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Venice hotel reservation: check availability and room rates
Enter the dates and find your hotel in Venice by cheapest price
If an idea of having a fortunate vacation occurred to you, such unique and peculiar place as Venice in Italy can be a really felicitous choice to set out.
A tendency has always reigned-to call Venice, an Italian city, where only canals and old shady houses exist. But this judgment is primordially wrong, because Venice stretches across numerous small islands along The Adriatic Sea. So, really, it is a "City of water" but not so monotonous one.
"Queen of The Adriatic" is a popular travel destination, and that is the reason for such a great quantity of resorts and hotels in Venice. This city takes care about its newly arrived so Venice hotels are high-standard ones with helpful staff, gorgeous décor, comfortable rooms, and convenient location, proximately to all the main districts and memorial sights. Among them: Piazza San Marco, Campo San Polo, Palazzo Frassi, Palazzo Labia, Basilica Di San Marco, The Arsenal, La Fenice Opera House, Rialto Bridge, Accademia Bridge, Piazzale Roma Footbridge, The Bridge of Sighs, and Scalzi Bridge.
The City of water is a really host able one and is always waiting for newcomers. Book a room in a Venice hotel and become one of these visitants and you'll definitely fall in love with this city!
The occupancy level for the hotels in Venice throughout the year is rather big. It could be very difficult to find cheap hotels in Venice at a reasonable price in a few weeks before the visit. The best way to arrange your hotel in Venice is minimum of 2 - 3 months in advance. You could get better prices and find more available hotels. If you could not find your hotel here, we could recommend Booked.net with Venice hotel booking at reasonable prices.
Recommended hotels in Venice
Bauer Hotel
Just 2 minutes' walk from Venice's St. Mark's Square, Bauer Hotel offers spacious, elegant rooms with satellite flat-screen TV.
The Westin Europa & Regina
Hotel Europa & Regina boasts wonderful views of the Grand Canal. It features a panoramic restaurant and bar, and Venetian-style decor.
Bauer Palladio Hotel & Spa
Facing St. Mark's Basin, this 5-star hotel offers a large spa and an exclusive location in a 16th-century convent on Giudecca Island.
Ca' Maria Adele
Ca' Maria Adele offers luxuriously decorated rooms in a quiet neighbourhood overlooking the Grand Canal in central Venice. Breakfast is served up on the rooftop terrace of this 16th-century palace.
Ca' Vendramin Di Santa Fosca
Ca' Vendramin di Santa Fosca offers unique Venetian rooms in a historic 17th-century building. It has a quiet location near good restaurants, just 10 minutes' walk from Santa Lucia Train Station.
Ca' Pisani Hotel
Set in the quiet Dorsoduro district, Ca' Pisani Hotel is an elegant building of the 16th century. It offers design rooms with free Wi-Fi and spa bath.
Hotel Danieli
Overlooking Venice Lagoon, Hotel Danieli A Luxury Collection Resort is a legendary hotel 200 metres from St. Mark's Square.
The Gritti Palace, A Luxury Collection Hotel
Restored to its original splendour, The Gritti Palace is set in a former noble residence on Venice's Grand Canal, with views of Santa Maria delle Salute Church. All luxurious rooms feature antiques and Murano glass.
Foscari Palace
Dating back to 1520, Foscari Palace has been completely refurbished to preserve its original elegance. Featuring a rooftop terrace and spacious rooms, it is next to Ca' D'Oro Vaporetto stop.
5 stars hotels in Venice
PalazzinaG is located in the historic centre of Venice, just off the Canal Grande canal, and 700 metres from the Fenice Theatre. This is the first Italian hotel designed by Philippe Starck, the only one in Venice.
PalazzinaG is located in the historic centre of Venice, just off the Canal Grande canal, and 700 metres from the Fenice Theatre. This is the first Italian hotel designed by Philippe Starck, the only one in Venice.
Centurion Hotel
Overlooking the Grand Canal, next to the Basilica of Chiesa of Santa Maria della Salute, Centurion Palace offers 5-star luxury in Venice. Drinks are served in the hotel's private courtyard.
Bauer Il Palazzo
San Clemente Palace Hotel & Resort
Hotel Metropole
Hotel Cipriani Palazzo Vendramin
Ca' Sagredo Hotel
Luna Hotel Baglioni - The Leading Hotels of the World
- All 5 stars hotels »
4 stars hotels in Venice
Casa Baseggio
B&B Casa Baseggio offers free Wi-Fi in public areas and simply furnished rooms with LCD TV. It is located in the Jewish Quarter of Venice's historic centre, a 15-minute walk from St Mark's Square.
Aqua Palace
The Aqua Palace is a design hotel located in the Castello Quarter of Venice. It offers stylish rooms and suites with satellite TV and free Wi-Fi throughout.
Hotel La Perla
Family-run La Perla is in Corvara in Badia, near the Dolomiti Superski resort, and offers spacious rooms and welcoming common areas. The house dates back to the 18th century and features indoor and outdoor pools.
Ad Place Venice
Domina Home Ca Zusto
Pallazzo Barbarigo
Hotel Palazzo Giovanelli e Gran Canal
Hotel Villa Pannonia
Hotel Londra Palace
- All 4 stars hotels »
3 stars hotels in Venice
Novecento Boutique
The stylish Novecento Boutique Hotel is tucked away in Calle del Dose, off Campo San Maurizio, between St. Mark's Square and the Accademia Gallery.
Alloggi Marinella
Set in a historic building, Alloggi Marinella offers typically Venetian rooms near the bus terminals in Piazzale Roma. Venezia Santa Lucia Railway Station is a short walk away.
Hotel Al Duca Di Venezia
Hotel Al Duca di Venezia offers spacious and luxurious rooms next to the old market and artists' shops near the Rialto Bridge. Santa Lucia Train Station is a 5-minute walk away.
San Cassiano
Casa Querini
Casa Martini
Hotel Al Piave
Casa del Melograno - Locanda
Ca' Riccio
- All 3 stars hotels »
2 stars hotels in Venice
3749 Ponte Chiodo
Set in one of Venice's most artistic neighbourhoods, 3749 Pontechiodo is just 300 metres from Ca' D'Oro Palace and the Vaporetto (water bus) stop. Breakfast is served in the internal garden.
Hotel Al Ponte Mocenigo
Located in the Santa Croce district of Venice, Hotel Al Ponte Mocenigo is set on 2 floors of an ancient Venetian building with shared courtyard. The elegantly decorated rooms offer air conditioning and a minibar.
The Hotel Bartolomeo, located just few metres from the Rialto Bridge and 5 minutes far from St. Mark Square, is the best point to start your discovery of Venice, and to enjoy its magic and its unique atmosphere full of history and art.
Alloggi Sardegna
Ca' San Giorgio
Villa Rosa
Antica Locanda Montin
Apostoli Palace
- All 2 stars hotels »
1 star hotels in Venice
Casa Rezzonico
With a quiet location next to Carmini Church, Casa Rezzonico is 5 minutes' walk from the Accademia Gallery and Cà Foscari University of Venice. It features a picturesque garden.
Casa Petrarca
Hotel Casa Petrarca is set along a canal in central Venice, between St. Mark's Square and the Rialto Bridge.
Acca Hotel
The Acca Hotel is located in the heart of Venice, less than 10 minutes' walk from the Rialto Bridge. It offers rooms and suites with private bathroom and free Wi-Fi.
Casa Boccassini
Locanda Fiorita
Ca' del Modena
Ai Tolentini
Locanda Silva
- All 1 star hotels »
Unrated hotels in Venice
Casa delle Rose
Set on Venice's Lido, where the famous film festival is held, this bed and breakfast is just 200 metres from the beach. It offers free Wi-Fi and individually furnished rooms in an Art-Nouveau building.
Ca' Priuli
Ca' Priuli is a small B&B situated halfway between Padua and Venice, in the famous Riviera del Brenta. Ca' Priuli has 10 rooms, all tastefully furnished and every one different from the others.
Corte 1321
A 5-minute walk from Rialto Bridge, Corte 1321 offers a pretty courtyard where you can enjoy Venetian pastries at breakfast during summer. Rooms here include antiques from the owner's personal collection.
Villa Gabriella
At Home A Palazzo
Ca' della Loggia
Santa Sofia
Residenza Al Pozzo
Ca' Loredan
- All unrated hotels »


text: FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. (AP) - Police are looking for five men suspected of operating a paving scam in southern West Virginia. Media outlets report the men are believed to be involved in stealing money from a couple in the Danese area of Fayette County. A news release from the Fayette sheriff's office says four men offered to pave the couple's driveway and were paid $800 in cash last week. The release says the next day, a man claiming to be a sheriff's deputy accused the couple of giving the workers counterfeit money, demanded all the money in the home for testing and was given more than $2,000. When he didn't return, the couple called authorities. Fayette County Sheriff Steve Kessler says the men are believed to be operating out of the Bluefield and Princeton areas.Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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The Library
Influenza virus protecting RNA : an effective prophylactic and therapeutic antiviral
Dimmock, N. J., Rainsford, Edward W., Scott, P. D. (Paul D.) and Marriott, Anthony C.. (2008) Influenza virus protecting RNA : an effective prophylactic and therapeutic antiviral. Journal of Virology, Vol.82 (No.17). pp. 8570-8578. ISSN 0022-538X
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JVI.00743-08
Another influenza pandemic is inevitable, and new measures to combat this and seasonal influenza are urgently needed. Here we describe a new concept in antivirals based on a defined, naturally occurring defective influenza RNA that has the potential to protect against any influenza A virus in any animal host. This protecting RNA (244 RNA) is incorporated into virions which although non-infectious, deliver the RNA to those cells of the respiratory tract that are naturally targeted by infectious influenza virus. A small intranasal dose of this 244 protecting virus (120 ng) completely protected mice against a simultaneous lethal (10 LD50) challenge with influenza A/WSN (H1N1) virus. 244 virus also protected mice against a strong challenge dose of all other subtypes tested (H2N2, H3N2, H3N8). This prophylactic activity was maintained in the animal for at least 1 week prior to challenge. 244 virus was 10 to 100-fold more active than previously characterised influenza A defective viruses, and the protecting activity was confirmed to reside in the 244 RNA molecule by recovering a protecting virus entirely from cloned cDNA. There was clear therapeutic benefit when protecting 244 virus was administered 24-48 h after lethal challenge, an effect which has not been previously observed with any defective virus. Protecting virus reduced, but did not abolish, replication of challenge virus in mouse lungs during both prophylactic and therapeutic treatments. Protecting virus is a novel antiviral which has the potential to combat influenza infections in humans, particularly when the infecting strain is not known, or is resistant to antiviral drugs.
