text:
Like it's 1999.
Dig if U will the picture.
Think back 17 years, if your baseball experience allows it.
It was 1999, and the Texas Rangers, in what was then the most optimistic stretch in franchise history, were once again sent into a circle around the drain by the frustratingly insurmountable New York Yankees.
Back in 1996, Texas had beaten the Yankees, in New York, in its first-ever playoff game, pretty comfortably. The Rangers offense scored six times off David Cone in his six innings of work, and John Burkett went the distance in the 6-2 Texas win.
The Rangers should have won Game Two, but squandered an early 4-1 lead and lost in 12 innings.
They should have won Game Three, the Darren Oliver gem that I could write a book about (if masochistic enough).
They should have won Game Four, but Bobby Witt and seven relievers (including starter Roger Pavlik) couldn't preserve an early 4-0 Texas lead.
Series over.
But it felt like a battle, like the Rangers' 2009, like the Cowboys' 1991, like the precursor to even better things.
Texas, a club that hadn't reached the playoffs in its first 24 seasons, was back for a second time in three years in 1998.
But the Rangers spit that one up, again at the hands of the Yankees, scoring a total of one run in a three-game sweep.
Then, 1999. The Rangers were a post-season team for the third time in four years.
And the Rangers spit that one up, again at the hands of the Yankees, again scoring a total of one run in a three-game sweep.
It's a different scale, of course, but I can imagine right now that the Rangers, right now, are to the Astros, a very good baseball team that will make noise this year and for years to come, what the late-'90s Yankees were to the Rangers.
The Astros have dropped 19 games out of their last 25 against Texas.
Ten straight in Arlington.
Eleven of 13 overall.
Last night, Houston sent its ace, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, up against a non-roster invite (coming off two years of relative inactivity) who won the competition in Rangers camp to hold down the number five starter spot for six weeks.
The one who threw the quality start, scattering two runs over six innings, was Arthur Joseph Griffin.
The one who surrendered a career-high-tying 13 base hits (six for extra bases) in 28 at-bats (.464) was Dallas Keuchel.
In what the lefthander said "was probably the best I've felt out of my four starts."
On a night when his counterpart Cy Young Award winner was busy throwing a no-hitter in the other league.
Texas 7, Houston 4 completed yet another Rangers sweep over the Astros, who now share the AL's worst record with Minnesota, not quite alone in a world that's so cold.
Look at how Griffin and Keuchel came out of the gate.
Top of the first: Jose Altuve doubles to left. George Springer doubles to left.
Bottom of the first: Delino DeShields dribbles out to Keuchel. Nomar Mazara dribbles out to Keuchel.
Yet, when the frame ended, the Rangers' temporary fifth starter held a 3-1 lead over the Cy Young winner, courtesy of a single-single-home run sequence that was completed when Ian Desmond hit his first homer as a Ranger — and the only homer Keuchel has surrendered this season.
And it never got closer than that.
Astros manager A.J. Hinch tipped his cap after the game, noting that Texas "did a good job of attacking Dallas [which is not to be confused with what the Houston media has tried doing this week], getting pitches up in the zone to hit." Said Keuchel: "They're very smart. They're smart hitters."
The Rangers laid off pitches out of the zone, which is Keuchel's weapon, forced him to come back in the zone, and used the opposite field a lot. It was a great approach, and I'm really digging Anthony Iapoce in a Rangers uniform.
Keuchel gave up six runs in six innings. In his other three 2016 starts, he allowed five runs — combined.
I'm not sure whether Astros players or Astros officials or Astros fans feel snakebit, but if that's not the right word, whatever all of us felt like at the end of 1996-1998-1999 is probably not a whole lot different.
The Astros are 5-11, with a negative-19 run differential.
There's something to be learned there, though it's not conclusive: Last year Houston finished the regular season with a run differential of plus-111, while Texas was at a mere plus-18. And yet the Rangers finished two games ahead.
Sometimes it snows in April, and it probably wasn't a very happy flight home for Houston last night. The Astros are back home while the Rangers travel to Chicago for the weekend, before returning to Arlington to host the Yankees, who are no longer the kryptonite they were back in that four-year stretch ending in 1999.
Houston will need to figure out a way to turn the Rangers into something different from what they are to them right now, and while it'll be fine with me if that takes years, you obviously can't count on that.
From the Texas perspective, the Rangers simply handed the ball to the ref, converted the point after, and now line up for the next kickoff.
The Astros, instead, are likely happy to get away from the thieves in the Temple, and regroup, hopeful that the next time the teams meet — when Yu Darvish could be back — they might be able to put up some resistance to the avalanche that's just not losing any strength right now.
Fun baseball is fun.
Bookends and other things that look alike.
Last year, on this date, the Houston Astros were in the thick of a majestic run of baseball, one that saw them win 14 of 15, the lone setback a one-run loss to Seattle.
When that 15-game domination ended on May 3, they were 18-7 overall.
It was the best record in the American League, second best in baseball.
On this date a year ago, the Rangers beat Arizona with six late-inning runs, 7-1, but they were in the midst of a stretch in which they lost 10 of 13.
At the end of that skid, on May 3, their record was 8-16.
It was the worst record in the American League, second worst in baseball.
The next day, Texas visited Houston for the first of three. Dallas Keuchel and Scott Feldman started the first two games. They were opposed by Ross Detwiler and Wandy Rodriguez.
The scuffling Rangers came into Minute Maid Park and swept the juggernaut Astros.
Since the start of that series pitting the team with baseball's second-worst record at the time against the team with baseball's second-best record, in their house, the span of baseball bookended by those three May 2015 games between the two clubs in Houston and the first two of three between them this week in Arlington — all five of which the Rangers have won — Texas is 89-64.
Houston is 73-79.
Last night's intense 2-1 Rangers win over the Astros featured a couple bookends of its own, each featuring Jose Altuve.
Cole Hamels's night started with an Altuve hit-by-pitch. It ended that way, too.
The game itself kicked off with Altuve, and ended that way, too, as he lined out to right field with a man on.
Texas has now defeated Houston nine straight times at home, and is 15-6 against the Astros the last two seasons, starting with that three-game series last May, 250 miles south.
The Rangers, at 9-6, lead the West. Houston, at 5-10, is in last.
We know from a year ago that that's close to meaningless. Every one of those 15 games matters for Texas and matters for Houston, to be sure, but what they do over their remaining 147 will be what dictates whether one (or both) get to play 162+.
This is about Texas and Houston, and so today I'm not going to open the door behind which the 6-9 Angels are putting up a league-low OPS of .590 and league-low slug of .302 and have been held scoreless in 49 of their last 57 innings, a streak of six games during which five babies were not lit up.
Maybe another time.
Hamels — who is now 7-0 in Arlington and has recorded a career-best 10 straight victories (and 14 straight Rangers starts that the club won, best for a Texas pitcher in 26 years) — pitched himself out of trouble several times Wednesday night, which is what aces do. (Opponents are hitting .143 off Hamels with runners in scoring position this year.) With the bases loaded and nobody out in the top of the second, for instance, he got Marwin Gonzalez to fly to Nomar Mazara in shallow right on a 3-1 pitch, and Carlos Gomez's overexuberance breaking off of first base led to a 9-2-4-2 double play.
After the game, Jeff Banister told the press, about that huge double play: "More than anything else, our guys showed the presence of mind to stay in control, calm."
Bryan Holaday and Rougned Odor in particular.
Unlike Gomez on that play, or Root Sports Southwest at whatever point in the game the Astros network thought this was a good idea.
The one time in the game that Hamels was seemingly not in control (aside from his spiked throw past first on Gonzalez's cue shot down the line in the fifth) was at the outset, when he hit both Altuve and George Springer to start the game.
The last time a pitcher drilled the first two batters of a start was when Phillies righthander Jerome Williams — a month after his brief run as a Ranger — plunked Pittsburgh's Josh Harrison and Starling Marte.
Hamels was in one dugout that night. Banister was in the other.
That game was played on September 10, 2014.
How long ago was September 10, 2014?
The Rangers, historically decimated by injury, were 36 games out of first in the division.
The Astros were 25.5 games out.
Today, Texas and Houston are among baseball's best teams, in spite of the win-loss record that one of them sports this morning.
Between September 10, 2014 and today, Texas and Houston have faced off 24 times.
The Rangers have won 18 of those games.
(And won Hamels, who said no to Houston before coming to Texas.)
Tonight the Rangers go for 19 out of 25. Or, since last May 4, 16 out of 22. Or, as far as this series is concerned, three out of three.
Most importantly, the Rangers seek tonight to go one out of one.
Against Keuchel, who in tonight's series finale bookends a year of baseball between these two teams. On May 4, 2015, Keone Kela recorded his first career win in relief of Detwiler (7-4-1-1-2-7, the lefty's best effort as a Ranger), saddling Keuchel (who exited with a 1-1 score) with a no-decision as Chad Qualls took the late-inning loss. The Texas runs were driven in by Jake Smolinski and Robinson Chirinos. Neftali Feliz recorded the save.
Today, Smolinski is in Nashville and Chirinos is on the 60-day shelf. Detwiler's in Cleveland and Qualls is in Colorado and Feliz is in Pittsburgh, a starter and set-up reliever and closer from last year who now all work in middle relief, for new teams.
Lots has changed.
Lots has not.
I couldn't find a synonym for inferiority complex.
Tonight: The first of 19 this year against the Astros.
Some feel that total won't stop at 19.
It's April 19, and the defending AL West champs (who, though decimated, charged into that perch while the other guys were busy bat-flipping and backing out) have a meaningless two-game edge on tonight's opponent.
One team is leading the division right now, the other manning the basement, and that doesn't matter at all. The season is 8 percent complete.
Texas may not go 13-6 against Houston this season, like last, but the effort to make the head-to-heads decisive again begins tonight.
Not much else to say.
But if you're looking for something else to read, give this column a couple minutes.
It's comical, and it's typical.
It's so Houston.
There's something to putting your head down and running even when you know the ball is leaving the yard (or when it's not), to handing the ball to the ref after a touchdown, to acting like you've been there before.
Easier said than done, I guess, when you haven't.
Here we go.
A glimpse of invincible.
Really excellent win last night, with the Rangers offense piling six of their 10 hits up in one inning, picking up their ace after he'd done so for them so many times, Rougie Odor having a day at the plate and in the field, all kinds of outstanding infield defense, and four right-handed relievers shutting down the American League's presently preeminent offense.
But something else drew me to the keyboard this morning, and it wasn't Dallas 4, Minnesota 0.
Vincent Velasquez is 23. He's a kid from Southern California whom the Astros drafted in the second round in 2010, after they'd taken Delino DeShields, Mike Foltynewicz, and Mike Kvasnicka in the first.
Velasquez threw a big league complete game yesterday, his first.
In it he allowed just three hits, all singles.
He walked nobody.
No Padres scored.
Sixteen of them struck out.
No Padre, including their one pinch-hitter, didn't strike out.
Vincent Velasquez is on the Phillies now.
I bring that up because, otherwise, telling you that the only other pitchers in the last 50 years of his franchise's history to strike out 16 were Steve Carlton, Curt Schilling, and, five years ago, Cliff Lee might have been unfairly misleading.
The Astros did once have Schilling themselves but they traded him very badly, also to Philadelphia, sending him in 1992 at age 25 to the Phillies for Jason Grimsley.
Grimsley pitched one AAA season for Houston before he was released.
Schilling went on to record 212 of his 216 big league victories after the Astros moved him. Not counting the 11 he won in the post-season.
Back to Velasquez. And yes, there is a Rangers point to all of this.
(It's not about Dillon Tate, who went 6-4-0-0-0-10 for Hickory last night, in what was his lengthiest outing as a pro.)
The only pitchers younger than Velasquez to ever strike out 14 or more and walk none in a scoreless start: Vida Blue, Dwight Gooden, Kerry Wood, and Jose Fernandez.
The only other active pitcher who's ever thrown a complete-game shutout with 16 strikeouts and no walks is Max Scherzer (when he no-hit the Mets late last season).
The retired pitchers who did it in the last 100 years: Gooden, Wood, Roger Clemens (two times), and Randy Johnson.
In the last 10 seasons, only four pitchers have gotten an opponent to swing and miss at 20 fastballs in one start: David Price (7/7/10), Matt Harvey (4/3/13), Scherzer (10/3/15), and Velasquez (yesterday).
The righthander threw strike one to 25 of 30 Padres, which helped him complete the game in just 113 pitches, an absurdly economical number given all those punchouts.
The Phillies got Velasquez from the Astros 125 days ago.
Along with four other pitchers: former number one overall pick Mark Appel, big league lefty Brett Oberholtzer, and Class A righthanders Thomas Eshelman and Harold Arauz.
For relief pitcher Ken Giles (and 17-year-old shortstop Jonathan Arauz).
There was a snarkfest on Twitter after Velasquez's gem on Thursday, with Joe Sheehan of the Sheehan Newsletter noting that Velasquez has more scoreless appearances in 2016 (two) than Giles (one), Baseball America Managing Editor J.J. Cooper insinuating Philadelphia wouldn't trade Velasquez alone for Giles today, and Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki offering this:
"Things I never expected: Vince Velasquez would record more outs in the ninth inning through 10 games (three) than Ken Giles (zero)."
You see, Giles has yet to pitch in the ninth inning. Houston has made him Luke Gregerson's set-up man, for now.
But that's not the whole story.
In his first Astros appearance, Giles allowed an eighth-inning home run to Didi Gregorius.
Two days later, Giles entered a tie game in the seventh and gave up a three-run homer to Mark Teixeira.
Two days after that, Giles had a clean eighth in Milwaukee.
But four days after that, on Wednesday, Giles entered a 2-2 game against the Royals, issued a two-out walk to Alex Gordon, and then served up a two-run Salvador Perez bomb, taking the loss.
The three homers Giles has allowed in a week and a half with Houston equal the total he surrendered in 113 career appearances for Philadelphia.
Now, make no mistake, Giles is a really good relief pitcher. He'll be the Astros' closer soon enough, and a very good one.
But Carson Smith is really good out of the bullpen, too, and five days before Houston gave up Velasquez and four others for Giles, Boston got Smith — and Roenas Elias, a decent enough pre-arbitration pitcher — for mediocre lefthander Wade Miley and a piece.
A few weeks after the Phillies got the Velasquez-led haul for Giles, the Reds accepted Eric Jagielo, Tony Renda, Caleb Cotham, and Rookie Davis for Aroldis Chapman (who, yes, has some baggage).
Davis might be pretty good. He's in AA right now. He's 10 months younger than Velasquez.
And because I haven't referenced it in a few weeks, now's probably a decent enough time to toss in that, five months before Houston loaded up for Giles, Texas traded Tomas Telis and Cody Ege for Sam Dyson — whose devastating sinking fastball is paired with what sure appears to be an even better changeup than he wielded last summer.
Even if Giles turns out to be a lockdown closer, it's just a huge amount to give up for 60 or 70 innings a year. Same with Boston sending Manuel Margot, Javier Guerra, Carlos Asuaje, and Logan Allen to San Diego for Craig Kimbrel. Borderline insane.
But I'd rather focus on the Astros making a trade that could haunt them, like releasing J.D. Martinez in 2014, and like sending Josh Hader and Brett Phillips to the Brewers as part of a package for Mike Fiers and Carlos Gomez, after those two were reportedly earmarked for the Astros' Hamels trade before Hamels said: "Umm, no."
In February, Texas gave up $8 million and a first-round pick to make Ian Desmond an outfielder for one season.
The defense, while not without a couple whoops moments, has also provided instances when he's looked like this team's best outfielder.
The bat? Whether you lean scouting (approach at the plate) or stats (.116/.174/.116), it's been disturbingly ugly.
The $8 million, even if Desmond were this player all season (he won't be), isn't meaningless, but it's not Lance Berkman money and it's definitely not six years of surrendered control over, potentially, a budding frontline starting pitcher.
And the Rangers can take the money that would have been slotted for the 19th pick and put it towards a Latin American player instead.
Ask Phillies officials (or really smart fans) whether they'd choose Velasquez, Appel, Oberholtzer, Eshelman, and Arauz today over Jerad Eickhoff (who's also gotten off to a very good start), Jake Thompson, Jorge Alfaro, Nick Williams, Alec Asher, and Matt Harrison's contract, if they had to take just one, and the answer might take some time.
But consider that the other part of those two deals was Giles vs. Jake Diekman — and while Giles has more value, it may not be that big a gap — and a 17-year-old infielder who has yet to play in a full-season minor league vs. Cole Hamels.
Is the package Houston gave up for Giles a bigger gut punch than what it cost Texas to sign Desmond?
I sure think so.
Giles will be fine, and I think Desmond will be, too.
But until then, and even afterwards, I'm super-happy Houston traded Velasquez and a bunch more for a relief pitcher, and that Velasquez is out of the West, and I hope to have a really happy report to write about a Giles-Desmond matchup next week when the Astros come in for three.
Maybe even in Tuesday's series opener, when the super-impressive Vincent Velasquez makes his next start for a team that's not the Houston Astros.
It was Sunday, November 18, 2012, and to distract myself from the signing of non-roster lefthander Scott Olsen and the imminent addition of Leury Garcia and Joe Ortiz to the 40-man roster, I started to work on something for my son's room.
Adrian Beltre had been a Texas Ranger, at that point, for a year and 10 months.
He'd been my #favorite Texas Ranger, ever, for about a year and five months.
The defense. The toughness. The big bat. The season he'd just had that was good for third (behind Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout) in the AL MVP vote.
The defense.
He was 33 when I started the painting, and playing like he was 25 (when he was runner-up for NL MVP, to Barry Bonds).
Now he's 37, and playing like he's 26.
He was 33, two years into a Rangers contract that was reportedly offered after Cliff Lee told Texas no, the Angels told Beltre no, and Beltre told the A's no.
Lee is evidently done.
He was basically done nearly two years ago.
Lee is done, the painting is done (big props to Nick Pants and the good folks at Idea Planet for the work on the crowd), but Adrian Beltre, emphatically, is not.
He was huge again last night, homering and doubling and driving in five and making plays that few other third basemen make (and that Beltre himself wasn't making as cleanly last summer) and raising his early slash line to .314/.368/.629, with more walks (three) than strikeouts (two) in 38 plate appearances.
Whether it's true or not, it feels like his defense has already saved as many 2016 runs as he's driven in (eight).
He's in a contract year, as a camp happily slow on controversy reminded us for much of March. There used to be a narrative, before Beltre arrived in Texas, that he saved his best for contract years, but that's not really true.
He doesn't want to leave.
Texas doesn't want him to leave.
But a meeting of the minds on the appropriate contract to replace this one is apparently a little sticky, because there's not really a great contractual comp for a 37-year-old this productive.
David Ortiz signed a two-year, $26 million deal at the same age. David Ortiz doesn't play defense.
Adrian Beltre doesn't just play defense. He's a wizard. He's an artist.
He's a damn treasure (hat tip, Tepid).
Nomar Mazara is the youngest player in the big leagues today. He was the youngest player on the AAA Round Rock roster (and the second-youngest player in all of Class AAA). He'd be the youngest player for AA Frisco.
Beltre was 21 months younger than Mazara when he made it to the big leagues.
He's nearly old enough now to be Mazara's father, and the two of them are wielding big bats and flashing big leather together for a team that's bounced back from a clunky start.
Though their careers overlapped for 12 years, Beltre never played with Nomar Garciaparra (both played for the Dodgers and Red Sox but never together). He's playing with Nomar Mazara — who, similar to Pudge, may end up being the better Nomar when it's all said and done — and though their careers won't coincide for a dozen years, they will both play for several seasons.
And that needs to be in the same uniform.
Scott Boras likes when there are not any good comps. That's a center-cut fastball, a 3-1 cookie right in his wheelhouse.
But there's got to be a number that makes reasonable sense.
And a duration.
A level of shared risk that can vest in the player's favor.
Adrian Beltre may be the best bet in baseball, given any set of physical challenges, to make a contract option vest.
He can't go anywhere.
And, unlike a painting that took more than three years and 464 Adrian Beltre games as a Texas Ranger to finish, he absolutely isn't done.
This all happened in the space of about 23 hours, beginning late Saturday afternoon in Des Moines, Iowa.
Round Rock right fielder Nomar Mazara singled to center in the top of the first inning.
Mazara singled to right in the top of the third inning.
Mazara homered in the top of the fifth inning.
He didn't appear in the ninth.
Mazara presumably went to sleep (though it would be understandable if he didn't).
He then boarded a plane in Des Moines on Sunday morning with his buddy Brett, because Rangers Director of Travel Josh Shelton told them where to be, and when.
They flew west, about 1,425 miles.
They got off the plane and into a car and found their way to a ballpark that holds about four times as many people as Principal Park, home of the Iowa Cubs.
And then?
Rangers right fielder Nomar Mazara singled to center in the top of the first inning.
Mazara singled to right in the top of the third inning.
Mazara homered in the top of the fifth inning.
He didn't appear in the ninth.
All I changed in the last four sentences was replacing "Round Rock" with "Rangers." That simple.
Which is basically what Mazara's big league debut felt like: A change in the name on the front of the jersey, but otherwise pretty much no difference.
It's just baseball.
Nomar Mazara is pretty good at baseball.
I'm looking forward to tonight's game in Seattle.
But not as much I am to the career that launched yesterday, starting with a 1,425-mile trip and peaking at 443.5 feet to right center, at 105.4 miles per hour.
