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This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them.Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.
Persistence Is The Browsers' Most Persistent Problem Over on his Tecosytems blog, Redmonk principal analyst Stephen O'Grady picks up a conversation that he and I first batted back and forth on Twitter. Twitter, with its 140-character limit to each post, can cramp even the simplest of dialogs. Take a complex topic like offline persistence of anything (a single page, data, applications, etc.) in a browser and I'm glad he took it to the blogosphere. Sometimes only a blog wi
Mobile News Roundup It's Friday again, and this week was filled with Motorola backing Android while Sprint dissed it. Qik came to the BlackBerry, Verizon
Nokia Siemens, Ericsson May Get Parts China's 3G China Mobile soon will announce the winners of its $4.4 billion network tender, and the two companies are expected to receive 10% of the contract each.
Harvard Refuses To Open In-Copyright Books To Google In a letter to Harvard library staff, director Robert C. Darnton said the ramifications of the settlement were too unclear for Harvard to commit to participating in the Google project.
$200 Eee PC Netbook Expected In 2009 Asustek CEO Jerry Shen said his company also would begin to phase out its sub-10-inch netbooks that sell for less than $500.
Deutsche Telekom May Own Too Much Of T-Mobile While reviewing the Verizon acquisition of Alltel, the FCC revealed that Deutsch Telekom may violate the 20% voting stock threshold.
VC Drought? 70 Million Exceptions To The Rule Anxiety is high in Silicon Valley over an anticipated decline in VC funding, but investment money hasn't dried up yet. In the past few days, a handful of startups have pulled in $70 million.
Green Politics 2008: Troy The Turbine Builder Now that Joe The Plumber has a manager, I thought I'd give equal time to Troy the Turbine Builder. United Steelworkers member Troy Galloway, in this video posted on a site operated by a group calling itself Cleantech and Gr
Alcatel-Lucent CEO Steers Firm To A Lower Loss New chief Ben Verwaayen's firm reported a loss of $51.8 million for its third quarter on a 6.6% drop in sales of $5.15 billion.
Will Verizon Wireless Give Away The BlackBerry Storm For Free? Verizon Wireless' U.K. partner, Vodafone, recently announced that it will give the BlackBerry Storm to users for free if they sign up for new contracts. Can Verizon Wireless afford to do the same thing?
Drupal Takes Home 2008 Overall Open Source CMS Award Drupal cleaned up for the second year in a row in the 2008 Open Source CMS Awards, taking home both the Overall Open Source CMS Award and the Best Open Source PHP CMS Award. This marks the first time in which a content management system has ever won the overall award in back-to-back years.
Sprint Finalizes Early Termination Fee Policy The telecom said its $200 fee will be reduced by $10 per month after month six, but the new policy will only affect contracts signed after Nov. 2.
Salesforce.com Plans Hosted Web Site Service Force.com Sites, to be announced at Salesforce.com's Dreamforce conference Monday, is an aggressive effort to move beyond its roots in on-demand sales force automation software.
Phillies Parade Live Online Major League Baseball on Friday scheduled an all-day Phillies Webfest.
Flash Memory Market To See First Revenue Decline This Year Flash memory chips are used in PCs, but nearly 80% of the chips sold each year end up in personal media players, storage cards and USB flash drives.
'Linux-Haters Blog' Signs Off As of last Saturday, the infamous Linux Hater's Blog has signed off. Seekers of curmudgeonly wisdom about Linux cleverly disguised as flaming bile will have to look elsewhere. And, strangely enough, I already miss him.
iPhone Adoption Fastest Among Penny Pinchers Research shows that low-income groups are relying on smartphones for a range of communication needs.
NIST Seeks New Hash Algorithm NIST is wrapping up accepting submissions for a new cryptographic one-way hash algorithm today. NIST's competition follows a tradition of peer review, public discussion, and acceptance of algorithms that brought us DES, SHA, and AES. The selection process won't be complete until 2012, but final selection should addresses weaknesses in the hash algorithms used today.
Sprint Won't Sell Nextel iDEN Network The plan now is to partner with Motorola and move the iDEN spectrum out of the 800-MHz band in a way that will accommodate public-safety networks.
Google Makes Scanned Documents Searchable Using optical character-recognition technology, Google will make the converted text of scanned PDFs available on its search results pages via the "View as HTML" link.
Phoenix Mars Lander Losing Power, Communications Dust storms on the red planet are limiting the craft's supply of solar energy.
100,000 Sony Batteries Recalled The batteries found in Dell, HP, and Toshiba PCs were sold in the same time frame as Sony notebook batteries involved in a massive recall in 2006.
Verizon Wireless Teaches Retail Reps How To Bash The G1 Not one to sit on its laurels, Verizon Wireless is taking the interest in T-Mobile's G1 Android phone seriously by providing its sales reps with ammunition to shoot it down. Another list of "talking points" has been circulated, and it tells us what Verizon really thinks of the G1.
AT&T Hands Out Free Wi-Fi To iPhones, BlackBerry After several false starts, iPhone and BlackBerry users now have unlimited free wireless access to AT&T's nearly 17,000 Wi-Fi hotspots.
IBM Sues Apple-Bound Microchip Expert Big Blue says Mark Papermaster's bolt to Cupertino violates a noncompete agreement.
Hubble Working But Service Mission Postponed The space telescope is back online, but follow-up maintenance is on hold.
Obama's Online Answer Center Fields Tough Questions Everyone is worried about the economy. But surprisingly, the economy isn't the subject of the top three questions people are asking online at an "answer center" run by Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Visitors are most interested in whether Obama is a Christian and a patriot, and they want to know his position on women's issues.
DOJ Approves Verizon-Alltel Merger However, the Justice Department is stipulating that the new combined company divested itself of 100 markets in 22 states.
Google-Yahoo Deal May Be In Jeopardy The Internet companies may abandon their ad-sharing agreement in the face of government scrutiny.
Windows 7 Upgrade Chaos Looms Businesses that plan on skipping Vista to move directly from XP to Windows 7 could face application-compatibility headaches.
Apple: No Opera Mini For The iPhone Opera Mini and Opera Mobile are highly capable browsers for mobile phones. Opera, which also makes a full desktop browser for both Windows and Apple machines, created a version of Opera Mini that will run on the iPhone. Too bad Apple won't allow Opera to offer it through the iPhone App Store.
Is Linux The Quick-Boot Miracle Fix? Don't Bet On It Will demand for quick-booting PCs give Linux a leg up on Windows? That's how some folks see it, but I'm not one of them.
Indexable versus Iterable Collections The C++ standard template library design emphasizes collections that support generic iterators. In this post I propose an alternative design approach for collections that uses generic indexers.
Google's Gmail Gets SMS Messaging Google's implementation of computer-to-phone SMS includes a particularly helpful feature since it assigns the Gmail sender a persistent pseudo-phone number.
IBM Positions ILOG's Rules Engine To Head Pack The former market leader was Fair Isaac, whose rules processing system was a favorite of credit card companies and insurers.
Linux Headed For More PCs Than Windows Think Windows is hot? HP, Lenovo, Asustek, and other PC makers are developing computers that can give people access to basic functions, such as e-mail and Web browsing, in less than 30 seconds.
Intel's $11.5 Million Taiwanese Investment Puts Moblin OS In Netbooks The chipmaker's partnership with VMax could help set the stage for a wide rollout of WiMax-capable machines running on Linux in the country with PC makers Asustek and Acer to benefit.
Motorola Causing A Ruckus Motorola sure gave us some interesting news today. The quarterly loss of nearly $400 million and thousands of layoffs always jump out at you, but, digging a little deeper, I couldn't help but wonder where Symbian fits into Moto's plans.
MasterCard Strengthens Its Mobile Services The company is offering the ability to provision a customer's PayPass account over the air, which could lead to more phones capable of contactless payment.
Google Updates Chrome To Version 0.3.154.9 Google on Wednesday released a new version of its Chrome browser, the third Chrome beta release.
Down To Business: Microsoft, Industry Still Hang In The Cloud Ether Many customers still don't understand what "the cloud" is. Vendors don't help when they use the term to describe just about any product--or planned product--delivered from or touching a data center.
Microsoft Stakes Its Place In The Cloud Microsoft lays out concrete plans for cloud computing, but this vision doesn't come with a delivery date.
Crisis Survival Kit: 15 Tips From Venture Capitalists At a recent Silicon Valley event focusing on the economic crisis, famed venture capitalist John Doerr offered up 10 tips on How to manage your start-up in the downturn," but the advice is useful for any business owner.
Google Defends Gmail Uptime, Bolsters Google Apps Google extends its premiere edition SLA to other products to disperse any cloud hanging over its cloud computing capabilities.
Crybabies Emerge After Wal-Mart G1 Discount Announced Remember how ticked off people were when Apple dropped the price of the iPhone from $600 to $400 last year? People cried foul in droves. In light of Wal-Mart's announcement that it's going to sell the Android phone for $31 less than it costs at T-Mobile stores, people are complaining.