|Item Type:
|Journal Article
|R Medicine > RM Therapeutics. Pharmacology
|Faculty of Science > Life Sciences (2010- ) > Biological Sciences ( -2010)
|Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):
|Influenza -- Treatment, Influenza A virus, Antiviral agents, RNA viruses
|Journal or Publication Title:
|Journal of Virology
|American Society for Microbiology
|September 2008
|Number of Pages:
|Page Range:
|pp. 8570-8578
|Identification Number:
|Peer Reviewed
|Access rights to Published version:
|Restricted or Subscription Access
|Mercia Spinner
|1. Aronsson, F., B. Robertson, H. G. Ljunggren, and K. Kristensson. 2003. Invasion and persistence of the neuroadapted influenza virus A/NWS/33 in the mouse olfactory system. Viral Immunology 16:415-423. 2. Belshe, R. B., K. L. Nichol, S. B. Black, H. Shinefield, J. Cordova, R. Walker, C. Hessel, I. Cho, and P. M. Mendelman. 2004. Safety, efficacy, and effectiveness of live attenuated, cold-adapted influenza vaccine in an indicated population aged 5-49 years. Clinical Infectious Diseases 39:920-927. 3. Cane, C., and N. J. Dimmock. 1990. Intracellular stability of the gene encoding influenza virus haemagglutinin. Virology 175:385-390. 4. Cane, C., L. McLain, and N. J. Dimmock. 1987. Intracellular stability of the interfering activity of a defective interfering influenza virus in the absence of virus multiplication. Virology 159:259-264. 5. Cox, N. J., and K. Subbarao. 2000. Global epidemiology of influenza: past and present. Annual Review of Medicine 51:407-421. 6. Cox, N. J., and K. Subbarao. 1999. Influenza. The Lancet 354:1277-1282. 7. Dimmock, N. J. 1996. Antiviral activity of defective interfering influenza virus in vivo, p. 421-445. In S. Myint and D. Taylor-Robinson (ed.), Viral and Other Infections of the Respiratory Tract. Chapman and Hall, London. 8. Dimmock, N. J., and A. C. Marriott. 2006. In vivo antiviral activity: defective interfering virus protects better against virulent influenza A virus than avirulent virus. J. Gen. Virol. 87:In press. 9. Doherty, P. C., D. J. Topham, and R. A. Tripp. 1996. Establishment and persistence of virus-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell memory. Immunological Reviews 150:23-44. 10. Duhaut, S. D., and N. J. Dimmock. 2003. Defective influenza A virus generated entirely from plasmids: its RNA is expressed in infected mouse lung and modulates disease. Journal of Virological Methods 108:75-82. 11. Duhaut, S. D., and N. J. Dimmock. 1998. Heterologous protection against a lethal human H1N1 influenza virus infection of mice by a H3N8 equine defective interfering virus: comparison of defective RNA sequences isolated from the DI inoculum and mouse lung. Virology 248:241-253. 12. Eichelberger, M. C., M. Wang, W. Allan, R. G. Webster, and P. C. Doherty. 1991. Influenza virus RNA in the lung and lymphoid tissue of immunologically intact and CD4-depleted mice. Journal of General Virology 72:1695-1698. 13. Hayden, F. G. 2006. Antiviral resistance in influenza viruses - implications for management and pandemic response. New England Journal of Medicine 354:785-788. 14. Holland, J. J. 1990. Generation and replication of defective viral genomes, p. 77-99. In B. N. Fields and D. M. Knipe (ed.), Virology, 2nd ed. Raven Press, New York. 15. Huang, A. S., and D. Baltimore. 1970. Defective viral particles and viral disease processes. Nature (London) 226:325-327. 16. Jennings, P. A., J. T. Finch, G. Winter, and J. S. Robertson. 1983. Does the higher order of the influenza virus ribonucleoprotein guide sequence rearrangements in influenza viral RNA. Cell 34:619-627. 17. Karber, G. 1968. p. 118. In A. J. Rhodes and C. E. van Rooyen (ed.), Textbook of Virology, 5th ed. Williams and Wilkins Co., Baltimore. 18. Lamb, R. A., and R. M. Krug. 1996. Orthomyxoviridae: the viruses and their replication, p. 1353-1395. In B. N. Fields, D. M. Knipe, and P. M. Howley (ed.), Fields Virology, 3rd ed, vol. 1. Lippincott-Raven Publishers, Philadelphia. 19. Le, Q. L., M. Kiso, K. Someya, Y. Sakai, N. D. Nguyen, K. L. H. Nguyen, N. D. Pham, H. H. Ngyen, S. Yamada, Y. Muramoto, T. Horimoto, A. Takada, H. Goto, T. Suzuki, Y. Suzuki, and Y. Kawaoka. 2005. Isolation of drug-resistant H5N1 virus. Nature (London) 437:1108. 20. Mann, A., A. C. Marriott, S. Balasingam, R. Lambkin, J. S. Oxford, and N. J. Dimmock. 2006. Interfering vaccine (defective interfering influenza A virus) protects ferrets from influenza, and allows them to develop solid immunity to reinfection. Vaccine 24:4290-4296. 21. Mayor, S. 2006. Review says oseltamivir and zanamivir should be kept for epidemics of flu. British Medical Journal 332:196. 22. Neumann, G., T. Watanabe, H. Ito, S. Watanabe, H. Goto, P. Gao, M. Hughes, D. R. Perez, R. Donis, G. Hobom, and Y. Kawaoka. 1999. Generation of influenza A viruses entirely from cloned DNAs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 96:9345-9350. 23. Noble, S., and N. J. Dimmock. 1994. Defective interfering type A equine influenza virus (H3N8) protects mice from morbidity and mortality caused by homologous and heterologous subtypes of type A influenza virus. Journal of General Virology 75:3485-3491. 24. Noble, S., L. McLain, and N. J. Dimmock. 2004. Interfering vaccine: a novel antiviral that converts a potentially virulent infection into one that is subclinical and immunizing. Vaccine 22:3018-3025. 25. Noda, T., H. Sagara, A. Yen, A. Takada, H. Kida, R. H. Cheng, and Y. Kawaoka. 2006. Architecture of ribonucleoprotein complexes in influenza A virus particles. Nature (London) 439:490-492. 26. Park, C. H., K. Matsuda, Y. Sunden, A. Ninomiya, A. Takada, H. Ito, T. Kimura, K. Ochiai, and T. Umemura. 2003. Persistence of viral RNA segments in the central nervous system of mice after recovery from acute influenza A virus infection. Veterinary Microbiology 97:259-268. 27. Russell, C. J., and R. G. Webster. 2005. The genesis of a pandemic influenza virus. Cell 123:368-371. 28. Sekellick, M. J., and P. I. Marcus. 1982. Interferon induction by viruses. VIII Vesicular stomatitis virus: [+/-] DI-011 particles induce interferon in the absence of standard virions. Virology 117:280-285. 29. Shinya, K., M. Ebina, S. Yamada, M. Ono, N. Kasai, and Y. Kawaoka. 2006. Influenza virus receptors in the human airway. Nature (London) 440:435-436. 30. Simon, A. E., M. J. Roossinck, and Z. Havelda. 2004. Plant virus satellite and defective interfering RNAs: new paradigms for a new century. Annual Review of Phytopathology 42:415-437. 31. Strahle, L., D. Garcin, and D. Kolakofsky. 2006. Sendai defective-interfering genomes and the activation of interferon-beta. Virology 351:101-111. 32. Subbarao, K., H. Chen, D. Swayne, L. Mingay, E. Fodor, G. Brownlee, X. Xu, X. Lu, J. Katz, N. Cox, and Y. Matsuoka. 2003. Evaluation of a genetically modified reassortant H5N1 influenza A virus vaccine candidate by plasmid-based reverse genetics. Virology 305:192-200. 33. Sweet, C., and H. Smith. 1980. Pathogenicity of influenza virus. Microbiological Reviews 44:303-330. 34. Taubenberger, J. K., A. H. Reid, R. M. Lourens, R. Wang, G. Jin, and T. G. Fanning. 2005. Characterization of the 1918 influenza virus polymerase genes. 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Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge
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There's an awful lot of talk right now about the playoff push and roster expansion and who to pitch in the play-in game and how to construct a postseason A's team...and that's awesome. It's so cool to be having those conversations this late in the season, and there's starting to be a feeling of inevitability about this team. It's beautiful.
But for most of my adult A's fandom, baseball has been about next year. This time of the season, there are always questions about next year. "Should we sign Duchscherer again next year?" "Is Barton really a 5 WAR player next year?" "Will Pennington regress next year?" "Which castoff veteran will Billy sign next year?" And, of course, there are still some questions about next year, even though this year has seen such unexpected success for the A's. The biggest one in my mind is this: what do we do with the infield next year? I'm going to jibber-jabber about what I think we should do, but I also thought we could just use a place to talk about the question in general, since it seems to keep coming up.
At first base, I'm fine with the Mosster platoon, at least until it shows itself to be ineffective, or a better 1B comes along. But 2B, SS, and 3B are kind of question marks. Donaldson, Inge, Sizemore, Drew, Pennington, Rosales, and Weeks have all done time at those positions this year, and are all at some level still doing time at those positions. (I'm ignoring Hicks and Sogard at this point because they're Hicks and Sogard.) So who gets which positions? Who gets dumped? Who takes a utility role? This was originally going to be a reply to a WaddellCanseco comment in a recent recap thread, and then it spiraled into too many words, so now it's a FanPost. And it's now been updated with stats and a more in-depth discussion of why I read the stats the way I do!
Josh Donaldson: 2012: .700 OPS, .303 wOBA, 92 WRC+. Career UZR: 4.8 at 3B.
He can hit, he can field pretty darn well, and he can throw across the diamond. He's also pretty smart on the basepaths (I checked Fangraphs to confirm what my eyes tell me.) He even doubles, in the pinchiest of pinches, as a third catcher. He's your third baseman, I don't see the competition here.
Brandon Inge: 2012: .675 OPS, .290 wOBA, 83 WRC+. Career UZR/150: 6.7 at 3B.
