handed for 45 minutes, and some seriously biased officiating, they showed some serious tenacity, and nerves of steel to win in a PK shootout after tieing it up right before extra time ran out!
That's the best soccer match I've ever seen – hands down – men, or women.
Talk about an epic battle! Bye Bye Brazil. Hello semifinals.
Todays lineup:
1. Gwynn, LF
2. Furcal, SS
3. Ethier, RF
4. Kemp, CF
5. Loney, 1B
6. Uribe, 3B
7. Navarro, C
8. Miles, 2B
9. Lilly, P
The lineup doesn't matter. The question is whether we can string another shutout together. The onus is on Lilly. Does Lilly have what it takes?
What I take away from the anti-Frank demonstration, all the letters to LA Times, and the boycott and otherwise reduced attendance is that all of LA wants Frank to GO. If he insists on holding on to the franchise, he will never again make any money with it here in LA. He would really be so much smarter to just SELL NOW. The value of the franchise with him in charge can only go DOWN. With the attendance and franchise loyalty in the pits, why would any cable company offer Frank a decent deal for the TV rights?
Sorry, but I happen to think the lineup matters alot. You can't expect to get a shutout every game out and these are the guys that have to score the runs and play defense.
Thanks Dad/Eric for the attendance status update. I think it is amazing that some people are trying to say that the huge decrease in attendance is not directly related to the Dodger fan bases disgust with the McCourt ownership. There have been other seasons when the team was not very good, and attendance did not suffer.
Nice posts North. This is a trying time to be a Dodger fan. Just waiting for the next shoe to drop. Everyone knows what the right thing to do is. I'm just hoping and praying for the day we have a new owner (GM, Manager, Trainer, Pitching Coach) and can put this horrible episode behind us.
Everyone knows the right thing to do but Frank.
The sad thing is, if it were the owner of almost any other team, sticking it to his silver spooned ex-wife and the Commissioner dumb enough to put him in place for his own nefarious reasons, I'd be rooting for him. But not the owner of the Dodgers, Giants, Yankees, Red Sox or Cubs. No. Those teams are too big to screw around with. But Allan H. "Bud 'How long do I have to wear the rubber pants?' 'Until you learn, son'" Selig had to go punchdrunk with ego, tugging on Superman's Cape, spitting into the wind, and pulling the mask off the ol' Lone Ranger with reckless abandon throughout his tenure. I'd gladly let him take his own medicine if it wasn't the Dodgers.
Frank is a moron of the first degree, for sure, but he's just the bomb. Bud put him there, and he made sure the fuse was extra long (as he did with McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, Clemens, etc.) so he could run far enough as to appear on the other side by the time the media takes enough time to notice after a long day of sticking their camera lenses up the skirts of whoever Jeter or A-Rod's with this season. "Oh, my, what's going on here?", he scoffs behind curled lips in a righteous intonation. (YOU'RE THE COMMISSIONER, MORON! IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN YOUR OWN LEAGUE, GET THE HELL OUT!)
In trying to preserve the sport, Bud Selig destroyed the integrity of it, in the second-largest market in the nation, none the less. But how could he have known? He probably spent the last year in Milwaukee admiring and polishing that statue.
As big as his ego is, Frank is definitely the smallest fillet in this fish fry.
Why was everyone complaining about Gordon's hitting when Fecal is only hitting .189?
This team needs to go on a long losing streak after the all-star game so that even Ned won't be a buyer.
Damn, SD must really want the basement.
How is it we can have more runners thrown out at the plate trying to score from third on a ground out than I've ever seen before?
Gonna be hard to beat out these guys for the cellar. Should have gotten alot more out of that inning.
Just watched the replay of Johnson's HR – that "crowd" is embarrassing. Goodluck to any creditors loaning Frank money of ever getting paid back. Suckers!!
Wow, we're really grinding!!!
Ludwick was a FA last offseason right? Not that he's the most wonderful LFer in the league, nor the bestest hitter, but how is it we ended up with Thwibbons instead? At least Ludwick has some power and can drive in a few runs.
Leave it to Ned. I'm sure he's pulling his wood right now thinking about being a buyer in late July.
Most true closers aren't worth the big bucks they get paid, so barring Ned doing something stupid (I know, what are the odds of that?), who's next year's closer?
Barring new ownership, anyone think as I do that Miles is next years everyday 2B? I'm thinking Ned gives him 2-3 years and of course, he'll go back to his career norms.
Scary ain't it?!!!
And of course, Uribe's the everyday 3B.
Next years FA pool is basically a dung. Nothing worth a shit at 2nd except Cano. Yanks aren't going to let him go.
Second basemen
Clint Barmes (33)
Willie Bloomquist (34) – $1.1MM mutual option with a $150K buyout
Orlando Cabrera (37)
Robinson Cano (29) – $14MM club option with a $2MM buyout
Jamey Carroll (37)
Alex Cora (36)
Craig Counsell (41)
Mark Ellis (35)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (36)
Aaron Hill (30) – $8MM club option for 2012 and $8MM club option for '13
Omar Infante (30)
Joe Inglett (34)
Kelly Johnson (30)
Adam Kennedy (36)
Felipe Lopez (32)
Jose Lopez (28)
Julio Lugo (36)
Aaron Miles (35)
Augie Ojeda (37)
Brandon Phillips (31) – $12MM club option with a $1MM buyout
Knowing Ned, if he can't get Miles to resign he'll go for Lugo. Afterall, he's familiar with him.
No offense to all you ladies out there, but Maybelline advertising on Gameday is like John Deere advertising on Lifetime channel…
Still trying to put lipstick on the pig eh?!!!
That and eyeliner. They want this pig ALL gussied up for the bankruptcy judge.
WTG Andre!!! Nice way to head for the AS game.
What do ya think? Maybe 10 thousand people actually there today?
Oh come on!!!!
