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Anomaly 2 Review
The Good: Jazzier graphics engine. Units have new morphing ability. Now with multiplayer!
The Bad: Short single player campaign.
The Ugly: Multiplayer tutorial really insufficient. No multiplayer AI to practice against. Few people playing it.
I heard a lot of different terms used to describe last year's (or maybe it was the year before) game Anomaly: Warzone Earth, but the one that resonated with me was tower offense. As opposed to tower defense, where you are tasked with building up a maze-like arrangement of defensive towers to destroy waves of incoming enemy units before they can reach their goal, in Anomaly you were the one trying to survive a tower gauntlet to reach the finish line. To accomplish this task you had a number of different units you could employ from short range tough units to longer range delicate ones to support units like shield generators. With limited cash on hand (the game calls it curasarum, or something close to that), you have to pick your assault convoy lineup with some care. You also have the flexibility of picking the route you take to your goal; at many points the road branches, and you can choose which way to turn taking into consideration the enemy tower formations that lie down each path. Added into the mix was a squad leader, a little guy that you controlled who would run around among the towers depositing special abilities like decoy targets to fool the towers or healing pods to repair your units. It made for a nifty spin on the tower defense formula, and I think did pretty well financially, so 11 Bit Studios is back with a sequel called simply Anomaly 2 (Anomaly Warzone Earth 2 probably being too much of a mouthful). How'd they do?
In most ways Anomaly 2 is much like Anomaly 1. You're still trying to brave the towers to reach a goal, and you still have the little squad leader running around depositing the same powers, and the routing hasn't changed. Most units are carryover from the previous game, but there are some genuinely new units as well. The new units show up only briefly near the end of the single player campaign, which spans 14 missions and will take you maybe four or five hours to complete. 11 Bit did bring two big new changes to the party (actually three if you count an improved graphics engine, which is nice but I kind of don't count it) – your units now have a transformer ability, and the game now features multiplayer. It is the latter that may give the game some longevity in the face of a shortish single player campaign, but in a lot of ways it isn't so well implemented. Anyway, let me discuss those two in greater depth separately.
The transformer ability is easy to understand – each unit has two forms, and you can switch back and forth between them at will. For example, your short range, light-damage, machinegun-wielding unit can also become a high-damage flamethrowing unit that can only fire sideways. This comes especially handy in dense city environments where the towers are tucked into narrow alleys here and there so you will only have a short time to shoot at them. You also have an artillery unit that shoots with a lot of damage at long range, but only in a narrow forward arc of fire, that transforms into a shorter-range, lower-damage unit that fires guided rockets. Your shield generator doubles as a unit which emits rays that slow the firing and tracking movement of enemy towers. Etc. It costs nothing to transform your units, and you can transform each unit in your convoy individually, but they are completely vulnerable for a few seconds while they transform so I wouldn't do it in the middle of combat where they may be dead before they complete the change. It's most effective when looking down the road and seeing what form you'll want your units to be in when you get there.
Multiplayer is where the real meat of this game resides. 1v1 battles are set up in which one plays the tower offensive role, the other taking on the tower defense and running the aliens. Given that you've had the opportunity to run through the campaign playing as the humans, that the units and what they can do and all the squad leader powers are familiar to you, mostly what you need to know is how the multiplayer game is scored. In this the human multiplayer tutorial completely fails as they are just replays of the first three single player missions that teach you nothing new. On the alien side you've seen how their towers attack – you dealt with plenty of them in the campaign – but the alien economy and powers are completely unfamiliar. To try and smooth you into that role, there are three slim alien tutorials to guide you. They do a piss poor job. The aliens gather curasarum in a completely different way (it accumulates slowly over time, and they have a special tower which can mine it), and they have different squad leader powers (there is a tower healing, a taunt power which causes all enemies in range to attack you, a kamikaze in which a tower explodes doing damage to everything around it, and a berserker in which a tower does additional damage for a short period of time), but you lack a squad leader entirely so you place them directly on towers. Additionally, the alien towers themselves can emit a power burst in exchange for tower health, different towers emitting different power bursts. One can slow down the enemy convoy, another wipes away deployed human squad leader powers, while another completes all towers under construction instantly. I can't even, as I sit here and write this, think of what the other ones are. It's a lot to pick up in just three tutorials, and all you can do is play the same tutorials again and again to get used to them or take a crack at multiplayer.
Once you decide to take that crack, you're greeted by only a single, small multiplayer map – the others are locked until you get more multiplayer games under your belt (sometimes a lot more). I appreciate that they're trying to start you out and let you develop some kind of strategy on a small map before hurling you into a larger one, but the way around that should have been some kind of AI skirmish ability which the game is sorely lacking. Multiplayer games are won based upon a point total or by achieving some point lead over your opponent. The point goals are fixed for a given map, and it would have been nice to at least allow players to change those, but you can't. It's just another example of the incredibly sloppy way in which multiplayer was implemented.
I really like the ideas that 11 Bit has brought to Anomaly 2. The transformer ability, though it sometimes causes an uncomfortable level of chaos to the game as you're busy morphing your convoy and deploying squad leader abilities all the while closing inexorably on the enemy towers – that brings a delicious sense of tension (though if it gets to be too much for you, you can pause the action by entering the tactical map). Multiplayer has within it the seeds for fine gameplay, but with some iffy design decisions, lacking a serious tutorial, no AI to play with, and few other people to play against, it turns what should have been the game's best piece into its greatest disappointment. I'll add that given the wait times I've had to endure while the service tried to find me an opponent, and that a few times I just gave up waiting, doesn't bode well for the multiplayer future. Maybe 11 Bit will toss out some kind of map editor and with it will build a dedicated multiplayer community to keep it going, but without viable multiplayer and with a short single player campaign, I can't recommend this budget title as a good value for your gaming dollar.
Reviewed By: Phil Soletsky
Publisher: 11 Bit Studios
Rating: 70%
This review is based on a digital copy of Anomaly 2 for the PC provided by 11 Bit Studios.