From top to bottom, to the top.
In my annual ranking of the Top 72 Prospects in the Rangers system, I had outfielder Nomar Mazara number one overall and catcher-first baseman Brett Nicholas rounding out the list at number 72.
They're likely on a plane together this morning, destined for Anaheim.
In my rankings chapter in the Bound Edition, I concluded Mazara's write-up this way: "Mazara is the Rangers' next right fielder. Not sure how soon — but he's the next man up."
I finished Nicholas's with this: "[H]e turned 27 in July . . . and it's hard to imagine he'll see Arlington at this point unless it's an emergency situation that the front office hadn't anticipated and otherwise prepared for."
And here we are. Shin-Soo Choo (right calf strain) and Robinson Chirinos (right forearm fracture) are headed to the disabled list today, and Mazara and Chirinos are headed to the big leagues.
In Mazara's case, it's an expedited (and much-anticipated) debut brought about by the Choo injury, much as Joey Gallo's arrival came earlier than expected last summer, when Adrian Beltre was sidelined.
As for Nicholas — who was drafted out of the University of Missouri three picks after Detroit selected TCU's Bryan Holaday in 2010's sixth round — it's a qualified emergency, though it would be unfair to suggest the organization wasn't prepared at catcher. The Rangers stockpiled plenty of experienced depth behind the plate this winter; the problem is that not only is Chirinos now sidelined — so are Chris Gimenez (leg infection) and Michael McKenry (abdominal strain). Round Rock has started its season with Nicholas and Pat Cantwell (who didn't get a non-roster invite to camp this spring) at catcher, and the more experienced (and more offensively oriented) Nicholas is the one who gets the call, even as the Rangers will undoubtedly resume conversations they had with other teams a couple weeks ago when they ultimately acquired Holaday from the Tigers.
Because Nicholas is not on the 40-man roster, someone will be removed before today's game. A pitcher like Anthony Ranaudo or Alex Claudio could be on the bubble, though the prognosis on Chirinos could make him a 60-day disabled list candidate, which would take him off the 40 and make room for Nicholas.
We should expect Mazara's stay to last as long as Choo's absence — though the same was anticipated last summer when Gallo replaced Beltre, and Gallo remained with the big club for about a week after Beltre's reinstatement. Mazara certainly has the ability to extend his stay, though once Choo is healthy it would mean Mazara sharing time with either Ian Desmond or Delino DeShields in left field (assuming all outfielders are active at that point), and there's a whole lot that would need to happen between now and then to even begin to speculate on that.
Not worth it. It will be enough to watch Nomar Mazara face big league pitching for a couple weeks, if not more (he'll turn 21 on the day Choo will be eligible for reactivation), and get a glimpse of a big part of this team's future.
As for Nicholas, a left-handed hitter with Mitch Moreland's build and a little pop in the bat, Texas won't run a straight platoon while he's up. Chances are he'll catch once a week, at least at the outset. It wouldn't surprise me to see him debut when A.J. Griffin takes the ball next on Wednesday — it's a day game after a night game, Texas is facing a righthander (Seattle's Taijuan Walker), and it would give Nicholas several days to get acclimated, perhaps by Griffin's side in the dugout.
There will be talk show segments right away focused on Milwaukee's Jonathan Lucroy and San Diego's Derek Norris, both of whom were rumored to have been the subject of Texas trade discussions before the club acquired Holaday.
But imagine you're Brewers GM David Stearns or Padres GM A.J. Preller.
Your window realistically doesn't open wide for another year or two.
Your previous proposals for Lucroy or Norris reportedly involved names like Gallo, Profar, Brinson, Tate, Gonzalez, Kela, and Faulkner.
Are you going to back off now that Texas has lost its frontline catcher for more than a third of a season in which it expects to win?
Of course not.
Texas isn't going to trade players in that tier for two seasons of Lucroy or three of Norris.
And Milwaukee and San Diego, most likely, aren't going to ask for less.
(If something else is involved? Buster Olney [ESPN] tweeted this morning that Texas and San Diego had talks this winter involving Norris and righthander Andrew Cashner on one side and Profar on the other, but "concerns about Cashner's arm scuttled that.")
(Still don't see it.)
Here's the thing. Last summer, faced with an even greater "emergency" at catcher when Chirinos and Carlos Corporan were both sidelined, Jon Daniels summoned Gimenez from AAA and claimed Bobby Wilson on waivers from Tampa Bay (his fifth organization). The two journeymen more than held their own as they shared duties during a 21-12 run in August and early September.
That's not to say that you get comfortable with a Holaday-Nicholas tandem and unplug your phone. The Rangers will be proactive in looking for opportunities to improve, if for no other reason than to make sure they're further protected in Round Rock in case of yet another catcher injury.
But they're not going to trade a core major league piece or a package of frontline prospects for Lucroy or Norris. At least I don't think so. A trade with Detroit to get Wilson back, for instance, would make more sense, as he's familiar with the Rangers' pitching staff and wouldn't cost nearly as much to acquire.
In the meantime, by all accounts it appears that prospects number 1 and number 72, at least in my own estimation, are en route to to the start of their big league careers, and while the circumstances necessitating it are unwelcome, if you take a step back it's a pretty exciting thing for a future star and a minor league grinder to get their shot, and their own opportunities to help the franchise that found them win baseball games at the highest level.
Nearly 1,800 words too many about the first five games.
I want A.J. Griffin to keep doing that. Change speeds, change eye levels, stay around the plate — but all around the plate, serve up lots of bad contact, take care of two-thirds of the game, especially on a night when the bullpen needs a breather. You could do a whole lot worse at the number five rotation slot, and if things hold up until Yu Darvish returns, Griffin could make one heck of a long reliever as he posts up towards a workload he hasn't logged since 2013.
I want Griffin to keep doing that because I want the 28-year-old to succeed, far more than I might have otherwise, because I know how much I'm craving (and driven by) the thought of getting back on the diamond or tennis court on my stupid little level.
I hope you heard Griffin on either the TV or radio postgame show last night. You could hear the emotion that had built up over the course of the journey back. Very cool.
Griffin, who held Rangers-killers Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and C.J. Cron to a single and a walk in seven trips, had last won a big league game (or a game at any level) on September 12, 2013. In recording the victory last night, he became the first pitcher to start at least 15 big league games, then not appear in the majors for at least the next two full seasons, and then win one of his team's first five games in his first season back on the mound since California starter Rudy May did so in the first week of the 1969 season.
May had a lifetime record of 4-0 in Arlington, a mark from which Cole Hamels (6-0 in Arlington, trailing only Barry Zito [winner of his first eight] and Darvish [7]) cannot distance further tonight since he's pitching in Anaheim, and the more interesting footnote to tonight's game is that it pits Hamels against Angels ace Garrett Richards, the same matchup as Game 162 six months ago, when Hamels went the distance, three-hitting Los Angeles in a 9-2 victory in which Richards and the first three of five Angels relievers surrendered Rangers runs.
I want to remind everyone, and not for the last time, that Hamels wanted to be in Texas so much that he said no in July to Houston, which had said no in September 2014 to Jeff Banister, and I wonder whether the consequence of the latter showed up anywhere on Cole and Heidi's list of 50 factors, which reminds me that in January 2011 the Angels said no to Adrian Beltre (surely among the 50 Hamels factors), after which Texas and Beltre said yes to each other, days after which Los Angeles, still seeking a right-handed bat, traded Mike Napoli and Frosty Rivera to Toronto for Vernon Wells, days after which the Blue Jays traded Napoli (whom the Angels would never discuss with Texas) to the Rangers for Frankie Francisco, and right there's a whole lot of very important Rangers history, part of which I hope will repeat itself soon, namely, the Rangers and their third baseman exchanging yes's again.
I want that.
It has to make sense for both sides. Texas isn't going to get a one-year commitment. Beltre isn't going to get three guaranteed years at the rate of a similarly productive player ten years younger. There's room between those two points for minds to meet.
I want that.
I want to point out — back to Hamels briefly — that the veteran beast told the Dallas Morning News this week: "The scouting here is much more reliant on analytics than I had [with the Phillies]. So much of what I did before was based on experience. . . . I've been able to get stuff from the analytics [here] that allows me to get something about [opponents'] approaches and get a better feel for their strengths and weaknesses."
I want to say how happy I am that Cole Hamels is happy to be a Texas Ranger.
I want to believe that last night's win in Anaheim signals an awakening on some level of this team's bats, because through this 2-3 start the starting pitching has been really solid, coming three Derek Holland outs short of five quality starts out of five in the first roll through the rotation. The defense has been excellent, too.
I want Rougned Odor, who blew last night's game open with his two-run bomb in the third, to rifle a handful of singles or gapped extra-base hits before he homers again. He's been swinging out of his shoes a little over this first week, and he's better than that.
While Odor is a completely different type of player from Delino DeShields, and the long ball is certainly part of Odor's game, last night's shot made me think of when DeShields blasted his first big league home run last August 14 with a shot straight down the left field line off Rays reliever Steve Geltz. I worried then about it taking DeShields out of his approach. He proceeded to hit .182 with one extra-base hit over his next 48 plate appearances.
I want to believe that DeShields is the player whose presence in the Rangers lineup translated to a 72-49 record in 2015 (and in whose absence Texas went 16-25).
A team that won at a .595 clip all season last year (the Rangers' percentage when DeShields played) would have posted a 96-66 record over a full 162, which would have been best in the American League.
A team with a .390 winning percentage (63-99, which would have been the Deshields-less record, extrapolated) would have been the AL's worst.
In WAR ranking last year, DeShields (1.1) trailed teammates Beltre, Shin-Soo Choo, Mitch Moreland, Elvis Andrus, Prince Fielder, Odor, and Robinson Chirinos, and was tied with Leonys Martin. Basically, among position players, DeShields ranked last among Texas regulars.
And yet, there are those remarkably disparate winning percentages.
Does that make any sense, that a player statistically worth roughly one more team win over a full season than a "replacement player" would be the difference, by himself, between a team playing at a league-best clip and one playing at a league-worst?
Of course not.
But there are elements to DeShields's game that clearly change the complexion of the attack, that make the whole machine seem to hum a lot better. (Statcast points out that DeShields reached a run velo of 21 miles per hour 132 different times last year, while only seven other big leaguers managed to reach that mark even 50 times.)
Still, there were three or four things DeShields did in last night's game, on both offense and defense, that made me hope there's another level he just hasn't yet found.
Maybe he's a nine-hole hitter, ideally. Maybe he's a left fielder. Or a fourth outfielder who plays a lot.
Or, as is sometimes the case — remember that this club has two very promising outfielders getting close to the big leagues, and a third that they're locked into for lots of money over lots of years — maybe DeShields will ultimately be more valuable to the organization as a trade asset.
But that ignores those win percentage numbers, and also sells short the idea that a 23-year-old with just two seasons of experience above Class A one and just one above Class AA might have another gear or two that he can reach, perhaps less physically than in his decision-making on the field.
I want to be patient.
But a year from now, if it's a day on which he's in the lineup, I want DeShields hitting ninth. I think that the 2017 leadoff hitter isn't in the organization right now — or that he's playing shortstop in Round Rock (though I do understand the reasoning behind having center fielder James Jones in that slot in the Express's first two games).
Both of which were wins.
Same as Frisco.
Same as High Desert.
Same as Hickory.
The Rangers' farm system is 8-0 to start the season. Which doesn't matter.
But still, it's cool to see the organization's affiliates — which are generally among the youngest in their respective leagues — playing well, led by lots of kids who will eventually help Texas win, whether in Rangers uniforms or as parts of Rangers trades.
On that subject, and without straying too far from the point above, no, I don't know where Profar fits. I want to put off for now how that works in Texas defensively, because I don't know.
Other than it won't be in Odor's place.
Same goes for second basemen Travis Demeritte (High A High Desert: four home runs in two games) and Andy Ibanez (Low A Hickory: 6 for 9 plus a walk, with a home run and a triple mixed in). All that will work itself out over the next few years.
I don't know where Joey Gallo fits, either, but he's seen 43 pitches in seven plate appearances in Round Rock's first two games, and I'm not sure I could be any more fired up about that.
Frisco closer Matt Bush, on back-to-back nights? That's not an accident.
A week ago, Baseball Prospectus solicited predictions from 38 of its writers for the 2016 season, and in the AL West only two teams drew first-place votes. Houston got the nod 30 times, while Texas garnered eight votes.
And yet, zero BP writers had the Astros winning the World Series.
While five said Texas. (No other American League club got more than two votes.)
That's pretty telling.
That group of writers, collectively, must believe there are some intangibles at work for the Rangers that don't favor the Astros. Maybe it has something to do with Banister, or Beltre, or Hamels.
BP's predictions don't matter, of course, and to a great extent neither does the fact that both Texas and Houston sport losing records at the moment, which is not to diminish the importance of every game, which is the same for Game 1 as it is for Game 11 or Game 111.
And as it was for Game 5, when a pitcher who hadn't stepped on a big league mound in more than two and a half years took the ball and ended up meeting his new set of teammates at the center of the diamond for game-ending daps, having preserved a lead he inherited from the start, saving his bullpen in large part, and helping the Rangers draw closer to a season-opening .500 mark they plan to trample past very soon, on the way to something that won't end with Game 162.
In 2010, the Rangers opened the season at home. They beat Toronto on Opening Day, though it took a ninth-inning comeback culminating in a Jarrod Saltalamacchia walkoff single — his only hit as a Ranger that year — to do it.
They dropped the other two games in the series, with the bullpen taking both losses — the finale in particularly brutal fashion, as closer Frankie Francisco came on to protect a lead in the ninth before allowing the Jays to hit for the cycle in the inning and bat around.
The Rangers pen allowed eight runs in that series.
And if it weren't for an improbable comeback in one of the games, they'd have been swept in their own house.
All that might seem vaguely familiar.
Texas went to its first World Series that year.
Last year, the Rangers didn't win consecutive games until May.
In fact, they had 72 different three-game stretches in 2015 in which they lost more than they won.
One of those was the opening three, against what would turn out to be the league's worst team. Texas beat Oakland once, and lost the other two games — both of which were blowout shutouts.
The Rangers won the division.
We have 98.1 percent of the season to go.
Let's go, Derek.
You guys take care of some business, and we'll see you back here in a week.
A different take on a one-hit wonder.
One hit.
One hit.
One loss.
One win.
That's the Rangers' last two Opening Days.
Aside from the fact that Texas managed a mere single in last year's opener and again yesterday (and that Leonys Martin went hitless in both games), Oakland 8, Texas 0 and Texas 3, Seattle 2 really weren't all that alike, and not only in the result.
Sonny Gray issued one walk (and that wasn't until the eighth inning). Felix Hernandez walked five.
Yovani Gallardo was taken deep in the first inning and never found a rhythm. Cole Hamels was taken deep in the first (and again in the second) and locked in after that, masterfully (allowing just two more hits, both Chris Iannetta ground ball singles, and not yielding a single flyout).
Rougned Odor, a year ago, saw three pitches in three plate appearances. Odor, yesterday, saw 15 pitches in four trips. Only two Rangers saw more.
And that, Monday, was a big deal.
When Odor stepped in to lead off the fifth, King Felix was nursing a 2-0 lead and was dealing. Only three balls had left the infield at that point, and he seemed to have all his pitches working. He was missing the zone regularly, but that's always been a big part of his game, against Texas as much as anyone — he went 5-0, 1.83 against the Rangers last season, and my memory of those games is full of breaking balls and changeups diving beneath the zone, and chased.
The book on Odor, of course, is that he's as restless a hitter as there is in this lineup, which is the smell of fear to an artist like Hernandez. Odor was 2 for 17 (.118) off the Seattle ace coming into the game — seven strikeouts, no walks — and didn't draw a single base on balls in spring training last month . . . in 43 plate appearances.
As a rookie in 2014, Odor didn't draw a walk in his first 67 trips to the plate. Last year, he walked just seven times in his first 119 trips, most of which preceded (and helped to trigger) his early-May demotion to AAA. He's never had a season, in the minors or the bigs, in which he drew more than 33 unintentional walks.
The Seattle game plan for going after Odor, especially with King Felix on the mound, was predictable.
And yet, in Odor's first at-bat, in the bottom of the second with Texas already down, 2-0, he watched three pitches sail by (strike, ball, ball) before grounding out to second base.
With the same score on the board when Odor next came up, leading off the bottom of the fifth inning with Hernandez at an economical 53 pitches, he watched a first-pitch curveball settle in up and away.
He let the next pitch go by, another curve, this one in on the hands.
Odor then took a fastball inside, for ball three.
At 3-0, he took a fastball at the knees. Strike one.
Then another fastball in, and Odor took his base.
In nine pitches over his first two trips to the plate, Odor swung the bat one time. I don't think Elias is going to take the time to check whether he'd ever managed to do that before in what is now an 912-plate-appearance career in the big leagues (including playoffs), along with another 1,560 trips in the minors, but I've got a hunch that it was a first.
And it triggered the crooked number on the board that proved decisive on Monday.
Odor took off running on the first pitch to Elvis Andrus — another part of the young second baseman's game he intends to turn the dial up on this year — and stole second. He reached third when Corey Seager fumbled Andrus's soft grounder toward the hole. He held up on Robinson Chirinos's safety squeeze, determining the bunt had too much on it as it bounced toward the mound. He saw Delino DeShields work his own walk to load the bases, and trotted home when Shin-Soo Choo's five-pitch trip resulted in ball four.
At that point, Hernandez had thrown 19 pitches in the inning. And 14 of them were balls.
Not all that infrequently, he can still make that work, as hitters turn pitches hurtling out of the zone into swinging strikes. But not on Monday. At least not in the fifth inning.
Rougned Odor got that going.
The headlines this morning will be about Prince Fielder's ducksnort to short left that accounted for the Rangers' entire hits column, and about Hamels, who was dominant after allowing two early runs (completely reminiscent of his previous start at Globe Life Park, the Game 162 gem in which he was down 2-0 four batters into the game before shutting the Angels down the rest of the way), and about Jake Diekman and Shawn Tolleson, two quietly brilliant Jon Daniels acquisitions who threw a commanding inning each to seal the win.
And properly so.
But there's another guy who deserves some major props for what he did to change that game. He didn't get the hit, he didn't drive in a run, and the run he scored was at the same leisurely trot from third that teammates were taking at the same time from second and from first and from the plate.
Rougned Odor was solid, and at times sensational, on defense yesterday, but we've seen that before.
It was his patience at the plate that set up a momentum change, and a scoreboard flip, in Texas 3, Seattle 2, and perhaps more importantly, if it signals a change in Odor's game as a whole, then those "Breakout Candidates" and "MVP Ballot" articles we've seen his name in nationally in the last few days may turn out to have some legs.
Coming into Monday, Seattle had won nine straight Opening Day games, one short of tying a 120-year-old record.
King Felix had been 6-0, with a Live Ball Era-best 1.49 ERA, in eight career Opening Day starts.
He'd won five straight against the Rangers, as mentioned above.
Cole Hamels (who, let's not forget, said no to Houston) had never won on Opening Day, and in fact had started each of the last five seasons with an 0-1 record.
Texas hadn't won a game in which it collected one hit since July 27, 1993, a game in which Rafael Palmeiro's seventh-inning solo shot off Kevin Appier led to a 1-0 victory over the Royals and a year in which "Whoomp! (There It Is)" made Tag Team a quintessential one-hit wonder.
No team (since 1900, at least) had ever won a season opener with one hit or fewer, or been held to one hit or fewer on consecutive Opening Days.
Most trends are bound to turn around at some point. Texas 3, Seattle 2 was one of the strangest Opening Days ever, if not one of the strangest games, and not just because the Rangers won on a single base hit or because Texas outfielders were about as involved in the action as the new netting over the dugouts or because, in my own case, for the first time since this ballpark opened 22 years ago, the year after "Whoomp! (There It Is)" was released, I wasn't there to take it in.
We've seen Rougned Odor make an impact in the big leagues with his power and with his glove and with his recognition that a catcher's return toss deflecting off a hitter's bat may just be a live ball.
I can't remember a game Odor helped win with his patience at the plate.
If what we saw yesterday was a maturing approach out of the 22-year-old, and not a rarity along the lines of winning a baseball game on the strength of one base hit, well then, you know, party on, party people, let me hear some noise.