Whew!!!! That was close!!! A sweep!!! How about that!!!!
Damn what is this crap? The all seem to have Broxton disease.
Why didn't Kuo pitch to 2 guys? You would think he would've pitch the 8th by now.
Oh crap another Giants made the AS in place for Reyes geez really.
The Yankees' CC Sabathia(notes), the Rays' James Shields(notes), the Detroit Tigers' Justin Verlander(notes), the Seattle Mariners' Felix Hernandez(notes) and the Philadelphia Phillies' Cole Hamels(notes) all were knocked out because of their starts. Sabathia had been bypassed when rosters were announced a week ago, but replaced Shields when the Tampa Bay pitcher appeared Sunday.
Added as All-Stars Sunday were the Yankees' David Robertson(notes), the Texas Rangers' Alexi Ogando(notes), the Seattle Mariners' Michael Pineda(notes), the Toronto Blue Jays' Ricky Romero(notes), the Arizona Diamonbacks' Miguel Montero(notes) and the Pittsburgh Pirates' Kevin Correia(notes).
I'm glad to see Montero make it but I think Hudson should've made it over Cain and Hanson over Lincecum.
Thirty five thousand? Right. That means over half-full? Right.
Game 50 attendance (2010): 42,299
Today's attendance courtesy of trumom: 35,249
Greater than last year = 8 / Less than last year = 41
3rd straight game of negative attendance
Games less than 30,000 this season – 7
Games less than 30,000 in 2005 – 2010: none
Last game was 9/14/2004 – 29,704
Lowest attended game of the year: Game 8 – 27,439
Largest single game drop: Game 18 (55,662 – 28,419 = 27,243)
2010 attendance (50 games) – 2,247,797 (44,956 average)
2011 attendance (50 games) – 1,830,479 (36,610 average) #9 in MLB
Drop of 417,318 total
Average drop of 8346
Extrapolated for 81 games – 676,055
Projected 2011 final attendance – 2,965,376
2010's final attendance – 3,562,318 (#3 in MLB)
Next game's (51) attendance in 2010 – 44,626
Crowds less than 30,000 in 2010: none. 2011: 7
Crowds 30,000 – 39,999 in 2010: 10. 2011: 30
Crowds 40,000 – 49,999 in 2010: 29. 2011: 9
Crowds 50,000 – 55,999 in 2010: 7. 2011: 1
Sellouts (56,000) in 2010: 4. 2011: 3
Dodgers' Ned Colletti gets vote of confidence from Frank McCourt
Looks like Frank 'n' Furter together til the end, friend.
Home Run Derby Time!
Robinson is in the minor league HR derby.
This is response to Wally saying he was going to go to my blog and deluge it with comments. Meant to say Wally instead of Beav.
"haha Beav!
Hi Everyone! I've been absent. busy as a bee. I was at SABR41 convention from Wed 7/6 to 7/10 I had such a great time there! Met wonderful baseball geeks. I attended sessions and also volunteered. I loved the tour of old ballparks in Los Angeles. I tweet more than I go to facebook and have not had a chance to update my blog. I was over the limit on pictures on my blog so got to figure out where to put the pics or delete some that I have there.
Anyway, I was tweeting Sunday that I had an extra four tickets to the Lake Elsinore game against the Visalia's Rawhides. It was part of the SABR convention activities. I gave the tix to fans waiting in line to buy tix. Nice cozy stadium.
I video taped Wes Parker talking outside of a session. He seemed like he was having as much fun talking as we were having listening to him. Never made it inside the session 'cause we caught him outside and he just talked and talked and answer all our question. Love Wes!
I've been so busy I have not read my Sat and Sun paper so I missed Eric's letter. I got home about midnight last night, started reading my papers and fell asleep. Now I won't get home till 10ish catching up at work. But had a great time in Minn and at SABR41 convention. BTW, Wally made that comment on my bday.
A vote of confidence from the Confidence Man.
Fan nearly falls from stands during homer derby.
Anyone was alive to see game 4 of the 1947 WS? I wonder what the PC back than was and how in the heck you can walk 10 guys and not get pulled but of course he had a no hitter going and the Yankees could've gone up 3 games to 1.
Marcus Thames is gone. Now all we have to do is get rid of Navarro, Uribe, Lilly, …………., Colletti, and McCourt and we'll be home free!
Dodgers get Juan Rivera (yes, yet another yawn) from the Blue Jays in exchange for a PTBNL.
From Twitterville – Ned must love crappy players named Juan – LOL!!!


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A raunchy new teaser for Lindsay Lohan's newest controversial film "The Canyons" was released Monday.
The grainy Grindhouse-style clip features stars stripping off and getting down, a bit of gore and the schlocky tagline, "Where the sex is as cheap as the budget…and the only way out is death!"
Lohan's character Tara is described as "sweet as sin" while X-rated film star Deen is cheekily described as a "'huge' new talent" and "the boy next door gone bad."
According to the teaser's YouTube page, the teaser for the upcoming Bret Easton Ellis flick was made to resemble thrillers from the 1970s. Two more teasers made to resemble 1950s melodrama and 1930s comedy will soon follow.


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Platform Pedal Shootout!
2018 Update for best pedal:
- high range: Gamut Podium for class, weight, height, uniqueness, aesthetics, performance, size, desirability with roots in the SF Bay Area Point One Racing small CNC operation, 3rd generation design lineage
- low range: Lixada Y2259B for value, comparable to any VP/HT/Wellgo ultra-thin-light-wide pedal, and an unbeatable value $24-29 shipped to your door from multiple online sources
As a single speed rider, I prefer the simplicity and get on and ride how you come approach. The general rule when it comes to pedals is, if you cant ride with flip flops or jack purcells, your bike is a failure.
Figured I could pop this in any category like singlespeed or 29er but downhill freeride riders are the most renown for rocking platform pedals in even the most intense, dangerous gravity induced situations successfully.