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Talking Tommy…
Chance to chat with Tommy Lasorda today at 2 p.m. PT…hope you'll join in.
And as I posted in the comments of the last entry, there will be no further warnings regarding bad language or quasi-bad language on the site (@#&!). Going forward, anyone who can't find a way to express themselves without language like this will be locked out of posting on any MLB site by MLB.com. Thanks for understanding.
64 Comments
Tommy had a really nice interview with MLB.Com during the draft, looking forward to this chat.
From the last thread , for what it's worth, I agree with Max. I think the Ds would do better with a differant manager and coaches.
So I guess Tommy won't be discussing Kingman's performance.
fliegel i think you need to go back to that thread and read what fansince said about the stats that max (and you) so wonderfully ignored! He is definately the best manager we have had since Lasorda! It's not his fault the players are giving him lack luster numbers. He has put them in plenty situations this year to win games and we have just blew up some of them. No biggy though becasue our boys know how it feels to get into a winning slump and im sure they never want to feel that again!
patriotacts425, i dare you to ask 'em to loose a few.
but seriously i wonder how the draft was back in the day, i've heard Tommy started out as a scout when his pitching career ended.
I think it's disgusting that Pierre batting in the 8th slot only lasted a few games.
Like fliegel has expressed above, I'm not a fan of our current management either. My take is that for the amount of money we have committed on payroll, we can reasonably expect to get to the playoffs and perform better than we have the last couple of times there. That's the onus that I'm putting on management and staff for this year. If they're not able to live up to those expectations with the players that they have assembled, then I will want both Colletti and Little gone. Now, I'm not looking or hoping for that failure. I would gladly see us do well in the playoffs and hopefully in the WS, and I'll root for both and their staffs to carry on again next year.
Mistakes have been made, and will always be made regardless of who the manager. The trick is in the recovery from those and the pursuit of a good direction for the team. I like the direction on which we have embarked, assuming that it includes continuing with our young prospects and giving them the chance to develop in what I think could be a real Dodger dynasty.
Besides the fact that I think we have some serious deadwood on the team, like Tomko and Hendrickson, the most concerning mistakes that I see are Pierre and probably Schmidt. I don't understand why Pierre had to be such a "must have" component on this team that we have to be saddled with him for another 4 plus years. Even in our panic situation over the outfield, I think that management could have done better and not tied our hands as it currently seems. The decision to sign Schmidt is even more concerning to me, because, with all the information that has been flowing in about his visible and gradual loss in velocity last year, his signing seems like a high risk situation that is very questionable as to management's judgment. Consider also what precedent is set by giving out a $16 million salary for someone who may be of no use to us, when at the same time we're paying Lowe, Penny, and Wolf somewhere between 7.5 and 9.5 million. No wonder that Lowe is already thinking that this free agent market is something to explore. I know that it is a very inflationary market, but this comparison can just make us look totally sick. And that is a management's challenge and what they get the big bucks for. So, it is only reasonable that management be judged by how it handles it.
Wow, I take a few days off from the blog and miss a big debate yesterday…bummer.
I don't think Grady's ability as a manager is even debatable with the facts that 53 threw at us yesterday (good stuff 53). A manager can only do so much before responsibility falls on the players. He has made the moves that all of us have been calling for and people still choose to bash him, why? Baseball is a marathon and luckily for us we don't have to face the Angels anymore (unless it's the WS) so stop panicking. We have a great roster right now, one that can go deep into the playoffs without a major trade IMO so enough of all this doomsday forecasting. Also, maybe I blocked it out of my memory because of the pain it caused me but did we actually win a playoff game in the Depo era???
Yes i agree that some moves by managment and coaching staff has been iffy but for the most part has helped the team. But messagebear, if the players Grady has been given by this generous payroll dont you think they should be showing more than below average numbers? I mean there has been times when Grady has made the right move and we win the game and it gets un-noticed but when he makes a decision to stick with his player and show that confidence in them and they fail he gets ripped a new one. The players are the ones who are out there playing the game and the Manager can only take them so far.
dahustlasbac; My sentiments , exactly. You said it like it is. Grady, is doing, with what, he's been given…GREAT post…..
Yes, I'd be the first to agree that Grady can only manage the personnel that he has been given. I have to believe, however, that since he was hired by Colletti, he's also been in the loop on making or approving those decisions that shape this team. That means that the choice of signing Nomar and extending Kent's contract, and even adding Pierre and Schmidt were not actions done in a vacuum. Where these people bat in the lineup, or when they are rested or substituted is clearly Grady's decisions, and we can debate those up and down. But I'm not willing to let him off the hook, as if all these trouble spots have been inherited by him without his consent. In that respect, while he may subject to the usual amount of good and bad luck, he can't disown the responsibility that much of this team's makeup is his just as it is Colletti's.
Yes i agree i didnt understand the signing of Nomar with loney tearing up the minors and the kind of spring he had showed he had the job to loose but i think it was more of a McCourt signing more than a Colletti and Grady signing, Nomar is very marketable in LA, as we can so obvisouly see but he had a decent season last year and this year has been slow but i think Grady was doing a pretty good job of subing Nomar and Kent with the kids for about a week or two but now that Loney is banged up a bit it will be intersting to see how he will fit him in!
Hey charris1010321 – Those were only Grady's Major League stats. His Minor League stats are even more incredible:
It is refreshing to see that we can agree to disagree on this stuff in a civilized and respectful manner. (Man, I love you guys – but not in a man-crush way – LOL!).
Thanks for stepping in again JOSH.
When I was raised, I was taught that if you could not express yourself without using foul language, you were either not educated or you did not know what you were talking about, therefore you were to be ignored.
Hopefully both Nomar and Kent will come back closer to the norm of their last year's performance. If they do, we will probably pull out in front of our competition, and everybody on this forum will be happy. I must admit that Gonzo has been a pleasant surprise so far in that respect, and early on I did not think that it would happen. So, there is still plenty of time, but I think we have to start showing a reversal of fortune at least in respect to our inter-league play right now.
nice stats refference fansince. And yes i must agree that it is definately a great seen that we can state our points to each other without trying to down talk each other. We all valued points to make and the funny thing is no matter how bad you think the other person is off in the back of your mind your sitting there saying "hes got a point there" thats one reason i dont see why most on here have to have it there way or the highway, its like they dont want to be wrong. Hopefully this doesnt turn back into another episode of "As the Inside the Dodgers Blog Turns"
Actually I'm anxious to see today's lineup including who our DH is going to be, so we can then take the whole discussion in another direction.
Hahaha yeah definately it will be interesting but i think its going to be Olmedo the Killer Tomatoe and then Martin one or two games there (most likely one seeing as how Martin hates being on the bench) Or maybe Grady will surprise us all and make Loney or Ethier the DH. What do you think about Loney in the DH maybe to give his knee some work but not the full work of an entire game?
charris1010321: "…did we actually win a playoff game in the Depo era???"
Yes. As momoracci accurately pointed out, the Depo Dodgers won game-4 of the 2004 NLDS at Dodger Stadium against the St. Louis Cardinals with the animated Jose Lima on the mound. It was a fun game, but sadly, the only post-season win for the Dodgers since 1988.
I went to game-5 the next day, which the Cards won to take the series. What I remember most about that game is that Jim Tracy and his Dodgers walked out onto the field and shook the hands of the Cardinal players, much like a hockey game. That was something that I had never seen before, nor since. It was one of the classiest moments in Dodger history and one reason why I will always respect Jim Tracy as a person.
Here's another direction messagebear:
Chad Billingsley, SP LA
News: Chad Billingsley, not Mark Hendrickson, is the likely replacement starter for the Dodgers' Jason Schmidt (shoulder) on Thursday, according to MLB.com and the Los Angeles Times.
Thanks 53, those years really tested our resolve as Dodger fans but I'm somewhat ashamed that I FORGOT a good moment in an otherwise forgetable era.
wow kss losing it. that was some funny stuff. serious guys its hard to argue with max sometimes, i know you older guys are a little more stubborn, but you guys have really short memories. grady has been making questionable call after questionable call. look no further than the biggest headscratcher of the year, the florida marlins debacle. not walking the bases full. incidents like that one have become a grady little trademark. letting tomko and hendy just completely crash and burn two years in a row, as if ned held a gun to his head. its just impossible to justify batting JP anywhere but 8th so i wont even get into that……and yes if neds signings hamper us to where we miss the playoffs with a 120 mill payroll he should be on a very short leash if not fired. over the last year he has aquired two of the statistically worse baseball players in the game, last year we were forced to stomach watching julio lugo in the 3 spot, this year we are consistantly giving our worse hitter significant AB's in the 2 hole. its scary because nomar in the three hole is looking more and more like julio lugo last year except nomar doesnt whine and slam his helmet when he grounds out.
5 teams in baseball have scored less runs than us. If we dont score tonight and if three of those teams score more than 4 runs, then we will be 27 out of 30 teams in runs scored. How about that for a top 5 payroll.
We are last in all of baseball in homeruns. The New York Yankees have more steals then us. And they dont have two slap hitters at the top of the order.
We are middle of the pact in OBP with no power.
Our slugging is third worst in baseball.
We have 35 more errors then the Padres.
Thankfully we have the third best ERA (thanks to Lowe/Penny/Broxton/Saito/Bill)
what is scary is the era that this GM brought to the mix: 4.2 for wolf, 4.6 tomko, 5.5 hendu, 6.3 schmidt)
I am sick of blaming individual players or lineups. We have a GM who has put a crappy team on the field.
Why any of you would have faith in a GM who has never won a WS in any orginizattion he has been in is beyond me. The facts are all right above you as to why you shouldnt
beautiful stats jungar , they dont like it when you post stuff like that, stop being negative. its funny because without looking at the stats i already knew pretty much all that. it is totally obvious that our pitching is our life jacket right now.
graffiti i think pointing out that situation in FLA is kind of weak seeing as how …. well just read the first 6 paragraphs of this article and you will realize why they call Grady a players manager:
Grady put the game in Lowes hands and Lowe wanted the ball and missed his location. You can argue up and down about this but the fact is besides this situation Grady hasnt been in to many situations like it after. You have to insure that the player knows you have confidence in him to get out of a jam and if he doesnt then you remember that when the situation happens again.
dahustlasbac you cant win that argument, you are going against the grain. once again lowe is a sinkerball picher you load the bases and go for the grounball DP bottomline.
Its all about trial and error and beside i feel pretty comfortable with where we are at: with all those stats that you just mentioned jungar how about putting our record to the test we have the 6th best record in the majors out of 30 ball clubs! No what does that say about a team that is struggling to get better numbers…..?! We are still winning games and we knew we werent going to have the numbers of the elite clubs in the majors but I think those numbers will improve dramatically in the near furture!
I wish they were beautiful, they are UGLY. Those are just facts and you can't be negative with facts, they are what they are.