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So I intended to restart the entire project by building the fleets hulk.
My interest was relit when I saw this kit, http://www.revell.co...nt/85-6445.html a 19 in long star destroyer for sale in a local toy store.
My inner mekboy realized that it could probably be mashed up a bit and used as a spiece of panzee dungon for a pimped out space hulk, a big one.
So regardless if I make the rest of the fleet playable or not I would have an awesome space hulk to
So the question is: do you people think it is a reasonable project? (keeping in mind that the final hulk will be much shorter and stockier)?
I will base my descision on your opinion.

subset: commoncrawl


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Street Style Roundup With Vanessa Jackman
by Tiffany Tse
While a majority of our site is dedicated to celebrity style and runway trends, we often find that some of the most interesting and fashion-forward outfit ideas come from the streets! We're consistently intrigued by how stylish civilians from all over the world are addressing the latest wardrobe essentials, as the results are invariably stylish and wholly inspiring. That said, we've decided to do a monthly roundup of some of the best street style looks, courtesy of one of our favourite photographers Vanessa Jackman. Click through today's best-dressed picks, and don't forget to share which outfits are your favourite.
Photo credit: Vanessa Jackman
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- Street Style


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Kraton Yogyakarta or palace, in which the real sultan of Yogyakarta (Sultan Hamengkubowono X) which is also the Governor of Yogyakarta and all of these families live and stay here. Built in 1757, surrounded by the castle and here you will find the original form of the ancient Javanese culture. Open 8: 00-13: 30 every day.
The palace of Yogyakarta, known as the Keraton (also spelled kraton or karaton), is a grand complex that was meticulously planned to reflect the Javanese cosmos. This splendid example of traditional Javanese architecture has no equal. Designed and built in stages, the Keraton was completed in 1790.
This elegant complex of pavilions was constructed entirely on ancient beliefs and each feature of the complex, from the courtyards to the trees, has a special symbolic meaning related to sophisticated Javanese world view.
The Keraton is built facing directly north towards the majestic Mt. Merapi with to its south backing the Indian Ocean which is believed to be the abode of Kanjeng Ratu Loro Kidul, the Queen of the South Seas and the mystical consort of the Sultan. Malioboro road was originally used as the ceremonial route, not unlike London's Pall Mall, and forms a straight line drawn from the Sultan's palace to the Merapi volcano.
A green square called alun-alun fronting the palace, has a large banyan tree in its center, while behind the palace is another similar square. When a sultan dies, the cortege leaves by the southern gate on its way to the cemetery of kings at Imogiri.
This palace was designed to be more than just a royal residence. It was built to be a focal point of the Sultan's entire kingdom. Today, the Keraton is a piece of living history and tradition. It continues to be used, both as a home of the Sultan as well as for other important ceremonial and cultural functions of the Yogya court.
The present Sultan Hamengku Buwono X of Yogyakarta retains the title of Sultan although Yogya has become one of the provinces of the Republic of Indonesia. The Sultan of Yogya,is also the governor of the province, and is still considered the cultural head of this region, and is greatly loved by his subjects.
Even with Yogya's modernization, the Keraton of Yogya continues to be respected by the people of Yogya, steeped as it is in mysticism and philosophy. In the afternoons, after the palace is closed to visitors, women in traditional costume can be seen respectfully sprinkling water and flowers on the pillars, lighting incense to "cleanse" the keraton from evil spirits.


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Berkeley, Cornell, Franklin, Monarch, Honda, Kodiak, John Deere, and Caprari electric, gasoline, or diesel pump equipment and system for agricultural irrigation and/or liquid manure application in greenhouses and nurseries.
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e-Commerce site creation: Reptiletech


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Laptop theft and data loss are escalating concerns for companies of all sizes — from Fortune 500-level to small- to medium-sized businesses — and according to the FBI, 97 percent of stolen laptops are never recovered. As employees become increasingly more mobile and rely on multiple mobile devices from laptops, smartphones and iPads to conduct business, crimes associated with these devices are also on the rise. Malicious insiders as well as outside culprits are increasingly becoming more innovative and inventive in finding ways to steal valuable information and proprietary data from company and employee mobile devices and laptops that don't have appropriate endpoint security.
Fortunately, there are ways that companies can protect themselves from theft. Ron Penna, chief strategy officer at Awareness Technologies, who has a behind-the-scenes perspective on what really causes most laptop thefts, outlines the top tips for preventing mobile device theft.
Fourteen Tips for Managing Work-related Stress Helpful tips for managing stress at work.
Top Eight Features in Windows Server 8 Windows Server 8 is a technically sophisticated operating system that is crammed with features that bring many previously enterprise-only capabilities to small and mid-sized businesses.
Policy Excellence in Six Steps Six secrets for effective policy management.
Related Topics : HTC, Broadcom, Nortel, Data Loss Prevention, Mobile Search
Wearables are revolutionizing the workplace, with innovations that create a safer work environment or enhance the way professionals are able to go about their job. ... More >>
With the consumerization of AR, it appears the technology is finally within arm's reach for those savvy enterprises willing to reach out and grab it. ... More >>
Apple has announced the next generation of its popular smart devices, including the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and Watch Series 2. ... More >>


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Schrödinger's Cat vs. Pavlov's Dog
Not so much featherweight as furryweight.
You guys told us you wanted more science fight shirts like Tesla vs. Edison. So we brainstormed, and here's the next one we all agreed should happen. Hope y'all like it.
So Schrödinger's cat vs. Pavlov's dog. In a one vs. one fight who wins? Well, the first main difference is that Schrödinger's cat was a hypothetical experiment (or was it?), while Pavlov's dog was real. The loyalty. Real. The drool. Real. The need for a mop. Real. Real as he might be, though, it's definitely not in the canine's favor that each round of a fight typically starts with a bell. Plus the feline, if it exists, comes equipped with a box, a radioactive isotope, and a hammer. You generally don't want to give a cat tools. It remembers the time Erwin tried to put that silly hat on it.
Just to clarify, by "fight" here, we mean "chase each other around the house until someone is declared victor." We here at ThinkGeek are big fans of animals of all kinds, and we think the only type of animal fighting should be for the comfy spot on the couch.
Schrödinger's cat faces off against Pavlov's dog on this sand-colored, 100% cotton t-shirt.


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Kentucky police were making a routine traffic stop when they discovered a kidnapped man locked in the trunk of the car. WAVE's Jaimie Weiss reports.
Some Louisville, Ky., police officers got the surprise of their careers when they pulled over a car with expired license plates: a man bound in the trunk.
Shawn Bloemer, 22, could hear the officers from inside the cramped space.
"I heard a voice and I could tell from his inflection of what have you that he was an officer. He came back and asked about insurance and that's when I started kicking and punching on the hood, yelling," Bloemer told WTSP 10 News.
Bloemer, a clerk at a local Circle K convenience store, says he was captured after his late-night shift and locked in the trunk of his own car after he discovered three people -- Brittany Elder, Trent Blye, and Joseph Davis -- trying to steal his tires. Bloemer said Blye assaulted him, along with the others.
"He started to hit me, struck me in the head, punched me in the stomach a couple of times. They shoved me headfirst into the light post," Bloemer said, according to WDRB.
The three attackers then allegedly forced Bloemer into the trunk of his vehicle with his wrists tied with a t-shirt and a towel wrapped around his head.
"Right before they closed the trunk they said, 'This isn't personal, we need your car,'" Bloemer said.
Bloemer estimates he spent nearly three hours locked in the trunk on that August night while his kidnappers drove around. At one point, he fell unconscious.
"It was really hot. I passed out a couple times," Bloemer said.
Around 3:30 a.m., he woke up to flashing red and blue lights he could see through a crack in the taillight.
Officers Fred Wilson and Daniel Goldberg had initially flagged the vehicle for expired plates. But when Goldberg heard someone in the trunk while talking to the occupants, he realized this wouldn't be an ordinary traffic stop.
"At that point the officer became very much more aware, immediately called for backup," Bloemer said.
In the dash cam video, officers are seen pulling the kidnappers out of the car one by one and rescuing Bloemer from the trunk.
Police have arrested Elder, Blye and Davis, who allegedly purchased illegal drugs during their late-night joyride, according to WTSP 10 News. They are each charged with kidnapping, wanton endangerment, and theft of Bloemer's car.
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Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook


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The Peacock Dog Leash w/ Gold Hardware
$ 37
Make sure walk time is a stylish affair!
Bone & Bow Tie offers beautifully designed and fashion forward accessories for the contemporary canine looking to make a serious style statement.
This wonderful leash is made using high quality 100% cotton fabric and is backed with heavyweight yet soft webbing. You can feel secure knowing all stress points are triple stitched to ensure maximum durability and safety.
All leashes are equipped with nickel swivel snap hook allowing for an enjoyable tangle-free walk with your pup.
Available in six sizes:
- 4 feet x 3/4" wide
- 4 feet x 1" wide
- 5 feet x 3/4" wide
- 5 feet x 1" wide
- 6 feet x 3/4" wide
- 6 feet x 1" wide
Complete the stylish look with a matching bow tie dog collar, bloom collar or the everyday collar.
Bone & Bow Tie leashes are individually handcrafted upon order with your pup in mind. Please allow 4-5 business days for your product(s) to be produced and prepared for shipping.
Proudly made in the USA. Handcrafted in Texas.