text:
There are no customer reviews yet.
Please note, it may take up to 72 hours for your review to be reflected on the site.
Hotel Colon in Barcelona is ideally situated on the square of the Barcelona Cathedral and at the doorway to the traditional Gothic district. Our Pyrennes lodging includes cozy, family-run hotels in the villages of Taull, Bierge and Torla.
Keep up to date with all of The World Outdoors trips, events and news. All you need to do is provide us with a little information. We promise not to provide your information to anybody else.
Please let us know a little about yourself to get your copy of our latest itinerary.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Is there a possibility (
man scp didn't reveal any) to make scp interactive like
cp -i? That is, scp asks, if the target exists, if it may overwrite it?
If yes, does it work locally and remote?
If no: Let's
alias it! But I hope for a simpler solution.


text:
Video Industry News Video Company News Technology Industry News Technology Company News Novelty Industry News Novelty Company News Gay Industry News Gay Company News Legal Industry News All Company News
Released: Feb 01st, 1993
Running Time: 75
Director: C Everette Smythe
Company: Las Vegas Video
Cast: Randy West, Cal Jammer, Chrissy Ann, Alicia Rio, Lacy Rose, Steve Drake, Celeste (I)
Critical Rating: AA
Genre: Feature
Two out of five sex scenes here approach from the rear: a lukewarm opener with title anal queen Lacy Rose, and the not-much-warmer finale with slim blonde anal lover Chrissy Ann, who lets Cal Jammer slide up her chute. It's all formula, from the framework of three couples sharing, and swapping, in a beach house to the formula three-position-and-come sex — to the murky lighting, except for the gynecological closeups, to the uninteresting dialogue. The sole exceptions: a brief sexual spark struck by the always dependable Alicia Rio with Steve Drake. Newcomer Lacy looks great on the box, but Las Vegas' previous anal outings have reared much better.