The part about Ned being a crappy GM is negative but I have been saying that since last year and will keep saying it until he is gone. His big three offseason signings just prove it even more (Schmidt, Pierre, Nomar)
your right about not winning the arguement graffiti but not because i am wrong or right but becasue you refuse to say that it could have gone either way! What happens when he intentionally walks him then Boone comes up and smacks a single or a double or even a homer then what do you say? "Grady should have pulled him earlier!" we cant always be right and things go the way they do and we cant stop it so to say that you are right and everyone else is wrong shows to me that you are seeing things your way!
We will see how long that record last my friend. You keep believing it will. We are just showing you why we think it won't.
The dodgers are 24-19 in May and June. If you think we will the division going 24-19 over our next 43 games then your crazy.
All it takes is one 10 game stretch where our pitching dosen't carry us and our season could be in real jeapordy. Wolf seems to regressing and Tomko/Hendu are usless. So without Schmidt and putting Bills in the rotation that could be a plus, but a minus in the pen (Bills should start)and that could hurt us. And as good as Penny and Lowe have been do you guys expect them to throw another 200 innings of combined 2.50 era? I don't.
Can we please stop talking about this topic? Goodness, it comes off like some of you want this team to fail so you can come back here in October and say you were right. Now, I'm sure that's not true, but it definitely comes off that way. Here's the point, I truly believe that a lot of us are scared because we love this team so much that the idea of going through a rollercoaster season and coming up empty makes us all sick. So, some of you are lashing out blame to management in the hopes that they will make the necessary changes so we feel confident that we can win. Now we just swept the Mets, which felt really great and then lost two of three to the Angels, which well did not.
Now, I can see both sides of the argument, I think the problem with some of you is that you're going to believe whatever you want and there is no middleground. So whenever Grady makes a mistake you're all over him, whenever Pierre grounds to second you're all over him. Whenever Kent/Nomar pops up on the first pitch etc…Here's where the issue lies a lot of the same people who do that never post when Grady makes a great decision etc… This blog has turned into the center of pessimism, now I'm trying my best (as are others) to bring some sort of balance. When bad things happen by all means I expect to read posts that express why it was bad. Not just "GRADY IS AWFUL…among other uninteresting, unhelpful, non-productive posts. But, when good things happen I expect people to hop on here and express their happiness. And then gives props to the person who made the good play/hit etc…some of you have done so lately, but the perception is still there that you don't nearly do enough.
That's all I've wanted from the beginning because I know we all love this team, because we all make a point to visit this blog and post every day. But, there are two sides to every coin and with some of you I'm only seeing one side, I'm sure there's much more from all of you to be seen and read. Now the firing Grady/Ned posts need to stop. We're 1 1/2 games out, second best team in the N.L, ahead in the wild card. You know when you start talking about firing the manager/GM, when you're the Giants (10 1/2 games out) or the Orioles who actually did fire their manager. And I think it's safe to say NONE of us want us to come close to that, but that doesn't mean we're not scared of it happening.
New Topic!!!
What can we do to change the type of fans we have at Dodger stadium? We tend to only chant negative cheers about how much a team stinks, we boo our own players for making mistakes, and we care more about beach balls and fights than the game right in front of us.
Oh, and please start Chad!
For the farm we have, the money we have, the current payroll number we have, the fan base we have and the history we have we shouldnt be content with maybe making the playoffs. Thats my point Alex and you keep making it.
alex face it, the mets were REALLY struggling when they came to town. beltran must be playing with an injury or something because he has been playing absolutley terrible the last month or so.
Chad taken out of the pen shouldn't be too much of a problem once Tsao comes back. Then later on, Jon Meloan.
Ummmm i think going 24-19 for the next 43 games isnt great but i think it will put us in a position to make a run at the division seeing as how for the past 3 years our division has been winning with a lesser winning percentage:
if we went 24-19 for the next 43 games that would put us at:
63-49 .562 with 50 games to play i think that would be a pretty good position to be in.
Yes our offense needs to kick it into gear and i must agree that our pitching will not carry us forever! but we have players that are contributing.
Yes you can complain all day about how bad the signings are but hey we have to deal with it and hope for the best. I think all who are so persistent at wanting to get rid of our staff of players managers or coaches should all have a chance to fil those positions and see how they do?! i think it would be a real reality check.
i just wish people were smart enough to hit the beachballs backward. its not fun when people keep hitting them forward. and it is a drag whe they get on the field, but its only for a sec. i went to petco lasst year and that was by far the most pathetic wave ive ever seen, it didnt even go around once.
I agree Momoracci but the key word is "shouldn't" since April, Chad is filthy. An ERA at 1.00 whip .75 and BA Against at .150
Thats just insanely good and he better be in that rotation!!
Go to a playoff game in October, you'll never feel a bigger rush in your life. I will never forget Game 3 last season. We were amazing that night against the Mets. And I will cherish the moment when I feel that again. And that's when I knew that the Dodger fan stereotype was just that…a stereotype. I wasn't there for the Lima game. I was there in Anaheim in 2002 for games 6 and 7, because I wanted to go to a World Series and watch the Giants lose. I can still hear the thundersticks ringing in my ears 5 years later.
and we showed , its much easier to beat the mets if jose reyes isnt on base.
Well I will shut up. If we gave the Padres 40 million more dollars to spend along with our deep farm system, we would have no chance at our division. So thankfully were able to spend that much more than them (and the Diamondbacks) so maybe we can make the playoffs.
I was there for the Lima game and yeah that was the best day in the last 15 years as a dodger fan. easily.
i had tickets for game 4 last year well we all know what happened but i was bummed about not getting to go, even though it wasnt a WS game im sure it would have been amazing.
And I have absolutely no problem with you jungar, you seem like a very intelligent person. You're using facts to back up your opinion which makes this feel productive. And you have a right to be frustrated because it's June and we still haven't played our best baseball. Maybe i'm in the minority and I think I've read a few others say this. But, something inside of me really truly believes Nomar is going to light it up very soon. Now, that may be blind faith, but I can't shake it. Nomar is going to break loose soon. He's too good to be playing this poorly. Just don't give up on him quite yet because I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Long way to go.
Thanks Alex, I like you too and appreciate the ying and yang. if everyone thought like me, this would be a terrible place to visit. I realize sometimes I vent instead of adding something productive. I just want people to demand more of our team. They demand more of us. Parking has gone up from like 6 bucks to 15 and we have 1 playoff win during that time. Now I realize life is more exspensive in general (heck bad movies cost 10+ bucks to see) but my big frustration is that i finally felt like things were really heading in the right direction, we had gotten rid of bad contracts, our farm was rebuilt and we had been to the playoffs 2 of the last 3 years and right now, aside from the potential of the kids things seem stagnant. I root my butt off for these guys and do nothing but cheer during the game. I will be rooting for Nomar as hard as you are, your right, we do need him.
You look at the statistics where we are last in slugging, HRS whatever, and then you look at our win record, which is good. I'm not sure what our run differential is but I have to think its not good. Your run differential will come back to haunt you. Our offense simply MUST get better or there's no way we will remain atop the division. To see SD performing as good or better than us with a significantly smaller payroll is disturbing. Additionally, they have had expceptional luck with picking people off the scrap heap (Bochachia, Germano, Cruz, etc.) and having them perform well while paying almost nothing for them. We're the opposite of that—too many players getting paid way too much and not contributing enough. Now I don't know whether that has to do with the SD front office or whatever, but it would be nice if we were that efficient with our use of money, considering we have so much of it to spend.
Yes i agree with ya alex! We have a long way to go… i had to keep reminding myself that after this weekends series with the OC boys, especially because i had my OC born cousin in my ear this whole weekend!!! But the season isnt even half way over yet so i made sure to remind him that we were still only a game and half back of SD.
Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Nomar, 1B
Kent, 2B
Gonzalez, DH
Martin, C
Kemp, RF
Ethier, LF
Abreu, 3B
Let me ask you guys this: what you think is most likely to happen? which would u want to happen? )
1. Nothing significant, we play with what we got going forward
2. We make some small trades that may reshuffle some things, hope to catch a big second half from someone, but basically dont trade our prospects.
3. We make a franchise changing trade. Which most likely means top prospects gone, but maybe for someone of a legit 3/4 hitter in his prime.
i would love for pierre to be moved to 8th. i think dodger fans as a whole would love that.
jungar, i think that will have a lot to with how well/badly the kids do in the next month or so and how well/badly the vets do.
#2 is the most reasonable from jungar's list.
there arent really any options for your third question jungar. if we could get a cabrera/teixera guy then yeah, but outside of ichiro there arent really that many franchise guys. and the way andruw jones has been playing no thanks. also ill go get some numbers, but i was looking into why vernon wells was doing so horribly this year. he doesnt see more than 2-3 pitches per AB most of the time, and hes just not squaring the ball up, similar to nomar. lets hope wells stays chilly, and nomar starts heating up, because we are facing some tough pitchers.
hey it could be worse i guess, we could be the white sox. all those power hitters in that bandbox, someones on the hot seat.
As much as i would like to say #2 jungar i would have to say #1 i dont think the team we have is bad at all, i think this team can win and win big. The thing about this team is most of them are proven ball players aside from the outstanding rookies our team has playoff experience, now as for how much weight that carries into the actual playoffs we will see but i think with the numbers so low now we can only improve with players like Pierre who has proven he gets better as the season goes on. I really hope Nomar gets it going and Kent would keep trucking along untill his motor completely stops that way we can put in Abreu were he should be for the next couple of years! Thats also another reason why i dont want to unload our kids because they will become our dynasty type team in the future!
I agree the fans at game 3 were great in terms of pure volume, but it didn't even compare to the experience I had with the fans and team at the 4+1 game…I know that is not a fair comparison.
When Kent hit the homerun to tie it in game 3, my ears were ringing afterwards,…that was worth the ear piece I will need in the future.
To your question, jungar, I would go with No. 2 option. The mini-trades on my part would deal off Tomko and Hendrickson. I would also want to see how our youngsters and Nomar, Kent, Gonzo perform over the next month or so before making a decision on how to go the rest of the season. If we're not up in the standings by All Star time, I would opt for turning the game pretty much over to our young talent – that would mean that Loney, Kemp, and Abreu play at least as much as Nomar, Kent, and Gonzo/Pierre. If we go to that extent, I would cut management some slack for the sake of our development toward next year. If they opt to continue with the veterans through the rest of the season, then I think their futures have to ride on that decision – if we don't perform reasonably through play-offs, we should have a new management team carrying forward next year.
I would love to try that lineup today. No sense about arguing where Pierre should fit, but I would seriously consider putting Gonzo in the cleanup slot and dropping Kent to #5. Just to break up the Nomar, Kent combination and intersperse a lefthander in between.