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Sport utility vehicles (often abbreviated to SUVs) are a category of large passenger vehicle. Sport utility vehicles combine roomy, comfortably outfitted cabins with powerful recreational features. New sport utility vehicles are usually marketed toward people with active lifestyles, so most vehicles in this category feature towing capacity suitable for a camper or small trailer, cargo space or racks specifically designed for outdoor gear, and off-road capacity to encourage various pursuits in the wilderness. Many sport utility vehicles, especially the early incarnations, are built on a light truck chassis, but some new SUVs are designed more for light duty or urban use.
A couple of decades ago, sport utility vehicles were considered a niche vehicle, and enthusiasts tended to be loyal to a particular brand with a history of making these types of vehicles (like Jeep or Range Rover, for example). But people who are shopping for new sport utility vehicles have a lot more options. There are still plenty of hard core, powerful, purposeful new SUVs on the market today, despite the oil crisis, the auto industry collapse, new environmental regulations, and all kinds of other factors that make the world a little less friendly for an SUV driver. But, there are also new sport utility vehicles on the market designed for a driver who might not be towing a camper or climbing over rocks every weekend. That's because plenty of people have realized that sport utility vehicles are really good options for families, and of course, auto manufacturers and their marketing teams are all too happy to encourage and capitalize on this perception. Sport utility vehicles are big and comfortable, often loaded up with the latest technological features, so everyone gets enough space to bring their stuff and enjoy the ride. And they're powerful enough to keep the driver happy, even on long trips.


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JellyMBean is a Jelly library for creating, configuring and registering beans and MBeans with a JMX server. JellyMBean uses the JellyBean library to create and configure beans and extends it to support JMX operations.
JellyMBean is similar to the MLET parser in mx4j and JBoss and the Ant tasks in commons-modeler
There is an example JellyBean deployment descriptor file here.


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|Thread Tools
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Be Kind To Your Pets
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Glorious Independence, MO
Casino cash: $10036278VARSITY
Ten Things About Today's Game
Ten Things About Today's Game
10. Well, that wasn't so good, was it?
You would think a team playing for a share of the division lead, at home, in perfect weather, coming off a big come from behind road win on Chiefs alumni day, would not brown out in their collective shorts. But shat in the shorts they did. Big time, massive stinkage. If you didn't get to watch the game, good for you. You were spared three hours of your life you would never have gotten back. I'm going to give you the speed reading version of the game, so you can re-live the horror in double quick time. I don't think I've ever seen a worst first half of Chiefs football at home, ever. And that's saying something.
9. First Quarter: Refs come out for the coin toss, people cheer the "real" refs. SD wins the toss, takes the ball. Special teams guys come on the field all chippy, picking fights from the opening kickoff. First SD series, Berry gets a PI penalty on a third and 10 trying to cover Antonio Gates, sustaining a SD drive. Fans boo the refs mercilessly. SD pushes in our shit all the way down the field, five minutes in, score on an easy four yard pass to Royal, SD goes up right out of the gate 7-0. KC gets the ball back, special teams guys are chippy on the kickoff. Casshole tries to move the team, under throws Bowe by a good five yards, pick by Weddle (turnover #1). SD gets a gimme 24-yard field goal, it's now 10-0 SD nine minutes into the game. SD kicks off, KC gets ball on the twenty. Moeaki jumps offsides on first play from scrimmage. Next play, Charles gets the ball ripped out (turnover #2), SD gets the ball on KC five yard line. Two plays later, Jackie Battle easily scores. Ten minutes into the game, SD 17-0. Stadium music guy plays Quiet Riot doing "We're Not Gonna Take It." KC gets the ball back, Casshole throws a three yard pass to Baldwin on 3rd and 10. It's a three and out, KC punts.
8. Second Quarter: Casshole drops back, gets whacked, tries to fumble but refs call it an incomplete pass. Couple of plays later Casshole actually hits Bowe in stride on a 36 yarder that could have turned the game momentum, but Winston is called for lining up too deep behind the center, and play is called back. Very next play, Winston and Gray both fail to pick up a blitzing Phillips, Casshole gets whacked, fumbles, KC thankfully gets the ball back. KC loses all momentum, punt. Gates beats Berry downfield again, SD kicks a 47-yard field goal with a back up kicker, now it's 20-0 with eight minutes left in the half. Chiefs get ball back. First play from scrimmage, Charles fumbles again (turnover #3). Luckily, Chiefs get the ball back on a Phyllis Rivers' terrible throw towards Flowers. Charles then scores on a busted play. Fans go ape shit. Chiefs respond by blowing the extra point on a bad snap. Now it's 20-6 SD with five minutes left in the half. KC holds, gets ball back with about three minutes left in the half on their own twenty. Moeaki jumps off sides, again. Casshole misses Gray on a pass, then on 2nd and 15 throws a ball behind Moeaki, it bounces off his hands, right to Butler for SD (turnover #4), now it's 27-6 and any momentum from the Charles TD is lost. Stadium music guy plays The Ramones "I Wanna Be Sedated." Chiefs get ball back, go into two minute drill, and work all the way down to the SD 22 Yard line with :46 left. Casshole fires a pass at an injured McCluster, ball goes right through his hands to SD defensive back (turnover #5). SD takes a knee. At least we get the ball to start the second half.
7. Third Quarter: Chiefs do what they needed to do to have any conceivable chance at all: they get the opening kickoff and have a scoring drive. Charles gets his second TD on a swing pass, Chiefs hold SD scoreless for awhile. In a big series they sack Phyllis Rivers on his own one yard line and force a punt. Arenas gets a nice return to midfield. But Hartman is holding on the play, moves KC back to the 37. Field position lost. On third and three, Casshole overthrows Bowe on a fly pattern by ten yards. Three and out, KC punts, never gets a sniff the rest of the day.
6. Fourth Quarter: Draughn is now in, as Charles has been used like a paper towel again this week (17 carries, 92 yards). Right at the start of the quarter, Casshole calls a draw play on 3rd and 14. Draughn gets whacked, fumbles at mid field (turnover #6.) SD gets the ball and runs clock down to 7:54, Battle catches a pass in the end zone uncovered, easy TD, SD now up 34-14. Now it's classic Casshole garbage time. He under throws a TD to a wide open Bowe (Bowe has to wait for the football to come down), KC draws to 34-20, but is still two TDs behind. There's now about five and a half minutes left. Romeo does NOT onside kick. He kicks off. SD runs the ball up our ass. Runs the clock down to two minutes, kicks another FG, goes up 37-20, a three possession lead with two minutes left. Stadium is totally vacant:
Casshole goes into warp garbage time mode. Actually gets a delay of game with :11 left. His final pass? A 13-yard in bounds pitch to Baldwin on a 3rd and 15. So he throws short of a first down again. Game over, we lose.
5. OK, so what do we take from all this? General observations on defense: We've been outscored by 33 points in two home games. That's shameful defense at home. Hali today had one sack, the one on Rivers at the one yard line. Houston did nada today. You can't just disappear like that. Belcher is great on stopping the run, but he can't cover a back in the flat to save his ass. He is miserably bad on pass coverage. If you can't cover Jackie Battle, then you monumentally suck. Eric Berry may have played his worst game as a professional today. Antonio Gates owned him, simply owned him, all day long. I don't think Berry is nearly back from his knee injury, maybe 70%, but that's about it. Daniels and Routt were both missing tackles. Save for an injured Flowers the secondary pretty much stunk up the joint today. The only bright spot -if you want to call it that- was Ropati Pitoitua -lets call him Ratboy Pituitary, since nobody in this hemisphere can pronounce his name. Ratboy had two sacks, which is what one would expect to get from the first round pick Dorsey who he replaced today. Dorsey is expendable. Ratboy did more in one game to pressure a QB than Dorsey has done in his entire Chiefs career. Ratboy came to play.
4. Stupid Penalties: Nine for eighty yards. Chiefs came into this week being one of the least penalized teams in the NFL. Now with the real refs, we see what they really are. A poorly disciplined bunch who continually kill their own momentum with stupid, stupid penalties. Moeaki and Winston should be forced to kick one another in the nads for their combined penalty day. Both hurt this team over and over.
3. The Duke of Dink: I bet the guy who went to the game with me that Casshole would throw short on third down at least four times today. I counted three times. Too many other times they were too busy either fumbling or throwing picks. Casshole's accuracy, or lack of it, it appalling for a starting NFL QB. He's high, he's behind guys, he's over or under throwing. He guns it when a touch pass would suffice. He has no feel for the passing game. He is abysmal. I stayed for the whole game. I know you guys who watch on TV hear the booing, but the fans where I sit were really blasting Casshole today. They called him (among other things) a terrible leader, a choker, a quitter, a giant bag of suck, and a pussy. They also called for (in order of popularity): Quinn, Stanzi, Grbac, Bono, Thigpen and Palko. You KNOW you suck like a Hoover when your home fans are begging for Tyler Palko. The stadium CIA wanks (who were back behind the bench again today)
really gave the fans the ole stink eye when they were yelling at Casshole. The natives are indeed restless. So if you were yelling at home, believe me, they were also yelling for you right behind the Chiefs bench.
2. There were only a couple of things I really enjoyed during the crap fest of a day. One, they put the Chiefs Hall of Honor ring back up in the stadium. Its now across the very top ring, with the player name and number. I took a picture:
And at halftime they inducted Will Shields as the latest member of the Chiefs Hall of Honor. Well deserved, he played his whole career here and should be in Canton someday. They had sixty former Chiefs players show up to honor him.
Very nice day for Will, and well deserved. Here's his picture up on the stadium video board during the ceremony:
1. I'm afraid to say, I don't think we have a very good team on our hands this year. We'll be lucky to win six or seven games at this rate. The offense is terrible save for Charles. Our gaudy offensive stats mean nothing. We've never led a game this year, even in New Orleans we only won with an OT kick. The defense is way too porous. I think we're seriously missing both Brandon Carr and Kendrick Lewis, and of those who are left in the secondary, Flowers is gimpy, and Berry is only a shadow of what he was before the injury. Routt can't tackle. Today DJ got dinged up in the fourth quarter. Hali has done very little for an All Pro. Poe, our first round draft pick, was on the bench in the fourth quarter. Why not give the kid some reps, and let him get some experience against an AFC West opponent that he's going to see over and over again in the course of his career? I just don't get a lot of the personnel moves. I believe Casshole will not make it through the year again this year, as he's bound to get destroyed, maybe even next week against Baltimore. If you think San Diego's defense was good, just think was Ray Ray and Company is going to do to this offense next week. Shudder to think, shudder to think.
Posts: 36,004
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Location: KS
Casino cash: $29458
Did Clark make Will pay for a ticket
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** WR or S please**
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Join Date: Sep 2003
Casino cash: $32762
Sorry for accusing you of smoking crack last week George.
But if you have any I could use some to take this edge off.
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In Search of a Life
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One thing that fired me up... Your 4th quarter summary sparked it for me.
What in the living **** was Jamaal Charles doing carrying the ball in garbage time?
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Thanks George. Always make it a point to read these on game days. Lately (losses) I haven't been reading much else.
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The Insider
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Apparently I was a KC area celebrity magent today. Ran into Trent Green in the parking lot and figured out the guy who has season tickets in front of me was Rocket from Mix 93.
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Rockin' yer FACE OFF!
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I was wearing my Shields jersey today in hopes of conjuring up some mojo for the Offense. Not even the spirit of Will could help this piece of shit offense. I say it's on Casshole. He's just flat out terrible and I can't believe the FO can continue to ignore this.
We have a million reasons for failure, but not one excuse...
Die Donks, DIE!!
A quote:
"Oh well, there's always next year. We'll be better then, you'll see..." - Every Chiefs fan for the last 48...crap...49 years...
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The Insider
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Someone pass the antifreeze
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Negro Diablo
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Kind of a mod
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I'm amazed you still have the motivation to do these things. Props for the dedication, though.
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testing ... 1, 2, 3
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Those are a bunch of really horrible things, Mr. gblowfish.
And one good thing. It was nice that so many players turned out for Shields. He's a great example of a great player whose career was essentially wasted on this cat puke of a team.
Sorry you had to endure all that, but I'm very proud of you for screaming obscenities at Cassel. Good job, there.
Also, have we yet determined the purpose and meaning of the CIA operatives? Anybody leaked anything on them ... other than used beer?
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ADDED: Dolly is very sweet and incredibly likable, but don't be fooled. She's just walking through this. We see her listening to the contestant play a song once and doing nothing more than applauding and hugging afterwards. Then, in a separate clip she says a few — scripted, I think — words of gentle praise. That is, she never actually mentored the contestant. She never listened critically, never gave any real advice or worked with the singer at all. As an "AI" mentor — and I only mean as an "AI" mentor — Dolly comes nowhere near Barry Manilow. Here's what I wrote about Barry on "AI" in 2006:
I just want to say how much I like Barry Manilow. Not his music, which isn't to my taste, but him as a person. Unlike Stevie Wonder and various other guests, he did not do the show to get the kids to sing his songs, and he took his role as a music teacher seriously. He really analyzed each performance and came up with concrete help and never seemed to be at all about self-promotion. I know you could say that this nice-guy thing is just his gimmick, but if it is, it works well, and maybe more people ought to try it.Lulu and Peter Noone followed the Manilow model last year, so it's disappointing to see Dolly Parton slough it off like this. That she's a bigger star than Manilow, Lulu, or Noone is no excuse. If she chooses to do the show to leverage her popularity, she should play the game.
AND: I'll put tonight's performances in this order: David Archuleta, Carly Smithson, Michael Johns, David Cook, Jason Castro, Kristy Lee Cook, Ramiele Malubay, Syesha Mercado. Now, I think Ramiele will be the one going home, because she sang such a nondescript song, and Syesha got to do "I Will Always Love You," which everyone knows and which gives a singer a lot of opportunity to show off — even if there is also the problem that, note for note, we will compare her performance to the famously brilliant Whitney Houston recording and think over and over again that she's falling short — way short. Syesha will get a lot of votes for singing that song, much as I hated it. But I don't even like hearing Whitney do it. I find it annoying. It's even annoying when Dolly sings it.
OOPS: I left Brooke White out of my ranking! Put her between David Cook and Jason Castro. Oh, now I'm thinking I got the whole thing wrong. Whatever....