While weight is often shaved and marketed in connection points on the bike (saddle, handlebar, pedals), these are the most important to me to feel solid to the rider. Saving weight elsewhere is a better move 'cause the solid feel equals confidence.
I reviewed four foundational pedals. While all superb pedals, I found the winner of these four - the Sunline V-One platform pedal.
Atomlab Trailking: an innovative design that has been copied by everyone, the 17mm thin crowd got its inspiration from this pedal. Sweet looks, my favorite in the looks department, CNC machined minimal with a fantastic shape and really looks tits mounted to a single speed and is thinnest body of the lot. Due to DU bushings (which are the least desirable), it develops play quite easily, so have a stash of DU bushings for replacements and the problem is solved. Atomlab is good about providing these replacements and they're fast, simple to replace with an allen key. The performance is least of the lot due to pin placement, flat body, and DU bushings - my foot has slipped jumping off street curbs! Studs did rip a number of holes and lines into my shins causing permanent scarring and for the lackluster amount of grip they provide, wasn't worth it. The newer Pimp and Pimplite mag pedals have resolved the DU bushing issue with sealed bearings while staying with a similar shape. 540g pair, $100
Easton Flatboy: a design that is over ten years old! Classic, beefy, concave and grippy. Comes in only ano black, matches your Easton cockpit. A bit boring as the design hasn't changed for decade - meaning the pedal works well! 572g pair, $75
Syncros Mental Stainless Steel: the rawest of the bunch, made of stainless steel versus aluminum like the others. Also like the fact that you dont see rebrands of this pedal 'cause they're so ugly, no one is going to copy them. Random non-bike people will ask you about the pedals. A whopping weight penalty, almost double that of the other pedals, but it's easily justified as these just are the last to break from any ravishing hit or scrape. I treat them badly and they look identical to new. I really like the way these spin and the heaviness works by providing a solid connection to the bike. Lifetime warranty on the bodies to prove it! 800g pair, $80
Sunline V-One: Solved the problems of the Atomlab Trailkings by using loaded sealed bearings, concave body, and added the machined pyramids from the Brooklyn Machine Works Veggie Burgers and notorious Shin Burger pedals. When the stud screws are installed on top of the pyramids, your foot is not slipping, at all. Best grip of the lot. Anodized gunmetal blue titanium to match the Sunline V-One cockpit. Also very close to the Hope Tech X2 Pro Mini carbon fiber edition anodization. 580g pair, $120
MTBR reviews 5 stars for the V-One's: https://content.mtbr.com/cat/drivetr...92_135crx.aspx
This shootout comparison test is missing some serious talent, help me fill that in, MTBR members!
Shimano DX, Straitline, Burgtec Penthouse, Odyssey Trailmix, DMR V12, NYC Freeride Glory Hole...
Brooklyn Machine Works (CNC) Veggie Burger: Brooklyn Machine Works Veggie Burgers Pedal user reviews : 5 out of 5 - 26 reviews - mtbr.com
Canfield Brothers Crampon: Canfield Crampons 6 month review = they are solid- Mtbr.com
Point One Racing Podium: Point One Racing Podium Pedals short review- Mtbr.com
Answer Rove FR, Nukeproof Proton, Deity Decoy and the lot of re-branded HT Components (Taiwan) pedals. Hey, if you can get the HT originals for fifty bones with titanium spindles at under 300g, who's to say?...
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Kolosej (TC Ušće) - Snooker Hall
3-stop 4EV HDR full 360° panorama. Snooker hall in shopping center Ušće, Belgrade.
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Sec. 31-354. Second Injury Fund contributions. Duties and powers of State Treasurer. (a) There shall be a fund to be known as the Second Injury Fund. Each employer, other than the state, shall, within thirty days after notice given by the State Treasurer, pay to the State Treasurer for the use of the state a sum in payment of his liability under this chapter which shall be the special assessment premium surcharge and shall be assessed in accordance with subsection (f) of section 31-349, sections 31-349g, 31-349h and 31-349i, this section, section 31-354b and sections 8 and 9 of public act 96-242*. Such sum shall be an amount sufficient to (1) pay the debt service on state revenue bond obligations authorized to be issued under and for the purposes set forth in section 31-354b including reserve and covenant coverage requirements, (2) provide for costs and expenses of operating the Second Injury Fund, and (3) pay Second Injury Fund stipulations on claims settled by the custodian or other benefits payable out of the Second Injury Fund and not funded through state revenue bond obligations and shall be determined in accordance with the regulations adopted pursuant to the provisions of section 31-349g. The custodian shall establish a factor for the annual special assessment premium surcharge that caps such surcharge for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1996, 1997 and 1998. In determining such factor the custodian shall consider the funding mechanism authorized by subsection (f) of section 31-349, sections 31-349g, 31-349h and 31-349i, this section, section 31-354b and sections 8 and 9 of public act 96-242*, recognize that an acceptable level of employer assessment is important to the vitality of the economy of the state and nevertheless shall assure provision of services to injured workers that enhances their ability to return to work and improve their quality of life. In any event, such factor shall not exceed, with respect to insured employers, a rate of fifteen per cent on the standard premiums with respect to workers' compensation and employers' liability policies and, with respect to self-insured employers, a comparable percentage limitation representing their pro rata share of any special assessment premium surcharge. Any employer who fails to pay in accordance with such regulations shall pay interest to the State Treasurer on the sum at the rate of fifteen per cent per annum from the date the sum should have been paid until the date of payment. The State Treasurer shall notify each employer of the penalty provision with the notice of assessment. Effective July 1, 1993, whenever the assessment is levied, the State Treasurer shall pay to the fund, on behalf of the state, a sum not to exceed the total amount of money expended by the fund on behalf of state employees during the period following the last assessment. The sums received shall be accounted for separately and apart from all other state moneys and the faith and credit of the state of Connecticut is pledged for their safekeeping. The State Treasurer shall be the custodian of the fund and all disbursements from the fund shall be made by him or his deputies. The moneys of the fund shall be invested by him in accordance with applicable law and section 8 of public act 96-242*. Interest, income and dividends from the investments shall be credited to the fund. Each employer, each private insurance carrier acting on behalf of any employer and each interlocal risk management agency acting on behalf of any employer shall annually, on or before April first, report to the State Treasurer, in the form prescribed by the State Treasurer, the amount of money expended by or on behalf of the employer in payments for the preceding calendar year. Each private insurance carrier and