subset: commoncrawl


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Thursday, April 16, 2009
My 5 year-old son has a life-threatening allergy to eggs and peanuts. His allergist told us ominously a few years ago, "Kids with known peanut allergies have a life-threatening event every 4 years on average." Ever since then, we have been holding our breath, thinking that we are past due. We have been extraordinarily cautious since learning about his food allergies when he was only 4 months old. We have no peanut-containing products in our house ever, period, and have eggs at home, but keep them far from my son and cook with them only under very controlled situations (since his egg allergy is less severe). He attends a "peanut-free preschool." We have Benadryl and Epipens in every bag and car and never leave home without them, even to go for a walk down the street. We have stopped flying airlines that serve peanuts. Everyone in his life, from family members to friends to our nanny to his preschool teachers, knows that we have to read the labels on every food every time. Most of them are far more conscientious about this issue than I would likely ever have been before it touched my own life, and many have gone to great lengths to learn where to buy or how to prepare foods for him safely.
My son's preschool teacher is one of the most endearingly over-cautious individuals of the bunch. She will often dash outside on mornings when I am dropping him off to make sure that the candy they will be using for the buttons on a snowman is safe for him, even though the ingredients are literally "sugar and Blue #4". Our nanny is also meticulous about keeping him safe, having chased after me more than once when I left his Epipen behind as I headed out to the car with him, and having noticed that the same cookies we have been buying every week for 2 years, which have always been safe, now say "May contain peanuts". I really don't worry about his safety when he is in their care, and they are pretty much the only two adults I ever leave him alone with for any length of time as a result.
Yesterday was the 4th birthday of one of my son's preschool classmates, Anna. Unbeknownst to me, Anna's mother had asked their teacher weeks ago if she could bring cupcakes. The teacher told her no, not unless they were made without eggs. Apparently she also inquired about bringing in a variety pack of mini candy bars, which his teacher also rejected not only because of his allergy, but the fact that the preschool is officially peanut-free and many of those would surely contain peanuts. Anna's mother, determined not to give up, went to Costco and bought a big container of gourmet jellybeans, which she divided into little snack sacks for each of the kids and sent to preschool in Anna's backpack. Their teacher helped Anna to pass them out to each of the children, including my son, at the end of class.
I am in clinic on Wednesdays, so our nanny picks up my son. When she got there, he had his head down on the table and said he didn't feel well. She noticed that his bag of jellybeans was mostly full, unusual for my son who is a sweet fanatic. He had eaten only a couple of them, he told her, since he felt kind of sick to his stomach. But then he asked to be able to stay and play with his friends in the adjacent play area, so she forgot about it. After playing for awhile, he came back to his goodie bag and ate a few more jellybeans. Within 5 minutes, he was complaining of nausea and saying he needed to put his head down. Noting that his "nausea" coincidentally occurred as they were being asked to clean up, she didn't make much of it. By the time they got back to our house, less than 2 miles away, he was coughing and wheezing, complaining that his throat was tight, and dry-heaving. She promptly gave him Benadryl and called my cell phone, Epipen in hand. By the time I answered 3 rings later, his face was noticeably swollen. She knew he was having an allergic reaction, but to what, she said, she had no idea. He hadn't eaten anything that should have peanuts or eggs.
When I talked to my son about what had happened later that day and asked him what he thought had made him sick, he said without so much as a pause: "those speckled jellybeans I ate at Anna's party". When I asked him how he knew, he said, "the package didn't have any words on it, which means there could always be peanuts," a rule I have repeated over and over to him for the last 5 years of his life. At least he has been listening.
Ultimately with treatment, my son was fine, but how on earth did this happen? My son is extraordinarily aware of the seriousness of his allergies and routinely surprises me with his own cautiousness about foods that didn't come from our home. He was in the care of multiple people who know him, love him, and are frankly paranoid of messing this up. I called his preschool teacher later that day, quite distraught, to tell her what had happened and to let her know that he was fine, in case she had already heard through the grapevine. She had and had immediately called Anna's mother, who checked the label of the jellybean container and confirmed what I already knew: peanuts, plainly listed among the ingredients. In fact, one of the gourmet jellybean flavors was PB&J.
It turns out that Anna's mother JUST ASSUMED that jellybeans would be safe, so she never actually thought to read the label or bring the original container to preschool. Understandable. Who would suspect jellybeans might have peanuts in them? I wouldn't. His preschool teacher JUST ASSUMED that Anna's mother must have checked the label since she had asked so many questions about which foods were safe to bring to school for Anna's birthday, so she never actually asked her whether the jellybeans were definitely peanut- and egg-free. Understandable. Anna has been in preschool with my son for months, and his allergies were widely known in the class. My son JUST ASSUMED the jellybeans were safe since Anna had brought them, and his teacher had handed them to him, so he never actually asked. Understandable since he is just beginning to read and has learned he must rely on a few trusted adults, one of whom is his teacher, to tell him if a food is safe for him to eat. Our nanny JUST ASSUMED that the jellybeans must be okay for him since a friend's parent had brought them and his teacher had let him start eating them, so she never actually asked to see a list of ingredients. And our nanny JUST ASSUMED that, because he had already eaten some and was apparently okay that, when he began demonstrating the earliest signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis, which she knows very well, it could not have been the jellybeans.
This could all have been prevented had anyone NOT JUST ASSUMED. This is why two OR nurses count sponges at the end of a case, to make sure none get left inside a patient. This is why two oncology nurses independently verify the chemotherapy dose the medical oncologist has written before giving it. This is why the blood bank requires that the nurse check the hospital bracelet of the patient she has been caring for all week and match it to the name on the bag of red cells before starting the infusion. These policies realize explicitly that when you assume, it is only a matter of time before you make an ass out of u and me. And if you're a health care worker, you might kill someone in the process, too.
As I tried to think of medical examples for this post, I was struck by one thing. All of the ones that quickly came to mind involved nurses. The reality is that, on this issue, they are light years ahead of doctors, who may have historically been too proud to acknowledge their potential for error...and who in many cases remain so. The attention recently given to the alarming prevalence of medical errors has led to some positive changes in physician behavior, such as surgeons initialing the correct side of surgery while a patient is still awake before a planned amputation or joint replacement, for example. But we still have a long, long way to go before these double-checks are built into every important medical decision. And finally, let us remember that all of these practices arose from the terrible tragedies of patients, most victims of health care workers JUST ASSUMING.
If you are a medical student or a nurse or a physician in training, there is a lot of unspoken pressure to just assume that someone "superior" knows what he or she is doing and not to question that person. If you are that someone "superior," there can be a lot of unspoken pressure to appear to know what you are doing and not stop to question yourself. Please, for everyone's sake, don't assume anything. Stop to question. I can promise you that it is only a matter of time before your questioning will save someone's life.
10 comments:
Great post, as pertaining to food allergies and in the medical field.ReplyDelete
My son is allergic to wheat, rye, barley, oat, egg, peanut and tree nut. I try never to assume that something is safe, BUT I can think of a handful of times that I've done that. Just last week when we visited the Easter Bunny, they were handing out Safe-T-Pops. He's had those before, but there was no package to check. Were they the SAME Safe-T-Pops? Did manufacturing change? I don't know, but I assumed they were safe (and frankly, I didn't want to say no to a sucker from the Easter Bunny. It just seemed wrong).
I'm glad that your son was fine! Scary though and a great reminder for all of us.
And a great reminder for all of us in every part of the medical field. And as a patient, never assume that the doctors and nurses can read your mind or can remember every detail of your medical history.
I'm so glad that everything turned out okay with your son. Thanks for yet another reminder. We've discovered peanut products in orange juice and dairy in asthma medications.ReplyDelete
You just never know and can't assume anything.
You're a great mom taking so many precautions. Unexpected things like this happen...to all of us.
I'm so glad he's okay, T. Your nanny sounds really wonderful and knew just what to do.ReplyDelete
But, you're good for the next 4 years, right?
- AnonymousApril 17, 2009 at 8:27 PM
You are right that nobody can assume anything.ReplyDelete
But you were prepared for the worse. Although this slipped by, you had everything in place to handle the mistake. So things did work out.
The thing to assume is that mistakes will be made. That's why they count those sponges and check that ID bracelet/birthday even when it seems stupid.
I thought the accepted strategy for this kind of situation was for day care/school to have a little supply of treats that you've supplied and when everybody is having the celebration they give your child one of those goodies. It's not quite as fun as having what everybody gets but it beats feeling sick.
So totally true. I think the most important thing I learned from my last rotation was that if you think something with the patient is off, SAY SOMETHING. Tactfully of course. Fortunately, most of the attendings and residents have been good about listening, though occasionally you get an a**hole who thinks you're too big for your britches if you point this stuff out.ReplyDelete
I'm a nursing student. I am currently being trained to question EVERYTHING. I hope when I get out into the world, doctors don't feel like I'm being a jerk. I'm just doing what I was trained to do. Case in point: I was testing out on NG tube insertion and removal. Removal comes along and I start getting my stuff ready. Right when I'm about to take it out she asks if I would check if the patient was ready for it to be removed. I had done one thing and she asked what else I would do. She asked if I would just trust the doctor that it can be taken out now or if I would make sure the patient wasn't ganna puke all over me. I definitely don't want to be puked on any more often than I have to be. Great post!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousApril 20, 2009 at 8:32 PM
What a great post. I am physician mom with a son with a peanut allergy, and this post spoke to my heart and mind more than anything I have ever read. THanks.ReplyDelete
My friend and I had a discussion on the subject of allergies earlier this morning. She has a peanut allergy she developed later in life. Well, it occured to me that since I regularly babysit for her kids, I had better find out what kind of allergies (if any) her kids have.ReplyDelete
Its amazing how one little misread on a label can cause so many problems. Its also scary how there are many allergies that go undiagnosed because a person may not have been exposed to a food or medicine which would cause the allergy to surface.
- AnonymousMay 17, 2009 at 8:54 PM
Hi-I am a pregnant medicine resident who is about to match in oncology with a physician/military husband-I am so thrilled to find your blog since you address concerns I will have. I am considering withdrawing from the match b/c I want to make family my priority but I love oncology. Do you have any advice for me?ReplyDelete