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Rookie receiver Odell Beckham spurned the sport in which he wouldn't have been allowed to use his hands. The Giants now must decide how much they want Beckham to use his hands in his first NFL season.
As explained by Jordan Ranaan of NJ.com, the Giants seem to be wrestling with the question of whether to use Beckman as a kick returner or punt returner. The pros? He could be a difference maker. The cons? Jason Sehorn.
When the Giants selected Beckham with the 12th overall pick, it appeared that they planned to use him in the return game.
"He's a dynamic receiver, dynamic punt returner and a dynamic kickoff returner," G.M. Jerry Reese said on May 8.
Five weeks later, special teams coach Tom Quinn sang a different tune.
"Will he do each of them?" Quinn said. "You don't know based on what the active list is for the game, but we're prepping him to do both and prepping [Trindon] Holliday to do both and Rueben Randle's still back there [on punts] and [Jerrel] Jernigan, so we're trying to have a deep pool to choose from."
They may ultimately want to choose Beckham.
"He's explosive, he's got legitimate speed and he runs, I think, pretty strong for his size," Quinn said. "You put all of that together and it ends up being a good returner."
It also could end up being a guy with a torn ACL or some other injury that wouldn't have happened during a normal snap on offense.


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Going pro early is not confined to basketball and baseball.
It happens in track and field, too. The difference is, less money and more risk. Too often, those who flee the structure of a college program find their careers regressing and soon ending.
"People who know the sport know that this is just wrong, what's happening with kids leaving school early," Illinois women's coach Tonja Buford-Bailey said.
That's why she has advised Ashley Spencer, a sophomore sprinter from Indianapolis, to retain college eligibility. Spencer, 20, who has won two NCAA 400-meter titles and two world junior (under-20) gold medals, has been targeted by agents even before this week's USA Championships in Des Moines.
Spencer's time of 50.28 seconds ranks No. 5 in the world and No. 4 in the nation. She is No. 3 among entries and in position not only to make the U.S. team but to win medal at the World Championships in Moscow in August.
This will be Spencer's first USA nationals and first races against pros. But she has never lost head-to-head in a 400 final, and she has won 13 consecutive outdoor 400s. The first heats of the 400 are scheduled for Thursday in Des Moines.
"I really want to do all four years of college, get my degree and all that," Spencer said. "I want to have the entire college experience before going pro. There's really no need to rush it."
Two of her peers, Oregon sprinter English Gardner and Clemson hurdler Brianna Rollins, recently gave up their remaining eligibility and declared themselves pros.
That might work for them. It has not worked for Candyce McGrone, another Indianapolis high school product who went pro after winning an NCAA 100-meter title in 2011 for Oklahoma. McGrone has qualified for these nationals but has trouble getting into meets and has not run as fast as she did in college.
"They ruined her," Buford-Bailey said, referring to those influencing McGrone to turn pro.
The coach said agents leave Spencer alone because she knows them, and they know her. Buford-Bailey, 42, was a three-time Olympian in the 400 hurdles and won an Olympic bronze medal in 1996.
"They know not to mess with me, she said.
Buford-Bailey said veteran coach Brooks Johnson, 78, spoke to Spencer briefly and came away convinced that the sprinter is happy with what she is doing. She is having fun, Johnson told the coach, and track is not fun.
"And I hate to say it, but at the level past college — and I've been at that level, it's great, it's your dream, it's a way to make a living, it's fulfilling because you get accomplishments like Olympic medals when you're good — but it's not fun," Buford-Bailey said. "Being on a plane every weekend, traveling and going to countries where you don't know people and your coach not being there. It's totally different."
Spencer and her coach made the controversial decision to bypass last year's Olympic trials — and thus a potential London spot — and concentrate on world juniors. It was another example of what Spencer calls "baby steps."
A few steps more, and Spencer will be running in Russia.
David Woods also writes for The Indianapolis Star.


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Thousands Honor Cold Spring Officer Tom Decker At Burial Services [VIDEO, PHOTOS]
ST. NICHOLAS - It was a sight that words simply cannot capture.
Hundreds upon hundreds of law enforcement officers, lights flashing, led the procession on Wednesday afternoon from Collegeville's St. John's Abbey, through Cold Spring and Richmond, before arriving in the tiny community of St. Nicholas to bury one of their own.
The riveting sight was the final step in laying to rest Cold Spring Police Officer Tom Decker, 31, shot and killed last Thursday during a welfare check in Cold Spring.
Officers from all over Minnesota, the Midwest and Canada led the procession, followed by family members and friends, and finally, a horse-drawn, flag-covered hearse bearing the casket of Officer Decker.
Burial services were held at the St. Nicholas Cemetary, just around the corner from where Officer Decker grew up.
Officers stood at attention when the casket arrived at the grave site, waiting for the sounds of taps, bagpipes and a 21-gun salute.
Decker's wife, Alicia, was presented with the flag draped across her late husband's casket before sharing a hug with Cold Spring Police Chief Phil Jones.
Authorities continue their investigation into the shooting of Decker, and many questions remain unanswered.
However, hundreds of headlights streaming out of St. Nicholas following the services leave no room for doubt - today's services were truly fit for a hometown hero.