each interlocal risk management agency shall submit annually, on or before April first, to the State Treasurer, in the form prescribed by the State Treasurer, a report of the total standard earned premium collected in the preceding calendar year and a report of the projected total standard earned premium for the current calendar year. The fund shall be used to provide the benefits set forth in section 31-306 for adjustments in the compensation rate and payment of certain death benefits, in section 31-307b for adjustments where there are relapses after a return to work, in section 31-307c for totally disabled persons injured prior to October 1, 1953, in section 31-349 for disabled or handicapped employees and in section 31-355 for the payment of benefits due injured employees whose employers or insurance carriers have failed to pay the compensation, and medical expenses required by this chapter, or any other compensation payable from the fund as may be required by any provision contained in this chapter or any other statute and to reimburse employers or insurance carriers for payments made under subsection (b) of section 31-307a. The assessment required by this section is a condition of doing business in this state and failure to pay the assessment, when due, shall result in the denial of the privilege of doing business in this state or to self-insure under section 31-284. Any administrative or other costs or expenses incurred by the State Treasurer in connection with carrying out the provisions of this part, including the hiring of necessary employees, shall be paid from the fund. The State Treasurer may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, prescribing the practices, policies and procedures to be followed in the administration of the Second Injury Fund.
(b) The State Treasurer shall establish within the Second Injury Fund three accounts to be known as the operating account, the settlement account and the finance account which accounts shall be held separate and apart from each other. The operating account shall cover the costs and expenses to the state of operating the Second Injury Fund. The settlement account shall cover actual disbursement of the settled claims whether by one-time full payments or by payments over a period of time. The finance account shall contain such funds and be operated in the manner provided in section 31-354b.
(1949 Rev., S. 7494; 1949, 1951, S. 3056d; 1958 Rev., S. 31-221; 1959, P.A. 580, S. 12; 1961, P.A. 491, S. 80; 1967, P.A. 842, S. 21; 1969, P.A. 696, S. 15; 1971, P.A. 351, S. 1; 1972, P.A. 136, S. 1; P.A. 77-119, S. 1; 77-554, S. 2; P.A. 79-376, S. 51; P.A. 81-469, S. 6, 8; P.A. 82-472, S. 110, 183; P.A. 85-189, S. 5; P.A. 86-21; 86-25; P.A. 87-277, S, 1, 4; 87-589, S. 58, 87; P.A. 88-29, S. 1, 2; P.A. 89-68, S. 2; P.A. 90-230, S. 54, 101; 90-311, S. 2, 3; P.A. 91-32, S. 37, 38, 41; 91-339, S. 38, 55; P.A. 93-228, S. 26, 35; 93-429, S. 3, 7; P.A. 95-277, S. 15, 16, 19; P.A. 96-242, S. 6, 10.)
*Note: Sections 8 and 9 of public act 96-242 are special in nature and therefore have not been codified but remain in full force and effect according to their terms.
History; 1959 act created second injury and compensation assurance fund and transferred assets of second injury fund to it on October 1, 1959; 1961 act entirely replaced previous provisions; 1967 act required that fund be maintained at one hundred thousand dollar level rather than fifty thousand dollar level; 1969 act required self-insurers to pay one and one-half per cent rather than one per cent of their liability payments for preceding year, increased level at which to be maintained to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, specified uses to which fund is to be put and required payment of assessment as a condition of doing business in state; 1971 act made provisions applicable to mutual insurance companies; 1972 act required payment of assessment within thirty days after notice by treasurer rather than "annually on or before July first", increased payments to not more than two per cent of preceding year's liability payments and replaced requirements re two hundred fifty thousand dollar level to be maintained in fund with provision allowing treasurer to make assessments to cover expenditure and maintain fund at five hundred thousand dollar level; P.A. 77-119 increased assessment rate to three and one-half per cent; P.A. 77-554 specified that funds be used for adjustments in compensation rate; P.A. 79-376 replaced "workmen's compensation" with "workers' compensation"; P.A. 81-469 provided that the amount of money expended by a carrier in payment of the state's liabilities under this chapter shall be exempted when calculating the payment due under section; P.A. 82-472 made a technical correction; P.A. 85-189 provided that each employer, other than the state and certain municipalities, is liable for assessments levied by the state treasurer to fund the second injury and compensation assurance fund; P.A. 86-21 provided that assessments shall be levied by the state treasurer against employers on whose behalf the second injury fund has made payments pursuant to Sec. 31-355; P.A. 86-25 increased the maximum assessment from three and one-half to five per cent and increased the fund's minimum reserve from five hundred thousand to one million dollars; P.A. 87-277 added provision re payment from fund of costs or expenses incurred by treasurer in carrying out provisions of part E of chapter 568; P.A. 87-589 changed effective date of P.A. 87-277 from July 1, 1988, to July 1, 1987; P.A. 88-29 added an interest penalty to be imposed on any employer who fails to make payment of an assessment when due to the second injury fund under the Workers' Compensation Act; P.A. 89-68 provided that the fund shall be used to provide the benefits set forth in Subsec. (c) of Sec. 31-306; P.A. 90-230 corrected an omission; P.A. 90-311 removed the exemption from payment for municipalities participating in interlocal risk management agencies, effective July 1, 1991; P.A. 91-32 made technical changes; P.A. 91-339 added provisions re payments to the fund by the treasurer on behalf of the state and deleted reference to dependency allowance; P.A. 93-228 raised the amount of money to be contributed to the second injury fund by the state treasurer on behalf of the state from five per cent of expenditures to the total amount of expenditures, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-429 authorized the state treasurer to adopt regulations re administrative practices, policies and procedures for the second injury fund, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-277 added a requirement that each private insurance carrier and each interlocal risk management agency annually submit to the Treasurer a report of the total standard earned premium collected in the preceding calendar year, effective June 29, 1995, and replaced provisions detailing funding of Second Injury Fund by employer contributions with provision authorizing Treasurer to develop such policies re determination of employers' contributions through regulations, effective January 1, 1996; P.A. 96-242 made existing language Subsec. (a) and made technical change concerning the reference to the State Treasurer, added provisions on the special assessment premium surcharge, specified April first as annual report deadline and required report to include projected total standard earned premium and added Subsec. (b) requiring State Treasurer to establish three accounts within the Second Injury Fund, effective June 6, 1996.