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Hiking The sea, the wind, the open landscape create a feeling of freedom. Read more
Hiking Lilla Kungsleden with its manor environments and fast waters conveys a magnificent feeling. This trail is suitable for hiking. Read more
Sights/Attractions, Handicraft Come view the amazing work of art depicting a dinaosaur by the renowned artist ROA center in Bromölla town center! Read more
Sport & Adventures Here you have the possibility to get a good workout with a view overlooking the biggest lake in Skåne - Ivösjön! Read more
Activities, Sport & Adventures Adjacent to the running/walking tracks at Strandängen you'll find this functional ourdoor gym where you can have an effective workout. Read more
Activities, Sport & Adventures At the beach in Valje you'll find this functional outdoor gym! Read more
Sport & Adventures, Hiking Welcome to the hilly running tracks in Barnakälla! Read more
Sport & Adventures, Hiking Welcome to the cosy running tracks in Valje! Read more
Sport & Adventures, Hiking Welcome to our central running tracks in Bromölla! Read more
Modern architecture, Group travel destination, Group travel destination [...] Around 60 billion years ago the island Ivön was an island in the late Senoic sea, whose coast during the Cretaceous period was as high as the Småland highlands. In the sea's sa... Read more
Bathing Welcome to the biggest beach in Bromölla! Read more
Sights/Attractions You find Sweden's smallest library at the trainstation in Bromölla. Here you can borrow a book 24/7. Welcome! Read more
Biking, Hiking Näsumaleden conveys to it´s many ancestors from distant time a historical feeling. This trail is suitable for hiking and biking. Read more
Sights/Attractions Västanå has an old village center with the original village street preserved. The roads with its stone walls correspond broadly with the map from the Great Redistribution of Lan... Read more
Activities, Café Visit us and enjoy a cozy "fika", tasty dinner or why not an hour of bowling! Read more
Activities To catch a trout is great, but to take it on the fly is bigger! Take the opportunity to practice your fly fishing technique on a small friendly facility in northeastern Skåne. A... Read more
Museums, Group travel destination Nymölla mill is documented from 1624, but is probably much older Read more
Activities, Biking, Boat & canoe Rent a bike and/or canoe from us. Read more
Activities, Boat & canoe Book aluminium boat for 4 people including fishing permit, life vest, nautical chart and 5 l gas. Read more
Activities The cinema opened in 1955 under the name "Mosaic". Movie Palace was selected Sweden's best cinema in 2001 by Filmkrönikan. Movie Palace is wheelchair accessible and has the spac... Read more


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I'm trying to build a very simple economic model for the blobs. There are two types of items: food and money. A blob can do four things: rest, plant crops, harvest crops, or eat. What makes this complicated is that the blob has to make a tradeoff between present and future and between comfort and wealth.
How can I make it interesting? I don't want one option to be always better than the other.
One way to make blob behavior interesting is a non-linear utility function. Intuitively, the unpleasantness (negative utility) of each hour of work increases the more work you've done. Hour ten is tougher than hour three. Also, the pleasantness of goods (positive utility) decreases for each additional unit. This is called diminishing marginal utility in economics. With this principle we can have blobs that do not always choose the same thing, because choosing the same thing over and over leads to reduced returns each time.
The blob decision algorithm is: compute the total utility function of each of the alternative actions and then choose the highest one.
What I still haven't worked out is how to value the future. Planting crops has a present negative utility and a future positive utility. But how do I value the future utility? Having two farms that can be harvested in six months isn't equal to having one farm that can be harvested in three months and another that can be harvested in nine months. How do I take into account the amount of time involved? How do I take into account the possibly varying price of food? Also, how do I take into account the ability to choose something different (by having free time) in the future?


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Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger stopped by XM Radio's NHL Live studios in New York for a half-hour interview on Friday morning. For a brief interlude, the host threw things to their correspondent in Boston. But the mics remained hot, at least for a few minutes available in the NHL.com podcast edition (to which bat-eared tipster Andy kindly directed us).
The talk shifted to Pronger's first Game 7, as a 22 year-old St. Louis Blue in 1996. It was a big one.
He said:
Thank fucking God I wasn't on the ice. Because I would have been blamed for it. ... We got spanked in that series, we lost the first game tight, 3-2, whatever, second game we got blown out 8-1, and it was like an NBC game, or whatever it was, and, oh my God, [coach Mike Keenan] came in and ripped everybody, tore Gretzky a new ass, and I'm sure he'd never had that happen before, and that was it, he was like, I'm not re-signing here, I'm done. That was it. Mike showed up at his hotel that night—it was an afternoon game—that night showed up shitfaced at his room, he was staying at the Ritz in St. Louis.
Correspondent's bit presumably ends.
Host EJ Hradek: Hold on. We gotta go back. We'll get back to this. Laughs.
Host Deb Placey: I got married there that summer.
Pronger's speaking about Game 7 of the 1996 Western Conference Semifinals, Wings-Blues, which Steve Yzerman won with this shot in double OT:
You can understand why Keenan—who was nicknamed "Iron Mike" for his toughness on players, even while sober—would figure he needed to rip into his guys. That's some mediocre neutral-zone play. And this was after they had come back in the series. Keenan's now a marble-mouthed pregame analyst on Versus.
Anyway, we never do hear the end of Pronger's story, because the podcast (available here, if you fast-forward a few times) does not include the bits from the commercial breaks. We would really like to know what a drunk Mike Keenan told Wayne Gretzky at his hotel, but we suppose that's another story for another day.
There's one thing we have learned, though: some intern is not listening to the podcasts before he uploads them! How do you expect to earn college credit from Gary Bettman's wretched machine like that?
NHL Live Podcasts [NHL.com]


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Newprescription drug plan offered by city allows Torrington residents to save on medications
Torrington >> New program to provide discounts on prescription drugs to Torrington residents will begin this month.
The new, free Prescription Drug Discount Program is being offered by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. Torrington is one of 11 towns to join the CCM program recently. There are 38 towns already enrolled in the cost-saving program, and it will go live in the 11 new towns on January 21st.
"The program will help Torrington residents who are uninsured or underinsured get a significant discount off of prescription medication," said CCM spokesperson, Kevin Maloney.
The "City of Torrington Prescription Drug Discount Card" will help residents without health insurance, inadequate insurance or a traditional pharmacy benefit plan save, on average, 45% on prescription medications. All medications are covered by this plan including pet prescriptions that are filled at a pharmacy.
The program is free for CCM communities. Fortunately for Torrington residents, Torrington is a member so that means there is no cost to the municipality or the participating resident for these services.
There are also no enrollment forms, membership fees, restrictions or limiations on frequency of use. Cardholders and their families can use these free discount cards any time a prescription is not covered by insurance.
Anyone can participate in this program regardless of age, income or exisiting health coverage.
There are over 63,000 pharmacies participating in this program nationwide including CVS, Rite-Aid, Walgreens, Walmart, Stop and Shop and Big Y. Many small, independent pharmacies are also involved.
"It is a clear win for our town when we can easily ensure that our uninsured and underinsured residents have easy, no cost access to better presciption coverage," said Mayor Bingham in a press release on the subject. "I am proud that Torrington is able to take part of this great opportunity to help our residents that need a great program like this."
Starting on January 21st, discount cards will be mailed to every residence in Torrington. Cards can also be printed online at CTRxDiscountCard.com. The cards will be pre-activated so residents can use them immediately.
The Prescription Drug Discount Program is a new to CCM. It was launched in July 2012.
"We are always looking at new programs," said Gina Calabro, director of member services and marketing at CCM. "I received a call from the New York County Association. They had been offering this program for the last four years."
CCM researched the benefits for a year before deciding to officially launch the program. The first five towns mailed in to participate in September.
"The reason we brought this program forward was because it offered more than just prescription benefits," said Calabro.
There are other discounts associated with this card including breaks on vision, hearing and Lasik services.
The drug discounts are negotiated directly with the pharmacy companies. Calabro said that sometimes that means only a difference of $10 or $15, but that can also mean a 50-60% difference in price.
"For the towns involved since September, they have seen $20,000 to $30,000 in savings already," said Calabro. "It's a tremendous program."
Since the program's launch, Calabro said she gets calls every day from towns interested in participating.
"It caught on very quickly," said Maloney, "which makes us think that we tapped into something that was needed."