text:
I think pat1 = '[ab]' and pat2 = 'a|b' have the same function in Python(python2.7, windows) 're' module as a regular expression pattern. But I am confused with '[ab]+' and '(a|b)+', do they have the same function, if not can you explain details.
Created on 2012-9-4
@author: melo
import re
pat1 = '(a|b)+'
pat2 = '[ab]+'
text = '22ababbbaa33aaa44b55bb66abaa77babab88'
m1 = re.search(pat1, text)
m2 = re.search(pat2, text)
print 'search with pat1:', m1.group()
print 'search with pat2:', m2.group()
m11 = re.split(pat1, text)
m22 = re.split(pat2, text)
print 'split with pat1:', m11
print 'split with pat2:', m22
m111 = re.findall(pat1, text)
m222 = re.findall(pat2, text)
print 'findall with pat1:', m111
print 'findall with pat2:', m222
output as below:
search with pat1: ababbbaa
search with pat2: ababbbaa
split with pat1: ['22', 'a', '33', 'a', '44', 'b', '55', 'b', '66', 'a', '77', 'b', '88']
split with pat2: ['22', '33', '44', '55', '66', '77', '88']
findall with pat1: ['a', 'a', 'b', 'b', 'a', 'b']
findall with pat2: ['ababbbaa', 'aaa', 'b', 'bb', 'abaa', 'babab']
why are 'pat1' and 'pat2' different and what's their difference? what kind of strings can 'pat1' actually match?