See Sec. 31-289 re deposit of certain fines and penalties in Second Injury and Compensation Assurance Fund.
Cited. 150 C. 156; 159 C. 53. "Second injury fund", legislative history and purpose discussed. 166 C. 352. Cited. 171 C. 577. Cited. 174 C. 181. Cited. 210 C. 626. Cited. 212 C. 427. Cited. 226 C. 569.
Cited. 37 CA 835. Cited. 46 CA 346.


text: What is psoriasis? Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes red, scaly skin that may feel painful, swollen or hot. If you have psoriasis, you are more likely to get some other conditions, including: Psoriatic arthritis, a condition that causes joint pain and swelling. Cardiovascular problems, which affect the heart and blood circulation system. Obesity. High blood pressure. Diabetes. Some treatments for psoriasis can have serious side effects, so be sure to talk about them with your doctor and keep all your appointments.


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Searching for advice on pregnancy, birth and kitten care? Our help and advice guides will help you look after your cat at this time of life.
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Bad water: Avoiding a home nightmare
Don't assume you can handle the mold in the house you're buying. Don't assume a river of water won't run through your new home on move-in day. And never assume that just because the health department approves a new well, the water is safe to drink.
Those are harsh lessons for local homebuyers recently reported in The Hook.
So if you're getting ready to buy a house how do you find out if the water supply may be threatened by the biggest petroleum spill in Albemarle County?
The Department of Environmental Quality has a website for its petroleum program at deq.state.va.us/tanks that uses Geographic Information System tracking to home in on a specific address. Yellow dots mean a petroleum release– but you'll have to call the DEQ to find out how serious it is. The regional office in Harrisonburg is 540-574-7800.
The DEQ is also tracks hazards in the air, water, and waste (in case your lot borders a landfill).
But what if your new abode is near one of Albemarle's six spots monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency– including the county's infamous Superfund site: the former Greenwood Chemical plant? That's going to require a trip to the EPA's website at epa.gov.
"There's no one-stop shopping," says Tamara Ambler, Albemarle's natural resources manager. However, you can call her or David Swale in community development at 296-5832, and they'll check out the place you're considering to see what potential dangers lurk.
And just to be sure, you can always hire someone to do an environmental site assessment, as many are doing now to avoid nasty surprises. Ask questions if there's anything you don't understand.
And don't assume.


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All of our females are hip, elbow and eye certified. We only breed from lines that are genetically clean. Our bitches are bred only to titled, well know sires. Our goal is to produce dogs that we feel could reach National level talent. Puppies we produce have a strong desire to retrieve and the willingness to please. We have raised and placed over 140 pups in quality homes.
Red River Game Farm & Kennel has been home of several Derby list, Qualified All-Age and Titled all age dogs.
Past Field Champions have been FC-AFC Lonestar JR, AFC Trumarc Cody's Scooter and FC-AFC Crow Rivers Cougars BP Maggs


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ECDC Forward Look Risk Assessment: Seasonal influenza 2010–2011 in Europe
The 2010/11 seasonal influenza epidemics in Europe are dominated so far by the A(H1N1)2009 viruses which emerged in the 2009 pandemic, although these are now considered seasonal viruses. This is an interim risk assessment and will be up-dated at intervals as more data and analyses emerge.
ECDC Forward look risk assessment (Update 28 October 2010): Likely scenarios and uncertainties in the 2010/2011 influenza season in Europe and beyond
Likely scenarios and uncertainties in the 2010/2011 influenza season in Europe and beyond.
Meeting report: Understanding the behavioural aspects and the role of health communication in mitigating the impact of seasonal influenza
The meeting report covers health communication strategies that could be undertaken to better promote influenza prevention measures and the healthcare professionals' role in the uptake of seasonal influenza vaccination.
Annual epidemiological report 2011 [2009 data]
Reporting on 2009 surveillance data and 2010 epidemic intelligence data
- Antimicrobial resistance
- Avian influenza virus
- Food- and waterborne diseases
- Healthcare-associated infections
- HIV infection
- Influenza in humans, avian origin
- Influenza in humans, seasonal
- Respiratory diseases
- Sexually transmitted infections
- Surveillance
- Tuberculosis
- Vaccine preventable diseases
- Viral hepatitis
ECDC rapid risk assessment: Reassortment seasonal influenza virus and swine influenza virus
New strain of swine influenza identified in two workers on a pig farm in Canada. Swine influenza (SI) is an acute viral infection of the respiratory tract in pigs. Subclinical infections are also common. The mortality is low and recovery usually occurs within 7-10 days.
Summary report: Joint ECDC/WHO Europe Meeting on Influenza Surveillance
This report, originally published by WHO/Europe, summarizes ECDC and WHO/Europe's first joint influenza surveillance meeting, held on 7-9 June 2011 and hosted by the Slovenian Ministry of Health.