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It's hard to believe I've done 300 posts since beginning this blog.
That's a lot of info about publishing.
Getting published, staying published, and becoming successful, has a lot to do with luck. But one of my core philosophies is that the harder you work, the luckier you get.
Last blog, I asked you folks what your goals for 2008 were, and how you planned to reach those goals.
I got a few responses. Some are brief. Some are detailed. Some are cynical. Some are inspiring.
I encourage you to read each and every one, because the sum is greater than the parts, even though a lot of the parts are dead-on.
You might recognize some of these names. Others, you may not recognize yet.
So let's see what our peers, both newbie and pro, have to say, in the order I received their answers:
1. Your goals for 2008.
Get my next novel on the New York Times bestseller list.
2. How you will reach these goals.
Entitle my next novel "As Seen on Oprah".
But seriously, folks... In 2008 I'd like to do a better job of promoting my new novel (Mean Town Blues, coming from Pegasus in late 2008) than I did my last one (Homicide 69, from Carroll and Graf in 2007). I hope to accomplish this through careful bribery and shameless hucksterism.
1. Your goals for 2008.
Get my two latest novels published by a reputable publisher and get a movie deal for at least one of the two screenplays I've written.
2. How you will reach these goals.
Pray. Don't break any mirrors. Throw salt over my shoulder. Don't walk under ladders. Don't antagonize my agent. Throw a coin into the wishing well--no, make that several coins. Be nice to everyone I meet. Bend over backwards. Give away the shirt off my back. Find a falling star and wish upon it. Think positively. Don't let rejections get me down. Don't give up. Pray.
1. Your goals for 2008.
To write two books: one thriller, one young adult novel
2. How you will reach these goals.
Committing myself to writing 5 pages a day.
My goal for 2008 is to sell more books than I did in 2007, and I hope to do that by writing better books.
1. To make it to 2009.
2. Work my ass off, writing everyday, and hoping, somehow, to get it right.
1. Your goals for 2008.
Given the current state of publishing, I am hoping for the minimum, so my goals are scaled down...lowered expectations. We learn from recent history and are informed by the state of the art. 2007 and 06 have seen tougher and more difficult times for
authors gaining contracts. It almost seems that if you don't have a movie or game tie-in, or a gimmick, or what's the new term for it, a platform, say a novel that has a whale of information about fly fishing, crocheting, farm animals in crisis, a haunted microwave that also explains how microwaves are in fact supernatural, or a dog or cat at the center of the mystery, you are not going to sell your novel. The more serious the work, the harder to sell has always been true, but never as true as today.
It seems editors are prowling for fluff and publising much of it with such titles as The Cat Who Came in From the Executioner's Toilet. In this market, my goal is to find an editor interested in a complex, layered novel (sell at least one in 08) with fully realized characters. Primary goal is to make enough money to support my writer's life and perhaps buy my wife a gift once in a while.
2. How you will reach these goals.
I will pressure my current publisher to get on track with my next work; I will pressure my agent to ferret out editors who are killing to work with me (not always easy to do). And I will remain on the look out for such a person. I have already sent
out multiple inquiries for a new novel, and am hopeful that once the holidays have passed, that singular individual who understands and responds to my voice and purpose will be found.
I will also go to as many writers conferences as I can afford. I am also making inquiries with folks on the other coast, Hollywood, again hoping to find a connect there that might pan out. Much of marketing is a shot in the dark, but one keeps
firing. Never say die.
1. My goals for 2008.
Finish at least two of the six books I currently have in progress.
2. How I will reach these goals.
No idea.
My writing goals for 2008:
1. Complete the manuscripts for 3 specific novels. One I'm working hard on, one I'm tinkering with, and one I wrote a proposal for, but think will sell better if I complete it.
2. ANGELS FALLING is scheduled for publication May 2008, so my goals regarding that revolve around specific goals I have for promotion: visit a minimum of 25 Michigan bookstores and sign stock. There are other things in development, but I haven't laid them all out yet.
3. Sign at least one book contract (preferably more) for the completed novels.
4. Hit a specific dollar amount for my writing in total. I won't say it here, but it's a little higher than my 2006 number and better than the 2007 number, which wasn't as good as 2006, but was still pretty good. Hitting goal #3 would help considerably in this. I've already signed a nonfiction business report contract for a good chunk of it, the advance expected in January.
Number one, far ahead of all the rest...
Broaden My Platform: Given the fickle nature of publishing and the increasingly shallow pool of people who buy books, the only way I'll continue to prosper as a writer is to create product for a variety of divergent markets.
How the heck I intend to do all of the above
I currently have two non-fiction book proposals with my agent (one in sports/recreation the other in health/medicine.) We'll whip those into shape and, with luck, have contracts for both in early 2008 and completed manuscripts by the end of the year. In addition to fulfilling my contract with St. Martin's for a fifth book in the Zack Chasteen Caribbean Mystery series, I'll flesh out ideas for a Young Adult novel and a historical novel set in 1870s Florida. And while 2007 was a very good year for my freelance magazine business, I'll continue to place articles in new markets and find more venal, yet lucrative, copywriting projects with advertising agencies in order to pay the everyday bills.
And somewhere along the line I'll: update my Web site and blog more frequently; continue to strengthen ties with booksellers; make even more speeches, book festival panels and bookstore signings than the 120 or so that I did in 2007; and attract gobs of new readers.
In short, in 2008 I'll: Write faster, sleep less, travel to new places and have even more fun than I'm already having.
My goals for 2008: First up, i will have sent off my second, fully revised MS to my agent by the first of the year, so hopefully I'll be celebrating its sale early in 2008. That means I'll be starting my third novel by the end of the month. And finishing it before the end of 2008.
Here's how I will accomplish this goal: Between now and Christmas 2007, I'm working 2-3 hours every day to complete revisions for book #2. For Book #3, I've learned it takes me about two months to write a novel (I'm clearly no Joe!). So, my goal is 4000-5000 words a week. Have a finished draft by the end of the summer, then spend two months revising. Voila. Book #3.
Thanks for making me put this in writing, Joe.
I set a goal about two years ago to finish my first novel by the time I turned 40. Well, I turned 40 this past March, and didn't quite make it. I did finish the first draft in April or May. But I decided something simple like not meeting my goal was not going to discourage me. So I set a new goal of having the novel finished by my next birthday, March of 2008. That means polished, edited, tweaked, and ready to find an agent. I'm still a ways off, and March is coming up fast, but I still think I can do it.
JANE DYSTEL (Agent)
1. Goals for 2008: I'd like to try to take on only those projects that I love and feel passionately about (as opposed to doing favors or going against my instincts when something doesn't feel right). I'd also like to find new areas of interest – my client list is pretty eclectic, but I'd love to find a great children's book, or a military thriller, or other types of projects in areas I haven't ventured into too often.
2. How will you reach these goals: I'm going to try to be more realistic about my time and how valuable it is and really force myself to say "no" if things aren't right for me. And, I'd like to increase my reading time so that I can look at more things that may be coming over the transom in those areas I'd like to expand into.
Get and develop a website.
Earn at least $500 from my writing.
Finish EVERY story I have started/ideas written for.
Begin at least 1 new novel.
Get an agent for the novel I have completed.
1. Your goals for 2008.
My main goal for 2008 is to continue writing and turning out the best stuff that I can. A long time ago, before I'd sold any of my novels, I was just sitting down to start a new manuscript. When the mail came, I discovered that I'd gotten one back that I'd previously sent out. Depressed and demoralized, I questioned myself. Did I really want to continue in this writing game? Steeling myself with resolve, I vowed to begin this new novel, putting everything I had into it, making it the best that I could make it, even if no one else ever read it but me.
That manuscript was A Killing Frost, and it turned out to be the first of mine to get accepted for publishing. So my goal is to keep that fire in my belly . . . to keep turning out the best prose I can . . . to write in an entertaining and interesting manner.
I also have to continue to promote the new projects that are coming up. A Killing Frost was just released last month in mass market paperback, and I have the first novel in a new police procedural series due out from Dorchester in the spring. It's called Random Victim. I also have a collaborative novel, Dead Ringer, that I wrote with my writing partner, Julie Hyzy that's due out in 2008 as well.
2. How you will reach these goals.
I hope to reach these goals via two words: HARD WORK.
1. Lose 30 pounds.
How? Get on the treadmill as part of my daily routine, not just once
in a while.
2. Improve my marriage.
How? Learn to communicate with my wife more effectively.
3. Write one short story to see if all these ideas in my head can be
translated into something coherent and worth sharing.
How? I'll jot down the random plot points I've come up with between
now and Jan. 1st, then use my lunch hour at work everyday to write until
the short story is complete.
1. Your goals for 2008.
Write better...
2. How you will reach these goals.
Read more!
1. Your goals for 2008.
Well, I have a March deadline, so finishing the WIP before then is my first priority. After that, I need to make some more sales so I can continue to make up stuff for a living. That means writing proposals and/or complete manuscripts. I'd like to write a total of four to five proposals next year (and -hopefully- sell them) and finish a complete that I'm working on in addition to the deadline book.
All the goals I make are for things I can control. As a result, I don't set publishing goals, just writing goals. I've found if I do the writing, the publishing part tends to take care of itself (with the help of my agents).
2. How you will reach these goals.
I write full time, so reaching these goals is a matter of showing up at my computer, pushing my insecurities aside, and putting words on the screen. It's as simple and as complicated as that.
1. Your Goals for 2008.
I really want to get a novel finished and in submission shape so I can get an agent.
2. How you will reach these goals.
I will write as much as I possibly can, as well as I can.
My main goal for 2008 is to finish my eighth book before the end of the year. That'll be the official end of this "just in time" delivery system I've been laboring under, where I turn in a new manuscript five months before the pub date. Much better to have one in the queue and that's what I'm shooting for.
My marketing goals are less distinct. Sometimes I hear other authors say things like "My goal is to crack the NYT printed list," but I don't really think in those terms. Not that I don't want to crack the printed list, and more; it's just that I've broken down into bite-sized chunks the list of things I need to do to achieve my lofty goals, and now I focus day to day on making sure all those little things happen. Over time, they add up. So I guess you could say my marketing goals for 2008 are to continue to do the things I've been doing. Which means, at a high level, appearances, online presence, increasing penetration of the romance demographic (sorry, I had to say it), etc. etc.
More abstract still: to continue to try to gain greater self-awareness and objectivity about the world and my place in it. To continue to try to be the change I want to see in the world (learned that from Ghandi). This one is much harder than the other two, and infinitely more worthy.
How will I reach these goals? Well, I gotta stop sniffing glue, that's #1...
Seriously, the key to achieving any goal is to reverse engineer the goal into steps you can follow every day. The thought of writing a 100,000 word novel is daunting. But if write only 500 words -- less than two pages -- a day, the book will be written in just over six months. Break it down into little pieces, focus on those pieces, stop thinking about the big bad goal. Shit, who can't write 500 words in a day? I'll probably write nearly that many just in this email.
It sounds odd, but focusing too much on the goal once you've figured out what it is is counterproductive. Cops involved in a shooting typically report a telling sequence: surprised, they get their weapon out and shoot instinctively, thinking things like "Die!" and "Go down!" Of course, hitting the other guy is one of the key goals in a gunfight (the other being not to get hit yourself). What's interesting is that, at this stage of the gunfight, the cop can't seem to hit the target. Then, after a second, the training kicks in. The cop stops thinking "Go down!" and instead reverts to the sequence he learned to concentrate on in training: aggressive stance. Gorilla grip. Front sight on the target. Roll the trigger.
And bam, like magic, the bad guy falls down.