Old. Can't hit. Good defender. Probably worth three WAR if you could get a full season out of him on defense alone, but a black hole on offense. Also: chemistry. He's a free agent, and I include him here only because of the chemistry thing, because I think there's a case to be made for re-signing him.
Scott Sizemore: 2011 in Oakland: .778 OPS, .343 wOBA, 118 WRC+. Career UZR: -1.4 at 2B, -6.7 at 3B.
When I heard Sizemore was out for the season, I got even sadder than I usually am at the start of an Oakland A's baseball season. One of the few bright spots of last season was the discovery of Scott Sizemore. So assuming he comes back in his pre-injury form, what do we have in Teh Sizemoar? A good hitter who can't field that well.
Stephen Drew: 2011-2012: .665 OPS, .292 wOBA, 77 WRC+. Career UZR/150: -3.9 at SS.
Okay, dude can field a baseball, but now that I'm actually getting a chance to watch the games regularly again (as opposed to just relying on CBS GameTracker and you guys on AN), I really cannot stand to watch this guy throw the baseball. He's the Coco Crisp of the infield. The way everybody talks about Coco's arm, that's how I feel about Drew's arm. And honestly, you can say that it was Coco's arm that cost us the first run last night, but Drew's arm sealed it. Pennington has a chance to throw that guy out; Drew has none. Anyway, my point is that I don't like his defense and neither does UZR. He also hasn't been able to hit the ball since last season.
Cliff Pennington: 2012: .580 OPS, .260 wOBA, 63 WRC+, .257 BABIP. Career: .670 OPS, .301 wOBA, 87 WRC+, .298 BABIP. UZR/150 since 2010: 3.9 at SS. UZR in 2012: .2 in a small sample size at 2B.
Oh, the Cliffster. Wherefore hast thou wOBA gone? A quick look at the numbers tells us where: bad luck, plain and simple. His 2012 BABIP is 41 points lower than his career figure. Which sounds an awful, awful, AWFUL lot like the phrase, "his 2012 wOBA is 41 points lower than his career figure." They sound similar because they share several words and grammatical elements, and also they are both true. His BA is 36 points lower, his OBP is 43 points lower, and his SLG is 47 points lower. His hitting will come back. In the meantime, his defense is pretty good, and he can make a throw to first base without making it look like a Hail Mary pass.
Jemile Weeks: 2012: .614 OPS, .280 wOBA, 76 OPS+, .257 BABIP. 2011: .761 OPS, .332 wOBA, 110 WRC+, .350 BABIP. (It really does boggle the mind how different a hitter he appears to be on paper this season, but note the BABIP.) 2011 UZR: -4.1 at 2B. 2012 UZR: -4.7 at 2B. Career UZR/150: -6.5 at 2B. (On the other hand, he's definitely the same guy in the field.)
Can't hit can't field. Can run. Still can't steal that well though. His 2012 SB% is right around break-even territory in terms of value added, and his career SB% is still below the threshold. We're looking at a glorified Herb Washington at this point, in terms of actual value to the team. It should be noted that his BABIP, like Pennington's, has taken a nosedive. Unlike Pennington, however, Jemile's previous BABIP was pretty much guaranteed to be unsustainable. Penny wasn't coasting on an impossibly lucky BABIP. Jemile was. So while you can blame his dropoff on luck, it sort of misses the point that last year he was lucky, and this year he's probably just luck-neutral.
Adam Rosales: Career in Oakland: .655 OPS, .288 wOBA, 80 WRC+. 2012: .673 OPS, .295 wOBA, 87 WRC+. Career UZR: -1.4 at 1B, 5.8 at 2B, -3.7 at 3B, 1.2 at SS, negligible sample size in the OF.
In 2010, the Year of the Overachieving Oakland Infielder (Barton, Penny, Kouzmanoff, even Ellis sort of), Rosales flashed good leather and even almost hit at a level which could be called "good." Over the course of his career, he looks like an acceptable defender and a not-that-good hitter, although he does have some pop in his bat that the other infielders in this conversation, with the exception of Donaldson and maybe Inge, just don't bring to the table.
Grant Green: AAA offense: .788 OPS, .342 wOBA, 100 WRC+. MLE offense: (MLSplits calculator, data input from 2012 PCL season): .644 OPS, .283 wOBA (probably a bit low because it's calculated from scratch with incomplete MLE data, i.e., no ROEs or IBBs, but the point is that his MLE wOBA looks sub-.290.) No meaningful defensive statistics available, that I know of, for minor leaguers.
Let's actually talk about Grant Green. When I updated the post, I decided to toss in the MLEs, so let's examine them, shall we? Needless to say, they're pretty pedestrian. .644 OPS? .290ish wOBA? That's somewhere between 2012 Jemile Weeks and 2012 Brandon Inge. Not exactly battering down the door to the Oakland infield conversation. Obviously MLEs should not be taken as gospel. They're not predictive, but they do give us a pretty good idea of what Grant Green's 2012 efforts would have been had they been undertaken for the Athletics instead of for the Rivercats. To break them down a little further: 4.5 BB%, 14.5 K%, 84 ISO, .273 BABIP, .644 OPS, .283 wOBA, .31 BB/K ratio. Pedestrian.
By the way, MLEs also think Green would steal 11 bases and get thrown out 10 times. I have to believe Melvin wouldn't allow that, but it's funny to think of it. Anyway, Grant Green might know how to hit, depending on what you believe, but he doesn't, apparently, know how to field. At any position. There aren't stats to bolster that claim, just the complete lack of faith the team has placed in him at any position anywhere at all.
Third base: So as I said earlier, I see Donaldson as the obvious choice for 3B. Right now, he looks like the most bankable offensive producer. Sizemore's 2011 was better than Donaldson's 2012, but Sizemore hasn't made it back from injury yet, and Donaldson's numbers since the All-Star Break show a much-improved hitter. Pennington's career line also rivals Donaldson's 2012 line, but Pennington needs to return to his past form before he can be said to be reliably producing the way Donaldson does. On the defensive side, only Inge looks able to do better than Donaldson at the hot corner, although we have very little data to go on in judging Donaldson. But Inge's hitting isn't workable for a starting slot. Donaldson it is.
Shortstop: I'm a sucker for a strong defensive middle infield, and the more I've watched our remaining candidates for infield positions, the more convinced I've become that we need Cliff Pennington at short. We need a SS that can make that throw on a hard, laser-beam line drive. Stephen Drew has let too many guys get aboard with his weak, arcing throws. UZR doesn't like his defense, and his hitting is questionable. We've all been talking about picking up his option as a total given, but I'm not so sure, now that I really look at the big picture of our infield situation.
Now consider Cliff Pennington. Since he took over the position full-time in 2010, he's posted very respectable UZR figures at shortstop, and I do think his hitting is bound to regress at least somewhat closer to his career line. If he hits like he did in 2010-2011, he's basically Josh Donaldson but a shortstop. Examine: Donaldson's 2012 OPS/wOBA/WRC+ of .700/.303/92 doesn't look all that different from Pennington's 2010-2011 line of .688/.309/93. Even the defensive numbers look the same; Donaldson's posted a 4.8 UZR at 3B this year, while Pennington posted a 4.6 at SS in 2010-2011. If you like Donaldson at 3B, you like a returned-to-form Pennington at SS. And given that horrifying BABIP dropoff that Pennington's had this year (and you know your eyes are telling you he's been unlucky), I think we can be cautiously optimistic that he will return somewhat closer to form. By the way, this might be encouraging to those still in doubt: his OPS/wOBA/WRC+ in August was .689/.298/89, and thus far in September it's .748/.339/117. What could possibly have caused this? What else? In August his BABIP was much closer to his career figure, and so far in September he's gotten super-lucky with a .375 BABIP. Yeah, he'll be back.
More conclusions! Who's left now? We've used up the guy who can hit and field. We've used up the guy who can field but can't hit. What remains consists of the old guy who can field but can't hit, the young guy who can hit but can't field, the ex-phenom who can't do much of anything but run fast (and awesomely lead a charge out of the dugout with his fist raised when we win the game on a Derek Norris caught-stealing), the erstwhile Marco Scutaro super-sub, the solid minor league hitter who doesn't know how to play defense anywhere, and J.D. Drew's younger brother.
Second base: Going purely on demonstrated effectiveness, I want to tap Adam Rosales here. He's the only guy in this motley crew who I believe has the ability to hit and field at acceptable levels if given the starting job. Sizemore remains the hitter with the best track record of the bunch, but he isn't back yet, and he can't play good defense. Of the remaining candidates who have played an appreciable amount of time at 2B, Rosales looks the best with the glove by UZR and by the eyeball test.
But he's also pretty valuable as a super-sub. The guy can play any position but catcher, and honestly, given his approach to the game, I'm pretty sure he'd armor up and get behind the plate if he was asked to. Heck, he's probably working on his curveball in case some dire, empty-bullpen situation arises. Let's leave him there and give this position to...Scott Sizemore. We're not left with any great options here, but 2012 has taught us that if we give ourselves just a little more pop than we've had the last few years, we can contend. Sizemore's the guy who can give us that pop. Hopefully his defense improves—but it's also worth noting that UZR isn't nearly as offended by his 2B defense as it is by his 3B defense. In fact it's close to neutral on the subject.
First utilityman: I just explained why this goes to Adam Rosales.
Second utilityman: Last chance, boys. I'm operating under the assumption here that we have three starting outfielders (Cespedes/Crisp/Reddick), three starting infielders (Donaldson/Pennington/Rosales), Carter and Moss, and two catchers (Norris/Kottaras). That leaves three slots. One goes to super-duper-sub Rosales. The remaining two slots could go to Seth Smith and Jonny Gomes, or we could pick one of those guys and carry a second utility infielder, or we could carry a short bullpen (let's face it, would we really have been much worse off without the future-HoF talents of both Jim Miller and Evan Scribner?) and a long bench. So if there is room for a second utilityman, who is it?
Well it's not Drew. We're not paying a guy $10M to be a utility infielder with limited playing time. I'd rather pay him the $1.5M or whatever it is to leave. And, unfortunately, it's not Inge either. If the choice is between Brandon Inge, over-the-hill infielder/great clubhouse motivator and Jemile Weeks/Grant Green, young potential offensive stars, then it's no choice at all. Offer Inge a nice cushy first-base-coach job if he retires or something. That leaves Jemile Weeks and Grant Green. And I'm giving it to Weeks. I think he can get at least some of his old form back as a hitter. I know I said all that stuff about BABIP before, and I still think that's true. But almost 100 points of BABIP drop? Seems a bit unfair. We've all noticed that his swing is a little off, a little different from what it was last year. He fixes that, his luck regresses, and I think he can get back to what he is: a pretty good hitter and a pretty mediocre defender. And when he does, it'll be an interesting situation, because the infield will be darn crowded.