Risk assessment: Seasonal influenza 2011–2012 in Europe (EU/EEA countries)
ECDC produces an annual risk assessment for the seasonal influenza epidemics in Europe. This is following both a recommendation in the report on the handling of the 2009 pandemic adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2011 and the model developed by ECDC during that pandemic. The first EU seasonal influenza risk assessment was published in January 2011, following the start of the influenza season in late November 2010. In 2012, the season started later than in most years, with the first five countries exceeding their epidemic threshold in week 3/2012.
Risk assessment: seasonal influenza 2011-2012 in Europe
The virological influenza pattern observed was not consistent enough to make a clear prediction for the 2011-2012 season in Europe. In general, the findings on the impact of influenza in the southern hemisphere in 2011 were reassuring for Europe, and the match of the A(H3N2) viruses with the vaccine was considered good.
Narcolepsy in association with pandemic influenza vaccination – a multi-country European epidemiological investigation
This report summarises the results from two epidemiological studies conducted by the Vaccine Adverse Event Surveillance and Communication (VAESCO) Consortium undertaken in eight European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) countries in order to investigate a possible association between an unexpected increase in narcolepsy cases following the use of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccines. Narcolepsy is an underdiagnosed disease of widely unknown etiology.
Technical report In Brief: Narcolepsy in association with pandemic influenza vaccination
This report summarises the results from two epidemiological studies to investigate a possible association between an unexpected increase in narcolepsy cases following the use of the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccines. The studies were conducted by the Vaccine Adverse Event Surveillance and Communication (VAESCO) Consortium under the auspices of ECDC and undertaken in Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. This Technical Report In Brief accompanies the full Report 'Narcolepsy in association with pandemic influenza vaccination- A multi-country European epidemiological investigation'.


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For businesses across the USA. Need parts to repair and maintain upkeep of furnaces, air conditioners, ventillation systems and pumps?
We can offer your business all of those at excellent prices. Click the about us tab to read more.
In order to see prices and get a quote on shipping, please login or register. Items returned for refund MUST be new and unused in the original packaging. Please contact us for instructions before returning. Items that are returned are subject to a 25% restocking charge.
Here at West Newton HVAC Supplies, we strongly believe in business-to-business relationships and understand how business works. We are here to help you save money on your parts and build a strong business-to-business relationship to help you grow. You need it? We have it at a discounted price with many safe & secure pay options.
Trane/American Standard Pilot Relight Control Board CNT01011. Replaces part numbers CNT00964 and PIT00194.
Product 2/22
This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 27 September, 2016.


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« Shared-Classroom Redesign Plan Riles Teachers | Main | Expert: Deeper Learning Hinges on Content Expertise »
Rethinking Teacher Roles in a New Networked World
Live from the Learning & the Brain conference in Boston.
Author-educators Marc Prensky and Will Richardson opened up this weekend's conference on "Engaging 21st Century Minds" with some big ideas on how technology is changing learning and the many ways schools need to adapt and catch up.
In an hour-long keynote, Prensky asserted that students today, as a result of advances in networked technology, are "figuring out how to live in a brand new context." He described the educators in the room as "the last pre-Internet generation," and said "we tend to judge the new generation based on our old ideas and beliefs."
Prensky, perhaps best known for coining the terms "digital immigrant" and "digital native," went on to explain, "The main way we understood the world was through reading. The main way today's kids understand the world is through technology." While using technology does involve reading, he argued, kids are increasingly using other types of textslike videoto gain information and "reading is diminishing in importance."
In light of abundant technology and access to information, he said, the role of the human teacher is now "to give students what technology can'tmotivation, respect, empathy, and passion." (I asked a teacher behind me why we wouldn't just put child psychologists in the classroom if this were the case. The teacher, who works at a New Jersey private school with one-to-one iPads, replied, "We are becoming more like psychologists.") Prensky said he continually hears from students that they want to be given leeway in the tools they use to complete learning tasks. Rather than micromanaging them, he said, "all we have to say to them is 'Surprise me.'"
The speechseemingly a patchwork of highlights from his various booksthen went on to offer Prensky's newest buzzword "futurecation," which he says involves preparing students to do things "we could never do before." Rather than continuing with a content focusmath, English, science, and social studies (or "MESS" as he calls it)he said, "I think we need a new core: effective thinking, effective action, effective relationships, and effective accomplishment. Thinking, acting, relating, and accomplishing ought to be what primary and secondary school is about." (He did not mention the actual new core being implemented in all but four states. But perhaps that's for another speech.)
After Prensky, Will Richardson, who became a tech expert after nearly 20 years in the classroom, said this may be the "most disruptive moment in education" and also called for schools to adapt to a newly connected world. "Why is school the only place my kids can't take out the electronics they have in their pockets to answer the questions?" he asked. Students will not put up with these sorts of impractical technology limitations much longer, he argued. Using technology for self-directed learning "is not an optionthis is not whole language or new maththis is here to stay."
He pointed to the Maker Movement, which encourages hands-on, real-world creation and learning, as the direction in which schools are and should be headed.
Like Prensky, Richardson argued that the teacher role must change in this brave new tech worldbut with a slightly different prescription. Teachers must be "learners first, teachers second," he explained. They need to model the process of learning for students and show them what intrinsic motivation and curiosity and creativity look like.
"I'm convinced most kids will be OK without us," he said. "But I want them to be brilliant with us."
Below are some tweets about these two talks from conference attendees.
Love the idea of getting rid of past-urcation and creating future-cation @marcprensky #LB36— Kevin Huitt (@kevinhuitt) November 15, 2013
Surprise me! Will be a new sign in my classroom! #lb36— Math-Pi (@RitaHerbst) November 15, 2013
A lot of Book Hocking in opening Keynote by Prensky Hmm #LB36
A lot of Book Hocking in opening Keynote by Prensky Hmm #LB36— Chris Bigenho (@bigenhoc) November 15, 2013
Just heard @willrich45 speak at #lb36. He is so on top of it. Great stuff!