Break it down into manageable steps, then systematically follow those steps. Your life could depend on it...
Another way I've heard it expressed is: plan the work, then work the plan.
I could go into a lot more detail, but I have to get in my daily writing...
1) Finish the first part of a trilogy I've just started writing. Get the 500 words per day done.
2) Work hard at getting my YA fantasy novel published.
My goals for 2008:
To somehow achieve the balance of being a loving husband and father while also negotiating the hellish shark-infested waters of the book and movie business, which I love, God help me, but not as much as my wife and kids. Does that make any kind of grammatical or spiritual sense?
How I will reach these goals is by being as nice as possible to my family, while simultaneously pushing the envelope of my writing comfort zone, especially stretching into new genres such as true crime, fantasy, and dark comedy, and also taking regular dosages of Xanax and Belgian chocolate.
I keep remembering something Mason Williams (the composer of "Classical Gas") said about how he worked hard on his music and it improved but then he worked on himself and his music improved a lot more. I've been trying to get some balance in what I do. For years, I spent so much time writing that I didn't pursue activities that I'd always wanted to try. Flying, for example. Last March, I made the decision to take flying lessons. Twice a week, I now go to the local airport in Santa Fe, where I fly with an instructor and (this is a very conscious metaphor) "get above it all." My skills are now sufficient that I soloed and am able to take the plane up by myself. By June, I hope to have my pilot's license.
While this might seem to have nothing to do with writing, it actually is pertinent. I think it's possible to get so involved in the publishing world that our imaginations get stuck in the conventional rut that publishing appears to encourage these days. Meanwhile, our lives go by, along with the chance to experience things that spark our creativity. I know that I'll use my piloting experience in a book some day. Meanwhile, it amazes me how refreshed I am after a lesson and how more energetic my mind is as I return to the desk.
Every project should be an adventure, just as our lives should be adventures. If we can make the two come together, there's no stopping us.
1) Complete my novel (sit my ass in a chair and write the thing)
2) Sell a few more stories (make sure I send them out)
3) Get my website up and running (kind of the same as #1)
1. Goals for 2008:
Write more.
Write better.
2. How to do it:
Pay more attention.
Think less.
Go deeper.
My main goal is annex the western third of Canada and rename it Jimvada. The capital will become Bornville. Gambling, outrageous fireworks and sex with farm animals will be legalized. From this stable and fun place to live I will then create an army that will attack countries which have no military or Moslems because it seems like those are the two things that seem to cause problems with invasions. Perhaps Polynesia because they're protected by France which is the same as no military.
I will reach this goal as I do all other goals. I will train, be ruthlessly determined and then rely on a tremendous amount of luck.
As for publishing
My goal is to have a good launch on Burn Zone in February and build on the strides I made last year. Unless you are lucky, building an audience is a slow, careful process. I also work on improving as a writer every year and learn from the corrections of the previous novel.
The first goal requires some help from the publisher and fate. A few more reviews, a little news coverage and everything starts to roll. The second goal is something I'm serious about and work on not year by year but everyday by listening to seasoned writers I respect, seeing what editors are saying and looking at things from their perspective then by reading good books.
But I'm new to all this so I may be wrong.
1. My goals:
-- Finish writing Book #7 in the Jane Rizzoli series.
-- Lose 5 pounds.
2. How I'll reach those goals:
-- Plant my butt in my chair and write
-- No. More. Martinis.
My Goal for 2008:
To get my "voice" back. And finish a story.
One. Page. A. Day.
1. I only have one writing-related goal in 2008: To finally get that ever-elusive mass market deal!
2. Part of my plan to reach this goal involves...waiting patiently. After all, my agent has sent out three-chapters-and-a-synopsis proposals for two new novels to various editors, along with two novels that have already been published in very tiny print runs as pricey collector's editions. But that's not good enough if I want to be as famous as the mighty J.A. Konrath. So to supplement the stuff that's already floating around, my primary 2008 goal is to--in addition to finishing the already-contracted small press work--give my agent a complete, unencumbered, highly marketable novel to sell.
#1 Goal For 2008
Get my current novel – which is currently on submission – accepted by a legit publishing house.
How I'm Going To Reach That Goal
In this case, it's up to will of Fate, Karma, unseen market forces, and St. Martins' Press. I've written and re-written, found a legitimate agent who's doing her job, so all I can do now is control my own attitude. That means not being a pest, not living in a "lottery dream" fantasyland, and not wasting my free time when I could be working on the sequel.
#2 Goal For 2008
Write a minimum of 180 pages of the next book… which may not seem like a lot given your productivity level, but with a toddler at home, another baby on the way, full-time advertising job, and bi-weekly column in Buzz, Balls & Hype, 180 pages will be a stretch (of my wife's patience to boot).
How I'm Going To Reach That Goal
Write during lunches, write in hospital waiting rooms, write during nap times, give up watching "Project Runway," and be happy, damn happy with 5-6 hours of sleep a night.
#3 Goal For 2008
World Peace.
How I'm Going To Reach That Goal
Recycle my plastic bags. Not vote for Guilliani.
Your goals for 2008.
1. Sell book I just completed
2. Write new book
3. Grow readership
4. Repeat steps 1-3 for next 30 years
How you will reach these goals.
Beat back distractions with a heavy club.
My Goal for 2008:
1. Finish WIP
How I'm Going To Reach That Goal:
2. Get it written
1/1 - start new novel
12/31 - finish (hopefully not too shitty) a first draft of new novel
1/7 - start researching/writing masters thesis
11/1 - finish first draft of thesis/submit to advisor
12/20 - Graduate from grad school!
I wish I had something witty or pithy, but this is sincere.
My goal is to learn not to struggle so much with the stuff I think I must do and not beat up on myself for the things I haven't done. You can think of many more jobs for the upcoming day than you can complete.
I suppose this is the old stop-and-smell-the-roses advice.
How would I achieve it? Not the slightest idea, except to go for gratitude. I hope to take more time to be grateful for what I have, including my friends in the mystery world.
I had a stroke back in February, which affected my right hand to the point that I type with one hand and haven't put a pen to paper (I'm right handed). My primary goal is not to let that stop me. To accomplish it, I'm going to teach myself to write left-handed and train ViaVoice to understand me so I can really "talk on paper". Of course I'll rehabilitate my right hand as well as possible, but it's
good to have Plan B.
My next goal is to write at least three pages a day. To do that, I'm going to stop worrying about writing crap and just go ahead and do it. If I get something to send out, great, if not, it's practice.
My goals: To continue ploughing on with my latest novel, and to polish, re-polish, re-re-polish (etc.) my previous novel, then submit to agencies
How I'll achieve my goals: I'm going to continue to book computers in the college library each day to polish my previous novel and work on the current one. I'm going to continue to redraft my previous novel until I am completely happy with it, and then when I am, I'm going to send it out to agencies and keep pushing it and staying motivated so that I find that one that says 'yes'.
1. Your goals for 2008.
Sell through EASY INNOCENCE, my 2008 book (coming in March) at a higher level than any of my other novels… get a movie option… foreign rights… and a nice big contract for my thriller, Broken Angel…
2. How you will reach these goals.
Much of it is out of my hands…(ie agents, editors, booksellers, and third parties will determine my ultimate success) so I'm trying to concentrate on what I can do.. which is to write the best book I possibly can.
My 2008 goal is to get the first manuscript published and get an agent, too. My plan is to make submissions to five agents and publishers each week; and while I
am waiting for responses, I will be working on the second and third manuscripts.
1. My goals for 2008 are actually very simple: Write my fourth book and also work on something outside of my normal "zone" of YA literary fiction. I'd like to write a screenplay or develop a video game or put together the big, epic fantasy series I've been plotting in my head for a couple of years now.
2. The old-fashioned way: By putting my butt in my chair and writing. :)
JAIME LEVINE (editor)
If I were to name a professional goal, I'd say it's to buy more nonfiction. So much of what I do is fiction, which I love, but I also like the challenges of new projects and I like learning new trades, so I'd like to develop myself as a nonfiction editor.
I have pursued several projects this year and I have one book in the hopper that's slated to come out in Summer 08, The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston. I want to use it as a spring board to make more acquisitions.
To be truly successful at this, I am reading more nonfiction to get a sense of what I like. Then I am studing the market around my areas of interest in order to figure out what what books work, so I can have a sense of what books are worth acquiring. And I am studying how to publish those books (package and market). I did this process for graphic novels (my first graphic novel, Shooting War, just published in Nov 07), and now I'm turning my attention to a new area of publishing--expanding my stable of nonfiction projects.
Main writing goal: Complete my first novel TableRappers: Persistent Spirit. (tablerappers.com)
How: initially release as an audio novel in weekly episodes, build an online community and following, then re-write and release printed version.
My goals for 2008
1. Sign with an agent.
2. Finish the sequel to the novel I'm currently submitting.
3. Write a full-length standalone to start submitting, should I fail to find an agent for the first.
How I will reach these goals
1. By stepping up my submissions and including American and Irish agents as well as British.
2. By improving my writing and increasing my output.
3. By listening to and learning from those who've tread the path before.
4. By staying focused and keeping these goals as my top priority.
1) To promote my first novel, In the Dismal Swamp, which is coming out in June 2008.
2) To sell my second novel.
How I will accomplish these goals:
1) By writing to libraries and independent bookstores asking them to buy my book & possibly allow me to do a book signing. Secondly, by running a Half-Marathon. Unusual? Perhaps. But my old home town in Virginia is hosting the second annual Dismal Swamp Stomp 13.1 mile race in April, and since the setting for my book is the Dismal Swamp, I thought it would be a natural tie-in. The race is in April, and I'm going to wear a T-shirt promoting the book, and try to arrange a local press interview beforehand.
2) By submitting queries to as many mystery publishers as I can, I hope to find a home for my second book, unless, of course, my first publisher wants it.
1. Finish my edits for Isle of Fire before Christmas.
2. Spend as much time with my family as I can.
3. To work on my next writing project, but not under contract. I know this sounds odd, but I really want to explore this new fantasy realm I'm creating. I don't want to have to churn it out in 4 months.
1. Your Goals for 2008.
Now that I've completed my first large project, my first goal is to edit it into a readable story. Not that my writing is bad, but the whole thing is pretty piecemeal and needs to be edited. I did realize about two-thirds of the way through my story that it would be better cut down into a short story than expanded into a novel.
My second goal is to write and edit three other short stories. While I am well aware that publishers aren't terribly excited over short stories, I believe that these four ideas are all better shorter and will attempt to sell them as a collection.
A full-length novel is also being planned as a collaborative effort. One of my goals is to at least get this outlined, if not partially written by the end of the year.
2. How you will reach these goals.
My biggest writing problems are procrastination and distraction. I have learned through the NaNo challenge that it is possible for me to stay focused on the task at hand and actually force myself to write even when I didn't feel like it. I also know that it's possible for me to churn out large chunks of text in a short period of time and actually have the finished product be readable.
Now that I know that I am capable of writing something worthwhile, I can use what I've learned and apply it to my writing projects.
1) Take the same schedule I had this past month and use it to plan and write.
2) For me, editing while writing is a form of procrastination. I spend so much time editing one paragraph that I get bored with the story and stop writing. (I have a short attention span) So, I will write first just to get the story down, then go back and do the major editing later.
3) Ignore all the people who think it's "cute" that I'm writing stories, and that it's a phase I'll grow out of (sure, a phase that's lasted 25 years... hee.). They were wrong when they said I couldn't complete NaNo. They're wrong when they say that I should just stick with my day job, even though none of them have read anything I've written.
4) Keep writing. I normally write almost every day anyway, so that's not much of a stretch.