text:
Try Prime
All Departments
Amazon Warehouse Deals
Apps & Games
Clothing & Accessories
Gift Cards
Grocery & Gourmet Food
Health & Personal Care
Home & Kitchen
Industrial & Scientific
Kindle Store
Livres en français
Luggage & Bags
Luxury Beauty
Movies & TV
Musical Instruments, Stage & Studio
Office Products
Patio, Lawn & Garden
Pet Supplies
Shoes & Handbags
Sports & Outdoors
Tools & Home Improvement
Toys & Games
Video Games
Shop by
Hello. Sign in
Your Account
Your Store
Deals Store
Gift Cards
en français
Today's Deals
Outlet Deals
Warehouse Deals
eBook Deals
Subscribe & Save
Shadow Grail #1: Legacies
Customer Reviews
Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
3.0 out of 5 stars
5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star
Shadow Grail #1: Legacies
Mercedes Lackey
Format: Hardcover
See All Buying Options
Add to Wish List
Your rating
Rate this item
Your rating
Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a review
Sort by:
Most recent
Most recent
Filter by:
All reviewers
Verified purchase only
All reviewers
All stars
5 star only
4 star only
3 star only
2 star only
1 star only
All positive
All critical
All stars
All formats
Format: Hardcover
All formats
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Spirit White rules
Bob RK
on February 9, 2016
Format: Paperback
Verified Purchase
Harry Potter with a female heroine. An interesting magical mystery story, that kept me entertained to the last page.
Was this review helpful to you?
Report abuse
Please write at least one word
You must purchase at least one item from Amazon to post a comment
A problem occurred while submitting your comment. Please try again later.
Sign in and comment
Sort by:
There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Feels more like half a novel than a complete novel; didn't really wow me.
Bibliotropic .net
on October 27, 2015
Format: Paperback
Verified Purchase
If you read the description and think this sounds like Harry Potter for teens, you're not far off the mark. It's hard to avoid comparisons to that series when part of your premise is, "Person goes to a school for magic-users." Doubly so when your main character is an orphan. So that colours the interpretation of the book right from the get-go; it's just impossible to avoid.
That being said, there are plenty of departures from that concept that make accusations of it being derivative pretty much pointless. I can think of a handful of books that share similar starting points. That doesn't make them all Harry Potter clones.
(Speaking of being derivative, though, I do feel compelled to mention that characters using guns loaded with rock salt seemed lifted wholesale from Supernatural. A clever idea, and I'm sure it's been done elsewhere as well, but given that I personally saw it done first on that show, it seemed like a bit of a stale idea.)
The story follows Spirit White, and if that name causes you to roll your eyes, just know that it does the same thing for Spirit herself. After her parents and younger sister died in a tragic car crash, she found herself to be a Legacy, someone with a place at Oakhurst Academy. At least one of her parents attended school there, and due to a not-at-all-creepy policy, the school keeps track of all their former students and makes arrangements for their children should anything similarly tragic happen. Oakhurst, as you could tell from previous comments, is a school specifically for children who can do magic, so yes, you have a boarding school full of magic orphans. But students keep disappearing from Oakhurst. Not often, just a few a year. Most of the students accept this as a fact of life. Some troubled kids run away, so find their fortunes elsewhere. Nobody thinks twice about it. They have enough to do. But a suspicious Spirit and her friends think there's more to it, and so set out to find out what's happening to the missing Oakhurst students.
The biggest problem with this book is that it feels like half a novel. Spirit and friends do get to the bottom of why the students disappeared, but that felt more like a single episode of a TV show rather than a complete story arc. There were hints dropped of a much larger plot, one that seemed far more interesting than what everyone else was dwelling on. Why the headmaster of the school has a split personality, going from yelling tyrant to kindly doddering old man depending on the scene. Why, after what seems like a fairly routine disappearance, everyone starts acting like a war is beginning A war may be beginning, but those disappearances were either related to the Wild Hunt plotline, or else that whole plotline (and thus over half the novel) was a diversion and just pure coincidence. Why Spirit's magic doesn't manifest.
Why nobody seems to have put together that for a parent to have gone to Oakhurst in the first place, all of their family must have died too, leaving this giant bloody trail across generations.
So while the story and the twists on lore were interesting, it felt unsatisfactory and incomplete. And that was quite a let-down. Likely it was done as sequel-bait, leaving some dangling plot-threads to be picked up later, and I'm sure this book will appeal to people looking for some supernatural adventure involving kids with tragic pasts in an elite boarding school. As fluff fiction goes, it really wasn't that bad. But I did expect more from it, especially with the tantalizing hints that were being dropped.
Another thing I do want to point out is that this book suffered from some weird assumptions and editing mistakes. Assumption-wise, I'm referring largely to a throw-away scene in which a character talks about creating holy water, and how it's easy to make because really it just involves water being blessed by a believer. And Spirit's thoughts essentially go, "Huh, I didn't know he was a Christian." At no point was a specific religion brought into it, and blessed water exists as part of different practices in multiple non-Christian religions. So it was a weird assumption, and I'm not sure if it speaks more to character bias or author bias. Could go either way.
As for editing mistakes… Oakhurst was refered to as Oakdale at one point. Spirit's little sister, Phoenix, was called by the nickname Fee once, at the very end of the book, and after Spirit has thought about her dozens of times through the novel. This is the sort of stuff I expect to be caught in the editing stage of a book, and here, it just slipped by. And before anyone asks, no, it wasn't an ARC or an uncorrected proof that I read. It was a finished release copy. These errors made it to the final version. Small, and also easy to ignore because they don't affect the story, but they speak of poor quality control.
So overall? A decent YA adventure. It had its problems, but it was still pretty fun to read, and I'll probably continue with the rest of the series just to see how the larger story plays out. But after this introduction, I don't expect great things from it. I expect some fun, some quick reads, and a story that entertains but it largely forgettable, a take-it-or-leave-it series that is neither meant to nor does it leave an impact. Good for passing the time, good for those looking for some comfort fiction, but not for those looking for a book to really wow them.
Was this review helpful to you?
Report abuse
Please write at least one word
You must purchase at least one item from Amazon to post a comment
A problem occurred while submitting your comment. Please try again later.
Sign in and comment
Sort by:
There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.
1.0 out of 5 stars
EA Solinas
on April 30, 2011
Format: Paperback
I don't know when the authors began this book, but it feels like a very, very belated cash-in on the "Harry Potter" franchise.
And by "cash-in," I mean that Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill have dug up virtually every "magical school" cliche they could find, and whipped it into a tepid, sluggish stew. "Shadow Grail No. 1: Legacies" suffers from bland characters, a slapped-together plot, and lots of filler stuff about martial arts and the interior decor of the school.
After her family is killed in a car crash, Spirit White is whisked off by a mysterious organization called the Oakhurst Academy -- and no sooner have she and her new friend Loch arrived than they are told by Doctor Ambrosius that this is a special academy for magicians. And he turns them into mice to demonstrate his point. Spirit soon gets used to life there, but seems unable to do any kind of magic.
But as the months go by, Spirit and her friends notice that periodically, a kid or two will go missing -- and the school is covering up these disappearances. Is there some kind of financial scam going on, or is it something more supernatural? Whatever it is, they plan to combine all their powers to make sure it's stopped once and for all.
"Legacies" is one of those books I really wanted to like, only to be forced to read a couple of experienced, respected authors making the book up as they go along. Nothing really happens for the first two-thirds of the book, except vague rumblings of Bad Things A-Comin'. It feels like Lackey and Edghill hadn't really thought up any actual plot, so they just ramble a lot about martial arts, fencing and interior decor.
Then in the last couple chapters, Lackey and Edghill hastily cobble together a 2-D villain and a climactic battle, ignoring pretty much all the sinister hints they've dropped thus far. They also drop most of the subplots, and leave major questions (Ambrosius' weird behavior, Spirit's car crash, the magicians not doing anything to save the kids) dangling in the wind. We don't even know what the "Shadow Grail" in the series title is, or who the series villains are!
The lack of plot is made even worse by the ghastly dialogue (" "Since when is life fair?" "The only people that say that are people who don't want it to be") and endless pop culture references that add absolutely nothing. Mentioning Hogwarts and Dumbledore doesn't mean you're not jumping on a bandwagon, ladies.
And the characters are pretty limp as well. Spirit is a whiny, bland character who fades into the background whenever other characters are around, and who spends most of her time complaining about... stuff. Most of the other characters are bland cliches -- we've got the Wizard Mentor, the Studious British Girl, the Goth Rebel, the Designated Love Interest, the Uptight Female Teacher, etc etc. Except for the fiery Muirin, most could have been ripped from the pages of a JK Rowling book.
"Shadow Grail No. 1: Legacies" is a flaccid, cliche-ridden story that never quite manages to develop a plot or memorable characters. Give this one a skip, and read "Wizard's Hall" or some Eva Ibbotson.
Was this review helpful to you?
Report abuse
Please write at least one word
You must purchase at least one item from Amazon to post a comment
A problem occurred while submitting your comment. Please try again later.
Sign in and comment
Sort by:
There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too
on January 27, 2011
Format: Paperback
Spirit White wakes up from a car accident to discover her body's beat up, her parents and her sister died, and her house burned down. She has no one in the world and no possessions. It's hard to fight back, but eventually time heals her.
Then she learns of a school for orphans where her parents set up a trust for her in case anything ever happened to them. It is a huge mansion filled with amenities for sports and academics. It's also a place for people with magical abilities.
Spirit believes there's been a mistake. She has no magical powers. It's quite evident during the first day of testing. However, she's a legacy to the school. She must have one; it simply hasn't appeared yet.
Despite its grandeur, Oakhurst thrives on rules. As Spirit's finding her place at the school and amidst all the guidelines, a student goes missing. It might not have made a huge difference, until another student disappears, too.
Spirit and her friends begin to question these disappearances and come to the conclusion that there's something strange going on at Oakhurst. Can they solve the mystery before the same thing happens to yet more students, possibly one of them?
LEGACIES is a fun start to a new series that creates a blend of magic and mystery with a dash of potential romance. Once Spirit and her friends comprehend the danger within the school, they do everything in their power to change the situation. They must unravel layer upon layer of mystery, all while keeping their suspicions to themselves. I loved the double lives they lead and the lengths they go to in order to keep them separate.
Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel
Was this review helpful to you?
Report abuse
Please write at least one word
You must purchase at least one item from Amazon to post a comment
A problem occurred while submitting your comment. Please try again later.
Sign in and comment
Sort by:
There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.
See all details for Shadow Grail #1: Legacies
Unlimited FREE Two-Day Shipping, no minimum threshold and more.
Prime members enjoy FREE Two-Day Shipping on millions of eligible items with no minimum threshold.
Get started
Back to top
Get to Know Us
Amazon and Our Planet
Investor Relations
Press Releases
Make Money with Us
Sell on Amazon
Amazon Associates
Advertise Your Products
Independently Publish with Us
Amazon Payment Products
Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card
Credit Card Marketplace
Reload Your Balance
Amazon Currency Converter
Let Us Help You
Shipping Rates & Policies
Amazon Prime
Returns Are Easy
Manage your Content and Devices
Customer Service
United Kingdom
United States
Amazon Web Services
Scalable Cloud
Computing Services
Book Depository
Books With Free
Delivery Worldwide
But The Baby
Book reviews
& recommendations
Movies, TV
& Celebrities
Fashion Brands
Warehouse Deals
A Happy Place
To Shop For Toys
Conditions of Use
Privacy Notice
Interest-Based Ads
© 2008-2016, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates


text:
Video Industry News Video Company News Technology Industry News Technology Company News Novelty Industry News Novelty Company News Gay Industry News Gay Company News Legal Industry News All Company News
Released: May 01st, 2000
Running Time: 97
Company: VIP Productions
Cast: Conny Dachs, Nadine Hill, Jeany Bee, Freddie Dalton, Steve Holmes (I)
Critical Rating: AAA 1/2
Genre: Pro-Am
Those seeking high-quality Old World amateur action.
Three German dudes book a cruise around the Med with a crew of dirty-sexy Fraulines. The sex is generally hot, especially when it involves a particularly generously-endowed stud to whom the ladies all take an obvious liking.


text:
Hey guys,
Im trying to link each slider image to different parts of my website on my homepage but am failing to do so. I've looked at the snippet available for this purpose but it only works for one slider image. The "array" code given is also failing to link any of the slider images anywhere.
The website is omerbaturay.com and the array snippet is currently active with no links being present on any slider images. The code is in functions.php and it is as follows:
add_filter('tc_slide_link_url' , 'my_slide_custom_link', 208, 214, 213, 209);
function my_slide_custom_link( $slide_link , $image_id ) {
//custom links array : image_id => link
$image_links = array(
'208' => 'https://vimeo.com/81040719',
'214' => 'http://www.eddhawkes.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Union-Jack-Final.jpg',
'213' => 'https://vimeo.com/81078747',
'209' => 'https://vimeo.com/'
//does nothing if the requested image_id is not a key of the array
if ( ! array_key_exists( $image_id, $image_links ) )
return $slide_link;
//else returns the custom link
return $image_links[$image_id];
Any ideas? Thank you very much.


text:
During the past couple of weeks we've been looking at how parents communicate acceptance and rejection by the words we use.
Our words shape personalities and affect the souls of the next generation. Acceptance and rejection are also communicated by the schedules that we choose. This is a huge trap for modern families today because we are all so busy. That is not only true for parents but also for our children. We communicate huge acceptance by how we spend our time and by what we make a priority. We love our kids in our heart, but we need to love them on our calendar and in our schedule.
This story appears in the print edition of The Tribune. Subscribers can read the entire story online by signing in here or in our e-Edition by clicking here.
All content copyright ©2016 The Tribune, a publication of AIM Media Indiana unless otherwise noted.
All rights reserved. Click here to read our privacy policy.


text:
Entries in 'homeworld' (4)
New Homeworld title releasing next month
Gearbox has announced Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak will be released in just over a month.
Gearbox bundles Mothership replica with Homeworld Collector's SKU
The Collector's Edition of Homeworld Remastered will now include a USB-powered spaceship.
Gearbox beat Aspyr and Paradox to Homeworld IP
Randy Pitchford, the boss of developer Gearbox, has revealed further details of the acquisition of the Homeworld licence from THQ.
Homeworld and Homeworld 2 receiving HD re-releases
Gearbox has wasted no time in putting its recently acquired Homeworld IP to work.


text:
Skip to Main Content
IEEE membership options for an individual and IEEE Xplore subscriptions for an organization offer the most affordable access to essential journal articles, conference papers, standards,
eBooks, and eLearning courses.
Learn more about:
IEEE membership
IEEE Xplore subscriptions
Efficient channel allocation to mobile hosts is of utmost importance in a cellular network. A genetic algorithm (GA), which is a useful tool in solving optimization problems, is explored to design a fault-tolerant cellular channel allocation model that allows a cell to continue communicating with its mobile hosts, even if there are insufficient channels available in the cell. Sometimes, the load over a cell may increase to the extent that it needs more channels than it actually has in order to handle the traffic. On the other hand, it is quite possible that the load in some other cell is less than its channel capacity, resulting in underutilization of the channels. This problem is solved by temporarily taking unutilized channels from cells that have lesser load and allocating them to the cells that are overloaded. We propose a model that reuses available channels more efficiently. The model also considers the handoff by using the reserved channel technique. A reserved pool of channels makes the model fault tolerant. Thus, the proposed work uses GA for fault-tolerant dynamic channel allocation to minimize the average number of blocked hosts and handoff failures in the mobile computing network. Simulation experiments evaluate the performance of the proposed model. Comparison of the results with the two recent earlier models reveals that the proposed model works better in serving mobile hosts.
A not-for-profit organization, IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.© Copyright 2016 IEEE - All rights reserved. Use of this web site signifies your agreement to the terms and conditions.


text:
Log Out
Our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy have changed. We think you'll like them better this way.
Call in to speak with the host
Our April series is all about getting healthy and treating your body right, so we've dedicated this entire episode to exercising and moving your body! Join us as we interview actress and Save Your Do creator, Nicole Ari Parker! Nicole will give us fitness tips, share why she went natural, and let us know how Save Your Do can make your exercise regimen fun and stylish!
Emon Fowler of The Harriet Experiment will stop by and tell us about Cycle 2 of her project and how she challenging the participants to live a more naturally holistic lifestyle, from head to toe.
Our guest co-host this week is Renisha James of the fitness blog, Renewed Fitness! I can't wait for her to give recommendations on building an exercise regimen and her fave natural hair workout styles!
Sorry we couldn't complete your registration. Please try again.
Please enter your email to finish creating your account.
Receive a personalized list of podcasts based on your preferences.


text:
New York — ING Investment Management has adopted Bloomberg's
proprietary research management platform to share ideas globally
and track the effectiveness of trade ideas, Bloomberg and ING IM
announced today.
ING IM is the first investment firm to use the technology to
create a network for portfolio managers, buy- and sell-side
analysts to communicate and collaborate. The software enables
any fund management firm to build a customized and private
system, within the Bloomberg Professional service, to share and
distribute their proprietary research and stock calls throughout
their organizations globally. The new functionality is available
at no additional cost to firms who subscribe to the service.
The Bloomberg proprietary research management platform also
integrates directly with the analytical and desktop tools of the
Bloomberg Professional service. At ING IM, for example,
investment managers are notified immediately via the Bloomberg
message system when new trade ideas are generated or modified by
their analysts. ING IM can also easily analyze their own
research and estimates alongside broker and independent content
to gauge where they stand relative to consensus.
"Money managers face a highly-competitive environment and must
harness all of their firm's talents and tools to produce the
best investment results for their clients," said Jean-Paul
Zammitt, global head of product development for the Bloomberg
Professional service. "Now, ING IM can share analyst ideas,
evaluate performance and immediately identify whether trade
ideas have been successful or not."
Patrick den Besten, head of ING IM's Corporate Analytics-
Emerging Markets team, said, "Our research analysts now have one
simple, streamlined system. The Bloomberg Trade Ideas platform
means our research team can make sure that their best ideas and
latest thinking are known to all our fund managers immediately,
and that their successes are immediately recognized."
For more information about the research or trade idea platform
on the Bloomberg Professional service contact:
-Americas, Suzanne Szur, +1-212-617-8725, firstname.lastname@example.com
-Europe, Douglas Laurie, +44-20-7330-7264, email@example.com
About Bloomberg
Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and
news leader, gives influential decision makers a critical edge
by connecting them to a dynamic network of information, people
and ideas. The company's strength – delivering data, news and
analytics through innovative technology, quickly and accurately
– is at the core of the Bloomberg Professional service, which
provides real time financial information to more than 300,000
subscribers globally. For more information, please visit
Contact for Bloomberg:
Pam Snook, Bloomberg LP, firstname.lastname@example.com, +1-212-617-
Sophie Fischman, Cognito-US, email@example.com, +1-646-
Stuart Macaulay, EMEA, email@example.com, +44-20-
Anne Karumo, APAC, firstname.lastname@example.com, +65-8112-6409
— Bloomberg Press Room