Just heard @willrich45 speak at #lb36. He is so on top of it. Great stuff!— Lisa Castaneda (@lisadef2000) November 15, 2013
Love the ideas on the right @willrich45 #LB36 pic.twitter.com/lVFFCIdEdN
Love the ideas on the right @willrich45 #LB36 pic.twitter.com/lVFFCIdEdN— Kevin Huitt (@kevinhuitt) November 15, 2013
Loving the back of @willrich45's business card #LB36 pic.twitter.com/27064OTbpE
Loving the back of @willrich45's business card #LB36 pic.twitter.com/27064OTbpE— Jake Smith (@JSDanger) November 15, 2013


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Respite Care
Are you home providing care for a loved one? Is it time for you to rejuvenate and take some time for yourself? Seeking support and providing care for you is vital to managing your care giving years. Don't let yourself become exhausted, isolated or overwhelmed.
When the time comes, the Respite Care program at Barnett Woods offers a safe, supportive environment where personal and medical needs can be met by a skillful staff that is dedicated to caring for the needs of older adults. Our Respite program is available for short-term stays based on availability. Come by for lunch and take a tour.
*Our Respite Care programming is subject to availability and nursing assessment. Please inquire as to our current availability.


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Starting tonight, Feb. 14, 2011, you'll be able to watch a computer compete against two former champions on the US television quiz programme, Jeopardy. The match between the IBM computer, named Watson, and the most accomplished champions that have ever played on Jeopardy, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, has been four years in the making. From the article by Julie Beswald on physorg.com,
"Let's finish, 'Chicks Dig Me'," intones the somewhat monotone, but not unpleasant, voice of Watson, IBM's new supercomputer built to compete on the game show Jeopardy!
The audience chuckles in response to the machine-like voice and its all-too-human assertion. But fellow contestant Ken Jennings gets the last laugh as he buzzes in and garners $1,000.
This exchange is part of a January 13 practice round for the world's first man vs. machine game show. Scheduled to air February 14-16, the match pits Watson against the two best Jeopardy! players of all time. Jennings holds the record for the most consecutive games won, at 74. The other contestant, Brad Rutter, has winnings totaling over $3.2 million.
On Feb. 9, 2011, PBS's NOVA science program broadcast a documentary about Watson whose name is derived from the company founder, Paul Watson, and not Sherlock Holmes's companion and biographer, Dr. Watson. Titled the Smartest Machine on Earth, the show highlighted Watson's learning process and some of the principles behind artificial intelligence. PBS's website is featuring a live blogging event of tonight's and the Feb. 15 and 16 matches. From the website,
On Monday [Feb. 14, 2011], our bloggers will be Nico Schlaefer and Hideki Shima, two Ph.D. students at Carnegie Mellon University's Language Technologies Institute who worked on the Watson project.
At the same time that the 'Watson' event was being publicized last week, another news item on artificial intelligence and learning was making the rounds. From a Feb. 9, 2011 article by Mark Ward on BBC News ,
Robots could soon have an equivalent of the internet and Wikipedia.
European scientists have embarked on a project to let robots share and store what they discover about the world.
Called RoboEarth it will be a place that robots can upload data to when they master a task, and ask for help in carrying out new ones.
Researchers behind it hope it will allow robots to come into service more quickly, armed with a growing library of knowledge about their human masters. [emphasis mine]
You can read a first person account of the RoboEarth project on the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering) Spectrum's Automaton Robotics blog in a posting by Markus Waibel,
As part of the European project RoboEarth, I am currently one of about 30 people working towards building an Internet for robots: a worldwide, open-source platform that allows any robot with a network connection to generate, share, and reuse data. The project is set up to deliver a proof of concept to show two things:
* RoboEarth greatly speeds up robot learning and adaptation in complex tasks.
* Robots using RoboEarth can execute tasks that were not explicitly planned for at design time.
The vision behind RoboEarth is much larger: Allow robots to encode, exchange, and reuse knowledge to help each other accomplish complex tasks. This goes beyond merely allowing robots to communicate via the Internet, outsourcing computation to the cloud, or linked data.
But before you yell "Skynet!," think again. While the most similar things science fiction writers have imagined may well be the artificial intelligences in Terminator, the Space Odyssey series, or the Ender saga, I think those analogies are flawed. [emphasis mine] RoboEarth is about building a knowledge base, and while it may include intelligent web services or a robot app store, it will probably be about as self-aware as Wikipedia.
That said, my colleagues and I believe that if robots are to move out of the factories and work alongside humans, they will need to systematically share data and build on each other's experience.
Unfortunately, Markus Waibel doesn't explain why he thinks the analogies are flawed but he does lay out the reasoning for why robots should share information. For a more approachable and much briefer account, you can check out Ariel Schwartz's Feb. 10, 2011 article on the Fast Company website,
The EU-funded [European Union] RoboEarth project is bringing together European scientists to build a network and database repository for robots to share information about the world. They will, if all goes as planned, use the network to store and retrieve information about objects, locations (including maps), and instructions about completing activities. Robots will be both the contributors and the editors of the repository.
With RoboEarth, one robot's learning experiences are never lost–the data is passed on for other robots to mine. As RedOrbit explains, that means one robot's experiences with, say, setting a dining room table could be passed on to others, so the butler robot of the future might know how to prepare for dinner guests without any prior programming.
There is a RoboEarth website, so we humans can get more information and hopefully keep up with the robots.