5) Keep reading your blog so I get all the good tips. :D
Iintend to write two more novels in 2008, edit the two I wrote this year, and get another one published.
On the non-writing front I'll take more martial arts classes and try not to break any bones.
I think a "goal" has to be something I can hit or miss based on my own personal efforts. So whereas I have a wish list for 2008 - a president from the same planet as me, a Yankees sweep of the Dodgers in the World Series, my new apartment to be finished - about the only thing actually within my control is to write a book - for 2009 - that's as good as or better than the previous twelve.
The way I'll try to do that is give myself time ... I don't use an outline and depend on letting the story evolve organically, and my worst enemy is rushing. So I'll slow down and think carefully.
My writing goals for 2008.
Simple: I'm determined to write the novel that's been lurking in the quirked corners of my mind for 3 years. And there's about 10 short stories (my first love: writing short stories) stuffed in there as well. Out, out, damned stories!
My goals for 2008:
Drop enough weight to get down to 200 lbs, and get back into writing something. Anything.
I plan to reach these goals by watching my diet, excercising more, reading your "Newbie's Guide To Publishing", and badgering you constantly for advice and approval. Good luck with that.
My goals:
* Finish writing my third and fourth books for my MG series
* Get a brand new project to my agent
* Try writing a screenplay
* Publish 50 new magazine articles and at least 10 in magazines I've never queried before
* Decide on which MFA program to attend (choices, choices!)
Goal for 2008:
I want to challenge myself as writer and make the fourth book in my series really spectacular. Take everything up ten notches. That sort of thing.
What I'm going to do to achieve this:
1. Take a research trip to Istanbul (where the book is set)
2. Figure out ways to make my characters do the things they think they would never do
3. Meet daily word-count goals (I shoot for 2K a day)
4. Get into a good routine of writing during the day and reading great books at night
My goals for this year:
1. 2 first-draft novels
2. 1 edited novel
3. Start trying to sell edited novel.
How I am going to accomplish these goals:
1. Write minimum of 1 hour per day or maximum 4 hours per day (not counting Sunday--I need at least one relax day, and vacation when my stepfamily shows for a vacation).
2. Do a minimum of 3-4 edits on novel (done in part of my writing time).
3. Start researching agents and/or publishing houses.
4. Also, if I cannot get the first novel published I am going to post it on my site. And, then go to the next one. I have promised myself that I will not get all worked up about rejection. I have other problems that are more important like Wegener's Granulomatosis. (Flannery had lupus--blood disease and I have WG blood vessel disease.)
My Goals For 2008
1. To find new ways to promote myself and my work. I'll do this by watching, asking, thinking, trying, failing, and learning.
2. To get a contract for Jack Daniels #7.
3. To keep up with my email, my website, my blog, my MySpace.
4. To never settle for less than my best, in every aspect of my personal and professional life.
I can't control the publishing industry. But I can control certain aspects of my place within that industry, through hard work and perserverence.
There's a word for a writer who never gives up. Published.
There's also a word for a published writer who never gives up.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
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|Personal Liberty Bob Livingston provides you with a conservative, Christian view on life. Helping you live free in an unfree world. Delivering news on improving you health, boosting your wealth, and protecting your civil liberties."
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Question: Benefits of Vitamin D
Dear Bob,
I hear about the benefits of Vitamin D all the time , however no one ever seems to say how many hours of sunlight are required to get the right amount of Vitamin D nor do they say how much Vitamin C one must take as a supplement or drink as a juice on a daily basis… can you please tell me?
Thank you!
A: Writing in his book, The Vitamin D Cure, James E. Dowd, M.D., says there is no one-size-fits-all amount of sun exposure required to maintain adequate levels of Vitamin D without supplementation. The amount varies by age, size, skin type and latitude. He says that todays urbanized lifestyle prohibits most people from getting the proper amount of sunshine, and long sleeves, wide-brimmed hats and sunscreen with a SPF of as low as eight would prevent a person from getting the proper amount of sunshine. His book contains a chart that can help you determine how much you would need. There is also a sunshine calculator available online at http://www.thevitamindcure.com/calculator/. He does write that those who regularly use tanning beds usually have adequate levels of Vitamin D in their systems.
In regard to Vitamin C, it has been generally established that 2,000 mg per day of Vitamin C is the proper dose for healthy adults, according to Michael Cutler, M.D.
Best Wishes,
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Nina Lamb may be partially responsible for some of the greatest rock music ever recorded. Her contribution? Cheese-and-spinach phyllo rolls.
"The Doors would go into their studio to rehearse or record," Lamb says, "and they'd get hungry and they'd call me at, maybe, midnight. They'd say, 'Can you bring us down some phyllo?' So I'd bake a bunch and take it down to them. I started making it and keeping it in my freezer."
Phyllo recipe: A Jan. 20 recipe for cheese-and-spinach phyllo rolls omitted the oven temperature. The oven should be heated to 400 degrees. —
As the wife, and then ex-wife, of the legendary Jac Holzman, founder of Elektra Records, Lamb served as the label's de facto chef, preparing food not only for industry parties for artists as diverse as Jim Morrison and Judy Collins, but also sending over snacks whenever her favorite acts felt the urge.
Ray Manzarek, who co-founded the Doors with Morrison and played keyboards in the band, has fond memories of Lamb's food. "We'd call her," he says, "and we'd say, 'Help. We're starving here. We need food. We're in the studio working late tonight. Can you bring us a tray of that marvelous phyllo?' Saved our lives."
The Doors scored eight Top 40 singles and six bestselling albums in just four years, 1967 to 1971. And who's to say that it wasn't those cheese-and-spinach phyllo rolls that mellowed the moody, mercurial Morrison and moved him to make that monumental music?
"I remember her bringing it to the recording session for 'Road House Blues,' of which we had multiple takes," Manzarek says. "We were rockin' out and playing it too fast and needing to get into the later part of the night so that the tempo would be right. And Nina brought in the phyllo and we had a little wine and, man, it was good food; and long about 1 or 2 o'clock we got it. So, Nina's phyllo had a lot to do with getting the master take of 'Road House Blues.' "
At that time, 1968, Lamb had recently moved to Los Angeles, shortly after her divorce from Holzman, who had launched the label in 1950. It became one of the musically most important record companies of the 1960s and '70s and one of just a handful of super-successful independent labels.
In the '60s it was known as the premier label of the singer-songwriter movement, with artists including Collins, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton and Tom Rush. By the end of the decade it had branched out into other genres, with acts like Love and the Doors helping to establish L.A. as a serious center of the psychedelic rock scene.
The Doors, of course, became rock royalty. And around that time, Lamb became known in the music world for her cooking.
Lamb, now in her early 70s and living in Santa Monica, works for Comerica Bank in its Private Banking Entertainment division. She began her career as an assistant to the editors of Woman's Day and other magazines and started working for Elektra in the 1950s, taking on a variety of roles, such as calculating artists' royalties.
Après-concert fare
As Elektra began to grow and its artists started to perform at larger and more prestigious New York City venues, Jac and Nina Holzman hosted their post-performance parties, with Nina, always a good cook, preparing all of the food.
The Doors had been guests at some of the Holzmans' post-performance parties in New York, where they first tasted her phyllo. Nina would attend the concerts too but still be ready to serve 100 guests afterward. "We would go to the concerts," Lamb says, "and I would wait until just before the encore and then I would run out of there, jump in a cab and go home."
An early one, in the mid-'60s, was held for Collins after an important concert. "I can visualize exactly how it was laid out," Lamb says. "We were living in a really beautiful apartment in the Village. We had a real dining room. The buffet would be set up in the dining room, and there was an adjoining living room with a fireplace."
For this party, Lamb presented a French buffet. At that time, Americans were enamored of and just becoming familiar with French cuisine, influenced by Jackie Kennedy's White House entertaining and her chef, Rene Verdon.
Much of what was included in Lamb's French buffet is, she says, "pretty normal now, but it was new and different back then. The pissaladiere is a very traditional dish; it's like a French pizza. And the eggplant 'caviar' is something that I still make all the time. The recipe may have originally come from my family, who came from Europe."
"The parties Nina gave me and others at Elektra were really famous," Collins says. "They were very important social events, because when you're starting out like that, as we all were, you aren't able to socialize very much, when your life is on the road."
Lamb looks back at those days fondly. "It was just a very nurturing, special time in music, and I feel extremely lucky that I ended up being part of it.
"And I really loved doing those dinner parties. I wouldn't have done them if I hadn't enjoyed them so much, because it's a lot of work and you really have to know what you're doing. For what I did, most people would rather hire a caterer. But it was something that was part of our life. There was no distinction between our personal life and the company. It was all an enormously involved and evolving thing. So for me to do this was just kind of natural."
Shortly after she moved to L.A., Lamb got the idea to start what she called "feed-ins" -- serving free meals on a regular basis to, she says, "strung-out teens." She and a partner, Ellie Shanahan, teamed up with the L.A. Free Clinic, persuaded record companies to contribute to the project and served lunches at a church. Something in that experience gave her the idea to start a catering business, which she did with Shanahan, calling the venture Pure Pleasure.
One of their first jobs was preparing the behind-the-scenes food for the artists and crew of the 1970 Big Sur Folk Festival in Monterey, which featured Joan Baez, Linda Ronstadt, Kris Kristofferson, the Beach Boys and others. That meant feeding 100 people almost constantly for 12 hours. With little previous experience but much careful planning, the pair pulled it off. "I didn't regret it," Lamb says. "But I don't think I'd do it again."
Meanwhile, the Doors started calling. The group had attended many of her New York dinners. "Great parties," Manzarek recalls. "You're milling around and talking to lots of rock stars and Elektra Records artists, like Carly Simon, Harry Chapin, the Butterfield Blues Band, and eating this great ethnic food."
Pure Americana
Another of those memorable mid-'60s New York affairs was an after-concert dinner party for Phil Ochs. The singer-songwriter was one of the most influential songwriters of his time, known mostly for his brilliant and powerful protest songs, but also for humorous satirical tunes and haunting love songs.
The focal point of that menu was Brunswick stew, a dish that dates to the 19th century American South. Originally made with squirrel, rabbit and other animals that were available there (to anyone with a gun), it has evolved into a chicken dish -- probably more palatable to most people these days.
Lamb learned it from Anne Warner, who, with her husband Frank, was an important American folklorist and folk song collector. Frank, in fact, may have single-handedly launched the folk boom by recording a song he'd found, called "Tom Dooley," which was then recorded by the Kingston Trio, whose version became the first million-selling Top 40 folk song of the new musical era.
"I felt this dish was so 'Americana,' " Lamb says, "and Phil was too. He was so political, and this dish just seemed so American."
Lamb is still cooking today. She and her second husband, Kirk, have been members of a gourmet club with three other couples for 11 years, which she says has been "challenging and rewarding."
Each couple prepares one major dinner a year for the group, usually with international themes. All of the couples travel quite a bit, taking at least one major trip a year, to countries around the world.
"We bring back ideas and décor for our next big dinner," Lamb says. "The presentations are sophisticated and beautiful, both food and table. Our dinner this year was Hawaiian. We had been to Maui a few months earlier. We brought back décor for the table, little gifts for the guests and many food ideas."
As active as ever, Lamb rises at 4:45 a.m. three days a week to take a spinning class at a health club on her way to work. She and her husband also attend many arts events, with season subscriptions to an eclectic series of music and dance at UCLA; a baroque music series, Musica Angelica; and theater at the Mark Taper Forum. And they entertain frequently, hosting about three dinner parties a month.
When not entertaining, Lamb says, she cooks everything. "I plan menus in my head. I go to the farmers market in Santa Monica almost every Saturday; it's very inspiring."