text: Jason Wu. Why not? This designer has clothes, shoes and handbags. He's in major department stores. He's designed a hit line for Target ( TGT) and First Lady Michelle Obama has worn his clothes. There is Jason Wu eyewear and a Jason Wu candle for NEST fragrances. He's also designed bath faucets for the Brizo collection. Fashion expert Brendan Cannon of The Cannon Media Group said: "Jason is on the cusp of American greatness. The Target deal solidified him as a major player." Cannon went on to say that Wu has risen very quickly since being chosen by Mrs. Obama and has proven himself as an exciting designer. "His fashion shows are on the level of European fashion, while his Miss Wu line is accessible," Cannon says. You will hear a lot about Jason Wu, so put that name on your radar. Kate Spade came before Tory Burch, but she got bought by Liz Claiborne, which then changed its name to Fifth & Pacific ( FNP). Kate Spade is now the fastest-growing segment for this company, which also owns Juicy Couture and Lucky Brand. Net sales for the third quarter of 2012 jumped 35% from a year earlier. It would make perfect sense to spin off Spade and unlock that value. In fact, the company makes a habit of selling off pieces. It sold Dana Buchman to Kohl's ( KSS) and Liz Claiborne licensing to JC Penney ( JCP). The company also sold the Kensie line to Blue Star Alliance in 2011. Plus, spinoffs performed well in 2012. Of the 146 IPOs, seven were spinoffs and, with the exception of LinnCo and WhiteWave Foods, all enjoyed double-digit performance. The only problem may be that Kate Spade is now straying from its original "look." Cannon says the company is going in a different direction to drive sales. Maybe Fifth & Pacific should change its name back to Kate Spade if it doesn't spin out the company. The Olsen twins. Forget about child stars from Full House, this is a fashion powerhouse. The girls have a couture line called The Row, Elizabeth & James, Stylemint and the new Olsenboye line at JC Penney. A perfume is set for this spring. The twins are also creative directors for Superga, an Italian shoe brand. They stumbled with a line at Wal-Mart for teens that reduced their fashion cred, but they recovered by consistently delivering a high-end product. Their message was that this wasn't a vanity project and they truly believed in the rag trade. Cannon agrees. "They don't need the money, and they really are doing this for a love of fashion." However, everyone has their price, and if the bankers come knocking, they may well answer. Prev 1 of 3 Next


text:
Hi All,
A programmer we hired, a flakey kid who doesnt know the meaning of responsibility and pride, left our company (myself) having to finish and fix the website. I fixed some of the pages, formatting, plugins, galleries, etc but having trouble with a link from a category.
I create a new project in services, but even after I create a new product for a category (correct box checked off for the category), the link goes to the wrong place.
http://www.addcustomlighting.com -> products -> wall sconce goes to "table lamps". If you type http://addcustomlighting.com/service/wall-sconce/ manually it pops up.
is this a problem with the single-project code or something in wordpress?
Also the aspect ratio of the products is off under the main page of the categories. Our othersite (old wordpress) started doing the same thing http://www.artdecodecor.com. real old site. think wordpress 3.0
I'm pretty quick on learning stuff and have uploaded and manipulated templates before. This problem is throwing me off though.
Also, when I try to fix a misspelling of "chandelier", since he used "chandellier" for the slug and title, it killed the page. I got an empty page with the word "blog". It took me 20 minutes to figure out changing the spelling killed the page - I guess the slug and title are found in another place in the code template. I just dont know where.
Any help is GREATLY APPRECIATED. If any code is needed I have access to the FTP page. This kid just said "Start Here" and sent me the ftp and figure out the code. He bought the template from Russia - go figure.


text:
According to MacPorts' wiki/guide you need to have a working Port command but in my case the Port command isn't working.
How do I uninstall MacPorts?
I have tried Googling the solution but what I found is that someone said on some random discussion board that just skip Port command part and directly move onto the next one but some files will remain.
I have seen a lot of 'solutions' online but most of them ending with the user reinstalling MacPorts due to corrupted/failed installation. This isn't what I am looking for.
I don't want some files to remain, I want to clean it completely as I am not planning to reinstall MacPorts any time soon.
*By the way, I have HomeBrew installed, I hope the solution that you guys offers won't tamper with my HomeBrew installation.


text: On Wed, 2007-06-13 at 23:53 +0100, Andy Green wrote: > > Well it does "work" to do rpm --root=/usr/i386-linux-gnu --ignorearch -i > foo (although last time I looked I didn't yet find a way to set dbpath > on Fedora rpm that worked). If "handling it" in separate chroot worlds > is good enough it shows a way forward though, presumably if yum can eat > --root= it too will play along nicely in each chroot world. Yeah, it's not impossible. Then we just need to let koji/mock know that it must do this when building a cross-compiler... -- dwmw2


text:
Residential High-Speed Internet
Rise Broadband provides high-speed Internet and digital phone service in 16 states in the Midwest, Rocky Mountain and Southwest regions.
Whether you live in a suburban or rural area, Rise helps keep you and your family connected with the people and things you value most.
Feel Free to enjoy lightning-fast downloads and quick access to information, entertainment, education and streaming video. Take advantage of our PC Care and Device Connection/Managed Router services to free up your time and help ensure your Internet connection is running at peak performance.
Check availability now!
Enter your service address in the form on the right.
Or to sign up for service, call 1-844-411-RISE (844-411-7473).
Click here to learn more about Digital Phone.
Click here to learn more about PC Care.
Digital Phone (ActivePhone™)
ActivePhone™ gives you the power to connect AND save. It provides the features of traditional residential phone service plus all of the latest features you need to be more productive.
Add ActivePhone™ for $9.95 a month with a 2-year wireless Internet service agreement or $19.95 without a 2-year agreement.
Save money on your mobile phone service with ActivePhone™:
- Unlimited Domestic Long Distance – Call anywhere in the U.S. at no additional cost. Save your mobile plan minutes for when you really need them
- Free International Long Distance – Call to landlines in 64 countries and mobile phones in 13 countries at no additional cost*
- Free Multi-Ring – Rings the phones in your home as well as your mobile device with a single phone number, allowing you to reduce mobile minute usage when you are home
- ActivePhone™ Messaging – Automatically have your voicemail messages delivered to you via email, or set the service to notify you of new voicemail messages via text message so you can choose how and when to respond to messages
- Web-Based Administration Tools – View your past calls, find a lost phone number, and configure your service options to meet your specific needs
- ActivePhone™ also comes with many standard phone features including call waiting, caller ID with name, 3-way calling, last call return and auto redial
- Active Phone™ includes 911 services and free number porting, so you can keep your existing phone number*
Rise Broadband Managed Router
With Managed Router from Rise Broadband, we'll provide the equipment, monitoring and maintenance to keep your connection up and running. For as low as $3.50 per month with 2 year service agreement or just $6.99 per month with monthly service plans, experience the following benefits from Rise Broadband Managed Router service:
- Secure whole home wireless connectivity
- No equipment purchase necessary
- Hassle free set-up
- Over the phone trouble shooting into the router
- Free repair/replace service calls in the event of router issues
- Free router replacement if our device fails
PC Care Service Plan
The PC Care Service Plan provides support and coverage for your PC. For only $8.99 a month, Rise Broadband will:
- Identify and fix hardware/software errors
- Identify and assist with networking issues
- Supply standard replacement parts and in-home labor to repair one covered device as often as needed, not to exceed $500 per year per covered device.
Support for additional PCs can be added for $6.50 each per month.
Premium Technical Support Service Plan
The Premium Technical Support Service Plan provides all of the support and coverage included in the PC Care Service Plan, plus the following expanded services for only $14.99 a month:
- Operating systems upgrade/update support** (Windows PC, Mac OSX)
- Content backup/sharing support**: e.g. iCloud, Google Drive, DropBox
- Computer tune-up and maintenance of PC and Mac devices
- 3rd party devices: printers, scanners, copiers, fax machines, external hard drives, etc.
- Mobile devices (including tablets): setup and trouble-shooting
- TV and video support: Internet/smart TV, Blu-Ray, DVD, game console
|Compare PC Care to Premium Technical Support
|Services Included:
|PC Care
|Premium Technical Support
|Configuration troubleshooting
|Evaluating and attempting to correct software
|Assist with operating systems and networking issues
|In home labor and replacement parts; $500 limit per year
|Virus/spyware detection and removal
|Software and peripherals support for network, video/sound cards, memory, hard drives, CD/DVD reader/writers, printers and scanners
|Assist with home networking equipment
|Computer tune-ups and maintenance (PCs and Macs)
|Troubleshooting and wireless support connecting TVs, Blu-Rays, tablets and mobile devices
|Content Sharing**: transfer of content from one device to another
|Online safety and security support**: Internet security, storage and backup, etc.
|Support, configuration, setup and troubleshooting of 3rd party devices: printers, scanners, copiers, fax machines, external hard drives, etc.
|Mobile Devices (including tablets): setup and trouble-shooting
|TV and Video Support: Internet/smart TV, Blu-Ray, DVD, game console
A-La-Carte PC Care Options
Don't need a monthly service plan? We can still help fix your device with several "pay-as-you-go" options below:
PC Maintenance ($50 each occurrence): Includes a Windows Disk cleanup, enabling Windows Updates and activating Windows Firewall.
Device Setup ($75 each occurrence): Includes printer, camera and MP3 player setup, configuration and trouble shooting.
PC Tune-up ($125 each occurrence): Includes diagnosing a PC infected with spyware, malware and viruses; helping you to select, purchase and install an internet Security Suite or one of our licensed tools; then scanning and removal of any detected spyware/malware/viruses.
* Rise Broadband ActivePhone™ requires a Rise Broadband Internet connection. 911 service operates based on registered address. Unlimited long distance calling is for calls made to landlines and mobile phones in the USA. Free International calling is for up to 300 minutes of calls made per line (ActivePhone™ and ActivePhone for Business™) or concurrent call session (Enterprise Cloud PBX™) to landlines in these 64 countries: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guam, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Saipan, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and mobile phones in these 13 countries: Brunei, Canada, China, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Macau, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, Saipan, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea. Alarms, fax, satellite TV and other systems may not be compatible. Rates exclude equipment rental of $1 to $6 per line or extension per month, taxes, and fees. Regular number porting, where available, averages 20-30 days. Service not available in all areas.
**This service includes support for customer-purchased software and file programs. The programs themselves are not included, and will need to be purchased independently.