Happily and as there is with increasing frequency, there's a Youtube video. This one features a robot downloading information from RoboEarth and using that information in a quasi hospital setting,
I find this use of popular entertainment, particularly obvious with Watson, to communicate about scientific advances quite interesting. On this same theme of popular culture as a means of science communication, I featured a Lady Gaga parody by a lab working on Alzheimer's in my Jan. 28, 2011 posting. I also find the reference to "human masters" in the BBC article along with Waibel's flat assertion that some science fiction analogies about artificial intelligence are flawed indicative of some very old anxieties as expressed in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
ETA Feb. 14, 2011: The latest posting on the Pasco Phronesis blog, I, For One, Welcome Our Robot Game Show Overlords, features another opinion about the Watson appearances on Jeopardy. From the posting,
What will this mean? Given that a cursory search suggests opinion is divided on whether Watson will win this week, I have no idea. While it will likely be entertaining, and does represent a significant step forward in computing capabilities, I can't help but think about the supercomputing race that makes waves only when a new computational record is made. It's nice, and might prompt government action should they lose the number one standing. But what does it mean? What new outcomes do we have because of this? The conversation is rarely about what, to me, seems more important.


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UMKC Compliance aims to establish and maintain institutional control informed by the NCAA National Office and industry standards set by the National Association for Athletics Compliance (NAAC). The Office educates all constituents as to how best comply with requirements of the NCAA and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The UMKC Compliance Office empowers individuals to make informed decisions with regard to their behavior related to NCAA rules compliance.
The Compliance Office is available to coaches, staff, student-athletes and boosters. Legislative interpretations are typically provided within 24 business hours.
Primary Charges:
- Education
- Interpret legislation
- Advise permissible methods to reach desired goals
- Review pending legislation
- Explain impact on program and collect feedback
- Empower individuals to make informed decisions
- Boosters, recruits, campus personnel, student-athletes, departmental staff
- Inform institutional procedures related to NCAA rules
- Departmental workflows, cross-campus working groups, wider campus initiatives
- Monitoring
- Review coaching activity and documentation
- Practice, recruiting, travel, contests, staffing
- Observe activities of staff and student-athletes
- Interactions with prospects, boosters, competition, promotions
- Oversee institutional procedures
- Squad list management, awarding aid, scholarship offers
- Complete required NCAA, WAC, and institutional reports
- Requests and self-reports, Sport Sponsorship and Demographics
- Primary contact to WAC, Academic and Membership Affairs, the Eligibility Center, Financial Aid, Admissions, the International Student Affairs Office, High Schools
- Interpretations, best practices, procedural guidance
Institutional Control:
- Faculty Athletics Representative: In accordance with NCAA Bylaw 4.02.2, UMKC has assigned the position of Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) to a member of the faculty. The FAR assists the institution in maintaining institutional control by fulfilling the university's obligation of monitoring the activities of the Athletics Department from an external point-of-view. The FAR, in conjunction with the department's chief compliance officer, also serves as the institution's professional sports counsel, assisting student-athletes with agents, contracts, insurance, and the like.
- The Compliance Subcommittee of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee: The Intercollegiate Athletics Committee (IAC), is a group of campus and community personnel who serve as an advisory body that regularly evaluates the department in terms of academic control, rules monitoring and education, fiscal responsibility, gender equity and student welfare issues.
- Compliance Liaisons Working Group: The UMKC Compliance Liaisons, a cross-campus working group chaired by the Manager of Compliance, serves as the locus of control for institutional NCAA certification related to student-athletes and is an advisory board for departmental policies and procedures. Members of this group include professionals from the UMKC Registrar's Office, the UMKC Office of Admissions, the UMKC Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, the UMKC International Student Affairs Office, along with their counterparts from UMKC Athletics Business Office, Compliance Office and Student-Athlete Support Services Office.
Compliance Education Links & Materials:


text:
Current record: 29-27, 2nd place in NL Central, 2.0 games back
Up Next: Kansas City Royals, 24-31, 4th place in AL Central, 7.0 games back
Season Series: 0-0, First time playing.
Notes: Interleague play is back for the next 15 games. For the Royals tonight, that means they lose the DH and their defense gets shifted around to keep their best hitters in the lineup. DH Billy Butler goes to first, 1B Eric Hosmer goes to RF, and RF Jeff Francoeur moves to CF. The Pirates have been playing well and should have no trouble with the weak Royals pitching.
Familiar Faces: Surpisingly, none.
Probable Pitchers
Friday: RH Luke Hochevar (3-6, 57.0 IP, 46 K, 6.63 ERA, 1.54 WHIP)
vs. LH Erik Bedard (3-6, 55.2 IP, 56 K, 3.72 ERA, 1.40 WHIP)
Saturday: LH Vin Mazzaro (2-0, 12.0 IP, 5 K, 2.25 ERA, 1.25 WHIP)
vs. RH James McDonald (5-2, 71.1 IP, 71 K, 2.14 ERA, 0.95 WHIP)
Sunday: LH Bruce Chen (5-5, 70.0 IP, 48 K, 4.37 ERA, 1.24 WHIP)
vs. RH A.J. Burnett (5-2, 55.0 IP, 50 K, 3.76 ERA, 1.29 WHIP)
Alex Gordon LF
Yuniesky Betancourt 2B
Billy Butler 1B
Mike Moustakas 3B
Jeff Francoeur CF
Eric Hosmer RF
Alcides Escobar SS
Humberto Quintero C
Luke Hochevar P
Alex Presley LF
Neil Walker 2B
Andrew McCutchen CF
Garrett Jones RF
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Jose Tabata RF
Rod Barajas C
Clint Barmes SS
Erik Bedard P
Filed under: baseball, Pirates | Tagged: A.J. Burnett, Alcides Escobar, Alex Gordon, Alex Presley, Andrew McCutchen, baseball, Billy Butler, Bruce Chen, Clint Barmes, Eric Hosmer, Erik Bedard, Garrett Jones, Humberto Quintero, James McDonald, Jeff Francoeur, Jose Tabata, Luke Hochevar, Mike Moustakas, Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez, Pirates, Rod Barajas, Royals, Vin Mazzaro, Yuniesky Betancourt | Leave a comment »


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