Meanwhile, If Green wants to play with the big boys, he needs to make a case for his indispensability. He needs to make it impossible for Billy and Bob to leave him in Sacramento. As of right now, he apparently hasn't done that. His hitting looks okay, but there must be something about his defense that bugs Billy. And if Billy uses some form of MLE equation, he might not like what he sees there. By MLSplits, Grant Green would need to have a 2013 line something like this to force himself into the conversation: .333/.410/.533, 20 or so HR, .943 OPS, .395 wOBA. Tall order, but doable. He hits like that, he'll be projecting as about a .275/.325/.425, 10-15 HR, .750 OPS, .325 wOBA type of guy.
Final conclusions! There you have it, your starting infield of Donaldson, Pennington, Sizemore, and Mosster, with Rosales and Weeks backing them up in super-sub roles. Green is in the minors, Inge is out to pasture, and Drew goes off to do whatever it is a man like him does when he's not playing for the A's.
Mileage May Vary: I left Rosales in a super-utility role because his versatility, to me, demanded it, but there's an argument to be made against that. And here's the argument: sure, he can play those positions, but should he? UZR likes him at 2B and, in a relatively small sample, is tolerant of him at SS. He's actually worked the most at 3B, however, and although UZR isn't full-blown enraged about his play there, it would prefer someone else at the hot corner. It feels the same way about his 1B defense, albeit in a pretty small sample, and just plain doesn't know enough about his OF defense to make a meaningful judgment. Given all of that, and given that he hits better than Drew, Inge, and Weeks while fielding better than Drew, Weeks, and Sizemore, there's a good case to be made that he should be the starting 2B. In that scenario, I think you just make Sizemore the first utility guy, and everything else stays the same.
Mileage May Vary, Again: I only included the second utilityman slot for the sake of argument. I'd rather keep both Seth Smith and Jonny Gomes, although I could be convinced to carry a short bullpen.
What do y'all think?


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The Good news...is that Curves operates much like Levels, it's just housed in a different dialog. Unlike Levels, however, where you can only adjust the black, gray and white points, Curves lets you adjust many more points. You also get a few more options to look at in the Curves dialog, like the color channel curves overlay on the RGB channel, a 45° baseline to use as a reference point, the always important histogram overlay and a handy intersection line that shows you whereabouts on the output graph your new values will be.
The main difference (besides the appearance) between Levels and Curves is the layout of the input and output graphs. In the Curves dialog, the output graph is actually the vertical axis, and as such, reflects the edited pixels whereas the input graph (the horizontal axis) reflects the unedited pixels. The default curve, the straight line that sits at a 45° angle, represents the balance between the input and output graphs. At any point along this default line, the input equals the output. By adding points to the curve and moving them up or down, you change the output values, thus changing the brightness or color.
*Again, for the sake of simplicity, we're going to be looking exclusively at Curves in RGB.
The easiest way to get your feet wet with curves and see how it works is to dive right in. So let's begin by making a rectangular document, any size, but preferably longer width-wise. I've made a new document that's 300px by 50px at 72 dpi. Now select the gradient tool, making sure that your foreground and background colors are default (if they aren't press D now), and create a black to white, linear gradient from the left to the right. It should look something like this:
Now add a Curves adjustment layer and open up your histogram palette. Back in Curves: Under Curve Display Options (click the arrow to the left of those words to bring them up) make sure "Show Amount of Light" is selected, and switch to the tighter grid (for the sake keeping yours and mine similar). For now, you can choose to show any of the options at the bottom of the dialog that you want. I usually have all of them checked.
The bottom left corner of the default curve (even though it's a straight line at this point, we're still going to refer to it as a curve) represents our black point. As you select the bottom left point, you'll see that the input and output both say 0. Right now solid black is where it should be. If we move that point up until the output says 50 and the input says 0, we just mapped solid black to 50, which isn't really solid black. As you can see from the gradient, the far left side is no longer solid black, and the histogram shows a large gap on the left.
What we've just done is the equivalent of moving the black output slider in Levels to 50. We're now saying that any blacks in this image will be no darker than 50. Now grab the white point (the upper right point) and slide it down to 205. The input should still read 255, but the output should now say 205. Notice the white in our gradient (the right side) has gone gray, and the histogram now has a gap on both sides. This adjustment is like moving the white output slider in levels to the left until it reads 205. We're now saying that any whites in this image will be no brighter than 205.
Now press and hold ALT or Option (Mac) so that the Cancel button says Reset, and click reset to reset our curve back to default. Now we'll grab the bottom left point again (the black point), and this time, drag it to the right along the bottom so that the output is 0 and the input is 50. The black in our gradient is now pushed further to the right, taking over some of the darker grays. The histogram now has fewer dark grays and has lost some of it's "skateboard ramp" like appearance. What we've just done is set a new black point, just like sliding the black point input slider in Levels to the right. We're now saying that solid black starts at 50, which is going to compress the gradient image to the right. Notice the output is still 0. That's telling us that our black is still solid black, unlike the value of 50 we had it set to before where it became a dark grey.
Once again, press and hold ALT or Option (Mac) to change the Cancel button to Reset, and reset the curve. Set a point dead center by clicking once on the curve. The input and output should both be 128. If your values are slightly off, you can manually type 128 into both the output and input fields. Now drag the new mid point, which is going to change the mid tones, up until the input reads 128 and the output reads 180. Again, if you're having difficulty positioning the point on the grid, you can simply enter the desired values in the output and input fields once you're close. Our mid tone value is now brighter at 180 (the output value). As you can see in the gradient, the middle grays have moved to the left, brightening the gradient, but leaving black and white alone.
If we were to move the mid point down until we had an input of 128 and an output of 76, the opposite would occur. Our middle grays would move to the right, darkening our gradient. Pretty straightforward stuff so far. In fact, if you were to use Curves by doing just we've done so far, you'd be making the same exact corrections you could make in Levels. Even the black, gray and white eyedroppers work the same. But remember when I said that curves lets you adjust more than just the black, gray and white points? What if we wanted to adjust only the region highlighted in red below?
This is where Curves can do more than Levels. With the Curves dialog open, the second you move the cursor away from the dialog, it becomes an eyedropper. Click on the spot that you want to isolate, and a point appears on the baseline (the default, unedited curve) along with the input and output values. As you let go the point vanishes, but simply click in the approximate area, and then enter the input and output values that were displayed as you positioned the eyedropper over the specific spot. For my example, I'm going to be affecting the spot with an input and output of 57.
For the sake of this example, we're going to lighten just this specific region (think about it, this could be a small region of a portrait that you wanted to lighten ever so slightly). If we simply drag the point up so that the output is a higher, brighter value, the rest of the curve moves with it, brightening the image more than we need.
To tame the unruly curve and isolate the region we want to affect, we're going to add several points to the curve to straighten out the areas we want left alone. First enter 100 for the output, we're going to really brighten up this one spot so we can better see how our adjustment affects only a specific region. Next we'll add eight points to the curve to flatten out the rest. You can try and position them manually or enter the output and input values I used.
And here is our gradient now:
From this simple exercise you can begin to see how you might use Curves to target a specific color in a specific region. For example: Say you want to "warm up" some grass in the background of an outdoor shot. Using the same technique, you would select the Red Channel from the channel select drop down menu, find your target on the curve while hovering over your image with the eyedropper, place your point and drag up slightly, and then keep the rest of the curve in line by adding as many points as necessary. Below is an example of a real life scenario.
Curves can also be used to add some contrast to your image. In fact, you can get down right ridiculous with your contrast fine tuning. Those of you who are familiar with Adobe Camera Raw's Tone Curve tab probably use the medium or strong contrast curve in the Point Curve sub tab. You can create the same medium and strong contrast curves in Photoshop's Curves dialog.
Basically, you create sort of a thin, S shape in the RGB channel. Below I created a very simple, medium / strong contrast curve.
By adding a point or two (or three or however many you desire) to the darker tones and pulling down slightly, adding an anchoring point to the mids (dead center), and a point or two to the lighter values and pushing up, you can achieve subtle to intense shifts in contrast. The more extreme the "S" is, the stronger the contrast. Check out the Strong Contrast Preset inside curves. You can also use it as a starting point and fine tune to your liking. Once you have your curve created that you know you'll use again and again, you can save it as a preset (See numbers 1 and 3 in the Curves diagram up top).
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Oceanic 451
Warana Beach, Sunshine Coast, QLD
- Guests: 8
- Bedrooms: 4
Bedroom breakdown
Bedroom 1 - 1x King
Bedroom 2 - 1x Queen
Bedroom 3 - 1x Queen
Bedroom 4 - 2x Single
- Bathrooms: 2
Property features
- Wireless Internet
- Air conditioning
- Car space
- See all features »
Property images
Main image carousel
Image thumbnail carousel (controls above carousel)
Bring the outside in and relax by the pool in the large outdoor entertaining area, opening out off the dining area and the downstairs lounge room. Built in BBQ and fireplace means all year round you will be able to really enjoy all that this beachside home has to offer.
Also located downstairs is one of the bedrooms with ensuite (including bath) and private courtyard, the large laundry, a separate toilet and basin along with the designer kitchen with gas cook top.
Upstairs you will find the balance of the bedrooms each with their own ensuite. This is also where you will find the lounge with plasma television.
Air-conditioned throughout, triple lock up garage, wireless broadband this home has it all!
Private beach access from your backyard!
Please note Guest BYO linen - for your assistance G1 Holidays operates a linen hire service and can provide you with towels, beach towels etc to make you stay in Mooloolaba as carefree as possible ask one of our experienced consultants today!…
The fine print
- DirectPay - Rent-A-Home takes reservations on this property but the property manager processes payments directly with you.
- Minimum Stay 3 Nights
- Bond $500
Guest reviews & questions
Customer Reviews
No reviews for this property yet.
Have you stayed at this property? Add your review.
Questions & Answers
Are we able to bring 2 small pets?
No pets allowed sorry.
Need more information on property features? You need to first request a quote and then ask a question.