text:
Aug 31
NationwidePromo.com Just Announced!! Hip Hop Legend....MIKE PAGE....Will be returning to the stage at Blue Moose (Upstairs) in the Blue Room!! Page will be releasing his new mixtape "Str8 Out The Muthafuckin' Middle" and will also be performing some of his classic tracks!! The event is for anyone 19 and older with ID and you must be 21 to drink...Doors open at 8pm-Midnight....Only $5.....Cameras will be rolling all night!! For more info contact Brandon at 319-473-0885.....INVITE YOUR FRIENDS! Special Performances by: Bam Musik - http://www.facebook.com/bam.musik A-Spell - http://www.facebook.com/allen.a.speller LyssaLadyBoss - http://www.facebook.com/LyssaLadyBOSS Vo Marley - http://www.facebook.com/vomarley I.D.K. - http://www.facebook.com/OfficialIDK Taybeez & Marq Divine - http://www.facebook.com/marq.divine
Label: Its On Deck/The Teknitions Music Group
Manager: Gorilla Promotions
Birth Name: Allen Jerome Speller
Born: September 1, 1987
Origin: Waterloo, Iowa United States
Genres: Soul, hip hop, rap, hip hop soul, poetic verse
Occupations: Songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, executive producer, record executive, remixer, multi-instrumentalist, music video dire...See Full Bio


text:
On LewRockwell.com, Brian Stanley wrote an interesting article on Texas v White and the court system's view of the Constitutionality of secession.
Here's an excerpt:
In the 1868 case of Texas v. White, 74 U.S. (7 Wall.) 700, a case dealing with the title to some U.S. bonds, the Supreme Court ruled that Texas', and hence the South's, attempted secession in 1861 was unconstitutional. But the opinion also contained some wording that might give secessionists a way around White.
So what is the potentially helpful language the Court used? After noting that it was "needless to discuss at length whether the right of a State to withdraw from the Union for any cause, regarded by herself as sufficient, is consistent with the Constitution of the United States[,]" the Court then determined that the Union was intended to be perpetual and then stated that after Texas entered into "an indissoluble relation" with the Union: "There was no place for reconsideration, or revocation, except through revolution or through the consent of the States." (Emphasis added.)
Michael Boldin
Latest posts by Michael Boldin (see all)
- Liberty is the "Primary Object" - July 13, 2016
- Interview: Discussion with Mises Institute on Strategies for Liberty - July 12, 2016
- From Leftist to Nullification Champion: Interview with Tom Woods - July 11, 2016


text:
Crazy love- chan - amazon., Francis chan is the best-selling author of crazy love and the host of the basic.series. francis is the founding pastor of cornerstone church in simi valley. Cjb, Why buy from cjb? free dns hosting; free mail forwarding; free web forwarding; whois contact privacy. Harvard .. chan school public health | ideas , Harvard school of public health brings together dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health leaders and produce powe.
Cornerstone / home / , Websites churches. home; ; cornerstone? upcoming dates " weekly" newsletter. http://cornerstonesimi.com/ Home - chanrobles associates law firm : home , Chanrobles virtual law library - home philippine -line legal resources : chanrobles. - chanrobles..ph. http://www.chanrobles.com/ Crazy love - francis chan, Crazy love: overwhelmed relentless god francis chan. http://www.crazylovebook.com/


text:
"Arrogant and corrupted" Top 5 Page for this destination Uganda Warnings Or Dangers Tip by croisbeauty
Uganda Warnings and Dangers: 39 reviews and 52 photos
Actually, I haven't seen much police around neither I had any kind of encounter with them. It wouldn't be honest to say that I in person had bad experience with the local police. However, I've seen the way they treat the locals, with no respect at all and lots of arrogancy. Some of my Ugandan friends advised me to avoid the police forces because they all very corrupted.
More Warnings and Dangers in Uganda (2)
1 - 0 of 0
More Reviews (41)
Local Customs (10)See All Waragi
Favorites (6)See All Ugandan traditions
Transportation (5)See All Traffic jams
Things to Do (7)See All What about bathing in Victoria Lake
Shopping (3)See All Very chaotic but pretty nice experience
croisbeauty's Related Pages
"aliis si licet, tibi non licet"
- Member Rank:
- 0 0 0 0 5
- Forum Rank:
- 0 0 0 3 5
- 7,794 Reviews
- 25,152 Photos
- Add Friend
- Follow
- Send Message
Have you been to Uganda?Share Your Travels


text:
iwconfig or ifconfig with no options is what you need to type
Type: Posts; User: sircrazy; Keyword(s):
iwconfig or ifconfig with no options is what you need to type
They say it is better to be smart ass then to be dumb ass or jack ass :D
This sounds like a nice proggie. Will have to hook up a couple spare routers to test this.
oh. It look alright, I just became very used to the black, I thought I broke the interwebz :D
The theme for the forum is of a new look.
I am not sure if I messed something or if this is just new look.
If this is just new look or if I messed it, how does one go back to the way...
you is trying to access your neighbors wifi and you think they might have the phone number password?
am I correct in this so I know a proper way to get your answer.
The google fu is weak with this OP
but to equate picking a lock would be like attempting the attack.
Collecting information about the locks you may or may not pick in the future is a closer in resemblence to the collection of iv...
the reason the '>' is the apostrophe in your network name. it causes that.
try if you will putting your network name in quotes: -e "Cihan's Wi Fi Network"
If that is not the working solution...
Do you say it is long a time to do it without the rainbow table or with?
With those spec u say 1.9gig list on a 2ghz dual core as i keep similar spec on my machine, how long does it take for make...


text:
Children's Church Camp Mexican Lunch Fundraiser Saturday
There will be a fundraiser for Flower Acres Baptist Church's children's camp tomorrow Saturday, March 14.
There will be a fundraiser for Flower Acres Baptist Church's children's camp tomorrow Saturday, March 14.
The Kiwanis club of Texarkana is hosting their 57th Annual Pancake Day this Saturday.
This Saturday, Dec. 13, there will be a huge garage sale to raise money for The United Way!
It is time for the Annual Bramlett Beans & Cornbread Community Fundraiser hosted by former Mayor James Bramlett and the Texarkana, Texas Parks and Recreation Department.
Beer tasting fundraiser for our local animal shelter at our brand new downtown Texarkana brewery. There will be beer, food, silent auction and live music by The Moss Brothers Band.
This Saturday there is an event to raise funds and celebrate the life and love of Meagan Mauldin. All proceeds raised will go to help cancer patients who need financial assistance during their treatment.
Enjoy lunch on Tuesday at a local Mexican food restaurant to help a local dog rescue out and also see the dogs that are available for adoption.
The Texas High School Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS) will host their 1st Annual Dash for Cash 5K on Saturday, September 20 from 8:00 a.m. until Noon.
Have fun at casino night and enter the drawdown to win big bucks TONIGHT!
Support Temple Memorial Rehabilitation Center and all the good work that is being done to help families with disabilities in our area by attending the annual Drawdown and Casino Night.
Please join Temple Memorial Rehabilitation Center for "A Night of Chance" at their annual Drawdown and Casino night on Thursday, August 7, 2012 from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. at the Four States Fair Fine Arts Building.
The Texas Roadhouse is hosting 'Tip A Cop' to help benefit Special Olympics today from 5 til 9pm.
There is a Bake Sale, Raffle, Silent Auction & Lemonade Stand to benefit Kenneth Greenlee on Saturday at Hot Tails Crawfish Hut.


text:
- About Us
- Book Recommendations
- Signed Editions
- Kepler's Recommends
- Bestsellers
- Staff Picks
- Angela's Picks
- Becca's Picks
- Caitlin's Picks
- Christin's Picks
- Cressida's Picks
- Cynthia's Picks
- Jenna's Picks
- Julie's Picks
- Lane's Picks
- Lee's Picks
- Leigh's Picks
- Marilyn's Picks
- Molly's Picks
- Nancy's Picks
- Nicola's Picks
- Nicole's Picks
- Pam's PIcks
- Praveen's Picks
- Ron's Picks
- Sina's Picks
- Todd's Pics
- Tori's PIcks
- Award Winners
- Kepler's Events
- Community Partners
- Book Clubs
- Literary Circle Membership
The Zombie Chasers (Hardcover)
Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Zombie Attack
When brain-gobbling zombies invade, a sleepover at Zack Clarke's house quickly turns into a Level-3 creep-over. The undead have infested the streets, filling the air with deathly moans and the stench of rotting flesh.
Meet the Zombie Chasers:
Zack: His house is a wreck, his sister's a zombie, and he's stolen his mom's Volvo. He's totally going to be grounded if he survives the night. . . .
Rice: He's studied The Zombie Survival Guide, but is he prepared to fight the living dead?
Madison: She seriously cannot believe her best friend has become a zombie and left her alone with these dweebs
They're on a mission to save the world, but first they have to survive their flesh-eating, half-dead neighbors and one another. Can the Zombie Chasers make it out alive?
About the Author
John Kloepfer began his writing -career at five years old with a one-sentence short story: And then one day the monsters came. The Zombie Chasers is his first novel. He lives in New York City, where he is hard at work on the next adventure of Zack, Rice, and Madison.
Steve Wolfhard was born in Ontario, Canada, and has been drawing comics since he graduated from animation college. Steve has a fat barn cat named Haircut, whom he loves but does not like. The first zombie movie Steve ever saw was Return of the Living Dead, and it still scares the crud out of him.
Praise For…
"What makes this latest entry into the developing middle-grade zombie canon stand out is Kloepfer's gleeful insistence on gore and Wolfhard's squiggly drawings that really bring the laughs. Stick around for the next vomitous volume."
-ALA Booklist
"Kloepfer's first is a Zombieland for the middle-school set: funny, off-color and extremely gross. A great pick for the child who thought Diary of a Wimpy Kid just needed more motile corpses."
-Kirkus Reviews


text:
my site http://www.knowingreal.com
i can change color of header, content and side bar to white but how to make the whole portion or column to white.
when i used firebug on that portion, it showed the name fix.after and when i added background property to white, it made all the background of site to white but i just want the column containing all the material to be white.
how to do that, this is the only barrier for me to get started now...
thanks in advance....fingers crossed


text: We have recently bought the Basic Church Theme and the Churchpack Pro Plugin. I am trying to set up our new church site and I cannot add a contact form. I click on Add Contact Form, I customize it and when I try to click on Add this Contact Form to my post, it does not do anything (then I am obliged to cancel adding the form). Any idea?