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VANCOUVER —One step more. It's all Kevin Martin ever wanted to take.
Just 30 centimetres or so in height, but eight years, countless practice rocks, countless hours in the gym, and, yes, countless questions from naysayers in the making — it all made it that much sweeter for the 43-year-old Edmonton skip to finally take that step, to the top of the men's curling medal podium, Saturday night at the Vancouver Olympic Centre.
Accompanied by third John Morris, second Marc Kennedy, lead Ben Hebert and fifth player Adam Enright, Martin answered every question that had followed his loss in the 2002 Olympic final by beating Norway's Thomas Ulsrud 6-3.
"That," said a jubilant Martin afterwards, "was a big game. Honestly, it was. We wanted to get that one step higher on the podium. All the other stuff was done. And it feels really good."
It should, and Martin can now fairly stake his claim among the greatest curlers ever as a four-time Canadian champ to go along with world and Olympic titles.
"Kevin's unbelievable," said Kennedy. "The amount he's put into this sport, probably more than anyone else — he did it all for these reason. We're really proud of him. He put together a plan for all of us and we stuck with it for four years, and it's come to fruition. I don't think there's any doubt that he's the best player to ever play. And he just topped himself today."
Morris is in the discussion, too, having made history as the only player to win world junior and men's titles as well as Olympic gold (Hebert also did it, but as an alternate at the world juniors).
But this was Martin's night.
He never trailed Saturday, building a 3-0 lead through five tentative ends during which Morris needed to bail him out of some trouble, making a triple takeout in the second end to get the packed house into the game, then followed up with tough double takeouts in the fourth and fifth ends that led directly to Canadian steals.
Fittingly, though, it was Martin who delivered the shot of the game — a clutch freeze in the seventh end that Ulsrud couldn't pry out, and Martin made the open draw for two, and it was just a matter of time before he finally got to experience the complete and utter joy that accompanies an Olympic gold medal.
"I'm pretty sure (Martin) didn't want another silver in that trophy case at home, so it was nice to get that gold medal for him," said Morris, who paused before throwing a shot in the 10th end to savour the sound of more than 5,000 fans doing an a cappella version of O Canada. "We put a lot of hard work in over the last four years, and it was great that it's paid off."
It was Norway, of course, that beat Martin's old team in the Salt Lake final, and Norway's skip that day, Pal Trulsen, was sitting behind the scoreboard as Norway's national coach. And it was Trulsen who was among the first people to give Martin a hug after the handshakes.
"The boys (Ulsrud's team) should be proud of the whole week," said Trulsen. "They met one of the best teams in the history of curling today."
While the focus was on Martin, and justifiably so, the gamble he made in 2006 by replacing his Salt Lake team with a group of relative youngsters paid off handsomely on Saturday. Hebert and Kennedy continue to establish themselves as one of the finest front ends in the sport's history, while Morris's stock, already lofty, took another spike upwards.
And none of it came easily.
"You see your families and realize the time and sacrifice you put in," said Kennedy of his time on the podium. "It's tough (to contain your emotions), but it's just a lot of joy and a lot of relief. And you get tingles, jitters up the spine. The one thought that goes through my mind is, I don't think it gets better than this. Up three coming home, home crowd, the Olympic Games, and they're singing the anthem — it just doesn't get any better. I don't know how I'm going to top this. I might have to retire."
Well, that's not going to happen any time soon, vowed Martin. There was a victory to savour Saturday night ("It's going to be a good night," said a smiling Morris), a possible hockey game to attend Sunday, and a lifetime of memories to savour.
"I'm not sure if it could be better (than he'd hoped for), but it might have been," said Martin, who finished off the win in the 10th end with a takeout. "When (he saw) that rock was about to make contact, that's as good of a feeling as you get. All the hard work, it all comes to fruition."
It did Saturday, on the top step of the podium.


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NEA calls for national summit on labor-management collaboration
Tampa - October 14, 2010 -
The head of the nation's largest teachers' union joined U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and other education and union leaders in announcing plans to convene a national education reform conference on labor-management collaboration early next year.
The announcement came on the heels of a roundtable discussion here that highlighted an innovative labor agreement that is helping to transform public schools in Florida's Hillsborough County. During the discussion, National Education Association (NEA) President Dennis Van Roekel noted that the kind of collaboration that is evident in Hillsborough County is underway across the nation. He said that collaboration with educators—and the unions that represent them—is essential to improving student achievement.
The conference will highlight examples of progressive collective bargaining agreements across the country and identify opportunities for further reforms at the state and district level.
"There are innovative and creative collaborations happening in our public schools," said Van Roekel. "Not only do we need to highlight this great work, but we need to share lessons learned and figure out how great ideas can be replicated."
Earlier in the day, Van Roekel met with Duncan, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten, Florida Education Association (FEA) President Andy Ford, and state and local leaders for a roundtable discussion on how labor agreements are playing a pivotal role in transforming public schools.
The group traveled to Tampa to observe how consensus reached between union members and administrators in Hillsborough County Public Schools is leading to a more effective evaluation system for teachers and principals. Beginning this year, feedback from mentors and peers will be included in the educator evaluation process—a practice all agree will lead to stronger performance, stronger public schools and students better prepared to compete in a global and interdependent world.
Over the last month, the public has been inundated with negative portrayals of teachers and their unions. "Waiting for Superman," NBC's Education Nation summit, and other media coverage has vilified teachers and portrayed their unions as the obstacles to school improvement. Van Roekel challenged that assumption by highlighting how union-led transformation in communities like Seattle, Denver, Evansville, Ind., Columbus, Ohio, and Oklahoma City, Okla., is making the grade all across the country.
Van Roekel urged those listening to the discussion to take the lessons learned from Hillsborough and elsewhere back to their own communities to help improve local schools. Further, he invited everyone— parents, elected officials and movie-makers alike—to join NEA in working for real school improvement by taking the Priority Schools Pledge.
Although Hillsborough County Public Schools are a shining example of union-led school change and transformation, they aren't a solo act. Van Roekel noted examples from across the country where educators are indeed everyday superheroes:
- A fair and transparent contract (PDF) in Seattle takes a great step toward identifying high quality teaching. Student test scores are one factor in teacher evaluations. Administrators review an array of tests and a drop in test scores automatically triggers two observations of the teacher. That evaluation results, coupled with monthly reviews, are designed to give real-time feedback and support to teachers. The contract specifies that students in poverty, English language learners and students of color deserve special focus.
- In Denver, the Math and Science Leadership Academy, designed and run by teachers, uses collaborative peer planning time to analyze data and figure out how to better meet the academic needs of students. Sixty percent of MSLA students are English language learners and close to 90 percent receive free or reduced-price lunches. The school aims to attract and retain accomplished teachers in math and science, and so far, the strategy appears to be working. MSLA has been receiving 30 applications for each teaching position.
- In Evansville, Ind., educators concluded that low-performing schools needed a different approach. So, in partnership with the school district, the union developed the Evansville Equity Schools Project. The project includes a professional development academy which provides top-notch training for teachers in the three lowest-performing schools. Teachers can't teach at the schools unless they attend the academy, take 40 hours of training on Saturdays and pass an examination.
- In Columbus, Ohio, a union-led effort is working to close achievement gaps by bringing service-learning and 21st century skills to the classroom. A task force—which included the union—convened a community conversation which led to radical change at Linden-McKinley High School. A video recruiting students to the transformed and renamed Linden-McKinley STEM Academy emphasizes the appeal of certain aspects of the school's new curriculum—field trips, designing video games and building robots.
- In Oklahoma City, Okla., a vibrant combination of targeted academic programs, parental involvement, and professional development—all union-championed—are helping to address the issue of low academic achievement among Hispanic students. The results are impressive: the number of graduating Hispanic students rose by nearly 70 percent between 2008 and 2009, and student performance on end-of-year achievement tests went up substantially.
"Those who dare suggest that unions are obstructionists are wrong; in fact, the opposite is true. In communities around the country, we are leading the way," said Van Roekel.
Click here for an Op/Ed by President Van Roekel on union-led collaboration in The Hill Congress Blog
For more information on NEA's Priority Schools Campaign, an effort to transform low-performing schools, visit: www.neapriorityschools.org
Follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/NEAMedia
The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.
CONTACT: Staci Maiers (202) 270-5333, firstname.lastname@example.com


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Bethesda Softworks announced today that it has started taking beta applications for the upcoming Elder Scrolls Online MMO based on its popular single-player RPG series.
The beta signup page features a live update of your chances of selection for the limited beta as you fill out information like previous MMO and RPG experience, play style, and system information for your computer. "Completing all the optional sections will significantly increase your chances of being selected for beta participation," the site advises.
Bethesda also used the beta signups as an opportunity to release a new five-minute CGI video promoting the game, shown below. The video is suitably epic—it would serve as an excellent trailer for a fantasy movie—but it bears only a passing resemblance to what actual gameplay will look like. I got a short preview of the game back at E3, where the creators stressed that quests would all factor into an epic storyline, without any of the pointless "kill ten rats"-style chores that plague other games. The developers went into more detail about their goals in a November preview trailer.
It's hard to get a real feel for this type of game without fully inhabiting it for a while. And it might be a while before we get that chance; the beta is still undated, and the game is only set for a vague "2013" release. Still, the Elder Scrolls series has definitely already put in the requisite world-building effort, and it has a suitably developed mythos to build an MMO on top of already. Then again, so did BioWare's The Old Republic universe, and that MMO has been struggling a bit to live up to its lofty WoW-killer ambitions.