Standard Features
- Activities/Themes
- Arts and Theatre
- Beach Getaway
- Bushwalking
- Fishing Nearby
- Food / Restaurants
- Golf
- Romantic
- Shopping
- Swimming Activities
- Walking or Hiking
- Wine tasting/tours
- Domestic
- AirCon
- Clothes Dryer
- Cooking Facilities
- Dishwasher
- Iron & Ironing board
- Microwave
- Stairs
- Washing Machine
- Entertainment
- CD Player
- DVD Player
- Internet Connection
- Stereo/Music system
- General
- Child friendly
- Luxury
- Ensuite
- Outdoor pool
- Parking
- Other
- Alarm System
Bedroom configurations
- Bedroom 1 – 1x King
- Bedroom 2 – 1x Queen
- Bedroom 3 – 1x Queen
- Bedroom 4 – 2x Single
RatesRates are not available online for this property, please request a quote using the form below.
Property managers will respond with pricing and availability, usually within 24 hours.
Quote Request
All fields required unless marked optional
Availability & Price
from $600 to $654 per night*
Min 3 nights stay
How do I make a booking?
From a Quote
- Step 1) Search the website and Add properties to MyList. Submit your preferred properties by using Request a Quote. Property Managers will send you confirmed price and availability.
- Step 2) Then you can Make a Booking or reservation form by clicking 'Make Reservation' from your Quote. Alternatively a Reservation form (PDF or Word Doc) can be downloaded from our Visitor Terms & Conditions page or your Quote.
- Step 3) Once we receive your "RZ" reservation request, a consultant will process all details and send a "BK" Booking Confirmation, payment receipt with arrival and key collection information.
From a Tariff or Hot Deal
- Step 1) Search using your desired location and dates. The Tariff Price will be shown in the results.
- Step 2) Then you can Make a Booking or reservation form by clicking 'Make Reservation' from the search results or property page. Alternatively a Reservation form (PDF or Word Doc) can be downloaded from our Visitor Terms & Conditions page or your Quote.
- Step 3) Once we receive your "RZ" reservation request, a consultant will process all details and send a "BK" Booking Confirmation, payment receipt with arrival and key collection information. Payment can be made with credit card or by direct deposit.
Are pets permitted?
Some properties allow Pets and will display Pets Permitted. Visitors will need to advise the type and size of pet and whether the pet is indoor or an outdoor pet.
Properties that do not show Pets Permitted will not accept pets.
A Pet Bond might be required to clean. deodourise and disinfect the property prior to the next visitor arrival to ensure the property is allergy free.
Availability calendar not up to date?
rentahome does encourage our property managers to update their availability calendars as often as possible.
Unfortunately it isn't always as frequent as we'd like, each calendar has a date of which the calendar was last updated so you who how up to date the listing is.
This is why rentahome has the quote process, it confirms the current availability of your selected property/s and the best rate available for your stay.
Are visitors able to inspect properties?
rentahome welcomes inspections however they may not be always feasible and are generally only available for longer stays of three months or longer.
The property must first be quoted as available with a price for your requested dates.
To request an inspection simply login to your Quote at the below link using your quote number and surname: http://www.rent-a-home.com.au/home/my/quotedetails.aspx
Scroll down to your preferred property and under the photo there will be a button 'Request Inspection', click on 'Request Inspection' and fill in your details. Your details will be sent to the property manager who will make contact within 48hours to arrange an appointment.
If there is no 'Request Inspection' button, this means the property manager does not provide inspections.
Please note that properties are not held and may be booked by other visitors.
Will I have to pay a security deposit?
A Bond/Security Deposit may be required by the Property Manager the amount will vary depending on the property manager. If so, this payment will take place outside of the Rentahome EasyPay System and you may be asked to direct transfer funds into the Property Manager's bank account or a credit card imprint may be requested. Rentahome does not become involved in the payment or return of bonds or security deposits. Return of these amounts is based on the Property Manager's terms and conditions and their inspection of the property after your stay.
The Security Deposit (Bond) is required to cover any damage or incidential costs incurred during your stay at the property. If there is no Damage or Additional Costs then the Security Deposit will be refunded. If the amount of the Damage or Additional Costs are greater than the Security Deposit, then the Guest will be required to pay the difference.
On Arrival, please report any damage or requirement maintenance immediately to the property manager, as you will be liable for any Damage on your departure.
A Bond applies for properties under a Lease agreement. The Bond is typically lodged with a government Bond Authority and returned at the the end of the stay following an Exit Inspection and review of the Condition Report.
Payment Options
Easy Pay
Rent-A-Home processes rental payment with guests directly. We accept: Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Bank Transfer.
Visa, MasterCard and American Express cards accepted.
Direct Pay
The Property Manager will process payment with guests directly.


text:
Rock Music
Korn releases new album release dateby Otto Man
KORN has set a September 24 release date for its 11th studio album, the first to feature founding guitarist Brian "Head" Welch sin...Read More »
Rob Zombie Needs YOU For New Videoby Amber Lee
Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor is out and one of the tracks on the latest album is a cover. "We're an American Band" is a Grand Fu...Read More »
Ozzy Doesn't Think Sabbath Is 'Heavy Metal'by Amber Lee
In our eyes, Black Sabbath helped to create a whole new genre. But still, Ozzy doesn't identify with the term 'heavy metal.' He does...Read More »
Black Veil Brides get caught using fake amps on stageby Lunchbox
So Black Veil Brides aren't having the best year ever...they've found themselves in a fight with Five Finger Death Punch and their f...Read More »
Foo Fighters Getting Started on New Albumby Amber Lee
Yes! The hiatus is coming to an end. Drummer Taylor Hawkins confirmed that Dave Grohl is busy coming up with ideas for the next Foo...Read More »
ENTIRE Van Halen Tokyo Dome show posted online.by Otto Man
Fairly high quality fan-filmed video footage of VAN HALEN's entire June 21 concert at the Tokyo Dome in Japan has been posted onli...Read More »
More Metallica live video and an album updateby Otto Man
METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich tells RollingStone.com that the band has amassed nearly 600 song ideas during rehearsals in January ...Read More »
Nine Inch Nails release track listing and cover art for their new albumby Otto Man
Nine Inch Nails have released the track listing for their upcoming album Hesitation Marks. The LP hits on September 3 via Columbia...Read More »


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Pool C: Canada, Italy, United States, Venezuela.
...now with Tiger-metrics!
Hat Tip to The Monotonous Life for the photo
Also: some notes from some recent exhibition games.
Pool C
2006 Performance: Canada went 2-1 in Pool B last year, but so did Mexico and the US, and Canada lost the tie-breaker (RA/9). They beat the US, but lost to Mexico rather badly.
2009 Outlook: Canada has some good MLB players on their roster, but also a couple of MLB AAAA journeymen and no established pitching. The offense won't be such a problem with Russell Martin, Justin Morneau, Jason Bay and our own Joey Votto at the plate. (Canadian coaches have indicated that Votto will mostly be handling the DH spot, but he might also see time in the outfield and at 1B.) Mark Teahen (OF, former 3B for the Royals) actually only got his dual canadian/us citizenship recently, but has always been eligible to play because his father is from Canada. Guys like Pete Orr and Adam Stern aren't exactly game-changers, but they round out the lineup sufficiently. Canada's real problem is pitching. There are a couple decent looking prospects, but most of them are 21 and haven't pitched above A ball. (Scott Diamond (Braves), Phillippe Aumont (Mariners))However, there's no tiebreaker this year – so Canada's dearth of pitching won't hurt them this year like in '06 – that is, as long as they can win games. I personally see them as overmatched by both the US and Venezuela. (Venezuela looks to be a little bit of a closer match – but their pitching is phenomenally better than Canada's). Of course, Canada beat the US last time around, and they could certainly do it again – baseball being what it is. Sadly, with the corps of pitchers Canada could potentially call up (Ryan Dempster, Rich Harden, Jeff Francis, Eric Bedard, Eric Gagne), I think that Canada could beat anyone – but none of those players have chosen to participate, for various reasons.
2009 Players to Watch: Jo-eh, of course. Interestingly, does anyone know for sure– is he ethnically Italian? Because that could be interesting, playing for the country you're from against the country you play in now, and the country your family comes from.
Brett Lawrie was drafted 16th overall in 2008. He plays catcher now, but is somewhat defensively versatile (I gather that he play 2B, 3B, and the OF), and is valued primarily for his bat, which scouts have considered pretty major-league ready. He really made a name for himself playing for Canada's Junior Team last spring in summer – one day, playing a doubleheader against Dominican summer league teams, he hit 5 home runs in a single day, sprayed across the entire field.
Stubby Clapp was an Astros minor leaguer for-kinda-ever, and was dubbed 'the mayor of Memphis' due to his time with the Memphis Redbirds. Although Stubby has moved on to coaching – with the Lexington Legends, and now with the Greenville Astros, he is only 36 continued to play for Canada in international tournaments. This is probably his last run though – and he might be the front-runner for Team Canada's Stubby Clapp award.
2006 Performance: Went 1-2 in Pool D, winning emphatically over Australia (poor Australia), and losing respectably to DR and Venezuela.
2009 Outlook: Unfortunately, as hopeless as being in a Pool with DR and Venezuela is, they've got it even worse this year. But it's not hard to see why Italy performs better than most of the countries-we-don't-think-of-as-baseball-countries. (CWDTOFBCs). Italian-Americans have always played a significant role in MLB, and, as it happens, some of them are eligible to play for Italy. Of course, there aren't any DiMaggio's on Italy's squad this year – but they clearly have it better than poor South Africa.
2009 Players to Watch: Chris Denorfia, the former Reds prospect, is playing for this year. (We traded him to the A's at the beginning of 2007, when he needed Tommy Johns, and received Marcus McBeth in return.) As we know, he can potentially be a solid player, with good OBP, if not-much in the way of power.
Francisco Cervelli is a catcher in the Yankees system, rated in 2007 as their best defensive catcher.
Will we hear any more weak shit from Jason Grilli? Obviously Jim Leyland (and theoretically Jim Flealand) hopes not. (If you look at none of the other silly links in here, look at Jim Flealand. It is so full of win.)
Also, I'm think Lenny DiNardo and Bronson Arroyo were BFFs in their Red Sox days. Which I think meant that Lenny was Bronson's wingman when he went trolling for co-eds.