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Went out about five minutes drive to the west of where I live and got some pictures of these mulies. They are on private property, and you can drive right up to the fence without spooking them much. If you try to roll down a window or open a door, however, they are off like a shot. The herd was probably around twenty head total. As you can probably tell, I shot these through my windshield.
For a really bigass view, click on the pictures.
I was hoping this story would turn out better. I remember when this whole thing popped up a couple of years ago, since it was here in West Valley City where I live. Pretty much everyone believes he did away with his wife, but they could never locate her body, so he is still a "person of interest". It is just sad that when he decides to end his life, he felt he had to kill his children also. There is no reason for that; if he wanted to commit suicide, that is his choice, but he had no reason to murder his children. I am not a religious person, but if I were, my fervent wish would be that he rots in hell.
Just my opinion.
I've been spending a lot of my time trying to exercise back and shoulder muscles, to get them in shape after all the stuff they've been through, but it is going slow. It doesn't help that I've been sleeping even more poorly than usual. When you only get 3 or 4 hours a night for weeks on end, it makes you feel a bit fuzzy and stupid in the head, like your IQ has dropped temporarily. Last night I got almost five hours, so I am feeling a little more clear (hence my posting today).
I've tried napping during the day, but not too successfully. Mainly I have curled up and my mind has gone wandering away to other places and times. It's funny how a certain smell, a sound, a way that a sunbeam happens to cast a shadow or gleam off something can send you to another occasion so clearly that it is almost like you are there. Sometimes it is something in the past few years, but now and then I get an image and memory of things that happened when I was just a small child. Some of my strongest memories seem to be when camping and traveling on vacation with my family. I can picture some of the locations quite vividly, others not so much, but they are places that I will never forget. Have you got had many experiences like that? I'll move on now, before I babble any more.
There should be a familiar one or two in this bunch.
"After Dark" by Tito & Tarantula
"The Warrior" by Patty Smyth
"Tube Snake Boogie" by ZZ Top
"Get Off My Cloud" by The Rolling Stones
"Help Me Girl" by Eric Burdon and the Animals
"John the Revelator" by Curtis Stigers and The Forest Rangers
"Over You" by Gary Puckett & the Union Gap
"Rock Me" by Steppenwolf
"You Only Live Twice" by Nancy Sinatra
"Scotch and Soda" by The Kingston Trio
A good one from Eric Burdon
One of those songs that is good to listen to when you've got the blues.