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Article Marketing Robot is a very popular content "marketing" tool used by a lot of folks, specifically in the affiliate marketing world. I frequent a lot of SEO forums to keep my "ear to the street" as they say, and one particular Blackhat World thread caught my eye. Keep in mind that this person was most likely doing all sorts of junk link building like 2.0 and forum profiles, junk blog comments and other low quality stuff. The message I'm wanting to get across is that the Googly Woogly is cracking down a lot more on poor link building practices.
Short story: a few weeks ago 4 of my sites were penalized and I made a reconsideration request on all 4 of them. Of course they are were rejected so I have written them again with more details. Few days ago they finally replied me (this is the first reply from google in 5 years ).
Here is part of the email I got from them:
"Specifically, look for possibly artificial or unnatural links pointing to your site that could be intended to manipulate PageRank.
To illustrate how these articles could apply to you [they mean google quality guidelines], here are examples of pages that contain inorganic links to your site: [they posted examples from which one is an AMR article]" To illustrate how these articles could apply to you [they mean google quality guidelines], here are examples of pages that contain inorganic links to your site: [they posted examples from which one is an AMR article]"
They tend to be really helpful now. They post links and even the anchor text. I replied them again and they answered within 72h.
I decided not to post a screenshot of this email because I am still trying to recover my rankings and I don't want them to know that I am sharing this info here.
I know a lot of people say links cannot hurt you but the fact of the matter is they can. I've quoted Google's guide on link schemes so many times my fingers hurt. Pimping low quality content going after certain anchor text is in direct violation and is risky business. We all know it works well so just be careful in how you go about your link building efforts.
I am by no means saying not to game Google. If you have a solid brand backed by wicked awesome content you'll be able to get away with a lot more. The majority of affiliate sites will rarely ever get linked to and that makes it too easy for Google to spot a link scheme taking place.


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Scientists Clarify 'Mini-Sub' Role at Pearl Harbor
By Judith Snyderman
Special to American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2010 – Scientists who have been studying wreckage from Japanese mini-submarines that were part of an advance strike force on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, say a new television show is informative, but could leave viewers with misunderstandings.
For one thing, they say, the show -- part of PBS's "NOVA" series -- reveals no new discoveries.
"It's basically a synopsis of the work that we performed up through 2000," Navy Capt. John A. Rodgaard said during a "DoDLive" bloggers roundtable Jan. 6. Rodgaard was joined by Peter Hsu, a scientist who analyzes forensic shock effects of underwater explosions, and Robert Neyland of the Naval History and Heritage Command, which studies shipwrecks and sunken aircraft.
These experts say there's no dispute that hours before the main air attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese navy launched five mini-subs armed with torpedoes from larger submarines. U.S. Navy ships sank the mini-subs, and the first pieces of wreckage were identified by the Hawaiian underwater research lab called HURL in 1992.
Another key piece of evidence is an aerial photograph of one of the mini-subs that was taken by a Japanese aircraft.
In 1994, Rodgaard used that evidence to correct earlier beliefs that only one of the five submarines that had been launched made it into the harbor, and that it failed in its attack.
"What we demonstrated initially was that a second one had actually entered and also was successful in its attack," he said.
The mini-sub pictured in the aerial photograph is the one featured in the television documentary, Rodgaard explained. But the show implies the wreckage is a new find, he added, when it actually was well known for years, though it wasn't identified as one of the five Pearl Harbor attack mini-subs until recently.
Neyland said the timeline presented by the program incorrectly suggests the sub was the last of the five launched. "We consider that the No. 1 submarine, based on the Japanese records of the release times," he said.
One other problem, Rodgaard said, is the documentary's assertion that a mini-sub torpedo struck the USS Arizona and did not detonate.
"I don't know about you, but I don't think an object such as a torpedo that winds up being a dud, striking an object at [42] knots, is going to remain intact," he said. Hsu theorized that, based on weight analyses, the unexploded torpedo depicted on the show may have been dropped from an aircraft.
Despite these concerns, the experts agreed that the story of the Pearl Harbor mini-subs is a fascinating piece of history that deserves ongoing research. One mystery is the location of the wreckage in a 1,000-foot-deep debris field outside Pearl Harbor. Neyland said it's clear the mini-sub must have been salvaged after the war ended, but that leaves unanswered questions, such as why it is where it is, why it is disassembled, and why no record exists of it having been found and salvaged out of Pearl Harbor.
Rodgaard added that a 15-foot section of the mini-sub is missing, and he hopes it will be found. Each piece of evidence is a time capsule of history, he said.
Scientific techniques such as bio-corrosion studies on bolts and studies of the origins of microorganisms attached to parts may solve some of these mysteries. "I would say our journey continues," he said. "There are quite a few things that we could still do."
(Judith Snyderman works in the Defense Media Activity's emerging media directorate.)
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Anjarisi pongal, a rice dish made using 5 varieties of rice, is a traditional pongal served in sumptuous Chettinad wedding feasts. They usually prepare anjarisi pongal or anjarisi payasam using black kavuni arisi, varagu arisi (kodo millet), rava (sooji), javvarisi (sago) and raw rice. But I tried using indigenous rice varieties well known for their nutritive values especially for low-GI property like white kavuni arisi, varagu arisi, moongil arisi (bamboo rice), mappillai samba arisi (red rice), and kaikuthal arisi (hand-pounded rice) for making delicious and nutritious pongal.
I prepared both sakkarai pongal (sweet pongal) & ven pongal (savory pongal) using the same combination of rice varieties. I found kaikuthal arisi, varagu arisi, and mappillai samba arisi nicely amalgamated with one another when cooked, but I could feel soft chunky moongil arisi and sticky white kavuni arisi in every bite, eventually this combination of rice lent a delicious texture ideal for making creamy pongal. Above all I felt extremely satisfied with flavourful anjarisi pongal loaded with nutrients rather than conventional raw rice pongal.
First I cooked the rice (pongal) separately and then prepared sweet pongal & savory pongal by adding spices or sweetener into cooked rice. Here I used banana for adding a fruit flavour, you may add apple, pineapple, jack fruit, or any other such fruit suitable for sweet pongal.
- 1 cup of rice, a mixture of above said rice varieties (you may adjust the proportion of each rice according to your palate)
- 1/2 cup of moong dal
- 4 cups of water for pressure cooking
Pongal making:
- Heat a pan with moong dal in medium flame.
- Dry roast the lentils until they begin to change the color.
- Remove from flame.
- Wash rice & lentils.
- Soak them for 30 minutes.
- Heat a pressure cooker with water & rice mixture.
- Bring it to boil in high flame.
- Close the cooker and simmer for 15 minutes.
- When the pressure is released mash well with a wooden spatula.
Sakkarai Pongal
- 1 banana
- 1 cup of powdered jaggery
- 500 ml of water for syrup
- 2 tbsp of ghee
- A few cashew nuts & raisins
- 2 cardamoms
Sakkarai pongal:
- Heat a sauce pan with water and jaggery and bring it to boil in high flame.
- Meanwhile add banana into the cooked rice and mash them well.
- When the syrup begins to get thickened remove from flame.
- Pour the syrup through a strainer into the half of cooked rice and cook this mixture in medium flame.
- Meanwhile fry cashew nuts and raisins in ghee.
- When the syrup is well amalgamated with rice, pour the ghee with cashew nuts.
- Add powdered cardamom in to pongal and mix well.
- Remove from flame.
- Serve anjarisi pongal warm.
Ven Pongal
- 2 tbsp of ghee
- 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp of coarsely ground pepper
- 1 tsp of finely chopped ginger
- a few cashew nuts
- 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
- A pinch of asafoetida powder (hing)
- A sprig of curry leaves
- 1/2 tsp of salt
Ven pongal:
- Heat a pan with ghee in medium flame.
- Add cumin seeds, crushed pepper, cashew nuts and chopped ginger.
- Fry them until cashew nuts turn golden.
- Add curry leaves, turmeric powder and hing and saute for a minute.
- Add the remaining rice and salt into the pan and combine together.
- When the pongal is nicely infused with the flavours of spices, pour a tsp of ghee and remove from flame.
- Serve ven pongal with coconut chutney and sambar.
You may check out all my Pongal recipes here including the traditional preparation of pongal in a pot (without using a pressure cooker), sakkarai pongal, ven pongal, kadamba sambar and avial usually prepared on the day of Pongal.