You may also recognize such names as Frank Catalanotto, Nick Punto, and Mark DiFelice, but I don't have much to say about them in particular. Oh, and Mike Piazza is a hitting coach for them.
via www.bc.edu
2006 Performance: The US team snuck into Round 2 last year, placing second in the three-way tiebreaker between Mexico, US, and Canada. In Round 2, they lost to Japan and South Korea, and did not proceed to the final round.
2009 Outlook: So, last time around, the US didn't do all that well. Why not? They certainly had plenty of stars (And Gary Majewski. Sign.) And, I'm still pretty high on the US for this year. They've got Peavy and Oswalt starting, and Putz and JP Howell bring some relief. Brian McCann (Atlanta) and Chris Iannetta (Colorado) are both impressive young catchers. The infield boats Jeter, Pedroia, Rollins, Wright, Chipper Jones, David Wright, and Kevin Youkilis. I actually have a lot less to say about the US, just because you all know most of the players on the roster. Well, I do think that the US will make it to Round 2. But Pool 2 is rough. DR, PR, US and Venezuela, However, Cuba made it out of the same pool three years ago, and perhaps the US can do so as well. I mean, obviously MLB's website is calling the US the team to beat, but I'm not totally sure I buy it. The starting pitching is good, but shallow, and I think the outfield doesn't look as good as it used to. (It would hardly even be a question if there were full participation: Sabathia, Webb, Lincecum, BJ Ryan, Hamels, Papelbon, Holiday, Longoria, Hamilton, Teixeira, and Mauer, are all names you could have seen on the roster – and you could make a WBC championship team just out of those.)
Note: Hawpe, Fuentes (1st round), Joe Nathan, and Grady Sizemore all pretty recent drops. Hawpe's not that much of a loss considering his absolutely abysmal outfield defense. But Grady Sizemore really cuts. Good news? They were replaced with Shane Victorino and... ADAM DUNN. Alright! It's time for the 'I miss dunner' tag, fer sure.
2009 Players to Watch:
What? Why? Because he's nice to look at. Duh.
2006 Performance: Venezuela got into Round 2 in 2006, but lost there to the DR and Cuba (hardly shameful). They also shut out the other team in each of their three wins (Italy, Australia, Puerto Rico)
2009 Outlook: Johan Santana is not pitching for Venezuela, which is a disappointment for them, and neither is Carlos Zambrano. But unlike Canada, they still have the Tigers' Armando Galarraga (had a 3.73 ERA pitching 180 innings in 2008), Seattle's King Felix, Carlos Silva and K-Rod taking closer duty. ( Their lineup boasts Bobby Abreu, Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera and perhaps Carlos Guillen. (It's a Tiger-y lineup). So their pitching is alright, and their offense is solid – enough in my mind to get them past Canada (but could be a close call), but not enough. Former Met Edgar Alfonzo (who now plays for the Yomiuri Giants of the NPB) is not with the team – he was actually one of the best hitters for Venezuela in the last classic. Pitching is still a concern in late innings, as outside of K-Rod, there's not a lot of relief available. (I wrote this before the addition of Ramon Ramirez – I'd probably start him – but someone else might prefer Carlos Silva's superior experience.)
2009 Players to Watch: Well, Ramon Hernandez is one of the Reds player on the Venezuela roster, and will likely get playing time. I'm sure most of us would rather him in camp working with our young pitchers, but most of our young pitchers won't be in camp either. Maybe he'll see them from the batter's box instead.
Max Ramirez is one of the Rangers' young catching prospects though, and had a very good season in 2008, OPSing 1.096 at AA Frisco.
And you all know Felix Hernandez, the Mariners' very young ace. Maybe I was just a little out of the loop last year, but King Felix put together a pretty nifty season last year, with a 3.45 ERA in 200 innings. He also threw a perfect inning (striking out three batters on nine pitches), and hit a grand slam (he's the first AL pitcher to do so in interleague play.)
Pool C notes: Overall, this group is really crippled by all the non-participations. Most of the late withdrawals seem to be due to injury, but whatever the case, it is a shame to see teams that aren't all they could be.
Exhibition Games:
Japan lost to the Seibu Lions (NPB) on Saturday, Komatsu Satoshi gave up four runs in the eighth. Ichiro was 0-4 in that game, and went hitless again against the Yomiuri Giants (NPB) on Sunday. However, Japan prevailed against the Giants in 10 innings, with Daisuke Matsuzaka throwing 3 scoreless innings.
Korea won against the Seibu Lions today, 4-2, but may have lost one of their relievers, Lim Chang Yong, to injury. Some of the Korean players went to watch Team Japan in action and told reporters that the Japanese weren't in peak condition yet.
Chinese Taipei also played the Yomiuri Giants on Saturday – they lost 7-6.
China got creamed by the Lions, 11-1.
Sources: Daily Yomiuri and 2
(Pool D Previews and more exhibition round-ups will be up by Thursday night)


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Sunday, July 08, 2007
Sunday Breakfast
In other news, I am VERY pleased to present our new addition:
Ever since we moved into our house we have hated our refrigerator. The first time we opened the door to find the shelves covered in a pool of water, we thought maybe it was because the fridge had just been turned on. By the fifth or sixth time we realized there was a problem with the fridge itself. One time we actually saw the torrent of water pouring out of a hole near the top back shelf. We put off getting a new fridge for months because we weren't sure exactly what we wanted, but we soon grew weary of cleaning up pools of water three or four times a day.
Recently Home Depot was having an appliance sale so we drove over to check it out and found exactly what we wanted - a bottom-freezer model that wasn't too wide to fit into the space we had, French doors for the fridge and a pull-out freezer drawer with a sturdy upper basket. We measured and remeasured the space and were about 90% certain the fridge wouldn't fit (can you see that lip from the window seat? We were concerned about the pull-out door clearing that), but my stepfather assured me that an 1/8th of an inch is still an 1/8th of an inch and as you can see, it fit! It was delivered yesterday and we are in love.
8 comments:
That fridge looks awesome! I especially like the drawer on the bottom - you can stack a lot of things in there! :-)ReplyDelete
- C in Canada7:33 AM, July 09, 2007
congrats on the new fridge, and I LOVE the color of your kitchen!ReplyDelete
Katie - Thanks! We absolutely love it. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to open the fridge and have everything at eye level. No more stooping over just to see what's inside.ReplyDelete
C - Thanks! We love bright colors and with the light cabinets and flooring we thought an apple green was a great color choice.
Congrats on the new fridge. You didn't tell me about the leak when I visited or I would have offered to help with a new one.ReplyDelete
Anyway, I'm glad you got a good deal and that 1/8th inch of space.
BTW, great choice for dinner tonight
I am loving your new fridge. Yes, I am jealous because you have a new appliance. What has happened to me?!ReplyDelete
Dad - Thanks! We are very happy with it. I'm surprised we didn't mention it to you. If you want to help, there's still time (and a lousy dishwasher that also needs replacing).ReplyDelete
C Laz - LOL! Trust me when I say that I am in love with this fridge. It's a sick obsession, really. I love opening it and looking for something since everything is at eye level. :)
I love your new fridge and it's the right design too with the freezer at the bottom. Love the color of your kitchen walls, very cheerful. Makes me want to paint my kitchen too.ReplyDelete
Leica - Once we decided to replace the fridge we knew we wanted the freezer on the bottom. Having the fridge at eye level is fantastic! We love color - our whole house is painted bright, cheery colors. In the winter when it's cold and dark it makes the place seem so homey.ReplyDelete


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If you want to feel young again, just follow the old adage, "You are what you eat."
From MSN.com:
South Korean customs officials seized yet another haul of capsules filled with powdered human babies and are on high alert for more. The pills reportedly originated from China, where aborted fetuses and stillborn babies are believed to be dried on stovetops, then crushed into a powder. This extremely alternative medicine is regarded as a cure for many ailments, but just in case the dried human part wasn't enough to put you off, officials say they actually contain dangerous superbacteria.
Suddenly, eating dog meat at the local Chinese restaurant doesn't sound so bad. Bon appetite!


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Nokia N9
Reviewed by illuminuldis (Currently owns)
Conclusion: The best designed smartphone I have ever held, and worth the cost if you can do without the apps and love linux and truly open-source platforms.
Pros: Innovate UX, Top-notch industrial design, durable components, open-source/customizable, great native apps/integration, one-of-a-kind experience
Cons: Lacks an eco-system of apps & services to match iOS, Android, WP7; occasional software glitches; camera performance is spotty.
When you hold it, it feels like a premium smartphone. The N9 feels cool to the touch and is very durable, thanks to its one-piece polycarbonate shell and curved gorilla glass.
The UI feels natural and intuitive, making navigation for first-time users a breeze. The UI is consistently handsome, with squircles peppered throughout the OS and native apps scrolling and presenting themselves with fluidity and consistency.
The screen is a gorgeously curved AMOLED with ClearBlack Display tech, projecting deep, rich blacks. But there are some examples of red accents showing up on the screen while white elements are being displayed.
Voice quality is excellent, as is the overall speaker quality. Predictably, the stock headphones are garbage, though the included case fits well.
Pre-installed apps like mail, maps, browser, drive, and music are attractive and well-designed, though the browser is not nearly as fast as iOS or Android, with webpages exhibiting significant checker-boarding even when claiming to have fully rendered. Pinch-to-zoom is smooth, and its scrolling and "bouncing" physics can rival an iPhone.
I received my N9 with some bloatware that was pre-installed by the retailer, but once I flashed my device to the new software version (PR 1.1), the performance of the device improved markedly. Occasional software glitches persist with the new firmware, including lag in loading apps and others sometimes crashing, but overall the N9 works exceptionally well.
You'll find a few nice apps here and there, but overall the store is weak, lacking key titles available on other platforms. There are some high quality games (Angry birds, Samurai Vengeance, Roboto etc), and more apps and games trickle into the store every day, while third-party websites enable sideloading. Emulators, such as Emumaster, essentially expand the number of gaming titles into the hundreds, if not thousands.
The camera should be better, given its 8 MP Carl Zeiss lens and f/2.2 aperture, but a grainy look with green tinges ruins some photos. Nokia is expected to update the camera software on the N9 and its Lumia 800 cousin, and it can't come soon enough.
Since MeeGo is essentially open-source, there are tons of adjustments, effects, and gestures you can add either through apps or direct coding.
Overall, the quality of the device as a one-off makes for a uniquely innovative, if unfinished, experience. For the same price you could buy a top-notch Android or iPhone, but unless you need the ecosystem, the N9 is just as good, if not better.