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3 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 stick plus 2 T margarine, melted
¾ c pareve vanilla soy milk
2 T flour
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 c sugar
3 large eggs
½ tsp coconut flavoring
½ c vanilla wafer crumbs, or graham cracker crumbs, or other pareve cookie crumb
¼ c firmly packed brown sugar
Cook Squash in boiling water (to cover) until very tender, aout 20 minutes and drain well.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl with an electric mixer mix squash, 1 stick margarine, soy milk, flour, spices, sugar, eggs and coconut extract until smooth. Transfer mixture to an 8 inch baking dish, or other similar oven to table cookware that has been coated with non-stick cooking spray and bake in the middle of the oven for 50 minutes.
In a small bowl combine wafer crumbs with brown sugar and remaining margarine until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle mixture over casserole and bake until just set, 15 to 25 minutes more. Serves 8


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Editor's Note: The following report is excerpted from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium online newsletter published by the founder of WND. Subscriptions are $99 a year or, for monthly trials, just $9.95 per month for credit card users, and provide instant access for the complete reports.
WASHINGTON – Just as the threat peaks for an electromagnetic pulse hit on the United States – either from a solar flare or an enemy attack – the mandatory federal spending cuts signed into law by President Obama call for less spending for disaster relief, according to Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.
Sources say the initial $85 billion in automatic cuts for fiscal year 2013 could include $1 billion in disaster relief funds administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
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Sequestration also would affect the Department of Homeland Security's ability to provide security screening. Some sources say it could amount to four or five hours waiting in security lines for a flight, due to the furlough of officers with DHS' Transportation Security Administration.
DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has warned that federal responses to disasters and other homeland security needs would be seriously impaired due to budget cuts.
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"Hurricane Sandy, recent threats surrounding aviation and the continued threat of homegrown terrorism demonstrate how we must remain vigilant and prepared," she said. "Threats from terrorism and response and recovery efforts associated with natural disasters will not diminish because of budget cuts to DHS."
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An EMP, an electromagnetic pulse, is estimated by scientists to be able to shut down the nation's power grid and other functions, such as food and fuel supply systems, sending the nation back to the 19th century. It could come from a major solar eruption or from an enemy's high-altitude nuclear explosion.
Read the documentation that's sparking the worry about the EMP threat, in "A Nation Forsaken".
"Even in this current fiscal climate, we do not have the luxury of making significant reductions to our capabilities without placing our nation at risk," Napolitano said. "Rather, we must continue to prepare for, respond to and recover from evolving threats and disasters – and we require sufficient resources to sustain and adapt our capabilities accordingly. We simply cannot absorb the additional reduction posed by sequestration without significantly negatively affecting frontline operations and our nation's previous investments in the homeland security enterprise."
The Appropriations Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives was even more blunt in a report warning of the impact of sequestration.
It said FEMA would lose more than $1 billion in disaster-relief funding, which would directly impact aid to families, businesses and communities rebuilding from storms, floods and other disasters.
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Victims of Hurricane Sandy, which recently struck the Northeast, eventually would stand to lose almost $2 billion in assistance, officials estimated.
Such cutbacks also would have a cascading impact on funds available to state and local law enforcement, the report said. These law enforcement entities would see some $120 million in cuts to state and local homeland security grants, along with another $100 million in grants from the U.S. Justice Department, which would lead to layoffs of first responders.
Read the documentation that's sparking the worry about the EMP threat, in "A Nation Forsaken".
The congressional committee report also said drastic budget cuts would force the U.S. Coast Guard, which also comes under DHS, to cut its air and surface operations by 25 percent, greatly affecting its mission.
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For the rest of this report, and other Intelligence Briefs, please to go Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin:
- United States: Border security jeopardized
- United States: Cyber security alarms ringing
- United States/European Union: Largest free trade zone
Keep in touch with the most important breaking news stories about critical developments around the globe with Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence news source edited and published by the founder of WND.
For the complete report and full immediate access to Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, subscribe now.


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The wonderful Felice Brothers are on tour around Europe at the moment, stopping off in the usual places, including a few shows in the UK, all listed below. They've also just released a new video for 'Millionaire', which is released alongside (as a double a-side) 'Fire At The Pageant'. You can watch both videos below.
5 - London, Macbeth
6 - London, KOKO
7 - Manchester, Academy 2
9 - Glasgow, ABC
10 - Belfast, Spring and Airbake
12 - Birmingham, Institute


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Spurs' Matt Bonner: 'We have to move on' from Game 6
Game 7 of the NBA Finals is Thursday night
Matt Bonner and the San Antonio Spurs were leading by five points with 28 seconds remaining in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, but the 2013 championship slipped away on a night Ray Allen sank a clutch 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds remaining to keep alive the Miami Heat.
Bonner, a nine-year NBA veteran out of Concord High, said the team had no time to "wallow in the devastation." Game 7 is tonight at 9 on ABC.
"We have to move on. Flush it. The theme during the NBA Finals is that every game has been independent of the past. Good or bad, we need to stick to that and refocus. It's not over yet. We have another crack at it for Game 7, which is for all the marbles," said Bonner.
A conversation with the Red Rocket entering Game 7:
How are you able to emotionally move past the heart-breaking loss?
Matt Bonner: It's really the option. We're not Marty McFly (of "Back to the Future"). We can't build a time machine and go back and change things in the past. To wallow in the devastation of that loss is pointless. Rational thought tells you that the only option we have is to refocus and move forward. Come out with the same energy and focus and hopefully play better in Game 7.
Does it feel more like the Heat won Game 6 or the Spurs let it slip away?
MB: Both. There are so many factors that had to happen perfectly for them to force overtime and win the game. If you tried to split hairs over that, it would drive you crazy. It was a really tough loss. We basically had the game won. It's definitely going to be a mental test to recover psychologically from the loss, but that's what we need to do to win a championship.
A lot of so-called experts are saying the Spurs have no chance to win the series now. Does your team draw motivation from that?
MB: I don't think so. Our philosophy this entire run has been to ignore the pundits and focus on ourselves. Whatever is talked about by ourselves in the locker room, that's what counts. Whatever is said by the media, that doesn't automatically spot a team 10 points or anything like that.
What is the recipe for success for the Spurs in Game 7?
MB: We all have to play better. We had two guys play great, Kawhi (Leonard) and Timmy (Duncan) in Game 6, but we win as a team and lose as a team. Personally, that's something I'm excited about. I don't think we played a very good game but we still had them.
What was your reaction when Manu Ginobili got the starting nod in Game 5 and 6, making his first starts of the season?
MB: Honestly, it didn't really change things that much. We all know how good Manu can be on any given night. We usually take advantage of that by bringing him off the bench and giving a spark to the second unit. Putting him in the starting lineup was more to match up with (the Miami) lineup and maybe get him going early, and it ended up working. He played arguably his best game of the entire season (in Game 5) when we needed it the most.
Magic Johnson said Game 6 was one of the top three games he's ever seen. How will the Spurs remember it?
MB: A loss is a loss. We could have lost that game by 20. It's a game. It's a loss, but it's not over. It's a devastating loss, but that's life. It's a game. Those things happen. It's not over. The only option is to stay positive and stay excited about an opportunity of Game 7.


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Controlling Asthma Triggers at Work
Many people with asthma have symptoms from triggers in the workplace. This is called occupational asthma. The triggers may be irritants or allergens. Irritants include chemicals, fumes, and gases. Allergens include dust and mold. The symptoms of asthma are trouble breathing, wheezing, chest tightness, and coughing. These symptoms may:
Happen right after exposure to a trigger
Take a while to develop
Lessen or go away when you are not at work
Go away completely on weekends or when you are on vacation
Get worse over time, even when you are not at work
Triggers at work may be from many different things, including:
Irritants like fumes, gases, smoke, chemicals, and metals
Allergens like animal dander, dust, or mold
Work environments like manufacturing and processing (upholstery, paints, packaging, and metals), textiles, farming, veterinary medicine, and food production
Avoiding triggers in the workplace
Avoiding triggers is the best prevention against asthma. This is true wherever triggers are found. If you are having a lot of asthma symptoms at work, you may want to talk with your manager. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may also provide some assistance and guidance to both you and your employer. You can get information at the ADA Information Line:
800-514-0301 (Voice)
You can talk about the possibility of changing the work processes to lessen your exposure to irritants. You may also try to make changes to your schedule to lessen your exposure. For example, you might work in a different part of the facility or in another building.
Or you might work different hours when less irritants are present. You might also work in a different position within the same company.
You might also want to:
Make sure your workplace is as safe as possible to prevent illness and injury
Make sure the workplace is nonsmoking and that rules are followed
Learn as much as you can about the irritants and allergens at work
Visit the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) websites for more information that can help
When you can't control triggers
If changes at work and treatment aren't helping you, you may want to think about changing jobs. Although this may be very difficult, it may be the only way for you to be symptom-free. Before making such a major change, however, be sure to research all your options. Access the federal government sources listed above.
With your healthcare provider you can:
Find out if something at work is causing your symptoms or making them worse
Figure out how to stay away from work-related triggers, if possible
Keep track of your asthma symptoms
Figure out which medicines work best for you