The Breakdown
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- Design 10
- Display 8
- Camera(s) 7
- Reception / call quality 9
- Performance 8
- Software 9
- Battery life 8
- Ecosystem 4


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The Program (58)
Children categories
Click on the Image to Join the Girl Scout Birthday Club!
See more program opportunities by downloading the latest In Motion Program Guide.
Barbie & Girl Scouts: I Can Be Anything!
For generations, Barbie has had the confidence to be many things—a doctor, gymnast, teacher, vet, chef, rock star, swim champion, and president. Barbie and Girl Scouts are teaming together to share the message that every girl, like Barbie, can be anything she wants!
Join the love that Girl Scout Daisies and Brownies have for Barbie with their curiosity about all of the things they can do. Earn the I Can Be… patch with online games, a printable activity guide, and a paper doll Barbie with a great selection of outfits related to career options.
Go to http://forgirls.girlscouts.org/beanything/ for more information.
Girls' Tennis—USTA Kids' Clubs
Girl Scouts of Greater South Texas and USTA have partnered together to offer a Girls' Tennis program for Girl Scouts! The program is primarily for Girl Scout Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors, and teaches teamwork, agility, healthy choices, and good sportsmanship while having a swinging good time learning tennis!
Training for the Girls' Team volunteers is free and provided by USTA trainers. A tennis reference and a Girl Scout Tennis Series curriculum are provided to all trained tennis volunteers. To find out if there is a Girls' Tennis team registered in your area, contact your nearest service center (see page 3) or the Program Executive at your local Girl Scout office.
If you are interested in volunteering or starting a Girls' Tennis team in your Service Unit or Community, call 800-929-5229 or sending an email to
Be a Friend First (BFF)
Be a Friend First is a program for middle school girls, to give them the skills and social tools they need to prevent, identify, and address bullying when and where it affects them—at school, online, and anywhere in between. The BFF program is a program that runs six to ten sessions. It can take place during school, after school, at church youth groups, or anywhere that middle school girls can get together to have fun and learn.
Tau Gamma Sigma
Tau Gamma Sigma (TGS) is a girl-led program for middle and high school girls that lets girls decide what topics they want to address. TGS is a leadership development program that gives girls tools to make wise decisions when facing challenging issues in their lives. From fashion to dating violence, the issues that are important to girls are up for discussion, and girls develop skills to make good decisions for themselves.
Girl Scout Penpal Network
Connect with other Girl Scouts across the country by becoming Pen pals with another troop! Connections are made by Girl Scout staff members to verify membership of troops who are selected to be penpals. Choose your preference of state, and we'll find new long-distance friends to last a lifetime!
Get information and helpful tips about becoming penpals by clicking here.
Fill out the Penpal request form here to make your match!
FIRST Robotics
Established in 1926, World Thinking Day is observed on February 22 of each year and celebrates Girl Scouting's global sisterhood. This is a day when all Girl Scouts think of their sister Girl Scouts and Girl Guides all over the world and remember that they are part of an international movement.
Let your girls help decide what they would like to do to celebrate World Thinking Day and think of their global sisterhood. Remember there are girls around the world celebrating with you. Happy Thinking Day!
Here are just a few ideas for celebrating World Thinking Day. I'm sure your girls will have many more!
Have a tasting event of foods from other cultures and countries
Have a style/fashion show displaying styles from a WAGGGS member country
Learn games or songs from another country
Learn to speak another language - learn to say "Happy Birthday," or how to sing the birthday song.
Learn how others celebrate their holidays and customs, etc.
Give the gift of international travel by donating to the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund
Start planning today your own international travel opportunity in the future! Find resources in the Global Travel Toolkit or by visiting our Travel Pathway page.
Check out the badge, resources, and activities on worldthinkingday.org, a website run by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
Contact a World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts member organization to ask if you can be matched with an international penpal
March 12 commemorates the day in 1912 when Juliette Gordon Low officially registered the first 18 girl members of Girl Scouts in the USA in Savannah, Georgia. There are many ways to celebrate the Girl Scout birthday. You can try one of the activities that follow or create a birthday bash of your own. Whatever you do ... make sure to have a Happy Girl Scout Birthday!
Create a "Birthday Party in a Bag" and present it to a local shelter
Contact the Activity Director at a local senior citizen home and offer to plan and put on the March birthday party
Plant a tree or beautify an area in honor of Girl Scout Birthday Week
Plan a Girl Scout birthday party and invite non-Girl Scouts to participate
Earn the Girl Scout Ways badge or the Promise Center of the Daisy petals
Create a Girl Scout Scrapbook for your troop/group, and tell the story of how your troop began and what you've done together
Participate in a Girl Scouts Forever Green project
Girl Scout Week
Celebrated each March, Girl Scout Week is the week that includes the Girl Scout Birthday of March 12. The week starts with Girl Scout Sunday and ends with Girl Scout Sabbath on Saturday.
Girl Scout Sunday and Girl Scout Sabbath
These days give girls an opportunity to attend their place of worship and be recognized as a Girl Scout. If a place of worship is the group sponsor, girls may perform a service, such as greeting, ushering, or doing a flag ceremony. These days can also be a time when girls explore other faiths.
Girl Scouting and the Religious Community Working Together
Historically, Girl Scouting has been committed to diversity, religious and otherwise, and a rich tapestry of religious beliefs is reflected in the Girl Scout membership. While we believe spirituality is a motivating force, the organization is founded on American democratic principles, one of which is the freedom of religion. Girl Scouts is an inclusive organization and welcomes girls of all religious beliefs and backgrounds.
Many faith based groups have developed religious award activities that encourage Girl Scouts to become stronger members of their faith.
The values expressed in the Girl Scout Promise and Law are universal -- for example, honesty, fairness, sisterhood, and making the world a better place. In working with her faith group, a Girl Scout reinforces her commitment to her faith. At the same time, religious groups strengthen their connection to girls, their families, and youth in their communities.
My Promise, My Faith Awards
Girls in all levels can earn Girl Scouts of the USA's My Promise, My Faith pin each year that
they are in Girl Scouting. This award allows girls to strengthen the relationship between their Girl Scouting and faith journeys.
To see an overview of the My Promise, My Faith awards, click here for the English version, and click here for the Spanish version. The requirements for earning these pins are included in the Girl's Guide to Girl Scouting for all levels.
To Serve God Religious Recognitions
Over 25 faith communities have created religious award programs to help girls connect Girl Scouting with their faith.
Each religious organization/committee develops and administers its own program.
GSUSA recognizes these programs and allows the recognition to be worn on the official uniform.
Religious awards are optional programs for girls to complete with the help of their families and religious leaders.
Download the To Serve God Religious Awards Brochure that explains the what, who, how, and why of the religious awards.
Girl Scout Sunday/Girl Scout Sabbath
Celebrated in March each year, Girl Scout Sunday and Girl Scout Sabbath give girls an opportunity to attend their place of worship and be recognized as a Girl Scout. Girls may perform a service, such as greeting, ushering, or doing a flag ceremony. These days are also a time when girls can explore other faiths and can attend a new place of worship.
Girl Scout week is celebrated in March, begins on Girl Scout Sunday and ending on Girl Scout Sabbath on Saturday, and always includes the Girl Scout Birthday, March 12.
Girls build their own leadership experience in Girl Scouting by selecting topics and interests that inspire and intrigue them. Here you'll find information on a range of opportunities for special interests. Happy exploring!
Council Patch Programs -- Patch programs provide the opportunity to explore topics beyond those in the handbooks and other GSUSA resources.
Find Your Faith -- Historically, Girl Scouting has been committed to diversity, religious and otherwise, and a rich tapestry of religious beliefs is reflected in the Girl Scout membership.
Girl Scout Birthday -- There are many ways to celebrate the Girl Scout birthday!
Thinking Day/World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts -- A day when all Girl Scouts think of their sister Girl Scouts and Girl Guides all over the world and remember that they are part of an international movement.
Additional Program Opportunities -- These are ongoing program opportunities that Girl Scouts can do at any time, and enrich their Girl Scout Leadership Experience.
The Girl's Guide to Girl Scouting is a colorful, easy-to-use binder for girls at each program level. It's includes the handbook and badges, plus a "My Girl Scouts" section for girls to find fun activities and ways to customize their Girl Scout experience.
The book has three main sections:
- Girl Scout Handbook to introduce girls to traditions, stories, and uniforms, as well as awards they are eligible to earn at their level
- Girl Scout Badges that lists requirements for earning Legacy, Cookie Program, and Financial Literacy badges, with room for girls to insert additional skill-building badge requirements according to their interests
- My Girl Scouts with fun resources for bringing their Girl Scout experience to life, and where girls can insert their own records of their Girl Scout experience
Click here to see examples of the progression in
|Click here to download tips for using the Girl's Guides with Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors.
|Click to download tips for using the Girls' Guides with Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors.
The Girl Scout Leadership Experience is all about helping girls be leaders in their daily lives while preparing them for future leadership roles in every walk of life. Below are tools for you to use in guiding girls who want to know how they can help after a disaster.
What Can a Girl Scout Do When Disaster Strikes? (PDF)
A girl-friendly tip sheet for girls of all program levels.
What Girl Scout Leadership Looks Like in Times of Disaster (PDF)
A resource to help staff and volunteers guide girls who want to know how they can help after a disaster.
Girl Scouts has a rich history of empowering girls to help improve their communities. Since 1912, Girl Scout groups throughout the country have participated in community service projects addressing everything from caring for animals, baking for troops, serving senior citizens to improving the environment. Community service projects such as tending a local garden at a school or church can be completed in one day. Other endeavors, such as adopting grandparents through the Silver Lining program can span multiple visits throughout the year. Whatever the group decides to undertake, girls learn the benefit of giving back to the community.
Take Action is designed to elevate traditional Girl Scout community service from meeting an immediate need to advocacy projects that make change happen. Girls identify a cause they feel passionate about, and with advocacy and action, make a change. Girls can create a Take Action project with each leadership journey they complete. Girl Scout Bronze, Silver and Gold Award projects are all Take Action projects.
Take Action projects encourage girls to think bigger and to address problems in such a way that positive change occurs. Girl Scouts can focus on accomplishing the following measurable outcomes from taking action:
Girls can identify community needs.
Girls are resourceful problem solvers.
Girls advocate for themselves and others, locally and globally.
Girls educate and inspire others to act.
Girls feel empowered to make a difference in the world.
Here are seven steps to a successful Take Action project:
1. Map It—Investigate community needs and problem causes
2. Plan It—Prepare a Take Action plan
3. Do It—Act "with" the community
4. Think About It—Reflect on the project's impact
5. Advocate for It—Demonstrate the importance of the issue to others
6. Be Proud of It—Celebrate the accomplishments
7. Keep It Going—Think about how the project could be sustained
Be Sure to Report Your Service!
A community service report form for troops and communities/service units is included on the second page of the Financial Report. Individual girls (who are not members of troops) can also use this form, or the forms provided in the Girl's Guide to Girl Scouting to log community service. It's very important to report all service completed, whether the service is through the council, service unit/community, troop, or as an individual Girl Scout. Submit your community service hours with your Troop or Service Unit/Community Financial Report semiannually and March 15 and September 30.
Project Undercover - The GSGST Council-wide Service Project
Join Greater South Texas in providing an often overlooked and much-needed item for children in the care of the Texas Department of Family Protective Services - undergarments.
Presidential Volunteer Service Award
The Presidential Volunteer Service Award is the premier volunteer awards program to encourage a life of service. Your recognition inspires others to take positive action to change the world.
What Can a Girl do When Disaster Strikes
When disaster strikes, Girl Scouts reach out to those in need, seek out ways to be part of solution, and improve people's lives. See helpful information on how you and your Girl Scout group can help after a disaster.
The It's Your Story—Tell It! leadership journey series uses a storytelling theme in a fun and grade-level relevant way for girls to better understand themselves and their potential. Building a strong sense of self is an underlying goal of the series, which was made possible in part by a generous grant from the Dove Self-Esteem Fund. Girls develop media literacy, creative expression, and leadership skills through fun and engaging multidisciplinary content and activities. All along the journey, girls have opportunities to engage in a variety of arts, including performing, visual, culinary, and new media, to tell their stories and take action to make the world a better place.
5 Flowers, 4 Stories, 3 Cheers for Animals! (Girl Scout Daisy)
Girl Scout Daisies learn just how much they can care for animals and for themselves—and just how good that makes them feel. Animals and flowers share their stories and encourage girls to find and tell their own stories.
A World of Girls (Girl Scout Brownie)
Stories are all around us - in movies, in books, on television, on the news, in advertisements, and even on cereal boxes. Stories inspire and motivate. On this journey, stories teach Girl Scout Brownies clues about how they can create positive change in the world—change that affects girls.
Girl Scout Juniors learn just how many roles are open to them in the world and the possibilities those roles open for them. aMuse helps girls take center stage and try out more roles than they ever thought possible. As they find out there is more to their story, girls may feel stronger, walk taller, and gain confidence!
Girl Scout Cadettes look for the ME in media and learn how they can shape media—for themselves, their community and the world. MEdia helps girls think about who is responsible for telling all the stories they see around them and how they can use their story to help "re-make" the forms of media they see around them.
MISSION: SISTERHOOD! (Girl Scout Senior)
Girl Scout Seniors learn how widening their network broadens their world, and benefits the world as well. Girls learn to understand the power of sisterhood in their own lives and in the world. What girls start can spiral outward and change the world.
BLISS: Live It! Give It! (Girl Scout Ambassador)
Girl Scout Ambassadors learn to dream big, now and for their future, and begin their legacy as leaders who help others achieve their dreams too. As they prepare to move from high school into the next phase of their lives, Bliss helps girls navigate life's twists and turns in order to realize their dreams.


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Time For Microsoft To Buy Nokia?
Microsoft Surface sparked a whole new debate about Microsoft going into the hardware space.
After the Windows Phone 8 event, some are actually wondering: What's to stop Microsoft from making smartphone hardware? and better yet, why not buy Nokia and have them make the hardware?
This seems like a no brainer. Nokia was already in trouble with money issues. Microsoft and Nokia formed a partnership and the Lumia seems to be the flagship Windows Phone. Microsoft buying the Lumia and making their own hardware seems to make sense.
Of course, there's the other part: The partners. That's a problem that Apple has never had. That's a problem Microsoft is going through. Google has kind of jumped into the "make your own hardware" space when they bought Motorola. The new Samsung CEO is even gone as far to say the company needs to focus on the software more and even hinted at making their own software/OS.
The reason Apple has been so successful is that they are not burdened with partners and they can make the software and hardware and have better integration.
The Surface tablet is a great looking tablet. Microsoft + Nokia making a tablet and smartphones would make Microsoft way more competitive.
Too far fetched? I think it would make the mobile space way more competitive. Who doesn't love competition? Consumers always win in the end with good competition


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Site Map
- Category: Church of Greece
- A requiem for the Greek Church...
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- Are there any limits to the degeneration of the Greek clergy?
- Books for getting closer to Orthodox Christianity
- Byzantine Hymns, Images, Places
- Byzantium : The Lost Empire
- Can we help Europe by becoming apologists of Christianity?
- Christianity and Islam
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- Church of Greece humanitarian aid for Lebanese refugees
- Corrections to the Antoniades Patriarchal Greek Text of the New Testament
- Elder Paisios the Athonite, a film from Russia
- Elder Porphyrios, Work is a blessing
- Greek language from the completion of the Septuagint to the New Testament
- Holy Mount Athos - 5 Minutes of Views and Chanting
- I. D. Karavidopoulos, The 1904 New Testament Edition of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Future Perspectives
- Liturgy at Mount Athos
- Noted Byzantine exhibition debuts at Helsinki museum
- On the Greek origins of the word Church (ecclesia) in the New Testament
- Opening the New Testament
- Orthodoxy and Papacy : A Discussion
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- Phanar and Athens on the road to Papism
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- Select Videos about Byzantium and Orthodoxy
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- The union of the Churches is the best way to eliminate Christianity
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Precision Air Group opens Vancouver shop
Precision Air Group (Booth No. 2960), which provides overhaul and repair for Honeywell LTS101 and TPE331, Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney Canada fuel controls and accessories, is here at Heli-Expo highlighting the opening of its new facility in Vancouver, B.C. PAG also has a facility in Atlanta, Precision Avionics, as well as the two Canadian companies, Precision Heliparts and Precision Accessories and Instruments.
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17 Reasons Why You Should NOT Become An Entrepreneur
"… being an entrepreneur is very unsexy. Long hours. Time away from family. Low salary. High risk. High stress. It only looks sexy when you read..
22 Things That Makes A Great Entrepreneur
Successful entrepreneurs possess qualities and characteristics that differentiates them from others. An entrepreneur organizes a business venture..
Would You Hire An Entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur is a person who has possession of a new enterprise, venture or idea and is accountable for the inherent risks and the outcome of a..
Is Your Product Creating Enough Buzz?
Word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM), also called word of mouth advertising, is an unpaid form of promotion—oral or written—in which satisfied customers..
Startup And Entrepreneurial Readings For Your Weekend
- 5 Steps to Building a Successful Niche Business-Entrepreneur.com
- Startups: Don't just collect my email-Phil Anderson
- Making all the decisions..
BoomStartup Seed Accelerator: All 10 Selected Participants For 2011
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Take Your Idea And Do Something, Anything To Get It Started
" Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now."Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Should Startups Hire Based On Passion Or Experience?
Would you hire your next employee based on passion or experience?. Business professionals, startup founders and business leaders shared their..
Startup And Entrepreneurial Readings For The Week
- 5 Quick Pointers On Startup Hiring- Onstartups
- Why Companies Fail–and How Their Founders Can Bounce Back-Harvard Business School
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Lighter Capital, previously known as RevenueLoan, was created to address the needs of business owners with a new form of growth funding. The..
17 of The Best Startup Articles On Alltopstartups
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Challenges of Growing Startups
Start-ups that turn into standard companies rarely continue the way they started. They sometimes lose their hunger, their desperation and urgency...
11 Reasons Why Your Founding Team Is Important To Investors
A solid and strong startup team cannot be overemphasized. Every outcome of the company you are forming is based on the performance of the core..
15 of The Best Blogs By Startup Founders
The following are some of the best startup founder blogs I follow. I thought a compilation of them in a post will be helpful for you. They are..
Sprouter(Startup Q&A Site), To Shut Down On August 2nd
Sprouter enables collaboration and networking between entrepreneurs globally. According to the Sprouter team led by Sarah Prevette(founder)..
What It Takes To Be A Successful Entrepreneur
- Clear vision. Burning desire. Focus. Persistence. Courage.
- Risk-taking is absolutely essential to getting any business off the ground.
- A sense of..
10 Of The Best Ways Entrepreneurs CAN Increase Productivity
Startups that survive in today's economy will be those that can change their cultures from the slower pace of business to a more faster pace that..
12 Startup & Entrepreneurial Readings For The Day
These are some good startup and entrepreneurial readings worth investing a few minutes of your precious time reading. I believe you can benefit..
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Street signs disappeared from intersections all over town last weekend and thieves also stole four stop signs, according to police.
Officers placed temporary stop signs, normally used at intersections with traffic lights during blackouts, at the latter intersections as a safety measure. But in one case, Sgt. John Butler said temporary stop signs at East Village Road and Webb Circle were also stolen.
"Whether it's a prank or a scavenger hunt, it becomes a safety hazard," Butler said Monday.
Aside from the potential for motor vehicle accidents caused by cars blowing through intersections that should have stop signs, Butler said fire engines looking for street signs on the way to a fire, ambulances speeding to medical calls and police cars going to calls could have delayed response times.
"Now we have the expense of replacing the signs and the temporary signs," Butler said, "so it becomes a monetary issue too."
Parks & Recreation Dir. Douglas Arndt said each sign will cost about $150 to replace.
Butler said the sign thefts occured Friday night into Saturday morning and Saturday night into Sunday morning. In all cases, he said nobody in the neighborhoods reported seeing anything.
Street signs were missing from the intersections of:
- Hannah Lane and Cutlers Farm Road
- Hawley Lane and Cutlers Farm Road
- Jockey Hollow Road and Pepper Street
- Hayes Street and Stanley Road
- Kimberly Drive and Wells Road
- Forest Road and Glenbrook Drive
- Cutlers Farm Road and Aspetuck Lane
Stop signs were stolen from the intersections of:
- East Village Road and Barn Hill Road
- East Village Road and Monroe Turnpike
- Webb Circle and East Village Road
- Richards Drive and Jays Road
Police ask anyone with information on the stolen signs to call the main number at (203) 261-3622. Butler said tips may be anonymous.